Do You Even Lift? A Health & Fitness thread

[The_Prycer]

Sup nerds, while our brains are certainly big and healthy due to all this tech related knowledge we're absorbing and discussing, keeping the meat wagon it resides in healthy is probably a good idea too.

 

With that being said, welcome to what I hope will become a fantastic thread for fitness where we can discuss all manner of content relating to not being a land whale.

 

So what have you been working on in the weight room, the kitchen, or anywhere else on your fitness journey?

[RyomaSJibenG]

well uhh everyday at work, i parked my car on basement B1. so i climb the ladder from B1 to ground to 6th floor every morning

 

pretty good workout i'd say

[dizmo]

I have weights at home that I use.
I'm moving into a building with a gym in a month or two.

And I have this little super hot friend I sometimes go to the gym with.

[Gegger]

i walk/bike to and from school when i can

[Totallycasual]

I'm one of those naturally super thin people that never gain weight and it always bugged me when people commented on it, eventually i decided to hit the gym to do some weights, took nearly two years and a shitload of pain+protein loading but i got up to a somewhat still slim but slightly built shape, certainly way beyond the point there people would think i was too thin or whatever.  Maybe a year after i hit my happy (visually) weight i came to the realization that i was always sore, i fucking hated the gym still and i no longer cared what anyone thought of my size so i stopped going and immediately lost what i gained lol 

 

I made my peace with being super thin but just make sure to close out the activity rings on my Apple Watch for my overall heart health etc because i think some of us skinny nerd types can believe incorrectly that we're healthy just because we're thin but that couldn't be further from the truth.  I would highly recommend getting a smart watch or other fitness device like that to remind you to get up and do a little bit here and there, you'll really feel the difference  

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

I have weights at home that I use.

I'm in the same boat

[Beef Boss]

I mean I'm always working on a project or outside, so I don't work out but I'm not a bum. Usually once a week I'll walk on trails and still. Like today I washed the fleet of mazdas. 

But sometimes I'll nap from 8pm to 2pm before I need to go to work. 

[captain_to_fire]

I’m glad that 24/7 gyms exists. 

[RafaelSoaresP]

Only weights that I lift are my fat tits 

[DumbAsshole32]

.

[RAS_3885]

Been trying to push myself to go mountain biking at least 3 times a week and so far it's been working well.  I've never been a fan of going to a formal gym, so I need something I find fun so I'll keep up with it.  Mountain biking has fit that bill perfectly so far!

[TheRevTastic]

My girlfriend and I go 4 times a week, more if we are bored

 

Our usual workout routine is

 

Monday - Leg day

Tuesday - Shoulders

Wednesday - Leg day

Thursday - Biceps, triceps, back and anything else we missed

 

On all days we also do 15 minutes of cardio (usually HIIT or walking on an high incline at a steady speed) and abs.

 

I've been attempting to cut my weight for the past 2 months or so by only eating one meal a day (usually under my amount of calories for maintenance). Haven't fully been able to lose my belly yet though but I am at 195 pounds. Was over 200 back in January.

 

Now though I'm trying to bulk though. So I eat a meal comprised of two chicken thighs, a cup of brown rice, and some green beans for lunch, then a bowl of pasta with alfredo sauce and one chicken breast for dinner. I am also about to start my supplements back up with creatine and protein powder.

[macminitosh]

Currently, I wouldn't consider myself fit. After my A-Levels last year, I started to plummet hard. I've always had that few extra kilos, but now i'ts way more than is comfortable. I went from fitting XL (L was a bit snug) to 3XL really quickly, simply because I'm lacking a clear schedule and I don't take the time to push myself to ride my bike or start out at the gym... I think the last one is rather out of fear and a lack of knowledge how to start out at the gym.

 

I did not think that life apart from home would be that stressful. Not that I'm particularly spoiled by my upbringing, just the mere fact that everything needs to be organized has me stressed out constantly. With that said, I'm trying to introduce change to my day-to-day, with a varying degree of success. Which leads me to my question (I'm not just here to complain about my lack of organization or self-discipline): Where did you guys learn about what exercises you have to/ would want to do in order to become "more fit"? Every piece of information online seems to contradict the one before it. Should I do cardio? Should I do bodyweight exercises? Should I hit the gym? Do I need a personal trainer or not? Is a diet alongside training beneficial or should one continue to eat "normally" (recommended calorie intake)? School really didn't prepare me for any of those questions (although we did basic training rules in PE, it was just not very good). As a rather anxious, introverted guy, I just cannot simply walk into a gym and make friends that would introduce me to a better routine. Which really sucks (hard).

[dizmo]

23 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I'm in the same boat

I find it's just way more comfortable that way. Though I'll admit the machines do a much better job. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

7 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I find it's just way more comfortable that way. Though I'll admit the machines do a much better job. 

I've got a weight bench and a squat rack in my basement, so I can get a pretty solid workout between those.

 

Combined with dumbbells, bars, and plates, I have absolutely no problems getting a full body workout down in my basement.

[Crunchy Dragon]

4 minutes ago, Schnoz said:

I have PE (aka hell) either 2 or 3 times per week depending on the schedule. I can deadlift around 180 pounds, but usually the teacher makes us lift a lighter weight repeatedly. My shoulders still hurt from yesterday.

If your shoulders hurt, you might be doing it wrong.

[TempestCatto]

My job has me lifting and moving all sorts of furniture, so that's kinda my work out. I did used to lift when I was younger; in fact my normal bench press was 130lbs. But after my severe depression kicked in, I got fat and lethargic. I did manage to lose all of that weight (and muscle) by not eating a lot no thanks to anxiety (and being very poor). Now I stress eat and am kinda fat again, but not near like I used to be. So uh, yeah. No fitness and health for me.

 

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[BuckGup]

I bike on average 250 miles a week and sometimes 500 miles if I do a 2 100s on the weekend

[captain_to_fire]

31 minutes ago, Schnoz said:

My shoulders still hurt from yesterday.

Probably DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

[jasonvp]

I've been weight lifting since age 16, or: for 30 years.  I geeked out a whole bunch of years ago and whipped up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my weight and reps for each exercise, so that I can track when I've plateaued and it's time to increase.  Historically it was a 3-day sort of rotation:

M - Chest/Back/Biceps

W - Shoulders/Tris

F - Legs

 

And of course, I always skipped leg day because: Friday.  Fuck it.  It's FRIDAY!

 

A few years ago, I redid the same spreadsheet to randomly pick one exercise from each group, for any given day.  And then: exercise every day.  Meaning every day is leg day.  But I'm only doing 3 random exercises each day.  That, combined with 20 minutes of cardio on my elliptical machine seems to be the right mix.  I get up every morning at 0450 and head downstairs to the gym.

 

Weight lifting first thing in the morning SUCKS more than anything can possibly suck in the world.  We're at our physical weakest point in the day in the morning, which means I'm lifting a LOT less than I could be if doing it later in the day.  But: I despise working out.  Hate, hate, HATE it.  I just appreciate the results.  So I do it begrudgingly in the morning and get it out of the way.

 

In my mid-30s I suffered through shoulder surgery due to my ignorance with lifting.  I was military pressing WAY too much weight, and doing so with improper form.  Years of doing that aggravated the superspinatus(sp?) tendon under the collar bone, and also: SLAP tear.  Yay me!  After that was all put back together, I vowed to never over-do it again, specially with my shoulders.  So the fact that I'm working out in the morning is a further benefit: I'm just not able to lift that kind of weight anymore.

[DumbAsshole32]

.

[TheRevTastic]

14 hours ago, macminitosh said:

Currently, I wouldn't consider myself fit. After my A-Levels last year, I started to plummet hard. I've always had that few extra kilos, but now i'ts way more than is comfortable. I went from fitting XL (L was a bit snug) to 3XL really quickly, simply because I'm lacking a clear schedule and I don't take the time to push myself to ride my bike or start out at the gym... I think the last one is rather out of fear and a lack of knowledge how to start out at the gym.

 

I did not think that life apart from home would be that stressful. Not that I'm particularly spoiled by my upbringing, just the mere fact that everything needs to be organized has me stressed out constantly. With that said, I'm trying to introduce change to my day-to-day, with a varying degree of success. Which leads me to my question (I'm not just here to complain about my lack of organization or self-discipline): Where did you guys learn about what exercises you have to/ would want to do in order to become "more fit"? Every piece of information online seems to contradict the one before it. Should I do cardio? Should I do bodyweight exercises? Should I hit the gym? Do I need a personal trainer or not? Is a diet alongside training beneficial or should one continue to eat "normally" (recommended calorie intake)? School really didn't prepare me for any of those questions (although we did basic training rules in PE, it was just not very good). As a rather anxious, introverted guy, I just cannot simply walk into a gym and make friends that would introduce me to a better routine. Which really sucks (hard).

So a personal trainer may actually be good for you. I had the issue at first when I first started going back to the gym (I did power lifting and sports in highschool then stopped caring from 18 to 25) and I had forgotten everything was had anxiety going into the gym (that's where my girlfriend came in and helped me, she's actually a personal trainer herself so I'm very fortunate).

 

From what I've read and even experienced myself I would suggest both weight training and cardio. In that order. Your body has two, I'll call them reservoirs, of energy it can use. The energy you get from the protein you eat during the day and then that of whats stored in your body in your fat cells. Now cardio will burn through most but not all of your protein intake if you do it first and it also doesn't use it as efficiently as weight training (protein is a huge factor in muscle growth). So by weight training first you use your protein to help fuel your body and grow your muscles and by the time you get to cardio your body is ready to use the other energy in your fat cells to burn through to keep you going during that.

 

 

Also yes your diet is a HUGE VERY HUGE factor. You can workout 7 days a week for hours on end but still see very little improvement. Your diet and what you eat is 70% of the solution. You can start tracking calories with an app on your phone that lets you scan the products barcode to get it's information. You also need to stay away from huge amounts of sodium and fats. I only cheat on my meals Friday nights and Saturday all day. Every other day is healthy and meal prepped for the week.

 

13 hours ago, Schnoz said:

I have PE (aka hell) either 2 or 3 times per week depending on the schedule. I can deadlift around 180 pounds, but usually the teacher makes us lift a lighter weight repeatedly. My shoulders still hurt from yesterday.

Your teach is smart and right when he/she makes you do that. Being able to do one amount of weight at one rep isn't going to help. Now doing a lighter amount for a huge amount of reps is what will.

 

For your muscles to grow you need to tear them apart which is what weight training does and then allow them to recover and repair themselves. And repeated actions will help greatly with that.

 

For toning your body and defining your muscles you always want to do lower weights for high amount of reps (for instance on shoulders I do shoulder press, lateral raises, side raises at 4 sets x 12 reps at 20 pounds).

 

For growing muscles you want to go from lower weight with high reps to higher weight with low reps (example shoulder press: 12 reps at 20 pounds, 10 at 25, 8 at 27.5, 6 at 30) and when you start getting stronger you keep raising the weight for each set.

 

Now your shoulders hurting from deadlifting shouldn't be happening and could be due to form. Deadlifts are for your legs and glutes. That's what you should be using to lift the weight, nothing else. Your hands and arms are there only for you to hold the weight to lift it. Depending on how many reps though your arms/shoulders can be tired from holding onto the weight for so long.

[thrasher_565]

On 9/11/2019 at 7:33 PM, Newenthusiast said:

I'm one of those naturally super thin people that never gain weight and it always bugged me when people commented on it, eventually i decided to hit the gym to do some weights, took nearly two years and a shitload of pain+protein loading but i got up to a somewhat still slim but slightly built shape, certainly way beyond the point there people would think i was too thin or whatever.  Maybe a year after i hit my happy (visually) weight i came to the realization that i was always sore, i fucking hated the gym still and i no longer cared what anyone thought of my size so i stopped going and immediately lost what i gained lol 

 

I made my peace with being super thin but just make sure to close out the activity rings on my Apple Watch for my overall heart health etc because i think some of us skinny nerd types can believe incorrectly that we're healthy just because we're thin but that couldn't be further from the truth.  I would highly recommend getting a smart watch or other fitness device like that to remind you to get up and do a little bit here and there, you'll really feel the difference  

ya you don't loses the strength. or at least when you do go back to lifting you get up there faster.

[thrasher_565]

On 9/12/2019 at 8:05 PM, Caroline said:

I don't lift a lot since I'm a ballerina but I do train on a daily basis and have to run with extra weights at least twice a week. Despite common belief ballerinas and most dancers don't starve by making low calorie diets, I need up to 4000 kcal/day and almost twice when I run, yet I'm thin, mainly because I practice and teach moves all day. 

 

Always end up sore but my first instructors taught me how to endure pain, and now it's my turn to teach the same to others, not gonna lie, dancing can be a very masochistic activity.

ya dancing is hell. you might not think it but it will get you ripped. same with gymnastics gets you more ripped then lifting wights. 

[Andreas Lilja]

On 9/12/2019 at 7:11 AM, captain_to_fire said:

I’m glad that 24/7 gyms exists. 

Should be a law.

 

My old gym closed at 5 PM on the weekends... people finally had time to train but it was closed.