thread of getting sw0le

i need to work on that

you mean getting your DL up? cause i am thinkin that 4 myself

no my squat

i have to say i'm so happy w my gym now. it's a decrepit stinky place with no windows, no machines and virtually no clientele. :D

what? no fanny pack, goat man, small israeli gym selfie guy, unqualified personal trainer dreads guy? how?

its main business is a pool where they do "aquabike" - stationary bikes underwater in a pool. there some other group classes upstairs in a big room. the weightroom is attached to that. a lot of the plates are like ancient red-painted metal plates that go CLANK when you load up the bar. there's a couple of crossfitty dudes in there sometimes. heaving bags around. one of them even had the nerve to be using the squat rack when i wanted it. he's probably gone there for five years, i've brand-new but it didn't matter, i was simmering inside. there's an Old BodyBuilder dude, the guy's a bear. he uses a couple of very old cable pulldown machines exclusively. who else. nobody of note really. so far. there's a "pro" who hands around at lunchtime for an hour or so. he once gave me unsolicited advice on my squat form which i - astonishingly - appreciated and thanked him for. i have since come to the conclusion that he is mainly wrong, of course. but he was cool about it, and it did at least make me get my chest up a little more, think more vertically, which i should always be doing anyway.

i was having a nice time at the gym. it was pretty empty because it snowed today. i had one more thing to do and then fanny pack appears, doing that stupid thing where you put a weight bar or other straight item on your back and twist like a maniac. WHY? i promptly left before he could ask me hey! how's it goin'?!

lololol.

what is the ilxsw0le GYM BAG GAME like? mine is all busted. considering the opportunity to level up

mine is a 40yo duffel I nicked from my parents basement a while back and needs replacing -- the laminate living the inside is flaking off

*lining

mine is literally a child's backpack with one large pocket.

i need a bag. thinking about bringing some accoutrements to the gym. i have been doing a lot more reps of everything and now i can squat 3x12 with little rest for what i used to have a hard time doing 3x5 with lots of rest. prob because i also leg press now and do butt stuff. i'm trying to fix my spindly giraffe legs.

Sup everybody, really fell off for a couple months but back on my lifting game again and my lifts are getting back up to where they were. Feels good.

nice.

i like this thing but it's out of stock. also looks like it's potentially made by assholes. http://www.goruck.com/38l-gym-bag-black-/p/GEAR-000354

also this, but potentially made by children: https://www.amazon.com/Nike-Sport-Gym-Laptop-Backpack/dp/B01E5JY9DU

or this, but not sure how well it actually works: https://www.aersf.com/duffel-pack/

QUESTION 1: This is my current routine, as outlined at http://oldschooltrainer.com/3-day-push-pull-legs . Is this enough or should I be doing more?

DAY ONE – PULL
Deadlifts (conventional, sumo, snatch-grip,trap bar) – 5 sets x 5 reps
Rows (barbell, dumbbell, machine or t-bar) – 5 sets x 5 reps
Weighted Pull-Ups or Chins – 5 sets x 5 reps

DAY TWO – PUSH
Flat, Incline, Dumbbell, or Machine Bench Press – 5 sets x5 reps
Military, Dumbbell or Machine Shoulder Press – 5 sets x 5 reps
Dips or Close-Grip Bench – 5 sets x 5 reps

DAY THREE – LEGS
Back or Front Squats or Leg Press – 4 sets x 6 – 10 reps
Lunges, Split Squat, or Step-Ups – 4 sets x 6 – 10 reps
Calf Raises – 3 sets x 6 – 10 reps

QUESTION 2: My shit got stolen and I need new shoes. I'm doing mostly these types of weight exercises, but will maybe do like 10-20 min on the treadmill every few weeks. The New Balance Minimus' look good but the idea of spending $90 on gym shoes is terrifying (even though I can afford it). Should I just get Chucks? Can someone convince me that it's good and proper to spend $90 on good shoes?

also my feet are wiiide so chucks are not comf

i've heard that feiyue shoes offer a similar minimalist sole with a wider toebox. the knockoffs can be had for like 20 dollars so might be worth a shot

that looks like a good routine stevie!

ya it's v like multi-muscley but when i get to the gym and leave 30 min later after only 3 exercises i'm like "is that really it???"

if you start pushing yourself to the max weight you can do on those you'll find you need a couple minutes rest between sets. all those minutes will add up. also i'd HIGHLY recommend stretching afterwards.

ya i don't stretch nearly enough. I've been pushing pretty hard and waiting like 2-3 minutes between sets, so that's good i guess!

in that case i think you are officially going to get sw0led up. stretch though!!

ok so real talk, i'm not sw0ling bcz my calorie intake is not v high, and my calorie intake is not v high bcz i've been worried this isn't enough exercise and the calories wd just make me fat instead of muscle

so if I start consuming like 4000-6000 a day and all the proper protein while doing these 3 exercises 5x5 3x a week, i will gain the muscle???

also omg it is HARD to eat that much

how much do you eat now?

honestly i have no idea

prob figure that out and eat somewhat more, see how it goes

stevie

good on you for being so motivated! congrats!

a few things: if you're not getting any muscle mass it might be because you're not lifting heavy enough and/or have a poor diet

another thing, which i think might be the case with you, is that you shouldn't only do fast reps

my apologies if i'm assuming incorrectly, but it sounds like you are lifting light and doing fast reps because you say you're feeling like "is this it?" after a session

once your heart rate goes past i believe it is ~75, you start accessing fat and start burning that off. doing faster reps allows this to happen (there was a study done on this on runners and HIIT exercises -- i can look for it if you want)

fast reps should only be done with weights you feel comfortable lifting obviously

stimulating muscle growth requires damaging muscle fiber, because this allows it to regenerate cellular tissues that become thicker. so lifting heavier with fewer reps and, this is important, slow is key to getting bigger muscles

the thing about this process is a lot of people believe muscle will grow bigger if you eat "more." this actually is not the case and muscle takes a long time to get bigger and bigger. so when you're overeating and your body uses the protein to recover from muscle damage, there is extra energy that your body is not using. there is a scientific breakdown that involves the liver, pancreas, etc that measures sugar in your blood stream and all that goodness that you can read up on your own. but basically unused energy needs to go somewhere, and that turns into fat. this collection of fat is what happens to a lot of people who bulk, because they are overeating

getting that nice balance of fat/carbs/protein is the trickiest part because it varies from body to body, and it is not something another person can tell you exactly. you just have to adjust your diet as you go and it depends a lot on your lifestyle (sleeping hours, metabolism, current weight, genetics, etc.)

good luck!

yeah. you can and should (if you want) make three exercises be hard enough and take a long time. not only because it's heavy but also being really deliberate about form makes a huge difference. this is why the gym helps me be less of an anxious psycho because i get to spend time focusing on something. i'm on my more reps more exercises thing for 6 more weeks after this but i wanna do your thing now.

ah this is so helpful!! I say "is this it??" bcz my last several routines were like 5-6 exercises a day, 3 sets of 10 reps. I try to lift heavy but i could probably be going a little harder tbh. but yeah, these exercises were picked bcz they hit several diff muscles apparently so it's not like you're JUST doing one specific muscle at a time

your program looks good to me stevie! by that i mean, it looks like a lot of other simple/classic setups that i've seen. i suppose the only criticism (from an amateur, mind you) is that if you start pushing against your maximums on those lifts, to mix-n-match so that you've got a push-pull-leg breakdown on each of the 3 days, so you don't end up frying one area totally on a given day? but there are also 3- and 4-day splits out there that do one lift + some similar accessory lifts, so what do i know. just keep going until you get stuck, i guess.

re: diet. i've been using the "myfitnesspal" nutrition tracking app (mostly because it's part of the creepshow gamification scheme of my health plan). it is fiddly and irritating, honestly, and you have to get ok at estimating the weight and volume of things in both metric and imperial units, but ngl it is helpful! mostly for showing me when i've undereaten and ought to throw in another snack.

i don't know how powerlifters do it, honestly. i tried pushing things up to 3k from like 2700 and started having some p bad gastric distress. i've been eating a lot of cottage cheese. i should look into what japanese bodybuilders eat or something. bulking on a barbaric diet is strictly for teenagers, gotta be.

i've been eating a lot of cottage cheese

https://d3j0sq6zklqdqq.cloudfront.net/photos/2015/11/11/53-30533-nixon-richard-cottage-cheese-ketchup-article-1447204530.jpg

lol that third paragraph is such an odd kind of lie

squat 3x5 @120kg today.

i still have literally not "gained" a single pound of weight since i started all this, starting to think "gains" are a myth tbh

lower the weight a bit, increase reps

i'm in danger of putting myself off squats. I really want to be able to do them properly, and if I feel like I'm not then I get put off. Also my gym is so busy that the barbells and the area they're in are really busy and I feel weirdly intimidated trying to do these things while having enough space around me to 'correct' my form in the mirror without people walking around me or feeling like they're looking at me struggle with just a light weight.
Might just go back to goblet squats and see if that helps, but honestly I swear I'm not built to be able to do these.

THAT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE

xpost. my official advice is to "get over it".

everybody has their own path, no one is judging u, and if they are then fuck em i mean come on

way 2 go tracer!

i just try to live one day at a time, stay humble, namaste

last weekend i had horrible gym times. was really struggling with brain fog, not feeling like i was there, super tired and stuff. today was THE BEST. was kinda doing whatever i wanted. squatted with only minimal hip pain. my butt is a lot stronger than it used to be, which is helping. fanny pack was absent. i did see a guy doing bench dips with his feet on a swiss ball. the bouncing of the ball made him have like 3" of range of motion. it was kind of sad. i'm going to a work conference tomorrow on the assawoman bay so i can't gym until wednesday.

i'm going to bring some bands and my new slingshot hip circle with me so i can have a hotel room workout, if i don't go running

explain these devices to an unfrozen caveman plz

Late to Stevie but DO NOT JUST GET CHUCKS the lack of arch support can be a killer

Signed, a guy who had plantar fasciitis at thirty, now has orthopedic inserts and runs an occasional 10k now

ya don't worry i got these great new balances!

Chucks are what you want for weightlifting. A solid base and no cushion is good for free weight movements.

I lift in chucks.

I just bought a giant bag of whey powder at costco btw, taking the next step into swoleness. Also posted a pic to fb today and someone said I looked "swole"

i get that at costco, but they only have vanilla and chocolate and i get so tired of it and it's gross with water. so i have a tub of strawberry since tropical punch was apparently discontinued? optimum nutrition. you should NOT mix strawberry with milk. it contains citric acid. i found out the hard way.