Essential Random Gym Thoughts Revisited...

[HHR]

1. Do yall take protein shakes on non-workout days? And if so, how much?

2. I'm tryna get bigger but I do have some gut. That gon naturally become muscle as I workout, or I gotta do something about that? Currently after every workout I do 2 sets of 25 reps of situps with a medicine ball

1. If I need one to hit my target daily protein intake, sure. If not, then no. Basically, find a target diet for your macros (protein, fat, carbs) and work from there.

2. Fat won't turn to muscle. But you will lose fat and add muscle. Situps don't do a damn thing for your gut. Just need to lose fat in general.

 

[ThiefyPoo]

I just had a triple burger from 5 guys

I'm good right no fries and drank just water


Followed by a nice protein shake .

Didn't really eat today but I know that burger still took me over calories

 

[Point Blank]

I just had a triple burger from 5 guys

I'm good right no fries and drank just water


Followed by a nice protein shake .

Didn't really eat today but I know that burger still took me over calories

Sounds like a good cheat day to me.

 

[Adam3000]

I made a thread about it but barely anyone checks it, figure I'd post it here. It's my 2nd week back in 4-4.5 years. Was gonna originally do the Jim Stoppani Shortcut to size workout but went on bodybuilding forums and everyone who is a beginner is following the plan below. For years people have been doing it.


Workout Programs



Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated.

1. Do yall take protein shakes on non-workout days? And if so, how much?

2. I'm tryna get bigger but I do have some gut. That gon naturally become muscle as I workout, or I gotta do something about that? Currently after every workout I do 2 sets of 25 reps of situps with a medicine ball

You need to do some cardio breh, hate to break it to you. Them situps are a waste of time in comparison to an equal amount of time spent doing interval training or burpees. Lose overall fat and you will lose your gut, there is no exercise that is a shortcut to abs.

I don't like the routine that is posted for a variety of reasons, but its tough to give you advice when you don't state your goals and you don't state important info like how many days per week you can make it to the gym

 

[AquaCityBoy]

They playing Christmas music in the gym

 

[DonKnock]

The power went out in my gym and the hippie manager came and said we had to leave cause it was a safety hazard


There are big ass windows everywhere tho

 

[He Who Posts Well]

The power went out in my gym and the hippie manager came and said we had to leave cause it was a safety hazard


There are big ass windows everywhere tho

I remember when I worked at a cell phone dealer. The power would go 'out' whenever it was close to closing and the lobby was full.

 

[puppetmaster]

Wore this shirt

With the sleeves cut off to the gym today, wish I coulda recorded some of the reactions

 

[Wise]

You need to do some cardio breh, hate to break it to you. Them situps are a waste of time in comparison to an equal amount of time spent doing interval training or burpees. Lose overall fat and you will lose your gut, there is no exercise that is a shortcut to abs.

I don't like the routine that is posted for a variety of reasons, but its tough to give you advice when you don't state your goals and you don't state important info like how many days per week you can make it to the gym

The program says to go three times a week. I could go almost everyday if necessary, but that's what it has for the beginner plan.

The routine says to do cardio twice a week for 30 mins each. I'll be honest, I thought this was optional so I overlooked it but I'm a start this tomorrow.

I'm 5'9 180. I'm tryna bulk up and have some cut... I'd be more than happy with this for now

 

[AquaCityBoy]

Sidenote, Vegan Gains got that Kofi Kingston chest.

 

[DonKnock]

The program says to go three times a week. I could go almost everyday if necessary, but that's what it has for the beginner plan.

The routine says to do cardio twice a week for 30 mins each. I'll be honest, I thought this was optional so I overlooked it but I'm a start this tomorrow.

I'm 5'9 180. I'm tryna bulk up and have some cut... I'd be more than happy with this for now

Drake had lipo

 

[Adam3000]

The program says to go three times a week. I could go almost everyday if necessary, but that's what it has for the beginner plan.

The routine says to do cardio twice a week for 30 mins each. I'll be honest, I thought this was optional so I overlooked it but I'm a start this tomorrow.

I'm 5'9 180. I'm tryna bulk up and have some cut... I'd be more than happy with this for now

**Long post alert**

• Since you need to lose fat, and probably a lot of it (likely 20-25 lbs of pure fat), there is no reason you should only be going to the gym 3 days per week. The more calories you can burn, the better. Anyone that tells you differently is likely focusing on details that don't matter at your stage. Right now, your goals should be to do nothing more than build a solid strength base and burn fat. This means a combination of compound weight movements and cardio if you want to maximize your gains (by gains I mean both gains in muscle and losses in fat). GAINZ

• The program you linked does list mostly compound movements which is good, but I don't think it is the most efficient routine you could be doing to maximize your gains

• NONE of what I'm about to tell you matters at all if you can't get your eating in check. The fact that you asked about whether you should be taking protein shakes tells me your knowledge of nutrition is minimal (that aint a diss, thats just a wake up call for you to do research). You need to research what a calorie is and the science of how calories relate to weight gain and weight loss. You should absolutely NOT be taking protein shakes if you are in a calorie surplus on a daily basis. It will do nothing but contribute to fat gain. However, if you are in a calorie deficit and struggling to eat 120 grams of protein per day, then yes perhaps you should consider taking protein shakes.

• You can do any exercise program and lose fat as long as you are in a calorie deficit. There are certainly ways to maximize your gains, but don't forget what is most important.

• The type of exercise you do is less important than the concept of Progressive Overload. This concept is key to success. You should always be trying to improve on your previous workout. If you can do 5 pull ups one day, shoot for 6 pull ups the next workout. Then for 7. Once you are able to 10, start to think about strapping extra weight around yourself. Once you can do 8 reps with 10 lbs around your waist, shoot for 8 reps with 12.5 lbs around your waist next time. The exercise itself is not as important as this simple concept

• This is why your situps you are doing are a waste of time. There is no Progressive Overload. You are just doing the same shyt every workout. Spinning your wheels in place. I personally think ab exercises are garbage, but if you feel like you want to do them then consider something like planks. Hold a plank for 30 seconds. The next time you workout, put a 5 lb weight plate on your back and hold the plank for 30 seconds. If you succeed, next time do it with a 10 lb weight plate. The overload concept works no matter what the exercise. Can't decide between dumbbell curls or chin ups to build your biceps? It doesn't matter as long as you overload. Don't sweat the details.

Now, onto your routine and why I don't like it personally. What I'm saying below is purely my opinion, but it is an informed opinion.

• The changes between heavy, medium, and light days are confusing for a noob. Its stupid, and its difficult to track your progress and difficult to focus on Progressive Overload. I think its OK to have 2 days, one where you focus on heavy loads at 5-8 reps and one where you focus on light loads at 10-15 reps, but adding in a third range unnecessarily complicated for a beginner.

• Full body weight workouts are great, but I prefer splitting day between upper body and lower body. Lower body exercises are very taxing on your body and will zap your strength and endurance quickly. Maximizing your upper body workout is tough when you are exhausted from squats and deadlifts. For a beginner I think I like 2 upper body sessions, 2 lower body sessions, and 1 or 2 cardio sessions per week if you can make it to the gym 5 or 6 days.

• Bench pressing is one of the best exercises--but for an inexperienced lifter, the barbell bench press may not be the best choice unless you have a workout partner. The fear of failure and getting trapped under the bar is legit, and thus you will not push yourself to your maximum potential. Dumbbell bench press helps with this because you can just drop the dumbbells. Alternatively, doing forward leaning dips is also a solution. Dips work damn near every muscle in your upper body, and I am a huge advocate of any exercise where you move your body through open space (like dips and pull ups).

• The FAQ section of this routine specifically says not to increase the weight you use during your first 5 weeks. This is ridiculous. As a beginner, your strength will increase rapidly. You need continue to push your muscles harder and harder, and Progressive Overload is the key to this. Progressive Overload Progressive Overload Progressive Overload Progressive Overload.

 

[semtex]

noticing new definition in my legs which is ironic since I haven't been able to do heavy deads or squats. Been doing hundreds of bodyweight squats for my morning cardio though (250 in 30 minutes)

 

[ThiefyPoo]

Sidenote, Vegan Gains got that Kofi Kingston chest.

Dude looks like a fakkit why is he so sensitive over Simone ?

Drake had lipo

His body is weird breh

 

[BobbyBooshay]

Both. I have a galaxy phone and an iPad

Google sheets lol

Tracking lifts def the way to go, I used to not bother but recently changed my way of thinking and training and tracking is def a must - how you gonna know if your getting stronger if you aint tracking. I used to just keep banging out 100k bench every week and then wondering why my chest isnt growing lol