Joined the gym - updated with a couple of pics

Shorty

I have a local gym near me, so have joined it tonight. It's 5 minutes from my house and so I am going to there before work :)

Any tips on how to start off simple? :)

Ivan

GHoosdum

What are your goals?

Shorty

Tone up my tummy and general body.. and improve my general fitness :)

CB

Join the aerobics class to start.

Shorty

Was in there at 6.30am this morning. Did 15 minutes on the crosstrainer and 10 minutes on the running machine. Very tough and reminded me it's been a while since I have probably exercised in that kind of fashion (I do walk a lot and I am an active person).

Got my first person trainer appointment on Monday night to walk through my goals and help build a plan :)

6.30am tomorrow morning, here we go :)

Shorty

Update (for anyone who cares) :)

Have a daily exercise routine for the gym. Mon, Wed, Fri is Cardio, resistance. Tues and Thurs is weights. I am also doing Krav Maga self defence on a Tuesday night.

A litte over 3 weeks and I can feel a mainly mental benefit. Feel a lot more energetic and alert. Also considerably calmer.

GHoosdum

Definitely a good thing to hear!

Shorty

I know it's a slow process and I won't see instant progress but I have also changed my diet too. Dropped off the bacon sandwiches for breakfast and that's definitely helping!

Clutch

Keep at it man. It's not an overnight thing but if you put in the time and effort then it will pay off.

UPSLynx

Shorty said:

A litte over 3 weeks and I can feel a mainly mental benefit. Feel a lot more energetic and alert. Also considerably calmer.

I've been running/working our for almost a year now (running's dropped off with the cool weather, I don't have a gym or treadmill to run in) and that's one of the best benefits. Other than the eventual body progression, the extra energy and boost to mood is astounding. Keep at it, it's very worth it.

Shorty

A few more months down the line now. Making a more noticable difference. I have muscles developed in places that I didn't know I could get them and now clothes I bought last year are too big for me ;D

Feeling a whole stack healthier. Diet has totally changed, no more running out of breath and just generally got a lot more drive & enthuiasm. Still going pretty much every day and time to start setting some new goals!

GHoosdum

Awesome progress, Dan! Keep it up, and I lol'd when I read your clothes were too big! ;)

Shorty

I intend to! I had a "refocus" session with a trainer today. I have not hit a brick wall because I have increased my cardio routine and upped the weights as they started to get too easy. But it was useful to get a fresh perspective. I am off machines and onto free weights now. Definitely going to be a whole new challenge there as well as a tougher rowing routine.

I am serious, I saw some snaps of me from my works xmas party last year, I looked terrible and those snaps of me at the last LAN, same again. Never want to look like that again!!!

Shorty

Nearly a month since my last update and definitely getting into free weights well :)

Can now do 4 pullups with no supporting weight (just lifting my body weight) and the same in dips
22LB per arm bicep curls
66LB bench press
26LB per arm shoulder press
44LB squats
55LB leg extension

I know thats not huge weights but I am only 5ft 2 and have never lifted weights before. I have always been scrawny so have some serious work to do! I am still doing 20-30 minutes cardio per session (10 minute warmup plus another 10-20 post weights), so fat is coming off. I also have a set of body core exercises as well which alternate on days to allow muscle sets to rebuild and allow me to go to the gym 6 days a week :)

GHoosdum

Your progress is great. Don't ever be ashamed of the amount you can lift. You're working and improving and that's the key. Pretty soon you'll be lifting more than sedentary guys twice your size.

Nomad

Try to get your squat up more, it should begin to increase over your bench and then go far beyond it. Being that you're shorter, you're at a mechanical advantage in your squats.

Shorty

Nomad said:

Try to get your squat up more, it should begin to increase over your bench and then go far beyond it. Being that you're shorter, you're at a mechanical advantage in your squats.

My trainer commented on that as well so I am assuming that's an important goal to reach?

GHoosdum said:

Your progress is great. Don't ever be ashamed of the amount you can lift. You're working and improving and that's the key. Pretty soon you'll be lifting more than sedentary guys twice your size.

I am not ashamed at all. I am only short after all and have never lifted before. I consider my progress to be pretty good. It will come in good time :)

Nomad

Shorty said:

My trainer commented on that as well so I am assuming that's an important goal to reach?

I would say it's a good goal, balanced fitness is important. Your legs are stronger than your upper body, they always will be, you just need to think about utilizing them in a different way.

Consider some mental imagery next time you go for squats, think about trying to push through the floor with your feet, or driving with your heels. Also, don't keep the bar so high that it's right where you neck meets your shoulders, have it slightly lower on your traps and shoulders. It might take a few times to get adjusted to.

Other simple positioning can help too. Try keeping your feet a bit wider than shoulder width apart--which is wider than you might think. Toes pointed slightly outward. Make sure your knees are pointing out when you're coming up on the lift. Knees have a tendency to go inward and that doesn't help.

Bubbleman

I lost 60 pounds on my bow flex with some good cardio on the side in 4 months, now for some body building!

Yeah I summarized a essay into a sentence, but if you want the bigger scoop you can PM me...

Shorty

I haven't updated in a while, so I will post my update later on, I am on a 3 day split + 1 day rest and made some great progress. Still hitting the gym almost everyday and working hard :)

Clutch

Awesome! Good to hear you are still sticking it out, I love going to the Gym, and after a good workout, I feel so good.

Shorty

Day 1:

Deadlift - 90lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Incline Bench Press - 90lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Back Squat - 90lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Decline Dumbell - 90lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
Dips - body weight (121lbs) - 4 sets x 10 reps

Day 2:

Neutral chinups - body weight (121lbs) - 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbell push press - 35lbs (each DB) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Neutral pull downs - 98lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Side Raise - 14lbs (each DB) - 4 sets of 8 reps
Single arm row - 40lbs - 4 sets of 8 reps
Plate front raise - 22lbs - 4 sets of 8 reps

Day 3:

EZ scott curl - 26lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
EZ reverse curl - 11lbs - 5 sets of 8 reps
Flies (cable) - 5lbs (per cable) - 4 sets of 10 reps
EZ french press (decline) - 34lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
Close neutral press - 5 sets of 6 reps
Pullups - body weight (121lbs) - 4 sets of 8-10 reps

Day 4:

Rev crunch - 4 x 10
Medicine ball situps - 4 x 10
Woodchop - 78lbs
Plank - 2 x 60 seconds

... I also do between 3 to 4 sets of 15 pressups in the morning or evening (depending on which part of the day I attend the gym). None of these days actually include the 10-15 minute cardio warmup or the post workout cardio. I also drum on average 12-15 hours a week in band practice/gigs.

I also rest after day 4 for a day (or two depending on how I am feeling and life stuff) :)

How is it?? Bloody hard work!!!

Shorty

Things are progressing well. I can now squat, deadlift, pulldown, pullup, chinup and dip my own body weight over 4/5 sets of a minimum of 5 reps :D

Day 1:

Deadlift - 120lbs (my body weight!) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Incline Bench Press - 95lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Back Squat - 120lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Decline Dumbell press - 90lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
Dips - body weight (120lbs) - 4 sets x 10 reps

Deadlift, squat have gone up massively. Small improvement in chest exercises, need to focus on those as they have no moved so quick. Will add weight belt for dips from next week.

Day 2:

Neutral chinups - body weight (120lbs) - 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbell push press - 40lbs (each DB) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Neutral pull downs - 120lbs - 5 sets of 6 reps
Side Raise - 18lbs (each DB) - 4 sets of 8 reps
Single arm row - 48lbs - 4 sets of 8 reps
Plate front raise - 33lbs - 4 sets of 8 reps

Chinups are still horribly tough! Neutral pulldowns are now body weight. Everything else continues to go up nicely.

Day 3:

EZ scott curl - 50lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
EZ reverse curl - 24lbs - 5 sets of 8 reps
Flies (cable) - 16lbs (per cable) - 4 sets of 10 reps
EZ french press (decline) - 38lbs - 4 sets of 6 reps
Close neutral press -40lbs (each DB) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Pullups - body weight (120lbs) - 4 sets of 5 reps

Massive increases in biceps and triceps in general. Last sets of pulls are still very tough.

Day 4:

Rev crunch - 4 x 10
Medicine ball situps - 4 x 10
Woodchop - 77lbs
Plank - 2 x 60 seconds

CrazyJoe

Shorty said:

Things are progressing well. I can now squat, deadlift, pulldown, pullup, chinup and dip my own body weight over 4/5 sets of a minimum of 5 reps :D

That's what, like 75 lbs? ;D Just messing with ya Shorty, congrats!!:rockon:

Shorty

Yesterday - Day 1:

Deadlift - 130lbs (+10lbs) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Incline Bench Press - 95lbs - 5 sets (+1 set) of 5 reps
Back Squat - 130lbs (+10lbs) - 5 sets of 6 reps
Decline Dumbell press - 90lbs - 5 sets (+1 set) of 6 reps
Dips - body weight (120lbs) - 5 sets (+1 set) x 10 reps

Deadlifts and squats are up again, now past body weight (RESULT!).

Haven't increased chest weights yet, just gone to another set to 5 sets (which is really hard at the end of the decline sets). Weight up on Friday for those. Time to add weight to the dips :)

Shorty

Refresh time :)

Time to move all the weights up. My trainer is dropping to 3 x 5 sets but going to start really packing on the weights. First run through will my day 3 routine tonight :)