Im only doing one set...

[PeterScott]

Unless you were part of that study, I'd be more inclined to agree with those that have actually done and help those that said they can't do, than a study that may or may not have a single thing to do with me.

So is that a no on the Dr. or trainer?

To each his own.

I'll believe the science.

You can believe the Broscience:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Broscience

 

[SNC]

To each his own.

I'll believe the science.

You can believe the Broscience:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Broscience

And you wonder why you have no gains. If you lived closer I would wager you a cool grand that if you followed me you would gain more than 5 pounds of muscle in less than a month.

 

[purbeast0]

Once I realized I was lifting wrong (which included over training and not eating enough) after 3-4 years, I put on 20lbs over one winter. I was always skinny/athletic build growing up but never lifted weights and I was about 160lbs when I graduated college. I remember the first time I ever did flat bench when I was like 150lbs I couldn't even do 95lbs more than 3-4 times.

I went from 160lbs to 180lbs. It wasn't all muscle but a lot of it was, at least half I'd guess. One of the guys at my gym thought I was on steroids as he told me that once I got to know him afterwards. I am now lingering around 200lbs but have been as big as 218lbs at my strongest. I plan to stay around 200lbs though at this point in my life and have changed up my routine to do more reps at lower weights, and it's putting noticeably less stress on my body. I'm a lot less achy ever since I've changed it up a bit.

I'm glad I know how to learn from my mistakes!

 

[snoopy7548]

Once I realized I was lifting wrong (which included over training and not eating enough) after 3-4 years, I put on 20lbs over one winter. I was always skinny/athletic build growing up but never lifted weights and I was about 160lbs when I graduated college. I remember the first time I ever did flat bench when I was like 150lbs I couldn't even do 95lbs more than 3-4 times.

I went from 160lbs to 180lbs. It wasn't all muscle but a lot of it was, at least half I'd guess. One of the guys at my gym thought I was on steroids as he told me that once I got to know him afterwards. I am now lingering around 200lbs but have been as big as 218lbs at my strongest. I plan to stay around 200lbs though at this point in my life and have changed up my routine to do more reps at lower weights, and it's putting noticeably less stress on my body. I'm a lot less achy ever since I've changed it up a bit.

I'm glad I know how to learn from my mistakes!

What were your mistakes and what did you do to correct them? I feel like I'm in the same boat as you used to be - weight has been ~145-150lbs. for the past 10+ years even though I've been regularly going to the gym and doing lifting (dumbbells only - work gym kinda sucks)/cardio for the past 5-6 years. Slim/athletic build. I've noticed an increase in muscle mass and definition, but no weight gain. I maintain a healthy diet, but I could probably be eating more food and fats (although I always eat until I'm full at lunch and dinner), and I don't take supplements. It's not like I want to get huge, but at this point I just go to the gym because it's a stress reliever and it makes me feel good.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Hey all,

I've been following what I said and it's been great. Now, I'm not just going into the gym with the intention of doing just one pushup or sit-up. I looked over my workout schedule and re-tweaked it to fit my goal of 10-15 minutes per day in the gym. That meant that I had to get to the core. So, instead of doing 4 sets of 21, 12, 5, 12 of bench presses, I did 1 set of 12. Again, the goal is to make going to the gym a habit that I'll actually stick with. IMO, the reason many people give up on their health goals is because they go too big. It's very difficult to hit the gym 4-6 days a week, 1 hour a day if you haven't worked out in years.

You guys might disagree with my approach. I'm not trying to cheat the system or be lazy. I know working out is work. It can be taxing at times. It's hard work. But, you have to lay the foundation down first, and IMO that would be to make a consistent effort to just go to the gym.

I also think it's important to keep an open mind and to just try different things. I was missing days at the gym. I could either continue to do what I was doing and get the same results, or I could find another avenue and solve the issue. I thought the mini habit strategy was a different take on developing the positive habit of going to the gym consistently.

Anyway, I started off by just doing one set with a total of 12 reps. I didn't just do one rep/set. With a 3 minute warmup I was out of the gym in 12 minutes. I actually did this straight with no missed days. I'm going into my 3rd week and I'm going to continue with what I'm doing. I'll add in a 2nd set soon, and I'll add a few more minutes on the elliptical machine. My end goal is 6 days a week at 1-1.25 hours per session. Everyday. Few days missed. They say it takes 66 days to form a habit. I'm going to do this for 90 days so it can set in.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[purbeast0]

What were your mistakes and what did you do to correct them? I feel like I'm in the same boat as you used to be - weight has been ~145-150lbs. for the past 10+ years even though I've been regularly going to the gym and doing lifting (dumbbells only - work gym kinda sucks)/cardio for the past 5-6 years. Slim/athletic build. I've noticed an increase in muscle mass and definition, but no weight gain. I maintain a healthy diet, but I could probably be eating more food and fats (although I always eat until I'm full at lunch and dinner), and I don't take supplements. It's not like I want to get huge, but at this point I just go to the gym because it's a stress reliever and it makes me feel good.

I was simply over training and not eating enough. Oh and I wasn't doing 2 of the most important exercises - deadlifts and squats. There really wasn't much more to it than that.

I used to do each muscle group 2x a week, and I didn't do legs. I would go to the gym every day except Saturday. I'd also run like a mile or 3 every day. I would say "I was eating everything" but when I actually TRIED to eat more and gain weight, i realized I wasn't eating enough. I started taking more protein too. I started using different creatines as well, but I think that was later on not when I first "tried" to gain weight.

I changed my routine from doing each muscle group 2x a week to doing each muscle group 1x a week. Instead of going every day other than Saturday, I started doing M,T,T,F and I cut out a lot of cardio. That, combined with eating more food and adding in legs and deadlifts, I instantly started seeing much more gains.

I still remember the first time I benched 185lbs 1x. Then I remember benching 225lbs 1x. Then I remember benching 225lbs 8x. Then I remember benching 275lbs 1x, then finally being able to get 315lbs 1x. At my peak I was doing 315lbs 2x but where I'm at now, I'd be lucky if I could even bench 275lbs 1x. But I'm fine with that since my goals now aren't to be huge.

But my point about that is, when I was not even able to bench 95lbs more than 4 times, benching 315lbs wasn't even a remote possibility in my eyes.

 

[snoopy7548]

I was simply over training and not eating enough. Oh and I wasn't doing 2 of the most important exercises - deadlifts and squats. There really wasn't much more to it than that.

I used to do each muscle group 2x a week, and I didn't do legs. I would go to the gym every day except Saturday. I'd also run like a mile or 3 every day. I would say "I was eating everything" but when I actually TRIED to eat more and gain weight, i realized I wasn't eating enough. I started taking more protein too. I started using different creatines as well, but I think that was later on not when I first "tried" to gain weight.

I changed my routine from doing each muscle group 2x a week to doing each muscle group 1x a week. Instead of going every day other than Saturday, I started doing M,T,T,F and I cut out a lot of cardio. That, combined with eating more food and adding in legs and deadlifts, I instantly started seeing much more gains.

I still remember the first time I benched 185lbs 1x. Then I remember benching 225lbs 1x. Then I remember benching 225lbs 8x. Then I remember benching 275lbs 1x, then finally being able to get 315lbs 1x. At my peak I was doing 315lbs 2x but where I'm at now, I'd be lucky if I could even bench 275lbs 1x. But I'm fine with that since my goals now aren't to be huge.

But my point about that is, when I was not even able to bench 95lbs more than 4 times, benching 315lbs wasn't even a remote possibility in my eyes.

Cool, thanks. I think I've started down the same path. I started doing leg workouts about a month ago, or at least what I can - forward/backward lunges and calf raises, but I just did some reading and I could add deadlifts. I spend time on the recumbent bike but I'm not sure if that's really doing anything for my legs except toning them; certainly not building mass. Adding mass to the lower legs seems incredibly difficult.

I'm also doing squats every day, and limiting my workout to three weekdays, with running on occasional Saturdays. I do each muscle group once per week, sometimes once every two weeks depending on if I spend two or three days in the gym.

My biggest thing is probably not taking protein seriously. I only get it from the foods I eat.

 

[highland145]

So....ttiwwp....but I think that's been mentioned already.


Not completely worthless..lols have some value.

 

[J.Wilkins]

There's just really no need to have discussions with people who think this is true.

This thread reminds me of fitness threads that used to be in OT before this sub forum was created.

Not bro-sciencey enough for you, meathead?

http://ptandme.com/are-you-overtraining/

Persistent muscle soreness is absolutely a sign of overtraining, there is no question whether that is true or not because it is.

 

[SNC]

Not bro-sciencey enough for you, meathead?

http://ptandme.com/are-you-overtraining/

Persistent muscle soreness is absolutely a sign of overtraining, there is no question whether that is true or not because it is.

Did you read the page you posted or did you just think you saw something that supported your position and posted it?
He was not just referring to just PMS, though to say that PMS is a sigh of ONLY overtraining is the stupid part, PMS can be caused from dozens of things, and you can get into a overtraining situation with no PMS and THAT is the truth. But your definition of DOMS just sealed the fact you have zero idea what you're talking about.
You have this thing against Broscience but you are trying to pass casual reading off as if you have a PHD. While I agree that most Broscience is full of its fair share of crap, I'll take an optimistic person who has actually done the work over some dude who failed at it and spends more than a fair amount of time trying to convince people it's in there genes.

 

[SNC]

So....ttiwwp....but I think that's been mentioned already.


Not completely worthless..lols have some value.

Promise not to laugh?

 

[J.Wilkins]

Did you read the page you posted or did you just think you saw something that supported your position and posted it?
He was not just referring to just PMS, though to say that PMS is a sigh of ONLY overtraining is the stupid part, PMS can be caused from dozens of things, and you can get into a overtraining situation with no PMS and THAT is the truth. But your definition of DOMS just sealed the fact you have zero idea what you're talking about.
You have this thing against Broscience but you are trying to pass casual reading off as if you have a PHD. While I agree that most Broscience is full of its fair share of crap, I'll take an optimistic person who has actually done the work over some dude who failed at it and spends more than a fair amount of time trying to convince people it's in there genes.

I give up.

 

[SNC]

Cool, thanks. I think I've started down the same path. I started doing leg workouts about a month ago, or at least what I can - forward/backward lunges and calf raises, but I just did some reading and I could add deadlifts. I spend time on the recumbent bike but I'm not sure if that's really doing anything for my legs except toning them; certainly not building mass. Adding mass to the lower legs seems incredibly difficult.

I'm also doing squats every day, and limiting my workout to three weekdays, with running on occasional Saturdays. I do each muscle group once per week, sometimes once every two weeks depending on if I spend two or three days in the gym.

My biggest thing is probably not taking protein seriously. I only get it from the foods I eat.

I would give the legs a rest and not do squats every day, especially if it's a heavy weight. I have found that with respect to protein, consuming a small amount over a period of time is the way to go. It takes about 1.5 hours for a liquid like shake to pass through the area that can absorb protein, and that the body can only really absorb about 8 -12 grams per hour depending on body type and all that. Drinking a shake with 50 grams in it at one time is like throwing money in the toilet. The best time for a shake if you're going to have one is either within 30 minutes of a resistance workout or right before bed. If right after the workout, I perer a whey protein if before bed casein. What I have started to do in the last year or so is to start my workout with a 25 gram shake with a pre workout; https://traceminerals.com/tmrfit-series-pre-workout/ (Take note there are not roids in the ingredent list.) This one has a nice mix of BCAAs, creaitine and NOx with out the caffiene most pres have.
I'll fill the shaker up with water a couple times during the workout and my last fill I'll make another shake with a 25 gram scoop and a post:https://traceminerals.com/tmrfit-series-clean-post-workout/
At night if I need a snack I'll make a casein shake with frozen banana and some cocoa powder if it's an unflavored protein, but I try to get peanut butter chocolate when I can.

 

[SNC]

I give up.

Seems to be your thing.

 

[J.Wilkins]

Seems to be your thing.

Sassy little thing, aren't ya kid?

Second person I'm putting on ignore and for the same reason, you go do your 240 sets for the day and have a great time.

 

[SNC]

Sassy little thing, aren't ya kid?

Second person I'm putting on ignore and for the same reason, you go do your 240 sets for the day and have a great time.

KID! HAAA You're only a month older than me!
240 reps puts me into my 3rd set on chest and back day, 240 sets is just you making shit up again.
But I will have a good time, it's light weight heavy rep day. So 400 +/- reps of various movements will be performed.
What will you do today? I hope more than sitting here thinking of a snide comment to my post, it's not healthy.
Hit the gym and lift something.


EDIT!!! That should have been exersize NOT SET!!

 

[PeterScott]

KID! HAAA You're only a month older than me!
240 reps puts me into my 3rd set on chest and back day, 240 sets is just you making shit up again.
But I will have a good time, it's light weight heavy rep day. So 400 +/- reps of various movements will be performed.
What will you do today? I hope more than sitting here thinking of a snide comment to my post, it's not healthy.
Hit the gym and lift something.

Just curious, if you are spending up to 4 hours/day in the Gym, what are you training for? I assume this must be for competition, or do you just love living in the Gym?

 

[SNC]

Just curious, if you are spending up to 4 hours/day in the Gym, what are you training for? I assume this must be for competition, or do you just love living in the Gym?

I'm not training for anything specific right now, but I'm not ruling out competing in the future. But the Raw Master IIA division 264+ lbs class record is only 424.25 lbs. I am looking into the possibility of maybe one day considering entering a comp or two. My shoulder rehab is doing great and my smith bench is a projected 400 with an actual 385 lift. My flat bench is coming back with a 340 projected and a max of 315x3. I am NOT pushing my limit on the flat, after 3 the shoulder starts to indicate to me that it's at failure and while I could lift more it's waiting to fail again. I project that with my current progress after the injury, I should be at 400 within the next year. IF I can get there I'll ramp up training to get me over 425. It should time out to push 425 on my 50th birthday. IF that happens and I'm still in the 265+ weight class I'll enter the next close comp. If I don't get to 425 by 50 I'll reassess. I'm also looking forward to a 200+ lbs curl with a bent bar in the not too distant future. I enjoy helping the youngsters we train, and especially enjoy taking them to competitions. We have a kid who at the last meet pulled a world record for deadlift for his age/weight class. Hes training right now to go to a sanctioned raw event to make it official. He was a big part of out win at the meet for strongest group award.
But for the most part I do it for fun, I really enjoy the feeling after a workout.

 

[Kaido]

I'm having a difficult time being consistent in the gym.

I've been following what I said and it's been great.

Some thoughts:

1. The bottom line for everyone is the same: be consistent at working out. The approach varies. What's important is finding a way that works for YOU personally. It sounds like you have found that.

2. I am exactly the same way. For whatever reason, I am not a self-starter, I am not self-motivated, I am lazy, and I am all talk & do nothing. I am just naturally a low-energy person. I had a really big struggle for years being consistent at things like working out, eating well, and going to bed early (still awful at that last one). I am not someone who can "just do it" when it comes to consistently exercising. I probably have a half a dozen threads over the years here in H&F of failed attempts to get jacked. So for me, I took the same approach - rather than starting with a hefty program, I started small but made it a habit. Eventually you get stronger & can increase your workout, but building that habit is key for people like us who need to get ourselves locked into a pattern or routine.

3. When I started, I literally could not do a pushup. I had to do a girlie pushup on my knees, and even that was hard. Doesn't matter where you start, only matters that you stick with it, in whatever way that works for you. If you plateau, just rewind a week & stick with it. The only thing that really matters is not giving up.

4. I have a great pushup program available, PM me if you want it. Starts at one (or girlie pushups), grows to 210...but over time. Once you are able to do that many & cut out rest times, you can do it in under 10 minutes. Roll out of bed & get your workout in every single day, no gym required!

 

[SlitheryDee]

So....ttiwwp....but I think that's been mentioned already.


Not completely worthless..lols have some value.

Ok I'm going to try again through Tapatalk since Photobucket seems to want me to pay them to host my pic now.

 

[highland145]

Excellent work. How old again?

How's business?

 

[SlitheryDee]

Excellent work. How old again?

How's business?

Thanks. I'm 34 years old. Business is picking up! Last year was a slow year, but we're up this year. I'm ready for summer to be over.

 

[snoopy7548]

Do you sell cowboy boots?

 

[highland145]

..

 

[SNC]

Ok I'm going to try again through Tapatalk since Photobucket seems to want me to pay them to host my pic now.

Looks good. One day Ill think about slimming down and showing some definition. Right now I'm happy with the strength gains. I would hate to get to the 265 class and loose strength.