I don' t know you from Adam and am not a thread-regular so please don't take offence but if you're a relative newcomer to serious weight training and this is your way of leaping in they way some people do, please don't be one of these people who spends a fortune on gym equipment right off and then never uses it.
I've done weight training on-and-off (few months on, a month or two off) for a few years after the first year and a half that I was really into it. Biggest drive to look at home gym equipment is just the convenience, since I'm not the kind of guy to socialize at the gym outside of asking for a spot and the one I've always gone to is now farther away. I'll search around for used stuff, thanks for the input, Kiwis.
To add to the discussion about there being a no one-size-fits-all approach to gains...
I used to do a lot of swimming and I noticed that some of the young girls in the swimming club (8-14 yrs) had noticeable development in their shoulders and lats. So even at that young age, with very low T levels, they were developing dorito shaped torsos from what is essentially very high rep, very low resistance workouts.
Have you thought of Pilates? If you can't use your elbow, you might as well work all the hidden muscles nobody even knows to exist in a human body. I heard it's actually interesting, potentially agonizing and not just for homosexuals anymore. No visible gains though.
A while ago I made a post complaining about a sudden surge of pain in my knee when squatting, even when squatting without any weight. Was rather busy lately but last week I had time to make an appointment, had an X-ray done and the doc diagnosed me with gonarthrosis 1st stage on the left knee. I'm still not sure how to process this shit. I think the doctor is shit because I asked another doctor friend of mine and she said that usually a simple x-ray is unreliable for a full diagnosis. So now I'm going to get an MRI and a CT scans done on the knee and get a second, maybe even third opinion.
Don't give up, try some rehab on your knee too see if its just a muscle fatigue issue, and remember, doctors are just as, if not more retarded and lazy than the average person. You're still gonna make it brah.
Any kiwis do powerlifting or strongman stuff? Used to do some powerlifting training, but fell off of it years ago. Looking to get a better routine for lifting rather than just dicking around in the gym for an hour.
Does anyone have a good knee brace recommendation to help with walking/running and/or lifting. I'me fine having knee braces for each. It's just every knee brace I've found is uncomfortable/makes my bad knee look smaller when I lift. (I can add more info if needed)
Do you really need them? Not sure about walking/running, but I'd advice against using them in lifting unless:
1) Your doctor said that you need them.
2) You are competing in powerlifting.
During squats they take away the load at the lowest point (where you're supposed to be closest to failure), which ruins your technique and enables you to increase the weight past your current natural safe threshold. So you actually increase the risk of traumatizing yourself while decreasing muscle stimulus, which doesn't really make sense for training.
With that said, I do wear knee sleeves where my gym is too "trigger happy" with air conditioning to keep my joints warm, but they should not be tight.
Hey guys, I'm trying to get back into lifting after a semester of being sedentary. I'm interested in seeing what fellow Kiwis are doing for their exercise routines, and maybe give me tips on whether my routine is retarded or not. What I did before was a push, pull, legs, shoulders rotation, but I usually would do the same few exercises for each day when that day rolled around. I definitely don't have a very well optimized schedule, but I've been doing it for around 1.5 years (?) now, so I know exactly what to expect.
What I do is a rotation of the 4 days: chest and tri, back and bi, legs, shoulders;
For chest and tri: bench, incline bench, dumbbell chest press, butterfly, dip
For back and bi: deadlift, pullups, row, preacher curl, dumbbell curl
For legs: squat, romanian deadlifts, leg press, leg extension, leg curl
For shoulders: standing barbell shoulder press, sitting shoulder dumbbell press, smith machine shoulder press, lateral raises, and alternative lateral raises
I guess my main goal right now is weight loss (so I'm eating less), but in order to not end up skinnyfat again, I plan on lifting like I used to (4-5 times a week). I understand that my goal might make it so that some muscle mass loss is inevitable but I want to fundamentally change my body shape so that is a price I likely need to pay.
For some context, my peak was definitely a year ago when I reached max lifts of around 1.5x bodyweight squat, 1x bodyweight bench, and a little more than 2x bodyweight deadlift. This was when I actually tried to do "powerlifting" after I started getting stronger since I first started working out. None of my lifts were that good, but now that my goal is to become a normal body weight, I wouldn't really mind if they never improved again.
no1curr but if you were curious, my lifts were 130 kg squat, 90 kg bench, 190 kg deadlift; adding up to 410 kg total
Some additional details I guess: I actually really enjoy going to the gym while I have the time and energy to do so; also, when I worked out I used to take creatine and often protein powder, though I'm not sure if it's necessary anymore with my goals?
I would like to hear any criticism and recommendations you guys have! We are all going to make it
I guess my main goal right now is weight loss (so I'm eating less), but in order to not end up skinnyfat again, I plan on lifting like I used to (4-5 times a week). I understand that my goal might make it so that some muscle mass loss is inevitable but I want to fundamentally change my body shape so that is a price I likely need to pay.
I take walks, if you have access to walking trails around your area, I'd go there. Intermittent fasting is good, too, and I've also started doing curls with a ten pound barbell on each arm either every day or every other day. I find it gets easier the more I do it, the movements come more naturally. Walking is the most simple weight loss exercise anybody can do, just make sure to stay hydrated whether it's purified water or sugarless Gatorade.
My gym recently got one of these https://www.lifefitness.com/en-us/c.../plate-loaded-iso-lateral-super-incline-press and its been fantastic. I have shoulder issues that sometimes pop up during heavy incline dumbbell presses but with this thing I can go to failure in 6 reps no issues at all and it absolutely cooks my front delts and chest. Usually I stop getting really sore after I get used to a movement pattern but I've been doing this thing twice a week for 6 weeks and I never stop feeling like I've been punched in the upper chest by a gorilla. I know soreness isn't direct evidence of hypertrophy blah blah but my upper chest getting noticeably bigger definitely is.
If your goal is to lose weight while gaining/maintaining as much muscle as you can, you need your proteins man. Train with intensity and get your proteins. You're already in an underdog position when it comes to building muscle since you're in a calorie deficit (I assume you are, hard to lose weight otherwise), so don't skip your proteins now. 1gram per pound of target bodyweight daily is probably still the recommendation or at least close to it
I started using wrist straps for deadlifts and it's incredible how much of a difference they make. I realized afterwards that the only thing I really disliked about deadlifts was pushing my grip to the failure every single time. It seems like everyone eventually uses one, unlike squad pads which are only used by complete beginners who have terrible form and can't figure out where to put the bar.
It's to keep the lower class (those without home gyms) from sticking around too long. Though I am a bit jealous that you get to try out these obscenely expensive machines.
I'd expected that if you had an injury you should avoid affected lifts entirely until you heal. Are you talking about people whose shoulders are permanently crippled?
