The instant you tell anyone you go to the gym and every man and his dog comes out of the wood work and tells you to do this and do that and don't do that regardless of the fact that you've mentioned you're following the advice of a qualified trainer.
I'm not sure if this was originally aimed at me (as it was after my post) but it's good that you have found that PT's can be idiots, 'qualified' or not, just as much as 'every man and his dog coming out of the woodwork' can.
If every 'man and his dog' kept his mouth shut, all you would have is people selling stuff, and we all know what they can say..
Many workout enthusiasts will have spent far more time learning about their hobby, than PT's spent training in their profession. Of course an intelligent PT that genuinely cares about their profession and never stops learning is your best bet, but GLHF finding one that isn't in hot demand; or works fulltime with pro athletes.
To be honest you can filter most broscience on the web into two categories: 1. Those who say to do something and don't explain why. e.g. "don't eat whey, eat casein". Which is a dumb, generalised comment (they each have pros and cons) 2. Those who say to do something and explain. e.g. "eat whey PWO and during the day supplement with casein, cos whey is quicker acting and casein slower releasing"
Just use your brain. Oh, and +1 on the smith machine avoidance, the only time I've touched it is when I hit my head on it (it's too close to the cage at my gym)
/avoid training (resistance) for longer than an hour /you only get stronger when you sleep /stay off machines use free weights and get someone to show you proper form /if you train (are pushed) to hard you won't enjoy it and stop
+agree
Retardo, don't train two days in a row as a beginner/intermediate. You need the day after to recover.
Mini-hijack, I am almost squatting with 1X BW (doing 87.5 tomo morning and I weigh ~89). Deadlifting 100, benching 60, pressing 42.5, pendlay rowing 60. All that is 5x5 (except deads which are 1x5). Thats after 2.5-3 months
A couple reasons. Firstly, lifting weights when tired makes it more difficult to keep correct form in the lifting. Form is important to avoid injury. Secondly, what grows strength / muscle is lifting heavy. If you try doing weights after your cardio, you won't be able to lift as much. Thirdly, if your goal is definition, you'll achieve that two ways. Firstly, by building muscle, secondly by burning fat. It's easier to focus on building the muscle/strength first, because the more you can lift, the more calories you burn; making fat burn easier.
Obviously if muscle endurance was important to you (e.g. you want to be able to run 5km in under half an hour, or do a 21km half marathon) then you would put more emphasis on cardio, and lift lighter. But keep in mind, even Usain Bolt does squats!
Quote from: Retardobot;1491600
Yep. Have been doing the bicep curls. PT showed me how to do them. My form will get better over time. I'll be shown more exercises come Thursday (next session). For now, I'm doing what I know and what I can when at the gym.
Cool. Just remember that bicep curls target one muscle - the bicep. There are plenty others in your upper body. It's easier doing 3 compound excercises rather than 10 isolating ones.
TBH my lifting form (squat, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, deadlift) is 90% self-taught using vids on the web. When I had my PT session at 7 wks in, I got one or two pointers but that was it. There are lots of demo vids on the web that explain form. I found these very helpful - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL740E59213CF55DCD&feature=plcp
Don't get me wrong btw, isolation/machines have their place. But for a beginner, compound movements using free weight are best. Start light, focus on form and power, add 1.25kg/side every session. Eat well, get 8hrs sleep/night.
And ignore muscle mags :p Google Image search 'Roelly Winklaar' for a laugh.
I put up a post earlier today but seems to have gone AWOL. Anyways.
Your goal of more 'definition' basically means you want to have some decent looking muscles, and get rid of a bit of the fat that hides those muscles, yeah?
Here's a few things to think about, no guarantee I'm right on any of these, but I'm happy to explain/debate.
1. Don't do cardio before weight/strength work. Do it afterwards. Feel free to do 5m on a bike to warmup, but personally I just warmup with an empty barbell and work up to my work weight. Personally I avoid cardio for the most part, cos I don't enjoy it, and lifting weights / looking after 2 kids expends enough energy as it is. The great thing about lifting iron is that the stronger you get, the more calories you burn. 2. Never do strength/weight two days in a row as a beginner. Your body needs time to recover. I'd limit any cardio on the 'off' days too. 3. Avoid supplements - pre-workout formulas, body mass stuff, etc etc. You can use whey protein powder if you think you need a boost. The prority with the powder (high to low) is: post workout, breakfast, before bed, pre workout. I only do one scoop post workout. 4. If you are limiting carbs in your diet ensure you still get some carbs post workout, for energy etc. 5. Do compound weight movements. Bicep curls work your biceps. Bench pressing works out most of your upper body. 6. Do free weight excercises. I notice you mentioned a BP 'machine'. Unfortunately a machine does all the balancing for you, which means you use less muscles and are more likely to end up imbalanced (where particular muscles in a group are much weaker). Yes, free weight means you have to learn technique; that's the fun part, and hopefully your PT paid attention in the technique part of their classes. There is a heap of technique stuff on the net if you look.
Personally I've been doing http://www.stronglifts.com for 10 weeks. My goal is gain ~10kg of strong muscle. 'Some' diet improvements but still eat bread, fish and chips, blah blah. Also doing 1/2 GOMAD. Went from 79 to 87kg so far (6'2, goal ~90kg). No BF measurements but I was probably 10-15% before and same now. Couldn't do a chin-up before, can do 3 now. I am close to squatting my weight for 5 reps, I have deadlifted my weight for 5 reps, and currently benching/pressing 1/2 my weight for 5 reps. A couple months ago I thought squatting 40kg was hard! The Stronglifts site can seem a bit of a hard sell, and you have to submit your email for the program, but it's free. It's refreshingly candid and non-bullshit. I can flick you the report if you don't like submitting emails.
Good luck with your program; when I started my wife was all like "I like you the way you are". Now she says that she feels a little shallow cos she LOVES the more 'buff' look that I am gradually acquiring.
How tall are you? I assume at 78kg and that BF, you're close to 6'
What's your actual goal gym-wise? Cardio (muscle endurance), or strength/muscle? Or not sure, are you just doing what your PT says?
Anyways, on the food front: 1. Make up a big batch of bolognese and freeze it. Then you can just boil pasta, reheat a thing of bolognese, et voila. 2. Omelettes. I use 3 size 7 eggs, and will usually have some chopped mushrooms in there too (sauteed beforehand then added at the end). You can do a lot of variety... ham, cheese, or some sort of vegetables I suppose. 3. Casseroles. It's basically meat and sauce with *some* veges. 4. Like others said, spices. I really like Masterfoods Cajun.
185g/day protein sounds right.
TBH I think the main thing is not changing your diet, but changing your philosophy. Sounds a bit wanky, but what I mean is, you have to want to change. So that when you go to grab a drink, you're getting water or milk, not Coke.
IMHO a lot of diets are a bit OTT. You may have slower progress eating a bit of junk but as long as the bulk is good that's what counts. I think 75% of your diet should be the 'good' stuff (whole foods, protein, blah blah). The other 25% should be sanity food.
TBH though mate; I think it's not great that you're finding it depressing. I started 3 months ago and have been relishing it; I do research, I look forward to workouts. I have never gotten close to passing out, puking, or anything like that.
How tall are you? I assume at 78kg and that BF, you're close to 6'
What's your actual goal gym-wise? Cardio (muscle endurance), or strength/muscle? Or not sure, are you just doing what your PT says?
Anyways, on the food front: 1. Make up a big batch of bolognese and freeze it. Then you can just boil pasta, reheat a thing of bolognese, et voila. 2. Omelettes. I use 3 size 7 eggs, and will usually have some chopped mushrooms in there too (sauteed beforehand then added at the end). You can do a lot of variety... ham, cheese, or some sort of vegetables I suppose. 3. Casseroles. It's basically meat and sauce with *some* veges. 4. Like others said, spices. I really like Masterfoods Cajun.
185g/day protein sounds right.
TBH I think the main thing is not changing your diet, but changing your philosophy. Sounds a bit wanky, but what I mean is, you have to want to change. So that when you go to grab a drink, you're getting water or milk, not Coke.
IMHO a lot of diets are a bit OTT. You may have slower progress eating a bit of junk but as long as the bulk is good that's what counts. I think 75% of your diet should be the 'good' stuff (whole foods, protein, blah blah). The other 25% should be sanity food.
TBH though mate; I think it's not great that you're finding it depressing. I started 3 months ago and have been relishing it; I do research, I look forward to workouts. I have never gotten close to passing out, puking, or anything like that.
