Diet & Fitness Support Thread
- Thread starter Witterquick
- Start date
Define strength.
What exercises are you doing? Reps, sets, weight, time under tension?
Just curious.
Well, by strength I mean increasing the amount of weight I do. I had a lot more strength to gain than usual because of the longer than normal layoff I took. I usually do a warm up set and 4 work sets. I find that the popular use these days of 3 sets doesn't work as well for me, since I've had so much development over time. I generally stick to 6-10 reps for basic exercises for each muscle group. For wrist curls I usually do 15 reps, same with dips. 20-25 for abs. As an example of the weight I use, when I started back up 3 months ago, I was doing 245 bench press for a 1 rep max!! And now I'm back to doing 325 for 8 reps. For my Tut, I usually lower the weight for 2 secs, pause for one, and lift for 2. I do slow negatives from time to time.
RAMA
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Me again! 
I thought I'd post the elevation profile of the 6.58 mile run I did yesterday. I decided to train for the hilly portion of the half-marathon I'm doing in a couple of weeks, so I ran it twice! Whew!
At about 3.5 miles a rattlesnake & I startled each other ... I jumped about 3 feet in the air when it rattled, and then it zoomed off up the side of the road to my left (about 6" from my leg!)
I had NO trouble keeping my speed up for the rest of the run.
It's amazing what a shot of adrenaline like that can do for fatigue!
I thought I'd post the elevation profile of the 6.58 mile run I did yesterday. I decided to train for the hilly portion of the half-marathon I'm doing in a couple of weeks, so I ran it twice! Whew!
At about 3.5 miles a rattlesnake & I startled each other ... I jumped about 3 feet in the air when it rattled, and then it zoomed off up the side of the road to my left (about 6" from my leg!)
I had NO trouble keeping my speed up for the rest of the run.
It's amazing what a shot of adrenaline like that can do for fatigue!
No, I trained for a bench press competition but I hurt myself when I got to my strongest level so I didn't actually compete. I train for myself...I wouldn't call it a hobby exactly I am serious about it, mainly because working out transformed me from a period where I didn't exercise and I became overweight and unhealthy. I'm determined not to let that happen again. My best "cutting" period was when I was 223 pounds and 7% bodyfat. The only part of bodybuilding that was my "profession" was when I owned a supplement store for two years, and the fact that I'm hoping to pass my certification test to become a trainer on Saturday.
RAMA
I'm heading out to the gym in a few minutes. I doubt I'll be doing any 325-lb. bench presses today.
A set of 335 for 6 reps today!
RAMA
Good for you!A set of 335 for 6 reps today!
I did a 50 pound front squat to an overhead press for 2 sets of 10 reps. Go me!
And 2 sets of 10 Bulgarian split squats with 17.5 pound dumbbells. Those hurt.
Excellent.
On that note, how do you get certified to become a trainer? It's something I'm very interested in doing at some point. I am starting a job at a gym next week, but it's just as the "front desk guy," so it probably won't be super exciting.
Some states don't require a certification to train people, but its always best to get one, you'll be hired by the best gyms, and getting your insurance will allow you to train people on your own or start a business. Front desk is a good move, if you know the people who run the gym well they'll prob give you a shot at training or creating a personal training aspect to their gym once you get certified. There are a lot of training organizations and some relatively inexpensive:
http://exercise.about.com/cs/forprofessionals/a/personaltrainer_2.htm
RAMA, who are you getting certified with?
Today the scale and I had an odd moment.
About a month ago I decided I would up my workout frequency. The three days a week or less just wasn't having a good effect, and with previous upper back injuries it was just enough to have my back go out on me from time to time.
So I've been going now 5 times a week. No real heavy lifting. Between the upper back and a shoulder issue I can't bench press all that much and the rest of the work out is mostly cardio(swim, bike, abs)
So I've noticed the waistline is down a bit and I'm curious, so up on the scale, and... Gained 6 pounds, what the heck? Never ever did that one before,evey other time in my life when I've done serious physical training my weight always goes down and then sticks. Never really gain much more mass than I have now.
I'll check again in a couple of weeks and see what happens next.
About a month ago I decided I would up my workout frequency. The three days a week or less just wasn't having a good effect, and with previous upper back injuries it was just enough to have my back go out on me from time to time.
So I've been going now 5 times a week. No real heavy lifting. Between the upper back and a shoulder issue I can't bench press all that much and the rest of the work out is mostly cardio(swim, bike, abs)
So I've noticed the waistline is down a bit and I'm curious, so up on the scale, and... Gained 6 pounds, what the heck? Never ever did that one before,evey other time in my life when I've done serious physical training my weight always goes down and then sticks. Never really gain much more mass than I have now.
I'll check again in a couple of weeks and see what happens next.
I had NO trouble keeping my speed up for the rest of the run.
Very funny. I'm glad that you are running without knee pain. I know what tht feels like (the pain part). I'm competing in a measly 5K this weekend. I was hoping to compete in the half marathon the day after but I've not been able to run for a year so it's been a challenge getting fit for the 5k. My only wish is not to come in last!
I tend to not look at weight so much. There are so many factors that can go into your body weight (food in your tummy, excess water, clothes, etc) that it's not the most accurate measuring tool.
But muscle is heavier than fat, so it's possible you're gaining muscle mass.
This was more about knowing how my body usually reacts to exercise, and especially an increase in execise. I've never added weight on any other work out program up to this point, it's always a drop in weight and a trimming up.
It was just such a surprise. I set the scale at about 180 expecting to be between that and 185 somewhere, but it didn't balance til above 190.
Thanks goodness it's not fat, I can tell the waistline is getting smaller. Now I'm really curious about how this is going to work out over the long term. Maybe I'll have to do the RAMA plan...
It was just such a surprise. I set the scale at about 180 expecting to be between that and 185 somewhere, but it didn't balance til above 190.
Thanks goodness it's not fat, I can tell the waistline is getting smaller. Now I'm really curious about how this is going to work out over the long term. Maybe I'll have to do the RAMA plan...
AAAI/ISMA, its a stepping stone but I need to get my foot in the door. There is a large local fitness center that accepts the certification, and I plan on doing it part time. If its successful I plan on expanding my certifications, and possibly making it a full time occupation.
RAMA
I havent weighed myself since february, but Im sure Ive lost weight since then. Or at least gained a lot of muscle in return. Its funny how my pants are getting loser around the stomach but I am having a harder time getting it around my thighs. Damn stairs. Oh well, now that the snow is gone I can do more than just the stair without getting too cold to continue. Yay for lots of walking and stairs!
Congrats, RAMA.
You know, certainly a degree and/or certifications are important, but it's how you handle clients that's most important, IMO. That, in and of itself, will lead to much success (or not).
You know, certainly a degree and/or certifications are important, but it's how you handle clients that's most important, IMO. That, in and of itself, will lead to much success (or not).
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