The Definitive Fitness/Aesthetics Thread

[showdownhero]

Thought we could all do with a place to post up information and questions regarding all things health and fitness.

I'm currently operating on a 3 day split
Day 1 Legs and Delts

• Squats
• Seated Barbell Press
• Dead Lifts
• Lateral Raise
• Front Raise

Day 2 Back and Tris

• Weighted Chin Ups
• Close Grip Bench Press
• Dumb Bell Row
• Cable Tricep Press
• Shrugs
• Kickbacks

Day 3 Pecs and Bis

• Barbell Bench Press
• Barbell Bicep Curl
• Barbell Incline Bench
• Hammer Curl
• Cable Cross Over
• Cable Bicep Curl

Generally performed in that order. No ab workout in the routine at the moment because the Squats and Deads really smash the abs to bits, in any case I probably need to lose 5kgs of fat before anyone can see my abs anyway.

Have also dabbled with a range of different supplements but at present going mostly au natural with the exception of Ginseng, Centrum Multi and Whey Protein Concentrate.

Have also utilised a range of different cardio techniques but not doing a heap at the moment with the exception of a 3k bike ride to and from the gym (avg of around 15-20ks a week) but looking to ramp that up at the moment.

Focusing on diet more than ever before at the moment and we'll see how that works out.

[r dub]

sub'd, my gym membership expires in four days

[yeah_nah]

What gym you guise use?

I use to have a membership at the local leisure centre which was pretty cheap. Gym was always fucking hectically busy though and the equipment was pretty average - not that that really bothered me seeing as I rarely used the machines.

Stopped going because I didnt want to kill myself for sport. Regretting stopping now though. Will most likely join a new gym once the season is over but which gym

[Anchorman]

What gym you guise use?

You got a door? You got a gym!

[king of HAWTHORN]

You got a door? You got a gym!

LOL'D HARD

[Red Bear]

The gym sucks.

come at me brah

[clive]

i lift every day

[Red Bear]

Although I do alot of running, from about 5-25km at a reasonable pace 3 or so times as week, plus soccer training and soccer on the weekend (sub for cricket in the summer). Which keeps me pretty fit.

[breeno]

I'm on a 4 day a week regime at the moment.

Day 1: Chest and Biceps:

- Flat benchpress
- Dumbell flies
- Chest Press
- Decline Benchpress

Or alternatively when I'm at the gym:

- Flat benchpress
- Cable Crossovers
- Flies
- Pec Deck
- Incliine or Decline bench

Biceps:

- alternating dumbbell curl
- barbell curl
- hammer curl
- reverse curl

or alternatively when at gym:

- alternating dumbbell curl
- barbell curl
- incline bicep curl
- preacher curl
- reverse curl

Day 2: Shoulders and Tris

Shoulders:

- upright row
- shoulder press
- barbell shrug
- lateral raises
- front raises

Triceps:

- tricep pushdown
- lying tricep extension
- tricep extension
- dips

Day 3: Back and Legs:

Back:

chinups
lat pulldown
seated row
one arm row

Legs:

squats
weighted lunges
leg press
hamstring curl

_____________________________________

Try and work out 4 times a week. After another 6 weeks or so I'll probably change to compound movements. Been going for four months now. Any suggestions?

I normally do 4 sets of 6-8 reps per exercise, I'm attempting to bulk up.

[Caesar]

Although I do alot of running, from about 5-25km at a reasonable pace 3 or so times as week, plus soccer training and soccer on the weekend (sub for cricket in the summer). Which keeps me pretty fit.

Which is fine if all you really care about is CV fitness and keeping your weight down. If you want to tone and build muscle (particularly in the upper body), unfortunately the gym is most people's only real option.

I'm similar - I run 5 days a week before work, and do a mix of tennis/TKD/football depending on the time of year. But I sail in summer and I was finding I just didn't have the upper body strength for trapezing and hauling ropes, so now I've substituted 2-3 light weight sessions a week for some of my other exercise.

Previously I hated going to the gym, but now I find actually don't mind it. I think if gym was my main method of working out I'd get bored but as a change of routine it goes alright.

[Red Bear]

Mmm, yeah I'm only really concerned about being fit, I play to my strengths and my strengths are an ability to run at a constant reasonable pace for a long period of time.

I should probably do some form of resistance training, my shoulders could definately be a bit stronger (13 years of cricket plus a snowboarding accident have worn them down) but otherwise running and pre-season soccer training does the job.

I hate the atmosphere of the gym, though. Loud shitty music and gym junkies is not my scene. If I could afford some sort of home gym scenario i'd prefer that.

[Axel.]

Sub'd. Planning to trade my exercises soon.

[Caesar]

If you shop around you can usually find something that suits you.

When I lived in Melbourne I was a member of the RACV Club. Their City Club in Bourke St has a state of the art gym. Being the RACV Club it was pretty much completely populated by old people and other professionals who just wanted to get some exercise around their work schedules. No music, relaxed atmosphere - t'was great.

[showdownhero]

What gym you guise use?

Live Fitness in Nthbridge, been there a little over a year. Best thing about it, very very rarely gets busy and has all the equipment you could ever need

[showdownhero]

I put this together for a friend of mine who was a skinny ferker trying to put on some muscle mass hopefully it will be of some value for any beginners here

• You need to find yourself a gym that doesn't get too busy (that rules all almost all Fitness Firsts) as trust me after a few weeks you will get seriously fed up with always waiting for equipment to be available.
• You want to aim to never spend more than an hour in the gym as you will eventually find that your motivation will slide if subconsciously you know it's going to be a massive drain on your time and energy
• You also need to get yourself into a routine that allows you to go to the gym a minimum of 3 days a week. Anything less and you will simply not be putting enough effort in to see results
• Considering you are trying to gain muscle mass any sort of cardio is a strict no no. You need to be eating as much as you possibly can. The only way to put on weight is to be consuming more calories that what you are burning off. Considering this gym thing will be a big change to your body you need to seriously increase your food intake
• The amount of weight your are pushing to start with is almost irrelevant, you need to make sure you are doing the exercises with correct 'form'. Form basically relates to the way in which you perform the exercise, incorrect form can often mean that you will be able to lift heavier weight but also decreases the effectiveness of the exercise and increases the likelihood of injury
• Using the exercise directory at http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html is an excellent resource as they have gifs which show you correct form. I would definitely recommend having a look at the all the exercises I give you on that website before you head to the gym as it will give you a good idea where to start.
• If you can get someone who is experienced with weight training or a personal trainer at the gym to help you with squatting and deadlifts as it is very easy to get these wrong (don't worry about it too much though you won't be doing very much weight to start with so it is very unlikely that you will injure yourself if you get it wrong)
• I'll get you to the majority of your exercises on machines to start with as it is much more simple. Once you are more comfortable I would really advise you to move on to free weights as it does provide a better work out.
• Instead of doing a 'warm up' on a bike or treadmill which is what all personal trainers would prescribe on a workout routine (which is total shit by the way) you should be doing a warm up set of the exercise you are about to do. For me I do this at about 1/4 of the weight I'm about to lift but don't get to pedantic. This is only important on the first set for a particular muscle group.
• You should not be doing more than 12 reps of any exercise. Once you can do more than 12 reps increase the weight
• You should be aiming to achieve as many reps as possible on all the sets you do. Some trainers will tell you to do 3 sets of 10 reps, this doesn't really maximise your potential for strength gain. For example lets say you can achieve 10 reps on your first set but then only 8 on your second and 6 on your third this is perfect but like I said don't stick to any formula just try to push out as many reps as you can.
• I'll leave the amount of weight up to you, like I said first get your form right then you can start to increase the weight

Workout 1 - Legs and Shoulders
Bar Bell Squats - 3 Sets
Shoulder Press Machine - 3 Sets
Bar Bell Deadlifts - 3 Sets
Dumb Bell Lateral Raise - 2 sets
(Whilst I've only said to do 4 exercise for this workout Squats and Deadlifts are UNBELIEVABLY draining so this should be enough to start with)

Workout 2 - Pecs, Biceps and Abs
Chest Press Machine - 3 Sets
Bicep Curls on the Preacher Chair - 3 Sets
Bar Bell Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets
Dumb Bell Hammer Curls (Bicep Exercise) - 2 Sets (Just realised that this one isn't on exrx.com, this guy does it right though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZx96GeBJAI)
Incline Sit Ups - 3 Sets (all gyms should have a bench where your legs are elevated for you to do sit ups, once you can do more than 12 of these you can put weight on you chest)
(You only have one Ab exercise because you exercise you core muscles a lot when doing Squats and Deadlifts)

Workout 3 - Back and Triceps
Lat Pulldown - 3 Sets (you should try and start doing chin ups once you can lift enough weight, even try assisted chin ups should your gym have that machine)
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 Sets
Seated Cable Row - 3 Sets (make sure to keep you back straight like this http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Back...SeatedRow.html otherwise you will be potentially over training your lower back)
Tricep Cable Pushdown - 2 Sets (important to keep your elbows in close to your body and not let them move during the exercise)
Dumb Bell Shrug - 2 Sets



Ideally these workout sessions I've drawn up for you should be done one day on one day off to allow your body to recover but like I said you need to be getting to the gym a minimum of 3 days a week so if that means a couple of back to back sessions then so be it.

All of the above is only my opinion and I'm in no way qualified. It's just all the information I wish someone had told me when I was getting started.