From9five Member

Started taking PL training seriously in January, hoping to get into my first comp this year

Newmarket here!

Its most likely mostly just water weight especially if you ate a lot of carbs/sugar. After a few days of getting back on track it should even back out

Same boat with the work thing i work 50-60 hours a week as well. Besides trying to prep a weeks worth of food on sunday or whatever i found its really helpful to have quick options. Like microwave rice, 1 minute oats, wraps, protein shakes, almonds, and canned/packaged tuna or chicken available. They aren't gourmet meals…

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

Sock-shoe-sock-shoe

5 cause 6

Strategic use of sarcasm. Oof.

I go beltless for (mostly) all of my warmup sets and use it for all of my working sets...my thought process with this is: as i get stronger, my warmup sets get heavier, so i do progessivly overload when going beltless. Idk if that makes sense but, you know. Its all preference. Remaining injury free is always the main goal.

This. 110% factual.

Starting strength or 5x5 are pretty easy to follow. Either are a good way to build baseline strength and get proficient at the most basic movements, which will be a solid lead into any body building, powerlifting, or weightlifting program you ultimately decide to move into.

Syntha6 is so good. Definitely worth the extra calories.

I like doing this curcuit from Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 book lately: Situps(holding a weight behind head if possible) x10 Hanging leg raises(laying if you cant hang) x10 Ab roller x10 Dumbell side bends x10 Repeat 2-4x Circuit style, but dont have to rush to each station like your life depends on it...take a rest in between…

Dumbell rows, dumbell curls, and one arm lat pulldowns (handle attachment) are gonna be your best bet with this one. Like above said, start with and only do as much as your weak side can handle, and maybe a few more reps with the weak side.

You could try googling things like full body or upper/lower circuits...kinda the best of both weight and cardio worlds as you can find thousands of them both with or without weights(include that in the search). 3-4 days a week for like 25-45 minute sessions, great for conditioning and stuff.

I go before, its difficult to wake up early but i like to workout first thing in the morning when im fresh. That way no matter what happens at work(12 hour shifts are pretty regular for me as well) i can at least be happy i hit the gym. After a long shift, especially if the day was horrible, i find myself just going thru…

Tbh, Its kinda depends on a lot more than just the program. How are youre recovery habits? Things like nutrition, sleep, and stress management, etc... are factors that play huge roles in your progress in training and should be focused on just as much if not more.

MHP makes a decent one

Underarmour or Champion are my favorites. Converse for lifting, always.

WIN - Jay Rock or anything from his Redemption album. Thats been my go to lately for the gym

Noob gains are typically when youre able to consistently lift more and more weight every training session. It is possible that your body is recomping (losing fat/gaining muscle/strength at the same time) basically if your getting stronger then your still in the noob stage, changes to the way you look take time. How long…

Find out your TDEE add 200-300 calories on top, try it out for a week. Best to gain about .5-1lb a week. Add or subtract calories if you gain too fast or too slow. Good foods are calorie dense ie. Steak, peanutbutter, bananas, almonds, pasta, bread, cheese, milk, whole eggs...it takes time and a lot of experimenting. Dont…

Whey protein isolate. I like Dymatize Iso100. Isopure is also more pure option (not as good tasting imo) Maybe vegan or egg protein? Im not too familiar with those types though.

I superset all my pushes with pulls ie. Bench press/pullup, shoulder press/row, incline bench/rear delt fly, skullcrusher/curl....etc.

This. (I also take note of rest time, not a deal breaker though)

Steak and rice. Chicken and potatoes. tuna sandwich. Or any of these meats in a wrap. Add veggies on the side(spinach, carrots, peppers, etc.) If your looking for something quick throw some milk, protein, fruit, oats, and greek yogurt in a blender for an easy shake. Stuff like that is pretty satisfying and easy to portion…

Take a good number like 2500 kcal. Make your getting AT LEAST your bw(lbs) x .8 in grams of protein and your bw(lbs) x .4 in fat and the rest in any combo of carbs/protein/fat youd like. Do that for a week or two. If your still not gaining add another 100-200 kcal, rinse and repeat as needed. ( opposite if your gaining too…

Love your "listen to your body" mindstate. Definitely eat more if you feel overly hungry/fatigued and under energized. Fuel your performance. Something lost on most people. Your body will tell you more than a scale can.

You cant really spot-reduce fat...it kinda comes and goes in it own places... But you can cut down and then focus on places to build muscle (making that area bigger and/or more shapely)

I use resistance bands both before and after. Before for upper body warm up type movements: band pull-aparts, face pulls, chest fly, etc. And after for both upper and lower body stretching, depending on what i worked that day.