williamsonmj1 Member

Do more if you want to and can. 5,000 steps is not meant to be a maximum exercise level. It's meant to be a minimum level of activity. It's partly intended to make sure that you keep moving when you are dieting, and don't offset your calorie deficit by not expending any energy in the rest of the day.

tl;dr- if you want to do actual CrossFit, go join a CrossFit box and find out how they do it. If you just want to do high-intensity circuits, just do pretty much any exercises and do them fast. Either something like 2 minutes on/1 minute rest, or 'complete as many circuits as you can in 20 minutes', Long version: Crossfit…

Been sick the last couple of days and didn't exercise. Missed lifting yesterday, so decided to go today even though I also lift tomorrow. Every session is full body so two days in a row is a bit tough. So I went for a slightly slimmed down day:* Warmup * Deadlift- Two sets of three and a set of 9 reps at the end, some Sumo…

If it was me, my first preference from that list of backgrounds would be 'Strength and Conditioning'. This usually refers to coaches who work with non-strength athletes on their strength, power and cardio. Good Strength and Conditioning coaches know how to coach and program all the different sorts of strength movements as…

Lifting!* Warmup * Front squats- 5 sets of 3 * Bench press- 5 sets of 10 (okay the last one was 8) * DB row- 5 sets of 9 * Barbell split squats- 3 sets of 8 * Knee extensions- 4 sets of 10 * Hamstring curls- 4 sets of 10 * Curl Ups- 3 sets Heavy front squats today, felt great. Been back in the gym consistently for three…

It would probably be better to work on this with a physical therapist/rehab specialist. But if it was me I would 1) Do the lower body compound exercises (ie squat and deadlift), starting off from very low weights and gradually increase. Probably start with squatting the empty bar and deadlift 50kg- or even less if I had…

Tired and hungry today so I just walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes. I always say the key is to try to do at least something when you don't feel like it. So that's what I did.

A few comments... First off, it's very likely that you can squat and deadlift if you want to. A huge number of lifters have had back injuries before training, or during training. They get through it, and many lifters find that strengthening the back musculature really helps them to get over whatever problems they had. If…

45 minutes incline treadmill walk this morning. Same again tomorrow, and then lifting on Tuesday.

Lifting today! Full body plus arms & chest bodybuilding-style accessory* Warmup * Front squats- 5 sets of 5 * Bench press- 5 sets of 3 * Strict chin-ups- 5 sets of 6 * EZ-bar preacher curls- 5 sets of 10-11 * Cable tricep pushdowns- 5 sets of 13-15 * Incline DB bench press- 3 sets of 10 * Chest-supported lateral raises- 3…

Yeah- I think the best cue is "Bring your elbows to the bottom and back of your ribs". When you do this, you get a lot of lat engagement. If you then control the eccentric and start the pull from the absolute bottom, they go crazy- I feel them shivering on the way down. I watch guys doing chinups in the gym and I see that…

Very little energy today- probably because I lifted twice in a row and generally have been exercising pretty consistently, while still in a small-ish calorie deficit. But I forced myself to do a quick 30 minute incline treadmill walk, and was glad I did. Might take a complete break tomorrow- before Pomp Day on Saturday.

Gym day was meant to be tomorrow but there will be a bit political rally and it won't be possible to move because of the traffic. So I went today, not ideal as I also went yesterday, and I do a full body template. But anyway. Today was 'Full body plus core assistance':* Warmup * Conventional deadlifts- 2 sets of 5, one set…

This is excellent! Having mentioned those beginners programs, I feel like I should explain why I don't like Starting Strength, and do like Greyskull LP. Starting Strength has Power Cleans as one of its basic movements. This is a clean- an Olympic Lift- where you only drop a little to catch the bar. I think these great…

Weights today- full body plus extra leg work:* Warmup * Front squats- 5 sets of 10 * Bench press- 5 sets of 5 * Dumbbell row- 5 sets of 8 * Barbell split squat- 3 sets of 6 each side * Machine knee extensions- 3 sets of 9 * Hamstring curls- 3 sets of 10 Good workout. I've lost a lot of weight but since I started tracking…

I have used rowers a bit (a C2) and I really rate them. Reasons I like them:* They are the best warmup for lifting- you are warming up legs, lower back, upper back arms etc. Break a sweat on a C2, and you can go straight to the bar if you want. * Related to the above, they engage more of the body than any other cardio…

The two main reasons why weight loss doesn't happen when you think you are doing everything right are (i) errors measuring calories, (ii) your metabolism 'slowing down' to compensate for reduced calorie input. What number (ii) looks like is that subconsciously you will just find yourself moving less. Without realizing it…

I know a couple of lifting ones. Boostcamp has loads of popular training programs. Mostly strength but there are some hypertrophy ones. If you are just focusing on hypertrophy then the Renaissance Periodization app seems good- it will ask you a bunch of questions and give you a program based on that.

Full body plus gettin' mah pump on:* Warmup * Front squats- 5 sets of 3 * Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 1 set of 8 * Chinups- 6 sets of 5 * EZ-bar preacher curls- 5 sets of 11 * Cable tricep pushdowns- 5 sets of 11 * Incline DB bench press- 2 sets of 10, set of 8, set of 6 * Side planks- 15 seconds each side, 3 sets Pretty…

Got to the gym for some cardio. Incline treadmill walk for around 42-43 minutes, bike for 10 minutes. Fine.

Okay, so actually I always forget that adjustable dumbbells exist. That would probably do just fine for her.

Personally I wouldn't prioritize a Smith Machine. Smith Machines are really useful if you can't squat. They are also useful for bodybuilders who want to do extra leg work but who are too fried to squat more. If you are a strength athlete, or just want to be all round strong and functional, you will probably never need to…

The best thing to do is to follow an existing strength training program. For some reason, it feels like everyone wants to make their own program right from the beginning, but it's not a great idea. Run a program that was designed by experts. There are a ton of options, depending on if you want to focus on strength or…

Okay, so a minimalist setup that will actually let you get badass and strong would be: * A power rack with adjustable safeties (e.g. like this one) * A flat bench, like this. Or get an adjustable one. * A standard Olympic Barbell- these are 20kg, you might also want to get a 15kg or 10kg one * A set of plates. If you are…

Felt absolutely terrible for the last 24 hours, but somehow roused myself to the gym. Full Body + core today:* 3 sets of 5 conventional deadlifts * 5 sets of 5 barbell overhead press * 5 sets of 5 super-strict chinups (chest to bar, slow eccentric down to full stretch) * 4 sets of 8 snatch grip shrugs (because why not) * 3…

Sets and reps should be more or less according to your program/template. As mentioned, I would do 5x5 for most strength exercises, other than deadlifts, for which I would do 5x3. For hypertrophy, 5x10-12 as a starting point. Don't overthink starting weight. First few sessions you can go really light. E.g squat with the…

Managed to get into the gym today. A bit late because of work so I shortened it slightly. Today was full body plus lower body assistance. But cut the assistance a little.* Front squat- 5 sets of 5 * Bench press- 5 sets of 5 * Dumbbell row- 5 sets of 8 * Hamstring curls- 3 sets of 8 * Leg extensions- 3 sets of 10 * Ghetto…

Okay, I have a lot of comments. I guess my headline suggestion is that if this is indicative of your current strength level, you probably don't need a customized program and you probably shouldn't be making your own program. You just take an off-the-shelf that you like the look of and do it for 3-6 months, then take it…

Today was full body plus bodybuilding-style assistance for the upper body:* Muscular activation and prehab * Front squats- 5 sets of 10 (aaaargh) * Bench press- 5 sets of 4 * Chinups- 8 sets of 3-4 reps * EZ-bar preacher curls- 5 sets of 10 * Cable tricep pushdowns- 5 sets of 13-15 * Wide grip incline DB press- 4 sets of…

Sounds like you have figured it out- awesome! Will follow your results if you are posting here.