theres another! not only can u under and over eat. but can under or overtrain every guide says different. its no wonder people (like me) have no clue
I guess that's what makes it interesting (and confusing!). Prof (and Dan it would appear) have had good results from a strict, some may complex diet, and a very rigid routine. I got good results (3 stone in about 18-20 months gained, bf% reduced) from a pretty relaxed (but large) diet and 3-4 intense split sessions a week, each no more than an hour long.
*I used to do this,.....over-trained and got nowhere really. Posing in a mirror if done constructively can be beneficial. *
My favourite are the ones who do 10x bicep curls, then use the rest time to pose with a "has it worked yet" look in the mirror. They are only slightly ahead of the idiots who drop weights instead of placing them down.
From the 'My muscles only get bigger at the gym' camp An intense posedown at the END of a workout can be beneficial for further muscle separation for some. And checking for gains and symetry never hurt anybody in between sets either.
Some 17yr old kid did some skipping the other day, finished, turned to his mate and proclaimed "look at me after this skipping, I'm RIPPED" I very nearly wet myself laughing.
Apart from the fact its pretentious as f8ck! Ben - just find a basic routine that works for you. Give it a few weeks to a month of using that routine and see if you've noticed any changes. If not change it up again. This is what I did to start with. If you can see a personal trainer at the gym (even if its just for a few sessions or once every 3 months or so), or if your lucky enough to have a senior instructor/instructor that seems to know what they are doing ask them for some advice/ideas/a routine that might work for you. Form is the key to weights. As long as your doing them correctly you'll notice some benefit, and then you can laugh at all the muppets doing it all wrong and wasting their time working no muscles at all
I have the time for a strict and lengthy routine as many evenings as needed plus anytime weekend. As I mentioned, for like 8 months I did a pretty full-on routine with my mate at uni. But I kinda relied on him to remember the routines etc. So as I'm now goin on my own, I've adopted a pretty lame routine that doesn't cover all the body plus I'm doin lots of cardio becuase it's easy (just get on machine etc) I don't think I have many problems with form just need a work-out by numbers kinda thing, booked for a review at the gym with an instructor but I bet they suggest machine based stuff & cardio
I had ALL the instructors at my gym completely flummoxed when I asked for a PT for the missus that could teach her Sumo Squats. Apparently its an advanced exercise, and if something doesnt include the Bosu ball, then they don't know about it. 'tards.
Well that's highly subjective and a matter of personal perception. The very fact that people go to a gym full of heaving sweating men to bodybuild or lift weights in the FIRST place can be seen by many as pretentious/vain/macho/self-centred/bonehead mentality. Personally I don't train in a vest anymore, and the only time I expose my torso at the gym is occasionally at the end when everybody else has gone home. I tend not to inspect myself at HOME often either, so at least at the gym I get to see myself PUMPED,.............which looks considerably different to when I'm relaxed and 'cold'. So at the gym, a cheeky rolled up sleeve during curls won't offend many.
Just train until you're wasted -be it running, cycling, weightlifting, whatever. Can't go far wrong as long as you warm up properly. "Posing" is a bit like isometrics - strictly for the home only! I do isometrics after each body part - I'm convinced it helps but it looks VERY silly (tensing without weights - LOL!)
Really, ask most people what they hate most about the gym and they'll reply the posers who look at themselves in the mirror. You are at the gym to WORK, not to touch yourself whilst checking if your biceps are getting 0.0001" bigger due to your curls.
A gym I went to had a "Rimmer" from Red Dwarf lookalike who posed all the time in the mirror while grunting and benching about three grams. I'm sure he was a paedo.
*Really? 'Most' people? Got any stats on this? *This often goes on IN BETWEEN 'work'. *Who mentioned touching? *I'm a bit long in the tooth to think THAT lol (see previous posts).
Most people is me. I say this because ideally, I want to rile you so much you tell me which gym you're at so I can come and watch you without you knowing, and touch myself in my special place. xx
But seriously, the guys who look at themselves in the mirror seem completely self obsessed, and honestly, they probably are, as they have image problems. Anyone confident of their self image doesnt need to keep confirming with themself that they are happy in their own image. That is very simple psycology.
Yeah, I know exactly what your saying, and outright posing in the same room as me makes me feel very embarassed and uneasy LOL Especially when they take their tops right off. It would definitely seem daft for a 'weightlifter/powerlifter' to stand there doing it, but this thread is called 'Bodybuilder', which INEVITABLY leads to some posing. If muscles shouldn't be tensed without weights being held, then Lee Haney would've looked a bit of a plonker doing double bicep poses and most muscular poses with large dumbells in his hand. Read the encyclopedia of 'the great oak', and you'll see that posing was a vital part of his workouts This is now really detracting from the main meat and potatoes of the thread though I think, and is a fairly minor choice/detail. I'm pushing 34 now, and in another few short years I'll be half way to being dead. If I were to start posing in front of a busy gym, stand on my head, do a silly walk, do a John Inman impression,...........who cares. In this nutty world, there are far worse things for people to be doing
Ben your mate needs a slap, 3 hrs workout, bloody hell I rarely go past 1 hr, as i'm completely wrecked by then everyone is obsessed by bench press, it's a good exercise, but only 1 of many compound exercises that work very well. Wrote a routine for Dave that seems to be working ok, it'd kill a advanced trainee, but for a beginner who can't really recruit everything yet, it seems to be working ok i'll get him to forward it the first 6 odd weeks is mostly about you learning the moves, rather than any serious progress, but it will still change you dramatically
