I lift at BodySystems in Imperial. It is honestly a stone throw away from my house! I can get anyone in the area a pretty good deal on a membership!!
Jimmy
kevin(cleanquik306) got us all a membership for ballys(3 year premiere) for 425.00 bucks. He actually lended me the cash to join as well, what a nice guy:69:
thats not a bad deal at all.
I paid a 75 dollar initiation fee and then 39.50 monthly for 2 years for my gym.
The gym is HUGE and VERY VERY CLEAN. It has a dry sauna, tanning beds, “fitness room”, spinning room and child care. Everything is included in the membership so you never have to pay extra. Also every class they offer is free of charge like spinning, tae-bo and all those other TV infomercial type workouts.
They only downsides in my opinion are the wanna be ronnie colemans that are there from 3 til 7ish and the silver sneaker (senior fitness) in the morning at like 9.
Jimmy
I lift at my house, in the basement. I’ve got an adjustable bench…that’s it, no forks for holding barbells or fancy shit like that. yeah. think about me trying to squirm under a 160lb barbell and do a set. Then think of me grabbing 120 to do standing military presses and banging it off the ceiling. It’s funny but at the same time tragic. Barbells are tough to use because of the small space…but at the same time it forces me to train my upper body mostly with dumbells, which is definitely better
well i did a chest/slightly tri workout today.
My current pre workout supplements are NO-Xplod and half of an ABB speed stack.
My workout went something like this:
I started with Flat Barbell Bench. I warmed up with 135. The first working set was 225 for 8 reps, Then 235 for 8 reps then i tried 245 for 6 but only managed 5 clean reps. My final set i wanted to throw on something heavy and just get a single rep. I put on 275 and did it once but it wasnt my cleanest or best rep but no the less i lifted it!!
Second was Incline DB bench. I used 70lb DBs for 12 then 75lbs for 10 then 80lbs for 8
Next was Low Cable X’over. i used the 6th plate for 15 reps and then 7th plate for 2x12
Next, Seated “Archiac” bench press for 3x10 on the 11th plate in the stack.
Next, DIPS all sets to failure. First iwas 23 reps then 14 reps then struggled to get 10
lastly, i did tri - pushdowns with the chambered attachment. i used the 7th plate for 3x12
and that was it! 
great workout!!
my best piece of advice for people trying to gain size is to constantly add weight. Thats they only way i EVER grow is by adding more and more weight every week! Even if its only 5 pounds! its still weight!!
Let me know about your workouts! i like reading about people getting stronger and what not! Its very inspirational to me! :)
Jimmy!!
my best piece of advice for people trying to gain size is to constantly add weight. Thats they only way i EVER grow is by adding more and more weight every week! Even if its only 5 pounds! its still weight!!
thats my problem, i add weight but have stayed plateau’d before. but since i changed up i’ve been gaining strength but still, my body weight is kinda hovering…but i havent been able to eat as much as i had previously so i think that is one reason for the flatline. but i have since changed the workout as you guys suggested and got off the constant go to failure thing.
currently on my heavy routine, i target 5-6 reps for my sets. i wont add weight till i can do it fairly clean 7 times. i was at 225 on bench for 5-6, then next week i did 7 easy so i went to 235 last week and did 4. next time around this week i did 5 good reps. so i’m goin up still. weight only has gone up just under 2 lbs in the past 3 weeks i guess but for not eating as much or takin in as much protein, i think that is a good success
Progressive poundage is by far the best way to pack on muscle…but 5 lbs a week is waaayyy too much. That is eventually setting you up for over training. I had decent results with adding 5lbs every other week. I think that even may have been too much once I started getting into the heavy weight. I eventually plateaued. All this I am referring to adding 5 lbs to your starting weight for your first set every workout.
I think I am going to change it up a little for my chest/back routine. I was starting out somewhat light and just adding 5 lbs every set. I think I may go really heavy, then in the following weeks I am going to throw in some HIT training and do some strip and drop sets. I really want to put on about 10-15 more lbs and feel a I am in need of a change.
i guess that came out kind of wrong with no explainations!
this really only applies to my larger exercises like squat, bench press, rows,deadlifts and etc. these exercises i usually use pyramid sets.so I really dont think adding 5 pounds of weight to the larger compund exercises is that bad. The worst thing that happens is you dont perform as many reps as i want. When I find myself in a positon where im not getting enough reps on a given set, I will not add moreweight and use that weight again for the next set because its lower reps.
I would never continue adding weight to smaller isolation exercises where form and reps are absolutely crucial.
Jimmy
I think I am going to change it up a little for my chest/back routine. I was starting out somewhat light and just adding 5 lbs every set. I think I may go really heavy, then in the following weeks I am going to throw in some HIT training and do some strip and drop sets. I really want to put on about 10-15 more lbs and feel a I am in need of a change
i’m thinkin i might do this as well, either next week or two weeks. i’m not sure yet. i want to go into a HIT period of 2-3 weeks, and then back to my high reps/low weight stage for another 3-4 weeks, then back to heavy and keep that as my rotation
but i’m doin pretty good so far with the current setup, so i might stay on my heavy routine (non HIT) for another 2 weeks to see where i’m at
I think it was maybe a little misunderstanding…I meant every week for your first set add 5 lbs. if that was the case then in 3 months you could add 60 lbs to an exercise. But I think you meant to just add 5 lbs for every set within a workout. Which I would agree with.
But I think you meant to just add 5 lbs for every set within a workout. Which I would agree with.
I took it as you add 5 lbs every week for your main workin sets but only add that weight if you are doing around your target rep range
i tend to stay at a weight for 2 weeks and then add 5-10 lbs and go from there
As for adding weight on a weekly/workout basis I have had decent results with picking a reps range and working with a weight until I get that rep range very easy. Then I would throw on the 2.5’s on each side and repeat. It starts out kinda quick but for me at least it slowed down a bit once I got into heavier weight. Which is where I am now…so like I said before I am switching to a heavy workload for lower reps. Yesterday I started this for my bench and back day, started out with 8 reps (picked a weight I thought I was going to get 6 but I got 8) then I added 10’lbs every set and ended up getting 4 (3 clean, 4th spot) on my last set. For back I tried to stay in the 8-10 rep range since I have always felt like I get a better workout for back in that rep range.
Time and experience have proven to me that keeping a training journal is one of the best tools you can have. It will tell you when you need to add or remove weight and when you have hit a plateau.
Using a defined rep range is another great tool.
When I do HIT training, I use an 8-10 rep range. To start, I use enough weight to go to failure on the 8th rep. On the next workout day, I use the same weight. If I do 9 reps, I will do the same weight for another workout. Once I can do 10 good clean reps with the weight, I will add small increments. Roughly 2-6%.
HOWEVER,
When I do a split routine, I never to to failure and I use a 6-8 rep range. I usually do 4 sets, 5 including the warm up set. The warmup set is very light. The next set is with a weight that I can do 8 reps. I usually stop at 8 mainly because I am acheiving some muscle fatigue. For the second set I will take off a very slight amount and try to get 8 reps. More muscle fatigue. And for the 3rd and 4th set I take off more weight in small increments and will only try to do 6 reps. Usually by the 4th set I have achieved muscle fatigue without failure and it is time to quit. The next workout I will load the bar with the same amount of weight and do the exercise. If I only get 6 reps or come very close to, or achieve muscle failure, I know that I have added too much. I will then adjust accordingly for the next 3 sets.
It has been my experience that I can add weight more quickly with a HIT routine.
Try using a 1 Rep Max calculator to help figure out what weight you can use. They are actually pretty darn close to what you can really work with.
My buddy used to hit this same wall and he would go crazy heavy for 2 or 3 workouts and working in the 4-6 rep range then switch back to see if he could pass reach the 10 rep mark.
I agree I started keeping a log starting in 2007…it is a great “tool”. Helps points out where you are excelling and where you are lagging.
I have found in the past for me doing some drop sets and strip sets for a 3 week period helps me a lot when I hit a plateau. Just have to be careful for injury and over training.
i’ve had a log since spring 2005 or so…and i’ve seen what happened to my body and noticed the plateau but never knew what to do about it. i took time off and had to rebuild where i left off. i slowly gained but not as much as i would have liked. definately a key thing to do is keep a good log.
i’m debating whether i should continue with my heavy routine this week or go to a HIT for a 2 week period or so.
If you are coming off a heavy routine where you are training till failure I would take it easy for 2 weeks training 2-3 reps short of failure. Then go into a HIT for 3 weeks.
no i’m goin to about 1-2 reps before failure on my heavy routine but get plenty of rest before next work out session.
i’m thinkin of goin into a HIT for 2 weeks then back into my light routine/high reps workout for alittle while then back into the heavy. this way i think i can push past the plateau and start gaining more than ever
a pyramid is a great way to get stronger, but the reason you get stronger is because you are lifting in the power range. the sets that have 6+ reps aren’t doing anything except prefatiguing your muscles. when you get to the good heavy sets-6reps, 4 reps, eyc, thats when you grow.
i love seing people taking their workouts with so much passion. it is a big part of my life, and i love to share the knowledge i have about it.
so here is the best workout for ANYONE who wants to get bigger and srtonger:
1/-lift only in the 4-6 rep range. thats it(warmups don’t count)
2/-do 4 sets of every exercise
3/-lift heavy-don’t hurt yourself, but if you cut down on reps, you go up on weight used!! ex: instead of benching 225x10, do 260/270x4-6
4/-eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat-each time i said eat should be how many times you actually eat-lots of protein
5-work muscles on opposite days-day1-chest, day2-bis, day3-shoulders, day4-legs, day5-tris, day6-tris