Strength / Weight Training

just realised I said 75% off, I meant 75% of rrp. Glad you got some weights to throw around though!

Weak is the first step on the path to strong.

Right side of my hip is getting better to the point where I feel comfortable squatting up to twice a week- had a post-Christmas deload and feeling OK so far.

Also starting to take my mobility a little more seriously and spending 15-20mins stretching without fail. Also got some resistance bands for some glute excercises - wish I'd have done so a lot sooner!

I need to do more mobility stuff. I used to be able to get my chest to my knees with straight legs from standing, went to yoga with my partner last weekend and could barely get into most of the poses :')

Looking at photos I really need to sort my tits out. As someone who in a previous life had pecks it's pretty depressing.

Two questions arise:

1. Are pushups going to be the best thing, or is there a set of gym exercises that would be better?
   
2. What should I then be doing as a counter work out to make sure I don't fuck up my back and posture? (the reality is I will be spending the day at a desk sitting badly regardless of my aspirations).
   
   

I'm not after a stacked chest again, just something flat with a shape.

Cheers.

I think you’ll see most benefit from just doing something first and then keeping it going.

I decided I’d had enough of being slumpy shouldered and used to be skinny from lots of bikes and running (relatively) and realised i now had at least 3 times a week I could use a gym when my eldest swam (previously I had to look after the youngest).
I started StrongLifts, which I’d previously done, and off I went. Then after a bit I saw an insta coach I liked the look of, they gave me a program I try and follow. Has lots of “one armed dumbbell bench press” and “offset march”.
Stuff I’d have said fuck off to 3 months ago.

So, get started, move forward.

If you’re at home, nerd fitness is a great place to start.

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Cheers.

At the moment I've just been focusing on cycling then maybe a bit of rowing and/or one bit of weight equipment to get my confidence back.

I'm finding the gym much easier, as carving out time without getting distracted is really hard. I'm either doing chores or sitting down knackered. At least with the gym I leave the house.

Yes. This is key.
Leaving the site of shite is important.

Honestly biggest thing for that is going to be overall fat loss.

For exercises, bench, cable chest flyes, push ups and dips will all be good exercises for your chest, for antagonist work, any rows will be good, bodyweight, barbell, dumbbell, whatever. Just try to do similar intensity / sets / reps for push and pull.

Honestly biggest thing for that is going to be overall fat loss.

im in agreement

Like everyone else has said, fat loss.

I’m 10kg lighter but everyone says I look more muscular - but that’s because being leaner improves definition.

Not sure how others feel about PT's but it's been a revelation to me over the last four months. I'm more committed, focussed and motivated by having another human involved and I don't have to plan half as much as I just recycle his previous sessions. Saying that, where I live it's only £30 p/h whereas I'd bet it's double that in London's famous London.

I have gained a decent chunk of weight (around 4kg) with nothing really to show for it, although I still consider it early days. I do feel better for eating more though, even on days where I'm not working out I do feel somewhat ravenous

Yeah... It's the diet that's the problem. Oh well I'll crack on and see how I go.

I think that having a coach / PT is amazing, the issue is that there are a lot of shit PTs out there. If you've got a good one that's amazing.

I really liked working with a strongman coach, it just ended up not being worth it from a cost vs. how dedicated I actually was perspective.

I’ve considered trying to invent you can put on a machine so you can do forced reps, but it’s still at the thinking about it stage.

Just having someone there to help grind out those last reps is a god send.

Yep and the rest...

think my old PT was £70 p/h back in 2019...

Never had a pt but absolutely loved being coached.
But that was like £70/mo - which is nothing really.

I know a pt in east london who charges £45 an hour. He's good too.

Wasn't sure where to ask, but here's as good a place as any i reckon, so, greens powders... talk to me.

I have a fairly awful diet, in part thanks to ARFID, which contains zero fruit, and a pretty small number of 'acceptable' vegetables - so almost certainly part of the section of the population who could really do with a bit of a boost and won't just pee out any extra vitamins.

I'm never going to spend AG1 type money here, but wondering if there's any particular ingredients/brands I should be looking for? Are the ones with the pre/pro-biotics a must over the plain stuff (such as the £5.99 tub i tried from Home Bargains)?
Is Ashwaganda going to magically make all life's worries melt away?

So hard to cut through all the bullshit marketing, and figure out whether 'contains Xmg of Y' is actually a decent amount, or just enough for them to chuck it on the label.
I was hoping to find some youtube videos that break down the contents a bit like Shredded Sports Science or Renaissance Periodization sometimes do with other supplements, but no luck so far other than obvious AG1 advertorials or a few rebuttals thereof.

and won't just pee out any extra vitamins

Can't stop that. Excess is peed out. (some of them... Water soluble ones at least, that's why sometimes too much of a good thing is bad. ) But by the sounds of it, you don't have much to pee out.

Is Ashwaganda going to magically make all life's worries melt away?

No

Shredded Sports Science

I think he only bitches about fitness influences and the geared patrol...

If you're into greens, I'd try something like Bulk suppliments or MyProtein or something similar. They're relatively cheap but seem to be well made skipping the fanfair and bullshit of the influencers.

Hit that 200kg*5 deadlift today and it flew so I'm feeling pretty pleased. Down 4kg-ish of bodyweight too.

Going to do a bit more higher rep submaximal training now to get my conditioning up. Sets of 10 box squats shouldn't puff me out this much...

Chaos Crew - Serious Greens berrylicious is what we use. Tastes great.

Big milestone, congrats man!

I've been hitting the 10s and 12s up lately too - oh lawd those first couple weeks were hard.

Cheers! Got up to 212.5kg for 3 a couple weeks ago so decided to come back to this goal, but was getting nosebleeds pretty much every session so have decided to dial back the intensity.

Yeah those higher rep sets of big movements are full on. Well, best way to get better is to train what you suck at :')

200kg*5 deadlift

Power!