The Health and Fitness Thread

[Scott Malbranque]

It's shockingly expensive out there, innit Monkee?
A lass I work with pays 350 a month for three hourly sessions per week(twelve per month). That's nearly 30 quid an hour.
That's a fucking heist, is what that is.

If it were me, and I was a PT, I wouldn't charge more than a tenner per session. Some pricks are actually charging €50.00 an hour.

And that's straight up sexual assault.

 

I've touched on this before, but P90X and Insanity are really good to start off with and get you hooked on fitness. I firmly believe that.

My mate did P90X for his wedding a few years back and got himself into great shape.

 

Do none of the gyms out your way have free classes included in the price? Or have you tried Bokwa? That's supposed to be great fun, straight up...

[Rey_Piste]

Find some classes to do whether it's martial arts, zumba or spin classes. You can find something that you find fun interesting that's local to you. You're not going to pay much more than a tenner for a couple of hours and most classes have a cheap introductory price.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Membership at the crossfit gym I've started using is 175 knicker a month and PT sessions are 70 quid p/h on top of that.

 

I know this shit is expensive everywhere, but fucking hell London.

Edited February 10, 2016 by d-d-d-dAz

[Rey_Piste]

I pay 15 a month for what is a local chain gym so I can go to any of their 5 gyms. Then 45 for the MMA gym, which should be 60, but I occasionally help out at the kids classes, since I am CRB checked.

[Slapnut]

It's been three weeks since my return to the gym after having the cast off my wrist and I'm struggling.  I'm weak as fuck, and I know that's to be expected after a broken wrist, but it's disheartening to be lifting half the weight I used to on certain exercises.  That part isn't worrying me so much though, because I know I'll build that back up soon.  However, the fitness side of things is absolutely killing me.  If you put me in a room with 3 morbidly obese people, my 11.5 stone slim frame would easily be the most unfit of the lot.  A few days ago I was using that thing where you load weights onto this metal contraption and push it across the floor (I have no fucking idea what it's called), except I wasn't actually loading any weight onto it, and after literally 2 minutes I was seeing double.

 

I lose weight just walking up the stairs, so I'm worried the weight would drop off me if I did more cardio, and I'm probably too slim as it is.  But at the moment I feel like shit fitness-wise, and I look a bit....doughy.  Not fat, more like skinny-fat.  My stomach sticks out far more than it should but my arms are skinny as fuck and my chest is non-existent.

[Rey_Piste]

It's been three weeks since my return to the gym after having the cast off my wrist and I'm struggling.  I'm weak as fuck, and I know that's to be expected after a broken wrist, but it's disheartening to be lifting half the weight I used to on certain exercises.  That part isn't worrying me so much though, because I know I'll build that back up soon.  However, the fitness side of things is absolutely killing me.  If you put me in a room with 3 morbidly obese people, my 11.5 stone slim frame would easily be the most unfit of the lot.  A few days ago I was using that thing where you load weights onto this metal contraption and push it across the floor (I have no fucking idea what it's called), except I wasn't actually loading any weight onto it, and after literally 2 minutes I was seeing double.

 

I lose weight just walking up the stairs, so I'm worried the weight would drop off me if I did more cardio, and I'm probably too slim as it is.  But at the moment I feel like shit fitness-wise, and I look a bit....doughy.  Not fat, more like skinny-fat.  My stomach sticks out far more than it should but my arms are skinny as fuck and my chest is non-existent.

Getting your cardio up before you start on the weights is a good idea. Especially if you're breathing out of your arse after pushing a sled for 2 minutes with no weights in it. Once your cardio is up to a decent level it means you can push yourself further when it comes to actually lifting weight. So give it a couple of months of just concentrating on your cardio and if you're eating well you'll notice the fat coming off and you'll at least look ripped rather than doughy, even if you have the body type of a stick man.

[Martin Pedersen]

I weigh 9 stone/57kg and i do struggle with lifting at the gym

 

My best bench is 20kg with dumbbells, likewise with 20kg deadlifts

 

Best bicep curls with dumbbells is 15kg and thats a struggle

 

I can do a mile on the treadmill running in 8 mins 30 seconds, is that good?

 

i wont list everything, nobody wants to read that!

 

i do like to make sure i am doing the form as good as i can so maybe i could do more weight but i would rather be doing it right

 

My body shape is not too bad, i am still fairly lean and i quite like it, the t shirts are getting tighter

 

I´m pretty close to your weight, i´m 60-62 kg. I do sets with 24 kg DB about 10-12 reps. Deadlift 100 kg 8-10 reps

 

Keep doing basic excises. Squat, Deadlift, Bench - Get alot of food, as you need it. The big three are pretty taxing, specially deadlift and squats.

[Scott Malbranque]

Aye Ralphy, you need to  go on a serious calorific surplus and go on the Starting Strength program.

Newbie gains and progression are wonderful so you’ll be absolutely top of the world and buzzing for months until you stall and switch to Madcows or a 5/3/1 and watch yourself blow up.

But yeah, eat, eat, eat, rest, lift heavy and eat some more. I stand by isolations too, as you’re not going to cut and shape yourself by ONLY benching, squatting and deadlifting the way some of them self righteous, elitist, Ted Arcidi looking pricks in the gym who look down their nose on anyone doing anything remotely isolate, would have you believe.

[Mr_Danger]

I like to mix it up between compound and isolated lifts, usually 3 of one and 3 of the other. I'll do a similar 5 day spread like Ralphy's and eat about 4000 calories a day. I've dropped about 3 stone in 6 months but I won't be happy until I've got them Tom Hardy lats and I can do the pec pop of love.

 

Thinking of changing gyms soon though as even though it's pretty nifty for a leisure centre gym the dumbells only go so high and unless I'm in there before work at 6am you can't get on the squat rack or Smiths machine which are always dominated by folk who fit that Ted Arcidi description.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Mr_Danger

[Slapnut]

I just started Insanity.  Maybe I'll just stay unfit.

 

Seriously, it was only the fitness test too where you mark down how many reps of each exercise you can do in a minute.  These fucking supermodels (including a real smart Asian lady who will be the subject of my next wank) were all "Well I did 87, and I could only do 60 when I started!" while I'm lying on the floor writing the number 12 on my tracking sheet.

 

Blinding headache now too.

[Monkee]

It's shockingly expensive out there, innit Monkee?

 

 

This is the price list:

 

Pay as you go £55 per hour

 

Block sessions @ 1 hour: 10 sessions £500 (£50ph)

12 sessions £540 (£45ph)

14 sessions £580 (£41ph)

16 sessions £600 (£37.50ph)

 

*2 a week pt special*- 2 sessions a week for a minumum of 12 weeks £980

 

So the cheapest (and the one I want) is the special at the end but I'd have to put it on my credit card and I've only just paid that all off.

 

I want someone to push me rather than it being my responsibility to get myself to a class or the gym. I'll always come up with excuses (to myself) not to show up but if it's one-on-one and I'm EXPECTED to show up then I have to go.

[Mr_Danger]

A few pt's I used to know would do off the books privates where they'd come to your house or meet you in a park(ooh err). They'd also do cheaper rates for smaller groups. I can't imagine that with the glut of people who are trying to get in to the fitness industry that you can't find cheaper than that although if it's the gym you need them for specifically you might struggle.

[Slapnut]

I hurt my lower back deadlifting almost 3 weeks ago and it's still in pain.  DDP Yoga doesn't seem to be helping.  So frustrating.

[CavemanLynn]

With lower back pain, it's best to get it properly diagnosed rather than hazard a guess, especially if it's deadlift-based. I thought I'd blown a disc a year ago, but it turned out my sedentary job had tightened up my hamstrings and was forcing my lumbar spine to overflex. A few months ham-stretching, and I was back dead lifting my old weights without issues.

 

Your lower back is a supporting muscle group, and deadlifts have some the greatest carryover into overall physical health and "functionality". By all means, improve your flexibility as long as it improves your lower back condition, but don't be afraid to do some low-rep paused weighted work like bottom-up half squats and rack pulls, increasing your range of motion as you get more comfortable. I think anyone training for general health and fitness should look at training towards being able to deadlift their bodyweight on the bar for a controlled solid comfortable rep. As long as you don't overreach and sacrifice proper form, you'll be golden.

Edited March 3, 2016 by CavemanLynn

[Mr_Danger]

A young lad in our gym was dead lifting 200kg and dropping the weight about half way down and the gym lady shouted across a packed gym "I hope you're going to lower that weight because you sure can't lift it." Seemed a bit harsh considering the fun in lifting heavy stuff is the lifting and not the lowering but considering she'd only just shouted at him for taking his shoes off as well it was quite funny.

 

Funny thing in our gym, must wear shoes but fat body builders are allowed to have their nipples hanging out of their vests all over the shop.