Weightlifting for Kiwis - Discussion and support regarding the art of swole

[Smokeski]

Looked at the new gym in my town and it sucks. I'm going to get kettle bells. I'm thinking three sets, light, medium and heavy. What are some good weights for those categories?

 

[AngoryDorf]

Looked at the new gym in my town and it sucks. I'm going to get kettle bells. I'm thinking three sets, light, medium and heavy. What are some good weights for those categories?

Depends from person to person. I'd say 12, 15 and 18/20.

 

[DeutscheKatze]

 

[ducktales4gameboy]

Re: kettlebells, If you've got a gym that does day passes anywhere near and has them, figure out what exercises you want to do with them and then just go for one day and figure out the weights from that. Also check your local thrift stores if you need a 10kg, those and door-mount pullup bars seem to be the 'I was going to exercise and bought the gear but got lazy' starter pack, at least in my area.

This is an exercise any cat owner who's tried to do pushups indoors is very familiar with.

 

[RandomTwitterGuy]

within walking distance sounds like a dream

maybe get friendly with staff? id try to idk suggest them free weights? maybe they have a reason for it

or maybe they are cool peeps n take it as an idea

otherwise sounds really nice

Yeah, the walking distance makes it much easier to train, and the machine spread is decent, so I will survive. Let's see what can be done about the weight access. However, they seem to want more machines, for now.

 

[VeePeeN]

I am in a dilemma.

So, I found a new gym that is part of the local community. It is never too packed, has plenty of machines, and is within walking distance of my home. However, it does not have real free weights other than hand weights and a Smith machine.

It makes me sad that it is almost perfect, but there is no room for proper lifts.

My old gym was 30 minutes by car and about three times as expensive, but it had an amazing room for lifting. It is sad, but I guess I will survive. However, I miss my dead lifts.

We have a similar story, so I feel for ya, as I just started a new gym that was even better than the already ideal one I was using (Div-I univ).

The old one was a decent drive from work (an even longer drive from home), had NO free parking (my vehicle getting impounded from a fucking whole foods lot recently triggered my switch out of that gym) and was constantly full since its a college joint.

This new one is less than a 5 minute drive from home, has 24/7 access for an extra $5 a month, right around the corner from the grocery store, and is a serious dudebro type gym. First workout was fantastic. Has everything I was used to and then some, and as long as I beat the 5 o clock rush, I can access whatever lift I'm looking to do without waiting.

Did you try opening up Google maps and doing a search for gym within reasonable distance? Mine was hidden behind a shopping center, never would've thought to go back there. The pics ppl share on maps also let me check out if it was suitable ahead of time.

 

[Rickenbacker]

Dumb question but are the eggs in most cartons pasteurized? I really don’t like the taste of cooked eggs without adding unhealthy shit like BBQ sauce. I can tolerate eggs in those prebeaten pasteurized eggs but they’re way more expensive than a dozen eggs. I just wanna know I can crack two eggs in a glass and drink them

In other news the reverse preacher curls and hammers curls have payed off and I can cut an apple in half with one hand.

 

[Kahlz]

I've been wanting to set up a home gym but don't really know where to start. Does anyone have a basic out line for starting point or a place i should go read to start

 

[Bassomatic]

I've been wanting to set up a home gym but don't really know where to start. Does anyone have a basic out line for starting point or a place i should go read to start

How much room do you have and what's your budget?

 

[Kahlz]

about 99 square ft or a 9x11 foot room, and couple of thousand

How much room do you have and what's your budget?

 

[Ric Flair Woooo]

I've been wanting to set up a home gym but don't really know where to start. Does anyone have a basic out line for starting point or a place i should go read to start

Get yourself a squat rack ($400) barbell ( can get a titan economy one for $100) a movable bench ( different prices just one that has a decent weight rating) and some plates (probably better to use yard sales or facebook to find decent deals). If you want to deadlift get some horsestall mats from a farm store. I think I've put around a grand into mine throughout the years. Garage gym reviews is a decent place to start.

 

[Kahlz]

Get yourself a squat rack ($400) barbell ( can get a titan economy one for $100) a movable bench ( different prices just one that has a decent weight rating) and some plates (probably better to use yard sales or facebook to find decent deals). If you want to deadlift get some horsestall mats from a farm store. I think I've put around a grand into mine throughout the years. Garage gym reviews is a decent place to start.

Sweet thanks

 

[Slav Power]

I've been stuck being skinny fat at 75kg@1.8m for and completely out of shape for ~2 years now and I have no idea how to plan out a routine to build some muscle. I wasted some money on a ~2.4kg adjustable dumbbell with two 1kg and two 1.25kg weights a few days ago. I try to lift that ~4.4kg every day but I don't do any warm-ups, I don't know the right technique, I know nothing, I just grab it and lift it up and down from a standing position until my arm gets tired without a schedule or a strict goal of reps/sets or a technique. Trying to look anything up online just gives me garbage results from scam/bot sites. I also don't want to commit to some insane diet and exercise plan from the get-go like most of that online fitness bullshit would tell me to do or spend even more money on equipment or supplements, I just want to start off by getting some basic arm strength before moving onto working the torso and other muscles, the bare minimum in my bedroom to see an improvement in that one aspect to have the psychological effect of "okay that's working there's an improvement you should keep going" before working on the rest. I also don't want to become some sort of deadlifting body building hunk, I just want to build basic muscle mass to feel better and keep myself sane. Boil down the pot belly and turn the twig arms into something that's actually presentable, but small steps at a time since it already took me a lot of mental effort to lift this one weight and I don't want to blow it by overwhelming myself mentally by more bullshit, as simple as it can get please.

So, anything I should be wary of? Should I warm up beforehand or not? If so, how? Should I change the position from which I lift the weight? Should I rest my elbow on my torso/knee or force myself to keep my upper arm still and away from my body? How slowly should I lift it? Should I push myself until getting tired on one arm, or do 10 lifts on each arm until getting tired or should I plan it some other way? Or should I just keep going like I do right now every day and I'll see an improvement eventually?

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

Trying to look anything up online just gives me garbage results from scam/bot sites. I also don't want to commit to some insane diet and exercise plan from the get-go like most of that online fitness bullshit would tell me to do or spend even more money on equipment or supplements, I just want to start off by getting some basic arm strength before moving onto working the torso and other muscles, the bare minimum in my bedroom to see an improvement in that one aspect to have the psychological effect of "okay that's working there's an improvement you should keep going" before working on the rest. I also don't want to become some sort of deadlifting body building hunk, I just want to build basic muscle mass to feel better and keep myself sane. Boil down the pot belly and turn the twig arms into something that's actually presentable, but small steps at a time since it already took me a lot of mental effort to lift this one weight and I don't want to blow it by overwhelming myself mentally by more bullshit, as simple as it can get please.

Here’s the skinny.
For right now, all you need to focus on is building a habit. After that we can get more in-depth. You already have more than enough to get started on the right foot.
First off, you do want to work the torso as well as the limbs even if your goal is bigger arms. Growth is not localized like that, it’s more systemic and getting stronger overall will actually make growing your target muscles easier.
Here’s a basic, meat and potatoes routine.

TWO TO THREE TIMES A WEEK
1-2 sets:
As many push-ups as possible
As many bodyweight rows as possible
As many squats as possible
As many curls as possible
As many skullcrushers as possible

As for warmups, really just go for a jog or do some jumping jacks until you feel warm.
Just do that quick workout for like two months and build up the habit of working out, and then we can get into a more complete routine. Until then, just keep it basic. If you want to make it harder, add more sets or increase load.
As for form, nothing fancy just look up what exercise you’re doing and do it like that, the basic movements are pretty universal.

 

[ducktales4gameboy]

To add to that, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to unfuck your diet. The thread's been over it before (probably multiple times) but tl;dr if you're trying to gain muscle don't worry about counting calories, just make sure what you're eating isn't garbage and don't stress out over gaining weight because as you gain muscle it becomes progressively easier to lose fat.

Also if you need to look up exercises or form, check exrx. If you hit a page that's paywalled throw the url into internetarchive since exrx has been around 15+ years and used to be completely free.

 

[Redoniblueoni]

In a similar boat as @Slav Power . Just started lifting this last month. I walk on the incline treadmill at 12% incline and I'm working up to 3 mph for 10 mins warm up then do a workout using chatgpt. I ask for a workout using the specific muscle groups I mention and it gives me several exercises. I also found a split that let's me go to the gym 6 days a week and go based off that. Over the last few weeks it's regulated on its own and my exercises have become more routine as to which specific ones I know I want to do and much of the exercises it gives are bodyweight or dumbell only but you can also ask it for specific machine exercises if you want. It has been very helpful. Also I am always looking up videos of people doing the exercises so I can get my form right. It's been very helpful and I've gained alot of muscle.

I've never done a cool down though. Is that just a meme? Do I need to do that for proper growth/recovery?

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

I've never done a cool down though. Is that just a meme? Do I need to do that for proper growth/recovery?

It’s mostly a meme, my recommendation for “cool downs” is really just stretching.
Stretching after a workout is really good for a lot of reasons. You’re as warm as possible so it’s the easiest and most productive time to stretch, it is good for recovery as you’re not as tight afterwards, and it might be broscience but it could help a little with increasing hypertrophy.
I do a basic bitch stretching routine after every workout and even with that just that it has made me shockingly flexible and mobile, especially compared to other guys around my size.

 

[dick brain]

It’s mostly a meme, my recommendation for “cool downs” is really just stretching.
Stretching after a workout is really good for a lot of reasons. You’re as warm as possible so it’s the easiest and most productive time to stretch, it is good for recovery as you’re not as tight afterwards, and it might be broscience but it could help a little with increasing hypertrophy.
I do a basic bitch stretching routine after every workout and even with that just that it has made me shockingly flexible and mobile, especially compared to other guys around my size.

Interesting. How soon after lifting? I usually stretch in the mornings, I tried it after a workout once and found that the pump inhibited my range of motion noticeably, to the point that it felt ineffective compared to my usual routine. (And I'm not even particularly flexible)

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

Interesting. How soon after lifting? I usually stretch in the mornings, I tried it after a workout once and found that the pump inhibited my range of motion noticeably, to the point that it felt ineffective compared to my usual routine. (And I'm not even particularly flexible)

I usually do it after the body has calmed down a bit, like when I’m not so pumped up.

 

[Hassou Tobi]

I weigh 120lbs at 5’3” so I can’t be “fat” yet I feel like I look kind of wide and not lean. Is this skinny fat? Would it be helped by lifting?