The Fitness Guide

I tried out the Monday workout yesterday. Problem is I hadn't slept all night and hadn't really eaten, but I thought I would give it to go

Try squats without the dumbbells/weights: minimum 5 sets, 20 reps with 15-30 seconds rest between sets. You could do it with your arms behind your head or extending them forward when you bend down.
Just test how you hold up.

I've decided to post some pics of my progress. I don't have any examples of 'before', but believe me, it shows. My current weight is 180lbs (or at least close to it) and while I said that I want to go up to 185, I've changed my mind. I hate training for mass and 175 pound is more than enough for my frame and age, so I'll go down to that weight while improving shoulders and calves and define my body as much as possible. May is going to be the transitional period followed by three or four months of definition. My target physique is that of Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

Last edited by Fenix on Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Very impressive Your arms and abs are probably where you want them to be, as well as your weight and frame. A couple of things I'd keep working on are definition in your back and more mass for your chest. You did a great job building muscle while keeping your fat % very low. What makes your development so impressive is that you made huge changes from your older pics to now (you were very skinny, imo.) Nice work!!

Oh shit, Fenix is starting to go dweeber on the forums.

It's kinda weird that he's gone for a couple months and comebacks just to show pics of himself and his body.








But then again, we can use those for getting pics of naked chicks

It's kinda weird that he's gone for a couple months and comebacks just to show pics of himself and his body.

So you're saying that doesn't sound EXACTLY like me?

And yes, my back needs to improve and so does chest. My conditioning and flexibility also suck toads. Everything is still work in progress.
.

But then again, we can use those for getting pics of naked chicks

We don't have a use for pics of his body.
Chicks will probably think it's ghey for a guy to take pics of his own body.

But then again, we can use those for getting pics of naked chicks

We don't have a use for pics of his body.
Chicks will probably think it's ghey for a guy to take pics of his own body.

On abcbodybuilding.com, a lot of people take pics of themselves to monitor their own progress. You're just upset that you can't use this brand new opportunity to use these pics on girls

I'm already thinking of an angle or background story where I use a pic of Walter Hermann as Fenix's brother.

Fenix, when I saw your old pics I figured you were real skinny. How long did it take to get like that because that looks like alot of progress.

My sister bought a digital camera recently so I might take some "before" photos and keep them till I take the "after" photos and see my progress. Hopefully I get some good progress.

Nice work Fenix.

I was very skinny. I weighted as little as 150 pounds at my current height of 6'3. I gained all of my weight in the past 18-20 months or so, although I did train with weights several years ago, but lost all of that with aerobics. I'm convinced I could've achieved much greater results, but living a lifestyle of a typical student (going out, sleeping at my girlfriend's place, etc.) somewhat doesn't 'allow' me having the work ethic necessary for that. I'll definitely improve in that area, though.

18-20 months to get your body looking like that from where you were at? Damn, thats a lot of work.

As for me, I'm starting my workout next week now because I gotta see my physio and get my knees checked out. They have been really bad lately and i can't go up/down stairs without pain, jump, bend with weight, etc. I'll drop all exercises that put pressure on my legs until the physio gives me the ok, I'll give myself 6 weeks and see how I feel then about it. Problem is for my PE class we have to run just over 50km each week then run a half marathon (21.2km's I think?) in a certain amount of tme to pass. I won't be able totrain for it with my knees so I guess its a fail for me, which makes my chances of passing my final year of school very, very slim since I decided to take one less subject so I don't have too much of a workload

And shadowgrin, I can do the squats, but my knees ache very badly.

18-20 months to get your body looking like that from where you were at? Damn, thats a lot of work.

It depends on how consistent and dedicated one is, really. Genetics is another factor. In my case, I went from 160 lbs to 175 lbs in 6 months, which was about 0.6 lb increase a week, where it is possible to do 1lbs a week (healthy maximum).

Definitely check your knees out with a doctor. You might have to rest them. When you're doing squats, your knees are not supposed to hurt at all, and if you do feel pain in them, your posture/movement is not correct. You're supposed to feel the stress being placed on your quads, lower back and butt. Never do squats if your knees are in pain, that's a dangerous thing to do until you figure out why your knees are sore. I had sore knees before, but that was because of tendinitis from basketball, and so I had to rest them for a few months, sadly.

but that was because of tendinitis from basketball, and so I had to rest them for a few months, sadly.

Exact same problem with me + "shin splints". It absolutely sucks, considering I have reinjured them twice from not resting. I have been like this for about 18 months. I'm finally gonna rest them, give them 6 weeks (depending on what physio/doc says) and then reasses them, then just too make sure no full on ball for another 2 weeks. I miss being able to pay basketball for more than 10 minutes pain free.

My fault for not resting though, so I guess I can't complain. It just takes away all of my ability as a basketball player. Everything hurts to do. I was around a 90% free throw shooter before the injury and now, while my shoot is still good, if my knees are hurting I can't bend far enough to shoot. Aaargh I hate this.

Can I ask you, after your couple months of rest, have you played basketball much since and experienced any sort of "comebacks" from the inury? What I mean is do you feel the injury coming back or do your legs feel fine again?

nice work fenix...i'd like to say that i'm on path to where you are...however, all that comes to a screeching halt when i go for a 6 week overseason holiday which will be full of booze, bad diets and no excercise.

full of booze, bad diets and no excercise

Also known as the good life.

Can I ask you, after your couple months of rest, have you played basketball much since and experienced any sort of "comebacks" from the inury? What I mean is do you feel the injury coming back or do your legs feel fine again?

Well, semi-stupidly, I played through the injury in my last 2 years of high school ball. I did win MVP in my last year, but I had to play with a knee brace. Instead of being a hopping and slashing scorer, I relied more on basketball smarts and fundamentals like boxing out and jump shooting instead of using my jumping and speed abilities because I was limited by my knee.

After graduating from high school, I didn't play basketball much after that. Right now, I think I'm completely healed but I'll have to go through a lot of conditioning to get back to where I was, assuming my knee doesn't get re-injured. I'm thinking of joining an adult league in a year or two just for fun and see how well I can play.

Well, semi-stupidly

I did win MVP

I see no reason why you should have any regrets

Thanks for the help with the workout and the info on your knee. Appreciate it

I got sick recently. Does this mean I lose my running speed as well as muscle? Do I have to gain my running speed back?

I got sick recently. Does this mean I lose my running speed as well as muscle? Do I have to gain my running speed back?

If you were sick for a week, then yeah, you probably lost a bit of endurance. Run for a week and you'll be back to where you were.

anyone know anything about plantar fasciitis? i've been playing basketball, and running a lot .. and i'm pretty sure i overtrained. the heel and the arch in the middle of my foot feels like it's been pulled, and i can't seem to walk properly. i don't want to take time off, anyone know of a remedy?

Time off is the remedy, unfortunately. If you want the healing process to go faster, see a doctor.

I just completed the second day part of my workout. I have a pretty wierd problem. I was doing just fine till I got to side lateral raises, but then after about 3 lifts I got a wierd feeling in my left wrist (directly under that little bone that pops out), like it had a catch in it, something blocking it from bending. I finished the set then when I put the weight son the ground it felt like my left wrist was locked, I grabbed it and rolled my hand round in a circular motion and it popped. Not popped as in just a sound, but something popped into place. I literally saw something that was protruding a bit, pop down and dissappear. After wards I rolled my wrist around a few times again and I just had a wierd feeling, a slight catch and it just clicked on each turn, but no pain. My right wrist was perfectly fine. I went onto the second set and got the same feeling on the second lift so I stopped and decided to give my left arm a bit of a rest and skip the lateral side raises. When I got to the push press, I could still feel a slight "catch" feeling in the wrist. It carried on throughout the exercise. It never really hurt but as I type this it feels extremely tight and has a slight ache/bruised feeling, feels sorta sore when I turn my hand right. I don't want to break anything, so I'm gonna drop this exercise and possibly the flexor incline bicep ones too because they were pretty damn hard and I only have 1 set of dumbbells so it takes to long to change weights.

It scared me when it happened though, I was waiting for a big influx of pain to come rushing through my arm. This happened probably 30 minutes ago but it feels a little better now. Feels like something is stuck in the joint as I type.

I think I encountered that before, but it wasn't as big of a deal. It was just a weird clicking thing, but nothing was wrong and it went away after a day or two. See how it is tomorrow. If there's no pain, then it shouldn't be much of a concern.

Ok im too lazy to read the whole thread, however im not too lazy to give you my 2 cents worth.

If you are weight training make sure you work EVERY muscle group. Not just chest arms and shoulders.

My current regime is:
Friday: Quads, hammy's and calves.
Saturday: Chest + Run
Sunday: Cycling
Monday: Back, Triceps
Tuesday: Delts, Biceps
Wednesday: Run/Cycling
Thursday: Kickboxing

* Abbs every other day.

I try to do *something* everyday. But i listen to my body...and will take a day off if i feel like it.

The other important thing is to change up your routine. Don't always do the same exercises for every body part. I like to do 3-5 exercises per body part. And for each part there are usually ten or maybe even more to chose from.

Sometimes i'll add a power day where ill just do a whole bunch of compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, clean and snatch etc. Those definately get you puffing

Drinking lots of water is GREAT ADVICE and so very important.

There is no excuse for eating poorly. Surely you can't be too lazy to grab some lean turkey, beef or chicken mince from the fridge sprinkle some seasoning and throw handful on the health grill. Those "george foreman" type health grills are the best thing a lazy cook can have. In the ten minutes that it takes your burger to cook, mix up a simple salad and enjoy.

The other thing i like thats ready if 5 mins is this:

-One can of tuna in springwater drained.
-Once can of diced tomato...drain and drink excess juice
-lemon/lime juice
-one large onion diced
-2 cloves of garlic diced
-Any of your favourite fresh herbs (not weed lol)...i grab a bunch of Basil and parsley from the garden
-Salt and pepper

Just mix it up and thats it lol. I love it, particularly on a hot summer day with some toasted bread

The funny thing about healthy eating + exercise is the majority of people start such a regime in order to "get buff" . But trust me, soon enough you'll forget about that , and just do it because you feel so much better.