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>> No. 3833 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:55 am
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Right lads,

I've noticed I have lost a of of muscle mass over the last year. My core strength is cracking, but even I can see my arms now look like a smackhead's.

I am using barbells at home, but I just don't understand what a rep is. Or what 5x5 means.

Could anyone give me a bit of basic advice, or drop me a link that doesn't already assume you have wasted 500 hours learning acronyms and terminology?

Compete beginner level muscle build (and I laugh as I write this, as it is muscle density that I am after - I still easily lift more than guys with 5 times the diameter of my arms and thighs...). My core had never left me, but the limbs and stomach are beginning to drop after a more sedentary lifestyle kicked in.

Right: barbells, cardio, calisthenics, in one wrap, please. With all terminology at the base level explained.
Expand all images.
>> No. 3834 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:55 am
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>>3833

A rep is one unit of a repeated movement, including the return to the start position. For example, one rep on bench press after unracking the weight would be lowering the bar to your chest and pushing it back out to arms length. The number of reps you perform will make up a set. When people write 5x5 they mean 5 reps performed for 5 sets (i.e. a total of 25 reps with breaks in between).

Barbells are the longer bars that people load with weights to perform exercises like bench press, squat, and deadlift. Programmes like Starting Strength are built around these exercises, and I'd highly recommend you pick a programme that includes them if you want to get stronger. Dumbells are the one-handed variation that I think you're probably using at home. They're usually (though not always) of a fixed weight at gyms with the amount written on the side, and are good for things like fixing/preventing strength imbalances between the right and left sides of your body.

Muscle density versus size is typically determined by the amount of weight you perform your reps with, and the number of reps you do per set. It's generally accepted that higher weights for lower reps (1 to 5) will make you stronger and bring about the type of muscle you're after, whereas moderate weights at higher reps (6 to 12) will bring about growth in size, though there is some crossover in effects. The numbers I've put there are pretty widely accepted, but you can search for myofibrillar versus sarcoplasmic hypertrophy if you're really interested in the details.

I'm not sure there's anything I can tell you about cardio beyond that it improves the function of your cardiovascular system (i.e. how efficient your body is at transporting oxygen throughout the body, among other things). It's often employed by people who want to lose fat, those who are conditioning themselves for sports, long-distance or endurance events. Cardio will only help you get stronger if you find yourself out of breath while lifting weights, though there are obvious mutual benefits between being fit and strong.

'Intensity' is a catch-all term for the degree of effort you're putting in during an exercise. For example, in a cardiovascular exercise like running, jogging would be low intensity while sprinting would be high intensity. High intensity exercise will quickly deplete the glycogen (energy stores) in your muscles and you will use up whatever carbohydrates you consume as a form of fast-burning fuel. Low intensity exercise has been shown to use fat stores rather than carbohydrates, but at a far slower rate.

Calisthenics are just bodyweight exercises as I'm sure you know. I'm not an expert on this, but I will say calisthenics are a great measure of relative strength, and are generally a good way of telling whether you're putting on too much fat. Some calisthenics are incorporated into most strength programmes, especially pullups and chinups.

You may find this guide useful for general advice, as far as I remember it's written in laymen's terms:
http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html

Exrx is an invaluable resource, particularly in checking whether you're performing an exercise with the correct form, and what part of the body the exercise is intended to strengthen.
http://www.exrx.net/

This tool will show how strong you are in relation to others:
http://www.strengthstandards.co/#/

Read up on programmes, pick one, stick to it. If you're just starting out you can do almost anything and get strong. Keep good form, don't injure yourself, and make sure you're doing this for the long-term. Health and strength are great things to have and maintain over the course of a lifetime, not as a temporary fix to your current insecurities or body image issues. Fit it around your daily activities and be practical about it.
>> No. 3835 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:56 am
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>>3834

Right, this is possibly the best response I have ever received on the Interwebz in general.

Dumbells are what I am using.I am slowly pushing from 3 kilo to 7.5 each side. By that I mean I am using 7.5 or so as standard now.

I intend to pick up a set of heavier ones soonish, but do not need them now.

My major concern was form - I see deadlifts as fucking retarded. I appreciate my knees and lower back.

I also have a boxing coach popping over in the near future to check that I am lifting, and indeed doing anything, well.
>> No. 3837 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:56 am
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You basically asked all the questions I wanted to ask, OP. So, thanks, I guess.
>>3834
Thank you too.

Anyone here plays with kettlebells? I am particularly interested in Tsatsouline's Simple and Sinister.
>> No. 3838 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:57 am
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>>3837
I don't do it regularly, but I have played with kettlebells. If you're interested in squeezing a bit of cardio into your strength work they're ideal; they can also be really helpful for improving asymmetries depending on what exercises you do with them. They're also absolutely punishing if used correctly; you can fit a high-intensity workout that covers a lot of your major muscle groups and looks after your heart into 30 minutes if you put your mind to it.
>> No. 3839 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:57 am
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>>3838
> ; you can fit a high-intensity workout that covers a lot of your major muscle groups and looks after your heart into 30 minutes if you put your mind to it.
That would be great. I don't have any spare time for visiting a gym but I could definitely exercise at home.

How do I do that correctly though? Any additional material to read?
>> No. 3840 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:57 am
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>>3839

Here's something:

http://greatist.com/move/hiit-kettlebell-workout

Look into high intensity interval training as a whole too, the evidence is piling up to support it as the most ideal form of exercise for general health and strength.
>> No. 3841 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 2:57 am
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Can you copy and paste all the posts in this thread, delete it, fix the 'Roght' in the OP and then repost them all again please?
>> No. 3842 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 9:18 am
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>>3841
What?
>> No. 3843 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 10:23 am
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>>3842
The typo in the original post is ruffling my bottom somewhat but it's a good thread otherwise.
>> No. 3844 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 7:00 pm
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>>3843
But some absolute maniac did delete the thread and repost every reply individually - comically including yours. How very ungrateful.
>> No. 3845 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 7:07 pm
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>>3844
Yes. This is confusing me. I wanted to delete this post>>3836 because the squat one is wrong and I wasn't aware.

Delete this please because I can no longer unfortunately.
>> No. 3846 Anonymous
6th May 2016
Friday 8:45 pm
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>>3844

Oh mercy, I just noticed this. That someone would really bother to do so is part of the reason why I love .gs.
>> No. 3847 Anonymous
7th May 2016
Saturday 8:48 am
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>>3846
It's rather unfair that I can no longer delete those posts that I made. They were mine and not his to nick so I want my delete power back because I've changed my mind now. It's typical of this place to have your posts deleted but it's the first time they've been stolen from me.
>> No. 3848 Anonymous
7th May 2016
Saturday 1:41 pm
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>>3847
Have you filed a DMCA?

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