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[Fitness Advice] Striving for an Athletic Build

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by gibranmd2, Jul 27, 2015.

  1. gibranmd2

    gibranmd2 Fapstronaut

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    Trying to remove the habit of NoFap from my life entirely and reap the benefits.

    Had a desire to get fit and want to get there.

    I'm 5'9" and currently 175 lbs.

    I'm trying to get lean, athletic build. Currently, a little overweight, weak.

    I took up Stronglifts 5x5 and have been doing that (MWF). Also doing elliptical for 30 minutes on off days (TTh). Thinking about adding a sprint day on the weekend.

    I was thinking of adding the 100 pushup challenge, and 30 day ab challenges every day at the end of the day.

    Do you guys think (along with proper diet of course) that this combination of workouts will help me to reach a lean, athletic physique?

    Curious if I should change my regimen or anything like that.
     
  2. Lift heavy but also work in more volume *(4x10s or 8x8) Keep the protein high, take aminos and a pre work out
    Increase cardio and do HIIT
     
  3. Bale

    Bale Fapstronaut

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    Hi gibranmd2,

    Stronglifts is cool, make sure you add essential bodyweight complimentary exercises (pull-ups, push-ups). A good program is a program that you stick to. Once you finish Stronglifts you will be an "intermediate weightlifter" and will benefit from more volume and a 5-day split (e.g. Texas method, Madcow).

    HIIT burpees are also great for fat loss.
     
  4. Temujin

    Temujin Guest

    I do intermittent fasting and calisthenics. I do super slow reps of push ups, squats ect ect. When i say super slow reps I mean super slow. I don't really count but I'm always trying to do them slower.

    I am lean and in terms of muscles they are not body builder size. They are a reasonable size but importantly are hard and defined.

    It works out for me.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 28, 2015
  5. 8BitsOfStuggling

    8BitsOfStuggling Fapstronaut

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    Hey there, not sure what everyone else has recommended, but I did stronglifts last summer and I became muscular and fit in about 6 weeks. Here is what I did. Do the 5x5 for 4 weeks, than swap to doing the same exercises but now do it as a 2x15. When you do the same thing over and over your muscles get used to it and you stop growing. Do the 2x15 for 2-3 weeks and then go back to the 5x5. The other big thing I did was mix in foam rolling. OH MY GOODNESS. Foam rolling hurts like the dickens the first time you do it, but it helps so much. I rolled for about 7-9 hours every week. 15 before I worked out, 20-30 after, and 15 at night before bed. This loosens up your muscles, helps enormously with soreness, and will keep you limber. On the side of doing the 5x5 I did 3 other types of exercises.

    First, make sure you start every workout with a small warmup, it can be just 5 minutes of walking on a treadmill. Than, I would try to run for about 10 minutes, not a lot, but enough to get the blood pumping. The other things I would do are body weights, body weights are a great way to put on muscle, but also stay toned. I was up to a 6 minute plank. Planking is one of the best workouts you can do for your full body, and will give you good abs and great support (core). I also did pullups, chinups, and resistance forms of those

    Lastly, make sure you are counting your calories and proteins. You would be surprised how hard it is to get to 3,000 calories in a day when you are watching what you eat and eating healthy, non junk food. I also was doing at minimum 1:1 ratio of protein to body weight. If you are 175 lbs, you want to aim for 175g of protein. It is a lot. Get protein shakes, eat healthy. I was determined to become fit and toned so at 150 lbs I was doing any where from 180-200g of protein a day.

    So in summary,

    • Foam ROLL!!!!
    • 5x5 for a few weeks, than 2v15 for a while, than 5x5, and so on.
    • Planks, Planks, and more planks. When you reach what ever goal you set, say you want a 1:30, when you reach that, do an extra 15 seconds for victory. When you reach 2 minutes, do an extra 30 for victory. When you reach 4 minutes, heck might as well get that stupid 5th minute.
    • Pullups, chin ups, and around the world pullups/chin ups, anything you can think of for a pullup you should do. Focus on keeping your legs not flailing around, it helps so much and you workout your core and back muscles as well. Keep those legs straight and not shaking. Do a pullup where you get to 90 degrees, than hold it, focus on your body not shaking and try to control it. As stupid as it sounds, these will help you so much

    Lastly, have fun and good luck! I put on 15 lbs of muscle last summer by doing the above. I counted my calories, aimed for about 3000-3500 in a day, and 180-200g of protein. Make sure to take your rest days, and have a blast with it, its a journey to be dashingly fit and gorgeous while not taking up to much of your daily time spending hours lifting weights.

    EDIT: Most importantly, I have noticed some people say take pre-workout and all that. I stuck to straight whey protein powder. What ever you do, please be careful with anything that contains creatine in it. Your body naturally makes creatine, and it is one of the easiest substances to through out of wack. A lot of pre-workouts contain creatine, and while it is okay to take in short term 1-2 week periods, it is not safe to take for multiple weeks in a row. I personally avoid the stuff all together.
     
  6. gibranmd2

    gibranmd2 Fapstronaut

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    This is great advice and just what I needed! I'll definitely have to keep you close for more advice.

    I have Gold Standard Whey, but stopped for a few days, because I was feeling like I wasn't losing weight.

    Also, what were you squatting, benching, lifting before you switched to 2x15. I've started the program almost 2 months ago and am slowly increasing my weight each time, but it's a process.

    Did you get the 5x5 app?
     
  7. 8BitsOfStuggling

    8BitsOfStuggling Fapstronaut

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    The 5x5 app is great. I wasn't the only one to recommend doing this, it has been mentioned to me a few times by a personal trainer. Now that I recall, he said swap to the 2x15 and back to the 5x5 when needed when you hit that plateau where you cant increase your weights. That is how you determine when to swap to the other form intermittently. You should reach that threshold in between 6-8 weeks. I don't remember what I was squatting and all that anymore. Honestly I stick to strictly body weights now, pull ups, pushups, etc. I was up to 35 consecutive pullups before I dislocated my arm and had to have shoulder surgery (which caused my tank back into fapping out of boredom)... I was benching about 215 when I quit the program and went onto other things, I weigh 150lbs. It works. If you are going to do it as rigorously as I was though, YOU HAVE TO COUNT YOUR PROTEINS, CALORIES, FATS and SALTS. It is a must. I would recommend MyFitnessPal for doing that.

    Feel free to respond here or PM me if you have any other questions :) I would be glad to be support and give advice as you go through this. Start lite with the 5x5, it will get plenty heavy quickly don't you worry. Do not over-do it and hurt yourself. Always make sure to warmup. My preferred method was to do 20-40 reps at light weight to warm up. For instance with bench I would do about 30 presses with only the bar. It is a good way to warm up. Squats, just do some full static body squats before picking up the weight.
     

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