Hi all. Ive never seen it mentioned on here, are any of you into weightlifting at all?

Ive been training for about 12 years now. I train for bulk rather than being slim and ripped as at 6 ft 5 1/2 i dont want to appear all gangly. Dont get me wrong, I'd love to be ripped but I prefer to look big in my clothes rather than looking slim hiding all that hard work away underneath them.

Im currently 19 stone but ideally 20 is my goal. Ive got 24kgs of Performance Mass Builder shakes to get through which is 500 calories per shake so that should help me along! Ive noticed a difference in my strength since ive been having it anyway and most of my clothes no longer fit due to my chest, shoulders and back size increasing. Ive thought for a while that i wasnt eating enough and had hit a plateu with my training so it was good to try something new with the Mass shakes as opposed to just my regular protein.:)

Im not a weightlifter/ strong man but I am a gym fanatic.

Im heading in the direction of lean but built so Im heading down the line of athletic fitness. I currently have a few half marathons/ 10k and OCR's for this coming year booked up.

I also do group cardio classes which are actually a lot of fun- I have made some great friends doing it.

My mate who i train with is a cardio freak, he does interval training on his turbo trainer bike for an hour then goes to the gym with me. I do appreciate the work that goes into an athletic physique and i always envy the ripped look some of the fellas in the gym have but what gets me is once they put a top on and cover their definition up its like they halve in size! Its such an optical illusion when people are ripped!

I'm going to the gym just to keep fit and lose the belly.

I watched that trust me i'm a doctor programme last night and they tested the effects of protein shakes and the overall result was that it didnt make any difference if you had it or not...what a load of bull i thought!

they even did the fasting before training and the results for men was that it worked to a degree and for women they would need to eat before training to make the most of it.

they didnt go into specifics so the results were a waste of time. the age groups appeared to be over 40's mainly too which doesnt help get a true result.

my gyms my bike

I'm going to the gym just to keep fit and lose the belly.

I watched that trust me i'm a doctor programme last night and they tested the effects of protein shakes and the overall result was that it didnt make any difference if you had it or not...what a load of bull i thought!

they even did the fasting before training and the results for men was that it worked to a degree and for women they would need to eat before training to make the most of it.

they didnt go into specifics so the results were a waste of time. the age groups appeared to be over 40's mainly too which doesnt help get a true result.

If i dont have my protein or mass builder shakes i lose weight fairly quickly so in my case i do feel they help me along. Suppose it all depends on individual goals really.

If i dont have my protein or mass builder shakes i lose weight fairly quickly so in my case i do feel they help me along. Suppose it all depends on individual goals really.

I start in the gym in October and have lost approx 1st so far but the belly is still there. I did purchase some protein shakes but havent taken any yet and will continue what I am currently doing until I am satisfied before i have the shakes. I also purchased some creatine tabs but have not taken these either...so much for recommendations on what to take!

I'm 5'4 and was nearly 12st at one stage but am currently around the 10st 7/8 mark and dont want to lose more weight but want to bulk up/lose the belly.

The good thing about being 5'4 is that you will visually bulk up far quicker than i ever could at 6'5 1/2. My muscles are so elongated that i will have to be about 25 stone to get that stocky look.

Do you break your training down into individual body parts now or are you still doing a bit of everything? Ive been doing a good 3 day split workout for about a month now and it seems to be working well. I definitely get a better pump anyway. I usually do a 4 day workout but i was getting bored of the gym so looked at how to reduce the time but get the same body parts worked.

Wes try interval training on weights- drop the bulk but you will do more reps

so try this

10 mins of 20 seconds work 10 secs rest/ changing station

3 work areas of- milirary press, side raises and bar raises (lifting the bar to your chest with hands fairly close) - I dont know the correct name for that one.

After 10 mins you will be in a world of pain!!

Wes try interval training on weights- drop the bulk but you will do more reps

so try this

10 mins of 20 seconds work 10 secs rest/ changing station

3 work areas of- milirary press, side raises and bar raises (lifting the bar to your chest with hands fairly close) - I dont know the correct name for that one.

After 10 mins you will be in a world of pain!!

Ive been doing light high rep workouts for a while due to a shoulder and arm injury. I want to bulk though so ive lowered the reps to 10 with heavier weights at the minute and probably drop to 6 once my injuries are completely gone.

I will put my workout on here when i get chance, im in work at the moment.

Gym? I think you'll find most prefer "Jim"

But no, I've never met any of our Jim's - let alone been to their homes

:D

We regularly work out in our '' gym '' thrice weekly, although we call it a pub . . . :)

i have walk by a few over the years :)

I go to a class twice a week that mixes cardio with weights . I find the older I get the harder it is to keep the belly in check lol .

In fact heading out in ten mins .

I go to a class twice a week that mixes cardio with weights . I find the older I get the harder it is to keep the belly in check lol .

In fact heading out in ten mins .

Thats good Steve if you enjoy mixing it up. I cant find the motivation and time for cardio. My 3 nights a week of heavy lifting is the most i want to do now so it doesn't impact on my home life, especially with our first baby due in 7 weeks!