this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
12 points (92.9% liked)
Physical Education
875 readers
1 users here now
A place where comrades can
(1) discuss how best to optimize their physical health and develop “Iron Proletarian Discipline” in a healthy and holistic manner. Including but not limited to weight training, stretching, cardiovascular exercise, meditation, nutrition, sleep, and daily routines with an eye towards cultivating the best habits possible,
(2) share motivational and educational writings or videos; bonus points if the perspective is that of a Communist thinker such as Mao or Fidel Castro, and
(3) discuss the relationship between mental health and exercise.
Rule:
Approach every conversation in good faith.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
You have some good specific recommendations from @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml, so I'll talk more about high level, type stuff.
I'd worry less about the specific amount of weight and reps and more about RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Make sure you are pushing yourself to change through progressive overload. I don't know what your progression plan is, but if you don't have one, you should consider having a plan in place. You need to stress the body to change or it won't, that includes muscle growth, strength or whatever your goals are.
That leads to my other point, it's great to get active and improve your health, but part of what will inform a good program is what your goals are. Are you looking at health, practical strength, sport, aesthetics? There's overlap in all of those, of course, but knowing what you want out of your time at the gym can better inform what you want your routine to look like.
I just add 5kg to the exercises when I feel capable to do it, for example I recently jumped from 20kg to 25kg after being there for like a month and a half. My goals right now is to bulk, I managed to bulk around 6kg since I started, so I won't be so skinny lol. Mainly health and practical strength.
Deadlifts and squats are the best exercises for gaining mass because of how many muscles they target and how big the targeted muscles are.
I would agree with @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml again and say you'll want to focus on big complex lifts then. Bench, overhead, squat, deads, barbell rows, etc. The dips you've got are good, and I'd add some sort of pull/chin-up. Wide grip is the most effective in my opinion, but they are rather difficult and you do have lat pull downs, so neutral grip could be good too.
Once you get more comfortable with lifting, I'd say Olympic lifting might really be where it's at (assuming you have the space/equipment for it). Moving bigger weight with a wide variety of muscles is a great way to build mass and health. We all love curls and having pump in the arms, but for health and mass, you can't beat a powerful clean and press. Big weight, lots of muscles involved and puts a good amount of stress on your cardio system for health.
This seems like an universal recommendation hah, thanks a lot!