Power Racks

[Rave]

Right, having measured my mum's garage, I'm going to go with the CF475 and dip bars, though I'll order by phone so I can arrange delivery when I can actually be round my mum's to collect.

I might pop to the Tesco Extra near the garage where I'm working tomorrow to see if they do any 2" hole plates as OiD suggests. While I'm there I'll try and avoid the temptation of a Technika Blu-Ray player for £70.

Then I might go to Sainsburys and fill my freezer with Basics beef mince- 97p for 400g, ~20% fat, 20% protein so all in 80g of protein and ~1000 calories for 97p. A pack of that a day on top of what I normally eat should convince my body I'm serious about it.

[SammEl]

May I just add this.

When bulking, or starting a serious weights routine, don't follow the rubbish many "nobodies" on forums (I'm reffering to bb.com) that say "BULK BULK BULK" or "Eat all the time" etc because it's complete rubbish, and even bodybuilders state it, but they can as they have a massive amount of muscle already and can pretty much eat anything and everything they wish (except 10000 calories, heh).

Take it easy, and also, keep up the cardio or weights via circuits, there is nothing worse than having a bunch of muscle and not being fit aka me 6 weeks back. I put on a good amount of muscle, but I feel if I kept up my cardio still 2 or 3x a week I would of stayed leaner, fitness level would have been as good as it was before, and I would have put on the same amount of muscle; really I don't know, but I feel that would of been the case, so...

Live and learn.

BTW: Squats and Deadlifts are very good in overall muscle building and strength, I had to stop both as my knees screwed up badly (due to lunges, never going to do lunges again in my life, and possibly leg raises too), just keep the lifts simple because in the end of the day, you don't need 100x techniques for one muscle, a couple is enough, and I know some people like to mix around etc, but with the big muscles i.e. quads, squats and deadlifts and possibly leg presses are all you need if you have access to them.

If your lifting hard enough, your body will build muscle (of course you need to eat to repair), but dont go OTT with food, it's really not worth it.

[Rave]

May I just add this.
If your lifting hard enough, your body will build muscle (of course you need to eat to repair), but dont go OTT with food, it's really not worth it.

I'm not going to go OTT, just go from 2000-2500 cals a day as I currently do (I think) to 3000-3500. I've never had any problem staying slim because (it sounds ridiculous but it's true) I'm often too lazy to eat. And sometimes too mean- if I'm hungry during the day I generally don't buy a snack because they're too expensive.

I was 11st8 at the start of May before I jetted off for a 13-night all inclusive holiday. When I weighed myself on my return I was 12st6, so 12lb heavier. Of course I'd eaten loads, because there's tasty food available basically all day. But it wasn't all fat by a long shot- I'd swum every day and put on a bit of muscle. And frankly, I felt (and I think I looked) pretty good at that weight.

I'm kind of hoping that I won't put more than an inch on my waist (currently 31") because then I'll have to go and buy a whole new set of work trousers, and I don't get a new uniform issue for another year and a half. But if I do, meh- down Primark with £25 in my pocket I suppose. If the extra grub makes me fat I'll simply keep up my protein intake and cut down on everything else. But the nature of my weight gain on holiday was an eye opener for me. I'd always thought I was naturally lean, but I suspect now that in general, I've never eaten enough.

It makes me wonder if I'd have done a lot better in Athletics at school if I'd eaten more. I trained my arse off and won champion athlete for my year three times (two of them outright). But I never got anywhere at the Kent championships, the London Boroughs champs etc., never got past the second round in fact.

Edit: I ordered the rack today. Now I need weight discs, specifically 2x1.25kg, 2x2.5kg, 2x5kg and 2x10kg. I checked out Tesco Extra tonight and they do indeed do them at approx £1 per kilo but only in 1" size- I need 2" discs. If anyone knows any good deals I'd appreciate it. I'll hit up ebay in a minute but it didn't look that promising last night. I went with my brother to Decathlon a couple of years ago and IIRC they only do 1" discs too.

[SammEl]

Never said you are, just warning you not too.

Keep the cardio if you are eating 3500, or you will put on weight, regardless of weights routines etc.

Argos sell a lot of weights!

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...;3EWEIGHTS.htm
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...%3EWEIGHTS.htm

Olympic sets are going to be expensive, normally double of normal sized plates.

Had a quick look on various fitness sites, and Argos is FAR cheaper on Olympic plates., a 3rd cheaper, and sometimes even more.

[Rave]

Never said you are, just warning you not too.

Keep the cardio if you are eating 3500, or you will put on weight, regardless of weights routines etc.

I want to put on weight, that's the point. Quite simply you can't put on weight if you're burning as many calories as you consume. I want to eat as many calories as I burn, plus 600-1000 calories of extra protein (if you see what I mean, protein contains approx 4Kcal per gram). That way my body will know it's fine to turn that protein into muscle.

Argos sell a lot of weights!

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...%3EWEIGHTS.htm
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...%3EWEIGHTS.htm

Olympic sets are going to be expensive, normally double of normal sized plates.

Had a quick look on various fitness sites, and Argos is FAR cheaper on Olympic plates., a 3rd cheaper, and sometimes even more.

Can't see any individual plates, which is what I need, I already have a bar and 2x 15kg plates from my brother.

[SammEl]

I want to put on weight, that's the point. Quite simply you can't put on weight if you're burning as many calories as you consume. I want to eat as many calories as I burn, plus 600-1000 calories of extra protein (if you see what I mean, protein contains approx 4Kcal per gram). That way my body will know it's fine to turn that protein into muscle.

I know how it works, but don't take it too far, your body can only create a certain amount of muscle per week, yet you can out on lbs of fat pretty fast. Take a took at your stats.

You are eating 3500
That's 1000 calories to use up
Use up 500 for cardio
Use up 500 for weights

Job done.

Can't see any individual plates, which is what I need, I already have a bar and 2x 15kg plates from my brother.

Hmm by bad.

Thing is, that York set with the bar (140kg) is cheaper with the bar than individually buying the plates. If you have enough space, I can assure you having two bars will make things A LOT eaiser for you i.e. deadlift bar always on the floor for use, or other uses, while the other bar can always stay high.