Going to the gym these days makes me extremely stressed

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It's not that I want to exercise. It's that I want to do particular types of exercise i.e. big compound lifts and other muscle building exercises, to put on muscle. You can't do that without weights equipment, which is only found in a gym or you buy your own (I've already mentioned the huge complications and impracticalities of having a home gym). There isn't simply an option of 'looking for an alternative form of exercise' in this situation, or else I would never have created the thread in the first place.

That's just not true. Look up Mark Lauren as an example. His exercises are entirely outside of the gym and need very little equipment, and honestly, I've never done such a hard work out in my life.

Muscles haven't just started to exist in modern times, but gyms have. You can bulk up where the only bench you ever need touch is one in the park.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 21

Bassetts

Original post by Rascacielos

Okay. Honestly I have no idea if bodyweight only exercise is good for putting on lots of muscle. I would need someone to come into this thread and provide me with scientific evidence before I did such a routine. Or I could not be lazy and search it up myself. :ahee:

Either way, it sounds too good to be true that bodyweight only exercise can put on significant muscle mass.

Thinking about it logically, muscle is grown when there is a resistance. The more muscle you want to grow, the greater the resistance needs to be. You can't do that sufficiently with just your bodyweight.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 22

Rascacielos

Original post by Bassetts

Why don't you just try it for a week, or even a day? The only proof you need is that, if it hurts, it's working.

I have no idea how much you lift in the gym but your body is pretty heavy, and when you put the entire weight of it on one muscle, it feels infinitely heavier. You'd be surprised about how great the resistance is.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 23

Bassetts

Original post by Rascacielos

Lost it here.

1. A week is not long enough to see meaningful results
2. A day is even worse
3. If it's hurting, it doesn't mean it's working. If it's not hurting, it doesn't mean it's not working.

Your second paragraph, regarding resistance - it's not the resistance that's important, it's the change in resistance that's key. You need to be increasing the weight over a sustained period of time, to put greater and greater resistance on your muscles to make them grow. The base level is largely irrelevant. The problem is, you can't realistically do that with your own bodyweight because it doesn't change at a fast enough pace.

Reply 24

Rascacielos

Original post by Bassetts

Lost it here.

1. A week is not long enough to see meaningful results
2. A day is even worse
3. If it's hurting, it doesn't mean it's working. If it's not hurting, it doesn't mean it's not working.

That's all true. What I meant is, that you'll get a good idea of whether it's challenging you as much as the gym within a short period of time. It's not as though you're starting from scratch, so I expect you have a decent idea of what works and what doesn't by now.

Original post by Bassetts

Your second paragraph, regarding resistance - it's not the resistance that's important, it's the change in resistance that's key. You need to be increasing the weight over a sustained period of time, to put greater and greater resistance on your muscles to make them grow. The base level is largely irrelevant. The problem is, you can't realistically do that with your own bodyweight because it doesn't change at a fast enough pace.

For someone who claims to know nothing about bodyweight training, you seem to be very ready to knock its effectiveness. I realise that you'd plateau very quickly if you didn't vary your workouts and of course it always needs to be a challenge, but it's easier to do that than you seem to be thinking. Whereas in the gym you'd probably add an extra weight, in bodyweight training you find that if you vary your body position slightly then the workout becomes much harder. For example, if you're doing pull-ups then the position of your hands has a huge effect on how difficult it is, so a change in position can mean that your muscles have to work harder and hence have the opportunity to grow. And, as in the gym, you can always increase reps.

I don't claim to be an expert in any of this but I do believe in giving something a go. What are you going to lose if it turns that you'd rather be in the gym anyway?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 25

SEHughes

Bassetts, better to just stop exercising mate.

Reply 26

In One Ear

Original post by Bassetts

Go kick yourself up into a wall supported hand stand right now in your room (dont give me theres no room **** it doesnt take much space). Can you do a single hand stand pushup (head all the way to the ground)? Can you do 10? If not, work up to it. Now work on increasing the range of motion with books/pushup bars until you can do 10 with hands to shoulders range of motion.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that you can't do a single one. Come back in a couple of years when you can do 10 with hands to shoulders RoM (a very advanced level of shoulder strength).

Can you do 10 chinups? If so, work on one arm progressions with an emphasis on gradual progression and keeping volume high for hypertrophy.

Can you do unassisted pistol squats? Once these are easy, start holding heavy objects in your hands to make them harder.

Can you do a textbook regulation 1 arm pushup? No? Get working on progressions for them then. Can you do front lever rows and easily hold a back lever? No? Come back in a couple of years when you can.

Here, I have given you a fully body routine you can do in the comfort of your bedroom with only a pullup bar.

Thank me later.

Reply 27

Bassetts

Original post by In One Ear

I never asked for a full bodyweight routine, but thanks for giving me one anyway. What I asked was can it build a significant amount of muscle, as much or more than regular weights can?

I probably can't do a lot of those, simply because my centre of gravity is not in the right place.

Reply 28

Bassetts

Original post by SEHughes

Bassetts, better to just stop exercising mate.

Why?

Reply 29

In One Ear

Original post by Bassetts

I think the upper bodies of male gymnasts prove that your bodyweight alone can produce dramatic results...thing is by gradually worsening leverage in the movements you do you can make upper body movements as hard as you'll ever need. For legs though theres not really much you can do and for maximum development you'll need weights.

What is this crap about CoG?

If its a challenging movement for the right rep range/time under tension as required for significant hypertrophy, then it will produce significant hypertrophy regardless of if you are moving an exterior weight or using your own body for resistance, so yes, you can make great muscle gains doing tough body-weight exercises for reps. Not any more or any less than weights though.

I think handstand push ups are a great body weight pressing movement (though you'll need something else to target your chest properly). I did a 2 month spree of them at one point when I got enraged at my never ending plateau in the OHP at 50kg*5. I built up from not being able to a single rep to being able to do 5 head-to-ground depth. Whilst this was a significant improvement in a short space of time, to put into perspective the difficulty of increasing the range of motion further, even though I could do 5 reps head to ground, as soon as I propped myself up on 5 inch push-up bars, I couldn't even do a SINGLE rep with the extra RoM...and this is still MILES from "full range of motion". In-fact, I couldn't even control just the negative portion at first- I came crashing down! Thats how hard the exercise can be (and thats not even getting started on tougher variations like close-hands/un-even hands eventually working towards 1-armed (godlike strength)).

In that short space of 2 months, I put on 7.5kg to my OHP 5RM WITHOUT EVEN TRAINING IT or ANY OVERHEAD MOVEMENT in the gym even once (50kg*5--->57.5kg*5) breaking through the plateau I had been in for ages beforehand)!

So, if getting stronger at a body-weight movement translated into getting stronger in a barbell movement without even training it, and you are willing to accept that getting stronger in a barbell movement will definitely put on muscular size, then you can only conclude that getting stronger at challenging body-weight movements will lead to increased muscular size...

Reply 30

SEHughes

Original post by Bassetts

Why?

Because all you want to do is complain. You already have access to a gym that you can train in, you just feel too entitled to share equipment. You could train bodyweight at home but you're willfully ignorant about how to make it work.

Reply 31

Bassetts

Original post by SEHughes

There have been several other people who have the same problem as me in this thread. They don't want to go into overcrowded gyms (or public spaces in general) and constantly have to wait for equipment, or ask when someone is finished/ask to work in. Wanting free equipment is not an unreasonable thing to want. Like I say, I don't pay my gym membership to work out in some overcrowded, noisy, claustrophobic area. If I need a relatively empty, non-noisy place to exercise effectively, then that is what I need. Some people can exercise comfortably with a million other people really close to them, but I can't. Why can't you understand that some of us just don't like people and generally prefer our own space?

Reply 32

silent ninja

Original post by Bassetts

Quit complaining. It's simple economics. You go to a cheap uni gym. It serves it's basic purpose. That's life. Pay out your wallet and you can go to a relatively empty gym.

Sent from my HTC One

Reply 33

Bassetts

Original post by silent ninja

Quit complaining. It's simple economics. You go to a cheap uni gym. It serves it's basic purpose. That's life. Pay out your wallet and you can go to a relatively empty gym.

Sent from my HTC One

The general consensus in one of my other threads was that 'relatively empty' gyms don't exist in this country.

Reply 34

Converse Rocker

Original post by Bassetts

The general consensus in one of my other threads was that 'relatively empty' gyms don't exist in this country.

When does your gym open? Get there for opening time and it won't be busy. Or do you also pay to use free equipment at a time that suits you perfectly?

Sometimes life isn't as peachy as you want it mate, but that can't be changed. Unless you have some sort of social anxiety in which case you probably need to get that sorted first my man.

Reply 35

Bassetts

Original post by Converse Rocker

I'm happy working out in a gym with the odd person in there but pretty much every time I go, it's packed (or close to packed) and that's when I hate it and my workout suffers.

Reply 36

Converse Rocker

Original post by Bassetts

I'm happy working out in a gym with the odd person in there but pretty much every time I go, it's packed (or close to packed) and that's when I hate it and my workout suffers.

Like I said, you might have to alter your schedule then. Early in the morning I can guarantee our uni gym will be deserted compared to around 5 o clock, so I have to plan for that.

Reply 37

a10

Original post by Bassetts

I'm happy working out in a gym with the odd person in there but pretty much every time I go, it's packed (or close to packed) and that's when I hate it and my workout suffers.

then its simple don't go at peak times. Try going at earlier times like in the morning perhaps since most people wake up late it tends to be quite empty.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Reply 38

Riku

Bassets did these things about the gym stress you before you became a TSR resident and 'super stressed' in life? If yes then did you then think the benefits of the gym away from it outweigh the stress/fear factor while there for a few hours a week? If not then why do these things now scare you/stress you out?
I feel you bro, I really do. I got so effing stressed about the gym I hit the point where I thought the bench press would give me a heart attack. I'm still a wee scared of dat dere bench. I have anxiety issues, and I am almost certain you do too.
I guarantee you that if you are dead cert that the gym will make you a happier and more confident, self-fulfilled person (disregard aesthetics, acquire life purpose) then the only way you can manage it is to face your fear and ****ing go to the gym, **** your pants for a few weeks and expose oneself to the idea, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Reply 39

Riku

Original post by Bassetts

I'm happy working out in a gym with the odd person in there but pretty much every time I go, it's packed (or close to packed) and that's when I hate it and my workout suffers.

Potential social anxiety or claustrophobia. You need
either a) Avoid fear=space=gym outside peak hours as said
or b) Face fear=build confidence in crowded environments in general=go during peak

I'm assuming that this makes you stressed uptight and anxious rather than stressed angry, although they are interlinked :smile: