Not looking for a rating so much as for constructive criticism and/or pointers
Hey all,
Been on the forums a little while here but never really posted much.
I’ve been training a little while but would still class myself - definitely for T-Nation standards - as a beginner more than anything. Most of my gym work has been based around sports-specific stuff and geared towards speed, movement, relative strength, etc.
Now, owing to the onset of age and increased rate of injury (man I wish I was 20 again!) I’m training with a bit more emphasis towards aesthetics, size, and the like. I’m under no illusions and have no ego in this area (haven’t earned the right) and would be grateful for any feedback/advice/criticism/direction. Just thought I’d try and tap into some of the vast knowledge and enthusiasm of the contributors on here.
All and any feedback welcome and appreciated. If that means anyone feels the urge to savage me, go for it (seems pretty inevitable that you’ll get flamed from some quarters!)
Thanks, and a Happy New Year to all T-Nation members!
Ah, didnt realise I can only upload one picture at a time…
Calves (or what passes for them!)
Front - Chest a definite weakness, I reckon?
Front 2…
Okay, thats it. Know it would probably be better (and fare annoying to scroll through!) to just have a full-body front and back, so sorry for that
Don’t worry about your age my man. I’m 31, and I’m training harder, and getting more results, than I ever have! You just have to train smart. I bought knee sleeves, wrist wraps, elbows sleeves, and a belt in the past year. Never used any of these things before. They’ve all been wonderful training aids.
Your legs look pretty small. That’s where you have the most room for improvement. Your overall shape doesn’t suck though. Just hammer away at the basics, particularly the heavy compound movements.
Thanks for the feedback man, appreciate it.
Ha, sorry, I didn’t mean to come over all hung up on my advancing years! I’m not really, I havent felt it in the gym at all - its more just that in a sports environment you start to pick up injuries with greater regularity and so my priorities have changed a little. You have to work a lot harder to keep your body sound so Ive scaled back some of my more functional sports work and am spending some of that time in the gym instead.
Thanks for the pointers. I’ll work on bringing up the big compound movements and, particularly, hit the legs hard for the next few months. I have bad knees and its so easy to slip into the trap of training the ‘feeling good’ parts harder. A bit of accountability and objective criticism focusses the mind!
What sport do you participate in?
Height & weight?
What does your diet look like?
Do you really have bad knees (like do you have arthritis or history of previous injuries), or do they just hurt with given movements?
As flipcollar said, you can’t go wrong by sticking to the basics. Starting Strength might be a good place to start. It’s emphasis on the core compound lifts will help add muscle and build a foundation to continue to build on.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Don’t worry about your age my man. I’m 31, and I’m training harder, and getting more results, than I ever have! You just have to train smart. I bought knee sleeves, wrist wraps, elbows sleeves, and a belt in the past year. Never used any of these things before. They’ve all been wonderful training aids.
Your legs look pretty small. That’s where you have the most room for improvement. Your overall shape doesn’t suck though. Just hammer away at the basics, particularly the heavy compound movements.[/quote]
I second this. I also think that your chest is a weak area but you do have a solid base. I would like to see some progress pictures in 6 months.
All the best,
Rob
