SuperUnison

Congratulations! May your life never be the same again, but in a good way!

I got Cities: Skylines this week. Very much enjoying it after the sack of balls that was the last Sim City. It's not too challenging at the moment, which is quite nice for someone like me who likes to play games to relax for an hour or so. I've already accidentally managed to poison a bunch of my citizens with sewage in the drinking water. Oops. I'm really interested to see what the mod community (the computer type of game modifications, not the guys in sharp suits with mopeds) come up with for addons. It's apparently built with mod friendlyness in mind, which is fantastic.

Good work! 3 PB is excellent. I really struggle on my overhead press too, I've not even tried a new PB for a long time. Damn these long monkey arms!

One of my colleagues (I think he's 60-something) was singing a Fallout Boy song in his own style, with the words slightly wrong. Bless him

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated! I'll carry on with what I'm doing then, I usually get into the gym half hour before my training buddy and do my plyos then. They're not too bad at the moment, but I don't want to overtrain or peak too early. Taking things slow and doing them correctly worked for lifting, so hopefully it'll have the same effect on my power. I'm still not sure of my jump technique, might video myself this weekend and have a look. Cheers.

Completely! Being back training again I feel a lot more able to cope with things strangely. Maybe it's a subconscious confidence thing. I've not asked Mrs SuperUnison how much she's lost in terms of weight, but her body composition is starting to change, it's really noticeable! I think people who haven't seen her in a bit will think 'woah!'

Hey there, One goal I have at the moment is increasing my vertical jump, I'm hoping to start playing basketball again later this year. I'm 33 and my vertical jump is about the same as it has been since I was 17- I can just about jump and grab onto the rim of a full size basketball hoop. (I'm 6ft, ~65kg) I've just read The Vertical Jump Bible- this suggests a progression of strength and plyometric exercises, though warns off too much plyometric training until you can squat 1.5x body weight. I was able to do that a while back but not quite managed it, I'm confident I'll get there in a couple of weeks though. (Just did 5x5 @ 70kg) Currently my plan is more focused on building up my strength element (barbell compound lifts with small progressions) than plyometrics, and becoming a bit more flexible. The plyo part of my routine is fairly straightforward at the moment, using the 'novice' routine from The Jump Bible to get used to some of the movements. Currently my workout routine is: - Jump Bible Novice Plyometric Routine (Slalom Jump, Star Jump, Side to side box jump, single leg stepup jump, low ankle squat jump) number of sets increasing week to week tapering at week 4 - Then Stronglifts 5x5 (Squat, bench, deadlift or squat, press, rows) - Pullups at the end. on Mon, Weds, Fri I plan on doing this for one 4 week phase of the plyometric routine, by then my squat should be back up to scratch and I'll re-evaluate what I need to work on. Thoughts? Anyone had any success with vertical jump programs in the past?

I find Deftones are a good go to music to get me in the mood. That said, I once did a PB to the sound of J-Lo. That was a bit weird.

Hey! First time back here in a little while. I kinda slipped off the fitness bandwagon a bit, had a super busy year last year with a house move which left me exhausted so my fitness goals tailed off. Anyway, a year on and I'm getting married in August (eek) so I'm trying to get back into shape, I'm about the same weight but I've lost a little muscle mass and definition, the past week been sticking to a plan and my numbers are climbing up again. (Deadlifted 160kg @ 65kg fairly easily on Weds which is only 20kg off my PB) Having a timescale to aim for though has given me a lot more motivation. My SO is working hard at the moment, she's training at home rather than the gym doing HITT and she's really seeing results. I'm so pleased she's doing strength training too, she asked me about getting a heavier weights for squats the other day. We're both fairly driven in getting towards our ideal body shape with the wedding as the catalyst- has anyone else found this?

Isn't that quite dangerous and something someone with even a rudimentary knowledge of gym etiquette would think twice about doing? I'd have a word with their management about that. Sounds like total bullshit on their part about ruining the "fitness environment". Isn't people working hard, pushing themselves and straining exactly what a fitness environment should be? If they thought you were being too loud, they should have had a polite quiet word between sets. Best of luck on your deadlift PR attempt, show those chumps what it's like to be awesome!

In the UK we have a shop called 'Sports Direct', it's really nasty (harsh lighting, very cluttered, smells weird) but great for cheap workout stuff. I usually wear cotton tshirt, football shorts, and skateboard trainers as they have a nice wide flat base. Usually everything gets chalk over it at some stage too so nothing too expensive.

Thanks guys! Weird how good news comes in 3am too, my gf's sister got offered my gf's old job as well as she'd taught supply at that school, which has made her life a lot easier. Already celebrated by ordering myself a new jacket. TREAT YO SELF

Heheh, nice! Agree with one of the above points on bodybuilder types though, there's a few at my gym who seem a bit scary but are really nice once you talk to them, and knowledgable too. Good feeling when people underestimate you though, I weigh a measly ~145lb and have surprised a few people a lot bigger than me! Congrats on the PR too!

You know you're a nerd when every time you glance at your computer clock and it reads "13:37" you start chuckling.

The eat big part scares me. I'm much better at lifting than I am at eating. How much do they recommend you eat?