Goal met, now what? Workout question...

[froghunter]

Last May I found myself out of shape. I would get out of breath on a single flight of stairs, avoided doing things that were "too hard" and could barley hold my own against my fit 13 year old son. So I bought a used home gym and started working out every other night with all the weight I could handle....which was the same weight my boy used...(face palm). I will be 39 in January and as of now I'm the biggest and strongest I have ever been. I still have a beer gut but sleep well and am not limited by my physical abilities and as far as my boy goes... I can now BENCH PRESS that little punk!!!. Of course he grows stronger every day too so he will still pass me up one day. I'm not saying I'm a big muscle man, just the strongest I've ever been.

Now here is my delima. The home gym is maxed out, so how do I keep going? Buy a bigger machine, add to my reps or work out time, level out where I'm at and start working on different muscles??? Not sure what to do at this point.

[Jmsck12]

Can’t you just buy more weights and add them on?


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[quarterback]

If you've enjoyed that measure of success I would think you could add some more machines and perhaps incorporate some more walking/running also. Good for you for meeting your first goals. This is something we all need to be doing.

[jerp]

I would say just do maintenance workouts to keep the muscle mass you've gained and start doing cardio for heart/lung health and maybe drop a few pounds if you want to..

[TexasBob]

Depends on your goal and budget, but that's not an answer.

On a budget, I would add reps and body weight work. You could also maintain weight regimen and up the cardio to attack the old beer gut.


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[glen]

Start super sets with what you have and drop your rest times. Do whatever bench press you are dong and add reps/ as soon as you finish last rep roll off the bench and do as many close grip pushups to failure would be an example. Also decrease your recovery time- If you are currently taking 60 seconds between sets drop it to 45 seconds.

[froghunter]

I do need to work on cardio, especially with my family history. I don't know if I can add weight it may overload the pullies and cables. I will check though.

[bjsexpress]

Working on negatives.. you'll add much more challenge of you work on the slow return of a motion... not knowing scientific words but the firing of the muscles, say when you push up away with bench press, work on slowly bringing downward and you'll find a slower rep makes it harder.

"The history of the bow and arrow is the history of mankind."

[Muskles]

Buying new equipment is still cheaper than a gym membership in the long run, if you plan to stick with it. Not sure what equipment you have, or what exercises you're doing, but a lot of the times you can find different exercises to work the same muscle groups. This can seem like you're adding weight, just because it's a different motion. Look into exercises that use your own body weight also. Good luck and have fun!

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[ultralite09]

I guess it just depends on what youre trying to do now, trying to get stronger or just maintain a lifting routine and stay active?


Ill be the first to shoot down any thing related to Crossfit but if youre just trying to be active, im sure someone will suggest one of those terrible workouts for you to use.

Also depends on what you currently have as far as equipment. If I had a full cable rack, and a cage, your workouts are essentially endless, just buy more plates and accessory attachments.

[2014FusionM]

Hit up craigslist and what not that is where I found all of my stuff. It all cost about as much as a yearly membership but after that it pays for it self. I am starting to buy things that help me get a better workout every now and then.

I am not looking for an E-Z curl bar to add to the sets. and some more weights.

When I started I was at
165lbs 5x5 for bench
155lbs 5x5 for incline
185lbs 5x5 for squat

Now after about 6 months I am at
235 5x5 for bench
205 5x5 for incline
285 5x5 for squat

it all takes time you just have to keep at it. I also try to run at least once a week and I always do super sets with about 45 second rests in-between

[Hooverfb]

For me I like to challenge myself against standards. Thst way I have a goal that doesn't move. Go lookup some military test standards and grading.
If your gym is a bar and weights, start doing olympic lifts like cleans and snatches. If you dont have a bar, get one.

[2014FusionM]

For me I like to challenge myself against standards. Thst way I have a goal that doesn't move. Go lookup some military test standards and grading.
If your gym is a bar and weights, start doing olympic lifts like cleans and snatches. If you dont have a bar, get one.

I would not recommend unless you had someone there to teach you perfect technique. Those are some of the fastest way to injure yourself if not done right.

[ckamp52]

I have always worked out but can not stand going to the gym and having to deal with all the people in my way but my wife liked it so I went. Now her place of employment has a gym, so I started to slowly rebuild my home gym with the fitness money my company "gives" you. I have a few lingering injuries from playing ball and motocross so sometimes cardio can be hard to get in due to my knee. I recently bought a punching bag and love it! get outs some frustration and great cardio. I bought one called an aqua bag(filled with water) and it is so much better than a traditional bag. can do uppercuts etc that you cant do on a regular bag and it is easy on the joints which is important since I broke my wrists multiple times racing. I do a five minute round then work in a few sets of whatever muscle group I am working on that day and repeat for a total of 3 rounds. I also love to get on my mountain bike but had to take a break for a bit to help out my back

[tex4k]

Hire yourself out to produce food plots by hand, after a season of doing that you'd be able to run down a gazelle, wrestle a gorilla, and provide entertainment for countless TBH'ers.
Now if it were me in your position, I'd sit back with a cold beverage and bask in my accomplishment thus far.