Did you suffer?

[method2madness]

Did your body suffer or thrive as a result of the gym closings and lockdowns? The only body part that suffered for me are my legs. No amount of repetitions or creativity can compensate for traditional training, at least for my legs. What about you guys?

 

[madg]

I suffered until i set up my home gym

I still miss some leg equipment though so i feel you brother !

Hack squats , pedulum squats , leg extension , leg curl are all things i miss

Im squating 3x week but it aint the same imo

 

[danieltx]

I bought a Bowflex Blaze - didn't suffer a bit. I managed to replicate everything I do in the gym on it and even my legs maintained well.

I dieted 12 weeks, the last 8 only training with a Bowflex, and ended up at 6% body fat with an 18lb. gain over last year. You can see my results here - https://www.professionalmuscle.com/...lbs-at-6-looks-like-according-to-dexa.165203/

 

[alfresco]

Did your body suffer or thrive as a result of the gym closings and lockdowns? The only body part that suffered for me are my legs. No amount of repetitions or creativity can compensate for traditional training, at least for my legs. What about you guys?

Legs for me. Big time. Upper body not so much. As you get older (me) this typically are
the first body part to 'go.' Emeric hits them frequently and hard. He knows.

Have gained a few lbs. during the shelter in place. They will come off with some high
intensity training which is like more cardio for me.

Chin-ups and hand-stand presses are all I can really do (school playground). They have
really taken off. But I am really ready to hit the weights. Walking a lot is good but nothing
takes the place of weigh training.

 

[fasterthenyoo]

I couldn't get on board with bands. Was not comfortable to me and instead of pushing through I gave in to heavy processed carbs. Have been dieting for a bit again now. Gym back open and so far just going through the motions before upping the weights. These three months off for me were almost as bad as missing an entire year.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Actually came back stronger on some things, but I definitely have overdone the training. I didn't miss a single day since the gyms opened back up, seven days a week, and I'm starting to pay for it lol.

 

[DrBeefcake777]

I got... kinda fat tbh. I had considered getting home gym equipment about 6-12 months prior and didnt and I regret not doing so. I didnt lose much strength but my body composition went to shit and so did my diet.


But Im reshaping nicely again so not a huge deal

 

[psychor]

My gym still has not opened but is expected to this weekend hopefully.

Fortunately for me the only body parts that suffered, or have slightly regressed, are hams, lower lats and my upper chest in my estimation doesn't appear to be quite as full as it was before lock down.

I tried with all the resources I had to keep my hams as big as they were but they lost a little,not much, but I can see a slight difference. I did the d-bell between 2 feet curls and sliding my foot from completely straight to curling it to my butt. I'm not concerned though as I know with muscle memory they will be back up to par once I get into my best mass builder which for me is the plate-loaded Cybex 1-legged curl.

For chest I did incline(for chest) pushups with feet elevated and b-bell floor presses but if I had to guess then I'd have to say that my upper part of my chest doesn't stick out as much as it did. This is only slightly however and I may be paranoid(LOl) but the upper shelf doesn't look as big but it'll only take a few weeks at most to bring it back. Ditto for my lower lats as I did not have access to any pull up bar or lat pulldown or even a tree and I did "break" into the park one time but it is too far to drive consistently. Again, the regression at most is only a tiny bit because I still did b-bell rows(overhand and underhand) and d-bell rows.

Honestly I'm rather shocked that I did not lose as much that I thought I would as I used cinder blocks for my "rack" and the bar and plates are some cheap non-standardized stuff that I've had collecting dust for over 20 years and I'm glad that I kept them now! I only had 5 cinder blocks so I stacked 2 on each side(for the rack, not the weight) and did front squats starting from the BOTTOM position and also did split squats and sissy squats and I think that my quads may actually "look" better now as they have more separation and detail even though they "may" not be as big but I'm probably over analyzing things.

I'm coming out of this lockdown better equipped with exercises and strategies than I was before the lockdown as some of the exercises will remain my bread-n-butter main stay movements. I'm actually thankful that this time gave me a chance to break out of my norm and try new things out of necessity and not just continue to stay small-minded and stay locked in to a routine out of fear that other exercises may not be as effective but I'm glad that I was wrong in that aspect!

Great thread and thanks for starting as it will be interesting to hear everyone's takeaways and experiences from the lockdown time!

 

[jeroendebleser]

Well I stayed on my usual dosages so I didn't lose much size fortunately. What's more amazing is that only 10 days after the gym has reopened, I'm already stronger than pre-lockdown lol. (and I didn't train at all for 3 months)

 

[m314]

I had an injury in January followed by surgery in March. I wouldn't have been able to lift anyway. I didn't gain weight, but I spent most of this year recomping in the wrong direction.

Gyms are open again, and I'm finally ready to start light lifting. I feel like I can be back in peak condition (for me) by the end of the year.

 

[Ashop]

Did your body suffer or thrive as a result of the gym closings and lockdowns? The only body part that suffered for me are my legs. No amount of repetitions or creativity can compensate for traditional training, at least for my legs. What about you guys?

I took a before and after pic. I didnt THINK that I lost much but pics dont lie. I'm definitely not as full and sharp as I was.

 

[RDS]

I’ve lost a ton of size and god knows how much strength, especially in my legs, but I’ve also lost like 20lbs of fat so in theory I should be able to rebound like crazy when the god damn gyms finally open here.

 

[mpjuice]

Did your body suffer or thrive as a result of the gym closings and lockdowns? The only body part that suffered for me are my legs. No amount of repetitions or creativity can compensate for traditional training, at least for my legs. What about you guys?

Actually had a body transformation. but that's because I stopped lifting weights for a while due to injuries and I have a lot of muscle memory.

When the Corona stuff started I bought a bench and curl set and barbell. I already had 4 pairs of dumbbells. The bench I have also has a leg curl and leg extension. Pretty versatile for only a couple hundred dollars.

now that I'm moving into a bigger place I think I'm going to invest in more gym equipment and then maybe eventually just get rid of my gym pass. It will save me money in the long run (especially because I pay for my wife as well) it will also be a huge time saver. I figure for 3K I could get everything that I want.

 

[FK86]

I held my physique well, but my strength tanked. All my lifts are down 20%. I made such great progress from August to March, so it sucks that all of that has been erased. I'm actually surprised because I was doing some dumbbell bullshit in my condo. Higher volume and less intense. I guess that was the problem.

 

[Cv215]

Don't get me wrong, i love being jacked and want to develop my physique further, but im more of a performance guy. I care more about my numbers in the gym as well as overall strength, and how i feel training. I simply love heavy lifting, so if it isnt that, then i probably wont do it.

I didn't touch a weight since end of march. Physique dropped off but my strength actually improved in some areas.

 

[m314]

I used to be all about heavy lifting too. A string of injuries made me realize that my heavy lifting days are over. I can achieve a great physique (by normal standards, not a high level bodybuilding standard) with high volume routines using light to moderate weights.

 

[upeccmi]

I haven't touch anything in 3 1/2 months (so far) and gyms still not open. My weight is still about the same, I have been real strict on diet all this time. I figure the muscle will come back pretty easily but fat will be harder to lose.
I'm buying a $4K home gym so my a-hole governor can't do this to me again if there is a second phase. To me, it's worth it.

 

[Backfrominjury]

Definitely suffered. Weight only down from 229lbs to 225 lbs, but clothes are looser, strength is down, don't look as full in the mirror. Weird thing is strength is up in legs only. Squat and leg press both up. About the only thing I did during lockdown was hiking.

 

[nothuman]

I haven't been able to train since new years which sucks and I lost 20lbs but I am still ripped because I've been eating really well. I should explode back up once I am able to train again.