Tokyo Gyms

[Keiji]

@psd ah...that explains it...

The dead lift is a funny name. A weight lying on the ground is called a dead weight, or in the dead position. So you are lifting from the dead position therefore dead lift.

I was thinking that the excersice looked like zombies rising from the ground...lucky I read it before I made my opinion public at my gym hahaha you just saved me an embarasement.

Now that Im going for body building competition my trainers told me that I should drink protein twice a day... from tomorrow on one drink will be with breakfast. I kept thinking about your lunches that you described, buying from specific stores...can you tell about them? I need to consume between 140g to 210g of たんぱく (tanpaku) per day... I never thought that much about my eatings before...and its like I have entered a "new" world...

 

[johnnyboy84]

You can probably use your city's or ward's gym depending if you are in a big city or a small town. They got decent weights and it is about 300 yen or so per day. But I mostly go to the kickboxing gym in every city I have lived in so far.

 

[psd]

Keiji,

From my reading I understand you need about 1.7g of protein for each kg of body weight.

Protein from meat, fish, milk (cheese), egg white, and protein powder is complete, it has everything we need. Protein from vegetables, beans, soy etc is incomplete, you must combine foods to get complete protein.

Meat and fish is about 20% protein by weight (measured raw) so you can easily estimate how much protein you get. I eat meat twice a day, each meal gives me about 40-50gram of protein, and protein powder twice a day 2x20g, a total of around 120-140g a day.

There is nothing magic about protein powder, just think of it as food. Don't worry about all the fancy terms like BCCA(?). The advantage of protein powder is you don't have to cook, low fat and not many calories.

I'll send you a PM with some other ideas.

 

[Keiji]

@psd
Everytime I write I always forget a few things I was going to say, the last reply was a bit incomplete. My trainer and also the "tencho" (dont know word in English) asked me my weight and said that the amount I need is between double and triple of your current weight but turned into grams. I am currently weighting 70kg so I need 140g to 210g of Protein.

That looks like a good routine much the same as mine but I do nine exercises each day (too much!). You are definitely doing the right sort of workout.

This is the part I forgot to reply. I asked several times to my trainer to extend mt programs because my average number of exercises were always 7 to 9, the last two were "optionals" I asked in case the machines I want to use are occupied by another person and I dont want to (dont like) to wait standing because I prefer to wait while doing something else...otherwise its like taking a brake.

With my current 3 split menu, when I asked to have more than 5 - 6 excersices only...my trainer replied that due to the intensity of the new excersices...adding more would be too much ... while refering to "Squat" and "Deadlift"...and so I ended up with short programs. He ended up saying that it is possible to add more excersices but that I should ask about it again a fit further in time.

After working these body building menues...I can tell that my trainer was very wise to make such remarks because I really feel the training the next day or two. Which makes me trust my trainer words.

 

[GoldenDalton]

@psd
Everytime I write I always forget a few things I was going to say, the last reply was a bit incomplete. My trainer and also the "tencho" (dont know word in English) asked me my weight and said that the amount I need is between double and triple of your current weight but turned into grams. I am currently weighting 70kg so I need 140g to 210g of Protein.



This is the part I forgot to reply. I asked several times to my trainer to extend mt programs because my average number of exercises were always 7 to 9, the last two were "optionals" I asked in case the machines I want to use are occupied by another person and I dont want to (dont like) to wait standing because I prefer to wait while doing something else...otherwise its like taking a brake.

With my current 3 split menu, when I asked to have more than 5 - 6 excersices only...my trainer replied that due to the intensity of the new excersices...adding more would be too much ... while refering to "Squat" and "Deadlift"...and so I ended up with short programs. He ended up saying that it is possible to add more excersices but that I should ask about it again a fit further in time.

After working these body building menues...I can tell that my trainer was very wise to make such remarks because I really feel the training the next day or two. Which makes me trust my trainer words.

I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical regarding most diet plans they give you. While exercise seems to have positive effects all around and eating healthy with less junk is obviously better, my experiences consulting for the U.S. Prison system has caused me to question the benefits of supplements, even counting macros, a little bit.


Reason is there are a lot of these guys in the jails and penitentiaries who are the most muscular anyone could ever hope to be, and while maybe they built that physique with supplements prior to incarceration, the inmate diet is more unhealthy than any fast food- yet these guys stay huge and lean at the same time.

Maybe all those special diets work after all, but those experiences have me questionable. Of course, my theory that genetics may be behind these guys' bulk is something no one seems to want to consider these days.

Anyway, that's obviously not a problem for anyone working in Tokyo Gyms.

 

[Keiji]

@GoldenDalton

Genetics was my first topic of dialogue when I asked my trainer to change my program to Body Building, I come from a family tree generation of slim people (post WWII). He answered that Gyms are the places were people do get big and named me a couple of past time customers that were slim and are now oficialy recognised as Body Builders and even showed me some magazines like Ironman where articles show pictures of a same person "before" and "after"...and yeah...its possible.

He didnt push me much about diet plans but 2 weeks after training in my new program...because of the many questions I was asking, he wandered...: "Are you willing to join the Competition?" And honestly I wasnt but with that question I said to myself...sure yeah why not? Im training non-stop and such event would be like a self-challenge. So I took it. It was since then that he made remark on diet and suppliments. I have no idea what "macros" are. (Can you explain?)

Consulting for prisons: That is to say your profession is Nutritionist?

About prison food. My understanding is that muscle pushes fat away...so if they were big before prison...fat would not have much place in their body to go to.

 

[psd]

I was sceptical about protein needs until I read that the presence of nitrogen in urine is an indicator of protein synthesis and so can be used to measure the uptake of protein in the diet (as opposed to burning it for energy). I do think 3 times kg as grams of protein is too much.

 

[GoldenDalton]

@GoldenDalton

Genetics was my first topic of dialogue when I asked my trainer to change my program to Body Building, I come from a family tree generation of slim people (post WWII). He answered that Gyms are the places were people do get big and named me a couple of past time customers that were slim and are now oficialy recognised as Body Builders and even showed me some magazines like Ironman where articles show pictures of a same person "before" and "after"...and yeah...its possible.

He didnt push me much about diet plans but 2 weeks after training in my new program...because of the many questions I was asking, he wandered...: "Are you willing to join the Competition?" And honestly I wasnt but with that question I said to myself...sure yeah why not? Im training non-stop and such event would be like a self-challenge. So I took it. It was since then that he made remark on diet and suppliments. I have no idea what "macros" are. (Can you explain?)

Consulting for prisons: That is to say your profession is Nutritionist?

About prison food. My understanding is that muscle pushes fat away...so if they were big before prison...fat would not have much place in their body to go to.

I'm not a nutritionist, and my knowledge of nutrition is far below most people's. To me it just seems odd how muscular these inmates are despite a diet poor in proteins, little in the way of vitamins, and especially rich in carbs.

Based on what I understand, "Macros" is just short for macronutrients. Fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Psd will know more for sure.

Anyway, certainly not offering advice since I'm currently off of exercise due to injury. I'm an average/slender build who managed to gain some bulk from a 5X5, but I don't possess any authority on fitness. I know I was at my best when I ate healthy but ate whenever I was hungry, and doesn't count calories or anything. Again, I never entered your level, of competing in anything. Once I was strong enough to train Krav Maga I didn't go further.

 

[psd]

Based on what I understand, "Macros" is just short for macronutrients. Fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Psd will know more for sure.

Yeah and often fiber as well.

I'm a calories counter as I've lost a lot of weight and I prone to put it on easily.

 

[GoldenDalton]

Yeah and often fiber as well.

I'm a calories counter as I've lost a lot of weight and I prone to put it on easily.

You're probably a lot leaner than I am. I don't look or perform well enough to do any kind of competing. I think counting calories is helpful whenever weight loss is necessary, and the one point in my life where I had to lose weight it helped a bunch, of course I used weight watchers which is a little different, but same principles apply.

Physique development is odd. I was at my leanest when I was on the 5X5, even though I was only training three times a week and eating what I wanted most days. I was at my most overweight at the end of my deployment in Iraq, despite patrols in severely hot weather.

 

[Keiji]

...I need to start reading more about Body Building...

I'll send you a PM with some other ideas.

...still waiting...

Don't worry about all the fancy terms like BCCA(?)

Branched Chain Amino Acid

My trainer told me that in March/April all competitors will be receiving further instructions/details. I already got the application form to fill up with personal information...

I read that the presence of nitrogen in urine is an indicator of protein synthesis and so can be used to measure the uptake of protein in the diet (as opposed to burning it for energy)

...I wander how do you find out? You test your urine at a Hospital? Synthesis...okay Im an ignorant...

...what is 5x5?...

I am counting calories as well, a computer scan recommends me to eat 800kcal at breakfast, 800kcal at lunch and 700kcal at dinner. I do manage to keep up these numbers very well. You have to see me at convinience stores turning the bentos to find the label with the calories and at supermarkets leaving products that do not offer such information. However I do discount 100kcal from the dinner because I like to have a protein bar (okashi...dont know this word in English...cookie?) and because I drink a protein (another -100kcal here) after excersice I end up only eating 500kcal more or less at night. Howerver my last check also showed a 1.5 kilogram increase in weight and taijushibou...my trainer suspected it was due to agemono...fried food?...This is getting complicated... :S but if it works at the end, the better.

 

[psd]

Sorry Keiji, I'll get around to your PM soon!

5x5 is a training routine to increase strength.

Phase 1 (2 months?) You do a small number of exercises, each time 5 sets of 5 repetitions and increase the weight by small amounts every week.
Phase 2 (4 weeks?) You increase the weight so you can do only 2 or 3 sets.

Obviously it is a little more complicated than that.

I'm thinking about doing it as all my weights have reached plateau.

 

[Lovein]

What is the typical cost of a gym membership at a mid-range quality/poshness place in Tokyo?

Same question but for the services of a "personal trainer" at such a gym?

Are there any particularly good or popular ones in the general part of town in and around Shibuya?

If anyone can answer any of these questions or supply any relevant info, links or leads, I'd much appreciate it!

-Ww

Usually it costs about 10 or 20,000 yen to initially join a gym then about 10,000 yen a month for full-time membership. (Sometimes during a campaign the initial joining up fee is waived.) If you want to go to a golds gym in Tokyo, there is one in Otsuka, Harajuku, Shinagawa. There is also one in Gyotoku which is in Chiba, but close to the Eastern border of Tokyo. If you go to the local ward gym in your area the facilities will not be amazing, but it is quite cheap--usually 200 to 300 yen a visit.

 

[Hamerare]

My choice of gym is limited by the fact I have tattoos - most places will not let you in, or chuck you out when they catch you. You will get your money back.

Golds and Tipness let tattooed people in. Also the independent body-building heavy metal places which aren't part of a chain.

When choosing a gym, best to choose one near to where you live or work or you might end up not going very much

 

[Sudsy]

Golds and Tipness let tattooed people in.

I'm a member at Golds, and they're fine as long as I keep my tattoos covered in the main areas (as in, when I'm not changing or showering.)

I used to be a member at Tipness, and I was kicked out because of the ink after they were bought out by Suntory Holdings. Looking at their rules, it seems tattoos at Tipness are now assessed on a case-by-case basis.

 

[Hamerare]

I'm a member at Golds, and they're fine as long as I keep my tattoos covered in the main areas (as in, when I'm not changing or showering.)

I used to be a member at Tipness, and I was kicked out because of the ink after they were bought out by Suntory Holdings. Looking at their rules, it seems tattoos at Tipness are now assessed on a case-by-case basis.

My guess is it depends on the manager of each individual Tipness club. I was ukie at Machida and Shin Yuri and Roppongi, as you said, they didn't mind as long as you had them covered up in the main area.

I got kicked out of one cahn gym a few years ago even though I'd been there 3 months already. Some other customer complained apparently. The funny thing is that I think I know who it was - a Japanese yakusa/chimpira but who didnt have any tatoos himself. I got my joining fee and fee for that month refunded.

 

[johnnyboy84]

Yeah, it's funny it can be a tattoo of the Virgin Mary and they complain. Silly to think that all tattoo are gang related.

 

[Hamerare]

Yeah, it's funny it can be a tattoo of the Virgin Mary and they complain. Silly to think that all tattoo are gang related.

One of them is!!!

Except got the word "mom" written under it

I been a member of my current gym 4 years now. It is non-tattoo but dey must like me there. Every now again I get warnd 2 keep dem hidden bcoz of some asshole seeing me in the jacuzzi n telling tales 2 the front desk.

If they dont want yakuza, they should have a sign saying "NO FUCKIN YAKUZA" instead a discrimin8ng against fashionistas