he is team edward

7/11/2011 7:48:29 AM

Vertical Press Day

*Standing Military 120lbs 3x8+ (10 on last set)
*Dips + 45lbs 3x10
Chin Ups +45lbs 3x6
Lying Tricep Extensions 3x8
Shoulder Tri-set 3x6

*Super Set with Face Pullsx6

7/11/2011 11:05:25 AM

i have a full container of creatine if anyone here is interested

7/11/2011 1:57:30 PM

How much? Is it Creapure monohydrate?

7/11/2011 2:09:14 PM

free

2.2 lbs.

gnc brand.


fruit punch flavor

7/11/2011 2:17:19 PM

Has anyone ever strained their "serratus anterior"...

Last tuesday I did my regular chest/tri workout and from last wednesday morning until this morning my right serratus anterior was extremely sore...does anyone have any personal experience with this???

for reference:

7/11/2011 4:13:53 PM

I've never strained it, but I would proceed with caution with overhead and other pressing movements.

The serratus anterior works in conjunction with the scapula, traps and rotator cuffs to keep your shoulder moving healthy. If you are having some SA dysfunction or limited mobility from the strain, you could kick off some inflammation and pain in the shoulder.

I'd do some foam rolling on it, and some light movement. Google scap push ups or push up pluses. And do those until the strain subsides before doing any hardcore pressing. You're shoulders will thank you for it.

7/11/2011 7:55:46 PM

Quote :

"Sounds a lot like body shrinking than body building! IMO, strength training is more important than cardio/aerobic fitness. For one, strength is much harder to obtain and is generally more useful. Why'd you take it out?"

Well, if you could only flex cardio, right?

And to be more clear, I am not talking about general cardio and fitness but speed, which is much more difficult to come by than you may think.

Honestly, I am trying to become more competitive in my distance running. Right now I am at about a 3:35 marathon and a 19:30 5k. Those times are pretty "meh" and uncompetitive. I am ramping up my my running to a 6 day a week, 60 mile total workout. And given my work requirements that is pushing me to my limits. Sometimes I make it in on saturday for some lifting, but l will be focusing more on running for at least the next 6 months. Then, if I start to see some result, I will work on strength training again. But for now, peace out.

7/11/2011 10:05:31 PM

Cutting out strength training is probably the worst decision you can make. Cutting back to 2x a week, full body would be a wiser decision. Also, you don't need to run as many days as you're planning on doing...I'm guessing you're following a "traditional" approach.

2 strength training days, 2 interval running days, and 1 longer run would actually work well. I had some of my clients see great success with that...one in particular that was going under 2:40 on his marathons and also did ultras.

7/12/2011 5:37:29 AM

running six times a week? would you bench press (smolov junior excluded) or squat (smolov excluded) that many times a week? of course not, your CNS would never be able to handle it.

why the hate on lifting? because you're not great at it? do you train to run, or run to train? i think that is the main difference between serious strength/stamina athletes as opposed to the lay population.

powerlifters train to powerlift, not powerlift to train. olympic lifters rarely ever train full olympic events, rather they train other exercises that make them better olympic lifters. are you running because you like to run or are you actually putting in work that will make you a better runner? that includes intervals, lifting, cross-training, etc. if it's the former, don't lift, won't matter, who cares. if you are actually training, give lifting a shot. you'll only make yourself better.

7/12/2011 7:57:21 AM

no one has been posting workouts in here consistantly, so i'll throw my last one in.

ME Lower Body
Squats: 3x3x3x1x1x1x1 (new 1RM)
Close stance deadlift from a box: 4x5
Hip pull throughs: 3x7
Supported T-bar Rows: 3x6
Hammer Curls: 3x15
Standing weighted Crunches: 4x12

7/12/2011 9:07:01 AM

Finally got a new camera, so here are my update pics. 251lbs, probably need to lose another 20lbs before I'm ready to re-evaluate what my goals are.

7/12/2011 10:33:26 AM

yesterday I did an 3 sets of 10 full squats
3 sets of 20 bench press
hour of TRX

my back felt infinitely better, i feel like last week i was doing some incorrect motions in the TRX so it tweaked my lower back up when i went to lift, so I have to work on keeping a tight core and proper motions in the TRX in the future.


I guess my plan is today two mile run
then wednesday im going to do two full hours of TRX
and then maybe 5 sets of 5 Full Squats
then 5 sets of 5 Bench
thursday two mile run plus an hour of softball
Friday 5 sets of 1 rep bench and full squats or something and I have to think of a cardio to do before then, maybe kickboxing

how does that lifting routine sound?

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 11:53 AM. Reason : f]

7/12/2011 11:50:22 AM

Eleusis - Looking damn strong. I'd say 20lbs now you will look ripped up. Feel free to pick my brain about training/dieting for cuts. I feel like my method is pretty damn effective, and I am very curious to see how it would for someone as advanced as you.

BigHitSunday- Your training seems like it is all over the damn place. What are you trying to achieve? General strength and conditioning?

If so, I'd recommend lowering the rep ranges of the big lifts. So for a high volume day, do like 25-40 total reps in 3-10total sets. On your high intensity (aka heavy) I'd look to do between 5-15reps using 3-5sets. Using relatively heavy weights.

Also doing hours and hours of work is going to really put the brakes on significant muscle and strength adaptions. To adapt, your body needs a certain threshold of stress in a variety of forms. If it doesn't reach the threshold, or exceeds to too much, you hinder some gains.

I will add that doing very high rep work, but keeping the time length down, is useful for practice, recovery and calorie burning purposes.

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 12:49 PM. Reason : 0]

7/12/2011 12:47:23 PM

im trying to regain some muscular stamina and then get my metabolism up to lose some weight

im not trying to get bigger at all, and I have enough strength its not a priority for development

i dont usually stay in the weight room past an hour or so, i just feel like i want to kill myself tomorrow lol

i can work what you said into my routine, but this week im gonna try this, maybe i dont really have a focus at the moment

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 2:17 PM. Reason : d]

7/12/2011 2:14:58 PM

Quote :

"im trying to regain some muscular stamina and then get my metabolism up to lose some weight im not trying to get bigger at all, and I have enough strength its not a priority for development i dont usually stay in the weight room past an hour or so, i just feel like i want to kill myself tomorrow lol i can work what you said into my routine, but this week im gonna try this, maybe i dont really have a focus at the moment "

Muscular stamina can be improved via 2 ways...

1. increasing your body's ability to handle metabolic stress (acid buffering, higher oxygen exchange/consumption, mitochondria density, and higher intramuscular stores of atp/phosphocreatine/glycogen/triglycerides). This is what you are working on when you are doing stuff very high rep (generally over 12reps).

2. Increasing maximal strength (muscular and neurological) so each movement is less of a % of maximal. This is effectively raising your anaerobic threshold. This is also one of the most overlooked methods to increase endurance.

Getting bigger is almost purely a function of calorie intake/balance. Yes, heavy training will increase protein synthesis. However, if you are not getting enough nutrients from diet, protein breakdown is going to keep your size constant (or make you smaller).

IMO, training is much more productive and even more fun when you have specific and tangible goals to work on. So, if your goal is strength-endurance I'd set a specific weight for a specific amount of reps, then come up with a plan to get you there.

7/12/2011 2:27:25 PM

I have been trying for years to successfully put on size to no avail.

I know it's mostly diet, I just can't seem to eat enough food. I would love to put on about 30 lbs, but having 4 protein shakes a day that tastes like crap is getting really old.

7/12/2011 2:35:43 PM

^what's your current height/weight?

7/12/2011 2:42:46 PM

gomad

7/12/2011 2:47:45 PM

There are some whey proteins that taste great. I recommend Cytosport 100% whey concentrate chocolate from Costco. It is cheap and fucking delicious. Mix that with 16oz of whole milk and you have a quick 450calories (~41g of protein) down in about 5minutes.

Getting enough calories in can be tough. And almost impossible if you aren't willing to eat "dirty". If you want to eat clean look at dairy, starches (potatoe varities, rice, etc.), olive/coconut oil, avacadoes, melons, and other high fat/sugar natural foods.

If you want to do it the easy and economical way look at peanut butter, whole milk, cheese cake, fast food, cheese, greasy foods etc.

IMO, health is less about what types of foods you are eating (although certain micronutrients and enough protein and fat are essential) and more about total activity, body composition, amount of sleep and stress levels.

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 2:59 PM. Reason : 0]

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 3:01 PM. Reason : 0]

7/12/2011 2:58:54 PM

^^^ 6'0-6'1", 171lbs

^ The only protein I've thought tasted good was from Beverly, and that stuff gets expensive quick. I'm on GNC vanilla right now, and it's fine mixed with milk. But when I'm at work, I'm having to mix it with water, and some days I'd just rather shoot myself than drink that. I also don't enjoy eating dirty as it just makes me feel awful. Because my wife has cravings, I'll end up eating pizza once every two-three months or so, and maybe fast food once or twice in that time, but that's it. I do eat natural peanut butter and whole milk, but that's about as "bad" as it gets.

7/12/2011 3:06:53 PM

I recommend adding 4 - 16oz glasses of whole milk a day while maintaining your normal intake. That's roughly 1,200calories

If you don't have an uptick in weight after a week, add more milk or a scoop of peanut butter with it.

Also make sure you are lifting heavy and frequently.

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 3:16 PM. Reason : 0]

7/12/2011 3:15:55 PM

How many calories a day do you average, and what's your current activity level or workout schedule?

I started out worse off than you (6'7", 160 lbs) and have gotten up to 180 in the last six months without eating dirty. I'll post some thoughts in a little while on what's worked for me.

7/12/2011 3:16:47 PM

putting a scoop of peanut butter into your chocolate protein shake is pretty tasty

7/12/2011 3:46:10 PM

^ I do 2 scoops

7/12/2011 5:36:56 PM

i did some dimel deadlifts today and my gf called me a pussy so i stopped

7/12/2011 6:04:34 PM

should've done some dimel deadlifts on her then

7/12/2011 6:06:12 PM

I've always had a hard time putting on weight, partly due to an extreme ectomorph metabolism and partly due to participation in endurance sports. I try to avoid pre-packaged, highly processed foods, so that eliminates a lot of options for cheap and dirty calories. The success I've had has been from taking lots of little steps--substituting higher-calorie versions of things I already eat, looking for calorie-dense snacks, and eating more often throughout the day. I have three big meals and two or three snacks, and I moderate my calorie intake depending on my workout for the day.

The important thing for me has been to actually plan and write out a few sample days of food of things I like and tally up their calories, so I really know whether I'm meeting my target (3800-4000 calories a day for me currently). It's crucial to enjoy the foods you eat, because otherwise you'll get sick of it and eating will seem like work; I was really sick of eating for the first few weeks as I adjusted to my new diet, because I always felt full and was still figuring out what works for me. I lost my appreciation for eating out at a nice restaurant.

However, it actually is work to some extent. Particularly if you want to gain weight, eating is part of your training and you should put the same level of effort into it as working out. I switched to whole milk, started adding more of it to my cereal and coffee, switched some of my water-drinking to milk, etc. I like yogurt, so I added a cup of full-fat Greek yogurt to my breakfast; I pick cereals largely on their calorie content now. Kashi GoLean Crunch is surprisingly calorie-dense, as are things like granolas, Cracklin' Oat Bran, etc. Be aware that cereals have wildly different serving sizes on their nutrition info nowadays.

For snacks, I eat a lot of fruit, bagels, and nuts; Trader Joe's has stuff like sesame-honey almonds and cashews that are delicious. Think of small things you can do to make your normal snacks a little bit bigger or more calorie dense (instead of just a banana, have a banana with peanut butter and raisins on it, for example).

Keep in mind that a lot of my stuff is pretty high-carb, because I do so much cardio, so your macro needs may be different. Make sure you have extra protein on days you do strength training, so your body has what it needs to add on more muscle; you don't want to bulk up by getting fat. But if you're really struggling like I do, consider cutting back on cardio; I decided to skip triathlon season entirely this year to focus on bulking up and spend more of my time in the weight room, and I've made most of my gains since making that decision.

7/12/2011 6:09:18 PM

i have no prob adding weight my body naturally wants to be heavier its just my frame

7/12/2011 6:16:56 PM

In honor of the other threads in this forum and crossfit ignoring it, let's do some bench shop talk.

1) posture: I personally put my head off the bench, pull my feet up as far as they'll go, grasp* the bar and pull myself down to the arched position. I then pull my feet up a little closer, squeezing my traps together the whole time. Three contact points are lower traps, lower back/upper ass, and balls of feet.
2) grip: grip the bar with thumb first near your wrist. Fingers next. My thumb controls the bar.
3) unrack: without lifting the weight, I try to slide it horizontally out to over my lower sternum. Once there, I lock my elbows to drive my shoulders into the bench. KEEP YOUR BACK TIGHT!
4) eccentric: with speed (and practice) I row the weight to my chest as quickly as possible and under control. Where to lower the weight varies from person to person, I am at the zyphoid process. Your elbows and wrists should be in a vertical line. The chest stays ballooned out and the back tight.
5) concentric: starting with the glutes, yes, the ass, push your body against the barbell. Do not try to bench the bar, instead visualize pressing your body into the bench against the bar. It keeps your back tight and in the right position.

Maximus's best bench auxiliaries (work for me): chest supported rows, board press, hammer curls, incline bench with a long pause on the chest, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, face pulls, nose pulls with cables, close grip rack press.

7/12/2011 6:53:14 PM

Dead Lift Day:

DL 275 3x8+ (12reps last set)
Single Leg 40#DBs DL 3x8
95#BB Curls 3x10
Single Leg Squats w/ 25#DBs 2x5
Abs

7/13/2011 10:21:50 AM

explain the single leg squats

do you have to go with much lighter weights to compensate for the struggle for balance?

7/13/2011 1:06:32 PM

As far as benching goes, I've noticed that often now my head will start to hurt (lower back of the skull, neck) and I'll get a minor headache that goes away eventually (15 minutes or so?).

I don't feel like I put pressure on my head, though I do have a tendency to watch the bar which I'm trying to stop. Could it be that I just need to pull in my shoulders more when benching? Thus making it more of a system where only my shoulders and ass are touching the bench.

I'm also not sure if the head ache is just due to a combination of the humid environment and beginning my workout, since I usually start with bench, but sometimes I'll notice a headache when I start lifting on other days too

[Edited on July 13, 2011 at 1:17 PM. Reason : lkj]

7/13/2011 1:16:19 PM

your head should be in contact with the bench, not trying to look up. are you holding your breath when you bench, or do you breath out normally as you're driving the weight up? if you're holding your breath, your blood pressure will spike tremendously and can cause tension headaches. I'll get them in the back of my head if I'm not breathing correctly.

7/13/2011 1:29:20 PM

and does anyone slam medicine balls into their abs while doing crunches or impactful shit like that?

is anyone able to keep that shit up as a normal routine? i swear ive done that and ive run around holding a med ball tight to my abs while a dude straps up the gloves and is chasing me punching full force into the ball

that shit is crazyyyyyy and i never wanna do it again much less again the following week

7/13/2011 1:50:39 PM

So after I get my surgery, I pretty much can't use my right arm. Should I still do workouts with my left arm?

7/13/2011 2:50:49 PM

i should add that when i pull msyelf to the arched position, i slide my head back down onto the bench.

i never breath for heavy singles. i only take one deep breath and then "exhale" against my eppiglotis.

7/13/2011 4:57:34 PM

Quote :

"are you holding your breath when you bench, or do you breath out normally as you're driving the weight up? if you're holding your breath, your blood pressure will spike tremendously and can cause tension headaches."

I know that I plan on breathing in on the descent and breathing out on the push, but at the bottom I might be holding my breathe as I start to move the weight up. I'll have to keep this in mind and its probably what I'm doing wrong, thanks!

7/13/2011 10:05:27 PM

I use the valsalva maneuver whenever I am doing heavy lifting...

Big breathe in at the most stable position and hold it through the eccentric and half way through the concentric. Breathe out/grunt about half way up. I find this helps with stability and tightness as I can bear down on my belly and contract my abs harder.

This is huge when squatting heavy.

7/13/2011 10:08:37 PM

i got through that aforementioned workout better than i thought i would, but i will be a mummy in the morning i know it

i also somewhat disagree that a lack of focus leads to loss in results, if youre half assing sure. But the way i have always trained and competed across sports i have never focused on development of one thing except for when Chuck amato makes you lift certain shit, but then again we did cardio and plyometrics, functional training, anaerobic and aerobic, strength training all in the same day

as a lifelong athlete thats what I am used to, i think it is incorrect to say that it is necessary to focus on anything, those needs change week to week in my opinion through introspection and self evaluation through competition or some form of performence, a lot of time there are multiple foci of improvement

[Edited on July 13, 2011 at 10:55 PM. Reason : t]

7/13/2011 10:43:05 PM

Quote :

"As far as benching goes, I've noticed that often now my head will start to hurt (lower back of the skull, neck) and I'll get a minor headache that goes away eventually (15 minutes or so?). I don't feel like I put pressure on my head, though I do have a tendency to watch the bar which I'm trying to stop. Could it be that I just need to pull in my shoulders more when benching? Thus making it more of a system where only my shoulders and ass are touching the bench. I'm also not sure if the head ache is just due to a combination of the humid environment and beginning my workout, since I usually start with bench, but sometimes I'll notice a headache when I start lifting on other days too "

That just sounds like a tension headache from starting out cold on an exercise where you may be tensing up the muscles in your neck and at the base of the skull. I used to occasionally get the worst headaches I've ever had when doing chin-ups, and it was when I did them first thing without any warmup and hadn't practiced form on them much. It was terrible. My hunch is that you might be able to prevent that by starting out with some light cardio or a few lifts that you can do without straining your neck much.

Quote :

"and does anyone slam medicine balls into their abs while doing crunches or impactful shit like that? is anyone able to keep that shit up as a normal routine? i swear ive done that and ive run around holding a med ball tight to my abs while a dude straps up the gloves and is chasing me punching full force into the ball that shit is crazyyyyyy and i never wanna do it again much less again the following week"

That sounds terrible, dude. I guess that's why you're a beast and I'm not.

7/13/2011 11:47:09 PM

i think its a pretty normal workout like as in its commonly done, but i cant imagine doing it regularly

i dont even know if it actually does anything but being painful for no reason

7/13/2011 11:59:47 PM

Wednesday
Bench Press 3x3x3x1x1x1
Decline Close Grip Bench Press 5x5x5
JM Triceps Press 3x7
Lying Cable French Press 3x7
Face Pulls 3x12
Machine Shoulder Press 3x7
Leg Raises 3x15

Thursday
Box Squats 8x2 @ 55% 1RM, 1 rep @ 70% 1RM
Sumo Speed Squats 5x2 @ 50% 1RM
Lactic Acid Training Supersets of Leg Curl/Leg Extension 2x20
Barbell Shrugs 3 sets, 15, 12, 12
Barbell Curls 3 sets, 12, 12, 10
Standing Cable Abs 3x12
Back Hypers 2x10
Seated Crunches 2x10

7/14/2011 8:09:12 AM

Bighitsunday:

It's fine to disagree... Just know that you are wrong if you think that focusing on building endurance will enhance your strength attributes; at least compared to doing a pure strength program.

If you want I can dig up a bunch of research trials that found Endurance + strength training lead to less strength gains compared to strength alone.

The adaptations the body makes for strength are almost on the complete opposite side of the spectrum and are mutually exclusive in everyone, except for new trainees.

As far as the med ball slams directly on to the abs. I am sorry bro, but that sounds flat out retarded.

The only application I could see that being useful is if you are literally preparing to be punched, kicked or receive other blows to the mid-section repeatedly. I could also see it as a "toughness builder" to de-pussify someone, but as far as anything functionally athletic, I see it being rather counter productive.

7/14/2011 7:13:20 PM

Quote :

"The only application I could see that being useful is if you are literally preparing to be punched, kicked or receive other blows to the mid-section repeatedly. I could also see it as a "toughness builder" to de-pussify someone"

hahahah you do know what he does, right?

[Edited on July 14, 2011 at 7:15 PM. Reason : dfgfdg]

7/14/2011 7:14:22 PM

No clue what he does... It may be applicable if he does MMA or something.

BigHitSunday:

For the single leg squats I stand on a box and allow my free leg to stay slightly below and infront of my planted leg. Squat down as low as possible, almost ass to heels, then drive back up.

Using DBs makes it a lot harder, however it does help with balance and stability because I move them forward as I descend acting as a counter balance.

Here is a vid: http://youtu.be/9wEEsp3uEjY

7/14/2011 7:41:50 PM

yessir - mma

at least he did...
you still dabble in that chris?

7/14/2011 8:00:31 PM

That video is freakin' boss. I'm gonna try doing them that way, on a box with some counterweight, because I have a hard time doing them otherwise. Without the space to kick the leg out and the dumbbells, I don't have enough flexibility in my ankle to squat down much on one leg; I guess having the counterweight lets you not pitch forward as much on the ankle.

Good tip, thanks for the link.

7/14/2011 8:44:05 PM

Quote :

"It's fine to disagree... Just know that you are wrong if you think that focusing on building endurance will enhance your strength attributes; at least compared to doing a pure strength program"

i think you misunderstood me, im not trying to build strength at all really because i think im strong enough, endurance is more important and i definitely like the proposal you made

what i was sayin is that i dont have a real focus for development long term

i appreciate your advice dude, dont take it like i was trying to discredit you

[Edited on July 14, 2011 at 8:50 PM. Reason : d]

7/14/2011 8:48:51 PM

It's all good.

From reading some of your posts, it seems you've been an athlete for awhile so you have a decent idea of how to train yourself.

Most new people to training have no clue where to begin and think that if they want to get lean and muscular that they should run a lot, lift tons of reps and eat like a rabbit. When some of that is could not be further from the truth.

[Edited on July 14, 2011 at 9:12 PM. Reason : 0]

7/14/2011 9:11:00 PM