Quote :

"okay, wow we're in here talking about dimel deadlifts and glute bridges with 405 and you want to talk about hitting a punching bag that doesn't even exist."

you can kindly take your negative attitude out of this thread. this thread has been helpful for a lot of people - and if that's what is helpful - then so be it.

you went into the xfit thread bashing people's opinions on workouts, you can keep that shit out of here.

7/1/2011 10:00:07 AM

without knowing your goals, it's almost impossible to determine the best set/reps routine for your legs. however, deadlifting and squatting (if you're using maximum effort in your sets) in the same week is a recipe for failure. after about a month your cns will stop responding and you will not see anymore gains.

also, please don't become so set in a routine that you only do box squats (my personal favorite) and standard dead lift. change up the foot width, grip width, bar height on your back, box height, squat style, deadlift style. there are numerous variations for both squat and deadlift. mix it up, your results will improve.

don't even bother with leg curls. they work the insertion of the hamstrings at the knee. it is not useful for squats or deadlifts. better to use romanian deadlifts, dimel deadlits, stiff legs, etc. the leg extenstion is equally worthless unless you are a bodybuilder or want to ruin your knees.

7/1/2011 10:02:53 AM

i'd also wonder about doing calf isolations twice a week.

they're a relatively small muscle. if you really go to complete exhaustion, i dont think you'd be able to do the same again like two days later.

idk.

[Edited on July 1, 2011 at 10:07 AM. Reason : watching videos of dimel deads, looks awesome]

7/1/2011 10:05:14 AM

I guess I would say I'm the Slave Famous definition of enthusiasts. I'm in there for overall fitness as opposed to power lifting or body building.

I don't have a set schedule that I can get into the gym so its more like 2 times every 7-10 days. For instance this week lower body was Sunday and Thursday. How often would you guys recommend between days?

I have been mixing squat types up pretty frequently and have settled on box squats for the moment. I've been having form issues and they seem the best way to mold good habits. How often would you recommend switching up variations? I typically do a routine 2-4 months before switching everything up. I don't think switching up too often (say every other week) would work well for me until I really start to get the movement down.

Anyone else echo the extension/curl thoughts?

[Edited on July 1, 2011 at 10:18 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on July 1, 2011 at 10:19 AM. Reason : .]

7/1/2011 10:15:35 AM

if you are training to absolute failure, i would recommend swithcing every two weeks.

since you asked for my opinion, i will try to outline what i would recommend for someone who is interested in general conditioning

LowerBody Day 1 (maximum effort day w/ a twist) To be done 72 hours after Lower Body Day 2
Box Squat/Squat/Deadlift variation: do sets of 3 w/ increasing weight each set until you can't do 3
Hamstring exercise: 3x 7 lunges, split squat, dumbell single leg dead lifts, back hypers, g. mornings
Hip Pull Throughs with a cable: 3x7
Seated Calfs: 3x20 or until failure
Toe raises with your heel on a block: 2x20 or until failure (soleus tendon work is great for squats)
For the first exercise here, go as heavy as you can, try to get 3-5 sets at at least 85% of your 1 Rep Max. The weight is the important thing, but make sure your form is right. If you deadlift this day, don't do squats and vice versa.

Lower Body Day 2 (dynamic effort day)
Box Squats or power cleans: 8-10 sets with 2 reps at 50% of your 1 Rep Max. If squatting: As you pause on the box, make sure to push the weight up AS HARD AS POSSIBLE; like you are doing a max rep on each rep. If doing cleans, make sure you push your hips through and get to a full squat under the bar.
Lactid acid training: lunges, box jumps, leg press for time. pick an exercise and do 60 reps. as many sets as it takes you is fine.
Hip Pull Through or glute ham raises: 3x15
Standing Calf Raises: Do 100 reps in as many sets as it takes you.

glue---->glute

[Edited on July 1, 2011 at 10:34 AM. Reason : time]

7/1/2011 10:31:32 AM

Anyone still tracking their miles ran for 2011? I've really slacked off the last two months and when I do get on the treadmill seems like I don't have as much energy as I used to. Got about 210 miles left before I reach 500.

7/1/2011 1:24:27 PM

i am - but i have to check and see where i am

7/1/2011 2:13:44 PM

I started lifting weights last week so I have been able to up my weights once. Today I did some cleans and my legs feel like jello. I only did a 5x5 set of 50 and a 5x5 set of 45. I also did 2 5x5 sets of 60 lateral pulls, 5x5 of 25 lying tricep extensions, and 5x5 of 30 workout bench steps. (I don't know if that makes sense or if I said it correctly.)

7/1/2011 2:34:04 PM

Quote :

"LowerBody Day 1 (maximum effort day w/ a twist) To be done 72 hours after Lower Body Day 2 Box Squat/Squat/Deadlift variation: do sets of 3 w/ increasing weight each set until you can't do 3 Hamstring exercise: 3x 7 lunges, split squat, dumbell single leg dead lifts, back hypers, g. mornings Hip Pull Throughs with a cable: 3x7 Seated Calfs: 3x20 or until failure Toe raises with your heel on a block: 2x20 or until failure (soleus tendon work is great for squats) For the first exercise here, go as heavy as you can, try to get 3-5 sets at at least 85% of your 1 Rep Max. The weight is the important thing, but make sure your form is right. If you deadlift this day, don't do squats and vice versa. Lower Body Day 2 (dynamic effort day) Box Squats or power cleans: 8-10 sets with 2 reps at 50% of your 1 Rep Max. If squatting: As you pause on the box, make sure to push the weight up AS HARD AS POSSIBLE; like you are doing a max rep on each rep. If doing cleans, make sure you push your hips through and get to a full squat under the bar. Lactid acid training: lunges, box jumps, leg press for time. pick an exercise and do 60 reps. as many sets as it takes you is fine. Hip Pull Through or glute ham raises: 3x15 Standing Calf Raises: Do 100 reps in as many sets as it takes you. "

So wait, you're recommending Westide for "general conditioning" ? I don't think most people who are interested in general conditioning will need to go that far...a basic 3x5 or even Wendler would probably be better. Even Wendler might be pushing it though....again, IF we're truly talking about someone who only wants GENERAL conditioning.

Also, if he's having form issues on squat, going to a heavy single is definitely not going to help matters...

7/1/2011 2:38:04 PM

^^it sucks doing cleans with weight that low because the bar is so close to the ground. you have to pull it further

if you have them at your gym, try using some bumper plates so that you can pull from a little higher off the ground.

[Edited on July 1, 2011 at 3:07 PM. Reason : .]

7/1/2011 2:38:06 PM

good idea! I am a little embarrassed that is as much as I can do at the moment. I will add weight each time I do them. I am a little embarrassed also being a woman doing cleans in the gym with a bunch of dudes watching but I will do them. Too much thunder going on in the upper torso region.

7/1/2011 2:51:56 PM

you could also use a shorter bar. i believe there is a 5' olympic bar that weighs 25 lbs. most gyms have one.

7/1/2011 2:56:58 PM

no, i am not advocating westside barbell for general conditioning. as you may or may not have noticed, the rep range on both days is very high. 7 is a lot higher than most powerlifting stuff and doing lactic acid training will probably be up in the 50s or 60s.

besides, most everybody can read about a 5x5 routine on teh intarnets without having to consult any t-dub fitness consultants. i am just throwing something else out there that he probably would not have thought of.

also, at least he won't get bored with the routine since you change exercises every week.

westside really won't work, anyway, unless you're on steroids since the volume is so high and the taxation on your muscles and cns is at a premium.

7/1/2011 3:13:58 PM

I finally started my month of crossfit at the Cary Athletic Lab that I got in a silent auction a couple months ago. I was hesitating to do it because I was kind of afraid I would love it and want to sign up, and it's expensive. And I do. I understand why it's pricey, but I so wish it wasn't.

7/2/2011 1:59:18 PM

Haven't checked in since I started, so might as well now.

Anyway, I was up to 227 around mid-April. I weighed in at 203.5 this morning. Feeling good, looking thinner, etc. Wearing clothes and using belt holes I haven't seen in a year or two.

I've been watching what I eat like a fiend (with the exception of a nine-day period around my birthday that included a weekend in Savannah with my cousins and brother), and keeping it simple in the gym: three days of running, three days of lifting.

And my softball league picks up again next week, so that'll be good, too.

All in all, things are going well. I figure I'll be south of 200 by the end of this month for the first time in like two years as long as I keep on with the plan.

LET'S GO!

7/2/2011 4:23:19 PM

^doing great, man!


Anyone have some recommendations for posterior tibial shin splints? I get them like a mother while doing any sort of exercise (running, hockey, tennis, soccer, basketball, p90x). It happens with multiple pairs of shoes and if I'm exercising barefooted. I'm fairly flatfooted, too

I'm assuming that's what the issue is. If I squeeze on the inside side of my tibia it shoots pain up and down my leg.





[Edited on July 2, 2011 at 6:26 PM. Reason : .]

7/2/2011 6:23:55 PM

I wear a compression type sleeve on my lower leg, and I ice after football. I try to avoid running on anything but grass, and wood basketball courts.

Mine is due to an extremely high arch and bad pronation.

7/2/2011 6:36:49 PM

Overhead Press Day:

Standing Press: 110lbs 5x8 (13 last set). 160x1, 170x1.
Weighted Dips +25lbs 3x10
Weighted Chin Ups +25 3x10, 9, 8
Overhead Tricep extension + Face Pulls 3x10
Lateral Raise + Reverse Fly 3x10

[Edited on July 3, 2011 at 10:34 AM. Reason : ;]

7/3/2011 10:33:50 AM

So poor choices in America have not treated me the best.

Zero motivation to get back into it during the summer.

7/3/2011 5:47:05 PM

Wear your patriotic colors and come running at Tir Na Nog tomorrow.

7/3/2011 5:59:43 PM

Quote :

"So poor choices in America have not treated me the best. Zero motivation to get back into it during the summer."

Obviously you are doing it for the wrong reasons.

To get the results you want from training, it is critical to align your core values and goals with your behavior.

For, example I absolutely love my time in the gym. It is like church to me. When I wake up, I am hyped up because I know I either get to train that day, or I am only a day away from training again.

I've made the training for my specific goals something that I love doing on a semi-daily basis... The secret to amazing results is consistency. Consistency is exponentially easier if you love doing it.

7/3/2011 6:38:50 PM

So my wife noticed I've got purple lines across both shoulders after lifting yesterday, and it looks like they're burst capillaries from where the bar was resting while doing squats and calf raises. Any way to avoid that? They're really clashing with my backne.

7/3/2011 7:15:43 PM

Do you use a barbell pad?

7/3/2011 8:53:11 PM

For heavier weight, I do; that's why the lines are only on each side, rather than all the way across.

7/3/2011 11:00:46 PM

A barbell pad?

Put that piece of shit in the trash. Cushion = dispersed force = not as much force transferred to the bar = you can't lift as heavy = your gains suck.

7/4/2011 12:07:31 AM

maximus is ruining this thread

7/4/2011 12:18:29 AM

I understand that and plan to discard it once I have better form and actually have some traps to speak of that I can use to cushion the bar. But for now, my skinny ass will use a pad because it allows me to actually lift more than without it. I've tried, and it's painful because I am a precariously balanced skyscraper of bone, and bone doesn't care much about being introduced to iron.

7/4/2011 12:35:31 AM

Quote :

"Cushion = dispersed force = not as much force transferred to the bar = you can't lift as heavy"

Whaaaaat?

I think your free-body diagram is wrong.

7/4/2011 12:53:49 AM

You should make a bodybuilding/powerlifting/douchebaggery thread maximus.

7/4/2011 2:50:24 AM

seriously

he's a turd in the swimming pool

i lurk this thread for advice and inspiration all the time and he makes this thread significantly worse just by his mere presence

he seems to know some shit but what turd doesn't?

[Edited on July 4, 2011 at 2:59 AM. Reason : d]

7/4/2011 2:57:29 AM

Hey, at least you're not on another forum I saw that the issue was being discussed:

Quote :

"There is a lot of empirical evidence out there that suggests there are negatives to using a foam pad. Smith, Mevik, Bartner (et al) argue that "excessive exposure to such a pad in healthy males, aged 14-70, leads to growth of a vagina and then clitoral hypertrophy." Cut it off, then burn it."

Some serious questions. Are you squeezing together your shoulder blades? And how high is the bar?

7/4/2011 6:43:42 AM

Using a pad on a barbell is inferior to mastering good bar placement on the back for several reasons...

1. Foam padding is unstable. Stability is strength; the more stable you are, the stronger you can
be.
2. The increased thickness from the pad creates a longer moment/lever arm during the squat. This changes the force vector making the weight act with more force on your body. Essentially putting more stress/shear on your low back
3. The pad prevents you from feeling the weight on your back so there is less proprioception, reducing coordination and thus lowering strength ability. This can also create more opportunities for failures as you can't feel the bar shifting as well, reducing your ability to adjust mid-set.
4. It's for pussies.

[Edited on July 4, 2011 at 10:31 AM. Reason : )]

7/4/2011 10:29:53 AM

The man is a foot taller then you. An entire foot!!!!!!!!!!!!! When you think about it....maybe the bruise wouldn't be so bad.....most couldnt even see it!

-ectomorphic sign out

7/4/2011 12:14:28 PM

I really don't think the pad is the issue here, but I appreciate the reasoning for getting rid of it.

I'm actually pretty sure that the bruising is from doing calf raises on the Smith machine, rather than doing squats, because the calf raises were 405 lbs compared to 185. I don't think I squeeze my shoulder blades back as much when doing the calf raises; do you think that might be the issue, then?

7/4/2011 1:53:42 PM

maximus is awesome

Quote :

"okay, wow we're in here talking about dimel deadlifts and glute bridges with 405 and you want to talk about hitting a punching bag that doesn't even exist."

7/4/2011 2:41:02 PM

Quote :

"I don't think I squeeze my shoulder blades back as much when doing the calf raises; do you think that might be the issue, then?"

Yes!

7/4/2011 7:24:21 PM

I miss this thread being about normal people and their weight loss / getting in shape goals.

Not already-buff people talking about how they plan to get more buff.

But hey, it is what it is.

7/5/2011 12:00:43 AM

^

7/5/2011 12:03:19 AM

plz to get this back on track to what it was inititally intended.....

7/5/2011 8:18:15 AM

It appears that there is an increasing gap between Beach Body Challengers and advanced fitness posters, so if you already know what you're doing in the gym then go here to discuss that

The Bodybuilding Thread
message_topic.aspx?topic=615169

and limit posts here to give novice advice and encouragement to someone who just bought their first gym membership

7/5/2011 8:36:59 AM

Quote :

"I miss this thread being about normal people and their weight loss / getting in shape goals. Not already-buff people talking about how they plan to get more buff."

^ cool nice work

Quote :

"plz to get this back on track to what it was inititally intended....."

yes plz

7/5/2011 9:21:27 AM

Quote :

"I miss this thread being about normal people and their weight loss / getting in shape goals. Not already-buff people talking about how they plan to get more buff. But hey, it is what it is."

AMEN. i stopped posting in here because every time i came in to read, it was super fitness buffs talking about how much they lifted that day. no offense, awesome you can lift that much but i felt my posts were insignificant to everything else going on.

so back to business.

i was doing so well - down to 140.1 pounds (from an original highest ever weight of 157 pounds) and then this past weekend i was out of town again and it was really hard to keep my diet in check. well i was working out to try to balance everything out but i made the stupid mistake of eating Panera's black bean soup which i forgot they used canned beans which is a no-no with my allergy and i gained 6.5 pounds overnight and my stomach is so swollen i look pregnant

the weight is slowing coming down (i was sitting at 144.5 this morning) but it's probably going to take the rest of the week for me to get this crap out of my system. plus it's making me an insomniac and lethargic so i feel really blah but i am trying to power through.

i got bored with P90x and made the switch last week to Bodyrock.tv. interesting concept, you can check out the website and their videos (everything is free). plus the girl Zuzana who is in all the videos is pretty hot. http://www.bodyrock.tv their stuff is more HIIT so i've been doing their work outs daily and then going for 20 minute runs about 4 days a week afterward. i really am enjoying the work outs and have been sore for the past week (first it was my legs and ass and now my abs are killing me).

7/5/2011 9:25:15 AM

^ what is it in canned beans that you're allergic to?

i have somewhat gotten back on track. running is going well and back in the pool this weekend. i keep getting frustrated that i'm not doing as well as i did last summer - but then i remember that i was unemployed and had all the time in the world. now i have two jobs

oh well, doing the best that i can

7/5/2011 9:40:29 AM

Bodybuilding is about muscle hypertrophy and essentially having the best beach body. That other thread is kind of redundant since having a beach body is the point of this thread.

7/5/2011 9:54:35 AM

^yeah but this thread is steps 1-6.
the other is 6-12

7/5/2011 10:00:49 AM

not to be rude but maximus all the posts made about the body building/lifting constantly was too much. i agree with Joie, this thread is more for steps 1-6, yall can have your steps 7-12 in another thread. a lot of the regular users in the thread stopped posting when it was pages upon pages of body building lingo and stats and blah blah blah. (yeah i know nothing of the sort - sue me)

LunaK i'm allergic to sulfites and preservatives. i am not supposed to have canned foods because they're packed with preservatives to keep the product lasting longer.

7/5/2011 10:26:19 AM

ahhhh gotcha. that must stink i can't imagine how many things you can't eat

7/5/2011 10:52:28 AM

it's actually not bad when i am home (or at work) because i can prepare all my meals myself and i know exactly what i'm eating (which is basically a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, etc). it's when i travel or eating out that i have to be careful.

i got into the groove of buying everything fresh and preparing it myself and i enjoy cooking so it works in my favor.

7/5/2011 10:57:41 AM

that's impressive.

i wish i had the self control to do that. but unfortunately i wonder if i would have to have that kind of condition to force me to do that with my meals.

7/5/2011 10:58:56 AM

Yeah, so I'm just going to pretend that I didn't eat and drink way too much yesterday and stay on my grind.

7/5/2011 11:45:02 AM