damn Matt, good job - it seems like you're hitting new PRs every week

1/13/2012 11:44:21 AM

Thanks!

I'm finally hitting my stride. After getting sick and losing about 10lbs a couple months ago; my strength dropped a lot. It may have been a blessing in disguise because it made me re-evaluate my programming, focus on my technique and to scale back the volume of my "accessory" lifts.

Next week should be another round of PRs, then I am going to deload and build back up for hopefully more PRs in about a month.

1/13/2012 11:59:33 AM

^do you ever do squat cleans or just power?

Also, do you usually high bar or low bar squat? Front squat? Snatch?

1/13/2012 3:41:43 PM

Usually just power, but I'll throw some front squats/jerks in randomly if I'm feeling good right when I clean it.

I generally low-bar squat, rippetoe style. When I was playing around with westside conjugate method, I did a few ME days with the front squat. My PR with that is 300lbs.

I don't really ever snatch, as I haven't had access to bumpers/training plates until recently. It's on my to do list soon. Now that I've figured out how to clean correctly, learning the snatch should come quickly. It's been tough since I am completely self taught, figuring out how to clean right took about 2years of half-assed practice.

1/13/2012 3:57:35 PM

Power snatches aren't that hard to get down if you have good power clean form, full snatches on the other hand are a bitch to get down technique wise for me. I am not even close to being able to catch a reasonable amount of weight at the bottom of a snatch.

1/13/2012 4:07:20 PM

Had a great week so far. 3 good runs and 3 good workouts. Getting more comfortable with my kettlebells/sandbags/weighted balls/jump rope and using them to put together some good workouts. With the exception of a couple meals, I've eaten really well this week. Doing well at lowering my portions.

Don't like the fact that every winter I'm putting an unwanted 10 lbs and having to go on a semi-diet after Christmas. It's good to know that I can lose the weight when I need to...but I need to be more consistent with watching what I eat and my cardio. I don't like dieting.

1/14/2012 1:22:14 PM

Weighed at 192 again today and did

Squats: 195x5x3
Overhead press: 75x5x3
Dead lift: 275x5x3
Curls: 40x5x3

My grip was fine on the dead lifts this time, so it's definitely getting stronger, but I think I'll still get the trainer maximus recommended so it won't keep limiting my progress. I also did the same weight on the press as last time, and did better with it than previously, but I still need to work on my form before I'll be able to push more weight on it safely. Still making good progress with the squats, curls and bench, though.

1/14/2012 5:57:36 PM

Down 10lbs

word

1/14/2012 9:07:09 PM

Awesome! Keep up the good work!

1/14/2012 11:00:51 PM

For all you beach bodies looking to lean up... Will you participate in a highly unscientific experiment that I have been wanting to look in to?

Simply supplement your diet with 750mg-1,500mg of calcium every morning and report if you can notice any affect on your weight loss, mood, and hunger over the course of 4weeks?

I've been reading it can be highly effective. I had good experience with it and want to see some other anecdotal experiences.

Shoot me a pm or a post in here if you are interested in helping out.

1/15/2012 10:06:58 AM

I tried recording my squat form on video at the gym yesterday, but I didn't know what I was doing recording video with my camera and actually botched the first two videos. When I hit the record button the first time, I didn't notice the red dot in the bottom right corner. hitting the record button again made "RECORDING" flash across the video in big red letters, but apparently that meant it was stopping the recording and writing the video to the video card.

By the time i finally figured it out, I was kind of tired and didn't drop the weight like I should have and had some pretty bad form. I did a fourth set of touch and gos to a low box to try to correct the depth issues I noticed on the first video, and it was able to help me. I'm looking forward to recording my squat workouts next week to see if the form issues were there from the beginning or if they got worse as I got tired.

I think I'm goin to start recording more of my workouts so I can analyze my form in between sets.

1/15/2012 4:50:30 PM

Weight's been the same the past 2 weeks (~145) but continuing to improve in small ways - quads aren't sore anymore from all the biking, planks in yoga and Pilates are getting easier. Yoga and biking Thurs, hiking 2.5 hours Sat., and mtb/yoga today.

Road ride and spin class planned for tomorrow, weights Tues, rock climbing Wed.

Getting measurements this coming week for a baseline. I'd like to see where I am now and where I'll be every month.

1/15/2012 7:42:12 PM

i would really like to stop having these allergic reactions

just added ANOTHER food to my "do not eat or your intestines will swell" list. and now my hands have been swollen for 2 days and my weight is up (which is normally an indicator of a reaction) but i ate super clean yesterday to try to get the leftover mess from Saturday night out of my system and my weight was even higher today and my left hand is still slightly swollen. i'm really hoping it's not the protein powder i bought (it's all natural but who knows). i'm giving the protein powder one more day and if i'm still having issues i'm going to have to nix the protein powder.

it's the Jay Robb Whey Protein in vanilla. if i can't have it, is anyone interested in it? i just opened it on Saturday morning and have used about 2 full scoops. i paid $23 but would be willing to sell it for much cheaper.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=J1-1001

1/16/2012 7:37:28 AM

I bought a punching bag yesterday so even though I can't do taekwondo anymore at the old place I can at least keep up working on my kicks and punches and stuff


^

1/16/2012 9:06:16 AM

ordered the captains of crush #1

looking forward to seeing how it works out

1/16/2012 9:15:06 AM

lol what is captains of crush?

1/16/2012 9:23:52 AM

maximus recommended the captains of crush hand grippers to improve your grip for doing lifting and pressing exercises.



and here's a link to the #1 hand gripper
http://ironmind-store.com/No1-Captains-of-Crush-Hand-Gripper/productinfo/1251/

1/16/2012 9:29:20 AM

they're a line of products that increase hand/grip strength and various other types of strength.

i think their most well known products are their hand grippers that come in various settings. they are some serious grippers. only a few people in the world have ever closed a "4." Most people would never be able to close a "2" without serious training. Even a "1" provides more grip strength than most lay people could ever hope to achieve without training up to it.

1/16/2012 9:30:01 AM

OH OK. i thought it was a protein powder at first when i read it i was like, "you ordered captain crunch?!?!?!?"

1/16/2012 9:41:59 AM

mmmm captain crunch

1/16/2012 9:50:38 AM

eleusis, post the videos to a private youtube link if you don't mind. i'm always interested in watching other people's form that that have had significant amounts of time under the bar, in hopes of picking up valuable tidbits.

maybe even make some comments about what you see, and that way we can all learn from your learning experience.

you mostly high-bar right?

also, i've seen people abbreviate the crush grippers as CoC grippers. lol every time. i'm a child.

1/16/2012 10:03:06 AM

Can someone please tell me the difference between Crossfit, P90X and these Insanity DVDs? I get it's
high intensity stuff, but not really besides that. Or all they all pretty much the same?

1/16/2012 10:05:09 AM

from my understanding - Crossfit is high intensity interval training. there are designated crossfit gyms that you can go to but i think you can also do the work outs pretty much anywhere

P90X and Insanity are home work outs that are done by following a DVD and work out plan. they pretty much lay everything out for you. Insanity relies on body weight whereas P90X uses weight.

1/16/2012 10:13:23 AM

p90x and insanity are home aerobics/light strength endurance DVDs.

Crossfit is a whole different animal. And it really isn't one thing, because it the quality and exercise type varies depending what "box" (gym) you go to.

I think I put it pretty well in another thread summarizing crossfit:

Quote :

"Crossfit is really just a term for "we train more elite than you; so either drink the kool aid, or be unfit". You can't put your finger on crossfit because it isn't one thing. Each crossfit gym (box) has a dramatic variety of quality, focus, and atmosphere. Some of it is great. Some of it is laughable. They don't do one specific thing, but take methods that have been around for decades, then throw it against a wall, whatever sticks is called crossfit."

1/16/2012 10:30:34 AM

P90x is like aerobics for dudes. It uses a little bit of weight, or elastic bands, or whatever, and bodyweight exercises, but there is no really serious strength training component. Like CassTheSass said, it's designed to be done in your living room at home by following a DVD and using only the most minimal equipment. Also, I recommend muting the video, as the main instructor is so annoying, he will make you want to curbstomp kittens. All in all, though, it's very accessible, not a bad workout, and both doable for beginners and still challenging for people already in pretty good shape.

Crossfit has loosely organized, franchised gyms. You can also do the workouts at most "normal" gyms, and could do most of them (or acceptable variants thereof) at home with a moderate investment in equipment. Crossfit, in effect, ends up being very big on the HIIT, as mentioned above. However, that's an oversimplification. Crossfit, like P90x, will often use resistance to give an aerobic workout, but instead of doing a hundred reps of an exercise with some menial weight, they will have you do, say, 10 reps, then 10 reps of something totally unrelated, then 10 reps of something else. You might jump from pull-ups to sit-ups to benchpress, but do them all in a rapid, intense circuit. Then, the next day, the workout might be to go run 5-10k. Then, the next day, it might be 6 sets of 3 reps of deadlift, done slowly and totally anaerobically.

Personally, I like Crossfit a lot, and find it to be far superior to P90x for really getting into shape (P90x is probably decent for just losing weight). I don't get caught up in the "cult of Crossfit", though...I find that annoying, limiting, and counterproductive, and it's pretty prevalent among those who do Crossfit.

I will say that Crossfit, if done "as Rx'd" (i.e., exactly as listed as the Workout Of the Day, or "WOD"), will at least sometimes be way over the head of someone who isn't already in pretty good shape. I'm in pretty good shape, and even I occasionally look at a WoD and say "You have got to be fucking high." At any rate, Crossfit can be done by anyone--you just might have to alter or scale the workout to your ability level (just don't take that as a license to wimp out).


^ Yeah, that's what I mean...getting caught up in the "cult of Crossfit" is silly and stupid to me. The overall principle is what's more important.

[Edited on January 16, 2012 at 10:43 AM. Reason : ]

1/16/2012 10:39:42 AM

Quote :

"Simply supplement your diet with 750mg-1,500mg of calcium every morning and report if you can notice any affect on your weight loss, mood, and hunger over the course of 4weeks? "

I drink a lot of milk (2 gallons a week if I'm not traveling). I have noticed that when I am not drinking as much, my body weight goes up and I am not nearly as energetic as I normally am. Could be related to my daily vitamin as well as I always forget my vitamins when I'm on the road.

I've read though that the Vitamin D may be the reason for the weight control though more so than calcium.

1/16/2012 10:40:39 AM

^ i actually take 1000mg of Vitamin D a day on top of my multi-vitamin and noticed that when i am consistent about taking my vitamin D, my weight stays low.

1/16/2012 10:49:37 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7JMfhaECpM

I wasn't happy with the depth I was squatting in the first video I took, so I dropped a plate off each side and tried to foxus on just getting my depth right. I still managed to squat to a shallow depth on the second rep out of habit from what I was doing before, which is annoying since I took the time to set up platforms and had no reason not to hit them.

I try not to lock out my knees in between reps, and from watching this video I'm starting to wonder if I could stop the acsencion a couple of inches lower to keep more tension on the muscle. The muslce feels loaded throughout the lift, but on the video it looks like there's a lot of joint movement at the top for not much lifting being done. I might play around with it next month and see how it feels.

This was one more set than I normally do for squats, so I'm interested to see how my form looks this week when I'm fresh and using my normal working weight.

1/16/2012 12:08:03 PM

awesome, thanks. for some reason i thought you were shorter .

i've watched a couple of times, and can't really think of much to ask/say about it. looked really solid.

is the function of not locking out your knees dictating where you're stopping with your hips? are you targeting something specific? i really liked your pace. these two things tie in together to me, as i find it hard to maintain a decent pace like that. i tend to lock out my hips and knees between reps, and take a breath or two standing there under the bar. i think this leads me down two poor paths, being more tired near the end of the set than i should be, and losing some tension between reps, that i have to consciously get back.


maybe this should have gone in the bb thread, but fuck it, i just lih

1/16/2012 12:52:51 PM

i'd say put it in both. good to see a higher level of workout and all

1/16/2012 12:56:21 PM

locking out the motion puts more stress on your joints without actually working the muscle, so I try to avoid doing so. I try to sit back into the lift to keep tension on the front of my quads and to tighten up my hip flexors, so that's why my hips don't seem to straighten out as much as my knees do.

I squat primarily for quad development, and not so much for strength. That's why I try to go at a slightly faster pace and not pause in between reps. If you're finding yourself out of breath when you squat, you may want to check your breathing during the exercise. I breathe in on the descent and exhale normally on the ascent. The only time I'll hold my breath or exhale against a closed windpipe is if I'm really struggling to get the final set back up and don't want to drop the bar. If you're turning red in the face during the lift, you're probably not breathing right.

If you want to see a higher level of workout, you should watch the girl that's in the side of that video train. She's a pro card holder currently prepping for the Arnold.

1/16/2012 1:12:38 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P432BLT5TKk

And here's an example of bad squat form. Shaky out of the rack, not getting the depth I want, not keeping my lower back tight enough, getting the weight shifted too far over the balls of my feet and not over my heels, etc.

I was so pissed off from not knowing how to record video with this camera and losing the first two lift videos that I left the weight the same, knowing I was getting tired and would struggle with it. The form shown in this video is a good way to have lower back pain.

1/16/2012 1:35:28 PM

that looks heavy

1/16/2012 1:38:08 PM

^^ for bodybuilding and quad development, i don't see anything wrong with that depth. and i do understand how frustrating it is to be ready to squat and to have something annoy you to the point that you can't get it right. there have been many workouts ruined under the bar for me by an idiot dribbling a basketball, annoying significant others, job stress, miley cyrus on the muzac, etc

and considering you are squatting without a belt (and i assume no squat briefs), i don't think that the 2 inches is going to make a huge difference in leg development. that bottom two inches is mostly glute-hip complex anyway, not quad.

and though it's been mentioned before, i like chucks to squat in. how do you like the foot sleeves with that much weight? (i can't remember the outcome of what you said).

1/16/2012 2:38:40 PM

I prefer squatting in my fivefingers to anything else, because I can physically pick my toes off the ground and shift my weight back onto my heels entirely during the squat.

Walking lunges is the exercise where those shoes really shine though.

I know that I am probably getting a decent quad workout even at that depth, and I work the posterior chain more heavily on hamstring day with my good mornings, SLDLs, and hypers. Even still, I would rather be squatting below parallel for flexibility reasons.

1/16/2012 3:11:19 PM

beast squats. does that bar position not hurt? i don't squat anymore but i shoot for my rear delts

[Edited on January 16, 2012 at 8:06 PM. Reason : .]

1/16/2012 8:05:56 PM

I forced myself to do an hour long leg workout with painful quads - and it actually made me feel better

YAY

Anyway. I'm excited to get my punching bag.

1/16/2012 9:52:31 PM

I've never felt discomfort in my neck/traps from that bar position, but sometimes I wish I could slide my hands out to the collars to prevent some of the tightness issues I get in my elbows and wrists. Unfortunately, I've pinched my hand in the racks when reracking the weights with that position and don't feel like risking it anymore.

1/16/2012 10:23:18 PM

^^ Congrats you just performed some myofascial release.

1/16/2012 10:26:44 PM

I just started my new routine this morning... I'm getting up at 4:30 to get to the gym by 5, work out for 1:15-1:30, shower, get dressed, and be at work by 6:55.

Worked beautifully this morning, and I feel great! (and I'm not all sweaty at work like I thought might be a problem!)

[Edited on January 17, 2012 at 7:06 AM. Reason : we will see how well this routine lasts the rest of the week and once lacrosse season gets here!]

1/17/2012 7:05:46 AM

did some back exercises last night but didn't really feel it hitting right. hopefully its just that i'm stronger and not completely missing.

1/17/2012 8:55:07 AM

Holy fuck, I'm still sore as shit from my workout on Saturday. Did a long run to the park where I did three sets each of pull-ups and raised hand push-ups, then ran back to the house where I did about 5 or 6 exercises with kettlebells, sandbags, and a weighted ball.

I'm thinking a good bit of the soreness is that I drank heavily on Sunday...but I didn't think working out with light weights (heaviest kettlebell is 40lbs) could make me this sore.

1/17/2012 9:23:17 AM

grimx, what were you doing?

i feel the same about when i do pendlay rows or bent over barbell rows.

even trying my best on form, hips not moving and trying to keep elbows in the right direction.


[Edited on January 17, 2012 at 9:38 AM. Reason : e]

1/17/2012 9:24:32 AM

Last night at the gym I rowed 5222 meters and then saw a group of people queueing up at the aerobics room. They were waiting for a Zumba class so I decided to give that a try.

I hated it. Everyone's been talking about it like it's the best cardio workout ever but I just felt silly, it was a complete waste of time. But whatever gets people people moving and exercising I guess. I would rather take a kickboxing or BodyAttack class for high-energy interval aerobic training.

Then I stayed around for BodyPump class afterwards and upped my weights for squats, chest, and lunges.

1/17/2012 10:05:03 AM

^^ one arm rows and bent rows

and actually after i sat down for a conference call just earlier i started to feel it. so maybe i did get something overall, but didn't really feel it when i was doing the exercises

1/17/2012 10:07:26 AM

Minka, what kind of instructor did you have?

I know this sounds obvious, but the instructor makes a huge difference - the class I took with an actual competitive latin dancer of 10+ years was much harder (and more informative on basic Latin dance moves) than the chick who only had the basic Zumba training. I think all the instructors should have some type of dance experience

1/17/2012 10:57:50 AM

i did a workout yesterday and holy fuck it literally almost killed me

jesus i'm out of shape

1/17/2012 10:59:31 AM

Quote :

"Minka, what kind of instructor did you have?"

she was a small, latin woman. She obviously knew what she was doing but it was like following a mime for 50 minutes. There was no instruction/explanation, felt like everyone was just moving on their own, kinda doing what she was doing but not-- just trying to keep up.

1/17/2012 11:16:38 AM

Ohhh, I see. That competitive dancer I had would give instructions first so that you actually knew what you were doing... That sucks though

But I agree, I, too, would rather take kickboxing

1/17/2012 11:22:31 AM

i have never tried a zumba class because i don't usually like group fitness classes but i do have the zumba for Kinect and i don't really like it. and i grew up competitively dancing so i thought i would.

i find i prefer to be the loner when it comes to working out.

1/17/2012 12:32:29 PM