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[Chichikov]

I have a question. When I wake up sore and sluggish from the previous days workout. Should I just make that a rest day or just fight through and workout anyway, because yesterday, I was extremely sore and just couldn't motivate myself to workout or anything. I just want to know what the best course of action to take is when this happens.

Generally speaking, you need to stick to your plan, and yes, you will have low energy sore days that you'll need to fight through.
However, if you feel like your body just can't recover in time, you may want to consider changing you plan a bit.

And in my experience, having a day off between strength workouts as advisable for most people (but it really depends on what program you're on).

 

["God's Beard!"]

Ok, second day of HIIT, and it's officially not any easier. :lol

 

[Chichikov]

Ok, second day of HIIT, and it's officially not any easier. :lol

When it get easier, it's time to kick it up a notch.
You get used to it mentally, but if you're used to it physically you're not doing it right.
It's the general rule of physical training, your body is adapting not because you really want it to be ripped, but because you put it under stress it can't handle.

Get used to it, cause you'll never get use to it.

[kong fu flute music]

 

["God's Beard!"]

When it get easier, it's time to kick it up a notch.
You get used to it mentally, but if you're used to it physically you're not doing it right.
It's the general rule of physical training, your body is adapting not because you really want it to be ripped, but because you put it under stress it can't handle.

Get used to it, cause you'll never get use to it.

[kong fu flute music]

In that case, time to put my body under stress it can't handle, because I really want it to be ripped.

 

[Naked Snake]

I think I had the most intense workout of my life tonight... I arrived to the gym late and had to race through a full body workout before they closed, I was literally the last one to leave and didn't have time to shower because they were closing. I was panting like crazy and I could feel my heart doing its best to pump blood to my organs. To make matters worse the very last two exercises were deadlifts and squats! I thought I wouldn't have the time/energy to do them but I managed to squeeze them in the end.

Felt like a million dollars. Except when my wrists were aching while carrying groceries after that :lol

 

[JB1981]

I am making some serious progress after my deadlift injury.

I feel enormously better after two days of going to the chiropractor, icing and taking Aleve. I think I will be ready to go back in about a week. I already have a lot of mobility back and the pain/tightness has really subsided. I'm actually quite shocked by how quickly I'm recovering.

 

[JB1981]

Heres a couple of tips that works with me when it comes to squats (and dropping your ass below parallel).


1) Obviously, USE A LIGHTER WEIGHT. If you go to heavy, your body seems to naturally want to stop you from dropping your hips lower than your knees.

2) Flare your knees out a little. Don't try to point your knees straight and squat down.

3) Keep your head lined with your spine but when your dropping down, look up. Not all the way up but at a 45 degree angle. For some reason doing this allows you to keep your balance and your ass will just naturally drop down. Feel your ass drop below parallel then bring it back up.

My ass cheeks are sore as a motha' after 2 days of recovery. Feels good to do squats right.

my ass cheeks never hurt after doing squats

I must be really doing something wrong, but I am very keen on form. Also, Rip recommends keeping the head down ... which I've been doing .. maybe i'll try with the head up when I go back in a week or so.

 

[dabig2]

my ass cheeks never hurt after doing squats

I must be really doing something wrong, but I am very keen on form. Also, Rip recommends keeping the head down ... which I've been doing .. maybe i'll try with the head up when I go back in a week or so.

Do you squeeze your glutes hard when coming up?

 

[BlueTsunami]

my ass cheeks never hurt after doing squats

I must be really doing something wrong, but I am very keen on form. Also, Rip recommends keeping the head down ... which I've been doing .. maybe i'll try with the head up when I go back in a week or so.

You want to keep your head positioned correctly (to align the spine, you don't to kink anything) so don't tilt your head up! but what you should try is just looking up with just your eyes.

My main issue was that I was looking at the mirror and trying to see if I was dropping my hips down far enough when, instead, I should be feeling if its dropping. This caused balance issues. Looking up with just your eyes makes the motion of squatting feel more natural.

Do you squeeze your glutes hard when coming up?

Yeah, this too! By doing that your activating the glutes. Same principle as in flexing your pecks on the near lockout or any other muscles. Thats a good tip.

 

[Chichikov]

My main issue was that I was looking at the mirror and trying to see if I was dropping my hips down far enough when, instead, I should be feeling if its dropping. This caused balance issues. Looking up with just your eyes makes the motion of squatting feel more natural.

Fucking mirrors, I hate them, the gym I go to now have mirrors everywhere and it fucks my form.
I put a mattress on the mirror when squatting just to not get distracted.

 

[reilo]

So, doing my 3 sets of 5 reps of squats just an hour ago, and the first 14 reps go beautiful. I feel like I'm in form, it's feeling almost too easy... and then...

BAM. That 15th rep just hits me and my strength cuts out, almost lose my damn balance, and somehow, in some miracle, I managed to pull it through without falling down or getting hurt.

Sheeeeeeit. Another lesson learned not to rush that last rep and concentrate.

 

[JB1981]

damn .... my back pain has evolved into this extraordinary feeling of weakness below the waist line. the pain is less severe but my legs feel like they're 100lbs and I feel wiped after moving around for a few min. Damn I must have really fucked myself up.

 

[RumblingRosco]

I had a pimple on the front of my shin (weird place to get one, never noticed one on my legs before in my entire life). Anyway, did deadlifts and didn't think about the pimple until after my first set I realized the pimple was obliterated by the barbell. Little spot of blood on the barbell and my shin bleeding a little. Wiped up and just finished my sets, but I'm proud of my first shin-bleeding deadlift, even if it was a gimped way to get it. :lol

Also, my deadlifts are almost caught up with my squats. They'd be lifting heavier if I hadn't started squatting in late March, but didn't do my first deadlift until around June. Whoops.

 

[mr stroke]

Fucking mirrors, I hate them, the gym I go to now have mirrors everywhere and it fucks my form.
I put a mattress on the mirror when squatting just to not get distracted.

you hate the mirrors?
It almost feels wrong when I lift on a wall with out mirros, I guess I am so used to them.
This brings up the question-Why do all gyms have mirrors anyways? People like to look at the selfs I guess?

 

[Struct09]

you hate the mirrors?
It almost feels wrong when I lift on a wall with out mirros, I guess I am so used to them.
This brings up the question-Why do all gyms have mirrors anyways? People like to look at the selfs I guess?

So you can check out all the women without getting caught

 

[Chichikov]

you hate the mirrors?
It almost feels wrong when I lift on a wall with out mirros, I guess I am so used to them.
This brings up the question-Why do all gyms have mirrors anyways? People like to look at the selfs I guess?

I find them distracting.
I guess it has to do with what you're used to.
I learned to lift on a converted bomb shelter.
But then again, I'm a simple creature who is easily distracted by shining objects... why look there, there's a person who looks just like me, and he's squatting too!

 

[mr stroke]

So you can check out all the women without getting caught

:lol
I thought I was the only one who did this.

 

[jacf29]

I gained about 1/2 a pound this week, but I blame that on not exercising and the dark knight. Time to get back on things this week.

 

[Vanish]

ok so i discovered this food called egg beaters (http://www.eggbeaters.com/index.jsp) and its basically eggs without the fat and cholesterol and still has about 8 grams of protein. ive heard eggs are supposed to have the best protein you can get so i was wondering if these would be of the same quality or would i be better off with just normal eggs. if so, is there a specific way the eggs have to be before i eat or does it not matter how i cook it?

also, im trying to also eat over 3000 calories a day so i can eventually gain 20 pounds of muscle (140 to 160lbs, 5 feet 9 inches). what exactly am i supposed to eat to get that much calories in a single day without eating an abundance of sodium, cholesterol, fat, and the like? i do full body workouts 3 times a week for an hour. thanks...

 

[Chichikov]

ok so i discovered this food called egg beaters (http://www.eggbeaters.com/index.jsp) and its basically eggs without the fat and cholesterol and still has about 8 grams of protein. ive heard eggs are supposed to have the best protein you can get so i was wondering if these would be of the same quality or would i be better off with just normal eggs. if so, is there a specific way the eggs have to be before i eat or does it not matter how i cook it?

also, im trying to also eat over 3000 calories a day so i can eventually gain 20 pounds of muscle (140 to 160lbs, 5 feet 9 inches). what exactly am i supposed to eat to get that much calories in a single day without eating an abundance of sodium, cholesterol, fat, and the like? i do full body workouts 3 times a week for an hour. thanks...

Dietary cholesterol does not translate directly to serum cholesterol.
So yeah, if you want to bulk up eat meat and eggs and drink milk.

As for egg beaters, I have no experience with them, but eggs are great, why would like to replace with some artificial product with weird chemicals?

 

[joeblackisback]

Ok, I'm looking back through this thread but I can't find what I need so I'm going to ask instead of wasting my entire day searching...

To you guys doing some variant of starting strength, but doing it more than 3 times a week, how are you splitting it up? Or is it absolutely taboo to do a program like starting strength more than 3 times in a week?

I generally lift about 5 times/week and I don't want to drop down to 3 for fear of getting lazy, although I'm extremely interested in the starting strength method. I even started doing power cleans for pete's sake.

So, what's the deal, can I do that and if so, what splits do you suggest? and if not, well, shit.

 

[Wraith]

ok so i discovered this food called egg beaters (http://www.eggbeaters.com/index.jsp) and its basically eggs without the fat and cholesterol and still has about 8 grams of protein. ive heard eggs are supposed to have the best protein you can get so i was wondering if these would be of the same quality or would i be better off with just normal eggs. if so, is there a specific way the eggs have to be before i eat or does it not matter how i cook it?

also, im trying to also eat over 3000 calories a day so i can eventually gain 20 pounds of muscle (140 to 160lbs, 5 feet 9 inches). what exactly am i supposed to eat to get that much calories in a single day without eating an abundance of sodium, cholesterol, fat, and the like? i do full body workouts 3 times a week for an hour. thanks...

Egg whites are actually eggs without the fat and cholesterol. They're generally sold in grocery stores near the Egg Beaters. Not that Egg Beaters are bad for you(afaik) but I definitely prefer egg whites simply because I really dislike the flavor of Egg Beaters.

 

[Chichikov]

Ok, I'm looking back through this thread but I can't find what I need so I'm going to ask instead of wasting my entire day searching...

To you guys doing some variant of starting strength, but doing it more than 3 times a week, how are you splitting it up? Or is it absolutely taboo to do a program like starting strength more than 3 times in a week?

I generally lift about 5 times/week and I don't want to drop down to 3 for fear of getting lazy, although I'm extremely interested in the starting strength method. I even started doing power cleans for pete's sake.

So, what's the deal, can I do that and if so, what splits do you suggest? and if not, well, shit.

People have different programs here, and I do not follow Ripptoe's.
Personally, for a beginner, I would recommend on starting with a 3 days a week program, as the more days you do the more careful programming is required.

Taking a day off between strength trainings gives you some room for error.

 

[Struct09]

Egg whites are actually eggs without the fat and cholesterol. They're generally sold in grocery stores near the Egg Beaters. Not that Egg Beaters are bad for you(afaik) but I definitely prefer egg whites simply because I really dislike the flavor of Egg Beaters.

Egg Beaters are egg whites with some added flavoring.

Nothing wrong with whole eggs, and nothing wrong with Egg Beaters. For breakfast I have 1 whole egg mixed with Egg Beaters, as it's a good way to get a good amount of food for not too many calories.

 

[Troblin]

I'm thinking about adding front squats into my leg routine, since my leg strength appears to have plateaued.

Anyone have any instructions/vids on how to properly perform the exercise?

 

[BlueTsunami]

Fucking mirrors, I hate them, the gym I go to now have mirrors everywhere and it fucks my form.
I put a mattress on the mirror when squatting just to not get distracted.

Seriously. I use them from time to time but I think, if one is a beginner, its more important to feel the muscles flex, to feel that your body is in the right position. The mirror does become a bit of a crutch.

 

[Chichikov]

I'm thinking about adding front squats into my leg routine, since my leg strength appears to have plateaued.

Anyone have any instructions/vids on how to properly perform the exercise?

Assuming you knows how to properly back squat, learning the front squat should be fairly easy.
Hold the bar similarly to the end position on the clean -
Elbows up, almost parallel to the floor, the bar rests on the shoulders, not held by the hands.

When squatting, your torso should be almost vertical, and since it's less stable lift than the back squat, you must be more weary of 'a-framing' your knees.
Depth is probably not going to be an issue since it's feel less deep than the back squat, so what feels like a 90 degrees is probably deeper than needed.

That's about it.

p.s.
The front squat is a more targeted and specialized form of the squat, it does however target what is in most people already the strongest link in the squat, so it may not help you increase you squat strength significantly.

 

[Troblin]

I've never done cleans.

How do you develop the wrist flexibility to simultaneously bend your wrists back while the bar rests on your shoulders?

 

[Ace 8095]

I've never done cleans.

How do you develop the wrist flexibility to simultaneously bend your wrists back while the bar rests on your shoulders?

Practice starting at the hang position with only the bar over and over again. It also helps if you have someone who can push your elbows up into the right position after your attempt. It took me a few workouts to get my form correct.

 

[Chichikov]

I've never done cleans.

How do you develop the wrist flexibility to simultaneously bend your wrists back while the bar rests on your shoulders?

I suggest you don't do serious front squatting until you develop proper wrist flexibility to maintain the required elbow form; too much things can go wrong otherwise.
The good news is that cleans (which you should do anyway in my mind) will help you get there pretty quick (for most people).
If you have some aversion to cleans, just hold the bar and work on getting it to the proper position, don't try to squat, just try to lift your elbows.

Another thing to make sure is that the bar is under the end of you fingers, think on the last joint (it may vary a bit from person to person, but that's a good mental image as most people tend to keep it not far enough).

 

[Troblin]

thanks for the replies.


I definitely plan on going light and getting form down before getting serious with front squats.

I don't back squat that much, so I doubt my front squat is that high.

Any tips on wrist stretch to develop wrist flexibility? the tips of my fingers are seriously like a foot above my shoulders w/ my elbows bent in front squat form. I'll probably need to wrist stretches for the next couple weeks before I even contemplate front squats.

 

[Brendonia]

OK so I've been doing Mad Cow's basic workout for the last 2.5 months or so and have made some pretty good progress but have started plateuing and would like to switch things up a bit. My current weekly routine is below:

M - HIIT
T - Squat 5x5, bench 5x5, barbell row 5x5, leg raises 3x10, hyperextionsions/good mornings 3x8
W - Rest/light cardio
T - Squat 4x5 (lighter weight than Tues.), Incline Bench 4x5, Deadlift 4x5, reverse crunches 3x15, sometimes I'll throw in some power cleans
F - HIIT or rest
S - Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8, Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8, Row 4x5, 1x3, 1x8; Weighted dips 3x5-8, barbell bicep curls 3x8, tricep extensions 3x8
S - rest

Now I've been following the weightlifting parts extremely closely for the last 2.5 months, the cardio not so much, but I've begun thinking about moving to 3x8 routines. I do prefer full body routines but upper/lower splits would be welcome as well. Chichikov or anyone for that matter have anything new that will reintroduce gains? My current maxes for 5 reps are as follows:

Squat: 280
Bench: 230
Row: 215
Incline: 200
Deadlift: 335

Any recommendations would be awesome. Thanks guys.

 

[reilo]

OK so I've been doing Mad Cow's basic workout for the last 2.5 months or so and have made some pretty good progress but have started plateuing and would like to switch things up a bit. My current weekly routine is below:

M - HIIT
T - Squat 5x5, bench 5x5, barbell row 5x5, leg raises 3x10, hyperextionsions/good mornings 3x8
W - Rest/light cardio
T - Squat 4x5 (lighter weight than Tues.), Incline Bench 4x5, Deadlift 4x5, reverse crunches 3x15, sometimes I'll throw in some power cleans
F - HIIT or rest
S - Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8, Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8, Row 4x5, 1x3, 1x8; Weighted dips 3x5-8, barbell bicep curls 3x8, tricep extensions 3x8
S - rest

Now I've been following the weightlifting parts extremely closely for the last 2.5 months, the cardio not so much, but I've begun thinking about moving to 3x8 routines. I do prefer full body routines but upper/lower splits would be welcome as well. Chichikov or anyone for that matter have anything new that will reintroduce gains? My current maxes for 5 reps are as follows:

Squat: 280
Bench: 230
Row: 215
Incline: 200
Deadlift: 335

Any recommendations would be awesome. Thanks guys.

Definitely rest on Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday. Still don't like you doing Squats + HIIT back to back on Monday/Tuesday.

 

[Brendonia]

Definitely rest on Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday. Still don't like you doing Squats + HIIT back to back on Monday/Tuesday.

I tend to just listen to my body on that stuff. If I'm not feeling up to it some weeks the only cardio I do will be fast walking/extremely light jogging in the morning for like a half an hour to get my blood flowing before breakfast and work. Any tips on a new routine? I don't have a problem with cutting down on squats to two days a week, and right now I'm no longer in a bulking phase, I'd like to get more into a cutting phase but keep my strength.

 

[Slo]

I've never done cleans.

How do you develop the wrist flexibility to simultaneously bend your wrists back while the bar rests on your shoulders?

Start by doing a front squats in that position for a few weeks. Just holding the bar in that position will increase your forearm flexibility.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Hi what's your names guys?

I'm back. So I think we should take a vote on what to do with this thread. I personally don't feel like getting the help of a mod to restore the OP, as we'd need their help any time we'd like to modify it. Let's hold a vote, which will close in 24 hours (any objections, we can increase the time, no big deal, but I'd like to get this done soon).

Who is in favor of creating a completely new fitness thread?

(I am).

For: 8
Against: 1

 

[HolyStar]

I am for also we could also post pics of our gains and argue about supplements.

 

[GHG]

Welcome back man.

For.

 

[GHG]

I am for also we could also post pics of our gains and argue about supplements.

The only worry about posting pics is gayming-age. I'd be up for it though, I don't give a shit, its only the internet, plus it'd help keep me motivated and allow me to see properly how much gains I'm making. At the moment I've never taken pictures and I've been training seriously for about 2 and a half years. I wish I took pics of when I started so I could compare to now, I was one skinny motherfucker :lol .

 

[lil smoke]

106 pages. Keep this epic thread. It has a life and history. Boys have grown into men here. We have learned proper deallift and squat techniques here. We have discussed the importance of tricep kickbacks here. This is the official thread.

 

[Wraith]

106 pages. Keep this epic thread. It has a life and history. Boys have grown into men here. We have learned proper deallift and squat techniques here. We have discussed the importance of tricep kickbacks here. This is the official thread.

We can re-link to important posts in this thread and move them to the OP of the new one. 106 pages is A LOT to sift through.

For.

Also, welcome back Snrub!

 

[The Lamonster]

Hi what's your names guys?

I'm back. So I think we should take a vote on what to do with this thread. I personally don't feel like getting the help of a mod to restore the OP, as we'd need their help any time we'd like to modify it. Let's hold a vote, which will close in 24 hours (any objections, we can increase the time, no big deal, but I'd like to get this done soon).

Who is in favor of creating a completely new fitness thread?

(I am).

For: 3
Against: 1

I am for it. I want to see another OP with info for fat n00bs. I want to see basic weight-loss stuff, not nitty gritty lifting details.

 

[yacobod]

start a new one imo

 

[joeblackisback]

This is an epic thread, but I think we could make then next one epic as well.

For.

 

[jtardiou]

I am, as long as there are more pictures!

 

[Mr.City]

Hi what's your names guys?

I'm back. So I think we should take a vote on what to do with this thread. I personally don't feel like getting the help of a mod to restore the OP, as we'd need their help any time we'd like to modify it. Let's hold a vote, which will close in 24 hours (any objections, we can increase the time, no big deal, but I'd like to get this done soon).

Who is in favor of creating a completely new fitness thread?

(I am).

For: 6
Against: 1

For. Welcome back, fool

 

[Anton Sugar]

For the new page:

I'm back. So I think we should take a vote on what to do with this thread. I personally don't feel like getting the help of a mod to restore the OP, as we'd need their help any time we'd like to modify it. Let's hold a vote, which will close in 24 hours (any objections, we can increase the time, no big deal, but I'd like to get this done soon).

Who is in favor of creating a completely new fitness thread?

(I am).

For: 14
Against: 2

 

[Anton Sugar]

Well, might as well show you guys what I'm doing now:

Height: 5'10"
Bodyweight: 183lbs.

Monday - Max Effort Upper Body
Barbell Bench Press - Work up to max 1x3-5
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3-4x6-10
Barbell Row - 4x10-15
Standing Rope Face Pulls - 2-3x10-15
Weighted Sit-Ups - 3-4x8-15
Cycling for Ten Minutes (still working out the kinks on this, gonna play with the different cycles we have, mainly going for endurance here)

Wednesday - Max Effort Lower Body
Squat - Work up to max 1x5
Barbell Step-Ups - 3-4x8-15
Reverse Hypers - 3-4x6-10
Grip - 3 sets x Time
Light aerobic work

Friday - Repetition Upper Body
Barbell Bench Press - 3 sets of max reps (60 secs between reps) with 135 lbs. or 185 lbs.
Skull Crushers - 3-4x5-10
Pull-Ups - 4x8-12
Power Shrugs - 3x10-15
Barbell Curls - 3x8-10
Leg Raises
Sprints/HIIT/Tabata Protocol with front squats

I'm not longer squatting 3 days a week Mainly because I need to get my conditioning up for my job. Definitely keeping squats in, I don't want to lose an ounce of strength; if I can maintain, I'll be fine.

What's everyone's progress like? Been a while.

 

[Affinity]

Well, might as well show you guys what I'm doing now:

Height: 5'10"
Bodyweight: 183lbs.
Plan..

I think I might take some of this workout and apply it to mine. Last summer I had a pretty good routine down, but once semester started I completely stopped working out and now I can't seem to get back into it. That and I have this annoying chest pain ever since I stopped working out last summer (got worse throughout the past two semesters of not working out). Once I get some health insurance I'll get it checked out...

 

[lil smoke]

These days I kinds just go into the gym and figure it out as I go. No predetermined routine. I loosely organize it into splits, and I've been doing this long enough to intuitively work everything in. Generally when I do chest, I do back. If I do arms, I'll also do shoulder. When I do legs (I'm a bitch when it comes to leg workouts), I get those other small muscle sections in. I incorporate a lot of various grip widths into my workouts, I do lots of pyramid schemes, and lots of lb/rep variation.

I have also been known to 'make-up' a few exercises here and there. For example on the lat pulldown, I stand with extended arms straightforward parallel to the ground, palms open over the bar (narrow/mid or wide), and use just the shoulders/triceps to lower the bar. Keeping posture absolutely upright, I keep the arms very straight, down and back up. One rep ends at the starting position with arms straight out (do not go higher), hold for the burn of the resistance and repeat. It feels so good, and my shoulders are like machines after 2 years of this. Alright I didn't make it up, but it is a nifty exercise that I was taught. oh, form is very important with that movement... done correctly, it'll also get your entire upper body including stomach feeling nice and tight afterwards.

... you can do this lying down on a bench as well. Similar to skull crushers, but with straight arms all the way back. It will fuck you up.