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Fitness |OT3| BroScience, Protein Dysentery, XXL Calf Implants, and Squat Rack Hogs

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ianp622

Member
I think I maybe figured out what was causing my knees to feel weird in squats.

I think I have to do a wider stance. If I go shoulder length or slightly wider I like....cannot go into the last couple of inches of a parallel or deeper squat without rolling my weight onto my toes. Not even with only the bar and no weights. I'll try again with just the bar next time I do squats, but I don't think I can physically do this squat without rolling weight onto my toes from my heels:

I'm 6'6", I don't know if that has anything to do with it. When my weight is on my toes that's when I feel pressure in my knees. As well as doing a wider stance, pointing my toes/knees more outward seems to be best. Using hip drive helps me not roll forward during the standing part of the motion. Now I think my squat looks something like this:

Feet are about that distance, but since I'm much taller they're a shorter relative distance apart. Anyways, is that bad squat form and do i just need to work on this a bunch more?
Lift your toes up to keep your weight off of them. Also, a wider stance may help, but also check that your knees aren't pushing inward as you life heavier weights. This is much more important than the distance between your feet. If you need to, start over with lower weight that allows you to comfortably go down to parallel or below, and work up to heavier weights while focusing on your form.
 

yacobod

Banned
How much excess fat do you guys think is necessary to efficiently add muscle? A lb of fat for every lb of muscle? A half lb of fat for every lb of muscle.


This was always one of the funnier things I've read on T-nation back in the day.

Dave Tate said:
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn't gain weight to save my f-g life.

There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like f-g magic. He'd go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.

I finally asked him one day how he did it.

"You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I'll fill you in."

Now remember, we're at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious s-t if we have to go outside, I thought.

So we get outside and he starts talking.

"For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don't care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that s-t down and eat. That's your breakfast."

At this point I'm thinking this guy is nuts. But he's completely serious.

"For lunch you're gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don't want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG BS. I don't care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can't let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter."

"For dinner you're gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don't like sardines, don't put 'em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that f-kr up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that s-t over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the s-t out of it."

"Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that f-kr. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals."

This guy is in a zen-like state when he's talking about this.

"Now you're on the clock," he continues. "After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you're full. Don't listen to that s-t. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I'm telling you now, you're going to get three or four pieces in and you're gonna want to quit. You f-g can't quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.

And if you can't finish it, don't you ever come back to me and tell me you can't gain weight. 'Cause I'm gonna tell you that you don't give a f-k about getting bigger and you don't care how much you lift!"

Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn't get much fatter. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, though.
 
Scumbag appendicitis has taken me out of the game for at least three weeks. Cant't lift more than 10 lbs for the next two weeks. This sucks. Back to square one.
 

Izick

Member
This was always one of the funnier things I've read on T-nation back in the day.

ibiDL631oiEiQ5.gif
 

Kwhit10

Member
I know this probably gets asked a lot but any suggestions for good calorie numbers to aim at while doing SS? There's something in the OP and it gives me little more than 3000kcal but for example Rip says 4000 minimum, 6000 better.

What numbers have you been succesful with? I'm 6 foot and weigh about 159lbs (183cm and 72 kilos.). Not afraid to put little fat on if it gives me muscles too :)

I was in a similar situation you are. I am 6'1 and starting SS at a weight of 165-168. After 11 weeks of eating between 3200-3700 with at least 200g of protein a day, I've gained about 12lbs.
 
I feel like I'm starting to get to where trouble begins in Stronglifts. The lifts are actually at a weight where I feel some difficulty (except bench press, but that'll come soon). Feels good man.

Squat rack update: Guy doing wrist curls today. Although, in his defense, the other one was empty so I can't hate him too much.
 

kylej

Banned
Really? I'm guessing you've been extensively in the past but never squatted?

I'm in a similar position. I've only been able to squat for about 3 weeks because my right knee was so busted up. Kinda sucks to be at an intermediate stage for my other lifts but be a little baby on squats.

Put up 175 today for 3 reps and failed on my fourth for squats. Definitely need to lighten up and work on form. Hard to start light on legs :(
 

cryptic

Member
I'll just state it again, fat plus carbs post workout has actually been shown in studies to not only not lead to insidious weight gain but it may in fact even be beneficial to the recovery process. It's only if you eat excess calories in relation to your total energy expenditure that you'll gain fat. This is according to Alan Aragon's paper I linked above, I take it as you can eat what you want post workout and not blow 10 dollars on boneless skinless chicken breasts that suck at every other meal. I thought you might like to know that Timedog so you could potentially have your pizza post workout as long as you have your macro nutrients dialed in.
 

balddemon

Banned
got back from the farm today, and i had to move my workout from yetserday to today, along with the accessory work i had planned

squatted 245 3x5. i think i am going to move this up 20 pounds for monday, today was easy
pressed 105 3x5.
fucked cleans right in the ass

did some nifty machine chest flyes 135 3x8. 3x5 of chinup leg raise thingies. and 3x8 of dips. my tris will be sore tomorrow i think
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
Really? I'm guessing you've been extensively in the past but never squatted?

I was at bodyweight squat, but didn't think I was doing them right so dropped 60 lbs. Then Petrie said I should drop 50 more, so I did.

So now I'm at 135 for squat and 200 for bench.
 

rando14

Member
I was at bodyweight squat, but didn't think I was doing them right so dropped 60 lbs. Then Petrie said I should drop 50 more, so I did.

So now I'm at 135 for squat and 200 for bench.

So you weigh 245? gotcha.

Yeah, for sure make sure your squat form is down solid. :) Sorry, I didn't catch if you said you're following a certain program?
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
So you weigh 245? gotcha.

Yeah, for sure make sure your squat form is down solid. :) Sorry, I didn't catch if you said you're following a certain program?

I weigh 252 as of today. I got up to doing 255lb squats. I miscalculated, that should have read 70lbs, not 60.

I'm doing the beginner workout in the OP, SS I guess. I went up in squats by about 100lbs in a month and a half or so before I dropped weight, and I was really only a couple inches off from doing a full squat, but in those couple inches was a huge deficit of strength. Hopefully I can boost whatever muscles that are weak in that couple inches as fast as I did the rest, cause after the last two workouts my legs havent really felt like they got a proper workout.
 

balddemon

Banned
I weigh 252 as of today. I got up to doing 255lb squats. I miscalculated, that should have read 70lbs, not 60.

I'm doing the beginner workout in the OP, SS I guess. I went up in squats by about 100lbs in a month and a half or so before I dropped weight, and I was really only a couple inches off from doing a full squat, but in those couple inches was a huge deficit of strength. Hopefully I can boost whatever muscles that are weak in that couple inches as fast as I did the rest, cause after the last two workouts my legs havent really felt like they got a proper workout.

i haven't felt like my legs got a proper workout since the 2nd day i started squatting, but i've been able to increase the weight by 10-20 pounds for the last month. and this is 3x a week on SS
 

kylej

Banned
How narrow of a grip do people use when doing close grip bench presses?

Take your normal grip, and move your hands in one hand width (5-6"). Don't put your hands right next to each other. Even just 5 or 6 inches closer than your regular grip will annihilate your triceps.

edit. What I like more than CGBP is Incline Hammer Grip DB Bench. That shit is humbling.

images (1).jpg

1281_1.jpg
1281_0.jpg


Don't go crazy on the incline, just one or two clicks up from parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows tucked in, and on the positive, make sure you track the weight straight and don't wobble your arms all over to get it up.
 
Take your normal grip, and move your hands in one hand width (5-6"). Don't put your hands right next to each other. Even just 5 or 6 inches closer than your regular grip will annihilate your triceps.

edit. What I like more than CGBP is Incline Hammer Grip DB Bench. That shit is humbling.

images (1).jpg

1281_1.jpg
1281_0.jpg


Don't go crazy on the incline, just one or two clicks up from parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows tucked in, and on the positive, make sure you track the weight straight and don't wobble your arms all over to get it up.

Yeah sounds like I've been using too narrow of a grip, which explains the pain in my deltoids.
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
Anything bad I need to know about flax seeds? I bought a big bag cause it's cheap and i eat like 6 tablespoons of it a day. Apparently the type of EFA's in it don't absorb that well so a lot of it's getting wasted (or so I read), but it's cheap enough that I don't care. Still take my fish oil post workout. Any negative effects I should know about though?
 

MrToughPants

Brian Burke punched my mom
How narrow of a grip do people use when doing close grip bench presses?

I use a straight shoulder width grip which is 14".

Keep your elbows tucked for CGBP. Some bring the bar a little lower down the chest than on a regular bench. I bring it to the top of my abdominals.

Both those example pictures have flared elbows.
 

rando14

Member
Take your normal grip, and move your hands in one hand width (5-6"). Don't put your hands right next to each other. Even just 5 or 6 inches closer than your regular grip will annihilate your triceps.

edit. What I like more than CGBP is Incline Hammer Grip DB Bench. That shit is humbling.

images (1).jpg

1281_1.jpg
1281_0.jpg


Don't go crazy on the incline, just one or two clicks up from parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows tucked in, and on the positive, make sure you track the weight straight and don't wobble your arms all over to get it up.

Feels like I just watched an episode of TMW.
 

abuC

Member
Take your normal grip, and move your hands in one hand width (5-6"). Don't put your hands right next to each other. Even just 5 or 6 inches closer than your regular grip will annihilate your triceps.

edit. What I like more than CGBP is Incline Hammer Grip DB Bench. That shit is humbling.

images (1).jpg

1281_1.jpg
1281_0.jpg


Don't go crazy on the incline, just one or two clicks up from parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows tucked in, and on the positive, make sure you track the weight straight and don't wobble your arms all over to get it up.

I do something similar (Close DB press), but I keep the weights touching one another and keep my elbows locked to my sides.
 
Goddamn it I want to lift so bad, but am just worried I'll still fuck up my elbows even if I do pre-stretch exercises/icing them. Fuck, I just don't want to stop lifting weights for a month or two.
 
What about doing a week or more of deloading?

I could go very light and do high reps. =\

I'm telling you right now. The only exercise I can do is chest, and that's it. Doing tricep workouts hurt my golfer's elbow. Biceps, back, squats, and possibly shoulders, too. I literally can't do anything. Shit's fucking pissing me off.
 

blackflag

Member
I fucked my lower back up. It happened while warming up With squats at my lightest weight (135). No idea what did it. My form is fine, especially with that little bit of weight. Possibly it was already stressed from something else. No idea what is wrong with it but I hurt when even just walking, can't touch my toes cuz of the pain, etc. I'm fucked. This happened on Friday and it still hurts today. I've done so much work over the last 6 months, I hope this shit doesn't last long
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
I fucked my lower back up. It happened while warming up With squats at my lightest weight (135). No idea what did it. My form is fine, especially with that little bit of weight. Possibly it was already stressed from something else. No idea what is wrong with it but I hurt when even just walking, can't touch my toes cuz of the pain, etc. I'm fucked. This happened on Friday and it still hurts today. I've done so much work over the last 6 months, I hope this shit doesn't last long

Reading this kind of shit is scary...
 
Did/does anyone have trouble being hungry while on Gomad? I have to force myself to eat because I am never in the mood to. The milk always goes down easy though. I feel like it will be tough to maintain a diet when I eventually get off gomad :/
 

Saya

Member
Last Saturday I found out my girlfriend of three years is cheating on me with some guy. Apparently it lasted for quite a while. Anyway, since I am single again and still devastated I decided I will start doing fitness at gym in the hope that it will distract me from her. I never really exercised before since my high school time (I'm 28 now). But now I think is the perfect time to get back in shape.

I'm a total newbie when it comes to this. What do I need to prepare to start going to the gym? Any suggestions on shoes/clothes? Also, would it be a good idea to get a personal trainer for a few sessions?

My goal is to gain more strength / better body (not so much on gaining or losing weight, since I'm naturally not too fat or skinny). I was thinking about going to the gym about 3 times a week. The beginner guide in the OP looks good, maybe I can use that first. I'll visit my local gym after work to inform about their membership rates, etc.
 
Did/does anyone have trouble being hungry while on Gomad? I have to force myself to eat because I am never in the mood to. The milk always goes down easy though. I feel like it will be tough to maintain a diet when I eventually get off gomad :/

Don't know about the not being hungry part but yeah Gomad should definitely be temporary.
 
Last Saturday I found out my girlfriend of three years is cheating on me with some guy. Apparently it lasted for quite a while. Anyway, since I am single again and still devastated I decided I will start doing fitness at gym in the hope that it will distract me from her. I never really exercised before since my high school time (I'm 28 now). But now I think is the perfect time to get back in shape.

I'm a total newbie when it comes to this. What do I need to prepare to start going to the gym? Any suggestions on shoes/clothes? Also, would it be a good idea to get a personal trainer for a few sessions?

My goal is to gain more strength / better body (not so much on gaining or losing weight, since I'm naturally not too fat or skinny). I was thinking about going to the gym about 3 times a week. The beginner guide in the OP looks good, maybe I can use that first. I'll visit my local gym after work to inform about their membership rates, etc.

I know that feel. I am new myself, but if you do this as hard and the best you can then this is a drastic lifestyle change. It has certainly helped take my mind off my girl issues. If you make it through, you will be a better person and learn a lot of lessons.

Basically you need 3 things. A plan/goal, a diet, and the will to work hard and finish every thing. Just wear a tshirt and loose shorts. Try to wear flat-bottomed shoes (not running shoes, think chuck taylors). I wouldn't recommend a trainer unless you knew someone personally that knows his shit. Instead buy Starting Strength (more info in the OP) and read it. Also look online for the videos floating around that show correct form.
 
Don't know about the not being hungry part but yeah Gomad should definitely be temporary.

haha I am glad it is only temporary. I want normal bathroom visits again....

It is almost if my mouth rejects non-liquid things. I gagged a few times eating brisket and potato stew for dinner... I had to wash everything down with milk :( Once I get it down it is fine. Wish I could just dump food into my stomach without having to chew sometimes...
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
Did/does anyone have trouble being hungry while on Gomad? I have to force myself to eat because I am never in the mood to. The milk always goes down easy though. I feel like it will be tough to maintain a diet when I eventually get off gomad :/

Yes. I feel like GOMAD (maybe with skim or 1%, I don't know I'd have to experiment) might actually make a good basis for a cutting diet cause I don't feel like I need to eat anything when I'm drinking this much milk. Maybe for reasons outlined here.

Are you having diarrhea or constipation?
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
Lift your toes up to keep your weight off of them. Also, a wider stance may help, but also check that your knees aren't pushing inward as you life heavier weights. This is much more important than the distance between your feet. If you need to, start over with lower weight that allows you to comfortably go down to parallel or below, and work up to heavier weights while focusing on your form.

Holding my toes up while doing squats worked super well for not putting my weight on my toes and squats went way better today. Thanks!
 
Well, it's been a full week and I'm going to go back to the gym tomorrow! I feel rested, and ready to go!

I told you all that I was thinking about changing up my routine, and someone linked a site on here, and I found a nice 4 day split routine, with the goal of gaining size. Not sold on it yet, but I wanted all of your opinions.

What do you all think?

Besides a few frivolous exercises I'd ignore, it's not bad. I like the methodology of lifting first for strength and then throwing in a few accessory exercises for hypertrophy.

Do it, give feed back after a month or two.

Edit* After looking again, I'm not liking Quad/Ham Day, seems like too much volume.
 
Yes. I feel like GOMAD (maybe with skim or 1%, I don't know I'd have to experiment) might actually make a good basis for a cutting diet cause I don't feel like I need to eat anything when I'm drinking this much milk. Maybe for reasons outlined here.

Are you having diarrhea or constipation?

both, and every in between. Not that bad since that is the only side effect. I haven't gotten breakouts from the milk or anything.

One time I downed half a gallon between 10pm and 12 pm..... Never again
 

kylej

Banned
Well, it's been a full week and I'm going to go back to the gym tomorrow! I feel rested, and ready to go!

I told you all that I was thinking about changing up my routine, and someone linked a site on here, and I found a nice 4 day split routine, with the goal of gaining size. Not sold on it yet, but I wanted all of your opinions.

What do you all think?

Kind of a bootleg 5/3/1. Just do 5/3/1, it's very simple, will kick your ass, and puts a lot less stress on your joints and body because you're not lifting super heavy all the time.
 

-viper-

Banned
Could stay the same, could decrese slightly, could even increase. If you aren't eating well you wont gain muscle, and likely wont lose much fat. You'll remain relatively the same for most people.

If you aren't going to make your diet a priority, you're kind of wasting your time.
Hmm. I guess I should make more of an effort to fix up. I find it difficult to put on weight. And when I do, it seems to go straight to my stomach!

What kind of diets do you guys usually have? I have no idea what meals I should be eating. I'm a rather busy student so what kind of meals are quick and easy to prepare?
 

gdt

Member
Any quick recommendations for a protein powder to pick up? Probably at Vitamin World. I ran out, and don't have the spare cash to buy another 5lbs at the moment. Just wanna get a small one to last for a bit.
 

Brolic Gaoler

formerly Alienshogun
Back, some fucked up shit has been going on in my life, it effected my training for a while, but today I seem to have pulled out of it. Squatted 340x11 on my third set today, that brings my calculated 1rm to 465. Feels good man.
 
Starting next month, it is time to focus on size. More reps!

I plan to do my main compound lifts heavy and then just focus on reps. That link Izick posted looks solid (to me anyway). Gives me my heavy lifts then focuses on size. Could be interesting.
 

Mr.City

Member
Any quick recommendations for a protein powder to pick up? Probably at Vitamin World. I ran out, and don't have the spare cash to buy another 5lbs at the moment. Just wanna get a small one to last for a bit.

The cheapest kind available.
 

Izick

Member
This seems like a bit bunch. What are your lifts at right now?

Monday- legs (calf, hammy, quads)

Tuesday- Chest/shoulders

Wednesday- Off

Thursday- Back (upper and lower)

Friday- arms

(Okay, so about a three weeks ago or so, I put shoulders on leg day, and I did triceps on chest day, and biceps on back day, as that was the advice given by here.)

I do 3 exercises per muscle, 4 sets for the first exercise (per muscle) and 3 sets with the other two, usually with 1 or two warm-up sets just to get the blood pumping. 8 reps per set for each of those.

I've been looking into this 5/3/1 system, I haven't managed to read it yet though, is it a good system for gaining mass?
 

ezrarh

Member
Back, some fucked up shit has been going on in my life, it effected my training for a while, but today I seem to have pulled out of it. Squatted 340x11 on my third set today, that brings my calculated 1rm to 465. Feels good man.

Welcome back. Hope everything is okay.

I'm starting my 3rd cycle of 5/3/1. I have already noticed improvement in my deadlift and squat. Bench and press - not so much but not stalling just yet so we'll see.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
My PT introduced something called 'burpee' to my program, wtf I thought my physique had improved but feels like day 1 again.

Jump up version too.
 
Back, some fucked up shit has been going on in my life, it effected my training for a while, but today I seem to have pulled out of it. Squatted 340x11 on my third set today, that brings my calculated 1rm to 465. Feels good man.
Good to see you back, man, though I've been neglecting this thread too. Hope all is well.

Going to be on a business trip next week, so will see how well a hotel fitness center substitutes. At least they are supposed to have a pool.
 
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