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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

Astral

Member
I bought an ab wheel yesterday because they seem fun. I did a few sets last night and it wasn't so hard. I try again this morning and it feels like my abs are ripping apart wtf.
 

DOWN

Banned
Ok dumb question time: I often see people talk about building lean muscle and strength... but what if I am completely in this for vanity and actually don’t care about strength per se? Is lean muscle really different than any ol’ muscle you build or is that a buzz term? I guess I’m wondering what the school of get huge fast and don’t care about honest strength and endurance school says
 
Ok dumb question time: I often see people talk about building lean muscle and strength... but what if I am completely in this for vanity and actually don’t care about strength per se? Is lean muscle really different than any ol’ muscle you build or is that a buzz term? I guess I’m wondering what the school of get huge fast and don’t care about honest strength and endurance school says

They're talking about putting on muscle without fat. It's very difficult to do unless you're an absolute beginner or willing to use drugs.
 

KmA

Member
Ok dumb question time: I often see people talk about building lean muscle and strength... but what if I am completely in this for vanity and actually don’t care about strength per se? Is lean muscle really different than any ol’ muscle you build or is that a buzz term? I guess I’m wondering what the school of get huge fast and don’t care about honest strength and endurance school says

Vanity lifting is essentially bodybuilding. And strength and muscle building are highly correlated. I mean as long as you're pushing your muscles to your particular limit, they are gonna grow. You can't really do that unless you get strong or build endurance lol.
 

DOWN

Banned
Next dumb question: is it smart to do basically no cardio if all you want is to be big fast? I don’t really understand what the smart way to integrate cardio is if that’s my goal. Seems some people say skip it

They're talking about putting on muscle without fat. It's very difficult to do unless you're an absolute beginner or willing to use drugs.

Vanity lifting is essentially bodybuilding. And strength and muscle building are highly correlated. I mean as long as you're pushing your muscles to your particular limit, they are gonna grow. You can't really do that unless you get strong or build endurance lol.
Ok good to know
 

nitewulf

Member
I bike daily...but it's not possible during the winter. So I want to buy an exercise bike for the winter months. Something with a slim profile for small NYC apartment...preferable light, with decent resistance settings. Maybe a decent display? Don't want to spend more than $500.
 
Nice one, though I'm not sure I could get through one section, let alone all of them. :D

Thank you.

I can't get through all of it without rest; I just rest a the top or bottom of the push-up never falling flat, but it's cool if you do... just get back up and keep going until the buzzer.

Push-ups & Pull-ups are movements that only improve if you do those movements; i.e. beach pressing or lat pull downs have minimal impact on improving push-up or pull-ups.
 

Teggy

Member
Had to wait for a rack today so got to watch a lot of really bad squats. Worst was the guy who was clearly wobbly under the weight but for some reason was squatting completely outside of the power rack.
 
Had to wait for a rack today so got to watch a lot of really bad squats. Worst was the guy who was clearly wobbly under the weight but for some reason was squatting completely outside of the power rack.

Any time you have a chance to risk tumbling in a heap to the floor with excessive weight landing on top of you, you have to do it.
 
Alan Thrall made a video recently saying that a warmup routine was useless, and that simply warming up for squats by doing light squats was a perfectly good warmup.

Thoughts?
 

theytookourjobz

Junior Member
Any Oly lifters here? Been getting into it. Boy, it is hard. So technical and your powerlifting stuff doesn't transfer over 1:1 at all. Strength maybe.

I lift, not competitively but I’ve been weightlifting for a few years now. As far as powerlifts to oly lifts, you’re definitely right. Technique is a huge limiter for most. My deadlift is 490 and my clean is only 285. Having said that, I can only overhead press 150 but my jerk is 300. It’s super fun if you have the patience, a coach, or some training partners.
 

Cudder

Member
Alan Thrall made a video recently saying that a warmup routine was useless, and that simply warming up for squats by doing light squats was a perfectly good warmup.

Thoughts?

That's pretty much how I warm up for squats, or any other compound lift. One set with just the bar to get used to the movement, one set at 135, and then right into whatever weight I'm working with.
 
Not sure why that wouldn't be considered a warmup. I definitely wouldn't go for a general warmup into full weight squats. I always work up from not much more than the bar.
 

theytookourjobz

Junior Member
Alan Thrall made a video recently saying that a warmup routine was useless, and that simply warming up for squats by doing light squats was a perfectly good warmup.

Thoughts?

I feel like ever since Alan Thrall started doing stuff with the Starting Strength guys, he just toes their company line on everything. Not that I disagree with empty bar squats being sufficient as a warm-up for heavy squats.
 

PadPoet

505 Games Ltd
Long time no speak guys. How is everyone doing?

Attended a natural bbing competition in June, a nice experience overall but not something I would do again. The diet and the cardio coupled with work and lifestyle in London was a killer. Reached very low BF levels (5%?) and a very aesthetic look but man my face looked like skeletor.

Some pics:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZBkJrVBk6A/?taken-by=lucasliaskos
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWBGF61hTSv/?taken-by=lucasliaskos
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVfeJlOBare/?taken-by=lucasliaskos
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVjjfhZBi32/?taken-by=lucasliaskos
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVcOO8KBO3v/?taken-by=lucasliaskos
 
Alan Thrall made a video recently saying that a warmup routine was useless, and that simply warming up for squats by doing light squats was a perfectly good warmup.

Thoughts?

I haven't seen that particular video, but I'll start with the bar for 5 reps, then add 50 pounds for 5, then 50 more, etc., until I reach my working weight. This is what was preached in Stronglifts when I started that last summer, and it made sense and I have stuck with it.
 
Had to wait for a rack today so got to watch a lot of really bad squats. Worst was the guy who was clearly wobbly under the weight but for some reason was squatting completely outside of the power rack.

i watched 2 guys used a squat rack to do curls. like 55# total including the bar. like bitch youre doing nothing but hog the area when people want to use it.
 
Attended a natural bbing competition in June, a nice experience overall but not something I would do again. The diet and the cardio coupled with work and lifestyle in London was a killer. Reached very low BF levels (5%?) and a very aesthetic look but man my face looked like skeletor.

Good stuff. Your face didn't look that bad... you should see mine even at 8%. I look like I'm dying.
 

Wvrs

Member
I need to get back in shape.

Bit of background: I'm 22 years old, and used to be obsessed with bodybuilding. I started lifting when I was 17, and quickly made gains -- I went from being a skinny kid to looking like a fitness model, peaking when I was around 19 years old. Then life happened, and I fell by the wayside with it, and right now I'm probably in the worst shape of my life. I've been travelling for the last 3 months with no gym access, so that's not helped.

I get home in just over a week, and I'm determined to get back in shape. I've just graduated from University and I've not really got any distractions, taking this next year out from real life and I'm just managing a bar; it's pretty easy, and so I can make fitness a priority again.

I've not really gained much fat, but I've lost a shit-ton of muscle mass, and don't really know where to begin. It's been a gradual decline but it's taken a toll on my self-confidence and self-esteem.

Can only recommend a good split routine? I'm not exactly a newbie, but I suppose I might need a starting strength programme to begin with? My biggest concern is maintaining motivation, but that's something only I can do.
 
Alan Thrall made a video recently saying that a warmup routine was useless, and that simply warming up for squats by doing light squats was a perfectly good warmup.

Thoughts?

I don't even know what a warmup routine is, lol. I've always just done like one light set of whatever I'm doing first and then right into my heavy set.
 
I don't even know what a warmup routine is, lol. I've always just done like one light set of whatever I'm doing first and then right into my heavy set.

Thrall had older videos where he would do stretching and foam rolling and other things to loosen up. In the most recent video, he just goes straight into the exercise with lighter sets, incrementally getting up to his working weight.

So he still warms up, just under the bar and not on a mat.
 
Thrall had older videos where he would do stretching and foam rolling and other things to loosen up. In the most recent video, he just goes straight into the exercise with lighter sets, incrementally getting up to his working weight.

So he still warms up, just under the bar and not on a mat.

Ahh... Reminds me of a dude that used to go to my gym. I swear he would spend just as much time stretching as I spent on my whole routine. I just don’t see how that’s enjoyable. I mean maybe he had to or something, no idea. But I’d be almost done with my workout and I’d still see him doing stretches, foam rollers, stretch bands, etc. before he did any serious lifting. He was strong though too, so not knocking him, clearly works for him. I just know I personally wouldn’t enjoy that. I enjoy lifting but like to get in and out for the most part. Spending 30 minutes every time BEFORE I even lift anything sounds brutal.
 
There are times where I HAVE to do foam rolling / stretches / band work (usually after I've been lifting heavy a while) or get injured.

That said, I hate lifting anyway. I've never really understood how people enjoy it, unless they're working way below their capacity.
 

DOWN

Banned
Most beginner programs seem aimed at 3 days a week and full body. Is it not a good idea to get into splits and 4 days a week as a beginner? I consider myself beginner level with lifting even though I’ve technically exercised for a while so I’m wondering if it’s not a good idea to do 4 days a week... and how to do so if the 3 day full body programs aren’t adaptable to that. I’ve got the time and motivation to do more than 3 days I think.
 

lenovox1

Member
Most beginner programs seem aimed at 3 days a week and full body. Is it not a good idea to get into splits and 4 days a week as a beginner? I consider myself beginner level with lifting even though I’ve technically exercised for a while so I’m wondering if it’s not a good idea to do 4 days a week... and how to do so if the 3 day full body programs aren’t adaptable to that. I’ve got the time and motivation to do more than 3 days I think.

You can. Progression may take longer. I think you'll get the results you want faster with a split routine and cardio, though.
 
Most beginner programs seem aimed at 3 days a week and full body. Is it not a good idea to get into splits and 4 days a week as a beginner? I consider myself beginner level with lifting even though I’ve technically exercised for a while so I’m wondering if it’s not a good idea to do 4 days a week... and how to do so if the 3 day full body programs aren’t adaptable to that. I’ve got the time and motivation to do more than 3 days I think.

If you do a beginner program such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts, 3 days per week is good until you plateau on one or more lifts. As long as you're adding weight to the bar every workout, don't change the routine. It's working. If you start getting to a point where you can't add weight, first figure out if the problem isn't the routine but rather you. Which is to say, are you giving yourself the right amount of time and resources to recover, what are your rest periods like, what's happening with your form, etc. If you rule that out and have plateaued, then it could be time to change the routine for the lifts affected. For the ones where you're still making progress, don't change. It's still working. Make sense?

From my experience, I've been able to do steady, linear progression with squat. The only things that have stood in the way have been poor form on my part that lead to injury, and then just the mental aspect of being under an increasingly heavier bar. My other lifts such as bench or OHP haven't enjoyed the same long linear growth, so I'm doing more for them, getting an extra day, going for extra volume, and I find that it helps.

But if you're new and/or you're making steady progress, do the program as designed.
 

JWiLL

Banned
Nothing like the arrogance of believing you can just hop right back in to the same high intensity workouts you used to do after not doing them for a few years.

Did the p90 ab ripper workout yesterday...which I used to do 3x a week with increased sets from 25 to 35 reps.

I'm struggling to walk today. It all hurts.
 
Nothing like the arrogance of believing you can just hop right back in to the same high intensity workouts you used to do after not doing them for a few years.

Did the p90 ab ripper workout yesterday...which I used to do 3x a week with increased sets from 25 to 35 reps.

I'm struggling to walk today. It all hurts.

If you make it out of bed Saturday, then you'll probably survive this one.
 

DOWN

Banned
Is doing bench press on the floor ok? Someone here mentioned that (I guess it wouldn’t be called a bench press anymore). There seem to be some discussions of it saying it is fine...

My leasing office seem like they’re not up for adding a flat bench to the gym and I am not about to go buy one for them
 

mdsfx

Member
Is doing bench press on the floor ok? Someone here mentioned that (I guess it wouldn't be called a bench press anymore). There seem to be some discussions of it saying it is fine...

My leasing office seem like they're not up for adding a flat bench to the gym and I am not about to go buy one for them
You won't be able to bring the bar down to your chest since your elbows will hit the floor. It seems like you could only do partial reps that way.
 
Is doing bench press on the floor ok? Someone here mentioned that (I guess it wouldn’t be called a bench press anymore). There seem to be some discussions of it saying it is fine...

My leasing office seem like they’re not up for adding a flat bench to the gym and I am not about to go buy one for them

Use dumb bells instead of the barbell.
 
Half reps aside, don't do barbell bench on the floor. If you fuck up and have the bar land on you, you have literally no-where to go (and chances are, you're going to be on your own).

Edit - It actually just occurred to me, that full plates would be big enough for most people to fit under... just about.
 
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