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[TwntyOneTwlv]

Some questions about OHP from pretty much a total newb

1. Today I noticed that as I got farther into my 5x5 set of OHP (at 75lbs cause I'm weak), the bar became unbalanced on my right side. It seemed like my left side was much stronger than my right because it was a struggle to lift it up. Is that a case of my left side simply being stronger? Should I do some DB presses with my right side to even it out?

2. After taking the bar off the rack, I've noticed that it is much harder to press up off my chest, but after the first rep, I don't bring the bar back down as low because it's a lot easier to get the rest of the reps in. Am I cheating here? Should each rep go basically Chest>Overhead>Chest?

 

[entremet]

Some questions about OHP from pretty much a total newb

1. Today I noticed that as I got farther into my 5x5 set of OHP (at 75lbs cause I'm weak), the bar became unbalanced on my right side. It seemed like my left side was much stronger than my right because it was a struggle to lift it up. Is that a case of my left side simply being stronger? Should I do some DB presses with my right side to even it out?

2. After taking the bar off the rack, I've noticed that it is much harder to press up off my chest, but after the first rep, I don't bring the bar back down as low because it's a lot easier to get the rest of the reps in. Am I cheating here? Should each rep go basically Chest>Overhead>Chest?

We do have natural strength imbalances due to dominant handedness. Barbells should be fine. You're right side will get catch up as you train consistently.

I recommend full range of motion for the OHP. You get some nice chest development.

If you can't complete your sets lower the weight.

 

[BlueTsunami]

2. After taking the bar off the rack, I've noticed that it is much harder to press up off my chest, but after the first rep, I don't bring the bar back down as low because it's a lot easier to get the rest of the reps in. Am I cheating here? Should each rep go basically Chest>Overhead>Chest?

I personally bring the bar all the way down to my upper chest. In a lot of movements you want to execute the full range of movement to recruit as many muscles as possible.

I'd personally look into how to rack the bar on your upper chest when doing the OHP. Maintain the use of that technique which will come in handy when you're going very heavy.

 

[Joey Fox]

Some questions about OHP from pretty much a total newb

1. Today I noticed that as I got farther into my 5x5 set of OHP (at 75lbs cause I'm weak), the bar became unbalanced on my right side. It seemed like my left side was much stronger than my right because it was a struggle to lift it up. Is that a case of my left side simply being stronger? Should I do some DB presses with my right side to even it out?

2. After taking the bar off the rack, I've noticed that it is much harder to press up off my chest, but after the first rep, I don't bring the bar back down as low because it's a lot easier to get the rest of the reps in. Am I cheating here? Should each rep go basically Chest>Overhead>Chest?

1. DB press is probably better for you, but barbell is fine and strength will even out.

2. Yes, that is cheating. I do every (DB) rep from the deltoids. Wherever you drop down to needs to be consistent or you will cheat yourself out of progress. Latest version of Starting Strength has every rep start from bottom (no rebound), but both are fine. Pick one and be consistent.

 

[Psychotext]

Bros... I seem to have lost enough fat that I have that ab (?) curve showing above my hip. I have no idea what it's called, but I've always wanted it, and I've never managed to get it in the past.

I may look like a rake, but I'm pretty pleased about that.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

Bros... I seem to have lost enough fat that I have that ab (?) curve showing above my hip. I have no idea what it's called, but I've always wanted it, and I've never managed to get it in the past.

I may look like a rake, but I'm pretty pleased about that.

The inguinal crease?

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah, that thing. First time for me.

 

[Chaplain]

Starting to lift weights again after a few years of absolutely nothing. Only have dumbbells right now, but at least I am committed to lifting weights again.

Could someone point me to videos or sites that will start me off with a few dumbbell basics.

Thank you in advance. ^_^

 

[BlueTsunami]

The inguinal crease?

Aka the 'Panty Dropper'

 

[Nelo Ice]

Saw this on fb but looks like there's going to be a Starting Strength app.
http://app.startingstrength.com/

 

[Cooter]

I was pumped for deadlifts today. Then I sat down on my couch to wait for my wife to get home which I thought was going to be 5 minutes and it turned into 45 minutes. Not so pumped anymore...

 

[DoktorEvil]

I need some FitGAF advice my fellow lifters.

Despite seeing incremental number gains from StrongLifts 5x5, my body's hating me every time I force it to go 3x a week.

Squat is in the 300s, Bench in the 150s, DL in the 300s.

Is this around the time one should go into a splits workout or should I change to something like 5/3/1?

I don't want to reduce the 3x a week, but my body is taking longer to recover after each training day.

 

[SilentSoldier]

At what point is a workout set considered "high volume"? I would assume its like 8-10+ reps or is there some defined point.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

I need some FitGAF advice my fellow lifters.

Despite seeing inctemental number gains from StrongLifts 5x5, my body's hating me every time I force it to go 3x a week.

Squat is in the 300s, Bench in the 150s, DL in the 300s.

Is this around the time one should go into a splits workout or should I change to something like 5/3/1?

I don't want to reduce the 3x a week, but my body is taking longer to recover after each training day.

5/3/1 is good for that and (but) it's also 4x a week.

 

[UrAvgGuy]

At what point is a workout set considered "high volume"? I would assume its like 8-10+ reps or is there some defined point.

Probably varies from person to person. For me it's 10-15 reps, I rarely do 15+ unless I super set.

 

[DoktorEvil]

5/3/1 is good for that and (but) it's also 4x a week.

Yeah I just saw. That would chew me up even more.

What are my options if I wanted to just do 2x a week and use the third day to just cardio?

 

[J. Bravo]

Aka the 'Panty Dropper'

aka sex lines

 

[entremet]

Starting to lift weights again after a few years of absolutely nothing. Only have dumbbells right now, but at least I am committed to lifting weights again.

Could someone point me to videos or sites that will start me off with a few dumbbell basics.

Thank you in advance. ^_^

Here's a decent routine.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/dumbbell-workout

Videos are at the link.

Yeah I just saw. That would chew me up even more.

What are my options if I wanted to just do 2x a week and use the third day to just cardio?

Do SS or Strong Lifts, but A/B, A/B, A/B.

Add some bicep and tricep work after each of the compounds and you'll be doing better than most of the population.

 

[Dusk Soldier]

Yeah I just saw. That would chew me up even more.

What are my options if I wanted to just do 2x a week and use the third day to just cardio?

5-3-1 is 4x a week but if you read through the book he has a few modifications for people who want to workout 3x week.

Including: dropping shoulders, and just focusing on the power lifts; doing two main lifts for one of your three workouts; or doing only 3 of 4 workouts each week(i,e taking 5 weeks to go through one cycle instead of four).

--

If your only looking to weight train 2x week they're aren't really any programs pre-written for people looking to work out that little.

Your best bet is either a full body workout, where you essentially do the same exercises every workout. Or, an A/B split routine that splits your muscle groups over two workouts.

 

[Psychotext]

Modification 2 here shows a 2x a week option: https://www.t-nation.com/training/5-3-1-reloaded

 

[ipitydatfu]

i never knew how unbalanced i was until i started doing unilateral stuff like split squats

 

[despire]

5-3-1 is 4x a week but if you read through the book he has a few modifications for people who want to workout 3x week.

Including: dropping shoulders, and just focusing on the power lifts; doing two main lifts for one of your three workouts; or doing only 3 of 4 workouts each week(i,e taking 5 weeks to go through one cycle instead of four).

--

If your only looking to weight train 2x week they're aren't really any programs pre-written for people looking to work out that little.

Your best bet is either a full body workout, where you essentially do the same exercises every workout. Or, an A/B split routine that splits your muscle groups over two workouts.

Wendler also says you can do 5/3/1 3x without dropping anything.

Just do it like this:
A/B/C
D/A/B
C/D/A
...

 

[Cudder]

I need some FitGAF advice my fellow lifters.

Despite seeing incremental number gains from StrongLifts 5x5, my body's hating me every time I force it to go 3x a week.

Squat is in the 300s, Bench in the 150s, DL in the 300s.

Is this around the time one should go into a splits workout or should I change to something like 5/3/1?

I don't want to reduce the 3x a week, but my body is taking longer to recover after each training day.

You're dropping your sets and reps as you progress according to the program right? Or are you still doing 5 sets of 5 on everything?

 

[entremet]

I personally don't like 5/3/1 for anything less than 4x per week.

Too little volume. Full Body stuff like SS or Strong lifts done A/B every week if you only have time for 2x per week training seems much better.

 

[Heysoos]

Guys, I'm feeling kind of lost at the moment. It kind of feels like I'm lifting with no particular goal in mind. I really need to refocus and I hope you guys can give me some tips. Little background, I've lost around ~75lbs since near the end of last Spring semester. I started lifting with SL5x5 and it went great, I was doing working sets of 315lbs+ on Squat, 240+ on Bench, 350+ on DL, and 165+ on OH Press. This was back when I was still around ~220lbs. Then I switched to 5/3/1 after not really making any further progress in my lifts and it went great, in the beginning. Plus I refocused on my weight loss and dropped to the ~200lb range. Then my squat numbers just started dropping, followed by my other lifts. Then after doing like three or four cycles of 5/3/1 some of my lifts went up again but, but my weight was staying the same. So I started concentrating again on my weight loss and eventually over this past summer I hit 185lbs but my lifting numbers dropped again.


Recently I've been busting my ass and lifting again, I'm doing working sets of Squat at 275, DL at 315, Bench at 225, and OH Press at 150. That said, I feel like I'm just lifting with no direction. The thing is, I kind of not sure what I want. I think right now the main thing that I want is to keep losing fat, but I hate seeing my numbers go down. I've been looking at programs on bodybuilding.com and asking some personal trainers, but I kind of getting all different type of answers.


So, TL;DR: I guess what I'm trying to ask, is there a five day split that serves to gain strength and lose fat? I really really liked SL5x5 because of the volume of squats that I would do. I loved going heavy on squats 3 days a week. That said, I prefer being in the gym at least M-F. So if the lifting plan has at least 2 days of squatting I'd very much like that. I realize I'm going to have to refocus on my diet too, but I'd like to try to find a lifting split first.


Sorry for the long, all over the place rant/question.

 

[yogloo]

I just switched to lifting early in the morning. Wish me luck guys especially on squat days.

 

[JoeNut]

I am seriously stuffing myself every day and still not hitting 2500 calories!! are the bulking powders any good? I think since my last post i have decided that i need to just bulk up before i try to lose fat, doing both at the same time seems almost impossible.

 

[Dusk Soldier]

So, TL;DR: I guess what I'm trying to ask, is there a five day split that serves to gain strength and lose fat? I really really liked SL5x5 because of the volume of squats that I would do. I loved going heavy on squats 3 days a week. That said, I prefer being in the gym at least M-F. So if the lifting plan has at least 2 days of squatting I'd very much like that. I realize I'm going to have to refocus on my diet too, but I'd like to try to find a lifting split first.


Sorry for the long, all over the place rant/question.

When you're in a calorie deficit, and your body is dropping weight. Some of the lost weight will be fat tissue, some of the lost weight will be muscle tissue.

Weight training will mitigate some of the muscle loss, but your still going to lose some. That's why it's seems so hard to gain strength while cutting. It's not something you're going to be able to fix through a new diet or exercise.

Your goal of being lighter/leaner + stronger is a great long term goal. But in the short term, you need to focus on a goal that is less complex.

Are you training for a specific event, or just for fun?

 

[BlueTsunami]

I am seriously stuffing myself every day and still not hitting 2500 calories!! are the bulking powders any good? I think since my last post i have decided that i need to just bulk up before i try to lose fat, doing both at the same time seems almost impossible.

Cottage cheese, peanutt butter, milk, eggs. anything high in fat will get you there. A handful of almonds is like 200cals.

 

[Azulsky]

I am seriously stuffing myself every day and still not hitting 2500 calories!! are the bulking powders any good? I think since my last post i have decided that i need to just bulk up before i try to lose fat, doing both at the same time seems almost impossible.

Most bulking powders are mostly simple sugars.

I generally drink milk to make up the extra calories. Cheaper than eating another 2 meals

 

[Psychotext]

So... first time trying the barbell glute bridge, and I have a question.

Does your bar go above (closer to waist) or below your junk? May seem obvious but it wasn't immediately clear in the vids I watched, and I don't want to crush my family jewels.

 

[JoeNut]

Cottage cheese, peanutt butter, milk, eggs. anything high in fat will get you there. A handful of almonds is like 200cals.

Most bulking powders are mostly simple sugars.

I generally drink milk to make up the extra calories. Cheaper than eating another 2 meals

Thanks, i can't eat almonds i seem to be allergic to certain nuts, although peanuts aren't one of them thankfully.

my milk intake has gone up massively, i am sticking to semi skimmed though as full fat seems like it might well be a bad idea?

I do need to get more eggs in my diet, but can't say im a big fan to be honest. i guess milk is the way forward then

 

[DoktorEvil]

You're dropping your sets and reps as you progress according to the program right? Or are you still doing 5 sets of 5 on everything?

5x5... Guess I didn't read the part where I should be dropping my sets and reps.

 

[Chaplain]

Here's a decent routine.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/dumbbell-workout

Videos are at the link.

Thank you.

 

[despire]

So... first time trying the barbell glute bridge, and I have a question.

Does your bar go above (closer to waist) or below your junk? May seem obvious but it wasn't immediately clear in the vids I watched, and I don't want to crush my family jewels.

I keep the bar at the crease where your leg meets your hips so to speak. So it's above your junk as you said. Then when I lift I drive the bar up and away with my arms so it doesn't move.

 

[Azulsky]

my milk intake has gone up massively, i am sticking to semi skimmed though as full fat seems like it might well be a bad idea

The difference is pretty negligible. Whole is 4% fat and reduced is 2%.

I think is like 250 vs 300 calories for a 16oz glass

 

[Heysoos]

When you're in a calorie deficit, and your body is dropping weight. Some of the lost weight will be fat tissue, some of the lost weight will be muscle tissue.

Weight training will mitigate some of the muscle loss, but your still going to lose some. That's why it's seems so hard to gain strength while cutting. It's not something you're going to be able to fix through a new diet or exercise.

Your goal of being lighter/leaner + stronger is a great long term goal. But in the short term, you need to focus on a goal that is less complex.

Are you training for a specific event, or just for fun?

Just for myself

 

[BlueTsunami]

Thanks, i can't eat almonds i seem to be allergic to certain nuts, although peanuts aren't one of them thankfully.

my milk intake has gone up massively, i am sticking to semi skimmed though as full fat seems like it might well be a bad idea?

I do need to get more eggs in my diet, but can't say im a big fan to be honest. i guess milk is the way forward then

Don't be afraid of fat, just make sure your calories are dialed in correctly and you'll bulk the right way.

I would try to find a way to make eggs tolerable or build a taste for them. I eat six a day and they make up around 1/5th of my total protein intake. They also contain an almost equal amount of fat per gram of protein which adds a nice bump to your caloric intake

 

[Mugaaz]

I need some FitGAF advice my fellow lifters.

Despite seeing incremental number gains from StrongLifts 5x5, my body's hating me every time I force it to go 3x a week.

Squat is in the 300s, Bench in the 150s, DL in the 300s.

Is this around the time one should go into a splits workout or should I change to something like 5/3/1?

I don't want to reduce the 3x a week, but my body is taking longer to recover after each training day.

I don't think dropping frequency is going to help. If anything, both volume and frequency are going to have to go UP over time, not down. Also, your recovery should get better over time, not worse. This idea that squatting 3x a week is too stressful to recover from long term is mostly BS. You adapt to it like any other kind of stress.

There is no reason to change programming because you're having short term recovery problems. Take an extra rest day between sessions to recover from this temporary thing. Don't make permanent changes for short term problems. All this advice is based on the assumption you are still making progress on your current program.

 

[FallingEdge]

ready to get back on the grind

first day back to the gym in a week

 

[hastethedav]

Me and my friend have been having a rough few weeks. Forearms are killing us doing bicep workouts, feels like needles in my forearm.

Are there any good bicep workouts to look at that could be less prone to mess up forearms?

 

[ohhthegore]

I just switched to lifting early in the morning. Wish me luck guys especially on squat days.

no way I could handle squats in the morning, god speed

 

[ILoveBish]

Sleep schedule is back on track. PC is all fixed and working 100% now, so no more distractions. Back up to 228.6 as of this morning, but don't really care. I'll be back on the grind next monday food wise, till then i'm just doing whatever.

 

[JoeNut]

Don't be afraid of fat, just make sure your calories are dialed in correctly and you'll bulk the right way.

I would try to find a way to make eggs tolerable or build a taste for them. I eat six a day and they make up around 1/5th of my total protein intake. They also contain an almost equal amount of fat per gram of protein which adds a nice bump to your caloric intake

What are you putting them in to eat 6? i probably average 1 egg a week, and that's fried.

omelette's are okay i guess, but i wouldn't really want to eat them often.

Maybe i could do a rocky...

 

[andycapps]

I just switched to lifting early in the morning. Wish me luck guys especially on squat days.

Coffee beforehand is probably a must. I did squat day on Saturday morning and it went pretty well. The mental aspect of lifting is still probably one of the most important things to me. Just getting prepared and knowing that I can do what I'm about to attempt seems to be pretty important.

 

[Lord Virgin]

So have been working out again for a week or 3. Started with this new one today:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/chris-evans-captain-america-training-plan.html

Couldn't pull it all off, but got pretty close. 3x this and 1x swimming/HIIT on Sundays. Eating 2500 calories a day (try to at least). 40% proteine, 30% carbs and 30% fat (not exactly, but pretty close). That is -400 calories. It is a lot of eggs, chicken, broccoli that sort of stuff. 175 cm and around 81/82 kilo (keeps changing everyday). Want to get rid of this belly, it feels like it won't go away. Any tips Gaf?

 

[GrapeApes]

I just switched to lifting early in the morning. Wish me luck guys especially on squat days.

Lifting in the early morning sucks. Never feel 100%. Try to use preworkout but it makes me want to drop a deuce in the middle of my lifts. If only my gym had better hours. Night lifting for life!

 

[Dusk Soldier]

Just for myself

I was going to say, if your 185lbs right now. You could probably bring yourself down to around 170lbs with a 3-4 month cut.

I doubt you'll want to drop much more than that, unless your shorter than like 5'7".

After cutting, bring yourself slowly back to maintenance level calories. (You should see a slight boost in strength just from that because you'll be refilling your glycogen stores.)

And from there, focus on maintaining your weight, while you switch to a strength building program. You could maybe set yourself a concrete strength goal of say hitting a 365 Squat, 405 DL, and 275 Bench, by this time next September.

 

[ipitydatfu]

Does anybody here use straps for front squats?

 

[Mr. X]

How is marijuana usage viewed? I have a hard time eating as much calories as I should but vaping seems to help create an appetite.