Ugh….I just realized the biggest hurdle I have to face with staying healthy is getting my sleeping order. I get so tired, then I get headaches. So it either makes me want to eat comfort food or not at all.
General Fitness Thread
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Ugh….I just realized the biggest hurdle I have to face with staying healthy is getting my sleeping order. I get so tired, then I get headaches. So it either makes me want to eat comfort food or not at all.
Sleep is one of the most important things of all. Most people think that if they do not feel particularly tired, then they do not need sleep but that´s in most cases wrong. How you feel is sometimes not the best way to determine what your body needs.
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Tried out skull crushers the other day with a friend of mine. It's basically using your forearms to curl a bench press towards your face, appropriately named "skull crushers" because if you fuck up, the weight will crush your face. It's a combination of 10 skull crushers and 10 benches consecutively, 3 sets.
Otherwise, nothing new. Except that ab work-outs always kill me.
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Looked that up on YT. I've done that. Unless it's something else, I thought you worked out triceps with that one.
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I just looked it up as well, and if it's the first video you checked out. This one:
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Then what I do is very similar (using the same bar and laying down the same way) but not the same thing. I keep my head rested on the bench and use only my forearms and bring the bar down to my forehead before moving it back up again. I keep my elbows locked so that it's mainly the forearms that do the work. 10 times.
Then I bench that bar an additional 10 times before my spotting partner lifts it off of me.
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@Uncle:
I just looked it up as well, and if it's the first video you checked out. This one:
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Then what I do is very similar (using the same bar and laying down the same way) but not the same thing. I keep my head rested on the bench and use only my forearms and bring the bar down to my forehead before moving it back up again. I keep my elbows locked so that it's mainly the forearms that do the work. 10 times.
Then I bench that bar an additional 10 times before my spotting partner lifts it off of me.
Well, the way he does it gives you a nice stretch which in turn activates the muscle fibers even more. The other reason he already mentioned. Bringing the weight down on your forehead with your arms in a 90 degrees to your upper body can put a lot of stress on your elbows.
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I'm not contesting his method, I was stating mine.
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@Uncle:
I'm not contesting his method, I was stating mine.
I was not contesting your method, either, just mentioning the differences
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Even JB's been lifting, guys!
Srill looks like a major douche tho. But I'd be lying if I said he isn't a good-looking dude.
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Need some diagrams or something on proper form for the overhead press. I'm real worried I'm fudging up my back doing them.
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Need some diagrams or something on proper form for the overhead press. I'm real worried I'm fudging up my back doing them.
Here are some instructional videos that I found helpful.
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Here are some instructional videos that I found helpful.
Nice that they added Rippetoe´s explanations, there is pretty much nothing better available on the net regarding instructional videos
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I lift my laptop bag with 11lbs gaming laptop and various accessories every day.
And I lift grocery bags everytime I stock up.….....what?
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I occasionally lift a dumbbell from time to time, nothing more. I really should lose a lot of weight, probably around 100 lbs, but I can't be bothered. I'm actually quite happy being the fat guy, my health isn't taking a toll because of it and I'm as active as just possible. Walks and such.
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Nice that they added Rippetoe´s explanations, there is pretty much nothing better available on the net regarding instructional videos
Except for learning how to squat.
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Well, his emphasis on the hip movement definitely helped me with my squats a lot
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Squatting is a simple natural movement, so you don't need to read 20 books or watch 200 videos to squat properly. This is what a squat should look like:
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Back straight, use your knees.
The end.
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I can't squat according to the trainer I had.
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I can't squat according to the trainer I had.
You mean back squat? Or just BW squats? What is the reason?
BTW not just to you, but for everyone in the thread - if you don't like back squatting, consider switching to front squat, especially if your goal is muscle mass. Vince Gironda was also a huge fan of the front squat.
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@Стрелок:
You mean back squat? Or just BW squats? What is the reason?
BTW not just to you, but for everyone in the thread - if you don't like back squatting, consider switching to front squat, especially if your goal is muscle mass. Vince Gironda was also a huge fan of the front squat.
Er…well definitely without the weights. I'm not sure what they are typically called lol. My butt and thighs would hurt after is all I know.
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Then you're doing it right.
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I lift my laptop bag with 11lbs gaming laptop and various accessories every day.
And I lift grocery bags everytime I stock up.….....what?
I just lift my backpack all around when I'm on the bus, I'm actually amazed by you.
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Kuma clearly never squats I mean…look at those legs!
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He skipped leg day.
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Pretty much everyone save for Zoro and Sanji and maybe Luffy skip leg. Mostly obvious with guys like Garp. :P
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I try to go to gym about 3-4 times a week. When the snow melts ill gor for walks and bicycle.
Eating healthy and many times a day is probally the biggest challenge, since i dont always have time. -
Words of wisdom.
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Every other day full body routine, without squats and deadlifts atm because as a former fat ass, my legs are a hell of stronger than my upper body.
My stats 5x5 reps are atm
Dl: 130 kg
Sq: 120 kg
Bench: 70 kg
Chin ups: body weight 3/2/2/2/2/1…. Cluster set up to 20I am recomping right now, becaus if i would continue cutting, id look like an ethopian kid and i am mental not ready to bulk, because i cant stand weight gain. (i went from 143 kg to 84 kg)
Recomp diet is basically eod refeed iifym, surplus on workout days, deficit on rest days.
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Every other day full body routine, without squats and deadlifts atm because as a former fat ass, my legs are a hell of stronger than my upper body.
My stats 5x5 reps are atm
Dl: 130 kg
Sq: 120 kg
Bench: 70 kg
Chin ups: body weight 3/2/2/2/2/1…. Cluster set up to 20I am recomping right now, becaus if i would continue cutting, id look like an ethopian kid and i am mental not ready to bulk, because i cant stand weight gain. (i went from 143 kg to 84 kg)
Recomp diet is basically eod refeed iifym, surplus on workout days, deficit on rest days.
Good luck, bro.
Edit: Read this: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_truth_about_bulking
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I believe that, as a beginner, you can gain muscle in a deficit. Not as much and not as fast as in a surplus, but its possible.
When you constantly get stronger, you build muscle. Nobody can tell me, that when you go from bench press 30 kg to bench press 100 kg without gaining muscle. I know about cns and stuff, but i think its limited.
My goal body isnt arnold or ronnie coleman or someone like then. I just want a body which is considered good looking like brad pitt in fight club or channing tatum in skinnier days (pre magic mike)
If my strength goes up like it did till now, i'll press 100 kg for reps in 3 months !
I also take measurements, my chest circumference wennt up from 98 cm to 105 since november, so im obviosly doing something right ;)
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For all those who want to improve their condition or want to lose weight, there are two things that helped me immensely over the years.
First one are barbell complexes, you basically do a certain amount of movements in a row with a set amount of reps per set, pause for a certain amount of time (try to decrease the length of the pause over time) and do another set. You can keep the amount of repetitions steady or do it like me, start with 8 movements à 8 repetitions, next set 8x7, 8x6 and so on. You should mostly choose movements full body movements like squats, deadlifts, rows, clean and press and so forth.The other one is Tabata, probably the longest 4 minutes of my life. You can easily do this at home or somewhere else since it only requires your body. You can either choose one movement or several, the important thing is that the movement should be challenging.
You do 6-8 20-second intervals with 10 seconds rest in between but in those 20 seconds, you have to give it all you have. One example:
If you do not ask yourself at one point why you are even doing this, then you are doing it wrong
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Hmm…I haven't used my scale until Yesterday to see where I was actually at in the last few months. Today I weighed myself again and saw that I lost 2.5 lbs. So strange.
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I believe that, as a beginner, you can gain muscle in a deficit. Not as much and not as fast as in a surplus, but its possible.
When you constantly get stronger, you build muscle. Nobody can tell me, that when you go from bench press 30 kg to bench press 100 kg without gaining muscle. I know about cns and stuff, but i think its limited.
My goal body isnt arnold or ronnie coleman or someone like then. I just want a body which is considered good looking like brad pitt in fight club or channing tatum in skinnier days (pre magic mike)
If my strength goes up like it did till now, i'll press 100 kg for reps in 3 months !
I also take measurements, my chest circumference wennt up from 98 cm to 105 since november, so im obviosly doing something right ;)
I knoe you probably know this already, but now is the real test, i'm 70kg and got to your stats in a similar timeframe (going up from 60kg weight) so your sticking point is around the corner. When you're a pure beginner, you can make as many mistakes as you want, but as time goes on, stuff like diet and rest matter a lot more to make the next weight up. And as you said, CNS improvement is not rapid, so how are going to get the muscle when you cant provide the neccesary amount of substances because you're on a deficit? When I ate a normal amount, my progress was great, but painful. I then changed to a manic diet of eating seconds at basically every meal and my rate of progress increased a LOT.
I'm not critisizing you, in fact i commend you for your effort, i wish my dad would do a similar workout to you for weight loss and also because he likes that kind of physique too. In the end, it's just advice, make of it what you want
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Ah man, I remember when I moved up in weights and finally hit a plateau. When I first started out, I was able to increase my weights every 3 days or so and to be honest, I don't eat all that much throughout the day (which isn't healthy at all). That's when I finally hit a wall and couldn't go any further. I could tell immediately that it wasn't a matter of muscle, it was a matter of muscle ENERGY.
Fat is just storage but muscles EAT. And they require a lot of calories and protein if they want to continue the breakdown and reconstruction process. So I'm at a sort of stalemate where I need to figure out the diet that best works for me. Different people have different heights and weights, which factor into the equation, different goals and different cuts they want to gain; a disciplined diet is going to be different from person to person. Though fruits and vegetables, as well as protein, is a usual must.
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I'm fortunately around the weight I want to be, which is in the 150 range at 6', but all that muscle I used to have years ago when I wasn't sedintary turned to fat, and I probably should fix that. I'm fortunate enough to know and enjoy many varieties of weight lifting, but when it comes to cardiovascular.. that's where I struggle. I probably should just set my laptop next to a treadmill, watch OP and not even notice I'm exercising. I'm also fortunate enough to be able to eat fairly well (though I've been eating a lot of microwave food lately), and as far as emotional levels go, I couldn't be anymore happier (despite having like 0 friends lol). I'm in denial in several aspects of my life if you couldn't tell, and I know I'll be fixing a lot of my problems this summer, getting a job etc. I'll always have to keep in mind how much exercise helps with stress should I ever have a point in my life where it gets too much to handle, but I'm like the biggest type B personality ever, so I'm not too worried.
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Oh man, cheat days are a great reminder of why I have to cut sugary shitty food out of my diet pretty much completely. I just ate 5 Snickers bars and would've eaten at least 3 more, if I hadn't finished the whole pack already. I just have no control when it comes to eating certain things.
Now I have what I call a sugar-hangover, which is me feeling really bloated and disgusting for the rest of the night.
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Oh man, cheat days are a great reminder of why I have to cut sugary shitty food out of my diet pretty much completely. I just ate 5 Snickers bars and would've eaten at least 3 more, if I hadn't finished the whole pack already. I just have no control when it comes to eating certain things.
Now I have what I call a sugar-hangover, which is me feeling really bloated and disgusting for the rest of the night.
Haha, i know what you are talking about. Cheat days are the worst thing ever, i will definitely never do that again. I followed the anabolic diet for a while which pretty much cuts all the carbs during the week and has one cheat day at the end of the week to load your carbs. That one cheat or rather "loading day" quickly developed to stuffing myself with my favorite foods. That´s why i follow Berardi´s diet philosophy which allows a certain amount of cheat meals per week.
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Haha, i know what you are talking about. Cheat days are the worst thing ever, i will definitely never do that again. I followed the anabolic diet for a while which pretty much cuts all the carbs during the week and has one cheat day at the end of the week to load your carbs. That one cheat or rather "loading day" quickly developed to stuffing myself with my favorite foods. That´s why i follow Berardi´s diet philosophy which allows a certain amount of cheat meals per week.
I actually don't mind cheat days. They help me remember how far I've come. Nothing says "I got way healthier" than eating half of what you used to eat daily and feeling full and shitty because of it. Plus, it makes it easier to stay strong and say "no" to forbidden food because it reminds me that it's really not that great. Every time I have a cheat day I think "Oh yeah, this tastes good but the feeling afterwards is not worth it". When I starve myself for too long I tend to forget that and put that food on a pedestal.
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I actually don't mind cheat days. They help me remember how far I've come. Nothing says "I got way healthier" than eating half of what you used to eat daily and feeling full and shitty because of it. Plus, it makes it easier to stay strong and say "no" to forbidden food because it reminds me that it's really not that great. Every time I have a cheat day I think "Oh yeah, this tastes good but the feeling afterwards is not worth it". When I starve myself for too long I tend to forget that and put that food on a pedestal.
For me, a cheat day can easily escalate. If i don´t eat my favorite foods for a longer time, i actually put them on a pedestal, thus i try to fit as much different kind of foods i can possibly eat. I can remember days in which i easily ate food worth of 8000 calories or maybe even higher. Just the possibility of eating them awoke my desire to eat them. Having cheat meals rather than cheat days avoids this escalation. Sometimes i drink a few with friends, eat Ben and Jerry ice or a slice of cheese cake and i am pleased.
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I've been working out consistently for the past year except recently I took a 2 week break when I was sick. So instead of easing back into working out I did a bang'em out workout right away and now I can't work out again because I hurt my left shoulder. It's not aggravated to the point of I can't move it but if I have to carry around anything more than 10lbs it gets agitated and it also is agitated at the end of the day. It's not painful like a muscle tear and apart from a bookbag for class I've laid off it but it's been almost 3wks and I still have aggravation and am afraid to start doing bench and upper body exercise again.
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I've been working out consistently for the past year except recently I took a 2 week break when I was sick. So instead of easing back into working out I did a bang'em out workout right away and now I can't work out again because I hurt my left shoulder. It's not aggravated to the point of I can't move it but if I have to carry around anything more than 10lbs it gets agitated and it also is agitated at the end of the day. It's not painful like a muscle tear and apart from a bookbag for class I've laid off it but it's been almost 3wks and I still have aggravation and am afraid to start doing bench and upper body exercise again.
Shoulder injuries are usually serious. I don't want to scare you, but maybe you should see a doctor. Good luck.
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Strelok is completely right, the shoulder muscles are one of the most sensitive parts of the body. You really should see a doctor because nothing that we say here can be helpful. I can only advise you to do something before injuries come up 1.) always warm up your rotators in the shoulder, extremely important and 2.) you should often stretch your shoulder, here is one at approx 3:30
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Strelok is completely right, the shoulder muscles are one of the most sensitive parts of the body. You really should see a doctor because nothing that we say here can be helpful. I can only advise you to do something before injuries come up 1.) always warm up your rotators in the shoulder, extremely important and 2.) you should often stretch your shoulder, here is one at approx 3:30
Nice with the DeFranco video! I work out in streaks these days. I used to be a gym rat in high school and early in college when I was playing ball, spending at least 1.5 hours working out. Now I go for about an hour max a few days a week if I can manage. Too busy! I'm actually interning as college Strength & Conditioning coach, with the plan of landing a head job at some school in the future. Jobs are hard to find, and the pay isn't great, but I'm pretty good at it and I love wearing shorts to work! It's a lot of fun working with young athletes as well.
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Started a new bodyweight workout routine that I figure I'd share.
All exercises are repped 5 times for 3 sets each. All holds are done for 8 seconds.
Monday:
-Rolling Single Leg Tuck-Up Jumps
-Exploding Pushup (Standard to Wise to Right Front/Left Back to Left Front/Right Back (That's 1)
-Headstand Pushups
-Ice Cream Makers
-Free Standing handstandsTuesday:
-AM: 15 minute HIIT Cardio drills (1 minute walking, sprint for 15/ walk for 45 seconds for 4 minutes, sprint for 30/walk for 30 for four minutes, sprint for 45/walk for 15 for five minutes, walk for one.)
-PM: Long distance Cardio (I try to get at least a 5K, but preferably a 10K)Wednesday:
-Single Leg Jump w/ 180 degree turn
-Front Lever Hold
-Back Lever Hold
-Floating Frog HoldThursday:
Repeat TuesdayFriday: (Here I change it up – It's a circuit routine; Minium is 3 complete circuits -- NO REST between exercise. REST between circuits)
-10 one-legged squats each side
-20 bodyweight squats
-20 walking lunges (10 each leg)
-10 pull ups
-10 dips
-10 Chin-ups
-10 push ups
-30 second plankSaturday:
Same as Tuesday.Sunday:
Rest Day.So there's the hell I've been putting myself through for nearly two weeks now. It's killer, but hot damn I feel good. Any suggestions you ahve for possible changes to the routine. Anyone want to try it?
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Bumping since I'm going to be taking on this little diet starting tomorrow.
The main thing I want to do with this diet is drop down to my ideal weight range in the low to high 180's (from my current weight of around 200) and remove all the processed shit from my body. But this 3 day fast is going to be an exercise in resolve.
I've already managed to cut out A LOT of soda from my usual habits and replace them with water (I'm even craving water now) and I think I may have finally found a replacement for junk food and candy in the form of chewing gum (which is also helping me quit smoking). Once I've dropped down to the 180's, I'm going to work on maintaining that range and shift gears to start doing some heavy muscle building and ab building.
Once I've developed some stamina, I'm going to quit my current gym and join a boxing gym. And then when the boxing gym has run its course, I'll quit THAT gym and join an MMA gym.
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Hey I was kinda hoping this thread would be bumped. I'm gonna contain the chart related to my running in this spoiler and edit it as I go along.
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! Week 1, Sun: Very difficult. 4 stars out of 5 on difficulty. I took two 3 minute breaks. I'm never supposed to stop so this is a problem. But I fucking DID IT so I'm happy. -
I just used an online calculator to determine my ideal weight range for losing weight and they said between 139 and 167 and I was immediately like, "Fuuuuuuuuuck no!" Fuck that shit, put my ass in the 180's.
These motherfuckers are trying to make me shrivel up into nothing. D=
Edit: Apparently, if you want to go on a diet, you gotta eat the fuck out of strawberries. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, you gotta eat strawberries. By the cup!
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2 months now and I'm still going strong with that routine I posted above. I have never been in better shape, and I feel absolutely amazing.
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@Nex:
2 months now and I'm still going strong with that routine I posted above. I have never been in better shape, and I feel absolutely amazing.
That's good to hear.
I finally got enough strength back to join up at a new gym, and have been going strong for about a month. I'm loving it and have set a firm goal of bulking. Lifting is fun and challenging. I get a feeling from it that I haven't really found in a lot of other activities. The weirdest part has been going from trying to limit caloric intake to trying to increase it. I'm definitely not used to it yet, but I feel that I am doing it in as healthy a way as possible.
