Why not just do forearm exercises instead of exercises that work forearms as a secondary muscle?
Any exercise that has you grip something works your forearms in some fashion.
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- Thread starter Mr.City
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Why not just do forearm exercises instead of exercises that work forearms as a secondary muscle?
Any exercise that has you grip something works your forearms in some fashion.
For me the price makes everything else secondary. Lol
I also agree with this.
caffeine and creatine are ridiculously cheap by themselves. don't waste money just for a fancy brand name bottle that throws them all together.
I'm not a fan of BCAAs (and I fast). I think stuff like xtend is pretty expensive for the number of servings you get. for people who insist on taking them I'd recommend buying them as the raw ingredients (leucine, isoleucine and valine powder mixed in a 2:1:1 ratio) to get more for your dollar.
MadraptorMan
Member
Finished my first week of "Insanity". It's certainly making me sweat and making my muscles sore, but I wonder how long until I notice results.
Thank you and I hope you have a good time shogun.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Recently, for the last 1-2 reps of my work set of deadlifts, I'll start to see stars or a quick "flash" (I don't really know how else to describe it) which I'm guessing is from overexertion while holding my breath? I'm assuming that this is not a good thing and I should try to address it.
Here's a rundown of how a rep normally goes for me:
1. Bend down into position over the bar (pull shoulders back, puff chest out)
2. Take a relatively deep breath in through the mouth.
3. Perform the rep with breath still held (I also have a bad habit of clenching my jaw a bit during the rep...not sure if related to this)
4. Breath out through the mouth while letting the bar down in a controlled manner
Should I be breathing through my nose on one end? Am I taking too deep of a breath? Not deep enough? Timing the breath wrong?
My face gets pretty red during the reps too. I'm not really feeling light-headed afterwards or anything.
Here's a rundown of how a rep normally goes for me:
1. Bend down into position over the bar (pull shoulders back, puff chest out)
2. Take a relatively deep breath in through the mouth.
3. Perform the rep with breath still held (I also have a bad habit of clenching my jaw a bit during the rep...not sure if related to this)
4. Breath out through the mouth while letting the bar down in a controlled manner
Should I be breathing through my nose on one end? Am I taking too deep of a breath? Not deep enough? Timing the breath wrong?
My face gets pretty red during the reps too. I'm not really feeling light-headed afterwards or anything.
5/3/1 BBB deadlifts tonight. I can't feel my hands.
135 lb x 5 reps (+66 pts)
155 lb x 5 reps (+75 pts)
185 lb x 3 reps (+74 pts)
205 lb x 5 reps (+105 pts)
235 lb x 5 reps (+129 pts)
265 lb x 5 reps (+158 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
Did the leg raises too but I haven't logged them yet. Hurts so good.
135 lb x 5 reps (+66 pts)
155 lb x 5 reps (+75 pts)
185 lb x 3 reps (+74 pts)
205 lb x 5 reps (+105 pts)
235 lb x 5 reps (+129 pts)
265 lb x 5 reps (+158 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
155 lb x 10 reps (+89 pts)
Did the leg raises too but I haven't logged them yet. Hurts so good.
Anton Sugar
Member
BBB deadlifts is a damned good grip exercise.
I'm so blessed to have incredible calf genetics, never done a single calf exercise.
For those not in the know, Arnold worked relentlessly to bring his calves up to legendary proportions.
TheDarkStark
Member
I hate Xtend. Something in it doesn't sit well with me and it makes me nauseated.
Like I said not trying to push pre-workout supps as some miracle product, but I personally like them, it's convenient and it does what it advertises.
I've tried a few, some were better than others. I like MP assault, good taste, energy, good focus, good pumps. Price is high but time is money and taking like 900 pills a day isn't an option (at least for me).
Dude..you're on your way to an exertion headache. Its the fucking worst. Fix your breathing asap. Inhale for the whole lift of the bar.
my forearms have gotten a lot stronger since I started doing deads and pull ups. Thanks fitnessGAF!
Exactly. Add shrugs and bent over rows and those things will be poppin'.
Oh dude YES! I do dumbell shrugs and they absolutely kill my grip! I plan on incorporating farmer's walks into my training too.
Why are you on 5/3/1 with raw numbers that Low?
People seem to be in such a rush to switch to an intermediate program before they probably should.
TheDarkStark
Member
When you're eating healthy, yeah it's super hard. If you're on a dirty bulk.... man I could I eat my 3000 calories a day in 1 meal (deep dish pizza).
I have a crap metabolism though, so I never do dirty bulks. In a way it's good because I can pack on muscle pretty easily, but I have to train my ass off and eat so lean to get sub 10% bf.
Because I enjoy the program and I only have 300lbs of weight to work with, I've never been able to test a 1RM above 300. Why does it matter?
Ok, that's fine. Genuinely curious was all.
It was a serious question, no snark intended. I've been a personal fitness trainer before but I know I don't know everything so I'll always be open to suggestions, wouldn't post here otherwise.
TheDarkStark
Member
Anyone interested in protein reviews? I used to buy only Optimum Nutrition chocolate/vanilla/strawberry because I was afraid of what other flavors would taste like but I've been feeling adventurous lately, trying a lot of new brands/flavors. The ON stuff was good, but very boring. I recently tried a few of the Gapari Nutrion stuff, mix-ability was amazing but flavor was kinda meh. A bit disappointing after all the great stuff I'd heard. I prefer the Gaspari and MP stuff to the ON because they're blends, so I can take them anytime of day, vs. having to take a separate whey/casein powders.
So far my favorite is MP Banana Cream. It never got old, and it's one of the few proteins that tasted just as good if not better with water, than with milk.
I ordered 4lbs of MP Vanilla Creamsicle and 4lbs of MP Cookies and Cream from BB.com
Let me know if you guys want me to be your guinea pig!
So far my favorite is MP Banana Cream. It never got old, and it's one of the few proteins that tasted just as good if not better with water, than with milk.
I ordered 4lbs of MP Vanilla Creamsicle and 4lbs of MP Cookies and Cream from BB.com
Let me know if you guys want me to be your guinea pig!
I just hate to see people waste that limited time they can do a beginner program and see constant linear progression. If you enjoy something else more, all the more power to you.
5/3/1 just doesn't increase things at the same rate a true beginner program does, so you're leaving progress on the table so to speak.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Unflavored protein, mang. Cuts out all the chemical/sweet nonsense and just tastes like whatever you put in with it.
I'm a big fan of this for shakes with milk. Not so great when mixing with water though.
I did 8 months of Starting Strength and a couple months of a conditioning program by Genesis Performance. Got my numbers up to 205/300/300 bench/dead/squat. If I can add 50 pounds to the bench and 100 to the squat/deadlift over the next twelve months (I'm in it for the long haul) I'll be very happy. I just have to break down and buy more plates soon. I'm a ten month employee for a local school system so I need to wait for the paychecks to start rolling in before I get another 300# set.
I'd just hit Craig list. But yeah that's your biggest hurdle, it just sounds to me like you could still make some headway with SS is all.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Nod, I use all milk for my shakes as well but I sometimes do just mix it with water when I don't plan on adding anything else. Honestly not bad at all.. just feels like you're drinking slightly thicker water. Wouldn't say it's oh so delicious or anything but it's not like I sip it over a book or something, just down it and be done.
TheDarkStark
Member
I definitely prefer unflavored creatine (Mono), I actually genuinely enjoy protein shakes though, I wouldn't want to deprive myself of their deliciousness. Especially since I drink them with water 99% of the time.
Water is pretty much the only liquid I put into my body, lots and lots of water, an ocassional Gatorade, or glass of milk but we're talking like once a week or less.
Yea man. Right now I'm basically reaching my goal Fat and Protein on the day clean and then whatever calories I have left I eat whatever. I had some extra fruit the other day and then some ice cream. I'm still under maintenance even after all that.
No doubt I'd make progress with SS still. I just was never happy with it. While these 5/3/1 workouts are higher volume I enjoy going in and doing a lot of reps of one exercise + an assistance movement. I might feel differently in six months but I'm going to stick with it for at least a year. I've been scouting Craigslist but haven't seen anything that doesn't cost the same as the store. My area sucks.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Oh man, so much potential calories/protein right there! I'm the exact same though, minus shakes it's just endless water and a half bottle of a some sort -ade drink while lifting.
Oh yeah, that's all well and good. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was up and didn't do 3 months of SS then decide you were an intermediate and needed to move on. Happens too often.
TheDarkStark
Member
When I get back to sub 10% bf I'll definitely do some protein shake smoothies (chocolate protein, 1 large banana, 8 oz of milk and a cup of ice.... amazing), to add some needed calories. But right now I'm on a cut. I can't wait to just start eating like crazy and getting huge, cutting sucks, but my metabolism is garbage so I spend a good portion of my time cutting.
yeah, I'm not going to lie to you, that's bad. Are you trying to lose weight right now? If so, does anybody else have weight issues as your home?
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Hope you mean 2 bowls as a measurement and not actually saying you scooped ice cream out of the box into a bowl..twice. Just take the carton and a spoon, man.
Oh right, also bad bad, very bad. Are you cutting? Bad. Are you bulking? Super bad.
lawlohwhat
Banned
You should feel some really good results by your second fitness test. In terms of body composition changes, that is all diet. Insanity doesn't get any easier, though. Month 2 is fucking hard.
Yeah I am trying to cut a little. I'm about 209lbs right now, trying to get to 200 or so.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
I've been using my inhales as a cue to tighten everything up. I guess it's easier for me to focus on staying tight if it's accompanied by a sharp breath.
You're saying instead, to tighten up before inhaling, and then slowly inhale through the lift? That's going to take some getting used to for me, but I'll work on it. "Exertion headache" sounds nasty. I think I've tried that in the past, but I always feel weak at the start of my deadlifts for some reason if my lungs aren't full already.
Anyone else have tips/advice?
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I'll say this, I can definitely sympathize with the temptation of eating shit you don't have to when you don't live alone. The majority of my running/lifting days in the past were when I lived alone and it's easy to cut/bulk by only having exactly what you need in the house. But once I got married sometimes I'd almost feel obligated to eat something my wife bought or cooked. She understands now because I told her hey, I can only eat this, this and this, please don't make this, make that instead. Maybe you should tell your mom that you'd like her to help you out with your diet by not buying shit like that or at the very least not encouraging you to eat it.
This 100 times. My diet gets ruined every time my g/f and I go to visit her family, and I definitely am able to eat far cleaner when she is away. I love her to death but she definitely doesn't make my clean diet easier.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Yeah it takes a lot of self-control and sometimes being "mean" about it to other people. One memory that sticks out in my mind was when I was training for a marathon we had a Super Bowl party at a restaurant with food everywhere and I was the only one not eating. Must have been asked a hundred times by friends and strangers why and I made sure to tell them I can't, I'm training, blah blah. They of course looked at me like "why even come to the party" but it was sort of reaffirming to myself that I could stay on track without locking myself away. Same thing when I quit drinking (while living in a very alcohol loving country I might add) for the same reason. Just gotta do it, even if you have to tell your friends or loved ones NO MEANS NO.
I fucking hate how my goals and diet make other people so mad. My family says I'm "ridiculous" (they are all overweight) and that I'm skinny enough (which at a hefty 150 at 5'6", I'm nowhere near). They get mad because they want to stop at Wendys for Dinner and I say pick me up a package of chicken cutlets to grill, or my friends want to eat McDonalds at 3am after drinking and I say no and they all say I can't live life this way.
WTF.
Even this week, I've eaten like SHIT. If I don't gain weight it will be a miracle. I've had 2 slices of pizza on monday (thick crust), last night I went HAM on Wendys (2 burgers, chicken sandwich, and nuggs) because I was STARVING and had no time, and tonight I had a huge plate of Bow Tie pasta for dinner. I am a fat fuck aghhhhhhhhhh.
TheDarkStark
Member
Breathing is critically important. Focus on breathing above anything else. Put like no weight on the bar and just practice proper breathing technique, then slowly add weight.
Not only will you get terrible headaches if you continue lifting like that, you'll get tired faster, you run the risk of passing out, and you'll also be wasting time in the gym as your muscles need oxygen to grow.
I struggled with it for a long time, takes practice. After a week or 2 it should become 2nd nature.
I'm saying I've learned the hard way never to hold your breath completely while lifting heavy weight. I got an exertion headache once while going heavy on the leg press. The pain I had was unimaginable. Even if you inhale and hold during the lift portion, try inhaling a bit through your nose or something.
I get what you're saying, but it's really nothing like that. I'm very free to do what I want with my diet in my house. I made great progress and lost 8 pounds and was down to 207lbs a few weeks ago. My mom and her BF just had a craving for choc. ice cream and they bought a tub and offered me some. It's definitely my fault for caving.
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