Support NeoGAF

[VlaudTheImpaler]

VlaudTheImpaler you inspired me to try ripping a deck of cards tonight. This is as far as I got. I couldn't finish it. Not gonna lie, this was more painful than I expected.

Is there a certain technique you use? I tried it with my hands facing opposite directions. I saw some fat dude on YT do it that way, so I went with that.

Very nice! That's great for a first try if those are official plastic coated cards(and even if they aren't)! Your hands might be a bit sore tomorrow if they're already sore now though...

Here's the technique I use. This is a vid I did a while back.



In the vid, I show the proper grip I learned. When I break my grip and bend the cards a bit into an S shape, I'm only doing it to show you the exact shape you are going to be bending the cards when you finally go to put pressure on and rip them. This puts all the pressure right in the middle of the deck, right at the edge. Just keep a very tight grip on the cards and as you rotate keep applying constant peak pressure.

Again, my recommendation for anyone wanting to attempt this would be to find your max and then add two a week from there. This will better condition your hands as well to better avoid injury and soreness. Boxes of used casino cards are really cheap.

Also,

Fitness |OT| Pumpin' Iron and Spittin' Blood.

Legs on the first Bball (dribbling drills, light crossover, fakes and jabs practice, overall light bball movements in zero drop athletic shoes) then squats with bands aort of hanging out in squat position to work on mobility - Aug 2nd Upper body today. Did more pulls than usual again. Muscle...

www.neogaf.com

 

[Tesseract]

as of the 19th, i'll have worked out almost every day for 2 years

in the best shape of my life after considerable effort to overcome a barrage of injuries, to everyone's surprise i made it out the other side in true form with lots mishaps along the way because i'm an og fuck-up

the info gleamed from this thread and its users is invaluable, noobs should sift through and take what works for their own journeys and walks of life

gonna ghost for a while, ledger of activity halted but i'll keep pumping iron and spitting blood in the mud until i'm dead

 

[Raven117]

i don't think there's anything wrong with conditioning your body to that point, setting yourself up to keep working out every single day without soreness

re: percieved exertion, sustainability y functionality

Of course. Certain body types and conditioning can certainly get up to that point. Just saying, it’s advanced. Which you and others are.

 

[TTOOLL]

Couldn’t train at all last week, I only managed to rum twice. I have know adjusted my work schedule and I’ll be able to do CrossFit 3x a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I still want to gain weight, do you guys think 3 days will be enough?

According to their workout plans Mondays are snatch days, we do lots of variations. Weds are strength days, focused on back and front squat. On Fridays we do lots of clean and jerks.

I think I’ll be hitting all major muscles, but any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Couldn’t train at all last week, I only managed to rum twice. I have know adjusted my work schedule and I’ll be able to do CrossFit 3x a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I still want to gain weight, do you guys think 3 days will be enough?

According to their workout plans Mondays are snatch days, we do lots of variations. Weds are strength days, focused on back and front squat. On Fridays we do lots of clean and jerks.

I think I’ll be hitting all major muscles, but any suggestions would be appreciated

Sounds like you could fill in the gaps with stretching, isometrics, and balancework (they all kinda overlap)

stretching... I'm not referring to wimpy "warm up for 5 minutes" stretching. The idea here is you should actually be extending your range of motion via stretching. How's your shoulder flexibility? How far past your toes can you reach? Can you touch your face to your knee (seated or standing)? Weighted stretching is even better; use a medicine ball or wrist weights or resistance band or whatever to pull your limb back even further and apply some weight to it. For legs, what professionals require flexible legs? I look to dancers (ballet) for my examples, and I do ballet barre exercises ever day on my workbench, desk, countertop, tall dressers, etc. For arms, what professionals require flexible arms? I look to gymnasts (rings) for my examples and do exercises they would do.

Isometrics are essential and you should spend as much time as you can doing them. Standing on one foot w knee raised is a good one. Plank (pushup position) is another. Resting squat is a third, and horse stance is a fourth. If you have a light weight in the 5-15 pound range, hold the weight in front of you, behind you, to the side, etc for 20 seconds or more, increasing your time and your repetitions. If you have gym rings, the basic holds are excellent isometrics.

Balancework is tied into both of the above. The idea is to simply... balance. I'm not talking bosu ball shit, but standing on one foot, extending that foot in front/behind without falling, raising hands above head, doing one-handed planks, walking on balance beams, doing legwork in bare feet, handstands, planches, etc etc. The goal is to improve your balance times on a handful of "core" poses.

None of these are cardio-heavy. None of these are hypertrophic (at least not unless you push them to the painful injury-extreme). None of these will interfere with high-intensity CrossFit. if I was doing your routine I would want to train myself on the Off days to improve my joints and prepare my tendons for the intense CF days. You don't wanna get injured. Therefore, building up a stronger foundation will help you push yourself further on CF days and get more payoff.

gonna ghost for a while, ledger of activity halted but i'll keep pumping iron and spitting blood in the mud until i'm dead

Hope to hear from you soon. If not, be well. I learned quite a bit from your example.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Of course. Certain body types and conditioning can certainly get up to that point. Just saying, it’s advanced. Which you and others are.

Sadly, all-day, every-day exercise should be the norm, as it most closely matches our species' history and our natural disposition. We are endurance animals, built to perform all day (all week) without easily tiring, with a digestive/circulatory system designed to store excess calories as fat for later endurance needs, and with a complex nervous system that can push our bodies beyond our limits using meta-concepts like "my family" and "my duty" and "my gains" to inspire dangerous exertion beyond what an animal would dare.

Going to a room full of machines and weights to exercise for 1 hour, 2-4 times a week, while otherwise sitting in front of a screen, is highly unnatural.

Speaking from the perspective of an ex-fattie, establishing a daily exercise routine is the very first major milestone a person should aim for. Varying the intensity is easy to do and within anyone's grasp. The daily habit is the hard part. Even if the routine only consists of walking around the block, some jump rope, and some light yoga, the practitioner can slot in harder activities over the course of weeks/months as they lose weight and improve their joints. Yes, hauling weights every day would be a mistake for a beginner if they do not properly check themselves, but that's how I got started: kettlebelling every day since March of 2020.

 

[CrankyJay™]

Started doing Yoga with Adrienne on my rest days with my wife. Has been a nice way to stretch out etc. Anyone else do yoga in addition to weight training?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Started doing Yoga with Adrienne on my rest days with my wife. Has been a nice way to stretch out etc. Anyone else do yoga in addition to weight training?

I supplement with a bit of yoga, though I've never gone to a class. The only routine I've done was suggested by a GAFer earlier in the thread, some ice-girl stretching in tights. My daily drivers are plow pose, shoulder stands, and standing-on-one-foot stuff.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Started doing Yoga with Adrienne on my rest days with my wife. Has been a nice way to stretch out etc. Anyone else do yoga in addition to weight training?

Pretty much every single morning I roll (literally) out of bed and do a small yoga routine before my 50 morning pushups. Downward dog, cat cow, Childs pose, up dog and whatever the leg knee hip stretch one is called a few times. It's been great for my lower back flexibility.

 

[Raven117]

Sadly, all-day, every-day exercise should be the norm, as it most closely matches our species' history and our natural disposition. We are endurance animals, built to perform all day (all week) without easily tiring, with a digestive/circulatory system designed to store excess calories as fat for later endurance needs, and with a complex nervous system that can push our bodies beyond our limits using meta-concepts like "my family" and "my duty" and "my gains" to inspire dangerous exertion beyond what an animal would dare.

Going to a room full of machines and weights to exercise for 1 hour, 2-4 times a week, while otherwise sitting in front of a screen, is highly unnatural.

Speaking from the perspective of an ex-fattie, establishing a daily exercise routine is the very first major milestone a person should aim for. Varying the intensity is easy to do and within anyone's grasp. The daily habit is the hard part. Even if the routine only consists of walking around the block, some jump rope, and some light yoga, the practitioner can slot in harder activities over the course of weeks/months as they lose weight and improve their joints. Yes, hauling weights every day would be a mistake for a beginner if they do not properly check themselves, but that's how I got started: kettlebelling every day since March of 2020.

Totally agree. And congratulations for being bad ass, taking control, and putting in the work to where you wanted to be.

When I said “work out every day”, I was envisioning going HAM in the weight room 7 days a week. For a beginner, that’s just too much, and will likely burn out if they don’t get injured first.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Totally agree. And congratulations for being bad ass, taking control, and putting in the work to where you wanted to be.

When I said “work out every day”, I was envisioning going HAM in the weight room 7 days a week. For a beginner, that’s just too much, and will likely burn out if they don’t get injured first.

Thanks for the encouragement. I still have many lofty goals I wanna hit, but everything from this point on feels "fun" and not burdensome. Hope to see you around the thread more often to share your ideas and tips.

For sure, going ham on heavy weights 7 days a week is bad even for advanced lifters, in my opinion. The science behind hypertrophy and repair is well understood. You can't cheat it without drugs.

 

[Raven117]

Thanks for the encouragement. I still have many lofty goals I wanna hit, but everything from this point on feels "fun" and not burdensome. Hope to see you around the thread more often to share your ideas and tips.

For sure, going ham on heavy weights 7 days a week is bad even for advanced lifters, in my opinion. The science behind hypertrophy and repair is well understood. You can't cheat it without drugs.

You are obviously dedicated enough to hit your goals! Don’t forget to enjoy yourself every once in awhile.

Im FAR from giving any helpful tips, way too much knowledge in this thread for that.

I did, however, take this all way too far a few years ago. (No drugs or anything like that). Was weighting grams of food. Working out probably 8 or 9 times a week. (4 days weights). It consumed me. I looked effing amazing. But mother of gawd was I miserable. Wouldn’t even enjoy a beer with my friends... kind of strict.

My only tip I would say, is just keep in mind your overall life goals and what you want to accomplish. For me (once I recovered from overtrain and being a little loony), it is to be athletic, and not be too soft around the edge (besides, my beach days with co-Ed’s are far far behind me at this point).

enjoy life! If working out can help you do that, while being able to look pretty good and live a little longer while doing it, then rock on! (The tip was for everyone, not you specifically)

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

You are obviously dedicated enough to hit your goals! Don’t forget to enjoy yourself every once in awhile.

Im FAR from giving any helpful tips, way too much knowledge in this thread for that.

I did, however, take this all way too far a few years ago. (No drugs or anything like that). Was weighting grams of food. Working out probably 8 or 9 times a week. (4 days weights). It consumed me. I looked effing amazing. But mother of gawd was I miserable. Wouldn’t even enjoy a beer with my friends... kind of strict.

My only tip I would say, is just keep in mind your overall life goals and what you want to accomplish. For me (once I recovered from overtrain and being a little loony), it is to be athletic, and not be too soft around the edge (besides, my beach days with co-Ed’s are far far behind me at this point).

enjoy life! If working out can help you do that, while being able to look pretty good and live a little longer while doing it, then rock on! (The tip was for everyone, not you specifically)

These are great tips, and I'm trying to be the perpetual student so every part (whether it's aimed at me or not) is solid advice. I try to train toward a far-off goal or a feat and I try not get either encouraged nor discouraged by any glimpses of progress I see from day to day. As I approach that goal, I set new goals beyond it, so even as I cross that milestone I am already looking at the next horizon.

I came into this stuff with the hope of reaching baselines so that I could more comfortably/easily do fun stuff like sports and general playful activities. I have four kids, so many of these goals paid in practical ways (like being able to get up and down from the floor without aches, and being able to be on the floor at length without aches/pains). Another goal from the start was to get in better condition for running, not because I hold up running as a pinnacle or anything, but because I wanted to be strong in that area to run around the yard and keep pace with the kids.

Not everyone enjoys the grind, or can enter that mindset at will. It is, however, something that I think everyone can learn and develop over time. Once a person sees the quality of life improvements for themselves, it's a snowball effect (or it should be, imo). Personally I hate keeping track of calories, meal times, macro ratios, etc etc and I'm pleased that I've been able to rapidly improve my fitness without needing to keep meticulous notes on those.

 

[jufonuk]

 

[Raven117]

These are great tips, and I'm trying to be the perpetual student so every part (whether it's aimed at me or not) is solid advice. I try to train toward a far-off goal or a feat and I try not get either encouraged nor discouraged by any glimpses of progress I see from day to day. As I approach that goal, I set new goals beyond it, so even as I cross that milestone I am already looking at the next horizon.

I came into this stuff with the hope of reaching baselines so that I could more comfortably/easily do fun stuff like sports and general playful activities. I have four kids, so many of these goals paid in practical ways (like being able to get up and down from the floor without aches, and being able to be on the floor at length without aches/pains). Another goal from the start was to get in better condition for running, not because I hold up running as a pinnacle or anything, but because I wanted to be strong in that area to run around the yard and keep pace with the kids.

Not everyone enjoys the grind, or can enter that mindset at will. It is, however, something that I think everyone can learn and develop over time. Once a person sees the quality of life improvements for themselves, it's a snowball effect (or it should be, imo). Personally I hate keeping track of calories, meal times, macro ratios, etc etc and I'm pleased that I've been able to rapidly improve my fitness without needing to keep meticulous notes on those.

Then you are WAY better at it than I was! Looks like you absolutely have everything in proper focus and doing everything right.

I'm definetly focused on "just being athletic". I don't need to squat a zillion pounds. Don't care. I love being able to hike, bike, run, twist, turn, play casual sports and feel good while doing it. I wont have giant guns, 6 pack, but man, feels great.

4 kids?! Woah! Just keeping up with them is a full time workout!

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Then you are WAY better at it than I was! Looks like you absolutely have everything in proper focus and doing everything right.

I'm definetly focused on "just being athletic". I don't need to squat a zillion pounds. Don't care. I love being able to hike, bike, run, twist, turn, play casual sports and feel good while doing it. I wont have giant guns, 6 pack, but man, feels great.

4 kids?! Woah! Just keeping up with them is a full time workout!

Yeah I wanted to be a good example to them and to provide them each with a baseline athleticism to carry into adulthood. After that point they can be fat slobs for all I care. I was a fat slob even after doing school sports so I wouldn't hold it against them. Neither my wife or I are stage-parents nor soccer-moms. We don't care if they play organized sports, but we do want them to be fit so that if/when they pick up hobbies that require athleticism, they can slide in and begin learning instead of having to struggle. My daughter, for instance, set herself a goal of doing teeps every day for the next month (her older brother and I have done daily teeps for several months). She doesn't have much interest in kicking / combat sports, but she understands this type of conditioning will be a baseline for dancing, something she does have interest in.

Getting myself in shape also makes it very easy to say "look, I can do these presses on the rings, but remember 6 months ago when I couldn't even hold myself up?" and they can evaluate for themselves whether our routines are working. Showing a kid the process of setting goals, hypothesizing, and then letting them see the results for themselves is an effective long-term teaching method. It sticks quite well.

I think massive muscle gains are possible with patience and nutrition, over a long period of time (2+ years). The physique comes with time, but the "performance" improves rapidly if you handle it properly. A lot of this stuff comes down to form. A person with better form isn't necessarily "stronger" so much as they have "fewer weaknesses", because you sap a lot of your own raw muscle strength with bad balance, bad form, etc.

I admit I like to tinker. I want to see if I can do an iron cross on the rings someday, but I have no timeline or expectation as to when I will reach that. I just trust that my current trajectory will carry me there (and elsewhere) if I faithfully keep at it each day.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Started doing Yoga with Adrienne on my rest days with my wife. Has been a nice way to stretch out etc. Anyone else do yoga in addition to weight training?

Yep. I also do Yoga with Adrienne. Love it.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

I triggered out an old injury 2 days ago. Yesterday it was all right but today it's killing me. Did about an hour of swimming, which was nice and easy on the problem but it might fuck up my workout routine once I'm back home from vacation.

I've got a muscle in my back that will spasm every few years for seemingly random reasons. This time it was during sleep. The muscle is in my back, toward the top of my left shoulder blade. The pain goes up through the back of my neck into the base of my skull. It makes it impossible to have full range of motion. It has plagued me for 20 years or so. I just got my full flexibility back too from doing yoga. Super bummed about it, but I plan to take the time to ensure full recovery.

 

[quickwhips]

Got after it today in many ways. I'm down 18 lbs. Still running lifting and doing keto. I miss bread.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Got after it today in many ways. I'm down 18 lbs. Still running lifting and doing keto. I miss bread.

How do you feel lifting on keto?

 

[quickwhips]

How do you feel lifting on keto?

Ok. I'm way stronger than I've ever been. I was about 30 lbs over weight so almost at my goals than just excercise.

 

[ZippyTheOtter]

I swear Ring Fit is secretly spying on weightlifting schedule. Any time it decides it's a day to focus on legs, I just finished squats and deadlifts at the gym earlier that morning.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Any of ye guys ever deal with anterior pelvic tilt. I'm doing some exercises around this. I'm more like the image on the lefr. Not as extreme but it's a frustration at the moment.

 

[God Enel]

Saw recently that a lot of older users closed their accounts/ have been banned. I don’t wanna lose my fitness gaf fam - even though there are some new users here and in the last couple of months I haven’t visited this thread too often as I was kinda lazy. Love you guys DunDunDunpachi Cutty Flam Tesseract VlaudTheImpaler SpiceRacz and all you other guys I forgot to mention.

It’s hard as fuck to motivate myself at home. Gives me a lot of trouble. Hopefully lockdown will end soon and I can hit the gym 5-7 times a week like before. Luckily I didn’t gain weight.

Had a MRI for my right shoulder and I’m waiting for the results. fucked it up like A little bit less than a year ago and after I didn’t work out basically I have a hard time pushing. On the 22nd I’m gonna go to my doctor and I’m curious what the diagnosis will be.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Hope you get happy news back from the MRI God Enel

 

[Cutty Flam]

God Enel staying positive is most the of the battle. With me personally for example, I’m always dealing with multiple injuries while training, but I accommodate and try my best to work past them. Because it’s the wrong choice to do nothing and wait; stay sedentary. Living like that is dangerous to our health. Like right now, I’m pretty sure I have been dealing with costochondritis and I’m actually about to jump back into regressed versions of my routines again today. And I know it’s going to hurt like an absolute bitch for about three weeks to a few months give or take, since it’s ligament and joint related. But I am fully ready for it. I know navigating through workouts with an injury or injuries is painful and kinda disheartening, but it’s a must and the pain is something temporary. This I know and have experienced many times before. Usually your body patches itself up well in a few weeks and the pain starts to noticeably subside after that. Months in, the pain you had is a distant memory if not gone. You just have to have heart, listen to your body and continue with whatever routine you feel is the right amount for your current fitness level and whatever issues you are dealing with in that moment in time

Play it smart with that shoulder injury. Don’t aggravate it, do your best to completely avoid that but any yoga movements, breathing exercises, any exercises you can do to keep active still is going to greatly benefit your body overall as well as the healing of that elbow if surgery is not required. Even if surgery is necessary, I would still never underestimate or take for granted I should say, the benefits of simple walking as exercise. That alone will do much good for your entire body. Every system. Even just a simple walking routine you build upon over time is excellent exercise that will bring health

Pain can be pretty daunting, especially in the initial stages of injury, but I have learned that it’s natural and you can overcome it with the right mindset, a plan, good programming, and listening to your body. I think the most important aspect to get that all started and going strong, is to fully believe in yourself and stay positive. That sets the tone. And from there I think pretty much anything is possible to achieve

 

[SpiceRacz]

Saw recently that a lot of older users closed their accounts/ have been banned. I don’t wanna lose my fitness gaf fam - even though there are some new users here and in the last couple of months I haven’t visited this thread too often as I was kinda lazy. Love you guys DunDunDunpachi Cutty Flam Tesseract VlaudTheImpaler SpiceRacz and all you other guys I forgot to mention.

It’s hard as fuck to motivate myself at home. Gives me a lot of trouble. Hopefully lockdown will end soon and I can hit the gym 5-7 times a week like before. Luckily I didn’t gain weight.

Had a MRI for my right shoulder and I’m waiting for the results. fucked it up like A little bit less than a year ago and after I didn’t work out basically I have a hard time pushing. On the 22nd I’m gonna go to my doctor and I’m curious what the diagnosis will be.

Hope your shoulder's okay and won't require surgery. I fucked both of mine up OHPing in December 2019 and I'm not sure they're totally healed. I took 7 months off to recover and they still were giving me problems. Haven't lifted much since then. Seems like it's a really delicate area that can be easily overtrained (or my shoulders are held together by scotch tape). Either way, I'm back in the gym lifting on Monday. Finally.

 

[gunslikewhoa]

Sadly, all-day, every-day exercise should be the norm, as it most closely matches our species' history and our natural disposition. We are endurance animals, built to perform all day (all week) without easily tiring, with a digestive/circulatory system designed to store excess calories as fat for later endurance needs, and with a complex nervous system that can push our bodies beyond our limits using meta-concepts like "my family" and "my duty" and "my gains" to inspire dangerous exertion beyond what an animal would dare.

Going to a room full of machines and weights to exercise for 1 hour, 2-4 times a week, while otherwise sitting in front of a screen, is highly unnatural.

Speaking from the perspective of an ex-fattie, establishing a daily exercise routine is the very first major milestone a person should aim for. Varying the intensity is easy to do and within anyone's grasp. The daily habit is the hard part. Even if the routine only consists of walking around the block, some jump rope, and some light yoga, the practitioner can slot in harder activities over the course of weeks/months as they lose weight and improve their joints. Yes, hauling weights every day would be a mistake for a beginner if they do not properly check themselves, but that's how I got started: kettlebelling every day since March of 2020.

Yep. I learned this the hard way through a few powerlifitng injuries. All day, everyday is the way for me. Kettlebells, maces, Indian Clubs, Hydrocore, sandbags, bodyweight...I only really push myself a couple times a week. Otherwise, it's 1-3 sets of something throughout the day. With a bit of consistency, it becomes natural. Walking around the yard a time or two with a couple kettlebells or a sandbag becomes something you have to do.

My favorite channel for adding new stuff: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVYbUVLrZ6pEBfYV_UyvItA

He just gets to the point.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Yep. I learned this the hard way through a few powerlifitng injuries. All day, everyday is the way for me. Kettlebells, maces, Indian Clubs, Hydrocore, sandbags, bodyweight...I only really push myself a couple times a week. Otherwise, it's 1-3 sets of something throughout the day. With a bit of consistency, it becomes natural. Walking around the yard a time or two with a couple kettlebells or a sandbag becomes something you have to do.

My favorite channel for adding new stuff: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVYbUVLrZ6pEBfYV_UyvItA

He just gets to the point.

I've watched several of his videos over the past few months. He does a great job of explaining the move/concept, showing you the data and his train of thought, and then showing you the move plus some warnings about mistakes that can hurt you or hold you back. Simple and straightforward.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Over halfway through Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. This should be mandatory reading for high school. It's an amazing read. I am going through this first read to just absorb the story. There have been so many moments I wanted to takes notes on, so I know it will be read again after my first reading. I plan to work out his challenges for myself, as I see some that would be hugely beneficial for me.

Also started re-watching his interview with Rogan (1st one).

 

[ipukespiders]

Ah shoulders. It seems like everything we do puts strain on them. I even manage to hurt them squatting (tensing up to much when gripping the bar).

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

If you want safe upper-body conditioning (including shoulders), sink a lot of time into lengthy isometrics with medicine balls/slam balls in the 5-15 lb range. Isometrics with the muscle fully extended (like holding the ball in front of you, or cocked behind your head like a jump-shot) provide the best muscle development compared to isos with the muscle held in its "short" position. Helps flexibility and range-of-motion for the shoulder too. You wanna work the shoulder like your hip socket, that is to say, you stretch it and strengthen the socket in all directions, patiently, building it up over time.

In other words

 

[Sidney Prescott]

I'm going to start doing home workouts next week. I credit nush for inspiring me. Going to find some good Youtube channels to follow. Likely won't be going to the Gym for a while due to Covid, so getting in to a routine and feeling familiar with working out will likely go a long way. I've always been scared of the gym because of irrational thoughts of people watching me.

I wouldn't even mind jogging where I live, so I get out of the house. I do go for walks, but I feel like upping the pace would be good. I just have to get over that feeling of "That person is watching me" when they likely don't give two shits. People are just going about their day, but anxiety makes you feel like you're the centre of attention at times.

I have been wanting to have more days off from mindless internet usage too, which I have been doing a good job of. This will give me another thing to occupy my time. FIding more productive things to do.

I do love my GAF and time wasting websites, but time to get some sweat on.

 

[Jasonadream]

Ah shoulders. It seems like everything we do puts strain on them. I even manage to hurt them squatting (tensing up to much when gripping the bar).

Does your gym have a safety squat bar? I always use that if I ever have an upper body injury/strain or when I want to drill in technique work.

If not, you can use deadlift straps to macguver it in

A New Way To Squat with The Makeshift Safety Bar — Advanced Human Performance Official Website | Home of Dr. Joel & Joshua Seedman

By using wrists straps you can actually create your own makeshift safety squat bar that in many ways is superior to standard safety bars. In fact there are multiple reasons why lifters should incorporate these into their training routines

www.google.com

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Happy Valentines day brothers! I hope everyone here knows exactly what to get their loved ones...

 

[Cutty Flam]

Any of ye guys ever deal with anterior pelvic tilt. I'm doing some exercises around this. I'm more like the image on the lefr. Not as extreme but it's a frustration at the moment.

I've dealt with it a few times, it can cause a lot of problems if it goes undetected I've found. And I feel like you can't really safely advance in any of your lifts until you put in check

Bridges, hip hinges, strengthening the abdominal complex all done with the utmost of care to perform each and every rep with excellent form, and stretching most of my body usually took care of the issue with about a month or so of work towards it. I always stretched everything but it sort of makes sense to be careful with the stretching of the hamstrings until everything is back to proper alignment and all muscle imbalances have been corrected

What exercises and stretches are you performing to address it? This is how I've gone about fixing anterior pelvic tilt in the past:

-Warm up routine
-Hip Hinges with foam roller to back of head, shoulder blades, and tail bone to maintain proper alignment / work way up to perform comfortably 3 sets of 15 reps
-Glute bridges 3/10 and progress to more reps and sets as time goes on
-Dead Bugs 2/10
-Stomach vaccuums try 1-2 sets of twenty seconds for a week and then progress
-Squats (bodyweight) starting with 2/6 and moving up in reps/sets with each passing week
-Stretch the Hip Flexors for thirty seconds, work way up to 3 sets of 30 seconds, I usually squeezed the glutes for additional activation and a better stretch in the hip flexor muscles
-Lightly stretch piriformis muscles of the glutes for thirty seconds, work way up to 3 sets of 30 seconds
-Foam roll legs lightly, 30 seconds to a minute each muscle group (calves, IT band area, quads, sometimes with caution I'd foam roll the glutes for 10 seconds or so)
-Lay on foam roller with spine along said foam roller, then I would contract my core and have everything flat, stretching out erector spinae muscles, my chest for a good minute or so. Then I would oscillate left to right and foam roll the shoulder blades areas some; this also foam rolls the glutes well
-Child's pose yoga posture will also help stretch the erector spinae muscles

 

[mcjmetroid]

I've dealt with it a few times, it can cause a lot of problems if it goes undetected I've found. And I feel like you can't really safely advance in any of your lifts until you put in check

Bridges, hip hinges, strengthening the abdominal complex all done with the utmost of care to perform each and every rep with excellent form, and stretching most of my body usually took care of the issue with about a month or so of work towards it. I always stretched everything but it sort of makes sense to be careful with the stretching of the hamstrings until everything is back to proper alignment and all muscle imbalances have been corrected

What exercises and stretches are you performing to address it? This is how I've gone about fixing anterior pelvic tilt in the past:

-Warm up routine
-Hip Hinges with foam roller to back of head, shoulder blades, and tail bone to maintain proper alignment / work way up to perform comfortably 3 sets of 15 reps
-Glute bridges 3/10 and progress to more reps and sets as time goes on
-Dead Bugs 2/10
-Stomach vaccuums try 1-2 sets of twenty seconds for a week and then progress
-Squats (bodyweight) starting with 2/6 and moving up in reps/sets with each passing week
-Stretch the Hip Flexors for thirty seconds, work way up to 3 sets of 30 seconds, I usually squeezed the glutes for additional activation and a better stretch in the hip flexor muscles
-Lightly stretch piriformis muscles of the glutes for thirty seconds, work way up to 3 sets of 30 seconds
-Foam roll legs lightly, 30 seconds to a minute each muscle group (calves, IT band area, quads, sometimes with caution I'd foam roll the glutes for 10 seconds or so)
-Lay on foam roller with spine along said foam roller, then I would contract my core and have everything flat, stretching out erector spinae muscles, my chest for a good minute or so. Then I would oscillate left to right and foam roll the shoulder blades areas some; this also foam rolls the glutes well
-Child's pose yoga posture will also help stretch the erector spinae muscles

Thanks very much for the suggestions.

I need to get myself a foam roller. That keeps coming up. Mostly doing everything from home at the moment

In fact a lot of the stuff from this video. Maybe you can let me know if it's bullshit or not? I've very new to working on this so I'll accept any help I can help.


He starts the excersises at 2: 33

I think from your list anyway the glute bridge is worked on.

 

[Cutty Flam]

Thanks very much for the suggestions.

I need to get myself a foam roller. That keeps coming up. Mostly doing everything from home at the moment

In fact a lot of the stuff from this video. Maybe you can let me know if it's bullshit or not? I've very new to working on this so I'll accept any help I can help.



I think from your list anyway the glute bridge is worked on.

The video is on point, performing those exercises and stretches every day if there is no soreness or pain will get you back on the right track

EDIT: The most important thing you need to be 100% sure of, is learning to properly pelvic tilt (2:32)

Make sure you practice that exercise and take it seriously. It's such a boring and simple thing to learn, and then perform. But you 100% must master it, and maintain that during each rep when performing glute bridges either on the floor or on the bench. In other words, don't arch your back / allow yourself to return to that same anterior pelvic tilt at any point during the glute bridges or any other lift you do. You have to keep your spine in proper alignment at all times during the movement otherwise you risk injuring your lower back, I even felt pain in my hamstrings after making the mistake once

If you can perfect that aspect of the routine and remember to keep that same form during all your exercises then you'll be alright and reduce chances of injury

 

[mcjmetroid]

The video is on point, performing those exercises every day if there is no soreness or pain will get you back on the right track

Thanks man nice. I'll keep doing what I'm doing so. I will say I'm not doing it every day but I'll keep at it.

Can I ask as well when you are doing regular excersises like walking? Are you trying to squeeze your glutes to correct your posture while you're walking?

How about sitting down?

How did you manage?

 

[Cutty Flam]

Thanks man nice. I'll keep doing what I'm doing so. I will say I'm not doing it every day but I'll keep at it.

Can I ask as well when you are doing regular excersises like walking? Are you trying to squeeze your glutes to correct your posture while you're walking?

How about sitting down?

How did you manage?

As long as you do it every other day it should reinforce everything back to where it needs to be to function correctly and in proper alignment. Practicing those pelvic tilts against a wall or on the floor every day for a set or two to make sure your brain knows the movement and the correct position your spine should be in - that will help

I usually walk before I perform any kind of warm up circuit and exercises. Walking is always the "pre-warm up" for me, then I'll warm up more after the walk itself. When walking, you want to slightly tighten your core. Just slightly. So if someone were to lightly tap your stomach you should be braced and that light tap would not affect you; you're core would be slightly contracted and ready to brace for that slight tap. So you do that, and when you push off when walking with each step, it's the same thing with your glutes. You very slightly activate your glutes as you press off with each foot. Just barely you contract. That way you can be sure that you are not walking with the same anterior pelvic tilt that you've been working hard to fix all this time

Sitting is the enemy. Sitting down for prolonged periods causes tight hip flexors eventually. You want to limit sitting as much as you can. But with sitting down, it's the same thing = best to slightly contract the core among other cues for ideal posture

I try to put it all together and that's how I live to reduce injury and live a healthy life. Maybe one meal of the day if everyone wants to eat together I'll sit with them and have a meal otherwise I'll eat standing near a counter top or at a desk. If I'm playing video games, I'll try to stand or I'll get from my chair if I am sitting when things get intense and just stretch my hip flexors for a minute and then go back to sitting. Time in sitting position should be limited. I'll work, read, study at my stand up desk and that helps a lot. When gyms were open, I had everything I could ever need to keep my health and fitness levels high. I always spennt an hour or two easy each session in there because my routine was so extensive. Not really hardcore like some in here, but I put a lot of work into all the right exercises that would set me up for longevity and to keep progressing each week and each month. If you know what to do, and keep doing it - putting in the time, the results will come. It's not tough to fix, it just takes dedication and some time. The exercises we do to fix anterior pelvic tilt are easy, and kind of tedious, but very necessary. Do your routine 15-20 times this month and by the end of the second month it's pretty much guaranteed you've fixed the problem completely if you've been performing all the exercises and stretches correctly

 

[mcjmetroid]

As long as you do it every other day it should reinforce everything back to where it needs to be to function correctly and in proper alignment. Practicing those pelvic tilts against a wall or on the floor every day for a set or two to make sure your brain knows the movement and the correct position your spine should be in - that will help

I usually walk before I perform any kind of warm up circuit and exercises. Walking is always the "pre-warm up" for me, then I'll warm up more after the walk itself. When walking, you want to slightly tighten your core. Just slightly. So if someone were to lightly tap your stomach you should be braced and that light tap would not affect you; you're core would be slightly contracted and ready to brace for that slight tap. So you do that, and when you push off when walking with each step, it's the same thing with your glutes. You very slightly activate your glutes as you press off with each foot. Just barely you contract. That way you can be sure that you are not walking with the same anterior pelvic tilt that you've been working hard to fix all this time

Sitting is the enemy. Sitting down for prolonged periods causes tight hip flexors eventually. You want to limit sitting as much as you can. But with sitting down, it's the same thing = best to slightly contract the core among other cues for ideal posture

I try to put it all together and that's how I live to reduce injury and live a healthy life. Maybe one meal of the day if everyone wants to eat together I'll sit with them and have a meal otherwise I'll eat standing near a counter top or at a desk. If I'm playing video games, I'll try to stand or I'll get from my chair if I am sitting when things get intense and just stretch my hip flexors for a minute and then go back to sitting. Time in sitting position should be limited. I'll work, read, study at my stand up desk and that helps a lot. When gyms were open, I had everything I could ever need to keep my health and fitness levels high. I always spennt an hour or two easy each session in there because my routine was so extensive. Not really hardcore like some in here, but I put a lot of work into all the right exercises that would set me up for longevity and to keep progressing each week and each month. If you know what to do, and keep doing it - putting in the time, the results will come. It's not tough to fix, it just takes dedication and some time. The exercises we do to fix anterior pelvic tilt are easy, and kind of tedious, but very necessary. Do your routine 15-20 times this month and by the end of the second month it's pretty much guaranteed you've fixed the problem completely if you've been performing all the exercises and stretches correctly

Thanks man for the encouragement! I'll let you know how I get on!

I am looking forward to gyms being open again myself.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

mcjmetroid if you aren't stretching that area, downward/upward dog (yoga pose) is a nice basic stretch along the full body. The tight hip flexors and the weak spine erector muscles must be addressed. Like Cutty Flam mentioned, "strengthening the abdominal complex". I work(ed) in an office chair all day, so these kind of stretches were key to getting my joints back in shape.

These two stretches are also great mobility-builders for your shoulders (believe it or not). If you do them for a few weeks, you will notice improvements there.

 

[ipukespiders]

Does your gym have a safety squat bar? I always use that if I ever have an upper body injury/strain or when I want to drill in technique work.

If not, you can use deadlift straps to macguver it in

A New Way To Squat with The Makeshift Safety Bar — Advanced Human Performance Official Website | Home of Dr. Joel & Joshua Seedman

By using wrists straps you can actually create your own makeshift safety squat bar that in many ways is superior to standard safety bars. In fact there are multiple reasons why lifters should incorporate these into their training routines

www.google.com

No safety bar here (home gym). My problem is that I need to be mindful to relax my arms/shoulders/grip when doing squats, and I usually do. I simply should be balancing the bar. Using deadlift straps might cause me to have a iron grip on the straps which is something I want to avoid, although they do allow a more neutral position for the shoulders.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Finished Can’t Hurt Me and my flight this morning. Amazing story and invaluable lessons. Easy recommendation for anyone.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Fitness adjacent but I've been watching a lot of Greg Doucette(sp?) videos on youtube. He does a lot of natty or not videos that I find interesting.

 

[mcjmetroid]

mcjmetroid if you aren't stretching that area, downward/upward dog (yoga pose) is a nice basic stretch along the full body. The tight hip flexors and the weak spine erector muscles must be addressed. Like Cutty Flam mentioned, "strengthening the abdominal complex". I work(ed) in an office chair all day, so these kind of stretches were key to getting my joints back in shape.

These two stretches are also great mobility-builders for your shoulders (believe it or not). If you do them for a few weeks, you will notice improvements there.

Thanks for the message. Do you know what these 2 exercises are called?

The first one is some form of bridge anyway.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Thanks for the message. Do you know what these 2 exercises are called?

The first one is some form of bridge anyway.

downward/upward dog

 

[God Enel]

Yesterday I kicked off my 2474 try and it was the first day where I was like ‘yeah.. this time I’m not gonna quit after a week or so.’ Felt motivated. Lost quite some strength and flexibility but if I don’t stop again after a few weeks I hope to be right back at my old strength and flexibility.. Felt really good yesterday. It has to stay that way. Didn’t eat anything yesterday and managed it quite easily, but this is mostly not a problem for me anyway.

I think Marc Cuban said “it’s not in the dreaming it’s in the doing”. I hope I’m not gonna dream again.

 

[TTOOLL]

I'm a bit disappointed with my sex drive lately, I'm just not interested. Might be high levels of cortisol, maybe training intensity? I don't know, have you noticed any relationship between your training plan and libido?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Ashwaganda for cortisol control TTOOLL

A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of a High-Concentration Full-Spectrum Extract of Ashwagandha Root in Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Adults - PMC

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension, which can lead to underperformance and adverse clinical conditions. Adaptogens are herbs that help in combating stress. Ayurvedic classical texts, animal studies and clinical studies ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov