I found out that you can do dips for chest and not triceps you just have to lean forward and keep your head down. Felt good, getting all kinds of erections in my upper chest.
If you think about it, you're basically doing a push-up with your entire body weight instead of the roughly 70% of your body weight with normal push-ups.
I really should figure out where I can do dips in my house and substitute them over regular push-ups when I'm going for strengthening. Those power tower things are usually like $150...just have to figure out where to put the damn thing.
Having a rough week at work really shows. Not enough sleep and too much walking and doing physical work. Only deadlifted 2x298lbs where as last time 5x286lbs was much easier. Probably going to have to start doing smaller increments from now on.
I'm thinking of getting some exercise equipment at home. Cardio stuff mainly. I was thinking a rower and an elliptical or stair master(stepper?). Would there be any other recommendations?
Please don't. It's almost summer, and the weather is very nice. Why not go outside?
Guys,
I'm 5'7 and 105 pounds. What should I do and how should I start. I'm not doing this to get girls. I already have a girlfriend who likes me. But I think my weight is a concern and i'd like to gain some weight.
Good God, that's skinny. Read the OP, all of the OP. Then read it several more times.
I'm mainly just trying to do whatever I possibly can; the whole "size" thing comes from the fact that I have a lesser weight, but I will be able to do more reps with it...which will help more with sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Yeah it really is unfeasible. I don't even have a car of my own. And in June I will be starting a 9-5 job (wake up 6:30 am, come back home 7 pm). I am just gonna have to make due with what I have.
I see what you're trying to do. You're thinking that you can do a bunch of reps with whatever weight you have to "for size." However, that's not quite how it works. Weight is almost important in these matters, however since that's all you got, then good luck.
Granted it's probably a lot of water weight, but I lost 5 lbs. from Saturday to today. Gone to the gym three times to lift. Haven't done much cardio, but if you lift heavey I'm sure you can keep cardio to a mininum especially when bulking... am I right? Hoping to keep getting solid as the flub is worked off.
Granted it's probably a lot of water weight, but I lost 5 lbs. from Saturday to today. Gone to the gym three times to lift. Haven't done much cardio, but if you lift heavey I'm sure you can keep cardio to a mininum especially when bulking... am I right? Hoping to keep getting solid as the flub is worked off.
Thanks for posting the article, Mr. City. I use a 24 Hour Fitness center for the time being, but I've almost got everything I need for a home gym so when my membership expires I'll have my refuge waiting for me. But what he described there isn't far off from what I've been using; a power rack, an angled squat rack, two smith machines and a row of dumbbells. The other 95%+ of the building is made of machines and treadmills.
Here's a few choice quotations, but the whole article is worth the read.
It is not an exaggeration to say that 95% of the equipment in these places is totally unnecessary and a good portion of it counterproductive to strength training.
An example; The Kegel machine. At least that’s what I’ve always called it. A few seconds wasted on Google indicated this repugnant piece of hardware is referred to as an adduction/abduction machine. A middle aged trophy wife can usually be seen occupying this ridiculous contraption, legs spreading and closing ever so rhythmically while her ipod fills her head with the sounds of Michael Bolton. Henceforth this machine will be known as… the Kegel machine. If your gym has more Kegel machines than power racks, it’s time to find a new one. There is absolutely no functional reason whatsoever to apply resistance to one’s hips and inner thighs in this manner. I’ll leave a refutation of this statement to the more imaginative.
I was able to gain entrance with a small fee and a brief speech from the girl at the counter. Imagine my surprise when I spotted a man on a treadmill, running at what appeared to be full speed, with a 25 pound dumbbell in each hand, doing an assortment of random presses, swings, flails, curls, extensions and pulls. (Don’t ask me… try to picture it yourself.) The girl noticed the look on my face as I glanced at this spectacle.
“Oh he’s a firefighter.” She proclaimed so matter-of-factly. As though I should have known.
“Oh, well obviously. I’ll go get my lighter from the car.” She didn’t get it, or didn’t think I was funny.
“What about deadlifts? Can I deadlift here?”
“No, you can’t do that here, but you can…” I cut him off mid-sentence. Whatever substitute for deadlifts this frail sap was about to offer would likely sicken me to the point as to force me to evacuate my bowels right there on the sterilized floor.
“Then I really can’t work out here.” I grabbed a chocolate doughnut on my way out the door. I figured I had likely developed diabetes just by walking around the place, so I might as well finish myself off.
This is where we’ve arrived. The days of the privately owned, friendly gyms where people go simply to get physically stronger are coming to an end. Of course they still exist now, but mainly in circles where true strength training is an athletic necessity. Those of us amateurs who lack access to professional facilities often find ourselves making do with what these conglomerate fitness chains have to offer. It is possible to accomplish strength goals in these places, but it requires a little bit of flexibility and creativity.
Anybody have a link on how to make a good power rack at home for cheap? Gym is costing too much so if its feasible I'd like to make a home gym. I'm thinking power rack and a bench with 1 barbell is pretty much all I need, yea?
Anybody have a link on how to make a good power rack at home for cheap? Gym is costing too much so if its feasible I'd like to make a home gym. I'm thinking power rack and a bench with 1 barbell is pretty much all I need, yea?
Buying a used power rack on craigslist is a good option, too. In Seattle there's usually 2-3 homemade racks on craigslist in any given month and a good 5-12 used manufactured racks, too. A homemade rack will probably run you less than $50 if you have the necessary skills to make one. I just went ahead and bought a used one for a couple hundred instead.
i just meant eat a lot. i mean, eat healthy, obviously, like dont shove mcdonalds down all the time. just eat a lot. calories and protein are your two favorite things now.
also, i used to be 5'10" 130, bout the same proportions as you. senior yr of Hs i shot up to 175 in 2nd semester, cuz i took weights and ate taco bell every day (worked there). trust me, if you eat enough and lift enough you will get bigger really quick
Yeah, never going back to that time in my life again. Everyone else had awesome puberty's where they grew muscle naturally or at least put on fat naturally. Not me though.
Buying a used power rack on craigslist is a good option, too. In Seattle there's usually 2-3 homemade racks on craigslist in any given month and a good 5-12 used manufactured racks, too. A homemade rack will probabyl run you less than $50 if you have the necessary skills to make one. I just went ahead and bought a used one for a couple hundred instead.
That's an awesome rack though. I'm starting to move past the usability of mine. I have a normal rack and bench and I don't feel safe doing a lot of exercises alone. But that is awesome. I think this is going to be my next project.
I didn't get much of a response before so I'll try asking again and hopefully not getting lost;
I have huge legs already and was wondering if continuing to do a lot of cardio (high resistance exercise bike, uphill on treadmill run, and row) will maintain those (I'm not going for a shredded body just a lean 'fit' body)
Buying a used power rack on craigslist is a good option, too. In Seattle there's usually 2-3 homemade racks on craigslist in any given month and a good 5-12 used manufactured racks, too. A homemade rack will probabyl run you less than $50 if you have the necessary skills to make one. I just went ahead and bought a used one for a couple hundred instead.
lol. I was lifting weights last night. I went to pick up my weight again, and half of one of the weights just broke and fell off. The weights were made of cement covered in plastic. I literally just picked it up and it fell off
I asked my dad about them, and apparently it's a 50 year old weight that he still had. His brother is almost 65, so they were probably from when his brother was lifting weights in highschool.
So a friend was asking about bodyweight exercises. I know most here do barbell training but I know at least few have bodyweight routines. Do you guys do only bodyweight stuff or do you do some barbell etc. work on the side?
I'd like to know what you guys think about bodyweight routines vs. barbell routines? Both have pros and cons I guess. You should still be able to get big(ger) with bodyweight stuff or is it just olympic gymnast level dudes who get there?
This is my first workout cycle where I haven't gotten a horrible cold a month into my routine. Probably because I'm more conscious about not rubbing my eyes while at the gym and washing my hands as soon as I leave. Luckily my gym has a hand sanitizer on the wall as well.
Well the run is no longer a concern for my police exam. I'm still more than 3 weeks out and I'm 31 seconds under the requirement. Still need to get this sit and reach done though, damn tight hamstrings.
Edit: looking great edge, your hair looks better short IMO.
I didn't get much of a response before so I'll try asking again and hopefully not getting lost;
I have huge legs already and was wondering if continuing to do a lot of cardio (high resistance exercise bike, uphill on treadmill run, and row) will maintain those (I'm not going for a shredded body just a lean 'fit' body)
If you're asking if lots of running will maintain your leg strength/muscle if you don't lift heavy, then the answer is no. All stresses are not created equal nor do does each create the same response.
Looking to do both.
Damn that article was an eye-opener. It's a little embellished, I'm sure, but he makes very good points.
If you're asking if lots of running will maintain your leg strength/muscle if you don't lift heavy, then the answer is no. All stresses are not created equal nor do does each create the same response.
I would be careful with trying to gain muscle whilst losing fat. It's a very slow process if done right, and if done wrong, leads to wheel spinning.
Some of you may or may not remember me from last summer when I tried the GOMAD diet. Overall, I'd say it was an interesting experiment, but I'm not looking to do it again. I'm a really busy engineering student so I've had no time to work out since last August, but it's summer now so I'm ready to try something new to see if it gets me somewhere new.
The GOMAD diet added weight to me, which was something I wanted to see if was even possible. For the longest time I thought I just had a broken metabolism that wouldn't gain weight no matter what workouts or diets I tried. GOMAD let me increase my lifting weight with every single exercise at every work out, so I got stronger quicker than I ever have before, but most of the weight I gained was water weight that disappeared, and fat that after 9 months has just kind of stayed around my waist and a little at the pecs. Figures.
So ultimately, it showed me that I could gain weight, but since I haven't worked out, it just left me with some fat and a few blood tests needed to make sure my liver recovered.
This summer, I decided I'm more interested in just getting fit and toned over trying very hard to gain mass. I just wanna be more active and healthy (and maybe in return, get some belly fat trimmed off). I'm just going to try eating a more balanced diet with maybe 400-500 extra calories a day (rather than the overkill that was GOMAD) and do some basic workouts.
For someone who's not very strong or athletically advanced, do you recommend just doing a squat/bench press work-out or what?
there's nothing I hate more than squatting or benching...
Until you get to know your body better, yes go for bulking/cutting cycles. I typically bulk/cut for 6 weeks. Between these cycles I'll do a 3 to four week maintenance routine where I eat at maintenance and let my body get adjusted to the new weight/find a homeostasis. This seems to work well for me.
Usually you bulk first, build some solid muscle (along with fat). Then you cut (while still lifting, to preserve the muscle as much as you can) to drop the body fat.
You bulk as much as you desire, until you feel you have reached a good weight. Then you cut. Usually getting to your "ideal" body takes a few bulk/cut cycles.
I found out that you can do dips for chest and not triceps you just have to lean forward and keep your head down. Felt good, getting all kinds of erections in my upper chest.
I've been lifting since Nov 2010. Really got things going in 2011. I dicked around in Jan 2010 with SL/SS but really started to hone in late 2010. No manual labor for me as I am a software engineer. So I guess around a year+.
He's been posting videos like crazy again, so here's another one he posted just five days ago (he's also posted eight more since then, including one on pooping):
FallingEdge take note: the first Jedi mind trick is to count twenty-rep sets as if they were multiple smaller sets. Example - 10 - 5 - 3 - 1 - 1. Also, keep up the good work, man.
General note: the mind tricks video goes from intelligent to nonsense by the time you get to the end. Keep that in mind when it starts getting too stupid to watch.
I'm having some irritation in my right shoulder at random times. I can usually reproduce it by doing the stretch with my arms straight behind my back, fingers interlocked, pull upward. Something about it being turned inward and my arm pulling back/up. I've got what looks like a bone spur on that shoulder (I can see it through my skin, hard to the touch, no matching area on the left shoulder) that is a bit sore when I put pressure on it. My dad (a doc) didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I'm wondering if it's causing some impingement?
Anyway, the last thing I need is a rotator cuff injury, so I'm taking the week off of dips, bench and OHP and re-evaluating this time next week. This combined with my hip flexor means I really can't do much in the weight room
I'm going to be icing and lightly stretching both injuries a couple of times a day, and probably taking 2 doses of advil as well for anti-inflammation. My dad is in Italy at the moment but when he gets back I'll probably try to have one of his sports doc friends take a look at me.
I'd just started weighted dips AND broken through my bench press plateau too...
Ah well, strength training is a marathon, not a race, eh fellas?
Good stuff. Those mental games are actually pretty interesting, especially mixing the weights around to trick you mind.
Omg at using protein powder for chalk... and then licking it off the bar. Oh god that grossed me out beyond belief.
This week I'm down to 229 lbs. The cut effort is going great so far, and I feel fan-freakin'-tastic. Maybe it was the testosterone but I really felt my reflection in the gym's mirrors showed some serious leaning out. My routine seems to be working out perfectly in complement to my nutrition plan.
