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Fitness |OT4| Squat Booty, Summer Cuts, and Super Swoletrophy

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P

Puddles

Banned
I strained my right lat somehow. I did a back workout on Thursday, and I felt it tweak slightly, but it wasn't painful until yesterday. At some point in the two days after tweaking it, I must have done something to aggravate the injury.

This is going to put a damper on my workout plans. :(
 
C

Captain Knutsman

Member
A More Normal Bird said:
Quite possibly an impinged nerve, or a load issue. 50 reps of front squats could easily be the culprit in either case. What is your grip like? When you say your underarm, what do you mean? Triceps and other parts above the elbow or the underside of your forearm leading to your wrist? If it's the latter the chance of it being front squat related gets a bit higher.
Click to expand...

Impinged nerve sounds serious? I haven't done front (or back for that matter) squats much before I began crossfitting a few months ago, but I believe my grip was fine - elbows as high as my mobility allowed with the bar resting at the fingers and the area above my chest and below my neck. I did three sets of 40kg and 7 of 30kg, focussing on proper form. Should I pay more attention to my grip?

I meant the underside of my forearm - couldn't find the right translation for "underarm" (in danish) so I made a bet with it being the same in english :)
 
F

FallingEdge

Member
I can say that yesterday was the worst day I have ever had at the gym. My lower back was still a bit sore from the deads/squats/rows from the past few days. Since I figured it was just sore, I could still go in yesterday to do squats and BBB deadlifts.

Nope. I got to my final working set at 290 for squats and couldn't even do one. Lower back was just too much of an issue. Left the gym right there. Had to know when to quit and move on. Take these next few days off and try again Tuesday. Sucks.

However, with the Nexus 4 and Blops 2 coming out, I will be more than occupied :D
 
M

Magik

Member
MrCookiepants said:
I have a whole garage full of gym equipment just sitting there. All I need is the motivation. :(

Inspire me guys. Tell me how great it is having a set of gloriously defined pecs to squeeze at night.
Click to expand...

Motivation is only going to get you moving for a short period of time.

The question is whether or not you are dedicated and committed to working out and achieving whatever goal it is that you desire.

Do you even have any specific goals?
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
Mully said:
My cousin-in-law is an Atletic Trainer at my old high school. i was lucky enough to be at the high school yeaterday prior to a football game. He initially said it was probably just a bad strain. Today, he felt my hamstring up again and felt a small tear in one of higher hamstring muscles. I'm going to the orthopedist tomorrow to make sure.

Tears take months to be back to 100%. Up until now, I've never experienced it. Hopefully my cousin's husband is wrong.

However, my friend tore his while playing a preseason basketball game a few years back. He was out for most of the season and took a ton of rehab. Although he tore two of the three hamstring muscles.

Take it slow. Really slow. Even with a slight tear, you have to remember that it's like a broken bone. By the time you get a cast off of your broken bone, your bone is still technically broken. It may have a callous over the break, but it's not a full on bone yet. That takes a few more months.

Work on strengthening your hamstring by doing stretching workouts and slowly work in iso workouts with a small amount of weight. Running will take time.
Click to expand...

yeah, I am happy that it hasn't appeared since that time some weeks ago.

I hope it goes all well for you. Best of luck tomorrow and hopefully you have a fast recovery, whatever it is.

Are you able to tell what's the nature of the injury related to how it feels? I once did some pull-ups aburptly and pulled a muscle on my back, I knew it was a pull because of how it felt. The thing in the hamstring was definitely a small tear, it was a different kind of pain.

I can't be 100% certain but I think it is like that. With a tear, pain is worse. If it's really bad, you want to scream and die. I hope it wasn't as bad for you.

on another topic....I am happy, I made a friend at the gym, he's pretty advanced (huge everything, lol) and he'll show me how to train using barbells and weights. I wanted to wait and keep the bodyweight thing for some more months but I met him and asked spontaneously and I want to learn, can't wait to try it, I am excited. I've been told I have a good squat position and I hope that going down as much as possible then up with a barbell on my back feels as awesome as everyone is telling me :p. My friends (they all live in other country and can't help me) all tell me "dude, you are missing out AND will take longer to see results, step up the game!" so that has me a bit excited.
 
M

MjFrancis

Member
sphinx said:
MjFrancis, never got to thank you for this.

Straight to the point, clear, no asshole attitude, definitely a reason to stay around.

Thanks a lot! :)
Click to expand...
You're welcome. I'm always happy to help where I can, and since I borrow from those more knowledgeable than myself I'd have to credit Al Kavadlo and Pavel for much of that explanation. I'm more satisfied with that explanation of hanging leg raises than the one I offered in the bodyweight OP, too.
 
S

Sallokin

Member
I'm having a great time doing the beginner SS workout from the OP. Was curious if anyone had any recommendations for preferred ab/arm workouts to go with the days where those exercises fit in.
 
M

maxxpower

Member
MrCookiepants said:
I have a whole garage full of gym equipment just sitting there. All I need is the motivation. :(

Inspire me guys. Tell me how great it is having a set of gloriously defined pecs to squeeze at night.
Click to expand...

If it's any motivation I'll just say that once you start working out and stick with it and see results you'll never feel like not working out. I say this because I've been depressed as fuck these past few days and somehow I still have a shitload motivation to work out/exercise.
 
M

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
Hasn't been happening this time around, but when I curl, occasiionally I feel something slide across my wrist, and I'll get pins and needles in my hand. I know that's a red flag for a lot of things, it's definitely a nerve problem of some sort, could it be carpal tunnel, or even possibly an entrapment at the elbow? I've gone to a hand doctor and he ordered up an EMG, just seeing if anyone else here has ever experienced this.
 
Sniper McBlaze

Sniper McBlaze

Member
Shirtless GAF represent!

I've been training for about 2-3 times a week now the past half year. It's mostly been full body training in the gym (a modification of the scheme in this topic) and I'd just want to get some feedback on the result.

PU1kll.jpg

a1q8bl.jpg



My pectorals are the thing I'm least satisified with and pretty much the only body part I can show off in camera. It's hard taking pictures of your back and legs. Is this a normal result for training for half a year? I got a few pounds too much around the belly still, but I think I've bulked a little bit in muscle mass atleast.

And I know that the picture quality is shit.
 
A

A More Normal Bird

Unconfirmed Member
Captain Knutsman said:
Impinged nerve sounds serious? I haven't done front (or back for that matter) squats much before I began crossfitting a few months ago, but I believe my grip was fine - elbows as high as my mobility allowed with the bar resting at the fingers and the area above my chest and below my neck. I did three sets of 40kg and 7 of 30kg, focussing on proper form. Should I pay more attention to my grip?

I meant the underside of my forearm - couldn't find the right translation for "underarm" (in danish) so I made a bet with it being the same in english :)
Click to expand...

It sounds serious but sometimes it means nothing more than massaging the area. Judging from your description though it sounds more like the load was putting pressure on and stretching your arm. If the discomfort is severe rest and compress the area, if not just avoid aggravating it. It might begin to disappear as you get more accustomed to the front squat position.

You seem to know what to do for form, just make sure that the bar is right at the tips of your fingers and the weight is on your shoulders, not pulling on any part of your arm. The arms are there to stop the bar rolling around more than holding it. Most people in the know recommend doing front squats in the 5 rep range, as the muscles of the upper back begin to have difficulty maintaining the position earlier than the legs give out. Even if you have great form to start out with things might begin to go wrong without you noticing after 5 sets of 10.
 
N

Noema

Member
Sallokin said:
I'm having a great time doing the beginner SS workout from the OP. Was curious if anyone had any recommendations for preferred ab/arm workouts to go with the days where those exercises fit in.
Click to expand...

You're not allowed to do ab work or biceps curls until you can squat 405lb and deadlift 495lb if you are doing SS. Otherwise Rippetoe will kick down your door, spit out bourbon and yell that YNDTFP.

:p

Do straight bar curls, sets of 8. You can do them as prescribed in Starting Strength, as a compound excercise that starts at the top with and which includes both elbow and some shoulder flexion. Add 2.5lb to the bar everytime you do it. Sort of like this:

6XN3x.png


I personally love hammer curls. They don't bother my wrist like regular curls sometimes do and they are great for dat pump and forearm development. Since I have lanky, spaghetti forearms, I try to do them whenever I can. And of course, do tons of chin/pull ups.

As for ab work, I'm partial to hanging leg raises. Presses, deadlifts and squats work the upper abs and obliques so well that I don't think anything else is necessary for a novice / intermediate.
 
V

Veezy

que?
^^

I also like EZ bar curlz. They get a bad rap, but they do a solid job of working the brachialis muscles.

Honestly though, when it comes to arms, just wait till the end of a work out section and grab something heavy and swing it around.
 
C

Captain Knutsman

Member
A More Normal Bird said:
It sounds serious but sometimes it means nothing more than massaging the area. Judging from your description though it sounds more like the load was putting pressure on and stretching your arm. If the discomfort is severe rest and compress the area, if not just avoid aggravating it. It might begin to disappear as you get more accustomed to the front squat position.

You seem to know what to do for form, just make sure that the bar is right at the tips of your fingers and the weight is on your shoulders, not pulling on any part of your arm. The arms are there to stop the bar rolling around more than holding it. Most people in the know recommend doing front squats in the 5 rep range, as the muscles of the upper back begin to have difficulty maintaining the position earlier than the legs give out. Even if you have great form to start out with things might begin to go wrong without you noticing after 5 sets of 10.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips A More Normal Bird, I will take it into consideration next time I do fronts - I feel a lot less worried now, thanks ;)
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
MrOogieBoogie said:
Too old? You're already doing handstand push-ups, haha. I know plenty of people in their 20s who couldn't do them, assisted or otherwise. Just keep at it, brother man, and I think you'll surprise yourself by how quickly you progress if you just stay focused. :)

Also, really cool video, thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

LeroyPantwether said:
^ I always do my handstand pushups with my stomach/chest/toes facing the wall, not heels. With the back against the wall I find people have a tendency to break form and arch back. (Former gymnast/gymnastics instructor).
Click to expand...

so, the handstand-pushup is officially in my repertoire, I did 4x10 last time. I had no problems going up and down, but the move is really hard on the wrists... something I really don't like considering I play the piano for a living...

in your personal experiences, what part of the body do you guys think is impacted the most? what part of your upper bodies feels the most stimulated after doing the sets? I am trying to assign the move to a particular bodypart but I am not sure, even after reading the wiki article. It's called push-up but it really doesn't work the chest anymore (maybe the upper part of it, a bit?)...after experiencing it myself, I'd say it's primarly a shoulder move but at the end it feels like everything is active. Wikipedia mentions tricep and trapezius...

Sniper McBlaze said:
I've been training for about 2-3 times a week now the past half year. It's mostly been full body training in the gym (a modification of the scheme in this topic) and I'd just want to get some feedback on the result.
Click to expand...

your best bet is to tell everyone what exactly you are doing and then someone can tell you whether you should change something. If you do, pay no mind to assholes trying to bring you down, just take the advice of people in the know, you recognize them because they all have manners and will help you out. Mention your midterm goals too.
 
K

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
New pb in deadlift today, 180 kg (397 lbs) for two sets of one rep. 2xbodyweight, so feels pretty good. Finished up with 5 reps at 150 kgs which pretty much destroyed me.
 
N

Noema

Member
Keen said:
New pb in deadlift today, 180 kg (397 lbs) for two sets of one rep. 2xbodyweight, so feels pretty good. Finished up with 5 reps at 150 kgs which pretty much destroyed me.
Click to expand...

Nice. I'm hoping to hit 2x bodyweight deadlift (450lbish) by late december.
 
D

despire

Member
sphinx said:
I had no problems going up and down, but the move is really hard on the wrists... something I really don't like considering I play the piano for a living...
Click to expand...

Could you use some sort of push up handles so that your wrists are straight? That would eliminate any strain on the wrists.
 
C

Cudder

Member
Something weird happened to me in the gym today.

I was starting off with flat bench press, and for the life of me I could not remember which position my hands are usually in when I lift. :\ The bars at my gym have a couple markings not too far away from each other on both sides, and I honestly couldn't remember where I usually have my hands. Ultimate brain fart, I feel so dumb.
 
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
Any recommendations on microwavable meals that are good for cutting, maybe ones that can be made bulk and microwaved throughout the week?

I'm lazy. Thinking of making a big thing of Shrimp eggwhite foo young but that'd last me a couple days at best and cost like $15 bucks to make at minimum. and only cover one meal
 
N

Noema

Member
FallingEdge said:
Getting big is hard. Just too much food and I feel like shit ;_;
Click to expand...

For sure. Eating is harder than most people think. It's not only the time it takes to prepare said food and clean up afterwards; eating it can be a challenge too. Sometimes I just sit there staring at 8 fried eggs and I'm like "this is fuckin crazy".
 
J

Jason's Ultimatum

Member
So my lower left chest is smaller compared to the right side. Would doing decline bench help the lower left side grow, or is the conventional wisdom is that decline bench is useless? Am I better off doing dips and cable flys (pulling the cables downward like a flex pose?).
 
D

despire

Member
So I'm using PSMF to kickstart my diet. It's just for a few weeks at most and then I'm back with a little more moderate pace.

My question is regarding training. My current cutting routine is this:

Press/Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

Press/Bench 2x5
Deadlift 1x5
Rows

Press/Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

Second sets of five are AMRAP as per GSLP but I can only do 5-6. This is very low volume but is this still too much with a PSMF? I'm mainly worried about squatting twice a week.

Should I still reduce the volume to something like this:

Bench 2x5
Deadlift 1x5
Chins

Press 2x5
Rows
Dips

Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

This would have me squatting only once per week. But is this too little volume? Pressing I put to wednesdays because it's more of a full body movement than bench press.

I've been reading Lyle's exercise advice from the book but it's not really helping..
 
P

Pavaloo

Member
hey guys I've been doing SS for about half a year now, but I did it wrong. I started doing power cleans very late in the game, but I'm fixing that now. Because I did it wrong though, my squat and my deadlift are about the exact same weight. Is this a problem? Or is this going to be a problem? I know my deadlift is supposed to be heavier :/

Edit: Another +1 for "Bulking is tough." I honestly never though eating would become a chore to me till now.
 
M

Mr.City

Member
despire said:
So I'm using PSMF to kickstart my diet. It's just for a few weeks at most and then I'm back with a little more moderate pace.

My question is regarding training. My current cutting routine is this:

Press/Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

Press/Bench 2x5
Deadlift 1x5
Rows

Press/Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

Second sets of five are AMRAP as per GSLP but I can only do 5-6. This is very low volume but is this still too much with a PSMF? I'm mainly worried about squatting twice a week.

Should I still reduce the volume to something like this:

Bench 2x5
Deadlift 1x5
Chins

Press 2x5
Rows
Dips

Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Chins

This would have me squatting only once per week. But is this too little volume? Pressing I put to wednesdays because it's more of a full body movement than bench press.

I've been reading Lyle's exercise advice from the book but it's not really helping..
Click to expand...

You're going to reduce the volume by a lot, like 1/3. I would reduce lifting to twice a week, and be sure to do each lift at least once a week.
 
D

despire

Member
Mr.City said:
You're going to reduce the volume by a lot, like 1/3. I would reduce lifting to twice a week, and be sure to do each lift at least once a week.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would have nothing against twice a week but I'd like to continue going three times with my GF if possible. How should I then program my lifts if I want to go three times a week and do at least squats, deadlift, press, bench and pull-ups?

Just want to be sure I'm doing enough but not too much.
 
H

H3xum

Member
So a few years ago I started keto, did that for a few months and lost a substantial amount of weight (100+lbs). I realized that wasn't a diet I would want to put my body, mostly heart, through for too long so I switched to the paleo diet and have been maintaining on that, fluctuating between a 10lb window while still albeit slowly building my strength back up to what it was before.

However, now I'm trying to be more heart (and digestive system) conscious and want to switch to a whole grain diet. Oats/fruits in the mornings, whole grain carbs, plenty of veges (mostly greens) and lean meats for lunch and dinner.

Does anyone have any experience going from a similar, lower carb high high protein diet to just going whole grains, little dairy/fats and cutting protein intake down drastically?
 
G

grumble

Member
H3xum said:
So a few years ago I started keto, did that for a few months and lost a substantial amount of weight (100+lbs). I realized that wasn't a diet I would want to put my body, mostly heart, through for too long so I switched to the paleo diet and have been maintaining on that, fluctuating between a 10lb window while still albeit slowly building my strength back up to what it was before.

However, now I'm trying to be more heart (and digestive system) conscious and want to switch to a whole grain diet. Oats/fruits in the mornings, whole grain carbs, plenty of veges (mostly greens) and lean meats for lunch and dinner.

Does anyone have any experience going from a similar, lower carb high high protein diet to just going whole grains, little dairy/fats and cutting protein intake down drastically?
Click to expand...

Well, there is some evidence that a high carb intake isn't very good for you, whole grains or not. Make sure that you're choosing a healthy choice. Have you considered a high protein, moderate fat moderate carb diet with lots of veggies and little processed food or sugar? It seems to have good results for a lot of people...
 
S

Szu

Member
MjFrancis said:
Bulking inspiration repost:

http://youtu.be/Byfc6SBqM-w
Click to expand...

It's nice to see Asians represent, but he kinda reminds me of quite a few Asians guys from my gym.

They try to bulk up fast and sacrifice good form in order to push heavy weight. However, I notice that most of them are fairly young (less than 25). Therefore, their metabolism still hasn't peaked.

I know at my age now, eating like that would probably just make me really fat (even if it is for just a few days at a time).
 
Christopher

Christopher

Member
d.jpg


Leaner after running NON STOP every night at least an hour.

It feels so good to take your shirt off with confidence. I was always bigger in my life as a teen/kid so it feels quite good to take your shirt off and not feel liek everyone's staring at you.
 
H

H3xum

Member
grumble said:
Well, there is some evidence that a high carb intake isn't very good for you, whole grains or not. Make sure that you're choosing a healthy choice. Have you considered a high protein, moderate fat moderate carb diet with lots of veggies and little processed food or sugar? It seems to have good results for a lot of people...
Click to expand...

I don't plan on going high carb, but I guess coming from my previous two dates, any amount over 20g a day is high. I'm looking at it from a health standpoint more than a "im craving carbs" standpoint. Fiber is severely lacking and I don't need to go on about the cholesterol skyrocketing foods eaten during keto so I want to implement whole grains in to buck that trend.
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
so much going on now in the thread and I want to talk about so many things myself XD..

well first:

Christopher said:
It feels so good to take your shirt off with confidence. I was always bigger in my life as a teen/kid so it feels quite good to take your shirt off and not feel liek everyone's staring at you.
Click to expand...

Congrats! keep it up.

and now I'll stick to one topic...

those Hanging-Leg raises....man, I just had a revelation...

I am a guy who was doing anything between 350 and 400 crunches 2 o 3 times a week for the last 3 or 4 months but ever since Man (the gaffer with that username) put a link to hanging leg-raises with gifs, I decided to add that kind of exercises to my ab workout. Not because I knew they were better but because crunches were getting a bit boring to be honest. So after a couple of weeks of doing them on and off, not very seriously, yesterday was their "debut".

I did 4 variations, each 4 x 10, 160 lifts all together, being less than half of what I had been doing with the crunches, I thought it would be a good amount of exercise...HOLY SHIT.... my abs are SORE... the last time they were sore, was like 3 months ago and nothing like these I know is common knowledge but its worth to point it out again: DO HANGING LEG RAISES for your abs. It's a whole new level, it really doesn't compare.

I am not sure I can go back to crunches now and it's a bit sad cause I'll miss them lol. This thread has a history of hating regular crunches but I think they have a time and place, besides, is not like anyone can do the hanging leg raises on a whim, takes time to strenghten the body so anyone getting started in fitness and exercises should probably be doing crunches, until back and neck don't hurt and certain endurance is acquired.

tl:dr everybody do HANGING LEG RAISES.
 
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