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[Brolic Gaoler]

Did 3x5 bent over rows at 145 today but I think my form might be off. Do you guys bring the bar up to the chest or the stomach? And pronated or supinated grip?

Lower chest/upper stomach torso should be as parallel to the ground as you can make it, the more you stand the more messed up your form is. Keep pushing your ass out to maintain form. Pronated grip.

Don't sacrifice form for weight on these if you want to maximize your "whole back."

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Lower chest/upper stomach torso should be as parallel to the ground as you can make it, the more you stand the more messed up your form is. Keep pushing your ass out to maintain form. Pronated grip.

Don't sacrifice form for weight on these if you want to maximize your "whole back."

To expand on that, how wide do you guys go on rows?

 

[Demon Ice]

Lower chest/upper stomach torso should be as parallel to the ground as you can make it, the more you stand the more messed up your form is. Keep pushing your ass out to maintain form. Pronated grip.

Don't sacrifice form for weight on these if you want to maximize your "whole back."

Gotcha, thanks! Are your knees bent to the point that the weight touches the ground between every rep or do you just go to full elbow extension?

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

To expand on that, how wide do you guys go on rows?

Go as wide as you need to, to facilitate proper form.

Gotcha, thanks! Are your knees bent to the point that the weight touches the ground between every rep or do you just go to full elbow extension?

Arms should be extended and weight should be on the ground.

 

[cryptic]

Hit the gym today for squats, I could barely do 4 reps of 225 and I've been kind of stuck there for a while.

I'm wondering if it's my shoes because they're completely flat Addidas shell toes and I'm finding myself leaning forward at time's because I can't get a solid feel where Ican just drive through my heels.

I've watched all the videos posted here a few times and I think I'm following all the tips but don't have access to anyone to give me advice so I could be screwing up elsewhere.

I know my knees are weak from working the end of a conveyor belt and having to pivot and crouch all the time; I had to go to rehab because I was wearing away the inner knee. I'm going to try this deadlift to strengthen my inner knee http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBStrBackStiffLegDeadlift.html but I don't know.

Anyone here ever had issues with the squat?

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

Hit the gym today for squats, I could barely do 4 reps of 225 and I've been kind of stuck there for a while.

I'm wondering if it's my shoes because they're completely flat Addidas shell toes and I'm finding myself leaning forward at time's because I can't get a solid feel where Ican just drive through my heels.

I've watched all the videos posted here a few times and I think I'm following all the tips but don't have access to anyone to give me advice so I could be screwing up elsewhere.

I know my knees are weak from working the end of a conveyor belt and having to pivot and crouch all the time; I had to go to rehab because I was wearing away the inner knee. I'm going to try this deadlift to strengthen my inner knee http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBStrBackStiffLegDeadlift.html but I don't know.

Anyone here ever had issues with the squat?

Push with the outsides of your feet, not your heels or your toes, may require a wider stance.

 

[Powercast]

Arms should be extended and weight should be on the ground.

If the weight touches the ground that's more like a Pendlay Row.

 

[Tashi]

Yea I don't let the weight touch the ground when I do bent over rows. I'm not that far bent over. Hand grip is pronated though and I bring the bar to my waist. Bottom of my gut lol.

 

[cryptic]

Push with the outsides of your feet, not your heels or your toes, may require a wider stance.

Oh fuck I thought I was supposed to drive with my heels like in deads so I was widening my stance like in the vids but kept feeling like I was pushing with my outsides so I was wrong. I really wish I had a competent gym in my area where I could train and get good advice, the one I just signed up to a guy was told to quiet down while deadlifting close to 500.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

If the weight touches the ground that's more like a Pendlay Row.

"Pendlay row" is a correctly performed barbell row. The more upright you are the more you're "cheating" and the less you work your entire back.

 

[Powercast]

It may be better but it's not a Bent Over BB row

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

It may be better but it's not a Bent Over BB row

Yes, it is.

But I'm not going to play this kiddy bullshit bickering game with you. So that's all the more I'll say on the subject.

 

[MrToughPants]

Got the Powertec PR-11 power rack as an early xmas present.

1000lbs+ capacity

 

[balddemon]

I just had my first embarassing moment in the gym a couple days ago
all my fault, really.
i was doing bench, just 3x5. 195lbs. get the first 2 sets done easily. then i go to have a little chat with my manager for a minute. end up sitting down to fill out an expense report...what a bad idea. i go back to my bench and for some reason i think i can just do the 3rd set with no problem. 1st rep is hard as hell, and i think to myself that i should rack the bar. nope. halfway up on the 2nd rep i have to stop and lower it to my chest. i'm then forced to roll it off, which hurt like hell. luckily only 195 so i just got it to my waist then sat up, but damn that was stupid.

 

[Petrie]

It may be better but it's not a Bent Over BB row

It sure is a bent over barbell row, that's like saying all the different squat or pullup variations aren't squats or pullups. Claiming otherwise makes you sound incredibly ignorant.

 

[TheFatOne]

GAF I want to become a better basketball player so I'm looking for training advice. Does anyone know of any programs designed for athletes? I'm still going to do SS, but I want to train my agility, endurance, etc, but I don't know where to start.

 

[iddqd]

Much to my surprise, KETO BREATH seems to be a real thing.
My wife is not amused!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/294676-why-does-your-breath-stink-on-low-carb-diets/

How are people dealing with this stuff?
I rather eat rice and have a couple of pounds too many on me then be smelly for the lady.

 

[blackflag]

Hit the gym today for squats, I could barely do 4 reps of 225 and I've been kind of stuck there for a while.

I'm wondering if it's my shoes because they're completely flat Addidas shell toes and I'm finding myself leaning forward at time's because I can't get a solid feel where Ican just drive through my heels.

I've watched all the videos posted here a few times and I think I'm following all the tips but don't have access to anyone to give me advice so I could be screwing up elsewhere.

I know my knees are weak from working the end of a conveyor belt and having to pivot and crouch all the time; I had to go to rehab because I was wearing away the inner knee. I'm going to try this deadlift to strengthen my inner knee http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBStrBackStiffLegDeadlift.html but I don't know.

Anyone here ever had issues with the squat?

Those shoes shouldn't be too bad to squat in. It is what I used from the time I started until I got my Pendlay shoes the other day.

 

[rando14]

GAF I want to become a better basketball player so I'm looking for training advice. Does anyone know of any programs designed for athletes? I'm still going to do SS, but I want to train my agility, endurance, etc, but I don't know where to start.

My friend asked me this a while back as well. For basketball, I'd recommend a lot of leg training, especially in terms of strength and explosiveness. For this, exercises like jump squats, overhead squats, front/back squats, high jumps, etc. will all be useful. I don't really think upperbody strength helps too much with basketball AFAIK (the person who comes to mind with this is Kevin Durant, who is super skinny but obviously super talented), however I'd obviously recommend working out everything proportionally. SS is a great start, maybe try throwing in some explosive leg exercises in there.

Endurance is mostly built from cardio.

 

[rando14]

Much to my surprise, KETO BREATH seems to be a real thing.
My wife is not amused!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/294676-why-does-your-breath-stink-on-low-carb-diets/

How are people dealing with this stuff?
I rather eat rice and have a couple of pounds too many on me then be smelly for the lady.

Yup, ketone bodies are generated in the absence of breakable carbohydrates, gives off that ammonia-type smell. Your body/brain need energy some way or another.

AFAIK the only way to remove this keto-breath is to reduce the creation of ketone bodies, aka more carbs in your diet. B

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

My friend asked me this a while back as well. For basketball, I'd recommend a lot of leg training, especially in terms of strength and explosiveness. For this, exercises like jump squats, overhead squats, front/back squats, high jumps, etc. will all be useful. I don't really think upperbody strength helps too much with basketball AFAIK (the person who comes to mind with this is Kevin Durant, who is super skinny but obviously super talented), however I'd obviously recommend working out everything proportionally. SS is a great start, maybe try throwing in some explosive leg exercises in there.

Endurance is mostly built from cardio.

Working your core and upper body is just as important. Grabbing rebounds, stealing the ball, protecting the ball, posting up, boxing out. All of these require upper body strength and conditioning.

 

[balddemon]

GAF I want to become a better basketball player so I'm looking for training advice. Does anyone know of any programs designed for athletes? I'm still going to do SS, but I want to train my agility, endurance, etc, but I don't know where to start.

to get better at basketball, play basketball. speed ladder drills are good for quickness and footwork. practice sliding side to side, up and down the court, across the paint. there is so much you can do. power cleans, deadlifts, and squats should be your main lifts. you will want to do high reps once you get to a certain strength. for me, when i could squat 315 for 3x5 i started doing high rep stuff on all 3. i'm 6' 190.

seriously though, play basketball. i've played ball 5 or 6 times a week for the last month, and thats what has made me the best, most explosive, leanest i've ever been

and don't forget to work your upper body. although if you're an average person, you ain't gonna be bangin down low anyways so it's not a huge deal

 

[rando14]

Working your core and upper body is just as important. Grabbing rebounds, stealing the ball, protecting the ball, posting up, boxing out. All of these require upper body strength and conditioning.

I agree, and I said that you should work out your whole body. I was just thinking out loud about how some players like KD are excellent players both offensively and defensively and don't seem to have much upper body strength.

 

[balddemon]

I agree, and I said that you should work out your whole body. I was just thinking out loud about how some players like KD are excellent players both offensively and defensively and don't seem to have much upper body strength.

durant couldn't bench 185 when he entered the league. but hes the best scorer playing the game right now.

he's kind of an outlier

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

durant couldn't bench 185 when he entered the league. but hes the best scorer playing the game right now.

he's kind of an outlier

He's a freak man.

 

[rando14]

durant couldn't bench 185 when he entered the league. but hes the best scorer playing the game right now.

he's kind of an outlier

His diet of candy and chicken seem to be working

Also his freakishly long arms lol

 

[Puddles]

Benched 3x5 155 lbs today. I'm 30 lbs away from my goal of benching my body weight, and I've added 60 lbs to my bench since the end of September.

I'm looking pretty good in the mirror, to the point where I think I'd see more marginal benefit from a cutting program to shed some belly and chin fat. I'm not super concerned with bulk unless it's defined bulk, i.e. I don't want to be husky.

How feasible is it to cut fat for a month or two while adding to my current strength levels?

 

[DeadNames]

Uh... Hey fitnessgaf. You might have seen my post about wanting to get out of the "too skinny" zone. I'm 5'11, 140 lbs and swimming every day a week for my school. I was wondering how I can pack on some mass without getting fat. Th-thanks for the h-help guys!

 

[mooooose]

Finished my first month of 5/3/1, started my next month but got off schedule and got mad so I tried to overcompensate but I ended up getting burned out and just doing cardio. Then my ego died when I just looked at my arms and felt unhappy so I did my first "arm" day in like... a year. Since before starting SS. My bis still hurt two days later but I think I might just add more arm work as an accessory (currently doing basically none as accessory because I always felt like bis were pretty worthless to exercise on their own if I can do pullups/rows/chinups).

 

[Puddles]

Just add a few sets of curls to the end of your workout.

 

[DrFurbs]

Here's my leg work out atm and for today. What do you guys think?

3 sets of lunges; 12,10,8 reps
15kg, 20kg, 25kg

4 sets of leg press; 12,10,8 8
150 kg, 200kg, 250kg, 300kg
Then pyramid down the same way for a total of 76reps.

Finally the finish on squat 4 sets
8 reps 60kg, 80kg,100kg, 120kg

 

[despire]

So while trying to figure out some possible tweaks to my routine now that I'm upping my calories on my cut (+20%/-40%), I've been reading Berkhan's article on RPT.

4 day split (lifting 3x week) to give each of the main lifts their own day. Currently I'm doing presses and squats in the same day and I think my squats are getting a slight hit from the presses since I contract my quads so hard with heavy presses. At least my quads are always pretty sore from lactic acid after pressing. This set up wouldn't have me do every exercise within one week but the whole cycle would be more like 8-9 days. Would this be ok?

Monday
Deadlift RPT
Rows 3x5

Wednesday
Bench RPT
Dips RPT

Friday
Squat RPT
Hanging Leg Raises 4x8-12

Monday
Press RPT
Chin-ups/Pull-ups RPT

etc...



So this is what I came up with. I like dips so I figured I could do them after benching if I do rows after deadlifting. I couldn't figure out any assistance for squats/legs that I'd like to do and I figured some abdominal work would probably be ok and not too rough of CNS. Of course I had to put chin-ups somewhere so I put them after pressing like in 5/3/1 BBB.

Here's a link to a more detailed description:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/19470610/RPT.pdf

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated

 

[skynidas]

Uh... Hey fitnessgaf. You might have seen my post about wanting to get out of the "too skinny" zone. I'm 5'11, 140 lbs and swimming every day a week for my school. I was wondering how I can pack on some mass without getting fat. Th-thanks for the h-help guys!

Get on a high carb- low fat diet and start lifting weights. Things you can eat: beans, eggs, pasta, potato (a lot), rice, meat, whole grain bread, etc.

On the lifting weights side of things I can't help you much. But I'm sure a lot of people here can give you some advice on how to start and what routines to follow.

edit: oh btw, how old are you?

 

[despire]

Here's my leg work out atm and for today. What do you guys think?

3 sets of lunges; 12,10,8 reps
15kg, 20kg, 25kg

4 sets of leg press; 12,10,8 8
150 kg, 200kg, 250kg, 300kg
Then pyramid down the same way for a total of 76reps.

Finally the finish on squat 4 sets
8 reps 60kg, 80kg,100kg, 120kg

Why are leg presses before squats? Squats should be the primary exercise and leg press just an assistance. Can't imagine you have any energy left to squat after 76 reps of leg presses.

 

[Powercast]

It sure is a bent over barbell row, that's like saying all the different squat or pullup variations aren't squats or pullups. Claiming otherwise makes you sound incredibly ignorant.

Well you are right, on a pendlay row you are bent over lol, but what do you call the other variation then? I was just saying that most people associate the Bent Over Row with the other variation of row and not the Pendlay one. And no there's not a "right one".

 

[DeadNames]

Get on a high carb- low fat diet and start lifting weights. Things you can eat: beans, eggs, pasta, potato (a lot), rice, meat, whole grain bread, etc.

On the lifting weights side of things I can't help you much. But I'm sure a lot of people here can give you some advice on how to start and what routines to follow.

edit: oh btw, how old are you?

I'm 16.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

Another successful linear progression with 3x3 for bench press, added another kilo for 78kg total and made sure my butt was on the bench for that last rep.

Bench press is a bitch, otherwise I'm doing great with Starting Strength, squat at 125kg and deadlift at 136kg.

 

[Tashi]

Much to my surprise, KETO BREATH seems to be a real thing.
My wife is not amused!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/294676-why-does-your-breath-stink-on-low-carb-diets/

How are people dealing with this stuff?
I rather eat rice and have a couple of pounds too many on me then be smelly for the lady.

Don't sweat it, I'm sure she can take your stank Keto breath for a little bit while you lose some weight. She is your wife after all. It sucked when I was on a Keto diet but I would say the weight I lost was worth it.

 

[kylej]

If I could take a pill that made my legs look muscular and balanced without having to workout I would. Upper body is enjoyable. Leg day is misery.

 

[skynidas]

I'm 16.

I see, I was suspecting that you were young. When I was 16 I was also a little too skinny, things have changed, I just needed some years for my body to develop more.

My advice to you would be to eat good, the things that I told you before, and start exercising but don't expect a huge difference to happen. You probably have a really high metabolism, just give it some years and your body will start to change, in the meantime lift some weights and do that diet.

 

[Poindexter]

If I could take a pill that made my legs look muscular and balanced without having to workout I would. Upper body is enjoyable. Leg day is misery.

I was this way too until I learned to love the leg day stress. I love feeling like I'm completely done but still being able to pump out another set. You can push yourself much farther on leg exercises and that's the addiction. Squats give me those f- yeah moments more than any other exercise.

 

[_Isaac]

I was this way too until I learned to love the leg day stress. I love feeling like I'm completely done but still being able to pump out another set. You can push yourself much farther on leg exercises and that's the addiction. Squats give me those f- yeah moments more than any other exercise.

I completely agree. I felt good on leg day. Like I had accomplished something. It was the other body exercises that made me feel like crap.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Stolen from Fitocracy on FB:

Two exercises to do for the rest of your life. What are they and why?

I'm thinking Deadlifts and full Burpee pushups. Still thinking about it, though. I'd miss squats... :/

 

[Doodis]

I just had my first embarassing moment in the gym a couple days ago
all my fault, really.
i was doing bench, just 3x5. 195lbs. get the first 2 sets done easily. then i go to have a little chat with my manager for a minute. end up sitting down to fill out an expense report...what a bad idea. i go back to my bench and for some reason i think i can just do the 3rd set with no problem. 1st rep is hard as hell, and i think to myself that i should rack the bar. nope. halfway up on the 2nd rep i have to stop and lower it to my chest. i'm then forced to roll it off, which hurt like hell. luckily only 195 so i just got it to my waist then sat up, but damn that was stupid.

Had a similar moment about a month ago. Was doing my last set of squats and was at the bottom of a rep. I lost my balance and fell forward. The support bars weren't up high enough (stupid mistake) and I jacked my back up pretty bad when the weight curled me over. Pretty embarrassing and painful, plus I had to take time off for my back to heal.

 

[_Isaac]

Wow that sounds pretty dangerous. So if you're alone and have no spotter, would it be better to replace the bench press with some dumbbells instead?

 

[DrFurbs]

Why are leg presses before squats? Squats should be the primary exercise and leg press just an assistance. Can't imagine you have any energy left to squat after 76 reps of leg presses.

Try it. I have plenty of gas left. Its good to shake it up and shock them muscles into growth. Btw Dorian Yates used leg press as his primary leg exercise (IIRC)

 

[Enco]

Stolen from Fitocracy on FB:

Two exercises to do for the rest of your life. What are they and why?

I'm thinking Deadlifts and full Burpee pushups. Still thinking about it, though. I'd miss squats... :/

Curls and the yes/no machine.

Spoiler

I love pull ups and the overhead press

 

[Demon Ice]

Wow that sounds pretty dangerous. So if you're alone and have no spotter, would it be better to replace the bench press with some dumbbells instead?

That's what I do. I never do barbell bench without a spotter. Way too paranoid about getting trapped under the bar.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Curls and the yes/no machine.

Spoiler

I love pull ups and the overhead press

No leg work? Yikes.

 

[Enco]

No leg work? Yikes.

http://i.imgur.com/2W7jD.jpg[/IMG ][/QUOTE]
Those are my favorite exercises.

I do leg work but I don't enjoy it. However I do admit that my legs are kinda lacking. Trying to make up for it these days.