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Fitness |OT6| Defying gravity, Quest madness, and Muscle Shaming
- Thread starter SquiddyCracker
- Start date
- Status
Hey StartingStrength-GAF, I'm wondering how common it is that Overhead Presses are the hardest of the barbell exercises for any of you when you started out. I've been doing well with my gains on everything but Overhead Presses. They fucking slay me. Is this normal?
Yes, by far the most difficult compound lift to progress in in regards to SS
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
They are very hard, but quickly became my favorite lift. Feels like pure power when you get it happening. A beautiful thing. Mine's about 1/2 of my squat after months and months, that's just the way it goes.
LOL
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Posting in new thread to subscribe.
I was hoping it would get to appear in normal Off-Topic for a while before going back to Community.
I was hoping it would get to appear in normal Off-Topic for a while before going back to Community.
Hockeylover01
Banned
For me it is the hardest. But like other people have said, it feels so good when you finish it!
And having Shogun around doesn't help anyone feel any better either. :-(
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I did consider that, but I didn't want to risk mod rage
I'm going to create an OT thread linking back here though.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Have you tried P90x? Also, if you're really serious, they're a variant called P90x Insanity. Shit's cray
I am going to watch this video before going to the gym now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPd1dgCa6kY
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I am going to watch this video before going to the gym now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPd1dgCa6kY
Motivation motherfucker.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I am merely a fisherman trying to catch some inquisitive fishes with my OT fitness bait, so I can throw them into the barrel that is Fitness OT.
In case anyone's interested, CT Fletcher throwing together an indiegogo (to fund a delayed filming as a result of his open-heart surgery):
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ct-fletcher-s-massterplan-project
A
A More Normal Bird
Unconfirmed Member
Good work on the OP Squiddy. I do have a few suggestions though:
- Get rid of the section about myofibrillar vs sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The reasons being that the idea that lifting weights makes you bulky and unfunctional is to some degree already covered, many people often complain about the OP being too technical and overwhelming and last but not least, the entire concept is far from proven.
- If you can, I think you should add an opening paragraph on why strength training is important/the focus of this thread. Strength being the font from which other athletic abilities flow, most room for improvement, easily tracked, bone and connective tissue density and other 'anti-ageing' properties etc...
As it is, it kind of launches straight into it with "what is weightlfiting?" For someone who thinks that they need to do P90 to obtain maximum functionality or that lifting weights is only for bros that want to get swole it may just reinforce perceptions.
Um, well a few thoughts turned out to be two. Once again, good work!
- Get rid of the section about myofibrillar vs sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The reasons being that the idea that lifting weights makes you bulky and unfunctional is to some degree already covered, many people often complain about the OP being too technical and overwhelming and last but not least, the entire concept is far from proven.
- If you can, I think you should add an opening paragraph on why strength training is important/the focus of this thread. Strength being the font from which other athletic abilities flow, most room for improvement, easily tracked, bone and connective tissue density and other 'anti-ageing' properties etc...
As it is, it kind of launches straight into it with "what is weightlfiting?" For someone who thinks that they need to do P90 to obtain maximum functionality or that lifting weights is only for bros that want to get swole it may just reinforce perceptions.
Um, well a few thoughts turned out to be two. Once again, good work!
The different tiers are hilarious.
If I had the spare cash I'd go for the 1 hour training session. Could you imagine him screaming at you to grow for an hour?
SpaceBridge
Member
I'm really happy there are other novices starting SS.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
Thanks for the input, I've already implemented some of them.
I'm leaving the myo vs sarc stuff for now until I've read up more on it, but you are right in that it might be superfluous information.
I actually had a little foreword paragraph, but it looks like it got lost in the creation of the OT - so that's added as well.
BronzeWolf
Banned
Keto fog is hitting heavy again! DDDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAARN
SquiddyCracker
Banned
Oh, man, if I was in the US I'd jump on that tier with no hesitation.
One session with him would be crazy motivational.
35 here.
HisshouBuraiKen
Member
Some of you guys who are not beasts like our patron thread saints but fairly average like me may find my little story inspirational (I know I do):
Recently we've been taking my 19 month old son (I'm 31, 32 in November btw) to a nearby park as a tactic to wear him out about an hour before bedtime. My fellow dads you know what I'm talking about Anyways, last time he saw the bars on the playground, made the connection between the one in our garage, and started saying "Puwwup, puwwup!"
"That's right, pullup bar! How many should daddy do?"
"TWO!" (It's the only number he knows hehe)
So I go and bang out two pullups. Then I have to do TWO again. Then another TWO. This repeats quite a few times until he realizes the jumping up is funny, so now I have to do about 20 vertical leaps before he finally notices the swings and I get a break.
Now like I said, I'm not any kind of super guy but just statistically, most people out there don't do anything at all to take care of themselves and might not even be able to jump up and make the grab. But lately, if I have a shit workout or just feel like my lifts are weak compared to other people, I remind myself that hey, at least my kid will never be disappointed that his dad would rather wave him off and just sit on a bench. I'm a father and it's my job to be the dancing monkey!
Recently we've been taking my 19 month old son (I'm 31, 32 in November btw) to a nearby park as a tactic to wear him out about an hour before bedtime. My fellow dads you know what I'm talking about
Anyways, last time he saw the bars on the playground, made the connection between the one in our garage, and started saying "Puwwup, puwwup!" "That's right, pullup bar! How many should daddy do?"
"TWO!" (It's the only number he knows hehe)
So I go and bang out two pullups. Then I have to do TWO again. Then another TWO. This repeats quite a few times until he realizes the jumping up is funny, so now I have to do about 20 vertical leaps before he finally notices the swings and I get a break.
Now like I said, I'm not any kind of super guy but just statistically, most people out there don't do anything at all to take care of themselves and might not even be able to jump up and make the grab. But lately, if I have a shit workout or just feel like my lifts are weak compared to other people, I remind myself that hey, at least my kid will never be disappointed that his dad would rather wave him off and just sit on a bench. I'm a father and it's my job to be the dancing monkey!
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I COMMAND FITGAF TO GROW!
I'm less than 24 hours from my carb up, I've had a total of 201g of carbs since Sunday, my body is adjusting but I feel so odd. I eat a meal and almost immediately I'm hungry again like my body is saying "forgot something?" hard to explain you feel like you have a lump in your throat. I have to eat some cottage cheese & a wrap in a minute to hit my protein needs, running a bit low for today but it was day off from the gym.
I like the diet though, because it's teaching me how much harder it is to take the weight off than put it on. I'll never let myself go again.
I like the diet though, because it's teaching me how much harder it is to take the weight off than put it on. I'll never let myself go again.
I dieted down to like 9% from the mid to high teens on UD2. It was the leanest I've ever been. Your carb up starts Thursday night after intense workout?
are you using an EC stack? That made it so much easier for me appetite wise. Also I used yohimbine hcl plus caffeine on wed or thurs morning for fasted cardio (walking on incline treadmill). Cardio on Sunday evening to help me lose some water weight from the carb up helped too
Spiritreaver
Member
Oh, I'm 27.
Damn, I don't think I have the willpower to get sub 10s, I started at 16% and would love to be around 11%. How long did it take you?
Yup, from Thursday evening to Friday evening, it's about to be ON!
That just took 8 weeks I think, maybe 7
The only thing keeping me from doing it again is it makes it so hard to be sociable. You can hardly eat normal meals with anyone. Even on the carb ups you're eating crazy.
I know it's only going to get harder starting next week, that power day followed by a depletion workout only 2 days later has me scared lol.
I'm supposed to go on vacation with my family and I'm trying to imagine how I can make this work considering all the food they will be eating.
The depletion workouts get easier. When is your vacation? I would switch to low carb maintenance for that and then go back to UD2. It would be so hard to do that on vacation, I can't imagine.
The power days are the most fun of the whole program. You'll feel like superman, loaded up on all those carbs
BlueScrote
Member
Man, what a great set of OPs.
I'm relieved to hear they get easier, I was expecting it to get worse but I guess the carb up is really a big life saver.
They are going next week, I'm undecided on whether I'll be going though so in the end it may just work out. I'm trying to figure out what to eat tomorrow night and part of me says to get some pizza & a salad, but I don't want to take a step back.
Pizza? Pretty high in fat, no? I wouldn't recommend that. Spaghetti and marinara would be good though.
Starphoenix
Member
My fitness routine consists of a Total Gym, push ups and trying to manage my diet better. For the most part I really have no major qualms with my body. Do want to strengthen my upper torso since I'm a little thin for my liking and have suffered back spasms in the past, but that's about all. Not sure if what i do is enough to achieve that goal. Trying to get some dumb bells in the future, but not sure whether to look for something specific, or if Walmart brand is good enough?
fredrancour
Member
I have twice had back spasms severe enough that I couldn't stand, both during times where I was not in good shape. While I normally do compound barbell lifts like squats and deadlifts as my main things, here are the extra things I frequently do to assist the weaker parts of my back.
Does a total gym have a rowing motion? Those make my back feel pretty good.I'm thinking of this motion. It's one I've used. Focus on keeping your back straight and shoulder blades tight.
Or maybe a reverse-fly movement?
dumbbells: brand doesn't matter as long as the weight is enough for you. Odds are that a adjustable set would be be better long term than a 12-pound pair of colorful neoprene ones. You'd buy a single pair and find that after a week or two of consistent use they are too light for you. I don't mean "if you wanted to get ripped and massive you should move up fast;" an adjustment like that is a natural thing that will happen even without any special diet or plan for progress.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Great thread, Squiddy. Very approachable!
I'm doing pretty good at increasing my protein intake these past few weeks and, as such, seem to be having an easier time recovering and not getting worn out so much. It's very encouraging to find things getting easier and to be able to add weight or do more reps. I'm 173 pounds and I managed to get up to 136g of protein today so I was pretty happy with that!
My question is regarding supplements. As a totally humble noob it's hard to know what to trust. Just like with weight loss there's a million people with a million studies and they all seem to make good sense. I see in the OP that I should, in fact, be taking the supplements I have. I've read in other places that your body doesn't actually absorb stuff in pill form very efficiently and that it's pretty pointless.
I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but is there a legit (science-based) place I can go to find answers to questions like this? I have a bunch of stuff but I sort of stopped taking them in favor of trying to hit my goals as much as possible by food alone. I track everything in MFP but I'm sure there's probably tons of things that MFP doesn't track that I'm deficient in.
Thanks again, guys.
I'm doing pretty good at increasing my protein intake these past few weeks and, as such, seem to be having an easier time recovering and not getting worn out so much. It's very encouraging to find things getting easier and to be able to add weight or do more reps. I'm 173 pounds and I managed to get up to 136g of protein today so I was pretty happy with that!
My question is regarding supplements. As a totally humble noob it's hard to know what to trust. Just like with weight loss there's a million people with a million studies and they all seem to make good sense. I see in the OP that I should, in fact, be taking the supplements I have. I've read in other places that your body doesn't actually absorb stuff in pill form very efficiently and that it's pretty pointless.
I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but is there a legit (science-based) place I can go to find answers to questions like this? I have a bunch of stuff but I sort of stopped taking them in favor of trying to hit my goals as much as possible by food alone. I track everything in MFP but I'm sure there's probably tons of things that MFP doesn't track that I'm deficient in.
Thanks again, guys.
Supplements to trust:
Protein
Creatine
MAYBE bcaas (but I'm not a fan)
You can throw everything else in the toilet
HisshouBuraiKen
Member
No fish oils?
Horseycuffs - Read these:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/supplements-part-1.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/supplements-part-2.html
Fish oil is cool but I prefer to get my omega 3's in my food (flax, walnuts etc).
That's not really a bodybuilding supplement though, more just a general health kinda thing
Starphoenix
Member
Yes, TG does support rowing motions. Actually part of my routine I use. Whatever I do has certainly helped since I haven't had any issues with my back, which is partly because of work I used to do. Just when you're 23 and having off and on back problems that's a little concerning, to say the least.
As for dumbbells, any advice on what weight to go for? I've been able to move on 25lbs with heavy resistance, but enough to keep form.
Nice. Are you following some sort of programming or are you doing it more by ear?
25lb of muscle is probably impossible, but 25lb of lean body mass is probably doable though. Lean Body mass includes bone and connective tissue, and that also adapts to training.
I'm 34
No specific program. Just taking my time getting familiar with the lift again. Doing 5x5 with progressing weight. I'm pretty sure I can pull about 425-450 for one but I'm not even close to attempting a 1RM at this point.
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