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[BlueTsunami]

I googled the pharse, found that image, and fired one off. u mad?

Dear...god. Heres the original larger version...

 

[Captain Glanton]

Dear...god. Heres the original larger version...

Don't tease me. I'm skipping my squat workout for the second Sunday in a row today

Spoiler

Shitty knee is shitty.

 

[beelzebozo]

i postulate that there will come a day when my knees will give. not gradually wearing away, mind you, but just suddenly one of my kneecaps will explode while i'm running and i'll be like an air force pilot whose wings have been summarily robbed of him :/

that said, this is the future, baby, and i feel assured that scientists will be able to just graft on a piece of metal that will replace and one-up the bottom half of my leg that i've used for so long.

we have the technology.

. . . we can rebuild him.

 

[Christopher]

ugh I overdid my calves again...FUCK

 

[BlueTsunami]

i postulate that there will come a day when my knees will give. not gradually wearing away, mind you, but just suddenly one of my kneecaps will explode while i'm running and i'll be like an air force pilot whose wings have been summarily robbed of him :/

that said, this is the future, baby, and i feel assured that scientists will be able to just graft on a piece of metal that will replace and one-up the bottom half of my leg that i've used for so long.

we have the technology.

. . . we can rebuild him.

Someday I think I would welcome such an injury. Get some "Ghost in the Shell" type of cyborg knee replacement. Would be awesome

 

[Jirotrom]

ugh I overdid my calves again...FUCK

FUCK! really? I can never over do calves I try and try and I can't do anything to them, what do you do for your calves?

 

[BlueTsunami]

FUCK! really? I can never over do calves I try and try and I can't do anything to them, what do you do for your calves?

I know your asking Chris but do Donkey Raises (if your gym has the right machine with weights)

 

[Jirotrom]

I know your asking Chris but do Donkey Raises (if your gym has the right machine with weights)

what are those? Its pretty annoying, a few years back I got to the point of leg pressing 9 45s on each side of the machine but My calves never gained an inch.

This is all while doing calf raises, and that machine that you sit down at and put weights ontop to raise and the rotary calf machine

 

[BlueTsunami]

what are those?

Its the same Calve Raising machine but instead the pad used goes against your lower back and you get a much better extension.

Heres a GIF of it...

As far as Leg Presses go, unless your somehow flexing your calves with the Leg Presses, your calves shouldn't be worked at all. Now with the correct machine (or even jus putting a weight on your thigh and raising your calves), you should get a great workout for that area.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Its the same Calve Raising machine but instead the pad used goes against your lower back and you get a much better extension.

Heres a GIF of it...

As far as Leg Presses go, unless your somehow flexing your calves with the Leg Presses, your calves shouldn't be worked at all. Now with the correct machine (or even jus putting a weight on your thigh and raising your calves), you should get a great workout for that area.

Quoted for posterity.

For calves, I can't say often enough that you should try running sprints up a long, steep hill. Good stuff.

 

[Jirotrom]

Quoted for posterity.

For calves, I can't say often enough that you should try running sprints up a long, steep hill. Good stuff.

yea... its one of my focuses... im going to start dedicating a day out of my week to calf exercises.

 

[Uncooked]

:lol nice linking.

Anyways I have the same problem with calves. Honestly I have pretty much given up, I have tried everything and the gains over the past couple years have been extremely minimal.

 

[demon]

:lol nice linking.

Anyways I have the same problem with calves. Honestly I have pretty much given up, I have tried everything and the gains over the past couple years have been extremely minimal.

ditto.

 

[BlueTsunami]

:lol nice linking.

Anyways I have the same problem with calves. Honestly I have pretty much given up, I have tried everything and the gains over the past couple years have been extremely minimal.

;_;

Fricken site. But do Donkey Raises! Even though Calves are very hard to develop if you've got no meat on em'.

 

[Uncooked]

;_;

Fricken site. But do Donkey Raises! Even though Calves are very hard to develop if you've got no meat on em'.

Yeah, I have done donkey raises. I have spent a lot of time looking into building calf muscles, but I am being dead serious that nothing works. It is quite annoying.

 

[Jirotrom]

;_;

Fricken site. But do Donkey Raises! Even though Calves are very hard to develop if you've got no meat on em'.

i need a picture of this or vid? Im afraid to search because of what I may find...

EDIT: found one, I dont have a machine like that, but I'll check the campus gym.

EDIT 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__zn6c-oFBs&NR=1 Im gonna do this, and have my GF help me.

 

[YYZ]

Question about shoulder press.

When the bar is at its lowest position (on the shoulders), are the elbows supposed to be sticking out forward while the wrists are bent back (palms facing up holding the bar)? I find this position very difficult and awkward to press from because my wrists are bent back.

 

[Chichikov]

Question about shoulder press.

When the bar is at its lowest position (on the shoulders), are the elbows supposed to be sticking out forward while the wrists are bent back (palms facing up holding the bar)? I find this position very difficult and awkward to press from because my wrists are bent back.

Elbows are supposed to be forward, but it's not super important to keep them as high as in the clean.
Try to keep them as high as you're comfortable with; unless you have bad wrists, the discomfort you should go away as your flexibility improves.

 

[MrToughPants]

Elbows are supposed to be forward, but it's not super important to keep them as high as in the clean.
Try to keep them as high as you're comfortable with; unless you have bad wrists, the discomfort you should go away as your flexibility improves.

That's a military press. Shoulder press grip is wider with your biceps almost parallel to the bar.

 

[Chichikov]

That's a military press. Shoulder press grip is wider with your biceps almost parallel to the bar.

I know this is a question of terminology, but AFIAK military press means heels together and strict shoulder angel (close to 90 degrees from the bar).
But regardless of its name, I believe that having your biceps parallel to the bar on the press is problematic as it puts unnecessary stress on the shoulders, make it hard to keep proper form, and actually result in shorter displacement of the bar, making the press less effective.

 

[MrToughPants]

I know this is a question of terminology, but AFIAK military press means heels together and strict shoulder angel (close to 90 degrees from the bar).
But regardless of its name, I believe that having your biceps parallel to the bar on the press is problematic as it puts unnecessary stress on the shoulders, make it hard to keep proper form, and actually result in shorter displacement of the bar, making the press less effective.

Yea that's right. MP shortens the head while shoulder press elongates it which puts more stress on the rotator cuffs.

The second part might be due to weak rotator cuffs which shoulder press and behind the neck press should address. I've been doing both for years so I have never had any problems.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Chichikov is right. Regardless of your foot position, you should have your shoulder in front of the bar, though not as pronounced as the clean rack position. Not doing this puts a LOT of stress on the shoulders, especially as weight gets heavy. With 225+ pounds in the incorrect rack position, the only thing keeping it in place is the shoulders. Elbows out allows the weight to be supported on top of the shoulders and body.

Watch these. All of them:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressBasicPositions.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressInstruction1.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressInstruction2.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressInstruction3.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressPostureQuestion.mov


Specific to elbows:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipWeightedPress1.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipWeightedPress2.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipWeightedPress3.mov

 

[Anton Sugar]

Dear...god. Heres the original larger version...

Mine's bigger.

 

[Jirotrom]

Mine's bigger.

your avvy is so perfect for this pic.

 

[MrToughPants]

Chichikov is right. Regardless of your foot position, you should have your shoulder in front of the bar, though not as pronounced as the clean rack position. Not doing this puts a LOT of stress on the shoulders, especially as weight gets heavy. With 225+ pounds in the incorrect rack position, the only thing keeping it in place is the shoulders. Elbows out allows the weight to be supported on top of the shoulders and body.

Watch these. All of them:

The links don't work.

I was pointing out the difference between the two lifts. :lol

Question about shoulder press.

military press (shoulders pointing in)

seated shoulder press (shoulders pointing out)

 

[Chichikov]

I don't want to split hairs on terminology, I'm just stating my opinion on what is the best way to perform the shoulder press.
As for the images, I'm really not a fan of sitting presses (or pretty much sitting anything) so I can't specifically comment on them, but I found out that a shoulder position somewhere between those two images (probably a bit closer to the military press one) works best for me.

 

[YYZ]

Doesn't the standing military press have the feet together as well whereas the regular press is ~shoulder width foot position?


Thanks for the videos snrubs.

 

[Kastro]

So hey, what's the deal with sushi? Is it bad for you in any way? It's got lots of white rice, and I'm pretty sure that's not great for keeping the fat off. I ask because all of a sudden I've had a crave for sushi and I don't know when it's going to go away.

how about eating real sushi? the kind that's just raw fish and not made with rice.

 

[Mr.City]

What's the general impression about advice from Men's Health?

 

[YYZ]

The ones made with rice I call rolls or sushi. The 'just meat' variety is called "sashimi", which is my favourite.

 

[YYZ]

What's the general impression about advice from Men's Health?

I don't like these magazines, I used to read this and Men's Fitness, but now I just read FitnessRX which is a publication that I would categorize as a secondary source of scientific articles. The authors, all pretty highly credentialed, look at the latest scientific studies related to weightlifting and nutrition and basically review them. You probably won't find this at every store like Men's Health or Men's Fitness.

Men's Health and Men's Fitness have degraded almost to the level of lad mags imo.

 

[Jirotrom]

I don't like these magazines, I used to read this and Men's Fitness, but now I just read FitnessRX which is a publication that I would categorize as a secondary source of scientific articles. The authors, all pretty highly credentialed, look at the latest scientific studies related to weightlifting and nutrition and basically review them. You probably won't find this at every store like Men's Health or Men's Fitness.

Men's Health and Men's Fitness have degraded almost to the level of lad mags imo.

My favorite mag... Ive been reading it ever since the first... they do such a great job.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

OK guys, I've resolved to do what I've been meaning to do since I was thirteen and get myself into shape. I'm currently trying to get rid of the gut, love handles and manboobs while simultaneously increasing the size of my arms and shoulders. I'd also like a V-shaped torso and a stronger back.

I currently weigh 75kg at 178cm tall. If I lost all the fat from my torso, I'd be about as skinny as Barack Obama although I do have reasonably thick legs (esp. calf muscles). Basically, the bottom half is strong, the top half is weak and the middle is flabby.

The steps I'm taking:

******************************
Diet:

- Breakfast:- 100g of Corn Flakes with reduced-fat milk and a banana
- Morning snack:- Another piece of fruit (or two)
- Lunch:- 150g meat/fish/chicken portion with a salad (supermarket salad mix, tomato and cucumber) and a slice of toast
- Afternoon snack:- ??? (please suggest something cheap and readily available in terms of low fat protein)
- Dinner:- 250g portion of meat and vegetables

Exercise (The bit I need the most help with):

- Monday to Friday:- 2 x 20 minute brisk walks

- Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday :- 3 x 25 sit-ups, 3 x 10 bench press, 3 x 10 tricep pushups, 3 x 10 curls (each arm), 3 x 10 I-forget-what-they're-called-but-they-exercise-your-lats (same action as a rowing machine, if that helps)

******************************

What I need are suggestions as to what to do about the afternoon snack as well as tips on what to change vis a vis the exercise routine, since I'm almost certain I'm doing it wrong. Can anyone help?

Please note that I have bad knees, so low impact exercise is essential. Also, the only exercise equipment I own are an exercise mat, an adjustable benchpress, a barbell and a pair of dumbells.

 

[Captain Glanton]

Mine's bigger.

STOP TAUNTING ME.


Squirrel, I'll do you tomorrow. I need to read and sleep.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Squirrel, I'll do you tomorrow. I need to read and sleep.

Cool. Tonight I'll be resting anyhow.

 

[Chichikov]

OK guys, I've resolved to do what I've been meaning to do since I was thirteen and get myself into shape. I'm currently trying to get rid of the gut, love handles and manboobs while simultaneously increasing the size of my arms and shoulders. I'd also like a V-shaped torso and a stronger back.

I currently weigh 75kg at 178cm tall. If I lost all the fat from my torso, I'd be about as skinny as Barack Obama although I do have reasonably thick legs (esp. calf muscles). Basically, the bottom half is strong, the top half is weak and the middle is flabby.

The steps I'm taking:

******************************
Diet:

- Breakfast:- 100g of Corn Flakes with reduced-fat milk and a banana
- Morning snack:- Another piece of fruit (or two)
- Lunch:- 150g meat/fish/chicken portion with a salad (supermarket salad mix, tomato and cucumber) and a slice of toast
- Afternoon snack:- ??? (please suggest something cheap and readily available in terms of low fat protein)
- Dinner:- 250g portion of meat and vegetables

Exercise (The bit I need the most help with):

- Monday to Friday:- 2 x 20 minute brisk walks

- Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday :- 3 x 25 sit-ups, 3 x 10 bench press, 3 x 10 tricep pushups, 3 x 10 curls (each arm), 3 x 10 I-forget-what-they're-called-but-they-exercise-your-lats (same action as a rowing machine, if that helps)

******************************

What I need are suggestions as to what to do about the afternoon snack as well as tips on what to change vis a vis the exercise routine, since I'm almost certain I'm doing it wrong. Can anyone help?

Please note that I have bad knees, so low impact exercise is essential. Also, the only exercise equipment I own are an exercise mat, an adjustable benchpress, a barbell and a pair of dumbells.

Your diet looks reasonable to me, I would probably change the cornflakes to something with a higher fiber content, but 178/75 is pretty decent, so you probably don't need to drastically change anything.

Your training regime I would change a bit more -
20 minutes walk is pretty weak for cardio, I would seriously consider upping the intensity. If your main goal is weight loss and you're short on time, HIIT provide a very cost effective option.

As for your strength training, you're ignoring your biggest muscle groups -
So first and foremost I would add squats and deallifts to your training, note that you will need a barbell rack for the squat, do you have access to one?

I would also recommend you do some shoulder presses and if you know how some power cleans.

Other then that, I would change the triceps pushups (or at least augment them) with skull crushers and add pull ups. if you're running out of time/energy, just reduce the number of biceps curls you're doing, 3 a week is a lot.

 

[Mr.City]

I don't like these magazines, I used to read this and Men's Fitness, but now I just read FitnessRX which is a publication that I would categorize as a secondary source of scientific articles. The authors, all pretty highly credentialed, look at the latest scientific studies related to weightlifting and nutrition and basically review them. You probably won't find this at every store like Men's Health or Men's Fitness.

Men's Health and Men's Fitness have degraded almost to the level of lad mags imo.

lad mags?

 

[SuperAndroid17]

Your diet looks reasonable to me, I would probably change the cornflakes to something with a higher fiber content, but 178/75 is pretty decent, so you probably don't need to drastically change anything.

Your training regime I would change a bit more -
20 minutes walk is pretty weak for cardio, I would seriously consider upping the intensity. If your main goal is weight loss and you're short on time, HIIT provide a very cost effective option.

As for your strength training, you're ignoring your biggest muscle groups -
So first and foremost I would add squats and deallifts to your training, note that you will need a barbell rack for the squat, do you have access to one?

I would also recommend you do some shoulder presses and if you know how some power cleans.

Other then that, I would change the triceps pushups (or at least augment them) with skull crushers and add pull ups. if you're running out of time/energy, just reduce the number of biceps curls you're doing, 3 a week is a lot.

Could you explain HIIT a little further? Whats that mean?

 

[Christopher]

OK guys, I've resolved to do what I've been meaning to do since I was thirteen and get myself into shape. I'm currently trying to get rid of the gut, love handles and manboobs while simultaneously increasing the size of my arms and shoulders. I'd also like a V-shaped torso and a stronger back.

I currently weigh 75kg at 178cm tall. If I lost all the fat from my torso, I'd be about as skinny as Barack Obama although I do have reasonably thick legs (esp. calf muscles). Basically, the bottom half is strong, the top half is weak and the middle is flabby.

The steps I'm taking:

******************************
Diet:

- Breakfast:- 100g of Corn Flakes with reduced-fat milk and a banana
- Morning snack:- Another piece of fruit (or two)
- Lunch:- 150g meat/fish/chicken portion with a salad (supermarket salad mix, tomato and cucumber) and a slice of toast
- Afternoon snack:- ??? (please suggest something cheap and readily available in terms of low fat protein)
- Dinner:- 250g portion of meat and vegetables

Exercise (The bit I need the most help with):

- Monday to Friday:- 2 x 20 minute brisk walks

- Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday :- 3 x 25 sit-ups, 3 x 10 bench press, 3 x 10 tricep pushups, 3 x 10 curls (each arm), 3 x 10 I-forget-what-they're-called-but-they-exercise-your-lats (same action as a rowing machine, if that helps)
******************************

What I need are suggestions as to what to do about the afternoon snack as well as tips on what to change vis a vis the exercise routine, since I'm almost certain I'm doing it wrong. Can anyone help?

Please note that I have bad knees, so low impact exercise is essential. Also, the only exercise equipment I own are an exercise mat, an adjustable benchpress, a barbell and a pair of dumbells.

it's going to take you a LONG time to get results with an exercise plan like that....

 

[Chichikov]

Could you explain HIIT a little further? Whats that mean?

High Intensity Interval Training.
As a long distance runner myself I have little use for it and little experience with it, but some people have been getting great results with it.
I believe it was also discussed in this very thread.

 

[Anton Sugar]

The links don't work.

I was pointing out the difference between the two lifts. :lol



military press (shoulders pointing in)

seated shoulder press (shoulders pointing out)

Hm, links work for me, from multiple comps. Gotta have Quicktime installed.

Regardless of whether you're sitting or standing, you should have your shoulders positioned like in the first gif you posted. The bar in any overhead press should go behind/above the head once it passes the face. Sitting sometimes makes this impossible...which is why I don't like sitting that much.

 

[Captain Glanton]

lad mags?

 

[Naked Snake]

How many days should I be resting if I do a full body workout every time I go to the gym. I've read varying numbers ranging from as little as 48 hours up to 10 days!

I know the best answer is probably "Listen to your body; if you feel sore and/or tired, rest another day" or something... Doing this I usually take a 4 day rest, sometimes 5 if my last workout was grueling, but I think maybe I'm overdoing it with resting and thus not maximizing my gains.

 

[Anton Sugar]

How many days should I be resting if I do a full body workout every time I go to the gym. I've read varying numbers ranging from as little as 48 hours up to 10 days!

I know the best answer is probably "Listen to your body; if you feel sore and/or tired, rest another day" or something... Doing this I usually take a 4 day rest, sometimes 5 if my last workout was grueling, but I think maybe I'm overdoing it with resting and thus not maximizing my gains.

I'd say a day between each workout should be fine. It depends more on what you're doing. What does your routine look like?

It is not bad to work out when you're sore. It just hurts. Being sore doesn't mean you're in danger or anything.

Your muscles are ALWAYS in a state of breakdown/recovery. To COMPLETELY let a muscle recover before you worked it again...you'd be working out every week and a half or so. You don't need to do that.

If you aren't supplying your body with enough sleep and nutrients, your muscles cannot recover and build up. If you are hitting your body with too much intensity, then your nervous system will not recover.

 

[tombur]

Would HIIT be one of the best ways to improve my sprint speed? Is there any other techniques I can use?

 

[lil smoke]

What's the general impression about advice from Men's Health?

Use with common sense. People hate the mag, but if you're an intelligent fella... you'll take the nutrition, cooking and lifestyle tips and apply them as needed.

I don't see why an accomplished bodybuilder would even need to look at Men's Health, but for a regular dude with some interest in a healthy lifestyle, I find it a nice read.

Take a look and decide with your own brain, no offense to anyone else's opinion.

 

[SuperAndroid17]

Whats a good analysis on sleep?

How many hours of sleep should you get after a day of a physical workout? Is taking naps bad for you? I keep hearing from the damn old people that sleeping too much makes you fat.

 

[satori]

Would HIIT be one of the best ways to improve my sprint speed? Is there any other techniques I can use?

I just started HiIT running extactly 2 week ago. And let me tell you it was a great experience. (if you consider gasping for air, cursing at the world, point of throwing up a great experience). Each time I do it, I can tell I can push my self a little more, run a little faster etc. So I would say yes it will improve your sprint speed, along with everything else.

If this is your first time trying HiIT, make sure your body can adjust to it and do not go full bore like I did. Collapsing on the side of the road feeling like you are going to die is not that fun...for most.

Whats a good analysis on sleep?

How many hours of sleep should you get after a day of a physical workout? Is taking naps bad for you? I keep hearing from the damn old people that sleeping too much makes you fat.

Another first hand experience I had . I regularly slept for only 4-5 hours of sleep a night in the recent past. With full time work, and full time play who has time for sleep? It affected everything I did to be honest. No energy level, always feeling like shit etc. I then started sleeping at least 8 hours a night and it was a world of difference.

But try to sleep at least 7 hours of good sleep a night. Your body and mind will thank you. And nothing wrong with a 15-30 min nap. Its a nice battery recharge. Try not to nap more than 1 hour. It makes me feel worse. In terms of sleep making you fat, well eating an entire bowl of Ice cream then sleeping will not do you any good.

If you improve your eating habit and start working out, and sleeping right, energy and nap will be a non issue

 

[Chichikov]

Would HIIT be one of the best ways to improve my sprint speed? Is there any other techniques I can use?

Not really.
Sprint is an anaerobic exercise, HIIT is designed to improve your aerobic capacity
For sprints do jumps; squat jumps, long jumps, step jump, lunge jumps, step jumps etc.
Of course you should stay on your lower body exercises, especially squats and cleans.
Flexibility is also super important.

 

[satori]

I always thought HIIT helped improved both anaerobic and aerobic capacity ? Plus I def agree with working out your lower legs as Kov suggested. Do not forget those Squats and Power lunges!