FitnessBore - 2018 edition

[Huff]

You can swim but not lift? Interesting since that has a much larger range of motion. I still worry about doing any hard laps post my rotator cuff. My other should is bad too but no surgery on that. Yet

I re-started lifting a couple years ago, super light and generally only dumbbells or things I couldn’t drop in case my shoulder gave out. Did rotator cuff stuff every other day. It took awhile but finally was able to get back to doing decent weights, but still most stick to DBs for upper body.

[Flannel Boy]

Kenny, while doing bench pressing, do you arch your back and retract your scapula? This will shorten the bar path and cause less shoulder rotation (along with keeping your elbows tucked in, per Argajag). Place your elbows down below parallel and make sure you have a non-vertical bar path (the top of the movement should be over your shoulders but not the bottom[aim for your nips]).

Rippetoe seems to endorse the overhead press to rehabilitate an injured rotator cuffs. I don't know whether this is good advice, and if there's one exercise that gives me should pain, it's the overhead press.

[agrajag]

I went swimming a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised how little endurance I had at it and how sore I got. I lift 6 days a week, but swimming hit all sort of little muscles I didn't even know I had. I wish I had the motivation to swim regularly, my gym does have a lap pool. Also, it doesn't put a strain on your rotator cuffs like pressing does, there is no internal rotation of the shoulder or shearing force on the cuffs. If anything swimming opens you up and is good rehab for the shoulders.

[agrajag]

Flannel, agree on OHP. If you have fucked rotator cuffs, I would avoid the OHP like the plague. It's a great movement, but I do a ton of warmup and mobility work before I do them.

[Assimilate]

Bench pressing isn't over your head but does involve some shoulder rotation. Maybe try some variations that take the shoulders out of it as much as possible, very close grip and elbows tucked in. You could also try dips. And of course all manner rows, pullups, chinups, pulldowns and curls don't involve lifting things over your head. And why not do some stuff to strengthen your rotator cuffs, like banded face pulls, band pull aparts, etc. Did you not do any rehab work for it after the surgery? And why limit yourself only to upper body? Squats and deadlifts will build your back and your core.

God no. Dips should only be done with people that actually have strong shoulders. Definitely not something you do with a bad shoulder.

[agrajag]

My tendons in my elbows have been inflamed for like 6 months and it's stopped me from doing quite a few exercises.

I THINK they are finally healed but still nervous about it;  need to get some smaller weights or something to start off with.   Abouth 3 months ago I thought they were healed and started up with my smallest dumbells (20s) and fucked it up again.

I think I have the same thing as you but only in my left elbow. Is the pain on  the inside or outside of the elbow (golfer vs tennis elbow). Mine is on the inside and it is likely a bicep tendon or the brachioradialis tendon that's inflamed. If you do squats that might be something that is aggravating it. I thought it was curl and pullups, and I used to ice it down every day, but that didn't help. Adjusted my grip on squats and the pain went away. I just ease off on those kind of movements whenever I feel it's getting tender again.

Assi: I mentioned dips because he asked for stuff where he's not lifting things over his head. Good point about staying away from them if you have bad shoulders though.

[BlueTsunami]

I literally can't do anything that involves lifting aymore. 2-3 reps of bench pressing and my shoulder starts barking like crazy. Shit sucks since I always enjoyed that stuff just to clear my mind.
Rotator cuff surgery is a real bitch.
Swimming is the only thing I am able to do to keep my upper body strength.
Any upper body workouts that don't involve lifting shit over your head?

Bench pressing isn't over your head but does involve some shoulder rotation. Maybe try some variations that take the shoulders out of it as much as possible, very close grip and elbows tucked in. You could also try dips. And of course all manner rows, pullups, chinups, pulldowns and curls don't involve lifting things over your head. And why not do some stuff to strengthen your rotator cuffs, like banded face pulls, band pull aparts, etc. Did you not do any rehab work for it after the surgery? And why limit yourself only to upper body? Squats and deadlifts will build your back and your core.

Ever since i learned to tuck my shoulder blades in and on to the bench and have my elbows at a no larger than 45° angle to my torso, I havent had any shoulder pain. One of the best set of techniques ive learned for the benchpress.

[agrajag]

There's this old Marines broad in her 50s, maybe early 60s, who hogs a cage, leg press, and usually at least 2 machines all at once. I almost fought her today. She literally pushed me out of the cage and said "uh uh".

She's one of those assholes that puts her gear over a station and then goes to do something else for a half hour, but watches to make sure no one does anything in that area when two people could get their whole sets done before she ever gets to it.

There's this old fucker at my gym that looks like an upside down bowling pun. Huge fat upper body and matchstick legs. He does some weird ass circuit where he hogs a bench and a squat rack, which he uses to do band assisted pullups. Motherfucker has been doing this for years and can't do one legit pullup?

Thankfully my gym built a whole another area for "functional strength" with four squat racks and bumper plates, so there is always a place to squat and deadlift now. And the guys that use those tend to hog the equipment less, they do their sets, get in and get out.

There is one guy who goes just to fucking talk. I started avoiding him, because he used to interfere with my sets bigly.

[Flannel Boy]

There's this old Marines broad in her 50s, maybe early 60s, who hogs a cage, leg press, and usually at least 2 machines all at once. I almost fought her today. She literally pushed me out of the cage and said "uh uh".

She's one of those assholes that puts her gear over a station and then goes to do something else for a half hour, but watches to make sure no one does anything in that area when two people could get their whole sets done before she ever gets to it.

I hate when gym users do that. A couple of weeks ago, a large gentleman was doing bicep curls in the one good squat (not just a meme) rack while his shit was all over the one good bench. I also hate people who do circuits, even if they're only using one station.

Also fuck people who want to share equipment. Just wait one more set.

[agrajag]

Yeah I do circuits sometimes to finish my workouts sometimes. My gym has a conditioning area with prowlers and shit, so it's not a problem. Plate pinches, farmers walks, power shrugs with a trap bar

 

[BlueTsunami]

Thats my face when the only two straight benches are taken. I'll hang ina corner and do curls or something until one is free.

[agrajag]

that's me 

[Assimilate]

My tendons in my elbows have been inflamed for like 6 months and it's stopped me from doing quite a few exercises.

I THINK they are finally healed but still nervous about it;  need to get some smaller weights or something to start off with.   Abouth 3 months ago I thought they were healed and started up with my smallest dumbells (20s) and fucked it up again.

I think I have the same thing as you but only in my left elbow. Is the pain on  the inside or outside of the elbow (golfer vs tennis elbow). Mine is on the inside and it is likely a bicep tendon or the brachioradialis tendon that's inflamed. If you do squats that might be something that is aggravating it. I thought it was curl and pullups, and I used to ice it down every day, but that didn't help. Adjusted my grip on squats and the pain went away. I just ease off on those kind of movements whenever I feel it's getting tender again.

Assi: I mentioned dips because he asked for stuff where he's not lifting things over his head. Good point about staying away from them if you have bad shoulders though.

For my pain it mostly affects lateral arm raises.

But it makes certain curl exercises difficult too;  need to be really careful with any movment where I twist at the elbow.  For instance I can do seated overhead dumbell extensions, BUT getting into the position to do them causes pain so I've massively lowered the weight I do so I don't injur myself.

Did seated overheads yesterday and upped my weight to near normal and felt fine though so gonna try lateral arm raises today.

Why so much shoulder emphasis then?

People overwork their shoulders so much it's scary. Every upper body movement involves your shoulders.  If you have shoulder pain lay off bench and presses in general. Even biceps can activate and therefore aggravate your shoulder pain. Focus more on pulls. Get your back stronger.

Unless you hurt your shoulder in a specific way (like a sporting move) then it's most likely the cause of muscle imbalance.

[Mupepe]

If I'm doing cable work and resting and someone asks me if I'm using it, I always say go ahead and share but that rarely happens. I would say 99% of the time people just when they see something they want is being used and go do something else, myself included

Certain things aren't a problem to ask to work in, but things like squat are really annoying when you have to unload and reload every time you two switch out.  And I'm neurotic as fuck so I hate it when it's time for my next set but he's still doing his so I get to mine 1 minute too late so I get inconsistent rest.  I'd rather just switch my days around when I see someone on something I'm using.  If the benches are taken up when I come in I'll look to see what's open and make it leg day or whatever instead.

[agrajag]

Try doing close grip bench or diamond pushups instead of tricep extensions then. Do you use elbow sleeves?

[Huff]

If I'm doing cable work and resting and someone asks me if I'm using it, I always say go ahead and share but that rarely happens. I would say 99% of the time people just when they see something they want is being used and go do something else, myself included

Certain things aren't a problem to ask to work in, but things like squat are really annoying when you have to unload and reload every time you two switch out.  And I'm neurotic as fuck so I hate it when it's time for my next set but he's still doing his so I get to mine 1 minute too late so I get inconsistent rest.  I'd rather just switch my days around when I see someone on something I'm using.  If the benches are taken up when I come in I'll look to see what's open and make it leg day or whatever instead.

yeah I'll switch days pending if its busy and I see everything I want taken, esp if its college kid hour and you know half the time theyre flirting with thots around

although switching into leg day when I'm not initially planning it is a bitch for me mentally.

[agrajag]

Try doing close grip bench or diamond pushups instead of tricep extensions then. Do you use elbow sleeves?

I do close grip bench mixed in here and there;  I just like tricep extensions feel like nothing quite isolates tris as well.

But no, I should get some elbow sleeves.

Do it bro, they help a lot with elbow pain.

[agrajag]

Try doing close grip bench or diamond pushups instead of tricep extensions then. Do you use elbow sleeves?

I do close grip bench mixed in here and there;  I just like tricep extensions feel like nothing quite isolates tris as well.

But no, I should get some elbow sleeves.

Do it bro, they help a lot with elbow pain.

Looking on amazon now; not sure what size I'd need though.  I'd guess large but not sure.

They have sizing charts, you need a tape measure. Large would probably be fine. I use the brand Stoic, very good quality.

[agrajag]

No prob

[Assimilate]

Try doing close grip bench or diamond pushups instead of tricep extensions then. Do you use elbow sleeves?

I do close grip bench mixed in here and there;  I just like tricep extensions feel like nothing quite isolates tris as well.

Same here. Dumbell tricep extensions for me all day. Hitting the long head of the triceps are what is the most important. Everyone emphases on the outside with pushdowns which i think is a mistake. I tell people to focus on that after they've gained some tricep mass.

[agrajag]

Oh, I forgot to mention. Riotous, do you do extensions with dumbbells, a bar or an EZ curl bar? Because my elbows feel great with the EZ curl bar.

[agrajag]

Ah. One thing I will suggest, if your cable machine is adjustible, is doing overhead extensions with your cable machine instead. I do that instead of dumbbells. I think it's better bc it gives you constant tension, unlike gravity which only provides tension through specific ROM.

[agrajag]

The way I do them, you adjust the cable to the highest position, put your back facing the machine and lean over about 45 degrees. It simulates the weighted movement pretty well.

[agrajag]

Lol that looks like a medieval torture device! I don't think you'd be able to do what I'm saying with that machine, but play around with it.

[Assimilate]

Lol that looks like a medieval torture device! I don't think you'd be able to do what I'm saying with that machine, but play around with it.

this is a good movement however the way i do them i don't twist my wrist at the end like you do on a pulldown. i focus mainly on the long head of the muscle.

[agrajag]

Yeah I don't either. I usually don't use the rope attachment either.

[BisMarckie]

Thanks for the replies everyone. 

But the reality is that I tried the different grips before but my shoulder is just fucked up beyond repair. When a friend of mine moved a couple of years ago I couldn't even take down the curtains, because lifting up my arms above an 90° angle
makes my shoulder hurt like hell after 30 seconds.
My orthopedist says that my shoulder is basically 'bone on bone' when it moves.

I had some rehab after the surgery but it didn't help much. 

Oh well, it's not like Swimming is a bad workout 

[Assimilate]

I can totally imagine assy is this same dude in the gym who gives everyone tips on every fucking exercise they do and ends up not actually doing anything for the hour and a half they're in the gym

i dont' give a fuck what you do at the gym stro. we're on a message board and the point of a message board is to discuss things.

i like going to the gym by myself so i don't have to chat with anyone.

[Assimilate]

You don't actually discuss anything in here though. You see someone post about something then talk about how you do it better and how they're doing it wrong or wasting their time. Like a Bro Edition Well Actually

Where did i do that?

[Assimilate]

Hey man you're the one saying something i did that i didn't do 

[Boogie]

You see someone post about something then talk about how you do it better

Except when it comes to taking punches like a man. 

[Boogie]

When peeps in the thread are complaining about the people they have to deal with at a public gym, but you have a gym at your office that you get to monopolise 90% of the time you train:

 


Also, I'm moving and buying a new house.  Think I'mma build a garage gym in the new place. 

edit:  Also, props to Jack on stepping onto the mats and competing.  Was this your first tournament?

[Assimilate]

When you lose count of your sets and go back to do an extra set just in case and spend the next 5 hours wondering if you did your normal amount or an extra set 

All too common.

Today i had a nice workout but i think riotous fucking jinxed me. i felt a slight tingle in my elbow.

[agrajag]

I was struggling with my sets today and i realized I miscalculated the weight I was supposed to press today by 5lbs. By the time I realized it it was too late 

[BlueTsunami]

I'm convinced the bodybuilding worlds lack of calf aesthetics is due to demonizing most cardio. My calves are blowing up from the constant walking/hiking/jogging. Bu-bu-but ma genes, stfu and go for a stroll. When you realize the calf muscle responds mostly to pure volume, whats more volume than 10k+ steps with steep grades. I feel for my dude on the calf raise machine pumping out progressive overload sets for a muscle thats like lol what else ya got.

[BlueTsunami]

The shit eats up my morning 

On gym days I'll be totally 2 1/2 hours of training

[Mupepe]

So my weight loss has finally started to accelerate. I have a non typical approach to diet. I tend to eat for the body type I want. So I basically took my stats and diet from my peak to calculate my caloric and macro intake and ate at that. Its easier to keep my sanity while dieting with this method. I bulked up quite a bit since March and my strength has gone through the roof due to finally having diet back on point. I was losing weight but not super fast. Well over the last couple of weeks it seems like I’ve reached the tipping point in my diet where muscle and strength gains are tapering down somewhat but I lost 7 lbs over this last week. I lost 4 last week and 3 the week prior. I’ve got a lot to lose but it’s nice to see it pick up. I’m planning to start a proper cut in November so I want to see how much I can lose before then. I don’t like typical Christmas or thanksgiving food and the weather is cool enough for outdoors cardio so winter cuts always kick ass for me.

[Assimilate]

I'm convinced the bodybuilding worlds lack of calf aesthetics is due to demonizing most cardio. My calves are blowing up from the constant walking/hiking/jogging. Bu-bu-but ma genes, stfu and go for a stroll. When you realize the calf muscle responds mostly to pure volume, whats more volume than 10k+ steps with steep grades. I feel for my dude on the calf raise machine pumping out progressive overload sets for a muscle thats like lol what else ya got.

i'm pretty sure the bodybuilding world knows how to exercise the calf muscle. the problem is the calf muscle for most people will never grow in proportion to the rest of the body (of a bodybuilder).

a skinny dude that does a lot of cardio and calf work will have the appearance of having huge bulging fucking calfs.

So my weight loss has finally started to accelerate. I have a non typical approach to diet. I tend to eat for the body type I want. So I basically took my stats and diet from my peak to calculate my caloric and macro intake and ate at that. Its easier to keep my sanity while dieting with this method. I bulked up quite a bit since March and my strength has gone through the roof due to finally having diet back on point. I was losing weight but not super fast. Well over the last couple of weeks it seems like I’ve reached the tipping point in my diet where muscle and strength gains are tapering down somewhat but I lost 7 lbs over this last week. I lost 4 last week and 3 the week prior. I’ve got a lot to lose but it’s nice to see it pick up. I’m planning to start a proper cut in November so I want to see how much I can lose before then. I don’t like typical Christmas or thanksgiving food and the weather is cool enough for outdoors cardio so winter cuts always kick ass for me.

7lb in one week? that's insanity. i can hardly lose 1.5lb in a week.

[Mupepe]

Yeah but I’m fat as fuck bro. Still 279 lbs.

[Assimilate]

oh, i thought you got down to like 220?

i'm currently at 211 or so. I need to go down to 190 at least. My natural weight is between 190-210. I've been bulking for months though and now it's cut time. It's a lot harder than i imagined it being.

[Mupepe]

220 is where I was at when I was happy with myself. What I consider my peak. The lowest I’ve been since high school is 193 and I was fucking skin and bones, man. That was 2012. Good luck bro

[agrajag]

Second week in a row I tore a callous on the same exact spot deadlifting fml

[Assimilate]

i need to grow my legs so i'm thinking of throwing in an extra day of legs but i don't know if i can recover from a 5 day a week split with 3 day legs.

[Assimilate]

my diet and not drinking a lot anymore has really made me a weak ass.

a few buds and i'm borderline drunk 

[Assimilate]

Why 5x5? you want to get strong or grow muscle? I think the research is pretty much set that for hypertrophy it's at minimum 8-12 reps of casually increasing weight per week for most body parts. 

[Assimilate]

Idk that's just what I settled into doing. 5x5 with the last set usually being around 85/90% of 1RM. I'm not a body builder and I'm not lifting for it to translate to sports, it's as much of a mental exercise/occupation as it is physical as gym time is the only time in my day that's my time. I've been cutting all year, but most of my lifts have gone up so

My deadlifts have gone up but they still seem like they should be higher. I have a hip/IT band/ischial tuberosity issue that made me stop doing squats, and I probably don't use as much leg drive as I should with deads as a result.

Oh trust me it is for me as well. It's so much my time that i won't even go with my gf, which needs to start going. She wants to go with me and i haven't really wanted to but i probably should.

In saying that i did waste a lot of time at the gym without a set plan on what i wanted to accomplish. It's better to have goals than just winging it at the gym. So many stagnant years of not growing or having anything to show for my dedication other than maintaining what i gained yeaaarrs ago. 

5x5s will get you strong for sure and that's why you're seeing increase in strength.

[agrajag]

Programming is overrated, imo. Consistency, effort and determination is what will get you the gains in the long run. If you keep adding lbs to the bar or increase reps over time, you've gotten stronger.

[Mupepe]

I guess it all depends on how specific your goals are. I want to get stronger and I give much less of a fuck about aesthetics. So I choose a program for strength training. I could get stronger doing whatever as long as I’m consistent and my diet is good, but it likely wouldn’t have been as fast or balanced of growth. But if you don’t really care then more power to you. The iron means something different to everyone.

[Assimilate]

Programming is overrated, imo. Consistency, effort and determination is what will get you the gains in the long run. If you keep adding lbs to the bar or increase reps over time, you've gotten stronger.

Well, true to some extent but why take the long road when a proper training regiment will get you there faster? Not to mention plateaus which happen to everyone and the only way to get over them is with proper training cycles.

Again, if you don't really care that much then whatever, eventually you'll hit that wall and if you don't care about getting bigger or stronger or more endurance (whatever one you choose) then you'll maintain or lose what you have to start over.

Most people at the gym are like this. I see guys in there for years pushing the same weight, looking the same, never actually improving past a certain point. Simply having "determination" isn't going to get you to higher ground.

[agrajag]

I think there are very small returns to running a specific program over just doing big compound lifts heavy and frequently. Getting good nutrition and rest is more important imo. I think dialing everything in 100%, programming and nutrition and peaking is more for professional athletes. For the average person, you can see good results if you just apply good sense to what you do.

With that said, I think following some programs religiously can be actually harmful. When I was starting out I did Starting Strength and that shit was complete garbage. I made so much more gains once I started doing something else.

[Mupepe]

Nah. Gotta disagree there. Again it’s about goals. When you start lifting heavy enough weights that can really fucking injure you, you should probably follow some of the stuff put out by professionals and not just winging It. Lifting Heavy is relative and all but I’ve never seen a dude who isn’t on a strict program deadlifting 500+ lbs

[agrajag]

you can pencil in goals and outline what you're going to do without necessarily sitting there with a calculator and figuring out percentages and shit. Actually, a type of programming that's gathered a lot of momentum lately is RPE training, which is basically going by feel..

[Mupepe]

You’re both basically saying what I said in my original post. Pure strength training isn’t your goal. It’s mine so I follow a proven program that gets me there quickly and effectively. And saying that you doing your own thing can be just as beneficial for people without accounting for their specific goal is simply not true. You can’t recommend “do your own thing” with a straight face to someone who says they want to be a power lifter.

I guess it all depends on how specific your goals are. I want to get stronger and I give much less of a fuck about aesthetics. So I choose a program for strength training. I could get stronger doing whatever as long as I’m consistent and my diet is good, but it likely wouldn’t have been as fast or balanced of growth. But if you don’t really care then more power to you. The iron means something different to everyone.

[agrajag]

my bad bro, don't do your own thing powerlifter

[Assimilate]

RPE training is something people are running with no concrete evidence if it works or not. Not to mention most people that do run RPE do so by following a specific scale. It isn't totally dialed in but it is still programmed to a degree. It's not just winging it.

There's even some argument that compound movements aren't necessary for most people at the gym, especially in terms of physique. Like Mupepe said you run the risk of getting injured with heavy compound movements which require serious emphasis on technique. So much so that you might as well put the effort into a proper plan if you're going balls out on the major movements. lol

[Mupepe]

Ok

[agrajag]

OK

[Assimilate]

Vagina Zen.

[agrajag]

That's not very Zen, Anus 

[Assimilate]

fixed.