FitnessBore - 2018 edition

[Mupepe]

No bar tampon for me thanks. 

[Smooth Groove]

My main problem with high squat is remembering to keep my upper back stiff

Whenever I lose good form, I can immediately feel the strain in my lower back which is pretty scary

[Mupepe]

I've been working on trying to fix my anterior pelvic tilt.  Mine is pretty bad since I was disgusting fatass for so long.  I used to get some pretty powerful lower back pumps when I did high bar squats because of it.  Nothing debilitating, but it still felt awful.  On the plus side, my APT makes it seem like I have a bubble butt. 

[Mupepe]

 

[Oblivion]

At the risk of irritating some people here, is there any alternative to squats by any chance? I only ask cause the past few sessions I've had have left my neck in serious pain (it's the sharp kind, btw). I'm 99% sure I'm placing the bar in an incorrect position, and I'd rather not risk fucking up my spine.

[Smooth Groove]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0017DGBY8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1383800039&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

Try squatting with this

It makes holding the bar much easier for beginners

you should be able to concentrate on actually squatting than having the bar in a correct position

[Rman]

What happened to Cormac?

[Mupepe]

He had enough of your shit.

I'm registered to run a marathon on Sunday but I'm only about 50% sure I'm going to show up.

I ran my first 5k on Saturday.  37 minutes   The first 10 minutes or so were spent going pretty slow because the path was so congested.  It was my first outside real run effort.  I only ever run on the treadmill.  Quite a different animal

[El Babua]

Did a Zombie 5k a few weeks ago. It had obstacles and a swimming segment with "zombies" after your 3 flags.

Having to swim across what amounted to a small lake killed me. But through hook and crook, I managed to keep a flag at the end and "survived".

[Mupepe]

man, all the running I did last week feels like it took a toll on my lower body lifts.  Squat and deadlift were so damn hard this week.  I guess I need to eat more if I plan on running. 

In other news, I got down to 193 in May and right now I'm at 211 and I'm a helluva lot stronger and I look leaner.  I started eating more so I'm sure a lot of that weight is water and extra food sitting in me, but it still feels damn good.

[Mupepe]

Welp failed OHP on 5/3/1 yesterday.  Was supposed to get 5 @ 155  but only got 4.  But I think it was a bad day because I got 5 @ 160 on my 3 rep week last cycle.  I also have been getting shitty sleep this week and did a morning mattress mambo before hitting the gym this morning which made me feel a bit sluggish.  So i'll stay on for this cycle and see if I can get the rest of the reps.

[Mupepe]

I missed two of my targets last week so I just repeated the weak and got them. Fret not.

Sounds like a plan to me.  Thanks.

[Mupepe]

Fuck. I feel like my whole life is flipped upside down. This is my 3 week. I'm supposed to get 3@235, 270 and 300. I got one at 300. Fuck. Two weeks ago I got 3@310. After my OHP fail last week its all coming down.

[Mupepe]

I bet this is because I shaved. Everyone knows facial hair gives +10% str

[Mupepe]

You deadlifting? I feel like deadlift is one of my least consistent lifts. I am never quite sure what's going to happen when I start to pull.

Yeah I do those on Thursday.  Those have been pretty solid but I stay really conservative because I'm paranoid about my form.  I haven't really had to worry about not getting reps before.  Every time I have failed in the past I was able to bust through it pretty easily on the next go-round.  This time feels different.  I definitely need to adjust something.  I'll probably do a reset on squat and OHP starting next week and redo this BP and deadlift cycle (assuming I don't fail those as well). 

I really can't believe I failed.  I knew something was wrong when I was hitting 270 and the third rep was a struggle.  I easily got 5 @ 285 last week.

BP should be a lock.  I'm doing 3 @ 235 tomorrow.  I got 6 @ 245 2 weeks ago.  If I fail then something is seriously wrong

[Mupepe]

Oh, you were squatting. You didn't say which lift you were doing. I wish I could squat 3x310.

oops.  that may have been helpful.  what is your squat at?  Either way, you can run a marathon and I get destroyed by a 5k

[MyNameIsMethodis]

So for the first time in my life I tried skiing the other day......



I twisted my knee really fucking badly and am totally injured. Can't even sit down or drive to go to the fukkin gym ithout it feeling like my knee snapping off

[Smooth Groove]

Wise choice

Running in that weather is begging for an injury.  You would have felt worse if you couldn't do lower body lifts for a few months. 

[Mupepe]

I skipped out on the marathon. It was an ice storm here and 20 degrees. I chickened out. I'm ashamed of myself.

Yeah bro I don't think anyone is going to give you shit for bailing out.

So yeah, I'm definitely losing strength all around.  Yesterday on Bench Press I barely got 3 at 235 and I got 6 at 245 just two weeks earlier.  I think I know what it is though.  This cold weather has hit Houston and I have been riding my motorcycle to work.  I think it's been draining my energy riding in the cold.  The cold front hit last Friday, the same day I started to lose on my OHP.  Today I rode in my car and even after already working tris yesterday, not taking my usual break today and also working in my deadlift and pullups todays I was able to hit my 3 week goals pretty easily on OHP.  I felt great in the gym today. 

So I'm going to take the next 4 days to rest, eat well over the holiday and start this same 5/3/1 cycle over again on Monday coming back nice and strong.

[Mupepe]

Nope.  I've done a PH cycle before, but I'm all natural right now.  Won't lie, I'd like to do test but there are natural goals I want to hit first (400 squat, 300 bp, 200 OHP, 450 DL). 

[Mupepe]

So true.  Plus, bros are more impressed with being able to say "Yeah bro, I squat 4 plates"

[Mupepe]

Hell yes!  5/3/1 will definitely get you there slowly but surely. 

I think I'm also going to drop the BBB part of it for a while and just do some regular assistance.  Those extra 5 sets I think are killing me mentally more than anything.  There's a certain amount of fear when going for sets 4 and 5 in squats now.  Failing with 170 lbs really makes you look like a bitch in the gym.

[Mupepe]

Goddamn.  The upside down pushups I don't know if I could do.  The balance aspect and my fattiness might not go too well together.

But I think I'm getting close to a muscle up.  On my 2nd to last pullup today I was starting to lose my grip so I put some extra effort in the pull portion and toss my self up a few inches to catch on again and get better grip.  I don't know why but that made me feel pretty bad ass.  I think with some work I can probably do a muscle up now.

[El Babua]

I pinched a nerve on my left hand yesterday. At least I hope I did and it's not symptoms of a hernia.

[chronovore]

Was feeling like I am not getting enough of a workout, so I added 1.5kg weights to each wrist for today's mostly cardio workout. I was sufficiently wiped out by the end of it.

[Smooth Groove]

I'm not even squatting three plates yet. Soon.

I seriously recommend Sheiko 29 or smolov JR for improving your squat. 

I've tried both programs and both times my squat shot up by 30lbs or more in a month.  The best thing is that the gains are permanent.  6 months ago, I would have to exert much effort to squat 3 plates on a good day.  Now even after several days of hard olympic lifts or basketball, I could still do 315 a few times. 

While 5/3/1 is excellent, I believe that our bodies can handle the squat with much higher volume than any of the other 3 powerlifts.  Once a week for squats is probably undertraining.  The best thing about both these programs is your upper body will get bigger too just from holding so much weight. 

Since you're already on 5/3/1, I'd suggest just doing the squat portion of Sheiko and continue 5/3/1 for your other lifts. 

[Smooth Groove]

Nope.  I've done a PH cycle before, but I'm all natural right now.  Won't lie, I'd like to do test but there are natural goals I want to hit first (400 squat, 300 bp, 200 OHP, 450 DL).

I didn't know you were that hardcore.

How were your results? 

I've been tempted before to get a test prescription from one of my colleagues or sister but most likely I won't.  Not only 'cuz of legal complications but I don't want to get sucked into continuously looking for even harder stuff.

[Mupepe]

Physically they were great. I got a good base for mass from it and got some nice shape. My traps began to grow and my back got the v taper going on. Strength wise I can't really give a good opinion. I did it when I had never stalled and I just kept trucking on my planned progression. I could tell it definitely made things easier though. I wish I had waited for that reason so I could get the most out of it. I am pretty sure I'll end up trying test at some point, but the ph cycle definitely made it clear that I'm waiting to do the test and not going to spend time with prohormones. The back pumps, lethargy and emotional rollercoaster aspect suck and are apparently non existent with test.

I am joining a new gym soon though. Its a power lifters gym here in Houston. I went to check it out and they're all real nice. Small group of guys in this small, hot warehouse but the equipment is incredible. Prowlers and tires and ropes and chains. Fuck yes!

[Smooth Groove]

Mups, that gym sounds awesome.  Is it a Westside affiliated gym?  It sounds like they use much of the same methods as Westside. 

I almost got a prowler but decided it was too expensive and impractical since my gym wouldn't let me use it.  I would have to spend even more money on plates and also find an empty parking lot. 

I think you're gonna start improving rapidly once you start learning from those powerlifters.  5/3/1 is great but I think there are more effective ways at bumping your strength fast if you're not already deadlifting 4 plates, squatting 4 and benching 3. 

[Mupepe]

Mups, that gym sounds awesome.  Is it a Westside affiliated gym?  It sounds like they use much of the same methods as Westside. 

I almost got a prowler but decided it was too expensive and impractical since my gym wouldn't let me use it.  I would have to spend even more money on plates and also find an empty parking lot. 

I think you're gonna start improving rapidly once you start learning from those powerlifters.  5/3/1 is great but I think there are more effective ways at bumping your strength fast if you're not already deadlifting 4 plates, squatting 4 and benching 3.

its a metro flex gym. The guys in there looked insane. Some were body builders, some were fitness models and others power lifters. Just lots of different guys to learn from. The best thing is that they were all really friendly and liked to talk about routines with you but not just trying to gloat. I just went to check it out and I had a few conversations with random guys there about diets, routines, goals and whatever. And like you said, most said 5/3/1 works but if you've got the dedication you can get faster results with other methods. I can't wait.

[Smooth Groove]

Yeah his upper body strength is impressive but not so much with the lower body lifts.

I guess he doesn't need to go that hard on legs since he's got that natural black running and jumping ability. 

[Smooth Groove]

Never heard of Jeff Seid but his upper body is pretty strong. 

It's still pretty cool that Drake is lifting heavy since he obviously doesn't need to be strong, with his entourage and bodyguards. 

This is one of the best form video I've seen for deadlift, 

[Smooth Groove]

That guy is a legit beast though.  There's a vid of him DL 4 plates 20 times for some challenge.  He also squats 5 plates easily.  That's some heavy weight regardless of height. 

[Smooth Groove]

You guys check this out yet?

Looks pretty tough.

http://www.t-nation.com/workouts/beyond-531-program-1-1

[Mupepe]

Damn.  I'm going to have to check out the book.  The article only has the first 5 weeks listed.  After a year on 5/3/1 I trust Wendler and adding in conditioning to the routine sounds like it's what I'm looking for.

[Smooth Groove]

I like that his new program incorporates explosive exercises.  Research shows that they not only improve athleticism but also 1RM strength. 

[Smooth Groove]

You know how you're supposed to be able to do a certain amount of reps at a lower % of your max?

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

It doesn't seem to work for me.  I found that I start getting tired around 3 reps once I get close to 80% of my max.  Like 275x3 basically feel the same as 305x3 to me on the squat. 

Today I was struggling with 265x3 and 305x3 but at the end I was somehow still able to do 325x3.  It seems kinda weird.  It's like my neuromuscular system is just geared for low reps regardless of weight. 

[Mupepe]

5/3/1 helps with that. You have to do 5 reps at 85%

[Smooth Groove]

My left shoulder popped a little when I was snatching 135. 

Pretty scary.  I think it is because I injured it from basketball 2 yrs ago.  That shoulder had seemed to be completely rehabilitated and had caused no pain.

Today showed me that I still have some weak ligaments in that shoulder.  I probably overused my upper body for those snatches because I had squatted yesterday. 

Guess I need to start doing some exercises to rebuild my rotator cuff. 

[Smooth Groove]

I found that the formula doesn't work that well once you go beyond 10 reps. 

Still 160x21 is pretty good.  You'd be a beast at the NBA combine if you could do 20 reps of 185. 

[Mupepe]

Enjoy dat ass!

Really though, it kinda seems like you have a bit of anterior pelvic tilt. Correcting that a little bit will help your ass not stick out so much. yours isn't nearly as bad as mine was and I'm about 2 months into correcting mine and can already see a big difference. I have a link at home with tips if you're interested

[Mupepe]

Ah ok. Apparently it's stressful on the back to extend that much. I started doing some posture research because I kept looking in the mirror and I knew something was wrong. One of the fixes is basically focusing on correct posture when standing. It makes a world of difference. The slump is strenuous on the lower back and the over extension is strenuous on the middle back

[Mupepe]

You son of a bitch

[Smooth Groove]

You could try going lighter and doing high-bar ATG squats.  It's really hard to go deep on those if the hip flexors are tight. 

For bigger hamstrings, stiff-legged deadlifts, snatch grip deadlifts and good mornings all work really well.  I usually do those in sets of 6-8 after I've finished with my heavy sets of regular deadlifts. 

Your quads look pretty good already.  If you want more growth, try the ultimate quad squat here, http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/best_of_quads

I've done it several times and it gets my quads sore as hell. 

[Mupepe]

My hammies are kicking ass from good mornings. Those are one of my favorite exercises now.

also, last night I was at a party and there were some balloons that floated to the ceiling that no one could reach and someone asked me to get them. I have never been very good at jumping so I I didn't think I could do it. I was surprised that I was able to do it so easily. It was nothing crazy high but it did make me feel proud as a change I've made in my physical fitness.

[Smooth Groove]

How high do you get on a 10ft rim?  Maybe you just didn't know how to train for hops.

I've been doing good mornings with resistance bands.  It helps with my form and make the movement more explosive. 

[Mupepe]

Well I haven't really tried to jump for anything in years. But now I'm curious about how high I can jump. What else do you do to train?

[Smooth Groove]

You can just practice jumping in various ways.

Off one leg, two legs, stationery, running, two steps.

Just jumping alone will make a big difference for beginner. 

After that, snatching, depth jumps and box jumps seem to help the most in generating explosively the strength you've gained from squats/DL. 

[Mupepe]

So after taking a diet hiatus starting thanksgiving until today I am 27 lbs heavier and my lifts are back up. Starting tomorrow I am transitioning back to carb back loading. Due to Christmas and new years tomorrow I haven't done pullups in almost 3 weeks (I do them on Wednesday) and I was 20 lbs lighter the last time. I struggled to bust out 5 strict dead hangs today. Fuuuuuuu

[Oblivion]

Okay, good news and bad news.

Good news is, I've gained quite a bit of weight since August, and I see noticeable improvements in certain parts of my body.

The bad news is that a good chunk of that weight appears to be fat, and a a good chunk of that seems to be concentrated in my gut. It's not too bad, but it's definitely noticeable.

I've still good a good ways to go before I complete my bulking phase, but is there a way to take care of this? Or is it one of those really annoying things about the body that it's biologically not possible to do while bulking? I hear belly fat is notoriously hard to get rid of. D:

[Mupepe]

Fix your diet bro. When you're a newb you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Look into carb backloading for an easy way to gain muscle and minimal fat. Muscle will almost always come with a bit of a fat but it doesn't have to be much.

[Oblivion]

Fix your diet bro. When you're a newb you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Look into carb backloading for an easy way to gain muscle and minimal fat. Muscle will almost always come with a bit of a fat but it doesn't have to be much.

*googles that*

Huh, very interesting. Have you ever tried that, Mups?

[Mupepe]

Yes sir. Its great for keeping the fat off while bulking up and it still lets you indulge. I would highly recommend buying the book. And carb nite solution is great for losing fat and maintaining muscle.

[Oblivion]

Sweet!

But I have one question. According to one link I read, the carb count is pretty important (obviously), but the fat count isn't, and that you could as much as you want. How exactly is that supposed to work? I mean, isn't fat what makes you...fat?

[Beezy]

I mean, isn't fat what makes you...fat?

This better be your first fucking time in this thread.

[Mupepe]

Nope. Common misconception. Carbs induce insulin spikes which cause you to store fat. Fats for a multitude of reasons are difficult to turn into body fat and are often healthy. The book explains a good amount of this. Its in line with paleo and primal diets too. Google those as well. If you're gonna lift you'll need to rethink and read up on what is healthy and basically relearn how and what to eat.

[El Babua]

Due to my lower back injury, my deadlift form got 1000x times better.

Didn't realize how much strain I was putting on it until I started engaging my abs and glutes more.

Currently sitting on 160 squat, 205 DL at 5 reps. Hopefully I can get that shit back up to pre injury numbers before March. Most important thing is not overdoing it as I'm prone to anytime I see a barbell. Just needed to vent.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

limit carbs and burn weight like it's silly.

i've bene stuck i nthe 220s for like 2 months now but tbf i've eaten shit almost daily out of depression / being injured. but i mena as logn as i dont break into the 30s im all set mentally.

i came across a old photo the other day of me, i couldnt even recognize the person

Code: [Select]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/bcnhf/update.jpgi mean look at dat shit on the left unacceptable dunno how i went through life like dat. oh well.  dats me on the right about a couple weeks ago

ps hiding this as code cuz i dont want to be a poster boy for carb counting or dieting im not proud im shameful of where i was and im happy to be relatively normal but still fat

[Mupepe]

No matter what thats amazing progress dude.

I'm feeling good. Today was my 95% at 295 for squats. I did it and afterward I was in disbelief because it was too easy. I thought maybe I didn't go low enough or something. So I immediately did another set and man it was so easy. I went ATG and I think I could have easily done at least two more. Feeling good

[Mupepe]

Damn.  1 rep @ 250 for bench press today was a breeze but I failed spectacularly on an attempted 2nd rep.    I had to take that shameful glance around the gym hoping someone would notice so I didn't have to yell out help or dumb the weights and make a scene.  Luckily a guy I know noticed after about 30 seconds and came over to help.  Shameful.