Board 8 > Fitness/Exercise/Health topic 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

ive started doing two a days with weights in the morning and cardio circuits in the early evening. Not factoring in the days from the fire Ive been at it every day for about two and a half weeks. Its been my first real even whiff of consistent cardio in probably over a decade, and holy bleep the difference in my day to day energy is insane, and I say that as someone who wakes up with the crickets to beat the fuck out of the weights six days a week

Sorozone posted...

Week two 255x6 295 X3 335X1

This was five days ago. Now, keep in mind I start fresh on deadlifts on my first "back day"(Back day because it focuses on upper back, but it also incorporates lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, basically any muscle on that back of the body.) Back day 1 starts with deadlifts, ends with body weight pullups.

Today is my second back day workout where it's the opposite. I start with weighted pullups and end on deadlift, also work on grip strength.

PR all time for me. Was finally able to hit 8(15)-5(25)-and 3(50) on weighted pullups.. First time hitting 3 reps with 50 pounds.

Hit another PR in dead hangs, and hit 1:44. So close to the 2 minute mark.

So after all the heavy upper body work, hamstring work, grip work, I then hit 335 on deadlift. Felt easy, so I hit 340, 345, and then 350. Absolutely bonkers workout.

Not everything can improve, ok that's a lie, my OHP is improving, my rep 1 has gone to 150 to 160, failed on 165 today. Struggling on my x8 and x5 reps tho, just can't hit the last 2 or last rep. However, I'm taking into account that this is pretty close to my PR already, so I know this will get harder the closer I get. Still hoping to hit 200 during this bulk at some point, right now I'm essentially repping my body weight, so 200 would be a big jump.

So I'm noticing this week that my dominant arm is significantly stronger than my weaker arm. When doing dumbbell bicep curls today it was much smoother on my right than my left. How can I even them out? Like, I don't want to increase the weight on one arm and not the other and end up looking like quagmire in that one episode, but I also don't want to keep doing reps that feel like curling a tin of beans on one arm.

5tarscream posted...

So I'm noticing this week that my dominant arm is significantly stronger than my weaker arm. When doing dumbbell bicep curls today it was much smoother on my right than my left. How can I even them out? Like, I don't want to increase the weight on one arm and not the other and end up looking like quagmire in that one episode, but I also don't want to keep doing reps that feel like curling a tin of beans on one arm.

lots of things here

1. dont worry too much about the aesthetics of it. No one is going to notice the imbalances except for yourself and a tailor.
2. train unilaterally and train the less strong one a little more than the other. Whether thats more sets or reps, itll catch up to some extent.
3. a lot of times its a group effort. Meaning, you are noticing this on curls, which is predominantly bicep, but take some inventory on what other muscles might be causing this. Forearm? Core? Hell, even a lat or delt might be causing stabilization challenges, and when it comes to non-dominant arms that can make a world of difference
4. i believe you said you either just started working out or just got back into it. A lot of that is muscle memory and will just naturally catch up
5. lastly, it may never get to a perfect point and thats okay. We have dominant and non dominant limbs. Just try to get to a level that is reasonable and you are happy with. If you are curling 35s for 15 with your right, but can only do 15s for 6 with your left, that needs some work. But if you are doing 35s for 15 on one and 35s for 12 on the other, dont stress it.

Sorozone posted...

This was five days ago. Now, keep in mind I start fresh on deadlifts on my first "back day"(Back day because it focuses on upper back, but it also incorporates lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, basically any muscle on that back of the body.) Back day 1 starts with deadlifts, ends with body weight pullups.

Today is my second back day workout where it's the opposite. I start with weighted pullups and end on deadlift, also work on grip strength.

PR all time for me. Was finally able to hit 8(15)-5(25)-and 3(50) on weighted pullups.. First time hitting 3 reps with 50 pounds.

Hit another PR in dead hangs, and hit 1:44. So close to the 2 minute mark.

So after all the heavy upper body work, hamstring work, grip work, I then hit 335 on deadlift. Felt easy, so I hit 340, 345, and then 350. Absolutely bonkers workout.

Shit man if you did 3/50 after two working sets you could definitely bang out 4/5 with no muscle fatigue

Ive started doing chains for my weighted pull-ups for literally no other reason except attention because its badass

I've been trying to do squats (basic kind, not weights), but I have a question. At some point, my knees start to suffer. If I stand up for a moment, the pain subsides, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to stop entirely at that point or if I can keep going. Thoughts?

Uglyface2 posted...

I've been trying to do squats (basic kind, not weights), but I have a question. At some point, my knees start to suffer. If I stand up for a moment, the pain subsides, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to stop entirely at that point or if I can keep going. Thoughts?

At just body weight, you kinda shouldn't have any pain.

Maybe you have a flexibility issue? Are your ankles, loose and pliant?

Tell us more about this pain

Seanchan posted...

At just body weight, you kinda shouldn't have any pain.

Maybe you have a flexibility issue? Are your ankles, loose and pliant?

I'm not in good shape, so it's entirely possible.

iiaattgg posted...

Tell us more about this pain

It's just above the knees, after doing some squats. It's like the muscles there are getting tired and hot before anything else. It gets nearly unbearable, but if I stand up and wait for a few seconds, the pain dissipates and I can do some more.

Might be cartilage related. Possible rubbing or deterioration.

Not to scare you or anything, its pretty common especially if you are older and overweight.

I mean if it continues obviously get it checked out by a doctor, but some light exercise should help in the long run.

Deadlift went nuts the other day, now it's squats turn. I was gonna say that squat is the first lift to get back to where I was before I starting cutting weight, because my deadlifts already passed that(can't believe I was stuck on 315 for months and just zoomed passed it lol), but now squats have joined the club.

It's funny going in I was gonna end a 310x1, I did, but it was easy. I hit 320 a few days ago on my other squat/leg day. Decided to hit 325x1, did, then did 335x1. Hit that too, much more of a struggle tho. Gonna try for 340 on my next squat day. Should be fun. All of this and I'm 13 pounds lighter. I know muscle memory is very much a thing, but going in and starting at 230x6, 240x5, 260x3, 280x1 on week one, and then(next week) week 4 being 250x6, 260x5, 285x3 340x1 is insane progress.

Uglyface2 posted...

I'm not in good shape, so it's entirely possible.

It's just above the knees, after doing some squats. It's like the muscles there are getting tired and hot before anything else. It gets nearly unbearable, but if I stand up and wait for a few seconds, the pain dissipates and I can do some more.

how many squats are you doing? Does it trigger after 1? Or does it trigger after 20?

Soro I must say I appreciate your presence and wish we could get in a lift IRL. I have always treated lifting with the mindset of be humble and supportive to others but be cocky as fuck when it comes to yourself. Fucking smash those PRs man and then come brag about it!!!

Arm is still a little debilitating on a lot of lifts but grinded through a decent lift

incline bench 200x3 200x1 155x10
OHP 155x6 155x3 155x2
bench 195x10 195x8 195x6
weighted dips 70x6 80x4 90x2
lateral raises 40x1, arm gave out and had to stop
tricep pushdowns 80x3x10

iiaattgg posted...

how many squats are you doing? Does it trigger after 1? Or does it trigger after 20?

I'm getting between 30-35, which is an improvement. The pain triggers a bit later in the exercise. I do hear noises when I start, but the pain doesn't start right away.

Okay, this is starting to make a lot of sense now. Thats a lot of squats in a row, even for bodyweight. Sure, calisthenics athletes can do like hundreds, but 35 would start to cause challenges for me and Ive lifted almost every day for six years in a row. Im not saying you have to cut your reps, but Im just saying that the amount you are doing would cause most people here a reasonable burn

you say you are not in good shape. What are you goals for exercising? Lose weight? Build strength? Build muscle? Feel better? Move easier? More day to day strength? Something else? I ask this because you can adapt the squats you are doing in a way that avoids that pain line and can still attain your goals

I'm diabetic and need to exercise, and weight loss would help. I can't do aerobics because I live in an apartment upstairs. Squats get my heartrate up, so I've been doing those.

Are you doing the 30-35 in a row?? Or are they broken down in smaller sets totaling 35?

iiaattgg posted...

Soro I must say I appreciate your presence and wish we could get in a lift IRL. I have always treated lifting with the mindset of be humble and supportive to others but be cocky as fuck when it comes to yourself. Fucking smash those PRs man and then come brag about it!!!

Big dog, lifting is one of the few things I'm passionate about. I love talking about it, because it's something I love to do. I get asked a lot how I am able to stay disciplined, and the honest and easy answer is just because I like doing it. Anything is infinitely easier and more fun when you actually like doing it. Getting paid to just lift would be a dream for me.

It's like going into a zen state for me. Plus the ability to easily track progress helps a bunch. Tracking progress is a must for me, otherwise, I don't really see the point. lol. I think that's why I was into speed running (and still am, just don't have the time to compete in it anymore), which also has easily trackable PR's. I also think I just like records and statistics(I mean this board was basically dedicated to tracking and analyzing polls of video games and characters).

Anyway bench day. Hit 250 last time, hit 260, failed on 265. Not increasing at the rate as my deadlifts and squats, but as long as I am improving on my compounds, or a couple of my other exercises I'll consider it a great day. Need to get 285 to hit my PR, so only 30 more pound for a new PR on this. 30 away from bench PR, 30 away from Squat PR, 105 away from deadlift PR(lol).

They're mostly consecutively, except that I have to space some of them out by 3-5 seconds because of the leg pain.

Oh ok, you are just feeling a muscle pump and/or going to failure. Which is a very good thing! and completely normal.

30-35 body squats would do the same to me if I did that many in a row, and I can squat 300+ pounds lol.

Definitely felt fatigued today, was still able to get a 265x6, 300x3 and a 350x1 on deadlift. Maintained on my bodyweight pullups. Improved a couple supplemental workouts like shoulder shrugs and calf raises.

Weighing myself tomorrow, and just gonna play video games all day tomorrow. Hadn't had a day off from work in a while, and feels good to have the weekend off. Hoping to hit some PR's on OHP on Sunday.

Uglyface2 posted...

I'm diabetic and need to exercise, and weight loss would help. I can't do aerobics because I live in an apartment upstairs. Squats get my heartrate up, so I've been doing those.

Alright, thanks for sharing. I think an effective strategy, if its about cardio and getting your heart rate, would be to superset them with another exercise. If you arent familiar with the term, a superset means doing 1 exercise for a certain amount of reps/time, and then IMMEDIATELY moving into a different exercise and doing that (usually involves a different muscle group)

so in your case, you want to keep your HR up and are able to do a lot of squats, but they also cause you what you have labeled as unbearable pain. If you could do a moderate amount of them that does not trigger the pain (how does 20 at a time feel?), then immediately jumping into another exercise (idk what equipment you have, but if you are just doing body weight stuff then maybe jumping jacks or push-ups?), then immediately getting back to the squats (for less reps) and continue until you get the amount or effort that you are wanting

so it would look like

squats for a set of 15-20 (or whatever is high enough for you but does not trigger the pain)
10 jumping jacks (or a diff exercise)
squats for 9-10
6-8 jumping jacks
squats for 4-6

and all of that would be one set, and there would be no rest or very little rest (like 3 seconds) in between the exercises
the reps that I gave you for that are also just me giving a rough guess; adapt for what works for you, but the overall flow to it is what I would recommend

am I making sense with what I just said? Feel free to ask any questions

Sorozone posted...

Definitely felt fatigued today, was still able to get a 265x6, 300x3 and a 350x1 on deadlift. Maintained on my bodyweight pullups. Improved a couple supplemental workouts like shoulder shrugs and calf raises.

Weighing myself tomorrow, and just gonna play video games all day tomorrow. Hadn't had a day off from work in a while, and feels good to have the weekend off. Hoping to hit some PR's on OHP on Sunday.

people at my gym always say Im crazy for doing squats and deads on the same day but for me I cant fathom how people do deads and pull-ups on the same day I always get wrecked on one just from doing the other

My leg day was okay today. I am at the beginning of a new program cycle so a lot of the lifts/reps are light and I have to resist the urge to do the old ego lifting and stick to the program. It always pays off in the end though but i the devil on my shoulder is screaming at me to say fuck it

deadlift 275x5 295x3 315x3 335x3 355x3 375x3
squat: 80x8 130x8 180x8 230x5 255x3 180x1
hip thrust 505x3x8
leg curl 95x12 100x12 105x12
leg extension 60x3x12

I used to do squats and dead's on the same day. It's really only a 'bad idea' because of fatigue reasons. Otherwise it's mostly hitting completely different muscle groups. It's really only the glutes you are hitting significantly on both. Unless you are super deep on deadlifts for some reason, at that point it would hit the quads.

And normally I wouldn't do deadlifts and pullups on the same day, but I'm specifically targeting my back more during this routine. So a lot of extra back work.

Also, just want to say, that greek yogurt is so good. Strawberry, with some vanilla granola and almonds has been my go to late night(on edibles) snack.

Arms were good in some ways today but have to hold back on a lot due to this nagging forearm injury. It really just isnt going away which sucks

barbell curl 85x15 85x12 85x9 85x6 85x3
tricep pushdown 60x3x12
cable curl 60x20 70x15 80x10 90x5
skull crusher 70x4x12
incline db curl 20x10 25x10 30x10
overhead db extension 65x3x12
reverse grip lat pull-down with curl emphasis 140x3x10
overhead rope extension 62x8 57x8 45x12

arms looking juicy, but I literally laughed out loud when I saw how unflattering the pic ended up for my titties for some reason

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/e908c6e7.jpg

I slept 14 hours last night and will not be lifting today. Hopefully tomorrows lift will be a banger as a result

I slept like garbage last night and had a not great workout this morning. I could tell I was missing a gear.

Was finally able to hit my sets for OHP 135x8 140x5 145x3 165x1. Went pretty smooth too, upping everything by 5 pounds. Excited for squats tomorrow. Even if it's not another 10,15 pound improvement, I'll take any improvement.

Seanchan posted...

I slept like garbage last night and had a not great workout this morning. I could tell I was missing a gear.

hopefully tonight goes a little better for you

i do miss being 22 and being able to roll up to the gym on four hours of sleep after a night of drugging and drinking and being able to bang out a workout lol

soro you feel like that 200 Ohp is gonna be in the works for you when its all said and done?

I may fuck around tomorrow and see what my barbell curl max is. Ive got some empty real estate in my lift tomorrow due to my injury preventing me from doing a few things

so do I replace those with a smart lift and work effectively? Or do I say fuck it and go total caveman and blast something heavy out just to say I did?

iiaattgg posted...

soro you feel like that 200 Ohp is gonna be in the works for you when its all said and done?

I think so, outside of my back like I mentioned, I'm also doing extra work on my delts. Even got my lateral dumbell raises up to 40lb's now. Granted, when I was at my strongest, OHP always plateaued pretty badly once I hit 180.

Gonna go through this current routine 8-10 times or so,(currently halfway through the 3rd time). See where I'm at progression wise. Probably deload for a week, then go through the routine another 8 times, and then see where I'm at overall and if I want to do a mini-cut. I think that's more than enough time to break through my plateaus and barriers for almost all my lifts.

180 Ohp is hell lol

took like a year to add five pounds

iiaattgg posted...

hopefully tonight goes a little better for you

It did not. 90% of my problem is that I'm playing AC: Odyssey at the moment and that game just continues to suck "5 more minutes" out of me until suddenly it's midnight. I just have to turn the fucking this off at like 10:30 so I can let my mind wind down for a bit.

Anyway, woke up this morning feeling that good type of sore after shoulders/arms yesterday. Looked in the mirror and I was like "I'm looking good right now", which was nice. Not, "defined abs" nice but goes to show that perseverance, even when things aren't going smooth, is key.

Started off great today

pullups 60x5 45x8 30x12 15x5
bent over row 170x5 190x3 210x10 230x4

but then got a call from the girl and had to go back home. Idk about going back later, I got high intensity vertical and horizontal pull in so its not like I did nothing. May as well just continue the rest

The mirror test is always the most important one for me

f the scales, f the metrics, if Im happy with what I see then what Im doing is working

So I did go back, which I guess Im happy about but also just continuously frustrated by this arm injury. I really dont want to take any extended time off, but I also Im starting to think Im in a bit of denial about it

rest of the workout

barbell curl 95x2x10 70x12
lat pull-down 140x9 was supposed to get 25+ but the injury made me stop
seated cable row 67x2x12
cable rear delt fly 15x2x10
lat pushdown 70x3x8
cable curl 57x12 60x9 62x6
db pullover 75x2x7

Hit 340 on squat, failed on 345.

Might be full of myself, but I think I'll hit 350-355 on my next leg day. Only because this day is specifically quad destroyer day.

iiaattgg posted...

I really dont want to take any extended time off, but I also Im starting to think Im in a bit of denial about it

This is going to be the best bet. Not worth to fight through because you strength will slowly go down and you'll question yourself saying that you should have fixed this earlier. I know from experience, my hip was fucked, and I kept trying to go through it, and it just got to the point where my stability was so shot that if I tripped on anything, stubbed my knee or toe, I would just crumble. Stopped doing any leg work outside of just walking for about 2 months, then started slow and worked my way back up just incase I got injured again from going too heavy, too quick.

Definitely take a rest. It took me 2 years to rehab a torn MCL because I didn't rest it properly in the first place. I still gives me trouble now like 10 years after the initial injury. It sucks to take the downtime but pushing through it risks either a bigger injury or compromised strength/technique.

Its just frustrating but also its a weird dynamic of I absolutely know I can train around it for the most part. I can get through a push day outside of lateral raises. I can get through a leg day, even deadlifting. Pull day is where I feel it the most, and where its starting to infect more and more exercises. It started with simply just hammer curls and reverse curls. Now its hurting the pull downs and while I completed the pull-ups, I could certainly feel it there far more than I was a few weeks ago

im doing incredibly well in so many areas of my training that I dont want to lose. I just need to decide if I can cut out more than I have been cutting (like no more pull-ups, stuff like that) and see what happens, or just do a hard shutdown for a few weeks and deal with consequences of that.

im resting today for sure

Hit 225 on incline, failed on my attempt for 230.

Looking at a split of 205X5, 210x3, 230x1 next week.

Another notable improvement is that I hit weighted dips x3 for 110.

Also hit 245 on regular bench pretty comfortably at the end of the work out. Which is a very good sign because I'm usually super fatigued at this point. Wouldn't be surprised at another big jump on my regular bench day in a few days.

Solid backday, nothing crazy today but did see a couple improvements.

First hit 75 x1 on weighted pullups. All my upper back work is paying off right away. Second, my forearms are getting massive. Like cartoonishly big. Gonna have DBZ arms by the end of my next cutting phase lol. I'm also consistently getting around 1:40 on my dead hangs now. Can't wait to hit the 2:00 barrier.

Still hit 350 on deadlift despite all the pullups work, 355 failed halfway. Just couldn't push or in this case pull through all the way. Once again this is done at the end of my workout so I don't do a lot of reps, mostly just max work, so looking at a 300x3 355x1 for next time.

I tried today I guess. Weak across the board but Im glad to have just gotten some action

incline bench 205x2 160x10
ohp 160x5 160x3 160x1
bench 200x9 200x7 200x5
dips 72x6 82x4 92x2
Tricep pushdown 65x3x12

Today is my most boring day because not a lot of room for improvement on things. It's a lot of arm work using dumbells and cables, and most of it is for biceps.

But I was able to hit 165 on OHP this time around on this arm day. Looking at a 145x6, 150x4, 170x1 next time around.

With the increase in my OHP, and my incline I'm expecting big results on bench in a few days. Taking a rest day tomorrow, then hopefully on Saturday it'll be more squat improvements.

Alrighty Ive come to a gameplan

i clearly have an injury that is not going to go away with a few days of rest or from training around it. Im also doing really well in a lot of my lifts and about to peak on things like incline bench and Ohp which have been some long term goals. Those lifts arent really impacted by the injury

so Im going to see those out over the next few weeks. Eliminate any unilateral training. Do my push days on a bit of a reduced scale but still pushing the big lifts I wanted to. Keeping my leg day. Completely eliminating arm day, and greatly reducing pull day. Light rows, some cable work. Mainly just to keep the blood flowing there but not pushing the weight at all.

once I get to the end of my cycle with the two big lifts, it the injury is better, great. If not, shut everything down for a while with a lot less guilt

That's a solid idea.

I mentioned my previous hip problems so I couldn't do much leg work outs, but what I could do was leg extensions. So I just piled up on that lol.