Official Workout/Fitness Thread (Re-born)

[Induveca]

Got bored last eve so also picked up New Rules for Lifting (standard not abs). Read through the whole thing.

Honestly, nothing revolutionary in it from my perspective. He likes compound movements, and standing exercises as they engage more muscle groups.

For me at least, most with a brain get into this mentality by default after 2 years lifting weights. However throughout the book he makes fun of guys with spotters/bad form and the general gym idiots we all despise shouting after contorting their bodies to lift weight they can't handle. In reality, he was writing the book for those guys, or guys who haven't lifted in 10 years.

In short, if you are making good gains and are experienced (2+ years lifting) incorporate compound lifts into your routine and have good form avoid this book.

If you're just starting off or avoid certain areas during lifting due to weakness or you just feel awkward doing certain exercises......it will be quite useful.

[nate33]

Had to share this, was introduced to these by a guy over here at the gym a few weeks back. I've seen massive improvement in pecs in just 2 weeks of doing them every other day.

20 Second Pushups!

Basically elevate your feet on a couch or stable chair. Then just do a pushup on the floor...but here's the catch.

Lower yourself down to the ground and hold for 10 seconds. Then elevate quickly to 50% of the way back up to the starting position, then take 10 seconds to slowly rise the rest of the way.

I have benched 400 pounds in the past regularly, and these things KILLED ME. I'm up to 10 now, and it's absolutely painful but really has strengthened my shoulders. Try them out!

I did that last night. They were hard! I was only able to do four at a time, I ended up doing 4 sets. It was nice because it worked my pecs, shoulders and triceps but it didn't aggravate my shoulder tendinitis. I think I'll switch to doing this as a primary chest workout for a while so my shoulder can heal.

[Induveca]

Nate happy you liked them as well......keep hitting them for a few weeks and you'll see some major development that you just don't get with weight presses.

On a sidenote, the one thing that New Rules of Lifting book made me do more of was a 4 set deadlift routine. I usually did two sets, not a ton of weight due to a lack of weight belt.

I used the technique described in the book with no belt, just hardening the core while lifting. Added double my normal weight and did 4 sets.

Wow.....my lower back muscles, traps and forearms are a little still sore two days later. Definitely doing that again today.

[gswhoops]

First of all, I was browsing the forums yesterday and came across this. Really wish we had something like this on the GS board, it's been a good read.

I was hoping some of you guys could give me some advice. I started lifting about two and a half years ago, when I went to college. Never lifted seriously before that (I ran cross-country in high school and never really had access to a strength coach). My rugby coach started me on a basic program of squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, pull-downs, etc., which has worked pretty well for me so far. But now I feel like I'm starting to plateau, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to change up my program to get better results. Right now I generally lift 3 times a week (two days of squats/bench and one day of deadlift/back/shoulders) and do cardio 2-3 times a week.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Much appreciated.

[pancakes3]

i'm sure others can answer this much more succinctly (protein it up, freeweights, etc) but it kinda depends on what you're going for. bulking up? getting stronger, but remaining lean? getting cut at all costs? bear in mind there are diminishing returns to strength building.

[gswhoops]

Well right now, my goal is functional - trying to improve my performance on the rugby field. Which means being strong but also having endurance to run for 80 minutes at a time. Definitely not worried about getting "cut" just as long as I can still move well.

[nate33]

Are you eating enough protein? For starters, assuming you're on a budget, I'd go to Walmart and buy the big plastic jar of whey powder. It costs about $14 and it's good for about 32 scoops. Take one or two scoops in a large glass of milk immediately after lifting (or during lifting). There are slightly better supplements out there, but they get expensive real quick. The cheap whey powder is good enough

If your goal is strength, then lift heavy weights. Do a light warm up set and then do something that you can only do for 4 or 5 reps before failing. Then drop a little weight on successive sets so that you continue to do 4 or 5 reps. The conventional wisdom that you should be doing 8-12 reps before moving up in weight isn't appropriate for building strength.

Finally, if you are trying to get stronger, you're going to have a hard time if you are also burning significant calories in your cardio workouts. You want to avoid long runs of 30 or more minutes because it'll take away muscle-building resources. The best way to maintain good cardio fitness while limiting the total mileage is to do sprint sets. Instead of running 3-4 miles, try sprinting all out for 1 minute, walking for 1 minute and then repeating 4 to 8 times until you've done it for about 15 minutes (plus a five minute easy warm up). That's all you need. You can change up the durations if you want (do 30 seconds sprints and 30 second walks, or 2 minutes sprints and 2 minute walks, etc.). The bottom line is that you will work your cardiopulmonary system vigorously without taxing the muscles too much. You will also be working the quick-twitch sprinting muscles which are probably more necessary in a sport like rugby.

[gswhoops]

Thanks. I've been doing mostly 5x5s and drinking the whey, but I've been doing a lot of long runs as well. I guess they're kind of counterbalancing each other. I've been looking for good sprint workouts but haven't really been able to find any, I'll give those a try.

[dandridge 10]

I picked up that new rules for lifting for abs. They have some great exercises in there.......but they harp a bit too much on the obvious. Crunches are pointless to perform (barely help the abs anyways), and are very bad for your back. I think everyone realized that.

I have both the New Rules for lifting abs and the NROL (regular book). I don't recall seeing any crunches in the NROL for Abs book, which is the most current book...in fact he admits that they are not very productive unless using weights). They are some limited crunches in the NROL book.

[dandridge 10]

Got bored last eve so also picked up New Rules for Lifting (standard not abs). Read through the whole thing.

Honestly, nothing revolutionary in it from my perspective. He likes compound movements, and standing exercises as they engage more muscle groups.

For me at least, most with a brain get into this mentality by default after 2 years lifting weights. However throughout the book he makes fun of guys with spotters/bad form and the general gym idiots we all despise shouting after contorting their bodies to lift weight they can't handle. In reality, he was writing the book for those guys, or guys who haven't lifted in 10 years.

In short, if you are making good gains and are experienced (2+ years lifting) incorporate compound lifts into your routine and have good form avoid this book.

If you're just starting off or avoid certain areas during lifting due to weakness or you just feel awkward doing certain exercises......it will be quite useful.

I don't necessarily disagree with your observations. I myself indicated this book is more for a beginner or intermediate lifter. I actually think this book is perfect for not only beginners who never lifted before (like me), but also for those who lifted but had no idea what they were doing (in terms of sets, reps, using machines vs. free weights). To me, its not necessarily the excercises that make the book great, its the structure that it gives in terms of various programs that constantly change.

I have been happy with my results thus far. Ultimately, I want to be fit, toned, and have some muscle definition, but I don't want to look like a meat head. So far, after 5 months of following the book, I have those results That's only what is important for me. After doing a year of this program, I plan to do the programs in the NROL for abs book. I'll keep everyone apprised of my progress.

[Induveca]

Did 50 kg dumbbell presses today for 12 reps. That's 110 pounds per arm.

Not a shabby lift for a long arm guy of around 6'4.5".

Trying to hit 75 pounds for dumbbell shoulder presses at 10 reps.

For all you guys lifting, keep setting goals for yourself, switch up the routine a LOT or it gets boring for the mind and body.

[pancakes3]

buddy told me that he was at a bachelor party over the weekend and it degenerated into a testosterone-off complete with arm wrestling contests and pushup competitions.

in alternating arms ever 5 pushups, my one of my friends topped off at 32 one-armed pushups but could only crank out 20 regular pushups. that can't be right, can it? i can bounce out 50 pushups pretty much whenever but can maybe get... 3 one armed pushups before i slam my nose onto the floor.

[no D in Hibachi]

I think I have a case of tennis elbow and I'm looking for advise or treatment tips. About 18 months ago I first noticed minor pain when I'd shoot and follow through. The pain was most intense at the apex of the follow through when my elbow would completely straighten out. My wife then had a kid and busy season hit so I stopped playing ball for about a year and the pain went away. Earlier this year I started playing pickup ball again and at first there wasn't any noticeable pain, but over the last couple months I've felt an increase in pain in my elbow. It's now reached the point where I can't take one shot without pain and it's impossible to follow through so even if I tried to bear through it all I can do is flick the shot like Shawn Marion.

It's annoying because I've read about tennis elbow and everyone says to just let it rest and it'll go away. Well, I let it rest for an entire year and the injury resurfaced and appears to just be getting worse.

Few questions: 1) is my self-diagnosis of tennis elbow correct? 2) if you've experienced a similar injury what did you do to recover? Lastly, 3) when will the lockout finally end?!!

Any help is appreciated!

[Nivek]

no D -- Your problem is that you're playing too much defense. Cut that out and your elbow should be fine.

Seriously, two options:

1) See a doctor. Find a sports medicine guy.

2) Amputation. (This is what I tell my kids they should do about a headache.)

[W. Unseld]

I have annoying tennis elbow (actually from tennis) that won't go away though it's not excruciating, it's definitely annoying. What I've done is make sure I'm more warmed up then usual and I usually added an otc pain killer. That seems to do the trick, as does N.O.Xplode which for some crazy reason seems to lube my joints even though that's not the intention of the product.

[KiNgSbOi]

Could somebody give me their thoughts on the 5x5 training program? I'm looking to start something new and I want to gain more strength. I've been working out for over a year and a half now and I've stopped seeing results. Now, I want to take my training to the next level and I read on numerous sites that the 5x5 program consisting of squats, deadlifts, bench press and military press will help increase mass and strength. Anyone who's been on this program or know anything about it can help me out a bit. Also, I am really lacking a good solid meal plan. I'm stuck in a rut between what to consume after my post workout. I read shakes are the best because your body consumes it faster, but then I hear if your going to have a post workout shake not to add fruit in it because it digests slower. So, with that being said, what am I supposed to put in my shake after workouts then for a good, fast, effective digestion? Also, I'm trying to cut down on eating too much meat. I eat chicken and fish mostly, but I want to have days where I'm not eating any of that at all. Anyways, if someone can help me out and inform me on what they know, It would be greatly appreciated.

[Chpwags]

I have done some 5x5's with those exercises and I would say that I saw the most mass gain with that set and rep scheme. I have seen a lot more strength gains doing tripples for squat and bench and heavy single power cleans although I don't put on mass doing it. The getting stronger with no mass gain is good for me but some people want to get bigger so it depends what your goal is.

Edit: what have you been doing in your training so far?

[KiNgSbOi]

What do you mean tripples and heavy single power cleans? Well I want to gain more strength first and foremost but at the same time I'm looking to up my muscle mass. I've been stuck in the 190lbs area and my ideal weight would be in the 200 range.

Well, up to this point I've been doing split routines. For example; Mondays do chest/biceps, Tues; back/triceps, rest Wed, Thurs do chest/biceps and either Fri or Sat do Legs/shoulders. Something along those lines.

[Chpwags]

I didn't spell triple right. What I mean is reps of 3 pretty much building your way up to your 3 rep max and power cleans same thing only building you way up to a 1 rep max. Doing this you might only do 9-15 reps total(not icluding warm up sets) for squat and bench and less for power cleans. One thing I have learned is that you do not need to do 36 exercises for 36 sets(exageration) in one session to get stronger stick to 2-3 and lift heavy and your strength will increase really fast.

If I were you I would probably start with the 5x5's I am sure you will see a lot of strength gains from it and hit your goal of 200 pounds in a short time. It will probably be different from the body building routine you are used to and you will be doing less exercises and less reps but the strength gains will be much better.

[KiNgSbOi]

Yeah, I think I will go with the 5x5 route. Squats three times a week, Barbell rows twice a week, Bench press twice a week and deadlifts once a week. All while incorporating pull ups in there at least for one day. Does that look about right?

With all that being said. I have another question for you regarding diet. I know I need to intake a good amount of calories, eating certain foods on certain times, etc. I'm just not all too certain what I can include in my post workout shake because I read online that adding fruit to your post workout shake slows the digestion. If that really is the case, what can I substitute? Also, do you know a healthy meal plan I can incorporate into my diet where it fits my calorie needs? I believe I need to have somewhere around 3500 calories a day. I just don't know what to eat through out the day. I mean I hear sandwiches, tuna etc. but I don't eat that type of stuff. I want to eat something more healthy than. If you know anything that would be useful to me it would be a great help.