so what roids are you all on?

The kind that don't enhance performance.

Suckonamybol

43.1% body fat. I can't remember right off hand what my BMI was. Anyway, personal trainer showed me some very basic warm-up, workout, and cool down exercises and stretches. I did 10 seconds of balancing on my forearms and toes (with my body straight). She said it was good for a beginner, since she sometimes had to start people out on their knees and forearms. Been trying to do that for various amounts of time today, and that kicks my butt...lol. Also working on proper squats by using my body ball as a support. She said that the goal is to do proper squats without use of the ball. She's gone over a bunch of different stuff with me, from seeing how my balance and form is, down to what types of foods and equipment I have in my kitchen. She's helping me come up with a workout program that I will be able to do on my own including a few things with some 5 or 8 lb weights to start with.

I have a cold that's trying to get the best of me, or else I was going to go for a walk today. Instead, I decided to stay in and work on some of the forms and exercises she showed me. It's weird. My nose doesn't bother me nearly the whole time I'm exercising, but the minute I get done, I do nothing but blow my nose. I'm using it as motivation to keep on exercising...lol.

played an hour long game of hoops then headed over to the weight room for a leg/ab workout...i'm pretty toasted now.

when you guys mix in lifts IE legs/abs, chest/bi's, shoulders/tri's...whatever your workout conists of... do you do all chest lifts first then all biceps lifts or kind of mix them evenly throughout?

Mixed.

I usually alternate upper and lower body.

That seems like to long ago.

I'm late to the party but I'm in.

I'm trying to shed some pounds and get in better shape. I'm not trying to get into the shape I was in High School, but I need to do better. I don't much care about what the scale says, more about the mirror test and getting in better shape for the work I do.

I have arthritis in my knees and plantar faciitis along with terrible ass shin splints if I run too much. I have had the shin splints under control for 2 years now. It seems like every time I get to working out regularly I end up with an injury and go backwards way too far.

I think I've found a taping technique and some insoles to help my plantar faciitis and my knees haven't been giving me too much hell lately so I'm cautiously optimistic I can hit a stride.

Unfortunately I have a shit schedule in the spring-most of the summer-fall, so I think a gym membership is out of the running. I'm going to do some interval exercises that don't require weights and try to work in some running. I am also on a rec league basketball team. :banghead:

Not really sure why I'm posting this, other than to get it out and give myself another motivator to stick with it. Wish me luck.

I guess I could ask what do you guys do to prevent injury? Also, what are some good plyometric exercises?

Compound lifting and yoga will be your best bet for injury prevention. I wouldn't throw plyos in to a new guy.

I go from largest muscle group to smallest (So, deads, squats, rows/bench, military press).

You're probably right about the plyos. I just like them and think they would really benefit me now in my fatass condition. I might try to get some dots set up or something light and relatively low impact.

Unfortunately I don't have access to any iron. Like I said, I have a shit schedule in about 8 months out of the year, so a gym membership doesn't do me a hell of a lot of good.

I'm comfortable enough in my manhood to do some Yoga. Anyone know of any good Yoga resources out there? There are a couple workouts on my phone that include Yoga. Anything else?

PT again tomorrow. I don't know if I'm getting better or worse.

Anyone here doing paleo?

MF me! I think I tore my rotator cuff.

Is everyone hurt?

Both mine have tears in them. Any catching or just knife like pain?

Not sure how you guys can stay in the gym day after day. I tried it for two weeks and quite frankly, got bored. I play hockey to get a good sweat going.

I'm not sure what you're doing, but, if you're bored, you're doing it wrong.

Pretty much the knife like pain when I try to raise my arms about my head. It's also a bitch to try to sleep at night. I wake up in pretty bad pain numerous times.

Slowly working my bench up again. Had a personal record back in October or November last year and then went on vacation- wrecked my motivation and conditioning. Feels like I am getting close again, but I don't want to jump ahead in the program I am on so I won't know until the end of February.

I did that last fall, and it is very painful and sucks ass. It limits your ability to do so many things. The rehab is a pain in the butt.

I swam for an hour yesterday, and it even hurts then.

Same here, and I can only sleep on the side that is injured. Good luck with it, hope you get along better than I am.

Sounds like an RC tear. Id you have decent health insurance you might consider getting an MRI to have it looked at.

There are a few exercises that help strengthen the muscles around it that can ease the pain some but not much.

I have been living with tears in both shoulders for several years. I can sometimes go weeks and not notice. Then other days I can not move my arms without excruciating pain. Sometimes even get numbness down my arms. :(

I was just hoping it was a muscle strain, but it's being going on for about 4-5 weeks with no signs of getting better. Upright row, Front/Side lat raise, and close grip bench caused the most pain when I tried doing them.

Does the pain feel like it is inside the socket or on top of the shoulder? If on top there is possibility it could be the AC joint.

Do you have pain with regular press or incline? This motion tends to put more stress on the AC than others.

It feels like it's more on the top and outside of the shoulder. I played around and repped 100lb DB's for 15 reps for 3 sets last week on the incline without any shoulder issues.

I was a co-worker that's a massage therapist try to massage it a bit and she found a spot about 8 inches down my shoulder/straight down my armpit that hurt like hell when she touched it. I forgot what the hell she said it was called, but I would think they might be linked. That area only hurts like hell when it's touched.

It will take around a year to be 100%, more than likely. Been there and it sucks.

Gosh I hope it isn't a rotator cuff. Those are a bitch.

Bench and incline bench put a lot of strain on the AC so I think you more than likely have an RC tear. I would see an ortho.

I used to do Insanity, and absolutely loved it. I recently started instructing at a new gig in town called KOSAMA. It's a blast, group setting type workout. Cover's everything from Plyo, Upper/Lower body, Kettle Bells, Kickboxing, Circuits and Abs. Plus its easy to keep motivated in the group setting instead of working out alone.

Lot's of guys and girls getting their 2012 off to a right start with KOSAMA. I really enjoy the cardio aspect of it.

I used to do heavy lifting and just got tired of the bulk and lack of speed. When I started martial arts a few years ago, I stopped heavy lifting. I miss the burn at times, but absolutely love the quickness and agility I gained without the heavy weights.

Here's to 2012 and beyond!!!

X2 on working out in a group setting. Makes it a lot harder to say "nah, I'm not going tonight".

I'm reading up on Rippetoe's 3x5 and would like to start it as a novice. However, I have a reconstructed knee with a limited range of motion, about 90 degrees. My knee is stable, but is caked with scar tissue limiting my rom (I've had it scoped twice). No way I can do a proper squat as I can't get my hips lower than my knees.

Any way I can do this workout with a squat alternative?

TIA

Have you tried box squats? You could try hack squats, if you have the machine.

Good thinking on the box squat. I'll try them both in the morning. Rep.

Trying to get my bench up to 225 working weight. Been at it forever. Any thoughts on whether throwing incline bench helps or hurts this effort? I should add that I've made steady progress lately and threw it up 3 times today (trying to get to 5 reps), but I've pondered adding incline in as well.

Decline > incline

Works more muscle

Adding more reps to a "max" weight is something I've never been any good at. I get to where I want to weight wise, but 4 or 5 reps is all I get out of it. I should add I don't use a spotter, so I probably am not going all out effort wise.

Definitely not going all out effort-wise. You could probably get another rep or two each set with a spotter. You need muscular hypertrophy (I think it's hypertrophy). That's where you get stronger...

Congrats on the new gig. Kosamas are popping up all over Omaha. There's one about a mile from my house.

I got a load of new PT exercises yesterday. I'm supposed to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but my back still starts getting uncomfortable after 5-10 minutes of standing. Hopefully that will be long gone by the weekend.

I believe hypertrophy=muscle growth which is accomplished with higher reps. 8-12. This doesn't necessarily translate to strength which is more so accomplished in the 4-8 range. Silock or others in 3..2..1..

edit: although if you're getting stronger you're probably getting some size also.

How many times per week are you benching now, and at what loads? What type of assistance work are you doing?

I'm doing 3x5: 185, 205, 215 (I tried 225 for 3rd set this week and got it 3 times). 3 times per week. I also do deads, squats, weighted pullups, military.

3 times a week sounds a bit much to hit chest. what other exercises do you do on "chest" day?

I do that full body workout (bench, dead, squat, military, pullups) 3 times a week. Off days I usually do some kind of interval cardio/weight circuit (if I do anything) like kettlebell swings, rowing machines, jump rope, burpee, box jumps, etc..

Unless you are taking some anabolics I think you are overtraining using that routine. I would suggest a major/minor muscle split routine if you wanted to add some strength. I don't think you are recovering from tearing your muscle fibers from workout to workout.

No anabolics... and thanks for the tip. You think twice a week for the full body would be ample? I'd actually prefer that because it would free me up on the third day to do some other stuff that I enjoy in the gym (more kettlebell related stuff).

If you are lifting very heavy, which like is sounds like, then you can give it a shot and see what happens. I can almost guarantee you won't lose any strength by dropping a day. I've never really liked or used full body workouts I'm not 100% sure of how you can them work and still gain strength.

I know at one time I tried to do 2 chest workouts a week and actually regressed. I was using much more volume then you however.

Can't get stronger without getting bigger. Strength is really just a range, though. If you're concerned about your max number, lift in lower reps. If you're concerned more about how much you can lift over a larger number of reps, do that. You're going to grow pretty much no matter what if you keep the reps under 15. After that, it's really up to you and your goals. You'll probably get larger in the 5 rep range than the 15, though.

Full-body workouts absolutely help strength gains for most people. Unless you're a competitive lifter, or have been doing it so long that they no longer work for you (that takes soooo many years, though), you'll be fine on a full-body workout. Starting Strength and Madcow 5x5 both use full-body workouts three times per week. The key to them is that they work different muscle groups in different amounts. For instance, you aren't doing deadlifts every single workout. One day may emphasize squats, while another emphasizes deads. One day may emphasize chest and back, and the other may emphasize shoulders and arms. Still compound lifts, still full-body workouts, still a great way to make progress.

Most studies show that you make the best strength gains by working out a muscle three times per week.

I used to hit bodypart 3 times a week, then 2 times a week, now i've started hitting them once a week. i've listed my routine before
sat: chest/bis
sun: legs/abs
mon: off
tues: off
wed: shoulders/tris
thurs: back
friday: off

hitting bench, squat, militaries, and barbell rows 4x5
accessory lifts reps are mixed at sets of 3

What works better for you?

It seems like there would be a lot of variables to consider on a study like that.... which muscle worked, intensity, volume, nutrition, etc

That makes sense changing up the intensity and volume on certain muscle groups. I think NC was basically going to failure on the last set every other day on bench. IMO that's over training. It's going to be okay for a noob because basically doing anything in a gym for a noob will make them stronger, but once you start hitting the 6 month plateau that people start to hit I think that's too much.

well...when i first started lifting i was hitting body part 3 time per week and made great gains until i eventually plataeud and maybe actually started regressing. so i started hitting body parts twice a week and maybe made minimal progress. I just started going once per week so I can't comment on that yet.

How long have you been at it for?

1.5 weeks

There is a whole series on them at suppversity and there's a really long review of studie I'll try to find and post. Certainly, though, they were focused on the recreational athlete, and not pros.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, incline bench shouldn't hurt your flat bench, as long as you are doing the flat bench first.

Free advice:
1. Be committed to your training. Don't skip days and don't eff around while you are at the gym. Concentrate on what you are doing.
2. Bench first, before you do any other exercise.
3. Have a spotter ready for your heavy sets. Spotters allow you to push yourself for extra weight and/or extra reps.
4. Write down your lifts each time. It is easier to track progress and provides some motivation to know exactly what you did last time. Each time you go, do something more than the last (one more rep or five extra pounds each time will eventually make a big difference).
5. Listen to your body. You should know in a few weeks if your routine is working or not.
6. Visualization and/or positive thinking. Tell yourself you can do it and picture yourself doing it.
7. Eat to support your workouts.
8. Rest to support your workouts.
9. Limit your cardio. Cardio and bulking/strength training do not go together.

What you are doing is fine for a strength program. You may want to re-calculate your max's based on your last heavy workout, and start the cycle over. When was the last time you had a de-load week?

Also look into Wendler's 5/3/1 strength program. It's similar to all the starting strength/madcow/whatever else name strength routines, but has a bit more 'accessory' work you include tailored to your goals. Shoot me a PM if you want the ebook.

I have all 3 of the 5/3/1 e-books. The 1st and 2nd editions plus the powerlifting editions.

I love the concept of 5/3/1 but I do manipulate the accessory work differently than he suggests.

Someone posted this in the other thread

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...n-routine.html

I plan on following that.

The gym I go to doesn't have a leg press machine or a seated calf raise machine (for leg day - tuesday). Any recommendations on what I can do to replace those workouts?

That routine sucks, especially for a newbie. You should do Starting Strength..

The reps on that routine are ridiculous. Wow.

Yea that routine blows. People think if they get a huge pump (high reps), that they are working their body harder, which is reeruned.

Going Too Low

The best range for muscle growth is 8-12 reps per set. Consistently doing 7 or fewer reps with heavier weights may feed your pride in the gym, but it won’t build as much muscle as moderate reps with moderate weights. A recent study found that when subjects used a weight that allowed them to complete 25-30 reps per set, they increased muscle protein synthesis (the process that leads to muscle growth) by 60% more than when they did sets with a weight that limited them to 4 reps. What’s more, going too heavy often leads to truncated reps. This is especially true of leg presses. It’s likely you can use more metal with this exercise than any other.

This stokes your ego, and because the guy before you used 900 for six half-reps instead of 600 for 12 full reps, you want to crank out 900-pound partials, too. Resist this urge. More reps and better form with a lighter weight will build more mass.

Research

A recent study from Italy found that when subjects did dumbbell shoulder presses with half-reps or three-quarter reps, they did not use nearly as much deltoid muscle fibers as they did when they did full reps. Using more muscle fibers during an exercise will make that muscle bigger. Even when training for power, the fewer reps you do, the harder it is to eke out another one and thus make consistent gains.
Solutions

• Do movements from full stretches to full contractions. Carefully control the negative half of reps.
• Keep the reps of most sets in the 8-12 range.
• Focus on your muscles contracting, not the weight moving.

http://www.simplyshredded.com/gym-cl...ix-them-2.html

:popcorn:

Put the popcorn away. it will make you fat.

Nah, it's one of those 100 calorie snack bags. He's cool.

Workout that my personal trainer designed for me to start off with:

Three times per week:

1. Planks on elbows - 15-30 secs - 2-3 sets
2. Woodchop - 2 Arm High/Low - 10-12 reps - 2-3 sets
3. Squat against the wall with stability ball - 10-12 reps - 2-3 sets
4. Push-Up - kneeling on stability ball against wall - 10-12 reps - 2-3 sets
5. Lunges - Forward - 10-12 reps - 2-3 sets
6. Lat pull down - 10-12 reps - 2-3 sets
7. Bridge (I call this the pelvic thrust exercise) - with one leg in the air - 10-12 reps per side - 2-3 sets
8. Back extension - on stability ball and knees off floor

Warm up - walk in place, dynamic stretching - 5-10 minutes

Alternate sets 1 and 2 - brief rest between
Alternate sets 3 and 4 - brief rest between
Alternate sets 5 and 6 - brief rest between
Alternate sets 7 and 8 - brief rest between

Cool down - stretching - 5 minutes

Three times per week:

Walk 2-3 miles, begin interval training if I so desire
or
Cardio video

He talks about me in one of the books. ;-)

The mention of the "VAG" :D

But seriously, does he?

Yup, in the powerlifting book. We're actually good friends.

He texted me last night to let me know he's sending me a shirt that's limited edition and not gonna e for sale.

Four reps @ 285lb on the bench this morning! According to http://www.muscleandstrength.com/too...alculator.html, I should be able to do a single at 322.

I've next stopped lifting... So I'm OK.. Talk amongst yourselves.. :)

:spock:

Muscle protein synthesis is not necessarily the same as muscle growth.

Carry on.

It does not say the same. It says the synthesis can lead to growth.

The most important part is to stay light enough to do full range with good form.