LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
Yeah lol.
Once I move, I'm going to switch to some underground gym where there's nothing but sweat, weights, and grunting.
LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
On March 23 2011 08:51 Advocado wrote: Maybe I should go do the Wichita Falls program instead. I can't out figure how to Power Cleans safely and with proper weight on my own, so it's rather frustrating.
You can do it. Quit making excuses. I'm not saying its going to be easy, your going to have to put in time, sweat, and probably some blood. But everyone can learn how to powerclean. 4 months ago i couldn't do an over squat with 45 pounds and now i can snatch 5 times that.
On March 23 2011 13:42 RosaParksStoleMySeat wrote: How the hell am I going to keep eating 4k calories a day without force feeding myself -_-.
...force feed yourself then? I'm a fan of "chug three glasses of milk and eat a pound of chicken so fast your body doesnt know its full"
Currently drinking 1/2 gallon of whole milk a day... at work. Boss probably thinks I'm psycho. Hurting my wallet though TT_TT
and oh, some progress. Not even sure if this is good or bad in terms of results but it can't be too bad considering I work fulltime.
so haji, what's a good one in TK?
Also, you got some good DL and squats, but the others are kinda low? assuming you aren't like 120lb
LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
Yeah lol.
Once I move, I'm going to switch to some underground gym where there's nothing but sweat, weights, and grunting.
haha I actually found a gym that was a real tiny place, where the staff included a Triathlete, a K1 fighter, and other serious athlete types + two blind masseuses. I didn't join b/c of distance reasons, but that was pretty hot lol (and like 1/2 the price)
LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
On March 23 2011 14:53 decafchicken wrote:
On March 23 2011 08:51 Advocado wrote: Maybe I should go do the Wichita Falls program instead. I can't out figure how to Power Cleans safely and with proper weight on my own, so it's rather frustrating.
You can do it. Quit making excuses. I'm not saying its going to be easy, your going to have to put in time, sweat, and probably some blood. But everyone can learn how to powerclean. 4 months ago i couldn't do an over squat with 45 pounds and now i can snatch 5 times that.
On March 23 2011 13:42 RosaParksStoleMySeat wrote: How the hell am I going to keep eating 4k calories a day without force feeding myself -_-.
...force feed yourself then? I'm a fan of "chug three glasses of milk and eat a pound of chicken so fast your body doesnt know its full"
Currently drinking 1/2 gallon of whole milk a day... at work. Boss probably thinks I'm psycho. Hurting my wallet though TT_TT
and oh, some progress. Not even sure if this is good or bad in terms of results but it can't be too bad considering I work fulltime.
so haji, what's a good one in TK?
Also, you got some good DL and squats, but the others are kinda low? assuming you aren't like 120lb
No idea, i actually wasn't in Tokyo Is there a Gold's Gym near where you are? That might be a decent choice, depending on location, traffic and real estate size.
Yea, I totally agree that my non-squat numbers are pretty bad (I weigh 160 atm but with like 18% bf) I have rather undeveloped chest/arm muscles b/c all the sports I had played were very lower body centric (soccer, golf, rowing) and I never lifted at all 'till 2009.
TT_TT well at least I can look forward to improving my upper body lift numbers!
Urgh, took 2 weeks off because drinking + uni was kicking my arse, back into it last night and HOLYSHITWTFUX my hamstrings have never been this tight. Was having trouble squatting 65kg whereas that's actually a 10% deload from when I was last lifting. Thank god my deadlift is still awesome and my OHP didn't suffer too much
On March 25 2011 12:15 RosaParksStoleMySeat wrote:
LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
Yeah lol.
Once I move, I'm going to switch to some underground gym where there's nothing but sweat, weights, and grunting.
haha I actually found a gym that was a real tiny place, where the staff included a Triathlete, a K1 fighter, and other serious athlete types + two blind masseuses. I didn't join b/c of distance reasons, but that was pretty hot lol (and like 1/2 the price)
LOL no wonder you are having issues at the gym. Konami Sports is fucking garbage at least in my experience.
I was a member at Konami for a few months and a member at a more local chain of gyms and the latter actually managed to have better equipment, and actually had a dude who actually knew how to lift (guy was pretty thick for Japanese standards).
On March 23 2011 14:53 decafchicken wrote:
On March 23 2011 08:51 Advocado wrote: Maybe I should go do the Wichita Falls program instead. I can't out figure how to Power Cleans safely and with proper weight on my own, so it's rather frustrating.
You can do it. Quit making excuses. I'm not saying its going to be easy, your going to have to put in time, sweat, and probably some blood. But everyone can learn how to powerclean. 4 months ago i couldn't do an over squat with 45 pounds and now i can snatch 5 times that.
On March 23 2011 13:42 RosaParksStoleMySeat wrote: How the hell am I going to keep eating 4k calories a day without force feeding myself -_-.
...force feed yourself then? I'm a fan of "chug three glasses of milk and eat a pound of chicken so fast your body doesnt know its full"
Currently drinking 1/2 gallon of whole milk a day... at work. Boss probably thinks I'm psycho. Hurting my wallet though TT_TT
and oh, some progress. Not even sure if this is good or bad in terms of results but it can't be too bad considering I work fulltime.
so haji, what's a good one in TK?
Also, you got some good DL and squats, but the others are kinda low? assuming you aren't like 120lb
No idea, i actually wasn't in Tokyo Is there a Gold's Gym near where you are? That might be a decent choice, depending on location, traffic and real estate size.
Yea, I totally agree that my non-squat numbers are pretty bad (I weigh 160 atm but with like 18% bf) I have rather undeveloped chest/arm muscles b/c all the sports I had played were very lower body centric (soccer, golf, rowing) and I never lifted at all 'till 2009.
TT_TT well at least I can look forward to improving my upper body lift numbers!
Yea there are quite a few Gold's near Tokyo, I think the one at Harajuku is really convenient (it's directly opposite of the station). I've never actually gone in to check their equipment. I was going to check out Konami since Rosa uses it, but I might settle with Gold's instead.
imo the best is if you can find a public community gym which only charges like $2 per use lol.
It was so gay having to pay $100 for a shitty gym in Japan. Much happier with my situation now where I pay less than $30 for a much better workout setting.
On March 25 2011 13:02 nataziel wrote: Urgh, took 2 weeks off because drinking + uni was kicking my arse, back into it last night and HOLYSHITWTFUX my hamstrings have never been this tight. Was having trouble squatting 65kg whereas that's actually a 10% deload from when I was last lifting. Thank god my deadlift is still awesome and my OHP didn't suffer too much
Haha yeah that will do it to you
@haji...so organized with your chart! lol nice progress
cheers to press sucking! clean and jerking way more fun because i dont get my ass kicked by 165 pounds lol
It really is shocking sometimes how much diet actually affects your performance and recovery. The first two workouts I was eating about 100g of protein, and I was complaining about soreness. In fact, I was so sore that I could barely stand up without assisstance. Now that I'm eating between 200-250g of protein the soreness goes away almost immediately after the workout. Last wednesday I was able to squat down, and work on my deadlift form with a broomstick several hours after I had gotten back from the gym. And that was after adding 30lb to my squat.
So... If your progress is stalling, or if you're feeling a little too sore then you need to probably up your protein or calories. Only problem is the lingering tiredness and mental fogginess I'm experiencing. I reckon it has to do with my carb intake. I'm probably not getting enough carbs. Today I ate something like 12g of carbs lawl. So tommorow I'm going to eat 100g of sweet potatoes post workout, and slowly increase my carb intake from there.
If you're on paleo and are kinda clueless on what the safe starches are, here is a short list: Sweet potatoes Yams Tarrow Lotus Green plantaines Yucca aka cassava -- You can also make fries and mashed taters from these.
ETA: Olympic lifts look fun and very transferable to real sports ): I probably won't start doing them till I get back to a reasonable squat number.
On March 25 2011 10:45 decafchicken wrote: Motivation for deadlifts: girl giving me a massage complemented me on my LOWER BACK. she was confused why the "valley" between my two muscles down to my spine was so big lol. i can finally cross that off the checklist.
damn it feels good to be a gangsta. Also ran full speed today 5 days after spraining ankle...exercise + diet + RICE = 4x faster recovery? :D
oh man, that is always a classic one
I should try this RICE you got. White one right?
ps. taking week 4 of coan philipi on saturday. 197,5kg x 2. Not looking forward to it.
haha ^_^
Damn almost 200kg for reps already? I'm scurred My rugby season is over in ~5 weeks. If you have 220kg beat by then looks like i'm gonna have to give it a go...
That is the problem, I really doubt that I managed to progress 7,5kg during my cold. But we'll see. And that 220kg is going down.
Working out has been a lot of fun and i look forward to the gym all the time now ^^.
My numbers are kind of weird though, I think my squats/bench/deads are low and don't know if i should add a lot of weight or just keep going with +5-10 each time. My current numbers are:
Squat: 145 lbs Dead: 155 lbs Bench: 105 lbs OHP: 95 lbs (rawr! i love this lift ^^) power cleans: i suck =(, still practicing.
With squatting i feel i could lift more but im not hitting 145 with perfect form (i hit 2 sets fine, 3rd set i kind of struggle towards the end) so i feel that going up to 155 isnt going to give me anything better.
a couple other small questions, when im squatting one of my arms feels really tight on like the side of my bicep area. I don't what it is but it goes away after 2-3 warm up sets. On the topic of post workout, i just drink a glass of chocolate whole milk, is there a big difference between chocolate powder vs chocolate syrup?
@haji, good stuff! shouldn't you be 5x3'ing your power cleans instead of 3x5'ing them though? i thought that was the general consensus
today was a good day (morning?).. i had to be in our bloomberg lab by 9am to get some project work/research done, so clearly that means skipping my morning gym session. unless of course i was crazy and wake up at 6.30, walk to gym @ -14C outside, leave at 8.00 (not waiting for equipment = win), eat/shower and be in the lab by 9!
feelsgoodman. working out during sunrise is strangely motivating
edit @ alve
My numbers are kind of weird though, I think my squats/bench/deads are low and don't know if i should add a lot of weight or just keep going with +5-10 each time. My current numbers are:
just keep going with +5's, they add up real quick (60lb in a month? winning!) no real point adding tons of weight on the bar as you'll just stall out faster. even for squats i'd go with +5's, but i'm a fan of slow consistent progress so eh.
On March 25 2011 11:34 phyre112 wrote: I have an appointment with an orthopedic doc on Monday, and there are already orders to get X-Rays. According to my aunt, who's the family doctor that gave the referral, several of my uncles have a genetic defect where some part of the knee commonly slides out of place. I didn't catch the full explanation - but it's very likely that. If it not, it's probably the meniscus tear. In either case, it will be quite some time until I'm doing squats, deads or cleans. Does anyone have any suggestions for lolsplits/upper body work that they've tried in the past, so that I'm not just throwing exercises together for random sets reps and weights?
Quoting for extra emphasis. Just because I can't climb stairs doesn't mean I can't lift.
On March 25 2011 11:34 phyre112 wrote: I have an appointment with an orthopedic doc on Monday, and there are already orders to get X-Rays. According to my aunt, who's the family doctor that gave the referral, several of my uncles have a genetic defect where some part of the knee commonly slides out of place. I didn't catch the full explanation - but it's very likely that. If it not, it's probably the meniscus tear. In either case, it will be quite some time until I'm doing squats, deads or cleans. Does anyone have any suggestions for lolsplits/upper body work that they've tried in the past, so that I'm not just throwing exercises together for random sets reps and weights?
Quoting for extra emphasis. Just because I can't climb stairs doesn't mean I can't lift.
I think my friend had a similar condition ... he ended up having knee surgery and he still can't squat at full depth.
If I were you, I would go on Westside for Skinny Bastards or 5-3-1 without the squats/deads/cleans. SS/Madcow's/Stronglifts depend heavily on the squat, which won't work for you.
This has a lot of different exercises with two days of upper body, which is about as much as you should do if you're unable to do any lower body work. If you want you can dedicate a day to core work/mild cardio/etc as well.
On March 25 2011 11:34 phyre112 wrote: I have an appointment with an orthopedic doc on Monday, and there are already orders to get X-Rays. According to my aunt, who's the family doctor that gave the referral, several of my uncles have a genetic defect where some part of the knee commonly slides out of place. I didn't catch the full explanation - but it's very likely that. If it not, it's probably the meniscus tear. In either case, it will be quite some time until I'm doing squats, deads or cleans. Does anyone have any suggestions for lolsplits/upper body work that they've tried in the past, so that I'm not just throwing exercises together for random sets reps and weights?
Quoting for extra emphasis. Just because I can't climb stairs doesn't mean I can't lift.
On March 25 2011 11:34 phyre112 wrote: I have an appointment with an orthopedic doc on Monday, and there are already orders to get X-Rays. According to my aunt, who's the family doctor that gave the referral, several of my uncles have a genetic defect where some part of the knee commonly slides out of place. I didn't catch the full explanation - but it's very likely that. If it not, it's probably the meniscus tear. In either case, it will be quite some time until I'm doing squats, deads or cleans. Does anyone have any suggestions for lolsplits/upper body work that they've tried in the past, so that I'm not just throwing exercises together for random sets reps and weights?
Quoting for extra emphasis. Just because I can't climb stairs doesn't mean I can't lift.
What are your goals?
Strength? Mass?
Primarily the same goals as I had while doing SS, except I can't do anything that puts stress on my knees, and I can't think of any leg exercise where that applies. Basically I would like to put on mass THROUGH strength, with strength being the primary goal. From what I've been able to determine in the last 7 months of lifting, my upper body seems to progress EXTREMELY slow - I've only been able to add 45 pounds to my bench, and 35 to my press. It does however recover quickly. I've never felt under-recovered on an upper body exercise, while I do all the time on squats/deads.
I suppose I'll start doing cardio now. I'll start with maybe cycling for the rest of the semester, and when I get home, I'll swim in the pool in my back yard. I already do some ab/core work, I don't see how it could need an entire day though.
Looking into that west side and 5/3/1 program now rosa, thanks
Over the past three or so weeks I've had pain in my right knee whenever it's bent and has any weight on it. I can walk and run without any issues since my leg is mostly straight when it has weight on it, but even climbing stairs is painful. There's nothing visibly wrong with it, no bruising or anything...
On March 26 2011 01:26 APurpleCow wrote: Over the past three or so weeks I've had pain in my right knee whenever it's bent and has any weight on it. I can walk and run without any issues since my leg is mostly straight when it has weight on it, but even climbing stairs is painful. There's nothing visibly wrong with it, no bruising or anything...
Any ideas on what's up?
Sounds a lot like what was originally wrong with my knee, which was just highly stressed tendons from poor running form through multiple basketball and cross country seasons. Dealt with that for two years or so, until I started doing squats. Proper squats "fixed" it for me, but now I've hurt it far worse than before, so maybe that's actually NOT the best way to go about it.