Fitness Questions & Answers - Page 71

On June 06 2012 21:08 Zafrumi wrote:


I agree with your advice, although you did not answer his question really he asked how to get bigger arms. power cleans and squats probably arent the best exercises for that

besides what stopsky already mentioned I strongly recommend weighted chin ups. imo they are the best bicep workout you can do!

On June 07 2012 04:34 darthfoley wrote:
Thanks for all the advice, i'll do my best to eat tons. It's actually a lot harder than people make it out to be I've gained about 50 pounds in 3 years but i attribute that to growing lol.

Will be doing some additional arm stuff stopsky mentioned, as well as the stuff eshlow has mentioned (well i already do them, but i'll keep doing them).

Glad TL could help

On June 08 2012 13:41 phyre112 wrote:


I've put on 65 pounds in the last two years (but I was disgustingly underweight to start with), and I'm going for 10 more before the summer is up. It's a hell of a thing to eat 5-6000 calories! I understand where you're coming from. Really though, your best friends are going to be meat and milk. Take the chicken you're eating now, and swap it out for beef - that's an easy calorie bonus. If you're ever sitting at the computer or watching TV or just have time to "chill" make sure you've got a BIG glass of milk - I have a 1L beer mug that I use only for this purpose. If you can do those two things, and push yourself to eat just a LITTLE bit more at each meal, the weight should go on just fine. When you make breakfast, have six strips of bacon and five eggs instead of four and three, start using parmesan cheese on top of everything you can stand it on, If you were going to eat "steak and Broccoli" add some rice, or a couple baked potatoes. The little things can add up to real calories, without making it all seem like that much of a chore!

On June 08 2012 13:50 L_Master wrote:


Maybe I am used to it because of the demand of it from running 70-80+ mpw and/or the fact that I like to eat but eating 4,000-5,000 calories a day isn't difficult at all for me. I still have to pay attention to make sure I don't eat too much and gain weight.

On June 08 2012 13:58 phyre112 wrote:


Probably because you're used to it.

When I say "5000 calories is a lot" or "it's hard to eat that much" the context is someone who, at 6'3 probably ate 1600-1800 calories per day at most for the first nineteen years of my life. I've slowly increased my calories every few months for the last two years, and now I could eat my 1800 in a single meal if I needed to, but to do that three times in a day is still difficult. I'm sure if i were to look back two years from now, I would be under the impression that 4500 calories "Isn't bad" because I'll be more used to it, but I've been eating only 3500-3700 for the last few months, and the extra jump feels like such a chore it's ridiculous.

and the extra jump feels like such a chore it's ridiculous

On June 08 2012 13:41 phyre112 wrote:


I've put on 65 pounds in the last two years (but I was disgustingly underweight to start with), and I'm going for 10 more before the summer is up. It's a hell of a thing to eat 5-6000 calories! I understand where you're coming from. Really though, your best friends are going to be meat and milk. Take the chicken you're eating now, and swap it out for beef - that's an easy calorie bonus. If you're ever sitting at the computer or watching TV or just have time to "chill" make sure you've got a BIG glass of milk - I have a 1L beer mug that I use only for this purpose. If you can do those two things, and push yourself to eat just a LITTLE bit more at each meal, the weight should go on just fine. When you make breakfast, have six strips of bacon and five eggs instead of four and three, start using parmesan cheese on top of everything you can stand it on, If you were going to eat "steak and Broccoli" add some rice, or a couple baked potatoes. The little things can add up to real calories, without making it all seem like that much of a chore!

If you want to increase your football ability - squats and power cleans are where it's at for a running back or a safety or what have you. Anyone that needs to be quick, and blow through guys. If you're part of the line (on either side of the ball) I would skew that towards deadlifts and power cleans, but squats are still important. The lower back is bigger for the guy that's pushing on someone just as big as him, every down that he is on the field! Power doesn't come from having big arms or a thick chest - hell benching has barely any carryover to standing up, pushing strength. It's all about putting your legs into a guy.

If you want the big arms for your OFF field enjoyment though, I understand. I've had great progress doing the following, which you should definitely do in addition to squats, powercleans, and deadlifts:

(1 of these on each workout, so "bicep monday, tricep wednesday", etc.)

Bicep:
Chinups 3x10 or if you can do more than 10, do weighted 3x5-8
Yates Row or Pendlay Row 3x8
Any kind of Bicep Curl 2x10

Tricep:
Overhead Press 3x5
Incline DB Bench Press 3x8
Cable tricep pushdown or Skullcrusher 2x10

The point is to work your heavy compounds first (chinups hit the lats, traps, rhomboids, biceps, and forearms) then move on to something a little less compound (Rows hit most of the same parts, depending on which type you do) then move on to the least compound exercise once everything else is fried (bicep curls). At that point, you've already worked the muscle twice, so you're really just finishing it off, and you don't need to do four kinds of curls like you see your buddies do when they hit the gym.

On June 08 2012 14:31 L_Master wrote:


Yea, that would be a helluva a drastic change.



Before I really got into lifting, running, and fitness in general I definitely could go on some ridiculous binges. Like eating 4000+ calories a day for several days, if not a week at a time. It was never a chore though...on the contrary it was delicious (even if a bit repulsive in retrospect).

This makes me ask, are you someone who is not particularly enthralled with food and more of an "eat to live" person as I am guessing based on how little you ate for a large portion of your life.

Basically I'm curious how much difference there is between people who just love to eat versus those for whom food is just something you do, not something you look forward to.

On June 08 2012 22:32 mordek wrote:

Personally I love cooking and eating and "prided" myself in being able to eat huge meals. Most of high school/college was around 6 foot and 150ish pounds. When I got serious about bulking, upping my calories to 4000+ was just hard. I could probably eat 1800 in a meal but then there was no way I could do it again later on. Milk is probably the main reason I've put on the weight I have

On June 08 2012 22:50 JingleHell wrote:


That's why I'm so scrawny for now. Can't drink massive milk.

On June 09 2012 06:57 kaisr wrote:
I've been going to the gym for like 8 months now, but my bench has stalled at 190lb since ~Feb. I've taken 3 breaks from gyming consistently: Winter break (3 weeks), reading week (1 week), then ~4 weeks when I went on vacation to Asia in late April. All my other lifts have gone up significantly and the only other lift that has stalled was OHP which I broke through. Currently my PRs for the main lifts are

Squat: 295 1x5 (worked up from 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 285x5) - since the 4 week break I've worked back up to 275 4x5 and its feeling great
Deadlift 335 1x3 (worked up from 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 295x3, 315x3, 325x1, 335x3) - I hit this after the break
OHP 125 3x5 - hit this after the break
Bent over barbell rows 175 3x5 - hit this after the break

For assistant lifts I'm doing pullups 8-8-6, chinups 3x8, dips 2x8 (BW+45lb) 1x8 (BW), incline dumbell bench 60 (3x8), dumbell rows (3x8).

But for bench I've failed 190 probably ~8 times where when I fail 3x in a row I reset 20%. The best attempt of 190lb was 1x5, 1x4, I've done lots of 1x4, 1x3s, and 1x5, 1x3s as well. By fail I mean 4 of those 8 times I didnt get a spotter cuz I'm an idiot/was feeling confident and had to have random gym bros come and save me cuz i had to let the bar rest on my chest. I fail at lockout where I get the bar up 1/2-3/4 of the way and then I just don't have enough strength to rack it back up. I'm also on a cut currently, but while that is probably a contributing factor, I don't think its the main reason as all my other lifts are still progressing to my satisfaction.

Basically I'm just wondering what assistant lifts can I do to help with the lockout portion of barbell bench. Or should I do the 5/3/1 workout for only the bench press and continue my current workout for my other lifts where I'm still aiming for between 5-10lb increases/week.

On June 08 2012 14:31 L_Master wrote:


Yea, that would be a helluva a drastic change.



Before I really got into lifting, running, and fitness in general I definitely could go on some ridiculous binges. Like eating 4000+ calories a day for several days, if not a week at a time. It was never a chore though...on the contrary it was delicious (even if a bit repulsive in retrospect).

This makes me ask, are you someone who is not particularly enthralled with food and more of an "eat to live" person as I am guessing based on how little you ate for a large portion of your life.

Basically I'm curious how much difference there is between people who just love to eat versus those for whom food is just something you do, not something you look forward to.

On June 09 2012 03:36 GreEny K wrote:
Recently I've had a problem, hopefully someone knows what I'm experiencing and can give some advice.

So starting a few days ago, I started to eat less. I still feel hungry at the same times I normally would, but food doesn't seem as appealing to me (I still force myself to eat). I also have a mild headache, I wouldn't really call it a headache but my brain feels like it's shaking around my head when I move. I'm constantly tired and my eyes feel tired.

Not sure what's causing it, but I'm almost done with my summer semester so I will be able to go home and see a doctor.

Thanks in advance!

On June 09 2012 06:11 GoTuNk! wrote:
From your symptoms alone, it sounds like you are undereating. Are you lifting weights? Its really easy to eat a lot after heavy lifting, and I guess after any type of excercise.

Mb its stress related? I know some people start eating less because of that (I do the opposite though )

Try to think what have you changed lately and post it here :d

On June 09 2012 11:36 phyre112 wrote:


happened to me quite a few times during the year - caused by a couple things. Most common was stress/not sleeping well. Particularly when I was worried about money, or a big exam I would be exhausted all the time, but unable to sleep, and more hungry than usual, but after two or three bites I couldn't eat any more. If your semester is ending, I would bet it's this - get past the finals, get on a "better" sleep pattern (not just more, better) and it should resolve quickly.

The other thing is, after I put on about ten pounds or so, it took my body a while to get used to how big it was now, so there would be a week or two where I was just never hungry at all. That wasn't accompanied by the tiredness though, so I assume this isn't it.

On June 09 2012 07:10 mordek wrote:

Well your presses are going to be the first to stall regardless. And cutting is going to affect those lifts before your others first too I would imagine. It does sound like you've been stuck for a long time. You could try narrow grip bench if it doesn't bother your wrists. Obviously lower the weight for these. I'm sure there's plenty of others too. Have you tried doing some doubles or triples at a higher weight, then going for the 3x5 or 5x5 at 190?

On June 09 2012 23:22 kaisr wrote:


Nope, have always stuck to 5x5 and 3x5 for bench, which is why I'm considering using something like a 5/3/1 routine for bench only. But the thing is I think 5/3/1 is for intermediate/advanced lifters which I definitely am not.