On September 27 2012 04:02 TheResidentEvil wrote: bench press has always bothered my shoulder. Today i sat through the whole 7 part series on youtube of so you think you can bench . I couldn't wait to try it so I tried it out at lunch even though I already benched last night. BIG difference. I am looking forward to my next real benching session
Just wondering, what were you doing wrong and how did you change it?
I was laying flat foot so I could not arch my back and because of that my shoulders would not stay tight. When I got to heavy weight, it was pretty much not tight at all. I would try to keep them back but it was very difficult. When I pulled my feet in and arched my back a lot more I was able to pull my shoulders real tight. Also, I was not keeping my wrist completely straight so the bar path was not what it should've been.
So overall, I bent my knees and put my feet on the toes, arched as much as I could without having my butt come off the bench and squeezed my shoulder and back real right. He says in the video that the bench position should be uncomfortable so I just tried to really emphasize my position more.
I even had to raise the safety bars because of the difference in my chest position
Alright so after my emo post the other day and taking in what everyone said and thinking about it I realized a couple of things.
1. I do feel better and fitter, by far no questions.
2. The photo was just incredibly fucking bad I was at engagement party hence drinking, (not too many but a few) and was hiding the beer in the photo behind my back for pleasentries sake and pushing out my fat little stomach and after drinking for my bday let myself feel guilty and emo'd out.
3. I set weight goals (under 100kg by my bday 22nd sept) but didn't tell anyone about them besides my gf and people I gym with, ultimately though I don't think the weight matters as long as I think and feel better but I still do want that goal. 4. Daigomi is right, I would have snapped like a twig under 120kg not just in March but in June or maybe even July. I have come a far away.
5. Gym makes me feel better about pretty much everything the days I don't go I am extremely irritable, work is stressful as all hell :/ and gym helps.
6. I don't sleep enough, at all. My dad goes along the lines of wake up 6:10am -6:30am be at work by 7:15-7:30. Finish work at 4, gym at 4:30. Home by 6-6:30 depending on shopping/going to the gf's. Watch some tv shows, have some dinner, watch some Starcraft, play some games bed on average, 11:30-12. This means at maz I am getting 7hrs sleep a night, that's on a day when I crash early and go to work late. That is not good I need to start at least 7.5 - 8 hr sleep regime. ASAP.
7. I eat well, but I could eat better and as much as I think I am eating well, oats and a piece of fruit (apple or banana) for breakfast, some nuts for snack once at work 10-10:30. Lunch can range from extremely healthy (I bring in left overs) or not so healthy (work team goes out for lunch/has a birthday party meaning small pieces of cake or possibly worse if they decide to go to a pub for the $10 special *I am cheap*). Afternoon snack, maybe a protein shake from Boost (not sure if you guys in the states have boost, it's just easy as there is one in shopping centre near gym) then dinner is meat and vegetables. Either chicken breast, heart smart steak, pork loin (no fat) and veges. I don't calorie count in all this, it is likely I am going over which is great for SS, not so great for losing weight. I need to get onto this shit make a spreadsheet of common meals and just do it when I have time.
8. I love you guys, whether it be Daigomi telling me to man up, decaf telling me squatting and lifting heavy shit makes you feel awesome or just in general seeing all the awesome shit this community does for people they'll probably never meet, I see the changes over time in the posts and the update pictures and I know with your support and the motivation you help me with as a community we're all getting fitter, stronger and healthier. Thanks. I decided also that before I go to Canada I am going to put up some progress pics from when I started SS i believe June could be wrong, (I took them never shared them) to when I'm about to go, early December.
On September 26 2012 04:17 GoTuNk! wrote: I'll post that question at dragondoor.com. Everyone is gonna recommend RKC, but many people there work as PT and have other titles and can tell you which are worth getting.
On September 26 2012 04:17 GoTuNk! wrote: I'll post that question at dragondoor.com. Everyone is gonna recommend RKC, but many people there work as PT and have other titles and can tell you which are worth getting.
Edit: You will receive honest feedback
Have you heard anything back?
Also, anyone else have input? Thanks!
I think I didn't make myself clear, I meant you should post there lol.
On September 29 2012 01:27 Froadac wrote: Powercleaning how to at gym today. I hope its relevant and correct.
Wtf, why does everyone do weirdass splits.
Because that is what has been taught in fitness studios and between bros for a lot of gym generations. It also makes intuitive sense, you work a muscle hard and then rest it for a couple of days and then it will be stronger. in so many aspects of life we are taught that specialication is important, so somehow training all the muscles while squatting is not very intuitive, but a biceps curl is, because you know what you get. Aside from that, normal gym bros don't want to get stronger, they want bigger muscles. So the argument that a Deadlift works your whole body doesn't ring anything with them, because it doesn't make your biceps grow... at least there is no way they can phantom how, they only recognize it is hard and makes them tired for all the isolation crap. I have several people deadlifting in my gym (or what they think is deadlifting), but mostly using gloves and 40-60kg on the bar for maaaaaaany reps. They just don't understand and they have noone to tell them, since their friends and the fitness industrie tells them it is the way to go. Throw in a Jay Cutler video on a weird abs machine, and they think that is what they have to do.
It is funny, earlier in my gym career I developed complicated and elaborate splits too and since I don't have much trouble getting hypertrophy, I always looked better and got compliments, so why would I change anything. I vaguely remember when a friend recommended squats and deadlifts to me many years back... I answered "I run 4x a week, I don't need to train my legs". And that made sense to me, plus, my legs still looked way better than most of the guys around me. There was nothing they could have said to make me understand. Only when I started to view strength training in terms of performance and not some kind of muscle gain and weight loss crap, since then I began to understand. And just remember that as a beginner, for like 6 months it doesn't really matter how you train, everything will work somehow and you see progress. When progress stalls, people get frustrated and stop going to the gym. Then when they come back after several months they will again get all those nice beginner gains again until they stall. You can repeat that cycle so many times without understanding anything.
And there is nothing you can really do to help them, they have to understand. When people ask me why I squat everytime, I just answer "because it is the single best exercise you can do"... I cannot do more than that. If they are serious about performance or health and not about some bodybuilding crap, it will get through to them sometime.
On September 26 2012 04:17 GoTuNk! wrote: I'll post that question at dragondoor.com. Everyone is gonna recommend RKC, but many people there work as PT and have other titles and can tell you which are worth getting.
Edit: You will receive honest feedback
Have you heard anything back?
Also, anyone else have input? Thanks!
I think I didn't make myself clear, I meant you should post there lol.
Haha, I thought that was very nice of you! I see where the mix up happened, no worries
Only other question. I went in today, they have some weird program where they walk you through machiens and aspects of fitness for 8 weeks, then make recommendations. But its personal trainers, and I"m sort of reluctant to go. Suitemates are, and i might go, but its hard to say if it will be useful.
Don't go. You have been doing SS for some time now and I'm pretty sure that by reading TL&HF you know more about fitness than most people, don't waste 8 weeks and do your thing, machines are easy to figure out anyway if you do choose to use them form time to time.
On September 29 2012 03:07 Froadac wrote: Only other question. I went in today, they have some weird program where they walk you through machiens and aspects of fitness for 8 weeks, then make recommendations. But its personal trainers, and I"m sort of reluctant to go. Suitemates are, and i might go, but its hard to say if it will be useful.
I have decided it's actually of way lower than negative utility.
This is the discussion on smith machines on way to gym
"Yeah, I just do SS, so mostly compounds, keep it simple. I had surgery and just restarted, but I'm still making progress"
"What is that"
"explanation"
"Oh, squats, I hate squats"
After some discussion they were like OH YEAH I DONT MIND USING THE SQUAT MACHINE
I pointed out the dangerousness. Pulled extensive backing on smartphone (its long walk to gym)
W/E IF YOU DO SQUATS YOUR HURT YOUR BACK AND KNEES ANYWAY NOTHING YOU CAN DO
Then he proceeded to show two roommates who had never worked out a complicated split thing. I dont even know what hte shit it was. It did have deadlifts (with shit form) and other than that. "OH YEAH YOU NEED FOUR EXERCISES PER TARGET AREA"
And then smith machine, and then tons of upper body random machines. And then "who does barbell press when there is dumbbell press"
It was such a bro workout. Such a bro workout. I muttered it, and he was like "YEAH, ISNT IT A GREAT BRO WORKOUT"
OH YOU NEED TO BE SORE TO GAIN MUSCLE, he said. "8 reps is only good number of reps"
It made my head hurt. I found a couple of upperclassmen doing basically SS. I don't know them well, but we're meeting back on monday. At least they aren't so headstrong in bro science.
Hopefully once I'm not so scrawny (more like end of first SS run) people wont ignore me so bad, but I wouldnt bet on it.
On October 01 2012 07:48 Froadac wrote: OK. Went to gym with suitemates.
I have decided it's actually of way lower than negative utility.
This is the discussion on smith machines on way to gym
"Yeah, I just do SS, so mostly compounds, keep it simple. I had surgery and just restarted, but I'm still making progress"
"What is that"
"explanation"
"Oh, squats, I hate squats"
After some discussion they were like OH YEAH I DONT MIND USING THE SQUAT MACHINE
I pointed out the dangerousness. Pulled extensive backing on smartphone (its long walk to gym)
W/E IF YOU DO SQUATS YOUR HURT YOUR BACK AND KNEES ANYWAY NOTHING YOU CAN DO
Then he proceeded to show two roommates who had never worked out a complicated split thing. I dont even know what hte shit it was. It did have deadlifts (with shit form) and other than that. "OH YEAH YOU NEED FOUR EXERCISES PER TARGET AREA"
And then smith machine, and then tons of upper body random machines. And then "who does barbell press when there is dumbbell press"
It was such a bro workout. Such a bro workout. I muttered it, and he was like "YEAH, ISNT IT A GREAT BRO WORKOUT"
OH YOU NEED TO BE SORE TO GAIN MUSCLE, he said. "8 reps is only good number of reps"
It made my head hurt. I found a couple of upperclassmen doing basically SS. I don't know them well, but we're meeting back on monday. At least they aren't so headstrong in bro science.
Hopefully once I'm not so scrawny (more like end of first SS run) people wont ignore me so bad, but I wouldnt bet on it.
i hate people who uses machines instead of free weights, its beyond retarded. Whats the fucking reasoning behind this? are they thinking to themselves "no i dont want to develop any core or other stability"?
On October 01 2012 08:45 Pulimuli wrote: i hate people who uses machines instead of free weights, its beyond retarded. Whats the fucking reasoning behind this? are they thinking to themselves "no i dont want to develop any core or other stability"?
There's actually a path of logic, which, in it's own way, makes sense, if you don't think about how picking up heavy shit works in the real world. Isolation means you aren't holding back muscles with other muscles, and you don't have muscles that are tired or sore from one workout relied on for another workout or exercise.
It also looks more scientific. Perception is everything.
On October 01 2012 08:45 Pulimuli wrote: i hate people who uses machines instead of free weights, its beyond retarded. Whats the fucking reasoning behind this? are they thinking to themselves "no i dont want to develop any core or other stability"?
There's actually a path of logic, which, in it's own way, makes sense, if you don't think about how picking up heavy shit works in the real world. Isolation means you aren't holding back muscles with other muscles, and you don't have muscles that are tired or sore from one workout relied on for another workout or exercise.
It also looks more scientific. Perception is everything.
Well it is also true that machines are not worthless. Free weights are king but I do not know anybody, even at the extremes of fitness, who don't ever use any machines as a part of their routines. Machines definitely get a bad reputation they dont deserve just because people use them as a crutch.
EPT
