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On September 29 2009 01:20 Empyrean wrote:
Just a random question, my lower left abs are significantly smaller than my lower right, so it almost looks like my abs go diagonally from the upper left to the lower right since my lower left ones are smaller. I don't work out or anything, but I used to do random gardening stuff for my mom and I played frisbee quite a lot, so maybe that's why they're so uneven.
I'm just wondering if there is any way to fix this?
Cross stabilization works... can you do one arm pushups?
You should be able to feel a difference in abdominal musculature recruited, and it will expose a weakness if there is one.
Uneven abs (aesthetically) can be due to genetics, but it doesn't sound like this is the case if it's pure hypertrophy as a result of playing sports or other movements.
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16987 Posts
I'll get pics soon. I know I was talking about them months ago but I have yet to get a working digital camera <_<
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On September 25 2009 09:35 eshlow wrote:
Meat:
1. What are your lift numbers at on deadlift, squat, bench, press, rows, pullups, dips?
Still don't know my stats  Did some machine excersises that looked a bit like the ones in my schedule, since the free weight area was extremely crowded and the bench press and squat rack were taken the all the time. Next time i will go early in the afternoon instead. I did practise squats without weight with the instructor though.
Also while working out there, I wasn't really in my comfort zone. There are 3 floors, with the top one only body building stuff. Everyone there is like 10x stronger than me but i'm trying to ignore that 
Whats your opinion on using the Smith machine when the squat rack is taken?
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On September 30 2009 04:54 Liquid`Meat wrote:Show nested quote +On September 25 2009 09:35 eshlow wrote:
Meat:
1. What are your lift numbers at on deadlift, squat, bench, press, rows, pullups, dips?
Still don't know my stats Did some machine excersises that looked a bit like the ones in my schedule, since the free weight area was extremely crowded and the bench press and squat rack were taken the all the time. Next time i will go early in the afternoon instead. I did practise squats without weight with the instructor though. Also while working out there, I wasn't really in my comfort zone. There are 3 floors, with the top one only body building stuff. Everyone there is like 10x stronger than me but i'm trying to ignore that Whats your opinion on using the Smith machine when the squat rack is taken?
NEVER use the smith machine. Always use a barbell when going for strength because it strengthens smaller muscles too.
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lol dont use smith machines? it's fine to use smith machines just to adapt but sooner or later you are going to want to drop it and do the movement yourself without support. you are going to be doing less weight but your supporting muscles will get used to the motion once you get it down. squatting with the smith isnt that bad of an idea either especially since the form is so hard to get down. id say over 50% of people who think their squat form is correct are wrong. but again i would say go from that, to box squats, to regular squats once your flexors start getting used to the motion.
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beside protein what else should i take to work out?
I want something that give me energy and let me work out harder.
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Okay so I've decided to get commited with a weight lifting regiment, and I'm going with Ripptoe's program. All weights given don't include weight of bar.
Initial:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 95 lbs
Bench: 40 lbs
Deadlift: 115
Military: 5
Rows: 80
Current:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 110 lbs
Bench: 50 lbs
Deadlift: 135 lbs
Military: 20 lbs
Rows: 85 lbs
2 weeks of progression so far, lol. I couldn't believe how utterly pathetic my chest strength is.
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On September 30 2009 04:54 Liquid`Meat wrote:Show nested quote +On September 25 2009 09:35 eshlow wrote:
Meat:
1. What are your lift numbers at on deadlift, squat, bench, press, rows, pullups, dips?
Still don't know my stats Did some machine excersises that looked a bit like the ones in my schedule, since the free weight area was extremely crowded and the bench press and squat rack were taken the all the time. Next time i will go early in the afternoon instead. I did practise squats without weight with the instructor though. Also while working out there, I wasn't really in my comfort zone. There are 3 floors, with the top one only body building stuff. Everyone there is like 10x stronger than me but i'm trying to ignore that Whats your opinion on using the Smith machine when the squat rack is taken?
If you can, try to go with someone experienced. See if you have any friends who lift or anything. HOPEFULLY, they can show you the ropes and give correct technique. If not, well, that's problematic.
Internet is still a valuable resource though regardless. There's various forums where users critique technique if you want. I can as well.
Don't use the smith machine.
On September 30 2009 05:08 Loveletter wrote:
lol dont use smith machines? it's fine to use smith machines just to adapt but sooner or later you are going to want to drop it and do the movement yourself without support. you are going to be doing less weight but your supporting muscles will get used to the motion once you get it down. squatting with the smith isnt that bad of an idea either especially since the form is so hard to get down. id say over 50% of people who think their squat form is correct are wrong. but again i would say go from that, to box squats, to regular squats once your flexors start getting used to the motion.
Don't use the smith machine.
On September 30 2009 07:25 Ichigo1234551 wrote:
beside protein what else should i take to work out?
I want something that give me energy and let me work out harder.
Uh, most people opt for a mix of carbs and protein.
Fat in it is fine as well. Whole/choco milk in studies has been shown to be even a bit better than isocaloric skim with added cals to match.
Here's two reviews of studies by Lyle McDonald (great site btw if you're interesting in research on nutrition/training) -- actually second is Alan Aragorn:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/milk-the-new-sports-drink-a-review-research-review.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/an-objective-comparison-of-chocolate-milk-and-surge-recovery.html
If you're looking for something supplemental then creatine should help you perhaps push and extra rep or two next time. Otherwise, it's just natural recovery processes for next session which should help you perform better if your nutrition and workouts are spot on.
On September 30 2009 11:10 ThatGuy wrote:
Okay so I've decided to get commited with a weight lifting regiment, and I'm going with Ripptoe's program. All weights given don't include weight of bar.
Initial:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 95 lbs
Bench: 40 lbs
Deadlift: 115
Military: 5
Rows: 80
Current:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 110 lbs
Bench: 50 lbs
Deadlift: 135 lbs
Military: 20 lbs
Rows: 85 lbs
2 weeks of progression so far, lol. I couldn't believe how utterly pathetic my chest strength is.
1. Er, you should've already put on weight if you're doing it correctly.
2. Weight of the bar is INCLUDED in the lift.
3. Rows are not in the original program; power cleans are. So you're doing a bastardized version.
Also, are you self teaching yourself teh lifts? Why no power clean instead of rows?
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Bicep workout coming up later today. The goal is to achieve a second set of increased weight on the barbell curl, and maintain the increased weight on the preacher curls and skull crushers.
Ill let you know how it goes 
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On September 30 2009 17:57 jfazz wrote:Bicep workout coming up later today. The goal is to achieve a second set of increased weight on the barbell curl, and maintain the increased weight on the preacher curls and skull crushers. Ill let you know how it goes
i was just wondering...
are pull ups part of your program??
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Not at the moment no.
sessions was alright - still no improvement on the bicep curls, but the preacher curls and skull crushers were easier than last week!
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On September 30 2009 13:30 eshlow wrote:Show nested quote +On September 30 2009 04:54 Liquid`Meat wrote:On September 25 2009 09:35 eshlow wrote:
Meat:
1. What are your lift numbers at on deadlift, squat, bench, press, rows, pullups, dips?
Still don't know my stats Did some machine excersises that looked a bit like the ones in my schedule, since the free weight area was extremely crowded and the bench press and squat rack were taken the all the time. Next time i will go early in the afternoon instead. I did practise squats without weight with the instructor though. Also while working out there, I wasn't reallhttp://www.teamliquid.net/forum/postmessage.php?quote=1328&topic_id=85294y in my comfort zone. There are 3 floors, with the top one only body building stuff. Everyone there is like 10x stronger than me but i'm trying to ignore that Whats your opinion on using the Smith machine when the squat rack is taken? If you can, try to go with someone experienced. See if you have any friends who lift or anything. HOPEFULLY, they can show you the ropes and give correct technique. If not, well, that's problematic.
Unfortunately I don't have friends that work with weights. I'm going to the gym with my girlfriend though but for workign with weights she won't be much of a help 
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On September 30 2009 19:36 jfazz wrote:
Not at the moment no.
sessions was alright - still no improvement on the bicep curls, but the preacher curls and skull crushers were easier than last week!
i was in a similar position to the one you're in atm. i was doing bicep curls for like maybe 5 sessions with weight A. i could barely do 2 sets. i was able to increase in # repetitions in succeeding sessions but the improvement was really slow. that was all before i started doing pullups.
then after about 4-5 pullup sessions, surprisingly i could do 3 sets of weight A fairly easily. so i decided to really test myself and try weight B (i could only manage 1 rep before i started doing pullups). amazingly i was able to do 3 sets.
so i guess what im trying to say is you might want to try doing pullups if you really want to improve your arm/pulling strength as well as putting some size on your arms
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On September 30 2009 19:58 unknown.sam wrote:so i guess what im trying to say is you might want to try doing pullups if you really want to improve your arm/pulling strength as well as putting some size on your arms Sounds like a plan! Ill give it a go - thanks!
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I've changed up my workout routine. Went from lifting as heavy as I can for 6-8 reps to lifting as heavy as I can for 12-15 reps. Its a bit of a mind fuck lowering the weight low enough to achieve the higher reps because my brain is calling me a pussy and telling me to increase the weight.
I've also added cardio/abs and some swimming/sauna to every single one of my workouts now, serious business time, my holiday is in 5 weeks.
Going to cut out the Creatine shortly, that should stop the fluid retention and hopefully start to look pretty cut up. At the 2-3 week mark I'll reduce weight training to 2 days of full body a week and double my cardio, increase my protein intake and cut all carbs, hopefully that should do the trick.
It's pretty exciting - but I hate cardio so very much.
Side note: Did the thread title get shorter or is it just me?
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What would you recommend for a girl that tries to lose weight? Most of the stuff I've read so far is about males who want to get more muscular. My gfs goal is to go below a certain number and doesn't really want to gain a lot of muscles. This goal has been a magic number for her all her life.
I would think she has to go a little bit below calory usage and add a lot of cardio at about 65% heart rate with some weight training. Though I still can't really convince her to work free weights because of the dogma for girls around it and it's mostly men that are working out with them. Last time we were in the gym I noticed that the fittest girls were using free weights so hopefully that will motivate her. A site with some fit girls instead of muscular men on it explaining things would really help, a female version of Steve's youtube channel would actually be great
This is her routine she made right now (3 times a week):
10 min warm up bicycle
2x 15 inner thigh
2x 15 outer thigh
2x 15 horizontal leg press
3x 15 back extensions
3x 15 back and shoulders, dont know the name of the exercise but you hold 2 handles with your hand and pull back both arms together in a circular movement. Not the rowing variant though.
3x 15 chest press
3x 15 incline chest press
3x 15 shoulder press
3x 15 crunches
3x 15 biceps curls
3x 15 triceps press
cool down 15 minutes cross trainer
This work out doesn't seem right, way too many machines (read: only) and it takes forever to complete and to lose weight some more cardio wouldn't be bad either.
Anyway she wants to do most of these exercises so what about this:
5 min warm up bicycle
2x 15 horizontal leg press
2x 15 inner thigh
2x 15 outer thigh
2x 15 back extensions
2x 15 back and shoulders, dont know the name of the exercise but you hold 2 handles with your hand and pull back both arms together in a circular movement. Not the rowing variant though.
2x 15 chest press
3x 15 incline chest press
2x 15 shoulder press
2x 15 biceps curls
2x 15 triceps press
3x 15 crunches
15 minutes cross trainer @ 65% of heart rate
10 minutes bycicle @ 65%
5 minutes cool down
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Meat,
Girls should lift the same as men. Women do not have enough testerone to bulk up, and if you look at the guys around in the gym you will also notice how hard it is for men (albeit doing crappy routines) to put on any decent amounts of mass.
Lift heavy, full body routine.
Here's a good resource:
http://www.stumptuous.com/
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Jfazz,
Really, do compounds before any of your isolations.
I know I told you to do a full body strength routine, but if you're not going to do that at least do squats/DL/dips/press/bench press/pullups/rows BEFORE you do any isolation work...
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Energies,
Fastest way to cut off the fat is low carb, high fat dietting. Most BBers use close to a ketonegic diet to cut off the fat mass, along with carb cycling depending on if they're BF% is subborn.
But yes, cardio can help (although I prefer interval training). Raising the reps won't help as much as you think, but you may get some extra volume out of your muscles if you've been lifting heavy which will help.
If I was trying to cut the fat I'd keep the lifting heavy as it is a better stimulus to preserve muscle mass on a hypocaloric diet.
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On October 01 2009 01:18 eshlow wrote:Meat, Girls should lift the same as men. Women do not have enough testerone to bulk up, and if you look at the guys around in the gym you will also notice how hard it is for men (albeit doing crappy routines) to put on any decent amounts of mass. Lift heavy, full body routine. Here's a good resource: http://www.stumptuous.com/
Thanks, that site looks great. It starts good:
The great objection to women exercising—namely, the fear of becoming muscular—is quite without foundation. It cannot be too often repeated that woman is not simply a weaker man: she is physically an entirely different being … In women the muscles simply become firm, close-knit, and well-rounded, and show under the layer of fatty tissue intervening between muscle and skin only in soft, hardly discernible masses, just sufficiently to give a delicate moulding to the form.
I will definately show her this tonight.
Btw, she came up with this theory from my brother in laws personal trainer: "first work out the bottom part of the body and then the upper part so the blood has to go up and down and that will cost your body extra energy". I've never heard of this before and it doesn't right to me, have you heard of this theory before or should i tell me brother in law to drop his personal trainer?
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Btw, she came up with this theory from my brother in laws personal trainer: "first work out the bottom part of the body and then the upper part so the blood has to go up and down and that will cost your body extra energy". I've never heard of this before and it doesn't right to me, have you heard of this theory before or should i tell me brother in law to drop his personal trainer?
That's probably one of the dumbest myths I've ever heard...
Honestly, even if you think about it.. an extra say 500 beats of the heart to pump any extra blood (out of the ~80,000 per day that we regular have) is not going to burn any significant amounts of energy. But this is neither here nor there...
The body regulates blood flow according to what muscles are being used by dilating and constricting arterioles, so blood flow to the lower body or upper body doesn't really mean anything -- the heart is going to pump it where it needs to go and unless your heart is elevated of significant amounts of time there's not going to be much if any extra cals burned. Your muscles are the body structures that are actually burning or using any significant amounts of calories. The heart is a relatively small muscle compared to the rest of your musculature so.. you do the math.
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On September 30 2009 13:30 eshlow wrote:Show nested quote +On September 30 2009 11:10 ThatGuy wrote:
Okay so I've decided to get commited with a weight lifting regiment, and I'm going with Ripptoe's program. All weights given don't include weight of bar.
Initial:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 95 lbs
Bench: 40 lbs
Deadlift: 115
Military: 5
Rows: 80
Current:
Weight: 150 lbs
Squat: 110 lbs
Bench: 50 lbs
Deadlift: 135 lbs
Military: 20 lbs
Rows: 85 lbs
2 weeks of progression so far, lol. I couldn't believe how utterly pathetic my chest strength is. 1. Er, you should've already put on weight if you're doing it correctly. 2. Weight of the bar is INCLUDED in the lift. 3. Rows are not in the original program; power cleans are. So you're doing a bastardized version. Also, are you self teaching yourself teh lifts? Why no power clean instead of rows?
1. Then I guess I'm doing it incorrectly. There's a chance I may have fudged my initial weight though, I didn't measure it when I started out.
2. So...should I adjust all my totals then? It'll sure make me look buff . I just excluded the bar for simplicity's sake, but I guess you can tack on an extra 30 lbs then.
3. Yup. Source: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224
This is the format that I have used and recommended for the majority of peeps new to weight training. I suppose we can refer to it as "Kethnaab's novice program adjustment"
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay Rows
I am teaching myself all the exercises, but I go back to reading the writeup/watching videos of form to see if I missed out on something. I'd like to hope that I have correct form in all my exercises but I know better than that.
The Military Presses are especially brutal for me .
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EPT
