Candiru Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you guys are having trouble with gains, make sure you do squats or deadlifts, as heavy as you can make it. Your whole body will transform faster than you expect. Everything else you do will be more effective from doing squats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 What I really want to do, once I have spare cash, is to join a gym closer to me, and hire a personal trainer. I read stuff online, and attempt to try it. Some of it shows improvement, and some I don't see results. I really could use someone there pointing out what I am doing wrong, or giving advice specific to what I need, rather than myself just assuming, researching, and experimenting with different workouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iep Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I am also climbing a bit more. My girlfriend climbs a lot, and I've been joining her more often lately. It's just so expensive. If it was half the price, I'd probably go way more often. It's really enjoyable, and you really feel your whole body being used when you climb... however I haven't been doing it consistently and long enough to really see any results in my body. i've been climbing quite fanatically/obsessively for a while now. i do little training for climbing (just riding my road bike and doing pull-ups on door-mantles, lol). mostly just climbing a lot. trad/lead-climbing preferably, or bouldering if i'm solo. it's very nice for me, mentally and physically. but yes you have to keep at it and do it regularily (i try to get out most days of the week, and spend much of my other time reading about it). why do you climb indoors, btw? i hate that shit, too sweaty noisy and generally un-climbing-like :( if you're living in the bay area there's plenty of options, rock-wise, yo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Mughnus Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you guys are having trouble with gains, make sure you do squats or deadlifts, as heavy as you can make it. Your whole body will transform faster than you expect. Everything else you do will be more effective from doing squats. Good advice. Is this because of a glandular thing or... why does this work? I have often heard something about doing squats relating to the release of testosterone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iep Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you guys are having trouble with gains, make sure you do squats or deadlifts, as heavy as you can make it. Your whole body will transform faster than you expect. Everything else you do will be more effective from doing squats. Good advice. Is this because of a glandular thing or... why does this work? I have often heard something about doing squats relating to the release of testosterone? this gym shit seems horrible lol, sometimes i ride my bike past the glass windows where i can see the folks on the treadmills or fake-exercise-bikes, they look like cyborgs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I am also climbing a bit more. My girlfriend climbs a lot, and I've been joining her more often lately. It's just so expensive. If it was half the price, I'd probably go way more often. It's really enjoyable, and you really feel your whole body being used when you climb... however I haven't been doing it consistently and long enough to really see any results in my body. i've been climbing quite fanatically/obsessively for a while now. i do little training for climbing (just riding my road bike and doing pull-ups on door-mantles, lol). mostly just climbing a lot. trad/lead-climbing preferably, or bouldering if i'm solo. it's very nice for me, mentally and physically. but yes you have to keep at it and do it regularily (i try to get out most days of the week, and spend much of my other time reading about it). why do you climb indoors, btw? i hate that shit, too sweaty noisy and generally un-climbing-like :( if you're living in the bay area there's plenty of options, rock-wise, yo! It's mostly just a lack of: a. experience b. transportion c. time I think I've climbed a total of 10 times in the past 2 years. I'm not consistent enough to be upping my skill level yet. My hands are my weakest part (I have long, thin fingers, and find it hard to grip small holds, I really need to work on hand strengthening exercises) but I can zip up a wall with decent sized holds, no problem. I feel like until I've advanced a bit more at the gym, I'd feel pretty unprepared for climbing on rock. I don't know where specifically to go climbing (although I'm sure I could find out... my gf's dad is a fairly famous rock climber, and so I know he knows where to go). I don't have a car, just a bike, so if it is outside the city limits, it's not all that doable, especially with time as a consideration. It would be at best, a special occasion type of thing, whereas you can go to the gym whenever, as long as its open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candiru Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you guys are having trouble with gains, make sure you do squats or deadlifts, as heavy as you can make it. Your whole body will transform faster than you expect. Everything else you do will be more effective from doing squats. Good advice. Is this because of a glandular thing or... why does this work? I have often heard something about doing squats relating to the release of testosterone? It might have to do with testosterone and growth hormones, since a small amount of each are spiked after an intense workout. Squats and deadlifts strengthen your core the best and work the largest muscle groups in your body like your glutes and quads. Once you start building those up and eating enough protein your body will go into anabolic mode like crazy and you'll feel like Terminator. Breaking through plateaus and all that. Squats are the holy grail of working out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Whenever I see people doing squats, I imagine them breaking their back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boo Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 long, skinny fingers are good for climbing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I guess... I just feel like they aren't strong enough to really pull myself up with yet. There are some holds that only allow your finger tips to grip it, and I can't do those yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patternoverlap Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I've been slowly getting to squats. I have a hard time keeping my torso upright and keeping my balance so I'm starting with body weight squats and a couple of variations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benc812 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 It might have to do with testosterone and growth hormones, since a small amount of each are spiked after an intense workout. Squats and deadlifts strengthen your core the best and work the largest muscle groups in your body like your glutes and quads. Once you start building those up and eating enough protein your body will go into anabolic mode like crazy and you'll feel like Terminator. Breaking through plateaus and all that. Squats are the holy grail of working out. agreed. i added squats back into my routine in the past 1.5 months and have noticed very good results in a short space of time. careful on the deadlifts though. few people have good deadlift form without good training from pt's or powerlifting coaches, and thus screw their back up beyond belief. i basically called it quits on them once the slightest bit of pain showed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Mughnus Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I've been slowly getting to squats. I have a hard time keeping my torso upright and keeping my balance so I'm starting with body weight squats and a couple of variations. I have a hard time balancing myself too when using the barbell for weight, on my shoulders. A good alternative is using dumbbells in each hand instead, it makes it easier to keep your balance. That being said, body weight squats are awesome anyway. I like doing plyo squats. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fiznuthian Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Just about every other day I've been hitting a heavy bag really intensely, little bit of weights, pull ups, push ups, P90x Ab Ripper X 15 minute routine sprints and running about 3 miles in mile long bursts as fast as I can go. That's pretty much all I've been doing, getting a lot better results than when i had a gym membership for 2 years. I wasn't getting enough cardio with my bad knee before is the biggest difference, if i just lift weights I get bigger but never toned. Really fucking hoping my knee lets me keep running for another 3 months and I will be at my goal and find other ways for cardio. Hitting the heavy bag really crazy can actually be insane cardio but I like running more. I try to consume as little white trash carbs as I can (refined sugars, white noodles, white bread etc. etc.) So my carbs are mostly vegetables and some high fiber oatmeal. Eggs are cheap protien and I try to eat a few a day. I drink quite a lot of iced tea which I usually make from 2 bags of green tea and 1 bag of chai tea. I'm having a hard time completely staying away from drinking, I go on and off with smoking cigs but I've minimized it quite a lot. Sounds like you're doing a great job to me! I would like to have a heavy bag but have no space for it. Do you eat whole eggs, or buy the egg whites stuff? I only ask because I read somewhere that 1 egg yolk has your RDI of cholesterol for a day. =( Edit: as for your knee problem, I have a similar issue. I bought a cheap exercise bike and elliptical too, they are low impact and I get a pretty good workout off em... Dietary cholesterol has little to no effect on serum cholesterol. In other words, how much you eat does not cause little dense LDL production to skyrocket. Cholesterol is a very healthy molecule to consume. That's very interesting, I did not know that. So, everyone gets psyched up about the egg-white omellettes etc for no reason! (other than a bit less fat I guess!) That's awesome, I'm going back to whole eggs. They taste better + omegas, plus I think cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone in some way or another (do you know more about this?) Cholesterol is primarily a molucule used for maintaining cell membranes. It's also required for serotonin uptake in the brain, manufacturing bile acids, production of myelin to protect neurons, the synthesis of vitamin D and yes the production of steroid hormones (including your favorite androgen, testoserone). Your liver is going to try and produce approximately 1000 to 1500 or so mg of cholesterol every single day. And it will do this regardless of how much cholesterol you eat. However! Diet does indeed modulate cholesterol production and why type of cholesterol molecules are produced, hence why the Standard American Diet often sends cholesterol molecules in to a fix-it frenzy along arterial walls. The human body is also extremely clever, and utilizes a network of feedback loops to ensure that your liver synthesizes a proper amount of cholesterol daily. Lowing cholesterol forcibly through the use of drugs like statins totally works, but... is cholesterol actually a harmful molecule to begin with? Absolutely not.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marf Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 did some 225 lb deadlifts yesterday. makes it hard to run the next day. my back doesnt like the pounding. I hope tomorrow it will be ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o00o Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I really like work out. I can't imagine to not go to the gym every 2nd day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 so I tried doing body weight squats. definitely got my blood flowing... and now my legs are wobbly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 just think of squats makes me shiver. I just imagine my back blowing out, disc by disc. for core workout I've found that planks are really good. hurts like a mofo but in a good way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenGOD Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 If you get bored of doing normal side planks, try this variation. Instead of resting on your elbow, extend your arm fully. Your other arm goes up in the air, and your other leg (the one that's not touching the ground) goes out parallel to the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 whoa. the ones I do now have 2 elbows and 2 feet on the floor. amidoingitrite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest underscore Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 whoa. the ones I do now have 2 elbows and 2 feet on the floor. amidoingitrite? if that is how you're doing a side plank, no edit: side plank is what Chen was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'm doing these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcinsu Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 those are elbow planks. chen is referring to this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halisray Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'm doing these that is a regular plank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halisray Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 If you guys are having trouble with gains, make sure you do squats or deadlifts, as heavy as you can make it. Your whole body will transform faster than you expect. Everything else you do will be more effective from doing squats. The best way on these compound exercises is to find your 10 rep max and then start of doing 8 reps, each week increasing by one 1 until you hit 12 reps (5th week) and then increasing the weight by 10% and restarting at 8 reps.. thus a progression occurs. If you start off as heavy as you can go, then you will plateau in 2 weeks easily. If anyone needs advice/plan, pm me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.