General Workout Routines and Questions

[MarinaDiamandis]

They look comfortable but they look like the buttons on the bottom that hold the straps in place will break easily. Yes, no? Growing up in Hawaii, I spent a fair amount of time on "slippah's" but more time barefoot because they would often break.

The laces are very tough leather and the knots are sealed with wax to give them some extra protection against the elements. My soles are 4mm thick (less than half the thickness of the soles in the picture I posted) and the knot sits so nicely between my big toe and "index" toe that it makes contact with the ground when the rest of the sole material does, very little protrusion like you might expect there to be, which cuts down friction.

The beauty of shoes as simple as these is that if the knot breaks, you can simply pull through a little more lace and make a new knot. When you no longer have any spare lace length left to do this, it's easy enough to replace the laces completely.

Conventional running shoes last 400-500 miles, maybe even 1,000 miles at a push. Sandals of these type are known to last for 5,000+ miles. There is even a company that has a 5,000 mile guarantee on the sandals that they sell.

On the subject of lifting boots, I have a home gym so can lift barefoot, but when I am forced to use shoes in a commercial gym I turn to my trusty Chuck Taylor's. I've not found a pair of lifting boots that are worth splashing out for when my CT's do the job nearly as well.

If I was going back into competition lifting I'd probably reconsider just for the extra edge pro boots might give me, but i'd probably be wearing a belt, knee wraps and a shirt too!

 

[ExigeEvan]

I just wear an old pair of Adidas samba. They're flat enough and don't offer much restriction.

However, my local gym has no formal dresscode. In fact the dress code in the joining script was simply "no bare chests".

 

[Pako]

The laces are very tough leather and the knots are sealed with wax to give them some extra protection against the elements. My soles are 4mm thick (less than half the thickness of the soles in the picture I posted) and the knot sits so nicely between my big toe and "index" toe that it makes contact with the ground when the rest of the sole material does, very little protrusion like you might expect there to be, which cuts down friction.

The beauty of shoes as simple as these is that if the knot breaks, you can simply pull through a little more lace and make a new knot. When you no longer have any spare lace length left to do this, it's easy enough to replace the laces completely.

Conventional running shoes last 400-500 miles, maybe even 1,000 miles at a push. Sandals of these type are known to last for 5,000+ miles. There is even a company that has a 5,000 mile guarantee on the sandals that they sell.

On the subject of lifting boots, I have a home gym so can lift barefoot, but when I am forced to use shoes in a commercial gym I turn to my trusty Chuck Taylor's. I've not found a pair of lifting boots that are worth splashing out for when my CT's do the job nearly as well.

If I was going back into competition lifting I'd probably reconsider just for the extra edge pro boots might give me, but i'd probably be wearing a belt, knee wraps and a shirt too!

Wow, those sandals sound amazing, really. So you don't notice the knot?

You used to lift competitively? Care to share some info? Stats, experiences, etc? Would love to hear about it!

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Wow, those sandals sound amazing, really. So you don't notice the knot?

Thanks to how thin the sole is it can follow the shape of your foot. This means the knot can sit right up in where your toes join your foot, as you can see in the picture below

You used to lift competitively? Care to share some info? Stats, experiences, etc? Would love to hear about it!

Yeah, but nothing major, just amateur district stuff. Winner calculated by Wilks formula, number of reps x weight, or weight/time/distance pulled depending on what we were doing that particular meet.

I don't remember what my stats were at the time, I probably weighed 20-30lbs less than I do now and was lifting a lot less. I was recovering from a shoulder injury (the main reason for going was to keep myself motivated while I couldn't lift much) so struggled with everything but sled pulls.

Non-edit edit: Had a quick look through an old training log and my 1RM for bench around that time was 1 x 260lbs raw, strict at 170-175lbs bodyweight.

1.5/2 years later, 35-40lbs heavier and lifting around 100lbs more.

 

[Pako]

Crazy, I've never seen a sandal like that before. It looks oddly comfortable.

Good numbers for your weight at the time!

I have a hard time wanting to enter comps around here. To be competitive, I would have to roid up like everyone else. In all my years of training, I have never touched any anabolics and at my age, I would be stupid to start now.

There are some natural body building comps that I could enter and am actually trying to slim down to see if it would be even worth it. In January I was at 260lbs and am down to 241lbs as of yesterday. To really be competitive, I would need to be around 195lbs range to get in the lighter class but would need to maintain my muscle mass. I don't know, will see. I've been toying with the idea for the long time now....

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Crazy, I've never seen a sandal like that before. It looks oddly comfortable.

Good numbers for your weight at the time!

I have a hard time wanting to enter comps around here. To be competitive, I would have to roid up like everyone else. In all my years of training, I have never touched any anabolics and at my age, I would be stupid to start now.

There are some natural body building comps that I could enter and am actually trying to slim down to see if it would be even worth it. In January I was at 260lbs and am down to 241lbs as of yesterday. To really be competitive, I would need to be around 195lbs range to get in the lighter class but would need to maintain my muscle mass. I don't know, will see. I've been toying with the idea for the long time now....

Pretty much the same reason that I don't enter strongman/lifting or fighting comps here, a lot of people are using performance enhancers and i'm not prepared to start using just for a few trophies.

Looking at your size and shape, I think you'd have a good chance in a bodybuilding comp. Cutting that much weight without losing mass would be an interesting challenge, but I think you have a little to spare!

 

[ExigeEvan]

Shame to hear about that strongman competitions suffer the same issue with anabolics, I naively assumed it was largely confined to bodybuilding (and the amateur rugby).

 

[Pako]

Anabolics are everywhere. What's interesting about the "All Natural" comps, you have to be clean for 7 years before you can enter the competition. You have to pass a polygraph and may be subjected to a urine test at the time of competition.

Out of curiosity, you can view the whole list of NGA Banned Substances here.

[edit, added info] Ouch, for the NW comps, Lt. Heavy Amateur Masters is at 189.5lbs, over that and you are in the heavy weight class 189.5 and up.

That would be tough to get that light.....

 

[Omnis]

Even the Olympics are filled with PEDs. Guys juice for 3 of the 4 off years unless they come from super strict federations like USATF, etc.

Anyway, got in the school gym for the first time today. Some nob put all the box jump platforms right next to the emergency exit though, and they didn't even stack them right. So I was trying to take one platform off, but all the others were stuck on it, so I set my feet and pulled that MFer off. This caused by butt to touch the pushbar of the emergency exit when the platform came free, and it set off the freaking alarm on the whole place. I was so embarassed. I thought you had to open the doors to get the alarm to go. I just touched the bar and it went. Must be some capacitive touch Apple tech on there. Wow.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Shame to hear about that strongman competitions suffer the same issue with anabolics, I naively assumed it was largely confined to bodybuilding (and the amateur rugby).

Yup, unfortunately anabolics are so easily accessible that anyone who wants to use them can. For some strange reason even martial artists are using them! There are guys that I train with (Muay Thai) who take them just for training alone, they don't even fight outside of sparring!

 

[Pako]

I blame it on Rocky when he fought the Russian. Sure, Rocky won, but....at the end of the day, everyone wants to be the Russian!

Yes, accessibility is major factor in the wide use and acceptance by so many. I could go to my doctor today and get Testosterone treatments if I wanted to. I know guys that do. It's not only illegal but legal PED's that are being exploited.

I am almost 40 (holy crap, that's freaky to type out loud) and there is no doubt that my test levels are lower than they were, and will continue to decrease. There will come a point that if I want to continue to be active and do the things I love to do, I will probably have to get on some test regiments to get my levels back to where they should be for an active life style. On the other hand, I know plenty of guys in their 50's and 60's that will out run, hike, bike, me any day of the week that are not on any kind of testosterone treatments. I'll have to wait and see. Again, if I want to enter a natural contest, I can't be on any test programs that would elevate my levels greater than a 6:1 T/E (Testosterone to Epitestosterone). Most young adult males will have a T/E of 1:1.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Yup, unfortunately anabolics are so easily accessible that anyone who wants to use them can. For some strange reason even martial artists are using them! There are guys that I train with (Muay Thai) who take them just for training alone, they don't even fight outside of sparring!

I'm from South Wales, I know how easy it is to get them

I'm almost certain my local gym owner is a dealer, a friend who's been going longer than I said there's way too many people who just "pop in" disappear around the corner and come back 5 minutes later. The clientèle are a bit of a give-away too.

Not too surprised martial arts guys do, too many people want to win at "any cost".

I blame it on Rocky when he fought the Russian. Sure, Rocky won, but....at the end of the day, everyone wants to be the Russian!

Yes, accessibility is major factor in the wide use and acceptance by so many. I could go to my doctor today and get Testosterone treatments if I wanted to. I know guys that do. It's not only illegal but legal PED's that are being exploited.

I am almost 40 (holy crap, that's freaky to type out loud) and there is no doubt that my test levels are lower than they were, and will continue to decrease. There will come a point that if I want to continue to be active and do the things I love to do, I will probably have to get on some test regiments to get my levels back to where they should be for an active life style. On the other hand, I know plenty of guys in their 50's and 60's that will out run, hike, bike, me any day of the week that are not on any kind of testosterone treatments. I'll have to wait and see. Again, if I want to enter a natural contest, I can't be on any test programs that would elevate my levels greater than a 6:1 T/E (Testosterone to Epitestosterone). Most young adult males will have a T/E of 1:1.

It's the HGH that'll be pegging you back from what I've read, but I've only done limited reading on the affects of age

 

[Pako]

*snip* It's the HGH that'll be pegging you back from what I've read, but I've only done limited reading on the affects of age

Yeah, not sure about that. In reading up on Human Growth Hormones, over the counter products just are not potent enough to make any difference. What's interesting, is that almost every HGH label suggests, "For maximum results, make sure you are consuming the proper foods, and are getting enough rest, at least 8 hours of REM sleep a night." Well DUH! If you ate right and slept enough, you would be guaranteed gains with no other supplements. Sounds like Smoke and Mirrors to me....., but others swear by it so, to each his own. I have not personally taken any HGH products for I am relying on other's experiences.

Back on the original topic, had a great bicep/ham day! My bi's are trashed, I hope they get good and sore, I think they will.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Yeah, not sure about that. In reading up on Human Growth Hormones, over the counter products just are not potent enough to make any difference. What's interesting, is that almost every HGH label suggests, "For maximum results, make sure you are consuming the proper foods, and are getting enough rest, at least 8 hours of REM sleep a night." Well DUH! If you ate right and slept enough, you would be guaranteed gains with no other supplements. Sounds like Smoke and Mirrors to me....., but others swear by it so, to each his own. I have not personally taken any HGH products for I am relying on other's experiences.

Back on the original topic, had a great bicep/ham day! My bi's are trashed, I hope they get good and sore, I think they will.

Nothing over the counter would have any effect, much like "natural testosterone boosters", Dr Jeffry Life is probably the best example of what HGH and T can do for the (far, far) older.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-jeffry-life18-2010jan18,0,1380785.column?page=1

 

[ExigeEvan]

Doubler, seems justified.

Went to the Doctor today for an asthma checkup. Had a couple of tests, blood BP was 106-70, BPM at 50 and peak air flow was 10% up on last year. Less cardio, more weight!

 

[themartlab]

Here's my workout of the day!

repeat whole set 4 times

1. Toe to bar ( as many as you can in 30 secs)
2.Bench-press 8 reps 185lbs
3. Front-rowing to shoulder press 8reps 90pounds
4. Behind head carry: 25pounds medecine ball
5. Front carry extended arms 25 pounds
6. Chin-ups ( chest to the bar) as many as you can in 30 secs

Today I add a little extra, some prone-knee-tuck for the core, and turkish get up with a 80pounds sand bag.

I take maybe 10 seconds rest between each exercices.

Edited: prior to workout, I always do a good warm up: 4 minutes of squats trust, mountain climbers, high knees, jumping jacks, no break! I do it again at the end of my workout.

 

[nk4e]

Is there any alternative core workouts instead of the sit-up?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Is there any alternative core workouts instead of the sit-up?

Planks are ideal.

What equipment do you have to work with?

 

[Blaze_409]

When you do triceps and bicep exercises do you worry about altering grips(hands close, far, or shoulder width) on a consistent basis? To work the insides and outsides. Or just shoulder width everything. How can I split this up . I don't want to have to do 9 sets to reach all areas of each muscle. Nor could I possibly do 9 sets of 10-15 reps on the same muscle unless I use a marshmallow...

 

[nk4e]

Planks are ideal.

What equipment do you have to work with?

ideally, I want to use body exercises.

 

[Omnis]

ideally, I want to use body exercises.

and the footage before NYT editing:



The core is not designed to move weight. It is designed to resist motion-- proximal stiffness for the sake of distal mobility. So your goal in strengthening it is to increase the stability those muscles provide. Some other good exercises are farmers walks or suitcase carries. The first time I did these with a barbell my obliques were on fire the next morning.

 

[CodeRedR51]

So I have a question for those of you who frequent this page.

I am around 5' 6" and currently around 135lbs give or take with my clothes on. I've always been told that I am skinny, and I pretty much am, but over the past year or so I have very slowly begun to accumulate some extra body fat around the mid section. I think trying to lose a few pounds may get rid of it, but I'd only like to target that area and maybe add a few pounds in upper body muscle mass.

What's the best route to take in this situation? Running? I also have one of those pull-up bars that you can hook onto a door frame for the upper body stuff.

A few things to keep in mind here:

- Gym membership is out of the question. (no money)
- It's currently 112 degrees F here during the day. We can hit mid-90's by 7am.
- Running at night is hard at the moment because monsoon storms roll into town right when I get off work.

Also, for someone who doesn't know how to cook, what's the best route to take with my diet?

Thanks.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

So I have a question for those of you who frequent this page.

I am around 5' 6" and currently around 135lbs give or take with my clothes on. I've always been told that I am skinny, and I pretty much am, but over the past year or so I have very slowly begun to accumulate some extra body fat around the mid section. I think trying to lose a few pounds may get rid of it, but I'd only like to target that area and maybe add a few pounds in upper body muscle mass.

What's the best route to take in this situation? Running? I also have one of those pull-up bars that you can hook onto a door frame for the upper body stuff.

A few things to keep in mind here:

- Gym membership is out of the question. (no money)
- It's currently 112 degrees F here during the day. We can hit mid-90's by 7am.
- Running at night is hard at the moment because monsoon storms roll into town right when I get off work.

Also, for someone who doesn't know how to cook, what's the best route to take with my diet?

Thanks.

1. You can't target a specific area to lose fat from, and typically the place that you want to lose fat from is the last place the fat will disappear from. You must be consistent and persistent with your diet/working out and eventually it will go.

2. Running (both jogging and HIIT) is good and will improve your overall health too, the same with higher intensity cycling and swimming.

3. Bodyweight exercises are just as good as exercises that need equipment. Pull-ups, push-ups, proper sit-ups, lunges, etc. Bodyweight is great because there are so many variations that allow you to increase or decrease the difficulty.

4. If you want to change your body you must make the time to work out. This might mean sacrificing other things, but if you want it bad enough a little sacrifice won't hurt.
Likewise you must find a way to work out - heat doesn't stop you from working out as long as you are prepared for it (hydrate before, during and after, avoid sunburn and stay in the shade as much as possible, get up very early in the morning if needs be)

5. Sorting your diet without being able to cook is pretty difficult. Cooking is very easy and can be fun (when I started working out I couldn't cook to save my life, now I can cook complex dishes, have eaten a huge variety of food and I find it fun! I even met my current girlfriend while shopping for ingredients)

I guess some easy things that you could do are -

Eat a good, healthy breakfast. It will kickstart your metabolism for the day, give you energy and help you avoid snacking inbetween meals. Plus, oats with fresh fruit are delicious!
Don't snack unless you are snacking on something healthy (fruit, nuts, etc)
Replace soda, squash/fruit juice and alcohol with water, you will learn to love it.
Avoid take-aways and other fast food, if you have to eat it try to order the healthiest option on the menu - avoid cheese, sauces/dressings and mayo. Chicken is usually the leanest (least fatty) meat option.

Apart from that we can't really be more specific unless you give us more details.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Apart from that we can't really be more specific unless you give us more details.

Like?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Like?

Like, why have you gained weight to begin with? Poor diet? Inactivity?

Do you have any greater aims? What do you enjoy doing? Any equipment?

 

[CodeRedR51]

Like, why have you gained weight to begin with? Poor diet? Inactivity?

Both, pretty much. I used to be a mechanic so I was on my feet for most of the day. The last couple years I've worked at a desk, on my butt for 8 hours.

Do you have any greater aims? What do you enjoy doing? Any equipment?

I used to go hiking all the time when I lived in Colorado. The weather was nicer and hiking spots were a really close drive. Now in Phoenix the drives are much longer and nobody wants to hike in 112*F heat. I'm definitely looking forward to winter.

No greater aims really, just want to be in better shape.

No equipment.

 

[Luminis]

Well, maybe some of you guys can help me out. I've been having a very light pain in my left elbow during my last few trainings sessions, so went and got it checked up. The doctor didn't really look at it and told me I just shouldn't put so much stress on my elbow joints.

So, I talked to the trainers at my local gym, too, as they're probably a bit more knowledgable on that topic, at least as far as my situation goes. Those guys tolld me to not worry about it too much, but I do get nervous pretty easily with stuff like that. I mean, there isn't much pain, really. A sprained ankle would hurt ten times at much. For the time being, I just decided to stop working out for a while and am using an anti-inflammatory salve.

It basically only hurts slightly whenever I've been putting a lot of pressure on my elbow joints, either by doing triceps or biceps stuff. The pain usually only oocurs after I finish a set of a specific exercise and it won't set in until I've done at least three to four different exercises. I suppose it can't be too bad, as everything's perfectly fine when I'm not working out, but still...

You know, everybody tells me to not worry about it too much, but I still am very worried... Maybe I'm jsut being paranoid, but maybe one of you guys can put my mind at ease?

 

[shmogt]

Well, maybe some of you guys can help me out. I've been having a very light pain in my left elbow during my last few trainings sessions, so went and got it checked up. The doctor didn't really look at it and told me I just shouldn't put so much stress on my elbow joints.

So, I talked to the trainers at my local gym, too, as they're probably a bit more knowledgable on that topic, at least as far as my situation goes. Those guys tolld me to not worry about it too much, but I do get nervous pretty easily with stuff like that. I mean, there isn't much pain, really. A sprained ankle would hurt ten times at much. For the time being, I jsut decided to stop working out for a while and am using an anti-inflammatory salve.

You know, everybody tells me to not worry about it too much, but I still am very worried... Maybe I'm jsut being paranoid, but maybe one of you guys can put my mind at ease?

What were you doing to get this pain? I am going to assume you were working your triceps and probably doing skull crushers or a overhead tricep extension. It's the angle you are working at is like 90 degrees. Do the skull crushers on a decline bench or a flat bench and hold your arms slightly behind you so the bar drops to behind your head rather than your forehead. This puts the triceps in a better position to keep tension on them and way less on the joint. You will probably use less weight however it's safer and more tension on the triceps anyway so no worries of losing mass.

 

[Luminis]

What were you doing to get this pain? I am going to assume you were working your triceps and probably doing skull crushers or a overhead tricep extension. It's the angle you are working at is like 90 degrees. Do the skull crushers on a decline bench or a flat bench and hold your arms slightly behind you so the bar drops to behind your head rather than your forehead. This puts the triceps in a better position to keep tension on them and way less on the joint. You will probably use less weight however it's safer and more tension on the triceps anyway so no worries of losing mass.

First off, thanks for the reply.

The first time I experienced that issue was when I was doing simple chest presses; pretty much this:

But, yeah, overhead triceps extension were part of the problem, too, and I started to get a bit of pain (not as bad, though), when doing biceps curls, too.

Well, I'll lower the weight for now, I guess. It's okay if I'm loosing some mass, I've been gaining quite a bit recently. I might have upped the weight a bit too fast for my own good, too.

For the exercise pictured above, I went from 50kg (110 lbs) to 102.5kg (225.5 lbs) in about two months, while doing a similar amount of repitions per set and even increased the amount of sets I've been doing in succession from three to four. Not to mention that I've been working out six to seven days a week for the past month and a half. I suppose that I've just been overdoing it a bit.

 

[shmogt]

First off, thanks for the reply.

The first time I experienced that issue was when I was doing simple chest presses; pretty much this:

But, yeah, overhead triceps extension were part of the problem, too, and I started to get a bit of pain (not as bad, though), when doing biceps curls, too.

Well, I'll lower the weight for now, I guess. It's okay if I'm loosing some mass, I've been gaining quite a bit recently. I might have upped the weight a bit too fast for my own good, too.

For the exercise pictured above, I went from 50kg (110 lbs) to 102.5kg (225.5 lbs) in about two months, while doing a similar amount of repitions per set and even increased the amount of sets I've been doing in succession from three to four. Not to mention that I've been working out six to seven days a week for the past month and a half. I suppose that I've just been overdoing it a bit.

If you increased the weight that much and more sets and work out that many days in a row you probably have pretty good genetics first of all but yes also overdoing it. At first your body isn't used to anything so the weight you use will pretty much double in a short amount of time but once it starts getting used to it is when the real muscle building starts. That's when you run the risk of training too hard and getting hurt etc. Just focus on the squeeze of the muscles you are trying to hit and hit all your muscles evenly and you should be good. Wouldn't worry too much about elbow pain and just avoid anything that makes it hurt.