Originally Posted by penguinz:
Depends on what type of lifting and your goals. A body building program will be shit for powerlifting or strongman, powerlifting shit for bodybuilding, strongman, etc...
If you can't afford or don't want so spend $ on a coach the free programs are better than nothing but they are not the greatest.
Part of a coach is to critique your weaknesses and strengths and program accordingly.
Kind of what I figured. My plan was to use one of the trainers at the gym as a guide/progress monitor, and maybe use one of the programs as a daily/weekly template between trainer sessions, if that makes sense.
My goal this year was to build some muscle, particularly in my back/shoulders, but my primary goal is to increase my functional strength, so I can continue to do things like row driftboats, hike in and out of canyons with 40-lb. packs, do some rock climbing when necessary (the biggest fish/bucks are always the hardest to get to), etc.
So just in one example, I know that being able to do pull-ups greatly increases my capabilities rock-climbing and canyoneering, and my goal is to be able to do 6-8 at a minimum. I can now do 4, most of the time. So I've made some progress, but still a ways to go.
But when I took a guy fishing on the Rim a couple weeks ago getting in and out of the canyon was easier than the time before, and climbing the falls with both of our packs was difficult, but it wasn't a struggle. So I know I'm on the right track.
Just remembered, I'm trying to have kind of a wrestler's physique; not WWE, but traditional wrestler, instead of bodybuilder. [Reply]
Originally Posted by penguinz:
Sitting is one of the most destructive things you can do for any soft tissue between the belly button and knees.
Stretching without weight is pretty useless.
I would look at doing straight and romanian deadlifts to target the hammys. on RDLs go to you feel it good in your hammy, hold it for a couple seconds and then explode back up. With each rep you should be able to increase the stretch a bit.
That’s what I’ve heard. My old job offered to order those standing desks for anyone who asked but I never took advantage unfortunately.
That’s something I will need to work on, personally, because I am extremely active for about 2 hours out of the day but the rest of the time I’m pretty sedentary.. though I will say I’m not a lazy bitch. Anytime I go out I will take the stairs over the elevator and park in the back of the parking lot.
Also, oddly enough straight leg deadlifts have been a staple for me for a while. I usually choose those over traditional. Love that good stretch.
A big part of me is starting to think the issue is a lack of strength in my hammies. It’s like when I’m at 80% wanting to give it more juice, I’m like “OK, explode off of the ground with each step. Drive through the ground as hard as you can and launch yourself forward.” And when I get to top speed I can feel I’m about to pull a hammy. Even when doing leg curls, I don’t feel like I’m very strong.
So I want to work on that, first and foremost.
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
It's probably not just your hammys. Your hip adductors(?) are probably shortened as well.
When I began trying to try and run again after years off, I think it took 3-5 months to get most of my range of motion back. And I was stretching 5-6 days a week to get there. Pretty sure ta the time it took at least two months before I even noticed much improvement. Bottom line, you have to be committed and consistent to see results, once you've neglected those areas for decades.
Yep, I think you’re right. My hips are often very tight and I can feel that tightness whenever I’m warming up on leg days. I feel like my legs aren’t fully limber until I’m basically done with my workouts. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
Kind of what I figured. My plan was to use one of the trainers at the gym as a guide/progress monitor, and maybe use one of the programs as a daily/weekly template between trainer sessions, if that makes sense.
My goal this year was to build some muscle, particularly in my back/shoulders, but my primary goal is to increase my functional strength, so I can continue to do things like row driftboats, hike in and out of canyons with 40-lb. packs, do some rock climbing when necessary (the biggest fish/bucks are always the hardest to get to), etc.
So just in one example, I know that being able to do pull-ups greatly increases my capabilities rock-climbing and canyoneering, and my goal is to be able to do 6-8 at a minimum. I can now do 4, most of the time. So I've made some progress, but still a ways to go.
But when I took a guy fishing on the Rim a couple weeks ago getting in and out of the canyon was easier than the time before, and climbing the falls with both of our packs was difficult, but it wasn't a struggle. So I know I'm on the right track.
Just remembered, I'm trying to have kind of a wrestler's physique; not WWE, but traditional wrestler, instead of bodybuilder.
I would look more at strongman workouts then. The basic concept behind strongman is functional strength. Picking shit up off of the floor is basically a deadlift. Getting up out of a chair is a squat.. etc....
Generally fewer reps with extended rest time so easy on the joints unless going for really heavy weight. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ModSocks:
Motherfuck it's hard to eat 1g of Protein per lb.
Anyone wanna list some of their favorite protein rich meals?
Technically, I think the magic number is 0.7, even though of course going over doesn't hurt.
I do plant protein shakes (no cholesterol) and also Costco PB2. Costco/Kirkland yogurt is better than most in terms of protein with less sugar. Cottage cheese. A lot of fish.. salmon, ahi tuna.
Originally Posted by ModSocks:
Motherfuck it's hard to eat 1g of Protein per lb.
Anyone wanna list some of their favorite protein rich meals?
Steak. The thing is you need to make the protein portion your priority. Always eat your meat first. Then, if you have room, you can eat fluffy carby sides. But meat first, always, and eat all of it.
Add 1 scoop of whey at every meal you eat. Just mix with 8 oz water and slam it down.
Originally Posted by penguinz:
Everyone keeping up on fitness goals?
- Workout 3 times per week. Check, have been weightlifting consistently 3 times/week and some added cardio on rest days.
- Get a little better each week. Check.. not perfect of course, but always pushing to make a little progress, even if it's just one more rep than last time.
- Don't die. This is going well so far, but ultimately day-to-day.
- Look better than lewdog shirtless. I didn't want to show up lewdog the other day, so we'll just say this is still in progress for now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
I hear you about the getting old part, lol. I'm pretty careful, maybe too careful, about how I lift these days as well. Doesn't help that I don't have anything like a regular partner/spotter right now since my trainer friend decided to go and get pregnant. Woman has no sense of priorities,:-).
I've had so many lower body/leg injuries over the years that I decided this year that I was going to go back to the fundamentals and focus on rebuilding my lower back, glutes and quads, before going back to heavy squats. So right now I'm doing a lot of Bulgarians, something called ATK stretches, those side squats, farmer's walks, etc. Lot of body weight and/or low weights. And a crap ton of stretches. Takes up a ton of time, so a lot of leg days I don't even get to quad extensions or hammy curl machines.
But just last week I finally started to feel more balanced, I'm able to drop deeper into squats, particularly in those side squats (brainfarting the actual name right now). I can finally get to the right depth, and my upper torso is still relatively upright, something that was impossible just a couple months ago.
Side question: is anyone using those workout programs I keep seeing on my FB feed? Is there one or two anyone would recommend? Looking to try something different than my usual.
I just got into barbell squats (odd to say after having worked out consistently for like 4 years now, but did bodyweight stuff before, then some dumbbell squats along with several that you mentioned) after an unrelated c2-c3 pinched nerve a while back and just being overly paranoid, mostly (and partly due to equipment availability/consistency)... and those are currently kicking my ass, but in a good way. Current gym only has Smith machines, which is perfectly fine... working on form and depth.
In some ways I've gone full circle, as I did a lot of compound exercises for ~18-24 months, followed by isolation workouts, and then I've started shifting focus on some things I hadn't really done in the past (such as side delt work that used to really aggravate a tennis elbow)... but now find myself substituting in some compound stuff so I'm not at the gym for 2 hours.
And as a side note, I worked with a guy who swore by farmer's walk... I should throw them in somewhere. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
- Workout 3 times per week. Check, have been weightlifting consistently 3 times/week and some added cardio on rest days.
- Get a little better each week. Check.. not perfect of course, but always pushing to make a little progress, even if it's just one more rep than last time.
- Don't die. This is going well so far, but ultimately day-to-day.
- Look better than lewdog shirtless. I didn't want to show up lewdog the other day, so we'll just say this is still in progress for now.
I do:
2-3 days at the gym and 1-2 days working out at home, and typically another 1-2 days of basketball at the park.
So basically 4 days of lifting and 1-2 days of sports. Typically on Saturdays i'll play Basketball in the morning and then hit the gym in the afternoon.
This weekend for example; hit the gym Friday night and did chest and shoulder and a little bit of bicep. Shot hoops Saturday morning. Shot hoops and ran around on the football field Sunday morning, and then hit the gym and did legs and back Sunday afternoon.
No real goals other than to stay active so i don't embarass myself when i hit the beach.
Never really gave a shit about a diet or anything like that, but felt like this year i should at least start trying to hit protein goals. [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
Steak. The thing is you need to make the protein portion your priority. Always eat your meat first. Then, if you have room, you can eat fluffy carby sides. But meat first, always, and eat all of it.
Add 1 scoop of whey at every meal you eat. Just mix with 8 oz water and slam it down.
You'll get there easily.
Yeah, as someone who's been eating crap all his life and never really paid the penalty for it, eating "right" is a challenge.
Im usually getting about 30-40g's for lunch. And another 30-40g's for dinner, + 30g's from a protein powder everyday. I take it like you said, just mix it with water and chug. I prefer that.
My wife OTOH makes a whole fucking meal shake out of hers. Blending it with fruits and peanut butter and almond milk etc. I just stir my shit up with water, idgaf :-)
Just getting sick and tired of chicken. I try to mix steak in there more often lately but still....
My failure seems to be at breakfast. I have a real hard time staying disciplined when it comes to breakfast so im losing there and that's what's causing me to not reach my daily protein goal. I just have ZERO appetite in the mornings and usually dont even start my first meal till lunch time. [Reply]
