I'm sore just reading it
General Gym/Lifting thread
- Thread starter Chrit
- Start date
Yup. Going to do reduced volume today just to balance that out. Fuck.
I'm not even sure I could make it through that on pre-workout alone. I'd have to break out an 8-ball half way in
Calisthenics are awesome and you can get some pretty outstanding gains...a *lot* of my training now (for various reasons) is calisthenics-based.
You just have to be smart about it.
Most guys don't realize it, but they're complete retards when they do bodyweight training.
I'm a retard and I realize it.
I hit that stage a loooong time ago, lmao. In fact, I've completely changed how I approach lower body training.
I'm *well* past the time in my life of being Ok with walking funny for a couple days after a heavy leg workout. I used to think it was some kinda badge of honor or virtue or whatever. Nooooope. lol
I also feel that, while you need strong legs, most guys can get away with training legs much differently and get much better results.
i.e. - don't go as heavy, a bit more volume, and higher frequency
What I have a lot of guys doing in my programs now is working up to something like 50-75 bodyweight Squats in a row. Be able to do that several days a week.
Once you can do that, start adding weight - either holding a DB in Goblet Squat style via weight vest.
Get to the point that you can do say 75 Goblet Squats holding 100lbs several days a week and it's not *that* difficult...there isn't much in regular life that's gonna give you trouble.
Add a few Jumps to convert some of that strength / strength-endurance into explosive power, as well as Farmer's Walks, Sandbag Shoulders, etc, and you're gonna be more than good to go on pretty much every level.
Yeah... my programming is now just adding a quad movement, a hamstring movement, or a calf movement for each session which works out to 2x per week per muscle (I run a 6 days split).
I'm definitely at a point where I'm not going to compete or anything, so being able to just add in either some machines like leg extension/curl or even a pendulum squat/hack squat/leg press type movements.
I just dont feel the need to deadlift 600 lbs or have that much on my back for a traditional squat anymore. I'm totally fine never having another leg day where I end up having to sit on a bench for 25 minutes at the end of a session unable to walk feeling like I'm going to puke.
100% agreed.
In fact, if a guy still wants to focus on lower body strength / size (he's younger, smaller, etc), I typically tell him he doesn't even need to Squat.
Trap Bar Dealifts + single leg work is the majority of what they need. In my setups, lower body is typically trained more "athletic" in nature (bodybuilding style work is saved for upper body assistance), so they're likely already gonna be doing Swings, DB Snatch, DB Clean & Press, etc, so hamstrings / posterior chain is already taken care off.
Add the aforementioned Jumps and you're good.
Hell, most guys would get plenty of hamstrings / posterior chain simply doing Farmer's Walks with DBs, but via a short path, putting the DBs down & picking them back up on either end.
i.e. - start at Point A, pick up (Deadlift) DBs & Farmer's them to Point B, turn around, put them down. DL them back up, Farmer's them back to Point A, turn around, put them down. Rinse & repeat for as many times as needed for one "set".
Repeat x however many sets.
In fact, if a guy still wants to focus on lower body strength / size (he's younger, smaller, etc), I typically tell him he doesn't even need to Squat.
Trap Bar Dealifts + single leg work is the majority of what they need. In my setups, lower body is typically trained more "athletic" in nature (bodybuilding style work is saved for upper body assistance), so they're likely already gonna be doing Swings, DB Snatch, DB Clean & Press, etc, so hamstrings / posterior chain is already taken care off.
Add the aforementioned Jumps and you're good.
Hell, most guys would get plenty of hamstrings / posterior chain simply doing Farmer's Walks with DBs, but via a short path, putting the DBs down & picking them back up on either end.
i.e. - start at Point A, pick up (Deadlift) DBs & Farmer's them to Point B, turn around, put them down. DL them back up, Farmer's them back to Point A, turn around, put them down. Rinse & repeat for as many times as needed for one "set".
Repeat x however many sets.
Agreed for the most part.
I do add in bodybuilding style movements just for joint health. I really milk reps at the lengthened end. For example, I'll throw extra padding under my legs and have the seat back as far as possible for leg extensions to get the most exaggerated stretch possible... and then seated leg curls leaning as far forward as possible.
Doing that sort of stuff has me feeling more mobile than I ever did doing super heavy squats to powerlifting depth.
Makes total sense. The guys that come to me just typically have more "all around" goals, limited time, etc, so a lot of bodybuilding as a whole doesn't necessarily make sense for their programming.
I will echo that bodybuilding / full range-of-motion stuff being good for joint health.
While I get the idea behind some of the mobility stuff out there, I also firmly believe it's 100% jumped the shark, too.
In my experience, the *vast* majority of guys that have mobility issues (not injury / body structure related) have them due to:
-being too fat (body mass simply gets in the way)
-being too weak (this is a huge one - drastic muscle imbalances cause most "flexibility" issues)
-simply not having the "skill" (not necessarily the correct word, but the basic idea) of using their body / joints / muscles through rull ranges of motion
I once read a guy say that if you did some kinda ass to grass Squats, full ROM Dips, and / or full ROM Behind the Neck Press, you'd have all the mobility you'd ever need. This stuff doesn't even need to be "heavy"...just going through the full ROM.
Add hanging from a Pullup bar for spinal decompression and you'd be hard-pressed to go wrong.
Any of you guys have thoughts on p90x type workouts?
I love them for what they are, no thinking or driving to the gym, just do what Tony tells you for 30 minutes. It's how I got into to shape to take the PT test for the academy along with walking/running 5 miles a day. I was in the top 95 percentile for the cooper standards when I took it.
53 years old with a bunch of injuries from being in the military. Have very little time to physically hit the gym during the week so I have a bunch of kettle bells from 24kh-48kg. I use Strong First training methods from Pavel T. They are very minimal but do what I need them to. I don't care to ever have a big squat or bench again, that type of training for me is way to draining and at this point in my life, takes away more than it gives. Doing 5 kb snatches every minute on the minute for 20-30 minutes gives me plenty of whole-body strength endurance. I warm up with mobility work, 50 push-ups and 100 squats, do my snatches or 1 hand swings and do a post training mobility work. I'll do chin ups a couple days a week if I'm around a bar.
This gives me what I need without trashing my body. I eat regular food without a ton of additives and walk every day for an hour.
This gives me what I need without trashing my body. I eat regular food without a ton of additives and walk every day for an hour.
That's what I've been doing lately since I don't do gyms. Not sure if it's good long term as well or just short term though...
It works, try body beast afterwards for a more traditional lifting routine that you can do from home, need a bench for it though, I jut picked up a cheap one at walmart. Don't need a bar, just the bench and dumbbells.
