Gym and fitness (18 Viewers)

[Zacheryah]

I did use to but at my new gym they don't have a smith machine so I've been leaning on the rack to simulate the effect. When I start dead lifting (tomorrow is my first power lifting training session) I'll look to include the walking

Oh god please dont.


Big strong calves and strong knee ligaments and joints allow for such fucking about. If you dont have those you'll needlessly put huge stress on them, wich will very likely result in a gruesome injury.


You should do them in standing calf raise machine, or a smith machine where you can safely load 200% your squatmax and not worry about balance.

If those are missing, do seated calf raise with 60kg dumbels.

- put a chair or a bench
- put a 3-5cm block for the front of your feet
- take the 60kg dumbells and sit down
- put the front of your feet on the block
- put the dumbells on your quadriceps head , with one of the two sides of plates resting on your knee, the other beeing vertically above it (like a hammer curl)
- now force your heels from the ground


You can put a barbell instead of dumbells, but i find that when you got dumbells with rounded plates , they can rest on the leg without hurting, where as a barbell has a much smaller contact zone and will press hard into the quadriceps

 

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[AFL_ITALIA]

My bench is absolutely goddamn pathetic and it never really seems to improve, and I'm tired of that. It's time to find out why and how to fix it. I feel like maybe I'm doing too much.

Dumbbell flat bench
Incline barbell bench
Pec fly machine
Cable chest press (to replace decline bench)
Chest press machine

Then I work triceps with the cable pulldown and dips (around 20). Finish off the day with push ups, however many I can manage in three sets. 5 sets of 5 for everything else though.

 

[Zacheryah]

Film your bench and post it here

 

[AFL_ITALIA]

So then the workload is fine, you think it's my form?

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Is decline press even any use?

 

[AFL_ITALIA]

Hell if I know . I feel it though, so I keep doing it.

 

[Zacheryah]

So then the workload is fine, you think it's my form?

I dont know, you said what excercise you do, you didnt say what percentage, density, frequency, reps and sets you are doing.

 

[Post Ironic]

So then the workload is fine, you think it's my form?

You're doing 5 cheat exercises, 2 tricep exercises, and push-ups. That's a bodybuilder's chest workout, and an excessive one at that, much more geared towards hypertrophy than to strength. And doing 5x5s makes it more of a hybrid workout but with way too heavy volume to make good strength gains. I'd cut the majority of those exercises and focus on flat bench, with a bar, using 5x5s. Once you build up a good level of strength on Bench Press, then you can start adding exercises and going for more of the bodybuilding style chest workout.

The way you're doing it now, progress in terms of strength is likely to be painfully slow. Flat bench press, plus maybe one other chest exercise, and 1 tricep exercise, should really be all you do if you want to make Strength gains there. And make sure you do 5x5 working sets of the bench press. There should be 1-2 warmup sets before that to get to your working weight.

 

[AFL_ITALIA]

I dont know, you said what excercise you do, you didnt say what percentage, density, frequency, reps and sets you are doing.

5 sets of 5 reps, as much as I can lift and complete. Once a week. I don't know what density would be .

You're doing 5 cheat exercises, 2 tricep exercises, and push-ups. That's a bodybuilder's chest workout, and an excessive one at that, much more geared towards hypertrophy than to strength. And doing 5x5s makes it more of a hybrid workout but with way too heavy volume to make good strength gains. I'd cut the majority of those exercises and focus on flat bench, with a bar, using 5x5s. Once you build up a good level of strength on Bench Press, then you can start adding exercises and going for more of the bodybuilding style chest workout.

The way you're doing it now, progress in terms of strength is likely to be painfully slow. Flat bench press, plus maybe one other chest exercise, and 1 tricep exercise, should really be all you do if you want to make Strength gains there. And make sure you do 5x5 working sets of the bench press. There should be 2-3 warmup sets before that to get to your working weight.

Is flat dumbbell bench just as good? I go by myself so I don't have someone to spot me.

 

[Post Ironic]

5 sets of 5 reps, as much as I can lift and complete. Once a week. I don't know what density would be .

Is flat dumbbell bench just as good? I go by myself so I don't have someone to spot me.

It's not quite the same, but it is a very good exercise all the same. You cannot move the same kind of weight but it's still a very good exercise and forces you to be in better control of the weights. If you do ever want to start barbell bench, most people are pretty willing to offer a spot.

Once a week is your other problem. That's not enough for major strength gains in an exercise. Zach would know better for in terms of pure strength development, ie. powerlifting... but most strength programs I've seen for athletes and lifters have two days, and sometimes even 3 days (much rarer and more for beginners) each week where squats, deadlifts, bench occur. Of course, you don't have to do each of these on each day, or go heavy with each on each day. But, twice a week for bench press should be the idea if you want to see serious gains. The same thing goes for squats and deadlifts. I'd recommend one heavy day for each, and one light day for each.

@Zacheryah Confirm, or add to this, in terms of frequency?

 

[Seven]

My bench is absolutely goddamn pathetic and it never really seems to improve, and I'm tired of that. It's time to find out why and how to fix it. I feel like maybe I'm doing too much.

Dumbbell flat bench
Incline barbell bench
Pec fly machine
Cable chest press (to replace decline bench)
Chest press machine

Then I work triceps with the cable pulldown and dips (around 20). Finish off the day with push ups, however many I can manage in three sets. 5 sets of 5 for everything else though.

You sure like titties.

 

[Oggy]

And this is why I don't go to gym

 

[Zacheryah]

@Zacheryah Confirm, or add to this, in terms of frequency?

He should run Bill Star Intermediate for 1 year. 2 if he is still improving.
Dont pussy out on the assistance work.

Then, when you keep hitting the same 3RM on the 6th week, take 4 days off and try your 1RM on the 5th in Squat, Pauzed benchpress and Deadlift

With these 3 you can calculate your total for your weight. Then decide wich class you are in

Spoiler

http://sheiko-program.ru/forum/index.php?topic=3.0

then pick the sheiko routine that suits your total

 

[AFL_ITALIA]

Seems like that would take a long time to complete when the gym gets crowded, but I'll definitely look into that.

 

[Zacheryah]

Bill star trainings take 40 minutes not counting assistance work

 

[Nzoric]

I caved and went to the gym today. Any ideas of how to get optimal strenght gains for pullups? I struggled to make two reps in a row while everything else was sort of alright.

 

[Zacheryah]

Everything that trains the upper back, and a bit biceps and triceps


for example, lateral pulldowns. thats basically a pullup but you weights move not you, and you can preset the weight

 

[Nzoric]

By far the most uncomfortable exercise imo. God damnit.

Do you know any body weight exercises that strenghten the upper back that I can do at home?

 

[Zacheryah]

Maybe, not sure, i'm heading to training now, will ask the "core muscle PT" if he's there today

 

[Nzoric]

Thanks buddy