While we're on the subject of myths, bad training, and the like, I've got some inquiries:
1) I saw an article recently done by a spine doctor about how crunches compress your discs in a funky way that can make them more suscetable to later damage and slippage. Anybody heard anything else about this?
2) Knee past the toes. I've heard some talks and science behind both against and for this, but I'd like to try and find the full truth. Seems to me that as long as you don't change the center of rotation for the knee (like when thighs and calves press together) it shouldn't matter.
Man, I should come up with some wacked out fitness program just based on psychics calculations. Then sell it as the "scientifically proven" method of strength gain, and then roll in money. But then I would also be evil, and karmas a bitch.
edit: I should note now that I'm a little bored at work, and alleviating that by posting needlessly here.
While we're on the subject of myths, bad training, and the like, I've got some inquiries:
1) I saw an article recently done by a spine doctor about how crunches compress your discs in a funky way that can make them more suscetable to later damage and slippage. Anybody heard anything else about this?
2) Knee past the toes. I've heard some talks and science behind both against and for this, but I'd like to try and find the full truth. Seems to me that as long as you don't change the center of rotation for the knee (like when thighs and calves press together) it shouldn't matter.
1) I haven't heard anything about crunches doing any sort of damage. Being a waste of time though... Core work like planks or heavy compounds are probably going to do a lot more for you
2) Knees passing the toes is kind of an arbitrary point, and may vary a bit depending on a persons proportions. However, knees going forward as you come out of the hole is a good sign that you're relying on your quadriceps instead of recruiting your hams/glutes. If your heels are staying on the ground and you're using proper hip drive i wouldn't worry about it
Now that I think about it I honestly find it difficult to tell if I'm using my hips correctly for squatting
It seems like I must be since my weight is balanced between the heels and balls of my feet, but hell I could just be deluding myself
Are you feeling imbalanced during the lift?
If you are just starting out, don't worry, everybody has the same balance problem at first and it should correct itself as your CNS automates many of the movements.
Keep thinking of shooting your knees out, keeping your pectoral proud and pushing with hips and you'll be fine
It always feels like squats and deadlifts work the back and not the abs. But that's probably just perception. Press makes sense, abs would counter that arch in your back to keep things going up and keep you from using too much pecs right?
Also, front squat vs back squat? Fronts just emphasize quads more?
It always feels like squats and deadlifts work the back and not the abs. But that's probably just perception. Press makes sense, abs would counter that arch in your back to keep things going up and keep you from using too much pecs right?
Also, front squat vs back squat? Fronts just emphasize quads more?
3rd pic is the low bar squat.
If we agree that the bar gravity pull points down to the floor in a straight line, you can see that the only thing that keeps the bar from crushing your torso to the floor are your core muscles. a heavy squat rep can be completed more easily if you actively think of squeezing your core muscles.
Front vs back
back is your work horse, it allows you to move a lot of weight with a lot of muscles.
Front squat allows you to move less weight focusing on some other muscles
Well I'm trying them again tomorrow so I'll try to pay closer attention to my sense of balance
(seriously starting strength, squats three times a week, my legs hate you)
I did that same thing when I started last year. But after like two months I looked in the mirror before taking a shower and was like "fuck yeah, my legs are awesome."
I found curling your toes helps, and also looking UP kept me in good balance.
edit: @hectorse
I think maybe I lean forward too much in my squat, relying on my back to keep things rigid. I have problems already with gripping the bar in a high back squat because of either horrible shoulder flexibility or odd arm proportions.
Do you think trying for lower back squats benefit me?
Okay I know I already made a post on what I don't like about CF but I just recalled a great description of CF that I heard somewhere, that "Crossfit is strongman for weak people."
Not literally upward, right? Because tilting your head back and looking up is like the worst thing to do while squatting.
Not literally straight up, just looking forward and up a bit.
Look forward and down, or just plain down. It's better.
I have poor flexibility, so I do the looking forward/up to help keep me from rounding my back or letting my chest drop. Although, my flexibility is slowly getting better, and I prolly have the correct form ingrained in my CNS by now.
Not literally upward, right? Because tilting your head back and looking up is like the worst thing to do while squatting.
Not literally straight up, just looking forward and up a bit.
Look forward and down, or just plain down. It's better.
This is one of those things Rip says that some people disagree with and are right to. Strict powerlifting style, you look up to keep your chest from collapsing, and to sit back into your suit if you're in gear. Further more, the thought is you go where you look, look up and you subconsciously think "go up". These guys don't care about getting a good hamstring workout, they want to make the lift. Rip cares the lifter about getting a good hamstring workout, since he is trying to make you stronger, not better at powerlifting. He thinks, and is right IMO, that looking down makes hip drive happen better and bigger. So I do both. As I descend, I look down, and keep doing so as I bounce up out of the hole. Got my hip drive. Then, if and when my hips shoot up and my torso starts to lean too far forward, I look up, and the movement of bringing my head up takes my chest along with it. It stands to reason that this may be the worst of the three options - perhaps were I to look up the whole time, my chest would never collapse in the first place. Or were I to learn to do the lift correctly and never shoot up my hips, I could look down all the time and not have to deal with the mess. But, for better or worse, it is what I do right now.
That reminds me that I should take some pictures for my records. My weight hasn't been changing, but I've had some definite changes in composition in the past 3 months.
But that said, the first one (Matt Kroc----) made me feel good about the ROM I get on my pullups. He was only going halfway!
The second one, more impressive (although yeah, kipping, but whatever he does heaps).
My high volume "do pullups in my carport whenever I am home and remember to do them" is still happening, but I'm starting to get a 'click' in my shoulder that wasn't there before, at a certain part of the range of motion. Probably a sign that I should cut down on the frequency a bit.
I notice I don't get it when I lean back a bit more.
Also damn, my gf's parents are staying with us at the moment... And while it's really nice to not have to cook when I get home, country-style Vietnamese cooking has, in everything, either
A: absolutely ridiculous amounts of salt (soy sauce, fish sauce)
B: large amounts of sugar (often coconut juice further sweetened with extra sugar)
or
C: absolutely ridiculous amounts of salt and large amounts of sugar
Does anyone else get that raw feeling on the roof of their mouth after eating a particularly salty takeaway pizza? Yeah, that, every night.
Solvent on
I don't know where he got the scorpions, or how he got them into my mattress.
just used one of those blood pressure monitor thingies
143/93 stage one hypertension
guess I need to get on the treadmill once in a while
That's stage one in the old levels. That's pretty high. But it's also one reading. I keep an eye on my BP since it runs in the family (and I have ongoing arguments with my doctor since it's about 30 points higher when he takes the reading than my home readings).
You need to take more than one measurement before worrying about it too much. If it's consistently high over about 2 weeks, get it checked out. Try to check it at the same time every day or two and RELAX when you get it checked. Just holding your breath or worrying about it can pop it up 20 points.
But more cardio, losing weight and eating less salt are about the only non-prescription ways to deal with high BP.
Kakodaimonos on
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syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
edited April 2010
Yeah, there is a reason Cardio was featured so heavily in my workout routines early on...
My BP could easily cross into the Hypertension zone when I was a fat man... the cardio and diet change completely restored a healthy 135/65ish or so...
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I tested it a few times today and the readings are all over the place
never good, though
right... and I won't even go into the changing diet thing, cause I remember you were pretty solid on the whole dietary foundation.
I seem to remember you not being that big on lots of cardio though... you should probably add a couple more hours into your week, specifically interval training, to get your body used to ramping up and ramping down quickly. That was the thing that fixed MY hypertension, at least.
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I tested it a few times today and the readings are all over the place
never good, though
right... and I won't even go into the changing diet thing, cause I remember you were pretty solid on the whole dietary foundation.
I seem to remember you not being that big on lots of cardio though... you should probably add a couple more hours into your week, specifically interval training, to get your body used to ramping up and ramping down quickly. That was the thing that fixed MY hypertension, at least.
yeah, I just really, really hate doing cardio
I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma when I was in high school, which I never really took seriously, but even though I was playing football 3/4 times a week in university (inc. competitive 11 and 5-a-side leagues) I never adapted to the point where a couple of long sprints didn't make me want to throw up, so I figure something must be up somewhere
my blood pressure was fine back then, though
it's the years since then that are the problem :P
if you'd like to stick around I'm sure I can think of more excuses for why I'm such a baby
Yeah, I'll probably do some stretching. My hip adducters (the muscle on the outside of my hips?) have been really sore the last three or so sessions while squatting.
Posts
1) I saw an article recently done by a spine doctor about how crunches compress your discs in a funky way that can make them more suscetable to later damage and slippage. Anybody heard anything else about this?
2) Knee past the toes. I've heard some talks and science behind both against and for this, but I'd like to try and find the full truth. Seems to me that as long as you don't change the center of rotation for the knee (like when thighs and calves press together) it shouldn't matter.
F = ma
Newton was one ripped mofo
edit: I should note now that I'm a little bored at work, and alleviating that by posting needlessly here.
1) I haven't heard anything about crunches doing any sort of damage. Being a waste of time though... Core work like planks or heavy compounds are probably going to do a lot more for you
2) Knees passing the toes is kind of an arbitrary point, and may vary a bit depending on a persons proportions. However, knees going forward as you come out of the hole is a good sign that you're relying on your quadriceps instead of recruiting your hams/glutes. If your heels are staying on the ground and you're using proper hip drive i wouldn't worry about it
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
It seems like I must be since my weight is balanced between the heels and balls of my feet, but hell I could just be deluding myself
Squats, deadlifts, presses
Are you feeling imbalanced during the lift?
If you are just starting out, don't worry, everybody has the same balance problem at first and it should correct itself as your CNS automates many of the movements.
Keep thinking of shooting your knees out, keeping your pectoral proud and pushing with hips and you'll be fine
Squats hands down have the best leverage against the core muscles.
Deadlifts are obviously heavy on them as is the overhead press
Also, front squat vs back squat? Fronts just emphasize quads more?
(seriously starting strength, squats three times a week, my legs hate you)
3rd pic is the low bar squat.
If we agree that the bar gravity pull points down to the floor in a straight line, you can see that the only thing that keeps the bar from crushing your torso to the floor are your core muscles. a heavy squat rep can be completed more easily if you actively think of squeezing your core muscles.
Front vs back
back is your work horse, it allows you to move a lot of weight with a lot of muscles.
Front squat allows you to move less weight focusing on some other muscles
I did that same thing when I started last year. But after like two months I looked in the mirror before taking a shower and was like "fuck yeah, my legs are awesome."
I found curling your toes helps, and also looking UP kept me in good balance.
edit:
@hectorse
I think maybe I lean forward too much in my squat, relying on my back to keep things rigid. I have problems already with gripping the bar in a high back squat because of either horrible shoulder flexibility or odd arm proportions.
Do you think trying for lower back squats benefit me?
Not literally upward, right? Because tilting your head back and looking up is like the worst thing to do while squatting.
Not literally straight up, just looking forward and up a bit.
Look forward and down, or just plain down. It's better.
I have poor flexibility, so I do the looking forward/up to help keep me from rounding my back or letting my chest drop. Although, my flexibility is slowly getting better, and I prolly have the correct form ingrained in my CNS by now.
and first time actually lifting anything over ten pounds with my left arm since i broke my elbow
10 x 135
8 x 225
6 x 245
6 x 265 haha legs are already cramping i feel like a bitch
military press
15 x 45
8 x 65
10 x 65
arnold press
3 x 8 x 30
and some various ab work. elbow? sore and felt really weak. but gonna keep on
This is one of those things Rip says that some people disagree with and are right to. Strict powerlifting style, you look up to keep your chest from collapsing, and to sit back into your suit if you're in gear. Further more, the thought is you go where you look, look up and you subconsciously think "go up". These guys don't care about getting a good hamstring workout, they want to make the lift. Rip cares the lifter about getting a good hamstring workout, since he is trying to make you stronger, not better at powerlifting. He thinks, and is right IMO, that looking down makes hip drive happen better and bigger. So I do both. As I descend, I look down, and keep doing so as I bounce up out of the hole. Got my hip drive. Then, if and when my hips shoot up and my torso starts to lean too far forward, I look up, and the movement of bringing my head up takes my chest along with it. It stands to reason that this may be the worst of the three options - perhaps were I to look up the whole time, my chest would never collapse in the first place. Or were I to learn to do the lift correctly and never shoot up my hips, I could look down all the time and not have to deal with the mess. But, for better or worse, it is what I do right now.
Like 2 feet in front.
The new video rip uploaded has some guy looking down too and he said it was better for him.
It's not set in stone
143/93 stage one hypertension
guess I need to get on the treadmill once in a while
Really enjoyed this. God I would love a home gym.
But that said, the first one (Matt Kroc----) made me feel good about the ROM I get on my pullups. He was only going halfway!
The second one, more impressive (although yeah, kipping, but whatever he does heaps).
My high volume "do pullups in my carport whenever I am home and remember to do them" is still happening, but I'm starting to get a 'click' in my shoulder that wasn't there before, at a certain part of the range of motion. Probably a sign that I should cut down on the frequency a bit.
I notice I don't get it when I lean back a bit more.
Also damn, my gf's parents are staying with us at the moment... And while it's really nice to not have to cook when I get home, country-style Vietnamese cooking has, in everything, either
A: absolutely ridiculous amounts of salt (soy sauce, fish sauce)
B: large amounts of sugar (often coconut juice further sweetened with extra sugar)
or
C: absolutely ridiculous amounts of salt and large amounts of sugar
Does anyone else get that raw feeling on the roof of their mouth after eating a particularly salty takeaway pizza? Yeah, that, every night.
http://newnations.bandcamp.com
That's stage one in the old levels. That's pretty high. But it's also one reading. I keep an eye on my BP since it runs in the family (and I have ongoing arguments with my doctor since it's about 30 points higher when he takes the reading than my home readings).
You need to take more than one measurement before worrying about it too much. If it's consistently high over about 2 weeks, get it checked out. Try to check it at the same time every day or two and RELAX when you get it checked. Just holding your breath or worrying about it can pop it up 20 points.
But more cardio, losing weight and eating less salt are about the only non-prescription ways to deal with high BP.
My BP could easily cross into the Hypertension zone when I was a fat man... the cardio and diet change completely restored a healthy 135/65ish or so...
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
visible abs over here 8-)
I tested it a few times today and the readings are all over the place
never good, though
Gonna use that to drive to work starting next Monday.
right... and I won't even go into the changing diet thing, cause I remember you were pretty solid on the whole dietary foundation.
I seem to remember you not being that big on lots of cardio though... you should probably add a couple more hours into your week, specifically interval training, to get your body used to ramping up and ramping down quickly. That was the thing that fixed MY hypertension, at least.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
yeah, I just really, really hate doing cardio
I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma when I was in high school, which I never really took seriously, but even though I was playing football 3/4 times a week in university (inc. competitive 11 and 5-a-side leagues) I never adapted to the point where a couple of long sprints didn't make me want to throw up, so I figure something must be up somewhere
my blood pressure was fine back then, though
it's the years since then that are the problem :P
feels good being sore again
they even gave me an inhaler and all
but then like i didnt use it
hmm
I think my body is asking for a day off.