I should have asked this earlier, but what are some back-strengthening exercises?
I tend to hurt my lower back a lot (most likely the result of videogames and internet...they say not to lean forward, but you just can't help it), and I don't want to fuck myself over once I go heavy on the weights.
A properly performed (and properly progressed) deadlift will build back strength like no other. If you are really deconditioned (I don't mean that disparagingly), some body weight back extensions and/or "bird dogs" aren't bad movements.
I should have asked this earlier, but what are some back-strengthening exercises?
I tend to hurt my lower back a lot (most likely the result of videogames and internet...they say not to lean forward, but you just can't help it), and I don't want to fuck myself over once I go heavy on the weights.
A properly performed (and properly progressed) deadlift will build back strength like no other. If you are really deconditioned (I don't mean that disparagingly), some body weight back extensions and/or "bird dogs" aren't bad movements.
Never heard of it before. Looked it up (lord I love YouTube) and will try it out, thanks.
Also, I've been trying to find out the best way to do crunches. I've read all sorts of different strategies, from keeping your hands behind your neck or folded across your chest, to pushing with your upper torso instead of your stomach.
What's the best way to do it, and how do I work my lower abs in addition to upper?
Don't do crunches. Do planks. Also go read through the Starting Strength wiki or better yet the book and do what it says. It will answer most of these questions you have.
Today I'm planning to use dumbbells to perform squats, deadlifts, and a few other exercises to start off with. Probably will jog later today too just to get the full effect.
Just wanted to know if dumbbells are as effective for these routines, or if a bench bar is more recommended. I plan to move to that eventually, but right now dumbbells is more easily accessible and (more importantly) private.
bleh, i've asked this before shazkar, what gym do you go to again?
we are moving to rockefeller center so i will have to get a new gym, i THINK i'll just go for something like nysc near there so that i can still go run in the park but i figure i might as well ask to see what train lines are near you
Ok yeah that's where I thought it was. *siiiiiiigh* ...I was hoping I was wrong and the M happened to pass by there, if that were the case I'd be much less hesitant.
I COULD take the M and switch to the J/Z, then from there take the N/R to work but that's kinda inconvenient....I'll see how I like the places near me first I guess
Just wanted to know if dumbbells are as effective for these routines, or if a bench bar is more recommended. I plan to move to that eventually, but right now dumbbells is more easily accessible and (more importantly) private.
How're you supposed to look impressive for the ladies in private?
You can only go so far with dumbbells, but if it's still heavy for you it must be effective.
Snugglesworth, seriously man, grab a copy, or even just read the online wiki version of Starting Strength. It covers stuff like the deadlift very thoroughly. Even just watch the YouTube videos instructed by Rippetoe.
Another good resource is the reddit /r/fitness FAQ. I'll link you to it in 15 mins when reddit is back up.
after not going to the gym for a year and a half because gyms are expensive, I am now back in the game!
guys what are some good posterior deltoid exercises? Ideally it would also exercise other muscles since isolating one muscle seems like a way to spend a long time at the gym.
I should have asked this earlier, but what are some back-strengthening exercises?
I tend to hurt my lower back a lot (most likely the result of videogames and internet...they say not to lean forward, but you just can't help it), and I don't want to fuck myself over once I go heavy on the weights.
So what are some weightlifting routines I can add to keep the back strong?
Make sure to do some stretches for the muscles of the chest and find things that work the rear delt, mid and lower trap and rhomboids if you have computer guy posture.
Farthing facepulls work the rear delt and are a pretty solid exercise.
In some cases you might have to do a bit of isolation work to the rear delt and mid/lower trap to catch them up.
And come on, there's nothing wrong with straight body weight exercises, there's a ton of good ones. You just can't rely only on them when you want to build big muscle.
"I will f**kin' beat you into the ground in front of your whole life that I don't get to have." -Nick Diaz
after not going to the gym for a year and a half because gyms are expensive, I am now back in the game!
guys what are some good posterior deltoid exercises? Ideally it would also exercise other muscles since isolating one muscle seems like a way to spend a long time at the gym.
Most exercises that require external rotation of the shoulder help build strength in the rear delts. See the bottom of this page if you're not sure what the movement looks like: http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Shoulder.html
You could do isolated dumbell work like in that animated gif, but you'll also get a good amount of work by doing face pulls or rear-delt rows (which according to the diagram are more of a combination of transverse abduction/extension).
Push ups are going to be a much better bet over bench for someone who's de-conditioned and starting out, better posture, less to worry about as far as form goes, less risk to the shoulder joints and 'core' work when starting ((though I hate even using the word core these days)). Now at some point you're going to want to bench to build more muscle but if someone's in lousy shape I'd definitely have them do push ups for a while before starting to bench. Push ups don't get enough credit.
"I will f**kin' beat you into the ground in front of your whole life that I don't get to have." -Nick Diaz
If you see me doing a sit up it is a sign of the apocalypse though
Yeah totally with you there. Sit ups are a horrible exercise, almost everyone's posture sucks and then they do an exercise where they curl the back way over in order to try to get a 6-pack. Turrible.
"I will f**kin' beat you into the ground in front of your whole life that I don't get to have." -Nick Diaz
Man, I like Fitocracy but it just doesn't have all the exercises listed that it needs to. Last time I went to gym, I came home and tried to log it all in but a few of the machine exercises just weren't on there so I had to improvise.
And six inches aren't on there. Do it have any other names?
If you see me doing a sit up it is a sign of the apocalypse though
Yeah totally with you there. Sit ups are a horrible exercise, almost everyone's posture sucks and then they do an exercise where they curl the back way over in order to try to get a 6-pack. Turrible.
where you raise your feet six inches off the ground while keeping a tight belly and your legs straight
oh and no sitting on your fucking hands or putting them underneath your back, that shit is for babies
put your hands over your belly and make it look like you're enjoying what you're going through
and you can do variations like keep your legs spread six inches off the ground or scissor kicks or whatever
I have an instructor who LOVES these, have to do the scissor kicks then hold 6 inches, then back to kicks, and back again over and over. It's brutal. I love ab work added onto things, I've never felt like an ab circuit after lifting was what hurt my recovery and they don't take much time or prep. Good stuff.
"I will f**kin' beat you into the ground in front of your whole life that I don't get to have." -Nick Diaz
Man I love me some pushups. Chest and shoulder exercise in a position that lets the scapula move freely was awesome for fixing my bad shoulder.
I'm on some kind of raw variant of sheiko at the moment and one of the key features is abs err'day. So far it's been hanging leg raises, cable crunches, regular crunches, russian twists, landmine russian twists, keg lunges, side bends and ab wheeling. A selection of any 3 to finish each workout.
I've done more goddamn ab work in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last year.
Due to my layer of fat, ab work just makes me feel fat. The abs get swollen but you can't see them below the adiposity, so it's just an enlarged belly. Frowny face. The frowniest of faces.
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A properly performed (and properly progressed) deadlift will build back strength like no other. If you are really deconditioned (I don't mean that disparagingly), some body weight back extensions and/or "bird dogs" aren't bad movements.
Never heard of it before. Looked it up (lord I love YouTube) and will try it out, thanks.
Also, I've been trying to find out the best way to do crunches. I've read all sorts of different strategies, from keeping your hands behind your neck or folded across your chest, to pushing with your upper torso instead of your stomach.
What's the best way to do it, and how do I work my lower abs in addition to upper?
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Problem is I feel a bit of strain on my back too, so I'm going to give planks a try.
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Agreed, but how about exercises where you're suspended in the air with no weights involved? Because hanging leg raises are boss.
Just wanted to know if dumbbells are as effective for these routines, or if a bench bar is more recommended. I plan to move to that eventually, but right now dumbbells is more easily accessible and (more importantly) private.
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http://g.co/maps/s78y5 that one
probably a bit out of your way and nysc is probably convenient, but it is a good gym
but convenience is probably the most important factor
i just took down a whataburger patty melt
i am letting that settle for an hour before i go lift
I COULD take the M and switch to the J/Z, then from there take the N/R to work but that's kinda inconvenient....I'll see how I like the places near me first I guess
How're you supposed to look impressive for the ladies in private?
You can only go so far with dumbbells, but if it's still heavy for you it must be effective.
Would be a good excuse to hit up ladies, though. As embarrassing as it is to say, all this working out is powerleveling my libido something fierce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYFpAIxrD2c&hd=1
It doesn't help that many of the female instructors are freaking hot.
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It's super effective.
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Not sure I follow. Pushups? Handstand pushups? Any variety of gymnastics style ground work, which requires great upper body and core strength?
Another good resource is the reddit /r/fitness FAQ. I'll link you to it in 15 mins when reddit is back up.
edit: hanging leg raises are good for lower abs.
guys what are some good posterior deltoid exercises? Ideally it would also exercise other muscles since isolating one muscle seems like a way to spend a long time at the gym.
Make sure to do some stretches for the muscles of the chest and find things that work the rear delt, mid and lower trap and rhomboids if you have computer guy posture.
Farthing facepulls work the rear delt and are a pretty solid exercise.
In some cases you might have to do a bit of isolation work to the rear delt and mid/lower trap to catch them up.
And come on, there's nothing wrong with straight body weight exercises, there's a ton of good ones. You just can't rely only on them when you want to build big muscle.
I love south american ground karate
Most exercises that require external rotation of the shoulder help build strength in the rear delts. See the bottom of this page if you're not sure what the movement looks like: http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Shoulder.html
You could do isolated dumbell work like in that animated gif, but you'll also get a good amount of work by doing face pulls or rear-delt rows (which according to the diagram are more of a combination of transverse abduction/extension).
bench
few sets of warmups, then 4x6x195
close grip bench
2 x 8 x 185 (really destroyed my shoulder for some reason)
db incline
2x6x45's? hooboy exhausted and out of shape
and then
4 x 8 x lat pull down, bent-over triceps extension, tricep press down NO REST OMG
can't remember the weight but goddamn arms are fried
Got biking to the track.
2 laps Warm up
3x20 sec sprint max effort+10 sec rest
Almost puked
Then did it again
Then almost puked
Then biked home
I am so out of shape
man if you are lying down on the ground while you are doing pushups then you are doing them wrong
also they are still a waste of time because you can work out the same muscles with weighted exercises and spend about a quarter of the time on it
I love south american ground karate
If you see me doing a sit up it is a sign of the apocalypse though
Yeah totally with you there. Sit ups are a horrible exercise, almost everyone's posture sucks and then they do an exercise where they curl the back way over in order to try to get a 6-pack. Turrible.
I love south american ground karate
or planks, as some call them
What is a 'six inch'?
Besides the cock in my arse, hurf durf.
facepulls are on the agenda next session
oh and no sitting on your fucking hands or putting them underneath your back, that shit is for babies
put your hands over your belly and make it look like you're enjoying what you're going through
and you can do variations like keep your legs spread six inches off the ground or scissor kicks or whatever
same thing with bridges, too boring? put a plate on your back!
And six inches aren't on there. Do it have any other names?
DL likes to call it "the first half"
you DL
Yeah totally with you there. Sit ups are a horrible exercise, almost everyone's posture sucks and then they do an exercise where they curl the back way over in order to try to get a 6-pack. Turrible.
I have an instructor who LOVES these, have to do the scissor kicks then hold 6 inches, then back to kicks, and back again over and over. It's brutal. I love ab work added onto things, I've never felt like an ab circuit after lifting was what hurt my recovery and they don't take much time or prep. Good stuff.
I love south american ground karate
i simply aim in the direction of the object i'm interested in flopping on and fall away, trying to move my legs as little as possible
I'm on some kind of raw variant of sheiko at the moment and one of the key features is abs err'day. So far it's been hanging leg raises, cable crunches, regular crunches, russian twists, landmine russian twists, keg lunges, side bends and ab wheeling. A selection of any 3 to finish each workout.
I've done more goddamn ab work in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last year.
And when I take the shirt off...
No-one can tell.