Also, you can bench without clips and if you fail a rep you can just slide the plates off. It's 17 kinds of embarrassing but you don't die.
Not at my gym. They're training the "assistants" to be interfering idiots. They won't let me lift (anything, not even my warm-ups) without clips.
I read this, and then thought about it for a while, but I still don't get it. Why would they not let you lift without clips? More importantly, do these employees walk around your gym looking for things to annoy people?
Failing squats is not scary if you have the bail bar set right at the bottom of your squat. Then all you do is set the bar down and not come up again. Without that, then yes, it would be scary.
I've started asking for spots on the bench. I used to be embarrassed (I'm asking for a spot at a weight most guys warm up with) but it's better than getting pinned. Or, occasionally, dropping the bar on my face.
In other news, ran six miles for the first time in forever. I love the good tired.
Also, you can bench without clips and if you fail a rep you can just slide the plates off. It's 17 kinds of embarrassing but you don't die.
Not at my gym. They're training the "assistants" to be interfering idiots. They won't let me lift (anything, not even my warm-ups) without clips.
I read this, and then thought about it for a while, but I still don't get it. Why would they not let you lift without clips? More importantly, do these employees walk around your gym looking for things to annoy people?
In case the weight falls off and breaks someone's toe (admittedly I dropped a weight on my own toe but it was not for lack of pins).
Yes, it is as stupid as it sounds. If you have ANY clue what you are doing the weight will never fall off, and if someone is standing close enough to get hit they are doing it completely wrong and are idiots. I pointed this out to them and was ignored.
To the second question, yes. There is one in the lifting room at all times just standing there waiting for me not to use clips so he can walk up and tell me to use clips. (He also took me to first aid when I dropped the weight on my toe, but I could have hobbled to the desk for that.)
I'm really glad I got a cage at my house, because I can bench in it and not have to worry about my throat getting crushed. There's a height where it'll juuuust not interfere with a normal bench motion. Best thing I've ever gotten off of Craigslist.
So I hope you all had a wonderful new year's eve. I had a surprise drunken workout while trying to carry my friend's younger sister to the cab (she's taller than me). Ended up just giving her a piggy back ride for like 6 blocks in dc. She was dead weight and choking my throat so it turned out to be very difficult.
I just got a pair of 'weight lifting' gloves for a new year's type gift. Was there a consensus in an earlier thread about gloves? Silly? Unnecessary? Dangerous? In the gift purchasers defense I had been complaining about tearing up my callouses when deadlifting.
I just got a pair of 'weight lifting' gloves for a new year's type gift. Was there a consensus in an earlier thread about gloves? Silly? Unnecessary? Dangerous? In the gift purchasers defense I had been complaining about tearing up my callouses when deadlifting.
S_A speaks the truth. They also make the grip slightly tougher. It is harder to grip a bar larger in diameter (try it if you have access to slightly different sized regular bars or a 2" bar), and the glove material between your hand and the bar adds to the effective diameter of the bar. It sounds like a very nice and thoughtful gift, but I would not recommend you make use of it. The best response to your hands getting beat up isn't to hide behind a glove, but to get your hands tougher.
I just got a pair of 'weight lifting' gloves for a new year's type gift. Was there a consensus in an earlier thread about gloves? Silly? Unnecessary? Dangerous? In the gift purchasers defense I had been complaining about tearing up my callouses when deadlifting.
S_A speaks the truth. They also make the grip slightly tougher. It is harder to grip a bar larger in diameter (try it if you have access to slightly different sized regular bars or a 2" bar), and the glove material between your hand and the bar adds to the effective diameter of the bar. It sounds like a very nice and thoughtful gift, but I would not recommend you make use of it. The best response to your hands getting beat up isn't to hide behind a glove, but to get your hands tougher.
Yeah, if you're worried about getting calluses, just go buy a pumice stone. It won't effectively remove the whole callus, but it will smooth them down.
FalloutGIRL'S DAYWAS PRETTY GOOD WHILE THEY LASTEDRegistered Userregular
edited January 2010
been working out every other day or so for a little over a week now, feels good man. Tried protein and creatine supplements today, holy god that protein shit is nasty. This fruit punch creatine stuff actually tastes okay though. I've heard that I'm supposed to take them (and eat my post-workout meal) an hour after working out because otherwise the blood is diverted from the muscles to the stomach, any truth to that? I figured not so I just do everything immediately after the workout.
I've just been doing circuits on machines, trying to make all my muscles hurt. When do I know when I should stop for the day? I generally go until my muscles start shaking when i try to do any more reps, and then do a couple more.
Haven't done any free weight stuff, scared to get into them without knowing proper form.
Eat a little something straight after your workout to give you something to work with for recovery, then get a shake down you ~20 minutes later. It doesn't really matter to be honest. It's not going to be the difference between making progress and failing miserably or anything.
Your pre/post workout routine is going to change a lot as you learn what works for you. Don't sweat the small stuff starting out.
But yeah, start a properly structured weightlifting routine asap. 'Making your muscles hurt' isn't a particularly reliable recipe for success :P
been working out every other day or so for a little over a week now, feels good man. Tried protein and creatine supplements today, holy god that protein shit is nasty. This fruit punch creatine stuff actually tastes okay though. I've heard that I'm supposed to take them (and eat my post-workout meal) an hour after working out because otherwise the blood is diverted from the muscles to the stomach, any truth to that? I figured not so I just do everything immediately after the workout.
I've just been doing circuits on machines, trying to make all my muscles hurt. When do I know when I should stop for the day? I generally go until my muscles start shaking when i try to do any more reps, and then do a couple more.
Haven't done any free weight stuff, scared to get into them without knowing proper form.
Printing out Tube's plan for faggots now.
Okay, you probably don't want to spend money or whatever, but the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe was written for people like you. You really need to buy it. I mean really. It has extremely detailed descriptions of exercise technique in real exercises like the squat, deadlift, press, etc. You might think you don't need to do lifts like that - you are wrong. This book changed my life, and has changed the life of tens of thousands of people across the world. You can afford to spend $30 on this, I can't recommend it enough. If you don't believe me, check out some of the testimonials given in this very thread or across the internet of how this book and the exercises and program it describes have been extremely effective in making people stronger and fitter.
Fallout, check out the Starting Strength wiki linked in the OP if you don't believe us. You are seriously wasting your time on machines. You will get results twice as fast with free weights, honest to god.
Starting Strength is one of the best books to read when starting out weightlifting. It will answer any question you have and teach you the basic barbell free weight lifts that put slabs of muscle on you. Reading this book and focusing on form early on will give you the confidence to get over that mental hurdle of "free weights are hard"
Fuck yes they are hard, but they are rewarding to a degree that the initial difficulty is a very, very small price to pay. The SS wiki linked by psyck0 will give you a decent idea of the book, but still get it and read the detailed descriptions of the core lifts.
Also, losing fat and gaining muscle is not only about exercise, but diet as well. Try and get 5-6 meals a day and plenty of protein. Avoid simple carbs and sugars.
Best of luck Fallout!
edit: If you are looking for good, tasty protein then try this
Also, the DVD is good too. Helps to visualize the cues and instructions. Rip does the entire teaching progression in the book on film. If you have trouble understanding some of the instructions, it might make things clearer.
NogsCrap, crap, mega crap.Crap, crap, mega crap.Registered Userregular
edited January 2010
i have been going to the gym a lot more
following the routine, right now on week 4
i suppose ive seen improvements, but im in the "fat-loss" part of the like 6 month program so I'm doing 3 sets of 15 reps and the weight I gotta use is so much lower then i feel it should be.
but like by rep 15 I'm huffin it, so i dunno.
can't wait until the next step and i can start doing sets with 6-8 reps and I can finally start seeing numbers that I feel good about.
High reps is no better for weight loss than low reps
As long as your diet is right, any regular intense activity is going to do the job
no, well the idea is more for beginners and not picking weight that is gonna fuck you up and muscle memory and getting used to the gym before going balls out for max
whatever im just sticking to the program
e: also something about keeping your heartrate up longer or something
High reps is no better for weight loss than low reps
As long as your diet is right, any regular intense activity is going to do the job
no, well the idea is more for beginners and not picking weight that is gonna fuck you up and muscle memory and getting used to the gym before going balls out for max
whatever im just sticking to the program
e: also something about keeping your heartrate up longer or something
I will refrain from making a comment other than "You are losing your time with that kind of program".
I am sure the more informed guys here can make a less confrontational post than what the one I would do
hectorse on
0
Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
edited January 2010
this is probably going to be the pussiest post ever but here goes
i got wii fit plus for christmas and it has routines that you can set up, to go from one exercise to another
i am wondering if anyone here could help me put together a good program for helping me lose my holiday weight and get better muscle tone, basically the right exercises in the right order as opposed to me randomly picking from their presets
any takers or should i search the internet for answers
this is probably going to be the pussiest post ever but here goes
i got wii fit plus for christmas and it has routines that you can set up, to go from one exercise to another
i am wondering if anyone here could help me put together a good program for helping me lose my holiday weight and get better muscle tone, basically the right exercises in the right order as opposed to me randomly picking from their presets
any takers or should i search the internet for answers
Diet is 95% of losing weight so do whatever Wii Fit stuff is fun and eat better. You should really join a gym and lift barbells though.
High reps is no better for weight loss than low reps
As long as your diet is right, any regular intense activity is going to do the job
no, well the idea is more for beginners and not picking weight that is gonna fuck you up and muscle memory and getting used to the gym before going balls out for max
whatever im just sticking to the program
e: also something about keeping your heartrate up longer or something
Well, do what you want, but that is a silly program. EKG data (source - Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe) shows that your muscles fire less efficiently and with less coordination the more reps you do, so you are doing more to screw up muscle memory doing high reps light weight than vice versa. Plus doing 3 sets of 5 isn't that nuts, you should be able to do that without having an issue - it's not like we're expecting a 1RM or something. Do what you want to do, but it sounds like a silly program what will significantly limit your progress. That's cool, some people don't like to get stronger, but I don't really see the point.
Thats like saying a jogger's muscles will forget how to jog because of too much volume.
I understand where rippetoe is coming from, that a tired muscle is more likely to lose form and therefore fall into learned pattern problems. However, 15 reps still falls under the high range of hypertrophy and strength gains will still follow from that program. Since his next phase is 6-8 reps it seems like he is following a decent program, where accumulation weights are done prior to moderate rep hypertrophy. Acc weights will increase work capacity while inducing sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which studies have shown will aid in gains once myofibrilar hypertrophy is started
Thats like saying a jogger's muscles will forget how to jog because of too much volume.
I understand where rippetoe is coming from, that a tired muscle is more likely to lose form and therefore fall into learned pattern problems. However, 15 reps still falls under the high range of hypertrophy and strength gains will still follow from that program. Since his next phase is 6-8 reps it seems like he is following a decent program, where accumulation weights are done prior to moderate rep hypertrophy. Acc weights will increase work capacity while inducing sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which studies have shown will aid in gains once myofibrilar hypertrophy is started
I get what you're saying, and were Nogs an experienced and strong lifter, this program might be appropriate. But with all respect to Nogs, he's still pretty weak right now. He needs to get stronger. You don't need to manage different phases of hypertrophy to do that. You need to put more weight on the bar every time you go into the gym. It's much easier to make constant incremental linear progress with 3x5 than 3x15 (sets x reps). Let's say you are benching 100#x3x15 - it will be tough to add 5# every time you bench, which should be once or twice a week, since you are having to move that 5# so many times. Whereas if you are benching 135#x3x5 (about what someone who does 100#x3x15 could expect for 3x5), it is reasonable that you could increase the weight on the bar 5 or 10# per workout, since you are only doing 15 reps total. Fast forward two months, and you can go from 100#x3x15 to 135#x3x15 or go from 135#x3x5 to 225#x3x5, which I think are increases in weight reasonable to expect for the time and rep scheme I mention. It is my contention that the latter is the better path to take.
I mentioned the "tired muscles lose form" thing since that was a specific argument Nogs mentioned. But I think there are reasons beyond that for which sets of 5 are better for the novice than sets of 15, the most compelling of which I just outlined. And re: your jogger example, I used to run half-marathons years ago, and my stride rarely looked the same at the end of a long run as at the beginning.
dangit, sprained my ankle pretty bad today. Was bouldering (i'm pretty rookie at it), and dropped about two meters and rolled my ankle on the mat. I hate having shitty ankles so much. Oh well, nothing to do right now other than RICE it.
The jogging argument I was making wasn't that fatigue leads to poor form, rather that the poor form that occurs due to high fatigue has relatively little impact on long term muscle memory. Neurologically the end of your marathon did little to alter your permanent form. The same goes for high vol lifts in my experience.
Given that core musculature won't have developed yet due to his being a novice, I still wouldn't start with heavy loads. You need to start general before specific or else he will be missing key ingredients. Sure he could gain strength faster by jumping in and blasting out some sets of 5, however long term development will be stagnated. He is raw enough that he will get gains out of any training from both the physical and neurological sides, so why not progress through the full spectrum via a good periodized program and make sure everything gets hit?
Posts
I read this, and then thought about it for a while, but I still don't get it. Why would they not let you lift without clips? More importantly, do these employees walk around your gym looking for things to annoy people?
I've started asking for spots on the bench. I used to be embarrassed (I'm asking for a spot at a weight most guys warm up with) but it's better than getting pinned. Or, occasionally, dropping the bar on my face.
In other news, ran six miles for the first time in forever. I love the good tired.
http://numberblog.wordpress.com/
In case the weight falls off and breaks someone's toe (admittedly I dropped a weight on my own toe but it was not for lack of pins).
Yes, it is as stupid as it sounds. If you have ANY clue what you are doing the weight will never fall off, and if someone is standing close enough to get hit they are doing it completely wrong and are idiots. I pointed this out to them and was ignored.
To the second question, yes. There is one in the lifting room at all times just standing there waiting for me not to use clips so he can walk up and tell me to use clips. (He also took me to first aid when I dropped the weight on my toe, but I could have hobbled to the desk for that.)
This is funny to me because I live in Albany, where the Craigslist killer did his thing.
No connection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itarEHsBZqY
Excited to get back to the gym next week!
Haven't we all had a night like this though?
Happy New Year everyone!
ever
S_A speaks the truth. They also make the grip slightly tougher. It is harder to grip a bar larger in diameter (try it if you have access to slightly different sized regular bars or a 2" bar), and the glove material between your hand and the bar adds to the effective diameter of the bar. It sounds like a very nice and thoughtful gift, but I would not recommend you make use of it. The best response to your hands getting beat up isn't to hide behind a glove, but to get your hands tougher.
Yeah, if you're worried about getting calluses, just go buy a pumice stone. It won't effectively remove the whole callus, but it will smooth them down.
Smooth, well-behaved calluses aren't ugly -- nobody minds shaking guitarists' hands.
http://numberblog.wordpress.com/
Still struggling majorly with fucking benchpress of all things. Pressing like 155.
Other than that everything else is going swimmingly.
tons of
I haven't slept in 2 days. FML
I've just been doing circuits on machines, trying to make all my muscles hurt. When do I know when I should stop for the day? I generally go until my muscles start shaking when i try to do any more reps, and then do a couple more.
Haven't done any free weight stuff, scared to get into them without knowing proper form.
Printing out Tube's plan for faggots now.
Your pre/post workout routine is going to change a lot as you learn what works for you. Don't sweat the small stuff starting out.
But yeah, start a properly structured weightlifting routine asap. 'Making your muscles hurt' isn't a particularly reliable recipe for success :P
Okay, you probably don't want to spend money or whatever, but the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe was written for people like you. You really need to buy it. I mean really. It has extremely detailed descriptions of exercise technique in real exercises like the squat, deadlift, press, etc. You might think you don't need to do lifts like that - you are wrong. This book changed my life, and has changed the life of tens of thousands of people across the world. You can afford to spend $30 on this, I can't recommend it enough. If you don't believe me, check out some of the testimonials given in this very thread or across the internet of how this book and the exercises and program it describes have been extremely effective in making people stronger and fitter.
Buy the book.
Fuck yes they are hard, but they are rewarding to a degree that the initial difficulty is a very, very small price to pay. The SS wiki linked by psyck0 will give you a decent idea of the book, but still get it and read the detailed descriptions of the core lifts.
Also, losing fat and gaining muscle is not only about exercise, but diet as well. Try and get 5-6 meals a day and plenty of protein. Avoid simple carbs and sugars.
Best of luck Fallout!
edit: If you are looking for good, tasty protein then try this
SS just shipped from Amazon.
It was on my christmas list but no one got it -- had to take matters into my own hands.
Also, the DVD is good too. Helps to visualize the cues and instructions. Rip does the entire teaching progression in the book on film. If you have trouble understanding some of the instructions, it might make things clearer.
nah, I'm kidding. SS really is great and everything everyone is saying is true
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
Don't worry, it's ok, you are special
*pat on the back*
following the routine, right now on week 4
i suppose ive seen improvements, but im in the "fat-loss" part of the like 6 month program so I'm doing 3 sets of 15 reps and the weight I gotta use is so much lower then i feel it should be.
but like by rep 15 I'm huffin it, so i dunno.
can't wait until the next step and i can start doing sets with 6-8 reps and I can finally start seeing numbers that I feel good about.
PARKER, YOU'RE FIRED! <-- My comic book podcast! Satan look here!
As long as your diet is right, any regular intense activity is going to do the job
no, well the idea is more for beginners and not picking weight that is gonna fuck you up and muscle memory and getting used to the gym before going balls out for max
whatever im just sticking to the program
e: also something about keeping your heartrate up longer or something
PARKER, YOU'RE FIRED! <-- My comic book podcast! Satan look here!
I will refrain from making a comment other than "You are losing your time with that kind of program".
I am sure the more informed guys here can make a less confrontational post than what the one I would do
i got wii fit plus for christmas and it has routines that you can set up, to go from one exercise to another
i am wondering if anyone here could help me put together a good program for helping me lose my holiday weight and get better muscle tone, basically the right exercises in the right order as opposed to me randomly picking from their presets
any takers or should i search the internet for answers
I want to start working out now!
What spring does with the cherry trees.
Diet is 95% of losing weight so do whatever Wii Fit stuff is fun and eat better. You should really join a gym and lift barbells though.
Well, do what you want, but that is a silly program. EKG data (source - Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe) shows that your muscles fire less efficiently and with less coordination the more reps you do, so you are doing more to screw up muscle memory doing high reps light weight than vice versa. Plus doing 3 sets of 5 isn't that nuts, you should be able to do that without having an issue - it's not like we're expecting a 1RM or something. Do what you want to do, but it sounds like a silly program what will significantly limit your progress. That's cool, some people don't like to get stronger, but I don't really see the point.
I understand where rippetoe is coming from, that a tired muscle is more likely to lose form and therefore fall into learned pattern problems. However, 15 reps still falls under the high range of hypertrophy and strength gains will still follow from that program. Since his next phase is 6-8 reps it seems like he is following a decent program, where accumulation weights are done prior to moderate rep hypertrophy. Acc weights will increase work capacity while inducing sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which studies have shown will aid in gains once myofibrilar hypertrophy is started
I get what you're saying, and were Nogs an experienced and strong lifter, this program might be appropriate. But with all respect to Nogs, he's still pretty weak right now. He needs to get stronger. You don't need to manage different phases of hypertrophy to do that. You need to put more weight on the bar every time you go into the gym. It's much easier to make constant incremental linear progress with 3x5 than 3x15 (sets x reps). Let's say you are benching 100#x3x15 - it will be tough to add 5# every time you bench, which should be once or twice a week, since you are having to move that 5# so many times. Whereas if you are benching 135#x3x5 (about what someone who does 100#x3x15 could expect for 3x5), it is reasonable that you could increase the weight on the bar 5 or 10# per workout, since you are only doing 15 reps total. Fast forward two months, and you can go from 100#x3x15 to 135#x3x15 or go from 135#x3x5 to 225#x3x5, which I think are increases in weight reasonable to expect for the time and rep scheme I mention. It is my contention that the latter is the better path to take.
I mentioned the "tired muscles lose form" thing since that was a specific argument Nogs mentioned. But I think there are reasons beyond that for which sets of 5 are better for the novice than sets of 15, the most compelling of which I just outlined. And re: your jogger example, I used to run half-marathons years ago, and my stride rarely looked the same at the end of a long run as at the beginning.
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
Given that core musculature won't have developed yet due to his being a novice, I still wouldn't start with heavy loads. You need to start general before specific or else he will be missing key ingredients. Sure he could gain strength faster by jumping in and blasting out some sets of 5, however long term development will be stagnated. He is raw enough that he will get gains out of any training from both the physical and neurological sides, so why not progress through the full spectrum via a good periodized program and make sure everything gets hit?