Lifestyle physical health/fitness thread

[youngjake93]

My chest is nowhere near as big as it should be for the amount that I bench, and I finally have figured out why. I'll edit the post with the article later (phone being a bitch currently) but pretty much I learnt that my benching technique engaged my shoulders and triceps too much. Interesting stuff.

Ya shoulders rolled forward and very close grip will do that.
Other factors are range of motion(not bringing the bar all the way down uses less chest), the angle your elbows are at, and if you lift in a straight line or do the power arc that uses more triceps imo.

Also, just having a muscle imbalance causes you to unwillingly compensate in your lifts which furthers the imbalance. Correction isn't as simple if it is a matter of your shoulders/triceps just being stronger than your chest because that'd be really off.

 

[Stallion]

Ya shoulders rolled forward and very close grip will do that.
Other factors are range of motion(not bringing the bar all the way down uses less chest), the angle your elbows are at, and if you lift in a straight line or do the power arc that uses more triceps imo.

Also, just having a muscle imbalance causes you to unwillingly compensate in your lifts which furthers the imbalance. Correction isn't as simple if it is a matter of your shoulders/triceps just being stronger than your chest because that'd be really off.

This is the article I was talking about: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio11.htm. Pretty much when I did bench, the back of my shoulders would raise off the bench to assist in the movement of heavy weights. Now I'm practising arching my back more and making sure that my shoulder blades are pinned to the bench throughout the movement. Although I moved less weight, I noticed less of a strain on my shoulders and much more of a difference.

 

[Bad Ass]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tpufk92yafslrcq/VID_20140212_181424.mp4 form check on deadlifts anyone? 1x5 205lbs / 93kg

 

[youngjake93]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tpufk92yafslrcq/VID_20140212_181424.mp4 form check on deadlifts anyone? 1x5 205lbs / 93kg

Looks too light for you lol
Pretty good form, but there are some things(assuming you are going for a conventional deadlift):
Pinch your shoulder blades back tight
Don't stand up and THEN straighten out. Start straightening out on the way up
Your descent needs the most work. You kind of just drop it down which will tire you out since you're slowing it down too. Make sure you put it down exactly the same way you pick it up(with good form:bending the knees and keeping the bar close to the body)

Some of those apply differently if you are going for a straight-leg deadlift

 

[Nosferalto]

after three years of serious training, here is my physique:

I don't train legs










jk

 

[Stallion]

after three years of serious training, here is my physique:

I don't train legs










jk

*fap*

 

[Lee]

Bossferalto

 

[Nosferalto]

Bossferalto

Thanks for the inspiration man. Lee = king of smogon fitness community

*fap*

I luv u ms

 

[HBK]

after three years of serious training, here is my physique:

I don't train legs










jk

That is hot (no homo) xD You fucking blow my mind

It's been 5 months since I began and Ill be damn lucky if I look anywhere close to THAT after three years. Yet another piece of evidence that I can use to convince my brother that the smogon fitness community is legit :P

Btw, do you have a "before" picture ?

 

[Nosferalto]

That is hot (no homo) xD You fucking blow my mind

It's been 5 months since I began and Ill be damn lucky if I look anywhere close to THAT after three years. Yet another piece of evidence that I can use to convince my brother that the smogon fitness community is legit :P

Btw, do you have a "before" picture ?

the mass monster:

 

[Lee]

way too kind Nos, I daresay you're ahead of me atm...guess i'll throw out an update.

Those 7 months in China really knocked it out of me, I lost no less than 6kg of muscle while I was out there. I've said it a few times in this thread but no gyms within 100 miles, low-protein diet and inability to run/cycle because of air pollution was just too much.

Here's some before and after pics to reinforce my point

August 2013

February 2014

my arms and pecs have faded away to nothing...my legs have taken a hit too. it's a bit annoying (read: fuckkkkkkkkk) but it's taught me a valuable lesson. my brother asks me if i regret going out there as a result. i told him that, in life, we're always gonna be confronted with scenarios where we simply can't keep up with our training and sometimes it's better to accept that rather than be so proud that we miss out on amazing opportunities. When people ask me why I do what I do, and if I'm feeling especially pretentious at the time, I'll answer that fitness = freedom. Fitness gives us the ability to do things, see things and experience things that we could never have done otherwise and it allows us to live longer to continue enjoying said things. to pass up on the chance to work as a teacher in china simply to preserve my muscle mass would have been completely counter-intuitive to why I train in the first place.

so anyway, i've been back to the grind for about 6 weeks now. Clocked my resting heart rate at 44bpm today, quite pleased with that as it had shot up to the mid-70's while i was out there. I'm running really well at the moment so I'm in no rush to pile weight back on but I do enjoy the confidence boost that comes with a muscular physique; i think I'm going to go for a leaner physique than the August 2013 picture up there...a little less 'bodybuilder' and a little more 'fitness model' I guess? but either way I think any serious progress on the muscle-building front will have to wait until September when I move back to the city...atm I'm out in the mountains with no gym access...fantastic for running but not so good for heavy weight-training.

training atm is primarily long steady runs on 2,000ft mountains, hill sprints, fitball-based core work, calisthenics, and whatever exercise I can get out of the puny 8kg dumbbells currently under my bed.

that's it for now.

 

[Roy]

Good thread.

I'm currently in one of my "try to gain 5-10 pounds of muscle" themes, which historically have lasted a good month or so before I give up and go back to exercising the way I like (university club soccer, running, etc.) and losing the the mass I worked to gain. This time I'd like to pretty serious, since the ex and I officially ended things a few months ago. It's really the perfect time to pick up a hobby, and looking good for the ladies sounds like a pretty high priority right now.

I'm working some ridiculous hours right now, but our company actually has a pretty massive gym inside the complex, so I'm doing that whenever I can, whether that's in the morning, lunch, or 5pm. I'm really just switching off between back/bi and chest/tri, with abs afterwards, working out every other day. Got me some BSN Tru Mass and Creatine Monohydrate, and I'm looking to eat anywhere from 2600-3000 calories every day, hitting the recommended macros.

I'm 5'11 and 155 pounds right now. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'll use this thread as more motivation to stay on top of things.

 

[reyscarface]

Youre not just doing those 4 groups right? Gotta hit those deltoids / traps / and of course legs!

 

[Roy]

Yeah. I need to do those groups as well. The dudes I work out with sometimes will probably incorporate those in. As for legs...

1) I have horrible knees (sprained MCL x2 and minor ACL issues) and 2) I'm trying to play soccer on my off days. It's like impossible to play after doing legs. You know how that is.

 

[reyscarface]

If you want to incorporate those groups I recommend checking out Jim Stoppani's Shortcut guides. Theyre amazing and they do bring results. Its a split of the two things you already do + Shoulders / Traps on another day and Legs on another. Also alternates Calves and Abs extra workouts. As for legs, yeah I understand you, I used to do football religiously too haha. You could try doing low weight leg exercises so as to not injure your legs and do them on days in which you dont play football. Like, if you play on say, sundays, doing them midweek gives them plenty of rest for you to be ready. Although if you play everyday like I used to do and do strength training in practices then yeah I guess its unavoidable.

 

[Lee]

If you're running and playing football on top of the bodybuilding I suspect 2600-3000 calories could be insufficient so don't religiously stick to that. As you're pretty light there's very little risk in upping that by another 10% or so.

Your legs will be in good enough shape if you're doing other stuff with them but do bear in mind that resistance training is perhaps the best way to rehabilitate knee injuries; I wouldn't be able to run now were it not for squats! but yeah, DOMS will interfere with everything so ehhhhh, do what you think is best.

 

[vonFiedler]

Hey guys

So for those who don't know, I have been a fat man most of my life. I gained weight early due to some medication, lost a bit in high school, but due to a lot of sedentary work and unfortunate life circumstances I peaked at 270 lbs. I am 5'7" by the way. I started going to the gym about two years ago, but I had to experiment with it a lot, until I finally found a system that worked for me. Since the start of the year I've now lost 24 pounds, and I'm not stopping. My goal is to reach 180 by the end of the year. I have achieved this partly through daily exercise and more elliptical exercise, but mostly through really readjusting my diet, dropping to 2000 calories a day, and changing my eating habits.

As a secondary goal I'd like to get as muscular as I can by the time I reach 180 (and I'll decide then whether I want to cut further or bulk). My routine so far has been an hour of ellipticals 5 days a week, and one day a week for legs, chest/tri, and back/bi. I do some crunches here and there, I know I should do more but ab workouts make me nauseous and give me headaches (and I'm still in caffeine withdrawals). Anyway my legs are awesome, I max 300 on leg press. But my arms and chest are whimpy, especially my chest. Like, I don't even understand how to flex those muscles. I max 100 on chest press right now, and only 55 with dumbbells. Progress has also slowed, so I think it's time to change up.

I'm a busy man, and I've got a weak heart (born with a hole in it) so I know I can overwork myself easily with my current level of enthusiasm. Can anyone recommend a fairly short routine for building muscle? I'm not looking for perfection, I just need a change in routine atm.

 

[reyscarface]

Rippetoe's Starting Strength is as short as it gets for a routine, its aimed for beginners but its designed to get strength which is what youre looking for if you want to make your numbers bigger. A simple google will bring you up the routine, its a relatively easy 3 day split that concentrates on compound lifts. Theres also modifications to it so you can hit other muscle groups like bicep and tricep more such as Babylover's Starting Strength which you can find also by googling, it should be in bodybuilding.com.

Another good routines are simple 7x5x3 splits, theres a lot of them on the internet so it really shouldnt be hard for you to find them. Just pick whichever you think suits you best and stick with it for the duration so you can see results, do NOT just go all "fuk this" and stop in the middle of it, youre just wasting your time.

 

[Soul Fly]

I lost 24 kgs (52 pounds) in a little over 2 and a half months. down from 94 kgs (207 pounds) to 70 (154.5 pounds)

Now time to get to building a body. any advice would be appreciated, I lost all that through a combination of moderate dieting and regular exercise routine of 40 mins cardio and 20 mins weight, so I'm starting to gain so muscle structure already.

The thing is I want to tone my chest and abs+sides. Look more like my weight.

So yeah this was back in August, after which I completed my current training routine till end-October. and I lost 4 more kgs (~9 pounds?), bringing me to my perfect weight for my height and ethnicity.
After that I had 3 illnesses back to back starting with a bad bout of chicken pox, and I wasn't fit enough again till like early-february, and then thanks to scholastic pressures and built up lethargy I've been putting off going back in the grinder.

The good news I still semi-follow my diet/calorie intake guidelines so I haven't gained much weight but I'm afraid part of it is because I've lost some muscle mass, because my stomach's still a tad bit chubby and my chests aren't toned at all.

I'm afraid all that strength I built up during my workout days is a pale shadow now after 5 months and I'm not sure how to get back to working out and especially bulking up. I'm pissed and tired with losing so much time to illness and work and can't bear the though of doing cardio cycles again to build up stamina...

 

[youngjake93]

So yeah this was back in August, after which I completed my current training routine till end-October. and I lost 4 more kgs (~9 pounds?), bringing me to my perfect weight for my height and ethnicity.
After that I had 3 illnesses back to back starting with a bad bout of chicken pox, and I wasn't fit enough again till like early-february, and then thanks to scholastic pressures and built up lethargy I've been putting off going back in the grinder.

The good news I still semi-follow my diet/calorie intake guidelines so I haven't gained much weight but I'm afraid part of it is because I've lost some muscle mass, because my stomach's still a tad bit chubby and my chests aren't toned at all.

I'm afraid all that strength I built up during my workout days is a pale shadow now after 5 months and I'm not sure how to get back to working out and especially bulking up. I'm pissed and tired with losing so much time to illness and work and can't bear the though of doing cardio cycles again to build up stamina...

A lot of strength is based on the nervous system which works in a way that it is 10x easier to get back to where you were than it was before. If you were strong before then spend just a couple of weeks on regaining the strength, then you should have enough strength to focus on hypertrophy/bulking/cardio/whatever if you want. Also, your body remembers and fights to stay the same. If you have been at your ideal weight before it will be easier than reaching that weight for the first time.
Just remember not to get pissed =]


Unrelated: I've been kind of obsessing over the bench press again lately and have gotten mine up to 340 lbs and PRing with projected max at least once per week :) I really want to go for the big 400 eventually O_o and maybe 225 for 20 reps just because.

 

[Abra Kapocus]

If you want to incorporate those groups I recommend checking out Jim Stoppani's Shortcut guides. Theyre amazing and they do bring results. Its a split of the two things you already do + Shoulders / Traps on another day and Legs on another. Also alternates Calves and Abs extra workouts. As for legs, yeah I understand you, I used to do football religiously too haha. You could try doing low weight leg exercises so as to not injure your legs and do them on days in which you dont play football. Like, if you play on say, sundays, doing them midweek gives them plenty of rest for you to be ready. Although if you play everyday like I used to do and do strength training in practices then yeah I guess its unavoidable.

Holy shit, that looks intriguing. I really need to try this.

The only question is, once you've achieved a certain degree of results, do you just go through the program again, adjusted for your fitness level, or continue a normal routine?

 

[Stallion]

My journey begins!!

For those who are close with me or part of #lifting, you may know that in 6 months time I'm planning to be competing in an IFBB fitness modelling competition. I've met with my PT today, he's taken my measurements (found out my chest is +40 inches!!!!) and is in the middle of designing a routine and diet for me that I start next week. I'm a pretty avid gym goer already, but I'm super excited to see if I can push myself to elite levels and see how far I can go. I'm excited to update you guys with my progress along the way, any advice/encouragement etc would be sweet :)

 

[Soul Fly]

Shit. Hence proven. I have a good eye for chests.

Best of luck man!

 

[Yonko7]

Dang that's gonna be awesome, Stallion.

I got cleared today to start lifting again after I partially dislocated my shoulder back in December. ;-; Although, some obtuse shoulder movements still bothers the rotator cuff. So excited to start lifting again!

 

[Nosferalto]

Really wanted to have something sweet today so I made this and was very proud of myself lol:

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
Vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Oats
Stevia or sweetener of your choice

This is the dough. You mix these together and blend them until you get a smooth texture. Should be a bit thick.

Then add some chocolate chips. I like dark chocolate ones half sweetened and mix them in the dough. Throw them in a pan with a tiny bit of oil/cooking spray and cook it until it's golden brown on both sides.

I then put some natty peanut butter on top and some walden farms maple syrup. I hope you find this useful misc. Good way to satisfy your cravings while still having bodybuilding friendly meals. Hope you like it and find it useful smog brahs