Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Stevens
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Stevens »

I do love Convict Conditioning, but I've found some steps...not very intuitive. Fortunately the program in infinitely tweakable and I've found steps within steps and levels in between levels if you will.

And you are already doing it, but I like to tell peoples anyway - if you're doing a movement that is a half movement you should follow it with the hardest full ROM version you can do.

And yes over the years I have noticed that some callisthenic exercises have lots of different names : )

I am looking forward to this week!
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

+1, and by now I may start a count-down to the next break, I guess.

I think that I will have a quiet December for calisthenics, because I am slowly recovering fitness levels on the spinning bicycle.
Indoors cycling is simply harder, but having 40 minutes or so at roughly 80% of intensity of a cycling session, on a spinning bike and after a calisthenics session and a rowing session, is not too bad.

Re: movements. Oh dear, ultimately it's all about branding and saying that movement X was invented by Y, so buy book Z for all the secrets...
As long as we know which ones are which, names are just labels, aren't they?

Said this, I am trying simple static positions with one arm, to see where I am at.
Chin- and pull-ups, I can spend a few seconds (4-5, I'd say) in contracted and extended position on one arm.
Push-ups, I can hold the position up to 15 seconds.

...I can now do 5 clean wife push-ups, too.
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MJR
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by MJR »

I did some nice progress at my first 3 months at the gym, and now I have changed my working out program with another trainer (nothing to do with the previous trainer, they have three trainers which are available at different times).

Now I do a new, different set of weight lifting exercises (both upper and lower torso plus dumbbell sets) on monday, wednesday and friday, and on tuesday and thursday I do interval running on a treadmill for 30 mins and then swimming for another 30mins. I can now swim at fairly fast pace for that 30mins without getting out of breath, which is especially satisfying.

Body is certainly showing results, and the most important thing, I sleep better and no longer get so tired.

A fun notice: play Reign in blood by Slayer while on a treadmill from headphones, you run four times harder :D
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

MJR, good on you! a bit envious that you can also swim easily. I need to go to the nearest pool outside campus, and that's 20 minutes of commuting.
I am tempted to have a session later on in the semester, just to relax muscles a bit.

+1 week for me. I am steadily increasing pace and resistance on the rowing machine (C22? The standard machine you can find in any gym). I am targeting increases on each third of the daily training so that in the long distance (next summer), I should edge towards the goal of recovering the performance levels I had, when I was training for rowing and cycling.

Christmas and New Year are coming, and personally I have a triple whammy with Spring Festival (Lunar near year). Christmas will probably become a semi-official working holiday in China in the next few years, but in the meanwhile businesses have adopted the spirit simply to stimulate purchases (eh!). 8 weeks of festive atmosphere are not bad, though

Be sure not to overdo it with food, lads :wink:
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

+1, and -5 weeks to the Spring Festival resting period.

Shame that Christmas didn't fall on a weekday; I like the tradition of training on the 25th and 26th.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Just checking in. All is well and progressing nicely. Off from work this week so going to pick one day (Tuesday or Wednesday) and train everything. Fewer sets, but just enough to get a buzz.

Stay strong and be safe.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by GaijinPunch »

Lower back not amazing - getting stronger but discomfort (and occasional pain) not really subsiding. I've come to the (non-medical but experience-based) conclusion that my core and glutes are just substantially weaker compared to the rest of my body. Somewhat unsurprising given my build (long torso) and some other factors. Result is shitty posture (which I've had my whole life) and my body's default compensation for almost anything seems to be going to the lower back. Not good.

So, probably within the next month or so I will start something that focuses on one of these. Then the other. The trick is keeping up the other muscle groups at the same time.. Athlean-X on YT has a pretty good reputation. I've done some of his resistance band routines, and they are admittedly good. 22 days to better glutes seems like something I can do but I will have to modify - bulgarian split squats and even the curtsy lunge (both of which I'm familar with) he has leaning forward. I don't think that's gonna be happening for me. The older flat stomach in 22 days video, despite the clickbait title, is highly praised. Many comments in the aforementioned glutes video are actually about the abs video giving results, and hoping the glutes one is as good. We'll see. I know hitting the same muscle group each day is a bit controversial, but it's pretty minimal (3 exercises) per day and every 3rd day can be an off day.

Haven't committed... just a thought at this point. I stretch my back daily (almost every morning when I wake up) and then in the gym before any workout - even just a swim. Alas, it's not enough and I'm not quite ready to go the PT/doctor route as I'm pretty sure I've done this to myself. Also, as my roommate points out... a lot of it is probably age. :?
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by GaijinPunch »

Just now watching the abs one -- solid gold visualization of those obscure muscles in the abs. LMAO.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

OK, -4 weeks to rest. I will consolidate reps on calisthenics and slowly increase a bit rowing workloads, before the break; Cycling sessions are getting better and harder, too.

GP: glutes and upper core (i.e. chest, shoulders, neck) are the main victims of a sedentary lifestyle: we cannot win against that, because of the jobs we have.
Also, with age the lower abs and back muscles tend to weaken, and to cause posture slumps.

Though there begins to be quite a bit of research on the matter, two rather trivial suggestions that I can make at this stage are:

1. Track muscle volume, and try to see if your masses are decreasing. It's almost unavoidable to lose muscle mass with age, but losses can be tiny with proper training and diet. I have seen numbers as low as 0.5%, in one study on 60+ y.o. weightlifters, and similar numbers for retired gymnasts who still train (yes, hit those proteins but be sure that you're not overdoing it). It seems that once we are past a given age, strength training becomes a very important type of exercise, simply to maintain tone and muscle;

2. Stand up more, if possible. Ergonomic chairs are a must, too, but when in doubt, a few minutes on your feet while working act like pushing a "reset" button on posture problems.

Hitting the same muscles every day: minimal every day should be fine. The "Grease The Groove" method by Pavel Tschatschouline (spelling...?) revolves around doing 1-2 exercises every day, at random moments of the time, to keep tension and strength high. Basically, you tell those muscles "always be ready, I will make you do "push-ups/pull-ups/work at random to keep you strong".
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Stevens
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Stevens »

Been hitting the bike the last few weeks, I've been wanting to add it to the routine for quite some time.

Will 2022 be the year I break through to the 1 arm push up? Time will tell.

I love starting years the strongest I've ever been, fifth year running. None of that "New Year New Me" bullshit. Just discipline and good honest work.

May you all reach some of your strength goals. I say some cause as we all know how this really works: )

Stay strong.
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bkk
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Started cautiously yesterday after a 12 day break. Feels good.
Randorama wrote:(spelling...?)
Apparently Цацулін, originally.
MJR wrote:Now I do a new, different set of weight lifting exercises (both upper and lower torso plus dumbbell sets)
Good work. Are you only training your torso?
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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.
Last edited by SPM on Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by GaijinPunch »

Fucked my elbow -- effectively Golfer's Elbow it seems. Livable but got worse after my first day back after vacation (of course). Last time I hurt myself there a break did fuck all -- only strengthening the muscles around it (forearms, etc.) helped. Fingers crossed.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Good few weeks.

HSPU book pile is now only 3 3\4 inches high. That is probably the best progress, everything else is moving but slow.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Stevens wrote:everything else is moving but slow.
Christmas holiday, surely. :) I actually rung in the new year and the following week or so in your neck of the woods. Did manage to get a lot of steps in at Prospect Park and a few reps w/ my bands.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

+2 weeks or so? Another 2 weeks of calisthenics, one of pure "cardio" (rowing+cycling) and then 2 weeks of rest.
Pleasantly surprised to see that I could improve reps on most exercise with a steady pace.
I will report once this cycle is over.

Steve: slow and steady does it...I am adding reps very slowly, and the body is absorbing nicely.
The fact that I am rowing also forces me to go very calmly, of course.
Cycling is always good. I'd prefer a real bicycle, but even "spinners" can be use to great effect to increase heart strength, lung capacity and, well, leg strength.

Bkk: ah-ah, thanks for checking up with the spelling :wink:

GP: I wonder how you'd get that. You can check if there is something in your lifting routine that needs improvement, of course, but I guess that a dozen other factors may be at play.

SPM: welcome onboard, and well done so far. Please post your progress here, no matter how boring :wink:
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Randorama wrote: GP: I wonder how you'd get that. You can check if there is something in your lifting routine that needs improvement, of course, but I guess that a dozen other factors may be at play.
Hammer curls w/ too much weight is my thought at the moment.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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A new cycle this week, and yesterday was leg day. I brought back some oldies into the routine. The main one: Bulgarian split squat. Can barely walk today. :|
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Coming from someone with almost 20yrs of chronic lower back pain and lower lumbar discs that are thinner than paper i cannot stress how important core strength is. Any leaks in there and your opening up yourself to injury. For the core endurance is key and once thats buttoned up good the distal mobility and limb strength will improve dramatically. If you lacking mobility look to the core. Stretch all you want but you central nervous system is running the show and will only give you what it wants.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Working on it. I'm going to do some travelling but will land in my own place in the Spring. First purchases are going to be a memory foam mattress and a standing desk.
Coming from someone with almost 20yrs of chronic lower back pain and lower lumbar discs that are thinner than paper i cannot stress how important core strength is.
So did the pain subside at all (entirely?) with a strengthened core?
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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I am still a wip. My pain has substantially decreased. Now i am battling hip and shoulder issues from layers of compensation. I was fortunate to be evaluated by Dr. Stuart Mcgill in 2019.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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I will have to look him up. Told myself I am going to put all my effort into fixing my shitty posture and strengthening myself where I know I suck -- after that (late fall?) if the pain isn't decreased enough I'll look into PT.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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GaijinPunch wrote:I will have to look him up. Told myself I am going to put all my effort into fixing my shitty posture and strengthening myself where I know I suck -- after that (late fall?) if the pain isn't decreased enough I'll look into PT.
Dr Mcgill is a biomechanic spine specialist from Canada(he is a big deal in the strength community) PT is a good idea and honestly the hardest part is finding a good one. I have seen several and it is said only a small percentage of them are any good here in the US.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Well that sucks. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Randorama »

+1 week.

Almost time to rest, and the muscles are giving me signs of soreness indeed.

I tried out a near 1-arm pull up, and I could complete one with a small jump to go up, free arm in tension position across the chest.
I also tried a single dip with 55 kgs: almost completed a second one.

Slowly but steadily increasing rowing and cycling pace, so the small calisthenics improvements are coupled with the steady volume and strength increasing with the two cardio parts.
2022 will be an interesting year.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by GaijinPunch »

lawnspic wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote:I will have to look him up. Told myself I am going to put all my effort into fixing my shitty posture and strengthening myself where I know I suck -- after that (late fall?) if the pain isn't decreased enough I'll look into PT.
Dr Mcgill is a biomechanic spine specialist from Canada(he is a big deal in the strength community) PT is a good idea and honestly the hardest part is finding a good one. I have seen several and it is said only a small percentage of them are any good here in the US.
Coming back to this as I did something to worsen my pain by enough to piss me off: do any that employ McGill's methods generally pass the litmus test? I'm sure most suck and just go through the motions (which I can do on my own and not waste my time). I'm doing some travelling and thinking of just doing yoga and some basic shit w/ my bands for a month. We'll see how I feel in a couple of days.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Yoga is good but personally i believe a lot of mobility comes from core stiffness. This is something we lose as we age unless we stay on top of it. Injuries to the spine make matters worse as it corrupts motor engrams. This is where compensation begins. Ideally a balance of strength and mobility is needed. As men age past 30 you lose 1lb of lean muscle mass each year unless you stay fit. McGills work is amazing and it translates to a lot more than just a bad back but overall long term health.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Spring festival and break time for me...

Enjoying rest, normal diet, less caffeine.

I think that I will spend the next semester refining technique and seeing if I can slowly increase reps on the harder exercises (towel pull- and chin-ups), as I plan to recover more intense workloads on both the rowing and cycling machines. I'll follow the Team Sky/Ineos "marginal gains" philosophy, I guess.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

Post by Stevens »

Well earned Rando. Yes Happy New Year!

I have the day off too, going to hit the bike in a bit.
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Re: Weightlifting/exercise thread

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Day before yesterday was the second reboot of my gym program (which happens every three months), it was finally a time to go away from machinery and move onto free weights. I noticed that three of the exercises were straight from Arnold's "golden six", and it definitely felt like that my body was being put to some real work this time..! My joints are incredibly sore, even more today than yesterday! I need to wait for the worst soreness to pass before I return. But I will certainly stick with it, once I recover.
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