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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| Captain Corea wrote: |
| My issue is hooking the cord and flinging my iphone. I try to keep my arms moving during cardio, and I've snagged that cord a few times and sent my phone flying. Just dumb luck that I haven't busted it. |
I had that same problem with a Walkman (back in the day). I finally arranged it so the cord from the deck to headphones ran up my back and not across my front. Just clipped it to the back of my belt...a hip pocket worked as well. |
Yeah, I really should just keep my phone in my pocket and run the cord up under my shirt.
I was just sort of worried about water damage from... sweat 
| optik404 wrote: |
| I use the smith for slow negatives flat bench. That's about it. I tried squatting once on a smith, felt like my feet were going to slip out from under me. You don't need a spotter. Just do the roll of shame with bench, squats, just let it fall off your back or set up the catches on the power rack if your gym has one. |
Yup, I've started squatting again... with no spotter (usually). Here's me almost getting stuck, but I wasn't actually all that worried - had those nice support posts in place. |
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chrisinkorea2011
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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ok gents and ladies, been a while since ive been on here but i got some tips/secrets/moves i do, so by all means if anyone else does and has been for a long time by all means let me know. (ive started a new routine to shock my body again)
Gorilla walk - Basically you use your knuckles to walk sideways or forward and hop your legs to catch up with the arms. After 30 seconds, start to lean to the left or right and stretch the legs. Rinse repeat.
Hanging sloth - (need a long bar, or a tree branch lol) Basically i just hop up and swing my legs up as well. I proceed to hang and then pull the body up to the left, lower my body to hang and then life up to the right. 10 times each side.
Duck walk/frog hop - I do these like crazy but beware if you have bad knees.
For my stabilizer muscles I usually get 5 kg weights and hold my arms elevated to the side for 15 secs 3 times as well as holding to the front for the same time. I also have started using basic yoga to strengthen my upper and lower back and its been amazingly helpful.
Reaching yoga pose - get on all fours and extend the left arm forward and out while at the same time extending the right leg back and upwards. Hold for 15 secs then switch sides. do 3 times.
Cat Arch - again on all fours, simply arch the back like a cat would do to the point of a good feel and hold. Then lower the back to the point where you want to feel like youre pushing it down.
Its great that a lot of you guys like the bench press and exercising with larger weights but i usually stay at 10kgs for shoulders and 7kgs for bicep/tricep work. I guess im lucky that my metabolism stays pretty high but i chalk that up to martial arts training for 14 years as well as boxing/kickboxing nightly.
If you guys havent tried any of these i HIGHLY recommend them, they will definitely help in the long run! il share some jiujutsu gym workouts as well later.
Peace! |
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JFP2020
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| JFP2020 wrote: |
Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated.
Here is my exact routine. Reps in the 7-plus range.
Mon: 3 sets weighted pull ups; 3 sets dead lifts; 3 sets pull downs; 3 sets seated row; 3 sets preacher curls.
Tue: 3 sets Smithson machine bench; 3 sets incline flies; 3 sets push downs (tried skull crushers the other day. Had stayed away because they aggravate my wrists), 3 sets push ups.
Wed: rest
Thur: 3 sets smith machine squats; 3 sets leg extensions; 3 sets reverse (name?) leg extensions; leg press.
Fri: 3 sets Smithson machine military press; 3 sets lateral raise; 3 sets bent over lateral raise; 3 sets front raise (not sure about the name, but basically raising a plate in front of your chest); 3 sets shrugs.
Weekend: rest.
TheUrbanMyth, Do you think I should just bite the bullet, then, and up calories by a few hundred? Like I said, I am not particularly lean and really don't want to get fat.
Regards routine, I actually was doing the same exercises, more or less, but repeating either chest and tris, or back and bis, each week until about 2 months ago. In other words, one week chest would be done twice, the next back and so on. I decided to try once a week to see if I would get better results.
Sleep might be a factor. During the week, I am more in 6-7 hour range than 8. That said, I haven't felt like I need 8 hours in quite some time. Also, I work a busy week and with Korean study and so on, there never seems to be enough time in the day. I know all the fitness sites say 8 hours, though. And I do feel tired a lot, but then again I never have been sparky in the mornings.
Like so many today, I am not that active outside the gym, sitting at a desk all day as I do.
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As regards your routine I think you are doing a bit too much work for shoulders...which could be a reason you are stagnating on bench.
When you work back or chest you are ALSO working shoulders. So they are being used in the four back exercises and in the chest exercises. Plus they have their own day. That's three times a week.
I also agree with the other posters about the Smith machine. Free weights force you to not only lift but balance the weight thus training the stabilizer muscles. Of course with free weights you will have to lower the weights for a while until your muscles get used to balancing and lifting.
In your case I'd try a torso/limbs split. Chest and back twice a week (say Monday and Thursday) and legs and arms also twice a week (say Tuesday and Friday). Wednesdays and weekends (as you have now) would be for rest. You could throw in some shoulder work on the chest/back days, but only a few sets. I'd drop the flyes...they aren't mass/strength builders and add in 3-4 sets of dips or decline bench presses in their place.
As for eating. 3, 500 calories equate 1 pound. I don't think that adding a couple hundred calories to your daily diet is going to make much difference in your overall bodyfat levels. The thing is strength and size often come with an accompanying size in bodyweight. It is very difficult to lose fat while simultaneously gaining muscle..unless your diet is exactly on.
At least (if I were you) I'd look into consuming a decent multi-mineral/multi-vitamin in order to supplement any deficiencies you might have in those areas.
And yes sleep. One can not really gauge the amount of rest one needs by the level of one's tiredness. 8 hours though is more a rule of thumb than a hard and fast regulation. However you should try for as much as possible per day. Not too many people complain of sleeping too much |
Thanks for the feedback. I actually switched from my previous routine because I thought I might be working other areas too much.
I wonder if legs twice a week is too much for me, though. When I really go at them I can be sore 3 or even 4 days later. (Also, if I am brutally honest, I really don't look forward to doing legs at all.)
Regarding adding shoulders rather than doing them separately, I also find it pretty hard to do things like military press after bench, as some of the same muscles have been worked pretty hard.
Do you think it might be an option to add an an extra rest/cardio day on the Thursday, therefore making my routine two days on, two days off?
I might try the multivitamin. I have held off until now because of unconvincing research and feel that so many supplements are scams (you'd go broke buying everything that you "need"). Right now, all I take is a preworkout, creatine and protein powder.
As of the last few days I have been upping my calories to about 2,250 from 2,100, thanks to some peanut butter and walnuts. Reckon I should aim a little higher again?
Looking forward to getting back in the gym! |
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Jyang486
Joined: 25 Nov 2011
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| Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:39 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't recommend doing chest and shoulders on the same day, but that's just me. You could do squats, chest (chest press), back (rows) on day 1, and deadlifts, shoulders (overhead press), back (pulldowns) on day 2. I don't usually do two push exercises or two pull exercises on the same day. If you want to, you could add hiit on day 3, then take day 4 off. But it's not a bad idea to do two days on, two days off.
Regarding supplements, just make sure you are getting enough protein and fiber in your diet. I buy a preworkout (c4 has been nice), protein powder (phase  , fiber powder (barndad's fiber dx), and creatine (bodytech). Multi-vs (orange triad) are a staple in my diet just to cover my bases in vitamins and minerals.
I pulled the trigger and got a set of Bowflex Selecttech 1090 dumbbells. I read some terrible reviews for them and was set on the Ironmasters, but the price was just too good to pass up. A set of 1090 dumbbells, stands, and bench for $450. I have the set up at work, so on days when it's difficult to get to the gym, I can do a basic dumbbell version workout. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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| JFP2020 wrote: |
| I haven't specially tried 6X6. You mean six sets, right? I could try that. I have always thought more than 4 is excessive. |
There's a lot of stuff on the net about this, lots of opinions, and a lot of people with more experience than myself!
I did classic 3x5 starting strength stuff for the first half of the year. At times hit 5,000 calories, moved much higher weights, doc says testosterone increased 16%, it was a good place to start.
For the second half of the year I moved to 6x6, because with 3x5 I could hit new highs, but I couldn't hold it. Go on vacation, eat normal 2,000 calories, drink beer, come back, lost a ton off my lift. With 6x6s (lighter weights) I found when I mastered a weight a could hold onto it longer term. And once I mastered a 6x6 weight and started doing it with 15 second breaks, it became semi-cardio. Good overall workout, meh just preference.
Also tried 8x8 with short breaks, but these are considered excessive and not recommend long term. This is totally cardio-lifting, sweat like crazy. Got lean doing them for a month (and restricting calories), lost a lot off my max lift of course. Seemed like too much stress on the body doing 64 reps. |
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HapKi
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Location: TALL BUILDING-SEOUL
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| Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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Any help on my back day exercises and form is appreciated.
I usually do bent over dumbbell rows, sit down cable rows, and pull down lat machine (mixed up with crok rows and some other things on occasion).
My problem is I find my arms giving out before I feel anything close to failure in my back. I realize this is probably due to bad form, and this video and others has been helpful for lat exercises' good form-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eovBJK7UAxk&list=PLsSWrskQ6ZokYfc4vUIiBcCe5XeRfH7re&index=1
I'm conscious about engaging the back at first, keeping the wrists and forearms relaxed, chest and head up, smooth motion, etc. but still,
seems more often than not I'm stopping because of arm fatigue, before I feel any real lat "pump". Could this be because lats are such a big plate of muscle? Something else?
Any comments or advice appreciated. Thanks. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, HapKi, I know a lot of guys have the same issue. For many, their forearms, upper arms, or even shoulders come into the back workout - even when they're trying so hard not to.
For me, a few things help to reduce that.
-Mental focus. I run through the ROM BEFORE I do a set. No weight, just shadowing it. Making sure I know how it should feel on the muscles I want involved.
-Meat hook grip. In most back exercises, I don't actually grip the bar. I just hook my fingers over it. Sort of like a meat hook.
-Visualization. I think of a bungee cord set between my elbow, and my (desired) back insertion). Everything else doesn't matter.
-Straps. Some ppl are against them... I don't give a frak. I use them to better focus on my back. Forearm training is at another time. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| JFP2020 wrote: |
[
Thanks for the feedback. I actually switched from my previous routine because I thought I might be working other areas too much.
I wonder if legs twice a week is too much for me, though. When I really go at them I can be sore 3 or even 4 days later. (Also, if I am brutally honest, I really don't look forward to doing legs at all.)
Regarding adding shoulders rather than doing them separately, I also find it pretty hard to do things like military press after bench, as some of the same muscles have been worked pretty hard.
Do you think it might be an option to add an an extra rest/cardio day on the Thursday, therefore making my routine two days on, two days off?
I might try the multivitamin. I have held off until now because of unconvincing research and feel that so many supplements are scams (you'd go broke buying everything that you "need"). Right now, all I take is a preworkout, creatine and protein powder.
As of the last few days I have been upping my calories to about 2,250 from 2,100, thanks to some peanut butter and walnuts. Reckon I should aim a little higher again?
Looking forward to getting back in the gym! |
You could try the two days on, two days off...that might help with any rest issues. In that case I would move legs to Friday and just do a couple of military OH presses for shoulders on either back or chest day.
If you did legs twice a week then you could simply divide the work you do now for legs and do half on one day and half on another day...
Yeah I think most people are not big fans of training legs...I find them a bit boring myself...but I don't want the "Johnny Bravo" look (big upper body with tiny legs) and your body will usually only permit a certain amount of disproportionate growth anyway (although there are exceptions).
I hear you on the supplements, yes most are garbage...but vitamins and minerals are usually a good idea (as well as being essential in many cases).
As for calories the rule of thumb is (for gaining weight) is to take in at least 20 calories or more per lb of body weight. Of course it's not exact as people have differing metabolisms but that might be a good place to start. Then you can raise or lower them as you check your progress on the scale. Give it 2-3 weeks and if no change or negative change up it by a couple of hundred calories and see where that gets you. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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If anybody is interested in tracking their calories, I suggest using the MyFitnessPal app. It's easy, and gives ya a decent ballpark reference.
While many think they are "eating well", they are often surprised when they actually record everything. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
Meat hook grip. |
+1 -- use of carnivorous metaphors. |
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JFP2020
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:10 am Post subject: |
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Hey folks,
Thought I'd give a quick update on things. I upped my calories by 300 or so and moved to the free weight bench press. I managed 7 reps on the first set with 45 kg the first week, and 9 reps the next, so I am delighted with the visible progress. I'll be trying out 50 KG this week.
I also got my Inbody results back and I apparently put on about 5 lbs of soft lean mass in the last month. I also upped my BF by 0.5 percent, but I reckon that is not too bad a trade off (would be curious to hear what you think is an acceptable rate of fat gain for you guys when trying to grow.)
Anyway, I am feeling much better about progress, thanks a lot! |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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If you're happy - then everything is jazzy.
But... I think those BMI tests are pretty much garbage. They're not accurate... and I put very little stock in them. It's nice to see "good numbers" on them, but far too many ppl take them as the gospel. Careful with that. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm I was skeptical about the Inbody electrode-analysis at first, but after two years of using them I feel they are darn close. Even small changes bi-weekly where I feel like I've lost/gained a small amount of fat or muscle, the InBody analysis reflects that.
About 1 in 20 times I'll get a reading that makes no sense and is clearly off, but a quick retest shows reasonable numbers. I use the cheaper model in the gym every week to monitor progress, and then annually the more expensive model at the doctor's place. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| KimchiNinja wrote: |
Hmm I was skeptical about the Inbody electrode-analysis at first, but after two years of using them I feel they are darn close. Even small changes bi-weekly where I feel like I've lost/gained a small amount of fat or muscle, the InBody analysis reflects that.
About 1 in 20 times I'll get a reading that makes no sense and is clearly off, but a quick retest shows reasonable numbers. I use the cheaper model in the gym every week to monitor progress, and then annually the more expensive model at the doctor's place. |
I've stepped on one 3 times in 20 minutes - all of the times gave me a different reading. One time, I downed a couple of cups of water - totally skewed my BF%
IMO, unless you're hooked up to numerous devices and submerged in water - it's not going to be all that accurate. Keep in mind that those machines simply work on formulas - formulas of averages. If you've got a physique that "is not average", you're going to possibly get frustrated with the result.
I just went for my annual physical. The doctor said "Everything is fine. Oh, and you're obese!"
hahaha
Obese? I've got a 6-pack and can see striations in my outer quad! How the frak is that obese??
It's because I don't fit into the "average" very well. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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That might be part of it -- I always do mine the same every time. Friday morning, fasted, preworkout, no water. So even if it is off and my BF is 19% instead of 15%, it is "consistently off" every time, showing me the week to week change.
Doctors are worthless all over the world. That guy can't seem to comprehend a ton of muscle is not obesity, probably looking at BMI.
My guy told me to "eat less meat" (in other words eat more carbs to lose fat??). Instead I ate nothing but meat and no carbs with old school barbell moves. Muscle went up, fat went down, all blood numbers improved, and all he could say was "but your HDL is actually too high!". Because no Korean has 92 HDL, cause they can't afford the meat and don't lift. 
They've just got an arbitrary range written down for everything, and rigidly stick to that without actually using their brains. |
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