• Introduction to Strength Training
    132 replies, posted
I really started weight training last october. I raised my maxes on everything by at least 25 lbs. I am 170lbs I bench 165 I power clean 170 I squat 305 My legs are beasty...
[QUOTE=its shortie;22668308]I bench 235lbs :smug: and I only weigh 130lbs.[/QUOTE] No way man. How tall are you? I bench 180 and weight 200.
[QUOTE=JaegerMonster;22672025]Yeah okay, I'll enjoy having healthy joints because my joints are stronger than yours, you enjoy not "bothering to argue", because the truth is you don't have an argument.[/QUOTE] The truth is your ignorance will hurt you because you don't bother doing enough research into your own body fitness. If all you ever do is put stress into your joints, you WILL develop long-term problems because you somehow believe that cartilage is an indestructible substance. I'm not saying this to make my ego bigger or make myself feel better than you. If you only rely on bench presses, squats, crunches, pullups, and other strength training exercises to make yourself healthy, you are making a [b]mistake[/b]. Yes, it will make you healthy and strong, but that's because you're young and fit. The human body is created to endure stress over long periods of time to become accustomed to such circumstances, but short-term and heavy stress on your bones and joints [b]will[/b] create problems within the future. Yes, your muscles will be very strong and yes, your body balance will be normal, but there's a reason you don't see usually see people in their 40s and 50s working out at gyms and pumping iron. This argument isn't made for a certain individual, it's for everybody here. You're trying to convince people that strength training is a panacea for health problems and body fitness but you do not take into account that there's problems that can arise.
Any recommendations on strength exercises to mainly sculpt out biceps and legs? I wanna get into strength training, but due to Kung Fu, I don't want to get to the point where I lose leg or arm flexibility.
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;22672052]No way man. How tall are you? I bench 180 and weight 200.[/QUOTE] Around 5'5"-6". [editline]10:05PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Big Bang;22672319]Any recommendations on strength exercises to mainly sculpt out biceps and legs? I wanna get into strength training, but due to Kung Fu, I don't want to get to the point where I lose leg or arm flexibility.[/QUOTE] Any low weight, high rep exercise will cut you up nicely. Try to do like 5 sets of 20 reps. Feel the burn meng.
[QUOTE=JaegerMonster;22671747] Hahaha, please, show us how this happens. Gee, I didn't know max effort lifts made people fat. Top level athletes in all different sports must be packing on the pot bellies then. Box for you, for spouting shit that you really have no clue about. [/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.bodytechusa.com/top_lifters.htm[/URL] The majority look fat. Lifting weights isn't a bad thing. I am saying the people trying to do more than the world are stupid. As for health problems, well have fun with your hernias.
[QUOTE=abp1192;22672827][URL]http://www.bodytechusa.com/top_lifters.htm[/URL] As for health problems, well have fun with your hernias.[/QUOTE] Hernias can be avoided with proper technique and stretching.
[QUOTE=Ban Evasion Alt;22668389]Agility and perception are better choices, that way you have better armour class, more APs and faster sequence.[/QUOTE] <3
[QUOTE=its shortie;22672988]Hernias can be avoided with proper technique and stretching.[/QUOTE] Still far more common among power training. Honestly I don't get why the op says strength training, but it is mostly about power training. I like strength training, not power.
[QUOTE=abp1192;22672827][URL]http://www.bodytechusa.com/top_lifters.htm[/URL] The majority look fat. Lifting weights isn't a bad thing. I am saying the people trying to do more than the world are stupid. As for health problems, well have fun with your hernias.[/QUOTE] Most powerlifters look fat because they eat ridiculous amounts of food you dolt. It's got nothing to do with their particular choice of training. As for health problems, powerlifters regularly have injuries and joint problems because they do stupid shit to achieve goals [B]they otherwise could not obtain[/B]. [B]NOT[/B] because they train with heavy weights. [editline]03:31AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Big Bang;22672319]Any recommendations on strength exercises to mainly sculpt out biceps and legs? I wanna get into strength training, but due to Kung Fu, I don't want to get to the point where I lose leg or arm flexibility.[/QUOTE] You won't lose flexibility from weight training, you lose flexibility by not practicing your flexibility on a regular basis. If you want to build your legs up, and be explosive, don't be a pussy: squat. Many guys will come up with a plethora of excuses to not train their legs, but the only real reason is that good leg training is hard training.
One thing you ahve to keep in mind is that everyone is different and gain muscle/lose fat at different rates. Its important not to get discouraged and don't expect immediate results. As long as you stick with it and keep good form you will eventually see an increase in muscle mass/weight/strength. I started lifting when I started playing football and I seemed to gain strength a lot slower than everyone else even though I worked a lot harder than other people. Just keep at it and you WILL see improvements. I mean I went from doing nothing at home to playing football and lost 20-25lbs in 2 months.
I'll just say this. Losing weight is not rocket science, and I think personally anyone that wants to take it up has no excuse not too. The average overweight person can lose weight by drastically overhauling and modifying their diet. Such as: 1. No processed foods. 2. No fast foods *Duh*. 3. No sodas. 4. 5-6 small meals a day *HEALTHY* 5. Extremely healthy, natural foods to make those 5-6 small meals a day. 7. Drink tons of water, TONS OF IT. 8. Stop worrying about it, just do it. I dropped from 133.5 to 131.3 over a week by simply just eating less, drinking a large abundant amount of water, eating extremely healthy foods without even excersising. The weight I lost was mostly water and body waste, and just stored food. I dropped a good pound last week just eating healthier and going for a half hour walk everyday just to get out of the house from being so fucking bored. I went for a good four hours total of just walkin around town and totaled up like 10 miles at least. Kinda funny when you get obsessed with it. Here's how I see it. An overweight person created their problem, yes? There is nobody to blame but themselves. It's their lives, their choice. If you're going to eat like a pig, you'd think it would make sense to pig out on low calorie, low sodium, low carb foods like carrots and celery. I mean, imagine if every living person put down a bag of chips or a cookie for two carrots with a bit of peanut butter, or a slice of wheat bread with HFCS free fruit preserve. Though right now I don't actually need to lose weight, I'm trying to drop my weight from 131 now to 128 or so to simply see what the result is. I have bad energy loss/fatigue problems, and I'm not sure what the problem is. But believe me, I've tried some -crazy- stuff and I can't list everything with large details. Though eating bad foods seems to be my biggest problem right now, I dunno what really is causing it. I need to go for a blood test.
Protip: Squatting for the first time ANALLY INTRUDES your inner child.
Protip: Listen to this to help push you and make you feel like a badass while working out, it also makes it hella fun [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO43p2Wqc08[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miG9wui0FfQ[/media]
I hope you guys do know I made a thread like this in the Lifestyles And Recreation section..
[QUOTE=Vince W/Shamwow;22675564]I hope you guys do know I made a thread like this in the Lifestyles And Recreation section..[/QUOTE] :colbert: First of all your name and avatar makes me automatically not like you. Second, I read your thread just now. It's not a bad thread but the OP could use more detail. It just very lightly touches the very basics, and half of the OP consists of supplements and large pictures. You should go into more detail like this thread has.
You know along with weightlifting, pullups and chinups are an excellent way to both work your upper body (especially lats, biceps and triceps, along with some abs) and it allows you to gain strength. And the good thing is if you do these regularly, you will bulk up and gain muscle mass, which will increase your weight, which will allow you to bulk up even more. It is nearly a vicious cycle. I currently do no do any weightlifting but as I said regular pullups/chinups (read every day, start with 1-2 a day and slowly work your way up, and I mean very slowly because otherwise you will strain your arms and it will be a bitch even to lift a cup for a few days) really allow you to be very well built, it only requires the will to do so. Plus after a while you can even do one handed chinups which really impress people. And to the OP, great guide but for some reason I never liked powerlifting, I am more of a weightlifting (as in Olympics) kind of guy. Weightlifting forces you to exert more power since you have to work in clean motions and raise the weight all the way over your head in a very short amount of time. One question, I can understand why non-bodybuilding powerlifters (those who bulk up but not aesthetically) have huge arms and legs, with no clearly defined muscles, but why do all of them have huge bellies? I don't think abs can be pumped up that much, is it even muscle or just fat due to their high calorie diet?
Well I am 63kg myself and without any extra workout I benched 65kg, and atleast what I have heard that if you can bench your own weight you are normal. But I drive like 50km weekly with bicycle and play 4 times a week football for 90 minutes. But I smoke too
[QUOTE=Fetret;22677554]You know along with weightlifting, pullups and chinups are an excellent way to both work your upper body (especially lats, biceps and triceps, along with some abs) and it allows you to gain strength. And the good thing is if you do these regularly, you will bulk up and gain muscle mass, which will increase your weight, which will allow you to bulk up even more. It is nearly a vicious cycle. I currently do no do any weightlifting but as I said regular pullups/chinups (read every day, start with 1-2 a day and slowly work your way up, and I mean very slowly because otherwise you will strain your arms and it will be a bitch even to lift a cup for a few days) really allow you to be very well built, it only requires the will to do so. Plus after a while you can even do one handed chinups which really impress people. And to the OP, great guide but for some reason I never liked powerlifting, I am more of a weightlifting (as in Olympics) kind of guy. Weightlifting forces you to exert more power since you have to work in clean motions and raise the weight all the way over your head in a very short amount of time. One question, I can understand why non-bodybuilding powerlifters (those who bulk up but not aesthetically) have huge arms and legs, with no clearly defined muscles, but why do all of them have huge bellies? I don't think abs can be pumped up that much, is it even muscle or just fat due to their high calorie diet?[/QUOTE] Thanks for putting effort into your post. First of all, yes, chin ups and pulls or push ups/dips are great [B]assistance[/B] exercises. Ideally, they should be added to a program that contains heavy compound lifts or explosive lifts such as squats/deadlifts/bench press/power cleans/overhead press/barbell rows. I, and powerlifters alike, have nothing against olympic lifting like you do. In fact, many powerlifters (especially in weight classes) power clean, clean and jerk, snatch and what have you to build explosiveness or just for fun. For example, Power cleans and deadlifts work hand in hand. As you made clear, the reason why powerlifters fail to have "defined" arms (not really the correct term) is because of their high bodyfat percentage. The reason they have a high bodyfat percentage is because they eat absolutely tons of food each day, elite level powerlifters eat 7000kcal+ a day. Eating loads of calories means more energy for lifting and more muscle mass. Obviously eating this amount of food means food is going to get added to fat stores. Powerlifters care too much about their strength to have a deficit, as a deficit means no strength gain, which is their absolute aim. This is the only reason why they are "fat", as long as their fat levels don't get too high, no danger is present anyway. Here are some pics of a guy powerlifter called Dave Culledge, his build is incredible and surpasss that of a bodybuilders anyday. It looks strong as hell Here he is fat. [IMG]http://stronglifts.com/images/dave-culledge-01.jpg[/IMG] After Cutting [IMG]http://stronglifts.com/images/dave-culledge-02.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://stronglifts.com/images/dave-culledge-03.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://stronglifts.com/images/dave-culledge-05.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Kingtendo7;22677691]Thanks for putting effort into your post. First of all, yes, chin ups and pulls or push ups/dips are great [B]assistance[/B] exercises. Ideally, they should be added to a program that contains heavy compound lifts or explosive lifts such as squats/deadlifts/bench press/power cleans/overhead press/barbell rows. I, and powerlifters alike, have nothing against olympic lifting like you do. In fact, many powerlifters (especially in weight classes) power clean, clean and jerk, snatch and what have you to build explosiveness or just for fun. For example, Power cleans and deadlifts work hand in hand. As you made clear, the reason why powerlifters fail to have "defined" arms (not really the correct term) is because of their high bodyfat percentage. The reason they have a high bodyfat percentage is because they eat absolutely tons of food each day, elite level powerlifters eat 7000kcal+ a day. Eating loads of calories means more energy for lifting and more muscle mass. Obviously eating this amount of food means food is going to get added to fat stores. Powerlifters care too much about their strength to have a deficit, as a deficit means no strength gain, which is their absolute aim. This is the only reason why they are "fat", as long as their fat levels don't get too high, no danger is present anyway. [/QUOTE] Wow, thanks for the explanation. Yes I forgot to mention pullups/chinups are mostly an assistance exercises. They could also help people begin powerlifting/explosive lifting by giving them a boost in the beginning by allowing them to build up muscle mass without doing untold number of reps with little weight so that they can start with their actual training. They should not be solely depended on for any serious strength training. I am more interested in climbing and gymnastics (bars and rings) so I work out with small weights (lots of reps) and a lot of pulling exercises. For example I can climb around 10-12 meters (maybe 15 on a very good day) using my hands only (no wrapping the rope around my legs, they dangle freely) and I am about 63-65 kg. I would do some more explosive weight training but I do not have weights and closest gym is quite far away so I am going to buy a set real soon. And thank you for the explanation and the pictures, they really explained a lot. And I knew defined was not the actual term I was looking for but it is so hot that I think my brain has melted:D And this is a great topic I hope it will help some people!
[quote=fetret] Wow, thanks for the explanation. Yes I forgot to mention pullups/chinups are mostly an assistance exercises. They could also help people begin powerlifting/explosive lifting by giving them a boost in the beginning by allowing them to build up muscle mass without doing untold number of reps with little weight so that they can start with their actual training. They should not be solely depended on for any serious strength training. I am more interested in climbing and gymnastics (bars and rings) so I work out with small weights (lots of reps) and a lot of pulling exercises. For example I can climb around 10-12 meters (maybe 15 on a very good day) using my hands only (no wrapping the rope around my legs, they dangle freely) and I am about 63-65 kg. I would do some more explosive weight training but I do not have weights and closest gym is quite far away so I am going to buy a set real soon. And thank you for the explanation and the pictures, they really explained a lot. And this is a great topic I hope it will help some people![/quote] Thank you. [QUOTE=xHcOxPinata] Protip: Squatting for the first time ANALLY INTRUDES your inner child.[/QUOTE] When did you squat for the first time? You do know you are supposed to start light, right? Otherwise you&#8217;re asking for injury. Developing perfect form for squats takes months/years so it&#8217;s better to start light, with just the 20kg 7ft Olympic bar. Then add 2.5kg each workout, within a few months you will be blown away. I highly recommend you download the ebook off of stronglifts.com, should give you a lot of insight. [QUOTE=hahaha221] I'll just say this. Losing weight is not rocket science, and I think personally anyone that wants to take it up has no excuse not too. The average overweight person can lose weight by drastically overhauling and modifying their diet. Such as: 1. No processed foods. 2. No fast foods *Duh*. 3. No sodas. 4. 5-6 small meals a day *HEALTHY* 5. Extremely healthy, natural foods to make those 5-6 small meals a day. 7. Drink tons of water, TONS OF IT. 8. Stop worrying about it, just do it. I dropped from 133.5 to 131.3 over a week by simply just eating less, drinking a large abundant amount of water, eating extremely healthy foods without even excersising. The weight I lost was mostly water and body waste, and just stored food. I dropped a good pound last week just eating healthier and going for a half hour walk everyday just to get out of the house from being so fucking bored. I went for a good four hours total of just walkin around town and totaled up like 10 miles at least. Kinda funny when you get obsessed with it. Here's how I see it. An overweight person created their problem, yes? There is nobody to blame but themselves. It's their lives, their choice. If you're going to eat like a pig, you'd think it would make sense to pig out on low calorie, low sodium, low carb foods like carrots and celery. I mean, imagine if every living person put down a bag of chips or a cookie for two carrots with a bit of peanut butter, or a slice of wheat bread with HFCS free fruit preserve. Though right now I don't actually need to lose weight, I'm trying to drop my weight from 131 now to 128 or so to simply see what the result is. I have bad energy loss/fatigue problems, and I'm not sure what the problem is. But believe me, I've tried some -crazy- stuff and I can't list everything with large details. Though eating bad foods seems to be my biggest problem right now, I dunno what really is causing it. I need to go for a blood test.[/QUOTE] Congratulations, you have just presented the quickest and best way to lose fat; through a calorific deficit. Your nutrition rules look similar to Mehdi&#8217;s off of stronglifts ([URL]http://stronglifts.com/nutrition-101-definite-beginner-guide-healthy-nutrition/[/URL]). The problem is, without strength training whilst on a calorific deficit. A lot more of the mass you lose will be muscle, as the body has no reason to keep something it doesn&#8217;t use. @JaegerMaster Thanks dude, your views are completely aligned with mine. Only we know we are correct though ;). The multi-billion dollar nutrition and exercise industry has surely mindfucked most of the population when it comes to nutrition and fitness. [quote=abp1192] Still far more common among power training. Honestly I don't get why the op says strength training, but it is mostly about power training. I like strength training, not power.[/quote] That&#8217;s because IT IS strength training. No other exercises in the world other than explosive compound and Olympic lifts build strength as fast as they do. Bodyweight exercises/calisthenics etc etc are just assistance exercises to the bigger lifts. [quote=abp1192] [URL]http://www.bodytechusa.com/top_lifters.htm[/URL] The majority look fat. Lifting weights isn't a bad thing. I am saying the people trying to do more than the world are stupid. As for health problems, well have fun with your hernias. [/quote] What gives you the idea that powerlifters get hernias. Elite level powerlifters get a shit load of injuries, yes, but only because the weights they lift are Inhuman. For the average (and far far above average) man lifting weights for a through years and experiencing more strength gains than he ever thought he could, injuries will be very minimal if he is using correct technique and doesn&#8217;t let his ego get in the way whilst training. [quote=aznalt888] The truth is your ignorance will hurt you because you don't bother doing enough research into your own body fitness. If all you ever do is put stress into your joints, you WILL develop long-term problems because you somehow believe that cartilage is an indestructible substance. I'm not saying this to make my ego bigger or make myself feel better than you. If you only rely on bench presses, squats, crunches, pullups, and other strength training exercises to make yourself healthy, you are making a [B]mistake[/B]. Yes, it will make you healthy and strong, but that's because you're young and fit. The human body is created to endure stress over long periods of time to become accustomed to such circumstances, but short-term and heavy stress on your bones and joints [B]will[/B] create problems within the future. Yes, your muscles will be very strong and yes, your body balance will be normal, but there's a reason you don't see usually see people in their 40s and 50s working out at gyms and pumping iron. This argument isn't made for a certain individual, it's for everybody here. You're trying to convince people that strength training is a panacea for health problems and body fitness but you do not take into account that there's problems that can arise.[/quote] The truth is, you are the ignorant one here, I suggest you do your research properly before you confront people with bullshit that only comes from &#8216;personal experience&#8217; and shitty money-fueled nutrition and bodybuilding magazines. Here&#8217;s a video of a 71 year old man deadlifting a shit load of weight with no joint problems what-so-ever, which puts your opinion to shame. [media][URL]http://youtube.com/watch?v=xSvUMkQTrPo[/URL][/media] [URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xSvUMkQTrPo"][/URL]
[QUOTE=DarkSpirit05er;22667105]my metabolism is so shitty I can't gain any weight. I eat like a horse. :saddowns:[/QUOTE] Same here, but I dont really need to put on weight :smile: I quite enjoy it. Cakes and pies for every lunch, Not overly healthy meals for tea (though I don't eat take out too often)... For example right now mother is cooking some delicious bacon.
[QUOTE=Elexar;22668009]Push ups are kind of useless[/QUOTE] :colbert:
OP can you help me make a diet? I'm currently about 20-25% bf and I want to lose fat (maybe 10% bf) before I start trying to gain muscle. I'm currently doing Starting Strength, but not moving up the weights because I'm not eating a caloric surplus. I just want a decent diet to lose fat that doesn't require extensive preparation, because I can't cook, and because my mum will bitch at me if i try to cook because she's always in the kitchen (lol). If stats will help, I'm 5'6" tall and 75 kilos.
[QUOTE=CivilProtection;22679049]OP can you help me make a diet? I'm currently about 20-25% bf and I want to lose fat (maybe 10% bf) before I start trying to gain muscle. I'm currently doing Starting Strength, but not moving up the weights because I'm not eating a caloric surplus. I just want a decent diet to lose fat that doesn't require extensive preparation, because I can't cook, and because my mum will bitch at me if i try to cook because she's always in the kitchen (lol). If stats will help, I'm 5'6" tall and 75 kilos.[/QUOTE] Depending on how long you've been doing Starting Strength, you may be able to increase the weights if you are still getting beginner gains. What are your current lifts? The best way to lose fat is through a calorific deficit, there are a number of ways to do this, but if you wish to do it normally then just eat less everyday. For example, eating 500kcal's less than maintenance everyday for a week will result in one pound of fat loss (providing you are strength training) as a pound of fat contains approximately 3500 calories. To track your calories you should use fitday.com, from here you can also work out how many calories you need for maintenance each day, and make sure you are eating below this figure. Alternatively you could undergo intermittent or 24 hour fasting periods (results in no muscle loss, so don't worry about that), you may find this way easier and quicker to lose fat once you are use to it. The final route is to just eat the same amount daily as you are now, but to add cardio after your strength training workouts to create a bigger deficit. I think the best way is through 24 hour fasting, if you did this twice a week for a month you will have lost 8lbs of fat in a month, I'm guessing in 2-3 months you'd definitely be below 15% body fat. For a legitimate guide on losing fat and healthy food choices for the long term, check this article [url]http://stronglifts.com/fat-loss-101-how-to-lose-fat-fast-with-free-fat-loss-diets/[/url]. This site is awesome for beginners. I get most of the information from here, I fully trust it. It's nice to hear people are doing strength training, I'm currently also doing starting strength, but soon will be progressing onto an intermediate program such as madcow.
If you do the fasting periods, should you do any sort of workout activity or just bum around and do nothing? When I do fasting for religious purposes people have told me to not do anything, but I'm not so sure.
[QUOTE=SteeleCratos;22679482]If you do the fasting periods, should you do any sort of workout activity or just bum around and do nothing? When I do fasting for religious purposes people have told me to not do anything, but I'm not so sure.[/QUOTE] You probably won't have the energy to do much on the days you are fasting, but on the days you aren't I encourage you to strength train to preserve muscle mass (3x a week). I think I've said it in this thread before, but, if you don't strength train and you decide to have a calorific deficit, 25% of the energy comes from muscle tissue and the rest is from fat. Strength training reduces the energy taken from muscle to about 2-3%.
Thanks, I just needed that clarified.
OP I've been lifting kinda on and off for a while, and only started like a week ago again. Stats are squat 45kg bench 35kg ohp 27kg dead 50kg pendlay row 27kg. I'm not so much asking for HOW to lose fat, I just want a decent diet that requires little preparation (explained in my last post) I gotta go to bed now, so thanksfir the help, and if you can help me make a diet it will be great, so I can go and buy all the food I need (my parents buy barely any).
Who here thinks they can bench more than me? :smug: [editline]09:10AM[/editline] [QUOTE=CivilProtection;22679804]OP I've been lifting kinda on and off for a while, and only started like a week ago again. Stats are squat 45kg bench 35kg ohp 27kg dead 50kg pendlay row 27kg. I'm not so much asking for HOW to lose fat, I just want a decent diet that requires little preparation (explained in my last post) I gotta go to bed now, so thanksfir the help, and if you can help me make a diet it will be great, so I can go and buy all the food I need (my parents buy barely any).[/QUOTE] Try this diet and you can do the other exercises if you want: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_for_Life[/url]
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