Weightlifting/Bodybuilding Thread V.7 - let's see if more people care about themselves - General

I mean if your form is bad the majority of reps drop the weight, but if you lose it on the last few reps of the last set don't worry about it too much so long as you keep it relatively good the rest of the time [editline]10th August 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=The Rizzler;48426229]As of today I'm at 37 1/2kg squat (sumo), and trying to push past 45kg bench, it's starting to become a little harder than just "3x10 lol up weight next sesh". Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep, or not eating enough protein or something. Maybe it's because I'm on a cut. Shouldn't really think about it Lost 20 pounds since mid June, it's starting to become a little noticable, one or two people have said things. No real milestones yet, just pressing on for now [editline]10th August 2015[/editline] Also discovered chicken thighs today. Fuck me are they good, are there any downsides compared to breasts though? I can get away with the increased fat, it's only carbs I'm worrying about[/QUOTE] technicality but you don't often call squats sumo rather just wide or narrow stance width (reason I'm saying is some people might confuse it with sumo deadlift) how long have you been stuck on that weight for? usually after a couple months of lifting, most people can't up weight every session for the same reps

[QUOTE=Waterpi;48426245]technicality but you don't often call squats sumo rather just wide or narrow stance width (reason I'm saying is some people might confuse it with sumo deadlift) how long have you been stuck on that weight for? usually after a couple months of lifting, most people can't up weight every session for the same reps[/QUOTE] Ah, yeah I mean [URL="http://www.leanitup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/1001-goblet-squat-483x300.jpg"]squats with a dumbell that I hold in front of my chest.[/URL] Seeing as this image is labelled 'goblet squat' should I start calling it that? The first time I tried a standard squat with the bar behind my neck I couldn't get low without some balance issues, but if I held a dumbell instead I could get much lower no problem, so I was told I might as well stick with that. I'm guessing I'll have to transition back to regular squats eventually as dumbells can only get so heavy Should I squat and keep my elbows above my knees or move my knees into a wider stance so I can squat deeper? I usually do the latter but that might be causing some minor knee weirdness Yeah I meant push past in a short term way. The last few sessions on 45kg were like (10,8,6)(10,9,8)(10,10,8)(10,10,9) and again today at (10,10,9). I did go on holiday the other week so it's to be expected. Shouldn't I be stalling this early? I started this program around the same time I started the diet, mid July It's my shoulder press and seated single arm row which haven't gone anywhere for weeks, I tried some new versions today (pulling downwards with the row and doing the shoulder press seated) which helped

[QUOTE=The Rizzler;48426599]Ah, yeah I mean [URL="http://www.leanitup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/1001-goblet-squat-483x300.jpg"]squats with a dumbell that I hold in front of my chest.[/URL] Seeing as this image is labelled 'goblet squat' should I start calling it that? The first time I tried a standard squat with the bar behind my neck I couldn't get low without some balance issues, but if I held a dumbell instead I could get much lower no problem, so I was told I might as well stick with that. I'm guessing I'll have to transition back to regular squats eventually as dumbells can only get so heavy Should I squat and keep my elbows above my knees or move my knees into a wider stance so I can squat deeper? I usually do the latter but that might be causing some minor knee weirdness Yeah I meant push past in a short term way. The last few sessions on 45kg were like (10,8,6)(10,9,8)(10,10,8)(10,10,9) and again today at (10,10,9). I did go on holiday the other week so it's to be expected. Shouldn't I be stalling this early? I started this program around the same time I started the diet, mid July It's my shoulder press and seated single arm row which haven't gone anywhere for weeks, I tried some new versions today (pulling downwards with the row and doing the shoulder press seated) which helped[/QUOTE] Yeah that's a goblet squat, also I wouldn't recommend it over normal squats at all. Balance issues are either due to form (lower the weight and fix it), being new at the exercise so your body is adapting (just squat more and it'll sort itself out), or some muscle inflexibility causing form breakdown (happens a lot with calves, so stretch). Goblet squats just won't work as many muscles or as effectively as normal squats along with the fact you're going to run into a wall on dumbell weight. I wouldn't even consider that a stall really, just do your next session and see what happens. You're bound to stall on the more isolation exercises like the two you listed because there are less muscles involved which means strength gains come slower compared to something like the deadlift.

Sounds like your issues with regular squats come from flexibility issues, try out some of these regularly: [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/pq6UJ.jpg[/IMG] In particular 4,5, 6 and 7 Goblet squat was a really good idea as a replacement for regular squat as it'll force you into some good habits like opening at the hips and keeping your chest up but like you said dumbbells can only get so heavy. Lastly your set and rep scheme isnt great for making strength gains, I can see why you'd want to do 3 sets of 10 starting off as it gives you a lot of reps to practice your form with but eventually you'll have to drop the reps and up the weight if you want to progress. There's a lot of good set a rep schemes out there and I dont want to force you into one but some overlying principles are, make sure your doing between 18 and 25 reps in total and dont do less than 2 or more than 8 reps, or less than 3 or more than 12 sets. Some good set and rep ranges I've found work are 8 sets of 3 5 sets of 5 4 sets of 6 Naturally when you increase the weight, you drop the number of reps so you wouldnt do 5x5 at the same weight that you'd do 8x3. Doing less overall volume, eg doing just 3 sets of 5 is legit when your training the lift more frequently eg 2-3 times per week.

How long do you rest between, for example, 4 sets of 6?

[QUOTE=Mbbird;48426866]How long do you rest between, for example, 4 sets of 6?[/QUOTE] I do 5x5 2-3 mins depending on how fatigued I am If you don't feel too tired just carry on

[QUOTE=Mbbird;48426866]How long do you rest between, for example, 4 sets of 6?[/QUOTE] I usually try to keep my heartrate up, usually 45-60 seconds for me.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll talk to the trainer on Wednesday and see what needs work with my squat. I'm doing 3x10 for basically everything, so I'll talk about changing set structure as well I'm that 6'8 guy, so preserving the health of my back is incredibly important to me, I make sure to stretch briefly before and thoroughly after each session. I'll give those daily stretches a shot too

6'8, jesus! Become a strongman/powerlifter, you can become HUUUUUUGE

[QUOTE=Valon Kyre;48433995]6'8, jesus! Become a strongman/powerlifter, you can become HUUUUUUGE[/QUOTE] in the process literally eat yourself into the poorhouse

[QUOTE=Mbbird;48426866]How long do you rest between, for example, 4 sets of 6?[/QUOTE] As long as you need to get going again. I'd only rest about 3 mins between sets of bench or shoulder press but for squats and deadlift its closer to 6 mins. Though when you're starting off and the weight isnt that heavy you can get away with less rest, maybe 1-2 mins.

[QUOTE=Valon Kyre;48433995]6'8, jesus! Become a strongman/powerlifter, you can become HUUUUUUGE[/QUOTE] Is your fetish strongmen?

Started my diet yesterday. Nothing fancy, just trying to keep calories down. One of the things I noticed is basically every source I checked told me that I needed more calories than I've ever afforded myself on a diet before, even for "extreme fat loss". Then on top of that I was trying to exercise, so no wonder I felt god-awful. But this new diet feels really sustainable. I'm not eating as much as I was but it's [i]enough[/i], you know? I'm gonna pick up a set of dumbbells today and start a routine. I don't have the cash to pick up a barbell or a proper bench yet, unfortunately (though I could probably improvise the bench). Is this a good dumbbell-only routine? [url]http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/dumbbell-workout[/url]

Started a diet change last week @ 210lbs, allowed myself 1900 calories. Went an entire week following that diet, without going to the gym and I was 206lbs yesterday. Started going to the gym yesterday again as well. I'm following StrongLifts 5x5 on Mon/Wed/Fri and on Tues/Thurs I'm going to do cardio. It's nice seeing progress and I'm actually feeling a lot better. Also, I've been doing intermittent fasting, I allow myself to eat anywhere from 11am-7pm and I feel it's been helping me with getting a control of habit eating.

Speaking of diets, how long should I expect to cut for if I want to go down from 85kg to 75kg? Hoping to be at 75 by December in time for summer. I was thinking of starting to cut at the end of August. At about 83kg now so I assume I'd be at 85kg in three weeks. [editline]12th August 2015[/editline] I'm going to be underweight for my height but I just want to blast this fat away. Made plenty of good gains over the past 8 months from a low of 69kg.

has anybody ever done OHP negatives? like push press the weight up and then slowly come down tryna break through a nasty OHP plateau

I've been doing them a few weeks now, power jerk the weight then let it down slow for singles, in between sets of ohp. Doing maybe 62.5x3, 70x1, repeat 6 times. Hard to say how much its helping though since I'm usually too tired after squats + deadlifts + pull ups on intensity day to go as hard as I would like on ohp.

that feel when the beta alanine tingles kick in itching myself like a crack head but it feels fukn good

Snip

Returned to the gym after 6 weeks out, managed to get 30kg dumbells up on the incline, fairly happy with this considering I was on around 32's before I stopped.

[QUOTE=kimr120;48435748]Is your fetish strongmen?[/QUOTE] When you're tall all the strength for strongmen stuff comes naturally, plus it allows you a lot of room to grow for more strength. Bodybuilding is hard when you're tall, you need twice as much calories as a manlet, twice as much mass, and actually "looking" huge while not being fat is pretty difficult, but when you do achieve a nice musclature when you're tall nothing comes close. Plus strongmen are literally the tank class of earth, moving heavy ass shit and eating everything that isnt bolted down then ripping the shit that is bolted down up and eating that. When you've dieted down for bodybuilding competitions and fiddled with all the routine bullshit, its nice to just say "fuck it, eat everything and lift huge". I'm not exactly strongman myself, I take a couple principals and lifts from it and apply it to my routine where possible, but a lot of what I do is isolation. My advice to any skinny tall guys who cant put on any weight is to eat anything and everything thats fairly clean all the time, it takes a lotta food. [thumb]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u423/Lawblind/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsfth9ze5u.jpg[/thumb] We need more progress pictures in this thread! Post 'em up!!

my abs are really starting to show through, cant wait to finish this cut [img]http://i.imgur.com/1N8ZSml.jpg[/img]

oh fuck my eyes

my eyes are very unpleased :nope:

talk shit get hit, square up

how does it even come to that jesus christ

this is why i don't do nipple isolations

Dude your nipples look like half-cut sausages. Since we're in CBT mode now.. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/68cait3.jpg[/img_thumb] I can count to four now with my tummy if I give it a quick flex and overhead lighting. I obviously need more meat on my arms and slender wrists will be the bane of my existence. Need to work harder on traps and delts, I want to be able to proclaim I got rocket launcher traps and cannonball delts. Still currently around 155LBs at 5'10. So far some of the notable benchmarks include, 5x5 Squat @ 165LBs 5x5 Bench @ 145 (Maxed with 165 5x2) 15x3 Hammercurls @ 30LBs 10x3 T-Bar Rows @ 92.5LBs (I divided 45/2 for the olympic bar, not sure if right) If I give myself 30 more days, I can carve out that last sliver of water retention/fat at the bottom of my stomach and I can have that carved look under all lighting circumstances and in a relaxed state. I just need to burn harder and work harder.

jesus christ that picture

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;48446704]Since we're in CBT mode now.. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/68cait3.jpg[/img_thumb] I can count to four now with my tummy if I give it a quick flex and overhead lighting. I obviously need more meat on my arms and slender wrists will be the bane of my existence. Need to work harder on traps and delts, I want to be able to proclaim I got rocket launcher traps and cannonball delts. Still currently around 155LBs at 5'10. If I give myself 30 more days, I can carve out that last sliver of water retention/fat at the bottom of my stomach and I can have that carved look under all lighting circumstances and in a relaxed state. I just need to burn harder and work harder.[/QUOTE] How do you plan on doing that?? I thought you could only burn fat from your whole body at once? I'm already at a low BF percentage, but idk how to lower it further.