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Do you even lift, AF bro?
#31
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 3:05 pm)Crossless1 Wrote:
(October 27, 2015 at 12:34 pm)Chad32 Wrote: I have worked on lifting, though I usually go for more reps than maxxing out the weight. My best bench was 90 lbs. Including the bar. I could do ten or more reps with that, so I guess I could go higher if I wanted to just do a couple reps as heavy as possible. Squats are 220, though I use a machine to push with my legs, instead of standing up with weights on my shoulders. Again, I could likely do more if it was just one or two reps. Those are the two heavy weight exercises I do. Sometimes I do curls, and I could probably do 25 lbs or so on that.

I strongly recommend you dispense with the curls (and any bent over rows you may do for your upper back) and start doing pull-ups instead. You'll work the same muscle groups you would otherwise hit with rows and curls but more efficiently, in less time, and with less chance of injuring yourself. It is simply one of the best upper body exercises there is.

Alright. I'll try pullups. Generally I've avoided it because my arms have never been strong enough to pull my body very much. I have used a lat pull machine for my back, though last time I checked their one lat pull machine was out of order.
Poe's Law: "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing."

10 Christ-like figures that predate Jesus. Link shortened to Chris ate Jesus for some reason...
http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-chris...ate-jesus/

Good video to watch, if you want to know how common the Jesus story really is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88GTUXvp-50

A list of biblical contradictions from the infallible word of Yahweh.
http://infidels.org/library/modern/jim_m...tions.html

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#32
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 3:38 pm)Chad32 Wrote: Alright. I'll try pullups. Generally I've avoided it because my arms have never been strong enough to pull my body very much. I have used a lat pull machine for my back, though last time I checked their one lat pull machine was out of order.

Just try like 10 sets of 1. Then when you can do that easily, move to 5 sets of 2... etc.

Pull ups for lats/shoulders (palms away from you, arms wide apart)---if you are having trouble with this, try neutral grip pullups, usually available on the pull up tree somewhere. It's where your palms are facing each other in the middle. Should be two short little handles sticking out perpendicular to the bar.
Chin ups for biceps, (palms facing you, arms closer together, pull so your elbows are at a 90 degree angle).
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great

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#33
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 3:38 pm)Chad32 Wrote: Alright. I'll try pullups. Generally I've avoided it because my arms have never been strong enough to pull my body very much. I have used a lat pull machine for my back, though last time I checked their one lat pull machine was out of order.

I pretty much agree with the others. Curls are a vanity exercise. Your efforts will be better spent on another exercise. If you're doing chins/pull-ups and hitting the major compound movements, your arms will get plenty big enough. Since we're talking about unnecessary exercises, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't point out that crunches are totally worthless. I know that you didn't mention this, but it's worth noting.

If you're doing main lifts (bench, OHP, deadlift variation, squat), you will get stronger and more muscular if that is your goal.
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~ Benjamin Franklin
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#34
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 3:49 pm)SteelCurtain Wrote:
(October 27, 2015 at 3:38 pm)Chad32 Wrote: Alright. I'll try pullups. Generally I've avoided it because my arms have never been strong enough to pull my body very much. I have used a lat pull machine for my back, though last time I checked their one lat pull machine was out of order.

Just try like 10 sets of 1. Then when you can do that easily, move to 5 sets of 2... etc.

Pull ups for lats/shoulders (palms away from you, arms wide apart)---if you are having trouble with this, try neutral grip pullups, usually available on the pull up tree somewhere. It's where your palms are facing each other in the middle. Should be two short little handles sticking out perpendicular to the bar.
Chin ups for biceps, (palms facing you, arms closer together, pull so your elbows are at a 90 degree angle).

Good advice.

I would add, Chad, that if you ever run across the Convict Conditioning book that alpha male mentioned and you have a few bucks burning a hole in your pocket (or, if money is an issue, put it on a holiday wish list) you should definitely check it out. Among its many virtues, each of the six bodyweight exercises discussed are broken down into ten progressive stages with specific targets to work toward at each stage before moving on. If you have difficulty with standard pull-ups, you would find that that exercise is actually 'stage five' in the pull-ups progression (stage ten would be unassisted one-arm pull-ups, to put it in perspective) and so there are four easier stages of the exercise you can work at to build the base strength needed to properly perform the stage-5 pull-ups. The trick with these CC exercises is to perform them as slowly as the author recommends (two seconds on contraction, one second hold, two seconds on extension -- no cheating, no exceptions).
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#35
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
I do a lot of lifting, but only 12 ounces at a time. Big Grin
Thief and assassin for hire. Member in good standing of the Rogues Guild.
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#36
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 4:03 pm)SnakeOilWarrior Wrote: I do a lot of lifting, but only 12 ounces at a time. Big Grin

Yes, I've done a lot of low weight, high repetition training myself. As with anything, you get better with focused practice.
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#37
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 4:06 pm)Crossless1 Wrote:
(October 27, 2015 at 4:03 pm)SnakeOilWarrior Wrote: I do a lot of lifting, but only 12 ounces at a time. Big Grin

Yes, I've done a lot of low weight, high repetition training myself. As with anything, you get better with focused practice.

Dunno about focus but you can sure build up a tolerance. Big Grin
Thief and assassin for hire. Member in good standing of the Rogues Guild.
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#38
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 3:57 pm)Strider Wrote:
(October 27, 2015 at 3:38 pm)Chad32 Wrote: Alright. I'll try pullups. Generally I've avoided it because my arms have never been strong enough to pull my body very much. I have used a lat pull machine for my back, though last time I checked their one lat pull machine was out of order.

I pretty much agree with the others. Curls are a vanity exercise. Your efforts will be better spent on another exercise. If you're doing chins/pull-ups and hitting the major compound movements, your arms will get plenty big enough. Since we're talking about unnecessary exercises, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't point out that crunches are totally worthless. I know that you didn't mention this, but it's worth noting.

If you're doing main lifts (bench, OHP, deadlift variation, squat), you will get stronger and more muscular if that is your goal.

One of the guy has an ab class where one of the things we do is crunches to strengthen our core. Aside from that, I don't do crunches much. My goal is more or less to not be fat, and nt be a twig either. I don't want to be huffing and puffing after ten minutes of pushing a mower, or loading/unloading my grandmother's car after a big shopping trip, but I'm not trying to be the start quarterback for the local football team either. You know what I mean?
Poe's Law: "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing."

10 Christ-like figures that predate Jesus. Link shortened to Chris ate Jesus for some reason...
http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-chris...ate-jesus/

Good video to watch, if you want to know how common the Jesus story really is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88GTUXvp-50

A list of biblical contradictions from the infallible word of Yahweh.
http://infidels.org/library/modern/jim_m...tions.html

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#39
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 4:36 pm)Chad32 Wrote:
(October 27, 2015 at 3:57 pm)Strider Wrote: I pretty much agree with the others. Curls are a vanity exercise. Your efforts will be better spent on another exercise. If you're doing chins/pull-ups and hitting the major compound movements, your arms will get plenty big enough. Since we're talking about unnecessary exercises, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't point out that crunches are totally worthless. I know that you didn't mention this, but it's worth noting.

If you're doing main lifts (bench, OHP, deadlift variation, squat), you will get stronger and more muscular if that is your goal.

One of the guy has an ab class where one of the things we do is crunches to strengthen our core. Aside from that, I don't do crunches much. My goal is more or less to not be fat, and nt be a twig either. I don't want to be huffing and puffing after ten minutes of pushing a mower, or loading/unloading my grandmother's car after a big shopping trip, but I'm not trying to be the start quarterback for the local football team either. You know what I mean?

I'm afraid I have to chime in again and agree with Strider: crunches are a worthless vanity exercise. If your goal is to really strengthen your abdominal muscles, stick with good old-fashioned sit-ups and/or leg lifts.
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#40
RE: Do you even lift, AF bro?
(October 27, 2015 at 5:08 pm)Crossless1 Wrote: I'm afraid I have to chime in again and agree with Strider: crunches are a worthless vanity exercise. If your goal is to really strengthen your abdominal muscles, stick with good old-fashioned sit-ups and/or leg lifts.

I'm not opposed to direct core work like sit-ups, leg lifts, Russian twists, and so on, but IMO even those aren't necessary to build a strong, stable core. Deadlifting, squatting, and overhead pressing with good form and a tight core will do wonders for abs with little else required. For instance, I did front squats the other day and my obliques were very sore the next day despite not doing any abdominal work whatsoever. Same thing when I do deadlifts; my abs are always a bit sore afterwards because I brace my core hard to stabilize myself for the lift.

I sometimes do direct core work, but I usually only do planks and/or some variety of twist.
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~ Benjamin Franklin
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