*** The 2010 Gym Rats Thread ***

Had an interesting/disappointing leg session today.

After my deep tissue I decided not to squat due to my traps feeling rather bruised. So warmed up and hopped on the leg press. This was a sort of 'commercial' leg press as opposed to a plate loaded sled. Tops out at 210KG so had to make do with stacking it for a few sets. I tend to have my feet quite high and it felt good to give the glutes a proper going over. I've never been strong on the leg press but wondered if somebody who has used both types could comment if one variety is easier than the other? There seemed to be no 'momentum' and seemed to simulate a cable machine if that makes sense.

The leg extension machine is poor. Awful ROM, pads are too soft. By the time I'd worked upto 100KG I could just feel a metal rod sinking into my shins :(

Tried to squat but found the pressure of only 60KG on my traps too much.

Was okay for some SLDL.

Not a brilliant session but better than nothing.

OT: My right side always seems to be lagging though lately it's caught up and over taken my left! For example despite my left bicep/tricep measuring bigger my right looks bigger and has some awesome veins popping out through the peak and on my forearm and just generally looks a better proportion. Need the symmetry!!!
 
I hit every body part twice in an 9 day period so I'm sure to minimise conflicts in terms of over training for certain body parts.

A good split is to do push and pull exercises, i.e. chest and back, quads and hams (and calves), bis and tries and shoulders. Gives enough time between each one to recover.

TBH if you're knackering your tris and bis too much during chest and back workouts you need to ensure you deactivate them more - which is not totally unavoidable, so a better option is to move your workouts around to ensure you can give yourself adequate recovery time.

With my split at the moment it goes,

Day 1 - Chest / Back
Day 2 - Legs
Day 3 - Off
Day 4 - Arms / Shoulders
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - Chest / Back
Day 7 - Legs
Day 8 - Off
Day 9 - Arms / Shoulders
Day 10 - Off

That's one cycle.

Then start again! IF I felt I haven't recovered, I give myself an extra day's break - but sometimes I'll do an arm/shoulder session the day after a leg session if I've had a break to catch up on the schedule a little.

You have to listen to your body - only you can gauge that. :)
 
BennyC said:
I've never been strong on the leg press but wondered if somebody who has used both types could comment if one variety is easier than the other? There seemed to be no 'momentum' and seemed to simulate a cable machine if that makes sense.
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If the cables are 'sticky' then it's extremely hard on those machines, even for weights that you should be able to do easily. I find the pivot machines easier than the sled types but there tends to be much less of a ROM so I don't think they're as good overall. However a lot of machines in a gym could be improved significantly if they were taken better care of, it's more difficult and sometimes even dangerous when they stick or judder at awkward points in the movement.
 
semi-pro waster said:
If the cables are 'sticky' then it's extremely hard on those machines, even for weights that you should be able to do easily. I find the pivot machines easier than the sled types but there tends to be much less of a ROM so I don't think they're as good overall. However a lot of machines in a gym could be improved significantly if they were taken better care of, it's more difficult and sometimes even dangerous when they stick or judder at awkward points in the movement.
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The one back here the actual plate moves nice and smoothly but it just feels quite laboured.

Back at uni the sled moves but the foot plate flexes due to poor design & it also doesn't come low enough :rolleyes:
 
Its shoulders day today, and I'm really struggling to think of exercises to do. I will thinking something like.

DB shoulder press, sat up on a bench < Not sure what the name is but this is what I've done in the past.

Smith machine shoulder press < Found this really hits my shoulders hard.

I think I will add in shrugs as my training partner doesn't normally do these but as he's in the USA for a month, I have some freedom.

Not really sure what else I can do, anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks guys
 
Tbh mate id avoid shoulder pressing on a smith, im not keen on them full stop but shoulder pressing in particular id avoid as your shoulder is one of the grumpiest parts of you and when pressing you really need to be using your bodies natural path of travel rather than the one forced on you by the smith, especially under load.

If i were doing a shoulders only day and was doing general training for a mix of hypertrophy and strength specific i'd do something like this..

Hang Clean to push press (HC2PP) - 3 sets of 8
High Pulls - 3 sets of 8 (forget shrugs.. if you want traps like morba, then these are the boys)
High Incline DB Press - 3 sets of 8 (45 to 60 degree incline really hits the front delts nicely)
DB lateral raise - 3 sets of 12
DB rear delt fly - 3 sets of 12
Facepulls - 3 sets of 12
Cable upright rows with rope - 3 sets of 12 (focusing on squeezing the traps, rope and cables allow wrists to rotate naturally unlike fixed bar upright rows)


..youll have shoulders like the cast of Dynasty of Dallas in no time.

(For those under 30, they wore massive shoulder pads in those classic 80s shows :) )
 
M0NSTER said:
Not really sure what else I can do, anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks guys
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Add in some lateral raises or upright rows would be my suggestion.

My Shoulder session today went something like:

Seated DB Press
DB Lateral Raise
DB Front Raise
BB Military Press
Some Rear Deltoid movements on some annoying machine :p
BB Upright Rows
 
My shoulder workout is now largely based around raises and exercises that really hammer my lateral delts. I also try a variety of different shrugs to hit all of the traps.

I do some OHP to begin with, seated on a smith facing backwards so it's a very high incline, and I find this very comfortable and working very well for me. Then it's just a **** load of side raises broken up by a few sets of front raises and then finishing off with a shed load of shrugs.

It depends which parts of you you feel need better development, I'm trying to help lagging shoulders catch up which is why my routine isn't particulary comprehensive atm.

I do really like power clean to push press, HC2PP, Muscle Clean to Military Press is brutal. High pulls/face pulls are another favourite.

Make sure you do your raises so that you can feel the targeted group working and not just so that it 'looks right'.

Edit: Upright rows can be a bit hit and miss. It depends if you find them comfortable or not. It hits each group (lateral delts, traps & biceps) a little bit and can also put the shoulder into very uncomfortable and akward positions. If you find they're comfortable then go for it but if not then I wouldn't pursue them. Using a very wide grip can be an alternative that's much more comfortable I can't remember what it's called. Otherwise just perform lateral raises & shrugs and you'll get the same result and have spared your rotator cuffs.
 
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Wouldnt leave out military press tbh. I would go with something like hang clean to military press(HC2MP) for 5 strict reps, then go onto push press for as many as you can as a finisher, do 5 sets. After maybe finish with some face pulls. Band pull aparts are awesome too if you have access.

If your pushing hard you dont really need anything more than that IMO.
 
Cheddar cheese

Hi

I hate cottage cheese however I love cheddar cheese.

How damaging is the occasional (2-3 times per week) cheese on toast or cheese sandwich on wholemeal bread, when aiming to build muscle?

Thanks.
 
I'd imagine when trying to bulk there is nothing wrong with cheddar, it's full of protein and natural fats, but I don't think it's a slow release protein like cottage cheese. I believe there is about 30g of protein per 100g, I could be completely wrong though.
 
It should be fine Robbie.

I don't think there's any food that'll 'stop' you building muscle but ideally try and keep treat meals/portions to a minimum if you wan't to minimise fat gain.

Recently I've been on a bit of a binge, mostly healthy food, but some serious amounts of chocolate & bisuits have been through me. Though being home for Easter I'm not entirely in control. I think the fact I know I can cut successfully is probaly a contributing factor to my more relaxed approach!
 
BennyC said:
It should be fine Robbie.
Recently I've been on a bit of a binge, mostly healthy food, but some serious amounts of chocolate & bisuits have been through me. Though being home for Easter I'm not entirely in control. I think the fact I know I can cut successfully is probaly a contributing factor to my more relaxed approach!
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I've asked for people to keep the eggs at a minimum this year, but no doubt it wont stop people buying me hundreds!

Post workout meal = a chocolate egg for a while then!
 
It won't stop you building muscle, I don't get where people seem to get that idea from in regards to protein rich treats :\. As Benny says though if you are overdoing it you might gain some fat :)

I'm mixing up the training this week with an odd rep routine I've never tried before. Doing ~4 exercises per bodypart, starting out with a light weight for 15 reps and 3-5 sets (depending on how far along the workout I am). The weight needs to be hard for 1-2 sets to complete and VERY hard for the last few, just before failure. Then stay on the same exercise but roughly double the weight, now 6 (possibly 8 for the first set) should be really hard but just about manageable.
The DOMS is pretty insane, not sure how I'll get on with shoulders today with my chest pretty much locked up from Tuesday.
 
I wasn't actually asking whether or not it will impair muscle growth, I only meant to ask whether other people considered it an acceptable part of a bulking diet. I guess the answer is 'yes, in moderation'. Cheers.
 
Diet can be very specific on you as a person too. But as a general rule we all know whats good for us and what isn't.

I know big (natty) guys who eat **** all day but still maintain lean bodies. :Envy:
 
Must say I'm really impressed by the gains I get using straps.

Managed a 6set of 6 reps at 140kg on the deadlift yesterday after learning how to correctly use straps.

Will using straps constantly for my deads eventually limit my seated row or lat pulldown heavy sets due to grip?
 
Killswitch said:
Will using straps constantly for my deads eventually limit my seated row or lat pulldown heavy sets due to grip?
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Constantly using straps will not improve (if anything reduce) your grip strength.

There's no issue with using them as it's allowing you to push the rest of your body harder but I'd only use them in conjunction with some form of grip training too so that eventually you don't need them.

They're a band aid, much like belts for weak cores.
 
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