*** The 2013 Gym Rats Thread ***

mrthingyx said:
In theory, maybe. Practically, does not exist.

If you want a full-body workout in one, learn how to overhead squat. ;) :D

And no leg days because you're a DH cyclist with no uplift? What do you think is going to make your rides up the hill easier?

My only sport at the moment is Olympic weightlifting (and I'm not even very good at it): I don't skip legs bcause I'm doing clean'n'jerk or snatch days...? :confused:

If you're going to skip a day, from a practical perspective skip smaller muscle groups (biceps, for example). For natural lifters, compound movements generate the most testosterone, and we need all we can get. :)
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There is no cycling back up the hill, there is only pushing.
My point is that my legs get toasted over the weekend from all the work they are getting, so I can choose to skip working them during the week.
 
TheCenturion said:
I'm trying to do the mwod couch stretch, but I'm trying to do it against a wall, like in this video here:


(The actual stretch starts at 2:35)

My problem is that when I have one leg against the wall, I am completely unable to get the other leg into position. I feel like my quad is about to snap.

So my question is: what mobility work do I need to do to make me mobile enough to do this mobility exercise? :p
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Move your knee away from the wall!
 
Supercow said:
I can afford to "skip leg days", apart from taking squatting out of the split. Before I get shot for saying that I can skip leg days - please let me say that I get an awful lot of "leg work" done especially over summer months (I do downhill mountain biking, with no uplift / chairlift close by, so spend an awful lot of time pushing my bike back up a very steep hill all weekend long).
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No one is forcing you to do leg work, but you need to understand that there is a VAST difference in training effect between squatting a heavy weight for 5 reps and walking your bike uphill. They are basically at opposite ends of a spectrum.
 
Supercow said:
I can afford to "skip leg days", apart from taking squatting out of the split. Before I get shot for saying that I can skip leg days - please let me say that I get an awful lot of "leg work" done especially over summer months (I do downhill mountain biking, with no uplift / chairlift close by, so spend an awful lot of time pushing my bike back up a very steep hill all weekend long).
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No you can't.

Cycling while good for your legs is never going to build mass in the same way a leg workout will. Even if you do a leg day with some other muscle group, do not skip it. I know you're doing squats, but other leg exercises are important too.

I've heard that so many times:

"I don't need to do legs, I play a lot of football"
"I never bother with legs as I cycle to work"
"Why would I do legs when I do a lot sports?"

Usually everyone that says this (not saying you're included), have tiny legs and no strength in them either.
 
Supercow said:
I did mention that I wont be taking squats out ;)
Just every other leg workout.
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I didn't see that :)

Even so, I wouldn't recommend it.

I see you mentioned crossfit as well. Again, that is a totally different stimulus to strength training. If that's what you want, go for it.
 
Supercow said:
I did mention that I wont be taking squats out ;)
Just every other leg workout.
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I don't think either ice nor I understand quite what you're getting at (having read and re-read your posts).

either way, with a leg-dominant sport that DH cycling is, particularly with the walk-uplift, skipping leg day "because you give your legs enough of a workout pushing your bike up a hill" is not a brilliant idea.

Don't you think it would be nice to not get tired from having to push your bike up the hill? Do you think chest work would help with that? :)
 
It's difficult to put it in context I, particularly about a minority sport that not many people understand / know about.

Upper body strength is more important than leg strength to a non-professional rider/racer like me (only pedal in short bursts, the rest of the time my legs are just "standing there" :) ) This is even more so the case for my yearly trip to France where we take the ski lifts to the top of the mountain, where your arms get blasted all the way down ... rinse and repeat. I tend to ramp up my upper body workouts gearing up for the France trip.
 
Supercow said:
It's difficult to put it in context I, particularly about a minority sport that not many people understand / know about.

Upper body strength is more important than leg strength to a non-professional rider/racer like me (only pedal in short bursts, the rest of the time my legs are just "standing there" :) ) This is even more so the case for my yearly trip to France where we take the ski lifts to the top of the mountain, where your arms get blasted all the way down ... rinse and repeat. I tend to ramp up my upper body workouts gearing up for the France trip.
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I think you'd be quite surprised at the amount of work your legs are doing. :)

Sure, upper body is important, but your legs absorb the shock of every bump, jump, corner, etc., as well as stabilising your knees and preventing your cruiciates and medials exploding. Squats and deadlifts will help your core strength, too, meaning your arms can concentrate on doing their job rather than having to stabilise theh rest of your body.

I'm not sure Crossfit, or a Crossfit-style workout would help achieve your objectives, either... : pensieve :
 
We are agreeing, squats and deadlifts are staying for that reason - plus they are my favourite exercises (in fact I squat every time I'm in the gym regardless of what im doing that day), but you underestimate the amount of work my upper body gets when riding.

All I'm saying is that calf raises and the like I can probably do without as I would probably miss quite a few days in the upcoming months, but it's not a great loss as at least the legs are getting a working, just not as targeted as on a "leg-specific day"
 
Yes, no offence chap but it's a mistake to presume you can programme proper strength and conditioning work for your sport.

And I don't even know if that is your primary goal here! :)

edit: yes, you can definitely do without calf raises :D
 
To summarise.

I'm asking for a 4 day split idea, where one day is disposable (leg day) and one day is a full body workout so I can mix and match based on my week. The goal is strength.
 
Supercow said:
We are agreeing, squats and deadlifts are staying for that reason - plus they are my favourite exercises (in fact I squat every time I'm in the gym regardless of what im doing that day), but you underestimate the amount of work my upper body gets when riding.

All I'm saying is that calf raises and the like I can probably do without as I would probably miss quite a few days in the upcoming months, but it's not a gerat loss as at least the legs are getting a working, just not as targeted as on a "leg-specific day"
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Ah, I see what you're getting at now. :)

If you're squatting and deadlifting, you probably don't need anything else for your legs provided you squat enough.

Calf raises have no practical purpose in sport unless it's "Lookingoverthewall Competition" or something.

For upper body, as long as you get enough pressing and rowing in (you won't need isolaiton exercises), you'll be fine.
 
Supercow said:
That's comforting to know I'm not too far off the track then, cheers.
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Getting your main compound lifts in is the most important thing IMO.

If it's a four day split your going for;

Squats
Deads
Bench
OHP

Then whatever aux exercises take your pick, I always prefer bang for buck exercises. BORs, Pull Ups, DB Rows, DB Presses (incline), Front Squats etc
 
Just to add to my moaning (or potentially doing things wrong)
I must have really pointed coccyx*, I've noticed it a few times but tonight it's been really quite sore while doing exercises on my back in my room.
I'm on carpet but almost wanting to get a pillow underneath me.


*although looking at coccyx pics on google where I'm feeling it it's higher up. Either way a bone is sore and feeling like it protudes :P
 
Begbie said:
Getting your main compound lifts in is the most important thing IMO.

If it's a four day split your going for;

Squats
Deads
Bench
OHP

Then whatever aux exercises take your pick, I always prefer bang for buck exercises. BORs, Pull Ups, DB Rows, DB Presses (incline), Front Squats etc
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Cheers, it's pretty much the conclusion I've come to.
 
im stuck on my bench press! deads, squats, rows, shoulder press etc are going up weight wise but bench press is just a killer for me!

any tips to improve it? more volume maybe? less weight x more reps for a few days/weeks and then drop the reps and increase the weight???
 
grudas said:
im stuck on my bench press! deads, squats, rows, shoulder press etc are going up weight wise but bench press is just a killer for me!

any tips to improve it? more volume maybe? less weight x more reps for a few days/weeks and then drop the reps and increase the weight???
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the opposite of that.

The way to get stronger at bench, at least in the early days is to either bench heavier or bench faster. Your problem wont be strength it will be CNS (central nervous system) related, by benching as fast as possible on a lower weight you learn to activate the CNS properly to generate force. There are many other techniques but doing more reps on lighter weight is not one of them.
 
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