*** The 2011 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Whats the best kind of ball to roll my back on? Since ive hurt my lower back doing deadlifts, I was just wondering about exercises to help it heal and get more mobility etc
 
LiE said:
Practice with no bar or anything and if the glutes are being used to full effect it should feel like you are about to take off with so much power.

Here is a video I just did so you can see. Notice the power of the glutes causing the snapping action. (best watched in 720p ;))

Click to expand...

I like the need for the toplessness ;)

Also thought you had a cat running around you, then realised it was a tiny jack Russell xD

kd
 
Yes it's my Yorkie running around and sitting in front of me, my other dog is behind me wondering wtf :)
There's always a need for toplessness, especially as I just had my hair cut and was itchy lol
 
Back feels a bit better today. Spent like 30 minutes doing stretches and soft tissue work last night instead of the usual 10 or so. See how it feels tomorrow and maybe do some light DLs. Still not much chance of any new maxes next week though. Also haven't eaten since 9am, and have no appetite whatsoever, weird.
 
Had an excellent chest session today. I was focusing on strength so on bench press I was holding the bar at the bottom for 2 seconds before pushing. This meant I couldn't do half as many reps but I think the benefits are worth it. Did 100kg x 6, 120kg x 3 and 130kg x 3 this way. I then went on to do dips at +40kg x 6, +50kg x 5, +60kg x 5. Finished off with dumbbell flyes with 22.5kg x 10 x 3. Then went on to do some chin ups and some more bicep/core work.

Had a fail moment in the changing room when I realised I had xmas novelty boxers on...
 
Looking much bigger now and can finally see my pecs edging away the fat.

Plenty of cardio early mornings is slowly starting to help!

Night off tonight before proper legs tomorrow, need to get some vids though as I'm sure my pelvis rotates downwards heavily on the way down from squats, hence arching the lower back badly. Hmmm.
 
Delvis said:
FAO Icecold - And LiE and everyone else :p

It was legs again yesterday, so I lowered the weight, and did 3x8 after warming up with the bat and then some...Really tried to stick my bum out this time :o Didn't work much though :(

Last week:

This week:

I just think i'm too lanky for proper squat form :o....;)
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Getting better, but still some problems.

1) Knees still come too far forward and you're not sitting back quite enough.

Seems like it's a hamstring problem. Stretch them, but with the stretches in the mobility thread as conventional ones are rubbish. Probably glutes too, but I'll get to them.

2) Tiny bit of extension in your back at the bottom of your reps.

You're doing this to hit depth. This is due to tightness in your posterior chain (glutes and hams).

3) Weak hips. Little glute recruitment and pretty unstable.

I assumed I mentioned it to you already, but do glute exercises and activation stuff. Glute bridges, pull throughs, bird dogs, walking/reverse lunges (not the type where you step forward). It looks like you don't fully grasp what I mean by using your glutes. Look at my video again and see what the top of my rep looks like; big glute contraction causing my hips to move forward rapidly. Essentially, you need to "air hump" :o

4) You need to be faster on the way up

5) Your core doesn't seem to be braced. This is partly why you're a little unstable. You need to be braced solid, you'll lose a lot of power with a wobbly core. How do you brace your core? Squeeze abs and simultaneously try to push your belly out with your diaphragm (think of your abs as a belt your pushing in to, it shouldn't actually move out at all). This is why we don't need to work on our abs in isolation as much as people tend to think, provided people can use their core properly...


Your knees aren't too bad, you just need to focus on them more.
Steedie said:
Form looks good but when you come up, sometimes it just doesn't look "right", can't explain it

Tell you something that helped me to start with, and Rob showed me. Put two plates, the smallest possible (in my case 1.25kg) where your feet are positioned. And put your heels on those. It helps your feet stay completely still during the movement, and stops your heels coming off the ground. Helped me form greatly
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I see a lot of people doing this, but it really isn't a good idea. It's masking a mobility problem and in some cases will only exacerbate the issue and either create imbalances or cause poor development of some muscles.
Skillmister said:
Back feels a bit better today. Spent like 30 minutes doing stretches and soft tissue work last night instead of the usual 10 or so. See how it feels tomorrow and maybe do some light DLs. Still not much chance of any new maxes next week though. Also haven't eaten since 9am, and have no appetite whatsoever, weird.
Click to expand...
Be careful mate, keep the deadlifts very light if you do them. I wouldn't personally.
 
LiE said:
Had an excellent chest session today. I was focusing on strength so on bench press I was holding the bar at the bottom for 2 seconds before pushing. This meant I couldn't do half as many reps but I think the benefits are worth it. Did 100kg x 6, 120kg x 3 and 130kg x 3 this way. I then went on to do dips at +40kg x 6, +50kg x 5, +60kg x 5. Finished off with dumbbell flyes with 22.5kg x 10 x 3. Then went on to do some chin ups and some more bicep/core work.

Had a fail moment in the changing room when I realised I had xmas novelty boxers on...
Click to expand...
Strong!
 
Bit intrigued as to what people think about Push ups....

Whether it's best to do them with no aides what so ever, or worth getting some kind of bars/handles? Thinking about it I'd imagine it'd work slightly different muscles, but no idea for the life of me what different muscles.....

kd
 
King Damager said:
Bit intrigued as to what people think about Push ups....

Whether it's best to do them with no aides what so ever, or worth getting some kind of bars/handles? Thinking about it I'd imagine it'd work slightly different muscles, but no idea for the life of me what different muscles.....

kd
Click to expand...

Bars/handles don't really work different muscles if the positioning of your hands relative to your body is the same. They do however allow you to go further down, getting a bigger range of motion and allowing you to work a bigger area of your muscles.

Some people also have issues with their wrists when doing push ups with their hands flat on the ground, handles help straighten out the wrist and lessen this issue.
 
King Damager said:
Bit intrigued as to what people think about Push ups....

Whether it's best to do them with no aides what so ever, or worth getting some kind of bars/handles? Thinking about it I'd imagine it'd work slightly different muscles, but no idea for the life of me what different muscles.....

kd
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother with them at all, however I'd say using strange handles is only really useful for people who have problems with their wrists.

Apart from slightly different muscles involved in gripping the handles, it'll make no difference.
 
Don't want to say Zefan is wrong, but push ups can be a very good exercise to do

You certainly don't need the bars, unless already mentioned, you have wrist issues. But doing push ups at the end of a chest and tricep routine, or just a routine that involves either muscle group, is a fantastic way to completely exhaust them. You can even make them into an even better exercise by placing a weight on your back which will really give you a fantastic pump if done properly
 
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