*** The 2015 Gym Rats Thread ***

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BennyC said:
No, it's favourable to brace your core properly & effectively. Holding your breath is something very different.

Admittedly the strength of the brace is increased while the diaphragm isn't moving as a higher intra-abdominal pressure can be maintained however you shouldn't need to hold your breath to achieve this and if holding your breath is how you go about achieving a brace it points towards not having got the hang of it.
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Maybe I'll rephrase my point.

It's going to be easier to not try to take a breath half way through a squat, as you're just starting out making sure that your back is stable is more important, so don't worry about not breathing during a rep.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Was thinking of trying something like that myself actually, maybe hang cleans to start. Mrthingyx will be proud.

Edit: this post is good place to start
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Yeah do it! I'm gonna try fit it in 2-3 times a week now.
Good find. I've had a read through, and it looks like I'm doing it right (I think).
I'll put up a vid when I'm done aching and see if I am indeed doing it correctly or not!
 
icecold said:
1) Essentially impossible to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously.

2) You should not be thinking that cardio = fat loss. Cardio is simply calorie expenditure and some fatigue, which is not a great look if you're trying to build muscle after an hour long recumbent bike slog.
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OK thanks sorry for more noob questions...

So if it's impossible to loose fat and gain muscle what do you do? I mean do you gain muscle first and then look to loose the fat after? and if so how?
 
Jase said:
OK thanks sorry for more noob questions...

So if it's impossible to loose fat and gain muscle what do you do? I mean do you gain muscle first and then look to loose the fat after? and if so how?
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If you want to gain muscle you need to be in a calorie surplus, which means you need to bulk. When you bulk, some of the weight you gain will be fat and some will be muscle (provided you are working out enough to stimulate muscle production). The idea is you set a target weight at the start of your bulk and keep eating and training until you hit it.

Then you switch to cutting (calorie deficit) so that you can lose the fat and retain as much muscle as possible (some muscle may be lost if you do not work out enough or if you cut too many calories). You keep doing the same training during cutting, all that should change is the calories you consume, and you should lower this by reducing carbs (protein and fat should remain the same).

You can read more about this here if you are interested: BodyRecomposition. Lycle McDonald recommends first cutting to 10% bodyfat then bulking to 15% then cutting back to 10% and so on. This should lead to optimum muscle gain in his opinion.
 
icecold said:
Nothing necessarily wrong with it, just be mindful that your trainer might be terrible. Look up form/techinque yourself.

Also, take responsibility for your mobility.
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Yeah I've had a good gander at the form thread, at the moment I'm just so far off in so many areas I need help to make a start.

The same with mobility really - I know that I have issues, but there are so many differing opinions out there around exercises / stretches to do to make improvements I'm a little lost with it all.
 
FutileBreadMachine said:
If you want to gain muscle you need to be in a calorie surplus, which means you need to bulk. When you bulk, some of the weight you gain will be fat and some will be muscle (provided you are working out enough to stimulate muscle production). The idea is you set a target weight at the start of your bulk and keep eating and training until you hit it.

Then you switch to cutting (calorie deficit) so that you can lose the fat and retain as much muscle as possible (some muscle may be lost if you do not work out enough or if you cut too many calories). You keep doing the same training during cutting, all that should change is the calories you consume, and you should lower this by reducing carbs (protein and fat should remain the same).

You can read more about this here if you are interested: BodyRecomposition. Lycle McDonald recommends first cutting to 10% bodyfat then bulking to 15% then cutting back to 10% and so on. This should lead to optimum muscle gain in his opinion.
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That's a great help, thanks again.
 
Rids said:
Yeah I've had a good gander at the form thread, at the moment I'm just so far off in so many areas I need help to make a start.

The same with mobility really - I know that I have issues, but there are so many differing opinions out there around exercises / stretches to do to make improvements I'm a little lost with it all.
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Post a squat video if you want. I'd be able to identify most of your issues from that.
 
tom_e said:
Therein lies your problem.

Oh no he didn't!!!
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Boom, shots fired.

As another CrossFitter, I'd like to add my two pence (you may take them or leave them as you wish :p) (nor do I claim to be any good, I'm just a common, garden variety pleb trying to be a little less incompetent!)

While learning, I'd try to break this movement down into individual steps - floor to knees, knees to hips, hips to sternum, sternum to front rack. I don't know if you do that or not outside the video so this may or may not be relevant.

Also, I find it helps to actively work on doing the movement at two speeds - slow from the floor to above the knees, a little faster knees to hips and as fast as possible from the hips to the catch. I don't know if that would work for you or if it's the official Olympic technique or whatever but my coach pointed it out and it helps me clean more. The important thing is that the bar (and you) moves at two distinct speeds.
 
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