Funny did smith squats this week, first time I have used weights rather than a squat machine, bearing in mind there is 114kg of bodyweight to start, and at 70kg my hamstrings almost ripped open, or so it felt. Struggled to walk for two days, so lesson learned. Back to 50, and I just get 90deg in my knees plus having had back surgery these things like deadlifts do worry me a little..
I'm running two guys here through a growth program and I refuse to make them do dead lifts. It's just too easy to get a crappy little lower back injury that can take weeks to heal. They don't understand that if you go too big too soon you'll get hurt. There's no shame in lifting small to start with and adding 10lb a week tip you get to a nice number. It's not about what people see you lift, it's about how well you lift.
Wanna buy a secondhand but vgc weightlifting belt? It originally went round my 28" waist and it will still go round my 31" one......
I do laugh when i see guys doing bicep curls with 16kg DBs which they are actually dipping rather than curling. Same with single arm rows, they dip the shoulder and swing the weight rather than maintaing decent balance. If I am mid set and cant complete with decent form, maybe the last two I'll swing at then I'd rather drop a weight or even 2 and complete the set than have really poor form
I don't find that at all... the first few weeks I avoided exercising on fast days, but have been doing a lot of swimming since October and I have noticed no difference in energy levels on fast days. Mind you I swim in the morning so at that point of the day there's no difference between a fast day and a normal day... So I'm talking nonsense :wink: I'm pretty sure there's still some fat reserves in my body either way: one day's fasting is not enough to consume ALL your body fat after all...!
I have fasted before, and found after a few week (same with any cal restricted diet) I get dizzy mid afternoon and often its just when I'm driving somewhere. And if I do cardio first thing it seems ok, but need fuel or I'm well down on strength. but we're all different
I'm crap without food. My metabolism is so high I wake up with the shakes in the morning, starving, despite eating a fourth meal at 10pm and a 700calorie mass gainer right before sleep
All this free weight blarney is a bit willy-waving, no? I've been a member of my gym/fitness club thing for 23 years. It is full of weights machines. There are no free weights, no cardiovascular machines. There is nothing to drink but water, and no music. Apart from doing your programme, there is nothing to do. Their idea is that you do about 10 exercises, each exercise for 90 seconds at a rate of one rep per 10 secs. If you manage 10 reps at that rate, you put the weight up by about 2% for the next time. So you go in, get changed, do your programme (it will take about 30 to 40 mins, realistically), have a shower and leave. Job done. No point in going more than 3 times a week, and 2 is already good. You note all your times and reps on a little card, and when the card is full, the instructors give you a new programme to keep things vaguely interesting. This is not body-building, but every machine hurts, because the final rep or two are agony - which is what builds muscle. I am hugely happy with the place. It's efficient, safe and there aren't any "look at me" knobs. Male/female split is about 60/40 and there are plenty of old people. So I've been doing that more or less regularly for many years, and supplementing it with running, swimming, cycling, gardening, squash or whatever at the mood and time take me. Sadly no more running or squash. I eat fairly healthily, but I don't obsess about it. I eat pretty much anything, but very little processed food. It's not necessary to live on chicken and brown rice. There are loads of fish dishes, lean steak and salad, salad niçoise - no end of things. I also drink wine nearly every day. People need to work out what their real goal is. I suppose I could look like Daniel Craig body-wise if I put my mind to it, but it would take an awful lot of time and effort - a lot more than I am prepared to put in.
The big difference is stability. Free weights work lots of minor connected muscles as well as tendons, ligaments everything, as you have to stabilise the weight from moving. Bit like crunches on a swiss ball rather than the floor. I can curl and press more on a machine than a barbell and more on barbell than dumbbells but yeah there is a muscle mary element for some
My 2 cents..... During the working week I exercise 1 hour every night. Mixture of weights, plyo and core. Ive got a set of avi's from p90 and insanity - just randomly do those. Reasonably strict diet during the week. Eat anything and everything on the weekends. I don't look like jean claude van damme but not a fat git either....its a bit extreme. Just keeps me looking normal. Xmas has taken its toll so im over the top at the moment....currently 14 3/4 stone but usually I hover around 13 1/2 to 14. I did actually do p90x from start to finish but I was told that I looked like I was just about to drop dead so I laid off. Hell - if you cant enjoy yourself now and again whats the point. Never been one for drinking or smoking. Food is my vice.... Id just like to add that I did used to ride my pushbike approx. 60 - 100 miles a week (for 6 years) to work but gave up for a number of reasons....mainly the cost of repairs, upkeep, punctures etc etc I think I snapped when I got 2 punctures going to work (one front one back) got to work. Left for the day to have a slow puncture in the bike shed. Fixed that and then got another on the way home...picture John Cleese whipping small red morris on the side of the road.... Gave up last February.....didn't put a pound of weight on and to add to that I never lost any weight either...
I've been stimulated by all these fitness threads to take my bicycle out for an hour. Up quite a lot of steep hills and muddy tracks. Weather was nice so really, there was no excuse not to.
I'v been doing a bit of running/jogging on my treadmill since Thursday and started 'Insanity' again yesterday (Monday) It will take me till March 5th to complete. I'm also eating properly for the next couple of months. I'm about 5,8 and am 13'5, so I put on 3 pound over Christmas. I'm going to get down to 12 stone hopefully. :smile:
Bike rack on the car? I just pedal out of the house and down (and then up) the road. This is the sticks, man, none of your suburbia. I don't even have a bike rack. You pedal around here for an hour and you know you've been pedalling.
