All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Thursday was basically speed-bench & upper-body hypertrophy day. My speed bench was actually 8 x 6 with 4 different grips (mediumish, normal, close, v.close) - just at 40kg. But I then do JM Presses at the same weight (I do some pushdowns during my warm=up, which I recommend), & today was the 1st time I got 3 x 10 at that weight. I think I will probably go to 3 x 12 before I up the weight.

Today was trapbar day lol. Because I am working other lifts quite hard right now, I don't really want to throw in conventional deadlifts to the mix. But I do want some heavy pulls.

One of the problems with trapbars is that they're not really standardised for weight. This one feels heavier than the barbells, probably somewhere between 25-28kg. I will assume 25.

I stuck primarily with the 2.5inch deficit high-handle method I used last time, and added 15kg plates a pair at a time. I was throwing in some shrugs, even at 145kg - which is definitely a feeling. I pulled a triple deadlift at 145kg and it wasn't that challenging. But 175kg was pretty hard, and whilst I did actively consider going up to 185kg I decided what I would do instead is try 175kg without the deficit, and then maybe go heavier...and it was really quite hard and I decided that was as heavy as I wanted to go.

Truthfully I was a little disappointed as my PB is 190kg and that was at a much lower bodyweight (plus Shartnado can lift that one-handed lol). However, I guess I just need to do it a bit more often - plus I had just done a bunch of heavy shrugs and it has been a hard week training wise.

Anyway, I went back to the deficit for backoff RDL (2 x eight) and shrug sets (3 x 12) at 110kg, before a final set of 8 on the non-deficit variation. 

After a tea-break, I actually did my 3rd bench session this week - nothing too hard because I want to bench Monday but I wanted to do some machine chest work and I figured...why not just bench quickly, and grease the wider grip version. So just did 2 working sets of 10 at 60 then 65kg...kinda laughable still tbh, but nice 1s pauses and good technique remains the name of the game. Then onto all dat STRETCHMEDIATEDHYPERTROPHY with the twisty unilateral machine chest press and rows. 

After another quick break but tbh I was pretty beat, but quad work still had to be done. I was sort of inspired by these 2 videos 

 

 

So I did high-rep lengthened-partial low box squats of a Reebok step (20cm) with a 20kg Bulgarian Bag. I just did a couple of sets of these because truth is I was already probably over the edge of what I could recover from but they did feel nasty. Yeah I did leg extensions after that because I had earned them.

Need to put together my Horlicks protein shake now and get to bed. I'm wasted.

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by SprintingFromAmerica

[Contentious C]

The Glorious 5-Year Plan to Get Upper Pecs continues apace.  Today was my Upper day, and got 60 for 12/11/9, which probably means I just need to do the 65s for every workout from now on.  Wasn't 100% certain I should do 145 on my bent-over rows already, but then 140 flew up just as easy as 135 did last time, so I should have gone for 145 after all.  I'm increasingly convinced that all the T-bar rows I'm doing are leading to the back gains I've made, so I think on my next Pull day, I'm just going to do T-bar rows & deadlifts for my only compounds (aka, 'The Way, the Truth, & the Life', because you will have a religious experience if you go heavy on both). I also worked Arnold presses back in and went fairly heavy with them, but my recent attempts to do them were usually met with a heaping helping of elbow tendinitis, so this was a test case partly to see if controlling the weight better is going to help, and also to see if my psoriatic arthritis was part of why my elbows hurt after doing them.  My shoulders generally feel better and are finally progressing again, so there's that. 

Then a big-ass thunderstorm knocked out the power at the gym, and I had to cut things a tiny bit short.  Good thing you can still do pull-ups in the dark.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

60s on Flat DB Press or Incline?

Maybe Double Dynamic Progression?
 

 

[Contentious C]

Kinda what I'm already attempting to approximate without really trying. Only reason I don't do it strictly is that my gym only has one set of dumbbells for any weight above 55, so I'd tie up both sets or have to wait on someone else when it's busy (which is usually).

And of course today Dr. Mike drops a vid about going lighter on incline DBs for higher reps to accentuate the bottom position.  Guess what I'm trying (because I fucking hate getting the 65s up anyway)!  Think I'll start with 50 and see if I can rep out 10+ on that with a 2-3 second pause at the bottom.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Contentious C

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

I had, as expected, pretty crazy dirty doms in my back all Sunday and tbh it wasn't much better this morning. My abs, quads and hams were feeling it too.

So I set myself pretty low expectations today - basically let's try and get a triple at 85kg, 5 at 80kg and 3 x 8 at 62.5kg, and 2 sets of 15 with 24kg on the 15 degree barrel press.

I got the triple at 85kg, but I got 8 at 80kg, I then got 12 at 70kg and 15 at 60kg (basically reverse pyramid 531) - none of these sets were that challenging really. Tbh I put it down to benching 3 times in the previous week - something magical seems to happen when I do this. Obviously none of these sets are impressive, I benched way more last year. But these are all nice, clean, fast reps and  I feel like I'm getting my groove back. I'll do 5 at 85kg next week, and if they feel good we'll try a little 1-3 rep joker set at 90kg.

Edit: Oh yeah, and the Barrel Press....somebody was using the 24kg pair so had to use the 26s. Still got the 2 sets of 15, which was slightly surprising. Maybe I will try the 28s next week, though after that I'll switch to a 30 degree. Still don't enjoy getting heavy dumbbells in place, so don't really want to go past 30kg.

Squats on Wednesday!

Edited July 31, 2023 by SprintingFromAmerica

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

On 7/30/2023 at 1:56 AM, Contentious C said:

Kinda what I'm already attempting to approximate without really trying. Only reason I don't do it strictly is that my gym only has one set of dumbbells for any weight above 55, so I'd tie up both sets or have to wait on someone else when it's busy (which is usually).

And of course today Dr. Mike drops a vid about going lighter on incline DBs for higher reps to accentuate the bottom position.  Guess what I'm trying (because I fucking hate getting the 65s up anyway)!  Think I'll start with 50 and see if I can rep out 10+ on that with a 2-3 second pause at the bottom.

New Display Name!

[Shartnado]

4 hours ago, StretchMediatedHypertrophy said:

New Display Name!

You change name, I change pic! 

This would be my Finnish PAC pose @Curt McGirt

Edited August 1, 2023 by Shartnado
Finnish PAC

[The Natural]

On 7/18/2023 at 6:00 PM, The Natural said:

 

Fifth swim today. I don't like a woman there making snide remarks. "Still with your float?" Yes, to build my confidence up as I can swim and mind your own business. Piss off. Everyone else is so supportive particularly Julie, Jill and Graham. What was cool today is how Graham and Jill faced me as I swam towards them without flotation device and Julie behind me. I did the length of the pool when they did that. Get in. Been a crappy day today besides that.

 

On 7/19/2023 at 2:16 PM, The Natural said:

 

 

 

Thanks, lads. Don't understand how people can act that way, it's a Steady Swim Session and not to stoop to her level (Julie physically bumped into her in the pool and had words). See you next Tuesday is very tempting. Thankfully there's Julie, Jill, Graham, Ellie my BEEP contact and y'all here. Can't let that cow stop me.

Sixth swim today. I did the entire one hour session without floats. I started in my section, went further out and I did the length of the pool as my final swim. So chuffed at myself. It's a shame Julie, Jill and Graham weren't there. Julie had an appointment which was running late, she was gutted to have missed me. Neve or Katie the lifeguard smiled and congratulated me on doing said length. Cheers!

[Log]

1 hour ago, The Natural said:

 

Sixth swim today. I did the entire one hour session without floats. I started in my section, went further out and I did the length of the pool as my final swim. So chuffed at myself. It's a shame Julie, Jill and Graham weren't there. Julie had an appointment which was running late, she was gutted to have missed me. Neve or Katie the lifeguard smiled and congratulated me on doing said length. Cheers!

Being the dim American that I am, I had to check that "chuffed" was good. The first time I read it, I thought it was bad and was confused. Why is Natural mad at himself? That all seems great.

Keep it up, man!

[Technico Support]

6 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

Sixth swim today. I did the entire one hour session without floats. I started in my section, went further out and I did the length of the pool as my final swim. So chuffed at myself. It's a shame Julie, Jill and Graham weren't there. Julie had an appointment which was running late, she was gutted to have missed me. Neve or Katie the lifeguard smiled and congratulated me on doing said length. Cheers!

NICE!  Be sure to fart on the woman who gave you a hard time about the floats as you swim by her.

[The Natural]

11 hours ago, Log said:

Being the dim American that I am, I had to check that "chuffed" was good. The first time I read it, I thought it was bad and was confused. Why is Natural mad at himself? That all seems great.

Keep it up, man!

Cheers, pal. Yeah, sometimes I use English phrases here and forget some may be lost in translation. What throws me out is the month/day/year format whereas over here it's day/month/time. It's Honour over here and not Honor where you are.

7 hours ago, Technico Support said:

NICE!  Be sure to fart on the woman who gave you a hard time about the floats as you swim by her.

Thank you, pal. Will do.

[Technico Support]

Let's not even get into pants vs trousers, chips vs crisps, and the U.S. usage of "fanny" vs. the English version.  :D

[Log]

I see "chuffed" used a lot, but I always have to stop and think if it's positive or negative. For some reason, it feels like a negative term to my brain.

I am a fan of the extra 'u' in the British spelling of certain words. It's fancy. We need more fancy words.

[The Natural]

22 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Let's not even get into pants vs trousers, chips vs crisps, and the U.S. usage of "fanny" vs. the English version. 

Lol. I felt the virtual looks here when I said Goldberg nutted the door.

[The Natural]

5 minutes ago, Log said:

I see "chuffed" used a lot, but I always have to stop and think if it's positive or negative. For some reason, it feels like a negative term to my brain.

I am a fan of the extra 'u' in the British spelling of certain words. It's fancy. We need more fancy words.

The conversion is working ;).

[The Natural]

19 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

Sixth swim today. I did the entire one hour session without floats. I started in my section, went further out and I did the length of the pool as my final swim. So chuffed at myself. It's a shame Julie, Jill and Graham weren't there. Julie had an appointment which was running late, she was gutted to have missed me. Neve or Katie the lifeguard smiled and congratulated me on doing said length. Cheers!

I saw Jill on my way to counselling today and she was gutted as well. Wasn't sure whether to tell a porky to her and Julie so they didn't feel that way or just go with the truth.

[Log]

Just now, The Natural said:

The conversion is working ;).

Well, my last name is English, though I don't think I have much English blood in me (mainly Italian/German, I'm basically "generic white").

Anyhoo, had a string of shitty workouts last week. I don't know what my deal was. I have plenty of days I don't feel like working out, but am able to put in a good one. Last week, that was not happening.

You all ever hear of athletes getting the "yips" where they just start thinking too much about their form on something and it breaks down? I was having that with my squat. It's just like, every rep, I would forget some piece of it. Luckily, this week, it started moving again. I put up 275 lbs for three smooth reps at the end of my sets, and it felt right.

Oh, and I'll put this story here (Natural will get a kick out of this). Over the summer, my son (6) has been going to YMCA camp during the day. Apparently, the first week he was there, he started an arm wrestling group. He claimed to be undefeated after two weeks. I'm pretty sure he just wasn't including any kids that seemed like they might beat him in the group. Last week, I'm working out in the basement, and he comes home from camp and heads straight down and asks if he can work out with me. Sure, I love it. He tells me he finally lost an arm wrestling match that day. So, he goes through a few exercises. Some push-ups (surprisingly great form for a kid his age!), rows with some little dumbbells, some curls, etc. He comes home the next day and tells me he beat the kid he lost to before! Must've been that one day of training that did it for him.

[Technico Support]

11 minutes ago, The Natural said:

to tell a porky to her

Okay I draw the line at rhyming slang

 

Back on the workout front, I ran 6.25 miles (10K for Paul and my other English friends) on Sunday and again on Monday, then lifted upper body yesterday.  I feel like running today BUT one of my toes is bruised at the tip so MAYBE I'll just go to the gym and do leg day.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Technico Support

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

British people understand miles and we still use them a lot, though admittedly for running the default is km thesedays outside of (half) marathons.

[Contentious C]

Dropping weight and upping reps...kinda worked. Could only get sets of 10 with 50s on the dumbbell inclines yesterday, but that was with much stricter form on the pauses, which were good. I'll just add reps when I can there.

Took a similar-ish approach to Pull day and dropped my T-bar rows back from 120 (for sets of 8-9) to 105, and got sets of 12 with a couple of partials. So, more weight actually lifted, back just as blown up. They just really do it for me, wish I could explain why and apply it elsewhere. Did some pulldowns with good control on the negatives, then 2 sets of deadlifts at 225 for 10 reps. A third set was just going to be jackshit for gains and a bucketload of systemic fatigue. Shoulders are kind of feeling like trash, and the DLs are part of why; just too much weight and I'm not sure what I can do to mitigate the problem.

[The Natural]

As noted, I swam without floats for the first time Tuesday since starting to swim again this year. I wasn't ready to say on Facebook till then and I was blown away by the reactions to my post, 86 in total with the majority in the first half hour to an hour.

Today was my seventh Pilates class and it's my three month anniversary of doing it tomorrow. Marvin praised my greater flexibility today and one of the students said I'm pretty much the only male to have kept on going. It's all female minus me and Marvin. I tried Yoga 2nd May and Pilates 4th May, such a difference. I was lost with all the Yoga positions and the last 15 minutes lying in darkness stupidly wasn't for me whereas Marvin goes through Level 1-4 of each exercise twice in Pilates and he/the class has a laugh. This is the first time I've done two weeks in a row. I tend to go fortnightly or every few weeks. I got there early so did 25 minutes treadmill. Pilates is the hardest class to book. Next week's appointments go up Thursday at midnight and are usually snapped up in a few hours whereas Yoga is always available.

I'm fucked with the swimming for an hour Tuesday, counselling Wednesday and Gym/Pilates today. It's getting the benefits of exercise but what it takes out on me in return as everything I do takes four times more with CP than those without. It's also why I take painkillers/Diazepam when necessary. Had some a week ago and will tonight. Thanks for the support xxx.

[Contentious C]

Shoulders ended up OK after all those deadlifts, but hips not so much, so Leg day got moved to this afternoon instead of last night.  I dropped weight on the belt squats and found a way to murder my legs to death anyway.  For me at least, all it takes is belt squats, Bulgarians, Battlest---errrr, front-foot elevated lunges.  I'm probably rocking too far back on the Bulgarians rather than putting my weight enough through my heel and pushing that way, but my balance is the actual worst and the effect isn't meaningfully different.  They destroy me regardless of how I do them.  Same is largely true for the lunges, though again, form seems to be secondary as lunges want me to die a thousand deaths.  But these ones really are good for glutes.

The belt squats were another story.  I'd been doing 260 for sets of 8 lately, but my knees don't always love it and neither does my right fibula, which was starting to feel a bit stress-fracture-ish in an alarming way (keeping me from falling asleep kind of aching pain).   This is by far one of my heaviest lifts, so I figured I needed to try dropping the weight and putting the focus into making the movement more punishing.  Cut all the way back to 160, did sets of 14-16, and, tall bastard that I am, I took some slack out of the belt and only left 2 loops between the lock and the hook instead of the usual 4, getting me deeper into the bottom position of the squat, which is the toughest part anyway.  Focused more on getting ALLLLLL the way down to the stop position and trying to just tap it (instead of hitting it and losing a noticeable amount of tension) before starting to come up again.  And.  They.  Hurt.  Should be a good change to keep for future leg days, as long as the non-muscle damage relents.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

End of a mesocycle, and thank god tbh. 

SSB Squat Day I did 115kg x 3, and IIRC 95kg x 5 and then 3 x 8 at 85kg. I was pretty determined not to kill myself that day and tbh I still didn't feel fully recovered from the trap bar.

Friday was more of a fluff day, but I got 3 x 10 on JM Press at 42.5kg and I followed that with some nice overhead rope extensions so my triceps continue to get fatter and juicier.

Sunday was Trap Bar again, and I built up to 185kg on the 2.5 inch deficit high handle variation, which is my second-highest pull and truthfully I could have got a little more but the value in going up more than 10kg from the week before is questionable. However, doing Trap Bar shrugs with 135kg for 5 x 12 was possibly a mistake - I was coughing and sneezing afterwards, which I take as a sign the nervous system was pretty taxed. Throw in some speed box squats at 26cm, some Bulgarian Bag Bulgarian Front Split Squats and some prone hamstring curls....well let's say today has been tough.

(btw I will say that my Trap-Bar Deadlift technique is very conventional deadlifty, I am not leg pressing the weight. Not saying anyone else is or isn't. Just saying like!)

My bench today was fine, but I decided I was in no condition for heroics so I just did 80kg for a top set of 10, then the same at 75kg and 70kg before using less favoured grip widths for 3 more sets of 10 at 60kg. Tbh my grip and forearms weren't up for much more than sets of 10, though my lats could take some pulldowns, so I did 6 (!) sets of 12, I did some band tricep pushdowns in between sets..... and that was more than enough for today. 

Looking fwd to a nice deload until Sunday when I'll do a workout with the gf. I'm on the fence about continuing with the heavy* trap-bar work but we'll see.

* Obv not heavy for some, but tbf someone did come over and attaboy me for the 185kg lift so it looks impressive enough to gym normies lol.

Edited August 7, 2023 by StretchMediatedHypertrophy

[Technico Support]

Ohhhhh shiiiiiit the gym is madness when high school is out for the Summer.  Four young dudes doing more chatting and posing than lifting, ALL with the same broccoli haircut…guys doing curls in the squat rack…all of it.  Come on, August 28!

[Contentious C]

Yeah, those were exactly the douchecanoes I was complaining about some time ago. 

I went a little lighter on sets today for Push, only getting 3 sets of Smith OHPs and lateral raise supersets; everything else was 2, but I did weighted dips (which I only rarely do) again to failure, went to 0 RIR on both sets of dumbbell inclines, and failed on some skullcrushers at 75 lbs, which is a PR for that.  And I worked maybe a little faster than I usually would, so the effect was probably the same or better (wrt total fatigue) than if I'd done 3 sets and taken the rest.  My chest felt pretty ripped up after the dips, and my triceps want to take a fucking nap. 

Looking forward to Pull day...or Pull night, really, since I've been going 7:30 or 8 PM.