Shartnado Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Ran 6 kilometers this morning and later on in the day my quads were going "fuck you, we hate you and will totally stab you in the face while you sleep!" It's slightly better now, but all the sightseeing during the day in Milan took further toll. This apartment is on the third floor so stair climbing continues. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On 3/3/2024 at 10:55 PM, Technico Support said: There’s a guy at my gym that I only see on Sunday mornings. He’s not in bad shape but not in great shape either. Wears knee and elbow wraps and all he does is Smith Machine bench presses. Just like 30 - 45 minutes of 6-8 45lb plates of Smith bench press with shitty ROM. I don’t know what to think about this. TIMEUNDERTENSIONBRAH~! I mean in his defence, if he's doing 360+bar for reps even with sleeves and shitty ROM he's still fairly strong. Apparently people do wear knee sleeves at meets sometimes so idk. It might be worth asking him non-judgementally. I will update in a bit. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) Back to the above, yeah I mean I think I'd use a bench block rather than not touch but it could be that he wants to get hypertrophy work for the chest, shoulders & maybe tris without tearing up his shoulders. Maybe he is a powerlifter who normally trains somewhere else? You can generally lift more weight on a Smith, I'd generally prefer a machine but some chest machines aren't easy to get 'out of the hole' without assistance and the stack-loaded may not go high enough. As for me, yeah so a few weeks ago I got some pain on the left side of my chest and my left arm. I know right, bit terrifying? So being in the UK, I get myself to the hospital and I have to say, they saw me very quickly and I had a suite of tests and they didn't find anything heart-related so yeah that was a relief. I did slow my roll on my training for a bit, and I'm fine now. Back in Budapest for a piece, I think I have just begun a cut but we'll see eh? Monday was an Upper - mostly assisted dips (I guess I can do actual dips, but preferring to get better ROM & control rn - I may have a summer season where I do more outdoor calisthenics), and widish grip pull-ups, bit of auxiliary work. Tuesday - pin GMs, leg press, seated hamstring & calf. Friday, Saturday will be UL with the gf, so today is going to be a bit of an utility day - a bit of horizontal pulling, abs, carries, arm work etc. Edited March 21 by StretchMediatedHypertrophy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 I just side-eye the Smith because it feels dangerous in that it locks what should be fluid exercises into a flat plane of motion. It also keeps you from strengthening stabilizers because, well, you're not using stabilizers. I only use it for calf raises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Another run this morning 5,5 kilometers with 2,5 kilometers of brisk walking at intervals. I have also done three resistance band workouts and push up sets. Each day has included plenty of walking around the city, but rest assured I have not been in a calorie deficit during this time. Quads have been feeling much better after a couple of days. I have read that the weather back in Finland hasn't been great during this time and I am dreading the biking next week if the roads are icy once again, as they were finally clear for a while before we left for the trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 3 hours ago, Technico Support said: I just side-eye the Smith because it feels dangerous in that it locks what should be fluid exercises into a flat plane of motion. It also keeps you from strengthening stabilizers because, well, you're not using stabilizers. I only use it for calf raises. Well, the real bonus of the Smith is that it lets you safely overload things you may not otherwise. You can much more safely overload a military press or an incline bench there than you could with dumbbells or a barbell. For whatever reason, my mid-back is not great at stabilizing those, especially OHPs. I guess I could try push presses, but I feel a lot better about using the Smith for overloading that. It's a total game changer for lunges, too. Again, the capacity for overload is higher *because* stability is taken out of the equation to a large extent. It's not like I don't also do squats or Bulgarians or something else to get my adductors and hips working. But being able to really focus on glutes or quads or getting deeper than normal is really helpful. Basically, the Smith machine is cereal: part of a balanced breakfast, not the only thing you should gorge yourself on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 10 minutes ago, Contentious C said: Basically, the Smith machine is cereal: part of a balanced breakfast, not the only thing you should gorge yourself on. All of the above points are very true. Personally, I have mostly used Smith for heavy shrugs back in the day. I think I have tried squatting and bench maybe once, but the real point I wanted to make with this was that I eat cereal so seldom that when I do, I definitely do gorge myself with it. With Smith, not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I did some of the Technico Special today for incline. But only 3 sets and only 150 lbs. I think I'm going to keep doing it for a while instead of dumbbells. A couple of years ago, I got up to 200 on the pin press version of that; wouldn't mind pushing closer to that number again with proper ROM. Did some of Arnold's old lateral raises where you lay on an incline bench and swing the weight in front of you, too, and those felt a bit better today than the behind-the-back cable raises I'd been doing lately. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Came back home from the trip yesterday and while the travel day that went with way less calories than usual (until we got back home, that is), and I was shocked (positively, I guess?) that my evening weight before all the eating that came a few minutes later was 197. So, I guess all the activity kept me from bloating out of control? Definitely weighing a few pounds more than prior to the trip, but not as much as I thought I would gain. I bought a new shirt for running, as the long sleeved compression shirt I took with me had so many holes in it that my wife is insisting I throw it away. Also went to an Under Armour store in Milan and they had cool looking white long sleeved compression shirts. Tried on a few and even XL didn't fit my back properly, and I guess the sleeves were way too long and a bit too tight. Not exactly a bad problem to have, but I was still bummed out, since the shirt looked so cool. Well, I saved 55e by not buying it. It hadn't been snowing THAT much during our time away, but I'll tell you being in +10 to +21 celsius for a week and coming back to -1 to -3 celsius is not fun, since end of March SHOULD show a little bit more signs of spring than this, even over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 If something feels good on Smith for you then great, but I would generally suggest people rotate movements in and out. So do Incline Smith for 3-6 weeks max, then put in a non-Smith in that slot. You can then move a Smith JM Press into a tricep slot. This is especially applies if you're doing heavy work. My current mindset.....makes me not that keen on them. I'll be honest, I think if your gym is *really* well equipped then there's not much need for them (i.e. you don't really need to do bench presses on there if you have good chest machines, & lunge machines do exist!)...obviously for most of us this isn't entirely the case. The other thing I'd say is that it is not clear to what extent the theoretical advantages of the Smith Machine really translate to better muscle growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Same guy was there today. After his extensive Smith benching, he did Smith squats, with even worse ROM than benching! I swear, maybe 10 degree knee bends. I’m fascinated. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 We got a guy a little like that, well...several on squats, but the one who makes me want to punt him into space makes a bunch of noise, you can't understand anything he says if he says something, ties up 2 machines at once, and does this lame-ass tempo bullshit with 80% of his "workout". But then has fucking chicken legs and does shitty taco squats with no weight and bad range. At least he doesn't use the Smith. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 14 hours ago, Technico Support said: Same guy was there today. After his extensive Smith benching, he did Smith squats, with even worse ROM than benching! I swear, maybe 10 degree knee bends. I’m fascinated. And here was I trying to defend him! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Man, the appreciation for being able to be at a gym all by myself or sharing it with a guy who is way more about full ROM than I am, is at an all-time high after the previous few comments. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Even with only two people at the gym, odds are that guy is still on the pec deck right when you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 3 hours ago, Technico Support said: Even with only two people at the gym, odds are that guy is still on the pec deck right when you need it. True, except that we don't have an actual pec deck, but in a place where I'm supposed to do chest flies, yes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Two workouts in so far. Sunday night I did 5 sets of incline bench dumbell presses and 6 sets of hammer curls with 88's. The hammer curls in particular did not go too well. 5 sets of resistance band lat pull downs, some moderate dumbell curls on the incline bench and 2 sets of dumbell chest flies lying on the floor. Decent ab work at the end. Tonight I did another Seal Row pyramid. 10 sets overall from 220 to 330 and down to 132. Also 10 sets of shrugs between each row set. 8 of them with a pair of 88's and 2 with a pair of 44's. I wasn't too impressed with any of the heavier row sets, especially after all the talk about ROM recently. Some side delt work and a proper ab work at the end. I guess I should do squat machine tomorrow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg1TEhqjyI I can't embed anymore, but I watched the above video and it's somewhat pertinent. My gym in Budapest got in 2 cheap SSBs a few years ago, and I was just so happy to have the opportunity to use one. Fast-forward to now, and the padding is definitely not what it was, and the handles don't feel secure enough (why on earth people have been removing the handles I have no idea, f'n savages). The SSB I was using at Sky campus in the UK...yeah I don't know if it was really a much better bar, but it had thicker padding and more secure handles. As the video points out, the really cheap SSBs don't have an offset between the downward bars and the weight collars - so it ends up being a goblet squat basically. I think I used to cheat that a bit by holding the handles higher (pushing the weight back) but now they're loose it doesn't feel that secure. Anyway, the point is that I don't really like doing heavyweight with this SSB anymore. Did a long pause single ATG with 121kg tonight, not sure I'll work with this above 2 plates moving forward sadly. Maybe I can get my shoulders ok with using a straight bar again sob. I am enjoying the dip very much right now, I have started messing around with the outward v version where the shoulders are externally rotated - the feeling in the chest is unreal. I do choose to use the assistance machine to ensure good ROM and no screw ups, but I think I will progress it further soon enough as long as I don't abuse them. Cut continues. I am in a deficit for sure (I get hungry and feel the sudden urge to pee out of nowhere several times a day), I am not really doing it in a structured way which is not ideal but I am ensuring I get a decent amount of protein. No obvious differences but it's only been just over a week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Yeah, felt really tired yesterday, so no leg day. No workout, in fact. Today there was in total 48km of biking in three different sets. Morning, afternoon and evening. I went to have that lump in my upper back checked out. Just a cyst or something similar, but I should have it removed. I wasn't sure if I was going to the gym this evening, but I did. No leg day or Trapbar, though. Did heavy dumbell curls on the Scott bench, skullcrushers, chest flies with resistance bands, push downs as well as ab work. The Scott bench curls went nicely. I did 8+8 with 57, 8+8 with 61,5, 6+6 with 66 and with compression sleeves on 7+8 with 70,5. Also 5+5 with 44 really slow and clean reps. Due to Easter, the work week will be done after tonight, but we are supposed to go running during the long weekend. This week wasn't exactly spectacular, but I'll take it. Hoping to get some extra sleep during the time off. The trip last week was so active that it didn't really count as any kind of time off, at least for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) Another 7km run and 1km walking this morning. The roads are not yet in running condition over here, at least not completely, but I take what I can. Even an occasional run before the beginning of May gets me closer to the actual running shape I need to be in for this year's cut. Mentally, I don't feel like I'm ready yet for that madness once again, but it's still a month or so away, so I have time to get adjusted. Later in the day we went swimming in an indoor pool. Not much swimming per se, but I did jump into the pool from a springboard. No headfirst dives, but I did do 360 that almost became a 450 due to momentum on the last go. Two dips into the cold water pool helped to get some circulation going on my legs after the run. Later this evening I did a little stretching session and so far my legs don't feel bad at all, at least compared to last week. We'll see how they feel in the morning. Edited March 29 by Shartnado fun with water... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 A 6km run and two short resistance band workouts on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Back to work and gym today. 3 sets of incline bench dumbell presses and hammer curls with 88's, sets of 7, 8 and 9 on the presses. Curls went a bit better than last time. A bunch of lighter curls standing, sitting on the incline bench as well as using the bench for preacher curls. Also light pushdowns and lat pull downs to the front with the actual lat pull-down machine. A reduced ab work at the end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 A few weeks ago, I finally grasped the concept compound vs accessory lifts, and lifting heavy vs light depending on which I'm doing. Got stronger on a few things already. Nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 (edited) I went for an 11 set Seal Row pyramid today, from 231 to 352 to 231. 275's went decent, anything heavier, not so much. Plenty of resistance band chest flies between sets and some side delt work. My weight was down to 193 this morning. It is about time I start getting used to feeling hungry again, so it won't come as such a shock in a month's time. Oh, I forgot that I also did two sets of 15 with 132 reverse grip barbell curls before and after the Seal Row as well as a set of 3 deadlift with the 352. Edited April 3 by Shartnado added stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Regular bench pyramid today, and I admit it didn't go spectacularly. I started with 8 reps per set and that probably blew me up early. 164, 208, 230 and 241 went alright, but 252 started being pretty ugly towards the end and it did not get better from that point on. 263 and 269 was 4 "reps" each but none of them were clean. Moving back downwards the reps became cleaner again but only got around 4 each set. 12 sets in total, I did a set of standing double bicep curls between each set, ranging from 31's to 48,5's and back down to 22's. Those went pretty well, the bro-split gave me a semi-decent pump at least. I did think that it has been a really long time since I was able to get the kind of pump going that I actually consider a PUMP. I should try to obtain it before the diet starts. The kind where you can neither bend nor straighten your arms afterwards. That's what I'm looking for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Trapbar day today and well, not exactly great. Starting with deficit lifts, 5x265 and 5x375,5, but then needed to go to floor-level with Versas to get 470 up. OK, so to the blocks it is, then. Just singles from this point onwards until coming back down. 565 and 660 off less than full blocks. Off the full blocks 754 and 786, and without shoes, 848 and 861. Failed the attempt to get another rep with 848 on two occasions, before and after the 861. Then 754 and 4x660, 10x565, 5x470 and 5x375,5. Shrugs with 470 (4 or 5 difficult reps) and a real set with 265. Started feeling tired as the week progressed, wasn't at my best, but there were some good things in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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