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Super Ape

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Whoa boy, quite the workout week this time. 4 Workouts, with Thursday off. Plenty of food. Taking extra snacks in form of protein pudding to work again. Haven't done that in a year. Monday was pull-ups, dips and reverse shrugs with 45lb extra weight, then flyes for the chest, push-downs and lat pull-downs all with the heavy resistance bands.

Tuesday was a leg day on the squat machine, also doing calf raises with the same machine. Also stiff legged deadlift using 2 kettlebells 70lbs each. Doing abs in form of hanging leg raises at the end of each workout.

Wednesday was bench day (ha!) with more than 10 sets in 195-230lb range with each set around 6-7 reps (none went under 5) and a bunch of pump sets after while trying to surpass 100 reps wihin 6 sets with 110lbs. Well, I did it, yay!

Today was the dreaded Trapbar Deadlift day, so I took Thursday off, ate a LOT and went to town on my carcass with the massage hammer. That seemed to do the trick, because I did 6x363lbs, 5x430 and then 8,7,6 and 5x450lbs. That's like twice the reps I did what, 8-12 weeks ago! 2020 has been a shitty year, but things have happened recently that seem to give us some hope. Also, the fact that I've been able to use the lack of anything else (healthy and smart) to do, to push myself harder at the gym, seems to be paying off right now. So it's not all bad, especially with Pete Dunne and PAC back in action!

Time for the weekend!

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Total shit week at work, but I managed 5 workouts this week regardless, so it's not all for naught. Nothing super heavy and yesterday's Trapbar deadlift topped out at 352lbs, but I did 5 sets in 5-7 range with it.

Thursday's bench day was decent. A pyramid workout starting from 132 and peaking at 265. Tried to look for a spotter for 265, but since nobody was around I did it without one and therefore only got 3 and one partial, because I wasn't going to risk anything. On the way down, one of the sets was 15x198, which I think may be some sort of personal best for that particular weight (I'll take small victories where ever I can). Nothing else out of the ordinary.

Wednesday was a leg day and I'm trying to go heavier each time on the squat machine, but still it's more for the pump than anything else. I don't know how much weight it can safely withstand and I probably won't try to find out.

Monday and Tuesday were both different kinds of upperbody workouts with all the usual stuff I do. Only difference was the standing overhead press which I did for the first time in a pretty good while. I went from 88 to 121 and back down to 88. Got something like 12 reps with 88 both times, and 5 or 6 with 121. That's not quite where I've been before, but all things considered it was ok.

Also, my bike malfunctioned on my way home Thursday evening, but I got it back today and now it's geared for the upcoming winter, since Winter Is Coming.

My weight is hovering around 185 despite my best efforts to eat everything in sight. The horrible work days have something to do with the lack of weight gain, I'm sure.

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Holy hell how work keeps kicking my ass week in week out. Nonetheless, I'm 3 workouts in this week with one more to go in a few hours. Apparently, weight is trending seriously downward, but that has much to do with having to run between floors at work and other unnecessary BS. Workouts themselves haven't been anything out of the ordinary, but they do serve as important opportunity to vent, before the nightly 8 hours of mental torture called work. Let's see if I can actually do bench and trapbar deadlift on the same night? I seriously doubt I'm going anything resembling heavy. 

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6 hours ago, RunningFromAmerica said:

High handle or low handle?

High handle. I have serious trouble maintaining balance on any significant weight on the low handle. Sometimes I stand on a small platform during lighter lifts, so I can get deeper.

So, yeah last workout this week went alright. Trapbar maxed out at 430 lbs, with 3 sets of 5, 5 and 3 with sets of 5x352 before and after those three. Alternating one set of bench and one set of trapbar, I did sets of 10 with 132, 176 and 198, then 14 reps (ok, 13 and half) with 220, which may be a record for me. Then 7 and 6 with 231 then 6 more with 220 and back down to 132 with the same drops.

Plenty of shrugs with all the weights while unloading them and putting them back into the rack. Now I'm back home after night shift and trying to cram calories into my face before I go to bed. Then, weekend!

Edited by Shartnado
Status reports until morale improves
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Whilst I'd broadly support 'supersetting' on accessory movements, I'm not sure it's the best for big compound movements. The only 'expert' I've seen promoting anything like that is Brian Alshruhe supersetting a horizontal press with a horizontal push and the same with vertical. You're also mixing rep ranges pretty crazily.

Okay so high-handle.....obviously it depends how high your handles are, though you are gaining some advantage because the handles are above the weight as well (the balance issue). But yeah, you really want to mostly be working off deficits if you expect to see significant lower body development.

Your bench is pretty damn stong - I mean you probably have a 1 rep max *potential* of somewhere around 300. You're 1 potential rep max on the high handle trap is like 480-500 and that's actually nowhere near as good in comparison (Honestly someone with a 300 bench should be looking at 600+). Looking above your OHP is kind of not really where it should be balance wise either.

In all honesty, I'd suggest reducing the amount of trap bar volume and using good mornings and pendlay rows as accessory movements. Is there a reason you can't barbell deadlift? Maybe you could do speed pulls if you're worried about the fatigue? Sumo?

Also some kind of knee-bend hamstring work for injury prevention and muscle balance - Nordic curls are king, but a machine or even bands are more than acceptable. 

Also squat. I'm guessing squat machine  = 'hack squat' machine and I have no major issue with that machine but the carryover to the deadlift isn't the same. If you don't have a rack of some kind it's tricky but you could potentially do Zerchers or front-squats. If you were some some guy with a 225 bench I wouldn't quibble but you're starting to push some real weight and you are (like me) no spring chicken so I think your programming is important and it does feel like you're winging it a bit. Some of your results are impressive though, don't get me wrong.

FWIW I bench without safetys. Sometimes if I'm going for a max I make sure there's someone I can call upon, but I've failed a rep and rolled it off.

Edited by RunningFromAmerica
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I've lifted 561 and 3x550 back in late 2018, with the trapbar. Bad tehnique was doing a number on my lower back when doing barbell deadlift, so I opted out. I'm also missing a half and inch of the tip on my right index finger, so that did a number on my grip, so I use versa grips and find trapbar handles better in that regard.

I have been working on my core more, so OHP should improve, if I continue to do it more often. I have had a clavicle injury last year, so OHP was out for a good while, among other things.

You are absolutely correct on me winging it. I have become accustomed to a centain set of moves, but which moves I do within a given workout, depends on how things are going once I get there. My plans have a tendency to change.

I have always had trouble sticking to a program or even following one to begin with. But I have found the routine of actually getting my ass to the gym and following that for many years, so at least that's good. I used to give up as soon as newbie gains or muscle memory stopped giving fast gains. Now I've been doing this for 8 years without interruption.

The squat machine in question is this weird standing legpress type of a deal, and if you face forward, it works like a hack machine. We do have a squat rack at work, but I haven't been arsed to use it for a while. I did do box squats on it earlier this year, however.

 

Edited by Shartnado
The "squat machine"
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Up until like 2005, when I had been biking to work for about a year, I had Rick Rude-skinny legs and it was totally "upperbody business" for me! When I got back into working out I did focus on my legs a lot, since they had plenty of newfound power due to biking and pushing heavy things around at work. I did plenty of squats (3×430lbs is a record, I've never tried 1 rep max) and heavy legpress (moving 990lbs at the heaviest, but the range of motion was rather pathetic, not like going anywhere near knees to the chest, I could barely get that deep with an empty rack). This obviously took its toll on my joints, but I escaped injury-free, until the lower back started giving me trouble when I started doing deadlift with absolutely terrible form and technique. I know, really smart!

The shift over to trapbar helped a lot, but any nonsense about it taking all of the pressure off your lower back is BS. If you have shitty enough technique, as I do, you'll find a way! I'm really not good at that stuff, albeit careful. Weird combination, I know!

As a matter of convenience, I started to use the gym at work exclusively around 2019, and almost exclusively since 2017 (when it was first opened) and that shifted my workouts towards volume rather than heavy duty stuff, simply for the fact that it was not possible at the time. The trapbar I use at work is 11 lbs lighter than the one at the gym I did my records in and it only holds up to 450lbs safely (bar included) so I can go nowhere near my max with it.

I enjoy writing about this stuff so much RFA (your name change is super awesome, btw) so thank you for commenting. I know I have plenty of stuff that I should work on, but my problem is I'm not 23 anymore, even though I think I am... no, sorry... the  problem is that anything feels like work and I'm not getting paid, I lose interest in, even if I loved it before. I work like a madman for a very average pay, because I get paid for it. But following a strict plan for a workout and probably pay for the privilege, sounds like a bad day for me. I have some freaky genetics without being overly athletic (and the consensus in my family seems to be I'm unathletic, because I'm shit at team sports, legit!) but muscles and gymnastics have been my forte from since before puberty. Now, I have been, am and always will be a skinny kid with muscles. Not a skinny kid, nor the buff jock, but something in between. Loving wrestling made me an ectomorph-mesomorph hybrid who thinks he's a full on mesomorph and I got a lot of shit due to that (because c'mon) when I was an adolecent/teen.

I will never be a big guy, I know my limits. But I know(now) you can be in the best shape of your life in your forties and I stand corrected when I called Ron Simmons and Jim Powers out on it at the time (yeah, totally to their face...no). But I've managed to transform myself into something resembling an action figure. I look like a 5'7" Rick Rude with slightly thicker thighs, so at 43, I'd say I'm ahead of the game at this point. Sorry for oversharing like a mofo, but I like to talk about this shaa...!

Thanks for reading *blows a rasperry*

Edited by Shartnado
So many typos...so many drinks...
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And for your reading pleasure, surely as popular as the Hidden Gems section on the WWE Network with kids today: It's Shartnado's amazing workout week!

5 workouts, some heavy shit involved for a change. Monday and Tuesday were rather nondescipt, usual upperbody stuff. Used the actual lat pull-down machine, instead of the resistance bands. Pull-ups, Dips and reverse shrugs with 33lb extra weight. 

Wednesday I was supposed to do legs, and I did do some deadlifts using two 70lb kettlebells, but opted for bench instead. Doing sets of 5 starting from 132, adding 22lb each set until I got up to 267 and got 6 reps, tried for seventh but chickened out and only got half way down. Then 6 reps with 242, 5 with 231, 9 with 220, 12 with 198 and 20 with 132. I did other stuff too, but that's whatever.

Thursday was supposed to have an off day, but ended up having that leg day instead. Remember when I said I wasn't about to find out how much the squat machine can hold up in weight? No? Well I found out. 396 lbs. No, it didn't break, it just couldn't fit any more weight on the rack. Along with the rack itself and the four resistance bands has to come up to  around 450 lbs. This was the top of the pyramid. I started around 180 and kept adding first 110 and then twice 88 until there was no room for more weights. Did 2 squat sets with the 450 ( but this is more like a legpress than a squat, so don't be too impressed. Then two sets of standing calf raises. Then started doing more calves while I took the weights off and the odd squat set in between. Then some sitting calf raises with 110 and then, done.

Today, Trapbar! First I did the standing overhead press. I got 8x110, 6x121, 5x132, 4x137 and 2x143. I don't think I've ever gotten heavier than that (maybe 154 once, a long time ago, but definitely no more than that). Warmed up the legs and lower back with the kettlebell deadlift I did almost every day this week at some point. Trapbar was 10×286, 8x352 then 4 sets of 6 with 451. Shrugs to finish off the week as usual.

I have been eating like crazy all week. Baked sweet potatoes, chicken, pasta, rice, wok-veggies. Just took a plate full baked potato halves and chicken tenders in spinach and cream sauce. Weight has been hovering around 185. I know I should take some time off, too, but around the Holidays I'll have two weeks off from work, so I guess I try to make it until then. I hope to reach 200lbs during the holidays. Hopefully, not each of those 15 extra pounds end up on my gut, however. Work has been awful, but my workouts are on fire at this point. Feeling pretty damn good at this point!

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And here we go...

Good week. Work was half good half bad, so that's a decided improvement compared to last two months overall. 4 workouts, no big improvements or records compared to last week, but I felt good nonetheless. Monday and Tuesday was pretty much similar to last week pull-ups, dips and reverse shrugs with 38lbs of extra weight. Bunch of deadlifts with the two 70lb kettlebells.

Incline bench with dumbells, shrugs and hammer-curls using the same dumbells, chest flyes with resistance bands and deep push-ups using handles.

I took Wednesday off and just ate everything I could. 

Thursday was leg day. I didn't go quite as heavy as last week, but I did do a bunch of sets with 330lbs for both thighs and calves. Also stiff legged deadlifts with the trusty pair of kettlebells.

Today I had to walk some 5 miles to work, since the damn bike malfunctioned again, and I had to take it to the shop. Workout was bench, trapbar deadlift and shrugs. 6 sets of 5 with 407 for trapbar, and 5 sets of 5 with 253 on bench, the 8 reps with 242, 8 with 231, 10 with 220, 15 with 176 and 22 with 110. Shrugs in between. I like how my bench is going. Apparently not much point with messing around with less than 220, just a short warm-up, or a pump for finish.

I'll be having some extra days off work even before the holidays, so it's unlikely that I get the chance to go very hard for the rest of the year, but I do feel like my nervous-system is in a need of a decent down time.

Despite the eating, the weight is trending slightly downwards, but still around that 185 range. Weekend is here and I'm about to get my eat on!

Edited by Shartnado
Only one typo?
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So you ever do that thing where you don't train at all for a couple of weeks because your elbows and knees were getting a bit crunchy... and then you catch yourself in the mirror before a shower and are astonished that you're still in shape for no reason?

No?

Just me then.

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6 hours ago, AxB said:

So you ever do that thing where you don't train at all for a couple of weeks because your elbows and knees were getting a bit crunchy... and then you catch yourself in the mirror before a shower and are astonished that you're still in shape for no reason?

No?

Just me then.

A couple of weeks won't do much of a dent, unless you combine it with really terrible diet and excessive drinking, like I tend to do during the summer (or at least the 4 weeks I'm off work). But if you have been working out regularly and then take a couple of weeks (or even a few weeks) off, it should probably just give your body time to rest and recover properly (crunchy knees and elbows may be a sign of your body saying "pause, please!") and the in shape reflection is your body's way of saying " thanks, I needed that!"

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What's this now, a status report coming in days early? That's right, no night shift tonight, so the work week has officially ended for me. Got the bike back and the gears had been all fucked up due to corrosion. No wonder it's been so hard. Got those replaced without any extra cost, since the bike is less than 18 months old. So much for Finnish quality, I guess? Well, at least now it has been working like it's supposed to. Still had to replace one of the winter tires, so it still wasn't cheap, but whatever.

Three workouts this week. Monday evening was a full upperbody assault with pull-ups, dips and reverse shrugs with 44lb extra weight (weekly progression is the name of the game), chest flies , push-downs and lat pull-downs using resistance bands, barbell curls and some deadlifts with the same two kettle bells I always use.

Tuesday was bench day, despite the fact that the previous one was one Friday and Monday hit the chest and triceps relatively hard. I still managed 14 sets, 10 of which were with 220 or more. Doing sets of 5 from 132, 198, 220 etc. up to 264, then back down from 259, 253, 242 etc. all the way back down to 132. On the way up, the 253 was still nice and clean, but a few sets after that, until back down to 242 I struggled to get the full five. I did 5 each time, but the last one (or two, at worst) never touched my chest. So yeah, not fully recovered from the previous one. In between sets, I did shrugs and dumbell rows and deadlifts using the large kettlebells.

Wednesday was a leg day with the squat machine and kettlebells on the menu. Went up to the equivalent of 395 lbs on the machine for both squats and standing calf raises and then started taking the weights off and really going to town on my calves. Knowing there will be no trapbar this week, I tried to push the legs really hard, but either I didn't actually do that, or the stretching during the night shift was really effective, since I feel only moderately uncomfortable while sitting by the kitchen table writing this.

The weight has been trending upwards, albeit really slowly. But hey, now I have several days time to cram everything into my belly. Still plenty to do around the house and some christmas shopping to be done, so I can't just eat, lay around and watch the Network/flix all day, but I'll work with what I have.

Next week, likely just one workout on Monday, so it will be Trapbar. Then it's two weeks off and we shall see how close to 200 lbs I really can get. Here's to hoping I'll be disqualified from being a cruiserweight early next year.

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I recently got a bench press set that was at my mom's all this time.  I meant to take it with me but my previous places were too small to fit the darn thing.  So while I have been sticking with cardio I know that likely come next month I'll dip my toes back into this.  Only thing is finding a workout that I'll care to consistently do that doesn't mess up my left shoulder.  Rest of the body's fine but once that gives out I'm done for. But I'd much rather use the stuff at home as I'm sure as shit not gonna touch the weights/machines at the gym.  I'm paranoid enough about the cardio equipment and I don't feel like taking more time to wipe down pretty much everything I touch before and after using it.  But I'm hopeful in finding something that'll work.

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Good luck, Nick! Hopefully the shoulder holds up. Be sure to also use a light resistance band as well a broomstick to properly warm up shoulders and rotator cuffs before each workout. You can also take extra precausions and use kinesio-tape the way people like Cesaro and a whole bunch of others to give the shoulder some added support. Obviously, also proper stretching after the work out to keep yourself as limber and flexible as possible. Don't forget to drink plenty of water, and perhaps some added magnesium and zinc for recovery and avoiding muscle cramps.

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Thank you for all that.  I remember I used the resistance band once at gym at my work (not a bad variety of stuff for an office building)  It did a number on my shoulders but seemed to make a difference.  That is something I'm hoping to get for home but once COVID started it was a bitch to find.    As for the rest I'm planning on getting vitamins C and D for general use but didn't know about magnesium and zinc.  So I'll be sure to add those in.

But on the cardio front I have noticed a little bit of a difference with my body.  I'm able to go longer with higher resistance and like that I can have tons of energy throughout the day after a good workout.  So until gyms close I'm looking to keep that as something to continue building on.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a good thread. I'm 55 years old now, been lifting since I was 16. I wanted to get stronger for football, and more than that I wanted to look like the Dynamite Kid, whom I saw on Stampede Wrestling. I spent years following bodybuilding magazine training plans trying to "sculpt my pecs and guns" then eventually I got into more pure strength training. As I'm getting older, I find myself shifting into more of what I guess you'd call "functional training." I've got a lot of minor aches and pains, imbalances, and mobility issues, and that kind of training seems to be helping me sort that out. 

They opened a 24-hour gym (Anytime Fitness) just a ten minute walk from where I live, which is kind of a dream come true for me. The last few months I've mainly been using sandbags, kettle-bells, and suspension straps. I do a lot of stuff where the weight is all in one hand or on one side of my body, forcing my core to fire to keep me stable: Squats while holding the sandbag in various positions, sandbag shouldering, single-arm kettle-bell swings, stuff like that. 

I've been watching a lot of Mark Wildman's training videos for ideas, doing Turkish Get-Ups, and incorporating big guy yoga into my routine.  

I'd urge @Shartnadoand all you other beasts to add some kind of mobility and functional work into your training if you haven't already. 

383008_10150535688955358_533658609_n.jpg

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As far as mobility goes, I was in a pretty good place last year (all things considered, I wouldn't call my flexibility "good" even then) but I'm considerably less limber at the moment. My wife did yoga a few years back so we have a book I should take a look at. I definitely should work on my mobility, maybe that will be a project for next year.

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Ok, slightly easing back in to some excercise. Went for a walk with my sister and nephew which included 133 steps up a hill and then down. We did do a couple of longish walks with my wife during Xmas as well, but yesterday morning I didn't feel like going. 

Just now, I did close to 200 push ups (well, 180 isn't lying at least). First two sets close to failure (didn't count) then 30 per set, until I failed to reach 30 and stopped there. Then some light resistance band work to further pump up chest, shoulders and scapula. After being on some serious plus calories and sloth-level inactivity for way more than a week, the pump on my chest was really something.

Then it was back to scheduled diet of chocolate and '93 WWF Superstars!

Edited by Shartnado
Added an h to "schedule"
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I don't think I'll be posting regular workout updates like the 'nado, but I wanted to record my last workout of '20 and my first of '21. It's 10 pm on the 31st here, kids are asleep. I'm  waiting for midnight, to eat my toshikoshi soba.

I used to live in the Czech Republic, where they believe that you'll likely spend the whole year doing whatever you do on January 1st. So, I always try to hit the gym. 

Yesterday I had a fun one. The main dumbbell rack at my gym goes from 12s to 30s (pretty typical for a mainstream Japanese gym) and one of my favourite short routines goes like this: One set comprises 5 goblet squats followed (without rest) by 3 clean and presses with each hand, working my way from 12 through 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30. So 50 total squats and 60 total C&P (30 right hand, 30 left). Simple and effective. I had to pause to catch my breath between movements on the last two sets. I only managed 2 C&Ps with the 30s, so I missed my goal but not by much. Probably would have made it if I'd taken longer rests between sets.

I'll most likely do sandbags tomorrow, but I'll see how I feel when I get there.

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Made it to the gym today. Did a thing where you shoulder the sandbag, do a squat, then at the top of the squat press the sandbag and move it to the other shoulder and do a squat and that whole thing counts as one rep. 5x5, so 50 squats and 50 presses. Then a couple of sets of kettlebell pullovers and swings. 

Hopefully I've set myself up to spend 2021 squatting and pressing! 

If I hadn't posted here yesterday I probably would have made excuses and stayed home. So this thread is helping me.

Edit: I also made a new folder on my mp3 player for workout music, based around Judas, Cody's AEW theme, Kuuga's Osaka Pro theme (Joker by Shonan no Kaze) and a few other songs to play on a loop. Judas really fires me up.

Edited by El Gran Gordi
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