All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Shartnado]

Seems like I have a bad habit of, how should I put this, use up all my available energy within the time frame of my schedule.

What I mean is: I knew going in that this will be an extra short week with only 3 days of work and 3 workouts. That should be extra easy, then, right?

Well, yesterday, basically the entire day I was just wiped the fuck out. Sleeping through bits of Dynamite and later an episode of ROH I was drifting in and out of a comatose state.

Granted, I feel much better now, after resting pretty much for 24h, but it certainly seems like pacing myself is not something that comes naturally to me. That is funny, since I have absolutely no problem just lying on the couch for days on end if I don't have shit to do, but when it's on, it's F'n on.

To be honest, there were things this week that put some extra strain on me mentally as well, so it may have been THAT kind of exhaustion, too.

This would probably be a wonderful day for a long, mind-clearing walk, if it wasn't for the fact that pretty much everything outside is covered by a thin layer of slippery af ice, making it not worth the risk of falling down and hurting myself.

The winter tires on my bike as well the helmet makes me a lot less worried when biking but it seems like walking around is a lot more hazardous. The idea of going on a bike ride on my day off (if you can call being on a strike a day off?) is not appealing to me whatsoever.

Maybe some extra stretching and sauna would be more appropriate, but I  think that will be more of an evening thing. So I guess it's just more calories and resting, maybe a little pump workout later on in the day?

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

There is much to envy about Scandi life, but not so much the brutal long winters

Not much to report really. Bought a chest expander for $5 in Budapest and it's better than you might think. So I was spamming that for a few days, and today back in the UK I decided to start with the straight-arm fly machine/reverse fly superset because I got in there before the rush and I knew I wasn't getting on it later. So we'll see if we can bring the rear delts up. I did the fashionable '1 and a lengthened partial half-rep' for my final backoff on the chest fly and it murdered me. Then I did the ol' sit sideways on the machine chest press one-arm thingy, lol I've become such a bodybuilder. I will bench again lol....eventually.

I have been *very* tentatively playing with the idea of btn pressing - so have been using my pandemic workout band bar and just trying to lower that on to my upper traps. It's interesting. Realistically I've let my shoulders become stiff by *not* doing barbell back squats, and maybe I need to try to change that this year....I certainly wouldn't be able to do low bar right now. I've been doing single arm overhead db presses with the arm slightly back in terms of a weighted progression. I'm definitely not interested in doing heavy btn presses but I think in theory at least I should probably be able to do a few reps with 40kg, so we'll see.

3 more weeks in this gym, looking fwd to going hard on the hack squat and GHR tomorrow.

[Shartnado]

@StretchMediatedHypertrophy, yeah this winter in particular has been pretty damn cruel. We've had plenty of snow for a few years back to back, but this winter has also been cold AF at times. It also seems that it will be another month before that starts to change. Eventually, I ended up doing pretty much nothing for the rest of last week, aside from plowing and sweeping snow off the front yard (thankfully there wasn't that much of it).

3 workouts and one missed this week, due to trying to go the extra mile at work and failing at what I was trying to, anyway. 

Well, Monday was busy (the whole 4 day week was insane, actually) so I was coming in with a missed lunch (which doesn't really happen very often) for the incline bench dumbell press and hammer curl combo. I did the usual 7 sets, all with 88's with 2 sets straight up, 3 with one notch down and 2 with two notches down. One set of 9 (straight up) others were 6's and 7's, which is appropriate, since I was at sixes and sevens (which means something like "at your wits end" in Britain, at least) at work the whole week. Hammer curls went about as well as usual. Resistance band lat pull downs between sets and moderate ab work at the end.

With Tuesday skipped and Wednesday not being a huge improvement (albeit a slight one) I decided to just do somehing "fun" (also, this time I was not alone at the gym so I had to pivot) so I did heavy single arm preacher/concentration curls on the Scott bench. Started with 7+7 with 53, 7+7 with 57, 7+7 with 61,5, 6+7 with 66 (co-worker checked them from the side and said they were as clean as you can do without locking out your elbows) so I went for 70,5 as well and got 5+6, but they were not as clean. Still, the heaviest I've gone in years.

Oh, and at the start, after a long pause in attempts, I tried the 88 lb single arm dumbell overhead press and got two reps with each arm(!) Co-worker asked if they were strict and I wasn't sure. I did use some momentum, but I don't think I bent my knees, for example. I did one rep very strict with 75 to see the difference and yeah, they weren't like that. But still, two reps, a definite record for me, no doubt.

After each completed set of curls, I took the weight back to the rack by doing double arm behind the neck overhead presses with the said weight to give something for the triceps as well. Standard ab work at the end.

Thursday was yet again crazy at work, but once I got down to the gym, I decided to do Trapbar, anyway. The other option was Seal Row, but I said "Let's fucking go!" Ok, the deficit lifts were just a warm-up this time, with 5x238 and 2x370, then from the floor level, without Versas 2x465 and 2x487, then with Versas 1x548,5. Then, off the 3/4 blocks 1x643 and off the full blocks 3x749. Shoes came off for 843,5 and I did a 2 and three separate singles, then 5x749. Shoes back on for 7x654, and then off the 3/4 blocks 5x559,5. After this, 3 sets of shrugs with 465 (more than 10 reps), 370 (20+ reps) and 249 (a lot of reps). No abs, but I hung upside down and held a 53lb kettle bell off the ground for a good while to stretch out my back. Back home, I did some hard rubber ball therapy on my glutes and lower back and feeling pretty good this morning.

My plans for this weekend are alcohol, music and watching wrestling. Today, mostly eating and watching wrestling, though.

Edited February 10 by Shartnado
Typo and clarification

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

So lol I know I probably shouldn't take tips from Sam Sulek, but I watched him do leg extensions the other day and the stretch he was getting on his quads.....I decided I was ready for more. So the chair went back a notch, and the weight went down but 2 x 20 at 30 then 32.5kg felt great. I mean tough, but in a good way. Can definitely go a bit higher in weight, but definitely need to pace yourself when it comes to the force on the knee.

This was after hack squat. I did a topset of 6 at 110kg with the yellow band and it felt pretty ok, then I took the weight down to 60kg with no band for 8 and it was pure suck. Which is really weird because even if a 25kg band was doubled & at max strength there would still be 60kg at the bottom. So maybe I've been doing really shitty hack squats for 2 weeks...but I honestly feel there has been stimulation I am going to switch to a thinner band though.

I am happy I did abs though.

[Contentious C]

Of course this week was a deload and OF COURSE this is the week I pull a muscle in my ass.  Luckily I'm giving myself another 2 days off (had 2 off, L/P/P deload through this afternoon, tomorrow & Monday are the next 2), so we'll see if I'm not limping for nearly the stupidest reason ever on Tuesday.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Hmmmm, don't be fucking with your butt there C!

I've got some of the most vicious arm cramps ever rn gd it. I actually decided to see what my benching was like and the answer was.....not bad, I mean not amazing, but ok. I just went to 6 at 92kg and tbh I might have got another 4-5 reps but they were all quite slow at this weight and the first rep descent wasn't the best so no heroics. I could develop speed through speedwork, and work on first reps, and other powerlifting things. When I can be bothered.

Now a couple of times I've done a few negatives on the dip bar attachment to our big rig. I decided to do a few, and then I realised...hmm I can do a couple of reps, so I did 3. Weren't easy, but was happy I could do them A few minutes later (supersetting), I got 4. Then 6. Then 8. And then finally....10 reps! Now the dip bars are diverging and I was holding them near the ends , and I am not gong to tell you ROM on every rep was magnificent, but I don't think most of them were completely terrible. I was doing dips during lockdowns, so I sort of thought I should be able to do them but it was gratifying to see that it was possible. Though if I had done backoff sets on the bench they wouldn't have happened, and I'm not sure I'd want to do them cold either - so we'll have to see whether I can really fit them into programming.

The cramps are probably from close-grip ez bar preacher curl. I still hate this exercise in some ways but it does hit the bicep in a different way and I'm increasingly of the view that if I don't want to do something, then maybe I should be doing it - except bench, which is stupid tbh. WHY CANT I QUIT YOU!  Lurkers - don't do flat barbell bench press.

[Shartnado]

Had to skip yesterday and today didn't exactly go great, either. I did 3 sets of incline bench dumbell presses 1 set of 7 with one notch down  and 2 sets of 7 and 8 with two notches down (with 88's). Also failed two attempts to get the weights into position. That hasn't happened in a while. 5 sets of hammer curls.

Also 5 sets of Seal-Row with 264 and then 2 sets of standing barbell row with the same weight. This didn't go great, but hey, I tried it.

At the end I did 4 reps with 154 standing overhead barbell press. Actually, those weren't clean, either, but I moved it. In the very beginning, I tried the single arm dumbell overhead press with 88lbs, but only got two partials with both arms.

The work is really doing a number on me, but the heavy drinking on Saturday is also partially to blame here.

Nevertheless, the strike continues for the rest of the work week, so that was it for me. Probably get another workout in at home, but that will just be for the pump.

Edited February 13 by Shartnado
Seal-Row was 264 not 275...

[Contentious C]

My pulled muscle is not recovered, so naturally I did Leg day and paid for it.  Only ended up with 2 sets of elevated lunges and my glute cramped up almost right out of the gate, but I did get through the 2 sets, at least.  I did 8 plates total on the hack squat, so 360, but those sled-based movements really only translate about 70% of the total weight, so it was probably more like 300ish, once you factor in my bodyweight and the sled.  But even then, that bothered me a *lot* more than I expected, because it's pretty clear my quads are strong, but my joints can't handle the amount of tension applied.  Knees were unhappy and my lower leg that had the pain issue before started barking, too.  Did some calves, did some seated leg curl myoreps, called it because I hit my pain tolerance limit for a day.  Pull day on Thursday is probably going to be fucking miserable, and I will likely have to find some kludges to work around the glute strain.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

I increasingly think I could build up to 4 plates on the hack, especially with my feet forward, but not going to happen in next two weeks. Today I used a thinner reverse band, which is also a little less taut. Went up to 100kg for 6 in normal squat position, & then 2 sets of 10 at 90kg with my feet forward. I can do more, but my legs were a little tired from sled work and we go again on legs Friday.

I actually benched today first lol. So speed work 8 x 5 - 4 different grips at a very light 50kg, then worked up to a quick top single at 90kg, edge of the knurling close grip, 3 second pause, no wrist wraps. Nothing impressive, but idea is just to edge up top singles on assistance lifts that should have good carryover. Hypothetically, I think I have the size in the titties, delts & tris to hit 300+ - it's just really about acclimatising my old man frame. I then did 2 sets of JM Presses, which I do actually enjoy a lot. I will probably hit a top single with wraps on Thursday, maybe a little wider - so maybe 2 plates but we'll feel it out.

Double-banded the GHD today which was pretty nutty - glute activation is insane. Deep leg extensions at 35kg, 2nd set after 5 I was like......mate, I think I'm tapping out at 12 here, then I promised myself to get to 16, and I got the 20 - but I was done lol. I think these will continue to go up for a bit, BUT yeah it does depend on the knees strengthening with it. The remedy is the poison, & vice versa.

[Shartnado]

Got a one hour pump workout done at home today. Elevated push-ups with handles and wrapping a resistance band on the handles and across my back to give extra strain on the way up was new. Also, a bunch of chest flies with kettlebells, while lying on the floor. Haven't done that in a while. Plenty of curls and shrugs, some overhead presses and rows. Plenty of stuff with the stronger resistance band, including an improvised hammer curl drop set by placing the band under my foot, grabbing the band low at first and inching my way higher once the ROM became shit at previous level. That worked.

Yesterday was mostly resting, but I did plow snow for an hour in the morning. Luckily, it was pretty much all powder snow, so not heavy, despite the large quantity.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

So I'd have to check but today I did a 'pussy pad' bench to a 105kg TM and I think that was the first time I've benched more than 2 plates since 2022 and the injury. I wanted to look after my shoulders hence cutting off a 2-3 cm off the range of motion - plus it arguably helps work through sticking points. Tentative plan is a dead bench on Sunday, as close to chest as I can get.

The same guy who asked me how many sets I had left on the chest press last week was asking the same question today lol. I finished my final set and cleaned up, he said 'you train really hard' which is obv nice - I said 'sometimes.....I do try!' Obviously there are levels to that. On the chest machine I actually experimented with a slightly different eccentric technique, essentially letting the weight drop and then 'catching' at about half-way and then decelerating slowly to <1 cm from the bottom. With the narrowest grip *and* a pad behind me to push my chest forward. It was pretty nasty - I liked it, though I think you might want to be a bit careful with weight.

Tentative plan is a dead bench on Sunday, as close to chest as I can get I realistically get two shots at benching in a power rack at this gym - this Sunday and next Sunday. I don't think I'll be benching 300 on either occasion but I have a stretch target of 122.5 kg *if* I can find a setup in the power-rack I like to retrieve the barbell

Leg day tomorrow, which will be interesting bc my legs were still sore today. I am using 'one final push in this gym' as an excuse to get calories in - I just had a dinner which vaguely resembled a Dwayne Johnson cheat meal, but I am also drinking circa 100g of protein via shakes a day. In 2023, I think I did actually successfully put on quite a bit of muscle but realistically a cut phase is needed!

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Yah, yesterday was challenging. My legs remained sore on Friday and definitely arguments would have been made to skip. I decided to use the feet forward stance on the hack, theoretically this works more hamstring but I also feel it a lot more in my core. Used the heavier band, worked up to 120kg for 2 sets of 8. Was planning on doing some light leg extensions, but machine was busy - decided to use the Bulgarian Bag for some front squats and tbh slightly tweaked my right knee. It's fine now, infact it was fine after using the GHD but it was a warning. I probably will rotate the hack squat out now.

GHD with the bands beat me up on Tuesday Yesterday I took my shoes off, went to the 3 setting and used sandbells for extra weight. I actually tried the 2 setting but it was too painful on my quads against the machine. Nonetheless the GHD is going to be my point of focus on my remaining leg days at this gym. I basically have no work left, so I'm also hoping to be able to sneak off at non-peak times to go use the sled but we will see!

Definitely feeling beat up at the moment, not going to lie, but about 12 days from now there will be a deload followed by slightly longer period of more infrequent workouts so I will try to make it through.

[Shartnado]

Been plowing and sweeping off snow for past couple of days, like maybe an hour per day. Not much action otherwise.

The chest flies on the floor seemed to be very effective, or at least totally different stimulus, since I had DOMS for two days afterwards. I may have to do those a bit more often.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Yeah obv the prevailing YouTube orthodoxy would be against floor flyes because of the lack of a stretch position, but tbh the range of motion loss probably isn't *that* much (especially with your back one imagines), you can possibly use more weight without worrying about overstretching, and the deadstop probably provides some novel stimulus because you're eliminating the reflex. 

Something that Athlean-X pointed out is that it's a lot easier to go past failure on these, press up and do eccentric flyes. 

I haven't done anything like this recently (or floor presses for that matter), but it's not a terrible idea actually. 

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

So 110kg on a dead bench today, I'm pretty sure that is a PR on any kind of pin press. I actually think I had the pin too low, I wasn't really able to arch normally so it was essentially 'flatback'. Wasn't all out, but not sure I would have got 120kg.

I then tried some floor press, but tbh I'm not used to unracking from that position and it was a bit weird (in the past I've used a pussy pad and hip thrsuted the weight into position). Went up to 90kg for 6, which is more than fine. Tbh the floor press basically has the bar come up only about 1 cm above the chest thesedays....didn't used to be that way!

My knees are still a bit creaky. They'll be fine, but it's definitely bench bro peaking season 

[Contentious C]

Sunday was Legs, and it was kind of a shitty workout.  I mean, it's Leg Day, they all suck, but mine lately have been special sorts of suck.  Whatever lingering lung issues I have are still a limiting factor, particularly for that.  I managed some hack squats with 4 plates a side, then switched to barbell squats with only 135, and that was frankly enough.  There was a recent RP vid about doing this exact thing to try to prioritize quads on barbell squats and, yeah, it does work fairly well.  I probably gave my posterior chain short shrift in the process, though my whole setup is intended to be 8-day cycles so that 1 Leg Day is quads and the other is Posterior, so I guess this was the Quad-focused day.

Yesterday was Push and wasn't terrible.  Did bench 5x5 with 165 for the first 2 sets and 160 for the last 3; slightly less volume than when I did 160 for the whole thing and got more reps at the end, but I'm at least headed in the right direction with it.  Flys fucking shredded me (Mr. Stork Arms over here can literally touch the floor with the weights while on a regular bench), then more Smith military, shoulders, and some tricep stuff I saw in a Eugene Teo short that actually felt good on my elbows. 

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Tbf if you can hack squat 4 plates a side, then you're pretty strong and yeah, leg day is going to suck....as is trying to wear slim fit pants one imagines. It's something I do think about - the truth is that I like the idea of hitting big squat numbers but I do not like the idea of having to hack squat or leg press, or even squat, big loads every week. Tbh, I just don't really want to. So if I want to hit bigger numbers I actually going to have to revert to a wide-stance squat and use the hips. We'll see.

So I did sort of deload the legs today - but went to 45kg for 12 on the deep leg extensions I have been doing, supersetting with ghd with the 20lb sandbell for sets of 12. So there was progression of a sort, but nothing spectacular. I may actually do some SSB squats on Friday for the first time in a while.

I decided I'd actually try an OHP single, see where I'm at, despite no OHP or even Incline in weeks. I actually used a slightly wider grip than last time, and went up to 76kg which is a PR technically but.....I hitched it (it dropped slightly after the initial raise, but I completed it with my triceps). Now it's not a powerlifting lift, you can hitch in strongman...but in my heart of hearts I don't think it counts. Still a very good gym lift considering, and tells me I can peak that up to 80+kg nae bother.

None of the bar holders for the power-racks really give me what I want in terms of a max bench set-up, but I may just try and hit a PR on Sunday best I can or else do another dead-bench in a slightly higher position. I *might* have another go at the OHP next week.

[Technico Support]

Hey guys, quick question.

I absolutely hate barbell squats.  I don't know if it's my build, but doing them really deep (like I guess I'm supposed) to just murders my lower back.  As a dude who had a horrific disk injury a few years back, anything that strains that area is  a strict no no.  So I still do barbell squats, but with less ROM -- maybe 50 - 60 degrees at the knee, trying to stay as straight as possible without bending too much.  Is this okay or would I be better served going with the hack squat machine instead?  I could do leg press but (not humble bragging, really) I seriously don't feel like putting all those plates on.  I feel like I'm not squatting "correctly" if I'm not going lower.  Maybe I'm just in my own head.  Let me know.  Thanks!

Also, after some holiday slacking and trying unsuccessfully to figure out outdoor running in the cold before getting the hang of it, I got more disciplined a month ago, dropped 6 pounds, and managed to run 8 miles yesterday, which is great.

[Contentious C]

If you're trying to focus on quads, barbell squats aren't really top-tier anyway (though they're obviously close).  Hack squats are great, belt squats are even better. 

If you need lower back work, have you tried doing SLDLs or RDLs?  They could be an issue if you're a 'big front porch' type (hard to believe if you can run 8 miles, because I fucking can't run 80 feet), because the range of motion can be a little funky, but if you really focus on keeping your core tight and your back straight, they can be awesome for strengthening your low back.  They're basically my favorite Leg day exercise anymore.  Don't go that heavy, just focus on slow controlled negatives and really feeling your glutes and hamstrings stretch out as long as your back doesn't round. 

You could also cut the weight on your squats and try to focus more on getting deeper, and comfortable, with lower weights (even if it's literally just the bar or bodyweight).  Also, do your hips feel tight?  It's possible your back bears the brunt because the rest of you doesn't want to participate like it should.  Squats are a pain to get really, really right (I'm a lot more comfortable doing them now, but I'm still only pushing 195 for 5x5). 

Edited February 20 by Contentious C

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Thanks for the question, and congrats on the run.

Okay my answer would be, basically no you shouldn't be doing barbell squats if you can't get anywhere near parallel so it's not in your own head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmAugQT1b4M (there are other resources, but Steve is a pretty reliable source of info)

Now I can offer a caveat, which is to say that squatting onto a high box is probably ok - and will likely give you some of the benefits of squatting that a hack squat won't reach. But it's probably not the best solution.

There are also front squats and even zercher squats which involve a more upright spine - if you try them and get on with them you can consider a harness down the line if you really want to push more weight. I don't get on with front squats to be honest, but I actually quite like zerchers though obv your crease of the arm may have a different opinion.

A lot of gyms also have Safety Squat Bars thesedays, which generally also enable you to maintain a straighter back.

To be fair, leg press is actually quite sneaky in terms of its ability to compress the spine.

 

 

[Technico Support]

Thanks, guys!  Yeah, my key issue is that the lower the squat gets, the more I bend and transfer the load from my quads to my lower back.  Like half the exercise is really a back extension.  I’ll research all these suggestions.

Re: running, I do have a big front porch but not as big as it used to be!  I’m 6’2”, low 260s right now but I was like 310ish last year at this time.  My cardio is pretty great despite my build.  The only thing that stopped me from going 10 miles yesterday was my legs getting sore after maybe 6.  But I’m really happy with it as I was over 5 mph the whole time, even on one section that was mostly uphill.

Edited February 20 by Technico Support

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Taco squatter eh? You're hardly alone there though.

Hack squat might help you with that tbf. I also agree with C though, going with a lower weight for reps and working up may be the way to go. I could probably put 300lbs on the SSB tomorrow (well maybe Thursday) and squat it, but I could work with 100lbs for deep reps with slow eccentrics and make it count. 

 

[Shartnado]

I will refrain from the squat conversation, but I will attest to being a Taco squatter myself (never heard that one before), which is why I prefer the machine at work gym. I feel like the position it forces you to be in, minimises the bending in half effect.

Had to skip Monday and even Tuesday was just "well, I guess I could do the curls again", so Scott bench dumbell curls it was. Started from 57 this time and did 8+8, same with 61,5 and 66, then 7+7 with 70,5 as well as 6+8 with 75, but those started to be not very clean. Once again, each dumbell was re-racked while doing behind the neck presses with two arms.

Also did a light set of curls while sitting on the incline bench and then transitioned that into a set of light incline dumbell bench.

Tried the chest flies lying on the floor again, using a pair of 31 lb dumbells.

Reduced ab work for the finish.

Monday was batshit at work, yesterday was way better, so I should be able to go do something today.

[Shartnado]

Had to take it a bit easier on incline dumbell bench and hammer curls, so I did everything with 79's  3 sets of 12 and one 15 at 45 degree angle. Hammer curls until form was laughable. Couple of sets of resistance band lat pull-downs and similar reduced ab work at the end.

[Contentious C]

So much for my "strong" legs.  I can move 8 plates on the hack, but I can't get out of the bottom of a Bulgarian with a 35-lb dumbbell in each hand.  Granted, my balance is SHEEEEEEEEEIT as Clay Davis would say, but still.  It's fucking embarrassing to struggle with things like that.

Did SMFFELs, 3 sets of 6 per leg with 100 lbs today, and I didn't feel like my cardiovascular system was going to shit itself and burst out of my thorax in the process, so maybe I won't die of Lunge-induced lung sadness just yet.  I was definitely pushing through my back leg some to finish those reps, though; I wonder if I'd be at all better off dialing back the weight and trying for more reps, or if what I'm doing is good, since 8-10 reps even at 80-90 lbs will probably kill my overall fatigue to the point that everything else suffers.

Then 3x7 of deficit RDLs at 195, then Nordics for the first time in months and months with the second-thickest band (I really need one in between that and the next one down, and 2 bands at once is a shitshow; next best hack is the thinner band but a weighted ball to brake against at the extended position), 3x5, then my attempts at Bulgarians.  Ended up with just one dumbbell on the working-leg side and doing 2x10.  I could probably go up in weight there.  At least my legs still feel appropriately fried 5 hours later.

Edited February 23 by Contentious C