The Workout Thread

[BoKnows]

1 minute ago, Monty said:

I tweaked my form about 9 months ago, as I was resting the bar too much on my neck. Absolutely brutal pain. So much better, now.

 

The one exercise at the gym I cannot do, and am stating to think I'll never be able to do, is wide grip pull ups for my lats. Either I'm carrying too much fat still, I'm getting too old, or I'm too lazy. Combo or all 3, I'm thinking.

I usually squat in a hoodie or sweatshirt, gives me a little extra padding.

 

Pull ups are difficult, I'd start by doing the assisted pull-ups.

[Monty]

9 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

usually squat in a hoodie or sweatshirt, gives me a little extra padding.

 

I've actually been doing that for a while now. Either a hooded cutoff shirt, or a hoodie. Also put the padded covering on the bar.

 

10 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

Pull ups are difficult, I'd start by doing the assisted pull-ups.

I've been thinking about going that route. Been using the lat pull down mostly, but have been trying to do wide grip pull ups for a long time, now. Just not going well.

[Sean Monahan]

15 minutes ago, Monty said:

I tweaked my form about 9 months ago, as I was resting the bar too much on my neck. Absolutely brutal pain. So much better, now.

 

The one exercise at the gym I cannot do, and am stating to think I'll never be able to do, is wide grip pull ups for my lats. Either I'm carrying too much fat still, I'm getting too old, or I'm too lazy. Combo or all 3, I'm thinking.

If you’re gonna try assisted pull-ups, do it with band assistance rather than the machine. 
 

Band only helps you when you need it the most (at the bottom of the pull-up) which will help you progress to unassisted pull-ups faster. 
 

Improving grip strength should help too. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Sean Monahan

[BoKnows]

2 minutes ago, Monty said:

I've actually been doing that for a while now. Either a hooded cutoff shirt, or a hoodie. Also put the padded covering on the bar.

 

I've been thinking about going that route. Been using the lat pull down mostly, but have been trying to do wide grip pull ups for a long time, now. Just not going well.

They'll come with time, trust the process.  Lat pulldowns will definitely help though!

[Monty]

2 hours ago, BoKnows said:

They'll come with time, trust the process.  Lat pulldowns will definitely help though!

Glad you're optimistic, because I'm not lol. I know things take time, but feel as though 17 months of working out should have been enough to get there by now.

[BoKnows]

2 minutes ago, Monty said:

Glad you're optimistic, because I'm not lol. I know things take time, but feel as though 17 months of working out should have been enough to get there by now.

It took me over 2 years to bench 225, but just around 2 months to squat 315.  Everyone has exercises they excel at, and some that they struggle with.

[Monty]

1 minute ago, BoKnows said:

It took me over 2 years to bench 225, but just around 2 months to squat 315.  Everyone has exercises they excel at, and some that they struggle with.

Nice! 

 

I went such a long time without doing weights, that it will take me a long time. Never had muscle to begin with, and when I did workout from 17-21, it was all cardio work (biking, skiing, mountain climbing). But that ended 17 years ago. 

 

Benching 225, even for 1 rep, will take me another year or two to attain. I can squat 225 for a few reps, but at the moment in my routine, bang out 135lbs, 5 sets, at 15 reps. But that's the current routine I'm in. 

 

I'm not at all discouraged, though. The fact that I'm at the gym 5 days a week is what's important, not comparing myself to anyone else, just myself where I was when I first started.

[BoKnows]

6 minutes ago, Monty said:

Nice! 

 

I went such a long time without doing weights, that it will take me a long time. Never had muscle to begin with, and when I did workout from 17-21, it was all cardio work (biking, skiing, mountain climbing). But that ended 17 years ago. 

 

Benching 225, even for 1 rep, will take me another year or two to attain. I can squat 225 for a few reps, but at the moment in my routine, bang out 135lbs, 5 sets, at 15 reps. But that's the current routine I'm in. 

 

I'm not at all discouraged, though. The fact that I'm at the gym 5 days a week is what's important, not comparing myself to anyone else, just myself where I was when I first started.

There was a period of time where I thought benching 225 was going to be unattainable for me. 5 sets of 15 is wicked, your endurance must be crazy.

 

It's important not to compare yourself to anyone except yourself.   Going to gym 5 days a week is really good.

[bishopshodan]

25 minutes ago, Monty said:

Glad you're optimistic, because I'm not lol. I know things take time, but feel as though 17 months of working out should have been enough to get there by now.

Quite a while ago in this thread we were talking about a crossfit challenge. Can't remember what it was called but it included a ton of pull ups.

I was stunned at the amount and then found out that they were not true pull ups, they were those swinging fast ones.

Anyway, at the time i was getting really good at chin ups, I was able to do a few sets of 10. Wasn't as good with pull ups but I could still bang out some low rep sets.

Feeling like a wuss, I hit the gym one day with that challenge in my head. I watched some vids of these swinging types and pushed myself very hard to see how many I could do.

 

Yep, I injured myself. I did something to my left bicep. It has been about a year and I am finally able to work it again but it's not 100%.

 

I've been back at working out, 5 days a week, now going into my 3rd week. I am feeling great and motivated. I will wait a bit before I hit the pull/chin up bar again.  I love the exercise but I know now I need to listen to my body and most of all do clean controlled technique. 

 

We'll get that exercise Monty, for now though, lat, back and shoulder work to gain strength. I also recommend the rubber band assisted pull ups, it helped me in the passed few years. 

 

I am also gaining weight right now, despite eating really well and working out a lot. I have read that can happen and I dont really care. As long as I feel good and look good I can stay at 205 or head back down to 155 which was the weight I once competed in karate at in my 30's.

 

 

[Monty]

20 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

There was a period of time where I thought benching 225 was going to be unattainable for me. 5 sets of 15 is wicked, your endurance must be crazy.

 

It's important not to compare yourself to anyone except yourself.   Going to gym 5 days a week is really good.

 

Regardless of the routine I'm doing (cycle through 4 different ones every 4 weeks now), I'm keeping the same outlook where I rest 45-60 seconds between each set. Perhaps if I waited a few minutes, particularly when I'm in my bulking routine, that might be a better idea. But I really like the challenge of going through a workout quickly, focusing more on endurance as you said.

 

As a dad, there's something about knowing that if you're ever in a situation where you need to haul ass with your kids, you know you can throw them over your shoulder and run a couple hundred yards.

 

4 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

Quite a while ago in this thread we were talking about a crossfit challenge. Can't remember what it was called but it included a ton of pull ups.

I was stunned at the amount and then found out that they were not true pull ups, they were those swinging fast ones.

Anyway, at the time i was getting really good at chin ups, I was able to do a few sets of 10. Wasn't as good with pull ups but I could still bang out some low rep sets.

Feeling like a wuss, I hit the gym one day with that challenge in my head. I watched some vids of these swinging types and pushed myself very hard to see how many I could do.

 

Yep, I injured myself. I did something to my left bicep. It has been about a year and I am finally able to work it again but it's not 100%.

 

I've been back at working out, 5 days a week, now going into my 3rd week. I am feeling great and motivated. I will wait a bit before I hit the pull/chin up bar again.  I love the exercise but I know now I need to listen to my body and most of all do clean controlled technique. 

 

We'll get that exercise Monty, for now though, lat, back and shoulder work to gain strength. I also recommend the rubber band assisted pull ups, it helped me in the passed few years. 

 

I am also gaining weight right now, despite eating really well and working out a lot. I have read that can happen and I dont really care. As long as I feel good and look good I can stay at 205 or head back down to 155 which was the weight I once competed in karate at in my 30's.

Good to hear you're back at the gym. Those crossfit pull ups look like long term injury written all over them. I like the idea of crossfit for certain things, but not for others when bad form comes into play and you risk long term injury.

 

I'm also with you on your last part about not really caring about weight and what the scale says. I used to have a real issue with that, but not anymore. I certainly still look at the scale, but not in way that bothers me, just an interested way, now. When I started working out last year March, I was 194lbs (5'11"). Got down to 173 last year September. I'm 188 now, but look way different. Clothes that I bought at 173 fit more than fine, with a lot of give in the pants I bought especially. The only change with the shirts, as far as tightness goes, is that the sleeves and chest are tight, which is kind of the point. 

[bishopshodan]

15 minutes ago, Monty said:

Good to hear you're back at the gym. Those crossfit pull ups look like long term injury written all over them. I like the idea of crossfit for certain things, but not for others when bad form comes into play and you risk long term injury.

 

I just read an article about mind - muscle connection. You have to have clean and focused technique. It reinforces the proper pathways and helps with muscle memory.

 

I was annoyed with myself after my crossfit experiment. I knew better, as a serious karateka we never over trained to the point of incorrect technique. Some styles do such as doing a thousand kicks until you can't do anymore. I don't agree with that. Train proper technique until you start to fade, then switch to an exercise that would support whatever technique you may have been focusing on. So, for kicks, do maybe a hundred then switch to squats and lunge steps to burn out your legs. Never teach your mind to have bad form. Why didn't I listen to my martial arts training when approaching weights!?

 

You and I are about the same size. I'm 5'11 and will probably end up in the 180's.Right now I look like a tough biker, decent arms with an ugly beer gut. 

 

One muscle group that has slipped big for me is my chest. It looks strong, but its not. I am going to focus on it a bit going forward. 

[BoKnows]

30 minutes ago, Monty said:

 

Regardless of the routine I'm doing (cycle through 4 different ones every 4 weeks now), I'm keeping the same outlook where I rest 45-60 seconds between each set. Perhaps if I waited a few minutes, particularly when I'm in my bulking routine, that might be a better idea. But I really like the challenge of going through a workout quickly, focusing more on endurance as you said.

If you're lifting heavy that day I'd take 2 minute breaks in between sets.  I love getting my workout done in an hour.

30 minutes ago, Monty said:

As a dad, there's something about knowing that if you're ever in a situation where you need to haul ass with your kids, you know you can throw them over your shoulder and run a couple hundred yards.

There is something relieving about knowing if I get stuck under something around 200 lbs I can lift off of me.

[Monty]

6 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

I just read an article about mind - muscle connection. You have to have clean and focused technique. It reinforces the proper pathways and helps with muscle memory.

 

I was annoyed with myself after my crossfit experiment. I knew better, as a serious karateka we never over trained to the point of incorrect technique. Some styles do such as doing a thousand kicks until you can't do anymore. I don't agree with that. Train proper technique until you start to fade, then switch to an exercise that would support whatever technique you may have been focusing on. So, for kicks, do maybe a hundred then switch to squats and lunge steps to burn out your legs. Never teach your mind to have bad form. Why didn't I listen to my martial arts training when approaching weights!?

 

You and I are about the same size. I'm 5'11 and will probably end up in the 180's.Right now I look like a tough biker, decent arms with an ugly beer gut. 

 

One muscle group that has slipped big for me is my chest. It looks strong, but its not. I am going to focus on it a bit going forward. 

I know I could have been much, much further in my training, had I switched things up a lot sooner. From March to November, I was doing the exact same workout routine. I was I good shape, especially for cardio, but didn't know a lot about how often to switch it up. I knew I should, but I was also in this stage where I wanted going to the gym to be fun and engaging. The first routine I did kept me going back and motivated, which is all I cared about as far as what I was doing there. It was working and I didn't want to get away from that. But now that I've switched it up, and often, I know that it would have been in my best interest for results to switch it up a lot sooner.

 

But, I'm happy, healthy, and motivated, which is all that matters when it comes to the gym.

[bishopshodan]

4 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

There is something relieving about knowing if I get stuck under something around 200 lbs I can lift off of me.

I did the Sunrun for 5 years straight.

I want to get back to 10ks for the same sort of reason. If I'm in trouble, I could run for an hour + easily if I had too.

Would be nice to throw that something that weight 200lbs off me too if needed.

 

1 minute ago, Monty said:

I know I could have been much, much further in my training, had I switched things up a lot sooner. From March to November, I was doing the exact same workout routine. I was I good shape, especially for cardio, but didn't know a lot about how often to switch it up. I knew I should, but I was also in this stage where I wanted going to the gym to be fun and engaging. The first routine I did kept me going back and motivated, which is all I cared about as far as what I was doing there. It was working and I didn't want to get away from that. But now that I've switched it up, and often, I know that it would have been in my best interest for results to switch it up a lot sooner.

 

But, I'm happy, healthy, and motivated, which is all that matters when it comes to the gym.

I have been thinking about this.

I am going to start discussing this with the guy I work out with. He is ripped, after he was a marine and worked in security he was a personal trainer. He now owns a Thai restaurant and eats very clean, no alc. 

We have been focusing on a different muscle group each day. Plus, cardio every day but big day is Monday. He does legs 2x per wk but he goes 6 days a week. We seem to switch out a diff exercise each week per muscle group but as I said I am only going into the 3rd week. I am letting him take lead but I have no problem telling him my opinions and goals as I realise them.

 

I am hoping to add some light sparring in with him one day. He was a good Muay Thai fighter back in his day. We're both getting too old to compete but I know that I would enjoy it and it is such a great work out. 

[BoKnows]

1 minute ago, bishopshodan said:

I did the Sunrun for 5 years straight.

I want to get back to 10ks for the same sort of reason. If I'm in trouble, I could run for an hour + easily if I had too.

Would be nice to throw that something that weight 200lbs off me too if needed.

That's one thing, if I ever need to run over 2k to save my life for whatever reason I might die.  I need to do cardio.

[bishopshodan]

1 hour ago, BoKnows said:

That's one thing, if I ever need to run over 2k to save my life for whatever reason I might die.  I need to do cardio.

Haha, took me forever. When I competed I realised it was a necessity. Can't get though punchy kick face matches without it.

I also used to watch way too many zombie moves....Rule #1 - Cardio. 

Edited September 8, 2020 by bishopshodan

[BoKnows]

28 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

Haha, took me forever. When I completed I realised it was a necessity. Can't get though punchy kick face matches without it.

I also used to watch way too many zombie moves....Rule #1 - Cardio. 

That's true.  I should pick up boxing that'll take my fitness level to the next level.

 

I grew up on TWD, I'm surprised that didn't make me a cardio nut.

[BoKnows]

I don’t know how I was ever able to squat 335.  155 felt really heavy today.

[taxi]

On 9/7/2020 at 1:10 PM, BoKnows said:

I usually squat in a hoodie or sweatshirt, gives me a little extra padding.

 

 

Bad idea. It also allows the bar to slip out of position. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to squat without padding.

[BoKnows]

2 minutes ago, taxi said:

Bad idea. It also allows the bar to slip out of position. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to squat without padding.

I'm just a big baby when it comes to squatting