Oh, but I did some festive bending first.

No. 10 and No. 12 wrenches... with snow! (Well, chalk.)

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Yep. I'm back up in the high 210's. I gave 220 as my winter limit, though, and I guarantee you before Alanis Morissette and myself, I will NOT hover above that point this winter. I'm confident that I will be in much better shape at the end of next summer than I've ever been before.

I've been quiet here in the past month or so because I haven't really made any progress. Still 255 on bench and 375 on deadlifts. The only thing new is that I can do weighted pullups and dips now. Up until the omnipresence of pie, cake, brownies, and cookies in my house since Christmas, however, there had been no regression, either.

I also bought some cheap protein powder from Wal-Mart the other day. I knew you'd punch me in the chin for buying it, but I figure it's better to start cheap than nowhere at all. Do you have any protein powder advice you'd like to share? Keep in mind that the only stores we're likely to have in common in our respective homelands are GNC and huge department chains like the accursed Walmart?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the gym at UMass doesn't open until the 3rd, and getting there and back will probably be less than pleasant. It's been closed since the 21st, which, not coincidentally, is the last time I was there. Also, I'm having pains in my right forearm. I had similar pains in my left forearm about a year ago that a doctor diagnosed as being a muscle strain. Hopefully it doesn't slow me down too much, if at all.

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Chris, as for protein, personally i find Cytosport's Cyto Gainer to be my personal favorite. 54 grams of protein, 3g of creatine, 2 g of glutamine, close to 600 calories, and a everything else you need. It's especially great if you can sit down and eat a meal every 2-3 hours like you're supposed to. I get it for around $30 from bodybuilding.com for a 6lb jug. Rocky Road flavor tastes great even when mixed with just water. BSN's Syntha-6 is another great protein powder on the market.

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Two words: MAIL ORDER. I would recommend that you check out www.proteinfactory.com who have been in the business since the internet was. Don't worry about microlactobollocks, go for one of the basic formulas.

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Made some progress today, put up 285 on the bench, a good 30 pounds better than my previous max of 255. I'm feeling pretty good about that. All I have to do now is avoid the urge to try to match that next week. Stick with reps, Chris!

I'm still looking forward to 300.

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I actually got a tad fatter but I didn't gain weight at all, still just below 93kg. Must've lost some muscle mass then?

I've only worked out the first half of this month. This week I'm busy with final exams and shit but I'll get back on track this weekend.

Remember that a protein powder isn't supposed to replace a good diet. So eat a lot of lean meat, fish and poultry and stuff. I have a fucking huge stash of tuna cans, each can has around 55gr. of protein which is fucking amazing for such a small amount of food. Too bad you can't eat fish very often because of the contaminants they have though. I do take some by a generic brand: ANS(Advanced Sciences of Nutrition) and it's pretty nice, but I think it's only available in Europe since it's proprietary of a store here. Very low carb and fat content compared to a lot of the other protein powders I checked out.

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I'm 5'7" fucking 120 lbs. I am not too healthy, and in pretty poor shape. That's why I joined the school gym and have stopped eating pure shit. Gyms are seriously such easy motivators. You just walk in and there's 1000 different machines with instructions written all over them.

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I go through 7-10 cans of tuna per week, but I'd love to know what ones you're buying that have 50g of protein. The ones I buy are usually between 28-34g. I haven't been eating as many chicken breasts of late, but I've still been killing at least 4 per week. I love ground beef, too, and as bad as the fat might be I'm not trying to win any bodybuilding contests. My bodyfat percentage is probably in line with a baseball player, which is where it should be.

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Pulled some work today with a guy who was 56kgs. I offered to clean and press him. He declined. Gay.

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You shouldn't have asked for his permission.

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some questions -

does low fat dairy food increase the burning of fat in the abdominal area? apparently calcium encourages the release of fat from fat cells and also reduces the amount of fat absorbed.

also - does capsaicin and chilli [and related vegetables in the family] increase your metabolism anywhere between 10 - 20% for 2 hours after eating? or at all?

I don't think so. Point me to research if you've got it.



Negligible change - measurable, not significant.

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dairy-
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/1/249S

also the capsaicin and chilli thing would make sense if it was harder for the body to process the pungence of the actual chilli itself and defend itself from the damage of the heat. although this wouldnt work with capsicum, because ironically it has no capsaicin.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16825682

ah, now this is a protein shake.. 4 scoops of cytogainer, half water/half whole milk, and 2 raw eggs. shake it up, drink it down. over 75g of protein that quick.

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I take about 60gs of Protein(1% milk, 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition) with my first meal of the day and another 60g after a workout.

Or if I forget the one in the morning..I'll have 4scoops worth..which is well over 100g in one go.

Edit - My protein shake intake changes if I used water instead of milk obviously, but I definitely get my 1g protein: per pound or more ratio.

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it seems most people get real into lifting, get out of it after a year or two, and kind of cycle in and out. i think im in a pretty small minority of people who basically maintain muscle mass (im not skinny) and just do a regular amount of lifting/cardio a week

its easy to sustain than going whole hog lifting imo

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Should be 1.5-2g per lb though to build muscle

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It's all about hog lifting.

edit - Almost every source I've read said 1-1.5. Although I'm sure I probably even get over 1.5. Protein is fucking expensive anyways, fuck that.

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this one says 1.5 - 2.. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/planet38.htm
i always aim for 2. right now i'm at 180lbs, so 360g a day isn't that hard to reach.

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That's fucked up. Even on the back of my protein tub it says 1:1. I guess it also depends on how hard you train and what level you want to accomplish.

"Individuals such as body builders, who are using resistance training to increase muscle mass, require a protein intake greater than that recommended for sedentary people. The protein needs for athletes trying to increase their muscle mass range from 1.4 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight."
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414351

Opinions are like assholes..

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The average athlete or weight lifter trying to put on muscle doesn't really fit into the mold projected by a bodybuilding website. Most of the sources I've read say between 1.2-1.6grams per kilogram of bodyweight. This article is really written with the intent of reaching an audience of people who are already massive (and possibly at their natural peak) and trying to gain even more mass. Since the website sells so many protein products, it makes sense that they are going to preach a higher level of protein than would be necessary for most athletes and normal weight lifters.

As an aside, I can't really take to heart advice given out by a website that sells HGH. They clearly aren't at all interested in helping an athlete reach their goals through natural and healthy means.

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Fuck bodybuilding.com
A website which considers this a proper snatch should be ignored.

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That is technically a power snatch. The operative word is 'technically'. Because there is precious fuck-all force being applied to the bar. Way to power on, BB.com. Cunts. CUNTS!!!

Push press max the other day - 90kgs. Be at 100 soon... competition weight!

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any of you ever do push-ups with weights on you?

i'm thinking of stuffing a backpack full of thick books or maybe just something flat and then some hand weights on top of that so it's at least somewhat comfortable.

sounds to me like a good way to increase the number of normal push-ups you could do.

I've considered it graf, but really you might as well do some bench press. I find that if you do pushups at a much slower pace, they results are much more effective. Another good variation on pushup (I'm not sure if I, or anyone else, has mentioned it) is if you grip the ground real wide, and lower yourself from side to side, rather than straight up and down. (Like lower yourself down and to the left, then up, then down and to the right, and up, etc.)It puts the majority of your weight on one side of the body at a time, instead of splitting it between both sides of the body evenly.

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I exercise every day, weights, pushups, situps, stairclimbing, jogging and walking. I prefer free weights to machines.

Argh, I love tuna and would eat it every meal if it weren't for the mercury and stuff contaminating fish products.

hmmm, maybe i'll try that. i asked my dad about it and he said it would help but would be kind of awkward. then he told me i should do them with my feet raised up off the ground. just finished doing some like that, and i must say they are a much more difficult than a normal push up. we have this futon couch/bed thing and i just put my feet up on the edge of the frame. my feet/toes are in the same position as if i had them on the ground..they are just a little over a foot off the ground. probably do a few sets like this a day for a few days, then take a light day and see how many normal push ups i can crank out.

edit..in regards to bench pressing, one day i'd like to get into it. it's just that the test i have to pass has a push up segment in it and i don't have the means to bench press at home. so i'm trying to just find ways of improving my push ups faster. i guess the no-brainer answer is just do more, more often. heh

Push-ups are way nicer on the shoulders than Bench pressing.

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Buy a Jumpstretch or an Iron Woody band, stretch it from hand to hand over your back. Much easier than weighting it.

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I WAY prefer benching to pushups, i generally feel ALOT more burn/fatigue on my chest during a few different bench press excersises rather than a push up session.

at the moment im looking to increase my bench, the heaviest i have done before was 60kg (im 16) i got 5 or 6 reps out of it with two dumbbells, trouble is, at my gym which is mainly just for cardio the dumbells only go up to 30kg and the barbells 45! it sucks.

right now for chest i do:

incline press, 2 warm up sets of 15 reps (light weight) then 2 sets of a heavy weight (6-7 reps)

flat bench press, 3-4 sets, progressively heavier weights (6-7 at the begining then down to maybe 4 or 5 reps towards the end)

finally i do decline bench press, as heavy as i can manage at this point after all other chest excersises for 3 reps.


does this sound alright? anything else i should be doing chest wise? anything i shouldnt be doing?
i wouldnt mind some feedback as im struggling to increase my strench in the chest atm.

cheers

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Damn, can't believe I've never seen this thread before. Not that I intend to provoke some bullshit stat exaggeration competition here, but I'm curious, who's the strongest dude on this site?

I'm personally aiming to have a 600 dead by Summer (beginning or end, doesn't matter). I'm also about what I anticipate to be a little over a month away from a 400 bench and a 500 squat.

Damn! Those are some pretty large numbers... My best deadlift was 415, but only a max bench of 265

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my best is bench 330, squat 420, deadlift I'm not sure.

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My best bench was 285, squat was 320 (I hate squats and have a hard time forcing myself to do them regularly), deadlift was 375. Nothing big, but great for personal reasons.

As far as numbers, besides the people who have already responded, the Scandinavian patrol of HumanCorpse and Slabbefusk (where the fuck are those guys?) I think put up some nice numbers. Jim is the king of this thread and, presumably, forum.

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Im still here every now and then.
Will enter another meet May 2nd. This will be my first meet with single ply gear, so Im really looking forward to that. Might post some videos after that.

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dont know what the hell i did but my groin is killing me.... i took about a week off then i did my regular cardio (40 minutes on the elliptical) and that band of muscle that goes along your inner thigh up to your package, up right at the top is aching real bad

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What are your raw lifts, humancorpse?

Adductors.

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what now?

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Adductors.

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right, i have done some reading now on them. what do you think? should i be continuing cardio or what? one place said do your cardio on a cycle.... i guess that doesnt hurt them? but for christs sake it was on an elliptical, a machine designed for out of shape 45 year old women, that i hurt myself

they still kind of ache

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Maybe you could do some free squats. Streching always helps with soreness, and I always stretch a lot before any leg exercises. Some people say to stretch neither before nor after exercising, but on days off in between. You could always try that, too.

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I've never heard someone say not to stretch before nor after exercising.. what would be the reason behind that?

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I always heard to warm up with a set of ten, do your lifts and afterwards stretch

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Stretching is something dependent on the stretching exercise, and what it's performed before. Generally, a stretched muscle is weakened and loose, so often it's a bad idea. But if you can't perform a certain exercise without stretching first (like me with overhead squats, for example) you're out of other options.

Stretching after... well, I can't see why you'd complain about that.


On reflection, the person might have stretching workouts by themselves to actually emphasise the importance of mobility and flexibility training. Find who said it and we'll see...

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Stretched muscles are weakened? How significant is this weakening, would you say? (in terms of poundage and reppage, if you could put a number on that)

Upped my deadlift to 385 last Friday, but had to leave with a migraine that was progressive much more quickly with the stress of work out. Tried 405 and almost got it, but I probaby won't get it soon because I'm taking this week off to try to get done a long, 35 page bio project. It's more brutal than any workout I've ever had, that's for sure.

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my bloodpressure was checked tuesday, 103/72. pretty cool

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Arghhh I've been abruptly stricken with excruciating headaches during back and leg day on occasion... it sucks big time. Feels like a stroke from what I could imagine.

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Haven't been lifting regularly lately, but today was a good chest day. First day in the gym since Friday, and I repped out 225 for a solid 13 reps. Not bad for weighing in at a mere 188lbs and being 6'2"

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wow only 188 and 6'2"? from how moderately jacked I remember you being I'd expect well over 200 lbs. I'm 6'3" 199 lbs and am nowhere near as big as you as far as muscularity goes.

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Yeah man, I get that a lot. I hop on the scale and people are usually like "man, i thought you'd be at least 215", but i usually fluctuate between 188 and 192. This pic of me is from maybe back in October where i was at 190 and in about the same shape as Im in now.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_1332e.jpg

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I still don't see why you shouldn't stretch afterwards - dancers always prepare for mobility and flexibility training by maxing out as much as possible. On my school we had these specific lessons for it, seventy minutes of intense exercise of every part of your body... so yea, I'd be really interested to hear the reason for not stretching at all.

Could of course be an exaggerated fear of injuries and such.

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You probably lose a lot of weight in the legs and trunk that a naturally big guy would have. Remember, that muscle you've put on your upper body was added through hard work and force of will; nature probably never intended for you to be as large as you are. Not that it's a bad thing, of course.

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Reading all this and seeing all these pictures makes me kinda depressed... I am so FUCKING skinny and out of shape. I get tired walking up stairs with my guitar. I don't really move, I don't eat a moderately controlled diet, and I like to take painkillers... FUCK ME.

Good luck to you all I need some motivation.

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Truth in this, I never really added mass until I started squating+deadlifting

it used to be all about bench and curls. CURLZ 4 DA GURLZ BRAH!!!11

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I do squat regularly though. I can probably max squat over 400lbs. I used to deadlift but i cut it out of my routine to save my lower back.

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Still, how much muscle you put on is very much a genetical thing, some people seem to be born with natural stereoids and some seem to have been intendend as walking sticks.

No reason for not keeping working out though; I didn't get any visible muscles to speak of until long after I could hoist a large bale of hay six meters straight up onto a ledge and lots of weight is really only useful if you are intending to let the other guy actually score a hit.

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Going to the gym hurts when you haven't been in two and a half weeks. Not coincidentally, take home exams that take over three weeks to complete also hurt. I hate school.

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Its really all about metabolism, I used to be really skinny but gained some mass

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This week:

Monday - power squats (10 singles), 45* back ext.
Tuesday - whole body (power clean + front squat + push press) for reps
Wednesday - complexes, grip
Thursday - overhead (push press), triceps, 4-way neck
Friday - back, biceps, abs

.... with chins every day.

Haven't seen me around? Busy as a dyke in a hardware store.

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Try fighting a loaded with wet towels broken clothesline over your head and see what hidden muscles you discover the next day. My hands even ache. Hubby was laughing at me for walking like Quasimoto.

But woman strong like bull. I got them down without hitting too much ground and strung a new line up.

I also got to help my neighbor demo-ing the back of her house where they're remodeling. Rather large sledgehammer involved. That was fun!!!

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What?

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My bicep routine is 90% reverse grip cleans and close grip chins, because it is also technically part of my back routine. At no point in time are we talking cable curls and spandex.

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Bar curls, alternating curls, and preacher curls (no resistance cables!) are part of my routine, and I have a hard time picturing you doing those, or at least doing them not to spite or mock someone else like the evil bastard you are. I actually do the close grip pullups so often I've recently found it difficult to do a decent set of standard pullups.

Yesterday was back day. Nothing groundbreaking, but some pullups, pulldowns, bent over rows, and deadlifts for reps. I wanted to finish with some shrugs, but my hands are usually very sore after the deadlifts and it honestly felt as though my skin was going to be torn off... which has actually happened a couple of times.

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damn i need to get on your workout plan

i just work on my upper body mostly but since summer is just around the corner i gotta step my game up

Not that anyone really cares: (on all resistance days I usually do another form of cardio...swimming, running, plyometrics, cycling, some sort of gay cardio machine at a gym)

Mondays I do chest, shoulders, triceps, abs

Tuesdays I run 8-10 miles

Wednesday I do back, biceps, abs

Thursdays I do Yoga

Friday I do leg resistance, back, abs

Saturday I usually run, swim, and cycle.

Sunday I stretch.

Every few weeks I rotate it up also.

I may not be that strong, but I bet my damn heart will out last any of you mother fuckers.

Pictures lolz

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/pho...018851_9816.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/pho...039171_5704.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/pho...026350_1040.jpg

I don't really like to be "big" necessarily. I'd rather just stay athletic and proportionally strong.

Damn, you're hot.

That just means you're probably doing it right

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what do you suggest me if i wanna loose my belly? set-ups or jogging?

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Jogging is always good. It can be much more intense than running on a tredmill.

Also doing crunches/situps unless you are doing them "right" aren't going to help your stomach at all.

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Cardio to lose fat, abdominal exercises to tone.

be sure to bend your back more and swing your hipz on those curlz, brah.

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That picture was taken with the one intent of making me look strong

I can't lift that much weight haha.

I'm gonna sex you up.

Why does it look like your back is pumping out those curls for you? Your biceps aren't getting anything and you could hurt yourself, too.

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That's what I was thinking as well. Straighten that back out godamnit.

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well everyone has their own reasons

on another note, I finally realized that I am well into the "intermediate" catagory for weightlifting standards, except for cleans. still nothing compared to some people here.

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Dynamic leg day - I did these.

Without the box jump, just the kneeling part. With a barbell. They were fun but you have to fucking concentrate or you'll die.



More like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzBoQIw5we4

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Anyone here platued on bench press before? any tips...?

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Anabolic steroids.

nah. I'm only benching 185-195 lbs depending on my luck. its been like that for the past 2 months

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Take a week or 2 off from benching and do recovery-type exercises. Let your muscular microtrauma repair.

change your diet/routine. try dumbells instead for a while. vary your sets/reps. there's a lot you can do.

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Pulled 585 today. 15 pounds from my summer goal of 600.

Do you mean you deadlifted or cleaned it? thats pretty heavy either way


Now that I'm outta high school i'm pretty much fucked as far as lifting goes. All the gyms here only have dumbells and smith machines.

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What's wrong with that?

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nothing wrong with dumbells, but its better to have a barbell not attached

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Yeah, i'd be pissed if the gym only had dumbbells and smith machines. I only use a smith machine for incline because i feel it hits my upper chest better and is easier on the joints, or if there's like nobody in the gym to spot me on bench, then i'll use it.

This is my 3rd week back in my upper body routine and i'm feeling strong. Weighed in at 195lbs, up from 182lbs on my first day back in. Repped 275 for 5, only needing a spot on the 5th rep on bench press. I feel like this may be the best I've ever looked, I was 205lbs at one time but I'm more cut now and almost as strong. I'm maxing out at least 305. Maybe 310 if I get fired up enough.

Here's the only recent pic i have, it's not really a good representation since it's all color edited and shit, but it's all i got right now.. http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/.../IMG_1779e3.jpg

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Just curious, how long have you been lifting?

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Pretty steadily for 3 years now. Meaning dieting right, supplementing, and on a 5 day routine. I'd only take off a few weeks here and there if something broke my routine, like an injury or maybe moving, or an illness.. other than that, i'd rarely miss time in the gym, and even when I would take time off, I would almost never break my diet (except for drinking alcohol when I was at school). But i've even given up heavy drinking for the past few months just to ensure a proper diet because i noticed i was losing a lot of definition.

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You fucking putz.

Truth looks like you doing great man, and you came a long way. I wish I had that much self discipline

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Thanks man. It's going to suck when i go into boot camp in a few weeks though. I have to stop lifting, and dieting, and i'll be running constantly. I'm going to lose a shitload of muscle. Hopefully it won't take too long to build back up afterward though.

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Nah just deadlifted. Not too bad for someone who's only been DLing since November, IMO.

Damn, what where you starting at? I've been DLing for about 6 months and I'm only in the low 300's. I power cleaned 185 easy though, supposedly your power clean = 55% of you DL

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Does anyone here do anything besides lift weights? Or lift weights for any reason besides "to be jacked?"

I'm starting to run to get in cardio shape for boot camp. What kind of other reason for lifting are you looking for.. like to cut down or what? There's 3 main reasons to lift weights.. to increase size, strength, and/or endurance. In the process you might burn some fat but if you're looking for fat burning, then cardio is the way you should go. I dont know too many people who are in the gym and say "yeah, i like to lift but i don't want to gain muscle or strength".

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http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l...th/SSPX0087.jpg


LOz. This is after not doing biceps for over a month due to a wrist injury.

Yeah, the gym doesn't sound great..however you can't beat free weight exercises.

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I started at 135 for form, then got to 225 pretty quickly. 315 took a few days to get to, as I began experiencing some grip troubles during that transition. After that it was a pretty steady rise to 405, at which point I began to plateau. But I bought some chalk, and ever since then, I've been going up 10 pounds every session.

So yeah, that's my deadlifting history in a nutshell, heh, hope you enjoyed it.

I mean for like sports/lifting competitions, etc.