Generally people tend to do better in sports if they are faster, stronger, or bigger

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Hence my questioning as to whether anyone here is lifting weights to enhance performance in a sport rather than just to be big.

Dude, Im pretty sure no one has ever cleaned 585 besides Leonid Taranenko, so it should be obvious that he deadlifted it.

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Now that humancorpse pointed it out, I see that weight is actually one pound over the world record

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I don't know about you, but I deadlift because I strive to be the first human tree stump pulling machine

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Owen Schmitt, the fullback for WVU, cleaned something like 530. That was the most i ever heard of. 585 is of god-like status.

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Jesus Christ. How much did you weigh when you started? How much do you weigh now?

I started deadlifts last September and I'm stuck around 385. That's up slightly from 375, and I feel that I'll get 405 soon, but I've tried twice (in separate sessions) within the past 5 weeks and failed both times.

How exactly are you using this chalk? To increase your grip? The gym at UMass has these PVC pipes connected to a rope with weights at the end, and you have to hold your arms out straight in front of you, chest level, elbows straight, and roll the weight back up to the pipe. I've been doing that to increase my grip. I also use gloves for most barbell excercises; the barbells at the gym are very rough and, without gloves (and sometimes even with them) they tear the skin right off my hand quite quickly.

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Well, it's a pretty up and down story. I was 220 when I started deadlifting in November. I reached 235 in December, but decided I wanted to cut down. So I went from 235 in mid-December to 199 in early February. I've been bulking ever since, and I'm weighing in at 245ish right now. Obviously not all of it is muscle, but I've made some pretty great strength gains within that time span, IMO. Besides, I plan to cut down sometime in July again anyway.

I really kinda abuse my chalk. Before my heavy set, I'll always rub the barbell in it, then I'll rub it on my palms immediately before the lift. It's probably unnecessary to rub the barbell in it, but it helps me mentally, and that's the most important part.

I personally love the rougher barbells cause they give allow you a firmer grip. I would advise you try to rough it out, and definitely invest in some chalk if you think you're having grip problems. Chalk isn't cheating, if that's what you're worried about... it just prevents your hands from getting sweaty, and the barbell from slipping out. That forearm roller thing is really more for forearm hypertrophy than grip strength. Maybe try some farmer's walks or something.

Hahaha, you go to UMass? I go to school in Worcester, what are you, like 50 minutes from me?

More like 80 minutes, but still not that far. You're lucky, too, location wise you can get to shows in Worcester and Providence fairly easily. Providence is about 45 minutes and Boston is anywhere between an hour and two hours depending on traffic.

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to cut down from 235 to 199 in 2 months is really impressive. Also to go from 199 to 245 is impressive. What's your bulking diet look like? What kinda supps are ya taking to cut down and to bulk up? And how tall are you?

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Training in a gym to do a forest workers job? Tsk tsk. Come on along out in the woods and pull down a storm felled fullgrown spruce tree that is leaning onto another, branches long thick and twined like so many honey moon couples. Oh, and you're not allowed to cut off pieces at the bottom, can't go waisting good timbre like that. And if you try to manouver the ATV into position to pull with a wire, it'll sink in a bog.

As for Kahlmaswamps question, yes. I don't do much weightlifting as exercise, but see above. But I do train strength a lot with all kinds of wierd motions and positions that I've learned during my years of dancing, to prepare for my dear hobbies of hiking, climbing and dancing. Don't think I'd train as much as I do just for the sake of training.

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Any advice on:

Gaining weight
&
Doing cardio without losing any of that weight?

I don't want to be the fucking hulk, but I'm 5'7" 125-ish... psh.

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Well before I started lifting i was 140lbs. Now i'm 195lbs. Want to gain weight? EAT. EAT. EAT. Lift heavy. EAT. EAT EAT. a good bulking routine and a bulking diet will, believe it or not, make you bulk up. devour those carbs and protein like a fucking bull, lift like a bull, and low and behold you'll be built like one.

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I'm gonna go eat now. How long did it take you to gain that weight?

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gradually over the past 3 years. It seems to happen in bursts.. I'd gain a bunch, then plateau for a little, change up my routine and stuff, gain a bunch, plateau, etc.. It takes time but once the process starts, you won't want to stop.

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If you change your routine every 3 weeks or so, you shouldn't plateau. That's why so many people do end up reaching a plateau, they'll go in and do their basic bench, incline, decline, flies for chest, pull down machine and rows, some kinda lame preacher curls, skull crushers, etc. day in and day out for a particular muscle group they're working. Then all of a sudden when they're no longer able to increase weight they wonder why. It's because his or her body is so used to those movements. Mix it up, there are seriously a billion exercises for every muscle; the less your body is used to a particular movement, the more beneficial it'll probably be. (PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES ARE GREAT TOO FOR GAINING POWER!!!)

hmm I got the impression that you dont lift to max though? sorry i may be wrong

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Thanks bro. I'm a hair under 6 foot. The current bulking diet goes as follows:

Upon waking up: Milk with one scoup whey, plain bagel, 5 tangerines
Pre workout: Whey mixed in with water, banana
Post workout: Milk with one scoup whey
Meal: 5 chicken breasts, 10 slices bread
Meal: 48 oz assorted fruit
Meal: 5 chicken breasts, 10 slices bread
Meal: 16 oz can of crab
Before bed: Milk with one scoup whey and one scoup casein

It's a pretty boring diet but it works for me. I use this diet 6 days a week, for each of my workout days. My rest day is my "cheat" day, when I pretty much eat until I can't eat any more.

As far as supplements, I don't really take much other than my whey and casein, just a lot of vitamins like Calcium, B-50, Garlic, Lutein, Zinc, and some others I can't think of at the moment. I also take something for my joints and just recently started taking fish oil tablets, as recently I have been pressed for cash and have not been able to get it from the crab I usually eat.

That's like 2 week's supply of nutrition. Your kidney's must hate you.

Maybe for your body weight. I'm doing fine though.

Kalmah, that's what a bulking diet is supposed to look like. Welcome to the world of weight lifting. If you don't have a serious diet, then there's no point to serious lifting.

Heca, do you eat white bread or wheat bread? I heard that only wheat bread is good for complex carbs, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

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I stopped eating white bread back in December when my gf alerted me to the fact that white bread is chemically bleached and stripped of its nutrients. Nowadays I mostly eat whole wheat bread and oatmeal bread. Pepperidge Farm has an awesome line of "Light Style" bread, with each slice only having 45 calories. I use this for my bulk and cut. Pretty good stuff.

I didn't know white bread was chemically bleached. That's good to know. I have to check into that "light style" bread. I'm not a huge fan of wheat bread, but then again we're not dieting for the taste either.

I'm going to try to bulk up a good amount over the next few weeks i think, just because I'm going to lose so much in boot camp. Part of me wants to, but then part of me doesn't want to deal with the diet because i'll be eating such shit food there that i want to enjoy every single meal I eat now.

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pretty much all commercial bread is filled with chemicals, actually just about everything is.

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Just a fairly simple question:

that HIIT running stuff (30 sec jogging, 30 sec sprinting, etc.), is that scheme transportale to a bike/hometrainer? Riding slow, then full power, etc.?

I don't have ideal running conditions here, but I'd like to try HIIT nonetheless.

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Yeah, as long as its cardio

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Went for a good ol' cycle today, 7.7 miles according to google maps, but that doesn't take into account all the height changes throughout the route. Had some road, woodland and field terrain, took about an hour and a half, with continual cycling aside from a couple of times to take in the scenery(cam phone pic). My arse is certainly feeling it now, but the legs aren't too bad.

Need to purchase some upgrades for the bike, it's a bit out of condition.

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LoL. Do you ever do any concentration exercises for biceps?

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All HIIT is about is getting into your lactate threshold zone but not staying there as not to "burn out." A lot of studies say intervals are really good for your heart and lungs and are good for burning fat, but I don't think you'll necessarily get the greatest endurance with intervals. Take your age and subtract it from 220, and that should be the highest your heart rate should EVER be. During intervals you should probably only get to about 90% of that number for a minute or so then take a recovery minute and keep alternating.

"HIIT" is a big fad right now though and a lot of "studies" on it are sponsored by lazy body builders or fatass-types that cringe at the thought of doing cardio for more than 5 minutes. On that note, variety is the best idea in a cardio routine for overall health.

my heartrate, when im going super fast, is usually only 150-160

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7.5 miles cycled today, will probably do the same route again tomorrow.

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I love cycling. I went for a nice long ride on sunday. Not sure how far, but I rode to this island (via bridge) near where I live and it was a great scenice ride. I just invested in a nifty little speedometer for my bike, looking forward to giving it a whirl.

hemhorroids

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Having haemorrhoids would probably take a lot of the fun out of cycling.

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I love the scenery where i am, fields 'n' stuff everywhere, nothing like a nice woodland cycle in the rural area

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hahaha i would imagine

i just said that because i remember someone on another forum complaining how he got them after biking to work in the summer

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My heart rate frequently exceeds 200bpm when I'm on the treadmill and jogging at 6mph or faster. I generally start out with a 4-4.5mph powerwalk and then throw myself into a 6.5mph jog for 10 minutes, then slow down to 3.5 to catch my breath and hydrate for a minute, back up to 4.5 for 5 minutes, then back up to 6-6.5mph for another ten minutes and then repeat this cycle for as long as I can. Usually, toward the end of the jogging periods, the machine won't accurately measure my heart rate, and when it starts to climb down, it measures at close to 200. I'm a big guy, but my blood pressure is okay. I just must not like jogging.

Speaking of which, I went for a jog tonight. I'm trying to acclimate myself to jogging in public.

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isnt a lower heart rate during strenous exercise desirable?

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If your heart rate is low, it means you're now working very hard.

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hrmm yes thats not what i mean, i mean if youre clearly tiring yourself (sweating, breathing heavy) and have a lower heart rate isnt that a good thing. as in a trained muscle wont need to work as hard, like your heart is used to it


if you follow hahaha

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I know what you mean, for example of you jog 5 miles every day for 10 days in a row, when you're finished on the tenth day your heart rate should be a bit slower than when you finished on the first day. I just meant that you should up the irons and make sure your heart is working like hell every time

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gotcha

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Did power clean and jerk singles, yates rows, reverse grip cleans and military presses for reps today. I feel like vomiting.

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This is what I've been training in for the last year. Got tired of the atmosphere in the local commercialised gym, and there is no 'proper' gyms even close to the area where I live. So I welded myself up a 'rack', a bench, and bolted up a chin up bar. It's done the job just fine so far. And I've learned some valuable lessons training by myself in this space. It's been fun. Painful at times, but still fun.

Attached Images

gime.JPG (93.1 KB, 37 views)

Yeah going to gym by yourself isn't much fun, especially when there's a nothing but pantywaist curl jockeys around

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i love the old folks gym, nobodys ever there when i go, the only thing i cant get into is the amount of tvs tuned to court tv or fox tv

its like theyre unaware of comedy central or something

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My doctor said I have the build of a long-distance runner today. I like that, actually. He also said I'm underweight, but as long as I keep my body fat above 10% it's all good, niggas.

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Well..I'm sure a lot of women are jealous of your figure.

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You should have pounched him.

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it can go below 10. mine's under 10. somewhere between 6 and 8 last time i got it checked.

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I had to tell you about the Walpurgis-colada Post Workout Shake. Vanilla whey powder, pina colada mix, and coconut rum mixed in a blender with ice.

That's ma boy.

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Hahahaha he knows how to live

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"5) Snatch-Grip Deadlift from a Deficit

Everything is performed exactly the same way as the snatch-grip deadlift. The only difference is that you're doing the exercise while standing on a podium (or a pair of 25-pound plates). You could also just load the bar with smaller plates.

This increases the range of motion so to properly do the exercise, you're forced to squat down even lower into the starting position. This will further increase quadriceps and glutes activation. In my opinion, this is the ultimate lower body shaping exercise."

http://www.t-nation.com/article/mos...ng_the_deadlift

I've been doing a lot of these recently, building support for a bigger conventional deadlift - I switched to sumo a while ago and shouldn't have. You'd be surprised with how difficult they can be. Got up to 140kgs (315lbs) for a triple. Brutal on the thumbs if you hook grip.

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Its pretty much counter-productive to drink alcohol after workouts. unless its beer.

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You can go under 10% because you are at a healthy, manly weight. A dude that's already under a healthy weight really shouldn't.



I don't mess around with different grips, but anytime I do deadlifts at home (which I try to avoid), I have to go ultra low. All I have are small 25 pound plates that barely hold the bar off the ground... back day is a day at the gym.

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Jaesus fucking christ these are brutal. They put a new spin on the word "ow." They make me feel like I did bent rows and squats at the same time. I stood on a plate and used a few sets of 35's 25's and 10's on the bar to further lower it to the ground

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I actually had no clue how fucking weird that sounded when I typed it

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Ha! Yeah. It wasn't so much going there by myself as it was the whole atmosphere: The music, the waiting, the lack of common courtesy, the ego's etc etc.



I sometimes struggle a bit getting comfortable with reach doing Deadlifts straight off the floor, so I usually use some cinder blocks to raise the bar a bit. Might be an idea if you're stuck at home.

The legions of backbone and moral fibre are making a new offensive! Keep your heads down and don't choke on whatever you're trying to drink!

http://www.zen-articles.com/home/Ze...%20Masturbating

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Weekly weight - almost 100kgs.
Weekly lift - almost trap-bar deadlift at 495lbs.
Ensuing goal - remove almosts.

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Never tried those. Do you find them harder ( as in having to use less weight) than with a normal bar?

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Power clean and pressed 195lbs twice today. The press part feels totally natural... but the first movement where I get it to my chest always feels totally wrong...

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Depends on the bar. Some have raised handles, which means the weight starts higher. Obviously, this is easier than a straight bar because you have better leverage. However, a bar without raised handles is generally thought of as harder than a straight bar. Certainly I find it harder, mostly because I can't use a mixed grip on a trap bar.

Found out today that my hang clean 1RM is the same as my power clean 1RM. This either means I have an awesomely powerful hang clean, or shitty power off the floor. Or both.

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10.5 mile cycle yesterday Come to the conclusion that cycling is more enjoyable without music, especially with beautiful scenery to see and hear.

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I've been thinking about getitng into it. Give me another sport to pick up and do.

My sisters boyfriend is attempting to go Am. He cycles like 80 miles a day.

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isn't the hang clean from standing position?

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well like semi croutched. Its rests on the legs.

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Strange, back in school we always used to do them standing up and very quickly behind the whistle. Those and high pulls.

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I finally hit 200lbs on bench not really a bit deal compared to all you powerlifters here

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If you can bench your own body weight, that's better than most men.

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I start cutting tomorrow. Man, these next few months will blow.

Say, someone brought me home new proteins since my brand was sold out... And it's fucking SOYA protein.

I know I've read some discussion about soya protein in this topic (long ago), but I can't find it back. Anyone up to date if (daily) soya shakes are - indeed - more harmful than anything?

[Edit: fixed the spelling especially for you assholes! ]

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...Soya?

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Sounds like something 50 Cent would use. "Mutha fucka, I's is a hood so-jah 'n I'm fiddin' to mix up dat SOJA PROTEIN"

confusion probably comes from his language having J as a soft y sound

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Here it's "soja", in English apparently "soya". Excuse me.

Does anyone has a reply that's actually informative?

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A bunch of people are going to tell you that it'll boost your estrogen levels. To answer your question of if it will do you more harm than good: I don't think it will do you any good or harm you at all. You're not going to grow a vagina from drinking soy.

I'll resist the temptation to yell at you for not being more specific...

Let's start here:

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459516
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=2038292

I can point you towards the actual studies, if you like.

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I'm not denying it boosts estrogen. I just don't think a little soy protein powder is going to make him grow breasts and watch Sleepless in Seattle...in a similar way that eating a candy bar every day for a week is going to make anyone into an enormous lard.

What I find so damn irritating is that so very few people seem to actually think... you shouldn't need a university degree to be able to figure out that when you tilt your diet to be based around a single product/lack of product the result isn't good for you.
And keeping infants on a soy formula diet... sigh. But then again, we had a case here a few years ago when a couple tried raising their child on a diet of avocado and apples. Mind you, they only used apples that had fallen off the tree naturally. They didn't believe in using toothpaste either. Said it was a scam by the multinational companies.

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far_beyond_sane: thank you, those were amongst the articles I was referring to.

So... it seems that one serving of soy protein isolate/concentrate a day isn't too harmful after all... Sweet.

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Didn't read them, did you?

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Yay! I decided to order a kettlebell and it arrived today. Just a 20kg. The poor delivery lady was struggling though.

I couldn't help having a little stuff around with it straight out of the box. It's damn good fun.

I definitely want a kettlebell.

FBS: I weigh 220 lbs, I'm 6'3", bench 225 and deadlift a little under 400 at this point. I only do big moves like power cleans, bench, deadlifts, reverse grip cleans etc. and I only train to gain strength. What weight kettlebell do I need? I want to train with more of a powerlifting intent rather than a bodybuilding intent.

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I'm curious as to what exactly Jim does with his kettlebells (farmer's walks?) and whether those exercises are practical for regular joes like me. At any rate, I wouldn't be getting one anytime soon unless I find some buried treasure in the woods.

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I've lost a lot of weight past year.

Mostly going out more... no real diet change....just more active including tons of swimming.

:P

Most people don't actually realize how inactive they are. A little activity can go a long way.

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I know I said about a month ago that I was gonna be starting my cut soon, but I decided to put it off for a little while longer, to reach my goals I mentioned a few months ago in the thread (400 bench, 500 squat, 600 deadlift). Well, I finally reached those goals, so it's time to start cutting. Yesterday was my first day. I'm weighing in the 250s right now... my goal is to cut down to 220 by October 1st, then minibulk my way to a 405x3 bench, 495x10 squat, and 675 deadlift. After gaining what I'm expecting to be 10-15 pounds from this bulk, I'm gonna try to cut down to 210, at which point I'm expecting to be under 10% bf. We'll see where I go from there, but my ultimate goal is to have a 500 bench, 700 squat, and 800 deadlift at a bodyweight of about 220-230, however far down the road that may be.

god damn, you must be a big fucker.

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Amen to that.

What's really shitty though, is how far or, rather, low a little inactivity can go. In between injuries and getting prepared for university, I slacked off for about two weeks, and then a few days ago I started up my favourite "normal" sport - swimming/bicycling/running. (Does that qualify as thriatlon?)
Jesus fucking sub-christ, I don't even wanna think about times. It was on the verge of being a question of distances.

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I did the same thing when my 48kg arrived... in the middle of the street. The delivery guy was furious - it had come loose in the van and destroyed the rest of his deliveries, and I was playing with it in traffic.



Hmm. We are remarkably similar, except your deadlift sucks.

I see very little 'bodybuilding intent' in kettlebells. They're great for two things, primarily: controlling bodyweight/metabolic conditioning and getting your hips snapping. If you're going to get one and only one, I would start with a 24kg. I would also learn to use it properly - get an instructional video. It'll take your hand off if you fuck it up.



Kettlebells - clean + jerk, snatch, swings, juggling, passing drills, all sorts of shit. Youtube for some weird kettlebell exercises, chances are I do them.

I snatched the 48kg for the first time the other day. I was equally torn between pleasure and the thought "this is very fucking heavy".

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Mine, too. It's the same as his. My squat is even worse. I've worked on some Romanian lifts over the summer and some snatches, too, but overall I've been less active this summer. A great deal more of my metabolic energy has been allocated to long distance walking (animal research) than to weight training. That'll change soon as my free time disappears.



How do you do snatches with kettlebells? Do you use two? If so, how do you keep your arms spread while doing them?

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Youtube it. It's hard to explain.

Rarely if ever do people double-snatch with kettlebells.

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I just watched a guy on youtube and he was doing it with one arm. Interesting. Does this mean my arms don't have to be spread so far apart when I do snatches? My bar at home is relatively short, so I can go the entire length with ease, but I'm afraid to try them at the gym.

On a different note, I did some more Romanian deadlifts today and have come to the conclusion that it's the greatest exercise ever. I have no doubt this will help me increase my deadlift and hopefully help me attain a respectable squat, too.

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Those will break any plataeu with squats you have, you're right on that one.

I've been avoiding deadlifts too much recently. Sticking to squats, I should do both though

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My squat is lousy as well... I'm just too uninspired to give it hell on leg day. If I even DO leg day this week. I really spend all my time doing bent rows, power cleans and reverse grip cleans.

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never drink a rockstar energy drink before lifting... and never drink whey after that... ughhhh

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never drink an energy drink

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Rockstar energy drinks are nasty... the only one I've ever actually liked is red bull.

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When it comes to energy drinks, i love this Starbucks Energy + Coffee drink they have. it comes in Mocha, coffee, and vanilla. Coffee flavor is amazing.

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