This may be the 1st Health and fitness type post in MOBclan's 5+ year history.
Which is kind of interesting all by itself seeing as how varied the topics tend to be.

A person at the gym recommended a fitness site to me a few month ago.
So now I'm passing on the suggestion.
If anyone is interested in general fitness/weight lifting.
You should give this site a look
http://stronglifts.com/page/2/
It's a fitness/weight lifting blog with tons of great information.

The whole site is built surrounding whats called
StrongLifts 5×5 ( 5 sets of 5 reps )
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beg...aining-program/
While this is contradictory to most lifting routines, a lot of people have had great results following this guide.

My history.
40 years old.
A little over 2 years ago I decided to get serious about my health.
The 1st thing I did was stop smoking.
Which always tends to put on some weight.
Right about that same time I switched jobs, going form a labor intensive production job to a desk job.
So within a few months after I quit smoking, I had the predictable 15 lbs spare tire around my midsection.
A few months after that I started jogging and hitting the gym to get the weight off
Not real seriously but I was trying.
After about 3 months of working out, my endurance level was up but I still had my spare tire.
So I took the next step, signed up for a mini triathlon to help get me motivated.
5 mile run, 1 mile swim. 20 mile bike.
Needless to say, I thought I was going to die.
It was a real humbling experience, seeing a 65 year old pass me by without breaking a sweat.
Not to mention the overweight soccer mom who did the swim in half my time.

So I turned up the intensity of my workouts but I still wasn't happy with the results.
Just as I was about to get rid of my spare time, lighting strikes.
I developed small tears in my Achilles tendon.
Something which still hasn't healed all the way.
It forced me to switch from mostly cardio to more weight lifting.
I spent the next 5-6 months hitting the weights pretty steady.
With very small gains and the tire started to come back
One day I just happen to mention to the person who was using the squat rack right before me that my goal was to NOT need to remove weights after he used it.
He was a average size guy but was squatting 80lbs more than my norm.
He laughed, said that was never going to happen because I was doing it wrong.
He was real nice about it, gave me some tips and recommended I start over using the
StrongLifts 5×5 guide.
Long story short.
In 14 weeks after switching to this and using the information available on the site, I easily passed my initial gains which took me close to 6 months to do the 1st way..
In the same period I haven't lost a single pound but have dropped 3 inches from my waist.
So I'm slowly converting any excess fat to muscle.

Doing 5x5 has shown great results for me.
Not claiming to be a body builder by any means. In fact, size wise I can't really tell any difference except I'm missing my spare tire.
The real change is I'm definitely stronger than I have probably ever been.
I'm on pace to hit the magic number of squatting 2x my weight in the next few weeks.

Sorry for the long read, just thought I should offer some background.
BTW if anyone does this, post back with your results.
Or for that matter, share any fitness/lifting info you have.

Back in my youth (13 to 20) I spent time with some older family and friends building weight lifting equipment for a gym we had setup... I mean a lot of equiment
Cable crossover, lat machine, pec-deck, hack racks, row machines and a ton of benches.

Being a younger member of the "gym" I learned a lot from the serious body builders.
One of the things we would do would be to stagger our workouts and lift light weights with a lot of reps for a couple of months, then heavier weights for a couple of months.

It seemed to help break up that wall that we would hit were progress was not being made. The other thing that seemed to help was that if we were doing a specific excercise for a body part we would switch the routine out.
Ex. If we were doing flys withfree weights for the pecs on the light schedule, the next time we were on the light schedule we would use the pec deck or cable crossover machine.

For what it's worth that's what I remember, it worked for me and the change of pace maybe just what you needed.

Those were te good old days without the stress of work, home improvements, bills and life in general.

I really need to start working out to burn off these beers I keep drinking, the eating less plan is just not working.

Congrats Druid! Keep up the good work!

You only say that because you think I'm trying to get buff for you,
but I told you it's over, it's time to move on.....

For you...

http://www.clamlips.com/pointto/you.wav

Druid, I haven't looked at the5x5 yet, but I will and I look forward to it.
It looks to me that we hit the same conclusion at about the same time. I quit smoking about 2 1/2 years ago and changed my diet and started working out.
The biggest difference came from taking out as much trans fat and as much high fructose corn syrup from my diet as I could. when I started this I was pushing 230. I didn't start because of my weight, really. I started for a couple of reasons, one being my health. I've got crohn's disease, which is an intestinal disease. I had an abscess in my intestines about 6 months after I started "getting in shape". Everything had been going well health-wise, but I figured my wife goes to the YMCA to work out, I should too.
Anyway, I get the abcess and the Doc gives me news that things are taking a turn for the worse and that happens at the same time I find out how bad trans fats and HFCS are for you. So, the whole family does it's best to change it's diet. Not really change what we eat, but get the slightly more expensive, but healthier versions.
The difference is that I'm now 180 lbs. at 6'1".
I plan on adding mass. If it weren't for the Crohn's I'd probably be a beast. The way I was eating and working out in highschool nobody understood why I wasn't getting bigger muscle-wise. We had trainers from Ohio State come and consult with us on our workout programs. These guys saw me get stronger and ovesaw my eating and didn't get why I wasn't gaining mass. It was because I was malnurished. The food I ate passed through me without giving off the essential bits.
Anyway, I'm healthy now and gaining a bit in size based mostly on my old highschool routine. It's not as intense as highschool, but I don't have the patience or time (well, just the patience, probably) to do the full routine I really need to do.
I know several professional trainers and have gotten varied advice about what I should be doing.
A guy I met most recently (about 6 months) tells me that the protien powder drinks I'm taking after the workout are just helping me lose weight, not gain mass.
He recommends Creatine, which I've been hesitant to try. I'm not trying to get huge, but like I said, I was malnurished when I was a teen, so I'd like to fill out and not be as skinny as I am (not the skinniest guy, but if you look at my dad you know I could be bigger muscle wise).
So, that's my story for now.
I'll give the 5x5 a look over and maybe tomorrow give my general routine info. For now I'm going to just look over the 5x5 routine.

Thanks.

I have been working out for several years now mostally just to keep fit. The one thing I have seen is that there are all kinds of programs and tips. You have to try and see what works best for yourself. Curently, I have hit a plateau and the 5x5 is a program that will be good to break it.



This is also a very good site for information http://www.bodybuilding.com/index.html



Bargod, I also have Crohn's, 22 years now, and with two operations it is now in returning is two places. It is very hard some days to do anything, but the diet is important to stick too.



Thanks

BG take this info with a grain of salt but this is what I've educated myself about so far.
Creatine - unless your doing any sport at a competitive level, creatine has little or NO use
The ONLY two benefits from creatine are speed and power.
For example....
It gives a tiny fractional increase to muscle twitch. So if your running/cycling/swimming in a race and .001 of a second may make the difference between winning and losing. Then creatine would not only be useful, it would be a requirement.
It also adds to your muscle's explosive power potential, alloying you to swing that bat/golf club/whatever a little harder
We're talking tiny increases in ability, the kind everyone needs in competitive level sports.
The idea it will help increase muscles mass is a myth.
This myth probably comes from people who used creatine as a mental crutch. They started taking it as they got serious about lifting.
So they tend to think what a big difference taking creatine made.
Not really, it was because they were probably hitting the gym more an at a higher intensity.
The other reason people misbelieve creatine helps muscle mass is if they have a low body fat level to start with.
Then they may see increased muscle definition, which ISN'T from more muscle. Slight water retention inside the muscles is a known side effect of creatine.
This is one of the reasons, professional athletes who take creatine, also take a diuretic before competing.
Every supplement place selling creatine makes the statement "creatine is needed for muscle growth."
Which is true, what they leave out is the creatine levels required for muscle building is very low compared to the dosage they recommend
Low enough anyone except vegetarians get it from their diet.
The other big benefit is it tends to reduce recovery time, the other reason pro-athletes use it.
If you do decide to use it as a supplement, just remember it a naturally occurring compound already in your body and in any meat or fish you eat.
There is no need to get the more expensive "designer" brands.
It doesn't matter what form, it's all the same after you ingest it.

That was actually one of the reason I like the stronglifts site.
He didn't recommend a dozen different supplements, all of which the other places just HAPPEN to advertise for.

As far as the protein shakes.
There are 2 types.
1) Straight protein ( usually whey protein ), adding protein while limiting fat and crabs.
2) Mass Gainers, Same as the protein shakes but they also include built in fats and calories.

In my opinion gainers are more for actual body builders, people who may easily need 4000-5000 cal's/day.
This is actually one of points I disagree with from stronglifts.
Stronglifts recommends 1g/lb of protein per day, To me that's unreasonably high except for a pro body builder
BTW this is all based off of LBM ( lean body mass ) not actual weight. Your weight minus any fat.
My aim right now it .75g/lb. Which is a total I couldn't reach without a protein shake or sometimes 2.
Just remember, while every place sings the great success of using protein shakes.
Excessive or unused protein gets tored as fat.
To much protein via a shake or protein bar is no better for you than drinking a milkshake at Mcdonalds or eating a candy bar.
Figure out how much protein you regularly take in from your diet, then start adding to it if needed.
Another useful site is
http://fitday.com/
Lots of great nutrition information is available there.
Including the nutrition info for all the foods you eat and
calories burned for just about anythig you can do.
http://fitday.com/WebFit/burned/calories_burned.html


Again, this is all just my opinions form what I've looked into for myself.





Viper.
I'll be very curious to hear what kind of results you get after 8-12 weeks.
For me I think the biggest advantage of 5x5 is I'm more likely to work to fatigue.
The 1st set is a strain but with only doing 5 reps, I can push and struggle my way through the next 4 set.
My other biggest mistakes was I previously relied to much on machines.
It was easy to sit down in a machine an do leg presses. Squats by comparison sucked ass.
Now I realize the squats were so much harder because they really were harder.
Which explains the increased results from doing them.


FYI
The stronglifts site is going to be up and down a lot for the next few days as they transition to a new host.
You may also see a lot of talk about paid subscriptions. The pay side is only going to be the forum when the author & founder
will act as a virtual trainer for those interested in paying the money.
Personalized instruction about lifting/fitness/nutrition.
The other 90% of the site will remain free as always.

Why limit crabs? I heard that they are an excellent source of protein.

Crabs......
LOL

See thats what sucks about spell check.
It only corrects spelling not someone being to lazy to not proof read their post.

Normally I would go back an edit my post but that's just to funny.

creatine only adds water weight imo,when you stop you lose all your gains right away.i stick to protien ,aminos (l-arginine is awesome and cheap-safe) and alot of veggies and fruit,i try to eat smaller portions every two hours.i myself am 37 and originally started to work out about 5 years ago,until i got married . having a child, 2 jobs and trying to have any kind of time with the wife and house chores etc.. limited me to only 1 or 2 times a week,so i can say i have that tire going again myself .ive always eaten right but as druid said ,working in an office you seem to stray sometimes.ive been going again 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks and feeling great .after reading this work out ,it makes sense that it seems to have you work your core ,mastering your body weight is the most important.they are stressing squats and if you google workouts,most of the old school body builders in the 60s and 70s say the same thing "you aint squat if you dont squat".

Squats are hard. I usually rationalize a reason I shouldn't do them, like my achey knees.

I use the whey protein and thanks for the info about creatine. Since he was the only guy advocating it I was a little hesitant to spend the money on it.
I do drink several ensure or boost a week to make sure I'm getting everything I need (do to the Crohn's) and I think that helps a lot as well.

What I need to work on, I think, is the timing of my meals before going to the gym. Since we do this as a family thing and my wife works during the day the kids and I will meet her at the gym. They play in the child care area with the other kids and we work out. Unfortunately that usually means I'm hungry by the time I get to the gym. Sometimes I'll drink an ensure or boost to help me through it or sometimes I'll eat some chocolate for quick energy, but it would be nice to have some kind of easy carb to eat a couple of hours before going to the gym.

wow! this is really a cool work out,probably would take less than the hour i already use right now .think im gonna roll with it starting next week.one of my only downfalls is chin ups,cant do em,hate em too.i dont really like squats either but when you get use to them ,they re not that bad.

Just done some reading over the last hour as I didn't know much about Crohn's besides the basics.
I found out most of what I thought I knew was wrong.

I read several people who sufferer from Crohn's, end up taking a prescription NSAID
( Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
If you do, you should probably stay away from creatine because there are documented drug reactions between creatine and NSAID's.
Something else I would have to wonder about if I suffered from the disease.
You already mentioned one of the side effect is poor absorption of vitamins and minerals.
Well, that includes protien, in fact its high up on the list.
I would talk to my Dr. and see if increased protein intake is even possible via supplements ( shakes/bars ) or recommended for that matter.
There is a chance your protein intake is going to be limited regardless of how much you try to consume.
If so, all you may be doing is putting unneeded stress on your kidneys as they will have the job of removing the unused protein.
Definately something I would research if in your place.




From a nutrition stand point
All I take is
Daily Multi-Vitamin
Fish Oil for the Omega-3
Extra Protein.
Another reason why I liked the stronglifts site.
It doesn't hype a lot of B.S. Supplements

I'm an idiot, strike what I just said about possible stress on your kidney's from to much protein.
I was thinking about it wrong.
Crohn's causes problems with Absorbtion not Metabolization,
I guess that means you can look on the bright side.
While a healthy person can stress his kidney's if they take in more protein than their body can metabolize
A person with Crohn's doesn't have that problem as they never even absorbed the excess protein, it gets poo'ed out.

Can I say Poo'ed?
Last thing I want to do is offend anyone.

For those just looking for another work out I used a pyramid of sets when I was active. Starting with 10 reps, 8, 6, and finally 4. Each time with a little heavier weight (if possible) sometimes I would have to use the same weight for two sets in a row. I wasn't a big guy but got pretty strong pretty fast that way. The hard part is just going to the gym and doing it. Mixing up your routine once every few months is the only way to break a plateau IMO. This routine will not make you lean but build muscle so if you are looking to tone probably not right for you. But it's simple and seemed to work really well for me.

I use this style for years, it give you both endurance with the high reps low weight and strength with low reps and high weights.



One important thing is to learn to stretch the muscel and warm up before the lifts. With the light weights it is good to help get ready for the heaver lifts. I've had a pulled muscle in my shoulder because my chest was too tight pullijng my shoulders forward and straining the other muscle.

yes but any protien shakebar/drink puts a heavy wieght on your kidneys ,infact protien BARS are the worst. i do however do one shake directly after banana smooothies. i get my omegas from eating eggs and the avocados off my tree,so have 17 banana trees as well. read up on L- arginine ive taken it on work days and swear my recovery time is less -11$ . another thing i recently tried which seems to be a lame hype was acai.i did like it but waaay expensive,until i found frozen acai and mixed 1 tspn in with the shakes,wow!



i try to eat an organic diet,coming from the west or north may be weird but in fla ,we have no more land so all imports are commercial.

I always check with my GI before taking anything. I've always tried to look on the bright side of things. One of the most heavily scarred areas is (I'm told) the place that absorbs the bad kind of cholesterol. So, back when I wasn't eating so healthy and eating red meat almost every day my cholesterol was always good. I've since found, though, that I tend to get irritable bowel now if I eat too much red meat and I've got to keep up on the fiber. I also eat a lot of almonds.
I had been taking fish oil supplements, but my eye doctor told me the ones I were taking were pretty useless (generic off the counter at CVS). He gave me the name of a good brand to use and to ask my GI for a proper dosage, but the ones he recommends are of course expensive.

I had to struggle with trying to put on weight forever being formerly an extremely skinny lad. In teens I got into weight lifting/bodybuilding and bulked up -but my eating habits were poor and my weight went up and down like a yo-yo for a coupla decades- at just under 6' my former weight -in late teens- was 135lb... then the various workout phases I went thru averaged me around 160lb- at one time spiking to 195lb! Well in that period I ate junk and tons of it- my metabolism was very high. Then something odd and inexplicable happened.....

About 7 years ago I became lacto-vegetarian -> no meat, fish, eggs.... but dairy/cheese ok with me.
There are 2 ways a vegetarian can do things; the smart way or the dangerous way;
Smart includes being close to a nutrition expert - the dangerous way= not paying attention to your nutritional requirements.
Of course the first comment people usually make about vegetarianism is 'But you need meat!'
That's entirely not true - the one protein enzyme commonly found in meat and not widely available in a vegetarian's diet can be found amongst easily available veggie sources.
So not wanting to follow the dummy vegetarian methodology I basically immersed myself in what makes up good food eating habits through tons of research. I won't bore you with details but here's what I watch for in my diet;
Basically one has to go through a brief phase of reading food labels/going thru food nutrition charts to familiarize yourself with what's in everyday foods -I don't touch canned foods or pop anymore.
Here's what's foremost on my list;
-less than 2300mg of salt/day
-Keeping ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats low [ a big health crusher in our society is the excesses of omega 6 fats we consume]. No trans fats.
-Fibre and Oats - either in cereal or whole wheat bread -ALOT
-Grapes, tomatoes, onions, Broccolli, Cauliflower
-Organic yogurt- flavour it yourself with fruits/sugar/honey
-No junk food/white flour/soda
Seems spartan but with knowing how to cook with herbs/spices/honey/low sodium soy sauce and coming up with tasty veggie saucies/'gravies', food can be very tasty and complex for vegetarians.

So in the 7 years of being an INFORMATIVE vegetarian here's what's happened.
-I'd get 2 or 3 major colds a year normally - now I get one day -long sniffles if anything, in a year.
Even the winters up here that used to make me cringe seem alot warmer on my body now too!
-I continued to workout -TONS of protein can be found in non-meat/fish foods ie, pasta/grains/cauliflower/beans -> I needed 200gms of protein /day for a very heavy duty workout routine I followed a coupla years back and easily got it -ate alot though.... In that routine -in one year as a vegetarian I went from 150lbs to 195lbs *my second time hitting that mark but this time as a veggie and not via alot of milk/dairy. I did try 'Whey' protein formulas temporarily, but the results though were not longlasting over time.
-Now the bizarre thing- my lifelong high-metabolism has vanished.... I currently eat a couple of meals a day but my body stays at around 180lbs - before, my body would easily shed 2-3 lbs per week consuming the same amount of food.
-Most important I learned to cook very tasty food now -
Actually we need to start a MOB's favorite home-cooked recipes thread here soon.

INTERESTING.

I was actually thinking the same thing recently. Over the last 6 months or so the wife and I have expanded our cooking skills and recipes and have taken an interest in wine. There is an excess of excellent wines for under $20. My wife and I have enjoyed trying different ones out while occasionally picking ones we already know we like for certain occasions.


One of my favorite side dishes to make right now is a "sauteed" spinach with garlic.
I took the recipe from a fancy-schmancy restaurant. The sauteed is in quotes, because it is cooked on low heat, so not really sauteed.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Heat 2 tbls olive oil on med-low heat.
When oil is heated through add 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic.
Let garlic cook in oil for several minutes infusing the oil with it's flavor.
Slowly add a bag of baby spinach, a handfull at a time. Add more as spinach wilts.
When spinach has completely wilted add salt and pepper and dish out.

This rules!

I've also made it with red pepper flakes instead of garlic for a spicier twist.

Spinach and broccoli are about the only green veggies I eat. Luckily they are both loaded with good stuff...

BG, I'd recommend you start a NEW thread for this topic.... I'm betting it'll be one of the longest threads in the forum- next to that flashgirl one of old....... Once u get it going I'll post my own creations too- including a spinach one.

ok ,so i tried this work out this morning and i have to say ,im impressed.i did exactly like it said and took it easy the first session/week and warmed up on the treadmill 5 minutes. i did work out A but did one set of each (except barbell row) with no wieght,thinking of form,then only went to 10 pounds total for each exercise.i was done in exactly 30 minutes and im sitting here noticing every part of my body HAS been worked,even the forearms.

i can however say that the looks i got were more on what the fuck is this guy doing?? my core or mid section is tight.very impressed .

yummm!! That sounds good. Reminds me of a dish that the Macaroni Grill used to serve. One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing.



You guys have now made me hungry, but at the same time I feel I need to get back on my Bowflex!

This is about 60 days in from the 1st post.
I was curious to know if anyone tried the 5x5 program.
If so, what are your thoughts, results?

For anyone interested here is a informative FAQ on
"Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength"
Considered by many to be the holy bible of lifting.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

honest thought here, if you get off ur ass and do things... you will be more fit.
walk to the corner store, not drive
screw more, it burn calories
stop drinking so much beer
just move more and you will be ok.
ever notice the way people looked back in the 20's - 50's? we were not aided so much by technology.
as for lifting its all great, strength rawr!
walking works just as well
I lift, just basics... bench, pulls, etc... but i dont do enough walking. gotta start that. (and quit smoking!)

actually robert ,ive followed his work out to a tee,infact the stretches he suggest are right on the money. the guy really knows what hes talking about,he calls when youll stall and what excer youll be on. to be honest i was 225 (normally 190) i dropped two waist sizes since but actually gained 7 lbs. im having friends asking me if im taking steroids .work out b is the most challenging imo because of the press and pull ups.



how about you?

Uh...
I never quite got around to starting...
Then I lost my job..
I quit going to the gym...
Luckily I didn't gain any waist sizes, cuz my new job required black pants that I had from when I was "fit".
I'm happy again and have a new job.
I need to work out again.
Maybe nows a good time to start the new program.
I saw a guy from my gym that I don't like at the liqour store tonite... I didn't recognize him until I drove away... then I felt guilty that I didn't recognize him because I hadn't been to the gym in like 6 weeks...


sigh...

I'm more out of the regular 'pumping up' routines I used to commonly indulge in once a year - I'm now more partial to regular shorter/yet still intense workout sessions more regularly and at home too -great for overall energy. I'm creating some non-weights-use muscle builder exercises;
Try this one-
Stand back against a wall walk out with your legs 2 steps so that you're leaning back onto the wall.... then do one routine per leg of bringing up to your chest then down to the floor lightly-repeat without pause until you're burning- then do the next leg- do 3 sets of that..... you can feel the Incredible Hulk top thighs bulging.

one thing i really like about this web site is how thorough he is.almost evry day i go in there hes uploaded more info. at a point where i was thinking i was doing some excer wrong because i was getting sore in places ive never been sore in (upper back between shoulder blades) he posts stretches that remedy this,the day it started hurting,lol. very impressed.

I've been really pleased with my gains in strength so far, even though I fell short of my original goal of being able to squat 2x my body weight. Which was mostly my fault for lightening up on my efforts due to problems with my Achilles tendon, which now has me in a walking cast for the next 6 weeks.
Nice thing is I've finally gotten to a decent weight on my overhead press, which has always been my biggest embarrassment.
I use to struggle with 120, now I'm doing 5x5 150lb
Since I can't work on my squats for 6 weeks, I'm now going to focus on chins an dips.
Both of which I suck at, especially dips.

Here is some great information concerning proper form when it comes to squats and a few other core exercises.
***WARNING***
While the information is great, it's almost painful to watch the videos because the guy has
a monotone voice
shows no enthusiasm
Each 10 minute video could probably be cut down for content to about 5 minutes.
Many of them are kind of funny to watch because as he talks about specific aspects of form, you'll catch him doing something else wrong that he previous told you not to do.

Squat Rx #1: Lower Back Rounding at the Bottom of the Squat
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rq8CWv8UPAI

Squat Rx #2: GMing Out of the Hole
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wY4gwVlO_k0

Squat Rx #3: Engaging the Glutes and Hamstrings (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsoyHoQU4O4

Squat Rx #3: Engaging the Glutes and Hamstrings (Part II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znPFEAtk8QE

Squat Rx #4: Bar Positioning and Squat Depth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZ1HzoH0Rw

Squat Rx #5: Hip & Hamstring Mobility and Flexibility
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKnpmQNhc3w

Squat Rx #6: A Dozen Selected Exercises for Squatters (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIECuX8o88c

Squat Rx #6: A Dozen Selected Exercises for Squatters (Part II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4NwygdsF_c

Squat Rx #7: Bands and Chains
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vAHvURlC3OA

Squat Rx #8: Shoes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKGLVDtq0S8

Squat Rx #9: JV Squats & Overhead Squats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60RPh2ueEds

Squat Rx #10: Set-Up & Breathing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXgEXiTCjqo

Squat Rx #11: Belts, Wraps, and Suits (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVGrkfFr028

Squat Rx #11: Belts, Wraps, and Suits (Part II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRi0bPuPN-o

Squat Rx #12: 5 Common Squatting Issues (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ2AB8mDsD4

Squat Rx #12: 5 Common Squatting Issues (Part II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=steEXp9M4hQ

Squat Rx #13: Box, Pause, and OI Squats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDFR3bXhl4Q

Squat Rx #14: 7 "Core" Exercises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnlO1pNHdVY

Squat Rx #15: The Front Squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRmdtSvmQQ

Squat Rx #16: The Hack Squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLgPJVwemtU

Squat Rx Interlude: Kettlebells in September
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dt3k7ze8w4

Squat Rx #17: Westside Basics (Part I)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxnx5xozKCM

Squat Rx#17: Westside Basics (Part II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F17X0ZeuT3o

Squat Rx #18: Concentric and Zercher Squats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwUSyDyF2XQ

Squat Rx #19: Dave Draper's "Top Squat"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=L5wTfRA5SrQ

Squat Rx #20: Thoughts on Power Cleans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I8bXE9k5BU



Without a doubt , the best exercise I found to teach your body how to squat properly is doing squats against a wall.
That;'s funny all by itself....
An exercise to teach you how to do an exercise.
Anyway, if you want to ensure you are squatting correctly, do some facing a wall with your feet about 2 inches away.
This teaches you how to stay as vertical as possible.
If you can't do it, your body hasn't learned the mechanics or you're not limber enough yet.
Another good one is laying a 2x4 on the ground, then stand on it with the back half of your foot on the board and the front half hanging over.
You should be able to squat while keep all your weight on your heels and your toes off the ground.
If you can't , then it shows you are leaning forward to far and probably rounding your back.

my biggest issue lately is my hips have tightened up so badly its nearly impossible to sit for longer than 20 minutes. ive since been doing his stretches and its getting better. im the opposite from you,i have no problems for some reason with dips but i suck at chin ups,its the only excersise i cheat on .i still use the pull up machine where your knees lay on the knee board,when i can easily do 3 sets of 10 then i drop in weight,im at 40lbs resistance.my biggest gain has been push ups,i highly reccomend them.4 times a day i drop and do 25 to 30 ,2 sets regular and 2 incline.sucks about your achilles,that would drive me bananas !

I hope you get better.
My scariest moment in gym was me showing off with tackling a big load while sinking to do a floor seated lats pull routine. I could feel a double threatening rip of muscles around the McGloins area-as in double charlie horse where you least want one! .... The cramp lasted 10 secs while I tried to grin and pretend all was normal-but that was true scaryville for that short time. And the lesson for me was-Don't neglect STRETCHES first!

i know you def dont want to f with your achilles but have you posted your problem in the forums druid? this guy wraps this whole work out around the squat-all core,im shore he has some excersise to compensate while your out of commish.ive been doing the kneeling squat as a stretch maybe that could be an option?dont know of the severity of your ankle.

The tendon injury is actually about 9 months old.
It's something which has comes an goes all the time but without every completely going away.
The original injury was cause or at least greatly aggravated when I took up jogging.
Now the order of the day is to immobilize as much as possible in an attempt to let it heal.
Over all it has the Dr's a little confused.
It shows every symptom of Plantar Fasciitis
pain that tends to be worse with the first few steps after awakening, when climbing stairs or when standing on tiptoe
pain after getting up from a seated position
pain after but not usually during exercise
What's really strange is WHERE it hurts, with Plantar Fasciitis it should hurt under the bottom of your heel. Mine hurts along both side of the Achilles tendon two inches above the back of the heel.

thats one area i think you just have to let heal,i guess . id be frustrated as hell ,sounds like you had good gains in short time.

interesting topic here....

i hope i might join this thread in without sending things into a tail spin.

little history first - in the fall months of 2006 while in the throws of my normal workout routines i damaged myself and had to give up my powerlifting. one of my co-workers who is as well from mobclan intro'd me to cod:uo and i began to play and eventually joined the clan. i had surgery to repair the damage in april 2007 and have stayed docile until april of this year. but now I'M BACK at the gym.

prior to my injury i was involved with a small group of very intense, driven, and knowledgeable powerlifters. they came from all walks; a computer jock, personal trainer, diesel mechanic, factory worker, small business owner, manager (me), and one mother (yes, we had a very strong lady with us as well). we met four times a week at various locations to workout. we would go to whatever facility that had the best setup for our desired workout of the day (several local gym's and two of these peoples houses who's garages were remade into workout areas). we would come focused and anxious for the workout and would discuss rarely anything but how to move the most weight, ingest the most calories, and drink the most water. we competed at local and regional powerlifting events and thoroughly enjoyed our sport.

two months have gone by on my comeback trail and all i can say is "i'm so happy to be back".

let there be no mistake here, i am NOT a bodybuilder. i am not here to tell anyone I look good in a speedo - i push, pull, and lift as much weight as my body will allow. i (when competing) am into three basic moves that make up the powerlifting competitions we take part in. Bench Press, Squat, and Dead-lift. we would pick out three events to compete in a year and then layout our training plans gearing up for those dates. on average a good recovery / strengthen / prepare cycle fits pretty well into a four months time. i competed at the 242 lbs. class which is middle of the road in body size. we had one super heavy (290 and up), one heavy (270-), three @ 242, one @ 215, and our gal was 185 (and she was rather attractive - lol). in the meets you get three attempts at each movement, take the best one of each movement then total the three together and that would determine your finish for the meet and if you wished you could have a fourth rep to attempt a PR or personal record - that didn't count in the comp. i do not want to go into great depth here about these friends of mine but i will say two impressive accomplishments of two of them. our 270 pounder is right now competing for the national drug free bench championship. he has a (in comp) PR of 735 lbs bench and we expect him to do very well. our 215 pounder has competed at the Arnold Classic in Ohio back in 2005 where he set his PR for leg press (not a comp move of ours but one he enjoys) for 12 reps at 1200 lbs each.

currently i am off working on my own without the group given my great strength loss due to inactivity. it's coming back fast and several of them have stopped by to keep me motivated. i have great anticipation for the day i return to the group and to workout with my friends again. we are meat heads and we love it.

are there any of you here powerlifting? i would enjoy comparing notes, techniques, ideas.

two of the greatest things i ever did to increase my strength was to video tape my lifts and compare them to everyone else stronger then me - this really opened my eyes and everyone else who has done it. another was to make sure to eat more then 10,000 calories every day - try that one i dare ya.

heated

I can't even imagining eating 10,000 calories / day.
Power Lifter? Shit man you were a power eater
That's a lot of ding dong's and hoho's.
That would work out to 26.3 packages <<<--- Yes I actually looked that fact up.
Or a single HoHo almost 11 feet long. LOL


Power lifting is a little to extreme for my needs but I have been pleasantly surprised at the gym to see some rather comparably smaller person out lift one of the big muscle heads, mainly because of better form.

Two Questions.
When you was forced to quit in 2006, did you go from a bulking phase into a cutting phase or just simply stop?

While actively involved in PL did you ever focus on cardio at all or 100% weights?

to answer your fist question (i had to chuckle a bit ) there is no such thing as a cutting phase for a power-lifter. and the second as far as cardio is concerned - nope not a bit.

elaboration on first. a common phrase in the PL community is "fat is strength". keep as much bulk on you as possible. the bigger you are the stronger you are. i know that some will not agree but unless you really get into this sport you don't have a good understanding of what i mean. i am without a doubt 10% stronger with 20% body fat then at 10%.

elaboration on the second plays hand in hand with the first. don't do anything to cut your bulk as you will hurt your strength. being realistic about this you have to slow down the mental pictures. if you go to the gym four times a week and lift 12 to 15 tons in a sitting you are burning a huge amount of everything so it's not like you are going to look like a balloon or anything. there is some concern among members to trim a bit for the summer months but they do that through diet and to smaller extent with reps.

if i could ask, what was you "double your weight squat mark" you were shooting for? and did you every think of the video tape scenario - i know what your thinking, if i pulled out a video camera at the gym people would really think poorly. i don't think so - i think they would be impressed by the dedication. it's a great tool.

With your PL past my squat goal will probably sound wimpy but it was 400lbs
Technically it wouldn't be a true 2x body weight because I'm go anywhere from 205-210.
I rounded it to 400 to keep my goals as simple as possible.
For anyone who thinks 205 sounds a little heavy, not a bad weight for someone who stands slightly over 6' 4".

I never gave much thought to the video suggestion. I do know my form has improved a lot just for the 2 exercises I listed previously.
Practice squatting up close to a wall or while standing with the back half of your feet on a 2x4.
I think if people can do both of those, they're form is decent or at least good enough for basic weight training short of Olympic or power lifting.

I realized when I asked about cutting that it wasn't a normal part of PL, more like the final stage to body building.
I was just wondering if when you gave up on the PL due to injury, if you tried to cut.

Although I've no interest in PL for myself, heck I'll be happy when I can do a couple of dips without cheating.
I would be very interested in hearing what some of your best lifts were.
Squat
Deadlift
PowerClean
BP

If you have any generalized tips not listed here, I'm sure myself and several other people would be interested in hearing them.

I see Tim has company in the 'Big Dudes of Mob' hall of fame.

How's everyone doing with their workouts?
My kids continue to get sick every other week, or pass it on to me and I just haven't been able to get to the gym regularly in months. It's killing me. My weight has stayed steady yet I keep loosening the belt. It's frustrating.
After some stomach bugs and pink-eye and lately chicken pox I think I'll be able to hit the gym tonight. I'm sure it will be just in time for the kids to pick up something new in the child care area.

I had a long way to go but was very happy with my progress following the 5x5 guide.
That is at least until I got sidelined for 7 weeks by my Achilles tendon.
Which I'm happy to say is now pain free for the 1st time in a year.
I never realized just how painful the tendon injury was until it healed.
The down side of that is I'm pretty much starting over on the 5x5 plan.
Not all the way over, just back to 100lbs which would be midway through week 4.
When I lifted last night, even with the light weight I could feel my back trying to round
due to my lack of flexibility an exercise over the last 7 weeks.

No excuses now as I got a good deal to start my home gym.
It's not what I planned on getting but it was too good of a deal to pass up.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/rvanechaute/gym1.jpg
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/rvanechaute/gym2.jpg
Still a few weights out in the garage, plus a low safety rack incase I get stuck at the bottom of a squat.
There is also attachments for leg extension/curl or a padded incline for preacher curls where the dip bar is at.
Overall....
Bench
Doubler set of 300lb Olympic weights, to cut down on having to switch them around.
Normal Bar
Easy Bar.
Trap Bar. <<--- I really like this one for dead lifts , no more skinned shins.
Hex Dumbbells going from 10-65lbs in 5 lb increments
Not bad for $400

Laying plywood and 3/4 inch rubber matting over the next week or two.
Then plan on building a three tier stand for the dumbbells and weight trees for the plates.
Hopefully in 6 months, I'll resell the bench an buy a full rack an different bench.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/rvanechaute/rack.jpg

Now for a little humor.
I found these while browsing video's people have uploaded to check their form
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0av7wVa-mXA

If you chat with Heated, point him to this one as I'm sure he'll get a laugh out of it, especially with his background.
DeadLift wih perfect form.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htbQ9UdbABw

Lastly, no reason to wear yourself out walking up a few stairs before you get on the treadmill
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/rva...ute/fitness.jpg


While I was laid up with my ankle, I did a lot of reading on the Internet about fitness and nutrition.
I came across an interesting site called crossfit.
Hardcore routines focused on strength and endurance.
If you haven't heard of them before, this intro to one of their video's does a great job of describing them.
Do you workout or do you train?
Have you ever puked while lifting?
Have you ever though it would be better to just die during a training session?
Does thinking about your workout tomorrow leave you afraid?
If you answered yes to these 3 questions, you may have what it takes to be a CrossFitter

Here is one of the video's on their site.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/051204.wmv
The muscle ups on the rings are very impressive.
Maybe it's just me, but I find the idea of a women who could totally kick my ass, strangely attractive.

I'd have to agree with you there... Unfortunately my pc doesn't seem to be playing .wmv's. It says can't load the page. I guess I don't have windows media set up.

That's a nice package and a great deal at $400. What's the diamond sha[ed bar? Is that the trap bar?

I pushed it way too hard last night and I'm feeling it today. I'm glad though. Hopefully my kids will stay healthy and I can get to the gym several times a week before heading out to London.

If you can't view the .wmv file, they also offer it as a .mov file
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/051204.mov
It's pretty big so it will take a little while to load.

I'm really happy with the weight set.
It's like a new toy, just a really freaking heavy one.
490 lbs in plates and 600+ in dumbbells, then there was the 200lb bench.
It was a workout just moving the stuff downstairs.

I'm actually looking forward to painting the dumbbells.
The 40lbers and above are chipped and showing rust from heavy handling.
Plus some of the lighter ones are a slightly different in color due to either being newer or from a different manufacturer.

So I'm going to wire brush the worse of the rust off.
Soak them down with phosphoric acid ( converts the iron oxide rust to iron phosphate )
Then paint them all with a hammer finish paint.
They will look like new when I'm done.

just to chime in,im still on the 5x5 and well i weigh 215 and have bench squat and dead lift right around 210 . i find it funny because when i started the workout all these people in the gym were looking at me weird and now im seeing 4 or 5 other guys doing the same routine. ive pretty much doubled in size and have been asked numorous times if im on roids,which i like being i only take a multi vitamin and shakes. i think the most important part of the workout is dips and pull ups ,so think of that druid.when you get to the point of adding weight to your dips is when you get really cut! one other thing ive been doing is push ups,5 sets of 20 a day -hungover or not etc.. no excuses!

sorry i haven't kept up with this thread but i have been mighty busy.

robert, back to you inquiries

max weights - this can be taboo but here they are

dead lift - 585
squat - 530
bench - 465

please note that all lifts were performed with the proper suit for the movement

i was at these weights back in 05 - 06

i have been back at the gym steady since my last post and have very happy with the results. i am currently not back to these levels (and maybe never will be) but i am feeling very good and very strong again.

for a current idea of strength i will state my working weights

warm-up weights excluded

dead lifting upto 495
squatting upto 480
bench - not benching yet but doing dumbbells @ 100 to 150 (biggest we have) i won't do any bench work yet until i am certain my shoulder is good - aint bad but it aint perfect yet.

interestingly enough i have recently done a bit of cardio. i have began working out with a local club football team. they meet a couple times a week at a local specialized facility. it is a blast for an old man like me to be able to work out with kids half my age. i am holding my own well but the sprints take it out of me. i am finding myself a bit leaner but nothing most would notice.

good luck to all keeping fit and if your a smoker - QUIT ! ! ! ! Chantix Rules

well looks like im out of commision,hurt my neck pretty fierce and gave it a few days ,tried to squat a simple wieght had issues with numbeness in my fingers and migraines. frustrated!

Wow, sorry to hear that Undead, hope it gets better.



Overheated:
Very impressive weights there.
I can't even imagine a 530 squat when my goal is 400, which I haven't even reached yet.
My previous best was 315, that was before I started over after my break to let my tendon heal.


For anyone else:
After seeing the book "Starting Strength" recommended on a dozen different lifting/fitness sites.
I decided to finally pick up a copy.
Lots of great information in it.
I'm the kind of person who prefers to not only know how to do something but the reason behind WHY
to do it this way or that way.
That's exactly the kind of info you get from the book.
Not only great detailed instruction on how to do the main compound lifts but also the body mechanics behind them.
Worth the $30, or you could probably check out a copy at your local public library.