Lifting Thread;training for the tattooed warrior.

[kylegrey]

Whats your current routine or training tips to fill out those sleeves ?

[Cork]

Excellent thread idea. This area is my forte. I'll put it out there that if anyone has any questions about exercise and nutrition, I'll be glad to help out.

I've been a student of Wendler's 531 for about 3 years, but now I prescribe to the Juggernaut System because of its higher volume and inclusion of sprinting. I don't know how many people are as serious about lifting as I am, so I imagine that that flew over a lot of people's heads. Let's say I lift for strength with a side dose of hypertrophy based on percentages of a 1 rep max. I am a strength sports enthusiast.

[Kev]

Reverse pyramid with utilizing the four basic compound exercises (I call them the Core). I do a workout, then one rest day, with the exception of legs and back, where I rest two days. I supp creatine, whey protein, and alot of food

Legs:

Squat- 3 sets @ 4/5/6 reps starting with heaviest

Leg Extension 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Calf Raise 3 sets 5/6/7

Chest:

Benchpress- 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Incline Benchpress- 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Cable Flies- 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Back/bi:

Deadlift 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Bent Row 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Weighted Pull-up 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Shoulders/tri:

Military Press 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Shrugs 3 sets @ 4/5/6

Lateral dumbbell raises 3 sets @ 4/5/6

[RoryQ]

At the moment I'm easing back into training after a lay-off due to a neck injury with a simple upper / lower body split based around DB benching, bodyweight exercises and a lot of single-leg exercises like rear leg elevated split squats and single leg squats. A lot of mobility work, a lot of prehab/rehab with bands and light weights. Ramping up back into normal training although I don't think I'll be going back to BJJ any time soon.

As time has passed I have made progress using various programmes and approaches, and I'm inclined to agree with Dan John ( Dan John, Lifting and Throws Coach - great coach ) when he says 'everything works [for a while]'.

The caveat I would add is that you can also injure yourself or self-limit your progress dramatically by trying to implement the wrong programme, having poor technique, screwing up your diet, not sleeping enough yadda yadda yadda.

I think, if I were going to go back in time and start all over again, I would begin from the ground up in this way:-

1. I would learn how to begin my training with a proper dynamic warm-up. A joint mobility warm-up from the likes of Mike Boyle ( Strength Coach.com | Strength and Conditioning | Sports Training ) that will ensure I had the joint mobility where I needed it, and the joint stability where I needed it. Some folks need a more stable lower back ... Some people need to loosen up their hips. Neglecting something can lead to an injury down the road, or limit your lifts.

2. I'd either find a good coach or I'd pick a classic strength programme that has worked for thousands of other people in my shoes. I'm talking Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength, or Bill Starr's 5X5 or Joe Difranco's WS4SB. Something that is there in black and white, with nothing exotic that is time-tested and well-regarded by shitloads of smarter people than you. Typically what they all have in common is lots of the fundamentals : A horizontal push, a horizontal pull, a vertical push, a vertical pull, some shoulder work, some posterior chain stuff and big knee-dominant squat variation. Most of the programmes I mentioned there are good all-round strength programmes that will put a bit of mass on a novice or intermediate trainee. If I wanted to go for more hypertrophy and mass gain I'd maybe consider something like Poloquin's German Volume Training. If I were just looking to compete in power lifting or oly lifting I'd get a proper coach and maybe follow a Westside or Mike Burgener / Greg Everett programme. Basically, I'd follow the track already well-worn by proven programmes and coaches.

3. I'd perfect my technique and make sure I was moving well with sub maximal weights before I started to try and get strong. I've added weight on top of poor movement patterns and the result is always fucked up. Less weight, executed perfectly = the foundation to add weight safely later and more progress in the long run.

4. I'd eat better. 2g of protein for every kg of bodyweight minimum. I'd watch my carbs and I'd eat more fat than 'most people' think is a good idea instead. For me I think the stuff the likes of Robb Wolfe and Mark Sisson have written about eating the way our paleolithic ancestores ate makes sense to me, but your mileage may vary. It's a pretty good way to strip fat off, but if you're a powerlifter or bodybuilder I think you need to eat a little dirty to get the necessary calories to pack on muscle.

5. I'd try and sleep 8 hours a day, which is unworkable in my current job. I'd take my rest days seriously and not bike, run, do a martial arts class... I'd rest and let my body do its job and adapt to the training I was doing the rest of the week.

6. I'd study the fuck out of articles and books about sports injuries and try and figure out ways to avoid common issues people have, again and again, like knee problems and rotator cuff problems. I'd do things like make sure my pressing to pulling ratio (say, bench to pullup) exercise ratio was at least 1:1 in my programming, and more like 1:2 if I were feeling twinges in my shoulder. If I had bad knees I'd do single leg work to bullet-proof them before things went south. If I had a bad back I would do core work and chuck out anything that heavily compressed it (like back squats, deadlifts) for a while. Education = good. So is having the number of a good physio with a proven tack record.

7. For fat loss and conditioning I think once your diet is right the best approach is old school : Carries, drags, pushes, bodyweight circuits, sprints / shuttle runs, kettlebells ... Anaerobic > long slow distance work most of the time, IMO.

I reckon that's most of my philosophy:-

1. Learn enough not to get injured.

2. Pick the right programme for you and implement it properly.

3. If it goes wrong go to a professional and let them fix you.

And repeat until you're put in a box and buried.

Whenever I read one of those news cuttings about some curmudgeonly old veteran who is still working out at 80 and puts some teenage mugger in hospital with his cane, I think - 'I want to be that guy when I'm that age'.

[Scott R]

i workout tuesday and thursday usually with a pro fighter so I try to keep one or two power moves(ie deadlifts,squats,heavy hip thrusts,heavy banded or chain db presses etc) Then we focus on endurance strength for the next 1hr or more. pull ups, trx circuits, tobatas, ranger challenge,plyo pushups, blah blah blah. We dont train for hypertrophy at all, All go no show.

@RoryQ mike is a cool guy, he is a friend and business associate of one of my training partners here in norman ok

[Jaycel Adkins]

Might be of interest:

Starting Strength

edit: as @RoryQ mentioned in his post.

[Tight-Lines]

Im all about my GORUCK training right now. Running 6-8 miles with 4-5 bricks in my bag then doing push-ups, pull ups, sit ups, flutters, Burpees, bear crawls... and drinking beer for good measure.

[RoryQ]

@RoryQ mike is a cool guy, he is a friend and business associate of one of my training partners here in norman ok

I've been reading his articles on T-Nation for a while, and I used single leg exercises to rehab an MCL strain last year ... But I don't think I really started appreciating how smart he is until I bought 'Advances in Functional Training' and read the whole thing. Great resource - really information intensive.

It's screwed up but for me the biggest catalyst to properly investigate developments in training is usually related to injury. Until I learn the hard way I just don't learn properly...

BTW, unrelated, but this is a fun site http://www.70sbig.com/

[Scott R]

@RoryQ i dont frequent the online training forums, Is DR Locke still writing for T-nation? He has come in for some presentations in the past.

[Kev]

I did paleo for a few months-cut deep, but couldn't get any sort of gains going as far as body weight and fat free mass. Now I'm doing simple carbs post workout (fruit/juice) and brown rice, oats, and flax every now and then.

I'm all about pushing myself as far as I can go strength-wise, with looks being secondary. That being said, I wouldn't want to spend lots of money on great tattoo work if my body looked like crap. You can spray paint a turd gold, but you still got a turd when you're finished. If you're in better shape, everything about you should age better, including your skin/tattoos. My two cents.

[Kev]

Also need to get @hogg and @Hrubarb in on this

[RoryQ]

@RoryQ i dont frequent the online training forums, Is DR Locke still writing for T-nation? He has come in for some presentations in the past.

I'm afraid I'm not sure - I don't really all of T-nation, just particular articles that I am recommended or search for by topic...

[RoryQ]

I did paleo for a few months-cut deep, but couldn't get any sort of gains going as far as body weight and fat free mass. Now I'm doing simple carbs post workout (fruit/juice) and brown rice, oats, and flax every now and then.

I'm all about pushing myself as far as I can go strength-wise, with looks being secondary. That being said, I wouldn't want to spend lots of money on great tattoo work if my body looked like crap. You can spray paint a turd gold, but you still got a turd when you're finished. If you're in better shape, everything about you should age better, including your skin/tattoos. My two cents.

I think really strict paleo can be hard to gain on, agreed... Just too tough to get the cals required without 'cheating' a bit I think. I use it more when I am trying to cut over a period of a few weeks. In the normal course of things I'll still eat the likes of rice in moderation.

[Kev]

I tell you the one bonus of paleo for me is it reintroduced me to the sweet potato. I'd always been a fan of the Mexican pan dulce empanadas that had sweet potato and pumpkin filling, but I'd never eaten them on their own. Now I'm all about them mashed w/ pecans and maple = P

[RoryQ]

Fastest-growing thread ever - hypertrophy in the forum context...

[Ursula]

I know I'm a little late to join in but I've been outta town a couple days.

I recently started doing weight lifting at my local YMCA. I'm not super strong but I do a lot of reps. The trainers there tell me it's better for a lady to do less weight and more reps. My upper body can only push about 50lbs for most things and some stuff is less. My legs are a lot stronger, as most people's are, so I can do up to about 120 on most of those things. Most of the stuff I'm doing is with pin weight machines so I guess it's not legit lifting, but I'm not ready for all that yet. I've worked out in the past doing things like treadmill, stationary bike, and other more cardio intensive stuff. I'm still doing that just not as much. Since I've started with the weights I've noticed a huge difference in my body. I went from weighing 125 to being 139 without getting any bigger in size really. My arms and legs have gotten maybe a little bit bigger but nothing noticeable at this point, the shape is totally different though. I don't look super buff or anything but I certainly look solid and actually have muscles that I can flex now hahahaha. If anything my waist has gotten a little smaller because I do a lot of ab work with weights. I'm currently 24 inches around my middle and was probably 26 before.

I'm not into any of the weight gain stuff like weird diets or protein shakes because I don't want to have manly looking musculature. I don't wanna start wearing a xl blouse just so my arms will fit in it! I usually try and do at least three sets of 12 for each exercise and then some I do up to 6 or 7 sets of 12. There's a couple I still find really hard and do maybe 3 x 10 or 4 x 8.

My triceps are probably my weakest, I can only lift about 35lbs.

I try to go every other day and it's been about maybe 3 months now. I've been able to increase the weight on every be at least 10-15 lbs, some more since the first week.

[Kev]

"The trainers there tell me it's better for a lady to do less weight and more reps."

Those trainers are full of crap. Honestly, it takes TONS of calories to get 'weight lifter' big It's why I can deadlift/ squat over 300 pounds, bench over 250, and military press over 150, I'm only 160 on a heavy day. That's with creatine and 3 whey shakes a day plus regular breakfast/ lunch/dinner. Machines are fine to get down form, but your 'helper' muscles will start to suffer because you're not using them for balance. ex: a bench machine will only engage your upper pecs and some tricep; bench press engages that plus the rest of your arm, lower pec, and core. Sounds like you're on the right track though.

[kylegrey]

Thats a fantastic start with great results , nothing changes your body composition like weight training and women respond better than men. Don't worry about getting bigger as its very unlikely given your build and the absence of lots of food,protein and really heavy weights ,the more muscular and defined you are will make you look bigger but is more an illusion than anything .You' re at the point now to move away from machines-cables etc and focus on free-weights which build better muscle tie-ins,mental concentration ,balance , exercise technique amongst other things and you are sure to relish the challenge .One other thing totally forget about the weight of an exercise concentrate on exercise technique and the way a movement feels and always use the strictest form-get crazy OCD on this as your body doesn't know pounds only stress on the muscle.

[Scott R]

Those trainers are full of crap. Honestly, it takes TONS of calories to get 'weight lifter' big It's why I can deadlift/ squat over 300 pounds, bench over 250, and military press over 150, I'm only 160 on a heavy day. That's with creatine and 3 whey shakes a day plus regular breakfast/ lunch/dinner. Machines are fine to get down form, but your 'helper' muscles will start to suffer because you're not using them for balance. ex: a bench machine will only engage your upper pecs and some tricep; bench press engages that plus the rest of your arm, lower pec, and core. Sounds like you're on the right track though.

women are missing a hormone to gain muscle(testosterone)

if your a woman and not a genetic freak your best best is too keep your nitrogen balance positive so you give your body every chance to be anabolic. This means eating a complete protein every few hrs.

[Ursula]

thanks guys! I've started moving to free weights with some simpler stuff and plan to gradually leave most of the machines behind. For me it's just about being healthy and staying active. Plus it's nice to be able to carry 6 bags of groceries at once instead of making three trips to the car. I'm picturing most of you guys doing all the crazy shit I see the guys doing here. Some of it looks like it would be cool but some of that stuff is pretty crazy looking.

I do get to see a lot of pretty ridiculous tattoos at the gym though hahahahahah

[Jake]

I do get to see a lot of pretty ridiculous tattoos at the gym though hahahahahah

oh yeah. every time.

I did meet someone at my gym with tattoos by Horitomo, Lango, and Theo Mindell (if I remember correctly.) was shocked compared to the shitty hippy or brotastic meathead tattoos I see usually.

and I just do a shit ton of rock climbing with an extra dose of arm and core work thrown in. mostly body weight stuff that relates to climbing moves like pull ups, dips, incline sit ups, etc.

[RoryQ]

thanks guys! I've started moving to free weights with some simpler stuff and plan to gradually leave most of the machines behind. For me it's just about being healthy and staying active. Plus it's nice to be able to carry 6 bags of groceries at once instead of making three trips to the car. I'm picturing most of you guys doing all the crazy shit I see the guys doing here. Some of it looks like it would be cool but some of that stuff is pretty crazy looking.

I do get to see a lot of pretty ridiculous tattoos at the gym though hahahahahah

There are some pretty good blogs and articles out there looking at weight training from a woman's perspective. Not that men and women actually need to train in a different way, for the most part, but in case you're interested I know my GF likes these sites-

Gubernatrix blog

Stumptuous blog (a blog by a Canadian trainer, funnily enough)

'>Article on EliteFTS, a well known strength site, laying it down about the way limited testosterone affects the prospects of a woman accidentally getting huge through using free weights.

I do believe that for most people their diet is probably the key thing if they want to improve or change their body composition ... But it's a sad thing that women are told to stay away from weight training when actually, as a previous poster mentions, adding a bit of lean muscle through that type of training is a lot more likely to get them the type of body they want than plodding along on a stationary bike, treadmill etc.

And now I'm off to train.

[cfgsteak]

I've been doing p90x for over a year. Supplementing with whey protien, green super food, vitamins and herbal supplents for "internal function" and brain "clarity".

I still eat crappy food too often...too much beer.

Its cool having some damn muscle tone...although I did freak out the first time I saw my ribs...I was like, what the fuck are those!?!?

[Cork]

Oh man, I'm glad that there are some enthusiasts in here!

Ursula, sorry to single you out, but those trainers are only continuing to endorse antiquated beliefs and it's so frustrating to hear it still being repeated. Women and men should train the same. You don't have testacles so you will never have to worry about getting huge. Using heavy resistance training will make you feel way better. Also, repetitive core training is not what is making your waist smaller. Your diet and improved fitness level are doing that. With normal gym routines and a healthy diet, your waistline will see improvement whether you do core training or not. If you start training like a guy, and you do realize you're putting on too much muscle for your taste, it is so easy to lose muscle if you get to that point.

Nice numbers at that BW RoryQ. Hopefully you have a fast recovery from that neck injury.

Anyone dabble in a competitive nature? I've stepped on stage as a bodybuilder, as much as I hate to consider myself one. I want to start getting in to strongman, but I need bigger numbers first. My overhead press is pathetic.

Tattoos in the gym...Don't even get me started on that subject. Bro tattoos are the worst. The most common I see are Bible references in script that is so tiny that now that it's aged it just looks like scribble, surrounded by some weird looking clouds with rays of light coming out of it.

Speaking of lifting blogs, my favorite is by far ChAoS & PAIN . Very NSFW, this guy is hilarious.

[gougetheeyes]

Speaking of lifting blogs, my favorite is by far ChAoS & PAIN . Very NSFW, this guy is hilarious.

Upon a very quick perusal, this dude is indeed fucking hilarious. Some gems:

Regarding new year's resolutions: If you think you suck, fucking stop sucking immediately. Women, I'm pointing at you and your motherfucking diets- there's no goddamned time like the present.

Regarding overconfidence: It worked like a charm, but I fucked the dog on the bench due to the same demon that plagued me throughout the meet- overfuckingconfidence. This, of course, shouldn't surprise anyone, given my philosophy of being a giant dick, going huge and strutting around like Little Lord Fontelroy.

On Gandhi: In case you're unaware, Gandhi was a diminutive Indian man who hated black people and was ironically the inspiration for the tactics used in the US civil rights movements.

And on that note, I'm off to the gym to un-freeze my account from a 3 month hiatus that has left me with little lady arms and a huge gut. Letting yourself go after tying the knot is not a joke my friends. The worst part is having to start off slow.. though I've never gotten super into intense workouts. A little jog, some heavy bag, some weights, usually do a 5 or 6 mile run mid-week. So I suppose now's the time to do it right! I'll check out some of the links posted previously but any more are appreciated!