thread of getting sw0le

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More back exercises (pull exercises) for rounded shoulders, right? Lots of people overwork the chest and skip the back

Evan R, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:07 (eight years ago) link

yeah also just like all core stuff, its all connected man, do yoga?

lag∞n, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:24 (eight years ago) link

yeah anything for the back (and hips too probably?) squat, deadlift, rows. back extensions are good; there's not much that substitutes for the deadlift if you believe the lifter cultists out there.

maybe pullups and, idk, overhead press? those get your shoulders open in different ways

goole, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:28 (eight years ago) link

but like ur stomach muscles are also key to posture, its all works together to hold u up

lag∞n, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:33 (eight years ago) link

I want to improve my posture. I've always had rounded shoulders and standing/sitting up straight feels unnatural. any tips on exercises I can do to help?

yoga and a girlfriend that constantly adjusts your posture is working for me

Allen (etaeoe), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:33 (eight years ago) link

i know, i know, it's serious

goole, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:34 (eight years ago) link

wait that doesn't work at all

goole, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:34 (eight years ago) link

haha

lag∞n, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:35 (eight years ago) link

Inverted rows are good, inverted rows where you hold at the top and squeeze your shoulders together ('bat wings') are super good.

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 16:55 (eight years ago) link

+1 yoga for posture

resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 18:15 (eight years ago) link

I'm back in the gym after a bad almost month-long stretch- first a planned one-week break to regroup before coming back with a different plan, then my parents visiting, then breaking a toe and almost immobilizing myself for a further week and change. I'm ambulatory again and have a new plan, hopefully one that will help with my goal of concentrating more on losing fat (with a high-protein caloric deficit and 20 minutes of intense cardio every day except my rest day). This is probably incomplete, because it's written on a card at the gym and I neglected to write it down, but:

all exercises 3 sets of 8-12, at light/medium/maximum capacity; twice a week, Tuesday and Friday:
bench press
squats (Tuesday) or deadlifts (Friday)
assisted pullups
one-arm rows
seated dumbbell curls
tricep pushdowns
incline dumbbell press
crunches
back extension on the Roman chair thing (not bending way up and down; just a very small, controlled movement like an upside-down crunch)

Does this sound reasonable? I took a few days of just doing squats or just doing bench presses to work the initial soreness out before starting on the new plan this week, and the workload doesn't seem too bad.

You guys are caterpillar (Telephone thing), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 22:58 (eight years ago) link

why do so many things? my philosophy is do few things and never do crunches because why

computer champion (harbl), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 23:04 (eight years ago) link

tbh my philosophy right now is more like work 7 days a week and spend too much time in the car but w/e

computer champion (harbl), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 23:05 (eight years ago) link

Beats me, honestly! This was a recommendation from one of the trainers at the gym; I just like to get as much input as I can because almost all the information out there on exercise planning is contradictory or confusing. In the pros column, I'm not having any trouble with it (at least so far), and this gets me in and out in about 45 minutes- hopefully two days a week rather than the 3-day split plan I'd been doing will keep me from feeling too burned out for cardio, too, which was a major problem.

You guys are caterpillar (Telephone thing), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 23:42 (eight years ago) link

crunches are pretty pointless

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 23 July 2015 00:19 (eight years ago) link

tbh that's pretty similar to what i'm doing on gym days lately, though i sub plank-to-pushup sets or russian twists for the crunches. i'm also doing a couple miles on the treadmill after but with the toe that wouldn't be recommended.

resulting post (rogermexico.), Thursday, 23 July 2015 00:52 (eight years ago) link

if you have really bad ingrained posture it will be almost impossible to do certain exercises correctly without a lot of conscious effort. at some point you just gotta start making yourself standup straight.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 01:02 (eight years ago) link

i speak from bitter experience.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 01:03 (eight years ago) link

deadlifting regularly makes my posture 100% better

computer champion (harbl), Thursday, 23 July 2015 01:05 (eight years ago) link

if deadlifting is too intense you could try goblet squats on the reg, they practically force you to have a nice straight back

transparent play for gifs (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 23 July 2015 09:13 (eight years ago) link

crunches are pretty pointless

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, July 23, 2015 1:19 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

How so? Are there better stomach/ab exercises? I tend to use a gym ball and do sit-ups/crunches while on that.

(no offence to people) (dog latin), Thursday, 23 July 2015 09:24 (eight years ago) link

the current conventional wisdom is that if you do full body lifts like squats and deadlifts your abs get worked out plenty already. i think some advanced sw0lebr0s will do ab exercises in order to target specific weaknesses in their technique but that's not anything mere mortals need to worry about afaik

transparent play for gifs (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 23 July 2015 10:08 (eight years ago) link

hmm... i don't really do deadlifts or many freeweights as it happens apart from dumbells and a bit of kettlebell stuff. find that section of the gym irrationally intimidating tbh.

(no offence to people) (dog latin), Thursday, 23 July 2015 10:31 (eight years ago) link

that said, planks and plank variations rule

resulting post (rogermexico.), Thursday, 23 July 2015 14:03 (eight years ago) link

I think I love deadlifts?

jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, 23 July 2015 14:10 (eight years ago) link

i dont think crunches r pointless but they do unnecessarily risk injury, flexing yr back in that way is not the greatest, there are plenty less stressful core exercises

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 14:43 (eight years ago) link

aren't planks in the doghouse now too.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:05 (eight years ago) link

I think I love deadlifts?

― jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, July 23, 2015 10:10 AM (57 minutes ago)

otm!

(•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:08 (eight years ago) link

i am deadlifting soon. gotta have my coffee first though.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:10 (eight years ago) link

trying to get my 1rm to #400 at #375 now

(•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:12 (eight years ago) link

I think I'm going to swap out the crunches for planks on my next visit. I've always liked them more (for some reason it feels like more of a "fun" challenge), and that section of the plan/advice was pretty much left blank as "ab exercise of your choice, why not" anyway.

You guys are caterpillar (Telephone thing), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:24 (eight years ago) link

i have poor flexibility/short arms deadlifts r hard for me to maintain good form :(

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:27 (eight years ago) link

me too. i usually sub in romanian deadlifts instead.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:30 (eight years ago) link

yeah wld just be cooler to do regular ones, tho im sure i cld get my flexibility to that point w/o too much trouble if i like tried

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:31 (eight years ago) link

ironic that lack of flexibility is my greatest barrier to swoleness.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:34 (eight years ago) link

feel like now i'm reading this thread, i've been doing everything wrong all this time :-/

(no offence to people) (dog latin), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:35 (eight years ago) link

lol tru xp

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:38 (eight years ago) link

it's always dicey with me form-wise, but i have found that warming up with romanians tends to get me pretty loose and make actual deadlifting slightly less foolhardy.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:39 (eight years ago) link

yeah i shd prob go that route

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:42 (eight years ago) link

Many xposts - crunches are very low on the rung of exercises that help core strength because they have a tiny range of motion and no resistance and people who do them for a six-pack don't understand fat loss. If you're not squatting or deadlifting, pull-ups will still do a better job of putting tension on your core and planks will do it directly.

I don't know of anyone putting planks in the doghouse.

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:45 (eight years ago) link

for the dog to stand on

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:46 (eight years ago) link

If you can't maintain deadlift form you need to lower the weight you're using or seriously work on ankle and hip flexibility.

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:47 (eight years ago) link

when i first started to do deadlifts i would do them off of blocks then i started using plates at a gradually lower height until i could go from the ground.

sumo deadlifts are also a way around poor flexibility but you dont think you get the full benefits of a conventional DL.

(•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:49 (eight years ago) link

i just basically do not do them fwiw, i wld like to tho xp

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:51 (eight years ago) link

feel like i see ppl w bad deadlift form at the gym all the time they r tricky

lag∞n, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:52 (eight years ago) link

i see people doing them wrong more often than right and it's hard to watch.

ryan, Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:54 (eight years ago) link

oh yes so brutal to watch but i'm not the type to every say anything to anyone

(•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 23 July 2015 15:57 (eight years ago) link

the rippetoe 4 1/2 point setup for good deadlift form is (iirc):

1. FEET: feet under the bar, usually right over the laces of your shoes (exact middle of your foot from heel to toe)
2. HANDS: flop over the bar, get your grip set outside your shins. your arms should be up against your knees atp
3. SHINS: press your shins forward against the bar, holding it w/ your hands
4. CHEST: stick your chest and butt out to straighten your back
4 1/2. BUTT: sink your ass down (if you need to) so it's not a good morning. my flexibility and body shape are pretty wack so i have to take this one seriously

goole, Thursday, 23 July 2015 16:12 (eight years ago) link

yes! i use those tips. i'm totally deliberate about my set up or i'm screwed

(•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 23 July 2015 16:19 (eight years ago) link

i've also heard, w/r/t 4.5: shoulder above hips, hips above knees -- the guy that showed me how to do it i think put too much emphasis on keeping my hips high and when i checked my form in the mirror my hips and shoulders were nearly level

jason waterfalls (gbx), Thursday, 23 July 2015 16:25 (eight years ago) link


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