thread of getting sw0le

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.

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

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.

that said, planks and plank variations rule

I think I love deadlifts?

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

aren't planks in the doghouse now too.

I think I love deadlifts?

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

otm!

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

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

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.

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

me too. i usually sub in romanian deadlifts instead.

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

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

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

lol tru xp

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.

yeah i shd prob go that route

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.

for the dog to stand on

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

shoulder above hips, hips above knees

like, directly above? that's... standing up, right? i'm having trouble visualizing this

no as in don't bend so far over that your shoulders are level with yr hips. so not like ~directly~ above, just generally

basically what you were saying about accidentally doing a good morning

oh i see yeah

i never know what to do with my neck

i seem to recall that in SS rippetoe basically says that the DL is the easiest lift to do, form-wise, in that the "right way" is so dependent on anatomy (short arms, long waists, etc) that as long as the way you're doing it isn't painful then you're all right? maybe i'm remembering that wrong

i've heard him say that some people that are not built to do deadlifts can improve but will never have great form due to anatomy

petition for new board I Love Deadlifts

I <3 my trap bar for deadlifts and it was less than $100 on Amazon. It's kind of halfway between a squat and a deadlift - less technical than a squat, less taxing on the lower back than a deadlift.

I wish my gym had one of those. I probably have no business doing deadlifts with a regular bar.

trap going hamstring

ya wld like to try that xp

A friend asked me for exercises that isolated front quads because she tore her MPFL a couple years ago and has been compensating ever since, which has led to some atrophy in the affected leg. I tried to tell her that lunges and squats would help but she's adamant about specifically targeting her quads. Is there a way for me to better explain why she should work multiple muscle groups than just balance? And are there any other exercises besides squats and lunges?

Seated leg extensions, but you need a machine for that. Walking lunges should do the trick, weights in hand if she wants.

The best way to correct her compensations is to focus on improving movement quality; isolating a particular muscle group is not necessarily going to improve her ability to stand, walk, dance, etc.

This makes more sense in the context of Gray Cook's other work, but here's an article on Isolation vs. Movement Patterns.

So in addition to movement quality, working multiple muscles will help remap the muscle top the brain?
Forks, ankle weights can help with extensions, no?

I.e. being able to do extensions at home without a machine.

I think work on bodyweight squats and lunges would be really important for your friend to do alongside, possibly, some quad-specific exercises. Natural, compound movements like squats and lunges help develop balance and stability, and progress on those moves is likely to transfer directly to normal movements in daily life. That transfer may or may not happen with isolation execises.

I'd recommend that anyone trying to improve or rehab movement quality do a self-screen and periodically re-screen to see how training is actually affecting quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8G6jkEf1uI

Doing a bunch of Amosov assisted squats every morning helped immensely with my creaky knees (which probably had something to do with weak quads) - grab both sides of a doorknob and squat with shins parallel, repeat a couple dozen times. Grabbing the doorknob doesn't make it physically that much easier (in terms of weight moved) but taking balance out of the equation lets you do more of them quicker IME

using ankle weights for leg extensions pulls the weight straight down as opposed to at an angle, like on a leg extension machine... can be problematic for the knee joint at levels that have impact. Wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

i'm about to go to the gym for the 5th time this month wow