thread of getting sw0le

Was able to do sets of 185x5 on high back squats today, feels like I made a leap.

https://medium.com/bull-market/sweaty-january-and-how-gyms-make-money-7d682ff5eeaf

Also realized I've been cheating on my bench (not going all the way down) and that may actually be stalling progress. Took the weight down a little and focused on form. Also got a good tip from a video not to go straight up and down because of shoulder impingement (a problem for me with my constantly tight shoulder) but to have a slight diagonal bar path. Helped a lot.

Didn't honestly notice a huge increase in lunchtime gym usage today, but it may have been the cold keeping people in their offices.

bench is my weakest lift. I've been working on different variations stuff like close grip, 2 count pause an inch above the chest and bringing it down on slow 5 count .

i bench like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlSxM05J7eM

https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/673160000282476544

lol also:

https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/672754555382325248
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/674373235182460928
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/675720831322988544

pretty much everyone could use some yoga imo

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, January 5, 2016 9:53 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

and double dutch

I did my first Bikram yoga class last night. 90 minutes, 105 degrees. I've literally never sweat so much in my life.

does bikram yoga get you sw0le?

No, if anything I felt deflated afterward

https://thenib.com/bikram-addict-242333de3483#.5qfxxc4zv

no yoga will get you swole but ashtanga will get you strong

idk ive seen some p swole yoga bros like not huge but def good muscles, prob depends on yr natural proclivity for swoleness, wld think bikram wld be better than most yogas for that cause its more intense

anyway yoga and lifting is really a match made in heaven imo

Bikram seems to have less upper-body strength poses than other yoga practices I've done. That works for me, b/c my routine probably overemphasizes chest/back stuff anyway, but it means I wouldn't want to make it my primary exercise

idk ive seen some p swole yoga bros like not huge but def good muscles, prob depends on yr natural proclivity for swoleness, wld think bikram wld be better than most yogas for that cause its more intense

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 6, 2016

oh yeah. find the right class (the closer to ashtanga primary series the better) and do it 4-6x a week and you will get lean and strong without even trying ;-)

imo bikram ain't it tho, for the reason evan r mentions above. the standard bikram series really neglects the upper body, and most of the intensity comes from the room heat vs physical exertion.

genuine ashtanga is hard to find and hard to commit to (early morning hours, serious daily time requirement including getting to the studio, showering etc etc) but the vinyasas between poses are where it's at. sneaks a lot of pushups in and develops a lot of core strength as you move into the lift-offs and arm balances.

a challenging vinyasa class will do the job just fine tho if you stick with it

idk i havent done it in a while tho but iirc the bikram routine is pretty tuff regardless of the room heat, its long a class + a lot of holding poses for a while + the room heat exertion is also real, cant really speak to the upbodyness dont remember

i actually prefer a more flow based approach tho, love to vibe with the breath

in bikram's defense, it can help with getting lean bc A) you sweat a few pounds of water weight every class and B) you def want an empty stomach going in

one time i did a very flow class and really got in the grove then did some speed work on the treadmill and was just effortlessly flying it felt very magical

not slagging bikram and it's def not zero-effort - some of the poses require real strength and the long holds are good, but if you try the sequence without the heat it's a lot less of a whammy

the heat is def a whammy for sure

i do find that "flow/vinyasa" style translates better to other stuff bc of the work you do linking breath with movement and maintaining steadiness through fatigue in the transitions between poses.

Not huge but good muscles/lean is what I really want, and I do have somewhat of a natural proclivity toward mass. Ashtanga sounds great, but I'm kind of attached to paying $20/month for a gym that's near work and it's hard to justify spending a lot more and adding a new layer of complexity to my workout schedule right now.

ya unfortunately the gyms w free classes in ny r p pricey

It looks like NYSC has vinyasa a couple times a week at times I could do. I think I need to upgrade to $60 or $70 a month to get the classes, but maybe I can get them to cut me a break. Not an outrageous price and I could also try some other shit like boxing or whatever.

yeah u can always talk them down or just look for deals online

consistent boxing + any kind of yoga where you sweat is like a cheat code for general fitness (i.e. not sw0le but lean/fit/lookin' and feelin' good)

also learning to wrap your hands and getting your first pair of gloves is fun :)

Ya'll talking yoga with goal of swole is o_O to me but idk I'm an iyengar person aka swole is not goal.

well yoga is primarily basked on gymanstics so it makes sense

so i took a wing chun class and now my forearms are beat to shit

well yoga is primarily basked on gymanstics so it makes sense

^ talking like Popeye to make his forearms feel swole

lol

my forearms are p swole tbh

More than the crowds rn it's the sheer amount of excuse making I hear and the sheer number of people doing shit they should not be doing

* asks for "liftoff"on a dumbbell press

i support all fitness aspirants on their journeys but i do hate when the gym is crowded, i studiously avoid peak hours at all times of year

is there any particular reason why I should not lift weights barefoot in my small spare room luxuriously appointed home gym?

I mean I would never go barefoot in a gym gym, but this is my house that I am barefoot in all the time anyway.

I would think as long as you are on a surface with a little bit of grip and you're not lifting super heavy, probably fine. And don't drop the weights on your foot.

I'm not lifting super heavy. My preferred lifting shoes at the gym were Chucks, so really not much better than barefoot should I have dropped a weight on my foot!

Shoes just interfere with your foot's natural dialogue with the floor maaaan

No reason at all, if you aren't slipping and sliding. At most a shoe is just going to trap some blood and make clean-up easier if you drop a weight on your foot.

at my "home gym" i go barefoot on my yoga mat or some type of matted flooring.

alternatively i use, like i mentioned upthread, my old running shoes with extra cushion.

if you're on hard flooring and lifting heavy, yeah, you don't want to use something like the frees or something

Deadlifting barefoot is great