thread of getting sw0le

Most dip machines are pretty bad -- the current Nautilus model is an exception that's easy to find around.

I don't know what brand our pullup/dip assist machine is but it's the kind where you put your knees on a flat platform and I really hate using it (I do unassisted dips but my pullups are not very strong). Something about putting your legs/knees in that position seems to inhibit the movement/posture you want for a good pullup and probably for dips as well.

Something about putting your legs/knees in that position seems to inhibit the movement/posture you want for a good pullup and probably for dips as well.

OTM in ime . I worked on those stupid things forever and it really didn't help with my PU or Dips much at all.Not until i started using some bands and doing a lot of negative work was i able to get my first PU .

They are definitely better if you are overweight-but-not-weak, but I have also left those machines behind.

also good for building PU strength are Ring Rows with like TRX straps/rings

Inverted rows on rings or a TRX--style thing are pretty much my favorite upper body exercise.

I do lots of those! Do they give you good results?

Right now I'm looking for some good arm exercises. I want bigger arms.

dips + pullups

I have found the lifter wisdom to be true that if you want bigger arms, just do your standard pulling/pushing exercises (dips, pullups, bench press, pulldowns, rows, etc). No need for separate arms work.

pullups are the best

unfortunately i can only do like five these days. i've been meaning to try a weighted pullup routine, outlined here, as it is supposedly very, very effective (or so the authors claim).

I haven't done a curl or a tricep press in many months but my arms are bigger than they ever were when I did that kind of stuff.

i still can't do one. my excuses are i'm a girl and i'm long but i need to work harder. i have bands. i'd feel awkward bringing them to the gym but who cares i guess.

i've been working on my planks to help with push-ups. you get better at those so fast. i just alternate between 3 and 4 sets when i'm done with everything else and increase the number of seconds of planking each time. it doesn't feel like torture anymore.

I can only do 3 pullups at a time, but I believe even three good pullups, if you can do multiple sets, will develop you.

So I hit the assisted dip/pull-up/chin-up machine today and, yup, I think that is exactly what I was missing. I can feel that I hit some muscles that have been neglected lately. So I'm gonna try to integrate those exercises into my routine and see how the shoulder responds. I appreciate the advice!

i am weirdly good at pull ups (can do a few sets of 12). when i was a kid i couldn't even do one. the only thing that i can attribute it to is i used to walk on hills a lot so i think i have like weirdly overdeveloped lats or something, because i feel it there more than in my arms when doing pull ups.

i used to be crap at push ups when i first started, but what worked for me was starting with wall push ups. also do some light dumbbell tricep exercise, like extensions. when i did them lying down, it felt more comfortable to me and a little easier as a beginner.

i mostly do close-hand pushups, but even when i do regular ones, i feel like strong triceps are more important

ime!

i am awful at push ups, i hate them

I am terrible at pushups and even with objective upper body strength gains/longer plank holds, I still can't do them for shit!

Awesome for push-ups - the Slingshot (https://www.howmuchyabench.net/) It was originally used for bench pressing but the light basic one has gotten popular for push-ups.

It slides over your arms keeping your elbows into a good position, then it's stretchy so it makes the press back up a little easier and so it kind of equalizes out whatever muscles are your weak spot.

I am not going to buy something to facilitate pushups I mean c'mon it is not like my job or life or sanity or personhood or anything is dependent on my ability to do pushups.

i would pay money but only like $5

Squatted for the first time in a couple weeks after working on flexibility and mobility and man it was a different experience. Felt the burn in parts of my core I didn't know existed.

Was only able to hit parallel but my back was much straighter and was able to keep my knees from pulling inward.

yeah i love squats

One of the things I found really helpful was to hold onto some kind of strap or band (I used the TRX straps at the gym and my resistance band around the post of my couch at home) just taut enough to stabilize yourself and then get yourself down into as close to an ass to grass squat position as possible and hold it, move around in it a little, etc., then eventually push down through my heels and come up like I was finishing a squat. When I started to feel comfortable with my ability to hold and come out of the position I moved a little closer, i.e. so the tension on the band or strap was lower and I was relying more on my own strength and balance. The only drawback of this was that the strap tended to pull my back forward, so it took extra focus to keep it straight.

How can the floor dumbbell press be a triceps exercise and the bench dumbbell press be a chest one, getting swole is so weird

It's great though I love itttt

So I have reincorporated dips and pull-ups/chin-ups into my routine, and my bad shoulder is starting to hurt just a little more. Nothing serious or alarming but gotta keep an eye on it. Man I hope I don't have to cut those exercises out though; they are really effective.

There's pain and there's pain. If you're not certain that this is "good" pain (stiff or crampy from exertion, will lead to muscle growth) see a doctor.

xxp - you can also use a doorknob for assisted squats, one hand on each side body perpendicular the door edge

How can the floor dumbbell press be a triceps exercise and the bench dumbbell press be a chest one, getting swole is so weird

It's great though I love itttt

― Gravel Puzzleworth, Monday, March 7, 2016 9:52 PM (Yesterday)

i think it's bc of the reduced range of motion since your elbows have to stop at the floor idk though

i know some people think it's antiquated/based on old school ideology, but the first book i bought when i first started lifting was this:

http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Training-Anatomy-3rd-Edition/dp/0736092269/ref=pd_sim_14_5/178-8186630-4175835?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mZtLjh1zL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR123%2C160_&refRID=08A5DH5ESVT2SWK0NBQ9

and i have to admit, it helped me learn what movements engage what muscles

it does have some bad advice, in my experience, but as a biology/physiology book, it taught me to understand my body (movements) better

I think I might be sidelined for a few days. My shoulder hurts like hell; it's one big tender ball of knots, some of which are running down my spine.

That's not really consistent with my AC joint injury, so it could be a coincidence (maybe I slept wrong or tweaked something?) but the correlation is too strong for me to ignore. I may be done with dips and possibly assisted pull-ups and chin-ups :(

It really sounds like you need to see a doctor and/or get a referral to a physical therapist.

Yeah I'll check in with my orthopedist again if it doesn't feel better in a few days. But I think I just got greedy, and tried to do some exercises I knew might be iffy. My shoulder had been doing much better when I was avoiding them.

yday was first day at gym! Someone flirted with me I think which was hilarious and kind of weird. It was rly weird bcz some muscles were sore that had never ever been sore before, like I felt like someone punched me in the pecs

I bike 4 mi to the gym from work and 1.5 mi home after so I'm thinking of cutting down on cardio while I'm there, still doing like maybe 10 min warmup on the treadmill, but focusing most of my energy on weights

Ate meat loaf and a protein shake when I got home too, felt v gym

i went to an adult gymnastics night last night (nb - i have never done gymnastics) and learned to do some flips, it was p cool

not really swole related

it's a continuum

Thanks harbl!

What's a realistic newbie mass gain goal for a month? Like 2lb? I'm super skinny-built, gonna force myself to eat though.

hi Gravel!

two pounds of lean mass, sure, doable but takes work + 5 to 10 lbs of water, fat depending on how clean you're eating depending on how you're lifting depending on your age depending depending. keep track of what you're eating, make sure you're getting good rest.

I don't like setting goal numbers for the physical results. Everybody's bodies are different. Improvement is improvement. Goals about things you can control -- how often you go, what you et, how completel you work out -- are way more helpful, your body becoming more swole is a happy surprise after-effect.

yeah just get there and do your thing, especially if you're just getting started. getting on the scale can be demoralizing and not giving you a complete picture of how your body is changing. if you're mostly concerned about looking esthetic as fuck gettin swole better off taking a picture every couple days and watching your body change that way. but don't sweat it for the first little while basically.

my goals tend to be around the amount of weight i'm lifting, everything is like a, you know, bonus, brah

I similarly avoid paying attention to what gains goals "should" be. I increase weight amounts way more slowly than a lot of the conventional wisdom says, partly because I don't care about getting max gains and partly because I'm extra cautious about injury. As long as it feels challenging to me and I'm sore later, I feel that I have worked out, and that's ok by me.

Man, as a skinny guy, I'd be thrilled if I could put on 2 lbs of muscle in a month. I've been hitting it pretty hard for four years, and I've probably put on at most 5 or 6 lbs of muscle? Which is dispiriting when you think about it. But there are other benefits. I feel better about myself now.

Anyway, curb your expectations.

I seem to be gaining weight and looking more muscular pretty quickly, I'm just not increasing my lifts as fast as the books/youtube vids say. A lot of them suggest adding a little bit of weight every week and that seems way out of the question to me.

Yeah I guess I could be better about adding weight, b/c I think I've stagnated in some ways, but I've also hit a point where adding more weight feels unsafe. Are there any ways to continue to bulk up that don't involve just piling on more weight?

pizza?

Using a spotter seems like one way to do it -- so you can add weight more confidently.

Are there any ways to continue to bulk up that don't involve just piling on more weight?

― Evan R, Monday, March 14, 2016 10:23 AM (43 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if emerging wisdom is anything to go by, more volume