thread of getting sw0le

http://www.alaskafit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/v312.jpg

Deadlift to 295 today. Really wanted to add 5 for the even number but was losing form a little already.

Making a lot of changes to try and improve my lagging squat: working back up from a 20% deload in five-pound increments (or 2.5lb for press, 10lb from deadlift), mostly to make sure my form is perfect, but also to work with a lighter load during the last stressful weeks of this semester; adding 100 cal/day (up to 3100), fixing my warmup sets (had been doing full sets of 5 at every weight, which is just...how did I not realize this was stupid; moving to bar x 5, bar x 5, w1x4, w2x3, w3x2 and into work sets with adequate rest between) and- feeling like an asshole, but still- trying 5g/creatine a day. It's so well-supported and, almost more importantly, so goddamn cheap I figured I might as well...

Oh, and almost forgot: substituting front squats for the hateful, hateful power clean until I have sufficient flexibility or whatever other miracle occurs that allows me to do them properly.

i kinda want to start front squats but i'm skuurt

Same here! I haven't even started yet; today was a deadlift day, so I'm not doing it until Tuesday, which hopefully will be enough time to read whatever Rippetoe has to say about it, watch form demonstrations on youtube, etc. If I don't follow up by Wednesday, assume the worst.

I built a pair of farmer's walk implements out of 4x4s today. I didn't pay attention to what pipe cost so I only saved $125 over ordering a pair of real ones online... but I guess there's an upside that I can leave these outside without feeling bad.

i'm worried about Telephone Thing

Having unfortunately my longest break from lifting since I started -- vacation all last week and now work travel. Will try to at least do some dumbbells at the fitness center in the hotel.

this was a fun piece of writing

http://fittish.deadspin.com/youtube-bodybuilders-rich-piana-and-dmitry-klokov-can-t-1774141422

I LIVE

It's going great, actually! Back up to 155 on the squat (I deloaded 20% at 175), so it might be too early to tell, but it's been a breeze working my way back up. Front squats are absolute murder on my wrists but I've kinda-sorta figured out a rack position where I can lay the bar across my shoulders.

I got a 50 ft. battle rope on clearance from a sporting goods store, sweet baby jesus that's brutal.

What, if any, music do you guys listen to when lifting? So far I haven't found something that really works for me, although 90's hip-hop has worked best.

i've been listening to this mix i did. it's mellow house ripped from vinyl so it's not too harsh on my ears. i can listen to it over and over without getting tired of it. sorry for the plug.

jackin house mixes obv

i don't really music because where do you put your phone? in some kind of belt or sleeve thing?

anyway i've been doing great the past 5 weeks. i made myself commit to going twice a week, which means leaving early from work one afternoon. i usually work on sundays so i make up for it. i do dumbbell bench press now and i'm getting so good at it. takes away the stress of getting mad at the dude who hogs the one bench for barbell bench press. also sleeping more and drinking less wine. i'm strong now. but only because my workload suddenly declined. when it goes back up to where it was i don't know.

your gym only has one bench?

oh nm you mean only one bench with a rack for bench press

yeah it has other benches with no racks but it has one flat bench w/ rack, 1 incline and 1 decline. i'd rather just have 3 flat benches.

I used to try to listen to hard and fast music doing cardio but it seems to just make the time feel longer so now I don't really listen to music doing that. Weights in the gym, no music because it always felt funny to have headphones + where does the phone go issue.

Lifting at home now I have a Bluetooth speaker and it's almost always golden age rap. Death Certificate is pretty much ideal.

weirdly content-free article

http://www.vice.com/read/the-incredible-falsehood-of-the-muscle-man

thanks, vice

ugh i hate that shit

i have one of those armbands, it took me a long time to find one i could use. it's weird how many of them suck.

i mean that article, however "real" your workout routine is, it's always going to be highly artificial, you know? your goal is always fabricated to a degree. there is no authentic fitness absolute zero and the masculinity olympics is a lie and the fitness model strawman/woman is so convenient to that bullshit. just keep trying new shit and be joyful in your body imo :) :)

Pretty lol at that guy's "beastly brawn" or whatever they said - he looks like a young guy who works out to get laid. Who confuses that with being an athletic demigod?

Very few people work out in a way that is conducive either to pure "non-functional" bodybuilding or to serious "fitness" so this just kind of feels like a way for insecure people to make themselves feel better about not looking like the muscle guys. That said, I definitely find that the results I get from focusing on strength show more in my posture and the way I feel and carry myself than in muscle definition, which has improved but relatively modestly.

I mean I look better but it's almost more like I'm shaped differently than I actually look "ripped".

i switched gyms to the new fitness center at the university where i work and it's crazy how different the vibe is, lots of "real athletes" and frat boys, much younger median age obviously, less barely-there shirts and side-pec, more uh team wear i guess. some guy was squatting 315 for sets of 4? 5? today then doing lots of power stuff, like deadlifts with a jump. it motivated me to try some box jumps for the first time in forever. that was a sorry sight but i deeed it.

just keep trying new shit and be joyful in your body imo :) :)

otm

sports themselves are contrived, as is "fitness," given that very few of us do hard physical labor, hunt with spears, run from predators, etc.

someone should invent a true paleo sport that combines steer roping, lumberjack skills, strongman and endurance dancing

Grappling (wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu) really seems to be the ideal sport on the fitness front - you combine long aerobic practice with short bursts of all-out energy usage, you develop a great deal of strength and if you combine it with a good stretching routine/yoga a lot of flexibility.

It's also high-risk for injury and very time intensive.

and i would have to hang out with other grapplers

Grappling is great for fitness. Striking arts and sports are also great. Doing both grappling and striking is even better.

Injury risk depends a lot on what kind of activity you are doing, the coaching and instruction you're receiving, and how invested you are in competition. People tend to age out of MMA pretty young because of accumulated injuries and slower healing times. Traditional martial arts can be different -- there are plenty of karate, judo, and aikido lifers who stay active into their 70s and beyond. Talk about time intensive.

someone should invent a true paleo sport that combines steer roping, lumberjack skills, strongman and endurance dancing

― goole, Wednesday, May 18, 2016 11:13 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

steer roping is agricultural man! That's not paleo!

Replace with chasing bison off cliffs

One of the big paleo guys was on TV a couple of years ago doing paleo hunting where you chase a deer until it dies of exhaustion.

loooooooooool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlT7kEXXaZk

I think this was it but it's not what I thought, they used weapons.

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/watch-new-film-inspired-by-born-to-run-debuts-online

this is probably the other half of my memory - persistence hunting but no paleo guru

latter doc is on Netflix

christ, these people are psychotic.

i'm basically approximating a paleo diet but i refuse to call it that. "i'm on a low-carb diet / bread doesn't agree with me."

anyone have any good tips/vids about how to know your limit/avoid failure when bench pressing alone? I mean I'm never literally alone because I'm in a gym with people around and could call for a spot, but I'm still perhaps unreasonably afraid of failure, and as a result I don't think I'm pushing myself quite as hard as I should. But I kind of don't feel like I know how to tell when I'm walking the line.

I have no idea how to responsibly spot someone, so maybe ask someone nearby to be your buddy first, and make sure you know they're versed in lifting? I use some free weights but if I was nearby and tried spotting you I would likely accidentally drop it on your windpipe :(

this is really where having a few personal trainer sessions would be very useful

If you're not lifting a ton of weight, you can fail safely by yourself - look up the "roll of shame." Basically you lower it to your chest and roll it toward your legs until you can do a situp and roll it onto the floor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEUvI8Q6JDk

i've done that before. drag a flat bench into the rack and set the bars above your nose? smith machine bench? heavy db press? otherwise just ask those fucks to spot you. i've never asked for a spot and gotten anything but enthusiasm or at worst a grunt and nod. they're into it. good way to get into the gym crew and always helps to have some stranger shouting at you to keep the bar moving upwards.

i see tons of ppl do presses in the rack. i do the roll of shame, i wonder if there's a wriggle of shame where you're trying to do a pullover but you're at failure and so you're arms just stay down behind you and then your legs rise and you look like a baby getting it's diaper changed cuz i've done that too. i wonder how much of a difference there is really between doing presses w/ dumbbells vs barbells.

i'm switching to heavy db benches for a while because i have run into that same problem, plus lingering fear of lower back strain.

one rule of thumb i've read on an equivalence between barbell and dumbbell bench is: subtract the bar, and the remainder should feel about the same.