thread of getting sw0le

I have a neighbor I'm friendly with who's a pretty experienced trainer with his own gym, have considered seeing if he'd give me a form check session at a friend rate.

Thinking about goals and I think I'd like to be able to bench two plates, deadlift three plates, squat idk I guess like 275? And that seems achievable within the next year, maybe even 6 months. Beyond that, not sure if I want to focus on just getting my numbers up forever, might switch to just maintaining and focus on slimming down a little.

Bench still seem unachievable for me. Getting a spotter might help.....

I did one of those free sessions with a trainer today -- guy has been training 8 years and has NASM certification (I guess that's good?) and whatnot. He had me do things a little differently, focusing less on max lifts and working in supersets and whatnot, but did give me good form tips on my deadlifts and pointed out where I had strength imbalances. Definitely overall a harder workout when there's someone forcing you not to cut corners.

Don't think I'm going to change my program, but I may try to cut back on the rest a little to have my heart rate up a little more, bc I think I was going too easy on myself.

https://67.media.tumblr.com/98ced1c7f1a55fce461ddef34a00acfe/tumblr_o7pgrwV5wZ1ufgcluo1_1280.jpg

makes u think

resident evil 2 vs resident evil 3

swole poll

http://s158562511.onlinehome.us/BlogImages/I_Have_No_Mouth.jpg

about 5 weeks into seeing a trainer now, i'm noticing massive improvement, i guess just having one session a week gives me a focal point. working with another person each week kinda forces you to try and improve and hit targets.

mostly doing repetitions that involve kettlebell - some boxing at the end of some sessions. think we will be moving on to other weights soon, he was mainly teaching me kettlebell routines i can do at home.

i guess i'm mainly used to running, i find this sort of high intensity exercise so different, like i'll feel completely broken and then a minute or so rest and you can do more than you thought you could. prob never pushed myself this hard even when running like half marathons and stuff, it's just plodding along compared to the mad intensity.

i can't be the only one who totally fucking hates burpies though.

h8 burpies

Trainer makes such a difference for me just in how much I push myself. But it's a luxury I can't afford atm.

they are the worst. my hamstrings are so tight i can't even get down to the ground to do them, make me feel like i'm 90 years old, even though i'm noticing flexibility improving for some things.

xpost - yeah i don't think i can push myself to the level he pushes, or maybe it takes a bit of learning. tonight after like 2 reps i was in bits, but he said we're doing 6 and we did 6, and i'm okay now. i have chronic illness issues so it kinda helps me to have someone giving me that belief.

xpost about burpies

I don't mind burpees. I actually like working in navy 8-counts sometimes, which is sort of like burpee plus pushup plus a little open-close leg thing when you're down.

that's my idea of hell - i did like five burpies tonight in the middle of a lot of other stuff and i was supposed to do 10, couldn't manage it at all. but i guess some things come easier than others.

how can i tell if i am rounding my back during stiff leg deadlifts? i'm looking straight in the mirror, using low weights for now, but still i get this back soreness. i can't seem to ensure that it is my hamstrings doing the work.

https://d17oy1vhnax1f7.cloudfront.net/items/0O3t46090W3D322E0T0I/tarentino.jpg

I made some dumb posts about sl deadlifts. I think they involve the whole posterior chain including the lower back and you can go pretty heavy with them but I'm no expert.

I LOVE GYM IT'S THE BEST that's all

Also it's weird is there there some like power-law principle with lifting and bodyweight? Like, when I see normal-build dudes of about my fitness level they generally weigh like 1.4 times as much and can bench probably twice as much as me but can reliably do less than half the number of chin-ups which feels really counter-intuitive.

Well I'd say it's intuitive that someone who weighs more but is otherwise of ~ the same fitness level, will be able to do less chin ups since they have more body weight to lift up. Bench thing is a bit less intuitive but I will say that bench press (or push ups) are one thing even a lot of otherwise not terribly fit dudes do at gym and may have done for a while.

otm regarding the bench press. i never really did any kind of lifting when i was younger but it seems like a lot of people at least bench pressed. I can squat or deadlift more than plenty of dudes at my gym but I'm nowhere near anyone on my bench press.

i refuse to bench press

bench press is secretly hard

i think it has the silly tough guy rep because most people can push a fair amount of weight with minimal effort on form.

it took me as long or longer to find decent form on the bench as it did with squats and deadlifts.

it's the only exercise that's injured me. too much weight + bad form = so easy to tweak a rotator cuff.

nb i don't know anything, skip my posts if you want to stay alive

did bench press for the first time last night, found it really hard.

also did about 30 mins of boxing, for cardio, really enjoyed it as a way to end a session. though at the end trainer had me doing a plank and supporting myself with one elbow while i punched the pad with the other arm, like 20 times. destroyed me but was fun.

have lost more than a stone since starting to do this - feeling good!

i mean i guess "found it really hard" covers most of the activities i do at the gym apart from the 5 minutes rowing machine at the start and a few of the stretches.

it's the only exercise that's injured me. too much weight + bad form = so easy to tweak a rotator cuff.

― until the next, delayed, glaciation (map), Wednesday, August 31, 2016 9:11 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is why je refuse

i've started incorporating a standing cable press, considering weighted pushups

i've already fucked up my knee, i don't need to give the orthopods any more money for a shuolder repair

weighted pushups are something i'd like to do but the one time i attempted them it was weirdly stressful trying to get a plate on my back by myself lol.

i think there's a couple vests at my place

I got a 'football bar'-type of bar where you grip the bar parallel - it's outstanding for bench press and Pendlay rows.

I get why big gyms don't invest in the many different specialty bars but if you've got access and aren't training for a powerlifting/Olympic competition I see almost no reason to lift with a straight barbell for most things - trap bar deadlifts, the safety-squat bar, parallel grip bars for rows/bench/OHP are all awesome.

i love to bench press! can't do much though bc i'm a girl

this girl begs to differ

http://static2.fjcdn.com/comments/10+10+would+lift+again+_a04ecfcb80de5d7aff5ec5dd84c82f54.jpg

sorry everyone

hahaha

asuka got sw0le

The two most helpful form things for me with bench were (1) realizing it was ok and even preferable to use a narrower grip, so that my forearms stayed closer to parallel, (2) realizing that the lift path shouldn't be totally straight but diagonal, sort of from the top of your ribs at the bottom of the lift to over your chest at the top, depending in part on your arm length and torso length.

back after two weeks off (vacation plus bad work schedule) and numbers are down significantly, but I feel like they'll come back fast.

Also saw old friends last week that I haven't seen in like a year and they were all "Whoa, your muscles are big!" which was kind of a good feeling.

It's kind of amazing that you can dramatically change your body by lifting heavy objects three hours a week.

"Listen to your body" is such weird advice, like my body is full of sensible advice like "don't do pushups they feel awful just do more dips we like doing dips add some more weight or something" but at the same time it just does not want to eat ever, I've been lifting for almost six months now and eating a third meal every day is still a conscious and tiresome effort.

Lifting is great though I love this thread!

i've been consistent now for 3.5-4 months, probably my longest stretch.

i will go four days in a row and then suddenly stop for 2 weeks. need to work on that.

today i saw these two boys doing close-grip benches with their thumbs touching. i thought about telling them that was too close, they could hurt their wrists, but then thought 'they only have 25-lb plates on they aren't going to hurt anything' lol oh snap.

though i did not go heavy today and felt a little slow and old i still did a lot of pull-up sets to super-good tunes 😎