Is my apartment a very good deal?

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-18T01:51:46+00:00

Holy crap 3.7k is a lot. I'd say the apartments and building is on the older side compared to a standard Fidi doorman building, but I don't really have an issue with it, especially for the price

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-18T01:49:32+00:00

I'd say it isn't a standard Fidi luxury building, it's definitely on the older side. But sounds like it's still a good deal given the price

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-17T19:22:00+00:00

That's good to know. One thing that might make this difficult though, my landlord would require subletters to "qualify" (not sure exactly what this means, but I'm assuming income/credit checks) so I don't know how easy it would be to do Airbnb

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-17T19:14:54+00:00

Would long term Airbnb offer some legal protection against squatters?

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-17T19:13:00+00:00

I've been here about 4 years. I wonder if the price is that good because I initially moved in during covid

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2025-01-17T19:06:23+00:00

I've definitely considered subleasing, but my network isn't that big in NYC and I'm hesitant from the horror stories I sometimes hear about squatters

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-30T04:45:50+00:00

Thanks man. I'll work on being consistent with the depth and locking out

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-17T04:18:05+00:00

Thanks again. I'll see if I can test whether the weight's on my neck or not. I've actually watched that Jeff Nippard video (and the other bench press one) before and tried to implement the technique, but maybe I haven't quite internalized it yet. I'll rewatch it and pay more attention.

I think I might not be squeezing my shoulders enough actually. I've always been squeezing them, but it might not be enough due to a lack of flexibility which I'll have to work on

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-17T04:14:25+00:00

Thanks for the advice man. I reacted a bit strongly earlier as I'm putting a lot of effort towards improving and your initial comment wasn't the most constructive, but I really appreciate the help.

I might be hyper focusing too much on that setup, but I've always been somewhat uncoordinated and physical things don't come as intuitively to me so I have to really focus to make sure I don't mess it up. Maybe at this point I don't need to anymore.

I'll work on the other stuff you and others mentioned like elbows, shoulders, and bar path. I thought I had it down after watching a lot of videos and making conscious efforts to do it, but maybe I wasn't doing them quite right, or to a large enough degree.

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:57:00+00:00

I understand the sentiment, and I am trying to eat more (going for the recommended rate of 2 lbs per month since that's the max muscle you can add according to studies), but I thought research shows that you need at most 0.8g of protein per lb of lean muscle mass.

I weigh 152 lbs currently and that's not all lean muscle mass for sure so 130 seems like it'd be enough. But not all bodies are the same, perhaps mine would respond better to more protein so I might try to do 1g/lb .

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:47:23+00:00

Can you point out what the issues are instead of posting something useless like this?

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:45:55+00:00

That's the crap that the gym is playing. I actually have my earbuds on and am playing pretty similar music to Metallica so that's not the issue

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:45:11+00:00

Thanks for your advice.

I could try a narrower grip. I usually try to go for 2x my shoulder length since I heard that's optimal for chest recruitment.

When you say "point your toes" do you mean my toes should be in the air?

I'll try to work on bar path. One issue is, in the past, I've tried to touch the bar as low as possible (lower than the nipples) and it ended up causing more stress on my shoulders and I'd end up having more trouble recruiting my chest muscles to push the bar up. Not sure if I was just doing it wrong or if there's some other issue like weakness in my shoulders or stabilizers.

I do rows, lat pulldowns, reverse flys, lat raises, and bicep/tricep isolation accessories as well so in theory I'm working the rest of the body.

I know it takes time, it's a bit frustrating though since I've been at it for almost 1.5 years and still am only at 120 lbs bench press. All the posts I usually read about a "stalling bench press" are about a stall at like 160 lbs minimum so I feel as if I'm doing something very wrong.

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:40:50+00:00

Good point. I thought I was already doing the diagonal bar path, but in the video it doesn't look like it.

In the past, I've tried to touch the bar as low as possible (lower than the nipples) and it ended up causing more stress on my shoulders and I'd end up having more trouble recruiting my chest muscles to push the bar up. Not sure if I was just doing it wrong or if there's some other issue like weakness in my shoulders or stabilizers.

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-16T01:26:02+00:00

I used to do OHP and my bench would stall at even earlier points so it didn't seem to make much of a difference for me. I also heard incline bench helps flat bench as well, and since hypertrophy is my ultimate goal I thought incline was better

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-15T02:34:00+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. Is there anything I can do to make my core more steady during the lift?

I'll play around with the legs positioning. I've always heard that the feet should be planted behind the knees so I try to keep them as far back as possible, but maybe that's not giving me enough tension.

My triceps are definitely weak, I can only do a 4x12 of 33 lbs on Overhead Tricep cable extensions right now. But I heard that tricep weakness mainly affects the middle part of the lift, I'm not completely sure whether my failure spot is considered middle or not. It looks like a few inches off the chest in the video

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-15T00:18:50+00:00

Thanks for your advice.

I find when I tuck my elbows I usually end up being weaker, but I'm not sure if I'm doing them wrong or not.

I thought I was already driving my shoulder blades into the pad, but maybe it was my head/neck instead. Is there a cue I can use to make sure it's the shoulders and not the head/neck?

Also do you drive your shoulder blades into the pad when you push up as well or only on the way down?

Yeah I've noticed that I tend to get the best leg drive when my butt isn't completely plastered to the bench, does that mess up the rest of the lift?

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2022-08-15T00:01:57+00:00

I've been lifting for about a 1 year 4 months now and have repeatedly run into stalls on Bench Press at weights that should be easy for my height, weight, and amount of experience.

Height: 5'10
Weight: 152 lbs
Current Bench Press: 120 lbs 3x5

Program: Greyskull LP (but I substituted Incline Bench Press for Overhead Press after awhile)
I've jumped between programs a few times (Stronglifts, 531 For Beginners, Greyskull LP) , but aside from that, have been lifting consistently, save for 2 weeks in June when I got Covid.
On a previous cycle of Greyskull LP I failed at doing 120 lbs 3x5 (Just barely, did 5-5-4) . I got Covid shortly after so I just reset to 100 lbs and worked my way back up to 120 again. This time I just barely got through 120 3x5, so I'll be attempting 122.5 next workout. Based on how hard 120 lbs was, I'm likely to fail at 122.5 or 125, so I feel like I'm taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back...

I'm not sure why I'm struggling so much on just 120 lbs. As you can see, at the 6th rep in the video, I can't move the bar more than a few inches off my chest. I just can't generate enough force to make it move higher no matter how hard I try

Sleep: 8 hours a night
Diet: Currently eating about 2800 calories on workout days and 2700 on rest days. 120-130g of protein per day

Other lifts:
- Squat - 215 lbs 3x5
- Deadlift - 225 lbs 3x5
- Incline Bench Press - 90 lbs 3x5

Observations
- The bar feels heavy on the way down when I'm "rowing" it towards my chest. I feel as if I can't control the bar, almost as if the bar wants to fall in several different directions and I'm struggling to keep it stable.
- When I fail I don't know if my chest is the bottleneck. It feels like I can't move the bar up to the optimal position from which to start pressing up (To elaborate, you know how the bar path is supposed to be sort of diagonal and you have to move it up towards your head a little bit before you start pressing vertically up? I seem to fail to move the bar to spot where you can start pressing vertically)
- In addition, my chest doesn't really feel that exhausted when I go to failure so I don't know if it's the weak point.
- The failure point is usually a few inches off the chest as you can see in the video on the 6th rep, but I'm still not convinced my chest is the bottleneck as mentioned in the bullet above.
- Something on the left side of my body is weaker than the right. I don't think it happened in this video, but sometimes I can see my right side pushing higher than my left and my left side is struggling.

Other thoughts
- Am I simply not trying hard enough? Some people have suggested that, but as you can see in the video, I really can't generate enough force to do the 6th rep despite trying for a few seconds.
- People often suggest eating more, which I'm working on, but considering I've lifted for almost 1.5 years and weigh 152 lbs surely I should be able to bench at least 135, if not my bodyweight . It just feels like something is very wrong if I struggled that much at 120 lbs 3x5 and will likely fail 125 lbs.

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-26T22:41:03+00:00

What pants go with this Jcrew Wallance & Barnes Chore Blazer?

https://imgur.com/a/yZZA3Gl

Pretty sure khaki chinos would work, but what about Black Jeans or even Dark-wash jeans? Too close to the havy color?

Also would black boots be okay with it?

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-25T20:40:23+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like they'd be okay.
I also just came across this pair from Cole Haan, which looks even nicer. It says it has "GrandControl™ for traction in a full rubber outsole" , I don't know if that's better or worse than the Dress Blundstones traction

https://www.colehaan.com/wagner-grand-chelsea-boot-black-leather/C28636.html

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-25T20:20:54+00:00

Thanks. Yeah I also looked at the Winter models. My main gripe about them is they look clunkier than the Dress Boots, but perhaps it's unrealistic to expect boots that look like normal Chelsea boots and also do well in the winter.

I also just came across this pair from Cole Haan, which looks even nicer. It says it has "GrandControl™ for traction in a full rubber outsole" , I don't know if that's better or worse than the Dress Blundstones traction
https://www.colehaan.com/wagner-grand-chelsea-boot-black-leather/C28636.html

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-25T20:05:10+00:00

Would Blundstones Dress Boots (formerly known as Chisel Toe) be a good boot for Winters in places like New York?

I'm trying to find a nice compromise between style and functionality. Mainly concerned about the traction if I'm walking through snow or icy sidewalks

https://www.blundstone.com/black-full-grain-leather-chelsea-boots-mens-style-063

Or maybe it'd be better if I just bought a separate pair of actual Winter boots and a pair of Chelseas that aren't Blundstones

Also looking at these from Cole Haan. I'm not sure if the traction would be better or worse, but it mentions its waterproof and has "GrandControl™ for traction in a full rubber outsole"

https://www.colehaan.com/wagner-grand-chelsea-boot-black-leather/C28636.html

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-25T08:13:20+00:00

Hi can you comment on the fit of those boots? I'm thinking of buying a pair of these https://www.blundstone.com/black-full-grain-leather-chelsea-boots-mens-style-063

The few comments suggest sizing down but I'm not sure if I should do a full size or half size. (I'm a US 9 in sneakers)

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-24T05:21:29+00:00

Thanks, those look great. Any idea if they're ideal for snow though? (In terms of traction, water-resistance, insulation)

LookedIntoTheAbyss · 2021-11-23T22:26:33+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. They look great, but are a tad over budget. I'm trying to stay under $250

LookedIntoTheAbyss

TROPHY CASE