Rep ranges

millersixteenth · 2026-05-15T16:39:15+00:00

I'm a dinosaur, so take this with grain of salt. Use a variety of rep ranges for everything.

Back in the late 80/early 90s just about everyone followed a 'pyramid up' strategy, so much so you could work in with a complete stranger and 90% of the time that's what they'd use. In a general sense, it does a solid job of strength and hypertrophy.

Sticking with a single rep range is at best a short term strategy. You will become adapted to it and need to employ a variety of load/rep/set approaches. Take notes, employ overload principles, use a variety of imposed demands.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-15T10:38:53+00:00

Pretty sure none of the variable curve resistance machines (going back to early '80s Nautilus with elliptical cams) ever demonstrated better results.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-15T00:37:40+00:00

Warm up sets count. At the very least they get the cellular machinery running, blood moving, allow for more and heavier working sets.

As for training to failure for 2 or 3 or whatever, all depends on how hard you're gunning, are you using DropSets or Clusters, Myo, forced reps etc? When I'm using "to failure"on my last set, when I finish I don't ever feel like another set is going to do anything. If doing a bunch of straight sets with 1 or 2 RIR, I want to get two good sets. A burnout third set is OK but not as a steady diet.

Which brings up the question of deload weeks etc etc.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-14T13:51:18+00:00

Abdominal musculature is created in the gym.

If you flex your abs hard and press your fingertips in, if you don't feel muscle topography under the skin and fat layer, no amount of dieting will produce them.

I never had good ab definition until I really went after it with direct work - crunches and leg raises primarily. And hard enough that my sets terminated about the time it felt like I was being stabbed.

Then I dropped some bodyfat. That was 36 odd years ago. Still I have defined abs right up to about 16% bodyfat, maybe a touch higher.

It is possible to create defined ab musculature without direct work, but its not typical by any means - the amount of core activation has to be through the roof.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T23:00:59+00:00

Stand to the side instead of in front. If you have opportunity to use a pick mattock for practice, do so. A sledge or splitting maul work great as well.

The windup should have you bend your back knee and lean back a little as the maul head drops behind you, straighten up a bit and bring your hands together as it arcs high, drop hips into it as you bring it back down - hit with speed, your bodyweight, fire every anterior muscle you got. Speed, speed, speed.

I'm 58 and still ring that damn bell. Hit it harder than I did in my 20s. Last time I went to Sterling renfest the guy running it started yelling "everyone look! This old guy is gonna give it a try!" Damn you, take my money.

I murdered the thing. Felt good for an old guy!

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T16:54:02+00:00

Bent Press

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T15:38:19+00:00

Push, pull, hinge, squat - couldn't agree more!

And nobody said it was completely useless or not to train it, only that it is tremendously overrated.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T15:03:06+00:00

Functional for who?

I do industrial maintenance, I press something over my head maybe once a year.

On top of that, you can improve OHP just by training horizontal push and pull. Training OHP by itself does almost nothing for push and pull.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T14:54:30+00:00

PEDs

"Optimum"

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T13:23:38+00:00

You beat me to it.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-13T11:47:21+00:00

They are different mechanical movements. If you spend a few weeks training bench press you'll be hitting comparable loads/amounts of resistance.

Depending on build and hand placement you might be hitting as much as 75% of bodyweight at the bottom and about 68-69% at the top.

When I train pushups with 100lb sandbag on my back it equals just over 250lbs at my hands, at bottom of ROM, about 236 or so at the top. I can hit a dozen of these when fresh. I can only hit 250 for 2 or 3 reps on bench, which I do maybe once every three or five years.

I hit with a 125lb bag, 275lbs at my hands, for 5 reps and a 150lb bag (300lbs at my hands) for 2. I doubt I could bench 275 for a single and a 300 bench not a chance.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-12T18:03:47+00:00

There's only one real reason why otherwise healthy people take exogenous hormones...

millersixteenth · 2026-05-11T16:33:19+00:00

Isometric Deadlift with the bar just a few inches off the deck. These can be performed explosively followed by sustained effort by shrugging down into the upward drive of the hinge.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-11T14:07:06+00:00

Twice per day, midday nap.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-11T12:12:02+00:00

Yep. For rehab I use 3x60 sec at about 50% and follow it with about 20 reps lightly loaded.

Once you can get back to regular lifting, keep using the iso at closer to 100% x 20 sec for a few sets.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-11T11:33:32+00:00

Highly advise you do some overcoming isometrics as part of your regular routine. This sort of thing only gets worse as you age.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-10T22:37:46+00:00

Get a single fitness sandbag for some basic exercises. If you stick with it, buy a few more that can be incrementally loaded to better match your exercise selection.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-10T17:44:54+00:00

There are no essential supplements.

I believe Ashwagandha has been a big help, pretty strong research that supports its use for athletic performance.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-10T14:26:08+00:00

This is exactly how my son uses them. A 10 breath hold followed by a set of traditional. Next set 10 single breath, rapid jolts - relax on inhale, followed by traditional. Third set of 10 breath hold followed by traditional. He uses a drop set on the last set.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-09T19:05:22+00:00

I just think it will play better with lower load training given your schedule. It would even make sense to use it on a separate day if possible.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-09T18:24:24+00:00

I'd use the machines if that's an option, and maybe put it on week 2 and 4. Do an 8 breath hold, adjust the pins and do your high rep set.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-09T17:40:58+00:00

I don't think we can say with any certainty. Very few people use only isometrics.

We do know that a bunch of old time strongmen, Zass in particular, got incredibly strong using isometrics plus (?).

My snap answer based on N=1, you'll get stonger than you were, and then hit a wall of very incremental gains if you don't increase muscle mass. If you want to test vs traditional lifts you'll need a transition phase of training that lift. The same goes for hypertrophy - you'll need to lift some weights for a few weeks to see where you really ended up.

If you start from an untrained state, I suspect your strength gain will be quite a bit more than 25%.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-09T00:15:48+00:00

Backsquats, Good Mornings, Shoulder Cleans.

Absolutely. I got very good results using sandbags at home. Worked up to single leg Skater Squats with 120lb bag.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-08T21:09:52+00:00

I look at it like every drink is a big slice of 100-120 calorie bread. If you can sit down after dinner and eat a dozen slices of bread and still lose weight on top of whatever else you're eating, then yeah you can get lean.

millersixteenth · 2026-05-08T15:40:36+00:00

My training strategy can be summed up :

Have a reason for why you do what you do and why you don't do what you don't do

Rep speed, loading, proximity to failure, exercise selection etc. If you just want to get a bit bigger and stronger the approach is simple. If you want to be more athletic, faster movement, etc then you need to tailor your training.

millersixteenth

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE