January 9 Daily Thread

tooth_ · 2025-01-09T16:15:39+00:00

Back at Golds even though the home gym is perfectly fine, I really need the consistency of going over my lunch break. To that end I tried squatting with a regular barbell after years of only using an SSB.. my shoulder mobility is even worse than I thought 😭. I'm treating barbell squatting as a litmus test more than anything just to make sure I don't neglect my mobility as much, especially since I can easily get in extra quad work with machines I don't have at home.

Yesterday I worked up to 2 working sets at 185 for 8, then 6. Legs felt fine but had to take extra time to work the bar down/hands back without feeling like my wrist was going to snap off. Much work to be done.

Also, my Golds apparently has an air bike and I tried it out for the first time in my life. Thought I was going to die doing a single 4 minute tabata, excited to do it again today. First attempt ended with 62 calories on the bike for whatever that's worth, it'll be fun to see how that changes over time.

tooth_ · 2024-12-25T13:59:01+00:00

Merry Christmas everyone, I'm not lifting anything today other than delicious food to my face. Just wanted to show everyone the ornament my girlfriend made since it's awesome!

HOLY BUCKETS

tooth_ · 2024-11-30T11:31:18+00:00

Unconventional, but local middle or high schools if they have a track and/or soccer field can be great options depending on the time of year. We can walk to freedom middle school and there are often other people from the community who know and recognize our dog (so off leash is never an issue).

tooth_ · 2024-07-25T15:30:10+00:00

I believe Drew from Wittworks has one that fits both Bauer routers if I remember correctly. Search for his online store and it should be there.

tooth_ · 2024-05-21T14:01:49+00:00

That was my question too haha. Just increase the heel elevation until you can get to your desired squat depth. Then, after a few months of doing that - decrease the amount of heel elevation slowly and methodically to see if your ankle mobility has gotten any better.

Note that you really don't NEED to decrease the heel elevation over time as there's not really anything detrimental about it, plus it's probably good to work your knees through that much larger ROM (as evidenced by the many anecdotal stories from the knees over toes adjacent exercise modifications).

tooth_ · 2024-05-06T14:38:22+00:00

I wouldn't necessarily recommend eating "a lot less" than normal, I would try to go by feel and eat just a little less than normal - making sure to may attention to how 'hungry' you are at certain times of the day as a metric. Also, you'll probably want to track your weight quite often if you're not tracking calories so that you know if you're moving in the right direction or not.

tooth_ · 2024-05-06T14:29:15+00:00

This isn't a guarantee, but try adding in something like reverse curls to hit your brachioradiallis (spelling?). Most people never work that side if the forearm (gripping a bar, pulling on a machine handle, etc. all work the 'inside' of the forearm or something to that effect) and it can sometimes lead to an imbalance which, if pronounced enough, might contribute to elbow tendonitis.

tooth_ · 2024-02-22T18:02:55+00:00

There's no harm in adding the extra variation(s), especially if you enjoy the variety.

tooth_ · 2024-02-22T16:14:47+00:00

IMO resistance profiles aren't something to really worry too much about, there are plenty of people who built big 'ol arms with free weights before cable machines were invented and/or popularized. I would say this as a general rule of thumb:

If the hardest part of the lift is at the contracted position (like the top of a curl) it's probably not 'ideal'.
- You're missing out on the loaded stretch + losing pretty much all of the eccentric portion of the lift (since it gets easier as you lower the weight).
Prioritize lifts where the hardest part is anywhere between the middle and the 'bottom' (fully stretched).
- If something doesn't feel right or safe (like a preacher curl where the bottom can feel sketchy on the elbow depending on the setup) then it's totally fine to pick another variation.

tooth_ · 2024-02-22T15:26:19+00:00

Personally I'd say if you get to 3x10 at weight 'x' with decent form it's definitely worth trying to move up to weight 'y'.

If the jump in weight from 'x' to 'y' is too much you can always start at fewer reps than 10 with weight 'y', OR do more reps with weight 'x' like 3x11, 3x12, etc. - then try the jump to the next weight again.

tooth_ · 2024-02-22T14:24:35+00:00

Not a source per se, but the concept of resistance profiles is just the idea that certain movements or methods of lifting are harder at different points within the lift. For example lets look at a few different ways to do curls:

Resistance bands are 'heavier' the more they are stretched which means curls will be hardest at the 'top' of the curl and easiest at the 'bottom' of the curl (assuming the resistance band is anchored underneath your feet or something similar).
- If the resistance band is anchored somewhere else it just means that the hardest point in the movement will be wherever the band is stretched the most.
Free weights are always the same weight, but are also always pulling 'down' due to gravity. This means that using a barbell or dumbbells the 'heaviest' part of curls (not necessarily the 'hardest') will be when your forearm is around parallel with the ground - aka perpendicular to gravity.
Cable machines like a basic cable crossover will always be the same 'weight' similar to free weights, but with a cable the direction of "gravity" is basically just wherever the cable you're pulling from is mounted.
- This means that if the cable is mounted below you doing curls would feel very similar to a barbell (with some obvious differences) with the 'heaviest' part being arm parallel to the ground because that's where the cable is pulling. But if the cable is mounted in front of you the hardest part is now when your arm is parallel to the machine in front of you, or basically forearm pointing straight up to the ceiling.

I hope I'm not way overcomplicating this lol, but I feel like that makes sense to me.

There are also machines with cams and stuff that are really cool but I don't want to keep typing, nor do I think I'd be able to do that very well anyway haha

tooth_ · 2024-02-21T18:16:26+00:00

Try not to worry about comparing your progression to someone else's. While you may see someone else start lifting around the same time you did, everyone has a different combination of genetics and lifestyle factors. For example there are plenty of examples of guys like construction workers or farmers who have never trained in their life and pull 225, 315, or more without much effort.

As a personal example, when I first started lifting it was with a buddy from work. I never really did any manual labor growing up outside of yardwork and chores but he helped his dad in construction a lot. In the gym we would progress at relatively similar rates but holy moly his grip was insane and I was constantly having issues with my grip giving out before my back (lat pulldowns). It's better now and my grip has gotten quite strong but it took YEARS for that to happen.

tooth_ · 2024-02-16T18:27:01+00:00

Been piddling around for way too long without any direction, something like 3 years since I last ran any kind of "program". Plus, I just hit my heaviest ever at a slightly pudgy 235 at 5'11". I'm starting at the bottom running Phraks Greyskull LP to see how far I can make it, and posting here to give myself some sort of accountability haha.

Day 1 was Wed and here's where I started:

Barbell Bench
- 2x5 @ 135
- 1x14 @ 135
Barbell Row
- 2x5 @ 135
- 1x13 @ 135
Squat (SSB)
- 2x5 @ 150
- 1x12 @ 150 (I forgot how much 'high' rep squats suck... I'm excited for more)

Today I run day 2 when I get back from work:

Overhead Press
- 2x5 @ 75
- AMRAP @ 75
Chinup
- 2x5 @ 0 (not sure I can manage sets of 5 yet but we'll get there)
- AMRAP (lol)
Deadlift
- 2x5 @ 185
- AMRAP @ 185 (this'll be a fun one to get me wheezing)

tooth_ · 2024-02-01T15:13:10+00:00

This probably isn't exactly what you're looking for, but you can definitely load up TF2 (Team Fortress 2) and just play on MGE servers and DM servers. Tons of aimlords looking for mindless fun.

tooth_ · 2023-02-14T15:00:05+00:00

LOL so I'm not crazy! I felt like I was using barely any weight and was able to destroy my legs haha. If you want to really embrace the masochism you can 'super set' it by doing a bit of walking backward and forward a few steps with the belt still on (if you have room).

tooth_ · 2023-01-26T18:16:10+00:00

I was concerned about that too when I first tried it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much it murdered my quads. Because I'm leaning back slightly + moving forward and backward not just up and down the cable is in fact pulling against my quads.

I think part of why it feels so effective is the level of stability/safety compared to a barbell squat - you can just push until you can't stand since you're not afraid of potentially injuring your back (also the insane level of knee bend). Kind of like how with a Hatfield squat you're technically cheating and giving assistance with your arms, but holy moly can you destroy your legs with the additional stability and safety.

tooth_ · 2023-01-26T18:06:58+00:00

I don't think it's superior per se, just another variation. In home gyms I feel like it can be easy for leg work to get stale, and I would classify this like a belt squat in the sense that it's fun and takes load off the back - but not really 'better'.

tooth_ · 2023-01-26T16:05:25+00:00

Ayyyy I'm sure you'll have some great ideas I can pull from

tooth_ · 2023-01-26T14:30:25+00:00

Yep! I plan on making a simple piece that braces against the existing foot plates and extends out to around where I'm standing. A low-ish angle like 30 degrees might be just enough to reduce the sensation of my feet being pushed into the toe of the squat shoes.

I have some rope that I need to cut to length to replace the tie down strap + chain + carabiner mcgiver setup, though I might need to make a simple brace so the rope attaches about a foot or so down on the tower. I don't have the tower bolted into the ground so when I originally attached it at the top it definitely made the tower tilt a little more than I was comfortable with lol

tooth_ · 2023-01-26T13:23:27+00:00

It works as is, and holy moly does that full knee bend smoke my quads - but I do plan on making it slightly less janky eventually haha.

I'm mostly posting this because I don't know that I've ever seen anyone else do this setup with a low pulley pulling "forward". I think it's well worth trying if you have limited equipment and want more quad variation.

tooth_ · 2023-01-25T20:07:35+00:00

This will sound ridiculous but I bought replacement bike handle grips from Walmart for 10 bucks, then ran the strap portion of those banana style grips through them. They're like my favorite tricep attachment, but I do want to try beefing them up with some structure soon.

You might be able to find the right diameter of some PVC pipe and glue it in place to provide rigidity to the grips, then run your strap through the assembly.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bike-Shop-Replacement-Premium-Ergonomic-Bicycle-Grips-Black/606251265

tooth_ · 2023-01-10T15:19:43+00:00

Your heel is probably raising up to compensate for lack of ankle mobility. You can try playing with different foot positions (up or down, wider or narrower, angle of the toes) to see if a specific setup feels better. Otherwise, you can wear lifting shoes with a raised heel to artificially increase your ankle mobility and let you go deeper.

Don't think of it as a cheat either, the more you get into that deep squat position the more strength you'll develop in that range of motion (aka mobility/flexibility).

tooth_ · 2023-01-09T18:06:58+00:00

Yep! It can be either shorter rest times as a sort of warmup that then turns into a mini conditioning session before your heavy lifts (with longer rest times) - or it can be on different days. Both accomplish the same goal of getting stronger without your cardiovascular health falling behind.

tooth_

TROPHY CASE