Oh, okay. I guess I just underestimated 5 pounds.
Hm. Okay.
Naw, man. Pretty helpful. I think I got it all. Probably gotta read it some more.
Have any of you ever heard of P90X? I saw an infomercial, and I gotta say, I really like everything they’re saying.
http://www.beachbody.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=63
From what I skimmed through, basically sounds like periodization and cardio.
Which is great isn’t it?
I mean, this is leaps and bounds away from “Do ONLY abs non-stop for the next 7 days and you’ll look like Arnold.”
I have never actually heard anything about periodization on an infomercial.
Does anyone know a way of getting your stomach together and looing great besides sit ups and push-ups?
I would say diet and exercise…but eh…push ups and sit ups are enough!!
i’d just like to drop by and give kudos for this thread, particularly magnus. i’ve been lifting as a supplement to mma/bjj training for the past few years and i stop in here whenever i see a new post because i always end up learning a little something i didn’t know before. the supplementary links for t-nation are pretty bomb too.
How’re Men’s Health magazines? I got a subscription for it as a gift.
Diet and exercise is the only way if you are overweight, if you are just looking to add some definition to your ab work, the plank is your friend.
They actually aren’t bad!! Some very good strength coaches write articles for them sometimes. I remember alwyn cosgrove writing a pro full body routine article for men’s health one issue. If you have a clue what’s really going on, you can easily sift through the bullshit in magazines these days.
Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless.
Word. :tup:
Also wanted to ask about that 2 second hold in exercises thing. I heard to stimulate the muscle more, hold it in the contracted position for 2 seconds each rep. For example, if I was curling, I’d hold the top position for 2 seconds each rep.
Is this more useful or hurtful than what it is?
You should try doing different numbers of seconds per set/rep.
One day might be:
Two seconds lifting the curl
One second holding at top
Two seconds going back down.
Maybe a 3-1-3 variation or a 2-1-3 variation.
The more different ways you work your body, the better.
There’s even the ‘explosive’ variation where you rush certain parts.
‘0’-2-2.
Men’s Health needs to friggin’ do a book or something. Random articles is freakin’ irritating. Though I guess they do that so you GOTTA suscribe.
Just wondering what people think of a new routine I’ll be trying out.
Monday-Thursday:
Thighs
Calves
Waist
Tuesday-Friday:
Back
Chest
Shoulders
Wednesday-Saturday:
Arms
Bis
Tris
It’s been roughly about 20 months now since I started working out at the gym. I was a measly 100 pounds who could only bench about 75lbs. At my peak I was a 135 lbs. Then I had surgery on my jaw and lost 18 lbs cuz I had my mouth wired shut. That was this passed July.
From what I learned, if you really are trying to get stronger, work out on your legs and lower back via squats and dead lifts. Too many people who I’ve trained are afraid to do both of them. No pain no gain.
From benching a measly 75lbs to 225 lbs before my surgery. I pretty much hit my plateau right there. I was squatting from just the bar to 295 lbs. If it was a full squat, I was able to do about 245 lbs full squats.
Since my surgery, I have not been really concentrating my legs that much, but I can still do 225lbs full squats and I’m up to 275 lbs on 75% squats. I can now bench 250 lbs (1 rep only) and now I weigh about 127 lbs. Yeah, most people don’t believe me. I will post a picture later on of me. A before and after picture and you guys’ll see what the gym can do for you. It does wonders man.
Those numbers are beastly.
Got my first 2 issues for Men’s Health, Alwyn Cosgrove wrote a routine for doing one-legged squats. Looks good so far.
Free 8 Week Balley Membership
http://health.discovery.com/BodyChallenge/gotoRegistration.do
Just register and you get the membership.
Wow…You bench almost as much as me and weigh 60lbs less!! That’s a 2x BW bench…Impressive!!
What does your routine look like? You must be doing something right!
^ditto^ nice pryde!.. yeah, i’ve only been weight training for around two months now and i’d love to be able to get to pressing 2x my BW… i’d like to check out what you’re doing
how long did the surgery keep you from the gym?
I had a solid routine, cuz I go between 5-6 days a week. I don’t have a set day one what I do. I just usually rotate my days.
Day 1: Hard core benching, incline, decline, dips, flat benching, and cables
Day 2: Back, lat pull downs, bent over rows, seated rows, super pull overs
Day 3: Squats, dead lifts, leg presses, leg curls, leg extensions
Day 4: Arms, tris, bis and shoulders
So i can be doing 2 of these excercises a week, I give my body a 4-5 day rest on the body parts. So I can be benching Monday and Friday the same week and not bench til Wednesday the week after. Cuz usually Saturday is the only day I don’t go to the gym, cuz it closes early. Abs is a must everyday, I do try to fit them in everyday, but I must confess that I do slack some times.
My surgery kept me out of the gym for 2 weeks. I was itching to go back. I went back to the gym very very weak, I can’t describe to you how weak I was. I got light headed easily, but I still maintained my focus. I mainly went to the gym just to try to keep my strength at a stable level.
This is a picture of me before I started working out, I’m the one in the red.
before
This is a picture me currently, which was taken about 3 weeks ago or so.
after
It’s all about disciplining yourself when you go to the gym, but some days you’re so tired that you don’t want to go, but just push yourself, even if it’s only a half an hour long, it’s better to stay consistent. The longest I’ve ever been out of the gym for was about 17 days, cuz of my surgery, but usually, it’s no more than 3 days.
Also, I must confess, I use NO2, it helps me pump more, but I usually only take it when I’m benching and squatting.
good job with the progress, i was ill for a couple of weeks and then gym shut over xmas. Hit my chest yesterday and was strugglin with 1 plate on each side. 
