obviously the dude is a tool…
im outi
Roberth
i’ve just started doing 5x5 strength training and i’m enjoying it. one problem i’m having though is my arms aren’t very flexible. when i’m doing squats, my arms have trouble bending back to grip the bar even when i’m using a wide grip. it’s to the point where my shoulders are hurting after i put the bar back on the clips. any advice for this? should i just stretch my arms by doing shoulder dislocation stretches/other stretches? or should i switch to front squats?
is the bar very low on your back? if so, you could try putting it higher up on your traps.
i guess it depends on the person/ gym. some of the people at my gym that should be on the treadmill stay away from it. but will random exersise like the video clip from the last page…
not that low. i think if i put the bar any higher it might be on the base of my neck. good point though, i’ll double check position of bar when i go to the gym tomorrow.
The dudes on that website need to eat more.
Also, this isn’t for everyone, but low bar squatting is generally better, because you can lift more weight.
hilarious.
i concur
High bar on the back is more of an Olympic back squat with an upright torso. The advantage is you get a better range of motion.
Lower on the back (resting on the retracted shoulder blades) is powerlifting style which emphasizes a sit back motion leading with the hips. It takes some of the stress off your quads.
Recently skimmed this new article and they pretty much suggest front squatting instead. It’s a quick read for anyone interested.
Vegan diets are a big change if you just go head on with no planning what-so-ever, but they’re definitely not crazy hard or anything. There are plenty of websites to help out though with a little search here and there.
Generally better in what ways? Low bar squatting is for people who aren’t athletic or flexible enough to do high bar oly squat, aka real squats.
I can load the bar heavy and do heavy ass quarter squats, but it don’t mean it’s “generally better” than anything.
Need some advice and/or exercises for pecs and shoulders.
I’m not a beginner yet not an expert, been training for two years and really regularly last year. Arms and abs seem to shape out good, but I feel pecs and shoulders are way beyond the rest.
What do you already do?
What’s a good schedule progression of poundage when graduating to heavier wieghts? Add 5lbs each week, or every two weeks?
Or should I do 2 weeks lifting the same weight, and increase the reps on the 2nd week. Then start adding poundage each cycle?
For the farmers walk to build forearms, should I use plates or 'bells? I’ve been using plates to also workout my grip, but i hear it doesn’t matter.
5 lbs. a week is good. It’s better to know how you feel that day and what you think is best to add on to the bar. Last week way too easy? Maybe you want to add 10 lbs. Too hard? Even 2.5 lbs is something.
I did farmers walks with dumbbells. Plates would only go so far I assume if they end at the big ol’ 45ers. I’m sure if you really clamped on with your fingers, you could do 45+a smaller plate on the outsides of them.
I don’t know english names so I put animated gifs
Pecs:
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/Developpe_avant_etroite/Developpe_avant_etroite.gif
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/ecarte_incline/ecarte_incline.gif
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/developpe_couche_halteres/developpe_couche_halteres.gif
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/Developpe_droit_machine/Developpe_droit_machine.gif
Shoulders:
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/Dev_droit_assis_pro_alt/Dev_droit_assis_pro_alt.gif
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/Elevation_laterale_incline/Elevation_laterale_incline.gif
http://www.akelys.com/exercices/exercice/elevation_laterale_tendus/elevation_laterale_tendus.gif
I usually do 4 reps of 12 for every exercise.
do you mean 4 sets of 12 reps?
seems like you’re already doing quite a bit.
The best way to increase size and raw power is to lift heavy. I typically do 2 exercises per muscle group. 3 at most. 1 anchor, then a variation or two. 5-6 sets per exercise. Lifting at most 5 reps per set.
Instead of doing more exercises, i’d focus on doing high quality sets and lifting heavier. Lift as heavy as you can while keeping GOOD form.
Also don’t forget that Pecs are hard to increase size and strength, so you just gotta be consistent.
I think it’s a bit much. You can drop all those shoulder exercises since pec work will hit them just as hard.
Chest exercises I personally like are barbell bench press and dips. I use to do dumbbell flies, but my right shoulder developed pain from doing them and stopped those a while back. Push-ups are good, but without chains or resistance bands, you have to rely on different variations to progress.
Shoulder exercises like overhead presses or barbell/dumbbell push press are fine, make sure to do the exercises standing rather than sitting. Doing alternating dumbbell presses are great too.
Works your lats as hard too because you want to have a balance between your front and back muscles. I forget where I read this, but a bigger (or stronger) chest can be gained by having strong lats.
Thanks tech master and Soldier Zero.
You both agree on me doing too much, so I’m going for shorter and heavier exercising.
I’ve already integrated what you said in my last training, I’ll see how it works out.
Btw, I’ll keep my 4x12 for the other muscle groups as it’s still working well. So, what do you think about doing 4x12 for some muscles and 5x5 for others ?
Honestly, if you can do 4 sets of 12 of ANYTHING, it’s way too easy and you won’t gain much, if all, in the long run. At first you might get noob gains, but eventually you’re gonna have to up the weight, and lower the rep range to 5-6-8.
But yeah, 5x5 for the big three lift is great for beginners.