Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

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Been trying arse-to-grass squats recently and I'm having trouble keeping my heels planted. Anyone know an exercise that will help? I've tried elevating my heels with weights but it still feels like I'm putting pressure on my knees.
 
Follow in order:

1 - sit down AND back
2 - turn your toes out a little
3 - widen your stance a little
4 - you'll need address ankle and/or hip mobility

All that being said you don't have to go so far down, parallel or slightly lower is fine
 

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ioppolo said:
Just curious...with bench press, who touches their chest with the bar? Even slightly?
Click to expand...
I do.
With a flat dumbbell press I tend to touch my chest on the edge of each dumbbell too.
Inclines dumbbell press not so much, although I tend to slow down the eccentric to get the bottom phase of the exercise just right.
 
ioppolo said:
Just curious...with bench press, who touches their chest with the bar? Even slightly?
Click to expand...

Bar pauses on my chest every time.

MIKE85 said:
I don't quite go all the way down, only because my shoulders are a little sketchy, and sometimes when I go the full way down, they lock up a bit, but I used to before I had shoulder issues.
Click to expand...

try this,

Shoulder saver and hits the pecs more.
 
ioppolo said:
Just curious...with bench press, who touches their chest with the bar? Even slightly?
Click to expand...
I try to get it to just touch. I take it the same as squatting above parallel, you don't need to go arse to grass there and you don't need to pause on the chest, but it's not a proper rep IMO without touching (if you're doing partial reps as part of a Body Building program obviously this doesn't apply).
 

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Unique Name said:
If you don't mind me asking, how did you go with the Stronglifts 5x5? Did you do the full 12 weeks? Good/Bad?
Click to expand...

A very good program so long as you are forcing yourself to progressive overload (PO). I know that goes without saying but you'd be surprised how often people just go through the motions at the gym & chase a pump.

I've tried every program imaginable & IMHO the key along with PO is to hit compound exercises AT LEAST twice a week. The 'bro split' that most people do is better than nothing but you're missing out on all sorts of gains...

My current workout is a modified strong lifts routine. I suplement flat bench for incline bench (due to front delt pain I've had forever) & add weighted dips once per week to compliment bench. I no longer do deads (due to injuries) however incorporate bent over rows & weighted wide grip chin ups into my routine. Seriously, weighted chin ups are the most underrated mass building exercise. I also add in skull crushes & curls but only once per week. Most often I do an extra day over the weekend for accessory exercises. It's not needed but 3 days away from the gym & I go crazy. Most importantly, I squat three times per week! That's the key there people....

Prior to a modified strong lifts routine I focused on DUP (daily undulating periodisation) which is also VERY good. Happy to go into more detailed if required.
 
Glen Buterol said:
A very good program so long as you are forcing yourself to progressive overload (PO). I know that goes without saying but you'd be surprised how often people just go through the motions at the gym & chase a pump.

I've tried every program imaginable & IMHO the key along with PO is to hit compound exercises AT LEAST twice a week. The 'bro split' that most people do is better than nothing but you're missing out on all sorts of gains...

My current workout is a modified strong lifts routine. I suplement flat bench for incline bench (due to front delt pain I've had forever) & add weighted dips once per week. I no longer do deads (due to injuries) however incorporate bent over rows & weighted wide grip chin ups into my routine. Seriously, weighted chin ups are the most underrated mass building exercise. I also add in skull crushes & curls but only once per week. Most often I do an extra day over the weekend for accessory exercises. It's not needed but 3 days away from the gym & I go crazy. Most importantly, I squat three times per week! That's the key there people....

Prior to a modified strong lifts routine I focused on DUP (daily undulating periodisation) which is also VERY good. Happy to go into more detailed if required.
Click to expand...
:thumbsu:

Just a quick overview of my situation.
A few years back I was fairly overweight (107kg - 6'3). I wanted to get fitter and lose some weight. Never found the motivation to do any exercise but did go on a calorie restrictive diet for about 6 months. I managed to lose 20kg which I found fairly easy to do.

Last year i went to the gym with the plan on building some muscle and to come away looking like someone who could have been an extra in '300'. Went sort of well, I did progressive overload as you said and I did get quite a bit stronger. But the muscle never really came on. I think this was more that my diet was sketchy at best with a protein shake or two added for good measure.

As the weeks passed by I narrowed my excerises down somewhat to the ones that seemed to be producing results and the ones targeting the beach muscles :oops: Basically it went from a structured plan to a bit of whatever.

Well about 10 months ago my 2nd daughter was born which hampered my gym time quite abit. Then a back injury that took about 5 months to come good completely stopped me working out. The weight slowly crept back up to 103kg.

So I'm back motivated again to give it another crack. I'm on a calorie restrictive diet again and I've lost 7kg in the past 3 weeks. Hopefully in another 3-4 weeks I'll be down to my target of 90kg. Then I can switch focus to building muscle.

I have been reading alot more about dieting correctly this time and looking at doing a more all-inclusive program like the stronglifts one. It sound like it's more focused on building strength but from what I have been reading as long as I'm dieting correctly (macros and calorie surplus) size should come too.

I'm sure I'll have some questions when I start up as last time i completely avoid most of the stronglifts (Squats, Deadlifts, etc).
 
Unique Name said:
:thumbsu:

Just a quick overview of my situation.
A few years back I was fairly overweight (107kg - 6'3). I wanted to get fitter and lose some weight. Never found the motivation to do any exercise but did go on a calorie restrictive diet for about 6 months. I managed to lose 20kg which I found fairly easy to do.

Last year i went to the gym with the plan on building some muscle and to come away looking like someone who could have been an extra in '300'. Went sort of well, I did progressive overload as you said and I did get quite a bit stronger. But the muscle never really came on. I think this was more that my diet was sketchy at best with a protein shake or two added for good measure.

As the weeks passed by I narrowed my excerises down somewhat to the ones that seemed to be producing results and the ones targeting the beach muscles :oops: Basically it went from a structured plan to a bit of whatever.

Well about 10 months ago my 2nd daughter was born which hampered my gym time quite abit. Then a back injury that took about 5 months to come good completely stopped me working out. The weight slowly crept back up to 103kg.

So I'm back motivated again to give it another crack. I'm on a calorie restrictive diet again and I've lost 7kg in the past 3 weeks. Hopefully in another 3-4 weeks I'll be down to my target of 90kg. Then I can switch focus to building muscle.

I have been reading alot more about dieting correctly this time and looking at doing a more all-inclusive program like the stronglifts one. It sound like it's more focused on building strength but from what I have been reading as long as I'm dieting correctly (macros and calorie surplus) size should come too.

I'm sure I'll have some questions when I start up as last time i completely avoid most of the stronglifts (Squats, Deadlifts, etc).
Click to expand...

100% correct. Lifts weights & you'll get stronger (if done correctly) however if you don't tailor your diet to your goals you won't see the progress. " strength gained under the iron, size at the dinner table".

My dieting at times can be erratic. I get lazy & work & family commitments etc get in the way. When it's on point, I Work out my maintainance then calculate my macros.

Loosely speaking:
Maintainance = 30 x body weight in kgs
Protein = 2.2 x body weight
Fats = 0.9 x body weight
Carbs = fill up remaining calories
Weight loss = add 10-20% of calories filling up mainly carbs
Weight gain = deduct 10-20% of calories from carbs.
Pretty much keep protein & fats the same or at least in line with my progressive weight.

Simple formula & it won't work for everyone but it's a good place to begin.

But yea, diet is 80% of the work in terms of body composition. If you wanna look like you go to the gym you must diet.

In regards to a 300 body. It's mostly unrealistic without the help of some kind of gear. Protein shakes & Creatine aren't gonna cut it!

Google the 'fat free mass index (FFMI)' calculator to get best natural physique. Basically anything over 25 is unachievable without substances. So these fitness guys that claim natty at 190cm, 100kgs & 6% BF are full of s**t!
 
Unique Name said:
If you don't mind me asking, how did you go with the Stronglifts 5x5? Did you do the full 12 weeks? Good/Bad?
Click to expand...

It certainly achieves what it advertises - I couldn't believe how quickly my squat numbers went up to weights I never thought I'd be able to rep. I really enjoyed in in that respect. With regard to body shape you'll certainly notice a difference in your legs if nothing else.

It gets pretty mentally draining towards the end though - both in terms of squatting so heavy every session, and also in how long the workouts take towards the end if (like me) you start taking the better part of 5 minutes between sets in order to keep hitting the reps and progressing. You can mitigate that by switching to 3x5 once you get to that stage though.
 
Anyone here tried Layne Norton's PHAT as an intermediate routine? Been on it for 4-6 weeks or so and seeing good gains. Absolutely smashes you, especially leg hypertrophy day.

Basically it's
Upper body power
Lower body power
Rest
Back + Shoulders hypertrophy
Legs hypertrophy
Chest + Arms hypertrophy
Rest
 
Last edited:
I'm well off the wagon at the moment. Really struggling to find a gym that's not too expensive but doesn't get too busy, I've been looking around quite a bit and anything cheap is nasty as well and packed to the rafters in peak times.

Might end up joining a fitness first which isn't too far from my place, even they get really busy in winter apparently.

Kinda frustrating.
 
showdownhero said:
I'm well off the wagon at the moment. Really struggling to find a gym that's not too expensive but doesn't get too busy, I've been looking around quite a bit and anything cheap is nasty as well and packed to the rafters in peak times.

Might end up joining a fitness first which isn't too far from my place, even they get really busy in winter apparently.

Kinda frustrating.
Click to expand...


best advice I can give is find a nearby 24/7 gym.


has really helped me with consistency
 
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