Favourite Form of Exercise

[tman666]

Hahaha take a look at this article posted on EliteFTS:

 

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/three-the-hard-way/

 

Good advice I think

 

If I had known that was there, I wouldn't have had to spend so much time on my post!

[Hazyhead]

Hahaha take a look at this article posted on EliteFTS:

 

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/three-the-hard-way/

 

Good advice I think

 

If I had known that was there, I wouldn't have had to spend so much time on my post!

 

Tman, do you wanna come and train me?

[cuppa]

I don't think it really matters if it's a deadlift, a leg press, a squat (all with significant weight), or a bicep curl with a 15lb dumbell... 12-15 reps is the "light" weight. If you're doing an exercise with weights and can do it 100 times straight, you're not working hard enough.

 

, I think 2 weeks ago, one of the crossfit workout of the day (sorry crossfit haters, I just have to mention this one more time lol) is:

 

400M sprint + 100 continuous above the shoulder dumbbell thrust (25# for men, 15# for women). We started with 400 M run, then do the dumbbell.

 

Each time our hands fell below the shoulder, we had 100 M penalty. So I did dropped it 4 times (hence had to run 400M). I think I did like 33/17/25/25 in 5 mins or so.

 

trust me, I am working "hard enough" . Whether it's effective or not, not sure. I assume this is more targetted toward cardio (increase heart rate) as we did it for time, then for muscle building.

 

Now....yeah, I even get confused now. Is 15# dumbbell heavy or not for girls? I think for curls or thrust, it's considered heavy right?

Edited April 13, 2010 by cuppa

[USMCHokie]

Now....yeah, I even get confused now. Is 15# dumbbell heavy or not for girls? I think for curls or thrust, it's considered heavy right?

 

 

Weight is entirely dependent on the exercise performed...so yes, it'd be heavy if it was the weight that you could perform curls or thrusts in the target low repetition range...

[cuppa]

Hahaha take a look at this article posted on EliteFTS:

 

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/three-the-hard-way/

 

Good advice I think

 

If I had known that was there, I wouldn't have had to spend so much time on my post!

 

"squat, deadlift, bench press, row, and pull-up"

 

Maybe that's why I changed in the last 3 months in term of overall fitness. I've been doing those moves almost everyday (except bench press but I do other stuff like shoulder press or military press which I think work on the same muscle groups). I am in the right track it seems!

 

I only started those 5 in January and in this case, I agree, these moves rock and work!

[USMCHokie]

"squat, deadlift, bench press, row, and pull-up"

 

Maybe that's why I changed in the last 3 months in term of overall fitness. I've been doing those moves almost everyday (except bench press but I do other stuff like shoulder press or military press which I think work on the same muscle groups). I am in the right track it seems!

 

I only started those 5 in January and in this case, I agree, these moves rock and work!

 

 

Yep. If I were to pick 5 exercises and only 5, those would be the ones...except I'd substitute rows with military press...

[tman666]

Tman, do you wanna come and train me?

 

Hahaha, thanks for the confidence vote. I personally think that similarly motivated training partners are much more beneficial to each other than most PTs. Find someone who you're pals with and have the same or similar fitness goals, preferably if they are more advanced than you. This is probably the fastest way to reach your goals. Once you start thinking that you're the top dog in the gym or whatever, that's when you make the least amount of progress. If you're training alone, find a gym that has a lot of people that are more advanced than you in your fitness goals. Even if you're not training with them, you'll be more motivated (and may even pick up some knowledge) when you see how they train. If you're not constantly challenging yourself, then you begin to stagnate. Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you'll fall in line with the others that talk about how they used to be able to bench 315 lbs for reps and how they used to have six pack abs, and how they used to compete in triathlons, all the while guzzling beers and sporting a pair of flopping man-teets (I'm assuming you're a dude, but then again, that's a complete coin flip there for ya, folks)

 

Here's the female version: Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you fall in line with the others and talk about how they used to be able to wear a size 2 dress, compete in triathlons, and bring all tha boyz in tha yard, all the while chowing down on sugary iced lattes and muffins, ordering infomercial work out equipment that will never be used for anything other than a coat rack, and sporting an increasingly chunky ass.

 

I'm no expert. I have no degrees or certifications related to physiology or exercise science. The stuff that I'm so vocal about is based on my own personal experiences and from what I've seen in others. I'm always trying to continually learn. My personal fitness goals have made many changes over time too. It's a constant evolution, with no particular finality. You just have to push yourself and be consistent about it.

[Hazyhead]

Hahaha, thanks for the confidence vote. I personally think that similarly motivated training partners are much more beneficial to each other than most PTs. Find someone who you're pals with and have the same or similar fitness goals, preferably if they are more advanced than you. This is probably the fastest way to reach your goals. Once you start thinking that you're the top dog in the gym or whatever, that's when you make the least amount of progress. If you're training alone, find a gym that has a lot of people that are more advanced than you in your fitness goals. Even if you're not training with them, you'll be more motivated (and may even pick up some knowledge) when you see how they train. If you're not constantly challenging yourself, then you begin to stagnate. Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you'll fall in line with the others that talk about how they used to be able to bench 315 lbs for reps and how they used to have six pack abs, and how they used to compete in triathlons, all the while guzzling beers and sporting a pair of flopping man-teets (I'm assuming you're a dude, but then again, that's a complete coin flip there for ya, folks)

 

Here's the female version: Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you fall in line with the others and talk about how they used to be able to wear a size 2 dress, compete in triathlons, and bring all tha boyz in tha yard, all the while chowing down on sugary iced lattes and muffins, ordering infomercial work out equipment that will never be used for anything other than a coat rack, and sporting an increasingly chunky ass.

 

I'm no expert. I have no degrees or certifications related to physiology or exercise science. The stuff that I'm so vocal about is based on my own personal experiences and from what I've seen in others. I'm always trying to continually learn. My personal fitness goals have made many changes over time too. It's a constant evolution, with no particular finality. You just have to push yourself and be consistent about it.

 

I've done that - finding a similarly motivated partner; that's how I got into the running. But, I kind of out-grew them when life got in the way (kids, etc). I'm not fussed about size of dress or whatever; I'm, happy with that and have never had an issue with it, I just want to keep my fitness up, moving from one discipline to another it's tough to motivate yourself equally and I've been running for so long. Last year I ran a marathon and so I feel that with my dodgy knees it's time to settle for that running achievement and find another inspiration. I could do with a sergeant major style training partner, and that's where you could come it! I'm a well-behaved student, honest!

[tman666]

Yep. If I were to pick 5 exercises and only 5, those would be the ones...except I'd substitute rows with military press...

 

I'll have to disagree with you on this one:D. Rowing movements are essential for providing stability of the shoulder joint, especially in light of performing bench presses, which develop the muscles on the front of the shoulder much faster than the back. A good rule of thumb is to perform an equal amount of pulling work in each plane of motion that you push (i.e. pair bench press with bent over rows, and dips/military presses with pull up variations).

 

Military presses are also great for upper back development though, and they should be used frequently. This is pretty much like saying "A Camero is a better car than a Mustang".

 

In fact, if I had to throw one out, I'd replace bench press with military presses. Hands down.

[cuppa]

Hahaha, thanks for the confidence vote. I personally think that similarly motivated training partners are much more beneficial to each other than most PTs. Find someone who you're pals with and have the same or similar fitness goals, preferably if they are more advanced than you. This is probably the fastest way to reach your goals. Once you start thinking that you're the top dog in the gym or whatever, that's when you make the least amount of progress. If you're training alone, find a gym that has a lot of people that are more advanced than you in your fitness goals. Even if you're not training with them, you'll be more motivated (and may even pick up some knowledge) when you see how they train. If you're not constantly challenging yourself, then you begin to stagnate. Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you'll fall in line with the others that talk about how they used to be able to bench 315 lbs for reps and how they used to have six pack abs, and how they used to compete in triathlons, all the while guzzling beers and sporting a pair of flopping man-teets (I'm assuming you're a dude, but then again, that's a complete coin flip there for ya, folks)

 

Here's the female version: Your progress will halt, you'll grow unmotivated to train, and bam, you fall in line with the others and talk about how they used to be able to wear a size 2 dress, compete in triathlons, and bring all tha boyz in tha yard, all the while chowing down on sugary iced lattes and muffins, ordering infomercial work out equipment that will never be used for anything other than a coat rack, and sporting an increasingly chunky ass.

 

I'm no expert. I have no degrees or certifications related to physiology or exercise science. The stuff that I'm so vocal about is based on my own personal experiences and from what I've seen in others. I'm always trying to continually learn. My personal fitness goals have made many changes over time too. It's a constant evolution, with no particular finality. You just have to push yourself and be consistent about it.

 

The more I read your posts, the more I think that your view and crossfit view are very very similar.

 

Like I've never had a personal trainer but I join crossfit where we are trained and exercise in a group environment. Every time I got cocky and think that I am getting good at something, I would be put in place again because other women do so much better than I do (and more humbled). Like this 47 year old woman who always put everyone to shame lol. That's what they always say "leave your ego at the door" in addition to "sweaty is sexy" lol.

 

Also the article you posted, I realized I've been doing that without guidance whatsoever. I just simply follow the workouts/programs posted in the board and it seems that each day, the body transforms by itself.

 

You do sound like a crossfitter, an experience one at that (not the cocky one). Seriously, this is a compliment .

[USMCHokie]

I'll have to disagree with you on this one:D. Rowing movements are essential for providing stability of the shoulder joint, especially in light of performing bench presses, which develop the muscles on the front of the shoulder much faster than the back. A good rule of thumb is to perform an equal amount of pulling work in each plane of motion that you push (i.e. pair bench press with bent over rows, and dips/military presses with pull up variations).

 

Military presses are also great for upper back development though, and they should be used frequently. This is pretty much like saying "A Camero is a better car than a Mustang".

 

In fact, if I had to throw one out, I'd replace bench press with military presses. Hands down.

 

 

I certainly don't discount the value of rows...but I feel that I can get creative enough with pullups to replace rows...yet, when I think about it, bench presses and military presses seem slightly redundant...

 

Now I have to think about it some more...thanks tman...

[cuppa]

 

In fact, if I had to throw one out, I'd replace bench press with military presses. Hands down.

 

Awesome, so I've been doing it right all along!

 

Any pointers on how to do pull-ups properly and the difference between kipping pull ups or regular pull-ups? I am only taught with the kipping (lumbar curve/superman curve) movement to pull myself up.

[tman666]

The more I read your posts, the more I think that your view and crossfit view are very very similar.

 

Like I've never had a personal trainer but I join crossfit where we are trained and exercise in a group environment. Every time I got cocky and think that I am getting good at something, I would be put in place again because other women do so much better than I do (and more humbled). Like this 47 year old woman who always put everyone to shame lol. That's what they always say "leave your ego at the door" in addition to "sweaty is sexy" lol.

 

Also the article you posted, I realized I've been doing that without guidance whatsoever. I just simply follow the workouts/programs posted in the board and it seems that each day, the body transforms by itself.

 

You do sound like a crossfitter, an experience one at that (not the cocky one). Seriously, this is a compliment .

 

Haha no offense taken. I actually use crossfit-like workouts in my own training, especially for conditioning work on my off days.

 

People have been getting strong and well conditioned in the same ways since the beginning of our existence. Spartan hoplites didn't have crossfit, or 5-3-1, or fancy gyms. I imagine they trained for combat by performing functional variations of movements and techniques they would be using in battle. They would lift heavy stones, march for miles, push over huge trees in a phalanx formation, climb mountains, and throw spears. Iron workers have always had massive forearms and vice-like grips. Lumberjacks have always had massively built upper backs. The human body has not changed all that much since our inception, but our lifestyles have gradually grown more sedentary. This is why we combat it now. Most of us don't have to worry about running from sabre-tooth tigers (can't discount the heavy dosage psychoactive drug users out there) or fighting in hand to hand combat on a daily basis anymore, so we find others ways to provide physical stimuli.

 

 

Any pointers on how to do pull-ups properly and the difference between kipping pull ups or regular pull-ups? I am only taught with the kipping (lumbar curve/superman curve) movement to pull myself up.

 

Try leaning your head back slightly (so that the tip of your chin is in vertical alignment with the pull up bar) and tightening your abs. Bend your knees slightly, or cross them if you wish. From a dead hang, pull yourself up with as much speed as possible, then let yourself down at a controlled pace.

 

Here's a pretty good one:

Edited April 13, 2010 by tman666

[USMCHokie]

Try leaning your head back slightly (so that the tip of your chin is in vertical alignment with the pull up bar) and tightening your abs. Bend your knees slightly, or cross them if you wish. From a dead hang, pull yourself up with as much speed as possible, then let yourself down at a controlled pace.

 

Here's a pretty good one:

 

 

Not a big fan of the pullups performed in that video...

 

Perhaps it's a byproduct of the width of her hands on the bar, but on every rep there was this weird mini-kip...and it got more noticable in the later reps...I can't even describe it...it just caught my eye as being weird...but I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this one...the girl in the video would not be my choice for a good pullup...

 

But then again, there are countless ways to perform pullups, all of which have their benefits...so I'm just being a nitpicky pullup snob...

[Star Gazer]

, I think 2 weeks ago, one of the crossfit workout of the day (sorry crossfit haters, I just have to mention this one more time lol) is:

 

400M sprint + 100 continuous above the shoulder dumbbell thrust (25# for men, 15# for women). We started with 400 M run, then do the dumbbell.

 

Each time our hands fell below the shoulder, we had 100 M penalty. So I did dropped it 4 times (hence had to run 400M). I think I did like 33/17/25/25 in 5 mins or so.

 

trust me, I am working "hard enough" . Whether it's effective or not, not sure. I assume this is more targetted toward cardio (increase heart rate) as we did it for time, then for muscle building.

 

Now....yeah, I even get confused now. Is 15# dumbbell heavy or not for girls? I think for curls or thrust, it's considered heavy right?

 

But as you said, this entire workout is cardio based. It's not "weight training" in the traditional sense. It's not 100% weight training, moving from weight training exercise to weight training exercise.

 

If you're spending an hour in the gym PURELY LIFTING and you're not taxed by that 15th rep, you need to up your weight.

[Rorschach]

I can't even do one pullup, but I think thats just because I weigh so much right now, is it wise to keep my focus on fat burn with only a minor in muscle mass when right now, keeping in mind that when I have reached my goal weight and I don't need to do as much high intensity cardio I'll have more time and be more likely to do serious weight training to get that 'toned' look. Or should I try to do both at the same time?

[Star Gazer]

A good rule of thumb is to perform an equal amount of pulling work in each plane of motion that you push (i.e. pair bench press with bent over rows, and dips/military presses with pull up variations).

 

I knew that! I knew that! See, I'm so smart.

[USMCHokie]

But as you said, this entire workout is cardio based. It's not "weight training" in the traditional sense. It's not 100% weight training, moving from weight training exercise to weight training exercise.

 

If you're spending an hour in the gym PURELY LIFTING and you're not taxed by that 15th rep, you need to up your weight.

 

 

I completely agree with you on this. But you should understand that the majority of Crossfit workouts of the day put the premium on speed, not weight. Crossfitters compete on how fast they finish a particular workout and not the difficulty of that workout in terms of weight lifted.

 

That being said, placing the priority on speed often leads to less emphasis on proper form and range of motion and more on getting the weight up as quickly as possible. However, I will not deny that the principles of Crossfit are great. It does a wonderful job of increasing one's functional fitness, which is sort of a new modern catchphrase that everyone is throwing around...

 

But each type of workout has it's purpose and benefits, whether it's traditional weight lifting or Crossfit. The key is to mix up your workouts and constantly challenge your body.

[Star Gazer]

I completely agree with you on this. But you should understand that the majority of Crossfit workouts of the day put the premium on speed, not weight. Crossfitters compete on how fast they finish a particular workout and not the difficulty of that workout in terms of weight lifted.

 

Really? See, I had NO IDEA! I totally thought it was a combination of lifting and sprinting, the lifting part of the workout having nothing to do with speed. Thanks for clarifying!

 

That being said, placing the priority on speed often leads to less emphasis on proper form and range of motion and more on getting the weight up as quickly as possible. However, I will not deny that the principles of Crossfit are great. It does a wonderful job of increasing one's functional fitness, which is sort of a new modern catchphrase that everyone is throwing around...

 

But each type of workout has it's purpose and benefits, whether it's traditional weight lifting or Crossfit. The key is to mix up your workouts and constantly challenge your body.

 

Thanks for that clarification too. I'm totally into having near perfect form (if not perfect ), even if that means I'm slow and lift a lighter weight.

 

I'm inspired to go lift!

[Chocolat]

Quoted for truth.

 

 

"Toning" = bigger muscle + less fat.

 

Lifting heavy weights = Bigger muscle

 

High intensity cardiovascular training + lifting heavy weights = Less fat

 

 

Therefore:

 

Toning = 2 x lifting heavy weights + High intensity cardio training.

 

 

The key to "toning" is the less fat part. Most people who buy into the myth of "high reps low weight" equating to toning do so because they believe that if they are moving in a "cardio pace" with light weight, their heart rates will increase, and they will be accomplishing the fat burn part commonly associated with cardio workouts. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I'll do a 5 rep set of squats to failure and my heart rate will go SKY HIGH compared to almost any other lifting movement...

 

Challenging your body and your muscles is what gets results. Doing a sh*t ton of reps on an easy weight isn't going to get your heart pumping more oxygen to your muscles...however, doing a sh*t ton of reps on a heavy weight will...

 

AMEN!

 

There is no such thing as tone. You either have muscle and low enough bodyfat to show it... or you don't.

 

And, just for the record, women should work out the same way.

[USMCHokie]

 

And, just for the record, women should work out the same way.

 

 

Absolutely. Whenever I am getting any of my female friends (or my ex... ) started in the gym or training them over a prolonged time, they pretty much do the same kinds of workouts that I'd be doing.

[cuppa]

Really? See, I had NO IDEA! I totally thought it was a combination of lifting and sprinting, the lifting part of the workout having nothing to do with speed. Thanks for clarifying!

 

 

 

Thanks for that clarification too. I'm totally into having near perfect form (if not perfect ), even if that means I'm slow and lift a lighter weight.

 

I'm inspired to go lift!

 

Yep, USMChokie got it absolutely right. We compete in personal time as well as # of rounds. Format is usually tabata or complete as many rounds possible in fixed time or compete for time. Each workout has a precribed weight (like today's, the prescribed weight for women is 25# dumbbell on each side for total 50#, men go for 35# each).

 

For example, we will have horrible hundreds weeks. So we did 100 push-ups, 100 burpees, 100 sit ups, 100 Squats for time and I jotted down my time in my little book so I know what to aim next time.

 

The 100 dumbbell thrust is part of the horrible hundred too. My time (without the running) if 4:04, so that's quite respectable I think. With the penalty and the 400 M sprint, I finished 8:00ish.

 

Today for example, we did 5 rounds of 15 * 25 lbs clean jerk dumbbell thrust (so total weight is 50#) and 72 feet bear crawl. In itself, it's not difficult, combining those 2 movements together, esp after I just hit a PR for my new military press is tough. I felt like passing out literally in the middle of it but I managed to finish in 13 mins ( so that's for 75 total 50# clean & jerk + 360 feet crawling). We will the jot this down into a board so we can also compare against others.

 

That's why crossfit is fun. The workout is never the same, the strength trainning is quite interesting (and we are taught the proper technique too). Doing it in the group is even a bigger plus IMO.

Edited April 14, 2010 by cuppa

[Chocolat]

Absolutely. Whenever I am getting any of my female friends (or my ex... ) started in the gym or training them over a prolonged time, they pretty much do the same kinds of workouts that I'd be doing.

 

There are a lot of myths about this. Women are always saying, "I don't want to get too big." As if. In fact, the other day, a guy at my gym was complaining that he couldn't curl 80lbs, he was stuck at 70. So I suggested he switch up his 3x10 to 10x3 and build the strength so he can make the jump. He actually looked at me and said, "I don't want to get big - I'm just toning it up for the ladies."

[tman666]

Not a big fan of the pullups performed in that video...

 

Perhaps it's a byproduct of the width of her hands on the bar, but on every rep there was this weird mini-kip...and it got more noticable in the later reps...I can't even describe it...it just caught my eye as being weird...but I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this one...the girl in the video would not be my choice for a good pullup...

 

But then again, there are countless ways to perform pullups, all of which have their benefits...so I'm just being a nitpicky pullup snob...

 

You pullup snob, you!

 

I agree that their is a motion at the bottom where it does look like sort of a "mini-kipping" action, now that I looked at the video again. It's hard to tell if she's truly utilizing a kip, or if she's just being explosive at the bottom of the movement to keep her momentum going. Either way, it's no perfect, dead arm hang pull up. If you come across a video of what you consider to be a pull up nearer to perfect, I would appreciate you posting it. I'm always trying to improve my own form.

 

They definitely all have their own benefits.

[Rorschach]

I did 5 sets of 5 with a focus on explosive movement today, probably 20 - 40 pounds than I normally would do on most exercises (today was back and abs) and I have to say even though I only finished the work out maybe 2 hours ago I already am extremely sore. Which I love.

 

So yeah, thanks for the good advice, I'm doing arms and chest friday so looking forward to getting some arm-burn for the first time in forever.