Fitness Checkin
- Thread starter kimc
- Start date
I have not done deadlift in quite some time but quick question - your knees are supposed to remain locked out aren't they? You're generating lift with your hamstrings, glutes and stability in your lower back right? I have seen a handful of people at the gym deadlifting and some are, to various degrees, bending their knees on the up stroke. I always thought you were supposed to remain locked out at the knee.
I love pullups - with 4 or 5 different grips you can accomplish a stellar entire upper body workout. Some gyms have assisted pullup machines that reduce the amount of your body weight you have to lift on the 'pull' to help a person get to the point of being able to do 1. When I first started training for the Marine Corps PFT, I remember the training curve for pullups being very steep. It took me about a month to go from doing 1 to 3, but then only about another 6 weeks to go from 3 to 17 or so.
Then, once again, it took another awhile, i'd say 2 months or so, to get from 17 to 20. I had to do 7 or 8 sets of 12, pushing up to 7 sets of 16, a day, to get up to 20. I plateaued at 20 for awhile until I started doing crossfit, then I managed to break to 22-23. Then I was stuck there until I picked up the weighted pullup training, after about 6mo of that, I got as high as 35. I lost that though when I changed gyms and lost the ankle weights.
I love pullups - with 4 or 5 different grips you can accomplish a stellar entire upper body workout. Some gyms have assisted pullup machines that reduce the amount of your body weight you have to lift on the 'pull' to help a person get to the point of being able to do 1. When I first started training for the Marine Corps PFT, I remember the training curve for pullups being very steep. It took me about a month to go from doing 1 to 3, but then only about another 6 weeks to go from 3 to 17 or so.
Then, once again, it took another awhile, i'd say 2 months or so, to get from 17 to 20. I had to do 7 or 8 sets of 12, pushing up to 7 sets of 16, a day, to get up to 20. I plateaued at 20 for awhile until I started doing crossfit, then I managed to break to 22-23. Then I was stuck there until I picked up the weighted pullup training, after about 6mo of that, I got as high as 35. I lost that though when I changed gyms and lost the ankle weights.
There are different kinds of deadlifts. A traditional deadlift has you starting in a squated position with the weight on the floor. You then push up with your legs until they are straight and you slightly thrust your hips forward until you are standing straight up.
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts are another kind of deadlift where you keep your knees locked the whole time.
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts are another kind of deadlift where you keep your knees locked the whole time.
Since getting my weight bench, I've been doing four sets of ten for my presses. For years, I've been three sets of ten.
What do you guys do? And does it matter? I did bench/decline/incline today, and I was really feeling it.
What do you guys do? And does it matter? I did bench/decline/incline today, and I was really feeling it.
I never do more than 8 reps per set on anything except abs exercises.
@anyone who knows stuff: is there any benefit to using an double overhand grip rather than over/under on deadlifts? For me the limiting factor on deadlifts is grip strength (I'm at 100kg 8x4sets at the moment) and what I usually do is start with over/over grip because it's more difficult and then switch to over/under when my hands give in but I have no idea if there's any benefit to doing that instead of just going with over/under immediately and maybe increasing the weight a little more.
Yeah, but what do you think is better to develop grip strength, higher weight with over/under or slightly less weight with over/over?
I think I'll try hook grip next time, just read about it while surfing around; sounds painful though.
I think I'll try hook grip next time, just read about it while surfing around; sounds painful though.
I like over/under bc it's how I learned to do deadlift back in HS and it just feels more natural and my balance is better.
I'm transitioning into a routine w/ more cardio. This week was hell cuz I hadn't done much cardio in awhile so it's one of those things where you forget how to push through the pain. Today was good tho... I did arms only (when I was focusing on lifts I was doing like, 3 muscles a day), then I did about 3.5 miles of interval running, changing it up every 2-5 minutes, and then I was going to go home but it was absolutely beautiful out which is really unusual here, so when I got home I changed into fresh clothes and jogged up the street about a mile to this KFC where there's a tree with a perfect pullup branch and did about 45 or 50 pullups in sets of 10 and then jogged back home, great day.
As far as sets/reps go, let me ask you guys this: if my goal is just general strength and muscle tone (not looking to bulk up or get exceptionally ripped, which would never happen), am I better off doing 4 sets of 10 or 3 sets of 10?
Does it matter?
I feel like my 4th set it a real challenge, but I also suspect that if I only did 3 I'd hesitate less between sets.
Does it matter?
I feel like my 4th set it a real challenge, but I also suspect that if I only did 3 I'd hesitate less between sets.
Short Answer: Your instinct was right, 4 sets will tone you faster.
Long Answer:
yeah, it matters. There are basically two different goals to weightlifting - aerobic and anaerobic respiration in the muscle cells. Aerobic is what you get from light weight, long duration output - makes you sweat, like running. Anaerobic is slower, heavier weight, shorter sets. You may see huge guys in the gym doing short sets of tons of weight, resting 2-3 minutes between sets, hardly sweating - that's what they're doing.
There's a million opinions on exactly how many reps per set constitutes aerobic or anaerobic, and it varies by body part (higher set counts on lower body muscles than upper body). The best flexible rule is if you're sweating, you're doing aerobic work. Numerically, if you're doing sets of 10, you're working in the aerobic area, you're sculpting, toning - not building, muscle. It means that over time you'll burn away lots of fat in that area of the muscle and it will show more, be more shapely and toned, but not extensively grow in size.
As far as number of sets, it depends on a few things. Let's say you're doing a chest workout. If you intend to do more than just 1 lift in this chest workout, like you intend to do dumbbell presses, the pec fly machine, and decline bench (just as an example), then you should be more concerned with the total number of sets you do than the number of sets of each exercise, because in general you're targeting one muscle group - the chest. Now the caveat that some people will point out is that each of those exercises specifically targets a different part of the chest (upper, lower, etc) but in general, each of those exercises relies on the whole chest. All that changes is which muscle is the isolation muscle and which are the control muscles, but they're all used in general.
The other question is how long you're resting between sets. Typically guys that are trying to get big, as I already mentioned, rest 2-3 minutes between sets because it allows the muscle to recover about as much as it possibly can, and then you go again and fatigue it all the way down to exhaustion all over again. In the case of trying to work aerobically, you don't want to rest that long - because you want to sweat. You want to rest 30-60 seconds between lifts, closer to the 30 side.
The reason this effects how many sets you want to do is because if you're only resting 30s between sets, you don't need to do as many before your muscles will totally burn out, and that's the goal. The only reason you might want to do more than 3 sets (with your toning goal in mind), is if you are resting for longer periods of time in between sets than 30s, but doing longer sets (say 12 or 15 reps), and want to accomplish some measure of growth towards the end of your sets. Sort of like hybridizing the workout between aerobic and anaerobic. If that's not your goal, then you don't really NEED to do more than 3 sets.
Keep in mind you should always be going to exhaustion, the question is whether you're lifting a weight where exhaustion means 10 reps, or whether it means 6 reps. The 6 reps is where you'll get growth, the 10 is where you'll get toning.
Long Answer:
yeah, it matters. There are basically two different goals to weightlifting - aerobic and anaerobic respiration in the muscle cells. Aerobic is what you get from light weight, long duration output - makes you sweat, like running. Anaerobic is slower, heavier weight, shorter sets. You may see huge guys in the gym doing short sets of tons of weight, resting 2-3 minutes between sets, hardly sweating - that's what they're doing.
There's a million opinions on exactly how many reps per set constitutes aerobic or anaerobic, and it varies by body part (higher set counts on lower body muscles than upper body). The best flexible rule is if you're sweating, you're doing aerobic work. Numerically, if you're doing sets of 10, you're working in the aerobic area, you're sculpting, toning - not building, muscle. It means that over time you'll burn away lots of fat in that area of the muscle and it will show more, be more shapely and toned, but not extensively grow in size.
As far as number of sets, it depends on a few things. Let's say you're doing a chest workout. If you intend to do more than just 1 lift in this chest workout, like you intend to do dumbbell presses, the pec fly machine, and decline bench (just as an example), then you should be more concerned with the total number of sets you do than the number of sets of each exercise, because in general you're targeting one muscle group - the chest. Now the caveat that some people will point out is that each of those exercises specifically targets a different part of the chest (upper, lower, etc) but in general, each of those exercises relies on the whole chest. All that changes is which muscle is the isolation muscle and which are the control muscles, but they're all used in general.
The other question is how long you're resting between sets. Typically guys that are trying to get big, as I already mentioned, rest 2-3 minutes between sets because it allows the muscle to recover about as much as it possibly can, and then you go again and fatigue it all the way down to exhaustion all over again. In the case of trying to work aerobically, you don't want to rest that long - because you want to sweat. You want to rest 30-60 seconds between lifts, closer to the 30 side.
The reason this effects how many sets you want to do is because if you're only resting 30s between sets, you don't need to do as many before your muscles will totally burn out, and that's the goal. The only reason you might want to do more than 3 sets (with your toning goal in mind), is if you are resting for longer periods of time in between sets than 30s, but doing longer sets (say 12 or 15 reps), and want to accomplish some measure of growth towards the end of your sets. Sort of like hybridizing the workout between aerobic and anaerobic. If that's not your goal, then you don't really NEED to do more than 3 sets.
Keep in mind you should always be going to exhaustion, the question is whether you're lifting a weight where exhaustion means 10 reps, or whether it means 6 reps. The 6 reps is where you'll get growth, the 10 is where you'll get toning.
I did kind of an oddball workout tonight. The gym was closing in an hour so I just decided to lump together 2-3 lifts for shoulders, chest, traps and upper back. I did:
Seated DB Shoulder Press
40/8
35/8
35/8
Flat DB Bench
70/8
70/6
DB Shrugs
85/8
DB Extended Shrugs
55/8
55/8
Arnold Press
55/8
60/8
Chest Press
240/5
200/6
220/5
Lat Pull Behind Back
140/8
Lat Pull Box Grip Front
150/8
160/8
165/6
Cycling
15:00, Hills, 75-90 RPM
Seated DB Shoulder Press
40/8
35/8
35/8
Flat DB Bench
70/8
70/6
DB Shrugs
85/8
DB Extended Shrugs
55/8
55/8
Arnold Press
55/8
60/8
Chest Press
240/5
200/6
220/5
Lat Pull Behind Back
140/8
Lat Pull Box Grip Front
150/8
160/8
165/6
Cycling
15:00, Hills, 75-90 RPM
I actaully lost wieght once by just drinking water and having small things to eat throughout the day. I didn't know why until later why I did lose weight this way, but now that I try to do it again I can't.
So I have decided to eat according to my activity for the day. If I don't do anything I just eat 1 meal(supper), I still exercise and walk both dogs.
If I have small amounts of activity I eat a healthy breakfeast and 1 meal.
If I have large amounts of activity I will snack that day while following the small activity meal plan.
This with the new dumbell exercise plus walking two dogs at good walking pace for 20 minutes going up and down hill should help me lose weight right?
So I have decided to eat according to my activity for the day. If I don't do anything I just eat 1 meal(supper), I still exercise and walk both dogs.
If I have small amounts of activity I eat a healthy breakfeast and 1 meal.
If I have large amounts of activity I will snack that day while following the small activity meal plan.
This with the new dumbell exercise plus walking two dogs at good walking pace for 20 minutes going up and down hill should help me lose weight right?
Small note - it's a little more in line to match exercise with what you ate the day before, because that's what your body's working on trying to burn. So if you're lazy one day, it's not the food you ate that same day that's not going to get burned, it's the food that's in your intestines from the day before.
And the answer to your question "Can a passive exercise/diet plan help me lose weight", is - it depends on your age and your sex.
If you're a man under 20, definitely. If you're a man under 30, possibly. If you're a man over 35, probably not.
If you're a woman under 20, yes. If you're a woman between 20-30, possibly - edging towards no after 25. If you're a woman over 30, no - and if you're a woman over 40, not even close.
Younger you burn calories more naturally, and men's bodies do it more efficiently than women's (in general).
But to make a note of one thing you mentioned - eating a healthy breakfast is great, but a 1-meal day isn't the ideal strategy for weight loss. When your body gets food once a day, it stores fat because the rapid swings in your glycogen and insulin levels prompt your body to store fat "just in case" a meal isn't forthcoming (old evolutionary trick we learned). Eating smaller meals 2 or 3 times a day (or even more than that) is the best way to maintain a healthy weight, because it keeps your insulin levels from fluctuating too wildly and your metabolism stays at a nominal pace instead of jacking up and down when you're eating / not eating.
Eating large number of small meals is, incidentally, ALSO the ideal way to GAIN weight if a person's on an intense muscle building workout, bc the end goal in both weight loss and muscle weight gain is the same - consistently high metabolism and low fat storage.
John Q, thanks for that great and detailed answer to my question upthread. I've got a lot to think about as I fine-tune my weight routine.
Feels pretty nice to be able to do sets of 10 at 205lb bench again, I'll say that. I don't see myself going too much heavier than that in the near future--but I'd like to improve my decline and inclines.
Feels pretty nice to be able to do sets of 10 at 205lb bench again, I'll say that. I don't see myself going too much heavier than that in the near future--but I'd like to improve my decline and inclines.