Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

It gets worse from there.

Like when I was in my brothers wedding and three nights before the wedding, I get a hysterical call from my son to be sister in law going nutts about how all my crap had to be tailored and they were scrambling to find a vest that would fit me.
Sucks when your 5 foot barely 7 and pushing 250lbs. Running out of room to grow.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Yeah ... I'm heading to the Men's Warehouse tomorrow to get fitted for my brother's wedding. That's going to be interesting ... especially since I'm on cycle (p.h.) right now and will be up until about the wedding (9/26). LoL! My money is on a serious scramble the week before. :r

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Chest, Shoulders, and Tris today....Got a crazy pump! :banger

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Feel fat this morning after a week and a half off and too much ice cream...

Squats, Bent-Over Rows and Dips. No new PRs, just grinding it out.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Nothing crazy last night..3 exercises on chest with 3 sets increasing and the same for shoulders with some abs thrown in.

I need to either ramp up the amount of sets or start back on cardio to burn some fat..:su

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

More PRs today on back & bis....

Warmed up super-setting hammer strength isolat low rows and nautilus nitro pull downs, increasing weight along the way.

HS low rows: 238 x 8; 278 x 6; 298 x 5, 6, 5 (PR)

NN pull downs: 278 x 8, 328 x 5, 4, 4 (PR)

Underhand grip bent over rows: 135 x 5, 6, 12, 10 (new exercise)

DB one-arm rows: 110 x 8; 125 x 5, 4, 6 (strapped in)

Finished things off with some biceps work on the cable pullies -- straight bar curls and one-arm curls -- until my arms felt like they were gonna fall off. :ze

Happy lifting to all!!!!! :tu

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Chest was last night nothing special. Pulling tonight then off to a meeting.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Did a lot of leg and back yesterday. Also worked chest and tris.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

"Off" day.

20 minutes cardio

Cable rope crunches: 25, 20, 15 @ 200lbs
Pull-down abs: 2 sets of 10 @ 200lbs
Captain's chair leg raises: 2 sets of 10

10 minutes of cardio

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Last night I got a body weight workout. GHD situps, pushups, ring dips, rope pull-ups. Did 5 rounds, 10 sets of each.

This morning was push presses. 100 reps of 75# broken up with some back extensions and situps. Felt pretty drained after an evening workout yesterday.

Plan to take tomorrow off.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Back and Biceps...felt great!

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Hmmm ... a dilemma: hit legs hard and don't fit comfortably into my pants today for the first day of teaching or take it easy and fit in my clothes? :hm

I'll let y'all know in an hour and a half....

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Hit it. :ze

Squats (full depth):
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 6
275 x 5
295 x 3
315 x 2 (PR reps)
335 x 1 (new 1RM!)

Box Squats (73% 1RM, below parallel, with pause @ bottom): 245 x 3, 3, 2, 5

Stiff-legged deads: 225 x 5, 5, 5

I quit after that. I can barely stand ... mainly because my spinal erectors are spasming a little. Standing in front of class is gonna be a biotch today. :r

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Yeah. I grabbed my "fat jeans" to wear with a shirt, jacket, and Doc Martens for my professor's uniform yesterday. Jeans were frickin' tight all f'in day. :mad: :r Think I need to go do some shopping today.... :td

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

At some point your wardrobe will consist solely of t shirts,tank tops, sleeve-less shirts, gym shorts, warmup pants, khaki shorts. And your "nice" clothing will be referred to as **** you dont care to wear or is too tight. Also get used to buying jeans with a waist 4-6 sizes to big for yourself and invest in a nice thick belt. Also if you are a short fellow, jeans that are 40-42 waist with a 28 inseam are non existent.
Last week I went to the store to get some swim trucks which a week before vacation I realized I own only 1 pair with a hole in the leg and possibly purchased before I left high school....Oddly they fit. But, I tried on medium, large, and x-large and non would fit over top of my quads. Fit me in the waist yes. Legs no. Major issue. I asked my GF if I was fat, and she said no you have tree trunk legs. I then ate some chinese food because a person said I wasnt fat.


Pulled Tuesday night, Nothing special. Skipped last nights workout and skipping todays. Leaving in about 3 hours for the beach, staying 3 days and took off work monday. Going to try and rest and enjoy myself without worrying about training or work. I think I need a break. When I get back going to follow all that up with a deload week in the gym and take some time to figure out what I want to do with myself. Everytime I walk in the gym lately I feel like I am just going through the motions. Need something to strive for and to drive me.

See ya fellas when I get back, keep up the good work.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I hear ya on the legs, Frank -- same problem here with the quads, which (aside from a couple weeks ago), I tend not to even work them. Seems like if I look at my quads and calves wrong they get bigger ... and I really don't need or want that. Probably didn't help that I did legs yesterday. Anyway, I'll put ego/vanity aside today and get something with a waist that's too big so the legs can fit. I'll probably get some nicer/dressier shorts for teaching, too ... and some more polos (which seem to fit well right now). :rolleyes:

Enjoy your vacation! :tu I think we all hit those lulls and need a few days off. You never know ... maybe you'll come back and immediately find that spark/drive again in the gym. :gl

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

nothing special yesterday at lunch...just back and biceps while throwing some abs in there for good measure.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Hit shoulders. Should have remembered to warm up my tris more. I won't make that mistake again.

stuck to machines today. why? because I felt like it. LoL!

HS shoulder press (# for each side): 45 x 10, 55 x 8, 70 x 6, 80 x 5, 90 x 4, 90 x 0F

Lateral raises: 130 x 10, 150 x 10, 170 x 8, 180 x 6 (PR), 200 x 0F

Rear delts: 145 x 10, 160 x 8, 175 x 8, 190 x 6 190 x 5 (PR)


That was it. Hit some PRs; but still felt like a mediocre day. Wish my triceps weren't hurting. Feel tired from yesterday and didn't get enough sleep. The weekend off will do me some good. Probably gonna go for a bench or deadlift PR next week....

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I *just* made my first sleeveless shirt. FML. :tf


No gym today -- not even for cardio. I need a true day off ... well, except for the mowing and other yard work I'm going to do. :td

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Biceps and legs...and threw in some ab work... :ze

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Yesterday consisted of flat bench, DB press, face hammer, seated rows, cable pressdowns, leg curls, leg extensions, and some abs. I was shaky when I left. :)

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Played 3 games of VB yesterday then sat on the beach until 10pm smoking does that count? ok, ok for a workout I rode my bike all the way home :tpd:

Rob ;s

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Not a happy camper right now. I went to a physical therapist that my Crossfit coach referred me to yesterday. He took a look a my knee, and even called in a orthopedic surgeon who happened to be there for a second opinion. Based on how I hurt it (full range squat), they are pretty sure it's a torn meniscus. They recommended an MRI which I need to work on with my insurance company next week.

I'm pissed that I'm hurt, and can't do everything I want to, but I'm more pissed that I did it doing things the way I was instructed.

The surgeon said he sees this injury as a result of those type of squats regularly.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

when they fix it, just dont lift as heavy in squats. The key to squats without tearing up knees is to come down slow and controlled.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I wasn't going really heavy, and I was very controlled. The problem was my depth, going to my full range of motion, and getting a little bounce at the bottom.

I don't tend to throw around too much weight, and I'm very conscious of form.

That's what makes this so frustrating.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Could have been the little bounce at the bottom. That extra stretch on your knees isn't a good thing. Kinda like bouncing the bar off your chest on bench...but not quite...

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I think that's exactly what did it.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I'd also suggest that if you go back to doing squats, you think about starting with box squats at or below parallel. This will help you think about form a little differently and put the focus on your hams, taking it off your quads and knees. I don't have the greatest knees in the world; but squatting never hurts them because I'm slow, deliberate, and focusing everything I can on my posterior chain rather than my quads and knees. YMMV, but that's what I would do.

Good luck recovering.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Agreed. I always go down slowly to parallel and try to explode up(its hard sometimes, lol), but I make a point not to bounce. I've seen too many people F up their knees doing that. After I finish squats, my buns and hams are always sore(the next day).

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

It's time to ditch crossfit brother. Performing compound movements for high reps while in a state of high pre-exhaustion is a recipe for disaster. DO some online research about crossfit. It gets a lot of crap reviews. Do some research on it. Call me a flamethrower or what have you but I dont think it is NOT the best workout available out there.
A friend of mine compared this to say doing ab and lower back exercises before squatting. Think about what that would be like getting under a squat bar and performing full range squats, or deadlifts after already burning out the tank. And to boot, your going heavy and pushing the limits. Doesn't make much sense does it?
I dunno bout this. I always bounce at the bottom on raw squats. Get some knee sleeves or wraps for heavier sets. Going light because you are afraid of getting hurt is ****ing stupid. I know guys who have two rebuilt knees some rebuilt more than once squatting 800+ pounds. Trick is training smart.
How full is your range? you bottoming out or hitting parallel?

Id go high boxes at first. Go wide really wide if ya wanna toast the hams. The more I think about it I would set the box up different heights and work on form for awhile.

Long story short, I have an issue with squatting where my knee would buckle in on heavy sets. After tweaking my form for awhile I got it to stop happening. Possibly preventing a blown out knee.
Problem here is people confuse slow ( rate of decent ) with control. People think well I will just go to parallel slow. This isnt always the best answer. Controlling the weight down is best. Naturally there will be bounce at the bottom. Only time to go slow hitting parallel would be squatting with briefs and a suit on. Going to slow will more often cause a guy to bomb out at the bottom. I have done this in the past as Im sure most guys have, under heavier weights taking 30 seconds to get to parallel is mind numbing and when you hit the bottom your out of gas. Also, bringing the weight down your going to be using a lot of glute, ham and lower back. Going up is mainly quads. But that distance from say parallel to maybe 1/4 up is a lot of ham, glute and lower back. So, common sense would say you burn your self out going down too slow, you get no pop out of the bottom. Long story short, control. Form is key too.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

What's wrong with sticking to the machines? I know I'm still new to this, but I like the machines.

Speaking of machines, what's the difference between the hack squat machine and doing regular squats (results wise)?

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Without getting into a crazy debate.

Machines-
little or no stabilizing muscles used.
safe
easy
more controlled motion
specifically isolate
easy ( yes said it twice )
Free Weights -
Stabilizing muscles used to full extent.
not as safe
not easy
greater strength gains
more versatile
require more balance and coordination

It honestly depends on what YOU are trying to do with yourself. Personally avoiding compound movements and avoiding the use of free weights entirely is a bad idea. For the normal person, a good blend of both would be ideal. Free weight early in the workout, machines later.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I do use some free weights, but since I don't have a spotter, I'm a little uneasy with free weights for bench press (unless I'm using a Smith machine) or squats. I use dumbells regularly and the EZbar.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

:tpd:

What Frank said. :D Hence the shame. :r

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Thanks for the responses Frank and Dokk.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Dude -- that's what the safety arms are for on the squat racks and power racks. If you can't get up, the weight drops on the safety and not your toes. :r I hear you on bench; but (a) you're more likely to hurt your pride than your body and (b) that's what dumbbells are for. :D I'm a HUGE believer in DBs now for benching without a partner.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Nothing crazy yesterday..it was my 4th time at the gym this week so I decided to do a bit of everything except legs...

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Will definitely keep that in mind.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I have been curious about this as well!

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Frank's answer is spot on; but to be a little more specific about the squat...

There is, in my humble judgment based on the evidence I've seen, no replacement for a real/full squat. It's a truly compound exercise that cannot be mimicked using a machine because machines inevitably remove stabilizers and limit range of motion in one way or another. Machine hack squats (i.e., on the sled) target the quads more than anything. You can get around that, to a certain extent, by placing your feet in a modified position (forward more); but you're never gonna hit your hams or posterior chain as well.

Now, if you're not interested in the compound movement or really want to be targeting your quads, go for the hack squat (though I'd be a little more inclined to say you should go for some leg presses).

:2

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I do both the hack squat and the leg press.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

And, while I did leg presses a couple of weeks in a row recently, I don't do them much because looking at weights usually makes my quads grow ... and I really don't want bigger quads. :r

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

I'm sure that the are better workouts out there, and I appreciate the opinion. The thing I like about CF is that is combines carido and weight lifting. It changes things up and keeps me interested. The workout I do is better than the one I don't. We rarely go super heavy, and when we do, we don't mix in other exercises. When I first hurt it, I was doing high back squats with 135 and stressing form starting at 5 reps and working down.

As far as my range, I'm the yoga instructor remember. My hamsrings are pressed against my calves, feet flat on the floor, weight on my heels. Not much further I could go, so I think the bounce was especially harmful.

Good tips:tu I'm going to have to get more familiar with box squats.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Might be going a little too deep on the squats. I know personally going too deep hurts my knees. Might be different for most but it kills me. So I hit parallel and no lower.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

:tpd:

Ass back, parallel, push the floor apart.

I have a wide stance. :D

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Chest and tris day. Something's wrong with my right tris. I was diagnosed with some ulnar neuropathy years ago; but I've kept that in check through better ergonomics. Seems I've slipped back into my bad ways (e.g., working from my laptop sitting on the couch and resting my weight on my elbow), which is exacerbated by my slip last Friday not warming up my tris enough.

Hit a new PR on DB flat bench of 85 x 1 (failed trying for a 2nd). I probably could have done more had my right elbow not felt like it was going to fall off when I came down with the weight. Same thing on incline hammer strengths. Worked up to 84/side x 4, which was a new PR. Could have gone heavier or more reps if my arm wasn't acting up. Skipped declines and dips. Went and did some 135 rack lock-outs and got confirmation (a) that our bars are thicker than regulation, which effin sucks (and is not what I was told when I signed up), and (b) that our portable benches are too tall (which consistently causes me to cramp up). I'm just complaining. Tried to finish up with some tri work; but just couldn't.

I'l head back this afternoon with the DrMS and do some hypertrophic lifting....

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Good lifts yesterday. Dead, Press and Chin-ups. Medium day, so no PRs, but I was definitely tired by the time I was done. Deads really take it out of me.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Dont forget chest up head back.!

Sucks about your tricep Dokk. Dunno bout the pc thing. Not my ballgame but I get bad hand cramps from working all day also my back gets tight from standing on ladders etc. all day. So I know where you are coming from on that.
What's your training split now Pete?

Been sitting around the house all morning, took a few naps. Tomorrow is first day back to work. Might head out to the gym later.

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Of course! ;) Though ... I don't kick my head back as much as some -- throws off my balance too much. :su

Thanks. It is what it is and I'll work around it all.

Heading to Macy's in a little bit to try on some fat jeans.... :hn

Re: Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3
 

Going to continue with lifting 3 days/week for a while, heavy, light, med. After a few months, I will switch up to heavy, light, heavy. Been rough getting back into after a week and a half off. Need to get back to spin class a couple days a week. Doing a 4 day split of exercises.

Day1
Back Squat
Bent-Over Row
Dips

Day 2
Dead
Press
Chin-ups

Day 3
Bench
DB Row
Front Squat

Day 4
Power Clean
Incline Press
Pull-Ups

Good luck tomorrow.