The Gym Topic

[Skenghis Khan]

200 for a triple.

[Skola]

that's why i warm up on the rower.. good all round body warm up for legs, shoulders, back and arms

safe for this. just started doin a 5 min row warm up not even sure if thats long enough but i make it fairly intense and feel like my heartrate etc is up once im done

I've lowered the weight, and made sure I can do at least 8 reps of 3 sets. But the main thing I'm doing now is slowing down each rep, and holding it for that extra burn in the last few reps. Also I'm actually timing the rest on each set (90secs max).

It's all basic stuff, but boy it makes a difference.

That burn >>>

just started timing my rests coz its easy not to notice how little / much time is passing

same with the speed - its like people cheat by throwing the weights around / lifting too fast.

/

what do people think of behind the head wide grip pull ups something like will smith in i am legend except with better form?

[YFSD]

Bad for your shoulders, better to do behind the head pull downs with a lighter weight.

[Skola]

cool

/

my ACL (ligament on the front of the knee) hurts after squatting yesterday. i twisted it skiing earlier this year and basically couldnt walk for a week but after it recovered ive had no problems with football / squats. saying that i usually squat on the smith coz its less busy. thinking its something to do with the extra balance factor required squatting freeweights putting more pressure on my knees

i guess its back to the smith leg pres

[YFSD]

Or just lower the weight and do squats properly?

Will be better in the long run

[Skola]

hmm...i was only doin 80kg it didnt feel that difficult and i was getting down low

will try next week n see what happens

[Skenghis Khan]

i strongly advise against squatting with the smith machine skola.

i take it you just sprained the acl, I dont know much about knee injuries but i know a powerlifter who actually tore his acl, and ive seen him squat 250+, i can ask him about it if you want.

you should do some research on rehabbing the acl.

but as you've had no problems with training since the injury, i think its most likely that you have some issues with your squat form which are coming out as you move up in weight. i think its quite likely that you may be doing one of the following:

a) your knees are caving inwards.

b ) you're falling forward and hinging the squat, the weight is shifting onto the front of your foot and your knees are coming way out in front of your feet.

these are both common issues with form in the squat and can cause discomfort in a healthy knee let a alone one coming back from a relatively recent injury. Don't be afraid of reducing the weight as much as you have to until your completely happy with your squat.

If your knees are caving:

a) make sure your squatting with a foot position that is comfortable and natural. This is different for everyone, but will most likely be approx 1.5 shoulder width with toes turned out at somewhere around 30 degrees. As a guide you can stand with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart and, without thinking to much about it, dip as if you're about to jump into the air as high as you can. Instead of actually jumping look down at the position your feet have naturally adopted.

b ) focus on pushing your knees outward throughout the movement, especially as you come up out of the hole. There are some specific exercises you can do involving jumpstretch bands if knee caving is a major issue for you, but for most just focusing on keeping the knees pushed out is enough.

Falling forward is very common, most people fall forward when the weight gets heavy. here are some form pointers you should consider to avoid falling forward:

-your head should be in a neutral position or slightly looking up, focus your eyes on a point in front of you and keep them fixed on this point throughout the squat, if your squat rack is in front of a mirror avoid the temptation of watching yourself squat, either make a mark on the mirror to focus on or face the other way.

-push your neck into the bar, imagine your wearing a baseball cap backwards and your trying to push the peak into your traps

-squeeze your shoulder blades together tight, arch your lower back, and push your abs out. everything under the bar should be tight and contracted.

-the descent should begin by pushing your glutes out, the squat should be a sitting motion rather than a knee bend. so begin by pushing your arse back like you would if your were about to sit down rather than just breaking at the knee. Sit back into the squat throughout the descent, this will keep the weight on your heels.

-stay tight as you reach depth, dont relax in the hole

-keep your chest up throughout the entire movement, especially as you come up out the whole, some like to imagine their body is being pulled up by a string attached to their chest. dig your heels in and drive your hips up during the ascent.

keeping form in check is a constant battle that is never won. You might develop picture perfect form at a certain weight but as you progress and add weight to the bar and it starts to feel heavy the same old breakdowns in form will re-emerge. There are a couple of ways to combat this:

a) Try to squat exactly the same way every time, how you approach the bar, the set up, your grip, it should become a ritual and be the same whether you're warming up with an empty bar or attempting a new PR. Never perform a complacent squat, i see people all the time doing sloppy reps with weights they are comfortable with but they are reinforcing bad habits that will become apparent when the weight gets heavy. It takes thousands of repetitions for a motor pattern to become 2nd nature, take each squat seriously and make doing it right a habit. This is what pro athletes mean when they talk about wanting to 'execute', they dont want to think about doing it they just want all that training to kick in and carry them through. There aint a lot going on between the ears when attempting a heavy squat you just want that muscle memory to take over.

verbal cues can help as well, if someone shouts "chest up" as you come up out the hole you will likely do as your told.

b ) strengthen weak points.

most people have weak hamstrings and glutes, when things get heavy the body tries to shift the weight forward so the quadriceps take on most of the work, however this usually results in the squatter falling forward. you need to strengthen the hams and glutes, best way to do this is with GHR's (unfortunately not many gyms have this very useful apparatus) romanians or goodmornings, make sure you perform these with good form.

weak upper back can also cause people to fall forward, theres a ton of exercises that help thicken the upper back, rows, cleans, face pulls etc etc.

turned into a very long post, hopefully of some use to yourself and others.

[Em Dott]

Real talk, skenghis is the type of guy I would love to train with. Actually went to that much detail to help with squatting and that's only one exercise. The way I was in the zoned out reading it I could have very easily missed my stop on the train. Defo gonna take that advice on board on my legs day. Props bro. Will pos when I get in.

[MARVELL]

lol, or he coudlve just posted a video?

[Skenghis Khan]

that video doesnt address what we were talking about though does it.

[MARVELL]

im gay - my opinion does not count

[Guest M12]

not surprised you're a p*ssy tbh.

[Heero Yuy]

[gattsu]

get a spot?

/

anyways mandem stretches?

[HangTheDJ]

are you guys benching 225kg seriously?

i went to a meatheads gym when i was living in nottingham (guys on roids and doing comps etc). the biggest guy in there wasn't benching 200kg.

unless you mean 1 rep?

[Guest M12]

He's talking lbs. 225lbs is about 100kg.

[Skenghis Khan]

edit - wot he^ said.

dunno why he's talking in pounds.

[HangTheDJ]

oh lol

[Heero Yuy]

Shoulder is completely f*cked, nearly popped it out yesterday.

Gonna be out for 2 weeks I think

[FinalBawse]

40kg is seriously low bro.

[djbmc]

wtf? 40k is too low surely, i think i done that the first time i ever squatted.

[MARVELL]

hes got that amir khan chin on his knees allow him

[Guest CONFIRMATION]

he dont mean...10kg plates does he???

[Kurtis]

when i was at the gym i couldnt even bench 20 and some guy tried show me how to squat and i easily did 40

he must have mistyped

[HangTheDJ]

Tesco stocking the fresh turkey steaks now. Comes to £9 per kg/ so a few quid more than chicken but it's a nice change.

Anyone seen any frozen turkey anywhere?