OFFICIAL WORKOUT/TRAINING THREAD v2.0

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by mikemhg

You doing your shoulder presses with a barbell? That's the problem.

I do military presses with the barbell at times, but shoulder pain has made it less appealing. Definitely recommend doing your shoulder presses standing, with either kettle bells, or dumbbells. Much easier on the shoulders by far.

You're right on the stretching and rehab though, I'm terrible at doing that stuff, but I'm going to start more now.

Yeah just classic barbell press. I actually never had pain doing that, and it was always my favourite exercise. It's not what killed my labrum though, that happened during bench press. Just that my shoulder got so fucked, I couldn't do anything.

Now I can press again no problem (well it's a bit wonky due to atrophy). I haven't tried flat BB bench in a long time, but I can incline BB bench no problem.

[JD¹³]

Forgot about this thread! Still lifting but like Mike I'm less focused on huge weight and am doing a lot more volume and hypertrophy (but still like to rage pull big deadlifts once in a while). Sprint8 changed my gym life, as did a more dedicated diet. Trying to be more well rounded and athletic. Hope all the OG's are still going for it wherever you are.

[Berzerker]

I gave up dumbell shoulder presses years ago. Had 1 small error in form and almost tore my shoulder off. Now its barbell military only with bar in front of face not behind the neck. I actually like using the U bar so the U is over head and I can bring the bar down parallel with my body.

Berz out.

[instantneedles]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

I gave up dumbell shoulder presses years ago. Had 1 small error in form and almost tore my shoulder off. Now its barbell military only with bar in front of face not behind the neck. I actually like using the U bar so the U is over head and I can bring the bar down parallel with my body.

Berz out.

A new shoulder exercise that I'm loving is the one arm barbell overhead press. I like it cus you're really forcing your rotator cuff muscles to activate with the long lever arm of the barbell.

A bit tricky to balance at first, but once you get your core activated, it's pretty manageable.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by instantneedles

A new shoulder exercise that I'm loving is the one arm barbell overhead press. I like it cus you're really forcing your rotator cuff muscles to activate with the long lever arm of the barbell.

A bit tricky to balance at first, but once you get your core activated, it's pretty manageable.

Yeah or a kettlebell held upside down. You can do that with bench press too. Apparently very good for rotator stability

My update: My right shoulder is fine now, and my back is fine as long as I don't do squats or DL. I hit my legs with things like hack machine, leg press, curls, extensions, glute ham raises. The sissy shit but I have no choice for now. I am doing the "Stuart McGill Big 3" every day now, and hope to get my core strong enough where I can add the power lifting stuff back in gradually. I am going to be VERY careful with it from now on. Basically I'll only be doing singles when I do start up again.

I am back to lifting 4-5 days a week, a pretty normal routine. Appetite is big again. Gainz are coming back!

Actually now my left shoulder is starting to flare up a bit, so I have to take care with that. I'm not really sure the exact movement that is causing so many problems with my shoulders. I'm sure it's not overhead press, since they actually don't hurt when I do that. If anything it's anything I do chest based... Flyes, bench press. I have to find new ways to hit the chest that are easier on the shoulders. This is despite doing some pretty steady rear delt and stability AND mobility training for the past 6 months

[Berzerker]

2 weeks back full time now. Fuck I'm weak. I hope muscle memory kicks in ASAP. Starting weight on first day was 260lbs. Lets see what happens going forward.

Berz out.

[DavidNguyen]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

2 weeks back full time now. Fuck I'm weak. I hope muscle memory kicks in ASAP. Starting weight on first day was 260lbs. Lets see what happens going forward.

Berz out.

Nice. You'll get that strength back soon.

Advice for a Newbie. Tips for getting abs.

Im 150lbs slim. I don't get enough protein or fibre.
I started cadio in jan. I find my upper body is toning up because of the cardio.

Any advice? Anything

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by DavidNguyen

Tips for getting abs.

Abs are made in the kitchen. It's purely a bodyfat related aesthetic. If they aren't showing yet, you simply need to lose more bodyfat.

Berz out.

[Gerbs]

^
I never trained abs before and I cut to 190lbs at 6'4. I didn't see abs lol. So I started working core religiously 3 days a week now

[SkinnyPupp]

Abs are revealed in the kitchen, but still made in the gym. You need to develop your abs for them to show up with low bodyfat, otherwise you'll just be skinny and flat looking.

If you do power lifting + core training that is usually enough once you get low bf%. If you really want big blocky abs, hit them with cable crunches and hanging hip raises (hinge at hip, not legs) and ab wheel (if you can't do ab wheel yet, start with hand walkouts. Start with knees then work to toes, then try the wheel again after a few weeks)

If you have big developed abs, you don't even really need super low bf% to show them, at least the top 4

[DavidNguyen]

Thanks for the advice.

Whats everyone goal at the moment?

When inwas younger. I wanted to be as muscular as possible. Now im chasing tone and abs and cardio

[SkinnyPupp]

I've been bulking for 4 weeks, and it's been going pretty good. I've been using this plan and have been liking it quite a bit. I don't think I'll ever do a bro split again, just not my thing anymore. Muscle memory is kicking in. Shoulders are OK for training but man I still sleep on them funny or something, because they bother me at night.

After 6 weeks I am going to cut and get rid of this gut again. Not sure if I'll continue this workout plan, or go with something with more athletic moves to keep the heart rate going longer. I am trying to think of a way to do fasted cardio in the morning and go straight to the gym after that... Going for that 4 pack!

Goal is to get around where I was in November 2017, last time I was pretty lean (damn over 2 years ago!):



I couldn't get rid of that fat around the belly button, so I have completely given up on ever doing that. Can't tell since the lighting is so good in this picture, but even at this level of leanness, when I would sit down I'd have a flap of gut hanging over my pants, and even when standing you'd sometimes see a "donut" through my t-shirt

[320icar]

Hold on, you’re white?

[BIC_BAWS]

Holy crap, putting a face to a name. If I saw Skinny locally, I'd think he's a skid from Surrey, but "don't judge a book by its cover" prevails. Skinny is pretty damn educated, evident across many threads.

Anyway, started hitting the gym consistently in January, after taking a couple years off. On Jan 1, I was 190lbs at 5'8", aka fat as fuck. Started Keto and have been in ketosis since. I lost 10lbs in the first month, no longer look fat as fuck. I also started keto as a motivating factor to actually meal prep and further learn how to cook. The easiest way for "abs made in the kitchen" is to prep 14 meals all on Sundays/Saturday. Just make breakfast each morning.

I got to a point of eating about 1700 cals on a heavy lifting day (monday-friday) and 1000cals each on the weekends (rest).

Currently at 177lbs, so plateau on weight loss, but it's fine. My lifts are more important. Up until this point I was doing Stronglifts 5x5, but I don't think I can do it anymore without sacrificing performance in my lifts. A typical day looks like 185lb box squats (5x5), 95lb overhead press (5x5), and 225lb dead lifts (5x1). I got stuck on 225, at 4 reps out of 5 for about 2 weeks. Then one day I did deadlifts first and smashed it easily.

I have now switched to PPL, but I haven't done bodybuilding exercises for 6-7 years. I'm feeling a little unsatisfied. When I was on Stronglifts 5x5, after my 3 compound + 4 accessory movements (about 2hrs in the gym; 2.5 if i stretch), I felt like I died and came back to life. I'm not feeling that exhaustion/burn out when I do PPL or body building exercises in general.

Should I just switch back to Stronglifts since that's the feeling I'm chasing?

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by DavidNguyen

Whats everyone goal at the moment?

I wanna get muscular big again. I think with a starting base of 260 I'll need a lot of body transformation. My weight will probably stay around 260-270 but I'll look drastically different in about 20weeks.

Berz out.

[mikemhg]

I was like you, tried doing the PPL for a few months, found it extreme unsatisfying for hypertrophy, hence I stopped and went back to my 5 day splits. Haven't gone back to PPL since.

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Holy crap, putting a face to a name. If I saw Skinny locally, I'd think he's a skid from Surrey, but "don't judge a book by its cover" prevails. Skinny is pretty damn educated, evident across many threads.

Anyway, started hitting the gym consistently in January, after taking a couple years off. On Jan 1, I was 190lbs at 5'8", aka fat as fuck. Started Keto and have been in ketosis since. I lost 10lbs in the first month, no longer look fat as fuck. I also started keto as a motivating factor to actually meal prep and further learn how to cook. The easiest way for "abs made in the kitchen" is to prep 14 meals all on Sundays/Saturday. Just make breakfast each morning.

I got to a point of eating about 1700 cals on a heavy lifting day (monday-friday) and 1000cals each on the weekends (rest).

Currently at 177lbs, so plateau on weight loss, but it's fine. My lifts are more important. Up until this point I was doing Stronglifts 5x5, but I don't think I can do it anymore without sacrificing performance in my lifts. A typical day looks like 185lb box squats (5x5), 95lb overhead press (5x5), and 225lb dead lifts (5x1). I got stuck on 225, at 4 reps out of 5 for about 2 weeks. Then one day I did deadlifts first and smashed it easily.

I have now switched to PPL, but I haven't done bodybuilding exercises for 6-7 years. I'm feeling a little unsatisfied. When I was on Stronglifts 5x5, after my 3 compound + 4 accessory movements (about 2hrs in the gym; 2.5 if i stretch), I felt like I died and came back to life. I'm not feeling that exhaustion/burn out when I do PPL or body building exercises in general.

Should I just switch back to Stronglifts since that's the feeling I'm chasing?

[instantneedles]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

I've been bulking for 4 weeks, and it's been going pretty good. I've been using this plan and have been liking it quite a bit. I don't think I'll ever do a bro split again, just not my thing anymore. Muscle memory is kicking in. Shoulders are OK for training but man I still sleep on them funny or something, because they bother me at night.

After 6 weeks I am going to cut and get rid of this gut again. Not sure if I'll continue this workout plan, or go with something with more athletic moves to keep the heart rate going longer. I am trying to think of a way to do fasted cardio in the morning and go straight to the gym after that... Going for that 4 pack!

Goal is to get around where I was in November 2017, last time I was pretty lean (damn over 2 years ago!):



I couldn't get rid of that fat around the belly button, so I have completely given up on ever doing that. Can't tell since the lighting is so good in this picture, but even at this level of leanness, when I would sit down I'd have a flap of gut hanging over my pants, and even when standing you'd sometimes see a "donut" through my t-shirt

holy shit. mind is blown.

Thought you were some sedentary computer programmer with the dadbod look.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

t I was doing Stronglifts 5x5, but I don't think I can do it anymore without sacrificing performance in my lifts. A typical day looks like 185lb box squats (5x5), 95lb overhead press (5x5), and 225lb dead lifts (5x1). I got stuck on 225, at 4 reps out of 5 for about 2 weeks. Then one day I did deadlifts first and smashed it easily.

I'm actually doing 5x5 to get my body back into the lifting spirit. I feel great and will be increasing the weights quite a bit in the near future my last workouts A and B were, 180lbs squat, 155lb bench, 155lb Row, 85lb OHP and 240lb Dead.

I wanted to start off easy before going heavy.

Berz out.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

I'm actually doing 5x5 to get my body back into the lifting spirit. I feel great and will be increasing the weights quite a bit in the near future my last workouts A and B were, 180lbs squat, 155lb bench, 155lb Row, 85lb OHP and 240lb Dead.

I wanted to start off easy before going heavy.

Berz out.

You look like you can easily bench 155lb in one hand

[Berzerker]

I could have before but Lol like I said. Just getting my muscles ready before I go all out. Waiting for some stuff to arrive and then I can jump back into the heavier stuff. I've thought about testing my current 1RM's but meh I can wait a bit. I don't want to cry in the gym haha

Berz out.

[320icar]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

for some stuff to arrive and then I can jump back into the heavier stuff.

Berz out.

[Berzerker]

Today was my last day of 5x5. I could continue but I wanna get back into the bro splits.

It was Squat, Bench, Row day and I did all the weights easy so on the last set of each move I did 225 just to see how it felt. The row was easiest, Bench wasn't a struggle but I could feel the weight if that makes sense. Squat was easy and I was using the Rogue Squat Bar rather than my usual Low Bar squat.

Program starts on Monday lets gooooooo!

Berz out.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by instantneedles

A new shoulder exercise that I'm loving is the one arm barbell overhead press. I like it cus you're really forcing your rotator cuff muscles to activate with the long lever arm of the barbell.

A bit tricky to balance at first, but once you get your core activated, it's pretty manageable.

Man I tried this today but my shoulder mobility is a fucking joke. I youtubed a bunch of stuff to work on but it's really bad.

The test they want you to do on the Youtube channel is to lay stomach down on an incline bench and with your thumbs pointing up raise your arms as high as you can. I could look over my arms at the mirror is was so bad. Most people can at least get even with their ears. I have a lot to work on freeing them up.
They made a lot of points I never thought of like opening up your chest to allow rotation. They also said some people are just genetically unable to overhead squat and I honestly feel like I fall in that category. I can't even start a squat with a bar above my head.

No crossfit foe me ever lol

Berz out.

[Berzerker]

Gyms closed. RIP.

Time to get creative at home I guess. Was gonna ask the gym if I could take a bar and 4 plates home to use lol. Not like they are gonna be using them and I know the owner pretty well.

Berz out.

[SkinnyPupp]

My gym is still open, with temperature checks. The virus isn't running rampant here right now, which blows me away. I was actually considering for a moment of moving back to Canada, further away from the source of the virus

I am being cautious though - my membership expires mid-April and they've been bugging me to renew for months. I keep telling them - it expires April 17th, I'll talk to you on the 15th! No rush!

Yesterday I told them they might not even be open in mid-April. The look of shock on the dude's face...

Anyway, started my cut yesterday. My goal is to get back to 195 lbs at around 15% which is where I was in that picture I posted that threw everyone for a loop. I am starting at 225 this time though - the heaviest I've been in years, although this time a lot of it is muscle mass. The 6 week megabulk went extremely well.

It's possible that 15% BF now might be 200 lbs. We'll see