Shot in the dark, but has anybody passed through Barcelona and gone to a gym that has a decent barbell setup? A squat rack/somewhere to deadlift? I'm here until June and need to counterract all this boozing.
Ahhh, yes. Yet another reason why having a penis is grand. I don't know how your lady plumbing works, but by flexing the abs, we can adjust the force of our stream. It's like sticking your thumb in front of the garden hose. It's fun and when you have a target like a piece of toilet paper floating in the water, you can pretend it's a video game and try to disintegrate the little square of TP before your time runs out.
I think the one that hurts me the most after a break in arm curls. JESUS I walk around with my arms crossed for two straight days because it hurts too much to let the hang naturally. Protein can help subside it.
Wait, arm curls? What? I kid! In other news, why can't there be women like this at my gym? All I have is women who get dolled up in order to spend 30 minutes on the exercise bike (not too much! might sweat!) and those who spend all their time doing spin classes and then using the hip adductor and abductor machines. I hate everybody.
I too am a firm believer that women should not go to the gym looking like they work at a cosmetics counter. Ladies, you look RIDICULOUS when you do that.
Arm curls? What are these? Joking aside, if you're having this problem when you do curls, you need to do some tricep work on the same day. Whenever you work one muscle group, you always have to work the antagonist to balance it out. Doing so will prevent imbalances which will in turn prevent injuries.
1500 meters rowing/5.4 miles on a bike this morning, plus light chest and back workouts. I've been doing this for almost a month now, with monday and friday being double cardio only, tues arms, wed shoulders, thurs chest and back. Weighed myself when I got home from the gym. I weigh less than I have in 2 years, and I've dropped a little more than 20 pounds since I started the diet overhaul in August. I was stalled out for a while, but since starting working out in late Dec, the weight is dropping again. Pretty happy with that.
Ha. I coach in eyeliner, glittery lip gloss, and don't give a SHIT. Because when I get under the bar, I move it. I have a guy doing 6 days a week, 2 lifts a day - back or front squats and one other - at 90%. He's beasting. This is pretty amazing to watch.
I've done seperate day lifts, curls/back then chest/triceps another day, trying to isolate muscle groups (not a heavy lifter, nor have I really researched anything). Is it better to work opposing muscle groups on the same day then? I know this is a basic question but you all seem to know what you're talking about.
I do it because it makes it simpler and it makes sense to do related movements on the same day. All of my workouts are based on either deadlifting, squatting, or pressing (overheard or bench variations). Once those are completed, I work the antagonist muscle group and do accessory lifts to hit the smaller "stabilizer" muscle groups. Eg. if I bench, I do back (usually a row variation) and then hit the smaller stuff like shoulders, triceps, biceps, etc. If I squat, I do a big hamstring exercise (good mornings or RDL) and then hit abductor/adductor, glute, hip flexors. If you fail to train the antagonist muscles, you create a major imbalance which will lead to limited mobility and injury. For an example of this, just look at any of the bench monkey at your local gym and you'll see their shoulders rolled forward and they walk with a hunch. That's because they haven't developed the upper back muscles properly to maintain posture. In time, this leads to a lot of rotator cuff issues. A very, very small percentage of the population, professional athletes included, lack the proper quad/hamstring strength ratio. People don't like to do hamstring work because it's hard, it hurts, and it's not glamorous. The result is unmaximized performance and a high instance of knee pain.
The biggest concern I have with my workouts is being able to determine if I'm getting a good workout or not. So far I've been using how I feel the next day as a gauge; if I'm sore in the muscle groups I worked I presume I had a good workout. But I've read that certain muscle groups react differently so not I'm not so sure. My big fear is that I'm going to spend months doing this and not see any results.
the results should be gauged by how much weight you can move.... if you can't move more weight after a few weeks or months, then you're not progressing, duh. muscle soreness is a terrible indicator for a ton of reasons.
Workout log + a plan for progression + application = results. The log lets you keep track of what you're doing The plan keeps you in line with where you're going and the application gets you off your ass and actually DOING it.
I've been off the physical activity bandwagon for several months until last week. Started running again (easy) and did three sets of squats (embarrassingly hard). Question: I have a cold, but feel well enough to go run and do squats again today. Should I skip it and rest or just do it? I have found seriously mixed reviews about it.
Just completed first month of West Side Barbell for Skinny B's, and just looking at getting diet sorted now. Going to attempt Paleo and was wondering does anyone have any good tips, website links for great Paleo recipes. The major thing that will suck is that I am allergic to nuts so may be quite restricted on diet.
If you have chest congestion, refrain from cardio and circuit training-style lifting. Keep things anaerobic. If not, you should be fine with whatever. Listen to your body, though, and don't push it too hard. There are a ton of websites out there with recipes for both paleo and primal diets. The following one is recipes on a calendar, 100% of proceeds going to help wounded vets, 20 bucks per calendar. As far as stand alone recipes go, do a search online and find stuff that works with your allergy parameters. There are a ton of recipes on marksdailyapple, for instance. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.thepaleocalendar.com/Home.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thepaleocalendar.com/Home.html</a>
If you're going for more aesthetics than performance then take measurements. Measure your waist, hips, chest, quads and arms, and then check to see ify ou're growing or not. Also check your bf level. The easiest way to get an ok measurement would probably be calipers. Don't go by that electronic machien you hold that jokers at most gyms use.
I wouldn't do this. Measuring can be terribly depressing and can demotivate you in a hurry. Those types of changes take months if not years to develop. For someone to see 1" growth on their arms over the course of a year can really do a lot to make you say fuck it and give up. The best thing to do is what shimmered said. Find a program to stick to so you have a goal/means of progression. Keep a log so you can see your progress. If you're going for aesthetics, take a picture of yourself on day 1 and then every 2 weeks after that. Try to avoid a mirror if you can. By doing so, you will get a visual reference of your progress over longer periods of time that will show you how you're coming along.