21 Questions...

Off Topic
1

Hey everyone, I have lots of questions rattling around my head that I finally wrote down. I’d appreciate all of your help.

  1. How should OLY shoes fit? Like normal shoes or do you want them a little tighter?

  2. My best power clean is only 200 lbs, would I be a complete poser to even buy OLY shoes? They have my size on closeout over at Dynamic Fitness or I wouldn’t bother.

  3. Why am I so weak?

  4. How do you measure a workout’s intensity? The term gets used a lot to explain less-than-stellar results, but it seems really recursive.

  5. I think it was Alwyn Cosgrove who said that more people need a program and not a workout. By program does this mean something like ABBH or is it more long-term?

  6. If you change exercises every 3 weeks, are you ever getting stronger or are you only seeing neurological improvements?

  7. Why wasn’t I any smarter when I was young? Former World’s Strongest Man Don Reinhoudt Don Reinhoudt - Wikipedia used to come to my school and speak. I didn’t think anything of it, but now that would probably be the highlight of my week.

  8. What happened to Classic Grow!?

  9. Is Project Superhero going to tease us for another month?

  10. Should your 5RM for assistance exercises (e.g. RDL) be higher or lower than 5RM for the full version (DL)?

  11. If you can DL 600 lbs is it really easy to pick up 300 lbs? Or does 300 always feel heavy? I suppose this question has to do with force development and power.

  12. How do you tell if you have low Testosterone? I mean, what prompts someone to get tested for it? Is it low sex drive or do most people use it as an excuse for poor gains?

  13. Is there going to be a second Test-Fest?

  14. How dumb am I to never use chalk before yesterday?

  15. How awesome is chalk?

  16. I read a few short stories by H.P. Lovecraft and didn’t find them remarkable in any way. This wasn’t actually a question, just an observation.

  17. Is there a good way to make steak without an outdoor grill? Mine are always burned or super-well-done when broiled or pan-fried.

  18. I’ve been taking fish oil for several months and can’t say I noticed any differences. Are there non-responders or am I just a poor observer of my own body?

  19. Another observation, I wish I were big and strong so I could feel capable of wearing a T-Nation shirt.

  20. What is Alpha F smoking? Seriously, go look at some of her posts on the recent Atomic Dog about comic book chicks. I loved Atlas Shrugged too but that’s taking it too far.

  21. Why do some people use “LOL” to signify a light chuckle? For example, “I can really feel that I worked my glutes yesterday LOL.” Blatant overuse of this acronym cheapens its already retarded meaning.

Thanks for reading all this. It’s nice to not have all these "I wonder"s floating around.

2

Entertaining post, I also want answers to #9, #11 and #12…
P.S. I need to get my hands on some chalk.

3

  1. Sorry I wouldn’t know.

  2. I wouldn’t call you a poseur, but unless you plan on being an O-lifter I don’t exactly see the point in the shoes. Shoes dont lift the weight. Just get somethign sturdy and flat.

  3. Lack of knowledge, training age, efficient movement… could be a lot of things.

  4. Thats just something experience teaches you. You learn the difference between busting your ass or just being dumb and hurting yourself. Very thin line.

  5. I think you should as Cosgrove himself. I think he was referring to something a lot more in depth than just ABBH.

  6. Um…from what I understand strength IS neurological improvement, usually with several other factors combined. But dumbing it down, if you get stronger neurologically- well then you’re stronger. Period.

  7. Dude why wasn’t I any smarter? This kid I didn’t like in elementary school well one of his older sister’s is now a “Fanta” girl. Dont ya wanna?

  8. Its the same stuff, but a little sup’d up. And a new name. TC or Tim already talked about why they changed it. Some people thought it was GROWL and not Grow! and marketing jargon blah blah. Whatever they had a good reason and still have a great product.

  9. Seriously I’m with you, I want to see Jelena lift something. In the words of ronnie coleman, “YAAAAA BUDDDYYYYYY!!!”

  10. Um, not neccesarily. For partial movements, like a rack pull, or a board press yes it should be more. But lets say your assistance movement is a pullthrough. I don’t think you’ll be doing pullthroughs with more than you can deadlift. (I also hope you’re not doing doing 5rm on pull throughs either). RDL in your example would be used to exploit the weaker muscle group (hamstrings), making it do more work and put yourself in a situation where your levers are disadvantaged.

A competition deadlift would be used to maximize your levers and spread the work over your entire body.

  1. It’s easier yes. You should be witness to this phenomenon yourself.

Kind of an extreme example…

I remember when i was like 6 we had these weights my older (11yrs older) sister “worked out” with for track.

Well the 10lbs weights were an impossible load for me to curl and the 5lbs were working weight.

I could fucking juggle that blindfolded now.

  1. Good question. Couple articles went over this already… one I like is TC’s where he basically said if you lack a sack. You probably have low test.

Basically I think of a kid on ridalin.

If you feel dumbed down, slower, not as motivated, less confident, less aggressive. All can be signs of low T, sex drive is just the obvious one.

  1. Dunno, but I’m pissed I missed the first one.

  2. How dumb am I to not use chalk now! (gym doesn’t allow it)

  3. Very! love the stuff, think i’m going to try that liqui chalk stuff.

  4. I concur.

  5. No shit. George Foreman grill.

  6. Maybe increase your dosage. Or take it intravenously (jk). Take an extra capsule or something. It’s not a discernible difference for me unless I’m taking 3grams spread out over the day and I notice it in like week 6 :stuck_out_tongue:

Watch your dosage though cause if I take anymore than 3 grams I break out for some reason. I dont know if thats a common phenomenon or what.

  1. Ya i have a big back/chest/shoulders, but my arms are out of proportion. I just wish I could fill the sleeves.

  2. Actually i think she’s pretty intelligent. give me some of what she’s smokin. We’re all kind of off our rocker here though.

  3. I tend to vary it up. Lol, haha, jk, :-p… whatever floats my boat at the time. When you start wondering if someone is really Laughing out loud, and you take offense if they arent. you’ve spent way too much time on the net.

4

[quote]JKThreeEleven17 wrote:
Entertaining post, I also want answers to #9, #11 and #12…
P.S. I need to get my hands on some chalk.[/quote]

Thanks for the comment! I found my chalk with the rock-climbing gear at a place called Ramsey Outdoors, kind of a EMS or REI type of place. It came in a sock to keep it tidy. Best $4 I’ve spent all year!

5

Thanks Xen, that was tremendously helpful!

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
6. Um…from what I understand strength IS neurological improvement, usually with several other factors combined. But dumbing it down, if you get stronger neurologically- well then you’re stronger. Period.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying and agree. Let me explain a little more where I was coming from. We’ll do flat DB bench on Tuesdays. The first week do 4x6 with 150 lbs and you’re flirting with failure on the very last rep. Next week you do 4x7 and then 4x8.

Then you change things up and do incline BB press for three weeks. When you come back to flat DB bench you can only do 3x8 with 150, you can’t get up a single rep on the last set.
Have you gotten stronger or have just wasted six weeks of training?

I don’t think this has happened to me per se, but how quickly does your neurological efficiency at an exercise regress?

Yeah, I’m aware they changed it to Metabolic Drive! and then to Metabolic Drive, but just a couple months ago you could still buy Classic Grow! in the T-Nation store.

I liked it. It was a little cheaper, and since I eat all of my protein powder in AM meals I don’t mind the few extra carbs.

That was a really good explanation. It’s funny you bring up pull-throughs because I just don’t feel them. I’ve watched the video on exrx, but when I try them it feels like 80 lbs is as much work as 200 lbs. Maybe I’m using the hips as the fulcrum, so instead of extending the hips I just raise my shoulders and squeeze cheeks. Hmmm.

I have the mini GF, just large enough to do a chicken breast. And it doesn’t even do them well. Steak’s worth a try though.

Oh , I think she’s VERY intelligent, she just overthinks things way too much. That and the poetry, not really my thing.

6

[quote]MrTangerineSpedo wrote:

  1. If you can DL 600 lbs is it really easy to pick up 300 lbs? Or does 300 always feel heavy? I suppose this question has to do with force development and power.

[/quote]

Are you being serious with this? I doubt a six month old could pick up the end of a coffee table. How heavy is that to you? How heavy would it be if your curled 100lbs in each arm? Weight is relative. I thought even the newest newbie could figure that out BEFORE they ever went into a gym.

7

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Are you being serious with this? I doubt a six month old could pick up the end of a coffee table. How heavy is that to you? How heavy would it be if your curled 100lbs in each arm? Weight is relative. I thought even the newest newbie could figure that out BEFORE they ever went into a gym. [/quote]

Hi Professor, glad I could give you something to be pissy about.

Yes, my question was serious, but any analogy becomes ridiculous when extended far enough.

I can squat 225 for eight reps, but even on the first one it feels like “ooh man, is this going to go up?” I’m just wondering how perceived effort differs from maximum effort and how great the difference can be.