warning: wall.
[quote]GluteusGigantis wrote:
You provided very little information in your initial post about what you’re lifting, how long you’ve actually been focussing on trying to add mass, and what improvements you may have made. You’re original post came across as a very half-assed person, more than likely just a troll.
Why are you surprised at the response?
Read some of Christian Thib’s articles on weight training for beginners, they tend to be recommended by most because they work. Your line about functional strength etc makes me think you’re just a troll and a wind-up. If you’re not serious, why should anyone here be?
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i read and reread the post and still don’t see how it appears half-assed. i thought it to be a pretty straight forward question. again, haven’t really posted on this forum before, and wasn’t aware of the format. didn’t know you needed my training background or logged progress before answering a question.
i’m familiar with thibaudeau, and i’ll check it out. thanks.
and i meant functional to my sport. ‘skinny-strong’ is what some of us non-bodybuilding grappling wussies tend to strive for. size is normally undesirable. and you can be helpful without calling names, but glad to see you discovered a new word.
[quote]LUEshi wrote:
I’m confused.
Are you focused on bodybuilding or are you just training with weights in addition to competitive BJJ?
If it’s the former, then there’s a host of valuable information at your fingertips via articles and forum members (Prof X, GB and C_C in particular). IMO weight gain will be necessary in addition to focusing on increasing strength in the 4-8 rep range on the bench press and other major lifts if you want real mass gains. At your height, weight and bodyfat % 165-175 lean would be a worthy goal. Start with a light enough weight so that you can feel your chest and back working. Experiment with bar position, tempo, whether or not to use rest-pause or a conventional rep scheme and other variables to see what hits your chest and back best. Most of all, eat your food and lift. Progress will come.
If it’s the latter, then a simple 5x5 will do fine, I should think. Particularly if you don’t want to move up in weight classes. Members in the Combat Sports forum should be able to offer additional guidance if you need more sport-specific training.[/quote]
i’m training with weights quite a bit and have been for a while. barbells, dumbells, sandbags, x-vest, and most often, kettlebells. to be honest, just scratching the surface of bodybuilding, because most of my body has developed nicely over the years (in my own humble opinion), and i’m looking to touch up parts that have lagged because they’ve been partially ignored.
i’ve been doing 5x5 on and off for a little while now to stay as strong as possible (not just for bjj), but i’ll take the rest into consideration, thank you for the help.
[quote]DON D1ESEL wrote:
OP: Might have saved yourself some grief by mentioning these things sooner.
What does a grappling athlete need with a large/strong chest (specifically) anyway? If you’re not lifting for aesthetics as you asserted, then all that matters is being strong or well conditioned in movements. If, then, you’re weak of the bottom of horizontal pressing movements, that’s an entirely different question (belonging in a different section of the board) than ‘how do I bring my chest up when my arms dominate the movement?’ [/quote]
it doesn’t. that’s my point. i haven’t trained it much in the past, as i hadn’t been interested in growing a specific muscle group. i have recently, however, been trying to ‘wake-up’ my chest, because when i press a heavy weight, my arms and shoulders (which have developed pretty well comparatively) get fatigued and my chest doesn’t feel touched. i made the half serious comment about being 30 and wanting to look good on the beach.
[quote]DON D1ESEL wrote:
As for your need: easiest solution is to give your chest some frequency. Throw in a few high(er) rep sets of an accessory chest movement (dips/pushups/flyes) at the end of your other workouts a few times a week. Lean forward and descend further on dips. Widen your hand placement on pressing lifts and try keeping palms facing each other on dumbbell lifts (and you may even consider variations in which you lower the bar to a higher spot on your chest…just be cognizant of your shoulders and elbows).
Consider paused reps. Consider decline pressing (and in that vein, low pulley cable crosses). You could also choose to pre-exhaust the triceps prior to doing your primary chest lift e.g. a few sets of heavy close grip or military press would take the starch out of your tri’s before going to a heavy pyramid (or whatever) on incline. Lots of options; somewhere in there is something that will help you.
If this is helpful, we can go through similar options for back lifts.[/quote]
this is extremely helpful. i worked chest last the day i posted this. i started the workout with fairly light db presses straight from the chest as an activation exercise of sorts. finished with fast tempo push-ups. first time my chest has been sore since i can remember. i’ll give some of the above a try. thanks.
[quote]Dave_ wrote:
OP - why would size hurt your grappling ability? E.g. Who would you put your money on, a 200lb grappler or a 300lb grappler?
To give you a serious answer; you need to add overall mass. Sorry, but I feel silly giving anyone advice on how to fine-tune certain bodyparts whilst they still weigh as little as you do.
Pics would help a lot. IF you post some we can see what you are really talking about. There are some very effective options for back/chest training which don’t particularly involve the arms. I know because I’ve had to use them.[/quote]
because if i want to add a decent amount of size, i’d have to be a little lenient with bodyfat, and if i’m not very lean for competition, there’s wasted weight, and i’m not as strong as i can be. does that make sense at all? i’ll try to get some pics up during the week. warning: chest is even smaller than the rest of me, and i have no lower lats to speak of.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Some rows or rack pulls/floor deads or some such would probably do your back some good.
No need for crazy volume or anything, just get very strong on them for 5+ reps…
When rowing, keep your biceps out as much as you can. Initiate the movement with the back.
As for pressing… Chest high, scapulae retracted… Stay tight! I prefer to keep my elbows at 45 degrees or whatever from the body, all the way out is just terrible on the shoulders in my case…
In any event your rear-delts never leave the bench. Some arching is perfectly fine and helps to keep the shoulders down properly…
If you still have trouble, avoid lockout and just do the bottom half of ROM… Some like to not touch their chest, you could try that, too.
Someone bumped an old thread with branch warren training vids recently… Go have a look at some of his chest training vids.[/quote]
thanks for the tips and i’ll check out that vid. the recent dave tate vid posted reinforced a little what i’ve been trying to do with my form. i’ve been working on deadlifts a-lot lately. my legs were much weaker than my upper body a year or so ago, so i’ve added an extra lower body day. with the rows, do you mean leave elbows out of the equation (mentally), or keep them away from my body? i’m assuming you mean the former.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Well, posting this in the beginners section may have been a little smarter, just saying.
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you know, i didn’t even realize there was one until you posted that. guess i deserve the heat i’m getting for posting here.