DC Training Thread (Part 3)

Training Bodybuilding
181

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Mateus wrote:
Had a great day today. I don’t keep a log here at the forum but I figured I would just throw it into this thread today.

PR - Bicep Curl Straight Bar: 100 lbs for 16 reps.
PR - Leg Press: 1,040 for 10 reps w/ 720 lb WM

My legs are still numb! Think it is time for knee wraps. These 34 year old knees are starting to ache…[/quote]

Great job Mat.

And you don’t have to wait until you are injured to start using supportive gear. You want to be doing this for a while (I suspect), so there’s no shame in trying to keep the wear and tear on your joints to a minimum. Not saying to use wraps/sleeves/etc… when you’re warming up, but there’s nothing wrong with using them for maximal sets.[/quote]

Thanks. Any recommendations on the wraps. I also see there are several ways to wrap. ??

182

mateus - - YouTube

there are some ideas in there…actually, there are a lot of ways to do it. i suggest that you do the simple spiral one and that you practice a lot at home so you don’t fumble around when you actually get to the gym.

183

btw, i use the blue power wraps (blue with black stripes) from apt. work very well.

184

[quote]Mateus wrote:

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Mateus wrote:
Had a great day today. I don’t keep a log here at the forum but I figured I would just throw it into this thread today.

PR - Bicep Curl Straight Bar: 100 lbs for 16 reps.
PR - Leg Press: 1,040 for 10 reps w/ 720 lb WM

My legs are still numb! Think it is time for knee wraps. These 34 year old knees are starting to ache…[/quote]

Great job Mat.

And you don’t have to wait until you are injured to start using supportive gear. You want to be doing this for a while (I suspect), so there’s no shame in trying to keep the wear and tear on your joints to a minimum. Not saying to use wraps/sleeves/etc… when you’re warming up, but there’s nothing wrong with using them for maximal sets.[/quote]

Thanks. Any recommendations on the wraps. I also see there are several ways to wrap. ??[/quote]

I’ve got a pair of Inzer’s; I like them a lot. APT also makes some good wraps.

As for how to wrap them, personally I like the spiral bow tie method, as it makes it very easy to release the wraps once you’re done with your set. The “X” or cross method also works well.

Keep in mind though that I’m just using the wraps for support. I’m not trying to maximize the amount of elastic assistance that the wraps can provide like a powerlifter would. So, I don’t really need them to be boa constrictor tight.

When I first got my wraps I tried out the Nichols tread bow tie method, and all I have to say is “holy crap that is one tight wrapping technique”. I felt like my leg was in a cast when I was done. LOL.

My advice is to try out the different techniques and see which one you like.

185

I tried using straps today for pinwheels. I didn’t have a grip issue anymore but it surprisingly didn’t seem to help strength much overall. Just got 1 more rep on a set but form was pretty shitty today. Not sure if that is a normal recovery issue or if throwing in forearm work yesterday had anything to do with it

186

pumped - what type of weight have you put onto this exercise from the point when you started doing them? i have added about 30 lbs to my pinwheels and have found that my form has gotten pretty bad. i think that there is a point with each exercise when you sacrifice form for weight.

187

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
I tried using straps today for pinwheels. I didn’t have a grip issue anymore but it surprisingly didn’t seem to help strength much overall. Just got 1 more rep on a set but form was pretty shitty today. Not sure if that is a normal recovery issue or if throwing in forearm work yesterday had anything to do with it[/quote]

How was your form compared to this guy…

188

[quote]dropshot001 wrote:
pumped - what type of weight have you put onto this exercise from the point when you started doing them? i have added about 30 lbs to my pinwheels and have found that my form has gotten pretty bad. i think that there is a point with each exercise when you sacrifice form for weight. [/quote]

Since starting I’ve added about 20lb. per dumbbell, form has gotten worse but arms have grown about an inch in the last 6 months which I’m happy with considering they haven’t growth much for 2 years or so prior to that

[quote]Mateus wrote:

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
I tried using straps today for pinwheels. I didn’t have a grip issue anymore but it surprisingly didn’t seem to help strength much overall. Just got 1 more rep on a set but form was pretty shitty today. Not sure if that is a normal recovery issue or if throwing in forearm work yesterday had anything to do with it[/quote]

How was your form compared to this guy…
[/quote]
I’ve seen that before and I actually do my 2nd of 3 sets like that since it seems to be the traditional way to do them, like half way up. Usually though I try to get full reps though all the way up.

I guess we’ll just have to see how next week goes, I was surprised with how little the straps seemed to help though even though grip seemed to be a significant issue in the previous weeks

189

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
I’ve seen that before and I actually do my 2nd of 3 sets like that since it seems to be the traditional way to do them, like half way up. Usually though I try to get full reps though all the way up.
[/quote]

Once you get past a certain weight you pretty much have to start using some “english” to get the bells up, and honestly I’ve never seen anyone do them with “textbook” form (bringing the weight all the way up to the opposite side shoulder, elbow remaining tucked close to side, etc…).

Same pretty much goes with any curling movement though. Ever seen someone curl the 100’s, or even 90’s while keeping the elbows glued down to the sides, no hip or leg drive to get the bells started and no leaning back of the torso? I know I haven’t.

One thing to notice is that if you watch Slayermetal’s elbow angle, he’s actually getting pretty close to full ROM. It’s just that he’s moving his elbow out away from his body, so the bell doesn’t travel as far up his chest, to do so.

Dave Henry pretty much does the same thing:

And even if you aren’t necessarily getting the fullest ROM possible, it’s usually counter balanced by the fact that you’re using more weight (more load) doing so.

For instance, Jackson here isn’t getting a full ROM with his pinwheels, and instead has chosen to really push the weight, but I wouldn’t say it’s hurt his forearm development at all (if you look at some of his other vids you’ll see what I mean):

[quote]
I guess we’ll just have to see how next week goes, I was surprised with how little the straps seemed to help though even though grip seemed to be a significant issue in the previous weeks [/quote]

Well, straps will pretty much make sure that grip isn’t a weakness. That doesn’t mean that they’re gonna make the movement feel easy though.

190

Hm, so is how they do it in those videos how you would suggest I do them? Like I said I do do them like that for my 2nd set and I notice 2 things doing it that way. First of all I can get a few more reps and secondly there is definitely more of a burn considering there is significantly less time between each rep than when I’m doing full ROM for 1 arm while the other is hanging there. For my other 2 sets it’s really just like alternating DB curl form all the way up (you know that feeling like the curl is completed in the top position) but brought across my torso.

191

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
Hm, so is how they do it in those videos how you would suggest I do them? Like I said I do do them like that for my 2nd set and I notice 2 things doing it that way. First of all I can get a few more reps and secondly there is definitely more of a burn considering there is significantly less time between each rep than when I’m doing full ROM for 1 arm while the other is hanging there. For my other 2 sets it’s really just like alternating DB curl form all the way up (you know that feeling like the curl is completed in the top position) but brought across my torso. [/quote]

Well, you don’t really need to do warm-up/ramp-up sets like that (except maybe the last one if you do a single with a weight only slightly lighter than your working weight), since you’re likely using less weight. At least as far as the “english” goes.

But yeah, that’s how I’d suggest that you do them for your working weight set(s). You also want to try to get as full ROM on them, even when using english. But, don’t sacrifice weight in an attempt to be too perfect with your form. There’s a healthy balance that needs to be found between form and weight.

And again, the position of the elbow(s) relative to the torso is something to pay attention to.

Try this:
-Do a pinwheel motion, keeping the elbow glued to your side (elbow pointing at the ground). Pay attention to how the fully contracted position feels (in terms of how bent the elbow is). Notice where on the chest the hand winds up.

-Now do a pinwheel motion, but this time instead of keeping the elbow glued to your side, let the elbow move out away from your torso. If you’ve done it right, you should notice that you are once again in the fully contracted position (elbow fully flexed). Yet, this time you’ll notice that your hand didn’t travel nearly as far up your chest, and is also more centered between your pecs.

The second way of doing the motion will allow you to use more weight and is the way that the guys in the video are doing pinwheels.

192

So, I have a back and front squat in my blast and it is becoming a pain in the ass to get these 2 exercises completed. There is always someone in the damn power rack when I want to get in there and it forces me to do these movements in a 7 degree smith machine. SUCKS! If it was a zero degree I wouldn’t mind it as much but that is not the case. What can I substitute for those 2 movements? I figured the hack squat, which nobody uses. And what else?

193

[quote]Mateus wrote:
So, I have a back and front squat in my blast and it is becoming a pain in the ass to get these 2 exercises completed. There is always someone in the damn power rack when I want to get in there and it forces me to do these movements in a 7 degree smith machine. SUCKS! If it was a zero degree I wouldn’t mind it as much but that is not the case. What can I substitute for those 2 movements? I figured the hack squat, which nobody uses. And what else?[/quote]

leg press? if you maxed it already, go to a single leg leg press…you will notice a definitive drop in what you can use (and it will probably be more than just 1/2 of the weight that you typically use).

194

[quote]dropshot001 wrote:

[quote]Mateus wrote:
So, I have a back and front squat in my blast and it is becoming a pain in the ass to get these 2 exercises completed. There is always someone in the damn power rack when I want to get in there and it forces me to do these movements in a 7 degree smith machine. SUCKS! If it was a zero degree I wouldn’t mind it as much but that is not the case. What can I substitute for those 2 movements? I figured the hack squat, which nobody uses. And what else?[/quote]

leg press? if you maxed it already, go to a single leg leg press…you will notice a definitive drop in what you can use (and it will probably be more than just 1/2 of the weight that you typically use). [/quote]

And even if you have maxed out leg press, you can just use a different foot position. If you did narrow stance, then do wide stance, or vice versa. Or try single leg, like dropshot suggests. Or BB hack squat.

195

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]dropshot001 wrote:

[quote]Mateus wrote:
So, I have a back and front squat in my blast and it is becoming a pain in the ass to get these 2 exercises completed. There is always someone in the damn power rack when I want to get in there and it forces me to do these movements in a 7 degree smith machine. SUCKS! If it was a zero degree I wouldn’t mind it as much but that is not the case. What can I substitute for those 2 movements? I figured the hack squat, which nobody uses. And what else?[/quote]

leg press? if you maxed it already, go to a single leg leg press…you will notice a definitive drop in what you can use (and it will probably be more than just 1/2 of the weight that you typically use). [/quote]

And even if you have maxed out leg press, you can just use a different foot position. If you did narrow stance, then do wide stance, or vice versa. Or try single leg, like dropshot suggests. Or BB hack squat.[/quote]

Already have the leg press in there. But I could do Leg presses, hack squats, then single leg presses on the seated press machine maybe.

196

Just out of curiosity, what kinda heart rate range are we talking about when one does fasted steady state cardio? 110, 120, 130?

197

i would do my fasted cardio in the 120-130 range.

also, maybe consider trying these:

“OK, I’ve watched a lot of people working out over the years and noted some things that seem to be universal across the board with certain exercises.Squats for example–everyone knows that you’ve got to go deep on these right? ass to the grass etc… but watch what happens to most folks when they drop below parallel.The butt goes back and the torso leans forward if only slightly…I’m not saying that this isn’t good form (as long as the lean isn’t too exaggerated but realize what’s going on here.You can almost watch the transference of force as it goes from the glutes (right at the bottom of the squat) up until the hams take over, then quads all the way to the top.
So for those of you with overdeveloped glutes (or a big ass as I likee to call it) here’s what I’m suggesting you do.
Lets take the squats into the smith machine and going with a pretty wide stance (go super light here to get the feel of this) back nice and flat and shoulder blades really pinched together for the whole set.Keep that lower back slightly arched as well and drop down into a squat position.You can go to parallel and what parallel means is that the top of your quad are parallel
to the floor not what most folks think of as paralell
For me that means my hams are touching my calves at the bottom.How you come out of the hole is what’s gonna dictate how much glute involvement you get on these.The conventional way to squat the weight up to the top involves first contracting the glutes (strongest muscle in the body if ya didnt know) to get that weight moving up but seeing as we’re talking about girls (and boys) who want to get more quad and less glute we’ll do these like this…It’s a little tricky and you’ve got to go light to really feel this one–I want you to concentrate (from the bottom position) on contracting your quads FIRST and not allowing your butt to move backwards in an attempt to get the lower back and glutes to take over…That’s gonna be your bodies natural tendency to want to do but resist this.Keep that back flat all the way up and only go up in weight as long as you can keep this form and feel your quads doing the work not your butt or back.
Hope that made a little sense,it’s easier for me to show someone what I mean here than try to write it out but hopefully that helps some.” Written by Massive G over at IM

198

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Well, you don’t really need to do warm-up/ramp-up sets like that (except maybe the last one if you do a single with a weight only slightly lighter than your working weight), since you’re likely using less weight. At least as far as the “english” goes.

But yeah, that’s how I’d suggest that you do them for your working weight set(s). You also want to try to get as full ROM on them, even when using english. But, don’t sacrifice weight in an attempt to be too perfect with your form. There’s a healthy balance that needs to be found between form and weight.

And again, the position of the elbow(s) relative to the torso is something to pay attention to.

Try this:
-Do a pinwheel motion, keeping the elbow glued to your side (elbow pointing at the ground). Pay attention to how the fully contracted position feels (in terms of how bent the elbow is). Notice where on the chest the hand winds up.

-Now do a pinwheel motion, but this time instead of keeping the elbow glued to your side, let the elbow move out away from your torso. If you’ve done it right, you should notice that you are once again in the fully contracted position (elbow fully flexed). Yet, this time you’ll notice that your hand didn’t travel nearly as far up your chest, and is also more centered between your pecs.

The second way of doing the motion will allow you to use more weight and is the way that the guys in the video are doing pinwheels.[/quote]

Thanks, I’ve never done it like you described in the first way…it’s usually like a pinwheel/alternating curl hybrid. I do them next this Thursday so I will try it the way you described
for the 2nd method. I’m hoping the lack of “full” reps won’t negatively affect me but only one way to find out and hopefully I’ll be able to progress faster/use heavier weights that will make up for it.

199

[quote]dropshot001 wrote:
i would do my fasted cardio in the 120-130 range.

also, maybe consider trying these:

“OK, I’ve watched a lot of people working out over the years and noted some things that seem to be universal across the board with certain exercises.Squats for example–everyone knows that you’ve got to go deep on these right? ass to the grass etc… but watch what happens to most folks when they drop below parallel.The butt goes back and the torso leans forward if only slightly…I’m not saying that this isn’t good form (as long as the lean isn’t too exaggerated but realize what’s going on here.You can almost watch the transference of force as it goes from the glutes (right at the bottom of the squat) up until the hams take over, then quads all the way to the top.
So for those of you with overdeveloped glutes (or a big ass as I likee to call it) here’s what I’m suggesting you do.
Lets take the squats into the smith machine and going with a pretty wide stance (go super light here to get the feel of this) back nice and flat and shoulder blades really pinched together for the whole set.Keep that lower back slightly arched as well and drop down into a squat position.You can go to parallel and what parallel means is that the top of your quad are parallel
to the floor not what most folks think of as paralell
For me that means my hams are touching my calves at the bottom.How you come out of the hole is what’s gonna dictate how much glute involvement you get on these.The conventional way to squat the weight up to the top involves first contracting the glutes (strongest muscle in the body if ya didnt know) to get that weight moving up but seeing as we’re talking about girls (and boys) who want to get more quad and less glute we’ll do these like this…It’s a little tricky and you’ve got to go light to really feel this one–I want you to concentrate (from the bottom position) on contracting your quads FIRST and not allowing your butt to move backwards in an attempt to get the lower back and glutes to take over…That’s gonna be your bodies natural tendency to want to do but resist this.Keep that back flat all the way up and only go up in weight as long as you can keep this form and feel your quads doing the work not your butt or back.
Hope that made a little sense,it’s easier for me to show someone what I mean here than try to write it out but hopefully that helps some.” Written by Massive G over at IM[/quote]

DUDE! Funny you posted that. I read that over at IM on Friday. I tried it yesterday and my quads are pretty sore. But so are my glutes because it’s hard to do that movement as he describes in a 7 degree smith. I will play around with it and try to find the right footing, etc. but until my knee wraps come in I am going to hold off on the weight. Knees are starting to bother me.

I need to bump up the heart rate then. Been walking at 4 mph at an incline of 4 for 40 minutes and my heart rate stays around 110. Think I will switch to the bike or the elliptical.

200

Hi DC guys

does anyone use thick handles or fatgripz for any of their forearm exercises?