Looking for Training Guidance

Training
161

Had a private session with a guy at my current gym. He is the only guy there who seems to know anything about working out, the rest just tell people to do these wierd exercises on air balls and tell them to use the machines and just point at the weights and say, that’s the weight area.

This guy called Liam is around 190 pounds and insanely shredded. All the women choose him for their entitled once a week private lesson so He is usually unavailable. I got him for 7:30 this morning and showed him my program and my goals, He was really nice and didn’t show any annoyance at my ridiculous questions, He said I never said I wanted to tone up so I was in his good books, this lead me to cast a smile that showed an obvious bro crush had formed.

Anyway after seeing me squat He told me my form is absoloutly terrible. He said I am one of the only people in the gym who does squatt below parallel, which he says is good, but I lean so far forward I am in very high risk of hurting myself, He also says this puts all the load on the lower back and off the legs.

I tried dropping and dropping the weight but could not squat with a straight back. He told me that strength is a function of the central nervous system and that you need to start with a very light load and execute the three or in his view, five main movements with consistency, eat enough to recover and not worry about lifting anything heavy until I have programmed my motor functions to instinctively follow pathways I set out through lots and lots of repetitions.

He prescribed:

Box squat
stretching
hill sprints
glute bridges for insane weak glutes as well as some deadlift variation
accessory work for hamstrings and working on ankle flexation.

He said my bench press form is spot on but to focus on my something chain as opposed to continuing to build upper body strength. I can bench my bodyweight 3 or 4 times so while not good in a strength rating scale, not as weak and inflexible as I am with the rest of my body.

I can dead lift pretty much double my body weight which he said is a good starting position, that I don’t round my back except from trying a 1rm which he says not to do and I have a disproportionatly strong lower back compared to everywhere else, I have muscle definition in lower back more than anywhere too, which seems weird for a skinny fat guy.

The advice seemed to be to get out of the gym I am in and find a good gym, which I already had which i mentioned earlier in the thread, but which I cant really join as I am still contracted to the gym for a couple months.

I am just glad I know and will remedy it soon.

Not sure what to so in the meantime. What pisses me off is that other gym staff had looked and at my request critiqued and said I was using good form. Fucking unqualified cunts.

Rant over. Will keep you all informed, in case anyone is interested.

162

-Don’t trust personal trainers at gyms for form advice unless you’ve seen them do that exercise with what you know is good form.

-If you can deadlift 2x your bw without training for it before, then that is rather quite amazing.

-Squat form depends entirely on whether you’re low bar or high bar squatting. You physically cannot have too much of a lean on a high bar squat unless your body is deformed. You can low bar squat with a good deal of lean, depending on actual bar placement and foot positioning. He is right that the low bar squat places more stress on the lower back, but he is wrong when he says that it places all (or a good amount for that matter) of the load onto your back. It is more appropriate to say that the low bar squat places the load onto the posterior chain of your body, which I believe includes the lower back, while the high bar distributes it more evenly across the entire leg and less onto said posterior chain. They both achieve the same purpose, but the muscles from which you drive most of the power out of will be different.

-Like he said, focus on the movements. Each compound lift also acts fairly well as a stretch for the muscles involved.

163

Thought this was quite interesting.

164

Hey guys. I am back at BJJ and enjoying it. A lot of the guys I started with have started competing and I am like new again. Sucks but motivating to improve.

I had started to do SL 5x5 but I have been turned on to something called ws4sb by a guy at my gym and have made this to supplement training:

MONDAY ? Max-Effort Upper Body

A. FLAT BENCH PRESS - work up to a max set of 3-5 reps
B. CHINUPS - 2 MAX REPETITION SETS
C. DB ROWS FACEPULLS SUPERSET - 3-4 SUPERSETS 8-12 REPS
D. DUMBBELL SHRUGS - 3 ? 4 sets of 8-15 reps
E. STANDING DUMBBELL CURLS - 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps

TUESDAY ? Dynamic-Effort Lower Body

A. BROAD JUMPS - 5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps
B. REVERSE BARBELL LUNGES FRONT FOOT ELEVATED - 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps
C. ROMANIAN DEADLIFT - 3 SETS 8-12 REPS
D. HANGING LEG RAISES - 4 sets of 10-15 reps

THURSDAY ? Repetition Upper Body

A. FLAT DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS - 3 sets of max reps OR 4 sets of 12-15 reps
B. CHINUPS FACEPULLS - 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps
C. DUMBBELL MILITARY PRESS - 4 sets 8-12 reps
D. DUMBBELL SHRUGS TRICEP PUSHDOWNS SUPERSET - 3 SUPERSETS 8-12 REPS

FRIDAY - Max-Effort Lower Body

ALTERNATE BACK SQUATS AND DEADLIFTS EVERY MONTH.
CHANGE RDL FOR HYPEREXTENSIONS WHEN DEADLIFT IS MAIN MAX EFFORT EXERCISE

A. BACK SQUATS - work up to a max set of 3-5 reps
B. WALKING LUNGES - 3 sets 6-12 reps
C. ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS - 3 sets 8-12 reps
D. SITUP-PRESSUP-WEIGHTED BRIDGE-PLANK- 10-20 reps 3 circuits 2-3 minutes rest in between

165

Seems to me there is a lot of volume in your training. Now I am older and I don’t have as much time as I would have in the past to devote to my training. That being said If I go in and bust a nut on Monday training hard, normally I am beat up and going the lift weights on Tuesday is not always something I want to do. I do it anyway but sometimes I make adjustments to the intensity or lenght of my weight training. Along the same lines If I hit the gym real hard and am sore/tight or sometimes just tired then my training will suffer because I just can’t put out the effort. Now in order to not sound like a pussy, a typical night of training for me last 3hours sometimes longer. Monday I was there from 630pm unitl 1000pm. That is normal. A short day would be two hours.
a typical time on the weights will be around an hour or hour and 15 min.

Basically I am saying you might find yourself needing to make adjustments depending on what your focus is. Your life and schedule is probably different than mine and that will make a difference. When I leave work it is a dead run to accomplish everything and get in the bed. If it was not for a DVR I would never watch TV.

166

[quote]Ranzo wrote:
Seems to me there is a lot of volume in your training. Now I am older and I don’t have as much time as I would have in the past to devote to my training. That being said If I go in and bust a nut on Monday training hard, normally I am beat up and going the lift weights on Tuesday is not always something I want to do. I do it anyway but sometimes I make adjustments to the intensity or lenght of my weight training. Along the same lines If I hit the gym real hard and am sore/tight or sometimes just tired then my training will suffer because I just can’t put out the effort. Now in order to not sound like a pussy, a typical night of training for me last 3hours sometimes longer. Monday I was there from 630pm unitl 1000pm. That is normal. A short day would be two hours.
a typical time on the weights will be around an hour or hour and 15 min.

Basically I am saying you might find yourself needing to make adjustments depending on what your focus is. Your life and schedule is probably different than mine and that will make a difference. When I leave work it is a dead run to accomplish everything and get in the bed. If it was not for a DVR I would never watch TV. [/quote]

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. If I am not mistaken there is also a WS4SB that is a two day a week split, I think until I am back to training as much on the mats as I was before I stopped, I will keep this volume. I am not sure that it will be possible to keep up like you say, when 3 hours a day are spent rolling etc.

Can I ask something slightly off topic? how much of an effect can taking a 20 minute ice bath have on recovery? I was reading Tim Ferris today and he claims that they have amazing effects.

167

I have never taken an ice bath but I have heard good things. I can’t stand being cold, it would take a lot of prodding to get my butt in a tub full of cold water like that. Feel free to try and let us know.

168

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Can I ask something slightly off topic? how much of an effect can taking a 20 minute ice bath have on recovery? I was reading Tim Ferris today and he claims that they have amazing effects.[/quote]

They suck and I doubt you could make it 20 minutes without becoming an ice cube but they do wonders for muscle recovery. We used to fill tubs up after football practice and sit in them.

169

So i didn’t read every reply on your post, but i do have something to recommend. Krav Maga is exactly what you’re looking for. I took it for a year and then taught myself. it works. anyone else can tell you how to lift, so im not gonna ramble about my personal records and how you can be like me. If theres a krav maga facility near you, go to it…if not heres the text

170

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Hey everyone I just wanted to say, thank you very much for all the advice and great replies. I was suprised how cool everyone was to be honest.

I have decided to take the advice of sticking with one art and getting proficient in it. I am sticking with jiu jitsu and am about to start the one lift a day program while eating at a surplus on the crossfit football nutrition plan. Whole milk and cheese, dairy, veg, nuts , eggs and as much meat as I can eat with the occasional fruit snack.

I will keep a log on here and am looking forward to starting on monday. My training sessions will be as follows:

Monday: Bench Press

Tuesday: weighted chinups

Wednesday: Squat

Thursday: military press

Friday: Deadlifts

Or something similar.

I will be following the wave formatting so one week higher repetitions and or sets such as;

Week One: 7 sets of 5
Week Two: 6 sets of 3
Week Three: 5-3-2
Week Four: Off

I will aim for around 3,000 calories a day and at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Once again thank you for the sincere advice people.[/quote]

Get rid of the bench, it’s utterly useless.
The only exercises worth doing are:
-Deadlift
-Barbell Hip Thrust
-Over-Head Press
-Front/Back Squat
-Chin ups AND pull ups
-Rows
-Curls (I used to think it wasn’t the case, but the standing barbell version is applicable to many things)

edit: forgot dips and your typical ab training (planks/ab wheel/ leg raises/etc)

171

[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Hey everyone I just wanted to say, thank you very much for all the advice and great replies. I was suprised how cool everyone was to be honest.

I have decided to take the advice of sticking with one art and getting proficient in it. I am sticking with jiu jitsu and am about to start the one lift a day program while eating at a surplus on the crossfit football nutrition plan. Whole milk and cheese, dairy, veg, nuts , eggs and as much meat as I can eat with the occasional fruit snack.

I will keep a log on here and am looking forward to starting on monday. My training sessions will be as follows:

Monday: Bench Press

Tuesday: weighted chinups

Wednesday: Squat

Thursday: military press

Friday: Deadlifts

Or something similar.

I will be following the wave formatting so one week higher repetitions and or sets such as;

Week One: 7 sets of 5
Week Two: 6 sets of 3
Week Three: 5-3-2
Week Four: Off

I will aim for around 3,000 calories a day and at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Once again thank you for the sincere advice people.[/quote]

Get rid of the bench, it’s utterly useless.
The only exercises worth doing are:
-Deadlift
-Barbell Hip Thrust
-Over-Head Press
-Front/Back Squat
-Chin ups AND pull ups
-Rows
-Curls (I used to think it wasn’t the case, but the standing barbell version is applicable to many things)

edit: forgot dips and your typical ab training (planks/ab wheel/ leg raises/etc)[/quote]

Went with WS4SB in the end dude.

172

…get rid of the bench; it’s utterly useless.

173

[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
…get rid of the bench; it’s utterly useless.[/quote]

I thought it helped if you have weak punching power? I always thought that was bullshit as I would imagine your glutes are the most important muscle for exploding movements.

174

Also my gym has closed down and looks like everyone who paid via annual payment is going to get greaseballed.

Luckily I pay per month so I am in the clear. I have terrible luck with this working out thing to be honest. Might just be easier to do soem kettlebells in the park and roll and spar alot.

175

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:

[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
…get rid of the bench; it’s utterly useless.[/quote]

I thought it helped if you have weak punching power? I always thought that was bullshit as I would imagine your glutes are the most important muscle for exploding movements.[/quote]

I’m not in the “benching is useless/doesn’t contribute to punching power” camp, but punching technique is always going to be first and foremost in terms of improving punching power. A punch (like any other powerful athletic motion) is a sequence of muscles firing and turning off at precise times and at precise joint angles/bone structure alignments, all adding up a a sum total that is greater than any of the individual parts in isolation; this is commonly known as a kinetic chain.

So, if your upper body pressing muscles were very weak and actually were inhibiting your ability to follow through your punches, then benching could be helpful. Personally I feel that more advanced forms of push-ups give you more bang for your buck than benching, but I do know several people who have very powerful punches who attribute at least some of that power to increasing their strength in the bench.

176

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Also my gym has closed down and looks like everyone who paid via annual payment is going to get greaseballed.

Luckily I pay per month so I am in the clear. I have terrible luck with this working out thing to be honest. Might just be easier to do soem kettlebells in the park and roll and spar alot.[/quote]

Kettle bells can be good, sandbags, a tractor tire, and a sledgehammer would be some other fairly inexpensive and versatile options. If equipment is an issue then gymnastics or partner resisted exercises are great options.

177

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Also my gym has closed down and looks like everyone who paid via annual payment is going to get greaseballed.

Luckily I pay per month so I am in the clear. I have terrible luck with this working out thing to be honest. Might just be easier to do soem kettlebells in the park and roll and spar alot.[/quote]

Kettle bells can be good, sandbags, a tractor tire, and a sledgehammer would be some other fairly inexpensive and versatile options. If equipment is an issue then gymnastics or partner resisted exercises are great options.[/quote]

Shark,
Go back and reread Sento’s advise. Gold. I dont have access to a lot of equipment, but, I do have a sledgehammer and tires, blocks, and rocks. I have seen much improvement in trainee’s in learning how to properly throw and punch for power, when they learn how to use the hammer. IMHO, you can look at the Hulk, but, if you cannot get your power to flow through your hips and shoulders, you suck. If possible, try out the hammer, a very valuable training tool.

178

Yeah tyre flips are what a couple of actual fighters do behind the gym. Then they flip it then jump in and out and push over. I have a small back garden which I could use some battle ropes, gymnast boxes, tyre and hammer etc but It always rains and I am not sure how safe kettlebells etc are in the rain.

Kind of pissed I don’t have a gym, I was liking the ws4sb routine.

179

I know I’m in a little late but I carry a .45 for selfdense.

180

[quote]sharkOnesie wrote:
Yeah tyre flips are what a couple of actual fighters do behind the gym. Then they flip it then jump in and out and push over. I have a small back garden which I could use some battle ropes, gymnast boxes, tyre and hammer etc but It always rains and I am not sure how safe kettlebells etc are in the rain.

Kind of pissed I don’t have a gym, I was liking the ws4sb routine.[/quote]

Depends on what you are doing with the kettlebells. If you were going to do any kinds of swings, cleans, snatches or the like, then I’d suggest facing away from anything valuable should the kettlebell slip from your hand mid swing. I’d probably also choose cleans above snatches in that situation as the catch position is a little safer should your grip slip.

Stuff like presses, hand to hand drills, throws, windmills, or other exercises where you don’t really have to worry about losing control over the kettlebells (or if you do, there at least won’t be potentially dire consequences) would all be fine though.