Pussy-itis, Do You Have It?

Training Bodybuilding
221

[quote]slimthugger wrote:
Professor X wrote:
slimthugger wrote:
Professor X wrote:
-When I finish my heaviest set, I am out of breath.

When you finish your set, you:
a) Feel refreshed.
b) Feel giddy.
c) Feel like turning to the next page of that really good book.
d) Call that girl from last night and use the bench as a phone booth.

-When I lift, I am training far outside of my comfort zone and have to really push to get that last rep.

When you lift, you:
a) Wonder whether that girl on the exercise bike thinks one 25lbs plate on each side looks really sexy.
b) See someone bigger than you, mutter, “steroids” and then finish up with 50 reps of nothing but the bar.
c) Pull your Affliction T-shirt up to your chin 40 times an hour so that you, the people standing next you and that partially cute girl at the front counter can check out your amazing abs of steal that you have masterfully attached to your 156lbs physique.
d) Stop in between each set to shadow box 6 inches in front of the mirror and 1 inch in front of the dumbbell rack.

I am just trying to figure out where everyone stands.

Could someone let me know if sweat is out of style now? I hate being out of fashion at the gym.

The bigger question is: Why do many of you guys notice or care what someone else is doing? I go to the rack where nobody is and lift. I couldn’t tell you what the teenie boppers in the gym are wearing and DON’T CARE.

Wait, so you missed this post on the first page:
For the record, I wrote this for the most part because I am tired of seeing several posts commenting that some newbie gained 10lbs in a year but somehow gained so much fat with it that he now needs a crash diet filled with nothing but protein shakes.

First, if it took you an entire year to gain 5-10lbs, you had better be pretty damned developed already and nearly all of that gain was muscle or chances are you suck when it comes to intensity in the gym.

You don’t get a prize for going through the motions. It doesn’t matter if you have impressed everyone with “5x5” or any other random number sequence. If you have left no blood on the floor, no one gives a shit what wonderful routine you’ve chosen.

That’s ok. I know you are very forgetful…like how you’ve forgotten to post a picture of yourself showing that you are indeed the same bodybuilder near contest shape you used in your avatar before.

Maybe that was the only picture you have ever taken of yourself…

I don’t see a collage of your bloated ass up here either. I posted a pic and I do have other pics from that contest prep. Truth is I’m DO NOT care enough to post a whole photo album here. Michael Jordan once said “Those that are good, don’t have to talk about it”. I agree. Train, Eat, Rest, Repeat, Period.[/quote]

No one asked for a whole photo album, but I greatly doubt that the person who writes the posts you do has built themselves up to the degree as the person you used in that avatar pic.

But hey, anything is possible.

222

I write my shit down after my workout, just more as something to look at before going into the next workout.

I’m not exactly sure why people need to be able to put little gold stars next to a workout. I’ve got end goals I’m trying to reach, I don’t need a pat on my back for a PR on a 5RM. Not faulting those that do, but I just think you need to worry less about the minutiae and simply lift heavy weights.

223

[quote]Aggro wrote:
I write my shit down after the fact, just more to look at before going into the next workout for that split. I’m not exactly sure why people need to be able to put little gold stars next to a workout. I’ve got end goals I’m trying to reach, I don’t need a pat on my back for a PR on a 5RM. Not faulting those that do, but I just think you need to worry less about the minutiae and simply lift heavy weights. [/quote]

Well said.

224

I have a log book (use my iPhone actually, I probably look like a tool texting the whole time), but I keep it because while I’m great with #s, training people causes me to forget what weights I was using.

225

[quote]Pro X wrote:
Most of the main people in these forums have been here for over a year with most being here much longer than that. Exactly how much time does it take for some of these people to build enough muscle to NOT have 15" arms?

A decade?

If you just started, then keep lifting. Just know that many of us are noticing that most of you never move much past that point physically and it comes across in the posts thrown up here as well.[/quote]

And then this…

[quote]forlife wrote:
I think Prof X’s original point was a good one: Working out is about pushing yourself hard, each and every time you step into the gym. It’s a good reminder not to get lazy and complacent.

That said, there has been a lot of posturing in this thread. When people brag about how much they sweat compared to the guy next to them, or make fun of someone else’s gym clothes, it makes me wonder how hard they are really working, since they have all this time to focus on others instead of putting max effort into their lifts.[/quote]

Flame war on.

Wow, not to dog you but, you could be one of the guys he was talking about…
I hope you just haven’t updated your profile in a very LONG time.

Flame war off.

226

[quote]Aggro wrote:
I write my shit down after my workout, just more as something to look at before going into the next workout.

I’m not exactly sure why people need to be able to put little gold stars next to a workout. I’ve got end goals I’m trying to reach, I don’t need a pat on my back for a PR on a 5RM. Not faulting those that do, but I just think you need to worry less about the minutiae and simply lift heavy weights. [/quote]

I’ll give you a little insight then. I keep a very detailed training log. I have rep PR’s and weight PR’s in pretty much everything. One of the most, if not the most effective tools, for progressing in the gym has been striving to set PR’s everytime I go into the gym. I change up everything every four weeks. There is no way that i could keep track of all this information without writing it down.

Simply lifting heavy weights works to a point but if you don’t keep track of what’s working and what isn’t, you will end up doing a lot of work for nothing. The body adapts to your training very quickly. I’m constantly taking notes about my form and where my sticking points are at a given time.

I see so many people in the gym just going through the motions. They go in and do their flat bench every week and wonder why they are still only benching 315lbs. What they don’t realize is if they were to just examine that bench press and determine where their weakpoints are, then they would really make some progress. For example, I see guys doing their full ROM bench press every week. They will pyramid that weight up and then they will eventually go to failure. The next week i will see them do the same damn thing. What they need to do is really take a look at that bench and determine why they are failing. Is their form crap? Are they going to failure too often? Has their body adapted to that same damn movment and is refusing to grow? Do they have a weak muscle group that isn’t getting overloaded?

I totally understand where you are coming from. I thought that way for wayyy too long. And that’s why all my lifts were mediocre at best. Once i started paying attention to the details and doing some research, my lifts went through the roof. To give you another example- I competed in bodybuilding for many years and I was pretty damn good at it. Although compared to my strength levels now, I was weak as piss. I really wish i had known then what i know now. I would have been twice as big. Up until I was 30 years old, I couldn’t bench more than 315. I couldn’t squat more than 405. In 4 years, my bench climbed into the low to mid 500’s, squat 700 and deadlift 700 all raw. And i owe it all to the day the light bulb went off in my head and i realized that lifting hard wasn’t nearly enough. You have to lift smart and pay attention to everything.

I’m off my soapbox now. I really wish i could get through to most of you that being your best means not dismissing anything. Soak it all in. Try it all. Also, don’t get wrapped up in what others are doing and how stupid they look or what the hell they wear. This past week we had the Hooter’s girls come into our gym for some promotion. I had NO IDEA that they were even there until one of my teammates told me. I don’t see people in the gym anymore. I only see what i’m doing. I don’t hear the music, I don’t see the douchebag curling the bumper plates in the squat rack.

227

[quote]slimthugger wrote:
I don’t see a collage of your bloated ass up here either. I posted a pic and I do have other pics from that contest prep. Truth is I’m DO NOT care enough to post a whole photo album here. Michael Jordan once said “Those that are good, don’t have to talk about it”. I agree. Train, Eat, Rest, Repeat, Period.[/quote]

Holy. Shit.

You sir, fail at T-Nation

228

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
Aggro wrote:
I write my shit down after my workout, just more as something to look at before going into the next workout.

I’m not exactly sure why people need to be able to put little gold stars next to a workout. I’ve got end goals I’m trying to reach, I don’t need a pat on my back for a PR on a 5RM. Not faulting those that do, but I just think you need to worry less about the minutiae and simply lift heavy weights.

I’ll give you a little insight then. I keep a very detailed training log. I have rep PR’s and weight PR’s in pretty much everything. One of the most, if not the most effective tools, for progressing in the gym has been striving to set PR’s everytime I go into the gym. I change up everything every four weeks. There is no way that i could keep track of all this information without writing it down.

Simply lifting heavy weights works to a point but if you don’t keep track of what’s working and what isn’t, you will end up doing a lot of work for nothing. The body adapts to your training very quickly. I’m constantly taking notes about my form and where my sticking points are at a given time.

I see so many people in the gym just going through the motions. They go in and do their flat bench every week and wonder why they are still only benching 315lbs. What they don’t realize is if they were to just examine that bench press and determine where their weakpoints are, then they would really make some progress. For example, I see guys doing their full ROM bench press every week. They will pyramid that weight up and then they will eventually go to failure. The next week i will see them do the same damn thing. What they need to do is really take a look at that bench and determine why they are failing. Is their form crap? Are they going to failure too often? Has their body adapted to that same damn movment and is refusing to grow? Do they have a weak muscle group that isn’t getting overloaded?

I totally understand where you are coming from. I thought that way for wayyy too long. And that’s why all my lifts were mediocre at best. Once i started paying attention to the details and doing some research, my lifts went through the roof. To give you another example- I competed in bodybuilding for many years and I was pretty damn good at it. Although compared to my strength levels now, I was weak as piss. I really wish i had known then what i know now. I would have been twice as big. Up until I was 30 years old, I couldn’t bench more than 315. I couldn’t squat more than 405. In 4 years, my bench climbed into the low to mid 500’s, squat 700 and deadlift 700 all raw. And i owe it all to the day the light bulb went off in my head and i realized that lifting hard wasn’t nearly enough. You have to lift smart and pay attention to everything.

I’m off my soapbox now. I really wish i could get through to most of you that being your best means not dismissing anything. Soak it all in. Try it all. Also, don’t get wrapped up in what others are doing and how stupid they look or what the hell they wear. This past week we had the Hooter’s girls come into our gym for some promotion. I had NO IDEA that they were even there until one of my teammates told me. I don’t see people in the gym anymore. I only see what i’m doing. I don’t hear the music, I don’t see the douchebag curling the bumper plates in the squat rack.

[/quote]

No one is dismissing anything. If it works for you, fine, but just realize that some of us find it hard to believe that the weight you use is so difficult to remember that a notebook is necessary every week.

First, if you have been lifting seriously for over a decade, expecting a new PR every single time you lift isn’t even realistic. There would be people benching thousands of pounds by now if that were the case.

I may be able to improve by the number of reps or the weight increase, but my routine doesn’t change around so much that I can’t remember this from one session to the next.

229

[quote]Professor X wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:
Aggro wrote:
I write my shit down after my workout, just more as something to look at before going into the next workout.

I’m not exactly sure why people need to be able to put little gold stars next to a workout. I’ve got end goals I’m trying to reach, I don’t need a pat on my back for a PR on a 5RM. Not faulting those that do, but I just think you need to worry less about the minutiae and simply lift heavy weights.

I’ll give you a little insight then. I keep a very detailed training log. I have rep PR’s and weight PR’s in pretty much everything. One of the most, if not the most effective tools, for progressing in the gym has been striving to set PR’s everytime I go into the gym. I change up everything every four weeks. There is no way that i could keep track of all this information without writing it down.

Simply lifting heavy weights works to a point but if you don’t keep track of what’s working and what isn’t, you will end up doing a lot of work for nothing. The body adapts to your training very quickly. I’m constantly taking notes about my form and where my sticking points are at a given time.

I see so many people in the gym just going through the motions. They go in and do their flat bench every week and wonder why they are still only benching 315lbs. What they don’t realize is if they were to just examine that bench press and determine where their weakpoints are, then they would really make some progress. For example, I see guys doing their full ROM bench press every week. They will pyramid that weight up and then they will eventually go to failure. The next week i will see them do the same damn thing. What they need to do is really take a look at that bench and determine why they are failing. Is their form crap? Are they going to failure too often? Has their body adapted to that same damn movment and is refusing to grow? Do they have a weak muscle group that isn’t getting overloaded?

I totally understand where you are coming from. I thought that way for wayyy too long. And that’s why all my lifts were mediocre at best. Once i started paying attention to the details and doing some research, my lifts went through the roof. To give you another example- I competed in bodybuilding for many years and I was pretty damn good at it. Although compared to my strength levels now, I was weak as piss. I really wish i had known then what i know now. I would have been twice as big. Up until I was 30 years old, I couldn’t bench more than 315. I couldn’t squat more than 405. In 4 years, my bench climbed into the low to mid 500’s, squat 700 and deadlift 700 all raw. And i owe it all to the day the light bulb went off in my head and i realized that lifting hard wasn’t nearly enough. You have to lift smart and pay attention to everything.

I’m off my soapbox now. I really wish i could get through to most of you that being your best means not dismissing anything. Soak it all in. Try it all. Also, don’t get wrapped up in what others are doing and how stupid they look or what the hell they wear. This past week we had the Hooter’s girls come into our gym for some promotion. I had NO IDEA that they were even there until one of my teammates told me. I don’t see people in the gym anymore. I only see what i’m doing. I don’t hear the music, I don’t see the douchebag curling the bumper plates in the squat rack.

No one is dismissing anything. If it works for you, fine, but just realize that some of us find it hard to believe that the weight you use is so difficult to remember that a notebook is necessary every week.

First, if you have been lifting seriously for over a decade, expecting a new PR every single time you lift isn’t even realistic. There would be people benching thousands of pounds by now if that were the case.

I may be able to improve by the number of reps or the weight increase, but my routine doesn’t change around so much that I can;t remember this from one session to the next.[/quote]

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

230

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

[/quote]

I do understand. Again, if it works for you, fine. However, your statement about breaking PRs every time just isn’t realistic even at the intermediate stage. That is all I am saying. Growth and strength gains don’t come that fast.

231

Maruader I’m not dismissing anything, and believe me when I say I do soak it all in. I have kept a log book on and off for awhile, and like I said I write things down after I’m done with my workout so I have a gauge to go by. My point was I have an end goal that I focus on and as long as I’m progressing the little “victories” don’t mean enough to me to celebrate them.

When I do reach my end goal, that will be time to celebrate, but only for a minute as I’ll have to reset the goals and bust my ass towards them again.

232

[quote]Professor X wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

I do understand. Again, if it works for you, fine. However, your statement about breaking PRs every time just isn’t realistic even at the intermediate stage. That is all I am saying. Growth and strength gains don’t come that fast.[/quote]

That’s what I"ve been saying. I don’t see how people beat PRs each time in the gym, you can only get so strong, at some point it ain’t gonna happen.

NOw if you change programs every 4 weeks, then by the time you cycle back again you may have gotten weaker on one of the movements thus allowing for strength to increase again

233

[quote]Professor X wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

I do understand. Again, if it works for you, fine. However, your statement about breaking PRs every time just isn’t realistic even at the intermediate stage. That is all I am saying. Growth and strength gains don’t come that fast.[/quote]

let me further explain. think about how many different variations there are for JUST the bench press-

floor press with barbell
floor press with dumbell
paused floor press with barbell or dumbell
1 board press
2board press
3 board press
4 board press
pin press
dumbell press
paused dumbell press
reverse band bench press
miniband bench press
close grip bench press

etc…etc…

i could set a PR in any one of these movements. i could also set a rep PR in any one of these movements. each one of these movements works a specific aspect of the bench. learning how to incorporate these movements into a program is something that for most takes a liftime. I, for one, haven’t even come close to perfecting the best training program but i’m always striving to.

Setting PR’s each time you train is definitely attainable and probably the best motivator for progress. sometimes you have to be creative but there are always ways to set PR’s. It may not be on a ME movement. It may end up being on an accessory or supplemental exercise. The key is to always moving forward on everything. And if you aren’t, you need to figure out why and fix it.

I’m not hear to argue with anyone. I’m just trying to give a different perspective on training.

234

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Tex Ag wrote:
Professor X wrote:
NeelyDan wrote:
Professor X wrote:

Most of the main people in these forums have been here for over a year with most being here much longer than that. Exactly how much time does it take for some of these people to build enough muscle to NOT have 15" arms?

A decade?

If you just started, then keep lifting. Just know that many of us are noticing that most of you never move much past that point physically and it comes across in the posts thrown up here as well.

Just curious, what size arms are you assuming everyone is starting with?

I would hope most are starting with at least 14-15" arms, but clearly most people today are allowed to grow up as completely motionless slugs who must never even be made to mow the yard on their own until they are 30 years old.

I am amazed that any GROWN MAN today is walking around with arms smaller than 14" without being someone who works in a basement strapped to a lawn chair being fed through an IV.[/quote]

Okay, I see. You are equating 15 inch arms with a non-training individual. I think your estimation is high, probably by several inches.

In my case, as I have stated elsewhere, I started with 7 inch arms after some early training (I got stronger, I do not know if any bigger). I did a plenty of manual labor growing up and I played sports that were leg, not arm dependent. Just a small kid from a family of small (short, small framed) people.

I started with wrists and elbows that hurt during arm exercises (for years, actually still hurt often enough) and added in nerve damage (neck/back) after lifting two years. Arms were not my strong point. Constant pain outside the gym is not a whole lot of motivation.

But now years later I do have 15+ inch arms. I do not think they are big and I do not give advice on how to get bigger arms. But while I understand the point you are trying to make, I have grown tired of this dismissive measurement (15") as if that could in no way represent achievement of any kind. I know my experience may be an exception (though not exceptional) I have to think there is a decent sized population here starting with much smaller arms than you assume.

Not sure what to suggest as an alternative, but since you have expressed concern for the newbies here–perhaps you can take this into consideration.

235

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
Also, don’t get wrapped up in what others are doing and how stupid they look or what the hell they wear. This past week we had the Hooter’s girls come into our gym for some promotion. I had NO IDEA that they were even there until one of my teammates told me. I don’t see people in the gym anymore. I only see what i’m doing. I don’t hear the music, I don’t see the douchebag curling the bumper plates in the squat rack.
[/quote]

Amen.

236

personally, the log book helped me a lot in that I like to keep track and since I have two different lifting partners (they are flakes at times) I get the numbers confused… plus, the motivation of beating a past weeks numbers makes me push harder because if i did it last week I know i can do better… does it always happen? nope, but it something to reach for and helps me motivate myself.

Should everyone keep a book? hell no, some of you will hold back because you already beat the book and you want to beat it again next week, but for some of us it works…

do what works for YOU, and let the other shit slide as it will only hold you back…

237

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
Professor X wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

I do understand. Again, if it works for you, fine. However, your statement about breaking PRs every time just isn’t realistic even at the intermediate stage. That is all I am saying. Growth and strength gains don’t come that fast.

let me further explain. think about how many different variations there are for JUST the bench press-

floor press with barbell
floor press with dumbell
paused floor press with barbell or dumbell
1 board press
2board press
3 board press
4 board press
pin press
dumbell press
paused dumbell press
reverse band bench press
miniband bench press
close grip bench press

etc…etc…

i could set a PR in any one of these movements. i could also set a rep PR in any one of these movements. each one of these movements works a specific aspect of the bench. learning how to incorporate these movements into a program is something that for most takes a liftime. I, for one, haven’t even come close to perfecting the best training program but i’m always striving to.

Setting PR’s each time you train is definitely attainable and probably the best motivator for progress. sometimes you have to be creative but there are always ways to set PR’s. It may not be on a ME movement. It may end up being on an accessory or supplemental exercise. The key is to always moving forward on everything. And if you aren’t, you need to figure out why and fix it.

I’m not hear to argue with anyone. I’m just trying to give a different perspective on training.

[/quote]

This isn’t an argument, at least not yet.

Half of the exercises you listed aren’t even necessary for someone with goals as far as bodybuilding. Board presses? If you are lifting for powerlifting, that is a completely different training mentality.

I can understand where you are coming from if that is your goal. If you have the primary purpose of moving weight and NOT building muscle (as well as strength), then different movements become more important in terms if simply doing a certain exercise.

However, I don’t even use the barbell bench press and haven’t in years. I also noticed the greatest growth when I quit doing it and moved to dumbbells. The barbell was actually holding me back in terms of development.

I wouldn’t do all of those different exercises to improve a bench press if a different movement all together proved to bring more results.

238

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
Professor X wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i wouldn’t expect you to understand or agree.

I do understand. Again, if it works for you, fine. However, your statement about breaking PRs every time just isn’t realistic even at the intermediate stage. That is all I am saying. Growth and strength gains don’t come that fast.

That’s what I"ve been saying. I don’t see how people beat PRs each time in the gym, you can only get so strong, at some point it ain’t gonna happen.

NOw if you change programs every 4 weeks, then by the time you cycle back again you may have gotten weaker on one of the movements thus allowing for strength to increase again[/quote]

…which defeats the purpose.

I can understand where you are coming from as far as training other people and possibly getting weights confused. That makes sense.

However, for most people, if your routine is changing so much that you can’t remember what you did last week, you may need to stop changing things so often.

That would make it near impossible to truly gauge progress even though numbers alone might be going up.

239

[quote]Tex Ag wrote:
Okay, I see. You are equating 15 inch arms with a non-training individual. I think your estimation is high, probably by several inches.

In my case, as I have stated elsewhere, I started with 7 inch arms after some early training (I got stronger, I do not know if any bigger). I did a plenty of manual labor growing up and I played sports that were leg, not arm dependent. Just a small kid from a family of small (short, small framed) people.

I started with wrists and elbows that hurt during arm exercises (for years, actually still hurt often enough) and added in nerve damage (neck/back) after lifting two years. Arms were not my strong point. Constant pain outside the gym is not a whole lot of motivation.

But now years later I do have 15+ inch arms. I do not think they are big and I do not give advice on how to get bigger arms. But while I understand the point you are trying to make, I have grown tired of this dismissive measurement (15") as if that could in no way represent achievement of any kind. I know my experience may be an exception (though not exceptional) I have to think there is a decent sized population here starting with much smaller arms than you assume.

Not sure what to suggest as an alternative, but since you have expressed concern for the newbies here–perhaps you can take this into consideration.[/quote]

I grew up in a mostly black neighborhood in Houston, Tx. I doubt I have ever seen anyone over the age of 10 who had 7" arms unless they were anorexic.

I understand we all have different backgrounds, but hopefully you aren’t suggesting that 7" arms are normal for grown men who are just starting training. I would go as far as to say that is pretty abnormal for anyone who is active beforehand.

Yes, I do think most grown MEN should have arms somewhere close to at least 14" (maybe 12-13" if you avoided even playing basketball in the afternoons) before serious training unless they have extremely weak genetics and/or were extremely inactive most of their lives.

By active, I would guess I mean being involved in sports as a kid, made to carry out the trash, wash the car, mow the yard and various other activities that would at least have most guys looking like “men” even if they never lifted formally.

If that is a DRASTIC overestimation, then I can only imagine I grew up in a very strange community.

240

Log books helped during my first couple years of training, when I was learning about different lifts and measuring my progress on those lifts. I also benefited from some of the off the shelf programs, like Ian King’s workouts.

I no longer use log books and design my own workouts now, but as long as it works for you who cares?