What muscles would cover his rib-cages in this case? It is pretty normal to have at least some visible ribs as far as i know, when you are cutted.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
What muscles would cover his rib-cages in this case? It is pretty normal to have at least some visible ribs as far as i know, when you are cutted.
www.ifbb.com/halloffame/1999/FrankZane2.jpg[/quote]
Frank is very cut there, and only a hint of rib showing - but lots of impressive serratus, one of Frank Zane’s signature muscles from lots of years doing pullovers. Bill Pearl and Steve Reeves had great serratus development too.
To Korryk, you’ve done well to set yourself a relatively low fat base from which to build up. The next time you hit 200 pounds you can have a very different look, just read the beginners info on the site and keep with it.
Just realized something. The gym up at school does not have a squat rack, only a smith machine. Everything I read says not to use smith for squats. This summer at home, I would clean a barbell, throw it on my back, and squat with that. This is obviously going to severely limit how much I can squat with, as I can’t clean very much. The gym also has that machine where you lie down on your back and press the weight up an incline while your shorts fall down. Should I use the smith machine, the incline press machine, or keep cleaning? Thanks guys.
I also read about single leg split squats, would that be fine to do too?
I’m pretty excited to start this routine once i get settled into my new appt. I take the drive tomorrow morning, so I should be in the gym in about a week.
First off, great job so far, you chose a goal and achieved it.
I’m surprised your school doesn’t have a squat rack. You can definitely work around squats (as people with injuries do) but you might just want to try to find a new gym.
Again great job! Keep it up.
Proper care and feeding for former fat boys (like you and I):
http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=05-118-diet
I don’t like the smith machine at all. The movement does not feel natural to me and although I can do more weight for more reps, that just says to me that it is an easier exercise. For me, that’s no good since if I don’t find the exercise hard then I don’t focue and don’t increase my strength as much.
Incline press - is this basically a leg press? Definitely not as good as the regular squat. There’s something very challenging in carrying more than your bodyweight in your hands behind your back and stabilising. When I have 1.5 times my bodyweight braced against my upper back I definitely focus and work harder.
If you must do heavy stuff at home, why not deadlift heavy? Gains in deadlift could help in squats and overall body strength. However, I would rather find a gym with a squat rack. For some reason my deadlift is much better than my squat - probably weak quads are holding me back. I think you get more even developments with squats.
mind you I’m also on a learning journey, so these are just my own thoughts so far. Definitely listen to the others with more experience! Good luck with it all.
If you can’t squat look up complexes. A lot of complexes can be done from the floor and they’ll just as hard if not harder than squatting. I believe there was an article recently on complexes, but I can’t remember the author or the title. Anybody? CT or CW maybe?
Hello everyone!
Finally got to go in and give this a shot.
Bench - 1x10x135
1x7x145
1x5x155
1x5x165
2x4x165
(I’m not too sure how exactly i’m supposed to ramp up to my working set, it was a lot of guesswork today, which is also why I missed my estimate of a working 3x5x165.)
Squat - 3x10x135
(I really wanted to work on my form, since I never really learned how to squat right. I went down as low as I could, which seemed pretty far below parallel. I did notice on some of the reps my body started leaning forward somewhere in the middle of coming back up. It only happened a little, and only like twice. I need a little more form work I think.)
Deadlift - 3x5x125
(So this was my first time deadlifting. Really working on getting form down. Gotta read up a bit more on it and keep practicing, I did like doing them though.)
Dips - 2x8
(This was harder than I expected. I used to do dips with my elbows all over the place and my body swinging around like a monkey, haha. I focused really hard on making sure my forearms were vertical and I moved in a slow controlled manner.)
All in all I feel great after this workout. I haven’t lifted in about a month, so i’m feelin’ it alright.
If anyone could throw in some thoughts/opinions about this it would be much appreciated. Thanks.
My thinking is that there are too many beginners working about p+c and p+f meals. This likley is causing them not to receive enough overall categories.
Just eat, eat and then eat some more. If you eat a lot of clean food at a youg age the chance of getting fat is rather slim.
Id suggest reading CTs recent article on putting together a damn good program.
workout B was today.
Squat - 1x10x135
3x5x145 (i think i can do some more, but i dont want to lose form.)
Military Press - 1x5x95
3x5x115
Rows - 1x5x60
3x5x70
(so there was this machine that you lay on an incline and pull the plates up in a swivel axis thing. i dont think i like doing it like that. next time i think i’ll do dumbbell rows.)
chin ups - 2x3
1x2
wow…this is pathetic. gotta get my chins up.
A
squat - 1x5x135
3x5x145
i feel pretty comfortable with it now. ill try more next time.
bench - 1x7x135
2x5x165
1x4x165 (still cant get 3x5x165…maybe next time)
deadlift - 1x5x135
1x5x155
still really shaky on the form. ive been watching some videos, one thing i noticed is the angle of the back at teh starting position. is it supposed to be at like a 45 degree angle?
dips - 2x8 not so bad this time.
Are you pushing yourself hard enough? At your weight, deadlifting 155 for 5 reps should be less than a warm up. Maybe you should do a maintenance phase with maximal loading to gain some strength before adding mass.
im not pushing myself too hard with deadlifts until i get a little more comfortable with them. i’ve never done them before, and i dont want to obliterate myself. i know i can pull a lot more off the floor, but i want to make sure i do it correctly. next time ill try some more.
the same is for squats. i have no idea how much i can do, i figure my best bet is to increase slowly so i dont staple myself to the floor.
Progressive overload is your friend. Point toes slightly outward, arch lower back, drive through your heels and stay close to the bar throughout the pull. My recommendation is to practise hang and power cleans as well (if someone can show you how to do these), as they will improve your strength off the ground.
YOu can use the hack squat machine as an assistance exercise to the barbell back squat. Some training wisdom states that alternating the use of leg press m/c with hack squat m/c will accelerate your strength gains since the muscle recruitment is different. If you can’t up poundage every workout, try upping volume (do another set) and up calories for the week.
There is no overtraining imo, only undereating.
If you have a propensity to store fat, jack up periworkout food and carb intake the most. COttage cheese pre-bed and a massive breakfast will make all the difference.
[quote]korykk wrote:
im not pushing myself too hard with deadlifts until i get a little more comfortable with them. i’ve never done them before, and i dont want to obliterate myself. i know i can pull a lot more off the floor, but i want to make sure i do it correctly. next time ill try some more.
the same is for squats. i have no idea how much i can do, i figure my best bet is to increase slowly so i dont staple myself to the floor.[/quote]
B
Squat - 1x8x115
1x5x135
3x5x155
Press - 1x8x95
1x5x115
1x3x115
1x5x95
now that i think about it i have no idea why i thought 8 reps at 95 was a warmup...
Rows - 1x5x100
3x5x110
I used one of those sit down rowing machines this time. I am not sure if I have proper form. I tried to keep my chest out, lean into it a little, and pull my shoulderblades back. What can i do to help make the mind-muscle connection?
chinups - 3->3->2 again… it feels like my biceps are going to explode after i do them.
You should try Zercher squats. Like you, I lack access to a squat rack, and Zerchers eliminate the problem of having to place the bar high enough. Just use extra padding.
A
I changed the order this time because some kid was doing something wierd in the squat rack for a really long time…
Bench - 1x10x135
1x4x155
3x5x165
i got my working set right this time and felt like i could have done a little more.
deadlift - 1x5x135
1x5x165
1x5x185
i feel like im getting better at deadlifts, but i think my form is still shaky.
squats - 1x5x135
3x5x155
dips - 3x8
i guess im doing something right as i improved since last time. i need to look into squat and deadlift form a little more.
i am constantly surprised at what the other kids are doing at the gym, some of its really funny/entertaining/silly/pathetic.
So did you find a gym with a squat rack in it? If you’re using the smith machine to squat I would suggest that you do db lunges and db step-ups, and db bulgarian squats (you don’t have to do them all at the same time though). You’ll get a crap-ton of mileage out of those lunges and db work. And you’ll avoid pattern overload and imbalances from doing only barbell work. It’s win-win.
If you do actually free squat, then keep it up, but throw some dumbbell work in on leg day to keep yourself balanced. Also, cleans and then front squats are a killer too. Great combo of exercises for tearing up your back and legs. Give them a try sometime.
Concerning P/C P/F meals–yeah you can do it that way for bulking as well. It does help keep fat gain down. But #1 most important is enough calories to keep growing, no matter what combination of P/C/F at what time of day. Just keep the food selection “clean” and you’ll do OK. Milk is fine. I usually drink about a gallon a day, give or take.
Finally, I’m surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but you CAN’T TRUST those bodyfat % scales. They SUCK HARDCORE. I’ve gotten readings that are as much as 10% off of caliper readings before. I’ve also gotten different readings from the scales from stepping on, then stepping off, then stepping on again. Don’t bother. Get someone to use calipers on you, then go from there.
My school gym actually acquired a squat rack this semester, along with two more smith machines. I dont know why they wanted that many smiths.
I started drinking a lot more milk, but i’m not up to a gallon a day. Doesn’t that much dairy have a negative impact? like super congestion?
those bodyfat scales…are terrible. I am not sure if I should buy those AccuMeasure calipers or just get it done by someone else. If I chose the latter, where would I go?
thanks for your responses.
Also, i noticed that my face started breaking out more often recently. stupid acne, it basically disappeared all summer, and now is starting to come back. i read an article about milk causing acne, especially skim milk? anyone have any experiences like this?
No idea. I drink whole milk. You don’t have to drink a gallon of milk a day if you don’t want to. The point was to up the calories in a clean way. You can usually find some trainer at a gym to pull the calipers. Who knows how accurate they can measure, but you will be better off with them vs. the scale.