To be honest, I took 6 months off of squatting due to knee injury and did NO leg work for 3 of those months. 3 months of leg pressing has gotten me back within range of my former PR’s. Leg presses are good, Squats are good, they both work, but its a lot cooler for a 150 lb dweeb to turn his nose up at the leg press and say “I dont leg press, I ONLY squat a2g because -insert internet guru- said…”
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I got one of these for my anniversary back in November.
I don’t really squat that much any more - unless I hack squat on this. My knees go to the point that 225 required full wraps.
[/quote]
One thing people don’t consider is that some actually DO have knee and back problems, especially some lifters who have been doing this for two decades. There is nothing wrong with these exercises.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
i have a question about cortisol and its affects on catabolism.
i read something from CT about in the Physique Clinic about how ectomorphs shouldnt do heavy sets with low reps because that body type produces more cortisol from it and will do more harm than good.
have any ectos on here from experience found this to be either true or false? ive never really seen any ectos doing heavy work, usually just shorter/stockier guys. and as you guys are stressing the importance building a certain level of strength with heavy sets first it makes me wonder more about it.
Personally, I think the ecto/endo/meso stuff should never be mentioned to young trainees (training age). All I have ever seen happen from the introduction of those terms is excuse making, and confusion.
If you are a young trainee - you have no idea what you are, and just about anything in the resistance training universe is going to work for you. Hell - I had my daughter un-rack and re-rack the weight tree. 800 pound off, 800 pounds on. I have no idea what kind of morph she is at 13, but she got stronger and faster at it after about 4 weeks.
I see no need to confuse the young guys, or give them something to micro analyze. Sure it has its place, but honestly, does it really make a measurable difference in a noob? I think not. [/quote]
ive never used the fact that i have a higher metabolism and longer limbs as an excuse. i know i have to eat all the time because of it, and i know that its going to be slower for me to put on mass than other people. so what that means is if i want to look good i have to train harder and cant slack with it. im not even saying im huge but most ectos dont even get to where im at.
im just curious to see whats worked for people with a similar body type to mine especially if it was using a heavy weight/ low rep scheme versus 6-8 or 8-12 reps to failure. and if people can tell me “hey it sucks dont waste your time” id rather just have that than spending a couple weeks treading water.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Degrading these exercises makes about as much sense as degrading lat pulldowns. They ALL work. They all have a place.[/quote]
I’ll never get that - close grip lat pulldowns are building my lats like no ones business. I’m rarely doing pullups at the moment.
[quote]rsg wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Degrading these exercises makes about as much sense as degrading lat pulldowns. They ALL work. They all have a place.
I’ll never get that - close grip lat pulldowns are building my lats like no ones business. I’m rarely doing pullups at the moment.[/quote]
I’ve got stretch marks on mine from doing mostly HS movements. Anyone who makes these exercises seem like they are suboptimal simply because “machine” can be used to describe them is an idiot…especially if they are smaller and weaker than you.
yea the thing is its viewed as so much more hardcore to do a squat than a leg press to a lot of people. i used to be like that but you know whatever makes your legs grow is what makes your legs grow so who cares. i just hate to see when people load up 5 or 6 plates on the leg press and do some half ass reps.
some exercises really just are viewed as being more hardcore or cooler than other ones, like close grip bench vs kickbacks or the bench press vs the pec deck.
just about every activity in life where theres large amounts of people doing it is going to be the formation of different clicks and shit. just like theres car guys who talk about their fords and make fun of toyotas theres gonna be gym guys talking about squats and making fun of the leg press. its just how people are.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
rainjack wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
i have a question about cortisol and its affects on catabolism.
i read something from CT about in the Physique Clinic about how ectomorphs shouldnt do heavy sets with low reps because that body type produces more cortisol from it and will do more harm than good.
have any ectos on here from experience found this to be either true or false? ive never really seen any ectos doing heavy work, usually just shorter/stockier guys. and as you guys are stressing the importance building a certain level of strength with heavy sets first it makes me wonder more about it.
Personally, I think the ecto/endo/meso stuff should never be mentioned to young trainees (training age). All I have ever seen happen from the introduction of those terms is excuse making, and confusion.
If you are a young trainee - you have no idea what you are, and just about anything in the resistance training universe is going to work for you. Hell - I had my daughter un-rack and re-rack the weight tree. 800 pound off, 800 pounds on. I have no idea what kind of morph she is at 13, but she got stronger and faster at it after about 4 weeks.
I see no need to confuse the young guys, or give them something to micro analyze. Sure it has its place, but honestly, does it really make a measurable difference in a noob? I think not.
ive never used the fact that i have a higher metabolism and longer limbs as an excuse. i know i have to eat all the time because of it, and i know that its going to be slower for me to put on mass than other people. so what that means is if i want to look good i have to train harder and cant slack with it. im not even saying im huge but most ectos dont even get to where im at.
im just curious to see whats worked for people with a similar body type to mine especially if it was using a heavy weight/ low rep scheme versus 6-8 or 8-12 reps to failure. and if people can tell me “hey it sucks dont waste your time” id rather just have that than spending a couple weeks treading water.[/quote]
Then I misunderstood your question.
another thing, what do yall think about supplements? i havent used any for a couple months id say and i havent really noticed any differences whatsoever. before i would just take whey protein, fish oil, flax oil, BCAAs (pre/post WO and before bed) and a multi vit. i also used the Biotest creatine mono. but it didnt do anything for me. so as far as for actually gaining mass do you think it matters at all whether youre taking anything? (this is strictly about putting on size nothing to do with vitality or health or whatever)
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
another thing, what do yall think about supplements? i havent used any for a couple months id say and i havent really noticed any differences whatsoever. before i would just take whey protein, fish oil, flax oil, BCAAs (pre/post WO and before bed) and a multi vit. i also used the Biotest creatine mono. but it didnt do anything for me. so as far as for actually gaining mass do you think it matters at all whether youre taking anything? (this is strictly about putting on size nothing to do with vitality or health or whatever)[/quote]
I’m just taking various types of protein powder at the moment (not counting general health supplements) - I’m getting stronger and bigger, faster than ever. I’ve really put more focus into getting 50-60g protein per meal, and feel it’s making a vast difference. The added 10g BCAAs per shake and 25g post workout might be helping too, but I doubt they have THAT much of an effect.
Okay, I see what you guys are saying about the leg-press. I never really meant to bash it, it just hasn’t really provided optimal results for me. I’ve tried a fair share of variations of the leg-press, but I guess it’s just not for me. I will throw it in once in a while to shake things up, but I was just curious to see what you guys thought about them.
As for supplements, when I was sure that M&F provided all the knowledge I needed about bb’ing, I was using creatine and some sort of N.O., but mostly the big-named brand stuff. After the first week or so, I didn’t really notice my results improving a whole lot, but this was also when I was on my bad diet. I’m planning on using BCAAs, glutamine, and Superfood (if you consider it a supplement.) I do take Omega-3s, but they’re just a generic brand I got from some general grocery store, so I’m not sure if that’s too big of a deal or not.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
another thing, what do yall think about supplements? i havent used any for a couple months id say and i havent really noticed any differences whatsoever. before i would just take whey protein, fish oil, flax oil, BCAAs (pre/post WO and before bed) and a multi vit. i also used the Biotest creatine mono. but it didnt do anything for me. so as far as for actually gaining mass do you think it matters at all whether youre taking anything? (this is strictly about putting on size nothing to do with vitality or health or whatever)[/quote]
I didn’t have any supplements all of the way through college and I had no problem growing. I couldn’t afford them. Whether you take supplements or not shouldn’t have much bearing at all on your training progress. FOOD is the greatest supplement you could learn to use.
Holy shit. This thread made me want to start posting at this site again.
RE: Supplements
They’re the icing on the cake bro. Most of the ones you mentioned are there to improve your health (which in the long run will lead to better performance and keep you in the game).
I doubt you were taking enough BCAAs though. I personally got very good results from them.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Okay, I see what you guys are saying about the leg-press. I never really meant to bash it, it just hasn’t really provided optimal results for me. I’ve tried a fair share of variations of the leg-press, but I guess it’s just not for me. I will throw it in once in a while to shake things up, but I was just curious to see what you guys thought about them.[/quote]
Were you using enough weight for leg press? If I’m not feeling exhausted when doing leg presses like I do when squatting, then I’m not doing enough weight+sets. Btw, machines are great.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
another thing, what do yall think about supplements? i havent used any for a couple months id say and i havent really noticed any differences whatsoever. before i would just take whey protein, fish oil, flax oil, BCAAs (pre/post WO and before bed) and a multi vit. i also used the Biotest creatine mono. but it didnt do anything for me. so as far as for actually gaining mass do you think it matters at all whether youre taking anything? (this is strictly about putting on size nothing to do with vitality or health or whatever)[/quote]
Of course, our thread will now probably be deleted, but you don’t need supplements so long as you are eating enough. Supplements helps put pressure off of eating so much (e.g. protein supplements), but should not be used as a crutch. For example, I just ate 5 porkchops and mashed taters for supper. You think I’m worried about my protein before bed now?
Also, on bodytypes and all that bullshit, I should’ve mentioned this is the first post. I don’t want any mention of ectomorphs, hardgainers, or any of that BULLSHIT in our ONLY HOME.
Keep that shit outta this thread.
Speaking of supps, I’ve never tried BCAA’s. Should I? Why? Why not?
By far my favorite intensity technique forever has been drop sets. I see DC has been popping up here and after hangin around some of the DC guys I am now a rest pause convert. Not that I’ll never do drops again, but RP is better in my opinion and Dante is correct that it is magic for building strength in a bodybuilding context. It is also not for weenies and not for anybody who does not have their exercise form nailed right on.
[quote]Fulmen wrote:
SSC wrote:
Okay, I see what you guys are saying about the leg-press. I never really meant to bash it, it just hasn’t really provided optimal results for me. I’ve tried a fair share of variations of the leg-press, but I guess it’s just not for me. I will throw it in once in a while to shake things up, but I was just curious to see what you guys thought about them.
Were you using enough weight for leg press? If I’m not feeling exhausted when doing leg presses like I do when squatting, then I’m not doing enough weight+sets. Btw, machines are great. [/quote]
Yeah, I was probably using enough weight. Because I use to be so fat I had fairly strong legs, naturally. Before I started squatting I did do leg presses a lot, I could get up to 630 lbs. for reps with good form. In hindsight it was nothing huge, but when I first started I felt like a badass. Maybe one some point I’ll take a week off from squats and work some heavy leg presses to see if they can sway my opinion on them.
On another note, I do like machine hack-squats, but I think that’s something that can be debated at a different time.
I definitely agree with this. As it’s been said many times, people just use these tags too much as a crutch or justification of why they aren’t big. It’s annoying when someone asks for advice, but catered directly to their ‘somatypes,’ and how that body style should be reflected in their training.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
By far my favorite intensity technique forever has been drop sets. I see DC has been popping up here and after hangin around some of the DC guys I am now a rest pause convert. Not that I’ll never do drops again, but RP is better in my opinion and Dante is correct that it is magic for building strength in a bodybuilding context. It is also not for weenies and not for anybody who does not have their exercise form nailed right on.[/quote]
RP’s are great. Tiri, you need to post more here.
[quote]Fulmen wrote:
Speaking of supps, I’ve never tried BCAA’s. Should I? Why? Why not? [/quote]
i didnt notice anything from them. but then again i probaly wasnt really taking enough because you have to eat like a bottle a day for them to do anything. i think theyre pretty expensive actually (as are most supps). i think if you took enough while cutting it would probaly help since keeping a high level of protein and amino acids is optimal to preserve muscle. youd probaly be able to afford them with the cash youd be saving from not buying as much food too.
as for me, i just drink a 1/4 gallon of whole milk PWO. its got whey, its got cassien i figure its the same thing… plus if its got the same hormones in it that are making these 15 year old girls look better than 20 year olds itll probaly help me grow too lol.
So is there any big shows coming up anytime soon guys?
[quote]SSC wrote:
Fulmen wrote:
SSC wrote:
Okay, I see what you guys are saying about the leg-press. I never really meant to bash it, it just hasn’t really provided optimal results for me. I’ve tried a fair share of variations of the leg-press, but I guess it’s just not for me. I will throw it in once in a while to shake things up, but I was just curious to see what you guys thought about them.
Were you using enough weight for leg press? If I’m not feeling exhausted when doing leg presses like I do when squatting, then I’m not doing enough weight+sets. Btw, machines are great.
Yeah, I was probably using enough weight. Because I use to be so fat I had fairly strong legs, naturally. Before I started squatting I did do leg presses a lot, I could get up to 630 lbs. for reps with good form. In hindsight it was nothing huge, but when I first started I felt like a badass. Maybe one some point I’ll take a week off from squats and work some heavy leg presses to see if they can sway my opinion on them.
.[/quote]
That’s probabaly what the issue was. Heavy leg presses involves 800-1000 lbs and upwards in my honest opinion. 630lbs isn’t much at all on a leg press machine.