I see what you mean. Keep me posted on how that works out.
That sounds good JJ. I might eaven give it a whirl my self.
I know it’s all the thing to knock the smith machine on here but I’ve used it for inclines and found if you get the bench under it just right you can hit the upper pecs like nothing else.
When you say you’ve hit a plateau are you talking strength wise? If you’ve got the set up for it declines would probably help there. Got to agree with jj-dude on the swimming.
thanks for the tips jj - those sound like some good ones from someone who knows the drill. i am gonna stick with what i have for the first month. i feel strong, i feel good.
i may try that front squat thing out although i have never done them - heard they were better back wise as u suggested. the running really does not affect my back at this point.
i am not loading my back very much in comparison to what i used to do with the lifts. i am going to concentrate on my form for the stuff like squats/lower body.
i have never done dls of any sort before so i am going very low weight just trying to get the feel of the correct form; i am also using the rack whenever possible. once i get that ill move on to single leg stuff.
i have read that single leg stuff is good for people with back issues etc. my legs are extremely weak as is most of my posterior chain. i dont think i can do anything with one leg yet other then fall on my ass hehe.
hel - when i say overcome plateaus i am talking strength wise for my upper body. i have grown strong in my upper body in the last 2 years or so that i have gotten back in the gym. i am stronger in some areas than i ever was before i was injured.
during this time i opted not to mess with any legwork whatsoever other than cardio. it took a long time to be able to run again. my legs would be very sore for days after a short run. it did get a lot of the weight off that i gained from the inactivity from my injury which was good.
in retrospect this may have been a bad decision. now i am bringing my legs back into the routine, but my upper body has plateaued somewhat in many areas. im trying to bust those plateaus upperbody wise.
i hope dropping the reps and upping the weight may do this in combination with changing my routine frequently. this new philosophy i have been using for my upper body has me doing a few increasingly heavy warm up sets to get my muscles and joints warmed up.
then i get serious and try and throw some weight around. the way i used to do it, i had blown my load before i got to the weight. it was always 10X whatever. we will see how it goes.
jj- i will be sure to pm u with some questions after i get a little strength back in my lower body and get the motions down. that one leg stuff sounds killer.
Hello Broken
When new to single leg squat, begin with just the lowering part. On your bench just lower to sitting position unassisted. Gradually over sessions do the full exercise.
Doing one leg dl should be easier-the balance is a little tricky,but were using the seldom used muscles. I think Congreve has a previous article.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
I know it’s all the thing to knock the smith machine on here but I’ve used it for inclines and found if you get the bench under it just right you can hit the upper pecs like nothing else.
When you say you’ve hit a plateau are you talking strength wise? If you’ve got the set up for it declines would probably help there. Got to agree with jj-dude on the swimming.[/quote]
I used a smith machine for squatting once because - no kidding - each of the squat racks had a sweat-banded guy in them, one doing these weird hopping lunge-y things and the other doing…situps. The lone power rack had another fella in it doing his curls. I guess because the squat racks were full.
But my real point about the smith machine is that it can do the job you need it for. Just work it as hard as you would any other piece of equipment. They’re especially great for JM presses as all you gotta do is push - no worrying about balancing the bar side to side or up and down. BIG triceps pump.
the stuff in the single-leg supplements article looks pretty brutal. a problem i will have is that we wont have much of the stuff like boxes etc at my soccer mom ymca gym.
i already get some funny looks just doing dls. i could only imagine trying some of that other stuff haha. ill have to try some of it for shits and giggles when i get strong enough.
the pistols sound especially nasty. i am goingto have to work on my flexibility big time for this stuff. i am stiff as a board.
hey skid what is a jm press?
Agree with view on Smith Machine-if I had the money I would add it to my gym. Just takes a little time to find sweet spot angle.
You can really push reps with added safety factor. Loved doing close grip benches and rear squats with it.
Cardio. Now that you’re 35+, you really have to do more cardiovascular. Protect your heart!!
My 2 cents…
thanks it looks like its a closegrip bench except u do it over your teeth instead of sternum, ill have to give those a go. i can see how the smith would be perfect for those both safetywise and for the balance part.
10/22 back
dumb bent over row
warmups then 6X70 6X80
vbar cable pulldowns
6X225 6X225
pullup with dumbell strapped to my feet (no belt at one gym)
7X50 6X60
vbar cable row
15X225
DL from ground
7X135 7X135
what a big difference the rack makes, felt really weak coming off the ground
smith machine bar shrugs
10X225 8X275 10X225
10/23 shoulders/tris
dumbell mil press
warmups then 6X70 5X75
smith machine mil press
6X175 5X195
dumb side laterals
5X40 6X35
nosebreakers
warmups then 5X105 6X95
straight bar cable pressdowns
7X200 9X200
seated overhead dumb tripress
7X70
10/24 bis/abs
bar curls
warmups then 4X120 5X115
dumbell hammer curls - left forearm still hurts had to drop grr
bent bar curls
5X125 6X115 7X105
leg lifts
12 11
cable crunches
9X210 13X195
legs tomorrow, my knee hurts a little we will see how it goes. may try the front squats to see if i can do em.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Cardio. Now that you’re 35+, you really have to do more cardiovascular. Protect your heart!!
My 2 cents…[/quote]
Agreed
And for us guy past 50- I think more so.
Of course protect main pump(consider aspirin occasionally),while keeping body fat down.
Not like glory days of 20s and 30s -the fat gets real stubborn. I’m not sure any one past 50 needs to be bulking.
10/25 legs
squats
10X135 9X155 10X135
45deg leg press
10X90 10X140
stiffleg dl rack
10X95 10X145
smith standing calf raise
10X135 10X185 9X225
seated calf raise
10X70 7X90
tried the front squat thing after i was done, with the bar only, and realised that i must be an inflexible person b/c it felt really awkward trying to keep my elbows up that high in front of me to keep my hands underneath the bar. then i tried it cross arm stlye and i did not like the way the bar sat on my shoulders/collarbone.
i could not imagine having any weight on there it would be painful on my collarbone. most likely i was doing them wrong. i did like the way it felt when u drop down though.
i could tell that my back was very straight with no temptation to round. in fact it seemed that i would be more prone to fall backward if anything.
had some minor discomfort earlier in my lower back from adding the weight to the dls. im kinda thinking that i have just not worked this area in so long that is not necessarily bad pain. its more than likely just a lack of being worked.
day off tomorrow yay. im half way through month #1 and then on to the new routine. still feeling strong.
tried the front squat thing after i was done, with the bar only, and realised that i must be an inflexible person b/c it felt really awkward trying to keep my elbows up that high in front of me to keep my hands underneath the bar. then i tried it cross arm stlye and i did not like the way the bar sat on my shoulders/collarbone.
i could not imagine having any weight on there it would be painful on my collarbone. most likely i was doing them wrong. i did like the way it felt when u drop down though.
Maybe in next program you could do hack or sumo squats.
yeah the sumo squat looks good. i think it would be hard for me not to round my back in the hack squat though. i just dont think im flexible enough for those.
[quote]wasBr0k3n wrote:
10/25 legs
squats
tried the front squat thing after i was done, with the bar only, and realised that i must be an inflexible person b/c it felt really awkward trying to keep my elbows up that high in front of me to keep my hands underneath the bar. then i tried it cross arm stlye and i did not like the way the bar sat on my shoulders/collarbone.
i could not imagine having any weight on there it would be painful on my collarbone. most likely i was doing them wrong. i did like the way it felt when u drop down though.
You might try curl squats - hold bar in a curled position and then do squats. I also do not find the regular front squat positions uncomfortable. You can not do quite as much weight with the curl squat but if you are doing higher reps it does not matter.
You might also try sumo dead lifts - straight back and very comfortable position for me.
10/27 chest/forearms
smith incline bench
warmups then 6X255 5X265 5X255
smith flat bench
5X275 6X255 6X255
smith decline bench
8X255
managed to smash my finger with a 10 lb plate grr, had to end early and skip forearms
10/28 supposed to be back today but dont think i can do chins with this finger
run 3.7 miles in 35 mins
10/29 back
bent over dumb row
warmups then 6X80 6X90
cable pulldowns vbar
6X240 6X240
chins
7XBW+50 4XBW+75
seated cable row vbar - need to try the one arms as there is not enough weight
10X200
DL from rack
10X225 7X275
bar shrugs
10X225 9X275 10X225
felt good to put a bit of weight on the DLs, the baby steps continue
10/30 shoulders felt weak today so i cut triceps out for later
dumb press
warmups then 6X70 5X75 7X65
bar military press
6X145 6X145
dumb side laterals
6X35 7X35
[quote]wasBr0k3n wrote:
run 3.7 miles in 35 mins[/quote]
Like your time.
[quote]daudowen wrote:
wasBr0k3n wrote:
run 3.7 miles in 35 mins
Like your time.[/quote]
Yeah I wish I could do that. I might get 3.7 in 35 - DAYS.