[quote]njrusmc wrote:
Not taking care of my hip flexors. Their tension prevents me from squatting well.
Focusing on heavy lunges to gain leg size. It sure as shit worked, but my squat numbers are still terrible.
Not deadlifting for years.
Using straps too often. I forgot to bring them one day and it had no effect on my 1RM deadlift.
Being afraid to bench heavy without a spotter.
Not eating enough.
Not doing enough foam rolling on my own time.[/quote]
If heavy lunges worked then who cares if your squat numbers are low? Some people are just bad squaters and if your goal is bodybuilding then just use what works.
I agree with consistency being necessary, but I know a ton of consistent people who don’t get any results. How many times have we seen the reference to the guy who “has been lifting the same weights and looks the same every year”
[quote]Professor X wrote:
That “not eating enough” will hold back the progress of most of these newbs. nce I was in college, that was the one thing I did NOT have a problem with…and needless to say, massive calories and tons of hard work beyond average can make up for a shit load of failures in other places.
There were YEARS that I didn’t get enough sleep, but my food intake and work ethic filled in the gaps even if I may have gained a little more body fat than I wanted.
The ends justify the means.[/quote]
How many hours did you typically get throughout undergrad and dental school?[/quote]
4-5 hours. Food intake and work ethic can compensate for quite a bit.[/quote]
did the lack of sleep affect your recovery and strength?
-Bodybuilder unzips at urinal: "Hey, can I get a spot over here?"
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LMAO, now that’s funny.
Top Ten Epic Fails:
-Lifting heavy all the time.
-Not taking rest days.
-Not eating enough.
-Training for multiple goals at once.
-Running track in high school and developing an ED from it.
-Not listening to Pat Downing b/f my first show.
-Not researching on how to properly train when I was younger and getting into BB in my teenage years.
-Not getting enough sleep.
-Training through injuries.
-Missing out on the huge gains I could have made in High School, had I been smart and started training seriously b/f college.
Seems quite the list, but very consistent with what a lot of others have been reporting. Bodybuilding is quite rewarding, but there are so many variables to consider that at times it’s one just has to focus on living and doing the best you can. As long as you’re consistantly trying to improve on what your weakpoints are, you never really fail, you just learn what works for you and what you enjoy/dislike. For myself, I know I’m never going to be Jay Cutler or Kevin Levrone, but I still enjoy training hard, working towards bigger weights, bigger muscles, and a tight physique. I’ll never stop making improvements–never be satisfied.
If heavy lunges worked then who cares if your squat numbers are low? Some people are just bad squaters and if your goal is bodybuilding then just use what works.
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True, that is why I still use them. I know this is the BB forum, but I am generally a strength athlete. I think that is why my garbage squat numbers bother me. Short legs, long arms, long torso. Part of it is my body, but a bigger part is the fact that I am seated for most of the day, be it at work or driving to and from. Hip flexors don’t get the love they deserve and they really hurt during squats … even if my glutes/quads can hit the weight easily.
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
Trying to get jacked while following the guidelines in the book “The Poliquin Principles”. [/quote]
Hey man, there’s some good shit in that book. I wouldn’t follow his recommend BB split, though. I particularly like his section on frequency splits, hamstrings, calves, and external rotators.
[quote]Amonero wrote:
1: Not ramping sets, thinking 5x10 meant 5 sets of the same weight for 10 reps, and that you only increased weight when you could get all sets fpr 10. wlcome to Stagnation, population, me. Thanks to professor X for clearing up that. Strangely, this is how alot of (small) people here train.
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This one was my mistake for years. I not only did so, but also went to failure on each set, and when I worked out with a partner I also added some forced reps…I also did pyramidal sets to failure on each set. It’s no wonder I stagnated…
I thought my stagnation was the result of poor genetics, then I got more knowledgeable about weightlifting and realized my mistake.
-Drinking protein shakes like its going out of style instead of eating whole foods.
-Not warming up/stretching enough. Thus causing avoidable injuries.
-Not eating nearly enough
-Over-training my upper-body while under-training my lower.
-not squatting deep enough
-Working my ass off mon-fri just to go and completely throw it all away sat. at the bar
Current issue: Not being able to stop lifting heavy with this partial torn shoulder. Its an addiction, what can I say?
beliving that you need simple carbs post workout… Thats the biggest scam in the suppliment industry. I switched to fruit and a protien shake, increased clean calories and added muscle and lost fat.
Belived that you need a bunch of supps to get big. The only supp that you need is protein powder and a good diet. I am 300lbs an much leaner now with a cleaner diet and off the supps.
3)Not squatting for years. I did leg press but I was weak with it. Now squat heavy wieght.
4)Not power training for thickness… Now do few reps on the powerlifting exercises… (bench, deadlift, rack pulls, squat, military). Now that I do this I look much thicker and the muscles are much denser.
5)Not serious about my diet and missing meals. Now no matter what every 3 hours I eat.
I took maltodextrose… All it did was make me fat… I am highly endomorphic… talked to an NPC competetor and he said you don’t need that… Switch over to fruit and trimmed down very rapidly. Also didn’t have runaway appetite like when I consumed maltodextrose… I would train at night and then have runaway appetite before bed and pig out… This also made me fat.
Not realizing the supps have side effects… Not making sure before you get serious about a supp to determine how it reacts with your body… If you feel like crap from a supp it better to go off of it…
oh 1 other thing… I don’t take steroids… But I realized after doing alot of reading no supp can compare to anabolics… And alot of unreasonalbly huge dudes take them… Steroids in BB are much more effective then any supp will do. And almost everyone that advertises supps takes steroids…
beliving that you need simple carbs post workout… Thats the biggest scam in the suppliment industry. I switched to fruit and a protien shake, increased clean calories and added muscle and lost fat.
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That’s an interesting one. I kind of never “fell for” the carb loading after workout protocol though, just balanced meals, eaten frequently after workout (to get as much cals in the “anabolic window”).