Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[Sugashane]

2 hours ago, MWil23 said:

The most maniacal squat related thing I used to do/have to do in college was weighted jump squats. 225 x 20 followed by an immediate superset at 225x10 jumping...5 sets.

Needless to say, that was absolutely horrendous and I used to love leg day.

 

We did jump squats but we had the 15-20 pound bars for that (the cheap ones with the clips that spin to lock the weights on). We would do a walking lunge then jump from the lead leg when we stepped up. But 225 pounds just jamming down on your back? WTF?!

 

1 hour ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Learning how to go to the gym and push yourself as a kid is great. It's an essential part of life, as is understanding the fulfillment that comes from perseverance. But once you're out of college, you've gotta realize that the lesson has been learned, applied elsewhere where it actually matters, and now it's time to go the gym to make friends, be healthy, and appreciate what your body can still do.

This is where I struggle. I don't get a lot of competition of my own, just my kids' sports so that is something I use to get that little battle. But I'm in my 30s so I'm not able to recover as fast and now I am trying to be more conscious of injury. So now rep ranges have gone up, warming up is an everyday thing (I still hate it) and now I just have to take a rest day if I feel like I'm dragging. Can just do a long walk for the day.

Still get to beat the **** out of the logbook though... most days   lol

[ramssuperbowl99]

14 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

This is where I struggle. I don't get a lot of competition of my own, just my kids' sports so that is something I use to get that little battle. But I'm in my 30s so I'm not able to recover as fast and now I am trying to be more conscious of injury. So now rep ranges have gone up, warming up is an everyday thing (I still hate it) and now I just have to take a rest day if I feel like I'm dragging. Can just do a long walk for the day.

Still get to beat the **** out of the logbook though... most days   lol

Easy to say, hard to do. I'm still insecure as hell about my bench (185 rep), and constantly have to remind myself to go slow, don't cheat with momentum so I can increase weight, focus on the exercises I'm bad at not the ones I'm good at, etc. So I'm not gonna pretend I'm perfectly zen or anything.

I've stopped writing down my workouts for that reason. I go into auto-pilot looking for improvement, and that's not the point.

But in general I'm way less competitive now than I was. I think that's something that can be controlled somewhat, maybe not completely, but a lot of my competitive instincts turned out to be residual habits that I actively did to get myself in that headspace, and not who I was at a base level. Working out to pop music instead of blasting Tool made a bigger difference than I'm proud to admit.

Edited November 11, 2022 by ramssuperbowl99

[MWil23]

30 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

 

We did jump squats but we had the 15-20 pound bars for that (the cheap ones with the clips that spin to lock the weights on). We would do a walking lunge then jump from the lead leg when we stepped up. But 225 pounds just jamming down on your back? WTF?!

Yeah, hard to believe that at my age, I'm having issues with lower back/knees from a lot of compressed weight over the years. I might pull the trigger and see the chiropractor over Thanksgiving just to get a reset there. 

[MWil23]

18 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Easy to say, hard to do. I'm still insecure as hell about my bench (185 rep), and constantly have to remind myself to go slow, don't cheat with momentum so I can increase weight, focus on the exercises I'm bad at not the ones I'm good at, etc. So I'm not gonna pretend I'm perfectly zen or anything.

I've stopped writing down my workouts for that reason. I go into auto-pilot looking for improvement, and that's not the point.

But in general I'm way less competitive now than I was. I think that's something that can be controlled somewhat, maybe not completely, but a lot of my competitive instincts turned out to be residual habits that I actively did to get myself in that headspace, and not who I was at a base level.

This is my life in a nutshell.

Monday is "vanity day" with core, chest, triceps, back. 5x5 on bench or 5, 5, 3, 3, 1 at 175-185. 3 years ago I hit a PR of 255 on a 1 rep max. No way that I'm close to that now, but I'm also down 15 pounds. Pound for pound at 170, I'm happy with where I am.

Tuesday is legs and biceps...I just know that I'll literally never do legs ever again unless I reward myself with biceps. It's pathetic, but it works.

Thursday is shoulders/core and some upper back.

Friday or Saturday is a "catch all"" day.

I will then try to get 1-3 days of cardio in. If I do 4 lifts, then 1-2 cardio days is plenty.

18 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Working out to pop music instead of blasting Tool made a bigger difference than I'm proud to admit.

I audibly laughed here. Substitute "Metallica" for me with a bunch of 90s Punk/Pop like Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, etc. and that's me. 

All of this is a heart rate game. I hit it super hard on the pacing with little to no breaks between sets and I'm done in 30 minutes on a lift.

[Sugashane]

17 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Easy to say, hard to do. I'm still insecure as hell about my bench (185 rep), and constantly have to remind myself to go slow, don't cheat with momentum so I can increase weight, focus on the exercises I'm bad at not the ones I'm good at, etc. So I'm not gonna pretend I'm perfectly zen or anything.

I've stopped writing down my workouts for that reason. I go into auto-pilot looking for improvement, and that's not the point.

But in general I'm way less competitive now than I was. I think that's something that can be controlled somewhat, maybe not completely, but a lot of my competitive instincts turned out to be residual habits that I actively did to get myself in that headspace, and not who I was at a base level. Working out to pop music instead of blasting Tool made a bigger difference than I'm proud to admit.

My music is eclectic to say the least. I put it on random and will have anything from NWA or Kendrick Lamar to Jeff Healey Band to Pink to Slipknot. Mid-squat a song might start by Mariah Carrey and I won't bat an eye. 😂 As long as I like the song I don't care.

There was a powerlifter turned pharmascist or something named Chubbyemu on YouTube who mentioned that he loved Grateful Dead and jazz (I think) so when he was in his hardcore gym and had control of the radio that was what he would put on. I completely identified with how he talked about the crazy looks he got. lol

 

8 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Yeah, hard to believe that at my age, I'm having issues with lower back/knees from a lot of compressed weight over the years. I might pull the trigger and see the chiropractor over Thanksgiving just to get a reset there. 

Have you tried decompression? Like from an inverted table. IDK if it would actually help since it seems to be from chonic abuse but after football I LOVED getting to stretch out.

 

6 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

This is my life in a nutshell.

Monday is "vanity day" with core, chest, triceps, back. 5x5 on bench or 5, 5, 3, 3, 1 at 175-185. 3 years ago I hit a PR of 255 on a 1 rep max. No way that I'm close to that now, but I'm also down 15 pounds. Pound for pound at 170, I'm happy with where I am.

Tuesday is legs and biceps...I just know that I'll literally never do legs ever again unless I reward myself with biceps. It's pathetic, but it works.

Thursday is shoulders/core and some upper back.

Friday or Saturday is a "catch all"" day.

I will then try to get 1-3 days of cardio in. If I do 4 lifts, then 1-2 cardio days is plenty.

I audibly laughed here. Substitute "Metallica" for me with a bunch of 90s Punk/Pop like Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, etc. and that's me. 

All of this is a heart rate game. I hit it super hard on the pacing with little to no breaks between sets and I'm done in 30 minutes on a lift.

As Seth Feroce has coined it, "I'm gonna be Fit and eff-able." lol

 

I love legs and know exactly why. In 8th grade I got voted "best butt" on the baseball team by the softball team, and my brother had me lifting with him for about a year or so before that. So I attributed it to squats and high leg presses. Ever since squats have been dear to me... and my ego.

[MWil23]

6 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

Have you tried decompression? Like from an inverted table. IDK if it would actually help since it seems to be from chonic abuse but after football I LOVED getting to stretch out.

This is something I'm VERY open to, but I don't have the access and don't want to drop some money on something that I won't necessarily use/that won't work. Low key, I'd love to get some opinions on a new top of the line mattress and pillows and what that could do for me.

6 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

As Seth Feroce has coined it, "I'm gonna be Fit and eff-able." lol

Honestly, my wife digs the way that I look, so I'm here for that. I don't have the time/effort/energy to hit the gym 2+ hours a day like I used to to look the way that I did, let alone the grocery budget, while being a good husband and father. So, 30-45 minutes 5-6 days a week I can do. I won't have 6 pack abs, but that's fine. A line down my stomach while looking decent in a bathing suit so long as I do some personal grooming (yeah sorry guys I have to because otherwise I'd look like a mustache-less Tom Selleck) is good enough.

6 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

I love legs and know exactly why. In 8th grade I got voted "best butt" on the baseball team by the softball team, and my brother had me lifting with him for about a year or so before that. So I attributed it to squats and high leg presses. Ever since squats have been dear to me... and my ego.

[ramssuperbowl99]

22 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

This is my life in a nutshell.

Monday is "vanity day" with core, chest, triceps, back. 5x5 on bench or 5, 5, 3, 3, 1 at 175-185. 3 years ago I hit a PR of 255 on a 1 rep max. No way that I'm close to that now, but I'm also down 15 pounds. Pound for pound at 170, I'm happy with where I am.

Tuesday is legs and biceps...I just know that I'll literally never do legs ever again unless I reward myself with biceps. It's pathetic, but it works.

Thursday is shoulders/core and some upper back.

Friday or Saturday is a "catch all"" day.

I will then try to get 1-3 days of cardio in. If I do 4 lifts, then 1-2 cardio days is plenty.

I've gone fully no routine schedule, and really like it. The exercises I'll do are:

• Pullups (3x8)
• Bar dips (3x8)
• Bench (2-3x12)
• Back extension (2-3x12)
• Weighted sit up/other high intensity core work (2-3x12) - eff going to the gym to do crunches buy a yoga mat
• Row (2-3x12)
• Flies (2-3x12)
• Squats (3x8)
• Deadlifts (3x8) - with back soreness on either I swap in a leg press
• Weighted lunges (2-3x12)

I go every day, but there's no requirement that I do all of them. The key is to be honest with yourself when you shouldn't push it because you need the rest versus not pushing it because you just don't want to.

22 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

All of this is a heart rate game. I hit it super hard on the pacing with little to no breaks between sets and I'm done in 30 minutes on a lift.

@Sugashane - this right here is the tip. When I want to fry myself, I do pull ups/dips first thing, and the "rest" for one set is me doing the other exercise.

22 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I audibly laughed here. Substitute "Metallica" for me with a bunch of 90s Punk/Pop like Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, etc. and that's me. 

Oh yeah No Leaf Clover was on all the time back in the day.

This is so sad, but I've tried Angels and Airwaves and Boxcar Racer and the pop/punk stuff and it's still too similar. Electronic music really helps. The drums aren't real drums, and the guitars aren't playing real power chords. It makes all the difference.

So while I'm lifting tomorrow T-Swift is gonna be telling me that she's the problem the whole time.

Edited November 11, 2022 by ramssuperbowl99

[MWil23]

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

I've gone fully no routine schedule, and really like it. The exercises I'll do are:

• Pullups (3x8)
• Bar dips (3x8)
• Bench (2-3x12)
• Back extension (2-3x12)
• Weighted sit up/other high intensity core work (2-3x12) - eff going to the gym to do crunches buy a yoga mat
• Row (2-3x12)
• Flies (2-3x12)
• Squats (3x8)
• Deadlifts (3x8) - with back soreness on either I swap in a leg press
• Weighted lunges (2-3x12)

I used to do pullups. I don't anymore. My only defense is "I hate them". I'll do dips, push ups, and some other body weight stuff, but I hate pull ups. I wish I loved them. I want to love them. I know how great they are for me. I hate them. If I do them (rarely), I'll do neutral grip because I can crank out a lot of them and it'll stretch out my back.

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

I go every day, but there's no requirement that I do all of them. The key is to be honest about yourself when you shouldn't push it because you need the rest versus not pushing it because you just don't want to.

@Sugashane - this right here is the tip. When I want to fry myself, I do pull ups/dips first thing, and the "rest" for one set is me doing the other exercise.

Almost everything I do is a superset with combining my "off" group of muscles. For example, I'll do military press 5x5 at 50 pound dumbbells, followed by a standing dumbbell press 5x8 with 20s, then immediately hit the seated rows.

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Oh yeah No Leaf Clover was on all the time back in the day.

*Chuckles*

Yeah...was.

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

This is so sad, but I've tried Angels and Airwaves and Boxcar Racer and the pop/punk stuff and it's still too similar.

That's okay buddy don't worry, nobody's perfect.  

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Electronic music really helps. The drums aren't real drums, and the guitars aren't playing real power chords. It makes all the difference.

Sounds like a great time to go down the 80's hair band rabbit hole that utilizes all of the above. I used to make fun of Poison and their fans, and now when "Ride the Wind" hits on pandora, it's full blast and epic.

15 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

So while I'm lifting tomorrow T-Swift is gonna be telling me that she's the problem the whole time.

I dare you to listen to The Final Countdown by Europe and not hit a PR.

Edited November 11, 2022 by MWil23

[ramssuperbowl99]

3 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

10 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

This is so sad, but I've tried Angels and Airwaves and Boxcar Racer and the pop/punk stuff and it's still too similar.

That's okay buddy don't worry, nobody's perfect.  

Imagine actually getting pumped up to ******* Boxcar Racer.

Put a bullet in me.

6 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

used to do pullups. I don't anymore. My only defense is "I hate them". I'll do dips, push ups, and some other body weight stuff, but I hate pull ups. I wish I loved them. I want to love them. I know how great they are for me. I hate them. If I do them (rarely), I'll do neutral grip because I can crank out a lot of them and it'll stretch out my back.

Pullups have the most pathetic moment in all of weightlifting, which is the last rep when you're having to resist the temptation to flail your legs around because otherwise it's not getting locked out.

I'm good at them - lifetime of high end swimming ingrains that - and even I feel like a jackass at the end.

6 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Almost everything I do is a superset with combining my "off" group of muscles. For example, I'll do military press 5x5 at 50 pound dumbbells, followed by a standing dumbbell press 5x8 with 20s, then immediately hit the seated rows.

Yep, row v bench, abs v back extensions, and then I do shoulder work intermixed with lunges too sometimes.

11 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Sounds like a great time to go down the 80's hair band rabbit hole that utilizes all of the above. I used to make fun of Poison and their fans, and now when "Ride the Wind" hits on pandora, it's full blast and epic.

I dare you to listen to The Final Countdown by Europe and not hit a PR.

Oh god I'm gonna have to start working out to the Deadpool soundtrack.

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Imagine actually getting pumped up to ******* Boxcar Racer.

Put a bullet in me.

1 minute ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Pullups have the most pathetic moment in all of weightlifting, which is the last rep when you're having to resist the temptation to flail your legs around because otherwise it's not getting locked out.

I'm good at them - lifetime of high end swimming ingrains that - and even I feel like a jackass at the end.

Those last 1-2 on the "how bad do you want it" metric are essentially "college vs. now".

College me: ***Flailing, self loathing, embarrassment does not exist, don't let the team down, win this rep

Now: "Nah, close enough. Let's let everyone else think that I'm doing reps of 9 instead of 10. Better yet, let's let them think it was 8 and that somehow I accidentally did one too many."

1 minute ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Yep, row v bench, abs v back extensions, and then I do shoulder work intermixed with lunges too sometimes.

Oh god I'm gonna have to start working out to the Deadpool soundtrack.

I listened and worked out to the original Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack and it was honestly almost perfect as well for a time.

[Sugashane]

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

This is something I'm VERY open to, but I don't have the access and don't want to drop some money on something that I won't necessarily use/that won't work. Low key, I'd love to get some opinions on a new top of the line mattress and pillows and what that could do for me.

I couldn't help there. My sister-in-law got a Dream Cloud, one you get mailed to you, and she loves it. She spends 10 hours a day minimum in it too though.

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

Honestly, my wife digs the way that I look, so I'm here for that. I don't have the time/effort/energy to hit the gym 2+ hours a day like I used to to look the way that I did, let alone the grocery budget, while being a good husband and father. So, 30-45 minutes 5-6 days a week I can do. I won't have 6 pack abs, but that's fine. A line down my stomach while looking decent in a bathing suit so long as I do some personal grooming (yeah sorry guys I have to because otherwise I'd look like a mustache-less Tom Selleck) is good enough.

My abs will forever be...protected. Like bubble wrapping a precious statue, but a little more jiggly.

Wife was into me when I was personal training and going into BMT, when I was bulked up and not as lean, and when I got straight up fat as hell during COVID. That's her issue. I'm completely in it for me and to live longer for the kids and future grandkids. That ego will always be there. hahaha

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

Its crazy to think that I STILL think of that as a major highlight of my childhood! IDK if that says more about how seldom boys get actual compliments in the US or what, but 20 years have passed and I still hold that in high regard. 😂

[jetsfan4life51]

You guys forgot +44

[jetsfan4life51]

On 11/11/2022 at 7:27 AM, MWil23 said:

The most maniacal squat related thing I used to do/have to do in college was weighted jump squats. 225 x 20 followed by an immediate superset at 225x10 jumping...5 sets.

Needless to say, that was absolutely horrendous and I used to love leg day.

Did the strength coach get fired? That’s asking to get everyone hurt or bury them to the point they won’t recover. I feel like most of the college stories we hear about are the “tough guys with huge egos” trying to beat the crap out of athletes like they’re the Soviet weightlifting team. 

[MWil23]

58 minutes ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

Did the strength coach get fired? That’s asking to get everyone hurt or bury them to the point they won’t recover. I feel like most of the college stories we hear about are the “tough guys with huge egos” trying to beat the crap out of athletes like they’re the Soviet weightlifting team. 

Our HC was a control freak so he ran everything. No strength/conditioning coach back then. As much as @ramssuperbowl99 and I bang on the NCAA, us moving into that governing body was the right move my senior year for reasons like that.

[ramssuperbowl99]

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

Our HC was a control freak so he ran everything. No strength/conditioning coach back then. As much as @ramssuperbowl99 and I bang on the NCAA, us moving into that governing body was the right move my senior year for reasons like that.

I went on recruiting trips and was told "don't sign here, they own you" by more than 1 host.