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cubby2112

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About cubby2112

  • Birthday 01/15/1986

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  1. Welcome! Yes, cardio is boring. Try some GPP (General Physical Preparedness) methods that powerlifters/strongmen use. I couldn't find any kind of cardio that I could stick to due to boredom, but some of the methods they use are great. This includes stuff like sledgehammer work, sled dragging, Prowler pushing, treadmill pushing, etc. Some use hill sprints and kettlebell conditioning, which you've said you don't enjoy. Keep trying new stuff! Look up GPP for other ideas.
  2. I don't think any is really "best." Flax is the cheapest and most widely available. Some will warn you against cyanide in them, but it has been shown that the minuscule amount of cyanide only begins to pose a risk at intakes of about 1/2 cup per day. Chia has the same level of omega 3s, but is more expensive and not as widely available. If you are worried about cyanide, I recommend to just eat chia, or a combination of chia and flax. Hemp is rather low in omega 3s compared to the two, but is the highest in protein, and the tastiest in my opinion. I would not recommend to rely on hemp for your main source of omega 3s, but maybe to slightly supplement it. Flax needs to be ground, chia and hemp can be eaten whole. If you have a Vita-Mix or similar, they are strong enough to throw whole flax seeds in and grind up right with the rest of your smoothie. If not, use a coffee grinder, which is preferable over pre-ground seeds. You can grind up a pound of flax at a time and store it in the freezer.
  3. Welcome! I am from Illinois also. I am currently in grad school myself.
  4. They are definitely worth it if you like to do "fasted" training, but other than that, it mostly depends on how much money you have to spend on supplements.
  5. From a muscle building standpoint, overhead pressing isn't necessary, so that isn't such a big deal. You can get all the development you need from various dips and horizontal presses, with some lateral raises possibly for accessory work.
  6. Hardly. He is nothing but helpful. It would do you well to listen to him. Definitely. He knows his shit.
  7. My basic workout template is three days per week (MWF usually) having a A1, B1, A2, B2 workout rotation. On the A's, you pick one big leg/back lift (back squat or deadlift variation), then do an assistance leg exercise. If I squatted, it is going to be a posterior chain assistance exercise (RDLs, glute/ham raises, reverse hypers, back extensions, pull-thrus, etc.) if it was a deadlift, I will do something like a safety bar front or back squat, front squat, lunge, Bulgarian split squat, etc., which emphasizes the quads. So, if A1 uses squat as a main lift, A2 will use a deadlift. On squat day, I like to do several sets of some sort of row, then a few sets of curls and calf work. On deadlift day, I like to focus on some sort of pull-up/down, after leg work, then a bicep and calf exercise to finish. Everything is done for 2-4 sets. On B1 days, I choose a barbell bench variation for my primary exercise, then supplement with a higher rep dumbbell press of some angle, then do some iso (or at least nearly so) tricep work, such as cable extensions, skull crushers, JM presses, PJR pullovers, etc. Then I do some for of upright row (I don't raise the weight very high on these, only below my nipples, so as to avoid excessive shoulder rotation and stress). I follow this up with some sit-ups, ab wheel, leg raises, etc. On B2, I choose an overhead press as my main movement. I follow it with some dips, since they are easier on my and most people shoulders, mostly hitting chest and triceps. After that, I hit up some tricep iso (or nearly so) work, then some lateral raises, then some ab work. This basically has you repeating every workout every 9-10 days, and you have 4-5 days between bodyparts. This is how many, many routines are broken up, because it was popularized by some conjugate method guys. You shouldn't run into issues with your shoulders being overtrained, and if you do, drop the overhead presses for dips, if dips don't bother your shoulders. Just do a few heavy sets of dips (1-5 reps), then drop back and do some dips in a higher rep range. Lots of dipping, but I think dips are amazing, so that is fine with me. Your rotators won't end up overly beat up this way, since you always have a day between workouts. You might want to add in some external rotation, though, and maybe some stretches for your internal rotators. This can avoid some overuse/tightening/imbalance issues. If you search around enough, you might find enough information to figure out 5/3/1. I bought the ebook for $20. Here is a link to start with. http://muscleandbrawn.com/wendlers-531-powerlifting-system/ Wendler generally puts his back/bicep work in with his chest/shoulder/tricep work, with legs on the other day, which many argue actually causes more overlap than a chest/shoulder/tricep and back/bicep/leg split. I believe more in the second split, but do what works for you. YMMV.
  8. I like throwing back in on leg days. Focus on pull-ups on days you deadlift, rows on days you squat. Someone of your height might find sumo deads useful, or trap bar deads (keep in mind that you might want to do some posterior assistance work on trap bar dead days). Generally, pulling and pressing hit entirely different parts of the shoulder. The only part of the shoulder that is at great risk for overtraining is the anterior head, since it is hit hard on almost every pressing movement. Overhead pressing is fairly safe, because your scapulae are free to move during the movement. Make sure to tuck your elbows at the bottom. If you do overhead pressing on a training day, try dips as an assistance move, since they are relatively front delt light. Doing overhead press and bench on the same day can be very fatiguing on your shoulders. I like the way Wendler splits stuff up for 5/3/1, which might be a good program for you, since it is based on slow progression. 5/3/1 with periodization bible assistance work is great for mass.
  9. Read what Homonunculus says about the study here. He is a very smart man. http://intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=41860&highlight=volume+study
  10. Or a coat hanger. Seriously though, IF has helped me a lot with keeping the food baby down. It isn't a panacea by any stretch of the imagination, but it helps. Light cardio (brisk walking) in the fasted state also helps.
  11. Operative word is fatigue. When you lift really heavy shit, your fast-twitch, high-threshold fibers fire. When you lift light weights, you are using a greater percentage of slow-twitch fibers, which don't hypertrophy that much. If you lift light weights to failure, you cycle through fibers throughout the set until your high-threshold fibers have to be recruited. That is why people can lift in the 20-30rp range with DoggCrapp and get strong and big as shit from it. A 30rp set, for example, would be 15 reps to failure, rest for 15 breaths, 7 reps to failure, rest for 15 breaths, then 4 reps to failure. This guarantees that you are going to blast the hell out of your fast-twitch fibers. It essentially "simulates" higher loads. You don't have to rest-pause for this effect; one straight set will hit your fast-twitch fibers near the end of the set. German Volume Training is a form of density training, which means that you basically keep hitting your muscles with a lighter load, with short breaks, until they become fatigued and reach deep into your fibers. If you can tolerate the volume and make weight progression on it, it can be a great way to get bigger. I personally respond to volume like shit, and am better off with higher intensity, low-moderate volume. Most others do as well.
  12. Ignoring this kind of stuff, to me, is moving into the realm of excessive political correctness. It reminds me of a piece I heard on NPR, where the guests were bemoaning, and the host was agreeing, the devaluation of stupid people perpetrated by comedians who make light of stupidity.
  13. I found it interesting, Epi-Gen. I slightly overlap my fingers, have long lower legs and long ring fingers. I can't remember my blood type. I've tested the fingers around wrist thing before, but am confused about that. My hands are pretty large for my height. I usually have hands larger than people several inches taller than me. I am 5'10''.
  14. Pulled 405x5 yesterday, paused for two breaths at the bottom. Judging from this, I should be able to pull 500x1 at the very least, based on my personal rep max calculations (my 5RM is about 75-80% of my 1RM, and my 3RM is about 85-90% of my 1RM for my big lifts). Problem is, I did a set of touch and go deads at 365 right after this, and pulled something in my back on rep 6. I hope it doesn't set me back for too long, because I really want that 500lb dead. I will be patient, though. Moving forward, I will no longer do touch and go deads, because I seem to get too excited sometimes and jerk the weight off the floor too quickly. Also, it is high time I start wearing a belt. I am getting into some pretty heavy iron at this point, and I don't believe the human body is really equipped to handle this kind of weight. I think not wearing belts is great for general fitness and athletes who aren't pulling/squatting big weights, but once you get decently far into powerlifting/powerbuilding/Oly, belts become quite an asset. It is unfortunate that I had to injure myself to finally wake up to this, even though I already believed it to be true. At least I believe it is a minor pull, because I can still move around without much issue, just using some ibuprofen.
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