boardn10

Hey, I am not sure why the last Calcium topic was Closed???? Or locked???? Anyway....that article or pamphlet was great! However, they incorrectly typed a heading as such: Dairy Products Edge Out Healthier Foods Then they go on to talk about how greens are healthier. I sent this article to my mother and of course she caught that heading and said....SEE...milk is better!

UGH!!!! I hate this attitude! I want to SCREAM! Due to some antibiotics I have been taking for some serious infections I came down with a Candida overgrowth issue. So, in reading some websites on Candida and associations to diet...I run across the various doctors and nutritionists who say eating vegetarian/vegan is a BAD HABBIT! The Human body is designed by nature to eat meat. Excuse me? What? Not the last time I checked! I have been through a rough perios woth health lately due to a some serious infections (unrelated to diet) but I can't wait till I am 100% healthy again so I can really get back to the gym and pack the muscle back on and where a Vegan Bodybuilding T Shirt with pride! Rich

Exactly... I have many friends who lift, and people I have met through life who have and still do lift more than myself and have no problems....and infact have far fewer problems than others. I don't compare bodybuilding to power lifting, to football or anything similar. I think if you do not overtrain and use proper form, you hsould have years of pain free lifting. Heck I know guys in their 60s, 70s and 80s who tell me they feel great with no sign of numbness in limbs, etc!

A friend of mine (fitness instructor/kettle ball gym owner) who suffered through Lyme disease and multiple other infections as did I, saw a doctor today to discuss some of his symptoms. The doctor, when he found out he was a weight lifter, said that weight lifters and bodybuilders are prone to and well known to end up with numbness in the extremeties and neuropathies, pain, etc. WTF? This doctor was very out of shape, so no authority on exercise to say the least! Any comments on this? -Rich

Hi VeganEssentials! I talked to my Ortho specialist who also is the sports medical doctor for some of the Philly college football teams. He is known as one of the best local Orthopedic surgeons and he was the guy who told me to not do any sort of shoulder press unless I want to destroy my shoulder. Not sure what to think. I have been lifting for over 20 years and have done plenty of shoulder presses in my life.

I thought you all lifted tiny pink plastic dumbells? Ha, I am kidding! My wife lifts as well and she uses the real iron. She used to be my training partner. Our daughter no longer makes that possible.

Gotcha man.....I don't have a lot of experience with power lifting, just body building...although PL exercises are great to build mass.

Hi Chris, what do you consider the rack? Still find it interesting there are such different variations and opinions on correct bent row form.

We are on the same page. That is my definition of a flexed spine as well. Just wanted to make certain because I have seen people define a flexed spine in other ways that made little sense. LOL. Yeah, I was talking about proper form. To flex the spine means to bend it forward, i.e. rounding/arching your back (picture an angry cat). Doing so puts lots of pressure on the front part of the intervertebral discs, which can cause a disc herniation. Disc herniations (aka slipped discs) often cause nerve impingements. If you know what a "bad" deadlift looks like, THAT is a flexed spine, also known as an injury waiting to happen .

In the past most of my rows were done with my upper body above parallel because that is how I was taught. So, essentially, the bar/weights never touched the floor when I would typically do BB rows. I see lots of bodybuilders doing them this way.

Bronco, what is your definition of a flexed spine....just so I have a clear picture in my head and we are on the same page.

What is that supposed to mean?

Still not sure how different the pendlay rows are from standard bent rows.

Thanks man, I was on that site eariler and had never heard of that technique. Looks similar to a standard barbel row where the back is parallel to the ground. I'll check it out.

Hey all, I have done various form of bent rows through the years and hear a debate quite often on what is the optimal bent row form. Some use a more 45% angle bent row where more of the low back comes into play and the bar never touches the floor. Others have their torso almost parallel to the floor and touch the weights to the floor between reps, hence working more of the upper back musculature.

Don't many of these guys end up with bad knees? I have read that....but I guess you would know. I have never followed power lifting closely. How about compression of the spine and nerve issues? I fear for pinched nerves and other similar damage from compresisoin of the spine doing squats. But, I think a lot of this would be due to poor form and too heavy a weight.

For me it is pretty obvious. Train a mucle hard and then hit it two days later? Hmm

A couple days! Are you overtraining? Or...is one day a light day?

Thanks for the info. I had understood that it was unsafe to go low.......guess that is incorrect. One thing I know, during the descent phase of a squat, leg press, or hack squat, etc, do not allow the knees to extend beyond your toes. The further your knees travel over your feet, the greater the shearing forces on the patellar tendon and ligament in the knee. I have read in a lot of bodybuilding books that the top of your thighs should be parallel to the floor in a well-executed squat. Still confused on that one. With my nerve issues that may stem from the back......I fear I will make things worse if I continue to sqaut due to spinal compression IF that would even be a reality. I hear different information on this topic. I might add that I am on the fence with the leg press now. Did some leg pressing the other day and have been doing some more reading....so much of it depends on the machine and your form. To add another exercise - how about the Pec Deck? This places your shoulder into the dislocation position. Better to do bench flys.

Barb, concentrate a lot on form and maybe find someone who knows how to squat well, help out. Also, careful trying to go too low. Too low I find counterproductive and dangerous. I personally have never gone below thighs parallel to the floor.

Hi there, I was referring the shoulder press with dumbells. And for me having palms face the side of my head feels a lot more natural than having palms face forward. This is with dumbells...so your palms are facing your ears. In football terms...think of an official signalling a touchdown.....palms face the side of the head. Again, I have no experience with shoulder injury as a result of shoulder presses...this is more from what I have read through research and talking to various exercie physiologists and Ortho's. Results may vary. To me, behind the next presses feel about as aunnatural as it gets. Dumbell and front presses such as Military feel much better and less prone to injury. Yep, thumbless grip is great too!! endcruelty......how did the bent row hurt you? Was it a poor form thing? Dumbells or barbell?

When I say dangersous, I refer to possibility of injury and an exercises that could lead to future problems, whether it be with the back or joints, etc. I will elaborate later when I have time but wanted to get some of these out there now to get some feedback from others. These are what I consider some of the exerice which should be avoided for various reasons. I arrived at this list after 23 years of lifting experience and experimentation, after reading over 40 books on the human body, exercise, and bodybuilding, and after talking to quite a few orthopaedic specialists, some of whom have worked closely with the local Philadelphia pro sports teams and college teams. Behind the Neck press(Overhead press?) - can lead to many shoulder problems, places the shoulder into dislocation position. Now, on the overhead press I personally have found having your palms face your head leads to much less shoulder discomfort and from reading appears to be more biomechanically correct. Upright row - Impingement of the shoulder. Can result in future shoulder problems. Leg Press - high risk of low back injury! Very unnatural movement. You could use a smaller range of motion, but why? Better off doing squats, hack squats and dare I say smith machine squats(although I avoid because they can be hell on knees), lunges, step ups, etc. Especially if you go deep, can round the lower back. Leg Extension - shearing and compression stress/force on the knee joint I also do very little on a Smith machine other than maybe shrugs here and there. I'd love to have a conversation around this subject and I will try to add what I have learned and understand to be dangersous about each exercise later today or this weekend. The list is longer in my mind, but I just awoke and am trying to juggle making breakfast and getting my daughter ready for school. Ha.

Not always having a spotter available makes it easier for me to do DB presses so that is typically where I stay. Unfortunately due to issues with my shoulder and elbow joint in my left arm I have done neither for 6 months and I used to be a monster bench presser. Oh well.

Sometimes I think the balance required in using dumbelss for something like bench press recruits more muscle fibers...as it is more difficult than barbell presses for example.

Cool! I like Baltimore a lot too.....I see a doctor down in Baltimore. Time to start the East Coast Bodybuilding crew!