ES Official Weight Lifting Thread

[SackMachine]

You cant add muscle mass and tone at the same time, or atleast it will be very slow.

Want to get toned, go swimming. To make a comparison, Ive been doing weight training on and off for 4 years (parents got me bench press for xmas), a friend of mine is a lifeguard and goes swimming alot. Swimming uses almost all your body and is the easiest way to get toned.

The way I am toned is nothing compared to him. Although I doubt 15 days is enough time to make a difference or to see the difference, depends on your body though, takes me a month + to see any difference.

Interesting thread, ill be trying out some of the advice given out here. Im looking more to add muscle mass and speed/explosiveness.

[Commander_N_Chief]

I wonder if we could get a mod to change the thread into the official weight lifting thread of ES. One where everyone can come together and discuss their workouts, the new excersises, health questions, etc etc.

Tonight I'll be at Freedom next to George Mason U. campus from 7ish till close if anyone wants to show up.

[PCS]

You can change the title yourself if you want. Just go to your first post and edit the title.

[Commander_N_Chief]

Wow, what two hours of sleep will do to a fellow. *smacks self in the head* Thanks PCS.

[KingGibbs]

Good deal. I like the idea of this "official" thread. I have some advice when it comes to the bench press. I have a bad right shoulder so I'm limited when it comes to the bench press. I always try to stretch the shoulder before the bench press, but to no avail.

Yesterday, I read that before each set lie on the bench and squeeze the bar as hard as you can for five seconds and then release. You then wait a few seconds, squeeze again then lift. This morning I tried this method and what a difference. For the first time I had no ill affects with the shoulder after the bench press. This squeeze method gets the blood flowing to all of the muscles you utilize during the press and it will help you lift more weight.

I'm a little hesitant as far as increasing the weight due to my shoulder, but I could definitely notice a difference using this method. Try it and let me know how you did.

[Commander_N_Chief]

I like the idea for the bench KG, and if anyone has a bad leg such as mine I would recommend doing wall squats and leg lunges included in your stretching routine before lifting. I was told to try it, and it made my life easier while doing leg workouts. Also when I first started lifting I had trouble keeping my wrists from tweaking while doing preacher curls, and began taping my wrists. I still tape my gloves and wrist area to this day and it makes it easier.

[NASMTrainer]

Gezzz, where do I start. The sauna (shudders) before you workout. Um, Ok, STOP THAT. The sauna as far as I can tell does nothing but make you sweat. That's it. Some will say that there are some health values to it but I really don't think so but then again that's not really here nor there, for what you are trying to do, it's worthless. The amount of fluids you lose during this sauna time are replaced as soon as you get out and drink fluids.

Now, for you wainting to lose midsection fat but gain weight, can't be done. In order to lose body weight you must burn more calories than you take in, to gain muscle you must take in lots of calories. If you try to do both, you're just banging your head against a wall. As mentioned earlier, "spot reduction" is impossible. You lose weight from your whole body not just "spots" I will however tell you this, you tend to lose the most weight in reverse order then which you put it on. When you gain you see it go to your midsection, chest, back, legs, face and so on, you're going to lose it in the oppisite direction with your midsection being the last and hardest place to get rid of the last few pounds you want to lose.

Now, while cardio is the best way to burn those calories, you also want to lift weights, since muscle burns more calories. The more muscle mass you have the more calories that are being burned throughtout the day. As for cardio, you want to stay at about 80% of your max heart rate, anymore and your move into an anabolic stage which is where the body quits burning fat and starts burning muscle, not good. Like someone else stated, I suggest interval training. There are some good programs that you can find with a simple google search.

Hope this helps

[Spaceman Spiff]

www.mikemahler.com

www.russiankettlebells.com

[LiveStrongSkins]

Gezzz, where do I start. The sauna (shudders) before you workout. Um, Ok, STOP THAT. The sauna as far as I can tell does nothing but make you sweat. That's it. Some will say that there are some health values to it but I really don't think so but then again that's not really here nor there, for what you are trying to do, it's worthless. The amount of fluids you lose during this sauna time are replaced as soon as you get out and drink fluids.

Now, for you wainting to lose midsection fat but gain weight, can't be done. In order to lose body weight you must burn more calories than you take in, to gain muscle you must take in lots of calories. If you try to do both, you're just banging your head against a wall. As mentioned earlier, "spot reduction" is impossible. You lose weight from your whole body not just "spots" I will however tell you this, you tend to lose the most weight in reverse order then which you put it on. When you gain you see it go to your midsection, chest, back, legs, face and so on, you're going to lose it in the oppisite direction with your midsection being the last and hardest place to get rid of the last few pounds you want to lose.

Now, while cardio is the best way to burn those calories, you also want to lift weights, since muscle burns more calories. The more muscle mass you have the more calories that are being burned throughtout the day. As for cardio, you want to stay at about 80% of your max heart rate, anymore and your move into an anabolic stage which is where the body quits burning fat and starts burning muscle, not good. Like someone else stated, I suggest interval training. There are some good programs that you can find with a simple google search.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the detailed information. Thats pretty helpful. I too want to tone down the abs a little more but not sacrifice the muscle I have built. I dont need to lose a whole bunch of weight but will ab work and working your obliques (sp?) tighten it up?

[Air Force Cane]

"Every set should end with you struggling to complete the final rep."

I agree with lifting to failure- but how can you do with in your first few warmup sets. I work my way up in the bench press or really any exercise- 8 reps, then 6 reps, then 4 reps at my maximum (100% of my body weight)

are you saying skip warming up? my shoulders would be ripped off :cool:

[TheKurp]

LiveStrong,

You're not getting it. If you want tone abs you need to reduce the body fat covering your abs. You can't do this by "targeting" your abs with abdominal exercises. In fact, what gives abs their definition isn't muscle, but the tendons that are stretched over and across the abdominal muscle. No amount of exercising in the world can increase the size of tendons.

If you want definition you need to get your body fat down to 10% or less. I don't know how else to say it.

[jbooma]

pilates or yoga might help

[LiveStrongSkins]

LiveStrong,

You're not getting it. If you want tone abs you need to reduce the body fat covering your abs. You can't do this by "targeting" your abs with abdominal exercises. In fact, what gives abs their definition isn't muscle, but the tendons that are stretched over and across the abdominal muscle. No amount of exercising in the world can increase the size of tendons.

If you want definition you need to get your body fat down to 10% or less. I don't know how else to say it.

You sound mad dude...relax :laugh: What I should have asked is what is the best way possible to tighten up the midsection without sacrificing (too much) muscle mass. And what would you recommend t o get down to 10% body fat?

[Air Force Cane]

some of you have hit on the problem I have been facing for some time now.

I am 5'7, and weighing in at 144-45 pounds. So not exactly a fattie :cool:

on the other hand, my pecs and arms and shoulders look toned- but my tummy pretty much looks like your average american guy. NOT great!

there is the muscle UNDERNEATH the body fat. with about 1/2 inch of love handles on the sides as well.

very skinny legs. I am also nearly 36 years old. so even though I am going to the gym everyday it is not like I can radically reshape my body.

the issue then is this: is it better simply to "lean out" by dropping weight? that has the following advantages:

1) look skinny in a uniform 2) perhaps lose the round face of a 36 year old

on the other hand, i have a 33 inch waist as it is. getting skinnier will simply make me a skinny guy. not sure how attractive that is to the ladyfolk. and also losing muscle mass along with the fat is not great when one serves as a military reservist.

so I am stuck in that zone- trying to lean out while also trying to bulk up- which is anatomically impossible.

any thoughts as to a good program would be greatly appreciated!! :notworthy

[Slateman]

What about some good core workouts? I need ideas . . . something fun or at least different

[Commander_N_Chief]

some of you have hit on the problem I have been facing for some time now.

I am 5'7, and weighing in at 144-45 pounds. So not exactly a fattie :cool:

on the other hand, my pecs and arms and shoulders look toned- but my tummy pretty much looks like your average american guy. NOT great!

there is the muscle UNDERNEATH the body fat. with about 1/2 inch of love handles on the sides as well.

very skinny legs. I am also nearly 36 years old. so even though I am going to the gym everyday it is not like I can radically reshape my body.

the issue then is this: is it better simply to "lean out" by dropping weight? that has the following advantages:

1) look skinny in a uniform 2) perhaps lose the round face of a 36 year old

on the other hand, i have a 33 inch waist as it is. getting skinnier will simply make me a skinny guy. not sure how attractive that is to the ladyfolk. and also losing muscle mass along with the fat is not great when one serves as a military reservist.

so I am stuck in that zone- trying to lean out while also trying to bulk up- which is anatomically impossible.

any thoughts as to a good program would be greatly appreciated!! :notworthy

Hey AFS, I've found over the course of lifting that doing wide arm hangs and letting your body pull itself down naturally thanks to gravity while you keep your body motionless helps stretch the oblique(love handles) and helps give your body that \ / shape. As far as working the abdominals, roll onto your side(left and right respectively) and do crunches that way, as well as bicycles. Those two excersises are where I feel my abs the most at work. And those are a few of the excersises I've been using since I was 13 and even more of them now that I'm trying to get just a bit more toned and shaped than I am. Hope that helps, if you need anything else just ask.

[Air Force Cane]

good ideas on the different types of crunches..

problem with the hanging exercises is that I hurt my right shoulder/rotator cuff before officer school and it is just fully healing now. those kind of exercises put a lot of stress on the rotator cuff

[Zguy28]

Watch the training part of Rocky 4. Mimic and repeat.

[Isifhan]

I'm a little hesitant as far as increasing the weight due to my shoulder, but I could definitely notice a difference using this method. Try it and let me know how you did.

Try and use the Max-OT warm up method for additional help on this. Warm up should consist of 5 sets.

1. 50% of heavy weight x 12 reps (rest 2 min)

2. 50% of heavy weight x 10 reps (rest 2 min)

3. 70% of heavy weight x 6 reps (res 2 min)

4. 80% of heavy weight x 3 reps (rest 2 min)

5. 90% of heavy weight x 1 rep

8-9 sets are your heavy muscle building sets. This warm up should allow for a 5-10 lb increase on your heavy set. So if you started with 275 as your heavy weight, by the time you get to your muscle building sets you should be able to hit 280-285.

Thing is you usually only warm up the major muscle group once. So if you warm up doing a bench press then you won't have to warm up any other chest exercises. See if that helps at all.

[TheKurp]

You sound mad dude...relax :laugh: What I should have asked is what is the best way possible to tighten up the midsection without sacrificing (too much) muscle mass. And what would you recommend t o get down to 10% body fat?

Your question doesn't make sense. If when you say "tighten up" you mean pull the abdominal wall back, then you want to work the upper (i.e. crunches) and lower (i.e., hanging knee raises) muscles. Think of it as pulling a girdle tighter. Whenever you're working your abs just remember to keep your stomach pulled in and tight during the exercises.

But none of that has anything to do with "sacrificing muscle mass" as you put it. One has nothing to do with the other.

Now, if you want six-pack abs AND larger muscles, then you need to do one before the other. In other words, work on reducing your body fat by burning more energy than you consume. Calories = energy. It's not just a matter of reducing the number of calories that you consume because after you lose 10 to 20 percent of your body-weight one's metabolism starts to slow down. So maintaining an exercise regimen is important while you're losing weight. Aerobic exercise is the faster way to burn calories. However anerobic exercise is also important because muscles continue to burn calories at a faster rate than fat while the body is at rest. So the best approach is to combine aerobic and anerobic exercise while reducing the number of calories per day.

Once you've reached the state where you have a fairly defined six-pack (i.e., 10% or less body fat) then it's time to go to work on building muscle mass. You do this by increasing calorie intake, but not just any calories. You need to consume quality proteins (eggs are the perfect protein because 100% of the protein is available to the body) because protein is what builds muscles. You also need to emphasis lifting heavier weights and fewer reps than you did during your fat-reduction phase.

In short, you need to think of this as a long-term project. Certainly longer than the two weeks you're giving yourself.

[KingGibbs]

good ideas on the different types of crunches..

problem with the hanging exercises is that I hurt my right shoulder/rotator cuff before officer school and it is just fully healing now. those kind of exercises put a lot of stress on the rotator cuff

AFC. I face the same problem you do in regards to the shoulders. I would suggest doing lateral raises with light dumbells. Ten lbs will be plenty of weight. Do three sets of 10-12 to start off with and gradually increase the reps. The only way to repair a bad shoulder other than surgery is strengthening the muscle.

Another excercise I recommend is one where you grab a ten lb plate, cup it with your hand, hold your arm out to your side and your lower arm should be parallel to the floor and your upper arm should be pointing upward. Rotate your upper arm downward until it is parallel to the floor and bring back up to the starting position and repeat. Again work your way up in reps.

[ashburnskinsfan]

Forget sauna and diet pills.

Manage food intake and do aerobic exercise

You won't be able to loose spot fat off your waist, but by doing crunches to strengthen abs you will likely find your find your waist size comes down.

[KingGibbs]

In short, you need to think of this as a long-term project

.

Your whole post nailed it Kurp. But, the last line that I quoted is where most people fail. Some people expect quick results and it just doesn't happen. Even if it does it's only temporary. I've finally realize that it is a "long-term project."

[KingGibbs]

Forget sauna and diet pills.

Manage food intake and do aerobic exercise

You won't be able to loose spot fat off your waist, but by doing crunches to strengthen abs you will likely find your find your waist size comes down.

One myth is that doing crunches will burn your mid-section. Not the case. As you stated food intake and aerobic are key because if you don't do either and do crunches exclusively you will find your waist expanding due to the muscle pushing the fat out even further.

[ashburnskinsfan]

One myth is that doing crunches will burn your mid-section. Not the case. As you stated food intake and aerobic are key because if you don't do either and do crunches exclusively you will find your waist expanding due to the muscle pushing the fat out even further.

I understand about that myth ... I specifically said that spot fat reduction doesn't work. However, most people, even relatively skinny ones often have a 'belly' because of weak abs. Doing crunches will usually reduce waist size.