B.S Exercise Physiology. ask me your training questions

[MyBaddBrah]

Best practice for an extremely tight lower back? After sitting on a plane for 12 hours my back becomes phucked for nearly a week. Even when sitting on an office chair it becomes very uncomfortable after a while. If I don't have to sit, I can keep it loose during my weight training, focusing on my core. Then it's bearable but still feels like if I use it too much it's going to hurt.

Deadlifting and any lower-back targeted training has been out of the question for a while now.

[tank2003]

Best practice for an extremely tight lower back? After sitting on a plane for 12 hours my back becomes phucked for nearly a week. Even when sitting on an office chair it becomes very uncomfortable after a while. If I don't have to sit, I can keep it loose during my weight training, focusing on my core. Then it's bearable but still feels like if I use it too much it's going to hurt.

Deadlifting and any lower-back targeted training has been out of the question for a while now.

Sorry for the late reply. Now that a mod un-stickied this, I forge to check

[2RDEYE]

just started cutting two weeks ago tank and my strength has been dipping rapidly. like insanely fast. what do i do

for instance i built myself up again to hit that 2 plates flat bench then when i started cutting had to drop to a plate + 35 + 5 for 4 reps. then had to drop that the next week to plate + 35 + 2.5 for 4 reps. then i had to drop that to plate + 35 + 2.5 for 2 reps. can barely pump a plate and 25lbs for 6. and it's been downhill ever since lol. reps are going down along with strength. should i just switch to just medium - high reps? strength training days are not going so well. only planning to cut about 10lbs or so give or take 6-8 weeks for that

[Johnez]

What happened to stickie?

On the plus side, this thread will probably get more attention from miscers who skip right over stickies heh.

[GordonXXX]

anything wrong with doing full body workout 7 days a week with no day off? been doing it for years.
not trying to get big, just be ripped, lean, and mean. age 50. no problems yet.

[Johnez]

Alrighty, since you've answered creatine questions before, a quick one:

Will half the standard dose (2.5 grams) make any difference in gainz? I'm in my 30s and have my hair and wanna keep my hair, but am worried about dat dere DHT thing.

[Johnez]

Taaaaank...I know you're online fukker lol

Bump of peas and prosperity

[tank2003]

just started cutting two weeks ago tank and my strength has been dipping rapidly. like insanely fast. what do i do

for instance i built myself up again to hit that 2 plates flat bench then when i started cutting had to drop to a plate + 35 + 5 for 4 reps. then had to drop that the next week to plate + 35 + 2.5 for 4 reps. then i had to drop that to plate + 35 + 2.5 for 2 reps. can barely pump a plate and 25lbs for 6. and it's been downhill ever since lol. reps are going down along with strength. should i just switch to just medium - high reps? strength training days are not going so well. only planning to cut about 10lbs or so give or take 6-8 weeks for that

strength loss is common and to be expected during a cut. what kind of cut are you doing anyway? kcal reduction? You can STILL make gains (both in lean mass and in strength) if you eat in a positive nitrogen balance. Nitrogen keeps us from going catabolic and only proteins have nitrogen. So you need both the essential and non-essential Amino Acids. As far as how many grams of protein you need, (i'm sure youa lready know this) its dependent upon your lean body mass, how much you train and how hard you train. In general, the range of recommended protein intake is .6g-1.3g per kg of lean body mass. But the caveat here is that protein isnt stored. Excess protein is stored as body fat so dont over do it.

Do you have a workout journal? If not, then i'd recommend keeping one. I Made a spreadsheet detailing my workouts and i use that. It GUARANTEES you progressive overload which is the baseline stimulus for both strength and hypertrophy.

What happened to stickie?

On the plus side, this thread will probably get more attention from miscers who skip right over stickies heh.

Not sure what happened to the stickie. A mod deemed it unworthy I guess. A few other threads got the same designations s well

anything wrong with doing full body workout 7 days a week with no day off? been doing it for years.
not trying to get big, just be ripped, lean, and mean. age 50. no problems yet.

Well, yes and no. Overtraining, which leads to tons of issues, is a concern. But this is pretty much only on a theoretical level though. Since you are doing this everyday, I cant imagine that you are doing too many different exercises per muscle group or else you'd be in the gym for 3 hours. Moderately intense actively like strength training is good for raising your overall energy levels, but if you are only doing say 2-3 exercises or 6 or 8 sets per body part, then you arent really doing much in the ways of progress.
Instead, try breaking it up in one of these common methods:
-Chest & Back (back day includes the low back)
-Shoulders & Legs
-Arms
-Core work should ALWAYS be done but I usually have a day solely for it

-OR-
-Chest and Triceps
-Back and Biceps (low back included)
-Shoulders and Legs *You could switch chest and shoulders if you wanted*
-Core

-OR-

Push, Pull, Legs
-Day 1: Push
Any exercise that you push. Any kind of pressing (i.e. pushing th weight AWAY from you; bench press, Overhead Press, DB pressing, push ups etc)
-Day 2: Pull
Any exercise that you pull. Pull/chin ups, Rows, pull downs etc)
-Day 3: Legs
Self explanatory
-Day 4: Rest or light activity if you dont like off days. I personaly dont care for a complete off day

If you do choose one of these common methods, then you should pick about 5 exercises that you like, at LEAST 2 or 3 should be a compound exercise and have at it. You may want to start out doing just 3 exercisesa t first, so you dont go overboard and cant move for a few days. Then work in another exercise or more sets over time (as you feel comfortable).

With conditioning (i.e. getting ripped), higher rep ranges are where you'll want to be. About the range of 15-20. But the weight wont be light at all. It will be moderate and you're form should be strict and controlled at ALL times. The eccentric contraction is what you want to really focus on (when you are working WITH gravity to lower the weight/load back down. On a bench press and bicep curl, the eccentric phase is when the weight is moving towards the ground. On a cable exercise (because cables help change the pull of gravity) its a bit different. It's whenever your limbs/arms are moving back towards the weight stack.

Alrighty, since you've answered creatine questions before, a quick one:

Will half the standard dose (2.5 grams) make any difference in gainz? I'm in my 30s and have my hair and wanna keep my hair, but am worried about dat dere DHT thing.

Creatine itself doesnt dictate gains. It drives the energy process that allows you to do the work to GET the gains. Gains are more dependant on:
1. Form
2. Intensity
3. Diet (if you arent feeding the machine then it cant progress)
4. Rest & recovery

That being said, creating does play a huge role in energy production and can help you bust through certain plateaus. it certainly cant be overlooked in its potential. But assuming that you are fully saturated on creatine first (you'll eventually get your cells saturated but loading is the quickest way to get there. Also the quickest way to be pissing out of your ass), and you are going from creatine training to no creatine training, then you probably wont be able to push around as much weight for as many sets because your muscles just dont have that high octane fuel anymore. But you shouldnt equate this to less gains." You cant still make gains with less weight if you wake the reps count

[GordonXXX]

Tank - this is my routine. I just want to be fit, not big. See my pics. Age 50. Is this OK? How would you change? I'm OCD I don't want to do a complicated routine. I like simplicity.

Daily - 7 Days/Week
Exercise Volume, Weight
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 3x12, 50 Pounds
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls 3x12, 25 Pounds
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes 3x12, 50 Pounds
Pull-Ups 16-12-12 x 2 (80 Total)
Walk Outside 6.6 Miles

[HockeyBacon18]

i am about 90% sure i have pulled my shoulders forward and rotated them inwards due to overworking chest when i was a teen

any suggestions on how to fix this?

[tank2003]

Tank - this is my routine. I just want to be fit, not big. See my pics. Age 50. Is this OK? How would you change? I'm OCD I don't want to do a complicated routine. I like simplicity.

Daily - 7 Days/Week
Exercise Volume, Weight
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 3x12, 50 Pounds
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls 3x12, 25 Pounds
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes 3x12, 50 Pounds
Pull-Ups 16-12-12 x 2 (80 Total)
Walk Outside 6.6 Miles

This is what you call a Bro Split. Its basic exercises catered to the vanity muscles (the ones you can see in the mirror). The problem with this is, you NEED muscular balance in your body (i.e. between the upp and lower body, between the chest and back, between the low back and the abdominal muscles, between the biceps and triceps, between the quads and the hamstrings). If you have say, stronger quads than hamstrings, then you can EASILY get knee tracking issues that down the road can lead to a total knee replacement and it was 10000000% avoidable if you had just done total body.

The problem with doing the same amount of reps and weight is that you WILL adapt to the stress. Our body's are MASTERS of adaptation because they do not like working hard at all (working out or dieting for that matter).The Reversability principle states that if you do not steadily increase the demands placed ont he body, then you will regress. You can increase demands by:
1. Increasing the weight
2. Increasing the reps
3. Increasing the sets
3. Decreasing the tempo (this maximizess your time under tension)
4. Change tension loads by adding bands or using cables
etc etc

If you dont CHALLENGE yourself, your body will never change at all because there is no stimulus for change and your body has nothign to adapt to. Keep a workout log and strive to progress on it, be if in sets, weight reps etc. And lay out a TRUE whole body plan. This will put you ont he road to your goal physique muuuuuuuuuuuch faster than a bro split because there will actually be a stimulus for change that your body will be FORCED to adapt itself to. But you'll also need to continuously force it to adapt. It's not really complicated once you do it, but it can be daunting looking in from the outside

i am about 90% sure i have pulled my shoulders forward and rotated them inwards due to overworking chest when i was a teen

any suggestions on how to fix this?

Long story short: work your back muscles more
Long story fleshed out:

[GravityLee]

What happened to stickie?

On the plus side, this thread will probably get more attention from miscers who skip right over stickies heh.

This. I personally always skip the stickies unless i see someone like Tank2003 or another OG. Even then id prefer no sticky so i can check in for new posts. As long as its on page 1 at least every other day.

What are your favorite exercises that grow/strengthen the forearms, wrists and hands? I suspect you are going to say they will grow by progressive resistance increases on back day among other things.

[GordonXXX]

Tank - Thanks. My buddy told me pretty much the same thing. He said you're basically just working "beach muscles" and need to do more. He calls this a Mickey Mouse workout. I did plan to keep raising the weight tho - but my building gym dumbbells max out at 50s. Maybe it's time to join a real gym too. I'm stubborn.

[tank2003]

Tank - Thanks. My buddy told me pretty much the same thing. He said you're basically just working "beach muscles" and need to do more. He calls this a Mickey Mouse workout. I did plan to keep raising the weight tho - but my building gym dumbbells max out at 50s. Maybe it's time to join a real gym too. I'm stubborn.

Well, you can still make some gains with light db's, you just need to get creative. You can:
1. invest in exercise bands to add tension
2. Increase you reps/sets
3. Slow down your reps and pay more attention to the eccentric phase
4. decrease your rest time
5. super sets
etc
But yeah, i would think abotu joining a proper gym, at least until you get experienced enough to make do with minimal accommodations. If the gym offers a few free trainer sessions, then i'd take it just for some experience

[tank2003]

how do I lose fat around the lower back and love handle area ?

No such thing as spot reduction but instead you can work on your back width by working on your tats and expanding their width. Visually, as your back gets wider, your waist will look far smaller. You'll also need to make changes in your nutrition and work on your obliques because they begin the v taper and and are what connect to the iliac firrow/adonis belt

[2RDEYE]

strength loss is common and to be expected during a cut. what kind of cut are you doing anyway? kcal reduction? You can STILL make gains (both in lean mass and in strength) if you eat in a positive nitrogen balance. Nitrogen keeps us from going catabolic and only proteins have nitrogen. So you need both the essential and non-essential Amino Acids. As far as how many grams of protein you need, (i'm sure youa lready know this) its dependent upon your lean body mass, how much you train and how hard you train. In general, the range of recommended protein intake is .6g-1.3g per kg of lean body mass. But the caveat here is that protein isnt stored. Excess protein is stored as body fat so dont over do it.

Do you have a workout journal? If not, then i'd recommend keeping one. I Made a spreadsheet detailing my workouts and i use that. It GUARANTEES you progressive overload which is the baseline stimulus for both strength and hypertrophy.

tbh i'm not even counting calories tank lol i think it's too stressful with my brain injury. i'm trying to lose weight simply by looking at the calorie number on the stairmaster in the gym. i'm still eating like 160g of protein a day though. right now i'm hitting the stairmaster burning 600 calories on that thing, then 100 on treadmill. i'll probably bump it to 1000 calories burnt in total for cardio

[tank2003]

tbh i'm not even counting calories tank lol i think it's too stressful with my brain injury. i'm trying to lose weight simply by looking at the calorie number on the stairmaster in the gym. i'm still eating like 160g of protein a day though. right now i'm hitting the stairmaster burning 600 calories on that thing, then 100 on treadmill. i'll probably bump it to 1000 calories burnt in total for cardio

that's your problem. too much cardio. You can either train for:
1. strength/hypertrophy
-OR-
2. Conditioning/Cardio

You cant do both and right now, you are leaning more towards the cardio/conditioning side. Honestly, a GREAT way to lose weight is to do both strength training (to get your muscles hungry and active) and do HIIT training. But dont get stuck in the rut of one type of cardio because our bodies are MASTERS of adaptation and will adapt to a stimulus if you dont vary it. What I do is a variance of Precor/Eliptical/Cross trainer, Spin bike and Stairmaster. Some days I do 2 minutes of low intensity followed by 1 minute of sprints. Some days I pick a high intensity protocol and let it dictate what I do (I just make sure i'm working pretty hard), but every 4 or 5 days, I ease off and do low intensity only.

Try mixing it up and doing weights but in a circuit. The idea here is to get your heart rate up to at LEAST 80% of its max. You can get your HR up MUCH higher with weights than you can with cardio. I know it seems counter intuitive to pay more attention to weights than cardio, but lean mass is what determines your metabolism and you WANT your metabolism to be as high as possible right? Your metabolism will be MUCH higher after an intense weight session than it will be after a cardio session

[2RDEYE]

that's your problem. too much cardio. You can either train for:
1. strength/hypertrophy
-OR-
2. Conditioning/Cardio

You cant do both and right now, you are leaning more towards the cardio/conditioning side. Honestly, a GREAT way to lose weight is to do both strength training (to get your muscles hungry and active) and do HIIT training. But dont get stuck in the rut of one type of cardio because our bodies are MASTERS of adaptation and will adapt to a stimulus if you dont vary it. What I do is a variance of Precor/Eliptical/Cross trainer, Spin bike and Stairmaster. Some days I do 2 minutes of low intensity followed by 1 minute of sprints. Some days I pick a high intensity protocol and let it dictate what I do (I just make sure i'm working pretty hard), but every 4 or 5 days, I ease off and do low intensity only.

Try mixing it up and doing weights but in a circuit. The idea here is to get your heart rate up to at LEAST 80% of its max. You can get your HR up MUCH higher with weights than you can with cardio. I know it seems counter intuitive to pay more attention to weights than cardio, but lean mass is what determines your metabolism and you WANT your metabolism to be as high as possible right? Your metabolism will be MUCH higher after an intense weight session than it will be after a cardio session

yeah I think you're right lol too much cardio... idk HIIT is over too fast. i want to spend more time in the gym to kill time. like i aim to be there at least for 2 hours a day because it's the only place i feel normal and i think the more cardio the better for my concussion recovery

do u have any good videos on how to use the rowing machine? i want to try it out but feel embarrassed looks like u need good form on that thing

[tank2003]

yeah I think you're right lol too much cardio... idk HIIT is over too fast. i want to spend more time in the gym to kill time. like i aim to be there at least for 2 hours a day because it's the only place i feel normal and i think the more cardio the better for my concussion recovery

do u have any good videos on how to use the rowing machine? i want to try it out but feel embarrassed looks like u need good form on that thing

Thats what I like about hiit. Its quick. I do miss long distance running and getting the runner's high though. Man do I miss it.

Try this video. Its a channel dedicated to rowing

[2RDEYE]

Thats what I like about hiit. Its quick. I do miss long distance running and getting the runner's high though. Man do I miss it.

Try this video. Its a channel dedicated to rowing

so complex lol even more complex than lifting

[MyBaddBrah]

Sorry for the late reply. Now that a mod un-stickied this, I forge to check

2nd video, ideally you'd want to do the ball/rope to the 4 quadrants of your abdomen before your workout right? The idea is to "wake the muscles up" so that they fire during your normal ab/compound work?

[CeBKa]

Hello tankbrah, do you have any tips regarding piriformis syndrome?

I'm feeling a radiating pain during the ascending part/locking out part of the back squat in the lower glute/beginning part of the hamstring (right side) (8/10 pain) espcially if i go 315-330lb+.



Same problem occurs if i do conventional deadlifts above 4 plates. Working around pain becomes really hard if i go 3-5reps+

[tank2003]

2nd video, ideally you'd want to do the ball/rope to the 4 quadrants of your abdomen before your workout right? The idea is to "wake the muscles up" so that they fire during your normal ab/compound work?

Yes sir. It's reciprocal inhibition (i just spent 3 whole minutes spelling reciprocal wrong). Typically, you use it to activate a muscle to overcome synergistic dominance (like when the hamstrongs (lol. gonna leave it spelled that way) assist too much during a glute exercise but that is a COMPLETELY different issue. I just used it to illustrate a point)

Hello tankbrah, do you have any tips regarding piriformis syndrome?

I'm feeling a radiating pain during the ascending part/locking out part of the back squat in the lower glute/beginning part of the hamstring (right side) (8/10 pain) espcially if i go 315-330lb+.



Same problem occurs if i do conventional deadlifts above 4 plates. Working around pain becomes really hard if i go 3-5reps+

just to be clear, you've been Dx'd with piriformis syndrome right? you can make things worse if you try treating somethign you dont have. Its similar to deep gluteal syndrome. Sciatica is caused by a few different issues. Disc bulging/herniations make up the #1 cause of sciatica and piriformis syndrome is the name given to all sciatica NOT caused by a disc issue

I'll just go with piriformis syndrome for now

[2RDEYE]

i summon thee tank

i'm embarrassed to say it tank but i starting squatting for the first time with the bar. it's hard because i have a jacked up right shoulder. did it for the first time ever on wednesday. i could barely do 10x5 with just the bar. i'm only aiming for hypertrophy for squats, can you recommend me a program or specific rep range for just squats. i could care less about strength, i just don't want to have chicken legs

[tank2003]

i summon thee tank

i'm embarrassed to say it tank but i starting squatting for the first time with the bar. it's hard because i have a jacked up right shoulder. did it for the first time ever on wednesday. i could barely do 10x5 with just the bar. i'm only aiming for hypertrophy for squats, can you recommend me a program or specific rep range for just squats. i could care less about strength, i just don't want to have chicken legs

Training for hypertrophy has more to do with [I]progressive overload /I] and time under tension rather than a specific rep range.
1.Progressive Overload Increase the demands on your lower body each workout, whether its increasing the weight, decreasing the rest period, altering the tempo, pause reps etc, is the BEST way to provide a stimulus for growth.

2. Time Under Tension Slow the tempo down for each rep (slow and controlled reps. this REALLY makes sense if you have joint pain. then slow and controlled is the best way to NOT experience the pain and still workout and get blood to the injured area), 2-3 seconds on eccentric contraction and then a 1 second explosive concentric contraction (ive been adding a half second to 1 second pause between the 2 phases to add an isometric squeeze). This method will make your set of 10 reps last 30-40 seconds (45 -50 sec if you ad the ISometric squeeze). Consistently studies show that stretching out your sets to last between 45 sec and 1 min is the ideal time to provide ample stimulus for hypertrophy

But there are other methods you can use down the road to elicit growth, because it will get harder and harder to make those fukkers want to grow. That's when you need to do things like
-pause reps
- band squats
-overload the leg press and use that
-half reps on squat (still hinging at the hip but you are using more weight than normal since you are strongest at the top of the movement)
-plyometric movements (explosive movements will always elicit something)
-sprint intervals (especially uphill will get you to quad city)

[2RDEYE]

Training for hypertrophy has more to do with [I]progressive overload /I] and time under tension rather than a specific rep range.
1.Progressive Overload Increase the demands on your lower body each workout, whether its increasing the weight, decreasing the rest period, altering the tempo, pause reps etc, is the BEST way to provide a stimulus for growth.

2. Time Under Tension Slow the tempo down for each rep (slow and controlled reps. this REALLY makes sense if you have joint pain. then slow and controlled is the best way to NOT experience the pain and still workout and get blood to the injured area), 2-3 seconds on eccentric contraction and then a 1 second explosive concentric contraction (ive been adding a half second to 1 second pause between the 2 phases to add an isometric squeeze). This method will make your set of 10 reps last 30-40 seconds (45 -50 sec if you ad the ISometric squeeze). Consistently studies show that stretching out your sets to last between 45 sec and 1 min is the ideal time to provide ample stimulus for hypertrophy

But there are other methods you can use down the road to elicit growth, because it will get harder and harder to make those fukkers want to grow. That's when you need to do things like
-pause reps
- band squats
-overload the leg press and use that
-half reps on squat (still hinging at the hip but you are using more weight than normal since you are strongest at the top of the movement)
-plyometric movements (explosive movements will always elicit something)
-sprint intervals (especially uphill will get you to quad city)

is legs the same concept, like can I only do 8-10 reps or hypertrophy sets? i don't really care about lifting for strength with legs. like right now i can do 6-8x5 reps 95lbs back squat, yes weak i know lmao i just started doing them. i don't plan on doing the 3-5 reps crap for squats. is it ok

[Shortfuze]

Tankbrah, what are your thoughts on seated dumbbell snatches for someone with bad knees? Yay or nay?

[tank2003]

is legs the same concept, like can I only do 8-10 reps or hypertrophy sets? i don't really care about lifting for strength with legs. like right now i can do 6-8x5 reps 95lbs back squat, yes weak i know lmao i just started doing them. i don't plan on doing the 3-5 reps crap for squats. is it ok

Exact same concept. The only groups of muscles where i consider to be different are:
-abs
-calves
-traps

they are muscles like any other group, but we use them SO FRIGGIN much that (this is just conjecture on my part to you may choose to ignore this) sometimes it takes some special treatment to elicit some growth because the Type 1A fibers (slow oxidative, contract slowly, used in endurance activities) tend to be the dominant fibers as opposed to the Type 2X fibers (fast glycolytic, contract quickly and powerfully, require a LOT of oxygen, fatigue quickly). When I decided i wanted big traps, i worked them like any other groups. Sets of 10 reps. Got nothing from them. I just HAPPENED to read an article about Dewayne Johnson where he said the traps only respond to high volume/reps and it knocked something loose in my head. In undergrad, i read Arnold's encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and he said the exact same thing.

I immediately switched to sets of 30 reps (i started at 135 lbs) and bingo bango bongo. It did the trick.

Tankbrah, what are your thoughts on seated dumbbell snatches for someone with bad knees? Yay or nay?

I'd say nay because the snatch is an entire body movement and seated just takes the lower body out of it. But if you like it modified that way, then carry on

Do you have any tips for tendonitis?

I believe I have some type of bicep tendon inflammation. The distal tendon on the inside of my elbow. Basically hurts when flexing my bicep. It has been going on for months and I love to do chin-ups and it has really affected my training. I can kind of relieve the pain by not putting my thumb on the bar during chin-ups, but so many other things tend to bother it during the day too.

Maybe the pain isn't the tendon? I can't just press on it or pull the tendon and actually get pain, I have to flex my arm to get the pain.

Fukking tendinitis man....Ive got it in my forearms and have had it since i was 14/15.....cant seem to get rid of it....

Test it first to confirm:


Treatment:


Keep working out in the meantime:

[jxd]

I can do weighted pullups no problem but my shoulders feel horrible doing hanging leg raises, what could be the cause?

[tank2003]

I can do weighted pullups no problem but my shoulders feel horrible doing hanging leg raises, what could be the cause?

depends what type of pain (stabbing, dull, radiating etc) it is and where exactly the pain is (deep, superficial, front/side/rear shoulder). The shoulder is the most unstable joint int he body and shoulder pain can be caused by a myriad of issues:
-Sleeping on it wrong
-Not pulling your shoulders back/retracting scapulae when doing any exercise where there is flexion/extension at the elbows and shoulders
-falling on your arm/outstretched arm
-BP'ing but letting the bar touch too low on your abdomen
-BP'ing but using too much of a ROM
-etc

Is that the only time it bothers you? What if you switch to a neutral grip, does that still bother you?