Arkk's Weight Lifting / Fitness Thread

Itlan

Itlan

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Tuco said:
Right now I have one pull day that looks like:
deadlift
pullups
bent over DB rows
curls
one-arm bench DB rows

What should I do in addition to that?

Not sure if this really impacts obliques, but I've been doing a few planks between sets at each workout, for lack of a better ab workout routine.
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What's your routine like? You hit back once a week?

If you're only hitting it once a week I'd up the volume tremendously. As for obliques, deadlifts and squats work your core better than anything else I've found, but isolation work is always a nice addition. I personally take a moderate weight (70-90 pound) dumbbell and really focus on contracting the oblique with side crunches/dips (not sure the actual name of this "exercise"). The focus here is keeping your torso upright and really only pulling with obliques. I've heard multiple people say to stay "light" because the obliques can become bulky and make your taper worse. I personally don't believe this. If you have wide hips, you want your obliques to match that and your lats to taper up into your shoulders, so adding width to your obliques is a necessity.

Lower lats personally are a bitch to hit, but that will definitely help you fill you out more as well.
 
Tuco

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Right now I'm basically shooting to iterate Push, Pull, Leg days consecutively, but figure I'll take two rest days a week. So to answer your question, I plan to do that pull day twice a week, roughly.

I'm not sure what exercise you're describing. Is it this?

Dumbbell Side Bend | Exercise Videos & Guides | Bodybuilding.com
88_2.jpg
 
Itlan

Itlan

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I don't do stupid shit like that. I'm sure it's effective, but I'm not doing it.
 
Hoss

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Tuco said:
I'm 194lbs, 6'2". No idea what body fat % I am. 25%? 20%? I don't really care.
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I legit thought you were between 300 and 400 lbs because of what's been said on the forum. I just want to point out that you not being flexible just further proves my point about what an idiotic standard "touch your toes" is for determining health or fitness.
 
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Tuco

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Ossoi said:
If you are training at home with dumbbells then I would give this/these workouts a go.


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I just watched these videos, what's the utility of doing them for someone trying to bulk? Is this just some conditioning that will help me with cardiovascular endurance so I can do my big lifts more easily?
 
Ossoi

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Tuco said:
I just watched these videos, what's the utility of doing them for someone trying to bulk? Is this just some conditioning that will help me with cardiovascular endurance so I can do my big lifts more easily?
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Tuco said:
I'm not upset over the last month but it was a pretty disappointing wall since I hoped to get to 190
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In short, I think you're hindered by only having access to dumbbells.

I would try those workouts, increase your calorie intake to 10-12 cals per lb, reintroduce carbs post workout, give it two weeks and see how much your weight has decreased by.

I don't think the DB only workout is intense enough to justify the bulk level calorie and carb amounts and the net result is increased fat and possibly some muscle.

I've been training 4 years and I've always been scared of getting fat and started cutting again as soon as I lost a visible ab outline, because of this I don't have as much muscle as I could have done.

It took reading this article to make me realise that I should focus on adding size without worrying about losing my abs

The Myth of Lean Gains – Why You Won’t Build MAXIMUM Muscle If You Stay Too Lean | RNT Fitness

NB that the "leangains" it refers to as a myth isn't the intermittent fasting system but the idea that you can get muscle without adding fat

"Can I build muscle while staying lean?

From years of experimenting on clients and myself, as well as observing some of the best bodybuilders in the world, both natural and assisted, I’ve come to the conclusion that while it may be possible, it’s certainly not optimal."

the point of those high intensity workouts is to really make sure you're expending a lot of energy, creating a calorie deficit through training as well as nutrition, getting to your 190/as lean as possible. This then gives you more room to do a sustained bulk
 
Tuco

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Ossoi said:
In short, I think you're hindered by only having access to dumbbells.

I would try those workouts, increase your calorie intake to 10-12 cals per lb, reintroduce carbs post workout, give it two weeks and see how much your weight has decreased by.

I don't think the DB only workout is intense enough to justify the bulk level calorie and carb amounts and the net result is increased fat and possibly some muscle.

I've been training 4 years and I've always been scared of getting fat and started cutting again as soon as I lost a visible ab outline, because of this I don't have as much muscle as I could have done.

It took reading this article to make me realise that I should focus on adding size without worrying about losing my abs

The Myth of Lean Gains – Why You Won’t Build MAXIMUM Muscle If You Stay Too Lean | RNT Fitness

NB that the "leangains" it refers to as a myth isn't the intermittent fasting system but the idea that you can get muscle without adding fat

"Can I build muscle while staying lean?

From years of experimenting on clients and myself, as well as observing some of the best bodybuilders in the world, both natural and assisted, I’ve come to the conclusion that while it may be possible, it’s certainly not optimal."

the point of those high intensity workouts is to really make sure you're expending a lot of energy, creating a calorie deficit through training as well as nutrition, getting to your 190/as lean as possible. This then gives you more room to do a sustained bulk
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Cool, I'll remember that for next year when I cut. Right now I'm just focused on increasing strength. I'm not really that worried about accruing a little bit of fat, and am aiming for a surplus of 500 calories. I'm more focused on increasing my lifts and lifting technique than size, but my rough plan is to be around 207 in the start of March time frame, so about 2 lbs a month.
 
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Ossoi

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If your goal is strength then you don't need to be on a lean gains bulking diet.. That system is designed for body composition e.g. Losing fat or hypertrophy, it uses a strength program to get there.

If you want to get stronger then wait until your current strength progression stalls then gradually increase calories until your lifts start going up again

Jumping to 3k calories and 500g carbs whilst still using dumbbells is ott
 
Tuco

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Ossoi said:
If your goal is strength then you don't need to be on a lean gains bulking diet.. That system is designed for body composition e.g. Losing fat or hypertrophy, it uses a strength program to get there.

If you want to get stronger then wait until your current strength progression stalls then gradually increase calories until your lifts start going up again

Jumping to 3k calories and 500g carbs whilst still using dumbbells is ott
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Yeah I ditched the lean gains diet on the second day, both because of your previous recommendation and because of morning cravings that were distracting me at work. It is truly remarkable how much more hungry I became literally the day after ditching my ketogenic diet. I literally ate one cup of oatmeal after a workout and woke up with hunger cravings I hadn't felt in three months.

I'm on my first rest day since starting my new diet. Do you guys think the idea of having a less carb-heavy and calorie-heavy diet on rest days vs lifting days is worth following?
 
Araysar

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my lifestyle of regular drinking, smoking and almost zero exercise has finally caught up with me. i'm 36, 6'0 and 177 lbs and i dont feel good

i stopped smoking and drinking a few days ago, so we'll see how long that lasts, but now i need to build up some endurance, energy and get some muscle definition going
 
Ossoi

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Tuco said:
. Do you guys think the idea of having a less carb-heavy and calorie-heavy diet on rest days vs lifting days is worth following?
Click to expand...

Cycling calories is just another way of creating a calorific deficit or surplus. If you need -3500 calories a week to lose 1lb then you could do that as 7 x -500 or distribute the -3500 calories another way.

Carb cycling is something I advocate and practice

Tuco said:
It is truly remarkable how much more hungry I became literally the day after ditching my ketogenic diet.
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Wait, were you also fasting/skipping breakfast on keto - because newsflash it wasn't the oatmeal the previous night that made you hungry when you skipped breakfast lol
 
Ossoi

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Araysar said:
my lifestyle of regular drinking, smoking and almost zero exercise has finally caught up with me. i'm 36, 6'0 and 177 lbs and i dont feel good
/QUOTE]

Same age as me, slightly taller, not that overweight - you're probably skinny fat = you have a fat stomach but not fat arms/legs.

Diet+Gym
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Tuco

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Ossoi said:
Wait, were you also fasting/skipping breakfast on keto - because newsflash it wasn't the oatmeal the previous night that made you hungry when you skipped breakfast lol
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Yes. Before about 5 days ago or so I hadn't eaten breakfast in two months. It was super easy until I ate a cup o' oats.
 
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