For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Moss]

Does memorizing thick playbooks, blocking assignments, and audibles take skill or training and study?

And yes, you over simplified distance running. Just because something is multi-faceted doesn't mean it takes more skill. You have pitchers in baseball who are shitty batters. You have great batters who are shitty fielders. You have running backs that couldn't go on defense. Outside of the greatest of the greats, typically athletes are great at a singular skillset, and mediocre at the others.

Yes the memorizing takes training and study, but the executing takes skill. As for multi-faceted = more skill, we will just have to agree to disagree, although of course that isn't true in every case. Using your baseball example, I would compare a baseball pitcher mastering his delivery and then working up the stamina to last an entire game to distance running. But if that pitcher wants to be successful they also need to learn multiple effective pitches, study individual batter tendencies, and then implement a plan to attack each hitter night in and night out.

While there are guys like a late-career Barry Bonds who have mastered one facet of the game but are below-average at others, the guys that don't possess an amazing skill have to be at least solid in every phase of the game (hitting, defense, baserunning, etc.) to make a team.

To clarify, I don't see great distance runners and think "Meh... I could do that" or think they are anything less than great athletes that train their asses off, I'm just more impressed by athletes in other sports.

[Meat]

Thanks for the diet tips guys, I think its really just a matter of keeping the house stocked with what I need and planning meals ahead for days that Im busy. (I still live at home, so the parentals do the shopping most times)

While I'm here, let me post my workout regiment and see how it compares to you guys. Just for note, I've been going with a friend of mine who is a beastly guy (big, but cut too)... so Im just following him and making changes when something isnt working for me.

I cycle through, and usually take a set day off unless something else forces me to change it. (Most times I take Saturday off)

*All sets are 10-12 reps, increasing weight unless noted*

Also after every workout I do 20-30min on the treadmill. I alternate speed and incline to keep my heart rate up and my muscle working, but I do it so I don't tire myself out too fast. Usually "burn" ~250 calories by the treadmill recording. My legs get really big, really fast so I don't do a separate legs day although I do still work them.

EDIT: I've been told its a lot of iso, but the people who told me that are advocates of things like Stronglifts 5x5 and whatnot. Which is a bit of a different route from what Im going.

Day 1: Chest/Quad
-4x Flat Bench DB
-3x Incline DB
-3x Cable Fly
-3x Incline DB Fly
-Sets of unassisted dips until I cant do at least 5
-Hack Squats, 10x high weight, go down and do 20, down and do 30

Day 2: Back/Ham
-4x Wide Grip Pullups, usually only get 6-7 on last set
-4x Seated Row
-3x Close Grip Pulldowns
-3x Bent over row w/ DB
-3x Iso Lat Pulldown, each set to failure
-3x Hamstring exercise

Day 3: Shoulder/Calves
-3x Military Press DB
-3x Lat Raises DB
-3x Front Raises BB
-3x Upright Rows
-3x Rear Delt Rows DB
-3x Shrugs
-3x Calf raises

Day 4: Arms
-3x Preacher Curl
-3x Seated Bicep Curl DB
-3x Tricep Cable Pulldown, rope grip
-3x Skullcrusher
-3x Reverse Grip Pullups to failure
-3x Tricep Dips to failure

absolutely horrible.
day1

1) never do flat bench, it's useless for "building"
2) no need to do 2 sets of flys.
3) don't do chest and quads in the same day

day2

1) dont do wide grip pull-downs, all that does is give u a shorter rom
2) dont do hams a day after quads

day 3

1) do more shrugs
2) take out the front raises.

day 4
1) forearms?
2) don't do pull downs. the bicep is a small muscle and quite easy to fatigue.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________________________________
do

Day 1: Chest
-3x Incline DB
-3x weighted dips
-3x Incline DB Fly

Day 2: Back
-4x Pullups, usually only get 6-7 on last set
-3x Seated Row
-3x Close Grip Pulldowns(with a v bar?)
-3x Bent over row w/ DB

Day 3: Shoulder/Calves
-3x Military Press DB
-3x Lat Raises DB
-3x Rear Delt Rows DB
-3x Upright Rows
-6x Shrugs(3x db, 3x bb from the back)
-3x Calf raises

Day 4: Arms
-3x Preacher Curl
-3x Seated Bicep Curl DB
-3x Tricep Cable Pulldown, rope grip
-3x Skullcrusher
-3x Wrist curls
-3x reverse curls

Day 5 legs
-3x leg extensions
-3x hack squats
-3x leg press
-3x hamstring curls

[Sanoske]

Thanks for the tips. But "absolutely horrible"? You didn't change all that much, aside from what day legs go on and chest. I have actually been meaning to put in forearm exercises, forgot to list them in my post.

Could you explain your chest day though? Seems like I'll end up with a pretty oddly shaped chest. I know a lot of people neglect upper chest and end up with man boobs, so I get incline. But seems like a very short day for a relatively large muscle.

[Meat]

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/...-training.html

[RakEx]

He says that decline press is the best chest excercise multiple times in the video. Maybe you should add that into your chest day. I love me some decline flys, much more than incline flys actually. Thanks for the video he definately had some good points in there even though most of it was pretty basic stuff.

[Sanoske]

Interesting video, thanks for the link. Seems to be another case of not being able to find any singular "truths" when it comes to working out. This guy obviously knows what he's talking about, but 95% of fitness magazines/websites/routines will still tell you that flat bench is a staple.

And he was saying how you can't isolate your chest, that doesn't quite work. Yes the pec will always contract as a whole, but you can definitely change which section is focused on. I feel like nothing but incline and decline would have some strange results.

[Meat]

dips can easily take the place of both flat and decline bench

[Sanoske]

dips can easily take the place of both flat and decline bench

Yea, thats what I was thinking. And I used to do push-ups to failure to end the workout, so I might add that back in. I'll have to work on my form for dips so that I get more focus on chest.

[richardd]

bump~

I'm doing 3 sets of hammer curls at low reps and high weights for the bicep/wrist growth and I'm noticing NO burn when I'm done, but plenty of burn while I'm doing the exercise. its frustrating as hell. i KNOW I'm doing the execution right. nothing else, or my pectorals AREN'T burning, and my biceps and wrists are getting all the heat, but the moment i put the weights down, i feel no exhaustion. but the second i pick it up again, i cant to more than 1/4 of what i just did before and STILL don't feel anything when i push myself harder.

is it just my body being spoiled? because I'm getting tired of it lol. I'm trying to go home exhausted, not pissed off lol.

and i was thinking about protein drinks now. im still in the process of losing my weight, but should i worry about them yet while I'm LOSING weight? i been gaining muscles, while eating about 1700 cals a day (but you should've seen the way i started off and how big i was). I'm not trying to eat anymore than that, and I'm eating plenty of fucking meats everyday lol. i eat egg whites and grilled chicken with almost every parts of my meals, every single day (and salmon if i can afford it) with plenty of black beans for my "losing body fat mode" and walnuts on the side for the extra omega-3's. but the strictly "natural" route, is starting to come to an end. ugh

I'm thinking it has to do with my diet? i know I'm trying to lose weight, but I'm thinking i need to eat carbs once in a while or something. everything i eat is fiber. protein. fiber. protein and more fiber and protein

[Sanoske]

Can't get shit done without carbs. Eat some whole grain bread/bagel, oatmeal, milk, etc in the morning and it gets the fat burning process started up after a good sleep.

As for the exercise, sounds like you need to switch up your routine. When is the last time you changed your workout? Need to change things up every 2 months or so to shock your body back into action.

I've actually decided to cut out arms days/exercises. The sorest my arms have ever been is after a good back workout, I end up walking around like a t-rex.

[richardd]

Can't get shit done without carbs. Eat some whole grain bread/bagel, oatmeal, milk, etc in the morning and it gets the fat burning process started up after a good sleep.

As for the exercise, sounds like you need to switch up your routine. When is the last time you changed your workout? Need to change things up every 2 months or so to shock your body back into action.

I've actually decided to cut out arms days/exercises. The sorest my arms have ever been is after a good back workout, I end up walking around like a t-rex.

dont get me wrong, i do eat carbs. its how i get my gas for my body afterall but its those whole grain fiber breads from publix lol. 2 slices = 32% of your daily fiber and its less than 220 cals which is basically a win/win. i just dont eat much of it is is all

but i thought it was the actual weight of the dumbells itself. the reps are still high i guess (10) but even with heavier weights, i still dont feel the exhaustion that i need to feel to KNOW ive made a difference in my body. its frustrating. i dont do drugs or anything, but you can compare it to smoking weed and not getting high off it, lol.

and idk if i can take a 2 month break but i do wanna go around looking like a rex

[archibaldcrane]

Do you mean you get muscle fatigue during the workout, but afterwards you aren't sore or anything? Also on your "biceps day" make sure you do a variety of workouts - hammer curls are fine, but do preacher curls, maybe pullups or something else too.

[richardd]

Do you mean you get muscle fatigue during the workout, but afterwards you aren't sore or anything?

thats exactly what it is. and its pissing me off lol. i just did some various workouts this morning to finish up my arms and let my body hurt one more time. i start a new workout after work today, so i like to finish strong with my other ones. i did some chin ups (which i really need to work on lol) and some barbel curls and i was feeling a bit flustered afterwords which is ok. i wasnt trying to go for being exhausted/fatigue since its the morning and i got work in 2 hours, but im so mad at myself for not feeling shit last night

\Also on your "biceps day" make sure you do a variety of workouts - hammer curls are fine, but do preacher curls, maybe pullups or something else too.

yeah, you're not the only one to suggest this. my dad said almost the same exact thing. i love my hammers though man ... they used to really hurt me. we have a love/hate relationship going on. i dont wanna break up with her /cry

[Ariall]

You might also want to consider adding 21s in your biceps routine. With both dumbbells in hand, rotate both wrists 90 degrees outward and lift from the side, so you cannot cheat and use momentum. This is usually the last exercise I do during biceps, because once I finish those I usually can't lift anything else, and you definitely feel the burn after these.

[ZarakiKujata]

You might also want to consider adding 21s in your biceps routine. With both dumbbells in hand, rotate both wrists 90 degrees outward and lift from the side, so you cannot cheat and use momentum. This is usually the last exercise I do during biceps, because once I finish those I usually can't lift anything else, and you definitely feel the burn after these.

Does your Tachi: Gekko damage improve much from this bicep exercise?

[Belkin]

How many exercises do you do for each muscle? I finished up my "Heavy" cycle like 2 months ago, but it worked really well for me and I saw vast improvements in just 5 months time.

Heavy day for me meant 3 sets of 4-6 doing as much weight as I possibly could.

To give you an idea of how much I benefited: When I started working out again after a long hyatius (3 years) I could only curl 35's. Just this January when I ended the first heavy cycle, I could crank out 60's and could probably do 65's by this point.

Trust me, I have the same condition (I don't qualify it as a problem really) as you. My muscles instantly recover and the only muscles that EVER hurt are my abs and legs. Sometimes I left feeling like I didn't even work out but rest assured, you are gonna be getting bigger and stronger. Assuming you get enough protein in your diet.

My bicep day looked something like this

Straight bar curl
Dumbbell curl OR hammer curl
Easy bar curl with close grip
Cable bicep curl
I would always finish with Isometric Curls. These are where you earn your bread and this WILL burn. The others I could get away with no pain or exhaustion (for the most part). To do isometric curls, grab a weight lighter than you would normally do for regular DB curls. Hold your left arm flexed with weight in hand. DON'T LET IT FALL. Do 6 curls with the right arm while this is happening. Then switch arms (Right arm now flexed holding weight and left arm doing the curls)

Always try to get 5 exercises in on each muscle during a workout or else you are selling yourself short and essentially just "maintaining" what you have now.

As for switching routines, muscle confusion is a good tactic when you hit plateau's but I wouldn't suggest doing it every 2 weeks. Every 2 months sounds more reasonable. Since there aren't TOO many different bicep exercises to do, try switching grips (close or wide), try switching positions (standing, sitting, inclined) or do a lot of body weight exercises (pull ups).

I would suggest protein shakes and maybe a supplement if you really want results in the muscle growth department. Even if you are trying to cut fat, Whey Protein from OptimumNutrition isn't all that fattening and you can mix it with water instead of milk to cut the calories even further.

With all that in mind, cutting fat is all about diet AND cardio, not just one. If you can stick to your routine and get on a bike or stairmaster at the gym everytime you go for at least 15-30 minutes you are gonna be golden, regardless of if you go over your 1700 calorie limit.

[Diamicles]

yeah, you're not the only one to suggest this. my dad said almost the same exact thing. i love my hammers though man ... they used to really hurt me. we have a love/hate relationship going on. i dont wanna break up with her /cry

Best thing you can do is 'confuse' your muscles - they will get used to the same workout done over and over again, hence the term 'muscle memory'. Work them in different ways so they never get used to what exercises you're doing. Never do the same exercises more than 2 days in a row...make a schedule where you're always rotating the exercises you're doing for each muscle group. You will walk away from the gym every day satisfied, and feeling like you accomplished something.

[RakEx]

thats exactly what it is. and its pissing me off lol. i just did some various workouts this morning to finish up my arms and let my body hurt one more time. i start a new workout after work today, so i like to finish strong with my other ones. i did some chin ups (which i really need to work on lol) and some barbel curls and i was feeling a bit flustered afterwords which is ok. i wasnt trying to go for being exhausted/fatigue since its the morning and i got work in 2 hours, but im so mad at myself for not feeling shit last night

Not having sore muscles is not neccessarily a bad thing. There is actually research which says that overly sore muscles can be a bad thing in most cases because the muscles will never fully heal. As long as you are getting a good workout I wouldnt worry too much about how you feel the next day in terms of soreness. More pain does not necessarily mean more gain.

[Atreides]

yeah there's really not much reason you should be having muscle soreness unless you're not eating/sleeping enough or overworking yourself.

and whole grain fiber bread is a kind of carb. You probably get more carbs than you think from things like milk, fruit/veggies (and if you're not eating vegetables you are just plain retarded), etc. If you're trying to lose weight it is definitely worth your time to take a few minutes on an online nutrition site (fitday.com is pretty good) and figure out exactly what your macronutrient ratio is. But still people tend to try and completely eliminate carbs or fat, neither of which is a good idea.

[Ariall]

Does your Tachi: Gekko damage improve much from this bicep exercise?

Nah man, Gekko's all about the triceps. DB extensions and skullcrushers will make ya reach for the sky.