For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[richardd]

You also don't have to focus when you do planks. Just get into position and watch TV. :D

hell yeah! or just close your eyes and listen to music

[Zoolander]

Just get into position and watch TV. :D

Thats what she said.

But im kinda curious, how long do you guys generally do planks for? Mine are skewed low since I always do em at the end of workouts that hit the core plus after ab specific stuff, so im usually 2min or 2:30. Something about doing em for as long as possible seems more effective than say, splitting that up into two 1min, or even three 1 minute planks.

And I always listen to classical music when doing planks. Really gets me to chill/zone out, its a noticeable difference compared to no music or diff music. Fast paced music for working out in most cases, but toss on some Moonlight Sonata, Adagio for Strings, Schindler's List theme, etc and im ready for some planks.

[richardd]

my plank times arent that great, but the form is strict and precise lol. the 1st time i ever tried, i did it for 1 min, but now im at 1:45-2 depending on how much i eat/rest/ for the day etc. not really all that good, but hey. i have a large frame. anything passed the 30 sec mark is ok by me. i rather do multiple sessions of 1 min though

[Darlantan]

Not much at all, around 2 minutes, more or less depending on what I have done previously. At around that mark my abs start burning and failing, weight hits the back, back hurts, I have had back problems... so I just stop. I wonder how much longer I could stick if I didnt give a fuck, but its a silly thought anyway.

[Zoolander]

Yea my form is hella strict, but i definitely dont have as much bulk to support as you and your massive self do. I kind of relish the agony and mind-fuck that happens during these. So much of it can be controlled mentally, kinda like when I used to run cross country. I somehow have this insane perception that everyone near me is aware of what im going through and that they'll know if I pussy out before my goal (and that its even important that they not think this of me, as if i give a shit). It makes no sense, but it works.

Introduce some Beethoven, your abs will thank me!

[Darlantan]

Thats what I do... when I swim underwater and want to do more than an olympic swimming pool. Cant say I concentrate much when doing planks.

[richardd]

have you guys been keeping tabs on your progress? make sure you take lots of pics and check yourself in the mirror lots. its not egocentric or bad to look at yourself and see what progress you're making and what progress you NEED to make. i take pics after every single workout of different angles to identify my weakspots, and im up to my 1 year mark when i was weighed at 195 lbs, i think i made some good progress

[Darlantan]

I take pictures before and after bulking, and before and after cutting. I am still new to this (been working out seriously and knowing what the fuck for just over 7 months) so only got 3 picture sessions in. I do track what I lift at every session so I know where I am at, where I can up the weights, need to reset or whatever. So far I have progressed a lot strenght wise even though I am still weak, and volume wise, well, its there, but isnt a lot. Not worth posting pictures yet. I am posting a lot today... using bg as an excuse to stop studying for a minute ¬¬

[In Flames]

I know SS/SL are pretty much the best for strength routines and it seems kind of backwards to want to switch off of it but i like to introduce new movements every so often to keep things fresh and interesting. If anyone does have something that's just as good as SS/SL then i'd be very interested in seeing it.

As for the warm up sets, i'm on the fence about them. It is nice to build up to your work sets and get a feel for the weights but i agree that sometimes it just seems counter productive. I notice it most on my military press. A couple of weeks ago i could barely do 3 reps 40kg in each of my 3 work sets having done warmups beforehand. Next time i did military i skipped the warm up sets and had no problem doing 5,5,4 on my work sets.



I know :/ and that picture makes me laugh everytime i see it. I'm thinking of joining my uni gym in september which does have squat racks. Kind of a double edged sword though as the range of dumbell and barbell sizes is very limited and no there's nowhere to do dips (which i love to do).

Here's the diet. I try to get this or something as close to it as possible every day, but sometimes work gets in the way.

Breakfast - 70g wholegrain oats and raspberry pieces with 250ml whole milk, 190g yoghurt, banana
Lunch - 100g wholemeal pasta with either a couple of diced rashers of bacon or a couple of diced sausages, 50g dry roasted peanuts, piece of fruit which is usually an apple or clementine/tangerine etc.
Post workout - 70g protein shake
Snack - 2 slices of wholegrain toast with a large scrambled egg and 205g baked beans
Dinner - 300g roast potato with either 2 haddock fillets, 2 beef grillsteaks or 1-2 chicken breasts

I rotate through the different meats for lunch and dinner to mix things up. Depending on my shifts or whatever else i'm doing that day i sometimes have to combine it into 3 larger meals.

Le bump. Any improvements to be made on that diet? I know it's missing veggies but i just can't stand eating them... i've tried many times.

[Weiing]

Yeah... You ea ta lot of toast/pasta/oats/beans-type carbs. You should eat more vegetables, because a lot of vitamins/minerals are from vegetables. Seriously..I can see ways in which you can incorporate it easily in the meals you listed. Dice veggies into small squares and put it into your pasta. Sautee some greens with your egg, or add some onion. Add those vegetable powder mix into your protein shake. If this is basically what you eat everyday...How are you not sick/bored of it already? I am typically the minority in which I say not to eat too much grains, as I subscribe to the paleo/primal diet.

[Cream Soda]

After a week of microwave eggs, already sick of it and not getting full w/o eating absurd amounts. Probably going to just go back to ramen.

[BadKarma]

WHats the easiest way to do planks in a small room?

[Weiing]

lay on the floor of this small room..and lift up into a plank? :D or am I getting whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooshed

[BadKarma]

lay on the floor of this small room..and lift up into a plank? :D or am I getting whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooshed

I have about 4 feet of space atm. Im 6'2 lol

[archibaldcrane]

WHats the easiest way to do planks in a small room?

Do them in a different room?

[Darlantan]

He is in prison, in a punishment cell.

[Churchill]

Been awhile since I posted in this thread, still maintaining Crossfit and its offshoots such as Sealfit, GymJones as unequivocally the best workout program available aside from attempting to become the biggest person alive.

[tyven]

crossfitLOL

[Cream Soda]

Went jogging tonight. Usually do a 6/10th(at a 5:50-5:55 pace) mile at an exhausting pace or 1.2 at a steady pace (about 6:40 mile pace, so 7.something for the 1.2).

However, I decided to do 3 miles tonight since I've never run 3 miles straight through. Nothing impressive, a 22 min finish, but I'm happy with it for my first time doing 3 miles straight. Especially considering there's a moderate incline that stretches about .15 miles on the home stretch and to do 3 miles, had to go up that 3 times.

[Zoolander]

3 miles is an awesome distance, definitely my favorite. Lasts long enough to get a good workout in and if you really push it you get some mind-fuck going on, but its nothing too crazy.