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[ { "answer_id": 43185, "author": "JohnP", "author_id": 3736, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/3736", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Most calculators that you see in commercial fitness machines and similar include the BMR in the calculation. It's basically the difference between gross and net calorie.</p>\n<p>Gross calories are all calories burned during an exercise session (Which is what most calculators report), and net calories, which are the calories burned separate from your BMR.</p>\n<p>Unfortunately, most devices won't tell you which they are reporting, you'd have to see if the manufacturer has it on their website or do some research, but to be on the safe side if you can't find out, assume that it is gross calories so that you don't potentially go over your calorie budget.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43187, "author": "ben", "author_id": 34447, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34447", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You may be able to discover this on a non-motorised machine e.g. a bike by starting a workout but not actually performing any work, check the rate at which energy is accumulated over time.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43184", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20429/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43193, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>If I want to achieve similar results to the guy in the article (who went from 33 to below 10 percent bodyfat in six months), do I necessarily have to, eventually, spend 10'ish hours in the gym every day?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No. Absolutely not. Only professional athletes would need to workout that long and they're not weightlifting or running that entire time (learning drills or practicing other skills usually).</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Is it possible to get your body to below ten percent bodyfat training less than two hours a day?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Yes. Any effective training program can be done within 1 to 2 hours depending on what the program's goal is.</p>\n<p>To lose body fat you need to be in a caloric deficit. Technically speaking, you don't even need to go to the gym to do that. Resistance/weight training helps you retain muscle while losing the fat so you'll have a more &quot;toned&quot; look than just being really skinny. Being in a calorie deficit, particularly a severe calorie deficit, will cause the body to lose both muscle and fat at the same time which is not ideal for health or physique.</p>\n<p>Going from 33% to 10% in six months is pretty extreme. The article says he started at 245 lbs at 33% body fat which means he had 80.85 lbs of body fat and 164.15 lbs of lean mass. If he lost 65 lbs of only body fat and gained 5 lbs of muscle, he'd be at 185 lbs with about 9% body fat. Losing 65 lbs in six months means he lost 4 lbs a week.</p>\n<p>My guess is (assuming the article is true and they're not lying) he lost a massive bulk of his weight when he was in the extreme caloric deficit of 1100 a day. The article states that he was only losing muscle at this time, but that's wrong. He was losing both muscle and fat at an extreme rate, but it states he went from 33% to 13% in three months so he was losing fat at a much, much faster rate. Then in the last three months he managed to regain what muscle he lost thanks to muscle memory and an extremely strict diet and <em>maybe</em> overshooting some thanks to being severly undertrained.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43256, "author": "Shubham321", "author_id": 34562, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34562", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Its not about the hours. Its about eating healthy and doing exercise properly. 1 hour of exercise is good. For proper reduction of bodyfat. you have to eat a clean diet more healthy protein foods. Drink plenty of water per day. If you want abs then it almost take 5-6 months to make it clear.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43257, "author": "SurpriseDog", "author_id": 31231, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31231", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p><a href=\"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150817142140.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><strong>0 hours</strong></a></p>\n<p>The gym will help you build muscle, not lose fat and the more you exercise, the hungrier you will become.</p>\n<p>Fat loss happens in the kitchen with healthy diet choices. When I moved to a new city where started biking 10 miles a day and ... I gained 30 pounds. I'm approaching 220 now, bike everyday, workout on the rings twice a week doing weighted pushups pullups and rows... and have never been heavier in my life.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43192", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/18105/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43207, "author": "Huhu", "author_id": 34513, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34513", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Yu can build muscle and lose fat at the same, but not that much muscle and you will look really skinny and ripped.... Think a shredded feather weight twink like Bruce lee or any slave ever in human history... All bone and a little muscle.</p>\n<p>If you are younger than 20-22 I would avoid any dieting and instead eat as much as possible. Because lack of nutrition can result in stunted growth.</p>\n<p>Getting skinny is easy and everyone who doesn't suffer from mental illnesses like eating disorders can do it.\nGetting taller when you stunted your growth permanently, well... That it's not possible without surgery.</p>\n<p>So for now I just suggest to eat as much as you want, maybe more than your natural appetite if you are young, train and bulk... Get big then stop and you will naturally lean out if you stop force feeding yourself.</p>\n<p>If you are already an adult, just track your calories and eat in a maintenance or deficit while training heavy.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43211, "author": "JustSnilloc", "author_id": 27881, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27881", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You need to build muscle, there's no way around it. Building muscle is a long term process and commitment. If in your pursuit to build muscle you accumulate more fat than you are comfortable with, just cut for a little while and you'll be fine. Losing fat is a relatively super quick process compared to building muscle. A man might spend years, or even his entire life trying to gain 30 lbs of muscle, but losing 30 lbs of fat might take a year at the absolute most if you're going super slow, but being consistent. So what should you do?</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Train like a bodybuilder.</li>\n</ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Why? So that you can acquire your desired level of musculature in the shortest period of time. This will likely still take a long time (1-3 years), but if your goal is to improve your physique then you should train like those who are the best at improving their physiques.</li>\n<li>How? Consistency and sustainability are the most important factors. Behind them are good form (you should feel your target muscles working), volume (more is generally better within a recoverable range), and intensity (every set should be taken within a few reps of failure).</li>\n</ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Eat in a surplus.</li>\n</ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Why? The muscle that you put on your frame has to come from somewhere. If you're already thin, your body will be more resistant to losing fat and therefore it isn't as suitable for providing the necessary energy that muscle needs to grow. Because of this, the extra energy needs to come from your diet.</li>\n<li>How? A big surplus will more than maximize how much muscle your body can grow (your training dictates whether it will or not), but it also comes with gaining more fat. A small surplus won't maximize muscle growth, but it also comes with less fat accumulation. As a general rule, aiming to gain 1% of your weight each month won't be too much or too little.</li>\n</ul>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43206", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34512/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43222, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>The good news is that you've correctly identified the only issue I see. That's two positive things: the rest of your deadlift form is good, and you're able to see/feel what you're doing wrong. That's pretty great.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My lower back seems to round a bit immediately right after I pull the weight off the floor. [I] feel like my lower back isn't tight enough.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I agree. I think what's happening is that you're rushing the initial pull off the floor, and either not getting fully into position or losing position during that crucial first quarter-second. This is a common problem. The traditional fix is to focus on <em>squeezing</em> the bar off the floor, emphasizing a smooth lift rather than jerking it up. Let the speed wait until the bar is above your knees. The &quot;squeeze&quot; approach usually helps people find and maintain correct low back position in that transition between set-up and the lift.</p>\n<p>Another fix that you might find useful is Romanian deadlifts. By starting at the top and never letting your lower back get out of proper natural curve, you improve position-specific strength as well as self-perception of your body position. Usually these are done for higher reps (8-12) for much less weight (start at 60kg, don't go heavier than 100kg, aim for 12 perfect reps of 1/2 or 2/3 your regular deadlift). Beware hamstring soreness.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I know my numbers aren't great... Sometimes I wonder why I am doing this.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Your numbers aren't bad. As you said, you've been a little inconsistent -- understandable during these times -- but you <em>are</em> getting better. You're doing this to get stronger and less injury-prone and it looks like it's working. Don't rush it. Give yourself some time.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43223, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>These are looking great and I think there are a few small tweaks we could make here and there to improve them even further. I'm looking at the from the power-lifting point of view.</p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Tighten up the starting position</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>Your lower back is a bit rounded in your starting stance and you look a bit unbalanced. This can be fixed by pulling yourself into the bar more, as mentioned by Dave Liepmann. Another possibility could be that widening your stance a bit. The deadlift is often thought of as &quot;leg-pressing the floor&quot;, don't be afraid to use your legs and sit into the deadlift a bit more. The deadlift is a hip-dominant movement more than a back exercise. A great exercise for working on the position of the floor is <em>Paused Deadlifts</em>. Bring the bar 1-2&quot; off the floor, no more than mid-shin, and hold that for 3 seconds then complete the rep.</p>\n<p>While you're standing/sitting right now, bring your shoulder back and down and feel how your lats tighten up. You want to feel that in your starting position. The proper starting position for a powerlifting deadlift is tight; it is not comfortable.</p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Directly above the bar</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>If you watch your first rep from the 225 video, you can see that immediately after you pull the bar travels forward. You want to make sure your shoulder lines up above the bar so that the direction of travel is straight up and down.</p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Drive through your whole foot</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>In the first rep of 255 you can see that at lockout your toes come off the ground. When you're driving the bar, you want your feet to be firmly rooted. When doing so, you want to drive through your whole foot, equally:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2bDIu.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2bDIu.png\" alt=\"Tripod Foot\" /></a></p>\n<p>_{Image found here: <a href=\"http://barbell-strength.com/tripod-foot/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">barbell-strength</a>}</p>\n<p>Next time your deadlift, think about how those points on your foot feel before you pull the bar off the ground. Additionally, your shoes might be impacting the lift (they look pretty squishy). If you're allowed, you can deadlift in socks. I don't suggest on hardwood though; I've had bad experiences.</p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Shrugging at lockout</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>I can't quite tell but I'll just mention it. There is no need to shrug the bar up at lockout. Back straight, shoulders back, knees locked out is the finish position. You don't <em>need</em> to pull it back any farther than that.</p>\n<hr />\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>Overall</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>Overall, they look like really good reps. Your hips and shoulders move in tandem which is excellent, a big fault I see often are people doing the deadlift in two parts. Props for learning to hook-grip, you're a braver man than I. 22 and 20 sessions since August is not a lot of volume. I'd be aiming for hitting squats/squat variations and deadlift/deadlift variations twice a week if you'd like to see faster progress. The fifth rep of your 255 lift moved fairly quickly though and I'd estimate that you had another 2-3 in the tank (to absolute failure). If your goal is general strength building, then any progress is great progress. Track your lifts and review your progress over the years, not weeks.</p>\n<p>If you are interested in testing a 1RM, it is fun and I encourage it. I would not say you're a novice so you know what <em>not</em> to do. I might guess that you're hovering around the 300 lb mark for a 1 RM. If you wanted to try, I'd suggest something like:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Warmup:</em> Bar x 10, 95 lb x 5, 145 lb x 3, 185 lb x 1, 225 lb x 1, 255 lb x 1</li>\n<li><em>1RM Test:</em> 265 lb x 1, 275 lb x 1, 285 lb x 1, 295 lb x 1, 305 lb x 1, 315 lb x 1</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Essentially, starting with the fact that we know you can do 255 lb x 5, let's work up from there in 10 lb increments. Stop when you can't perform the lift without majorly sacrificing form. I also suggest filming because I find that during a very heavy lift I <em>feel</em> like my back is rounding but it isn't. Additionally, this would be instead of your working set (don't perform this after).</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43220", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/29392/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43560, "author": "Abraham", "author_id": 34897, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34897", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Power has many definitions, which one are you using?</p>\n<p>If you're using the physics definitions, then static holds are not work at all. So obviously not. If you get under a bar that's welded to a frame, then push with all your might, nothing will happen. You'll tire yourself out, possibly get in a decent workout, probably get stronger, but you've done less &quot;work&quot; than a kid picking up a lollipop.</p>\n<p>I propose that's not a useful definition of &quot;work&quot; for an exercise context.</p>\n<p>Assuming that you mean &quot;will I get stronger in an explosive manner using static holds&quot;, then, yes, but not much. If you want to get stronger at explosive movements, do explosive movements. If you want to get stronger at holding things in place, do that. There's some carryover to everything you do, but if you have a specific goal, practice doing that thing.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43810, "author": "Definition", "author_id": 35227, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35227", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I think you are asking if isometric movement can contribute to muscle development. The awnser to that is yes, Some exercises like planking (abs) or wall sit(legs) are isometric exercies that can be very effective. Most of the time however there are simply better alternatives;</p>\n<p>The short version is that you can train your muscles with: concentric, isometric and eccentric movements. There are examples of isometric exercises that can be very usefull, especially when you train everyday. You will not stimulate your muscle enough if you repeat the same exercies too often, so in this regard it could be a very nice adition to your routine.</p>\n<p>For most cases however, controlled mechanical movements (concentric+eccentric) are the way to go. Putting stres on your muscles wil always imply the risk of injury and from this point of view isometric exercises are usually not worth it combined with the fact that it's very hard to stimulate certain musclegroups effectively using this aproach.</p>\n<p>The front raise example that you describe is not advisable because it would put too much stress on your shoulderjoints and would most likely result in injury. It would be better to make slow controlled movements starting paralel from your body, and ending slightly above your head (or above it in case of FRTTR). While isometric training isn't very efective, it would be great to make sure you stop for a brief moment at the beginning and end of the exercise to make sure there is no momentum. The last, and perhaps the most important, part of the exercise is the eccentric phase, where you move the weight back to the starting poition. If you do this slowly and controlled you will gain allot more for you effort.</p>\n<p>I hope this helps you distinguishing between the different trainingmethods.</p>\n<p>Regards from Holland</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44006, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The physics definition of <code>power</code> is:</p>\n<p>(1) <code>power</code> = <code>change in work</code> / <code>change in time</code></p>\n<p>where,</p>\n<p>(2) <code>work</code> = <code>force</code> * <code>displacement</code><br />\n(3) <code>force</code> = <code>mass</code> * <code>acceleration</code><br />\n(4) <code>acceleration</code> = <code>change in velocity</code> / <code>change in time</code> = <code>displacement</code> / <code>change in time ^ 2</code></p>\n<p>altogether we can get,</p>\n<p>(5) <code>power</code> = (<code>force</code> * <code>displacement</code>) / <code>change in time</code><br />\n<strong>(6)</strong> <code>power</code> = (<code>mass</code> * <code>displacement ^ 2</code>) / (<code>change in time ^ 3</code>)</p>\n<hr />\n<p>Your first definition of Power is incorrect. Power is not equal to Work by Velocity. In that case we'd be left with displacement cancelling out and having Force * Time (which is an impulse); you might be thinking of Power is equal to Force * Velocity.</p>\n<p>Formula <strong>(6)</strong> is extremely broken down so we can get to the fundamental units but from that we can see that we can increase power in three different ways, from least to most important:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Increase the weight being moved;</li>\n<li>Increase the distance between Point A and Point B;</li>\n<li>Decrease the amount of time it takes to get from Point A to Point B.</li>\n</ol>\n<blockquote>\n<p>[...] but that's just theory, what about practice... do static holds build power?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>From the above theory, we note three things; power = 0 when weight = 0, when the distance moved = 0, or when the change in time is very large. In practice, I believe this to be true. When an athlete needs to increase their <em>power</em> or wants to build more <em>explosive power</em> we are almost always referring to it as moving things quickly and with force. So, with that definition, and the above, <em>no, static holds do not build power</em>.</p>\n<p>Static holds <em>will</em> build strength; they will develop grip strength, muscular endurance, and mental endurance but they will not improve your ability to move weight quickly from Point A to Point B.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43238", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34540/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43251, "author": "James Tran", "author_id": 34557, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34557", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I completely understand where you're coming from. If you're solely looking for an indoor workout plan, I'd highly recommend YouTube! For example, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/yaboymillhoy\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">HoyPro</a> frequently posts great indoor workouts and has one specifically tailored towards <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtEQQiKcMLQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">5k prep</a>.</p>\n<p>My personal favorite when it comes to getting motivated is the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdXqq7oafvJdL426exvhWtg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Let's Inspire</a> YouTube channel!</p>\n<p>I hope this helps!</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43254, "author": "Sean Duggan", "author_id": 8039, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8039", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you are specifically asking about something like &quot;Couch to 5k&quot;, sort of? If you have enough room to do a loop in your house, or have a treadmill, there are plenty of programs out there. I'm a personal fan of the <a href=\"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sixtostart.zombies5ktraining&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Zombie Run 5k</a> app (also available on Apple), but it's not completely free (you get to experience the first 2-3 weeks free and then I think it's something like $5). I just like having a narrative to my running. In my opinion, this inside training doesn't quite teach you to actually run because your strides will be necessarily foreshortened, but it does a pretty decent job of getting your cardio up, particularly since most C25k programs are less about distance and more about time and effort.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43245", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34550/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43266, "author": "int5", "author_id": 34566, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34566", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Being a beginner, it is quite common to become breathless before failure - especially on compound exercises. The thing with compound, is that you're not only using a single muscle group but the whole chain of movement - which means that in a squat your focus could be on glutes and quads, but your core, back, hamstrings, calves are also doing the work. Because of this, it is difficult to get the &quot;pump&quot; the same way as you would in biceps curls.</p>\n<p>Going to failure does not always indicate that a workout has been successful and the other way around - if you're not in failure after each set, you are still working towards your goals. I have worked with many clients thinking that if they don't go to failure or have muscle ache after the workout, the workout has not been as successful.</p>\n<p>Though I can relate with the pleasant feeling of pump - and it does have it's benefits in hypertrophy training (gaining muscle mass).</p>\n<p>I would recommend changing your workout regime slightly - as you enjoy compound exercises, work on these first - with the weights you have at home but reduce your reps and give yourself time to recover. The aim here is not to go to failure but build strength. You can even make this a bit more challenging by doing single leg squats, split squats or bulgarian split squats (on your leg day). And then as final exercises of workout focus on isolation to get the &quot;pump&quot; - in quads, low pulsating squats provide a solid pump, as does duck walks and wall sits.</p>\n<p>The idea here is to have different aim at different stages of workouts - beginning with most exhausting exercise and maintaining form followed with isolation and &quot;burn&quot; exercises.</p>\n<p>For example:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chest workout - Push-ups followed by chest flyes.</li>\n<li>Leg workout - Squats followed by Low pulsating squats or duck walk/lunges</li>\n</ul>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43269, "author": "Hituptony", "author_id": 6884, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/6884", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The way we breathe during intense and moderate intensity exercise is one of the most important things we can tune into.</p>\n<p>Some doctors will say that your breathing is a function of your autonomous nervous system and leave it at that. However you must learn to take control of your breathe.</p>\n<p>Controlling your breathe has numerous benefits. It allows you to conciously manipulate your functions, it ensures you do not prematurely overexert yourself, it allows faster recovery, and power when you need it.</p>\n<p>If you're struggling to control your breathe, start with movements that are low risk and low intensity. For example, walking.</p>\n<p>Walk, walk, walk and walk some more. Over time your body will get accustomed to the workload and your breathing will coordinate naturally to your progress.</p>\n<p>Next try incorporating some moderate jogging once or twice a lap. Increase intensity but increase slowly.</p>\n<p>Another method to produce good breathing technique would be to break out the kettlebells and try some swings. Go light! Your efficiency with swings is highly dependent on how you breathe during the movement. It sort of forces you to breathe and breathe deep. It will work your body but it won't kill it.</p>\n<p>You will see improvements in your breathing after a week or two of walking, if you incorporate swings and &quot;own&quot; the process.</p>\n<p>Also be careful to watch for light headedness during your compound movements. Think long term. Move Well, Move Often!</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43262", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34563/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43275, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you're not seeing results working a body part once per week, I recommend trying to work that body part more often. Soreness doesn't really enter into the question unless it is debilitating.</p>\n<p>I have not personally found that exercise variety makes a big difference for most adult men who are relative beginners, like you and me and everyone else bench pressing less than 1.5x their bodyweight. Exercise <em>selection</em> matters, because you want to pick an exercise that is effective for your needs and goals. But once you identify that exercise, I see no reason to do a bunch of similar stuff. For instance, as a beginner my arms grew just by doing overhead press, pull-ups, and dips. (And on some programs not even all three.)</p>\n<p>One key reason to focus on one exercise rather than several is that it lets you spend more energy in that one exercise. Four sets of 12-15 reps for four exercises means you need to spread your ATP across 192 to 240 total reps. With three sets of 12-20 reps (my favorite for dips) you can focus all your effort into making those 36 to 60 as heavy and intense as possible.</p>\n<p>If your triceps are not getting bigger and stronger with consistent once-a-week training, try working them every workout. One exercise should be plenty. One challenging set might be enough, but I prefer two to five, usually three. Three hard sets of a heavily-tricep-dependent compound movement, done three or four times a week, a little more challenging each time (i.e. aiming for a few more pounds or reps per set each workout) should either get you bigger and stronger or tell you something more fundamental is wrong. Once a week is just not very much!</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43302, "author": "Kyu", "author_id": 33510, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33510", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Train your triceps close to exhaustion with the least boring exercise in your arsenal.</p>\n<p>Eat based on how tired you are.</p>\n<p>Sleep more if possible, sleep better by taking cold showers right before going to bed to lower your blood temperature and get your body into a lethargic state... Possibly also have a fat heavy meal to weigh you down. If you can, stay away from your phone for at least 3 hours before bed.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43273", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34130/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43275, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you're not seeing results working a body part once per week, I recommend trying to work that body part more often. Soreness doesn't really enter into the question unless it is debilitating.</p>\n<p>I have not personally found that exercise variety makes a big difference for most adult men who are relative beginners, like you and me and everyone else bench pressing less than 1.5x their bodyweight. Exercise <em>selection</em> matters, because you want to pick an exercise that is effective for your needs and goals. But once you identify that exercise, I see no reason to do a bunch of similar stuff. For instance, as a beginner my arms grew just by doing overhead press, pull-ups, and dips. (And on some programs not even all three.)</p>\n<p>One key reason to focus on one exercise rather than several is that it lets you spend more energy in that one exercise. Four sets of 12-15 reps for four exercises means you need to spread your ATP across 192 to 240 total reps. With three sets of 12-20 reps (my favorite for dips) you can focus all your effort into making those 36 to 60 as heavy and intense as possible.</p>\n<p>If your triceps are not getting bigger and stronger with consistent once-a-week training, try working them every workout. One exercise should be plenty. One challenging set might be enough, but I prefer two to five, usually three. Three hard sets of a heavily-tricep-dependent compound movement, done three or four times a week, a little more challenging each time (i.e. aiming for a few more pounds or reps per set each workout) should either get you bigger and stronger or tell you something more fundamental is wrong. Once a week is just not very much!</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43302, "author": "Kyu", "author_id": 33510, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33510", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Train your triceps close to exhaustion with the least boring exercise in your arsenal.</p>\n<p>Eat based on how tired you are.</p>\n<p>Sleep more if possible, sleep better by taking cold showers right before going to bed to lower your blood temperature and get your body into a lethargic state... Possibly also have a fat heavy meal to weigh you down. If you can, stay away from your phone for at least 3 hours before bed.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43300", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34602/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43304, "author": "Richie", "author_id": 34130, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34130", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you trying to make accent on your squats you don't have to reach the max depth. For a good activation in squats you can perform parallel squats and you gonna be perfectly fine.</p>\n<p>Don't jump a gun. Your technique is not perfect yet. Try to squats with 100lb-150lb and work on your technique a month or two it's better than be complitely out of training for a few months due to an injury.</p>\n<p>You can avoide an inconsistensy in a torso angle simply working better on your back and a squat technique. You not probably dealing with a squat weakness. As far as I can see it might caused by back or scapular weakness because when your go down your bar is going straight, but when you coming up it becomes unstable</p>\n<p>Tip for coming off heels. Try to place under your heels 5lb plates and try to push on 'em when squating. I recomend perform squats with 5lb plates till you stop fall back while pushing on your heels</p>\n<p>You can watch a few vids about good squats technique</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://youtu.be/bEv6CCg2BC8\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://youtu.be/bEv6CCg2BC8</a>\n<a href=\"https://youtu.be/SHgQeBk7zIs\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://youtu.be/SHgQeBk7zIs</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43308, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You're definitely descending way too fast. That may be related to you coming off your heels, which is definitely happening and definitely not helped by those shoes. Can you squat barefoot, or in socks, or get flat-soled shoes? That squishy heel is tough to work with. (You might or might not still come onto your toes a bit due to ankle inflexibility.)</p>\n<p>I don't see any particular problems with depth, but I didn't go crazy scrutinizing every rep. The thing to fix here is your heel coming up, which might <em>show</em> you problems in your bottom position. Have you tried pause squats, or holds in the bottom position? That might help with some hip flexibility that will let you feel better going slower.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43310, "author": "Dark Hippo", "author_id": 20219, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20219", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Few things jumped out at me and a few suggestions.</p>\n<p>Working from top to bottom:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Relax your face! I don't have any evidence for this, but I always seem to pull and squat better when I don't look like I'm entering a gurning competition.</li>\n<li>Wrist position. You look like you're trying to hold some of the weight on your hands by bending your wrist back at an extreme angle. You should be actively pulling the bar into your traps, which helps to tighten up the mid back and keep the chest up.</li>\n<li>Feet. As mentioned in <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/43308/20219\">Dave Liepmann's answer</a>, you really need a decent base of support for lifting, otherwise you lose power trying to stabilise your feet / ankles. I recommend bare feet if you can, if not, then a cheap pair of Converse.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Suggestions:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Relax a bit (mentally, not physically). I know this sounds counter intuitive, but if you're stressing about making the lift and making depth, then you're going to make it harder on yourself.</li>\n<li>Grip the bar. Squeeze the hell out of the bar and pull it into your traps. Personally, I hate squatting in a hoodie as the bar always seems to end up sitting on the hood (unless I have the hood up like a moody powerlifter), but if it works for you, then just make sure you're really locking the bar in place.</li>\n<li>Slow down the decent. Slow it down so you can groove the squat pattern to achieve depth, then you can speed it up if you want to take advantage of the muscular stretch reflex. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.</li>\n<li>Pause squats. Again, as <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/43308/20219\">Dave Liepmann suggested</a>, pause at the bottom of the squat for a few seconds.</li>\n<li>Box squats. Stack up some of those weight plates in the background so when you sit on them you're just below parallel, and squat to those. This will teach you what the correct depth feels like, and it'll also slow you down some (you do NOT want to slam your coccyx into a box when loaded up with a couple hundred pounds).</li>\n<li>Goblet squats. A Dan John favourite, you basically sit in the bottom position of a squat with a kettlebell (or dumbbell in front of you) and push your knees out with your elbows. It's a great way to open up the hips and improve mobility allowing to squat depth.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Don't know how you warm up, but I'd recommend throwing in some goblet squats into your warm up, then maybe spend a few weeks with a lighter weight, really slowing down the movement by squatting to a box and working on keeping everything tight, top to bottom.</p>\n<p>As an idea that very few people seem to agree with, try squatting every day. Don't go balls to the wall absolute max, but put in some decent reps every day. There is actually a squat every day program, and I've personally seen great improvements in my squat when I squatted every day for a couple of months, but a lot of people just don't like the idea (or they're scared that they'll lose the ability to walk normally and have a permanent cowboy swagger).</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43303", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/29392/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43335, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Holding a side plank? That's just your bones pushing against soft tissue... Not much shoulder work... It's like saying standing on one leg works your butt... It does hurt after a while but doesn't do nothing for muscle growth.</p>\n<p>However lifting yourself up from a normal plank into a side plank, and doing that for repetitions, this movement mimics a reverse fly but instead of moving your shoulders areound your body, you move your body around your shoulders.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43338, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I'd question the claim that side-planks are good for shoulder stability. There are some stability demands of the side-plank, but they're pretty minimal and unlikely to really put a significant training stimulus on the shoulder muscles.</p>\n<p>The only point of instability in a side plank is tilting forwards (into a prone position) or backwards (into a supine position). These movements involve transverse flexion and extension of the shoulder. Therefore, muscles involved in stabilising the shoulder in this plane of movement will be those that perform or resist those movements - the pectoralis major and the posterior deltiod.</p>\n<p>The rotator cuff muscles are primarily responsible for rotation, but there will be no rotational instability in the shoulder in the side plank position, in that in a side plank, your arm will never start rotating underneath you, and your body will never rotate around your fixed arm.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43340, "author": "Display name", "author_id": 34644, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34644", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>The rotator cuff muscles are important in shoulder movements and in maintaining glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) stability.[4] These muscles arise from the scapula and connect to the head of the humerus, forming a cuff at the shoulder joint. They hold the head of the humerus in the small and shallow glenoid fossa of the scapula.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p><strong>&quot;Am I right in thinking it would involve the rotator cuff?&quot;</strong></p>\n<p>According to Wikipedia, yes it would.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43334", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43349, "author": "frenk morko", "author_id": 34653, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34653", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>someone who starts lifting weights cannot lift 100 kilos the first time. This is because the muscles are weak because they have not encountered this resistance before.</p>\n<p>Muscle strength refers to the amount of force a muscle can produce with maximum effort.\nMuscle endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to apply force repeatedly over an extended period of time.\nmy opinion is that strength cannot develop without endurance. First, the ability of the muscles to resist resistance must be developed, then the power will come out by itself.\nThe simplest example of this is that we have difficulty lifting 10-20 kg when we start sports. Later, these weights start to seem like a piece of cake to us because the muscles now develop themselves against this resistance.\nUnfortunately, no one who is just starting out can lift 100 kilos all of a sudden.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://sporium.net/dayaniklilik-antrenmani-nedir-nasil-yapilir/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://sporium.net/dayaniklilik-antrenmani-nedir-nasil-yapilir/</a></p>\n<p><a href=\"https://fitnessprogramer.com\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://fitnessprogramer.com</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43374, "author": "James Kingsbery", "author_id": 34684, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34684", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I don't know for weight lifting, but there is a chart from a well known book in cycle training that talks about the different zones of training and how they affect the body:<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mktJj.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mktJj.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>You can see that in the most intense zone (7 in this chart), performance depends on hypertrophy of fast twitch fibers and neuromuscular (i.e., nervous system) power. In areas that are more about endurance (Zones 2 and 3), performance depends on oxygen intake, the body's ability to process lactate acid, the amount of mitochondria in muscles, the amount of slow twitch muscle, and the processing of the body's stored glycogen.</p>\n<p>Since the body's ability to perform in these different intensities depends on different bodily systems, you cannot improve simply by doing one or the other.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43375, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Let's say you can do a heavy lift once, and that's your maximum strength. Then let's say you decrease that weight by half and do as many repetitions as you can until your muscles don't move anymore. This is also your maximum strength.... Beause if the one rep max gets bigger, then also the half of that one rep max increases.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>You seem to be making the assumption that the number of repetitions one can do at a set fraction of their one-rep maximum is fixed. This is not a valid assumption.</p>\n<p>Take for example a person who has a squat 1RM of 100kg, and let's assume they can do 20 reps at half their 1RM, 50kg. For them, doing a high load, low rep training program might increase their 1RM to 120kg, without granting them the ability to do 20 reps at half their new 1RM. They'd almost certainly be able to do more reps at 50kg than they could before, but that doesn't mean their new 20RM is 60kg. They might be able to do 25 reps at 50kg now, but only 18 at 60kg.</p>\n<p>Or if they instead ran a low load, high rep training program, they might only increase their 1RM to 110kg, but now be able to do 25 reps at 55kg.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My queation is, how is it even possible to find a situation where strength and endurance are not directly correlated?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Because the limiting factors in 1RM strength are muscle size and neurological adaptations, whereas the limiting factors in strength-endurance are muscle size and the phosphagen and lactic-anaerobic energy systems. Both modes of training will increase muscle size, but high load, low rep training training will also improve neurological adaptations, while low load, high rep training will also improve anaerobic energy systems. So there's a lot of overlap, but the training effects of the two are not identical.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Are there any papers proving that one can increase their 1 rep maximum\nwithout also increasing their endurance in lower weights?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No, but there are papers showing that high-load training results in large increases in maximal strength with small increases in endurance, whereas low-load high-rep training results in small increases in maximal strength but larger increases in endurance.</p>\n<p>Anderson, T., &amp; Kearney, J. T. (1982). Effects of Three Resistance Training Programs on Muscular Strength And Absolute and Relative Endurance. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 53(1), 1–7. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1982.10605218\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1982.10605218</a></p>\n<p>Stone, William J., &amp; Coulter, Scott P. (1994). Strength/Endurance Effects From Three Resistance Training Protocols With Women\nJournal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 8(4):231-234, November 1994.\n<a href=\"https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/1994/11000/Strength_Endurance_Effects_From_Three_Resistance.5.aspx\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/1994/11000/Strength_Endurance_Effects_From_Three_Resistance.5.aspx</a></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Say my bicep curl is 60 pounds for once but 30 pounds for twenty\nreps.... If suddently I become able to do twenty-two reps with 30\npounds, how is it possible that my one rep max didn't alsp increase?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Your one rep max probably did increase, but not necessarily in exact proportion to your increase in endurance.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43391, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Muscles consist of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers.\nThe slow twitch are weak but can work for a long time, whereas the fast twitch are strong but can only work for a short period.</p>\n<p>If you train with few reps you get stronger but most of this increase in strength comes from the fast twitch muscle fibers. As mentioned these can only work for a short period, and therefore play no role in endurance activities.</p>\n<p>When you use muscle fibers for a prolonged time eventually more and more of these will drop out (actually the motor units) over time due to problems with oxygenation, energy supply and removal of metabolic byproducts from cells. Training endurance will cause adaptions such as increased number of capillaries in the muscles that alleviate this problem and make you able to sustain a moderate force output for a long time. This will on the other hand not improve your max strength.</p>\n<p>Also max strength is the product of the muscles ability to exert force and the brains ability to generate a strong enough electric signal to fire as many as possible fibers at the same time.\nWhen training for max strength one improves the brains ability to generate such a strong signal. This is the &quot;sports&quot; mode. However this ability is not used in endurance activities. Instead the brain rotates which muscle fibers are being used. This is the &quot;economy&quot; mode. This rotation of muscle fibers is also an ability, and it is being trained by endurance activities.</p>\n<p>So no strength and endurance are not directly correlated, but training for one may help a bit with the other.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43343", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34645/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43367, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In my opinion, two seconds is fast for a bicep curl.</p>\n<p>We can split the bicep curl into four parts: concentric, top-hold, eccentric, and bottom-hold. When you look at timing for a bicep curl you can find these four numbers prescribed in seconds. For example, if I said to perform a 1-0-1-0 bicep curl, that's one second up, no pause at the top, one second down, no pause at the bottom, and the completes one rep. This is what it sounds like you're doing, about two seconds for one rep.</p>\n<p>I think a solid bicep curl looks more like a 2-1-2-1, in other words, two seconds up, one-second pause at the top, two seconds down, and a one-second pause at the bottom. The totals six seconds per rep putting a 10 rep set at 60 s time-under-tension.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43368, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The claim that there's an optimal time under tension for hypertrophy appears to have come from Charles Poliquin, who wrote in his 1997 book (&quot;The Poliquin Principles&quot;) that 20-70 seconds of total time under tension per set is desirable for bodybuilders. No citation was given for this claim.</p>\n<p>The idea that 8-12 reps is the optimal rep range for hypertrophy is an even older dogma that probably can't be attributed to any single author.</p>\n<p><strong>Both of these ideas are wrong.</strong></p>\n<p>Research has reliably shown than rep range does not matter for hypertrophy, as long as sets are done sufficiently close to failure and the reps are not so ridiculously high (more than 30 reps per set) that it starts turning into cardio^{<a href=\"http://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200\" rel=\"noreferrer\">1</a>, <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1450898\" rel=\"noreferrer\">2</a>}. Sufficiently close to failure means that if you can lift 100kg for 15 reps, or 140kg for 5 reps, those two will have similar effects on hypertrophy, but lifting 100kg for 5 reps cannot be compared to lifting 140kg for 5 reps. <a href=\"https://www.strongerbyscience.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Stronger By Science has a good write-up summarising this research.</a></p>\n<p>Research has also shown that while time under tension does increase hypertrophy^{<a href=\"https://dx.doi.org/10.1113%2Fjphysiol.2011.221200\" rel=\"noreferrer\">3</a>}, this is counteracted by the fact that you can lift less weight (or do fewer reps) with a deliberately slowed tempo than you could when lifting at a normal speed. The overall result is that lifting light weights for low reps with a slow tempo, lifting light weights for high reps with a fast tempo, and lifting heavy weights for low reps with a fast tempo all produce similar levels of hypertrophy^{<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1113/JP278056\" rel=\"noreferrer\">4</a>}, again provided that you're training similarly close to failure in all cases.</p>\n<p>Probably the only important thing to take away from this is that slow tempos or higher reps can act as a substitute for heavier weights for hypertrophy training, which may be useful to people who have limited access to equipment due to Covid-19 restrictions.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43366", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34674/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43371, "author": "user34680", "author_id": 34680, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34680", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There's people who train for a full time job, 6 to 10 hours a day 6 days out of the week, often divided into multiple sessions per day.</p>\n<p>There's some who train 45 to 60 minutes a day 5 days a week.</p>\n<p>There's people who train 60 minutes twice or thrice a week.</p>\n<p>You just got yourself an one year experiment.</p>\n<p>Train with method 1 for 1 month then stop training for 3 months. Measure everything, even your feelings...noy just weight, food, sleep and muscle growth or strength.</p>\n<p>Train with method 2 for 1 month... Stop for 3.</p>\n<p>Train with method 3 for 1 moth stop for 3.</p>\n<p>After 1 year you got the training experience of a gymanst, a gymrat and an average gym goer. You will be able to see what is more optimal based on your own data.</p>\n<p>Another option is to see the results of other people. The third option is to ask yourself, why would people in their right mind train for a full time job if it was not effective?</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43377, "author": "Erwan Legrand", "author_id": 10641, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/10641", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>According to <a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">a meta-analysis</a> (i.e. a scientific study of scientific studies), it does not matter:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In conclusion, there is strong evidence that resistance training\nfrequency does not significantly or meaningfully impact muscle\nhypertrophy when volume is equated. Thus, for a given training volume,\nindividuals can choose a weekly frequency per muscle groups based on\npersonal preference.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>What matters is the total volume.</p>\n<p>Edit: Here is <a href=\"https://thelogicofscience.com/2016/01/12/the-hierarchy-of-evidence-is-the-studys-design-robust/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">a link</a> explaining what meta-analyses are.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43381, "author": "Darren S", "author_id": 34690, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34690", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The optimal length and number of sessions per week will vary depending on how much effort you are putting forth in the gym, how much sleep and rest you're getting, the quality of your diet, and whether or not you are taking PEDs.</p>\n<p>If you're training like too many people I see in the gym these days who love to sit on the leg extension machine with 20 pounds on the stack with their faces in their phones while they mindlessly crank out reps, then you can probably train every day for 5 hours a day because you aren't putting forth any effort.</p>\n<p>If you are blasting your body parts with sets to failure and drop sets and you have nothing left when you leave the gym, you're getting the proper rest, and you're getting enough quality calories/protein/carbs, then you'll probably want to train each body part once a week preferably on a 5 day split such as the following as an example:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Day 1: Arms</li>\n<li>Day 2: Quads</li>\n<li>Day 3: Rest</li>\n<li>Day 4: Chest/Delts</li>\n<li>Day 5: Hamstring/Calves</li>\n<li>Day 6: Back</li>\n<li>Day 7: Rest</li>\n</ul>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43370", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/19244/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43412, "author": "Crumble", "author_id": 34710, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34710", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a bit of an over generalisation or demonstrates how simple looks can be deceiving.</p>\n<p>Your question implies that body builders <em>look</em> like they should be stronger than powerlifters/strongmen, this I can only assume is because from a simple visual inspection without given perspective bodybuilders are visually heavily muscled, where a powerlifter or a strongman can be seen as big, but fat.</p>\n<p>The truth of the matter is as always, a little more complicated than you would first imagine, but to keep this answer concise I will attempt to keep it simple with some examples.</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Eddy Hall, the famous strongman who held the world record for the deadlift at 500kg. Extremely strong man, but at his peak was carrying a lot of fat on his frame<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3yTG4.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3yTG4.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></li>\n</ol>\n<p>Now see again Eddy in a recent picture after cutting weight for his fight with hafthor bjornsson.<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8VTa3.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8VTa3.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>I don't expect anyone thinks he can deadlift 500kg in his current condition as he dramatically dropped boy fat with which will cause muscle catabolism, he is 163kg in this last picture, bare that in mind when you look at this next photo.</p>\n<p>Big rammy, who won mr.Olympia\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pQQfX.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pQQfX.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>in a straight up comparison between these two men, I don't think many would suspect that Eddy has a 60kg weight advantage on Rammy in the first and 30kg in the second.</p>\n<p>I show this example to demonstrate how being lean can make you look bigger while also attempting to demonstrate how the muscle belly can also give the appearance of being bigger despite having less mass behind them.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43413, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It's hard to make a direct comparison because the range of strength and muscle mass ranges wildly, but bodybuilders can have a lot more muscle while powerlifters and strongmen can be significantly stronger despite having less overall muscle mass. Strongmen and powerlifters don't necessarily need to be heavier to outlift a bodybuilder.</p>\n<p>An example comparison of two elites at the top of their game would be 8x Olympia Champion <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Coleman\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Ronnie Coleman</a></p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f6b0s.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f6b0s.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a>\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iRptf.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iRptf.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>and multiple world record holding powerlifter Kevin Oak.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/U7K06.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/U7K06.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a>\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/g2o1V.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/g2o1V.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>I chose these comparisons because they're both 5'11&quot; (180cm) in height. They're both elite and world class in their respective sports. And it was easy for me to find stats.</p>\n<p>Right off the bat, you can see that Ronnie has a lot more muscle. On stage he was between 285-300 lb (~130-135kg) and probably ~5% body fat. That means he had roughly 15 lb (7kg) of fat with about 280 lb (130kg) of lean mass. In his off-season he was about 320 lb (145kg).</p>\n<p>Kevin Oak on the other hand competes in both the <a href=\"https://www.openpowerlifting.org/u/kevinoak\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">220 and 242 class</a>. Based on the photos he is maybe around 10-15% body fat. This puts his lean mass at best around 200-220.</p>\n<p>Despite being almost 100 lb lighter, Kevin squats as much as Ronnie ever has. What this shows is that specialized training can make the muscle you have considerably stronger. The reason Ronnie isn't stronger is because that was not where his focus was. His training was designed to maximize mass, not strength. Likewise, Kevin's training is designed to maximize strength (specifically in squat, bench, and deadlift).</p>\n<p>There is of course carryover. Building muscle mass will undoubtedly make you stronger. Being stronger will undoubtedly create muscle mass. Though depending on the training style, one will advance faster than the other.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43430, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>In order to gain muscle one should eat a lot. Usually one then both gains muscle and fat: bulking. Bodybuilders alternate between bulking and cutting. During cutting they loose fat. However they do not gain muscle during this phase and may even loose a bit of muscle in this process. Since heavyweight powerlifters do not care about being fat they only bulk. The fat does not make them stronger in itself but it does not matter.</p>\n<p>Consider the bench press. From mechanics we know that torque is force x lever arm.\nThe barbell produces a torque at the elbow joint that is proportional to the length of the lower arm. This torque has to be overcome by the triceps. Likewise the barbell produces a torque at the shoulder joint that is proportional to the length of the upper arm. This torque has to be overcome by the pec.\nSo a person with really short arms have a huge advantage when it comes to bench press.<br />\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mp3Fnm.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mp3Fnm.png\" alt=\"Notice the short arms on Sarychev to the left who benches 335 kg compared to Haftor who benches &quot;only&quot; 250 kg\" /></a></p>\n<p>Notice the short arms on Sarychev to the left who benches 335 kg compared to Haftor who benches &quot;only&quot; 250 kg.\nLikewise a person with really short legs have a huge advantage when it comes to the squat.</p>\n<p>Muscles consist of fast twitch and slow twitch fibers.\nFast twitch fibers are stronger but can only work for a short time (say 30 secs).\nAfter that they may need several minutes to recover.\nPowerlifters tend to have a large percentage of their fibers being fast twitch.\nSome bodybuilders have a large percentage of slow twitch fibers. This means that they are not as strong as a powerlifters but they can do a lot of heavy lifting without needing a break.\nOther bodybuilders have a large percentage of their fibers being fast twitch and they are very strong.</p>\n<p>In order to make the fibers in a muscle contract an electrical signal is generated inside the motor cortex in the brain and sent trough the nerve system.\nNo one is able to generate a strong enough signal to engage all the fibers in a muscle simultaneously. Instead the available muscle strength is multiplied by a factor &lt; 1, the neural efficiency.\nPowerlifters train with very few reps say 1-2 part of the time. This increases their neural efficiency but do not increase the size of the muscles.\nFor bodybuilders only size matters so they &quot;never&quot; train with this few repetitions.\nAlso some people are born with a higher neural efficiency than others.</p>\n<p>For a more in depth discussion of what makes someone stronger than others:\n<a href=\"https://www.strongerbyscience.com/size-vs-strength/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Size vs. Strength: How Important is Muscle Growth For Strength Gains?</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43409", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34667/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43425, "author": "C.Koca", "author_id": 24672, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/24672", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I am novice myself, but there is no way you can burn 800 calories an hour with push ups.</p>\n<p>Rope skipping, jumping jacks or simply jumping might help you reach there. I never did more than 300 repetitions of jumping jacks and when I do that much, it hurts my knees and my ankles a little, that is why I don't go further than 300. Rope skipping or regular jumping might help you more.</p>\n<p>Besides, doing hundreds of push ups a day would cause your chest and triceps to develop unproportional to rest of your body. I hope veteran fitness trainers would excuse me for this metaphor but it would be like attaching a jet motor to a thirty year old car, good strong motor but the chassis is not built for it.</p>\n<p>Long story short, warming up with jumping jack and rope skipping and continuing with some <strong>balanced</strong> body weight moves might help you spend a lot of calories, but an unbalanced uno-rage training would not help you at all.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43428, "author": "Crumble", "author_id": 34710, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34710", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Estimates of exactly how many calories a single press-up (or push-up) burns vary somewhat, from about 0.29 calories each to 0.36 calories per press-up, depending on the research you cite (Cohen, 2012; McCall, 2017).</p>\n<p>so as you are on the lighter end of things I will assume 0.29 calories per push up.</p>\n<p>to burn 1000 calories at this rate you need: 3448 push ups per day.</p>\n<p>You would be better off following a calisthenics home workout with a strict diet incorporating liss(low intensity steady state) cardio like walking or running as you have done.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43439, "author": "E.Aigle", "author_id": 34606, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34606", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Replacing &quot;cardio&quot;, with &quot;not cardio&quot; is not a good idea to begin with. You should always strive to have a good mix of the both just for general health. You should first ask yourself, why do you want to burn that many calories? Is it to maintain the calorie in calorie out balance (ie: I can eat this doughnut if I run an hour after)? Do you care about cardio respiratory fitness? Or are you just trying to &quot;exercise&quot; in a more broad sense? I definitely would not recommend trying to burn as many calories doing push ups as you do running. Especially if you are a novice. The drastic increase in volume could lead to many issues (strained ligaments, tendinitis etc). You may want to consider a more measured turn to resistance training which will increase your baseline caloric expenditure throughout the day by increasing your total muscle mass. Otherwise, maybe try a different kind of cardio if running is not an option. Cycling is a good way of social distancing if that's why you can't run.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43424", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34728/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43436, "author": "Dark Hippo", "author_id": 20219, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20219", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>If you want a guide to lift a heavy object from the ground (or close to the ground) to around shoulder height, I would say you more want to look at the stone lifting in strongman training than something from the Olympic lifts.</p>\n<p>Firstly, the power clean isn't a deadlift &gt; upright row &gt; rack &gt; overhead press, though it might appear that way at first glance. It's more akin to a jump with a loaded barbell.</p>\n<p>The upright row part that you've put in is actually the momentum from the jump carrying the weight up to shoulder height. Yes, there's a shrug movement in there as well, but that's mainly to give a little extra force, the main drive comes from the hips.</p>\n<p>Something like <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZCm3mU2GhE\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">atlas stone lifting</a> or <a href=\"https://www.oldmanofthestones.com/blog/natural-stone-lifting-how-to\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">natural stone lifting</a> is a lot more in line with what I think you want.</p>\n<p>One of the main issues with trying to learn clean technique (it's not that hard, no harder than learning how to deadlift correctly, and less likely to result in shoulder injuries than performing upright rows) is that the weight has to stay close to the center line of the body, which you can't do with something much larger than a barbell. You try and do that with a heavy box, you're more likely to hit yourself in the face and topple forwards.</p>\n<p>With something like a stone lift, it's a lot more controlled, and stones are weird shapes, so you're not learning the movement for a specifically designed piece of gear.</p>\n<p>The most useful thing you can do to lift something without hurting your back is to get a stronger back and learn to brace through your core (which you need to do with heavy deadlift and squat training). So I'd suggest go do that. Once you can pull a 100kg deadlift, a box weighing a few kgs really shouldn't be an issue for you.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43440, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Lifting a heavy box up from the ground is done this way:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lOAb7.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lOAb7.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Notice the straight back. Instead of bending at the back which may hurt our back, we hinge at the hip.\nAlso notice the wide stance. We try to get as close as possible to the box.\nWe hold our breath while lifting and do not rotate.\nIdeally the person in the picture should have a more horizontal back position so that his back was over the center of mass of the box allowing his arms to pull vertically on the box(1).</p>\n<p>This lift is very similar to a sumo deadlift:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f04Zcm.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f04Zcm.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>According to Matt Wenning everyone should sumo deadlift (2).</p>\n<p>Objects that are hard to get a grip on can also be lifted with the back in flexion:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/enBCNm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/enBCNm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>According to Rippetoe the main thing is that the shape of the back do not change during the lift (1). If you start with a back in flexion you keep your back in flexion. If you start with your back straight, you keep your back straight.\nThe vertebras do not change in position relative to each other.</p>\n<p>I would think that ordinary people could/should avoid lifting with their back in flexion and instead sumo deadlift stuff.</p>\n<p>In order to ingrain the hinging at the hips I think it may be useful to <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45DQiwq4oKk\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">practice with a dowel</a>.</p>\n<p>The second half of the lift I have no idea about.</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aqYYhM7CrU\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">How to pick stuff up. Mark Rippetoe</a></p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"http://theathletedaily.com/matt-wenning-sumodeadlift/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Everyone should sumo deadlift</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43433", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43454, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>This idea that the &quot;correct&quot; way to lift involve getting your hips as low to the ground as possible is something that has historically been taught, but has no evidence behind it. It's more of a dogma than a correct technique.</p>\n<p>Martimo, K.-P., Verbeek, J., Karppinen, J., Furlan, A. D., Takala, E.-P., Kuijer, P. P. F. M., Jauhiainen, M., &amp; Viikari-Juntura, E. (2008). Effect of training and lifting equipment for preventing back pain in lifting and handling: systematic review. BMJ, 336(7641), 429–431. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39463.418380.be\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39463.418380.be</a></p>\n<p>&quot;There is no evidence to support use of advice or training in working techniques with or without lifting equipment for preventing back pain or consequent disability. The findings challenge current widespread practice of advising workers on correct lifting technique.&quot;</p>\n<p>Regarding the deadlift addition that was added in a later edit, the statement &quot;[arms perpendicular to the back] means that all the weight of the package is converted to dangerous shear forces on the back&quot; is not true. There's nothing special about a situation in which the arms are parallel to the back, and shear forces are present in almost all loadings of the back and are not inherently harmful.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43471, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>&quot;The neutral back lifting posture has been found to be better overall than a rounded (opposite of arched) back in minimizing L5/s1\ncompressive forces and ligament strain.\nTherefore, a normal lordotic lumbar spine position is superior to a rounded back for avoiding injury to vertebra, disks, facet joints, ligaments, and muscles of the back.\nIn addition, the low back muscles are capable of exerting considerably higher forces when the back arched rather than rounded.&quot; (1)</p>\n<p>Further:</p>\n<p>&quot;It has been observed that 85% to 90% of all intervertebral disk herniations occur at the disk between the lowest two lumbar vertebrae (L4 and L5) or between\nthe lowest lumbar and the top sacral vertebra (L5 and S1).&quot; (1)</p>\n<p>From this we can conclude that we should lift with a &quot;straight&quot; back if possible.\nAnd in order to keep a straight back we must <strong>hinge at the hips</strong>.</p>\n<p>But why do the herniations occur at the bottom of the back and not further up the spine?\nLet us model the spine as a rod flexing from the force from the weight transmitted trough our arms and shoulder.\nThis is similar to the cantilever beam problem in static analysis:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/avYI5.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/avYI5.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>In our case the sacrum is the fixed end and our shoulders are the free end where the force is applied.\nFrom the figure it can be seen that the bending moment at a position x where x=0 is fixed end and x=L is free end is:\nM=(L - x)W\nThis moment is clearly largest near the fixed end.\nLikewise the bending moment from lifting a weight is largest in the lower vertebraes (L4 and L5).</p>\n<p>This bending moment is opposed by the erector spinae muscles. However:\n&quot;The back muscles operate at an extremely low mechanical advantage because the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the spinal erector muscles to the intervertebral disc are much shorter (about 5 cm) than the horizontal distance from\nweights to the disks. As a result, the muscles must excert forces that frequently exceeed 10 times the weight lifted&quot;. (1)\nThis is illustrated here (from <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/fifth-lumbar-vertebra\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Physics in Biology and Medicine</a>, Paul Davidovits):\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/42dJP.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/42dJP.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>In order to save our backs we should therefore outside the gym seek to minimize the torque from the lifted weight at the sacrum in case our erector spinae should not be strong enough. Inside the controlled environment of the gym we should strengthen our erector spinae by stressing it (deadlifts).<br />\nIn another <a href=\"https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/613031/how-should-one-lift-a-heavy-object\">question</a> I have found that we should try to lift as upright as possible and with shoulders as far as possible in front of weight.\nHowever it seems these criteria oppose each others. The first leads to a squat and the second to a deadlift.</p>\n<p>How do we do this in practice?\nWe use a lift somewhere between a squat and a (sumo) deadlift.\nA sumo stance causes a more upright back position. And we try to get our <strong>hips as horizontally close to the center of mass of the box as possible</strong>.\nIt is important to notice that the height of the hips does not matter (2):</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6mfdPm.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6mfdPm.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Regarding the first person in the original question:\nthe feet must be firmly planted in the ground in order to be stable. He is clearly limited by his ankle mobility and need to take a wider stance and turn his feet more out.\nThe second person has a good lift.</p>\n<p>(1) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Biomechanics chapter, NSCA</p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319653248_Towards_Real-time_Ergonomics_Feedback_and_Educational_Content_with_the_use_of_Co-Robots\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Towards Real-time Ergonomics Feedback and Educational Content with the use of Co-Robots</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43443", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43463, "author": "Alec", "author_id": 8828, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8828", "pm_score": 6, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Functionally, is doing a push up equivalent to doing a body weight bench press?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Functionally close enough as a movement to where pushups can be a reasonable alternative for beginners. But a bodyweight pushup is nowhere near the same feat of strength as doing a bodyweight bench press.</p>\n<p>When you do a pushup, consider how far each body part travels.</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>your shoulders will gain an elevation roughly equal to the length of your arms</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>your pelvis doesn't really travel very far off the ground</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Your knees even less so</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>your feet gain no elevation at all</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>All this means that you're not actually pressing with a force that equals that of lifting a bar loaded with whatever you weigh, because when you do a bench press, the entire weight travels the entire range of motion.</p>\n<p>As a point of reference, get in the pushup position, but with your hands planted on a bathroom scale, and see how much you &quot;weigh&quot; in that position, compared to standing on it with your full body.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I don't own a bench press, can I adapt push ups... E.g incline... As a substitute?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Yes and no.</p>\n<p>Yes; you will train a lot of the same muscle groups, and there are so many cool variations on the pushup you can do to make sure you consistently challenge the muscles in question. Moreover, there are ways to add weight on top of the variations.</p>\n<p>No; anyone who has trained in the gym for years, utilizing the bench press as the primary movement for building raw strength particularly in the chest area, will find it hard to produce the same progressive overload in terms of weight if they can't have the bench any more. They can definitely find pushup variations that are brutally challenging, but in terms of the weight you can load onto a bar, replicating that in the form of a pushup is almost hopeless. But making sure to do it anyway is the best way to maintain as much strength as possible until they can access a bench again.</p>\n<p>The good news is that for 99% of us, there are pushup variations and combinations that will serve all our needs. I'm not going to start listing them because there are frankly so many, I wouldn't know where to start. And also because while there exists hundreds of variations, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=pushup+variations\" rel=\"noreferrer\">there also exists thousands of lists</a>.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43468, "author": "Graham", "author_id": 20427, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20427", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<h3>A regular push-up is a bench press plus isometric core exercise</h3>\n<p>When it comes to the muscle groups involved in actually lifting your face off the ground, a regular push-up and a bench press are identical.</p>\n<p>Spacing your hands differently and/or rotating your hands for a press-up will engage different muscle groups. These can also be done with a bench press to some extent. It is somewhat less convenient - positioning your hands closer together gives you less control over the weight, and you'd need a different bar to rotate your hands - but it is achievable. Some machines have different grips to let you do this.</p>\n<p>The primary difference though is that a push-up requires the body to be held in a straight &quot;plank&quot; position. This is an isometric workout for your core, in the same way as a regular plank. A bench press fundamentally does not require your core to be engaged in the same way, only insofar as is required to stabilise driving the weight upwards, so a push-up gives you additional exercise which a bench press does not.</p>\n<p>If you want the equivalent of a light bench-press and many reps, you can drop to your knees instead. This also reduces the core workout, if this is an issue. Alternatively you can place your hands on a higher surface such as a chair, requiring less load on your arms.</p>\n<p>If you want to increase the difficulty, you naturally go the other way. Placing your feet on the chair instead will put more load on your arms, making the exercise harder.</p>\n<p>There is a natural limit to this though. If your feet are higher than your arm length, you'll start to work your shoulders instead of your pecs (as with a pike push-up - see later). If you reach a point where your own bodyweight is still insufficient with elevated-feet push-ups, you can increase the difficulty by placing weights on your shoulders. You can use a small rucksack for this, and the weights can be anything (bottles of water, sandbags, whatever), but do ensure any weight is securely between your shoulderblades. You don't want the weights to fall to the bottom of the rucksack and then be pushing on the base of your back, or slip the other way and push on your neck. If you work out with a friend, they can simply place a foot between your shoulderblades to make this harder. Or if you have kids, get them to sit on you. :)</p>\n<p>To increase the difficulty, you can also move to a one-arm push-up. This requires significantly more core strength, since there is an asymmetric load on your upper body, but if you're looking for more difficulty then that's no bad thing.</p>\n<h3>Other push-ups are available</h3>\n<p>This only considers the &quot;normal&quot; push-up. Variations exist which develop other/additional muscle groups. For a few examples:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>The &quot;knuckle&quot; push-ups beloved of martial arts not only toughen your knuckles but also give an isometric workout for your wrists, preventing the standard boxer's injury where they break their own wrist by punching someone. This can be reasonably well emulated by pressing two hand weights instead of a bar.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Pike push-ups work your shoulders more than your pecs. These exercise different muscle groups - the equivalent would be a shoulder press, not a bench press.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Plyo push-ups use the same muscle groups, but are aimed at fast-twitch explosive responses. These are harder to do with free weights, because of the problem of keeping the weight stable; and even with a machine it's likely to cause crashing weights which is not recommended.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Many other variations exist, of course.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43470, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Here is a diagram of a person in the bottom position of the push-up:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PpiQk.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PpiQk.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Let us call his length L and his mass m. We place an origo in the foot.\nLet us assume that his Center Of Mass is located at x=1/2L and that his shoulders are at x=3/4L.\nHis mass creates a clockwise torque trough the foot:\nM1=1/2<em>L</em>mg, where g is gravity of earth.</p>\n<p>In order to lift himself up he must create a counter clockwise torque by pushing with his arms:\nM2=3/4<em>L</em>F\nthat is at least as large as M1.\nLet us set M1=M2:\nF = 4/(2*3) mg = 2/3 mg\nSo in other words he must push with a force equal to 2/3 = 67 % of his bodyweight.</p>\n<p>Now to the question if you can do push-ups instead of benchpress:\nYES! Push-ups is a great exercise that trains the same muscles as the bench press + trains the abs isometrically.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43462", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/11931/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43463, "author": "Alec", "author_id": 8828, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8828", "pm_score": 6, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Functionally, is doing a push up equivalent to doing a body weight bench press?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Functionally close enough as a movement to where pushups can be a reasonable alternative for beginners. But a bodyweight pushup is nowhere near the same feat of strength as doing a bodyweight bench press.</p>\n<p>When you do a pushup, consider how far each body part travels.</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>your shoulders will gain an elevation roughly equal to the length of your arms</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>your pelvis doesn't really travel very far off the ground</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Your knees even less so</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>your feet gain no elevation at all</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>All this means that you're not actually pressing with a force that equals that of lifting a bar loaded with whatever you weigh, because when you do a bench press, the entire weight travels the entire range of motion.</p>\n<p>As a point of reference, get in the pushup position, but with your hands planted on a bathroom scale, and see how much you &quot;weigh&quot; in that position, compared to standing on it with your full body.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I don't own a bench press, can I adapt push ups... E.g incline... As a substitute?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Yes and no.</p>\n<p>Yes; you will train a lot of the same muscle groups, and there are so many cool variations on the pushup you can do to make sure you consistently challenge the muscles in question. Moreover, there are ways to add weight on top of the variations.</p>\n<p>No; anyone who has trained in the gym for years, utilizing the bench press as the primary movement for building raw strength particularly in the chest area, will find it hard to produce the same progressive overload in terms of weight if they can't have the bench any more. They can definitely find pushup variations that are brutally challenging, but in terms of the weight you can load onto a bar, replicating that in the form of a pushup is almost hopeless. But making sure to do it anyway is the best way to maintain as much strength as possible until they can access a bench again.</p>\n<p>The good news is that for 99% of us, there are pushup variations and combinations that will serve all our needs. I'm not going to start listing them because there are frankly so many, I wouldn't know where to start. And also because while there exists hundreds of variations, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=pushup+variations\" rel=\"noreferrer\">there also exists thousands of lists</a>.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43468, "author": "Graham", "author_id": 20427, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20427", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<h3>A regular push-up is a bench press plus isometric core exercise</h3>\n<p>When it comes to the muscle groups involved in actually lifting your face off the ground, a regular push-up and a bench press are identical.</p>\n<p>Spacing your hands differently and/or rotating your hands for a press-up will engage different muscle groups. These can also be done with a bench press to some extent. It is somewhat less convenient - positioning your hands closer together gives you less control over the weight, and you'd need a different bar to rotate your hands - but it is achievable. Some machines have different grips to let you do this.</p>\n<p>The primary difference though is that a push-up requires the body to be held in a straight &quot;plank&quot; position. This is an isometric workout for your core, in the same way as a regular plank. A bench press fundamentally does not require your core to be engaged in the same way, only insofar as is required to stabilise driving the weight upwards, so a push-up gives you additional exercise which a bench press does not.</p>\n<p>If you want the equivalent of a light bench-press and many reps, you can drop to your knees instead. This also reduces the core workout, if this is an issue. Alternatively you can place your hands on a higher surface such as a chair, requiring less load on your arms.</p>\n<p>If you want to increase the difficulty, you naturally go the other way. Placing your feet on the chair instead will put more load on your arms, making the exercise harder.</p>\n<p>There is a natural limit to this though. If your feet are higher than your arm length, you'll start to work your shoulders instead of your pecs (as with a pike push-up - see later). If you reach a point where your own bodyweight is still insufficient with elevated-feet push-ups, you can increase the difficulty by placing weights on your shoulders. You can use a small rucksack for this, and the weights can be anything (bottles of water, sandbags, whatever), but do ensure any weight is securely between your shoulderblades. You don't want the weights to fall to the bottom of the rucksack and then be pushing on the base of your back, or slip the other way and push on your neck. If you work out with a friend, they can simply place a foot between your shoulderblades to make this harder. Or if you have kids, get them to sit on you. :)</p>\n<p>To increase the difficulty, you can also move to a one-arm push-up. This requires significantly more core strength, since there is an asymmetric load on your upper body, but if you're looking for more difficulty then that's no bad thing.</p>\n<h3>Other push-ups are available</h3>\n<p>This only considers the &quot;normal&quot; push-up. Variations exist which develop other/additional muscle groups. For a few examples:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>The &quot;knuckle&quot; push-ups beloved of martial arts not only toughen your knuckles but also give an isometric workout for your wrists, preventing the standard boxer's injury where they break their own wrist by punching someone. This can be reasonably well emulated by pressing two hand weights instead of a bar.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Pike push-ups work your shoulders more than your pecs. These exercise different muscle groups - the equivalent would be a shoulder press, not a bench press.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Plyo push-ups use the same muscle groups, but are aimed at fast-twitch explosive responses. These are harder to do with free weights, because of the problem of keeping the weight stable; and even with a machine it's likely to cause crashing weights which is not recommended.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Many other variations exist, of course.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43470, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Here is a diagram of a person in the bottom position of the push-up:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PpiQk.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PpiQk.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Let us call his length L and his mass m. We place an origo in the foot.\nLet us assume that his Center Of Mass is located at x=1/2L and that his shoulders are at x=3/4L.\nHis mass creates a clockwise torque trough the foot:\nM1=1/2<em>L</em>mg, where g is gravity of earth.</p>\n<p>In order to lift himself up he must create a counter clockwise torque by pushing with his arms:\nM2=3/4<em>L</em>F\nthat is at least as large as M1.\nLet us set M1=M2:\nF = 4/(2*3) mg = 2/3 mg\nSo in other words he must push with a force equal to 2/3 = 67 % of his bodyweight.</p>\n<p>Now to the question if you can do push-ups instead of benchpress:\nYES! Push-ups is a great exercise that trains the same muscles as the bench press + trains the abs isometrically.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43465", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34773/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43473, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Whether you can do this every day will really depend on what condition you're initially in, but if you're fit enough to do the workout without feeling sore the next day, then yes, there's no reason why you couldn't do it every day. But conversely, it's only 10 minutes of exercise with no progression (increase in difficulty) built into it, so you'll find that after a very short period it will become too easy to be of any benefit to you.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43475, "author": "Fellow Human", "author_id": 34802, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34802", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have been doing this exact routine daily for over 8 months. I found it in a video, memorized and didn't miss a day since I started; I did not observe adverse effects and I believe I gained a little strength/endurance out of it.</p>\n<p>It got really easy relatively quick, so I extend it proportionally to 15 or 20 minutes.</p>\n<p>My limit used to be around 30 pushups before I lost stamina and form. I can now do 50 decent pushups in ~45 seconds.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43472", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34794/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43487, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I imagine it has something to do with him being a full-time professional athlete with multiple full-time coaches optimizing his training.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43492, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I think this question has more to do with why a person with a lot of fast-twitch muscle types have higher stamina. Especially if you pair <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43484/all-else-equal-would-a-stronger-person-have-more-stamina-than-weaker-person\">it with this question</a>.</p>\n<p>First, there are actually three types of muscle fibers. Type 1 (slow-twitch), type 2a (fast-twitch), and Type 2b (super-fast-twitch. Also called Type 2x). Type 2a is kind of an in between between Type 1 and Type 2b. (There's also a Type 2a/2x but that's not really important for the question).</p>\n<p>While this doesn't have anything to do with Lebron James or basketball specifically, <a href=\"https://barbend.com/study-weightlifters-muscle-fibers/#:%7E:text=Homogenate%20testing%20classifies%20muscle%20fibers,3%20%C2%B1%206%25%20IIx.%E2%80%9D\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">there was a study that compared muscle fiber types of Olympic Weightlifters</a>. They studied 21 athletes that combined were in</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>3 Olympic Games, 19 World Championships, 11 Pan American Championships, 49 National Championships, 32 American Opens, 8 University National Championships, and 25 Junior World/Pan American/National Championships. Participants also held 25 national records and &gt;170 national/international medals either at the time of the study or in the past.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>So these were top-tier athletes.</p>\n<p>What they found was their muscle composition was around 23% Type 1, 67% Type 2a, and 6% Type 2b.</p>\n<p>So, the takeaway as it's related to this question is that athletes don't just train a single muscle fiber type. They train all muscle fiber types with an emphasis on a particular one. If weightlifters didn't train slow-twitch muscle fibers, then the percentages would be closer to 0% as the Type 2 overtook.</p>\n<p>Specifically for basketball players like LeBron James, they run fast, but they're not sprinting at full speed every second of the game. They play basketball for many hours a day in addition to any sort of supplemental drills and training they do outside of basketball. That is going to train far more Type 1 and Type 2a muscle fibers which are necessary to perform for very long durations.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43486", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34667/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43489, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>We need to clarify some terms. &quot;Extension&quot; means movement of a joint which increases the angle between two body parts. So elbow extension is the movement that increases the angle between the humerus and radius/ulna, i.e. straightening the elbow. The opposite of extension is &quot;flexion&quot;, which is a movement of a joint which decreases the angle between two body parts.</p>\n<p>For muscles, we use the term &quot;contraction&quot; to describe when the muscle is producing force, and &quot;relaxation&quot; for when it is not producing force. Movement of the muscles is also described as &quot;lengthening&quot; and &quot;shortening&quot;.</p>\n<p>So, if you mean to ask what's happening with your glutes when you extend your knees, then the answer is probably nothing, since the glutes are hip extensors, not knee extensors, and knee extension only requires the quadriceps to contract and shorten (while the hamstrings relax and lengthen).</p>\n<p>However if you want to know what happens in a squat, then the glutes are the primary muscle responsible for extending the hips, the movement where your thighs move so that they're in-line with your torso. The upward portion of a squat involves extension of the knees and hips together, and the glutes are responsible for the hip movement but not the knee movement.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43493, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>An efficient squatter mainly uses the glutes to extend the hips, not the hamstrings.</p>\n<p>As can be seen from this image the hamstrings crosses both the hip and knee joint:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PGn0V.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PGn0V.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>They therefore have two functions: extending the hips and flexing the knee.\nIf you use the hamstrings to extend the hips in the squat you also get a flexing torque at the knee. This means that the quads have to work even harder.(1)</p>\n<p>As can be seen from this image the gluteus maximus crosses the hip joint and also extends the hip (as well as externally rotates the femur):\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6BHSD.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6BHSD.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>In the squat we can vary the ankle, knee and back angle.\nIn order to stay balanced the bar must stay over midfoot.\nSo we have 1 equation and 3 variables, which mean 2 degrees of freedom.\nSo we have a choice to make; do we want to minimize or maximize the moment around the knee (or somewhere in between). The first leads to a hip dominant squat:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Y36od.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Y36od.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>The second leads to a knee dominant squat:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/O1A03.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/O1A03.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>The moment around the knee is proportional to the horizontal distance from the bar to the knee and the moment around the hip is proportional to the horizontal distance from the hip to the bar.</p>\n<p>In the knee dominant squat the quads are clearly the limiting factor and we want to avoid using the hamstrings.</p>\n<p>In the hip dominant squat the quads are less of a limiting factor and the hamstrings can be used to a larger extent.</p>\n<p>I think it may be a problem for some people that their glutes are very weak,\nin which case they will tend to also use the hamstrings even when this is inefficient.</p>\n<p>If this is the case one should focus on taking a wide stance and hitting full depth (2).\nThe wide stance causes an inward rotational force on the femur from the bar which the gluteus maximus have to counter.\nIn the bottom position of the squat the knee is flexed which results in less tension in the hamstrings. It is therefore difficult for the hamstrings to contribute to hip extension and the glutes will contribute more.</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.strongerbyscience.com/hamstrings-the-most-overrated-muscle-group-for-the-squat/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Hamstrings–The Most Overrated Muscle Group for the Squat</a></p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"https://niashanks.com/squats-dont-work-your-glutes/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Squats Don’t Work Your Glutes (Because You’re Squatting Wrong)</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43488", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43497, "author": "user10930673", "author_id": 34822, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34822", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The picture is a little blurry but this could be <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvic_tilt\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">pelvic tilt</a>, specifically posterior pelvic tilt. It can be caused by solely contracting your abs. This rotates your hip joint clockwise, with respect to the photos.</p>\n<p>To maintain a more neutral tilt, you counter this rotation by contracting your glutes. The glutes function to extend the hips (counterclockwise). To get a sense of pelvic tilt, get into a half-squat, keeping the torso and leg position fixed, and rotate only the hip joint.</p>\n<p>You should be contracting both the abs and glutes isometrically, when squatting. This keeps the core rigid (they counter-oppose each other) and transfers the load to the primary movers (quads, hamstrings, glutes). Lack of rigidity results in the muscle compensation throughout the movement, which ingrains poor posture and movement patterns. This assumes you have good posture while standing; posture issues can interfere with the squat movement pattern and will need to be addressed separately.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43498, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p><strong>Your posture is fine, but you could probably still work on maintaining a more neutral spine if that's important to you</strong></p>\n<p>It looks like you have mild lumbar flexion when you squat, meaning that your lower back is being pulled into a flat position, rather than a neutral position (being slightly curved inwards). Since this is a body-weight squat, there's no external load that could be pulling you into lumbar flexion, so it must be coming from your abs instead.</p>\n<p>This isn't a major problem, and it's certainly not like this is going to cause an injury, but if you'd like to maintain a more neutral spine throughout the squat, learning to brace properly may help.</p>\n<p>Bracing in the squat is achieved through the contraction of the abs and spinal erectors together and in balanced opposition to each other, combined with a full breath hold. When you begin bracing, the spine should not initially move. If you find that when you begin tensing your abs in a standing position that your shoulders move forward slightly, that indicates that the ab tension is not being balanced by your spinal erectors, and your abs are pulling your spine into lumbar flexion. You can also try this while lying on your back - the hollow arch underneath your lower back that exists while you are relaxed should not disappear when you brace. Try to avoid thinking about flexing your abs, because that's usually associated with lumbar flexion, and instead learn to feel bracing as a separate action.</p>\n<p>Useful cues for bracing include focussing on trying to pull your ribcage down towards your pelvis without letting it tilt forwards. If you still experience lumbar flexion, try focussing on pulling your shoulder-blades towards your butt.</p>\n<p>Mastering bracing will be valuable if or when you begin squatting with external loading.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43491", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43503, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The main purpose of the abs is not to do situps but to stabilize the spine.</p>\n<p>The spine is a bit like an antenna mast.\nThe antenna mast have guy-wires to stabilize it against external forces such as wind:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gCeZNm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gCeZNm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>The spine also have guy-wires in the form of muscles running from the base of the spine: the pelvis to the upper part of the spine:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/d0e0sm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/d0e0sm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>The body can adjust the tension in these muscles thereby bending the spine in different directions.</p>\n<p>As an experiment hold a somewhat heavy dumbell with both hands in front of you close to your stomach. Now move the dumbell straight out in front of you:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AUn5Rm.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AUn5Rm.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>You should feel your abs tightening up. Perhaps you can also feel your lower back muscles tightening.\nThe situation is analogous to a bending cantilever beam from mechanics:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/l4ULN.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/l4ULN.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Here we know that the force F causes a bending moment M=FL at the fixed end, where L is the length of the beam.</p>\n<p>Likewise the dumbell causes a spinal flexion (forward bending) moment at the spine: M=FL, where F=mg is the force of the dumbell and L is the length of the arms.</p>\n<p>In order to stabilize against this moment the body tenses the erector spinae muscles of the back:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IDa9fm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IDa9fm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>However due to the s shape of the spine the erector spinae pulling on the spine causes extension in the top of the spine but flexion in the lumbar region.</p>\n<p>This flexion in the lumbar region must be countered or the intervertebral disks in the spine could be injuried (from Starting Strength):</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B2Esnm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B2Esnm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>In order to counter this we instinctively tense the abs to create intra abdominal pressure that counters this flexion of the lumbar region:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2hBAO.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2hBAO.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>The body create this intra abdominal pressure by tensing the innermost ab muscle: the transversus abdominis:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Flje7m.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Flje7m.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>but also the rectus abdominis muscle:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B6eKam.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/B6eKam.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>and the obliques:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rWfism.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rWfism.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>This co-contraction of the abs and erector spinae is explained further <a href=\"https://www.muscleandmotion.com/abdominal-bracing/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a>.</p>\n<p>It was measured with EMG in an highly influential experiment from 1996 (1) and (2) where subjects were instructed to rapidly raise and lower their arms, like the alarmist robot in “Lost in Space.” In those with healthy backs, the scientists found that the transversus abdominis tensed several milliseconds before the arms rose. The brain apparently alerted the muscle to brace the spine in advance of movement.</p>\n<p>Movements where you hold a weight in front of you such as eg. a goblet squat or a deadlift makes your abs work hard, and trains the abs without them changing length (isometrically).</p>\n<p>Other exercises that also work the abs isometrically include the plank and push-ups.</p>\n<p>A special case is when you hold something heavy on the side with one arm:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2XNpZ.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2XNpZ.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>In this case the oblique on the other side have to work really hard to avoid sidewise bending of the spine.</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/magazine/21FOB-physed-t.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Australian physiotherapy experiment</a>\n(2) <a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8961451/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">The paper on that experiment</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43504, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>The &quot;core&quot; is not a particularly well defined group of muscles, but it would commonly include the following muscles.</strong></p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/h24Hm.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/h24Hm.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Rectus abdominis:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the &quot;6 pack&quot; muscle, often just referred to as &quot;the abs&quot;.</li>\n<li>Role: Spinal flexion (bending forwards at the lower back)</li>\n<li>Isolation exercises: Most ab exercises, including sit-ups, planks, crunches. It is also worked isometrically (without moving) during most hip flexion exercises (moving at the hip instead of through the lower back), such as reverse crunches and leg raises.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Obliques (internal and external):</p>\n<ul>\n<li>These sit to the sides, with your left and right sides each having an internal and an external oblique. The internal and external obliques cross over each other so that they pull in different directions, with the internal obliques running from the outer edges of the pelvis up to the linea alba, while the external obliques run from the ribs down to the central parts of the pelvis and the lower parts of the linea alba.</li>\n<li>Role: These generally contract in pairs, with one internal oblique and one external oblique contracting at the same time. If the internal and external obliques on one side of the body contract, this causes the body to bend sideways, toward that side. If an internal and an external oblique on opposite sides contract, this causes the trunk to rotate towards the side of the internal oblique.</li>\n<li>Isolation exercises: Rotation exercises such as cable wood choppers, anti-rotation exercises such as the Pallof press, anti-bending exercises such as side-planks and suitcase carries, bending exercises such as side plank hip dips.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Transverse abdominis:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the deepest of the abdominal muscles, running across the abdomen like a belt. It runs from the outer portions of the pelvis and rib cage (as well as from a fascia that runs between the two) inwards, to the linea alba.</li>\n<li>Role: Holding in and compressing the abdominal organs.</li>\n<li>Isolation exercises: The &quot;vacuum&quot; exercise - sucking in the belly to try to create a hollow between the ribs and the pelvis.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>In addition to isolation the exercises listed above, the abdominal muscles are also typically all used together, isometrically, when performing a Valsalva manoeuvre (contracting against a held breath) in order to brace the torso when lifting or moving heavy weight.</p>\n<p><strong>Other muscles which may be included in the &quot;core&quot; include:</strong></p>\n<p>Erector spinae:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>The large and superficial muscle group which runs up either side of the spine.</li>\n<li>Role: Spinal extension</li>\n<li>Exercises: Not normally isolated, but is used in spinal extension (e.g. the Superman exercise) and resisting flexion (heavy lifting such as squats and deadlifts). It also contracts to oppose rectus abdominis during a Valsalva manoeuvre.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Quadratus lumborum:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>A deeper muscle of the low back, running from the back of the pelvis up to the lumbar vertebrae and ribs.</li>\n<li>Role and exercises: Mostly the same as for obliques.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Hip flexors:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Multiple muscles (primarily iliopsoas) responsible for raising the legs to the front.</li>\n<li>Role: Hip flexion</li>\n<li>Exercises: Hanging leg raises, reverse crunches, sit-ups if the lower back comes up off the ground, kicking, sprinting.</li>\n</ul>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43494", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/11931/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43510, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It sounds like you're misusing the term &quot;mobility&quot;. That usually refers to the range of motion that you can put a joint through, like a dynamic (moving) type of flexibility. What you're describing (&quot;using my muscles in various angles and different movements&quot;) is &quot;exercise variation&quot;.</p>\n<p>Your idea basically seems to be doing alternating days of strength style training (low rep compound exercises) with bodybuilding style training (higher reps with more isolation exercises). This is one way of implementing a program that blends strength and bodybuilding training, which is commonly referred to as &quot;powerbuilding&quot;.</p>\n<p>Whether this is a good idea or not really depends on what your goals are. If you're training purely for competition in a strength sport, then you'd be better off just doing strength training. If you're training purely for physique improvement, then a dedicated bodybuilding program may be better. But if you're just training for general health or just to keep making progress, then it's certainly not a bad idea, and the exposure to a greater variety of movements and rep ranges will probably be beneficial. Your plan also somewhat resembles a program format called &quot;daily undulating periodisation&quot; or &quot;DUP&quot;, in which the rep ranges used vary from session to session. This is likely to give you better progress that just always sticking to the same rep ranges, but a properly periodised program (where the intensity and reps performed change from week to week or month to month) might be even better.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43512, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you cannot do the exercises with full range of motion (ROM) due to mobility issues you need to foam roll etc to increase your ROM before you workout.</p>\n<p>Once you have normal mobility it is important to have stability in that ROM.\nMobility without stability increases risk of injury.</p>\n<p>Matt Wenning has created several workout routines built around conjugate programming.\nThe essence is that each week you focus on a new aspect of strength and conditioning.\nI would suggest the following layout:</p>\n<p><strong>Week 1 stability</strong></p>\n<p>Back squats replaced by bulgarian split squats</p>\n<p>Barbell bench press replaced by dumbell bench press</p>\n<p>Etc</p>\n<p><strong>Week 2 strength</strong></p>\n<p>Your current workout routine for sets of 5 reps</p>\n<p><strong>Week 3 conditioning</strong></p>\n<p>Back squats replaced by box squats</p>\n<p>Bench press replaced by push-ups</p>\n<p>Deadlifts replaced by kettlebell swings</p>\n<p>Etc</p>\n<p>Can also use more functional work capacity exercises like sled push etc.</p>\n<p>A lot of reps (&gt;=20)</p>\n<p>More details about such a programme he has created:\n<a href=\"https://www.muscleandfitness.com/workout-plan/workouts/workout-routines/full-spectrum-strong-army-ranger-workout-army/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Army Ranger Workout</a></p>\n<p>Also if you want to build a bit more muscle mass before moving on to this program you could replace week 3 with a hypertrophy week where you do your usual routine for sets of 10 reps.</p>\n<p>Unfortunately due to Covid etc. I have not been able to test this myself,\nbut it is something I want to do later. Sounds like a good way to get fit in a well rounded way, with good transfer to athleticism as well as everyday life.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43509", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34838/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43519, "author": "dsonawave", "author_id": 34807, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34807", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>From when I was working out and doing any sort of movement involving my quads and getting pain around the knees, it was because my quads were tight and I didn't foam roll them enough. I would recommend giving that a try. Foam roll and stretch for like a minute or more at least where you feel really loose in the quads.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43527, "author": "900edges", "author_id": 34854, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34854", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have the same issue -- lifting up off the heels has made my knees feel better but we might have different knee pathologies. Maybe also try shifting your weight forward or back to emphasize either the quads or glutes, or moving the feet wider/narrower. Perhaps also sit higher or lower.</p>\n<p>Other poses that work the same muscles would be any sort of lunge (warrior 2, crescent, etc) whereas a replacement in the flow itself may simply be standing pose or malasana (does that hurt your knees?)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45087, "author": "kaanchan", "author_id": 31703, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31703", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a really intense pose. For developing awareness of the knee joints, increasing synovial fluid within them, and developing the ability to contract and strengthen quadriceps in a simple way, consider doing the lower body practices of the Pawanmuktasana Series Part 1 as outlined in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda.</p>\n<p>The series guides you to move all joints from toes to hip in a systematic, mindful way with breath synchronization. It helped me during a time where my knees were becoming arthritic and I thought I might have to stop running, yoga, and martial arts.</p>\n<p>After the series, I found an immense improvement in my knee conditions and was able to pursue more advanced asanas with awareness and control and resume my martial arts practice, as well.</p>\n<p>The APMB reference is available for free viewing on satyamyogaprasad.net or via the APMB app.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43518", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43519, "author": "dsonawave", "author_id": 34807, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34807", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>From when I was working out and doing any sort of movement involving my quads and getting pain around the knees, it was because my quads were tight and I didn't foam roll them enough. I would recommend giving that a try. Foam roll and stretch for like a minute or more at least where you feel really loose in the quads.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43527, "author": "900edges", "author_id": 34854, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34854", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have the same issue -- lifting up off the heels has made my knees feel better but we might have different knee pathologies. Maybe also try shifting your weight forward or back to emphasize either the quads or glutes, or moving the feet wider/narrower. Perhaps also sit higher or lower.</p>\n<p>Other poses that work the same muscles would be any sort of lunge (warrior 2, crescent, etc) whereas a replacement in the flow itself may simply be standing pose or malasana (does that hurt your knees?)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45087, "author": "kaanchan", "author_id": 31703, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31703", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a really intense pose. For developing awareness of the knee joints, increasing synovial fluid within them, and developing the ability to contract and strengthen quadriceps in a simple way, consider doing the lower body practices of the Pawanmuktasana Series Part 1 as outlined in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda.</p>\n<p>The series guides you to move all joints from toes to hip in a systematic, mindful way with breath synchronization. It helped me during a time where my knees were becoming arthritic and I thought I might have to stop running, yoga, and martial arts.</p>\n<p>After the series, I found an immense improvement in my knee conditions and was able to pursue more advanced asanas with awareness and control and resume my martial arts practice, as well.</p>\n<p>The APMB reference is available for free viewing on satyamyogaprasad.net or via the APMB app.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43548", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34875/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43519, "author": "dsonawave", "author_id": 34807, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34807", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>From when I was working out and doing any sort of movement involving my quads and getting pain around the knees, it was because my quads were tight and I didn't foam roll them enough. I would recommend giving that a try. Foam roll and stretch for like a minute or more at least where you feel really loose in the quads.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43527, "author": "900edges", "author_id": 34854, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34854", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have the same issue -- lifting up off the heels has made my knees feel better but we might have different knee pathologies. Maybe also try shifting your weight forward or back to emphasize either the quads or glutes, or moving the feet wider/narrower. Perhaps also sit higher or lower.</p>\n<p>Other poses that work the same muscles would be any sort of lunge (warrior 2, crescent, etc) whereas a replacement in the flow itself may simply be standing pose or malasana (does that hurt your knees?)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45087, "author": "kaanchan", "author_id": 31703, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31703", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a really intense pose. For developing awareness of the knee joints, increasing synovial fluid within them, and developing the ability to contract and strengthen quadriceps in a simple way, consider doing the lower body practices of the Pawanmuktasana Series Part 1 as outlined in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda.</p>\n<p>The series guides you to move all joints from toes to hip in a systematic, mindful way with breath synchronization. It helped me during a time where my knees were becoming arthritic and I thought I might have to stop running, yoga, and martial arts.</p>\n<p>After the series, I found an immense improvement in my knee conditions and was able to pursue more advanced asanas with awareness and control and resume my martial arts practice, as well.</p>\n<p>The APMB reference is available for free viewing on satyamyogaprasad.net or via the APMB app.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43598", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43519, "author": "dsonawave", "author_id": 34807, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34807", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>From when I was working out and doing any sort of movement involving my quads and getting pain around the knees, it was because my quads were tight and I didn't foam roll them enough. I would recommend giving that a try. Foam roll and stretch for like a minute or more at least where you feel really loose in the quads.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43527, "author": "900edges", "author_id": 34854, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34854", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have the same issue -- lifting up off the heels has made my knees feel better but we might have different knee pathologies. Maybe also try shifting your weight forward or back to emphasize either the quads or glutes, or moving the feet wider/narrower. Perhaps also sit higher or lower.</p>\n<p>Other poses that work the same muscles would be any sort of lunge (warrior 2, crescent, etc) whereas a replacement in the flow itself may simply be standing pose or malasana (does that hurt your knees?)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45087, "author": "kaanchan", "author_id": 31703, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31703", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a really intense pose. For developing awareness of the knee joints, increasing synovial fluid within them, and developing the ability to contract and strengthen quadriceps in a simple way, consider doing the lower body practices of the Pawanmuktasana Series Part 1 as outlined in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda.</p>\n<p>The series guides you to move all joints from toes to hip in a systematic, mindful way with breath synchronization. It helped me during a time where my knees were becoming arthritic and I thought I might have to stop running, yoga, and martial arts.</p>\n<p>After the series, I found an immense improvement in my knee conditions and was able to pursue more advanced asanas with awareness and control and resume my martial arts practice, as well.</p>\n<p>The APMB reference is available for free viewing on satyamyogaprasad.net or via the APMB app.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43608", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34667/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43519, "author": "dsonawave", "author_id": 34807, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34807", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>From when I was working out and doing any sort of movement involving my quads and getting pain around the knees, it was because my quads were tight and I didn't foam roll them enough. I would recommend giving that a try. Foam roll and stretch for like a minute or more at least where you feel really loose in the quads.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43527, "author": "900edges", "author_id": 34854, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34854", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I have the same issue -- lifting up off the heels has made my knees feel better but we might have different knee pathologies. Maybe also try shifting your weight forward or back to emphasize either the quads or glutes, or moving the feet wider/narrower. Perhaps also sit higher or lower.</p>\n<p>Other poses that work the same muscles would be any sort of lunge (warrior 2, crescent, etc) whereas a replacement in the flow itself may simply be standing pose or malasana (does that hurt your knees?)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45087, "author": "kaanchan", "author_id": 31703, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31703", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is a really intense pose. For developing awareness of the knee joints, increasing synovial fluid within them, and developing the ability to contract and strengthen quadriceps in a simple way, consider doing the lower body practices of the Pawanmuktasana Series Part 1 as outlined in the book Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda.</p>\n<p>The series guides you to move all joints from toes to hip in a systematic, mindful way with breath synchronization. It helped me during a time where my knees were becoming arthritic and I thought I might have to stop running, yoga, and martial arts.</p>\n<p>After the series, I found an immense improvement in my knee conditions and was able to pursue more advanced asanas with awareness and control and resume my martial arts practice, as well.</p>\n<p>The APMB reference is available for free viewing on satyamyogaprasad.net or via the APMB app.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43612", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34667/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43626, "author": "Hituptony", "author_id": 6884, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/6884", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In general you would want to focus on upper body strength exercises with an emphasis on precision since the movements involved in climbing require some level of precision. Also, mainly movements are unilateral so perhaps some form of unilateral training would be beneficial. After thinking about this a bit, I recalled a few things from another life that might help.</p>\n<p>I would recommend:</p>\n<p>Strength</p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-pine-maple-peg-board?prod_id=28632&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAnKeCBhDPARIsAFDTLTLo-DTojppsG5-oLxd12BkjwKqcLYU7II9H4Yy5LUb-8bKFSbnb1qwaAoCdEALw_wcB\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Echo Peg Board from Rogue</a></li>\n<li>Pull Up Variations (Single Arm)</li>\n<li>Push Up Variations (Spiderman Pushups)</li>\n<li>Anything that works on forearm strength (curls)</li>\n<li>Core Work (Levers)</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.roguefitness.com/globe-gripz\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Globe Gripz</a></li>\n</ul>\n<p>Agility</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mobility and Stretching</li>\n<li>Jump Rope Drills</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Unilateral Movement</p>\n<ul>\n<li>TRX Unilateral Pulls and Presses</li>\n<li>Single Arm Kettlebell Press/Curl</li>\n<li>KB Swings</li>\n</ul>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43629, "author": "Dark Hippo", "author_id": 20219, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20219", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The best thing you can do for weight loss is look at your diet. If your diet isn't good, then all the bouldering and climbing in the world won't help you to lose weight.</p>\n<p>How you go about that is up to you, but as general guidelines:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Concentrate on whole, nutritionally dense foods (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and some rice) rather than anything that comes ready made that you just put in the microwave or oven.</li>\n<li>If you're gaining weight, eat a little less until you stop gaining weight. Then cut out a little more and stick with it for a while.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Don't go nuts and drop down to a 1200 calorie diet. You're not a child, you need to eat more than that. Don't do juice fasts, diet teas, Slim Fast shakes, anything like that. Just eat good food.</p>\n<p>Exercise wise, find something you enjoy. You've already got bouldering, great, but it's difficult to do that 5 days a week (I know, I've tried it and I've got the injuries to prove it). If you enjoy doing cardio, then carry on doing it, if you don't, then stop.</p>\n<p>If you want to do some gym work, I'd use Dan John's template of push, pull, hinge and squat (don't worry about the 5th group as your bouldering should take care of that).</p>\n<p>For pushes, look at overhead work, preferably dumbbell or kettlebell for the extra shoulder stability work.</p>\n<p>For pulls, concentrate on horizontal pulling, like TRX rows, to strengthen your rhomboids and shoulders (yes, I know you're thinking pull ups here, and you can do them, but they shouldn't be your focus).</p>\n<p>For a hinge, a deadlift is a great choice for teaching you full body tension. I also really like kettlebell swings (they're also good for a metabolic hit to help with fat loss).</p>\n<p>For a squat, I'd go with single leg work. If you can, do pistol squats, if not, Bulgarian split squats are a good choice.</p>\n<p>Throw in some ab work as well, ab wheel roll outs are a great option, though you can also throw in planks if you like (I don't, though purely because I dislike them)</p>\n<p>Climb / boulder 2 or 3 times a week, and learn to use your feet more than your arms. Watch how women climb and emulate them. Don't over grip the holds and concentrate on moving smoothly and quietly. Try and make every climb look good, as if you're performing in front of an audience.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43939, "author": "Fr.", "author_id": 33155, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33155", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are useful elements on climbing-related 'gym' workouts in Hituptony's answer, and useful elements on nutrition in Dark Hippo's answer. I'm going to try adding to their answers from a strict cross-training perspective:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>Yes, it's a good idea to complement with some cardio, and there are lots of possible choices. If you want something full-body like climbing, swimming or jumping rope will work very well, especially jumping rope if you are short on time, since it is very efficient.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Jumping rope will probably cover your needs in terms of additional lower-body exercising, at least if what you are looking for is simply some form of balance, rather than additional strength. The higher-impact version is, of course, running. Another great option is cycling, and if you prefer balance-focused sports, skating (road and/or ice).</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Core workouts will of course be useful, but depending on how much of the rest you do, you will be able to skip them almost entirely, or to keep them for rainy days. If you run, planks and chairs are great pre-fatigue exercises, though.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>… so basically, I don't have the impression that you are forgetting much here. Neither can I think of anything specific to avoid, beyond those things that you should avoid in terms of nutrition and training (e.g. under-hydrating or over-training).</p>\n<p>FWIW, I'm also a climber, and also do swimming, running, jumping rope and some basic workout stuff like pull-ups, push-ups, dips, dead-hangs and planks, hence my recommendations above. When informed of my training, my sports MD did not recommend anything else beyond adequate nutrition.</p>\n<p>All of this will of course contribute only marginally to weight loss in comparison to careful calorie tracking in order to sustain a mild caloric deficit over extended periods.</p>\n<p>Last, if I were you, I would drop the gym membership because I feel that it is redundant with what you can achieve through training at your bouldering gym and through outdoors activities (esp. if you take warm-up and post-climbing exercises seriously), but I guess that this is just a matter of personal preference.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43624", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34942/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43658, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p><strong>Control</strong></p>\n<p>If you were to use only your spinal extensors to counteract the bending force that a deadlift, squat, or row applies to your torso, then those muscles would need to perfectly counteract the continuously changing bending moments exerted by the external load at each of the 17 joints throughout the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Whereas if instead all the muscles of the trunk contract together, so that the abs and the spinal extensors are fighting against each other, this creates an overall stiffness throughout the torso that is capable of resisting these bending forces.</p>\n<p>Imagine you're trying to secure a crate being transported in a car trailer. What has a higher likelihood of success; just cranking down several straps over the crate, so it's locked in place, or instead using a single strap running from the crate to only one side of the trailer, and attempting to angle the strap so that it can apply force in the direction that you anticipate will be needed for the next corner you will be turning?</p>\n<p>It's important to note though that the cue is tensing <strong>all</strong> the muscles of your core, not just the abs. If you only tense the abs and neglect the lumbar extensors, then yes, you're pretty likely to inadvertently go into lumbar flexion.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43662, "author": "Curiosity", "author_id": 33860, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33860", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>What you're calling &quot;squeezing your abs&quot; is usually referred to as &quot;bracing&quot;.</p>\n<p>Don't think of bracing as squeezing your abs inward. It's actually more of a push outward, together with your breath and your whole core musculature including your obliques, lower back and the inner core, creating a rigid and stable torso. Get your breathing right and push out with your breath through your stomach. Tense like you're preparing for someone to punch you in the abs, then push out with your breath forward and out the the sides.</p>\n<p>This kind of bracing doesn't affect the pelvis tilt, you can move it back and forth while braced.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43657", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43670, "author": "Greenmask", "author_id": 34872, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34872", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I recommend <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine</a></p>\n<p>just do that. enough for the start.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43672, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In order to strengthen your heart and lunges you want to get your heart rate up.\nIt should be slightly difficult to talk. I do not think walking in place will be intense enough. I think you will have to jog in place.</p>\n<p>Another option may be to do HIIT/circuit training. E.g.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>bodyweight squats</li>\n<li>push-ups</li>\n<li>inverted rows</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Do as many as you can of each exercise quite fast before moving on to the next exercise in the circuit without any breaks. Do this circuit 3-5 times in a row every second or third day.\nThis way you also strengthen your upper body.\nYou can do the inverted rows under a dinner table or using a pull up bar mounted (low) in a door frame or using a TRX with door anchor.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43673, "author": "JustSnilloc", "author_id": 27881, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27881", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The second edition of the <a href=\"https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans</a> suggests the following for good health.</p>\n<p>Aerobic Activities</p>\n<ul>\n<li>150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week.</li>\n<li>75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week.</li>\n<li>(One or the other. OR some equivalent combination of the two.)</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Muscle Strengthening Activities</p>\n<ul>\n<li>All major muscle groups should be exercised at least twice per week. The intensity level should be moderate or greater.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>*<em>On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being minimal effort and 10 being all-out maximal effort, the following serves to better define the relative intensity for each exercise intensity. Moderate Intensity is equal to 5 or 6. Vigorous Intensity is equal to 7 or 8.</em></p>\n<hr />\n<p>So might that look like in practice at home? Unless you're incredibly out of shape or overweight, walking or walking in place is likely going to be categorized as &quot;low intensity&quot;. Walking quickly might be enough to qualify as moderate intensity, but in general walking is going to be a low intensity activity. So I would recommend something else.</p>\n<p>Here's a sample routine to consider,</p>\n<p>Aerobic Activity (feel free to mix or match)</p>\n<ul>\n<li>MON: Power Walk/Slow jog for 30 minutes. (Moderate Intensity)</li>\n<li>TUE: Jumping jacks 3 sets of 5 minutes (Vigorous Intensity)</li>\n<li>WED: Bike ride for 30 minutes. (Moderate Intensity)</li>\n<li>THU: Jump rope 3 sets of 5 minutes. (Vigorous Intensity)</li>\n<li>FRI: Walking up stairs for 30 minutes. (Moderate Intensity)</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Muscle Strengthening Activity (3 sets to failure for everything)</p>\n<ul>\n<li>TUE: Squats, Slick Floor Bridge Curls, Pushups, and Inverted Rows. (For beginners)</li>\n<li>THU: Squats, Slick Floor Bridge Curls, Pushups, and Inverted Rows. (For beginners)</li>\n<li>TUE: Split Squat Jumps, Nordic Hamstring Curls, Clapping Pushups, and Pullups. (Not beginners)</li>\n<li>THU: Split Squat Jumps, Nordic Hamstring Curls, Clapping Pushups, and Pullups. (Not beginners)</li>\n</ul>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43669", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35036/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43678, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>No push ups alone is not enough.\nYou also need to train your back and your legs.</p>\n<p>Push ups, inverted rows and bodyweight squats is one minimum combination.</p>\n<p>If you do them fast you also get some aerobic exercise.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43679, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>if I do say only push ups for 2 days, does that satisfy above need? Say 20-30 push ups on each day with breaks.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If I am not mistaken, you found the advice <a href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm#:%7E:text=Physical%20activities%20to%20strengthen%20your,addition%20to%20your%20aerobic%20activity.\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">here</a>. The point of that page is simply to give the bare minimum amount of exercise that we should be doing. <strong>The more you do, the more benefits you will receive.</strong> On that page it mentions that you need to work out all major muscle groups. Pushups will primarily work out your pecs, shoulders, and triceps. This still leaves your legs, hips, back, abdomen, and the rest of your arms.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/33ueC.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/33ueC.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If no what is the minimum program for this section?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p><strong>Again, I can't stress this enough, the more you do, the more benefits you will receive</strong> (up to a certain point, but it doesn't sound like you have the mindset to even get close to overtraining). Your question simply asks what is the minimum amount of work you can do to fulfil the governments recommendation. Although I believe that is the wrong mindset when it comes to fitness, here are a few which together can fulfil that recommendation:</p>\n<p><strong>Pushups</strong> - Chest, Shoulders, Pec, Triceps.</p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RClKKQqsvXA\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Body weight squats</a></strong> - Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Adductor, Hip Flexors, Calves.</p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6PJMT2y8GQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Supermans</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXTc1mDnZCw\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">inverted rows</a>, or <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGo4IYlbE5g\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">pull ups</a></strong> - These are all back exercises that you should progress through depending on your fitness level. Supermans are easiest, inverted rows are a bit harder, and finally pull ups are the hardest.</p>\n<p>Each exercise above slightly works the abdominals as well, so each muscle group that they recommend is covered.</p>\n<p>To build strength you must increase the number of reps over time, this is called progressive overload. This means that simply doing 20-30 every day, forever, will lose the benefits that it first had. You will remain at the same strength unless you increase the repetitions/weight over time. Say you can do 30 reps max, then you could try doing 3 sets of 20 with 1-2 minute breaks between sets. The next workout you should try to increase one of the reps by at least 1. So instead of 20x20x20 shoot for 20x20x21. It is perfectly normal to not see improvements on many workouts, but the goal is to always be improving.</p>\n<p><strong>Although exercise is important, your diet is going to have a much larger impact on your health than any amount of exercise you can do.</strong> You need to have good food, proper amounts of sleep, and enough exercise to live a healthy life.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43676", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35046/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43685, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 5, "selected": true, "text": "<p>50 grams of protein is the minimum amount of protein your body needs to not be deficient. These shouldn't be the goals you shoot for. 100 grams is more an appropriate amount to stay healthy. 30g of protein per meal and a snack or two will get you there. A cup of milk can be 8-13g alone, so really as long as you eat cheese, small amounts of meat, eggs, and drink a cup or two of milk a day, you're fine. Eating healthy is actually a lot harder than it looks, whether you're thin or not. For a bodybuilder, add a casein shake at night along with whey protein supplements for working out, and that'll easily add another 90+, giving you the bodybuilder 1G/lb amount. As far as saturation, there was a study I read once (I can't recall the source but I believe Arnold Schwarzenegger cited it) that after eating steak in different amounts, the group that had 30grams of protein had just as much saturation, leading to the already prevalent notion that 30g of protein at once is as much as your body can absorb at a time. That isn't to say if you include the complexity of slow digestion such as casein that takes a lot longer to digest, you can consume more.</p>\n<p>Just a side fact, but unless you are working out, you shouldn't rely on protein shakes for your daily needs. You need to get as much protein from your diet as possible. Cottage cheese is a great casein protein to take. Protein supplements are really just for bodybuilding/strength training, they will help on a day when you don't get enough protein in your meals but you should really strive to just include protein from foods in your diet.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43686, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Like the person in this question, I'm finding that I really have to focus on protein in order to get 160-180g of protein every day.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>You will find that many things in the fitness world are about optimizing everything. It is not essential to consume 160g-180g of protein every day, but reaching your upper level of protein synthesis rate is what will produce the fastest/best results when training. I believe the reason people say .8-1 g/lb is simply because they heard it was slightly above .8 for strength athletes and they believe it is better to get too much than not enough. It doesn't do any harm consuming too much protein for the vast majority of adults (There are a few super rare metabolic disorders that make consuming too much protein dangerous). Every time you eat protein, the liver converts its nitrogen into the compound urea, which the kidneys then process and allow you to excrete from your body through urine. Basically you pee out the excess protein.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I am not quite sure how to interpret this chart</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>That chart shows the point at which additional protein intake ceases to yield any benefits for different athletes/levels of fitness. As you can see 1.8g/kg (0.82 g/lb) is that point for strength athletes. Endurance athletes are a bit lower at around 1.35 g/kg (0.61 g/lb). Sedentary people are sitting at around 0.9g/kg (0.41 g/lb).</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Does the FDA dramatically underestimate the amount of protein people need?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No. As @JustSnilloc and @Ace Cabbie mention, it is how much they are recommending so people remain healthy. It really is a super general number that should be more specific to include weight, sex, and activity levels. The issue is that if advice starts getting complicated, people stop listening so most fitness advice is super generalized. The 0.82 g/lb is for strength athletes who are looking to build muscle. The body will synthesize more protein if you are building muscle.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43688, "author": "John M", "author_id": 23984, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23984", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The FDA recommendations are a very general guide and refer to the general population, not athletes or anyone doing large amounts of exercise.</p>\n<p>The IAAF have recently released some <a href=\"https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/29/2/article-p73.xml#d1626340e786\" rel=\"noreferrer\">updated nutritional guidelines</a>, the recommendations regarding protein intake are given below, note point 4 in particular:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for weight stable Athletes exceeds\nthe protein RDA (0.8–1.0 g/kg BM/day) set for the general adult\npopulation.</li>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for Athletes who have\na goal of weight maintenance or weight gain ranges from 1.3 to 1.7\ng/kg BM/day.</li>\n<li>The optimum per meal/serving of protein for Athletes\nwho have a goal of weight maintenance or weight gain ranges from 0.3\nto 0.4 g/kg BM/meal.</li>\n<li>Very high protein intakes of &gt;2.5 g/kg BM/day\noffer no adaptive advantage.</li>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for\nAthletes who are undertaking high-quality weight loss exceeds 1.6\ng/kg BM/day and may be as high as 2.4 g/kg BM/day.</li>\n<li>Athletes who\nconsume a high-protein diet (e.g., 2.4 g/kg BM/day) during weight\nloss are not at increased risk of kidney problems or poor bone\nhealth.</li>\n</ol>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43689, "author": "Bill McGonigle", "author_id": 35081, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35081", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Everybody above has covered how the FDA only provides guidelines to prevent illness, but in addition to that, remember that &quot;protein&quot; is a very generic category. Proteins are made of amino acids and different proteins have different component amino acids and different ratios of those. Depending on why you need to consume more protein, the type as well as the amount is important. To cover the average case dieticians will take the 'average' protein and average it over the population, but if you need a specific type of amino acid and are eating 'average' protein, your overall protein requirement may be higher than if you are eating targeted proteins.</p>\n<p>A good example of this is leucine, an amino acid important for muscle synthesis. The specifics are a popular subject of ongoing investigations, so paying attention to what's going on <a href=\"https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2017&amp;q=leucine%20muscle%20blood%20level%20&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0,30\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">on Google scholar</a> will give you some information for targeting (as well as samping anecdotal evidence from fitness forums).</p>\n<p>You may need a lower overall protein amount if you are eating the optimal type of protein for your needs (and vice-versa).</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43684", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/7730/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43685, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 5, "selected": true, "text": "<p>50 grams of protein is the minimum amount of protein your body needs to not be deficient. These shouldn't be the goals you shoot for. 100 grams is more an appropriate amount to stay healthy. 30g of protein per meal and a snack or two will get you there. A cup of milk can be 8-13g alone, so really as long as you eat cheese, small amounts of meat, eggs, and drink a cup or two of milk a day, you're fine. Eating healthy is actually a lot harder than it looks, whether you're thin or not. For a bodybuilder, add a casein shake at night along with whey protein supplements for working out, and that'll easily add another 90+, giving you the bodybuilder 1G/lb amount. As far as saturation, there was a study I read once (I can't recall the source but I believe Arnold Schwarzenegger cited it) that after eating steak in different amounts, the group that had 30grams of protein had just as much saturation, leading to the already prevalent notion that 30g of protein at once is as much as your body can absorb at a time. That isn't to say if you include the complexity of slow digestion such as casein that takes a lot longer to digest, you can consume more.</p>\n<p>Just a side fact, but unless you are working out, you shouldn't rely on protein shakes for your daily needs. You need to get as much protein from your diet as possible. Cottage cheese is a great casein protein to take. Protein supplements are really just for bodybuilding/strength training, they will help on a day when you don't get enough protein in your meals but you should really strive to just include protein from foods in your diet.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43686, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Like the person in this question, I'm finding that I really have to focus on protein in order to get 160-180g of protein every day.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>You will find that many things in the fitness world are about optimizing everything. It is not essential to consume 160g-180g of protein every day, but reaching your upper level of protein synthesis rate is what will produce the fastest/best results when training. I believe the reason people say .8-1 g/lb is simply because they heard it was slightly above .8 for strength athletes and they believe it is better to get too much than not enough. It doesn't do any harm consuming too much protein for the vast majority of adults (There are a few super rare metabolic disorders that make consuming too much protein dangerous). Every time you eat protein, the liver converts its nitrogen into the compound urea, which the kidneys then process and allow you to excrete from your body through urine. Basically you pee out the excess protein.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I am not quite sure how to interpret this chart</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>That chart shows the point at which additional protein intake ceases to yield any benefits for different athletes/levels of fitness. As you can see 1.8g/kg (0.82 g/lb) is that point for strength athletes. Endurance athletes are a bit lower at around 1.35 g/kg (0.61 g/lb). Sedentary people are sitting at around 0.9g/kg (0.41 g/lb).</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Does the FDA dramatically underestimate the amount of protein people need?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No. As @JustSnilloc and @Ace Cabbie mention, it is how much they are recommending so people remain healthy. It really is a super general number that should be more specific to include weight, sex, and activity levels. The issue is that if advice starts getting complicated, people stop listening so most fitness advice is super generalized. The 0.82 g/lb is for strength athletes who are looking to build muscle. The body will synthesize more protein if you are building muscle.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43688, "author": "John M", "author_id": 23984, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23984", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The FDA recommendations are a very general guide and refer to the general population, not athletes or anyone doing large amounts of exercise.</p>\n<p>The IAAF have recently released some <a href=\"https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/29/2/article-p73.xml#d1626340e786\" rel=\"noreferrer\">updated nutritional guidelines</a>, the recommendations regarding protein intake are given below, note point 4 in particular:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for weight stable Athletes exceeds\nthe protein RDA (0.8–1.0 g/kg BM/day) set for the general adult\npopulation.</li>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for Athletes who have\na goal of weight maintenance or weight gain ranges from 1.3 to 1.7\ng/kg BM/day.</li>\n<li>The optimum per meal/serving of protein for Athletes\nwho have a goal of weight maintenance or weight gain ranges from 0.3\nto 0.4 g/kg BM/meal.</li>\n<li>Very high protein intakes of &gt;2.5 g/kg BM/day\noffer no adaptive advantage.</li>\n<li>The optimum daily protein intake for\nAthletes who are undertaking high-quality weight loss exceeds 1.6\ng/kg BM/day and may be as high as 2.4 g/kg BM/day.</li>\n<li>Athletes who\nconsume a high-protein diet (e.g., 2.4 g/kg BM/day) during weight\nloss are not at increased risk of kidney problems or poor bone\nhealth.</li>\n</ol>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43689, "author": "Bill McGonigle", "author_id": 35081, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35081", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Everybody above has covered how the FDA only provides guidelines to prevent illness, but in addition to that, remember that &quot;protein&quot; is a very generic category. Proteins are made of amino acids and different proteins have different component amino acids and different ratios of those. Depending on why you need to consume more protein, the type as well as the amount is important. To cover the average case dieticians will take the 'average' protein and average it over the population, but if you need a specific type of amino acid and are eating 'average' protein, your overall protein requirement may be higher than if you are eating targeted proteins.</p>\n<p>A good example of this is leucine, an amino acid important for muscle synthesis. The specifics are a popular subject of ongoing investigations, so paying attention to what's going on <a href=\"https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2017&amp;q=leucine%20muscle%20blood%20level%20&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0,30\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">on Google scholar</a> will give you some information for targeting (as well as samping anecdotal evidence from fitness forums).</p>\n<p>You may need a lower overall protein amount if you are eating the optimal type of protein for your needs (and vice-versa).</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43690", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/10391/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43703, "author": "JustSnilloc", "author_id": 27881, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27881", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Drinking your calories is a perfectly valid strategy to use when trying to gain weight. Often it’s the case that our bodies will decrease our desire and drive to eat the bigger the surplus and the longer that it is sustained. Liquid calories then help to attenuate that lack of hunger while still getting plenty of calories.</p>\n<p>Are liquid calories optimal for increasing muscle mass? Given two nearly identical meals where one is solid and the other is the blended up liquid version, would there be differing outcomes on hypertrophy? The only consideration that I can think of is how quickly protein gets absorbed. More fiber, volume, and time taken with the food that you are eating will make protein absorb slower. There are advantages to both fast and slow digestion though, so it feels like a moot point.</p>\n<p>DeeV makes a good point in bringing up the need for the liquid calories in the first place. How much of a surplus are you aiming for? How much weight are you gaining? Lyle McDonald infamously proposed a model of muscle growth that feels too high for the vast majority of lifters, suggesting that people can gain 22.5-45 lbs (10-20 kg) of muscle in their first four years. Looking at the higher end of that range I extrapolated this chart <a href=\"https://imgur.com/hMryOOl\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://imgur.com/hMryOOl</a> it would seem that gaining more than 2.5 pounds per month when you first start will guarantee fat gain. The 2.5 lbs per month is hardly guaranteed, but given that it’s a best case scenario, you will probably be gaining less muscle. In general I wouldn’t recommend trying to gain more than two pounds (1kg) per month. That’s roughly a 233 calorie surplus every day. Your body may adapt with time however meaning that what once was a surplus no longer is and therefore calories need to be raised even higher to continue to gain weight.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43785, "author": "theonlygusti", "author_id": 28178, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Drinking your food is not the best way to bulk: the act of chewing triggers your digestive system to start up. By not chewing as you eat, you will likely not absorb as many nutrients (including calories) as you otherwise would.</p>\n<p>I guess you could use chewing gum before drinking huel, or just &quot;chew&quot; your huel shake.</p>\n<p>However, if this is your way to make sure you're hitting an otherwise challenging calorie goal, it's fine. I would treat these kinds of shakes as supplements. Try to get the bulk of your daily fuel and nutrients from solid food.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43702", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43720, "author": "Joel Mc", "author_id": 35128, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35128", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Running can conflict with muscle gain if your heart rate remains too elevated. If you want to lose the fat while gaining lean tissue.\nCardio should be performed below your first ventilatory threshold.\nThat means you should be able to speak comfortably while performing cardio. And so this for 30 to 60 minutes, as often as you can. I do either fast walking or a stationary bike to keep my heart rate down. My heart rate gets very high during my intense weight training routine. And running, or doing intense cardio will conflict with recovery from weight training.</p>\n<p>If you want to gain muscle without weight training, it can be done with body weight exercises. Push ups, dips, pull ups. Ect. But weight training is what is really going to be best.</p>\n<p>And to lose the body fat. You're going to need to dial in your diet and track your calories.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43721, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Running may reduce the effect of strength training of legs.\nIn order to reduce this interference effect you should (1):</p>\n<ul>\n<li>keep your running sessions short (&lt; 45 minutes)</li>\n<li>have as much time as possible between running and strength training (of legs)</li>\n<li>run slowly or even better walk</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Walking for cardio is what some bodybuilders do.\nHowever for a runner this is not satisfactory.\nSince higher intensity cardio offers more cardioprotection than just low intensity cardio (5); it is also healthier\nto do a mix of low and high intensity cardio than just doing low intensity cardio.</p>\n<p>HIIT in combination with strength training (and a good diet) is also a very effective way to lose fat (6).</p>\n<p>Following the principles above, a weekly program may look like this:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Monday: Full body strength training</li>\n<li>Tuesday: 30 minutes of interval training</li>\n<li>Wednesday: Rest</li>\n<li>Thursday: Full body strength training</li>\n<li>Friday: Run at a fast steady pace for 30 minutes</li>\n<li>Saturday: Long run</li>\n<li>Sunday: Rest</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you do not enjoy going to the gym you may do your strength training outside using bodyweight exercises. A weight vest may be useful to increase intensity of some exercises (push-ups, squats etc.).</p>\n<p>As for diet you should try to avoid sugars and cut down on carbs.\nSome endurance athletes seems to snack up on energy bars etc. to fuel long periods of moderate to high activity. I think this is unhealthy (4).</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://legionathletics.com/eric-helms-interview-cardio-weightlifting/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">What’s the Best Way to Combine Cardio and Weightlifting?</a></p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a32448565/cardio-fitness-level-vo2-max-lifespan-study/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Here’s How Your VO2 Max and Your Lifespan May Be Related</a></p>\n<p>(3) <a href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/strength-training-muscle-stronger-live-longer-life-expectancy-increase-a8511491.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">HIGH MUSCLE STRENGTH COULD HELP YOU LIVE LONGER, STUDY FINDS</a></p>\n<p>(4) <a href=\"https://thefeed.com/blogs/news/low-sugar-for-endurance-athletes\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Low Sugar For Endurance Athletes</a></p>\n<p>(5) <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002914905016991\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Comparison of Cardioprotective Benefits of Vigorous Versus Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise</a></p>\n<p>(6) <a href=\"https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2020/hiit-and-strength-training-should-you-do-both\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">HIIT and Strength Training – Should You Do Both?</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43717", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/5856/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43720, "author": "Joel Mc", "author_id": 35128, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35128", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Running can conflict with muscle gain if your heart rate remains too elevated. If you want to lose the fat while gaining lean tissue.\nCardio should be performed below your first ventilatory threshold.\nThat means you should be able to speak comfortably while performing cardio. And so this for 30 to 60 minutes, as often as you can. I do either fast walking or a stationary bike to keep my heart rate down. My heart rate gets very high during my intense weight training routine. And running, or doing intense cardio will conflict with recovery from weight training.</p>\n<p>If you want to gain muscle without weight training, it can be done with body weight exercises. Push ups, dips, pull ups. Ect. But weight training is what is really going to be best.</p>\n<p>And to lose the body fat. You're going to need to dial in your diet and track your calories.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43721, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Running may reduce the effect of strength training of legs.\nIn order to reduce this interference effect you should (1):</p>\n<ul>\n<li>keep your running sessions short (&lt; 45 minutes)</li>\n<li>have as much time as possible between running and strength training (of legs)</li>\n<li>run slowly or even better walk</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Walking for cardio is what some bodybuilders do.\nHowever for a runner this is not satisfactory.\nSince higher intensity cardio offers more cardioprotection than just low intensity cardio (5); it is also healthier\nto do a mix of low and high intensity cardio than just doing low intensity cardio.</p>\n<p>HIIT in combination with strength training (and a good diet) is also a very effective way to lose fat (6).</p>\n<p>Following the principles above, a weekly program may look like this:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Monday: Full body strength training</li>\n<li>Tuesday: 30 minutes of interval training</li>\n<li>Wednesday: Rest</li>\n<li>Thursday: Full body strength training</li>\n<li>Friday: Run at a fast steady pace for 30 minutes</li>\n<li>Saturday: Long run</li>\n<li>Sunday: Rest</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you do not enjoy going to the gym you may do your strength training outside using bodyweight exercises. A weight vest may be useful to increase intensity of some exercises (push-ups, squats etc.).</p>\n<p>As for diet you should try to avoid sugars and cut down on carbs.\nSome endurance athletes seems to snack up on energy bars etc. to fuel long periods of moderate to high activity. I think this is unhealthy (4).</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://legionathletics.com/eric-helms-interview-cardio-weightlifting/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">What’s the Best Way to Combine Cardio and Weightlifting?</a></p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a32448565/cardio-fitness-level-vo2-max-lifespan-study/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Here’s How Your VO2 Max and Your Lifespan May Be Related</a></p>\n<p>(3) <a href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/strength-training-muscle-stronger-live-longer-life-expectancy-increase-a8511491.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">HIGH MUSCLE STRENGTH COULD HELP YOU LIVE LONGER, STUDY FINDS</a></p>\n<p>(4) <a href=\"https://thefeed.com/blogs/news/low-sugar-for-endurance-athletes\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Low Sugar For Endurance Athletes</a></p>\n<p>(5) <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002914905016991\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Comparison of Cardioprotective Benefits of Vigorous Versus Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise</a></p>\n<p>(6) <a href=\"https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2020/hiit-and-strength-training-should-you-do-both\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">HIIT and Strength Training – Should You Do Both?</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43741", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35150/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43746, "author": "Korfoo", "author_id": 35113, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35113", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>As I guess you are a novice in strength training I would suggest to start with a full-body workout, this means that in a session you try to train as much different muscles as possible. I found that this was more fun and easier to stick to than a split schedule which requires more time and dedication. As you tagged your post with strength-training, this answer will be focussed on that. If you want to go for more cardio, you can try running ;)</p>\n<p>You also probably saw the recommended routine on the bodyweight fitness subreddit and I would recommend this one as well, it hits all the important muscles and has progression for each of the moves so that a novice can also perform the routine and build up to the big exercises. The big pro of this routine is that it is laid out for you, you don't have to think much about it and just perform it. After you have done this for some months you will be ready to choose on what to focus based on your goals (Muscle ups? Human Flags? Planches? One handed pushups? Hamstring curls?)</p>\n<p>A good book on the subject is Overcoming gravity, it has a lot of information and even more progression charts and information on how to structure your training. I think it will be too much information to start with and it can lead to not even starting at all since there will be too much choice :)</p>\n<p>[1] <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine</a></p>\n<p>[2] <a href=\"https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-gravity/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-gravity/</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43747, "author": "Liiuc", "author_id": 35150, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35150", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I was really into powerlifting but due to this pandemic I can't go to the gym anymore.</p>\n<p>So I started doing calisthenics/bodyweight exercise, for me the most useful exercise are these:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>pull ups: perform them controlled with full range of motion, then chin over the bar and arms fully extended when you descend. This exercise will mainly work your back and your upper body</li>\n<li>dips: this exercise depends a lot on your shoulder mobility, so I would recommend starting to stop a dip by reaching a 90 degree angle with your elbow, as you get strong you can begin to go down and break this angle. This exercise will work your triceps and pecs</li>\n<li>handstand push-up to wall: stand vertically with your back against the wall, in this position get your head in contact with the floor and return to a vertical position. This exercise will work your shoulders a lot.</li>\n<li>push ups: This exercise will work mainly your upper body (pecs and triceps), you can change the hand position to get the exercise harder and more focus on the triceps</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you still want to train legs bodyweight (I mean you can, but weight training remains the best for developing legs, at least for me... let's say that bodyweight training for legs is only effective if you are a beginner) I will suggest doing <em>single legs squats</em> also called <em>pistol squat</em> (this one could be challenging, it also involves a good amount of balance and flexibility), <em>squats</em>, <em>squat jumps on box</em> (this exercise <em>destroys</em> my legs every time, though I can squat x2 my bodyweight, for me is one of the best bodyweight exercise for legs) and <em>lunges</em>.</p>\n<p>Regarding the abs area I highly suggest to incorporates in your routines exercises like L-sit, hollow body position and dragon flags.</p>\n<p>As you get stronger you can start adding skills such as Handstand, Front lever, Back lever and Planche into your routine. (Be aware that those skills takes time to learn and lots of conditioning so please don't rush the process).</p>\n<p>I will also suggest you to add to your workout routine some basic stretching exercise like the pike (If you can try to incorporate both dynamic and static strech).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43753, "author": "theonlygusti", "author_id": 28178, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>These are the most effective bodyweight exercises for getting a body like <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/q/43730/28178\">you want</a>:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>hanging (better for lower abs) or dips-position (better for serratus) leg raises, 4x8 up to 90° with bodyweight, move to 4x12 when you're strong enough, you can do then do toes-to-bar which is harder. You can also do similar rep ranges with weight in between your feet when you are strong enough.</li>\n<li>opposite-knee-opposite-elbow mountain climbers (ab exercise: hold a pushup position at the top, bring your left knee to your right elbow using your abs, then put it back, repeat with other leg) very high volume (sets of 20+)</li>\n<li>handstand training</li>\n<li>a pushup programme (just something to keep you motivated and committed, maybe hundrepushups.com or anything else you find that gives you rest days)</li>\n<li>lateral raise variations and for shoulders (standing straight for side delt, leaning forward for rear delt), do higher volume and lower weight (use a household object): 5x15 or 5x20</li>\n<li>running (see if you can find a programme you like) - get really good at running. The dude in the pic hides his legs, and I guess legs won't be the most important to you either. But running will keep your legs looking fit and also it will keep you extremely healthy, give you a strong heart as a foundation for the rest of your training, and it will burn your calories</li>\n<li>(less relative to the rest) pullups 4 sets of as many as you can do, when you can do 4x8 you can start adding a little weight</li>\n</ul>\n<p>And if you want to see real progress, you should find a fitness hobby that you enjoy that will build you this body: train boxing with friends, or learn breakdancing powermoves, or do gymnastics, or do a competitive sport</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43804, "author": "Skishnot", "author_id": 34985, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34985", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>Most effective exercises are the ones you can stick to!</strong></p>\n<p>I am not a professional. I like to keep it simple and say that push-up is the best exercise.\nThe 30-day push-up challenge is a thing because it is so simple.</p>\n<p>Here are other exercises I like:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Squats: you will probably need weights (won't be a bodyweight workout)</li>\n<li>Running: it will stress your joints if that is your concern</li>\n<li>Burpees: great cardio but does not help you build muscles</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you do not know where to start, <strong>I challenge you to try 100 push-ups every day for 30 days first</strong>.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43745", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35141/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43772, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;ashamedly short&quot;</p>\n<p>&quot;not...even close to being socially redeemable enough&quot;</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>WTF? Don't allow your brain to insult you like that. Being short is nothing to be ashamed of and people at parties are more interested in your conversation skills than whether you squat three wheels yet.</p>\n<p>Focus on swimming in your own lane. Progress is progress and people respect that. Self-deprecation, less so. Let such thoughts arise and depart of their own accord. Don't beat yourself up about having such thoughts, but in the meantime pay them no mind. Stay consistent, get strong, and que sera sera.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43774, "author": "michael", "author_id": 939, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/939", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I am also a short man. It is true that some people will look at you as a lesser person because of your height. Some woman will not even consider you as a partner, just because of height. However, there is much more that most people will look at, and you should, too. These all add up to the most important thing, which is confidence.</p>\n<p>Working on your strength and fitness is a great start. Add to that personal grooming, dress, humor, being good at your job, ambition, etc. I once read (but unfortunately, can not find the reference) a study that showed people with confidence are perceived to be taller. Anecdotally, I asked my friends how tall they think I am and they all thought that I (an over-confident jerk if you ask anyone here), was 2-3 inches taller than I actually am. They thought I was taller than another person in the room, with low self-confidence, who was more than 4 inches taller than me!</p>\n<p>In any case, if you are just starting out with strength, you are more likely to see 100% returns than 20%. The first year can be very dramatic.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43769", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43781, "author": "theonlygusti", "author_id": 28178, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>The bro split is famous for sucking.</p>\n<p>A full-body workout is a much better idea.</p>\n<p>Workout programmes consist of three variables:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>intensity, normally represented by how much weight you have on the bar</li>\n<li>volume, how many reps and sets you do for each exercise</li>\n<li>frequency, how often you train each muscle (how many days per week)</li>\n</ul>\n<p>And the most effective programmes for hypertrophy have high frequency.</p>\n<p>So training each body part several times a week will give you much faster hypertrophy than training each body part only once a week (as a bro split does).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43792, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>As <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178/theonlygusti\">theonlygusti</a> mentions, the bro split is looked down on. This is largely due to a <a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102172/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">2016 meta-analysis</a> of 10 different studies that concluded that</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>major muscle groups should be trained at least twice a week to\nmaximize growth.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>A more recent <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6081873/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">2018 meta-analysis</a> from 12 studies concluded:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Results from this meta-analysis suggest that no significant effect exists between LF and HF RT on muscular strength gain when the volume is equated. When weekly RT volume was not controlled, results suggest that no significant effect of increased RT frequency on muscular strength gains. Therefore, increased weekly RT volume can be attributed as the principal driver for increased muscular strength. It could be suggested that higher training frequency increases total weekly training volume, which provides a positive adaptive stimulus upon muscular strength.</p>\n<p>LF - Low Frequency</p>\n<p>HF - High Frequency</p>\n<p>RT - Resistance Training</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>This simply means that training volume is what is likely the driving factor in strength gains. The reason Bro Splits likely perform so poorly is because it is nearly impossible to get as much volume in one day as you would get by working that muscle group 2-3 times per week.</p>\n<p><strong>Pros - Bro Split</strong></p>\n<p>If your goal is to get in the gym 5 days a week and feel great every single workout, this could be the workout for you. It provides long rest periods so you will always be fresh and will always feel a nice pump. At the very least, it is much better than nothing.</p>\n<p><strong>Cons - Bro Split</strong></p>\n<p>It simply will not provide gains as quickly as routines which stimulate muscle groups multiple times per week.</p>\n<p><strong>Pros - Full Body Workouts</strong></p>\n<p>Full body workouts are great if you want to spend fewer days in the gym, are a newbie, or are older and need more rest time between workouts. These are typically 2-3 days per week, and have longer sessions since you have more muscles to hit each session. Full body workouts typically have a higher total energy expenditure per session (more calories burned). This is likely the best option if you can only work out 2-3 days a week.</p>\n<p><strong>Cons - Full Body</strong></p>\n<p>It can be hard to focus on certain muscle groups because you will be tired from the previous movements. If you want to do 4+ full body workouts per week, you need to change up the movement patterns, lift lighter weights, or lower the number of sets per muscle group to ensure you don't overtrain. <em>Generally when training any muscle you want to let the muscle rest at minimum 48 hours before training it again.</em> Because of the higher energy expenditure, you will have much less energy for the rest of your day so these are usually better as night workouts.</p>\n<p><strong>Pros - Other Splits</strong> (I know that you didn't specifically ask about these, but I think it is important to include other options)</p>\n<p>You will be able to focus certain muscle groups much more effectively. Common splits would be 3-6 days a week. These workouts are less metabolically challenging since you are focusing on certain muscle groups each workout. These workouts can and should be much shorter than full body workouts leaving more energy for the rest of your day.</p>\n<p><strong>Cons - Other Splits</strong></p>\n<p>Usually these workouts will require more days in the gym, with shorter workout times. If you include drive times, it is usually more of a time commitment overall. Splits can also lead to overtraining if you are spending too much time each day in the gym. Listen to your body, if you feel like you are overtraining, shorten your workouts or lessen the number of sets.</p>\n<p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p>\n<p>If you want 2-3 longer sessions a week, full body workouts will be optimal. If 4-7 shorter sessions week sound better, you should find some sort of a split instead. Do whatever will keep you in the gym, hitting your weekly volume consistently.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43778", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43788, "author": "theonlygusti", "author_id": 28178, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178", "pm_score": 1, "selected": true, "text": "<p>You probably imagine &quot;working out correctly&quot; to involve</p>\n<ol>\n<li>getting the form right to reduce risk of injury</li>\n<li>performing the motion with the right muscles (or mind-muscle connection) to optimise the gains from it</li>\n</ol>\n<p>(1) is very important, and it sounds like you are already doing as much as you individually can. The only next steps you could take would be to ask other people to assess your form. If you don't know any experts in real life, you could film yourself and post it in reddit communities (or other bodybuilding/fitness forums), asking for form critique. Perhaps this community is also an option for that, although I'm not sure if such questions would be on topic; perhaps you can ask on the meta.</p>\n<p>(2) is actually largely a myth; as long as your body goes through the correct motion, the exercise will be effective. The only way to nitpick your way through to improving (2) is through repeated practice and experimentation; try a slightly different joint angle, slightly different range of motion, etc., and pay attention to how it feels. It can be quite fun to do this, and may come with a placebo effect, but has been shown to actually not matter very much.</p>\n<p>As long as the weight is low, it's quite hard to work out incorrectly. Especially since you yourself are so conscious of this. Just make sure you don't jump yourself into the deep end of doing anything too heavy too soon.</p>\n<p>You said in a comment</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>When working out, I feel like you have to rely on your own instincts to make sure you're doing it right. There's no &quot;calculator&quot; equivalent</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The calculator is: avoiding pain (which is your body telling you something is wrong) and tracking progress. As long as you are making progress, and not feeling pain or twinges, your form can be considered &quot;correct&quot;. There's a lot of leeway within these parameters, and that's where instincts come into it. Your own fitness journey will show you what works best for yourself.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43789, "author": "rrirower", "author_id": 7242, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/7242", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are a couple of things to consider when answering your question. First, have you given any thought as to what your fitness/training goals might be? Determining if your training is effective should be related to what it is you are trying to achieve. Setting short term and long term goals should help decide if you're training correctly. Over time, you'll be able to determine if your training protocol is effective in attaining those goals.</p>\n<p>Secondly, while using video sites for training info can be helpful, it lacks a feedback loop. Consider working with a CPT (Certified Personal Trainer), or, someone who has advanced experience and can guide you.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43780", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43783, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>I'm asking because it's my understanding is that the gains I made in a year have somewhat peaked, and progress from now on will be much slower because I started out at such a weak, frail, pathetic standard.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>That wouldn't have changed. You're a year ahead of where you would be if you started now. Everyone gets their noob gains in the first year or two and then it stops. If you had started now, then a year from now you'd slow down like you are today.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Looking back, I'm wondering if I should have just focused on eating enough to gain to where I am now and then start working out.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you had done that, then you'd have more body fat than you have now. Instead you're at a healthier weight with more muscle and less fat. That overall makes you a healthier person.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>What would be the best way to optimize results? Focus on eating big with light exercises, or go full on with strength training and eating big at the same time?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>There's no advantage to gaining a lot of fat unless you're bodyfat percentage is already at an extraordinarily low levels which you most likely are not (if you were at that point then medical intervention may be more necessary which we're not qualified to give advice on). So you shouldn't focus on eating massive quantities of food for eating's sake. You should eat just enough to gain a little bit of weight. If your weight is slowly trending up over time (&lt;1kg a month), then you're in a sweet spot. If your weight just jumps 5kg in a month, then pull back.</p>\n<p>I would say there's no disadvantage to full strength training. It takes time to learn, practice, and grow so starting now is better than starting tomorrow. My only regret in starting strength training was I didn't start sooner. Had I started sooner, I would have regretted not starting sooner than that.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>My thinking is, if I had gone from x kgs to x+6 by just healthy bulking and then started working out, my overall progress would probably result in a weight of x+6 + , which would be relatively far more impressive.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Right now you're x+8. A year from now, you'll be x + 8 + &lt;gains from another year's worth of strength training&gt;. That's far more impressive than this example.</p>\n<p>An 8kg increase in a year is good. You should be proud.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43786, "author": "theonlygusti", "author_id": 28178, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28178", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Of course you should do physical training even if you are underweight.</p>\n<p>Keep your body and heart healthy by doing physical training, and bulk according to a strength/size programme. The nutrients you are eating, especially protein, will be delivered straight to making you grow. Any fat you gain will be distributed around your body in healthier and more aesthetically pleasing ways (subcutaneously instead of viscerally, reducing risk to organs).</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>go full on with simultaneously strength training and eating big</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>this is the way to gain healthy mass very quickly. Putting your body under the shock of strength and hypertrophy training will make it realise it needs to grow, and kickstart and accelerate all of its growth processes.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43782", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43826, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>I need suggestions for good home workouts that could grow bigger arms/biceps/forearms\nI only know of push-ups.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>A simple beginner routine could consist of</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>push-ups</strong> targeting the triceps, pecs, and anterior deltoid.</li>\n<li><strong>pull-ups</strong> targeting the lats, traps, posteriod deltoid, biceps, and teres major.</li>\n<li><strong>squats</strong> targeting the glutes, quads, hamstrings, adductor, hip flexors, and calves.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I realize that you are only asking about growing your arms, so why did I include squats?</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21327794/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Research shows</a> that working your legs actually boosts your testosterone. The increase in testosterone actually boosted the participants bicep curls. This means that if you skip leg day, you are also missing out on arm gains.</p>\n<p>Also, I feel that I must add this. <strong>Without proper diet and sleep, exercise means very little.</strong></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43827, "author": "Max Derton", "author_id": 35261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35261", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Completely agree with Eric Warburton's answer above: Squats, Push ups, and pull ups should be your basis for training without equipment. When it comes to fitness I'd say the saying</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;All roads lead to Rome&quot;</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>is accurate. However, some are more effective than others. There is a plethora of options for you in the calisthenics area for training. I would recommend the youtube channel FitnessFAQs, a great bodyweight fitness youtube channel. Also, you should invest in a doorway pull up bar (around $20) it'll be a game changer.\nSince you are training bodyweight and I presume you currently do not own a pull up bar here would be my suggestion for a training regime. Since you have no weights you will be training until failure with bodyweight movements aiming to increase reps. You have mainly two options for training split, you can either:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Train your full body all in one workout, multiple times a week. so you would do squats, push ups, and pull ups all in one workout with rest days between the workouts.\nMonday: workout. Tuesday: rest day. Wednesday: workout. and so on</li>\n<li>You can isolate a days workout to a certain group of muscles. the most common and probably the most effective is the push pull legs split. where you train your push muscles (chest, triceps) on one day, your pull muscles (back, biceps) on another and legs on the third.\nMonday: Push Tuesday: Pull Wednesday Legs and so on</li>\n</ol>\n<p>How you train these I would suggest viewing some of FitnessFAQs videos on workouts.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43825", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34664/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43856, "author": "Gary 2", "author_id": 34418, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34418", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Higher repetitions increases the endurance. It will give you the beautiful biceps shape but to increase size of the biceps you will have to progressively increase the weight.</p>\n<p>For now if you want to utilize the 5 kg dumbbells to the maximum, do it as you are doing: 100 or more. Why do less when you can do more? If however you want to increase the challenge, try super sets of chins and curls. Sometimes you can try supersets of push ups and curls. If you still are not satisfied, try tri-sets of chins, push ups and curls.</p>\n<p>No less. And no other fancy ways: 15 sets of 6, 10 sets of 10, 3 sets 4 times a day, and so forth. Don't do those. No.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43858, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>A few tips here, if you are wanting to stay at 5kg or use more reps and build bigger biceps:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>muscles need 48 hours to recover from a workout. stick to 3 times a week. I know it seems counter productive but if you do more, you will actually make your biceps stop growing, or even get smaller! Once a day!</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Slow down and do 2 seconds to lift the weight, and 2 seconds to lower the weight, then flex your bicep when you are at top of movement. I guarantee you 4-5 seconds per rep will quickly prevent you from getting 100 reps.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Try supersetting with other moves.. do a drag curl, reverse curl, zottman curl, preacher curl, concentration curl and do 2 or 3 exercises back to back.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Try different exercises.. 5kg is a fair weight and 100 reps seems too much even for 5kg... so try 1 or 2 exercises a day, 3 times a week and rotate throughout the week. choose from the list above or look up moves. you can focus on the short head or long head of the bicep, or focus on both. again dont overtrain or do too many exercises.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>if you're doing alternating db curls, stop. do regular curls.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>century sets. Try to pick a weight that you can do 27-40 reps with. subtract that from 100. rest 1 second for however many reps you couldnt finish. then do as many as possible reps. subtract the total from 100 again and rest 1 second for each rep not finished. repeat until complete.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>focus on form, slow down, keep elbow by sides, squeeze biceps at top of movement.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>hypertrophy is roughly 8-12 reps, strength is 4-8, power is 1-3, 12-20 is endurance, 20+ is lactic.. with the exception of century sets, doing an extreme amount of reps will just build lactic acid, and after 50 it becomes cardio.. you should really slow down, focus on form, and increase weight, and pick different exercises.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43828", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35169/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43837, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>At the very bottom (barbell on the ground) the effective weight of the bar is half. The bar is supported at one end by you and at the other end by the landmine contraption and therefore the lifter is twice the distance from the fulcrum as the centre of mass. Throughout the range of motion the effective weight of the barbell changes with respect to the angle. At 60° the force required to lift the bar is 25% of the weight and at 90° it would be 0%.</p>\n<p>This is accurate for <em>only the bar</em> since the weight is assumed to be a uniform distribution. Once you add a load to the end it changes a bit since the lifter and the load are the same distance from the fulcrum. On the floor, the effective weight would be 100% of the load + half the bar. At 60° the effective weight would be 50% of the load + 25% of the bar weight. Still 0% at 90°.</p>\n<p>So, in the landmine squat, say we move from 45° to 60° in a rep the weight is changing from 35% to 25% of the bar weight and 71% to 50% of the loaded weight.</p>\n<p>You could calculate it like so: ((bar_weight/2) + loaded_weight)*cos(angle_to_floor).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43838, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The answer to this question can get a little complicated, depending on how accurate you want to be.</p>\n<p>Regardless of bar position, the centre of mass of the bar is always half way between the landmine attachment and your grip, meaning that its weight is divided evenly between the two. So if you want to know how much to add to the plates on the bar to get the total weight, 10kg would be a reasonable initial approximation.</p>\n<p>Caveat: In a landmine squat, you have some leverage due to the fact that you're gripping the bar further away from the point of rotation than the plates, which means that the landmine itself will take about 10-15% of the weight of the plates on the bar, leaving you with 85-90% of the weight of the plates, plus 50% . So if you have a 20kg plate and a 20kg bar, the total weight would actually be 10kg from the bar, and maybe only 18kg from the plate, adding up to 28kg.</p>\n<p>Now, I should also mention the angle of the bar, since that's been factored in in another answer. I don't think the bar angle alone affects the load placed on the lifter, but rather the combination of the bar angle and the angle of the lifter's body (measured between the centre of their feet and the point where they're holding the bar) does. The body angle doesn't change as much as the bar angle does, since the lifter's feet are fixed in position, which results in the lifter never really pushing at 90° to the bar, and instead leaning more into the bar at the top of the lift. The effective load decreases as the bar angle increases (becomes more upright) and increases as the angle at which the lifter pushes on the bar moved away from perpendicular. I estimate that this will mean the lifter needs to exert force equivalent to 82% of the previously calculated weight at the top of the lift, and 95% of the previously calculated weight at the bottom of the lift. If desired, I can add in my calculations, but I really think they're unnecessarily complicated as an answer to this question, and I'd recommend just ignoring the angles of the bar and lifter.</p>\n<p>As an aside, I think the linked article vastly overstates the benefit of landmine squats, and unfairly criticises back squats. I can't think of a single situation in which I'd recommend a landmine squat over any kind of free-weight squat.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43836", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27879/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43847, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Weight plates marked as 45 lb will typically weigh between 43-47 lb, about +-5% (maybe 10% on the high end), unless they're calibrated plates (in which case they should be with 10 grams). My old gym used to have the <em>actual</em> weight of plates marked on them with chalk.</p>\n<p>So, it could be that you have one set of 'light' plates and one set of 'heavy' plates. You wouldn't know unless you weigh them.</p>\n<p>My guess is there's a difference in the way you carry them. The rubber coated plates we had had handles molded in that made them convenient to carry. The iron plates you just have to pinch grip. That convenience can make them feel lighter.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43849, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 4, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Could be:</p>\n<h3>1. The weights are actually less</h3>\n<p>A gym I used to go to had two different kinds of plates: rubber\ncoated and cast iron. Out of curiosity, some patrons of the gym\nbrought a scale and compared the weights of all the 45 lb. plates.\nThe cast iron plates were all about 45 lb. with small variation of\n±2 lbs. So some were 43, 44, 46, and 47 but all around the mark. The rubber coated plates on the other hand were all just really off. Not one was above 42 lbs. A couple were as low as 38 lbs. I can't say if this is a problem for all rubber coated plates, but... rubber coated plates tend to be cheap, and cheap equipment is cheap for a reason.</p>\n<h3>2. It's in your mind</h3>\n<p>The current gym I go to has three kinds of plates: cast iron, calibrated iron, and calibrated bumper. Calibrated plates have a very small margin of error, hence they are used in competition settings. The cast iron are the same type as in the other gym. So their weight should be relatively the same. However, when I use the calibrated plates they just... <em>feel</em> heavier. Something about it makes my brain think &quot;<em>These should be harder</em>&quot; so it makes them harder. Particularly the bumper plates because because they're so wide that they <em>seem</em> heavier.</p>\n<p>Interestingly, there is actually a tactic where you purposely don't use big plates so that you don't get as nervous using them. For example, if you're attempting your first two-plate bench press but you get nervous when unracking, it may help to remove one plate and use smaller plates to add up to the same weight. It may suddenly seem less intimidating, so you manage to push the weight. Then the next time you attempt two plates you will have an easier time because you've already pushed it.</p>\n<h3>3. Increased bar whip</h3>\n<p>This really is only an issue with heavier weight. Some rubber bumper plates are just really wide. This pushes the weight further down the sides of the bar which increases leverage on it. This causes more &quot;bar whip&quot; or bending of the bar. In certain circumstances, this might actually make the lift harder. For instances, at the bottom of a squat, if you drop really hard, the weight will continue to fall as the bar bends, which of course bears down on your back. Then it will typically bounce back up a little which could be used to your advantage, but most people don't wait a second before going back up. So if you push up while the weight is still going down it will feel a little heavier.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>Overall though, weight is weight. So if your home gym's plates are lighter than advertised, you could mark the true weight on them and adjust with smaller plates to make up the difference. You could also just focus on progression. As long as you use the same equipment, you'll get the same results. Just keep in mind that when you move to better equipment that you'll probably have to lighten the load a bit.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43854, "author": "Fattie", "author_id": 1039, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1039", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The density is different.</p>\n<p>Most humans perceive a density difference, as a weight difference.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>{Note that, of course, they could actually be different - grab a scale.)</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43846", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35320/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43867, "author": "Danubian Sailor", "author_id": 4097, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/4097", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Anxiety and sadness aren't very typical symptoms, but yes, running or any other physical activity can negatively influence your mood, in short term. This is because you are loosing a lot of callories, and your body has less energy unless it regenerates.</p>\n<p>When I started hiking with a sporty group, not being sporty myself, I've ended up very depressed at the end of the day, and I was easily annoyed by anything and anyone. This is how low sugar level feels up.</p>\n<p>Vomiting isn't something surprising by extensive exercise - it's one of the symptoms of the heat strike! Either you were too long on the sun, or you haven't hydrated enough, or eaten too little - or all of them on time. Do not force yourself over your limits, listen to your body, hydrate and eat properly.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44487, "author": "MattSt", "author_id": 15299, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/15299", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Anything can lead to anxiety, really. One the one hand, running should release hormones that help with stress. On the other hand, you are putting your body through physical stress, and from what I have read your body will not really differentiate between mental and physical stress.</p>\n<p>However, finding an event stressful has a lot to do with how you view and experience that event, and not so much with the event itself.</p>\n<p>You can approach running in a really anxious manner, as an activity where you have to &quot;perform&quot; and get nervous about it. You could actually get nervous for other more subtle reasons as well, which might have to do with your past experiences. For example, you could connect running to some really stressful event that you have had in your past (i.e. PTSD like symptoms). You can however also find it as something really relaxing, where you can stop thinking about whatever worries you, and simply focus in the activity and perform.</p>\n<p>If you struggle with anxiety or sadness I suggest you visit a specialist. Things like that can depend on the individual a lot.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43860", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35343/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43887, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You need to make it easy. Fool-proof. Whenever you find yourself &quot;failing&quot; the diet, look at why and what you can do about it. If you can get yourself in the habit of eating healthier, it isn't a diet anymore. Habits take zero brain power.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Got a craving for soft-drinks? Swap to diet.</li>\n<li>Snacking in the evening? Brush you teeth earlier or prep healthy snacks.</li>\n<li>Grabbing fast food too often? Meal prep so that homemade meals are just as fast.</li>\n<li>Got that one snack food that you just can't live without? Then eat it. This isn't all or nothing.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>As engineers, we're really good at coming up with solutions. So pose it that way. You're the client and the designer. &quot;My problem is x&quot; -&gt; &quot;Possible solutions could be y or z&quot;. When you make a mistake, you keep going, and you work hard to fix it. When you make mistakes on a project you don't scrap the whole thing, do you?</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43892, "author": "G__", "author_id": 22, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/22", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This may not be the answer you want to hear but... add some physical activity! Your brain needs time to rest (or to just ruminate in an unfocused way) and this is likely to help your intellectual pursuits too.</p>\n<p>As far as weight control goes, you might be working very hard mentally, but if you’re sitting in a chair then you’re sitting in a chair. Your brain being in “high gear” isn’t going to move the needle much when it comes to energy balance.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43884", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35391/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43886, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The term you are looking for is using a 'spotter', and it is true that bench press can be dangerous, but deaths on it are very rare even for people that work out alone. There are several techniques you can use to bench safer alone. This being said, you should know your limits before lifting alone or use safety bars as shown in the picture below.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/s3Cmi.png\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/s3Cmi.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>When benching, your chest expands. This allows you to set the bar where it can tap your chest but if you deflate your chest, the bar will rest on the safety bars.</p>\n<p>Not all benches have these, but you can use the following items to bench safely alone.</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p><strong>Leave the collars/clips off when benching alone.</strong> This allows you to just tip the weights off onto the floor if you fail your set. Just be careful, as the bar will whip to the other side after the weight slides off. This can be dangerous to people or objects near your, which is why collars exist in the first place.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><strong>If you end up under a bar with clips, you can just roll the bar off of you.</strong> When doing this you need to make sure that you don't allow it to suddenly fall or bounce, as this can result in an injury and make rolling it off much harder. Once it is resting on your chest, you can roll it down towards your hips and eventually just sit up. At this point you should be able to get out from under the bar and either deadlift to the ground or remove the weights while it is resting on the bench. (A bit of personal experience, this one sucks compared to tipping the weights off.)</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><strong>If all these outs still aren't good enough, just use dumbbells.</strong> They are healthier for your shoulder longevity, and produce the same hypertrophic results as the bench press.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43906, "author": "Danubian Sailor", "author_id": 4097, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/4097", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Did anyone ever died for not knowing how the ledge works?</p>\n<p>If the barbells lie on your chess, you press with one hand up, with the second down, and the barbells fall on the side making a lot of noise.</p>\n<p>You don't see it in gym because people don't want to do that in gym, and gym owner doesn't want you to do that in gym, and it's more work to put the barbells on place, but if you're training alone, it's an easy and relatively secure option (unless the bench is insanely high).</p>\n<p>Just invest in the good floor insulation.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43885", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35392/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43901, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This is kind of a debated topic from what I have found online, but it seems better for shoulder/scapular health to start depressed, rather than dynamically adding weight(using full ROM). from topic boards on different fitness websites, it's not bad to use the ROM and avoid depressing shoulders, but depressing shoulders will avoid overactive traps, help shoulder stability, and even help your lower traps, which is widely ignored. It's also great for training your body to use lats and shoulder retraction rather than arms. It's a play it safe kind of technique. If you're young and have great shoulders its not a huge concern</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43903, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Firstly, moving your scapulae through a full range of motion in a pull-up will not work the muscles responsible for elevating the scapulae (i.e. upper traps and levator scapulae), as gravity does the work of scapular elevation during a hang. It's only the muscles responsible for scapular depression (pec minor, lat dorsi) that will be worked. The rhomboids might also get some work in retraction and downwards rotation of the scapula.</p>\n<p>Secondly, if the scapulae are kept depressed and retracted throughout the movement, these same muscles are still worked, just isometrically, rather than through a range of motion.</p>\n<p>As for your actual question, the video you referenced seems to advocate keeping your scapulae retracted and depressed throughout the movement solely in order to prevent the possibility of keeping them relaxed and elevated throughout the entire movement. This seems unnecessary to me, and I see nothing wrong with relaxing your scapulae at the bottom of the movement (especially if pausing between reps). The only other criticism of this style of pull-up that I can think of is that the initial pull from the depression/retraction of the scapulae could generate momentum to get the movement started, which could be seen as cheating the lats out of some of the work they should be doing.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43900", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43913, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If an app tells you how many calories you burned, it's telling you its estimate on how many calories you burned. The more data you can feed into the app the more accurate it will be but it's still an estimate. If the app was not measuring heart rate and elevation, the estimate is going to be off.</p>\n<p>Additionally, many calorie estimates include an &quot;effort factor&quot; when you select an exercise. If your app is only measuring distance and time, it may ask you if you got from point A to point B by biking, running, or skateboarding; all would burn different amounts of calories. So when you tell the app I went from A -&gt; B and was running it gives you a different number than if you went from A -&gt; B sprinting.</p>\n<p>I know hiking is a weird one. Was it a hike? Or was it a nice walk through the forest. You averaged about 16.69 min/km? MyFitnessPal has three different categories for hiking, for example, for an hour at my weight (217 lb) I get:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hiking, Climbing Hills (Carrying 10-20 lb) = 719 calories</li>\n<li>Hiking, Climbing Hills (Carrying &lt;10 lb) = 699 calories</li>\n<li>Hiking, Cross Country = 591 calories</li>\n<li>Walking, 10.5 min/km, uphill = 591 calories</li>\n<li>Walking, 15 min/km, leisurely = 295 calories</li>\n</ul>\n<p>So, yes, the app inflates calories burned by taking an estimate at the effort you put in. You can make the estimate more accurate by providing more data (like heart rate).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43916, "author": "Danubian Sailor", "author_id": 4097, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/4097", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The app have no idea what was your heart rate because phones have no heart rate sensors. The app must make some assumption, and if it assume you have a 10 kg light road bike, and you have some 30 kg heavy old city bike, this assumptions will be very off. If you're not used to cycling, you might have max HR when the other cyclist wouldn't even notice there's an ascent. It's the difference between cycling me 4 years ago and now.</p>\n<p>With the assumption that cycling burns 4 times less calories pro mile than hiking / running and the comparable time of the activity, the calories estimation is plausible. With other apps, in case they allow you to say what kind of bike you have, you might get better estimates, but without HR it's more like guessing.</p>\n<p>And even with HR sensor, it's still an estimation. Hearts are bigger and slower, and they can pump blood like crazy, but when the lungs aren't able to provide enough oxygen, the blood will not be saturated enough and your body won't have enough full to burn calories.</p>\n<p>After all, the calories burned are only the fun factor statistic, that shouldn't be taken too seriously. Listen your body to know, how much you need to eat, not your watch or app ;)</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43902", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35426/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43921, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It's called &quot;standing calf raise machine&quot;.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43926, "author": "Cameron Olson", "author_id": 35450, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35450", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Also search for &quot;gastrocnemius press&quot; or &quot;gastrocnemius machine.&quot;</p>\n<p>But I agree with the other comment, you can usually get 90% of the benefit of this with existing equipment, be it barbells + power racks, or smith machines, or even simply holding weights / kettlebells / dumbbells in your hands as you lift yourself to your toes and back.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43920", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35446/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43929, "author": "Bob", "author_id": 35451, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35451", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>For establishing muscle-mind connection I'd recommend light weight, moving very slowly, and doing exercises one arm at a time so you can put your other hand on the muscle you're trying to activate.</p>\n<p>Chest flys might be a good choice:<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gpnbd.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gpnbd.png\" alt=\"chest fly\" /></a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44534, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You can try this: lie down, tummy facing the ceiling, with your left hand upright (pointing to your ceiling). Keeping the rest of your body rigid, slowly move your left hand to the left side. You should feel a stretch in your chest, near where the muscle seems to go into your upper arm.</p>\n<p>Slowly move your left hand back towards the middle of your body by consciously thinking of touching your left biceps to your left chest. Move your left hand across the midline of your body until your left biceps touches your chest. Your hands should remain as straight as possible. You should feel your entire chest muscles contract. Register how this feels and the next time you do your chest exercises, try to replicate this feeling.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43922", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35202/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43929, "author": "Bob", "author_id": 35451, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35451", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>For establishing muscle-mind connection I'd recommend light weight, moving very slowly, and doing exercises one arm at a time so you can put your other hand on the muscle you're trying to activate.</p>\n<p>Chest flys might be a good choice:<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gpnbd.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gpnbd.png\" alt=\"chest fly\" /></a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44534, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You can try this: lie down, tummy facing the ceiling, with your left hand upright (pointing to your ceiling). Keeping the rest of your body rigid, slowly move your left hand to the left side. You should feel a stretch in your chest, near where the muscle seems to go into your upper arm.</p>\n<p>Slowly move your left hand back towards the middle of your body by consciously thinking of touching your left biceps to your left chest. Move your left hand across the midline of your body until your left biceps touches your chest. Your hands should remain as straight as possible. You should feel your entire chest muscles contract. Register how this feels and the next time you do your chest exercises, try to replicate this feeling.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43933", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35460/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43965, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>As suggested by the comments here, you have probably hit a plateau and will continue to do so for a while. Chinups are easier than pullups because you're incorporating your arms more. The best way to master doing a pullup is to do one, even if cheating at first, until you get used to it. For your pullups, it sounds like you want to do more, which I guess maybe a few sets of 10, or are you wanting to hammer out a lot? I would work on all the muscles that assist in a pullup by building muscle/strength/ on forearms, upper and lower lats, and teres major/minor, rhomboids, etc.. and for your pullup workout you could do something like the following:</p>\n<p>1 set of 8 (or AMAP)\n1 set of 4 (or AMAP)\n1 set of 3\n1 set of 2\n1 set of 1\n1 set of 1... continue until you cant complete one.\n...\n3 sets of negative pullups(grab a box and start from the contracted pull up position, and lower yourself as slowly as you can, doing no more than 30 seconds, until you come to a deadhang).</p>\n<p>Or you could do 10 sets of 3, and focus on hammering out a few. and really just focus on adding more reps or decreasing rest time starting from 3-5 minutes</p>\n<p>After doing the above, you could then switch your grip to a medium close pronated grip, and do pullups. these are a bit harder. after this, you could switch to a wide grip pullup(even harder!) and work on this. The important thing is to focus on your back muscles and pulling muscles, address where you go weak first and start there. If you cant crank out a lot of reps, then do the above workout and make it a power workout by doing many sets of low reps. Theres a lot of tricks you can do with the above as well, such as focusing on 10 sets of 3, and working on resting less between sets, or slowly adding reps. I prefer to do 10 sets of 3 with 3 -5 minutes of rest, and slowly chip away the time between each set each week, until one day you'll go in only resting 15-20 seconds between each set, and then you'll start resting hardly at all first few sets, which will pave your way to doing 15-20 reps at a time with zero rest, which is like doing 6-7 sets</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43972, "author": "NetServOps", "author_id": 35509, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35509", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I posted this in comments but someone else posted essentially the same thing in their answer so I'm posting here.</p>\n<p>Your training appears to be just trying to do more of the same but after initial beginner gains, you will reach a plateau. To get past that, you need to do exercises which target the individual muscles used in pullups/chinups such as biceps, rear delts and lats. The idea being to add muscle mass AND endurance. So for endurance you would do low weight with high reps and muscle mass you would do high weight with low reps. Do a mix of the two, endurance for 2-3 weeks and then mass for 2-3 weeks. You will definitely improve if you do this.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43974, "author": "Abhishek A Udupa", "author_id": 35511, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35511", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I've had the same problem as you and here's how I've tackled it.</p>\n<p>Calisthenics in itself is not a very good idea for progressing in strength. At some point, you'll have to start training with a barbell. As far as pull-ups/chin-ups are concerned, what helped me was doing heavy compound movements.</p>\n<p>Deadlift and barbell row affects the pullup in a direct way (since they targets the posterior chain really well), squats, presses (along with deadlifts and rows) build tolerance in the body for handling heavy weights. This results in a psychological surplus in you wherein, pulling your own bodyweight gets easier and easier as time progresses.</p>\n<p>Still, you would have to train pull-ups with requisite volume in order to develop the necessary neuro-muscular co-ordination and become efficient in executing pull-ups.</p>\n<p>What I've noticed in general is that, doing heavy barbell lifts improves other lifts significantly without even explicitly training them.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43979, "author": "Michael Curtis", "author_id": 25675, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25675", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Pull/chin ups are a challenging move so you need to try different things get strong at them.</p>\n<p>Over the years my chin up strength has gone up and down depending on how much time I've devoted to them. So I understand the place you're at right now, trying break through to the next level.</p>\n<p>One thing that very noticeably helped me was to chin up <em>every day</em>. Not lots of sets to completely wear out your back, but one really good set. Nice smooth, controlled motion. Try hitting your 8 reps each day with really good form.</p>\n<p>Doing calisthenics exercises like chip up, sit up, push up, everyday really worked for me, but the point is it builds endurance. And that is what you want to those extra sets. Overall you want to reduce the rest period. Removing rest <em>days</em> is a first step.</p>\n<p>Another thing to try is more indirect. Get used to hanging from the bar, just suspending your body weight with your arms. You can do it several ways. One is just hang for as long as you can. The obvious thing is it will exercise your grip, but it also stimulates all of your shoulders and back. You can add other things to hanging. Pull yourself up with just shoulder blade movement, you only move an inch or two, but it's an very important part of the full pull/chin-up movement. You can also pull up half way and statically hold that position, mind that you pull down your shoulder blades too, lower yourself slowly out of this position. From a hang you can also pull your hips up with side to side motion. I like to do this in a half-pull/hanging knee raise position. It works the abdominal muscles, but you can also feel the lats engage.</p>\n<p>You don't need to be rigid about how to do these hanging exercises. It's not about reps and set. Go for time hanging from the bar and moving smoothly with control. Do what you can and build up slowly. Eventually you want to feel like hanging from the bar and changing in and out of various positions is an everyday thing.</p>\n<p>Some of the hanging ideas can be worked into normal pull/chin-up reps. Hang for a moment at the bottom of each rep, go slow on the lowering movement, isolate just the middle range of motion, etc.</p>\n<p>If 8 is your max, use the typical kind of programming for sets/reps/rest. Don't go to failure at 8 and then have nothing left to work out additional sets. Lower the numbers, shorten the rest, and build up endurance. Try something like 3 reps, 1 minute rest, 5 sets. Everyday. Experiment with the numbers so it's do-able but real work. When you get to the point where you feel strong at that, try a test/max day. Try to hit your 8 rep max, take 1 minute rest, see how many more you can do.</p>\n<p>When your endurance increases you can also try things like negative reps, when you get to failure leap up to the top of the pull position they lower yourself as slowly as possible, 1-3 times. At, or near, failure do rest-pause reps. Get off the bar, take a count of 10, then try to get 1 or 2 more reps, take another resting 10 count and repeat a few more time.</p>\n<p>I'm suggesting working everyday, but take a rest day when you need it. Something like one or two days off a week for rest, or when life just gets in the way, is fine.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43958", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35501/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43969, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>When I do the feet elevated push ups, I did about 25 to get close to\nfailure. If the scale says I'm pushing around 100-105 pounds, that\nseems to conflict with bench press 75% 1RM @ 110 lbs. for 10 reps. The\npush up and benching weights are pretty close, but the reps are very\ndifferent. I don't think I could bench 100 lbs. 25 times. What\naccounts for the difference?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The variable you are missing is your arms. When doing pushups, the full weight of your arms are not being pushed up, but they will count on the scale. In the bench, your arms + the weight on the bar is being pushed up.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If I want to do those elevated push ups for hypertrophy, can I shorten the rest between sets so that I can only manage about 10 reps per set to get in the hypertrophy zone?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The &quot;hypertrophic zone&quot; is really just stating that training volume within a certain intensity is what actually drives hypertrophy, and not so much the rep ranges. This means that you need to get sufficiently close to muscle or form failure in each set and perform enough sets per week to optimize hypertrophic results. In a <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Forest-plot-of-studies-comparing-the-hypertrophic-effects-of-different-training-volumes_fig2_305455324\" rel=\"noreferrer\">2016 Meta Analysis</a>, 14/15 articles analyzed favored higher volume over lower volume. In short, if you are shortening the rest, you will likely be lowering the total volume which will negatively affect hypertrophy. This is the same reason that drop sets and super sets are only useful if you are short on time.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It felt like a good chest workout, but I wasn't sore the next day.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness <a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12453160/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">is not in any way associated with hypertrophy</a>. A <a href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/9/3/212/htm\" rel=\"noreferrer\">recent paper</a> hypothesized that it is neural microdamage, not muscle microdamage which would explain why it is not associated with hypertrophy, but is still a hypothesis for now. This could also explain why you don't experience DOMS on exercises that you train consistently.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43987, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>My personal experience is that I went from OK progress with benchpressing 3 sets 1 x a week to poor progress doing 5 sets of push-ups twice a week when my gym was closed due to Covid.</p>\n<p>However it seems that it is possible to build impressive size and strength by bodyweight training alone, at least for younger men (1).</p>\n<p>It also seem that is at least possible to maintain impressive size and strength by bodyweight training alone for elder men (2).</p>\n<p>The key seems to be to do a &quot;crazy&quot; amount of sets of many variations with little rest.</p>\n<p>Personally I now do 5 sets of push-ups and 5 sets of dips per bodyweight workout in the park and am hoping that this will work better than the 5 sets I did previously. Alternatively I do 5 sets of weighted push ups at home.</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.thebioneer.com/bodyweight-training/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">How to Build Actual Size and Performance With Advanced Bodyweight Training</a></p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzfsIWiMOtQ\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">BIG CHEST WORKOUT - PUSH UPS ONLY with 58 Year Old Joe</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43968", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25675/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43971, "author": "ropable", "author_id": 23398, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23398", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I assume that you mean either the Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 program. Either of those programs would be fine for someone who is new to resistance training, though I would also incorporate some additional GPP with either one (e.g. 20 min of low intensity steady-state cardio on a bike or rower before/after each session).</p>\n<p>For some unsolicited opinion, this program is a better one for beginners: <a href=\"https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-beginner-prescription/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-beginner-prescription/</a></p>\n<p>It has a wider variety of movements and rep ranges, includes recommendations relating to warmups, weight selection and GPP, and also introduces autoregulation as a training concept from the beginning.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43973, "author": "Jonathan Schoreels", "author_id": 35525, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35525", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>SS (Starting Strength 3x5, 5x5 is the SL StrongLifts template) isn't inherently bad but for a perfect beginner such as I was when I first lifted, I think it would have been better if I had done any other program with a more emphasis on <em>assistance, mobility and conditioning</em>.</p>\n<p>Mark Rippetoe will always answer that the best way to learn to squat is to squat, and that novices have so easy progress that even with only a 3x5 squat each training you will be able to grow your legs. It may be true, but it lacks the mid-term vision where you'll be quickly adding more weight to the bar that your movement patterns or your articulations will lag behind and you will eventually plateau way harder than if you were doing a less <em>specific</em> program.</p>\n<p>A more balanced program like 5/3/1 for example may sounds full of &quot;useless stuff&quot; like assistance exercices, mobility drills or even conditioning recommendations but it's those things that will build the &quot;base&quot; that will then be used to lift heavy weights. It may even helps your joints to be better prepared to push on the compound exercices. For example, I had lot of pain in adductors at first when squatting heavier in SS that I never had after I properly train them a bit more on assistance exercices.</p>\n<p>Also, SS will often respond those problems with things like &quot;Eat more&quot;, &quot;Sleep more&quot;, but your recovery has its limit too, even if you are a beginner.</p>\n<p>To me, SS is better for people who has an already muscle &amp; fitness base and want to introduce themselves in strength training, like football, soccer, basketball players. Or after a pause of few weeks/months, linear progression like SS or SL is better to quickly back to your previous weights.</p>\n<p>I would however strongly encourage you to watch his videos on form and read the book for the form explanations which is really helpful, helping you understanding bar path, center of gravity on exercices like deadlift, etc.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43970", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35511/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43971, "author": "ropable", "author_id": 23398, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23398", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I assume that you mean either the Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 program. Either of those programs would be fine for someone who is new to resistance training, though I would also incorporate some additional GPP with either one (e.g. 20 min of low intensity steady-state cardio on a bike or rower before/after each session).</p>\n<p>For some unsolicited opinion, this program is a better one for beginners: <a href=\"https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-beginner-prescription/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-beginner-prescription/</a></p>\n<p>It has a wider variety of movements and rep ranges, includes recommendations relating to warmups, weight selection and GPP, and also introduces autoregulation as a training concept from the beginning.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 43973, "author": "Jonathan Schoreels", "author_id": 35525, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35525", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>SS (Starting Strength 3x5, 5x5 is the SL StrongLifts template) isn't inherently bad but for a perfect beginner such as I was when I first lifted, I think it would have been better if I had done any other program with a more emphasis on <em>assistance, mobility and conditioning</em>.</p>\n<p>Mark Rippetoe will always answer that the best way to learn to squat is to squat, and that novices have so easy progress that even with only a 3x5 squat each training you will be able to grow your legs. It may be true, but it lacks the mid-term vision where you'll be quickly adding more weight to the bar that your movement patterns or your articulations will lag behind and you will eventually plateau way harder than if you were doing a less <em>specific</em> program.</p>\n<p>A more balanced program like 5/3/1 for example may sounds full of &quot;useless stuff&quot; like assistance exercices, mobility drills or even conditioning recommendations but it's those things that will build the &quot;base&quot; that will then be used to lift heavy weights. It may even helps your joints to be better prepared to push on the compound exercices. For example, I had lot of pain in adductors at first when squatting heavier in SS that I never had after I properly train them a bit more on assistance exercices.</p>\n<p>Also, SS will often respond those problems with things like &quot;Eat more&quot;, &quot;Sleep more&quot;, but your recovery has its limit too, even if you are a beginner.</p>\n<p>To me, SS is better for people who has an already muscle &amp; fitness base and want to introduce themselves in strength training, like football, soccer, basketball players. Or after a pause of few weeks/months, linear progression like SS or SL is better to quickly back to your previous weights.</p>\n<p>I would however strongly encourage you to watch his videos on form and read the book for the form explanations which is really helpful, helping you understanding bar path, center of gravity on exercices like deadlift, etc.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43975", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35526/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 43985, "author": "Zac", "author_id": 31867, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31867", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I see that you have multiple questions. I can't help you with all of them, but I can help with the main question you have i.e. avoiding shoulder issues when overhead pressing.</p>\n<p>I have supraspinatous tendinosis on my right shoulder from strain and bad form. Thanks to this, I can tell when any exercise I'm doing has bad form, because my shoulder pain immediately flares up. When overhead pressing, I've found the most helpful tip is that you should pinch your shoulder blades together before you start (and during the movement) exactly like the scapular pullup (google it). That gets rid of the pain and I wish I'd been doing that earlier.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44084, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>One suggestion is to remember your forearms must be perpendicular to the ground, no incline either forward or backwards.</p>\n<p>About the change in plane on the top. <a href=\"https://stronglifts.com/overhead-press/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">That's to get full range of movement</a>, if you retain the scapular plane you aren't able to get to full extension of the muscles, <a href=\"https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/rookie-mistakes-overhead-press/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">which is always what you should aim at</a>.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44245, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p><strong>First question:</strong> is the choice of working in the scapular plane made to reduce shoulder impingement (like in lateral raises)? If it is, can you explain me why? Does having a 30 degree angle between the elbows and the frontal plane creates space between the humerous and the AC joint for the rotator cuff tissues?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No, it's nonsense, seemingly made up by the author of the article. They cite two papers in support of this claim, stating that these papers demonstrate that an overhead press which begins with the upper arms in the scapular plane &quot;to not only be a safer and more comfortable position for the shoulder joint to be in... But also more effective for overhead pressing&quot;. Neither of these papers actually makes any claims even remotely close to what the author is alleging. I'll summarise these papers below.</p>\n<p>Reinold, M. M., Escamilla, R., &amp; Wilk, K. E. (2009). <a href=\"http://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2009.2835\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Current Concepts in the Scientific and Clinical Rationale Behind Exercises for Glenohumeral and Scapulothoracic Musculature.</a></p>\n<ul>\n<li>The paper is a literature review, not a study, and consists of biomechanical explanations of the roles of the individual muscles of the shoulder, and recommended exercises for targeting those specific muscles in the context of a rehabilitation program. (Note: The paper is not a systematic review, so does not have any formal process of study inclusion. It's more of an evidence-supported opinion piece.)</li>\n<li>The only mention of any overhead pressing exercise is that the military press is listed among examples of exercises in which certain shoulder muscles are active. (Specifically, the deltoid, subscapularis, serratus anterior, and trapezius.) No recommendations are given for technique.</li>\n<li>The scapular plane is only mentioned as being relevant to the role of some muscles. E.g. The supraspinatus works as a shoulder abductor only during initial abduction (e.g. raising the arm from hanging downwards, up by just 30-60°) when the arm is in the scapular plane. It is never stated that the scapular plane is a specifically safer or more comfortable position for the shoulder.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Pink, M. M., &amp; Tibone, J. E. (2000). <a href=\"http://doi.org/10.1016/s0030-5898(05)70145-0\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">THE PAINFUL SHOULDER IN THE SWIMMING ATHLETE.</a></p>\n<ul>\n<li>This paper is also a literature review, focussing on the mechanisms behind and techniques for rehabilitating overuse injuries in swimmers.</li>\n<li>The only mention of any overhead pressing exercise is that a &quot;modified military press&quot; is prescribed as an advanced exercise during the rehabilitation process. This exercise is defined as a seated dumbbell press, performed with the elbows kept out to the sides of the body, and is explicitly described as <em>not</em> in the scapular plane.</li>\n<li>The scapular plane is mentioned in a description of initial exercises for swimmers suffering chronic overuse injuries. These are extremely remedial exercises for swimmers with severe chronic shoulder pain - we're talking just unweighted arm raises, which the patient may not even be able to perform without pain.</li>\n<li>The paper does include the following statement: &quot;Exercise should begin in the scapular plane. This plane allows for maximal congruency of the humeral head in the glenoid and the least stress on the capsule and ligaments.&quot; However, this is clearly in the context of the aforementioned unweighted rehabilitation exercises, being used only as an initial rehabilitation exercise patients with lax and unstable shoulders, and is definitely not intended as a exercise prescription in any other contexts.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I think that with even the most charitable reading of these papers or the overhead press article's claims, that no one could possibly claim that the author of that overhead press article is likely to have actually read these papers and have attempted to accurately represent them in his article.</p>\n<p>Furthermore, it should be noted that the scapular plane is not at a fixed 30° angle from the frontal plane, but rather is defined relative to the scapulae, and so moves when the scapulae retract and protract. During an overhead press, the scapular plane actually goes from being much closer to the frontal plane at the bottom of the lift, to point more forward at the top. This makes attempting to use it to define an overhead press bar path especially futile.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Second question:</strong> why is [moving the elbows outwards towards the top of the movement] necessary? Why can't we continue the movement with our elbows in the scapular plane?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The scapular plane is a specific path of shoulder abduction, but all (complete) shoulder flexion and abduction has the same start and end point. The arm begins pointing downwards, and finish pointing upwards. The end position is the same regardless of whether you raised you arm to the front, to the side, or in the scapular plane. If you look at the scapular plane image in the question, you can see that the scapular plane, the frontal plane, and the sagittal plane all overlap in a line directly over the shoulder. So in this end position, you are actually in all three planes. It's not that you're moving out of the scapular plane.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Third question:</strong> How can we avoid shoulder impingement?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Impingement can (but does not necessarily) occur at the extremities of shoulder rotation. This is why exercises like the upright row and guillotine bench press are often maligned - because they put the shoulder into extreme internal rotation as the bar approaches the collarbones. Impingement is also a common diagnosis among baseball pitchers, who wind up by putting their shoulders into incredible external rotation.</p>\n<p>A sensible approach to avoiding impingement would just be to stop and reassess any movements that cause you to experience shoulder pain. A more conservative and probably excessive approach would be to just avoid any exercise that pushes the limits of shoulder internal or external rotation.</p>\n<p>That said, perhaps the most ridiculous thing about this overhead press article is that the technique he advocates actually does put the shoulders into extreme external rotation. At the bottom of the lift, he doesn't appear to even be able to lower the bar below his throat because his requirement of keeping the elbows in the scapular plane requires increasing amounts of shoulder external rotation as the bar is lowered. If you imagine giving someone a high-five, and they push your hand back in that position as far as it will go, that's the feeling of hitting the end of your range of external rotation. It could be argued that this scapular plane overhead press actually increases the risk of shoulder impingement.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/43984", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44008, "author": "Veritas", "author_id": 35564, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35564", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>the limiting factors for endurance are in order:</p>\n<p>-Breath</p>\n<p>-Soreness</p>\n<p>-Pain</p>\n<p>First one improves with the heart becoming more efficient and the muscles building more nucleus which in turn make them both stronger, more enduring and with a higher capacity of growth. a single muscle cell can have around 120 nucleus, but it's not certain and the number might be actually way higher.</p>\n<p>Second one improves by increasing frequency, when you exert yourself way too often, your body will not make you feel sore anymore, it's like getting used to a certain smell after years and not feeling it anymore.</p>\n<p>The third one improves by growing stronger bones and bigger calluses, tendons can also be a cause of pain and they can develop calluses and scar tissue to, making them less precise in rare cases but most importantly less prone to injury.</p>\n<p>Technique, diet and genes or drugs can improve all factors.</p>\n<p>Also quality of oxygen is important, there's a reason giant dinosaurs evolved multiple and complex lung systems to compensate for their poor diet or why divers breathe pure oxygen before competitions.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44009, "author": "JohnP", "author_id": 3736, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/3736", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The two types of workouts you want to be looking at are threshold and interval training, both will help. Threshold (lactate threshold, not aerobic threshold, some coaches mix the terms) training is a little below race pace for a sustained amount of time, repeated a few times depending on the structure of the workout with shorter rest intervals. Interval training is faster than race pace, with enough rest to ensure you can make the next interval. Threshold training will enable you to go longer near or at race pace, and interval training will increase your top end speed.</p>\n<p>As an example, say your race pace for a 40k time trial is 20 miles per hour, or 3 minute miles which is around a 1:14 for a 40k. (Yes, I know I'm mixing my measurements.)</p>\n<p>A typical threshold workout should be 70-85% of your race pace. Using 80%, you get 3:36 per mile, or about 16.7 miles per hour. So a threshold workout would be 5-10 miles warmup, 20 minutes at 16.7 mph, 1-3 minutes rest, repeat x 4 or 5, cooldown.</p>\n<p>For interval training, same concept except the pace would be 20+ mph, distance/time would be shorter, and rest interval between longer.</p>\n<p>Each of those taken together will increase both your race pace and the length of time that you can sustain that pace.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44004", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33222/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44007, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If we put our plane of reference (x,y) on the feet, the weight is static and the body moves. Theoretically, that means our displacement is 0 and work is 0. By changing the exercise in this manner, the legs don't need to exert any additional effort to move the weight but, how are we keeping the weight static?</p>\n<p>If we put our plane of reference on the shoulder, the weight is &quot;static&quot; but the plane of refence is now moving (up and down as the legs move) and therefore our displacement is &gt; 0 and work is some finite number. Logically, the arms need to exert effort in order to keep the weight static relative to the legs.</p>\n<p>That's my theory viewpoint. Now practically, I just grabbed a dumbbell and tried doing it myself with 25 lb, and it sucks. Everything about this variation makes this already garbage exercise even worse and I hate it (split squats are a good exercise, I just suck unilaterally). My arms are miles weaker than my legs and I couldn't hold the 25 lb dumbbell static without compromising the exercise. In the end, I had to drop to a weight that I can barely differentiate from bodyweight.</p>\n<p>Whoever's right is going to depend entirely on whether you're taking practical effort into account.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44015, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>The legs don't have to work quite as hard as they would in a regular squat with the same weight, but it's very close, and they certainly have to work harder than in a bodyweight squat.</strong></p>\n<p>First of all, let's eliminate the idea that you aren't doing any work because you aren't moving the weight. Yes, you aren't imparting any mechanical work on the weight, but that's not necessary for the muscles to be working, where &quot;muscular work&quot; is defined as the rate at which energy is burned by the muscle to produce force. This is evident from isometric training, where the muscle exert against an immovable object, and in doing so consume energy and fatigue.</p>\n<p>Now for how much additional resistance this would add over a regular (split) squat. Holding a dumbbell stationary during the exercise is identical to performing the exercise while pushing upwards on a fixed bar, with a force equal to the weight of the dumbbell. Both the arms are exerting upwards force when they normally wouldn't need to, and this force gets added to what is required of the legs.</p>\n<p>As far as the legs are concerned, the big difference between this and a regular dumbbell split squat is that in this case the only additional loading provided by the dumbbell is a constant force equal to the dumbbell's weight, whereas in the regular split squat, the legs must both overcome the external load's weight, and additionally provide enough to accelerate it through the movement. This acceleration component is missing when the dumbbell is held stationary.</p>\n<p>But how significant is the acceleration component? Let's model the squat as a vertical movement of 0.5m, with a complete rep following a sinusoidal pattern with period of 2 seconds. So <code>x</code> is the vertical position of the bar, <code>v</code> is its velocity, and <code>a</code> its acceleration.</p>\n<pre><code>x = 0.25cos(π*t)\nv = -0.25π*sin(π*t)\na = -0.25π²*cos(π*t)\n</code></pre>\n<p>Peak acceleration occurs at the bottom of the movement, at <code>t=1</code>:</p>\n<pre><code>a = -0.25π²*cos(π)\n = 2.47m/s²\n</code></pre>\n<p>(Note that <code>m</code> in <code>m/s²</code> is metres, not mass.)</p>\n<p>From this we can calculate force required to cause this acceleration, using <code>F=ma</code>, where <code>F</code> is force and <code>m</code> is the mass of the dumbbell:</p>\n<pre><code>F = ma\n = 2.47*m\n</code></pre>\n<p>Compare this to the force needed to overcome the weight of the dumbbell, which for any object on Earth is 9.81 times its mass. So with acceleration, peak force would be <code>(9.81 + 2.47)*m</code>, whereas without it, it's just <code>9.81*m</code>, which is about a 20% reduction.</p>\n<p>Also keep in mind that for the vast majority of people, the external load in a Bulgarian split squat is much less than their bodyweight. This means that most of the force they're producing is going towards holding the weight of and accelerating their own body, rather than the external load. So let's say they're a 75kg person using a 25kg dumbbell. The dumbbell only makes up 25% of the weight in that system, so the 20% reduction in peak force due to not needing to acceleration it decreases to a 5% reduction in peak force when bodyweight is accounted for.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44005", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35561/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44014, "author": "Sean Duggan", "author_id": 8039, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8039", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Personally, I place my fingertips on the ground once I'm close enough. I can't put enough weight on them to use them for lift, but it gives me sensitivity into my descent enough that I can shift my weight when I find my weight shifting to the hand.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44016, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In almost all cases where someone expects to be able to do a pistol squat but can't, the limitation is their ankle flexibility. Pistol squats require a ridiculous amount of ankle dorsiflexion in order to shift your knee and hips far enough forward that your weight can stay over your foot, and the consequence of inadequate dorsiflexion is that as you descend your weight will shift backwards and you will eventually fall backwards. Many people struggle to identify this limitation, and assume that it is strength limiting their descent when it's actually their nervous system being unwilling to continue a movement that will cause them to fall.</p>\n<p>In order to test this, you can try pistol squatting with a substantial amount (probably about 50mm) of heel elevation, in order to artificially increase your ankle mobility, or by adding a weight held in the hands which can be pushed forwards as a counterweight as you descend.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44029, "author": "POD", "author_id": 33195, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/33195", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Our balancing performing a pistol squat should be no more difficult than in any other dynamic single-leg exercise. If balance is a consistent issue, it is a question of strength, mobility, or both.</p>\n<p>Single-leg balancing requires substantial relative strength, particularly in the hip abductors and extensors (gluteus <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_maximus\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">maximus</a>, <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_medius\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">medius</a>, and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_minimus\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">minimus</a>)—which are frequently underrecruited relative to the other agonists (<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadriceps_femoris_muscle\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">quadriceps femoris</a>) involved in leg (knee and hip) extension. Similarly, <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2278643/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">passive tension</a> in those muscles, as well as in the single-joint ankle plantar flexors (<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soleus_muscle\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">soleus</a>) is frequently a limiting factor in performing a full-depth squat, even when performed with both legs. This tension only compounds existing issues with strength and control. It should be recognised that relatively few recreational athletes have the strength and mobility to perform even a deep two-legged squat safely, and a pistol squat is essentially an advanced variation of the deep squat. The solution, therefore, is to develop that strength and mobility.</p>\n<p>As with any squat, the depth to which we perform the pistol squat should be no greater than that which allows us to maintain our <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_mass\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">centre of mass</a> over the most stable part of our support which, with flat shoes or barefoot, is anterior to our <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcaneus\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">calcaneal tuberosity</a> (heel) but posterior to the heads of our <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatarsal_bones\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">metatarsi</a> (forefoot). Our spine should be maintained in a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_spine\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">neutral position</a> throughout the movement, with the knee tracking significantly past the line of the toe. The non-weight-bearing side of the hip should be lifted so as to eliminate <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/lateral-pelvic-tilt\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">lateral pelvic tilt</a>. If these elements can not be accommodated, developmental exercises—including, of course, the deep squat—should be mastered first.</p>\n<p>It should be noted that variations in body geometry alter our ideal posture considerably. The petit frame of the woman pictured below allows her to be more upright than is typical. Men are arguably at a disadvantage in performing the pistol squat, and indeed any squat, due to their high proportional upper body mass, which demands greater joint mobility.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BtIWx.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BtIWx.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>As a final note, if your purpose is to develop muscular strength, and not balance, <em>why have you chosen the pistol squat?</em> The pistol squat is innately unstable and demanding. If you are trying to circumnavigate that instability, <em>would an alternative exercise not be more appropriate?</em> These are philosophical questions that do not require an answer, but might serve as food for thought in your considering how to move forward with your training.</p>\n<p>I hope that is helpful.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44011", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44026, "author": "NetServOps", "author_id": 35509, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35509", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Use a hook grip, you will be able to hang on much longer.</p>\n<p>This grip style is also very popular in Olympic Weightlifting. The hook grip is where the thumb is pinned between the barbell and the remaining fingers. It is also a more secure grip than more traditional grips, where the thumb is outside of the fingers.</p>\n<p>The hook grip puts a lot of pressure on the thumbs and may cause damage to the skin or thumbnails. This can be overcome with regular training using a hook grip, or taping your thumbs. It typically takes about 2 weeks to get used to using a hook grip at first.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.catalystathletics.com/article/2167/The-Hook-Grip-Why-How-to-Do-It-Correctly/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.catalystathletics.com/article/2167/The-Hook-Grip-Why-How-to-Do-It-Correctly/</a></p>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.crossfitfury.com/2013/02/basics-knowledge-the-pull-up/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.crossfitfury.com/2013/02/basics-knowledge-the-pull-up/</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44034, "author": "Squanch", "author_id": 34086, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34086", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Rock climber here. If you're trying to hang for extended periods of time, you're going to <em>want</em> to develop calluses. It is the body's natural response in an attempt to further protect you. This is the salve I use after climbing, if my hands hurt. It works well and you can buy it at pretty much any outdoors store: <a href=\"https://www.jtreelife.com/products/climbing-salve\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.jtreelife.com/products/climbing-salve</a>\nHowever, I you don't want calluses, you could get some climbing tape: <a href=\"https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/climbing_tape.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/climbing_tape.html</a></p>\n<p>Pull ups or going to a climbing gym are going to help the most, as those activities will help build up the muscles you use <em>directly</em> for hanging, and the ones that help <em>stabilize</em> you. A second exercise might be to practice doing leg lifts while you're hanging, they will cause your body to swing a little back and forth, thereby causing activation in the stabilizing muscles and core. But make sure you've got some padding underneath you in case you slip off. <em>It hurts... trust me</em>. you could get a rock climbing crash pad, or just do one leg at a time.</p>\n<p>10 seconds is a good start, and maybe doing those aforementioned exercises might still be too much at this point. If that's the case, just get a stool or something. By standing on the stool, you can essentially take off as much body weight as you want, and continue to hang. The farther away you place the stool from directly underneath the bar, the less assistance you'll get from it.</p>\n<p>If you're super serious about extending your hang-time I'd buy a fingerboard. The kind like Metolius offer. They will build up your muscles like crazy.</p>\n<p>Whatever you decide, <strong>be careful</strong> and take note of signs of <strong>overtraining</strong>. The potential risk is real, and when you're doing bodyweight exercises like these where you're working your tendons and putting a lot of pressure eon joints, it can easily sneak up on you, and put you out of training indefinitely. You can usually end up clocking in more hours training if you rest, instead of &quot;powering through&quot; and end up sidelined with an injury.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44017", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35474/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44058, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I think any answer to this would be highly opinionated. There are very loose definitions of what's considered &quot;beginner&quot;, &quot;intermediate&quot;, and &quot;advanced&quot; in terms of both programming and in skill.</p>\n<p>In terms of programming, I would rate them as such (again. There's no clear-cut definition so it's only my definition):</p>\n<p>Beginner - Linear progress meaning you can add same amount of weight every workout and/or week. Very general. Very basic. Designed to build strength while also giving the athlete a chance to learn the basics. Probably not a lot of accessory work unless the athlete needs something to rehab them in to proper lifting form. See <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/strength/strong-lifts-5x5-spreadsheet/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Stronglifts 5x5</a> or <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/strength/starting-strength-spreadsheet/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Starting Strength</a></p>\n<p>Intermediate - Non linear progress meaning you may not be able to add weight every week. Variable rep/set scheme to put more emphasis on recovery. Maybe a few accessory lifts to fill out training gaps that the main lifts don't cover. Also added accessory lifts to increase volume without a dramatic increase in fatigue. See <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/powerlifting/jim-wendlers-531-spreadsheet/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">5/3/1</a>, <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/strength/texas-method-spreadsheet/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Texas Method</a> or <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/powerlifting/jonnie-candito-6-week-strength-program-spreadsheet/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Candito 6 Week Program</a></p>\n<p>Advanced - Non linear progress. Highly variable rep/set/intensity scheme. Usually focused on improving a single lift. Often times these can be peaking programs for meets, and add such will completely overload the CNS by the end of it. That means very high volume and very high intensity which increases risk of injury for people not ready for it. See <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/powerlifting/sheiko-spreadsheets/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Sheiko</a> or <a href=\"https://liftvault.com/programs/powerlifting/peaking/smolov/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Smolov</a>.</p>\n<p>I don't think there's a set, strict point at which someone is considered &quot;beginner&quot;, &quot;intermediate&quot;, or &quot;advanced&quot;. 1200 seems like a strange cutoff as I would consider that advanced or even elite for a man competing in the 116KG category but intermediate for someone competing at 264kg. Dots or WILKS might be better suited for that, but to answer more generally, you should move on when:</p>\n<ol>\n<li><p>You're no longer advancing in your current program. If you're current program is leaving you exhausted (and it's not peaking), then you may need to consider moving to something more variable to emphasis recovery. If you're not exhausted but not making progress, then you may need something with more volume and/or intensity.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Your bored. This goes for any program really. If you don't enjoy it, then you won't perform it to its full potential. Move to something you find more interesting.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Side note: don't follow celebrities when trying to decide what to do. They're usually focused on different goals then you (usually aesthetics over strength and athletic ability). They also lie about their training and drug use because the celebrity trainer they pay too much money for makes them sign an NDA to protect their &quot;training secrets&quot;.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44059, "author": "HSH", "author_id": 27128, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27128", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are no clear edges between &quot;beginner&quot; and &quot;intermediate&quot; and &quot;advanced&quot;.</p>\n<p>My vague definitions would be these.\n&quot;Beginner&quot; = fast progress, light to medium weight, lots of flexibility work needed even to do lifts correctly, lots of accessory lifts to strengthen subsidiary muscles</p>\n<p>&quot;Intermediate&quot; = progress slows down, medium to heavy weight, technique good, accessory lifts for focus and almost for a rest!</p>\n<p>&quot;Advanced&quot; = progress very slow. program could be anything depending on what's needed.</p>\n<p>Personally I found that as a beginner three times a week was all I could do because I was so sore. And as an intermediate three times a week was all I could do because I needed the recovery time. And I will never be advanced.</p>\n<p>Pre-covid-gym closures was deadlifting 170kg for 3 x 6-8, Squatting 130-150 for 3 x 6-8. Took 2 1/2 years to get there from weakling.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44057", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44089, "author": "TravisJ", "author_id": 34241, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34241", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>Short answer:</strong> you don't <em>actually</em> need to flare your knees out, but what you do <em>need</em> to do is generate torque in your hips which can be accomplished by attempting to rotate forward-facing feet outward (&quot;screwing your feet into the ground&quot;) and thinking of this as pointing your knees out is a good physical cue.</p>\n<p><strong>Details:</strong> The reason you externally rotate your hips is to generate tension in your hips, butt, and lower back. This tension serves to stabilize your lower back (spine) to help you avoid spinal injury (especially when the load is heavy). In addition to the external rotation in your hips, you also want to generate torque/tension in your shoulders through rotation--you may have heard this in a form like &quot;try to bend the bar around your shoulders/neck.&quot; The external rotation in your shoulders provides stability for the upper back/spine.</p>\n<p>If you fail to stabilize your upper and lower back (with enough torque generated by external rotation) then you risk faults (e.g. arching your back) and consequently damaging your spine. By properly bracing/stabilizing your back you not only minimize risk of injury but you also create a more efficient transfer of power from your legs to the bar. The best way to think about rigid back being better for transfer of power is to imagine pushing a spaghetti noodle with some weight on one end. If the noodle is soft (not rigid) then when you push the noodle just bends. If it is rigid then you get a (near) perfect transfer of power from your push to the weight.</p>\n<p>There's a really good book which covers movement like this called: &quot;Becoming A Supple Leopard--the ultimate guide to resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing athletic performance&quot; by Kelly Starrett which I highly recommend. My answer is a short summary of chapter 3 in that book.</p>\n<p><strong>Final note/experiment:</strong> You can do the following experiment to see the difference in how you feel. Stand tall, feet forward, shoulder width apart--hold an empty bar if you want, but don't hold any <em>real</em> weight. Generate some torque via external rotation by trying to twist your feet outward. You should feel your quads, glutes, and lower back tighten up (muscles activating). This position <em>should</em> feel strong to you. Then, instead of trying to twist your feet outward, try to twist them inward. This will feel a bit awkward and you'll feel your muscles just get loose. This is what happens when your knees collapse inward. The real danger is not so much to your knees as it is to your back which you've just left in a really compromised position--especially if you're under any load.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44111, "author": "Uday", "author_id": 35704, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35704", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>I think TravisJ gave a good answer on how to squat but didn't cleared the actual concept of why to externally rotate your knees. now let me give me a disclaimer I am not opposing your knowledge about squatting you are right but I think you don't know the actual cause of externally rotation. This answer is from my personal experience so read it full.</p>\n<p>Now to start I will tell about my story of starting workout as I was overweight too <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/44108/35704\">I mentioned here</a>. After I joined a local gym I started free hand exercises to build a good foundation so when i used to squat I used to keep my knee straight and used to fall behind while squatting as I was heavy so for 3 weeks I didn't squatted I grabbed 5kgs and started doing lunges for quads, hamstrings and glutes. Till then I have surprisingly lost 4 kgs of weight by extensively doing abs exercises now i started squatting again with no barbell just free hand but still I was unable to do it properly like others used to do in front of me in the gym. One day I noticed my instructor thoroughly during his squats and noticed while he was taking his stance, rotating his knees outwards a little bit, then I started noticing everyone and I too then inculcated that squatting style.</p>\n<p>Now after my long story the fact why to externally rotate your knees it's because to create more space in your femur to hip bone joint to squat more deeply to create more fatigue in your quads and more work done by glutes by balancing the weights.</p>\n<p>You can even squat deep by keeping your knees straight, feet joined but you can't squat lifting weight as it will not create balance and make your back bend more forward creating unusual stretch in your lower back spine. You can squat normally keeping knees straight, feet shoulder apart but you can't squat deep even if it creates balance in some of them (it depends on individual's body mechanics, my one friend can squat knees straight with heavy weights but can't go deep in squat).</p>\n<p>So to squat deep and lift heavy with balance will need you to create more space in femur to hip bone joint (if you don't understand how rotating knees can create more space in joint then my friend it's biomechanics you should study more).</p>\n<p>I am <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtnlVdAxSo\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">linking a video here</a> of famous physical instructor JEFF CAVALIERE running a youtube channel ATHLEAN-X explaining the same fact, if you are a fitness freak I recommend you subscribing his channel.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44060", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44087, "author": "Chuck", "author_id": 26631, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/26631", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>You're not necessarily having trouble recovering.</strong></p>\n<p>After a year is usually where new lifters start to plateau from a linear progression of just adding weight. i.e. <em>The End of Noobie Gains</em> (as they say)</p>\n<p>Sometimes just switching the style of programming will jumpstart your progress.</p>\n<p><strong>First off</strong> - Make sure your nutrition and sleep is on target (those are the major factors in recovery)</p>\n<p>2/ Try out different programs - liftvault.com is a great resource for free programming.</p>\n<p><em>The only way to determine the best Volume vs frequency vs. intensity for you is by trying out different programs and seeing how you progress and feel.</em></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44166, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you feel that you're having trouble recovering, I would suggest tracking your recovery metrics while you're at it. Hours of daily sleep, litres of water intake, daily macros, and if you're taking supplements a nice checklist to make sure you've remembered to take them. Sleep, diet, and hydration play a huge role in your performance in the gym.</p>\n<p>In terms of experimenting, everything needs to be done over a long period of time. I'm thinking months and years over days and weeks. If you want to switch to the same volume but fewer days, that's a great idea, but try doing it for 3-4 months. When you're tracking your workout, make note of things like the RPE of sets, your fatigue levels (e.g. motivation and soreness), and you can make yourself some graphs for reference.</p>\n<p>If in 4 months you see improvement, rest is better, lifts are improving, body composition is changing up nicely, then I'd continue doing what you're doing. I don't think it's necessary to double-back to 6 days a week. 12-15 sets per muscle group per week should be sufficient, assuming you're hitting RPE 8/9s, even if it's only 3 days per week.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44085", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44090, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In my experience smart scales (and <a href=\"https://muscleevo.net/body-fat-scales/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">in some other people's experiences</a>) are not really trustworthy, especially in the absolute values they give, but can usually be trusted seeing trends, or how values change over time.</p>\n<p>What's usually measured is fat and water through a small dose of electricity, not &quot;protein&quot; directly. This scale might be doing some strange calculations based on your weight and calculated fat to get to your &quot;protein&quot; (which is usually called muscle mass on DEXA scans)</p>\n<p>If I understand your concern correctly, I'd try to go to a place where they have a well <a href=\"https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-scale-lies-why-the-dexa-scan-is-best\" rel=\"noreferrer\">maintained DEXA scanner</a> so you can get a better baseline and compare it with your scale.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44092, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Everything in @Paribus's answer is accurate, and most of it is even mentioned in Yunmai's own <a href=\"https://www.iyunmai.us/pages/quick-start-guide\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">quick start guide</a>.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>How does bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) work?</strong></p>\n<p>In BIA, two or more conductors are attached to a person, and a small\nelectric current is sent through the body. The resistance between the\nconductors will provide a measure of body fat because the resistance\nto electricity varies between adipose, muscular, and skeletal tissues.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>... Body composition analysis is an inexact science. Body-fat scales are rarely 100% accurate compared to professional and precise medical instruments. This is true regardless of the manufacturer or method of measurement.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It took a bit of digging to find what their &quot;protein&quot; measurement actually meant, but you can see it in their <a href=\"https://www.iyunmai.com/ru/m/light2/specs.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">light2 specs</a>.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Protein</strong></p>\n<p>Accuracy: 0.1%</p>\n<p>Proteins are the main building block of the body. They are used to make muscles, tendons, organs, and skin. The percentage of protein in total body weight is around 18%.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Basically they are simply trying to estimate what percentage of your weight is from proteins. You mention that 16-20% is in the green and that you are at 16.9% which is in the green range. Even if you weren't, I wouldn't really worry about that measurement even if it was perfectly accurate. If you are worried about low protein levels anyways, eating more protein and staying fit is can't hurt.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44088", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/30007/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44570, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It protects your lower back from going into extension, which protects your spine and engages your core. Tilting your pelvis will also eliminate your lower back from doing the exercise, which is a very common problem, as it commonly takes over for the glutes. This will lead to back pain and low glute development. Tilting your pelvis prevents your lower back from doing the work, and forces your glutes to do the work instead along with your hamstrings to some degree. Also in contrast to your diagram, the hip thrust puts the body horizontally, having the weight all come down on your back in the vertical plane, and you really do not want the weight to all be focused on your extended spine.</p>\n<p>Your lower back will also try to naturally go into extension and anteriorly tilt due to the weight, so forcing your back against these forces protects your spine but also allows the weight to do its job rather than just crush your spine. Anytime you are trying to fight extension, anti-extension exercises or movements such as tilting pelvis and squeezing abs will help. if you were to try to tilt your spine in the diagram you used above however, standing up, the weight comes right onto the tilted spine which doesnt protect it, and will just help the weight give you a herniated disc. In this instance, the weight is pushing down on your entire spine rather than just a part of it, and its much more difficult to protect your spine.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44670, "author": "Beautymedi", "author_id": 37347, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/37347", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>A barbell hip thrust won't harm your lower back. Instead, it will protect your lower back, since the movement requires core, glutei, and hamstring activation. Compared to a deadlift, which is also a thrusting movement, a hip thrust is much safer. A dead lift requires you to put more effort into activating the above mentioned muscles, since you are pulling the weight up, meaning that your back and upper body may try to compensate for a less active lower body. I found <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6544005/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">this resource</a> really informative because it really goes into detail about how the movement works and which muscles are involved.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44707, "author": "Chris ", "author_id": 30383, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/30383", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The idea that a posterior pelvic tilt in a hip thrust will increase glute activation is a myth promoted by YouTube gurus who try to get attention by adding bells and whistles to exercises. This <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287975222_A_Comparison_of_Gluteus_Maximus_Biceps_Femoris_and_Vastus_Lateralis_EMG_Amplitude_for_the_Barbell_Band_and_American_Hip_Thrust_Variations\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">study</a> finds that the pelvic tilt approach, which is called the American Hip Thrust, does not increase the activation of your glutes. The lead author of the above study is Bret Contreras, who is the person that has popularized hip thrusts over the last decade. This study uses EMG measurements, so his results are probably robust.</p>\n<p>Another key point that Contrears makes is that the American Hip Thrust (the version with a pelvic tilt) is a more complex movement because one must be able to control the pelvic tilt. In another <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8402067/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">study</a>, it was found that over 50% of amateur weight lifters executed their deadlifts with poor pelvic control, and they didn't know it. So if you are practicing the American Hip Thrust, keep in mind that there is a 50% chance you are not executing the pelvic tilt properly.</p>\n<p>As far as &quot;protecting your lower back&quot;, Contreras states that &quot;individuals with extension-induced low back pain may prefer the American hip thrust, as it involves PPT [posterior pelvic tilt], which reduces the risk of lumbar hyperextension&quot;. However this is one sentence buried in a six page paper, and it is asserted with no evidence. Back pain is not studied anywhere in the paper. At this stage, the above statement is nothing more than conjecture. In my opinion, the above statement should not have been included because it is not connected with any thing else in the paper.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44091", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44101, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>It's never <a href=\"https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/air-pollution-and-exercise/faq-20058563\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">good to train on polluted places</a> and there is a <a href=\"https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA208423.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">body</a> of <a href=\"https://www.teamsofangels.org/publication/medical_journal_articles/JSCR_22(1)2-5.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">research</a> showing that breathing in pollution hinders performance.</p>\n<p>So the answer to the question based on the studies is yes, it will affect your performance.</p>\n<p>Although to attribute your plateauing to just that, unless we are talking about incredible levels of pollution, seems unlikely.</p>\n<p>Sometimes you need to change the exercises themselves and shake things up a little.</p>\n<p>Also, it might be you are overtrained and need to stop for a while and <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/38536/is-deloading-already-useful-or-not\">deload</a> - there are several deloading schools and you can ask about the best one for you on a different question - but how long it's been since you've lowered your intensity?</p>\n<p>You might need to take it easy one or two weeks to come back to increases.</p>\n<p>Oh, and are you eating enough and sleeping well enough? Those are another important variables...</p>\n<p>And finally, as @alephzero pointed out in the comments, there is also a <a href=\"http://www.alanaragonblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Aug-2014-AARR-Eric-Helms-Article.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">genetic physical limit</a> that we <a href=\"http://www.weightrainer.net/potential.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">can't overcome without drugs</a> (This is not recommending you should do drugs, at all. Just stating a documented fact)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44103, "author": "Tman", "author_id": 35695, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35695", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Absolutely pollution can affect physical performance, particularly if one has an existing respiratory condition. It might be a bit anecdotal but I can vouch that this is the case from my own experience where I have seen a coorelation between higher level of air pollutants, which I monitored, and stanima as I would struggle to breathe sufficiently much sooner where pollution levels are higher. Over a longer time higher levels of air polution are thought to cause such respiratory problems, the effect gases like nitrogen oxides have on children linking to conditions like asthma has been the main reason to extend low emission zones to more residential areas of London.</p>\n<p>More scientific studies are found at (for example)\n<a href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP2239\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP2239</a>\n<a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22267572/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22267572/</a>\n<a href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1757913917726567\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1757913917726567</a>\nwhich quite consistantly suggest a negative correlation between polution levels and performance.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44100", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32851/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44113, "author": "mrizz", "author_id": 35710, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35710", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You're pretty much using all back with your current form. Lifting with your legs is really important with a deadlift and will help you get more weight, as well as, not hurt your back. You have a really great form in your back, you just need to squat down a bit more for the full motion.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://stronglifts.com/deadlift/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">StrongLifts</a> suggest squatting down until your shins hit the bar. The overall angle will vary depending on your size, but it will give you better form for your body. The link has a really great step-by-step guide and a checklist you can download</p>\n<p>You are almost doing a Romanian Deadlift, which is a great lift, but you want to do this at a lower weight and it works your back and hamstrings a lot more.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/y6Lz1.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/y6Lz1.png\" alt=\"Romanian deadlift\" /></a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44114, "author": "C. Lange", "author_id": 31284, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31284", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I would suggest starting with the barbell on the floor. If you can't, or won't, and the blocks are necessary¹, then I would find some way to <em>safely</em> elevate yourself to the same level. Once you and the barbell are at the same level, you can work on getting your deadlift technique down. For that, I would recommend watching <a href=\"https://youtu.be/wYREQkVtvEc?t=190\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Alan Thrall's 5-step approach to the deadlift</a>. Use all 5 steps.</p>\n<p>I do agree with Mandy, I think you're still doing this rather stiff-legged and you could benefit from sinking into the deadlift.</p>\n<p>With respect to the 5 steps that Alan points out, I want to draw emphasis to #3 and #4. Once the barbell is over your mid foot and you've gripped the barbell, bring your shins to the bar and then pack your lats. In order to bring your shins to the bar, without moving your feet, you'll have to drop you butt. You can think of the deadlift as a leg press, in the lower half of the movement, where the goal is to push the ground away.</p>\n<hr />\n<p>¹ If your plates are really small (i.e. not olympic sized plates) then you can elevate the barbell such that the <em>center of the barbell</em> is 8.875&quot; off the ground.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44118, "author": "DMoore", "author_id": 6385, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/6385", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Well I will tell you what my strength coach used to tell me every time I deadlifted (even when I got good at it)...</p>\n<h2 id=\"get-your-ass-down-enc8\">Get your ass down!</h2>\n<p>Your butt is up and it is pushing your equilibrium forward too soon. You have to almost force yourself back to get the bar straight up.</p>\n<p>What you need to do is lighten the weight. And then get deep and comfortable with your legs not 90 degrees but pretty close while starting the movement. Weight should be on your heels and the bar should go from the shin towards/rolling-up your body. Your body should not be at 90 degrees in comparison to the ground. Your legs should be tilted back an extra 5-10 degrees.</p>\n<p>So your form sucks... that isn't a big deal. You are doing the work. But understand just like guys who don't go all the way down in their squat you have put yourself in the same boat - <strong>you will plateau very quickly</strong>.</p>\n<p>Your back is the weak link. You want that back straight so that it forces other parts of your body to carry the load. Your back should be getting what we call a plank workout. That is your back and stomach should be trying to hold itself flat - and instead of a great amount of time, this is a great amount of weight.</p>\n<p>The missing link... is your hips. Because you are not getting low enough your hips are not engaging. When your hips fire you should feel a small amount of rotational movement and jolt in your body. Much like turning a wheel and something popping out. This is what allows people to deadlift 600 pounds. Some of the strongest guys in the world would have an issue doing 500-600 with your technique.</p>\n<p>Also the other answers have good observations... but I will say this. No you are not doing Romanian deadlifts, you are just deadlifting with normal beginner form. The thing about bar height... not sure if that matters that much. I have done deadlifts from all heights. Yea with a lower bar you might rip your shins or lean for the first few inches but your butt wasn't even down at the beginning... has nothing to do with bar height.</p>\n<p>One last thing... You could just by a deadlift bar to help train that good habits in too.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44119, "author": "FenryrMKIII", "author_id": 25426, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25426", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Don’t focus on the form. Focus on where you feel the tension. Focus on using the right muscles. Hint : not the ones in your back.</p>\n<p>I believe Stuart McGill provides the best technique for any movement where your back is involved.</p>\n<p>He calls it the bracing technique and it basically consists in creating a corset with your core muscles (obliques notably) and your breathing. Read McGill books or listen to podcasts with him. You will gain a ton of knowledge applicable elsewhere and bulletproof your body in the process. You will also see if you are curious that what McGill preaches can be found elsewhere with other names.</p>\n<p>I have mixed feelings on focussing on the form rather than tension of the muscles to judge whether or not one is performing the movement correctly. On one side I believe that tension is more important. You can look perfect but still using your back to lift. And you can look ‘ugly’ but have a right tension in the right muscles. On the other side studies say that deviation from neutral spine puts higher stresses on the disks.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44120, "author": "Z4-tier", "author_id": 31484, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31484", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>the book Starting Strength has <em>extremely</em> detailed instructions on deadlift form. Depending on your age (if you are under ~30), it might be a good book to follow in general.</p>\n<p>I can't tell for sure, but my hunch is that you are located on an upstairs floor of a house or apartment (thus the blocks and highly controlled return of the bar). If that is correct, you are going to be very limited in how much progress you can make on DL's (at higher weights it's normal to drop the bar, or at least let gravity do most of the work on the return.... but that risks breaking a hole in the subfloor). If you can get onto a hard, level and solid surface, that will be a big help. As others have said, try and get rid of the blocks.</p>\n<p>As far as form:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>pick your chin up a little bit more, until you're almost looking forward. Don't look down and don't try to watch the bar.</li>\n<li>Think of the lift as a pull, where you drag the bar up your shins. Start with your leg just about touching the bar with your knees bent, and keep it close like that the whole way up.</li>\n<li>Most of the work should be done by your upper legs and butt. Don't turn it into a back exercise.</li>\n<li>I can't see your hand position, but it should be natural, just outside your knees. Not super close, and not ultra wide. Use an overhand grip for as long as possible, then switch to a mixed grip (one overhand, one underhand). Never use straps, but do use chalk.</li>\n<li>Slow down a bit. Not to the point where its over the top, but you don't need to power the reps out quite so fast (as you move up in weight, this will happen naturally).</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Edit:</strong>\nDo standing lifts (DL included) wearing either completely flat soled shoes, or no shoes at all. Avoid cross trainers, tennis shoes, running shoes, volleyball shoes.... basically anything with supports or that is designed to change your gait in a way that is considered beneficial for other sports. It's detrimental to weight lifting, even if you normally use inserts (I have <em>very</em> flat feet and have no problems doing this).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44122, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>You need to position your feet so that the bar starts directly over the mid-foot.</strong></p>\n<p>Your biggest technique issue that is visible from this video is that you are starting with the bar over the balls of your feet, rather than over the centre of your feet. You can see this in these screenshots I've taken from your video, with a vertical line superimposed over where the centre of the bar started.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9LcYF.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9LcYF.jpg\" alt=\"Deadlift bar foot position\" /></a></p>\n<p>Having the bar over the front of your foot is a substantially weaker pulling position than having it over the mid-foot, as it requires you to lean over further to reach the bar. With correct foot position, the bar will generally only be about an inch in front of your shins when you're standing up. This will feel very close, but you can check that it's correct by leaning to either side to verify that it's inline with the centre of your feet. Don't tilt your head forward to look as that will result in you looking on a slight backward angle, rather than straight down, which messes up your perspective.</p>\n<p>Others have comments on keeping the bar in contact with your shins - this is correct, but you must fix the starting position first, as pushing your knees forward when the bar is also too far forward will still leave you in that weaker pulling position.</p>\n<p>(It's possible to tell that the bar isn't in contact with your shins from the fact that your hips stay stationary when the bar first moves off the floor. If your shins were touching the bar, then you'd need to start the lift with knee extension, in order to get your knees out of the way of the moving bar, and that would cause your hips to rise with the bar. But, again, this doesn't matter yet because you need to fix your foot position first.)</p>\n<p>I'll also recommend the excellent <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYREQkVtvEc\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Alan Thrall's 5 Step Deadlift Setup video</a>.</p>\n<p>Finally, if you're needing to take a rest in the middle of your set, the weight is very likely too high for the number of reps that you're aiming for. If you were previously able to complete the same number of reps at a lighter weight without resting mid-set, then that suggests that either you're adding weight too fast, or you're trying to force your way through a stall in progress which would actually require a rethink of your training program, diet, or some other factor.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44112", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35709/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44129, "author": "Alec", "author_id": 8828, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8828", "pm_score": 4, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In general, an experienced gymnast will be perfectly aware of how they are positioned in space during any vault, flip or twist. They learn to feel in which direction the floor is, and how far they are from it.</p>\n<p>&quot;Twisties&quot; is when you lose that sensation for whatever reason. Some reasons are</p>\n<ul>\n<li>you did a familiar move, but with an unfamiliar outcome</li>\n<li>you rotated slower or faster than you're used to, and lost your sense of direction</li>\n<li>you saw something you didn't expect to see, and now you're unsure of which direction you saw it in</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Any and all of these reasons can give you the &quot;twisties&quot;, and make your landing highly dubious.</p>\n<p>It's also worth mentioning that the twisties can occur for other sports and activities as well. One that comes to mind immediately is skydiving. An inexperienced skydiver doing a solo jump can end up with relentless rotations and lose their sense of direction, and thus their cue to open the parachute.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44131, "author": "llama", "author_id": 28693, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28693", "pm_score": 4, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Alec's answer covers how it manifests, but it is commonly caused by things such as stress and PTSD, as <a href=\"https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300368076/tokyo-olympics-simone-biles-has-the-terrifying-twisties-nzbased-former-us-gymnastics-champion-says\" rel=\"noreferrer\">this article</a> from a former competitive gymnast describes (though it arguably also assumes quite a lot about Biles' state of mind)</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>There are many causes, but one of the most common is stress or PTSD, the symptoms of which Simone was starting to display over the last several days, not only in the way she overcooked her routines in the qualifying rounds, but also in her texts and Instagram messages.</p>\n<p>This is where I blame myself, the media, our expectations, our projections, and so on for Simone’s sudden onset.</p>\n<p>As an insider, I’m well aware of the insane amount of pressure being applied to her. Even the scandal-ridden selection of the women’s Olympic gymnastics team was Simone-centric; the vanity being that it didn’t matter which of our superlative athletes were ultimately placed on the team, since Simone would save the day, regardless.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>As for how long it can last - some people recover from it, some are plagued by it for the rest of their career:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I also suffered from the twisties, one time landing on the back of my\nneck during a multiple flipping skill as a result. That experience\ndirectly and adversely impacted the rest of my career. I was\nconstantly petrified, constantly doubting myself.</p>\n<p>Doubt is the leading cause of injury in gymnastics and I have a dozen\nsurgical scars to show for mine. If Simone, a national treasure,\nenters the remainder of the competition with doubts, and is injured,\nthat injury is on all our shoulders for the reasons I’ve stated above.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>So I don't think there's a typical timeframe for recovery.</p>\n<p>The wikipedia article on <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yips\" rel=\"noreferrer\">The Yips</a>, most commonly known from golfing, also describes manifestations of similar issues in other sports.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44128", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36737/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44140, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There is a documented <a href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12627304/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">interference effect</a> of endurance aerobic and strength training, so if you'll train for both it's to be expected at least that your gain rate will slow at least above a certain level of proficiency - if you're a newbie you can gain in both for a while. In other words, the theory indicates that the more advanced you are, the more pronounced the effect is.</p>\n<p>But sure, be prepared to see diminishing progress and maybe even plateauing, depending on your current level and on how hard will you be training. Here are <a href=\"https://mennohenselmans.com/the-cardio-comedown/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">some techniques</a> to reduce the effect (basically separate the endurance and strength training sessions as far as you can possibly manage).</p>\n<p>Note that there are sports where high performance players actually do train for both endurance and strength, like soccer, for example. So it's not that you can't do it, or that you'll necessarily hurt yourself or lose all your gains. It all depends on your actual goals and you must set your expectations right.</p>\n<p>See here another <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/5421/worthwhile-to-cross-train-while-preparing-for-half-marathon?rq=1\">related answer</a> and <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/20917/maintaining-muscle-mass-while-training-for-half-marathon?rq=1\">another</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44141, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Yes, although In the fitness world especially, excess cardio will drain your calories and reduce muscle which is needed for powerlifting. On the other hand, lifting heavy weights and gaining weight will make your body slower or fatigue faster. That being said, you can absolutely do both! Your progress will just be slower in each activity, and you might not reach your absolute best in either, but being a competitive marathon runner or powerlifter probably isn't something you're considering anyway I'd guess. You can do both and will make a lot of progress just keep in mind your progress will be slower in both and eventually your progress in both if you keep doing this for 5+ years might slow down unless you focus on one or another</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44137", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/15149/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44153, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 6, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Please check if you are missing something from <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/6836/31261\">this answer</a> on how to build muscle. The two most common things people mess up when trying to grow larger muscles are they don't eat enough, and they don't sleep enough. It sounds like you also aren't working hard enough or even the correct muscle groups for your goals.</p>\n<p>While 40 pushups is great progress from your starting point, it is simply not enough to build much muscle even with the perfect diet and sleep schedule. Also, pushups build your chest and triceps primarily, try pullups or some form of pulling movement to work on your biceps. As a rule of thumb, pushing away from you works chest, triceps, quads, calves, etc. Pulling works biceps, back, hamstrings, etc. Perhaps try pullups if you have access to a bar?</p>\n<p>You need to try to progress a little bit every time you work out, so one more rep or a little more weight. A lot of the time you might not get an extra rep in and that is perfectly normal. The issue with your current routine is simply that your body has gotten used to how much work you are putting in. If your body can handle your current routine, why would it need to produce any more contractile tissue?</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44154, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It seems that if you insist on doing unweighted push-ups you have to build up to 100s of push-ups every day to see results (1).</p>\n<p>Personally I do push-ups with a weight plate on my back instead.\nThat way I can progress with far fewer repetitions, and only doing push-ups 2 or 3 times a week.</p>\n<p>Another option is to switch to dips. They are a lot harder than push-ups but train many of the same muscles.</p>\n<p>Also as already mentioned you must make sure that you eat enough and in particular a lot of protein.</p>\n<p>And as already mentioned it is important to train your pulling muscles also.\nOtherwise you may risk posture like a monkey and pain.\nYou should do horizontal row exercises pulling shoulder blades together.\nInverted rows (australian pullups) is one good option. Barbell rows or 1 handed dumbell rows is another one.</p>\n<p>I would suggest you do one of these two circuits:</p>\n<p><strong>A (eg. outside in a park)</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 set of dips</li>\n<li>1 set of inverted rows</li>\n<li>1 set of push-ups</li>\n<li>1 set of inverted rows</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Repeat</p>\n<p><strong>B (in the gym)</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 set of weighted push-ups</li>\n<li>1 set of barbell rows</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Repeat</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.thebioneer.com/bodyweight-training/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.thebioneer.com/bodyweight-training/</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44159, "author": "Graham", "author_id": 20427, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20427", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<h4>Number of reps</h4>\n<p>At 40 reps, you're training for endurance. That's great for toning - but not for putting on bulk. Some answers have suggested using a weight plate on your back. A simpler solution though is simply to support your feet on a chair.</p>\n<h4>Position</h4>\n<p>Look at how wide your hands are. With wide arms, you're mostly just working your pecs. Standard push-ups for martial arts have the hands immediately below the shoulders to give a more complete workout; hands touching is even harder.</p>\n<h4>Push-ups are not the whole story</h4>\n<p>I had a similar idea, about 3 years back. What I found was that simply doing push-ups without any corresponding exercise for my back muscles resulted in my pecs pulling my shoulders forward into a &quot;hunch&quot;. My pecs may have been toned, but that posture just made them sag. I looked worse, not better.</p>\n<p>My solution was to add a workout on my shoulders and back. Nothing excessive - arm raises, rhomboid pulls, and so on. I now have much better posture than I ever remember having before, because my back development has naturally helped to pull my shoulders down and back. If you're about the looks, then this opens your chest up and pushes your pecs out, making you generally look better.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44162, "author": "bibleblade", "author_id": 36792, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36792", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I gotta add some information for you:</p>\n<p>First of all, doing the same excercise will get your muscles &quot;used&quot; to it. At some point there is a plateau and it takes a lot more time to actually grow.</p>\n<p>So variation in your excercise is key, you should switch up ever 6 - 8 weeks.</p>\n<p>Also you honestly dont do enough for muscle grow. You really need to do more excercises than &quot;just&quot; push ups. Get some weights honestly. Depending on how much you weigh, weightless training can only do so much for you. As a big feller it does a lot for you, as a lean boy not much at all.</p>\n<p>Lastly it is REALLY important to work GROUPS of muscles and the &quot;antigroup&quot;. Like dont do JUST biceps, you also need should and lower arms because it looks stupid and you need to support that biceps. You also need to train triceps, so your biceps doesnt become to strong for your triceps and you cant extend your arms anymore.</p>\n<p>One last tip, dont forget to stretch, you do it and that is great. Otherwise your muscles will pull together and get short.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44169, "author": "samuelsaumanchan", "author_id": 36808, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36808", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>For reference I started seriously taking my fitness into account Mar 20 and went from this:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1wV9e.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1wV9e.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>to this:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Oa9IC.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Oa9IC.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Some of my thoughts on my journey:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>To get to the same level of definition that you see on TV, social media, and Hollywood is just not possible for regular people, at least naturally. Those folks have $$$, 6+ hours a day, and a private chef and trainer.</li>\n<li>Even if you have those things it takes a LONG time of CONSISTENT training to get visible results. The two pictures shared was from Jul 19 to Aug 20.</li>\n<li>During that time I was training 2-3 hours a day every single day and averaging anywhere between 300 &gt; 800 reps a day.</li>\n<li>I realize that it's not the number of reps but the efficiency of the progression that matters most. 10 planche push ups with perfect form &gt;&gt;&gt; 100 regular push ups any day.</li>\n<li>I was also fasting (8 eat; 16 fast) and eating purely protein and vegetables. Zero carbs, dairy, or sugar. And I mean zero; maybe one &quot;cheat&quot; meal a month (if even that). A lot of them also dehydrate for the &quot;shot&quot; to get that crazy level of tone.</li>\n<li>Enjoy the process. The best feeling is when you get to a level of consistency that you wake up and look forward to working out. And feel yourself grow stronger and lighter all the while at it.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Hope you stick with it!</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44152", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36767/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44153, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 6, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Please check if you are missing something from <a href=\"https://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/6836/31261\">this answer</a> on how to build muscle. The two most common things people mess up when trying to grow larger muscles are they don't eat enough, and they don't sleep enough. It sounds like you also aren't working hard enough or even the correct muscle groups for your goals.</p>\n<p>While 40 pushups is great progress from your starting point, it is simply not enough to build much muscle even with the perfect diet and sleep schedule. Also, pushups build your chest and triceps primarily, try pullups or some form of pulling movement to work on your biceps. As a rule of thumb, pushing away from you works chest, triceps, quads, calves, etc. Pulling works biceps, back, hamstrings, etc. Perhaps try pullups if you have access to a bar?</p>\n<p>You need to try to progress a little bit every time you work out, so one more rep or a little more weight. A lot of the time you might not get an extra rep in and that is perfectly normal. The issue with your current routine is simply that your body has gotten used to how much work you are putting in. If your body can handle your current routine, why would it need to produce any more contractile tissue?</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44154, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It seems that if you insist on doing unweighted push-ups you have to build up to 100s of push-ups every day to see results (1).</p>\n<p>Personally I do push-ups with a weight plate on my back instead.\nThat way I can progress with far fewer repetitions, and only doing push-ups 2 or 3 times a week.</p>\n<p>Another option is to switch to dips. They are a lot harder than push-ups but train many of the same muscles.</p>\n<p>Also as already mentioned you must make sure that you eat enough and in particular a lot of protein.</p>\n<p>And as already mentioned it is important to train your pulling muscles also.\nOtherwise you may risk posture like a monkey and pain.\nYou should do horizontal row exercises pulling shoulder blades together.\nInverted rows (australian pullups) is one good option. Barbell rows or 1 handed dumbell rows is another one.</p>\n<p>I would suggest you do one of these two circuits:</p>\n<p><strong>A (eg. outside in a park)</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 set of dips</li>\n<li>1 set of inverted rows</li>\n<li>1 set of push-ups</li>\n<li>1 set of inverted rows</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Repeat</p>\n<p><strong>B (in the gym)</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 set of weighted push-ups</li>\n<li>1 set of barbell rows</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Repeat</p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"https://www.thebioneer.com/bodyweight-training/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.thebioneer.com/bodyweight-training/</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44159, "author": "Graham", "author_id": 20427, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/20427", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<h4>Number of reps</h4>\n<p>At 40 reps, you're training for endurance. That's great for toning - but not for putting on bulk. Some answers have suggested using a weight plate on your back. A simpler solution though is simply to support your feet on a chair.</p>\n<h4>Position</h4>\n<p>Look at how wide your hands are. With wide arms, you're mostly just working your pecs. Standard push-ups for martial arts have the hands immediately below the shoulders to give a more complete workout; hands touching is even harder.</p>\n<h4>Push-ups are not the whole story</h4>\n<p>I had a similar idea, about 3 years back. What I found was that simply doing push-ups without any corresponding exercise for my back muscles resulted in my pecs pulling my shoulders forward into a &quot;hunch&quot;. My pecs may have been toned, but that posture just made them sag. I looked worse, not better.</p>\n<p>My solution was to add a workout on my shoulders and back. Nothing excessive - arm raises, rhomboid pulls, and so on. I now have much better posture than I ever remember having before, because my back development has naturally helped to pull my shoulders down and back. If you're about the looks, then this opens your chest up and pushes your pecs out, making you generally look better.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44162, "author": "bibleblade", "author_id": 36792, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36792", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I gotta add some information for you:</p>\n<p>First of all, doing the same excercise will get your muscles &quot;used&quot; to it. At some point there is a plateau and it takes a lot more time to actually grow.</p>\n<p>So variation in your excercise is key, you should switch up ever 6 - 8 weeks.</p>\n<p>Also you honestly dont do enough for muscle grow. You really need to do more excercises than &quot;just&quot; push ups. Get some weights honestly. Depending on how much you weigh, weightless training can only do so much for you. As a big feller it does a lot for you, as a lean boy not much at all.</p>\n<p>Lastly it is REALLY important to work GROUPS of muscles and the &quot;antigroup&quot;. Like dont do JUST biceps, you also need should and lower arms because it looks stupid and you need to support that biceps. You also need to train triceps, so your biceps doesnt become to strong for your triceps and you cant extend your arms anymore.</p>\n<p>One last tip, dont forget to stretch, you do it and that is great. Otherwise your muscles will pull together and get short.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44169, "author": "samuelsaumanchan", "author_id": 36808, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36808", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>For reference I started seriously taking my fitness into account Mar 20 and went from this:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1wV9e.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1wV9e.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>to this:\n<a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Oa9IC.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Oa9IC.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>Some of my thoughts on my journey:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>To get to the same level of definition that you see on TV, social media, and Hollywood is just not possible for regular people, at least naturally. Those folks have $$$, 6+ hours a day, and a private chef and trainer.</li>\n<li>Even if you have those things it takes a LONG time of CONSISTENT training to get visible results. The two pictures shared was from Jul 19 to Aug 20.</li>\n<li>During that time I was training 2-3 hours a day every single day and averaging anywhere between 300 &gt; 800 reps a day.</li>\n<li>I realize that it's not the number of reps but the efficiency of the progression that matters most. 10 planche push ups with perfect form &gt;&gt;&gt; 100 regular push ups any day.</li>\n<li>I was also fasting (8 eat; 16 fast) and eating purely protein and vegetables. Zero carbs, dairy, or sugar. And I mean zero; maybe one &quot;cheat&quot; meal a month (if even that). A lot of them also dehydrate for the &quot;shot&quot; to get that crazy level of tone.</li>\n<li>Enjoy the process. The best feeling is when you get to a level of consistency that you wake up and look forward to working out. And feel yourself grow stronger and lighter all the while at it.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Hope you stick with it!</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44155", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36769/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44167, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>The four different treadmills all reacted similarly and have a\n&quot;stutter&quot; <strong>when moving faster</strong> than a light jog.</p>\n<p>It's almost embarrassing for me now thinking my weight is causing this\nissue but I don't think I'm over the weight limit of the treadmills.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It could be a weight problem, because weak motors will hesitate when you apply too much weight to the belt, but the fact that you are saying it only happens when you are going faster makes that scenario less likely. Treadmills generally have motors that have their highest torque ratings at the RPMs generated at the most common speed settings that they expect customers to use. This means that the treadmills in gyms typically are strongest between jogging and running. Add this to the fact that walking on treadmills in fact is harder on the motor than jogging or running. It seems counterintuitive, but at walking speeds the motor hauls your full body weight pressing down on the belt while running you are kicking the belt backwards and you are in the air half the time meaning the motor doesn't have to work as hard. If you are experiencing stuttering while walking as well as running, it is almost certainly a weight issue.</p>\n<p>More likely these treadmills are in need of some tuning. A fairly common cause for a belt stuttering / slipping / hesitating is a belt that needs to be tightened due to the belt stretching. Heavier individuals will notice this sooner simply because their weight makes it easier to slip, but it is an issue with maintenance, not that the treadmill can't handle your weight.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>How do I fix it? It\ndoesn't seem to be equipment related (unless I'm extremely unlucky).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I'm thinking you may just be a bit unlucky. Something you can do to verify this is by pulling up on the belt before you hop on, it should only have 3-4 inches of give if properly tuned. To fix it, treadmills typically have tightening lugs on either side. In the gyms you could just notify the employees that maintenance is needed, but it likely isn't worth the effort and it is often easier to just find the treadmills that aren't failing.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44202, "author": "JenRun", "author_id": 36848, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36848", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Noah, 235 should not be a problem. You can try out different treadmills at local big box furniture stores to determine which is right for you. I find that hotel and apartment treadmills are usually old and not calibrated. Also mid-grade treadmills are not meant for the type of abuse. My treadmill is a Nautilus T616 and only gets 3-6 miles a day, 5 days a week. It's not meant for multiple users putting major miles on it. My husband who weighs about as much as you uses it with no problem.</p>\n<p>Other useful tips: Stand on the sides, start the treadmill and do not start walking/running until the belt is moving. In other words, do not stand on the belt and expect it to start moving with you at a stand still.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45254, "author": "tuxedobob", "author_id": 38347, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/38347", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I purchased a treadmill at the end of last year, and one of the items in the setup was to make sure the belt is appropriately tightened. Especially if this is a new treadmill, or it has not been properly maintained, and especially if you notice this on a negative incline, this is likely the answer.</p>\n<p>It took me several tries to tighten the belt (enough) to the point where it didn't slip. Check the owner's manual for the treadmill privately owned, or ask the gyms if they would be willing to tighten the belt to prevent you from slipping. I suspect they would be happy to make you less likely to suffer an injury.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44158", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36781/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44175, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are no magic solutions. Lift heavy, do your cardio (both intense and not), and maintain high protein intake. How much you eat in order to achieve your goal of faster muscle gain is up to you.</p>\n<p>Consider that you seem to be chasing two rabbits by wanting both fat loss and &quot;faster&quot; muscle gain. I'm not saying it's impossible but be careful with arbitrary deadlines. It's more important to be <strong>consistent</strong> over a long stretch of time. Staying on the wagon trumps whipping the horses to make the wagon go faster.</p>\n<p>The only idea I'd add is that &quot;strengthy cardio&quot; might do you well. That is, instead of supplementing your strength &amp; bodybuilding work with pure cardio like running or cycling (though that might make sense), try using cardio-heavy strength sports and exercises instead. I'm thinking the Prowler, circuits of bodyweight exercises, and kettlebells. These work towards both your goals.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44195, "author": "Daniel", "author_id": 36837, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36837", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I haven't been working out for too long and am relatively young (high teen) so take what I say with a grain of salt. The most glaring difference between you and I is our body fat percentage. My body fat percentage is about 9 or 10 percent but I am also very slim, meaning not a whole lot of muscle. But, over the course of a couple months I have found a method, that works for me and maybe you can try that allowed me to maintain my body fat percentage while gaining a bit of muscle.</p>\n<p>I try and workout 7 times a week, 5 of which are intense hour long weight training exercise and the other 2 are 25 mile long mountain bike rides that I do for fun and cardio.</p>\n<p>What I changed that seemed to work was my eating and nutrition. CARBS are important! If you want to gain muscle and still lose fat you need to eat carbs. However there is a fine line. I normally workout in the evening around 6 - 7 PM so I don't eat any carbs until lunch. At lunch and a snack at 4 PM, I eat meals with carbs because it will give me the energy to lift really heavy. By the time I am done with my workout I am physically drained and I notice I don't have as much energy but I was still able to have an incredible workout.</p>\n<p>I also eat a lot of protein. I try to match my body weight in grams of protein. This makes sure that I am breaking down my existing muscle due to a decrease in calories.</p>\n<p>Hopefully this method works for you and my pseudo science makes sense, but I applaud you for working out and wish you luck on your fitness journey.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44196, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There is a <a href=\"https://mennohenselmans.com/science-spot-reduction-myth/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">study</a> that shows that high intensity exercise plus high energy expenditure plus caloric deficit may help spot reduce fat in specific locations.</p>\n<p>In my personal experience, I've been near 10% fat (DEXA) and a flabby spot of fat in the abdomen that just plainly did not go away. While the arms, legs, back, with almost no fat at all.</p>\n<p>So, while you can aim at growth on a slight deficit, it will be hard to get rid of that fat. Maybe acceptance work will be better?</p>\n<p>Another variable is that if you manage to grow, then the deficit is easier to manage, as you can be in a deficit while eating more, so that will be more sustainable.</p>\n<p>Consistency and sustainability are the key</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44174", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36816/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44180, "author": "BeautyFortuneLovePeace", "author_id": 35675, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35675", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I would highly recommend a fitness/lifestyle coach. The one I have uses an app to program all of my workouts and nutrition. It so easy to go to the app today and see my workout - use all the needed gym equipment and be done. Same with the nutrition - look ahead make, make ahead and check off as I eat. You will need a high level of commitment but at least its not DIY. My coach is a licensed professional.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44191, "author": "PoloHoleSet", "author_id": 23233, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23233", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>If you're unsure about the cost of a gym membership, as well, I'd recommend buying a couple of different level of resistance stretch cords. This allows you to add a wide cross-section of exercises for muscle groups, and resistance. If you have to travel, you can bring them with you, and there are tons of sites out there with exercise advice, like this one -</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://livehealthy.chron.com/stretch-cord-exercises-beginners-5417.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Livehealthy: Stretch cord exercises for beginners</a></p>\n<p>If your foray into exercise is going well, and you eventually feel that an upgrade in equipment or a gym membership is in order, the initial outlay is cheap enough that you won't feel like you wasted money on it.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44237, "author": "frenk morko", "author_id": 34653, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34653", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are many training programs for beginners on the Internet. To begin with, warm-up and stretching exercises will always help to prevent injuries. After these simple exercises, you can start with a full body or if you have a training program you like, I can recommend you to design it for free from the <a href=\"https://fitnessprogramer.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><strong>workout builder</strong></a> site.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44240, "author": "Gary 2", "author_id": 34418, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34418", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Day 1:</p>\n<p>A. Smith machine bench\nB. Smith machine incline bench\nC. Smith machine decline bench\nD. Smith machine close grip bench\nE. Tricep pull-down</p>\n<p>Day 2:</p>\n<p>A. Lats pull down\nB. Machine row\nC. Hyper extensions\nD. T-bar row or face pulls\nE. Curls using cables</p>\n<p>Day 3:</p>\n<p>A. Smith machine press\nB. Plate raises\nC. Side raises\nD. Shrugs</p>\n<p>Day 4:</p>\n<p>A. Smith machine squat\nB. Leg press\nC. Leg extension\nD. Leg curls\nE. Calf raises\nF. Abs</p>\n<p>1 warm up set with 50% load of first work set, and 3 work sets of 12-15 reps should be good. The second set should be heavier than the first, and the third should be heavier than the second.</p>\n<p>Start with 20 minutes running. Finish with 10 minutes elliptical everyday.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44178", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23294/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44193, "author": "PoloHoleSet", "author_id": 23233, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/23233", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I think the main difference is running shoes are built to handle and absorb, short- and long-term, the much greater impact that comes with running.</p>\n<p>While using &quot;walking&quot; shoes for serious running is probably not recommended, the reverse would not be true.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Can running shoes be used as walking shoes?</p>\n<p>The short answer: yes.</p>\n<p>Running shoes and walking shoes have similar qualities that make them ideal for being active. While running shoes are designed to be durable for the rigorous demands of running, they are excellent as walking shoes, too.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.fleetfeet.com/how-to-start-running/running-shoes-for-walking\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Fleet Feet: Running shoes for walking</a></p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44197, "author": "BeautyFortuneLovePeace", "author_id": 35675, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/35675", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I really like &quot;On Cloud&quot; brand shoe, Swiss made. On their website, you can actually answer questions on your shoe use to help find the best model or models for you. I have been using these for weight training and jogging for about 4 years now and really like them. Good luck!</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44190", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36836/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44222, "author": "TravisJ", "author_id": 34241, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34241", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The short answer is: the bar <em>should</em> follow a straight, vertical path and the final, locked out position will look (more) like the left image than the right--in fact, the image on the right does not appear to be locked out and is in an unstable position (torquing forward). In practice, the bar may not move perfectly vertically, but that should always be the goal (see reasoning below).</p>\n<p>If the bar path is not directly vertical it is likely that one of the following problems is occurring.</p>\n<ol>\n<li><p>It is common for people to (mistakenly) start a strict press with bar in the front rack position (resting atop shoulders and under the chin). In this position, your grip is (likely) loose and your forearms are not perpendicular to the floor (vertical). There are a number of problems starting from this position, but it mostly boils down to not being in a strong position (your body is not prepared to push) and, because the bar is so close to your neck a perfectly vertical push is not possible (so you have to move the bar around your head). Instead, the bar should be on the front of your shoulders (edge) with your forearms vertical. When you push, you still have to move your head out of the way (only a little, it'll have to move back maybe an inch)--I think about this as creating a &quot;double chin&quot;. Note, don't move your head back by looking up because that puts your spine in a bad position.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Sometimes people will lean back and arch their back (to get their head out of the way) and push up (and a bit forward). This position at least has the advantage of being able to make a straight push, however it leaves your back in a compromised position.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Why is a vertical path <em>right</em>? From a physics (and to some degree biomechanics) perspective a straight, vertical path is simply more efficient--so you can push more weight safely. If you start your press by pushing the bar up and away from your body (to move it around your head) you give the bar some vertical momentum (perpendicular to the floor--which is desired) and some horizontal momentum (in-plane with the floor--which is undesired). Some of your strength--force--is being used to push up, and some of your force is being (wasted) to push the bar away. Then, after clearing your head, you have to redirect that in-plane momentum towards you otherwise the bar will end up out in front of your body and this requires additional force. As you near your fully locked out position overhead you have to stop the in-plane momentum that is now carrying the bar behind your head. All of the force used to create, redirect, then stop the in-plane momentum of the bar is wasted energy. On the other hand, if you only push vertically, all your force goes into moving the bar up, you do not generate any momentum in the plane of the floor (only perpendicular to the floor).</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44231, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>The overhead press can be performed either with a curved bar path and little body movement, or a more vertical bar path and more body movement. These can be considered two different lifts.</strong></p>\n<p>In the overhead press, the bar starts in front of the shoulders, and ends directly above the shoulders. This means that if the lifter is standing upright, the bar <em>must</em> move backwards during the lift. However, the lifter does not necessarily need to be standing upright. An alternative is to push the hips forwards and shoulders back by hyperextending the hips or spine, such that the bar starts over mid-foot and the shoulders start behind the mid-foot. The lifter then presses the bar straight up and, near the top of the lift, moves the shoulders forward so they are under the bar.</p>\n<p>Pressing with a curved bar path and minimal change in body position is often called a &quot;strict&quot; or &quot;military&quot; press, and pressing with a vertical bar path and more sagittal shoulder movement is often called a &quot;classic&quot;, &quot;Olympic&quot;, or &quot;layback&quot; press. But really these are just the ends of a spectrum, and one's pressing style can be any combination of these two.</p>\n<p>The strict press is easier to visualise, so here's a diagram explaining the forward hip movement, layback and vertical bar path seen in a classic press, from Starting Strength 3rd Ed:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BfQYPl.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BfQYPl.jpg\" alt=\"Bar path in the press, Starting Strength 3ed, pg 86\" /></a></p>\n<p>Neither of these two distinct styles is correct or incorrect, they're just different variations on the lift, and they serve slightly different purposes. The strict press is more of a pure deltoids and triceps exercise, so is probably better for hypertrophy of those muscles, whereas the classic press is more of a whole body movement, also utilising the pectorals and abs to a significant degree, and allowing you to lift more weight, which is important if you're performing this lift for competitive purposes, such as in strongman or strengthlifting.</p>\n<p>Finally, the StrongLifts example is probably adding to the confusion, because the author states that the bar path should be vertical, but then in his video demonstration performs more of a strict press, where the bar path can be seen moving forwards as it passes his face, and then backwards at the top of the lift.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pL764.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pL764.jpg\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44201", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36846/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44206, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>There are two goals to aim for when distributing your weight:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>You should be in balance, for obvious reasons; and</li>\n<li>The combined centre of mass of your body and the bar should only move down and up during the squat, not forwards or backward, as forwards or backwards movement would cause lost efficiency.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Keeping your weight over the centres of your feet achieves both these things. In terms of balance, you are as far as you can be from either tipping forwards (having your centre of mass move forward beyond your toes) or tipping backwards (having it tip beyond your heels). In terms of avoiding forward-backward movement of your centre of mass, the mid-foot is an easy point of reference for where you should feel the pressure in your feet in order to maintain the transverse plane position of your centre of mass.</p>\n<p>The tripod idea, in which the weight is distributed between the heel, the medial ball (first metatarsal head) and the lateral ball (fifth metatarsal head) of the foot, is a more recent one. It aims to add the requirement that the weight be distributed evenly from side to side of the foot, reminding the lifter not to push with the inner or outer edges of the foot. Your intuition that this idea should not result in a more forwards centre of gravity is correct. If you want to describe your weight distribution like this, it would be with 25% of your weight on each heel, and 12.5% on each medial ball and each lateral ball.</p>\n<p>As for whether the lateral arch of the foot should be bearing weight, that will really depend on the shape of your foot and your shoe insole. I don't think it's something you should try to focus on or control.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Finally, do you have some mind cues (for the way up and down) to help\ndistribute the weight on the three points in a proper way?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>For forwards-backwards balance, just focus on keeping the pressure in your feet over the centres of the feet.</p>\n<p>For lateral balance, try standing up (without a barbell) and supinating your feet so that the medial arches rise up off the ground and all the weight is on your lateral arches. Then do the opposite, pronating your feet so that your lateral arches rise and all the weight is between your big toes and heels. Now flatten your feet again. Remember the feeling of these three positions, and try to avoid the first two during the lift.</p>\n<p>If you find that you have a problem with excessive pronation or supination during a squat, you may need a specific cue to counter that, e.g. &quot;weight on your big toes!&quot; if your problem is excessive supination.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44212, "author": "Matthew Sroufe", "author_id": 36855, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36855", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>The answer is simple: <em>the weight is on your heels.</em> (<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxRji1q5SQM\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxRji1q5SQM</a>).</p>\n<p>If anyone tells you differently, you should ask them how many times they have placed 1st in a deadlift or squat competition. In 2004, I was the strongest competitive weightlifter in the world in my weight class (I was 165lbs. at the time). So I think my credentials are pretty decent, to say the least, and none of this to brag, but rather to save your knees from unreconcilable damage.</p>\n<p>The weight should be on your heels from beginning to end. My weightlifting coach would have us wiggle our toes when we were at the lowest position possible, with our legs forming just under a 45-degree angle, to test &amp; make sure our weight was on our heels where it’s supposed to be. Always remember that weightlifting is opposite of pretty much every single sport where the majority of the time you have to be “on your toes”. Weightlifting, especially with heavyweights calls for you to be flat-footed.</p>\n<p>Ever watch World's Strongest Men on ESPN? Those guys aren’t wearing Chuck Taylors as a fashion statement. They wear those in order to eliminate any possibility of your foot arching during a lift.</p>\n<p>I really wanted to drive the point home, so that way, anyone who reads this will be able to avoid a career-ending injury.</p>\n<p>For more information on nutrition and performance, follow me on Quora: <a href=\"https://weightlossspace.quora.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://weightlossspace.quora.com/</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44205", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36846/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44233, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>A quick answer but generally exercise studies regarding strength have you test their strength before and after a study using flexor exercises, charting the number of weight in lbs or kgs that each person can do. For more scientific studies, different biomechanical measures are used, for instance to check instead of showing workout studies they will measure isometric muscle contractions of different parts of the body. For you, I'd say choose 2 or 3 exercises that workout the flexors, mark the weight or resistance used before the study, and have the students strengthen them(it might be beneficial to do different exercises than the testing ones but these should be fine). Then after the study use those same exercises as before. This will measure both if the exercise worked and the flexor strength. The exercises before and after should have a relevant rep scheme that should be the same, just as 1 set of 20 to failure, or as many as possible with 15 lbs, but for this, it might be more relevant to use an isometric exercise like holding a heavy dumbbell for as long as possible with a weight that allows them to do so for at least 15 seconds for a wider variability and see how long they can hold the weight before dropping, the main reason being that flexors are a type 1 muscle that mostly are built for endurance, so you need to ask are you measuring the endurance of these muscles, the strength they can do, or the strength of the muscles themselves.. use a placebo group that doesn't exercise during the study. Diet and lifestyle of students need to be taken into account as well, age,gender, etc.. all students should have similar attributes</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44234, "author": "JohnP", "author_id": 3736, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/3736", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Honestly, there are hundreds of studies available on google scholar (Such as <a href=\"https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C3&amp;q=comparing%20muscle%20strength%20&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">this search</a> for comparing muscle strength) that are freely available. Published studies include the methods and training regimens that they used, and describe how it's done so that people can replicate or advance the study.</p>\n<p>Go through those, and see how they did it. If there is one that you like, you can replicate it, or you can design your own using some of them as a model.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44209", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36856/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44214, "author": "DeeV", "author_id": 21868, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/21868", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p><strong>Different weight goals</strong></p>\n<p>Goal of a bodybuilder is to have as much muscle mass as possible while maintaining as little fat mass as possible. This involves getting slowly heavier over time.</p>\n<p>Being heavier in other sports may be detrimental. It makes calisthenics harder, so gymnasts and other calisthenic athletes typically want to keep their bodyweight lower so it's easier to do flips and stuff.</p>\n<p>In contrast, strength sports also typically have weight classes that athletes have to compete in. It makes you more competitive to stay in a particular weight class and be as strong as possible, so strength athletes will try to maintain their body weight at a certain level while trying to make the muscle they have as strong as possible.</p>\n<p>Though you compare a strength athlete that doesn't have weight classes (strongman) to a bodybuilder and you get a different story:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YVcYpm.jpg\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YVcYpm.jpg\" alt=\"Two strongman next to Jay Cutler\" /></a></p>\n<p>(Note: The strongmen are slightly closer to the camera, but they are certainly still way bigger).</p>\n<p>In the image you have Brian Shaw (left) and Zydrunas Savickas (right) next to 4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler (center). Now, neither of these people are natural, but they all have similar goals. To get as big as possible. Natural athletes competing in the respective sports would show similar results (just smaller and a little more bodyfat). The difference is strongmen don't particularly care about their bodyfat levels, so they don't spend half the year cutting to extreme lengths. This allows them to just continuously grow unimpeded by overly restrictive diet.</p>\n<p><strong>Differences in training styles and focus</strong></p>\n<p>You are correct in that rep-ranges don't affect hypertrophy as much as previously thought (at least below 40), but you still need volume to get enough stimulus to grow muscle. A strength athlete is trying to get as strong as possible, they need to lift as heavy as possible. Lifting heavy in compound movements is far more tiring, so it's likely that they don't lift as much total volume. For example, a comparison may be a typical 5x5 squat routine at 300 lbs, you'd lift like this:</p>\n<p>300x5 + 300x5 + 300x5 + 300x5 + 300x5 = 7,500 lbs lifted in a session.</p>\n<p>vs a bodybuilding style training where someone of similar strength may squat 150 lbs at 15 reps for 4 sets you get</p>\n<p>150x15 + 150x15 + 150x15 + 150x15 = 9,000 lbs lifted in a session.</p>\n<p>On top of that, a bodybuilder is going to do weight training geared to generating more volume which will build more muscle. A strength athlete in contrast may do accessory work to fix imbalances and train technique. That kind of work doesn't necessarily build more muscle.</p>\n<p><strong>Genetics</strong></p>\n<p>Genetics plays a big role in one's potential to build muscle. There's a selection bias involved with bodybuilding because people with above-average genetics are going to compete. The people with the best genetics will win more often. So the people you see on stage are going to be people with good genetic potential.</p>\n<p>One bodybuilder that we can use to compare what's possible naturally is Greg Doucette.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fl6G8m.jpg\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fl6G8m.jpg\" alt=\"Natural Greg Doucette\" /></a></p>\n<p>In that image, he claims to be natural. I trust that he's telling the truth only because of how flagrantly open he is about his history of drug abuse.</p>\n<p>Another show of genetic potential is Chris Bumstead at 18 years old.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/j1e3Mm.jpg\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/j1e3Mm.jpg\" alt=\"Chris Bumstead natural\" /></a></p>\n<p>According to him he wasn't even training for bodybuilding at the time that photo was taken. He already clearly had <em>a lot</em> of potential. The reason I believe him when he claims natural in that photo is because he's Mr. Olympia Classic Physique. You don't become the best in the world with mediocre genetics.</p>\n<p><strong>Lying</strong></p>\n<p>Yes. You're right. It is possible to take steroids for years, come off, and pass drug tests for bodybuilding shows. You're not going to be as big as you were on steroids, but you will be bigger than you would naturally. It's not <em>everyone</em>, but yes. People do it. To pretend otherwise would be wrong.</p>\n<p>However, <em>just because someone has an impressive physique does not mean they're on PEDs</em>.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44217, "author": "FeRD", "author_id": 36861, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36861", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I'm definitely not going to speculate on whether Cordova or anyone else is genuinely natural, except to say that I don't take <em>anyone</em> at their word on that because (a) it's not really any of my business and (b) they have every reason to lie to me.</p>\n<p>But I will say that genetics plays a <strong>huge</strong> factor, as DeeV noted. More than most people realize, because we have a tendency to focus on the things we <em>can</em> control, and genetics is something we simply can't.</p>\n<p>I remember seeing an interview a bunch of years ago, I think it was possibly with JP Fux, where he was asked what advice he had for &quot;any young fans interested in becoming a pro bodybuilder&quot; or something like that. Here's the answer he gave: &quot;Get into the gym, start training. And if you don't grow immediately, just give it up — it's never going to happen.&quot;</p>\n<p>Most of us hear that answer and we're kind of shocked at first, because it's exactly the opposite of the typical &quot;you can do anything you set your mind to&quot; sort of encouragement we're used to hearing/offering. But it's also brilliantly honest, because what he's saying is that even <em><strong>with</strong></em> dedication, even <em><strong>with</strong></em> hard work, and hell even <em><strong>with</strong></em> all the steroids and HGH you could conceivably pump into your body, if the genetics for easily building muscle mass aren't there, then you'll never be able to catch up to the pros who <em>are</em> genetically disposed (and who are also just as dedicated, work just as hard, and are on all the same PEDs).</p>\n<p>Someone who's not genetically disposed could still train as a bodybuilder, sure, and still get plenty big, but they're just never going to be competitive on an IFBB professional level. Whereas for someone whose genetics <em>are</em> ideally suited (like anyone with a pro card), sometimes it can seem like all they have to do is <em>walk into</em> a gym to start gaining mass.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44213", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/29333/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44229, "author": "Andy", "author_id": 27402, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/27402", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I am guessing that you strained your right QL muscle, and that the tight lat is a mere coincidence.</p>\n<p>You can test this assumption by performing a side plank with your hand on a handrail or other object ca. 1 m high.\nRecord the time. Then switch sides. If one side is a lot weaker than the other; then a strained QL is probably the culprit.</p>\n<p>The fix is to gradually strengthen the weak side by performing side planks and one arm carries.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44344, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>I think you may have strained your QL when you did the “twisting” movement. Our lumbar spine not really designed to twist. Most rotation of your upper body comes from your thoracic spine.</p>\n<p>Your core needs to be strong to reduce the load placed on your spine. Maybe you can work on your core and also glutes.\nGlutes is a major hip stabiliser and most often of not, if they are weak, your spine/lower back muscles are going to get hurt.</p>\n<p>But first, put the weights back in a proper fashion. Why twist when you can turn your entire body </p>\n<ol>\n<li><p>May be referred pain. Get a professional to checked it out. But your lats inserts near where your QL is</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Don’t strengthen your lower back first. The issue is not usually there. Strengthen your core and gluteus muscles. You may want to check your form for cycling, squatting even your pull up.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45612, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Can weak lats lead to lower back injury?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>No. But sometimes, injuries just happen.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>How can strengthen my lower back to prevent this from happening again?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It's not clear whether strengthening your back confers any protection against back pain^{<a href=\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01098-6\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">1</a>}, but it certainly doesn't increase your risk, and is safe and beneficial if you already have back pain^{<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-9430(03)00174-8\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">2</a>}. So yes, you should strengthen your lower back, but it won't make you immune to pain or injury.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44216", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31231/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44221, "author": "ooo", "author_id": 36867, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36867", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You should spend a few weeks doing dumbbell floor press and a light neutral grip incline dumbbell press.</p>\n<p>As well as this your bicep, chest, tricep and forearm are likely tight - the pec stretch where you have your forearm against the wall at head-height will be useful 3 times every day, 60-90 secs per side. Most of <a href=\"https://tinyurl.com/hkyedcjc\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">these</a> are what I mean. And, you should stretch out your lats.</p>\n<p>As well, you should try to train your rear-delts and rhomboids - so that you arm sits in the shoulder socket perfectly. This will allow the back, rear-delt, trap and chest to take a lot of the load you are currently taking with your shoulder. (Supermans and lightweight facepulls are good, but <a href=\"https://tinyurl.com/akpcrnfn\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">the trap-3 raise is the best</a>).</p>\n<p>Instead of warming up your shoulders and back - warm up your core and look for exercises that will work your serratus (slow plate raises in front with a focus on staying upright will work - but check google for the ones that do both core and serratus - they are good).</p>\n<p>I would not bench press for a few weeks (2-3) while you get the floor press and slow neutral grip working painlessly. A few weeks of rehab will ensure several months of progress.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44223, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This exact thing happened to me.... STOP!</p>\n<p>It is very likely a rotator cuff injury and about to make the switch from mild to worse. Stop exercising for a week(yes, all exercises) because your rotator cuff can be agitated by mostly anything other than rehab and machine exercises, even squats can hurt it.</p>\n<p>Do 3-6 weeks of rehab with iso shoulder rotation exercises. After the first couple weeks switch from iso to dynamic and mobility.</p>\n<p>Next, start working on your external rotation and back strength. Stretch your PECS and upper traps, and build your rhomboids, middle and low traps, rear deltoids, thoracic rotation, and put a pause on your anterior body. Slowly get back into benching by doing reverse grip bench presses or dumbbell presses with light weight, and slowly add more each week till your back to usual.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44220", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36837/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44221, "author": "ooo", "author_id": 36867, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36867", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You should spend a few weeks doing dumbbell floor press and a light neutral grip incline dumbbell press.</p>\n<p>As well as this your bicep, chest, tricep and forearm are likely tight - the pec stretch where you have your forearm against the wall at head-height will be useful 3 times every day, 60-90 secs per side. Most of <a href=\"https://tinyurl.com/hkyedcjc\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">these</a> are what I mean. And, you should stretch out your lats.</p>\n<p>As well, you should try to train your rear-delts and rhomboids - so that you arm sits in the shoulder socket perfectly. This will allow the back, rear-delt, trap and chest to take a lot of the load you are currently taking with your shoulder. (Supermans and lightweight facepulls are good, but <a href=\"https://tinyurl.com/akpcrnfn\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">the trap-3 raise is the best</a>).</p>\n<p>Instead of warming up your shoulders and back - warm up your core and look for exercises that will work your serratus (slow plate raises in front with a focus on staying upright will work - but check google for the ones that do both core and serratus - they are good).</p>\n<p>I would not bench press for a few weeks (2-3) while you get the floor press and slow neutral grip working painlessly. A few weeks of rehab will ensure several months of progress.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44223, "author": "Community", "author_id": -1, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/-1", "pm_score": 0, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This exact thing happened to me.... STOP!</p>\n<p>It is very likely a rotator cuff injury and about to make the switch from mild to worse. Stop exercising for a week(yes, all exercises) because your rotator cuff can be agitated by mostly anything other than rehab and machine exercises, even squats can hurt it.</p>\n<p>Do 3-6 weeks of rehab with iso shoulder rotation exercises. After the first couple weeks switch from iso to dynamic and mobility.</p>\n<p>Next, start working on your external rotation and back strength. Stretch your PECS and upper traps, and build your rhomboids, middle and low traps, rear deltoids, thoracic rotation, and put a pause on your anterior body. Slowly get back into benching by doing reverse grip bench presses or dumbbell presses with light weight, and slowly add more each week till your back to usual.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44225", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36868/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44256, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Since you don't specify that the magnesium source must be a whole food, just adding magnesium aspartate, either purchased as a powder or in pill form and ground up and dissolved, would be the easiest way to add magnesium to your muffins.</p>\n<p>But, that said, your question makes several assumptions, any or all of which could be wrong:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your diet may not actually be deficient in any minerals.</li>\n<li>Your cramps may not be caused by a mineral deficiency.</li>\n<li>If you do have a deficiency, there is very likely no reason why you would need to supplement the deficient minerals specifically during your rides (as opposed to at more convenient times).</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Instead of the muffins, I'd suggest that you see a doctor and get bloodwork taken to determine if you are deficient in any minerals, and then only if so, attempt to supplement your intake of those specific minerals, and to whatever degree is recommended by the doctor.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44258, "author": "Dave Newton", "author_id": 2217, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/2217", "pm_score": 2, "selected": true, "text": "<p>(Aggregating my comments.)</p>\n<p>Pumpkin seeds are a great source of Mg (and other things) and great in muffins, especially pumpkin spice muffins (and zucchini bread, and apple sauce muffins, etc.)</p>\n<p>For long-ish rides I personally trend towards electrolyte drinks with Mg; higher bio-availability. That said, I'd make sure there's actually a need for supplementation before going too crazy.</p>\n<p>You mentioned beans-in-muffins, which I wouldn't dismiss out-of-hand. They add fiber, moisture, and protein and, depending on the beans used, turn essentially &quot;invisible&quot;. They're not as high in Mg as pumpkin seeds, of course.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44255", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36896/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44269, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Like most areas of fitness, it's pretty easy to find conflicting advice. That said, I think most would agree that keeping the bar as close as possible to the legs on the way up allows you to lift more weight, but that actually hitting your shins or knees can hurt, and may also be suboptimal due to introducing friction between the bar and your legs. Keeping the bar close to the legs is optimal, because it maximises the proportion of the load that can be shifted from the hips and lower back to the legs. Whereas lifting with the bar away from the legs very quickly puts the entire load only the hips and back.</p>\n<p>In powerlifting, the standard practice (generally required in competition) is to wear long socks in order to avoid drawing blood (and creating a disease transmission risk) during the deadlift. Those who really tend to pull hard into their shins will also often wear strips of athletic tape up the shins, underneath their socks.</p>\n<p>Practically, I'd usually advise that people deadlift in tights, pants, or long socks, or if they find that they get too hot with their legs covered, try to start the lift with their shins in contact with the bar, but then aim to maintain only slight contact on the way up. Maintaining light contact with the bar should be achieved by straightening your legs only just fast enough to keep them out of the way of the bar, not by allowing the bar to swing forwards.</p>\n<p>As for the individual sources you reference:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Everything in the Brentwood Barbell video seems like good advice.</li>\n<li>The second video you mentioned is missing its link.</li>\n<li>Pheasyque makes the assumption that when the spine flexes, the hips and knees remain in the same position but the shoulders (and hence the bar) move backwards. This is extremely unlikely. It's not hard to find videos of people letting their spine flex as they begin the deadlift, and pretty much whenever this happens, it's a matter of the knees straightening and hips rising, while the shoulders stay in the same position. So in that case the shins are actually getting further away from the bar.</li>\n<li>The Women Who Lift Weights video just seems wrong from start to end. Long-legged people don't deadlift with vertical shins and short-legged people don't have a tendency to start with their knees further in front of the bar. When he says this, you can actually see that he pushes the bar forward in order to get his knees forward, which reveals the real cause of having the knees too far forward in the deadlift - starting with the bar too far forward. Then we he demonstrates &quot;getting a little bit back from the bar&quot;, he actually pulls the bar back over the mid-foot, closer to his standing shin position.</li>\n<li>The Athlean-X video actually says that the bar should contact the shins the whole way up. From <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCDzSR6bW10&amp;t=12m08s\" rel=\"noreferrer\">12:08</a>: &quot;We want to make sure that it's dragging up those shins every inch of the way. Alright? Staying in contact.&quot;</li>\n</ul>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45399, "author": "David", "author_id": 38549, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/38549", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>In sumo your shoulders need to be above and not in front of the bar like conventional. The bar can be in light contact with the shins to insure a vertical bar path as in not moving away from your body. The problem with 1 inch away from the shins is the barbell can migrate away from you which taxes your lower back. Filmed from the side, the arms look straighter if the bar is 0.5 to an inch away from the shins vs against the shin. It comes down to personal preference and whatever allows a straight bar path.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 45773, "author": "Padraig", "author_id": 39168, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/39168", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>That image is 100% bs. I think they just thought it would be nice if doing it the &quot;correct&quot; way led to the barbell not touching the shins. The reality is the closer the barbell is to you going up (your shins), the less reaching forward you have to do and the better your form will be. How do they explain trap bars if their idea is the barbell has to be in front of you away from the shins? Stupid.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44263", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44267, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>&quot;Don't internally rotate the shoulder during these exercises&quot; is not the same as &quot;never internally rotate your shoulder&quot;. There are clear uses for internal rotation of the shoulder in sport and life: punching, swimming, throwing, reaching, and many more.</p>\n<p>The misunderstanding here may be that internal rotation is a common mistake that people naturally make in many exercises, and so it comes up frequently as something to specifically avoid. For instance internally rotation in a pull-up is often a mistaken attempt to &quot;tricep pushdown&quot; oneself up, rather than use the (exhausted) back muscles to pull.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44268, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Shoulders internal rotation is seen in many exercises (bench press, pull ups, barbell row etc) as the devil, whilst external rotation is suggested without limits.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It should be noted that this isn't because internal rotation is uniquely causative of shoulder impingement. It's just that reaching the limits of shoulder rotation during weight training is much more common in the internal rotation direction than in external. Impingement associated with external rotation does also occur, but it is mainly seen in throwing athletes, primarily baseball pitchers, rather than lifters.</p>\n<p>Regarding the example shown, while Pheasyque's explanations are usually very good, this one is definitely wrong. You absolutely cannot go into internal shoulder rotation at the top of a chin-up. The top of a chin-up involves shoulder extension (upper arms by the sides), elbow flexion (elbows bent), and shoulder external rotation. Partially internally rotating your shoulders, while maintaining shoulder extension and elbow flexion, would be like putting your hands on your hips, and fully internally rotating your shoulder would be like putting your hands behind your back and trying to touch the bottoms of your shoulder blades. You absolutely cannot reach this position, or anything even close to it, during a chin-up.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Moreover, if shoulders internal rotation is so bad, why has the nature given us the opportunity to internally rotate our shoulders?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Your intuition, that if it were inherently injurious then we wouldn't be able to do it, is most likely correct. The risks of internal rotation are probably overstated and poorly understood. (A recent study^{<a href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76704-z\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">1</a>} even demonstrated that a core assumption in shoulder impingement diagnosis, that it is caused by inadequate subacromial space for the supraspinatus tendon, was false.) It seems likely that internal rotation under load is not inherently injurious, but is possibly just a situation in which chronic overuse injuries can develop.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44266", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44267, "author": "Dave Liepmann", "author_id": 1771, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/1771", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>&quot;Don't internally rotate the shoulder during these exercises&quot; is not the same as &quot;never internally rotate your shoulder&quot;. There are clear uses for internal rotation of the shoulder in sport and life: punching, swimming, throwing, reaching, and many more.</p>\n<p>The misunderstanding here may be that internal rotation is a common mistake that people naturally make in many exercises, and so it comes up frequently as something to specifically avoid. For instance internally rotation in a pull-up is often a mistaken attempt to &quot;tricep pushdown&quot; oneself up, rather than use the (exhausted) back muscles to pull.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44268, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>Shoulders internal rotation is seen in many exercises (bench press, pull ups, barbell row etc) as the devil, whilst external rotation is suggested without limits.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>It should be noted that this isn't because internal rotation is uniquely causative of shoulder impingement. It's just that reaching the limits of shoulder rotation during weight training is much more common in the internal rotation direction than in external. Impingement associated with external rotation does also occur, but it is mainly seen in throwing athletes, primarily baseball pitchers, rather than lifters.</p>\n<p>Regarding the example shown, while Pheasyque's explanations are usually very good, this one is definitely wrong. You absolutely cannot go into internal shoulder rotation at the top of a chin-up. The top of a chin-up involves shoulder extension (upper arms by the sides), elbow flexion (elbows bent), and shoulder external rotation. Partially internally rotating your shoulders, while maintaining shoulder extension and elbow flexion, would be like putting your hands on your hips, and fully internally rotating your shoulder would be like putting your hands behind your back and trying to touch the bottoms of your shoulder blades. You absolutely cannot reach this position, or anything even close to it, during a chin-up.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Moreover, if shoulders internal rotation is so bad, why has the nature given us the opportunity to internally rotate our shoulders?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Your intuition, that if it were inherently injurious then we wouldn't be able to do it, is most likely correct. The risks of internal rotation are probably overstated and poorly understood. (A recent study^{<a href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76704-z\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">1</a>} even demonstrated that a core assumption in shoulder impingement diagnosis, that it is caused by inadequate subacromial space for the supraspinatus tendon, was false.) It seems likely that internal rotation under load is not inherently injurious, but is possibly just a situation in which chronic overuse injuries can develop.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44277", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44283, "author": "MTA", "author_id": 36937, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36937", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>As others have pointed out, accidentally skating into shallow water is not likely to result in drowning, but if you skate near deep water or if your fear of skating into water and drowning will interfere with your enjoyment of life, you can wear an automatic inflatable PFD (personal flotation device).</p>\n<p>This is a device that looks like a harness that does not interfere with movement. (There are also versions that look like a fanny pack). It contains a CO2 cartridge and a water-sensitive trigger. If a person wearing the device falls into water, it instantly inflates and becomes a life jacket that will support you in deep water for as long as it takes to reach safety, even with heavy skates on your feet. These are often worn by people who work near deep water but who can not wear traditional life jackets due to the nature of their work.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44284, "author": "MonkeyZeus", "author_id": 28228, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/28228", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<blockquote>\n<p>I'm wondering if you'll immediately be weighed down and sink... or will you be able to float?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Based on this statement I am going to assume you don't know how to swim.</p>\n<p>Sink or float is completely dependent on your body's buoyancy and skates don't weigh enough to make a critical difference.</p>\n<p>You should learn how to swim before finding yourself in this situation or any situation where you unexpectedly find yourself in a body of water.</p>\n<p>Once you learn how to swim then you will realize it's mostly a non-issue. You will feel peril but it's easily survivable as long as you didn't hurt yourself or hit your head on something when falling into the water.</p>\n<p>Last but not least, falling into a turbulent ocean is much different than falling into a lake. It would be much more dire falling into an ocean.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44286, "author": "Nobody", "author_id": 26156, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/26156", "pm_score": 5, "selected": true, "text": "<p>No, the skates won't be a problem, <strong>if</strong> you can swim.</p>\n<p>The most important thing in such a situation is not to panic. Remember that you can swim, and swim well.</p>\n<p>If you can't swim well, then stay away from deep water no matter whether wearing skates or not. Even with a certified inflatable personal flotation device PFD I would not recommend going near deep open water if you can't swim well. If you have an expensive automatic inflatable PFD, the automatic trigger could fail and if you have the normal manual version then in every case you need to stay calm enough to pull the trigger and not swallow too much water in the time it takes for the PFD to activate. It takes several seconds until an inflatable PFD is inflated and takes you up to the surface. Plus the fanny-pack like inflatable PFDs, which is probably what you are going to end up with if you want it for roller blading, they still need to be put on over your head after they inflate. At first they are only attached to your hips and you can perfectly well panic and drown with your head 30cm beneath the surface.</p>\n<p>And just to be very clear: Swimming well means you can do at least 300m in open water and you can do this at least in the breast stroke style and the front crawl style (head above water if need be) and <em>you actually practiced this within the last year</em>.</p>\n<p>If you want to swim fast, of course the skates would be a problem. But you just want to get to land and no one is timing whether it takes you 30s or 2 minutes.</p>\n<p>Your hands alone are completely sufficient to keep you afloat and slowly propel you forward. Crawl leg stroke probably works ok with skates, I imagine breast leg strokes would not work well, but still work better than not moving the legs, or butterfly kicks should work pretty much normally (but you wouldn't be asking this question if this swimming style was in your repertoire, I suspect).</p>\n<p>Don't try to take off the skates, especially if you aren't very comfortable diving and swimming (this means you can do 300m as described above, but could not do several km). Trying to reach down might make your head go below water, which might then cause some breathing problem which in turns causes panic and then later drowning.</p>\n<p>(certified professional lifeguard here, not much work experience, but I passed the tests just fine)</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44287, "author": "Jan Willem", "author_id": 36939, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36939", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>This question made me curious, so I looked it up. Turns out someone (not me) tried this: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy7RqW6TR3k\" rel=\"noreferrer\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy7RqW6TR3k</a></p>\n<p>My first guess was that the weight would not really be a factor, I was just wondering if the skates would limit you in your movement to stay afloat. From this footage I would say it looks possible. I can imagine the extra surface area of the wheels and its framework would act as if they are diving fins, but vertically. You could use that in a sideways movement to propel yourself</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44280", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/29105/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44323, "author": "Bearfolk", "author_id": 36980, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36980", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Fixed repetitions, no rest.\nWhich means you can only progress by making the repetitions slower or by increasing weight.</p>\n<p>If any kind of progressive overload is happening you will build muscle regardless of the method used.\nAs for this method particularly, there are some studies suggesting supersets in with antagonistic muscles can help you increase strength by forcing more blood and nutrients in the limb.</p>\n<p>Aka you will bench more weight if your arms are already pumped with nutritious blood from the lat pull downs.</p>\n<p>The pump itself is usually enough to guarantee minimal amounts of muscle growth, a pump by itself with no progressive overload still builds muscle but way slower.\nAs for significant hypertrophy, just make sure to overload and you will grow.</p>\n<p>I think it's worthless citing studies here because, I've seen some interviews with test subjects and scientists saying that people in fitness studies usually train way harder and above what people normally do.</p>\n<p>So any study proving that X thing can build muscle, take it with a grain of salt because certainly the people in the studies did not train as easy as the average gym goer does, they tend to take everything to the exteme just to be sure</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44334, "author": "brawndo", "author_id": 37003, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/37003", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>Generally, any lifting program with progressive overload will produce hypertrophy in some manner.</p>\n<p>It is impossible to state whether or not this (or any exercise) will produce hypertrophy without effort and progression details.</p>\n<p>I recommend you read the &quot;Types Of Muscle Hypertrophy&quot; and &quot;Training Variables And Muscle Hypertrophy&quot; of the linked article below, from which I am including excerpts, emphasis mine.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2010/10000/the_mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy_and_their.40.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2010/10000/the_mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy_and_their.40.aspx</a></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The majority of exercise-induced hypertrophy subsequent to traditional resistance training programs results from an increase of <strong>sarcomeres <em>and</em> myofibrils added in parallel</strong> (135,179). When skeletal muscle is subjected to an <strong>overload stimulus</strong>, it causes perturbations in myofibers and the related extracellular matrix. This sets off a chain of myogenic events that ultimately leads to an increase in the size and amounts of the myofibrillar contractile proteins actin and myosin, and the total number of sarcomeres in parallel. This, in turn, augments the diameter of individual fibers and thereby results in an <strong>increase in muscle cross-sectional area</strong> (182).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The use of high repetitions has generally proven to be inferior to moderate and lower repetition ranges in eliciting increases in muscle hypertrophy (24,71). In the absence of artificially induced ischemia (i.e., occlusion training), a load less than approximately 65% of 1RM is not considered sufficient to promote substantial hypertrophy (115).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Whether low reps or moderate reps evoke a greater hypertrophic response has been a matter of debate, and both produce significant gains in muscle growth (24) However, <strong>there is a prevailing belief that a moderate range of approximately 6-12 reps optimizes the hypertrophic response</strong> (86,89,205).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Higher-volume, multiple-set protocols have consistently proven superior over single set protocols with respect to increased muscle hypertrophy (97,197).</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>As to your specific question, &quot;Will this approach yield significant strength and size gains?&quot;, <strong>the answer is yes</strong>. It will with correct effort/intensity (&gt;65% 1RM) and progressive overload. It may not be the <em>optimal</em> structure, but it will increase size and strength.</p>\n<p>Also worth noting that research on the mechanisms and effects of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy has not reached any kind of conclusive consensus: <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7372125/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7372125/</a></p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44295", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/13531/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44308, "author": "Eric Warburton", "author_id": 31261, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/31261", "pm_score": 3, "selected": true, "text": "<p>This is a great observation that I don't see talked about enough.</p>\n<p><strong>For everyone who isn't a powerlifter, your scapula should move during the bench.</strong></p>\n<p>The main reason pinning the shoulder blades back became a thing is because it allows powerlifters to move more weight. Everything a powerlifter does is to simply get the heaviest weight from point A to point B by increasing leverages and decreasing the range of motion. Pinning your shoulder blades back with an arch in your back will decrease the range of motion significantly increasing the weight they can lift. This technique can cause an inhibition of the serratus anterior, which will often lead to issues such as shoulder pain and impingement down the road. If you are a powerlifter and want shoulder longevity, you need to use other movements that focus the serratus anterior.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44350, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Great seeing this discussion! I have also recently learned about this. We don’t need no extreme shoulder blade retractions.</p>\n<p>Common cue of depressing the scapula may also lead to neck pain as it lengthens the upper traps and shorten the levator scap.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44301", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44304, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>A typical serve of protein powder is 30g, or around 1/4 cup. Weight gainers have larger serving sizes, because they need to fit significant amounts of both protein and carbohydrates into a serving. According to the <a href=\"https://www.gnc.com/mass-gainers/GNCProPerformanceWeightGainer.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">GNC website</a>, a serve of their Pro Performance Weight Gainer is 182g, which would be about 3/4 cup.</p>\n<p>So yes, a serving of this product would be a very large volume of powder, if you were to compare it to typical servings of sugar, instant coffee, etc. But it's 700 kcal per serving, so they're effectively fitting a whole large meal into a single serving, and a whole meal simply cannot fit into a teaspoon.</p>\n<p>If you're unsure about the serving size, or the imprecise instructions to use &quot;heaped&quot; spoonfuls, then using a kitchen scale to weigh the serving will guarantee that you are using the correct amount.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44310, "author": "Dave Newton", "author_id": 2217, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/2217", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Yes, you've been doing it wrong ;)</p>\n<p>Note that the serving information (for one of the Pro weight gainers) looks like the following:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qGFf8.png\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qGFf8.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>182g is <strong>0.4 lbs per serving .</strong></p>\n<p>Weight gainers work by throwing calories at you like the pool at the bottom of a water park log ride.</p>\n<p>The nutrition facts and serving size info are there to tell you both how much is considered a serving size, and what is contained in that serving size.</p>\n<p>I personally cannot drink almost any weight gainer at its recommended levels. On the rare occasions I've used them I've done a half-serving (or less) twice a day (or more). Partially because I generally don't need <em>that</em> many extra calories, but also because they're gross.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44303", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36968/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44304, "author": "David Scarlett", "author_id": 25681, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/25681", "pm_score": 4, "selected": true, "text": "<p>A typical serve of protein powder is 30g, or around 1/4 cup. Weight gainers have larger serving sizes, because they need to fit significant amounts of both protein and carbohydrates into a serving. According to the <a href=\"https://www.gnc.com/mass-gainers/GNCProPerformanceWeightGainer.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">GNC website</a>, a serve of their Pro Performance Weight Gainer is 182g, which would be about 3/4 cup.</p>\n<p>So yes, a serving of this product would be a very large volume of powder, if you were to compare it to typical servings of sugar, instant coffee, etc. But it's 700 kcal per serving, so they're effectively fitting a whole large meal into a single serving, and a whole meal simply cannot fit into a teaspoon.</p>\n<p>If you're unsure about the serving size, or the imprecise instructions to use &quot;heaped&quot; spoonfuls, then using a kitchen scale to weigh the serving will guarantee that you are using the correct amount.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44310, "author": "Dave Newton", "author_id": 2217, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/2217", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Yes, you've been doing it wrong ;)</p>\n<p>Note that the serving information (for one of the Pro weight gainers) looks like the following:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qGFf8.png\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qGFf8.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\" /></a></p>\n<p>182g is <strong>0.4 lbs per serving .</strong></p>\n<p>Weight gainers work by throwing calories at you like the pool at the bottom of a water park log ride.</p>\n<p>The nutrition facts and serving size info are there to tell you both how much is considered a serving size, and what is contained in that serving size.</p>\n<p>I personally cannot drink almost any weight gainer at its recommended levels. On the rare occasions I've used them I've done a half-serving (or less) twice a day (or more). Partially because I generally don't need <em>that</em> many extra calories, but also because they're gross.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44306", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36860/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44321, "author": "Bearfolk", "author_id": 36980, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36980", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Jeremy Either (the guy in the pictures) isn't the most knowleable and trustworthy when it comes to human anatomy, but to his excuse when people talk about the rotator cuff they only mention it in two distinct occasions:</p>\n<p>Strenghtening the rotator cuff = only external rotators exist</p>\n<p>Injured rotator cuff = only internal rotators are the cause</p>\n<p>It's a common trope of the fitness industry to view internal rotators as the devil's muscles that should never be trained or else your shoulders explode and fly out of the orbit.</p>\n<p>So no, this movement doesn't train the internal rotation part of the rotator cuff in any way. If you want to train your internal rotators google armwrestling training.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44349, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Your rotator cuffs stabilises your head of humerus in the glenoid cavity. When doing that exercise, all the RCs got to work to make sure the head of humerus is centred in the socket. There needs to be a balance in the force coming from all the RCs.</p>\n<p>I’ll list the muscles used in concentric phase of movement:</p>\n<p>Step 1-2: Scapula retractors\nStep 3: External rotators\nStep 4: Scapula upward rotators</p>\n<p>The other muscles will need to work eccentrically or isometrically to maintain integrity of the joint. If they don’t work, your arms will fall off (exaggeration).</p>\n<p>Retract your shoulder blades slightly, I’m assuming you are starting from a scapula protracted position. Retract to bring it back to neutral. Don’t have to retract the shit out of it as so commonly advocated by gym bros. Reason being, you need to raise your arm. Your scapula needs to rotate upwards to facilitate that, together with your glenohumeral joint. So “locking” it in place is not desirable.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44320", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36846/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44321, "author": "Bearfolk", "author_id": 36980, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36980", "pm_score": 2, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Jeremy Either (the guy in the pictures) isn't the most knowleable and trustworthy when it comes to human anatomy, but to his excuse when people talk about the rotator cuff they only mention it in two distinct occasions:</p>\n<p>Strenghtening the rotator cuff = only external rotators exist</p>\n<p>Injured rotator cuff = only internal rotators are the cause</p>\n<p>It's a common trope of the fitness industry to view internal rotators as the devil's muscles that should never be trained or else your shoulders explode and fly out of the orbit.</p>\n<p>So no, this movement doesn't train the internal rotation part of the rotator cuff in any way. If you want to train your internal rotators google armwrestling training.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44349, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Your rotator cuffs stabilises your head of humerus in the glenoid cavity. When doing that exercise, all the RCs got to work to make sure the head of humerus is centred in the socket. There needs to be a balance in the force coming from all the RCs.</p>\n<p>I’ll list the muscles used in concentric phase of movement:</p>\n<p>Step 1-2: Scapula retractors\nStep 3: External rotators\nStep 4: Scapula upward rotators</p>\n<p>The other muscles will need to work eccentrically or isometrically to maintain integrity of the joint. If they don’t work, your arms will fall off (exaggeration).</p>\n<p>Retract your shoulder blades slightly, I’m assuming you are starting from a scapula protracted position. Retract to bring it back to neutral. Don’t have to retract the shit out of it as so commonly advocated by gym bros. Reason being, you need to raise your arm. Your scapula needs to rotate upwards to facilitate that, together with your glenohumeral joint. So “locking” it in place is not desirable.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44322", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/34413/" ]

[ { "answer_id": 44326, "author": "JenRun", "author_id": 36848, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36848", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>It's not a matter if you're already flexible, it's about gaining flexibility and preventing injury in your day to day activities. This reminds me, I should practice yoga more often. Sounds like you should too. :) Best of luck in your yoga journey.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44327, "author": "Bearfolk", "author_id": 36980, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36980", "pm_score": -1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Most beginner yoga poses require no flexibility, but only mobility.\nLack of mobility is usually related to muscle weakness, injuries or deformities.</p>\n<p>Check a doctor to figure which one is causing you problems.</p>\n<p>Flexibility is another question and really debated.</p>\n<p>Some believe you are either born flexible or have to basically train for decades to achieve minimal amounts of flexibility.</p>\n<p>Some people believe flexibility is useless outside of a circuss/dancing/bed .</p>\n<p>Some people believe being flexible actually makes you weaker and some say it makes you stronger.</p>\n<p>Some people believe being flexible makes you less prone to inuries, some people say flexibility training causes way to many injuries and is not worth it.</p>\n<p>As of now, they are all pretty much just beliefs, fitness's schrodinger cat.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44328, "author": "Alec", "author_id": 8828, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/8828", "pm_score": 3, "selected": false, "text": "<p>Yes, not only <em>can</em> you do yoga. I would say you <em>should</em> do yoga.</p>\n<p>Sure, yoga has a reputation of being performed by people who are already very flexible, but yoga and other types of stretching is how you get there.</p>\n<p>For any position that you can't do because you're too inflexible, or are suffering from tight muscles, there's always a more moderate position you can do instead. Take, for instance, the position where you just bend over with straight legs and touch the floor with your hands. Impossible, right? But the act of trying will stretch the muscles that <em>need</em> to stretch in order to get there. So if your hamstrings are on fire by the time your hands are down to your knees, then there you go. That's your current level for that particular position, and you're getting all the benefits of it.</p>\n<p>One of the things I do, and recommend, is finding some &quot;follow-along beginner yoga/stretching&quot; videos on YouTube, putting them on your phone or TV, and get on the floor. If you're anything like me, then you're not going to look as elegant as the instructor, but do it 3-5 times a week for 5-15 minutes each time, and you'll soon see progress.</p>\n<p>Try switching it up too. Maybe don't do the same video every time for a whole month, but keep a rotation going. Of course come back to the ones you like.</p>\n" }, { "answer_id": 44347, "author": "Jun", "author_id": 32901, "author_profile": "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/32901", "pm_score": 1, "selected": false, "text": "<p>You should first determine where that “tightness” is coming from and whether it is due to soft tissues or your bones?\nMuscle tightness, yes, you can work around that by stretching.\nBut if it’s a structural issue, you may need to get that resolved first.\nIf possible, you can try those positions but at a reduced range. Ease your body into it.</p>\n" } ]

[ "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/44325", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com", "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/users/36996/" ]