Random Fitness Questions

Reps4jesus

silverharp wrote: »

the question part is, if I give it say 7 or 8 weeks this way, would a decent strategy be to start edging the feet down the plate, im more interested to see if I can get through the obstacle as opposed to what the muscle focus is, or is there some mobility exercise that would help with the heels rising?

I think heels rising in any form of squat is usually to do with ankle flexibility mainly. There are loads of videos available for work on's for that.

Brian?

Reps4jesus wrote: »

I think heels rising in any form of squat is usually to do with ankle flexibility mainly. There are loads of videos available for work on's for that.

Ankle and hip mobility I would say. Mobility drills needed for posterior chain and hips.

IMO putting plates under the heels papers over cracks that should be addressed with mobility work.

I remember the old days Hanley wouldn't let me barbell squat for months, I was doing daily ankle drills til I was allowed
Do some mobility screening, there's videos on YouTube on how to do them and see how you get on

Kamu

bluewolf wrote: »

I remember the old days Hanley wouldn't let me squat for months, I was doing daily ankle drills til I was allowed
Do some mobility screening, there's videos on YouTube on how to do them and see how you get on

This, I even bought the weightlifting shoes with a raised heel and my left heel still continued to raise off the ground.

My ankles/calves are extremely tight. My hips are loosey goosey ( I can easily sit crossed leg).

Mobility work is some of the most rewarding yet frustrating. It is slow to see progress, very slow to the extent you might even believe there is no progress.

However, if you keep at it, it improves a wide range of activities and recovery.

Black Sheep

Sounds like there is a mobility issue here but whatever fix you introduce, keep in mind the purpose of the hack squat machine.

This is the machine equivalent of doing high bar squats or front squats. What they all have in common is a focus on the quads that goes hand-in-hand with needing to 'break' at the knees. It is always going to be marginally more challenging on the knees to an extent.

If the OP is doing what I think he is with his foot placement, putting them pretty far out in front, then TBH it may defeat the purpose of the hack squat machine, if becomes a kind of box squat type movement that ends up loading the hamstrings as much or more than the quads. It won't do any harm... But if someone programmed the hack squat for you with a view to it being for your quads, then worth bearing in mind...

In fairness, OP does mention bringing the foot placement in gradually. I think that's worth a shot.

Dtp1979

#toesquats

silverharp

Black Sheep wrote: »

Sounds like there is a mobility issue here but whatever fix you introduce, keep in mind the purpose of the hack squat machine.

This is the machine equivalent of doing high bar squats or front squats. What they all have in common is a focus on the quads that goes hand-in-hand with needing to 'break' at the knees. It is always going to be marginally more challenging on the knees to an extent.

If the OP is doing what I think he is with his foot placement, putting them pretty far out in front, then TBH it may defeat the purpose of the hack squat machine, if becomes a kind of box squat type movement that ends up loading the hamstrings as much or more than the quads. It won't do any harm... But if someone programmed the hack squat for you with a view to it being for your quads, then worth bearing in mind...

In fairness, OP does mention bringing the foot placement in gradually. I think that's worth a shot.

Ive seen people raise their heels doing normal back squats but never had that issue, I don't find the front squat all that comfortable not knees though, I do one front squat warmup set of 10 as an opening set before switching to back when doing squats.
Im not in a rush with this one, obviously still catching up for the lost 6 weeks and I hadn't done the hack squat since before the first lockdown. I suspect the bands are helping a lot so should be able to start moving the feet down soon

Alf Veedersane

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Guys, I've lost over 5kg since start of lockdown from starting weight off 74kg. Pretty much all of it would be muscle mass.

I was considering building a weight cage but never got around to it.
I've got access to a York multi gym but it is not the same obviously.

What can I do to stop the wastage and get back on track?

Eat more. Eat more protein. Use whatever you can do generate resistance.

What, if any, equipment do you have? Nothing you have will be the same as having access to a gym but you can use what you have to minimise muscle loss.

I had a 25kg sandbag for first lockdown and a set of resistance bands. Strength didn't fall off a cliff.

Alf Veedersane

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Got this. The bar for chest press etc is awful as it didn't glide up and down the guides freely.

Doing about 4 sets of 12 reps for all exercises listed.

4x12 might be right or might be pointless, depending on the level of exertion.

Pack heavy things around the house into a backpack and do single leg work. Involve tempos and pauses. Use the bag to do hip hinge exercises.

There are a million different ways to get some work done with little equipment. You can make hard exercises with light weights by manipulating other variables.

Get some bands as well. They will never not be useful.

new2tri19

There's lots of people posting these CrossFit style workouts , deadlift , jumping over boxes , press ups , doing rounds every minute on minute. A lad told me I should be doing this instead of just lifting weights.
I'm googling it and can't find anything definite .

For me I like my cardio to be my cardio which is swim bike and run .
My weights aren't a sweatfest but a tough muscular workout that I'm slightly sore after.
Should I add some of these CrossFit style workouts , I fear injury as it looks rushed.

Any opinion on what's the best weekly schedule if your deaigning a plan for someone looking to do triathlon and looking for general health well-being and some hypertrophy.? Would be what I'm currently doing 4 days cardio (swim bike run ) 3 days lifting or
4 days cardio - 3 days doing 20-30 min workouts of the day ? Or a combination of the two

Thanks

Alf Veedersane

new2tri19 wrote: »

There's lots of people posting these CrossFit style workouts , deadlift , jumping over boxes , press ups , doing rounds every minute on minute. A lad told me I should be doing this instead of just lifting weights.
I'm googling it and can't find anything definite .

For me I like my cardio to be my cardio which is swim bike and run .
My weights aren't a sweatfest but a tough muscular workout that I'm slightly sore after.
Should I add some of these CrossFit style workouts , I fear injury as it looks rushed.

Any opinion on what's the best weekly schedule if your deaigning a plan for someone looking to do triathlon and looking for general health well-being and some hypertrophy.? Would be what I'm currently doing 4 days cardio (swim bike run ) 3 days lifting or
4 days cardio - 3 days doing 20-30 min workouts of the day ? Or a combination of the two

Thanks

Your main focus is the triathlon so your training is primarily geared towards that. Fundamentally, the resistance training at this point in time, if you want it to support your triathlon training, is to be stronger so that you can perform better at the triathlon and also mitigate against injuries.

I don't know what the Crossfit style training outlined would do for you any more than normal resistance training.

Brian?

new2tri19 wrote: »

There's lots of people posting these CrossFit style workouts , deadlift , jumping over boxes , press ups , doing rounds every minute on minute. A lad told me I should be doing this instead of just lifting weights.
I'm googling it and can't find anything definite .

For me I like my cardio to be my cardio which is swim bike and run .
My weights aren't a sweatfest but a tough muscular workout that I'm slightly sore after.
Should I add some of these CrossFit style workouts , I fear injury as it looks rushed.

Any opinion on what's the best weekly schedule if your deaigning a plan for someone looking to do triathlon and looking for general health well-being and some hypertrophy.? Would be what I'm currently doing 4 days cardio (swim bike run ) 3 days lifting or
4 days cardio - 3 days doing 20-30 min workouts of the day ? Or a combination of the two

Thanks

Your tri training is swim, cycle and run. Any lifting you so should be tailored towards prehab to prevent injuries.

It depends on where you are in your training cycle, how close you are to tapering off before an every on how much strength training you do. It shouldn't impact your actual tri training though, that's your priority.

IMO you should do some strength training and your tri training. Forget about things like Crossfit, it'll impact your tri training and it's not prehab to prevent injury. In fact it's an injury risk.

Brian?

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Your main focus is the triathlon so your training is primarily geared towards that. Fundamentally, the resistance training at this point in time, if you want it to support your triathlon training, is to be stronger so that you can perform better at the triathlon and also mitigate against injuries.

I don't know what the Crossfit style training outlined would do for you any more than normal resistance training.

Great way to injure yourself and miss a tri.

Cill94

CrossFit workouts gives an endurance athlete the worst of both worlds. Not heavy enough to provide long term strength increases, and not specific enough to your sport to improve your fitness for running, swimming, or cycling. All the while, you're massively fatiguing yourself from the high intensity nature of the workouts.

The only people who need to be doing it are recreational exercisers that simply enjoy CrossFit, or people who want to compete in it. So I'd strongly recommend avoiding your friend's advice to do CrossFit as training for triathlon.

new2tri19

Thanks guys , I don't see the point in it myself I was thinking maybe it could be to do with muscle stamina . I had a look online lots of contradictory advice on whether CrossFit is good for you or not. I take a while to set up my squat bench and deadlift I can't imagine rushing out sets of deadlifts or them kippling pull ups they do just look so unhealthy.

Coybig_

new2tri19 wrote: »

I had a look online lots of contradictory advice on whether CrossFit is good for you or not.

It's not.

Brian?

new2tri19 wrote: »

Thanks guys , I don't see the point in it myself I was thinking maybe it could be to do with muscle stamina . I had a look online lots of contradictory advice on whether CrossFit is good for you or not. I take a while to set up my squat bench and deadlift I can't imagine rushing out sets of deadlifts or them kippling pull ups they do just look so unhealthy.

Crossfit is great for producing crossfit competitors. It's also great for people who don't do any other training or have any other goals.

It won't make you as strong as strength training. It won't get as fit for your sport as sport specific training.

I don't know what you mean by "muscle stamina"?

new2tri19

Brian? wrote: »

Crossfit is great for producing crossfit competitors. It's also great for people who don't do any other training or have any other goals.

It won't make you as strong as strength training. It won't get as fit for your sport as sport specific training.

I don't know what you mean by "muscle stamina"?

I don't know what I mean either , i see the rise in popularity in CrossFit and wonder is it an area I'm neglecting. At least 2 people have mentioned to me that it's great for endurance athletes cause it's cardio and weights . I would rather keep them separate.

Yous are just confirming my belief that CrossFit is bad, the problem is when you start bulking up a bit from been a noticeably underweight triathlete people notice and everyone's an expert .

I did 3 sets of 10 deadlifts last night at 100kg and I was wrecked after it breathing hard . Followed it with some Bulgarian split squats with back leg raised on bench and just 20kg on barbell as a landmine and it also had me breathing really hard and left me tender all over today . I think I'll stick with what I'm at .thanks guys

Alf Veedersane

new2tri19 wrote: »

I don't know what I mean either , i see the rise in popularity in CrossFit and wonder is it an area I'm neglecting. At least 2 people have mentioned to me that it's great for endurance athletes cause it's cardio and weights . I would rather keep them separate.

Yous are just confirming my belief that CrossFit is bad, the problem is when you start bulking up a bit from been a noticeably underweight triathlete people notice and everyone's an expert .

I did 3 sets of 10 deadlifts last night at 100kg and I was wrecked after it breathing hard . Followed it with some Bulgarian split squats with back leg raised on bench and just 20kg on barbell as a landmine and it also had me breathing really hard and left me tender all over today . I think I'll stick with what I'm at .thanks guys

You don't need to combine cardio and weights. It just increases your risk of injury. You can do conditioning with weights if need be but ultimately your priority is triathlon and your training in the S/B/R is what will build your CV fitness.

Keep it simple

Brian?

new2tri19 wrote: »

I don't know what I mean either , i see the rise in popularity in CrossFit and wonder is it an area I'm neglecting. At least 2 people have mentioned to me that it's great for endurance athletes cause it's cardio and weights . I would rather keep them separate.

Yous are just confirming my belief that CrossFit is bad, the problem is when you start bulking up a bit from been a noticeably underweight triathlete people notice and everyone's an expert .

I did 3 sets of 10 deadlifts last night at 100kg and I was wrecked after it breathing hard . Followed it with some Bulgarian split squats with back leg raised on bench and just 20kg on barbell as a landmine and it also had me breathing really hard and left me tender all over today . I think I'll stick with what I'm at .thanks guys

Don't get me wrong. Crossfit isn't bad per se, it's just not going to make you a better triathlete.

new2tri19

Apologies don't want to overdo my questions privileges .just a quick one I'm pretty happy with my program now I just want to make sure I'm not neglecting any areas. Also ive heard that if you run the same program your body will stop making adaptations so how often should you change it is that bro science ?

Ignoring cardio I do a 4 day program, training 3 days a week on average .

Day 1
T1 squat 5 sets of 3
T2 bench 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - Bulgarian split squat 3 sets of 10 each leg .
Lat pulldown 3 sets of 15 .
Weighted barbell step ups 3 sets of 10 each leg.
Deficit push ups 3 sets of 15.

Day 2
T1 bench 5 sets of 3 or 6 sets of 2
T2 deadlift 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - incline bench press 3 sets of 10.
Barbell row 3 sets of 10
Pull ups 3 sets of 6
Weighted dips 3 sets of 8 with 10kg plate

Day 3
T1 deadlift 5 sets of 3
T2 ohp 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - barbell row 3 sets of 10
Lat pull down 3 sets to 15
Incline bench 3 sets of 10
Landmine shoulder press 3 sets of 10
I finish with abs supersetting ankle taps and weighted sit ups 45 seconds each , 3 sets .

Day 4
T1 ohp 5x3 or 6x2 or 10x1
T2 squat 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - incline bench 3 X10
Weighted step ups 3 X10 each leg
Standing calf raises with barbell 3 x15
Barbell shrugs 3 X 10

Is there anything glaringly obvious im missing before I start into another 3-4 months of this ? I had a rest - reset over the Christmas so planning to run this which is very similar to what I have been running already for next 12-16 weeks barring advice.
Thanks

Coybig_

I would personally group things toward complimentary muscle groups and movements, and I would not recommend 2 compounds in one day.

In theory you have everything you need, its just the layout and grouping that I personally do not like.

new2tri19

Coybig_ wrote: »

I would personally group things toward complimentary muscle groups and movements, and I would not recommend 2 compounds in one day.

In theory you have everything you need, its just the layout and grouping that I personally do not like.

Ive tried to do that the assistance work is supposed to support the main T1 and T2 lifts .

Regarding the 2 compounds in 1 day T1 is heavy sets of near max , the T2 is at a more manageable weight it starts at 50% of what T1 lift is .

I'm not really sure how to group it better

Cill94

new2tri19 wrote: »

Is there anything glaringly obvious im missing before I start into another 3-4 months of this ? I had a rest - reset over the Christmas so planning to run this which is very similar to what I have been running already for next 12-16 weeks barring advice.
Thanks

It looks fine to me. Keep a log and adjust the programme as needed as you begin to understand what is working and what's not. If I remember correctly, your goal at the moment is strength and muscle gain - so the most important thing is that the main movements keep progressing and your bodyweight steadily climbs.

Alf Veedersane

Coybig_ wrote: »

I would personally group things toward complimentary muscle groups and movements, and I would not recommend 2 compounds in one day.

In theory you have everything you need, its just the layout and grouping that I personally do not like.

I don't necessarily agree with that. No issue with two compounds on the same day...you just need to manage what you do.

And grouping doesn't always necessarily lend itself to frequency

new2tri19

Cill94 wrote: »

It looks fine to me. Keep a log and adjust the programme as needed as you begin to understand what is working and what's not. If I remember correctly, your goal at the moment is strength and muscle gain - so the most important thing is that the main movements keep progressing and your bodyweight steadily climbs.

Yes strength and muscle gain so as I understand it the low reps at heavy weight build strength and the high reps of lower weight build muscle gain.

I'm adding weight workout to workout or making the workout harder . thanks

Alf Veedersane

new2tri19 wrote: »

Apologies don't want to overdo my questions privileges .just a quick one I'm pretty happy with my program now I just want to make sure I'm not neglecting any areas. Also ive heard that if you run the same program your body will stop making adaptations so how often should you change it is that bro science ?

Ignoring cardio I do a 4 day program, training 3 days a week on average .

Day 1
T1 squat 5 sets of 3
T2 bench 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - Bulgarian split squat 3 sets of 10 each leg .
Lat pulldown 3 sets of 15 .
Weighted barbell step ups 3 sets of 10 each leg.
Deficit push ups 3 sets of 15.

Day 2
T1 bench 5 sets of 3 or 6 sets of 2
T2 deadlift 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - incline bench press 3 sets of 10.
Barbell row 3 sets of 10
Pull ups 3 sets of 6
Weighted dips 3 sets of 8 with 10kg plate

Day 3
T1 deadlift 5 sets of 3
T2 ohp 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - barbell row 3 sets of 10
Lat pull down 3 sets to 15
Incline bench 3 sets of 10
Landmine shoulder press 3 sets of 10
I finish with abs supersetting ankle taps and weighted sit ups 45 seconds each , 3 sets .

Day 4
T1 ohp 5x3 or 6x2 or 10x1
T2 squat 3 sets of 10
Assistance work - incline bench 3 X10
Weighted step ups 3 X10 each leg
Standing calf raises with barbell 3 x15
Barbell shrugs 3 X 10

Is there anything glaringly obvious im missing before I start into another 3-4 months of this ? I had a rest - reset over the Christmas so planning to run this which is very similar to what I have been running already for next 12-16 weeks barring advice.
Thanks

Just be careful on some of the accessories. You're doing decline push ups one day and Incline bench the other three.

Day 2 has bench, Incline bench and dips.
Day 3 has OHP, Incline bench and landmine shoulder press.
Day 4 has OHP and Incline bench.
I can see your shoulders being a bit annoyed by that if youre not very careful. It's a lot of volume and I'd be inclined to balance it out with more pull exercises.

I'd also just wonder if you're trying to do too much alongside the triathlon training. The weight training should complement rather than become the primary focus so just don't let the impact of the volume detract from the triathlon training

new2tri19

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Just be careful on some of the accessories. You're doing decline push ups one day and Incline bench the other three.

Day 2 has bench, Incline bench and dips.
Day 3 has OHP, Incline bench and landmine shoulder press.
Day 4 has OHP and Incline bench.
I can see your shoulders being a bit annoyed by that if youre not very careful. It's a lot of volume and I'd be inclined to balance it out with more pull exercises.

I'd also just wonder if you're trying to do too much alongside the triathlon training. The weight training should complement rather than become the primary focus so just don't let the impact of the volume detract from the triathlon training

Thanks I'll drop one or two of them in favour of dumbbell rows or maybe Romanian deadlift .

My thinking was with restrictions likely and pool closures to run this for 3 months in absence of a decent swim block , it should keep strength in the swim muscles.
3 days a week strength leaves me 4 days to do bike and run , I double up strength training with bike training some days . It seems to he working ok from a fatigue point of view , when I start swimming properly again my plan is to drop most if not all assistance work and just do the T1 and T2 each day , along with some mobility I should be able to do it in 30 mins .

Alf Veedersane

new2tri19 wrote: »

Thanks I'll drop one or two of them in favour of dumbbell rows or maybe Romanian deadlift .

My thinking was with restrictions likely and pool closures to run this for 3 months in absence of a decent swim block , it should keep strength in the swim muscles.
3 days a week strength leaves me 4 days to do bike and run , I double up strength training with bike training some days . It seems to he working ok from a fatigue point of view , when I start swimming properly again my plan is to drop most if not all assistance work and just do the T1 and T2 each day , along with some mobility I should be able to do it in 30 mins .

I'd do either deadlift or RDL but not both just because you want the training effect without taxing yourself too much.

As regards training volume, just monitor closely specifically your tri training and see if there are any effects. Measure what you can and look for trends just so you can have a better idea

Mellor

Coybig_ wrote: »

I would personally group things toward complimentary muscle groups and movements, and I would not recommend 2 compounds in one day..

I can’t think of any good strength programs that have only 1 compound per day?
I’m not even sure what you could do with such limitations.