Here's what transformed me in 2009

Transform · 16-12-2009 08:22AM

rccaulfield wrote: »

why would you not begin with a bench press-point9!-Cheers!

so many reasons -

1. Any session should start with some kind of prep work e.g. foam rolling, dynamic stretching etc

2. Before benching its bloody important to do some kind of scap retraction e.g. band pulls, face pulls, scap press ups etc as this will help set your shoulders for benching perfectly and ensures your front delts and rotators do not take all the work

Look at this -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l90gwRyERPA

3. If you are benching first as part of a balanced program then great but from what i see and have seen in 99% of gyms is guys benching every bloody session they are in the gym and lifting the same crappy weights every week.

That would be my 11th point - bench press less and standing press in its many forms more. You will likely have less shoulder problems and a good hard standing press will do more for overall development that benching alone. Oh and before i forget - most people would benefit from doing more press ups (with elbows in slightly)and far less benching.

aye · 16-12-2009 10:01AM

2009 mostly introduced a diet over hall for me, which has helped with my training and improved results.

1) Eating more veggies. Veggies contain more protein than I had thought, spinach and brocolli are good sources, and are well tasty, and lower cal.

2) Joining a gym nearer work so I can train at lunch time, meaning training is more consistent week on week.

3) Increased cardio training

4) Milk Intolerance. Found i have a milk intolerance, since abstaining I have found I've got more energy for my workouts.

5) Front squats are fun. Have been front squatting much more this year, which keeps my leg training a bit more interesting. Superset them with power lunges for that lovely burn.

6) Baking. Making my own snacks (muffins) mean I have more input into satisfying a sweet tooth.

Colm_OReilly · 16-12-2009 10:09AM

Good thread.

Really have to think about what I learnt training wise, because I'm sure there's a lot in there.

In no particular order.

The Catalyst Athletics mobility warm up is great - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhHc7FbSUiY (WFS)

I really enjoyed competing in Olympic Lifting, so look forward to competing in 2010.

You can't do everything at once, so you've got to pick what your focus is on and work on that. Man who chases two rabbits catches none.

Learnt a lot from Tom and Will throughout the year too, so thanks to them too.

Hail 2 Da Chimp · 16-12-2009 10:38AM

Transform wrote: »

That would be my 11th point - bench press less and standing press in its many forms more. You will likely have less shoulder problems and a good hard standing press will do more for overall development that benching alone.

Transform,
Why would shoulder pressing be better for the shoulders than benching alone?

I'll have to have a think about this before I post my topics.

Transform · 16-12-2009 11:14AM

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote: »

Transform,
Why would shoulder pressing be better for the shoulders than benching alone?

I'll have to have a think about this before I post my topics.

its not that its better just most over emphasise bencing and could do with more pressing OH

kevpants · 16-12-2009 11:43AM

1. Horse linament > warming up correctly

1.1 Applying horse linament after you've started sweating = increased heat

1.2 Applying horse linament to your lower back after you've started sweating & having it run down = increased vertical jump.

2. Widening your bench grip gives instant gains to the weight you can lift, then you get injured.

3. Try not to lose your mind when arguing against vanity/ignorance... you'll just end up with an unfortunate username.

4. A walk before breakfast every day seems to make me lose weight faster than dieting or high intensity exercise.

5. The Coan-Phillipi deadlift program is a sack of shit.

6. Activate your glutes before squatting & deadlifting. If they aren't awake bad things will happen.

7. Passing wind mid-lift after an energy drink = rolling the dice.

8. Sumo deadlift sometimes but not all the time.

9. Heavy rack pulls are a great way to incentivize your gym to purchase new/better bars.

10. Becoming Dave Tate's friend ruins Facebook. You'll no longer know what any of your actual friends are up to but will be able to recite the entire Elitefts price list from memory.

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11. Depeche Mode are one of the best live acts out there. Dave Gahan is a slightly less camp Freddie Mercury... without the lesions and dying and stuff.

ragg · 16-12-2009 11:58AM

Transform wrote: »

most people would benefit from doing more press ups (with elbows in slightly)and far less benching.

Hey dude, can you post some details on why this is the case - As usual it sounds really interesting and i love reading the technical term and pretending i understand them

Transform · 16-12-2009 12:11PM

elbows in slightly allows for less work being put on the front delts, less shrugging upwards of the shoulders (thats bad) and helps with getting clients to open and close the shoudler baldes properly and with more stability.

Also if you try ring press up there is no way you are going to bang them out unless you maintain a stronger, tighter position with the elbow as seen here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swGR8GzHXrM

Overall, clients get less shoulder issues with elbows in slightly, better chest and triceps work and generally can do them better over time with this position. nothing technical in that really and as i say if you can't explain it simply then you will never get your message across.

Raging Bob · 16-12-2009 12:13PM

1) Joining a gym did a whole lot of good things for me. It's all well and good training at home but there's a few problems that I encountered - Lack of weights, lack of equipment, no spotters...even though I hated the idea of training in a gym it's helped me no end. It's hugely motivating at times.

2) Wendler's program has shot my deadlift up big time. From a 1RM of 150 in the summer to 190 a couple of months ago. It's also worked wonders for my military press and my squat has improved. Not the bench though.

3) A lack of a proper diet is not a good thing. I'm not even talking about being totally anal as to what you eat but just getting the basics right (proper breakfast, good meal after training etc). My veg and fruit intake as of late has been appalling and I need to sort that out pronto.

4) Tyre flips and prowler sprints do funny things to your body. Well, not funny to me whenever I do them. I'm definitely going to incorporate them in to my training routine on a regular basis. Which brings me to point five...

5) It's all well and good lifting x amount of weight but if you can't even do a little amount of cardio without feeling exhausted, well, it's a bit of a problem in my opinion. I haven't played any team sports in well over a year and have just focused on lifting. I can't really run anymore as I just dislike it. I know I need to but I just don't want to. WS4SB will help me in this regard I'd imagine.

6) Deadlifts rule.

Magic Eight Ball · 16-12-2009 01:53PM

Here's what transformed me in 2009..

Brian? · 16-12-2009 06:31PM

Transform wrote: »

its not that its better just most over emphasise bencing and could do with more pressing OH

This is great advice, about 3 months switched to doing heavy 5x5 shoulder pressing and lighter 3x10 benching and it seems to have done my shoulders the world of good. I've added in bad pulls etc lately as well thanks to Transforms advice.

BobbyOLeary · 16-12-2009 06:34PM

d-gal wrote: »

Surprisingly I did it while doing incline bench, heard a loud pop around my 5th rep of 8, finished the set, went to do another but could not. Went to my therapist and he said it had popped, horrible experience him putting it back in!

That's amazing. Cheers for that! Weird, clavicles almost never dislocate. That's class, I'm sitting here now trying to figure out how that happened!

digme · 16-12-2009 07:34PM

1) You can run 5 miles without stopping at a good pace;you think ya I'm pretty dam fit.Then your walking along outside your friends flat,a car passes his parked car and knocks off the mirror,since the prick never stops;
you look where the cars going and see it's going to the road above your friends place;so you think; hmm; i'll 'just' run up those 40 odd feet of steps and catch him on the next road.
But you fail half ways up and your the reason your friend has to buy a new mirror;because your not ****ing fit.That's when I did HIIT. Now those steps are easy

ilovelamp2000 · 16-12-2009 11:39PM

It was a bit of a mixed year for me, but certainly better than the two that preceded it.

1. I learned that strongman training absolutely kicks ass, and the feeling of pain/joy/ relief you get at the end of a strongman session is unrivalled.

2. I learned a lot more about diet and nutrition, but didn't put enough of it into practice regularly thanks to a lack of forward planning.

3,I can't out train my poor dietary habits, but even after as little as a week of a clean diet you can see the difference.

4. I learned how to recover from Rotator Cuff problems and did so.

5. I learned how to recover from lower back problems,and I'm in the middle of doing so now.

6. Related to four, I learned that Pilates is not just for girls. And that I look absolutely ****ing ridiculous attempting half of it. But I don't care.

7. I learned that even if you become a fat lazy sod for two years it is still possible to get your strength back quite quickly provided you're willing to work at it, hard.

8. I learned how to do Eurotraining

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BossArky · 17-12-2009 01:56PM

Transform wrote: »

what did you learn in 2009 that has helped transform your body/attitude to make you look/feel better or just basically get stronger/fitter?

In no particular order & from my point of view:

1) Bird dogs are the ultimate deadlift & squat warm up.

2) A bench spotter will invariably touch the bar.

3) Red bull gives you wings. So do heaps of chins & pull ups.

4) Add weight on chins & pull ups once you can do high rep bodyweight sets.

5) Getting your ar$e kicked at a crossfit event is great motiviation to get stronger & fitter.

6) As above - when you spend years training alone it is good to meet people from this forum in person vs. cyberspace. It makes it all a bit less internet nerdy.

7) Slow progress is better than no progress i.e. I've been following 531 from July to December and finally getting around to testing maxes properly after 6 months of "slowly slowly".

8) Spending a couple of weeks tracking calories consumed and expended is worth it. Try www.fitday.com

9) An understanding of nutrition will help: Good gooks include --> Anita Bean - The complete guide to sports nutrition, or Tom Venuto - Burn the Fat, Feed the muscle

10) Gaining weight isn't too hard (see 8+9). Eat more generally plus lots of nuts, milk, full eggs, tuna, etc on top of daily diet.

11) Loosing weight isn't too hard (see 8+9). Eat less generally, skimmed milk, few nuts, more cardio, replace biscuits etc with tuna.

12) A dislike of long cardio means triathlon training is kinda boring.

13) Training without goals = wasting time.

14) Partial plates are good for maintaining gradual weight increases on your lifts

15) Foam rolling feels great!

16) Band pull aparts seem to make my neck crack less and stop military press neck pain.

Yapamillias · 17-12-2009 04:13PM

BossArky wrote: »

Good gooks include --> Anita Bean - The complete guide to sports nutrition

Thats very racist as im asian myself but ill look for the book

Sangre · 17-12-2009 04:23PM

Yapamillias wrote: »

Thats very racist as im asian myself but ill look for the book

He said good gooks. That can't be racist.

Patto · 17-12-2009 05:09PM

What I learned in 2009

1. In terms of bang for my buck my greatest returns this year came from my first 2 hours talking to a sports psycologist. If there is something limiting you in terms of achieving your goals you need to identify what is holding you back and change how you think about it. I learned that confidence in terms of playing a sport is a lot more tangable that I previously believed and is something you have quite a lot of control over. Training your mind is the same as training anything else, you need to keep it in shape all the time.

2. Its a blatant steal from Dan John but most peoples highs are too low and lows are too high. In terms of playing sport you can't get leaner, faster, stronger, fitter and become a better footballer all at the same time. Hit dieting hard in the off season for as long as it takes and keep the diet tight during the season. Dieting is the ultimate low. Keep strength in season but when playing football just play football.

3. I can maintain strength during the season with 3 sessions every two weeks. They must include the squat, deadlift, bench and chins. Single leg work is also inportant. Sudden program changes are bad espiceally the week of a game.

4. I reckon I've been doing too much assistance work and my sessions are too long. I think Jim Welder has a point when he says your assistance work should be limited to 2 or 3 excersises per session and specific to improving some element of the big lifts. I reckon that is true weather you are Ronaldo or Jim Welder.

5. I think this is a worthwhile thread but I've learned to spend much less time reading this site. There is a lot of good stuff here and I have learned a lot from reading here but there is too much junk to filter before getting to the good stuff. You're better off going to richer sources which includes getting out there and talking to people who have done the time under the bar, reading books, going to seminars etc. Dan John's book is great so is Jim Welder's. I also read Eric Cressey's Nate Green's books this year, I found both interesting but I think Welder's 50 pages beats both hands down. And I can't wait for Dan John to come to town.

mack32 · 17-12-2009 06:54PM

- going to a PT for a personalised routine was the best thing I've done all year (thanks to Transform)

- switching to full body workouts instead of push/pull/legs comes a close second

- discovered crossfit ( infinitely better than running for conditioning imo )

- learning to warm up my glutes to make sure they fire properly

- foam rolling and proper stretching etc has loosened me out so much

- switching to dynamic stretching before a workout

- learning the importance of keeping your neck in a 'strong' position during the lifts (that one only took a disc prolapse to learn!)

- getting a training partner

d'Oracle · 17-12-2009 07:59PM

Patto wrote: »

What I learned in 2009

1. In terms of bang for my buck my greatest returns this year came from my first 2 hours talking to a sports psycologist. If there is something limiting you in terms of achieving your goals you need to identify what is holding you back and change how you think about it. I learned that confidence in terms of playing a sport is a lot more tangable that I previously believed and is something you have quite a lot of control over. Training your mind is the same as training anything else, you need to keep it in shape all the time.

2. Its a blatant steal from Dan John but most peoples highs are too low and lows are too high. In terms of playing sport you can't get leaner, faster, stronger, fitter and become a better footballer all at the same time. Hit dieting hard in the off season for as long as it takes and keep the diet tight during the season. Dieting is the ultimate low. Keep strength in season but when playing football just play football.

3. I can maintain strength during the season with 3 sessions every two weeks. They must include the squat, deadlift, bench and chins. Single leg work is also inportant. Sudden program changes are bad espiceally the week of a game.

4. I reckon I've been doing too much assistance work and my sessions are too long. I think Jim Welder has a point when he says your assistance work should be limited to 2 or 3 excersises per session and specific to improving some element of the big lifts. I reckon that is true weather you are Ronaldo or Jim Welder.

5. I think this is a worthwhile thread but I've learned to spend much less time reading this site. There is a lot of good stuff here and I have learned a lot from reading here but there is too much junk to filter before getting to the good stuff. You're better off going to richer sources which includes getting out there and talking to people who have done the time under the bar, reading books, going to seminars etc. Dan John's book is great so is Jim Welder's. I also read Eric Cressey's Nate Green's books this year, I found both interesting but I think Welder's 50 pages beats both hands down. And I can't wait for Dan John to come to town.

May I ask what your sport is?

Patto · 17-12-2009 10:56PM

d'Oracle wrote: »

May I ask what your sport is?

Suppose I said American football.;) The same learnings could apply.

d'Oracle · 17-12-2009 11:02PM

Patto wrote: »

Suppose I said American football.;) The same learnings could apply.

Do I take it to mean its not American football?
Is this a guessing game or are you just torturing my innocent curiosity?

Inspector Coptoor · 17-12-2009 11:06PM

Patto wrote: »

. Dan John's book is great so is Jim Welder's. I also read Eric Cressey's Nate Green's books this year, I found both interesting but I think Welder's 50 pages beats both hands down..

Jim Wendler
His book is fantastic. his manner of delivery is too. could listen to him talk all day.

going to his seminar and starting his programme back in July is the best move i made with reagrds to training since starting to do compound lifts a couple of years ago.

d'Oracle · 17-12-2009 11:08PM

d'Oracle wrote: »

Do I take it to mean its not American football?
Is this a guessing game or are you just torturing my innocent curiosity?

I looked at your log Patto.

Killme00 · 17-12-2009 11:47PM

Very good thread.

Other than letting everyone know that i have lost 27kgs (nov 2008 - dec 2009) by getting off the couch, finding something i like doing and sticking to it, I have nothing worthwhile to add.

Roper · 18-12-2009 12:10AM

This year I did several good things that improved my fitness:

1. I made the gym of my dreams. It helps to come in to Fantasy Island to work out.

B. Towards the end of the year I stopped reading this forum as much, and only read posts by beginners when I did. This was a really good thing to do as I stopped getting annoyed by some of the tripe that gets written and then regurgitated and got to read a bit more about people's expectations when starting out. Thus my irritation levels went down and my knowledge of beginner's fitness went up. All good.

4. I ate my way to a happier me. I'm currently doing some fat loss as a bet but I'll be back to my bulking soon. I love grub.

2. I went to a seminar that so few people bothered with it was almost funny, and came a away with some new ideas and a lot of my other ideas burned forever into my cerebral cortex. Jim Wendler is one cool guy, has seen it all a thousand times and isn't afraid to call what's popular dumb.

1. I learned that I really need to follow my rehab programmes a bit better. Injuries are bad, recurrences and aftermaths are worse.

G86 · 18-12-2009 09:53AM

BossArky wrote: »

In no particular order & from my point of view:

15) Foam rolling feels great!

.

Oh no it doesn't!!!:o well .... not at the time!

Inspector Coptoor · 18-12-2009 10:02AM

G86 wrote: »

Oh no it doesn't!!!:o well .... not at the time!

I find it feels really good on the back.
it;s extremely sore on the quads alright

narwog81 · 18-12-2009 10:40AM

G86 wrote: »

Oh no it doesn't!!!:o well .... not at the time!

IT band:eek:

Sangre · 18-12-2009 11:18AM

kevpants wrote: »

4. A walk before breakfast every day seems to make me lose weight faster than dieting or high intensity exercise.

I've started having my breakfast in work instead of at home. This means I'm walking about 30 mins on an empty something. Hopefully that will make a small difference without me actually having to do anything extra!

Here's what transformed me in 2009

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