Random Fitness Questions

Alf Veedersane · 21-10-2019 10:33pm

beertons wrote: »

What would be a decent click on the stairs climber? I was only on the way out today, and hopped on. Level 7, 5 mins, 20 floors.

Can vary from machine to machine in my experience.

Also, what would be a good effort for me on any machine like that would be a warm up for someone else and possibly too much for someone else. It's all relative really.

Establish what's challenging and then aim to make it feel less challenging.

Reps4jesus · 24-10-2019 11:45am

was warming up for squats yesterday and was sitting as deep as possible. Looking in the mirror i noticed that my right cheek was a good inch or two lower than my left one. Any thoughts? Have had a few hip issues over there, might there be a misalignment or something? im guessing its not anything to be overly concerned with but just interested if anyone has any thoughts on this?

ThunbergsAreGo · 24-10-2019 11:46am

Anyone recommend a dumbell/bodyweight program?

Most of the popular ones are barbell, and finding it hard to get to the gym with a new baby

Brian? · 24-10-2019 11:48am

Reps4jesus wrote: »

was warming up for squats yesterday and was sitting as deep as possible. Looking in the mirror i noticed that my right cheek was a good inch or two lower than my left one. Any thoughts? Have had a few hip issues over there, might there be a misalignment or something? im guessing its not anything to be overly concerned with but just interested if anyone has any thoughts on this?

I would guess mobility issues. Have you treated your hip mobility lately?

Brian? · 24-10-2019 11:49am

ThunbergsAreGo wrote: »

Anyone recommend a dumbell/bodyweight program?

Most of the popular ones are barbell, and finding it hard to get to the gym with a new baby

The answer is pretty simple, do all the same movements with dumbbells

.

Reps4jesus · 24-10-2019 12:08pm

Brian? wrote: »

I would guess mobility issues. Have you treated your hip mobility lately?

Yeah i have been doing a decent bit of mobility work on my hips the last 6 months as they have always been fairly creaky but still not doing as much as i should

Alf Veedersane · 24-10-2019 6:55pm

Reps4jesus wrote: »

Yeah i have been doing a decent bit of mobility work on my hips the last 6 months as they have always been fairly creaky but still not doing as much as i should

Work on ankles as well, if you're not. But does sound like mobility. Anytime I've had something like that or a bit of a shift to one side (well until the last year), it was fixed through a bit more mobility work.

Essien · 26-10-2019 8:06am

I'd like to have a home gym (bench, power rack, barbell, ~140kg in weights), but the only space available is upstairs. While I wouldn't expect the rack to fall through the ceiling, it just doesn't 'feel' right to concentrate so much weight in one space upstairs. I'm worried it might cause some damage somehow.

Has anyone done this? Am I overthinking it or is it best avoided?

FWIW: The house is around 10 years old. All external and ground floor internal walls are block. First floor floors and internal walls are timber.

Noise on ground floor is not a concern.

Minime2.5 · 26-10-2019 8:24am

If someone with alot of weight to lose loses it how much of that weight is Water? For example.Just say a 6ft man thats 20 stone gets down to 14 stone. That 6 stone loss is not all fat, what % would make up water

Alf Veedersane · 26-10-2019 8:42am

Essien wrote: »

I'd like to have a home gym (bench, power rack, barbell, ~140kg in weights), but the only space available is upstairs. While I wouldn't expect the rack to fall through the ceiling, it just doesn't 'feel' right to concentrate so much weight in one space upstairs. I'm worried it might cause some damage somehow.

Has anyone done this? Am I overthinking it or is it best avoided?

FWIW: The house is around 10 years old. All external and ground floor internal walls are block. First floor floors and internal walls are timber.

Noise on ground floor is not a concern.

For the weight up there not in use it would be fine. You could argue squatting 140, unless you're than 60kg, would exceed the variable loading but letting down 140kg from a deadlift would be where the greatest risk would be. You can certainly mitigate against it with a platform and matting but I'd be inclined to have an engineer look at it in person.

iguana · 26-10-2019 12:57pm

How much benefit is there in adding low weights to cardio? I’m a skater and use a lateral slide board as an at home alternative when I can’t get out for a long fast skate. The slide board is great for keeping my legs strong and it’s an excellent cardio workout but I don’t find it benefits my upper body much above the core. Skating is actually surprisingly excellent for the arms but the type of balancing I do on the board just doesn’t engage my upper body very much. I was thinking that holding small weights as I slide and pump my arms would help.

I’ve started cross country skating which is done with poles, so that will be great for the upper body. But again I want to be able to maintain the strength benefits during times that I can’t get out.

Mellor · 27-10-2019 1:22pm

Minime2.5 wrote: »

If someone with alot of weight to lose loses it how much of that weight is Water? For example.Just say a 6ft man thats 20 stone gets down to 14 stone. That 6 stone loss is not all fat, what % would make up water

If somebody loses 6 stone it could be all fat. Or a combination of fat and muscle. Impossible to tell.

Losing water typically refers to temporary changes in weight, not permanently losing weight.

silverharp · 20-11-2019 5:49pm

Improving time for a circuit? So a trainer did up a conditioning program for me a couple of weeks back, basically its in the functional training room , so 3 circuits of 7 different exercises, sled, sandbag press, landmine press etc. He wasn’t specific about it being the only thing to do during the week but just said only time test it once a week.
Without it taking up the whole week the best way I have found is to break it into 2 and do at the start and in line with what I am doing that day but increasing the weight where its possible, next size or 2 up or additional plates. Is that a valid way of progressing? Hoping to see a time improvement doing the full circuits at the lower weights? If I did the 3 circuits first I wouldn’t be able to get much else done.

somesoldiers · 21-11-2019 4:14pm

Minime2.5 wrote: »

If someone with alot of weight to lose loses it how much of that weight is Water? For example.Just say a 6ft man thats 20 stone gets down to 14 stone. That 6 stone loss is not all fat, what % would make up water

I match those exact weight loss numbers, though 5 7 rather than 6ft.
Don't know how much of it was water but i can confirm that a high % was Bulmers related

whippet · 22-11-2019 1:42pm

somesoldiers wrote: »

I match those exact weight loss numbers, though 5 7 rather than 6ft.
Don't know how much of it was water but i can confirm that a high % was Bulmers related

i've managed to drop 7kg in a week - mainly water weight.

I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy - dehydration is not nice - how I wasn't divorced by the end of the week I don't know.

This was for a weight cut for a competition and now I do gradual cuts with food for 8-10 weeks in to comp !!

silverharp · 03-12-2019 11:46am

Advantages of a one legged RDL? I had started doing a regular landmine RDL

Alf Veedersane · 03-12-2019 1:32pm

silverharp wrote: »

Advantages of a one legged RDL? I had started doing a regular landmine RDL

Unilateral work is always a good idea. You work hips separately, which helps with imbalances.

italodisco · 03-12-2019 2:41pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Unilateral work is always a good idea. You work hips separately, which helps with imbalances.

This

And they help grow a damn fine bum bum

ThunbergsAreGo · 03-12-2019 2:45pm

italodisco wrote: »

This

And they help grow a damn fine bum bum

I just cant manage them at all

Alf Veedersane · 03-12-2019 7:00pm

ThunbergsAreGo wrote: »

I just cant manage them at all

Just start light. Better to have light weight and do it properly than go heavier and do a different movement.

Some people find the balance easier with dumbbells and some people find the bar helps better.

italodisco · 03-12-2019 11:39pm

ThunbergsAreGo wrote: »

I just cant manage them at all

Think of it like this,

I was able to do 160kg front squats for reps but when I started the single leg rdl I managed it with 10kg kettle bell in one hand .

I had to hold on to the squat rack with my free hand as I couldn't balance at all.

When it comes to gym movements the majority of them you CAN do, just remember it's all about practice at your pace and weight. It's not a race to master it . Take your time !!

When I first set foot in a bodybuilding gym at a the age of 15 I though 'ah Jesus not a hope.

5 years later won my first show as a natural , when on to win multiple shows around Europe and at home.

Alf Veedersane · 04-12-2019 12:03am

www.dictionary.com/humblebrag

funkey_monkey · 05-12-2019 12:57am

What is the best way to improve squat? On the heavier weights my body won't let me sink to a low position, plus I have insufficient strength from the low point.
I've just started making some of my reps to pause at the bottom or slow decent -obviously with a lower weight than my normal squat.
I know I need to stretch more but I don't know what to do. I know I should be capable of a lot more than 100kg, but the decent is horrible. Maybe hamstrings need more work???

Mellor · 05-12-2019 5:05am

funkey_monkey wrote: »

What is the best way to improve squat?

Squat more.
Get stronger

On the heavier weights my body won't let me sink to a low position, plus I have insufficient strength from the low point.
I've just started making some of my reps to pause at the bottom or slow decent -obviously with a lower weight than my normal squat.
I know I need to stretch more but I don't know what to do. I know I should be capable of a lot more than 100kg, but the decent is horrible. Maybe hamstrings need more work???

If you can get down all the way with 60kg but not with 120kg. The issue is lacking strength not flexibility. You need to squat more and get stronger, not stretch more imo.

I understand what you mean by “my body won’t let me” but that is a mental issue not a physical issue. And I say this as somebody who did the same for a long time

Mr. CooL ICE · 05-12-2019 8:37am

I'd echo what mellor said re stretching and strength. But going by your vague description, there's any number of things that could be to blame.

Are you bracing correctly? If you're not bracing your core and/or engaging your lats properly, your torso could be unstable which could in turn lead to an instability in the descent that only becomes apparent at heavier weights.

During your descent, is your weight distributed on the mid foot throughout the entire lift? If your weight is shifting onto your heels or your toes at any point, your movement pattern could be wrong. At the bottom, you could be expending more energy to not topple over than actually lift the weight.

Have you experimented with stance width and toe angle? Anecdotally, my squat feels more stable with a wider stance but depth is easier to ascertain with a narrower stance. It's about finding a balance.

Brian? · 05-12-2019 9:19am

funkey_monkey wrote: »

What is the best way to improve squat? On the heavier weights my body won't let me sink to a low position, plus I have insufficient strength from the low point.
I've just started making some of my reps to pause at the bottom or slow decent -obviously with a lower weight than my normal squat.
I know I need to stretch more but I don't know what to do. I know I should be capable of a lot more than 100kg, but the decent is horrible. Maybe hamstrings need more work???

I agree with the lads. Your body won’t let you because you’re not strong enough.

Why do you think you should be capable of a 100kg squat? It takes time.

Mellor · 05-12-2019 10:03am

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

Are you bracing correctly? If you're not bracing your core and/or engaging your lats properly, your torso could be unstable which could in turn lead to an instability in the descent that only becomes apparent at heavier weights.

During your descent, is your weight distributed on the mid foot throughout the entire lift? If your weight is shifting onto your heels or your toes at any point, your movement pattern could be wrong. At the bottom, you could be expending more energy to not topple over than actually lift the weight.

100% to all of this.
“Stronger” isn’t necessarily stronger quads or hips. It could be could be a stronger upper back, or stronger feet. It could mean those muscles need to be physically stronger, or perhaps they’re asleep and simply active stronger. Maybe the position need to be stronger, for a dozen strength related reasons.

Alf Veedersane · 05-12-2019 10:51am

funkey_monkey wrote: »

What is the best way to improve squat? On the heavier weights my body won't let me sink to a low position, plus I have insufficient strength from the low point.

If you can get low enough with the lighter weights but not the heavier weights then it may be that your technique is very different at heavier weights because they're too heavy for you.

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I've just started making some of my reps to pause at the bottom or slow decent -obviously with a lower weight than my normal squat.
I know I need to stretch more but I don't know what to do. I know I should be capable of a lot more than 100kg, but the decent is horrible. Maybe hamstrings need more work???

You're focussing too much on what you think you should be able to do rather than working from the bottom up. Squat with a weight where your positions are correct and you can get low enough. Build on that slowly and don't just jump up through weight because you think you should be able to. Be patient and you will get there.

Also, bear in mind that it isn't solely about strength but the movement patterns you're training. If the movement pattern changes with heavier weights, then that's another likely reason.

Strip it back, do the mobility work and work in a weight looks and feels correct and move up slowly, building strength with the correct movement patterns. Play the long game.

the baby bull elephant · 05-12-2019 1:26pm

Would you feel comfortable posting a form check? As you can see from the comments there's a load of different things that could be wrong and all of them probably could be to some degree but if you tried to concentrate on all of them at once it probably wouldn't be good.

At that kind of weight my general advice would be just to squat more often and it should get better, especially if you concentrate on one or two good cues at a time so they become second nature. If I remember correctly you were going to do BBB? So you should be getting plenty of practice at sub maximal weight.

brianblaze · 05-12-2019 10:32pm

Random question... Powerlifting singlet sizes!

I'm 78KG, but very lean and 5'10"... Am I still an X-large? Don't want to end up with a baggy singlet! (which sounds like a terrible euphasmism now that I type it.)

Random Fitness Questions

Comments