**Marcus's HIT Dungeon**

[Capebuffalo]

This is part of an article in an old Iron magazine
It's a little long but a great read.

This is an old IM article but for those who are lacking in the back department this is your answer.

Source


Written by: Tom_Venuto
It was back day. I had just chugged my favorite pre-workout beverage (a Grande Starbucks), which I used to wash down a couple of those ephedra "thermo" capsules. My heart was pounding, the adrenaline was flowing and I was ready to pump some HEAVY iron! I was pacing back and forth across the gym floor, psyching myself up for a big set of close grip lat pulldowns.

I took a few deep breaths and strapped into the bar. The pin was set at 250 lbs. - the full rack. With a mighty grunt, I pulled the bar down to my chest, leaning back slightly with just "a little" swinging and momentum. I repeated eleven more times and then released it, exhausted but exhilarated. Twelve reps with the whole stack! I was pretty happy with myself.

I started psyching up for my second set. This time I had the full stack plus a 25-lb. plate pinned on for a total of 275 lbs. I started the second set feeling even stronger; one rep, two reps, three reps... Then, even through the Metallica blasting into my headphones, I heard a voice from behind me say, "What the hell are you doing?" Trying to maintain my near-hypnotic state of concentration, I continued for the fourth rep, ignoring the blatant interruption. Then I heard the voice again: "Venuto, what the hell do you call that?"

That blew it - my focus was ruined. I stopped mid set after just four and a half reps. I turned around and saw that the offending intruder was Richie Smyth, my trainer. Defensively, I answered his question: "I'm going heavy today - I need more mass on my lats and you have to go heavy for that." Richie replied, "You know what I've been telling you for all these years; if you want a big back, it's not how much weight you lift; your form is more important than weight." I insisted that my form was good, but Richie just disapprovingly shook his head.

Deep down, I knew he was right. Usually when I work out on my own, I go a lot heavier than when I train with Richie. Even though I grow like a weed when he trains me, it just seems like the weights are too light. So when I train on my own ( when he's not looking) I sometimes slap on the plates for "ego food." This time, he caught me in the act.

Richie had a cancellation that day, so he kindly "volunteered" to take me through the rest of my back session. He then gave me a humbling dissertation on proper form. Basically, he taught me the exercise from scratch. First he dropped the weight down - a lot. "How much is that?" I asked, looking down towards the weight stack. "Don't worry about the weight," he scolded. I noticed that the pin was somewhere near the middle of the weight stack - I was feeling wimpier by the minute.

Richie continued with his instructional diatribe: "First of all, keep your body completely vertical. Don't lean back at all. Pull only with your lats. F-e-e-l the lats as you pull down. Hold it and squeeze. Now release slowly, fight the negative, let it back slowly, lean forward and stretch…now pause, hold the stretch, hold it, keep holding it. Ok, now pull, no momentum, don't lean, just pull with your lats. Pull straight down, squeeze, hold the squeeze, now slowly let it back, lean forward and stretch. Concentrate. Focus on the muscle not the weight."
I heard everything he said, but I guess I still wasn't doing it to his satisfaction because he stood right behind me and stuck his hand between my shoulder blades (so I couldn't lean backwards). When I got into the extended position, he pushed me forward and said, "drop your head, lean forward, and S-T-R-E-T-C-H! I felt a tearing sensation in my lats under my armpits like the muscle was going to rip right off the bone - I had never experienced anything like it.
I grimaced in pain while Richie smiled sadistically. Rep after rep we went on like this. On the last rep, he made me just hold the weight in the stretched position while he stood there counting the seconds on his watch. Finally, I couldn't even hang on anymore and I had to let go of the bar like it was red-hot molten steel. I rubbed my aching lats as a burning sensation shot through muscle fibers I never knew existed. Then I looked at the weight stack - it was set at a humbling 170 lbs. That meant that the other 80 -105 lbs. I was originally lifting was from pure momentum - or pure cheating I should say.

And that was just the beginning of a 40-minute "torture session." Richie continued the pain with close grip chin ups (his way), dumbbell pullovers (his way), T-bar rows (his way) and some kind of heinous backward incline bench pulldown exercise I had never even seen before (not even in Bill Pearl's massive encyclopedia of exercise variations). There were slow reps, supersets, tri-sets, descending sets, ascending sets, isometric holds, loaded stretches and a variety of other tortuous intensification techniques.

Every exercise was done with moderate or even light weights with the same fanatical attention to slow speed, perfect form, stretching and squeezing. The very same night, my lats got so sore I could barely put my shirt on. And with God as my witness, I swear by the next day, they grew out an inch from that one single workout.

The moral of this story is simple: heavy weights are not always necessary to build muscle. What's most important is that the weight you are using "feels" heavy to the muscles being worked. I know this statement may sound blasphemous to bodybuilders who are sold on the "heavier is better" mentality, so please allow me to elaborate.

If your goal is simply to lift a weight from point A to point B, then you would want to use every trick in the book to accomplish that.

Powerlifters are a perfect example: In a bench press competition, powerlifters speed up their reps, wear bench shirts, arch their backs, tuck in their elbows, push with their delts and tris, drop the bar low on their chests and do anything else they can think of to get the weight up without seeing a red light. By the time they've used all these tricks, some barrel-chested, short-armed powerlifters only have to move the bar about 6 inches! Their concern is not exhausting the pectorals - it is lifting the weight. But that's not bodybuilding!

Form is the difference between bodybuilding and simply lifting weights. Poor form with too much weight takes the stress off the target muscle; momentum moves the weight, not the muscles. Bodybuilding is accomplished best with strict form, controlled tempo, optimal tension, and total concentration. If muscle size is your number one priority, you must do everything in your power to make the exercise harder, not easier. You must select the path of maximum stimulation - which also happens to be the path of most resistance, effort and pain.

My trainer Richie put it this way; "When you are child, your parents tell you to keep your hands off the stove - they tell you not to put your hand into the flame - because if you do, you'll get burned. If you're serious about bodybuilding, you have to un-learn what you were taught as a child. When I train people, basically I'm telling them to put their hand right into the fire and keep it there. I have them train into and beyond the pain zone. That's what makes you grow."

Most people are on a constant search for the path of least resistance. A drug, a supplement, a "breakthrough technique" a new machine, a shortcut in exercise form - anything and everything they think will help them reach their goals with less effort and in less time. This is typical human nature. Unfortunately, this is also faulty thinking and you will NEVER become a champion with this type of attitude.

What follows are six ways you can use better form to develop more muscle mass. All of these techniques have one thing in common: they all involve ways to use better form to make the exercise harder, not easier. Use these techniques faithfully and you'll be amazed at how much muscle mass you can develop without ever needing super-heavy weights.

1. Eliminate extraneous body movement and momentum

Extraneous body movement - or "cheating" as it is so often called, is responsible for more injuries than perhaps any other cause. At the same time, it provides little stimulus for new muscle growth. Take the popular barbell curl for example: The way some people do a barbell curl looks more like a lower back exercise than a bicep movement. Watching some people do cheat curls, I often wonder if their biceps are working at all.

To get a jarring realization of just how much your cheating contributes to the weight moving and just how little biceps force is actually being generated, then take the "post curl" test. Stand against a post with your heels, butt, and upper back all touching the post. Now see how much you can curl without losing contact with the post. Don't be surprised if those 45 lb plates get reduced to 25's or even 10's!

Controlled cheating, done occasionally, is a legitimate way to shock complacent muscles into growth by allowing you to use more weight than you normally would. However, cheating should be the exception, not the rule. It's all too easy for "a little cheating" to turn into totally sloppy, injury producing form. The general rule for bodybuilding should be to avoid most extraneous body movement. Let the muscle move the weight, not momentum, swinging or bouncing.

2. Think "Squeeze" & 'Contract"

With every rep you perform in every exercise, you should mentally incant to yourself, "stretch and squeeze." Many bodybuilders habitually shorten their range of motion and completely miss two of the most important parts of the exercise: the contraction (the "squeeze") and the extension (the "stretch"). Using the technique of constant tension without locking out can be very effective on certain exercises (as you will learn shortly). The majority of the time, however, the bodybuilding rule of thumb is to take every exercise through the full range of motion from full stretch to full contraction.

The "squeeze" is especially effective on "peak contraction" exercises such as standing calf raises, concentration curls, tricep rope pushdowns, cable crossovers, and Leg extensions. On these types of exercises where the maximum resistance is placed on the muscle in the contracted position, pausing to "squeeze" the muscle will give you a much stronger contraction.

The stretch is most important on exercises where there is still a full load "pulling" on the muscle in the stretched position. Lat exercises like pulldowns or cable rows are an example. If you skip the stretch on these, you are not getting the full effect of the exercise (as Richie painfully demonstrated for me on close grip pulldowns).

3. Leave your ego at the door

If it's true that the most muscle growth occurs by using a weight that allows perfectly strict form, then why don't people cut back the weight and use perfect form more often? The answer is a simple three-letter word: EGO!

In his book Get Buffed, Australian Strength Coach Ian King wrote, "I would say that most load selection in strength training is based upon what impact it will have on those watching, not what impact it will have on the body.

If you were more serious about your body than your short term ego, you would take off 75% of the load and perform the movement in a manner that had some lasting impact on your body!" Fellow strength coach Charles Poliquin echoed King's sentiments when he said, "Trainees who use proper form usually have high levels of self esteem.

They show it by their interest in progression not theatrics, and by lifting for themselves, not for others. They are not concerned about what the other guy thinks of him lifting somewhat lighter loads. Successful bodybuilders feel the muscle not the weight." Yes, it's nice to have an audience see how strong you are by watching you hoist up ponderous poundages, but remember - you're in the gym to grow, not to show off! Keep your ego in check.

4. Always think "More Tension"

Always look for ways to maintain or increase tension on the muscles you are training. In other words, DON'T LET THE MUSCLE RELAX OR REST during the set! The easiest and most common way to maintain tension is to simply avoid locking out. Here's an example:

In the barbell squat, the top position provides close to zero resistance on the quadricep group. The weight on your shoulders is being supported by your entire body with bone on bone while the quadriceps remain relatively relaxed until knee flexion takes place. If you want maximum growth of the quads (as compared to pure power or strength) you need to keep the tension on the quads continuously for the duration of the set

Another way to maintain tension is to stay in continuous motion by eliminating the pause at the top and at the bottom. Pausing at the bottom of a barbell curl or dumbbell lateral raise, for example, has absolutely no purpose whatsoever. You are simply resting between reps. The next time you do biceps or shoulders, try a few sets of barbell curls and dumbbell lateral raises with no pause whatsoever. Do not stop moving until the set is finished. You will be forced to reduce your weight substantially, but remember, form is more important than weight. The combination of continuous motion with not locking out will give you a killer workout you won't forget!

5. Use a slower negative (eccentric movement)

Just slow down! Yes, it's that simple. A slow repetition, by its very nature, is a strict repetition and a strict repetition is a more effective repetition. This one little change in technique will go a long way towards improving your form and increasing your muscular development. An entire system of training called "super slow" was developed based on this concept. While it wouldn't be wise to do super slow to the exclusion of all other repetition speeds, I do recommend that you incorporate more slow movements in your training on a regular basis as a means of improving your form.

A conventional repetition is usually performed with a cadence of one or two seconds on the concentric (lifting) movement and three or four seconds on the eccentric (lowering) movement. So how slow is a "slow" rep? The sky's the limit: You can experiment with extending your eccentric movement for five seconds to as long as thirty seconds or even more! Ellington Darden and Arthur Jones of High Intensity Training (HIT) and Nautilus fame, used to recommend the one-minute chin up as method of increasing biceps mass quickly. (That's right - thirty seconds up and thirty seconds down!)

6. Use a slower positive (concentric) movement

You're probably very familiar with the advice of slowing down the negative portion of your reps, but have you ever considered slowing down the concentric movement? If you think slow eccentrics are hard, wait until you try slow concentrics. Slowing down your concentric can be equally if not more effective than negatives - they literally force you to maintain perfect form. When slowing down your concentric movement, you will notice the biggest difference in exercises where you usually use momentum to get the weight started. By removing the momentum you are forcing your muscle to generate more force - and thus more tension - just to get the weight started.

Barbell Curls, for example, are often started with a big heave that comes from the hips and lower back. "swinging" the weight up launches the weight off your thighs but robs you of much of the benefit. By performing a slow concentric curl, you get the maximum benefit possible from every inch of the range of motion, including the bottom portion which is usually "wasted."

Using perfect form with less weight can be a humbling experience at first, but if you're interested in pure muscle growth - if you're a bodybuilder, not a weight lifter - then concentrate on strict form first and weight second. Bodybuilding and weight lifting are not the same thing. Bodybuilding is visual, not quantitative. A magazine article with the photo of some 270 pound monster curling 110 pound dumbbells and a headline that says, "Go Heavy or Go Home" makes for very entertaining reading, but it has very little to do with reality for the average person.

Yes, heavy weights are great - the heavier the better - but only if you can keep the muscle under tension by handling the weight with a strict, controlled movement and good form. Then and only then should you add weight to the bar. If you're willing to swallow your ego, slow your movements down, stretch, squeeze, control the weight, and concentrate, you'll be able to take your physique to new heights and do it injury free.

[thunderthor70]

Excellent read Cape. When I'm on cycle sometimes I get excited about my strength increase and start adding a little more weight than I should. I usually realize this and back the weight off a little and concentrate on form again.

[Igifuno]

Wow.. Great read cape thx. Put your hand right in the fire and keep it there. Love it.

[Capebuffalo]

Excellent read Cape. When I'm on cycle sometimes I get excited about my strength increase and start adding a little more weight than I should. I usually realize this and back the weight off a little and concentrate on form again.

I think we are all guilty at some point or another. It makes a world of difference though. If you're going to do I to it right. I wasted years with bad training and bad diet. Be conscious of what you're doing. Focus. For so easy of a concept I have no idea why it seems so hard do it. Better late than never though.

[Capebuffalo]

Wow.. Great read cape thx. Put your hand right in the fire and keep it there. Love it.

I think Marcus will agree if you put your hand in the fire your eyeballs are going to shake.

[Igifuno]

I think Marcus will agree if you put your hand in the fire your eyeballs are going to shake.

Just how he likes it.

[kelkel]

I think we are all guilty at some point or another. It makes a world of difference though. If you're going to do I to it right. I wasted years with bad training and bad diet. Be conscious of what you're doing. Focus. For so easy of a concept I have no idea why it seems so hard do it. Better late than never though.

Ego's get in the way. Happens to all of us.

[biggjd69]

I know about ego getting. I am 44 and you see these young whipper snappers in there lifting the gym and you want to jump right in because of what you use to do when you were that age. But injuries bring you back to life quickly.....I know

[Capebuffalo]

I know about ego getting. I am 44 and you see these young whipper snappers in there lifting the gym and you want to jump right in because of what you use to do when you were that age. But injuries bring you back to life quickly.....I know

I'm the opposite. I'm 42 and see the younger guns doing what they do. Putting on a show and telling each other how awesome they are. Throwing weight around spending so much un needed time. You know if you try to tell them a better way they just look at you like right pops. I shake my head everyday in the gym. It never ceases to amaze me. Then I remember that was me not to long ago.

[kelkel]

I'm the opposite. I'm 42 and see the younger guns doing what they do. Putting on a show and telling each other how awesome they are. Throwing weight around spending so much un needed time. You know if you try to tell them a better way they just look at you like right pops. I shake my head everyday in the gym. It never ceases to amaze me. Then I remember that was me not to long ago.

Ok, so you were the guy in spandex curling in the squat rack. Got it.

[DontTaseMeBro]

got up early enough to make some oatmeal for pre-workout meal. It's hard to hit my macros for a bulk after 4 months of light cut and priming. Hit the gym and killed legs. Up 40lbs on squats and 50 on deadlift in the last 6 months. Ready to jump into some HIT monday.

[Capebuffalo]

Ok, so you were the guy in spandex curling in the squat rack. Got it.

Maybe.

[Giggle]

Sorry, I'm not much help there. I'm trying to do just the opposite! But as you know weight training will also burn fat in general. It must be that particular area is just the last to burn off for her. Tell her to keep it up.

Right, I think if she focuses on toning movements, however, (low weight/high reps) she can avoid stimulating the fast twitch type 2b fibers and, in turn, avoid significantly affecting her 'width'.

Maybe GGR or Giggle can chime in for some input too.

[kelkel]

Okay, I didn't work out today but I know somebody must have.....

Post up....

[Giggle]

Did chest - that counts!
Did a few wu's, then progressed to flat DB's, 50's x 6, with RP and got another 2 reps
Incline flyes, top set with 30's x 8, drop set x 2
Machine press for more volume
Cable flyes to finish it off
Nice night

[kelkel]

Did chest - that counts!
Did a few wu's, then progressed to flat DB's, 50's x 6, with RP and got another 2 reps
Incline flyes, top set with 30's x 8, drop set x 2
Machine press for more volume
Cable flyes to finish it off
Nice night

Sounds like a nice night!

[Hazard]

Okay, I didn't work out today but I know somebody must have.....

Post up....

I got in to do chest/bis today. FINALLY!

I had the day off because I'm chasing runners overnight tonite. Prolly wont get to sleep till 12-1 in the afternoon so idunno if ill make the gym tmrw. Have an overnite tmrw too :-/

[Dpyle]

Just finished legs. I'm light headed, want to vomit, and can't feel my legs. It's almost as if my brain new where it was headed so it just skipped the pain and dumped the endorphins.

[Igifuno]

I got in to do chest/bis today. FINALLY! I had the day off because I'm chasing runners overnight tonite. Prolly wont get to sleep till 12-1 in the afternoon so idunno if ill make the gym tmrw. Have an overnite tmrw too :-/

Hope the knee is better bro. Get some sleep!

[Igifuno]

Just finished legs. I'm light headed, want to vomit, and can't feel my legs. It's almost as if my brain new where it was headed so it just skipped the pain and dumped the endorphins.

Don't give my brain any ideas. Good session if you're about to lose your cookies

[Capebuffalo]

From Dr. tristaniy

Morning gents. Let's wrap our minds around this and do something impossible today. Enjoy

There you sit, totally confused about why your muscles aren't responding the way you expected. You've read tons of articles, you eat right, sleep enough, take supplements and train like a warrior. Still, you aren't getting your intended results. You start to give in to frustration and wonder if all the effort is worth it.

But what if I tell you that you just think you're training as hard as you can? Consider the following factors that could hold you back, and the secrets to surmounting them.

Secret #1: Applied Intensity for Success
The secret for most successful athletes is to develop highly refined competitive skills and to perform them with intensity. Especially for those who weight train, mastering intensity is a key ingredient toward fulfilling the goal of training for size and muscularity. But you need to build up to full intensity by first developing the physical skills and strength needed.

Intensity is defined as the application of maximum physical effort systematically applied to a technically developed motor skill. This means you must be experienced in technique before intensity is applied. Therefore, if you're inexperienced and attempt a maximum deadlift with bad form, you may get injured. But performing a maximum deadlift with expert skill and good form will aid in the prevention of training accidents.

Secret #2: Going for the Gold
Before you can be the best that you can be, you must first master the physical discomfort associated with intense physical activity. "No pain, no gain" refers to the mental development of pain tolerance to push your muscular endurance to the absolute limits of failure - thereby stimulating muscle growth.

Strength and endurance athletes use such terms as "pushing it to the limit", "to the max", and "hitting the wall" to describe these upper limits of performance. However, these don't imply reckless and dangerous techniques for maximum performance at any cost. Just the opposite. With regard to exercise, the terms refer to the skilled use of weight training techniques systematically applied to a working muscle group sufficient to cause temporary failure - without causing muscular injury. Therefore, you need to distinguish muscle burn and muscle fatigue from the pain of injury.

The burn from muscle fatigue subsides within 20-30 seconds, whereas injury pain is pronounced, sharp and continuous. Know your physical limitations ad learn to read your body's signal.

Secret #3: Breaking the Pain Barrier
The next step is to break through the pain barrier. To do so, you must first develop pain tolerance.This is developed by progressively increasing intensity so your body gradually adjusts to sensory overload. Eventually, the same weight, pressure, endurance and muscle fatigue experience will feel less intense. To a beginner,a 20 pound dumbbell curl would feel heavy and cause considerable muscle burn and fatigue. After 3-4 workouts, those same dumbbells would feel much lighter. In a month, 30 pound dumbbells would feel the same as 20 pounders. In other words, your muscles adapt to the increased weight and respond as if the same weight was lighter.

Secret #4: Be Mentally Prepared
Expect some pain. This prepares you emotionally for increased physical intensity. Unfortunately, pain has become a four letter word in our culture. All manner of media messages condition us to view pain as undesirable, something to be avoided. Television commercials direct us to treat pain with an ever growing arsenal of painkillers. We're often admonished not to strain ourselves, not to overdo it. Such statements program us to become pleasure seekers without first developing the discipline or the ability to work through pain or difficulties.

To combat this trend, you can psychologically alter the perception of pain as something to tolerate, even strive for. As time progresses, the same pain level feels lessened, And your brain reinterprets the pain as acceptable. Surprisingly, with continued physical work in the pain zone, your muscular responses of increased size and strength will be mentally perceived as pure pleasure. This is the very point where your brain begins to transform these pain sensations into feelings of euphoria. As well, continued neurological exposure to pain stimuli produces a diminished response to the same level of pain.

Secret #5: Brains over Brawn
To get your brain to reinterpret pain as pleasure isn't difficult. It requires three elements: 1) constant effort, 2) repetitive exposure and 3) absolute determination to succeed. Getting used to noninjurious pain is similar to gradual immersion into a hot Jacuzzi - you slowly allow your body to adjust to the intensity of the heat. In the same manner, if you gradually increase your training intensity over a month, your brain won;t experience abrupt feelings of physical discomfort. As time passes, muscle fatigue, muscle burn and the burden of weight become commonplace and expected. Once you've attained this upper limit of pain tolerance, it becomes your future barometer of intensity.

Secret #6: Pleasure in the Pain Zone
What turns intense physical effort into pure ecstasy is the victory over your feelings, fears and self doubts. When you achieve that next big step by piling on more weights and grinding out those extra reps - continuing to strive beyond your previous limits - you've reached the benchmark of a true athlete. Those of you who can achieve this level will enjoy the sheer pleasure of victory over your past limitations. The next time you reach 12 reps on a set of squats, challenge yourself, and be confident that you can increase your poundage by at least 10% to the amount required to perform 8 - 10 reps safely. (Make sure that a skilled spotter helps you.)

Secret #7: Conquer or Be Conquered
Fear of pain, stress and failure may be grounded more in emotion than in your physical inability to succeed. If you're motivated by "fear reduction," you'll do anything to avoid fear rather than confront it and achieve a victory. Suppose that you can bench press 250 pounds, but you tremble at the prospect of pushing 275. This is precisely where you need to develop your confidence by moving forward and taking that next big step.

You get out of weight training what you put into it. Big, muscular gains are the visible signs of victory, but the emotional payoff motivated you to continue to training with intensity.

Secret #8: Memories
Old experiences of pain may teach you to avoid pain rather than confront it and work through it. A curious human phenomenon is that we cannot fully appreciate pleasure until we've fully experienced some sense of pain.

These days, we Americas are conditioned by television, technology and automation to reduce effort, avoid discomfort and seek immediate gratification. Consequently, we overemphasize pleasure, which weakens the discipline needed for achievement that requires intense and prolonged effort. Giving up is so much easier that pursuing a difficult task. This is why so few becomes superstars while millions remain wanna-bes. Take not: Prolonged effort is the chief ingredient for athletic success (not to mention riches and fame). If you're serious about making improvements, you must keep moving forward and challenge your fears of failure. Be confident that each attempt you will make will improve your skills and increase your strength.

Secret #9: Survival of the Fittest
While waging the internal battle between pleasure and pain, you must decide your long term goals. If you pleasure seek for only what feels good, you'll probably avoid most of the experiences that feel bad. The danger therein is that even a little bit of effort begins to feel bad, with the consequence that you avoid doing anything that requires any intense work whatsoever.

The work ethic may seem like an unpleasant choice, but in the long run, the rewards from your efforts are felt as a pure victory. Great achievements demand great efforts, and nothing worth having comes easy. If it did, then everyone would have it at no cost.

Secret #10: To the Victor Go the Spoils
You must sacrifice laziness, pain avoidance, and pleasure seeking to develop the pain tolerance for hard work. Hard work helps ensure that your sustained efforts will lead you in the direction of achievement. Realistically, you must battle against fear, apathy and pain avoidance to defeat your worst enemy - most likely yourself.

Your mind is the strongest "muscle" in your body. If you believe the molly coddling bromides such as "Don't strain yourself", "You can't do this", and "Pain isn't good", you'll be imprisoned by your fears as long as they remain unconscious and unchallenged, The choice is yours: Be guided by your fears of be self directed by your own free will.

If you're intimidated by the thought of adding more weight to the bar when you can if fact safely handle it, you aren't tapping into your true physical potential. Now is the time to reconsidered your options. Remember, to defeat your fears, you must face them with the conviction and courage that you'll ultimately succeed

[Hazard]

Hope the knee is better bro. Get some sleep!

I'm still out there :-/ I'm exhausted lol. Can't wait to sleep

[thunderthor70]

Very motivational Cape! Great read for a Friday morning. A good example of how the mind-set you have in the gym that creates success can be used in real life situations to breed the same success.

[thunderthor70]

I'm still out there :-/ I'm exhausted lol. Can't wait to sleep

Is your knee going to require surgery or just some time to heal Haz?

[marcus300]

Hit chest today and it was great for once

super set incline flyes with incline press

hammer flat press

flat flyes

done

All done to failure and my shoulder felt a bit better

[thunderthor70]

Hit chest today and it was great for once

super set incline flyes with incline press

hammer flat press

flat flyes

done

All done to failure and my shoulder felt a bit better

Glad to hear the shoulder is feeling better. Do you think the deca is helping or just a good day?

[marcus300]

Glad to hear the shoulder is feeling better. Do you think the deca is helping or just a good day?

Ive been taking anti-inflammatory for 7 days which seems to be helping and ive also took extra days off chest. Its not right to be honest but doesn't seem to be getting any worse. If it carries on for much longer I will go to see my doctor but I hate it when he says you need to stop training - he doesn't understand I have to lol

[thunderthor70]

Ive been taking anti-inflammatory for 7 days which seems to be helping and ive also took extra days off chest. Its not right to be honest but doesn't seem to be getting any worse. If it carries on for much longer I will go to see my doctor but I hate it when he says you need to stop training - he doesn't understand I have to lol

Going to the doctor is just frustrating sometimes.

There are a few exercises I do besides the standard rotator exercises that help my shoulders a lot.
1: get in a pushup position and move up and down at the shoulder joint with you elbows locked
2: get in a cross bench dip position and move up and down at the shoulder joint with your elbows locked.
3: on a seated cable row keep your arms extended and move back and forth at the shoulder joint.
4: use a kettle bell and do one arm overhead presses with the handle down and the bell pointed up. Instead of bringing the elbow down to your side bring it down facing forward with your palm facing in.

These exercise have helped strengthen my shoulder joint to the point they don't give me near as many problems as before. I still avoid barbell benching though.

[Hazard]

Is your knee going to require surgery or just some time to heal Haz?

I have no idea..... I don't have health insurance so I can't get it looked at yet.

I feels like a meniscal tear. Which would require surgery..... But it'd hafta be confirmed by an MRI

[marcus300]

Going to the doctor is just frustrating sometimes.

There are a few exercises I do besides the standard rotator exercises that help my shoulders a lot.
1: get in a pushup position and move up and down at the shoulder joint with you elbows locked
2: get in a cross bench dip position and move up and down at the shoulder joint with your elbows locked.
3: on a seated cable row keep your arms extended and move back and forth at the shoulder joint.
4: use a kettle bell and do one arm overhead presses with the handle down and the bell pointed up. Instead of bringing the elbow down to your side bring it down facing forward with your palm facing in.

These exercise have helped strengthen my shoulder joint to the point they don't give me near as many problems as before. I still avoid barbell benching though.

I'm just on the normal cuff strengthening exercises at the moment but will try these out thanks a lot.

[thunderthor70]

I have no idea..... I don't have health insurance so I can't get it looked at yet.

I feels like a meniscal tear. Which would require surgery..... But it'd hafta be confirmed by an MRI

That sucks! Hope it works out for you.

[marcus300]

This morning I am 259lbs,

Gone a little smoother but I always do when I go on creatine, I've also increased cals due to some dramatic strength increases what I've been experiencing so I thought I might aswell feed it see if I can get a few more lbs. Doing cardio because I am getting out of breath a lot which normally happens if I go over a certain weight. I am sticking with 1min rest in-between sets on most body parts except legs which I have to take more time to get back to a stage were I can go to failure and beyond without it being dangerous.

[sawyer86]

I wish i could train!

[kelkel]

This morning I am 259lbs,

Gone a little smoother but I always do when I go on creatine, I've also increased cals due to some dramatic strength increases what I've been experiencing so I thought I might aswell feed it see if I can get a few more lbs. Doing cardio because I am getting out of breath a lot which normally happens if I go over a certain weight. I am sticking with 1min rest in-between sets on most body parts except legs which I have to take more time to get back to a stage were I can go to failure and beyond without it being dangerous.

Nice weight. And yes, legs sometimes require a bit more than a minute, especially when pushing extreme weight.

[marcus300]

I wish i could train!

Hang in there mate, it will be fine one day. Just train and build those legs and calves to the absolutely maximum

[marcus300]

Nice weight. And yes, legs sometimes require a bit more than a minute, especially when pushing extreme weight.

Its a little to heavy for me I feel more comfortable around the 240-245 mark but its freezing lol

Yes your right legs is very tasking indeed, I struggle to keep anywhere near 1 min rest but i haven't done cardio properly for ages so my fitness is down.

[sawyer86]

Hang in there mate, it will be fine one day. Just train and build those legs and calves to the absolutely maximum

Im trying mate. Looking into tb-500 to speed up recovery.

[marcus300]

Im trying mate. Looking into tb-500 to speed up recovery.

Something ive never used but i have looked at it and may look at it again, my only concern is that there isn't much data.

[sawyer86]

Yea i know what you mean mate. I dont know much about it but kel suggested it to me so ive been looking at it. Anyone who has experience with tb-500?

[DontTaseMeBro]

Yes your right legs is very tasking indeed, I struggle to keep anywhere near 1 min rest but i haven't done cardio properly for ages so my fitness is down.

Are you're doing one warm up set, a moderate "feel set" and one final working set to failure with the minute rest between each of the 3 sets?