**The Exercise Clinic**

[gearbox]

bringing your arms in will focus more on triceps and at the end of the movement you'd get a squeeze on the inner portion of the pecs along the sternum

Thanks dec. I will probably switch it up on how wide my grip is.

What's ur bicep routine or do u have certain must do exercises for them...

[DanB]

i would go with a medium to mid high heart rate for 40mins after training, you could take afew aminos just beforehand.

6mths continuous bulk is a tall order mate, you will want to periodise that, ie; 6wks of hitting it hard and heavy, 2wks medium, one week off and repeat. otherwise you'd go stale before long

Thanks mate, i take it im keeping cals the same during medium weeks, week off

[dec11]

Thanks dec. I will probably switch it up on how wide my grip is.

What's ur bicep routine or do u have certain must do exercises for them...

standard dbell curl, standing concentration curl and switch between hammers with preachers each week. i only use dbells for biceps

[dec11]

Thanks mate, i take it im keeping cals the same during medium weeks, week off

yes, but you could ease off the carbs at this point. your body will get a chance to fully recover esp during the week off, so keep it fed

[DanB]

there's nothing like free advice from somebody who knows what they talking about and genuinely wants to help. . . .thanks mate much appreciated

[gearbox]

i agree...dec is freaking awesome as are many members on here!

[dec11]

there's nothing like free advice from somebody who knows what they talking about and genuinely wants to help. . . .thanks mate much appreciated

i agree...dec is freaking awesome as are many members on here!

you're welcome lads

[M302_Imola]

dec

can you tell me what you think on forearm training?

i never did it thought it seemed gay. assumed deadlifts etc would suffice

but can you tell me if it can help with growth etc.

cheers mate

Do you use straps on your heavier lifts? If so, try only using straps when absolutely necessary or not at all...this will contribute to larger forearms and better grip.

[dec11]

Do you use straps on your heavier lifts? If so, try only using straps when absolutely necessary or not at all...this will contribute to larger forearms and better grip.

yep, no straps, if developing forearms. strap your other back exercises if completely necessary, ive never used straps/hooks on deads, my torso would rip off before my grip would give!

[RaginCajun]

dec11, i am rehabbing my shoulder/rotator cuff and want to do deads on a smith machine (only equipment that i have around). how do you think i should go about technique on the smith machine with deads? i hate smith machines, but it is all i have at the moment to perform any heavy weighted exercise on. thanks

[dec11]

dec11, i am rehabbing my shoulder/rotator cuff and want to do deads on a smith machine (only equipment that i have around). how do you think i should go about technique on the smith machine with deads? i hate smith machines, but it is all i have at the moment to perform any heavy weighted exercise on. thanks

ive a rotator complaint also and deads are one of the few lifts that arent affecting it badly mate. have you tried free bar deads yet?

to be perfectly honest, i would advise anyone to dead with a smith machine and i reckon the unnatural plain of movement would trouble your rotator more. try building up gradually with the free bar, if you haven't already. i managed a double out of 255kgs last week with no rotator trouble but there are many diff forms of rotator cuff damage.

[RaginCajun]

ive a rotator complaint also and deads are one of the few lifts that arent affecting it badly mate. have you tried free bar deads yet?

to be perfectly honest, i would advise anyone to dead with a smith machine and i reckon the unnatural plain of movement would trouble your rotator more. try building up gradually with the free bar, if you haven't already. i managed a double out of 255kgs last week with no rotator trouble but there are many diff forms of rotator cuff damage.

there is no free bar to do this on, that is my problem. only have the smith machine to work on for this exericse. thanks for info.

[dec11]

there is no free bar to do this on, that is my problem. only have the smith machine to work on for this exericse. thanks for info.

ah, sorry, i missed that in your post. get yourself an olympic bar mate, i wouldnt advise very much on a smith machine tbh

[RaginCajun]

ah, sorry, i missed that in your post. get yourself an olympic bar mate, i wouldnt advise very much on a smith machine tbh

well, i need to join a gym so i can take advantage of that but the little fitness center at my apartment complex has enough equipment to get a workout in, just not able to do free weights. there are dumbbells up to 60lbs and that is it. thanks for the info again dec

[srsharp]

im just starting to work out and cut body fat. What are some good exercises to start with. Also how many days a week should i lift? and should i take and protein, creatine, ect.

[dooie]

Dec11 a few questions for you after today and yesterday's workout!

Firstly: my lower back kills me after I do deads, very painful for about 2-3 days afterwards, can't stand long trips in the car!! An I doing something wrong? Or is this normal..

Secondly: on leg day my legs are taking up to 5-7 days to recover from my sessions.. This is ridiculous, I have just bought some zinc magnesium tablets to try recover faster and sleep better. But it's just not practical for me!

Actually while I'm at it, the last 5 sessions or so on legs, after heavy leg presses, I get very light headed and need to lay down afterwards, I get very close to fainting or p/o this just wrecks my workout, is this a sign of anything?

Any help on any of these subjects would be a major help man, thanks for ur time!

[jpowell]

conflicting info going on in my gym between myself, personal trainer, and his coworker. back in oct 2011. i had set goals to get down in wate around 215 and bf high teens roughly 18%. i started off 245 with 27% body fat. my pt had me doing cardio 3x a day 45 morn, 20 preworkout, 30 post. plus my wate training. n my diet consisted of .5c oats, 4 eggs, break.....and the rest of the day 4oz chicken breast with 1c veggies 4x....problem is his coworker another pt, told me im over working with the cardio. so all that cardio is not burning fat but burning muscle. and also my diet sucked. lol. my current stats are 234..24.1% bf as of yesterday. kinda lost on wat i shod do/listen to. any help is appreciated.

[AndrewD54]

Day 1 back/ biceps
4x10 pullups
4x10 rows
4x10 shrugs
4x10 standing curls
4x10 preacher curls
4x10 concentration curls
Day 2 chest and triceps
4x10 flat bench
4x10 weighted dips
4x10 flys
4x10 rope pull downs
day 3 legs
4x10 squats
4x10 seated leg press
4x10 leg extensions
4x10 leg curls
4x10 calf raises
Deads every few workouts
day 4 shoulders
4x10 front raises
4x10 side raises
4x10 reverse pec deck
4x10 arnolds


I could use a critique. I have chronic shoulder bursitis so any overhead lifts are out unfortunetly

[dec11]

im just starting to work out and cut body fat. What are some good exercises to start with. Also how many days a week should i lift? and should i take and protein, creatine, ect.

adopt a 3 day split:

mon chest and arms

wed legs and abs

fri back and shoulders

start with compound exercises and then do three assistant exercises. do cardio on days inbetween. best to hit the nutrition section for diet advice as this section is just for training mate

Dec11 a few questions for you after today and yesterday's workout!

Firstly: my lower back kills me after I do deads, very painful for about 2-3 days afterwards, can't stand long trips in the car!! An I doing something wrong? Or is this normal..

Secondly: on leg day my legs are taking up to 5-7 days to recover from my sessions.. This is ridiculous, I have just bought some zinc magnesium tablets to try recover faster and sleep better. But it's just not practical for me!

Actually while I'm at it, the last 5 sessions or so on legs, after heavy leg presses, I get very light headed and need to lay down afterwards, I get very close to fainting or p/o this just wrecks my workout, is this a sign of anything?

Any help on any of these subjects would be a major help man, thanks for ur time!

how long have you been deadlifting for? lower back pain would be quite normal for some as long as its recovery pain and not condition pain. as for the rest i'd leaning towards insufficient fuelling in your workouts, dizziness is common if really hitting it hard, its also attributed to low blood sugar. are you on top of your diet? if in doubt head over to g brice in the nutrition section and post your diet mate.

[dec11]

Day 1 back/ biceps
4x10 pullups not good if have rotator probs, replace with shoulder width pulldowns palms facing towards you
4x10 rows
4x10 shrugs
4x10 standing curls
4x10 preacher curls
4x10 concentration curls
Day 2 chest and triceps
4x10 flat bench
4x10 weighted dips
4x10 flys replace with pec deck, seriously bad for shoulder probs
4x10 rope pull downs
day 3 legs
4x10 squats
4x10 seated leg press
4x10 leg extensions
4x10 leg curls
4x10 calf raises
Deads every few workouts do these every 2wks with your BACK workout
day 4 shoulders
4x10 front raises a cause of shoulder probs
4x10 side raises another cause
4x10 reverse pec deck yet another
4x10 arnolds ?????????


I could use a critique. I have chronic shoulder bursitis so any overhead lifts are out unfortunetly

bolds. i'd forget shoulders for a while if i were you. i have rotator probs also and the only way ive settled it down is by excluding ALL pressing, shit i know, but it aint going to get better without rest

[dec11]

conflicting info going on in my gym between myself, personal trainer, and his coworker. back in oct 2011. i had set goals to get down in wate around 215 and bf high teens roughly 18%. i started off 245 with 27% body fat. my pt had me doing cardio 3x a day 45 morn, 20 preworkout, 30 post. plus my wate training. n my diet consisted of .5c oats, 4 eggs, break.....and the rest of the day 4oz chicken breast with 1c veggies 4x....problem is his coworker another pt, told me im over working with the cardio. so all that cardio is not burning fat but burning muscle. and also my diet sucked. lol. my current stats are 234..24.1% bf as of yesterday. kinda lost on wat i shod do/listen to. any help is appreciated.

45min in the morn x4 is sufficient cardio for fatloss in my opinion. i used to PT also and worked alongside some morons, if they havent at least 10yrs experience in a competitive field then walk away. all the certs in the world are no substitute for experience.

again, head to the nutrition section for your diet advice

[AndrewD54]

Thanks man

[dec11]

Thanks man

no prob. be very careful with that shoulder mate, ive been on a one step forward and two back basis with mine for over a year. only totally cut out pressing movements and back training (strangely i can still pull 250kg + dlifts) around 4wks ago and am feeling definite progress now. i started using Joint Force by E-Pharma last week, on the advice of another experienced member. its a topical spray, im definitely getting further relief from that also, might be worth a shot for you.

[JimmySidewalk]

I know its the exercise clinic, but i do have a question regarding juice doses which i dont think is worth starting another thread. By this we'll also be bumping the thread.

What would you choose between the following 3 cycles(no talk about PCT or other "support" drugs while on cycle, or cycle lenght, just compounds)

First 700mg prop+ 700mg tren a per week
Second 1050mg prop + 350mg tren a per week
Third 1400mg prop per week

Which one floats your boat ?

[dec11]

I know its the exercise clinic, but i do have a question regarding juice doses which i dont think is worth starting another thread. By this we'll also be bumping the thread.

What would you choose between the following 3 cycles(no talk about PCT or other "support" drugs while on cycle, or cycle lenght, just compounds)

First 700mg prop+ 700mg tren a per week
Second 1050mg prop + 350mg tren a per week
Third 1400mg prop per week

Which one floats your boat ?

kinda contradicting yourself mate? amazing how i put 'no aas questions' and still someone has to persist!!! please dont ask aas q's in here, thats what Q&A is for....

[DanB]

dont worry this thread will never be short of workout questions with me around mate haha, i understand how your lifts go stale after time if you dont change it up and occasionally take few days off, my question for you is can same thing happen with cardio? reason being is that, i been hammering the threadmill recently and putting in some serious miles but last 2 days i tried to run pwo and after 15mins i had to stop because of massive pumps in calves, i have a mental block which makes me cringe at the site of a bike and reason i changed to threadmil couple months ago, and if i try to go a few rounds on bag, my power is fine but speed is terrible, alot slower than usual and alot slower than what it should be for my weight and fitness all i can do is the rowing machine is this a mental thing i need to push through or have i burnt myself out?

[DanB]

and lifts are fine, no lack of energy or drop in weight

[dec11]

dont worry this thread will never be short of workout questions with me around mate haha, i understand how your lifts go stale after time if you dont change it up and occasionally take few days off, my question for you is can same thing happen with cardio? reason being is that, i been hammering the threadmill recently and putting in some serious miles but last 2 days i tried to run pwo and after 15mins i had to stop because of massive pumps in calves, i have a mental block which makes me cringe at the site of a bike and reason i changed to threadmil couple months ago, and if i try to go a few rounds on bag, my power is fine but speed is terrible, alot slower than usual and alot slower than what it should be for my weight and fitness all i can do is the rowing machine is this a mental thing i need to push through or have i burnt myself out?

and lifts are fine, no lack of energy or drop in weight

calf pumps or shin splints? try 5mins on a bike when you feel them and then go back to tmill and alternate like that.

i know what you mean by the mental thing and find jack3d lifts me out of any mental slump.

[DanB]

defo pumps it sounds strange i know, but i regular get splints from running on tarmac so i know the feeling. . . .im up to 2 scoops of jack but i might start taking it later so it hits more during cardio than weights, so it isnt a big deal and i just need stop moaning and get on with it kind of thing then yeah

[dec11]

defo pumps it sounds strange i know, but i regular get splints from running on tarmac so i know the feeling. . . .im up to 2 scoops of jack but i might start taking it later so it hits more during cardio than weights, so it isnt a big deal and i just need stop moaning and get on with it kind of thing then yeah

if its that heavy 'cant be arsed' mental feeling then def take a week off. none of us love training that much that it doesnt piss us of at times.

[DanB]

yeah weights are fine but even the thoughts of cardio has become painful recently, think it may be a little break then, thanks mate

[t-gunz]

hey dec. say for doing a short burst cycle. what do you think the best training method would be. high intensity included drop sets or GVT basic hypertrophy program?

[dec11]

hey dec. say for doing a short burst cycle. what do you think the best training method would be. high intensity included drop sets or GVT basic hypertrophy program?

which every method you've found to work best for you mate. i personally dont go in for these type programmes, i just up my weights has i feel them each week.

[ThatAthlete82]

What are your thoughts on the trap bar dead lift overall? How is it compared to regular deadlift?

[dec11]

What are your thoughts on the trap bar dead lift overall? How is it compared to regular deadlift?

hand positioning is different and by your side which means you wont be thrusting shoulders back to lock out the movement. you wouldnt be lifting as heavy on it either, i wouldnt have thought

[dec11]

bump

[Mr. Small]

dec.....what you think of the HST method. Full body workout 3 times a week with compound excercises. eg. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So each body part gets done 24 times over the 8 week period.

One compound for each major muscle group.
Each muscle group worked on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Week 1: one set of 15
Week 2: one set of 15
Week 3: 2 sets of 10
Week 4: 2 sets of 10
Week 5: 3 sets of 5
Week 6: 3 sets of 5
Week 7: 3 sets of 5
Week 8: 3 sets of 5

The calculate the weight you use, take your max, and gradually decrease it over the 6 workouts. The amount you increase each workout could be varied, generally 5-20lbs, with bigger bodyparts and compound movements having the bigger increments. I'm not a real strong guy, so for the Squat, Bench Press, and SLDL I increase the weight 10lbs, and for everything else I increase it by 5lbs. This can also be done percent wise (5-10% increments) So, for example, we'll say your 15 rep max for bench press is 100lbs, and you are using increments of 10lbs.

This would be what your weights would look like for bench press:

Workout 1 (Week 1, Monday)-50lbs x 15 reps
Workout 2 (Week 1, Wednesday)-60lbs x 15 reps
Workout 3 (Week 1, Friday)-70lbs 2 x 10 reps
Workout 4 (Week 2, Monday)-80lbs 2 x 10 reps
Workout 5 (Week 2, Wednesday)-90lbs 3 x 5 reps
Workout 6 (Week 2, Friday)- 100lbs (max) 3 x5 reps
Weeks 7 & 8 would go beyond the max if possible

[dec11]

^^^^^will lead to burn out in no time unless you're using baby weights, i dont subscribe to any of these fad workouts. my theory and whats worked best is KISS (keep it simple stupid).

you need to delete that link mate.

[BluePoker]

Hello. This is my first post here, and I wanted to say that this thread is pretty incredible. It's very nice of you to this, and I'll be referencing it pretty often hopefully. I'm completely new to working out in a gym type of setting. I was wondering if you recommend any workout programs? My friends who are in better shape than me, but not intense bodybuilders by any means say I should try Starting Strength. I've read the book and have the DVD and am considernig doing it. I was also browsing through some of the stickies on this site (they're great) and found this work out:

Beginner work out:


Mon - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
* Incline press - warm-up sets, 1 work set
* Flat flyes - 1 work set
* Millitary press - 1 warm-up, 1 work set
* Lateral flyes - 1 work set
* Rear delt machine - 1 work set
* Tricep pushdowns - 1 warm-up, 1 work set
* Lying tricep extensions - 1 work-set

Wed - Quads, Hams, Calves
* Squats - warm-ups, 1 work set
* Leg press - work set
* Leg extension - work set
* Leg curl - warm-up, work set
* Stiff leg deadlift - work set
* Standing calf raise - work set

Fri - Abs, Back, Bis
* Rope crunches - warm up, work set
* Lat pull down - warm-ups, work set
* Deadlift - warm-up, work set
* Bent-over rows - work set
* Shrugs - work set
* Standing BB curls - warm up, work set
* Concentration curl - work set



Do you recommend either of these, or have your own that you thing is better? I'm new to working out in a gym. I'm 26, 6'2" and about 170-180 lbs. I think I'm too skinny for my height and am looking to put on some weight. Thanks a lot.

[lmmalone]

Could you critique my routine??

Monday-Chest/triceps

Benchpress
Incline bench
Decline bench
Some cable chest presses
Tricep press (Single hand and double hand)
Cable pull downs
Dips

Wednesday-back/biceps
Deadlift
DB rows
Seated rows
DB pull overs
Then curls til I can hardly hold my car keys

Friday - shoulders/arms/abs
Overhead press
DB shoulder press
Front raises
Side raises
Shrugs
Random Ab/Arm work

Anything I should change?