The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

A balanced diet that includes tacos and beer

 

Corn tortillas so they’re healthier than flour #balance

 

I did 3 sets of dips today on a machine. I still need help with the weight. When I was younger & a lot lighter I could bust out lots of those things. Now I’m like 200lbs and as much as I wish it was Pure Muscle, it’s not.

 

I finally did it guys, I broke myself.
After nearly 2 months of not taking care of myself while we renovated a house I opened the door to sickness.
Woke up yesterday morning feeling “bleh” after working until 1 AM, this morning I didn’t feel great either, took a long shower before work to help clean out my sinuses.
Tonight I had a city meaning and started shivering while driving home, got home and jumped in a shower for an hour and get several “high heart rate” alarms on my Apple Watch, finally got out of the shower week as a noodle and I’m hopefully improving slightly between fevers.
Max heart rate was recorded sitting in the shower.

 

Hey man you need to sleep and stay away from whatever you’ve been consuming. Not sure if it’s something you should see a doctor about but I would ASAP

 

Idk how healthy DOS XX are but I’ve had a lot of them tonight

 

Stress is a powerful thing.

Last year when we got our first home I also was finishing my thesis, and I switched jobs because my boss wouldn’t let me take medical leave.
We got the house and immediately stripped it and redid all the floors and trim and a few other projects I tried to do after work every night when we lived 50 mins away from the house.
I quit working out and my diet really suffered. As did my sleep.

I ended up with a thyroid that crashed and ileitis (inflammation of the small intestine just past the stomach).

Take care of yourself.
Eat well, drink water, get some routine exercise, and practice sleep hygiene. Take a couple vacation days if you got em.
Hang in there.

 

Pick these apart. Looking for anything that can help me bench better. I did notice a little bit of elbow flare starting after a few reps in the frontal video. Didn’t realize that was happening.

This is as wide as I can currently bench pain free. My sweet spot pre-tear was considerably wider than this.

I’m making progress. I didn’t bench at all for like 1.5 years after it happened. I recently hit a post-injury PR at 205lb.

https://youtu.be/yacrBEzI8M8

https://youtu.be/FyP9TlxxUsM

 

I know others have responded but I will add my input as well, as someone who did keto for about 7 months. I lost 30 pounds and added 80 pounds to my 3 lift total in that time. Those weren't noob gains either. I became stronger and leaner than I had been in 7-8 years. Not sure what I was doing, or the reasoning, but I can vouch for the fact that the diet works. Maybe I was reversing 7-8 years of poor eating, but the bottom line is it was effective. I did not get the keto flu that bad. At some point you just get used to eating the keto diet, and you don't crave or want anything else. I would agree with most that it is not sustainable. I was ready to get off of it after 7 months. Even if it is just a way to jump-start you into fitness and dieting/nutrition, I would argue that it is worth trying. I will also say that you can't entirely rely on advice from someone who has been "thin" their entire life. You need to hear from people who have been in similar positions weight/body-wise as their experience will be the most relevant. That is why I am adding my two cents.

Whatever you choose, good luck! I hope you find success. If you're not lifting already, then I would begin that immediately in addition to whatever diet you start or whatever adjustment to your diet you make.

 

How did you cycle off without putting the weight back on? I think I would give it a try at least to jumpstart things if I can figure out how to safely come off it without blowing up again.

 

I think you're benching just fine, I don't think you're too narrow to make a tricep workout. You will probably get more of your "inner chest" with that width but that's not a bad thing.

 

I went to, and still am, "low carb," although I have been doing a terrible job of it the last year. I also timed the carbs I eat around my lifting and working out, and only eat certain types of carbs. I stay away from bread or any sugar, for the most part. On days I lift, hike or play rugby I am intentional about eating white or brown rice or sweet potatoes 2-3 hours before and after those activities. On days I don't do any type of exercise I won't be intentional about eating carbs. I mean if I go to a restaurant and end up getting kabobs that have rice, I will eat the rice, but I won't say I need to go somewhere that has rice. I will eat a lot of meat and vegetables on those days. Pretty close to keto but not entirely.

EDIT: I will also add that because of my job I have to eat lunch out 4-5 times a week, and it's not always up to me where I go. Colleagues or clients often choose, so sometimes I am stuck going somewhere where I just have to make it work. Sometimes you can't always be "keto" unless you go entirely off menu which I don't like doing as someone who used to be a cook. Keto is tough to stick to if you are not able to make your food or control where you eat most of the time.

 

Your hand position is alot like mine. My suggestion is to not touch your chest, unless you are REQUIRED to do so, there is zero benefit. Most of us don't have 400 fat bodied chests that don't allow our rotator cuffs to over extend. There is just no need for this depth.

If strictly trying to get stronger at the bench, focus on the 3/4 movement. No sense to lockout - also this will help keep the muscle fibers engaged rather than shifting focus to the triceps.

Make sure your feet are firmly planted - they should be dug into the ground with no movement and should actually support some of your lift.

Working the inner chest is actually impossible to target. I little info about this - the chest is made up on fibers which insert and run across the entire chest. The only way to physically activate the inner chest, is to perform a chest movement. The fibers stretch and contract throughout any movement. you can focus more upper/lower, but not inner or outer due to the skeletal muscle structure of the pectoral.

 

interesting, I know when I've worked with closer grip my chest by my sternum seems to get "more sore" than out near my armpits. maybe it's mental?

 

It simply appears that way probably due to you thinking about it that way. The mind is crazy and works in mysterious ways. Also, depending your other movements, they could be not as true to form as the one you're performing so the inner grip could be targeting more of the pec than some of your other movements.

 

Hmmm... I think i'll stick with just trying the low carb diet. I eat out a lot with my job as well and low carb would be easier for me to manage and stick too. I already drink a gallon of water a day so I have that going for me haha I just need to get back into working out and eating better after 6 years of eating like shit... My wife loves the dad bod but i'd also like to be able to tie my shoes while being able to breathe haha.

 

I had very poor form and understanding of how the chest muscles work for many years, this caused my shoulders to become overdeveloped and my chest underdeveloped. I knew I had to find a way to improve my chest, so through extensive research and studying and applying the methods I learned.



If you look at the structure of the fibers, they typically run horizontal. We cannot target just the inner chest due to the make up of the muscle. We can't make only a fractional length of the fibers contract thus throwing out the idea that we can work "inner chest". By working the entire chest through contraction is the only way we can build the chest, thus building inner.

 

My intent is to compete in PL meets. So, pausing on the chest will be required. I feel like I need to train the movement for that reason.

I do regularly do spoto presses as an accessory like you’re saying. Did them yesterday actually. 4x10 constant tension/no lockout.

 

Which pec did you tear? In your videos I can see your right side is much larger. How long ago did you tear it?

Pec tears are no joke. Not sure I'd want to purposely max out my potential with a previous injury just to compete.

 

Right pec. It appears larger in the video because a large portion (60ish%)of the pec tendon isn’t attached to the humerus anymore. So, when I contract that pec, instead of it adducting my humerus like it should, it just piles up in the middle of my chest. That’s what you’re seeing.

I see what you’re saying, and that’s certainly one logical way to look at it.

I’m looking at it like this. The damage is done. I waited too long to have surgery. The tendon has deteriorated so much that they would have to attempt to attach the new tendon directly to the muscle fiber. The surgeon explained it as essentially being like sewing into soft hamburger meat rather than the strong tendon. Predicted a 30% success rate vs 95% had I went within a few months of it happening. Not rolling the dice on 30%

So, I can either baby it, or do what I like doing with what I have to work with. What’s the worst that can happen? Tear the rest of it and have a shit bench? Well, I’m already there so I’m choosing to have fun with it. Haha.

I’d give anything to go back in time and have it fixed. I’d have some dead person’s Achilles in my chest.