The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

kodiak, i'm not saying mens health is right or wrong, i'm just telling the guys who had asked what the article said. according to MH, some exercises are conducive to going to failure and some exercises are not. they put olympic lifts in the not category, which are some of the lifts crossfit does until failure. MH put it this way, crossfit or any exercise routine that is a technically complex exercise performed for high repetitions under conditions of extreme fatigue can cause injury and/or rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney damage.

personally i do think there is a fine line between how far is too far, what is good for your muscles and what isn't. i agree with what one of the guys said, it's common sense. just like anything, some things work for some people and some things don't. i would agree that in a setting where you have a bunch of people cheering you on, people that don't normally push themselves will benefit more than people that usually push to the limit, hopefully those people won't push too hard w/all that peer pressure, lol.

 

Not everyone can step right into crossfit and perform the WOD with prescribed loads, reps etc. Very very rarely do I find a WOD that has reps to failure.

www.crossfitbrandx.com is a great place to start...they post the WOD and then the scaled ones. Crossfit is designed to be scaled, to be compatible with all levels of fitness, and all genders, and fitness needs.

Will you get big on crossfit? Not really, because crossfit isn't designed to make you big.

Will you have muscle fatigue? Yes, everyday.

Will you reach your ultimate fitness goals? Absolutely.

Side note: If you're lifting a certain weight for a WOD and you experience failure on the first set before the prescribed number of reps, you should lower the weight.

Hit up the website, read the about section and getting started section. Read up on the diet style that will assist you in having the strength to perform. And definitely check out all the vids and demonstrations of exercises.

Edit: If you want some beginning workouts, and introduction workouts to crossfit let me know, I have a 4 week starters guide on PDF.

 

Uphill sprints are a bitch.....

 

yeah they are.. we have a lot of manmade levees around here and they are great for sprints...

 

no shit.

what kind of intervals you doing them at?

 

I started off at level 3 elevation on the treadmill at 5.0 mph for 5 min and then did level 15 elevation at 7.0 mph for 1 min. The next one was 5 mph for 4 min at level 3 then up to level 12 at 7 mph for 1 min. Back to level 3 at 5 mph for 4 min and then back to level 12 at 7 mph for 1 min. After that I did a few more things and some high speed walking at level 18.

All in all I went 600 vertical feet and 2 miles distance in 26 min.

 

plyometrics for you buddy. you should incorperate some of that in your routine for injury prevention.

 

Like I said, not saying that 8 pounds of lean muscle in two months is impossible, just not likely. Kudos to you if you managed to gain that kind of weight, though.

And 20 pounds of lean muscle in two months is ridiculous. I don't care who this guy is, or what he says he did. Without any other evidence than, "I ran the numbers through a computer and it said I gained 19.5 lbs pure muscle," I call shenanigans.

The link I provided showed several renowned exercise physiologists and nutritionists numbers, not just one opinion. Furthermore, these people are credentialed, published, etc. I guess it may because I've got a science background and am familiar with conducting research, but I'm a skeptic.

Mind you, I'm talking about gains without stacking any illegal substances. I have no idea what sort of gains are possible with their use, as I've never used them.

Edit: Mike Semanoff's credentials include a B.S. in Biology Education (essentially some of the less-in-depth biology courses mixed with education courses) and some personal training certifications. I'm not implying that you have to have a Ph.D. to know what you're talking about (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc.), but its something to consider.

I think MH has a point, but you've got to keep in mind they have to remain generalized and appealing to a broad spectrum of people. There's probably a great deal of truth to the idea that most Crossfit instructors aren't properly trained -- but then again (at least in my area), almost no trainer is properly trained. I suppose its also true to say that you could squeeze by with bad form while beginning weightlifting, but you could NOT with crossfit without gaining some sort of injury. (Obviously, you shouldn't allow yourself bad form on weightlifting, but you get the point.)

That said, all risks can be minimized. Its people who go about it wrong that give it a bad name. Crossfit is amazing -- pure and simple. If done properly, risk can be marginalized while maximizing benefits. Its just like anything else in life, you've got to go about doing it the right way and well educated.

 

what kind of pre workouts do any of you take?

 

4 loko

 

Eggs and Steak

 

The dang picture wouldnt rotate, but this is me so far. Trying to stick with it after a long day at work is a tough one.

 

Thanks man, do you have any tips for bulking up?