lifting weights
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I have much more respect for a person doing parallel squats with weight they can handle, then someone who just loads up the barbell and does a 1/4 squat and tells themselves they squat heavy.
Here's a question....parallel squats aren't useless are they? Because I just started lifting heavy about 4 weeks ago, and I think I'm getting almost down to parallel, but there is no mirror by the rack so I can't really tell? I'm sometimes afraid to go down any farther or I might fall on my *kitten*. I am feeling it in my quads big time, so something is working. I'm only lifting about 85 lbs....
If you're not sure, try using a bench that's about the height of your parallel squat. Squat down and gently touch the bench then pop right back up. After a while, you'll "feel" what's the right position for a parallel squat for you.
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Getting beyond parallel is A LOT harder than it seems like it should be. I've backed way off on the weight and am just barely getting to parallel now.0
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I don't want to make sweeping generalizations, but cheetahs *never* wipe off the machines after using them. So selfish!Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.0 -
K....thanks for the info on the squats. I think I'm parallel, and that's what I've been trying for all along, but just not quite sure by the feel of it. I will have a trainer take a look at my form next time to be sure. Thanks again.0
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Getting beyond parallel is A LOT harder than it seems like it should be. I've backed way off on the weight and am just barely getting to parallel now.
Hell yes. I was ticked off all last night because I didn't get below parallel on some of my working set. It puts me in a bad, bad mood.0 -
FWIW, when I recently switched from the high-bar position to the low bar, I am finding it much easier to break the parallel for whatever reason. In the high bar position, I always "felt" like I was going deep enough, but recording myself showed otherwise.0
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...and dammit...I meant "are quarter squats useless" in my first post...not parallel squats.0
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Will you explain the first part more? "Critical to break the parallel" specifically. Are you saying you need to go past parallel?They're worse than useless; they're dangerous. You will hurt your knees. It is critical to break the parallel. Your hip crease should go just below your knees. A mirror will not really help you. You will need someone watching you and/or a video recorder. Recording yourself doing these lifts is always an eye-opening experience.
Practice with body weight. Increase the weight very slowly. Form comes first, weight comes second.0 -
FWIW, when I recently switched from the high-bar position to the low bar, I am finding it much easier to break the parallel for whatever reason. In the high bar position, I always "felt" like I was going deep enough, but recording myself showed otherwise.
I'm gonna have to look into low bar... I nearly bit my husband's head off last night at dinner after not getting deep enough in the squat.0 -
FWIW, when I recently switched from the high-bar position to the low bar, I am finding it much easier to break the parallel for whatever reason. In the high bar position, I always "felt" like I was going deep enough, but recording myself showed otherwise.
thanks...will try that...I've been lifting from the higher position. Gotta make sure I'm getting this right.0 -
Will you explain the first part more? "Critical to break the parallel" specifically. Are you saying you need to go past parallel?They're worse than useless; they're dangerous. You will hurt your knees. It is critical to break the parallel. Your hip crease should go just below your knees. A mirror will not really help you. You will need someone watching you and/or a video recorder. Recording yourself doing these lifts is always an eye-opening experience.
Practice with body weight. Increase the weight very slowly. Form comes first, weight comes second.
It's somewhat of a gray area. Parallel may be ok, but as a mental cue, I always tell myself (and other people) to make sure they go just past parallel. In order to engage the glutes and hamstrings.
I think "hip crease should be below knees" may be a more accurate and less ambiguous way to say it.
Photo is from http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat0 -
Full parallel squats or 1/4 squats? See it all the time in the gym.i am squating 315.. am i doing it right?
ALL the time!
i love the moment i can walk into the squat rack after the boys who were barely bending their knees and attack my sets with perfect form.
petty? maybe.
satisfying? absolutely.0 -
I've seen very few at my gym go down to parrallel, so I'm guessing I'm not making it that far either. Going to take some more practice. The farther down I go, the more I feel like I'm tipping backwards...maybe not holder the bar just right on my shoulders? Or maybe need to tip forward a bit more....hmmmm.0
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Got it. I think it's Starting Strength that talks about a common misperception of getting "parallel" from the tops of the legs, which isn't correct. So saying "parallel" often muddies understanding.I think "hip crease should be below knees" may be a more accurate and less ambiguous way to say it.
I definitely agree - "hip crease below the knees" makes it much easier to understand.
Thanks.0 -
I've seen very few at my gym go down to parrallel, so I'm guessing I'm not making it that far either. Going to take some more practice. The farther down I go, the more I feel like I'm tipping backwards...maybe not holder the bar just right on my shoulders? Or maybe need to tip forward a bit more....hmmmm.
yes, some forward lean is normal and in fact necessary. think of it this way... the bar should be over your feet.. so as you go down, you would need at least a little forward lean to keep the bar in the right position relative to your feet.0 -
I've seen very few at my gym go down to parrallel, so I'm guessing I'm not making it that far either. Going to take some more practice. The farther down I go, the more I feel like I'm tipping backwards...maybe not holder the bar just right on my shoulders? Or maybe need to tip forward a bit more....hmmmm.
yes, some forward lean is normal and in fact necessary. think of it this way... the bar should be over your feet.. so as you go down, you would need at least a little forward lean to keep the bar in the right position relative to your feet.
Thanks...thinking about that will help. Will give it a shot.0 -
JacksonPt, you seem tiny so really won't take your thoughts into consideration when trying to improve my body.
You should shock your body with different movements, and amounts of weight each time you train.
Going extremely heavy everytime your lift is doing it wrong.0 -
I don't want to make sweeping generalizations, but cheetahs *never* wipe off the machines after using them. So selfish!Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.
neither do monkeys, they just fling poo, hump, and urinate on people.0 -
FWIW, when I recently switched from the high-bar position to the low bar, I am finding it much easier to break the parallel for whatever reason. In the high bar position, I always "felt" like I was going deep enough, but recording myself showed otherwise.
I have the exact same issue when the bar is too high.0 -
JacksonPt, you seem tiny so really won't take your thoughts into consideration when trying to improve my body.
You should shock your body with different movements, and amounts of weight each time you train.
Going extremely heavy everytime your lift is doing it wrong.
Progressively increasing the weight each time we train does "shock" the body, and makes it stronger for next time. Most folks can go quite a while like this before worrying about periodization.0 -
JacksonPt, you seem tiny so really won't take your thoughts into consideration when trying to improve my body.
You should shock your body with different movements, and amounts of weight each time you train.
Going extremely heavy everytime your lift is doing it wrong.
You know what else works for shocking your body? A taser.
Lift heavy. Get strong. You can do it other ways too, but going heavy is the fastest.0 -
I just realized that my toilet seat is parallel for me....I've been practicing.....hahahahahaha! I think I've been pretty damn close to parallel at the gym from the feel of it. ;P0
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There isn't enough peer reviewed clinical study to back this. Working to true failure would mean not walking out of the gym at all. Sorry, but if you're going to tout it, then it has to be total. If you can do another set of reps after resting a minute or 2, was it true failure?Since we're on a forum I'll add to this that if you're lifting more than once a week you're wasting your time. And if you're doing more than one set you're not working to true failure. High Intensity Training works and I think everyone should put their lifting routines away for two weeks, read the book by Dr. Ellington Darden called "The New High Intensity Training" and experience your true genetic potential in less time. Doubt this? Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.
This is broscience and has been around since the Mike Mentzer and Darden got together. Darden also touted "Nautilus" machines over free weights with Arthur Jones.
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Like I suggested: read the book and give it a try. Works for me and ANYONE else I've ever talked to who has tried it. It worked for Duke, the Army, the many who've trained under this regimen including Casey Vitore...I'm busy. I'm adding reps and/or weight to every exercise, every week based on the notion we're not giving muscles adequate time to recouperate. Nature hedges her bets...if you break your body down with failure sets your body builds back because it FAILED...not because it got close. Once you fail there's no point in returning to that exercise...move on to the next muscle group. Then LEAVE the gym and go about your life. There's no reason to spend countless hours in a gym unless you just want to take in the sights/smells and strut your stuff.0 -
Since we're on a forum I'll add to this that if you're lifting more than once a week you're wasting your time. And if you're doing more than one set you're not working to true failure. High Intensity Training works and I think everyone should put their lifting routines away for two weeks, read the book by Dr. Ellington Darden called "The New High Intensity Training" and experience your true genetic potential in less time. Doubt this? Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.
I've also never seen a gorilla pee in a urinal. Our needs and the usage of our bodies is totally different. Maybe if we ran around on all fours in the jungle and scavenged for our food, we'd only need to lift once a week.
If we foraged for our own food we wouldn't need MY FITNESS PAL either. If you value your times and want a challenge, give it an honest try...even Arnold Schwarzenegger gave it a go back in his day. In a world of gimicks, this doesn't even require that you buy the book or a DVD. It's a philosophy that we're overworked and under-rested. The usage of our bodies is no different. We eat food to produce heat so we don't die. We evaporate water in our lungs to stay cool, or turn to sweat when heat production increases beyond that capacity. Heat production increases when we do work. It's called friction...a lot of that occurs when our heart rate speeds blood to body parts when oxeygen demand increases.0 -
Since we're on a forum I'll add to this that if you're lifting more than once a week you're wasting your time. And if you're doing more than one set you're not working to true failure. High Intensity Training works and I think everyone should put their lifting routines away for two weeks, read the book by Dr. Ellington Darden called "The New High Intensity Training" and experience your true genetic potential in less time. Doubt this? Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.
And you eat Paleo, I presume?
j/k...
HAH! No. I think you can see my diary if you want...my only target is less than 50% caloric energy from carbs. I'm working on getting more and more grains out and switching for meat and nuts. I still don't track veggies unless they're soaked in butter/oil. 2 calories in a cup of spinach? Um, MFP will be nonethewiser.0 -
Let me get this straight aydx...you only lift 1 set of various lifts once a week to failure? That's it???0
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Like I suggested: read the book and give it a try. Works for me and ANYONE else I've ever talked to who has tried it. It worked for Duke, the Army, the many who've trained under this regimen including Casey Vitore...I'm busy. I'm adding reps and/or weight to every exercise, every week based on the notion we're not giving muscles adequate time to recouperate. Nature hedges her bets...if you break your body down with failure sets your body builds back because it FAILED...not because it got close. Once you fail there's no point in returning to that exercise...move on to the next muscle group. Then LEAVE the gym and go about your life. There's no reason to spend countless hours in a gym unless you just want to take in the sights/smells and strut your stuff.
Any lifting program worth it's salt will produce results, certainly more so than not working out. You may think the program you follow is 'best', which is fair. Saying that other lifting paradigms are a waste of time though is pretty short sighted and takes a away a good amount of your credibility (I, and I think many others as well, have a tendency to be skeptical of anyone saying 'this is the only way to do things and have success'). I'm currently on the StrongLifts track and am having quite a bit of success with that.0 -
Since we're on a forum I'll add to this that if you're lifting more than once a week you're wasting your time. And if you're doing more than one set you're not working to true failure. High Intensity Training works and I think everyone should put their lifting routines away for two weeks, read the book by Dr. Ellington Darden called "The New High Intensity Training" and experience your true genetic potential in less time. Doubt this? Ever see a lion doing push-ups? A cheeta jogging? A gorilla doing pull-ups? Fact is most lifting is over done and sleep is lacking. Enjoy the read...otherwise, enjoy your time in the gym.
No, but I've never seen them sit at a desk punching at keys on a keyboard all day either. If I were still a wild thing in my natural habitat I wouldn't have to exercise because my lifestyle would show on my body, but as it stands I have to earn money which means sitting on my *kitten* all day, so I have 1 hour per day to get in what my ancestors would do to survive. The arguement goes both ways and I don't think it holds much water.
Our body only builds slightly more muscle than it thinks we need for the next of life's challenges. But it can't fully recouperate if you're unwilling/unable to give it the week off it needs for a full recovery. Much of what our ancestors did in a day required little exertion...tending to children, livestock/farming (fast forward a few thousand years), walking, stalking the next kill, etc. Relying upon calorie dense foods from a kill (mammoth, buffalo, etc.), meant hunts didn't happen every day, and not every hunt was successful. Which is why our bodies got so damn good at storing food on our bodies...when we had extras it KEPT it. Which is why we need MFP to eat ONLY what we truly need in order to get back to a healthy weight.0 -
Trust me when I say I've researched this (along with other like Dogg Crap training) before you were 5 years old. Even guys like Dorian Yates who believe in high intensity exercise do more than one set.Like I suggested: read the book and give it a try. Works for me and ANYONE else I've ever talked to who has tried it. It worked for Duke, the Army, the many who've trained under this regimen including Casey Vitore...I'm busy. I'm adding reps and/or weight to every exercise, every week based on the notion we're not giving muscles adequate time to recouperate. Nature hedges her bets...if you break your body down with failure sets your body builds back because it FAILED...not because it got close. Once you fail there's no point in returning to that exercise...move on to the next muscle group. Then LEAVE the gym and go about your life. There's no reason to spend countless hours in a gym unless you just want to take in the sights/smells and strut your stuff.
http://www.trulyhuge.com/dorian_yates_workout.html
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0
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