jhc7324 Member

There's a bit of carryover in the rep ranges/results, but in general rep ranges from 5-8 will be most beneficial for increased strength, from 8-12 will be most beneficial for increased muscle size (not exactly the same as strength) and 12+ will be best for muscular endurance. That said, increasing the amount of weight you…

My first thought is that for a true strength program, you're using too high of a rep range. To add strength, you should focus on weights that you can only do 5-8 reps with. You also have a lot of different exercises in there, and some of them focus on relatively small muscles. If you're just starting out, you'll get a lot…

At some level muscular strength and muscular endurance both contribute to each other. If your 5 rep max is 75 lbs today, you'll probably be able to do 20 reps at around 45 lbs (guess). If you run the stronglifts program for 3 months and your new 5 rep max is 100 lbs, you will also be able to do a lot more reps at 45 lbs…

I wouldn't feel comfortable going right into a work set without a decent warmup. Warmups do a couple of things, They get your muscles ready for the heavier sets that are coming later, and they give you a more relaxed chance to check out your form and practice the movements. I generally get through my warmup sets pretty…

Welcome aboard. First, I'd recommend picking up a copy of Wendler's book. It's pretty cheap for an e-book copy, and it'll answer your questions a little more easily than the forum will. 3 sets of warmup isn't a lot. I stick with that because if I skimp on the warmup the "real" lifts feel heavier. Normally I don't rest much…

If you're going to do stronglifts, or any strength program for more than a couple of months, you need a squat rack. I'd be wary of most sporting goods store squat racks too, as the safeties on those things are pretty wimpy. I don't think I'd feel comfortable squatting anywhere near my max without some solid safeties to be…

Check out Craigslist. People are constantly getting rid of their unused lifting gear. It will be much less than you'd pay for new gear.

There's a couple of guys at my gym that bring their sons in to workout with them. I think its great, and personally, I can't wait until my kids are old enough to work out with me. That said, I have a few years before that becomes a reality (my kids are 5 and 3), and when the time comes I'll do more looking into what is…

If your main goal is weight loss the way to get there is through your diet. I'm sure before long, someone will post the link, but the "In Place of a Roadmap" post in the forums here is a good place to get started on how to do that. As for your workout routine itself, I would guess you're spending a ton of time doing all of…

the weight you use for front squats should be much lower than a back squat weight. Rippetoe in Starting Strength says that it isn't a bad idea to avoid front squatting more weight than you can clean. I generally front squat just a little more than 50% of the weight I can back squat.

There's a "starting strength" template called "Practical Programming" that removes power cleans from the program and replaces them with pullups and chinups, making it similar to what you're looking for. It rotated things around a lot, so there were 6 different "workouts" Squat 1 of Bench or OHP 1 of Chins, Pullups or…

For all the comments of "the cost is too high" , I have a feeling that the popularity of this (and the prevalence of "certified trainers") is going to drive the cost down pretty soon. My gym just opened up a small crossfit "room". It has all the normal crossfit gear in it, and they're treating it similar to how they handle…

I'm not sure about the ettiquite of it, but be careful who you ask to check your form regardless of whether you pay them or not. Honestly, I'd trust replies to a video posted here more than just about any trainer at my gym. Yes, they get paid to give training advice, but that doesn't automatically mean they know squat form…

I had some similar issues when I was first starting out as well. Balky lower back, hip flexors, etc. But I kept systematically backing off the weight when I'd get to a problem, fix my form and get back to my progressions. I'm a little over a year into strength training now, and having those form issues slowed my…

If you're using an HRM to estimate your calorie burn from a strength training workout that might be the source of your issue. How many calories are you counting as burned in your workouts (on average)?

Just finished up week 1 of cycle 10

If you're looking for 3-4 exercises I'd focus on : Low Bar Back Squats Flat Bench Press Deadlifts Overhead Press Depending on how many reps-sets you do, you probably will have time to do a couple of other lifts in there, but those are the big 4 IMO.

I've been using 5/3/1 for the last 9 months, and I figure I've got another 6 months where I'll stick with it some more. I really like the setup of the program and its giving me some pretty solid strength gains (for a guy who's never lifted before around this time last year).

Mehdi from Stronglifts has mentioned that he's been doing a squat everyday program by Matt Perryman for a while. I'm not a part of his "inner circle", but I'd imagine the info on that program is out there if you want to look for it.

This is kind of what I was thinking earlier. A doctor is not the right person to talk to about whether you can do squats (or any exercise really). A physical therapist will be able to better understand the the issues you have with your knees and what they can and can't do safely.

When you say your knee "cracks and grinds" does it cause pain? I haven't had surgeries, but when I'm warming up for squats I hear all kinds of popping as my joints get ready for the workout. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that kind of sound as long as it isn't hurting you.

However long you take in between your reps, just make sure to re-set your back position. In between my reps I'm almost always having to force myself to sit back a little and force my chest up. It doesn't take more than a few seconds, but not taking that time is asking for trouble as your form will get all wonky as you do a…

5/3/1 is a good intermediate program by Jim Wendler (google him, his book is worth reading if you're already beyond a beginner level). The program is designed to lift 4x/week, each day focusing on one of the big 4 lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press), and works each of them in 4 week cycles to…

I never fail to be amazed by how many guys can all be doing dumbell curls at the same time. Do some research, have a plan, go in and lift and within a couple of weeks you'll be wondering WTF 90% of the people in that area are trying to accomplish.

At some level endurance and speed meet up. If you do nothing but run long slow workouts, you'll eventually get faster at running long slow distances. Similarly, if you do nothing but high rep weight work, you'll get better at that high rep low weight lifting. There will obviously be some carryover when you scale down…

I'd also caution that just because someone told you that your form was off doesn't necessarily mean your form is off... There's a lot of bros at the gym who think they know more than they actually do. I'm also not saying that your form was right, just that I wouldn't trust a random person in the gym to know what he was…

I'll second the recommendation for the "Married Man Sex Life" book/blog. Even if you can't bring yourself to discuss the problem with him, or even better, after you do have the discussion, get the book and read it openly at home. Don't hide what it is, and at some point he'll ask you about it and it can further the…

I recently switched from lifting in my running shoes to lifting in Chucks, and have had some pretty serious stiffness in my left hamstring/glute that I've never had after lifting before. Putting 2 and 2 together, it makes sense that this is from the extra effort my posterior chain is doing with the flatter/stiffer shoes…

I'd probably focus on the benefits of free weight lifting in general as opposed to the machines that your gym presumably has. If they're not going to buy into free weights in general, they're definitely not going to put in a squat rack. Also, the gym will probably be motivated by money more than anything. You could…

You'll probably get some weird looks... I always did. My wife's trainer actually asked her why I was walking around with those dumbbells like that, and suggested I should just get some straps... Luckily I'm not too self conscious and am confident in wheat I'm doing at the gym or I'd probably end up doing a lot of less than…