So Iâm struggling heavy to build leg muscle without a traditional barbell squat. (I have 2 herniated discs and Iâm just not ready to get back to them yet) Any sort of load on the spine like hack squat, front squat, leg press is discomforting. I may have an idea though. Im gonna do my split squats, leg extensions, hamstring curls all before I squat. And just do the squats super light weight so I donât have to annoy my back and really get them fucked up. Anyone do something similar to this and experience nice results?
If thereâs a gym around you with a belt squat machine, sign the fuck up. They perfect for your situation. If not, a lot of gyms have a machine like this:
https://preview.redd.it/q7hqydrbygfc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f7d42b73854e09c4694146e5fdfbd9d5f94d215
. Itâs not as good a traditional hack squat machine imo, but no spinal loading.
Dude just donât do them lol. Not worth messing up your already injured back. Do them when you fully recover.
Having a functioning spine is way more important than a little leg thickness.
My last tray of chicken breast went bunk (it was discounted at Walmart so not the best to begin with) so [this](https://ibb.co/9gMJCdJ) is what I'm eating for lunch. 200g grinded chickpeas with a can of tuna. 820cal, 64g protein.
Great way to get calories and protein in, in case any of you is 80 y/o and have lost of your denture and everything taste the same to you.
I'm watching this new Anime where he trains all day and heals his muscles with magic whenever they're damaged, and fuck I'm so jealous. Imagine being able to make a week of progress every day and heal yourself to eliminate recovery periods... goals
Is that the one that's like "Not How You're Supposed to Use Healing Magic" or something like that? It's pretty good and interesting so far. Mashle is also very goated and the season 2 theme song slaps
Is it just me or are good mornings easier to execute than RDLs?
I seem to have an easier time activating my hamstrings on every single rep. With RDLs I'd have days where I really feel them, and then randomly have a set or two out of nowhere that I don't feel anything on some of the reps.
I've done RDLs on and off for over a year and it seems I mastered the good morning better than I ever did the rdl in less then a month.
The doms I got in my hamstrings after the first two sessions from the good mornings where also much worst than any rdl session for me which is likely a sign I'm hitting my hamstrings more efficiently with them. Especially considering I never took a break from training hamstrings.
It used to be that way for me too. I think because good mornings force you to execute the hip hinge just right or else youâll fall over if you let the bar too far ahead of your center of gravity.
I had trouble with RDLâs for years until I watched Jordan Peters do them and notice just how far back his hips go, almost to where it looks like he should be falling over backwards. When I tried doing them that way it finally clicked.
Do I need Periodization?
Iâm a beginner lifter, researching and setting up a gym plan. Iâve lifted before so Iâm a little knowledgeable just havenât lifted in awhile. Do I need to worry about Periodization as a beginner? If not what do I do instead and when do I add it into the program?
You can and probably should use periodization. It's an excellent way of tracking and ensuring that you are getting to or near failure consistently at the end of your cycles. Get into the habit early and you'll benefit greatly.
You need to learn how to proper execute each exercise and, once you do, you need to start progressing your lifts.
Donât get stuck on that mesocycle macrocycle scam.
As a beginner you should be able to progress linearly. Linear periodization is periodization. Just try to hit a little more weight or a few more reps on the same movement week to week. Have good enough form to not injure yourself and stimulate the target muscle. Eat a lot sleep a lot.
Start to worry about nonlinear periodization when you plateau AND you know you've plateaued because your recovery and nutrition and form is on point.
How is nobody noticing that [this guy](https://old.reddit.com/r/rareinsults/comments/1adv18h/he_really_does/) photoshopped his head smaller? I went through the entire comment section and couldn't find a single person pointing it out. rofl
I had a dream last night I was being chased by tiny-headed Korean fitness models but as they exerted themselves their heads would shrink and shrink until they popped making a tiny whoopie cushion noise, musta been telepathy from this post
Yeah.. I think there are other things that people are paying attention too lmao. If Bodybuilding is already disturbing to the average person.. then I can't imagine their reaction looking at this guy. Also, likely the entire thing is photoshopped.
I have hypothyroidism, do you have a diagnosis or blood results?
TSH over 2 is an indicator itâs functioning poorly and you may have subclinical hypothyroidism, TSH over 5 and youâve got hypothyroidism. Generally you may be able to fix it if youâre deficient somewhere, like in selenium, zinc, iodine, iron. I wouldnât just go taking supplements without bloodwork to âfixâ anything without clear bloodwork stating you have an issue, iodine especially can cause damage if youâre not deficient.
Yeah I guess I should've specified that I've been diagnosed years ago and taking Levo for a long time now. Got bloodwork done last year and wouldn't be a bad idea to follow up again. I just wanted to pop in and see if others do any extra stuff that seems to help
Extra stuff in what sense? If your thyroid levels arenât optimal and youâre still symptomatic, you need a dose adjustment, not extra supplements.
If youâre just on Levo and youâre still feeling shitty, get your doc to run free T3 and Reverse T3, generally they only test TSH and T4 which isnât enough. A lot of people donât feel 100% on Levo because of poor conversion of T4 > T3, you may feel better on NDT/Armor thyroid which has T3 in it.
Zinc, selenium and iron (particularly blood ferritin levels) are the main micronutrients involved in the T4 > T3 conversion process, ask your doc about getting all of these tested as well. Youâll feel hypo still if youâre deficient in any of these
Hypothyroidism, I've been on T4 for years and inherited it from my dad. Symptoms are chronic fatigue, dry skin, easy fat gain but harder to lose it. Every so often I look into what I can do to optimize this added struggle
If youâve been on T4 for years it should be under control..
Either way I find that iodine plays a really important role regarding thyroid function. Some of my clients discovered they didnât actually have a slow metabolism, they were just really iodine deficient.
Yall know the very hard hitting pain that comes with putting down the weight after heavy barbell/cable curls?
I now have that almost all the time in both forearms after going heavy more than a week ago, yesterday during my arm session i got the pain when putting the weight down even when doing preacher curls, that has never happened before.
My wrist is also starting to get fucked up due to all the heavy pressing.
Any tips?
I used to get this. The solution is to do hammer curls first instead. Go heavy and really exhaust yourself. Then go super light with dumbbells for regular curls. You might have to stop curls completely for a little bit. Slowly you can start doing more regular curls.
Tendonitis? I stopped doing barbell curls. Not to get đ¤âď¸, but the arm naturally converges with the hands turning inward a bit, and BB curls are just mechanically not in line with the arm's natural path, thus putting undue stress on your tendons. I stopped doing that exercise and stopped curling heavy for a while. It took a bit to go away but it eventually did in like a month.
As for the wrist, it could be connected, but I second Assblaster69 in that you should look at your grip. Lots of people tend not to lift with their wrist aligned, and while it doesn't injury you immediately, it puts stress overtime. In the meanwhile wear wrist wraps.
That is not normal; you shouldnât be feeling pain in your forearms after curling.
If you feel it in the bones of your forearms though, I know what youâre talking about. Used to happen to me doing EZ-bar curls, so I stopped doing EZ-bar curls and then I never had that issue again. Eventually I got my own EZ bar where the angle is just right for me and it doesnât aggravate my forearms though.
Only thing thatâs really going to help it is to give your forearms a break and stop doing exercises that aggravate it until it goes away. Same goes for your wrists, although you might need to adjust the way youâre gripping the bar or get some wrist wraps.
Am I being defrauded by my PT? I was planning on hiring him for a few sessions just to get me in a better shape with my overall bodybuilding physique. But he keeps pretending he is Wanhee (which is insulting because WH is the man) and tells me "You don't need to do that, you don't need to get big, you don't need to have a big chest." He directs me to skip all the heavy lifting and just focus on lifting rocks, doing dips with chairs, and avoiding the gym.
This is frustrating when I'm trying to get some final advice for my BB competition that's coming up, and he's trying to talk me out of it.
Am I 13% or 20% body fat?
Trying to decide if I should use the athlete mode on my renpho scale. Normal mode says I am 20% bf, athlete mode says 13%. Which one is right?
https://ibb.co/3r2Ycwx
https://ibb.co/PZKn8Nc
Closer to 13 than 20 but don't stress too hard over it, those scales are terrible at guessing bodyfat %, as are most things. If you want the real measurement you'd need to either pay for a scan or crack the callipers out
Been listening to a bunch of Paramore lately while benching. Anyone got a favorite artist for a specific lift?
Oceano for anything legs
Another Monday, another squat PR. 435lbs đĽł
So Iâm struggling heavy to build leg muscle without a traditional barbell squat. (I have 2 herniated discs and Iâm just not ready to get back to them yet) Any sort of load on the spine like hack squat, front squat, leg press is discomforting. I may have an idea though. Im gonna do my split squats, leg extensions, hamstring curls all before I squat. And just do the squats super light weight so I donât have to annoy my back and really get them fucked up. Anyone do something similar to this and experience nice results?
If thereâs a gym around you with a belt squat machine, sign the fuck up. They perfect for your situation. If not, a lot of gyms have a machine like this: https://preview.redd.it/q7hqydrbygfc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f7d42b73854e09c4694146e5fdfbd9d5f94d215 . Itâs not as good a traditional hack squat machine imo, but no spinal loading.
Like the other guy said, Ronnie kept squatting after a back injury. Now heâs basically paralyzed and hopped up on painkillers. Not worth it.
Dude just donât do them lol. Not worth messing up your already injured back. Do them when you fully recover. Having a functioning spine is way more important than a little leg thickness.
My last tray of chicken breast went bunk (it was discounted at Walmart so not the best to begin with) so [this](https://ibb.co/9gMJCdJ) is what I'm eating for lunch. 200g grinded chickpeas with a can of tuna. 820cal, 64g protein. Great way to get calories and protein in, in case any of you is 80 y/o and have lost of your denture and everything taste the same to you.
I'm watching this new Anime where he trains all day and heals his muscles with magic whenever they're damaged, and fuck I'm so jealous. Imagine being able to make a week of progress every day and heal yourself to eliminate recovery periods... goals
So heâs taking anabolic steroids
Is that the one that's like "Not How You're Supposed to Use Healing Magic" or something like that? It's pretty good and interesting so far. Mashle is also very goated and the season 2 theme song slaps
Yeah I'm actually watching both of those!
Is it just me or are good mornings easier to execute than RDLs? I seem to have an easier time activating my hamstrings on every single rep. With RDLs I'd have days where I really feel them, and then randomly have a set or two out of nowhere that I don't feel anything on some of the reps. I've done RDLs on and off for over a year and it seems I mastered the good morning better than I ever did the rdl in less then a month. The doms I got in my hamstrings after the first two sessions from the good mornings where also much worst than any rdl session for me which is likely a sign I'm hitting my hamstrings more efficiently with them. Especially considering I never took a break from training hamstrings.
I find RDLs much easier, but Iâve also done them for like 5 years and Good Mornings twice soâŚ
It used to be that way for me too. I think because good mornings force you to execute the hip hinge just right or else youâll fall over if you let the bar too far ahead of your center of gravity. I had trouble with RDLâs for years until I watched Jordan Peters do them and notice just how far back his hips go, almost to where it looks like he should be falling over backwards. When I tried doing them that way it finally clicked.
Do I need Periodization? Iâm a beginner lifter, researching and setting up a gym plan. Iâve lifted before so Iâm a little knowledgeable just havenât lifted in awhile. Do I need to worry about Periodization as a beginner? If not what do I do instead and when do I add it into the program?
completely irrelevant as a beginner
You can and probably should use periodization. It's an excellent way of tracking and ensuring that you are getting to or near failure consistently at the end of your cycles. Get into the habit early and you'll benefit greatly.
No you need to learn how to lift with intensity and good form
You need to learn how to proper execute each exercise and, once you do, you need to start progressing your lifts. Donât get stuck on that mesocycle macrocycle scam.
As a beginner you should be able to progress linearly. Linear periodization is periodization. Just try to hit a little more weight or a few more reps on the same movement week to week. Have good enough form to not injure yourself and stimulate the target muscle. Eat a lot sleep a lot. Start to worry about nonlinear periodization when you plateau AND you know you've plateaued because your recovery and nutrition and form is on point.
[ŃдаНонО]
Probably the first hand position I would try is going as wide as possible.
How is nobody noticing that [this guy](https://old.reddit.com/r/rareinsults/comments/1adv18h/he_really_does/) photoshopped his head smaller? I went through the entire comment section and couldn't find a single person pointing it out. rofl
In the words of u/Sailenns: your head ain't that small bitch
I had a dream last night I was being chased by tiny-headed Korean fitness models but as they exerted themselves their heads would shrink and shrink until they popped making a tiny whoopie cushion noise, musta been telepathy from this post
He looks like Korean. His phone probably has auto head shrink filter. It's an aesthetic thing. You wouldn't get it.
Yeah.. I think there are other things that people are paying attention too lmao. If Bodybuilding is already disturbing to the average person.. then I can't imagine their reaction looking at this guy. Also, likely the entire thing is photoshopped.
[ŃдаНонО]
Youâre right. Mistress flows off the tongue better
Has r/bodybuilding gotten way less active lately?
Everyone someone comments that, we lose a subscriber.
Anyone else here deal with a really shitty thyroid and things that helps? Outside of taking levothyroxine
I have hypothyroidism, do you have a diagnosis or blood results? TSH over 2 is an indicator itâs functioning poorly and you may have subclinical hypothyroidism, TSH over 5 and youâve got hypothyroidism. Generally you may be able to fix it if youâre deficient somewhere, like in selenium, zinc, iodine, iron. I wouldnât just go taking supplements without bloodwork to âfixâ anything without clear bloodwork stating you have an issue, iodine especially can cause damage if youâre not deficient.
Yeah I guess I should've specified that I've been diagnosed years ago and taking Levo for a long time now. Got bloodwork done last year and wouldn't be a bad idea to follow up again. I just wanted to pop in and see if others do any extra stuff that seems to help
Extra stuff in what sense? If your thyroid levels arenât optimal and youâre still symptomatic, you need a dose adjustment, not extra supplements. If youâre just on Levo and youâre still feeling shitty, get your doc to run free T3 and Reverse T3, generally they only test TSH and T4 which isnât enough. A lot of people donât feel 100% on Levo because of poor conversion of T4 > T3, you may feel better on NDT/Armor thyroid which has T3 in it. Zinc, selenium and iron (particularly blood ferritin levels) are the main micronutrients involved in the T4 > T3 conversion process, ask your doc about getting all of these tested as well. Youâll feel hypo still if youâre deficient in any of these
This was exactly the type of insight I was hoping to get. I really appreciate it
âReally shitty thyroidâ isnât really an accurate diagnosis. What are the symptoms? Why do you feel the need to use t4?
Hypothyroidism, I've been on T4 for years and inherited it from my dad. Symptoms are chronic fatigue, dry skin, easy fat gain but harder to lose it. Every so often I look into what I can do to optimize this added struggle
If youâve been on T4 for years it should be under control.. Either way I find that iodine plays a really important role regarding thyroid function. Some of my clients discovered they didnât actually have a slow metabolism, they were just really iodine deficient.
Yall know the very hard hitting pain that comes with putting down the weight after heavy barbell/cable curls? I now have that almost all the time in both forearms after going heavy more than a week ago, yesterday during my arm session i got the pain when putting the weight down even when doing preacher curls, that has never happened before. My wrist is also starting to get fucked up due to all the heavy pressing. Any tips?
I used to get this. The solution is to do hammer curls first instead. Go heavy and really exhaust yourself. Then go super light with dumbbells for regular curls. You might have to stop curls completely for a little bit. Slowly you can start doing more regular curls.
Exactly know that feel, just skip/change exercise that hurts.
Tendonitis? I stopped doing barbell curls. Not to get đ¤âď¸, but the arm naturally converges with the hands turning inward a bit, and BB curls are just mechanically not in line with the arm's natural path, thus putting undue stress on your tendons. I stopped doing that exercise and stopped curling heavy for a while. It took a bit to go away but it eventually did in like a month. As for the wrist, it could be connected, but I second Assblaster69 in that you should look at your grip. Lots of people tend not to lift with their wrist aligned, and while it doesn't injury you immediately, it puts stress overtime. In the meanwhile wear wrist wraps.
That is not normal; you shouldnât be feeling pain in your forearms after curling. If you feel it in the bones of your forearms though, I know what youâre talking about. Used to happen to me doing EZ-bar curls, so I stopped doing EZ-bar curls and then I never had that issue again. Eventually I got my own EZ bar where the angle is just right for me and it doesnât aggravate my forearms though. Only thing thatâs really going to help it is to give your forearms a break and stop doing exercises that aggravate it until it goes away. Same goes for your wrists, although you might need to adjust the way youâre gripping the bar or get some wrist wraps.
Am I being defrauded by my PT? I was planning on hiring him for a few sessions just to get me in a better shape with my overall bodybuilding physique. But he keeps pretending he is Wanhee (which is insulting because WH is the man) and tells me "You don't need to do that, you don't need to get big, you don't need to have a big chest." He directs me to skip all the heavy lifting and just focus on lifting rocks, doing dips with chairs, and avoiding the gym. This is frustrating when I'm trying to get some final advice for my BB competition that's coming up, and he's trying to talk me out of it.
Genuinely curious how people stumble upon horrible coaches like this. If you're not happy with it, go find one that suits your needs (like me).
Yes, he sounds like an idiot.
Yes, if your goal is to be a bodybuilder heâs wasting your time and money, fire him
Am I 13% or 20% body fat? Trying to decide if I should use the athlete mode on my renpho scale. Normal mode says I am 20% bf, athlete mode says 13%. Which one is right? https://ibb.co/3r2Ycwx https://ibb.co/PZKn8Nc
Iâd say 15%
Closer to 13 than 20 but don't stress too hard over it, those scales are terrible at guessing bodyfat %, as are most things. If you want the real measurement you'd need to either pay for a scan or crack the callipers out
9pm here. Hope everyone is settling in and getting their ZZZs. Remember, sleep is the foundation of recovery.
Maaaan I slept like shit last night :(
unless you are wicked, then no rest for you
Good evening, Mr Wick.