Okay i just finished reading the rest of the post and i got my own opinion on a few things said. Getting the same exercise outside the gym. i think this is bad to say. i see the gym as an inhancer of my other activities not a substitute. i met a guy at the gym the other day. this guy was like 180 and had just benched 500 IBS!!! Kali (hope i spelled that right) im guessing gives you the stamina of a horse. but when could it give you 500IBs. also it was said that theres only so much muscle you need and the rest is just for pride. that 500 pounds mentioned above. yeah granted would probably get his butt kicked in a kali battle. but lets take football for example, no matter how fast you hit this guy your never going to get inside his body. u'd have to use form to beat him. or a double team Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! So i don't really see that as wasted.
Re: A report from the other end... That's awesome Fraggle!! I want to maintain my health throughout my life, I hope I end up sticking it through. I guess it goes to show that it's very possible. Right on.
What would be the best exercises out there to do to achieve good chest development. What's up with the incline/decline bench pressing, what do those work respectively out of the lower, mid, and upper chest. What would be the best way to attack chest exercises?
Work out? You mean like lift weighted metal objects? Ya right! Not in this life pal. I dance everyday. That's about it. Lifting weights is for those big ugly muscle people. Like I really want to spend my time in a room full of boring metal objects. Lifting them up and down no less. If you ever do find me in a weight room pretending to actually lift weights, it's because I have alterior motives. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! It is a waste of time. Really. How exciting is sitting in a cold heavy machine in a smelly room full of muscle freaks talking about quads and triceps and sports. Read a book or something. Do we have to? Can't we look at naked women instead? Yoga is nice. I took that once in school. The class was full of hot females. I ended up hooking up with the cutest one there. I miss her. Oh well. I wish I could take the class again though. I haven't been doing my breathing much lately.
Flexibility is nice, though personally I don't think I would find being an extremely flexible person very useful. I mean range of motion in general is good to have, but wow yoga takes to it an extreme. Whatever does it for ya I guess Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
So how exactly does one measure their biceps? And are the measurements everyone is giving while the muscle is flexed? Just curious.
i guess it's not too important to the average person to be flexible but it is essential as you get older. i've started in my 20's so i expect to age very gracefully Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! yoga is also strengthening. doing a simple plank uses every muscle from your wrists, up your arms, down your chest, back, abs and hips through your legs to your feet and it's pretty intense. stick pose is an excellent ab/lower back/thigh strenthener. the men in my class tend to be large in the shoulder/chest area.
Spector wrote: Hello Spector, When you alter the angle of the bench you're changing the muscles that you use to lift the weights. Consider the difference between doing a set of pectoral presses (bench press) while resting on a horizontal bench, to the same press done with the bench adjusted so that it becomes a chair (at 90 degrees). The "bench press" becomes a "shoulder press" and an entirely different set of muscles are now involved (more shoulder than chest muscles). By increasing the angle (from horizontal to vertical) with each set, you're more apt to work the entire pectoral region. I can pick out "basement benchers" at the beach. These guys only have a bench and barbell, and all they've ever done is to lie flat on their backs and do this one exercise. The result is a narrow bulge of muscle across their chest and another across their triceps. The rest of their body is non-descript. The other type I too often see is the guy who's forgotten that he has legs. IMO the result is rather silly looking. Spector, it's fine to concentrate on the pecs if you think they're deficient. Any exercise is better than no exercise, but best of all is a balanced workout routine that hits every muscle-group at various angles. Lifting for me is a delicate balance between getting a decent bull-moose workout and injury. BTW, most guys eventually have a problem with rotator cuff pain. I thought it was something we just have to live with. I simply gritted my teeth and suffered until my nephew (Mr. New Hampshire) introduced me to some simple exercises that he always begins with. It took about three months, but his advice worked beautifully; the rotator cuff pain is gone. You can get an idea of how to do these by going here: http://www.ohsu.edu/som-Orthopedics/dc_cuff.htm IMO dumbells are the safest way to lift, followed by barbells. I try to avoid machines (Nautilus, etc.). The reason is that when you lift a dumbell you invariably use a balance of muscles to guide it up. With a machine, all you have to do is push against a stupid lever. All of us can raise far more weight in a machine than we ever could with free-weights (with equivalnet rise in stress on your muscles and joints). For example, if I have to use a machine for a benchpress I'll work in the range of 330 pounds (150Kg). On a barbell I do sets in the range of 215-235 pounds (98-106Kg). With dumbells I'll only use 65-75 pounds (30-34Kg) in each hand. Everyone, it seems, has a personal theory about how best to lift (number of reps, slow-fast, rest between sets, rest between workouts, etc.). I currently do split-sets. For example, I alternate sets of tricep dips with sets of bicep curls. Another reason I like dumbells is that once I've worked a muscle to failure (can't complete a rep), I like to quickly drop that dumbell for a lighter one. Without this smaller weight there's quite a bit of "burn" left untapped. I work the large muscles three times per week. It seems to work for me, though some guys think that's too often. Well, as far a putting up a picture; there is already a photo of me (sans shirt) in the picture thread. Since that picture was taken I've put on around 18 pounds (8Kg) of muscle mass. Now, if only Men's Health would call about that cover photo... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Hope this helped, Michael
Thanks very much for your help! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! So what is your take on decline bench pressing though? Not needed? Or does more different angles mean better over all?
Hey Spector, I do my first set of bench press horizontally (zero degrees) and do my last set (of 3 or 4 sets) with the bench at 45 degrees. Good luck, Michael
