That's great. I love pull ups, but had to take them out of the rotation after I tore my rotator cuff playing Ultimate. I was in the 10-15 range at my max. Now it is all push ups, chest flys, curls, bent-over rows, and crunches.
Last week I was doing a circuit in which pushups were after a set of 10 pullups and my shoulders were hurting like never before. It was weird. Thankfully, shoulders were fine lifting weights on Monday but it was weird.
It was immediately after a couple hours of boxing so maybe just overworked. I just have done it previous times and never had it hurt.
Found this guy the other day. His stuff isn't as concise and to-the-point as some of the guys mentioned in this thread already, and some of his tips are confusing, but there's often some stuff mixed in that's super enlightening. He reminds me of some of the shows you see (or used to see) on HGTV and Discovery. Inspiring and entertaining at the same time.
Pullups are definitely harder than chinups. If you have any kind of extra weight on you at all, then doing pullups in proper form requires back muscle development...muscles back there most probably didn't even know they have. Just know they need the work. lol. My last pullup max was 6 reps. My last pushup max was 22 (this was after a heavy chest and other workout). Also, my wrist is feeling better and only slightly hurts at times now even though my sleep pattern hasn't changed much with stomach sleep hands up under pillow most of the time. Since I can see muscle development in my forearms now, I think that has helped. I can absolutely shred on a guitar now where timing is more on than off...even if I'm not playing something that necessarily makes tonal sense. I go into "fits" where I treat guitar playing as an exercise in "shred" where all I do is play as fast and as hard as I can for like 20 minutes. It really is f-ing fun. And, it does take stamina in your arms, wrists, and fingers. I have come out of these sessions sweating. lol.
So I maxed out on push-ups (just for you all ) and I did this at 200 lbs (18 % BF +/- whatever): 25-20-20 Then, I did my chest / upper body workout (incline bench press/butterflies) and struggled on the last set (of 3) to get to the desired reps at the weight. Those push-ups really kick your ass at the higher counts. I could feel it! I still feel it.
Diet change made a drastic difference. Down to 211, 10-12% body fat and lost about 15lbs overall in 6 weeks (granted, I 'weighed in' at night) but put on 7lbs of muscle. Wife says I haven't been this 'skinny' since we met 20 years ago and I was lifting daily and playing rugby. I do have some flab/excess skin now from the rapid weight loss, hopefully that will go away. I feel good. Dropped my runs to around 2 miles a day when I lift and kickbox on the same day. I just can't do more or I'll be shot the next day. My goal is still to get to a body fat % that I can see a defined 8-pack. I think 6-8 body fat% is probably the sweet spot. Thankful for this thread, brehs.
It's very confusing if you're just 'watching' on a side monitor. Good call on it being sort of a reality show clip. Also, this guy looks SoCal but is in Canada?
So, Xerobull...you have a six pack going for an eight pack? F U, man! I've got a "V". I do hanging leg raises and hanging knee crunches once a week. Gotta get those puppies ready.
He's definitely not quick and to the point like Jeff Cavaliere and some of the "science" guys. But, like I said, there's something watchable about him, and I've found some good tidbits mixed in. Mainly stuff on form (which you wouldn't expect from a guy as big as he is)... really isolating a muscle for a great contraction, as opposed to just doing exercise X to build muscle X. It's been helpful because I've been more about my ego in the past, trying to lift more than the people my size and/or younger guys... refusing to drop the weight down when my bad form falls even further apart... and I haven't made anywhere near the progress I should've because of it. The maple leaf makes me thing Canada, too. Looks like my kind of gym (deserted). Always interesting seeing the different machines and equipment other gyms and countries have.
I did glean some info from the video you posted about elbow location and movement during dumbbell presses. Ego lifting is not for old farts. It's really dangerous. I'd rather do it right at this point and get better results than the young brehs tearing up their bodies. I've read that core needs more of a workout than focused muscle groups so I do a 10 minute weighted ab workout after my lifts. As far as a six-pack...eh, in the morning, I can see it coming in but it gets a little covered after a day of eating and drinking a gallon of water. What's more encouraging is the oblique definition I see coming in. But still, that midsection fat is really stubborn. I think 10 more lbs of fat and I'll be back in 32's and will be able to say yeah beach body, but gotta be done with the beach before the Luby's special.
Good deal. Agree 100% on doing it right. Finally. Took me long enough to arrive here. But since I have, I've made some nice progress. And my workouts are actually a lot more fun. And the time I spend thinking about my workouts is more fun, too, lol.
I’ve had a 2-4 pack for years at probably 16-18% bf, now it’s a 6-7-8 pack depending on the day with the bottom part still being belly. I guess my standards are high and I just don’t settle for what I’m seeing. I’ll be happy when that mid-section fat is completely gone. My high self-standards can be a problem for me. It’s not body dysmorphia but I am really hard on myself. But I’ve come a long way and it’s better than it was years ago. I’m absolutely happy with my progress but recognize that it can be much more.
Is the Arnold Press less effective or a waste of motion compared to the regular Shoulder Press as far as working the muscles? Explain. I like the Arnold Press and it gets harder than the regular at the end of the sets imo. Surely, that supination motion where you go from holding the barbells around chest height with palms facing inward and then performing the motion to turn the barbells and palms outward during the lifting motion (and reverse when coming back down) is doing something a little more than just doing the regular Shoulder Press right? I saw some say it was less effective but I'm not clear why? I do each but on different days...just to cover my bases.
