Physical & Mental health

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Thanks!

No, we are a shit country, Nasa would never come here!

I told you it was world class and had more than one might need, but I am only doing because I get 50% off for being a University student and I also got an extra 7% off because I did a 12 month plan (instead of the regular 6 month). This is the place, Bodytech:

A paradise, a Meka - make good use of it! Btw, is it crowded or the area is so big you don't meet any people while adventuring around there?

Edit: What kind of music do they play?

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Thanks!

No, we are a shit country, Nasa would never come here!

I told you it was world class and had more than one might need, but I am only doing because I get 50% off for being a University student and I also got an extra 7% off because I did a 12 month plan (instead of the regular 6 month). I am paying the equivalent of 36 euros/ month (normal price is around 80). This is the place, Bodytech:

Fucking hell, monster of a gym

[Rmpr 8,977]

A paradise, a Meka - make good use of it! Btw, is it crowded or the area is so big you don't meet any people while adventuring around there?

Edit: What kind of music do they play?

I go at around 2-3pm (when I usually have a free window at uni), so it is pretty empty. But before and after work hours (7-8am and 6-9pm) it is crowded as hell.

My plan doesnt cover the pool, but all the rest it does:

EDIT: They play pop/hip-hop songs!

[dumps 284]

That is true, but i think that you will build more muscles by deadlifting 300kg or squatting 300kg then cable crunches for extra resistance.

And please reply on the other text i've posted.

ok well my advice to you would to be do some squats and dead lifts, then rate out of 10 how well worked your abs feel.

then grab a 5 kg medicine ball. lay down. hold your arms out so you are completely flat with the ball resting on the ground over your head, do 3 sets of 8-12 reps of that and then rate out of 10 how hard you feel your abs have been worked...

i dont know what text you are referring to. the stuff about how we define visible abs? then i htink you are right, if you are thinking of seeing a 6 pack, but like i said, thats just the shape of the muscle.

nah

bro... 8pack is genetic... If you look at body building forums, most

people would agree... (Also, when I was in peak shape, I neve came

close to the 8, but got 6)...

However, as I said before, having visible abs is not though.....

When I did ab workouts, I did mostly planks..... Now, i downgraded to just situps of variations.. (Peak plank was 5mins).

Im going to get back to working out hardcore again since the holiday season is over and the weather is picking up...

(I love working out, cept jogging)!

its very rare to see a visible 8 pac, i dont know if i have ever seen one. but everybody has it.

In reference to that picture, pac 7 and 8 would be the lower abs.

To Rmpr: that gym looks sick! i would love to go to a place like that. the gym im at is crap! that place looks awesome! the guys that work there sound properly professional so you should be in safe hands.

[Korea 734]

ok well my advice to you would to be do some squats and dead lifts, then rate out of 10 how well worked your abs feel.

then grab a 5 kg medicine ball. lay down. hold your arms out so you are completely flat with the ball resting on the ground over your head, do 3 sets of 8-12 reps of that and then rate out of 10 how hard you feel your abs have been worked...

i dont know what text you are referring to. the stuff about how we define visible abs? then i htink you are right, if you are thinking of seeing a 6 pack, but like i said, thats just the shape of the muscle.

its very rare to see a visible 8 pac, i dont know if i have ever seen one. but everybody has it.

In reference to that picture, pac 7 and 8 would be the lower abs.

To Rmpr: that gym looks sick! i would love to go to a place like that. the gym im at is crap! that place looks awesome! the guys that work there sound properly professional so you should be in safe hands.

http://www.yourfitnessbook.com/exercise/six-pack-abs-vs-eight-pack-abs-whats-the-difference/

[dumps 284]

http://www.yourfitnessbook.com/exercise/six-pack-abs-vs-eight-pack-abs-whats-the-difference/

I dont know where to start with that.

1. never trust someone who is trying to SELL you fitness. wether its a diet book, or a book on how to lose weight with simple exercises you can do at home. never trust them. they are trying to make money.

2. he says: "For most men – the top 3 bands (not including the top band/connective tissue where you see the muscles attach to the front of the rib cage) are what creates the six packs abs look…" - the muscles that attach to the rib cage (the ones at the top of the abs) are probably the easiest muscles to work on the abs and they DO show through and DO make up part of the traditional six pack.

3.he goes on to say its genetic, but then blurts out this:

"Some experts will argue that with “stricter dieting” and “harder workouts” – you can eventually get your six packs to become eight pack abs…

But if you’ve know me for a while – my philosophy on this is:

Just give me the six pack – I don’t need two more – I have a life to live and it’s not ‘in the gym’…"

which just contradicts himself as he is now saying that "yeah, with a strict work out and diet, we all have one. but fuck it, just get 6 and take it easy."

4. he advertises his mates site a lot...

My advice to anyone would be: don't take advice from anyone trying to sell or advertise something.

[Korea 734]

I dont know where to start with that.

1. never trust someone who is trying to SELL you fitness. wether its a diet book, or a book on how to lose weight with simple exercises you can do at home. never trust them. they are trying to make money.

2. he says: "For most men – the top 3 bands (not including the top band/connective tissue where you see the muscles attach to the front of the rib cage) are what creates the six packs abs look…" - the muscles that attach to the rib cage (the ones at the top of the abs) are probably the easiest muscles to work on the abs and they DO show through and DO make up part of the traditional six pack.

3.he goes on to say its genetic, but then blurts out this:

"Some experts will argue that with “stricter dieting” and “harder workouts” – you can eventually get your six packs to become eight pack abs…

But if you’ve know me for a while – my philosophy on this is:

Just give me the six pack – I don’t need two more – I have a life to live and it’s not ‘in the gym’…"

which just contradicts himself as he is now saying that "yeah, with a strict work out and diet, we all have one. but fuck it, just get 6 and take it easy."

4. he advertises his mates site a lot...

My advice to anyone would be: don't take advice from anyone trying to sell or advertise something.

LOL, its common knowledge....

GO read bodybuilding.com

I don't know if you just started working out, but I'm sure if you go to a gym, the trainers will tell you the same info there....

[Korea 734]

Anyways, the point is 6 pack is visible for all....

However, the 8pack aint....

[dumps 284]

LOL, its common knowledge....

GO read bodybuilding.com

I don't know if you just started working out, but I'm sure if you go to a gym, the trainers will tell you the same info there....

man, seriously?! bodybuilding.com is not a source of information. question everything you read there.

and i think you forget what you were saying. earlier you were saying it was down to genes wether you had an 8 pack. now you are saying: "we all have an 8 pack, just its rare to see a visible 8 pack". which is what i said in my original post on the subject.

[Korea 734]

man, seriously?! bodybuilding.com is not a source of information. question everything you read there.

and i think you forget what you were saying. earlier you were saying it was down to genes wether you had an 8 pack. now you are saying: "we all have an 8 pack, just its rare to see a visible 8 pack". which is what i said in my original post on the subject.

Well I meant visibilitiy since, the whole topic was about ab visibility....

Having it meant, whether the abs are viisble are not... Wasn't this whole thread about ab visibility?

Anyways, I guess we misunderstood it!

Cheer mate. Best of luck with your workout!

[OReillyD36 311]

Struggling to get any exercise in with work. Somehow managing to keep the weight off even though I've been having unhealthy dinners, I'm sort of counteracting them with healthy lunches. I need to quit my job, it's getting in the way of my workouts

[Joker10 946]

I live in the middle of nowhere and thus have zero gyms anywhere near me. What sort of equipment would be essential in a home gym? I don't even have a barbell yet! I've got a good ol' tractor tire outside with a 5kg sledgehammer for 'those' little workouts; a set of different dumbbells, and err, yeah. Are there any machines or pieces out there which would drastically help with my ab/pelvis area development? I was looking into one of those frames with 2 stick-shaped handles: The ones where you grab the handles and push down on them to elevate yourself above the ground, and then stick your legs out in front of you, hold it for a second, then bring the legs back to the starting position & repeat.

Don't worry about abs tbh. Your focus should be on losing fat(under 10% body fat) and building lean muscle, that is the key to ripped and defined abs. Not saying don't do any abs exercises, do crunches, reverse crunches, situps, left/right crunches, etc. Focus on them once or twice week in the end of your exercise.

All you need is: Set of dumbells (make sure they're ones that you can regulate, so you can add weight later on rather than buy whole new dumbells, having 2-3 different dumbells is the best option, 1 light, 1 medium and 1 heavy weights for different exercises), a pull-up bar for pull ups, chin ups - all kinds of pull up techniques, also later on you can train abs on it (while hanging, bringing your legs to a 90 degree angle with your body and slowly moving them back to normal position), a standard mat for abs (all those ab machines are fancy and all that but not necessary, get a normal routine off YouTube or something and all it takes is a mat), perhaps a medicine ball (those big rubbery balls you can sit on, can do abs there, all kinds of exercises)

Only thing that will make you want to go to a gym later on is the bench press, which is harder to emulate (push ups are good but they won't have the same effect as bench press would), to some extent you can do flat dumbell presses because with dumbells you can't bench as much as you would with barbell - only because you'll have to stabilize the weight using your hand rather than two hands, that's why dumbells are always more beneficial with that kinds of exercises.

And that's about it, work with what you have. Having a tractor tire and a hammer is a very good thing, I've seen lots of MMA fighters train with it, just don't knock yourself out when the hammer bounces back!

You can do push ups with something heavy on your back, for a example one summer i filled my backpack with around 30-40 pounds. Do incline/decline pushups to target lower/upper chest also you can change it up with close, normal, or wide grip. For me it did wonder when i had no access to a gym. I did pyramids sets, and the key to building muscle it is always about reaching failure.

@Leif

You don't need a gym and don't need to buy expensive equipments unless you want to.

Pullups/chinups- to target lats and biceps. Wear something heavy(Backpack) for more resistance if needed.

Dips- Target triceps, again for extra resistance put weights in a backpack or something.

Incline/Decline push ups- Target lower and upper chest, like i suggested earlier in this post.

Squats/lunge- To target quads and calves. I used a log for more resistance, and i am sure you can find something similar.

Shoulders- Do shoulder presses with something heavy massive rock for example will do.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Don't worry about abs tbh. Your focus should be on losing fat(under 10% body fat) and building lean muscle, that is the key to ripped and defined abs. Not saying don't do any abs exercises, do crunches, reverse crunches, situps, left/right crunches, etc. Focus on them once or twice week in the end of your exercise.

You can do push ups with something heavy on your back, for a example one summer i filled my backpack with around 30-40 pounds. Do incline/decline pushups to target lower/upper chest also you can change it up with close, normal, or wide grip. For me it did wonder when i had no access to a gym. I did pyramids sets, and the key to building muscle it is always about reaching failure.

@Leif

You don't need a gym and don't need to buy expensive equipments unless you want to.

Pullups/chinups- to target lats and biceps. Wear something heavy(Backpack) for more resistance if needed.

Dips- Target triceps, again for extra resistance put weights in a backpack or something.

Incline/Decline push ups- Target lower and upper chest, like i suggested earlier in this post.

Squats/lunge- To target quads and calves. I used a log for more resistance, and i am sure you can find something similar.

Shoulders- Do shoulder presses with something heavy massive rock for example will do.

For me, pushups worked to some extent but I hit a plateau, I could do 80-100 good form pushups in a row, feel the pump and all that but it wasn't enough anymore to stimulate muscle growth. Another factor are the wrists. Pushups, especially diamond pushups, aren't too beneficial for wrists, never experienced wrist problems (warm up is essential) even when benching heavy weights (for me) around 110kg (242lbs), and that's hard to emulate with pushups. Just a personal preferance. Push ups are good for toning but only work to certain point when it comes to building your chest.

But otherwise your mentality is spot on and I'm with you on this one - work with what you have.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

For me, pushups worked to some extent but I hit a plateau, I could do 80-100 good form pushups in a row, feel the pump and all that but it wasn't enough anymore to stimulate muscle growth. Another factor are the wrists. Pushups, especially diamond pushups, aren't too beneficial for wrists, never experienced wrist problems (warm up is essential) even when benching heavy weights (for me) around 110kg (242lbs), and that's hard to emulate with pushups. Just a personal preferance. Push ups are good for toning but only work to certain point when it comes to building your chest.

But otherwise your mentality is spot on and I'm with you on this one - work with what you have.

Do pushups on the fists with the wrist straight, so your wrist will not be stretched . From biomechanic execution, push up and bench press are so similar, so what do you mean with "toning"? As far as i know you simply have to add so much weight that our repitition maximum is 15 or lower so you will bulk (better 12 or lower, given you eat accordingly)

@leif: it is possible to build an ok physique by body weight exercises only but at some point it is difficult to induce hypertrophy without weights you can add consecutively.

What worked for me to make the pushup more intense is to split it into broad pushup and handstand pushup. The broad pushup will work your chest more cos u increase the distance between you hands and you can intensify it with weights on your back or having your feet on a higer platform etc. The handstand pushup works your tricep and shoulder. You perform it while leaning against a wall with your toes, the smaller the angle the higher the intensity.

It is also great trianing for the entire body esp the legs to do sprints. I have been a competitive sprinter and it is pretty easy to improve your speed + add soem muscle all over. Start warming up and stretching. A basic sprint workout, which can be regarded as leg training could consist of some 3-5 short dashes of 35 or 50m. You start with 70% intensity and 50m so you have control about your movements and end at about 90% intensity and 35m. The technique will come by itself, just concentrate on straight movements, long strides, your verse should not make contact with the ground except for the first 2 steps.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Do pushups on the fists with the wrist straight, so your wrist will not be stretched . From biomechanic execution, push up and bench press are so similar, so what do you mean with "toning"? As far as i know you simply have to add so much weight that our repitition maximum is 15 or lower so you will bulk (better 12 or lower, given you eat accordingly)

@leif: it is possible to build an ok physique by body weight exercises only but at some point it is difficult to induce hypertrophy without weights you can add consecutively.

What worked for me to make the pushup more intense is to split it into broad pushup and handstand pushup. The broad pushup will work your chest more cos u increase the distance between you hands and you can intensify it with weights on your back or having your feet on a higer platform etc. The handstand pushup works your tricep and shoulder. You perform it while leaning against a wall with your toes, the smaller the angle the higher the intensity.

It is also great trianing for the entire body esp the legs to do sprints. I have been a competitive sprinter and it is pretty easy to improve your speed + add soem muscle all over. Start warming up and stretching. A basic sprint workout, which can be regarded as leg training could consist of some 3-5 short dashes of 35 or 50m. You start with 70% intensity and 50m so you have control about your movements and end at about 90% intensity and 35m. The technique will come by itself, just concentrate on straight movements, long strides, your verse should not make contact with the ground except for the first 2 steps.

You can't emulate a 100kg bench press with push ups, you'd need an expensive backpack/equipment to handle all the weights PLUS it is very bad for your lower back and shoulders, you will most probably develop arthritis and/or twist your wrist, possibly breaking it and being not able to do a push up for the rest of your life.

I recently bought a set of new dumbells. They weighed 20kgs (44lbs) each and I had brought a backpack to make it easier to carry home. I ended up needing to carry them with hands while they were still in a package. My lower back and forearms along with lower biceps were numb afterwards. Point being, eventhough it was a backpack with good durability, when I tried to lift it up with 20kgs inside, the stitches started to become undone.

Edit: All depends on goals. It seems you like to be more toned, lean but not so much strong/muscular. In that case your scenario works wonders and also it would be better for beginners to start with bodyweight exercises to get your joints, body, nervous system ready for regular exercise - everything in moderation. Jedem das Seine.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Do pushups on the fists with the wrist straight, so your wrist will not be stretched . From biomechanic execution, push up and bench press are so similar, so what do you mean with "toning"? As far as i know you simply have to add so much weight that our repitition maximum is 15 or lower so you will bulk (better 12 or lower, given you eat accordingly)

@leif: it is possible to build an ok physique by body weight exercises only but at some point it is difficult to induce hypertrophy without weights you can add consecutively.

What worked for me to make the pushup more intense is to split it into broad pushup and handstand pushup. The broad pushup will work your chest more cos u increase the distance between you hands and you can intensify it with weights on your back or having your feet on a higer platform etc. The handstand pushup works your tricep and shoulder. You perform it while leaning against a wall with your toes, the smaller the angle the higher the intensity.

It is also great trianing for the entire body esp the legs to do sprints. I have been a competitive sprinter and it is pretty easy to improve your speed + add soem muscle all over. Start warming up and stretching. A basic sprint workout, which can be regarded as leg training could consist of some 3-5 short dashes of 35 or 50m. You start with 70% intensity and 50m so you have control about your movements and end at about 90% intensity and 35m. The technique will come by itself, just concentrate on straight movements, long strides, your verse should not make contact with the ground except for the first 2 steps.

I'm talking from a personal experience, ever since I switched to bench press, I've gotten loads of gains in both visual and strength. I know there's lots of ways to spice the exercise up with doing it on fists, getting special handlebars and so on so forth but there's a reason bodybuilders use flat bench barbell/dumbell press combined with incline bench, dips, peck machine - it hits both m. pectoral major and minor, more fibres get "torn" resulting in.. well.. results!

[Korea 734]

Question, are you guys power lifters???