Reddit's Log

[Reddit]

continue your hard work bro but remember nt too push yourself too hard! going 6days a week is alot (at least to me), the max i go is 4days a week den i feel abit sian liao, hopefully dat wont be the case for u to the extent that it makes u sian of gg to the gym haha. work hard!

Thanks man! I don't really know if it's even possible for me to workout 6 days a week. Just trying or now. Even if I have the stamina, I'm going to stop such a crazy routine once I hit 99kg.

Bro, you jiayou too! Destroy those weights!!!

 

[Reddit]

Is there any reason why u don't hit the free weights?

I don't quite understand bro. If barbells are free weights then many of my exercises involve them. I don't use the dumb bells as they are quite limited. Off the top of my head, the machines that I use are leg press and extension, bicep curls, seated rows and lat pull down.

I just read your thread, and I have to agree with you that injuries take so much longer to heal now that we are older sad truth man

 

[Reddit]

Today's workout was kinda bad. I think I was too tired as my baby now starts Gallic to himself at 5 am. Just gurgle and mumble and laugh to himself. Plus play with his legs and fingers.

Biceps curls, followed by leg lifts 5 sets 6 reps with 10kg dumb bell. Then I did one lousy set of hammer curls and left the gym. Sian. No willpower.

Swimming was a slow 6 rounds. Now I'm just lepaking on the sofa. Don't have much appetite for lunch. I'm going to try and sleep more tonight. Use ear plugs or something

 

[gkhchay]

I don't quite understand bro. If barbells are free weights then many of my exercises involve them. I don't use the dumb bells as they are quite limited. Off the top of my head, the machines that I use are leg press and extension, bicep curls, seated rows and lat pull down.

I just read your thread, and I have to agree with you that injuries take so much longer to heal now that we are older sad truth man

I hate to tell u this but the leg press & leg extension will screw yr knees big time... pl ditch them & do squats: I didn't know when I was younger & now that I'm in my mid-50s, I paid a heavy price for getting my lateral knee pain rehabbed in 2008.

Now I don't touch machines at all: I train with free weights & the TRX & all my lower body work are done single leg: bulgarian split squats, assisted pistols, single leg RDLs, TRX leg curls etc.. Don't make the same mistake that I did...

Like what Mike Boyle said, "Talk to me when you're 50..."

 

[cowed77]

Yea, I was looking at the leg press and extension specifically when I asked. At least u didn't do smith squats, those are really not good for the knees, frm personal experience. Neither are heavy leg extensions. But u can probably rep it out very lightweight to warmup before squatting. I sometimes do tt.

I think the lat pull down and row machine isn't tt bad tho.

 

[galapogos]

IMHO, certain machines are more harmful than others. It's a combination of what type of movement(open vs close chain), and how the joints move when using the machine. Obviously, intensity and volume matters as well, as does whether you do any other corrective stuff to negate the possible harmful effects of these machines.

 

[Reddit]

thanks for the warning guys. i really appreciate it! i think i will skip leg extensions and leg press then and focus on building up squats. they feel fine when i did them last week, but i trust what you guys say, so im just going to stop and do more research. health after all is my biggest concern! thanks again

 

[cowculator]

Haven't checked this thread since the early days of your writing this. It seems like you are working back to your usual training load. How's the back doing?

Most of the research suggests that leg extensions have greater potential to screw up the knee because of the shearing force especially when people just let the weights drop on the eccentric part. Also with open chain leg exercises, it is wise not to lockout the knees. The same has been said of a rather useful back exercise called Reverse Hyper.

Leg presses can be fine for some people depending on the machine, their leverage and movement, in fact it can be useful to add training volume to extremities without over taxing the trunk . Again, some people have greater potential to reach "breaking point" before reaching an ideal bottom position. This can only be checked when observed. I have recently retracted my position on deep full range squats because I see many people reach breaking point i.e. lumbar rounding before they hit the bottom position.

Chay suggestions to do some single leg work is also good advice.

 

[XanderBuilt]

Nothing inherently wrong with the LP or LE but it's not a substitute for squat variations which are (should be) your bread + butter. Watch the range of motion on the LE. it can be used as a pre exhaust on the squat. Watch your lower back on the LP.

Basically I blame society. If your gym had 10 squat racks (without dickheads curling in them) I'd say youd easily be able to squat 2 to 3 times a week.

 

[XanderBuilt]

I think your diet needs looking at if your weight/fat is not dropping.

How's your sleep quality?

Training wise I'd start with a standard 3 way split and the break it up as you see fit.

 

[Solution9]

No workout today! i spent the morning at home playing with my kid before going to work.

here are the overdue photos that i took in the early afternoon.

u have huge biceps lol. just need to diet and cardio cardio cardio!

 

[Reddit]

Haven't checked this thread since the early days of your writing this. It seems like you are working back to your usual training load. How's the back doing?

Most of the research suggests that leg extensions have greater potential to screw up the knee because of the shearing force especially when people just let the weights drop on the eccentric part. Also with open chain leg exercises, it is wise not to lockout the knees. The same has been said of a rather useful back exercise called Reverse Hyper.

Leg presses can be fine for some people depending on the machine, their leverage and movement, in fact it can be useful to add training volume to extremities without over taxing the trunk . Again, some people have greater potential to reach "breaking point" before reaching an ideal bottom position. This can only be checked when observed. I have recently retracted my position on deep full range squats because I see many people reach breaking point i.e. lumbar rounding before they hit the bottom position.

Chay suggestions to do some single leg work is also good advice.

i wish i can say i understood what you typed but i dont i have to google them up just to be sure.

im most likely going back to my puny squats. chay's advice is really heartfelt, and im glad i have the chance to avoid the same mistakes that he made when he was younger. my back is really getting stronger now, so i can squat hi reps with low weights. i concentrate on making them burn. dead lifts with weights are still out of bounds for now.

 

[Reddit]

I think your diet needs looking at if your weight/fat is not dropping.

How's your sleep quality?

Training wise I'd start with a standard 3 way split and the break it up as you see fit.

sleep is terrible. i know you know exactly what im feeling bro i can get at least 6 hours a day. im trying to bump it up to 8 so that i can recover faster. but when the baby wakes up, i inevitably wake up as well.

my weight loss has definitely slowed. likewise the increase in weights i lift. im still getting stronger, although at a much slower pace.

youre right about me having to watch my diet. im going to take notes and pictures and post them here for critique.

 

[Reddit]

u have huge biceps lol. just need to diet and cardio cardio cardio!

thanks for your encouragement! i have to figure out what went wrong and fix that so that i can continue with weight loss

 

[Reddit]

today i did my shoulders. started with ohp at the power rack and worked up to the usual 50 kg 6 reps. however when i tried 60 kg i could only manage 3 reps. still have so much more room for improvement. face pulls was next. im beginning to love this exercise. my shoulders feel marvellous after every set - almost as if it a massage rather than a workout. i start off very light and slowly increase to 24.9kg 8 reps.

i didnt swim today as it is a tuesday.

i have bought myself a small notebook to record exactly what im doing in the gym and what i eat. that is the only way i can discover whats stopping me from losing weight.

 

[gkhchay]

i wish i can say i understood what you typed but i dont i have to google them up just to be sure.

im most likely going back to my puny squats. chay's advice is really heartfelt, and im glad i have the chance to avoid the same mistakes that he made when he was younger. my back is really getting stronger now, so i can squat hi reps with low weights. i concentrate on making them burn. dead lifts with weights are still out of bounds for now.

If you hv hurt yr back why don't i get it rehabbed? Aldrin Ho of Ziklag Fitness got my knees back in good condition after I spent thousands in 2008 mainstream docs, specialists & physios who couldn't help me at all. I personally think that Aldrin's 1 of the best rehab therapist cum strength coaches in S'pore & he's v good with back pain. In fact, I of his clients was back in the gym training just weeks after a lower back surgery after Aldrin's rehab. Just google for Ziklag Fitness.. His contact details & rates are all there...

 

[galapogos]

i wish i can say i understood what you typed but i dont i have to google them up just to be sure.

im most likely going back to my puny squats. chay's advice is really heartfelt, and im glad i have the chance to avoid the same mistakes that he made when he was younger. my back is really getting stronger now, so i can squat hi reps with low weights. i concentrate on making them burn. dead lifts with weights are still out of bounds for now.

What he explained is the reason that leg extensions seem to injure knees. There are 2 common types of forces that can act on your bones/joints - shearing and compression. Imagine your spine as a really tall jenga tower. Now imagine pushing down onto it - the tower will likely remain stable. That's compressive forces. Now imagine pushing sideways - the tower will likely topple. That's shear forces. Obviously your spine is more stable than a jenga tower as there are discs, ligaments and muscles that act as supporting structures, but the fact still remains that it's able to resist compressive forces much better than shear forces.

As for leg presses, much of the problem comes at the end range of motion when you're folded up (knees and hips fully flexed). At this position, your lower back is almost guaranteed to be rounded, which places it at a very compromised position.

 

[XanderBuilt]

sleep is terrible. i know you know exactly what im feeling bro i can get at least 6 hours a day. im trying to bump it up to 8 so that i can recover faster. but when the baby wakes up, i inevitably wake up as well.

my weight loss has definitely slowed. likewise the increase in weights i lift. im still getting stronger, although at a much slower pace.

youre right about me having to watch my diet. im going to take notes and pictures and post them here for critique.

As your boy gets older you'll understand the sleep pattern. Try to take magnesium every day. I'm taking about 900mg daily split into 3 (3 x 300). You can try around the same. Zinc as well. Also consider Sleep Aid from True Nutrition it has GABA and Melatonin which is good for sleep as well. I use a cap on weekends as well for an afternoon nap.

Weight loss slow down could be due to many things - food, exercise, sleep, routine, etc. Change your food choice, pick different exercises or rep ranges, sleep longer, just experiment.

 

[Reddit]

If you hv hurt yr back why don't i get it rehabbed? Aldrin Ho of Ziklag Fitness got my knees back in good condition after I spent thousands in 2008 mainstream docs, specialists & physios who couldn't help me at all. I personally think that Aldrin's 1 of the best rehab therapist cum strength coaches in S'pore & he's v good with back pain. In fact, I of his clients was back in the gym training just weeks after a lower back surgery after Aldrin's rehab. Just google for Ziklag Fitness.. His contact details & rates are all there...

thanks chay! you have introduced aldrin to me awhile ago when i first started this thread. i have called him to discuss before. im a little tight financially now as my kid is still small, so im have to wait for a few months until things are more stable. in the meantime im just doing simple core exercise, back extensions and leg lefts to strength myself. so far it seems to be working - my backaches have all but disappeared

 

[Reddit]

What he explained is the reason that leg extensions seem to injure knees. There are 2 common types of forces that can act on your bones/joints - shearing and compression. Imagine your spine as a really tall jenga tower. Now imagine pushing down onto it - the tower will likely remain stable. That's compressive forces. Now imagine pushing sideways - the tower will likely topple. That's shear forces. Obviously your spine is more stable than a jenga tower as there are discs, ligaments and muscles that act as supporting structures, but the fact still remains that it's able to resist compressive forces much better than shear forces.

As for leg presses, much of the problem comes at the end range of motion when you're folded up (knees and hips fully flexed). At this position, your lower back is almost guaranteed to be rounded, which places it at a very compromised position.

thanks for the explanation bro! i googled it up last night after work as well. i read that leg presses are safer if we limit the range of movement so that the lower back doesnt round. like you said, i think its too risky for me, so im just going to stick to high reps low weight squats for now. good thing i found out from you guys