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Honest Opinions (Ok, dicks who wanna flame can come too) (pg. 8)
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| arctic |
| You look fine, much better than me heh. I seriously wouldn't worry about your appearance, you have a much better phizique than me :p |
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| Ezman |
I say pecs too, although upper pecs are fine, I would have said lower pecs = decline, maybe biceps could be a tiny bit bigger, and ya shoulders are proportionally the biggest compared to the rest
Also ya should be changing your program every 2-3 months!
Key is if you aren't improving, change something (ie free weights -> machine, barbells to dumbells)
6-8 reps are the way to go for bulk, also maybe try something different like decline barbell press for 6-8 reps then straight after you do those get on the floor and max out with push ups...do that for 3 sets (youll probably need to drop the weight each set, i went from like 80kg->75kg->65kg for the sets cus it ed me up (and could only do like 10 push ups after the sets) :P
Also a 3 way split program over 5-7 days (wouldn't rest the same muscle group for more than a week though)
I been training for 3 or so years (although the last 1 and a half years i have only really been maintaining myself) but i am not gonna post half nekked pics or anything :P |
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| Vigilante |
PECS!!!!!!!!!!
You really need to work on your pectoralis major muscle group. This will put you whole body into proportion and make you look a lot more buff.
I have found that Flys are the best workout for pecs. Also, if you are more of a benchpress kind of guy, try mixing it up with some incline bench as well. Those are my tips anyway.
Now here is some inspiration for you
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| 'mju:zik |
| ya man just do flys and ul be fine, it will define your pecs a lot faster than the bench. just depends if u want definition or more strength. |
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| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by 'mju:zik
ya man just do flys and ul be fine, it will define your pecs a lot faster than the bench. just depends if u want definition or more strength. |
orbax...
i'm not gonna read through all the posts since i lasted posted, but it all depends on what you want. i got the impression that you want to put on muscle. for that you need to do those big compound exercises i was talking about. don't listen to this crap about bench is for strength and just do flies...trust me. just make sure you do a nice amount of reps on bench and you'll be fine aim for the 10-12 range...and increase the weight whenever you get 12 all the time... |
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| MisterOpus1 |
Izzy-
Got some pretty good bulk on ya. I concur with Orbax on the traps. From front glance it seems your back is fairly well defined, perhaps a little more lats to give you that triangular figure. I might also say it looks like you're sucking in pretty hard, so needless to say maybe a little more ab work and a little less 12oz bicep curl work (sorry, I'm feeling pretty critical today :D ). Great arm bulk. I don't see the forearms as critically as Orbax, but everyone has their own opinion. Your chest is coming along pretty well - be sure to continue working antagonistic muscle groups just as much (i.e. chest/back, etc.). Furthermore, a little more tonage wouldn't hurt - perhaps a few extra minutes in cardio activity or even an extra cardio workout, combined with an occasional high rep/low resistance day every couple of weeks/couple of times per cycle. And, of course, don't neglect the legs.
As for what others have been saying about abs - of course everyone has their own opinion. I have found that it's not so much the exercise in of itself, but the consistency of how often you do the ab exercise(s). What's more, a continual shift of different exercises also contributes - causing the ab muscles to work in different ways also helps with tonage. Actually, that last sentence should be said for pretty much all parts of the body.
HTH. |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Floorfiller
orbax...
i'm not gonna read through all the posts since i lasted posted, but it all depends on what you want. i got the impression that you want to put on muscle. for that you need to do those big compound exercises i was talking about. don't listen to this crap about bench is for strength and just do flies...trust me. just make sure you do a nice amount of reps on bench and you'll be fine aim for the 10-12 range...and increase the weight whenever you get 12 all the time... |
Agreed. It would be much more beneficial to strengthen up entire muscle groups via multiple muscle group movers (i.e. bench press) before moving to concentrated areas like the pecs with exercises like incline/decline flys, etc. Additionally, it decreases your chances for overuse injury, like shoulder tendonitis, esp. frontal shoulder tendonitis which can be the result of weak muscle groups that support your shoulder. By concentrating on just one area too much, the antagonistic and complimentary muscle groups are not being strengthened, which will ineviteably result in injury every time. That's a big reason why they say the major muscle group mover resistance exercises (bench) must PRECEDE concentrated exercises (like flys). And if you don't already know, overuse injuries can hamper and limit your workout abilities for the rest of your life, as well as contribute to other overuse injuries.
Just a little more fyi. |
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| Orbax |
for real. I was rollin back with 90s in my hands and my right shoulder popped out. it gave a slight tear in my rotator, and im still recovering. GRRRR been like a month now and its just now starting to get to the point where I can work out again.
Any thought on how to make the tricep travel further down your arm? I have a horseshoe stuck to my shoulder and its been hell getting the fingers to reach down to my elbow. |
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| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orbax
for real. I was rollin back with 90s in my hands and my right shoulder popped out. it gave a slight tear in my rotator, and im still recovering. GRRRR been like a month now and its just now starting to get to the point where I can work out again.
Any thought on how to make the tricep travel further down your arm? I have a horseshoe stuck to my shoulder and its been hell getting the fingers to reach down to my elbow. |
i did pretty much the same thing to my shoulder. it something that still bothers me. i don't really know how to fix it except my friend had a similar problem and used glucosamine with condroiton to help the ligiments...but whenever he stopped using it the problem came back. i would just make sure you stretch really well before you do anything and do a warm up set or two with some light weight. i think really the only way to fix this is threw surgery, but even then...i don't know what kinda problems that might cause :conf:...
for the tricep...
a good exercise for the bottom part of the triceps are (i don't really know what its called but my name for it is) reverse-grip rope pulls. hold the rope like you're gonna do bicep curls on the machine and then pull down. its pretty akward when you start out, but you'll get used to it. other then that...just make sure you do long, slow movements... |
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| MisterOpus1 |
Shoulder tendonitis is so incredibly common in the weight room. So many people have it and think it's part of the workout pain. Then it gets so bad that the person can't even lift 1/2 the weight. And then it starts to ache at night while you're trying to sleep. And then it starts aching during the daytime, and then it gets to the point where you can't even lift your arm up to get the f$cking cereal box!
Okay, maybe that was a little too much of a personal experience. I used to swim back in college, and my right shoulder is pretty much jelly to this day.
The cause of shoulder tendonitis from resistance training is often described as tensile failure or "overloading". In overloading, an actual tear may result inside the shoulder tendon (rotator cuff), which left untreated can become bigger. This is in contrast to repetitive exercises like, say, the golf or tennis swing which can fatigue the rotator cuff. In both cases, however, impingement on the bursa can result, which inflames the rotator cuff even more (impingement tendonitis/bursitis).
The rotator cuff itself is not actually a tendon, but 4 muscles (subscap./infraspin./supraspin./teres minor - SITS) which actually hold the ball and socket joint of the shoulder together. This is why the shoulder has so much mobility, and is why it is easy to injur, because unlike any other joint in the body, only muscles hold this joint together. Their main function is to counter the movement of the frontal and medial deltoid muscles, esp. the overhead movement. Therefore, it is absolutely important to keep these 4 muscles in good condition.
I'm a big believer in prevention medicine. I have always avoided surgery as much as possible, because I truly believe successful non-surgery rehabilitation can overcome most injuries, and even strengthen the given injured area more than a surgery with rehab. Of course, that's not always the case, and in many cases there is no other alternative but to have surgery. Whichever the case, prevention of further injury is vital. There are specific rotator cuff exercises that are performed with a stretch band that should be incorporated in every upper body workout, esp. shoulder days. Furthermore, strengthening of the surrounding muscle groups is also important. Specifically, biceps and lats, as well as pecs. In addition to my rotator cuff exercises, I had to also concentrate on biceps (likely because the triceps were a little stronger), pecs with machine flys, and lats (pulldowns). One other important switch I had to make was to stay away from shoulder/military press for awhile, and substitute with delt. lifts (front and side only, skipped the back delts.). Don't concentrate too much on the delts, however - too much delt work can counterbalance the workload needed in the rotator cuff. Ice is also important after workouts, even when the pain subsides. Ice became my best friend for a long time. Swelling can occur even when you don't always "feel" it, so ice naturally reduced that swelling. And finally, if you're not already doing this, avoid working the same muscle groups, esp. the rotator cuff, on consecutive days. Give your shoulders at least 48 hours rest before working the area again. Might be a good time to work those legs the next day instead (hint hint).
Alright, now I'm off my soapbox. HTH though. |
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| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
Shoulder tendonitis is so incredibly common in the weight room. So many people have it and think it's part of the workout pain. Then it gets so bad that the person can't even lift 1/2 the weight. And then it starts to ache at night while you're trying to sleep. And then it starts aching during the daytime, and then it gets to the point where you can't even lift your arm up to get the f$cking cereal box!
Okay, maybe that was a little too much of a personal experience. I used to swim back in college, and my right shoulder is pretty much jelly to this day.
The cause of shoulder tendonitis from resistance training is often described as tensile failure or "overloading". In overloading, an actual tear may result inside the shoulder tendon (rotator cuff), which left untreated can become bigger. This is in contrast to repetitive exercises like, say, the golf or tennis swing which can fatigue the rotator cuff. In both cases, however, impingement on the bursa can result, which inflames the rotator cuff even more (impingement tendonitis/bursitis).
The rotator cuff itself is not actually a tendon, but 4 muscles (subscap./infraspin./supraspin./teres minor - SITS) which actually hold the ball and socket joint of the shoulder together. This is why the shoulder has so much mobility, and is why it is easy to injur, because unlike any other joint in the body, only muscles hold this joint together. Their main function is to counter the movement of the frontal and medial deltoid muscles, esp. the overhead movement. Therefore, it is absolutely important to keep these 4 muscles in good condition.
I'm a big believer in prevention medicine. I have always avoided surgery as much as possible, because I truly believe successful non-surgery rehabilitation can overcome most injuries, and even strengthen the given injured area more than a surgery with rehab. Of course, that's not always the case, and in many cases there is no other alternative but to have surgery. Whichever the case, prevention of further injury is vital. There are specific rotator cuff exercises that are performed with a stretch band that should be incorporated in every upper body workout, esp. shoulder days. Furthermore, strengthening of the surrounding muscle groups is also important. Specifically, biceps and lats, as well as pecs. In addition to my rotator cuff exercises, I had to also concentrate on biceps (likely because the triceps were a little stronger), pecs with machine flys, and lats (pulldowns). One other important switch I had to make was to stay away from shoulder/military press for awhile, and substitute with delt. lifts (front and side only, skipped the back delts.). Don't concentrate too much on the delts, however - too much delt work can counterbalance the workload needed in the rotator cuff. Ice is also important after workouts, even when the pain subsides. Ice became my best friend for a long time. Swelling can occur even when you don't always "feel" it, so ice naturally reduced that swelling. And finally, if you're not already doing this, avoid working the same muscle groups, esp. the rotator cuff, on consecutive days. Give your shoulders at least 48 hours rest before working the area again. Might be a good time to work those legs the next day instead (hint hint).
Alright, now I'm off my soapbox. HTH though. |
thanks for the info...i'll have to incorporate some of that stuff... |
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| MERTON |
| get some legs! they look too little.. and don't do squat.. do deadlift and REALLY concentrate on posture and only go down 1/4 of the way. |
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