thread of getting sw0le

loss of flexibility will not stick around

My wife pointed out that I looked more sw0le

*applause*

it is perfectly normal/perfectly healthy to have soreness and stiffness any time you change workouts. the difference between good shape and game shape. the second day is usually the worst.

tbh i've got to the point where i enjoy it a little.

Yeah I mean I have been sore before, but this was some really fucked-up feeling, entire upper back is a single slab stiffness lasting a few days. Some of it may also be starting a new workout at 35 vs at 25.

listing to failure is actually bad because yr form fails before yr ability to lift weights fails which risks injury, redefine failure as yr form breaking and youll be better off, olympic weight lifters like the ones in the actual olympics often do sets of one and then even complete their set of one if their form isnt perfect, tho obvs they r lifting extremely heavy things

btw i saw an extremely fd up injurded limping ass trainer in the gym today lol

also do compound lifts functional strength etc its whats cool now not legs days

^^ troof
tho it's certainly still possible to emphasize different areas on different days
just for god's sake no machines
except maybe freemotion some of those are okay
and maybe the leg sled
that's not really a machine i think

i do the row, bench and press machines if somebody's hogging the weights, i'm not proud. it's like driving an automatic, i'll do it if i need to

I have definitely generally been focusing on functional strength in the last few months -- bodyweight exercises, TRX straps, freeweights, kettlebells, etc., but I do feel like the compound lifts tap into something that I haven't been getting with that stuff -- deadlifts, actual bar bench presses, real squats etc. seem to work muscles in a way that the other stuff hasn't so far, and maybe force me to use muscles I wouldn't naturally use in an exercise otherwise. I think I'm going to keep up the strength stuff but just with slightly less weight/not to failure, and maybe try to mix in some bodyweight and resistance bands at home on off days (not hitting the same muscle group I just hit obv).

I do avoid the machines except for the cable-based ones, unless nothing is open.

seem to work muscles in a way that the other stuff hasn't so far, and maybe force me to use muscles I wouldn't naturally use in an exercise otherwise.

totally. If you are doing barbell squats and stuff you are engaging a ton of other muscles for stabilization. in basic strength training it's only 5 different lifts but still a whole body workout.

i am 2.5kg away from 100kg squat :D

I feel like I'm finally starting to "get" squats now that I'm focusing more on my form. The effect is almost profound -- I left the gym today feeling like I was aligned much better and it was even taking some of the pressure off my shoulder that often gets tight.

they are magical, the 1 true lift

if i only take one thing away from my months (now years!!) of steady swolestyle it is that when i bend down to pick something up i do it with a straight back. i think of it like a gift i'm giving a future me.

cause let's face it i am never going to be truly yoked.

Yeah I don't care much about that. Look decent and feel good is my goal.

a guy gave me unsolicited squat advice yesterday re my lack of flexibility/inability to go past parallel lol

he was all you ever think abt going past parallel and i was all i cant

then to be nice to him i asked him if he had any ideas for gaining flexibility and he was all uh lift more

you don't need to go past parallel it's all good

yeah idc

I'm from fitness and I'm here to help

trainsplaining

if i only take one thing away from my months (now years!!) of steady swolestyle it is that when i bend down to pick something up i do it with a straight back.

so otm. squatting w straight back to get a pot from the floor cupboard.

you don't need to go past parallel it's all good

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, September 17, 2015 5:58 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, you're right, but when i do, my butt gets bigger, no joke. i think it's just people's preference

please try to hit parallel lagoon. it's good.

i think he is? just not going past?

yes ^

you don't need to go past parallel it's all good

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, September 17, 2015 5:58 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, you're right, but when i do, my butt gets bigger, no joke. i think it's just people's preference

― F♯ A♯ (∞), Thursday, September 17, 2015 2:57 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my butt is big enough for me

cool

ok. i was worried about your knees. i'm worried about my knees.

when i go past parallel i often lose a bit of rigidness in my back (i think this is called "butt wink"?) y cause i am not really that flex-ee-blay so i don't really push it

yeah the guy was telling me that going past parallel wld be better for my knees idk

(i think this is called "butt wink"?)

ew lol

i don't do it often. i usually hit parallel most of the time, then every so often i'll go past it just to vary it up a bit

fwiw ive done lots of diff athletic style activities over the years including thousands of hours of running and basketball and never had any knee problems knock on wood

seems like its my quads thatre tight/preventing me from going lower, sure it wldnt be too hard to work on that

feel like ive been saying "i shd do more yoga" for a decade

prob longer tbh

more than one class a year and some occasional half hearted stretching

a good hip stretching routine before you squat is impt

i dont really "like to" stretch

actually i do like it i just dont do it

I don't like doing it when I have a limited workout time window, which is pretty much always now, but know I should. I do a little warmup and crab-walky thing before I lift, and I tend to do a little light stretching after but not really a full routine like I should as often as I should.

I actually love stretching after a workout. In fact my ideal is like 2 hours in the gym with 1-1.25 hrs working out, then some stretching, then the sauna before showering, but that's just not doable for me on a work day or pretty much any day.

breathing practice in yoga has been impt for me in lifting and running. wide-legged squats make my ass go boom fyi.

^ +1

yeah I know I'm the local yoga stan but it's hard to overstate how much it helps w/everything else