Gym And Supplement Discussion

[rev210]

OK some questions and feedback from me this morning.

-

OK now for questions.

- When doing Barbel Rows, As my goal for that exercise is more about my shoulder blades I have started bringing it up to the chest, which forced me to drop a few kgs off the bar. Can anyone see any issues with that?

- I do a bit of ab work in my routine, 3 sets of 50 crunches and 3 sets of 70 reps of an air bike/leg scissor type thing. So I have OK looking abs so long as I tense them and hold them in place. If I fully relax, I look 2mths pregnant and my stomach bulges out a small amount. Is this a sign of poor internal ab strength or weak core or is it just that every photo you ever see of someone posing they are flexing their stomach? My partners stomach does not do this and she doesn't have my ab definition or strength and doesn't do any special ab work (she's a runner). I sit all day so that might be it, relaxed abs all day though she does too? I don't think my body fat % is high as I've always been a leaner guy (I'm only 81kg at 6ft). She did say that from an early age she always held her abs in place and has good posture.

Thoughts?

Barbell rows. If you feel the muscles being worked that you are targeting stick with that. Dropping the weight for good form is a win.

Personally I prefer one arm dumbbell rows. Good form will allow a slightly better ROM . Also, with a manageable weight you can focus on getting angles that are more natural for the body mechanics. Always start them with the weakest arm.

Abbs.

Posture is the first thing. Stand up straight , imagine you are pulled up by a rope attached through the top of your head. Some of the 'gut' will disappear. Poor posture does wonders. Work on sitting up straight and standing straight, it will workout the core. When you start out you won't be able to maintain posture for long before you fatigue believe it or not. Over time it will become normal.

Core strength. The Abbs are a bunch of muscles including ones you can't see. They also work with your back muscles. Your abb workout is not building any extra strength, just muscle endurance. However growing the abbs alot will cause them to stick out more too, although you will need to grow them alot for that. Power lifters and body builders can have a muscle tummy look depending on genetics. This is not your problem.

Perhaps you are still fatter than you think.People carry fat differently. Lean is a relative term. Being skinny isn't ripped. You may carry some pudding in the middle over the top of the abbs as a layer.

I have lots of developed abb muscle from back in the day. I can see most of it, including all the little muscles of the obliques without flexing. However , in my view I am far from the 'lean' physique I had. I've got some pudding on the lower part of the obliques and over the top of the abbs.

Lastly, the technique for shifting it is simple but, not easy. Shifting the last of the abb fat is all diet. Mostly , what you can't eat or drink.

Edited February 21, 2012 by rev210

[No Crust Racing]

Much obliged.

I concede there is definitely some fat over the top but I honestly thing it's fairly minimal (can post no homo pics if needed), that's not what worries me though as I tend to prefer to eat and drink what I want, like a boss, and that's part of why I exercise, so I can enjoy myself relatively guilt free.

That said the bigger issue for me is if the bulge (it looks like I'm bloated if you get me not fat as in cellulite just bloated) is more of an inner ab strength thing, and it sounds like it is. Is standing up straight and holding my stomach in using my abs enough to minimise that?

It certainly seems to work for my missus but she talks about how she is not using her exterior (visible) abs to do this where as I feel like I am. She seems to refer to some magical inner ab feeling that I don't think I've felt. When I hold my stomach in I'm using my exterior abs and good posture to do it, if that's what you mean then I can do that.

[Birds]

There's a lot of factors involved in your abs being obvious:

- Body fat. Skinny guys can have six packs without doing a single sit up. Depending on how much muscle you have, 81kg at 6ft may not be all that lean. I'm 6'3 and I checked in at 79kg the other day...I'm not exactly lacking for muscle, so my body fat is low enough that my abs show when untensed. Cardio and diet.

- Ab exercise. If your abs don't feel like big ice cubes when you're tensing them, you probably haven't built them up enough. Sit ups are great but there are a lot of other exercises that build up the abdominal wall. Do you do: tricep pushdown, lat pulldown / chin ups, seated row, deadlifts, woodchops, machine crunches?

- In a lot of photos, people are tensing their abs.

- When sitting down, what little skin and fat you may have folds over your abdominal wall so they will always be less obvious here than standing

- After a big meal or protein shake your stomach will protrude out in it's natural resting state. Abs will always look better first thing in the morning, when your stomach is empty and your muscles have returned to a firm and fresh state.

- Posture. Shoulders back, chest out = stomach in.

[No Crust Racing]

There's a lot of factors involved in your abs being obvious:

- Body fat. Skinny guys can have six packs without doing a single sit up. Depending on how much muscle you have, 81kg at 6ft may not be all that lean. I'm 6'3 and I checked in at 79kg the other day...I'm not exactly lacking for muscle, so my body fat is low enough that my abs show when untensed.

- Ab exercise. If your abs don't feel like big ice cubes when you're tensing them, you probably haven't built them up enough. Sit ups are great but there are a lot of other exercises that build up the abdominal wall. Do you do: tricep pushdown, lat pulldown / chin ups, seated row, deadlifts, woodchops?

- In a lot of photos, people are tensing their abs.

- When sitting down, what little skin and fat you may have folds over your abdominal wall so they will always be less obvious here than standing

- After a big meal or protein shake your stomach will protrude out in it's natural resting state. Abs will always look better first thing in the morning, when your stomach is empty and your muscles have returned to a firm and fresh state.

Yeah I know, I used to be 65kg and had awesome looking, zero work, abs lol.

I wouldn't say ice cubes but pretty firm and pretty visible when tensed, it's the fact that when not tensed they disappear as my stomach protrudes out a bit, as if I've just eaten a big meal as you mentioned.

From that list, only deadlift, and that's the stiff leg variety as my hamstring flexibility is poor.

I'll try keeping my core tensed and posture good and see what effect it has over the next few weeks. I'm too much of a fooder to cut out heaps of things from my diet Shit, maybe I am just fat, starting to sound that way.

If I take some tensed/untensed photos for review am I gonna have to endure 3 pages of bullshit about how pale I am, how my chest isn't hairy enough, biceps too small blah blah or are we all reasonably good at staying on topic and just telling me my core needs work and my body fat % is too high?

Edited February 21, 2012 by ActionDan

[TTT]

Dan - try adding "PLANKS" to your Ab routine.

Youtube will have instructions if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Tangles - I pretty much eat that way throughout the weekdays (during work)

easiest thing to do.

Step one - cook up some animals

Step 2 - buy salad shit from shops (I get Coles BBQ Salad bag and tomatoes and cucumber and avocado)

Step 3 - empty half a bag in to big container, throw in tomato and cucumber and avo

Step 4 - heat up some of the animal you cooked and cut up and put in in the salad

Step 5 - add dressing (Optional)

Backup option (if you haven't cooked enough animals) is Tuna with the above.

Looks like this.

then 15 minutes later

I eat 2 of these during the day at work (easy going office job)

Outside of that I have my cereal at home and dinner in the evening.

Easy as.

Edited February 21, 2012 by GTST

[No Crust Racing]

If you mean this I used to do this a bit actually, I should add it back in.

[Birds]

Yeah I know, I used to be 65kg and had awesome looking, zero work, abs lol.

I wouldn't say ice cubes but pretty firm and pretty visible when tensed, it's the fact that when not tensed they disappear as my stomach protrudes out a bit, as if I've just eaten a big meal as you mentioned.

From that list, only deadlift, and that's the stiff leg variety as my hamstring flexibility is poor.

I'll try keeping my core tensed and posture good and see what effect it has over the next few weeks. I'm too much of a fooder to cut out heaps of things from my diet Shit, maybe I am just fat, starting to sound that way.

If I take some tensed/untensed photos for review am I gonna have to endure 3 pages of bullshit about how pale I am, how my chest isn't hairy enough, biceps too small blah blah or are we all reasonably good at staying on topic and just telling me my core needs work and my body fat % is too high?

Post up some pics of your stomach (nohomo), resting/relaxed and tensed, then we can judge (strong nohomo) from that better than speculating based on what you describe. Highly recommend woodchops before you do your situps...they will work your abdominal wall and obliques, creating some useful "sideways" strength along the way. You should find sit ups / crunches a lot harder after doing these.

Hate to use him as an example, but the reason people like Zyzz looked shredded with obvious abs is primarily their diet. From memory, his was super strict and he didn't touch any fast food or anything sweet. I can't do this, I love food too much...thus I will never be as shredded lol...but I'm still trim because cardio can certainly make up for a poor diet. Not that mine's all that bad, but I don't knock back burgers and chocolate on the weekends.

Also, lol @ plank video...he's probably explaining some good things (I haven't watched the vid), but you'd think a still picture would suffice for planking instruction

[No Crust Racing]

Will do re pics.

I could do more cardio for sure, atm I walk the dog each morning which is only a small 20min circuit, which I jog most of (I find it hard to get going in the mornings) and then a bigger walk with the dog and missus a few nights a week. I could deffo be getting back into my bike or running though.

Same, no way I'll give up sweet things and tasty treats.

[Birds]

Ever tried running at night, before dinner? You should have more energy at this time from your food intake during the day. Though not the most motivating time, after a long day at work lol.

[No Crust Racing]

The morning walk is more so for the dog, as she's only 9mths and has lots of energy, I jog it just to get it over with faster.

At night, M/W/F I start exercising as soon as I get home, takes about an hour. On the off days Tuesday and Thursday, I'm likely to go for a bigger walk with Kate and the Dog and on the weekends we usually go somewhere with the dog and I do the usual BS of wash both cars, mow lawns (1280sqm block) etc so it's not like I'm inactive.

[Tangles]

yeah GTST - thats my diet currently. No cereals tho.

meat + salad + balsamic vinegar = win. meat + broc/caul/carrot + S/P = win, too !

throw in tuna cans & pre/post protein shakes, plus a fruit smoothie a few times a week & thats it for me.

Might have a 6" sub 1x a week at Uni if required, see how I go. But real keen to cut out carbs (besides some Dextrose in the shakes).

Just got to make sure I have enough energy for workouts + study, so I'll balance it over the next month or so.

Today I got into the freeweight leg press and did some sets. Only 30kg lol (nothing on the guys who smash out +400kg at my gym), but that was VERY hard getting it up of the safety bars 1) due to the angles with my very long legs, its hard to fit in the machine, and 2) no knees really hampers how much you can initially push off with. think of it as doing a cable lat pulldown without the pulley for the cable to go over.....

[TTT]

I have no idea how you do leg shit with no knees. kudos to you.

[Birds]

At least he won't be scared of the loan sharks amiright?

[No Crust Racing]

I lol'd but he does have plenty of other joints and appendages to be exploited in lieu of timely payments...

Creepy comment is creepy 0_0

[KezR33]

- I do a bit of ab work in my routine, 3 sets of 50 crunches and 3 sets of 70 reps of an air bike/leg scissor type thing. So I have OK looking abs so long as I tense them and hold them in place. If I fully relax, I look 2mths pregnant and my stomach bulges out a small amount. Is this a sign of poor internal ab strength or weak core or is it just that every photo you ever see of someone posing they are flexing their stomach? My partners stomach does not do this and she doesn't have my ab definition or strength and doesn't do any special ab work (she's a runner). I sit all day so that might be it, relaxed abs all day though she does too? I don't think my body fat % is high as I've always been a leaner guy (I'm only 81kg at 6ft). She did say that from an early age she always held her abs in place and has good posture.

Thoughts?

You're fat!

Seriously. You can get awesome abs by never lifting a weight if your body fat % is low enough.

Eh, I didn't see the million posts since the one I quoted till I posted just now. Odd.

Edited February 21, 2012 by KezR33

[No Crust Racing]

[Birds]

You're fat!

Seriously. You can get awesome abs by never lifting a weight if your body fat % is low enough.

Eh, I didn't see the million posts since the one I quoted till I posted just now. Odd.

It took you 6 hours to type this reply?

[No Crust Racing]

I can forgive that as he used "you're" correctly and that made me happy.

Son I am proud.

[NickR33]

you need to train your abs like any other muscle... no need to do sets with 50 reps... get some resistance whether it be dumbbells, medicine ball, cables or whatever and keep reps in the 8 - 15 range

your abs might stick out because you have too much anterior pelvic tilt... that is your lower back is excessively arched and your pelvis is tilted forward... this can be due to multiple reasons, do a search for some articles

I was reading a great one the other day but can't find it now... one comment that stood out was that excessive anterior pelvic tilt can make lean guys look fat due to the protruding belly

This one is okay

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/break_up_those_hips_and_fix_that_squat

This vid explains how to diagnose yourself

[No Crust Racing]

Nick I thought that adding weight and doing lower reps would make the muscle bigger, I don't to exacerbate the protruding look issue. Was under the impression that for abs reps were OK as tone is more the goal (in my case).

Also interesting vid.

You will all see what I mean when I post some pics, prolly Wednesday Night/Thursday morning, the most likely culprit is I'm just holding too much fat in the mid section due to my dietary choices.