Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat (2015)

[lawrence-lugar]

I just use a pair of 30lb dumbells and a 9lb medicine ball...that's more than enough to get a full, total body workout -- if you know what you're doing. With good results too . Along with cardio and stretching exercises as well that target diff body parts.
And of course a healthy diet and fitness supplements. (mainly whey protein milk shakes and creatine)

In the past I had a complex backyard system and once joined a gym...but got tired/bored of that complexity and time commitment.

I just mainly care about body posture and proportions and elasticity and agile strength now;

When I was younger, I wanted to look like those crazy buff guys in magazines who took Androstenedione like candy -- ahh...the eXplosive, Awesome late 90's

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I've noticed a similar finding just with my own workouts. For example, I don't notice anything whatsoever by adding bicep curls to my routine. Sticking with a couple of multi-joint sets of overhanded and underhanded lat pulldowns seems to work just as well and you knock out two birds with one stone that way.

Apart from calf raises, I haven't done any isolation work for a few years now and I don't feel I'm missing out.

One point regarding underhand (supinated) pull ups/pulldowns. I used to do weighted supinated pull ups (chins) after overhand (pronated) pull ups. I found it irritated one of my shoulders and subsequently read that they are not particularly shoulder friendly. So vertical lat/back exercises are limited to pronated pull ups. I do one weighted set and then immediately follow with a descending set without the weight.

But I did do pulley rows with a parallel (neutral) grip along with bent over dumbbell rows. Now, being somewhat of an ideologue, I include my bodyweight in all of my exercises. So my rowing is limited to underhand (supinated) inverted rows, which I do using a Smith machine. Whereas I previously elevated my feet to bar height, I now elevate my feet higher than the bar using an adjustable bench, so that at the bottom of the movement, my body is planking at about a 30- to 45-degree angle, with my head almost touching the floor. Even so, they are not hard to do. Therefore, I do the first several very slowly, and then speed up to a more normal pace towards the end of the set. At the top of the rep I bring my sternum to the bar. If you have a chance, give them a try and tell me what you think.

As an aside, while I do the pull ups with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip, the rows are done with just barely a shoulder width grip. Thumbless grip for both; better grip and easier on the elbows since I do the full range of motion.

 

[Boss302]

I've noticed a similar finding just with my own workouts. For example, I don't notice anything whatsoever by adding bicep curls to my routine. Sticking with a couple of multi-joint sets of overhanded and underhanded lat pulldowns seems to work just as well and you knock out two birds with one stone that way.

I had similar experience with triceps. My elbows were barking at me (probably from lying extensions) so I cut out all direct triceps work. Since I do a lot of benching in all forms, I really didn't notice any difference in size or decrease in my bench press.

 

[vanzandt]

DHEA was in the news today as its banned by the NFL. They had to cancel GNC's Superbowl commercial in solidarity to their rules since GNC sells it.

Never tried it, but I know someone who swears by it. He's in excellent shape... but the dude works out religiously so who knows.

 

[Baron]

DHEA never did much of anything for me, so this recent banning seems a little far fetched IMO.

 

[vanzandt]

Says possible side effects include hair loss and shrunken testicles(?)... Thats all I needed to hear.

Best stick to pull-ups and jogging.

 

[Baron]

It occurred to me last night why they banned DHEA. There are a lot of designer supplements on the market that are derivatives of the DHEA molecule, just like traditional steroids are derivatives of testosterone. The theory is that once these DHEA compounds are ingested, the body will convert them into things like testosterone and DHT via various enzymes in the body. So by banning DHEA, they are essentially also banning everything that is based upon the DHEA molecule all in one swoop.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I had similar experience with triceps. My elbows were barking at me (probably from lying extensions) so I cut out all direct triceps work. Since I do a lot of benching in all forms, I really didn't notice any difference in size or decrease in my bench press.

Are you sure it was the triceps exercises that caused your elbows grief?

Several years ago, I used to do a lot of different exercises, several of them isolation/single joint. I don't recall my elbows ever acting up from pushing exercises, which includes triceps. I only ever had elbow issues, as I noted earlier, from supinated chins. While I did pronated pull ups with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip, I used a fairly narrow grip on the chins, with my hands only a few inches apart. Perhaps that was the problem, and it certainly didn't do one of my shoulders any favors.

Specifically, the inside of the elbow joint was affected, and the issue went away when I had stopped that exercise. As I noted in my previous post, I use a thumbless grip for pulling exercises. When I occasionally try using a thumbed grip, the outside of the elbow joint would act up when I used any weight of consequence.

 

[Baron]

Ok, I've established a dedicated forum called Health & Fitness that we can use for discussing things like we have in this thread. I think it will be a lot easier posting about various subjects than have a single catch-all thread like this.

So this thread is officially closed. See you in the new forum.