Methods for gaining muscle and losing fat

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Quote from uptik2000:

What I find interesting is the extremes some people go to. Using drugs, supplements and other possibly harmful substances for the sake of going from 12% body fat to 10 or 8%.
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Personally, I would much rather see someone use a drug to build muscle, drop body fat or improve athletic performance than I would like to see a person use a drug to reduce blood pressure or regulate blood sugar because they are obese.

I heard about a study the other day where researchers discovered that eating high carb foods like desserts and pizzas release the exact same "pleasure chemicals" in the brain that cocaine does. Because of this, the research indicated that the main difference between a coke addict and a chronically obese person is the method by which the dopamine release is triggered. Neither person is living the healthiest lifestyle, but if I had to choose the lesser evil, I'd much rather be the coke addict than the food addict.
 
Working out will most definitely pay off in the long run for any of the people asking why. My grandfather "exercised" as long as I've been alive until he was about 93-94. He got Alzheimer's pretty severely around then and started losing weight but made it all the way to 97 before passing away (this year). Moral of the story is I've never met anyone else who in their late 80's and early 90's who looked and felt as good as him. Its ridiculous how good of shape he kept himself in. He didn't weight lift or anything though really. Just light dumbbell work and lots of swimming and just being active. I just thought that might be a motivating story lol.


Anyways back to the manly stuff, how many of you all can bench 2 times your body weight? I have never made it there. My calculated rep max has been over that point but I've never actually done it so it doesn't count. But I could do 1.5 times my body weight all day long. Just thought I'd change the topic up
 
Quote from achilles28:

Ya, me too. Atticus, how do you ensure you don't injure the lower back on deadlifts? Is there any particular trick or critical tweak I should be aware of?
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I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I fractured my L5 deadlifting too much weight with poor form my senior year of high school. I was doing 5 reps on my last heavy set, got the first 4 ok then on the 5th couldnt quite make it up and I arched my back while straining to finish the pull and there it went lol. I had lightly injured it before with a piece of metal at a construction site weighing 400lbs but the deadlift finished it off.

So needless to say FORM IS CRITICAL in deadlift. But it's important in all lifts really.
 
Quote from FCXoptions:


Anyways back to the manly stuff, how many of you all can bench 2 times your body weight? I have never made it there. My calculated rep max has been over that point but I've never actually done it so it doesn't count. But I could do 1.5 times my body weight all day long. Just thought I'd change the topic up
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Good question. 2 times bodyweight is the "gold standard" for squats and deadlifts. I hear it tossed around for bench, but I don't know any person that benches twice their body weight. In videos, Ronny Coleman struggles to dumbbell press 200's. He weighs nearly 300 pounds in the offseason, so that's 1.33 times. I figure if I can put up 150 pound dumbbells at ~250 pounds, I'm doing pretty good. Not gonna expect more than that. I'm at 65 pounds on incline db press, now :D Atticus benches 275? He weighs around 200 pounds = ~1.37 times.

As for fracturing the L5, thanks for the cautionary tale. I'm gonna get some time in with a solid trainer before I go much heavier on some of my lifts. Just to be sure I'm doing things right.
 
Quote from achilles28:

Good question. 2 times bodyweight is the "gold standard" for squats and deadlifts. I hear it tossed around for bench, but I don't know any person that benches twice their body weight. In videos, Ronny Coleman struggles to dumbbell press 200's. He weighs nearly 300 pounds in the offseason, so that's 1.33 times. I figure if I can put up 150 pound dumbbells at ~250 pounds, I'm doing pretty good. Not gonna expect more than that. I'm at 65 pounds on incline db press, now :D Atticus benches 275? He weighs around 200 pounds = ~1.37 times.

As for fracturing the L5, thanks for the cautionary tale. I'm gonna get some time in with a solid trainer before I go much heavier on some of my lifts. Just to be sure I'm doing things right.
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My 1RM unassisted (no spot/cheat) inside the cage is currently ~330 or so. My 2RM is 310 but the second rep is nearly impossible. I have the bar padded with pipe insulation and the safeties are literally a 1/4" below a chest touch. I am up to 215 again. I'll try to add a couple fives on my next bench w/o. Working on the 295lb bicep curl! (jk)

Ronnie Coleman is a monster, but there are a lot of stronger guys who look like the average Joe. Also, 400lbs in dumbs are A LOT more difficult to push than a 400lb oly bar. No question it's like pushing 450 at least. He's going for hypertrophy first and foremost.

I've got a neighbor who weighs 160 and can do 16 reps at 225. He won't try for 1RM, but he's retired SF (Delta) and can do like 40 pullups.

I'll try to youtube my next attempt (or the one following) as I go for a 1RM/2RM once a month. I'll record my speedbag as well. I use the speedbag between sets to move the lactic acid and I am getting good at it. The bag is a blur. ;)

Sellindexvol66 is my size and benches nearly 400, maybe more, can't recall. He's won a lot of NY metro bench comps. I've been working on bench technique for 20 years. A lot of guys are strong but can't bench for crap, and a lot of guys are skinny and can push a lot of weight due to excellent technique.
 
That's some sick weight (1.5 times), but shit man, 1 rep max?!??!? You sure that's safe??

Ya, skinny guys can regularly hit 2 times bw on the bench. I think most normal guys can't. Sellindexvol must be a f8ing beast!

Definitely, post up that video! Be interested to see. Once I start pushing some decent weight, I'll post some videos too. Good way to stay motivated and accountable. lol @ bicep curl :D
 
Quote from atticus:

Also, 400lbs in dumbs are A LOT more difficult to push than a 400lb oly bar.
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You got that right. I do flat bench dumbbell chest presses with 90lb dumbbells and they feel like they are either going to push me through the floor or twist my wrists off. I can't imagine myself going much higher.
 
Quote from atticus:

My 1RM unassisted (no spot/cheat) inside the cage is currently ~330 or so. My 2RM is 310 but the second rep is nearly impossible. I have the bar padded with pipe insulation and the safeties are literally a 1/4" below a chest touch. I am up to 215 again. I'll try to add a couple fives on my next bench w/o. Working on the 295lb bicep curl! (jk)

Ronnie Coleman is a monster, but there are a lot of stronger guys who look like the average Joe. Also, 400lbs in dumbs are A LOT more difficult to push than a 400lb oly bar. No question it's like pushing 450 at least. He's going for hypertrophy first and foremost.

I've got a neighbor who weighs 160 and can do 16 reps at 225. He won't try for 1RM, but he's retired SF (Delta) and can do like 40 pullups.

I'll try to youtube my next attempt (or the one following) as I go for a 1RM/2RM once a month. I'll record my speedbag as well. I use the speedbag between sets to move the lactic acid and I am getting good at it. The bag is a blur. ;)

Sellindexvol66 is my size and benches nearly 400, maybe more, can't recall. He's won a lot of NY metro bench comps. I've been working on bench technique for 20 years. A lot of guys are strong but can't bench for crap, and a lot of guys are skinny and can push a lot of weight due to excellent technique.
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405 in gym, 385 in drug tested competition... truth is... atticus coached me for the 6 months before the last meet. I was at my lifetime best at 42 yrs old.
 
Size of chest isn't necessarily proportional to the weight one can bench. And doing 1-2 rep maxes will not really build a BB physique. Powerlifters often have no real physiques at all.

Tall guys with long arms (like me) find it hard to bench. Many of the best bench pressers pound for pound are well under 200. Short stocky guys with short arms have the advantage.

When I was in graduate school in Minnesota 20 years ago I worked out at a gym ("The Gym") in Plymouth that had as members a number of amateur bb (one female won her IFBB card) and many professional wrestlers (Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, among a dozen or so others). The tag team the Road Warriors worked out there and actually owned the building (someone else owned the gym business).

I remember working in with "Animal" and another wrestler who was a former deadlifing champion at, I think, 242 (Wayne Bloom).

Bloom could not bench worth s%$#. But he could deadlift. Tall, with long arms.

The "Road Warrior" who was tall (Mike Hegstrand) and the most muscular and had the best looking physique could not bench anything close to the shorter, stockier partner Joe Laurinaitis (his son plays for the St Louis Rams). I never saw Mike/Hawk bench anything close to 400 pounds. Animal was there three times a week and was living off his investments (Zubaz!) and a Lloyds of London disability insurance policy (Lloyd's thought that since pro wrestling was fake, so were the injuries).

For the record, half the wrestlers who worked out there are now dead. All died before 50. None of them died directly due to steroids; all of them due to either cocaine, painkiller addiction, or recreational drugs.
 
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