CHAT TRANSCRIPT 04.26.2005
Tom
For the guy looking for rotator cuff exercises, I've used this routine to keep my shoulder happy when it acts up.
http://www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/shoulder.htm
Use light dumbbells, and don't stop between sets -- it really gets the blood pumping. I usually do it at the end of a bench workout, as pre-hab.
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:58:58:
THAT'S IT FOR TODAY! LATER!
zebulondragonslayer
Speaking of pausing - I took your advice and started pausing the overhead squats for 3 seconds at the bottom position... It did wonders for my snatch and I hold that tip responsible for a 33 lbs gain on my snatch in the last 3 weeks.... Thanks !
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:57:22:
we'd love it if you could shoot up for the competition; check air fare to Showalter airport in Hagerstown maryland - a puddle-jumper could make it inside an hour I'd think...
fireman1
to the guy asking about RC rehab. there are a couple of good exercises for that. medial rotation and lateral rotation. you can see these moves at:
http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Shoulder.html#anchor105322
Administrator replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:57:04:
Thanks for that. Also, there is a book by Health For Life called "The 7 Minute Rotator Cuff Solution" that specifically addresses your concerns. I think it's out of print now but you can google it and see what you find.
Tom
Marty,
My sticking point on bench press is right off the chest. I used to do lockouts with 315+ and floor press 290, but I could never bench more than 275. Any tips on how to build strength in the bottom of the lift? (Most of the powerlifting literature these days seems to focus on the lockout).
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:49:46:
Do you pause all your reps? That is the first place to start - a touch and go bench press relies on momentum and where there is momentum there is no muscular stress and therefore no muscle growth - Ronnie Ray, the 1st man to bench press 500 at 198 (no bench shirt) used to practice long pauses - his best was lowering and holding 405 on his inflated chest for 30-seconds(!) before powering 405 back to lockout. Talk about building start power!
fireman1
Marty:
Just curious to hear your response to what another fitness columnist writes on a regular basis.
Mike Furci, body builder and columnist for another web site (can I name the site?) says that if you wish to burn fat 'screw cardio' - the only way to burn fat is to lift more and increase the amount of muscle one has, thus increasing metabolism.
Whaddya think?
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:43:21:
we all are prisoners of our own bias and we are all biased and will seek ways to reverse-engineer a theroy to fit the preordained conclusion that we want to arrrive at. I would bet the farm that this is another example; obviously this man does not like to do cardio (and as far as exercise machines are concerned, who could blame him?) so he has devised a theroy that goes, cardio is superfluous - just add twenty to fifty pounds of muscle - and no accompanying body fat - and because muscle is metabolically active tissue and requires 35-40 calories per pound per day to survive, adding 20-pounds of beef will boost the metabolism 800-calories per day and screw cardio! Hey - that's the theroy but building that 20-pounds of fat free muscle can prove problematic!
Freaked out
Marty, time to change out the picture of Captian Nipple Ring Kirk.
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:39:45:
we are way ahead of you - watch for new photos in the next few days!
zebulondragonslayer
Ha ! I will get the info from Chuck then and will forward it to you. He did say that maybe the 2 of us together could probaby twist your arm for an after meet cookout or something ! Ha !
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:28:51:
For you I have the water bed on the recently renovated third floor with the pool table, sauna, widescreen TV, playstation, computer, surroundsound and various pinball machines...he has a lean-too out back next to the gym. That and a chamber pot.
zebulondragonslayer
Hey Marty,
Do you have any info on the meet in Hagestown in June ? Are you still interested. Chuck is encouraging us to go and lift.... I am game !
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:18:04:
ME! see this is Chuck DeLuxe's major problem: he always is shoving stuff off onto me that he doesn't want to deal with - he's the one who told ME about the competition - I don't know Jack about it and I'll bet he's sitting on his deck eating fried chicken right now! Ask him about the leg press machine he ripped off from that ghetto gym the nuns had put together for those destitute handicapped orphan childern - "oh the hell with those little kids!" is what he said when I confronted him...
ms_irreverent
Hey, it's Susan. Submitting early because I'm headed out to the gym, which I need to do now rather than later in the day. I seem to be going backwards with regard to my ability to do assisted pull-ups (you may remember I do them for biceps, as curls are problematic). I'd had the machine weight down to only 60 pounds (was doing 2 sets of 15) as recently as two months ago, but for the past couple weeks I've barely managed one set of 10 in any given session. Yesterday, trial and error gave me one set at 65 that I could barely finish, one set at 70 that was just as difficult, and one set of 75 that was a little easier. Might this be connected to the dumbbell work I'm now doing for chest/shoulders/back? Should I let it go for the time being?
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 11:55:46:
just drop this exercise altogether for say the next month or two - let's smoke the cat out of the bag using different methodology: try straight arm dumbbell pullover while lying on a flat bench. Hold a single solid dumbbell with two hands (bells are over-under not side-to-side)while lying down facing up. The bell starts and finishes over the eyes. Lower the bell under control, back, keeping arms straight - inhale as you lower and seek to touch the floor behind your head on every rep. Use the lats and the lats alone to SLOWLY raise the dumbbell back to the start position. 3 sets of 10 reps. Let me know if your lats are sore in a day or two
Protein King
Mart Man,
What's a good formula for determining how much daily protein you need? Also, how muchnis too much? I know too much (esp w/ not enough H2O) can damage the kidneys...
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 11:48:09:
Oh a lot depends on how hard you're hitting the weights; someone who trains 4-5 times a week for an hour or more could easily need 1 to 1.25 grams per pound, the semi-serious need less - plus if you are hitting regular cardio than that takes a toll also - amino acids are the body's repair and rebuilding raw material
phred
About front-squats: I'm having a bit of trouble with form on front squats. I try both the arms-crossed / bar-resting-on-upper-arm/shoulder method and the wrists-bent-bar-on-fingers method. Both are kind of frustrating, and the grips seem to be what limits my weight and reps. That is, I could do more weight or reps but for the wrist and shoulder fatigue. Any suggestions, or is just a matter of building into it? Thanks.
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:02:12:
I have the same problem and to an extent I cannot really do front squats. I have better luck using a Smith Machine and the cross-hand grip. My wrists will not bend back far enough these days - I love the front squat and consider it the second best leg exercise. I would like to try one of those front squat harnass contraptions....
phred
Marty,
I have a question about my leg workouts. Right now my leg work consists of (after warming up): squats, stiff leg deadlifts for the hamstrings, and calf raises (both standing and seated). I concentrate on the squats, get them below parallel, and have recently added a couple of sets of front squats. I do not do either leg extensions or leg curls. My question is whether Im missing an important component by not doing those two exercises. By the time Im done with squats, Im exhausted, and cant do very much on them anyway. Moreover, they just dont seem to do much for me. Are these essential, or highly beneficial? Or are they the kind of thing that, given sufficiently intense squats and stiff-leg DLs, I am okay ignoring (at least until time comes to nuke the whole program and rebuild from the ground up)? Thanks.
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:05:40:
My suggestion is to use this Tri-set BEFORE squatting
1. leg extension (immediately go to...)
2. lying leg curl (immediately move to...)
3. seated calf raise (done one tri-set)
hit three continuous sets in a row and then rest for 2-4 minutes. Do three tri-sets icreasing poundage one each succesive tri-set
this will warm the entire leg area and make you far more ready and physically alert. Plus you hit calves, hams and the tear-drop muscles over the knees. I would drop stiff leg deadlifts for hams.
Borf
Diet question Marty,
I'm in bulk up. I'm drinking a ton of milk and getting my protein shakes in, lifting Mon-Fri. My question is about the weekends. Since I'm not lifting or doing cardio Sat and Sun, I'm just eating 3 squares a day, and saving the heavy cal intake for days I'm, really exerting myself. Should I be pigging on the weekends too, or will it mostly end up as fat since I'm not exercising those days?
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:53:51:
I swear I answered this once - when you use the term "pigging out" I have visions of you stuffing your face on pie, pizza, donuts and ice cream - eating big and eating clean are not necessarily contradictory...I use to eat real clean during the work week as it always seemed easier to be disciplined while in the work mode - then on weekends I'd loosen up the food selections and have more fun...
Ozone man
Hey Marty,
In doing squats, I find that a wider stance (heels just beyond my shoulders, toes 45 degrees out) allows me to get to just past parallel (or deeper) with little pain. If I narrow the stance it feel like my kneecaps are gonna pop out.
Any comment?
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:22:50:
again - what can I say? You need to find a stance that doesn't hurt - that's number 1 - second, you have to develop exquisite technique that suits the style regardless if it's wide or narrow...ultra-wide stances require bolt upright torso position as the slightest lean forward will cause the weight to get away from you. Narrow stance squatters have greater hip flexibility and use more a combo of glutes, thighs, erectors and hamstrings to sling-shot themselves erect - how about splitting the difference?
Calamari
Hey Marty,
Where can I find a good power rack? Google searched and places like Modells seem to only carry universal sets or just bench racks.
Administrator replies on 04-26-2005 at 11:58:53:
Try this link and do a search for "rack". They have several:
BigFitness.com
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:11:12:
I been eating calamari in Italian joints since Mussolini was in power...where are you located? If you are in the wash/balt corridor I got a place or you could take a ride to York Barbell in York Pa and pick up a bunch of stuff...
Lobo
Hi Marty,
Any luck on finding that dumbell workout?
I'd been hitting my workouts pretty hard since the beginning of the year and was feeling pretty depleted as of late, so I decided to take some time off (7-10days). I've been trying to keep the calories moderate, but have found my appetite going through the roof. What's going on? Is this my body healing? Would you recommend increasing my calories a bit more? I'm about 5'11" at 196lbs, male and taking in about 2300-2500 cal/day. Thanks.
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:31:28:
Oh you need to add some calories - you are coming off an 'over-tonus' phase and if you rest and feed your body you'll undergo what is called an "anabolic burst" wherein battered muscles eat nutrients, take a break from the pounding, heal and regerate - you will actually grow doing nothing - for about 10-days -when you go back to the gym consider this routine - dumbbell only
day 1 bench press, incline, flyes, overhead tricep extensions
day 2 dumbbell squats with straps, stiff leg deadlift, one leg calf raise w/db
day 3 off
day 4 seated overhead DB press, lateral raises - seated curls, spider curls
day 5 power clean, shrug, one arm row - abs
try this for 4-weeks 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps, push the poundage or the reps every week.
No Name
Hello Coach, Do people need to do exercises for the rotator cuffs to prevernt its injury? If so, whats a good one?
Marty Gallagher replies on 04-26-2005 at 12:40:24:
You know I remember you asking this last week and all during the chat I was racking my brain - I've never had RC problems so I'm not too up on what works for rehabing them - I remember seeing that wierd shoulder harnass made out of tubing a few years back. You held light dumbbells and moved them in a proscribed pattern - don't know if they were effective or another loser -
Marty Gallagher
Hello, and welcome to this week's chat! You may submit questions ahead of time, and I'll answer them when the chat starts at noon.
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