Gym Time

[Austin109]

Guillotine bench? Educate me.

Its a bench where you bring the bar down to your clavicle or neck. Like I said ALWAYS have a spotter. If you do these go really wide grip or it will put more stress on your shoulder. Next time you are at the bench with just a bar give it a try and see if you like it.

When I do the Hammer Strength decline I have 270 on there. I'll do 6-8, take a 45 off each side and immediately do another 10. Thoughts versus your routine for that lift?

Im not a big fan of drop sets. The first set is enough to stimulate growth. Once you do more drop sets and rest pauses you MIGHT gain a little more but more often than not it doesn't stimulate more growth and ends up hurting recovery time. Use drop sets as a tool occasionally. Not all the time.

At the gym where I workout there are 5-6 pretty serious amatuer bodybuilders. Three of them are getting ready for a show in early May. I heard them talking this past weekend that they now have switched over to drinking distilled water. Do you have any idea why they'd do this instead of drinking bottled or tap water?? Is this just something that helps cut them up more?? Thanks

Sometimes there are traces of minerals in your water that make you retain water. I haven't seen any studies done on it but lukewarm distilled water helps me shed water weight really quickly. But then again I hate the water here. In Stephenville the water is cloudy .

[CCCSportsFan]

Sometimes there are traces of minerals in your water that make you retain water. I haven't seen any studies done on it but lukewarm distilled water helps me shed water weight really quickly. But then again I hate the water here. In Stephenville the water is cloudy .

Thanks!

[thestud]

The guy in the picture used to workout at my gym back home. Before he picked up major sponsors and moved out of state he was probably the most friendly person I have ever met in the gym. I constantly picked his brain and got alot of knowledge from him. Used Xpel last summer and it was insane. Anyone trying to trim down quick needs to have this stuff in their gym bag.

[Austin109]

Just got back from work and there are a few things I'd like to point out that seem to be misunderstood.

1) Please eat something about an hour before you workout. If you dont have anything in the tank working out will run a risk of hurting you. Be smart. Whey + Apple is cheap.

2) Warming up is vital. If you just stroll in and start lifting heavy there is a good chance you will hurt yourself. It not only primes your body to lift even heavier but also makes you safer. Think about it - more weight + less risk? Do it.

3) If you come into a gym out of your mind on caffeine or other supplements it actually impairs your workouts past a certain point. Caffeine or a preworkout is fine. 6 scoops or 800mg of caffeine is not fine.

Sorry guys just had to get that out there.

[ktCarl]

Its a bench where you bring the bar down to your clavicle or neck. Like I said ALWAYS have a spotter. If you do these go really wide grip or it will put more stress on your shoulder. Next time you are at the bench with just a bar give it a try and see if you like it.

I believe you can damage your rotator cuff bringing the bar down too far. (I first heard that from Keith Klein and Lee Labrada) You should lower the bar to where your upper arms are parallel to the floor. You can't lift as much weight but the stress of the weight will be on your pecs and triceps. Also you should control the weight downward before you explode into the lift. I see guys using gravity and momentum to their advantage. They drop the weight on the chest while throwing their lower back into a rigid arc. Those guys are going to have back problems and maybe some fractured ribs.

[Austin109]

I believe you can damage your rotator cuff bringing the bar down too far. (I first heard that from Keith Klein and Lee Labrada) You should lower the bar to where your upper arms are parallel to the floor. You can't lift as much weight but the stress of the weight will be on your pecs and triceps. Also you should control the weight downward before you explode into the lift. I see guys using gravity and momentum to their advantage. They drop the weight on the chest while throwing their lower back into a rigid arc. Those guys are going to have back problems and maybe some fractured ribs.

Yes and no. This will take some explaining so bear with me.

In a guillotine there is slightly more stress on the rotator cuff if you bring it down all the way down to make contact. However depending on build it could be more or less stress than a standard bench. I should have been clearer - you dont actually touch your neck just as you wouldn't touch your chest in a standard bench. Maintain ~2 inches separation for safeties sake. Also the Guillotine is meant to be a much much wider grip which takes some of the stress off of the shoulder as long as you dont go so wide your shoulders take over. The whole purpose of the "Always go light" thing was to make sure your rotators dont have a problem and that you have any impingement problems.

When you bring the bar down all the way to your chest it depends on your bench press style on where or how the stress is placed. Im a high chest bench presser because of how my shoulders are built. I flare my elbows way out and it takes the stress off of my rotators. At the lowest I can physically drop the bar in this style my upper arms are parallel to the floor. A standard lower chest bench with elbows tucked in forces the rotators to come into play when your upper arms go lower than parallel. This is especially true when someone has a higher set humerus in their shoulder socket.

People that drop the weight have a higher chance of messing up their shoulders and tearing a pec. However a little arch isn't a bad thing and is actually proper form for a powerlifting style of lifting (Depending on your league of course)

On most exercises you should try to control the negative portion to maximize gains and reduce injury chances. The only ones I wouldn't worry about this with are olympic lifts.

If any of this is a little unclear I can try to re-explain and show some picture?

[Austin109]

Guillotine w/ GIF demonstration.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...enchPress.html

Pay attention to how wide his hands are, how he is flaring his elbows way out, and not touching his neck but coming very close.

Here is an interesting article where they have measured the muscle stimulation of many different chest exercises and different weight ranges. Pay attention to the guillotine activation level compared with the rest of the exercises

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ceps_exercises

TL;DR?
Guillotine works + dont smack your neck.

[ktCarl]

Yes and no. This will take some explaining so bear with me.

In a guillotine there is slightly more stress on the rotator cuff if you bring it down all the way down to make contact. However depending on build it could be more or less stress than a standard bench. I should have been clearer - you dont actually touch your neck just as you wouldn't touch your chest in a standard bench. Maintain ~2 inches separation for safeties sake. Also the Guillotine is meant to be a much much wider grip which takes some of the stress off of the shoulder as long as you dont go so wide your shoulders take over. The whole purpose of the "Always go light" thing was to make sure your rotators dont have a problem and that you have any impingement problems.

When you bring the bar down all the way to your chest it depends on your bench press style on where or how the stress is placed. Im a high chest bench presser because of how my shoulders are built. I flare my elbows way out and it takes the stress off of my rotators. At the lowest I can physically drop the bar in this style my upper arms are parallel to the floor. A standard lower chest bench with elbows tucked in forces the rotators to come into play when your upper arms go lower than parallel. This is especially true when someone has a higher set humerus in their shoulder socket.

People that drop the weight have a higher chance of messing up their shoulders and tearing a pec. However a little arch isn't a bad thing and is actually proper form for a powerlifting style of lifting (Depending on your league of course)

On most exercises you should try to control the negative portion to maximize gains and reduce injury chances. The only ones I wouldn't worry about this with are olympic lifts.

If any of this is a little unclear I can try to re-explain and show some picture?

I understand what your saying. I agree with 'a little arch' but I'm talking about guys that after they bounce the bar off their chest it looks as if they are trying to push the weight back up with their lower backs.
When I first was told about not lowering the bar to the chest I was puzzled because I noticed power lifters doing it all the time. Then I noticed that their chests were so big that when the bar touched their chest their upper arms WERE parallel to the floor.

[thestud]

Just got back from work and there are a few things I'd like to point out that seem to be misunderstood.

1) Please eat something about an hour before you workout. If you dont have anything in the tank working out will run a risk of hurting you. Be smart. Whey + Apple is cheap.

2) Warming up is vital. If you just stroll in and start lifting heavy there is a good chance you will hurt yourself. It not only primes your body to lift even heavier but also makes you safer. Think about it - more weight + less risk? Do it.

3) If you come into a gym out of your mind on caffeine or other supplements it actually impairs your workouts past a certain point. Caffeine or a preworkout is fine. 6 scoops or 800mg of caffeine is not fine.



Sorry guys just had to get that out there.

I saw a dude pass out and crash face first into the leg extension. Evidently he hadn't eaten breakfast, just woke up and slammed his N.O. then came straight to Gold's. He didn't go full seizure, but layed there and twitched for a good 30 seconds. Jackanapes had a nice cut on his face when he came to, I dont think he'll do that again lol.


I have a couple pet peeves in the gym, but people who come in and immediately start lifting heavy annoy me to no end. I want to grab them by the neck and scream at them that they aren't doing themselves a bit of good by doing that nor are they impressing anyone when they struggle to finish a set of 12 with 225 on bench.

Another thing that bugs me is the moron, and every gym has one, that chalks up to do shrugs or lats. Nvm the fact that they're shrugging 150 I won't hold their weakness against them, but leaving chalk EVERYWHERE is ridiculous

[ktCarl]

The guy in the picture used to workout at my gym back home. Before he picked up major sponsors and moved out of state he was probably the most friendly person I have ever met in the gym. I constantly picked his brain and got alot of knowledge from him. Used Xpel last summer and it was insane. Anyone trying to trim down quick needs to have this stuff in their gym bag.

I don't know how well Xpel works for that guy but Dianabol is working GREAT for him!!

[ktCarl]

Guillotine w/ GIF demonstration.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...enchPress.html

Pay attention to how wide his hands are, how he is flaring his elbows way out, and not touching his neck but coming very close.

Here is an interesting article where they have measured the muscle stimulation of many different chest exercises and different weight ranges. Pay attention to the guillotine activation level compared with the rest of the exercises

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ceps_exercises

TL;DR?
Guillotine works + dont smack your neck.

Hey you TheStud and everyone else.....Seen the infomercial on KettleWorx?

http://www.kettleworx.com/?utm_sourc..._campaign=q309

I see this working for people that are out of shape and not ready for the gym or don't want to go to a gym. The workouts look like like one step beyond calesthenics.

[Austin109]

Hey you TheStud and everyone else.....Seen the infomercial on KettleWorx?

http://www.kettleworx.com/?utm_sourc..._campaign=q309

I see this working for people that are out of shape and not ready for the gym or don't want to go to a gym. The workouts look like like one step beyond calesthenics.

Wow.

The kettlebells they offer say it all. Cheap, low quality, and entirely to light for men and most women past 4-5 weeks into it.

[thestud]

I don't know how well Xpel works for that guy but Dianabol is working GREAT for him!!

His choice. I just wish that stuff was legal and available for everyone.

[thestud]

Hey you TheStud and everyone else.....Seen the infomercial on KettleWorx?

http://www.kettleworx.com/?utm_sourc..._campaign=q309

I see this working for people that are out of shape and not ready for the gym or don't want to go to a gym. The workouts look like like one step beyond calesthenics.

If you want a real kettlebell workout, make the trip to Austin and check out these guys. They had some Art of Strength classes a couple months back as well.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/punchkettlebellaustin

http://austin.punchgym.com/index.php

[ktCarl]

If you want a real kettlebell workout, make the trip to Austin and check out these guys. They had some Art of Strength classes a couple months back as well.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/punchkettlebellaustin

http://austin.punchgym.com/index.php

WOW, that's extreme!!

The workout I posted was something I thought was good for non gym rat beginners that want to get into shape and lose some weight. It's a good idea and good marketing savvy.

[Austin109]

WOW, that's extreme!!

The workout I posted was something I thought was good for non gym rat beginners that want to get into shape and lose some weight. It's a good idea and good marketing savvy.

I wish more people knew about him but Pavel Tsatsouline has some incredible books and information availible for free for everyone. Books you can find at most major book stores an Dragondoor.com is his website. Worlds top KB instructor btw.

[TheBigPeach]

Just started seriously working out (too much free time) and taking some supplements.... Was wondering if anyone had any reviews (good or bad) on this stuff.

I'm taking
and the recommended dosing is 3 capsules twice a day (45 minutes before breakfast and lunch)

Goal is to lose about 15 pounds...

Thanks for any input

[thestud]

Just started seriously working out (too much free time) and taking some supplements.... Was wondering if anyone had any reviews (good or bad) on this stuff.

I'm taking
and the recommended dosing is 3 capsules twice a day (45 minutes before breakfast and lunch)

Goal is to lose about 15 pounds...

Thanks for any input

Don't know what you have or haven't done up to this point, but if you're just trying to lose 15 pounds I would just change my diet and up the cardio and keep the $ it cost for the fat burner. More chicken and fish, rice and veggies. No potatoes, nothing fried, and less beer.

This is the only fat burner I've ever used and it worked great for me.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nx...drenaline.html

The reason I use this is because I was trying to lean out without losing mass, whereas most fat burners on the market today will burn fat and break down muscle mass.

[TheBigPeach]

Don't know what you have or haven't done up to this point, but if you're just trying to lose 15 pounds I would just change my diet and up the cardio and keep the $ it cost for the fat burner. More chicken and fish, rice and veggies. No potatoes, nothing fried, and less beer.

This is the only fat burner I've ever used and it worked great for me.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nx...drenaline.html

The reason I use this is because I was trying to lean out without losing mass, whereas most fat burners on the market today will burn fat and break down muscle mass.

I have been doing a lot of cardio and just can't seem to lose it.... Don't drink and I eat right. I at one point was at 255 and I'm not at 190ish (when playing football and eating a TON), just trying to lose a little more and tone up.

[dada]

I have been doing a lot of cardio and just can't seem to lose it.... Don't drink and I eat right. I at one point was at 255 and I'm not at 190ish (when playing football and eating a TON), just trying to lose a little more and tone up.

Water Water Water.......eat more often.
I try to eat every two hours.