Weight training

[steeve]

Jeff...thank

Whats Hindu Squat

Steeve

[steeve]

Gary ,Jeff

Does the good old method of training with Dumbell and Barbell is better than the use of weight Machine(pulley,cam).....the old Dumbell use the gravity....the modern machine of weight training used pulley and cam or gear ......

Steeve

[braz24]

Hi Guys,

Nice guns Gary and Semper fi!! :-)

As far as free weights and machines (universal, nautilus, etc) being better than the other...I say I like to use both.

Some guys swear up and down that you can't build bulk by using machines. I disagree. I have added plenty to my shoulder girdle over the years using a mix of free weights and machines.

I used machines for variety and to supplement my free weight routines. One of the main reasons I use machines is safety. I don't go to a gym to lift. My gym is in my basement and I have access to it 24/7. I don't have a spotter to help me when I do squats or bench press or any exercise that I use heavy weights for. Machines are great for replacing the spotter (the extra guy to help you when you can't lift the weight back to the uprights on the bench). Even when you don't need a spotter, they can save you back too. Instead of doing barbell rows for my lats and back, I do high pulley pull downs (in front and in back of my head) instead. I have managed to hurt my back using rowing and free weights about 20 or so years ago by cheating on the last few reps and jerking up with my back to get the weight to move (cheating). That was a painful mistake! With the high pulleys I can avoid getting my back into any trouble.

Hindu squats are a modified squat that you do with your own body weight and no free weights. There are a few variations out there but the ones I like go something like this:

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms out and parallel to the ground. Begin to bend your legs at the knees as you begin to lower your arms to your sides. As your knees bend deeper and deeper, you should allow your heel of your feet to come off the ground. Squat down to whatever depth you want (eventually work toward your thighs being parallel to the ground but do not go deep enough to touch the back of your thighs to your calves. DO NOT bounce off the calves as this can cause knee problems)...when you're at the bottom of the movement, your hands will be straight down to your sides and your heel up with the knees deeply bent. Now, begin to raise up in the reverse manner: Stand up slowly as your arms go back to parallel to the ground. The arms are used mainly as a counter- balance to raising your heels off the ground. Do as many as you can with trashing your thighs or knee joints. As with all exercises, especially this one, be sure to warm up your quadraceps and knee joints before you do anything!! You'll save your joints and keep from injuring yourself. Hindu squats are a great adjunct to horse training for the martial arts. Keep the legs strong for good stance work in martial arts but also for any sparring or if you get into an unfortunate street fight. If the fight or match lasts more than a few minutes, then one of the first things to go (besides your lungs ;-) ) is your legs...They will fatigue much more quickly than you might think. Your legs are the foundation to the fighting machine you all train yourselves to be (of course, strictly for self-defense). If the foundation is weak or fails then the machine, house, or whatever metaphor you want to use, will crumble. Nothing sucks more than to be in a match and feel the legs turn to jelly from the intensity of the fight and you're no closer to winning than you were when the match started. ;-)

There are a million different ways to approach lifting and conditioning. I do lots of different techniques to keep interested and to get stronger too. You'll have to experiment a little and see what works best for you.

Jeff

[braz24]

I do want to add that one benefit to training with free weights over machines is that you must use other muscles to steady and balance the weight. That's good and bad. Good for the extra exercise but it makes isolating the muscle you want to hit harder for lifting. Again, the machines can be a big help toward using strict form for the exercise and of course safety. It depends on the exercise though. You can still cheat of have lousy form with machines.

Jeff

[steeve]

Jeff

Ok hindu squat is like the sissy squat...just another name

Steeve

[braz24]

The sissy squat I know about has you holding on to something at about waist level and then leaning backward while you squat down. The hindu squat doesn't have you hold on to anything. You have to keep your balance each rep.

Sissy squats hit your quadriceps up high...if you do them often enough and with higher reps, you can give yourself a nice muscle line the entire length of your thigh.

Hindu squats hit almost the entire quadricep with a larger emphasis on the middle and lower quad near the knee.

But that's just me! ;-)

Jeff

[braz24]

I used to do sissy squats at the end of my leg workouts (quads...before calves for me). They push even more blood into the legs and give you a great pump after the heavy lifting is done.

Jeff

[Gary Steuer]

Good leg workouts. In our style we do something similar. This is a Shaolin exercise. Go down to a low horse with your feets spread a little wider than normal and held flat. Lower yor body so your hip is in line with your knee than move to the left side and slowly raise the right heel off the ground. when the burn feels good in the quad then slowly move to the right side and raise the left heel. your arms are out in front with your elbow to the ground and your fingers extended and feel the pull of energy in through your hands into your upper body and down to your legs. Keep repeating until it burns alot then relax for a minute and repeat...Enjoy

[steeve]

Gary

thats a good stretching exercise.....

For the legs ....The Squat is the king Exercise....

Why some do it in super set with a Bent arms or straight arms Pullover(lying in the bench ) thats a old school super set?


Steeve

[Gary Steuer]

That stretches the rib cage and the pecs. Usually done with an empty bar. We did those back in the early 60's and I still show it to people just starting.. Personnally, I don't do them..

[steeve]

To Keep it simple

Whats the best exercise and routine ......to do ....for gain Mass.... and weight gain

and whats the best for those who want to loose weight and get cut....


Steeve

[braz24]

Hey Steeve,

If I were you, I would spend a week or two doing push-ups, situps (or crunches..take your pick), pull-ups/chin-ups, calf-raises and body-weight squats. Start off easy, do alight stretch before these exercises then start with sets of low reps, and then pyramid up. Be sure to keep good form on the exercises. Get used to be strict about how you do all exercises form this point out. If you're going for bulk then start with sets of 5-10....These first two weeks is simply to get your body ready for a more intense weighlifting program. Also, do as many sets of each exercise as you feel up to...don't go crazy or you'll make your body EXTRA sore...work inot all this slowly. DO challenge your body...DON'T go overboard! Listen to your body.

After those those two weeks are up and you put forth a good effort to work your body AND you haven't injured yourself, then it's time for the weights...Assume that before each exercise, that you must stretch the muscle group's muscles and joints...warm them up lightly and get a little blood into the areas you are going to hit with the weights.

Only for now, I would do a four days a week routine. Monday and Thursdays do upper body. Tuesdays and Fridays do lower body. Wednesdays are off days...no weightlifting. Saturday, you should be an exercise free-day...Go out and cross-train into another activity besides weightlifting. Bicycle, throw the frisbee, go cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing...whatever you like. But don't go hog wild. Everyday, you should work your stomach except for your lifting off days.

For now...upper-body should be biceps, shoulders, back, and triceps. Lower-body should be legs...your entire legs. Each exercise for the first 4 weeks should only be done for 3 sets of 6-10 reps for bulking up and 3 sets of 12+ reps for triming up. You choose the increment of the weights like I mentioned a few posts ago...Use heavier weights for bulking up and much lighter for triming or toning up. At this stage in your weightlifting "career" DO NOT CHEAT AT ALL!!! Keep strict form. If you cheat now then the weights are too heavy or you're too tired...or whatever. Do not cheat! If you cheat now, you really are wasting your time and leave yourself open to injuries,not to mention a lifelong bad habit of poor lifting abilities.

For now....biceps...do wide-grip barbell curls and alternating dumbell curls.

Triceps and chest...do bench press and dumbbell flyes. If you have the energy, do military presses too. Do french curls or lying triceps extensions.

Shoulders...lateral raises with dummbells and inverted flyes.

Quadriceps-squats with weights or leg press on a machine. Also do leg tensions. Sissy squats if you have the energy.

For the bicepis femoris (spelling is wrong ;-) ) , this is the hamstring and the biceps behind your quadriceps (thighs)...do leg curls. After that, if you didn't do sissy squats (and later even if you did do them), do lunges with first your body weight and then later use an increment of weight using dumbbells...one in each hand.

Calves...Standing calf raises....toes straight ahead. If you have a sitting calf-machine, do calf raises on that too. The sitting machines with hit your solenus (spelling?) muscle (right below your calf muscle (gastroc). If you don't have a sitting calf machine, do mor standing calf raise with the toe point in or pointing out...your choice. I do set of 15 for any calf exercise to bulk up. You walk all day long on your calves and they are a very dense type of muscle fiber AND they are stubborn! You have to force blood into them regardless if you bulk up or trim up. When you lift for blk, you'll eventually have to pile the weight on HEAVY...But that comes LATER! For now, get used to the movements and keep your balance.

In addtion to this, I would do some jogging or running. For bulking up, jog maybe 2-3 times a week no more than 3 miles each time. If I were triming up, I would be running 4-6 times a week and running 5 or miles each run. The longer you run, the more calories you burn. Bulking up or triming down...running forces your calves to contract in a way that weights can't mimic very well...this equals a nice shape to them for all the hard work you put in. :-)

The workout above will get you going. After 4 weeks or more of good, honest, hard work, you can add in more exercises. After a few monts more, you can add in more lifting days. Remember, your joints and muscle groups (exercised) need 48 hours of rest to rebuild correctly. If they don't get their rest, youi can injure yourself or simply quit making progress.

One thing I want to say...this is a VERY general work out and this is also very much a beginner's routine. Go see the doctor before you do any of this and make sure your health is good first. This is not a race...take it nice and easy...work into all this nice and slowly...do NOT workout for your ego...You will get yourself hurt and/or end up with a body that only bozo the clown could love. Really now...lift and exercise smart. If you destroy your body by trying to dquat Volkswagens (for example) on your second week of lifting...well, I'll just say it...you're an idiot and asking for trouble. Listen to your body...learn the difference between the burning sensation (or even "flamming") muscles and the dreaded sharp pain that could lead to a muscle pull, tear or worse...detached muscle! (Yikes!). You have to learn the difference and you can only do that by listening to your body and intellectualize that and decide what to do next.

If you find yourself injured all the time, with sharp aches and pains all the time, then you might want to take a look at how you lift and how much you lift.

And guys...do not ONLY lift for your upper-body and forget you lower body...a maasive upper body and a lower body that looks like "get-away sticks" justs looks plain silly.

Also, remember what we've talked about a few posts ago...eat right and get loads of rest...especially if you're bulking up....if you don't, your gains will plateau or stop and you may risk injury or even mental burn-out. If your mind doesn't want to work out, then your body definitely won't workout. Feed your mind (metaphorically)...keep your mind hungry (excited to workout) and avoid mental burn-out like the plague! ;-)

I think this is where I should put in my disclaimer...no animals were harmed in the write-up of this routine and the author can not be held legally responsible for any injuires incured or accidents the user/lifter incurs. Consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. Some results will vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer or coupon. The persons in this write are completely ficticious and do not represent real people or actual events....

I think you get the picture. LOL!

Jeff

[braz24]

Oh yes...Steeve and Gary...I hope I didn't intrude on Steeve's last post. I don't know if Steeve was asking you directly. If he was...my humble apologies...

My last post was just my two cents...

Jeff

[braz24]

I was just doing my own weightlifting workout when I remembered something I do wrong STILL and thought I would pass this on to any "would-be" lifters out there.

Plain and simple....breathe! If you've pushed heavy weights before, you know that is you blow out all your air while in the middle of a rep (say bench press for example) and still don't get the weight all the way up...well..if you have no spotter around, you could end up with a weighted barbell across your throat and choke yourself out or injure yourself...even death if things go really wrong! You have to keep some air in as you do each and every rep. Take a deep breath through your nose when you lower the weight for a bench press, then slowly but forcefully blow out through your mouth when you are pushing the barbell up to complete the rep. Sounds simple...right?

Well, maybe not. Here's where the problem comes for me. When I do forms for martial arts of any style and need to perform for testers or judges, I put forth a lot of intense effort and energy to really do a great job. Intense effort equals heavier, less relaxed breathing. Let's say you're doing the small cross form and clear the kick to the groin with the left hand, step to a left front stance and cover while punching with a right fist...To place extra emphasis and power on the punch you normally will exhale and blow out through your mouth. If you don't lift weights, you simply blow ot like normal and contune with the form. If you are a weight lifter and tend to hold extra air in or worse...hold your breath (I'm guilty as charged)...you may end up holding your breath out of reflexive habit (from lifting weights for years) while executing the punch. So add up how many punches like that there are in the small cross form and that MAY be how many times you hold your breath.

Now let's take this one step further. What if you hold your breath for every powerful strike in the first six 5F forms or even worse...do a long choy li fut form (sup ji kau da for example) and hold your breath on the power techniques...You will find yourself gassed as you end up feeling like you held your breath the entire way REGARDLESS of how great your cardio workouts are! All because of the bad habit of breathing you created when lifting heavy weights! ;-) So, the moral to the story is breathe.

You say, "Oh, I never do that." If that's really true and your're a lifter too, then that is great! Ironically, when I practice the martial arts on my own without judeges or having to pass a test, I breathe very correctly...nice and relaxed rythmn even when placing the emphasis I need on strikes. But, if you're out of your element a little and really are getting into doing your form with a lot of vigor, then watch out for what I call, "lifter's breathing."

Just pay attention to your breathing for lifting and remember the right way you breath (now) when doing your forms.

Just a word of caution about how to avoid a bad habit from lifting heavy weights.

Jeff

[steeve]

Thank Jeff for the routine....good stuff

Dont be a old timer but I like the Vince Gironda way

What do you think of this one
Shrug
Squat
Deadlift
Bench press
Rowing Bent over
military press or press behind the neck
Barbell curl
Tricept extension (lying or maybe the closed grip bench press)
tricepts dips/push ups
Big arms is big tricepts..........so two exercises


the rest day do calf raise and abdos...

Thats it thats all
3 time a week ....starts with 3-5 sets 8to 10 repetitions....

Here its about weight gain.......for hard gainer...

plus eat around 6 times a day plus a good weight gain powder formulas(2 time a day)


Steeve