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Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:18 pm
by Nayto
Joe wrote:Nayto wrote
We don't care about definition anyway, because it is only for vain people. We want to be strong, healthy men, not narcissistic men who apply paint to themselves and show themselves to other men in their underwear :lol:


lol. And we must be strong, we must carry our weight.


I just want to clarify that in order to achieve a higher strength to weight ratio, such as is useful in gymnastics, calisthenics and some other forms of athletics, it is useful to have a low body fat percentage and inadvertently be "defined". That's up to the individual though. Having some extra fat has its advantages (especially for the elderly) and less fat has advantages in other areas. By extra fat I mean maybe 17% or 18% body fat maximum.

It would be quite sad to have to get rid of that nice piece of fat on a sirloin steak, LOL.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:42 am
by Joe
Hey Nayto how much do you overhead and bench press ?, I just want to understand the different weight ratios between different lifts.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 1:12 pm
by Nayto
My press 1RM is around 90 - 93kg. My bench press 1RM is around 135kg (probably my weakest lift, relatively speaking).

Here's a nice reference chart here:

htt p://sta rtingstr ength.c om/files/standards.pdf

Unfortunately it's in pounds, but just divide by 2.2. The categories in order are untrained, novice, intermediate, advanced and elite. They renamed it to numbers instead of categories because it caused some psychological issues with people.

Everyone is different though honestly. I've looked over many training logs and the ratio is never the same.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 1:51 pm
by Joe
Thanks Nayto that really helps. I have noticed that I am starting to get ahead with dead-lifts and squats over bench press so I just needed to know how those usually increase generally.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:02 pm
by worms
Hey brothers (and sisters) I haven't posted here in a while but I have been reading. In regards to muscle definition ( and six packs) being all about vanity then I would have to respectfully disagree with you Nayto, if you follow a weightlifting regime and only eat healthy food, then you will inevitabley get muscle definition and a bit of a six pack going on ( you definitely will if you are in your late teens/twenties like I am anyway), low body-fat is healthy and is a sign of athleticism/vitality in young men. And besides, to get a six pack like you see on the models on the covers of fitness magazines etc you need to take steroids. Don't fool yourselfs these fitness models are all on steroids. There are rare exceptions of course, of people who have great bodybuilding genetics and have trained and eat perfectly for years but these are few and far between.

I lifted weights from October to December had a near perfect diet and I ended up with a bit of a six-pack and I didn't even cut, I just clean bulked. I gained about 10 pounds of muscle in that time and my athleticism and energy increased a lot.

I haven't lifted weights in about a month and have lost quite a few pounds of muscle and have got a bit soft in the belly, but I am buying a Olympic barbell in a few weeks( I already have dumbells and a gym membership) so I am going to start weightlifting again, and now that I will have a barbell I will be able to incorporate new exercises like the deadlifts for example, I have read that the deadlift will not only make your posterior chain a lot stronger/bigger but it will also encourage muscle growth throughout your whole body to follow the growth in your posterior chain. I play football (soccer) and I read deadlifts can increase your speed/power so I am looking forward to see the results. :beer:

I am nearly 25 so I am pretty much at my peak in terms of athleticism, I am pretty gifted athletically and have always wondered how athletic/muscular/ripped I could get if I trained and eat perfectly for a full year, the most I have done is a few months and the results have been great.

I think as long as you don't spend all day in front of the mirror in your boxer shorts tensing your muscles and letting in get to your head, then it is a very healthy hobby.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 11:37 am
by Nayto
Hey worms, it all comes down to your genetics really as to whether a six pack is inevitable or not. In most cases it is definitely not inevitable, especially if you are trying to gain strength. Weight gain is necessary for strength gain and part of weight gain is fat gain. Literally the only way someone can gain strength/muscle and lose fat at the same time is if they are taking anabolic steroids, which of course is bad for you.

The eating of "healthy food" has very little effect on muscle and fat composition of your body. By fat the most important factor in weight gain or loss is macronutrients i.e. protein, fat and carbohydrates, all of which are the only sources of calories/energy.

As for your experience with lifting weights, picking up 10 pounds and gaining a six pack, 3 months is a short time and 10 pounds isn't much. It would have been better if you ate even more, then you might have picked up more strength. Regardless, either you are genetically gifted or you took anabolic steroids. Rest assured, your experience is not the norm :)

I'm not saying that having a six pack (i.e. low body fat percentage) is inherently vain. I'm saying that the pursuit of a six pack for the sake of aesthetics is vain. As I said, in order to excel at anything which requires a high weight to strength ratio, fat becomes a liability and needs to be shed. In such cases a low body fat percentage is inevitable. I can imagine fat being a liability in soccer.

I'm glad you've been increasing your strength though and of course it will have a big impact on your sport. The most import exercise you could do is squats with the form explained in Starting Strength. It increases the strength of the entirety of your lower body which of course has massive benefits. Also the hormonal response it produces has an effect on the development of your entire body. Squats is even better for the posterior chain than deadlifts because it works your glutes and hamstrings as well is your back. Deadlifts works these too, but not nearly as much. Don't get me wrong, deadlifts are great. Just do them both! Power cleans are also an amazing exercise. They will teach you to utilize explosive power in the legs allowing you more speed and higher jumping capability.

I will just recommend to everyone that they follow Starting Strength though. Especially with your genetic gifts, it would be a waste for you not to do it.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:59 am
by Joe
Hey Nayto, is there any reason you would recommend a full rack over a half rack?

It seems you can do all the same exercises, it that rue?.
Good half racks even offer a bar catch option and a chin-up bar. Some people say they are better because you have more open space around you.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:29 pm
by Nayto
The reason for the full rack is so that it can be set in such a manner that if you ever fail on bench press or squats there is a safety mechanism to catch the bar. Also later you would be able to set it to do halting deadlifts and rack pulls (when you are more advanced). It's basically just more adaptable and safer in general.

As for space, I can't see the space of a full rack being any problem. You only need enough space to do the necessary movements.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:39 pm
by Joe
Thanks Nayto, I am learning about those exercises from Rippetoe now, I appreciate your advice.

Re: You're never too old to start

PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:42 am
by Joe
1)
Nayto do you use wrist straps and/or belts?
I think I will get a 4 inch belt eventually but I am still wondering about wrist straps.

2)
Would you exercise after a meal?
I think I could add some more exercises if I were to weight-lift at night, after a meal.

I will have some new equip soon to do chin-ups, overhead presses and russian twist with a barbell. I want to try power cleans eventually also. I do bicep curls at the moment because I work with my hands and strong arms is important for me. So I wanted to do more and need more time.

Could you exercise everyday?