site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3773 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 9, 2022

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

7
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I joined a gym 2 months ago when I quit smoking. I find the endorphin rush helps replace whatever cigarettes were doing in terms of stress relief. Also I am overweight and borderline obese. I have a few symptoms of pre diabetes and a family history of diabetes.

So far so good but, the honeymoon phase is coming to a close and I am stuck in a rut- arm day, curls, benchpress, tricep pushes. Alternate days with legs back and stomach. I generally workout 5 days a week, (about 45 minutes to an hour,) and run at least one mile each time I work out. 2 miles max so far.

My question is, how do I take it to the next level? I have lost roughly 10 pounds so far but I am starting to hit a wall. I don't need to become a body builder but I fear if I cannot get past this wall that I will see diminishing returns and slowly stop being consistent. (This has happened to me in the past.) What are new exercises, weight lifting exercises to try etc? I would live to try free squats but dont have a partner and dont want to hurt myself. Does anyone have an interesting program that works for them?

So far so good but, the honeymoon phase is coming to a close and I am stuck in a rut- arm day, curls, benchpress, tricep pushes. Alternate days with legs back and stomach. I generally workout 5 days a week, (about 45 minutes to an hour,) and run at least one mile each time I work out. 2 miles max so far.

Sounds like you've stumbled on the reason Crossfitters are so vocal and enthusiastic about Crossfit.

Changing up the actual exercises regularly + adding a social aspect seemingly helps avoid this feeling of utterly boring repetition.

Or you can pick up another social and fun exercise that isn’t basically a cult OP. Boxing would be my recommendation if you are into that sort of thing.

I've heard the "CrossFit is a cult" thing many times now. I don't know any CrossFit people and enjoy working out by myself, so I'll probably never get a chance to ask someone IRL. What is it about CrossFit that is cultlike?

I did CrossFit for a few years a long time ago and don't regret it, but there were cult-like aspects:

  • Weirdly culty social dynamics. Everyone gets a nickname and refers to others by that nickname. At the box (gym), you're not Jane or John. You're Wondergirl or JDogg and everyone is thrilled you just beat your Fran (a workout) time - like, uncannily happy for you. It's contagious. You're ecstatic that Seabiscuit just PR-ed his deadlift too.

  • Charismatic instructors preaching questionable doctrines (muscle confusion! paleo! kipping pull-ups!) to be taken on faith.

  • Scams and MLM fads swept through the gym population. It seemed like half the gym members totally lacked an immune system to them.

Any physical endeavor will have its ups and downs, maintaining consistency is the key. Yes, you can swap your workout type and that can help (though doing it too often robs you of many benefits). Personally, I need a motivation to work out and frankly, looking good/being healthy doesn't do it for me. I leverage my competitiveness, using various sports to keep me in the gym. I won't work out for fun, but I will work out because if I don't, my boys are gonna choke the shit out of me next week. I am also terrified of losing two decades of TEH GAINZ (moderate though they may be).

You're two months in. These things are measured in decades. Buckle up for the long haul and start figuring out how to motivate yourself to do this for years to come.

My recipe is competition, habit and fear. YMMV.

So far so good but, the honeymoon phase is coming to a close and I am stuck in a rut

I've been lifting for like ten years now (Jesus when I say that I realize how old/mediocre I am), that happens to me every three to six months. I change programs then. Sometimes just little nibbling around the edges, like switching rep schemes or from a front squat to a back squat focused program. Sometimes it is changing things entirely from barbells to kettlebells or climbing or rowing or whatever.

At some point 5 or 6 years ago I realized I was never going to make the Olympic team in anything, so my goal is to always be doing something I'm psyched about. I love the feeling of progress, of setting new PRs. You're NOT ready for this if you ever worry about injuries, but the Bulgarian Lite method is the platonic ideal here. It sounds like your goals are more general than specific, so changing to a new workout routine entirely is a good way to help with progression on your physique goals.

Further reading:

https://www.t-nation.com/training/when-should-i-change-my-training/

https://www.t-nation.com/training/6-signs-you-need-to-change-exercises/

https://www.t-nation.com/training/the-specificity-variability-paradox/

Really appreciate it man !This is exactly what I was hoping for. I'll look into these programs and see what works for me. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for.

None of those at the end are programs, just articles about when you should change programs. Bulgarian Lite is kinda a program, but I really don't recommend it at this point in your training, stick to stuff that isn't auto-regulating until you have years under your belt IMHO. "Listen boy it's good information from a man who's made mistakes"; I got addicted to the daily max stuff too early and probably spent a year of fuckarounditis. Stick to precise set and rep and exercise schemes from reputable trainers, I'd be happy to throw a bunch at you if you are looking for one.

Bulgarian lite sounds actually insane. I'll pass. I think squats will be my.next big step.

We had spotters for squats but the rack was doing 99% of the spotting.

Deadlifts and power cleans are the two I'd consider adding. Both work a bunch of muscles, and cleans build explosiveness and coordination as well as strength.

I've never once done squats with a partner. A squat rack is really all you'd need, which most gyms have. I'd definitely recommend trying them out and incorporating them into your workouts, since they're a very useful compound lift that works on a lot of your muscle groups. The deadlift is another one that would be useful if you're not already doing it, for similar reasons. And a deadlift is safe without any equipment or partner. Just gotta get the form right to not hurt the back.

A squat rack or bumper plates, or I guess working out at a gym where you don't give a shit about the bars/weights/floors. Just drop the damn thing if you can't get up.

You're not likely to hurt yourself doing squats.

There's an infinite number of exercises out there and you should try any that sound interesting. Back squats, front squats, deadlifts, romanian deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, overhead press, the three hundred varieties of rows, incline bench press, etc etc.

As a newbie just about any program will work. Keep a lot of your workouts and try to beat the weight you did last time or the number of reps at the same weight.

You're not likely to hurt yourself doing squats.

This is very, very much not true. Bad form in heavy squats will print you a one-way ticket to pain city real quick.

A rank newbie is not performing heavy squats and has much more to fear from fear of injuries than bad form.

A few minutes of reading about technique is enough to begin squatting.

All squats are heavy when you're weak.

You can't even fully recruit your muscles as a rank novice.

Be more antifragile.

I personally know several people who have injured themselves at a "can't lift for 2-3 weeks" level squatting less than 250 lbs. I don't know what to tell you, there isn't some threshold under which it's impossible to hurt yourself.

Squatting in a rack is safer than doing a bench press if you have to do it alone. Just adjust the safety rails to the correct height.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I want to try the rack but worried I might need a belt. It's the most used part of the gym so I'll just have to assert my place in line one day. Just worried I'll embarrass myself doing it the first time. But I need to take it to the next level. I think squats are a good way to do that.

If you think you need a belt you need to work on your core first.

Regarding belts: you don't need them for safety. A belt gives your abs something to push against to stabalize your back, which can help you lift marginally heavier (the number I often see is 45 lbs more, or 20kg). If you start from a lower weight the belt will not really do much until you are maxxing your squat in the 300s, which can take a while. If you lift intelligently and with discipline then accessories will assist, but the only safety item you really need are the safety pins to catch you at failure.

Just worried I'll embarrass myself doing it the first time

That's a pretty common feeling. People are mostly just going to be focused on themselves unless you're doing something that looks dangerous.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats