JB Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Looks pretty easy "That was the RKC plank." Errr no it wasn't! He's missed out the most crucial cue! If you can hold it for 30 seconds to a minute it's not an RKC plank. 10 seconds max. I have a very short list of trainers whose I articles/videos I trust. Bret Contreras is probably at the top... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 So I'm being too hard on the resistance machine then? I honestly just saw them as something you used if you had an injury and needed to avoid the more complete exercise. Probably, yes. If your focus is building muscle certainly. I'll be honest, until the last year or two I generally avoided them, too - so you live and learn . However, some of them are most definitely a waste of time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 15, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 15, 2015 RKC sounds complodicated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 So I'm being too hard on the resistance machine then? I honestly just saw them as something you used if you had an injury and needed to avoid the more complete exercise. Whatever works for you, theres no research to say free weights are better, go on your own physique as to what works dont just post something you read somewhere or heard somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 15, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 15, 2015 Whatever works for you, theres no research to say free weights are better, go on your own physique as to what works dont just post something you read somewhere or heard somewhere. Well no I would try not to do that (post what I've heard/read). What I'm posting works for me. I'd actually be a little nervous of massively building up certain muscles and not having any of the supporting muscles built up around them. But I appreciate that if you're specifically targetting a muscle then that might be exactly what you want to do. Horses for courses. We still haven't heard which horse Ginko is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 I dont even bother with planks tbh, if you squat heavy and deadlift heavy your core is worked enough imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Don't post something you read somewhere or heard somewhere? Eh? So where can we get our knowledge from then? I think it's all about choosing your sources carefully. For example, after reading a published study by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, I feel pretty confident about reporting his conclusions as fact . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) I dont even bother with planks tbh, if you squat heavy and deadlift heavy your core is worked enough imo Sorry to call you out again (not trying to be a dick at all) but that is simply not true. Recently been proven to be perhaps the most bro-ist of bro myths. (FWIW I agree with most of the other stuff you say) Edited July 15, 2015 by JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Don't post something you read somewhere or heard somewhere? Eh? So where can we get our knowledge from then? I think it's all about choosing your sources carefully. For example, after reading a published study by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, I feel pretty confident about reporting his conclusions as fact . Exactly, be careful where you get your knowledge. If you read something, give it a go and see how it effects your own physique, no point just posting something because so and so said it. Personally, my goal is to build muscle so i would sooner listen to someone who has the physique i aspire to rather than people who ive never seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 I dont even bother with planks tbh, if you squat heavy and deadlift heavy your core is worked enough imo Sorry to call you out again (not trying to be a dick at all) but that is simply not true. Recently been proven to be perhaps the most bro-ist of bro myths. (FWIW I agree with most of the other stuff you say) Again, just going on my personal experience, i have a very strong core and barely do any ab isolation exercises. My mate is 18stone shredded and has an amazing physique purely from heavy deadlifts and heavy squats, its not bro-science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Out of interest JB are you a bodybuilder, strongman,powerlifter or crossfitter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Wouldn't say I'm any of those (definitely not a **** cross fitter!!!). If I'm honest I'd say that I train for equal parts aesthetics, aka vanity (although definitely not aspiring to the bloated bodybuilder physique), strength and general athleticism. I probably suffer from a lack of specialism to be fair. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Wouldn't say I'm any of those (definitely not a **** cross fitter!!!). If I'm honest I'd say that I train for equal parts aesthetics, aka vanity (although definitely not aspiring to the bloated bodybuilder physique), strength and general athleticism. I probably suffer from a lack of specialism to be fair. Haha i cant stand crossfitters either 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) Right, I'm sure this has been asked a bunch of times throughout the thread so I hope you can forgive me for not trawling through 149 pages to find out, but I'm considering joining a gym and doing some weight work. Any advice? I genuinely don't really know where to begin so any advice like what sort of gym to go for, how many times a week, good gym etiquette, any good beginner routines or anything you think could help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to tone up and build a bit, but nothing too crazy. I'm 5'11, average weight but I could lose a few pounds. I figure that'll go with the weights and maybe 20 minutes of cardio two or three times a week. I've improved my diet recently so I'm eating a lot of chicken, some brown rice or couscous and veg, but any help with nutrition is also welcome. I'd also be interested how you guys got into it and how you started off, the best advice you got and what sort of things helped you the most. Cheers in advance, fellas. Free weights > machines. So find a gym with a decent selection of free weights and you should be ok. Find a good Beginner's Routine and stick to it. "Beginners" often doesn't mean beginners because you don't know anything. They're designed to make the most of "newbie gains" (people generally make lots of progress early on) so they're a good place to start.Here are some good ones, I'd suggest maybe finding one you're interested in and post it here and let people have a look. There's a lot on that site but they're not all great. I'd suggest either a full body workout or a basic split, probably around 3 days a week when you start. Best advice I can give is do some reading. Take a couple of hours to read some basic articles on workouts, diet, body composition etc. Then decide your goals (losing fat requires a different approach, dietwise, to adding muscle) and then workout how you're going to approach it. It sounds a bit complicated, but basically, if you want your workouts to be effective, it's worth putting in a bit of time at the start to work out exactly how it all works and how you should approach things. It sounds a bit patronising, but there is so much to know. If you just turn up to a gym and do what feels right then you'll be getting very little benefit from it. I'd suggest this article as a good place to start regarding diet. That site in general has loads of good articles on workouts and diets. I learnt more in 3 hours of reading stuff on that site about gym and diet then I did in my previous 27 years of life! How did I get into it? I was 27 and fat (ish). I'd spent 10 years thinking "I'd love to be in good shape" but doing very little about it apart from the odd diet or exercise fad that would give me some short term results but nothing long term. So I just realised that I'm heading towards 30 and I'm out of shape, it's now or never. Joined a gym, joined that website I linked (the community there is pretty decent if you want some more advice, although sometimes they're more argumentative than a Carles Gil thread), and got on with it. 2 years later I'm still not close to how I'd like to look! But I'm a hell of a lot better off than I was back then. Why are free weights better than machines? You can stimulate just as much muscle growth from machines Machines have their place, but I wouldn't be advising a beginner to start on an isolated muscle routine. Big compound lifts would be a better place to start to build muscle quicker, imo. Plus free weights will target all the stabilising muscles that machines miss, which will likely be undeveloped in a beginner. More bang for your buck basically! Edited July 15, 2015 by Stevo985 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Not all machines are isolations. Anything that requires the movement of more than one joint is a compound exercise. Any machine that involves a push or pull is still a compound. Machines definitely have their place in beginner programmes - particularly for older people. In fact I'd strongly argue that something like the hack squat machine would be better than a free-weight squat for some beginners to help them build up the necessary strength and stability to handle free-weight movements. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I've only recently started using machines and I must say, I really like them. I've been using free weights only for years so the stability that a machine gives you is actually really nice. I can push and pull heavier on machines and I actually feel like the muscle is isolated more on some movements compared to the free weight variation. Just to echo what JB, I think the majority of movements are probably compound. Its very difficult to not be using more than one muscle group at a time, however not all compound movements are the same. Squats and dead lifts for example utilise many different body parts whereas an incline dumbbell press for example, which is also a compound, hits less muscle groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 The main thing I like amount machines is that you can shift up and down the weights really quickly which helps when your trying to get every last drop out of a set. Each has their place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted July 16, 2015 Finding it hard to get motivated since I got back from holiday. Only been to the gym a handful of times since. Need to get back on it for a month (before my next holiday!). After that I'll be going on my bulk for the year. Question for JB. GVT, would you recommend going straight into it as a bulk, or would it be beneficial to do a more traditional split for a few weeks first? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) Right, I'm sure this has been asked a bunch of times throughout the thread so I hope you can forgive me for not trawling through 149 pages to find out, but I'm considering joining a gym and doing some weight work. Any advice? I genuinely don't really know where to begin so any advice like what sort of gym to go for, how many times a week, good gym etiquette, any good beginner routines or anything you think could help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to tone up and build a bit, but nothing too crazy. I'm 5'11, average weight but I could lose a few pounds. I figure that'll go with the weights and maybe 20 minutes of cardio two or three times a week. I've improved my diet recently so I'm eating a lot of chicken, some brown rice or couscous and veg, but any help with nutrition is also welcome. I'd also be interested how you guys got into it and how you started off, the best advice you got and what sort of things helped you the most. Cheers in advance, fellas.Free weights > machines. So find a gym with a decent selection of free weights and you should be ok. Find a good Beginner's Routine and stick to it. "Beginners" often doesn't mean beginners because you don't know anything. They're designed to make the most of "newbie gains" (people generally make lots of progress early on) so they're a good place to start.Here are some good ones, I'd suggest maybe finding one you're interested in and post it here and let people have a look. There's a lot on that site but they're not all great. I'd suggest either a full body workout or a basic split, probably around 3 days a week when you start. Best advice I can give is do some reading. Take a couple of hours to read some basic articles on workouts, diet, body composition etc. Then decide your goals (losing fat requires a different approach, dietwise, to adding muscle) and then workout how you're going to approach it. It sounds a bit complicated, but basically, if you want your workouts to be effective, it's worth putting in a bit of time at the start to work out exactly how it all works and how you should approach things. It sounds a bit patronising, but there is so much to know. If you just turn up to a gym and do what feels right then you'll be getting very little benefit from it. I'd suggest this article as a good place to start regarding diet. That site in general has loads of good articles on workouts and diets. I learnt more in 3 hours of reading stuff on that site about gym and diet then I did in my previous 27 years of life! How did I get into it? I was 27 and fat (ish). I'd spent 10 years thinking "I'd love to be in good shape" but doing very little about it apart from the odd diet or exercise fad that would give me some short term results but nothing long term. So I just realised that I'm heading towards 30 and I'm out of shape, it's now or never. Joined a gym, joined that website I linked (the community there is pretty decent if you want some more advice, although sometimes they're more argumentative than a Carles Gil thread), and got on with it. 2 years later I'm still not close to how I'd like to look! But I'm a hell of a lot better off than I was back then.Why are free weights better than machines? You can stimulate just as much muscle growth from machinesMachines have their place, but I wouldn't be advising a beginner to start on an isolated muscle routine. Big compound lifts would be a better place to start to build muscle quicker, imo. Plus free weights will target all the stabilising muscles that machines miss, which will likely be undeveloped in a beginner. More bang for your buck basically!But your comment was free weights are better than machines, when they are not. Both are as good as each other no matter if your a beginner or not. Edited July 16, 2015 by YGabbana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted July 16, 2015 It was my opinion. For a beginner (I was talking to Ginko, who is a beginner) I think free weights are better than machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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