Thinking about this again, so many crappy teams put prop-like (i.e. short and fat but really, really heavy and fantasise about being a winger (every squad has one)) guys at 12 to just crash the ball all day long as they don't have the skills to get the ball out of the centres.

These same teams will put the coaches teenage son or A.N. OTHER random, last minute/pulled out of the bar players on the wings. I think the wing is where you should go. I think it will suit you.

^^^ Just to clarify, I meant that you have a good chance of having some serious fun against most wingers at low level. Not that you will be pulled out of the bar etc (despite that being perhaps a more traditional fun way to approach a game of Rugby).

I just want to bash some people really and then be friends with them after. I don't have time to box properly again, but Sunday league type rugby could be a blast. Some natural athleticism and good conditioning should hopefully let me be competitive by the end of a season or so. It sounds like wing is definitely the best bet, I'll see if I can angle myself in there. Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated as always.

(05-17-2016 02:31 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  I just want to bash some people really and then be friends with them after.

Story of my life.

Got through cycle 5 of 531 program on bench today. On the last set I got 2x225. Thinking about doing the deload week, then a high rep week of 3x8 or 4x8 on bench to help shake out the 5 rep routine I've been in for years.

Dumbbell work in the 8-12 rep range has been fantastic for getting a pump on accessory work.

Been doing lots of watching/reading on rehab after disc issue. Long road to recovery. I think the worst of it was not taking an extended build from low weight, high reps, into higher weight with low reps. Still had a lot of form defects. Have a few new exercises to try and see if they'll help my hamstring flexibility issue. Right at parallel, I start getting severe butt wink. Everything else considered, including what the doc/therapist said, was tight hamstrings. Now that I understand body mechanics a little better, I know what to look for.

May stay on 531 for upper body and stick to a bodybuilder range for lower body. But, I'm aching to do squats and deads again, even at low weight.

Had to listen to some guys arguing over broscience, the one who thought he knew everything was wearing weightlifting shoes and had his back arched like the Peach Arch in St.Louis while doing flat bench.

He was arguing that 4 reps per set is better for gains than 5.

At the gym I go total grey man. I nod and smile when people talk to me and try to ignore them. What's nice about where I am is the the gym is empty 60% of the time and the other 40% of the time the people don't speak any english so no one bothers me.

^ I have started to go the gym right after noon.
Much less people to deal with.

It's annoying when all these guys coming up and wanna chat about this and that.
Even when they should be able to see that I'm not there to socialize.

For me gym time is all about focus and putting in work.
I couldn't give a flying fuck about the weather outside.

After workout, we can talk about rice,chicken breasts and hot girls in yoga pants or whatever.

(05-18-2016 01:15 AM)Sidney Crosby Wrote:  Had to listen to some guys arguing over broscience, the one who thought he knew everything was wearing weightlifting shoes and had his back arched like the Peach Arch in St.Louis while doing flat bench.

He was arguing that 4 reps per set is better for gains than 5.

My worst broscience story was a couple years ago when some country kid (who was actually pretty buff) recommended that me & my lifting partner work only one body part per day because "you don't want to confuse the protein too much. It needs to know exactly where to go".

I still don't know whether he was trolling two skinny kids or was actually meaning to help us.

I don't have horrible broscience stories. The only thing that comes close to something like that was this one time when a guy shorter than me (I'm 5'7) and smaller and flabbier kept pushing a dumbell under my ass when I was squatting, and telling me that was the depth I should go to.
Thing is, I was squatting below parallel and that made it hard as fuck to come back up since my leverages were different.
Come to think of it, that was shitty.

(05-18-2016 10:03 AM)cubanlinx Wrote:  Come to think of it, that was shitty.

The dumbbell? No wonder standing up was tricky, I don't think you were doing it correctly.

(05-18-2016 10:16 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(05-18-2016 10:03 AM)cubanlinx Wrote:  Come to think of it, that was shitty.

The dumbbell? No wonder standing up was tricky, I don't think you were doing it correctly.

It was a 25kg dumbell with separate plates.
Why do you think I was doing it wrong, H1N1?

(05-17-2016 07:39 PM)philosophical_recovery Wrote:  Got through cycle 5 of 531 program on bench today. On the last set I got 2x225. Thinking about doing the deload week, then a high rep week of 3x8 or 4x8 on bench to help shake out the 5 rep routine I've been in for years.

Dumbbell work in the 8-12 rep range has been fantastic for getting a pump on accessory work.

Been doing lots of watching/reading on rehab after disc issue. Long road to recovery. I think the worst of it was not taking an extended build from low weight, high reps, into higher weight with low reps. Still had a lot of form defects. Have a few new exercises to try and see if they'll help my hamstring flexibility issue. Right at parallel, I start getting severe butt wink. Everything else considered, including what the doc/therapist said, was tight hamstrings. Now that I understand body mechanics a little better, I know what to look for.

May stay on 531 for upper body and stick to a bodybuilder range for lower body. But, I'm aching to do squats and deads again, even at low weight.

Did you start with 90% of your true max for your max? You really want to be getting a lot more than 2 reps on your AMRAP set on 5/3/1 week (10 is the aim on 5s week, 6-8 on 3s week, and 5 on 5/3/1 week). I've always found it best to repeat cycles if I don't hit a good 5 on the AMRAP set on 5/3/1 week before moving on. I've been able to keep cycles going for a long time by occasionally repeating cycles, and by using 0.6 kg weights to allow smaller increases to my max.

My Worst Broscience Story

There is this skinny guy at my gym. He always carries a blender bottle with whey protein in it. Probably 5'7" maybe 150 lbs.

After each set he takes a swig of it. I always saw him but never really paid attention.

One day he came to me and asked why I was drinking water with how hard I workout and that I should be drinking whey protein. I told him I'm good that I'll eat when I get home.

I swear he said it exactly this way "No bro. After working out like a beast have to get that protein shots in your body after each set so your body is recovered for the next set. Whey all day."

I was trying not to laugh but said alright I'll try it next time.

I still laugh at it.

One of the guys I used to lift with at work, he would train in this ridiculous plastic suit so he could "sweat out all his fat".

Yeah, he actually believed that once you sweat out all your water, your body burned fat.

He also injured himself in the past squatting 225 lbs, so he basically only hit bench and calf raises.

About every two weeks he would claim to either be on a cut or a bulk and there'd be no change to his physique or his lifts at all in this time, his beer belly was still there and he might have even gained weight by the time I quit my job.

There was also this kid, he was 19. Fat, short, and dumb as hell, he used to run around the gym to "sprint" (go outside, Usain Bolt) and he once threw out his back picking up a 5 gallon bucket. Funny shit.

The common factor I find with gym regulars who go nowhere is that they don't read or learn anything new in their spare time.

Yeah, you'll see some nerds who read a lot and still don't get very far, but this is a hick town where guys walking around at 25% bodyfat think they're big and strong as shit because their arms are big (from fat) and things break when they step on them.

Oh yeah, one of the big reasons why I prefer to work out at home is how many times I get fucking bothered during a workout by a gym regular who wants to talk about the weather or what Trump said or how "the game" went last night or what his goldfish did or or or or you get the idea.

It seems like no matter what the activity is, your odds of getting interrupted or harassed go up a hundred fold when you're deep in the middle of it.

(05-18-2016 11:57 AM)Kieran Wrote:  

(05-17-2016 07:39 PM)philosophical_recovery Wrote:  Got through cycle 5 of 531 program on bench today. On the last set I got 2x225. Thinking about doing the deload week, then a high rep week of 3x8 or 4x8 on bench to help shake out the 5 rep routine I've been in for years.

Dumbbell work in the 8-12 rep range has been fantastic for getting a pump on accessory work.

Been doing lots of watching/reading on rehab after disc issue. Long road to recovery. I think the worst of it was not taking an extended build from low weight, high reps, into higher weight with low reps. Still had a lot of form defects. Have a few new exercises to try and see if they'll help my hamstring flexibility issue. Right at parallel, I start getting severe butt wink. Everything else considered, including what the doc/therapist said, was tight hamstrings. Now that I understand body mechanics a little better, I know what to look for.

May stay on 531 for upper body and stick to a bodybuilder range for lower body. But, I'm aching to do squats and deads again, even at low weight.

Did you start with 90% of your true max for your max? You really want to be getting a lot more than 2 reps on your AMRAP set on 5/3/1 week (10 is the aim on 5s week, 6-8 on 3s week, and 5 on 5/3/1 week). I've always found it best to repeat cycles if I don't hit a good 5 on the AMRAP set on 5/3/1 week before moving on. I've been able to keep cycles going for a long time by occasionally repeating cycles, and by using 0.6 kg weights to allow smaller increases to my max.

Those reps on the final set are a lot higher than where I got my spreadsheet, and I don't think Wendler says that I need to hit 5 reps on the 1+ set, but I didn't read his book.

Yes, at the first cycle I did 90% of 1rm for entry into the spreadsheet, or 219 (1rm being 235). Usually I'm so gassed at set 6 that i can get a +1 or +2, but +5, really? That seems a bit absurd.

Per a random 1rm calculator on the web, that would mean on set 6 I'm getting 10 reps of 186, and my true 1rm is actually 243.

So at the start of a completely new system, bench day 1, my bench max has to have gone up by almost 10 pounds?

Maybe my spreadsheet is wrong, my 1rm calculator is wrong, I'm wrong, or all 3 are wrong, but I don't get the number of reps on the last set for peak week being that high.

I'd try what he calls "bastard" sets where you do the hardest set first instead of ramping up.

Just checked Wendlers site. His FAQ says not to mess with the program (invert sets) and always leave some in the tank. Nothing about pushing for 10, 8, or 5 on the peak week. In fact, he says that some would be best serves by just doing the required sets.

Been experiencing some joint pain lately which I've never had. Elbows and knees. Decided to make the switch from fish oil to flax seed. I feel better like my joints are actually rested and recovered. Could all be in my head but no more fishburps. Should've made the switch sooner

(05-18-2016 07:26 PM)xxMarco Wrote:  Been experiencing some joint pain lately which I've never had. Elbows and knees. Decided to make the switch from fish oil to flax seed. I feel better like my joints are actually rested and recovered. Could all be in my head but no more fishburps. Should've made the switch sooner

What age range are you? I noticed this happening to abruptly in my late 20s. Never had wrist pain until then, got some wrist wraps and now I don't have pain there and it doesn't impact mobility or anything. I've never had pain in my elbows though.

If your starting 1rm was 235, and you've hit 225 for 2 on cycle 5, then according to the 1rm calculator I use then you've not gotten a great deal stronger over 5 cycles. It could be that the 1rm calculator I use isn't particularly effective, but I've found it reasonably accurate.

Edit - my mistake, it wasn't in the book I read it, it was here, and he doesn't say you need to hit the target either, 2 reps by cycle 5 does seem pretty low though to me:

http://www.jimwendler.com/2012/08/531-faq-please-read/

Thinking about adding farmers walks at the end one day a week. Anybody do these?

Anyone have any recommendations for a case of DYEL chest? I've been using a pretty solid, high-volume push/pull/leg routine, my nutrition is on point, and I'm getting stronger but my chest looks the same way it did nearly three years ago when I started lifting and weighed 135 lbs. Nonexistent. I now weigh 175 lbs @ around 15% BF and can pretty easily bench 100lb dbs for 10-12 reps.

The chest portion of my push day is usually 5 sets of 8-10 reps DB bench , 4 sets of 8-10 reps incline DB bench, and 4 sets of 8-12 reps of some type of fly movement, usually cable flyes.

I look fine in fitted clothes but the combo of underdeveloped chest and not being lean enough for visible abs isn't a great look when the shirt comes off.

(05-19-2016 12:27 AM)Hallasan Wrote:  

(05-18-2016 07:26 PM)xxMarco Wrote:  Been experiencing some joint pain lately which I've never had. Elbows and knees. Decided to make the switch from fish oil to flax seed. I feel better like my joints are actually rested and recovered. Could all be in my head but no more fishburps. Should've made the switch sooner

What age range are you? I noticed this happening to abruptly in my late 20s. Never had wrist pain until then, got some wrist wraps and now I don't have pain there and it doesn't impact mobility or anything. I've never had pain in my elbows though.

Late 20's here, turning 29 at the end of the year. I have wrist straps but yea the joint pain started creeping up about 6 months ago mostly inner elbow and knees. could be a form thing too.

This chick was telling me about benefits of stretching like a year ago and I said meh stretching is for bitches

Now i'm stretching every day for my joints. Its just small discomfort I still power through it. No biggie.