Gym/Exercise Thread

[PensFanInDC]

Probably a good call. You know your body best

[tifosi77]

Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement to make sure you are working the lats.

Also make sure your elbows are tight to your sides. Don't let them flare out or you will use more deltoid and less lat.

My trainer buddy coached me up on that; he told me to imagine I was trying to hold a pencil with my shoulder blades on every rep.

[tifosi77]

Moving this here so as not to derail the supplements thread....

My wife's ability and flexibility in squats mesmerizes me. She can be taylor sitting and then just put her feet flat on the ground and stand up. She can also go a** to grass with her feet flat on the ground. My ankle mobility is terrible and I can barely get past 90 degrees with my feet flat. If I have a bar to hold onto I can go almost all the way down but without it I'm useless.

There was a time when I could do pistols in skates.....

My right ankle has had a range of motion limitation since high school (horrific volleyball injury).

My coach buddy referred me to Mobility WOD, run by Kelly Starrett, a Crossfit physio in the SF Bay area. I know what you're thinking...... 'San Francisco?!' j/k, seriously, don't let the Xfit moniker deter you. The guy is a freakin' magician on improving mobility and stability. That right ankle issue I mentioned above? Yeah, a month doing this guy's exercises got me back to about 90% of my original ROM and probably improved stability by a factor of 3.

[PensFanInDC]

Those look like the same exercises a buddy of mine gave me to do. I just have been lazy and not doing them. One thing I have working against(?) me are my calves. They are huge. I mean gigantic. Even if I had total mobility in my ankles the backs of my thighs would be pressing against my calves making it hard to get all the way down. There's nothing I can do about that. Even kneeling is kinda painful and my calves get so compressed that they become hard as rocks. The owner of Soldierfit used to tell me the reason he has no calf muscles is because God gave me his portion. If only the rest of my body was so toned...

[JS©]

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PFinDC, didn't you do this run before?

[PensFanInDC]

Yep. Not the best out there but it's pretty cheap even without the $15 off.

[stopper40]

Does anyone have any experience with muscle rollers? My massage therapist recommended I get one for my legs because they get so tight in between visits to her.

[MRandall25]

They do good work. I use them all the time.

[PensFanInDC]

They do good work. I use them all the time.

Yes

I use a roller for 10 minutes before a workout. It reduces DOMS and muscle cramps.

[stopper40]

Thanks

Edit: Just ordered 1. I both love and hate Amazon 1-click

[tifosi77]

They do good work. I use them all the time.

Yes

I use a roller for 10 minutes before a workout. It reduces DOMS and muscle cramps.

I have one at my desk at work, and two at home, plus a Rumble Roller. Also, a lacrosse ball is an excellent tool for working out knots and such.

[PensFanInDC]

I can't use the rumble roller. It hurts too much. I use a softball on my calves or I'll have my wife essentially do handstands on them.

[stopper40]

They do good work. I use them all the time.

Yes

I use a roller for 10 minutes before a workout. It reduces DOMS and muscle cramps.

I have one at my desk at work, and two at home, plus a Rumble Roller. Also, a lacrosse ball is an excellent tool for working out knots and such.

I get horrible knots in my calves. The girl who does my massages is amazed at how bad they are. She's really good at getting them out, but boy can it hurt when she's doing it.

If I like it I'll most likely get a 2nd one and either keep it at work or in my car so I can use it immediately before or after I workout

[tifosi77]

Can totally sympathize with that. I had a period about six months ago where I had knots in my gastrocs that were creating searing bolts of pain in my right leg. My chiro/physio dude worked on them, and it took maybe five visits to get them to the point where I could work on them myself and eventually be rid of them. But my, when he'd dig his thumb into my calf and just rock over a knot............. felt like I had been hooked up to a car battery. I almost tapped out a couple times.

I will say that if the problem is in your calves you are going to have a difficult time using a roller to work out the tissue. That's just been my experience, ymmv. The only things I had that accomplished anything other than frustrating me were the Rumble Roller and the lacrosse ball.

[MRandall25]

I will say that if the problem is in your calves you are going to have a difficult time using a roller to work out the tissue.

You could use one of the roller sticks:



We always carry these with us to Ultimate tournaments, because you never know when you're going to need it. I've found these are especially helpful for getting where you need to get on your calves, and they're even more helpful if you have another person rolling your calf for you.

[tifosi77]

Yeah, that's what I have. They just did nothing for my calves. Great for quads and shins, tho.

[PensFanInDC]

I found that using a softball (or if you need smaller you can even use a golf ball or a lacrosse ball) on my calves makes for a good workout. I sit on the floor legs straight out and put the ball under my calf. I then push my body up with my arms so the only points of contact I have with the ground are my hands and the ball under my leg. Then I rock back and forth. Great arm workout and it loosens up the calves too.

[stopper40]

I will say that if the problem is in your calves you are going to have a difficult time using a roller to work out the tissue.

You could use one of the roller sticks:

Spoiler:

We always carry these with us to Ultimate tournaments, because you never know when you're going to need it. I've found these are especially helpful for getting where you need to get on your calves, and they're even more helpful if you have another person rolling your calf for you.

I just ordered one very similar to that

Yeah, that's what I have. They just did nothing for my calves. Great for quads and shins, tho.

My quads need the work too

[stopper40]

Can totally sympathize with that. I had a period about six months ago where I had knots in my gastrocs that were creating searing bolts of pain in my right leg. My chiro/physio dude worked on them, and it took maybe five visits to get them to the point where I could work on them myself and eventually be rid of them. But my, when he'd dig his thumb into my calf and just rock over a knot............. felt like I had been hooked up to a car battery. I almost tapped out a couple times.

I will say that if the problem is in your calves you are going to have a difficult time using a roller to work out the tissue. That's just been my experience, ymmv. The only things I had that accomplished anything other than frustrating me were the Rumble Roller and the lacrosse ball.

I know what you mean about the pain. It used to be much, much worse when I used to do leg day at the gym. She'd be digging into my calves and I'd be holding clutching the table for dear life but wouldn't move the leg she was working on. She's actually quite impressed with my pain threshold

[tifosi77]

So I just jumped on Amazon to look for a door frame sling like this. One of the suggested results was Sportsheets Door Jam Sex Sling. Yahoo.

[JS©]

[dodint]

In all fairness, who walks away from a treadmill turned up to 11 and leaves it there. If you have earbuds in and aren't being cautious a floor going full speed probably looks solid out of your peripheral.

[JS©]

yeah I'm not even questioning how legit it is, but I can't stop watching that somewhat long pause between the step and the fall.

[shafnutz05]

ROCK BOTTOM! ROCK BOTTOM!! BAH GAWD KING HE'S DEAD

[Eismann]

Anyone have some good back exercises with free weights or bands?

With the free weights, I do bentover rows, dead lift/stand-ups, upright rows.

With the band, I do seated rows with the band wrapped around an elevated leg of an armoir.