Ah, so this is pretty common. Because I always do the exact same number of reps on either side, so I figured I was safe.


I think I'll just keep going for the rest of the year and finish cutting down the body fat before I worry about the symmetry of my arms that probably I will ever notice, lol.

But thanks for the info and advice. Appreciate it.:D

I don't usually notice things like that, but yesterday I thought my left arm was stronger than my right. Figured I was just imagining things, since I'm right handed.

I beat off with my left hand though. Maybe I need to switch?

Lol me too.

Left arm is bigger than the right, but right arm is stronger.

I have a similar imbalanace with my pecs.

Strength is a neural response response. Although more muscle mass helps strength it is your nervous system being able to more efficiently fire the muscle to do the work requested of it.

Yeah that's kinda what i chalked it up to. Right hand dominant here, that's my beat-off hand.

I mean, it's the only reasonable explanation.

Yup. Has to be all my years of jerk-off training then.

Hamstring strength and stretches? When I'm short on time I'll skip either squats or lunges in favor of a seated squat press style machine. When I do I have a spot on my Hammy's about midway that's just irritated. Just on my right leg. I don't get it but I don't like it.

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Dude ive been doing my leg day at the gym with the assorted press, raise and butterfly machines.

The other day though, i did leg day at home with just body weight training.

Calf raises, Wall Squats, lunges, squats, leg lifts etc.

**** me, im still sore. Those calf raises have my calves so sore that im walking funny. For days now....

I did 3 sets of 50 in 3 different toe directions. So what, 450 raises in total? Normal forward facing toes, pigeon toed and outward. I varied the speed too.

I assume you are right handed so you left arm gets more benefit from the workouts than your right arm.

I did a similar thing for plantar fasciitis recovery. They ****ing suck! What helps is do calf stretches against the wall in the straight/toe in/toe out then thigh on the wall/ foot flat on the floor extreme stretch. I do a minute each way.

No blender, no water- just pour out of the carton into a glass and strain out the floaters with a fork.

Bob Evans pasteurized egg whites

The hamstring activation on a squat is not as much as you think it is.

Best thing for hammys are curls, stiff legged deadlifts GHR's and nordics.

That really surprises me. I used to lift all the time and felt terribly unhealthy. Didn't really seem to do anything to my resting heartbeat and when I would go to try to run it wouldn't help me run any farther. I didn't really feel as good mentally either after I lift compared to after I run.

I was big into lifting when I was younger up but that really only helped me look good. I don't even care about looking good now. Just living longer. When I lift I eat alot of protein and food to try to build muscle and tax my organs.

What info can you advise to change my mind? My weight is not an issue at all. Id actually rather weigh 200 than 170 myself but it is what it is. I just want my heart to be healthy and to lower my cholesterol. My blood pressure has always been perfect though. I am naturally ectomorphic so I am a bit worried Ill lose too much weight by running. Im already down to 179 from 188.

Runners high is a legit phenomenon. As far as what you experienced lifting its hard to say why you felt what you felt without knowing the workouts performed and how you actually workout and eat.
Protein consumption should be the same wether lifting or not. 1.5-2 grams per lb of bodyweight. If bulking then 1.5-2 grams per lb of what you want to weigh.
Cholesterol is mostly genetic. Next factor after genetics is hormones.

My diet is 85% beef and rice. I consume about 2lbs of red meat per day. My bloods from just a couple of weeks ago my cholesterol was 168 and triglycerides only 72.

No cardio other than a 30 minute walk once or twice a day. Just a normal speed walk.

You might try out alternate types of strength training if you just don't enjoy the standard body building hypertrophy type of lifting.

Add more long chain carbs into diet. Something as easy as a cup of rice with one of your high protein meals. Carbs are how you control weight gain/loss in food choices.

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I had a problem like that for little while. My heel would be sore as hell when I woke up and it would take some walking around to get my Achilles loosened up. It felt fine when I ran but would tighten up like nuts when I slept. I found a small brace on Amazon that was made specifically for plantar fasciitis that you could wear while you slept. It was a little annoying to wear at night, but it fixed that shit in about a week and I never had trouble with it again.

Yeah I tried a few braces, 20 insoles and countless exercises. I joined a ton of fb pages looking for solutions. Podiatrist gave me some insoles with minimal relief. Then one day I saw a guy talking about 2 minute stretches for something different and that long active stretches signal to the brain that this muscle needs more length permanently not just stretching. Not sure if there’s any science but 60 days of stretching at 10am (after a decent warm up walking at work) and it’s 99% gone. I’m even getting back to running. Easing in doing a 1/2 mile, walk 1/10, stretch, run 3/10, stretch then finish up with 2/10. Getting a total mile but keeping my calves looser.

The downside is only “grandpa shoes” are comfortable lol. ASICS, new balance and crocs light rides are my apple a day.

Same for me and I am right handed. I don't get it after all these years of working out too.

My left pec has better shape than my right too.

Figured out part of my hammy issue. I do GHR on a 45* rack or whatever you want to call it. I come up with 15s or 20s and do 10 back flys put the weight down and do 10 ghr. I’ve found myself cheating letting my toes widen out. When I keep them straight it’s activating my hammy where it’s weak. When I cheat it’s outside on my leg.

Haven't worked out in almost two weeks and I am down almost 20lbs. :(

I tweaked my let elbow (again) and a few days ago I did something to my left hand, sharp stab of pain right underneath my first knuckle on the index finger, if I apply almost any pressure there. So most upper body stuff is out for a while.

Guessing I'm doing a lot of core, legs and cardio for at least a couple weeks. Any ideas for other stuff I can reasonably do for two-three weeks?

Wait, what happened? Why haven't you worked out? And remind me, because I'm a dumbass, why would you lose 20 lbs in two weeks?

I'd probably just lower weight on stuff and see if higher reps is doable... and might be able to adjust grip some to at least help the index finger as long as the elbow isn't too painful.

I had tennis elbow for a while and went through cycles of avoiding workouts, avoiding everything, ignoring it... and what helped the most was light weights at the gym and not aggravating it throughout the day. It's been flaring up lately though, so I've started reducing weight on curls to pamper the shitty little bitch elbow.

Also found hammer curls don't cause any elbow pain in that case, but of course those would probably cause more of an issue on an index finger being at the top of a dumbbell.

Cardio and legs. Go light any upper body and gradually increase but most important is you get healthy. Muscles have memory you'll bounce back

Really hope so. Took a long dang time to get here. Would hate to have to climb this hill, again.

Now that is a real man. Not trying to live longer or impress chicks like you losers.

You're into daddy bears, eh? To each their own.

We da best

And anotha one

Had a powerlifting meet so a weeks rest after and then went on vacation.

Good question... 4lbs or so is most likely dehydration. 4 days of eating about half of maintenance calories per day, for some reason I don't have an appetite when traveling.

There might be a possibility a change in supplements (a removal of one) has resulted in some of the loss as well.

Abs are sort of popping though so I guess there is one benefit.

Next month and a half is going to be brutal. Need to get back to where I was plus maybe 10lbs more.

Nothing more fun than eating a lot of food when you aren't hungry.

Working out is not about living longer. It is about living healthier and staying capable.

Modern medicine only cares about increasing lifespan. Increasing health span doest put more $ in there pockets.

Whats the point of living long if you have to have assistance to wipe your own ass let alone get up and play with the grandkids and greatgrandkids?

One of the main causes of tennis elbow are weak forearm extensors. Get a set of these. They work great for fixing it.

https://www.amazon.com/ALPHA-GRIPZ-C.../dp/B07SBFWHX8

I'm just messing around. Now that I am old I wish to live longer. When I was younger I used to lift for vanity. Now I just do cardio. Never thought Id see the day.

Ah, understanding now.

Lol, yah, sometimes I'm just not very hungry, and I'll skip a meal. Then try to make it up before the end of the week; if I skip more than one or two meals in a week, it gets kind of ugly.

Strength training is 10x+ more important than cardio to live a full and healthy life.

I'm trying to live longer ans just be healthy. Women live much longer than men. Have less muscle tone, less muscle and are smaller. The smaller you are the better off you are generally. Sure avoiding muscle atrophy is important but most body building stuff is not exactly good for you. Ideally you would do both but I don't think there is any doctor ever that would tell you if you had to pick one to pick strength training instead of cardio.

Back when I was into body building I couldn't run for shit. My heart was still unhealthy. I got just as tired from running a block as I did after not lifting for 8 years. It gave me no aerobic benefit and did not help my triglyceride levels. Cardio and simply replacing my red meat intake with fish did. Ive only been doing cardio for 6 months and have only went from 188 lbs to 183 lbs and it is like night and day for my health. I felt sluggish alot when the focus was just strength training and that was when I was a younger man. I feel the absolute best I have ever felt in my entire life. Someday Id like to do both but for now focusing on the heart and blood levels.

Ha, you were popping anadrols leading up to the meet and the water came off, didn't it?

Only thing I was possibly running that I might not be now is 60mg daily tbol.

You were not lifting correctly then. Lifting can do everything that running can when done correctly.

Say you get down to the weight you think is what you need to be to live how you want to live... What are you going to do if your wife were to fall down and is unable to get up and you are too weak to help her as well?

BWillie did his BWilliest with that one... no point in even starting to dissect all the idiocy when someone puts so much effort in being the reeruned-est version of themselves.

forgot t ask, how'd the powerlifting meet go anyway?

I'm not trying to lose weight as any goal. When I was into bodybuilding the only way I could gain weight is to not eat clean. Drink tons of whey protein. Doesn't really make you feel great.

If I end up losing like 15 to 20 lbs by running it will suck cuz then Ill have to lift again and eat more unhealthy.

It's good to balance out the cardio with balance exercises and a couple of days per week of strength training. That helps keep you injury free during your cardio sessions, slow down the loss of muscle mass associated with aging, and lower your fall risk.

It's good to aim for a variety. I do a lot of running every week, but I also try to do two or three sessions of yoga, as those help me with balance, mobility, and strength, and counteract some of the distorting effects of long-distance running, especially the tight hip and leg muscles that come with long-distance running.

https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/he...der-quick-tips

Is your contention that cardio is unhealthy?
Is your contention that weighing more is generally more healthy than weighing less?

What kind/program for yoga? I tried the P90x variety years ago and it was soooooo slow and repetitive.... I could definitely use something on off days for flexibility/stretching and balance.

I currently try to remember stretching whatever I worked out on the same day, but often forget... and then will sometimes stretch between sets or if I have a long Teams meeting that I can stand for.

Hmm, I thought tbol was dry. I'm surprised you'd dump that much water. I know it's not muscle because you'd have to just not eat anything at all for that to happen

I do Vinyasa. I started going last year, due to some very tight hip and leg muscles and the fact that I could barely touch my knees, let alone get close to my ankles. :)

My intention was to improve my mobility, but I learned through doing it that my balance also needed a lot of work and that the postures also help with muscle strength.

I'm not very skilled at it, but I enjoy the challenge of doing it and I can see that it has helped me. I've been sticking with the "beginner-friendly" classes for now, but my studio wants more of us to trickle into the more advanced classes and I might start going to those occasionally, too.

Tbol is dry. Its mostly muscle. I struggle with appetite when traveling. Especially long car rides.

P90X Yoga was terri-shit, however their "Stretch X" video was the bee's knees.

Wish i still had my copy.

Thanks, will check it out. I noticed that, too, years ago... my balance improved quite a bit with the yoga routine.

Again, if that's your experience then you are doing it wrong.

I'm sure I still have it around... I can send you a Google Drive link if you want to download it.

I was still using that one just a few years ago and hit on most of them these days from memory (when I actually stretch).

Oh that'd be fantastic. I'd like that for sure.

While i probably wont do the program anymore, at the very least i want Stretch X and Ab Ripper X.

I was probably in the best shape of my life back when i was doing P90X. (I was also in my mid-20's, so i mean....LOL, not fair to current old me).

I think im probably aesthetically better LOOKING today, but that's because ive added some weight and i age like a fine wine. Im just getting sexier the older i get. (Sorry, ladies).

But I did P90X for 6 months straight and goddaamn, my strength to body weight ratio was fantastic. I was doing 1-arm pullups by the end of it, which i can't to today.

For a purely body weight routine, i swear by P90X, it's legit.

That shit was ****ing torture. And Ab Ripper X may as well have been called groin ripper. My groin always got sore as ****.

I bet you can find it on YouTube. (the videos not my groin)

It didn't do shit for me except probably cardio (plyo was legit), but there's a lot that goes into saying that.

I didn't have the fundamentals down, such as progressive overload. I ate like shit and didn't get enough sleep. I wasn't nearly consistent enough long enough to see real results.

Buut... I also think it just ****ing hammers muscles that don't need nearly that volume, like doing three hundred curls in one workout when you're probably fine doing like a 5th of the volume. There's also a lot of cheat shit in there (while he tells you don't cheat on form), like "just stand on a chair do 20 pull ups!", that was just pointless for me (far better to progress with bar hangs, negatives, etc, IMO). Six days/week us also extreme if you're a n00b.

I've thought about going back and doing it again now that I have a clue of what I'm doing, even if it's not a full 6 days/weeek.... I do think it's a very comprehensive program, if nothing else, and would be interesting to revisit to see if I could keep up now and overload, and see results in a fairly short time.

"Ab Ripper X, You hate it, but you LOVE IT."...hahaha

I did that shit so much i had practically every Tony Horton moment memorized.

....now that i really think about it, that was good shit. Getting the nostalgies right now....

"Most ab routines would be over right now, but not ours!"

Oh god, I can hear that. LMAO

The amount of push ups and pull ups and all the different variations...that shit helped me a lot. Also helped that when i went to work, i'd be hanging off of everything like a goddamn monkey.

Everytime i'd walk into the shop i'd bang out some pullups on the 4-post lift. I had a pull up bar hanging over the doorway to my office. Made a rule that if i walked by it, i had to jump up and bang a few out.

And yeah, Plyometrics was a ****ing BITCH. God...hated Plyo day...

But yeah that shit had you working out 5 days a week + Stretch day, so 6 days total. Guess i just had more time when i was younger.

Kinda funny you mention coming back to it....a couple of years ago i had found my old P90X DVD's (they were ripped copies) and i popped in Chest & Back.

At this point, i had already transitioned into doing traditional lifts. I was using the bench press frequently, doing barbell squats, deadlifts etc.

LMAO So i was thinking, "Pffff, ive been hitting the bench press hard....Im well past this P90X shit....this will be easy"

HA. Nah. Nope. That shit STILL kicked my ass. Aint gonna lie, made me feel kinda bad tbh hahaha.

Pam the Blam!

I've struggled to get back into running after a meniscus surgery a bit over a year ago. Surgery fixed the constant knee pain where I lacked much power and had to go up stairs like an old man. However, there's new pain when I run at the top of my knee. I have zero flexibility, especially my hamstrings, which I think might be a large part of the problem.
I've started stretching this past week starting with some beginner videos off youtube. We'll see how it goes. Maybe one of these days I'll even be able to reach my toes.

That being said, is the P90x stretch video good for beginners or would it be near impossible?

Another nice way to get some balance exercises is while brushing your teeth. The folks at the Mayo Clinic recommend doing heel-toe raises (https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/d...ing-your-teeth )

Instead of heel-toe raises, I just try to balance on one leg for as long as I can, either with the other leg lifted or the other leg in "tree position" (bent with the foot placed on the standing leg).

From what I remember, I want to guess at least ~75% of it would be beginner friendly... I remember a spine stretch that's a little awkward to get into and a frog stretch for your groin that's a bit much.... but a lot of it is pretty basic.

Nah, it's straight forward and there isn't a lot of gymnast shenanigans in there.

IIRC, there were a couple of floor stretches that were awkward, but just skip those if you aren't feeling it. It's a 45 min stretch routine, so you'll get plenty of work in even if you skip ones that you aren't feeling.

When it comes to stretching i think most people don't push their bodies deep enough into the stretch to get a real quality stretch.

I did Yoga for two years in HS (weird, i know, but it was a thing) and my yoga instructor taught me a valuable lesson: That the body can actually stretch further than the limit you seem to think exists.


It's kinda like lifting heavy, right? You'll see a lot of people at the gym who seem to lift UNTIL it becomes challenging, rather than pushing to failure. They don't challenge the body, but rather they stop as soon as they feel the muscle start to get challenged.

Stretching is kinda the same way.

I remember being in class, doing some...whatever Yoga pose, thinking, "Oh yeah, im at the limit. I can't go further. This hurts..."

And then my instructor would come by, grab me and contort me more...i'd be like, "Ok, didn't know my arm and leg can do that...."

I saw some Youtube videos of watching people do x-stretch, but didn't see the original video. If you want it from the source....

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tND...ew?usp=sharing

And Ab Ripper X
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fMX...ew?usp=sharing

(probably goes without saying, but download it because I'm always brushing up on the Drive data cap and will probably delete it in a day or two)

Gottem, thanks.

And hey, what's that weird tentacle porn shit you have in there? And i see you found the video of the chick that got busted doing sex acts with a trout. Niiiiiice.

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We did this kind of stuff in Orangetheory. At first, I had trouble with things like V-ups, and it took a while for me to get the hang of balancing myself and even more time before I could do them properly more than a handful of times. Makes my stomach cringe just thinking about those core workouts.

A lot of those p90x workouts failed at making the thing you're supposed to be working out the limiting factor... and at the time I never really thought about it. My cardio sucked, so often that was the thing keeping me from going to failure... or bad form from doing a million curls, asking pull ups, etc.

And I'm pretty big about that now... not ego lifting and having other muscles take over, but doing what works specific for the targeted muscles.

I did like the core routine and fist pumped the first time I got through all of it including the bonus at the end.

Lol, when I was in HS I once decided to do some ridiculous number of curls. Maybe it was hundreds. Couldn't straighten my arms for a week, lol.

On the same page as you now. I focus on strict form/mechanics, don't hero lift, try to reach failure efficiently and then push to do the work I feel I need to get done, then move on to the next exercise.

Used to average 20+ sets per muscle group, 6-8 sometimes even more exercises, and never felt like I was progressing the way I wanted.

Now I average 9-12 sets total and 4 or 5 exercises per muscle group, and seeing real results/growth basically every month or so.

Serious question, but when's the last time you had a full lipid panel done and was it normal?

I watched this last night and thought he did a really good job of taking what seems like a black and white issue of "good genetics" or "bad genetics" and talking about all the different factors that work or don't work for different people and how genetics plays a role.... some people do great with high volume, others not so much. Some people recover far faster than others, some are genetically inclined to put in more effort. Some people can eat like shit and still put on muscle.

And granted, I never gave p90x long enough to actually work, I'm not sure the high volume thing will ever be a great option for me... especially factoring in age, joint recovery, etc.


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And speaking of volume (but not crazy p90x volume)... I did some initial work in May to un**** my squat that I had practically been ignoring over the past 4 years of consistently working out, but as I started I was only working on them once per week on leg day.

Learned some things about tall people squats, proper stance, ankle mobility... worked through some issues and landed on using a couple plates under my heels to make things more comfortable on deeper squats.

I found the old school Super Squat workout that got me thinking about volume (but not that much), and so I added them to the beginning of each work out, 3 times/week.... same basic idea of adding at the very least 2.5 pounds per side each workout (or so).

Started July 1st with a meager 45lb plate on each side, wanting to take it slow, focus on form, volume, and not ****ing up my lower back or knees or hips or whatever else might fall off.

17 workouts later, I've added on average right at 5lbs/workout since the first one (which I hadn't realized until just now)... sometimes adding as much as 10lbs (between the 1st and 2nd workout) and sometimes going 2 or 3 workouts in a row without adding any weight.

Unceremoniously hit my goal of two plates on each side today and with a 20lb bar, puts things at bodyweight, which maybe puts me at a ~225-230 1RM (and definitely feels like I could add that).... and that's basically where the people who know shit on youtube says you should be after a few years of consistent lifting... granted, it's not perfectly like for like from where I started (fewer reps at the most weight, not ass to grass deep). 44yo Geek Goals. :D

Officially calling my squat un****ed and happy about hitting the goal of doing so in the 6-8 week timeframe that I set (I have a week off coming up, so was trying to hit the goal before then), even if there's still a lot of work to make it look like I actually do leg days, heh.

Nothing fell off.. some hip pain on one side that was a bit of a problem before starting this and think I've pushed myself enough that the week off will do some joints good.

Added volume to side delts a few months ago with good results, un****ed a sad squat... feels like after 4 years I can tinker here and there, as for a long time I just didn’t want to mess around too much with different workouts and stuff.

About a month ago. All was well in range other than T being high as expected. All other hormones well within range.

Total cholesterol 168 triglycerides 68

Nice man. Good to hear!

Had to take 2 weeks off from upper body workouts my wrist was strained. Used wrist wraps tonight felt like I easily added 20 pounds to my lifts.

Also down 5 pounds this month

Did you add lifting gloves to complete your pussy mittens set?

No I wondered why I haven't used wraps along time ago the stability is fantastic

No time to read all posts in this thread so I`ll ask now. Anybody into the cold shower mornings and 3 day fasts? I texted my PMD and his response was, "150 minutes a week of moderate intensity excersizes trounces that torture and will reduce early deaths, heart attacks and strokes and even cancer".

Your thoughts?

Chiefsplanet knows more than doctors.

I agree with the doc, it does sound like torture.