Blonde will make you STRONG

[EvilPie]

Lol. Literally two minutes on t'internet shows what a pile of shit that YouTube vid is.

Thought it was a bit strange when the guy said "Something had a significant impact on........" Why "something"? Why not Fenugreek?

Well my two minute search found this article from Dr Axe whoever that is.... https://draxe.com/fenugreek/

I've not read the whole thing but "3.5 grams of creatine and 900 milligrams of fenugreek extract" stands out quite nicely.

So combined with 3.5g of creatine it can improve your leg press. Now that I can buy.

[EvilPie]

Whilst the claim about improving leg press is clearly bollocks that doesn't mean this wouldn't be a valuable addition to anybody's daily nutrition.

It's about 25% protein and also clearly has plenty of benefits.

It's just the ridiculous claims that make it seem laughable and almost make you want to dismiss it through no fault of fenugreek but the fault of some numpty picking bits out of studies to make it seem something that it isn't.

The guy's a twat.

[Steve Swift]

Hi Guys,

Can you help,

A couple of months ago i woke up in the early hrs with severe cramp in both calfs, this had never happened before and has never happened again since.

When i started the run leg of my triathalon within 300m of starting i felt the cramp coming in both calfs and thought i was going to have to pull out, luckily it cleared within a few minutes.

I did the parkrun this sunday and after 600m i could feel the twinge of the cramp coming on but only on my left leg, i hoped to run it off, after another 100m it was excruciating, i tried to continue but had to stop. I massaged it and hobbled on hoping it would clear but it never did.

Aftersome 36 hrs it is starting to wear of but is still painful. Please note i was fully warmed up for this race as i got there half an hr early to do just that.

The research i have done point to, over training, not guilty, poor warm up, not guilty, lack of hydration, guilty, salt/sodium  deficiency, guilty i guess.

Any ideas of how to tackle this ?

Cheers

Steve

[iRaise]

I absolutely despise when people try to bring nutrition into cancer.

Something that is so devastating and often out of peoples control. Very few things make me really angry, but that infuriates me beyond belief. It is not only ridiculously stupid, but incredibly dangerous. Chemo kills cancer, not kale. Rich can back up my feelings with this as I ranted to him about it when we went to a seminar together.

Not to say a heathy diet doesn't have a huge role to play for people who do have life threatening conditions, but to try to make any correlation that is can cure/prevent/inhibit cancer is simply outrageous.

But going on the actual study, the fact he blanks a bit out is a little bit worrying. And reading the link Matt posted where he lists the benefits, thats basically just listing why everyone should eat healthy food, not just one in particular.

The fact he pictures himself with Dr Oz on his website should say everything you need to know Dr Oz being the biggest sell out I have ever encountered when it comes to peoples health.

And Micheal Phelps thinks cupping works.....

[EvilPie]

Week 1 figures:
Squat - 100kg (2)
DL - 120kg (3)
Bench - 120kg (4)
OHP - 50kg (5)
Total - 390kg

Week 2 figures:
Squat - 100kg (3)
DL - 140kg (1)
Bench - 120kg (4)
OHP - 60kg (7)
Total - 420kg

As expected it's the deadlift where I'm seeing the quick 'easy' gains. Good week overall despite a little injury towards the end.
 

[EvilPie]

So both benches were occupied this morning which meant incline bench for a change. Went up to 100kg for 4 with a bit left in the tank.

Bent over row were stronger than normal at 80kg for 5 whilst feeling very stable. Deadlifts starting to kick in there maybe?.....

OHP up to 65kg but only 2 reps and the second one was super tough. This was following 60kg x 6 so I was pretty fatigued at the lockout phase. I'm pleased that it was the lockout that failed though and I wasn't feeling like I might fall over at any point. Definitely seeing some core improvements for these.

3 x 6 chins to finish of a pretty good session

[EvilPie]

Decent chest work out (my weak area) yesterday.  Did 3 x sets of 10 without a spot of 34kg flat and 30kg incline dumbbells.  Given i can do these why can i only flat bench 70kg and incline 55kg with an olympic bar (loose not on a smith machine and weight stated includes the weight of the bar just for clarity) and struggle to get 10 reps without a spot?  Surely dumbbells should be tougher as you have to balance them etc etc.  Is this ratio of weights normal between the barbell and dumbbells?

What order do you do everything in? If you're doing your DB press first then moving on to bench that could explain quite a bit.

How's your bench set up? Do you arch? Do you make sure you pinch your shoulders together to tighten your upper back? Are you squeezing the bar?

Another thing I'd ask is are you giving it all you've got? 3 x 10 at 34kg suggests you've got something left in the tank somewhere on your DB so are you doing the same with bench? What would happen if you just stick 80kg on the bar? Will you die from strangulation or will you just sling the bar away from you? I reckon it's probably the latter.

There will be a few technical reasons for the difference but I think a lot of your problem is in your head. You just think you're shit at chest the same as I thought I was shit at deadlift. Get over that mental block and I reckon you'll be good for 90kg+ before too long. If it makes you feel better I used to DB press 50kg for 12 in my beast days and at the same time I was only benching 100kg so similar proportions. That was 100% in my head because I was strong as f**k but even sticking an extra 5kg each side would destroy me. Weird.

I vary the rotation each chest work out (dumbbells first one week, barbell the other week) so that isn't the reason.  I don't arch my back at all and do proper full deep reps all the way to the chest with strict form on both versions.  If i stuck 80kg on the bar i reckon i would be able to do 2 reps max.  I will try it next week just to see!  It is really annoying to the point that i am considering stopping using the barbell and just do more dumbbell sets!

Arching added quite a bit to my bench so might be worth a try. It definitely puts you in a much stronger position and helps to provide a really solid base to push from.

If you really want to improve your bench let me know and I'll give you a bit of a routine that has worked for me. You'll be doing a lot of press ups though so if you don't fancy those then bale out now.

[Marky147]

Is it something you could wear around the elbow, to mainly cover the joint on the inside of your arm?

If so, could you send me the link for that please, mate.

I've not been training long, but I feel like a massive fish hearing all these new excercises, lol.

It makes me feel a little better that someone who's been training 1/2 a century like you have, doesn't know them, Dean

looks like they make one for the elbow.. in fact think they do it for most body bits

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004OWNHMS/ref=pd_sim_200_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PV7GRBGZMTC5WDFRM45Q

Bought myself one of the elbow ones the other day.

First impressions are that it's absolutely fantastic as long as you ignore the bit in the instructions about sticking it in the fridge and opt for the freezer instead.

Might not be any use to you Mark as it doesn't apply any cold on the inside of the elbow. I'm assuming by inside you mean the bendy bit at the bottom of your bicep?

It covers the triceps really well and also both sides of the forearm but if you hold your arm out straight in front of you with your palm facing up it doesn't touch any of the stuff that's facing the ceiling.

I really like the compression part of it. You can pump it up so that it almost feels like you're wearing a cast.

Great buy.

 Just spotted this now. Cheers Matt.

It's settled down a bit as I said last week, but I'll mention it to my physio next time i'm up at the hospital, and see if he has anything he recommends.

[iRaise]

Legs today.

4x8 Squats 95kg and was touuuuugh. Loved my depth, but didn't have enough control.

5x8 Leg Press 210, thought I was going to cry, but found the reps.

Today took about 10-15mins longer than normal so think strength was down a touch, and energy levels. Ran out of cake, that's all I am saying.

[iRaise]

4x4 Bench at 87.5.

Still pretty ginger with it being only the second week back into it. But enjoying it. DB presses for as well so getting some volume back into the pressing after a few months of flyes.

[EvilPie]

I was absolutely knackered this morning so decided to take the day off especially as it was deadlift / squats day. Should be back on it tomorrow trying to put the week back in some kind of order.

I think the target needs to be to get Harvey and Arby benching 100kg on our test day and me deadlifting 180kg.

I reckon with a few tips either way and a bit of encouragement we could get somewhere close.

[arbboy]

Out of action currently on all legs and back work from a slight back strain from deadlifting last week.  Thought it was just soreness after workout but still here after the weekend.  Feels like a slight muscle tear in the right side of the mid to lower back.  Managed to do a full chest/bicep work out this morning without any pain during exercises but some pain actually getting into position on the benches for the lifts!  Going to physio tomorrow to get it checked out.  Fingers crossed.  Managed to bench 75kg flat bench today for 6 reps btw without really going flat out given my back. 

[EvilPie]

Out of action currently on all legs and back work from a slight back strain from deadlifting last week.  Thought it was just soreness after workout but still here after the weekend.  Feels like a slight muscle tear in the right side of the mid to lower back.  Managed to do a full chest/bicep work out this morning without any pain during exercises but some pain actually getting into position on the benches for the lifts!  Going to physio tomorrow to get it checked out.  Fingers crossed.  Managed to bench 75kg flat bench today for 6 reps btw without really going flat out given my back. 

I'm going to go for glute tear or possibly hip flexor. From what I now understand from lots of physio on various ailments it's very rarely the place you feel the pain that is the problem, it's usually a referred pain.

Deadlift puts lots of strain on your glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors if you aren't flexible. If you popped your back from deadlifting I doubt you'd be walking never mind training so it's almost definitely something else.

Given that your job probably involves lots of sitting your posterior chain is probably quite weak. You do heavy deadlifts but it's possible you don't have the foundation to be doing them yet given the length of your lay off from your big training days. I reckon your back is writing cheques your core, glutes and hamstrings can't cash.

I'm prepared to be wrong but I'm sticking with my diagnosis.

I'm just basing this on myself by the way, no offence intended

[iRaise]

I was absolutely knackered this morning so decided to take the day off especially as it was deadlift / squats day. Should be back on it tomorrow trying to put the week back in some kind of order.

I think the target needs to be to get Harvey and Arby benching 100kg on our test day and me deadlifting 180kg.

I reckon with a few tips either way and a bit of encouragement we could get somewhere close.

If I can get 110 I would be really, really pleased. I last got 110 when I was 105kg myself. So to get it now would be amazing. Would also love a 180 DL at the min.

[EvilPie]

I was absolutely knackered this morning so decided to take the day off especially as it was deadlift / squats day. Should be back on it tomorrow trying to put the week back in some kind of order.

I think the target needs to be to get Harvey and Arby benching 100kg on our test day and me deadlifting 180kg.

I reckon with a few tips either way and a bit of encouragement we could get somewhere close.

If I can get 110 I would be really, really pleased. I last got 110 when I was 105kg myself. So to get it now would be amazing. Would also love a 180 DL at the min.

Didn't realise you've been as heavy as 105kg. Didn't you say you were 88kg now? That's some difference!

105kg was always about my favourite weight in my big training days but I was really lean with it. Assume you were carrying quite a bit of 'bulk' to have dropped so much off?

What was your deadlift and squat at 105kg?