Fitness Freaks

[MZanzi]

LOOOOL@I had dinner at 9pm and woke up still feeling full ....ma disgi dhan baad kucasheesay

[Ibtisam]

^^^Almost disgi daan of chicken and barris- I had to wait for a bit before sleeping because I though if I sleep straight after I will throw up.

[Allamagan]

Fufu & Urban, thanks guys for the cool and insightful tips. I always had these silly excuses & other commitments stopping me from going to gym as I otherwise wanted to. Always stop going to gym any more especially after the first muscle tone :rolleyes: but thanks guys especially Fufu for starting up this thread and am this time more motivated than ever before actually one of my new year res. so looking forward to it. fingers x'ed!!

[MZanzi]

waraada horta what are the symptoms of Slipped Disk ... I hurt my back squatting today I've always been afraid to lift much on squat and deadlift to hurt my back. right now i'm feeling pain on my lower back and hip

[Urban]

The deadlift is my favourite exercise FuFu, but squats are deadly. Has the pain been building up from previous workouts or only after the last lift?

 

Allamagan, all the best brother, have a look at stronglifts.com and see if you like that kind of training.

[MZanzi]

Has the pain been building up from previous workouts or only after the last lift?

i only felt the pain after doing squat this morning but it seems like now i'm getting lil bit better

 

 

if your a big fun of squat and deadlifts read this article it was on FLEX Magazine few months ago

Air…The Secret to Big Squats and Deadlifts, Safely!

When it comes to squats and deadlifts perfect form is a reoccurring theme in almost every article, blog or advice column. It is with good reason proper form is reinforced. Be it powerlifter, bodybuilder or fitness athlete the most free weight anyone will move is during these two exercises. When done properly they provide nearly complete stimulation to almost every muscle fiber in the body. Additionally the synergistic effect of the heavy weight boosts natural growth hormones, which not only builds muscle but improves overall health! That being said the most overlooked key to safe and strong squats and deadlifts has nothing to do with form and everything to do with the air we breathe.

A common practice among lifters is to breathe out when exerting under the strain of heavy wieght, and normally this is the correct technique for most exercises. However, it is this very practice that weakens the core and sets up the lifter for a guaranteed injury. For those waiting for the secret to big squats and deadlifts here it is…never breath out on the upward or downward movement of any squat or deadlift.

Why you ask? Think of it this way. Take an empty plastic bottle and tighten the cap. Now crush it or try to. Go ahead squeeze with all of your might. In fact you can even run over a small half liter soda or water bottle with a car and it normally won’t break or pop. Now take the cap off. Crushes easy doesn’t it? The same thing happens to you. Breath out hard and your internal pressure drops to nearly nothing. All of that stress goes to the only thing left holding you up…the spine and its disk and the supportive muscles in your back. Crush an open bottle and it crumples. The stress from being crushed causes a sharp deformation in the first weak spot to go. The fear that a squat bar will do the same and crush a lifter is one of the primary reasons many people avoid doing the squat!

Fear no more and get back under the bar or start pulling it from the ground! Our bodies act exactly like the closed bottle when it is under stress. So long as you hold that air, the core stays very strong and stable. For those physics majors this is a Boyles law being applied to a real world application. By holding the air in your lungs the internal pressure is distributed equally in all directions, which means throughout your entire core and not just your back. Now your spine and all those erector muscles aren’t doing all the work. The whole body is increasing core stability dramatically!

Not only does holding your breath take stress off of the spine it also builds your abs. Now let’s switch to a balloon analogy. Hold a balloon tightly around the middle with your hands and it can handle several pounds of weight without popping. Release it and the weight will crush the balloon and it pops. In the case of squats and deadlifts your abs are just like your hands around a balloon. They must resist the outward force cause by the internal pressure from the weight you are bearing. The more weight you support, the higher the internal pressure and resultantly the more your abs must work and get stronger. All of which depends on your proper control of air under stress.

Now let’s put this into practice. First, don’t take a giant breath. It should be just enough to keep your core solid. Too little air and you can’t apply enough pressure to your core and it becomes unstable. Too much air and you will find it hard to hold the air in, and it will be very uncomfortable to move through the lower portion of the movement if not impossible. To perform the squat hold your air through the entire down and up portion of the movement. Take a fresh breath at the top of every rep. Then repeat the cycle for every single rep. When doing the deadlift hold the air in when you start the lift until you are upright. You can take a breath at the top, but before returning the bar hold the air in again. Once the bar has returned to the floor take in your next breath and repeat the cycle for every rep. Most deadlift injuries occur during the downward movement as many lifters relax their control or purposely drop the bar. With breath control being the centerpiece to a safe and effective lift it is absolutely important you control the lifts every single rep!

In using strict breath control you will find your rep rate will decrease moderately. This is a result of having to breath in and out only during certain points of the lift movement. However this is an added benefit as it will increase your form awareness, and your overall lifting technique will be enhanced synergistically. Also remember…although breath control is key to the success of these lifts, there are several other aspects that will enhance the squat and deadlift performance and safety. More to come on those pointers in my next secrets to powerlifting success article!

 

Fear not the bar and get out there and starting using the two most important muscle building lifts available to any trainer. Just remember that air does a lot more for you than just provide oxygen!

[Khayr]

I know that when I had a bulging disk issue earlier this year, I went to physio and they told me to do lay off weights. I was told to lay my hips flat on the floor (stomach down) and left up (like a pushup) but only the top half of my body (with hips on the floor). Repetition of that helped me to recover. The wrong thing I did before physio, was hyperextensions and lower back workouts (strengthing the core to solve my problem - right?). Well, I was wrong on that one.

[sheherazade]

Originally posted by *Ibtisam:

So I started the fitness freak diet on Sunday.

 

Woke up late, had lunch for Barris iyo goat food (AKA salad) and juice at 2pm

 

5pm I was starving and craving sugar so I had black tea with ginger and sugar.

 

7pm: Yogurt

 

8pm: I was starving so I had a glass of diet coke, glass of juice, handful of dry crunch nut flakes.

 

10pm; Glass of water.

 

Monday morning, my stomach woke me up at 7am. I had a yogurt, then went for a jog which last for 5mins (it was freezing) but I had to go shop anyway so jogged there and back (does carrying shopping and running like weight lifting

 

8am I was still hunger- so on the train I had Oat Clusters with bio Yogurt and strawberries. (it said 13% of GDA)

 

10am I had almond croissants, cup of tea and bottle of volvic flavoured water.

 

I have headach which I blame on lack of sugar and cake. Don't know what I will have for lunch either.

I blow in the wind,lol?

 

Be careful of hidden sugar- look at how much sugar is in that oat clusters concoction and the yoghurt(if it is flavoured it has sugar in it). 4.2 grams of sugar equals a teaspoon.

 

Looked it up, it has about 3 teaspoons of sugar in it.

 

A Starbucks almond croissant(not that you frequent Sbucks) apparently has 16g of sugar- about 4 teaspoons. If you had more than one, you could have easily had 8 teaspoons of sugar. Crunchy nut flakes sheekadiisa daa.

 

More water, less hidden sugar, eat more greens and fruit. Ditch juice. You are still feeding your sugar habit with juice throughout the day despite the withdrawal and if it's not pure juice then it's got added sugar to boot. Snack on nuts, they kill cravings- slowly but instant gratification goes out the window when you reduce your sugar intake.

 

Woohoo at the pak choi lol- there's some in my fridge. It's an Asian cabbage.

[Fabregas_Bruv]

 

[hodman]

Originally posted by Haala:

p.s. if yr still in school..it comes part of ur tuition. So nothing should stop you from going to gym...apart from laziness

Qaxis.com Haala cut it out n stop describing me

My biggest challenge is how to go back to working out after a 3 year gap and a sugar and junk food habit along the way? Experts?

 

Ibti all i can say is you give me a run for my money where sweets are concerned

[hodman]

walee the Afghans are hilarious anigaba way iga daran yihiin

[Chocolate and Honey]

Lol! Hodman. Qarxis iyo nus

Hodman, just start hun.

[hodman]

C & H I keep putting it off

[Chocolate and Honey]

lol

well start today hun.

10 minutes and before you know it you're on it! Dont u have a treadmill?

[hodman]

I have a treadmill dat doubles as a coat rack most of the time

Ur right I will IA start with 10 minutes today

Thanks