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Veteran Thread Training Tips

Veteran Discussion
Training Tip No59
It Takes Time To Get Use To Changes
Something as simple as the gaining weight can be more of a struggle than you'd think. Let's say you're lucky enough to have gained as much as 10lbs on a diet and PED cycle. Take it from me sticking ten pounds on your body is something you'll notice very quickly. Even a pound a week over the length of a cycle will affect you.

From experience I can state it's taken me around 9-12 weeks to become fully comfortable with new gains I made over the years. From feeling the weight on joints to the effect on cardio and conditioning.

Bare this in mind. It's why you see 'bulks' followed by 'cuts' as much as any other reasons
 
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Training Tip No60
Is It Really Water Retention?
This is one of those, as per a tip before, 'be honest with yourself' tips. Every so often we get a post or two from someone asking for help with water retention. Now there are, of course, members with genuine issues with water retention due to allergies, reactions with food and, of course, medical problems.

But all too often that's not what we're dealing with. Member X (in this example) has convinced themselves that they ought to be lean. They've trained, they've dieted and, as is often the case on the forums, used this or that to aid their journey. So they find it hard to believe that instead of the lean mean body women desire and men envy they were aiming for they, instead, don't. Rather than the previously mentioned honesty that's required - which would lead them to admit they aren't lean and might, actually, be fat (or at least a little fatter than desired) they will say they are 'bloated' or, as per the post title, 'I'm holding water'.

I'm gonna say no. No you aren't holding water. You're, if I'm being kind, a little more fatter than you'd like to be. In fact, if you think about it, there's little point in asking for help with water retention/bloat/what-have-you. After all if it IS fat as I say it is you'll be getting advice for something else entirely.

Above all and at all times - be honest with yourself!
 
Training Tip No61
Diet And Supps Changed From Training days and Rest Days?
So it's not uncommon to get posts from guys reasonably new to training. So far, so normal right. So one question we get asked is 'do I take as much protein/creatine/vitamins (or indeed a bunch of food macros and commonly used supps - but the three I've mentioned are typical) on my days off as I do on my gym days.

The simple answer is yes. The person asking is under the impression that their requirements differ on training days vs non-training days. But those of us who've done this for a while know only too well that you're grow and recover on those rest days. And, in reality, from a weightlifting/weight training/body building point of view it's extremely unlikely that your calorific and or nutritional requirements differ that much. I seem to recall that the average trainee uses around 400kcals a gym session. That's 100g's of carbs. Say half a fist full. No more than a couple of energy drinks.

Now think of how, on the off days, you can have DOMS (muscle soreness). If anything it's arguable that you'd need MORE food (inc protein) on those days . There's also a sense, on occasion, of some taking the short view. As in 'this is what I do on this day'. Versus the truth that it's what you do EVERY day be that rest and training days. And every week, every month and all year. It's your overall intake over the long periods of time that add up. It doesn't mean you have to have precisely the same amounts every single day (you're not machines) but they do need to average out the same.

So yes it's 5g of creatine every day, it's your daily requirements in protein and so on every day.
 
Training Tip No62
We All Want Different Things
Some years ago when I first got half serious at doing what it is I do I recall thinking that everyone who came to the gym needed to be as full on as I thought I was. It took a while for me to appreciate that even those who just come to the gym are a level above those (the majority) who don't.

It's also worth mentioning that, among those that do go, we don't all want to be huge, strong or whatever. Some just want to be fit (or fitter) or lose weight or even just recover from injuries and operations. I've used, with their permission, great examples of our local gym members who turned their lives around. One, Dai Lew, went from 280lbs at about 5'8 to 140lbs. what made it even more impressive was he just upped and changed what he was doing one day on almost pure willpower. You literally wouldn't think the before photo I saws was the same person. Another, a great club singer, is Toyah who, over several months, dropped 6 stones (14lbs=1stone - so 84lbs).

The tip is give some due to those making an effort even if they aren't on your level. You never know you might be inspiring them.
 
Training Tip No63
Biology, Chemistry And Logic Vs Feeling
So what do we see all too often on any roid info forum. One is 'I've got this - how can I make a cycle from it' (no mention of what they want to achieve) or 'Ive started with X and Y but I'm thinking of adding Z'.

Think about this for a minute. You can find out about a drugs half live, the optimal amount, it's ester and so on. You can look at other peoples experiences and common cycles used. So 99% of cycles are aimed at helping with getting lean or leaner, adding more muscle or gaining strength. So why would you post a question which seems to suggest you found a bunch of left over steroids in your stash and fancy using them? Again with zero sense of an aim of what you want? And while ALL steroids work in combination with diets (obviously) some are preferred for losing fat, gaining muscle or strength as previously mentioned.

Then there's the one where, having I hope done a TON of research to get everything just so you get the post where you decide to add something in. Unlike a doc looking for a cure and trying different drugs and doses your wants are fairly simple. Gaining muscle isn't, after all, a disease. I suspect that all too often is less the anabolic response users are after but more a sense or a feeling of being on. We know a good number of users can honestly claim to 'feel on' when using high levels of test. But think about it - it doesn't matter what you feel like vs getting the actual results of using the steroids. Do you need to 'feel hench' or do you want to add 10-pounds of muscle?

For me this works very simply. If I want to be able to rep out 200-kilos on a thick bar then that's the aim. Any cycle I use must aid me in my getting to that target. I don't need to 'feel strong' vs actually being so. And especially on the day of a competition. The feeling strong is merely a nice added bonus.
 
Training Tip No64
Are You Taking What You Think You Are?
So it's not at all uncommon to have guys come online and ask abut this or that PED that they're taking and any side effects etc etc. The truth of the matter is we cannot be 100% accurate in our reply because the person asking rarely, if ever, tests their product. So how can you know what to say to help them if they themselves don't know if the Sus they thought they'd brought and injected IS Sus?

So the tip - test test and test again. As it currently stands a home test product for PEDs is limited to a fairly simple 'yes it has X in it'. But better that than nothing.
 
Training Tip No65
Stop Talking In Ml's
Some one of the more 'challenged' (shall we say) gym members and I were chatting between sets today. He mentioned feeling 'off' and being on gear. I, as is my want, asked 'how much'. He says 'well I've taken 8 and a half mil this week'. I click the old mental calculator on and a quick tally came out at 2.4g / 2400mg plus (based on 300mg a ml for test and ity's bound to be a test of some form). I state that my heaviest cycle was not even 3ml.

The tip is I think more than a few use ml (milliliters) over mg (milligrams) - esp here in the UK - cos it's a smaller number but then make the mistake of over doing doing their MG intake. Don't. Or, as per the member, you'll end up feeling like battered dog poo and forgetting / mistaking as to the why.
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip No65
Stop Talking In Ml's
Some one of the more 'challenged' (shall we say) gym members and I were chatting between sets today. He mentioned feeling 'off' and being on gear. I, as is my want, asked 'how much'. He says 'well I've taken 8 and a half mil this week'. I click the old mental calculator on and a quick tally came out at 2.4g / 2400mg plus (based on 300mg a ml for test and ity's bound to be a test of some form). I state that my heaviest cycle was not even 3ml.

The tip is I think more than a few use ml (milliliters) over mg (milligrams) - esp here in the UK - cos it's a smaller number but then make the mistake of over doing doing their MG intake. Don't. Or, as per the member, you'll end up feeling like battered dog poo and forgetting / mistaking as to the why.
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How old is he Mobster? I bet his cruise is like 400mg of test a week
 
E32038 said:
How old is he Mobster? I bet his cruise is like 400mg of test a week
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40+. Suffers from anxiety issues not helped by his amphetamine use (for years). After he left we spent some time telling each other stories about how daft he was (one incs him arguing about which was heavier... a ton of bricks or a tron of feathers - yes for real)
 
Training Tip No66
When The Grind Comes
We've all been there right? Hard into a comp prep, diet, mass gain (pick one) and boy oh boy all you wanna do is say f**k this... when's my next holiday. I know I've been there. First order of the day is to remind yourself why you are this crazy. Me - it's cos I wanna win, kick ass and get me some more records. Second - if this sh*t was easy every mo-fo would do it... and they don't. Finally, no matter how hard it is I ain't dead yet. All I gotta do one...more...rep. Put one step in front of another. Just... keep...going.

And that's it. Think what we do is hard? It ain't. Go read yourself some survival stories. There are some seriously crazy ass people out there who can show you precisely what human beings are capable of.
 
Mobster said:
40+. Suffers from anxiety issues not helped by his amphetamine use (for years). After he left we spent some time telling each other stories about how daft he was (one incs him arguing about which was heavier... a ton of bricks or a tron of feathers - yes for real)
Click to expand...

He sounds wonderful. Sounds like he would love NW Kentucky, OH, anything north of Boston, most of the midwest, and Seattle. All places that love their amphetamines. Lol
 
E32038 said:
He sounds wonderful. Sounds like he would love NW Kentucky, OH, anything north of Boston, most of the midwest, and Seattle. All places that love their amphetamines. Lol
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Oh, what the hell, Americans in general love their amphetamines simply because a "go fast" drug has "America" written all over it, which serves to explian the enormous popularity of those asinine "energy drinks."
 
E32038 said:
He sounds wonderful. Sounds like he would love NW Kentucky, OH, anything north of Boston, most of the midwest, and Seattle. All places that love their amphetamines. Lol
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I think him and his GF have, if only a little, calmed down their use. She looked wrecked a few months back and seems a little healthier right now. Like a lot of reccy users going to the gym keeps them out of trouble
 
Training Tip No67
Allow For Your Age
Getting old comes to most of us. More than a few members seem to forget to allow for differing results dependent on how old they are. There will, of course, be those that have genes which allow for seemingly great results no matter how old they are. But let's deal with the average chap.

It's normal to get great results from around age 30 until age 40. After that it'll slow down. Gains will be far more difficult and so on. So don't think a drug will cause miracles to happen if you're older than that 28 year older user you know. It is what it is.
 
Training Tip No68
Consider All Aspects
So get asked a LOT of questions on the various aspects of TRT and sports performance. One issue I see a LOT is guys neglecting to see the full picture for themselves.

Let's Use TRT as an example. So you're a 40+ male and you're not feeling quite the pep you used to. Which is normal to be fair. But let's say you've had your blood tested and it's not even close to what a 40+ should be. maybe it's wayyyy down. So you think 'maybe I ought to give this TRT a go' and you come on here asking for advice.

But, all Sherlock Holmes like and after a series of questions, we eventually figure out (pick as many as you like) you:

1) Eat very poorly.
2) Are way more fat than you think
3) Don't get either the hours or the quality of sleep you might wish to
4) Stress like a mofo or have a LOT of stress in your life.
5) Are on meds
6) Have a pre-exisiting medical condition.

I'm sure there are others we could add

Now all of the above can and do have an effect on either your 'pep' (libido and sense of well being) as well as your actual tested testosterone levels. Heck, some can be manipulated to give a false negative so you can get a script for test. Now I might ask what's the point of you going on TRT if you don't both fix these issues and don't consider them or bother mentioning them when you ask for advice. It's easy enough to get our advice but it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to fix these issues. Arguably you must KNOW if you're tired, fat and or stressed and T levels or not surely fixing them will make you feel better.
 
Training Tip No69
Being a rep/pro/ambassador
So I have been and still am in the fortunate position of having been paid for what my training has achieved. I've been asked to post logs on forums and or act as a 'grip expert'. I've modded on others (three right now). I've 'repped' for another supplement company after we wound mine up. In fact at one point I repped for two - getting the eqv of $400 a month in goodies (supps and training kit). I also enjoyed working at expos and got paid well (certainly more than the day job) on top of my hotel, food and expenses. I also used to get sent grip toys to play with, review and so on. Finally, when I edited and published my little magazine that stuff went crazy.

Now there's a TON of guys and gals who'd like to do this. heck, even in my niche of grip I'm gonna say there's a few guys who could have done what I did as well. Back when I ran my own supps company I got asked if I'd sponsor athletes. We rarely did. he issue was (and where the tip comes in) is most are shit at representing etc. Some asked if they could 'get free stuff and I'll wear your t-shirt in the gym'. I get free clothes from my local gym now.

Listen up. If you ain't won f'all it's unlikely you'll get sponsored. Even if you have you need to do more than just 'wear the shirt'. Be grateful. Give a little more than they ask for. Don't spam like a bitch - that gets annoying real quick. Think and act like a pro.

A quick example: so the gym had restocked with some new clothing I had my Nikon with me so took some nice photos. I loaded them to the gym's page and hash tagged. We'd sold five by the time I left and ten over night and two more when I came back in. All from one post. That's about 150-160 bucks worth sold cos I posted some photos on the gyms page. It took me 5 minutes. They look after me - I look after them
 
Training Tip No70
Cycle Sense
There seems to be kinds of steroid cycles which make me raise an eyebrow. I'm sure there's more but these two stand out today.

1) The member ask if x, y and z makes a good cycle. But says little or nothing about what the aim of the cycle is (excuse me for not knowing without asking). Nor do they tell you anything and I mean ANYTHING about them self. Not their age, weight, body fat or experience. They might be 12 and 300lbs for all we know.

2) The up, down and sideways cycle. Either front loaded, end loaded, middle loaded... whatever. In someones mind somewhere there's a kind of logic. But think about it - if this worked, even at a low level, our bodies would work the same way. I don't care if you found it on another forum and the fella proclaimed him self an expert. All that matters is results right? So ask them 'where's the extra muscle?' (row whatever it was meant to do). If front loading works - show me the results. Did the user gain another pound over the simpler approach?? I've yet to see a reply which says yes. I've said as much about blasting and cruising.
 
Training Tip No71
Buyer Beware
So today's threads include a really rather bizarre accusation on a scam. The problem with using PED's is that with their legal status being what it is, especially in the US, the issue of getting what you paid for is rife with problems.

The first and most obvious is that we rely on trust that the items we get are close to, if not 100%, legit. As in they are what they say on the label. So if I buy 100 x 10mg dbol I want 100 x 10mg dbol. But, often enough for it to be a concern, we see low count numbers (say 95) and under dosed pills (5mgs not 10mgs). This is very true of liquid products such as amps and vials of steroids.

Then we get into labs being full on when they set out - which is great for building a reputation - but which then allows the standards to fall. Getting products tested is ok but you'd needs to do it both randomly and regularly and not just at one lab but a whole bunch.

Another issue is a lab or seller sponsoring, via ads, forums and the like. It's very common for one lab, on one forum, to knock rivals who sponsor another forum. You'll have members, and yes, users with great experiences muddy the water further.

These problems and more all make it real hard to buy PED's. It's not like street corner buying of drugs but some days it sure feels like it.
 
Training Tip No72 + 73
You don't need to cycle Creatine and it really doesn't matter what time you take it
Both of these can be covered by one reply. If, as per a few minutes research will evidently show you, you realize that Creatine is- in fact - present in a human body regardless of it being in the form of and used as a supplement, then these two thoughts are kinda silly.

To save you looking it up: The average chap has 120g stored in his muscle cells even if he doesn't use a creatine supplement. It is also present in dark meats (so beef for example). Taking it as a supplement just tops it up. Therefore cycling off only takes you back to that 120g. In other words it's still there, if in a lower amount, when you go 'off. The same logic applies to any thought as to the 'best time'. Again - if it's already present having a standard 5g scoop doesn't suddenly boost your workout (siome thinking of it as a pre-workout type ingredient).

In both cases being 'topped up' (using it regularly) will have some overall effect as per a 100+ studies.
 
I read it's best to take creatine at night due to it slowing your metabolism. That made no sense to me.
 
Training Tip No74
The Juice Cleanse Scam
Waste of time. Juices don't 'cleanse'. There's some good to be gained from drinking healthy juices for sure. Even from having a few days off eating crap food. But thinking that something you could make yourself (so no need to pay well over the odds for 'special juices') somehow 'cleans' you is a sack of BS.

Put it this way - what are you cleaning yourself of? Twenty years of smoking? Five years of a glass of wine every night? Three decades of fatty foods? Yeah... three days of drinking fruit juices will sort that... not.

Tip
Don't waste your money. Try just having a LOT less crap food, drinking less and don't smoke to begin with. Then throw in a little healthy juice now and again (home made).
 
Training Tip No75
Creatine and Bloating
This seems to come up every so often. Guys will state that they don't like Creatine cos 'it bloats me'. Now by bloat we have two ways to think of. One is stomach bloat- meaning like it's caused a digestive issue - one which causes them to feel bloated. The other is a softening layer of water beneath the skin.

Stomach Bloat
This can in my opinion, only happen in one of three ways.
* The most obvious is USING TOO FKIN MUCH. Five grams is more than enough for 99.99% of us - me included at my current 287lbs. Unless you're a crazy lean 350lbs five grams will suffice.
* Tipping a scoop full into your mouth as opposed to taking it in a glass of water (more so the case with the powder than the pills). Even with pills drink a glass full (150-200ml). Otherwise, by its very action it'll pull water from the gut. See Greg Valentino's many, many references to Creatine shits (he was also just putting it in his mouth)
* All the extra stuff in some brands. Ergo you're not reacting to Creatine but any number of additives a brand included

The other kind
In every case when I've seen it posted and I've asked (and managed to get a reply) those that said they had the watery version were, it seemed, very lean. As in sub 10% or better levels of bodyfat. Even then I never saw photographs or had them properly measure there skinfold thickness and so on.

I suspect it's as often what they think they see vs what is actually there. Think about how creatine works in the body. Now see how that might apply to the skin, the connective tissue and the (hopefully small) layer of fat between them and the muscle. It doesn't, for me and right now, add up. Now we know that some skin creams (aka 'serums') include creatine. They do this because it'll hold moisture onto the surface. But even then it won't cause bloat. It'll just do, or should, what they want all such creams to do.

So, for me, unless everything else is 100% controlled and you can show me before and after photos as proof I'll take this kind of bloat with a pinch of salt.
 
Training Tip No76
Watch Your Knees!
Have you ever seen neophytes lifting? Be they a skinny young fella or a pretty young girl what will occasionally see when they do leg work looks like an X shape. Feet out, knees in, then thighs back out.

Take it from me - that way fucked knees lay. And, as someone who's the other side of 50 years old I knows there's a TON of ex-competitors with knackered joints. The shoulder, the elbow and most certainly the knees.

So watch your form and look after the joints
 
Training Tip No77
Vanity, Hair and Drugs
So we get about 1 post a week, occasionally more, with guys (it's ALWAYS guys) worrying about the various drugs they take and their hairline. Now given 90% of roid users are taking the said drugs for reasons of vanity (their appearance vs their sporting abilities) I KIND OF get how they might be worried about their hair. But as the side effects of most PED's are well known (and if you don't know you bloody well ought to) and include issues with potential hair loss why take them? There are drugs which help prevent hair loss but we've seen how all too often they come with greater side effects than roids.

To me this is a simple equation. If I suffered with issues like MPB (Male pattern baldness) and then decide to use roids then it's a simple A+B=C. C being 'kiss that hair goodbye'. So just shave it. Or stop fretting. Which is more important? Muscles or hair?
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip No53
Freeweights vs Anything Else
As I've been training almost 4 decades (39 years as of my birthday a week or so ago) and as I've an interest in the history of what we call the Iron Game I can say I've not only personally witnessed some trends but am aware of others historically speaking. So all that means I'm well aware of differing designs in dumbbells, how some equipment came to be and even how some kit came around more than once (the ab wheel has been redesigned and reintroduced several times since the late 1800's). However, if you go right back you can find evidence of wooden and stone dumbbells being used by the ancient Greeks. Go forward a few thousand years and here we are still using free weights as a barbell or a dumbbell.

The question becomes why? So... cos it works. In he case of a LOT of equipment often they were designed to mimic free weights. Occasionally they were (it was suggested this was the case with the original Nautilus kit) created to remove some of the faults of freeweights. However, all in all the sheer instability and variation, is what make freeweights so useful. Let's use a simple comparison.

So my out and out best 1 rep max on a barbell for bench press is 190-kilos or 418lbs. On different kinds of leverage machines I've done as much as 7 x 20-kilo or 140-kilo (308lbs) a side for reps (around the same time as that 190kg bench mentioned above). That's a 90kg or 198lbs difference!! FOR REPS! So why?

The 140 a side effort was done in what amounted to a slight decline bench position (10-15 degrees I think). That's optimal for max efforts. The other BIG difference is the instability. I didn't have to pull the bar back or forward. The machine also allowed me to start wide but finish narrow (so more tricep and that suits me) a LOT.

All that said I would bet a few bucks of mine vs yours that pretty much any pro you care to mention build nigh on all their muscle prior to them winning their pro cards. That, somewhat sensibly, they then switch to not risking injury etc by being seeing to use machines (see Phil Heath by way of example) does make sense. All that muscle was built by having to work harder using freeweights (all things being equal).

For the newbies: in the long run all those crazy ass bits of kit you can install in your home gym will be poor compared a power rack, adjustable bench and bar + weights. Forget the bowflex.
Click to expand...

But...but...but...Phil Heath said he only uses machines.
 
Mobster said:
Now yes. But listen to the post 2018 Olympia interviews he's done recently. He did freeweights when he played college basketball
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Cybex bench I can rep 4 plates per side right now today...flat bench my max 5 reps weight was 315 10 yrs ago lol, so yea free weights are the real deal
 
Mobster said:
Now yes. But listen to the post 2018 Olympia interviews he's done recently. He did freeweights when he played college basketball
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Haha yeah I was just shitting ya.

Thanks for all these tips Mobster. These are great. I know I've done this many times in my years of training where I go on a site and forget to explain my goals, stats, what I want to accomplish, etc... Have to remember that if you're new, no one knows you. And even if they do, tell your goals anyway because they may have changed.

Just also have to say I'm so glad I found this site. There so much good info here and the attitude and atmosphere are way better than every other forum I've been to. Thanks for everything you guys do.
 
Training Tip No78
More Bench Press Tips
So I'm showing a local lad a few differences between a Bodybuilders Bench vs a Powerlifters bench recently. Here's a few I gave him:
  2. BB's push straight up and down whereas it's better to push up and back if you lift for power
  3. Elbows out for bodybuilders vs puling or tucking them in as the bar goers up as a lifter
  4. A lifter pulls the bar 'apart' (engages the back and rear delts) whereas a builder would benefit will benefit from pulling the hands together (a greater contraction of the pecs)
  5. A builder lifts with their back flat whereas a lifter will lift more with a lower back arch and the shoulder blades pulled down and tight.


One final one is less a difference and more what matters vs what doesn't and that's keeping the feet planted vs not bothering. It has to do with stability. A lifter NEEDS it (even if they tuck their feet well back for the arch) whereas a builder doesn't (try a feet up bench to see how much harder you need to work)
 
Training Tip No79
The Genetic Advantage
What do pros have that you almost certainly don't and 1) do you have any 2) can you use some of what they have to benefit you? Lets have a look see shall we?

Bodybuilding Pros
  • Thin skin
  • Great muscle bellies and connections. In one great example (Ronnie Coleman I think) he has a shorter inner head and a long outer head on his split (oh yes that too) biceps. I also saw in person how one Middle Eastern pro (now retired) had the kind of quads which flared out from the hips so as to make him look freaky even though he had small joints. Yet in baggies he didn't look that crazy. Our very own local pro just looks 'full' and vascular but has always lacked that kinda crazy separation in his quads.
  • The kind of digestion that seems to uptake protein really well.
  • They seem to 'get' how exercises should be done. It's kinda obvious that they will or so get a great response from training but some (not all) really tune into how to get the most from a movement. Watch how some of the better ones train. Their rep speed is ideal, rest periods short and they train with little or no conversations, rest and rarely get distracted.


Strongman
  • I've been fortunate enough to have trained with, competed against and been recognized by some of the worlds best strength athletes. Here's what the majority I met had in common.
  • Tall as fuck. Even the shorter ones are 6 and over. More than a few are 6'6 and above (Terry is 6'6, Brian Shaw and Thor 6'8 and so on)
  • Joint sizes - like Terry Holland has 10-inch wrists. Mine are 8+ and I look like a lightweight compared to many.
  • They were really good at other sports. fast, for all their size, too. Eddie Hall has British Records which still stand in swimming. Brian Shaw, like Mr O Phil Heath, played high level basketball. Terry and Laurence Shahlaei both played county level and above Rugby.
 
Training Tip No80
Your Dirty Little Secret
In some ways I get this a little. I mean I'm not gonna pop round and rub my mums nose in it but equally I'm also quite sure she knows I have used steroids. However, the one that confuses me is the users who don't tell the wife or girlfriend. If, as is after all supposed to be the case, this person to be THE tip top person of your life and yet... cue my raised quizzical eyebrow... she MUST NOT KNOW. One excuse I saw was that it can be used against come a divorce and all the BS that carries with it - well then you're not really planning on a long life together.

It is, of course, far more of an issue if you live in countries or domains where the legality of buying and using steroids is an issue. For me, living in the UK, it isn't. I also has the wherewithal to explain the why, the how and how I can be safe.

My tip... tell them. If, as with a few, you've got kids, then keep your gear LOCKED (not just away up on a shelf) away and NEVER EVER leave sharps etc laying about. In fact, that's one thing you shouldn't do anyway - kids or not.
 
I didn't tell my wife when I first took Var. But the second cycle when I started to pin, I told her since someone needs to know in case anything goes wrong. And she's my #1 so I should have told her to begin with. She doesn't like it, although she does like the side effects of steroids, aka muscle. She actually showed me how to pin properly as she's a pharmacist.
 
Darthiggy said:
I didn't tell my wife when I first took Var. But the second cycle when I started to pin, I told her since someone needs to know in case anything goes wrong. And she's my #1 so I should have told her to begin with. She doesn't like it, although she does like the side effects of steroids, aka muscle. She actually showed me how to pin properly as she's a pharmacist.
Click to expand...

Exactly so.
 
Training Tip No81
Slow Gains Are Better
Yep - some guys aren't gonna like that now are they. Not only do they want roids to be a magic pill but they want 20lbs 'gainz' like yesterday. Here's the thing: You are, quite simply, more likely to keep a 5lb gain than you are a 20lb gain. We know roids enhance what we can do naturally (roughly 80-100% in my experience (so 3lbs become 5-6lbs)). But your body doesn't like massive and quick changes.

Here's an example or three. In a story from Mike Mentzer he pointed out that a 10lbs on an average Joe is HUGE. He suggested (although it'd be a waste of good food) slapping 10lb in burger patties all over. One on each bicep, one on each delt and so on. A little more here and a little less there. 10lb in 4 ounce burgers is 40 fkin burgers. Once you envisage that you can see how much meat you'd be adding.

The next issue is joint and connective tissue. If I add an inch to a bicep (the same as 10lbs all over on our average Joe) that's a LOT more of an ability to pull the joint closed. Hence the sheer number of bicep, pec and other muscle tears. Roids grow muscle fast and, if anything, weaken connective tissue (tendons, sinews and fascia).

Finally there's the cardio side. At my absolute heaviest I added a LOT of weight (that very 20lbs I mentioned earlier) going from my then usual 280 to a fraction under 300. I'd get out of breath walking up ONE flight of stairs. Anyone of average height (I'm taller) will struggle even more.
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip No81
Slow Gains Are Better
Yep - some guys aren't gonna like that now are they. Not only do they want roids to be a magic pill but they want 20lbs 'gainz' like yesterday. Here's the thing: You are, quite simply, more likely to keep a 5lb gain than you are a 20lb gain. We know roids enhance what we can do naturally (roughly 80-100% in my experience (so 3lbs become 5-6lbs)). But your body doesn't like massive and quick changes.

Here's an example or three. In a story from Mike Mentzer he pointed out that a 10lbs on an average Joe is HUGE. He suggested (although it'd be a waste of good food) slapping 10lb in burger patties all over. One on each bicep, one on each delt and so on. A little more here and a little less there. 10lb in 4 ounce burgers is 40 fkin burgers. Once you envisage that you can see how much meat you'd be adding.

The next issue is joint and connective tissue. If I add an inch to a bicep (the same as 10lbs all over on our average Joe) that's a LOT more of an ability to pull the joint closed. Hence the sheer number of bicep, pec and other muscle tears. Roids grow muscle fast and, if anything, weaken connective tissue (tendons, sinews and fascia).

Finally there's the cardio side. At my absolute heaviest I added a LOT of weight (that very 20lbs I mentioned earlier) going from my then usual 280 to a fraction under 300. I'd get out of breath walking up ONE flight of stairs. Anyone of average height (I'm taller) will struggle even more.
Click to expand...

Is this why I feel like I'm getting wiped out doing squats and lunges? Lunges especially...I mean WTF IS UP WITH THAT EXERCISE!?!?!? I can barely breath after I do them. I do the one leg at a time lunge with my opposite foot sitting on a bench. I'm not even maxing out on weight and after 10 reps a leg I gotta rest for like 5 minutes until I can breath properly again.
 
Darthiggy said:
Is this why I feel like I'm getting wiped out doing squats and lunges? Lunges especially...I mean WTF IS UP WITH THAT EXERCISE!?!?!? I can barely breath after I do them. I do the one leg at a time lunge with my opposite foot sitting on a bench. I'm not even maxing out on weight and after 10 reps a leg I gotta rest for like 5 minutes until I can breath properly again.
Click to expand...

How much did you add on your last cycle? Plus are you holding your breath (I do when I'm doing pinch work and have to tell myself to breath)?
 
Mobster said:
How much did you add on your last cycle? Plus are you holding your breath (I do when I'm doing pinch work and have to tell myself to breath)?
Click to expand...

I don’t think so. I’m normally pretty good at breathing properly when working out. But I’ll keep an eye on it on Thursday when I do legs. Maybe I am and I’m not noticing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Training Tip 82
Performance Anxiety
There's a tendency in the modern age (yeah a sign I'm 50+) to take a drug to fix what ails you. Some people are now taking drugs for what amounts to perfectly normal reactions. One such 'ailment' is Performance Anxiety and to quote another member I don't mean the sex kind lol

In fact it's stuff like worrying about giving a good speech. Or games which require a steady hand such as golf, snooker, darts and the like. Even not wanting to give too much away by not having a Poker face. Even strength athletes such as myself can out think themselves and even low ball their numbers or, of course, bomb on the platform. Now some use drugs like Beta-Blockers to slow their heart rate, BP and lessen the shakes.

But I'm gonna argue that in an awful lot of cases you WANT Performance Anxiety. Yep. That little jolt of adrenaline and nerves can actually make you perform better. They can make you do what can occasionally amount to super human efforts. Don't smother every feeling with a drug

Tomorrow... 'Know Thyself'.
 
Training Tip 83
Know Thyself
This idea is more focused on why some of us go to extremes and others do not. Now, as per a post I just addressed a few minutes ago, we ARE on a site where we advise on using PED's etc. Ergo we want to improve, change, get stronger, leaner, faster... take your pick. Not all will become freaks or super fast, super strong whatever.

So it can be a lesson in futility to measure ourselves to the uber munsch (super men) among us. Not everyone is, as per fellow Mod Stevesmi said, meant to have high T-levels. For many years as a younger man who'd been lifting for a while and started to do ok I couldn't get my young mind around around why others wasn't doing what I do. It took a LONG time for me to understand that what fired me up and what I wanted wasn't what others that trained, never mind the average person, wanted.

Once I understood that I started to understand myself. Now, when it comes to training, I'm deffo one to challenge myself. Go check out my training log on this forum. I'm throwing around some BIG numbers on Hammer Curls. Like world class. So heavy, in fact, I have to be careful not to let them pull the rest ogf my body out of position. I repped the biggest ones we have in our gym - the 90-kilo or 198-pound dumbbells. And yes there's photos and videos. But enough of the brag-fest.

So let's address why some do what they do drug wise. I've written a bunch of times on this very forum as to how I have NEVER ever exceeded 700mg total per week. My height, my genetics and the sheer length of time I've been training (35 years this August 2018) have allowed me to be the size, weight and strength I am. So I find it difficult, like I did above, to get my head around guys wanting to do 1, 2 and or even close to 3000mg total of PED's a week. To my way of thinking if the same guy worked out why they do what they wanna do they'd slow the fuck down.

The longer I'm around the game (having been online since the early 90's I think) the more I see the crazy cycle guys calm the fuck down (assuming they survive lol). Let's take Bostin 'Mr 3cc' Loyd as a prime example. He's still using way more than me but it's no where near as close to the 5gs a week (and maybe more) he's stated he's used back in the day. So one of the LOUDEST voices for excess said... I'll cut back. Why? Cos he matured, cos he realized that 5gs a week wasn't gonna make him Mr O and cos he got loved up and wanted a baby with his woman.

See how maturing changed him? See how a different kind of thinking and a LOT of experience made him think differently? Now, and this is aimed at the younger guys mostly, learning who you are and what you'll become will aid you in ways you don't yet know. It makes me take less drugs than you - as and when I use (8-10 weeks a year) but also, equally, it gets me juiced when I'm kicking it in the gym.

Learning who you are, why you do what you do will mean GAINZ. Trust me on this. If you can do it as a younger lifter you will become someone very special.
 
Darthiggy said:
Hey Mobster, where are these training logs? I can't seem to find them.
Click to expand...

There's no log section so it'll be in the steroids ones. I'll see if I can post a link in a mo (arguing online with a parcel service dude right now lol)

- - - Updated - - -

While hell freezes over getting them to reply: https://www.evolutionary.org/forums/anabolic-steroids-peds/running-my-roidmass-products-rerady-european-grip-championships-56794.html
 
Training Tip 84
Muscle Cell Inhibitors Unlocked
There's a couple of products which MIGHT work. Ace-031 is one such drug. However, a few minutes of research today suggest the following:

1) You can't afford it. At the effective dose and cost the numbers I saw today 1000mg a month at $145 a mg means (maths kids) you'd be spending $14500 a month. Oh my...
2) It came with side effects. Like nose bleeds. Yayyy... err I'll pass.
3) It was way less effective than we'd like. At 250mg one group gained a whole inch. Ok maths again that's 3750 bucks
4) All those products which unlock or remove inhibitors seem also to up the chance for cancer - like a LOT
 
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Training Tip 85
Weights vs Machines
I'm getting that old that hem lines have gone up and down twice and I see arguments rehashed more than once by someone who didn't know it had been done to death eons ago. Examples of stuff that goes around again includes machines with cams on. It's... drum roll please... an idea that's 120 plus years old. Yep. Go check out exercise equipment patents for cams. So when I see the 'which is better - free weight or machines' my eyes roll back in my head and I look zombie like :D

IF you choose like for like (or LFL) the free weights win. A machine squat, something I enjoy, just doesn't compare to a free weight barbell squat. If, for no other reason (and there are others) the issue of stability. This is also true of stuff like bench press and overhead pressing.

However, a lot of machines offer grooves and movements which free weights or even body weight exercises do not. They also offer a fraction of body weight poundages. So, for example, you can and should do a chin up over a lat machine pulldown. But if you wanted to carry on past your chinning for reps limitation then here's that machine and it's selectorized stack to help you. In terms of grooves compare a dumbell or barbell pullover vs a cable pulldown with straight arms or a old school nautilus pullover machine.

Where the argument MIGHT stand up is in the setting up of a home gym (more than a commercial gym as I'd want any such place to offer both). It's a most pounds value for your buck discussion. So I'd want my home gym to have stuff like a power rack, olympic bar and plates, adjustable bench and plate loaded dumbbells. If I wanted my home gym to have machines to offer what that short list of kit did then I'd need quite a bit. Even some of the better lever type home gym type kit (powertech et al) can be limited with regards to the loads I can use vs a barbell. And those 'flex' cable, bendy tension bar and small selectorized stack type home gyms... oof. If you're half way serious you'll outgrow them in a few months vs never being anywhere close to maxing a proper powerlifting bar.
 
Training Tip 86
The Dusty End Of the Rack
Less a tip and more an observation. One little clue for how serious you are or the gym that you use is in terms of what it offers is the dusty end of the dumbbell rack. If, as in the £10 a month (or ten bucks) places the biggest dumbbells are all of 35-kilos (about 77lbs) then the most used will be a few dumbbells to the left - so the 20 and 25kg 'beasts'. That being true it's nigh on a given that the people training there will not be Mr O quality.

Equally true is that if the big monster bells in your gym are covered in a spider web or three and have three digit numbers starting with a 2 (so 200 and up) then the bells seeing some action will include the 140-pounders. Even the more middling and average Joes training there will roll out the 100's and they will deffo use the same 35-kilo pairs that the other gym had as a max.

Finally, as a would be strength freak, I wanna be the mofo who dust them fuckers off and shows them some love :)
 
Training Tip 87
Don't Wait Until The Last Minute
I've been privy to gym users and site members using the word 'fast' for losing weight, adding muscle and so on. All too often and sometimes funny is how little time they allow for these things to happen.

The number of times girls (guys are just as bad) either want to get in shape for their hols or, worse, for a wedding (to fit into a dress they've already brought at £700/$1000 and which no longer fits) and when you ask for timescales....oof! Yes tipster fans it'll be something like 'oh 6 weeks'. And, having looked them up and down, you think 'err... you should've asked sooner'.

Yep. Sooner. Like MONTHS-DA-FUCK-AGO. Do NOT rush the whole getting into shape thing and expect, if you're lucky enough to lose the weight etc, to keep it off. Realistically, even taking all manner of drugs, supps and with what will probably be less than serious training (cos the shit that works is BRUTAL given the timescale we've got) that you'll get even close to that shape. Part of that is down to unrealistic expectations. It's one thing to come in, six weeks out, 6-10lbs off. Doable but hard. It's another entirely to come in 30+ pounds out of shape (3-6 dress sizes off where you need to be for the girls) and be on point, happy and feeling good on the day.

Be you male or female unless you wanna live like a Rocky training montage for the next six weeks (we do love them though don't we) give yourself more time.

On the montages: you know. The getting up at 5am for the morning run - in the fkin cold and wet lol. The running up mountains with logs on your back. The drinking raw eggs. Running in proper boots. Punching meat. Training 2-3 times a fkin day. yeah that kind of six weeks. The kind that Navy Seals call 'Hell Week' as opposed to Hell Six Weeks. That and training like that while you're 30-pounds overweight lol
 
Training Tip 88
The Joy of Quad Work
Or even just working f'kin hard and lifting heavy. Every so often I'll question the sanity of doing some of the stuff we do. Such moments can occur in the midst of a high rep set. If you're a bodybuilder and you're are, as the saying goes, 'killing it' on chest. It's aching from sternum to arm pit insertion and bloated with blood... and there's a few more sets to go. Then tyou may wel;l ask... WTF am I doing ha ha.

The same applies to us who 'lift'. Straining so hard that your face feels like it's gonna burst. And worse, that you might just bloody well poo yourself. It's the day after quads. Worrying about bottoming out on leg presses (been there and done that - it wasn't fun) or not being able to rerack the safeties on the power squat machine (I have to get help when I max the load). And god damn the last rep on leg extensions... ouch. Today they are nicely sore.

And if I get them past 28-inches and into the magical 30 that apparently says freak size then I can maybe, just maybe, say it's worth it. And that's why we do what we do.
 
Hmmmmm I may add a routine I did for awhile to build strength...

The 10 sets of 3 routine....

Everyone wants a big bench but are stuck in the 3 sets of 10 mindset....

So I had heard of a routine that came from German powerlifters where they reversed it and did TEN Sets of 3...

So whatever you can bench for ONE rep.... take like 85% of that and put it on the bar.... And perform ten sets of three... I do it for flat bench and i'll do this routine for about a month instead of my normal routine of higher reps and less sets..

you are still doing 30 reps.. but at a much higher weight.... Trust me you'll wake up sore as fuck.
 
Training Tip 89
Those Days When You Don't Feel Like It
Many years ago I used to do a manual laboring type job. Later on I did a full time semi-physical job. It's been many years since I did such but I still recall having those days when I felt like my ass was dragging. I had little for food and snacks where I'd take these a few hours before. I was training in the early evening and finishing work about an hour before. I'd be half asleep on the train. Yet by the time I got to the gym (right next to the station) I'd kick some ass.

Many a time I've had this happen. So often in fact that it started to occur to me that given I'd not had that hard a day there might be some element of my body saving energy. You also have to remember all I'd had was my 4.30pm 100g flapjack and a 6.30pm coffee (I never drink any that later otherwise) before hitting the gym at 7pm.

So there can and will be some gym sessions that are preceded by a 'I'm not feeling this' yet end up epic.
 
Mobster said:
Feel free to add training tips here.
I've a TON from years of training, reading books and magazine, watching movies and even talking to the writers themselves.

Here's an easy one to start with:

The speed of the rep
If you're a bodybuilder or looking to grow muscle (which means you are) then try slowing down the reps speed. It doesn't need to conform to the so-called Super Slow protocol but slowing each individual rep a little means the time muscles are under tension is longer. Which for muscle growth, all things being equal, is better.

Give it a try
Click to expand...

If someone who uses the steroids makes the movements slow, doesnt the risk of injury increase? Steroids weaken the tendon.
 
Training Tip 90
Rep Ranges
Nothing and I mean NOTHING is purely one thing or another but, for the sake of information the following is mostly true. It's worth adding that both individual response and everything else you do means there's a lack of pure control over any response too.

Low reps = strength

Medium reps = muscle

High reps = endurance

How you respond and react is down to a few factors. One is your innate muscle fibre type. There IS some adaption. Your body can, given enough time, adapt. If it didn't us, as a race, would have died out. But we know Eskimos won't be as good as distance running as some of the African races.

All rep ranges are to do with percentage of maxes. You will never see an endurance guy do 90-percent of their max for 20 or more non-stop reps. Equally there's no strength guy alive that could see the point of doing low reps with 50-60 percent of their 1 rep max.

Something we don't see as much as we should it's the practice of previous decades of power work, muscle work and endurance work over the seasons of the year. It was fairly common to do low rep ranges in the winter while bulking up or adding size and higher reps and cutting / losing the fat in the warmer months.
 
Training Tip 91
Show Me The Gains
So there's a TON of issues with what we call broscience when it comes to using PEDs and, to a similar degree, a lot of supplements. One such example is what is called 'front-loading'. Simply put it's when you use a compound to boost your testosterone levels at the beginning of a cycle. It'll man you're also using another drug which takes a certain amount of time to get to high and or effective levels.

The question is why? If it made any meaningful difference then how come the users who do this vs the users who are more patient or less 'scientific' don't argue that their gains were better. I've yet to see anyone actually state that they got more strength, more power, more speed or more muscle doing this.

At best and I mean AT BEST they get the 'on feeling' that some get quicker. That's it
 
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Training Tip 92
You Still Gotta Work
How often do you see guys (usually the younger ones) think that this or that cycle will add muscle or cut fat and are somewhat disappointed with the results. Then you see a photo and you KNOW 100% that they'd have got something from DOING THE WORK.

This is as simple as it can be. If ROIDS added muscle or stripped fat as some think it does then all the poor bastards with horrible medical conditions who are being prescribed anabolics would look amazing. Now you can say that the condition for which they are being treated would hold them back a bit and I'd agree. But even so - if no work was needed then they'd do well. And they don't.

The best results will ALWAYS come with both a tip top spot on diet and hard, hard training. Not half assed training and too many cheat days. Not the same training that wasn't being at all effective + steroids (if it didn't work before what made you thin k it was gonna work after). Not going through the motions but full on. Hard training and a good diet + a low dose of gear will work a lot better than piss poor training, a shit diet and a LOT of roids.

And you can take that to the bank.
 
Training Tip 93
Comparing Like With Like
When you either weigh yourself or take photos it needs to be under the same conditions.

I'm sure I've been as bad as the next fella thinking I've added muscle by wearing a heavier pair of boots or more clothing than when I last got on the scales. So use the same scales (I use a set at the gym which has a weights and measures seal applied by the local training standards rep) and try to wear the same (more or less) amount of clothing.

For photos choose the same spot (a nice plain single color background), the same lighting (indoors then and under the same bulb / lighting source) and even the same level of tan and clothing. Trust me when I say a tan, different color trunks or shorts and sunlight vs a bulb makes all the difference. It's one of the tricks used for before and after shots.

There's no point fooling yourself and if you HAVE improved it'll be all the sweeter for being honestly got
 
Training Tip 94
Getting Into 'Beast Mode'
So one of the topics I covered with people I've coached is how to get motivated. The first and most obvious is to focus on the end game. So losing weight, gaining muscle or getting strong etc. Every time you hit the gym and need a kick all you'd do is say 'I wanna another inch of my waist' and so on.

However, there's a TON of other things you can do. I used to 'get at' the guys a little by saying it really didn't matter what it was that got their juices going. Be that legends, stories, the idea of having to rescue their kids from a fire or even gay porn. Once I found out what it was (and I always did) I'd use it. So when they came to the gym all down, tired and flagging a little I'd 'press the button' for them, get them fired up and boom! A great training session.

Find out what it is that gets YOUR juices going. Use it (sparingly) and get the most from your efforts
 
Training Tip 95
Forget Super Slow
I'm old enough to remember certain training programs coming round more than once. In the case of super slow the so-called Hard Gainer community got very excited by the whole TUT (time under tension) concept (actually worth while and I'll address it soon) but took it to the extreme of super-slow. Worse they become embroiled in a great deal of debate (meaning argued the toss) to the nth degree.

It got to the point where camps argued over specific timing protocols. One further issue is that calling yourself a Hard Gainer allows you to use weights, timings and volumes were growth (strength or muscle) becomes negligible. Ergo it wasn't Super Slows fault you didn't grow. Finally SS was also held up as THE program to the exclusion of any other. Which is obviously BS of the highest kind.

The key take away is don't get tied up in ONE concept. Training hard, rest and nutrition will always work. Programs and methods come and go. Don't waste energy by over focusing on one point.
 
Training Tip 96
Seeing The Doc
All too often we see posts, often negative, about visits to the doc.

Good
It's easy to argue that your doc doesn't know X, Y or Z but how often are you as informative as you should be? Don't go to a docs, ask for advice and neglect to mention some of the things you're doing, taking or (in a few) just how moronic you was. 'Doc I've lactating nipples'... doc says 'are you taking steroids/' and you reply 'how very dare you?!'.

Bad
Yes docs can be a little up their own ass. Ten years training and many years experience can do that too you. However, most of us are only going to see a MD (or as we call them here GP's). It means they aren't specialists. They will have a broad knowledge but unless they lift it's very only unlikely they'll know a great deal about training injuries, athletic nutrition, sports supplements or (and most importantly) steroids.

I've seen, even in a mod, the suggestion that you 'shop around'. Yeah keep asking until you get the answer you want - that'll work. Ten docs say don't do that stupid thing you're doing - one says it's ok - guess which one you wanna listen to.

Having to pay and the influences of pharma. In pretty much many other case paying for your shit means you get a say. Not so much with the doc right? And pharma - 'dem bitches are all about the buck'.
 
Training Tip 97
How I Do Wrist Curls
Click on the link to see the image.
https://imgur.com/a/C61Y98T

I no longer use a straight barbell due to being an old mofo and so having restrictive issues with flexibility. I have also done what we called 'table top wrist curls' (220-kilos 1RM back in the day). So, along with the ability to focus on one arm at a time, I use dumbbells
 
Training Tip 98
Another Forearm Killer
One very simple tool (to make and to use) is a Wrist Roller. I recently purchased a standard 12-inch or so thick rolling pin (the kind you use on pastry) and it cost about £3.00. Drill a hole through the middle - back to front. Say 4-5mm bore. Take some strong cord. Knot one end and slip the other through a washer of about 5mm inner bore. Slide it until it's tight to the knot. Take the free end and slip that through the hole in the rolling pin. You can tie weights to the other end or knot it to a carabina type clip. You can then use a loading pin to add weight.

I've a 3-inch thick steel version made by John Beatty (the fella from Americas Got Talent who did a bit as a strongman) of Fat Bastard Barbell Company which I won as part of a prize package. I'll add a link to a photo of the same in a mo. You can use smaller diameter versions but these can be crazy tough on the skin.

The reason why wrist rollers are cray hard and crazy effective comes down to TUT - time under tension. Doing, as I do, 3 reps with my roller set up in a rack (free hand works too) takes 60-90 seconds and there's no point where the hands get a break. I do a left, right, left right type sequences which winds the weight from the floor to the top. But equally, in fact possibly even harder, would be to just wind it back and forth. You can also wind it my style, up and down with a clockwise motion (which kills the flexors) and an anti-clockwise version which is extensor focused (usually about 30% less of a load). Try both for 3 sets of 3 and you'll be pumped like a beast.

https://ibb.co/DYmVMNm

https://ibb.co/xFzrkL1

Photos taken during a photo shoot for an art project a couple of years back.
 
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Training Tip 98
Fuck The Seven day Week
There is, if you think about it, a level of stupidity that we've all and I mean ALL OF US (so me too) been guilty off when it comes to training, drugs, recovery and nutrition. It's been stuck on the idea of a fixed 7 days.

Think about it. We ask about half lives (ones 16 days right) of drugs then talk about how often we'd jab. To 'get it in' we look at 2-times or whatever per week. Training cycles are 'legs once a week' and so on. Yet we might not have added enough rest days between one session and another. Yes the life outside of the gym does get in the way - if Sundays are family days it can be hard to do your program then. Of course you could just get up before everyone else, hit a 24-hour gym - then do what else needs to be done.

Example of how I got round this back when I competed a LOT: So I'd work out how many weeks to a competition. Lets use 10 weeks or 70 days. I'd write down what I wanted to lift for a 1RM on the day (adding 5% was the norm to a previous years PB). If I started at, say 140-kilos for 1 on the bench in week one and wanted 150 by week 10 then I need to add 1 kilo a week. BUT, as per the point, I might wanna train it twice a week (1 x speed and 1 x max) and I might want 3 days between sessions. So it's not 10 x 2 sessions but nearer to 8. So it's not 1-kilo a week but more.

The point is that your body and, indeed, your training and recovery from the same do not always fit into 7 day weeks. Your mind likes it for sure but the body doesn't care what day it is. Adjust to suit - not suit to adjust
 
Training Tip 99
Old School Kit That Works - The Sissy Squat
So our gym has purchased a sissy squat. It's both great for working the core but also for bringing out quad separation. You tense the quads while angling out your thighs a little and as you rise you should, if you're lean enough, see the lines. The better you do it the deeper they become.

Give it a try
 
I added sissy squats to my training regimen about a year ago and are now a staple, in one variation or another on quad day. These did for me, what leg extensions couldn't, especially in the area of the vastus medialis. Good stuff Mob

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
wesley_swolle said:
I added sissy squats to my training regimen about a year ago and are now a staple, in one variation or another on quad day. These did for me, what leg extensions couldn't, especially in the area of the vastus medialis. Good stuff Mob

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I posted a pair of photos on facebook. One is the gym owner, Gareth, sitting up a lot and more upright than I am in my photo. That's cos I'm a LOT heavier, have a weaker core (almost certainly) and was a bit worried about my breaking the kit lol. It was brought 2nd hand (between 25 and 45 GBP).
 
Mobster said:
I posted a pair of photos on facebook. One is the gym owner, Gareth, sitting up a lot and more upright than I am in my photo. That's cos I'm a LOT heavier, have a weaker core (almost certainly) and was a bit worried about my breaking the kit lol. It was brought 2nd hand (between 25 and 45 GBP).
Click to expand...
That would have been disastrous, lol

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip 98
Another Forearm Killer
One very simple tool (to make and to use) is a Wrist Roller. I recently purchased a standard 12-inch or so thick rolling pin (the kind you use on pastry) and it cost about £3.00. Drill a hole through the middle - back to front. Say 4-5mm bore. Take some strong cord. Knot one end and slip the other through a washer of about 5mm inner bore. Slide it until it's tight to the knot. Take the free end and slip that through the hole in the rolling pin. You can tie weights to the other end or knot it to a carabina type clip. You can then use a loading pin to add weight.

I've a 3-inch thick steel version made by John Beatty (the fella from Americas Got Talent who did a bit as a strongman) of Fat Bastard Barbell Company which I won as part of a prize package. I'll add a link to a photo of the same in a mo. You can use smaller diameter versions but these can be crazy tough on the skin.

The reason why wrist rollers are cray hard and crazy effective comes down to TUT - time under tension. Doing, as I do, 3 reps with my roller set up in a rack (free hand works too) takes 60-90 seconds and there's no point where the hands get a break. I do a left, right, left right type sequences which winds the weight from the floor to the top. But equally, in fact possibly even harder, would be to just wind it back and forth. You can also wind it my style, up and down with a clockwise motion (which kills the flexors) and an anti-clockwise version which is extensor focused (usually about 30% less of a load). Try both for 3 sets of 3 and you'll be pumped like a beast.

https://ibb.co/DYmVMNm

https://ibb.co/xFzrkL1

Photos taken during a photo shoot for an art project a couple of years back.
Click to expand...

Sweet! my grip strength isn’t to bad.. but my forearms could definitely use some size. I’m gonna try that rolling pin out, sounds like a good time.


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Did it. Posted to Facebook

Training Tip 100
Own Dat Shit.

There's a scene in the Blade Trilogy movie I think where Blade leans in to the female leasd and she's all upset over the death of a buddy and he wants her to go full on crazy ass kicking made and he growls into her face and feels the pain and says 'own kit.... OWN IT' and she lets rip with a guttural scream. All the way from her womb lol.

Sometimes getting people to admit they fucked up, or are lazy, or cheat all the time on their diet feels like you gotta get them to own dat shit. Once they do we can kick fkin being fat into orbit. Being weak into next week. Being lazy into fuck dat. Get the ;point?

So OWN DAT SHIT.
 
Training Tip 101
It Ain't Easy
Think about how hard a properly done set actually is. Heck, even a one rep done close to a max. It's really not easy right? Yet in order to go forward, to make muscle grow, to get strong you need to do stuff that is, lets be honest actually quite difficult.

If we were a golfing site and we wanted to get from a 20 handicap down to a 12 handicap we'd need to put in a LOT of time and many, many, many hours of practice. By focusing on the end result the time starts to feel short instead of being hours outside, weeks outside, months outside and maybe years. Never mind the cost, the weather, the frustration and so on.

Now if it was a bodybuilding set you're gonna do it's actually meant to be kinda uncomfortable and even bordering on painful. Now you can go seek it knowing you'll stimulate muscle growth or, as all too many do, slack off a little. Some overthink it to the point where they hold back. Others become distracted (put your fkin phone away) to the point of (and I've seen this) where they are so half assed at it they might as well be at home jerking off.

Done properly the stuff we do is not easy. But it's a moment. Once past it fades quickly and the success aides progression. You, like the golfer, put in the time, and then one day... boom. You're strong, you're muscular and maybe a decent golfer too... ;)
 
Training Tip 102
Stop Looking For Chemicals To Do Everything
I get that, when we're ill (and I'm as guilty), looking for a quick fix seems to be the answer to a problem - I really do. But when, for example, you're constipated we all should know that upping our fluid intake (especially water) and making sure we have enough roughage in our diet is the answer. You can't fix being dehydrated or eating a poor diet with a pill.

Equally, when I see guys that weigh 140-150lbs at average height asking for a steroid cycle, I know (and I mean I KNOW) they don't eat enough. And, all too often (and we're ALL guilty of this) they don't train hard enough. Even me, with all my training there for anyone to see in my training log (on Evo and a bunch of other sites), knows that there are times when I might have held back,. turned up late and so on. And I'm record breaking lifter. Now If I KNOW I occasionally slack off then it's a fkin given that someone who is underweight or has made no progress (and are miles from their limits) is slacking off too.

In examples like the above looking for a pill or chemical fix is NOT the answer.
 
Training Tip 103
Staying At The Weight You Are
This one is aimed at those of you who lift in strength competitions. I'm too damned heavy to need to make weight for a specific division. I do, if there's a tie, gain an advantage if the other competitor is heavier. With that said here we go:

So let's say I train like a mofo. I can use my food in a meaningful way. I can, pre workout, take a good percentage of my daily intake of carbs to fuel it. I can, as well, take my protein after. One for fuel and one for repair of the tissue. I could, if I was so inclined, then keep my totals and calories tight for the rest of the day. All things being equal (so bloat, roids etc not being part of it) I should do, at best, nothing more than harden up and recover from the training. I shouldn't gain weight if I'm tight on the numbers. If I started at 280 I should end at 280.

I can and might play about with the ratios. Meaning upping protein, lowering fat etc but keeping the total calorific intake the same. Arguably being leaner at the same weight means I ought to have more muscle and so more strength. Obviously, some individual response needs to be allowed for and that's what dieticians and diet coaches are for.

There are those who will argue the KISS approach above but all too often they are merely fooling themselves. I can't gain weight = they don't eat what they say and think they do. The opposite is also true. Pretty much every lab controlled study has said so.
 
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Training Tip 104
Fooling Yourself - Mind Tricks
Given I train for strength one trick I've used is to fool ones self with the ideas of making a weight be less than it is. Here's how it's worked. Let's say I stack a machine (use ALL it has weight wise). The stacks in my gym are 200-kilos. But they use double ratio pulleys so it's not 200-kilos you push but closer to 100-120-kilos. That's still 220-264lbs. But rather than mark the weight they just have a number. So 1-20 or one plate to twenty plates.

Figure this out. You go from a potential 440-lbs to 20 plates. I go one step further by just writing 'the stack +. The '+' being whatever I can add (usually special stacker plates) on top. I can do this with a leg leg press by saying 'wheels' not 44lbs plates. It's just words but the play on words allows you to pay less attention to what might well be frightening for some.
 
Training Tip 105
Don't Cheap Out
So every so often we get members starting threads where they have, by some never mentioned method, come across a small amount of steroids. Now wherever they found said products, won them in a lottery or were given them by buddies it's the over keen 'need' to use them which is a concern.

All too often they have a bunch of issues which they seem to ignore (although they do ask). Such as
1) Not enough for a sensible cycle to begin with. Like 3 weeks worth (as in what's the fkin point?).
2) No AI
4) No PCT.

So the questions are in the style of 'I've 3 weeks worth and I'm an impatient mo-fo', or 'I don't want to spend a buck doing it properly'.

Well you can guess what I think. They might as well bin the stuff if they're gonna be that stupid right? Save up and do this properly. In the same way that I won't be retiring with my recent $100 or so lotto win (this past Tuesday) because that'd be worst than half assed no one should do a cycle with less than they need to do a proper job of it.
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip 105
Don't Cheap Out
So every so often we get members starting threads where they have, by some never mentioned method, come across a small amount of steroids. Now wherever they found said products, won them in a lottery or were given them by buddies it's the over keen 'need' to use them which is a concern.

All too often they have a bunch of issues which they seem to ignore (although they do ask). Such as
1) Not enough for a sensible cycle to begin with. Like 3 weeks worth (as in what's the fkin point?).
2) No AI
4) No PCT.

So the questions are in the style of 'I've 3 weeks worth and I'm an impatient mo-fo', or 'I don't want to spend a buck doing it properly'.

Well you can guess what I think. They might as well bin the stuff if they're gonna be that stupid right? Save up and do this properly. In the same way that I won't be retiring with my recent $100 or so lotto win (this past Tuesday) because that'd be worst than half assed no one should do a cycle with less than they need to do a proper job of it.
Click to expand...

Man, like so many of this threads posts I 100% agree.
I don’t have the experience of many of the vets here. Which I why I am here, to learn. But I do know enough to say this here advice is gold.

This is pay to win to a degree. Cheap food, cheap drugs or just half assing anything Imo is selling yourself short.

Thanks mobster, love it


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TheGainTrain said:
Man, like so many of this threads posts I 100% agree.
I don’t have the experience of many of the vets here. Which I why I am here, to learn. But I do know enough to say this here advice is gold.

This is pay to win to a degree. Cheap food, cheap drugs or just half assing anything Imo is selling yourself short.

Thanks mobster, love it


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Click to expand...

Thanks. I've asked what the damn hurry is for some of them. Only the odd one or two admitted they were just 'wanna jump on'.
 
Training Tip 105
I might have posted this one before.... if I have
So one trick I use (which comes from DC training) is to rotate some exercises. This is about variety, longevity and so on. Other exercises, as per my log, have stayed in for AGES. I also, unless I've a competition coming up, vary the reps from time to time.

As an example of rotating exercises is in back. We have a Pullover Machine, lat pulldown (x 2) and a low cable row with stacks. Plus a variety of handles to use. Then there's the low, mid and high position lever type machines of the kind made my Hammer. Finally we also have a t-bar row type set up (I don't use it) and, of course, the dumbbells (I don't much like barbell rows). That's 7 I can use and do plus a couple I don't. I'm at that point where I can max out, even adding the stacker plates (small weights you can add to the stack), the cable machines. I can also max out (using 20-kilo plates) the low lever row machine (of the kind used by Dorian et al) at about 120-kilos a side. But I've a little room on some of the others. As well as building strength the main reason I use these is to thicken the back for pushing from when I bench.

Most people think in terms of shorter time periods (weeks rather than months) where as I'm coming up on 40 years training this August. The concept, when part of the DC system, was allowing longer and more productive training cycles (16 weeks or more). It also allowed, for some, the ability to train 2x a week on bodyparts without doing the same workouts.
 
Training Tip 106
Posture
So, although I'm no bodybuilder (though you might catch me occasionally flexing ha ha) I do know the odd trick or two which will enhance a lift or three.

For example imagining a cord pulling your chest a little so as to make your chest arch forward aids both chest movements and back. Try the reverse. Let your shoulders be forward of the chest as you row. The contraction, if you feel it at all, isn't that great. Pulling the shoulders back and chest forward and rowing again and you'll feel a much better contraction. The same is true for chest exercises.

Moving the elbow from being anchored alongside the body (as though a pin was holding them tight to the rib cage) and allowing them forward starts to change emphasis. You can go the whole hog and do overhead movements and see how different they feel from being alongside the body.

The same argument can be made for may other exercises. It shows how using the correct form and posture makes for a better contraction. In doing so you'll get that much more from the movement.
 
Training Tip 107
Try This And Feel The Difference
Dumbbell Leg Curls.

Yep, worth a google and maybe a YouTube video look or two. In essence the dumbbell is kept in position by being held between the feet. Ideally you'll use ab bench as a flat bench will take some of the load away when you'll keep more of it on the working thigh biceps (bicep femoris / hamstrings) using an inclined plane.

One reason it seems to add a little something more than a machine leg curl does is that you have to squeeze the legs together from ankle to glute. That in and of itself must add something more to aid a greater contraction.
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip 107
Try This And Feel The Difference
Dumbbell Leg Curls.

Yep, worth a google and maybe a YouTube video look or two. In essence the dumbbell is kept in position by being held between the feet. Ideally you'll use ab bench as a flat bench will take some of the load away when you'll keep more of it on the working thigh biceps (bicep femoris / hamstrings) using an inclined plane.

One reason it seems to add a little something more than a machine leg curl does is that you have to squeeze the legs together from ankle to glute. That in and of itself must add something more to aid a greater contraction.
Click to expand...

Leg day today.. I’m gonna try that.
See if I can’t get the hammies fired up for squats. Really like the idea of a squeeze during contraction.

Great tip. Please keep em’ coming..
Thanks Mobster!


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TheGainTrain said:
Leg day today.. I’m gonna try that.
See if I can’t get the hammies fired up for squats. Really like the idea of a squeeze during contraction.

Great tip. Please keep em’ coming..
Thanks Mobster!


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Click to expand...

One of our gym members had a new program and I saw it in there. I showed him how it's done and that made me think it'd be a great tip. Happy to see it. Doing barbell squats vs machine squats kick mine up a notch when I then hit the seated leg curls as per my log.

Try also squeezing the feet together on normal leg curls - see if that helps.
 
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Just doing some sauna after legs and yeah. . . That was great advice, really good contraction. By the time I hit squats my hammies were lit up and ready to press. (My quads are quite big compared to hams so I’ve been adopting a wide stance and warming up hams pre squat in an attempt to have them take more of the eccentric load)

Really felt a good connection from the first set in. And as I added weight I was able to increase past my normal working weight. Tho day 8 of dbol, could be that too.

Great tip, definitely implementing that into my hamstring workouts. Both machine and free weight felt great, prefer the machine tho.

Keep em coming bro, this is how I’m gonna grow....


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Training Tip 108
Fad Diets, New Ideas and How Primitive We Really Are
I've just watched a quick rant by a fella called James (I think he's a PT of renown). In it he referred to so-called celebs suggesting various really rather silly fad ideas. He also mentioned a bunch of crazy diet products on sale. He points out that current legislation means UK (and EU I think) companies can be fined HUGE amounts for un-permitted data release - such as allowing people who had opted out to have their email addresses become public. Yet idiots are being sold one current fad of having coffee before you sleep as way of losing weight. There were others. One can carry on with various condition and diet gurus coming up with what are sometimes seemingly crazy ideas. Yet here's the truth.

We are barely different to cavemen. I'd go as far as to say that what we think of as ancient civilizations and their people (the Egyptians for example - circa 10-20,000 years back) are no different to us. Beam one up via a handy time machine and they could eat what we do and vice versa . They could be taught what we do now - iPhones and pads - and we could do what they did. Biologically there will be no differences. The time scales are too tiny. If the oldest recognizable human is about 2 million years old then 10-20,000 is a mere fraction.

Yet, while our understanding of the science might be better the body remains the same. So, using the example above, taking coffee (a stim) before bed will have kept a caveman up half the night and it'll do the same for you. We just haven't changed enough for people to argue that this idea and that work better than what worked for primitive man.
 
Mobster said:
Training Tip 108
Fad Diets, New Ideas and How Primitive We Really Are
I've just watched a quick rant by a fella called James (I think he's a PT of renown). In it he referred to so-called celebs suggesting various really rather silly fad ideas. He also mentioned a bunch of crazy diet products on sale. He points out that current legislation means UK (and EU I think) companies can be fined HUGE amounts for un-permitted data release - such as allowing people who had opted out to have their email addresses become public. Yet idiots are being sold one current fad of having coffee before you sleep as way of losing weight. There were others. One can carry on with various condition and diet gurus coming up with what are sometimes seemingly crazy ideas. Yet here's the truth.

We are barely different to cavemen. I'd go as far as to say that what we think of as ancient civilizations and their people (the Egyptians for example - circa 10-20,000 years back) are no different to us. Beam one up via a handy time machine and they could eat what we do and vice versa . They could be taught what we do now - iPhones and pads - and we could do what they did. Biologically there will be no differences. The time scales are too tiny. If the oldest recognizable human is about 2 million years old then 10-20,000 is a mere fraction.

Yet, while our understanding of the science might be better the body remains the same. So, using the example above, taking coffee (a stim) before bed will have kept a caveman up half the night and it'll do the same for you. We just haven't changed enough for people to argue that this idea and that work better than what worked for primitive man.
Click to expand...

Man, the tips you give just make sense.

Thinking about it. The foods I feel best off of, have been staples for unknown ages. Fish, eggs (and the bird), nuts, berries. And wild game... oh man.

You’ve got me thinking, and very hungry. TY sir!


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Training Tip 109
Learning From Failure.
If you check my log for today you'll see how I bombed in the safety bar squat, recovered then smashed the rest of the set. A part of that was ego (2 chicks near by) and part anger (I was muttering and cursing to myself). Being a competitive guy (esp so in the past) I never quite got why some guys would compete knowing they had zero chance of placing.

But the truth is and was that I fail. All the damn time in fact. Be it as part of a set by hitting muscular failure or even in competition. My first had me 3rd of 3 (so last) and my 2nd had me 7th of 8 (so next to last). But I didn't like either so, slowly mind, learned from my mistakes and took my game up a notch. Year by year, inch by inch. By year 4 I was in the top 3 and after that 1st or 2nd for years. Now I'm coming to the end of my 'career' (such as might have been) I tend to want to hit specific lifts or challenges than try to win everything as I have done (or very nearly) in past competitions.

We learn from these experiences and, in doing so, become better. So 'fail' but don't lose.
 
Training Tip 110
The Best Time To Train.
Every so often we get asked about times of day to train. Studies on the subject, by sports scientists, are of course based on the average Joe. Using students, for the most part, they assume (at least it seems so) that we all work in offices. Yet a look at factory workers shows just the same info (for my sins I have worked in both professions in the past). Here's how it works.

Heat and the time we get up vs adaption: It doesn't really matter what time we get up. The studies took typical times (around 6.30 am or so) and then, in effect (by measuring heat and energy levels) about 3.5-4 hours. So the first peak was around 10am or so. As I said this was easily seen in those who worked in manual or factory type jobs. The second peak was roughly between 4pm and 6pm. This better suited the office types as being after they finished their day job. Ditto those students being studied.

However, the reality is we can all adapt. Not only can we get up earlier and be ready to rock 3-4 hours after doing so the same applies to night shifts, mid-afternoon gym sessions and so on. Therefore key is time after waking and the time between both peaks.
 
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