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Hey, as my gym membership comes to an end in little more than a month I'm becoming more positive that it would be best to get some stuff and start lifting heavy, at home. Now, are there any specifics I have to pay attention to? I've been looking around on internet shops and found some nice gear but I'm not really sure what to look out for. The bench of my desire is adjustable in 3 different heights, 4 different positions (making it suitable for flat bench press, incline and even decline! ) with a max loadabilty of 250kg (conside my bw at roughly 80kg and that's more than enough for some time). The pricing should be fine with 80€ The squat rack is 87x120cm and 7x adjustable in the height between 100 and 170cm, weight 25kg itself and has a loadability of 350kg. There are also 3 holder on lower positions and you can put keep your weights on a mounting. Price 140€ and gummi feet. A 187cm barbell with 30mm. I don't have a lot of space but I was told that a long bar is important if you want to rack up weight. 30€ A neck pad 14€ a chair mat that covers the space where I'd lower the weight ~20€ regular weights 130kg; 170€ I already have some dumbbells with up to 15kg weight that would fit. The overall price would be little more than an other year in the gym and probably more worthwile. Are there things I have to consider purchasing these articles that I'm not aware of? It might be wort mentioning that my max bench press is roughly 85kg, with the deadlift at 80kg and the squat at 100 (although I have to go lower again to get better form). There's probably some imbalance between my lifts, I started squatting and dl-ing quite late. Thanks for any input, I can't provide links to these articles right now so I made the description. And sorry if there will be some inconvenience with the kg/ cm data

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Bench Press Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Bench Press lifts (that have been reported) on the Nerd Fitness forum organized by Wilkes Points. For more information about the Wilkes Coefficient, go here. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system power lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. You can report a weight in a set that you've done. - You will only be given credit for the weight you lifted in terms of the leaderboard (i.e. if you did 100kg for 5 reps, you'd only be given credit for 100kg on the leadreboard). That said, if you provide a set with reps, I will calculate the an estimated 1RM for you. Just check out that column after I get the entry updated. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted and number of reps (typically your 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Wilkes score). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). NOTE: if you are viewing this on tapatalk, it may not work. Please view from your browser.

Hello everyone! Starting as I mean to go on, slowly (very slowly), with a lifting log here to throw out my programme with anyone who wants to follow my lifting journey. I'm an Irish guy in my mid twenties, living and lifting in Ireland. I eat all sorts of potatoes, sup all kinds of pints and am passionate about strength training and in general getting better than I was yesterday If you want to follow my journey that'd be cool. I'm about 80 Kilos at 5'9 and prepping for my first powerlifting comp in March, where I'm hoping to hit the following numbers: Deadlift: 440 lbs Squat: 374 lbs Bench: 275 Today I worked up to a max top set of 1x215lbs on the bench and dropped back to 4x5 @ 176 lbs. No touch and go, no ego, just me trying to be less weak than I am. This was followed by one arm rows, incline pressing, front raising and bro curls. I was training in the first gym I ever stepped into, where I once struggled to deadlift 135 lbs, and it was pretty cool to come back a little bit stronger. Anyways, that's all for now, nice to meet you you all and I'll check in tomorrow for some post squat follow-ups. Peace, The Irish lad

I'm looking for some ideas on programming for a Push-Pull on August 5th. RIght now I'm training using Danger's program, starting the 3 rep cycle next week. So far I've had 10-15% increases in the 10 rep cycle for all lifts and 7-8% increases for the 5 rep cycle in all but the bench, which was stagnant. If I continue the program that's 4 weeks for the the 3 rep cycle, then 3 weeks for the peak and test block which would leave 3 weeks to prep for the Push-Pull. Looking for suggestions for preparing and if that peak and testing block in the current program is worth completing or if I should start something over 6 weeks, after completing the 3 rep block, to lead into the competition? Thanks.

Our last mini challenge was deadlifts. This time lets move to another of the big 3. Bench Press 40/40 Challenge Our cardio workouts aren't done. This time you won't be able to stand there and rest, so get your spotter. We are benching and benching a lot. Rules are continuous touch and go benches. You can only rest in the up position and not rerack the bar. Spotter help = end of your lift. Easy mode 20 reps at 25% of your body weight. Normal mode 40 reps at 40% of your body weight. For those of you who have completed normal mode previously (this is a "bench mark" mini-quest, the warriors do it once or twice a year) here is hard mode. This is only recommended for people who have completed the 40/40 challenge as prescribed above. Hard mode Load up the bar to 225 lb for men, 135 lb for women (~ 100kg/60 kg) (or honestly... just whatever you feel comfortable with.... if 40% of your bodyweight is too light, but 225/135 lb is too much, shoot for something in between) AMRAP Be careful! Always use some form of spotter or safeties when performing bench press. Particularly when performing endurance work such as this, where your muscles are tested to their limits. You will start to fatigue, and we want to ensure that everyone can attempt the challenge safely. This is a fun test, but is not worth injuring yourself over. (aka don't do this) This mini will run for the first 2 weeks of the challenge, ending Sunday May 7. Good luck nerds!

Just a brief overview: I'm a 27 year old girl that weighs 137 at 5'6". About ten years ago, I lost 40 pounds predominatly by playing DDR, which should give you a bit of an idea of what kind of nerd I am. I'm a web developer, thus all the '90s technology references. My website even has a bonus if you type in the Konami cheat code at any point. So, old video games, computers, books, fantasy, art, music, I love it all and always have. Right now I have three main goals I've been tracking: 1. Run at least one mile per week 2. Either do an exercise regimen at home or at the gym 5 times/week 3. Weight I've been trying to get down to 130 for the past decade, and this time I'm going to do it. Running Current mile time: 9:00 I'd love to get that down to 8:00, so I'll be tracking that. I've actually been running 3 or 4 times per week, and even sometimes before work, which I've never done before, so I'm proud of that. I don't like running and I never will, but I get it the hell done. The faster I go, the less I have to run, so that's my motivation there. Lifting Right now, I can bench 3 x 5 sets of 80lbs. My goal is to get that up to 100lbs. Usually I do dumbbell curls (17lbs, 8 x 3), leg press (225lbs, 12 x 10), weighted squats (110lbs, 5 x 5), standing press (60lbs, 3 x 5), pull ups, hip ab/dduction, in no particular order. I don't do leg/arm/core/cardio days or anything like that. If I don't go to the gym, at home I do a minimum of 50/50/10 - squats/situps/pushups. If anyone has any suggestions on something better to do at home without equipment, I'd love to hear it! Weight loss Current weight: 137 Looking at my goals from last year, I weighed 146 a the beginning of the year, so I've lost 10 lbs overall for the year, which I think is a really good sign. Diet wise, I know I eat very well - I'm allowed to eat anything, but I VERY rarely drink pop or fruit juice, eat fried foods, eat dessert, eat junk food, eat anything packaged, and that's just how I've lived for over a decade. - Breakfast is usually two eggs or granola with peanut butter. - Lunch can be anything. This is usually the one time I go out, so it's my worst meal of the day. - Dinner is usually boiled/sauteed vegetables and rice/quinoa/pasta/beans or occasionally some sort of protein, or soup of the day. - I don't do snacks. - Drinks are tea, coffee, water. Biggest issue is alcohol - I usually drink beer when going out, so I'm going to drink less in general, and only wine or vodka/tonic-like drinks. Otherwise, there's really not much more I can cut out, I just need to eat slightly less. So, to make some of these goals clear and concise: 1. Bring mile time down to 8:00 2. Be able to do a complete pull up from hanging, and bench 100lbs. 3. Bring weight down to 130 I'm not exactly sure on a timeline, but I'm going to say four months for these, so by April, 2017. April, 2017! My other big goal for 2017 is to learn how to stretch, because I'm not flexible at all. I know it's important, I've just never really done it. Maybe yoga? Please suggest anything you can to me. Also, I deleted Facebook this year. Do it guys, it's awesome.

Injured ankle, boo. I'm banned from squatting, I can deadlift, but the PT would rather I didn't (so I won't *sigh*), so what does that leave?!?!?!?! BENCH! All the bench Bench in the morning Bench in the evening Bench in a pink tutu?? My last few lifting sessions are some combination of: Bench OHP dumbell stuff core stuff pull up/chin up stuff I should be SO JACKED by the time my ankle is fixed! As far as actual goals go, this shall mainly be a temporary placeholder. I really want to make some zero week goals. Zero week: Pick a new program. I am debating between: 1) Signing up for the Gold Medal Bodies Elements class (linked) - least stressful, perscribed workouts, and I think would be super helpful 2) Going in depth with the NF academy (which will still require some thought) - moderately stressful 3) Continuing on doing my own thing - most stressful This will be in addition to all the benching, of course. I really just need something to do on my off days, and yoga is a no go. So I need something else. I'm currently considering entering a competition bench only in January. We shall see. Possibly explore premium trial of Eat This Much - I like it, but I wish I had some of the premium features. But I've been hesitant to 'waste' my free trial on a week I won't be home. So I'll either go ahead and start it even though I'm going to be in a wedding this weekend, or I'll pick a two week time period to do it (the trial is 14 days long) I've been doing this thing where I don't eat dinner? Would not recommend. I also just need to get back to the basics a bit, so I'm going to make an excel (WHATZ UP EXCEL NERDS) and see how much that actually is. I feel silly for having a hard time keeping up, but the more I think about it, the more complicated it is, so it makes me feel less silly.

So this is my 45kg bench. I'm pretty happy with it but it is ugly and even though this weight is easy, when I get to 70kg I suck at it mightily, therefore it needs work. Any improvements? I know my hands are wrong, I pinched my hand beautifully, but edited out the swearing! Even though you can't see it my core is good and can get leg drive, but so weak.

So Hollywood has decided to make a blockbuster movie, a spinoff of Game of Thrones, called the Clash of Khal's. The story centers on Khal Drogo's rise to power and features many epic battles with rival Dothraki hordes. Jason Momoa told them to fuck off because they didn't offer him enough money, so now I'm playing the lead role. Of course, to play the lead in a blockbuster action movie, I have to get in shape to play the part. I'm gonna need to get ripped. I'm gonna need big showy muscles to look good on camera. I'm gonna need endurance to get through long days on set, and the coordination and agility to perform my own stunts and participate in fight scenes. Brogo goes to Khal-E-wood is going to be a series of challenges designed to get me in shape in much the same way that Hollywood actors use to train for their movie roles. I've been reading some of the articles about how these guys have been training to get in shape for their roles: How The Rock trained for Hecules, how skinny Jake Gylenhall trained for Southpaw, Hugh Jackman → Wolverine, and how Chris Pratt went from being Andy Dwyer to Peter Quill and Owen in Jurassic World. Most of these workout programs center on barbell training using strength and hypertrophy, and use additional circuits or complexes to increase weightloss and work muscle simultaneously. They may also incorporate fighting or martial arts work depending on the role. Basically, by supplementing my current strength routine I can make my workouts start approaching the rigor used by actors to prepare for action roles. So this series of challenges will take me around the guilds a bit. Where I'm at: My big 2016 goal is to bench press my bodyweight. I'm at 263 now, and plan to take a short break when I hit 250 to maintain weight and increase my bench and see if I can hit it. My best bench ever was 235, and I'm currently benching 180 for 3x3.I've spent the last two challenges nailing down my nutritional needs and figuring out how to manage steady weight loss. I've mostly been successful with losing a pound a week and keeping it up the last two months. More on this stuff later. I've also been reconditioning my big three barbell lifts. I have been successful with this as well, but progress has slowed since I'm getting closer to where I was before my 5 month lifting hiatus, and I'm cutting. Since I'm cutting, the big strength gains will have to wait a bit. But while I'm doing that, I can focus on some other conditioning work and bringing some of my current weaknesses up. Lately, of concern are my core strength and mobility. Plus I really want to get chins and pullups going and hopefully get more comfortable with jumping onto, up to, or over stuff. I'll be starting in the Assassins to try and condition myself to be more “Spry” by focusing on bodyweight exercises, core work, some agility, and mobility. Sounds Assassin-y enough to me. Here goes: Meta-Goal 1, Getting Spry: Goal 1, Stretch. Basically go through the stretching equivalents of squat, bench, and deadlift for stretching every day. Hip flexor stretch and/or couch stretch Thoracic extensions (palms up, arms back, head back) Forward bends If I just put a few minutes into each of these every day while I'm brewing coffee it'll pay off. And it should become routine, and I can start building on it by throwing some foam rolling and yoga poses in. Grading: 1 point for each day of the challenge. Goal 2, Core. I want a stronger and better coordinated core. I found this progression: http://jasonferruggia.com/gymnastic-secret-stronger-abs/ It looks like a decent place to start developing better coordination. These exercises will be my go-to's. And some of what this article says I think will help me with developing strength. http://www.elitefts.com/education/training/seven-rules-of-highly-effective-core-training/ And I really want to follow the hanging leg raise progression video at the end. Grading: 1 point for each core workout Goal 3, Jump. Box jumps, jump rope, distance jumping. Whatever gets the spring back in my step. 1 point for each jumping exercise. Goal 4, Pullups In my last workout, I was able to do 5 pullups with 40 lbs. of assistance. I'm going to keep shooting to decrease assistance until I can do an actual pullup. 1 point for each pullup workouts Bonus: +5 points if I complete one pullup from a dead hang by the end of the challenge. Bonus: +1 point if I do all 4 in one day. Meta-Grading 1: <25 F, 30 = C, 40=B 50=A Meta-Goal 2, Maintain. I still need to stay focussed on getting my bodyweight bench press. 2 strength workouts per week. (1 pt. Per workout) Keep average caloric intake at or below 3200 kcal/day. (1 pt per day <= 3200) Bonus: +10 points for a bodyweight bench press. Meta-Grading 2: Percentage of the <25 F, 30 C, 35 B, 40 A Meta-Goal 3: Circuits and Complexes I really like doing barbell complexes based around the Oly lifts which should help make me spry and encourage fat burn. Plus, when I do assistance work I usually organize it into supersets or circuits. But I want to do this more often and really up my game. Whenever I am working on the above and/or other assistance work, I'll perform them as a circuit or complex. It counts if there's no rest between exercises until the circuit is done and I've done it at least twice. Bonus: +1 if I do a circuit with all my spryness goals Meta-Grading 3: 1 pt for each circuit or complex. <4 F, 6 C 8 B, 10 A LUYL: Soto Zen style Zazen Meditation Enduring the lotus position with a straight back, a steady breath, and a still mind. Start with 5 min. per day. Add 5 min each week. tl;dr - I'm gonna jump, and do core, and hang from stuff, and work on being less of a slouch, while I'm cutting for the sake of a bodyweight bench press. Scoreboard: (as of ocho de Mayo) MG1: Stretch: 10 Core: 5 Jump: 1 Pullup: 2 MG2: Strength: 4 Nutrition: 0 MG3: Circuits: 2 LUYL: Zazen: 0

We all know that a true Warrior never lets a fellow Warrior skip leg day. But lets be honest beach body season is closing in and we worked on da wheelz last time with the 50/50 Squat challenge. So as your Guild Leaders we are encouraging you to embrace your inner bro and remember every day is upper body day. The challenge will target two of the biggest muscle groups that'll help you fill out that summer time tank or deep v tee. You're going to need two barbells, as you'll be super setting different movements with different weights, and a watch or your phone because its going to be timed. With a strict 25 minute cap, you'll complete 5 rounds of: Max Rep Bench Press @ 75% of your body-weight Max Rep Barbell(EZ Curl bar) Curl @ 25% of your body-weight This challenge should be approached with a bit of a strategy. You want to go to your (Max Reps - 1) on each of these sets, because you know there's going to be another round coming shortly thereafter. With a 25 minute cap, you have 5 minutes per round, which should allow you your necessary 3-5 minutes of rest time for muscle/energy recovery between sets. That said, this can very well burn a bit as you should always be keeping an eye on the clock. Options for our more veteran and our newly recruited Warriors. Advanced : 100% body-weight bench and 35% body-weight curls or chin ups Scaled : (if your 1RM is less than your body-weight) 70% of your 1RM for bench and 10% body-weight in dumbbells(curl both at the same time) Scores will be all rounds added together. A score of 120 will net you 1.5/1.5 to STR/STA, 90 will net you 1/1, and a score of 60 will get you .75/.75. We'll run this challenge until 6/4 to give you guys ample time to get your bench on. Get after it! stolen written by @brahway

I was doing well with lifting a few months ago running 5/3/1, and playing with other intermediate level programs. But, life was turned upside down and after five months off of regular access to a full gym, I need to rebuild my foundation. I re-building my base strength by running Starting Strength -- with a few tweaks perhaps. I've made this very detailed so that I can follow it precisely without any second guessing and to give myself an "objective to-do list" so I stay consistent and don't change something just because I'm bored. My main purpose in posting this here is to cast a wide net and get some more diverse feedback on what I've got and see if there's anything I've forgotten or any advice to improve it. Current Program Based on Starting Strength. Main Objectives: I. Rebuild strength base and recondition to lifting after several months off of training. II. Correct mistakes and fix weaknesses that may have arisen from shortcuts and deviations during my initial beginner phase. III. Try to extend linear progression as long as possible before graduating to an intermediate program. 1) Start Protocol: Here are my starting weights, sets, and reps for all lifts, though Press, and Power Cleans have not been added. I'll add those in to alternate between bench and deadlifts after the first deload to allow extra recovery. I'm debating whether to alternate front squats or high bars with low bar down the road for a similar reasons to help on squat. I'm not starting with just the bar, but weights that are easy enough, while still making me sweat. (most are probably in the 30-50% range of my old maxes). Squat: 135# 5x5 Bench: 105# 5x5 Deadlift: 185# 1x5 Press: 65# 5x5 Power Clean: 95# 5x5 My next workout will be: Squat: 155# 5x5 Bench: 120# 5x5 Deadlift: 205# 5x5 2) Workout Protocol The goal is to execute planned weights, sets, and reps on the main lifts with strict and proper form and allow proper recovery between sets. The main three lifts for the day come first always. Optional assistance lifts or callisthenics include: chinups, pullups, pushups, lunges, light KB work, core exercises, curls, and overhead pressing movements (prior to the addition of the press as a lift). No additional assistance lifts will be added unless they are needed to compensate for failed reps. Each set will have 2-5 min of rest between. On this, less is better provided my rate of breathing and my pulse have returned to a comfortable but active rate. (How it feels to walk at a moderate pace for several minutes). If a mistake or weakness is detected during a lift, it must be corrected by mental cue on the next rep. Otherwise the set is considered a failure. I will allow ONE AND ONLY ONE makeup set for a lift if I believe the set failed due to improper but still correctable form or lack of rest between sets. I can add an assistance lift, IF AND ONLY IF, a fail to reach 5x5 on a main lift, and the assistance lift has relevant corrective benefit to the lift and the aspect of its failure. 3) Progression Protocol. For each successful 5x5 workout, I will increase, by set weights depending on which deload phase (the number of deloads I've done previously). The goal being to maintain a linear progression throughout the program. Phase 0 Phase 1 Phase 2 Squat: +10 +5 +2.5 Bench: +5 +5 +2.5 Deadlift: +10 +10 +5 Press: +5 +2.5 +1.25 Power Clean: +5 +2.5 +1.25 For now all my workouts are squat, bench, and deadlift (SBD). And when time permits I throw in an assistance lift or two. This is to get my big three up by taking advantage of LP. 4) Follow Deload protocol I will deload and graduate between phases when I have not achieved 5x5 at the weight two workouts in a row. Deloads will be 10-15%. Bench Deload: After first, alternate workouts between Bench and Strict Press while maintaining 5x5 and 5 lbs increases. Deadlift Deload: After first, alternate workout between Deadlift and Power Clean while maintining 5x5 and 10 lbs increases. Squat Deload(?): After first, alternate workout between Low Bar and High bar squat, maintain 5x5 and 10 lbs increases. Proceed through Deload phases with decreasing weights. After Phase 2, deload 10-15% and reduce sets x reps to 3x5 and begin at phase 0. 5) Recovery Protocol a. Only add workouts to compensate for anticipated appointments or circumstances that make it impossible to get to the gym. b. Never lift more than four days in one week. c. Never lift for more than two consecutive days. d. In the event of obvious, and ongoing physical limitations to my normal activities: 1. If the limitation is limited to one part of the body deload 10% on lifts that affect that part of the body. 2. If the limitation is systemic, drop assistance work, deload all lifts 10%. 3. Consider an increase of fluids, calories, and protein. 4. Add additional recovery and warmup work as appropriate. e. In the event of injuries, drop all lifts affecting the injured body part until the injury has healed. Take appropriate action to help recover the injury. Deload lifts affect the injured body part a minimum of 10%. f. Get 8 hours of sleep every night (or at least on average). g. Maintain good hydration levels. 6) Graduation protocol Follow the program until a stall during phase 2 on the 3x5 program is reached. Afterward program the lift in a 5/3/1 cycle. When all lifts have graduated, deload, and begin an intermediate program. 7) Abort protocol Only quit this program if any problems persist despite following the recovery protocol.

This is sort of a maintenance challenge for me. I'm competing in powerlifting for the first time on Sunday so I'm pretty much fixed into a routine for the initial week. After that it's going to be about keeping up the good things from the last challenge and focusing on maintaining a good, stable balance between lifting, work and life stuff. Goals! 1. Compete! I am competing in powerlifting for the first time on Sunday 7th of February. IPF-affiliated 83kg class. Planned lifts are mainly submaximal as I'm aiming to go 9/9. 190kg squat, 100kg bench, 220kg deadlift. 2. Maintain! I started out the last challenge aiming to maintain weight and have ended up losing nearly 1.5kg. This is good because it means I will easily be able to compete at 83kg but it does mean I need to be eating more to maintain. So my goal after this week will be to find my maintenance calories and try to get my weight sitting steadily in the 83-84kg range. 3. Log! The last challenge showed that there's some room for improvement around my food logging. So alongside daily weigh-ins, I will post my target vs. achieved macros every day. Except Saturdays 4. Train! I have two sub-goals here, both of which will be difficult to measure during the challenge but I will be starting to work towards them: Squat 200kg+ in competition in AprilImprove my bench press technique and set up and bench more in competition

https://vimeo.com/155743833 Password is my username, case-sensitive. YIKES, that bench press is a frakkin MESS. My shoulders aren't locked, so that's something I'll work on. But I'm also all wibbly during the bench, and I'm not sure why? My shoulder blades aren't moving, my butt isn't moving, my legs aren't moving (you can see in the reflection.) Is it just my breathing or inability to balance the bar? Help please. Hopefully the deadlift looks better. Sheesh... Thanks in advance...

Short Version: What should the week before testing my 1RM look like? Long Version: I tend to plan things out far in advance. I planned on continuing to focus on strength and cutting out some bodyfat until around the end of November. Currently I do 5/3/1 with BBB 4x/week and run around 10-15 miles most weeks. I understand the basics of the day of warm up to 1RM and how to warm up to that weight. I also think I am going to do a single 1RM a day rather than big 3 in a day comp style. But should I just plan on putting 1RM testing at the end of a deload week just before shifting gears? Oh, I plan on shifting gears to focus more on hypertrophy in the fall when I stop trying to cut fat and focus on muscle. Yes, I know that 1RM doesn't really help me move forward in my training but November will be my anniversary with the barbell. I kinda want to see what I have accomplished in that year.

My first ever Warrior challenge!! I am SO PUMPED to crank out this challenge and really blow my numbers out the water! Challenge 1: Raise my Squat to 185 lbs, Deadlift to 195 lbs and my OHP to 130 lbs -Do my Strong Lifts 5x5 workout Tues, Thursday, and Saturday (or 3x week with 1-2 days off for recovery) -Grading will be as follows: A: Reach or exceed all stated goals B: Reach 90% of stated goals C: Reach 70% of stated goals D: Reach 50% of stated goals F: Either no gains or actual strength losses Challenge 2: Decrease my body weight by 12 lbs, with at least 80% fat loss -Continue to eat a high protein, medium fat diet (with as few carbs as possible, and those mostly vegetable in nature) 2A: Corollary-In order to meet or exceed said Challenge, attempt to eat no more than 2856 calories while consuming 260-332 grams of protein daily. Weigh in first thing Friday (ie as soon as I get up Friday) sans clothing for most accurate reading -Grading will be as follows A: Meet or exceed stated challenge goal B: Lose 9 lbs with no muscle loss C: Lose 6 lbs with no muscle loss D: Lose 3 lbs with no-slightly no muscle loss F: Maintain or gain weight Challenge 3: Increase my Bench to 160lbs with as near perfect form as possible -As with Challenge 1, continue Stronglifts 5x5 Tu/Th/Sat or 3x weekly with 1-2 days in between for recovery -Grading will be as follows: A: Meet or exceed stated goal B: Bench 160 lbs with minor flaws (too quick a descent, using too much back, not tight enough) C: Bench 155 lbs with as near perfect form as possible D: Bench 150 lbs with as near perfect form as possible F: Bench 150 lbs or less with continued form errors (descent too quick, not tight enough, using too much back) Side Quest: Squat 400+ lbs While different than my first Challenge, I really want to Squat more than my bodyweight.....then Ill know Im one strong dude! Grade: A: Achieve a B or better in Challenge 1 B: Achieve a C or better in Challenge 1 C: Achieve a D or better in Challenge 1 D: Achieve a D- in Challenge 1 (a D minus would be 10-30% of my stated 185 lb goal) F: Completely fail Challenge 1 Edit: Forgot to include my starting stats: Male 332 lbs (as of 11/07/14) 5'7'' (ft/inches) B/F %: Average of the DoD, YMCA, MYMCA, and Covert-Baily formulas:31.95% (as of 11/12/14-will re-measure on 11/14/14)

Im pretty sure IM hitting parallel on all my squats, but Im worried IM not keeping my chest up enough. Also, Ive watched a lot of videos on proper bench form with guys arching themselves in half to bench (I cant do that, my back/body just isnt that flexible.) So there's that. Having back issues in the past I want to make sure IM not screwing up my back again/ hurting my shoulders. Thanks in advance folks!! *WARNING!!!!!!* Ginormous buns and thighs Squat warmup<-----------empty bar Still warming up<----------95 lbs Workset<--------------------120lbs 5x5 (in total) Bench warmup<-----------empty bar Workset<--------------------140lbs 5x5(in total) Pendlay row<---------------70lbs 5x5 (in total)

Hello, First videos Bench Back Squats Front Squats Any input would be greatly appreciated

So the last challenge went fairly well. I stuck to my training goal, I figured out that bulking is far too stressful for me at the moment and I tried to get the proper promotion, even if I failed at the first hurdle. I'm now looking at alternate routes to a smaller promotion and trying to work out what I want to do with my life. My unit head (manager's manager) asked me on Thursday what I saw myself doing in five years time and I just didn't have a clue. I really don't know what I want to do at all. I've just been stumbling along with no eye on the future because I was just happy to have a job. I'm now taking some time to work out what I want to do. Main Goal This year is about levelling up my life. It's about getting a higher powerlifting total (aiming for 250kg by June, ideally 275kg this year). It's about building muscle mass. It's about getting that gorram promotion! Task 1: Stronger Body Increase my 1RM on all three of my competitive lifts. I'm hoping to hit 1xBW bench, 100kg squat and anything over 100kg for deadlift. I'm carrying on with Russian Masters on squats. Final week is in two weeks time and then I'll probably start another cycle (or do whatever I'm told to do, really). I'm still doing 5/3/1 on bench, but going with a closer grip as that seems to help avoid my shoulder issues. I should hit my last session of the current deadlift programme in the last week of this challenge. I'm taking form videos of every session and need to root out my issues. Task 2: Stronger Discipline I'm terrible at getting to bed on time. This bit is simple but actually probably my most challenging task. I need to get to bed before midnight Sunday to Thursday and before 1am on Friday. I'll give myself bonus points for getting to bed before 11pm and let everyone yell at me if I go to bed after midnight on a week night. If you see me in chat after midnight on a week night... tell me off! ETA: The first 9 days of the challenge but still aiming to get to bed around midnight. Task 3: Stronger Ambition I don't think this will be an easy one to mark, but it's something I need to do. I need to work out what the f*** I want to do with my life. Perhaps I do need to do a "normal" job in my organisation for a while to work out what I really want to do long-term, because I don't know if I can really do what I want. I really have no idea of where my strengths lie and I have tendency just to toddle along until I'm told what I'm doing is good or bad. So the task is to look at my options, work out a clear plan of training, speak to my managers about what I can do in the office to get more experience and get started on moving on with my life. Bonus task: Stronger Social Media Presence I really need to post more often to my blog. I'm going to try to do at least once post a week as this is getting silly!

Hey hey, just starting a post thread for my battle log. I'm currently on the starting strength program, using madcow programming. Current maxes Squat - 265 x 5 Bench - 195 x 5 Deadlift - 295 x 5 Press - 135 x 5 Monday 19th Workout Squat - 135 x 5, 165 x 5, 200 x 5, 230 x 5, 265 x 5 Bench - 100 x 5, 120 x 5, 145 x 5, 170 x 5, 195 x 5 Instead of just cleaning, I did some hang clean technique drills to work on my form a bit. I did a hang clean from mid thigh, just below the knee, then from the ground using 95lbs, 115lbs, and 135lbs for 2 sets each. I'm having a bit of trouble with my hip drive on the heaver weights, I can't seem to get the bar moving fast enough. It's possible that I was just starting to get tired since it was near the end of my workout though. I also did two sets of 1 arm rows using 40lbs, for 20 reps and 2 sets of 10 dips. I felt pretty good afterwards, getting the dips was tough for me, I could barely do 3 of them a couple months ago. Progress!

Krisptonite, cos I eat too many crisps, so they're like my Kryptonite. Like Superman. Sort of. Geddit? Puns! My Main Goal for this challenge is to get back into strength training and eating properly. This might seem like a simple, generic challenge, but It needs to be done. NO CRISPS! Be mindful of eating and watch out for bad emotional eating habits. My danger behaviour is retreating to my room with a massive bag of crisps. I need to not do that any more. I think I understand the reasons why it has been happening, so I will address them in my life challenge. This element of my challenge will involve cooking more, minimal buying of ready made stuff and NO CRISPS. CON:4 Go to the gym 3 times a week. I've just (tonight) joined the ace gym that i learned to lift at at the beginning of the year. It takes an hour to get there (sometimes more) and I have to get two buses, but I don't care. I love the atmosphere, the people, the equipment. I need to remind myself that. I need to get addicted to endorphins again. STA: 3, CON:1 Dead lift 100kg. Bench 60kg. Yup. When I was lifting regularly, my PBs were 80kg dead lift and 45kg bench. Totally doable goals, I hope. STR:5 Life challenge: Make time for myself. I have a lot of extra curricular activities, and a chronically ill housemate/best friend who isn't coping very well. I will do one thing each day that benefits me and me only. I will finish reading The Nao of Brown, I will play the piano, I will paint my fingernails, I will sit quietly in a room and breath. As well as keeping up with all my regular responsibilities, of course. WIS:2

I'm back! In hindsight, this should have been an Arnold thread with the whole I'll be back thing.. But this is a Rob challenge thread. Things will be fantastic. Brilliant. Molto bene! Allons-y! At some point today, I'm going to edit this list. There'll be points, a grading scheme, etc. etc. Until then, it looks like this: 6 weeks to 20 pullups - I'm going to do the initial test... let's call it Saturday? Last "challenge" I started to work on this, but then I changed my workout and now it's been a few weeks, so it's exciting to see what column I'll get to start week 1 in. 3 STR5/3/...2? - 24 workouts. 24 chances to be a superstar. It works very similar to 5/3/1, but there's a few differences that I'll outline below. 3 STR, 2 CONBasically... Run - I'm going to be a hambeast this winter, but I don't want to be too much of a hambeast, and since I'll be walking places a hell of a lot less (read - never)... I'm re-instituting the daily mile. 42 days. 42 miles. Pretty easy, yes? 3 STASomething something food - I should probably do something about food tracking here. Let me tell you, it's gotten super easy to eat and eat and eat. I'm pretty sure this winter, if I track food, it'll be to hold myself back rather than to be all *stern face* eat moar! Yesterday for breakfast, I had 1.3c oats (dry measure), 6 eggs, 4 slices of bacon, and I was hungry like an hour later...As I was saying. 4000 is a nice number. Lettuce start there. 3 CON 1 STRThere is no 5.My cameras aren't working. But if they were, there'd be a picture here and here for you to look at the difference between regenerations.. or whatever. But they'd be under spoiler tags, and not links. So according to the weighing devices, we're starting off the challenge at 171.3 lbs* and 6.5^. A few weeks ago before I started the bulk I was at 166lbs* and 6^ and felt really super skinny. I'm probably going to take those numbers with a larger grain of salt than I normally would, and you probably should too. I'm probably much better hydrated than I was in the "before bulk" measurements so I'm probably definitely carrying more water with that weight increase too. I mean, it would be nice if the 5lb weight increase in the last 3-4 weeks was all lean muscle...but it's probably definitely not. Footnotes * I weigh myself after my morning bidniss gets done, and then I put it in a spreadsheet that averages my weight across 7 days. ^ I measure each point with the calipers 3 times and average them out. If I really wanted to get crazy, I'd do it 5 times, discard the highest and lowest, and average the rest. But I don't want to get that crazy.

"Well well well, what do we have here, an AWOL ODST trooper returning back to Firebase Alpha." This is my quiet little re-entry back in to the world of Nerd Fitness, proper strength training, the Warriors Guild and finding an income. I'll try to stick by the challenge script. For a bit of a background, as of the 18th of Sept, I'll have been without employment for a whole 365, an achievement which hasn't appeared on my XBOX, gone through the drag of 6 months of failed job applications and interviews and of not having daily objectives to achieve, went back to university to start a Masters in Project Management and now I need to hit the streets again and get out of this (more on that later). Even without work life has been hectic: I've planted a church with some good friends in a close by city, have played my first season of soccer since I was 6, (Regular season Wins:2 Draws:2 Losses: 14) Go Citylife FC! Have limited my own training by bungling up my shoulder nicely. Have started training a younger guy in the Ways of the Warrior out of my garage. Challenge main quest: Back to basics 1. Regular garage strength training 3x a week, rehab permitting 2. Run 2x a week, LSD or sprint sessions, to be tracked and posted here. 3. Rugby skills every week. Challenge life quest: Get an Income 1. Find employment via the traditional methods regularly, apply for 5 jobs per week If any are available. 2. Cold call 10 companies, either phone, face to face or email. 3. Complete initial market research for start-up. Challenge side quest: Shoulder wellness Shoulder hasn't been fully functional in a long time. Exacerbated the problem about 6 months ago, went from impingement on any over hand vertical pull, pull ups, lat pull downs, to being unable to bench, OHP, hold my arm out horizontal. Finally sucked it up and went to the docs, initial assessment was an inflammation of the supraspinatus tendon. Ultrasound shows an impingement. Recovery: 10 days of anti inflammatory tables as provided by the doc. Steroid injection scheduled for this Thurs, 48 hours without any resistance after that. Build up shoulder from the ground up, rotator cuff health. More later Peace

So, I went to the rec center and worked out. I didn't have much time, so I decided to do a small number of heavy lifts and GTFO. I deadlifted for the first time ever. I only lifted 50lbs, but I concentrated on my form and kept my back straight the whole time. I squatted my bodyweight +20lbs. I benched 30lbs. w00t, w00t, and w00t. Then I did some dumbbell rows, and unbeknownst to me, my form was incorrect. I was sticking my elbow out too far and curling my wrist. Some Guy came up to me... I have anxiety. It manifests itself in social situations, and when people are in my personal space. My usual reaction to being approached by a stranger is somewhere along the lines of onoz onoz onoz onoz! This time was no exception. When he started kindly giving me pointers and demonstrating what a proper dumbbell row should look like, it hit me. Wait a minute. I am feeling nervous because I have anxiety. It's like feeling congested when I have a cold--nothing I can do but acknowledge it and do the best I can to work with it. This guy is not going to kill me. He is telling me good information and I should concentrate on it. So, I did. I pulled my elbow in, just like he said. I kept my wrist straight. I felt muscles that I hadn't been feeling before. It was amazing. So, I did a few sets of proper dumbbell rows, cleaned up, stretched, and left. On the way out, the guy wished me a good evening and I said goodbye, like it was no big deal. It was only when I got out to the car that I realized that he'd been touching me, guiding my elbow to where it should have been, and I didn't freak the hell out. That's HUGE in my world. I was able to get through a normal social interaction, including completely inocuous touching, without an adrenaline response. I am so proud of myself!! Here's to stepping outside my comfort zone!

I'm feeling pretty good after last challenge, and normally I'd want to cut all summer. This time I'm changing it up a bit. Here we go! Fitness goals: 1) Increase my squat and bench 1RM by 15 lbs, 275 lbs and 245 lbs respectively. 2) How you say? How bout a round of Smolov Jr. for bench and squats. Bench and squat 4X per week (oof). Squat: Week 1 Monday 6x6 182.5 Wednesday 7x5 195 Friday 8x4 207.5 Saturday 10x3 220 Week 2 Monday 6x6 185 Wednesday 7x5 197.5 Friday 8x4 210 Saturday 10x3 222.5 Week 3 Monday 6x6 187.5 Wednesday 7x5 200 Friday 8x4 212.5 Saturday 10x3 225 Bench: Week 1 Monday 6x6 160 Wednesday 7x5 172.5 Friday 8x4 185 Saturday 10x3 195 Week 2 Monday 6x6 162.5 Wednesday 7x5 175 Friday 8x4 187.5 Saturday 10x3 197.5 Week 3 Monday 6x6 165 Wednesday 7x5 177.5 Friday 8x4 190 Saturday 10x3 200 3) Eat more brotein bro. If I'm going to make gains on Smolov Jr. I'm going to need to eat for it. 200 g of protein a day, 2400+ calories. No alcohol (except on the 4th of July because America) Life goal: I want a motorcycle, continue saving, start shopping around (bonus points to me if I buy one this challenge). Here is what I want

I'm looking to buy a utility bench, specifically to use for exercises I've been given by my Active Release Technique physio. I wondered if anyone had any recommendations for utility benches. At the moment I have found these two which look reasonable and don't have any of the 'extras' which I wouldn't need. http://www.tesco.com/direct/bodymax-cf325-fid-utility-bench/270-5452.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=270-5452 http://www.amazon.co.uk/York-Fitness-45000-Bench/dp/B000N3T0RS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372505081&sr=8-1&keywords=exercise+bench Thank you for your help! Michael