Health, fitness, gains and wellbeing

[OriginalContentGuy]

World's Strongest Man 2026 is happening right now (no live stream from WSM on YouTube for the same or similar reasons why no new server for P99, prove me wrong).

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Let's go Martins and all the WSM 2026 competitors! The Arnold's this year was nutzoid and with the lineup at this year's WSM I am fully confident that this year it will be just as fully nuts.

P.S. If you notice the shoes Magnus wears they look like couch cushions and they are not optimal for this stuff anymore than is squatting heavy on a mattress which is why he eventually takes them off.

[OriginalContentGuy]

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Now that I have your attention what's your opinion on this movement? Jon Pall Sigmarrson who was one of the strongest deadlifters and incredible athlete was recorded famously saying 'There is no reason to be alive if you can't deadlift.' My commentary is only that he was locking out a big lift at the exact time he said this. Anyone who has ever deadlifted a PB knows that feeling, and since Jon Pall passed and can't comment I think we can give him some leeway. There are a few feats singularly impressive as lifting a humongous mass off the floor and this is a fundamental movement pattern for the species in my view. I don't know just where we are headed as a species in evolutionary time (extinction notwithtanding) but humans evolved hands and we were required to use them to move heavy shit from time to time. In most of the world this is a daily reality. And maybe that is part of the reason why as they say in powerlifting that the meet hasn't gotten started until the bar gets on the floor.

What are your thoughts?

Also sounds like it was a once-or-twice-in-a-decade competition at WSM this year. Enjoy your Lifting!

[Jimjam]

Three people beat the former record time for the London Marathon; Jacob Kiplimo, Yomif Kejelcha and Sabastian Sawe. The last two of those completed the run in under two hours

Astonishingly this was Kejelcha’s first marathon. Sawe holds the new record at 1:59:30.

Pretty incredible accomplishments to maintain 13mph for two hours. Seems almost superhuman - somewhat amusing for how similar the record keeper’s name is to a certain X-Men character with kinetic powers.

[OriginalContentGuy]

Three people beat the former record time for the London Marathon; Jacob Kiplimo, Yomif Kejelcha and Sabastian Sawe. The last two of those completed the run in under two hours

Astonishingly this was Kejelcha’s first marathon. Sawe holds the new record at 1:59:30.

Pretty incredible accomplishments to maintain 13mph for two hours. Seems almost superhuman - somewhat amusing for how similar the record keeper’s name is to a certain X-Men character with kinetic powers.

The only thing I hate about running as training is impact on joints. Phenomenology is a thing but is there something about elite distance runners' bone and tendon kinematics that just allows them the mileage without issue? The aerobic fitness that elites display in for example VO₂ₘₐₓ is a different kind of strength and no less impressive or shouldn't be. I'm gonna run a mile tomorrow (it's raining) Jim. Do you run? What's a good time for a fit guy untrained to running but like lifts weights and plays sports in your opinion as a metric? Pretend I'm 30 if you wanna really dial in your reply!

[OriginalContentGuy]

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Anyone please circle back to deadlifts anytime if it fancies you. Since I brought him up enjoy this meme compilation by JackPGM and worth a watch for some more cool moments from Iceland's former reigning Viking and the first man to win World's Strongest Man four times.

[Jimjam]

The only thing I hate about running as training is impact on joints. Phenomenology is a thing but is there something about elite distance runners' bone and tendon kinematics that just allows them the mileage without issue? The aerobic fitness that elites display in for example VO₂ₘₐₓ is a different kind of strength and no less impressive or shouldn't be. I'm gonna run a mile tomorrow (it's raining) Jim. Do you run? What's a good time for a fit guy untrained to running but like lifts weights and plays sports in your opinion as a metric? Pretend I'm 30 if you wanna really dial in your reply!

I don’t run cos of joints issues and other stuff. I do admire runners though. Phone says I walked 16,762 steps today, which I feel is pretty decent. I’ve been having a lot of drive to walk recently.

I think at least of the two runners mentioned above are Kenyans, who I understand come from very elevated areas which is a massive boon for staying oxygenated.

When I used to run I found better results not overdoing it. It isn’t like weights where you can do a large % and go until failure. If you run to exhaustion its not good. I’m very out of date on sport studies though. I did it as a subject when I was like 18 (also pretend i’m in 30s… maybe more like 40s lol).

[OriginalContentGuy]

I might be able to jog a mile without stopping but alas I am not myself anatomically Kenyan. I'll go first and post it so you have a time to beat. We're probably close to the same age but I'm in pretty fit climbing shape for my frame. My cardio needs improvement which sucks since the whole area where I am is a dumping ground for jet fuel exhaust and logistics pollution to the extent that spending time outdoors has here has measurable increased risk of parkinsons I remember reading. But I also am on the tail end of a 5 year vaping habit because mogging is stressful. Oh well more cardio!

[Jimjam]

Apparently skipping is a good forerunner to running. Running gets a lot easier once you have some spring back in your legs/feet.

[OriginalContentGuy]

Apparently skipping is a good forerunner to running. Running gets a lot easier once you have some spring back in your legs/feet.

Just ran an 8-minute-mile without stopping. My pace was pretty even I sense. As Rick Boogs said: "Hm, Maybe I do what know I'm talking about." I'm not surprised because I had no expectation except attempting it properly (creatine and fast carbs, bcaas as preworkout; stretching and being mindful of mechanics and good form) and I'm actually convalescing from an ear infection probably or something like one. And for reference I planned the route ahead (two perimeters of a local park) but I wasn't sure as I arrived if two laps was enough because specific reasons on the day and only confirmed it just now. I chose to quit at two because I aimed for two and would have just posted the actual distance if it was wrong. I could definitely have done another lap or more.

I did something similar to skipping for the warm-up which I like and learned from Soviet weightlifters. Stand on a block or on the lowest run of a bleachers. Just land on the ground from this slightly elevated position and then do a broad jump immediately as hard as you can for distance. I also stretched and wore appropriate clothes and had sensible shoes.

Your turn Jim. My advice is plan the route ahead on like Measuremaps (https://measuremaps.com/) so that when you arrive you can previsualize running it once you are warm and ready. You have a mark to aim for get er dunn sunnnNn

[OriginalContentGuy]

I'm about a quarter through reading this thread from the OP because I never have.

Did a bit of research and feel like if I’m going to go for NAD+ boosting, oral NR is an ok way

Probably all a waste of money though, and I was surprised to see that no one method of administration seems to be superior. I would always assume injection would be, since then the digestion process isn’t changing the molecule. Not like I could afford or would want to buy even if I had the $$ some form of injectable NAD booster

But I’ll try an oral or two and see if I notice slight differences. Workout performance and daily energy has been pretty steady and something I’m always paying attention to, so hopefully a small change could be noticed

But other supps I’ve tried and had no qualms about stopping due to no effect. I just wanted to at least try some form of NAD+ by age 41ish

Nope if you are still alive bud the latest word through the grapevine from sources I find authoritative enough is that just supplementing bolus doses of straight nad+ (not sure about NR) is improving not just mitochondrial function in healthy cells, but the nad+ may preferentially be used by senescent and cancerous cells.

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See this vid @31:45 for discussion. I take a (https://nootropicsdepot.com/optinad/) blend and you can see it contains Quercetin and Apigenin which inhibit CD38.

[OriginalContentGuy]

Dude, I love the idea of an enhanced league for all sports.. The idea of humans pushing themselves to the absolute limit in what the human body can do would be awesome.. I mean yeah the health issues and injuries would be brutal, buuuuuuut........ that's not my problem...

I'm sure you must have heard but Enhanced Games what in a week from now? What's new witchu?

[OriginalContentGuy]

Regarding squats/general gyming...

Dropping slowly gives the muscle a negative contraction component. A bit like the PNF stretch mechanism. You gain on the up and the down motion.

You are at the gym for 2 hours why only workout for ½ of that time. Maybe things have changed since i learnt my skillz.

You are describing eccentric versus concentric contraction. Consider the hamstrings in a squat. Someone correct me but In the down of a squat your hamstrings are contracting but the muscle bellies are lengthening as you reach the bottom. In a concentric contraction (the up part) the hamstrings contract but the muscle belly is shortening. There is also an isometric contraction where the muscle is contracting without an up or a down. All three are different stimuli and produce slightly different adaptations. Eccentric contraction tends to cause more soreness but like you said you gain on the up and the down. A practical upshot of knowing this is that if you are just sore as fuck but need to train something you can just do the concentric part of a movement hard as a workaround.

[OriginalContentGuy]

If you don't regularly lift anything heavier than money you are wasting health and money.

[Reiwa]

If you don't regularly lift anything heavier than money you are wasting health and money.

Lifting things is a good way to save money.

[Wayward]

Slow eccentric and quick-burst concentric is my jam, sometimes referred to as Time Under Tension strength training.

The real benefit, as I've noticed over many years practicing it, is the reinforcement of the mind-muscle connection. On a squat, for instance: lowering your butt down very slowly will force you to concentrate on things like posture, hamstring contraction, grip, etc. It's all about going against gravity - and in a squat gravity is working to lower the weight - so you combat that by lowering slowly.

Time Under Tension, also, has the added benefit of making you capable of being stronger with a smaller body size / weight. I'm a former wrestler, and our very old-school coach taught us that 5 reps is enough. If you can do 5 reps in a set, throw a bit more weight on and try 5 more reps for the next set. Repeat until you struggle to complete 3 reps, and that's how you know you're done. This will get you strong, and will also avoid you gaining a lot of excess muscle mass (which will increase your weight class, in wrestling.)

To this day, I still use this. I will do a 5x5 set for the heavy compound lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Military/Bench Press, Barbell Row) and gradually increase weight from set 1-5, aiming for failure at rep 3 on set 5. I've gone up in my max weights on all lifts, but remained the same weight for nearly 15 years now.

Last thing I'll add: Unless required for special circumstances like specialized athletics, those core 4 (really the core 3, with the barbell row being an add-on) will get you strong and also make you look jacked. Everything else is unnecessary (albeit helpful at times).

Squat, Deadlift, Military Press will work literally every muscle group in your body. From core, to biceps, to back, calves, wrists, etc. And I'm a firm believer that you only need 5-rep sets to achieve the jacked status. I believe that because I have been jacked for almost 20 years now, after doing mainly 5-rep sets for the last 25 years.

[OriginalContentGuy]

^This person trains

[OriginalContentGuy]

How's your grip, coach? Beyond athletics it's super important for e.g. as correlative factor for longevity, because wrists and everything attached are complicated. Doing any extra grip homework in your current block?

[Jimjam]

^This person trains

yeah, I appreciated that one too!

[Kaia]

Quote:
Originally Posted by
OriginalContentGuy
^This person trains
yeah, I appreciated that one too!

yeah, that Wayward post was pretty comprehensive. I remember reading about Time Under Tension stuff a while back, good to see someone still applying it. It's easy to get caught up in chasing numbers, but that mind-muscle connection thing is important, too.

[OriginalContentGuy]

yeah, that Wayward post was pretty comprehensive. I remember reading about Time Under Tension stuff a while back, good to see someone still applying it. It's easy to get caught up in chasing numbers, but that mind-muscle connection thing is important, too.

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[Wayward]

^^^
lolol

I suffered a permanent ligament injury in my thumb about 10 years ago, which caused me to switch to "suicide" grips. This has greatly increased my grip strength. I do all push and pull exercises with this grip.

https://archive.t-nation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/The_Suicide_Grip_Dangerous_or_Smart.jpg

I was still wrestling / training BJJ when this injury happened, and I noticed that my grip, on a Gi specifically, got wayyyyy better after forcing myself to switch to suicide grip. My fingers feel strong (although a bit less dexterous than they were 10-15 years ago).

I don't do many supplementary exercises outside of stretching and cardio. As I get older, I see a bit more value in the highly focused exercises like grip, stability, etc.. But I'm not quite there yet. For now, I just load up the bar and yeet it around xD

[OriginalContentGuy]

My grip is better than its ever been but I'm in climbing shape. How's your overhead? Shoulders are probably just behind hand/wrists IMO for the amount of stuff that's going on there. My best OHP was 1x bodyweight at 175# double layback style, push pressed/jerked for more. I haven't needed to train bench for anything besides swol and it's funny that a massive chest actually can be a real disadvantage for rock/gym climbing

[Wayward]

Most I've ever done was 195, but that was before my shoulder injury. These days, I typically wont go above 155. A lot of days I stick to seated dumbbell, mostly because I started benching (relatively light) again about 1-2 years ago, after almost 10 years without doing a flat barbell bench.

I injured my shoulder so bad in 2016 that I had to sleep face-down with my arm underneath me for 6 months. Laying on my back or either side was too painful.

I never went to a doctor, because I was in the middle of wrestling tournaments and I had a fight lined up, so I just let it heal all fucked up. I get serious impingement on olympic press to this day because of it.

Benching is really just for show, all the old-school strongmen never benched. It was all OHPs.

I also imagine you probably have a shit ton of grip / wrist exercises. Or do you just rely on the weight lifting / climbing to condition?

[OriginalContentGuy]

I caught Cim Johansson say something that resonated well with what I have found.

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Whole video is great but 11:10+ for the excerpt

There are different types of grip. Each one is pretty specific but adding any grip work regularly is like actually training with barbells for the first time. You may notice a little extra specific grip work has carryover to different grips and hand positions. And that itself will have carryover to other compound movements involving the grip.

Personally I think dead hangs from a bar are a very economical way to add some extra grip work and especially one arm hangs. Grip tends to respond to linear programming like everything else. I have an exercise or couple for training the extensors as well that you can progressively overload too and they're important for balance but I'd be lying if I said I trained finger extension regularly.

Wrists are awesome too and since handbone connects to wristbone it pays to understand the anatomy.

[OriginalContentGuy]

Most I've ever done was 195, but that was before my shoulder injury. These days, I typically wont go above 155.

I get serious impingement on olympic press to this day because of it.

Is the discomfort from impingement only at the bottom? I love using bands for OHP to change the strength curve and really grind at the top of a press.

[OriginalContentGuy]

Benching is really just for show, all the old-school strongmen never benched. It was all OHPs.

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Bill Starr and Bob Bednarski both believed in bench press having carryover to the Olympic press. They would use the same grip width as in their Olympic presses and work up to heavy singles. Russ Knipp and Ernie Pickett did as well and three out of those four pressed world records.

[Wayward]

Is the discomfort from impingement only at the bottom? I love using bands for OHP to change the strength curve and really grind at the top of a press.

Yeah, mostly - it's digging out of the bottom rest position where I get it most.

And yeah, I noticed adding a bench actually did help with OHP being more consistent around that 155 mark.

[OriginalContentGuy]

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[OriginalContentGuy]

Yeah, mostly - it's digging out of the bottom rest position where I get it most.

And yeah, I noticed adding a bench actually did help with OHP being more consistent around that 155 mark.

155# is still more than most people in the gen pop will ever lift overhead!