the GAINS thread

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by Cecily [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've decided everyday is gonna be shoulder day. Shoulders back posture does magic things to my frame and I need to remember to do it.

Apparently recovery times are much faster for oestrogenically orientated individuals, so this comment may be a bit MAN orientated, but what about your 36 hour recovery times for the worked areas?

[Cecily]

What exercises are good for posture? I'm doing shoulder rolls now to get shoudlers in position.

Originally Posted by maskedmelon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

oo! get a band and external rotation pull aparts off and on throughout the day. it works fricken wonders for posture.

Cool, thanks! It's really hard for me to maintain atm.

[Thorondor]

Originally Posted by Cecily [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What exercises are good for posture? I'm doing shoulder rolls now to get shoudlers in position.



Cool, thanks! It's really hard for me to maintain atm.

Pull ups (rotate through all 3 hand positions, forward, lateral, underhand)
Rear Deltoid Flys
Reverse Curls (you should be able to feel the intense burning in the back of your shoulders if you have the appropriately challenging weight and rep-duration)
Shrugs
Deadlifts
Lunges (with weight)
Upright Barbell Rows

Pullups will strengthen your back so that it pulls your shoulders back in correct alignment instead of having rounded/slumped shoulders
Rear Deltoid Flys target the back of your shoulders to assist in correcting poor shoulder/back posture
Reverse curls, while strengthening your forearms and biceps, also work out an area of the back that is hard to target with rear-deltoids/pull ups. Don't ask me how, it just fucking burns back there after doing 4 or 5 sets of reverse curls at 60 to 80lbs.
Shrugs (strengthens where your lats connect to your neck/spine (also increases neck size, one of the measures used in determining bodyfat% per the navy bodyfat calculator)
Deadlifts - Fixes anterior pelvic tilt by strengthening your lower back
Lunges (I use the squat bar to load up about 100lbs) - lengthens and strengthens the abductor muscles that run from your gooch to your abdomen in addition to strengthening your quads/glutes.

So, for most, there's essentially two primary issues that can be symptomatic of poor posture, underdeveloped lower back muscles, glutes, and inner abductor muscles when weak/atrophied cause your pelvis to tilt forward giving the appearance of a "pooch"/gut even when your actual body fat% is low

Sloped/Rounded shoulders primarily because the upper back/rear deltoids are not strong enough to naturally pull your shoulders back/up.

[Cecily]

Been doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H01oGIS1C_g


Glad I watched it again, I was doin it wrong. That gonna build my shoulders at all?


This dude is cool as shit so I'm watch more of his stuff.

[maskedmelon]

Originally Posted by Cecily [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Been doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H01oGIS1C_g


Glad I watched it again, I was doin it wrong. That gonna build my shoulders at all?


This dude is cool as shit so I'm watch more of his stuff.

Yeah, i know that maneuver is helpful for strengthening your serratis and promoting scapular retraction which helps get rid of rounded shoulders. I do something liek that too along with the external rotation work. can't find a good clip showing what I'm talking about right now, but will see what I can dig up when I get home.

[Thorondor]

Originally Posted by Cecily [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Been doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H01oGIS1C_g


Glad I watched it again, I was doin it wrong. That gonna build my shoulders at all?


This dude is cool as shit so I'm watch more of his stuff.

Check out Jeff with Athlean X as well. Hes provided a lot of "proper form" videos with skeletal models and anatomical explanations how/why to target specific areas.

[Cecily]

Will do! Thank you so much!


It makes a pretty striking difference in how I look, so posture gonna be my next self-improvement obsession.

[Cecily]

That's interesting. I'm just trying to avoid bulking upper body, but I'm in real bad physical shape I've found. 2 mi walk is winding me, but I've done 6 miles this week so hoping that cardio gets easier. Inactivity / muscle loss hitting me pretty hard. Never did weight training ever. Think faster recovery time relates to lower muscle mass? Or lower muscle mass is easier to repair.. that would make sense.

[JurisDictum]

Originally Posted by Cecily [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That's interesting. I'm just trying to avoid bulking upper body, but I'm in real bad physical shape I've found. 2 mi walk is winding me, but I've done 6 miles this week so hoping that cardio gets easier. Inactivity / muscle loss hitting me pretty hard. Never did weight training ever. Think faster recovery time relates to lower muscle mass? Or lower muscle mass is easier to repair.. that would make sense.

It's pretty hard to grow big muscular arms without any T. In general its hard to get big bulky muscles.

The saying goes: "No one ever got huge by accident."

In general you just aren't going to bulk up without the genetics and T levels for it. You can get away with lots of leg/butt exercises to help

1) lose weight: muscle burns calories so more means you basically end up with less fat over time.

2) Tone the area..Fat looks better in the posterior chain if there is some muscle holding it into place.

3) I think its easier than intense cardio myself. You spend a lot less time "pushing" -- just right toward the end of the lifting sequence.

[PieOats]

how we doin' pals? TODAY was SUPPOSED to be pull-day, BUT! I was a bit burnt from weekend revelry and had to settle for NOT-pull-day. we shall see what my body has to say tomorrow.