How is everyone's training going?

[divine_torture]

Pullups to 13 on first set! My form is shit but Im just trying to get the muscles used to repping before I work on form again. Working out with 185 benching, got 205 up a few times with spot. Trying to climb that mountain AGAIN.

I think form would be the better thing to focus on.

I'm working my usual 12 hours tonight, but I have the weekend off. After I get off, I'm going to go home and shower, then go to breakfast with my buddy before we hit the gym for our weekly back workout. Hopefully after being up so long I can still hit my 315 deadlift...

 

[rms]

Why not do forehand chinups/pullups? Weak!

 

[Dak]

What?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

You know, forehand chinups! You can do them before hamtoid squat presses!

 

[Dak]

Friends don't led friends skip hamtoid day!

 

[rms]

He's cheating by using that grip instead of a forehand / military grip...

 

[SomeGuyDude]

He's cheating by using that grip instead of a forehand / military grip...

You realize that for the test, the military doesn't care about your grip, right? Hell in the USMC test you can CHANGE grips as long as you don't fall off the bar.

Or, alternately, what is it about an overhand grip that you think makes it more "pure"? Tell me, give me a quick lesson in muscle activation.

 

[Dak]

He's cheating by using that grip instead of a forehand / military grip...

At what point did I even mention what grip I was using? For your information, I use an "over-hand" grip. However, neither way is "cheating", although using an overhand grip does give you the benefit of larger muscle groups, so if anything is "cheating", it's the over-hand grip.

SomeGuyDude is correct. I saw guys switch grips during the pullup test. I tried it myself once and got an extra pull-up out of it. Once I was doing over 20 without switching with ease though it didn't matter. USMC only scores to 20.

 

[King Richard]

Back to the gym this morning. I really missed it! Haven't lost strength which is good. Not like one would after 5 days between lifting but you know.

When was the last time you went to the gym? If it was within the past couple months your muscles shouldn't have atrophied hardly at all, contrary to popular belief.

I'm not a yoga guy but the rest is spot on. There is ONE machine I use, and it's only barely a machine. It's a chest-supported t-bar row and that's only for days when my lower back is torched.

Extra work on my 3rd world squat the last week or so. I think it's actually helping out.

I'm just doing mostly body weight exercises to get back into the flow of things before I start paying for an actual membership again. Once I do that I'll just stick to the big five.

At what point did I even mention what grip I was using? For your information, I use an "over-hand" grip. However, neither way is "cheating", although using an overhand grip does give you the benefit of larger muscle groups, so if anything is "cheating", it's the over-hand grip.

SomeGuyDude is correct. I saw guys switch grips during the pullup test. I tried it myself once and got an extra pull-up out of it. Once I was doing over 20 without switching with ease though it didn't matter. USMC only scores to 20.

He was talking about the guy in the video SomeGuy posted.

Overhand grip is the proper and "default" hand position, although yes as we know the MC doesn't care what grip type you use, but they also don't care about putting your life in danger so I wouldn't exactly refer to them as the end all be all masters of knowledge and fitness.

I'm trying to find a workout buddy to start going to the gym with me so I'm not bored and shit but so far no luck.


edit: Made this for dinner the other night. I don't remember the size but it's a big ass tuna steak. Quite good.

 

[Satanstoenail]

I'm trying to find a workout buddy to start going to the gym with me so I'm not bored and shit but so far no luck.

I can't imagine working out with someone else that I knew. I like the solo mission. Haven't seen anyone that I know at my gym yet either which is good.

 

[King Richard]

Why's that?

 

[Dak]

Yeah, outside of wanting a spotter for pressing, I prefer to lift alone.

Edit: Ah, totally missed the video. Doesn't look as difficult as pistol squats.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Overhand grip is not "proper", holy hell. It's a way of doing the exercise, but certainly not the only, like doing a front squat versus a back squat. Personally I do chins because there's greater allover activation and less awkward shoulder strain. Not that I don't do overhand pullups as well, but I'll tell ya what, you think that's easy to do it with an underhand grip, try it, LOL.

 

[King Richard]

It's proper in the sense that it's a more natural way of doing it and there's no real benefit to performing the exercise using a different grip technique. It's similar to the different bicep curl exercises, which are all a waste of time. Doing a normal gripped bicep curl is all you need.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

It's proper in the sense that it's a more natural way of doing it and there's no real benefit to performing the exercise using a different grip technique. It's similar to the different bicep curl exercises, which are all a waste of time. Doing a normal gripped bicep curl is all you need.

More natural to who? Certainly not me. You? Did you take a survey? Furthermore, if there's no real benefit, then there's also no detriment, which means making a big fuss about which way my hands were facing is pointless, ne?

This is why the internet cracks me up. Put up a video of something and people start armchair-coaching on the dumbest shit.

 

[King Richard]

More natural to who? Certainly not me. You? Did you take a survey? Furthermore, if there's no real benefit, then there's also no detriment, which means making a big fuss about which way my hands were facing is pointless, ne?

It's more natural for human beings in general based on the physiology of the arms, hands, and shoulders that's who. If you were to stand in a position and someone told you to reach for the sky you would reach up with your palms facing forward, not backward. Why? Because you have to physically turn your hands over in order to assume the underhand grip; i.e. not natural. Another example is monkey bars. If you were to swing from bar to bar utilizing an underhand grip it'd be significantly harder or nearly impossible to swing without falling.

And your comment about there being no benefit, therefore no detriment is a logical fallacy man.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Ugh. No, you're describing the reach, not the pull. And I was picking up on your implied point with the "no benefit" because if you meant that it was worse, you woulda said so, not just that there's no benefit.

By the way, a 100% natural grip overhead is neutral palms, i.e. facing toward each other. Let your arms hang at your sides. Your palms face toward your thighs. Extend the arms overhead and your hands won't turn unless you make the decision to do so. Meaning even IF that wasn't a bad argument you're wrong anyway. So no matter what you have to "physically turn your hands" 90 degrees. Unless you do neutral grip chins. Which are also awesome.

And I'm done with this stupid-ass debate. First I had someone up my ass about using leg drive in an axle press and now I'm getting the third-degree over doing chinups? The longer I hang out in this thread, the more I gotta ask...

 

[King Richard]

Ugh. No, you're describing the reach, not the pull. And I was picking up on your implied point with the "no benefit" because if you meant that it was worse, you woulda said so, not just that there's no benefit.

The reach goes hand in hand with the range of motion in which your arms are going to be doing the exercise. Separating them doesn't prove or disprove anything.

I don't know if reverse grip is worse or not, I haven't done any research. I know from my own experience that it's more uncomfortable, and that performing pull-ups using the reverse grip isn't more beneficial with regard to gains from pull-ups over the overhand grip.

By the way, a 100% natural grip overhead is neutral palms, i.e. facing toward each other. Let your arms hang at your sides. Your palms face toward your thighs. Extend the arms overhead and your hands won't turn unless you make the decision to do so. Meaning even IF that wasn't a bad argument you're wrong anyway. So no matter what you have to "physically turn your hands" 90 degrees. Unless you do neutral grip chins. Which are also awesome.

Most pull-up bars don't have neutral grip bars on them unless you buy one of those bars that go in the doorway. And I've never seen a lat bar that has neutral grip either. The only pulling machine I've ever seen with a neutral grip bar is a row machine, but that's pretty rare.

And I'm done with this stupid-ass debate. First I had someone up my ass about using leg drive in an axle press and now I'm getting the third-degree over doing chinups? The longer I hang out in this thread, the more I gotta ask...

I don't think it's stupid at all, you're just getting upset for no reason.

 

[Dak]

 

[rms]

Don't know why you would have your palms facing inwards, it makes your biceps work more than your back imo, which is defeating the point of a pullup..I only do palms facing out when i've already done a bunch of sets just killing time really.

And Army has a standard and we don't play that palms facing inward stuff