Help me get started

[ValdostaGatorFan]

lol, is my jailhouse workout no good? If yall dont mind, I'll post some pictures of me topless.. haha

[LeafUF]

Dream is even more old school than that. You should see convict fitness or whatever its called. Those dudes are jacked.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by ValdostaGatorFan

lol, is my jailhouse workout no good? If yall dont mind, I'll post some pictures of me topless.. haha

No, please don't do that!

Seriously, old school is good. Keep it simple. I'm assuming you have a pulling workout and that you work your legs somehow.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

haha, Good call. What do you mean by a pulling workout?

[LeafUF]

Some sort of pulling movement. Pull ups or rows. Something to work the back and posterior chain.

Its often neglected and really important for a number of reasons including aesthetics. Basically you don't want to over emphasize your front and end up looking funny with no back.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

...and also, is this ok to do 5 days a week?

[ValdostaGatorFan]

I guess I'll go get one of those doorframe pullup bars

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by ValdostaGatorFan

I guess I'll go get one of those doorframe pullup bars

It's the only piece of equipment I use these days. You can do pullups. And you can slide under a sturdy table and do rows. Just squeeze your shoulder blades and pull yourself up to the lip of the table.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

Question: When I'm doing my final sets into muscle failure, are those more benifitial to building muscle? Or breaking down muscle to be be rebuilt? What I'm getting to is should I push myself more when I get to muscle failure? When I struggle to do my last pushup, and can't do any more, should I just wait the least amount of time to do another and continue doing that? Or should I just stop when I can't do anymore and move on to something like crunches?

I plan to keep my workout the way it is for a week, and then add 5 reps to every set. I also added in rows with a table ledge. It wanted to tip, so I made a wide grip and used the sides instead of the ends. It's all I can do for now.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

Also, I'm trying to incorporate more calories into my diet, I'm trying to stay around 1500 while eating as healthy as I can.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by ValdostaGatorFan

Question: When I'm doing my final sets into muscle failure, are those more benifitial to building muscle? Or breaking down muscle to be be rebuilt? What I'm getting to is should I push myself more when I get to muscle failure? When I struggle to do my last pushup, and can't do any more, should I just wait the least amount of time to do another and continue doing that? Or should I just stop when I can't do anymore and move on to something like crunches?

I plan to keep my workout the way it is for a week, and then add 5 reps to every set. I also added in rows with a table ledge. It wanted to tip, so I made a wide grip and used the sides instead of the ends. It's all I can do for now.

That's a very interesting question. Since just doing loads of pushups is probably not terribly beneficial for adding muscle, pushing to failure might be just the stimulus you need right now. If you're doing, say, three sets total, you could probably afford to go to failure each set. We're not talking bench presses here. But if you're going to do that, don't turn it into a cardio session. Get ample rest between sets.

And since it's all about stimulus --> recovery --> adaptation, be attuned to any performance drop-off that would signal a need to dial back a little or maybe take a week off. Ideally, you should be seeing consistent progress, more or less, for a number of weeks.

[LeafUF]

Agree with Dream, I will just add that I include pushups in my chest workout. 4 sets to failure once a week after I do my other chest stuff. Of course I have the benefit of a weight room, if I did not and I wanted to hit my chest I would probably be doing different variations of pushups to failure if not every day about every other.

You can always change the elevation of your feet and the width of your arms to give the pushups a little variety and change the challenge to the muscles.

[Dreamliner]

True, just find a way to make them difficult enough such that you fail between, say, 5-10 reps. Accumulate 30 reps overall. When you're easily exceeding 10 reps on the first set ... time to find a way to make it harder.

^ This is not science. More than one way to skin a cat ... it's all about PROGRESSIVE resistance.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

My calf is killing me. I skipped my run last night, and it I tried to today to run and couldn't. On my Thursday run, it started cramping bad, but I pushed through it, and so I skipped yesterday. It's hurting pretty bad, about 5 inches below the crease in the back of my knee. It's really tender to the touch. grrrr.

[LeafUF]

Unfortunately that is what happens when you go from no running to daily running. Definitely gonna have to lay off the running or it'll just get worse. I know it hurts to the touch, how does stretching it feel?

[ValdostaGatorFan]

It hurts even worse to stretch. It hurts to walk. Any weight on the front of my foot is really painful. Even when I'm laying down, drawing my foot up hurts. I stretch before and after every workout. It sucks, I was starting to enjoy running. It doesn't help that I have to make make really long walks at work, up a steep hill, up stairs, etc.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

Feeling better today. I'm going to skip the run, just in case.

[ValdostaGatorFan]

When I'm breathing deeply, on exhale, Im starting to somewhat see some definition to my abs. Motivation.

[LeafUF]

Good stuff

[ValdostaGatorFan]

I don't care, I posting a pic anyway. Chipping away at my gut.