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Pain and Change are good

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MuscleHead
Sep 9, 2010
3,442
648
Ok guys, from time to time all of us get caught up in a routine and forget that changing it up every now and then is important. I'm not just talking about adding some supersets or doing a 5x5 program. While those are good, you can also change up your cardio routine. Sure, you might switch back and forth between the stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, etc.....but how much fun is that?


Respiratory Strength
One option that I use when my workouts are stalling is to try exercises that have the capability to expand my lung capacity. Most of these include short sprint like movements. This could be running sprints for 30 minutes with breaks in between each sprint. You could also run "lines" on a basketball court or similar facility. Many of you did these things in high school and wonder now why you can't keep up.... you're only as old as you feel so start training like you're in high school again.

Benefits:
Each of the aforementioned exercises serves to expand your lung capacity over time. After repeating these exercise for several months you should notice that you are out of breath less often and your cardio workouts are much easier than they were before. Improved lung capacity also helps you move air in and out of your lungs when pushing heavy weight. The added endurance benefit you'll get will enable you to lift more weight for a longer period of time.

Other Exercises:
Swing a golf club 50 times each day. This sounds simple enough, but back when I was doing this everyday I felt a lot better than I do now. Make it the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning. Stretch, take a few slow warm up swings and then let it rip! If you don't play golf or don't like it, that's ok. The motion of the golf swing is very good at strengthening core muscles and improving flexibility. Flexibility is good for injury avoidance as well as an aid to weightlifting exercises like dropsets.

This move can also be accomplished with a baseball bat. The goal is to feel all the muscles of your core working as one to stabilize the body. Learn which parts of your core work to stabilize secondary muscles like delts, bis, tris, etc.

Medicine Ball - Do not use a medicine ball with a "full speed" type motion unless you've done this a lot already.

Cable Machine - attach a cable at the 3/4 mark of the machine so that it's above your shoulder but not out of reach. Stand with your right shoulder facing the cable and grab it with both hands. You can interlock the hands or use a baseball grip here. Pull the cable down through the "hitting zone" (think baseball) and hold for a second before coming back up. Repeat this with the other side. Do not use too much weight when you're starting out or you'll likely be very sore the next day and not want to do it again or God forbid sustain an injury.

Hope that gives you some decent ideas :)

And always remember that if you're in your "comfort zone"...then you're not working hard enough.

-GS
 
chicken_hawk

chicken_hawk

MuscleHead
Oct 28, 2010
718
150
These are some great suggestions and while I know they would be beneficial, I will never do them.

Hawk
 
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MuscleHead
Sep 9, 2010
3,442
648
These are some great suggestions and while I know they would be beneficial, I will never do them.

Hawk

Ya, but look at you Hawk! lol....if it ain't broke there's no sense in fixin it brotha :)

I really think these exercises are the most benficial for people who just feel like they are stuck in a rut and not going anywhere. If you've got something good going and you're happy with it, then this may not be for you.
 
marx

marx

MuscleHead
Sep 29, 2010
4,671
626
Great post GS!

Breaking routine bro, good mind food, that...
 
chicken_hawk

chicken_hawk

MuscleHead
Oct 28, 2010
718
150
Ya, but look at you Hawk! lol....if it ain't broke there's no sense in fixin it brotha :)

I really think these exercises are the most benficial for people who just feel like they are stuck in a rut and not going anywhere. If you've got something good going and you're happy with it, then this may not be for you.

Appreciate the kind words and agree with the philosophy as well. I tend to bleed something to death and then when it's tapped out I switch it up. Some people are guilty of changing to often IMO.

Hawk
 
Get Some

Get Some

MuscleHead
Sep 9, 2010
3,442
648
Appreciate the kind words and agree with the philosophy as well. I tend to bleed something to death and then when it's tapped out I switch it up. Some people are guilty of changing to often IMO.

Hawk

Ya I hear ya there. My hope is that people don't get sucked into the thought that "well, it worked well for him so it's gonna work well for me" or "hmm, this doesn't seem to be working after a month, I'm gonna try something else." The thing is, you can be successful with whatever method you choose as long as the key ingredients are determination and a "I'm gonna make it work attitude." Some people need more motivation than others and I find that variety enables people to find the right workout for them...and by "the right workout" I mean the one they get the best combination of "being in pain while having fun." Cuz that's really what it's all about. Pain let's me know Im alive and what I'm doing is working. If it's too easy, it gets boring real quick.

So, that's the main message I want to convey to you guys here. Find what works and then utilize it until your body becomes immune and then move on to something else. It's the "commit, conquer, and convert" philosophy....hey, it worked pretty well for the Romans for a long ass time, lol
 
cyto33

cyto33

MuscleHead
Sep 15, 2010
346
2
good post. i run front to back with my routin.
 
chicken_hawk

chicken_hawk

MuscleHead
Oct 28, 2010
718
150
Ya I hear ya there. My hope is that people don't get sucked into the thought that "well, it worked well for him so it's gonna work well for me" or "hmm, this doesn't seem to be working after a month, I'm gonna try something else." The thing is, you can be successful with whatever method you choose as long as the key ingredients are determination and a "I'm gonna make it work attitude." Some people need more motivation than others and I find that variety enables people to find the right workout for them...and by "the right workout" I mean the one they get the best combination of "being in pain while having fun." Cuz that's really what it's all about. Pain let's me know Im alive and what I'm doing is working. If it's too easy, it gets boring real quick.

So, that's the main message I want to convey to you guys here. Find what works and then utilize it until your body becomes immune and then move on to something else. It's the "commit, conquer, and convert" philosophy....hey, it worked pretty well for the Romans for a long ass time, lol

Very well said and I agree completely. However, what drives me crazy when noobs or 50 yr. old guys who lifted in High School give advice or acts as authorities in such matters.

Hawk
 
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