No Crust Racing

Leesh 3mths in the grand scheme of things is SFA. I've been having a go at Squats and DLS since about Feb, and then finally went and saw someone to get a bit of guidance on the moves, it's only been I dunno a months or so tops since I saw Matt. So after all that time fluffing about, I'm "just" getting to get to the point where most guys at Markos gym START OUT (or manage in the first few sessions). My point is, this stuff takes time. My Bench was semi OK but I had literally had a couple of years former experience with it so that came back easier. When I decided after school that I wasn't going to be Stick Man anymore, it took a bit over 12mths of absolute slogging dedication to the cause to pack on some beef EVERYTHING I did or ate was about that goal. Not 3mths of decent commitment, but 110% balls (ovaries?) to the wall dedication. I'll clarify that a little though, I'm not saying you're not putting in, not at all, I dunno what you look like, what you started out at etc etc, all I'm saying is that it's very likely you've made some really good gains in the time you've been at it, but that it takes either a massive level of commitment (to get results fast) or a solid level of patience (to get results in a reasonable time frame). I also think that Markos one of the "mores" each session is a big kicker in why his guys advance so quickly, more weight/reps/sets EVERY time you make the rep/set/weight goal in any movement. That's constant overload which will mean constant progress. Progress means more strength and likely bigger muscles, more muscle = more fat burned. I personally do not do this as I'm scared of injuries and like to consolidate at a given weight for a few sessions (I like to make sure I can do the weight even on my worst days before going up again) but that's because I've had a bad history with secondary muscle/tendon type issues from over doing it thinking I was He-Man so that's how I manage it. If you are not doing some kind of "mores" then progress will also be slower - which is fine so long as you have patience Keep on trucking slugger !

Regarding my questions that is. I got your first one saying you'd reply when you were back in SA, so if you're not back yet disregard my comments

lol yes I remember.

You'd think after being told so many times you'd have the details... Dislocated ankle, broke leg.. Get your shit together man.

Already doing the big 3 first. I'm just crazy weak. IT power legs lol

SRS13: That's close to my routine, see build thread, and it's not going too bad

This is me, plus I chose breaking my leg to be the time I'd start thinking about it lol

I haven't got one yet?

Fair enough, sort of inline with what I was saying.

I think each mind and body will have a natural level it likes to sit at, by that I mean that you exercise and eat well (your mental commitment) and do all the right things (your physical commitment) and the weight will drop to level, say "X", easily enough or within a a reasonable time frame. From there, the effort taken to drop further KG's may be disproportionate if you get me. You were exercising 4 times a week for 1hr, but to drop another 5kg requires 6times a week for 90mins, a considerable increase for what appears to be a smaller gain. It's the same trying to get stronger, people talk about noob gains, my squat and DL are really evident of this. The first chunks come easy and with only a reasonable commitment in time/effort. To get properly strong requires much larger investments of time/money/ etc. So in the first 3mths you double your squat, then it takes 9mths to do the same again, then it takes 12mths to add another 25% and the time taken to increase goes up and the gain gets smaller. It's a trade off. I wouldn't stress to much about the numbers on the scale, I've seen plenty of girls who look fantastic and weigh far more than girls who don't eat or exercise and look like jelly wafers (thin and wobbly).

Interesting, I was bro curling 44-45kg with an Ezy Bar, pick it up of the floor curl, put it down. No squat rack required. It's not a lot of weight so why the need to use squat rack =\

IMO it's easier gaining weight than it is loosing it, but that's just my personal view others may disagree,

Cheese fiend! Yeah cool, everything in moderation etc.

Is it because the assisted lift means more numbers which means more bragging rights to your gymbros or is it about safety? I've often thought a spotter would be nice at home, especially when I'm going up in weight on something.

How's the whole no cheese thing going Leesh? I enjoyed a little Camembert last night, just saying...

Minor update for chins and dips, what is considered OK numbers for these as I don't feel like I'm struggling too much with these, I could probably add another 5kg on on both right now and be OK. My issue is the strength of the dip bars, which I'm discussing with the rack seller, I may look at a better rack. Everything else was unchanged, dd my squats low bar this session which I think I prefer. Feel like I could up the bench again but as mentioned trying to leave it as is for now until other things catch up. I could add some more to the DL but at this stage the ankle is a little tender so I'm waiting for it to get used to the current load and simmer down. I want to really lay on some kgs on the squat and DL so that when I have my surgery and stop I'll be further ahead but realistically I don't think I'll be making any great leaps. 95kg still feels like a semi struggle on the last rep of the 5th set so I'm either doing it very wrong like I was with the DL or I'm just that weak. Squat low bar 75.5 80.5 85.5 90.5 95.5 Bench 95.5 99.5 104 106.5 109 DL 80.5 85.5 90.5 95.5 100 Row 73 77 79.5 82 84.5 Chins 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 Dips 2.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 I was contemplating picking a Friday every now and then and doing the first 2 sets of say squat/bench/dl then for the last few sets trying to do whatever I can above my previous PB just to surprise the body and make it realise it's OK to go higher. Kind of like the 5x3x1 thing that people use when doing 5x5s.

Thanks Markos. Do they do any particular mobility exercise apart from the actual squat to help with mobility in the required joints?

You guys are your logic...

I'm talking with the original surgeon also just to clarify a few things, as he's the local gun on these things. I think I will get it removed, but I may wait to at least give it the full 12mths so everything around it is as strong as it can be when I go ahead and weaken the structure again. Ad Troy: I'm happy with the progress I've made already, I started Squatting and DL 30kg remember... lol

I'll paste this here as I don't think anyone reads my build thread which is admittedly more a tracking tool for me, my stats and thoughts. Well it was a mixed bag at the Fracture Clinic. The good news is the metal work has not moved and the Dr is suggesting we wait another few months to give it a full year before making any calls. The bad news is that he's also suggesting that removal might be the better long term solution because then there's no question of if it's causing me any irritation. That would mean up to 6wks off any impact sports/exercises etc, so no squatting and no DL. Everything else I could do and walking would be fine. I'm wondering if ham string and leg curls could be OK but I have no provision for doing those at home. I'll be seeing the physio on Friday to talk about it more now that we know that at least the metal work is staying put. Part of me wants it out never to have to worry about it again, part of me doesn't want 6 wks off when I'm just starting to get some momentum in things. Then I think well whats 6wks in the grand scheme of things if it means not having to think about the metal any more. If I just go ahead and leave it in and then find out it's an issue say 5yrs down the track, it's a more serious surgery to remove it as the bone grows over/around it over that length of time. 1-3yrs is the ideal window for removal. What would you do?

Well it was a mixed bag at the Fracture Clinic. The good news is the metal work has not moved and the Dr is suggesting we wait another few months to give it a full year before making any calls. The bad news is that he's also suggesting that removal might be the better long term solution because then there's no question of if it's causing me any irritation. That would mean up to 6wks off any impact sports/exercises etc, so no squatting and no DL. Everything else I could do and walking would be fine. I'm wondering if ham string and leg curls could be OK but I have no provision for doing those at home. I'll be seeing the physio on Friday to talk about it more now that we know that at least the metal work is staying put. Part of me wants it out never to have to worry about it again, part of me doesn't want 6 wks off when I'm just starting to get some momentum in things. Then I think well whats 6wks in the grand scheme of things if it means not having to think about the metal any more. If I just go ahead and leave it in and then find out it's an issue say 5yrs down the track, it's a more serious surgery to remove it as the bone grows over/around it over that length of time. 1-3yrs is the ideal window for removal. What would you do?

This is awesome stuff Snowy, I'm really looking forward to you getting back on the track.

Haha poverty. I was lucky, my best mate was the instructor so that meant we got to skip some of the crap and spar much harder.

We'll see how I go with the HANS stuff, I may go for it, in the meantime I will try out the donut just for "something" and then I may move to a new helmet and HANS in August if I get a bonus at work. Went for a multi-layer 3.2/5 suit, shoes and gloves which are a bit better than than the 3.2/1 rated single layer stuff. $324 delivered for everything, that suit is normally $300, got it for 84, STEAL.