Gym And Supplement Discussion

[NickR33]

FIGJAM: the problem highly muscled fighters have with arm fatigue is the same thing bodybuilders refer to as the 'pump'

During a moderate rep set, the veins taking blood out of working muscles are compressed by muscular contractions. However, the arteries continue to deliver blood into the muscles, creating an increased amount of intra-muscular blood plasma. This causes plasma to seep out of the capillaries and into the interstitial spaces (the area between muscle cells and blood vessels).

The buildup of fluid in the interstitial spaces along with the osmolytic properties of lactate creates an extra-cellular pressure gradient, which in turn causes a rush of plasma back into the muscle. The net result is that blood pools in your muscles, causing them to swell. Researchers refer to the pump as cell swelling.

Highly muscled fighters also have general stamina issues due to the high energy demand of muscle... same reason why you don't see really bulky AFL players... but some of the NFL players are monsters due to the stop/start nature of the game allowing them recovery time

[-FIGJAM-]

ahh there you go. Knew it was something to do with blood, just couldnt remember exactly. Thanks for the info. Thanks Nick

not sure where I got the lactic acid and oxygen from....

[NickR33]

muscles do require oxygen to operate (carried by the blood)... the bigger the muscle the more oxygen it needs so you were on the right track... lactic acid is a whole other topic

when people refer to a fighter 'gassing' it means they can't get enough oxygen to fuel their muscles... this could be because their heart can't pump blood fast enough or their lungs can't take in enough oxygen (or most likely both)... plus their muscles are full of blood making contraction harder, which you referred to

This is why blood doping works... take some blood out, put it in the fridge, your system makes more to compensate for the loss, then come competition time you take it out of the fridge and put it back in giving your system more blood than it usually has

[-FIGJAM-]

so I was on the right track at least.

I know all about gassing.... been there a number of times both in the ring and in the gym.

I have heard of blood doping before but I have no real experience with it. Don't know any fighters that do it either, not to say that some of the boys I've trained with never did it, just I never heard of it.

Mark is a hell of a nice guy as well and his heavy bags are as hard as cement.

[NickR33]

I know blood doping is used during olympic competition as its hard to detect... no idea how common or effective it is though

yeah he comes across as an awesome laid back character... unlike many of the yank fighters who talk so much shit... I'm a fan of his since early Pride days... he was the first person to beat Wandy, even though he was a late replacement and technically in a heavier weight division etc

[TM7GTR]

Blood doping is all about increasing the amount of oxygen carried to the muscles through extra red blood cells. The lactic acid part you were referring to as "gassing" is when an athlete hits their lactic threshold.

[TTT]

FIGJAM: the problem highly muscled fighters have with arm fatigue is the same thing bodybuilders refer to as the 'pump'

[NickR33]

I could listen to Arnie say 'pump' all day... 'I'm coming day and night' lol

[Dani Boi]

Anyone here squat with low bar? I do it but having a problem with wrists recently... Thinking of switching to high bar but this doesn't feel as natural to me.

[GHOSTrun]

Anyone here squat with low bar? I do it but having a problem with wrists recently... Thinking of switching to high bar but this doesn't feel as natural to me.

If you're not competing in powerlifting comp, no real reason to squat low bar powerlifting-style squat. IMO you get much better development and all round carryover from doing the Olympic-style squat, also feels more natural and as you noted, not as hard on the wrists. Both styles have their merits as they target different muscles because the movement is slightly different. If you're keen it would be beneficial to do both styles, just as it's good to press on many different planes i.e. flat, incline, overhead etc.

[Dani Boi]

Oh ok, I've just been doing it the way Mark Rippetoe said to do it but I'll definately try the high squat again tonight, i just dont have the flexibility to keep my wrists from supporting the weight when I use the low bar.

Do you happen to know if there is different lifting style for the overhead press as well? Rippetoe say's it's ok to arch the back and point elbows out passed the bar in the starting portion of the lift then sort of pull yourself under the bar so it sits directly over your head on lockout. But I look at videos on youtube and people say not to arch the back?

[GHOSTrun]

The biggest thing I've found with overhead press is to try and poke your head through the hole your arms and the bar makes, what the elbows do should just be natural

[TTT]

Your wrist shouldn't be supporting the weight mate.

Try having your thumb above the bar too.

Low bar does require more shoulder and wrist flexibility though.

Comes with time.

Bit of pain in the mean time too.

Might need to adjust hand spacing etc.

[Trozzle]

What's this high bar and low bar business?

By the sounds of it, I'm doing low bar (as an assumption of what it is)

[TTT]

it's about the placing of the bar on your back.

[GHOSTrun]

Most people will be doing a high bar squat without even knowing because that is the position it naturally sits on your back. It takes a bit of practice and getting used to do low bar.

[Dani Boi]

Your wrist shouldn't be supporting the weight mate.

Try having your thumb above the bar too.

Low bar does require more shoulder and wrist flexibility though.

Comes with time.

Bit of pain in the mean time too.

Might need to adjust hand spacing etc.

I use a thumbless grip. I did squats last night but it just went naturally to low bar again with wrists bending, argh... I think I just dont have the flexibility to keep my wrists straight. I will try high again Saturday with 80% of my 5rm and see how that goes. Hand grip should be as close to the shoulders as possible right? Because that's what I do, helps tighten up my back.

[Birds]

I rest the bar just beneath that really prominent round bone (I suck at physiology) at the bottom of your neck...it actually serves as my locating point. Is this okay to use for high bar? Feels like my traps are supporting it and I haven't had any pain, so I assume it is.

[Trozzle]

I've been doing low bar in that case, wrists don't like it but the test of my body does lol

[White GTS-T]

This may be off topic and pardon my ignorance, but generally speaking, if the only 'resistance' training I do includes swimming, push ups and sit ups, would I be wasting my time and money taking creatine monohydrate?