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I can do 20 hanging leg raises from a dead hang like before you do a pullup, i think theyre one of the best ab exercises
A Lifter's Iron Log...
- Thread starter ghettostudmuffin
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I can do 20 hanging leg raises from a dead hang like before you do a pullup, i think theyre one of the best ab exercises
ghettostudmuffin
New member
I used to rock climb abit and after about 5 months of that I could almost do a lever which is hard as hell. I used to love doing hanging leg raise windmill in perfect form. I could almost pull off a perfect dragon flag as well, but I weighed about 170lbs then and rock climbing builds alot of static ab strength.
I'd be really happy with 10 perfect hanging leg raises with legit hip tuck at 225lbs or heavier. Alot of people don't realize that a perfect hanging leg raise is pretty hard because your shoulders and arms should be behind your head and stay there as the legs raise up and as they pass parallel the hips then start tucking up until your feet touch the bar.
I've only seen a few people do perfect zero momentum hanging leg raises. Your head and shoulder position changing just a few inches can significantly impact the degree of difficulty of the exercise.
I know alot of really big and strong guys that have difficulty even doing a couple good chinups or leg raises. I'm aiming to still have solid bodyweight control even when I eventually hit over 250.
I'd be really happy with 10 perfect hanging leg raises with legit hip tuck at 225lbs or heavier. Alot of people don't realize that a perfect hanging leg raise is pretty hard because your shoulders and arms should be behind your head and stay there as the legs raise up and as they pass parallel the hips then start tucking up until your feet touch the bar.
I've only seen a few people do perfect zero momentum hanging leg raises. Your head and shoulder position changing just a few inches can significantly impact the degree of difficulty of the exercise.
I know alot of really big and strong guys that have difficulty even doing a couple good chinups or leg raises. I'm aiming to still have solid bodyweight control even when I eventually hit over 250.
ghettostudmuffin
New member
8-7-2010
Barbell Full Squat 135x5, 175x5, 205x5, 235x5, 265x3, 220x8 felt solid
Bench Press 135x5, 160x5, 185x5, 210x5, 235x5, 215x8, last set of 8 I'm not sure I could have gotten 9 reps, that said it wasn't absolute max effort, I'm pretty sure I did 5 reps with 235 when I was supposed to do 3 lol.
One Arm DB Rows 60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 110x4-5, 95x8, grip is improving, I was able to hold onto the 110's pretty decently. Not going higher weight until I have a really solid grasp on them.
Lying leg raises into flutter kicks into scissors, felt like something different than hanging leg raises
Seated Calf Raise and machine calf raises, probably 10 total sets
Felt solid on the squats and rows. Bench didn't quite feel as strong as I would have liked, but that might just be in my mind cuz I'm pretty sure I did 5 reps 235 instead of 3.
Bodyweight 229.5lbs. Random weight gain. Heaviest I have weighed since I got back into training. My all time heaviest weight was 238lbs and I was significantly stronger than I am now. Strength is goin up nice and steady though so I can't complain.
I noted something important with my squats today. I'm pretty much built for squatting and squatting deep. That said I constantly monitor my form and try to improve. The last couple of workouts I have been really focusing on pushing my knees out on the decent and rise. I think what's going on is my natural squat position is excellent and I have thick adductors and abductors. My right knees has felt a little odd on squats lately when focusing on pushing the knees out and I think I'm actually pushing them out too much compared to my heel width and toe flare.
So on my top set of 3 and 8 reps today I stopped focusing on pushing the knees out and just kept everything else in check and all the reps felt great. All the previous sets of the day I was pushing the knees out and getting a funny feeling right below my right knee cap.
SO. In conclusion if your form is already good and you don't have issues with the knees bowing in then over-focusing on pushing the knees out could actually cause trouble especially if you have powerful enough abductors to easily pop your knees way out to the sides on a heavy deep squat.
This is my take on that and I'm sticking to it. I have never had knee troubles focusing on a strong upper back arch, high chest, tight abs and descending down staying tight and then driving the hips up while keeping a neutral head position. The minute I start trying to over do it on pushing the knees out they start giving me subtle clues they don't like it.
I see so many people advocate popping the knees out and I'm starting to think this isn't necessarily a good thing if your form is already solid. I use a heels about shoulder width stance so not that wide, but not quite as narrow as an olympic squat. Basically an athletic or close to it type squat stance. I feel really comfortable with about 20-30% toe flare. I do flare them out, but I don't over do it. I see alot of guys practically flaring out 30-45% and I don't see the reason unless you are doing a wider stance squat. Trying to flare my toes that much with heels shoulder width feels like trying to squat like a duck. The more experienced I become the more I realize that you need to study up on exercise form and constantly work to improve your own, but despite some things you may read or be told your body supersedes that if it's telling you it doesn't like it.
Barbell Full Squat 135x5, 175x5, 205x5, 235x5, 265x3, 220x8 felt solid
Bench Press 135x5, 160x5, 185x5, 210x5, 235x5, 215x8, last set of 8 I'm not sure I could have gotten 9 reps, that said it wasn't absolute max effort, I'm pretty sure I did 5 reps with 235 when I was supposed to do 3 lol.
One Arm DB Rows 60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 110x4-5, 95x8, grip is improving, I was able to hold onto the 110's pretty decently. Not going higher weight until I have a really solid grasp on them.
Lying leg raises into flutter kicks into scissors, felt like something different than hanging leg raises
Seated Calf Raise and machine calf raises, probably 10 total sets
Felt solid on the squats and rows. Bench didn't quite feel as strong as I would have liked, but that might just be in my mind cuz I'm pretty sure I did 5 reps 235 instead of 3.
Bodyweight 229.5lbs. Random weight gain. Heaviest I have weighed since I got back into training. My all time heaviest weight was 238lbs and I was significantly stronger than I am now. Strength is goin up nice and steady though so I can't complain.
I noted something important with my squats today. I'm pretty much built for squatting and squatting deep. That said I constantly monitor my form and try to improve. The last couple of workouts I have been really focusing on pushing my knees out on the decent and rise. I think what's going on is my natural squat position is excellent and I have thick adductors and abductors. My right knees has felt a little odd on squats lately when focusing on pushing the knees out and I think I'm actually pushing them out too much compared to my heel width and toe flare.
So on my top set of 3 and 8 reps today I stopped focusing on pushing the knees out and just kept everything else in check and all the reps felt great. All the previous sets of the day I was pushing the knees out and getting a funny feeling right below my right knee cap.
SO. In conclusion if your form is already good and you don't have issues with the knees bowing in then over-focusing on pushing the knees out could actually cause trouble especially if you have powerful enough abductors to easily pop your knees way out to the sides on a heavy deep squat.
This is my take on that and I'm sticking to it. I have never had knee troubles focusing on a strong upper back arch, high chest, tight abs and descending down staying tight and then driving the hips up while keeping a neutral head position. The minute I start trying to over do it on pushing the knees out they start giving me subtle clues they don't like it.
I see so many people advocate popping the knees out and I'm starting to think this isn't necessarily a good thing if your form is already solid. I use a heels about shoulder width stance so not that wide, but not quite as narrow as an olympic squat. Basically an athletic or close to it type squat stance. I feel really comfortable with about 20-30% toe flare. I do flare them out, but I don't over do it. I see alot of guys practically flaring out 30-45% and I don't see the reason unless you are doing a wider stance squat. Trying to flare my toes that much with heels shoulder width feels like trying to squat like a duck. The more experienced I become the more I realize that you need to study up on exercise form and constantly work to improve your own, but despite some things you may read or be told your body supersedes that if it's telling you it doesn't like it.
Tblock1
New member
nice work man! You have gotten stronger than me at bench
I only got in for one weight workout last week I've been following that workout routine you gave me though and it's is great! Also got in a 14 mile hike to a peak this weekend and improved my 2 mile run time to an almost perfeft army score, and got pictures of me puking after the run aaahhaha. Are you going to 1 rm on your lifts anytime soon?
I only got in for one weight workout last week I've been following that workout routine you gave me though and it's is great! Also got in a 14 mile hike to a peak this weekend and improved my 2 mile run time to an almost perfeft army score, and got pictures of me puking after the run aaahhaha. Are you going to 1 rm on your lifts anytime soon?
ghettostudmuffin
New member
Tblock1, don't feel bad about the bench bro. I am rebuilding strength I previously had and have been fairly conservative on how hard I have been pushing. I used to rep 265 on bench with less than a year consistent training.
I'm not really interested in trying in maxes right now.
I would guess my big 3 lifts raw at
265-275 bench
315-330 full squat
385-405 conventional deadlift
I've been back in training now for 2 months and 3 days after a good year or so from the gym so not too bad on the progress I think.
Good job on the workout and training. Keep it up man. You want to be a cardio machine! Perhaps if/when you are in the military and passed all the most brutal training then you can tone down the running/cardio stuff and get some more lifting/eating in like that special forces video you posted.
I'm not really interested in trying in maxes right now.
I would guess my big 3 lifts raw at
265-275 bench
315-330 full squat
385-405 conventional deadlift
I've been back in training now for 2 months and 3 days after a good year or so from the gym so not too bad on the progress I think.
Good job on the workout and training. Keep it up man. You want to be a cardio machine! Perhaps if/when you are in the military and passed all the most brutal training then you can tone down the running/cardio stuff and get some more lifting/eating in like that special forces video you posted.
Tblock1
New member
Yeah as soon as you are in the army they give you much more time for weightlifting. My cardio is getting much better, I hauled ass up that peak today my buddy was lagging way behind haha even though there was only 2/3 oxygen I stil felt great. I just realized I have done a peak a weekend haha...half dome 3 weeks ago( 19.6 miles the route we took), mt. tallac last weekend (10 miles), Alta Peak this weekend (14 miles).
BTW, my next goal is Mt. Whitney, at 14,500 feet and a 21 mile dayhike. Hard to get permits though
ghettostudmuffin
New member
Sounds great man. All that hiking is really great for conditioning your feet too. I remember when I used to jog 3-4 days a week for 5-6 miles at a time and then tried hiking around Mt. Rainier and had to quit half way around. I got massive purple silver dollar size blisters on the bottom of both feet. Fuck I was bummed as hell. I hadn't realized just how much extra stress the hiking would place on my feet.
Why is the permit hard to get?
Why is the permit hard to get?
Tblock1
New member
Haha I got 11 blisters, most of them bleeding after my last backpacking trip. I view it all as part of mental toughness. I had super heavy boots which dont give at all and werent too well broken in. This hike I got 2 bad bleeders about quarter sized on the back of my heel, hurt pretty bad. I want to do mt rainer myself if I go to college I'll be in Washington. The permit is hard to get because it is a lottery, in Febuary everyone must send in their apps and then they are entered into a massive lottery, the only way I could get one now is hang out by the permit office until someone doesnt show up for one (not out of the range of my possibilites haha)
ghettostudmuffin
New member
You can overcome blisters. There is definite mental toughness involved. I had hiked half of the 93 miles around rainier in 3 days. That doesn't sound that fast, but considering the amount of elevation gain and drop per day that's pretty fast. The Wonderland trail around rainier I believe has the most elevation gain and loss for it's distance than any other trail in the U.S. Blisters started on second day so on day 4 couple hours into the morning I called it quits. You can fight a day or 2 of blisters, but knowing I had 3-4 more days of hiking to go I started considering infection and what not.
Regular blisters wouldn't stop me. Purple blood filled blisters the size of silver dollars on the bottom of the feet are something you can't ignore lol.
Keep an eye on that next time. IF you get blisters make sure you have a nice antiseptic kit and blister pads etc. With the amount of foot load and sweating going on you could easily get an infection in bad blisters if you are pushing through days of it.
Regular blisters wouldn't stop me. Purple blood filled blisters the size of silver dollars on the bottom of the feet are something you can't ignore lol.
Keep an eye on that next time. IF you get blisters make sure you have a nice antiseptic kit and blister pads etc. With the amount of foot load and sweating going on you could easily get an infection in bad blisters if you are pushing through days of it.
