Weightlifting - Tumblr Posts
The benefits of compound exercises for building strength and mass
If you want to build strength and mass, you should consider adding compound exercises to your training routine. Compound exercises are movements that work multiple muscle groups at the same time, such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and rows. They have several benefits over isolation exercises, which only target one muscle group at a time, such as bicep curls, leg extensions, and triceps pushdowns.
Compound exercises are highly beneficial for building strength and mass. Here are some of the key benefits:
Efficiency: Compound exercises train multiple muscle groups at the same time, making them more efficient. If you have limited time, focusing on compound exercises can yield more results1.
Strength Building: Compound exercises are the most efficient training to build overall strength. For example, a study showed that leg muscular strength improved 25 percent in a group that followed a workout plan based on compound physical activity, compared to 3 percent in a group that followed a plan based on aerobic activity1.
Muscle Mass Increase: Compound exercises involve more muscle groups, allow the use of a heavier load, and lead to greater muscle growth and strength. The heavier the load, the bigger the increase in muscle mass you will experience1.
Functional Fitness: Compound exercises improve functional fitness and prevent injuries by using the entire body2.
Calorie Burn: More efficient workouts mean greater overall calorie burn3.
Here are another of the benefits of compound exercises for building strength and mass:
They stimulate more muscle fibers and activate more motor units, which means more force production and more muscle growth.
They allow you to lift heavier weights and overload your muscles more effectively, which is essential for strength and hypertrophy.
They improve your intermuscular coordination and neuromuscular efficiency, which means better movement patterns and less risk of injury.
They increase your metabolic rate and calorie expenditure, which can help you burn fat and improve your body composition.
They save you time and energy, as you can work multiple muscle groups with fewer exercises and sets.
Some of the most effective compound exercises for building strength and mass are:
Squats: They work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, lower back, and core. They also improve your posture, balance, and mobility.
Deadlifts: They work your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, traps, lats, forearms, and core. They also strengthen your grip, spine, and posterior chain.
Bench presses: They work your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. They also enhance your upper body power and stability.
Rows: They work your lats, traps, rhomboids, rear delts, biceps, and forearms. They also improve your shoulder health and posture.
Overhead presses: They work your shoulders, triceps, upper chest, upper back, and core. They also develop your shoulder mobility and stability.
These are just some examples of compound exercises that you can include in your training program. You can also mix and match different variations of these exercises to suit your goals and preferences. For example, you can do front squats instead of back squats, sumo deadlifts instead of conventional deadlifts, incline bench presses instead of flat bench presses, dumbbell rows instead of barbell rows, or dumbbell overhead presses instead of barbell overhead presses.
The key is to perform these exercises with proper form, intensity, frequency, volume, and progression. You should also balance them with some isolation exercises to target specific muscles that may need more attention or stimulation. By doing so, you will be able to build strength and mass in a balanced and efficient way.
It's crazy how my perspective has changed. I stopped caring what my body looks like.
I'm elated that I can benchpress 4 kg when 6 months ago I couldn't lift the bar.
I'm amazed I can squat 10 kg because 9 months ago I could barely stand.
I can watch myself in the glass door and critique my form instead of my rolls.
I don't even flinch to add more to a meal.
I don't give a singular fuck what my body looks like. I want strength. I want power. I want the shaking on the last rep. I want the pain of pushing my body. I want to see what my body can do.
I fucked up my elbow, so I can't do like half my exercises and I want to put my head through a wall.
I feel so useless. I have done literally nothing today, just lay in bed and feel sorry for myself. I know my arm needs to rest but I can't take another day of this. I'm going to do my back first thing in the morning. I just took my rest day in a weird place.
Since weightlifting is a pretty much constant part of my life now, I have a moral obligation before myself to brag about my acomplishments. And what better way to do it than to show off my best part - the hugging muscles - in motion.
I only recently started doing overhead press with the bar, so I'm still getting used to the proper form and doing relatively light weights - in here the load is 40 kg or 88 lb. For comparison, we used 26 kg or 57 lb dumbbells for the seated variant, and there were two of them.
So far, some easy mistakes to fix would be to take a slightly narrower grip, to properly load the front shoulder and chest, to place the bar over the wrist, not deep into the palm, and to use less help from the legs - I'm not planning to do heavy athletics, I just want me some meat, which means I should prefer consistent movement with acceleration and deceleration only at the bottom and the pique of the motion.
So, I, uh...
Recently, we did a check-up on my one rep max squat - we progressively added more and more weight to the bar until I could do no more than one squat. We stopped at a solid 150 kg or 330 lb (what the fuck what the fuck why is this number so big, genuinely, imperial, what the fuck??). Neat. My squat was always very good (fat kid leg strength is no joke), we recorded the progress, I noted a couple of weakpoints I needed to work on, we move on with the training.
That's me today, and that's 120 kg / 265 lb on the bar and approximately 15 kg / 37 lb PER chain. The funky thing about the chain is that it unfurls, so the lift gets gradually heavier as you go up. This means that I ended up powering through close to 140/145 kg / 310/320 lb at the pique of the motion for five squats. Twice, because we did two sets at this weight. I think. There was some red at the end of those last reps.
Of note - I still can't always control the knee wobble when doing heavy weights, which is an easy way to get your knee fucked. Also, I need to start practicing a deeper squat, with a bit wider stance, that should help stabilize both my back and knees.
Another day, another classic - a raised deadlift! I'm standing on an improvised platform, making the distance this 130 kg / 285 lb needs to move just a tad bit longer, because apparently I need my frame to just not fit anywhere, that's practical, right?
Squats are paying off
Accountability Post #1 (13 June 2022)
Today was leg day (my favorite day :D)
Before we get to my workout, though, I want to stress that, when I exercise, I do not aim for burning a specific amount of calories. My main goal is to move my body in some way, at least 4 to 5 times a week, for at least 30 minutes each session. I have found that, for me, personally, focusing too much on how many calories I am burning makes my workouts a lot less fun. I’m trying to relieve stress, not add to it.
Anyway...
My workout consisted of:
1. 3-minute warm up on the stairmaster (trying to work up to around 5-10 minutes...3 is all I can handle for now lol)
2. 22 minutes of weightlifting (I, typically, aim for 15-20 minutes)
3. 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill, followed by a 5 minute cool down
In the past, I have always completed the cardio part of my workout first before moving on to weights. However, since the end of last month, at the advice of some gym bros (lol), I have been doing weights at the beginning and then cardio. So far, I feel great. It has taken some getting used to, but I’m starting to think I prefer this order. I feel that I am able to put in more energy and effort into the weightlifting portion of my workouts and still have awesome cardio sessions after.
I finally have a routine. Once I start seeing results that actually show that this routine is working, I will definitely be sharing.
Now, I’m going to go shower, drink some tea, then go to bed. :)
Up!
Last repetition.
Recio & dumbbells
Massive guns.
Muscle beast
June 2011 cover.
Hairy Steel
Recio to the max.
Gym Owner
No pain = no gain.
Bring your chains
Steel on steel.
Gorilla t-bar row
To the top.
True beast
Iron & fur.
Power legs
The beast in action.