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Weight Lifting for Hackers

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Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#51

Post by starkfist »

philk wrote: post #4

Good stuff although the rep scheme isn't optimal. I'd stick to sets of fives. A few additional points: a) Form, particularly on Squats & Deadlifts, is key. If you do them wrong you'll fuck yourself up. The stuff by Mark Rippetoe, particularly Starting Strength, is awesome for this. b) If you want to make progress you'll need to consume a surplus of calories. A good way to do this is to add full fat milk to your diet…

Does anyone know of a good book or web resource for training legs and back with a back injury? I would like to get into Olympic lifts but I have three slipped discs from overloading a hip sled in high school. I'm pretty strong otherwise, but my legs are messed up. My injury is under control but when I do the wrong thing I can't walk for a week.

There is a dedicated olympic lifting school blocks from where I live, but in my experience almost nobody knows anything about how to train with a back injury. I'd like to go in at least prepared with the right questions to ask.

I know that Paul Chek has rehabilitated many of my favorite athletes. For instance, Danny Way broke his neck surfing, and Chek got his body back in shape for his crazy mega ramp stuff. I was thinking of finding a Chek certified trainer, but unfortunately it seems that whole scene has veered off into borderline cult territory.

This is really NOT hacker news but since the topic is here I thought I'd pose the question. At least it seems like there are some smart people here. Fitness forums are always bonkers and loaded with bad advice.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#52

Post by starkfist »

philk wrote: post #49
stiff wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't work this way, at least not for everyone (genetics), exactly because of the muscle loss that occurs when you decrease caloric intake. Of course you can prevent it in some ways, but then it is no longer just "subtracting 250 kCal". Nutrition is complex, so I would not give advice this simplified about it, as it can get you in trouble, just as putting 15lbs weight in a month. Maybe you have good genetics, or…

The Rippetoe stuff should generally be applied such that you gradually increase your intake until you're putting on enough weight, and back off if you're gaining fat too quickly. And for the majority of Rippetoe's target audience, that is young skinny guys, getting enough calories is more important than the right calories. I'm curious as to whether you just started drinking a gallon of milk every day from the get go?…

If dairy doesn't work with your digestive system, you can sub egg whites. I don't know what the latest warnings are about eggs, but Jack LaLanne has been eating them for the past 80 years.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#54

Post by matwood »

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #2

ugh....the large number of reps at low weight meme has spread because people want to believe that they can do an easy workout. if you can do more than 5 reps your weight is too light. there's no such thing as "toned instead of bulk". lifting casually a few times a week is not going to turn you into a hulkish freak. and if you want toned you do CARDIO. treating weightlifting as cardio is stupid. for the average person…

There are so many things wrong in this post I'm not sure where to start.

First, 5 reps is fine sometimes. Look up periodization. The body adapts quickly so while 5 sets of 5 might work for a few weeks you eventually need to change it up. Plus your joints, tendons and ligaments get tired always lifting heavy.

Cardio has nothing to do with 'toning.' The old saying is 'abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym.' If you want to look tone (horrible term but we'll go with it) you need to have some muscle and then remove the fat from over top of it. The easiest way to remove fat is the cut calories. You can burn calories through exercise, but not nearly as much as people think.

Dips and pullups is nothing close to enough for a well rounded workout. If you want to do a workout without a gym Google bodyweight training. If you have access to a gym then look at the books 'Starting Strength' or 'New Rules of Lifting.' Both are good books by excellent authors and give you plenty of workout plans. With either, expect to spend about an hour in the gym 3 times per week.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#55

Post by giardini »

starkfist wrote: post #51
philk wrote: post #4

Good stuff although the rep scheme isn't optimal. I'd stick to sets of fives. A few additional points: a) Form, particularly on Squats & Deadlifts, is key. If you do them wrong you'll fuck yourself up. The stuff by Mark Rippetoe, particularly Starting Strength, is awesome for this. b) If you want to make progress you'll need to consume a surplus of calories. A good way to do this is to add full fat milk to your diet…

Does anyone know of a good book or web resource for training legs and back with a back injury? I would like to get into Olympic lifts but I have three slipped discs from overloading a hip sled in high school. I'm pretty strong otherwise, but my legs are messed up. My injury is under control but when I do the wrong thing I can't walk for a week. There is a dedicated olympic lifting school blocks from where I live, but…

Here are a couple of recommendations from someone in a similar situation:

a) use a "Roman Chair", but only a particular type of Roman Chair: one that allows the footrest to be at the same level or above the hip/stomach rest. That is this (good) http://www.sport-n-goods.com/acatalog/92625w.jpg rather than this (bad) http://www.donoliver.co.nz/images/CT-2072%2045%20Roman%20Cha...

And don't use it the way they usually illustrate here http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=op...

Your back should never be hyperextended (effectively, leaning backward) as if in orgasmic bliss, as they so often show.

Instead use it like the leftmost 2 photos here http://www.fitsugar.com/Roman-Chair-Explained-946313

The "bad" Roman Chair, the one that puts you at a 45 degree angle with your head above your hips, will likely injure your back if you have any pre-existing problem.

Instead use a Roman Chair that puts your feet and hips at the same level and allows you to hang with your head down and your torso vertical. Once you're in position (head straight down), lift yourself slowly to 45 degrees from vertical, no more, lower and try to and relax the back spinal muscles. The whole point is to use your upper-body weight to stretch out those tight spinal muscles.

Over time you can add weight. Put the weight on the floor, get in position (head down) and only then pick up the weight. The greater the weight the more your back stretches. Increase weights only slowly over the weeks.Always warm up with no weight first.

b) there are good lower back exercises from the Royal Canadian Airforce 5BX Fitness Plan at http://www.corvedale.previewurl.com/5bx/

chart 1, exercise 2

chart 2, exercise 2

chart 3, exercise 2

Read about 5BX before starting. The chart 1 exercises are intended to be done for awhile before starting chart 2, etc. That is, don't start at chart 2. Otherwise you may hurt yourself.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#56

Post by pstevensza »

marknutter wrote: post #48

I'm glad to see this article on Hacker News. I started lifting weights way back in High School for the same reason most people start - to get girls. I went through a long cycle of going hard for 3-4 months and not lifting at all for 3-4 months. It took me a long time to realize that it's much more effective (as in it actually works) to go medium for all 12 months out of the year. The most important bits of advice I e…

I agree with you on the spotter/partner. I started lifting about six months ago, and specifically built a program that didn't require a spotter, ramping up as I get stronger. Lifting is my time to zone out and relax, and I'm not dependent on other people's scheduling problems or requirements. I also find that at a certain time of day, I just grab my bag and go to the gym. Fortunate to have one on the campus where I work, which helps.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#57

Post by philk »

starkfist wrote: post #51
philk wrote: post #4

Good stuff although the rep scheme isn't optimal. I'd stick to sets of fives. A few additional points: a) Form, particularly on Squats & Deadlifts, is key. If you do them wrong you'll fuck yourself up. The stuff by Mark Rippetoe, particularly Starting Strength, is awesome for this. b) If you want to make progress you'll need to consume a surplus of calories. A good way to do this is to add full fat milk to your diet…

Does anyone know of a good book or web resource for training legs and back with a back injury? I would like to get into Olympic lifts but I have three slipped discs from overloading a hip sled in high school. I'm pretty strong otherwise, but my legs are messed up. My injury is under control but when I do the wrong thing I can't walk for a week. There is a dedicated olympic lifting school blocks from where I live, but…

Does anyone at the olympic lifting school know a really good, olympic lifting oriented physio? Failing that, you could perhaps contact people at olympic training centers and see if they can recommend someone.

If you can find a good one they might be able to work through some of the issues with you.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#58

Post by nazgulnarsil »

matwood wrote: post #54
nazgulnarsil wrote: post #2

ugh....the large number of reps at low weight meme has spread because people want to believe that they can do an easy workout. if you can do more than 5 reps your weight is too light. there's no such thing as "toned instead of bulk". lifting casually a few times a week is not going to turn you into a hulkish freak. and if you want toned you do CARDIO. treating weightlifting as cardio is stupid. for the average person…

There are so many things wrong in this post I'm not sure where to start. First, 5 reps is fine sometimes. Look up periodization. The body adapts quickly so while 5 sets of 5 might work for a few weeks you eventually need to change it up. Plus your joints, tendons and ligaments get tired always lifting heavy. Cardio has nothing to do with 'toning.' The old saying is 'abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym.' If you…

heavy weight lifting is beneficial to your ligaments tendons and joints. it's doing dozens or hundreds of reaps that are bad for them. periodization is crap. you let your muscles recover and then you workout again.

diet is outside the purview of this discussion for now. of course diet has a massive impact. that's not what we're talking about.

I am well aware of various bodyweight routines. complicated programs are not needed. I'll admit I forgot a core routine, but between that and jogging on hills you're working every major muscle group.

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#59

Post by philk »

marknutter wrote: post #50
jadence wrote: post #3

I don't see the "for Hackers" angle in this article. Yes, you can think through problems while lifting but that's hardly unique to weight lifting. Ditto for books on tape. I'm not hating on weight lifting here (I've been lifting consistently for 9+ years) but I just don't see this as being Hacker News. PS - I think you meant to write "read" instead of "ready" here: "In particular, the Freakonomics audio books are qui…

The "for Hackers" angle is in the fact that most hackers (and I admit I'm generalizing here) don't lift weights regularly. He's basically saying, "if you have written off weightlifting because you think it's just about vanity or because the gym is full of asshole jocks, you might want to reconsider because it can actually help your confidence in business, help you to solve problems, and isn't that hard to get into af…

I think it's mostly a gimmick to make this article popular on sites like HN.

In a similar vein, stay tuned for my next two articles "Making a sandwich for Hackers" and "Cleaning your bathroom for Hackers".

Re: Weight Lifting for Hackers

#60

Post by stonemetal »

tjogin wrote: post #46
TNO wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stand on your head and start pushing.

And when you've developed the strength to do that, how do you increase the resistance (and how do you develop the strength when you can't even do a single pushup like that)? It's well established science that you should be doing about 5-15 repetitions per set, depending on whether you're focusing on hypertrophy or strength (overkill for non-professionals to even make the distinction, just stay between 8-12) — if you…

And when you've developed the strength to do that, how do you increase the resistance (and how do you develop the strength when you can't even do a single pushup like that)? Incline and Decline Pushups. At the top of a standard pushup you are holding in the mid 60s % of your body weight on your hands. At the bottom in the mid 70s % of your body weight. Changing the angles changes that value. Of course that still doesn't work out your legs but squats and other exercises with out weights do pretty well for most general purpose needs.
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