the official what (not) to do thread!

[Allon]

What is wrong with the "pussy pad"? I can think of no reason not to use it unless you want to impress people by saying, "hey look at me I am so tough I don't need padding on this 200 pound bar I got resting on the top of my spine" any reasons other than that?
What is wrong with doing forearms curls and not doing deadlifts? whats the connection?
I am not sure what you meant Dzulboy when you said "don't bother maxing out and if you have to do it once every 3-6 months" but that sounds important.

 

[JKurz1]

How about:

- Thinking carbs are the enemy......
- Following a pro routine written in Muscle and Fitness.....
- Reading Mens Health for anything other than the humor..............
AND

- ANALYZING YOUR DIET SO F-ING MUCH THAT IT INTERFERES WITH YOUR PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!

 

[juicedbeachbum]

What is wrong with the "pussy pad"? I can think of no reason not to use it unless you want to impress people by saying, "hey look at me I am so tough I don't need padding on this 200 pound bar I got resting on the top of my spine" any reasons other than that?
What is wrong with doing forearms curls and not doing deadlifts? whats the connection?
I am not sure what you meant Dzulboy when you said "don't bother maxing out and if you have to do it once every 3-6 months" but that sounds important.

I personally hate the pussy pad. I think it's bulky and annoying. I think you should get used to using just the bar. I also squat a lot more than 200 pounds, and if you never use the pad, you won't have a problem. (Although, some chicks have a problem since they don't have enough muscle in their traps and shoulders to support the weight) I find it easier to maintain good form without that bulky thing.

Deadlifts are considered one of the best, if not the best exercise for increasing testosterone levels, increasing mass in your back, and working your forearms. Holding onto a 500+ pound bar is impossible w/o strong forearms, and many people say that these compound exercises are all you need. Personally, I'm not against forearm curls, I just think if you're not going to do some of the more important lifts you're only hurting yourself. I think the point is that the basic lifts are going to get you bigger and stronger, and are much more effective. You can and should do some isolation moves, but focus on the4 bigger lifts.

As far as maxin out goes, the main reason people do it is to say I can bench/squat/deadlift 500lbs. If I were to max out everyweek I wouldn't get bigger. Infact, I notice more strength when I increase intensity and not just going for a 1 rep max. BTW, needing a spot on your first rep doesn't impress anyone.

With that said, I believe that bench press is the most overrated and least effective workout you can do. If you're going to work you chest, incline press and dumbbell pressed work much better. The only reason I bench is to impress people and say i can bench 400lbs (Almost), but the reason I have a big chest is because of dumbbells, cables, and fly's.

 

[Tweakle]

the pussy pad is for the 135 club doing their smith squats, I couldnt imagine ever wanting to intentionally make the bar more unstable on your back for a 500lb+ squat.

if you're riding the bar right it wont cause you any back pain

 

[one man gang]

Trying to "work through" an injury, 99.99% of the time if will only make the injury worse and you end up taking more time off than if you had rested it in the first place. Sometimes you may actually "tweak" it for life, and that sucks big time, got to learn to back off and let things heal. Also stay away from the "MEGA" Blitz 24 sets for bi's 24 sets for Tri's routines. Leads to "Mega" overtraining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jcp2]

Trying to "work through" an injury, 99.99% of the time if will only make the injury worse and you end up taking more time off than if you had rested it in the first place. Sometimes you may actually "tweak" it for life, and that sucks big time, got to learn to back off and let things heal. Also stay away from the "MEGA" Blitz 24 sets for bi's 24 sets for Tri's routines. Leads to "Mega" overtraining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

always work around an injury, not through it. This is something i don't need to learn for a 99th time myself, lol.

 

[Allon]

How do you work around an injury?
I just hurt my right hand, I was trying to strenghten my grip and my forearm as they are my weakest link and always interfering with biceps and back exercises as well as bench press, so I was using those grips thingy's (you know what that little think you hold in your hand and squeeze, we all tried it once when we were kids) I could easily do 50 reps squeezing the grip and I guess I overdid it one time, my hand became numb and since then the ligaments hurt on the top part of my hand as well as a pain in the outside side of my wrist especially when bringing my hand closer to the forearm...
How would I work around this, I have basically had to force myself to stay away from the gym the last week. I am pretty sure that I cannot do any bicep or back exercises or bench press, so that leaves me with the flies machine, and the pulldown machine.
and I can still work out my legs as usual, not sure about the shoulders. Would that be working around it, or do you mean working out as normal but with lighter weight?

 

[Lumberg]

First of all allon go see a doctor and find out exactly what you did.

second of all only do exercises that don't cause pain.

 

[WalkingBeast]

DONT stare, when Im in the gym, or anywhere.

 

[one man gang]

How do you work around an injury?
I just hurt my right hand, I was trying to strenghten my grip and my forearm as they are my weakest link and always interfering with biceps and back exercises as well as bench press, so I was using those grips thingy's (you know what that little think you hold in your hand and squeeze, we all tried it once when we were kids) I could easily do 50 reps squeezing the grip and I guess I overdid it one time, my hand became numb and since then the ligaments hurt on the top part of my hand as well as a pain in the outside side of my wrist especially when bringing my hand closer to the forearm...
How would I work around this, I have basically had to force myself to stay away from the gym the last week. I am pretty sure that I cannot do any bicep or back exercises or bench press, so that leaves me with the flies machine, and the pulldown machine.
and I can still work out my legs as usual, not sure about the shoulders. Would that be working around it, or do you mean working out as normal but with lighter weight?

Okay, the answer is very simple, working around the injury would be to do legs, as you mention above, working through the injury would be to continue with you upper body work, even thought the hand hurts------not a good idea. What I'd do in this case, and trust me, I've been there before, is stick with legs and abs for now, and ice the injured hand 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time. Also try applying some kind of "pain" cream to the injured hand a few times a day. Hand and wrist injuries can be a real pain in the ass, cause it's impossible to do upper body without them, so heal the hand first. O.M.G.