bench press/ chin ups

[LkptTiger 1]

Ask a powerlifter to show you how to bench press with correct tecnique, not a personal trainer on a health club. A PT will only mess up everything

I'm sure this kids has a ton of professional powerlifters hanging around his gym.

You'd be surprised. I work with one guy who does advertisements for body-building suppliments, a couple other guys who do body-building shows, and a bunch of others who probably could enter a show and not look out-of-place - all at one Abercrombie and Fitch. I think there are a lot more strong-men in this world than you think. I've never frequented a gym that didn't have at least a half-dozen "rats." At least the guys I work with leave the gym - I know of a few people who, it seems, never, ever do.

um alright dude go ask mark mcquire what happened? oh yeah i forgot hes not being elected into the hall of fame for use of creatine, which made his head the size of my body

I want to take a sledgehammer to your keyboard. I'm just going to inform you that McGuire didn't use Creatine (well, he may have, but that's not all he was taking) and leave it at that.

[Sniper15 0]

oh yeah im sure he should take creatine if he really wants his nuts to shrink

Dude wtf are you talking about? Creatin doesn't make your nuts shrink. You are thinking of other crap.

[willy0314 0]

um alright dude go ask mark mcquire what happened? oh yeah i forgot hes not being elected into the hall of fame for use of creatine, which made his head the size of my body

your balls shrink when you introduce extra testosterone into your system (anabolic steroids). Your balls stop producing testosterone-- hince your balls shrinking-- and your body trys to correct the inbalance by producing more estrogen. Thats why to take steroids you have to take a crap load of other things or your will end up dead, and with man boobs.

creatine is not an anabolic steroid and will not effect the state of your balls. In fact it won't do anything for you at all unless you have a good diet and work out regularly.

[drisco487 0]

uh yeah mcguire did use creatine and are you kidding me? creatine would effect you it obviously isnt good for you

Edit: i wanna take a sledgehammer to ur face

[LkptTiger 1]

McGuire took, most notably, Androstenedione, you incredible ass. Nice try, but you're wrong.

[drisco487 0]

creaaatineeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[LkptTiger 1]

*Sigh*

Your mother should have swallowed you.

[gman 0]

In fact it won't do anything for you at all unless you have a good diet and work out regularly.

This one of the most bottom line, and true, statements made in a long time. If you do not work out regularly and eat right, no supplement in the world is going to help. I am not personally sold on creatine, but opinions vary and that is fine. The point is that the guy in the police academy needs to keep working out and eating right. I cannot imagine not being to work up to six pullups in two months. Unless, of course, his arm injury has left him with some sort of disability. If that is the case, perhaps he should look for another career.

EDIT: Theo beat me to it. I did not see his until after I posted mine. Sorry.

[willy0314 0]

uh yeah mcguire did use creatine and are you kidding me? creatine would effect you it obviously isnt good for you

Why do you think creatine is so bad for you? The stuff is found in red meat. I've been cycleing it for 4 years now with no noticable change to the size of my nuts. For me it works, some guys don't really like it. I try to keep a log of all my workouts and the pattern for me is pretty consistant to prove I can squeeze out a few more reps when I cycle on to it.

[Nick23 0]

Arrogant & retarded are two words that mix well together when this guy is speaking. So seriously, just stop.

I hear about guys who smash their bench press records by like 20 kg in a month when starting using creatine, and, although i have my doubts about such a high use after never using it before, the results speak for themselves really. So if this guy needs to up his strength fast, this could be the right idea, although it probably isn't a substainable approach.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Good point Theo and I don't think my bro. would even take it...

Just wondering...When some of you guys who take these supplements (no, I am not talking about smple multi vitamins, etc) are like 40-50 years old...Are you going to look back and be proud that you put this stuff in your body to keep fit for recreational purposes? It is not like anyone aside from Kovy's brother is making the NHL here....No need for this crap in your system. I don't know...I just find it sad people take so many shortcuts these days and they can't really do anything by themselves- From kids all the way up to pro baseball players. But at least the players have money and a lot more on the line. Of course, not the right thing to do though

[AnthonyJTa 0]

creaaatineeeeeeeeeeeeeee

well, in theory- most heavy lifters/builders do use creatine along with their illegal substance of choice (ie: androstenone like someone else mentioned)... but um, creatine won't effect your "nuts" at all there buddy. Creatine is an organic acid that boosts more energy to your muscle cells... basically cranking your energy/endurance levels. It's actually used to treat a lot of muscular, neurological and neuromuscular diseases. While I don't doubt Mark used creatine, I am 100% sure that is isn't the substance he's in hot water over.

Now Big Mac's cocktail of choice, Androstenone- is a whole other story. Andro is basically human growth hormones. Which is basically what any steroid is.

the only thing you have to look out for while using creatine is drinking plenty of water... I know when a trainer gave me a trial run with it, he said it would crystalize in your kidneys if you're not properly hydrated.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Creatine only puts more water in your muscles. Get stronger, quicker and better instead of wanting to get bigger. Size will come either maybe not as much but at least you'll be stronger, quicker and better.

To be able to do 6 pulls ups and gain 30 pounds at the bench press, you don't need creatine, you just need the proper nutrients and a strict routine.

creaaatineeeeeeeeeeeeeee

well, in theory- most heavy lifters/builders do use creatine along with their illegal substance of choice (ie: androstenone like someone else mentioned)... but um, creatine won't effect your "nuts" at all there buddy. Creatine is an organic acid that boosts more energy to your muscle cells... basically cranking your energy/endurance levels. It's actually used to treat a lot of muscular, neurological and neuromuscular diseases. While I don't doubt Mark used creatine, I am 100% sure that is isn't the substance he's in hot water over.

Now Big Mac's cocktail of choice, Androstenone- is a whole other story. Andro is basically human growth hormones. Which is basically what any steroid is.

the only thing you have to look out for while using creatine is drinking plenty of water... I know when a trainer gave me a trial run with it, he said it would crystalize in your kidneys if you're not properly hydrated.

[LkptTiger 1]

Are you going to look back and be proud that you put this stuff in your body to keep fit for recreational purposes? It is not like anyone aside from Kovy's brother is making the NHL here....No need for this crap in your system.

We're not going to make it to the Show, but I am sure there are a number of other guys on this board who have the potential to get to/through Juniors and college hockey. I think at that point it would go beyond your standard "recreational purposes." Personally, I have been making use of Creatine since the summer of '05...even now as I go through rehabilitation. Once/if I finally give-in and allow myself to admit that I'm probably not going to make a successful return to higher-level hockey, I'll probably stop taking it.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a "short-cut," Theo: you still have to do a lot of hard work in order to see the benefits of the suppliment. If you don't excersize (and excersize fairly heavily) while taking Creatine, you're probably just going to get fat.

Kovy: I wouldn't say that claiming that Creatine simply allows it's user to hold water weight within his/her muscles - suceeding in only making the user "bigger" - would be entirely accurate. While, yes, it's true Creatine will hold greater amounts of water within the muscles for greater periods of time, it also boosts muscle endurance. This ultimately makes it possible to eek-out two or three more reps of a given excersize, which leads to higher-intensity workouts which will result in greater muscle gain. Again, you have to do the work to reap the rewards.

Honestly, I don't think Creatine would help the individual in need of aid, here. In my experience, the benefits of Creatine will only be evident when used with a regular, strenuous excersize routine. I don't think someone who is struggling to do two pull-ups and a body-weight bench-press will be able to make full use of the suppliment.

[Lester8 11]

I don't think enough has been said about the pairings of muscle groups. Bench presses focus primarily on the pecs and tris, however, you won't be able to make stable gains in strength without strong shoulders and bis. I believe it's called antagonistic pairs. You need to maintain a strength balance between pairs, such as bis and tris, in order to avoid injuries and ensuing setbacks.

With that in mind, his chin ups need to improve or all the bench pressing will only hurt him. I'll bet his sticking point is when his arms bend to 90 degrees. Here his upper back muscles need to kick in, but don't, and his arms tire before the second rep. I recommend lots of shoulder circles to loosen up the shoulder blades, bent over rows, and lat pull downs (overhand, wide grip). Focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together and stretching them apart. Don't even use a lot of weight, just get deep the shoulder blade movement.

Likewise with the bench press, he may be limited by either the chest, shoulders, or arms. Isolate a group for a week, then try for a new max. Then focus on the next weakest link, and so on and so forth.

When you're pounding your upper body, it's easy to neglect the shoulders. Always do front raises, side raises, bent over side raises, and bent over rear raises. Again, it doesn't require much weight. Form and range are most important.

[Alias81 0]

If he can barley do 1 Chin up, have him do something simple like pressups, heck put him on an electric muscle toner for 5 minutes and triple his strength.

[D3nZ 0]

I went up about 30 lbs in one month and a half of training.

[willy0314 0]

Just wondering...When some of you guys who take these supplements (no, I am not talking about smple multi vitamins, etc) are like 40-50 years old...Are you going to look back and be proud that you put this stuff in your body to keep fit for recreational purposes? It is not like anyone aside from Kovy's brother is making the NHL here....No need for this crap in your system. I don't know...I just find it sad people take so many shortcuts these days and they can't really do anything by themselves- From kids all the way up to pro baseball players. But at least the players have money and a lot more on the line. Of course, not the right thing to do though

I know exactly what you are saying, but I don't know how worried I am. I have heard people say, that is bad for you, or that is gonna give you kidney stones, but I haven't ever read any kind of study that points to those kinds of things. That being said, the only things I really take are a good multi, protien shakes, and creatine. I stay away from most everything else because most all of it is junk, and most of it atleast has a greater potential to be harmful then just the basics.

As far as creatine making you pack on water weight, that is true of monohydrate, but some of the newer creatines (ie: CEE - creatine ethyl ester) don't have that characteristic that mono dose.

[Nov101775 0]

I think another point to make to your buddy is that while his enthusiasim is commendable, the reality is that Minimums for the field he is trying to get into are just that, the bare Minimum. Depending on the acadamy, he can expect to be required to exceede the minimums very rapidly. Several of my Marines have been to various Local, And State Police acadamies, not to mention Sherrif and Fire academies (along with two of my guys who went SS school, and Westy who went SEAL) Anyway my point is, not only is he in for a world of hurt, he could potentially be putting his life on the line by joining a profession were sub par fitness could lead to risk to himself or others.

Look we are all hockey whores here and most of us work/train to be better players, but If you eeck by durring practice or whatever, who pays the price ? You do. Suck ass when peoples lives are on the line, and others pay the price.

of course maybe this kid is crazy dedicated, and just needs to get some help getting the ball rolling, in that case, disreguard me running my mouth.

[Remman 0]

I think another point to make to your buddy is that while his enthusiasim is commendable, the reality is that Minimums for the field he is trying to get into are just that, the bare Minimum. Depending on the acadamy, he can expect to be required to exceede the minimums very rapidly. Several of my Marines have been to various Local, And State Police acadamies, not to mention Sherrif and Fire academies (along with two of my guys who went SS school, and Westy who went SEAL) Anyway my point is, not only is he in for a world of hurt, he could potentially be putting his life on the line by joining a profession were sub par fitness could lead to risk to himself or others.

Look we are all hockey whores here and most of us work/train to be better players, but If you eeck by durring practice or whatever, who pays the price ? You do. Suck ass when peoples lives are on the line, and others pay the price.

of course maybe this kid is crazy dedicated, and just needs to get some help getting the ball rolling, in that case, disreguard me running my mouth.

I agree here. Is it worth being the bare minimum? How do you know you won't need your fitness in a life or death situation? I was with a Marine S/S platoon. When we got to Iraq, the hard work on active duty paid off. To have to be able to put that much strenuous activity on your body sucks, but being prepared for it is absolutely essential. Knowing that you are capable of being top notch in certain situations makes you feel good about yourself too.

I look at some of the police officers today and laugh. Most city cops I see couldn't catch a guy walking.

If he is going to work hard to make it, I wish him luck, but he better keep up with it.

[rob 0]

i take creatine now with no problems, to get all technical......

Adenosine Triphosphate is the molecule which when broken down releases energy for the muscle to contract. When used up, ATP needs to be replenished by re-acquiring phosphates. CP (phosphocreatine) acts as a phosphate transporter. CP gives up its phosphate to ATP freeing creatine to form the bi-product creatinine for excretion. Creatine is manufactured in the liver, kidneys and pancreas and secreted into blood for transport to muscle (amongst other) tissues.

basically it speeds up your muscle recovery time. Fair enough it shouldnt be taken constantly due to health reasons.

[tokes 0]

Creatine only puts more water in your muscles. Get stronger, quicker and better instead of wanting to get bigger. Size will come either maybe not as much but at least you'll be stronger, quicker and better.

Creatine only puts water in your muscles, which is why creatine is often used as a supplement for people with neuromuscular diseases to increase strength. ALS, muscular dystrophy, etc. My dad has severe Crohn's disease and had a bowel resection done, and as a result doesn't absorb nutrients from food very well. He has to give himself injections of Vitamin B1 and have iron infusions done. He lost about 45 pounds in the past year when it was really bad and bothering him. His nutritionist has him on a new diet and also highly recommended he take Creatine to help build back all the muscle he has lost lately. You think she'd have him on that if all it did was help with water retention?

[willy0314 0]

Adenosine Triphosphate is the molecule which when broken down releases energy for the muscle to contract. When used up, ATP needs to be replenished by re-acquiring phosphates. CP (phosphocreatine) acts as a phosphate transporter. CP gives up its phosphate to ATP freeing creatine to form the bi-product creatinine for excretion. Creatine is manufactured in the liver, kidneys and pancreas and secreted into blood for transport to muscle (amongst other) tissues.

[cause4alarm 7]

Is zrez and his friend still using this thread or has he given up on us as a source of advice?

For stuff like chin ups, I've heard several different pointers to improve:

gradually increasing how long you can statically hold your chin above the bar

assisted chinups (using a machine with assistance or using a human spotter)

working your way up with kipping chinups or jumping chinups

working your way up by focusing more on the total number of chinups overall rather than the maximum number done at once (e.g., if your target number is to get to 10, start with 10 sets of 1, then graduate to 5 sets of 2, and so forth until you can do all 10 at once)

[msander 0]

i take creatine now with no problems, to get all technical......

Adenosine Triphosphate is the molecule which when broken down releases energy for the muscle to contract. When used up, ATP needs to be replenished by re-acquiring phosphates. CP (phosphocreatine) acts as a phosphate transporter. CP gives up its phosphate to ATP freeing creatine to form the bi-product creatinine for excretion. Creatine is manufactured in the liver, kidneys and pancreas and secreted into blood for transport to muscle (amongst other) tissues.

basically it speeds up your muscle recovery time. Fair enough it shouldnt be taken constantly due to health reasons.

This is basically bang on. Your muscles, in particular explosive fast twitch fibers used in things like weighttraining, store large amounts of glycogen that are used to replenish ATP supplies upon physical exertion. However, oxidation of this fuel source is not instantaneous, therefore when doing strenous exercise lasting around 10 seconds or less, your energy needs are provided by the transfer of phosphate from creatine phosphate to adenosine diphosphate (the dephosphorylated energy source). This allows your muscles to function in the time it takes to garner energy from other fuel sources.

By taking creatine supplements, what you're basically doing is providing a greater reservoir of creatine which is phosphorylated to creatine phosphate during rest time, and this allows you to do slightly longer bursts of explosive excercise as well as do more sets of said exercises.

Regarding the water retention associated with creatine intake, I can't be sure of this, but I would assume that as creatine is transported into myocytes, water probably diffuses across the membrane to preserve the osmolality.