Bro, do you even lift?

[Bill Arsenault]

Haha!
This is the second thread I have killed in less than 24 hours.
Clearly there are unwritten rules and lines in the sand that I will never acknowledge.
I should only be allowed to use the like button and that’s it.
I could probably even find a way to get into trouble on FM3 Edit.

 

[plexi59]

I lifted barbells for years and it was a godsend for my health,

Yeah, when I started the first time I was starting from worse than zero. “Scientific consensus” seems to be that if you have lower back issues, barbell training is not indicated. At least for me that wasn’t the case at all. My first “deadlift” was 40lbs, and my back hurt for a week afterwards. Not missing a zero or anything, really just 40lbs - one of those fixed weight barbells they have at the gym. As the weights went up back problems disappeared. I am now convinced that for most people without serious anomalies in the spine their “back problems” are caused by the lack of stabilizer muscles to hold their back together, which, in turn, is caused by the lack of exercise.

And yet, you’re unlikely to encounter a medical doctor who would advise lifting weights to deal with back pain. They’ll prescribe rest most likely, which will fuck the patient up even more.

 

[Dunconia]

I left the gym and started building a home garage gym starting after Covid peaked. I finally got most of my pieces together but it hasn’t been easy finding equipment. Plus, it is expensive, but I no longer have any excuses if the gym is in my garage. Even if I don’t feel 100%, it helps me feel better about accomplishing something even if I only do a couple of exercises a day. I’ve been sticking with the big three (bench, squats, deadlifts) mostly but I do branch out to round it out.

Home gyms are where it’s at. Rogue Monster Lite rack is awesome. I wrote my setup numbers for my j-hooks and straps/spotter arms in my iPhone notes so I can reconfigure quickly.

 

[Bill Arsenault]

Yeah, when I started the first time I was starting from worse than zero. “Scientific consensus” seems to be that if you have lower back issues, barbell training is not indicated. At least for me that wasn’t the case at all. My first “deadlift” was 40lbs, and my back hurt for a week afterwards. Not missing a zero or anything, really just 40lbs - one of those fixed weight barbells they have at the gym. As the weights went up back problems disappeared. I am now convinced that for most people without serious anomalies in the spine their “back problems” are caused by the lack of stabilizer muscles to hold their back together, which, in turn, is caused by the lack of exercise.

And yet, you’re unlikely to encounter a medical doctor who would advise lifting weights to deal with back pain. They’ll prescribe rest most likely, which will fuck the patient up even more.

Right on.
Most of my re-injuries happen when I am not being active and lying around too much or just from normal activities.
Getting out of bed or out of an automobile without being cautious are also constant issues for my back and knees.
I have gotten hurt countless times just getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Yet I have only hurt myself badly once in the gym and once at work.

 

[shredmechanic]

Yeah, when I started the first time I was starting from worse than zero. “Scientific consensus” seems to be that if you have lower back issues, barbell training is not indicated. At least for me that wasn’t the case at all. My first “deadlift” was 40lbs, and my back hurt for a week afterwards. Not missing a zero or anything, really just 40lbs - one of those fixed weight barbells they have at the gym. As the weights went up back problems disappeared. I am now convinced that for most people without serious anomalies in the spine their “back problems” are caused by the lack of stabilizer muscles to hold their back together, which, in turn, is caused by the lack of exercise.

And yet, you’re unlikely to encounter a medical doctor who would advise lifting weights to deal with back pain. They’ll prescribe rest most likely, which will fuck the patient up even more.

Same. I had a doctor at the VA literally tell me to start acting like a 60 year-old because of my spine injuries. "Don't jump, don't run, don't lift anything too heavy, and take your meds". So I listened to the doc and for most of my 20's I gained weight and my health deteriorated slow and steady until I wasn't doing anything but self-medicating. I felt so miserable.

After moving to a new neighborhood in my late 20's I was out walking my dog and I passed by a Crossfit gym. I walked over to poke my head in and see what all the noise was about and met the owner of the gym. Long story short that moment changed my life forever and I wound up becoming close friends with the owner, who also happened to be a veteran, and he taught me how to lift barbells and stretch properly.

I think my first low bar back squat was just the bar and I looked like a deer that had just been born. Shaky form, knees caving in, and a rounded back at the bottom oh man it must have been rough to watch. By the end of that year I could pump out 5 clean squats at a working weight of 225 and was starting to bench more than my body weight. I gained a bit of weight during that year but lost 4" off of my waist - insane.

Thinking about how many doctors told me the same thing about living as sedentary as possible to accomodate my injuries vs the huge progress I got from doing the opposite is still confusing.

 

[Kevinwhite338]

Two of my favorite things in world, playing guitar and lifting weights.

 

[Purplestrats]

I used to lift seriously and put up some decent numbers. I don't take it as seriously any more, so I just have a trap bar deadlift in my garage and some dumbbells, some rings outside for pullups and dips. I do 2 full body workouts a week now, instead of the 6 days a week I used to. I still have the strength more or less, but my joints aren't too happy with me if I go heavy these days.

 

[plexi59]

Could be bad technique or insufficient stretching. My left knee and right shoulder are guaranteed to hurt if I don’t sufficiently stretch before doing squats. If I do stretch well, everything is OK. I’m not training 6 days a week. I’ve read that’s overkill for folks who are already pretty strong (and thus have to use significant weights to keep progressing) and aren’t on juice to help with recovery. I’m pretty spent after heavy deadlifts, so I do a couple of days of cardio after that.

 

[spagthorpe]

I mostly got into more cardio activities in the last five years. Riding, and then a spin bike when I moved to a less bike friendly area. I have a rowing machine, which gives you some whole body workout, but not really strength. A little before covid hit, I had picked up some Powerblocks (adjustable dumbbells), and once Covid hit, I grabbed some weight addons and a bench. The dumbbells go between 20 and 90 lbs each. I like using them, but getting on and off the bench with heavy weights has it's own challenges. I always feel like I'm more likely to get injured doing that than with the actual lifting. If I get enough stuff out of my garage, I'll probably go the gym route with it. I've got really tall ceilings in there, and was planning on a climbing wall as well.

 

[biggness]

I lifted from high school to my mid-twenties until I was in a baddddddd car wreck and broke three bones in my neck and two in my back. My orthopedic surgeon wanted to try something "new" before attempting surgery and actually required me to do six months of intense physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the broken bones and try to hold them in place while they healed. Thank the Good Lord it worked. It was agonizing while doing it, but I'm thankful I at least tried since neck and back surgeries are rarely a one time thing.

Anyways, I was urged not to lift any weights for five years after that. I did my time and have been back in the gym for five years now without any issues whatsoever.

Current stats;

6' 6.5"
310 lbs

 

[Bill Arsenault]

I lifted from high school to my mid-twenties until I was in a baddddddd car wreck and broke three bones in my neck and two in my back. My orthopedic surgeon wanted to try something "new" before attempting surgery and actually required me to do six months of intense physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the broken bones and try to hold them in place while they healed. Thank the Good Lord it worked. It was agonizing while doing it, but I'm thankful I at least tried since neck and back surgeries are rarely a one time thing.

Anyways, I was urged not to lift any weights for five years after that. I did my time and have been back in the gym for five years now without any issues whatsoever.

Current stats;

6' 6.5"
310 lbs View attachment 79369

Glad to hear your feeling better lately.
Best wishes Brother.

 

[Mohi]

I lifted from high school to my mid-twenties until I was in a baddddddd car wreck and broke three bones in my neck and two in my back. My orthopedic surgeon wanted to try something "new" before attempting surgery and actually required me to do six months of intense physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the broken bones and try to hold them in place while they healed. Thank the Good Lord it worked. It was agonizing while doing it, but I'm thankful I at least tried since neck and back surgeries are rarely a one time thing.

Anyways, I was urged not to lift any weights for five years after that. I did my time and have been back in the gym for five years now without any issues whatsoever.

Current stats;

6' 6.5"
310 lbs View attachment 79369

Man you almost dwarf the top 6 of the Olympia!

 

[Griff_NZ]

I lifted from high school to my mid-twenties until I was in a baddddddd car wreck and broke three bones in my neck and two in my back. My orthopedic surgeon wanted to try something "new" before attempting surgery and actually required me to do six months of intense physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the broken bones and try to hold them in place while they healed. Thank the Good Lord it worked. It was agonizing while doing it, but I'm thankful I at least tried since neck and back surgeries are rarely a one time thing.

Anyways, I was urged not to lift any weights for five years after that. I did my time and have been back in the gym for five years now without any issues whatsoever.

Current stats;

6' 6.5"
310 lbs View attachment 79369

Dude, I bet EVERY guitar looks small in your hands..

 

[Tremonti]

Eddie Hall and I. 2018 World's Strongest Man Competition in my hometown of Bradenton FL. He was 2016 WSM and still holds the world's record deadlift at 500kg(sorry Thor...your's doesn't count!). I'm 6 ft 225 lbs and 41 yrs old in this picture.

 

[spagthorpe]

Eddie Hall and I. 2018 World's Strongest Man Competition in my hometown of Bradenton FL. He was 2016 WSM and still holds the world's record deadlift at 500kg(sorry Thor...your's doesn't count!). I'm 6 ft 225 lbs and 41 yrs old in this picture.

One of the early WSM winners had a gym in my little college town, Bill Kazmaier. The guy was so unreal strong, it was hard not to be in awe. A bunch of crazy strong guys in that little gym. I worked next door in this pool hall, and if I had to move a table around, I'd go next door and see if a couple of guys could help. These were 900lb slate tables. Sometimes it was just two of these guys moving one.

 

[Mohi]

You can tell by the size of his wrists, what kind of structure / genetics he has, amazing.

 

[Muad'zin]

I got back into lifting weights when the gyms were open again during the summer. When they were closed again in december the university gym decided in a stroke of unbureaucraticness, which is highly unlike them, to open up its outdoors facilities, first with what they called the pop up gym. Which was old stuff and weights and halters from the group fitness rooms, nothing fancy, at most you could pile 40 kilos on them. But it was better then nothing. There were times in december and januari when I was the only one working the weights. And they decided to offer more with reopening the outdoor gym as well. So you could get some real lifting happening. So I've been hitting those 3 times a week, alternating between a should workout and arms and legs workout.

 

[Tremonti]

One of the early WSM winners had a gym in my little college town, Bill Kazmaier. The guy was so unreal strong, it was hard not to be in awe. A bunch of crazy strong guys in that little gym. I worked next door in this pool hall, and if I had to move a table around, I'd go next door and see if a couple of guys could help. These were 900lb slate tables. Sometimes it was just two of these guys moving one.

Bill is a legend!