No.343 Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 After several years of neglect I drew the line in the sand and decided that I am not getting any fatter. I've been working out regularly for the last several months. Most of the work I've done on a elliptical machine and a stationary bike. I started lifting weights regularly about two months ago. I want to loose some weight, but that has been very slow in coming. I can tell that I am in better shape based on the feedback I get from the exercise machines and the amount of weight I am lifting has increased steadily. That encourages me and I don't worry about the pounds too much. I tell myself that improvements in performance really are improvements. There is one big exception and that is with leg curls. For some reason I have not been able to increase the weight for leg curls at all. I try to increase the weight I use and my form goes out the door. I cannot do honest repetitions with more weight. WHAT IS THE DEAL? I'm a little bit frustrated. Appreciate any ideas you have. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 CrossFit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 CrossFit After a quick glance at that web site it looks like a new education in catapulting myself out of a comfort zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Leg curls tax hamstrings, leg extensions tax quads. I'm pretty much sold on Cross-fit as a concept --- but I need to be in better shape and out of school before I give it a whirl. If you want to develop leg strength using conventional lifting, I've found squats and lunges to be hard to beat...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Squats are pretty much the most important exercise you can do...as long as they are done correctly. My advice would be to check out the site and the forums and forget you ever saw the leg-curl (or extension) machine. (God help the people I see at the gym doing squats on a smith machine). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Those workouts sound down right scary. What is the best way to baseline where to start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 scaled work outs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 (God help the people I see at the gym doing squats on a smith machine). I don't know jack --- but when I googled that, it looked like maintaining proper form would be impossible..... ....is that what you were getting at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I'm betting that's what Jake was getting at. Smith machines are a crutch, and potentially dangerous. Want to build up your quad strength, do squats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 After a quick glance at that web site it looks like a new education in catapulting myself out of a comfort zone. Yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell... BTW - you're not using quads to do leg curls Those would be extensions.... But... you're far better off doing more functional movements, it would seem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I had a traditional leg workout yesterday, here it is in three sets of each, 12 to 15 reps per set. Push yourself with the weights. clean and press squats leg presses leg extentions leg curls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Leg curls tax hamstrings, leg extensions tax quads. If you want to develop leg strength using conventional lifting, I've found squats and lunges to be hard to beat...... I agree with the above, but in addition to squats and lunges I would add RDLs (Romanian Deadlifts) to better target the hamstrings if that's what the OP wants. Also I have people add reps to set (up to 15) before adding weight, at which point they can drop drop the reps down as needed and still maintain correct form. Its often more difficult to add weight than to add an extra rep or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 You guys are giving me a drink of water with a fire hose. Thanks for all the great information. Let me ask this question. How is it possible that I can do exercises for many parts of my body and I see improvement, (I am defining improvement by being able to increase the amount of weight that I can safely lift on a regular basis) however, one part of my body doesn't seem to respond even though I am applying the same intensity to the workout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 push muscles are a lot stronger than pull muscles. which muscles are you concerned with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 The most important thing in squats (and similar lifts) are that you must stabilize the weight across all 3 axis. The smith machine takes 2 of those out of the equation and doesn't let your body move in the way it was designed to. I just don't like the idea of "targeting" any muscle group. Your body was built to work together as a unit....why train it separately? I dunno about you, but my pull muscles are way stronger than my push muscles (the deadlift is a great example). No. 343 I'm not sure why that part of your body isn't responding to those workouts...however I can unequivocally guarantee that if you start working out your body in a functional manner, you will see gains (probably better than you ever imagined possible). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I dunno about you, but my pull muscles are way stronger than my push muscles jake, i doubt your hamstring is stronger than your quad or your tricep is stronger than your bicep. they could be, you are kind of freaky looking no 343, jake is right, you can't isolate muscles, just keep exercising and you'll notice a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 jake, i doubt your hamstring is stronger than your quad or your tricep is stronger than your bicep. they could be, you are kind of freaky looking Hmmm... My quads are definitely stronger than my hams, but my triceps are a lot stronger than my biceps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 True, but my back is stronger than my chest. I guess it's a little bit of both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuh pahl Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 (edited) Start running and cycling more. It should help your overall leg strength in preparation for adding more weight to your curls. Lunges should help as well. Edited February 28, 2008 by kuh pahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Let me ask this question. How is it possible that I can do exercises for many parts of my body and I see improvement, (I am defining improvement by being able to increase the amount of weight that I can safely lift on a regular basis) however, one part of my body doesn't seem to respond even though I am applying the same intensity to the workout? Usually it's just the variation between people. Everyone has their weak areas and strong areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 It's good to know from the comments that my legs aren't so unusual. I like the idea of working on a system instead of a bunch of components. You give me a lot to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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