Question - sensible answers only plz

R

R.Lewis

1
Ive been weight training now for over a year and have made great gains. I have 2 things i wanna talk about.

1) I can lift the full stack on the Lat pulldown m/c for 3-4 sets of 10 reps. we dont have a pull-up bar so its the only m/c i can use. Would it be bad for my spine to start pulling with one arm whilst sitting????

2) I think my muscles are too strong for my fittnes level... I'm lifting much heaver weights that I hav done in the past, but I allways get worn out, dizzy, start feeling sick+short of breath when i get to 8 reps. This happens with all large musle groups, mainly legs, lats, pecks. but not so much with arms and delts. also I dont seem to feel the benifit of the workout after, cos I'm stopping when I'm tired, not when my muscles fail. should I stop lifting and work on Cardio 100% or 50-50 or just keep weight training to my limit and hope it passes. Its been 3 weeks now, at 1st I thort I was just a bad week. I have no aches or pains, dont smoke, I eat and sleep well and the feeling passes within 3mins of a set, but It dont feel right cos i dont get the pump and havn't made any muscular gains.
 
Do you have a power rack? Those will have the bars you can do pull ups with. No, it wouldn't be bad on your spine to lift with one arm at a time.

It sounds like you're having a hefty dose of lactate build up that's causing your nausea and shortness of breath. This should pass. As far as not making gains, it sounds like you need to increase intensity or volume....or just eat more.
 
Yeah I'm agreein with evo, your ventilation numbers must be pretty low.... If you up your aerobic performance level this would help some..
 
Dont think its to do with food. Ive always eaten 2eggs+2extra whites, on 2 slices of brown bread for my breakfast plus 1fruit+1-2pints of water 1hr b4 my work out.
Do you think it could be my breathing? cos I breath 2cycles on each rep.

Yeah we got a power rack, I'll have to get a weight belt. I didnt think of that cos usually you push it up not hang from it.

thanks for your advice.
 
Personally i take one breath for any heavy reps. That's what my powerlifting uncle and coach always done.
 
While benching, inhale going down, exhale going up. Take deep breaths but control it while you push because you don't want to let your air out too soon or hold it in too long. And don't breathe just to breathe...like my mom, she'll just breathe all the way in and all the way out in a hurried manner when doing reps she isn't pushing on. If you do any breathing too rapidly/shallow, you're going to feel lightheaded.
 
LeiYunFat said:
While benching, inhale going down, exhale going up. Take deep breaths but control it while you push because you don't want to let your air out too soon or hold it in too long. And don't breathe just to breathe...like my mom, she'll just breathe all the way in and all the way out in a hurried manner when doing reps she isn't pushing on. If you do any breathing too rapidly/shallow, you're going to feel lightheaded.
Click to expand...

Actually, it really doesn't matter if he breathes in or out on the concentric or eccentric portions...won't really affect the lifting much at all.

As far as holding the breath (the Valsalva Manuever), yes, powerlifters will use it on heavy lifts (like heavy singles or max 1 reps) but when he's pumping out 8 reps, no need to hold the breath. The purpose of the VM is to increase intra-thoracic pressure which is great for that one huge lift but not needed when multiple reps are being punched out.
 
The thing is, when im bench pressing heavy, If I breath in as im bringing the bar close to my chest I go very weak. I always breath in when the weight is not in motion.
So i take a breath at the top - blow out as I lift down - breath in - blow out as I push up.

I'll try some diffrent techniques, I think im gonna have to reduce the weight while i get used to it but it'll be for the best.

also I'd like to know...
When bench pressing how close to your chest do you get the bar. I usually aim to get the bar approx 1fist width away. But on the last few reps its prob more like 2. Should I reduce the weight so that I get full range on my last 2 reps?
 
be careful when holding your breath.. you run the risk of vagling yourself out. i'm not kidding you i can even tell you how many people do this just on the toilet! you do that with heavy weight over your chest hello major chest trauma. ps. i'm in my last few months training as a paramedic so i do know what i'm talking about. if you want the technicalities on it i'd be happy to fill you in. so plz breath through your exercises you don't want to pass out and find yourself in hospital with severe chest trauma.
 
Jenn speaks the truth.. but this normally happens with people who already have a heart condition, such as high blood pressure. There is only a few exercises where holding your breath has proven to help you make the lift, this is only because of the stiffness that happens when you hold your breath, otherwise breath in on the eccentric and out on the concentric.

I always bring the bar down until it touches my chest, some will not agree with me though. As long as you work your rotator cuff muscles, stretch, and don't over work your self your shoulders will remain healthy.
 
Keep in mind that the lifters using the Valsalva Maneuver typically have one or more spotters. When using the VM, your BP will jump up (even up to the 300s during that 1RM).

As far as ROM-it depends on the length of your arms. My strength and conditioning professor was 6'6" and so he came to about 2-3" from touching chest. So, it will depend on how long your arms are as to how much ROM you actually need. To much ROM will put your shoulders in a bad position and cause way to much stress on your rotator cuff.
 
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