Another attention whoring monologue about myself

[Trabaho]

technically it's grip strength that is failing you
and you can work on it directly or in directly. just doing more dl will help build it also romanian dl is a great accesory movement that will help. dead hangs can also help with grip and stretching out your spine.
I have been doing a program that is one week heavy 5x5 and the next week light 5x5 and since December my dead lift has broken serious prs I can hit 200 not so comfortably when before I could barely hit 170

Actually it is the finger cartilage. I can not develop grip strength cause of it. Since I was 17 I have finger pain. I started poping all my fingers when I was a kid like 12-13. It became such an adiction I would do it multiple times a day and it would make pop sounds. At 17 one day I was with friends at the sea playing cards and I couldn´t hold the cards out of pain. That was the last day ever I poped my fingers. Than I got into videogames heavy, where you click a lot and training boxing on off for 7 years. Sometimes my fingers would just be numb and hurt especially in winter. To this day closing my fingers cause some pain, I just don´t feel it I am entierely used to it. It´s the cartilage that conects the mid pieces of the fingers. You ever done the exercises of closing your fist and opening it, that would be pain for me. So yep it´s just damaged. But I don´t even notice it anymore. The cartilage is just signiciantly grinded away. However I don´t got any shoudler issues, never had them. I don´t got knee issues. My back doesn´t hurt. Rarely I might feel a bit hip strain, but now I did the DLs clean with technique and my hips feel good. So it´s just finger damage in my body out of all joints and bones.

You keep reporting changes to your routine. It needs to be a greased groove for recovery purposes. New exercises need to be incorporated slowly at like 60% 1rm and I personally only add 5kg max to a lower body and 2.5kg to an upper body movement week on week. That's less than 5/2.5% increase, rather than the 20% increase for DL you floated above.
It's got to be over months and years you build. Specially natty.

I don´t have a routine, that´s the fun for me. I hate planing and writing things. If a pro trainer gave me a specific plan it could be fun. I enjoy the diveristy of everything. I see how I feel and do things. I figured now I gotta add in a lot of weighted squats and reduce bench press for it. I just see the fun in all those diverse excercises. I just do different things till I´m fatigued, in a manner where I enjoy my training and give it max effort without suffering. Kind of mind tricks.

I wish I had a plan on when to run do this that, so I can do more. But actually getting up on time for it and it feels a tad like a cage having a plan, no ? I would like to do more workotus but sort of am building up the tolerance to volume. That would be an advantage of a plan, to structure it so I do more overal. Would be fun to also sprint and stuff.

I only did one time a plan and that´strating strength like 15 years ago or 13-14 years ago. It felt super easy low volume. And it worked I got stronger. However I also followed the floating around diet advice of just eat and got fat. But strarting strength felt super easy and low volume.

Am not holding my word of signing up to kickboxing today cause I woke up and feel I need a rest day. A plan could do that, make the volume so that I need less rest. I asume I´ll just go tomorrow for a kickboxing class or solo wokrout there. There is no way around it and I figured this gym is the best option out of all gyms in the region. I looked closley at all options. It´s by far the best. I can´t avoid it. I simply like training and you gotta pay lol, I mean Germany is always longer contracts or short ones cost significiantly more plus a sign up fee. Might as well just pay it and take advantage off it. It´s extremely stupid to pay, be in a contract and slack and not go to training, waste of money. I´ll just let my fitness membership run out end of the year and pick a cheap gym to not pay for 2 expensive memberships. Fitness contract is 2 years. The MMA gym also got weights however I like a seperate fitness gym that´s like right next to me, I also get bored of the same place to train so having two is great for motivation and cheap fitness gyms are really cheap in Germany.

 

[zapataxiv]

Actually it is the finger cartilage. I can not develop grip strength cause of it. Since I was 17 I have finger pain. I started poping all my fingers when I was a kid like 12-13. It became such an adiction I would do it multiple times a day and it would make pop sounds. At 17 one day I was with friends at the sea playing cards and I couldn´t hold the cards out of pain. That was the last day ever I poped my fingers. Than I got into videogames heavy, where you click a lot and training boxing on off for 7 years. Sometimes my fingers would just be numb and hurt especially in winter. To this day closing my fingers cause some pain, I just don´t feel it I am entierely used to it. It´s the cartilage that conects the mid pieces of the fingers. You ever done the exercises of closing your fist and opening it, that would be pain for me. So yep it´s just damaged. But I don´t even notice it anymore. The cartilage is just signiciantly grinded away. However I don´t got any shoudler issues, never had them. I don´t got knee issues. My back doesn´t hurt. Rarely I might feel a bit hip strain, but now I did the DLs clean with technique and my hips feel good. So it´s just finger damage in my body out of all joints and bones.


I don´t have a routine, that´s the fun for me. I hate planing and writing things. If a pro trainer gave me a specific plan it could be fun. I enjoy the diveristy of everything. I see how I feel and do things. I figured now I gotta add in a lot of weighted squats and reduce bench press for it. I just see the fun in all those diverse excercises. I just do different things till I´m fatigued, in a manner where I enjoy my training and give it max effort without suffering. Kind of mind tricks.

I wish I had a plan on when to run do this that, so I can do more. But actually getting up on time for it and it feels a tad like a cage having a plan, no ? I would like to do more workotus but sort of am building up the tolerance to volume. That would be an advantage of a plan, to structure it so I do more overal. Would be fun to also sprint and stuff.

I only did one time a plan and that´strating strength like 15 years ago or 13-14 years ago. It felt super easy low volume. And it worked I got stronger. However I also followed the floating around diet advice of just eat and got fat. But strarting strength felt super easy and low volume.

Am not holding my word of signing up to kickboxing today cause I woke up and feel I need a rest day. A plan could do that, make the volume so that I need less rest. I asume I´ll just go tomorrow for a kickboxing class or solo wokrout there. There is no way around it and I figured this gym is the best option out of all gyms in the region. I looked closley at all options. It´s by far the best. I can´t avoid it. I simply like training and you gotta pay lol, I mean Germany is always longer contracts or short ones cost significiantly more plus a sign up fee. Might as well just pay it and take advantage off it. It´s extremely stupid to pay, be in a contract and slack and not go to training, waste of money. I´ll just let my fitness membership run out end of the year and pick a cheap gym to not pay for 2 expensive memberships. Fitness contract is 2 years. The MMA gym also got weights however I like a seperate fitness gym that´s like right next to me, I also get bored of the same place to train so having two is great for motivation and cheap fitness gyms are really cheap in Germany.

it's certainly possible that you damaged the ligaments but remember where you are posting. this is sherdog I assume he majority of us grew up as martial art and combat sport nerds.

I would assume most of us grew up cracking knuckles, hitting everything and anything that was hard, doing knuckles push ups and just general stupid hand un-healthy stuff.

growing up I loved kungfu and that transitioned to boxing than to MMA than to k1/may Thai and finally back to boxing. growing up I did the whole stupid shit hitting the hardest heaviest bags with no wraps and no gloves to get strong hands. cracking knuckles all that stuff. even iron bone stuff. was any of it particularly useful… probably not more structured training would have been much more beneficial. does my shit hurt in the winter, absolutley. currently my left hand front two knuckles are killing me and grabbing stuff sucks especially out of my pocket.

that being said you are a big dude with what seems like natural athletic gifts (at least a lot more than me). you might be surprised how much you can push yourself in other areas if you get dedicated and put a lot of the bs aside

 

[Trabaho]

it's certainly possible that you damaged the ligaments but remember where you are posting. this is sherdog I assume he majority of us grew up as martial art and combat sport nerds.

I would assume most of us grew up cracking knuckles, hitting everything and anything that was hard, doing knuckles push ups and just general stupid hand un-healthy stuff.

growing up I loved kungfu and that transitioned to boxing than to MMA than to k1/may Thai and finally back to boxing. growing up I did the whole stupid shit hitting the hardest heaviest bags with no wraps and no gloves to get strong hands. cracking knuckles all that stuff. even iron bone stuff. was any of it particularly useful… probably not more structured training would have been much more beneficial. does my shit hurt in the winter, absolutley. currently my left hand front two knuckles are killing me and grabbing stuff sucks especially out of my pocket.

that being said you are a big dude with what seems like natural athletic gifts (at least a lot more than me). you might be surprised how much you can push yourself in other areas if you get dedicated and put a lot of the bs aside

Basically between the bones the "synovia" is grinded down. I thought it was called cartilage. I got no knuckle damage at all. I also have a history of playing computer games from 10 hours straight . On cheap keyboards and mice. But poping my fingers is to blame. I don't care it feels good enough. If anything boxing gives it some bloodflow. I'm not gonna punch for 2 hours straight daily.

I was poping my fingers myself and got addicted to it for a few years as young teenager. Multiple times every day every finger. You know making the crack sound by bending your fingers. I am certain that is what caused the damage. Than I got heavy into gaming and boxing. But honestly considering how inactive I been the last decade , I feel good. Finger wise. It used to feel numb and hurt.

 

[Phlog]

From what I understand there's no evidence cracking ones knuckles can do any harm beyond exacerbating a preexisting condition, so I think you just have weak hands. Sherdog membership revoked!

 

[maximus__]

From what I understand there's no evidence cracking ones knuckles can do any harm beyond exacerbating a preexisting condition, so I think you just have weak hands. Sherdog membership revoked!

100% no evidence. Same with random pops and clicks in your knee etc.
Not to be confused with damaged ligaments not tracking correctly.

What Trabaho is describing sounds more like carpal tunnel from gaming, but obviously it comes down to what the doc said about it.

Training grip strength will fix a lot of those issues, though it might hurt initially. This is coming from someone who just finally committed to using gi grips in JJ after training for years haha.

 

[maximus__]

Actually it is the finger cartilage. I can not develop grip strength cause of it. Since I was 17 I have finger pain. I started poping all my fingers when I was a kid like 12-13. It became such an adiction I would do it multiple times a day and it would make pop sounds. At 17 one day I was with friends at the sea playing cards and I couldn´t hold the cards out of pain. That was the last day ever I poped my fingers. Than I got into videogames heavy, where you click a lot and training boxing on off for 7 years. Sometimes my fingers would just be numb and hurt especially in winter. To this day closing my fingers cause some pain, I just don´t feel it I am entierely used to it. It´s the cartilage that conects the mid pieces of the fingers. You ever done the exercises of closing your fist and opening it, that would be pain for me. So yep it´s just damaged. But I don´t even notice it anymore. The cartilage is just signiciantly grinded away. However I don´t got any shoudler issues, never had them. I don´t got knee issues. My back doesn´t hurt. Rarely I might feel a bit hip strain, but now I did the DLs clean with technique and my hips feel good. So it´s just finger damage in my body out of all joints and bones.


I don´t have a routine, that´s the fun for me. I hate planing and writing things. If a pro trainer gave me a specific plan it could be fun. I enjoy the diveristy of everything. I see how I feel and do things. I figured now I gotta add in a lot of weighted squats and reduce bench press for it. I just see the fun in all those diverse excercises. I just do different things till I´m fatigued, in a manner where I enjoy my training and give it max effort without suffering. Kind of mind tricks.

I wish I had a plan on when to run do this that, so I can do more. But actually getting up on time for it and it feels a tad like a cage having a plan, no ? I would like to do more workotus but sort of am building up the tolerance to volume. That would be an advantage of a plan, to structure it so I do more overal. Would be fun to also sprint and stuff.

I only did one time a plan and that´strating strength like 15 years ago or 13-14 years ago. It felt super easy low volume. And it worked I got stronger. However I also followed the floating around diet advice of just eat and got fat. But strarting strength felt super easy and low volume.

Am not holding my word of signing up to kickboxing today cause I woke up and feel I need a rest day. A plan could do that, make the volume so that I need less rest. I asume I´ll just go tomorrow for a kickboxing class or solo wokrout there. There is no way around it and I figured this gym is the best option out of all gyms in the region. I looked closley at all options. It´s by far the best. I can´t avoid it. I simply like training and you gotta pay lol, I mean Germany is always longer contracts or short ones cost significiantly more plus a sign up fee. Might as well just pay it and take advantage off it. It´s extremely stupid to pay, be in a contract and slack and not go to training, waste of money. I´ll just let my fitness membership run out end of the year and pick a cheap gym to not pay for 2 expensive memberships. Fitness contract is 2 years. The MMA gym also got weights however I like a seperate fitness gym that´s like right next to me, I also get bored of the same place to train so having two is great for motivation and cheap fitness gyms are really cheap in Germany.

Mate it's been nearly 2 years of you doing random stuff and talking about signing up to a gym. Look at where you were two years ago training wise and compare it to today. Have you improved or are you in the same place?

Random exercising doesn't work.

 

[Phlog]

Mate it's been nearly 2 years of you doing random stuff and talking about signing up to a gym. Look at where you were two years ago training wise and compare it to today. Have you improved or are you in the same place?

Random exercising doesn't work.

Agreed. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect, people who think they're smart enough to do it by feel are the people who should do what they're told.

 

[maximus__]

Agreed. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect, people who think they're smart enough to do it by feel are the people who should do what they're told.

The best thing I ever did was stop doing my own training. I am setting PRs nearly every week/month, returning to old all time PRs and finally back to decent runt times.

I could always manage to consistently hit my strength work on my own and maintain, but i need someone to tell me what to do conditioning wise or I default to easy long runs.

At this point @Trabaho, you should just sign up to a CrossFit style gym class. it kinda sounds like it's more what you are after.
That way atleast you have some spotters and training partners.

 

[Trabaho]

Mate it's been nearly 2 years of you doing random stuff and talking about signing up to a gym. Look at where you were two years ago training wise and compare it to today. Have you improved or are you in the same place?

Random exercising doesn't work.

I am fitter than you and can smoke you any day of the week, twice on sunday

 

[Trabaho]

Agreed. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect, people who think they're smart enough to do it by feel are the people who should do what they're told.

You got the hater effect, can't look at someone shine cause you are pathetic and lazy.

 

[Trabaho]

The best thing I ever did was stop doing my own training. I am setting PRs nearly every week/month, returning to old all time PRs and finally back to decent runt times.

I could always manage to consistently hit my strength work on my own and maintain, but i need someone to tell me what to do conditioning wise or I default to easy long runs.

At this point @Trabaho, you should just sign up to a CrossFit style gym class. it kinda sounds like it's more what you are after.
That way atleast you have some spotters and training partners.

Post 1 thing you do better than me, I will beat you at any single type of excercise humanly possible.


I can imagine you beating me on pull ups. Nothing else.

 

[maximus__]

I am fitter than you and can smoke you any day of the week, twice on sunday

The only thing you can smoke are the cigarettes you can't give up leading to a min of bag work, tiring you out...

 

[maximus__]

Post 1 thing you do better than me, I will beat you at any single type of excercise humanly possible.


I can imagine you beating me on pull ups. Nothing else.

Training in an actual gym in a structured class...

 

[Trabaho]

The only thing you can smoke are the cigarettes you can't give up leading to a min of bag work, tiring you out...

that is a good comeback. Did I already tell you about that one time I threw this sherdog poster Maximilian into a Kangeroo hive ? It was pretty crazy, not gon lie.

 

[Phlog]

You got the hater effect, can't look at someone shine cause you are pathetic and lazy.

I'm 46. I've made those mistakes. I got defensive MVP last Sunday playing amateur American football, so I probably know something about it. But also I'm open to the probability that I'm just genetically gifted.

 

[Trabaho]

I'm 46. I've made those mistakes. I got defensive MVP last Sunday playing amateur American football,

good job grandpa

so I probably know something about it.

No you are a amateur for old past the hill people

But also I'm open to the probability that I'm just genetically gifted.

Don't worry you aren't, you suck .

Amateur football in a small town bush league.


My charm is undeniable again today , I put a spell on you.

 

[Trabaho]

The best thing I ever did was stop doing my own training. I am setting PRs nearly every week/month, returning to old all time PRs and finally back to decent runt times.

Stop lying. If you ad 5 pounds a months you added 30 a year ok that works. 30 pounds a year 15 kg is totally doable. Till you hit a plateu. Ok so how high are your prs. Well who knows. Train recover fuel. And you can do nothing else but improve. But peope who act like they add weight every other week. Do the math. Like add 10 pounds a month. In 3 years you added 360 pounds to a lift. I think they didn't.

I could always manage to consistently hit my strength work on my own and maintain, but i need someone to tell me what to do conditioning wise or I default to easy long runs.

At this point @Trabaho, you should just sign up to a CrossFit style gym class. it kinda sounds like it's more what you are after.
That way atleast you have some spotters and training partners.

Wait what exactly does he do that hits the sweet spot ? What does he do different to what you did ? I mean for free I am letting someone worry about my progress and motivate me to do things. If they are the type of S&C that is in the field I wanna grow. I'm not gonna be text pals and get orders from someone online to tell me what to do and spend hours weekly planing and communicating.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

Honeslty I always just wanted to be the K1 champion and produce rap music. LOL. Nothing else. Maybe make my own video game one day. All 3 seem very hard and I´m old. It´s your fault that I´m aging and not achieving my random dreams, which aren´t even random.

My dream was to produce rap music too. Funny, I was just thinking about that today. Kinda fizzled out, I guess cause I'm in a white ass city now and there's no hip hop scene. I'm switching to stand up comedy now, feels more alive then old school hip hop music. At least in my city.

But between you and me.. Nothing beats making music. Nothing. Just being able to harness all the music that's ever made in an instant (shout out soulseek) and make it sound original. Then you start adding in the chorus, the fills, cymbals etc.. Grab some dialogue from Goodfellas or whatever.. Some nature sounds, kung fu effects.. you're good to go.

And that's all worth 40 bucks, because you're at the absolute bottom of the music ecosystem, taking Zelle from rappers

 

[maximus__]

Stop lying. If you ad 5 pounds a months you added 30 a year ok that works. 30 pounds a year 15 kg is totally doable. Till you hit a plateu. Ok so how high are your prs. Well who knows. Train recover fuel. And you can do nothing else but improve. But peope who act like they add weight every other week. Do the math. Like add 10 pounds a month. In 3 years you added 360 pounds to a lift. I think they didn't.

Wait what exactly does he do that hits the sweet spot ? What does he do different to what you did ? I mean for free I am letting someone worry about my progress and motivate me to do things. If they are the type of S&C that is in the field I wanna grow. I'm not gonna be text pals and get orders from someone online to tell me what to do and spend hours weekly planing and communicating.

The programming follows along with the conjugate system, where exercises are rotated through to add variety more than the traditional Squat/Bench/Deadlift assistance from things like Starting Strength etc.Instead of rotating weekly and going for a PR in a new lift for my Max effort day, I will stay with exercises for 3+ weeks, deload and then rotate to some new movements for the next cycle. Some stuff will say the same and I will aim to improve that more.

Current main lifts this block would be:

Box Squat
Close grip benchpress
Weighted Pullups
Rearward lunges

I am lifting 3 days a week doing a heavy lower, heavy upper, Athletic low/hypertrophy upper style split.
Plus 2 days of BJJ and 2 days of run based conditioning.

The assistance work is programmed to improve my weak points. I like certain exercises because I am good at them and hate others because I am not good at them or they are hard. I would choose the lifts I like as opposed to a coach choosing the lifts I would need to improve.

Same goes for interval running. I am good at 400-500m to go hard over that distance for repeats. My current interval sessions includes 1km and 2 km repeats. 1 km is ok, but 2km is brutal. I would never choose to run that distance for hard intervals by choice, but my run times are getting faster.



Lots of variety to focus on weak points. I am setting PRs in those main lifts when I do hit them. That includes rep PRs since my goal isn't to be a powerlifter and PRs in my assistance work which drives up those big lifts.

 

[stevenandrew]

I meassured myself today at the gym. Had a shit training though. Totally overtrained or circadian rythm swap to night sleep has ruined my sleep quality. One or the other or a combo. I think it´s the sleep. However did push 220 BP x 8 easily. Only thing I really did in this pathetic training. So my post smoke strength is back. Falling asleep early got me waking in mid night and sleepy during the day. Whatever just BS again. I meassured myself in 2023 when I joined this gym. Now basically 2 years later. Average maybe 5 workouts a month. Last month I did 16. This month thus far I only have 5, cause I was sick for 1 week, got a throat infection out of nowhere and headache. 2 workouts I felt like superman and could train super hard and long. 1 was when I got sick and in denial still went to the gym and canceled the session after 20 minutes. Workouts today and yesterday were pure shit due to sleep change. I decided to take back my sleep rythm. Now my sleep just doesn´t feel any deep and I wake up extremely early in the night and force myself to sleep again. Results however are ;

Weight 116 kg. Height 182 cm

Bodyfat - I went from 33.5% bf to 29.5%

Body Mass index 35.1 kg/m2

Basal Metabolic Rate 2476 cals

Phase Angle - from 6.6 to 7.1 For a real athlete I need to get closer to 8. But 7.1 is a good start.

Skeletal Muscle Mass 77.9 kg

Fat free Mass 81.9 kg

Body fat - 34.3 kg

So are bones calculated in the skeletal muscle mass ? I don´t get where the bones are considered in this weight.

Body water 57.5 L / 49.5% body water. It says this is low. Why ? Ok I googled it it´s cause of my high body fat.

Intra cellular water - 33.9 l
Extra Cellular Water - 23.6 l
No clue if this is good or what
army acft calculator

Fat

Trunk - from 26 to 21.5 kg
Per Arm - 2 to 1.8 kg
Per Leg - 5 to 4.6 kg

Lean mass

Trunk - 41 to 42 kg
Per Arm - 5.5 to 5.35 kg
Per Leg - 14.15 to 14.6 kg

Muscles

Trunk - 39.2 to 40.2 kg
Per Arm . 4.75 to 5.5 kg
Per Leg - 13.35 to 13.8 kg

Visceral Fat rating - from 16 to 14 units. Whatever these units are.



I still don´t work or do school right now. Got next apointment on like 22 April. Perhaps have to do 3-4 months of school. September likely is the exam, it is than but I am 98% sure I am accepted to go for it. So bascially I fell into my habbit of day sleep and late awakeness. Those were deep sleeps and I could train well on it. Now with me swaping to normal sleep I had pretty unresting sleep. That being said I always end up having some bomb training where I do 2 hours and feel I could do a 3rd. Than followed by fatigue and shit training. Hard to say. I´m just gonna go sleep a tad later tonight and rest the sunday and try again on monday. I can´t figure out if I trained a bit too much or slept shit, probably both. Being old, almost 38 and having had bad sleep now is just hard to gauge how much I can do. I plan nothing and if I feel good I just train hard. Just frustrating when I see younger guys on social media do their 2 x daily workouts or more. I can´t even do 5 x a week without something going wrong. Part of it is doing heavy excercises, going hard on bag work and being heavy. And old.


Thoughts, opinions, comments, suggestions are welcomed. Hope this was entertaining. I did all this testing for free at this gym I´m at. Might as well meassure a bit since it´s free and I can do it solo without help. It´s just some scale with handels you grab that scan you. Barefoot. Most interesting is the phase angle. I google atlhetes got well over 7. Regulars have between 5 and 7. I am eager to go above 7. Huge factor is getting my body fat down. Also been struggling a bit with smoking. I quit it. I just smoke if I see my close friend who is a smoker. 3 days ago smoked 7 red malboros off him and got sick form it. Today just smoked 2. Actually he is going to Kosovo in just a few days. So perhaps I can finaly totally stop. I haven´t bought a pack since I stopped almost a month ago. I did once when I was with him , smoked 5 and gave him the pack. If I don´t drink coffe with a smoker I don´t smoke. I might have smoked once a week like 3 cigs or something. Basicaly also 10 days without but also 2x in 1 week. Only trigger is being with friends who smoke and knowing I can just take one.

When I stopped it was also very hard on my ego.I got nicotin withdrawl sick so to say and my bench went from 110 kg x 7 to 90 x 7 within 3 days. No joke. I struggled with 90 kg as hard as with 110 kg. Just from stopping smoking. Now my strength feels normal again. Just my sleep been shit. My circadiam rythm is total night wolf. This obviously doesn´t work for school and work and everyday life.

That´s all for now.

You're making solid progress despite rough sleep and inconsistent training — body fat is down, phase angle is up, and strength is returning. The sleep rhythm shift is likely the main issue affecting recovery and performance. Stick with resetting your sleep, ease up a bit if needed, and keep pushing forward. As for bones — they’re part of fat-free mass, not skeletal muscle mass. You’ve quit smoking too, which is huge. Don’t compare to others, just keep building on what you’ve got. You're doing alright.