Stupid Questions Thread

[broseph]

Being that I have no time/suck at managing my time, what would be the best course of action if I planned to not really lift for a few months but didn't want to completely detrain/turn into a disgusting blob?

https://exodus-strength.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3604

(TLDR at the bottom)

Hmm, my problem is I far prefer deadlifting, but am severely detrained on squats. Wat do? This could work I guess, but I have detrained a bit since I haven't lifted consistenly since June and I haven't trained seriously since at least January

Did you even read it? I explicitly stated I prioritized compliance over effectiveness with regards to lifts performed.

Fuck squats. Who cares- no one. Keep deadlifting. Do Turkish getups or one legged bosu ball standing curls. No one cares. Find movements you enjoy to stay active in your hobby.

[broseph]

Regarding cramps:

I think everyone has their own special spot where they get cramps. Local fatigue definitely makes you more prone to cramping in your special spot, but it's always going to be your special spot.

My special spots: Hamstrings, rectus abdominis, sternocleidomastoid. You can see the ab and neck cramps when they happen; it's like a marble or golf ball was suddenly shoved under your skin.

[Renascent]

Regarding cramps:

I think everyone has their own special spot where they get cramps. Local fatigue definitely makes you more prone to cramping in your special spot, but it's always going to be your special spot.

My special spots: Hamstrings, rectus abdominis, sternocleidomastoid. You can see the ab and neck cramps when they happen; it's like a marble or golf ball was suddenly shoved under your skin.

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

[broseph]

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

That sudden dilemma of "do I straighten out or curl up more? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!"

[SnakePlissken]

Being that I have no time/suck at managing my time, what would be the best course of action if I planned to not really lift for a few months but didn't want to completely detrain/turn into a disgusting blob?

https://exodus-strength.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3604

(TLDR at the bottom)

I'm doing a Squat/Bench routine right now, but have been keeping deads in 1 day a week just to keep the movement in. I need to get over my fear of losing all my deadlift gains if I drop it for a month or 2. This write up is really well done and makes me realize I need to just get over my fears and not deadlift for a bit.

Last time I didn't deadlift for 3 months was when I moved from Florida and I remember feeling stronger, but my work capacity at it was much lower, but I also hadn't been in the gym for 7 or 8 straight weeks in that time.

[DanCR]

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

That sudden dilemma of "do I straighten out or curl up more? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!"

Reading this exchange is giving me all the bad panic feelings. I still get these now and then in my obliques (recently from leaning down/sideways to yank a shoe on, holy fuck I’m old). The worst period was when several times a week my upper abs would seize up and feel as if they were collapsing inward. I would have no idea what to do and just walk around going ahhhhhhhhhhhh until it stopped. Turned out I had a hernia.

[Renascent]

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

That sudden dilemma of "do I straighten out or curl up more? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!"

Reading this exchange is giving me all the bad panic feelings. I still get these now and then in my obliques (recently from leaning down/sideways to yank a shoe on, holy fuck I’m old). The worst period was when several times a week my upper abs would seize up and feel as if they were collapsing inward. I would have no idea what to do and just walk around going ahhhhhhhhhhhh until it stopped. Turned out I had a hernia.

Occasionally, I do worry about the possibility of a hernia via cable crunches. Hard to get some of the stories I've heard outta my head, in the moment.

Same with good mornings; they always make me think of Bruce Lee.

[DanCR]

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

That sudden dilemma of "do I straighten out or curl up more? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!"

Reading this exchange is giving me all the bad panic feelings. I still get these now and then in my obliques (recently from leaning down/sideways to yank a shoe on, holy fuck I’m old). The worst period was when several times a week my upper abs would seize up and feel as if they were collapsing inward. I would have no idea what to do and just walk around going ahhhhhhhhhhhh until it stopped. Turned out I had a hernia.

Occasionally, I do worry about the possibility of a hernia via cable crunches. Hard to get some of the stories I've heard outta my head, in the moment.

Same with good mornings; they always make me think of Bruce Lee.

Back in like 1999, Ironman magazine had a ridiculous article on Bruce Lee. It was completely made up shit to take up space. Essentially it painstakingly described how he did… the same exercises in the same way as anyone else. “First, Lee would unrack the bar…” Well fuck me, you don’t say! Anyway, at some point it mentioned how he fucked his an k up doing good mornings and was in pain for the rest of his short life. To that point, I never had done a good morning, and I haven’t done one since.

[ChasingCurls69]

Ab cramps never cease to amaze (and scare the shit out of) me. I start to panic and wonder if I might tear something by standing up straight.

That sudden dilemma of "do I straighten out or curl up more? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!"

I had the same reaction, and the only small relief was from laying down completely relaxed. The first time it happened I had to lay down for an hour and one section was spasming so hard I thought it was torn.

[dw]

So I'm constantly in search of a lower back focused movement with a good SFR because (1) I'm not doing squats or deadlifts or anything lower back oriented and (2) I need a lot of volume.

Currently up for consideration are good mornings. Opinions on these? Can they be done as more of a lower back exercise than a hamstring exercise?

I tried them with the bar and very much felt it in my hamstrings, which is not what I want. But then I started adding weight (and shortening my ROM) and I felt it more in my back.

Are partial GMs a thing? Also what about seated GMs?

[DanCR]

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I gather from your post that not only are you not squatting/deadlifting, but you’re not interested in doing so, at least not with a barbell. Have you considered high rep goblet squats with DB or KB, or high rep KB DLs? Those will take care of your lower back without much systemic stress.

[dw]

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I gather from your post that not only are you not squatting/deadlifting, but you’re not interested in doing so, at least not with a barbell. Have you considered high rep goblet squats with DB or KB, or KB DLs, for high reps? Those will take care of your lower back without much systemic stress.

I had not considered those but I'm willing to give them a try. Aren't they mostly leg exercises though? I have quads taken care of with leg extensions right now and hamstrings with leg curls.

[James]

You can do Round back Good Mornings if you want to hit your lower back that way. When you hit the hamstring tightness that tells you you're at the end of ROM for a GM roll your back to go down more. I like them just never have a reason to do them. They're kind of useful after a back tweak as a "Nothing is messed up" warm up too.

Westside guys would just round the upper back to make it less of a lower back exercise.

I've never done a seated GM but it think the sitting position is supposed to limit how much if any the lower back rounds.

[DanCR]

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I gather from your post that not only are you not squatting/deadlifting, but you’re not interested in doing so, at least not with a barbell. Have you considered high rep goblet squats with DB or KB, or KB DLs, for high reps? Those will take care of your lower back without much systemic stress.

I had not considered those but I'm willing to give them a try. Aren't they mostly leg exercises though? I have quads taken care of with leg extensions right now and hamstrings with leg curls.

Yes, but do sets of 15-20 20 and you’ll also have a stupid lower back pump.

[Renascent]

Currently up for consideration are good mornings. Opinions on these? Can they be done as more of a lower back exercise than a hamstring exercise?

I tried them with the bar and very much felt it in my hamstrings, which is not what I want. But then I started adding weight (and shortening my ROM) and I felt it more in my back.

Are partial GMs a thing? Also what about seated GMs?

Good mornings are at least worth trying out to see how much you care for them. I tend to look at them like standing back extensions. If back extensions weren't such a pain in the ass to set up in my home gym, I'd give them an earnest try for a spell.

I've never heard of partial good mornings, but I've seen people set the safeties to stop themselves from going down "too deep," so maybe that counts. I try to push my hips back as far as I can; once my hips stop moving, that's the end of my hamstring/glute ROM. Going down any further than that means I'm using my back at that point, the contraction shifts from isometric to eccentric, and shit can get dicey if I tire out (and didn't set the safeties).

I've tried them seated before; didn't much care for it, but my hip mobility was worse back then, and I was likely compensating somehow for the lack of gluteal stretch. I'd like to revisit it again, but I use good mornings as a hamstring accessory, primarily. I've heard of Olympic lifters using this variation for flexibility ("pancake good mornings"), but you might be better off with a standard back extension otherwise.

Anyway, with the standing version, the more you bend your knees, the more glute involvement you get; one could argue that this means less hamstring involvement, but it also makes it easier to finish the movement if you fuck up and go too deep (or if you load up relatively heavy).

They will also work the living shit out of your erectors. I've had a few sustained runs with them that resulted in my erectors looking pretty angry.

Personally, I'm a fan of them, but I focus more on volume accumulation rather than intensity. I normally use them if I want a lighter load for a hamstring/hip-hinge accessory (as opposed to deadlift variations).

Go down slowly, control the descent to get a good stretch, then pop your hips forward on the way up to come up quickly.

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all.

I've heard people tout them as a good skill-builder for saving a shitty squat if you pitch forward. I can't attest to that particular use, as my squat ain't that heavy, but if you set the safeties, you can probably save yourself some grief if something goes wrong.

You could also do banded good mornings and just see how they feel.

[dw]

You can do Round back Good Mornings if you want to hit your lower back that way. When you hit the hamstring tightness that tells you you're at the end of ROM for a GM roll your back to go down more. I like them just never have a reason to do them. They're kind of useful after a back tweak as a "Nothing is messed up" warm up too.

Westside guys would just round the upper back to make it less of a lower back exercise.

I've never done a seated GM but it think the sitting position is supposed to limit how much if any the lower back rounds.

Bolded might be what I'm looking for. I will try these.

Thanks for all the responses.

[AlanMackey]

Currently up for consideration are good mornings. Opinions on these? Can they be done as more of a lower back exercise than a hamstring exercise?

I tried them with the bar and very much felt it in my hamstrings, which is not what I want. But then I started adding weight (and shortening my ROM) and I felt it more in my back.

Are partial GMs a thing? Also what about seated GMs?

Good mornings are at least worth trying out to see how much you care for them. I tend to look at them like standing back extensions. If back extensions weren't such a pain in the ass to set up in my home gym, I'd give them an earnest try for a spell.

I've never heard of partial good mornings, but I've seen people set the safeties to stop themselves from going down "too deep," so maybe that counts. I try to push my hips back as far as I can; once my hips stop moving, that's the end of my hamstring/glute ROM. Going down any further than that means I'm using my back at that point, the contraction shifts from isometric to eccentric, and shit can get dicey if I tire out (and didn't set the safeties).

I've tried them seated before; didn't much care for it, but my hip mobility was worse back then, and I was likely compensating somehow for the lack of gluteal stretch. I'd like to revisit it again, but I use good mornings as a hamstring accessory, primarily. I've heard of Olympic lifters using this variation for flexibility ("pancake good mornings"), but you might be better off with a standard back extension otherwise.

Anyway, with the standing version, the more you bend your knees, the more glute involvement you get; one could argue that this means less hamstring involvement, but it also makes it easier to finish the movement if you fuck up and go too deep (or if you load up relatively heavy).

They will also work the living shit out of your erectors. I've had a few sustained runs with them that resulted in my erectors looking pretty angry.

Personally, I'm a fan of them, but I focus more on volume accumulation rather than intensity. I normally use them if I want a lighter load for a hamstring/hip-hinge accessory (as opposed to deadlift variations).

Go down slowly, control the descent to get a good stretch, then pop your hips forward on the way up to come up quickly.

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all.

I've heard people tout them as a good skill-builder for saving a shitty squat if you pitch forward. I can't attest to that particular use, as my squat ain't that heavy, but if you set the safeties, you can probably save yourself some grief if something goes wrong.

You could also do banded good mornings and just see how they feel.

What do GMs do for you that a really strict RDL doesn’t?

[Renascent]

Currently up for consideration are good mornings. Opinions on these? Can they be done as more of a lower back exercise than a hamstring exercise?

I tried them with the bar and very much felt it in my hamstrings, which is not what I want. But then I started adding weight (and shortening my ROM) and I felt it more in my back.

Are partial GMs a thing? Also what about seated GMs?

Good mornings are at least worth trying out to see how much you care for them. I tend to look at them like standing back extensions. If back extensions weren't such a pain in the ass to set up in my home gym, I'd give them an earnest try for a spell.

I've never heard of partial good mornings, but I've seen people set the safeties to stop themselves from going down "too deep," so maybe that counts. I try to push my hips back as far as I can; once my hips stop moving, that's the end of my hamstring/glute ROM. Going down any further than that means I'm using my back at that point, the contraction shifts from isometric to eccentric, and shit can get dicey if I tire out (and didn't set the safeties).

I've tried them seated before; didn't much care for it, but my hip mobility was worse back then, and I was likely compensating somehow for the lack of gluteal stretch. I'd like to revisit it again, but I use good mornings as a hamstring accessory, primarily. I've heard of Olympic lifters using this variation for flexibility ("pancake good mornings"), but you might be better off with a standard back extension otherwise.

Anyway, with the standing version, the more you bend your knees, the more glute involvement you get; one could argue that this means less hamstring involvement, but it also makes it easier to finish the movement if you fuck up and go too deep (or if you load up relatively heavy).

They will also work the living shit out of your erectors. I've had a few sustained runs with them that resulted in my erectors looking pretty angry.

Personally, I'm a fan of them, but I focus more on volume accumulation rather than intensity. I normally use them if I want a lighter load for a hamstring/hip-hinge accessory (as opposed to deadlift variations).

Go down slowly, control the descent to get a good stretch, then pop your hips forward on the way up to come up quickly.

@dw, good mornings scare me. I don’t know why any non-competitive powerlifter does them. Just seems like risk/reward doesn’t work out at all.

I've heard people tout them as a good skill-builder for saving a shitty squat if you pitch forward. I can't attest to that particular use, as my squat ain't that heavy, but if you set the safeties, you can probably save yourself some grief if something goes wrong.

You could also do banded good mornings and just see how they feel.

What do GMs do for you that a really strict RDL doesn’t?

Fatigue management.

[dw]

Just my initial guess, they are easier on the grip and forearms and something about the bar placement and the fact that you can cut depth as desired leads to stricter back extension and possibly less hamstring stimulus vs back stimulus.

[lheugh]

While Good Mornings have nearly an identical biomechanical profile to an RDL, they can be a uniquely useful tool if one struggles to hip hinge properly (not letting the hips lower, not letting the back round, and not letting the knees track forward). One can more readily feel back position as the back in question is supporting the load, so maintaining a rigid spine is easier. This is just one less cue to have to deal with when performing the purpose of the exercise - to hip hinge.