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7
07-11-07, 10:26 am
We all have that favorite move in the gym, the single exercise that, when performed, deeply resonates within us. Perhaps it defines us in some say. Maybe it’s nothing more than just the pure, visceral thrill of doing it. For me, it has to be the barbell squat, that classic compound movement. What do I love about the squat? To me, it represents order in a world of chaos. The crushing weight on your back threatens to unman you, fights against your perfectly planned out trajectory. As you fall, you must rein in the fear and the doubt. As you rise, victory. In the squat, you’re flying solo. Just you and the bar on your back. The squat is like a dance. Each of your muscles coordinated and working together. I love the harmony of the movement, the body and the bar, rising and falling in unison. When done well, it reminds me of that line in Yeats' “Among School Children”:

“O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?”



So what are some of your favorite exercises and why?

Punisher
07-11-07, 10:47 am
interesting fact:

Vince Gironda hated the traditional barbell squat, he said it would create a big ass, a thick waist and wide hips. He recommends front squats, which also happened to be Arnold's preffered quad building exercise.

7
07-11-07, 10:54 am
interesting fact:

Vince Gironda hated the traditional barbell squat, he said it would create a big ass, a thick waist and wide hips. He recommends front squats, which also happened to be Arnold's preffered quad building exercise.

Thanks for raining on my parade Punisher, LOL.

Good point. Gironda did prefer smaller waist, hips and glutes to accentuate the shoulders, chest, back and legs. Still, Gironda's aesthetic is not necessarily my aesthetic exactly. We each have our own preferences.

Punisher
07-11-07, 10:59 am
Thanks for raining on my parade Punisher, LOL.

Good point. Gironda did prefer smaller waist, hips and glutes to accentuate the shoulders, chest, back and legs. Still, Gironda's aesthetic is not necessarily my aesthetic exactly. We each have our own preferences.

LOL im not syaing everything he said was right, just an interesting fact though , I love to squat too

BigAnt
07-11-07, 11:04 am
interesting fact:

Vince Gironda hated the traditional barbell squat, he said it would create a big ass, a thick waist and wide hips. He recommends front squats, which also happened to be Arnold's preffered quad building exercise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vince was ahead of his time...he loved chest press to the neck, wide "legs in front-curled up" dips, and craddle tricep ext.

He never had a squat rack or flat bench in his gym, sad a "a big butt and saggy boobs don't belong on a man's body....

BigAnt
07-11-07, 11:06 am
LOL im not syaing everything he said was right, just an interesting fact though , I love to squat too

--------------------------------------------------------------------------we have try different routines-exercises, keep what works for us, shit can the others that don't work!

ANYBODY up for all you can eat sushi--Punisher-?
lol

jeff00z28
07-11-07, 12:52 pm
i hate squat. i can bench more than i can squat. im good w/ other leg excersizes tho and d/l

Universal Rep
07-11-07, 12:56 pm
Hard to go wrong with the squat. Or the bench. Or the deadlift. All are classic for a reason.

7
07-11-07, 1:05 pm
Hard to go wrong with the squat. Or the bench. Or the deadlift. All are classic for a reason.

True, but there's something special for me in the squat. To me, in the bench, you're literally pushing the weight away. The harmony is not there for me. I think the deadlift is more akin to the squat, but I still prefer the squat.

H Bomb
07-11-07, 1:08 pm
No disrespect to Vince, but he was not that massive. I prefer the old greats like Casey Viator, Mike and Ray Mentzer, and another favorite the Barbarian Brothers the strongest twins in the world. These warriors all beleived in heavy squatting and had the physiques to prove it. So sorry Vince, your glutes may increase in size, but so do all muscles when put under heavy stress, and no exercise does it better hitting all those muscles at once. Tell me of one warrior in the iron game with overall mass and thickness that didn't know squat!

TylerC
07-11-07, 3:18 pm
actually Vince did prefer a narrow stance squat and he trained women on squats. He hated powerlifting style squats.

And BigAnt if you look at pictures of his gym, he did have a flat bench in there>>>> http://www.davedraper.com/article-292-how-to-find-a-good-gym.html

BigAnt
07-11-07, 3:51 pm
actually Vince did prefer a narrow stance squat and he trained women on squats. He hated powerlifting style squats.

And BigAnt if you look at pictures of his gym, he did have a flat bench in there>>>> http://www.davedraper.com/article-292-how-to-find-a-good-gym.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------thanks for setting me straight bro....

Punisher
07-11-07, 4:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------thanks for setting me straight bro....


wow.....

violator
07-12-07, 4:57 am
For me its rack deads, that feeling as i take it off the rack, heavy in my hands, hardcore blaring in the ears, adrenaline pumping, gritted teeth, holding it there for just a moment till the slowwwwww drop towards the floor, then explosively locking out....
feeling the back squeeze and scream, hey, thats the shit right there..

peace

bigrhino
07-12-07, 6:37 pm
i hate all chest exercises. but i love all back exercises. my recent favorite is t-bar row with a barbell. i also love rack pulls.
i really don't like squatting. i can't keep my balance, so i can't put enough weight on it to get a good pump.

karthik
07-13-07, 12:28 am
i hate squat. i can bench more than i can squat. im good w/ other leg excersizes tho and d/l

don't say that guy, now I know we need to train legs at Eagle's gym, we are going to do legs till we puke, better yet how about training with the Eagle's gym powerlifting team of warriors on a Saturday Morning. Then we can really make magic happen.

extremenergy3
07-13-07, 3:58 am
Squats are the magic button for me. Barbell Back Squats are making my glutes and hams larger, but I don't find that necessarily as a bad thing... And my waist size has stayed the same... So I dunno.

I also do the squats olympic style (low on the trapz and squatting just below parallel if not parallel; and legs not as wide, probably just outside shoulder width). But I've only been doing squats for a little over half a year and just got my PR of 315x10 last week... Maybe it's not enough weight to make my waist big??? My wheels have grown an inch since I started squatting though... So eh... To each his own.

The squat is what I look forward to every Monday hoping to reach a new PR whether in weight or reps. I get really pumped for it and the rest of the workout is intense and fun! Squats for me any day :)

Northman
07-13-07, 7:54 pm
Deadlift. I think the attraction for me is the simplicity of it. There is no more basic feat of strength than lifting all you can off of the ground. It seems to bring out something primal in me. Like the squat it is one-on-one, but unlike the squat, it seems to incorporate more overall effort for me. If I had to choose just one exercise it would be this... or the clean... or the snatch... or the squat...

dIdDy
07-13-07, 9:48 pm
the deadlift:

the weight of miltiple grown men just sitting on the ground, not moving. It's not going to move until you man up and pull it.

7
11-04-09, 3:32 pm
Squats and deadlift. How can you go wrong?

prowrestler
11-04-09, 3:46 pm
i like over head pressing

i hate vince gironda, and im allowed.

favorite exercise would probably be deads IF its 1 rep testing

i am startin to like squats more then deads though. i really like power cleans too.


ANYTHING HEAVY

Beowulf
11-04-09, 4:12 pm
i like over head pressing

i hate vince gironda, and im allowed.

favorite exercise would probably be deads IF its 1 rep testing

i am startin to like squats more then deads though. i really like power cleans too.


ANYTHING HEAVY

Hate Gironda?

mritter3
11-04-09, 4:28 pm
i am all about the deadlift and the squat.....deads, nothing more basic than standing over a plate loaded bar, music blaring in your ears, abs tight, back straight, head up, and ......boom we have lift off, as you get to the top of the movement sceaming the whole time, there is a moment, a moment where everyone in the gym no matter how big or how small takes notice....and as for the squat, being able to put a shitload of weight on your back, go down to the ground, and bring it back up....thats a feat in itself...both are favorites of mine.

prowrestler
11-04-09, 4:39 pm
Hate Gironda?

im allowed to have an opinion.

i dont like his style, his physique. i like straight up mass monsters like ronnie coleman, jay cutler, branch warren, marius pudzianowski, brock lesnar and well ya lol

Appollonian
11-04-09, 4:48 pm
No disrespect to Vince, but he was not that massive. I prefer the old greats like Casey Viator, Mike and Ray Mentzer, and another favorite the Barbarian Brothers the strongest twins in the world. These warriors all beleived in heavy squatting and had the physiques to prove it. So sorry Vince, your glutes may increase in size, but so do all muscles when put under heavy stress, and no exercise does it better hitting all those muscles at once. Tell me of one warrior in the iron game with overall mass and thickness that didn't know squat!

Dorian Yates didn't squat in the later part of his career. Maybe he built it up with squats and then maintained with leg press, but there is one person...

Beowulf
11-04-09, 5:02 pm
im allowed to have an opinion.

i dont like his style, his physique. i like straight up mass monsters like ronnie coleman, jay cutler, branch warren, marius pudzianowski, brock lesnar and well ya lol

Ha, I wasn't discounting your opinion. I was just asking why that's all.

His physique is definitely different than the physiques today. But he's obviously from a different generation. What I find most interesting about Gironda is his philosophies and his approach to the bodybuilding. These days, it seems like every pro is following some trainer's advice on this or that. How many bodybuilders are like Gironda today?

strivin for more
11-04-09, 5:06 pm
very lately ive been growing to be a large fan of the BB overhead press. i love the feeling of putting all that weight right over my head. i mean cmon, superman does it with a car. and whos stronger than superman?

http://www.fanboy.com/archive-images/superman-issue1.jpg

Dedicated
11-04-09, 7:56 pm
Guess I'm the only wrist curl fan-boy out there.

:-/

shizz702
11-04-09, 8:19 pm
Favorite lower body lift would be deadlifts, squats would be the runner up.

For upper body it's a close call between standing barbell press and weighted dips.

IronWilson
11-04-09, 11:40 pm
I apologize but I don't think back squats are the glory they are made out to be. They are a GREAT exercise, but not the be all end all.

I personally have an odd relationship with the squat. I can't squat very much at all, but high reps with light weight make my legs grow. SACRILEGE!

I have recently been having problems with the squat. My body is not bending the way it needs to. This has only been a problem of late. But my legs are growing faster than ever.... Go figure...

IronWilson
11-04-09, 11:42 pm
im allowed to have an opinion.
brock lesnar

OH HELL NO, you did not just Brock Lesnar up in here!

prowrestler
11-05-09, 1:49 am
OH HELL NO, you did not just Brock Lesnar up in here!

brock lesnar = god

Dr.Platypus
11-05-09, 9:09 am
Brock Lesnar is pretty much a beast.

Also I love that the Standing press is getting some love. Nothing like picking heavy weight up off of the ground (deadlift) or putting it right up over your head (press)

desolation
11-07-09, 8:59 pm
brock lesnar has a monstrous upperbody but he looks like he is standing on chicken legs

i despise him for being a total asshole and his cocky personality - watever happened to being humble


squat & deadlift are the ultimate exercises
oh nd i love the over head press aswell

prowrestler
11-07-09, 10:27 pm
brock lesnar has a monstrous upperbody but he looks like he is standing on chicken legs

i despise him for being a total asshole and his cocky personality - watever happened to being humble


squat & deadlift are the ultimate exercises
oh nd i love the over head press aswell

his thighs are beast...just his calfs suck


when your that damn good, u can be cocky. ps dana white is happy brock is showing some carisma

Dr.Platypus
11-07-09, 10:31 pm
yeah, I have a feeling lesnar is like 80% acting. He has that goo drama, pro-wrestling background. He's keeping things interesting.

he should train them calves!

desolation
11-08-09, 12:51 am
his thighs are beast...just his calfs suck


when your that damn good, u can be cocky. ps dana white is happy brock is showing some carisma

cant tell about his quads but his shorts sure as hell dont make em look big.

there is a difference between showing charisma and being an asshole you know and he is the second. cockiness just mean you want ppl to notice you if you know your good you dont have tell the whole world coz they already know. perfect mma example fedor. dnt get me started on dana white that guy is like a 13 year old who just learned some swear words.

Ady
11-08-09, 5:00 pm
Leg press/Squat and deadlift/bent over rows :)

Peace