Author: F Dog

One of the main requirements for being a big dog is knowing how to address pain. The chronic nagging type, not the acute sort that you ignore as a byproduct of masculinity. For me, specifically, I have had pain in my knees (mostly left) that flares up every once in a while, but especially my knees hurt when squatting. Which I am currently doing four times a week.

That knees over toes guy that everyone loved a few years ago talks about how you need to walk backwards and drag a sled around. It's currently summer in Minnesota. Constantly in the high 80s with either no cloud coverage or heavy rain. I'm a pale ghoul that generates a lot of body heat. I'm supposed to be in some cold, snow-covered cave. I do not want to be outside in the sun and the heat walking around, especially backwards. So what are my options?

In the past I managed my knee pain fairly well by doing seated leg curls in a ratio of 2:3 sets of leg curls to squats. I made steady progress with both leg curls and squats during this time, but the pain started to creep back up once I started getting above 140 (kg) atg front squats. 

As of today, I'm up to 103 kg for doubles and adding one or two kg a week. The knee pain has flared up once or twice since I've been back at the gym, but I have been almost completely neglecting my knee flexion exercises. My plan going forward is to reinstate my flexion vs extension ratio (2:3), but this time double it for the knee flexion (4:3) while reducing the intensity.

I'm currently doing 18 sets of squats per week. This will bring my knee flexion requirement up to 24 sets a week. Which I will break down into 18 sets for hamstring muscles and 6 sets for gastrocnemius (calves). The hamstring sets will then be broken down into 12 sets of nordic curls, 4 sets of cable leg curls, and 2 sets of jefferson curls. For gastrocnemius I will do 6 sets of standing calf raises with a SSB. Will update in the future with my results.

Author: F Dog

Using a number of studies I compiled a list of muscles by their volume and translated that into estimated percentages of total skeletal muscle volume. I have created three graphs from this information. The first shows individual muscles from most volume to least amount of volume. The second shows percentages by muscle groups or functions. The third shows volume based on region. Each graph has two sets of values: pink for female, and blue for male. The percentages are ordered from highest to lowest based off of the female list.

Methodology:
Studies where MRIs took images of living subjects are given precedence over cadavers. Cadaver studies are only used in the lower leg.

My definition of the ‘erectors spinae’ include iliocostalis, longissimus, and spinalis.

My definition of the ‘transverso spinalis’ only includes the rotatores, semispinalis cervicis, and semispinalis thoracis, as the other muscles have individual values associated with them.

Iliopsoas refers to all the hip flexor muscles.

I believe 'ventral muscles' in this study refer to the longus capitis.

For lack of better alternatives in the second graph, I paired the sartorius with the quadriceps and the tensor fasciae latae with the glutes.

Volume as a total was calculated by the ratio produced by this study. Absolute values between the upper and lower halves were not used.

Lower body leg volumes were produced by this study. As they were not included in the study, specific shin muscles (with the exception of the popliteus and fibularis tertius) were found using a ratio of weight based on this cadaver study.

Most upper body muscles were found here. Those not found in that study were instead gathered from here or here.

Intermediate to Advanced

Author: F Dog

To answer this question, we need to define the bicep and consider its function. The bicep is a muscle in the upper arm that crosses both the elbow and shoulder joints. In most people it possesses two heads, hence the Latin roots of ‘bi’ meaning two, and ‘cep’ meaning head. Its tendons attach to the shoulder and forearms, making it a two-joint muscle that is involved in a variety of movements:

• flexing the elbow
• flexing the shoulder
• abducting the shoulder and internal rotation
• adducting the shoulder
• supination of the forearm, especially when the elbow is flexed

Abduction and adduction of the shoulder may seem confusing at first, but these actions are performed by the individual heads.

1. The long head abducting the shoulder.
2. The short head adducting the shoulder.

 So what does this mean for us?

When training the short head of the bicep, we want to take a grip slightly wider than shoulder width. This helps prevent internal rotation and shut off the long head, even if just partially, allowing the short head to do the bulk of the work. In addition you will want to use a supinated grip (regardless of which head you are training) as this is the position where peak bicep contractions will occur. Now that we have these basics covered let’s move on to the exercises themselves.

Calisthenics training is not exactly my forte. Most of the time progression is nebulous at best, or outright dangerous to load weights on. This is not the case with chin ups, which can be loaded safely with a vest or a belt with any sort of plates you have on hand. Then, as far as bicep training without equipment goes, it is absolutely uncontested. As it allows you to train from almost anywhere at any time of the day. Even multiple times a day.

We do need to have a specific set up when training the short head though. As we said before, we are going to set up with hands slightly outside shoulder width in a supinated grip. From there put your spine into thoracic extension. This should help to disengage some of the back muscles from taking over. Now when initiating the pull, I want you to attempt to bring your shoulders to your wrists. Do not treat this like a pull up where the idea is to get your chin over the bar or to bring your chest to the bar. Your eyes should end up around level with your hands if done correctly (and you have relatively normal proportions) and you should feel almost all of the weight on your biceps. 

Generally speaking I don’t see the purpose of going much more than 10 or 12 reps on a single set. So if you are at that point where you can do three sets of 10 or more, I suggest that you get a dip/pull-up belt or a weighted vest and increase your load with plates.

The second exercise I advocate for is the barbell curl. If you have a loadable ez-bar, that works as well. The key here is something where you can load weight in small increments in order to increase total load month to month. Hand placement will be similar to the chin up: supinated grip just outside shoulder width. From there, find a wall. Set your back and butt against it. This should allow focus on the biceps and get rid of excessive rocking, while still giving leeway to avoid the unnecessary stress that strict form like preacher curls will provide. 

These first two exercises covered the elbow flexion portion of bicep training. Chin ups provide shoulder to wrist. Curls provide wrist to shoulder. Now this last exercise is something I don’t see many, if any, people promoting. I am not entirely sure there is a name for it. It covers the flexion of the shoulder aspects of the short head of the bicep. I discovered it while doing overhead pressing variations during a shoulder injury.

Barbell, ez curl bar, dumbbell, kettlebell. Take your pick. They are all good enough as long as you have reasonable increments to progress with. Get your hands supinated, but at shoulder width instead of outside of it. From here the setup is similar to a reverse grip shoulder press, but instead of finishing the press, once you get the weight to eye level, bring it behind your head while keeping your elbows flexed. Once you have gone back as far as comfort allows, lower it down to chest level and repeat for 8 to 12 reps.

Follow and stay tuned for the video and more.

Author: Born Crisis

I've hated gym class ever since middle school. I enjoyed it more as a child, when a girl's physical capacity can roughly perform at the same level as a boy. I used to be able to outrun, outthrow, and outperform every kid in the class physically. In middle school, the tables were turned. Gym class was filled with sweaty, fluctuating-testosterone boys competitively flailing around -- kicking, hitting and ready to knock you over on accident. Hell, I remember coming home a few days with scabs over my legs, arms, and even waist. Instead of engaging in interactive sports, the gym teacher offered us the option to hang out in the "weight room", where you could spend an hour and a half walking on a treadmill. At some point, I gave up with competing against pubescent boys and settled for the treadmill during gym class. Afterschool, I ran around outside exploring nature with friends as my daily exercise. 

I had never been exposed to the benefits of weightlifting until early high school. As a woman, I've never felt a expectation to "get strong". In fact, in my family's culture, weaker women are perceived as societally more attractive. At the end of the year, the introductory gym class teacher reviewed our possible class options for the next semester. Lifeguard training. Yoga. Dance. He then reviewed the strength and conditioning class, and discussed the benefits of strength training -- increased bone density, confidence, increased speed, etc. The concept, as a cardio-heavy exerciser, was foreign to me, so I signed up. 

The class of 25 had a total of 3 girls, and I was the only freshman. Since class had an odd number, I was paired with the two other girls. They both weighed over 60 pounds more than me, making our strength levels vastly different from the start. The boys were intimidatingly large in comparison. The coach started off the first couple months teaching us form with PVC pipes. Back squat was first, and then followed by front squat, bench, incline, and hex bar deadlift. Three explosives came afterwards; jerk press, push press, and power clean. After he decided that our form was good enough, we started lifting with iron. 

It felt helpless initially being the weakest person in a group of 25. I dreaded going to class. The girls I lifted with were cliquey and condescending, rolling their eyes after half of what I ever said. Additionally, everyone else had a friend or multiple in the class. As the youngest person in a different grade, all of their faces were unfamiliar, making me feel like an outcast. 

I learned to, however, enjoy the class over time. Most of the days were the same 3 target sets: 10, 8, 6+ reps for squat and bench, 5, 5, 5+ reps for deadlift and explosives. The coach had a requirement for us to get good grades: we had to lift more reps or more weight every class. For example, if you had lifted 8×125 one day, and 0×130, you had the chance to lift 9×125 the next day, or 1×130. You could skimp out on your other two sets as long as you outperformed for one of the three sets. It also counted if we increased total volume for the day.  

At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to meet this requirement. It seemed unlikely especially since an increase of 5 lbs was proportionally greater for me than it was for someone capable of lifting 300 lbs. One of the most rewarding things I learned was that I could. It was thrilling to find out that the lift of which I could barely do 5 sets, I could do 6 just the next week. It was thrilling to see my body break beyond the capacity of what I previously thought was impossible -- and then to just do it all over again, week after week. By the end of the class I was squating triple my initial capability, doubling my max bench, and beating a few of the boys and all the girls in max deadlift.  

There is something enticing and personal about the idea that you can do better every day. See, building strength by itself has never particularly interested me. It still doesn't to this day. On the other hand, there is a freedom in knowing that the impossible is possible. I was a meek, diffident high schooler who has been put down all my life for almost everything -- intelligence, creativity, appearance, perseverence, social skills. I had always felt stuck. I never felt even remotely capable of improving myself. The class and my lifting progress demonstrated the power of belief. From this moment on, I realised that self-confidence is not just a means to make you feel better about your life. Rather, self-confidence is fundamentally intrgral to success. The best thing you can do, when everyone is calling you dumb, uncreative, and lazy, is to tell yourself that you can be smarter, more innovative, and more hardworking than they ever will be. 

Strength is psychological to a large extent, not much unlike other human qualities. On the days I walked into the class and said to myself, "You can't beat 85 today. There's no way," I would fail. On the days I told myself, "Fuck it, I can do it," I managed. Slowly, the number of days increased in which I told myself I could do it. My grades drastically improved that semester, aligning closely with the progress in the gym. I used to tell myself similar narratives with school -- "Emily's too smart, she has an IQ of over 150 and she works very hard. I can't get a better grade than her in physics." My thinking shifted into: "Fuck it, I've got a hell of an intuition, I'm going to get the best grade in the class." And I did, which carried on into college and beyond. Similarly, I became increasing comfortable about my appearance, began to treasure my social skills, and started finding beauty in my creative processes.

What I'm looking for in a gym is a place where I can explore my ability to improve and generate self-confidence, without an environment of constant comparison or criticism. I don't want an environment where others are glancing over pointedly telling me that I'm fucking it up, telling me that my numbers could be better, telling me that I'm inconsistent, telling me that my form is shit. In fact, I don't want feedback like "That's really impressive for someone your size!" either. I simply want to be left alone. I want a place where I can treat lifting as a personal process. I want the gym to be a place where I can work through all my failures, insufficiencies, feelings of meaninglessness, and false narratives and convert them into something optimistic. I want the gym to be a place where I can place my own expectations on myself, even unrealistic ones, and push myself to acheive them. I want to push beyond the capacity of what I think is possible for myself. 

I don't necessarily want to be physically strong. I want to be psychologically strong: resilient to failure and trusting in my ability to become a better person every day. The ideal gym is one where it can safely symbolize a journey toward self improvement without anyone else's input but my own. When others are constantly placing their expectations onto you, whether too high or too low, it's too easy to lose sight of what you truly want for yourself.