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Nath

Hello Andy mate, just having a quick read. I hate doing biceps so tend to neglect them, its getting to the point now where i'm gonna have to do some work on them because they look stupid. I have been doing platoon 21's which seem to hammer them,

Can't find a video unfortunately, but basically u do 7 partial curls from extended to about 45 degrees, u then do 7 from 45 degrees to 180, and then 7 full curls. I do them leaning against a wall to prevent cheating, this prob also takes the strain of the lower back, suck it and see!

Nath

From bodybuilding.com


The Platoon System
As we discussed in the previous paragraph, there is a bottom half and a top half to a rep. The Platoon system seeks to incorporate them both for maximum effect. What you usually do is 7 reps of the bottom half (stretch point to midway) followed by 7 reps of the top half (midway to contraction) and after that you move on to 7 reps of the full exercise. Naturally these can also be in increments of 8 or 6 if that works out better for you. But they were normally used in 7's, and mostly in biceps curls. That particular exercise was dubbed 21's because of it, and the name got adopted as a synonym for the Platoon System. The downside to this was, since it was only employed for barbell curls, that everyone thought it was a biceps exercise, when in effect you could do it on virtually any exercise including bench presses, squats, military presses and French presses, as well as a whole host of others. Which is the only reason I mention it here. You too may have forgotten this, or may have never known it. Anyway, when attempting to do a Platoon set, use about 50 percent of weight, because these things are extremely heavy and hard. Do three or four platoon sets at the end of a workout to carve striations or do them first thing, because nothing gets a pump going like platoons. One warning: Do not rely on Platoon sets as your primary mass-builder. Because of the high number of reps it needs you may be disappointed with the result.

Nath

as u can see from this vid, the dude uses a swing, if u have ur back against a wall u cannot use this swing. HUZZAH!!!!

Gazz

You don't wanna be swinging 21's with your back probs Andy Defo against the wall or with that nice wide leather suppoprt belt i know you're gonna buy!

Its alright for Nath,he's got a back like an Afghan Donkey!

Nath

He's right, my back is overworked, hairy and stinks.

Tall

You... Overworked...? I thought you were a teacher who's alarm clock time hadn't been altered since the old queen died...?

Nath

Yep, I guess thats pretty accurate, more like a happy hippo than a afghan donkey!

BigAndyJ

Well, was all set yesterday to write how I had a great week at the gym - feeling strong and injury free, when walking around town yesterday, I started to get sore at the bottom of my back by my left hand side... By evening time I couldn't lean on my left leg...

Bit better this morning, but disillusioned cause I don't know what caused it...

BigAndyJ

Well, after two weeks I'm left with a pain down my left leg. I took a week off work - it took a few days to walk again and the rest of the week for pain with movement to subside.

Obviously I haven't been training - just doing 30 minute walks every day and trying to watch what I eat...

Seeing the physio - tried to find one who knew about weight training (preferably one who'd coached professional athletes, like a rugby team or something) but couldn't find one.

How long do you guys think I should leave it before training again? I plan on only doing upper body exercises like pull ups, dips, bench, cable rows, bicep curls, etc...

Gazz

What has your doctor said about your condition Andy?I know we usually get better advise from a tree stump these days but he/she should of at least prescribed you some kind of anti-inflammatory,Ibuprofen,Naproxen or COX-2 inhibitors.

Keep searchig for a good physio.They dont necessarily have to be ex sport Physio's they should all understand the fundamental methods of treating Sciatica.Resting is the conservative method of treatment until you are pain free but im more of a believer in exercising in these cases.

When the sciatica pain is at its worst,you may need to rest for a day or two,but resting for longer periods of time is usually not advisable.In fact,inactivity will usually make the sciatic pain worse.This is because regular movement and exercise is necessary to nourish the various structures in the low back and encourage the strength needed to support the low back.Im trying to find this page on Sciatica exercises,i'll come back when ive found it.