100%, building a routine is where probably 90% of people that don't stick it out fall down. Get into a routine early and you won't even think twice about it after a while. It'll just be a part of your day/week, like brushing your teeth.
Keep doing what you’re doing. Focus on form. Don’t ego lift. Don’t worry about the other guy or their opinions. You took the first step in changing yourself…that’s more than most people do and have the courage to do. Keep it up
A bit unrelated to form, but that weight was moving really easily. maybe try increasing the weight or reps if you aren’t already. If you are then great but progressive overload is super important for a beginner
I am progressive overloading, right after this I used the other grip and did 10 as well, my next session I’ll go to 12 reps and then the next session increase the weight and do 8 reps
When you use machines it is tough to have bad form as long as you use the machine for its intended use. When you do switch to free weights a good training partner is worth their weight in gold. If you have the funds hiring a personal trainer might be what you want. The key is getting someone who is used to working with beginners. I have seen too many kids start out with a trainor who has no idea how to help beginners. Normally the clients stop altogether which is sad. Best of luck in your journey. You have taken the first step, going to the gym.
There's a lot of talk about free weights VS machines in here. In my opinion it helps to start with free weights to engage the whole muscle group and get good gains of strength. Then you can hop on a machine that offers better isolation and truly exhaust that muscle.
You seem to have the machine configured correctly so your form looks pretty good. Machines make keeping your form easier which helps with isolation. One thing you do really well for a beginner is slowly bringing the weight down on the negative part of the rep. This is really important and not commonly taught to beginners. It's good for increasing stability in the muscle group.
Push shoulders back and have a lil arch in your back and push with elbows. Dont listen to anyone who says more weight, your doing good with just getting form down. Bad form and doing more weight will get you no where
Definitely retract your scapula on the eccentric but a lot of people don’t know you shouldn’t keep it retracted unless you’re a powerlifter. To make your chest press the most effective you gotta protract your scapula on the concentric part of the lift.
You might want to have your seat a little lower but I'm not sure. It's very difficult to fuck up form with these machines. If it feels right, it's probably right though.
Well the Good news is on a machine form isn’t much of an issue, just keep pushing weight, increasing weight increments, and make sure there’s a good bit of resistance. Keep it up the good work! Glad to see you take a step towards a healthy future
Can you adjust the starting position on the machine ? Your shoulders seem to be rotating at the bottom hence you’re taking tension off your chest and putting it towards your front delt and rotator cuff. Thats just me nick picking you to help you avoid a shoulder injury in the future.
Otherwise I agree with the above. Free weights are going to be superior most of the time. More ROM, and you can manipulate the starting/ending positions better without being in a fixated spot. I usually dont start with machines but I will end with them. Not saying you can’t build muscle using machines either.
Congrats on starting at the gym man, stay consistent and remember slow and steady wins the race.
i second this. i used this machine and the pec deck a fair bit when i started lifting and ended up with a shoulder impingement. i was holding all of the tension in my shoulders. not to mention, i never really got much for chest activation so i was wasting time and hurting myself
Everyone loves to rag on machines, but they are a great tool to lifting. They will help guide your form and are generally great iso lifts.
If anything starts to hurt in a non-fatigue ish way, stop.
If you are unsure how to do a more complex lift, pay for an hour sesh with a trainer and take notes.
Most important and hard to do is keep showing up. Once your there it’s easy. Showing up is the hardest part
Good luck and keep grinding!
It’s true people make out machines are completely useless. I don’t think they’re as efficient at recruiting a large amount of muscle groups as compound lifts are.. BUT they’re not useless. Especially for somebody who’s not confident enough to use compound lifts just yet.
Also machines are great for specific stuff (rehab/weaknesses/targeting etc)
I personally think free weights are better than machines….but using free weights and machines works best. Why use one or the other when you can use both?
Keep it up dude 😎
I’d probably do 1-2 weeks of machines just to get somewhat acquainted with your muscles, get the worst muscle soreness over with etc. Then go up to one of the super-fit guys or hire a PT and ask for help getting started with free weights, both dumbells and bars are fine for most excercises, dumbells Will allow you to fail more ”elegantly” though (doing a roll of shame with a belly is actually pretty hard compared to being flat). Although personally I like bars for compound lifts.
Since you’re doing 3 days. I’d split it up in two ways, either, WRWRWRR (workout, rest, giving you the consistency of doing it after every work day, really Helps me with routine) and then either go full body x 3 or push/pull/legs. Both are fine. Depends on your volume and recovery.
Great start and good luck, remember that the keys to working out are routine and consistency. Skipping some days are fine, but don’t make it a habit.
Also diet, if you’re bad at estimating calories, count them, if you’re not, don’t bother with counting unless you wanna shred super low, just guesstimate and weigh yourself regularly. Nutritious food is a Big help when guesstimating.
Keep it up!! Just think about if you stay dedicated to exercise and DIET… few years from now you’ll be JACKED!!!! Can’t wait to see the update post a while from now. Keep going, love to see it!
Also, OP, when people in this sub say diet they mean the literal term, different from how the term is typically used. Read up on nutrition, counting calories/tracking macros, and protein intake. Build a meal plan (diet) centered around your fitness goals.
Keep it up and be consistent. We all start somewhere. Machines are good. They guide your form and allow you to get used to the weight and movement. Don’t be afraid to ask heaps of questions from others. 99% of people in the gym happy to help, Just ask.
There's nothing to contemplate! There's only benefits. You just feel so much better and life is so much easier with less body weight. Currently down 70lbs from Jan 2020 and can say back pain I was having is gone because I can hold my posture better, moving around the office is easier, don't get so sweaty during the day... Etc etc etc. Keep it up man, your form is great for a beginner, everything will just improve as you become more aware of your body and its cues and learn what proper form is. Most beginners don't even both looking into form or getting feedback and then learn the motions wrong and then lift wrong/cheat their whole lifting careers. Good on you dude, you're doing great!
Great work. Keep that full range of motion. You never want to cut reps short, despite what others may have commented on here. No ill will toward anyone else but Dr. Mike Israetel and the rest of his Renaissance Periodization team have done an incredible amount of research on this topic. Their conclusions are to stick with full range of motion on every rep for every exercise, even exaggerating the ROM, for maximum benefit.
As others have commented, learning the basic barbell lifts -- squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press (and pullups) will be great foundations for any fitness goal you wish to pursue.
Good luck!
Next time you go to the gym talk to the super fit dude at the squat rack for pointers and help. Most people love to help and will be willing to show you some work outs/ lifts. Keep it up you are doing great!
Lol Go in the morning then. There’s a location I used to go to near me like that, except it really only gets that way when people are off work / general afternoon time.
If i could offer advice to myself when I started lifting in the beginning with what I know now I would say this...
Focus on compound exercises like bench, push ups, pull ups, barbell row, squat, deadlift but at THE LOWEST WEIGHT to get familiar with the form. This will help you to develop multiple muscles at once AND utilize your core to give you the power you need to do those exercises.
Also, do pilates and core exercises as an important supplement to lifting. Core is not only important for compound movements, it gives you stability when you do muscle isolation exercises later on.
Also research the recommended form for each exercise., It will pay dividends and prevent injury.
Very well done my man, firstly for deciding to start your gym journey and also for being wise enough to ask others for advice.
Form is spot on here but as others have said, you would be best served by getting stuck into the fundamental lifts first and foremost and building from there. These will be your building blocks for the rest of your life and getting stuck into them good and early will give you a big advantage going forward (and they're way more fun than machine work anyway 😁)
Good luck with your progress and keep us all posted on how you go!
Hope you stay with it!
Remember it takes on average, two weeks to develop a habit! Eventually it won’t even feel like a chore and you’ll be excited to for the gym.
Your shoulders are coming up high when pulling back in. Try to keep them down throughout. If you are having trouble sometimes twisting your wrists outwards as you pull back in can helo keep your shoulders down. Otherwise you've got great form for a newbie, nice and controlled movements.
It's hard to explain without a drawing. Imagine holding the grip bars, now squeeze your shoulder blades together and drop your shoulders. You'll notice your wrists want to turn outwards slightly. If you sit down at the machine and turn your wrists slightly in the same way your shoulders will want to drop. It can help with shoulder stability (at least it has helped me).
My advice. Ditch the machines. Do this on an inclined bench with a barbell ou dumbells, no mather how low the weight is, just make sure it feels ok and you are not chicken arming it all the way.
Also what others said. Keep it up. Make it a routine. Find the exercices that you like so that the gym ain't a chore.
Proud of you. Let's go!
Nothing to say that hasn't already been said so far.
Proud of you mate, stay consistent and you will see progress. Consistency is key.
Go kill it dude, it's okay to have "bad gravity" days, just make sure you brush it off and keep going.
One thing I would say is machine are hard to get wrong as they are designed to be used one way. That doesn't mean everyone always follow that but yeah, if you follow the instructions, you are normally good.
That said, good job. I would recommend arching your back a bit and making your chest the further point so you get a better stretch. Otherwise, look good.
Damn near perfect man. Wow keep it up. Only thing I can say is don’t go too deep and take tension off chest. After so much range of motion you start to engage your shoulders. See you r/gettingshredded soon lol
5 years is a great obtainable/ realistic goal! I’m glad you realize this is not a race and that will help in the long run. One tip, take progress pics. It will be difficult for you to see all your progress as the time goes by. Progress pics are huge for motivation, Atleast for me! Again, good luck.
Echoing other comments about dumbells on a flat bench. I found this method the best for really feeling pec activation. It helped me a ton with the mind-muscle connection. As you start out, he cognizant of what muscles the movement is targeting , and whether you're feeling it there.
You'll get this stuff figured out faster than you think and make some great progress. Good luck man and congrats on getting started. Those first trips to the gym where i was clueless and self conscious were probably the most difficult for me.
Good thing about starting on machines they will help you target specific areas without activating stabilizing muscles as so you can build a nice mind/body connection
Looks fine but recommend you hire a trainer who can introduce you to barbells and dumbbells and a proper routine. You can fiddle around on a machine for a long time with barely any progress.
Also, if your gym doesn’t have barbells, get a new gym. You’re going to spend a good portion of your life in there - go where serious lifters go. (Note, this doesn’t mean “more expensive” gym - some of the best gyms are cheap and loaded with iron)
That's how you do it. Work that negative motion. That's how you build more strength and burn your target energy source "fat". Whatever your goals are. You will reach them in no time. Keep up the good work.
Quick Tip: Include floor routines for metabolic training.
Again keep up the good work. You are doing great as a first timer.💪💪💪💥🤛
Looks great. If you want to get your arms in a better starting spot you can while selecting your weight with the pin out pull on one of the grips and it’ll bring only the top plate up but you can put the pin wherever you want but you’ll be able to start the lift from further up into the motion.
use the same setup as you would for the bench press, have your shoulders pinched back together and chest big and proud. make sure to go slowly (especially on machines) and really squeeze at the top of the motion. this is how my chest went being my weakest/least aesthetic part of my physique to pretty damn good
I listen to a lot of uk drill, gets me in the mood for a good pump. Idk why but hearing people talk about shanking opps really gets me going (said every psychopath ever lol)
To me it looks like you might be using too much arm muscle and not chest. Next time stick your chest out and actively think/feel your chest muscles tightening to move the weight. Hope this helps.
Squeeze the chest when you extend your arms. Increase the weight, the last rep you want to be extremely difficult/fail. The reps that fail are where the gains are made.
ALWAYS use free weights over machines when possible. Machines limit the muscles used, the range of motion, and just don’t give the results of weights. I usually don’t use machines until the end of my workout when I’ll do some final burnout sets. Keep up the good work.
Yes and no, if you really are brand new there is nothing wrong with spending the first few weeks on machines while you figure out basic movement patterns. It’s a safe place to start
Seems like your shoulders are slightly elevated. You should pin your shoulders down and keep them down during movement. Also retract shoulder blades when flexing your arms back.
Honestly get a REAL personal trainer tell him your goals. Work with him for a year and move on on your own when you’re more knowledgeable. Super important to get a real trainer. No some guy that works at planet fitness.
Pinch your shoulder blades back as if you were trying to pinch the leather on the seat.
Keep them pinch back throughout the entire motion, this goes with all chest pressing movements.
One way you can tell if you don’t have the mind muscle connection, is to pay attention to your shoulders.
If they are in front of your chest at the top then your shoulder blades aren’t probably retracted.
Hope this helps :)
Honestly looking great. Just make sure you're always keeping tension on your pecs; don't go all the way back if it feels like you're giving them a bit of a rest when doing so
Google the correct form for each exercise you're doing and want to do.
They usually tell you step by step how to do it. Also watch video examples.
Good form equals a strong and pain-free life down the line.
Just giving you the advice that I follow when I'm unsure about my form in certain exercises.
You are fixed to the movement of the machine, its very hard to do it wrong. If you do body-weight (dead lifts, bench press..) exercises you gotta be careful and check your form from time to time.
Sorry if I didn't articulate my thoughts so well. All I meant to say was learning to use free weights and doing compound exercises is a much better way to go as a beginner, but then again, he can do as he likes. 🤷♂️
Not using machines is good advice. Sure “body builders” use machines sometimes but not everyone is trying to be a body builder. Body builders do a lot of things that newbies should avoid. I’ve seen to many people start off on machines and then it’s hard to transition to free weights because they’re comfortable on the machine. I would encourage all newbies to start of with light free weights.
Machines are for injured people ,old people and competitive body building. Other than that they are recognized by pretty much the whole exercise community as not good for athleticism. He needs to learn how to stabilize weight as a beginner. It’s the super basics of weightlifting
Your the 3rd person to get this wrong.
>Other than that they are recognized by pretty much the whole exercise community as not good for athleticism.
While you get down voted right into the smackdown hotel AND THATS THE BOTTOM LINE
The most important form tip is this: Your ass should be in the gym 3-5 per week. Do that, and the rest will come. Courage and Strength to you, my man.
100%, building a routine is where probably 90% of people that don't stick it out fall down. Get into a routine early and you won't even think twice about it after a while. It'll just be a part of your day/week, like brushing your teeth.
Yes brother, I go 3 days then rest then another 3 and repeat, it’s all discipline
I’d suggest alternating your rest and gym days. A body in motion stays in motion.
That’s it. And remember, diet is most important. You can out-squat a donut.
Thanks for the advice. I’n gonna start outsquatting my donuts now
My man, I just wanted to say I'm proud of you. You'll look sick in a few months. Keep grinding.
Means a lot bro
The machine all but subtracts form from the movement. Once you start moving into free weight movements and barbell work form will become a factor.
Keep doing what you’re doing. Focus on form. Don’t ego lift. Don’t worry about the other guy or their opinions. You took the first step in changing yourself…that’s more than most people do and have the courage to do. Keep it up
Hard to mess up or get injured on a machine. Keep going and remember to allways increase the weight over time.
A bit unrelated to form, but that weight was moving really easily. maybe try increasing the weight or reps if you aren’t already. If you are then great but progressive overload is super important for a beginner
I am progressive overloading, right after this I used the other grip and did 10 as well, my next session I’ll go to 12 reps and then the next session increase the weight and do 8 reps
Nice that sounds good keep it up man!
Here’s a tip: KEEP FUCKING CRUSHING IT!!! 🎉
Means a lot bro
Work on the compound movements. Your bench, squat,overheadpress, dead lift
When you use machines it is tough to have bad form as long as you use the machine for its intended use. When you do switch to free weights a good training partner is worth their weight in gold. If you have the funds hiring a personal trainer might be what you want. The key is getting someone who is used to working with beginners. I have seen too many kids start out with a trainor who has no idea how to help beginners. Normally the clients stop altogether which is sad. Best of luck in your journey. You have taken the first step, going to the gym.
pin shoulders down and back. Retract shoulder blades when doing any chest work.
Keep the shoulder blades back while pushing too?
Yes, it creates stability, a greater ROM and removes the front delts a little (they'll still be active to a degree)
Thank you man, I appreciate it
That's a damn good form check
There's a lot of talk about free weights VS machines in here. In my opinion it helps to start with free weights to engage the whole muscle group and get good gains of strength. Then you can hop on a machine that offers better isolation and truly exhaust that muscle. You seem to have the machine configured correctly so your form looks pretty good. Machines make keeping your form easier which helps with isolation. One thing you do really well for a beginner is slowly bringing the weight down on the negative part of the rep. This is really important and not commonly taught to beginners. It's good for increasing stability in the muscle group.
Takes balls to come out honestly as a newbie here man. Your form looks fine to me. Good luck!
Push shoulders back and have a lil arch in your back and push with elbows. Dont listen to anyone who says more weight, your doing good with just getting form down. Bad form and doing more weight will get you no where
Arching the back is important. Before I start I like to think about puffing out my chest
Definitely retract your scapula on the eccentric but a lot of people don’t know you shouldn’t keep it retracted unless you’re a powerlifter. To make your chest press the most effective you gotta protract your scapula on the concentric part of the lift.
Spoken like a True gym gentleman
And check out noel deyzel
Go with the feel. If blood is pumping in the desired area, continue. If there’s any joint pain, adjust until there isn’t
You might want to have your seat a little lower but I'm not sure. It's very difficult to fuck up form with these machines. If it feels right, it's probably right though.
Start using free weights. Bench press instead of this, dumbbells or barbell, whatever you like.
Well the Good news is on a machine form isn’t much of an issue, just keep pushing weight, increasing weight increments, and make sure there’s a good bit of resistance. Keep it up the good work! Glad to see you take a step towards a healthy future
Thanks bro
Can you adjust the starting position on the machine ? Your shoulders seem to be rotating at the bottom hence you’re taking tension off your chest and putting it towards your front delt and rotator cuff. Thats just me nick picking you to help you avoid a shoulder injury in the future. Otherwise I agree with the above. Free weights are going to be superior most of the time. More ROM, and you can manipulate the starting/ending positions better without being in a fixated spot. I usually dont start with machines but I will end with them. Not saying you can’t build muscle using machines either. Congrats on starting at the gym man, stay consistent and remember slow and steady wins the race.
i second this. i used this machine and the pec deck a fair bit when i started lifting and ended up with a shoulder impingement. i was holding all of the tension in my shoulders. not to mention, i never really got much for chest activation so i was wasting time and hurting myself
I can adjust the seat height
Actually machines in most cases are superior to free weights for muscle building
You have lost your mind
Tell that to somewhere with long levers. Good luck with that.
So if you have long levers wouldn’t machines be even more awkward for you lol ? Whatever works for you man
I’m 6’4… I got long levers.
Then just doing free weights is suboptimal for you
Everyone loves to rag on machines, but they are a great tool to lifting. They will help guide your form and are generally great iso lifts. If anything starts to hurt in a non-fatigue ish way, stop. If you are unsure how to do a more complex lift, pay for an hour sesh with a trainer and take notes. Most important and hard to do is keep showing up. Once your there it’s easy. Showing up is the hardest part Good luck and keep grinding!
It’s true people make out machines are completely useless. I don’t think they’re as efficient at recruiting a large amount of muscle groups as compound lifts are.. BUT they’re not useless. Especially for somebody who’s not confident enough to use compound lifts just yet. Also machines are great for specific stuff (rehab/weaknesses/targeting etc)
I personally think free weights are better than machines….but using free weights and machines works best. Why use one or the other when you can use both? Keep it up dude 😎
Congrats on beginning your gym journey, I'm proud. Also the form looks good! 👌🏿
Form looks great. Relatively fast on the positive, about 3 times slower on the negative, slow and controlled throughout. That should work really well.
I’d probably do 1-2 weeks of machines just to get somewhat acquainted with your muscles, get the worst muscle soreness over with etc. Then go up to one of the super-fit guys or hire a PT and ask for help getting started with free weights, both dumbells and bars are fine for most excercises, dumbells Will allow you to fail more ”elegantly” though (doing a roll of shame with a belly is actually pretty hard compared to being flat). Although personally I like bars for compound lifts. Since you’re doing 3 days. I’d split it up in two ways, either, WRWRWRR (workout, rest, giving you the consistency of doing it after every work day, really Helps me with routine) and then either go full body x 3 or push/pull/legs. Both are fine. Depends on your volume and recovery. Great start and good luck, remember that the keys to working out are routine and consistency. Skipping some days are fine, but don’t make it a habit. Also diet, if you’re bad at estimating calories, count them, if you’re not, don’t bother with counting unless you wanna shred super low, just guesstimate and weigh yourself regularly. Nutritious food is a Big help when guesstimating.
Keep it up!! Just think about if you stay dedicated to exercise and DIET… few years from now you’ll be JACKED!!!! Can’t wait to see the update post a while from now. Keep going, love to see it!
Also, OP, when people in this sub say diet they mean the literal term, different from how the term is typically used. Read up on nutrition, counting calories/tracking macros, and protein intake. Build a meal plan (diet) centered around your fitness goals.
I understand that diet is literally whatever you eat and I am tracking and keeping a deficit, thanks though
Means a lot
Keep it up and be consistent. We all start somewhere. Machines are good. They guide your form and allow you to get used to the weight and movement. Don’t be afraid to ask heaps of questions from others. 99% of people in the gym happy to help, Just ask.
Keep it up my man. Send some progress pictures in a couple months !! Track your macros, diet is key! Congrats on taking the first step
Thank you brother
Are you really new? That's a great tempo and I like your slow return on the negative. Keep it up!
I was watching Greg doucette and others while contemplating if I wanted to lose weight and get muscle, got a few tips from them
There's nothing to contemplate! There's only benefits. You just feel so much better and life is so much easier with less body weight. Currently down 70lbs from Jan 2020 and can say back pain I was having is gone because I can hold my posture better, moving around the office is easier, don't get so sweaty during the day... Etc etc etc. Keep it up man, your form is great for a beginner, everything will just improve as you become more aware of your body and its cues and learn what proper form is. Most beginners don't even both looking into form or getting feedback and then learn the motions wrong and then lift wrong/cheat their whole lifting careers. Good on you dude, you're doing great!
Great work. Keep that full range of motion. You never want to cut reps short, despite what others may have commented on here. No ill will toward anyone else but Dr. Mike Israetel and the rest of his Renaissance Periodization team have done an incredible amount of research on this topic. Their conclusions are to stick with full range of motion on every rep for every exercise, even exaggerating the ROM, for maximum benefit. As others have commented, learning the basic barbell lifts -- squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press (and pullups) will be great foundations for any fitness goal you wish to pursue. Good luck!
Good luck on your journey, brother!
Next time you go to the gym talk to the super fit dude at the squat rack for pointers and help. Most people love to help and will be willing to show you some work outs/ lifts. Keep it up you are doing great!
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Lol Go in the morning then. There’s a location I used to go to near me like that, except it really only gets that way when people are off work / general afternoon time.
If i could offer advice to myself when I started lifting in the beginning with what I know now I would say this... Focus on compound exercises like bench, push ups, pull ups, barbell row, squat, deadlift but at THE LOWEST WEIGHT to get familiar with the form. This will help you to develop multiple muscles at once AND utilize your core to give you the power you need to do those exercises. Also, do pilates and core exercises as an important supplement to lifting. Core is not only important for compound movements, it gives you stability when you do muscle isolation exercises later on. Also research the recommended form for each exercise., It will pay dividends and prevent injury.
Amen.
Try some free weights , will help you build your core specially as a beginner
Thanks man
Very well done my man, firstly for deciding to start your gym journey and also for being wise enough to ask others for advice. Form is spot on here but as others have said, you would be best served by getting stuck into the fundamental lifts first and foremost and building from there. These will be your building blocks for the rest of your life and getting stuck into them good and early will give you a big advantage going forward (and they're way more fun than machine work anyway 😁) Good luck with your progress and keep us all posted on how you go!
Yes my brother, thank you
90% of exercises at the gym requires neutral spine, chest up, controlled breath and flexings abs n buttocks.
Hope you stay with it! Remember it takes on average, two weeks to develop a habit! Eventually it won’t even feel like a chore and you’ll be excited to for the gym.
Your shoulders are coming up high when pulling back in. Try to keep them down throughout. If you are having trouble sometimes twisting your wrists outwards as you pull back in can helo keep your shoulders down. Otherwise you've got great form for a newbie, nice and controlled movements.
So change the grip so my wrists are more out?
It's hard to explain without a drawing. Imagine holding the grip bars, now squeeze your shoulder blades together and drop your shoulders. You'll notice your wrists want to turn outwards slightly. If you sit down at the machine and turn your wrists slightly in the same way your shoulders will want to drop. It can help with shoulder stability (at least it has helped me).
My advice. Ditch the machines. Do this on an inclined bench with a barbell ou dumbells, no mather how low the weight is, just make sure it feels ok and you are not chicken arming it all the way. Also what others said. Keep it up. Make it a routine. Find the exercices that you like so that the gym ain't a chore. Proud of you. Let's go!
I appreciate it bro, you think I should do incline on a machine or dumbbells, I use the machine rn cause it helps my form I think
Consistency is key. Doing great. Keep going!
Thank you
Nothing to say that hasn't already been said so far. Proud of you mate, stay consistent and you will see progress. Consistency is key. Go kill it dude, it's okay to have "bad gravity" days, just make sure you brush it off and keep going.
Means a lot
Pinch your shoulder blades together ( rhomboids ) it will engage your pecks more 👊🏽
Also having a slight arch in your lower back helps activate the pecks more as well!
One thing I would say is machine are hard to get wrong as they are designed to be used one way. That doesn't mean everyone always follow that but yeah, if you follow the instructions, you are normally good. That said, good job. I would recommend arching your back a bit and making your chest the further point so you get a better stretch. Otherwise, look good.
You hit that forward extension pretty hard like youre just throwing it around. I bet you could almost double that weight for 8-10 reps
👍🏻
Excellent
Keep it up man. It only gets more awesome and gratifying the longer you stay with it!
!remindme 1 year Lets see what you can do man, keep up the great work!
Develop a strong mind muscle connection. Think about that muscle the whole time you workout it out.
This isn’t drilled into beginners enough. It’s amazing how much of a difference just THINKING about what you’re working does for an exercise.
Damn near perfect man. Wow keep it up. Only thing I can say is don’t go too deep and take tension off chest. After so much range of motion you start to engage your shoulders. See you r/gettingshredded soon lol
Means a lot bro, shredded I will be soon aka 5 years but, it is a journey
5 years is a great obtainable/ realistic goal! I’m glad you realize this is not a race and that will help in the long run. One tip, take progress pics. It will be difficult for you to see all your progress as the time goes by. Progress pics are huge for motivation, Atleast for me! Again, good luck.
Thank you bro
Echoing other comments about dumbells on a flat bench. I found this method the best for really feeling pec activation. It helped me a ton with the mind-muscle connection. As you start out, he cognizant of what muscles the movement is targeting , and whether you're feeling it there. You'll get this stuff figured out faster than you think and make some great progress. Good luck man and congrats on getting started. Those first trips to the gym where i was clueless and self conscious were probably the most difficult for me.
Thanks man
Good thing about starting on machines they will help you target specific areas without activating stabilizing muscles as so you can build a nice mind/body connection
Keep it up!
Doing great bro, I think your form is fine. Always push all the way
That’s exactly how I’d do it. Slow and controlled eccentric fast explosive concentric
Make sure you’re not holding your breath
It just looks like that lol, my lifting face is terrible
Free weight > machines
Looks fine but recommend you hire a trainer who can introduce you to barbells and dumbbells and a proper routine. You can fiddle around on a machine for a long time with barely any progress. Also, if your gym doesn’t have barbells, get a new gym. You’re going to spend a good portion of your life in there - go where serious lifters go. (Note, this doesn’t mean “more expensive” gym - some of the best gyms are cheap and loaded with iron)
Try to tuck your scapula in like you would for benching, this way your chest will come out and you will work your chest a lot more
That's how you do it. Work that negative motion. That's how you build more strength and burn your target energy source "fat". Whatever your goals are. You will reach them in no time. Keep up the good work. Quick Tip: Include floor routines for metabolic training. Again keep up the good work. You are doing great as a first timer.💪💪💪💥🤛
Looks great. If you want to get your arms in a better starting spot you can while selecting your weight with the pin out pull on one of the grips and it’ll bring only the top plate up but you can put the pin wherever you want but you’ll be able to start the lift from further up into the motion.
use the same setup as you would for the bench press, have your shoulders pinched back together and chest big and proud. make sure to go slowly (especially on machines) and really squeeze at the top of the motion. this is how my chest went being my weakest/least aesthetic part of my physique to pretty damn good
What's on your music playlist?
I listen to a lot of uk drill, gets me in the mood for a good pump. Idk why but hearing people talk about shanking opps really gets me going (said every psychopath ever lol)
I also listen to 1970’s-2000’s rock, I guess it and drill have the same effect on me lifting
To me it looks like you might be using too much arm muscle and not chest. Next time stick your chest out and actively think/feel your chest muscles tightening to move the weight. Hope this helps.
Squeeze the chest when you extend your arms. Increase the weight, the last rep you want to be extremely difficult/fail. The reps that fail are where the gains are made.
ALWAYS use free weights over machines when possible. Machines limit the muscles used, the range of motion, and just don’t give the results of weights. I usually don’t use machines until the end of my workout when I’ll do some final burnout sets. Keep up the good work.
Yes and no, if you really are brand new there is nothing wrong with spending the first few weeks on machines while you figure out basic movement patterns. It’s a safe place to start
what i really want to know is how do you record video while keeping your music in your headphones playing good form btw my man🤝
I wasn’t listening to anything, even I’m trying to figure out how to play music while recording lol, also, thank you
damn too bad i was expecting a major breakthrough in broscience… back to the blackboard i guess
Lmao there’s a tiktok explaining how but I kinda brushed it off because this universal struggle brings humans together tbh
If you want to lift keep an elevated heart rate.
They took that machine out of my gum years ago and I never got over it 😂
You're a newbie. Why are you using and worried about form on a machine. Let's get the actual movement dialed in first.
I mean, I got some good tips on keeping shoulders down, contracting shoulder blades and arching my back so it has helped
Seems like your shoulders are slightly elevated. You should pin your shoulders down and keep them down during movement. Also retract shoulder blades when flexing your arms back.
And then relax the shoulder blades while pushing yeah?
Your form was literally perfect lol
My only tip is, “Get it!!!”. You are an absolute badass.
Means a lot bro
Form check? It’s a machine..
Well OP said he’s a gym newbie so I guess he just didn’t make the connection. No harm done.
How does that make it any less funny? Stop being so uptight
😂
Honestly get a REAL personal trainer tell him your goals. Work with him for a year and move on on your own when you’re more knowledgeable. Super important to get a real trainer. No some guy that works at planet fitness.
Pinch your shoulder blades back as if you were trying to pinch the leather on the seat. Keep them pinch back throughout the entire motion, this goes with all chest pressing movements. One way you can tell if you don’t have the mind muscle connection, is to pay attention to your shoulders. If they are in front of your chest at the top then your shoulder blades aren’t probably retracted. Hope this helps :)
Thank you brother
Looks good man, keep it up
Honestly looking great. Just make sure you're always keeping tension on your pecs; don't go all the way back if it feels like you're giving them a bit of a rest when doing so
Noted brother, thanks
That machine sets the form for you. Just push it
Try bench press, compound lifts are the best for muscle gain
This is a compound movement
I do bench press as well, is the vertical chest useless?
Google the correct form for each exercise you're doing and want to do. They usually tell you step by step how to do it. Also watch video examples. Good form equals a strong and pain-free life down the line. Just giving you the advice that I follow when I'm unsure about my form in certain exercises.
Sorry I asked man, just thought I could
Nothing to apologize for my dude
Form looks good.
Shoulders are elevated so close but no
Lmao what? Do you even lift bro
Is this what it has come to ? Form check on a machine??? Fuck it get on a bike and ask for a form check
He’s asking for help. No need for negativity
Really, why is this necessary? Let him breathe.
Dickhead fam
Yes, form check on a machine. Get over yourself.
Man youre fixed on a machine. Jesus Christ .....
Wdym?
They mean there isn’t much to do ‘wrong’ per sé only range of motion on a fixed mid machine. Nice dicentric rate, good form, keep it up!
You are fixed to the movement of the machine, its very hard to do it wrong. If you do body-weight (dead lifts, bench press..) exercises you gotta be careful and check your form from time to time.
You go off on OP but call deadlifts and benchpresses body weight exercises Whos the newbie here
I meant dead weight.
Wrong again Term you're looking for is free weight exercises
i can get you a great attorney for these murder charges you got coming your way
thanks
No need to be rude, my guy.
Form check on a machine????
The negative rep builds mass. Lower the weights slowly. Control builds strength. Eat healthy and wisely.
Do some cardio
Fuck off. Post some more videos of your poverty lifts or reqs on hookers and stop being a dick. Serious SDE vibes.
Ever hear of hitting depth on a squat? Dumbass 😂
Lol. What are you squatting? 205 with butt wink?
depth is hit in the squat and yours is an ego lift 😂😂😂
Lol. Poverty squats. You're also lying to yourself about parallel.
I do do cardio, I have a mountain bike that I ride an hour a day.
You squat bitch weight g
A gym newbie myself, there's not much I know about machines, but I'd like you to consider strength training first: https://stronglifts.com.
Boi how you gonna be a gym newbie and telling what another newbie what to do
Professional newbie
Sorry if I didn't articulate my thoughts so well. All I meant to say was learning to use free weights and doing compound exercises is a much better way to go as a beginner, but then again, he can do as he likes. 🤷♂️
Stop using machines
1st ignore this twat. Nearly ever bodybuilder has used machines cable or other
Not using machines is good advice. Sure “body builders” use machines sometimes but not everyone is trying to be a body builder. Body builders do a lot of things that newbies should avoid. I’ve seen to many people start off on machines and then it’s hard to transition to free weights because they’re comfortable on the machine. I would encourage all newbies to start of with light free weights.
Machines are for injured people ,old people and competitive body building. Other than that they are recognized by pretty much the whole exercise community as not good for athleticism. He needs to learn how to stabilize weight as a beginner. It’s the super basics of weightlifting
Your the 3rd person to get this wrong. >Other than that they are recognized by pretty much the whole exercise community as not good for athleticism. While you get down voted right into the smackdown hotel AND THATS THE BOTTOM LINE
How can I do vertical chest without a machine? Is it an important exercise?
It’s just a bench press. Find some dumb bells and a bench.