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[ChicagoTroy]

I know the author, Mike Mahler. The epilogue is he ended up with repetitive motion injuries in both shoulders that took something over a year to rehab. This is an old article and he no longer recommends ultra-long set schemes.

And Matt Furey's a huckster [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[ChicagoTroy]

newyorkbarbells.com for the rack (with free shipping). This is pretty much the online clearinghouse for affordable equipment. The bar I bought from a local place, though NYBB sells the same one (but no free shipping). You don't need one if you aren't moving 450+ lbs. Plates I got a used 300 lb. set with cheap bar, followed by another 6 x 45 lb. plates from Craigs List. Platform from two 4' x 8' plywood boards.

You can drop a LOT on a good rack and bar, but people are unloading decent stuff all the time. Unless you're going to compete in PL, it's really not necessary.

Add a couple dumbbells or kettlebells for fast lifts, and you don't need anything else. Unless you're a bodybuilder, and that's really a effeminate "sport."

[AceHigh]

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If you're training with near-maximal weight and fail at the deepest portion of the squat, how would a spotter be able to help you?

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He would call the ambulance.

Also, You could have 2 spotters.

Actually as long as you don't fail completely he can support the trunk of you body and push up with his own legs. He'd only have to take a small portion of the weight (hopefully) to get you to the part where you can lift the remaining amount. And yes, it looks very gay for a spotter to do this.

[Subfallen]

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You don't need a gym, all you need is this linky.

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OK. I am starting this today. I will report back in a month.

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Good decision IMO. I strongly disagree with ChicagoTroy's objections, as my joints have never felt better than when I was consistently pounding out 500 Hindu Squats a day. Just make sure, however many repetitions you do, all are done explosively and with perfect form.

With the Hindu pushups, make sure you lock your elbows (without hyperextending, of course.) This maximizes the benefit to the shoulders.

[ChicagoTroy]

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Good decision IMO. I strongly disagree with ChicagoTroy's objections, as my joints have never felt better than when I was consistently pounding out 500 Hindu Squats a day. Just make sure, however many repetitions you do, all are done explosively and with perfect form.

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FWIW, nothing wrong with 500 squats a day, IMO. I've done it and liked it. Mike was getting into 1000+ a day in a single set, which is where he got into trouble. Stabilizer muscles wear out before the big'uns, and that can set up you up for injury, regardless of the exercise. There's no good reason not to chop them into more manageable sets e.g., 10 x 50 or 100 x 5.

[Blarg]

Doing 500 or 1000 of anything, especially anything "explosive," means your pushing yourself pretty hard and have to be extremely careful not to get repetitive use injuries or use anything less than the most perfect form imaginable -- and the latter becomes a lot harder of course once you've done all that many. It only takes one slip, after all, to screw up.

It also suggests tension build-up that needs to be regularly relieved with adequate stretching. I've frankly rarely known anyone who does adequate stretching by my understanding, and I doubt I'll meet many people who give stretching their due. Most people do little or none and/or do it very badly, even dangerously. I would expect people doing 500 or 1000 difficult full-body movements to get a fair share of injuries, or maybe just hidden cumulative wear and tear damage, after a while. Most people do not have the discipline to take care of themselves well enough and keep proper form well enough for that.

[vulturesrow]

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Doing 500 or 1000 of anything, especially anything "explosive," means your pushing yourself pretty hard and have to be extremely careful not to get repetitive use injuries or use anything less than the most perfect form imaginable -- and the latter becomes a lot harder of course once you've done all that many. It only takes one slip, after all, to screw up.

It also suggests tension build-up that needs to be regularly relieved with adequate stretching. I've frankly rarely known anyone who does adequate stretching by my understanding, and I doubt I'll meet many people who give stretching their due. Most people do little or none and/or do it very badly, even dangerously. I would expect people doing 500 or 1000 difficult full-body movements to get a fair share of injuries, or maybe just hidden cumulative wear and tear damage, after a while. Most people do not have the discipline to take care of themselves well enough and keep proper form well enough for that.

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I know a former Navy SEAL who has written a few fitness books (Stew Smith) and he wrote in the beginning chapter of one his books that if he could only recommend one thing for people to do to improve their fitness it would be to take up yoga. I may have misquoted him a bit but the bottom line is he thinks stretching is very very important.

[Blarg]

Yeah. It's really true. I seem to be one of the few people I know who has avoided injury or much downtime in athletics, and I did some pretty hard stuff. I'm positive it's because I've always been really good about stretching. Even people doing fairly light work still hurt themselves all the time because they don't warm up and/or cool down -- they just want to get into and start jamming and then get out of it and forget about it. And then they wind up all screwed up!

A lot of people don't realize some of the benefits of stretching, too. Like, say, even if you're a martial artist who only kicks low, it's still good to have great leg, back, and hip flexibility because your legs will be more relaxed and quicker. And even if you don't kick at all, better flexibility will give you more stability and fluidity. You'll wind up doing things like twisting your ankle less just running around, because your whole body will be able to make little compensations when it's pushed around in weird ways, giving you a little wiggle room to recover or take some abuse before you're pushed to the point of injury.

I actually even think some guys think stretching is for sissies or something. Macho baloney -- they're too tough to stretch or whatever. Stupid.

[sublime]

I've been using one for 4 years, exactly how has it destroyed my body?

if your squatting using even semi-heavy weights on a smith machine you are doing harm to your body. i would suggest you do some research on the subject, but in short you are asking your body to lift in an unnatural motion, placing undue stress on joints and ligaments.

if your using it for other exercises, you are causing the same problems, but to a lesser degree.

[Subfallen]

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Good decision IMO. I strongly disagree with ChicagoTroy's objections, as my joints have never felt better than when I was consistently pounding out 500 Hindu Squats a day. Just make sure, however many repetitions you do, all are done explosively and with perfect form.

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FWIW, nothing wrong with 500 squats a day, IMO. I've done it and liked it. Mike was getting into 1000+ a day in a single set, which is where he got into trouble. Stabilizer muscles wear out before the big'uns, and that can set up you up for injury, regardless of the exercise. There's no good reason not to chop them into more manageable sets e.g., 10 x 50 or 100 x 5.

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Ok, cool, misunderstood your first post. I agree all sets should be small enough to be executed correctly and explosively. However, "small" can get to be quite large with time.