Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

HAd a leg day with the PT this morning. I would be surprised if I can walk tomorrow too!

Did 20 mins of banded walks, various ones.

Then on to squats 4 x 12 50kg, same on deadlifts, then deadlifts with 15kg dumbbells, normal and straight legged, 3 x 10 reps of each, hip thrusts with 50kg barbell 3 x 12 reps, then some glute stuff on all 4s. Had the band on for the whole hour and I’m sure there are a few things I’ve forgotten. Could barely move at the end of it.

Got another session booked tomorrow but definitely no legs!!

I felt the same today Just - did bench press, shoulder press and tricep push-downs, then 15 mins incline treadmill. Best session in ages

Damn! 200kg!

I started back on creatine at New Years and today I could definitely tell it has kicked in! I did 5 x 5 sets of squats, barbell rows, OHP, and Bench press, as well as 3 x 5 of deadlifts and 3 x 5 on the assisted pull-up machine. I did ALL THE EXERCISES and felt like I had a ton of energy.

The last couple have wobbles, admittedly! Was suggested I increase the weight and do less reps, but that thought scares me

Impressive leg press numbers, Tomorrow! Especially for 12 reps!

4 x 12 leg press @ 200kg
4 x 10 back squats @ 50kg
4 x 12 unweighted lunges
4 x 10 leg extensions @ 40kg

If I can get up the stairs at work tomorrow morning, it will be a blooming miracle!

Quick session this morning

• 4 x 10 DB bench press. Finally made the jump to the 35lb DB and it actually felt ok.
• 3 x 10 front raises 5kg alternating with 10 tricep dips. I need to up the weight on the raises but next weight is 7kg so may have to bring reps down
• 3 x 10 leg extension 50lb

Great - thanks so much for that.

Also, I might let myself use the cheats, like the wrist straps, if I'm primarily testing strength rather than grip.

Closet If I'm building to a 1 rep max I would get super limber, then do a warm up set (so easy 8), then 5, 3, 2,1,1,1.... However, the trick is to not do so many singles that you exhaust yourself so you need to use the calculators as a guide to where to aim it. That said, the 3:1 ratio varies a fair bit, depending on power vs strength/endurance. My deadlift 3 rep is pretty close to my 1 rep because if I can get it up the first time, I can do 3, but my power is a bit shit so I cant get massive weight off the floor for 1.

If you know can do 10 reps at 40kg, then try 50kg and see how it goes. Take a long rest between these sets (3-5 minutes) so you're testing your full strength.

Apparently, women can sometimes go from 5 reps to none. That is, they can do 5 reps at very close to the max, then fail to do one at the next increment. There are a few theories about why that is. But if you do 5 reps and feel that a 6th would sacrifice form then rest 5 minutes and put as little extra weight on the bar as possible and try again. If you get 2 or 3, you're close enough.

Justgetting so do I just do a couple of reps at a weight and then keep on increasing the weight until I think it's the weight I could do 3-5 of? So, say now I can do 3 x 10 reps of 45kg deadlifts. Would I do a session where I just do a few reps at this weight and then keep on adding? Or do I do a warm up at a lower weight and then go straight into higher weight low rep so that I don't tire out my muscles trying to find the right weight??

The way to get your 1rm is to look for the weight you can only do 3-5 times, and then use a calculation to get the 1rm. There are online calculators for this.

Findo, 2 of our squat racks have safety bars, i prefer them for the reason you've said

Yes I have adjustable safety bars....my slight anxiety isn’t really rational though I do sometimes struggle to get the bar back in the rack. But I am pleased with progress so it doesn’t really matter I guess and I will get more confident as I go. I like your plan, Basin, three months seems a good length of time to not get bored in too?

I like the squat racks at my gym because of the safety bars - they're just below the lowest point of my squat. If I fail a rep all I have to do is get right down and do a small backwards shrug and there's nothing hurt except my pride.

The bench press bench on the other hand has no safety bars. So I only really get nervous benching heavy on my own. With squats I like the fact that no-one's watching: I get ludicrous performance anxiety to the extent that I get nervous even videoing myself!

Basin, I use it on my own up to 50, trying to concentrate on good form. That seems to have helped. I don't feel safe on my own above that (absent-minded and inexperienced .).

I've just started thinking about pull-ups too - started negative ones (have they got a name?) last week.

I don’t know closet but I’m only doing it when I’m with my trainer. He just added weight incrementally until I could only manage 1 with good form.

martini that’s awesome. I’ve only used the rack once on my own!

Hi all... A post above has made me think - What’s the best way to test 1RM? I’m curious to know what mine are on the squat and DL...

Hi Basin! I squatted 70 kg (slightly less than my weight) last week (5 reps) for the first time - I learned how to use the squat rack this summer and don't practise heavy that often as I like someone with me. I do lots of other stuff (some HIIT, functional training, bodyweight, core) and that all seems to help the squats. It is such a satisfying feeling!

Thanks guys!

I really excited about making some progress. I’m taking it all in 3 month chunks. So Jan-March as above, then April - June I will probably drop to 1 PT a week and do 2 solo gym sessions in addition. Once I’m up to 5k runs keep the distance there and just improve time (as I’m prone to running injury at anything over 10k!). At that point I might try to add in some yoga too as I know I need more flexibility in the longer term.

You are doing great, basin! Sounds to me like your goals are more than achievable - especially considering how far you've come since you started seeing your PT.

Welcome basinhaircut!

Your plan of action sounds great. I have no idea if your goals are realistic, but I guess there's only one way to find out!

HI all, I’m joining in, hope you don’t mind!

I started seeing a PT the day after Boxing Day and have been having 2 sessions per week. They have been joint PT sessions with a friend and seems to be working out ok. We both want to work hard so well matched except I’m currently stronger as friend has done no exercise for a year. I don’t think that matters too much in terms of training partner though does it?

Last night we tested our 1 rep max deadlifts and I got up to 70kg, which is my weight. Squats last week were 50kg 1RM. My goals for this year are 70kg squat, 105kg deadlift and 1 pull up. Does that sound doable? I don’t want to over aim.

I also need to drop a bit of body fat but I’ve decided to prioritise my strength and fitness over the way I look for now and make sure it becomes habitual. I will start tweaking diet and calorie intake in a few months.

In addition to the 2 x PT I do a HIIT-type bootcamp once per week and I’m going to re-do the c25k after a year off running due to planter fasciitis. Take it nice and slow to try not to aggravate it too much. Going to do 2 runs per week which will give me 2 complete rest days each week.

Another quick session in home gym

3 x 10 one arm shoulder press @10kg
3 x 10 tricep dips off the bench focusing on not letting elbows flare out
3x 10 leg extensions 50lb (haven't done lower body in ages)
3x 30 second dead hang with knee raise (torture)
2 x 60 rep oblique alternate heel touch thing (abs)