Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

I'd say stretch out the muscles that hurt if you can. It might be a myth but I always think ramping up the protein helps with DOMS too.

Well done on the race

Thank you!

Warm baths and keep moving are my main pointers! It will pass in a couple of days. Well done on your race!

DOMS (I think) advice please..... I did a muddy obstacle race on Saturday and am darned please with myself even though i missed the big ones out.....I am 50 and have never done anything like that before. But ouch I feel sore...same sort of thing I get after trying new gym class or move so assume it is DOMS?

I have been gently walking/pottering and legs are not too bad, but my waist, front and backs of arms above elbows, shoulder blades and other weird places hurt...any suggestions for how I can gently exercise them or do I just have to wait for it to pass?

Maid, Most powerlifters arch their back at least a bit because it engages the chest and lats and really grounds your upper back against the bench, so you feel like you've got more power under the bar when when you're pressing the weight up. You're also taking a lot of strain off your shoulders.

Another reason is that arching your back reduces the ROM (range of motion) of the press - so the bar doesn't have to travel as far down to meet your chest. Basically you can lift more weight that way. So some powerlifters really work on getting as ludicrous an arch as possible and there's a fair bit of chat about how cheaty that is.

I think you would see a difference in your bench if you tried a bit of an arch though. Nothing crazy; when I'm setting up I sort of screw my shouderblades into the bench, working them together slightly, and really push my chest out.

Legs wise you're fine I think. My shins are probably a bit more acute than perpendicular but not as far back as some. Basically the more underneath you your feet are, the more leg drive you can harness, and it helps with the arch too.

There's a gym near me with a safety squat bar. It has a padded yoke thing so that people who can't do a regular back squat due to stupid shoulders can still do squats. I am so happy that I don't have to do goblet squats! At least not at that gym.

They also have a Roman chair (back extension), which is relatively rare.

Not patronising at all! I do plant my feet firmly on the ground but in terms of feedback through the lift, I'm not consciously aware of any bum or leg effort unless I'm struggling on a last rep and I need to use every muscle I've got. I have always been stronger in my upper body - I have broad shoulders and quite a wide back.

I'm hoping that if I can sort out my technique I could get over my 60 kg one rep max which is where I'm stuck at the moment. Also having a spotter will help enormously.

haha I know! I just like the way it looks. It's somehow more expressive spelt that way.

I think any use of leg and arse in a bench press is to be commended. In powerlifting rules the only stipulation for lower body is that your arse stays in contact with the bench, even if minimally. Oh, and you have to keep your feet on the floor too.

Sqwatz and bench this morning:

Back squats
4 x 5 @ 65 kg
3 x 4 @ 55 kg paused at my sticking point (just coming up out of the hole)

Bench:
5 x 4 @ 50 kg - felt reassuringly good. I'm going to learn more about how to get some glute and leg drive involved on Wednesday.

Then
4 x 12 standing lateral raises
5 x 10 lat pull downs.

The Doms are much worse though. I even get doms in my upper body which I've never experienced!

yes - the burn! - I hardly ever feel that with compound lifts even at max effort.

I like a lot of volume too; I can see myself gravitating more towards that after the next two months.

I'm too scared to test my 1RM now though! I'm sure it must be a lot lower?

I think aesthetic: leaner and more muscle growth. By doing lots of high rep isolation work I actually feel a burn that I didn't get from low rep/explosive work.

I do 4 sets of 12 for each exercise and 4/5 exercises per muscle group so it's a lot more volume than I was used to.

Hi langkaw! What sort of difference do you feel your change of style has made? Are we talking overall strength or aesthetics or general conditioning?

Hello all!

I'm doing the push pull legs programme and I love it.

I've moved from heavy/low reps to a more body building style work out this year. High reps/short breaks. It's made such a difference. Although I miss lifting heavy. Does anyone here mix it up?

I also do no cardio whatsoever!!

Hope you work something out, cantsee! What are you having done to your foot?

Bodypump and Kettlebell class doubler this morning. I haven't done bodypump since before I started weight training - I'm much beefier than I was then so I thought it would be a piece of piss. Wrong! Can't use my arms now.

I split my training into legs and upper body too. I take a bit of recovery on account of being old and hypermobile.
Bit worried about my back this morning. Something's not feeling right. I'm due to do cardio today so I might do stairmaster and some battle rope intervals then have a nice swim to see if that eases it off.

Yeah- that's what I'm thinking. I'm gonna be like Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump! the only issue is I can't full weight bear at all (crutches for 3 months) so I wouldn't even be able to do pull ups due to the drop down. I need to really forensically examine the weights machines and figure something out

You can do a ton of upper body work while your foot recovers!