Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

[MaidOfStars]

We are a bit cut off in the designated forum so here's a shiny new thread to populate.

Hello to anyone that hasn't ventured over to The Weights Room but is lifting/resistance training.

I'm back in black! First time on the bike today and first time at the gym in two weeks. Took it very easy, kept the weights light and did shorter sets.
Back squats 60 kg 5 x 5
Bench 45 kg 5 x 5
Back hyperextension with 15 kg plate - 5 x 10
Lat pull down 36 kg 4 x 10
Leg press 130 kg 6 x 6
Incline dumbbell curl 6 kg 4 x 10

Got some unsolicited advice from a gym bro this morning re: dumbbell curls. This dude always used to annoy me - just the way he walked around annoyed me - and I was expecting to be irritated by his advice, but actually he was really helpful so I've decided he's OK now.

Was feeling smug about making it to the gym yesterday, until I got up this morning, and my legs didn't want to work!

Benchpress - 35kg - 4 x10
Back squats - 50kg - 4 x 10
Walking lunges - 4 x 2 x 10
Leg Extensions - 35kg - 4 x 10
Lat Pulldowns - 43.5kg - 4 x 12
Bicep curls - 15kg barbell - 4 x 10
HIIT on treadmill - 15mins

Gah, after a really great upper body session on Saturday I've now been instructed to lay off all presses, rows, flies, raises, etc, by the physio I saw today about my niggling shoulder. Apparently my mid-back is quite stiff so my upper shoulders (traps, deltoids) have been over-compensating for my completely dead lats and serratus muscles. So, I have to get them firing properly and then build the upper body stuff up slowly again. Bummer, as I finally felt like I was beginning to progress on my presses. But, on the flip side it might explain why progress was quite so slow.

That is a bummer! Were there any suggestions for ways to activate your lats? I had never heard of serratus muscles!

I find I do consciously have to stop shoulders taking over with quite a lot of lifts.

Nearly coughed up a lung after some light deadlifts this morning, but apart from that everything felt good. (I'm not actually still ill, but I tend to have a cough for a good couple of weeks after a cold)

Deadlifts: 5 x 5 x 80 kg
Smith machine incline bench: 5 x 10 x 40 kg
Hip thrusts: 2 x 8 x 50 kg, 4 x 8 x 60 kg
Overhead barbell press: 3 x 10 x 35 kg
Core work - leg spreaders and leg raise supersets
Shoulder finisher - 6 way thing/reverse hyper superset

closet I also have weak lats. Ring work is helpful if you have access to them as you use lats to stabilise, or otherwise push ups on a bosu- basically anything that requires side to side stabilisation.

V quick session today

• 3 x 8 one arm shoulder press at 10kg. Reckon I can do sets of 10 next time so long as I give myself 2 mins between sets

• 3 x 5 dips - may be able to do 6's but I wanted to get 3 sets in and I haven't done these in ages so didn't risk it.

• Accumulated 15 neutral grip pull ups (3,3,3,2,2,2). Tired after the dips even though it should be different muscles.

2x 10 hamstring curls at 43lbs alternating 2 x10 leg extensions at 62.5lbs (should've been 3 sets but ran out of time).

I reached my target of 100kg leg press! Woohoo! Managed a set of 10 and then couldn't do it again but I did it! Yay!

Upper body today.
Bench press 2 x 10 x 20 and 1 x 10 x 25
Shoulder press 3 x 10 x 6 (each handweight)
Seated row 4 x 10 x 20
Pull ups using the Total Gym - 2 x 10 at incline of 14. THEN. Then. OMG. I had to do as many as I could. 17 at 14, 20 at 12, 13 at 10. Arms died at that point.
Then a decent amount of work on my core to finish, dead bugs, Russian twists and planks.

Good session, I'm still feeling it now. We spoke about nutrition too and I've set a goal to lose 4kg in 8 weeks which should be doable. My next "gym goal" is to do a full pull up without using the total gym. I'm aiming to be able to do this by Easter.

Yes, I've got a few exercises from the physio to do to get the lats, etc, firing and then we'll build up from there. She said it should be quite quick because I'm already relatively strong (get me!) and have good muscle memory (get me again!).

Thanks for the ring work tip Johnny I'll ask my physio about that when I see her next week. What d'you do specifically?

Do you guys lift when you're ill? I have tonsillitis but am starting to feel better in myself now the antibiotics have kicked in.

Could I do some lifting? I've ruled out running as worried about breathing hard in the icy cold air but what about lifting?

pinkhorse I tend to wait until I'm completely better, on the principle that a week or two off won't set me back much and it's not worth risking being ill for longer - I have done myself a mischief in the past by exercising when ill.

I haven't had tonsillitis since I was a child so I'm not sure of what your exact symptoms would be - however if you have a temperature at all I would suggest you're not well enough to train. What are your energy levels like? Are you managing day to day stuff fine enough?

pinkhorse I find if I lift when I'm ill it makes me feel much worse/ extends how long I'm ill. I wouldn't recommend lifting with tonsillitis! Let your body recover without putting the extra stress on it

Closet Basically push ups in the rings, ring holds, ring pulls (when you lie back at an angle balanced on your heels and pull yourself up towards the rings. However, one of the issues with lat exercises (for me at least) is that when your lats are weak, even when you do specific lat exercises, it may be that you just use other muscles. When I do pull downs I have to really concentrate on keeping my shoulders back and when I do that, it really reduces the amount of weight I can lift becuase it's then correctly isolating and not letting my shoulders and triceps do the work.

Session with my PT today

• Close grip benchpress, building to a 5 rep max over 5 sets. Hit 41kg which I was pleased about. Was nice to have a spot so could push a bit.
• 30 x 20kg horizontal cable pulls as a counterexercise to the benchpress.
• 3 x 10 supinated lat pull downs (can't remember weight)
• 3 x 10 single arm incline bench press at 8kg
• Superset - 3 x 10 of each of front raises, rear delt raises, 45 degree raises, with a 10 second hold at the top on the last rep of each set. 4kg. OMG. The burn.

Glad you are better Findo. Pinkhorse, I can work out with a cold, but anything more I leave off, as otherwise I just feel weak and wrecked and I think it is probably too much strain.

Absurdly busy at work, so not much time to post, but have been going Mon-Fri. Usual stuff but am thinking more seriously about treating myself to some PT sessions in the new year to widen my repertoire - as you all do much more interesting lifting!

Still trucking along here.

Am currently trying to push my numbers. Hitting new PBs on weights, and increasing reps/working with steeper inclines/etc on body weight exercises (eg push ups).

Johnny I’ve just realised from your description that your ‘ring pulls’ are my ‘inverted rows’. I pull with TRX straps dangling from a power cage. I’m up to one set of 8 with my feet up on the wall (horizontal body, heels resting on a rail; it wrecks your core), then I have to step back for the rest. I pull up in regular rings in another part of the studio.

I also struggle to keep dips (I do these on the TRX straps too) solely on chest muscles. I’m working on my shoulder brace at the top to try and stop the initial but intuitive lazy movement of dropping my rib cage against shoulder/arm resistance.

I am dropping into minor blues about my weight. The couple of kilos extra I’m carrying is fine - no change in clothes etc. But I’ve noticed my cellulite, always prone to it regardless of size, creeping back in and it’s getting me down a bit. I think my increased calorie intake is working to make me feel better and stronger but I’m probably back to eating too much shit to get calories in. Must swap pudding for nuts, must swap pudding for nuts.

I know when I drop the fat again, it will be worth it for the bigger muscles but could do with some encouragement....

Oh, meant to say. I train when I’ll but only if it’s superficial and not systemic.

Runny nose, sinuses, sore throat = fine.
Fever, chills, chesty = not fine.

Johnny I’ve just realised from your description that your ‘ring pulls’ are my ‘inverted rows’

Yes!! That's exactly what I mean. I just forgot the word. I knew "pulls" wasn't right. I am not even close to being able to do dips or pull ups on the rings- I still need the stability of the bar.

Re. weight, it's tough to overcome years of social conditioning that exercise= what you do with the primary objective of losing weight, and tbh I don't think pudding vs. nuts will make much difference assuming you're already eating enough protein. Personally, I find following "real" lifters on instagram/fb is good for the psyche because you realise that all this fitspiration stuff is airbrushed post-shred bollox. I feel your pain though. My consolation (wrong side of 40) is that at least when I'm a bit fatter my face looks better.

Super speedy this morning

5 x 3 sets neutral grip pull ups
3x 10 front raises 5kg, 3 x 10 delt raises 5kg.
3 x 10 30 sec dead hangs with knees to chest.

Last two sessions of the year today - head home tonight for Christmas.

Yesterday - PT Session

• Build to max set of 6 one arm shoulder presses over 5 sets - hit 15kg- yay!! Wasn't pretty but I did get the reps (my PT is a "no rep" Nazi so if I didn't get it, I'd know about it)
• 3 x 10 Lat pull downs using a band and a PVC pole- surprisingly effective.
• 3 x 12 side raises (both arms together) to overhead position 4kg
• 6 x 30 second ski ergo sprints with 30 seconds rest in between
• Assisted stretching

Today

• 4x 10 DB bench press 30lbs each DB
• 3x 10 hamstring curls at 43lbs alternating 3 x10 leg extensions at 62.5lbs
• 3 x 5 dips (did 6 the first set but had to drop to 5 for last 2 sets)
• Accumulated 20 Pull ups - 2 pro, 3 neu, 3 neu, 3 neu, 2 pro, 4 neu, 3 neu
• 3 x dead hand with raised knees 30 secs
• 3 x hollow body holds 30 secs

NYR - I need to be more disciplined about my rest periods. When I have time like today I end up chatting and faffing. Also need to work on those pronated pull ups. I like neutral because I'm better at them but if I'm aiming to get into OCR, the pronated pull up is king.

I'm a bit of a rest break faffer too Johnny, especially towards the end of my workout.

I've been thinking I should maybe cut down on the number of different exercises I do per session and increase the number of sets. So today -

Bench
6 x 50 kg
5 x 4 x 52.5 kg
4 x 8 x 45 kg

Squats
7 x 8-10 x 60 kg

Hip thrusts
6 x 8 x 60 kg

Seated D/B shoulder press
5 x 10 x 12 kg each side

Which felt like plenty.

Hi all, just found this thread!

I am a powerlifter, currently getting ready for my second competition at the end of January.

Nice to see a thread about lifting, everyone here seems to be doing brilliantly!!

Managed 200kg leg press tonight. 4 sets of 12.

Not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow though.....

Hiya Never! how's the training for your competition going? How was your first one? I love a meet report!

Fab work on the leg press Tomorrow. Pretty blimmin' impressive.

I have quite strong legs, but poor upper body. Been stuck on 35kg bench press for months.

Hi Findo!

Training is going well, I have been doing accessories tonight and the weight was moving ok (double paused squats, board bench press and paused deadlifts)

My first comp was a great experience, thanks for asking! I got a total and managed 2 PBs. I also met lots of lovely people and had a blast cheering everyone on. Can't wait for the next one!

Are there many of us here who compete?

What is everyone training for at the moment?

Well done on the PBs! Powerlifting meets sound like a lot of fun. I've not been to one yet even as a spectator, but I will do next year. Still on the fence about whether I want to compete or not - I don't do well under pressure, and lifting to commands with an audience looks a whole lot different from lifting at the gym! Plus none of my lifts apart from bench are competitive (though I'm told that doesn't matter).

I do mainly powerlifting based training at the gym but just with the general aim of getting stronger.

@FindoGask it really was a lot of fun!

I had never willingly competed in anything before, because I am actually not competitive at all but this was such a great experience! No one is really there to win in regional comps, everyone turns up mostly to try and better their own numbers.

I thought the crowd of onlookers would put me off, and I was first up in my group because I was lifting the least weight, but the audience actually helped a lot. People I had never met were cheering my name just because I was new, it was amazing!
The atmosphere in the backstage bit was amazing, girls who were tied for 1st place were rooting for each other and people were passing around bags of sweets, helping chalk each other's backs etc.

I would definitely encourage you to go and take a look at your next local comp, it really is so different from anything I have seen before!

And you're right, it doesn't matter how much you lift. Some women were benching little more than the bar and the support they got from the crowd was just amazing, you would have thought they had just broken a world record!