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.

Thanks, will look at the pump sets then. Yes, a massive garage with a home gym would be amazing.

Upper body with PT today. DB benchpress -4-6reps. A bit annoyed with myself as I went for 45lb DBs but probably could have pushed up to 50lbs. I just find it hard to strike the balance between not tough enough and "fail". On the plus side my dips felt stronger and I managed 100 push ups in 12 mins (i know that sounds a bit pathetic but try it- you start to fail really quickly).

I feel like I need to structure my strength training a bit more now that i'm back running so that I have 3 really hard and worthwhile sessions and less faffing around doing a bit of this and a bit of that. Then that leaves me 3/4 days to do other stuff.

Johnny, how do you find combining running with weight training? (just tentatively starting on a treadmill - I also do HIT and circuits but nothing steady state). Do you eat differently for example?

I've kind of made peace with it

Basically, doing a lot of running and a lot of lifting means that you'll never optimise either (because you're asking your body to adapt in two conflicting ways) but as I'm not going to get any olympic medals in either and enjoy both I've accepted the compromise. My concession is that I have said that I am no longer racing any distance over 30k.

Eating a high protein diet helps prevent muscle atrophy to an extent in most people (i have a protein shake after every run) but when I was running a lot (60k a week of trail) I was failing to maintain muscle despite also lifting 3 x a week and eating a lot of protein.

Also, eating enough carbs so that your body uses glycogen as energy during runs and doesnt start trying to "waste off this annyoing heavy muscle" helps a bit.

Thanks that’s really helpful. So far my “running” is 20 mins slowly on a treadmill and I doubt I will ever get beyond 5k so it sounds like I don’t need to worry?. Trying to cut down on hit rather than weights to do it too. Early days (so not a runner). Have never tried protein shakes

Protein shakes are one of those things I generally avoid discussing because they’re so polarising ( which is kind of ridiculous). I find they help and as I’m not a huge fan of meat/fish/eggs (I eat them but in an ideal world I’d get all my protein from cheese and pulses) they help me get close to 1g per kg bodyweight per day. However you do have to read the labels as the nutritional content varies so much and once you get into ‘restaurant/cafe’ shakes they can be massive calorie bombs ( plus they use cheap protein powder). I find My Protein to be a good brand so long as you don’t mind sweeteners. Mixes well with water and tastes nice.

Johnny that is so useful thank you. 1g per kg seems a bit more manageable than some of the estimates I have seen (I am losing weight very slowly and getting more muscly at the moment). I'd be fine using them occasionally when I am rushing around so will try that brand. Thank you!

Yeah- some advice is 1g per lb but I think that’s excessive unless you’re like a pro bodybuilder or Crossfitter.

How do people stop their hands from hurting/ripping to shreds when deadlifting? I've just started and the bar is really sore on my hands, trainer has suggested chalk will help with grip but is very against gloves?

I've just accepted i get calluses. My PT wasn't keen on chalk, and thought i wouldn't get on with gloves. Which i wouldn't have.

They're almost like a badge of honour now😂

Common I keep my callouses (but dont let them get too big or they'll rip off- make sure they feel fairly flat). Chalk helps albeit more for movements where your hands are moving (like kipping pull ups) than when they're static. I use leather wrist straps for DL because otherwise my grip strength becomes the limiting factor. Alternatively, hook grip and mixed grip provide extra security on the bar vs. a clean grip. I also think that trainers have become anti gloves for no real reason so why not try them? - they're pretty cheap.

I have this problem too. If I could get proper calluses that might help but I don't quite get there - skin breaks. I have thin gloves which help the pain a bit but then the bar feels too big and slips down towards my fingers....passing instructor suggested straps or chalk so maybe I will try those. It is definitely what is limiting me at the moment - I am on 90kg for squats but 75 for RDLs and it was feeling panicky about my grip that stopped me this week, and also stops me taking my time.

What’s happening lifters? Back on it this week after a week working away in Singapore last week when I only managed a couple of v short sessions in the hotel gym.

Only one more full week of training till I test my 1rep max on deadlift and bench. Targeting 120kg DL and 65kg bench. DL will be a stretch. I could do 105kg 2 months ago but getting tough to add weight now.

Also got a Dexa and had gained 2kg muscle and lost 1.5kg fat so that was positive.

That's good Johnny!

I haven't been lifting so much recently. Learning to run a little (on a treadmill) and doing lots of bodyweight exercises including headstands. I am still stuck on one full chin-up but more often getting a bit of a second in.

In response to the callouses/ripping hands to shreds on the deadlift I find chalk and alternating grip works wonders. I managed a 200kg DL PB and whilst my hands were sore as they weren't ripped .
Kinda fell out of love with the gym recently, my training partner is on holiday for the next 5 weeks so I've lost all motivation to go and train properly. I need to get my arse in gear and get back to it and smash some pbs!

Awesome DL NT, that's amazing.

I use an alternating grip for DLs but that's really interesting about the chalk. Do you use liquid or the other? Is it very messy? I am a very messy/uncoordinated person and the only time I used (liquid) chalk I got it everywhere - ears, hair, clothes and equipment. My gym is a normal high street chain so I am not sure that will go down well.

No I use powdered chalk. I take some water with me so if it goes on the floor or anything I just squirt a bit of water and mop it up with the paper towels provided. As long as you clean it up they shouldn't say anything to you.

I’ve been deadlifting a few weeks now and am getting terrible callouses which I keep ripping off.

Anyway up till today I’ve been doing 40kg deadlifts, a few sets of 12 reps per set. Someone said to me yesterday to try and see if I could lift my body weight as a 1 rep max.

So went in this morning, did 60kg 1 lift, then 1 lift at 70kg and then 1 lift at 75kg.

I think next time I might try warming up a few lifts at a light weight, like 30kg and then try 80kg? Had to use an alternate grip and even then my grip was a struggle.

Brilliant thank you. There are towels right by the racks so that's great. I am also trying to build up my calluses a bit and today DLs went a bit better.

You should always warm up with a light weight anyway before doing an excercise thus to get blood into the muscle.to get it warmed up.
If your grip is weak you need to build up strength in your forearms - reverse curls or just hang off monkey bars for as long as you can .
I find alternate grip works better than neutral or over hand : a lot of people find this also.

The number of kg on the bar doesn't really matter as much unless you're trying to get strong AF. A moderate weight where you're starting to fail around the 8-12 rep is great for basic muscle hypertrophy. If you're trying to get strong you need to train in the 5 or less rep scheme.

I think I’m just curious to see how heavy I can lift. Will get doing reverse curls to improve grip strength. Thanks.

The alternative is to just use leather wrist straps. You're not allowed to use them to compete but providing you don't care about that, they're very effective and stop your grip being the limiting factor.

Saw a video of someone using straps, yesterday, thanks I will look at that too. I lifted 80 kg yesterday and it was hard but the grip was what stopped me getting a couple more reps, tho better than it has been. I use an alternating grip.

I warm up with (say) the empty bar, then 40 then 50 then start my sets on 60.

Penguin, are you squatting as well as DLs? I love them and the grip isn't a factor.

I'm not squatting apart from light weights in a body pump class. I'm not sure how to get a heavy bar on my shoulders.....i think there's a station in the gym where you can stand under the bar and raise it off the rests. Will investigate.