Lifting support thread 2

[RayKray]

Just noticed I was the last to post on the lifting support thread as it went to 1k so here's another.

Original thread intro post here from
@Work2live

"Thought I’d start this thread as a few people thought it’d be a good idea.

"It might be a nice place to support each other and talk about lifting in general, ask for tips and advice on workouts, how to get enough protein etc.

"All levels very much welcome, from complete newbies to those who’ve been weightlifting for years! 💪🏼"

Totally agree too about consistency and gradual progress. The other lesson I've learned is that rest days are part of the process and should be enjoyed.

@redfacebigdisgrace , too crowded. It is a small franchised chain and I mainly use the outdoor space (which has a cali rig). When I have to go indoors on leg day (or if weather awful) it is too crowded and not easy to plan a workout. And a bit frazzley. I'd switch but it is 8 minutes walk from the house and up till now has had the excellent cali classes included. I'll see what happens with the instructor. There are some decent high street gyms a bit further away but they are less good for cali, even if much less crowded. I wish more gyms would include some extra dip and pull up bars instead of gleaming rows of mostly unused cardio kit. I have PT at a local-ish outdoor cali park but it is a good 30 min walk (so fine for once a week) and no good after dark in winter anyway as the park is closed. A local common (which can't be closed) has a few (inferior) bars but I know the chances of my making it there after dark are limited....Much though I love this stuff, it has to be convenient and not involve getting too cold and wet on the way home!

Loving these exciting updates. I hope you enjoyed the holiday @everycowandagain , you worked so hard!

That's really exciting about the lifts @RayKray .

My strength has some how rocketed, it does feel like nothing happens and I slog away for a month, then the next month sort of release it all! I've got some squat and RDL PRs coming I can feel them.

Thanks for the advice on the glutes, very helpful.

@MistyTrains2 well done!! For the glute stuff- get yourself some resistance bands. Clams, kickbacks. Bridges pushing back on a post. Side to side steps. Do directly before any glute work. For the leg press, to engage glutes your feet go higher up the press. My glutes are hard to train but I have seen progress.( Feels I’ve gone backwards after 3 weeks sedentary now though! )

Yes, yes, yes to consistency. Sometimes it's just grind, grind, grind. I'm always wanting to lift heavier, but there are days when I can't.

Like yesterday - tried for 95k DL, but couldn't get it off the ground. 85k was fine, so I took 5 reps at 85 (and all the rep sets working up to 85k). I told myself that 5 reps at 85 plus all the other reps, is building strength to get the 95. So one just has to enjoy it (my PT teases me that I'm an ego-lifter, yes guilty)

And my knee rehab continues: still don't feel good running or jumping, but was doing SkiErg and down-ups/press ups superset in the second half of my PT session yesterday, and boy does it feel good afterwards to actually expend the energy!

It was an easy superset, just 200 metres on the SkiErg, supersetted with 10 down ups or press ups (I can't do burpees yet so it's downups, much easier). I had to control my SkiErging so I didn't do a full squat on it, but it was just great to go mad & run out of breath doing something.

And it showed that even though I haven't run or jumped or squatted for three whole months (urgh) my fitness is still OK. And the sled pulls showed my brute strength is OK (although I've dragged almost 400 kilos using a harness so still a way to go).

That’s amazing @DollyParkin ! Very impressive numbers. The endorphins too from a good blast…

Yes, indeed. Before I pinged my knee some of the metcon/HIIT in my PT sessions left me exhausted. I did all functional pieces from the HYROX competition in one session, and had to sleep the rest of the day!

But yesterday, the endorphins were just flowing wonderfully!

Such a great feeling @DollyParkin, nothing else like it. You've been very patient. Are downups also known as commandos (going from full plank to elbow plank and back)?

First day back today after 3 weeks off due to illness. Session with PT at 9am 🕘 and doing one of my new workouts. Wish me luck!

I posted on your other thread @redfacebigdisgrace (NC a lot so probably a different @ handle). Take it easy and think of your breathing - my PT goes on about breathing only through your nose, but as a mild asthmatic, I need to regulate breath out by my mouth under extreme effort.

I try for a Pilates-style breathing, and if I feel any likelihood of wheezing, I regulate really carefully and try to breathe gently up in the top chest (clavicular breathing) as breathing deep (which is an instinctive reaction) just spasms the bronchiole more for me.

Down ups are basically burpees without the jump up in the air at the end @MsMartini Forward fold to plank then full body on the ground, jump legs forward to stand up. A nice forward roll down the back, and a bit of aerobic activity in the jumping the feet forward. And I can do them without my knee going into a more the 90 degree bend.

@redfacebigdisgrace good luck and have the best time!

Thanks @RayKray and everyone -survived!! Did my first new lower. Was tough. Higher volume RDLs but managed 3 sets 12 reps 50kg with good form so I’m happy with that. Split squats on the smith machine were hard. Then leg extension with cluster sets. Hate that machine. Walking lunges superset in with goblet squats. Then adductor. Legs feel very tired. Got another PT session in Saturday as she owed me a few so will do one of my new upper body. Good to be back!

I’ll try some interval running tomorrow I think. 30/30 nice and easy to get back into it. Or maybe I will have a rest day. Want to get back to it quickly but I should probably pace myself after a chest infection/asthma.

@DollyParkin you’re a star with all that breathing advice . Thanks! I will definitely try that.

I had some down ups in my last training block when I was doing a bit more conditioning but I usually skipped them!!

@redfacebigdisgrace I am also at a big budget chain gym although I usually go off peak so it's not that busy. I went once at 5.30pm and it was awful, no racks free and loads of groups of gym bros training chest.

I am back from my holiday and starting my next training block today, lots of paused work. Reps are dropping too, in preparation for some heavy training. Excited!

Do any of you know about BroScience on YouTube? It's hilarious. I'll just leave this here: How to Skip Leg DAy

PS he's an actor ...

Ah yes he is hysterical, DH plays me his videos sometimes!! I could lose hours watching them all.

Yes I saw him on tiktok - his do you even lift flowchart

Have you seen his one about pulling sumo?

Oh yes!!! But I kind of see his point (I know he's not serious) I've tried pulling sumo, but it just feels wrong. Was introduced to the hex bar the other day & that felt wrong, too.

There is method in my Pt's beast-mode madness of trying to perfect my technique.

@DollyParkin there is a half trap bar in my gym, it's all shades of wrong!! Conventional all the way for me

Yes @everycowandagain and I've tried lifting sumo, and that doesn't do it for me either. Back to normal bar yesterday, and it felt so much better - no tilting of the hex bar forwards or backwards if I didn't grab it slap bang in the middle.

Lifting is weird - or maybe my body is weird. Yesterday, I lifted 80 kilos really easily (normal bar, normal stance), and then did 90 kilos and while it was heavy, it wasn't that feeling of death in the first half. I could have done more than 1 rep. Whereas, last week, 75 k felt heavy ... These weird fluctuations. But it's all good building of consistent strength to get back to feeling comfortable at 95 and 100 k deadlifts.

Knee is getting better & I'm getting used to an odd feeling of compression - discomfort not pain - when my movements flex it over 90 degrees. My trainer's working with me on testing out all sots of movements. Try an upside down backwards crab crawl for real weirdness!

I hope everyone's training is going well. Life has been a bit of a slog for me recently but I am easing into my new training block and celebrating not being in a calorie deficit any more. Not tracking food is freaking me out a bit but I am going to stick with it!

I got a complement on my squat form from a PT in the gym the other day, which I was so happy about!! My coach is a perfectionist though, he always finds lots to work on...

How is everyone doing?

I managed my first tiny gym session in weeks this morning. Some light deadlifts (approx 60% of my PB) some press ups and some stretching. I've had continuous head colds that just make me want to sleep all the time, still not well but wanted to do something.

Since coming back from holiday I've essentially started a cut as well, just because my appetite has disappeared with me feeling rough & probably starting to adjust to the lack of exercise (it's been nearly two months) Averaged under 1500 calories a day for the last week, not something I'd usually recommend but I wouldn't mind if it kick-started a bit of a shift, and hopefully I can keep some of my healthier eating habits and increase the amount as I (hopefully!) get back to consistent training again soon!

Gosh @Proteinpud , you must be fed up! Sounds like a plan for getting back in there - 60% sounds pretty good to me after a gap and being under the weather.

I've been away a bit and last week pulled something in my back. Rhomboid I think. So going easy on pull generally and avoiding levers and flags - pullups and rows OK if I'm careful. I'll see how it goes after a few more days like this. I'm doing more boxing and enjoying it though still almost comically bad.

In class news if anyone remembers that saga, it has shaken down that we've got a brilliant instructor 1 maybe 2 classes a week so that's great.

@everycowandagain I love it when that happens!

@DollyParkin , that happened to me today on legs - last week everything felt light and I went up, today just not. I'm a bit coldy and tired though. I think it is normal, you go forwards, back a bit, forwards, back a bit....

@MsMartini ah I was wondering how you were managing with cali, that's brilliant news about the instructor! What kind of things are they teaching? Not so good news about the pulled muscle but at least that will be temporary.

@Proteinpud will be 6-week blocks of each (hard) skill (this is the normal format for these classes - idea is we do sets and reps of the other main moves (eg push ups, pull ups) separately through the week, though they might come in as finishers/progressions/circuits at end, etc ) - currently planche so I can do that (may even help as lots of protraction and felt good!). I may sometimes make a lunchtime class which will be a different and opposing skill (so currently front lever). I won't ever get either of those moves but the training drills for them are great for building strength