Lifting Support Thread 3

[Proteinpud]

Continuing from @Work2live 's original thread, with the following intro post

"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! 💪🏼"

Indeed @RayKray So long as I can get a rack, bar and some plates I can make it work. My old budget gym was not fancy at all but it had loads of racks. The new budget one I have joined is VERY limited on that front.

So hard to find something that ticks all the boxes and isn't prohibitively expensive.

@everycowandagain I know about it being hard!! Think I am becoming a gym bore but my survey of local gyms has been dispiriting: there are some specialist lifting ones but mostly in bad locations or sites where previous gyms have failed; some local indies that do weird mix of stuff and don't have enough racks (eg one that has failed was on main drag, bus stop outside but did a mix of ski erg and yoga classes and nothing else - who is that aimed at? it went bust); big new chain (Anytime Fitness) with large empty cardio area, small free weights and NO bench press and no weights at all on one whole floor; Fitness First which is decent but overcrowded in the weights area and the pull ups bars shred your hands; F45 - great if that's your bag but classes only; PureGym which is cheap, large empty cardio area, v busy weights area in rush hour; community gym with great vibe but weird opening hours and some outside so again you'd need a second one etc etc. None of them seem to have noticed the demand for strength - weights and cali round here - and actually geared their gyms to that, properly, on a suitable site with good public transport and planned by peoplke who actually use a gym. My little overcrowded one turns out to be one of the best...but is almost unuseable sometimes despite a booking system just for gym slots and we aren't in January yet......

AAAARGH

I'll stop now I promise.....😂

@MsMartini I feel your pain! Why do these gyms spend thousands on huge expanses of cardio equipment that rarely gets used and then have limited benches/free weights??? It does seem like they are planned by people that never actually use them.

The 24 hour aspect of some budget chains can be hugely useful. I need the opening hours of a budget chain with the kit, atmosphere and cleanliness of a small private gym in a location that's convenient for me but not for anyone else so that it's not crowded but I also need it to not go out of business...

@everycowandagain yes yes yes 😂😂

One of the gyms I looked at had put weird pointless logo signs above the only pull up bars so you couldn't practice high pulls or muscle ups and felt hemmed in even with other stuff....15 empty cardio machines, 3 in use.....and what does a fancy treadmill cost vs a bench and a pair of parallettes?

I don’t live near to London - just a rural county town but my current gym and the commercial one that closed both have oodles of kit (both have/had sleds) and weights as well as machines. There are only 3 lifting platforms though so it can get a bit crowded at around 6pm but that’s easily avoided. They do classes too although the times aren’t great 6am is too early for circuits- I’d have to get up at 5am to walk there! But they’re open 24 hours and have a really good range of equipment.

I’d have thought in the environs of Greater London you’d have more choice!

@YellowAsteroid maybe I am too fussy 😂. My gym is an 8 minute walk and is great in many ways - just too crowded. All the others I mentioned below are a walk or short easy bus ride. I can use the others in the chain but they are not on main bus routes... I often train quite late so it does need to feel safeish coming out....I really will stop now!

I think London is probably difficult for gyms because of how expensive renting a large space is - the best gyms I've been to are out of the way, where people have nothing better to do!

Hope you find something suitable soon.

No you don't sound fussy @MsMartini - I was reflecting how lucky I am. It's important to feel right in a place where we spend so much time & energy.

My coach told me today that I am testing my 1 rep max for squat, bench and deadlifts in 4 weeks EEEEEEEK

I got to this point before Easter and then tripped and tore ligaments in my hand so my primary goal for the next few weeks is not to hurt myself!

Ooh that's exciting @everycowandagain , good luck!

I didn't want to say earlier in case I jinxed it - but I managed a workout today, no elbow pain, no leg pain, and only a tiny bit of shoulder discomfort!

Still lighter and lower volume than usual, but 82kg deadlift and 55kg squat so enough for me to know if niggles were an issue. Banded pull ups felt ok too. Excited that I can try going back to class, while not being tempted to do too much too quickly (as that's clearly why my elbow was an issue for so long)

@everycowandagain this is very exciting! Consistency pays off so I’m sure you’ll smash it!!

@Proteinpud sounds good. Elbows and shoulders are the most frustrating thing. Pleased yours are behaving!

Im on taper week, and everything feels/sounds scary 🤣 did some chilled deads/bench last night which moved no issues, realised I’d forgotten to put my belt on for the deads and was repping 100kg no issues so keep reminding myself all is fine…!

Whoop @Proteinpud that's great! So satisfying.

@2andadog big deads 😀. Hope the rest of the week goes well.

@everycowandagain that is exciting.....and yes no falling over after all that hard rehab work!

@MsMartini thank you. One more workout tomorrow then competing this weekend. Aiming to lift alllll the big barbells 🙏😌 hope your week is going well?

Thanks @MsMartini ! The big test will be when I get back to handstands and bridges!

@2andadog best of luck for the weekend, sounds like you're in a great place for it though!

@Proteinpud I hope it continues to improve. It's so frustrating isn't it?

@2andadog I am cheering you on!!!

@Proteinpud I imagine you’re already on it, but it’s amazing what a different banded accessory work has had for me with shoulder strength. Really hope the handstands feel good!

@everycowandagain thank you!

@2andadog good luck this weekend!! And let us know how it goes 💪

And my week good, thank you. Struggling to fit everything in but I am having to accept that will happen if I am doing cali and weights. Have to trust the crossover works, even if progress bit slower on both fronts.....the variety and mix of solo/partner/group sessions really suits me and makes me happy which is the main thing I think.....

Good luck @2andadog !!!

@MsMartini @RayKray thank you both! Nerves are kicking in but trying not to loose the plot haha!

@MsMartini enjoyment is 100% the main thing, if that mix works then that's awesome!

@2andadog , just seen your update on the powerlifting thread - congratulations 💪- and what a brilliant day it sounds!

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Found out that my PT will be away for 3 months over the winter - not as bad as it sounds as we train in a park so do cancel more in winter (current focus is flags which you can't really do safely if freezing or wet) - and does give me the option of a 2nd temp gym membership to mitigate winter overcrowding at mine...

@MsMartini this sounds positive? Hope you find a nice winter home!!

Thank you, was an awesome day. So motivating too! However currently I’m sore, so hoping that buggers off soon and I can get back ready for a new training block!

@MsMartini that's helpful if it gives you a bit more flexibility over the winter.

I am settling into the new budget gym. It seems like the solitary rack is rarely used and already when I arrive people move out of the way for me because they know I use it!! Lots of the crowd from the old closed gym has come over too so it's working out fine for now.

I am pushing my training hard until I taper in a couple of weeks and then it's testing time! Everything is moving really well, still playing around with some deadlift technique tweaks but mostly just getting the sessions in and making sure I recover as hard as I am training. Already PB'd my bench and am moving my old one rep maxes for squat and deadlift reasonably comfortably so I am really excited to test.

My leg session was a mixed success today...

I squatted my old one rep max quite comfortably which bodes well for testing in 2 weeks time!

On the downside my deadlifts were frustrating, a combination of me not moving as well as previous weeks and my coach giving me too many cues including changing my set up with arms. When I failed to get a weight off the floor that moved well a couple of weeks ago he realised he'd over complicated it and we agreed that from now until we test it will be minimal technical work and limited cues. He's super detail focused which is good but too many cues are my kryptonite with deadlifts so it's a fine balance. Frustrating but I will do my secondary session later this week and deadlift without overthinking it which should get me back in the zone.

Argh! What was he giving you queues on? I find deads can become so difficult with so little change! We played around with my stance for a while and I just lost strength on them. Changed back to my "usual" way and lifted a new PB of 160kg without breaking sweat. Obviously you must protect your back but other than that different body types and dimensions mean everyone looks slightly different.

Only queues I find useful are push through the floor, and elbows next to knees when setting up.

really great on the back squat though! New PBs incoming!!

@2andadog he was changing my (sumo) start position because I was sort of plopping down into position and then trying (unsuccessfully) to build some tension so the first thing that moved as i started to pull was my lower back.

He was getting me to build tension in my lats, long arms, tuck my ribs, hinge down into position without losing tightness and then take the slack out and pull.

The issue was that, as you said, it just went wrong! Too many things to think about means that I get into a nice looking position but then can't initiate the lift!! and at the end of the day it's no good if you can't get the bar off the floor!!