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! 💪🏼"

Sounds great @Mokeytree

My training has been interrupted by a long work/family trip. And not many hotels have good lifting set ups grrr.

Before I went away, my deadlifts were going well - a set of 4 at 100 kg. Then failed at 107.5 - well, my trainer had to get down and put two fingers under the bar for me to get it all the way up.

Does anyone find a distinct pattern of effort in a dead? I find I can get it off the floor & up about 5cm up, then there's that middle bit where it really is hard. The last 10 cm are easy after that.

Great work @Mokeytree and welcome!

@YellowAsteroidyes completely known what you mean. It can get stuck just off the floor, then if you stick with it you get a sudden pop and it goes up! Do you pull sumo or conventional? I pull sumo and getting it past that low sticking point is the hardest part of the lift. Locking out is fine!

Conventional. It's how I learned, and I've tried Sumo, as I thought it would help me to feel like I was getting under the bar, but it felt weird.

Welcome @Mokeytree. A well done on the deadlifts, they are the coolest.

@YellowAsteroidyeh I spend lots of time working on the sticking points of all my lifts. Paused deadlifts are good, pausing just before the sticking point.

I’m back in comp prep now after my brief deload. Programme is a bit different at the moment. Well not that much different, it’s still focused on SBD. But with some days that are just accessories and some new exercises.

Good to see things still moving on! Good luck with prep @RayKray !

I'm a couple of months out of next comp, so prep has just started again after a summer of GPP. To be honest prep is welcome, as feels less intensive than GPP!

Straight in week 1 115kg squats, 55kg bench and 140kg deadlift as my top sets, with back offs being 85-90%. Still lots and lots of accessories, and been trying to do the odd run too. Am a couple of KG down and dropped some bodyfat so going into the next comp a bit leaner and stronger hopefully.

Deadlift sticking points are fun..! Paused deadlifts or lifting with the barbell slightly raised to start the lift at that "sticking" point can help. Also some positional work and making sure your shoulders stay slightly over the bar with the initial push into the ground helps I find..

Thank you for the welcome.

Have been experimenting with squat and bench today.
I was advised on my thread to do heavier squats as I'd just been doing ones with kettlebell between legs, which was 24kg. Experimented today with just barbell which was OK but need to practice more to keep level before I can add weight. Wasn't far off but a little uneven. So then did some narrow ones with dumbbells, one set with 15kg dumbbells and one with 20kg. So heavier than what I had been doing.
Hopefully I can work on good posture with just the bar so I can move forward.
Then did bench with a 20kg plate. Not sure I'll be able to use bar as there is an attachment right where I'd need the hooks for benching.

wow @2andadog good numbers! And good luck with comp prep.

@Mokeytree this all sounds like really good progress!

I got 8 pull ups on my first set today and they felt smooth not creaky like the last time I got that high, so pleased with that. I've gone from 5 sets to 4 with 5 mins rests so lots of standing around..... But 8775 today and then a few 5kg ones and some chin up holds.

Still struggling with bench and have no spotter atm, so rather than faff around with the straps/get the fear I am doing dumbbell bench press. I am a bit uneven on the barbell so hoping some one-sided work will help make my weaker side do its stuff, and build confidence. May get some PT help with this in time.....

@Mokeytree good work! Squatting an empty bar and nailing technique is a good plan.

@MsMartini I think I am the opposite to you, heavy DB bench gives me the fear whereas I happily fail my barbell bench! I think with the DB press the hardest thing is getting them up there...

I slogged through my squats today, I am in a modest calorie deficit at the moment and really does impact performance. Reminds me how important it is to fuel workouts!

How interesting @everycowandagain . I agree about getting them up there. My hack for that (and The Fear) is for my top sets I do them one side at a time so I have a free hand to help position, and bail safely, if needed. So my reps start at the top and I have an extra negative as punishment for being scared 😀. I'm trying to do more unilateral push anyway to even myself up (old shoulder injury), and try to focus on keeping the other side down and stable. No idea if this is an approved method or not but still quite new to bench and I want to find ways to work it solo.

Hi all, sorry to jump on your thread but looking to get into strength training. Usual story of being too self conscious to go to the gym (even walking round for a look the other day I felt so uncomfortable) so was thinking of just getting some equipment for the garage. Do many people do this as their sole way of lifting? If I bought a second hand power rack, barbell, weights and a bench would that more or less see me right?

Id need to get DH to check it all for spiders every time though!

Would it help to tell you that everyone feels self conscious at the gym at one time or another?

Also, that no one cares what other people do in the gym. Everyone is doing their own thing. I know I’m always suffering or gasping for breath or trying to unload my deadlift bar or just dying. If I stare at you it’s because I think you’re doing something amazing - and I’ll probably try to catch your eye to tell you that.

If I walked into a new gym and didn’t know what to do, I’d probably warm up on a static bike then load up the sled and push and pull it. The sled needs no technique and it builds strength like billyo !

My training was disrupted in August as I had a shoulder injury and was out of town on trips several times. I’m now back in my groove; I’ve started a part time job and the weekly schedule has regularised my training days each week.

My plan is a comp in November so I will start the peaking cycle next month.

Welcome @Surelythistime I cannot comment about a home gym setup from experience but the biggest thing that makes a difference to confidence in the gym is knowing what I am doing. This comes from having good instruction from a strength coach. I think in your situation I’d get some instruction and experience before investing in a home gym setup because of the high outlay - as well as the kit you have to prepare the floor of wherever you set up your home gym.

@erinaceus good to hear you are back on it - I'm glad the injury cleared up quickly.

@Surelythistime welcome. And I agree with the others 😀. Setting up a home gym is a significant outlay - have you strength trained much before? - Im guessing not from what you say but you do need to be sure you are safe to train solo then?? Some people (including some on this thread) like solo training at home but for many (including me) the gym gives them accountability, community, structure, focus, a chance to try new stuff.....I've got into things I didn't know existed (calisthenics).

I'd try a gym (or three - they vary - try hussle or classpass or free trials or day passes), get some coaching to help your confidence (PT or a small group class), go when quiet at first if you can, try different things to see what suits you.....

Great progress on your pull ups @msmartini
I have decided to focus on pull ups this month. Have worked up to doing sets of 4 or 5 depending how tired I am. Have decided to embark on a the russian pull up plan to increase volume. Am on day 4 and it's going well so far. Hoping to then change it up to some weighted pulls and power pulls with bands next month depending on my progress.

Hey @Mokeytree , is that this? https://www.strongfirst.com/the-fighter-pullup-program-revisited/. That's some volume 😀👏, really impressive!!

I only do pull ups twice a week - I've wondered about upping the frequency and so volume but am worried about setting elbow tendonitis off again (it seems fine atm and I'm overloading by adding weight not reps) but maybe if I started with lower reps....I also take long rests and do quite a long warm up if I'm doing big sets first, not a ladder, so it is a big chunk out of my training time....Mmmm food for thought.

That's the one @msmartini.
It is a lot of volume and doing it most days can take a while as I need some kind of warm up. I'm currently having two or three minute rests between sets but that will likely increase as the programme goes on.
I'll see how it goes like you say elbows might suffer with so much volume in which case I'll add more rest days or cut back right down to one day a week.

I started going to a gym about a month ago,and have had a couple of PT sessions. I’m finding that I’m really enjoying it, and am getting over my fear of gyms and barbells. Joining this thread to keep me motivated! TBH this thread gave me good advice and a push to get started too.
I increased my weights yesterday up to 40 kg deadlifts and 39kg squats - nowhere near what you lot are doing but it’s progress. When I ran in the evening, the legs felt strong. I think I may have caught the bug!

Hurrah @JeanGabin that sound like a great progression!

I'm just back at the weights after having covid (mild, just odd effects on energy levels) I'm getting bored of Stronger by the day and I've succumbed to the podcast advertising and bought a MAPS programme aimed specifically at performance/for athletes. It'll be strange going back to something written out on paper rather than app based but I'm quite excited about trying something that is focused on compound lifts and explosive movements rather than endless accessories. I think I just needed something new to get re-inspired!

@JeanGabin welcome and great progress. Glad you are enjoying it😀.

@Proteinpud interesting, do report back on the programme. I've been under the weather on and off, but oddly got some (marginal) PBs. Up to 9 pull ups now. My programme has changed as my gym partner isn't around in the week for the forseeable. I don't want to change too much as we will still be doing flag-focussed PT and that is intense -tho that may be tricky once bad weather sets on and last year we paused it over winter, so I may need something more focussed. I used to do more classes of various sorts but I've really enjoyed the focus on strength, made gains and have more energy too, so don't think I want to go back to them or not frequently.

Congrats on the 9 pull ups @MsMartini that's brilliant. Shame about your training partner not being around as much, and I can imagine Calisthenics outdoors is going to be pretty limited in winter!
I think I've got another month left on my current subscription so I'm going to finish that and familiarise myself with the new programme before I start. I'm already excited to have pull ups and dips programmed for me instead of having to sub them in elsewhere though! The SBTD workouts, although they say are a mix of strength and hypertrophy, feel like they're getting longer and longer, more like what I'd expect from a bodybuilding programme. TBH I suspect they're trying to appease the current fashion for leg/glute gains. Even if I had the time I don't want to be doing 10 exercises every session.

@Proteinpud Yes - winter cali is challenging - last winter was bad because of all the storms and rain. Cold down to about 1/2 is OK tho you have to move around between sets.

Ten exercises!!! Naaah. not for me either 😀 Think you are right about the hypertrophy. You've done really well to get somewhere with pull up and dips with a programme that isn't focussed on them I think - maybe I make a meal of it but I plan everything else around them to make sure I am fresh - especially pull ups as they are mainly what I do for back these days - twice a week, bit of cable row and front lever round the edges). I find the big compound moves take it out of me and I've also seen gains with longer rest times (up to 5 mins on the pull ups)

@msmartini excellent progress on the pull ups.
When you say you do front lever work is that a progression like tuck lever? Was just wondering how one goes about getting started as I'd love to work on it.
I've played about a little with dragon flag progressions, I guess a negative but front lever seems on a whole other level.

@Mokeytree yes exactly, tuck holds are a good one.

I won't ever get a full FL but it is fun training for it! When I have trained FL consistently i have made progress but the focus for now is on pull ups.

Two key holds are tuck holds and full lever holds with a thick(!) band looped once over the bar, hanging down, put both feet in that - really hard. You can also train it using a band looped round your waist or lower back for holds. And doing tuck pulls (with band if needed), full banded pulls and inverted deadlifts (with band if needed - rings are much easier than a bar as you can pike it a bit).

When you can hold for 15 sec go down a band.

Thanks for the info. I had a little play on the bar at home was tricky to try and get a good angle to film for form checking.
Managed a flat back tuck lever for about 3 seconds. I could not figure out for the life of me how you'd get your feet or body in a band in that position though.
Was pretty pleased with ny tuck attempt though feel I could certainly progress it with practice. I guess holding it for longer would be step one.