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 awesome @redfacebigdisgrace . Sounds quite a lot i.e. 5 sessions but if you have a good fitness base...I'm definitely not fit atm.

I just focused on getting my 3 sessions and starting to track nutrition in the first week. This weekend I've been extremely lazy and very tired. I'm actually wondering if I am prediabetic again and have a blood test due. Hoping it just goes away. I've had three naps this weekend! Training is tiring though and I am a year older so it may be my body just calling for 7-8 hours sleep a night.

I will build in some other classed but for now I want to get consistent with nutrition, sleep and steps.

The trainer seems to understand this and said even if you just start tracking this week that's the main thing. It's nice doing it in a group. Seems to reduce my people pleasing tendencies.

Looking forward to round 2 tomorrow as I will at least have a clue what I am doing!

@redfacebigdisgrace exciting! What sort of format are the small group PT sessions?

I had a great PT session yesterday working on flag progressions - such a good use of PT time as he has to lift me up! My tactic of doing fewer classes this year seems to be paying off - I am getting more rest days, bit lighter (which I wanted), and pull strength (for bodyweight) is as strong as it has ever been despite elbow injury. I'm less sure about push as my dips are still woeful - my triceps seem to be very needy muscles, having off days, throwing tantrums but enjoying bench which is new to me......I am dithering about whether/when to go back to boxing now elbow nearly better as although I missed it at first I have been enjoying the extra time, extra recovery time from heavier and longer strength sessions, more running outside.......

@Deadliftsandplanks - yes establishing a healthy habit that works for you and is sustainable is important. there is no deadline!

Tonight was fun. My coach pays a lot of attention to form. Different to the previous coach who just chucked more weight on if I looked like I was enjoying it.

I manged to hit my single leg raise plank reps. Will try and get more next time.

I think I've been doing triceps pull downs wrong as she isolated some muscles and boy it was harder!

Also for some reason could not lift a bar with no weights above my head at all. It was the last exercise so maybe was knackered.

The deadlift is slightly different to ones I have done before. This one is lifting from the floor, but then touching floor and lifting straight away with no break. I managed 40kg including the bar.

I sort of want to go heavier but she won't let me, she wants perfect form for all the reps which makes sense obviously, good to have that to work on.

The deadlift is slightly different to ones I have done before. This one is lifting from the floor, but then touching floor and lifting straight away with no break. I managed 40kg including the bar.

As far as I was trained, that's the standard way to do deadlifts unless you're doing heavy sets of just 1 rep. My PT calls it 'touch & go.' He says I need to use the slight bounce from the downward finish of one dead to help me get the next one up.

You need to have your form really under control - the hinge/push your hips back as far as possible and then descend. Even though I've now been doing serious lifting for 6 years, he still side-coaches: "hinge, descend, activate hammies & glutes and get the bar up."

I now aim to train at 90kgs for at least 5 reps touch & go. Most I've done this way is 7 - I'm aiming for 8.

I've done 100 for 2 in this way. It makes you strong, but it's fatiguing!

@RayKray may do it differently for competitions though. But it's a great way to train strength.

Yeh I've never done touch and go. It's always a reset at the bottom. Although as I get better what I'd mean by reset changes, as we've been focusing on keeping position and tension throughout the lift so there's minimal reset but I'd never use the bounce of the bar as I can't in competition. Same as bench, I always pause on my chest as we have to in comp. I forgot a few weeks ago weirdly, and it was a lot easier to bounce off my chest. Bouncing out of the hole in squats is kinda a thing but under heavy load you might lose control of that bounce so it has to be managed carefully.

But I'm only sharing that as people are often interested. Touch and go deadlifts are definitely a thing that's commonly used. My training is just very specific now.

Sounds like a good PT though if she's holding you back and focusing on form. It's easy to just chuck more weight on but has a ceiling. A balance of form but still giving you the motivation of progression sounds perfect. I find it really interesting watching the PTs balancing those.

Speaking of chucking more weight on, I trained in a different gym last week and accidentally deadlifted a lot more than I was meant to as I miscalculated by 20kg. Thought it felt a bit heavy! But I got a triple! I never max out in training, that's for the platform, so it was fun to realise how strong I am.

That's awesome @RayKray !

I don't do touch and go reps either. I like to be slow and controlled, and check my shoulder position (if I don't, I tend to sit back a little bit too much). But that's a difference of training on your own and training with a PT who can watch and correct your form for you.

Not yet got back to weights but think I will try a session before the weekend. Managed capoeira on Monday and jiu jitsu today so my elbow is definitely getting better. Though I remember I didn't really get into the next SBTD cycle, only managed twice a week for first two (minimum programme is 3) and then with injury and I think it's already deload week. How did that happen??

@MsMartini it's hard isn't it, I sometimes wish I was focused on one goal but each thing I try I enjoy and want to continue with, even though I know having more recovery would be beneficial! Love the idea of flag training, and definitely something that a PT is helpful for!

@RayKray I did that with a barbell shoulder press today too, it was early and I was tired and I looked at one bar and managed to pick up a different one. Couldn't work out why it felt so heavy until I looked at it afterwards!!

Enjoying reading all the updates.

so I’ve done three sessions of small group PT. Mixed feelings. Definitely not that small a group! So a bit annoyed I’ve been sold that. 7 then 5 then 9 today although 2 instructors today . The main coach was back today and I felt it was much better. More input and I was being pushed more.

The format is quite quick so I’m struggling with that a bit - how many reps/sets etc… It all on a board but I think I need new contacts! It’s all whole body which I like. They have a warm up, then activation, 2 strength exercises(row and squat today) then accessory exercises then a finisher. I quite like that but I need to be more focused. I’m used to taking my time in the gym. 😂

I love deadlifts. I do more of a touch. Otherwise I get the fear a bit. Glad your shoulder is a bit better @Proteinpud

great numbers @YellowAsteroid

@MsMartini I love running outside too. It’s hard as lots of fun stuff takes away from lifting progression. But I need that buzz and outdoor feeling too.

@Deadliftsandplanks your new coach sounds great. Form is king 👑

@redfacebigdisgrace sounds good, yeah I was a bit confused at the start.

I'm going to ask for a warm up and activation exercise because I am today nursing a strained quad (once its recovered). There was a guy taking the first push pull and when I was starting with a 10kg deadlift he said it was too easy. I said can I do a warm up set and he said we start heavy then do a drop set.

So I did that for leg day. Then on the split squat I wasn't putting my knee fully down as it was straining. The main coach from the other side of the room told me to push. She couldn't see my face or reaction as you have to be facing the wall to get the dumb knee down. Really not happy with being given instructions from the other side of the room. That was with 3 in the class.

That’s not good @Deadliftsandplanks surely you have to warm up?

There is no warm up at all. Honestly not joking. I started off on a Smith machine lunge at 35kg. I don't even know how to raise it with them. I then start to think the problem is me.

Nope @Deadliftsandplanks that’s not acceptable. Dangerous. I thought the PT was good on form? Alternatively if you like them, just get there early and do your own warm up.

Yeah I think I will have to do that.

Rather than complaining.

Session one was with a different guy. I said can I do a warm up and he said we don't do that we start heavy and drop the set. That was push pull. I assumed the same for legs, why wouldn't I. I thought I can't do that so I went and did five minutes on the bike before the class. Thought it would be okay as was lifting 30-35kg. But its a different lift. She does low lunges with the knee to the floor. Stretching the quad much more.

It's a bit tricky because the sessions are in the cage and I'm not sure what other equipment I can warm my legs up on in the main gym but maybe a leg press and a quad or hamstring machine, adductor/abductor.

I don't see why they can't just have a warm up but I assume it's because they want to make money from having two 1 hour group PT sessions back to back.

Why don’t you ask them? It seems quite unprofessional to me. How many are in the classes?

Between 3 and 8. There's just over 20 doing the whole programme.

I'm hoping to make friends so don't want to be seen to be complaining. Stupid I know.

I think you'll have to do your own warm up @Deadliftsandplanks - just use whatever gym equipment you need, but you can warm up just with body weight movements. Cycling for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing, then do some body weight squats, some squat jumps, some burpees, and some lunges. I do about 10 of each, then I roll over on my back into the yoga Plough position a few times, and also do arm swings and torso swings. And leg swings forward & back and side to side. And circular kicks - leg going outwards from the front, then from the back leg going inwards.

So I get the muscles woken up, in the patterns of movement I'm going to load, and I also make sure I'm limber & mobile. If I'm feeling I need to (and I usually do) I do walk-out planks or walk-our press ups - I like to do a lot to roll my back a lot (because I sit at my desk not-writing for about 10 hours a day. And I'm dance trained so not normal in terms of flexibility - weirdly if I don't mobilise & stretch quite a bit I'm more likely to injure myself.

And I'd say your instructor is correct to get you doing lunges knee to the floor, through the full range of movement. Maybe you need to work on a bit more mobility & flexibility? Particularly if you've been out of training for a while.

I don't know why people complain about split squats - they're great for a good quad stretch as well as a strength move! But maybe I'm weird.

I don't do a massive warm up, body weight squats and a bit of mobility, probably 2-3 mins all in. But I'm then always straight into a compound where I'll do warm up sets. But that's often 5-10 just the bar to get the movement pattern, then maybe 1-3 reps going up in weight to get to my working weight. I'd say that would be 2-3 sets total. I'd never warm up for specifically for accessories, so incl lunges, split squats etc. But then I would have done a main lift first. If you're not happy you have every right to say, and they should either change it or explain why.

Lunges, split squats etc are also always knee to the ground for me too. I see others not touch the ground, but I'm always told to.

Yeah @RayKray my first set is always low weight/high reps - so for squats & bench I tend to just squat the bar for 10, then do maybe 4-5 sets ascending. Ditto for deads - 10 reps at 40, then ascend over maybe another 4-5 sets. Haven't managed past 100 - yet!

So @Deadliftsandplanks maybe if you get there 15 minutes before your session and do bodyweight warm ups of the big compound movements, that'll stop you injuring yourself.

But the "start high then do drop sets" is weird as a regular training approach to me. And really dispiriting.

I find I need a set with weight on it to really feel my muscles engage (like in DLs, I don't feel my hamstrings till I get above 70 kgs), but I couldn't do my heaviest set first without a couple of sets to just feel the weight moving IYSWIM.

Thanks. My quad feels a bit better today.

I'll do that. Its tricky as there is the compact gym which is full of machines right next to each other and a separate cage where all the sessions and mats are. There is an upstairs with bikes and treadmills so maybe I could just go up there. Failing that maybe I warm up at home before the 15 min drive.

This is very helpful and exactly the kind of advice I need thank you!

I know, she is right to do the deeper squats : ) And I do need to work on flexibility.

I also have a desk job (but now a walking treadmill and standing desk) - on the day I Injured myself though I had been in the main office all day at a sitting desk and already walked 10k on pavement so was on tired and cramped legs.

Defo need to build in mobility though.

I'm truly not convinced about start high either. It's also conflicting.

The good coach had more of an emphasis on hitting form and once you can go past the rep range I.e. 12-15 you can then go up.

I'm starting to wonder if what he really meant was don't start too low. Maybe I need to look at the rep ranges for each specific exercise and judge it accordingly.

This is why I prefer one coach.

I agree with everyone else - I'd never go heavy first set - always warm up with high reps/low load (or in cali easier progression). Then increasing weight or for cali moves harder progressions.

(I sometimes test myself in cali by doing big first set eg of pull ups instead of 12345 etc, and it feels horrid and creaky even after a good warm up including scapular pulls, and is for occasional benchmarking not regular training, like a 1RM).

I don't think anything is as good a warm up as doing the actual exercise but at lower intensity. And agree I think going for a heavy first set especially in a class setting is dangerous. Perhaps different for experienced lifters working as occasional thing.

@redfacebigdisgrace interesting about your classes. How do you feel about doing two strength exercises per class? Seems like it would really matter you get the weight and reps that are right for you? How will it pan out over a week and will you be training outside the classes?