Caporegime
Depends if its going to compromise shoulder stability or not and if you think its worth it. it only NEEDS to touch your chest if your in competition...
*** The 2015 Gym Rats Thread ***
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Soldato
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I had my first ever upper back soreness when I did high rep bench with 20kg less than usual working weight - maybe I held the tightness better
Internal rotation much?
Soldato
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Another question from me - how anal are people about rest times? I work out alone in my garage so always know exactly how long between each set. I've found a fairly significant difference between 60s and 120s rest hence why I keep it so regimented (and list it in my log etc). Does anyone else do the same?! I know / believe that 2 minutes is recommended for strength and 60s or less for hypertrohpy due to something about ATP?
I stick to 30 second rest times, 45-60 for squat working sets. Any more and I just find that there's no intensity
Man of Honour
I go for 90 fairly consistently but I'm nowhere near as hardcore as most on here 
For strength, the most theoretically effective period is over 120s; obviously not too long that you warm down, but long enough to allow for the stress response from teh previous set to subside.
Last time I looked at this (last year? 2013? I can't remember - it's in the Supplements thread somewhere, I think...) there isn't too much difference between 60-90s, but there is a big difference between n30-60s (i.e. the Steedie zone) and not much after 120s.
There is reasonable theory to equate the stress response from exercise to hypertrophy, ergo the more stress the bigger size gains, and so shorter = better...
This will vary from person to person, but it's generally not a bad rule of thumb. Am I fixated on rest times? Yes, when time is short... otherwise, any time between 120-180s... sometimes more.
Nope heh that's probably where i am going wrong, will start doing some rotator cuff work on shoulder days.
I rest 30s except squats i am doing about 45s....get better results.(but i am not lifting super heavy like some here which needs more rest
)
Soldato
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It also means you get through more work if you keep the rest down. I think Stronglifts etc recommend 2 mins and that's what I had always stuck to, now doing 2 mins for the main lift of the day and 60s for the remainder. Certainly notice the increased pump!
Associate
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I do pretty much exactly the same but I will also go by how I'm feeling. If I feel I need longer, I'll take a bit longer.
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I know the SL app recommends 90sec if the set was 'easy', or 3mins if it was 'hard'. I normally end up somewhere between 2 and 4 minutes depending on how tough i found it. seems to be working so far, in that the weights are generally going up
Soldato
i stick to 60seconds most of the time bar heavy deads and squats..
benches, curls etc I do love to pump the muscle with as much blood as possible really!
Man of Honour
Sometimes I've taken up to 10mins between exercises.
Normally I go after my TP has done his sets. It works out to be 2-3mins.
Normally I go after my TP has done his sets. It works out to be 2-3mins.
Man of Honour
TP sets is a disturbing mental image. I guess if you ate a very hot curry the night before or something...
Soldato
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Another reason for being careful with rests is to keep the overall time down - I try to get my work in done in an hour or less, preferably 45 mins so a timer makes sure I don't end up day-dreaming for too long!
Man of Honour
Caporegime
This reminds me, now I don't train before work I could theoretically try agvt again
Soldato
I decided that I need to eat more! Stopped gaining weight ;o past month and not a single kg extra!
Soldato
Hello, I have a question about squats for you all.
I've only recently started going to the gym again. Today I decided to go in on a weekend when it was nice and quiet and to start squatting for the first time ever.
I started by just squatting the 20kg bar and my legs must be pretty pathetic as that was a challenge in itself Is this the norm for new squatters, is this the sort of weight people tend to start at?, I want to make sure my form is not compromised, so whilst I had a quick go at 30kg, I felt that I wasn't maintaining proper form and was struggling to get my bum to the ground.
So for now I'm sticking with just lifting the bar. Anyone else find it this difficult when first starting? I'm sure it won't take too long to build up my legs and up the weight, just a little surprised it was so difficult.
To make matters worse the escalators aren't turned on any more, so the only way out of the gym is the long walk up the escalator to the top with jelly legs
Still, it was fun!!!
I've only recently started going to the gym again. Today I decided to go in on a weekend when it was nice and quiet and to start squatting for the first time ever.
I started by just squatting the 20kg bar and my legs must be pretty pathetic as that was a challenge in itself
Is this the norm for new squatters, is this the sort of weight people tend to start at?, I want to make sure my form is not compromised, so whilst I had a quick go at 30kg, I felt that I wasn't maintaining proper form and was struggling to get my bum to the ground.So for now I'm sticking with just lifting the bar. Anyone else find it this difficult when first starting? I'm sure it won't take too long to build up my legs and up the weight, just a little surprised it was so difficult.
To make matters worse the escalators aren't turned on any more, so the only way out of the gym is the long walk up the escalator to the top with jelly legs
Still, it was fun!!!
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