*** The 2010 Gym Rats Thread ***

DuncanK said:
Hi guys. My first time posting in this thread and i have a question regarding bench pressing and an injury i might have sustained. I was wondering if anyone else had suffered the same kind of injury.

Anyway, I went to the gym last night as it was "push" night. I had to miss about 3 weeks training becuase of exams & revision so i thought i'd take it a little lighter than usual. My strength was down but i managed to do what i was aiming for but afterwards (& this morning) I have a real pain in my back between my shoulder blades. It really restricts me turning my head from side to side and i was wondering if anyone else has ever expearienced this?

I can only assue it was to do with the benching as i squeeze my shoulder blades together but it may be something to do with the overhead pressing.

Any thoughts?
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Could be RC or AC joint related. I'd go to a good sports phsyio (one that understands that lifting weights is not a bad thing!) and get some advice. It's hard for us to give you help remotely like this unfortunately.

I'm currently suffering an AC joint issue so I'm not doing any benching at the moment (which doesn't bother me too much). However it is quite painful and gets in the way of life sometimes!

N19h7m4r3 said:
WOAH! Thanks a lot FF!

Although I know that 600kg is right in the bag for you, just stop caring so much about 90-100% form :p

Ah but habits are hard to break.:)
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I do the same as you with respect to chalk, they don't allow it but I bring it in anyway, but am just careful to keep it tidy.

You're welcome, it's nice to see other people who are passionate and inspired by lifting. Makes me feel like I'm contributing to a worthwhile group of people and not like I'm wasting my time.

I know form shouldn't be my main focus, but I'm a bit anal about it! :p

I *know* I've got 240+ in me, I know I've got more squat power in me... It's just pushing for it rather than doing reps, I should be doing some more PL type of lifting routines - but I like volume too much! :o

In fact looking back, this time last year I would never have thought I'd be repping 160-170kg deep squats, I never thought I'd be repping 180kg Dls. Now they are fairly normal. It's amazing when you look at it like that really.
 
Freefaller said:
I do the same as you with respect to chalk, they don't allow it but I bring it in anyway, but am just careful to keep it tidy.

You're welcome, it's nice to see other people who are passionate and inspired by lifting. Makes me feel like I'm contributing to a worthwhile group of people and not like I'm wasting my time.

I know form shouldn't be my main focus, but I'm a bit anal about it! :p

I *know* I've got 240+ in me, I know I've got more squat power in me... It's just pushing for it rather than doing reps, I should be doing some more PL type of lifting routines - but I like volume too much! :o

In fact looking back, this time last year I would never have thought I'd be repping 160-170kg deep squats, I never thought I'd be repping 180kg Dls. Now they are fairly normal. It's amazing when you look at it like that really.
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You and your volume, haha. Although since I'm stuck at only 145 on lifts, I've gone for volume aswell. The great thing about it is that it works, no questions there.

It also does really help with form aswell, it's very hard to keep 80%+ form when you're doing 2.8-3x BW though. So this volume training will just help strengthen the rest of your back.

I must confess I've been eyeing up a Powerlifting belt, only because I know I've got 200-220 KG Deadlift in me and a 170-180 Squat. And given that'd be pushing over 3times BW on the DL and 2.5 on the squat it would certainly sort out any risk issues.

On the other hand I'm very reluctant because I know I can easily do that all natural given time. Patience is getting the better of me.

So I can be greatfull for being stuck with a max of 2xBW in my current gym. No risk of me going for that belt :p

On a side note though, I just have to say thank you for all the amazing advice you've given over the year I've been lifting. Especially your knowledge of diet and nutrition. It helped me a lot when I first started, not to mention being an inspiration along with Tank, Dun and Morba.

Thanks again mate :)

*End of soppy rant and turning on Mini Alpha Mode :D
 
Thanks for the replies about my injury query, it actually seems a bit better now so hopefully nothing too serious. I have a further question:)

Any tips on increasing shoulder strength?

I can do a fairly decent bench (110kg for 5 reps) but my standing press is woeful! I struggle to do 50kg and i feel i should be moving more when comparing it to my bench. I would like to get to 60 or 70 but it seems to be going nowhere atm! Any tips or should i just keep at it?
 
N19h7m4r3 said:
You and your volume, haha. Although since I'm stuck at only 145 on lifts, I've gone for volume aswell. The great thing about it is that it works, no questions there.

It also does really help with form aswell, it's very hard to keep 80%+ form when you're doing 2.8-3x BW though. So this volume training will just help strengthen the rest of your back.

I must confess I've been eyeing up a Powerlifting belt, only because I know I've got 200-220 KG Deadlift in me and a 170-180 Squat. And given that'd be pushing over 3times BW on the DL and 2.5 on the squat it would certainly sort out any risk issues.

On the other hand I'm very reluctant because I know I can easily do that all natural given time. Patience is getting the better of me.

So I can be greatfull for being stuck with a max of 2xBW in my current gym. No risk of me going for that belt :p

On a side note though, I just have to say thank you for all the amazing advice you've given over the year I've been lifting. Especially your knowledge of diet and nutrition. It helped me a lot when I first started, not to mention being an inspiration along with Tank, Dun and Morba.

Thanks again mate :)

*End of soppy rant and turning on Mini Alpha Mode :D
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Haha cheers - I'm happy to help, I'm fairly passionate about this game and if I can share what I've learnt and learn from others then this is what I strive to do!

I know how you feel about going the assisted route, but I'm going to stick it out. But might start doing some lower reps and more power development. When I start at my new gym with a proper rack I'll be able to push past my sticking points (partial squats, rack pulls etc...) feeling safe doing it.

DuncanK said:
Freefaller what is an AC joint? i know RC is rotator cuff but not heard of AC before!
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Acromioclavicular joint, it's where all the tendons meet. It's part of the shoulder that allows you to raise your arm above your head. It's only a guess, as it could be a muscle spasm - but this is beyond our ability or possibility to diagnose.
 
Wednesdays is Back and Bi's for me but I normally don’t get DOMS at all the day after Back and Bi's which is why I am surprised.

Feels good. :)
 
Okay, just had a stupid thought...

You've got a barbell. Let's say you're benching 60kg for example, so 30 on each side of course. Is it better to have two iron weights at 15kg each, or 12 weights at 2.5kg each? I know that sounds stupid and nobody would do that, but surely having the weights further away from the middle of the bar would mean it is a tiny extra bit harder to lift? :p

Maybe I should get some sleep. :p
 
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You'd want 20KG on either side of the bar :p

It shouldn't be any harder to push but to correct any wobble & to stabilise it should be harder as the levers are extended.
 
Rubbish gym session today. Worked 14 hours then went on my own for my chest & tri routine. Lack of spotter and feeling tired I couldn't shift as much as usual. Still I feel good after it. Can't wait to hit the sack now though.
 
Time to see if i can squeeze a bodyweight squat out after my DL success. (only smith machine though!)

By the way whats the deal regarding foot position when squatting? Is it recommended to have feet parallel the whole time?
Only asking this as im still lacking a fair bit of movement in my right ankle and trying to push it feels a little funny :eek: Would feel muich better if i could just turn my feet outwards a little.
 
Had a nice talk with a GP today. He was rather interested in sports science, and gave me some tips, most of them pretty damn good.

I told him I drink gold top milk, because it's calorie dense. He told me not to drink it a lot, as due to my genetics I'm more at risk from diabetes and heart disease, so I should try not to get too many fats in my diet. He also reinforced the rule of the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein, and that skimmed milk had this ratio approximately correct, making it quite an ideal postworkout drink. The most important thing however, was that I told him that I was struggling to be able to eat a lot of food. He said that when trying to bulk, you need to get a LOT of fibre and water. Otherwise the fluids in your large bowel do not move, and therefore when you start eating, you get filled up much quicker. So hopefully I should be able to change my diet to make it better :D

just thought I'd share this :)
 
Just a heads up to anyone on a Virgin Active diamond membership, it's a joke and if you want to cancel you have to let them know before the 17th of the last month of your 12 months otherwise you're in for another 12 months! There's no notice of this happening either so if you miss that golden window say good by to another 12 months.

3 more months until I can leave, even though I've been there 21 months.
 
Skillmister said:
By the way whats the deal regarding foot position when squatting? Is it recommended to have feet parallel the whole time?
Only asking this as im still lacking a fair bit of movement in my right ankle and trying to push it feels a little funny :eek: Would feel muich better if i could just turn my feet outwards a little.
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As far as I'm aware you can turn your feet outwards a little so your toes as at a greater distance apart than the heels (what would be known in snowboarding as a ducky stance) but it's probably best not to go to any extremes on this. I believe it is better physiologically for you than if your knees were going inwards. However I stand to be corrected on this so await someone else to confirm or revise.
 
Just got back :)

Managed this on smith squats:

8,4,1,6,8---40,60,70,50,40kg
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The 70kg was a bit sketchy and theres no chance of anything higher for a while but im pleased! Feet were only slightly outwards but it was noticeably less pressure on my ankle so thats a plus.

Also did calf raises, leg extensions, leg press and leg curls. Does anyone know whether resistance machines are usually in lbs or kgs as it doesnt say. I would assume its kgs as the leg press went up to 150 iirc.

Cycling back up the hill hurt a lot after all that.
 
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