*** The 2011 Gym Rats Thread ***

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I've been thinking about trying a 1RM for my bench press but not sure the best way to approach it. On Tuesday I did 130kg x 5 reps, but I did 120 x 6 and 100 x 10 leading up to that. How would I structure the sets/reps if I was aiming to complete my 1RM? I'm thinking 145kg.

It works the same as Squats and Dead's I'd say, do a warmup then only increase with 1-2 reps on each weight increase.

So
bar x10
60 x5
80x3
90x2
110x1
120x1
130x1
145 x1

That should be more than enough to warm up the body and give the muscles a good stretch for that big 145.
 
Went to my rather unequipped local gym today to some light upper body work while my shoulders still a bit buggered. Some guy after every set would tell his friend about how pumped he was and would flex his fatceps in the mirror I struggled to hold back laughter.

My shoulder (think its my rotator cuff) still rather niggly after a week off Would seeing a physio help or will they just tell me to lay off it? How much can I expect to pay :|?

Considering using this place http://www.achillesheel.co.uk/sports_injuries_clinic.php same shop I got my running stuff from =/
 
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Lay off anything that hurts it - for me this was flat bench press. The head over to icecolds' mobility thread and put together a good routine for freeing up the RC. I also do a few strengthening exercises a week on the RC to protect them when I do bench press. It has helped, and also keep good form when doing things like bench press help massively.

icecold will tell you more, he has been doing some good work on his RC.
 
Yeah, for me it seems to be dips :( Shame as I enjoy dips. I'll have a look over that thread soon for some RC work, I already do some rotations, shoulder dislocations and post workout stretching.

Only did 12kg dumbbell press etc today, and 12kg DB standing press seemed fine too, as did 28kg dumbbell rows, but as soon as I attempted dips (just using a bench) I immediately could feel it so I stopped.
 
Thanks chaps!

^Good benching :cool:, 130kg is impressive by anyone's standards. It'll take me at least another year to reach that!
Bench has been my worst lift for a long time, it basically hasn't moved for 2 years because of injuries. But that's a 10kg increase in 3 months (ish), so not too bad.

Ideally it should be less than a year to go from 100 to 130, but if you respond anything like I do that might be conservative!
 
Well today didn't go too bad considering my odd little symptoms.

Squats were interesting today, specially it's a light week to work on some form.

Empty bar for warmup x10, 2 sets.
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5 felt very good
120kg x2, ugh felt like 140kg for some reason. Still no recovered from the past two weeks it seems.
100x5
100x5
100x5 ( I heard these two gorilla sized upper body blokes talk about me during my last 3 sets.) " He's going down way to low, he's going to wreck his knees and back. 100 is way to heavy for him" I was repping those 100's out with barely any effort, not even a red face.
The first set was a bit dodgey since I looked down to check my knees and leg position, but once I looked up no problems at all. Plus when I checked I was 2-3 inches below parallel.

After my last set they come up and ask if they can use it. "Sure" I say.

I had a look of comdey/horror on my face as they add 20kg for 120kg. No warmup needed for these beasts and BAM!

4 Inches down, then up. Not even a half rep....
They're red in the face and only do 3 reps
.

I did 3 sets of Stiff legged deadlifts on the Step.
70kg x8
70kg x8
70kg x8
Went down as far as possible without losing form.

Leg Extensions
100kg x5
100kg x5
100kg x5

Then used this! With a very wide setting, as wide as I could go without nearly doing the splits.
IMG-20110512-00036.jpg


Tried it at 48kg x10.
NO PROBLEM!

I clip on all the bars, 68kg x8
No problem. "This is easy, and feels good on the hip flexor."
Second set.
Mananged 6 reps. "Hmm, much harder suddenly."
Third set. "FUUUUUUUU, only three reps. OMG, my legs are going to rip out of their sockets!!!"

Did ab work, stretches and left limping down the stairs with wobly legs.
 
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No problem. "This is easy, and feels good on the hip flexor."
Second set.
Mananged 6 reps. "Hmm, much harder suddenly."
Third set. "FUUUUUUUU, only three reps. OMG, my legs are going to rip out of their sockets!!!"

Did ab work, stretches and left limping down the stairs with wobly legs.
Was this your first time using the adductor? You might regret doing that much in a couple of days.
 
Yup very first time.

Regret it? Explain?

Its gonna hurt, a lot. First time i used it i wanted to chop my legs off to get rid of the pain :o Quite a coincedence as i used it today also :)

I take back what i previously said, had an amazing session. After my 2nd set of squats i was wide awake and ready to go!

barx8
60kgx8
70kgx4
80kgx2
90kgx1
95kgx1
100kgx1
105kgx1


The last set wasnt to parallel and my knees caved in a bit so not counting it. But 100kg smashes my old pb by 20kg, feels great :D

Gonna admit, after doing 1RM on squat and pb this week im bloody addicted to big lifts. I didnt want to stop today. Time to put some serious effort in and catch some of you lighter people up :p:cool:
 
Right I'm getting sick now I can't seem to get my bodyfat down and I've been cutting for ages now.

Is one hour on the treadmill too much for avoiding muscle loss if I maintain a high protein diet and 3 weights sessions a week? I did roughly an hour just now of light HIIT/incline training and steady pace. Feel fantastic and obviously this will shift plenty of weight quickly but I want to maintain as much muscle as possible.

Previously was doing 25 minutes of very high intensity HIIT twice a week on top of weights but despite fixing my diet at 2,500 calories a day I still seemed to be building muscle and getting stronger. My weight has actually been falling (whilst I've been gaining strength) but visibly I'm not getting the lean look I want. 2,000 calories a day or less would be hard to achieve given the amount of exercise I do.
 
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Guys does everyone here have people they train with and who spot them (and vice versa) or do you just ask someone there to spot you if you're going for heavy weights? Or should I not even try going for heavy weights unless I have a training partner? I'm planning to start lifting after exams are done (8 days from now :D)
 
I never have to ask, nor does people have to ask me. You can generally tell who needs a spot and most of the guys in my gym is happy to lend a spot for the last set or two. Sadly I don't have a full time partner as I'm always let down and people can't seem to keep it up, week in, week out. My last training partner is now in Iraq and the one before that moved to Australia. Solid and dependable guys they where. A rare find indeed.
 
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