*** The 2011 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Well they're a great way of keeping track of progress and comparing yourself to other lifters, but if you don't care for that then I can see why you have your lack of interest :)

I have catchers when doing squats but don't bother for bench - if I fail a rep, I can just ditch the bar over one side, seems to work! :p
 
MoNkeE said:
Well they're a great way of keeping track of progress and comparing yourself to other lifters, but if you don't care for that then I can see why you have your lack of interest :)
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I don't wish to start an argument but at this point in time I'd rather squat say 60kg 5x5 (and try to improve that figure weekly/monthly/whatever) and then move on to the next exercise rather than try and squat 80 for one rep. I have no need to compare myself to others because I'm skinny, weak and unfit - see the 500m row thread :D
 
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No need to start worrying about starting an argument - everyone has their own different goals when it comes to lifting :D I think PBs definitely comes in to it when you get on to heavier weights tho - when I first hit over 100kg for a lift, I was interested in just how high I could get; then been doing PBs every 6 weeks since :D
 
sigma said:
I don't wish to start an argument but at this point in time I'd rather squat say 60kg 5x5 (and try to improve that figure weekly/monthly/whatever) and then move on to the next exercise rather than try and squat 80 for one rep.
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You say PBs don't matter to you, then you say you try to improve your 5x5 PB :confused:
 
Aiye but I think it's safe to say your strength will increase whilst working on a 5x5 routine, where as a PB isn't really going to help you pack on the strength as efficiently. Not saying PBs can't help you push thru a plataeu or owt, but they're certainly not designed to efficiently pack on strength consistently :D
 
oddjob62 said:
You say PBs don't matter to you, then you say you try to improve your 5x5 PB :confused:
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That's a fair point lol, I've always seen PB as being your max for one rep?

Now that you've mentioned that I guess my statement is contradicting itself.

MoNkeE said:
No need to start worrying about starting an argument - everyone has their own different goals when it comes to lifting :D I think PBs definitely comes in to it when you get on to heavier weights tho - when I first hit over 100kg for a lift, I was interested in just how high I could get; then been doing PBs every 6 weeks since :D
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I think part of it may come to wanting to avoid injury. I'm nursing my wrist as it is, the thought of making it worse is terrifying, it would mean I basically couldn't do anything in the gym at all.
 
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What've you done to your wrist mate? Mine's mashed up, fell on it once and now holding a straight barbell gives me massive pain. But even when it's bad, I can still do everything else without much issue :)
 
MoNkeE said:
What've you done to your wrist mate? Mine's mashed up, fell on it once and now holding a straight barbell gives me massive pain. But even when it's bad, I can still do everything else without much issue :)
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Hurt it whilst doing bicep curls (the ones where you twist at the end) about 4 years ago. Well at least I think so anyway, I didn't feel any pain at the time but was pushing out that last rep on the left wrist.

The next day it was in so much pain, I couldn't even hold a book! Had physio and all sorts and it finally got better after about 9 months iirc.

Now I've started gymming again for the past 4 weeks and it tends to hurt the day after, really hurt the most last week for about 2 days (after a legs session!) so I missed Friday's session. It hurt if I lifted a mug slightly awkwardly.

It's OK after the session today though, but we'll see how tomorrow goes. :o

Currently eating a tuna mayo sandwich, BLUERGH, I can't stand the taste of tuna unless it's cooked.
 
This guy makes me feel very weak


That is far too easy for a guy of his weight, which is the same as mine :'(. Slightly hard to wrap your head around the fact that the world record that he set a couple of months ago is only 15kg heavier...such a fast lift.
 
MoNkeE said:
I have catchers when doing squats but don't bother for bench - if I fail a rep, I can just ditch the bar over one side, seems to work! :p
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True...Our Squat thing at work doesn't have a lower catch, which was a bit daunting when I got down to blast back up only to stay in the squat position :o....hehe, atleast I know now

And thanks Sigma :)
 
Ever failed a squat before without catchers? You can just jump under the bar :p, wouldnt recommend it for very heavy maxes though :p
 
Yeah drop it behind you and jump up forward lol. Probably not very safe. Currently I'm not gonna be doing squats for a while because my knee is giving me grief (unrelated to the above, havent done that in a while :p). Gonna have to start looking out some of Icecolds mobility posts.

I've tried some of the mobility exercises putting your leg up infront of you on a bench and coming in towards it but it didn't really feel like it was stretching much =/.
 
The Craig said:
Yeah drop it behind you and jump up forward lol. Probably not very safe. Currently I'm not gonna be doing squats for a while because my knee is giving me grief (unrelated to the above, havent done that in a while :p). Gonna have to start looking out some of Icecolds mobility posts.

I've tried some of the mobility exercises putting your leg up infront of you on a bench and coming in towards it but it didn't really feel like it was stretching much =/.
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Good to know though thanks :)

My fault really, I realised I was getting tired on the 4th rep, decided to try one more...Never mind
 
It's all about finding your limits. At least you know now. :) Like I said, I don't use a spotter but I do make sure that if the last one was a push I won't do the next rep or even the next set.

As I get stronger I might start pushing to the very limit but then again, all depends on staying injury free. I still push quite hard, was feeling a bit light-headed after I finished squats today. :\
 
You should be improving dynamic and maximum strength tbh.
1rm progression is a must imo, if you are looking to get stronger (even if you are only looking to increase your 5 rep strength).
 
Morba said:
You should be improving dynamic and maximum strength tbh.
1rm progression is a must imo, if you are looking to get stronger (even if you are only looking to increase your 5 rep strength).
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True, however I don't see how doing a 1RM is any different than doing say, 5 x 1 below your 1RM :p...Even though the 5 reps would be your 'max' so to speak.

I'll see how things go next week anyway, however I'm thinking that I need to put squats/shoulders on to Fridays, as they seem to take longer than any other day :o
 
Morba said:
You should be improving dynamic and maximum strength tbh.
1rm progression is a must imo, if you are looking to get stronger (even if you are only looking to increase your 5 rep strength).
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That's the first time I've read or heard that.

How often are we supposed to do this? When is the best time to do it?

What does it achieve?



Also, is it normal to feel a bit light-headed after a tough set?
 
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