*** The 2016 Gym Rats Thread ***

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jernau_gergeh said:
So how much do you weigh then? Edit: scratch that I've just seen that you're 86kg.

I've just tried this out - I weigh 80kg's and used 2x20kg DB's and knocked out 32 decent reps in a minute - tough going I can tell you.

I have very little in the way of endurance and have spent most of my time doing lower volume higher intensity weights and BW gymnastic isometrics etc. Only recently have I done serious volume and am on week 5 of 6 of GVT so I think that's probably helped, otherwise I reckon I'd have done 20 or less.
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I'm 74kg and I cannot get past 10kg dumbbells at 15 reps. My arms collapse as I try for 20 reps each time after I recover for 2 - 3 minutes. I couldn't even imagine trying 20kg :o
 
See, I could probably do 20 - 25 reps at 50kg relatively comfortably, but then I've always trained for hypertrophy. I regularly train at 12 rep sets, and 8 reps is typically the least I'll do.

So yes, as with anything in life, the more you do something, the better at it you become. If you don't lift for hypertrophy, I really wouldn't give it a second thought.
 
On this whole bench thing... GSVBagpuss is correct: it is a gash exercise. ;)

People tend to forget that training methods are important to shape for their training outcomes: we all go to the gym for a reason or another to get swole or strong.

I doubt many of us put in ANY conditioning work, and even fewer do sport-specific work (I.e. To better translate the gym gains into sporting outcomes). As a result, even though a person may only have a 1RM of 75kg, they may be able to translate that to a gazillion reps at 50kg through appropriate conditioning work, I.e. ensuring the muscles have the right kind of kinetic chain to deliver a gazillion reps.

This would mean:

- using lower potential muscle fibres;
- higher mitochondrial activity;
- greater carbonate buffers for that there acidification;
- better vasculature to ensure the multi-rep nasties are swept out as quickly as possible.

In other words: 10-16 rep workouts for a fortnight or so to build that thee conditioning.

There. I haven't posted a long AND dull answer for ages. I feel better.

@bakes: do an HST rotation and you will be just fine. Bigger weights require bigger muscles to shift, after all, nomsayin? :)
 
Rejoined the gym after two years. I left for various different reasons and then never ended up going back. I couldn't quite believe the strength I've lost. When I left I was pressing 52kg, I struggled with 20kg today. I'm taking it slow and steady, trying to get all my muscles used to what's coming. I remember the first time I ever went to the gym, totally went for it and then struggled to even put my jumper on the next day :eek::D
 
bakes0310 said:
Had a bit of confidence knock in the gym, basically there's a fun Xmas challenge of how many reps inhalf your body weight bench press you can do in a minute. I only managed 19 as I just couldn't lift the bar off me. I came into the gym today to see I'm last against about 20 odd people today. I have been beaten by two girls with their scores of 23 24. And everyone else averaged about 40, top getting 66.
Now I've been going to the gym for 7 years, the last 3 years I have been training for strength and done programmes like stronglifts, mad cow and German volume training.
I rarely miss a session and I love it, I'm not a competitive person really, but seeing my score against others knocked my confidence.
My bench is my weakest always have been with my 1rm at 75, but compare it to my deadlift of 180 and my squat at 145 it's a little annoying.
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How the hell did the top scorer get 66? You would literally have to yank the bar down onto your chest as hard and as fast as possible to rep out that much. I would love to see the footage of that as i bet they're a member of the half rep ego lift crew. To be honest i struggle with high rep work on bench, and i doubt i could do much more than 25 at half my body weight as i struggle to get 10 reps at 82.5 and i weigh 87. I find i fail before my muscles start to burn so I overshoot a lot more than i should do and attempt a rep that i end up failing. Fortunately im so used to failing on bench so i don't fear it or ever require a spotter even on my heaviest sets. It would only become dangerous for me if i tried to re-rack on a heavy set without locking out and i've only been stupid enough to do that once in the last year.

Bench has never been my strongest lift and i don't really care for it much, dips when i still did them I could get BW+60kg for 3 reps and that was going well below parallel yet i doubt i could do more than 107 on bench, its funny how much of a strength difference there is between the 2 lifts. I prefer overhead as a pressing movement but thats not particularly strong and just inline with my bench(can currently get 3 full reps at 65kg). I'm also slightly weird in that my dumbbell bench is almost as strong as my barbell bench, if there were enough increments in weight i would happily switch over to dumbbells as i prefer the feel of them.
 
The new gym I joined - everyone seems to come and workout in groups of 2-5. The two previous gyms I've been at, most people came on their own or with one workout partner and just did their own thing. The new gym is full of groups. It's bit weird, I actually feel bit self concious being on my own...
 
TS7 said:
The new gym I joined - everyone seems to come and workout in groups of 2-5. The two previous gyms I've been at, most people came on their own or with one workout partner and just did their own thing. The new gym is full of groups. It's bit weird, I actually feel bit self concious being on my own...
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My gyms the same, takes the mick sometimes like all i wanna do get round my workout quickly and efficiently as possible, but im waiting for the larger groups to finish up on the lat machine or leg press etc etc, i mean my gym is the only decent gym in a 8-10 mile radius and im there at peak times, its to be expected, just one of those things...

Friday night its empty though, i spend a lot of time on certain popular machines or hog the large squat rack with the big mirror because theres only 3/4 people there.
 
^^ yup, Friday evenings are empty. Quite a huge gym and I often have the whole free weight area to myself. Best time in there.

TS7 said:
The new gym I joined - everyone seems to come and workout in groups of 2-5. The two previous gyms I've been at, most people came on their own or with one workout partner and just did their own thing. The new gym is full of groups. It's bit weird, I actually feel bit self concious being on my own...
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Most are on their own or twos at mine. I just stick in my noise cancelling earphones and enter my own little world :)

Has gotten quieter towards the end of the year. New Year rush soon. January always amuses me :D
 
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To say gutted is an understatement. My lat under normal conditions was starting to feel normal. So I thought, let's try deadlifting just a bar. Nope. Immediate pain. This is going to take a while to heal and annoyingly it affects pretty much every other press/lift. Physio appointment at my gym when I get back from holiday I think. I actually wouldn't mind if the injury was caused by deadlifting or even if it was due to working at my max, but due to it being shrugs and 50kg off my max is just irritating.
 
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