*** The 2018 Gym Rats Thread ***

[reiyushin]

Apologies if this has been asked before, do you guys have any tips for breaking through plateaus? I've hit a bit of a road block with my squats where I'm finding the current weight too easy but as soon as I add 10kg I struggle to get more than about one or two reps in. Maybe I'm just trying to add too much weight and should try adding 5kg instead, but eventually I want to push further and continue to add more weight.

Give us more details, there's so many things you can manipulate to improve but to know what to do we at least need to know what you're doing

Let us know a bit more about your program, weights moved, sets, reps, bodyweight, are you bulking, cutting? etc

 

[reiyushin]

1.25 are essential, even if they do look a bit silly sometimes.

I busted out the 0.25s last weekend.... gains by any means necessary

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I busted out the 0.25s last weekend.... gains by any means necessary

Agreed. I would love those in my gym. Might buy some myself. Someone wanted to jump on the leg press machine that I was using for calves and the look he gave me when I stuck two 1.25 plates on there . Small steps.

 

[mrthingyx]

Agreed. I would love those in my gym. Might buy some myself. Someone wanted to jump on the leg press machine that I was using for calves and the look he gave me when I stuck two 1.25 plates on there . Small steps.

You are mistaken: he was giving you side-eye because you were doing a joke exercise on one of the few machines that comes halfway close to making actual functional sense.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

You are mistaken: he was giving you side-eye because you were doing a joke exercise on one of the few machines that comes halfway close to making actual functional sense.

Not to worry, he copied me

I can’t do calves any other way in order to keep gaining. Can’t do the calf machine as it impacts my AC joint.

 

[nicktay2605]

Give us more details, there's so many things you can manipulate to improve but to know what to do we at least need to know what you're doing

Let us know a bit more about your program, weights moved, sets, reps, bodyweight, are you bulking, cutting? etc

I'm currently bulking, weigh around 77kg, aiming to get to about 80-82kg. I do a four day program split between two lower body workouts and two upper body. I generally do lower body on a Monday, upper on Tuesday, play football on a Wednesday, then lower again on Thursday and upper again on Friday.

Sets and reps vary a bit depending on the exercise, but mostly it's four sets of five or six reps. I stick to compound lifts with a bit of isolation work thrown in at the end of each workout. A normal lower body workout will start with squats (back on Monday and then front on Thursday), followed by deadlifts, then RDLs, then split squats or lunges, finishing with leg curls and calf raises using a plate and a bar. My upper body workouts tend to be push/pull, so I'll start with barbell bench press, then do some barbell rows, then incline bench press, then something like weighted pull-ups, then military press and finish with some bicep and tricep work.

I haven't been doing squats for that long. I've always played football, tennis, golf, etc, so I tended to use the excuse that those sports were my leg workouts, but I recently got into squats and now I'm really enjoying them. Due to never having squatted before my squat lags behind my bench and deadlift. Currently I'm at 100kg bench, 140kg deadlift, 110kg squat.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Due to never having squatted before my squat lags behind my bench and deadlift.

You and most everyone else in the gym.

 

[BRIGGBOY81]

ive finally got the confidence to go into the free weights area now and barbell squats are next on my to do list. i am loving this gym stuff it makes me feel 20yrs younger in my mind, i know i dont look like that anymore but knowing iam doing everything possible to try and look like that again is an awesome feeling. wish i did a long time ago.

 

[reiyushin]

@nicktay2605 Bump the reps up for a couple of weeks then drop them back down but add a little more weight

Eg; Currently:
Week 1 Back Squat 4x5@85kg
Week 2 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 3 Back Squat 4x5@80kg

Suggested:
Week 1 Back Squat 4x6@85kg
Week 2 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 3 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 4 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 5 Back Squat 4x7@80kg
Week 6 Back Squat 3x5@90kg
Week 7 Back Squat 4x6@90kg

 

[CaptainRAVE]

@nicktay2605 Bump the reps up for a couple of weeks then drop them back down but add a little more weight

Eg; Currently:
Week 1 Back Squat 4x5@85kg
Week 2 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 3 Back Squat 4x5@80kg

Suggested:
Week 1 Back Squat 4x6@85kg
Week 2 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 3 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 4 Back Squat [email protected]
Week 5 Back Squat 4x7@80kg
Week 6 Back Squat 3x5@90kg
Week 7 Back Squat 4x6@90kg

Yup, will make gains in no time with that strategy.

Have hit a wall with my incline bench. Frustrating since every other chest exercise goes from strength to strength. Will have to mix it up somehow.

 

[nicktay2605]

Thanks @reiyushin, I'll give that a go.

 

[GiraffePencils]

Doing OHP this morning and just thinking :
"man, if I had some of those big rubber fake weights my ego would feel a bit better"
Haha

What assistance exercise would people recommend for improving OHP? And should I do them on an OHP day, after my stronglifts routine?

 

[mrthingyx]

OHP makes use of some very small muscle groups and so will always progress slowly.

Best assistance exercises are push-press, single arm press and more OHP. The key to it (as will most exercises) is volume, so if you want gains do it three times a week after every session.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Everything has been going so well recently. I'm strong as I've ever been, fit as I've been in years and lost a bit of weight. But now I managed to turn my ankle in rugby yesterday. It doesn't feel to bad but I injured my ankle last year and it was a good two months before being able to run or do legs properly.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Doing OHP this morning and just thinking :
"man, if I had some of those big rubber fake weights my ego would feel a bit better"
Haha

What assistance exercise would people recommend for improving OHP? And should I do them on an OHP day, after my stronglifts routine?

Haha, brilliant. You don’t want to become one of this ego lifters though that I see all over insta.

Funny, I am doing OHP today too. My goodness it progresses slowly though. I add on 1kg every 3/4 weeks using a 531 approach. I also do dumbbell seated lateral and standing front raises. I may also pop onto the hammer press to finish my shoulder off at the end. I will also do a load of rotation exercises all week. I am happy as long as it all keeps progressing.

 

[mrthingyx]

Haha, brilliant. You don’t want to become one of this ego lifters though that I see all over insta.

Funny, I am doing OHP today too. My goodness it progresses slowly though. I add on 1kg every 3/4 weeks using a 531 approach. I also do dumbbell seated lateral and standing front raises. I may also pop onto the hammer press to finish my shoulder off at the end. I will also do a load of rotation exercises all week. I am happy as long as it all keeps progressing.

If you really want to torture yourself, use heavy push-press negatives (i.e. if your 5RM for OHP is 50kg, load up 60kg and push-press it but only let it down s-l-o-w-l-y [5 seconds]) for 3 sets of 5 at the end of your workout.

You will hate me, but you will gain far more than doing lateral/front raises.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

If you really want to torture yourself, use heavy push-press negatives (i.e. if your 5RM for OHP is 50kg, load up 60kg and push-press it but only let it down s-l-o-w-l-y [5 seconds]) for 3 sets of 5 at the end of your workout.

You will hate me, but you will gain far more than doing lateral/front raises.

Sounds good, will try that!

 

[GiraffePencils]

Got my Belt today,
Wow,
Just wow.

That felt so solid, Should have got one ages ago haha

 

[spluff]

Dont belts slow down back muscle development though?

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Dont belts slow down back muscle development though?

Discussed this a few pages ago. Basically no. Use one for heavy lifts, but not all the time. I wouldn’t go back now.