***The 2020 Gym Rats Thread*** ᕦ( ͠°◞ °)ᕥ
- Thread starter Somnambulist
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@Somnambulist looks like a great find, needs more squat racks though 
@Somnambulist looks like a great find, needs more squat racks though
There's the full rack and half rack w/platform mentioned, then there's other 3 non-platform half racks upstairs. Downstairs there's another half rack w/platform and a full rack... which is literally only used for rack pulls (and bending barbells
).Upstairs there's a bunch of half decent WL'ing bars, Texas power Bars, Texas squat bar, a ruined Texas Deadlift bar (thanks rack-pullers!) and then a couple of bars people I lift with occasionally have left at the gym: a Strength Shop safety bar, B*stard deadlift bar and for the IPF lifters a Rogue Ohio power bar which is only accessible via padlock if you're part of the powerlifting gang who compete and use it for stupid things. Got a couple of Texas power bars downstairs too - really appreciate the difference lifting with different bars now thanks to those.
Soldato
I have DOH up to 200kg and the bar sits between my first two knuckle joints and the top half of my palm (as evidenced by my callus position).
But I use hook grip, meaning there is only one place it can go.
Nice! Thanks for the advice. I tried last night but I feel like my thumbs are too short to do a hook grip..!! I couldn't manage it so just went with my normal grip and squeezed the bar hard.
Good session for me last night:
Squat: 110 kg for 3x5
Bench: 72.5 kg for 3x5
Deadlift: 120 kg for 1x5 (PR)
Good man
I've started doing heavy bag HIIT on some rest days. Really enjoying it. Not sure if it will impact on progress but think it will help with my gut and general fitness. It is properly knackering if you go at it.
Any reason not to go with mixed grip? I've had lots of problems with hook grip so I'm back to mixed now, I do a few hook gripped warmups just to keep it in the inventory but I'm not sure at the minute it will return to being my main grip.
Last nights session was awful, my sinuses are all inflamed at the moment and anytime I tried to pressurise for pause squats they just ACHED, did the bare minimum of 1 single on the 1-3 rep top set and 1 set of the up to 5 sets afterwards.
Squatting without proper bracing is a sad time. Hopefully they'll be better for the 8s on Saturday
Bench and rows tonight
Man of Honour
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Just don't do what I did and used mixed grip for all of the your heaviest sets without alternating the grip. It left me with imbalances that took months to work out. I use figure 8 straps now since I'm not planning to compete and they are super quick to setup. Wrists took a few months to get used to them though, but it is amazing how the body adapts.
How about "not being a three-trick powerlifter pony?"
Hook grip is better because it is better, the same way high bar squats are better. Deal with it.
Soldato
Nice! The normal philosophy would be that you're limiting your recovery, but I think that really depends on your goals. If you're already lifting heavy and want to shift some fat then surely it makes sense to do that...
Regarding the mixed grip, I just hadn't got to the stage where my grip might become a limiting factor before now. I actually think it's OK, but I can feel the weight slipping a little. The limiting factor now is probably my strength.
Caporegime
How about "not being a three-trick powerlifter pony?"
Hook grip is better because it is better, the same way high bar squats are better. Deal with it.
Just never go double under hand, or as we like call it, dead curls.
Soldato
My sleep has been really poor this week. I ended up with about 3.5 hours last night so I'm going to have to postpone tonight's gym session till tomorrow. I don't have anything specific on my mind but I just can't switch my brain off. My sleep is normally pretty good, I don't know what's going on this week. I'm considering giving up caffeine.
Caporegime
I stopped caffeine yesterday, it's worth doing it for 10-14 days to reset your tolerance.
Tried some white noise? Ditching the caffeine is a good shout though.
How about "not being a three-trick powerlifter pony?"
Hook grip is better because it is better, the same way high bar squats are better. Deal with it.
Hook grip is great IF your hands can do it
Low bar is the better squat though
Man of Honour
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How about "not being a three-trick powerlifter pony?"
Hook grip is better because it is better, the same way high bar squats are better. Deal with it.
The personal trainer in my gym thought that until he tore his thumb open and dropped the weight during a competition. I’ve noticed him using straps since. Agreed though, hook grip is superior. Low bar squats on the other hand have no competition
Soldato
Yep. The last few weeks have been very poor for me on the sleep front. But I never skip gym even when I haven't slept. No excuse. A training day is a training day. I've even had instances where I have set personal records on the back of no sleep. You go in to a sort of fight or flight mode and you perform like your life depends on it. So just eat lots and go to the gym. Your be fine.
Soldato
So I have decided to give the big three routine a go despite me not doing it the traditional way with barbells.
I got bad knees and shoulder problems so try to use equipment that offers me a degree of safety.
So rightly or wrongly I'm gonna give the following a go:
Hack Squat 5x5
Hammer Strength Chest Press 5x5
Trap Bar Deadlift 5x5
I don't see why I'd get nothing out of it despite it being a barbel routine.
I got bad knees and shoulder problems so try to use equipment that offers me a degree of safety.
So rightly or wrongly I'm gonna give the following a go:
Hack Squat 5x5
Hammer Strength Chest Press 5x5
Trap Bar Deadlift 5x5
I don't see why I'd get nothing out of it despite it being a barbel routine.
Associate
Last year seemed to be nothing but time off and injuries. This year, so far, I'm as good as I get and really looking forward to getting some consistent training in.
I'm going to try Reiyushin's beginner program (Thank you!), minus the front squats as I don't have the mobility for them. It's more volume than I've done before but has been good so far. Just need to try and balance it with the amount of climbing I'm doing though.
I'm going to try Reiyushin's beginner program (Thank you!), minus the front squats as I don't have the mobility for them. It's more volume than I've done before but has been good so far. Just need to try and balance it with the amount of climbing I'm doing though.
Soldato
I have considered still going but I've literally been tripping over myself all day because my legs/feet keep seemingly disappearing. I've backed off my squats to build them back up (SL 5x5) and it will mess with me mentally if I can't get through my sets, I'm not sure if taking an extra day to make sure I get through it would be better. I wouldn't be missing any sessions this week, just moving this one by a day. I'm still in 2 minds.
I'll probably still go to BJJ tonight though.
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