ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ||| The 2023/2024 Gym Rats Thread ||| ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

Soldato
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My son (16) has been hitting the gym pretty solidly over the last 18 months. Up to now he has been borrowing his mates belt, but they have moved away.

I'm keen he doesn't injure himself so can anyone recommend some wrist straps and a lifting belt for him?

No idea if it matters, but he weights about 75kg and is benching 90kg and about 85kg squats.

Cheers all.
 
Soldato
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13 Feb 2012
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5,779
My son (16) has been hitting the gym pretty solidly over the last 18 months. Up to now he has been borrowing his mates belt, but they have moved away.

I'm keen he doesn't injure himself so can anyone recommend some wrist straps and a lifting belt for him?

No idea if it matters, but he weights about 75kg and is benching 90kg and about 85kg squats.

Cheers all.
A belt isnt going to prevent injury. Thats very much not what they are for.

A belt is a good tool to help with strong bracing etc, i recommend strength shop belts.
 
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Associate
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I've just dropped from supersets of 15 reps to single sets of 6-10, it felt amazing! I added between 5 and 10kg onto all of my exercises but for some of them I felt like I could do more - should I go for it or do I run the risk of injuring myself?
 

kai

kai

Soldato
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I've just dropped from supersets of 15 reps to single sets of 6-10, it felt amazing! I added between 5 and 10kg onto all of my exercises but for some of them I felt like I could do more - should I go for it or do I run the risk of injuring myself?

Never gone really past 8-12 reps for superset; that's a high volume so naturally the kg will be lower. It' depends on the exercise, but adding 5-10kg for less reps is not a huge jump. IF it's a compound exersize i would say that's easily achievable; isolation with correct form 10kg increase can be a lot. That is a super wishy washer answer but it depends on the individual, progress to date etc.
 
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Soldato
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Looking to buy some weights and a bench. Does any one have any experience with the selectable dumbells. For example https://www.fitshop.co.uk/bodymax-36kg-selectabell-adjustable-dumbbell-wtfd2140 - I want to use dumbells mainly, and these seem easier than buying multiple different pairs of weights.
Absolutely dont get a set that are fixed length no matter what weight you have on them. They are awkward and cumbersome and really out dated now. Look up assassin goods, or strength shop, nuo bell etc all much better options.

I have powerblocks and have had them for 10 years now and they are great.
 
Associate
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Absolutely dont get a set that are fixed length no matter what weight you have on them. They are awkward and cumbersome and really out dated now. Look up assassin goods, or strength shop, nuo bell etc all much better options.

I have powerblocks and have had them for 10 years now and they are great.

Cheers, hadn't even thought of the length staying the same and how annoying that would become
 

kai

kai

Soldato
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Wales.
Went to the gym this morning and they had a fancy "In Body" scanner for people to try. Never tried anything like it before.

Super skeptical i gave it a go. No way in a million years am i 6.2%; i am lean; but i would die of a paper cut if this was accurate. Oh and apparently im 70KG; i have not weighted since 3rd Jan (75KG); and been dieting hard but if accurate ive lost way more than i had planned. I always go off how i look in the mirror.

a0xp2KF.png
 
Associate
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Interesting, I always wondered on these, whenever I tried using scales that rely on electricity to measure things they tend to be rather errrm unflattering haha.

There's some squats: https://youtu.be/liRfyOeKWB4 - need to pull my finger on these and prioritise them a little bit, currently they're late on Tuesdays and it's hard work getting into the right mindset
some deadlifts: https://youtu.be/Qn9Juh3YFy8 - nothing fancy here, always do them after benching & pullups so a little bit fatigued
and some bench: https://youtube.com/shorts/dfEG0fGRyDg?feature=share - this has been going well, I tend to do it on Sundays when I'm well fed and rested, unlike Tuesdays

Had a septoplasty on Tuesday so I'm out of action for a good few weeks / months unfortunately, thought I'd record some videos to see where I need to get back to! :D
 
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Associate
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16 Jun 2008
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Interesting, I always wondered on these, whenever I tried using scales that rely on electricity to measure things they tend to be rather errrm unflattering haha.

There's some squats: https://youtu.be/liRfyOeKWB4 - need to pull my finger on these and prioritise them a little bit, currently they're late on Tuesdays and it's hard work getting into the right mindset
some deadlifts: https://youtu.be/liRfyOeKWB4 - nothing fancy here, always do them after benching & pullups so a little bit fatigued
and some bench: https://youtube.com/shorts/dfEG0fGRyDg?feature=share - this has been going well, I tend to do it on Sundays when I'm well fed and rested, unlike Tuesdays

Had a septoplasty on Tuesday so I'm out of action for a good few weeks / months unfortunately, thought I'd record some videos to see where I need to get back to! :D
Your deadlifts look a bit odd!
 
Associate
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I can confirm thst my video recording skills are... work in progress. I've also managed to perfectly place the hoodie on the squat video as well! :D

LE: Lost the plot - upated link in original post.
 
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Soldato
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Want to buy a bar so I can do some of these at home. Will probably start at 30kg and go from there.

My question is, do I need a decent quality (bearings) Olympic bar for this? I know they are recommended for Olympic style lifts, which this has. I know it's all about the added strain (both on me and the bar) due to spinning the bar during the clean, but does the fact that this will be a high rep, low weight version, mean that I could even get away with a much more affordable 1" screw collar type bar?
 
Associate
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Just started this routine using some barbells and light weights. Have been doing it for a month or so and upped the weight a little. Are there any other good resources or programmes I can follow or this sufficient?

I just want to get in better shape, be stronger and have more muscle packed on my frame.
 
Associate
Joined
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1,254
Never gone really past 8-12 reps for superset; that's a high volume so naturally the kg will be lower. It' depends on the exercise, but adding 5-10kg for less reps is not a huge jump. IF it's a compound exersize i would say that's easily achievable; isolation with correct form 10kg increase can be a lot. That is a super wishy washer answer but it depends on the individual, progress to date etc.
I added another 10kg on to my hexbar deadlift, I've gone from 58kg to 88kg. I could really feel when my form wasn't quite right so I'll slow it down a bit now.
 
Associate
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Just started this routine using some barbells and light weights. Have been doing it for a month or so and upped the weight a little. Are there any other good resources or programmes I can follow or this sufficient?

I just want to get in better shape, be stronger and have more muscle packed on my frame.
I would say it's absolutely not a great programme for a beginner as the exercises are complex, require a lot of mobility and difficult to do with good form for the majority of the trained gym goers, let alone the untrained ones. Especially the hang clean, front squat (which looks terrible in that picture, he's holding the bar with his hands) and push press.
Everything is there is a great exercise IF you do it properly. The average person that has a desk job simply hasn't got the mobility to do these and they're a terrible way to start as the risk of injury vs reward ratio is absolutely broken.

Depending on equipment availalable I would start with squats* (front squats only if you have proper front rack mobility or rest bar properly on your shoulders) and variations - split squats and the like, lounges, perhaps deadlifts*, some sort of military press, pull ups (negatives only to start with if too difficult) and dips (same as push ups), maybe some bent over rows. That ab rolling exercise is fantastic for your core as well, provided you can maintain decent form.
If you have access to it - a bench for bench pressing* is also great. Then simpler stuff like kettlebell swings.

Squat, deadlift and bench - are the holly 3 staples in lifting, they are big compounds that develop strength and all the good stuff. They are also moderately complex and not as easy to do as it seems. I'm happy to have a look at a form video and give pointers if anyone wants to, you can upload it as a private / unlisted youtube video as well.

Want to buy a bar so I can do some of these at home. Will probably start at 30kg and go from there.

My question is, do I need a decent quality (bearings) Olympic bar for this? I know they are recommended for Olympic style lifts, which this has. I know it's all about the added strain (both on me and the bar) due to spinning the bar during the clean, but does the fact that this will be a high rep, low weight version, mean that I could even get away with a much more affordable 1" screw collar type bar?
I would definately look for something that spins... it's a recipe for injury to do those kinds of exercise with a screw type bar...
 
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