Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

You guys with a big bench - this is what goes through my mind, is it different for you guys?

1. Set up behind the bar, swing through to make somewhat of an arch, locking my lats down.
2. Un-rack the bar
3. Lock my lats down as hard as possible.
4. Bring the bar to my chest, touching my sternum basically.
5. Pressing and pushing through the floor.

All the tightness is in my upper centre back though and not my shoulders/chest. Should I be tight through my shoulders more? Forget about my lats?
 
Jun 27, 2013
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You guys with a big bench - this is what goes through my mind, is it different for you guys?

1. Set up behind the bar, swing through to make somewhat of an arch, locking my lats down.
2. Un-rack the bar
3. Lock my lats down as hard as possible.
4. Bring the bar to my chest, touching my sternum basically.
5. Pressing and pushing through the floor.

All the tightness is in my upper centre back though and not my shoulders/chest. Should I be tight through my shoulders more? Forget about my lats?
My benching background was initially however the brahs did it on Mondays (wide grip, shoulder dominant, too much internal rotation). Though I snapped out of that stupidity in my early 20s and adopted a slightly narrower grip with my pinky/ring fingers around the powerlifting marks and that took the pressure off the shoulders and allowed the triceps to work more efficiently. Though my bench is still fairly upper body dominant rather than full body due to a lack of back arch, though once I get a proper powerlifting bench I hope it'll become more of a full body movement.

In regards to routine/cues that have worked for me though

1. I make sure the bench is in the right centred position in my rack (though I'll do this with an unloaded bar or with only 50-60kgs)

2. Then I make sure the bar is safely in position at the front of my J cups then make sure the bar is centred and that the bar is around forehead/eye level, I find that's the most comfortable unrack/rack starting/finishing position for me. Down towards the tip of my nose is a little close and doesn't give me enough time to go through a comfortable unrack/eccentric path, I kinda feel I may fall forward in the lift if that starting position is too far down.

3. I don't have much of an arch, but after the bar/bench is in place, I then find the right glute/feet/scapula position and brace/retract, they are a constant and don't move (though I do wiggle the feet sometimes when struggling which I shouldn't)

4. Your lats and triceps will activate on the unrack as long as your scaps are safely retracted, I find the lats will be secondary to your scaps but they will be engaged through the whole lift and probably moreso with the bigger the back arch you have. Scaps, glutes, foot drive are most important. Your shoulders are important as a stabiliser on the unrack/eccentric working in tandem with the scaps, lats and triceps but focus on the main areas staying tight (scaps, glutes, foot drive) and transferring that pressure away from the triceps/shoulders to the pecs on the eccentric, then back onto the triceps come lockout. The way I bench my shoulders should only be a secondary factor to the pecs contracting, however the bigger the back arch may put increased pressure on the shoulders instead of the triceps on lockout due to shorter ROM.
 

Themanbun

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You guys with a big bench - this is what goes through my mind, is it different for you guys?

1. Set up behind the bar, swing through to make somewhat of an arch, locking my lats down.
2. Un-rack the bar
3. Lock my lats down as hard as possible.
4. Bring the bar to my chest, touching my sternum basically.
5. Pressing and pushing through the floor.

All the tightness is in my upper centre back though and not my shoulders/chest. Should I be tight through my shoulders more? Forget about my lats?

Only difference for me is I push through my feet rather than through the floor from the chest.
 

Alesana

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I've got a crazy imbalance with my left and right bicep(s), with one nice and full and rounded, and the other one flat and sh*t (right one).

No matter how much I've tried to even them out, it's just not working. So I think there is a method to the madness here with the skinny guys.

I'm pretty sure the problem lies within the disconnect of mind and muscle on one side. Probably bad contraction and bad eccentric portion all the way down

Also my bad bicep corresponds to my better forearm development on the right side. And vice versa. I think I'm onto something there

I despise people with perfect symmetry haha

I don't have a single symmetrical muscle group anywhere on my body. It's ******* annoying when I actively work to correct them all
I'm sure if you look close enough you'll see some asymmetry on everyone. My calves look completely different, the right is wide and the left is more narrow/long, I have a bigger peak on my left bicep despite my left arm being smaller than my right, more definition on one side of my obliques, the left side of my rib cage sticks out to the front from a footy injury so my left abs stick out more and my left peck doesn't have the same shape to it as my right :huh:
 

2006_Eagles

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I'm sure if you look close enough you'll see some asymmetry on everyone. My calves look completely different, the right is wide and the left is more narrow/long, I have a bigger peak on my left bicep despite my left arm being smaller than my right, more definition on one side of my obliques, the left side of my rib cage sticks out to the front from a footy injury so my left abs stick out more and my left peck doesn't have the same shape to it as my right :huh:

I've got different shaped pecs too, one is fuller than the other in the middle which is definitely just the way the muscle is formed.

Concordantly 😉, I reckon a poor mind muscle connection/not getting a proper contraction is a major culprit in a lot of imbalances though. I find it so easy to focus on one side in a bilateral movement (will even swap sides in the same rep with the concentric and eccentric parts) rather than conciously channeling that focus symmetrically. I've definitely seen progress performing the exercise unilaterally
 
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2006_Eagles

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Drinking coffee, especially on an empty stomach is supposed to suppress appetite, but for me it makes me ravenous

Anyone else similar?

Note: I usually use a (small) teaspoon of brown sugar and a dash of milk, so it triggers a metabolic reaction, but a black coffee probably wouldn't (with at least 2 teaspoons of coffee)
 
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2006_Eagles

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And most of the clients. I don’t even mean this as an insult, absolutely nothing wrong with it, just saying it’s a little crossfitty without the CrossFit.

side note I know the girl who is now engaged to the guy that brought F45 to Oz, she is absolutely gorgeous but also one of the most down to earth lovely people you’d ever meet, so I’m assume he’s also likely a great guy.

I've documented here some really bad, crossfitty exercises they program, but on the other hand I've had some super intense sessions too.
 

2006_Eagles

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This is a weird knock to have, but the trainers in F45 tend to err on the friendly side, obviously because they want your repeat business, rather than pushing the * out of you, which is really want you need
 

estibador

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Yeah it would be the sugar provoking an insulin response.

I drink black coffee every morning as part of IF and it works a treat. I drink decaf black coffee all day during longer fasts and it definitely suppresses appetite.
 

Coolangatta

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Got back into it this morning after no lifting since the 23rd. I'm trying a variant of the Greyskull Phraks. My version looks like:

A: Zercher 2x5 + 1x5 AMRAP, Barbell Rows, 2x5, 1x5 AMRAP, Overhead Press/Incline Dumbbell Press 2x5, 1x5 AMRAP (alternating day 1 and 3).
B: Deadlift (not sure whether to do 1 set AMRAP or 3 sets of 5), alternate OHP/Incline.

On both A and B days, I'll do push, pull, and single-leg/core assistance covering ab work, arm work, glute-ham work, and back work. Calves are the only ones I'm really missing. Lat work, too, I guess.

Does anyone familiar with Greyskull programs know what the intermediate looks like?

I like the look of it. It took me less than an hour to complete today's session, including the assistance work.

I dropped 15kg on my last Zercher set, though. Why? Because even though my form for my first two sets of 5 was okay, my bar speed was slow. It was hard. In my last set, I managed 11 reps with better bar speed.

It looks like you need microplates to do this program properly, so for now (I will be eventually making some renovations and upgrades), I'll only increase weight by 2.5kg when I can do at least 10 reps with decent bar speed on the non-deadlift major lifts. But I like linear progression as much as I can possibly use it.

Edit: One last thing. Because the incline press isn't a major lift, should I consistently do the overhead press 2x a week instead of alternating since OHP is a major lift?
 

Coolangatta

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tl;dr version of my previous post: is there an intermediate version of Greyskull phraks? It's not something I need to think about yet because my upper body numbers need beefing up, and I've scaled back the weight a bit because 5-7 grinding, low-speed reps are different than 5-7 smooth reps.

I can do about 115-117.5kg Zercher's for 3-5 reps, but my movement is slow, and the likes of Wendler want you doing those reps as fast as you'd do 40-50% reps.

edit: I am the type to overthink and analyse these sorts of things, though. I like phraks because the increments are small and larger increases aren't recommended unless you hit 10 reps. So, I suppose if I could grind out 8-11 reps I could increase my TM as opposed to a 5-6 rep grind which would definitely indicate it's too heavy.
 

Coolangatta

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I really need a new barbell to progress my training in the long term. I was thinking of using my tax refund + extra to splurge on this set. My only concern is this: are those plates going to fit on my trap bar fine?

Because I want to eventually use my trap bar, too, once my renovations are complete and I create more space in my workout room. I also want to get some microplates that will fit my trap bar and Olympic barbell once I get one.

 
I really need a new barbell to progress my training in the long term. I was thinking of using my tax refund + extra to splurge on this set. My only concern is this: are those plates going to fit on my trap bar fine?

Because I want to eventually use my trap bar, too, once my renovations are complete and I create more space in my workout room. I also want to get some microplates that will fit my trap bar and Olympic barbell once I get one.

I think they’ll fit. Pretty sure the trap bar has the same bar loading length and circumference as a barbell.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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I think they’ll fit. Pretty sure the trap bar has the same bar loading length and circumference as a barbell.

And these should do the trick for microplates fitting the trap bar and Olympic barbell, yeah? Most the Verve ones are out of stock. Just need some 2.5's and 5's and I'm set.

Later on I can add a pull up bar and Plyo box and get a pretty good variety of exercises.

 
And these should do the trick for microplates fitting the trap bar and Olympic barbell, yeah? Most the Verve ones are out of stock. Just need some 2.5's and 5's and I'm set.

Later on I can add a pull up bar and Plyo box and get a pretty good variety of exercises.

Should do. Not sure if they’ll fit with the 200kg loaded up though.
 
Ah. I suppose later on down the track I could add more big plates to make more space? The overall loading capacity of that barbell should still be pretty great.

Edit: Yeah up to 454kg.
Yeah just get more 25kg/20kg bumpers.
 
Jun 27, 2013
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I really need a new barbell to progress my training in the long term. I was thinking of using my tax refund + extra to splurge on this set. My only concern is this: are those plates going to fit on my trap bar fine?

Because I want to eventually use my trap bar, too, once my renovations are complete and I create more space in my workout room. I also want to get some microplates that will fit my trap bar and Olympic barbell once I get one.

Verves prices have absolutely skyrocketed, happy to help look around for a better deal elsewhere if you want
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 27, 2007
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Verves prices have absolutely skyrocketed, happy to help look around for a better deal elsewhere if you want

Thanks, mate, that would be appreciated. Strangely enough, I was close to making the purchase yesterday + micro plates but held off. I've looked elsewhere but the prices seem pretty high so far from what I've seen.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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Thoughts on my exercise selections? My eating and sleeping schedule is all over the place and I just haven't been able to nail down a program for a while. I'm going to go for a while of just not writing anything down (speaking of which, does anyone write down their set/reps/weight numbers before they workout?).

I just want to focus on volume or intensity for a while, maybe a mixture of both if I'm not stupid. But basically my "program" intent is 666, so three full-body workouts.

I'm trying to hit everything. Some feedback would be appreciated.

Day 1
Main: Zercher
Supp 1: Incline DB Press*
Supp 2: Barbell Rows
Accessory: Close Grip DB Press, Curls, Lying Leg Raises

Day 2
Main: Deadlift
Supp 1: Overhead Press*
Supp 2: T-Bar Rows*
Accessory: Push-Ups, Bulgarian Split Squats, DB Calf Raises

Day 3
Main: Zercher
Supp 1: Incline DB Press
Supp 2: Barbell Rows
Accessory: Close Grip DB Press, Curls, Romanian deads

*Might alternate T-Bar and Meadows and OHP with Incline DB Press.
 
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