Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

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Jugada

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Speaking from my limited experience; start including an exercise (or exercises) that you haven't done before. I had only done dumbbell kickbacks for a while, didn't feel like it was doing that much, tried theraband kickbacks and holy sh*t did it burn. Progressively increase your volume/weight/resistance on that and move onto something else after a while if you don't feel like it's doing much anymore or if you're bored of it. Also increase how often you train triceps, make it a priority, I wanted to see if I could sort of fast track my arms, I went from about 1-2 times a week to 2-3 times a week for at least 6 months and I reckon they developed more than all other muscle groups which were only getting trained 1-2 times a week. So if it's meant to be chest day and you've had 2 days rest since doing your triceps, push the chest back a day and do triceps instead. I think that worked for me so now I'm doing the same thing for chest.

That's pretty much the opposite of what you should be doing tbh. Constantly chopping and changing between different exercises will just be a mess and make it far harder to apply progressive overload.

Cables + very high volume is about as much advice as I could really give for building triceps. Ive never really bothered with close grip bench or skull crushers. Dips only occasionally too. Pretty much 95% of my triceps workout is done on cables and they would easily be my largest muscle
 
Nice work. How'd you get there?

My current plan for deadlifting is a template I've found where you go week 1 3x5, week 2 3x4, week 3 3x3, week 4 3x2. Week 5 you add 2.5-5kg and see if you can keep going.
Just following my programming! I’m being coached so they are doing my numbers. I’m hoping for a 250KG deadlift on the day, if I hit my second at like 240kg I’ll probably Hail Mary the 260kg if it feels good.
 

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Alesana

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That's pretty much the opposite of what you should be doing tbh. Constantly chopping and changing between different exercises will just be a mess and make it far harder to apply progressive overload.

Cables + very high volume is about as much advice as I could really give for building triceps. Ive never really bothered with close grip bench or skull crushers. Dips only occasionally too. Pretty much 95% of my triceps workout is done on cables and they would easily be my largest muscle
Agree that you shouldn't change it up too frequently which is why I said "Progressively increase your volume/weight/resistance on that and move onto something else after a while if you don't feel like it's doing much anymore or if you're bored of it." You either misinterpreted or are misleading with my quote, I'm no expert but I can say what has worked for me. And just because some exercises work well for one person doesn't mean it work just as well for another.
 

Jugada

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Agree that you shouldn't change it up too frequently which is why I said "Progressively increase your volume/weight/resistance on that and move onto something else after a while if you don't feel like it's doing much anymore or if you're bored of it." You either misinterpreted or are misleading with my quote, I'm no expert but I can say what has worked for me. And just because some exercises work well for one person doesn't mean it work just as well for another.

Yeah I know but that part is just incorrect. Progress will naturally slow down the further along you get and switching to a different exercise isn't going to speed up progress, infact it will almost certainly slow it down. Do not subscribe at all to the idea that different things work well for different people either. There just are more optimal ways to workout that apply to everyone.

If you are just bored with gym and want to mix it up for headspace then sure may as well do whatever will keep you motivated to keep going but that's different
 
Jun 27, 2013
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And then today I managed 2 sets of 3 at 107.5kg bench and failed on my third rep of the third set.

My bench can fu** right offffff!
I failed 145 then tried and failed 142.5 after a 10 minute rest last week

Funny going at 100% or close to it just absolutely taxes ya, even with such low volume

Do you get trap/rhomboid area doms from benching heavy? I've noticed it once I go over 120
 

Alesana

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Yeah I know but that part is just incorrect. Progress will naturally slow down the further along you get and switching to a different exercise isn't going to speed up progress, infact it will almost certainly slow it down. Do not subscribe at all to the idea that different things work well for different people either. There just are more optimal ways to workout that apply to everyone.

If you are just bored with gym and want to mix it up for headspace then sure may as well do whatever will keep you motivated to keep going but that's different
That is very different advice to what I receive from High Performance physical coaches with decades of experience training elite athletes.
 
I failed 145 then tried and failed 142.5 after a 10 minute rest last week

Funny going at 100% or close to it just absolutely taxes ya, even with such low volume

Do you get trap/rhomboid area doms from benching heavy? I've noticed it once I go over 120
I typically get taxed on bench more than my other lifts, but it’s also a mental taxing as I hate benching so damn much.

Can’t say I do but I also haven’t benched 120kg before. I’ll inbox you a video of my bench, it’s shitty.
 
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I typically get taxed on bench more than my other lifts, but it’s also a mental taxing as I hate benching so damn much.

Can’t say I do but I also haven’t benched 120kg before. I’ll inbox you a video of my bench, it’s shitty.
2 things that helped my bench over the years

I also had a big mental block with benching in my late teens, I fell into the trap of the chest Monday brah workouts for a few years, so even when it was quiet and had free roam of the gym, some days I just wasn't mentally up for it be it a big day of school or work and if my first few sets of bench felt average I ended up just going through the motions the rest of the workout and it mentally affected my other lifts later in the week. Frustrated with either a dose of Mondayitis or the gym was just packed with every other brah benching that day, I made the call to end up benching later in the week when I was about 20 (so 2008) and did either back or legs or both on Mondays instead while my training mates stuck with chest, I felt those other muscle groups I could work into the pace of my workout better and even if I felt average from work or whatever I could salvage a workout by ramping the intensity up, supersetting etc, I squatted and deadlifted and stuff too those days, but I wasn't too bothered with what numbers I was hitting too, just trained largely by feel. But yeah, I enjoy benching these days though, hate squatting now, lol.

My bench also improved prioritising tricep work and a heap of row variations on back day over shoulder pressing variations. I used to love training shoulders and getting a shoulder pump but I probably only do standing OHP these days every couple of weeks and nothing heavy either, rather do lateral raises and incline bench to hit the delts these days, also keeps them relatively healthy with no major impingement problems (right shoulder has been a problem over the years, but I trained shoulders alot more back then)
 

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I typically get taxed on bench more than my other lifts, but it’s also a mental taxing as I hate benching so damn much.

Can’t say I do but I also haven’t benched 120kg before. I’ll inbox you a video of my bench, it’s shitty.

You find bench more taxing than an intense leg workout?

Wow
 
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Incline bench day today

Needed a lighter load, had to change from a low incline to a medium incline to squeeze the bench in with the lat pulldown at the back now, but will probably work fine (will use low incline for db presses instead)

3x7 at 90kg, probably a similar rep range to where I'm at flat benching 110kg, pretty sure I was only getting 5s and 6s at 90kg previously so I've likely improved here too.

Will hit the triceps hard on Saturday, so close grip bench there, maybe some OHPs too and a heap of cable variations

Still working towards that 145 bench in the days leading into Xmas, so probably the 22nd or 23rd I'll give it a crack
 

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2006_Eagles

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Incline bench day today

Needed a lighter load, had to change from a low incline to a medium incline to squeeze the bench in with the lat pulldown at the back now, but will probably work fine (will use low incline for db presses instead)

3x7 at 90kg, probably a similar rep range to where I'm at flat benching 110kg, pretty sure I was only getting 5s and 6s at 90kg previously so I've likely improved here too.

Will hit the triceps hard on Saturday, so close grip bench there, maybe some OHPs too and a heap of cable variations

Still working towards that 145 bench in the days leading into Xmas, so probably the 22nd or 23rd I'll give it a crack

You must be yuge

Managed to damage the lower right corner of my right chest at F45 - doing this stupid dumbbell chest press thing where your upper back is on a Bosu Ball and you have to lift your ass off the ground and then do the pressing (essentially unsupported). Tell me that sounds biomechanically sound.

Oh, and they also think upright barbell rows with a super narrow grip isn't a one way ticket to snap city. Internal rotation central.

I swear some of the exercises they make you do there make look CrossFit look competent
 
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Incline bench day today

Needed a lighter load, had to change from a low incline to a medium incline to squeeze the bench in with the lat pulldown at the back now, but will probably work fine (will use low incline for db presses instead)

3x7 at 90kg, probably a similar rep range to where I'm at flat benching 110kg, pretty sure I was only getting 5s and 6s at 90kg previously so I've likely improved here too.

Will hit the triceps hard on Saturday, so close grip bench there, maybe some OHPs too and a heap of cable variations

Still working towards that 145 bench in the days leading into Xmas, so probably the 22nd or 23rd I'll give it a crack
Beast.
I've been including incline hex press as a second exercise in my chest day routine. Going light, good for keeping the ego in check.
Also doing pull ups as a second back exercise rather than a first back exercise, no more weight belt + plate needed.
 

Jugada

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You must be yuge

Managed to damage the lower right corner of my right chest at F45 - doing this stupid dumbbell chest press thing where your upper back is on a Bosu Ball and you have to lift your ass off the ground and then do the pressing (essentially unsupported). Tell me that sounds biomechanically sound.

Oh, and they also think upright barbell rows with a super narrow grip isn't a one way ticket to snap city. Internal rotation central.

I swear some of the exercises they make you do there make look CrossFit look competent

Jesus. I'd be handing my key in at the door on the way out. That's so many levels of garbage
 
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You must be yuge
I'm 6"5 1/2 but need to shed a few kilos, basically look like a fat strongman/powerlifter atm

Managed to damage the lower right corner of my right chest at F45 - doing this stupid dumbbell chest press thing where your upper back is on a Bosu Ball and you have to lift your ass off the ground and then do the pressing (essentially unsupported). Tell me that sounds biomechanically sound.

Oh, and they also think upright barbell rows with a super narrow grip isn't a one way ticket to snap city. Internal rotation central.

I swear some of the exercises they make you do there make look CrossFit look competent
F45 basically is a variation of Crossfit in my books, lol

I've done those types of chest exercises on swiss balls with light dumbbells, but never a bosu ball

Yeah upright rows can be dodgy for some, I shelved it 2-3 years ago, try and look into doing a high pull instead (though I think high pulls are better utilised with dumbbells)
 

2006_Eagles

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I'm 6"5 1/2 but need to shed a few kilos, basically look like a fat strongman/powerlifter atm


F45 basically is a variation of Crossfit in my books, lol

I've done those types of chest exercises on swiss balls with light dumbbells, but never a bosu ball

Yeah upright rows can be dodgy for some, I shelved it 2-3 years ago, try and look into doing a high pull instead (though I think high pulls are better utilised with dumbbells)

I don't do upright rows in my routine but if I did, it would be with dumbbells
 
This was awesome for getting a proper long head contraction


Tried these today, went light but really felt the long head. No rope attachment, just the plain cable.
 
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I've finally reprogrammed myself to not default to chest and to focus on back and shoulders and that's going really well, especially back which is probably as wide as it's ever been.

But my triceps are ******* terrible. Pls halp. It's not like I don't focus a lot on them coz I love tricep training, but results are sub optimal
10 second eccentric dips, don't even do the concentric component. Just step back up again. Use a weight belt as well.
 

2006_Eagles

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Tried these today, went light but really felt the long head. No rope attachment, just the plain cable.

Yeah I don't use an attachment either
 

Coolangatta

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I got up super early (5:30) and did a workout yesterday.

Deadlift 3x4 135kg, no backoff sets, OHP 3x9 42.5kg, failed to hit 9 reps on the third, but gonna give it two more goes and if I fail twice again I'll tweak it. I was cooked by the time I got to rows so I just did 3x10 DB Rows 20kg. Then 50 reps of lying leg raises and 20 minutes on the bike.

I didn't eat anything prior, just had water in between.

Has anyone else had experience with up at dawn workouts and how that'd that go for you and how'd you prepare for it? I found it hard but honestly I'd rather get it done before work than after. I don't mind coming home and getting on the bike but weights are a grind mentally after a long day.
 
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