Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

Max Power 83

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So I ended up buying one of these. I haven't had a real good go at it yet, but so far, so good.

I'm currently trying to rig a footplate to my rowing machine so I can use as a kind of horizontal leg press.

Also might buy a couple of cheap pulley's from Bunnings to add some more versatility (low flys etc.)
 
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just thought i'd throw this out there.....or here..

So I've been watching Rings exercises / Calisthenics and see ppl doing one arm this, one arm that "easily". I tried just to
hang one arm, nothing fancy, doable with my dominant arm, left, the right one requires a lot of straining...simply to grab on and hang there...it hurts too.

Then BANG....after fooling around a bit found the secret sauce...if you PULL hard with your (hanging) arm instead of just hanging around...it is way more doable, now I can just grab on with my weak arm and BAM !!!

Try it.

No, i was not watching one of these:
 
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Jun 27, 2013
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Used the verve v2 trap bar for the first time yesterday. go you pups it was great. It took me a while to load the plates on and off, but that's only because of my current setup, and I have the bar on a carpet and rubber mats, not a proper floorboard, so sometimes the plates come up against those.

But the feel of the bar is great. I used the low handle and set up similarly to how I normally do, but with knees out more, and to make the feeling more like a conventional deadlift, I'm careful not to lower the knees too soon when coming down, but I could feel the difference in smooth movement speed and leg drive immediately.

I still do leg curls and Romanian deadlifts, though to target the glutes and hams and get that hip hinge movement that you don't quite get the same from using a trap bar. But I'd recommend it. The bar did swing a bit, though, but that's my fault. I have to work on grip form and positioning because sometimes I came up and down perfectly, and other times it'd swing forward a bit.

This could be a problem as I get heavier, but loads close to my real 3-5rm will have an impact on my grip, and I may use straps later on, as some recommend. I've never used a trap bar before, so can't compare to others, but I can't imagine any out there being much better and offering something this one does not. Definitely much friendlier on the back for me.

edit: I'll never go back to conventional, the only downside is it takes up a fair bit of space + all my new plates (which are also great and make bugger all noise). I don't think I have enough room to put a rack in but we'll see, I can take some measurements. maybe I can + a barbell holder. If I can add a swiss bar and ssb bar with a rack and cables down the track I'm set.

I've started doing gzclp 3x a week with 4 accessories per session, trap bar instead of conventional and zercher instead of squat, floor press instead of bench press. if i had a swiss bar id probably overhead with those instead of a barbell because of the neutral grip.
Nice man, yeah I'm interested in getting a trap bar eventually, but I'd prefer a safety squat bar and probably a swiss bar first. In my current garage, I feel those big rackable 7 foot powdercoated trap bars that are basically half a squat rack are a bit big for my current setup, I'd hit the rafters regularly trying to put it away, but a 6 foot trap bar would work seeing I've been able to try out a few over the last 6 months, just need to find one with wide enough internal space with long enough sleeves

Yeah I joined my local Genesis nearly a month ago as I likely will be moving over the next 6-9 months, sold my Echo bike too, so I thought ok, what's the best way of spending some of that cash, so I loaded up on a huge stack of supplements to get me through winter (posted in the diet fred) and signed up at the gym.

I'm training like twice a week at home and 3-4 days a week at Genesis, they've got a nice range of barbells there, got smallish trap bars, a SSB, swiss bar and cambered row/press bar and some awesome knurled ABC power bars, but it's an awful setup to bench out of, so I generally will train chest at home and only do chest at gym on hypertrophy kinda weeks when I would mainly hit the machines and dumbbells. Deadlifted there tonight though, probably should've tried the trap bar, but forgot, just did all my other hinge movements and that was it (sumod, RDLd, KB swings, hyperextensions), normally a day I'd train at home too, but s**t weather, thought bugger it, go to gym. Should be able to have good leg days at home with more equipment but, like a SSB, a plate loaded leg curl/extension and a calf raise all I'd really need.
 
Jun 27, 2013
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Changed to sumo this morning as I’ve been having some sternum pains from conventional, have put my back out from sumo of course. Not as bad as in the past but I can definitely feel the tightness. Hoping it’s not my SI joint.
Rest up man

How often are you deadlifting/squatting and maybe rowing?

I've found sumos to be a gamechanger for me, though I'm not that strong in that lift (can only sumo 140kg atm), but it allows me to squat AND train back later in the week too (started sumo squatting like 2 months ago, been awesome, get 0 tightness next day, can train back next day sometimes, whereas previously when I'd squat with a conventional stance it'd be a mandatory active recovery/cardio day the next day to loosen up)

End of the day I think whatever lift gives you the least/0 pain is what you persist with
 
Rest up man

How often are you deadlifting/squatting and maybe rowing?

I've found sumos to be a gamechanger for me, though I'm not that strong in that lift (can only sumo 140kg atm), but it allows me to squat AND train back later in the week too (started sumo squatting like 2 months ago, been awesome, get 0 tightness next day, can train back next day sometimes, whereas previously when I'd squat with a conventional stance it'd be a mandatory active recovery/cardio day the next day to loosen up)

End of the day I think whatever lift gives you the least/0 pain is what you persist with
Ah conventional doesn’t beat me up per say, I’ve just been getting a weird sternum pain from it. Sumo usually beats my hips up, I haven’t got the mobility for it.

Don’t think I’ve cooked my SI joint, felt a lot better today, squatted easy 120kg for 4x6, couldn’t bend over Saturday so I’m doing alright!
 
Oct 6, 2005
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Ah conventional doesn’t beat me up per say, I’ve just been getting a weird sternum pain from it. Sumo usually beats my hips up, I haven’t got the mobility for it.

Don’t think I’ve cooked my SI joint, felt a lot better today, squatted easy 120kg for 4x6, couldn’t bend over Saturday so I’m doing alright!

My groin/adductor muscles get absolutely torched from sumo deads
 
My groin/adductor muscles get absolutely torched from sumo deads
Yeah I’ve done 8 weeks out of a 12 week comp prep pulling sumo, ended up frying my hips and couldn’t open them for sumo deads and had to change to conventional 4 weeks out.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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I struggled with balancing a bit while doing reverse lunges on my weaker left side. It's frustrating because I definitely want at least one single-leg exercise in my routine and that seems like the easiest for me to do besides split squats so I'll probably slow the movement down to get form better. I felt tired, weak, and had a bit of a headache and didn't end up doing the last two sets of my lunges or lying leg raises, but I completed my overhead press, Romanian deadlift, banded row, and high to low chest banded chest fly sets.

I've lost some strength in my pressing (no surprises), and my shoulder was a bit aggravated on the left side afterwards, but it's not too bad. I'm not going heavy on it yet. I did three sets of 9, 8, and 6. I was going for 3x10. I'm doing GZCLP, so I'll use the same weight and try and hit 3x8 with it next time. Liking the program and will stick with it as long as I can.
 
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Yeah I’ve done 8 weeks out of a 12 week comp prep pulling sumo, ended up frying my hips and couldn’t open them for sumo deads and had to change to conventional 4 weeks out.
Not suggesting everything in this article is relevant to you but might be some food for thought

 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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Love the trap bar but moving it out of the way and putting the plates away in my small room to make space for the next exercises with a bench in the way takes off a chunk of time that makes my workout go longer than it needs to. I was thinking of getting rid of the bench since I'm only using it for dumbbell bench pressing. I was thinking of replacing it with dumbbell floor pressing, but on my foam roll, so I have more range of motion, and it'll hit the chest more than just floor pressing on the floor would.

I already do the barbell floor press as one of my main movements, but as you guys know, there's less range of motion. I can't use the foam for that because you need a rack to get the barbell into position. You can't use the bench rack because it's way too high to get anywhere near. So, what do you think? Try DB floor pressing on the foam roll instead? It'll create more space in my workout room and save me some valuable time.

edit: dunno what the weight capacity of my foam roll is, but it's a large roll.
 

Max Power 83

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Jan 24, 2012
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Love the trap bar but moving it out of the way and putting the plates away in my small room to make space for the next exercises with a bench in the way takes off a chunk of time that makes my workout go longer than it needs to. I was thinking of getting rid of the bench since I'm only using it for dumbbell bench pressing. I was thinking of replacing it with dumbbell floor pressing, but on my foam roll, so I have more range of motion, and it'll hit the chest more than just floor pressing on the floor would.

I already do the barbell floor press as one of my main movements, but as you guys know, there's less range of motion. I can't use the foam for that because you need a rack to get the barbell into position. You can't use the bench rack because it's way too high to get anywhere near. So, what do you think? Try DB floor pressing on the foam roll instead? It'll create more space in my workout room and save me some valuable time.

edit: dunno what the weight capacity of my foam roll is, but it's a large roll.
Stop over-thinking it man!

Lift the weights. Get jacked. It's not rocket surgery.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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Stop over-thinking it man!

Lift the weights. Get jacked. It's not rocket surgery.
I'm not worried I'm gonna lose gains if I don't finish my workout in X amount of time. I like to crank it out in an hour or so, so I'm just looking to save some extra time which this would do. And yeah, the difference between floor pressing with a dumbbell on a floor vs. on a foam roll probably isn't much for chest activation, so as long as I'm hitting the chest, that's what matters the most to me. Just trying to make sure everything gets a look in.
 
Jun 27, 2013
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Love the trap bar but moving it out of the way and putting the plates away in my small room to make space for the next exercises with a bench in the way takes off a chunk of time that makes my workout go longer than it needs to. I was thinking of getting rid of the bench since I'm only using it for dumbbell bench pressing. I was thinking of replacing it with dumbbell floor pressing, but on my foam roll, so I have more range of motion, and it'll hit the chest more than just floor pressing on the floor would.

I already do the barbell floor press as one of my main movements, but as you guys know, there's less range of motion. I can't use the foam for that because you need a rack to get the barbell into position. You can't use the bench rack because it's way too high to get anywhere near. So, what do you think? Try DB floor pressing on the foam roll instead? It'll create more space in my workout room and save me some valuable time.

edit: dunno what the weight capacity of my foam roll is, but it's a large roll.
I assume you have a fixed incline bench yeah?

Why not sell it on Marketplace/Gumtree and buy an adjustable bench and portable squat stands?

Then when you're finished benching or squatting or something you can put it away in a corner and you can have more space for the trap bar
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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I assume you have a fixed incline bench yeah?

Why not sell it on Marketplace/Gumtree and buy an adjustable bench and portable squat stands?

Then when you're finished benching or squatting or something you can put it away in a corner and you can have more space for the trap bar
It's not fixed; it's just taking up too much space. I do trap bar and DB OHP as my main and supp lifts and after I'm done with the trap bar I put it back behind my bench where it usually is near the corner to make room for some of the accessory work that requires a clear space. And that takes time because getting the trap bar around and behind the bench is a pain in the ass as space is very limited to move both around. And the office room just outside my workout room is small and chock full, so moving the bench in and out depending on the workout I'm doing is a no go.

But I could try moving the bench up towards the opposite corner on the same side since it'd only cover the plates I don't need to use for the rest of my workout that particular day. Depending on how far I can move it towards the opposite corner, I may not have to move the trap bar around and behind the bench. We'll see. Maybe I don't have to put the trap bar back behind the bench until after the workout. We'll see. I'm adjusting as I go. in any case, dumbbell benching on a foam roll, if I need to, is still gonna hit the chest just as well as the bench I would've thought, so if I do sell it and not bother about a bench I don't think I'm missing much.

tl;dr I'll see how I go next time before I make any rash moves on the bench
 
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Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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Kinda want to see some photos of your gym space to make comment 😂.
Haha yeah might post but gonna stack more of the plates on each other than just each pair to create more space and see if I can stick the bench up the back end so I won’t have to move the trap bar around behind the bench after I use it. *ing mr bean stuff over ere.
 

Coolangatta

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There ya go, much better. Gonna be a heck easier to move s**t around now.
 

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Jun 27, 2013
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There ya go, much better. Gonna be a heck easier to move s**t around now.
Nice plates, so you went with Flex Fitness instead for Armortech?

They were a handy supplier for me in 2020 when everything was sold out, but as they're in Perth shipping can take a while
 
Jun 27, 2013
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Olympic dumbbell handles are pretty decent actually, I don't find them too bad to change over compared to my Ironmasters which can be a little slow, so I prefer to leave them preloaded heavy and adjust as I need to

Bought a pair last week, can load up a single to about 32.5kg and a pair to about 24.5kg each with the plates I have currently (will need to buy 4 more pairs of 5s to max them out at around 36.5-37kg for a pair)

Really like doing rows with them as the handles spin and aren't fixed so a bit more wrist flexibility, but also it's a much better knurled grip too. The 24.5kg should be enough for warm up pressing too before I use my Ironmasters for heavier presses, so will tie me over for a while in that regard until I get more plates or something (do want hex dumbbells up to 30-35-40kg eventually but)


Reckon I'll pick up this big boy in the future then once I'm regularly rowing 40+kg (can go that heavy already, but mid 30s for higher reps and better form seems to be better for my lats), but yeah, this might even work in the landmine too seeing how long the sleeves are
 
Jun 27, 2013
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Yeah the Olympic dumbbell handles are a little awkward to press with, though I didn't invert the plate distribution to have the 5s on the outside, so that could be the go next time around

Anyways

Gunna do a block of 5x5 for my compound lifts

Always thought 5x5 was a 3 day a week full body program, but alas I don't have to set it out that way, just my main lifts I base my training around in my split.

Probably looking at 4 days a week to build around (sumo DL, OHP, squat, bench) and the only day I won't do it is my secondary back day which is just hypertrophy, though once I can do chin ups again it could be a 5 days a week thing. I think I'll chuck in barbell rows on DL day, then float close grip bench and incline press between my 2 pressing days

Other than that, the DL/back workouts been pretty good lately
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
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I have two of these mats I place on top of my rug that I use for trap bar deadlifts, but I still have the problem of the rug bunching up sometimes when I load plates onto the bar. The plates aren't coming on and off easily, in any case. I was considering taking out the rug but then I guess it provides an extra layer against the damage of heavier loads. Or I could get some new flooring but I doubt I have the space for anything.

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Jun 19, 2011
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I have two of these mats I place on top of my rug that I use for trap bar deadlifts, but I still have the problem of the rug bunching up sometimes when I load plates onto the bar. The plates aren't coming on and off easily, in any case. I was considering taking out the rug but then I guess it provides an extra layer against the damage of heavier loads. Or I could get some new flooring but I doubt I have the space for anything.

GetAttachmentThumbnail
Extreme Standing hey? Apparently an exhibition sport at the next X games.
 

Coolangatta

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 27, 2007
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What's a good lower back exercise I can do if I don't have a machine (or a bench that's suitable to do them with, mine isn't)? I feel like it's the only thing missing in my routine. I have everything else covered.

It looks like this (yes, I've been sticking to it, I train 3x a week, rotating; almost done each of these routines 3x each). Critiques welcome (yes, I know, don't overthink it). GZCLP reps/sets schedule.

A
T1 Zercher Squat
T2 DB Bench (Face Pull superset)
T3 Band Lat Pulldown (will move to T2 later), Leg Raises, High to Low Band Fly, ??? (this is where I'd add a lower back one)
B
T1 OHP (band pull-apart superset)
T2 Romanian Deadlift
T3 DB Row (will move to T2 BB Row later), Band Extension + DB Hammer Curl superset, Reverse Lunge
C
T1 Floor Press (Face Pull superset)
T2 Zercher Squat
T3 Band Lat Pulldown (see A), Band Crunch, Band Leg Curl, Band Leg Extension
D
T1 Trap Bar Deadlift
T2 DB OHP (band-pull apart superset)
T3 DB Row (see B), Band Pushdown + Barbell Curl superset, Calf Raises

edit: I asked for feedback on reddit and was told my lower back should be good from the trap bar, zercher, and row work. And that what I'm missing are lateral raises, but if I do them again I think I'll try with slightly bent arms and external rotation of the shoulder (according to AthleanX this is better because it helps prevent impingement).
 
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