Your favourite gym exercise

[mcgarnacle]

yeah, i find my wrists aren't strong enough to keep up with the rest of my body for deads and shrugs. i would use straps, but i figure that would only result in my wrists lagging even further behind.

1. load your bar up with one 45lbs plate on either side of the bar, i.e., the large 20kg or even 25kg plates.

1. use an alternate (1 overhand, 1 underhand) grip for your work sets on deadlifts.

2. make sure you are executing the 'deadlift'. that is, each rep begins with a 'dead' weight. this is the whole point of the deadlift.

too many people in 'gyms' do not dead the weight. this could be a factor of using smaller plates, or the ingrained belief that every exercise requires continous tension on the muscle. 'dead' the weight after each rep by placing it on the floor and then lift again. no touch 'n go's

straps definately have their place if you are purely a bodybuilder who wants to exhaust the muscle you are attempting to hit with an exercise.....such as shrugs, dumbell rows. a lot of people find that the grip gives way on these types of exercises before the the actual muscle that is being targeted is fatigued. but dont use them on deadlift.

 

[mcgarnacle]

squat, deadlift, power clean, bench press, push press, pendlay row.

compound movements, multi-joint exercises. i love them all. and the above 6 work the entire body. the 1st three ive listed are my favs.

i havent done an extension or curl (upper or lower body), fly, shoulder raises, etc, for a couple of years.......and i dont need to. the holy 6 do it all.

ofcourse, there are other auxillary exercises such as the romanian deadlift, lunge varieties, glute-ham raises, etc which i use too. but the general crux is basically compound movement.

 

[mdc]

1. load your bar up with one 45lbs plate on either side of the bar, i.e., the large 20kg or even 25kg plates.

1. use an alternate (1 overhand, 1 underhand) grip for your work sets on deadlifts.

2. make sure you are executing the 'deadlift'. that is, each rep begins with a 'dead' weight. this is the whole point of the deadlift.

too many people in 'gyms' do not dead the weight. this could be a factor of using smaller plates, or the ingrained belief that every exercise requires continous tension on the muscle. 'dead' the weight after each rep by placing it on the floor and then lift again. no touch 'n go's

straps definately have their place if you are purely a bodybuilder who wants to exhaust the muscle you are attempting to hit with an exercise.....such as shrugs, dumbell rows. a lot of people find that the grip gives way on these types of exercises before the the actual muscle that is being targeted is fatigued. but dont use them on deadlift.

Could you expand on why?

I know that using straps would likely result in grip strength falling even further behind, but for me grip strength isn't really a concern - so should I still avoid straps?

I've been using a mixed grip for deads, but I find that past a certain weight, my grip's just not strong enough, and it also builds callouses on my hands - which I'd like to avoid if possible as it's not great for basketball.

Good point about the no touch-and-go on deads btw, I see a couple of people in my gym doing this, and it seems like a really bad idea for the lower back.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Could you expand on why?

I know that using straps would likely result in grip strength falling even further behind, but for me grip strength isn't really a concern - so should I still avoid straps?

I've been using a mixed grip for deads, but I find that past a certain weight, my grip's just not strong enough, and it also builds callouses on my hands - which I'd like to avoid if possible as it's not great for basketball.

Good point about the no touch-and-go on deads btw, I see a couple of people in my gym doing this, and it seems like a really bad idea for the lower back.

you can use straps in your deadlift. my view of not using straps on the deadlift is a personal one.

deadlifts are a real test of strength. there is no aid of momentum to get that bar up (when done properly ofcourse). its the entire body working in unison to move that weighted bar of the floor. personally, using straps in the exercise is cheating this principle of test of strength. it's masking a weakness.

rather than use straps, i use chalk. you can get it from any proper supplement store. a lot of the time, the loss of grip is due to moisture and the chalk helps to limit this.

IMO, deading the weight should put less continued stress on your grip anyway.

re touch n go's......yes, it is dangerous. you normally see the back of the lifter round when they use smaller plates and dont dead the weight. deading allows the lifter to get into proper lifting position for the next rep. with any exercise, it is of paramount importance that each subsequent rep look identical to the 1st (assuming proper technique is used on the 1st rep). if not, then any subsquent rep is a wasted one from a work point of view, and exposes the lifter to injury.

 

[J_Moore]

Just out of curiosity - when someone quotes how much they bench press, are they including the weight of the bar in that figure (which is, what, around 20 kilos?)? Or is just the weight of the plates?

 

[.Shotties.]

Just out of curiosity - when someone quotes how much they bench press, are they including the weight of the bar in that figure (which is, what, around 20 kilos?)? Or is just the weight of the plates?

I tend to add the bar in my mind then tell people that weight saying it's just the plates.

Works for me.

 

[Kong]

1. load your bar up with one 45lbs plate on either side of the bar, i.e., the large 20kg or even 25kg plates.

1. use an alternate (1 overhand, 1 underhand) grip for your work sets on deadlifts.

2. make sure you are executing the 'deadlift'. that is, each rep begins with a 'dead' weight. this is the whole point of the deadlift.

too many people in 'gyms' do not dead the weight. this could be a factor of using smaller plates, or the ingrained belief that every exercise requires continous tension on the muscle. 'dead' the weight after each rep by placing it on the floor and then lift again. no touch 'n go's

straps definately have their place if you are purely a bodybuilder who wants to exhaust the muscle you are attempting to hit with an exercise.....such as shrugs, dumbell rows. a lot of people find that the grip gives way on these types of exercises before the the actual muscle that is being targeted is fatigued. but dont use them on deadlift.

thanks mate, i already knew all of that, but i appreciate the help. i'm not too concerned with my wrists, they're still strong, it's just they'll give out on my last set, for example shrugs doing 170-180kgs, so i'm not too fussed. i've used the over-underhand grip too, but for some strange reason it doesn't have too much difference. again, i'd just prefer to not use straps and use a solid grip, which inevitably will help strengthen the wrist (as well as forearm & wrist exercises that i'm doing).

 

[Kong]

Just out of curiosity - when someone quotes how much they bench press, are they including the weight of the bar in that figure (which is, what, around 20 kilos?)? Or is just the weight of the plates?

yeah you'll find nearly every person when talking about how much they lift is including the bar. most bars used for the bench are 20kg, but they can vary between around 14-20kgs. but yeah, a general rule is 20kg of the weight is most likely from the bar, i.e benching 100kgs = 80kgs of plates + 20kg bar.

 

[mdc]

yeah you'll find nearly every person when talking about how much they lift is including the bar. most bars used for the bench are 20kg, but they can vary between around 14-20kgs. but yeah, a general rule is 20kg of the weight is most likely from the bar, i.e benching 100kgs = 80kgs of plates + 20kg bar.

14-20 eh? I've been estimating it at 10kg.

 

[Kong]

14-20 eh? I've been estimating it at 10kg.

well, in my experience (7 different gyms), at least. there are 10kg bars, but they're the shorter ones you see mostly being used for curls/skull crushers etc.. but yeah, the longer/bench bars (in my experience) are in that range. for the sake of you ego, say it's 20

 

[BigBadCam]

You're my hero.

 

[Kong]

You're my hero.

sorry?

 

[Robert Plant]

Lol. gold again. You should meet him and fight him.

and u should shut ur trap on topics like this. 'slow reps build definition.' hahahaha u ***** deadshit.

 

[BigBadCam]

and u should shut ur trap on topics like this. 'slow reps build definition.' hahahaha u ***** deadshit.

You're also my hero. I wish I could be like you and spend all my time in the gym looking at myself in a mirror. You ****ing ponce. Why don't you find something constructive to do with your time?

 

[Robert Plant]

You're also my hero. I wish I could be like you and spend all my time in the gym looking at myself in a mirror. You ****ing ponce.

i do spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. its part of my profession. wats urs mate? ponce ey? wat do u lift? how many fight hav u been in let alone won? i would break u in half u little weed.

Why don't you find something constructive to do with your time?

says u mate. i saw u posted messages on a footy forum over the times of 12am 2am 4am 6am the other nite. either u have no ***** life and live on here or u work a dead end job so ur up all nite. still at the computer. ey? ey? ***** dropkick!

 

[BigBadCam]

i do spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. its part of my profession. wats urs mate? ponce ey? wat do u lift? how many fight hav u been in let alone won? i would break u in half u little weed.
says u mate. i saw u posted messages on a footy forum over the times of 12am 2am 4am 6am the other nite. either u have no ***** life and live on here or u work a dead end job so ur up all nite. still at the computer. ey? ey? ***** dropkick!

Haha. Robert (Keyboard warrior) Plant. Reverting back to fights? Are you going to break my arms off and beat me with them? I am just a little boy so please don't hurt me mr Robert.

 

[Robert Plant]

Haha. Robert (Keyboard warrior) Plant. Reverting back to fights? Are you going to break my arms off and beat me with them? I am just a little boy so please don't hurt me mr Robert.

is that the best u could cum up with? dear me ur terrible. ur like ur idol shotties. u avoid controntational questions with shitty li'l cumbacks and think uve 1upped me. answer myy questions or shut up shot.

 

[BigBadCam]

is that the best u could cum up with? dear me ur terrible. ur like ur idol shotties. u avoid controntational questions with shitty li'l cumbacks and think uve 1upped me. answer myy questions or shut up shot.

My job is boring, but I earn more money mining than you could count. I'm not claiming to be bigger than anyone, or claiming that I could fight anybody, but here's a bit of advice for the future Plant. It doesn't matter how big or tough you are, there will always be someone bigger and tougher than you. Also, it doesn't matter how big you are if some feral hits you with a glass to the back of the head. If you go round boasting about how big you are, you're bound to piss someone off enough to do this.

 

[Robert Plant]

My job is boring, but I earn more money mining than you could count. I'm not claiming to be bigger than anyone, or claiming that I could fight anybody, but here's a bit of advice for the future Plant. It doesn't matter how big or tough you are, there will always be someone bigger and tougher than you. Also, it doesn't matter how big you are if some feral hits you with a glass to the back of the head. If you go round boasting about how big you are, you're bound to piss someone off enough to do this.

mining, not a bad coin. if i place in my next comp i will be getting around 30k for a few months work. so dont underestimate my gig. sorry to be a w***er but if i feel im dealing with one ill go carmelion on them and give it back. i no theres people bigger for sure. i see them in my gym every week. ive been jumped twice in my life and had a broken nose to show for it. the other time i was lucky enough to keep my feet and get the guys. so ive seen the ugly life of life and i dont fear much besides a lunatic with a knife or sumthin. n e way time to move on and get back to the topic

 

[Goat 53]

It's a sad day when people with IQs under 80 can operate computers.

 

[J_Moore]

Back to punch cards, I say!

 

[.Shotties.]

many fight hav u been in let alone won? i would break u in half u little weed.

Dude, come on. *facepalm*

On another note, can anyone help a nigguh out with what correct form is supposed to be on t bar rows? Near every time I do them I get someone correcting my form saying move further forward or back. I'd always thought you were pretty close to upright only moving the bar a little, but now I don't know what to think.

 

[james_omahoney]

well, in my experience (7 different gyms), at least. there are 10kg bars, but they're the shorter ones you see mostly being used for curls/skull crushers etc.. but yeah, the longer/bench bars (in my experience) are in that range. for the sake of you ego, say it's 20

I've weighed several bars over the years and here's what I got:

Full-length Olympic: 20 kgs
Ezy-curl Olympic: 13 kgs

Full-Length Standard: 10 kgs
Ezy-curl Standard: 7.5 kgs
Dumbell Bar Standard: 2 - 2.5 kgs

 

[Goat 53]

Getting money out of my wallet and handing it to the dude dealing in roids is a fun exercise.

 

[Kong]

Dude, come on. *facepalm*

On another note, can anyone help a nigguh out with what correct form is supposed to be on t bar rows? Near every time I do them I get someone correcting my form saying move further forward or back. I'd always thought you were pretty close to upright only moving the bar a little, but now I don't know what to think.

I did them almost arching my back on a 45 degree angle, trying not to move either it or my legs as i focused on using my back to pull the back (minimising my shoulders from swinging). but that's just me.