Maxed out on hip thrusts

jerb00

I have been following strong curves for 10 weeks and have steadily increased the weight I use for hip thrusts as suggested. I work out at home and I am currently able to do hip thrusts with 75 lbs (I am 94 lbs) but now I am supposed to increase the weight and I can't do it because I cannot get the bar to my hips due to lack of arm strength (which is more than ever but still not strong enough to lift 85 lbs onto my hips). When I work out with my husband he just lifts the bar into my hips for me, but sometimes we have different schedules so I am looking for suggestions for those days. Do j do more reps at this weight?

capaul42

Can you roll the bar up over your legs? Or use a platform on each side to lift the bar up so you can slide under it? Saw one lady use jack stands to lift her bar enough to get under it.

rainbowbow

I personally lay my legs down and then roll the bar up over my legs. I'm using the 45lb plates so it's tall enough to easily get under it.

CipherZero

If your gym has bumper plates - the wholly rubber ones -- get them. They're the same diameter as a 45 pound iron plate but come in weights of 5-45 lbs.

rainbowbow

CipherZero wrote: »

If your gym has bumper plates - the wholly rubber ones -- get them. They're the same diameter as a 45 pound iron plate but come in weights of 5-45 lbs.

She is working out at home.

I just want to mention though... I always at people with bumper plates. I'm tempted one of these days to just load the bar up with about 6 5's on each side so i can look as cool.


jk. In any case, i wish my gym had them in the normal weight section not just the cross$hit section, because they'd be very helpful in training deadlifts in my clients who can't lift a full 45lb plate yet. It's hard to teach good form when the average person lacks hamstring and ankle flexibility required to pick up a bar with 5lbs off the floor.

jemhh

I roll the bar up my legs and lift it all with my hips. My arms don't get involved. If you can't do that, yes, do more reps.

ew_david

Invest in some bumper plates.

jerb00

I have 25, 10,and 5 lb iron plates and a 25 lb bar. I can roll the bar up over my knees to the top of my thighs but I need arm strength to get it over the pillow and onto my hips if I put more weight on it. I can manage 75 but it is really hard. I need the pillow because I have pretty big and sore bruises from the bar and the pillow seems to be helping. Didn't think about getting heavier plates. If I got heavier plates then they would probably be high enough to slide under right? Like 35 lb plates? At this point we have just been adding additional small plates to up the weight.

jemhh

Get a squat sponge. It's a cylindrical foam sponge that goes on the bar. Then you can skip the pillow and roll the bar the rest of the way up.

rainbowbow

Is a squat sponge the same thing as a bar pad?



This is what I use on mine. It only adds about an inch thickness to the bar.


Also, yes, op. I think if you were using taller weights (a 35 or 45 for example) it would be much easier to slip in and out of.

p.s. these should be VERY cheap, like 5-10$ max.

jemhh

rainbowbow wrote: »

Is a squat sponge the same thing as a bar pad?

Yes, it's just a brand name. I should have said Squat Sponge

Leadfoot_Lewis

_dracarys_ wrote: »

Invest in some bumper plates.

I second this. You can get a set of 10lb bumpers for around $40.00 or less. That will be put the barbell at a height that you can just roll it in place and not have to lift it.

CipherZero

rainbowbow wrote: »

It's hard to teach good form when the average person lacks hamstring and ankle flexibility required to pick up a bar with 5lbs off the floor.

Bring your own technique bar, the Cap brand OB73-AL is only 7.5kg/15lbs. https://amzn.com/B002D1Y6H2

capaul42

I just use a pool noodle cut to fit my bar, for now.

jemhh wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

Is a squat sponge the same thing as a bar pad?

Yes, it's just a brand name. I should have said Squat Sponge

sardelsa

You can also deadlift the bar up and then sit back on the bench. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kuEjyvfZuFk (skip to 2:05 for the start of the demo)

jerb00

jemhh wrote: »

Get a squat sponge. It's a cylindrical foam sponge that goes on the bar. Then you can skip the pillow and roll the bar the rest of the way up.

Awesome. Didn't know something like that was out there. Checking Amazon now. Thanks.

rainbowbow

CipherZero wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

It's hard to teach good form when the average person lacks hamstring and ankle flexibility required to pick up a bar with 5lbs off the floor.

Bring your own technique bar, the Cap brand OB73-AL is only 7.5kg/15lbs. https://amzn.com/B002D1Y6H2

CipherZero wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

It's hard to teach good form when the average person lacks hamstring and ankle flexibility required to pick up a bar with 5lbs off the floor.

Bring your own technique bar, the Cap brand OB73-AL is only 7.5kg/15lbs. https://amzn.com/B002D1Y6H2

Sorry, i should have made that more clear. The issue we run into is not the weight, but the fact that my gym does not have bumper plates (which elevate the bar to an ideal height) nor do we have stackable mats to elevate the weight. So teaching standard deadlift (where they must bend to pick the bar up off the ground) is difficult, because doing so without compromising a neutral spine is difficult.

I generally teach my clients romanian deadlifts for this reason as they can lower the weight to mid-shin or however deep they can until their flexibility improves. They don't have to start from a "dead" lifting position when the weight is RIGHT on the ground (with say, 5 pounds on each side). Suprisingly enough by the time their flexibility improves, their strength is so much higher that they are lifting with weights higher off the ground anyway.

jerb00

Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »

_dracarys_ wrote: »

Invest in some bumper plates.

I second this. You can get a set of 10lb bumpers for around $40.00 or less. That will be put the barbell at a height that you can just roll it in place and not have to lift it.

Just looked up bumper plates. Are they in place of the iron plates I already have? Sorry, just don't understand.

jerb00

rainbowbow wrote: »

Is a squat sponge the same thing as a bar pad?



This is what I use on mine. It only adds about an inch thickness to the bar.


Also, yes, op. I think if you were using taller weights (a 35 or 45 for example) it would be much easier to slip in and out of.

p.s. these should be VERY cheap, like 5-10$ max.

Checking into both pad and bigger Oates. Thanks!

CipherZero

jerb00 wrote: »

Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »

_dracarys_ wrote: »

Invest in some bumper plates.

I second this. You can get a set of 10lb bumpers for around $40.00 or less. That will be put the barbell at a height that you can just roll it in place and not have to lift it.

Just looked up bumper plates. Are they in place of the iron plates I already have? Sorry, just don't understand.

Yes; you use them instead of the iron plates to get the bar to a proper height. I do Pendlay rows with bumper plates because every rep gets set back down again and rowing 60kg isn't happening for the density blocks I do.

jerb00

So instead of buying 35 lb iron plates I should buy 35 lb bumper plates? Are they higher than their iron equivalent? Just unsure of what I am looking at. Not well versed in this area as you can tell.