Strong Lifts but no small plates at my gym

Options
jayemes
jayemes Posts: 865 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've started SL 5x5 and love the gym I joined, but I realized too late that there are no small plates for the barbells. They have regular bars (45lbs) and smaller bars (35lbs). They have plates that are 10, 15, 25 lbs and higher. There are dumbells and kettle bells too.
So here's my problem - I can't increase by 2 pounds or 5 pounds like Mehdi calls for on some lifts. I can only increase in 10 pound increments..... so what should I do? Should I increase reps until I'm strong enough to increase weight by 10 pounds for 5x5? Should I switch to kettle bells or dumbbells for intermediary weight until I'm at the point I should be lifting 10 pounds more and then go back to the barbell? I'm still lifting relatively light but I know especially with the OHP, my next lift is supposed to be 47 pounds and no way I can jump from 45 to 55. I could barely do the last 5x5.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited October 2017
    Options
    There's no 5 lb plates?!? That's really weird. I've never been in a gym that didn't have 5 pound plates, and usually 2.5 as well. I'd double check with the gym employees to see if they are stashed somewhere.

    I did buy fractional plates when I couldn't jump by 5 pounds any more, and brought them to the gym with me. These...

    https://www.amazon.com/CFF-Competition-Rubber-Fractional-Weight/dp/B0158QP2EY/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1508941159&sr=8-11&keywords=fractional+weight+plates

    You could do that, if you really wanted.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Options
    My gym has 5 lbs in the open, but the 2.5 lb plates are by the desk.
  • Pocket__Cthulhu
    Pocket__Cthulhu Posts: 134 Member
    Options
    I wouldn't increase the reps, since they're already pretty demanding. Especially if you struggled the last time. If it were me, I'd just repeat the same weight twice and then jump up every other day. However, I'm not a personal trainer so take my advice with a grain of salt.
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    Options
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    There's no 5 lb plates?!? That's really weird. I've never been in a gym that didn't have 5 pound plates, and usually 2.5 as well. I'd double check with the gym employees to see if they are stashed somewhere.
    I know! I never even thought to look!
    It's a small local gym so I guess that's the reason? I did ask the owner and he said he's planning on getting smaller plates so hopefully he'll follow through.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    Options
    jayemes wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    There's no 5 lb plates?!? That's really weird. I've never been in a gym that didn't have 5 pound plates, and usually 2.5 as well. I'd double check with the gym employees to see if they are stashed somewhere.
    I know! I never even thought to look!
    It's a small local gym so I guess that's the reason? I did ask the owner and he said he's planning on getting smaller plates so hopefully he'll follow through.

    I'd nag him every day until they showed up, personally.
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    Options
    @quiksylver296 I'm normally not a pushy person but I may have to start doing that.....
  • TheHobbit2017
    TheHobbit2017 Posts: 96 Member
    Options
    They are pretty cheap that size could always buy your own. That or moan till they buy some
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
    Options
    The problem w/lighter plates from the gym's perspective is that they can too easily disappear from the gym.

    Personally, if I needed them, I'd just buy a pair of 2.5# plates and a set of fractional plates and bring them w/me to the gym. They are relatively cheap, aren't too heavy to carry and I won't have to search for or share them at the gym.
  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
    Options
    TIL people steal plates from the gym...
  • Barfly57
    Barfly57 Posts: 333 Member
    Options
    Wear wrist weights?
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Options
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    The problem w/lighter plates from the gym's perspective is that they can too easily disappear from the gym.

    Personally, if I needed them, I'd just buy a pair of 2.5# plates and a set of fractional plates and bring them w/me to the gym. They are relatively cheap, aren't too heavy to carry and I won't have to search for or share them at the gym.

    Bingo, spend a few bucks and get your own.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Options
    2.5# are $10 on Amazon. I’d just bring them and find a place to stash them
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    Options
    I would buy my own. Those 2.5 and 5 lbs can make a difference when you sew trying to get to the next weight. I've botten cable attachments when I needed them for my work gym. Just remember to take them with you.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Options
    nowine4me wrote: »
    2.5# are $10 on Amazon. I’d just bring them and find a place to stash them[/quote

    Or keep 'em in your gym bag for a "suitcase carry" exercise to and from the gym :)


  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Options
    You can buy them online.

    I also will use baseball donuts as they fit perfectly overy a barbell...
    as well as chains I buy/weighed at hardware store with my food scale for 1.25lb micro weights.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Options
    ^^^ i bought chains too, and made a point of sewing them into a pair of old socks since it felt a little douchey to be scratching up the gym's bars.

    didn't use them much though. i'm too lazy to tote an extra 3 pounds around when i don't need to, so i go the extra-reps route.

    another option that i really enjoyed is to do entire extra reps/sets as 'accessory', but with a much lighter weight. the wendler boring-but-big protocol was an example of that. for press especially i found that doing 'easy' reps also gave me a lot of benefit in terms of feeling and fine-tuning my form.

Categories