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cals83
Posts: 131
I just started this program this week and am just looking for some feedback. Basically I am not yet at the stage where I can squat the full Olympic bar with good form. My gym has these smaller bars that are fixed weights which I have been able to do as long as I have someone to take them off my back when I am done since they don't fit in any racks. Today I was able to squat 30 lbs which means next time I should be at 40 and then hopefully will be at the bar the time after that. I am thinking I might just skip the 40 though and go straight for the full bar because I feel like a total tool trying to get someone to help me get the weight on and off my back.
Also my shoulders are very weak. When I did the bench press I was able to do 20 pounds and that was fine. I used dumbells so I didn't have to worry about asking for help to set them down during rest. Today I did the overhead press and the 20 lb bar was just crazy. I was able to do them but my arms were completely shaking by the 3rd set and I think I was using my back more than I should have been near the end...do I keep using the 20 lb bar until I feel comfortable with it or should I move up to the 30 lb bar? (These bars only go in 10 lb increments until I get to the full bar :-/)
Also my shoulders are very weak. When I did the bench press I was able to do 20 pounds and that was fine. I used dumbells so I didn't have to worry about asking for help to set them down during rest. Today I did the overhead press and the 20 lb bar was just crazy. I was able to do them but my arms were completely shaking by the 3rd set and I think I was using my back more than I should have been near the end...do I keep using the 20 lb bar until I feel comfortable with it or should I move up to the 30 lb bar? (These bars only go in 10 lb increments until I get to the full bar :-/)
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On squats I would use the Olympic bar so you can squat in the rack. I think you will have more confidence in the safety of the rack and you will not have to ask someone to help you to get the weight on and off your back. On overhead press did you get 5 reps on all 5 sets? If you did then try the 30 pound bar. Your arms started shaking on the third set so I assume the first 2 sets went well. Maybe you weren't resting enough between sets.0
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Ok so I have been squatting in the rack and it is awesome. For warmups I am just doing body weight squats because I don't really know what else to do. I am only up to 65 pounds right now and that is really pushing it so if I warm up with the bar, my legs are already pretty fatigued by the time I get to my regular squats and I am not able to complete my 5 sets.
The overhead press is killing me. I stayed at the 20 for my next session and felt comfortable with it the second time. Then I moved up to 30 and failed in my second set after only 2 reps. I moved back down to the 20 and finished. Next overhead press I went back to 30 and failed again at the same spot. I think I am going to be in the same situation with the bench press and moving from 30 pounds to 40 pounds.
I am really wishing there was something in between. I can't wait until I get up to the full size bar where I can increase the entire load by only 5 pounds. 20-30 pounds and 30-40 pounds are huge jumps!0 -
Going from 20 to 30 lbs is a 50% jump. That's massive!
You can help yourself out a couple of different ways. You can buy 2 - 2.5 pounds of chain to wrap around the 20 lbs bar. You can buy weighted gloves and do the same. You can even experiment with 1 lb chains so you can go up in smaller increments.
Or you can add additional reps. Work on getting to 5 sets of 8 before you make the jump to 30 lbs and drop back to 5 sets of 5.0
