Empty bar...
cloveraz
Posts: 332 Member
Did anyone use any empty bar, when they first started out? .....I was only using a 40lb bar, that had 2.5 lb weights added on both sides, while working on squats and bench press. The barbell press, I tried to use 15 lbs added to the 40lb bar, but i felt like i was doing it wrong. So, I took the weights off and just used the bar...Is that horrible?...
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No ma'am, it's recommended that you start with the bar only on all lifts until you can get your form solid. At that point you add weight.
This is from Tameko's sticky above (Starting Strength FAQ -- make sure you read it!):
The starting weight should be light -- either 50% of your max 5 rep weight or:
Squat: Empty Bar (Olympic bar weighs 45 lbs, womens olympic bar weighs 35, there are bars out there that are NOT olympic standard and may weigh less so be aware of this).
Bench Press: Empty Bar
Barbell Row: 65 lbs (but if you have a power rack you can start with the bar by placing it on the bars set at a low level and pulling from the rack rather than the floor -- think about where the bar would be height wise if it had 45 lb plates on and that is the highest point you should set it at. This is my own recommendation, I don't believe its specified in any of Medhi's writing because his target audience is big sweaty man-dudes or dudes who want to BE big sweaty man dudes.)
Overhead Press: Empty Bar
Deadlift: He recommends you start at 95 lbs, again because you are pulling from the floor so you need plates on there in order to pull. But if you're a 120 lb lady that's like starting at .8 bodyweight which is kind of..very high. You can start with rack pulls until you work up to getting some 10lb or bigger plates on there, then you can put the bar on the ground with extra plates flat underneath it to elevate the bar. (same goes for the Pendlay Rows, in case that wasn't clear.0 -
What Dani said!
Also just for reassurance, I've been lifting again for about 6 months. I can squat well over 45 pounds. Bench more than 45, etc. But when I just switched to stronglifts I went back to the bar on everything but deadlifts. Two reasons-I needed to take a break anyway but wanted to dive right in, and I know I'll be well past what I was lifting before in no time. Oh I guess three reasons, I want to check my form and make sure I've got it down on all the lifts.0 -
If it makes you feel better, I started out in mid-Feb as an absolute beginner with a gifted ten pound bar, and started across the board with twenty pounds and bumped 5-10 pounds until I got my Oly set.
I got derailed by an injury a couple weeks ago, and when I could lift, I had to scale back to just the bar (Oly).0 -
I´m only one week in and started with the empty bar. Especially in bench press and overhead press, it is challenging enough for me. In squat I can go op reasonable fast. Week one, day three and I do 66 pounds. As already said, work on form. I have asked the guys, who just happen to be lifting at the gym, to check out my form and correct me if I did something wrong, wich they do. So starting with just the bar is the right thing to do!
And have fun lifting!
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thanks everyone...That made me feel better!0
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I started overhead presses with 8-pound dumbbells and worked my way UP to a 45-pound bar.
Just FYI. 0 -
Thank you. I really needed to hear that! I used the empty bar (I´m in week one) and couldn´t finish the 5x5. I did 3x5 + 2x3. I was so irritated by myself afterwards, but I really gave it my best. I´m so relieved that it´s not just because I suck, but other struggle too. Thank you.I started overhead presses with 8-pound dumbbells and worked my way UP to a 45-pound bar.
Just FYI.0 -
Thank you. I really needed to hear that! I used the empty bar (I´m in week one) and couldn´t finish the 5x5. I did 3x5 + 2x3. I was so irritated by myself afterwards, but I really gave it my best. I´m so relieved that it´s not just because I suck, but other struggle too. Thank you.
No problem! The reality of it is that we all start where we start and progress from there.
I have to pay attention to my body and respect its limits (while pushing them). And boy, does it have a lot of limits. And boy, does it love to let me know what those are using aches and pains!
At the end of the day not getting injured (further) matters way more to me than somebody's spreadsheet/program/whatever. Unfortunately I'm plagued with piriformis syndrome (acting up again today! yay!) and low back problems, while also having a very weak core, and so I really don't want to add shoulder issues to what I'm dealing with already. :huh:0 -
I started with less than 45 pounds on *everything* :laugh:
I did bodyweight, 20 & 30 pounds squats for weeks. I worked up from almost nothing to the empty 45 pound bar on OHP and bench. I started the Pendlay rows with 30.
Woops, I misspoke, I started the deadlift with 60.
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