Sorry, but another couple of lifting question.

traceyjj · November 2013

I am and older (almost 50), overweight woman who started lifting about 3-4 months ago. I currently do squats, bench press and deadlifts (the deads are with a trap bar).
As I am still very overweight (like 30lbs or more still to lose) I'm not seeing any definition, nor did I expect to just yet, although my body is changing shape quite nicely, However, I just want to know, are these 3 lifts hitting all the muscle groups I need to get a nice, hopefully firm body when I do get to goal, or do I need to do other exercises to firm up too?
Secondly, the trap bar... Should I be aiming to wave "bye-bye" to the trap bar at some point, or is it as effective as an Olympic bar for my deadlifts.
I currently train with a trainer once a week, then go alone twice more each week.
Many thanks for any help and advice I get.
Cheers
Tracey :flowerforyou:

HeidiMightyRawr · November 2013

They are great exercises, although if I were you I'd probably add barbell rows, chin ups (assisted if need be) and overhead press to the mix too. Then you're pretty much sorted

Not sure about the benefits of trap bar deads vs regular barbell, but I've always used a barbell. I "think" (not sure) that it's slightly easier with a trap bar.

Hendrix7 · November 2013

What you are doing now is fine for your purposes.

Re the trap bar, lots of People will start using a trap bar as it's a bit easier to get into the correct starting position compared to a conventional Deadlift with a Olympic bar, which requires a bit more flexibility. I would guess that's why your trainer has you using it.

Going forward it would be good to be using both, as they work the body a bit differently, the trap bar is more quads dominant where as a conventional Deadlift will involve a bit more glutes and hamstrings.

EvgeniZyntx · November 2013

I'd add rows and OHP. OHP will help with abdominals and shoulders that the other exercises are not touching as much, rows for back and arms.
And like Heidi states - assisted chin up, pull ups, etc are another excellent set of upper body exercises.

jimmmer · November 2013

What you are doing now is fine for your purposes.

Re the trap bar, lots of People will start using a trap bar as it's a bit easier to get into the correct starting position compared to a conventional Deadlift with a Olympic bar, which requires a bit more flexibility. I would guess that's why your trainer has you using it.

Going forward it would be good to be using both, as they work the body a bit differently, the trap bar is more quads dominant where as a conventional Deadlift will involve a bit more glutes and hamstrings.

You can supplement by using an accessory lift, something like a RDL or SLDL, to work the posterior chain and keep doing the trap bar deads.

(relatively) Heavy KB swings for reps with a good hip drive could be a good accessory move, too.

Cherimoose · November 2013

i would add lunges, bent-over rows, and shoulder presses. You probably won't notice much of a difference in "firmness", since that's mostly about a calorie deficit, but it will make your routine more functionally complete.

traceyjj · November 2013

They are great exercises, although if I were you I'd probably add barbell rows, chin ups (assisted if need be) and overhead press to the mix too. Then you're pretty much sorted

Not sure about the benefits of trap bar deads vs regular barbell, but I've always used a barbell. I "think" (not sure) that it's slightly easier with a trap bar.

Thanks for your input. Sometimes the trainer will have me superset the bench with a dumbell row if I'm not going for a new PB. Is the dumbell bent over row the same thing/work the same muscle groups? OHP I'll do sometimes with him too, but not often. I'll see about adding those in on my lifting without the trainer days.

traceyjj · November 2013

What you are doing now is fine for your purposes.

Re the trap bar, lots of People will start using a trap bar as it's a bit easier to get into the correct starting position compared to a conventional Deadlift with a Olympic bar, which requires a bit more flexibility. I would guess that's why your trainer has you using it.

Going forward it would be good to be using both, as they work the body a bit differently, the trap bar is more quads dominant where as a conventional Deadlift will involve a bit more glutes and hamstrings.

Thanks for your input! I'll look online for some form videos for barbell deadlifts. My trap deadlifts are getting close to 100kgs now, so I think once I hot my personal goal for them, I'll look into moving over/starting with the Olympic bar.

traceyjj · November 2013

I'd add rows and OHP. OHP will help with abdominals and shoulders that the other exercises are not touching as much, rows for back and arms.
And like Heidi states - assisted chin up, pull ups, etc are another excellent set of upper body exercises.

Thanks for your input! I'll look at all these to supplement what I am doing. I do struggle with OHP, but then I suppose I used to struggle with the three lifts I currently do, so I better practice more.

traceyjj · November 2013

What you are doing now is fine for your purposes.

Re the trap bar, lots of People will start using a trap bar as it's a bit easier to get into the correct starting position compared to a conventional Deadlift with a Olympic bar, which requires a bit more flexibility. I would guess that's why your trainer has you using it.

Going forward it would be good to be using both, as they work the body a bit differently, the trap bar is more quads dominant where as a conventional Deadlift will involve a bit more glutes and hamstrings.

You can supplement by using an accessory lift, something like a RDL or SLDL, to work the posterior chain and keep doing the trap bar deads.

(relatively) Heavy KB swings for reps with a good hip drive could be a good accessory move, too.

Thanks for replying

I'll look into those two lifts. I already do a little bit with kettlebell swings, I really ought to up the weight tho

traceyjj · November 2013

i would add lunges, bent-over rows, and shoulder presses. You probably won't notice much of a difference in "firmness", since that's mostly about a calorie deficit, but it will make your routine more functionally complete.

Thanks for your reply.
I am in calorie deficit, but I started out very obese, now I'm just overweight, and itching to be "normal" weight. I've been doing some resistance work on the machines right from the start of going to a gym more than 2 years ago... transferring to heavy lifting earlier this year.

I'll ask my trainer about lunges, as I have a bad knee, and when I used to do them before, they made my knee worse. I was probably doing them wrong, as I dont really have issues with my knee with the other lifts.
Shoulder press, is that the same as an OHP?

acpgee · November 2013

I agree with other posters, that you are not hitting a couple of major muscle groups: mainly lats and delts.

For lats, add some pulling moves such as lat pulldowns and rows.
For delts, add shouder press as a compound move.

Cherimoose · November 2013

I'll ask my trainer about lunges, as I have a bad knee, and when I used to do them before, they made my knee worse. I was probably doing them wrong, as I dont really have issues with my knee with the other lifts.
Shoulder press, is that the same as an OHP?

Yes, shoulder press = OHP.

If lunges hurt, try split squats:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSplitSquat.html
Keep your knee behind the first shoelace hole (not like he's doing)

If that hurts, go with step-ups or single-leg deadlifts.
It's important to do *some* form of asymmetrical stance leg exercise, for hip stabilization & balance (especially important as we age).

Sorry, but another couple of lifting question.

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