Taking the plates off the bar after deadlifting
ephiemarie
Posts: 264 Member
I suck at it and am convinced there must be some secret way to make it easier. The plates have bumpers, and I spend far too much time awkwardly wriggling them off the bar when I'm done. It's a terrible angle for my lower back, and I'm certain I look like an idiot as I go back and forth between each end of the bar wiggling the plates inch by inch. I've tried straddling the bar and squeezing it between my knees to get the plate off the floor enough to slide it off the bar, but that didn't work. What am I missing?
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I am curious about this too. I also do the awkward wiggle to unload the bar and I hope that there is a better way to go about it.0
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Once you're done stripping one side you can stand the barbell up on end and remove it from the other side. So effectively you're only wiggling the plates off of one side of the bar. The opposite side basically ends up in a stack on the floor once you remove the bar. Take the clips off first.0
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I have NO idea why this video is 3 minutes long, so fast forward to 1:10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub32EQNkEt0
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speaking of klutz. i never ever do seem to learn that it's NOT smart to try and grip the bar between my knees, landmine style, so that i can use both hands and both arms to pull that first plate upwards without all the wiggling. that first part of it kind of works, is the trouble. that's why i keep doing it. but then i get stranded with the bar pinned by my knees and my hands full of 45 pounds, and i'm stuck. i also need to stop with this mental habit of thinking 'oh, i'll just let it drop and stop the noise with my foot.' there's cavalier with your body and then there's metatarsal fracture.
in less-stupid terms, i think i've found the easiest thing for me is to unclip one side, go pick up the opposite side and DRAG the damned bar free of the plate that's unclipped. i should probably just watch crabada's helpful video clip.0 -
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canadianlbs wrote: »at least i assume they're monster. otherwise i can't think of a reason why he'd want us to watch that either.
Confession: I didn't watch. I skimmed until I saw the part I wanted and then told you all to fast forward.
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Sweet! So much easier than struggling. And if I get stuck lifting after that one guy again who had 6 plates on the bar and I had to take off 4 of them to get to do my lift, then it won't be such a struggle.
Also, glad I wasn't the only one struggling. Just gotta admit that one.
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DawnEmbers wrote: »Also, glad I wasn't the only one struggling. Just gotta admit that one.
Definitely not. I've posted a similar video (which I couldn't find this time) for a similar quandry in another thread. And I learned that trick by accident, watching said video. 0 -
Ah! Yea, I will sometimes use a 2.5 or a 5lbs plate to load/unload additional plates (although I've gotten pretty good at just sliding them on while leveraging the bar recently. Iunno, lol). I keep the bar in the rack until I have 135 on it, anyway, so I don't have to ditz around trying to put plates on an empty bar. That's the secret!
There's also a lil thingy called the deadwedge that kinda looks like a door stopper and is sold for about 20$ that can eb used as a glorified plate (it's got a groove in it so it's a bit more stable) https://www.lift.net/store/strength-accessories/66-dead-wedge.html0 -
I was going to say what krok said. I only use bumpers for the first 45s then use normal plates so it's not really an issue.0
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That's some fancy cinematography in that video. That's a good idea. The rubberized weights at my gym are huge though so I feel like they'd be unwieldy still. The 45's look like tires.0
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What I do is put the two lift-off thingies (the hook things that hold the bar) on the lowest holes on the front of my power rack, load up, then drop it down to the floor. Since the lowest holes are only between 1 and 2 feet off the ground it's pretty easy to get a loaded bar up and down. Here's a pic (bad angle, but you get the idea):
When I still worked out at the gym it was a total pain to figure out how to get the plates off especially since you're exhausted from lifting!
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I use one 45 and then smaller plates after that (even if I need two 45s. I'd use a 2nd 35 and a 10). However, using the fractional plate is a really good idea.0
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Some woman at our gym wanted to use the sled. It was freighted with 45's- like 5 on each side. She sidled over to the cage, batted her eyes at my husband, and asked if he would help her remove the 45's b/c she couldn't move them. This is an effective strategy you could try -- altho not in her case, b/c he was going into his squat set, so I went over and stripped the 45's for her. Judging from her expression, this was not the outcome she'd hoped for
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@CHFay -- than made me laugh out loud. 0
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She can pull a sled around but can't lift a 45-lb plate? Faker! I would have sung Don't Mess with my Man by Nivea while I helped her (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DeUoWIxvsw) 0 -
Heehee. I'm not sure what she was trying to accomplish but she did use the unfreighted sled for some half-hearted leg work after I got done cleaning it up.
In the same vein, we were in the gym late this Monday- like around 5 pm, so it was getting crowded. We were in the cage and doing bench presses (the bench was occupied, and we were afraid if we left the cage we couldn't finish the stonglifts workout) when some cardio bunnies got into the Smith machine right next to the cage. Blond, perky ponytails, semi-matching outfits, yada yada. They were busy doing "squats" and eyeing the college boys working their arms in the mirrors. I'm on the bench working on a 90# press set, and my husband is standing on the side between the cage and the Smith- overhears them saying "I can bench as much as that old lady". Now, they're quarter-squatting 30# of plates on the frigging Smith machine. I asked him why he didn't invite them over to work in, I could have used the laugh! (and yes, at a glance, these kids were half my age) After they were done I'da asked them to join me for a few deadlifts at 225. Snork.0 -
Blond, perky ponytails, semi-matching outfits, yada yada. They were busy doing "squats" and eyeing the college boys working their arms in the mirrors. I'm on the bench working on a 90# press set, and my husband is standing on the side between the cage and the Smith- overhears them saying "I can bench as much as that old lady". Now, they're quarter-squatting 30# of plates on the frigging Smith machine. I asked him why he didn't invite them over to work in, I could have used the laugh! (and yes, at a glance, these kids were half my age) After they were done I'da asked them to join me for a few deadlifts at 225. Snork.
This is basically the face I just made reading that:
If I were a pink horse with a pink mane. But you know what I mean.0 -
^^
You show em old gal!
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What I do is put the two lift-off thingies (the hook things that hold the bar) on the lowest holes on the front of my power rack, load up, then drop it down to the floor. Since the lowest holes are only between 1 and 2 feet off the ground it's pretty easy to get a loaded bar up and down. Here's a pic (bad angle, but you get the idea):
When I still worked out at the gym it was a total pain to figure out how to get the plates off especially since you're exhausted from lifting!
OK I wish I had thought of this (I'm an idiot)! I'm gonna get me some more J-hooks.
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This discussion has been closed.