December Q and A
SideSteel
Posts: 11,068 Member
Hey everyone!
This is the (early) Q&A thread for December.
I'll do what I can to check this thread regularly for those of you that have questions.
In return, please join my facebook group if you haven't already. You can find it here, and please do me a favor by sharing some of the posts.
Thanks!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eat-Train-Progress/1451299741759830
This is the (early) Q&A thread for December.
I'll do what I can to check this thread regularly for those of you that have questions.
In return, please join my facebook group if you haven't already. You can find it here, and please do me a favor by sharing some of the posts.
Thanks!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eat-Train-Progress/1451299741759830
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Replies
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hey , i am not lifting right now , i do only cardio , should i eat the same amount of portion as the person who lifting?0
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amrelmesery wrote: »hey , i am not lifting right now , i do only cardio , should i eat the same amount of portion as the person who lifting?
I'm going to assume you meant "protein".
And the answer to this is "it depends".
I'm going to speak in generalizations here and I'm using voice text so this may have some errors.
Protein is very satiating, so in that regard, you should still be consuming enough protein to effectively blunt hunger.
The only two arguments I could see being made for reducing protein because you are not resistance training would be as follows:
- at the same calorie intake, reducing protein allows you to eat more carbohydrates, and depending on the current status of your diet this may be favorable in some situations.
- you may find a lower protein intake favorable for personal preference/adherence reasons.
Keep in mind, I'm generalizing to talk about concepts.0 -
Actually, a third potential reason could be financial.0
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ok , i will make sure to get enough protein with good amount of carbs , thank you so much0
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I've been trying to train cardiovascular endurance and strength at the same time but I'm running into issues with interference. So I was thinking of periodizing into a cardio block with 2x week full body complex barbell lifts for maintenance and a strength block 3-4 times a week either SS or eventually 5/3/1 with maybe one day of LSD/ steady state. My question is, how long does a block need to be to see benefit? 6 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks?0
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I've been trying to train cardiovascular endurance and strength at the same time but I'm running into issues with interference. So I was thinking of periodizing into a cardio block with 2x week full body complex barbell lifts for maintenance and a strength block 3-4 times a week either SS or eventually 5/3/1 with maybe one day of LSD/ steady state. My question is, how long does a block need to be to see benefit? 6 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks?
Can you clarify how you are determining that there's an interference effect taking place?
What are you observing that leads you to this conclusion and what did your training look like?0 -
In one of the other threads you talk about autoregulation and RPE.
I have no concept of RPE right now, I literally don't know if I could get another rep, or two, or another five. I am constantly surprised when I hit all the reps that I didn't think I could.
Is this something that improves over time by itself or is this something that I should work on now? I.e. after a rep or two imagine how many more I think I could get and then test it?
I ask because in January I am looking to move on from stronglifts, I'm finding it extremely taxing to squat at my max 3 times a week and had thought of moving on to Madcow to at least remove one heavy day of squats.
But now I am wondering if an autoregulated programme would be better (I have found at least one online that appeals to me - PowerliftingToWin, if you have heard of that before)
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StephieWillcox wrote: »In one of the other threads you talk about autoregulation and RPE.
I have no concept of RPE right now, I literally don't know if I could get another rep, or two, or another five. I am constantly surprised when I hit all the reps that I didn't think I could.
Is this something that improves over time by itself or is this something that I should work on now? I.e. after a rep or two imagine how many more I think I could get and then test it?
I ask because in January I am looking to move on from stronglifts, I'm finding it extremely taxing to squat at my max 3 times a week and had thought of moving on to Madcow to at least remove one heavy day of squats.
But now I am wondering if an autoregulated programme would be better (I have found at least one online that appeals to me - PowerliftingToWin, if you have heard of that before)
A few things:
I really like PowerliftingtoWin. They put out awesome content and I'm surprised it's not talked about more often. Damn solid material IMO, having said that I've not looked into their programs, just their videos and articles on leverages.
The ability to perceive how many reps you have left, or estimate how many pounds you have in the tank, is a skill and I also think some people may be naturally better at it than others. But because it's a skill it's something that needs to be practiced.
In my opinion, a good way to attempt to do this is to start with a non-autoregulated program and log an RPE after the fact so you can start documenting where you THINK you were at for RPE. Simply doing this will build awareness and it starts there.
Another technique you could consider, but you'd want to implement this carfeully, would be to get a spotter and test some rep maxes by doing AMRAP sets. So for example if you took an estimated 3 rep max load and took it to complete failure (and/or a 5rm, 8rm etc) and use these as benchmarks.
Finally, as it pertains to SL, I'm totally with you on that. This is one reason why I prefer to program a bit differently even for beginners when it comes to squatting. Right now I tend to program it such that mixed rep ranges and intensities are used throughout the week primarily because it gets away from the anxiety/grind of constantly lifting heavy *kitten* weights every session.
The only time I'll use a classical 3x5 or 5x5 linear model would be someone who wants to get as strong as possible as fast as possible and has the right mindset for it.
Now, with some exceptions as I will sometimes have someone run a short cycle, like 4-6 weeks of a 5x5, but it's sort of a get-in, get-out quick type of thing.
Let me know if this answers your questions, I sort of rambled there.....0 -
StephieWillcox wrote: »In one of the other threads you talk about autoregulation and RPE.
I have no concept of RPE right now, I literally don't know if I could get another rep, or two, or another five. I am constantly surprised when I hit all the reps that I didn't think I could.
Is this something that improves over time by itself or is this something that I should work on now? I.e. after a rep or two imagine how many more I think I could get and then test it?
I ask because in January I am looking to move on from stronglifts, I'm finding it extremely taxing to squat at my max 3 times a week and had thought of moving on to Madcow to at least remove one heavy day of squats.
But now I am wondering if an autoregulated programme would be better (I have found at least one online that appeals to me - PowerliftingToWin, if you have heard of that before)
A few things:
I really like PowerliftingtoWin. They put out awesome content and I'm surprised it's not talked about more often. Damn solid material IMO, having said that I've not looked into their programs, just their videos and articles on leverages.
The ability to perceive how many reps you have left, or estimate how many pounds you have in the tank, is a skill and I also think some people may be naturally better at it than others. But because it's a skill it's something that needs to be practiced.
In my opinion, a good way to attempt to do this is to start with a non-autoregulated program and log an RPE after the fact so you can start documenting where you THINK you were at for RPE. Simply doing this will build awareness and it starts there.
Another technique you could consider, but you'd want to implement this carfeully, would be to get a spotter and test some rep maxes by doing AMRAP sets. So for example if you took an estimated 3 rep max load and took it to complete failure (and/or a 5rm, 8rm etc) and use these as benchmarks.
Finally, as it pertains to SL, I'm totally with you on that. This is one reason why I prefer to program a bit differently even for beginners when it comes to squatting. Right now I tend to program it such that mixed rep ranges and intensities are used throughout the week primarily because it gets away from the anxiety/grind of constantly lifting heavy *kitten* weights every session.
The only time I'll use a classical 3x5 or 5x5 linear model would be someone who wants to get as strong as possible as fast as possible and has the right mindset for it.
Now, with some exceptions as I will sometimes have someone run a short cycle, like 4-6 weeks of a 5x5, but it's sort of a get-in, get-out quick type of thing.
Let me know if this answers your questions, I sort of rambled there.....
I'm a big fan of training to failure from time to time. IMO, it's basically the only way to truly judge RPE. Most people lie to themselves or their bodies/minds lie to them.
As an anecdote, it's one of the things that made a huge difference in my squat training. My squats weren't progressing at all, so one day I gathered up the balls to just keep doing reps until I couldn't do them anymore. Turns out, what I thought was my 3RM weight was actually my 5RM weight. Sure I was shaking on rep 3 and felt like death but I could actually do two more reps (despite barely even being able to see anymore). Adding two more reps at that (seemingly) max-effort level is a huge difference in training. I was effectively mailing in all of my squat workouts because I wasn't pushing myself. This realization and change eventually allowed me to make pretty big progressions last year and this year.0 -
^ That all seems reasonable and it's probably the best argument for taking any of the big 3 to failure.0
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I've been trying to train cardiovascular endurance and strength at the same time but I'm running into issues with interference. So I was thinking of periodizing into a cardio block with 2x week full body complex barbell lifts for maintenance and a strength block 3-4 times a week either SS or eventually 5/3/1 with maybe one day of LSD/ steady state. My question is, how long does a block need to be to see benefit? 6 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks?
Can you clarify how you are determining that there's an interference effect taking place?
What are you observing that leads you to this conclusion and what did your training look like?
Basically a lack of recovery leading to stalling on lifts for over a month at a time and general fatigue.
Training looked like this:
M: easy cardio to and from work on the bike 45 min; 3x5 squat, bench, deadlift, pull up, hip thrusts
T: 45 min cycle commute, evening steady state (65% MHR) 90 min
W: cycle commute 45 min, 3x5 squat, OHP, row, chin-ups
Th: one hour with trainer working on form light weight, some HIIT
F: rest
Sat: 3x5 squat bench deadlift pull up
Sun: steady state 65% MHR 90 min
I figured lack of recovery after I spent 2 months at a 120 lb squat (BW 145). I expected all kinds of stalling on upper body lifts, bc of my gender, but the squat stall I blamed on running and biking.
I wasn't doing any tempo work at the time so I don't know if the weight training was interfering with cardio adaptation because I wasn't keeping track of times or distances.
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@SideSteel & @DopeItUp
Thanks for both your input - I think I am going to have to pull up my big girl pants to test my maxes - I would most likely take my current 3x5 working weight (I have already dropped 5x5 to 3x5 because it was taking over an hour to get my training done), and see how many reps I can get.
I completely agree on the squats Dope - after 2 reps at yesterday's working weight I just thought there was no way I'd be able to finish, but I did, and it wasn't a complete grind so maybe I could have got even more.
Won't be a problem to get a spot for bench as my immediate colleagues train in the same gym, at the same time, on the same equipment
I am pleased I used SL5x5 to start out with, in less than 2 months I am shocked at the weight on the bar, and without the incessant progression of SL I wouldn't have added that much myself, I would have been far too cautious.
PowerliftingToWin has a lot of routines available - I won't replicate them here, but I did get them for nothing initially (you can pay as little/much as you want and since I am not a powerlifter and not training for competition I had no idea if it would be suitable for me). They start with "Starting strength" type routines and then start to introduce autoregulation.
I would be using the "autoregulated novice" routine which (from my reading) is:
Monday/Friday
Squat, Bench, DL using "load drop"
Working up to a weight where you get 2 - 6 reps with one in the tank, then dropping the weight and doing as many sets of the same reps as you got in your working set until you reach 9 RPE again
Wednesday
2 count pause squats and bench using "repeat" autoregulation where you get 2 - 6 reps at RPE8 and then do sets with the same weight/reps until you get to RPE9
There is also some other work done on tuesday's and saturday's (row/abs/curl/conditioning/mobility) which is all lighter stuff, I would either have to do that on tuesday and thursday, or only do it once per week (I'm guessing once would be enough for me!!)
That turned into a bit of an essay, so sorry for that!0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
Patrick does my programming and had programmed front squats as an accessory. I politely declined doing those so he said do a unilateral Squat accessory. I had no idea what that meant. Found this Brett Contreras article on the 10 best: https://www.t-nation.com/training/10-best-unilateral-exercises
I'm guessing one of those would suffice for you too.0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
This is one of those things that could have plenty of reasonable answers.
Depending on goals and what the rest of your program looks like you could just do more back squats. You could safety bar squat if you have access to one. You might be able to goblet squat in higher rep ranges, you could look at unilateral options but again it depends on your goals and what the program looks like.0 -
Also does grip effect the issue?0
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First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
This is one of those things that could have plenty of reasonable answers.
Depending on goals and what the rest of your program looks like you could just do more back squats. You could safety bar squat if you have access to one. You might be able to goblet squat in higher rep ranges, you could look at unilateral options but again it depends on your goals and what the program looks like.
All of this, except I'll add: where is the tendonitis? You could just do front squats with a crossed-arm grip if that works for you.
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Also does grip effect the issue?
The grip tends to be my biggest issues. Anytime my wrist go 90° or more it starts to become and issue. I am working on yoga and other stuff to strength as much as possible but barbell weight makes it difficult.
Goals - right now i am in a cut and working on strength up a bit. I got to a gym which has a good amount of equipment to include trx bands, and 4 different barbells (hex, 45lb straight, 35lb straight and ez curl bar). There is a squat rack, an assisted squat bar and a variety of other machines, dumbbells and kettlebells0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
This is one of those things that could have plenty of reasonable answers.
Depending on goals and what the rest of your program looks like you could just do more back squats. You could safety bar squat if you have access to one. You might be able to goblet squat in higher rep ranges, you could look at unilateral options but again it depends on your goals and what the program looks like.
All of this, except I'll add: where is the tendonitis? You could just do front squats with a crossed-arm grip if that works for you.
Thanks dope, its mainly in my wrist, but occasionally get pains throughout my forearms.
This is one variation i have tried and wasnt successful in the execution (bad form). So i hage to build up before doing this.0 -
Just a side question about front squats, because i am tall 5'10 and have long legs and a longer back then the average woman I find it difficult to squat at parallel or below under weight. I'm squatting 50kg now and when I do goblet squats (20 kg) I can go alot lower. I've read different articles about having to squat lower to get most benefit or you're just wasting your time. I've only been squatting with bar 4 weeks now. I have had to work hard on glutes and hip flexors in past.
Is it OK to not get to parallel or to do box front squats, I'm a bit worried I'll squat to deep and get stuck or do I deload weight and go for depth not weight?
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Just a side question about front squats, because i am tall 5'10 and have long legs and a longer back then the average woman I find it difficult to squat at parallel or below under weight. I'm squatting 50kg now and when I do goblet squats (20 kg) I can go alot lower. I've read different articles about having to squat lower to get most benefit or you're just wasting your time. I've only been squatting with bar 4 weeks now. I have had to work hard on glutes and hip flexors in past.
Is it OK to not get to parallel or to do box front squats, I'm a bit worried I'll squat to deep and get stuck or do I deload weight and go for depth not weight?
One thing to keep in mind we all have to work within the realm of our own physiology (bone structure and flexibility). Not every has the hip flexibility to get 90° or below. I will say, pointing your toes slightly out can help unbind your hips a bit. That is what i do for back squat to get below 90.
But i will defer to the crew here.0 -
Hey Patrick. What's the difference between high and low bar squats and do they differin how they effect physical performance/strength gains. For example if a program recommends high bar squats for a period of 6 weeks at high reps low weight and then low bar squats for working/comp weight: does that actually make a difference to performance?
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Hey Patrick. What's the difference between high and low bar squats and do they differin how they effect physical performance/strength gains. For example if a program recommends high bar squats for a period of 6 weeks at high reps low weight and then low bar squats for working/comp weight: does that actually make a difference to performance?
Basically, the lower you place the bar, the more forward torso lean you'll tend to see in the squat, because the bar needs to be centered over the foot.
So the muscles responsible for hip extension (posterior chain primarily) will tend to have more involvement the lower the bar is placed. The further forward the bar is (high bar squat, front squat), you'll see less hip flexion/extension which means you're primarily using the quads (flexion/extension at the knee).
In full disclosure, I'm actually CRAP at biomechanics, but I find it helpful to think of joint actions when looking at questions like this.0 -
Just a side question about front squats, because i am tall 5'10 and have long legs and a longer back then the average woman I find it difficult to squat at parallel or below under weight. I'm squatting 50kg now and when I do goblet squats (20 kg) I can go alot lower. I've read different articles about having to squat lower to get most benefit or you're just wasting your time. I've only been squatting with bar 4 weeks now. I have had to work hard on glutes and hip flexors in past.
Is it OK to not get to parallel or to do box front squats, I'm a bit worried I'll squat to deep and get stuck or do I deload weight and go for depth not weight?
If you can go lower on a goblet squat vs a front squat I would see what happens when you front squat with lower weight since those are similar. There are possibly some minor postural differences and there's the added responsibility of supporting the barbell, but they are both "front squats" as far as their general mechanics. So I would anticipate that if you can bury a goblet squat, you should be able to get close on a front squat.
Off the top of my head, failure to hit depth could be a structural issue (physical limitation that isn't likely to change), a mobility issue (physical limitation that can change/improve) a balance issue (you can physically hit depth but need to learn how to do it without falling on your *kitten* -- you see this often when someone can bury a goblet squat but they can't back squat to parallel) or just a training issue in that they have all the tools they just don't know how to get to depth.
Is it OK to not hit parallel?
Sure, if you're not training in a competition that requires you to hit parallel, you can squat however you want to squat. There are benefits to squatting deeper, but everyone has limitations and not everyone can squat to parallel.
However, I SUSPECT you can, and based on that, I would deload the front squat and really focus on going deep and see what happens. Once you learn how to do this it will train up fast (you'll add weight back on rapidly).0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
This is one of those things that could have plenty of reasonable answers.
Depending on goals and what the rest of your program looks like you could just do more back squats. You could safety bar squat if you have access to one. You might be able to goblet squat in higher rep ranges, you could look at unilateral options but again it depends on your goals and what the program looks like.
All of this, except I'll add: where is the tendonitis? You could just do front squats with a crossed-arm grip if that works for you.
Thanks dope, its mainly in my wrist, but occasionally get pains throughout my forearms.
This is one variation i have tried and wasnt successful in the execution (bad form). So i hage to build up before doing this.
One thing to think about with the cross-arm grip that might help -- think about what the upper arm segment does in the olympic grip vs the cross-arm grip and it's really similar. In a cross arm grip you're just internally rotating the humerus but you're also driving the elbows UP in both grips. Keeping the humerus parallel to the floor (or close to it) is what allows the bar to not roll off and cause you to miss.
When you set the bar in an attempt to cross arm grip it, try this --- set the bar exactly where you would for oly grip. Hold your arms out in front of you extended and elevate the humerus until it's parallel to the floor. Actually unrack the bar with your arms straight out in front of you. In other words the bar is sitting in front squat position on your front delts/collarbone area/wherever you comfortably have it, and unrack it with your arms sticking out in front of you.
You'll see that you can easily balance the bar that way. (You could quite literally even squat a few reps that way, as long as the upper arm segment stays parallel to the floor the bar will stay put.)
After you unrack and while your arms are still pointing out, cross your arms over into the cross arm grip.
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^ For clarification I'm suggesting you try this a couple of times because it will teach you that you can safely squat without even touching the bar with your hands as long as the upper arm segment remains parallel with the floor.
After doing this a couple of times you should be able to get into front squat position with a cross arm grip like a normal person instead of a zombie
I've actually missed my grip in mid set on an oly grip front squat at about 225x8 and it was rep 7 where my hand flew off the bar so I just shoved my arms out and up and finished the set with my arms sticking out.0 -
Which is nothing compared to @MattBrouse who has vids of him back squatting with no hands lol0
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Thanks SideSteel, I think in my haste to increase the weight I've skipped on depth.
Will give that a go and maybe increase rep range from 5x5 to 8s or 12s.0 -
First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.First love these q&a's.
What squat would you recommend to do instead of front squat? I am currently doing PHUL and it calls for front squat on the hypertrophy upper day and i do back squat on power upper. But since i have tendinitis in my arms, front squat seems to flare it a bit.
This is one of those things that could have plenty of reasonable answers.
Depending on goals and what the rest of your program looks like you could just do more back squats. You could safety bar squat if you have access to one. You might be able to goblet squat in higher rep ranges, you could look at unilateral options but again it depends on your goals and what the program looks like.
All of this, except I'll add: where is the tendonitis? You could just do front squats with a crossed-arm grip if that works for you.
Thanks dope, its mainly in my wrist, but occasionally get pains throughout my forearms.
This is one variation i have tried and wasnt successful in the execution (bad form). So i hage to build up before doing this.
One thing to think about with the cross-arm grip that might help -- think about what the upper arm segment does in the olympic grip vs the cross-arm grip and it's really similar. In a cross arm grip you're just internally rotating the humerus but you're also driving the elbows UP in both grips. Keeping the humerus parallel to the floor (or close to it) is what allows the bar to not roll off and cause you to miss.
When you set the bar in an attempt to cross arm grip it, try this --- set the bar exactly where you would for oly grip. Hold your arms out in front of you extended and elevate the humerus until it's parallel to the floor. Actually unrack the bar with your arms straight out in front of you. In other words the bar is sitting in front squat position on your front delts/collarbone area/wherever you comfortably have it, and unrack it with your arms sticking out in front of you.
You'll see that you can easily balance the bar that way. (You could quite literally even squat a few reps that way, as long as the upper arm segment stays parallel to the floor the bar will stay put.)
After you unrack and while your arms are still pointing out, cross your arms over into the cross arm grip.
Thanks. I will try that today.0 -
Went and practiced squatting onto bench with various weights and discovered that up to 35kg I can touch low bench reasonably easy for 12reps, 40kg is harder and could do 5 reps. Didn't try 50kg so now have a starting point and I'm going to spend next few weeks building up weight, reps and continue to go for depth.
Thanks for all your advice.
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This discussion has been closed.