Yikes, I might be recomping!

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Replies

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member

    Also your bar should have gaps or notches in the knurling, to make it easier to line up your hands.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,496 Member

    my old trainer had me bench with a bamboo bar, using either plates or kettlebells, attached, dangling, by heavy rubber workout bands.

    The object was to do it with as little wobble as possible, in a smooth benching motion

    It was like benching a couple sacks full of angry wet cats. But that was my #1 favorite thing to do in the gym. The concentration it took was ferocious, and for some reason I excelled at that. I guess that’s why I enjoyed it so much. 😂


    I was just thinking about how much I missed it a couple of days ago, and that it would be a complete No Go at the Cocoon Gym. (As in the movie. Clientele is 80% senior, but a lot of kick *kitten* seniors.)

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48555148#Comment_48555148

    Sure, but I was so fighting with the lifting straps that I missed this. Remember my hands are too small for my current bar when it comes to deadlifts and rows.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Well, getting somewhere. I think the lift percentage groupings are based on age, weight and gender. Still very weak with some things, but others are improving. I could do without biceps curls if one biceps didn't have one tendon less and is substantially weaker, which I also notice with overhead presses. Squats are mostly so low because of safety concerns: I don't have a squat rack and improvise a lot here.

    image.png
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member
    edited April 10

    Nice! How do you get that graph btw, what site/app is that?

    For squats without rack (that's me too), I do and also recommend:

    1. Barbell hack squat. A "forgotten" exercise. Also called reverse deadlift. Bar behind your heels, raise and lower to squat depth, repeat. You'll feel it in your quads, not your lower back. And you'll feel some lats probably. Even better, elevate your heels on a wedge (I got a pair for under $30 on Amazon) or on plates.
    2. Bulgarian split squats, with 1 or 2 db's. Planting foot farther and leaning forward more will work the glutes more. Planting foot closer and being more vertical will work quads more. If you've never done these before you might need to use one arm to hold on to something for balance.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Hi Retro! I'm logging my progress on strengthlevel.com. Felt better than using yet another spreadsheet :D And seriously, every lift that gets above 'novice' is a super win for me. Looks like I need these kind of charts for motivation.

    I have a bench with dip bars (far too wide apart for me) on the back of the weight holders. For squats I maneuver the barbell from the holders onto the dip bars, load the weights, then sit on the edge of the bench and stand up with the bar. Problem: I don't have any safety measure should I lose the balance. And my landlord would not be amused should I drop the weight onto the ground 😣 I'll certainly experiment with other squat variants, and the hack squat sounds exactly like what I might need. With a mat.

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 14,036 Member

    You can also try doing goblet squats which involve holding DBs in front of your face/upper chest rather than a BB going across the shoulders.

    I've visited the strengthlevel.com website numerous times over the years, but only ever for a one-time "how did today's lift stack up" kind of thing, didn't know you could get graphs like you've posted.

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member

    I use that site often, but I've never made an account. Maybe I should.

    I just have crappy foam squares that I put down as needed. They're better than nothing, and probably the least desirable option. Decent rubber mats would be better for sure. Thing is, if you're doing things properly, you shouldn't ever need to drop the bar when doing the likes of barbell row, RDL, barbell hack squat. And even if you did, it would probably only fall a few inches. At the hardest point of the lift, squat depth, the bar is around calf level, so the plates are almost at the floor anyway. Try it now with no bar, hands at your sides holding an imaginary bar behind you and squat down.

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member
    edited April 10

    Here's a good example. I've no clue who this guy is, but it's a YT short I quickly found that shows it well. If you can lower the weight (slowly) to the floor, fine. Maybe my flexibility and height works against me for that depth, plus my bar is slightly elevated from the floor by the mats I mentioned (and I also put a 10 pound plate down on each side too, to 'catch' the barbell in the right spot (so I don't need to line up the wedges again). So for me, I lower to almost floor and go up. You can really feel it in the quads.

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eGnRvkDnZNo

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48561837#Comment_48561837

    You're welcome.
    Goblet squats are not for me. My muscle condition kicks in from holding a weight this way, and then my arms are dead. But thanks. I'm sure other people will find this useful 😘

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48561837#Comment_48561837

    Goblet squat is fantastic for beginners, but for beyond that I feel most people are phoning it in with the low db weight they have available. At that point, switch to Bulgarian maybe.

    I often use the strengthlevel site for their 1RM estimate. Not that I care about 1RM, but to give me an idea I'm on track with the rep count I get after increasing the weight.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Weight is doing super crazy things, like staying 2kg above my suspected maintenance cals for a few days, then it's down again without me noticing. Yeah, I exchanged the scale battery, but I don't think it's that as I get a different reading each day.

    Anyway: getting somewhere. Nearly at bodyweight with deadlifts. I'd planned to increase weight for overhead presses by 0.5kg each because this is my worst exercise, and blood pooling from hell if I do something overhead. Accidentally increased by 1kg, and it worked actually. Not 5x5, but much better than I thought. Woohoo.

    I'm tempted to do a 1 rep max day. I do see two problems here: All instructions I see mention doing 10 reps with an empty bar first. I can only do 6-7 due to my muscle condition. And I'm not sure my Garmin watch would record the 1-rep max as record. If I get a new record I'm always asked whether I'd also update the 1-rep max, which I always click NO. I don't want this as my new record due to reason.

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48589043#Comment_48589043

    If you feel you need a 1RM, you do you. I've personally never seen the need. I'm fine with estimating it via a 1RM calculator.

    You do need to be properly warmed up for it, with many ascending weight sets with fewer reps each time. Do you need 10 reps with an empty bar to start? Probably not, if you're suitably warmed up, but every strongman/powerlifter I watch on YT starts with an empty bar or one plate each side, adding a plate each time up to their target set which may be 6+ plates each side. And their form is identical for every one.

    Also, are you doing low rep sets? Because I would never consider e.g. going from 10-15 rep sets to deciding one day, let's try a 1RM. That's a recipe for injury.

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 14,036 Member

    @Retroguy2000 she has a medical condition where, if she goes above 5-6 reps, her muscles completely give out on her, regardless the weight…even a five lb weight done for 10 reps is something she can't do. (I still don't understand it myself, but I'm not the one having to live with it.)

    The important part of warming up to do a 1RM attempt is to be thoroughly warmed up without being exhausted by the warmup. Personally, I would choose a weight about 25% of current 1RM, do 5 reps; 50% for 4; 75% for 3; 90% for 2; 100% of current 1RM for 1, then rest before trying for the new 1RM. If successful and you want to try for even more, rest again and try the new 1RM. Don't try for a third 1RM attempt without instructor supervision. Also, don't try to do multiple 1RM tests on the same day, unless completely different body parts (squat and OHP fine, but bench and OHP not).

    Can't help you with the Garmin thing, don't own one.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Thanks guys. Yeah, you're right nossmf. I don't know the reason either. Two theories: either too much calcium flows into my muscles cells and doesn't go out quickly enough, leading to tightness without enough relaxation between contractions and muscles giving up, or it's lactate causing this. Doctor sees reasons for both but is not certain how to test for it. Thus stamina and strength both increase. Repeating somewhat more strenuous movements is not possible and there's no improvement on that.

    I do 5x5 for that reason, and because strength is more important for me than hypertrophy. And 1-3x5 in deadlifts. I don't need to do 1RM, but for some reason I'm curious what I really manage to do if I just do one rep. Curiosity.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Just as a note: It's neuromuscular. I know now after muscle biopsy and lots of metabolic blood and urine tests, and sports tests. Just the right gene defect has not been found yet. All I know is that part of muscular energy generation is broken, some defects in muscular structure, plus a few other things. It's always been like this, thus that there's now a bit of a name is nice, but doesn't change anything for me.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Hmpf.. not getting anywhere with squats. With deadlifts I'm quite close to my bodyweight. Maybe next time or at least near the end of this month. Looking at my really old 5x5 app data I'm certainly higher with everything than I was in 2014 when I last lifted. And I'm so glad I surpassed overhead press as I simply did not progress there at all.

    image.png
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 14,036 Member

    I love that graph! (Your improvement also, but mostly the graph itself! 😁)

    Wonder if I created an account, if I would be able to input my numbers from my younger self to see a similar over-time setup, or are you limited to inputting today only, and thus I can only input going forward? I have pretty good paper notes from the past 16 years of lifting (though older workouts aren't dated accurately, so it'd be some degree of guessing when I was able to hit certain milestones).

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    No, I screwed up quite a bit with entering data. You can add old data, delete data or complete workouts etc. It's just all a bit clunky. I do love a good graph as well, mind 😁

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    Yay, finally got out of noob corner for squats!

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  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member

    What is the comparison to?

    Because I see on the pages for each exercise (I haven't made an account), I can see where I stand (with my estimated 1RM via their calculator) vs men of my bw, and also men of my age.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member

    That's a good question. A function of gender, age and weight compared to their collected data I think. I could show the actual max weights, but I prefer something that motivates me. I can't see how much data there is for my group though.

    Ah, I found this one here:

    How did we calculate this?

    Step 1 - Compare to all female lifters

    We estimated that your one-rep max is xx kg as you lifted xx kg for 5 repetitions.

    We then compared you to other female lifters who tested with Strength Level.

    Result: stronger than 17% ★★

    Step 2 - Adjust for age

    Adjusting for your age xx, this corresponds to a xx.x kg age-adjusted max lift.

    Result: stronger than 23% ★★

    Step 3 - Adjust for bodyweight

    We then compared you to other lifters at your bodyweight of xx kg to find your relative strength.

    Result: stronger than 22% ★★

    Step 4 - Find Strength Level boundary

    Your Strength Level is Novice.

    Novice lifters are stronger than at least 20% of lifters.

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member

    Thanks!

  • HappyDonkey75
    HappyDonkey75 Posts: 527 Member

    Hi- can anyone here share a recommendation for a 4 ft barbell for a smaller home gym set up ? I have looked at a few but honestly in analysis paralysis over the options. I also have a limited budget ideally ,nothing over $100 , max of $150 .

    I have been using dumbells for a while now but its time to add a bar and plates..

    Help please!

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,523 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48609807#Comment_48609807

    It really depends on what you want. My set cost 270 EUR, which is stiff but I for now have enough weights, and enough smaller weights that allow me to progress with lifts I'm totally shite at, like overhead presses. Another set of 10kg weights will set me back at least 50 EUR. It's just not cheap. Thus consider first what you need, then see if second-hand is an option, but use a hole diameter for the weights that are easy to get. With a 4ft bar you probably don't want thick concrete weights covered in rubber, but much thinner cast iron ones. Which are again most expensive. I chose ones with grip holes because they're easier to handle.

  • HappyDonkey75
    HappyDonkey75 Posts: 527 Member

    @yirara - thanks, They really are an investment. I have 10, 12, 15, 20 and 25 lb dumb bell sets currently and a few kettle balls , a bench, (not with a rack) some miscellaneous bands and a home gym system ( old ) with weight plates so I can do rows , chest presses, lateral pulls down , etc. but I feel like maybe the barbell would be more helpful for increasing strength and body composition. Its definitely an investment.. I have looked at a few systems on amazon and also like the ones that have grip holes that offer some additional variety. I keep an eye out for used ones , maybe I will get lucky and find someone who has given up or moved on and want to get rid of their set. thanks for the insight

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 9,496 Member
    edited May 14

    check marketplace, etc.

    I sold extra yoga equipment, Bosu, Pilates ring etc left from the pandemic as a lot at a good price,, and also sold the adjustable dumbbell set, too. (I have extra I keep in the car for the gym, and yet more I carry when I walk to the yoga studio, all neatly stored and ready to grab.)

    The adjustable weights were only used a few times because I disliked them so much, but the buyer was thrilled with them.

    The thing with home fitness equipment, generally it’s seldom well used so buying second hand can be a good deal


    Also try Play It Again Sports if you have one nearby. I think they’re still around

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,059 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48610138#Comment_48610138

    I always recommend getting a set of adjustable db's or loadable db's which will last your progression for the foreseeable future. Otherwise you have the problem of essentially repurchasing weight N times, .e.g if you buy another pair of db's at 30 lb you're kind of rebuying the 25's, then after that another pair at 40 lb is like rebuying the 30's, and so on.

    As others said, definitely check the used market. I suppose a big factor will be 1" or 2" diameter bar, as that will dictate the type of plates and collars you have to get. Another factor is what you intend to do. If you want to be doing olympic lifts you might need bumper or at least rubber plates, otherwise iron should be fine, but you may still need something to protect your floor just in case.

    Getting an adjustable db set up to at least 50 lbs and perhaps selling your current db's to offset the purchase might be an option too?

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