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High School weight training
Had an interesting discussion yesterday with a young football player at the HS. We were talking about the new weight room us boosters bought for the HS and I was wondering why all the hammer strength machines were pushed against the wall. He said their strength coach did not like machines and preferred to train HS athletes…
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Sumo vs. Conventional DL - an equation
Was doing some research on sumo vs. conventional DL and found the below equation. I was a conventional DL until Sara recommended I try sumo. Made a huge difference for me. I don't go full width sumo. About halfway between conventional and flu width. Works great and now the math shows why. My ratios are .85 and .68 which…
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Stuff you've bought but don't use
There are always threads on equipment we might want to buy. Here's a list of stuff I bought but no longer use: 1. Lifting gloves - chalk works so much better 2. Nylon weight belt - leather is the only way to go 3. Wrist wraps - I don't think I lift heavy enough to need them yet 4. Straps - haven't needed them but might 5.…
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Weighed my plates - they're all light
Got a burr up my butt and decided to weigh all my plates. I bought a cheapo set from Play it Again Sports a year ago. The oly bar that came with the set weighs a whopping 32.4 lbs. I never use it because I use the good oly bar I got with my squat rack (it weighs 43 lbs). And all the heavier plates (25lbs and up) are an…
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Safety squat bar
Anyone use them? I have been rehabbing my rt shoulder for almost a year and while it's getting better, every time I get under the bar it sets me back. I think it needs a few months without the pain under the bar so I was thinking about getting a safety squat bar to continue squatting. Looking at the one from elite fts.…
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Do you use straps for heavy deadlift?
I have never used straps on DL and never had any issues until this past weekend. I pulled 425x1 and had no issues getting it to lockout. I held it a few seconds at lockout and when I started down, it darn near fell out of my right hand passing my knees. Very much surprised me and has me nervous now. I would prefer to never…
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Competition (personal) to replace 5/3/1 day
So, since I quit the cancer sticks, I have been a maniac on the lifts. new PR's on all lifts and recovery is ridiculously awesome. Add to that proper warmup and I am a machine these days. And I'm in a cut. I want to test the limits. 5/3/1 week is next and instead of doing that over the normal 4 days, I was thinking about…
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Discovered warm gear
I have discovered the single most beneficial thing I have used for powerlifting so far: wraps and warm gear. Here's what I wore today for DL and OHP: All Rehband gear (shirt, pants, elbow and knee sleeves). I wear sweat pants and sweat shirt over this to lift. I stay toasty the whole lifting session and it really makes it…
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Warmth is my new best friend
I have had tendinitis issues in both shoulders for many years and it got worse when I started lifting. Getting under the bar for low bar squats has always been a very painful evolution. And I think I whatever I was doing to my shoulders under the bar translated to pain in the presses. Just a vicious circle of suck. So…
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Wraps for lifting
I tried the wraps that are like ace bandages and didn't like them for various reasons. So I picked up a pair of these: Rehband 7mm Knee Sleeve Awesome! The warmth they provide really helps my knees and the stability helps, too. After a heavy squat session, the knees feel great. Not sure I can lift any more with them, don't…
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Progress Report
Just wanted to share an update on the P part of ETP. Approaching 1 year of lifting and I'm pretty pleased so far. Still dealing with shoulder issues so the press work is slow, but progressing. Hit my original 1RM goals on DL, bench and OHP and probably a month out on squat. Life is good. Thanks ETP. Tom
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Favorite 5/3/1 Day?
Been doing 5/3/1 for 7 months now and have decided that my favorite day is 5/3/1 day. I much prefer lifting closer to 1RM at few reps. Just fits me better. My perfect workout is a warmup, and then 5/3/1 where I hit 3 reps on the last set. Then whatever accessory work I had planned. To be honest, I am seriously thinking…
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100,000 Thumb Flex Challenge
100,000 in 24 hours. GO!
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5/3/1 reset advice
Need some advice. I have been going light on bench and OHP due to shoulder tendonitis the past 2 months. The shoulders are in good shape now and today was 5/3/1 day for bench. I decided to see where my 1RM was on bench. Did the normal 5/3/1 and my 1 weight was 165 so I did that for just 3 reps. Then 185x3 and 205 x1 (205…
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Reps vs. 1RM
So I have been good and not doing 1RM work every week on 5/3/1, putting max effort into the last set. I have noticed that I can hit the reps to match my 1RM, but it is killer. I think that hitting the reps is much more challenging than just going to the 1RM. For example, today was 3 day and my last set weight was 320 lbs…
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Why is my LBM the same all the time?
A little frustrated with my LBM. I have been stuck at 157 lbs LBM since Feb. I was in a cut from Feb-May and stayed at 157 lbs LBM. I maintained weight from May-Nov and stayed at 157 lbs LBM. I did a short bulk from Nov 1 to today (gained 4 lbs) and I'm still at 157 lbs LBM (all of this is from BodPods). I started heavy…
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What are your Strength Goals?
I had a thread running asking "when are you strong enough?". Got some great responses. After thinking on it for a few months, I have decided that is the wrong question. I think having a strength goal is sufficient regardless of its real world applicability or usefulness. So I have set my strength goal simply as 1,000 lbs…
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Effects of age on recovery
I searched the interweb and found no good studies so I thought I would ask if anyone has seen anything beyond the bro-science I found. Specifically looking at any studies or reports of the quality that Sara posted earlier on the effect of nutrient timing on strength and hypertrophy. Lots of studies on recovery times…
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Reset 5/3/1 or keep on schedule
As a variation on 5/3/1 I am doing my scheduled numbers each week and then for a challenge, I try next months numbers. For example, today was 5 day and I did my scheduled 195x6. Then I put on 225 and did 5 of those. That puts me 3 months ahead on squats. I am 2 months ahead on bench and OHP and 1.5 mo ahead on DL. I like…
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When are you strong enough?
So I started barbell lifting in March to see what that's all about. I liked it and set some simple goals: Deadlift 8 plates, Squat 6 plates, bench 4 plates and overhead press 2 plates. No particular reason for those except they are easy to remember and they seemed high enough to challenge me for a long time. I've made good…
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Which weight lifting shoe?
So Jim Wendler and Mark Rippetoe have me convinced to get a pair of lifting shoes. Which ones? Seems new balance has a cross trainer one but it is described as flat with a little coushion. VS has a nice one on amazon that gets good reviews but its $100. Has the elevated heel and its described as hard and stable which is…
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Knee wraps
Thought I would start this thread for Sara. I got 2 sets of knee wraps in and tried them out today on squats. One set was just a 78" wrap. That worked well but was not quite long enough to get a double wrap (up and down). I also got a set off amazon that had velcro. While easier / faster to get on and off, they were no…
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Progress thanks to ETP
I just wanted to pass on another thanks to ETP. With everyone's help, I have made good progress since I started barbell training in March. I am still dealing with my shoulder tendinitis, so my bench and OHP aren't progressing as fast as my lower body lifts, but I am happy with the progress. A bright spot on MFP. Lift…
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Another huge PR thanks to ETR
2 weeks ago I blew away my DL 1RM by 16% (went from 335 to 390). That was awesome. Sara suggested I try sumo vs. romanian. That rocked and fit my anatomy much better. I got brave this week and posted a squat form video on here. Lots of good feedback, but one comment caught my interest: "it looks like you are doing high bar…
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NSV: Wife saw my selfies
So I snap mirror shots every once in a while to capture progress. Today I was in the basement benching and my wife made a comment: "Holy crap! I saw your pictures on the cloud and you don't have any body fat left." She never comments on how I look. Made me feel good.
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35 hour fast
So for no particular reason, I did a 35 hour fast yesterday. Last meal was 9:00 pm on Tues. Ate nothing yesterday and broke the fast this morning at 0800 with a banana. I was getting a bit loopy so I decided to end it. So that was 35 hours of nothing but water and coffee. I did a short 25 minute run/hill routine on the…
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Squat Depth Check
Ok, so I was reading that going to deep on low bar squats relaxed the hammies and hurts performance. So I decided to see where parallel was for me. I wasn't sure so I thought I would post a pic. I don't sit on the box, just touch it and go back up. Will practice getting to the proper depth during this deload week, So, do…
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Deadlifts are brutal
I do a 4 day split of squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press. I feel spent after squats. Feel ok after bench and OHP. I feel dead after deadlift day. Everything is weak and shaky even the day after DL's. If there were only one lift I could do, it would be DL. Nothing beats up the body like a good day of DL. Just thought…
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Any point doing volume work in a deficit?
So I just finished my 5/3/1 week with OHP. Set a new PR and then started the Boring But Big (BBB) work. As I'm monstering through the 5x10's, I'm wondering what the point of all this volume is while in a deficit? It won't build muscle in a deficit. It probably won't add strength. It will wear me out and lengthen my…
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Squat depth Check
What do you folks think? Is this parallel?
