@cahoots

[Norcalbaker59]

Sorry I don’t how to attach a photograph on a private conversation. I finally moved all the boxed over from Bren’s house. Don’t have a rack set up yet.


I have two 45 lb Ohio power bars. They have center knurling for grip on the back for heavy squats. Not that I squat heavy but for the guys. It’s black zinc oxide. My friend who owns a power gym in town but the same bar for his gym

Lifters like this bar because of the knurling – – I’m telling you it’s wicked just getting it out of the box I thought I was going to bleed!!! When I told Bren he laughed. He said take a wire brush to it

 

[Cahoot]

That's a beaut! Have you now been able to get your first lifting session in since the quarantine?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

That's a beaut! Have you now been able to get your first lifting session in since the quarantine?

In the unboxing of the rack, I found some damage. It’s cosmetic, end caps damaged and paint scraped off where boxes ripped open cuz carrier was careless. Only I wheel in the box. The wheels are extra, not needed, so I can put the rack together without them. It looks like the box ripped open in transit and it taped shut. So a wheel may have been lost along the way.

Bren and Mike (my friend the gym owner) said I should contact Rogue. But getting through is near impossible. Mike said he’s stop by tomorrow to help put the rack together if I want, but I’m not sure if I should wait until I talk to Rogue. But the rack is a tank. It’s definitely commercial gym standard. I post a pic when I get it set up.

 

[Cahoot]

In the unboxing of the rack, I found some damage. It’s cosmetic, end caps damaged and paint scraped off where boxes ripped open cuz carrier was careless. Only I wheel in the box. The wheels are extra, not needed, so I can put the rack together without them. It looks like the box ripped open in transit and it taped shut. So a wheel may have been lost along the way.

Bren and Mike (my friend the gym owner) said I should contact Rogue. But getting through is near impossible. Mike said he’s stop by tomorrow to help put the rack together if I want, but I’m not sure if I should wait until I talk to Rogue. But the rack is a tank. It’s definitely commercial gym standard. I post a pic when I get it set up.

Shame to hear about the damage, but as long as it doesn't affect any functionality then that's good. I'm assuming that the difficulty in contacting Rogue is probably due to their massively increased business right now haha.

I'm awaiting a picture of the setup! And I think spending the extra money for a proper commercial-quality setup is the way to go for a home gym. After all, if you're making the investment in building a home gym setup, might as well make sure your equipment is high quality and long-lasting. I assume that your equipment so far is just the power rack, barbell, plates, and maybe deadlift platform. Will you still be planning on keeping a gym membership when they re-open for dumbbell or machine work accessories?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Shame to hear about the damage, but as long as it doesn't affect any functionality then that's good. I'm assuming that the difficulty in contacting Rogue is probably due to their massively increased business right now haha.

I'm awaiting a picture of the setup! And I think spending the extra money for a proper commercial-quality setup is the way to go for a home gym. After all, if you're making the investment in building a home gym setup, might as well make sure your equipment is high quality and long-lasting. I assume that your equipment so far is just the power rack, barbell, plates, and maybe deadlift platform. Will you still be planning on keeping a gym membership when they re-open for dumbbell or machine work accessories?

I spoke to Rogue Customer Service today. They told me to send in photographs of the damage and they’ll make a determination as to replacement or some form of credit. Rogue has excellent customer service. Yes the difficulties in getting through to customer service right now has to do with the extraordinary demand for gym equipment. Rogue is the number one crossFit Home gym equipment provider in the US. Their equipment is so good commercial gyms actually purchase it.

I actually canceled my gym membership for now. My friend Mike, who’s going to put the rack together for me, owns the gym. The gym is like a side business for him. He’s been involved in powerlifting for years. He makes gym equipment on the side as well for other gyms.

I can reenroll any time. But since I have asthma my doctor really doesn’t want me in a public gym right now.

so right now I have the power rack with fat skinny pull up bar; 200 kilos of bumper plates, 2 BB, TRX system, few KB & DB, weighted ball; resistance bands; foam rollers and a few other odds and ends.

I just ordered a bumper plate tree from Rogue yesterday. They’ve been out of stock for weeks. But they sent me an email this morning that said it would be 14 to 21 days before they ship it. So they don’t have it in stock. Normally Rogue ships within 2 to 3 days from receipt of an order.

Everything else is still out of stock. I still need to get a bench, a few more KB & DB. From there I should be pretty well set up.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot

Finally got the rack set up!! Everyone is sold out of rubber gym floor tiles. I bought the last 6 boxes on Amazon. Fortunately, it was enough to cover the rack and deadlift area. I have a plate tree on order with Rogue. My friend Mike, the gym owner, is going to make me a custom bench. I like the one Rogue sales that can be stored on end, but it weighs 70 lbs! It’s designed for guys that bench 500 lbs. So Mike is going to make me a lighter weight bench with wheels that I can store on end. Getting it custom made means I can cover the top with a motorcycle seat grippy vinyl. Bren won’t let me bench at Boss, the club he belongs to, because the benches are covered in crappy vinyl. Mike was complaining about the crappy vinyl available for benches too. So I told him to use motorcycle seat vinyl or marine cushion vinyl like they use on sailboats. So the last bench Mike made he use it and he said it worked great.

Mike said the rack tubing is the same as what Rogue uses on the commercial racks. This thing is a tank. It took the two of us to put it in the base.

The spotter arms are super solid. Plus they have a safety pin to keep them in place

I hate the spring collars, so I splurged for these fancy ones.

It’s a tight space, but I’m making it work.

 

[Cahoot]

@Cahoot

Finally got the rack set up!! Everyone is sold out of rubber gym floor tiles. I bought the last 6 boxes on Amazon. Fortunately, it was enough to cover the rack and deadlift area. I have a plate tree on order with Rogue. My friend Mike, the gym owner, is going to make me a custom bench. I like the one Rogue sales that can be stored on end, but it weighs 70 lbs! It’s designed for guys that bench 500 lbs. So Mike is going to make me a lighter weight bench with wheels that I can store on end. Getting it custom made means I can cover the top with a motorcycle seat grippy vinyl. Bren won’t let me bench at Boss, the club he belongs to, because the benches are covered in crappy vinyl. Mike was complaining about the crappy vinyl available for benches too. So I told him to use motorcycle seat vinyl or marine cushion vinyl like they use on sailboats. So the last bench Mike made he use it and he said it worked great.

Mike said the rack tubing is the same as what Rogue uses on the commercial racks. This thing is a tank. It took the two of us to put it in the base.
View attachment 3116

The spotter arms are super solid. Plus they have a safety pin to keep them in place
View attachment 3115

View attachment 3117

I hate the spring collars, so I splurged for these fancy ones.
View attachment 3118

It’s a tight space, but I’m making it work.
View attachment 3114

Your setup looks so great. I've never even given a thought about the vinyl on benches, but it's pretty damn cool that you're also able to get your bench custom made too and have even that aspect tailored to your liking.

And the squat rack looks solid for sure, definitely no cheap home equipment there. And even the barbell clamps are nice! Annoying spring collars are just a fact of life that I've gotten used to, but if you're willing to splurge to not have to deal with them then why not.

It'd also take me some time getting used to working out in a smaller space, but that's another sacrifice to be made in exchange for a home gym.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot
Bren wrote me out a new 12 week program. He’s great, he programs me just like his paying clients with a full spreadsheets full of workouts for each week. So I am all set to go now. One of his trainers has a b-day later this month, so they may come up to the valley for dinner on Saturday. So I’m thinking about baking a cake.

 

[Cahoot]

@Cahoot
Bren wrote me out a new 12 week program. He’s great, he programs me just like his paying clients with a full spreadsheets full of workouts for each week. So I am all set to go now. One of his trainers has a b-day later this month, so they may come up to the valley for dinner on Saturday. So I’m thinking about baking a cake.

So lucky to have such an amazing son and friend who can share their knowledge! I was considering getting on a more structured program myself; for the past few years I've just been running a variant of PPL, mostly because it's simple and straightforward, and 6 days per week with 1 rest day always fit my schedule. However I've never bothered with having a written-down program with sets, reps or weights - my philosophy's always just been to do as heavy and as many sets as I can for the compounds, then fit in as many sets of accessories as I can within my time limit. Not to mention building in things like periodization or mesocycles into the program.

And when you mentioned the cake, that reminded me, how's your progress been in developing your chocolate cake recipe? Always been curious in how the recipe development and testing process actually works.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

So lucky to have such an amazing son and friend who can share their knowledge! I was considering getting on a more structured program myself; for the past few years I've just been running a variant of PPL, mostly because it's simple and straightforward, and 6 days per week with 1 rest day always fit my schedule. However I've never bothered with having a written-down program with sets, reps or weights - my philosophy's always just been to do as heavy and as many sets as I can for the compounds, then fit in as many sets of accessories as I can within my time limit. Not to mention building in things like periodization or mesocycles into the program.

And when you mentioned the cake, that reminded me, how's your progress been in developing your chocolate cake recipe? Always been curious in how the recipe development and testing process actually works.

Yes I am very fortunate that my son is a coach. The detail in a program is pretty incredible. Those who are close in physical proximity also go to the gym where he is a member and work out with him in a group. So they get that added benefit.

But I’ll tell you he’s strict, he doesn’t let up and cut me any slack just because I’m his mom! Two days after he sent me my new block he text me and asked, “did you work out on Monday?“

 

[LamsMekk]

@Cahoot

Finally got the rack set up!! Everyone is sold out of rubber gym floor tiles. I bought the last 6 boxes on Amazon. Fortunately, it was enough to cover the rack and deadlift area. I have a plate tree on order with Rogue. My friend Mike, the gym owner, is going to make me a custom bench. I like the one Rogue sales that can be stored on end, but it weighs 70 lbs! It’s designed for guys that bench 500 lbs. So Mike is going to make me a lighter weight bench with wheels that I can store on end. Getting it custom made means I can cover the top with a motorcycle seat grippy vinyl. Bren won’t let me bench at Boss, the club he belongs to, because the benches are covered in crappy vinyl. Mike was complaining about the crappy vinyl available for benches too. So I told him to use motorcycle seat vinyl or marine cushion vinyl like they use on sailboats. So the last bench Mike made he use it and he said it worked great.

Mike said the rack tubing is the same as what Rogue uses on the commercial racks. This thing is a tank. It took the two of us to put it in the base.
View attachment 3116

The spotter arms are super solid. Plus they have a safety pin to keep them in place
View attachment 3115

View attachment 3117

I hate the spring collars, so I splurged for these fancy ones.
View attachment 3118

It’s a tight space, but I’m making it work.
View attachment 3114

Strength training is amazing! Wish I had space for that stuff in my flat. Places here are smaller than the US.

People have also been buying up gym equipment like mad here also! But fortunately the gyms are opening soon so there should be some good deals as people begin to get rid of their purchases to regain lost space.

 

[Cahoot]

Gyms here have also re-opened as of last week, but since I'm living with my family they aren't comfortable with me going to one yet, so I'm still stuck with not many strength training options right now! But even if you've got the space, an important factor if the cost, since gym equipment sure isn't cheap, especially right now @LamsMekk!

However, with the nice weather right now (keep in mind I live in Ottawa, so we don't have nice warm weather all year round unlike California haha), I've actually started running outside regularly. I still miss weightlifting, but I haven't done cardio regularly in years, and besides with the quarantine I need some excuses to go outside and enjoy the summer weather. So my exercise routine has kind of been the opposite of yours @Norcalbaker59 - used to do just weightlifting, but now have been mainly doing cardio. I guess I can take solace in the fact that running outside doesn't require any gym fees.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Gyms here have also re-opened as of last week, but since I'm living with my family they aren't comfortable with me going to one yet, so I'm still stuck with not many strength training options right now! But even if you've got the space, an important factor if the cost, since gym equipment sure isn't cheap, especially right now @LamsMekk!

However, with the nice weather right now (keep in mind I live in Ottawa, so we don't have nice warm weather all year round unlike California haha), I've actually started running outside regularly. I still miss weightlifting, but I haven't done cardio regularly in years, and besides with the quarantine I need some excuses to go outside and enjoy the summer weather. So my exercise routine has kind of been the opposite of yours @Norcalbaker59 - used to do just weightlifting, but now have been mainly doing cardio. I guess I can take solace in the fact that running outside doesn't require any gym fees.

They just closed the gyms here again. Not that I had gone back to the gym. But my friends had just gone back to the gym and now they’re out again. And my friend who owns the powerlifting gym in town had to shut down again. Which is really hard on him financially. Well it’s hard on all businesses financially to have to shut down.


It’s good you’re at least getting out and doing some cardio. And it’s good to be out and about in the fresh air. The lockdown has just been so bad for people, keeping us indoors and isolated. I am a strong proponent of running. I used to run 6 miles a day, 5 to 6 days a week. It was only recently that I stopped running. But I definitely want to start again.

I understand why your family is hesitant about you going back to the gym. I think Americans simply didn’t handle reopening responsibly. Now we’re right back where we started—maybe even worse off.

Have you thought about doing bodyweight exercises, push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, etc? Before I got the equipment Bren created a body weight program for me.

I’ve been doing some research to figure out how I can add some pulley systems to make a lat pull on my rack. It seems doable. I’m going to look for cables and pulleys at the tractor supply shop this weekend. My friend Mike has a ton of tools so he’s going to help me with the rigging.

Since some things are out of stock, like the lat pulldown, it won’t be functional for a while. But at least I’ll be able to get the rigging built this next week.

I got a foam plyo box; so I can do BB hip thrusts from seated position instead of from the floor now. I manage to get 1.5 kg & 2 kg change plates but everyone is out of stock on the other weights. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get any more change plates anytime soon. Rogue is sending me a few pound plates as replacements for some kilo plates that went missing in shipment. They said the kilo plates are on back order some two or three months. I ordered a mini deadlift jack. Rogue makes them to order so won’t be delivered for another few weeks. But can’t wait for that because loading the bar on the floor is a real pain.

 

[Cahoot]

They just closed the gyms here again. Not that I had gone back to the gym. But my friends had just gone back to the gym and now they’re out again. And my friend who owns the powerlifting gym in town had to shut down again. Which is really hard on him financially. Well it’s hard on all businesses financially to have to shut down.


It’s good you’re at least getting out and doing some cardio. And it’s good to be out and about in the fresh air. The lockdown has just been so bad for people, keeping us indoors and isolated. I am a strong proponent of running. I used to run 6 miles a day, 5 to 6 days a week. It was only recently that I stopped running. But I definitely want to start again.

I understand why your family is hesitant about you going back to the gym. I think Americans simply didn’t handle reopening responsibly. Now we’re right back where we started—maybe even worse off.

Have you thought about doing bodyweight exercises, push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, etc? Before I got the equipment Bren created a body weight program for me.

I’ve been doing some research to figure out how I can add some pulley systems to make a lat pull on my rack. It seems doable. I’m going to look for cables and pulleys at the tractor supply shop this weekend. My friend Mike has a ton of tools so he’s going to help me with the rigging.

Since some things are out of stock, like the lat pulldown, it won’t be functional for a while. But at least I’ll be able to get the rigging built this next week.

I got a foam plyo box; so I can do BB hip thrusts from seated position instead of from the floor now. I manage to get 1.5 kg & 2 kg change plates but everyone is out of stock on the other weights. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get any more change plates anytime soon. Rogue is sending me a few pound plates as replacements for some kilo plates that went missing in shipment. They said the kilo plates are on back order some two or three months. I ordered a mini deadlift jack. Rogue makes them to order so won’t be delivered for another few weeks. But can’t wait for that because loading the bar on the floor is a real pain.

Not surprised gyms were shut down again. No one in their right mind could possibly have thought that the pandemic was pretty much over and things could go back to normal. Here, many cities have been passing bylaws recently that make masks mandatory in all public indoor spaces. If they're now STARTING to enforce wearing masks indoors, what makes ya think going to the gym would be fine?

The thing with bodyweight exercises is that they're way too boring. Some people can do fine with a bodyweight routine, but for me, working out was all about the lifting as heavy weights as I possibly could. It's very hard to find any bodyweight exercises where I don't have to do dozens of reps for it to be even slightly effective (granted, ab work is already usually bodyweight, and trying out pistol squats for the first time can be pretty humbling).

I understand that in a situation like this, you gotta just shut up and make do with what you have instead of complaining about how much you hate bodyweight exercises. But I've kinda already accepted the fact that I'll be losing a lot of muscle and strength (at least for now), and instead focus on getting my cardiovascular fitness back to speed.

And I totally get that part about loading the bar on the floor. Not sure if you already do this, but a neat trick I learned is to roll the plates on the bar onto the edge of a small plate lying flat on the floor, so that the plates on the bar are now slightly elevated.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Not surprised gyms were shut down again. No one in their right mind could possibly have thought that the pandemic was pretty much over and things could go back to normal. Here, many cities have been passing bylaws recently that make masks mandatory in all public indoor spaces. If they're now STARTING to enforce wearing masks indoors, what makes ya think going to the gym would be fine?

The thing with bodyweight exercises is that they're way too boring. Some people can do fine with a bodyweight routine, but for me, working out was all about the lifting as heavy weights as I possibly could. It's very hard to find any bodyweight exercises where I don't have to do dozens of reps for it to be even slightly effective (granted, ab work is already usually bodyweight, and trying out pistol squats for the first time can be pretty humbling).

I understand that in a situation like this, you gotta just shut up and make do with what you have instead of complaining about how much you hate bodyweight exercises. But I've kinda already accepted the fact that I'll be losing a lot of muscle and strength (at least for now), and instead focus on getting my cardiovascular fitness back to speed.

And I totally get that part about loading the bar on the floor. Not sure if you already do this, but a neat trick I learned is to roll the plates on the bar onto the edge of a small plate lying flat on the floor, so that the plates on the bar are now slightly elevated.

Yes it is very difficult to make that transition from lifting to body weight. The pandemic has taken a monumental toll on people’s lives. It‘s stripped us of everything that is important and meaningful in life.

But the good news is your strength and muscle will recover quickly because you were perviously fit. Research on satellite cells and nuclei, muscle hypertrophy, and repair found the cells they thought were lost in muscle atrophy after we stop exercising are actually still there. When we start to exercise again, we reactivate them. Researchers believe these cells are also responsible for what we call muscle memory.

I feel fortunate to be able to put together a home gym. I don’t thing I will ever go back to a commercial gym. I was at Bren’s yesterday; we were talking about the expansion in the home gym market. He things the growth is real, that after we get beyond the pandemic, people will still look to create their own home gyms. And I think he is right. Just as people moved away from retail shopping, the pandemic has taught people that they don’t need to leave their homes to workout. People didn’t realize they could purchase far better quality barbells, plates, and racks than what their commercial gym stocked.

Powerlifting gyms of course are very different from commercial gyms in that they have way better equipment and much smaller memberships. No foufou stuff like zumba classes. But the powerlifting community is also very cliquish, so it can be worse than high school.

I got my plate tree yesterday. It only took me 10 minutes to assemble, but figure hour where to put it and 2 hours to rearrange the room. It‘s really sturdy, made with 2” x 3” tubing.

 

[Cahoot]

Yes it is very difficult to make that transition from lifting to body weight. The pandemic has taken a monumental toll on people’s lives. It‘s stripped us of everything that is important and meaningful in life.

But the good news is your strength and muscle will recover quickly because you were perviously fit. Research on satellite cells and nuclei, muscle hypertrophy, and repair found the cells they thought were lost in muscle atrophy after we stop exercising are actually still there. When we start to exercise again, we reactivate them. Researchers believe these cells are also responsible for what we call muscle memory.

I feel fortunate to be able to put together a home gym. I don’t thing I will ever go back to a commercial gym. I was at Bren’s yesterday; we were talking about the expansion in the home gym market. He things the growth is real, that after we get beyond the pandemic, people will still look to create their own home gyms. And I think he is right. Just as people moved away from retail shopping, the pandemic has taught people that they don’t need to leave their homes to workout. People didn’t realize they could purchase far better quality barbells, plates, and racks than what their commercial gym stocked.

Powerlifting gyms of course are very different from commercial gyms in that they have way better equipment and much smaller memberships. No foufou stuff like zumba classes. But the powerlifting community is also very cliquish, so it can be worse than high school.

I got my plate tree yesterday. It only took me 10 minutes to assemble, but figure hour where to put it and 2 hours to rearrange the room. It‘s really sturdy, made with 2” x 3” tubing.


View attachment 3168

Haha once you get past the financial commitment to setting up the home gym, the biggest problem is finding space for everything. The plate tree looks pretty nice; some of the ones in the commercial gyms I've been in aren't actually big enough to fit full 45lb plates - the bottom branches are too low, or there's not enough space between branches, etc.

I'm surprised to hear about the powerlifting community being cliquish. My experience with general weightlifting is that people there are some of the friendliest in the world. Everyone's always open to giving a spot, working in, giving friendly advice, compliments on form, all that stuff. But it might be different when it comes to smaller, more specialized, elite communities of course.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Haha once you get past the financial commitment to setting up the home gym, the biggest problem is finding space for everything. The plate tree looks pretty nice; some of the ones in the commercial gyms I've been in aren't actually big enough to fit full 45lb plates - the bottom branches are too low, or there's not enough space between branches, etc.

I'm surprised to hear about the powerlifting community being cliquish. My experience with general weightlifting is that people there are some of the friendliest in the world. Everyone's always open to giving a spot, working in, giving friendly advice, compliments on form, all that stuff. But it might be different when it comes to smaller, more specialized, elite communities of course.

The powerlifting community can behave like adolescents. The sport is very competitive, yet it’s never been sanctioned by the Olympics in part because of it. They cannot get their act together. No one can agree on anything.

You have the USAPL, which drug test all its meets, which I think is a good thing. But they don’t standardized all their equipment or standards. They use a stiff bar for the three lifts. Which doesn’t make sense because the whip in the bar and knurling is different for a squat than a deadlift. Using the same bar implies the lifts are interactive or related. They aren’t. You cannot request a specific brand, but the gym that sponsors the meet has to provide a bar that meets IPL specification.

They have raw and single ply so s belts, and knee sleeves have to meet IPF regulations. They even specify the type of underwear you wear so there is no advantage.

Then you have USPA which has some drug tested meets, some not. They use different bars for different lifts. They also allow for a few different things that USAPL doesn’t allow. So USPA is look down upon by those in USAPL.

There’s only a few organizers for meets. The local meats are important to build your numbers and To qualify for nationals. So for the gym owners hosting a meet is important. But they’re also a lot of work. It also shuts the gym down up to two days. And a lot of the members don’t necessarily get to compete in a meet that is at their home gym.

Then when you get the big lifters in the gym like my son and his friends they cause some awe, some resentment. Several of them squat over 600 lbs and pull over 700 lb deadlifts. So when they’re doing their training they require a lot of bumper plates. Powerlifting gyms generally have tons of bumper plates, kilo plates and barbells. They don’t have a bunch of fou fou stuff like cardio equipment. But even still when you get guys like Bren and Andrew in the gym that’s a lot of plates they get taken up fast.

Yes the investment in the home gym is pretty hefty. But in the long run it will be worth it. it’s so much more convenient having the gym at home. And it will eventually pay for itself. I’ve always had a gym membership, so what I have invested over the years in membership fees has been substantial. At least I get to keep all the equipment for my investment this time.



IPL Rule

https://www.powerlifting.sport/fileadmin/ipf/data/rules/technical-rules/english/IPF_Technical_Rules_Book_2020.pdf

USAPL

https://www.usapowerlifting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/USAPL-Rulebook-v2019.5.pdf

USPA

https://uspa.net/resources/USPA_Rulebook.pdf

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot

Bren just gave me my new training block. Each block is 4 weeks. Right now I’m doing my bench press on the floor since I don’t have a bench. Mike finished the frame, and it’s at the shop for powdering coating. So it will be another 3 weeks or so before it’s done.

But I just wanted to show you how strength training is different from body building. When the gym shut down, my squat was around 125 lbs and my deadlift was 187 lbs. So now working up to that point again. But as you can see in week 1 I’m doing a lighter RPE, and a few more reps. But as I progress through the training block, I do a couple less reps, but at a higher RPE because I am increasing my load. Each work out for the heavy lifts (squats, deads, and bench) are build ups. Build ups are explained in the last screen shot. But essentially you don’t do a specific number of sets and you increase the weight on the bar for each set. With body building you do three sets at the same weight.

In addition to the workout, there’s a lot of mobility exercises. I can pick and choose what I want to do on any given day. But doing a few every workout is key to improving your lifts.

I love to deadlift, hate to squat. So now I have to take a structured approach to my squat workout. I set a goal for the workout. Then I workout all the lifts to reach that goal weight. Then I just do them. It’s not the way to do build ups, but as much as I hate to squat, if I don’t do it that way, I just won’t put more weight on the bar. Bren doesn’t really like me to go about my squats like this, but right not it works for me. But when it comes to deads, I can pull all day. I love to deadlift.

 

[Cahoot]

@Norcalbaker59 Interesting to see a more powerlifting focused routine. I've always just done the bodybuilding-esque 3 sets of 8-12 reps (depending on exercise) for my isolations, but for compounds I do more of a mix, where I do maybe 3 sets to warm up to my working weight, but then I'll do 3-5 sets of that same working work, sticking to the same weight and reps for the session.

Never actually bothered actually having a targeted amount of reps or RPE; I've always lifted under the philosophy of lifting as much as I can, and so if I can't lift any more weight/do another rep, that means that's the limit for me. But my physiotherapist actually advised me to track RPE to control/limit the exertion I put my body under, for the purposes of avoiding further injuries.

Build up sets seem like a pretty smart way of evaluating RPEs. But that's much more effort than I currently put into planning my workouts (which is pretty little, as I said the philosophy of "just lift as much as you can" doesn't require much thinking). It may be an interesting experience to get a real coach though just to see how much more progress I'd make under a real, structured program.

Mobility exercises are another thing I've never really incorporated. In fact, never done any until after I injured myself and was prescribed those exercises by my physiotherapists for recovery. I know those are pretty important, especially for strength training, but I'm just lazy haha. Have you heard about the football players who started doing ballet to help with agility, flexibility, and preventing injuries?

I can't really say I love to deadlift or squat. Rather, while I hate actually doing them, I love the thrill and adrenaline of lifting heavy. So usually, I get hyped up before my workout sessions to do deadlifts/squats, but then I hate life when I'm in the actually doing those lifts. The only lift I genuinely enjoy is bench press, even though that's probably the least "important" for strength training. There's a reason for the stereotype of gym bros who only do chest!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Working out with the same weight and working out without a plan will never advanced you. Bren has a free workout that he posted online. It’s a good one for beginners. You should give it a try when you return to the gym. A lot of people used it with good results. I’ll get you the link for it.

I think we all have our favorite lift. I absolutely hate to squat. That’s why I have to take a very regimented approach to it.

I’m really neutral about bench. I’ll do it, doesn’t bother me. I’ll be happy when my bench is finished and I can get back to benching on a bench rather than on the floor. But benching on the floor does have some benefits in that it does make you stronger. Brendan always had a Larsons press in addition to a bench press in my routine because taking the leg drive out of your bench is really essential to developing strength in your bench.


But I love to deadlift. It’s really funny that deadlift is my favorite lift. When Bren put together my program I told him I can’t deadlift because I’m short. He said it’s about technique and actually shorter lifters often make the best deadlifters. It’s really about your femur length and arm length, not about your overall height. So once he showed me the technique, I thought maybe I can do this lift. Now I am so in love with this lift it’s all I want to do.

Bren wanted me to be in a competition just so I would have a goal. You train better if you have a goal you’re working towards. Of course the COVID-19 cancel all the competitions. But he was right working towards that goal had me very focused. I went from never deadlifting to a 187 pull in about two months. The goal was to have me at 200 in May, which I was definitely on track to hit. Then COVID-19 happened and the gyms closed. But now that I have my own equipment I can get back on track.

Mobility is very important for lifting form. And that in turn mitigates injures. It’s the small things that we ignore that really make a difference in keeping us healthy. But your mobility is also very important to lifting heavier. If you can’t get into the correct form, it’s really going to limit how much weight you get on the bar.