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Question of the Day: If you were buying a TV today, which brand would you choose?
The Bodybuilders Thread!
- Thread starter Tamerlane
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Tinuva
The Magician
Nowhere close to what you do. Currently personal best is 125kg, at which point my grip was the biggest problem, and then when I focus on that my form started going out a bit, though I think the form is easy to fix, I feel confident about my form, but grip...you know I guess what happens when you getting concerned you may let the weight fall uncontrollably.
BradleyKZN
Expert Member
Does anyone know if its possible to add weights to those trojan or endurance home gym machines (the chest press and lat pulldown ones)
They only come with 45kg weights, which isnt gonna last me long
They only come with 45kg weights, which isnt gonna last me long
What is the thickness of the bar you are using, I find you get the standard thickness and then the one that is classified as olympic.
The thinner one I can wrap my fingers around better, wheras on the olympic bar I find myself slipping.
I'm still behind you on bench that's for sure, always been a weakness that I have not figured out yet, maybe when I get a better bench that I "trust" wont collapse on me I"ll try go much heavier, currently pushing max of around 70 - 80kg.
Tinuva
The Magician
Using the regular Olympic bars, which is used in pretty much every Virgin Active I have been to. I don't mind them that thick, I would actually prefer to improve my grip strength, I just need to focus on it.Hemps said:
To tell the truth, I am currently thinking about using two of my previous favourite programs, take the strengths of both and add in my own personal weaknesses to work on, and create a new program for myself for the next 3-4 months. The idea is to focus on some of my weaknesses to improve both physique and numbers in OHP and Deadlift whilst keeping Squat and Bench going up slowly more too.
Look my 1RM was 100kg, 5RM was still around 85-90kg, so you are probably not as far behind as you think. My experience is, just tweak a few weakpoints on your technique and you can probably up your numbers in 6 weeks. I think the bench program I do to take up your bench, that only takes 6 weeks, makes you bench 3x a week, and because of that I have put in a lot more time on the Bench press, so had a lot of time to try different tweaks and improvements. It adds confidence to the lift as well as help you take up the numbers. I will say though, from 80-100kg 1RM is a massive difference, so the time spent and volume I did was probably what helped the most.Hemps said:
MyWorld
Executive Member
If you have a dumbbell, place some weights on it and lay it across the top weight on the machine. You can add quite a bit of weight this way.
RogueTr00per
Honorary Master
and if I only weigh 60kg?
I tried the mens health ones at a friends house and the entire things bends like crazy, I'm at 75kg now.
Maybe take it out it's packaging before you buy, they at sportmans and PnP and Game I think.
I think you could hurt yourself pretty badly if the thing snaps on a pullup.
MyWorld
Executive Member
Also forgot to mention, you cannot add much more standard weights to the machine since it will shorten the range of motion of the machine a lot. Even if you could get extra, it would not be wise to use add it, rather try the dumbbell trick I mentioned.
RogueTr00per
Honorary Master
I'm at my lowest weight ever. Abs starting to show a bit better so I reckon I am 3kg shy of a decent set of six pack abs, or at least 12% body fat. Gonna go for it and then after that pack on muscle by eating clean and training hard.
I'm really not enjoying training legs for some reason, especially squats, it just feels like an awkward exercise, a video posted pages back on pit shark squats seems like something I would rather enjoy that placing a bar on my back.
I rack the bar, then come from behind and below it and place my hands wide but I find that my shoulder blades seem squeezed together and my shoulders hurt slightly as though I'm holding the bar too far back if that makes sense.
When I rack the bar again and let go, it feels like tension in my shoulders and upper back is released.
I rack the bar, then come from behind and below it and place my hands wide but I find that my shoulder blades seem squeezed together and my shoulders hurt slightly as though I'm holding the bar too far back if that makes sense.
When I rack the bar again and let go, it feels like tension in my shoulders and upper back is released.
Tinuva
The Magician
Are you doing low bar or high bar squats?
For a while I also did low bar squats, and I literally felt my hand go numb after a heavy set. Read some articles, and while low bar squat is easier and you can do heavier weights with it than on high bar squat, it turns out the progress on it doesn't flow over to other forms of squat or even other exercises, where-as high bar squat you can still do a heavy low bar squat without practising low bar squat, and it also flows over into a few other exercises.
After moving back to high bar squat, I had to fall back a bit on weight, like 20-40kg, BUT I don't feel the numbness in my hands and arms any more, and it feels a bit more natural too on my arms, back and shoulder blades.
For a while I also did low bar squats, and I literally felt my hand go numb after a heavy set. Read some articles, and while low bar squat is easier and you can do heavier weights with it than on high bar squat, it turns out the progress on it doesn't flow over to other forms of squat or even other exercises, where-as high bar squat you can still do a heavy low bar squat without practising low bar squat, and it also flows over into a few other exercises.
After moving back to high bar squat, I had to fall back a bit on weight, like 20-40kg, BUT I don't feel the numbness in my hands and arms any more, and it feels a bit more natural too on my arms, back and shoulder blades.
I would say low bar judging from images I have seen, I find if the bar is higher it rests on a part of my vertebrae.
Front squats throw me off completely, I struggle through back squats now and then go into a goblet squat but with a heavy dumbell.
I'll try the high bar again, thanks bud.
Tinuva
The Magician
Yeah I'd say try it.
Also according to the other link posted by thestaggy, http://bonytobeastly.com/ectomorph-weightlifting/ - Us ectomorphs should have a more up-straight back on squats, and high bar squat gives us that.
Also according to the other link posted by thestaggy, http://bonytobeastly.com/ectomorph-weightlifting/ - Us ectomorphs should have a more up-straight back on squats, and high bar squat gives us that.
RogueTr00per
Honorary Master
If I bench as bonely to beastly advises, then technically it's a no rep as the bar wont touch my chest 
... For the sake of building muscle and avoiding shoulder problems I'll do as they say though.
... For the sake of building muscle and avoiding shoulder problems I'll do as they say though.
Tinuva
The Magician
ryan411, you can, but I guess its different for everyone. I haven't really hurt my shoulders ever with bench press...and I go down to the chest, although I guess I bounce it a tiny bit atm.
What HAS hurt my shoulders in the past, is initially dips, where I was not keeping my form solid, and upright rows, they hurt shoulders like hell. I can now however do dips better, but I worked really hard at it to not hurt myself. I'll never do upright rows again.
What HAS hurt my shoulders in the past, is initially dips, where I was not keeping my form solid, and upright rows, they hurt shoulders like hell. I can now however do dips better, but I worked really hard at it to not hurt myself. I'll never do upright rows again.
RogueTr00per
Honorary Master
Thanks Tinuva 
For dips, when should they be done? I don't think I'm able to dip my bodyweight unassisted so perhaps I should do them first thing in the workout and use the dip machine. Or should I avoid the machine?
For dips, when should they be done? I don't think I'm able to dip my bodyweight unassisted so perhaps I should do them first thing in the workout and use the dip machine. Or should I avoid the machine?
Tinuva
The Magician
To be honest, I don't really know when the best time is, all I know is, I did it bodyweight when I was about 6 months into my gym carreer. The assisted machine I only did in the early days when my shoulders were a little hurt. Take note however, I never hurt my shoulders so bad that I went to physio, only took off a week and did the assisted machine for a short while, then went back to the normal bodyweight dips.
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