Weightlifting for Kiwis - Discussion and support regarding the art of swole

[AmazingEagle]

I desperately need to get back to the gym. I'm turning into a fat. On the bright side, I'm maintaining my weight, and it's much easier for me to recomp than to flat out gain weight. Trying to decide if I want to use the university's crowded gym, or pay for a membership elsewhere.

Thank God I joined the gym a few months ago.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I finally did my first leg day in a gym in over a year, and holy shit does having an actual squat rack make a huge difference. Like, I was able to get good workouts in with dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell, and a floor, but there's no real substitution for heavy squats and using machines to failure.

 

[Coelacanth]

My new weightlifting equipment arrived today and I'm already in love with it. It's detatchable so you can use it as a barbell or dumbbells and even came with silicone protectors which is good - I don't want to end up scratching my landlady's floors!

I'm still relatively green to weightlifting. I'm not doing it to bulk up - I just want to use them for exercise and not become a fat fuck. Tried lots of different things sports wise just before the pandemic hit and was surprised that the thing I liked doing most was the barbell.

 

[Meriasek]

Finally the gyms here are open again without requiring proofs of purity prior entering.
Due to my situation it's best and easiest for me to go to the gym during lunchbreak. That means I have a somewhat limited timeframe for working out, about 45-60 minutes at most. I can go basically every day, though.
Because of this I mostly did 5x5 variations and more HIIT style training for years, but I think now I want to try HIT à la Dorian Yates. Instead of 3-5 sets of five reps, just one or two sets of 8+ until absolute failure, with a focus on very slow negatives. Also, long rest phases for each muscle.
So I'm currently thinking about how to do my plan and how to split what.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

Finally the gyms here are open again without requiring proofs of purity prior entering.
Due to my situation it's best and easiest for me to go to the gym during lunchbreak. That means I have a somewhat limited timeframe for working out, about 45-60 minutes at most. I can go basically every day, though.
Because of this I mostly did 5x5 variations and more HIIT style training for years, but I think now I want to try HIT à la Dorian Yates. Instead of 3-5 sets of five reps, just one or two sets of 8+ until absolute failure, with a focus on very slow negatives. Also, long rest phases for each muscle.
So I'm currently thinking about how to do my plan and how to split what.

Sounds like a good day to me.
What I’ve been doing is a cycle of Chest & Back, Arms & Shoulders, Legs, Rest, Push, Pull, Legs, Rest. The bro split part is in an actual gym, where I pick about three or four movements per body part and do one Rest Pause set on it, maybe a drop set to finish everything off.
An example being after my warmup I go to the Smith Machine and do my ten rep max on on incline bench, then rest a couple breathes, squeeze out a few more reps, until I get to 20 reps overall. It really gets you feeling it. I would highly recommend trying this type of set out, the pump is absurd.
The PPL days at the end I use for gymnastics skills and conditioning at home. It’s working very well for me so far.

 

[Meriasek]

First workout since November today.
It felt so good, even though I had no idea what I could do and I never really did the whole High Intensity stuff, so especially on deadlifts I had no clue how to approach it. 2x8 at 120 kg on the slippiest bar was a decent start, but grip was the limiting factor. Also, slow negatives on deadlifts are brutal.
Either way, finally some endorphines.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

My gym recently got new barbells and they suck for deadlifting. The grip on them is shit. I use hook grip + chalk but even that doesn't save me on these. I used to be able to hook grip 405 lb easily, but I can't even get 315 on these. Not sure what the problem is but they slip way too easily, even in the gnarling.

Today I decided to start using deadlift straps again and they helped a lot. Took a bit to get used to it since I usually just would grip the bar and go right into it and now I have to set up the straps a bit, but my form seemed good at least for the most part. Only went up to 325 to be safe though.

 

[Meriasek]

I never used straps, but I might have to use them at some point. So far I use either chalks or mixed grip above ~290 lbs, and usually mixed grip and chalk for more than 380 lbs.
Next time I do deadlifts I hope there's a better bar on the platform, one that isn't completely rubbed blank. Or I'll have to look for one. I know there are better bars around.

Actually, where the fuck is my chalk? It's not in my office, and I'm pretty sure it was somewhere here, but I can't find it... Might need it to prevent the grip strength from giving out before my back and leg muscles give out.

/edit: Ah, found it. Was just in the other gym bag.

 

[Kaiser Wilhelm's Ghost]

Longstory short after restarting my weight lifting regimen I have decided to create a thread for all kiwis interested in getting started lifting, or experienced lifter kiwis interested in sharing advice for newbies. Basically if anyone wants to offer up their workout plan for constructive criticism or asspats, ask questions about how to start or what to focus on, or just idley brood over the fact they are not yet Arnold schwarzinigger in terms of bulk.

To start us off (and what will probably be the only post in this thread) here is my current workout plan. Its a highly modified StrongLifts focusing on low reps and high weight compound exercises.

basically i do this three times a week (monday, wednesday, friday) and try to increase the weight by 2.5kg whenever I can. I started off at like 50kg accross the board back three years ago, but i unfortunately I had a tendancy to get to a certain level and then give up for months, thus losing my progress so had i stuck to it I would probably be at a decent bit higher weight. Its majorly hard work at the moment but im sticking to the regimen fairly well so far. If anypony has constructive criticism to give or anyone else want to talk about their regimen feel free to plonk it on this thread

(also if you wondering why the squat weight is so low, i got crappy knees)

Also if anyone wants to ask about or discuss equipment that will be fine too, especially since that shit is pricy as fuck, and advice on what kind of weights/barbell and what kind of weightstand to get will probably be useful

Hey Judge congrats on getting back into the gym. The lifting program is fine, but if you are looking for mass building and not just strength you want to focus on something that causes more hypertrophy in the muscles then a middle weight and 8-12 reps per set is what you want to aim for.

I do a modified greyskull lifting program at a lower weight, but I do three sets of reps with as many reps to failure for the last. I also switch in-between lift sets if possible as it gives the muscles longer to recover.

So for example.

Bench 5x3 - 3rd rep to failure.
Overhead press 5x3 - 3rd rep to failure.

I increase the weight 2.5kg and reset 20kg when I can't get past the 5th rep, so it's constantly moving forward incrementally.

If your knees are bad, then cut out squats completely and focus on more deadlifts instead, both engage the quad muscles and it's a little more joint friendly.

Best investment during lockdown was a small home bench and barbell set, it was nice to be able to offer work outs to friends while the gyms were closed.

Alright, so I'm in a bit of a predicament. I've looked everywhere, but I think I'd like to ask for y'all's opinion.

I'm trying to lose weight (More like lose fat, mainly) but put on muscle. I've read that a combination of BCAA and protein supplements (Such as whey) could work but A) It sounds like some kind of bro-science which might fuck up my guts and B) I'm trying to avoid supplements as much as I can. I'm half-tempted to try it but a lot of the forums, articles, etc. that I've read tend to stay more towards the opinion of, "You either lose weight and lose muscle or you gain muscle and lose weight" with there not really being much of an in-between.

Any advice on how to tackle this? Or am I just going to have to focus on losing weight before working on getting swole?

If you're worried about gut biome take a probiotic supplement or eat a probiotic yogurt, or drink kefir.
As for proteins and BCAA's they are useful but there tends to be an over emphasis on efficacy over all.

Yes they are useful, but realistically were made for elite lifters on particular dietary regimes. They aren't needed where you can eat your protein, and to be honest I enjoy the steak and eggs more. For most beginners/intermediate level lifters you can get all you need from diet alone.

As for wanting to lose weight, that's a bit different. It depends on how much you have to lose, if it's just a bit stick with lifting and clean eating. No processed food stuffs, and absolutely no sugar. Carbs are alright but in smaller quantities, try to get whole grains with the fibre still attached or add flax seeds to every meal. Try to aim for high natural fats, vegetables, minimal fruits, and good quality protein and you should see good results.

 

[Meriasek]

I missed sore muscles. Feels good man.
Next wednesday is gonna be leg day. Doing squats High Intensity to failure seems kinda daunting. My gym has kind of a shitty squat rack, not a power rack with proper safety bars, and I don't like dropping the bar to the back. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.
Vacation coming up end of July, gotta get beach ready.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I missed sore muscles. Feels good man.
Next wednesday is gonna be leg day. Doing squats High Intensity to failure seems kinda daunting. My gym has kind of a shitty squat rack, not a power rack with proper safety bars, and I don't like dropping the bar to the back. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.
Vacation coming up end of July, gotta get beach ready.

What I do that gets the leg super juicy is 4 sets of 8 normal squats, then one rest pause set of pin squats to absolute failure with the same weight.
Pin squats are boss anyways, but this will fuck you up.
If you can’t do those, try hack lifts with a barbell or even leg presses.

 

[Meriasek]

What I do that gets the leg super juicy is 4 sets of 8 normal squats, then one rest pause set of pin squats to absolute failure with the same weight.
Pin squats are boss anyways, but this will fuck you up.
If you can’t do those, try hack lifts with a barbell or even leg presses.

I usually just squat, 3x5 to 5x5.
Can't do pin squats without pins, so pass on that.
Trying to do a single set to absolute failure on squats is kinda weird anyway. I'll see how I'll manage, might just ask for spots for the first time.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I usually just squat, 3x5 to 5x5.
Can't do pin squats without pins, so pass on that.
Trying to do a single set to absolute failure on squats is kinda weird anyway. I'll see how I'll manage, might just ask for spots for the first time.

It is wierd, that’s why I do it on pins or from the floor like a hack lift. That way, when you fail you just can’t move anything.
That’s just what I enjoy and what feels good for me, if 5x5 works well for you then do that.

One thing I’ve done before I had a gym membership was just squat what I could comfortably clean and press for either 4 sets of 25 or 5 sets of 20, then do other leg stuff. It worked for building muscle, but my raw squat strength has been lacking so I’ve been playing catch-up.

 

[Meriasek]

It is wierd, that’s why I do it on pins or from the floor like a hack lift. That way, when you fail you just can’t move anything.
That’s just what I enjoy and what feels good for me, if 5x5 works well for you then do that.

One thing I’ve done before I had a gym membership was just squat what I could comfortably clean and press for either 4 sets of 25 or 5 sets of 20, then do other leg stuff. It worked for building muscle, but my raw squat strength has been lacking so I’ve been playing catch-up.

I've done 5x5 stuff for years, but as I said above, I wanna try High Intensity Training since it fits my daily schedule better. My gym is next to my work, and I got a few colleagues going there as well, so it's easy and motivating to go during lunchbreak. That naturally limits training time, and doing 5x5 or even 3x5 takes a lot of time once the rests between sets become long. So then I could just do like three exercises per training day, and it'd often go into overtraining. Additionally, I developed some issues with elevated blood pressure, and would often get a headache after the second set with e.g. squats if I do more than like 305 lbs.
So doing just one or maybe two really, really heavy sets of up to eight reps should work better for that. Doing a three-way split spread over the week (for now) also allows for some more light cardio which should help my blood pressure as well.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

I never used straps, but I might have to use them at some point. So far I use either chalks or mixed grip above ~290 lbs, and usually mixed grip and chalk for more than 380 lbs.
Next time I do deadlifts I hope there's a better bar on the platform, one that isn't completely rubbed blank. Or I'll have to look for one. I know there are better bars around.

Actually, where the fuck is my chalk? It's not in my office, and I'm pretty sure it was somewhere here, but I can't find it... Might need it to prevent the grip strength from giving out before my back and leg muscles give out.

/edit: Ah, found it. Was just in the other gym bag.

I always tried not to use them, but with these new barbells my hook grip would already start failing just at 275. I used to be able to double overhand 315, but these new bars are trash for grip

 

[Meriasek]

I always tried not to use them, but with these new barbells my hook grip would already start failing just at 275. I used to be able to double overhand 315, but these new bars are trash for grip

Never used hook grip, either. Actually, I was even against mixed grip for a long time and prefered to use chalk with double overhand grip as much as possible. 330 lbs would be ok for single reps, but chalk makes it a lot easier.
How's the hook grip? Heard it can be kinda painful to get used to?
Also, belts for deadlifts, yay or nay? I never liked to use the belt for that, although I used it sometimes on squats.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Never used hook grip, either. Actually, I was even against mixed grip for a long time and prefered to use chalk with double overhand grip as much as possible. 330 lbs would be ok for single reps, but chalk makes it a lot easier.
How's the hook grip? Heard it can be kinda painful to get used to?
Also, belts for deadlifts, yay or nay? I never liked to use the belt for that, although I used it sometimes on squats.

I love hook grip. Took some getting used to, but I saw too many Youtube videos of bicep tears when using mixed grip which made me decide to switch. Once you get the hang of it, it's great. It sucks at first until your callouses on the bottom of your thumb develop.

I don't use a belt, but I probably should. Everyone I know who uses it swears it adds weight to your lifts, but I like the old school minimal equipment thing

 

[Meriasek]

Hm. I'm not lifting heavy enough to be worried about my biceps. My 1RM on deadift was like 395 lbs or so and I didn't feel my biceps being strained at all.

 

[Canoodler]

With mixed grip you have to be careful not to engage your biceps to avoid tearing them. Easier said than done, I know.

 

[Aggron]

I love hook grip. Took some getting used to, but I saw too many Youtube videos of bicep tears when using mixed grip which made me decide to switch. Once you get the hang of it, it's great. It sucks at first until your callouses on the bottom of your thumb develop.

I don't use a belt, but I probably should. Everyone I know who uses it swears it adds weight to your lifts, but I like the old school minimal equipment thing

In my humble opinion, I'd prefer the use of a belt over the use of straps in a minimal equipment mindset. I think belts do a lot better job in encouraging proper form and helping your lower back reduce a lot of strain. But at the end of the day, if you get good work in with a piece of equipment, I think its good.

As far as grips and different barbells, have you tried rack pulls? I like to do those first when I'm getting used to a new gym and the barbells feel weird. Helps get you used to the barbell and locking out while deadlifting.