The official gym & weightlifting thread! rep #2

[Keano]

Can't access the video from the UK. Any chance of a quick summary?

As for the deadlift thing, that sounds a bit stupid. What are they worried about? Damage to the equipment or damage to you?

See if this works for you:
planet phagness - YouTube

Planet Fitness is a chain of gym catered towards gym-goers that aren't as "hardcore, those that are "intimidated" by other people who lift weights. They have a very strict policy on things you can and can't do; for example, you can't grunt, can't carry water bottles larger than certain size, can't wear tanktops/cut sleeves, etc. because they feel other members will be intimiated while sharing gym space with them. To them, anyone even slightly muscular and lifts somewhat heavy weights = jerks. It's all part of their "No Judgment" policy.

The Daily Show is a satire show, and the segment pokes at the hypocricy of it all.

One of PF's commercials:
Funny Bodybuilder Planet Fitness commercial - YouTube

Some other parody:
Invalid Link Removed


edit:
I think for dl, it's a bit of both, maybe more towards the latter. I haven't seen a gym with proper lifting platform in my area.

 

[Chebass88]

Compound barbell lifts are hard. Most people actively work to avoid difficulty in their lives, so they skip these lifts. The gym management is working hard to bring business in - not necessarily increase the strength of their members. Why should they have a dedicated lifting platform, several power racks, and a wide assortment of weights? John Q. Average doesn't use them. The person who wants to get big and strong will find a way to do it, regardless. He either finds a black-iron gym or lifts in his garage, or a place that is open to conventional lifts.

Is John Q. Average weak? Absolutely - but it might be discouraging to him to have to lift next to a 300lb guy powering his way through some really heavy back squats, where the plates clang, there is chalk on the bar, etc. He might go home and not come back (or not pay the gym any more). Female gym clients have even more misconceptions - lifting will make them big & bulky (it won't), and heaven forbid they mess up their nails or makeup. The middle-aged lady who wants to do the latest routine found in Self magazine wants a giant bouncy ball, and a couple of 3lb weights. Also not likely to work out next to the so-called meathead powering through heavy shrugs. If they don't come back - the gym doesn't make money. (Black iron gyms are rarely profitable).

And so, Planet Fatness is born.

 

[etoncrow]

I have been lurkering here for a bit; learning. I am 62 years old, 5'-9", 182 pounds and I work out to stay in healthy shape and get some definition so I have been reading your posts and learning. I have a question; what is your opinion of this guy:

RossTraining.com - Strength Training For Fighters

and your opinion of the P90X program.

Thank you; I wil slink back into the shadows again.

 

[Keano]

I can certainly understand the original intent of it all, but some things I feel are a bit unnecessary, water bottle thing for example. It's the way they try to portray their message. There are a lot of misconceptions, and PF certainly isn't helping (not they need to at all).

Also, this is The Daily Show, so I'm sure they edited/cut the clips to make the PF lady sound worse than it really was. No one could be that bad of a PR nightmare...at least I want to believe that is the case.

 

[Chebass88]

I just hit a new 3RM on the squat yesterday of 385lbs. I tried for a triple at 405, but only got a single. Incentive to keep going!

Inspiration music: Holst's "The Planets, Mars: The Bringer of War"

My 12 week cycle based on a Kazmeier article is ending next week, so I will test max singles within the next two weeks in the squat, deadlift, bench, press, and curl.

My plan for the remainder of the year is to prepare my body for VERY heavy leg training 3X/week (squatting), and begin the new year with the Smolov squat routine (description here), with bench/press/curl once per week.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

OK, I'll play since I've been hitting the gym again for a solid 3 months now.

21. 5'9". 159lbs.

All x5 reps

Bench: 165lbs
Curls: 50lbs
Overhead Tricep Extension: 35lbs
Lat Pulldown: 170lbs
Leg Press: 600lbs (I have freakishly strong legs for a guy my size)
Deadlifts: 200lbs

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

jmattbassplata, do you do any squats?

I simply ask because of the Leg Press bit. The standard opinion is that squats are significantly better than leg press (unless you are trying to isolate things a bit). I always found leg press a bit dull (IMO), the one in our gym only goes up to 200Kg/440lbs (it's a stack), and I can leg press that all day long (have hit out 50 reps on it for fun) and it just doesn't hit anywhere near like squats do, and my squats aren't great!

Also, check the form on your tricep work, with a bench like that, I'd have thought you would have had stronger tri's (I also find, again, this is just me, that sets of 8 work better with most tri excersises).

3 solid months? Most importantly, still enjoying it?

I am hating missing out the gym, but with a couple consecutive back injuries (hypermotile joints and contact sports don't mix apparently), I am currently stuck to doing stretches and some bodyweight work. I've spent two of the past three weeks on the couch

 

[HEIST]

There are gyms that don't allow deadlifts? Isn't that where people go to perform deadlifts?

I'm a member of Fitness World in BC (the largest chain gym here) and every gym has a Unisex weights area, a ladies only area, cardio area and then a room where classes take place.

They offer a ladies only area for those who are usually beginners and have really really low self-esteem who are intimidated to even step foot into the door. They don't want to seem 'dumb' by accidentally using a piece of equipment wrong infront of experienced weight lifters or only lifting 5lbs.

I used to be one of those girls but as you get more comfortable about stepping foot into the gym I wanted to use some of the machines and weights in the unisex weight room. My biggest fear in the begginning wasn't one of those guys who grunt when they lifted heavy nor ones who breathed heavily and dropped weights. My fear was that I might get in the way of their fitness routine which is by far more ambitious than my own current fitness routine.

I'm glad all that's over

I find bodybuilding.com to be the best resource for me. Does anyone use BodySpace?

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Used to, but it is now well out of date, may just start a new one !

 

[jmattbassplaya]

jmattbassplata, do you do any squats?

I simply ask because of the Leg Press bit. The standard opinion is that squats are significantly better than leg press (unless you are trying to isolate things a bit). I always found leg press a bit dull (IMO), the one in our gym only goes up to 200Kg/440lbs (it's a stack), and I can leg press that all day long (have hit out 50 reps on it for fun) and it just doesn't hit anywhere near like squats do, and my squats aren't great!

Also, check the form on your tricep work, with a bench like that, I'd have thought you would have had stronger tri's (I also find, again, this is just me, that sets of 8 work better with most tri excersises).

3 solid months? Most importantly, still enjoying it?

I am hating missing out the gym, but with a couple consecutive back injuries (hypermotile joints and contact sports don't mix apparently), I am currently stuck to doing stretches and some bodyweight work. I've spent two of the past three weeks on the couch

Hey Mohawk,

I've actually never gotten into squats because I've never had anyone to show me proper technique or simply be there to spot me. That, and my legs are kinda funny when it comes to moves like that. I'm not sure if it's all the soccer I played growing up or if my muscles simply aren't use to that sort of motion, but whenever I try do a squat my muscles get super tense and I often end up cramping.

I personally love leg press. It's one of the few exercises that I do that really gets my heart rate up and the sweat pouring out of my body. Likewise, we have a stack at our gym that only goes up to about 440 that I can rock all day and night. We also have one where you add plates and sit in a declined position, and it's that one that really gives me a workout.

My tri's have always been weaker than my bi's because, like most people, when I was younger I thought you got big arms just from doing curls. I really didn't even start working out tri's until about 3 years ago, and I've been playing catch up ever since. Also, when I say overhead extensions I mean I'm lifting the 35lbs with one arm and not both. I'm not sure if you thought I meant I was doing skullcrushers only with 35lbs because I'm definitely not that weak

I also typically do all my exercises following a 15, 12, 8 rep sort of pattern. So with curls I'll start with 35lbs and do 15 reps, then 40lbs and do 10, then 45lbs and do 8, etc...

As far as getting back into the gym is concerned, it feels GREAT! I kinda let myself go this past summer and have been working hard to get my body back into the shape it once was. It's been rough because I haven't been able to shake of drinking beer yet, but I definitely am beginning to see some muscle tone and definition that I never had before

 

[jp58]

I had a body space years ago when I was wrestling. I don't think I've been to a website since I got my Rippetoes routine.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Hey Mohawk,

I've actually never gotten into squats because I've never had anyone to show me proper technique or simply be there to spot me. That, and my legs are kinda funny when it comes to moves like that. I'm not sure if it's all the soccer I played growing up or if my muscles simply aren't use to that sort of motion, but whenever I try do a squat my muscles get super tense and I often end up cramping.

I personally love leg press. It's one of the few exercises that I do that really gets my heart rate up and the sweat pouring out of my body. Likewise, we have a stack at our gym that only goes up to about 440 that I can rock all day and night. We also have one where you add plates and sit in a declined position, and it's that one that really gives me a workout/

I'm not a personal trainer or Dr, so take this with a pinch of salt, but that just sounds like you're a bit tight or have a bit of a muscular imbalance.

Shouldn't need spotted, but true that you need to be able to do them right. I wouldn't give up on them, they give you so much!

My tri's have always been weaker than my bi's because, like most people, when I was younger I thought you got big arms just from doing curls. I really didn't even start working out tri's until about 3 years ago, and I've been playing catch up ever since. Also, when I say overhead extensions I mean I'm lifting the 35lbs with one arm and not both. I'm not sure if you thought I meant I was doing skullcrushers only with 35lbs because I'm definitely not that weak

Haha, that's a bit more reasonable! I did think you mean skull crushers!

I also typically do all my exercises following a 15, 12, 8 rep sort of pattern. So with curls I'll start with 35lbs and do 15 reps, then 40lbs and do 10, then 45lbs and do 8, etc...

As far as getting back into the gym is concerned, it feels GREAT! I kinda let myself go this past summer and have been working hard to get my body back into the shape it once was. It's been rough because I haven't been able to shake of drinking beer yet, but I definitely am beginning to see some muscle tone and definition that I never had before

I used to use a similar system, pyramiding worked great for me too!

Good to hear some progress! Keep it up bud

 

[fmoore200]

Yeah squats are great. When I was in my late teens early twenties they were my favorite workout. But after almost a decade of driving commercial vehicles my knees are always hurting. I've recently started hitting the gym 4x per week after a bit of a hiatus, but even light leg presses hurt my knees

I've heard that knee wraps help, but I'm not sure...

 

[Chebass88]

Yeah squats are great. When I was in my late teens early twenties they were my favorite workout. But after almost a decade of driving commercial vehicles my knees are always hurting. I've recently started hitting the gym 4x per week after a bit of a hiatus, but even light leg presses hurt my knees

I've heard that knee wraps help, but I'm not sure...

Knee wraps can help in several ways, depending on how tight they are. Tighter wraps help you come up from the bottom of the squat. They also keep warmth in your knee joints.

 

[J. Crawford]

As stupid as this sounds I finally hit "big boy" weights, which was a goal of mine for a looong time. Big boy weights meaning 135, using two 45 pound weights. Thats been a goal of mine since I started lifting a while ago.

When I say that, I mean for sets. We did Descending 8 last week and I made it all the way, with 145 thrown in at sets 5 and 4.

Diggg.

 

[Papa Dangerous]

Now this seems like an awesome thread! I hope this thread gets me wanting to go to the gym more like it normally does in making me want to play/buy bass stuff!

 

[fmoore200]

Knee wraps can help in several ways, depending on how tight they are. Tighter wraps help you come up from the bottom of the squat. They also keep warmth in your knee joints.

I'm gonna start doing squats again in January, so I'll try using them then.. once I get my sea legs back at the gym

 

[Papa Dangerous]

Since everyone is talking about leg exercises, I never worked mine out because I have had knee issues and would hate to stir up a problem with them again. But are there certain muscle groups of the legs that get worked out together? Like back/biceps, and chest/triceps?

 

[fmoore200]

I've always thought of hamstrings and quads as the biceps and triceps of my lower body. They perform some of the same functions, I.e. flexion and extension

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Since everyone is talking about leg exercises, I never worked mine out because I have had knee issues and would hate to stir up a problem with them again. But are there certain muscle groups of the legs that get worked out together? Like back/biceps, and chest/triceps?

Quads and hams.

If you're into weightlifting, you should actually focus a good portion of your training on your legs because they are the largest muscle groups in your body (along with your rump) and will give you the most gains in muscle mass.