The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

I have been training beltless for a very long time and has paid off big. Keep crushing it on both lifts, you will get there....
My progress on bench has slowed down quite a bit but my squat is coming back again.

As for your bench, do you have a sticking point ? i believe i read your lock out is the problem. Do db Floor presses( just gets hard with heavy weights, they help lock out big time, or do smith machine floor presses

 

Thanks for the tips!

I do most of my squat/DL sets sans belt. Once I get to doing heavy weight in the 3 rep range or less I do wear a belt.

I normally have a pretty smooth push on my bench. I don't notice any major sticking points normally but will keep those exercises in mind. I think I just couldn't lock it out because I was doing 5lbs more than my previous max and trying for 2 reps. It was a greedy attempt since I'd already done several working sets already Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could have gotten 2 pretty easily if I was rested and prepping for max effort work.

 

only way to do it My work outs are pretty bad ass and invite anyone with the drive to join lol.

As i said, toss the belt aside for a while and focus on your core. I front squat well in the 300s without a belt, PL shoes, DL in the 600s again without a belt etc. I see so many people wearing belts for "support" and using them in the completely wrong fashion. Learn to take a breath, And push against your diaphragm and abs to get that extra bit out of your lift instead of the belt. your core will thank you

Additionally, on your max work leg days do box jumps(1-3 reps only)after each set, AS HIGH as you can go by getting your legs underneath you on the landing

 

Yeah...I definitely went a lot heavier than normal without a belt today and I feel it in my core for sure. Maybe I'll start nixing it on more and more sets.

I like the box jumps idea. Thanks

 

HOLY SHIT! The most I've seen anyone in our gym front squat is 315 and he plays football for Vanderbilt!

 

meh its not so bad, i actually prefer going heavier on fronts than back.
The reason is i train solo ALLOT. I set my guides 1 notch below the depth i want to hit.
IF i cant get up, i sit down lol. Quite simple. I only do fronts for Heavy weight as well, Its amazing how strong your core gets by doing this and how easy heavy back squats feel

 

So for context, I was doing speed reps going up 50# per set from 135 up to 585. Total time took about 8 min. This day( yesterday) was a speed grip strength day to see if my Grip strength has returned ( thumb was messed for some time)

My gf didn't get the vid after this one which i added another 30# for 615 raw

AS you can see, I'm not a big dude

 

End of 3rd set SET 1rm chest session :

AS many of you may or may not know by now, i do 5-8 working sets and usually end up with that work outs 1rm for 3 sets of 1. Then switch grip( wider or narrower), do the same weight and start doing drops sets till fail from there.

 

Odd thing is from an 18inch bar hight ( roughly ) it almost felt harder to do similar weight. This was a different day: volume day ending up with 615. In the gym I very rarely count the weight I'm doing and generally add it up at the end

 

What do you weigh? Given your lifting numbers, I thought you'd be Jay Cutler's size! You're strong as shot for your stature

 

5'11 220 atm

0 supplements in all of these. It's been a tough road lol

 

Dang. You're at my goal weigh haha

 

I want to gain just a few pounds back and coast at 225, get as strong as i can holding 225 then cut water weight for the lifting weigh ins for the 220 class. I didn't find a substantial increase in power for me at 235 though i would venture to say that moving atlas stones and a few of the other things would be easier at 235 vs 220 lol

 

You look smaller than me at 6'1" 190, single digit bf %. Not saying you're lying but you don't look 220.

When I hit 208 in Jan, I was massive for my frame, it looked heavy, felt heavy etc.

 

No worries,
I did think to myself man I look small in these clips.

I do look really flat as well, with zero supplements my pumps are just about non existent.

Do I need to make a vid standing on the scale next lol.

I'm an athlete, and have been for over 15 years now. I have always trained for power, strength and muscle endurance and whilst I may not look as big as others very few people can keep up.

Maybe it's my sad 17 inch arms that make me look so small or my massive wing span. I really do think so and based on my other dimentions i should be around 18.5 but hey.... The bi's are strong enough for what I need em for

 

Hey, if strength is your goal, it seems like you're doing everything right!

 

6 egg whites with Franks Red Hot and Montreal Steak Seasoning.....so good