The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

I'm 6'4" and sitting right at 291 this morning.

 

Lol every pro there was shorter than me. They are wide as fuck though. They make me look tiny in that area.

I did feel tiny next to the 6'9" 475lb dude in the SHW division.... Dude was insane but really not as strong as I expected him to be. Just shows you don't need to be that large to be strong.

 

Is this what you eat to stay lean or weight lost ?

 

It’s what I eat to try and maintain/slowly gain muscle without packing on too much fat.

 

my current gym has smith machines instead of regular racks . Any exercises you guys recommend using a smith machine? Should I just do everything as I would normally (bench/squat/etc.)? I feel like such a n00b. Also i clearly realize that this seems like an easier movement with exercises because the bar maintains a fixed path but im frankly worried its going to hurt my power rack and barbell form... maybe i am overthinking...

 

My recommendation is to find another gym.

 

The amount of reps you’ve put in on free weight aren’t going to be forgotten, there may be some time to acclimate back to free weights but nothing serious. smith machines and free weights can make it more easy to isolate and focus on muscle groups more than movement and form. I would pick some weak points and focus on them and make the best of it!
strongwo(man) training often neglects isolated quad work for an example. So if I was in your situation I would spend some time doing single leg work or elevated heel work on the smith if that’s all I had. Try to find weaknesses and ways to work on them.

 

its free (apt gym) and I just have to deal with it for now. Its not forever, shrug.

I think youre right and I will have to do this and focus on some tough spots and make them better for when i get back under the free weights. I was idly shopping for adjustable dumbbells again after seeing the lack of free weights in the apt gym.

 

Also try to focus on balancing yourself under the bar and not pushing back or forth on the rails

 

Someone came to work feeling sick without telling people on Monday... we are a medium sized shop so word doesn’t always spread. But turns out 17 people ending up testing covid positive yesterday. And by the end of the day today we are at almost 30. Including me. No symptoms or sickness but test says positive. RIP y’all.

 

People are fucking stupid.

I hope everyone is OK.

I also hope the best for your wife and son.

 

Neither of us have symptoms or feel anything. Just went because of circumstances. Should be fine. I drank water out of a hose growing up and eat my steak rare. Immunity level is hopefully high

 

Anyone know how much you gain from a deadlift bar vs a power bar? If I can pull (ugly but most max attempts are lol) 475 with a power bar... what should be my deadlift bar PR?

 

Really won't change much at that weight

 

When does it start to make a difference?

 

Really depends on the bar and how much flex/whip it has. Also depends on your technique, do you pull the flex out first or do you rip it up from the ground?

An average deadlift bar won't have much whip until around 550 from what I've noticed.

 

Pull the flex out before ripping.

 

If you are going to squat on a smith machine, put your feet in front of you and sit back into it so at the bottom you look like you are sitting in a chair or a wall sit. You have to focus on keeping the hips back and it becomes a quad heavy movement. Trying to mimic a back squat in a smith rack is a recipe for disaster. You can also use them for stiff leg dead lifts and calf raises too so that’s basically the full leg workout right there.

 

Won't be too much flex at that weight unless your using bumper plates. You can still try it though. Be good to get used to it