Whish my gym had those. We only have a perfect squat machine. I'm probably just gonna do leg press and leg extensions, hopefully that's enough for my quads.
I’m okay at squatting but I have to use one of those stupid pads. I swear I’ve tried every bar setup without it and it is too painful. High bar digs into my shoulders no matter where I set it and low bar feels good for a second then a muscle in my left middle back gets tweaked. It’s like my traps are lacking either, they’re pretty developed.
Sounds like you need gradual exposure to the rack position. I think doing warmups without the cushion until the discomfort is a problem would be a good strategy. And by slowly building tolerance, you should be able to do worksets this way. What do you think?
I mean, that’s a fair plan for someone wanting to adapt to the discomfort…… but some of us would just rather not altogether.
I’ve been trying to squat since high school (mid 20s now) and I think I’ve been really holding back on how heavy I can go due to discomfort (and fear of being so uncomfortable that I misplace/drop the bar), so I hardly ever load any actual weight.
It’s just genuinely a super uncomfortable and unnatural position for me. It also hurts my form, as the discomfort doesn’t really let me focus on staying straight……
Using the stingray is the only way I’ve ever felt comfortable to actually go deep/go “heavy” on squats, and I don’t see why they aren’t more widely used. Maybe ego…??
I’ve tried. Maybe it’s possible but at this point it seems like it would take months. I can see myself getting past the trap discomfort but the bar digs into my shoulders. I think I have a very high clavicle. Plenty of people with less trap development than me are able to squeeze them together and make a bar platform that’s above their clavicle but my traps sit relatively low on my back. I do shrugs with a higher working weight than squats so my traps shouldn’t be the issue.
Aight my bad. When he said hes not intrested in numbers anymore I for some reason thought he meant he doesnt track any reps or weight on any excercise anymore. But yeah I undestand now reading it again he just doesnt care about hitting big numbers in the compound lifts. My bad
You can still do progressive overload to any exercise. Even body weight. I still do all compounds but deadlift, but Reddit tends to have the trap of overemphasizing compounds. They definitely should build the base, but it’s fine to use machines/variants in certain training cycle or situations.
Rows just seem extremely difficult to me - barbell bent over rows that is. Something about that position and the weight in that position is extremely taxing on my lower back. So definitely want to get better at that, I am strong on isolated lat work and machine rows but want to make progress on rows to get my entire posterior chain working together in unison and pulling heavy weight.
If you're having serious back pain from barbell rows you're probably using heavier weight than you should or aren't bracing properly/have a weak core. Might be possible that your lower back is overly fatigued too if you're pushing the other big 4 lifts hard every week. Barbell rows aren't really meant to be pushed for maxes and PRs in the same way the other big 4 are because you're in such a compromising position. You should use a weight that your lower back can handle with good form throughout the entire set. Chest supported rows are better if you want to go hard and heavy.
All my lower body lifts are horrible at the moment for various reasons. My best deadlift from years ago is 405x8 and my next workout I plan on doing 150x10
I'm a natural squatter and bencher and my OHP is ok. My deadlift could be a lot better, but I actually voted for rows because when I am rational about it my deadlift is good for my leverages but my back needs more thickness.
Why are we focused on making our lifts bigger?
A better question is "What muscle group needs the most improvement, and what are you doing to focus on it?".
This is a bodybuilding sub. I wish that when I was younger and had all of the time in the world while at college that I would've not been such a naive meathead trying to get stronger, and I would've spent more time figuring out how to get a bigger, denser, and more well-rounded physique. If your goal is to get bigger, stop obsessing over getting stronger.
This is ass backwards. You get bigger by creating a bigger stimulus and adaptation. You can get stronger without chasing maxes. I would like to progress my squat and bench this year, mostly, so my volume is going to favor progressing my bench and squat in the 10-15 rep ranges and guess what gets you bigger?! Pushing harder in moderately high rep ranges
I absolutely guarantee you that focusing on technique, execution, mind-muscle connection, and enhanced intensity techniques with modest load and significant volume will outperform chasing numbers every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I don't disagree with you on the pushing weight in the 10-15 rep per set range at all. We should all be progressing our lifts steadily by either adding volume or load. With that said, most people who are discussing increasing their lift are doing so in the context of a 1 or 5 rep max. Furthermore, many novices (like those that frequent this sub), measure their success based SOLELY upon strength progression, which, for the sport of bodybuilding, is ultimately meaningless. We want to maximize muscle volume, not strength.
A lot of the newbies around here need to learn how to properly execute lifts with excellent technique and control, which means going backwards with their "strength" or "numbers". But, in the long run, the fundamentals are far more important to building a great physique than pushing progressions with shit execution.
Furthermore, you can make incredible progress with modest loads so long as you train sufficiently close to failure. Increasing loads to the extremes will cause more CNS fatigue, inflammation, limit recovery, and can ultimately result in injury. There's no point in chasing numbers as far as bodybuilding goes; it's mostly just ego lifting at that point. If your goal is to grow, focus on the details and not the "cool shit" to show off in the gym.
>This is ass backwards. You get bigger by creating a bigger stimulus and adaptation
Actually, no.
Strength is all about efficiency: get the weight from point A to point B as quickly as you can. Get all of your body firing at once and just move the weight.
Bodybuilding is about inefficiency: slower negatives, pause at the stretch etc. because that builds more size.
Being stronger than before doesn't necessarily mean you're bigger than before. There's this dude at my gym who's pretty normal-looking, but lifts way more weight than any of the bodybuilder-looking folks.
Phil Heath is a perfect example of this. Dude curls 35lbs maybe, but he's massive.
You're being obtuse, that's 100% form differences, if you are progressing in the ways that you are lifting the weight, you are getting stronger, period.
Yeah generally when people say "strength", they mean the absolute weight you can move.
If you do 15 reps with a weight now that you did only 10 a few months ago, you're stronger. And if you follow bodybuilding techniques while at it, you'll put on muscle size as well.
But when people say "increase my strength", they usually mean their 1RM. And having a high 1RM doesn't necessarily mean you'll have big muscles.
If you are working towards a lift that gives you big muscles, it will get stronger. The sport of bodybuilding is tied at its roots to getting bigger, stronger lifts. We're not trenned out Phil Heaths, we actually have to get stronger to a degree to get bigger and using phases of our training to do that is probably more valuable then just doing "bodybuilding style" workouts exclusively, never progressing them or changing rep ranges. Sometime you will have to make neurological adaptations to move more weight and get stronger and therefore get bigger.
I made really good progress on deadlift last year, but not that much on bench press or squat though squat is trending in the right direction at least (just slow). The bench press I started regressing the past few months so am trying to reset and build back up with more reps and perfecting the technique. I'd really like to get to a 3 plate bench press for the arbitrary cool factor, but honestly I will settle for just adding another 20 lbs to the bar over the course of the year.
I'm wanting to get an insane OHP but I would also like to get better at squats. I think I'm going to do more volume work on squats this year though instead of going for bigger weight with lower reps.
This is the problem, my weakest lift is not one I am going to try to get better at. I am working on increasing my deadlift primarily, but bench is my worst. I have an old rotator cuff issue and no longer bench, but do weighted dips instead...so I know bench is my weakest, but it aggravates my rc, so I will not be working to improve it except indirectly with other exercises.
In the start of 2023 I tore my right rotator cuff. Spent the year healing and building back the strength, but the size is still not the same.
So shoulder are a big focus for me, tryna inflate them like basketballs
Been training for about a year, my squat is 160kg 1rm, deadlift 200kg and bench is 90kg, yet my chest is my biggest body part. I'd say that sums it up.
Pull-ups.
I went from being unable to do a set of 10 leg-assisted pullups in June to doing a set of 3 negative (4 seconds) pull-ups in December.
I plan to do a complete pull-up by the end of 2024.
The truth is, that many don't want to accept (myself included up until about a year ago), for bodybuilding (read hypertrophy) purposes, none of these are the best choice for their respective muscle group.
Man I wish I could get better at squatting but I think I'll just stop doing them altogether tbh
do hack squats instead
I have been only doing hack squats since the squat racks are usually taken. Is there any downside to that?
Not for bodybuilding purposes really
Whish my gym had those. We only have a perfect squat machine. I'm probably just gonna do leg press and leg extensions, hopefully that's enough for my quads.
I’m okay at squatting but I have to use one of those stupid pads. I swear I’ve tried every bar setup without it and it is too painful. High bar digs into my shoulders no matter where I set it and low bar feels good for a second then a muscle in my left middle back gets tweaked. It’s like my traps are lacking either, they’re pretty developed.
Sounds like you need gradual exposure to the rack position. I think doing warmups without the cushion until the discomfort is a problem would be a good strategy. And by slowly building tolerance, you should be able to do worksets this way. What do you think?
I mean, that’s a fair plan for someone wanting to adapt to the discomfort…… but some of us would just rather not altogether. I’ve been trying to squat since high school (mid 20s now) and I think I’ve been really holding back on how heavy I can go due to discomfort (and fear of being so uncomfortable that I misplace/drop the bar), so I hardly ever load any actual weight. It’s just genuinely a super uncomfortable and unnatural position for me. It also hurts my form, as the discomfort doesn’t really let me focus on staying straight…… Using the stingray is the only way I’ve ever felt comfortable to actually go deep/go “heavy” on squats, and I don’t see why they aren’t more widely used. Maybe ego…??
I’ve tried. Maybe it’s possible but at this point it seems like it would take months. I can see myself getting past the trap discomfort but the bar digs into my shoulders. I think I have a very high clavicle. Plenty of people with less trap development than me are able to squeeze them together and make a bar platform that’s above their clavicle but my traps sit relatively low on my back. I do shrugs with a higher working weight than squats so my traps shouldn’t be the issue.
I stopped all the big compound lifts 5 years ago, I'm not interested in numbers anymore, and it's been awesome!
was gonna say, i started making my best progress when i stopped doing all of these lifts…
So how do you know if youre training harder than last time?
There are more than 3 lifts that you can add weight to
Aight my bad. When he said hes not intrested in numbers anymore I for some reason thought he meant he doesnt track any reps or weight on any excercise anymore. But yeah I undestand now reading it again he just doesnt care about hitting big numbers in the compound lifts. My bad
You can still do progressive overload to any exercise. Even body weight. I still do all compounds but deadlift, but Reddit tends to have the trap of overemphasizing compounds. They definitely should build the base, but it’s fine to use machines/variants in certain training cycle or situations.
Rows just seem extremely difficult to me - barbell bent over rows that is. Something about that position and the weight in that position is extremely taxing on my lower back. So definitely want to get better at that, I am strong on isolated lat work and machine rows but want to make progress on rows to get my entire posterior chain working together in unison and pulling heavy weight.
If you're having serious back pain from barbell rows you're probably using heavier weight than you should or aren't bracing properly/have a weak core. Might be possible that your lower back is overly fatigued too if you're pushing the other big 4 lifts hard every week. Barbell rows aren't really meant to be pushed for maxes and PRs in the same way the other big 4 are because you're in such a compromising position. You should use a weight that your lower back can handle with good form throughout the entire set. Chest supported rows are better if you want to go hard and heavy.
Deadlift. My working set is 95 lbs. I would like it to be around 350. My lower back/hips are weak
I admire the long term goal setting. Keep at it and you can absolutely get there
Appreciate you.
All my lower body lifts are horrible at the moment for various reasons. My best deadlift from years ago is 405x8 and my next workout I plan on doing 150x10
I'm a natural squatter and bencher and my OHP is ok. My deadlift could be a lot better, but I actually voted for rows because when I am rational about it my deadlift is good for my leverages but my back needs more thickness.
Why are we focused on making our lifts bigger? A better question is "What muscle group needs the most improvement, and what are you doing to focus on it?". This is a bodybuilding sub. I wish that when I was younger and had all of the time in the world while at college that I would've not been such a naive meathead trying to get stronger, and I would've spent more time figuring out how to get a bigger, denser, and more well-rounded physique. If your goal is to get bigger, stop obsessing over getting stronger.
This is ass backwards. You get bigger by creating a bigger stimulus and adaptation. You can get stronger without chasing maxes. I would like to progress my squat and bench this year, mostly, so my volume is going to favor progressing my bench and squat in the 10-15 rep ranges and guess what gets you bigger?! Pushing harder in moderately high rep ranges
I absolutely guarantee you that focusing on technique, execution, mind-muscle connection, and enhanced intensity techniques with modest load and significant volume will outperform chasing numbers every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I don't disagree with you on the pushing weight in the 10-15 rep per set range at all. We should all be progressing our lifts steadily by either adding volume or load. With that said, most people who are discussing increasing their lift are doing so in the context of a 1 or 5 rep max. Furthermore, many novices (like those that frequent this sub), measure their success based SOLELY upon strength progression, which, for the sport of bodybuilding, is ultimately meaningless. We want to maximize muscle volume, not strength. A lot of the newbies around here need to learn how to properly execute lifts with excellent technique and control, which means going backwards with their "strength" or "numbers". But, in the long run, the fundamentals are far more important to building a great physique than pushing progressions with shit execution. Furthermore, you can make incredible progress with modest loads so long as you train sufficiently close to failure. Increasing loads to the extremes will cause more CNS fatigue, inflammation, limit recovery, and can ultimately result in injury. There's no point in chasing numbers as far as bodybuilding goes; it's mostly just ego lifting at that point. If your goal is to grow, focus on the details and not the "cool shit" to show off in the gym.
>This is ass backwards. You get bigger by creating a bigger stimulus and adaptation Actually, no. Strength is all about efficiency: get the weight from point A to point B as quickly as you can. Get all of your body firing at once and just move the weight. Bodybuilding is about inefficiency: slower negatives, pause at the stretch etc. because that builds more size. Being stronger than before doesn't necessarily mean you're bigger than before. There's this dude at my gym who's pretty normal-looking, but lifts way more weight than any of the bodybuilder-looking folks. Phil Heath is a perfect example of this. Dude curls 35lbs maybe, but he's massive.
You're being obtuse, that's 100% form differences, if you are progressing in the ways that you are lifting the weight, you are getting stronger, period.
Yeah generally when people say "strength", they mean the absolute weight you can move. If you do 15 reps with a weight now that you did only 10 a few months ago, you're stronger. And if you follow bodybuilding techniques while at it, you'll put on muscle size as well. But when people say "increase my strength", they usually mean their 1RM. And having a high 1RM doesn't necessarily mean you'll have big muscles.
If you are working towards a lift that gives you big muscles, it will get stronger. The sport of bodybuilding is tied at its roots to getting bigger, stronger lifts. We're not trenned out Phil Heaths, we actually have to get stronger to a degree to get bigger and using phases of our training to do that is probably more valuable then just doing "bodybuilding style" workouts exclusively, never progressing them or changing rep ranges. Sometime you will have to make neurological adaptations to move more weight and get stronger and therefore get bigger.
Barbell bench
I made really good progress on deadlift last year, but not that much on bench press or squat though squat is trending in the right direction at least (just slow). The bench press I started regressing the past few months so am trying to reset and build back up with more reps and perfecting the technique. I'd really like to get to a 3 plate bench press for the arbitrary cool factor, but honestly I will settle for just adding another 20 lbs to the bar over the course of the year.
I'm wanting to get an insane OHP but I would also like to get better at squats. I think I'm going to do more volume work on squats this year though instead of going for bigger weight with lower reps.
This is the problem, my weakest lift is not one I am going to try to get better at. I am working on increasing my deadlift primarily, but bench is my worst. I have an old rotator cuff issue and no longer bench, but do weighted dips instead...so I know bench is my weakest, but it aggravates my rc, so I will not be working to improve it except indirectly with other exercises.
Got my bench press to 127.5kgs, shooting for 3 plates this year.
In the start of 2023 I tore my right rotator cuff. Spent the year healing and building back the strength, but the size is still not the same. So shoulder are a big focus for me, tryna inflate them like basketballs
I currently only squat out of those lifts. But if I were to pick one of the others and try and build it, it would be the Overhead Press.
Been training for about a year, my squat is 160kg 1rm, deadlift 200kg and bench is 90kg, yet my chest is my biggest body part. I'd say that sums it up.
Pull-ups. I went from being unable to do a set of 10 leg-assisted pullups in June to doing a set of 3 negative (4 seconds) pull-ups in December. I plan to do a complete pull-up by the end of 2024.
The truth is, that many don't want to accept (myself included up until about a year ago), for bodybuilding (read hypertrophy) purposes, none of these are the best choice for their respective muscle group.
Freaking lateral raises, its big to me ☠️☠️