Anyone here bench, lift weights, etc?

[soliloquy]

So much wrong with this.

1. You shouldn't be feeling any pain in your upper back. Check to see if your bar placement is correct, and the bar is resting on your traps or traps and rear delts if you're doing low bar.
2. Your wrists aren't supposed to support any weight at all. Keep them in line with your elbows. If you allow the bar to be supported by your wrists you will snap them in no time.
3. Squeeze your scapula together tight while setting up under the bar. You don't want the bar to be resting on your spine.

I feel no pain while squatting over 4 plate. I simply stay tight and keep the bar on my body, not my wrists or spine.

i mean doing hack squats. my fingers cant hold that much weight. even if the weight is being supported by the arms, the end is being held up with your fingers.

its the same problem i have with deadlifts, though i can support more weight with alternating grip. even if your legs/lower back are lifting the main weight, your fingers are doing the 'holding up of weights'.

so if my body can do about 285lbs in deadlifts, my fingers will only allow me to do 250lbs before they drop the weights, or i reset my grip after every other rep.

 

[Infamous Impact]

i mean doing hack squats. my fingers cant hold that much weight. even if the weight is being supported by the arms, the end is being held up with your fingers.

its the same problem i have with deadlifts, though i can support more weight with alternating grip. even if your legs/lower back are lifting the main weight, your fingers are doing the 'holding up of weights'.

so if my body can do about 285lbs in deadlifts, my fingers will only allow me to do 250lbs before they drop the weights, or i reset my grip after every other rep.

Maybe it would help if you did some actual squatting. Forearms should not be your limiting factor on legs day.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Chalk up for deadlifts and decrease the weight, lift off explosively. I ensure that my grip strength is NEVER my limiting factor when deadlifting.

 

[UnderTheSign]

i mean doing hack squats. my fingers cant hold that much weight. even if the weight is being supported by the arms, the end is being held up with your fingers.

its the same problem i have with deadlifts, though i can support more weight with alternating grip. even if your legs/lower back are lifting the main weight, your fingers are doing the 'holding up of weights'.

so if my body can do about 285lbs in deadlifts, my fingers will only allow me to do 250lbs before they drop the weights, or i reset my grip after every other rep.

Show a vid of you squatting, if your arms hurt there might be a LOT you're doing wrong.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

i mean doing hack squats. my fingers cant hold that much weight. even if the weight is being supported by the arms, the end is being held up with your fingers.

its the same problem i have with deadlifts, though i can support more weight with alternating grip. even if your legs/lower back are lifting the main weight, your fingers are doing the 'holding up of weights'.

so if my body can do about 285lbs in deadlifts, my fingers will only allow me to do 250lbs before they drop the weights, or i reset my grip after every other rep.

Hack machines are cool (be them free-weight loaded or an actual machine with pin plates), but really I wouldn't mess with doing them manually by holding the bar behind you down low.

I think the better option if you can't get comfortable with the bar on your back would be either dumbbell squatting or even the much hated bar pad for regular barbell squats.
The pad can itself inspire positioning problems though, so it's important to get locked into the proper groove and not let the pad roll while doing the set.

Most of the time when I see someone struggling a bit with bar comfort or form it is because the bar is sitting up too high on the lower neck almost.
Try rolling the bar back until it's just about ready to fall over the cliff.
But as already said, you really have to use/squeeze the upper back muscles to form a natural padded base for the bar.

 

[soliloquy]

Show a vid of you squatting, if your arms hurt there might be a LOT you're doing wrong.

regardless of how one does hacksquats, your arms/fingers/palm are holding the EXACT same weight that your legs are doing. no other way of looking around it. the weights dont hang on your shoulders/upper back. they dont hang on your waist either.



now because they are rear loaded, i cant do as much weight on it than when i'm using the machine to do leg press. but i feel i get more out of it

 

[Infamous Impact]

regardless of how one does hacksquats, your arms/fingers/palm are holding the EXACT same weight that your legs are doing. no other way of looking around it. the weights dont hang on your shoulders/upper back. they dont hang on your waist either.



now because they are rear loaded, i cant do as much weight on it than when i'm using the machine to do leg press. but i feel i get more out of it

Yet again, do some squats where the bar is on your back or your clavicles.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Keeping the chest all puffed up and the gut all sucked in will do wonders for good form on just about every damned lift.
Plus, as added benefits, it makes most lifts generally safer and more effective, it makes you look bigger when repping, and even on curls it gets you the girls.

 

[UnderTheSign]

Yet again, do some squats where the bar is on your back or your clavicles.

Yeah, I thought we were talking about regular squats here. Do regular squats.

 

[Aevolve]

So guys- due to my hospital visit I'm not able to lift again until the 24th. Any tips for keeping mass/strength during my hiatus other than keeping my protein intake up?

 

[SomeGuy97]

So guys- due to my hospital visit I'm not able to lift again until the 24th. Any tips for keeping mass/strength during my hiatus other than keeping my protein intake up?

Just take a break. That's only slightly over a week.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Yeah it takes like two weeks before atrophy really starts, so just keep with a normal pro anabolic-state diet and you're likely to have an above average session next workout.

 

[AngstRiddenDreams]

Missed 315 on a bench max attempt. But I nailed 300x2 right before hand. Any tips on increasing my 1rm quickly? I know that 1rm's aren't too good to do, but my football coach insists I increase it to 330 by August.

 

[Infamous Impact]

Missed 315 on a bench max attempt. But I nailed 300x2 right before hand. Any tips on increasing my 1rm quickly? I know that 1rm's aren't too good to do, but my football coach insists I increase it to 330 by August.

Eat a ton the days before your max and use some ammonia before your attempt.

 

[AngstRiddenDreams]

Eat a ton the days before your max and use some ammonia before your attempt.

Ammonia? What the hell?

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Smelling salt will wake your ass up in a hurry!!!

I'd probably say to cycle up to the max day by going heavy a few times in a row.

Like maybe 3 sets of 5,

then the next session go 3 sets of 3,

then 5 sets of 1 (consecutive singles) with about 15-20 pounds under max (basically your 2rep weight)
with no more than 3min rest between sets (really try to explode these up from a dead stop at the bottom),

then don't train anything other than legs for the 4-5 days before max.

 

[Aevolve]

Just take a break. That's only slightly over a week.

Yeah it takes like two weeks before atrophy really starts, so just keep with a normal pro anabolic-state diet and you're likely to have an above average session next workout.

I was dismissed from the hospital on May 22nd, it will be nearly a month. I went to the gym 3 times last week, heeding advice from a cardiothorasic surgeon who said I only needed to wait 2 weeks following dismissal, then during my follow-up appointment with my pulmonologist I was told I should wait until the 24th.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

^^^^
You should really air on the side of caution with something like that.
Not a good time to push it.
I'd be over-paranoid/fearfull if it were me.

I almost scare myself sometimes pushing sets as far as possible, like I'm going to blow a gasket or something lol.
I never really get feeling like my heart or lungs are struggling but I'll probably give myself an amorism one of these days lol. (time for some more term life insurance)

 

[Infamous Impact]

Ammonia? What the hell?

It burns your nose and lungs so be careful about taking a whiff of it, but because of it you get woken up and you're very alert for a short amount of time.

 

[gunshow86de]

So, last week, I picked up some rings from Rogue fitness. Did my dips on those instead of the usual bar dips. If you're still doing bar dips, you're doing it wrong. I can't remember the last time my tri's and chest were so sore (in a good way).