Anyone here bench, lift weights, etc?

[Tiger]

I wish I had someone to properly teach me clean's.

[TheBigGroove]

I wish I had never done cleans in my life and my back still felt nice....I suppose the cutting down trees and setting chokers every summer didn't help either

[AngstRiddenDreams]

Yeah i really don't like doing cleans much at all. Cleans and front squats are the two lifts i do not like at all.

[Harry]

Originally Posted by Murmel

I did recall leaning forward more than usual today. Might be the answer to why this happened

What kind of setup are you using for squatting (i.e, low bar/high bar, very narrow stance, moderately wide etc)?

[Captain Shoggoth]

I love front squats, but I hate overhead press and clean grip. I always used to do it pronated so supinated makes my wrists (especially right wrist) hurt. A lot.

[Murmel]

Originally Posted by Harry

What kind of setup are you using for squatting (i.e, low bar/high bar, very narrow stance, moderately wide etc)?

I'm currently using a smith machine. Low bar (I guess) and about shoulder wide stance.
They don't have a squat rack at my current gym, but once my membership expires I'm gonna change to something larger and closer to school.

[Infamous Impact]

Originally Posted by Murmel

I'm currently using a smith machine. Low bar (I guess) and about shoulder wide stance.
They don't have a squat rack at my current gym, but once my membership expires I'm gonna change to something larger and closer to school.

Whatever you do, STAY AWAY from the Smith. Do it even if it means you have to use dumbbells. That thing is death.

[Murmel]

I haven't had any problem at all with it, except I feel like it's going to break because it wiggles around sometimes
As soon as I get hold of a squat rack I'll use that, obviously.

[Tiger]

You're better off not using it, just my two cents.

[Infamous Impact]

After seeing Stoitsov, Klokov, and the Chinese Olympic weightlifting team, I've decided I'm going to do Olympic lifting after this Smolov routine. The movements are so fun!

[UnderTheSign]

T NATION | Why I Love the Smith Machine

[Tiger]

Thats fine. There are numerous ways to target a specific muscle group and engage hypertrophy. You can do that on tons of machines. It doesnt = squatting.

[Infamous Impact]

That is insane. Strict press, then bringing it back down controlled instead of dropping it, BEFORE steroids.

[UnderTheSign]

Originally Posted by Tiger

Thats fine. There are numerous ways to target a specific muscle group and engage hypertrophy. You can do that on tons of machines. It doesnt = squatting.

Of course, no one ever said it did. In the absence of a proper squat rack it might be a (somewhat decent) substitute though and it's certainly not the satanic evil machine the internet makes it to be.

[Murmel]

^
I'm not even loading it heavy, you guys have to remember I'm weak a piece of ass
Deadlifts are my strongest lift and it's like 85kg or something so.

[Fiction]

Signed up to a gym today, first time I've ever been.

Wasn't really paying attention to what I was lifting and have no idea of what sort of lifts I was doing (Sounds Promising) But I just started with the smallest weight and kept adjusting it if it was too light, Doing 10 then having a break while the guy I was there with did 10 then swapped, we were doing 3 reps of each..

Eventually my arms wouldn't lift so I just went on the bikes for a while and came back and was just working with some 30kg bar, doing 7 Chest to chin, 7 Waist to Chest then 7 Waist to Chin with the bar for 3 sets.. I felt sore by the end of it, but not feeling anything now (Maybe 3 hours after) But I'm expecting to be sore tomorrow haha.

[Uncreative123]

Originally Posted by Infamous Impact

Whatever you do, STAY AWAY from the Smith. Do it even if it means you have to use dumbbells. That thing is death.

How do you figure it's DEATH? I use to stay away from it, but I'm glad I don't know. Just because most people are dumb-....s with it and don't have a clue what they're doing doesn't make it a useless or even counterproductive tool. The same people who use it wrong do everything else wrong too. The smith is great for reverse-lunges off a raised platform and for front squats. I use it for incline benching sometimes*. Then I have a mix of barbell (decline) free-weights (flat-bench) and smith. It's not something I use to do, but have been doing lately.

Here's Jay Cutler doing front squats on a Smith- proof that they are very useful:
Jay Cutler Smith Front Squat- video

The T-Nation article nailed it.

[Uncreative123]

I would just like to add my most recent and worst gym experience ever as well. I just got signed up at a new gym yesterday. I haven't been in an actual gym in almost two weeks. Partly due to being on the road and the other part because I was putting it off due to moving. I was somewhat hesitant or nervous about a new gym, which is totally out of character for me. I've been to so many different gyms over the course of the last couple years and it use to be something I would look forward to. So if anyone else is putting it off due to some sort of nervousness or laziness, just go in, do it, and get it over with so you can get started. You will acclimate very fast.

Just don't go to my gym. I'm already thinking about canceling mine although I really don't want to and probably won't. It's not the most conveniently located gym for me, but it is the best in terms of equipment.
So last night, there I was on my first set of my heaviest bench. I was going to be in the 5 rep range. After the second rep out of NOWHERE some ....ing total dipshit comes and stands right over me to give me a spot that I didn't even need or ask for. COMPLETELY threw me off. I had no idea what the .... he was thinking or doing. And the best part was that this fat .... was sweaty as shit and as I was getting up to yell at this shithead his sweat dripped onto my forehead. I've never been so disgusted in my life. Even when I asked him why the hell he would ever think that was a good idea he didn't have an answer. Just tried to apologize. I seriously don't know what the .... this guy was thinking, but hopefully it's the last time he does something so thoughtless and stupid. It's not like I was struggling on the last rep or trapped under the bar- I had just started! I'm getting pissed again just thinking about it.

[Murmel]

In respone to the death posts about the smith, I decided to try some regular squatting today.
You CAN squat in the gym, they just don't have a dedicated rack for it. Just a small, very unstable rack without any safety things. I gave it a shot since I don't load heavy anyways. It was different for sure, my form was probably a bit off since it was my first time, and the part of having to balance for yourself threw me off a bit. But I think I'll go with regular squats from now on. They seem to be favoured anyway.

[Blake1970]

Tonight is shoulders and triceps. I'm going to try face pulls for the first time.

face pulls - YouTube.

[Infamous Impact]

Originally Posted by Uncreative123

How do you figure it's DEATH? I use to stay away from it, but I'm glad I don't know. Just because most people are dumb-....s with it and don't have a clue what they're doing doesn't make it a useless or even counterproductive tool. The same people who use it wrong do everything else wrong too. The smith is great for reverse-lunges off a raised platform and for front squats. I use it for incline benching sometimes*. Then I have a mix of barbell (decline) free-weights (flat-bench) and smith. It's not something I use to do, but have been doing lately.

Here's Jay Cutler doing front squats on a Smith- proof that they are very useful:
Jay Cutler Smith Front Squat- video

The T-Nation article nailed it.

The Smith isn't death for most things, but the back squat is just terrible to do on the Smith. Most other exercises wouldn't put a heavy load on your spine in an unnatural movement like a Smith back squat, hence why you should avoid it, for that particular exercise. Front squats are fine on it, front squats are a lot less heavy on your back.

Originally Posted by Uncreative123

I would just like to add my most recent and worst gym experience ever as well. I just got signed up at a new gym yesterday. I haven't been in an actual gym in almost two weeks. Partly due to being on the road and the other part because I was putting it off due to moving. I was somewhat hesitant or nervous about a new gym, which is totally out of character for me. I've been to so many different gyms over the course of the last couple years and it use to be something I would look forward to. So if anyone else is putting it off due to some sort of nervousness or laziness, just go in, do it, and get it over with so you can get started. You will acclimate very fast.

Just don't go to my gym. I'm already thinking about canceling mine although I really don't want to and probably won't. It's not the most conveniently located gym for me, but it is the best in terms of equipment.
So last night, there I was on my first set of my heaviest bench. I was going to be in the 5 rep range. After the second rep out of NOWHERE some ....ing total dipshit comes and stands right over me to give me a spot that I didn't even need or ask for. COMPLETELY threw me off. I had no idea what the .... he was thinking or doing. And the best part was that this fat .... was sweaty as shit and as I was getting up to yell at this shithead his sweat dripped onto my forehead. I've never been so disgusted in my life. Even when I asked him why the hell he would ever think that was a good idea he didn't have an answer. Just tried to apologize. I seriously don't know what the .... this guy was thinking, but hopefully it's the last time he does something so thoughtless and stupid. It's not like I was struggling on the last rep or trapped under the bar- I had just started! I'm getting pissed again just thinking about it.

This is why I'm saving up for a home gym.

[Tiger]

^ Ditto. Getting this over the weekend off craigslist for $220

1 olympic bar
6x45lbs
2x25lbs
2x10lbs
2x5lbs
2x plate claps

[Captain Shoggoth]

The fact that I train at home, usually alone, is probably my favourite thing about training

EDIT: question for those so inclined to help

This is gonna sound so typically amateur bro gym rat-ish, but does anyone have any tips for upper body growth? A year and a half of deep squatting and an ectomorph's upper body mean that I'm 5'7 with a 34" chest, 12" bis and 21.5" thighs

[AngstRiddenDreams]

Dead lifted 480 today. Started at 425, adding ten pounds each rep til i did 475, then added two 2.5lb plates and stopped after that. Probably could have gone higher if it wasn't for the other reps.

[Cabinet]

>2012
>Not doing THE RACK

:P

But I actually started more weight lifting and bench pressing today and I realized how weak my upper body is