Weight Lifting

[Joe S]

Felt like I needed to take it easy last night so I just did partials.

Gonna take it easy today. Just 600 lbs. LOL. You are a beast, man.

My question relates to deadlifts. Early on, I was trying to do proper form and running the bar up my shins. Unfortunately, I scraped a few places, because I wasn't paying attention to the knurling, and it messed me up so I was bleeding. I wanted to ask, what are the best options to avoid this?

I was a horrible shin scraper at first. I still almost always wear pants. Long socks work well for some, I still grab the bottom of my quads when I go over the knee.

I think if you are always getting them bloody, barring some very strange body length ratios, you need to correct the technique. The point of shin contact is so you don't swing forward and lose it, but the bar is going UP, not back. Fixing this for me made me a much stronger deadlifter after a few months.

I actually try not to think about bar path too much. I concentrate more my back straightening and my hips moving forward. The bar could be stationary, and I am actually pushing the planet down with my feet.

[TheNewbie]

Gonna take it easy today. Just 600 lbs. LOL. You are a beast, man.



I was a horrible shin scraper at first. I still almost always wear pants. Long socks work well for some, I still grab the bottom of my quads when I go over the knee.

I think if you are always getting them bloody, barring some very strange body length ratios, you need to correct the technique. The point of shin contact is so you don't swing forward and lose it, but the bar is going UP, not back. Fixing this for me made me a much stronger deadlifter after a few months.

I actually try not to think about bar path too much. I concentrate more my back straightening and my hips moving forward. The bar could be stationary, and I am actually pushing the planet down with my feet.

I think my approach is similar to Joe's. My focus is less on bar path, and more on my positioning prior to me starting to pull the weight. Whatever path the bar takes, unless it is dangerously swaying around, I just accept. Sometimes when I am at, or close to my max, my lift will look kind of crazy.


If something is working, and you're not setting yourself up for an obvious injury, then I say go with it. Scrapped up legs would be totally worth it to be able to deadlift. Plus, who cares what you dress like in the gym? I've done full workouts in blue jeans and cowboys boots in an active gym. Lord willing, I will live long enough to be the old guy lifting in goofy black socks and a white Mt. Rushmore tourist t-shirt.


In my opinion, getting your back/butt/chest in the right position will do a lot to help any issues. I also try not to let knees extend much at all past my arms when I am in position to lift. Maybe a little bit, but not much.

[rdtompki]

When I started to deadlift I would scrap up my shins a bit. More recently I've been letting the weight accelerate a bit on the eccentric once I the bar passes my knees; since doing so I've not nicked anything up. Today was 2x10/205 with a bit left in the tank.

A few days ago I was able to squat 10 reps at each of 215 and 225 so I'll be able to move on to 225 as my working weight for the time being. I didn't break form on the last couple of reps at 225 but as I described today to my trainer my abs were actually vibrating

Bench is interesting. I've got relatively long arms and don't really feel I'm working my chest enough on the bottom so I'm going to try a wider grip. By contrast when I'm doing inclined dumbbell fly's with my 35 lb. working weight I've got to drive off my feet to increase shoulder contract. I can really feel the chest working; that's what I'd like to achieve when benching.

[Cory]

225 bench for the first time today. I'm very happy.

Here's the video with original audio. 225 for the first time. This took some real grit.

I stretched, did about 20 empty bar reps and wanted to check how 225 felt on the unrack. Didn't think I had it... but if I was going to fail it was going to be an honest fail for all I had in the tank.

https://youtube.com/shorts/4zfZVEMwk...zX3HONRURQMvJI

Apparently youtube shorts don't embed? And because I was recently doxxed over somethings my social media is all privatte and cant be embeded. Dang.

[TheNewbie]

225 bench for the first time today. I'm very happy.

Here's the video with original audio. 225 for the first time. This took some real grit.

I stretched, did about 20 empty bar reps and wanted to check how 225 felt on the unrack. Didn't think I had it... but if I was going to fail it was going to be an honest fail for all I had in the tank.

https://youtube.com/shorts/4zfZVEMwk...zX3HONRURQMvJI

Apparently youtube shorts don't embed? And because I was recently doxxed over somethings my social media is all privatte and cant be embeded. Dang.

Awesome!!! That was some real grind.


What is your bodyweight right now?


I can only do a tad more than that, and I have a lot shorter range of motion. That is good stuff!

[Cory]

Awesome!!! That was some real grind.


What is your bodyweight right now?


I can only do a tad more than that, and I have a lot shorter range of motion. That is good stuff!

I weighed in at 195lbs right after. I don't weight myself too frequently, but seem to hover around 194-196 in the morning, after the 3 S's.

I'm 6 foot even, and use a medium width grip. I've tried some wider ones, but didn't feel like I could produce enough tension and power. I'm bot sure how much range of motion is normal... but besides the balence and struggle thats my normal form.

After I hit it I ate lunch. Then did the bench plan actually called for today.
95x10x4
115x7x4
130x5x4
155x3x4
170x1
175x1
180x1
180x1

So it was a productive day. I'm about half way through a program that's supposed to be M-F, but I'm only doing it MWF, lol.

[TheNewbie]

Deadlift today.


405 x 1

225 x 32- Yes, I used a lot of bounce, but it was still a truly unpleasant experience. Especially the last 5-7 reps. While I didn't time myself, I bet this was done in around 90-120 seconds.

[Joe S]

Deadlift today.


405 x 1

225 x 32- Yes, I used a lot of bounce, but it was still a truly unpleasant experience. Especially the last 5-7 reps. While I didn't time myself, I bet this was done in around 90-120 seconds.

4 plates is beautiful.

I actually prefer the big deadlift sets over squats, but I just generally way prefer deadlifting to squatting. I can sit there, bent over with my hands on the bar, gasping. Just don't make me grind out of that hole again. Even a challenging set of 10 is soul crushing.

[TheNewbie]

4 plates is beautiful.

I actually prefer the big deadlift sets over squats, but I just generally way prefer deadlifting to squatting. I can sit there, bent over with my hands on the bar, gasping. Just don't make me grind out of that hole again. Even a challenging set of 10 is soul crushing.

The 405 was way less taxing than the 225. Though finishing out the 405 was kind of like a deadlift/shrug combo. It was not pretty. lol


I am mixed about what I dislike more, squats or deadlifts. The setup for deadlifts is annoying, but squats have this sort of fear factor combined with the body being physically overwhelmed.



At this point in the game, if I can gain 5-15% over the rest of my lifting career I will be happy. I don't take any supplements or testosterone, and I prefer not to gain too much weight. If I were in my 20s, I might try to get up to 180-190, but I didn't like how I felt at 180+. Therefore I go in the gym and do stuff that challenges me in different ways, and at the very least, helps me maintain what I have.



What is your best set of 10 on deadlifts? You're right, they are no fun!

[Joe S]

The 405 was way less taxing than the 225. Though finishing out the 405 was kind of like a deadlift/shrug combo. It was not pretty. lol


I am mixed about what I dislike more, squats or deadlifts. The setup for deadlifts is annoying, but squats have this sort of fear factor combined with the body being physically overwhelmed.



At this point in the game, if I can gain 5-15% over the rest of my lifting career I will be happy. I don't take any supplements or testosterone, and I prefer not to gain too much weight. If I were in my 20s, I might try to get up to 180-190, but I didn't like how I felt at 180+. Therefore I go in the gym and do stuff that challenges me in different ways, and at the very least, helps me maintain what I have.



What is your best set of 10 on deadlifts? You're right, they are no fun!

Without double checking old journals, I believe 325. I definitely did 315 for 20, but more in the sense of "it doesn't matter how long it takes if your hands don't leave the bar."

I'm not super strong. My max before the last few years of injuries was 365 for 3. I went for it as a single, and it felt fine, but called it at 3. I've failed 405 several times. I guess that's not too bad, considering my dimensions (6'1", then I weighed about 147 lbs.), but certainly not noteworthy, either.

Several rotator cuffs and bicep tendon tears later, I would bet my max is probably just shy of 3 plates right now. I haven't pulled higher than 275 for a single since the first shoulder/arm injury stone lifting in 2020. I was getting it back up there, and working on a really ugly bodyweight snatch, when we had the difficult pregnancy and then kid, so I've lost momentum a bit.