Heh, wouldn't a lifting belt act like a "crutch", kind of like shoes for your back?It's one of the reason I wear a lifting belt. My lower back soreness from deadlifting has gone away.
Heh, wouldn't a lifting belt act like a "crutch", kind of like shoes for your back?It's one of the reason I wear a lifting belt. My lower back soreness from deadlifting has gone away.
Regarding grip, when I used to work out a lot, when doing bench press and gripping the bar like shown in this document, it would feel as if my Hypothenar eminence was being crushed by the weight of the bar. I'm not sure what would have caused that, do you have any idea? Did it ever happen to you?http://startingstrength.com/articles/learning_press_rippetoe.pdf
Your grip
will have placed the bar on the heel of your palms,
Yah, Rippetoe's pointers seem to jibe with the comic's video, getting the elbows out in front at least a bit, although the comic endorsed a thumbless grip, which seems unsafe. I think the grip width for me is narrower than Rippetoe's depictions--probably something like 26-27 inches, but I agree it feels like the bar rests in the palm not on the fingers. Just as a narrower grip helps scrunch up the shoulders and provide a stable platform for the bar in the back squat, it seems like a narrower grip helps scrunch up the front of the body and shoulders/traps for a more stable launch of the overhead press. But I only tried this for the first time yesterday. It will take a while to make a fair assessment. I also like the idea of a neutral grip using dumbbells, for both the bench and overhead press, but I didn't do them yesterday because I'm trying to control for variables.What do you think about grip and shoulder health? I am beginning to think I tend to let the bar rest more on my fingers. I'm gonna tinker tonight.
http://startingstrength.com/articles/learning_press_rippetoe.pdf
Your grip
will have placed the bar on the heel of your palms,
and your elbows should now move to a position just
in front of the bar when viewed from the side. This
placement creates a vertical position for the radius
bone of the forearm. (Most people place the elbows
under or behind the bar, positions that tend to make
the bar drive away from the body when you press.)
Shrug your shoulders up and forward just a little;
the idea is to have the bar resting on top of your
anterior deltoids, the meaty part of your shoulders,
at the start of the movement.
Heh, wouldn't a lifting belt act like a "crutch", kind of like shoes for your back?
A belt is actually a very useful tool and not necessarily for the protective measures. Here you guys can read this he explains it pretty well, its a long read with all the parts
http://70sbig.com/?p=884?p=884
http://70sbig.com/?p=891?p=891
http://70sbig.com/blog/2010/04/more-reasons-for-wearing-a-belt/
I use a belt for squats and deadlifts once I get over body weight. It really helps you focus on creating a solid core, which leads to good form.
Wow, a blast from the past! I read through that exchange a bit. Sad to think I was around 210 a year and a half ago--245 this morning! One of these days I'll have to get ambitious and copy and paste this whole thread.
Sid just does dumbbell exercises, go back a few pages to check out his routine.Regarding the step-ups, my bench is 17 inches high so I'll start with that and see how it goes. Oh by the way, if you guys have equipment suggestion and what not, I'd be interested.
My current setup is extremely basic : a flat bench and spin lock dumbbells.
I'm about 40 pounds overweight right now, and have always neglected chinups in favor of pulldowns, so my chinups are weak. It was quite a revelation a few months ago when I read somewhere to try assisted chinups. They're so much better than pulldowns. It's great that you can already do unassisted chinups and have a bar.For chin ups, negatives have helped greatly in the past so I'll probably do that. I used to be able to do 8 in one set but that may not be that way anymore. If my girlfriend decides she wants to do some lifting, I'll give those elastic bands a shot though. She has serious issues with chin ups.
I like the barbell for deadlift, squats, bench press, though I'm also satisfied with doing bench press with dumbbells. I'll end up having to buy the barbell for the deadlift. I've heard good things about hex bars, have you ever tried it? My local gym never had any.
Oh I forgot to say I'm thinking of adding rings to the pull up bar for doing dips because..... I guess I just like dips.
As far as dumbbells go, I really like the Powerblocks. They're an investment.
http://www.powerblock.com/prod_homeuse.php
My current minimalist routine.
dead, single db row
squat, pulldown
single db clean and press, bench
I like to do a 'lower body' lift like the squat, deadlift, or powerclean in every workout, and then some kind of mix of upper body pulls and/or pushes/presses. I used to split things up into body areas, like the bodybuilders, but for the time being at least, I'm sold on full-body workouts. And I notice it the next day with a greater appetite, so I know I've worked out more muscle mass overall. Full body workouts also allow me to sleep as well as I do after a good run.Good advice here. I agree with pretty much all you're saying, which is why a leg day doesn't work for me. I find leg day to be the most boring so if I do have leg day, well I end up hating that day so I prefer to mix it up in other days. I pull ups and dips are my favorite exercises. Back is very important and pull ups and rows (I prefer one arm rows just like you) are necessary. I haven't experimented much with a neutral grip dumbbell press but I've read good things about it. Let me know how you like it.
Pull downs don't accurately replicate a good chin up in my opinion, it's close enough but you'll feel the difference.
I don't have a barbell or a rack so Overhead press is a no no at the moment. I like the idea of it though. I find it to be a problem with shoulder press using dumbbells, if you end up lifting quite heavy then getting the weights up before the lift becomes more difficult and increases the risk of injury. It helps to have a spotter for this.
As for dips and rings, I like the idea of the rings because it will take less space than having a dip station and it might buy me some time before I have to do weighted dips.
At the end of the day, we all like or feel comfortable with different movements and exercises and it's important to find what works for you, your goals and your body.
Interesting idea. I'll give this a shot when I get to my old strength. For whatever reason, the thought never occurred to me to do it one hand at a time with the other hand helping to lift the dumbbell in the proper starting position.I do overhead with one dumbbell. I've modified the movement to resemble a landmine overhead press, to keep the movement in the scapular plane. I use a neutral grip, then place my other hand along the side of the dumbbell for stabilization and assistance, when necessary. It almost resembles a basketball free throw movement, but I don't launch the dumbbell into the air!
Yah, the abs are stabilizers, so if you lift heavy, they get plenty of work already. Still, I like to do a few ab exercises when I can. Old habits die hard.Interesting idea. I'll give this a shot when I get to my old strength. For whatever reason, the thought never occurred to me to do it one hand at a time with the other hand helping to lift the dumbbell in the proper starting position.
Bare Lee, personally I don't do abs workouts anymore because squats, deads and chin ups work them plenty enough already. I couple of times I ended up with sore abs from chin ups, hehe.
I was never shown the proper clean technique so I stayed away from it. I was mostly referring the "technique" for a seated dumbbell shoulder press where you "swing" it up with some help from your knees. I find it risky without a spotter.
Yah, the abs are stabilizers, so if you lift heavy, they get plenty of work already. Still, I like to do a few ab exercises when I can. Old habits die hard.
Hmnn, I've never had trouble with the seated dumbbell shoulder presses, but I've never done them very heavy--usually in the 35-45 lbs range. Maybe try swinging the dumbbells into position before you sit down, to gain more leverage?
You look slim in your avatar picture, so 60lbs is impressive! How many reps do you do? For db overhead press, I tend to like the 5-8 rep range, and so far, 45lbs has been plenty. I don't do the Arnold press because my left shoulder has become tender with age. I like to start my dumbbell OH press in a neutral position and then finish with a pronated or overhand position, rotating as I go up, but going up vertically, with the elbow close to the shoulders, without the arc or loss of leverage of the Arnold press.I just found that past 60 lbs it became hard to swing them up while seated. Maybe I should just learn the proper clean technique so I can swing them up before seating. If all else fails I can always do them like Sid suggested. I actually like his idea.
Ever tried the "Arnold press"? I find I can't lift as heavy when doing them.