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Thread: Is there a reason my upper body detrains slower than lower body?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Calgary, Canada
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    4

    Default Is there a reason my upper body detrains slower than lower body?

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    I have not been able to hit the gym for the past 2 weeks as I was working out in the field without gym access. When I got back to the gym I found that my bench had de-trained less than my squat or Deadlift. I was wondering if this was due to the same reason that the press and bench press are not trained every day whereas the squat is?

    my numbers before and after the trip to the field:

    Squat 310x3x5 to 275x3x5 (8.3% reduction)
    Bench 235x3x5 to 225x3x5 (4.4% reduction)
    Deadlift 420x1x5 to 395x1x5 (6.0% reduction)

    Age: 27
    Mass: 100.4 kg
    Sex: Male

    I don't have any reference for my press because I got very sick with the flu the day after this workout and I am still recovering.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    Default

    I haven't ever noticed this relationship. It's quite possible that you have a measurement error here, and since n=1, that can be fatal. We'll axe the board for input.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    Default

    I also have never noticed this.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Congratulations. You just outed yourself as a chronic masturbator.

    This comes from contracting the pecs, shoulders, alts and abs tightly while isometrically contracting the upper extremities during the "grip of death."

    How do I know? Welcome to the club.

  5. #5
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    What is your lifetime best on those lifts?

  6. #6
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    Apr 2010
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    How did you decide that 275 was the right weight to try for the squat when you returned to training?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
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    729

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    body weight might figure into it.

    sure you are probably down a kilo or five.

    when you squat and deadlift, you do move a significant part of your own body mass up and down along with the barbell.

    The bench and press...well not nearly as much.

    Squat is more technique and balance dependent.
    Deadlift? well, it might just take a while to get used to grinding shit out like that.

  8. #8
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    Oct 2019
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    Those were my lifetime best on those lifts.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Orlando
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    Without evidence to the contrary, these appear to be weights the OP simply chose to do when starting back, likely as a result of feel, and are not the result of a systematic determination of how much he had detrained.

    Squatting feels hard in a way that upper body lifts are not and often feels hard even with weights you can do. This is especially the case for novices who have not developed the confidence to ignore what their brain is telling them, and time off can make a weight that is doable feel impossible immediately after unracking it. The result is that a novice picks weights based on what he thinks he can do, it is likely always going to be more conservative on the squat than on the bench.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2016
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    255

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    starting strength coach development program
    My theory:

    Any sufficiently heavy squat begins with the thought "oh crap what am I doing". The part of your brain that says "you just did this two days ago; suck it up!" is a thing that can detrain. Bench presses don't have this problem (even though they're more dangerous by far).

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