Does anyone bring micro plates to the gym or is that bush league?

Hello. I am not about to admit that I am stuck, but it's possible that Clyde is stuck. Re-reading the SS book, it may be possible that I am taking too big a jump in weight from session to session, and I have been missing reps lately.

Unfortunately, my gym only has plates that allow for 5 lb. increments. Honestly, that does not seem like much from one workout to the next, but perhaps I need to take more measured jumps.

Questions:

1. On my last bench, a 5 lb increase was too much. Same with my squat and DL. Do you consider this normal, or is there something else going on? I believe I am resting enough, eating enough, and sleeping enough (see, The Three Questions).

2. If, for example, 5 lb increase are really too big a jump, does anyone bring their own micro plates to the gym, or is that frowned upon by the bros? It's bad enough that the aging Clyde is surrounded by mountains of bro muscle, but I am not sure I can endure the embarrassment of pulling out 1 lb plates and quietly trying to slide them onto the bar.

Your comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. Depends on where your strength is for your demographic, but probably not. On upper body movements, 2.5 lb jumps become necessary pretty quickly even with young men.

2. I do, and you should do your best not to care.

How about reframing your question to, "Is the gym I chose to train at bush league for not having micro plates"?

It's generally recognized that 5 pound progressions will eventually become too much for upper body lifts like bench press (and press). So no shame in microplates for bench.

But it's also generally recognized that less than 5 pound progressions on squat and DL may not be enough to trigger an adaptive response. Then the solution may be intermediate programming.

How old are you? What do you care what others think?

I bring my microplates to the gym every time I train...no big deal many of the young Bros ask me about them

I don't think micro loading is recommended on Squat and Deadlift for most folks (I am 56 old and use for Press/BP - 1# or 2# increases, I also use for squat to increase in 3# increments......but I think for my squat its mostly a mental issue)

buy a set and bring them to the gym.

Yep, I have 8x0.25Kg in my gym bag. Used mainly for press and sometimes bench.

The microplates Dan Miller sales are your beat bang for the buck. It would be easy to throw a few of them in your gym bag.

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Why do I even write this shit?

welp.

OP, yes, some microloading might necessary on your bench and press.
Squats and deads should not really have to be microloaded (only in super rare cases its possible I guess... e.g. elderly)

HOWVER, the gym's plates (and bars possibly) might vary quite a bit.... 2# +/- at times.
So unless you are using the exact same ones every day, a real precise microload may get lost in all the "noise" (the inaccuracy of the plates).
Its rare, but some gyms might weigh and remark their plates with a sharpie or something....that'd be a pretty hardcore place (doubt it).
...or your gym could have calibrated plates (doubt it #2).
In those cases, yeah microloading makes sense.

Bringing a whole SET of plates that jump in 1/2# increments seems silly in a commercial gym situation seems silly to me.

When you say 5# increments, I assume you mean your gym has 2.5# plates.
Yeah, so maybe (2) 1 1/4" plates might help and seems reasonable ...but just so you know the loads might be all over the place in the grand scheme of things.
So just do that and keep plugging away I guess. The load will slowly increase.

Truth be told, I used to bring some home made 1 1/4# plates to my gym. I've since stopped.

Clyde old buddy, this is same as the post about dumping the squat and not squatting in the rack because of gym bros. Don’t let the opinions of idiots (gym bros) guide you when you know better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Why do I even write this shit?

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Because patience is a virtue?