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Thread: Push It: Jacket's Diary

  1. #1
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    Default Push It: Jacket's Diary

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    Push It: Jacket's Diary

    Introduction

    Hi everyone.

    I’m a 25 year-old man living and working in the UK, and I’m looking forward to beginning the Starting Strength Novice Programme in the new year (my gym is closed until then). I come from a military background and I am still serving part-time with the Reserve. I’m a student and work in an office two days a week (five from September 2019). I’ve previously been working the Stronglifts 5x5 programme, but in the last three months or so I’ve started taking my lifting a lot more seriously and so here we are.

    All measurements here are in metric units where possible. Post will be in two parts due to length.

    Format:
    • About Me
    • General
    • Training-relevant
    • Training History
    • Training Conventions
    • Nutrition
    • Goals
    • Current Plans
    • Known Issues

    About Me

    General

    I’m a 25 year old man living and working in the UK. I’ve worked in an office since 2016, and I’m back at university now doing a one-year postgraduate vocational course. I also serve part-time as a reserve junior non-commissioned officer with the British Army. I joined the Reserve at 18 whilst I was studying law at university; I also did a little bit of novice rowing and one intramural athletics competition (track). I did some other things in between and ended up back working in an office. You can’t escape destiny, I suppose.

    When I’m not working or lifting, I am trying to learn Nepali. I’m also a big fan of 80’s/90’s action films and music, and reading.

    Training-relevant
    • Male, 180cm
    • At 18, 63kg
    • At 25, 77kg

    I have poor lower-limb biomechanics, manifesting as chondromalacia patellae in the right knee as a teenager. Successfully treated with orthotic insoles and the barbell prescription… I’ve been pain free for almost seven years and done some hard exercise in that time.

    My most recent lifts:
    • Squat: 107.5kg for 5x5
    • Press: 37.5kg for 5x5
    • Bench: 60kg for 5x5
    • Power Clean: [NO DATA]
    • Deadlift: 115kg for 1x5

    I record my lifts using FitNotes and I lift Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

    Training History

    I was a thin and light teenager, and my knee kept me from any real love of sports. I started lifting weights at 17/18 because I wanted to be a soldier, and I was tired of being picked last for everything in our PE lessons.

    I started off with the Stronglifts 5x5 programme in the local municipal gym. I was teaching myself entirely, and with the wariness around my knee I was doing high-bar half-squats. I didn’t truly work the programme, and I stopped when I went to university: too busy experiencing a new life.

    I lifted on and off depending on aims and gym access: I was trying to make the programme work alongside training for the Army’s physical fitness assessment, which consisted of press-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5 mile run. I was soldiering part-time, rowing, and I never really committed to the programme. I also wasn’t keeping any logs, just continuing the linear progress I was making. I was making the effort to eat better, and drinking a lot of milk. I gained 10kg to hit 73kg, which remained a steady weight for the next four years or so.

    When I started officer training in 2015, the physical training wing had fallen in love with CrossFit, something that I have come to loathe. At one point our day’s ‘training’ was a partner workout featuring, per pair: 200 dips, 200 kettlebell swings, and firemen’s carries around the outside of the gym. As a 73kg man, my partner was a 96kg man. I got bursitis in my shoulder.

    After the Army, I continued to lift in a gym at home with my less-than-competent form. When I got my job in London, I couldn’t afford the gym prices in my part of the city. What I could afford, though, were two uprights, an Olympic barbell, and 100kg of cast-iron weights.

    For around 18 months I lifted in my bedroom in my flat, using some cheap floor mats to mask the noise and protect my deposit. I couldn’t bench at all due to lack of equipment, and I couldn’t train properly because my room was small. As I was in a residential flat, I couldn’t really afford to fail a rep or drop the weights. This held me back in my attitude to lifting. I wasn’t really making any progress; just treading water with my half-squats.

    Now I live in student accommodation, right next to the university sports centre. The gym there is fairly well equipped, with three platforms, four or five power racks, and bumper plates. There are maybe four or five serious lifters, which means I can usually get a rack easily whilst the dumbbell benches are blocked out with cut-off hoodies and bicep curls to infinity. Training in a proper gym, I felt like I could properly push myself again. I made a big effort to start squatting below parallel and started seeing some good progress on my lifts. I go three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, like clockwork.

    In November I started squatting low-bar, and video-recording my sets to check my form. I feel like I have improved a lot, and I am committed to being honest with myself about my form and the weights I move.

    To date I have received one compliment, from a guy who Olympic lifts: he said I have the best 5x5 lifts he’s seen in the gym. I lift for myself and only myself, but it is nice to have some recognition. The last time I answered yes, I lift weights, the Army physical training instructor leading the session laughed a little and asked, “Really?”

    I won’t lie; that stung a little.

    Training conventions

    I usually start training at 1800, give or take. I have a small cup of coffee roughly 30 minutes before I head to the gym. I wear some cheap rugby shorts and a plain cotton Fruit of the Loom t-shirt. I use Reebok Nano 7 trainers to lift in because of the flatter heel they provide. I’m very conscious of not getting ahead of myself, so I’ve held off on heel-raising lifting shoes.

    I do listen to music when I train, on a little Sandisk MP3 player. I’d prefer not to –I never listen to music when I run. However, the university gym usually blasts whatever the personal trainers have on their Spotify accounts and the lifting platforms are right next to the speakers. If I have to listen to music, it might as well be mine. I usually listen to Dance with the Dead or GosT, maybe some W.A.S.P.

    The primary cue that I use in my mind is ‘perform’ –contracted from ‘perform the movement’. At that point I take the breath, hold it, and complete the rep. The cue helps me complete the reps on a regular rhythm, as I was previously guilty of lingering under the bar between reps –just bleeding effort out under the weights.

    At the end of the workout I dead hang from the pull-up bar for 30 seconds or so to stretch out. I then weigh myself on the gym’s digital scales and head home to eat. I have a foam roller that I use occasionally –an old habit from some time spent in physical rehab with the Army, where static stretching/foam rolling was mandatory at the end of each gym session.

    Nutrition

    I am a fairly simple person of simple tastes, so I tend to eat more or less the same meals.

    Every day I take a multivitamin in the morning. I used a TDEE calculator and based on my activity levels and base metabolic rate, I apparently need 2,751 calories a day. I am trying to find ways to boost protein without boosting cost, but the Army’s policy on drugs applies to protein powders and restricts me to the Informed Sport-approved brands and products, who immediately charge double for the approval.

    As an aside, it is interesting to note that LGC, the owners of the Informed Sport certification, also provide drug-testing services to the Army. They lost their accreditation with WADA when they began to certify as well as test, but that doesn’t matter when they now control market access to approximately 77,000 regular and 25,000 reserve personnel. Anyway:
    • Breakfast: porridge, with whole milk and some sugar
    • Lunch: ham and cheese sandwich, with mayo and lettuce x2
    • Dinner: 1 pork loin steak, 250g brown rice, 150g broccoli, with chili powder and some soy sauce.
    • Little treat: I have two little chocolate mousse pots.

    I worked in Nepal for a spell this year and the food was simple and good. I wanted to include more, like dal bhat and takari, but it takes longer to cook and I am definitely not a cooking enthusiast.

    I try to drink 2 litres of water each day because I also drink a lot of strong coffee. I’m cutting down on my coffee.

    Post 1 of 2
    Last edited by Jacket; 12-26-2018 at 03:43 PM.

  2. #2
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    Goals

    For 2019 my goals are to:

    1. Make all the progress I can with the Starting Strength Novice Programme;
    2. Learn all I can about strength and physiology;
    3. Learn to box; and possibly
    4. Take part in a powerlifting meet.

    I have deliberately chosen ‘take part’ rather than ‘compete’ for the powerlifting meet, because I think it’s unlikely that I would be in a position to be truly competitive; at this point I would just like to experience a ‘proper’ competition.

    The goals are in priority order. Lifting comes first. Learning to box is an old goal that I neglected; I tried after I left the Army full-time, but commuting an hour to a class with an average age of 13 was hard to keep to. My battalion has just started a boxing team, so I’m open to trying something new.

    Current plans

    I am going to start with the Novice programme as set out in Starting Strength. I have to make allowances for my military career –I have a two-week promotion cadre in March that is likely to hurt my progression. There are also days where I will have to do further scheduled PT or loaded marches, but I will endeavour to accommodate these where possible through some sensible adjustments to the loads used on the preceding/following workouts. Fortunately the new PT test the Army has adopted features deadlifts and pull-ups.

    My first workout of 2019 will be:

    • Squat: 105kg for 3x5;
    • Bench: 57.5kg for 3x5;
    • Power clean: I will open with 40kg and work up to something that feels appropriate for the 5x3; and
    • Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure.

    I am open to the idea of investing in a good-quality belt in the near future, but I aim to avoid belts for as long as I can.

    Known issues:

    Squat:
    • Grip positioning. I have slightly longer forearms than most people, I’m told, and as such attempting to adopt the grip width advised in Starting Strength without cocked wrists is beyond my ability. I’ve mitigated this by rotating my hands outwards so that the bar presses into the flesh of the palm where the thumb is, but it is causing my shoulders to sit at different levels. I intend to try a grip that is just wide enough to set my hands as Starting Strength advises, but not wide enough to unlock the shoulder tightness necessary to support the bar.
    • Anterior shoulder tightness. Linked closely with my grip issue. Getting under the bar for the first few sets is causing me tight pains in the front of the shoulder; moreso in the left than the right. I can work into it, but it is pain enough to make me think that I am not doing it right. I think that this should correct in line with the grip correction.

    Press:
    • Elbows forwards. I need to make sure that this happens in every rep, every set.
    • Getting under the bar. Linked with the elbows forwards error. I think that sometimes I am failing to get under the bar as it ascends, and this is impeding progress.



    Bench Press:
    • Shrugging forwards into the lockout position. There are two causes of this –poor equipment, and user error. It’s mainly user error. I haven’t trained the bench press for a very long time, nor have I had any formal training in its proper execution. I know now not to shrug forward into the lockout position and unlock the shoulders. I’m going to follow the advice in Starting Strength and do sets of five before seeing if I can re-tighten the shoulders. The equipment problem is the dedicated bench in the gym has fixed racks for the bar. The top one is too high and necessitates unlocked shoulders to clear the pins, or a spotter (and I don’t have a spotter –so no collars for safety). The next set of pins down is too low to effectively move the weight out and into the lockout position without a spotter. I’m going to try and address this by either getting a spotter, or trying to find a different set of equipment to use.
    • Inconsistent elbow position (tucked versus wide). I’ve done press-ups for a long time due to my career, and the military favours elbows-in press-ups that mainly work the triceps. This movement pattern is difficult to break, but I am making the effort to push them out -and keep them out.


    Deadlift:
    • Grip strength. This has come a long way. I use the double overhand grip for all sets save the final warm-up set and the work set. I find that the chin-ups are providing useful assistance work on my grip.
    • Back position. I am wary of not setting the back correctly, and of excessive pulling with the back by having the hips either i) too high at the outset, or ii) move up too quickly in relation to the back. I'm going to address this by ensuring I set the back before performing each repetition, and checking after each set with video review.


    Power clean:
    • Shrugging the weight. I need to be wary of doing this going forward. I haven’t done power cleans a lot, or indeed at all, beyond my ‘learner sets’ with the Olympic lifter a week or so ago.


    If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. All comments and criticism are welcome; I am here to learn and develop.

    Thanks,

    Jacket


    Post 2 of 2

  3. #3
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    Quite a thorough lead-in. Welcome in!

    Determination and consistency will get you through the lifts, the real battle is won at the dinner table. You'll have to eat every bit as hard as you train.

    You are essentially my height, less a centimeter. Last I weighed 77kg, it was Iraq in 2008 and I'd just fought off a mild bout of some cousin of dysentery. Photos of me from that period look like a grape stuck on a cocktail toothpick. A man of 180cm height and 77kg weight looks like the Crypt Keeper's thinner brother. I'm ribbing you a bit, of course, but only in hopes you'll get the real point:

    Aim for 95kg bodyweight and you'll have made a good start.

    Also, did I read you right that the Army disallows whey protein? And presumably also creatine monohydrate? Both of which naturally occur in food, for heaven's sake?

    Seriously, what could they find by testing: That you've got a lot of dairy protein and naturally-occurring red meat derivatives?

    If this was the rule in my Army (I'm a Yank), I'd cheat, cheat, cheat. I can imagine no possible way a UA can show your protein and creatine to have come powder form as opposed to steak and milk form.

    Happy training, and we'll see the log come the New Year!

  4. #4
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    Welcome! It sounds like you're looking at a belt and lifting shoes as a rite of passage. Just go ahead and get them! The elevated heel of a lifting shoe helps with the low bar squat position, it was a huge difference (for the better) for me. And a belt doesn't rob you of any training benefit, it actually helps train your abs by giving you something to brace against.

    Good luck!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Bischoff View Post
    Quite a thorough lead-in. Welcome in!

    Determination and consistency will get you through the lifts, the real battle is won at the dinner table. You'll have to eat every bit as hard as you train.

    You are essentially my height, less a centimeter. Last I weighed 77kg, it was Iraq in 2008 and I'd just fought off a mild bout of some cousin of dysentery. Photos of me from that period look like a grape stuck on a cocktail toothpick. A man of 180cm height and 77kg weight looks like the Crypt Keeper's thinner brother. I'm ribbing you a bit, of course, but only in hopes you'll get the real point:

    Aim for 95kg bodyweight and you'll have made a good start.

    Also, did I read you right that the Army disallows whey protein? And presumably also creatine monohydrate? Both of which naturally occur in food, for heaven's sake?

    Seriously, what could they find by testing: That you've got a lot of dairy protein and naturally-occurring red meat derivatives?

    If this was the rule in my Army (I'm a Yank), I'd cheat, cheat, cheat. I can imagine no possible way a UA can show your protein and creatine to have come powder form as opposed to steak and milk form.

    Happy training, and we'll see the log come the New Year!
    Thanks Geoff!

    I've always been on the slight side. Since I switched to low-bar squatting I've noticed that I've put on 4kg; I think a good chunk of it is in my adductors. Just need to bulk out the rest of me now...

    The Army's official policy is that you don't need supplements to be fit for role. Then again, this comes from the same PT corps that fell in love with CrossFit and CV circuits. We've just changed our Physical Entry Standards and the emphasis is now on strength, I believe. The new physical training programme is called Training Human Optimisation for Readiness, or THOR. I worry about how much time was spent creating the programme versus how much time was spent coming up with a backronym for 'THOR'. From what I have seen of it, it smells of CrossFit. Same circuits as always, but now with added barbells and danger!

    Physical Training: New British Army Physical Training Programme | Fitness with PTI Thompson

    This link is the publicly available material I've found on it; I'm not sure how much of it is primary source and how much of it is her gloss on the material, as 'PTI Thompson' doubles up as a civilian fitness instructor.

    Essentially whey protein is fine so long as it's from an Informed Sport approved source. Naturally, this means you pay double over the 'standard' product. Our Compulsory Drug Testing is random and zero-tolerance; if your wee 'pops', you're out unless you declared, pre-test, a very good reason for the test failure. As for creatine, I'm unsure but I'd guess that it's also on the naughty list. There was a scandal a few years ago where 17 soldiers from 7 Para RHA were kicked out for testing positive for banned supplement substances; they all claimed that they had taken the same supplement that was not on the approved list, but they'd all seen it after it was advertised in the Army's official magazine.

    No ban on whole milk, though...

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Barry View Post
    Welcome! It sounds like you're looking at a belt and lifting shoes as a rite of passage. Just go ahead and get them! The elevated heel of a lifting shoe helps with the low bar squat position, it was a huge difference (for the better) for me. And a belt doesn't rob you of any training benefit, it actually helps train your abs by giving you something to brace against.

    Good luck!
    Thanks Mike!

    I am, in a way -Army is a career where you frequently encounter, and don't want to be, the guy with all the gear and no idea, so I've been wary of diving straight into being a kitmonster. I'm a little all at sea with the brands and types available. Do you guys have any recommendations on belts and shoes please? For belts I was looking at brands like Inzer and Rogue. The biggest shoe stockist near me has mostly Adidas and Reebok shoes with varying heel lift angles.

    Jacket

  6. #6
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    Shoes are a must, it says so in the book! 😁Something between 0.6 and 0.75 inch heel should be good for all around. I wear mine for all lifts.

    I have a 4" belt from Rogue. I'm an inch or two taller than you, and the 4" belt works great for squats, but is just a little wide for comfort when deadlifting. It works OK, but if I were any shorter, and only buying one belt, I'd give strong consideration to a 3" belt.

    Try searching the forum too, lots of reviews and recommendations on shoes and belts.

    On the nutrition front, I know I couldn't get anywhere close to the protein target (1 gram per 1 lb body mass per day) without a few scoops of Whey Protein Isolate per day. And it is cheap! I got an 11 lb bag for around $65 and it will last for 2-3 months. Way cheaper than milk and quality meat, even if you have to pay a premium for an approved brand.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jacket View Post
    I've been wary of diving straight into being a kitmonster. ... Do you guys have any recommendations on belts and shoes please?
    "Kitmonster." I like it. It's much less offensive for these politically correct days than the term I've been familiar with since the 90s, which is "Gear Queer." In the field, I go light. In the gym, I am the master GQ.

    My bag: Pocket 1: Shoes, belt, towel, suspension belt (to hang plates from on dips and chins), microload plates, camera tripod. Pocket 2: Chalk, log, deadlift wedge (look it up; best 8 bucks I spent in 2018), wrist wraps, pen, spare pen, paper log, tape measure (for bench height, width, and barbell measurements as I travel gyms a lot).

    Stick at lifting long enough, you'll want nearly all of these things. Brand recs though:

    Belts. SSOC and co. recommend the Dominion 3" belt. It is a very good piece of equipment; my wife uses one and it's quite sturdy. I use a Rogue 4", but I should also own a 3" at this point for my deadlifts (but haven't the scratch for it presently). Mike's right: 3" is enough to get everything done. If you ever move into competitive lifting, you'll want to also own a 4", for presses and squats, especially if you're long-torsoed. But if you only get one belt, go 3". Rogue is just fine at 3", though not as soft as Dominion. Thickness: Not more than 13mm. Thicker belt = longer break-in period. My wife's Dominion is a 10mm I think, and was smooth and supple straight out of the gate.

    Shoes. I have banana feet (long and skinny). If you similarly have somewhat narrow feet: Adidas and Nike are for you. Nike Romaleo seems to be the gold standard (for narrow feet), but I've not bought a pair yet; they're somewhat expensive as a starter shoe, and when I got lifting shoes I didn't know how much I'd take to lifting, yet. SO: Starter shoe! Adidas Powerlift 3.0 is a great entry-level shoe. At lower loads, they will not compress at all. Now that my deadlifts are above 200kg I'm starting to get some compression in them; my coach has recommended I upgrade soon to a non-compressible shoe. But if you're cash-light, or don't know if you like lifting *that* much, or don't think you'll hit the 200kg mark on any of your lifts very soon, then they're good. Mine have served well.

    All the best!

  8. #8
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    Thanks guys.

    I ordered a 3 inch lever belt from Strength Shop UK just now -I looked at the Dominion belt and the import costs were pretty high to get it to the UK. Same deal with the Rogue 3 inch belt -they appear not to stock it in their European webstore, and the import costs would have been sizeable. Strength Shop did do a buckle 3inch belt, but only in 13mm. I also picked up a resistance band so I can work on my shoulder flexibility; it seems the left is tighter than the right.

    My local store does sell Adidas Powerlift 3.0s, so a small trip is in order soon.

    I also bit the bullet and ordered some of the Informed Sport approved stuff from MyProtein, and a metal shaker for it. It should be here by tomorrow, I think. I suppose I can justify it if I already justify a Netflix subscription to myself too.

    The main problem right now is that I all I would like to do is get started, but I'm on downtime until Wednesday when the gym reopens. Hope you both had a good Christmas!

  9. #9
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    Good start. You are wise to target some weight gain. You will gain weight as you gain strength as you follow this program. Shoot for 200 grams of protein a day and you will gain both weight and strength.

    My belt is a Rogue belt and shoes are DoWins. They serve the purpose.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Hi all,

    02JAN19

    General

    I slept well and I was excited to be able to go back to lifting. I have been SO BORED in the last week.

    I bought and received (eventually) some 2.5kg of Informed-Sport tested whey protein. The courier lied about attempting a delivery on the 29th, the 31st, and then finally delivered my parcel today after I spent much of the intervening time in contact with MyHermes demanding an explanation. Still, it's here now.

    In the last week I managed to get in some 107.5kg sets at the local gym near my parental home before I left early due to its poor condition. It's changed a lot and is now essentially a room full of machines and ruined, rusted barbells. The squat rack is now jammed into a corner and faces a mirror, which I found incredibly distracting. I did two sets and missed the third because I just could not focus in there at all. I managed to do 3 sets of lighter bench presses to learn the proper form, but then I just gave up trying to lift somewhere with such poor equipment.

    Sadly my belt has not yet arrived, as I would have liked to have worn it today.

    Squat

    Warm-ups then

    1. 110kg x 5.
    2. 110kg x 4
    3. 110kg x 3
    4. 110kg x 3

    3 or so minutes' rest between sets.

    A little higher than my intended 107.5kg, but I thought I'd be able to push it out -partially based on a soldierly mindset and partially on PPST's statement that if only one or two sessions have been missed, no remedial action may be necessary. In hindsight, I could have pushed out the missed reps in Set 2 and Set 3 -but I am struggling to unlearn the cautious no-failure attitude I developed when I was lifting in my residential, thin-walled flat. Set 4 for 3 was my effort to collect the missed reps, as though they were coins in Sonic.

    Press

    Warm-ups then

    1. 40kg x 5
    2. 40kg x 5
    3. 40kg x 5

    Then

    30kg x 5
    30kg x 5

    2 minutes' rest between sets.

    Although I got the weight up, I didn't think my form was consistently good and I was lacking the 'bounce' in the hips. I dropped the weight back to 30kg and focused on ensuring proper form and the hip movement, which was much better.

    Deadlift

    Warm ups then

    1. 115kg x 5

    I used a mixed grip for this set, but I used double overhand for all my warm-ups. My double overhand grip is a lot stronger now than it was and hopefully it'll continue to get stronger. I think next time I may try the hook grip to maintain the symmetry. The plates and collars on the gym's barbells are slack and as a result there was a lot more rolling around than I would have liked. When removing the weights after I finished I noticed that one of the 10kg bumper plates has several bolts missing from its disc. Concerning!

    Chin-ups

    1. 10 reps
    2. 5 reps
    3. 2 reps

    1 minute's rest between sets.

    Here my grip just started to go and I was tired. Must do better!

    Training takeaways

    1. Hold the line and get all 3 sets of 5 at 110kg. I have the safeties up when I squat so trust them.
    2. Reset the weight for press to 35kg and focus on perfecting form.
    3. Come up with a way to mitigate the excessive floor movement of the barbell for deadlifts.

    Post gym

    I came back and tried some of this new protein. It tastes like chocolate milk, but it is a bit of a pest to mix by shaking. I think it will work best if I add a little milk and stir it into a consistent paste before adding the rest of the milk. Alternatively, I will put 1 scoop in my porridge in the morning. Yum.

    Spotted in the gym

    Today is the Day of the Resolutioner, and there were a few new faces and more than a few dodgy activities.

    First question -am I the only person to strip the weights off the bar when I'm done? I've seen several people just walk away from the loaded barbell. How do I know you're finished with it, and is this not inconsiderate to some smaller and less strong members of the gym who may wish to use the equipment -and now have to unload your 25kg plates?

    Mr Deadlift: a new guy came to the lifting platforms and put 20kg on the 15kg barbell, and then lifted it onto an aerobic step either side, and then started doing what looked like rack pulls. He then did like 3 conventional deadlifts with 52.5kg. I saw him make a bit of a face when I put 90kg on for my second DL warm-up and he went to play with the fixed weight EZ bars. He left his weight on the 15kg bar. Why do people do this?

    Mr Squat: Have you ever seen someone doing something and wanted, dearly, to try and help them in doing it? I felt this more than ever today. In one of the power cages: a slightly overweight man semi-squatting 90kg in socks, high bar, with the foam pad on, above parallel, with thick 2.5kg plates under his heels. I am glad that he is making the effort in this new year to better himself, and I am glad that he is squatting -but surely don't use the pad. Left his weight on the bar at a very high rack height.

    Bench Bros: two Chinese guys in designer gymwear, half-repping bench presses and excessively congratulating each other. They progressed to do weird stuff with the cable machines and one of them was doing a dance from Fortnite. Surreal. Left their weight on the bar.

    Training thought of the week

    The title of an Against Me! song: 'What God doesn't give to you, you have to go and get for yourself.'

    Over the last week I also watched all of Cobra Kai on YouTube. I expected a corny Karate Kid spin-off, but it was actually very good and quite nuanced in its portrayals of Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. Would recommend.

    Happy New Year everyone.

    Jacket
    Last edited by Jacket; 01-08-2019 at 04:34 PM.

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