Gym And Supplement Discussion

[Birds]

Which gainer mate? I'm back on the UN Muscle Juice Revolution due to lately being relatively strapped for time in every aspect of my life lol....I'm finding it fine once more, will see what gains I make this time. Did honestly notice very acceptable gains last time (when compared to not taking it). It's great with water (though personally makes me feel very bloated with milk), and it has fark all sugar compared to the "non-revolution" version (70% less ).

Comes in at $110 for 5kg retail from my local store, which is only a touch more than A1 supplements after delivery. Just snag a free shaker or something hahaha

ISO Mass Xtreme Gainer. It's an all in one, so much shit in it lol. Great product though, nothing but positive reviews and no f**king around with 10 different supplements.

[SoFreshSoClean]

This may be a stupid question, but what's the best way to get over 'mental' blocks?

I seem to be stuck on 60kg barbell flat bench.. I can get the first set out but struggle to finish the other two without assistance. I even feel like I'm going backwards slightly. Every other exercise I am progressing nicely so I don't think it's my diet.

The obvious answer I guess would be just to change it up and switch to dumbbells/change the incline. I'm just interested to see if anyone else has encountered this 'block', and how they got over it?

[GHOSTrun]

This may be a stupid question, but what's the best way to get over 'mental' blocks?

I seem to be stuck on 60kg barbell flat bench.. I can get the first set out but struggle to finish the other two without assistance. I even feel like I'm going backwards slightly. Every other exercise I am progressing nicely so I don't think it's my diet.

The obvious answer I guess would be just to change it up and switch to dumbbells/change the incline. I'm just interested to see if anyone else has encountered this 'block', and how they got over it?

Reps. Work on getting 50kg for 20 reps, then 55kg for 20 reps, at that stage you will smash 60kg.

I had the same problem with 100kg. I got 80kg for 12 then next thing I know I've pumped out 100kg for 4, massive PB for me and demolished the mental block.

Edited May 29, 2012 by GHOSTrun

[Birds]

This may be a stupid question, but what's the best way to get over 'mental' blocks?

I seem to be stuck on 60kg barbell flat bench.. I can get the first set out but struggle to finish the other two without assistance. I even feel like I'm going backwards slightly. Every other exercise I am progressing nicely so I don't think it's my diet.

The obvious answer I guess would be just to change it up and switch to dumbbells/change the incline. I'm just interested to see if anyone else has encountered this 'block', and how they got over it?

If the block is actually mental, what is the characteristic of it? Obsession with a certain number of reps? Fear the bar will drop? Knowing you can't get past it and thinking about this while counting up the numbers?

Don't change for dumbells or change the incline, this is circumventing the problem rather than addressing it.

How many reps are you doing on 60kg during the successful set and how many are you getting out during the "failed" sets? If you are clocking 10 on the first, I recommend upping the weight on the third set to 65kg. You will obviously do less reps, but this can help you over a mental block because you're not expecting to push out many reps on the higher weight. Eventually you will find 10 much easier to clock on the second set, because A. your muscles will grow to accommodate and B. 60kg will feel comparatively lighter and you'll know you're capable of lifting more.

It is a very common plateau, especially on bench press - sometimes has a lot to do with the mentality of pressing a bar that could fall on you if you fail. Try not to let the frustration of pushing out less reps and the feeling of going "backwards" get to you. It can really depress you, especially if it was your favourite exercise. When you are at your physical limits for exertion, the difference between an extra rep can be the sleep you had the night before, the food you ate during the day and your temperament etc. You will have on and off days, but the more frustrated you get, the more you will go backwards through rushed technique and mental anguish. So learn to accept it as a normal part of exercise and just try different methods to overcome it.

[Birds]

lol chatting to my skinny gym friend today, the one who never listens to the advice I give him, but always complains about not gaining weight or getting stronger.

His latest plan is to...ditch squats...which he was doing quite well with...and do leg press instead, until he gets to 70kg (he is 66kg). Once at 70kg he will resume squats again to push through that "bodyweight plateau". Guy complains about not gaining weight and he struggles to bench his own body wright. Then he went and did crossover tricep extensions lol

Some people are lost causes.

[SoFreshSoClean]

Reps. Work on getting 50kg for 20 reps, then 55kg for 20 reps, at that stage you will smash 60kg.

I had the same problem with 100kg. I got 80kg for 12 then next thing I know I've pumped out 100kg for 4, massive PB for me and demolished the mental block.

Cheers man, that's a good idea!

If the block is actually mental, what is the characteristic of it? Obsession with a certain number of reps? Fear the bar will drop? Knowing you can't get past it and thinking about this while counting up the numbers?

Don't change for dumbells or change the incline, this is circumventing the problem rather than addressing it.

How many reps are you doing on 60kg during the successful set and how many are you getting out during the "failed" sets? If you are clocking 10 on the first, I recommend upping the weight on the third set to 65kg. You will obviously do less reps, but this can help you over a mental block because you're not expecting to push out many reps on the higher weight. Eventually you will find 10 much easier to clock on the second set, because A. your muscles will grow to accommodate and B. 60kg will feel comparatively lighter and you'll know you're capable of lifting more.

It is a very common plateau, especially on bench press - sometimes has a lot to do with the mentality of pressing a bar that could fall on you if you fail. Try not to let the frustration of pushing out less reps and the feeling of going "backwards" get to you. It can really depress you, especially if it was your favourite exercise. When you are at your physical limits for exertion, the difference between an extra rep can be the sleep you had the night before, the food you ate during the day and your temperament etc. You will have on and off days, but the more frustrated you get, the more you will go backwards through rushed technique and mental anguish. So learn to accept it as a normal part of exercise and just try different methods to overcome it.

It's just that I feel I've been doing the same weight for a while now.. about 6 weeks, and I feel like I'm not moving forward which makes me frustrated. Then I start freaking out about my form and over-thinking it. It's not a fear of dropping the bar because my mate is there to catch it.

As far as reps go, I'm doing 8, then 6, then 4 without assistance. My buddy helps me get the full set out so I'm still doing 3 sets of 8.

Yeah thats a good idea, I might up the weight to say 70.. and get my mate to help me through the sets, which could 'recalibrate' my brain about what I think is heavy.

Edited May 29, 2012 by SoFreshSoClean

[Birds]

Why not 65kg? There's no need to rush the weight, and you want to retain form when moving up in weight. The worst thing people do is drop their good technique for a bad one with more weight.

Another thing you can try, which is good for OCD cases who don't want to ditch what they are already doing, is what I call the experimental 7th...though I do 6 sets, so for you it would be the experimental 4th. Basically, tack on an extra set at the end of your usual bench session and use this set to try for weight increases without giving too much of a shit how many reps you get from it. The idea is to make the mind acknowledge during your regular sets that you're capable of more weight than you're pushing at the time.

On the side, IMO, 3 sets isn't enough for you. You have issues with stamina, which is why you're dying off rapidly afterwards. Your warm up set is the same weight as your max weight set and this is a problem - your third set is next to useless if your friend has to help you out that much. You need to mix it up so you don't burn out too quickly and your muscles break down gradually. Warm up on 50kg, second set at 55, third at 60 and do an experimental 4th at 65.

[-FIGJAM-]

70kg is to much of an increase. You may find that you will struggle to push out 4 by urself with a good clean motion.

Bench has been my slowest increase as far as strength goes, its not uncommon.

Try adding a strength phase to your routine for a couple weeks. Get a wait that you can push out urself for 4-6 reps max.

Just a thought.

[God_speed]

For the BP, don't forget that a proper arch in the back (almost trying to pinch your shoulder blades together, and abs tight) and driving off the floor with your heels will help.

[NickR33]

bench gives me the shits... slowest progression of any of the lifts for me... was plateaued for ages so I stopped doing it and went to dumbbells... doing more incline, flyes and dips... finally went back to bench after a few months and have dropped strength in it considerably... very annoying!

sometimes to get used to a heavier weight you can just do half reps, (so you don't go all the way down to your chest) and slowly try and go deeper every session until your doing a proper rep

this is the way I'm training my bro-in-law to do pullups... he's a big 115kg bastard so not the easiest thing for him... we started just doing half reps, then cheat reps where I'd help him a bit from the bottom of the lift, then he'd slowly lower himself without help... now he can do 4-5 without help and then I will assist with the last couple

[TTT]

Just to go slightly off topic here... but you need to understand that a "spotters" role is to prevent you from getting squashed under a bar.

his/her job is not to help you do the last 4 reps of a set while stroking your ego by yelling "All you bro".

if you are getting 8, 6, 4 reps at 60 and the last set is being assisted for 4 reps, it's useless (as can bee seen by the no increase in the last 6 weeks).

Try some of the suggestions (higher reps with less weight, less reps with higher weight)

But it might also be something simple like not enough rest between sets.

in a commercial gym it's a bit hard to sit around for 3 minutes between sets but sometimes you need to.

Is Bench press the first exercise for the night? if not, try doing it first.

finally, weak bench can mean weak triceps and or delts.

bench press is as much tricep and delts as it is chest.

How much can you press over head?

can you do bodyweight dip? if so, how many?

how much weight can you lift with close grip bench press etc.

[Birds]

Just to go slightly off topic here... but you need to understand that a "spotters" role is to prevent you from getting squashed under a bar.

his/her job is not to help you do the last 4 reps of a set while stroking your ego by yelling "All you bro".

if you are getting 8, 6, 4 reps at 60 and the last set is being assisted for 4 reps, it's useless (as can bee seen by the no increase in the last 6 weeks).

Try some of the suggestions (higher reps with less weight, less reps with higher weight)

But it might also be something simple like not enough rest between sets.

in a commercial gym it's a bit hard to sit around for 3 minutes between sets but sometimes you need to.

Is Bench press the first exercise for the night? if not, try doing it first.

finally, weak bench can mean weak triceps and or delts.

bench press is as much tricep and delts as it is chest.

How much can you press over head?

can you do bodyweight dip? if so, how many?

how much weight can you lift with close grip bench press etc.

+1 to all of that.

I stare in awe when I see someone pressing above their weight and the spotter is getting in an upright row workout at the same time. A friend asked me for a spot recently and he couldn't even get one rep without assistance...then had the cheek to ask me if I helped him much? I yell at friends who try to help me on the last couple of reps when I want to struggle it up. It takes a while to train spotters into the idea that, until the bar is falling, I don't want help. Once or twice I've had randoms come along and pull up the bar while I'm struggling on the last rep...hard to yell at someone when they're just trying to help, but man does it rustle the jimmies.

Then there's the tard spotters who want to help you with a lift off, because it's the best thing for your mindset to make the weight feel light initially and then suddenly get heavier once someone removes their hands from it. IMO, if you can't get a bar off the rack, you can't lift it. That initial lift will tell you everything you need to know about the whole set, it needs to be done by yourself.

[Birds]

Just a side note on rest taken between sets: bench used to be my longest exercise for rest. I used to spend 2-3 minutes between sets and yeah it's tough to do that in a commercial gym without pissing off people (who really should be asking if they can work in with you, instead of standing there looking pissy). I worked in with a friend recently though, and that kind of pushed me to have less rest between the sets. Despite less rest, my rep count was still much the same. I decided to try timing my rests and cutting them down - what used to take me 20 minutes (6 sets) is now a 15 minutes exercise at the same weights and reps. Consequently, I've recently broken through a weight plateau that's haunted me for nearly 2 years. I think resting too much or too little is an important consideration for any exercise.

I've transferred this rest reduction technique over to other exercises and I'm now finding them much easier to get through, plus completing my workouts in record times. Stop watch is your friend.

[TTT]

yeah I agree with unracking a weight yourself if it's a working set.

if you are doing a 1rm test, then getting the spotter to unrack is a good idea as your setup is much more important.

and once in the correct bench pressing position, it's hard to unrack and pull the weight over your face without getting your scaps out of place.

[NickR33]

some really solid advice there TTT... lol @ 'all you bro'... love the guys who do dumbbell presses with a mate standing behind them lifting their elbows

I usually get a lift off as I struggle to keep my scaps locked if I lift off myself... there's only 2 pin heights on the benches at my gym and one is too low and the other too high (for me)

I never wait long enough between sets, too impatient (and I hate getting 'cold')... I need to work on my rest periods when doing max strength work

[Birds]

yeah I agree with unracking a weight yourself if it's a working set.

if you are doing a 1rm test, then getting the spotter to unrack is a good idea as your setup is much more important.

and once in the correct bench pressing position, it's hard to unrack and pull the weight over your face without getting your scaps out of place.

Never had an issue with the unracking disturbing my setup, I've always trained that way, so have probably built and maintained the flexiblity to pull it off (or I just have a weird setup). But I also don't try for one rep maxes, so perhaps I've not unracked a weight heavy enough to interfere with it.

[Dani Boi]

Reset weight x% and work your way back up.

[TM7GTR]

I always get help to unrack the bar during strength training phases because I feel it allows me to get set up properly, mind you this is going fairly heavy.

My suggestion for increasing your flat bench is to increase your front delt strength. Do some heavy military press sets over the next couple of weeks and you should see an improvement in your bench. IMO BP is way more dependant on front delt strength rather than chest strength anyway because I'm strong in cable exercises that isolate the chest itself, but fairly weak in my BP.

For this reason I feel it's my shoulders letting me down, so i'm smashing a lot of military press now. Seeing improvements already.

Last bit of advice is to load about 5-10kg more than you can lift for standard reps onto the bar and do a 4 second eccentric phase of the lift with a friend to help you pull it back up. This type of training will help ward away muscle fatigue in the eccentric phase meaning during a normal 2x2 tempo later on you can generate more power for the concentric phase.

[SoFreshSoClean]

On the side, IMO, 3 sets isn't enough for you. You have issues with stamina, which is why you're dying off rapidly afterwards. Your warm up set is the same weight as your max weight set and this is a problem - your third set is next to useless if your friend has to help you out that much. You need to mix it up so you don't burn out too quickly and your muscles break down gradually. Warm up on 50kg, second set at 55, third at 60 and do an experimental 4th at 65.

Yeah you may have a point. My training buddy and I do an extra set of everything on Saturday just to push a bit harder, but I could incorporate this for bench every time.

Just to go slightly off topic here... but you need to understand that a "spotters" role is to prevent you from getting squashed under a bar.

his/her job is not to help you do the last 4 reps of a set while stroking your ego by yelling "All you bro".

if you are getting 8, 6, 4 reps at 60 and the last set is being assisted for 4 reps, it's useless (as can bee seen by the no increase in the last 6 weeks).

Try some of the suggestions (higher reps with less weight, less reps with higher weight)

But it might also be something simple like not enough rest between sets.

in a commercial gym it's a bit hard to sit around for 3 minutes between sets but sometimes you need to.

Is Bench press the first exercise for the night? if not, try doing it first.

finally, weak bench can mean weak triceps and or delts.

bench press is as much tricep and delts as it is chest.

How much can you press over head?

can you do bodyweight dip? if so, how many?

how much weight can you lift with close grip bench press etc.

You're right, but my mate tells me that he is barely adding any effort, so I am almost there..

I am up to 40kg military press behind the head, again 3 sets of 8.

Dips I have only started doing recently, but I put 20kg in my lap otherwise I find them too easy.

[S T A R 3 3]

Been away from the gym for almost 2 months due to illness prior to a 6 week holiday around Asia.

I put on 6kg dirty bulk... sigh. My plan is to diet/train like this for 4-6 weeks, or more (depending on results), 5-6 x a week:

• Cardio consisting of Tabata's (high-intensity training) including light-weights. I think its a lot more stimulating than straight up jogging or walking.
  
• Oztag once a week.. for lulz.
  
• Dieting (not strict), just eating sensibly and routinely again - which is key. The usual tuna, salad, brown rice, chicken etc. - no more banana nutella pancakes.. sadface.
  
• No pre/post workout supps or post protein shakes.
  

I think if I can keep this up for 4-6 weeks, I should be able to lose +6kg and drop the fat around mah behhhlllehh! (my belly).

I don't think I'll get back into the heavy lifting/isolating excercises too soon, I think I will use this as an oppourtunity to see how far I can cut and try new things.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions are welcome.

..might make a build thread.

Buem.