34
Typically on those types of barbells the number marked is for the entire object: both ends, and the bar itself.
That's different than separate plates and bars, where you need to figure in the weight of the bar and each plate weighs as much as it says on the side. 135lbs on a typical Olympic barbell is 45 for the bar, and a 45 plate on each side (45+45+45).
...
13
Moving around a weight room has caused more injuries than training has, for me.
You can trip, people leave crap strewn about, and as you mentioned it's easy to drop a plate. Shoes won't protect you from a falling 45lb but they'll probably prevent or at least greatly minimize a stubbed toe. Something stupid like that can sideline you for a week. Walking ...
9
Two of the programs with a lot of following are Starting Strength (website / book) and Strong Lifts 5x5 (website). Whichever program you follow, the Starting Strength book is worth its weight in gold.
Both of these programs are built for novices, which should be defined by strength standards, not personal opinions. They focus on compound barbell exercises.
...
9
The general rule of thumb is that for free weights, a weight that is designed to be used interchangeably will have its own weight indicated on it, whereas a weight that is fixed will represent the total weight of the object.
For non-free weights, a weight that is located on a stack in a machine will indicate the weight of itself and all the weights on top ...
8
If you are doing it in proper form, it'll build your middle back, lower back, glutes, legs and it'll also help strength the sides of the abs. Your shoulders and traps should see almost no change.
You do get your traps sore because of all the weight that is resting on top of them but you are not putting them under tension.
If you want to build your ...
8
This can be calculated by figuring out the location of the centre of gravity of the unevenly loaded bar. If the CoG is outside of the pegs, then the bar will flip off.
Some assumptions:
80mm thick 20kg bumper plates are being used. (Thicker plates will
shift the CoG further out, so bumper plates are a
worst-case-scenario.)
The bar is positioned with its ...
7
Sports tape to the rescue!
My gym used to have the same problem, to the point where some people actually started bleeding. Calluses don't really go away if you work out a lot, and so the injuries inside the hand compounded between exercises like deadlifts, pullups and EZ-curls.
The staff at the gym eventually started taping the bars every day because of ...
7
Pro Dumbbell
Allows for a more natural movement.
You can do more movements. Could not do flies with a bar...
A seasoned lifter does not need a spotter.
Work your fixator/balancing muscles more.
Force you to use each side equally. Can really help if you have a muscle imbalance.
Can help stress smaller muscle groups.
Stretches muscles better (with correct ...
6
The lower back is the failure point of back squats, and gets a lot of work out of them. So yes, back squats build the back. Are back squats the best for the lower back? Not always; I find deadlifts slightly better for maximal loading, and weighted back extensions somewhat better for hypertrophy, but squats are a great middle ground.
I find that doing >1....
5
The answer with all questions of this manner is "It Depends". Specifically, the factors that influence the decision are:
Are you competing in a strength sport? If so:
How close to the contest date are you?
Is the squat a contested lift (usually only Powerlifting, but occasionally this applies to Strongman as well)
Your individual lever lengths and ...
5
Friction between the barbell and your thighs effectively increases the bar's resistance to movement. I assume that the dumbbells do not rub appreciably against your thighs when you shrug them. So, you must work harder to shrug a barbell weight than to shrug dumbbells of the same nominal total weight.
Because the barbell is in front of you, its center of ...
5
Ridigity is only one issue. Center of mass is the other, and unless such a contraption either has negligible mass, or has its center of mass in the plane of movement, it will induce additional torque at the point where the lifter grasps it. This torque may be large enough to cause significant discomfort if not outright injury. Even if your device could be ...
4
The mats are a good idea even if you are in a single family home on the ground floor. They will help protect both the floor and your equipment.
Any lift where there is a risk of dropping the weight can't be done in an apartment. It's for the same reason you can't run and jump without bothering your neighbors. Impact noise travels through ceilings and ...
4
You have made solid progress. Congratulations, keep up the hard work.
If I were you I'd switch to a program that adds weight weekly or monthly, such as Rippetoe & Kilgore's Texas Method from Practical Programming, or 5/3/1, or another similar program. That will keep you adding strength for quite a while longer.
I'd consider switching up exercises, to ...
4
Dumbbells are an excellent choice for bench and overhead pressing. For deadlifts they're kind of not great, because it gets awkward as soon as it gets heavy. I'd do lots of Romanian dumbbell deadlifts, or dumbbell power cleans, instead.
For squats, I'd do lunges with dumbbells before I'd do the Smith machine. That his is just not right.
4
When I start to pull, inevitably my knee angle "wants" to open first to the point that my back is horizontal before the bar actually leaves the ground
This sounds fine. Fully horizontal is a bit much, but lots of people get to near-horizontal and that's the way it should be. There's no need to keep your back angle constant from your setup. It's very common ...
4
Barbells lets you use significantly more weight than dumbbells because you don't have to use as much balance, very few people use dumbbells half as heavy as their barbells, personally, I can add about 25% of the weight I'd use with dumbbells in total.
This means you can put a heavier load on your triceps, pecs and shoulders (maybe), which in turn means ...
4
It does both. The amount of chest involvement depends on the width of your hand placement. Experiment with that and make note of where you feel it in your chest most.
Flat bench also works your shoulders, primarily the anterior delts
The further inclined you are the more you hit the mid and rear delts as well
All barbell bench variations will involve more ...
4
A very common movement impairment is using the lower back to compensate for a lack of overhead shoulder mobility.
Here is a person with their hands above their head:
BUT, the person is actually leaning back to get this overhead motion:
...
4
What you seem to essentially be doing right now is starting with a negative for your first movement, which means that technically, your first lift is not a valid dead-lift, but something closer to a Romanian Dead-Lift or stiff-legged dead-lift, starting at the waist and going down, before being pulled up (although those are more straight-legged exercises ...
3
I'd go with the larger one. Looks like it won't be as sore sitting on your shoulders.
The small one also looks like it will only take small plates. This will really limit how much weight you can put on.
You should ask them can they get olympic barbells in as these are what people normally use.
3
You could also try out "Fat Grips". You put them on the bar and have a rubbery feel to them. They can also be placed on dumb bells and regular bars.
Their purpose is to make the bar thicker to work your forearms more but they might help with your problem.
If you look on amazon you'll find them and many other brands.
3
This is one of those questions where the actual answer boils down to your desire for variation in your exercise routine. While there are many anecdotal reasons to vary your squat stance, there aren’t that many actual studies to recommend variation as a key to squatting success.
There was, however, a biomechanical study done in 2001:
A three-dimensional ...
3
Bodybuilders are more concerned with isolation work than strength athletes are. Body building, at it's core, is about body modification. With dumbbells you can get a lot more specific and target certain things in very specific ways.
Barbells shine in certain key areas however:
Squats/deadlifts/cleans. You can sort of do these with dumbbells, but not in any ...
3
I wouldn't sweat the difference in weights you can do on one versus the other, there can be a lot of good reasons for that. The angles, range of motion, and muscle involvement all shift.
On heavy barbell rows, despite your best efforts, your chest will drop a bit to meet the bar. On the lever machine, you can't get away with that. On a pure row, the weight ...
3
yes it does leave out the lower back, hips and hamstrings you use to help generate power resulting in far less weight used BUT... you get more stimulation on the target areas like the middle traps and lats
no you have not
Simply put if you want to gain lots of mass in your genral back then go with the pendaly or normal bent over rows but if you want to ...
3
What if I drop a weight plate on my feet?
It will hurt. It may injure you. It's possible it will injure you severely and permanently.
I've been lifting barefoot...Do people actually drop plates on their feet? Would weightlifting shoes provide any real protection?
People drop plates, rarely. I've dropped a five pound plate from hip height and let a ...
3
I’m a firm believer in making sure to remove any unnecessary movements that would otherwise affect my technique/form. I think that’s important to reduce any risk of form break or injury. And, extra movements tend to reduce the impact on the targeted muscles. For example, while doing barbell curls, I don’t bend at the waist and swing the bar up. In my ...
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