I Lift, I Lower...I Lift Again

3-4st. Stones? That’s about a 42-56 pound (19-25k+) weight lose. Pretty good weight lose there.

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Hi mate, I wish lol, nah that’s how much more I’d need to lose. So far since the gyms reopened here about 3 months ago I’d dropped 27lb, but since getting covid I regained 7lb. Still 20lbs lighter than I was though👍

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Since switching gyms I’ve had to get a few things that you’d think in a well equipped gym would come as a given. For 6 double cable machines they’ve 2 worn out sets of handles, a worn out rope and one rotating straight bar. Unreal lol.
I’ve two Close MAG bars (supine and pronate) bars on they’re way too. I love MAG bars, but I’ve no idea why the hell the things are so expensive. £300 for 2…just wait till the wife finds out lol

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Always annoys me when gyms don’t have equipment. Have been talking to my gym for a while now about getting some better bars, specifically a good deadlift bar. I could buy my own and leave it at the gym but why should I. I guess if It bothered me that much I would find another gym.

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I feel ya, I train at a strongman gym once a week that has a texas bar and axle bar, so I deadlift there and then go to another more convenient gym a few days a week. They spend 600k on new life fitness and Hammer equipment buy never renewed the cable attachments or bars, kinda like giving ya cans of food and no tin opener lol.

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I’ve bought a fair amount of attachments and loaned them to my local gym, because I can’t really store them and I really want to use them in training. Axle, MAG handles, good barbell, Viking press, etc… They’re so sturdy that I’m not concerned about others members using them.

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Thats nice. Annoyingly though I did that in a small private gym prior to the first covid lockdown here, then as gyms where reopening again the same gym closed and I never got my bars, 25kg weight plates and heavy bag back. Going forward I’ll just keep them in my gym bag…as ordered by the misses lol

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My cousin owns the gym I use the most so when I suggest some new piece of equipment I usually get, “pay dues and maybe I can affort to buy it.” Relatives.

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Haha, brilliant

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Yesterday…

Bench press with slingshot
130kg x 5 paused reps
100kg x 12 TNG reps

TNG deadlifts
140kg x 10
160kg x 10
170kg x 8
180kg x 8
200kg x 6

I’ve not done no TNG work in a long time, it’s a whole different animal, massive pump in my traps lats. I’ll be salting these in some more.

Tonight some fluff at the gym, was training my sis in law

Close supine MAG bar pulldown
Leaning cable lateral raise
Rear delt cable flye
Reverse grip cable curls
V bar pushdowns

Just a couple of working sets each

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Strongman gym today…

Texas bar deadlift off 4" blocks
210kg x 5
230kg x 3
250kg x 2
260kg x 1
272kg x 1 (finally)

Hack squat
10 x 80kg
10 x 120kg
10 x 160kg
8 x 200kg

Seated Leg curl
3x10 @ 60kg, 70kg, 80kg

Prowler
200kg x 10x20 metres

600lb of the blocks, dlight hitch but it shouldn’t be to long before 600lb comes off the floor.

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Will that be a Pr for you?

Yeah mate, PR off 4" blocks with a straight bar. I’ve done over 600lb with a trap bar off the floor…but that doesn’t count lol.

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Nice one big fella

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Cheers Simo, now just to lift it off the floor lol. Halloween is the goal

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Upper body today…

Bench with low tension slingshot
Working sets; all paused reps
120kg x 5
130kg x 3
140kg x 1
150kg x 3 sets x 1 (emom)
100kg x 13

Chest supported row
80kg x 12
120kg x 12
160kg x 10
160kg x 9

Did some other fluffy accessory crap, just light

Really happy with my bench today, especially given ive only bench a few times in the last 2 years. Shoulder feels great.
Gym got several new machines, really like this chest supported row, much better than the one I’d been using beside it (the red one).

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I’d be very happy with that bench if I’d been focusing on bringing bench up for 10 years.

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The OHP focus over the last few years has definitely carried over to the bench. I’ll take it

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This is an interesting observation.

I’m training at home right now, lack a squat rack that allows for benching. So I just do dumbbell bench presses for higher reps. That’s OK, though I never enjoy fighting to get the dumbbells into position. That is sort of a skill or exercise in itself.

But going overhead while standing up works just fine. And I am always a little surprised when I feel some soreness/fatigue in my chest the day after doing those.

Lately, I’ve tried adding variety by doing barbell overhead press, dumbbell overhead press, and then some unilateral overhead pressing. I can tell that each of those exercises work the upper body in noticeably different ways. So I’m inclined to stick with the extra variety.

I’m curious what your preference is: stick with one exercise or use more variations?

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Hey Al,

Yeah am not a big fan of dumbbells, partly for the reason you mention.
Yes I like do like to vary how I overhead press, deadlift, row etc, I like the axle bar because it feels more comfortable, especially given I always press with a thumbless grip and that bar doesn’t spin like an olympic bar.
I like to strict press in the hammer angled smith machine. Sometimes (rarely) I’ll use the log and sometimes I’ll use the viking press machine.
Must say, in the 2 years I couldn’t bench press, chest press etc, my chest remained the same.