Strength / Weight Training

Funny you start this up but I'm back in the gym as of today! Fucking dirty ass leisure centre gym where every bench is hogged all the time by groups of 7.

An invaluable accessory for those of us, who lack the shoulder flexibility to do anything other than front squats

I need me one of those!

Err...a safety bar squat. (a bar with a U with handles you can hold...)

It's good try it! Yes it's not a "proper" squat but assistance work, helps to get my "proper" squat up by learning to keep upright.
If that's not a problem you have, other assistance may work better.

Errrr, @JWestland, do you see where I was gymming??? I don't have real equipment. Though! This is the first gym I've been to in this country (excl bodybuilding gyms) that has a seated calf machine and decline bench!

I pay £15 a month for a place with 4 squat racks, 3 bench racks, lots of bars, machines and so on. But the commercial chain gyms are all soso to crap and leisure centres really depends.

No independent gyms where you are?

Where do you live??? £15 a month?? LOL!

Sadly no independent gyms as far as I know. I'm in North Bromley. Closest is downham sports and leisure centre and is costing me a cool £43 a month.

Belfast. Not sure its worth coming here for the gym :p

If there is a local powerlifting or olympic lifting crowd worth asking where they go :)

Nearly got a 10KG plate on my head cos the guy next to me didn't think it was necessary to put collars on.

Those n00bs...what's next, curling in the squat rack? ;)

I was in the gym the other day - guy after me on the rack was being impatient.. I asked him if he wanted me to clear the bar for him when I was done? No. Okay.
As soon as I was done, the guy proceeds to take 50kg off one end in one go, without checking the bar is straight, the unweighted end flips up and I just manage to catch it before it goes the full 180 and smashes the person on the bench next door in the face. Thank fuck for collars.

...50kg one end...#baller ;)

I'm still going slow with my squat weights, just about getting confident I guess.

Best course of action I think. Having a spotter can help a lot.

I'm all legs though.. Can only bench 60kg for 5x5. Overhead is pitiful. Still, a big improvement in the last year. Starting to do power cleans again - quite fun. Would also like to learn snatches.

You try curl 100kgs safely

I did bench and dead lift recently. First time in ages.

100kg *5 bench and 110x50 deadlift.

Not bad for a first in 4 months ish...

50 deadlifts?

Surely that's cardio which is highly frowned upon... :p

I don't need curls...there's no beach weather here anyway! :P

Coach told me to go from 2300 calories to 2700.

Expect the biggest bloody quads in town in 4 months...if only I'd grow evenly in upper body too O_o

Lolz

Don't worry I still won't have any biceps! :P

400 calories a day extra, good times. Think of that cheese or cake.

I'm starting to even out. I've improved my DL's and bench (though still cant get over 85kg).

I just worry about my knees and ankles when squatting and I find it hard to get that out of mind (2 broken ankles, 2 broken legs and a dislodged kneecap) so just not pushing it too much

If only :(:(

But chocolate Brazil nuts are lifting food, right? :p

Are you doing heavy rows? Sometimes the bench won't go up due to upper back not being strong.

I've actually got to the point where I can't put more weight on the bar for squats because I don't have enough muscle to rest in on up top :'( I think lack of upper back strength is holding up my bench too.

Trouble is that I'm only in the gym once a week - everything else is on the bike. Makes upper body gains hard/slow.