Lifter problems
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One more thing @JDelage – this post by the guy who came up with PZ has a very helpful chart as to what each zone stresses, so it can help you determine what zones will get you what you want.
It's kind of funny that he discusses lactate threshold (which is basically what I like to focus on a few times a week), and then says that what athletes call LT is a generally higher intensity that what scientist actually call LT. That's why his LT zone is zone 4, whereas true LT is probably low-to-mid zone 3 (in his system).
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Zone 3 falls under the PZ Endurance category–these classes will bounce back and forth between PZs 2 (recovery in this context) and 3 (intervals). I spend a lot of time in PZE (did an hour this morning in fact) because I want to improve my baseline cardio.
Power Zone usually spends a lot of time in 4, and PZ Max focuses on 4-7. So if you find PZ works for you, you can target your workouts accordingly.
OTOH, you can also use the power meter anywhere you see fit to do your own training (as you could also do with heart rate readings). So you could Just Ride or do a scenic ride, or even a class ignoring the instructors and focus on what you want to focus on.
So back to the coaches, Matt Wilpers is great in terms of being a pure cycling instructor. His (non-PZ) low impact classes will take you through pedal drills and such if you want to improve your form. Denis Morton has the edge on music quality and on cadencing to the rhythm of the music, which can help you get through difficult intervals. He also gives a lot of good reminders on form and is also a good cycling coach, but Matt feels like a pro in that regard (they also do have classes by actual pro cyclist Christian van de Velde). These as mentioned are my go-to for PZ, but no one has been bad. The program I'm doing is forcing me to step outside that comfort zone more than I would normally.
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I find it counterintuitive that dumbbells would be safer for shoulder presses than barbells.
From experience, they are. The barbell forces your shoulder joint to be open and weight bearing. The thing is that you can hold dumbbells in a neutral/hammer grip. The movement is much less stressful for the shoulders. Alternatively, you can widen the grip as much as you can without causing irritation/grinding. The latter does demand excellent form however.
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Yeah–I know that the mechanics don't align with my intuition. But my shoulders feel so stable especially doing a medium to close grip on a barbell, and I feel that I kind of pull the bar apart laterally on presses (imagining pulling my hands away from each other during the press), which gives me the feeling (right or wrong) of stability.
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Yeah–I know that the mechanics don't align with my intuition. But my shoulders feel so stable especially doing a medium to close grip on a barbell, and I feel that I kind of pull the bar apart laterally on presses (imagining pulling my hands away from each other during the press), which gives me the feeling (right or wrong) of stability.
I know exactly what you mean. One of the early cues I learned that helped me advance with benching was to «make your upper back like a table». It works. As long as your shoulders are fit [emoji38]
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Is there any benefit to squatting with a trap bar over a trap bar deadlift? Big fan of the latter, but never thought of racking a trap bar.
My chiropractor claims that squatting with a trap bar (i.e. you pick it up from the ground and stand up straight) puts a lot less load on your back and protects your lower back. But I get your point. As I'm thinking about the motion, a trap bar deadlift would look almost identical to a trap bar squat.
I also listened to a podcast with one of those professional sports trainers about how he loves the deadlift but only uses a trap bar. More specifically, he trains his athletes to perform the ascending motion and drop the weight at the top of the lift instead of performing the descending motion. He elaborated that the ascent is the most beneficial aspect of the lift in adding burst power to sprinters and the descent is the leading cause of injury in the deadlift.
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Interesting!
The physics of a trap bar to me makes more sense. Keeping the weight centered instead of foreward. Then again, front squats are a thing, so I supposed it depends upon what you're trying to do. I just think deadlifts with trap bars feel much better.
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Back before the pandemic, I toyed with the idea of buying my own trap bar and taking it to the gym, but I just couldn't shake how ridiculous I'd feel carrying that thing in and out of the car
Now that I have a garage gym, I have no excuse, except that it's the cost of a pair of UHR jeans that I'm eagerly awaiting/anticipating
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Anyone out there using a Whoop, @BOTC_OLLY and I started an Iron Heart team for a little friendly competition. Feel free to join using the Team Invite Code COMM-16FC15 or DM me your username and I can manually add you.
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Do y’all like your whoops? I did a quick read on it but wasn’t immediately sold.
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Covid is lingering, I still have the blocked nose and mild cough. Thankfully I have my own gym so can workout again this week (last week I was really bad with it), but I am running out of breath very early into sets. F*ck covid.
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I switched from traditional bodybuilding several months ago, to "functional" bodybuilding a la Revival Strength. The program is done by an ex-crossfitter who was tired of his body feeling so beat up. I was right there with him. Pushing closer to 40 these next couple of years, my body was starting to constantly hurt even with mobility work and stretching. It got bad when I threw my back after hitting a deadlift PR during covid (~243 kilos or 535 freedom units).
This week is benchmark week. I was challenged to do a 5 rep squat max and then a single after. Managed to pulled off a top set of 365 for 5 and then a single at 405. No PRs on this round, but the best part - no hip, back, or knee pain as i have seemed to correct all of them over the last 6 months.
I just wanted to tell someone since I lift alone. My girl knocked out a 160lb 5rm too.
Just noticing lots of folks here complaining of aches and pains, and the general idea on the internet about squatting/deadlifting being bad for you. They are not. Squatting and deadlifting incorrectly are bad for you.
I'm 36 and continuing to improve my joints and overall strength daily. Have been doing this stuff seriously since 2008.
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I switched from traditional bodybuilding several months ago, to "functional" bodybuilding a la Revival Strength. The program is done by an ex-crossfitter who was tired of his body feeling so beat up. I was right there with him. Pushing closer to 40 these next couple of years, my body was starting to constantly hurt even with mobility work and stretching. It got bad when I threw my back after hitting a deadlift PR during covid (~243 kilos or 535 freedom units).
This week is benchmark week. I was challenged to do a 5 rep squat max and then a single after. Managed to pulled off a top set of 365 for 5 and then a single at 405. No PRs on this round, but the best part - no hip, back, or knee pain as i have seemed to correct all of them over the last 6 months.
I just wanted to tell someone since I lift alone. My girl knocked out a 160lb 5rm too.
Just noticing lots of folks here complaining of aches and pains, and the general idea on the internet about squatting/deadlifting being bad for you. They are not. Squatting and deadlifting incorrectly are bad for you.
I'm 36 and continuing to improve my joints and overall strength daily. Have been doing this stuff seriously since 2008.
I'm pretty happy with my system right now but I'm always on the lookout for a replacement, just in case. Got any details? Gonna be 42 this year and I'm dealing with all of those aches now and then.
