Damn ... I was all set to model them for you. :-)

I'm going late, too, Admiral ... I just woke up!. :-)

Don't mean to be an a$$ but why are you using wrist straps? I know what the purpose of them are, but don't you want to build a stronger grip/bigger forearms?

Maybe I'm in a bad mood this morning because I decided to go to my schools gym instead of my normal gym, only to realize I forgot my student id. They apparently have a strict policy on not letting you in without it. Unfortunately again for me a girl who looked like she ate 2 other girls was working. So no charm was getting me in unless I had a cow to offer as a sacrifice. :-)

Kris...Isn't there a point to which wrist straps are needed. As far as curls go maybe his biceps are builder faster than his forearms and he doesn't want to plateau at a certain weight? :-)

Personally I like the idea of not using straps and now I have to break the habit of using foam pads for squatting now that Pete says I'm a sissy-boy..

Hope your day gets better Kris..:-)

I dunno about Dokk, but I only use straps for deads, and only on the work sets. Personally, I do want to build stronger grip, etc. so I go normal grip up to about 225-250, but I am deadding 315 right now and my grip doesn't keep up. I find the over-under grip incredibly uncomfortable and it distracts from my lift. I can use a hook grip at 250-275, but it's a struggle and I'm lazy, so I go normal grip on my warmup sets and straps on my work sets.

Sissy-boy? You mean girly-man. :-) :-)

Oh, and Bao, what are curls? I thought your hair was straight when I met you at shack... :-) :-)

I've toyed with idea of using wraps on deadlifts but I've been able to use an alternating grip with no problems. There is a risk of tearing a bicep with such grip but I doubt that will happen. I can use a snatch grip up until 315 and have worked very hard to get there. Using wraps may allow you to lift some heavier weights but you are cheating your forearms and not allowing them to grow. To me it is more beneficial to get your "weak" point up (in this case forearms) so that you can also make gains in other lifts. If you are only using the wraps on max lifts I can see the argument, but using them during regular lifts I don't feel is the best strategy.

But you can't help yourself. :-)

I said wrist WRAPS not wrist STRAPS. I don't use straps unless I've overtrained grip and want to focus on a some specific muscle group -- e.g., I'll use straps on 400lb+ shrugs because by that point in the week, my grip has had enough but my traps can still take more.

Wraps, on the other hand, are really for joint protection. I have a bad right wrist from too many years of writing hard, grading papers, etc. So I use them anytime my wrists are supporting a lot of weight.

I think it all depends on your goals. I want to be a powerlifter. As a powerlifter, I won't be allowed to use straps to assist a lift. As such, I don't train with straps on the deadlift anymore. If I was more interested in building posterior chain and didn't care about my grip being able to hold 500lbs, then I'd probably hit deads with straps for reps. So it's all about your goals, bro.

Hola Gym Goers!

Off to the gym shortly, then home to catch the Hawks game before my overtime gig tonight.

I use straps on my heaviest sets of shrugs, and a couple back exercises...and my forearms don't look "girly". :-)

Well I guess it just matters what your goals are? If your goals are to have big forearms then no don't worry about straps. but if You want to be able to work exercises to your max ability why not use them? Am I supposed to just deadlift 135 because my grip suchs but my back and legs can handle it? Don't think so

While I was in college the whole strap idea was big because we were doing a lot of olympic lifting. I never used straps until I was doing heavy singles, doubles or triples. But for me it was more important to be able to clean 400 no matter how I did it.

I don't see any reason in limiting yourself. Its kind of like a belt. I don't use belts * I did on my heavy squat singles* but I know I could do more with a belt. and even more in a squat suit.

Enough with my ranting and raving. I had a nice chest workout at the gym!

Mediocre DE leg day ... partly, probably, because I didn't do it until so late in the day.

Warmups & stretches

Box squats (below parallel): 225 (62% 1RM) x 2 reps x 10 sets ... on the clock (45-60 seconds rest b/t each set)

Deadlifts: got this idea from Gerry, who pulled 225 x 32 the other day; sooo... 225 x 20 (grip was fine, hams were just giving out after all those squats), and 225 x 10

Ghetto reverse hypers: 10 x 4

Ab work: I tried to do pul-down abs; but as soon as I setup to pull the weight down, both of my calves cramped at exactly the same time and in exactly the same spot. Tried to do cable rope crunches, then ... and my hip cramped. :-) Guess my body was trying to tell me something -- like it's time to eat a banana once every day or two.

Called it quits at that point because my body was clearly shot. :-)

I am a weak unicorn. :-)

Tomorrow I'll hit DE chest day in the morning. :-)

And clearly I accomplished that :-)

as far as the straps I agree in their use for max lifts or reps in low ranges. I wasn't really familiar with your lifting abilities.

I don't believe in using them if you are using it to hide a weakness. That is the best way I can describe it.

But say I can only shrug 405 without straps, Christos...my traps can handle more stress but my grip cannot...why not use straps to do some sets at 495 or 585? :-)

Good back workout today...started with lots of different grips on pullups...then heavy barbell and Tbar rows..finished with some one armed rows. And I didn't use my straps. :-)

Damn my legs are hurting today. :-) I thought I had enough protein yesterday; but clearly I was mistaken. I think I must have been quadding the weight off the rack for squats, too, which sucks. Anyhoo....

Dynamic effort chest day.

Warmups (tricep rope press-downs, overhead rope extensions, lat pull-downs, flat bench)

Speed bench, on the clock (45-60secs), 60% 1RM: 135 x 3reps x 3sets w/normal grip; 135 x 3 x 3 w/medium grip, 135 x 3 x 2 w/close grip

Flat bench to 1RM: 155 x 3, 185 x 1, 205 x 1, 225 x 0 (almost there ... spotter gave me a little help). Got a good constructive critique of my bench -- mainly that I'm not breathing right, which is effing it up; so I dropped it back down to 135 and did a couple of sets to failure practicing my breathing ... something like 10 and 7 reps (I forget).

JM Presses: 45 x 10, 65 x 8, 85 x 8 x 3 (or maybe it was 4 sets)

One-arm DB rows: 105 x 5, 115 x 5, 125 x 5, 6, 7

Internal & external shoulder rotations, superset @ 20lbs: internals were always 20 reps, externals went 20, 17, 15 ... 3 sets of each in the circuit with no rest between each set.

It was an okay day. I feel like I'm showing progress on my bench again and will be hitting 225 legit before long. Feels like not that long ago that I was hitting 135 legit ... actually, it was about a year ago. :-) Met a guy who lifts for power today. Unfortunately, he has 3 kids and can't really commit to a regular schedule.

Anyway ... feeling pretty thrashed right now. Think I'll have my shake and start making some breakfast. Mmmmm ... egg whites. I hope I have some bacon in there, too. :-)

Happy lifting to all today. :-)

And good luck to Gerry, Rob, and Larry in their 10k today!!!

I got a nice litle leg thrashing today

3x20 Good AM
3x20 overhead squats-Light
3x15 front squats-worked up to 225
3x12 at 315
2x10 at 405

Yum

Dave,

U r a monster. :-)

:-)

That's a nice workout.

Support Day....

Warmups

Barbell shrugs: 135 x 10, 225 x 7, 315 (strapped) x 10, 405 (strapped) x 5, 5, 6 -- my grip was for shiz today.

Rack walkouts/unrack & hold for 5-count: 225 x 2, 315 x 2, 365 x 2, 405 x 2, 455 x 2, 495 x 2 -- really, I just wanted to use this as a functional core exercise and to trick my body into think I'm serious about squatting that kind of work. It was also just practice unracking without quadding the weight out. It was pretty fun. :-)

Pull-down abs: 170 x 20, 180 x 15, 200 x 10, 200 x 10 -- no cramping today. :-)

Internal & external shoulder rotations: both 20 lbs, 20 reps on the internal, 15 reps on the external, 3 supersets with no rest.

Face-pulls: 100 x 12, 120 x 10, 10, 10(? ... can't remember if I did a 3rd at 120 :-))

Finished off with some stretching on a mat. Wish I had a foam roller or something like that ... I could really use it about now. :-)

It's possible that this all was very unwise the day before my max effort leg/back day; but we'll see tomorrow. LoL! Happy lifting to all! :-)

I'm wasted. legs=toast

well duh ... you're a monster, not a superhero. :-)