Nadia, that’s very interesting and something I have never thought of. I figure strong is strong. I don’t see a ‘fast’ in that equation. Do you descend slow or drop into it fast?
1/17/2011
Press 3x5 60 (83% 1RM, 52% bw)
Deadlift 1x5 175 (88% 1RM, 152% bw) < new 5 RM yay!
I was very happy with both these, because I failed at each last week. I did have to pause about 5 seconds before the 5th dl rep, but I got it. Felt it in hamstrings and lower back, but not in a scary way. I do worry I’m lifting with too much back.
Squat 2x5 90 lb (70% 1RM, 78% bw) < No lurching whatsoever and I could feel solid tensing of my quads and core. I may finally be getting these right.
Chinups 1x5 at 126 lbs (118 bw + 8) < This may be the heaviest I have been in my entire life. I won’t even need to add weight at this rate. Last rep was hard but not impossible, and the blinking lights were pretty.
Sounds like you’re making great progress in the lifts!
Personally, I use gloves for a lot of the exercises, and sometimes I just work through it.
Guess it’s your preference. I <3 gloves.
Between you and me, they also make me feel bad-ass. But shh ;D
Call me kinky, but I like to feel the iron in my bare hand. Congrats on your prs. Sounds like across the board progress–very nice. I’ve never seen blinking lights when doing pullups–perhaps I need to try harder!
And by slow, I meant slow as in lacking explosivity out of the hole. I always figured I was slow to stand up because I was weak. I notice that my benching speed varies depending on the weight–lighter weight, faster bench. But squat…not so much. I’m a one speed wonder as a squatter…heavy weight, light weight no matter. Squatting is a would you just stand up already experience for me.
Inverted pulls on the smith rack is good for the bench. One should use a lot of lats for stabilization and power when benching so the horizontal row motion is good. I add them in once in while, just 'cuz I suck at them.
No gloves…buy a pedi-egg and shave the calluses down. I’ve also used cuticle remover on them and it works well also.
I’ve never worn gloves. I’ve never shaved a callous. Never ripped one either. I think wearing gloves may be asking for trouble when you don’t wear them. But I could be wrong.
Thanks for the advice, everyone! Nikki, badassery aside, I think I’ll keep going gloveless. The callouses don’t seem as bad this evening as they did when I finished my set, so I’ll wait until my lovers start complaining.
Lil, thank you! I appreciate your insight. Next month I’m going to change my program after I test my maxes again and I will add those rows.
Thanks for the compliments, Kimba. I really feel like I am on the right track right now. Even breathing feels all right…
Nadia, you’re kinky. do you think it’s a lower/upper thing? ie do you have slow twitch below and faster twitch above?
I have a foot file (kind of pumice stone, sandpaper, or pumice-like thing) to keep the calluses fairly minimal. if i don’t keep on top of them i tend to get blisters under the calluses and when the bar rips the blisters open i’m not very happy. could be that power cleans / snatches are worse for that than deadlifts, though, i don’t know.
sorry I get so excited!–and on the callous thing–> i’m a baddy red devil over your shoulder and proclaim how I love my gloves. I wear em for all my training, I don’t care who scoffs!! its horrible with the dryness here in denver! my hands look like lobsters year round already!
sorry–i’m just excited you are a Denver pl person to:) makes me happy!
It’s not a matter of how much, just how long. If I did my workouts in 30 minutes no gloves, it won’t matter because the time won’t permit me to complain from lifting with callouses.
But, my workouts are 2 hours and even if I don’t start off wearing gloves, if I do rows or DLs and intend to touch a bar later in the workout, I’ll need the gloves.
Do you descend slow or drop into it fast?
