im in the forth week of a new program, been doing 4 sessions a week… from week one to week three my bench press went from 27.5 kg dumbells to 35kg dumbells… but i am just back from the gym, and i cudnt do 35s and only one set of 30s… i had to drop to 27.5 and struggled on the last set of both bench and incline bench… but the strange thing is i then went to do some tricep press downs and i was able to do another 2.5kg from last week… wat is goiong on???
i was wondering could this be attributed to my low carb diet… basically im eating nothing white, protein shake for breakfast and another after training and then 4 other meals throughout the day. i am also on HRX and Norateen. It really pissed me off in the gym and i went and punished my self with a fartlek around the rugby pitches…
Bad day at work. It happens. Don’t get down about it. If it happens again the next workout, you need to analyze anything that has changed. If you’re doing a low carb diet correctly, then lack of energy should not be the problem.
How do you structure your warmups? Are you just going straight in to your work sets or do you work up to them? It sounds like you weren’t ready for the bench but were warmed up by the time you got to your arms.
However, if you didn’t eat before enough before your workout that would affect your compound lifts more than your arms and your arms may have been more rested because of the lighter bench workout they are used to.
If you have higher carbs on your workout days you should lift bigger weights than if you didn’t eat as many carbs.
If you’re doing a low-carb diet, keep in mind that in order to gain muscle you must take in carbohydrates. Muscle size isn’t all about more protein gain. It’s also about more glycogen storage.
i dont eat before my work outs… usually train in the mornings or first thing whenever i get up… take 2 HRX, 2 Norateen and a ulti vitamin before hand and drink about 2 Litres of water during a workout.
dont stretch… but i usually do a lighter set to warm up… for example, 12 reps with 12 kg dumbells. then into heavier and lower rep stuff.
i have also started getting a recurring pain in my left wrist… especially after deadlift sessions and anything else requireing grip. ive started doing dead hangs and other grip stuff to improve my grip… but i was thinking of buying a pair of gloves/straps… wat is the forums opinion of this??
i dont use any straps or things in the gym or even any protection on the pitch… i kinda think it will aid my lifting artificially and not help me on the pitch.
TheDudeAbides - What do u mean “doing a low carb diet corectly?”
i havnt felt all that tired like i expected i would and i have lost abit of weight. have huge cravings for crisps and toasted white bread… been fighting them off so for
thanks for all the replys… and plz keep them coming.
[quote]thosebananas wrote:
i dont eat before my work outs… usually train in the mornings or first thing whenever i get up… take 2 HRX, 2 Norateen and a ulti vitamin before hand and drink about 2 Litres of water during a workout…Scott
[/quote]
If that’s the way you are prepping for your workouts, you should expect the results you’re getting.
Eat a proper breakfast with enough carbs to fuel the workout. Oatmeal works great. There are a number of people who claim that you should do cardio on an empty stomach and I’m not going to debate that, but resistance training is different. If you are very overweight you should make fat loss a priority and accept reduced performance in the gym, but if you are trying to maintain growth in strength and muscle, you need to fuel your workouts and your recovery. Carb cycling will allow fat loss and muscle gain within the same micro cycle. If losing fat is the priority, you should be in calorie deficit more than you are in calorie surplus.
not at all worried about weight… wud need to lose fat but its not as important as muscle gain. i play prop so i need basically as much weight as i can carry for 80mins… ok i will try some porridge and water after my tablets and before my workout… do u think this will help greatly?
see thats the other thing… ive been makeing big gains in the leg department… and saturdays session i felt strong and solid, upped the weights my squat by another 10 kilos… Paying for it today and yesterday thou…
what do you think about gloves/straps for deadlift etc…?
[quote]thosebananas wrote:
what do you think about gloves/straps for deadlift etc…?[/quote]
Don’t. Unless you really, really, really need to. Do not use gloves. They essentially increase the bar thickness making it more difficult to hold onto. Of course, I think I saw a video of Ronnie Coleman deadlifting (800+ lbs) and he wore gloves.
Anyway, don’t use them unless you’re afraid of calluses. Straps should be avoided as well. I used them on Friday, but didn’t wrap them around my wrist. I used it for extra grip because I don’t have chalk, my shirt was soaked, and my hands kept slipping. Chalk. Definitely get chalk before anything else.
he’s from ireland most gym dont allow chalk over here!
sounds to me you were just having an off day. .
try your carbs and protein in the morning in moderation but dont go mad!
gloves are for ladies
Straps. . . meh if ur grip is crap. . dont use them until ur heaviest set. . when your finished your set hold the heavier weight in your hands without straps for as long as you can until failure. . do a few sets of this at the end of your workout
training at anytime in the day will boost your metabolism and if the quality of your session is suffering because its an early morning session then leave it a little later and see if youre stronger in the evening. . . some people just arent as strong in the mornin
im in glasgow atm playing uni rugby and club rugby. i played for Royal School Armagh and now Armagh 1sts when im home… ive been on a few youth representative teams aswell…lster Schools and U19’s…
well the weight will be hanging and its usually de fingers/ grip that give out first
they arent gonna help your grip at all
u have bad wrists/ ever get pain in them?
if not dont bother
the maximuscle straps are alright. . take a bit of breaking in tho
another thing ur dumbell warmup is a bit light do a set of 15’s and a set of 25’s for 3/4 reps get the muscle firing properly then go into your work sets yea?
give it a go. . . other than that what did you feel failed . . arms? shoulders? chest? maybe your technique wasnt as good? let the dumbells stray out too wide? there’s a load of reasons why the lifts were down. . soldier on and give the 35s a whack in your next session
I would say eat something before hand. For me, my lifts are weaker in the morning then they are in the late afternoon early evening. I found for myself that the late afternoon early evening time is when i have the most energy and perform the best. You should try lifting at different times of the day to see what works best for you. If you don’t have any other options then i guess you are screwed.
lol… i lift in the morning because although we are blessed with a very good free weights gym, at night it is full of trendys bicep curling in the rack, spot benching 30 kilos. and generally far too packed. (went one night and there were 2 rows of three benchs, do incline bench and no one was working in with anyone) at night they have terrible chart music on… i like getting in in the morning when its cold, and its just me and the iron. also im pretty busy throughout the day with uni etc… i usually do legs on a sunday afternoon thou and they have been improving no end so i think i am prob stronger later in the day.
first time i failed on a set, my left wrist gave out first… the weight went wide left and then my form fucked up. sets after werent great from then on. might be a mental thing.
does anyone find lifting with someone whos doing the same weights and got the same goals… makes you lift more, ie the competition to beat each other?
i can deadlift 185 kg… thats up from 140 in december, and it was always my grip giving out, so i did some sets on the fat bar and a lot of dead hangs and that seems to have worked althought i still think i could pump out higher numbers if my grip didnt fail.
if you dont play rugby, this will make no sense to you… but i dont understand y its always my left wrist/grip giving out first. i play tight head prop, so therefore i bind to my hookr with my left hand and thats wat takes all the force of our scrums drive and theres aswell. im no genious but i assume that is a lot of weight/pressure and i dont think my grip has failed on the pitch. i get the highest numbers every year and my left is always slightly higher.
so it
always worries me that me left wrist/gri[p isnt as strong in the gym.