I’m kind of nutty in the way I see things, symmetry fascinates me, and I have weird little pet peeves with things that don’t matter at all, so it’s only natural I have some when lifting.
First off, the plates must be the same brand across the whole bar. I don’t care if both 45s are the same, and the 35s are the same but a different brand, it has to all look the same. Clips have to be the same. Plates must all face one way.
Never use two 2.5s or two 5s for a 5 or a 10, or anything similar. My hands have to be exactly evenly spaced out. When I squat, both feet need to be an equal distance from the sides of the rack, so I look perfectly centered in the rack in the mirror.
I bet I have more but I forget them. If it has anything to do with symmetry, I’m on it. It’s really quite ridiculous, actually. I recently bought Exile on Main Street, on CD, and am kind of pissed that on the original vynil, the sides were split up 5 songs/4 songs and disc two was 4 songs/5 songs. ARGH. They gotta be the same.
The reason that old timers used to have the hollow parts facing in is because the plates would rattle off the bar when doing oly lifts or deadlifts or any pull off of the floor. You might say that doesn’t make any sense but the way that plates were built back then, if you tried to set them on their edge they would tip inwards, towards the hollow part of the plate.
Therefore, when you’d drop the weights they would tend to bounce to the inside, and they wouldn’t rattle off of the bar. You might say that is stupid because they should just use pins/clamps, but if you’ve ever done alot of pulling from the ground in one session you learn that pins won’t hold the plates on, they’ll get pushed off too.
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.
[quote]danmaftei wrote:
I’m kind of nutty in the way I see things, symmetry fascinates me, and I have weird little pet peeves with things that don’t matter at all, so it’s only natural I have some when lifting.
First off, the plates must be the same brand across the whole bar. I don’t care if both 45s are the same, and the 35s are the same but a different brand, it has to all look the same. Clips have to be the same. Plates must all face one way.
Never use two 2.5s or two 5s for a 5 or a 10, or anything similar. My hands have to be exactly evenly spaced out. When I squat, both feet need to be an equal distance from the sides of the rack, so I look perfectly centered in the rack in the mirror…[/quote]
same here, even collars have to be pointing in the same direction, racking the bar has to dead centered, heavier plates always loaded first
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.[/quote]
I did this today while benching, and I thought about how many people would go ahead and bench with the bench askew of the ceiling tiles.
just drives me nuts if the bench isn’t lined up with the ceiling tiles!
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
BIGRAGOO wrote:
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.
I did this today while benching, and I thought about how many people would go ahead and bench with the bench askew of the ceiling tiles.
just drives me nuts if the bench isn’t lined up with the ceiling tiles![/quote]
I’m a stickler for it. That’s the first thing I do when I go to a bench, even before I select the weight.
Once, when going into a squat workout on top of a foul hangover, I made myself puke before I lifted. I figured breakfast was coming up one way or another that morning and I’d rather drop it off at the toilet rather than have it come spraying out with 400 lbs on my back. Ahhh- good times.
[quote]DieselWeasel wrote:
I always try to defecate before I start training. If my bowels are empty, it seems like I do better.[/quote]
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
tGunslinger wrote:
BIGRAGOO wrote:
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.
I did this today while benching, and I thought about how many people would go ahead and bench with the bench askew of the ceiling tiles.
just drives me nuts if the bench isn’t lined up with the ceiling tiles!
I’m a stickler for it. That’s the first thing I do when I go to a bench, even before I select the weight.[/quote]
Hm, I do that too. I find I naturally start aligning the bar to the ceiling tiles, and if they don’t match up, my form gets totally messed up.
Another wierd thing I do is I click my heels before any set of standing lifts (squats, deads, cleans, etc). If my feet aren’t at the very back of my shoes, the entire lift just feels off.
[quote]redsox348984 wrote:
of coarse the plate son both sides have to be exactly the same or i wouldnt be able to do a set without it bothering me. i also always have to use the same bar and the same bench at the gym or i feel it throws me off.[/quote]
I will spend an extra 5 minutes looking for matching plates if I have to.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.[/quote]
Yes, I have gotten up and moved the entire bench to assure proper alignment. Set up for the lift, stood up and moved it again.
[quote]ledfist wrote:
The hollow parts of plates face inwards… I learned this a while ago, but never learned why. Any reasons?[/quote]
I wondered this myself. I have a theory though.
My guess is so the plates don’t rattle as much. Since you stack them larger plates to smaller plates, you have the outside ring of the smaller plates snugged up against the flat surface of the larger plates. Less rattle.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
I forgot about this one: I alingn a bench so that the bar is perfectly parallel with the ceiling tile lines when I lay under it. I can keep the bar in the correct position that way.[/quote]
Before I bench, I tap my toes on the gound repeatedly until it feels right for me to stop tapping and unrack the bar. I always wonder what my spotter thinks as I do this . . .