First day in the Gym - results and questions

V

VydorScope

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So I feel like a wimp now :) Its really apparent that the machines are nothing like the free weights. Heres what I pulled off :

**I do not know the weight of the bar, assuming 0 for now**

  • Squats - 10 @ 90lbs, 8 @ 110lbs, 8 @ 110lbs
  • Dead Lift - 10 @ 50lbs, 10 @ 70lbs, 10 @ 70lbs
  • Military Press - 8 @ 20lbs, 7 @ 20lbs, 4 @ 20lbs
  • Dumbbell Rows - 10 @ 15lbs, 10 @ 20lbs, 10 @25lbs, 10 @ 30lbs
  • Bench Press - 10@20lbs, 10 @30lbs, 10 @40lbs
  • Incline sit ups (name?) 3 sets of 10, barely.
  • 10 Pull ups, 10 chin ups, and 8 dips with 45 pounds of assist
So I am like a total wimp. Maxing out those machines, and then struggling like that on the weights is pretty annoying.

But the questions...

1) On the squat, how low do you go? I was going down as fas as I could but I watched some one else do a set and she only went down about 1/2 as far as I did.

2) When doing the military press my legs were shaking like crazy. Could not stop them. Is that a sign of to much weight , or bad form, or something?

3) On the bench, and military press, how wide should the grip be?

4) ON the squat, how wide should the stance be?

Thanks!
 
On the grips question...Usually do whatever feel most comfortable for you and which you can lift the most weight with :D

If its an olympic bar at the gym, it should weigh about 45lbs.

Shaking with the mili press maybe because your not used to squats and all the free weight exercises..

With squats, id at least go parralell, if not alllllll the way down :)
 
BigTomW said:
With squats, id at least go parralell, if not alllllll the way down :)
Click to expand...

What is parallel ? I have seen that mentioned a few times in articles, but I do not know what is meant by it. I know the definition of the word, just not how it applies to squats.

BigTomW said:
If its an olympic bar at the gym, it should weigh about 45lbs.
Click to expand...

It was a big bar and felt like it had some good heft to it. I could believe 45 pounds. I guess I will try to ask around.

Thanks!
 
VydorScope said:
3) On the bench, and military press, how wide should the grip be?
Click to expand...

I follow a thumb rule.

On the bar, there should be three grips. Like this | ---- --- ---- |. The "|" means weights, the "-" means a grip, and the empty spaces means smooth bar. Basically, the tip of your thumbs would touch the outside of the inwards of the two outside "-" (the two "----" ones) while you wrap four fingers around the bar. Once you get a grip of your positions, let your thumb complete the wrap grip of the bar. Keep your palms flat up. This will encourage maximum control. Becareful with your grips. If you don't keep your palm flat, you can let go of the bar, and injure yourself. Your head should be in the middle of of the three grips. Be sure once you lift the bar away from the stand that it is not coming down on your head, and onto your chest. Remember, you can easily let go of the bar if your grip is not good and havng it hover over your head could prove fatal.

VydorScope said:
4) ON the squat, how wide should the stance be?
Click to expand...

Shoulder width apart with your toes pointing outwards. When going down, be sure to look up, and exhibit maximum control by keeping your back as straight as possible. Let it bend naturally, but if you're leaning foward too much, you might injure yourself.
 
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sorry guys, parallel has nothing to do with degree of knee flexion or hamstring parallel or quad parallel (at least not hamstrings)
The hams and quads simply have too much shape to them. They are round, so it is impossible to draw a straight line over them (unless you have very little muscle, of course)
The crease in your hip should be parallel to the top of your kneecap. Illustrated here:
squata.jpg
 
Wow thanks for that picture. It helps. I was going a bit to far then, but the squater I was watching only went about 1/2 that distance.

BTW - ouch. Hurts to walk right now LOL. I think I definitely hit muscles that none of the machines had touched.
 
If you can go lower than parallel then thats fine. It makes your hip flexors work harder I believe. Many say the lower the better.

The other squater was either doing 1/4 squats or doesnt know how to squat effectively.
 
Does that look like I hit everything btw? It took longer then expected. But some of that time was wasted finding my way around the gym.
 
you are hitting everything, it might look a bit much, but it is all about if you can handle it or not.

Also, like others have said, going below parallel is fine, and often preferred unless you are training specifically for a PL competition (where the requirement is at least parallel)
 
Someone said to me about 2 months ago,

''here mate when you squat go all the way down''

I was going to parallel on that particular session. And i asked why...

And he said something about it will make you walk with a limp and limit your running ability.

I was like WTF, but i didnt say nothing to him. Anybody heard any bull**** like this?
 
For the military press, stagger your stance. If you're standing with your feet next to each other you're gonna be using your core for stability. Have one foot forward and one foot back, (but not too far) that way you don't have to struggle to stand up straight during the motion.
 
Just a recommendation you could have a go at doing a seated military press.
Seated is more difficult (for me) as I used to use my legs to help lift the weights when I was standing.
Don't worry/feel a wimp because of how much you lift, as long as you lift with good form your strength will build and you will keep clear from injury.
 
BigTomW said:
Someone said to me about 2 months ago,

''here mate when you squat go all the way down''

I was going to parallel on that particular session. And i asked why...

And he said something about it will make you walk with a limp and limit your running ability.

I was like WTF, but i didnt say nothing to him. Anybody heard any bull**** like this?
Click to expand...

This is almost as funny as funny as a personal trainer at my gym saying that squats were bad for you.
Personally, I tihnk doing standing military press is the best becuase you have to stabilize your whole body. I don't use my legs to help the press.

About the grip on bench press, personally I like to have a wider grip to focus more on the chest, though for the first year or so of lifting, I held the grip that Dallen explained. I like to put my ring fingers on the power rings (and I have pretty short arms). To explain, the power rings are the small 1 cm width of smooth bar. for diagram
[] is weights
- is the gripped bar
= is smooth bar
and | are the power rings

[]--|--==---==--|--[]
 
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