Graduation to barbell

[gabrielle_of_poteidia]

I've had an exciting month!

 

So during lockdown, I kinda had to switch from leg press machines to squats. I had some dumbells that I'd been using at home for this, and now our covid situation has largely improved (current local blip notwithstanding) and our gyms have reopened. I switched to using the bags, but having found the 15kg now to be too light, I had to go up. Only I couldn't shift the 20kg one onto my shoulders.

 

I had no choice - I had to learn how to use the barbell. So, under instruction, I set foot in a squat cage for the first time and did my squats with a 20kg olympic bar. Like a grownup!! I'm not gonna lie, this is thrilling for me! I've now added weights gradually as I got used to it so I'm now doing 5x5 with a total of 27.5kg on my shoulders.

 

I've also finally got the hang of deadlifts. I'd tried before but wound up getting back pain, so I did a bit of research and found that I wasn't bending my legs enough. I've changed my posture and this seems to have improved things massively. I'm doing 8x4 with 35kg now, and it feels great! I'm loving finally being able to play with barbells!

 

Hoping to level up to 30kg and 40kg respectively next week.

[Scaly Freak]

Welcome to the wonderful world of lifting with barbells! The possibilities are literally nearly endless.  

 

Barbells demand respect and focus, but they are not nearly as scary as they might seem. Once you're comfortable with the squat and deadlift, I highly recommend branching out into other barbell lifts, like row or press. Barbell row is a fantastic upper body workout.

[N0rdicNinja]

Bad ass! Like anything the barbell is a tool, but it's one of the most useful tools for building overall strength. Forces you to incorporate so many muscles to get the job done. Just concentrate on good form and it can take you far!

[gabrielle_of_poteidia]

Thanks guys! I'm really enjoying it - it's a totally different experience. I got up to pressing twice my body weight on the leg press machine for 1 rep (I did a pyramid workout last year to see what I could do) but it's a whole different exercise when you're not sat in a chair isolating the leg muscles. I've found it's really hit my core in a way that resistance machines + ab workouts never did - my planks have gotten easier, and my waist seems more defined (I am in calorie deficit atm, but I've never really felt 'lean' before). I'm finding all those little variations that can make a difference in terms of how your body works, so I'm using those to tweak things.

 

For eg, I was out walking with some friends a few weeks ago and my friend stepped up onto a thigh-high tree trunk effortlessly, but when I tried to follow her I couldn't do it. Turns out, I have weak hip flexors. So I read that if you keep your lower legs more upright when squatting and your knees no further forward than your toes (stick your butt out more, I guess?) you lift more from the hips and glutes than the quads. Apparently? So I'm working on that so I too can climb on tree trunks!

 

I'm looking into stuff like back back extensions and glute bridges with the barbell - the latter partly because I saw this video of Brie Larson and figured this is what living the dream looks like! There's a whole bunch of other stuff too. I updated my Quests on NF last week to include some of my new achievements, and there were so many unique barbell exercises listed in the Warrior category! Looks fun!