Lifting way more than I thought I was!

[ZenGwen]

So when I did my induction at the gym, I had this skinny kid who knew nothing about the weights. He seemed surprised that I wanted to know about them, but told me that the barbell bar I've been using since weighed 7 kg. (He also told me he couldn't do a pull-up. Since then I've only ever seen him wiping down equipment, I'm annoyed they gave him to me for my induction.)

This morning was a deadlift day, and using that bar I lifted what was already a personal best for me, 40 kg not counting the bar. On the way out, I stopped to ask the guy at the front desk what the weights of the different bars actually were.

The bar I've been using doesn't weigh 7 kilos, it weighs 20. So I lifted 60 kg this morning!

Bonus points: the conversation went like this...

"Well all the larger bars including the ones which stay on the bench and in the rack weigh 20 kilos, and the shorter ones we usually recommend for females weigh te-"

"DUDE! That means I deadlifted my bodyweight just now!"

"*look of terror at tiny blue woman*"

Okay, I'm actually still 5 kg off lifting my bodyweight. But that feels damn good.

And yes I'm perpetually annoyed at the "women should be lifting tiny weights if any" stuff.

[Loren Wade]

A bodyweight deadlift is an awesome accomplishment! Congrats!!

[ZenGwen]

Thanks!

My thighs are killing me now, though.

[cosmia]

That's fantastic! Best surprise ever. I wonder if thinking the bar weighed less than it did helped you lift it. Not that you wouldn't have been able to anyway, but I think bigger numbers can seem intimidating. ... Or maybe that's just me.

[wildross]

Congrats! It's always nice to have surprises like that.

[ZenGwen]

Thanks guys! It really was an awesome surprise.

Cosmia - I don't know whether it for deadlifts, but I've definitely found that more weights psyche me out for bench presses. I think it's because the first time I moved from doing it in a Smith Machine to free weights, I basically dropped a barbell on my face! I use this bar for squats and presses too, so it's going to be "heavier" next time I do presses, I hope it doesn't freak me out. I don't think I will - I'll just feel badass.

[zenmom]

Awesome accomplishment! Congrats!

[67alecto]

Thanks guys! It really was an awesome surprise.

I think it's because the first time I moved from doing it in a Smith Machine to free weights, I basically dropped a barbell on my face!

Be sure to position yourself so your head is under the bar when it is on the rack. When you lift, you should be positioning it so it is over your chest - that is, if you're going to drop it, it should be coming down on your chest rather than your face/neck.

For that reason, if you are benching alone, be sure you you are using a cage with safety bars that will prevent serious injury.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

For that reason, if you are benching alone, be sure you you are using a cage with safety bars that will prevent serious injury.

This. I love the cage at my gym, I feel so much more confident lifting heavy things because I know if I fail I'm not going to kill myself. That extra confidence helps me lift heavier.

Also: CONGRATS!

[andygates]

Also, learn the Roll of Shame. If the bar's not going up, push it away as it comes down, so it lands on your belly. Scooch it to your hip-crease, sit up, and roll it off your thighs. Practice makes confidence.

And WOOT on the deadlifts, awesome stuff.

(that 7kg is for a noddy home barbell: if your gym staffer can't tell them apart he obviously hasn't picked one up!)

[The Purple Diane]

Bonus points: the conversation went like this...

"Well all the larger bars including the ones which stay on the bench and in the rack weigh 20 kilos, and the shorter ones we usually recommend for females weigh te-"

"DUDE! That means I deadlifted my bodyweight just now!"

"*look of terror at tiny blue woman*"...

Hahahaha that is awesome!

And congrats, that is BADASS!

[ZenGwen]

Be sure to position yourself so your head is under the bar when it is on the rack. When you lift, you should be positioning it so it is over your chest - that is, if you're going to drop it, it should be coming down on your chest rather than your face/neck.

For that reason, if you are benching alone, be sure you you are using a cage with safety bars that will prevent serious injury.

Yep, I've figured it out now. This morning I was lifting alone and used the cage, better form, etc. The only problem with the cage is that I've no idea how I'm supposed to count the weight of the bar. It's a lot lighter in the first place, but then using the cage itself I don't feel like I'm really doing as much work... dunno. I just didn't count it when I logged my exercises this morning. (Personal record on squats anyway, 45 kg, hell yeah.)

This. I love the cage at my gym, I feel so much more confident lifting heavy things because I know if I fail I'm not going to kill myself. That extra confidence helps me lift heavier.

Also: CONGRATS!

Thanks

Also, learn the Roll of Shame. If the bar's not going up, push it away as it comes down, so it lands on your belly. Scooch it to your hip-crease, sit up, and roll it off your thighs. Practice makes confidence.

And WOOT on the deadlifts, awesome stuff.

(that 7kg is for a noddy home barbell: if your gym staffer can't tell them apart he obviously hasn't picked one up!)

Thanks!

I really think he hadn't. He recommended a couple of weights machines to me, but was really not enthused when I said that actually, I just wanted to know about the free weights. I seem to remember him saying "Okay well they're all over here... that big cage at the back, you always get the really big guys over there... this is the safety cage... there's a couple different types of bars around the corner there... and some of the stuff here has attachments for you to do pull-ups, like see here? I can't do one though."

Like, okay, thanks for the very useful information. The point was really not so much that I didn't have eyes. It was that I didn't have muscles. Sigh.

Hahahaha that is awesome!

And congrats, that is BADASS!

Thanks. I think I'm starting to get some respect around the gym for being the tiny blue chick lifting weights.

[Guest Snake McClain]

This is aweseom! Damn good job! Show those dumbos working there what for. The other day I asked 5 out of the 5 gym employees to watch my deadlift form...3 of them said they wouldn't know. 2 of them after watching me I asked "hey so how does it look? Right or is there something i'm doing wrong?" They both sort of looked and acted as if they weren't sure what they were talking about. One said "it looks good to me." The other guy was like "why do you keep it so close to your shins?" Ridiculous.

anyway sorry for the derail. great job. keep it up and keep updating us. i'd love to see how this progresses.

[wildross]

You should be able to use a full Olympic bar with a safety cage. Get one off an unused bench...

[Guest Snake McClain]

You should be able to use a full Olympic bar with a safety cage. Get one off an unused bench...

You know i've never considered doing bench press in one of these. I actually don't do bench at all yet but i'm considering starting. Right now i'm in the beginner RSG and not sure if i should implement some of these other exercises yet.

[sumdawgtwigg]

awesome! I'm sure that was a nice suprise.

[67alecto]

The only problem with the cage is that I've no idea how I'm supposed to count the weight of the bar. It's a lot lighter in the first place, but then using the cage itself I don't feel like I'm really doing as much work... dunno.

Hmm - I don't follow you. The cage allows for full range of motion - all it does is have safety bars so the weight doesn't fall on you.

Let me clarify what I mean by cage. This is the mode my gym has:

The horizontal bars on the side can be placed in any of the notches so you can adjust to the exercise (for bench press, for example, I put them on the 2nd from the bottom).

The bar isn't part of the cage - it's typically a 45lb Olympic bar.

Were you using a Smith machine? That typically has a lighter bar, and the bar is attached to two vertical bars so it can only travel up and down.

This is the Smith machine at my gym:

[ZenGwen]

Yeah - the thing I mean by "cage" is kind of an overgrown smith machine. The bar is on rails up and down, but those rails also slide horizontally. So you can do whatever barbell exercise you'd normally do on it, but it's still on rails. I'm not really sure what the term for it is.

Aha! Thank you google. It looks like this:

There's a normal cage too, which yes, I could use an Olympic bar on. (I believe the one that's kept on it normally is an Olympic bar, actually.) But apparently it's rugby training season or something, the last few weeks there's been a team of guys who show up about 5 minutes before me, and that's like the first thing they take up. It's kind of annoying! I usually have to just grab the first open space I can find, whether that's a spot on the floor with a bar, a cage, the smith machine thing, whatever, and then start on a lower weight than I normally would because there aren't enough plates to go round. But they're all really nice guys so I can't honestly hold it against them.

[jrr0405]

Now this is a seriously awesome woot!!!