I always find bench press the hardest to judge myself on what weight I can handle. Doing 152.5lbs for my work sets today, 3 sets of 8. I got through 2 so far so here's hoping I can hit all 8 reps of the third set. In the past this is usually where I get stuck, missing the full 8 by just 1 or 2 reps.

Wow, last rep was difficult but I made the whole set. Not sure if I will be able to make a 2.5 increment to the weight next time. I may try to redo 152.5 again, or just add 1.25lbs next time.

Doing heavy incline bench after regular bench each push day helped my regular bench press tremendously, idk why.

something to try, best people to talk to for increasing bench would be the plers though.

Your shoulders might have been lacking in pressing power and the incline bench helped your shoulders catch up

Do you usually fail heavy reps on the bottom or top half of the rom?

I'm a believer in incline bench but can't really tell a difference in doing decline or not. What's your opinion on decline @BigBadSaxon - ID

OHP master race

I don't do decline and haven't done it in years

Incline I do once in a blue moon

I just bench, flies, and dumbbell press

Gotcha. Thanks.

Do bench and dumbbell press more or less target the same muscles? (I do both because DB press is fun)

Bench is better for strength because you can load greater weights, dumbbell will correct any muscular imbalances which is good for injury prevention and symmetry. Barbell works your triceps more, dumbbell works your biceps more (I know it's a pressing movement but studies show high levels of bicep activation in dumbbell press).

Especially if you follow a 4-2 tempo with dumbbell it's really good for hypertrophy due to time under tension

Let me know if you need me to extrapolate that further

@BryceB-ND thanks for that feedback I'll look into that

@BigBadSaxon - ID ty goy

@here I haven't lifted since Tuesday, but all day today and some of yesterday it feels like my upper right abdomen is sticking out. I don't see any outer signs and it doesn't cause pain but it is uncomfortable. Any ideas? Seems kind of similar to this https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=7344991, though I don't remember flexing and I don't have soreness, but it does feel tired so it might be spasming a little

Any pain with coughing?

@Olivia M nope!

Any changes in diet?

Nope

Did you ingest a decent amount of sodium in the last couple days?

Also for the record I was doing Squats and Bench, not sure if that indicates anything

Definitely pushing myself hard on Bench

Might be gas. Or you may of just twisted a muscle.

If it’s not causing you pain, perhaps you’re retaining fluid for whatever reason. Try drinking some room temp lemon water for a day or so

An inguinal herniawould be painful

So luckily you aren’t in pain

Hmm thanks Olivia. We did have Indian food on Wednesday. I've had Indian food before, but it's the first time in a long while. Could that have too much sodium?

lol any take out food is bound to be loaded with sodium unfortunately

haha could be the culprit then, I will drink some lemon water. Thanks @Olivia M

Thanks @CJ-NJ/NY

No prob hope it works!

I'll write an update later!

Feel better. Please do.

Thanks again @Olivia M @CJ-NJ/NY I can pretty confidently say it was a spasming muscle now. I put some tiger balm (muscle relaxer on it) and it relaxed right away. I'd say the immediate problem is solved, I'll look up what I can do to prevent muscle strain in the future.
I wonder, do lifting belts help with this particular issue? I'm still fairly new and haven't been using one. I just ordered one since I've been meaning to get one anyway. And lifting shoes (been working in my socks)

Have never focused on PRs but hit 3x3 at 300 lbs on deadlift today and it was pretty ez. Just never attempted that much weight before. Feels good

Do you take supplements? Bcaas or anything like that? @ThisIsChris

@Olivia M nothing except whey protein powder. Do you suggest anything?

If you want to go more natural I’d say supplement you potassium via coconut water. A lot of time muscle pain is d/t electrolyte imbalance

General muscle pain I should say. Specific or targeted muscle pain is a different story

Good to know, thanks @Olivia M bananas are readily available so unless there is something specific about coconut water then I will probably start eating more bananas (for the potassium)

If you watch your macros, bananas are loaded w carbs I’m sure you know. Potassium can be so difficult to get without screwing with your macros but things like “lite salt” and cream of tarter are nice little secrets for supplementation

Hey guys I started working out last October right around when I joined IE, and I’ve been eating healthy for the most part, no fast food or soda but I don’t think I’m making the gains I could be. Should I use protein powder if any kind or just go natural? Also any diets would be helpful. ( I weigh 148 pounds and I am 5’11.)

Pic related.

Thank you very much for the pointers @Olivia M !

@The Good Goy do you track Marcos?

you don't look bad goy, but u gotta eat big if u wanna get big, nigga

Caloric surplus, plenty of protein (and carbs imo) + heavy compound lifts.

Alright thanks @Deleted User and @Olivia M I don’t know what that is?

@Deleted User BTW how much is a lot like eat till I’m full or eat past that?

https://blog.fitbit.com/counting-macros-can-help-reach-health-goals/

past that, usually

it's easier for some people

you have to track your macros if you want to be serious/very efficient about it

@The Good Goy

@The Good Goy it’s the ratio of carbs, protein, and fat that you get from your calories

Depending on your fitness goals, you can customize where you want to get the bulk of your calories from. For example if you want to bulk, you may want to consider increasing carb intake pre-workout and overall increasing the amount of healthy fats you consume.

Oh alright thanks @Olivia M#0852 and @Deleted User

@The Good Goy#1759 thanks for asking. I’ve got nearly the same build as you and started right around October as well.

I’ve been trying to eat as much protein as I can, but I was avoiding carbs somewhat, so I guess I’ll stop doing that.

I recently discovered that I might be lactose intolerant, so that has been fairly problematic.

You can certainly do paleo/keto/avoid carbs and avoid muscle but it's not recommended. Definitely not for a beginner's bulk

@ThisIsChris watch out for ventricular hernia.

apparently people at the local YMCA don't know how to put weights back

it's so annoying

there was a dude taking up a squat rack to do stretches

yea YMCA's are usually filled with knuckle heads

yeah same thing for my university gym. Even the workers do it wrong at the end of the day

Check out this bodyweight workout I came up with: 25 push ups, 10 pull ups, 10 dips, 10 chin ups, 1 min plank. Perform all those then rest 2-3 min, repeat as many times as you can.

I used to do something similar to that every night before I re joined a gym. I think it helps but I don't get gains from it like I do the heavy lifts.

I'm no expert though so maybe I just wasn't doing enough.

Yeah if you’re trying to get big heavy lifts are definitely better

100 pushups in the AM then stretches to help shoulder mobility

I'm in need of some advice on doing OHP in a basement with a low ceiling. I've been doing them kneeling, or on one knee. Anybody dealing with the same issue? What's your solution?

@Sonic Sitting at the rack

Ok thank you. I'll give that a shot. Appreciate the response!

💪🏻

Can anyone recommend a good wrist brace. I need it for support. I don't really like the big bulky old style.

What exercises do you need it for

One thing to make sure is you're not doing "gay wrist", aka letting your wrist bend backwards on exercises like bench press. You want your hands and wrists to be in line to maximize force output and reduce joint stress

Just a fun tip for everyone. Also you can say fag wrist if you're into that

The main issue I have with it are when working with dumbells, using cable machine to do arms and curling machines kills it. When using a straight bar for curling it doesn't hurt it but if I use a curl bar it kills it.

That may be rooted in a mobility issue in your forearms and wrists. I would suggest also looking into some stretches for long-term improvement. "Front Rack Mobility" would be a useful topic to research.

As I age I am getting better at stretching all the time. It is the result of an injury.

I've struggled with wrist pain off-and-on for a couple of years, curl/ez bar would always make the pain flare up. I haven't had much pain at all in the past ~6 months, after using a wrist brace for several weeks and just lifting heavy shit all the time. Think I eased the wrist strain and then gained some hand/joint strength. shrug

What kind of brace?

https://youtu.be/qKZ1Ra1Ns3s

this tbh

Anyone else bench in the squat rack when it gets heavy? I’ve been doing it when the gym isn’t crowded and it’s pretty sweet especially since no spotter

@JesseJames#9618

@peytonT absolutely at the gym I'm at it's set up that way on purpose

It was some effort but worth. I finally got to use a bench wide enough for my shoulders

@Deleted User thanks brother.

@JesseJames#9618 No problem. I sometimes wear wrist wraps (Nordic lifting brand) for weights, but I wore the Mueller Fitted Wrist Support at work for several weeks and noticed a significant difference/improvement.