Why?

Caffeine is an addictive drug, man. shouldn't have caffeine

@Alexander Volk#7256 Beyond that being your opinion, there is nothing substantial suggesting that having a cup of coffee before you go lift is retarded.

Unless maybe you have an incredibly weak heart that doesn't need the added strain.

Literally nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

To Jacob, yes, a stimulant might give you a better workout if it gets you "in the zone" so to speak. That's literally the entire point of those pre-workout mixes.

Most generally have creatine mixes, which would be the only thing that may ACTUALLY boost your lifts, everything else is just a concentration boost.

just do sips

@Jacob i take ephedrine and caffeine before working out fasted. it ups your heart rate and you burn fat faster

i work out first thing int he morning without eating though

Anybody know of a 1" bar that can hold more than 250lbs?

For 5x5 stronglifts program.

@Sonic See if these guys have anything...

https://www.roguefitness.com/weightlifting-bars-plates/barbells

Thanks I'll check it out @Deleted User

@Sonic I would recommend the Ohio power bar. It's only $250, easy to maintain, has phenomenal knurling and integrity, and a weight capacity of like 800lbs

I have one myself and couldn't be happier

The Ohio power is legit. And it looks sexy as hell

My brother has the black chrome, it looks aesthetic and is easier to maintain. I think it's like 40 or 50 dollars more though

It is very aesthetic for sure.

While we're talking bars. I have a bad wrist and using a curl bar kills it. So I would like another alternative. I hate to use an Olympic bar and would prefer one shorter.

@JesseJames I think Rogue sells minies

@Deleted User 👍🏼thanks brother

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