Building your own gym equipment

On Jan 7, 8:06 pm, Bartleby <arroy... DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> The bar never touches my chest. It descends to within an inch or two
> from my chest and then up it goes
> (hopefully).

Well, what's the point of keeping it an inch or two off your chest?

In competitions, you'll need to have it touch your chest.

> Not quite sure about that. You told me low reps and go relatively
> heavy. I like
> that advice, but that's not what I think of as traditional
> bodybuilding.

What I'm saying is that beginners' bodybuilding is just beginners'
powerlifting (only with a big emphasis on the proper diet).

> I think of traditional bodybuilding as a lot of isolation work.

Yes, bodybuilding will be much more concerned with "smaller exercises"
believed to really shape a muscle. But that's more for advanced
levels -- as a beginner, you are trying to acquire mass (in order to
have something to shape!) and that means powerlifting.

> I'm a
> bench newbie,
> but I choose to do compound work. Of course, you're lifting weights
> and
> becoming more muscular so I suppose in a general sense weight-lifting
> is body building.

More than just "general" -- calisthenics is also bodybuilding and
weight-lifting, too, in that general sense, insofar as it also
develops strength. But I'm saying that the bodybuilding/weight-
lifting distinction is fairly useless at beginning and intermediate
levels of training.

I'm kind of half and half here: I am a bodybuilder insofar as I care
about my abs showing up and therefore have to start seriously
modifying my diet, but I'm more of a lifter because I don't only want
"show muscles" either. (Then again, who am I kidding -- I have a bad
back and have trouble putting on my socks!!)

> Good job with your progression. If you're doing inclines now, check
> in
> from time to time and post on that. I'd like to hear how you're doing
> and
> what you're learning.

Funny you should say that: I just got the Second Edition of Delavier's
much-lauded "Strength Training Anatomy" where he says that the
inclined bench press should be done at an angle between 45 and 60
degrees -- exactly what I was complaining about!!

So it just goes back to what I was saying before: everyone's body is
just very different, and opinions are a dime a dozen. In this Second
Edition, he has helpful little notes on possible injuries associated
with particular exercises, and I was much amused to read about
shoulder and elbow problems attendant to various presses...problems
which I don't have! (Though I do have "tennis/golf elbow" from an
unfortunate bout of chin-ups last summer -- yeah, last summer: still!)

Anyway, good luck on your lifts, too. I don't expect to move up
substantially in poundage until May or June -- but if you do, give a
shout-out!

On Jan 8, 1:35 pm, Prisoner at War <prisoner_at_... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jan 7, 8:06 pm, Bartleby <arroy... RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > The bar never touches my chest. It descends to within an inch or two
> > from my chest and then up it goes
> > (hopefully).
>
> Well, what's the point of keeping it an inch or two off your chest?

To protect one's shoulders. I could give you a number of books and
urls which say that, unlike the flat bench, the
bar should not touch the chest when doing incline bench presses. This
is particularly true as the incline degree
increases. To be fair, however, I could provide citations for
touching the chest when doing inclines too
>
> In competitions, you'll need to have it touch your chest.

I wasn't aware that there are formal incline competitions. The flat
bench, on the other hand, is one of the big three PL events.
>
> > Not quite sure about that. You told me low reps and go relatively
> > heavy. I like
> > that advice, but that's not what I think of as traditional
> > bodybuilding.
>
> What I'm saying is that beginners' bodybuilding is just beginners'
> powerlifting (only with a big emphasis on the proper diet).
>
> > I think of traditional bodybuilding as a lot of isolation work.
>
> Yes, bodybuilding will be much more concerned with "smaller exercises"
> believed to really shape a muscle. But that's more for advanced
> levels -- as a beginner, you are trying to acquire mass (in order to
> have something to shape!) and that means powerlifting.

I confess I know nothing about bodybuilding. I would still be
surprised to learn that traditional bodybuilding
necessarily involves beginners doing squats, deadlifts, and bench
presses.
>
> > I'm a
> > bench newbie,
> > but I choose to do compound work. Of course, you're lifting weights
> > and
> > becoming more muscular so I suppose in a general sense weight-lifting
> > is body building.
>
> More than just "general" -- calisthenics is also bodybuilding and
> weight-lifting, too, in that general sense, insofar as it also
> develops strength. But I'm saying that the bodybuilding/weight-
> lifting distinction is fairly useless at beginning and intermediate
> levels of training.

I don't know anything about this. If you say so
>
> I'm kind of half and half here: I am a bodybuilder insofar as I care
> about my abs showing up and therefore have to start seriously
> modifying my diet, but I'm more of a lifter because I don't only want
> "show muscles" either. (Then again, who am I kidding -- I have a bad
> back and have trouble putting on my socks!!)
>
> > Good job with your progression. If you're doing inclines now, check
> > in
> > from time to time and post on that. I'd like to hear how you're doing
> > and
> > what you're learning.
>
> Funny you should say that: I just got the Second Edition of Delavier's
> much-lauded "Strength Training Anatomy" where he says that the
> inclined bench press should be done at an angle between 45 and 60
> degrees -- exactly what I was complaining about!!

I don't see why the incline should fall outside the 10-45 degree
range, but I
suppose some people want even more shoulder emphasis
>
> So it just goes back to what I was saying before: everyone's body is
> just very different, and opinions are a dime a dozen. In this Second
> Edition, he has helpful little notes on possible injuries associated
> with particular exercises, and I was much amused to read about
> shoulder and elbow problems attendant to various presses...problems
> which I don't have! (Though I do have "tennis/golf elbow" from an
> unfortunate bout of chin-ups last summer -- yeah, last summer: still!)

More attention should be given to helping people learn to lift in ways
which maximize the potential benefit and minimize the risk
>
> Anyway, good luck on your lifts, too. I don't expect to move up
> substantially in poundage until May or June -- but if you do, give a
> shout-out!

Will do.