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Some general weights questions

  • 15-09-2008 9:39am
    #1
    corribdude
    Closed Accounts Posts: 221 ✭✭


    I've been lifting weights a few months and started doing the 5x5 program a few weeks ago.

    1). I'm wondering what weight you should be benching in relation to squats and deadlifting. I'm at around 60kg with the bench and 90 and 95 with squats and dl respectively. Is my bench relatively low compared to the other lifts? The squats and dl are flying up lately, I'm adding 5kg a week with no problem but the bench seems alot tougher.

    2). Also, most of the weight I've gained seems to be going to my lower body. I'd like to direct it more to the upper body for the forseeable future if that's possible. Would scaling back a bit on the squat and dl achieve this? Would adding in extra sets of bench/military press to the 5x5 program help? What about adding in isolation exercises or are these not worthwhile for building mass. I dont really want to do cut back on the squat and dl as I'm making nice gains with them however I dont want to put on another stone and find 90% of it has gone on my lower body again.

    3). I hadn't access to free weigths in my last workout so I was using some machines. One of them was the hamstring curl machine and I lifting alot less than I thought I'd be able to. Also my hams are still sore two days later. Generally I have hardly any soreness at all in any bodypart the next day after working out anymore so this leads me to believe that if my hams are sore I haven't been hitting them properly when working out. Should you be feeling it in your hams when doing the squat and dl, is there a method to use more hams in these lifts as opposed to using glutes/quats?

    Cheers.


Comments

  • #2
    brianthebard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,165 ✭✭✭✭brianthebard


    Post up a copy of your program please. What are you doing for your back apart from deads?


  • #3
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    corribdude wrote: »
    I've been lifting weights a few months and started doing the 5x5 program a few weeks ago.

    1). I'm wondering what weight you should be benching in relation to squats and deadlifting. I'm at around 60kg with the bench and 90 and 95 with squats and dl respectively. Is my bench relatively low compared to the other lifts? The squats and dl are flying up lately, I'm adding 5kg a week with no problem but the bench seems alot tougher.

    Your bench will ALWAYS be lower than your squat and deadlift. There's more muscles used in the squat and deadlift and they're bigger and more powerful.

    My best set of 5 on the bench would be about 68% of my best set of 5 on the squat and compared with deadlifts, again with 5's, about 59-61%
    2). Also, most of the weight I've gained seems to be going to my lower body. I'd like to direct it more to the upper body for the forseeable future if that's possible. Would scaling back a bit on the squat and dl achieve this? Would adding in extra sets of bench/military press to the 5x5 program help? What about adding in isolation exercises or are these not worthwhile for building mass. I dont really want to do cut back on the squat and dl as I'm making nice gains with them however I dont want to put on another stone and find 90% of it has gone on my lower body again.

    Nope. All that'll happen there is you'll gain less weight overall. Weight you were gaining on the bottom of your body won't just transfer to your upper body. A strong lower body is absolutely key if you want to get properly big and strong. And don't forget how much work your back gets with squats and deadlifts. A strong back is vitally So don't slack there.

    Look at any guy with big, strong legs. I bet his upper body isn't anything to be ashamed of either. But not all guys with a big upper body have good legs. What does that tell you??

    3). I hadn't access to free weigths in my last workout so I was using some machines. One of them was the hamstring curl machine and I lifting alot less than I thought I'd be able to. Also my hams are still sore two days later. Generally I have hardly any soreness at all in any bodypart the next day after working out anymore so this leads me to believe that if my hams are sore I haven't been hitting them properly when working out. Should you be feeling it in your hams when doing the squat and dl, is there a method to use more hams in these lifts as opposed to using glutes/quats?

    Cheers.

    Soreness tends to mean sweet FA. If your lifts are going up, and if you're eating enough then you will be gaining muscle. Any time you do a new exercise that you haven't done before you'l be sorer than normal. Doesn't mean it's more beneficial to be doing it tho.

    Squats and deadlifts are meant to be compound movements, they're meant to hit a lot of muscles at once. Trying to use them as isolation exercises is like trying to drive a rally car around a race track. Sure, it will work alright, but it would be much better at doing what it was designed to do.


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