Monday, April 14, 2008

Press and Squat

It's been awhile since I did my heavy lifting, so when I got to the gym I wasn't sure what weight I had used last time. So here's what I went with:

Press

3 x 5 @ 85lbs (but only did 4 reps on the last set)

Squat

3 x 5 @ 185

Notes: I struggled to get that 4th press up in the last set so I didn't even try to do the fifth. I'll use the same weight next time. The squat went better so I'm ready to move up--I'll probably go to 195. I rounded off the evening by doing some incline and decline presses on the Hammer Strength machines, and some hamstring curls on another machine.

3 comments:

Stephan Guyenet said...

Hey Dave,

I have a couple of questions. When you say "press", are you talking about dumbbell press, bench press or something else?

Also, what's "hex"?

Dave Clary said...

Hi Stephan!

The press I'm referring to is from a dead stop rack position on the chest to straight overhead with a bar. It's a bear for me since I've NEVER worked on my upper body. Hex refers to the bar that is also referred to as a trap bar. You step inside a hexagonal shaped bar. I've been reading the pros and cons of using it and the consensus seems to be that this is more of a squat than a deadlift. I think the good thing about it is that it's much easier to keep good form and not endanger your back provided you develop the grip strength to hold onto the damn thing!

Stephan Guyenet said...

OK, I remember the hex bar. We used to do shrugs with it.

It's funny, I'm the opposite, my upper body is getting strong really fast and my lower body is lagging. I wonder if it's because I used to focus on upper body when I lifted years ago. I just got back into it about 6 months ago.