Tag: hex bar

Easier, softer way..

Ok, my trap bar and my bumper plates arrived today:

I weighed the trap bar: 44 lb. as advertised. It is solid. I can’t wait to use it..but this morning I had a rough hex bar dead lift session.

Yes, aside from the barbell squat, my weakest lift are the deadlifts: best is incline, decline, shoulder press, bench, and even goblet squats aren’t bad. But barbell squats are pathetic and deadlifts are bad.

I know some of this is from a decent run..but I digress.

When I got this stuff..I thought ..wait…my trap bar will only hold 315 ..and I only have 390 lb for the barbell…maybe I should order some of those thin steel plates…

And that is ridiculous. My best this year: 245 on the hex, 240 on the regular and 230 today.

Ordering plates won’t make me stronger…USING WHAT I HAVE will. It is so much easier just to put equipment on the credit card..but how about using it?

I have a plan for using it; this will enable me to not have to compete for platform time at the gym and to do a decent amount of weight work when the gyms are closed (can’t do pull ups or heavy bench presses..can do seated shoulder presses though, curls and deads of various kinds.

And I can either do deads prior to walking to the uni gym or after my upper body stuff. I don’t need any extra equipment.

Yet.

Now if I pull 390 on the bar OR 315 on the hex..THEN I can order these swanky steel plates.

Sports: my recurring delusions

Workout notes: slippery outside.

So I walked 6 miles on the treadmill in 1:15:55; mile 5 was 1:23:52 and the last mile was 12:03.
That walking workout was FASTER than my alleged “run” of similar distance yesterday..though to be fair, yesterday’s slog was on a tough course in the rain. And I also had an extra day of rest from a tough (for me) hex-bar deadlifting session on Friday.

2020 looks like this so far: 28 miles for the previous week. That should move up, though it will be tricky so long as I am working the dead lift in. I also plan to work in barbell shoulder presses, but that shouldn’t affect running at all.

Delusions I have ordered a pair of bumper plates (45 lb plates) and a trap bar (or hex bar) for my basement..well..lifting area.

(this one)

That isn’t delusional of me; this will help give my workouts flexibility and I do use the trap bar (handles down). I love using it.

Here is what is delusional: I read the reviews (almost all positive) but one said that one weakness was the the sleeves were too short to hold more than three 45 lb bumper plates on each side.
(hint: that means: 314 lb on the bar, as the bar is 44 lb.)

I thought: “well, if that is a problem, I can order some of those precision, thin powerlifting 45 or 55 lb. plates.”

Heck,I could hold 8-9 55 lb. plates on each side!

Then reality got back to me; I realized that this is a strictly intellectual exercise..unless I was planning on having an NFL lineman as my house guest.

What I have in my basement plus the new plates would give me..yes, up to 1 45 bumper, 1 44 cast iron, and 2 22 lb iron plates on each side; the bar WILL hold that many and if I ever work up to needing more than that (highly unlikely but a guy can dream), I’ll treat myself to these precision thin plates.

For now, I”ll focus on adding 5 lb at a time starting with my current 245. And I imagine on the days I do NOT go to the gym, I’ll be using not much more than the new 45 lb bumper and the 2 22 lb. iron plates for now.

Note: this is a photo of a strongman deadlift with the elephant bar; note the “deep dish” 45 lb. plates.

This is a heavy deadlift with the thin plates

And just for the heck of it, these are the old school, old thick 100 lb. metal plates:

insidepowerlifting

these are the thick bumper plates.

This is the trap bar deadlift with bumper plates (though I use “handles facing down” so I have to bend my knees more) and, as you can see, you run run of sleeve room for plates on certain hex bars. IF that becomes a problem for me, I’ll treat myself to a set of 4 55 lb thin plates (and that probably will never happen)