General weightlifting tips

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[*]Count your reps backwards (ex. 12, 11, 10, ect).
[*]Breath into your stomach not your chest. (watch yourself breath in the mirror, if your shoulders are moving up and down you are breathing into your chest)
[*]Always breath out on the "pushing" part of the lift. So for squat you will breath out at the top of the movement, same with bench and deadlift.
[*]Take 2-5 minute breaks in between sets for the 3 main lifts and 1-2 minutes for the accessories.
[*]Each workout should have around 5 exercises, 1 main lift, 1 main accessory lift and 3 smaller accessories. For example if I have a back day it will look like this:
Deadlift (Main lift)
BB row (Main accessory)
Pullups
T bar rows
Cable rows
(full body workouts are different of coarse)

[btatro]

Can you give the rational for counting the reps backwards? Is it because you are more likely to finish the set if you are counting down to zero, versus trying to count up and reach a certain number? I never really though about it, and have always counted up, so am curious to know. Thanks!

[shaun]

Reverse breathing can be good for back exercises like pull ups and rows. By reversing your breathing and inhaling on the positive phase, you will arch your lower back and puff up your chest - good for activating the lats.

[shaun]

- Do NOT lift ridiculously heavy if you can't do it. It does not focus on the target muscle group and it is just a waste of time.
- Form OVER weight. Go light if you have to. Better for is much more important than how heavy you can lift. Who cares what people think about you? Let them look and comment all they want, it's your body not theirs.

I agree. You should lift what your current level of strength allows. Your form should not be sacrificed when lifting weights. Gradually build up your strength and you will be able to lift heavier weights.

[shaun]

I don't agree with this method. I think you should warm up thoroughly and start heavy. For instance, the 5 x 5 protocol is very popular, no counting reps backwards when doing 5 sets for 5 reps.

[Stefano13]

For the past 2 months i have been doing progressive overload training

split
upper body and lower body
back wide grip pull down
low row
chest incline press db
cable cross
delts/shoulders seated db press, standing lateral raises
bi, ez curl and seated db

lower body
leg day/lower body
squats Machine
leg extension
Hip sled
calf raises 20x6 sets
kick back Machine

[dmeagher]

Do a little cardio to warm up before you lift. It's good to get your heart going.

Another tip is to not overlook certain parts of your body. You could end up looking very disproportional and you will not like it.

[Stitches]

Use your LEGS to Deadlift, not your back. Too many times I see people deadlifting, and they use their back to pull the bar up. Use leg drive to pull the bar while keeping your back straight. Keep using your back and arching it as you pull the weight is an injury waiting to happen. And believe me, back injuries are one of the worst ones to get due to their complexity and healing not being straight forward as other muscles are.

[shaun]

Use your LEGS to Deadlift, not your back. Too many times I see people deadlifting, and they use their back to pull the bar up. Use leg drive to pull the bar while keeping your back straight. Keep using your back and arching it as you pull the weight is an injury waiting to happen. And believe me, back injuries are one of the worst ones to get due to their complexity and healing not being straight forward as other muscles are.

Totally agree, I view the deadlift as a total body exercise, but the prime mover are the hamstrings and glutes, big powerful muscles! I see so many people in the gym lifting with their back and not using their legs, I cringe because I know it is an injury waiting to happen.

[dmeagher]

Use your LEGS to Deadlift, not your back. Too many times I see people deadlifting, and they use their back to pull the bar up. Use leg drive to pull the bar while keeping your back straight. Keep using your back and arching it as you pull the weight is an injury waiting to happen. And believe me, back injuries are one of the worst ones to get due to their complexity and healing not being straight forward as other muscles are.

Totally agree, I view the deadlift as a total body exercise, but the prime mover are the hamstrings and glutes, big powerful muscles! I see so many people in the gym lifting with their back and not using their legs, I cringe because I know it is an injury waiting to happen.

Just wanted to add in on if you're not sure if you are doing deadlifts like this or not. If you are not deadlifting more than you can squat or close to it, then you should step back and work on your form. You can lift more weight and get stronger by doing that. Otherwise you are just wasting your hard work and effort by doing it incorrectly plus you can lift bigger. trust me, I did this as well as many people here, I'm sure.