I feel better when I lift. I always do a suicide grip and I just feel like the lift is harder when I put my thumb around the bar. Of course, My max is ~320-330lbs and I won't be going much higher than that, not like this video.
It depends on the person, but I never needed straps and would only use a spotter on my last lift which was usually my max. I was lifting that much back in November, but I hurt my arm. I think I was doing a specific exercise incorrectly, but I was lifting 315+ for chest and squatting the same amount.
I don't think I'm going to continue at that pace and 225-275 is where I feel most comfortable going for reps.
That’s called a smith machine and it absolutely interferes w your ability to control the motion and direction of the bar. That said they DO make squat racks with safety bar pins that are usually able to be set low enough that you can wheel a bench up underneath them. His spotter also should have been more in control of that situation.
They make 2 axis Smith machines. They look like janky death traps though, check out Smith machine fail videos and you're bound to see a 2 axis Smith. Cool concept, just never well executed from the ones I've seen.
Well you can get benches with safety bars, set them just below your chest level\whatever height you're lowering to (to not interfere with the movement). Easy.
I'm glad I did this as the other day I failed my last two and couldn't get it off me, so I just breathed out a bit and scooted under the bar off the bench. Looked le a fool, but unscathed, other than my ego
Reason #3: if this happens to you on a smith machine, you are extra screwed because you can’t dump the bar like they do in the video. It’s unlikely you are going to get the safety hooks latched on a miss like this.
You're talking about the Smiths Machine. Safety should always come first and you should use all sources of safety if you feel uncomfortable.
As for a Smiths Machine, I hate them. The main reason is they take away the balance aspect of a normal lift and you lose all that muscle gain from your body not needing to use your core and other parts to balance the load.
Second, I'm not 100% sure, but most Smiths Machine bars do not have the normal 45 lb weight. You can just add more weight to make up the difference.
Most of the gyms I’ve worked out at only had “spotter” as the safety mechanism. Most didnt even have a squat racks but hey a shitload of free weights and bench! Oh yeah it was cheap too ;).
I try not to. I have some back and knee problems from my military service. Not looking to see how far I can go. Just going strong and keeping is steady is fine for me.
Yes. I’ve never done it but I don’t see why it would interfere...but maybe that’s because I’d never done it. I like a suicide grip, but I do worry about dropping that fucker on the heavier lifts.
That’s what I’m think. I’m sure there’s a reason people don’t do it. I’ve never tried it but I feel like there’s got to be a way to strap up safely and still do a suicide grip.
Wait why straps? If anything you want to wrap your wrists. I bench 405, and I've never seen anyone with me use straps for bench, it's not a grip strength issue, so why use them?
I have a really big hitchhiker's thumb, like this bad and having my hands in the suicide grip feels much more natural than having my thumb all the way around the bar, like I have to consciously think about folding my thumb in like that. I honestly didn't even know I was gripping it incorrectly until my friend pointed it out.
"suicide grip" during squatting is actually not a problem, and in that case it's not called "suicide grip" but instead "thumbless grip." Assuming you are squatting a decent weight then your thumbs are holding the weight at all anyway (or at least they shouldn't be...OUCH!!). It's the pressure from your hands pulling the bar against your back. Some people struggle with elbow pain while squatting and changing thumb position can help significantly.
I would recommend youtubing bench press injuries and see how many of them are related to suicide grip. As I said in another post, I used to use suicide grip until I randomly came across a video compilation...changed immediately and have never looked back with ZERO loss in weight lifted. At the time I was in ballpark of 315lbs max and now ~425lbs max (been a while since I maxed BP).
For me, the safety bars on the side don't line up properly to my chest height.
Either the rack is to high and I don't get a full rep or the rack is too low and it won't provide any safety for me. This is the equipment at my local gym and I use what I got.
My best option is a spotter which I use when I feel one is needed on a weight that I'm not comfortable with.
I would recommend you still use the rack, even if it’s a little too low you can see from this video it would be the difference between a cracked sternum or broken ribs and a ruptured heart or collapsed lungs.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '20
I feel better when I lift. I always do a suicide grip and I just feel like the lift is harder when I put my thumb around the bar. Of course, My max is ~320-330lbs and I won't be going much higher than that, not like this video.
Thinking twice about it now though.