Loading and Unloading Barbells

Hey Vic City,

We've recently completed our Powerlifting Total, and I know many members hit huge PRs on their lifts. That's fantastic! Now that we are lifting heavy, we usually need to load multiple weights on and off the bar over our warm-ups into our working sets.

There are two things I want to quickly address, one being how to make it easy to get those weights on and off the bar, and the second being how to use plate etiquette, so that everyone can use the weights that they need.

Have you ever been deadlifting or doing cleans, and you went to change your weight, but really struggled to get the weights off or on. You are not alone. Often times when we are lifting, we are on a structured timer, so we want to get and stay organized as quick as possible.

Spending our rest time changing weights shouldn't take longer than it needs to. Check out this quick video on how to get the weight on and off. If you think about straddling the weight and pulling it off you should have no problems. The same goes for 'pulling' weight on.

The second point is about how to 'plate up' or share weights. Did you know that with a men's bar, and one (yes, just ONE) set of each of the plates (2.5,5,10,15,25,35,45 pounds) you can make any increment of 5 pounds from 45-320 pounds. If you add a second set of 45s (we have a lot) you can go from 45-410.

That is a lot of weight combinations, and covers almost everyone for all of our lifts. To ensure that everyone can make the smaller jumps, try to 'plate up' and condense your plates. Instead of loading a 10 and three fives on each side, trade them in for a 25, then you or others can use the fives for other weight options.

Even if you are making 10 pound jumps, try to get away from the 10 pound bumpers, so you can drop them. Instead of having a ten and a five, trade it for a 15, then you can use a 5 for that next increase to have 20 on each side. Moving up again, get rid of it all and get a 25 on there.

Need another reason to 'plate up?' Dropping smaller weights especially with additional metal weights on the side promote bending and breaking of the plates.

Feeling selfish, and you don't want to help anyone else out when change plates are at a premium? Do it for yourself. Having larger plates reduces bouncing, helping your bar stay close to you during metcons. It also reduces the amount the collars loosen during ground contact, saving YOU time to get YOU more reps, faster!

Try it out!

See you in class,

Adam

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TRAINING WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY

WARM - UP: In groups of 3, rotate 3 times through each of the stations. Only switch when everyone is finished their reps:

1 person rowing 200m

1 person 12 walking lunges

1 person 15 Russian KBS

WOD: "Incendiary"

This is a workout that we have done a few times in the past and is a great start to our prep for the MURPH CHALLENGE on July 23. Take a peek at previous attempts by Vic City members below.

Rx: 800-600-400-200m runs with 4-3-2-1 rounds of "Cindy" (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats). Work on "chin to deck" pushups as that will be the standard during the Murph wod in July

FG2: Banded pullups, pushups from knees

FG1: Start at 600 and 3 rounds of Cindy, scale movements as needed

CP: Weight vest 12/20lb

Cash-Out: 40 double crunch or GHD or 2 minutes accumulated in plank