Weightlifting for Kiwis - Discussion and support regarding the art of swole

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re: recovery/preworkouts etc because i thought this posted yet it's still in my buffer and didn't apparently

Cissus Quadrangularis is the one I always associate with recovery. It's a cheap herbal and really does help in my experience but it's not a miracle drug, like maybe it'll make a pulled muscle heal 2-3 days faster than it would otherwise. Decent investment imo because you only take it when you're extremely sore/pulled something so a $12 bottle lasts a year.

Regarding creatine I've been dicking around with the big doses for a few months and I do think there's merit to it. Can't really comment on it making me thirstier because I always drink a ton of water anyways regardless if I'm taking it or not, had labs done for something unrelated last month and all my levels/kidney function were fine. This is a single datapoint report though so I might be an outlier. Regardless it's the one thing I'd absolutely recommend to everyone (at the normal dosage) because it's so benign. Get yourself a wineglass or something to use for taking it; the powder has a habit of sticking to corners of glasses/mugs and the sloped bottom stops 95% of that.

Preworkouts are a crapshoot based on brand. The sixstar ones walmart carries are cheap and decent (iirc 30 servings for $16) and they sub out decently for energy drinks but can be a bit overpowering flavorwise. I just dump a serving into my 40oz water bottle and add a cheap drink mix packet (the kind that comes 6 to a box for <1$ at grocery stores). Result tastes more or less like hawaiian punch and won't completely overload you on beta-alanine etc like a double serving might.

if you want to get strong you can just do one to six sets a week of an exercise in the ranges of 1 to 5 reps, and then the rest do hypertrophy, and if you want to maximize hypertrophy you can just do sets of 5 reps for those one to six sets a week (that's what I do), for example, go to the gym, do one set of 5 reps of alternating bicep curls with a heavy dumbbell that allows you to do 5 reps with a Range of Perceived Exertion of 8 (RPE), put those weight back in the rack, grab some lighter dumbbells and continue with hypertrophy work.
I second this. My usual is starting at around 7 effort, doing a set and adding weight and repeating not until I can't do the set but until I can't keep proper form, then going down one and doing one or two hypertrophy until I can't make the normal set number. If you remember your numbers that's usually something like (bar curls as my example) warmup -> a set with +5 on each side -> maybe a second at +10 (where i can't keep the form correct) -> two more sets of +5 -> done. Works well, burns you out, doesn't take forever.
But if you want traps that get you accused of being on gear, BB row like you're on a slave galley.
Reverse pec fly will do this too. I love both pec flies.
 
Anyone have any advice on where I can get finger bands that don't suck ass? I have found they help a ton with forearm cramps and general flexibility in my hands and fingers, but the ones I have been buying off of Amazon seem to inevitably rip after a few weeks or maybe a month of regular use. They aren't really expensive, but it is annoying since even when I have backups, I sometimes will rip all of them and have to wait for more to ship. It also seems really wasteful to just keep buying and shipping more. For context, the ones I have been buying are these:

Finger bands

I am hoping there is some variety out there that isn't hokey and crappy. I mainly buy these ones because there are multiple in a pack so I can have some backups for when I inevitably shred them.
 
Anyone have any advice on where I can get finger bands that don't suck ass?
If you're training for forearm and grip strength, you could use a 20lbs or 10lbs Dumbell and do some forearm curls and hammer curls.

Also those finger bands look like shit. Use those donut grip trainers. They train the hand and forearm the same way, but last longer.
Screenshot_20250716-140055_Firefox.webp
This is not the exact brand I use, but any should do.
 
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If you're training for forearm and grip strength, you could use a 20lbs or 10lbs Dumbell and do some forearm curls and hammer curls.

Also those finger bands look like shit. Use those donut grip trainers. They train the hand and forearm the same way, but last longer.
View attachment 7651206
This is not the exact brand I use, but any should do.
You misunderstood the purpose of my post. The bands are for strengthening the tendons and muscles that open your fingers, not close them. I would just squeeze barbell springs or fat grips or something if I wanted to improve my grip strength more. But thank you regardless.

Any implement from IronMind will almost certainly hold up better as well. They've got Expand Your Hand Bands which fulfill the exact same purpose while still offering decent resistance.
View attachment 7651238
That's more like what I was referring to. The only reason I stopped using this style of finger bands is that they would slip off of my fingers if they were sweaty. Do you know if these are fairly grippy? Thanks for the tip.
 
That's more like what I was referring to. The only reason I stopped using this style of finger bands is that they would slip off of my fingers if they were sweaty. Do you know if these are fairly grippy?
Not sure yet honestly, I've been meaning to eventually get those myself and have just been using 4 rubber bands per hand for sets of 50 until I finally try them out
 
Today was cardio day. Cardio is king. Cardio also sucks and I hate it.
That’s what made me start boxing again. Fuck running. I’ll do my cardio whilst I’ll get punched in the face.

Fuck road work, if I am fit enough to spar with my friends then I’m pretty damn fit.
 
If you're training for forearm and grip strength, you could use a 20lbs or 10lbs Dumbell and do some forearm curls and hammer curls.

Also those finger bands look like shit. Use those donut grip trainers. They train the hand and forearm the same way, but last longer.
View attachment 7651206
This is not the exact brand I use, but any should do.
Screenshot_20250718-163922~2.webp
This is much better option since you can
1. Adjustable
2. You can track your progress.

You're welcome.
 
View attachment 7659355
This is much better option since you can
1. Adjustable
2. You can track your progress.

You're welcome.
Had one of these but accidentally snapped it once while squeezing the shit out of it. Was probably less a matter of me being ultra strong and more so the dial being in a precarious position as I was trying to find a position that felt strongest to grip.

I left off at 120lbs and that was a couple years ago, so I imagine it's only gotten higher since then
 
The bands are for strengthening the tendons and muscles that open your fingers, not close them.
Have you considered rice bucket training?

I get all the grip strength I need from hanging off a bar/rings all the time. I basically have coomer forearms.
 
Anyone take N Acetyl L Cysteine powder? Everything I’m reading about it seems too good to be true? Especially given you only need to take one gram a day and can pick up one hundred grams really cheap?

Is it just retards spazzing at the placebo effect or is it worth add this to my shaker (even though it’s meant to taste terrible?)
 
Had one of these but accidentally snapped it once while squeezing the shit out of it. Was probably less a matter of me being ultra strong and more so the dial being in a precarious position as I was trying to find a position that felt strongest to grip.

I left off at 120lbs and that was a couple years ago, so I imagine it's only gotten higher since then
Made in China symptom is more obvious cause, there's a reason why chinks sell grip strength trainers in pairs. I've gone through two spring based trainers. Plastic used is low quality trash that can't handle stress. I've been looking for them since chinks copy eachother and only make trainers that cap out at 40kg, donuts and their variations feel like toys for people with arthritis.
Chinese manufacturers are untrustworthy, but no-one else makes them.
Made in China training equipment are crap and dangerous to your health.


Have you considered rice bucket training?

I get all the grip strength I need from hanging off a bar/rings all the time. I basically have coomer forearms.
Dumping exercise videos for for forearm training. With plates you can use progressively heavier plates to hold as you build muscle mass






Same with dumbells for carrying exercises
 
Have you considered rice bucket training?

I get all the grip strength I need from hanging off a bar/rings all the time. I basically have coomer forearms.
Frankly, I hadn't heard of it before, but that will be good for when I am home. I travel for work so wouldn't be able to lug around a 5 gallon bucket full of rice, but I do appreciate the info. I think I will do that and use the IronMind bands for when I am on the road.

I also do hangs off of bars; that and heavy lifts really is great. Thanks for the info.
 
Made in China symptom is more obvious cause, there's a reason why chinks sell grip strength trainers in pairs. I've gone through two spring based trainers. Plastic used is low quality trash that can't handle stress. I've been looking for them since chinks copy eachother and only make trainers that cap out at 40kg, donuts and their variations feel like toys for people with arthritis.
Chinese manufacturers are untrustworthy, but no-one else makes them.
Made in China training equipment are crap and dangerous to your health.



Dumping exercise videos for for forearm training. With plates you can use progressively heavier plates to hold as you build muscle mass

palm-down-wrist-curls.mp4
palm-up-wrist-curls.mp4
zottman-curl-1.mp4
plate-pinch.mp4
farmers-carry.mp4
Same with dumbells for carrying exercises
when I was 19 or 20 i went absolutely retarded with wrist curls trying to curl shit like 100lbs and blew out both of my elbows. For years I had tendonitis and searing pain in my elbows 24/7 because obviously I never stopped lifting to lessen the aggravation. I still get like phantom pain over it. Miracle I didn't fuck myself up chronically.
 
Just putting it out there that calisthenics people are constantly doing extreme stuff with their wrists and no one trains their wrists with weights. They just stretch and everything after that comes from skill training. Why curl a dumb bell with my wrist when I can do skin the cat rolls?
 
Can never really cheerlead for pullups and chinups enough with regard to grip strength.

Curious regarding those digital grip meters, are they also chinesium with weird breakage hazard issues? Thinking of buying one.

Anyone take N Acetyl L Cysteine powder? Everything I’m reading about it seems too good to be true?
As someone whose extended family is like 60% doctors/pharma nerds I've taken it on and off for a couple years during cold season and just sort of treat it like vitamin C as a cold preventative. Didn't notice or even know about any effects in regards to lifting aside from keeping you from getting sick so you can lift more.

Another to look into if you haven't is beetroot which from my experience is also cheap as hell and definitely helps with endurance.
 
Curious regarding those digital grip meters, are they also chinesium with weird breakage hazard issues? Thinking of buying one.
Depends on brand, luck of draw. There are ones meant meant for use for professionals to measure grip strength.
Kits like this
Less plastic the better
Yes is near 300 bucks but it's damn near best kit out here and since it's made out of steel it won't bend.
 
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