[GQ.]

(Original post by Smack)
I use chalk all the time - even with the empty bar - and I don't know anything about liquid chalk. But proper chalk works fine so I see no reason to use liquid unless your gym forbids proper chalk, and if it does you're better off moving to a proper gym anyway.

Liquid chalk is just as good as normal chalk. Plus easier to carry around as it is smaller.

[Becca]

(Original post by Becca-Sarah)
Deadlifted 50kg for 5 reps today! Not getting far off that bodyweight DL Only problem is the blisters/calluses... Got them at the base of three fingers on both hands. Normal hand cream sufficient to get rid quickly?

Yayy well done! I have callouses but normal hand cream applied regularly seems to keep them smallish so they don't interfere with my lifting and they aren't really noticeable to anyone but myself.
Chalk is a must when progressing in deadlifts, especially when doing several reps. I used to have magnesium (normal) stuff and it made a massive mess in my bag, so if you get that you should probably keep it in a tupperware or something. It's very cheap. Liquid chalk is more expensive but no mess and easier to transport.

[Becca-Sarah]

Shall get myself some chalk then. Thanks guys

Next n00b question. I'm going home for two weeks, where I have no access to any form of weights. What can I do to not lose all the progress I've made? Just do lots of bodyweight work - squats, lunges, press-ups?

[sil3nt_cha0s]

Is there no gym you can go to on a PAYG basis, just for 2 weeks?

[Becca]

(Original post by Becca-Sarah)
Shall get myself some chalk then. Thanks guys

Next n00b question. I'm going home for two weeks, where I have no access to any form of weights. What can I do to not lose all the progress I've made? Just do lots of bodyweight work - squats, lunges, press-ups?

If there really is no gym then bodyweight exercises will be the best thing probably. I also tend to do a lot of sprinting when I lack gym access.

[Becca-Sarah]

(Original post by sil3nt_cha0s)
Is there no gym you can go to on a PAYG basis, just for 2 weeks?

There is, but it would cost £10 for induction, plus £5 a session & £4-5 to get there each time. Not a realistic option, sadly.

[aivi]

I got liquid chalk from myprotein, will test it tomorrow. My gym doesn't allow chalk, but i used to have it with me anyways and sneak some on. Now there should be no problem.
My revision period/holidays have started, yay! So pretty much just lifting and studying for the next few months. I'm starting a new program based on doing the hatch squat cycle (12w). So two days of squatting (back and front on the same days, also first time trying low bar), two days focused on oly, as told by my coach. Otherwise I was thinking of having one day of heavy dl, one day of endurance/conditioning focus and one rest day. If i feel too tired, then i might make the dl day a rest day. Rounding things up with some accessory lifts and running/sprinting.
Testing my 1rm tomorrow (doubt they've changed much), and starting on Tuesday.

[Becca]

(Original post by aivi)
I got liquid chalk from myprotein, will test it tomorrow. My gym doesn't allow chalk, but i used to have it with me anyways and sneak some on. Now there should be no problem.
My revision period/holidays have started, yay! So pretty much just lifting and studying for the next few months. I'm starting a new program based on doing the hatch squat cycle (12w). So two days of squatting (back and front on the same days, also first time trying low bar), two days focused on oly, as told by my coach. Otherwise I was thinking of having one day of heavy dl, one day of endurance/conditioning focus and one rest day. If i feel too tired, then i might make the dl day a rest day. Rounding things up with some accessory lifts and running/sprinting.
Testing my 1rm tomorrow (doubt they've changed much), and starting on Tuesday.

Ooh let us know how you get on with low bar. When I tried it I really hated it, purely for the feeling of the bar on my back. It just felt wrong! If I wanted to hit bigger squat numbers rather than get stronger in Oly like I do atm I'd definitely change to it permanently though.
Are you still looking at doing a Bethnal Green course?

I spoke to my mum last night. Background information - my little brother is coming to visit me on Thursday. Conversation:

Mum: Do you want me to send over some Cumberland sausage?
Me: Ooh yes please!
Mum: How much?
Me: Well we normally have about 500g of meat per meal between 2 of us, so a couple of 500g portions?
Mum: Rebecca, I am worried about you and this high-protein diet. (My diet isn't even that high in protein lol!)
Me: Why? I don't understand what you mean!
Mum: I don't want you ending up like...who was that woman who ate loads of protein and became all muscly?
Me: You mean Jodie Marsh?
Mum: Yeah. I don't want you turning into that. It looks bloody awful.
Me: *tries to explain about dehydration/tensing and how that isn't even what I do*.
Mum: Never mind. I'll talk to you about this another time.

[sleekchic]

(Original post by Becca)
Ooh let us know how you get on with low bar. When I tried it I really hated it, purely for the feeling of the bar on my back. It just felt wrong! If I wanted to hit bigger squat numbers rather than get stronger in Oly like I do atm I'd definitely change to it permanently though.
Are you still looking at doing a Bethnal Green course?

I spoke to my mum last night. Background information - my little brother is coming to visit me on Thursday. Conversation:

Mum: Do you want me to send over some Cumberland sausage?
Me: Ooh yes please!
Mum: How much?
Me: Well we normally have about 500g of meat per meal between 2 of us, so a couple of 500g portions?
Mum: Rebecca, I am worried about you and this high-protein diet. (My diet isn't even that high in protein lol!)
Me: Why? I don't understand what you mean!
Mum: I don't want you ending up like...who was that woman who ate loads of protein and became all muscly?
Me: You mean Jodie Marsh?
Mum: Yeah. I don't want you turning into that. It looks bloody awful.
Me: *tries to explain about dehydration/tensing and how that isn't even what I do*.
Mum: Never mind. I'll talk to you about this another time.

Why would tell how much meat you have each time?

Just tell her how much you need. Never ever give people like that (parents, family members or friends) an excuse to go on a rant about how you are overdoing it, or how it's really unhealthy or unladylike or whatever crap they come up with it.

[Becca]

(Original post by sleekchic)
Why would tell how much meat you have each time?

Just tell her how much you need. Never ever give people like that (parents, family members or friends) an excuse to go on a rant about how you are overdoing it, or how it's really unhealthy or unladylike or whatever crap they come up with it.

Oh because she will have to get it vacuumpacked (it will be going on the plane) so it's easier if it will be in portions.

[ArchiDroid]

That misconception is never going to go away :-(

But it's sometimes fun talking about it when people *do* actually want to hear what you have to say rather than have that washed over glazed look O_O

[aivi]

Anyone been watching the European champs (last until this Sunday)? I saw them on tv by chance at the gym, so now that I'm at my parents place for one more week, I'm taking advantage of actually having a tv

[Becca]

(Original post by aivi)
Anyone been watching the European champs (last until this Sunday)? I saw them on tv by chance at the gym, so now that I'm at my parents place for one more week, I'm taking advantage of actually having a tv

Some good lifting in the women's 48kg yesterday. The Turkish woman did an epic C&J where I was like

[aivi]

(Original post by Becca)

Some good lifting in the women's 48kg yesterday. The Turkish woman did an epic C&J where I was like

Did you see the women's 53kg today? some pretty amazing saves there as well in the c&j. I just hate watching people who have hyperextending elbows, makes me think they're gonna snap ugh.
Also Klokov and some other big names are missing the comp sadly

[aivi]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...butt-lift.html
All she needed to do was squat Besides, I don't really see much of a difference between the two arses?

[MissLightyear]

The only difference I see is the way she's stood

[Becca]

(Original post by aivi)
Did you see the women's 53kg today? some pretty amazing saves there as well in the c&j. I just hate watching people who have hyperextending elbows, makes me think they're gonna snap ugh.
Also Klokov and some other big names are missing the comp sadly

Yeah, we are recording every event. Annoyingly the men's wasn't shown live yesterday so we'll catch up on that tomorrow. Those elbows were freaky! She clearly had issues with stabilising the lift at the top. Can't believe she dropped that one lift! There were some pretty good falls in that event as well I think that snatch is a more interesting lift to do, but C&J is definitely more fun to watch because of the heavier weights and the epic battles.
Sad Klokov isn't there, but hopefully that means he will go into Ultimate Beast Mode at the Olympics! And lol, Russia not sending their best to 105kg lifters, ok we'll just send a world record holder in their place.
Crossing fingers there will still be some decent lifts because people are still competing for Olympic places.

(Original post by aivi)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...butt-lift.html
All she needed to do was squat Besides, I don't really see much of a difference between the two arses?

But why do anything that's hard when you have ridiculous amounts of money?

(Original post by MissLightyear)
The only difference I see is the way she's stood

Indeed. You can tell the shot is taken from a different angle.

[Becca]

Awesome lifting from Zoe Smith in the europeans yesterday. Great to see a British lifter in the A group and lifting better than way more experienced lifters. That girl is strong!!

[aivi]

Saw the W58 and M69 today, missed them yesterday.
Yeah Zoe is definitely strong, and will probably get a lot better with more training and competitive experience.
Lots of other good lifters in the W58 A group as well. Boyanka Kostova made her clean recovery seem really easy as well as the power jerks (wonder how strong her fs is).
I find snatches to be technically more elegant and nice to watch, but the variety of styles and different struggles with the C&J make for more interesting watching in a competition.
Also a real shame with the later dismissal of Romela Begaj's second jerk. Yes, there was a little bit of arm bend and press in there, but so were in lots of others. The judges seemed to be generally lenient, so they should have stayed consistent, not fair to punish just one lifter like that.

For the men, interesting competition. Most surprising was Oleg Chen not getting a result in C&J (couldn't recover from the floor, something wrong with his leg). His snatches were pretty insane. He used a narrow grip. Also the second snatch in particular was awesome, he stayed still at the bottom for quite long and then stood up without a bounce (but guess bouncing in ohs is way harder than with fs?)

I'm doing snatch-based stuff today in the gym. Feel motivated but oh so humbled

[Becca]

(Original post by aivi)
Saw the W58 and M69 today, missed them yesterday.
Yeah Zoe is definitely strong, and will probably get a lot better with more training and competitive experience.
Lots of other good lifters in the W58 A group as well. Boyanka Kostova made her clean recovery seem really easy as well as the power jerks (wonder how strong her fs is).
I find snatches to be technically more elegant and nice to watch, but the variety of styles and different struggles with the C&J make for more interesting watching in a competition.
Also a real shame with the later dismissal of Romela Begaj's second jerk. Yes, there was a little bit of arm bend and press in there, but so were in lots of others. The judges seemed to be generally lenient, so they should have stayed consistent, not fair to punish just one lifter like that.

For the men, interesting competition. Most surprising was Oleg Chen not getting a result in C&J (couldn't recover from the floor, something wrong with his leg). His snatches were pretty insane. He used a narrow grip. Also the second snatch in particular was awesome, he stayed still at the bottom for quite long and then stood up without a bounce (but guess bouncing in ohs is way harder than with fs?)

I'm doing snatch-based stuff today in the gym. Feel motivated but oh so humbled

Just watching the men's 69kg now, recorded from the other day. Too much work/training to watch them all on time, but we will get through them all!
I'm pretty sure Begaj's 116kg clean and jerk was disallowed due to her oscillating the bar in preparation for the jerk. It's a bit of a touchy subject. A lot of the turkish lifters do it, and it's something judging is really not consistent on. I do know that the head of the jury that overuled the judges for that lift is Norwegian (coach knows him, tbh everyone in Norwegian weightlifting knows each other. I know the Eurosport commentator lol) and he was backed up by a Swede though, and they have obviously decided to come down hard on it, but it needs to be carried through by all judges and juries otherwise it's incredibly unfair.

Norway's best lifter is going tomorrow in the B group W69....bit disappointing since she was in the A group at the Worlds...