r/weightlifting

Ive been noticing some bars at my gym have quite harsh grit on the knurling, and I don’t always get a choice on which bar I use. I noticed people like Sebastian Olivares using tape on his neck but I’m not sure which to get. Do you guys mind recommending me a brand to use? I just want to put something between my collarbone and the bar because its starting to scrape my skin

Heey I started Weightlifting a year ago ( but have been doing resistance training and stretches forever).

During Squat Jerk, if I have a relatively narrow grip, my shoulders feel so uncomfortable and I feel some sort of pressure there. My hands automatically want to move into a snatch grip which are comfortable in a deep squat position.

In general I have very good mobility especially around hips legs.

I'm completely fine with split jerk, power jerk, or any type of shoulder press.

Thaanks in advance!

I am in my mid 40s and getting more serious about weightlifting, mainly squats and deadlifts. I do not have any knee pain or prior injuries, just trying to train smart and stay consistent long term.

I keep seeing people at the gym using knee braces or knee sleeves, and it got me thinking — are they actually necessary if you have healthy knees?

From what I understand so far:

- Some people use them for support and stability

- Others use them more for confidence under heavier loads

- And some say they help with warmth and joint comfort

But I also hear that relying on them too early might reduce natural strength development or create dependency.

So my question to those with experience:

If you are lifting in your 40s with no knee issues, do you use knee braces or sleeves regularly, or only when going heavy?

Trying to find the balance between injury prevention and not over-relying on gear. Appreciate any real-world input.

I hope this post is educational for beginners and intermediates alike. And especially for those of you who might want to coach at some point.

I spend probably too much time on reddit and not enough time doing my recovery work or trying to build my business, but it's led me to see how other "fitness" subs handle their form checks. While some are quite stingy/restrictive, like r/strength_training, Those restrictions come from a place of not wanting to clutter up a thread with bad advice. The goal there is to help the applicable advice be louder than the non-applicable, and sometimes stupid, advice.

Our community here is quite a bit smaller than more general subs like the above subreddit, so I don't think we need to be nearly as restrictive, or rude. But I would strongly encourage anyone who is thinking about answering a from check to do 2 things: avoid commenting "useless" advice.

Examples include: "lower the weight and work on technique." Okay, what about the technique, how much should they lower it? 1kg? 10? 100?

"Be faster under the bar." How?

"Don't loop the bar." Again, how?

and the second part of this is: make sure the issue you're identifying is the ACTUAL issue, and not a symptom of the problem.

For instance, in the above example of a bar looping, it could be because the bar is coming out around their knees during the first pull, their hips are pushing forward too hard during the second pull, or the inverse and their shoulders are pulling back too hard. Or they could be doing everything REALLY well during the 1st and 2nd pull but then have loose, inactive arms during the 3rd. or maybe they have really active arms, but their elbows turn back early. or maybe they're a super and they're looping the bar to get around their belly because no one told them their technique needs to look a little different than the 79kg national lifter they like to watch.

That's it, that's my rant. Hope y'all have a good day. Peace.

Context: I am a beginner masters athlete who started lifting after age 60. I am not a coach and am fully aware there is more I don’t know about lifting than I do know. I’ve seen several posts asking if it’s too late to start lifting and I wanted to share some of my journey as an old lady to hopefully encourage other masters athletes to explore lifting. There are a lot of posts of super strong folks here doing great things, but I suspect there are also lurkers here wondering if it’s too late to lift.

I have a rare autoimmune disorder that causes muscle atrophy, limit ROM, neuropathy, proprioception issues, limited blood flow to the muscle, thickened fascia, etc. If it affects the muscle, joints, and nerves, I have it. Weightlifting has allowed me to build muscle and improve ROM that shouldn’t be possible, and my bone density has improved approximately 20% over the last year.

A year ago, I didn’t trust my legs enough to squat even with a support. I now back squat 80kg and front squat 50kg with full range of motion. Those numbers have been hard won for me. A year ago, I set a goal to compete at the USA Masters Nationals in Little Rock. It was my first comp, and I totaled enough to qualify for IMWA Worlds.

If you’re wondering if it’s too late to start lifting, it’s not about age. Maybe not even about what your body is currently capable of doing. Here are some of the things I’d suggest for you:

Get a Coach: Find a local Olympic WL coach experienced with masters lifters. As nice as your neighbor or the guy at the gym might be, they’re not the best choice to assess your needs as a masters athlete. I would not be where I am without an engaged coach.

Communicate with Your Coach: Be honest about every little ache and pain. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but your coach should be the one to provide context.

Set Realistic Goals: Work with your coach to assess whether your goals are realistic. I was outlifted by a W70 lifter and an M90 lifter at Nationals. They’re amazingly strong and fit and where I hope to be at that age. I’ll never be as strong as I want to be or as strong as the other athletes in my age group, but I’ve far surpassed what medical experts would say is possible.

Understand Weightlifting is not a straight line: You’re not going to keep increasing the weight. I’ve had to stay at the same weight for a couple of months or more. It can be frustrating to think I’m not improving, but it’s an opportunity to improve form, speed, and technique.

You Have to Want It: WL is incredibly technical and requires precision that doesn’t just happen on day one. You need to be willing to drop the bar, a lot. I lift in a large box gym where there are only a dozen or so lifters. I had to get used to people watching and get over having people see me miss lifts or end up on my ass.

Track Your Progress: As athletes, frustration comes from focusing on where we want to be and we forget to remember where we started. When I end up not being able to lift or squat what I could the previous week, I remind myself that I couldn’t squat at all a year ago. Perspective.

This is just my experience. The path has been full of twists and turns and the journey has looked different than I expected but it’s well worth it. Has anyone else picked up a barbell for the first time as an older masters lifter? What was your experience? Coaches, do you have thoughts about the masters lifters you work with?

If you squat 170, FS 135, snatch 100 and CJ 127

Would you run a squat cycle necessarily or just run a full oly program and push the squat ?