(Part 3) Top products from r/weightlifting

I've spent a stupid amount of time looking things up over the last few years and always keep note on what bars and plates I use at other gyms (I probably drop into 20-30 different gyms every year at least). Always glad to help someone else out so they don't get stuck trying to figure out what works best from the large selection around now.

There are definitely other similar priced bars and plates, but those were the ones that I found best of the group especially considering the price. The Keystone bar was a lot nicer than I expected it to be. Had to do heavy jerks, heavy power cleans, and medium weight snatches and it worked beautifully for everything.

Also this is the electrical tape I used for the plates. I found it best to really clean off the plates first and get them nice and dry, then start applying it. Stretch it very slightly while putting it on, and have it overlap an inch or two at the end. Holds up great actually, better than I expected it to and makes the plates look a lot fancier than they are.

It sounds like you would benefit from Greg Everett's Olympic Weightlifting for Sports. It's designed to help a general athlete learn the olympic lifts to improve overall athleticism, and it's written by one of the most respected U.S. names in the sport. It's pretty short, has plenty of pics, and has some programming in the back for you to get started with.

I started with this book and after the 6 week program in the back I loved the lifts so much I decided to switch to olympic lifting exclusively. But if you just want to use them to supplement your training it's great for that too.

http://www.amazon.com/Olympic-Weightlifting-Sports-Greg-Everett/dp/0980011140

What specifically is he interested in? History of bodybuilding?

Arnold's Encyclopedia of Body Building is about $20. I think it includes a picture of Ronnie Coleman. Ronnie Coleman has a book, but I doubt it's very useful training wise, and is expensive. The weight training info isn't excessively useful in Arnold's book either.

The Purposeful Primitive is a book I'm getting this year, so I don't know a lot about the contents except I know it includes some history and quotes from people like Bill Pearl.. a lot of history and tidbits.

If you're looking for good books on training then the answers are different, though I've heard good things about The Purposeful Primitive, so it may be the best of both worlds for you.

Try oiling the sleeves and see if that does anything.

As for the bar...

1. I've used one of those cheap bars with the bolt at the end. Not good. Especially when you have re tighten them from time to time and hope the sleeve doesn't fall off.
   
   
   
2. Waste of money if you're gonna dare to Sn or CJ with it. Passable to do strength lifts on.
   
   
   
3. No, don't buy it.
   
   
   This seems to be the best option I could find on Amazon. I've never heard of them, who knows about the quality control and how long it will last but reviews seem ok. Only about 30$ more than your prior selection.
   
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Bonnlo-Barbell-Weightlifting-Capacity-Rotating/dp/B07BXHF8H6/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting+barbell&qid=1574724081&sr=8-8
   
   
   https://www.amazon.com/CAP-Barbell-Olympic-Weightlifting-Renewed/dp/B07RH732VH/ref=sr_1_90?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting+barbell&qid=1574724518&sr=8-90
   
   https://www.amazon.com/CAP-Barbell-Power-Olympic-Weightlifting/dp/B006R4EOXM/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting+barbell&qid=1574724081&sr=8-5
   
   We used to use CAP barbells as our general purpose barbells. No idea what model but it wasn't uncommon for them to get bent over time or spin poorly.
   
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   https://www.amazon.com/Training-Equipment-Olympic-Barbell-Crossfit/dp/B07NZ7T1VJ/ref=sr_1_59?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting%2Bbarbell&qid=1574724518&sr=8-59&th=1
   
   probably the next step up but you could just pony up another 50$ and get something from Fringesport with excellent customer service and a return policy. They bought out AgainFaster a few years ago which was pretty popular in the CF community.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/XMark-Lumberjack-Manganese-Phosphate-Powerlifting/dp/B01NBTGVNI/ref=sr_1_29?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting%2Bbarbell&qid=1574724081&sr=8-29&th=1
   
   https://www.amazon.com/XMark-Crowbar-Olympic-Weightlifting-Powerlifting/dp/B07T6C2ZWL/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=weightlifting+barbell&qid=1574724081&sr=8-12
   
   
   Never heard of XMark. They have plenty of reviews though.

Good job getting back on the platform for the clean and jerks. Seriously, that takes a lot of mental strength in and of itself.
I don't know if you've done any sports psych reading, but one book that's helped me a ton (and that I started re-reading before today) is "The Champion's Mind", and it's REALLY helped me re-frame how I think about meets and what I perceive as high-stakes lifts. I am also a pretty obvious headcase, so I need all the help I can get :) /unsolicitedadvice

A good book for anatomy and basic physiology is Anatomy without a Scalpel by Kilgore http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Without-Scalpel-Dr-Kilgore/dp/0615390722

For exercise physiology, I used my college power points which was very thorough and well beyond what is needed to understand the basics of programming and weightlifting. I would suggest Principles and Practices of Resistance training because it will go over the energy systems, neuromuscular, and basic biomechanics in addition to sharing some very awesome insights on periodization http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Practice-Resistance-Training-Michael/dp/0880117060/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413763312&sr=1-1&keywords=principles+and+practices+of+resistance

Well. My rest days are Tues/Thurs/Sat. Tuesdays I go watch a movie if one I want to see came out the prior weekend because its like 60% off at a theater nearby on Tuesdays.

Thursdays I usually get home and after sitting around for a while will sit down and try and study for some certifications I want to get for work. Then play guitar/video games for a while.

Saturday I hang out with friends and play video games or other random stuff.

I bought this Lego Death Star a few years ago and spent about 6 months worth of Saturdays for a few hours each Saturday putting it together. It was a blast.

Often I have family stuff to deal with which takes up much of my time, or I should be spending time studying instead of likely sitting around on Reddit or some other stupid crap.

TL;DR - find some hobbies you enjoy that are not the gym.

Edit* - I found some old photos of me working on it. None of it actually finished though. building the exterior and probably looking for a grey piece.

Probably one of the best resources is Dr. Henoch. Works with Juggernaut Training Systems. Check out his videos on Youtube regarding mobility as well as his book (link below)

https://www.amazon.com/Weightlifting-Movement-Assessment-Optimization-Stability/dp/0990798577/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502291089&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=queen+henoch

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Stronger-Training-Revised-Edition/dp/0936070242

old school book is good. I like it cause it has a reference for lift technique for all the lifts you could think of. bodybuilding.com has tons of info on pretty much everything, good articles, there's better blogs out there just go looking, but bodybuilding.com it's waaay to focused on selling shit you probably shouldn't put in your body.

Average Bros tape is really good. For every other tape, I buy Tuf Skin tape base.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001DK34E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZJlVCbNR5G1BJ

Something like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00074H7XC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bkLDDbBTYPKYK

I did. I haven't had a chance to get into the book yet. I also bought Periodization Training for Sports. It'll be interesting to compare the two.

https://www.amazon.com/Sport-Exercise-Biomechanics-Instant-Notes/dp/185996284X

In the book "The Ultimate Guide to Weightlifting" by Dave Randolf is a chapter called "Are You Ready to Olympic Lift" where a couple of assessments are put forward that "are based on the Functional Movement Screen, a system that has been used on thousands of professional athletes to determine their risks for injury, as well as give them the tools to get moving well". These assessments are drills to evaluate your mobility.
..you might also want to check out flexibility

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faithfull-Pine-Handle-48In-16In/dp/B0001IWILU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506196783&sr=8-3&keywords=broom+handles

Seperate item so seperate post:

Athlete's Journal specifically for weightlifting. An empty notebook (Not completely empty, has sections for purpose and organisation). It's nothing fancy, and you could probably by a blank notebook for cheaper and just write everything yourself, but hey, it exists.

https://www.amazon.com/Athletes-Journal-Months-Sports-Training/dp/1725994194/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535823990&sr=8-2&keywords=athlete%27s+journal+weightlifting

A couple of pages

1

2

https://www.amazon.com/Valeo-Weightlifting-Leather-Quality-Cowhide/dp/B0007W2EP0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483969566&sr=8-2&keywords=valeo+belt

I've had this same exact belt for 2.5 years and its still going strong. After a while the loop you typically use with get worn in but still will take a while before it fully tears