Can't Drop the Weights!

[Ross86]

One of my buddies was squat pressing 350 and lost it over his head. Steel plates on one of those thin rubber floors. It was kind of loud from what I hear. That gym is nuts though..they don't have bumper plates or platforms. And their power cage is made out of flimsy steel, so he never uses it. He only does OL lifts there and doesn't have a problem lowering weights when he doesn't mess up during a lift. It's just good technique...

[Eric3237]

I'll post something later paraphasing what Arthur Drechsler says in his Weightlifting Encyc....in my own words to sum it up. I'm not going to post material from a book though

[widdoes2504]

Originally Posted by hrdgain81

I didnt realize people actually did that, I've never seen someone drop weight from more then hip high ... thats why i didnt see what the big deal was I guess. I agree there is no reason for that, its a good way to get hurt or break shit.

Wow, that is a huge drop (even from hip high) and like people have already mentioned totally unnecessary.

[MONSTAFACE]

at the gym i go to they just have a floor and these little thin mats where you can do deads at. so you can just imagine how it sounds when this dude dropps it from shoulder height.

[ENORRIS]

The gym I work at is on the 3rd floor of a rec center. SO imagine how pissed the people on the second floor get... LoL We've all had to learn to controll the decents... Or catch hell from the entire facility...

[Ross86]

Originally Posted by ENORRIS

The gym I work at is on the 3rd floor of a rec center. SO imagine how pissed the people on the second floor get... LoL We've all had to learn to controll the decents... Or catch hell from the entire facility...

Same here, but it's the second floor. They just opened the gym about a year ago too. Why would you put the platforms directly over the offices? Stupidity is the only reason I can think of. They should have just put it on the first floor. Or moved it to the other side of the building...NOT above the offices.

[Eric3237]

OK, Dreschsler’s section of returing the bar to the platform begins much like Jimmy Shmytz’s article. Dropping becoming popular after rubber plates are invented and all that..

He points out the damage that is done to bars, the bumper plates becoming permanently damaged and the flooring PLUS the subflooring…

Also he states that dropping the bar causes lifters to tend to lose control of the bar prematurely before the lift is completed. A habit that gets worse at they go along and continue to drop the bar.

Weightlifting, he says, has not usually been a money-making venture for it’s sponsor’s. So finding a place to lift in has always been difficult. To add to this trouble OL lifters have garnered a rep for destroying things so commercial gyms don’t want to touch them. And he basically makes the same points that Shmytz does again…limit dropping to missed lifts or only the heaviest lifts and maybe things will change. So you can be the little boy in the Lorax…plant a seed and nurse it…and maybe the OL lifters and all their friends will come back

He says some more stuff which I’ll skip…

Those who get hurt, albeit slightly, by lowering the bar have probably never learned to lower it properly. You can google the rest if you’re interested in what he says about that…I’m sure it’s probably been posted somewhere, but I think a good video on lowering would help most people more.