2. Like I say, practice to get the balance right. It's not going to be totally stable. Make sure the wide-grip attachment is right up near the plates on the bar so you can at least get as much stabilisation as possible.

3. It's like touching wood for luck.. as in, I hope what I just said doesn't happen to me lol.

3a. If it gets painful, it's probably going to be painful on your forearms depending on grip strength. Depends on the bars too. And yes how much your lifting. Again.. try it for yourself and see would be the best way to see if it's going to hurt you or not.

3b. Monkey grip doesn't involve the thumb as much, so could have less change for having issues there. I personally don't think it's as strong as a regular overhand grip with thumbs wrapped around the bar.

4. That's great!

5. Both paused and regular touch and go reps on bench are good. Pause reps tend to help more towards building strength. It will take more effort because you're stopping and having to re-engage your muscles to inititate the movement again without bounce or momentum.

Do you just alternate touch n go and pause? Like what is the advantage of touch n go if it's worse for strength and size?

I never said touch and go was worse for size.

Touch and go is going to help you get more volume. If you pick a weight, say 225lbs, and you can bench it for 8 reps touch and go, chances are you won't get that many with pause reps. So typically more volume and muscle building with touch and go reps - not to say you won't build muscle with pause reps though, because you can.

But it's something about having to re-initiate the movement that can be useful for power and strength training. I don't know the exact science behind it, but it may be to do with pause reps also helping to activate fast twitch muscle fibers.

So it depends what you're training for as to what you use.

okay. I'm going to try only using paused for a while and find out!

OK cool! Could help with getting that bench stronger! Another variation is the pin press that's used in the PPL program - https://muscularstrength.com/Push-Pull-Legs

I might try that at some point since my new gym has a place to set that up. By the way I was looking at the dip belts on amazon and I see some people saying that they either aren't durable or the chain is too short... could you tell me which one you got? it seems durable if it didn't snap when you were doing those weighted dips with 3 plates

If you're worried about Amazon ones, grab one from Gronk Fitness instead. That will be quality!

Is this the one you use? https://www.gronkfitnessproducts.com/products/dip-belt?variant=26038725574

That is the only one they have. It's about two times as expensive as the ones on Amazon. I don't know if it's the picture but that chain looks pretty short...?

Yeah it will be more expensive, but you get what you pay for. If you pay more, you should expect more quality. And you don't want the chain too long, you don't want the weights dragging on the ground when you have the belt on haha.

Hey Vect0rs,

A nice trick for dip belts is to load it up by using a heavy duty carabiner and loading pin. This will prevent the weight from swinging and you won't need to adjust the chain. It will also be more comfortable and should make up for the quality of the belt. That said though, you do get what you pay for. Most dip belts can handle well over 100kg though so I wouldn't worry too much. Hope this helps!

Okay thanks btw I want to buy some chalk as well since I might as well order it at the same time,

I see these two have good ratings, but is this the right kind ?

https://www.amazon.com/SPRI-Gymnastics-Climbing-Bouldering-Weight-Lifting/dp/B00G8UKA0Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/RAGE-Fitness-Magnesium-Gymnastics-Weightlifting/dp/B00L5HZD40/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1528851837&sr=1-4&keywords=lifting+chalk

The chalk should be on point, if it's designed for gymnasts and climbers I wouldn't worry. As long as your hands are nice and dry, it will be good. Looks like solid chalk and the price is perfect. I say go for it brother.

Ordered both can't wait to do weighted pull ups and dips now!

1. Also by the way, I remember a long time ago either Athlean-X or someone else was saying how eating, more specifically protein, before sleeping is important because like your body is "starvng" when you sleep and eating will help with repairing the muscles compared to if you haven't eaten for a while before sleep, is this bs or legit?

2. Also related to question 1, my family thinks eating before bed is bad because you aren't digesting the food, and actually I sometimes eat chocolate chip cookies before sleeping and turns out that's why my sleep was messed up, the next day when I didn't eat them I slept a lot better, however if I eat what I normally have before sleep, omelette and fruit I sleep perfectly fine.

3. So to wrap this subject up, how long before sleeping would you eat, and does it matter what you eat last?

The chalk does look good and cost effective!

1. I wouldn't say it's completely necessary. But it doesn't hurt either. Protein is a good option, but more specifically casein protein, as it's slow digesting, making it a good choice when you are going to sleep and won't be eating for at least probably another 8 hours.

2. The cookies were probably messing with your sleep because of the sugar in them. Put simply, it probably got you a bit hyped up before bed with a spike in insulin (probably). But eating before bed in general isn't bad.. I would say try to make it 30-60 minutes before you do go to bed though, so your body can at least digest most of it before sleeping. You'll still be digesting it while sleeping, just maybe not as fast. Think about this.. if you eat and then go to bed, chances are you will be lighter in the morning compared to the night before, because what you ate has been digested. It's not just sitting there.

3. Answered above!

1. Well more specifiacally will it have any affect on muscle growth or no?

2. Aside from casien shake, cause I don't actually use any supplements like whey, creatine or anything else, would an omelette and fruit be a good choice before bed?

1. Not by itself. It won't do anything for you unless you're in a surplus overall to build muscle.

2. Sure that sounds fine. The eggs are a good source of protein and the fruit is pretty low carb!