Fractional Plates

I'm thinking of ordering some today.  Any suggestions?  I was thinking about these:

http://www.prowriststraps.com/inc/sdetail/27457

Looks good. I should've got those in the past when I couldn't add the 2.5 lbs anymore on each side anymore but I didn't want to bring them to the gym and carry them all over. WIth my luck I'd proably leave them on a machine.

un-necessary IMO...

while i understand the concept of these, there's no reason to waste 50 bucks when you can progress with the normal 2.5 pound / 5 pound weights the gym SHOULD already have.


btw,  brihead has a set of microweights i believe.  talk to him and see how he likes them. i know he was real excited about getting them awhile back.

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.

i have a set of microplates as well, but they are for dumbbells and are magnetic as my gym doesnt have dumbbells in 2.5# increments, and i love them

ORIGINAL: TheSilverFox

un-necessary IMO...

while i understand the concept of these, there's no reason to waste 50 bucks when you can progress with the normal 2.5 pound / 5 pound weights the gym SHOULD already have.


btw, brihead has a set of microweights i believe. talk to him and see how he likes them. i know he was real excited about getting them awhile back.

What happens when you can't add 5lbs?

ORIGINAL: TheSilverFox

un-necessary IMO...

while i understand the concept of these, there's no reason to waste 50 bucks when you can progress with the normal 2.5 pound / 5 pound weights the gym SHOULD already have.


btw,  brihead has a set of microweights i believe.  talk to him and see how he likes them. i know he was real excited about getting them awhile back.

Hence the reason I'm buying them.  My presses are coming close to stalling, but my squat and dead are still going strong.

still. you can't progress forever.  the micro-plates just allow the process to take longer.  you will at some point stall, or reach failure.

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.

Micro plates not only allow for smaller increments and delayed stalling, but they also help break plateaus too.  Granted, I'm not at the point to where I have plateaud on anything, but when the time comes, I am sure they will be useful at lifting more weight.  Alot of people use them for that tho.

ORIGINAL: TheSilverFox

still. you can't progress forever.  the micro-plates just allow the process to take longer.  you will at some point stall, or reach failure.

You can progress forever, if you do it right.

Microplates don't delay the process, they overcome it.

If you're stuck benching 305, and can't do 310 (using 2 1/2 pound plates) and you add two 1/2 pound plates, making it 306 pounds, and you lift that, that's progress.

My school gym has microplates, I use them, they work.

President of the Emancipation Detoxification. DBB's oldest forum group, punching baby seals since 2/12/08

so if i use microplates for 10 years, and start at 300 pounds on benchpress.. by the time 10 years goes by, i should be able to do at least 1000 pounds. (diet, and the rest of the routine performed are not combined with that i mentioned above.  this is based strictly on the microplates)

see... that's not gonna happen.   microplates DO work, and they have their part.  but... u cannot progress forever.  the body has certain limits

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.

ORIGINAL: TheSilverFox

still. you can't progress forever.  the micro-plates just allow the process to take longer.  you will at some point stall, or reach failure.

So why not allow longer progress?

Of course you will stall at some point. This is the point where your ability to program comes into play.

ORIGINAL: TheSilverFox

so if i use microplates for 10 years, and start at 300 pounds on benchpress.. by the time 10 years goes by, i should be able to do at least 1000 pounds. (diet, and the rest of the routine performed are not combined with that i mentioned above.  this is based strictly on the microplates)

see... that's not gonna happen.   microplates DO work, and they have their part.  but... u cannot progress forever.  the body has certain limits

If you're genetically gifted and use steroids, perhaps you could.

But if you're stuck at 300, and for 10 years, once a week add 1/2 pounds to your bench, in 10 years you would be benching(theoretically) 560 pounds.

If you can add half a pound a week that is, you might have to go down to 1/4 pound, 1/8 pound, 1/16 of a pound.

President of the Emancipation Detoxification. DBB's oldest forum group, punching baby seals since 2/12/08

seems kind of ridiculous to me.  If you cant bench 225x10 and you can bench 220x10 then keep working with 225 until you can do 10...then up it.

If you fail trying to put up the 225x10 you obviously did more work than the 220x10, theres your progression.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

What if you could put up 224x10?  Wouldn't that be more beneficial than doing 220x10, and also bring you closer to your goal of doing 225x10?

President of the Emancipation Detoxification. DBB's oldest forum group, punching baby seals since 2/12/08

ORIGINAL: Yet

What if you could put up 224x10?  Wouldn't that be more beneficial than doing 220x10, and also bring you closer to your goal of doing 225x10?

Why wouldnt you just take 225 to failure

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

ORIGINAL: RollingStone

ORIGINAL: Yet

What if you could put up 224x10? Wouldn't that be more beneficial than doing 220x10, and also bring you closer to your goal of doing 225x10?

Why wouldnt you just take 225 to failure

That wouldn't work.

"Dimes, nicks and chips are for chicks." - Dave Tate

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i acually really want some of these they help with bill starr's alot i wonder if they would be at dick's...

Goals by end of 2009:
Bench 205
Squat 255 ATG
Squat Clean 185

"There is no elevator to success, you must take the stairs."

ORIGINAL: rippedchick

"Dimes, nicks and chips are for chicks." - Dave Tate

Yep. But not everyone is as tough as Dave Tate.

I lift like a chick.  I love the fractional plates.  $50 is worth another month or two's worth of progress IMO.  They go as low as 1/4 lb., which means you can up your OH press 1/2 lb at a time.  Progress is progress. 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

My opinion: Fractional plates are completely goofy except for competitions.

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ORIGINAL: rippedchick

My opinion: Fractional plates are completely goofy except for competitions.

Why?

If I could only be buried with one thing when I die, it would be my set of fractional plates.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

these arent at dick's btw i checked yesterday..

Goals by end of 2009:
Bench 205
Squat 255 ATG
Squat Clean 185

"There is no elevator to success, you must take the stairs."

ORIGINAL: coldfire

ORIGINAL: rippedchick

My opinion: Fractional plates are completely goofy except for competitions.

Why?

Because you can progress in so many ways that don't require fractional plates. Move the bar just slightly faster and you've added that half pound. Add an extra rep and you've added 3 pounds. Do a couple negatives at the end of the set. Add another set. Drop the weight and work for speed.

The are so many ways to progress that fractional plates are worthless IMHO. If you can't add 5lbs (chips), then do the things above until you can. Busting out tiny plates isn't going to get you there any faster than these other options.

If I saw a guy start loading fractional plates I would laugh. - But again that's just my opinion.

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ORIGINAL: rippedchick

ORIGINAL: coldfire

ORIGINAL: rippedchick

My opinion: Fractional plates are completely goofy except for competitions.

Why?

 If you can't add 5lbs (chips), then do the things above until you can. Busting out tiny plates isn't going to get you there any faster than these other options.

 thats what i was going to say....with my olympic set (310 lbs) I have 2.5 pound plates...thats only 5 pounds added...which is about the weight of a full can of protein...If that puts you over the edge then keep working! 

Current Stack: HDROL,Celltech,Superpump 250, Glutamine,Beta alanine,Whey protein.

If you're doing a routine that uses strictly a linear progression (add weight daily or weekly to the same sets and reps), then everyone will reach a point where 5 lb. jumps are no longer possible.  This usually happens with OH presses, bench press, and power cleans.  5 lb. jumps may no longer be possible, but 2 lb. jumps or even 1 lb. or 1/2 lb. jumps may still be possible. 
 
Sure, there are other ways to eventually get these lifts up, but why not exhaust the simplest, fastest, and most straight-forward way for as long as possible which is to just simply add more weight to the bar and do the same amount of sets and reps as you did last workout? 
 
Milk the linear (novice) gains for as long as physically possible, then switch up the programming.  That's the way I see it.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

See and I think a strictly linear type of progression is limiting - so that's where we differ.

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It is limiting, but it's the fastest way to progress in weight IMO. 
 
That's why I like the idea of progressing like that for as long as physically possible, then look at other ways of getting stronger.
 
 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

It's not just for novices.  I believe I remember smoundzou saying a while back that he broke through plateaus using homemade fractional weight with chains or something.