Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
7.56 Little discs are those lighter than the standard 1.25-kilogram and 2.5-
pound plates that are usually the smallest ones available in most gyms. (See
Resources for suppliers of little discs.) While these little gems are a great help
for male trainees, they are even more useful for female trainees.
7.57 With the little discs you are perfectly set for adding very small increments,
especially to the smaller exercises such as barbell overhead presses, curls,
grip work, and basic dumbbell work. If you use fixed-weight dumbbells,
which usually go up in 5-pound increments, securely tape the little discs to
the actual dumbbells when you need to add just a little weight. (If you use
adjustable dumbbells, then you will load the little discs as normal, inside the
collars.) Bigger exercises such as the powerlifts do not demand the lightest
discs as much as the smaller basic movements do. But at the end of a cycle
you can eke out more growth weeks if not months on the biggest exercises by
using very small discs. Once you start using them you will quickly appreciate
their huge value.
7.58 Exercises that have the potential for the biggest poundages, e.g., short-range
pulling movements, especially if done for singles (by advanced lifters), can
progress over the long term without little discs having to be used. Increments
of 5 pounds or perhaps even more can happen weekly, for months
on end, in those specialized exercises. ose are not, however, the exercises
being considered here.
7.59 Ideally, get yourself a set of discs that enables you to cover a 5-pound “distance”
in 1-pound jumps, or 2.5 kilos in 0.5-kilo increments. To do this you
need more than just one pair of small discs. You will need, for example, two
pairs of 1-pound discs and a pair of half-pound ones. With metric plates,
two pairs of half-kilo ones, and one pair of quarter-kilo ones will do the
job. If you are performing leverage bar work for your forearms, you will also
appreciate a quarter-pound disc or a 100-gram plate.
7.60 You may get small discs with small holes in them when you really need discs
with the large holes for use on Olympic bars, or vice versa. Olympic plates
can be used on an exercise bar, but jam them between much larger plates to
reduce their rattling while exercising. e small exercise-bar discs will suffice
for an Olympic bar, but you will have to tape them securely onto the bigger
plates loaded on your bar, or securely tie/hang them onto the bar itself. It
might seem weird to attach the discs in this way, but if that is what is needed
to get the job done, do it. You may cause smiles in the gym, but after a few
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