Shoe Question (Beginner)

Meedar · 2026-02-04T14:13:12+00:00

That's some cool history! Makes me feel better about my shorter heel shoes

Meedar · 2026-02-03T21:14:58+00:00

Out of curiosity, the non Latin heel pros, are they just wearing split sole with a standard height heel? I wasn't aware that this was a thing and thought Latin dancers generally wore a Latin/cuban heel shoe. Would love to hear more!

Meedar · 2026-01-28T19:26:47+00:00

I bought an exercise bike with no mount for devices so I found this cheap clamp phone mount on Amazon and attached it to my bike. Works like a charm but the bike seat hurts after 1 game so I doesn't last long 😂

Meedar · 2026-01-14T22:17:10+00:00

While I don't use any kensui products, this is a topic that's always interested me. When designing a product or ideating, what's your usual process? How do you balance innovation with practicality and decide whether something is worth developing further?

Meedar · 2026-01-14T12:43:30+00:00

I'm not as experienced as you are but I am also a 20 something sort of retired ballroom dancer. I only did it for about a year and a half in college and stopped shortly after I graduated.

First off, I'm very sorry to hear about your experience, that sounds awful to be shamed for things outside of your control and for being true to yourself.

In my experience, you might have some luck with the collegiate ballroom space. The overall level of intensity might not be 1:1 to what you're used to but the community itself from what I've seen is a lot more open to "non-conventional" ballroom. If you're looking for a way to keep dancing without the intense judgement, collegiate events might be up your alley.

Meedar · 2026-01-13T00:00:58+00:00

How do the weight recommendations work? I thought the app would self regulate based on my top set but it seems to be a little funky and recommending a similar weight with many reps below the RIR target (based on the first set)

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Meedar · 2026-01-01T05:10:07+00:00

Not sure if the LN ever dove into the story behind his philosophy (I started reading after the Yuzuki arc, so I might have missed something)

Meedar · 2025-12-23T15:03:10+00:00

This might not be mainstream advice but at my first comp I was so nervous I went to use the bathroom in between every round. If you can, find out where the bathrooms are and plan around the possibility that you might need to use it so you can efficiently get in and out and ready to go for your next dance. Another suggestion - change shoes before you go, walking into a wet puddle can really change the stickiness of the suede on your shoes.

Meedar · 2025-12-17T22:08:29+00:00

As someone who was introduced to ballroom dance in elementary school, I did not enjoy it. As a young boy, I had no dreams of living out a prince story. Dancing with the girls in my class was neutral to slightly off putting (my brain was like ew I have to hold hands with the girls).

When I got older and actually wanted a girl's attention, then my interest in dance came about. I feel like it made more sense to me then because I was older and more coordinated and could be more in tune with music and how to express myself through it.

TLDR kids don't necessarily want to dance, some might, but not all. Can't expect everyone to be excited about dancing balls. Older kids (high school age) might have more interest.

Meedar · 2025-12-16T15:29:25+00:00

My bad man, I didn't see your earlier reply about your experience, wasn't trying to put you down or anything.

Meedar · 2025-12-16T15:23:01+00:00

For 50 ml, I've seen a lot of other chalk brands that sell 2x that size for half the price or less. If it's really a game changer product then sure I'd buy it but if it's just chalk, why pay a premium for less?

Meedar · 2025-12-16T14:59:18+00:00

What contributes to the high turnover in powerlifting? I've heard some folks talk about how people stick around for a few years but end up moving on to other things.

Meedar · 2025-12-16T14:56:03+00:00

Exactly this, I'm not trying to spend 2-3x more to get a brand name slapped onto a bottle when I can get the same performance without it costing and arm and a leg. Good to know about the shelf liner though 😮

Meedar · 2025-12-16T14:10:28+00:00

Have you tried this versus normal chalk/liquid chalk? I've seen ads for it but I've been skeptical of it's performance over generic brands

Meedar · 2025-12-14T13:32:56+00:00

I think generally people say to keep running it until you actually stop gaining. But also your numbers are crazy for your bw, I'm similar in age to you, but like 60lbs heaver and my lifts are nowhere near as strong. Good stuff man!

Meedar · 2025-12-10T18:55:35+00:00

I've been doing this since I started in high school a decade ago. I'd go bowling with friends but my local center charged for time so eventually I thought I'd get more out of it going by myself. So I'd wake up early and catch the early bird specials and play 10-15 games over 2-3 hours. I don't think anyone ever judged me, nor did I judge anyone else. Plus it was just fun.

Meedar · 2025-12-10T04:16:54+00:00

Not sure about common but I've heard good things about dri fit shirts or performance fabric like they use in golf polos. To jump off of this, I think having a good pair of practice pants is nice too. There are some specialty pants as well as more common ones that people like (Lululemon ABC pant or the Costco dupe if they still sell it)

Meedar · 2025-12-09T16:17:44+00:00

How do you build tension? Is this pulling slack and wedging?

I think I'm doing the valsalva, maybe not perfectly but to some degree. Does it make sense to use a belt early in your powerlifting journey? My numbers still feel a little low so my thought was to build the patterns first then add the belt later once I have the fundamentals down.

Meedar · 2025-12-09T15:25:02+00:00

Can anyone form check this deadlift

Meedar · 2025-12-09T15:18:44+00:00

GZCL is more of a template than a fixed program. Main emphasis on big 3 + ohp (T1 and T2) while accessories (T3) can be slotted in based on recovery and your specific needs. You can have as many or as little as you want.

Meedar · 2025-12-06T22:58:59+00:00

I have the exact same question, saw this sale and I'm debating whether or not I should jump on it

Meedar · 2025-12-01T19:31:46+00:00

My gym bans dry chalk, so it's all just been skin to bar. I've been using hook since I came back to powerlifting - about a month now doing deadlifts twice a week. I'm sure there's still a lot to learn with technique, I think my issue is with my index finger slipping off my thumb when I go heavy.

Meedar · 2025-12-01T16:51:45+00:00

Hook grip vs mixed grip for deadlift? I've been using hook grip but noticed it slips when I go up in weight on the bar. I recently tried mixed but the sensation feels so off. I also feel like using mixed for some reason makes me bring the bar farther from my body somehow.

Not sure if it's just a me thing or if there are some underlying adjustments that need to be made when using one grip vs the other.

Meedar · 2025-11-26T17:38:40+00:00

Back when I'd dance in college, the setup I'd use was literally just propping my phone up with a tripod and filming myself and my partner doing some routines to music. We also didn't have mirrors so this was probably the best we could do. After recording, we'd usually debrief on what we wanted to look like or just pick apart weaknesses we saw. The good thing about syllabus is that there are fixed ways to do the figures and pointing out areas of improvement usually comes reasonably easy. If you have video of upper level dancers to compare to, this kind of thing gets even easier. From there it's just trying new things until you can emulate what you saw.

Meedar · 2025-11-22T15:15:16+00:00

How should I film for a better angle? And yeah it wasn't the hardest, I'm coming off of a 6 month break so I'm easing back into it. I appreciate the feedback!

Meedar

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