On June 22 2011 09:01 decafchicken wrote: Today's workout: FS to max: 152 (T_T this needs to be much higher) 8 snatch singles @ 80 8 CJ singles @ 100 BS to max: 170 (grr why squat feeling so weak lately, i did 3x5 @ 165 like 3 weeks ago T_T) Push Press: 3x5 @ 60 Then determine the 15 minute ride home is too long, pick up a half gallon of milk and drink it. I will get huge or die trying roar.
Suffice to say my traps, legs, and back will all be a bit upset with me tomorrow. While i was "lawyering" (interning with a fellow rugby player who happens to be a baller ass lawyer) today another attorney told me i looked like an athlete and asked me what sport i played for my college rofl :D First tourney this weekend, i'm going to fucking murder someone. I havent hit anyone in 2-3 weeks and i'm getting restless.
On June 22 2011 14:11 AoN.DimSum wrote: max for the day is 152, that doesnt mean it is his absolute best max.
Yeah, I realized that, but it's just strange to me because you're supposed to be able to front squat your C&J weight three times. I know that off days happen, but the divide just struck me as odd.
On June 22 2011 09:01 decafchicken wrote: Today's workout: FS to max: 152 (T_T this needs to be much higher) 8 snatch singles @ 80 8 CJ singles @ 100 BS to max: 170 (grr why squat feeling so weak lately, i did 3x5 @ 165 like 3 weeks ago T_T) Push Press: 3x5 @ 60 Then determine the 15 minute ride home is too long, pick up a half gallon of milk and drink it. I will get huge or die trying roar.
Suffice to say my traps, legs, and back will all be a bit upset with me tomorrow. While i was "lawyering" (interning with a fellow rugby player who happens to be a baller ass lawyer) today another attorney told me i looked like an athlete and asked me what sport i played for my college rofl :D First tourney this weekend, i'm going to fucking murder someone. I havent hit anyone in 2-3 weeks and i'm getting restless.
On June 22 2011 04:22 MajinMojo wrote:
On June 22 2011 04:03 sJarl wrote: To defend the straps: they have their uses while bitch pads and gloves don't.
Indeed, but they still fall under the category of; "you shouldn't be using them until you can lift some heavy ass weights."
I mean, they're frowned upon if you are deadlifting like 235lbs and use straps all throughout warmups as well as work sets.
My opinion on straps: Get chalk. Get stronger hands. Fuck straps. (unless you're oly lifting everyday...maybe)
@cygnus nice lifts! what bodyweight?
Decaf, haven't you like C&J'd 150? How the fuck did you manage to only 1RM your C&J PR? lol
Max is 145, pulled 150 a few times but was donezo by then.
On June 22 2011 14:11 AoN.DimSum wrote: max for the day is 152, that doesnt mean it is his absolute best max.
Yeah, I realized that, but it's just strange to me because you're supposed to be able to front squat your C&J weight three times. I know that off days happen, but the divide just struck me as odd.
Eh i have a shitty clean and front squat. It should be 160+ with my bs as high as it is. Will take a while to change my body into one better at oly lifting than power lifting.
On June 22 2011 08:54 MajinMojo wrote: OK so I finally found the only common denominator for my splitting headaches while lifting. It is apparently ::dun dun duuun...:: HUMIDITY. A few weeks ago there were a number of sessions where I'd get a baaaaad headache every time I lifted. Like it was really debilitating to the point where I either couldn't finish my workout or had to take a really long break, bump my weights down a bit, and do as much as I could manage.
So today it was humid as shit and during my work sets for squats I started to feel unnaturally light headed again and it took me FOREVER to catch my breathe in between each set because of the heavy air. Damn squats took me like half an hour. But I managed it well and wound up able to finish my whole workout without the actual splitting headache. Just took it slow.
Squats took a lot out of me though because I was trying really hard to concentrate on not getting a headache but at the same time I really wanted to push that weight. Last set probably was the worst looking set I've ever done but finishing that 5th rep felt awesome haha. I think somewhere in there, probably 2nd and 4th reps I almost stalled because I let myself rock way too far forward on the way up, but was able to correct myself before my form fell apart.
I also had this problem a few months ago, I believe It's called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderclap_headache For me it was only when I did heavy lifting though, like squats and deadlifts. It would come very suddenly and be very painful so I had to stop workout for 5-10 minutes and sit down, else it felt like i would fall over. I would continue my workout after that but the pain was still there, just not as bad.
First time i got it was during a pull up session when i was fairly new to lifting, but It wasn't that painful then so I just kept lifting. After a while It got so painful i had to stop doing heavy lifting for a few weeks. I believe it's often caused by poor breathing, like you said, so I started to pay more attention to the way I breath when i got back to lifting and haven't had any problems since.
@Cygnus: I think 160 will come easy after a couple of sessions with something to focus my back strength on.
@DimSum: ooohhh nice. I'll see if I can get it properly with a full ROM. How was the hang sloppy?
@sc4k: I used high rep (20-25 reps) deadlifts with double overhand grip, skipping all strap use and plate pinching. Just tried to do something at the end of every workout.
On June 20 2011 20:06 zatic wrote: Hmm I am pretty frustrated with SS currently, and I am wondering if you guys can help me figuring out whats wrong. I basically haven't had any progress for over 4 weeks now. I used to have almost perfect linear progress up until 90kg squat / 60kg bench, which I both hit over 4 weeks ago. Since then I just seem to be unable to get any further. I had a bad lower back, but that has passed more than 3 weeks ago now, and shouldn't explain the stalling on the bench.
So over the past 5 weeks I had only 2 days where I felt good about the lifts. All the other days I couldn't complete any of the sets, and most of the time couldn't even complete what I managed to do the previous days.
Last week Wednesday was the one day that gave me hope becuase it all felt right again, managed 92.5kg 5-5-5 and 62.5kg 5-5-5 and it felt really good. But then Friday with 95kg I managed barely 4-3-2, and felt terrible doing it.
What frustrates me is I know I have a lot more strength in me, I just seem to not be able to activate it on most of my days now. I am never exhausted after those fail days. It feels like most of the time half my muscles just refuse to do work. When squatting I just fall apart at the lowest point, I get totally unstable, weight is shifting around and I don't feel in control at all.
Then when I have one of those few 'good' days everything works perfectly, I can actually access the strength my legs have, I am exhausted afterwards.
I tried sleeping more (one week I slept 8-10 hours a night), eating more, eating less. Just don't get what I can do to make those off-days the exception rather than the rule.
that sounds to me like you are breathing wrong which makes you lose tightness in your core. are you holding your breath until you are at the top again? make sure you squeeze your upper back and abs. really try to focus on it during your lift. other than that I dont know what to tell you except that a legit stall is actually a sign of progress. read the section on stalling in the SS-wiki to see if you are legitimately stalling and then do a reset.
Hey thanks, breathing was defintely something I needed to improve! 95kg 5-5-5 yesterday, sweet. Now lets see if I can continue this.
Follow up question: To improve upper back tightness I also tried a narrower grip on the bar, and tried to raise my elbows. Which worked well, however what happens then is that my wrist bend in, pretty much like this picture here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat
Any tips to avoid that?
Also, I feel what is holding me back most on the deadlift is grip strength. I am currently at 110kg and I know I have more in me, but I can't hold the bar for 5 reps in a row. I don't want to use any aids yet. What exercises can I do to improve grip strength?
On June 22 2011 17:26 zatic wrote: Follow up question: To improve upper back tightness I also tried a narrower grip on the bar, and tried to raise my elbows. Which worked well, however what happens then is that my wrist bend in, pretty much like this picture here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat
Any tips to avoid that?
Also, I feel what is holding me back most on the deadlift is grip strength. I am currently at 110kg and I know I have more in me, but I can't hold the bar for 5 reps in a row. I don't want to use any aids yet. What exercises can I do to improve grip strength?
Shoulder dislocates worked well to help me keep my wrist straight. Start wide and slowly work your way in closer over a couple of weeks.
People often recommend high rep deadlifts at a medium weight for grip strength. What I do personally though is squeeze a tennis ball.
Are there any other workouts/excerices that work the upper and lower back? Well i have been doing deadlifts but i can't afford weights for a few months so would deadlifts still be beneficial for me if i do higher reps? I can about 60kg 3 sets x 20 reps but i feel its getting too easy now.
Barbell rows and dumbbell rows are both good exercises imo. Barbell rows will work your overall back more, while dumbbell rows work the arms and upper back more. Depends what your goals are I guess.
On June 20 2011 20:06 zatic wrote: Hmm I am pretty frustrated with SS currently, and I am wondering if you guys can help me figuring out whats wrong. I basically haven't had any progress for over 4 weeks now. I used to have almost perfect linear progress up until 90kg squat / 60kg bench, which I both hit over 4 weeks ago. Since then I just seem to be unable to get any further. I had a bad lower back, but that has passed more than 3 weeks ago now, and shouldn't explain the stalling on the bench.
So over the past 5 weeks I had only 2 days where I felt good about the lifts. All the other days I couldn't complete any of the sets, and most of the time couldn't even complete what I managed to do the previous days.
Last week Wednesday was the one day that gave me hope becuase it all felt right again, managed 92.5kg 5-5-5 and 62.5kg 5-5-5 and it felt really good. But then Friday with 95kg I managed barely 4-3-2, and felt terrible doing it.
What frustrates me is I know I have a lot more strength in me, I just seem to not be able to activate it on most of my days now. I am never exhausted after those fail days. It feels like most of the time half my muscles just refuse to do work. When squatting I just fall apart at the lowest point, I get totally unstable, weight is shifting around and I don't feel in control at all.
Then when I have one of those few 'good' days everything works perfectly, I can actually access the strength my legs have, I am exhausted afterwards.
I tried sleeping more (one week I slept 8-10 hours a night), eating more, eating less. Just don't get what I can do to make those off-days the exception rather than the rule.
that sounds to me like you are breathing wrong which makes you lose tightness in your core. are you holding your breath until you are at the top again? make sure you squeeze your upper back and abs. really try to focus on it during your lift. other than that I dont know what to tell you except that a legit stall is actually a sign of progress. read the section on stalling in the SS-wiki to see if you are legitimately stalling and then do a reset.
Hey thanks, breathing was defintely something I needed to improve! 95kg 5-5-5 yesterday, sweet. Now lets see if I can continue this.
Follow up question: To improve upper back tightness I also tried a narrower grip on the bar, and tried to raise my elbows. Which worked well, however what happens then is that my wrist bend in, pretty much like this picture here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat
Any tips to avoid that?
Also, I feel what is holding me back most on the deadlift is grip strength. I am currently at 110kg and I know I have more in me, but I can't hold the bar for 5 reps in a row. I don't want to use any aids yet. What exercises can I do to improve grip strength?
glad I could help. wrist/hand position is mostly a flexibility issue (although I dont think its much of a problem tbh as long as you dont try to "push" the bar up with your arms). try deadlifting more with lighter weights and more reps. that should increase your grip strength. are you using hook grip? also plate pinching is a good exercise to strengthen your grip
Thanks everyone for helping me improve my form, I will re-read the squat chapter in SS and reset my squat to work on my form until it is better. Trying to "sit down" more, tightening my core and using a wider stance seems to have helped my form, atleast when I tried with a broom at home.
On June 20 2011 20:06 zatic wrote: Hmm I am pretty frustrated with SS currently, and I am wondering if you guys can help me figuring out whats wrong. I basically haven't had any progress for over 4 weeks now. I used to have almost perfect linear progress up until 90kg squat / 60kg bench, which I both hit over 4 weeks ago. Since then I just seem to be unable to get any further. I had a bad lower back, but that has passed more than 3 weeks ago now, and shouldn't explain the stalling on the bench.
So over the past 5 weeks I had only 2 days where I felt good about the lifts. All the other days I couldn't complete any of the sets, and most of the time couldn't even complete what I managed to do the previous days.
Last week Wednesday was the one day that gave me hope becuase it all felt right again, managed 92.5kg 5-5-5 and 62.5kg 5-5-5 and it felt really good. But then Friday with 95kg I managed barely 4-3-2, and felt terrible doing it.
What frustrates me is I know I have a lot more strength in me, I just seem to not be able to activate it on most of my days now. I am never exhausted after those fail days. It feels like most of the time half my muscles just refuse to do work. When squatting I just fall apart at the lowest point, I get totally unstable, weight is shifting around and I don't feel in control at all.
Then when I have one of those few 'good' days everything works perfectly, I can actually access the strength my legs have, I am exhausted afterwards.
I tried sleeping more (one week I slept 8-10 hours a night), eating more, eating less. Just don't get what I can do to make those off-days the exception rather than the rule.
that sounds to me like you are breathing wrong which makes you lose tightness in your core. are you holding your breath until you are at the top again? make sure you squeeze your upper back and abs. really try to focus on it during your lift. other than that I dont know what to tell you except that a legit stall is actually a sign of progress. read the section on stalling in the SS-wiki to see if you are legitimately stalling and then do a reset.
Hey thanks, breathing was defintely something I needed to improve! 95kg 5-5-5 yesterday, sweet. Now lets see if I can continue this.
Follow up question: To improve upper back tightness I also tried a narrower grip on the bar, and tried to raise my elbows. Which worked well, however what happens then is that my wrist bend in, pretty much like this picture here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat
Any tips to avoid that?
squeeze the bar like a madman and push real hard to keep your wrist straight. its hard work. i only started trying to do it last session and was like "damn lol" *sweats*
Follow up question: To improve upper back tightness I also tried a narrower grip on the bar, and tried to raise my elbows. Which worked well, however what happens then is that my wrist bend in, pretty much like this picture here: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts#The_Squat
Any tips to avoid that?
Also, I feel what is holding me back most on the deadlift is grip strength. I am currently at 110kg and I know I have more in me, but I can't hold the bar for 5 reps in a row. I don't want to use any aids yet. What exercises can I do to improve grip strength?
you should actually have a grip width that would allow you to raise up your elbows without bending your wrist. if you're squatting low bar, you should also grip it with the thumb above the bar and not opposite the palm. so in short, if you cant keep your wrists straight, widen your grip so you could have more room to straighten then while still keeping your elbows as high as u can.
to improve upper back tightness push your chest out and up/
you can try alternate grip which becomes a necessity to some in very heavy deadlifting. or you can try hook gripping.
Woot ordered starting strength, receiving it on the 8th of July and going fucking bananas with it. No idea I would be so hyped, wooooooo!! Apeshit go time real soon. Untill that time should I just stick with crossfit/machines and random dumbell exercises, or try deadlifting and stuff already?
heeee! i would get stuck in as soon as possible, if you havent done some of the shit before it could take you some while to learn the form and also you might realise you have flexibility issues. use verry low weights (SS will tell you to start with very low weight to begin with, but makes you rapidly increase). and work out your diet plan - you need to eat a lot to recover well enough for the next session. but i think you know all this
bathroom = awesome. do hamstring stretches by sticking leg ontop of toilet lid, and enough room to do 1-legged squat ankle flexibility attempts , with the bath to hold onto for balance. muscles are built in the bathroom!!
EPT
