On October 03 2013 06:08 MtlGuitarist97 wrote: Any tips on my squat form would be greatly appreciated. This is my first time squatting in a squat stand, so the racking/unracking was a bit awkward.
Some stuff that I'm pretty sure I had an issue with:
-Rounded lower back (butt wink) -Chest not far enough up -Neck/head positioning(?)
I feel like my depth was pretty good, but I had the issue with butt wink. On some of the reps it was a bit more exaggerated though.
I think you identified the main things. I'm not the best at picking things out from watching videos but I would guess you are lacking some hamstring/calf/ankle mobility so when you tell your body to sit down with this weight it has to get the mobility somewhere, this is the rounding back and butt wink. Mobility in your lower back is baaad, stability good. You need to get mobile in the correct areas instead of tight(stable) in the areas that should be mobile. Hopefully that helps paint a picture of the whole thing as a system. I think that would resolve all the issues.
Where to go for that? As we keep harping on, kelly starrett + squat
Yeah, that lower back mobility is limited by my hamstrings more than anything, I think. I had really flat feet when I was younger, as well as a predisposition to scoliosis and tight hamstrings (my dad is nearly crippled from very severe back problems as well as significant muscle tightness in his back and hamstrings) so I'll continue to work on that.
Should I stall for my next workout or just make sure to focus on form?
On October 03 2013 05:37 decafchicken wrote: I literally just posted the two foam rollers i recommend 3 posts ago.
Yes, two of them. And within a few posts three others were recommended. These all apparently have pros/cons which is why I said I was unsure of what to get. I can just take a stab at it, but I might not be getting the one that best suits my needs.
Everyone has different warm up routines and stretching. Whatever works for you. Some people don't warmup at all some go at for an hour. Google/youtube your problem areas and use as necessary. Kelly starret has something good for just about anything. Again don't over think stuff so much and do a bit of googling/reading/watching and most importantly DOING. I've learned far more from experimenting and experience than anything else.
I was basically out of commission for weeks because what I was doing apparently wasn't working. Telling me not to overthink this after that doesn't seem very applicable anymore.
Telling me to research my 'problem areas' also is difficult to follow because I don't know where my problem lies... I just know that using my legs is fucking them up. I will make sure not to sit for too long at a time as you suggested. I need to change my routine because of the problems I'm having... and I need help knowing what to change the routine to. How is this:
Before I leave the house to go to the gym (5 minutes away) do some of the foam roll stretches in that limber 11 video mordek suggested, and also do the hip flexor stretch on each side using the couch. Then go to the gym and walk for a few minutes on the treadmill. Then do everything else at the gym. Then come home, drink a protein shake, redo the foam roll stretches and couch stretch.
By the way can I use a softball instead of a lacrosse ball?
Your example sincerely sounds like a great start. You should start that asap.
I think what decafchicken is getting at is the common "paralysis by analysis" problem. You're better off doing anything on any foam roller then spending the next week+ debating on the foam roller. I do this all the time myself personally. You have to put off the purchase to do more research, then your life is busy so you don't get around to that for awhile. Then when you do you get some more questions and put it off again. We're trying to encourage you to make a leap now and then you'll have a better understanding. I think your foam roller question can be settled by "Am I willing to spend $60+ on the premium roller yes/no?" If you answer no, pick whichever $20 roller comes with free shipping on prime and you're set.
Softball works but not quite the same. Doesn't quite get into your glutes the way a lacrosse will. In the same way you can use a golf ball on your calves (you golf right?) Softball is nice for the hamstrings as it gets off the ground far enough but gets in there unlike a foam roller.
Yeah pretty much exactly what I was trying to get at.
Okay I will do that. I decided to take the advice you guys gave me to the next level, and drove over to a sporting goods store. I picked up a foam roller and a lacrosse ball. I will use that video I mentioned earlier to see how to stretch the different parts of the legs. Hopefully this combined with careful attention not to sit for too long will undo most if not all of the problem I'm having right now.
My SI joint pain has been nonexistent since I buckled down into this routine: + Show Spoiler +
Mobility: (at minimum but obviously longer duration / higher frequency is great) Stretches Couch Stretch 2 min each side Lunge Stretch 2 min each side Pigeon Pose 2 min each side Reverse Hyper Hang 1 min Bar Hang 1 min
Myofascial Release Lacrosse Ball 5 min cumulative Glutes Piriformis Psoas
Foam Roller 5 min cumulative TFL IT Band Quads
General Ice Back/Hip daily Fish Oil daily
Also spent most of my work days standing at my desk instead of sitting (like 8 of 9 hours) the past week and I think that's contributed.
What's a quick way to warm up a bit before doing some stretching? Usually I use walking as a warmup, but what if you don't want to go outside prior to stretching?
If my lower back rounds while deadlifting, is my weakness just core? Not sure what I need to work on and how I can keep my back more straight. Example video in spoiler: + Show Spoiler +
it's probably both flexibility and strength. flexibility cuz even before you lift the bar, your back is already rounded - your ankles are probably tight. or you have really long legs and short arms.
I'm having a really difficult time eating enough calories. I'm 192 cm and apparently my caloric maintenance is 1948. I go running five times a week. Four sets of five minutes of high intensity followed by two minutes of low intensity. So I'm trying to eat around 2300 calories a day. My goal is to become just a healthy strong version of myself. I also do a low intensity full body workout three times a week. Once again, I'm not trying to gain or lose, I'm just trying to get my body strong.
So far this is my diet:
12 pm: 6 egg whites, 2 cups raw spinach, 1 large chicken breast, 4 tbsp of light greek feta dressing = approx 500 cal 3 pm : 2 cups of skim milk = approx 180 cal 6 pm : 6 egg whites, 2 cups raw spinach, 1 large chicken breast, 4 tbsp of light greek feta dressing = approx 500 cal 8 pm: Protein shake, two scoops of powder, 1 large banana, 2 tbsp of peanut butter, 2 cups of skim milk, 3 tbsp of coconut oil = approx 1000 cal
Total daily calorie intake = approx 2200
I also munch on shelled peanuts and I take a multivitamin, flaxseed oil and fish oil supplements.
This has been my diet pretty steadily for the last month. I also have a cheat day every eight days. Now my problem is that eating this much food is so fucking hard for me. I used to have very little exercise in my life and I was eating somewhere around 1200 calories a day. Eating an extra 1300 calories sucks ass. In fact, for my last two meals of the day, I'm usually eating/drinking them over the sink and force feeding it down.
My question is: How long will it take for my body to adapt to consuming this many calories? Or is this struggle just something that every person has and my poor eating habits in the past have left me ill prepared?
well you've been on it for a month, so how do you feel? is it getting any easier to eat that many calories, or is it still difficult? everyone's different, so it's hard to say how long it takes.
my advice: - don't eat the same thing everyday. it gets boring and mundane to eat the same thing all the time, and you might find it easier to eat more if you're really enjoying what you eat. changing it up also helps you get the right amounts of micronutrients. if you're eating the same couple foods all the time, and those foods don't contain all the nutrients you need, you end up with deficiencies. - eat whole eggs instead of just the egg whites. you're missing out on a lot of nutrients. - why are you eating light salad dressing if you're trying to get in more calories? same thing with the skim milk.
On October 06 2013 12:34 Fumanchu wrote: I'm having a really difficult time eating enough calories. I'm 192 cm and apparently my caloric maintenance is 1948. I go running five times a week. Four sets of five minutes of high intensity followed by two minutes of low intensity. So I'm trying to eat around 2300 calories a day. My goal is to become just a healthy strong version of myself. I also do a low intensity full body workout three times a week. Once again, I'm not trying to gain or lose, I'm just trying to get my body strong.
So far this is my diet:
12 pm: 6 egg whites, 2 cups raw spinach, 1 large chicken breast, 4 tbsp of light greek feta dressing = approx 500 cal 3 pm : 2 cups of skim milk = approx 180 cal 6 pm : 6 egg whites, 2 cups raw spinach, 1 large chicken breast, 4 tbsp of light greek feta dressing = approx 500 cal 8 pm: Protein shake, two scoops of powder, 1 large banana, 2 tbsp of peanut butter, 2 cups of skim milk, 3 tbsp of coconut oil = approx 1000 cal
Total daily calorie intake = approx 2200
I also munch on shelled peanuts and I take a multivitamin, flaxseed oil and fish oil supplements.
This has been my diet pretty steadily for the last month. I also have a cheat day every eight days. Now my problem is that eating this much food is so fucking hard for me. I used to have very little exercise in my life and I was eating somewhere around 1200 calories a day. Eating an extra 1300 calories sucks ass. In fact, for my last two meals of the day, I'm usually eating/drinking them over the sink and force feeding it down.
My question is: How long will it take for my body to adapt to consuming this many calories? Or is this struggle just something that every person has and my poor eating habits in the past have left me ill prepared?
I used to be you. I was 193 cm and 60kg in high school, and I was a distance runner who never ate much of anything.
There's a couple things you can do to make it easier to get the food in - go for more calorie dense foods. Eat the yolks in your eggs (they're good for you) make your milk whole milk. It won't feel like you're eating more volume wise, but the extra fat will add quite a few calories, so you can either eat less later, or just have a higher calorie total for the day. You can also try adding more carbs especially as a runner you shouldn't worry too much about eating too much of them. Have a cup of white rice or something at 3pm, that's easy enough to just cram down without really thinking about.
As for your question... it will get a little easier, but it's still pretty much always going to suck.
I'm trying to improve power out of the hole for my deadlift. I've started to do deadlifts at around a 4 inch deficit. How long should i stick at this until returning to regular deadlifts?
On October 07 2013 00:38 ShadeR wrote: I'm trying to improve power out of the hole for my deadlift. I've started to do deadlifts at around a 4 inch deficit. How long should i stick at this until returning to regular deadlifts?
Off the ground has always been weakest for me. From what I've read you don't want to go beyond a couple of inches deficit, otherwise the mechanics change too much. You could try doing your warmup sets with a deficit and then doing working sets regular, that way you don't have to take too much time away from doing the actual lift while still getting some good deficit work in.
Everyone says doing deficits helps, but I didn't notice a difference even after doing them for quite some time. Only thing that did improve breaking off the ground for me was front squats. Everyone's different, so your weak spot might not be the same as mine, but fwiw deficits didn't help me off the ground much at all, while front squats seemed to help quite a bit.
But to more directly answer your question, you shouldn't stop doing regular deadlifts at all. Do a few sets of deficit deads after you do your regular pulling, or on a different day depending on how the rest of your program is structured.
On October 03 2013 08:21 micronesia wrote: Okay I will do that. I decided to take the advice you guys gave me to the next level, and drove over to a sporting goods store. I picked up a foam roller and a lacrosse ball. I will use that video I mentioned earlier to see how to stretch the different parts of the legs. Hopefully this combined with careful attention not to sit for too long will undo most if not all of the problem I'm having right now.
How's the routine going? Starting to notice any differences?
On October 03 2013 08:21 micronesia wrote: Okay I will do that. I decided to take the advice you guys gave me to the next level, and drove over to a sporting goods store. I picked up a foam roller and a lacrosse ball. I will use that video I mentioned earlier to see how to stretch the different parts of the legs. Hopefully this combined with careful attention not to sit for too long will undo most if not all of the problem I'm having right now.
How's the routine going? Starting to notice any differences?
I've been doing my stretch routine once on my off days, and twice on exercise days (once before, once after). I'm alternating between a day of exercise and a day of rest.
I am still cutting my jog off early because I'm getting discomfort in my hip flexors or something in that area. I'm hoping a few more days of this diligent routine will result in improvement...
Hey guys, I've hit my goals with my squat and deadlift (1.6 bw squat, 2x bw DL) and I'm satisfied with those as they are. However, my upper body work isn't nearly up to the same standards. I only have about 70kg 3x5 bench press and 47.5kg 3x5 overhead press at 83-84kg bodyweight. I hope to increase them to about 90kg 3x5 BP and 60kg OHP.
Anyway, I've been doing SS up until now, and now that I have reached my goals as far as squats and deadlifts go, I feel that I should perhaps switch up my programming to something that lets me reach my other goals faster. I hope to start doing more bodyweight related exercises too. I definately want to maintain my squat and deadlift but I don't want my condition to be too hard to maintain.
What should I change? And what should I add? I will be working out 2-3 times a week. This is what I'm thinking, any suggestions would be helpful. I guess I wouldn't mind picking up a full, balanced bodyweight program either, and just getting some squats and deads in now and then.
B: 3x5 front squats 3x5 OHP 3x8 benchpress (with a bit lighter weights) some chinups/pullups
C: (only if I get a third workout for the week) 3 sets of hanging leg raises 3x5 bench press 3 sets of dips 2-3 sets of pullups/chinups
and alternate between the two (or three). It's really not that much different from the original SS, especially if I only get 2 workout sessions for the week.
EPT
