1RM testing today! Vids, pics, depth check, and my bench sucks

[birdiefu]

Today I tested my 1RMs in the three big lifts as a "practice" for my meet in April. All of my last attempts were based on the estimated 1RMs from my last cycle of 5/3/1, where my reps were still pretty high (8-10). I am disappointed in my DL, where I ended up maxing the same as my squat, but I'm guessing I could probably do better if I was testing just the DL on it's own day. I only got the 245 like an inch up on the right side with my back arching like a mo-fo before I gave up and uttered too much profanity for such a public place.

I had never videotaped my bench before and was surprised at two things. 1 - My arch is a lot more than I thought I was achieving, and 2 - my bar path is stupid high and I need to put it lower to take advantage of leverage and my arch. That's even taking into consideration the camera tilt, which makes it look even worse.

I am also wondering about my squat depth. I have awful hip flexibility and even with lighter weights can't really go much lower without my lower back tucking. I have taken stills of the three different weights of my squat at the lowest frame. Unfortunately, the camera moved between takes and is crooked for two out of the three. The 175 shot makes me seem deeper, the 205 I think is the most level, and the 225 is angled so I seem more shallow. But, my main question is - taking the camera tilt into consideration, is my 225 legit?

I wish I had a vid from the back for my squats so you all could critique my stance and stuff - since the last vid I posted a few months back I'm doing lowbar again with wider hand grip.


Squat depth stills:

175 - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/birdiefu/mov03f_Capture.jpg

205 - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/birdiefu/mov040_Capture.jpg

225 - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/birdiefu/mov041_Capture.jpg

Video:

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Critiques welcome, I have a bit under 2 months until my meet and would like to increase my numbers at least a little!

[Euqinom]

Your 225 depends on what rule you apply. It is not below parallel considering IPF rules. On second look, it's not even parallel, therefore, not legit. ;)

[RJS2009]

Yay videos, these look really good! It took me a while to come up with some useful things to say.

Squats look like good low bar squats. The only thing I'd work on here is trying to be a little less hesitant at the bottom. It looks like you are trying to feel out how deep you're going, and almost coming to a stop to do so (or is that a powerlifting thing?). Maybe try reading up on the idea of the "bounce" out of the hole that you should feel in a low bar squat. It's a stretch reflex that you feel as tightness in the hamstrings and adductors. Oh, and you might want to video another angle sometime to make sure your knees are not caving in at any point. That can screw up your depth too.

The bounce/stretch reflex is described in this article (you'll have to add the http since I'm still not cool enough to post links):
startingstrength.com/articles/active_hip_2_rippetoe.pdf

The 225 looks like it is technically high, but it's close enough that it might be good at a meet? I dunno. 205 seems fine.

You already mentioned the bench bar path being off. It's almost in line with your chin when you start. Great arch though. If you have some time on your hands, you might like the Dave Tate "So you think you can bench?" videos on youtube. Kind of a long series, but worth watching, imo. As in most videos, it's hard to see how your leg drive is. If you know what I mean by leg drive, you probably already do it.

Deadlift set up looks great, and the bar comes up in a nice straight line. You can probably be a little less careful setting it down if you bend at the hips first instead of the knees. Let it slam down a smidge, it's fun :)

There's definitely a difference between your first deadlift set and the next 2. On the first set, the weight breaks from the floor as soon as you start the pull. On the others, your back rounds, so the weight doesn't leave the floor when you first extend your knees and raise your hips. Just keep working the back tightness.

Great lifts and good luck with your meet!

[illiniStrive]

Don't be so nice with your deadlift ;)

I used to do the same thing, and it's a lot harder and limited the amount of weight I could pull for successive reps since my legs got fried a lot faster.

[MrB1g]

Strong, good job.


The 205 squat was probably to depth, the 225 was not.


Nice arch on the benchpress, doesn't look like you're getting any real leg drive though. Bring your feet back towards you a bit.


Deadlift form brokedown a bit on the singles. Not sure why you stay in that ready position with your legs bent, seems like a waste of energy. I like to stand up, get my grip, drop down, lift. Also you don't have to control the negative that much, massive drain.

[birdiefu]

Your 225 depends on what rule you apply. It is not below parallel considering IPF rules. On second look, it's not even parallel, therefore, not legit. ;)

Thank you for the honest critique, I will have to work on getting depth!


Yay videos, these look really good! It took me a while to come up with some useful things to say.

Squats look like good low bar squats. The only thing I'd work on here is trying to be a little less hesitant at the bottom. It looks like you are trying to feel out how deep you're going, and almost coming to a stop to do so (or is that a powerlifting thing?). Maybe try reading up on the idea of the "bounce" out of the hole that you should feel in a low bar squat. It's a stretch reflex that you feel as tightness in the hamstrings and adductors. Oh, and you might want to video another angle sometime to make sure your knees are not caving in at any point. That can screw up your depth too.

The bounce/stretch reflex is described in this article (you'll have to add the http since I'm still not cool enough to post links):
startingstrength.com/articles/active_hip_2_rippetoe.pdf

The 225 looks like it is technically high, but it's close enough that it might be good at a meet? I dunno. 205 seems fine.

You already mentioned the bench bar path being off. It's almost in line with your chin when you start. Great arch though. If you have some time on your hands, you might like the Dave Tate "So you think you can bench?" videos on youtube. Kind of a long series, but worth watching, imo. As in most videos, it's hard to see how your leg drive is. If you know what I mean by leg drive, you probably already do it.

Deadlift set up looks great, and the bar comes up in a nice straight line. You can probably be a little less careful setting it down if you bend at the hips first instead of the knees. Let it slam down a smidge, it's fun :)

There's definitely a difference between your first deadlift set and the next 2. On the first set, the weight breaks from the floor as soon as you start the pull. On the others, your back rounds, so the weight doesn't leave the floor when you first extend your knees and raise your hips. Just keep working the back tightness.

Great lifts and good luck with your meet!

Thank you! Yes, part of my reason for going slow to the bottom is that for me it's a fine line between how far I need to go to meet depth and how far I can go before my back rounds (tweaked my back doing that with light weights once trying to get more depth). I also am afraid that I am hooked on the mirror to check depth - I really need to move the pins to the other side and face the other direction to practice getting depth with no mirror and more by feel.

And yes with the Dave Tate vids, I have been watching him a lot lately and seeing my bench has shocked me a ton from how I *thought* I was lifting to how I really am. Just need to get myself rewired to do it correctly!


Don't be so nice with your deadlift ;)

I used to do the same thing, and it's a lot harder and limited the amount of weight I could pull for successive reps since my legs got fried a lot faster.

You mean putting the bar back down all gentle like? :p Yeah, I should be meaner with it!


Strong, good job.


The 205 squat was probably to depth, the 225 was not.


Nice arch on the benchpress, doesn't look like you're getting any real leg drive though. Bring your feet back towards you a bit.


Deadlift form brokedown a bit on the singles. Not sure why you stay in that ready position with your legs bent, seems like a waste of energy. I like to stand up, get my grip, drop down, lift. Also you don't have to control the negative that much, massive drain.

Thank you! I have been worried that if I bring my feet back a lot I would be tempted to raise my butt. But I need to stop putting the cart before the horse and just go ahead and do it.

As far as my DL setup, yeah I linger down there. Part of that is that I'm still getting used to where to place my hands for alternate grip instead of DOH so the bar is evenly balanced. Once I bend my knees, my hands are so close I have to usually reset my grip a little more outside my knees. Then setting my back and psyching myself up, LOL. I need to make the whole process more streamlined.

Really appreciate the tips guys, and thanks for looking! :D


ETA: RJS2009, apparently I need to spread some more rep around before I can rep you again, I will make sure to do it when I can.

[birdiefu]

Just wanted to add the Dave Tate bench press video for those who haven't seen it. Love the beginning, finally gave me something to put in a sig, LOL. And I finally figured out how to embed youtube.

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[fitlover]

The squat depth was okay for gym squats, but in a meet you'll need to get lower because depending on the fed you'd compete with (assuming you wanted to compete), they would not be white lighted. Another 2 inches would be perfect.

If I can offer a few suggestions..


(1) Next time, don't max out on all your lifts on the same day. Or at least, don't max out on squats and deads on the same day. One of them is bound to suffer, IMO.

(2) When setting up for the deadlift, don't sit so long in the pulling position. Makes things harder. Better to get your feet settled in the right spot, and then when you feel ready, get down and pull. Take advantage of the stretch reflex.

(3) Don't flare the elbows as much on your bench. Keep them a little more tucked to save your shoulders some damage.


What do you do for lower back and hamstring accessory work?

[Mr.ILL]

Good work. The 225 would pass good squat.

[birdiefu]

The squat depth was okay for gym squats, but in a meet you'll need to get lower because depending on the fed you'd compete with (assuming you wanted to compete), they would not be white lighted. Another 2 inches would be perfect.

If I can offer a few suggestions..


(1) Next time, don't max out on all your lifts on the same day. Or at least, don't max out on squats and deads on the same day. One of them is bound to suffer, IMO.

(2) When setting up for the deadlift, don't sit so long in the pulling position. Makes things harder. Better to get your feet settled in the right spot, and then when you feel ready, get down and pull. Take advantage of the stretch reflex.

(3) Don't flare the elbows as much on your bench. Keep them a little more tucked to save your shoulders some damage.


What do you do for lower back and hamstring accessory work?

1. I figured as much. I was debating if I should go with testing my maxes on different days to get numbers to put into my training templates, or all on the same day to get a better idea of how I would perform in an actual meet. I went with the latter this time, but now that I have seen how that works out I will probably stick with the former in the future. I have a feeling I may have been able to make the 245 if I hadn't just squatted, as they take a toll on my back as it is. I DL 185 x 10 last saturday, and just those two today felt a bit heavy, but who really knows how things would have turned out.

2. I will definitely keep that in mind, didn't realize how much of a difference it can make.

3. I think by getting the bar a little lower it will also help me be able to keep my elbows in more, too. Thanks!

My lower back strength has improved greatly lately, but it still needs a lot more work. The last two waves of 5/3/1 I have been doing good mornings and glute ham raises. However, for the past 2 1/2 weeks I have not been doing them (or only very lightly) as my left hammie got tweaked and only just finally healed up within the week. I had been focusing on just getting the scheduled DLs in without aggravating my hammie even more, and would have postponed the 1RM trial till later, but it felt great the past few days. Before the good mornings I was doing weighted hypers a couple months ago - if you know of something even better to throw in for my weaknesses I would love to hear it. Thank you! :)

[fitlover]

My lower back strength has improved greatly lately, but it still needs a lot more work. The last two waves of 5/3/1 I have been doing good mornings and glute ham raises. However, for the past 2 1/2 weeks I have not been doing them (or only very lightly) as my left hammie got tweaked and only just finally healed up within the week. I had been focusing on just getting the scheduled DLs in without aggravating my hammie even more, and would have postponed the 1RM trial till later, but it felt great the past few days. Before the good mornings I was doing weighted hypers a couple months ago - if you know of something even better to throw in for my weaknesses I would love to hear it. Thank you! :)

Weighted hypers, GHR's and GM's are great. I would also throw in reverse hypers for recovery work, and some SLDL's. Additional weighted ab work will help as well, and box squats.


As for your squat, I re-watched it...you and I have similar issues. Not initiating with the hips first, dropping the chest, and not keeping an arch. Remember to arch your back hard before unracking, and maintain that arch throughout the movement. Always rise with the chest first and dig your traps into the bar. Try not to look into the mirror, too. I find that always throws me off balance. :) Spread the floor with your feet, and push your knees out so you can get lower without leaning forward too much.


Great job though, btw!

[Euqinom]

I finally got to play the vid!
You go slightly deeper on the 225 in the vid, jus touching parallel (but assuming it's your first meet, you'll probably be saving on depth during your attempt, so..). What organization are you lifting for?
WIth benching, I'd bring out the bar into proper position a bit more. Now you see there's a slight horizontal/diagonal movement. That's a waste of energy.
WIth deads, it seems like your shoulders are a bit far over the bar on the 2nd and 3rd attempt, and I see you squatting down, and then changing arms again. In my experience, that's where you lose a lot of tension.
Agree with everything fitlover says!

[birdiefu]

Weighted hypers, GHR's and GM's are great. I would also throw in reverse hypers for recovery work, and some SLDL's. Additional weighted ab work will help as well, and box squats.


As for your squat, I re-watched it...you and I have similar issues. Not initiating with the hips first, dropping the chest, and not keeping an arch. Remember to arch your back hard before unracking, and maintain that arch throughout the movement. Always rise with the chest first and dig your traps into the bar. Try not to look into the mirror, too. I find that always throws me off balance. :) Spread the floor with your feet, and push your knees out so you can get lower without leaning forward too much.


Great job though, btw!

I do ab work twice a week - either hanging leg raises, ab wheels/roll outs, or weighted decline. At one of my school gyms, they have a reverse hyper machine, I might give that a whirl. Only thing is, no chalk is allowed at that gym, so I really don't do much lifting there otherwise.

With my squat, yup I need to keep my thoracic area tighter. The past month I've been noticing I was GM'ing badly on my way up with my heavier sets, so changed where I looked from slightly down (as Rippetoe suggests) to looking more up, and that small change has made a world of difference. I think box squats facing away from the mirror may help me a lot with depth, too. I'm on deload now, then will have like 5 1/2 weeks till the meet, so I will definitely put those in as an accessory.


I finally got to play the vid!
You go slightly deeper on the 225 in the vid, jus touching parallel (but assuming it's your first meet, you'll probably be saving on depth during your attempt, so..). What organization are you lifting for?
WIth benching, I'd bring out the bar into proper position a bit more. Now you see there's a slight horizontal/diagonal movement. That's a waste of energy.
WIth deads, it seems like your shoulders are a bit far over the bar on the 2nd and 3rd attempt, and I see you squatting down, and then changing arms again. In my experience, that's where you lose a lot of tension.
Agree with everything fitlover says!

I will be lifting at a NOVA meet, which is a pretty small local federation. I have a feeling they may have a relatively high degree of leeway, but I still want to practice my form so that it would be acceptable at other feds if/when I go to other meets.

I previously thought there would be no difference with sitting at the bottom of the dead for a while (again, Ripp influence, where he says there can be no stretch reflex with the dead, as you didn't carry the weight down). And even with shoulder position over the bar, I have come to see through reading/watching vids that there is some debate that scapulas a bit behind the bar may be preferable for PLing. I love Ripp, and his book and videos helped me learn a ton when I was starting out, but he does say that what he teaches is not PLing style, and I guess it has taken me a while to see what those differences are. But I still have a lot more to learn!

Thanks again guys, all of your input has been very helpful and hopefully I can put it to good use and come out with better lifts! :D

[freebirdmac]

<---- No knowledge on meet requirements. But from a purely muscle building perspective, those are awesome lifts! And you look so much fuller, muscular in the video than in your avi! Lol! When was the last time you updated your avi?

[fitlover]

I do ab work twice a week - either hanging leg raises, ab wheels/roll outs, or weighted decline. At one of my school gyms, they have a reverse hyper machine, I might give that a whirl. Only thing is, no chalk is allowed at that gym, so I really don't do much lifting there otherwise.

With my squat, yup I need to keep my thoracic area tighter. The past month I've been noticing I was GM'ing badly on my way up with my heavier sets, so changed where I looked from slightly down (as Rippetoe suggests) to looking more up, and that small change has made a world of difference. I think box squats facing away from the mirror may help me a lot with depth, too. I'm on deload now, then will have like 5 1/2 weeks till the meet, so I will definitely put those in as an accessory.


You don't have to have a reverse hyper to do them...if your gym has a regular hyper, just hold onto the ankle holds and rest your hips on the pad backwards...looks weird, but it works. I do them after my sessions.

Rippetoe was right about a lot of things, but I got into a bad habit of looking slightly down and that caused more problems with my squat. As long as your actual head isn't pointing up and you're just looking up with your eyes, you're good to go. Keeping my eyes up reminds me to drive my head into the bar.

The box squats are great, just make sure to roll the sh*t out of your hip flexors and IT band to prevent cramping (since you'll be taking a wide stance).

[Euqinom]

I will be lifting at a NOVA meet, which is a pretty small local federation. I have a feeling they may have a relatively high degree of leeway, but I still want to practice my form so that it would be acceptable at other feds if/when I go to other meets.

I previously thought there would be no difference with sitting at the bottom of the dead for a while (again, Ripp influence, where he says there can be no stretch reflex with the dead, as you didn't carry the weight down).


With 'changing your arms' i mean :you sit down, and then adjust your grip. My preference would be: grab, squeeze, pull yourself in the hole, and lift. If you sit down and adjust, that's where you lose tension. In the adjustment of the hands. ;)

[thehobbes]

Wow strong lifts, especially those squats! I'm a little late on this thread, great advice has already been given, but just what I noticed after watching the vid a couple times... that is quite an arch on the bench, can't really see what's going on with your feet, but like others said the leg drive should help you out there. Squats looked good, and I agree DL probably would've gone a bit smoother if not tested after all the other lifts. Looking strong OP!

[birdiefu]

<---- No knowledge on meet requirements. But from a purely muscle building perspective, those are awesome lifts! And you look so much fuller, muscular in the video than in your avi! Lol! When was the last time you updated your avi?

Aww, thanks freebird! :D My avi pic was taken at the end of my cut/start of bulk so I have added some mass since then. Funny thing is that 6 months into my bulk I feel sorta hulking. But when I watched the video, I think I look pretty lanky and not as big as I feel! Like, that girl needs to eat! But that girl is me...and I am eating a ton (3350 surplus total from the day before and day of that vid!). It's hard for me to evaluate how much muscle I put on - I know there is more, but the fat that comes along may be making my muscle seem more than it really it. Guess I'll see how all the hard work came out when I cut.


You don't have to have a reverse hyper to do them...if your gym has a regular hyper, just hold onto the ankle holds and rest your hips on the pad backwards...looks weird, but it works. I do them after my sessions.

The box squats are great, just make sure to roll the sh*t out of your hip flexors and IT band to prevent cramping (since you'll be taking a wide stance).

LOL, ok I will try the reverse hypers on the regular hyper chair thing, then. And I love my foam roller, it's saved my butt, hammies, hip flexors, and more a few times.


With 'changing your arms' i mean :you sit down, and then adjust your grip. My preference would be: grab, squeeze, pull yourself in the hole, and lift. If you sit down and adjust, that's where you lose tension. In the adjustment of the hands. ;)

I see what you mean. I need to memorize where to put my hands for the combo grip so I don't have to readjust once I'm down. I usually only save that grip for the heaviest sets (I use DOH otherwise, I have the hand placement there down no problem). For some reason when I turn that one hand over it throws the bar balance off or my arm hits my knees, so I have to space my left hand differently.


Wow strong lifts, especially those squats! I'm a little late on this thread, great advice has already been given, but just what I noticed after watching the vid a couple times... that is quite an arch on the bench, can't really see what's going on with your feet, but like others said the leg drive should help you out there. Squats looked good, and I agree DL probably would've gone a bit smoother if not tested after all the other lifts. Looking strong OP!

Thank you! I've been watching more vids to study up on the changes I will be making, especially on the bench.

One question I have which is slightly OT, is regarding peak training before the meet. This is my first meet, so I'm still such a newb so not sure if I should be so concerned about peaking. Once off my deload, I will have pretty much exactly 6 weeks of training until the meet. I figure 5 weeks hard training and then lighter/deload a few days to a week before the meet. I really don't want to switch up programs at this last minute (although the 5 week Sheiko one looks like a possibility). I was thinking of continuing 5/3/1 with no deload on the 4th week - instead something like 5/3/1, then next cycle 3/1 (or maybe just the 5/3 weeks of the next cycle?), then deload but don't know if that would be too much. Or, 5/3/1, 5/3/ and "1" (without pushing reps too much) with squat and bench on monday, DL on wednesday, rest till meet on sunday. Thoughts?

[Euqinom]

One question I have which is slightly OT, is regarding peak training before the meet. This is my first meet, so I'm still such a newb so not sure if I should be so concerned about peaking. Once off my deload, I will have pretty much exactly 6 weeks of training until the meet. I figure 5 weeks hard training and then lighter/deload a few days to a week before the meet. I really don't want to switch up programs at this last minute (although the 5 week Sheiko one looks like a possibility). I was thinking of continuing 5/3/1 with no deload on the 4th week - instead something like 5/3/1, then next cycle 3/1 (or maybe just the 5/3 weeks of the next cycle?), then deload but don't know if that would be too much. Or, 5/3/1, 5/3/ and "1" (without pushing reps too much) with squat and bench on monday, DL on wednesday, rest till meet on sunday. Thoughts?

I've always been told not to deadlift 10 days prior to meet, and have about 5 days off right before the meet. Heaviest training was usually in the same week as my final deadlift.
Don't max out anymore, eventhough you might feel a little anxious. You determine openers somewhere in that final heaviest week (remember to open with a weight you can do 3 times, so that it's nothing to worry about). The first meet is about the experience, and getting white lighted as much as you can! ;)

About the program: are you using gear?
And it's hard to advise, I don't really know how well you recover, so if stretching 5/3/1 to 5 weeks is too much: dunno.