JohnB's Journey

[johnblythe]

[johnblythe]

STARTING STRENGTH
WORKOUT A
Bench:
45 - 2x5
65 - 1x5
95 - 1x3
115 - 1x2

137.5 - 3x5

Did these bad boys before doing squats today so I could avoid the elbow tendinitis (get this: didn't have any pain from squats today ). Got'em all and it felt good. Had a bounce on the chest on the 4th rep (I think it was) of the second set, but besides that form seemed pretty good.

I did cut back on the form changes so much today and it seemed to help. I think 1) I was overthinking and thus overdoing it and 2) some of what I was doing per Dave at Elite (when coaching a guy for PL'ing) Rip dismisses for the purposes of SS on a vid I watched earlier today.

Anyway, was nice to get back under the bar and not have to worry about anything but moving the weight, no elbow pain, no overly anal form stuff, etc. Let's get this lift moving forward again! Here's vids of the second two sets (forgot to shoot the first):




Squats:
45 - 2x5
55 - 1x5
85 - 1x3
115 - 1x2

145 - 3x5

Shoved those knees out much better today and boy could I tell. Really helped, too! Imagine that, huh?

Still not there, but getting there. They felt a good deal easier. There was one rep on both the second and third set that felt like I was too horizontal at which point I'd focus completely on heels and hams to push me up instead of standing/bending it back up.

My focus the other day was on chest high, today it was on knees out, Monday it will be on them both which should be killer helpful

Second set didn't make the video cut because the camera fell right when I picked up the weight and only shot my right foot , didn't notice it when it happened unfortunately.


Warm up @ 116

Working set #1

WS 3

Deads:
110 - 2x5
180 - 1x3
235 - 1x2

280 - 1x5

Tough. Still don't have chalk so I got baby powder and baking soda out to put on the hands Not sure if it helped or not, maybe just a little. ...Maybe. It was super humid like on Monday. Rained about an hour before I worked out which was nice because it was cooler at first. Got CRAZY humid around the time I began squats. Started going inside for my rests in between sets because the heat was making me sick.

All that to say that I got exhausted quickly from the heat in the shed but also, and especially important to deads (though I guess that's pretty important too), the grip was slippery. May have not been doable w/o my cheap trick chalk, ha. Gonna order some tonight.

4th rep didn't come off the ground at first. Recomposed myself, gutted it out with a nice gutteral a la Jasonpan . Then, crazily enough, rep 5 was relatively easy! Anyway, still feel like my form needs work when I watch the vids, but I'm unsure. Let's see:

------------------

Great workout. Feels good to get bench moving forward again. Feels good to know that my squat is getting better form-wise. Feels good moving (almost) heavy weight on deads.

Tear up the form on all of it please.

Thanks guys-

[Kirra]

Will reply properly when I'm sober.

Squats are not deep enough, that I can tell right now. But I guess they are gettong there, sl who cares.

Shove your knees out, tighten your lower back and seat back.

[johnblythe]

Will reply properly when I'm sober.

Squats are not deep enough, that I can tell right now. But I guess they are gettong there, sl who cares.

Shove your knees out, tighten your lower back and seat back.

dangit, can't even fool a drunk guy

knees were def shoved out in comparison to normal. i'm sure i haven't fully arrived in that regard, but definitely had that 'click' today. had it on the mind, felt it in the movement, could tell a difference in movement.

you can see my butt jump up before the set starts when i engage the lumbar extension deal, but i do have to reset it after a rep or two cause i haven't figured out how to keep it. obviously you keep it by just keeping it flexed, but it seems like in the midst of all the other motions i lose that focus and thus that control. gotta work on it for sure.

and sitting back, gah, not really feeling that still. that's the big one that i know you guys have said a hundred times and i can't seem to get. hopefully as i keep the knees shoved out more and the chest up more i'll happen upon a good sitting back movement and realize it and then it'll be impressed in my brain to replicate. for now i'm still on the quest to get it :\

thanks for taking the time in the middle of your weekly binge (srs!) , stay safe!

[BrettT07]

I'm confused, on your bench it says you did 3 working sets.. but you only have 1 set listed in the red text. Bench is looking solid though.. nice that you are now easily repping over the plate mark. Now the long journey to 185!

Squats looked parallel to me. Perhaps I'm wrong.

[johnblythe]

I'm confused, on your bench it says you did 3 working sets.. but you only have 1 set listed in the red text. Bench is looking solid though.. nice that you are now easily repping over the plate mark. Now the long journey to 185!

Squats looked parallel to me. Perhaps I'm wrong.

oops! good catch! i just used the template from the last workout and forgot to change that part, thanks

bench wasn't easy per se but it definitely wasn't hard. interesting thought my right arm—that's the interesting part—shook on one or two reps. was a bit surprised by that. am i using too much tri and too little chest if something like that is happening?

ya i went back and rewatched one of the sets (final one) after kirra's post and most of those reps, i think it was all but one, were seemingly solid, and not just in general gym goer world but in SS context.

guess we'll see what sober kirra and others have to say, ha

thanks brah!

[BrettT07]

It's possible your triceps just need to get used to the weight perhaps.

[candyflip69]

To me, you can't learn the 'sitback' on your squats, because you're trying so hard to get depth. IMHO, you need to walk before you run.

I would sacrifice that heel to arse depth for a while, and just get the sit back worked out. Because the entire last 1/4 of your current movement is a giant Good Morning.... your back is taking all that strain and your quads are getting zero work.... Increasing weight with form like that is asking for trouble.

I would set those depth bars you currently have a notch or three higher, and just go parallel, no lower. Get your form exact - all legs, no back, no Good Morning lean over.

You are starting the movement really well. I can see you are putting your chest out, looking ahead, tightening your abs and putting a nice curve into your lower back. All good. If you can keep that to parallel, you will have perfect form. It's what's happening below parallel that is getting messy.

So then, once your legs and midsection have strengthened from this parallel-only form over a few weeks, you'll be ready to go below parallel.

As to the bench form, you seem to have it pretty well down. You just have weak tris and arms right now, and that's OK. The bench is really about driving that bar up using your chest, and extending thru the arms, not using them as the weight shifters so much. They will grow in time and allow you to do more, but right now they're just working as stabilisers. So keep at it. Personally, I'd be getting you to do higher reps at lower weights as I believe you need more work in each session, but that's not SS, so my opinion be damned on that one.

Keep going though - you're still on the right path. Changing horses is not usually a good idea, but minor form corrections will give you the boosts you need.

[ngolsen]

Getting better bro... they are a long way from "good looking reps" but for now they have improved a lot.

Your long femurs makes it hard for you to not look like you are "good morning" reps, but you will get the idea of chest up and sitting back over time. (CHEST FACING WALL, SIT BACK!!!). IMO you should look up as well

[johnblythe]

To me, you can't learn the 'sitback' on your squats, because you're trying so hard to get depth. IMHO, you need to walk before you run.

I would sacrifice that heel to arse depth for a while, and just get the sit back worked out. Because the entire last 1/4 of your current movement is a giant Good Morning.... your back is taking all that strain and your quads are getting zero work.... Increasing weight with form like that is asking for trouble.

I would set those depth bars you currently have a notch or three higher, and just go parallel, no lower. Get your form exact - all legs, no back, no Good Morning lean over.

You are starting the movement really well. I can see you are putting your chest out, looking ahead, tightening your abs and putting a nice curve into your lower back. All good. If you can keep that to parallel, you will have perfect form. It's what's happening below parallel that is getting messy.

So then, once your legs and midsection have strengthened from this parallel-only form over a few weeks, you'll be ready to go below parallel.

As to the bench form, you seem to have it pretty well down. You just have weak tris and arms right now, and that's OK. The bench is really about driving that bar up using your chest, and extending thru the arms, not using them as the weight shifters so much. They will grow in time and allow you to do more, but right now they're just working as stabilisers. So keep at it. Personally, I'd be getting you to do higher reps at lower weights as I believe you need more work in each session, but that's not SS, so my opinion be damned on that one.

Keep going though - you're still on the right path. Changing horses is not usually a good idea, but minor form corrections will give you the boosts you need.

i see what you're saying. i do wonder, however, about this sitting back deal. it seems like it—at least the cue for it—is part of what is messing me up into continuing on the path of doing partial GMings. here's what i think happens: i'm thinking 'sit back' so my hips start to go back, but in an effort to keep them sitting backwards (and because they're so freaking long) my chest begins to fold to help them get further back.

not sure if that's helping describe the problem (in my head at least) adequately or not :\

ha, i can't be on SS forever so i'm sure that will happen in the semi-near future

Getting better bro... they are a long way from "good looking reps" but for now they have improved a lot.

Your long femurs makes it hard for you to not look like you are "good morning" reps, but you will get the idea of chest up and sitting back over time. (CHEST FACING WALL, SIT BACK!!!). IMO you should look up as well

sad panda but ya, they've definitely a ways to go

i've wondered that, actually, namely how much my anthropometry will dictate both my ability to keep chest up and sit back as well as the way it looks in comparison to the average joe. there's an image of two or three people squatting in SS that shows how it looks diff based on anthropometry, will go back and find it for reference and see if i can post. also, i really don't feel the GM like i used to which begs to ask whether it's because i'm not doing them as much or if it's just an issue of weight and thus not feeling it yet.

anywho, workout tomorrow on the 4th. moved the gym around to allow for better camera shots make sure to check it out, should have new vids with BETTER form tomorrow

thanks again guys-

[johnblythe]

STARTING STRENGTH
WORKOUT B

Squats:
45 - 2x5
60 - 1x5
95 - 1x3
115 - 1x2

155 - 3x5

Form wasn't as good as I was hoping for today. You can see me fall back in the first video, a result of thinking too much of sitting back and keeping chest high—was a bit too high I suppose. This happened on one of my reps w/ just the bar as well except it was 110lbs lighter so I came out of the pocket but was moving backwards while doing so and ended up hitting the front uprights as a result.

First set is decent. Second set was pretty poor, especially the final two reps, had a big GM'ing motion in those which suxord. Third set was maybe the best.


sit back ULTRAFAIL

WS 1

WS 2

WS 3

Regarding the GMs: I know it seems as if I'm doing them on most/all of the reps. Maybe I am, but I definitely think my body shape makes it misleading at the very least, meaning it looks like more of one than it is. I promise I can feel it when I do it and it's not good or fun as it shears while the lower back acts as a lever arm. I can/could tell a HUGE difference between those last two of set 2 versus the rest. So, I'm sure I room for improvement in getting more hip drive and leg usage overall whilst getting away from having GM tendencies, but overall the reps were felt in my legs. That was the case last workout as well, which is something I'm not used to (it made the DLs a bit harder for sure as my legs were weak feeling already) since I had been using my back so much before resetting.

Further, the worst set—#2—and the worst reps therein were the ones that I was focusing most on the sitting back cue. Apparently my brain or my body + that cue = no bueno. Any other cues that could get the job done that you guys can think of? Or maybe I just need a wider stance to help fix the falling back issue and avoid the GM issue?

And here's the pic from SS regarding anthropomorphic differences in bottom position. I wish there was more info regarding the entire movement with this.



Press:
45 - 2x5
55 - 1x5
70 - 1x3
85 - 1x2

107.5 - 0.5x5
100 - 1x5
95 - 2x4

Likwhoa. No clue what was up here. Maybe the fact that I was training fasted as opposed to eating the majority of my meals already? The 85 warm up felt unusually heavy so I knew something was up at that point. Put it out of my mind and tried to psyche up to make it happen but it definitely didn't happen :\

100 and 105 were easy when I hit those marks. Since then it's been a weird hit and miss. I got 3x4 last 107.5, wanted to repeat to get all reps in but have gone backwards since, what's up??


Cleans:
45 - 1x5
65 - 1x5
85 - 1x5
105 - 2

125 - 5x3

These weren't too tough, and I didn't have killer pain in my right elbow like last week's attempt at these. My form however seemed to be crap. My jump is all messed up for some reason. Left leg is going back on a lot of reps, weird balancing stuff. I think I learned that last week when I was trying to accomodate my weakened, nearly non-functional right arm due to the tendinitis. My form hasn't been perfect previously but I definitely know it hasn't been so wild like it was today.

Got better as it went on, it seems. Will be re-reading that chapter in SS before Friday comes along and I go for them again. One good thing is that the bar path seems to be pretty well vertical.

Embarrassed to show these, ha, but here they are:

------------------

Weird workout. Not sure if it's cause I got to sleep in, wasn't still awake fully, training fasted, or the stomach pangs I was having, but something was off and it never felt good.

Squats had the GM and I knew it before watching the vids = grrrr
Tris buggin out on OHP = pissed
Weird jumps and form on cleans = lame

Entire workout = 3/10

But it's over now, I did what I could, and it's a holiday, so tear up the form, give some more ideas for cues, and enjoy your 4th—even though most of you are foreign and don't care

[johnblythe]

maybe this will help with perspective. i don't just have long femurs like you can tell from my vids: i have freak femurs. here's an image of where my hips end—parallel with my belly button and maybe—MAYBE—an inch an a half below the bottom of my ribcage!

[PeterGibbons316]

Depth is finally looking good on those squats man!

Your vids remind me that I keep meaning to find a way to play some music in my basement while I lift, but forgetting to do that. Also, I'm not sure what you are listening to, but it kind of makes me want to eat babies, is that the intended effect?

[ngolsen]

See how the long femur guy has his head up and looking up?

See Jess' squat photo. She has long femur's (not as long as yours though)... food for thought.

[BrettT07]

Think your tris might be giving you a hard time after that little elbow thing?

[MatTheCur]

Depth is finally looking good on those squats man!

Your vids remind me that I keep meaning to find a way to play some music in my basement while I lift, but forgetting to do that. Also, I'm not sure what you are listening to, but it kind of makes me want to eat babies, is that the intended effect?

That's the intended effect... You'll work harder to get said babies if you want to eat them.

I've started listening to dubstep while I'm lifting... That does it for me. I can't take the whole hardcore metal deal... Was never my thing. Up until the end of AP's beginner program, I'd even listen to the bagpipes while lifting.

But yes. John's music is intended to make you hungry for mini-persons, no lie.

[johnblythe]

Depth is finally looking good on those squats man!

Your vids remind me that I keep meaning to find a way to play some music in my basement while I lift, but forgetting to do that. Also, I'm not sure what you are listening to, but it kind of makes me want to eat babies, is that the intended effect?

indeed, it's starting to progress finally, if i can just get the other form things down in the next few sessions i'll be half way decent

and yes, intended effect is massacre or something else equally terrible (squatting w/ depth ). i can't imagine working out w/ no music, you're even more of a beast than i thought!

See how the long femur guy has his head up and looking up?

See Jess' squat photo. She has long femur's (not as long as yours though)... food for thought.

yes and yes. will be adding that tot he mix this wednesday and see how it works. ripp says that it hurts hip drive, did jess have any problems w/ that and if so how'd she overcome it?

Think your tris might be giving you a hard time after that little elbow thing?

i'm not sure. i actually wish that was the case so i'd have a good excuse but i'm not so sure it is. i've done 105 and 107.5 fine w/ the elbow thing, for some reason it never hurt during OHP, only bench and cleans (seemingly something to do w/ elbow angles). yesterday my tris were on vacation or something cause even the 85 warm up was tough and then i couldn't even get all 5 sets of 95 when i lowered it that far just to get some sort of work in instead of skipping it altogether.

That's the intended effect... You'll work harder to get said babies if you want to eat them.

I've started listening to dubstep while I'm lifting... That does it for me. I can't take the whole hardcore metal deal... Was never my thing. Up until the end of AP's beginner program, I'd even listen to the bagpipes while lifting.

But yes. John's music is intended to make you hungry for mini-persons, no lie.

pipes to workout to, that's insane brah!

[MatTheCur]

pipes to workout to, that's insane brah!

They called me a top contender in the Buff and Nerdy thread, because of that!

I'd love to blast some Schott's & Dykehead, Simon Fraser University, or Alberta Caledonia on a decent/good sound system while working out.

Unfortunately, all I get is my iPod trying to drown out the crap internet radio dance station the gym's set to!

[johnblythe]

They called me a top contender in the Buff and Nerdy thread, because of that!

I'd love to blast some Schott's & Dykehead, Simon Fraser University, or Alberta Caledonia on a decent/good sound system while working out.

Unfortunately, all I get is my iPod trying to drown out the crap internet radio dance station the gym's set to!

lolz

[johnblythe]

[QUOTE=johnblythe;711636521]

STARTING STRENGTH
WORKOUT A

Bench:
45 - 2x5
65 - 1x5
95 - 1x3
120 - 1x2

140 - 1x4, 1x3, 1x2

Bleehhhhh! Really tired of having bench issues. Elbows started flaring after first set, but didn't seem to hurt so much that it messed up my actual reps. My left shoulder felt like the weak point on the push up. It was what kept giving out.

I know shoulders are somewhat involved, but also have heard shoulders are blown on bench a lot of times. So is it a weak shoulder issue? Or is it a poor form—and thus too much shoulder dependence—that's going on?

Squats:
45 - 2x5
65 - 1x5
95 - 1x3
135 - 1x2

165 - 3x5

Form wasn't as good as I was hoping for today. You can see me fall back in the first video, a result of thinking too much of sitting back and keeping chest high—was a bit too high I suppose. This happened on one of my reps w/ just the bar as well except it was 110lbs lighter so I came out of the pocket but was moving backwards while doing so and ended up hitting the front uprights as a result.

First set is decent. Second set was pretty poor, especially the final two reps, had a big GM'ing motion in those which suxord. Third set was maybe the best.


WS 1

WS 2

WS 3

Depth is getting better and more natural feeling, not having to think about it so much anymore. Trying to keep the chest up, but that is proving to be difficult.

I attempted to do the look up thing. Not sure if it helped on set one. Set two that was my main priority, to really super look up. ....Big mistake. Apparently that strained something in my neck pretty bad. I had the instant migraine that I had a few weeks ago—except then I didn't realize what was causing it whereas now I do. It, thankfully, wasn't as bad as it was last time for several reasons. 1) It was 40 lbs heavier last time, 2) I probably wasn't using my legs half as much as now so it was all neck and back straining w/ the weight, 3) it happened on the first set and i muscled through two more without knowing what was the source of the issue.

This time I took my 4.5 minutes rest and finished up the third set w/o it causing any extra issues because I didn't fight for my head to stay up so much. Still not looking down, per se, just more or less a normal/natural.

Deads:

skipped for now

Due to the migraine and its subsequent extreme naseau I didn't feel like pushing it and throwing up, especially since I needed to try to get better so I could head on to work.

------------------

So I still need to get this back angle thing better. Don't want to get to 200+ again and have back issues resulting from poor form, even if it's deep. But, even so, I definitely don't feel a shear in the lower back like I used to and I do feel leg muscles working like crazy (compared to previous squats) during the movement as well as DOMs yesterday and Saturday.

Hoping to get back in the shed this evening and do the Deads so I can start next week off breaking into 300 . Not sure if I'll have my chalk in today or not and it's my best friend's last day in town before heading 1k miles up to Chicago, so we'll see how the night goes.

Came in after the workout, chilled for 10 minutes because of the migraine, tried to get my heart slowed (the pumps were pounding up in my skull big time!), body cooled off etc. Then jumped in the shower—cold'ish shower—to do the same. Couldn't even stay standing in there, had to sit and lay down because of feeling so terribly. After another 10-15 minutes of that I was able to get through actually showering off. Got out of the shower feeling a bit better, drying off....and then uncontrollable salivating, the gross kind that lets you know you're about to hurl.

I fought it, spit the stuff out, tried to take my mind off of it, etc. and then realized it was coming up one way or the other. That's when I threw up.

Partially from the migraine, no doubt, but also from fasted training I think. Even when I was more used to it I would sometimes get queasy from the BCAAs I took due to being on the Leangains protocol of IF. (never used to happen when I could have a banana before working out and eat some oatmeal afterwards on the way to work)

So fasted training isn't my friend anymore. Used to love it, now it's a thorn in my side when I do it. Energy < 0. Throw up > 0. Despite that, I'm considering moving back to doing it. Was nice not to be swelteringly hot in the shed and to not have to worry about working out when I get home.

We shall see...

In the meantime, help me think of more/better cues for chest up. "Sit back" doesn't compute in my brain, "look up" makes me throw up, so let's get some more options on the table

[candyflip69]

I LIKE your work throughout set 3 of the squats! That form looks pretty great to me, and though your were struggling on the last rep, you still maintained the arch and tightened the abs, and got it out without a major Good Morning in the process. Well done! I think that is real progress form-wise.

Just a quick question on 'getting down in the pocket' as you have mentioned a few times. I'm guessing what you mean by this is you bottom out in the squat (parallel or below), pause, and then drive up 'out of the pocket' back to standing upright? If so, let me ask you to think about something the next time you are in that 'pocket'....

When you are, WHERE is all the weight being supported?

My suspiscion is that you'll feel your heels are taking some, your back some more, perhaps your shoulders and arms too? A lot of new trainees in squatting go deep, sit back, and REST back in that pocket, taking the tension and weight off their quads. There are loads to ways to do squats, and I'm not saying sitting in that pocket and exploding out is wrong. Just that for maximal development of the major legs muscles (and I assume that's what you want out of a squat), constant tension can be very beneficial, and that is best found by having your legs take the strain as a constant throughout the movement. Rest when at the top of the movement if you must, but holding the tenison throughout the bottom of the movement is most beneficial for the musculature, AND, it will stop you from 'Good Morning' the bottom and losing other form points while down.

But again, I think WS3 looked pretty damn good.... for a skinny guy.

[BrettT07]

Yea that third set looked good to me. Nice to see you're coming along well with fixing some form issues. You'll be back in the 200s in no time, except with better form.

I think you'll do better next time with the 140 on the bench. Just gotta get used to the weight.

[ngolsen]

LOL this is like de-ja-vu. This looks exactly like the progression Jess made with her squat form.

VERY good improvements mate. You are on track. 3rd set was awesome. In regards to neck strain, when learning you tend to overdo/overstate things. Upper back muscles are tight, not the neck Put the head in the right position to keep good back control, from there no more tension is beneficial

Again. Bravo for the improvements. Look forward to you squatting 300+

[johnblythe]

I LIKE your work throughout set 3 of the squats! That form looks pretty great to me, and though your were struggling on the last rep, you still maintained the arch and tightened the abs, and got it out without a major Good Morning in the process. Well done! I think that is real progress form-wise.

Just a quick question on 'getting down in the pocket' as you have mentioned a few times. I'm guessing what you mean by this is you bottom out in the squat (parallel or below), pause, and then drive up 'out of the pocket' back to standing upright? If so, let me ask you to think about something the next time you are in that 'pocket'....

When you are, WHERE is all the weight being supported?

My suspiscion is that you'll feel your heels are taking some, your back some more, perhaps your shoulders and arms too? A lot of new trainees in squatting go deep, sit back, and REST back in that pocket, taking the tension and weight off their quads. There are loads to ways to do squats, and I'm not saying sitting in that pocket and exploding out is wrong. Just that for maximal development of the major legs muscles (and I assume that's what you want out of a squat), constant tension can be very beneficial, and that is best found by having your legs take the strain as a constant throughout the movement. Rest when at the top of the movement if you must, but holding the tenison throughout the bottom of the movement is most beneficial for the musculature, AND, it will stop you from 'Good Morning' the bottom and losing other form points while down.

But again, I think WS3 looked pretty damn good.... for a skinny guy.

you know, i can't say w/ certainty where i feel the load at the bottom. the big deal the past two weeks has been shoving the knees out of the way so i can get to the bottom, then there was the keeping the back/chest up (still working on that one more), so my brain has kept those two things on the forefront, meaning i haven't been able to pay attention to those other details.

will definitely keep it in mind tomorrow as i do squats, certainly want that extra help from the bounce and the better, more efficient development that it results in.

Yea that third set looked good to me. Nice to see you're coming along well with fixing some form issues. You'll be back in the 200s in no time, except with better form.

I think you'll do better next time with the 140 on the bench. Just gotta get used to the weight.

hope you'er right about bench brah, tired of being a freakin' n00b-weakling on that

LOL this is like de-ja-vu. This looks exactly like the progression Jess made with her squat form.

VERY good improvements mate. You are on track. 3rd set was awesome. In regards to neck strain, when learning you tend to overdo/overstate things. Upper back muscles are tight, not the neck Put the head in the right position to keep good back control, from there no more tension is beneficial

Again. Bravo for the improvements. Look forward to you squatting 300+

glad i'm able to keep up with your wife, i need to post my pole vids soon to see how i match up

good point about noobs—ME—overdoing new things. will be looking for a better balance/middle ground on it tomorrow.


------------

thanks you three, can't say how encouraging it is to see you guys say i'm getting there. two weeks ago it seemed like i wasn't ever going to get low, like i had a brain disability in terms of squatting or something really awesome to hear your encouragement!

more vids and awesomeness tomorrow!

[johnblythe]

STARTING STRENGTH
WORKOUT B

Squats:
45 - 2x5
70 - 1x5
105 - 1x3
140 - 1x2

175 - 3x5

Don't think my form was as solid as it was the previous workout. The question is why? Not sure if it was the added weight, too much thinking, or what. I was actively trying to determine if I was relaxing at the bottom or staying rigid/tight so I could keep muscles working, have the bounce or spring, etc.

May have been over thinking—I do have a tendency to do that. Had a few reps where I could tell I bent forward or over too much. However, it does seem like I've found a way to counteract the GM'ing happening, at least in any significant way. The reason I think so is because I didn't feel any shear on my lower back yesterday even on those lesser reps and today my lower back isn't tight or sore (it used to be tight feeling after most workouts because of how much my back was carrying the weight), not even with cleans yesterday or picking up a million things while doing a yard sale this morning. That's all after the fact evidence. During the actual lift, when I feel that I've put myself in a position where a GM is likely/possible, I consciously put all the effort back into my legs to drive up while slowly raising my chest in the process to where by the end of the movement my chest has very little room to go to get upright. To put it more simply, I don't stand it back up with my back, I push it back up with my legs and then whatever remains is done by raising my chest (which uses the ol' back). Still need to figure out the 'sit back' idea better, but it seems like the big focus on knees out, butt down that I had on Wednesday made for some of the best squats I've had.

More thoughts below. Vids:


WS 1

WS 2

WS 3

As usual, let me know what set/rep(s) you think are the best so I can study and try to figure out what I did mentally to make them happy and so repeat next go around on Monday.

Press:
45 - 2x5
55 - 1x5
70 - 1x3
85 - 1x2

107.5 -1x5!, 1x3, 1x2

Hmmm. Not sure how to feel about this. First time I've gotten 5 reps out at this weight. But, then again, it's still less reps overall compared to the first time I ever did this weight, a week or week and a half ago (had 3x4 that time).

Seems like I was heading the right direction but have been having troubles as of late, what do you SS gurus think I should do? Does this count as the 3rd strike and thus a stall, reset to 100 and move by 2.5 or 95 and go by 5s to get back this point and then blow past it?

I guess in light of my other lifts it's pretty stellar to have a press this high, but that's only relatively speaking, and since my other lifts are weaksauce it doesn't do much for making me feel better about stalling

Cleans:
45 - 1x5
65 - 1x5
85 - 1x5
105 - 2

130 - 2x3

Didn't get them all in, time crunch because of aforementioned freelance and its deadline, had to run to get some stuff done for the client. That on top of it being a crappy Friday to top off a long week mixed in with what felt like pretty crappy form = "screw it, I need to get to work sooner than later."

Form on vids actually doesn't look any worse (better, I think?) than the other day. I don't remember having any feedback on it then, would love some now. I'm kinda getting tired of cleans, honestly. If I can't get some help w/ the form and thus get it better and in turn make the lift stronger, I'm gonna be really tempted to modify—read: cut/substitute—the exercise.

------------------

Long story short, despite the holiday on Monday and day off on Tuesday (and half day on Wed. due to the migraine and throwing up!), this week somehow turned out to be a looooong week. Just had a lot of peripheral stuff going on from the church to extra work via freelance and some other stuff. As such, was completely out of it, no energy from poor and little sleep since Tuesday night, frustrations as I came home from work, blah blah blah. My mind wasn't in it. And, to boot, had some mental block with 175 before getting under the bar. First mental battle I've had since I reset to work on form. Beat it, obviously, but it had its effect I suppose by making my form less than preferred.

Looking forward to being past 200 by end of next week if things continue as they are. 175 didn't feel too hard. Had to work, but still isn't exactly tough. I do, however, feel DOMs like a crazyman today. Haven't felt my quads like this since I started working out I think! Glutes feel it in certain positions, stretches, etc. Hammies slightly at certain times as well.

Plan for 185 is to be more mentally engaged than I was yesterday and so get form better again.

Grill it. Thanks-

[johnblythe]

here's a single released by the band in the vids from their upcoming album, for all of you screamo/core fans (lookin' at you matt!)

[PeterGibbons316]

Your squat depth is hit and miss, looks like you are either hitting depth, or doing a good morning. Probably first two reps of the second set were best. I don't know what to tell you to fix it. My buddy Brian is doing the same thing and was working lifting his chest sooner which worked in his warmups, but not when it got heavy.

Your cleans must be killing your wrists. You are catching with your elbows under the bar and the lifting them after the bar is already up on your shoulders. Work on getting your elbows up sooner, maybe bend your knees more to help get under the bar easier.

[candyflip69]

I do, however, feel DOMs like a crazyman today. Haven't felt my quads like this since I started working out I think!

That's what I'm talkin' about...

Keep at it.

[ngolsen]

To put it more simply, I don't stand it back up with my back, I push it back up with my legs and then whatever remains is done by raising my chest (which uses the ol' back). Still need to figure out the 'sit back' idea better, but it seems like the big focus on knees out, butt down that I had on Wednesday made for some of the best squats I've had.

This ^^

You may never be able to 'sit back' like others due to your anthromopology (sp?). The key to the issue here is that your weight is on your heels and your driving through the heels, through the hips and up. You get to a point where your hips are raised, then you activate the glutes and hips to bring you to an upright position. This is why Rip goes on (and on and on and on....) about driving up with the hips first...

GJDM. They are looking better. Need to see depth and feet to get a better idea though But you'll feel it if your on your heels and driving through them.

BTW Jess did her first session (finding starting weights) for her SS run. Can follow along. I'm pretty damn proud of her form and you can get an idea of what it looks like for someone with slightly longer legs (obviously you are more extreme, but yeah).

[johnblythe]

Your squat depth is hit and miss, looks like you are either hitting depth, or doing a good morning. Probably first two reps of the second set were best. I don't know what to tell you to fix it. My buddy Brian is doing the same thing and was working lifting his chest sooner which worked in his warmups, but not when it got heavy.

Your cleans must be killing your wrists. You are catching with your elbows under the bar and the lifting them after the bar is already up on your shoulders. Work on getting your elbows up sooner, maybe bend your knees more to help get under the bar easier.

i've got to find a sweet spot between the over folding i'm doing that tends towards GMs and the straight sit back that i fall over doing (check out first vid from two workouts ago).

cleans don't hurt my wrists, or if they do i don't feel it because of my elbows screaming from them :\

may need to drop the weight a bit to get the form tighter, doubtful it'll clean itself up while being both complicated and heavy

not a fan of the exercise anymore

That's what I'm talkin' about...

Keep at it.

yessir!

This ^^

You may never be able to 'sit back' like others due to your anthromopology (sp?). The key to the issue here is that your weight is on your heels and your driving through the heels, through the hips and up. You get to a point where your hips are raised, then you activate the glutes and hips to bring you to an upright position. This is why Rip goes on (and on and on and on....) about driving up with the hips first...

GJDM. They are looking better. Need to see depth and feet to get a better idea though But you'll feel it if your on your heels and driving through them.

BTW Jess did her first session (finding starting weights) for her SS run. Can follow along. I'm pretty damn proud of her form and you can get an idea of what it looks like for someone with slightly longer legs (obviously you are more extreme, but yeah).

you mean need to see more depth of field from the camera to get a better idea?

awesome, will check her log out sometime today or tomorrow.

thanks guys-