Been busy as hell, just wanted to give FItGAF props for keeping it up all the way to OT6. Keep lifting, ladies and gents.
*twitch*
*twitch*
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Fitness |OT6| Defying gravity, Quest madness, and Muscle Shaming
- Thread starter SquiddyCracker
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Hypereides
Member
Woooo! finally broke my bench after a long time up to 62,5 kg! Never achieved that before. 
I've been going at the SS programme for about 3 months now - with 2,5 week off though so my progress could've been better. But so far I'm pleased with the results, even though I believe most of it is fat
Progress pics time!
I'm still on my bulk, which will last through out December.
You have my axe. /gimli
I've been going at the SS programme for about 3 months now - with 2,5 week off though so my progress could've been better. But so far I'm pleased with the results, even though I believe most of it is fat
Progress pics time!
I'm still on my bulk, which will last through out December.
You have my axe. /gimli
Cervical extension is to be avoided, particularly when under load. Chest & elbows up, hip drive!
BronzeWolf
Banned
183 lb @ 14%...
183 lb @ 14%...
Damn! Got a picture??
Hoping Fit-GAF squat clinic could help me in improving my form.
Here are some pictures showing the depth/butt wink status and and overlaid picture showing the bar path on a typical squat.
My own impression is that the depth starts to approach sufficient. There is still some butt wink / rounding going on in the lowest position, but think I am improving on it and know what to do. The bar stays roughly on top of the middle of the foot in the bottom position.
The main problem is obvious on the third picture - the bar path. It appears I lean forwards when going down because the bar ends up more front on the bottom. This problem becomes bigger the heavier I go.
I don't know how to go about fixing this. Any ideas?
Holy back rounding Batman.
You need to be in full lumbar extension before you unrack the bar. Your lower back is completely rounded throughout the movement. Your back has to be really tight before unracking. Think of raising and extending the chest, then grip the bar and keep that tightness. That will help you get in lumbar extension.
Also, the reason your bar path is so out of whack is that, even though you have the bar in a high-bar position, you are sitting back as if you were doing a low bar squat, with a much more horizontal back angle.
With high bar squats your back needs to be much more vertical to accommodate the path of the bar over the middle of the foot. This will most likely require that your knees travel forward much more at the bottom.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Those of you who got on an exercise program and have seen gains and are in a happy place (1 year + training) around when was your lowest point during the program? I'm hitting around the six month mark and I feel extremely worn out and stalled with no changes. Obviously I will make some changes to make things work, but did any of you have a major lull when the noob gainz slowed down?
Are you doing SS? How many deloads have you done on your lifts? I think it maybe time to switch to something like 531 or Texas Method.
You are not supposed to do SS for more than 6-7 months. I mean, there are some freaks who can get to a 405lb squat on a linear progression, but for most people it'll be very difficult to keep adding weight to the lifts every workout after half a year more or less.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
over the six months I've been training, 3 deloads. I believe I'm pretty much done with it at this point.
I think you are done.
What are your goals?
If you want to keep focusing solely on Strength, do Texas Method.
If you want to try a split (a different day for each of the lifts) that still has an emphasis on strength but also a lot of room for hypertrophy work, do 531.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Planning on going 531. My goal is to look big more than lift big, honestly. But I kind of like both. Either way, 531 appears to be my future and I'll be starting that up soon. I've been kind of held back a little bit with my SS deloads due to my trapezius REALLY hurting, confident it isn't any kind of tear but will heal. Either way, charging down the 531 tunnel and I'm excited for that. Numbers don't lie.
You could try something like this.
I'm loving 531. Sure, strength doesn't go up as fast as with other programs, but it's still a strength program. And since it's only one heavy compound per session, you can really focus on it for 35-40 minutes, and then you are still pretty fresh to do assistance and then get a pump without feeling like YNDTP.
The only thing I don't like about 531 is that the stock program doesn't have enough volume on Squats IMO, but that's easily remedied by adding more squats as assistance on other day.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Thanks for that link, I'd been looking for that one in particular and haven't been able to find it until now.
What's even better is he recommends walking for 30-40 minutes daily, and I have a dog that needs just that. Can't get better than that.
Looking forward to the next stage of my development. You've been really helpful, Noema, to everyone - and we all appreciate it. I think my being quiet in this thread for the past month or two has kind of mirrored my gym work - I've felt disconnected a bit. I'm ready to get as excited as I was when I started, and you're a huge part of this community. Never leave us!
Chittagong
Gold Member
Thanks very much for the advice - that makes sense. I have been doing low bar for a while but swapped recently the bar higher to try to help me stay more upright instead of leaning forwards. Clearly it's not doing me any favours, but I think the real culprit is the lack of back rigidity you mention when unracking, specifically not having a concept at all of what lumbar extension feels like and how to achieve it.
Your advice of how to do the lumbar extension by pushing out chest when unracking is really understandable, I can picture doing that in my head. I will have to think whether I go back low bar when trying it since that's what I have been doing for a while, and the bar sits better there. I will have to do a lot of stretching and mobility exercises too to prevent the buttwink from happening, it always creeps in once I descend past a certain point. Hamstring/glute/hip tightness maybe.
Again, thanks so much for your help and advice Noema, I realise a good squat can take me forever to master but I am dedicated to the journey!
Check some of the stretches I posted a couple days back.
Yes. Don't use a smith to squat.
Yes, very much.
FallingEdge
Member
Woooo! finally broke my bench after a long time up to 62,5 kg! Never achieved that before.
I've been going at the SS programme for about 3 months now - with 2,5 week off though so my progress could've been better. But so far I'm pleased with the results, even though I believe most of it is fat
Progress pics time!
I'm still on my bulk, which will last through out December.
You have my axe. /gimli
Definitely see a difference in your shoulders and arms. Chest as well. Keep it up!
Chittagong
Gold Member
Oh wow, that's a great post, thanks! I will mail it to myself and try each of those tomorrow at the gym, I have all afternoon before meetings in the evening to mess around.
On greyskull and everything seems to be going fine except squats where I still stall at 205+ lbs. Every other lift going off phraks greyskull is progressing normally. If I fail for 215 on lbs3x5 again on Friday, I'm thinking I need to modify so my squat can continue to progress. For reference, I'm 23, 5'5, about 141 lbs. Also,I feel like its my wrists holding me back since my grip feels weak even durin warmups.
ohhthegore
Member
Maybe tight hip flexor muscles?? Do you sit a lot?
BronzeWolf
Banned
FallingEdge
Member
245 lbs.
I'm prolly putting on weight too fast.
oh well.
I'm prolly putting on weight too fast.
oh well.
If your dead lift is going up still, there's not really a need to modify too much at all. If you insist, I'd swap in front squats on your monday for your back squats with the same progression as you would for your other lower body movements.
You can also work from your sticking point out. If the issue is the bar is too heavy and you're falling forward, that's a form issue. If you can't get out of the bottom, that's possibly a strength issue. Find the weakness and address it.
Also, remember that with GSLP you need to do the last set for AMRAP. If you stall on 210 with work sets of, let's say, 4-4-3 and deload, that puts you back at 190. Your last set at 190 should be more than five, which should be a rep PR for your program, and continuing on that line should help you push past 210. EDIT: Along these lines, when you deloaded last from squats, did your AMRAP sets go up?
I think I'm hitting or about to hit my maxes on most of my lifts on starting strength.
Got 260 for squat, 225 for bench, and 315 for deads. I started itching to do one rep max for deads and got up to 385 which felt so good because 405 was my official max before my injury.
I needed today because I'm finally starting to love the gym again.
All at 165 lbs bodyweight.
Got 260 for squat, 225 for bench, and 315 for deads. I started itching to do one rep max for deads and got up to 385 which felt so good because 405 was my official max before my injury.
I needed today because I'm finally starting to love the gym again.
All at 165 lbs bodyweight.
Nope, I deloaded to 205 from 215 and still only got to 5 reps every set. I go past parallel and get up just fine at 205 lbs just it takes me 7-10 mins of rest in between sets. If I go down to like 195 or lower I can def do the full 5x3 fine and last time I did I got to 6 reps on the last set. I started at 185 lbs and got to 8 reps the first time. As far as 215 lbs goes the best I've done is 5x2 then even with ample rest I just plain ran out of gas to do the last set properly. Also forgot I did starting strength for 3 months. Unless I can't do it, my deadlift should be at 215 on Wednesday and at 205 I only got to 5 reps. Like 195 lbs feels great then once I get to 205 that's when I start to struggle.
When you deload, are you dropping down 10%, rounding to the nearest divisable by 5 number? I.E., 205 to 185 or 215 to 195? Also, when you are going up on your squats and deadlifts, are you going up ten or five pounds? If your third set is less than ten reps, lower body increases should only be five pounds (two 2.5 plates) and upper body lifts should be 2.5 pound increases (two 1.25 plates).
I've been going up 10 lbs and for deload I just went down to my last working set where I completed 5x3. Also smallest weights my gym has are 2.5 plates. Also I've been following this http://i.imgur.com/IrSuKQl.png. Based on that and what you said I should be deloading about 10 lbs more than I currently am.
Well yeah, most of the day, but this is since I have started squatting consistently. Anything to worry about form wise or just muscles getting used to it?
fredrancour
Member
Use his suggestion where deloads are 10% off instead.
Yes
Alright I'll try that. For some reason I figured the 10% deload was just the last working set for 5x3. Thanks for the help guys. Stalling mainly on squats so far has been brutal. Especially when 2 weeks ago I was so close to finally hitting 5x3 @ 215 lbs.
My suggestions:
Drop the rows. Any type of barbell row is going to put some musclular strain on your back, if you're holding the bar properly. That's going to tire out your frame for when you're trying to bounce outta the pocket for the squat and is going to tire you out before doing your deadlifts. I'd do Chins on your press day (two sets of 6-8, add weight like the upper body workouts) and E-Z bar curls or seated dumbbell curls (2x ten to twelve, keep scaling up but it's not super important, everybody just likes having guns) on your bench day. Then, do the squat or the deadlift.
Deload lower. Yes, you need to be dropping down 10%+. Going back to the last weight that you pulled for three sets of five just keeps you at your max. Drop lower, blast through the last set in reps, make sure you're tracking it so you can keep an eye on your PRs, and climb back up.
Buy smaller plates. Amazon.com. These little dudes. They will change your lifting life forever. Great for maxes, your worksets on upperbody stuff, and getting an increase on your chins and curls.
Get your diet on point. 3-4k calories. 1gram or more of protein per lb of body weight.
Nap. I'm not a huge stickler for getting eight hours of sleep, I know my life doesn't support it, but make sure you're getting enough rest to recover.
fredrancour
Member
Nope. The 3 work sets are always always the same weight across.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
Nearly a week off since pulling 600. I feel both refreshed and fat/small as fuck. The fact stupid shit like this can effect how you see yourself is dumb as hell.
Oh well, back to it tomorrow night.
Oh well, back to it tomorrow night.
I'll try this. Also I switched the chin ups to pull ups, mostly because I want to try and get a muscle up. I've been keeping track on fitocracy. And I eat more than enough protein. As far as calories I'm usually at 2700 more or less on lifting days and 2100 or so on rest days. This going off the calculator that's in OP but the domain has apparently expired. Also thanks again for the advice.
Food sounds good then. Don't go too crazy worrying about macros if you know your protein is on point, just make sure you're getting enough food.
If you hit a lifting ceiling it's one of three things; diet, repair, or genetic potential. I'm pretty confident that your genetic peak isn't 215.
Just sayin.
Damn, that student gym sucks
My university gym has three squat racks on a platform. So one person can do squats and another person can do DLs or BB rows outside of the squat rack (a third person can do either DLs or BB rows off the platform on the ground too). During very busy hours, three people are at each 'station'; those are fun.Last Friday I did squats with 80 lbs, completed all the reps. So I increased it to 85 lbs today; had to dump the weight on the last rep of the last set, so close :|
Slightly off-topic: My group and I were giving an oral presentations for our Process Design course and after class my friend said, "your traps are insane" lol.
Food sounds good then. Don't go too crazy worrying about macros if you know your protein is on point, just make sure you're getting enough food.
If you hit a lifting ceiling it's one of three things; diet, repair, or genetic potential. I'm pretty confident that your genetic peak isn't 215.
Just sayin.
Definitely, I know I can do it just knew I had to fix something to get there. I'll be so happy once I can finally break this stall and hit 2 plates. I was so close 2 weeks ago I could smell it.
215lb is really a very low weight to be stalling at.
You need to deload 10%, and do 5lb jumps when progressing in the squat.
You also have a form issue where you are holding part of the weight with your wrists which, as you found out, is less than ideal.
Finally, you need to eat more.
ohhthegore
Member
I would highly recommend stretches to do every night and also look into using a foam roller. You really don't want to risk an injury or you won't be squatting for a while and nothing sucks worse than that.
I have my wrists, thumbs, and hands are above and over the bar and it looks and feels like it's supposed to based on SS. I try to make it so my wrists just aren't holding the weight. Squatting wasn't a problem until i hit 205 ><.
edit:And just reread some of SS and I think my problem is I need to narrow my grip slightly to just inside the rings(I usually had it so my middle finger was on the ring of the bar). And reading the grip error section again, yep I am experiencing exactly what Rip says about heavy weights and grip placement lol. Fail, should have known to read the book again to get my form back on point.
Also for eating I started at 134 lbs in June and at 141 now. Have upped my intake though.
Zoe
Member
I feel it more in my hip flexors when I have my feet too wide.
a secret-boss
Banned
This is wat I do. Do ur main 5/3/1 components then i just do assist work with low weight high reps
Edit: also helped me break my plateau from SS
Man, I can't remember the last time I had a feel-good gym day. Now my hip joints are starting to hurt again even after I kinda started my squat all over and trying new stretches and all that. The weird thing is that it really hurts a lot on my warm up sets, but it hurts a bit less when I get to the heavier work sets. Maybe the weight pushing me down is helpful. I'm just concerned because last time I felt like this, I kinda plowed through and eventually heard a pop that made it painful to walk for quite a while. Maybe I should just get a trainer that can help me make sure I'm doing all the movements correctly.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Finally felt the deadlift work my ass and legs today. So much so that I actually collapsed to the ground after my second set.
Felt good about it cause I always hear guys talk about how deadlifts kill their legs but I've never experienced that before.
Felt good about it cause I always hear guys talk about how deadlifts kill their legs but I've never experienced that before.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
It's a plan, stan!
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