Woof. Nice work man.
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Work for today:
20 squats (24kg), 1 swing (24kg)
19 squats (24kg), 2 swings (24kg)
ā¦
ā¦
ā¦
1 squat (24kg), 20 swings (24kg)
Notes:
- Trying to flush some blood into my legs. Definitely did that.
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Sorry, I havenāt been back here in a while. The unread count is just too much and I keep putting it off (400+).
Iād argue that most of us try to get bigger and stronger by adding more weight to the bar. Do you agree with that premise?
If yes, let us postulate a best-case scenario wherein Iām not at greater risk of injury despite lifting in a way that doesnāt maximise my leverages. As in, I could low-bar squat with an excessive forward lean and that wonāt cause impingement at the hips, or put my lower back at risk of injury (it probably would, but for the sake of argument). Assuming this best case scenario, that I wonāt hurt it, am I not impeding the progress of all other muscle groups as my lower back remains my bottleneck?
And Iām I therefore not getting in the way of my bigger/stronger objective?
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You may be right, I donāt know.
My thinking is that I go back to Dave Tate and the train your ass off series. He can add 50-100lbs to a squat PR by adjusting leverages and shortening ROM. For a competitive powerlifter, that totally makes sense, thatās really low hanging fruit. For me? I donāt understand how that would contribute to ābigger and strongerā, absent injury concerns. If maximal poundages were the be-all-end-all of growth, we would never front squat. Or squat to depth at all.
Why even squat? I ask myself this all the time.
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I donāt know either. Happy just to shoot it around and see what thoughts arrive.
That is very true, he can do that. But Iām was merely arguing for potentially setting aside some time technique work. There is nothing there, implicitly or explicitly, about lifting as a powerlifter. Whichever lift it is you want to do, SSB, Front Squat, High-bar Back Squat, Low-bar Back Squat, Zercher, ā¦ doesnāt matter. Each and every one of those can either be done efficiently, or inefficiently.
FWIW, I totally buy into that there is a place for lifting inefficiently. I know @T3hPwnisher has made this argument, and I understand it and sometimes apply it myself. If I want to build my front squat using SSB squats, I sure as hell donāt want to do the best SSB squat I can do because that takes stress away from my chest collapsing forward.
And, that argument seemingly applies very well to all movements if a person is training for strongman because you never know what angle youāll end up in carrying cumbersome objects.
When you write,
I can kind of see where you are coming from but I donāt think I was making an argument for removing supplemental work (your remark on front squats) or cutting depth. Iāve had to cut depth when Iāve had the bar on my back because of my hips, and I think not beating up your joints excessively is a good argument to cut depth.
I also think that if your sport favours a certain depth (powerlifting) then you should cut depth as well. But if your sport favours another depth (olympic lifting) then you should train to that depth.
Maximal poundages is probably not the end all be all, or else the person with the biggest legs would be the quarter squatting leg press people, but if the fundamental way within which you do a lift doesnāt change then surely maximal poundages are an important factor?
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@Cyrrex because high rep squats are all Iāve got man. I canāt beat you at anything else.
@Voxel I think weāre getting to the point where ātechnique improvementā isnāt specific enough. What, specifically, are we talking about here? If weāre talking about ways to tighten the upper back or improve bracing in a squat, Iām all for that because I can see how that impacts bigger/stronger. Are we talking adjusting stance? If so, why? If youāre saying itās more favourable for your leverages, in what way? Are we talking reducing injury risk and wear and tear? Or reducing ROM? Or shifting the load to different/stronger muscle groups? Because I can see a case in some of these for making you bigger and stronger, and some of these are just making you more skilled.
My example of the front squat above was to show that we all expect to front squat less than back squat because it makes our leverages less favourable. Weāre also all aware that it doesnāt make the front squat less valuable than the back squat for bigger/stronger.
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Work for today:
Press:
5 x 20kg
5 x 40kg
5 x 50kg
3 x 60kg
1 x 65kg
1 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
Giant set with Y-raises and BPAs:
3 x 8 @ 50kg
Kb clean and press (16kg):
50 reps, alternating hands
Notes:
- This was a bit slow. Feel like Iāve been hit by a truck today. Cut all non-press specific work for basically that reason. Will aim to get a pull-specific day done later this week.
- Got my volume PR. Had to cut the first set though, as I misgrooved the first rep really, really badly and nearly dropped it on my girls new bike. Very unusual for me to misgroove so much on Press.
- Clean and Press was also a silly idea, hit the lungs too hard and the shoulders not enough. Probably an awesome way to do some shoulder focused conditioning, but terrible for what I wanted here.
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Awesome!
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Iāll have to think about it.
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Itās getting there. Very happy with that today, considering how rough I feel. Only a week late.
Work for tonight:
50 3-pump burpees
Notes:
- These sucked. Was meant to run this morning but got an early call, so burpees it is. Something in my shoulder wasnāt right here.
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Work for today:
Simple ab circuit of ādo some stuff until it hurts, then do other stuffā
Didnāt want to break my however many day streak of training daily but today was not a fun one. Started doing burpees but shoulder still wasnāt feeling right, so had to find something I could usefully do.
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Yes
Maybe. This is either a yes or a no. The right stance/grip width for your motivation to be doing said lift.
Yes
Only if pertinent to sport. For the general poster on here, no, for someone that wants to do feat X in a powerlifting meet, yes.
Conceivably. Like, I saw a guy deadlift 220kg today and he didnāt really engage his lats that much (I paid close attention to how his scapula was ā or I should say wasnāt ā moving). I think heād be stronger, safer, and pulling with better technique by packing his lats by depressing his scapula.
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We seem to be in agreement on most of these points then. My follow up question is: which of the above issues make you think āI need a whole block devoted to fixing thisā and which donāt?
Work for today:
20mins run.
If I can make it through this season with ātraining every dayā, I can do any time of year.
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Work for today:
Press (ss. BPAs):
5 x 40kg
5 x 40kg
3 x 50kg
3 x 60kg
1 x 65kg
5 x 65kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
Giant set with y-raises and BPAs:
3 x 8 @ 50kg
Brian Alsruhe carry countdown:
5-4-3-2-1 Trapbar Press with 20 steps overhead carry between each set.
Notes:
- On the second 65kg set, I thought I was doing 70kg. It was so easy and dialled in, I did 3 and was like āfuck this, I can do 5ā, thinking I was showboating a bit. Only noticed iād forgotten to load the bar again after I set it down.
- My next progression here, I think, is to keep trying for 3 on the first set. If I succeed, jobs a good un, move onto back off sets. If I fail, Iāll have to strap in for a volume PR.
- That fucking carry set is a bastard. That hurt like fuck.
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Thatās crazy, manāhad to look it up to see if it was really what I thought it was. And nevermind the overhead carry, holy cow!
Good stuff.
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I really rate the trapbar press. It just seems to hit the shoulders better than the straight bar.
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Work for tonight:
50 navy seals
Shoulder still buggy
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