Did you find the belt helpful at all for squats? Congrats on the deadlift PR!
The belt did seem to help for squats and deadlifts; there was an extra little bounce there. I feel silly using it on my little weights, but I do like it.
The big number: 20% bf. (19.9 to be technical.) Pretty much what I expected.
A little quick calculation: I’d need to lose 9 pounds to get to 18%. Sadly, for me, that’s daunting. I haven’t been under 130 since I was two inches shorter. Even my periods of dramatic undereating didn’t do it. Maybe if I get my body used to MOAR FOOD for some time then later it’ll actually respond to dieting?
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Squat 5@45, 5@85, 5@95, 5@115, 3@135 with belt, failed at 145, but that was probably psychological. BUT: beautiful, ass-first form.
(Note: ass-first is correct, but much scarier since I feel off-balance and weaker. Knees-first, like a plie, is easier, but I’m trying to wean myself off that.)
[/quote]
I thought I’d interject something about the ass-first versus knees first squat. I always used to go ass first. When I switched to knees first, it cleared up a lot of my problem with doing a good morning out of the hole. Another lifter told me to focus on shooting out my knees and my ass will follow. He was absolutely right. Take a look at the video on the last page of my log. I’m not saying this is right for you but don’t get too stuck on ‘this is the absolutely on right way to do it’. Ass first might be best for you but be open to experimentation.
Hmm, that’s reassuring. Like I said, I’m stronger on knees-first; it’s just that one of the PL guys told me not to. But if there’s more than one legitimate way, I’m happy to stick with knees-first. Your squats are lovely, by the way.
You don’t have to make your diet complicated to lean up a bit. The answer is carb cycling. On days you lift, eat carbs in the morning and before you lift, stick to: yams, oats, ezekiel/kamut bread, brown rice. Also look into CT’s para-workout protocol, excellent carb sources therefore directly before lifting. This way you won’t suck ass in the gym.
On non-lifting days, keep it to good fats, protein, veggies and minimal fruit (apples/berries would work best).
If it helps you psychologically, you can have a cheat meal on one of your carb-up days, i.e., waffles (vs. pancakes?) for breakfast with a boatload of syrup.
Let us know.
As for squats, this is what I found works best for me:
Wide back squats, PL style - ass first
Narrow/medium back squats (preferably with heel lift) - knees and ass at same time
Front squats, Oly style - knees first
I’ll do that, thanks, and let you know.
Today I tried rock climbing for the first time – lots of fun! I didn’t realize how scared I’d be of falling, but it was fine. I wasn’t following a course yet, just doing random holds, and I got to the top twice, and also did some bouldering.
1 hour of that, and 6 sprints, 30 seconds rest.
food: 1780 kcal, p/f/c 174.0/93.6/26.8.
Going to log this consistently from now on, cool it with the trashy food except one cheat a week, and eat oatmeal on lifting days.
Yams, brown rice, etc., are not going to be available, most likely.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
shitty off-plan diet; back on the horses tomorrow.
Squat 5@45, 5@85, 5@95, 5@115, 3@135 with belt, failed at 145, but that was probably psychological. BUT: beautiful, ass-first form.
(Note: ass-first is correct, but much scarier since I feel off-balance and weaker. Knees-first, like a plie, is easier, but I’m trying to wean myself off that.)
good mornings: 5@45, 5@65, 5@75, 5@85, 5@95.
These are horrible in a good way. Definitely a new part of my repertoire.
seated barbell press: 5@45, 5@55, 5@65, 5@75, 3@85
deadlifts: 5@65, 5@115, 5@135, belt, 5@155, 5@165, 5@175, 3@185 (PR)
high rack pulls (above the knee) 5@135, 5@185, 5@225, 5@245, 5@265.
These are fun.[/quote]
Just a couple things if you don’t mind. I would be careful about the load on good mornings if you are just getting started…probably shoot for 10-12 reps for a while. I was reading some of Wendler’s stuff and he said that he has gone as heavy as 500lbs with them but got more out of them with 185 for reps.
On the rackpulls were you able to get your shoulders back / scapulae down in the finish position at the top? That is where most of the the upper back development comes from.
Thanks a lot. Okay. More reps on the good mornings (which will probably mean lower weight.) You go down until your back is horizontal, right?
Yes, I got my shoulders back just fine on the rackpulls.
Alisa, I eat oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every morning. The rolled oat kind that you actually cook. I add a scoop of protein powder, some milk, a banana, some sliced almonds and a few frozen blueberries. This has worked really well for me.
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Alisa, I eat oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every morning. The rolled oat kind that you actually cook. I add a scoop of protein powder, some milk, a banana, some sliced almonds and a few frozen blueberries. This has worked really well for me.[/quote]
Well I wasn’t looking forward to scarfing down eggs tomorrow 5 minutes after waking up, but it looks like I’ll be trying this out, albeit 2x quantity… shit I better have oats… brb
[quote]giterdone wrote:
Kroc rows, while a good upper back exercise, will not help Alisa fix her low back arch problem. Krocs, or dumbbell rows, put little stress on the low back muscles.[/quote]
You really don’t feel much stress on your lower back when doing Kroc Rows? GEEZ… I feel like my whole core is about to rip to shreds! But yeah, I agree that they will not fix her back rounding problems and 100% agree with your suggestions of Good Morning and WEIGHTED back extensions.
Alisa - you said you already do back extensions… do them WEIGHTED like gitrdone suggested! Back extensions are an exercise where you become VERY good at using your body weight VERY quickly and you MUST add weight in order to progress. Many people hold a weight on their chest… but DON’T! Put it behind your head. A 5 lb weight behind your head will feel harder than 25 lbs held at your chest! I would start by just putting your hands behind your head (which already makes the exercise more difficult than crossing them over your chest… then progress to a 2.5 lb plate, and so on.) I also like to stick with higher rep ranges on this exercise (10+… sometimes as many as 50). Also, Stuart McGill (basically the most bad-ass back expert of all time) talks about how your MUST have lower back ENDURANCE before you focus much on strength… So I would actually work your way up in reps until you can get 50 easily with your body weight. Then begin to add small amounts of weight. (You don’t always have to work in the 50 rep range… but should be able to get 50 with your hands behind your head before loading the exercise)… Then you can gradually work your way down in reps and up in weight… while still throwing in some 50-reppers or static holds for time occasionally. You also want to make sure that when you come up your don’t OVER-ARCH… your DO NOT want MOBILITY in your lumbar spine… you want STABILITY! OK… I’ll shut-up now! =D
[quote]mmgalb727 wrote:
Alisa - you said you already do back extensions… do them WEIGHTED like gitrdone suggested! Back extensions are an exercise where you become VERY good at using your body weight VERY quickly and you MUST add weight in order to progress. Many people hold a weight on their chest… but DON’T! Put it behind your head. A 5 lb weight behind your head will feel harder than 25 lbs held at your chest! I would start by just putting your hands behind your head (which already makes the exercise more difficult than crossing them over your chest… then progress to a 2.5 lb plate, and so on.) I also like to stick with higher rep ranges on this exercise (10+… sometimes as many as 50). Also, Stuart McGill (basically the most bad-ass back expert of all time) talks about how your MUST have lower back ENDURANCE before you focus much on strength… So I would actually work your way up in reps until you can get 50 easily with your body weight. Then begin to add small amounts of weight. (You don’t always have to work in the 50 rep range… but should be able to get 50 with your hands behind your head before loading the exercise)… Then you can gradually work your way down in reps and up in weight… while still throwing in some 50-reppers or static holds for time occasionally. You also want to make sure that when you come up your don’t OVER-ARCH… your DO NOT want MOBILITY in your lumbar spine… you want STABILITY! OK… I’ll shut-up now! =D[/quote]
Molly, that was super helpful. I just started up with weighted back extensions (10# plate behind the head) but I totally skipped out on the high rep BW ones. Going for a BW 50 on those tomorrow before I try these with the weight again.
Okay, that’s really helpful. I hadn’t known about that high rep stuff, but i’ll get on it!
[quote]mmgalb727 wrote:
giterdone wrote:
Kroc rows, while a good upper back exercise, will not help Alisa fix her low back arch problem. Krocs, or dumbbell rows, put little stress on the low back muscles.
You really don’t feel much stress on your lower back when doing Kroc Rows? GEEZ… I feel like my whole core is about to rip to shreds! But yeah, I agree that they will not fix her back rounding problems and 100% agree with your suggestions of Good Morning and WEIGHTED back extensions.
Alisa - you said you already do back extensions… do them WEIGHTED like gitrdone suggested! Back extensions are an exercise where you become VERY good at using your body weight VERY quickly and you MUST add weight in order to progress. Many people hold a weight on their chest… but DON’T! Put it behind your head. A 5 lb weight behind your head will feel harder than 25 lbs held at your chest! I would start by just putting your hands behind your head (which already makes the exercise more difficult than crossing them over your chest… then progress to a 2.5 lb plate, and so on.) I also like to stick with higher rep ranges on this exercise (10+… sometimes as many as 50). Also, Stuart McGill (basically the most bad-ass back expert of all time) talks about how your MUST have lower back ENDURANCE before you focus much on strength… So I would actually work your way up in reps until you can get 50 easily with your body weight. Then begin to add small amounts of weight. (You don’t always have to work in the 50 rep range… but should be able to get 50 with your hands behind your head before loading the exercise)… Then you can gradually work your way down in reps and up in weight… while still throwing in some 50-reppers or static holds for time occasionally. You also want to make sure that when you come up your don’t OVER-ARCH… your DO NOT want MOBILITY in your lumbar spine… you want STABILITY! OK… I’ll shut-up now! =D[/quote]
Molly, a question…how often would suggest doing these kind of back raises? For example, from research I have done, I have now implemented glute bridges into my warm-up at least every other warm-up session for glute activation. Are these light weight or BW back raises something that can be done for warm-up or would doing them on a back day be sufficient?
[quote]mmgalb727 wrote:
giterdone wrote:
Kroc rows, while a good upper back exercise, will not help Alisa fix her low back arch problem. Krocs, or dumbbell rows, put little stress on the low back muscles.
You really don’t feel much stress on your lower back when doing Kroc Rows? GEEZ… I feel like my whole core is about to rip to shreds! But yeah, I agree that they will not fix her back rounding problems and 100% agree with your suggestions of Good Morning and WEIGHTED back extensions.
Alisa - you said you already do back extensions… do them WEIGHTED like gitrdone suggested! Back extensions are an exercise where you become VERY good at using your body weight VERY quickly and you MUST add weight in order to progress. Many people hold a weight on their chest… but DON’T! Put it behind your head. A 5 lb weight behind your head will feel harder than 25 lbs held at your chest! I would start by just putting your hands behind your head (which already makes the exercise more difficult than crossing them over your chest… then progress to a 2.5 lb plate, and so on.) I also like to stick with higher rep ranges on this exercise (10+… sometimes as many as 50). Also, Stuart McGill (basically the most bad-ass back expert of all time) talks about how your MUST have lower back ENDURANCE before you focus much on strength… So I would actually work your way up in reps until you can get 50 easily with your body weight. Then begin to add small amounts of weight. (You don’t always have to work in the 50 rep range… but should be able to get 50 with your hands behind your head before loading the exercise)… Then you can gradually work your way down in reps and up in weight… while still throwing in some 50-reppers or static holds for time occasionally. You also want to make sure that when you come up your don’t OVER-ARCH… your DO NOT want MOBILITY in your lumbar spine… you want STABILITY! OK… I’ll shut-up now! =D[/quote]
Nope, I don’t feel Krocs in my low back but I’ll agree that they hit the core HARD which can only help when staying tight when doing squats etc. Actually, they hit my obliques so hard that I have some minor concerns about them making my waist visually ‘blocky’. Just something I’m keeping an eye on. A great exercise that makes me see stars and my lungs burn if I do it right.
I agree with doing higher and lower reps on the back extension. I generally keep the weight on my chest just because the weight is higher and I don’t want to load up my neck. But behind the neck is cool for lighter loads (and harder) and actually a good way to work the neck muscles as a secondary benefit. I haven’t done super high rep in a while…I’ll have to give that a go. I bet I suck at them.
I cringe when I see people dropping too fast and rounding their back at the bottom of the movement and hyperextending at the top.
food: 1490 kcal, p/f/c 150.6/63.7/44.6
nice & clean, carbs just came from oatmeal & apple.
squats: 5@45, 5@85, 5@95, 5@115, 5@135, 5@145, 4@155 (rep PR!)
Then PL guy says I’m going way below parallel, and I should squat to a bench instead of a low box. (One of those movable benches.)
I try this and it’s SO EASY, 4 @155, 5@155, and I can keep my back straight.
But I’m not sure if I buy that it’s to parallel. Looking in the mirror it’s hard to tell. Do you know if this is legit or if he’s blowing smoke up my ass?
bench: 10@45, 10@65, 5@85, 5@95, 1@105.
My shoulder is wonky; I don’t want to be a hypochondriac about it, but it does make me weaker, so no PR today.
leg press: 8@225, 8@315, 8@405, tried 495 but it wasn’t a full ROM.
Anyhow, this is BY FAR the heaviest leg press I’ve ever done.
dumbbell incline bench: 8@30’s, 6@40’s, 3@45’s, 5@45’s.
I’m gonna get the 50’s, but again, achy shoulder, not today.
good mornings: 12@45, 12@65, 12@75, 10@85.
You want high reps? You got high reps!
Most gym benches are 14" which is only going to be parallel if you stand about 5’10-6’ tall, depending on inseam.