yeah, benches are a bit high for a legit squat
who was this guy? sounds like a smoke blower to me;)
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
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
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]
Shauna - I would imagine it depends on what the rest of your training looks like. Common sense says a couple of times a week would be good… but common sense doesn’t necessarily get people strong… ;D When I was at Westside this spring, Louie was talking about how his guys would often work a muscle/do a movement up to 6x a week if they were trying to bring it up/strengthen it. However they probably have a bit of “help” in the recovery department as well! =D I think as long as it doesn’t affect your training, you could do them 4+ days a week (as long as they are nice and light and you are just doing them for time/reps… I would also put them at the end of your workout so you are not pre-exhausting your lower back before squats or deads) So yeah, do them 4-5x a week for about 3-4 weeks… then take a week off from doing them, and then incorporate them back in 2x a week or so (maybe 1 heavy day and 1 lighter day) and see what happens. I am a big fan of purposefully over-training a body part and then backing off it a bit to bring it up… Try it and report back! =D
Yeah, thanks, I doubted the bench was low enough. This was a guy on the PL team – different from the one who told me to squat to a box. I call BS.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Yeah, thanks, I doubted the bench was low enough. This was a guy on the PL team – different from the one who told me to squat to a box. I call BS.[/quote]
The idea itself isn’t bad. I’ve done something similar. I stretch a mini band across the rack at the height that’s right for me. You can feel when your butt hits it.
off day.
1723 kcal, p/f/c 149.2/87.8/39
Clean except for a drink (still to come.)
One gratifying thing: I grab my friend’s wrist in conversation and he says “Wow, you’re getting strong.”
lol
lol
sorry, it wasn’t THAT funny!
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
sorry, it wasn’t THAT funny![/quote]
I burst out laughing are you kidding
What, over the wrist thing? It did strike me as a goofy comment.
Unintentional off day; gym closed. Rats.
Also, cheat meal this week was “Thanksgiving dinner” with some friends who can cook, since I’m not actually going home for Thanksgiving. So many kinds of bad for you: cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, stuffing, apple pie, and – a glorious first-time discovery – corn pudding.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
What, over the wrist thing? It did strike me as a goofy comment.[/quote]
lol I was just messing with mom-in-md
Ah, we miss out on Thanksgiving over here in the UK. We do all our epic eating at Christmas. Your meal sounds great though. I do love me some apple pie but, ugh, pastry’s something else I have to avoid due to wheat. Bah.
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
mom-in-MD wrote:
sorry, it wasn’t THAT funny!
I burst out laughing are you kidding[/quote]
yes, it was funny but my computer thought it was twice as funny apparently! 
squat: 5@45, 5@85, 5@95, 5@115, 5@135, 5@145, 2@155, 1@165 (PR!)
Probably had more reps in me, but was feeling conservative. Next time. But that was my goal for this month, to get to 165 – a 20-pound increase.
seated DB press: 5@25, 5@30, 5@35, fail@40. I’ll get 'em someday.
50 hands-behind-head unweighted hypers, 30 hypers with a 10-pound plate behind my head. Next time: 50 with the plate.
rack pulls (low): 5@65, 5@95, 5@115, 5@135, 5@155, 5@175, fail@205, 5@195 (PR!)
Hopefully this means I can get a 200+ deadlift by Christmas break.
squat press: 5@45, 5x5@65
My first time doing these – fun, really exhausting.
Is the squat press kind of like the crossfit thruster? (front squat into a push-press). If so, wow, yeah, exhausting is a good word for it.
I thought you were already pulling over 200lbs? Didn’t you get up to 210? I’m so confused.
BTW, it’s interesting how you are going to be equalling my upright bench, but your regular bench press is a little lower. Have you tried dropping the reps and doing a wave loading pattern for the bench? You’d probably be able to hit at least 130 within a month.
Oleena – it’s a front squat + push press, yes. I wasn’t sure what to call them.
Deadlifts: I got up to 250 before realizing that I had horrible back rounding. So I dropped the weight (actually had to drop it down to 85 pounds) and I’ve been working up from there. I’d rather take my time than fool myself into thinking I’m better than I am.
What’s a wave pattern? Is 130 seriously attainable? I would LOVE to do that.
Alisa- I’ve been able to bench 125x3 for 5 sets and haven’t tried 130 yet, but I’m sure I could do it. I’m planning on ending up 10 to 15 lbs higher than that with the 5,3,1 program.
Here’s an example of a wave:
You start at 110, and do 4 reps. Wait 3 minutes, do 115 for 3 reps, wait three minutes, 120 for 2 reps, wait three minutes, then you go back to 115 and do it for 4 reps, do 120 for 3 reps, and 125 for two reps, all with at least three minutes between the lifts. Be careful not to start too high and each week increase by 5lbs.
I’ll give it a try (today if I have time.) That sounds cool.