law8: Yea man, i am the exact same way. For some reason I do better when i feel like there is not a chance to bail out. I would say that you can get used to anything, and having a guy hand the bar out to you can definitely have the benefit of being able to keep your back tighter. That said, if you want to give the no spotter a try, i would recommend setting a bench up in the power rack and placing the pins low enough that they do not interfere with your press, but if you fail the rep, you can roll it down your body until the pins catch it. It is definitely not the safest thing in the world, and you are definitely risking breaking some ribs in the process, but that is how I go about it.
I actually had to do this with 500lbs a few weeks ago. Rolling it down my ribcage was not a fun thing. I was just waiting for a rib to pop. But I made it out ok that time. It is something you are going to have to run a risk vs. reward about. For me, I almost always work out alone, so i take the choice out of it. I hope that helps you out man, stay safe!
Betabill: If you are not taking in as much air into your diaphragm and then bracing your abs outward as hard as possible then you are definitely not lifting as much weight as you could and are sticking yourself in a much greater risk of a serious back injury. Doing this is the way your body will use itâs âNaturalâ lifting belt, the transverse abdominis. (I am sure I butchered that spelling). Adding a lifting belt allows to use this to an even greater extent. It gives your ab wall more area to push against to stabilize your core and keep your spine where it is supposed to be. This is why I tell people to put their belt on tight, but not so tight that you cannot get a full belly breath of airâŠotherwise you are hurting your bracing more than helping it. If I were you, I would learn how to breath and brace properly first. Then once you have it down, adding a belt will just help further advance your knowledge and performance of how your core works.
As far as your hips shooting up in the bottom of a squat. That is a very normal thing because your hips are trying to take the load. This is completely fine, but if your core stability is not set correctly or strong enough, you will bend forward and eventually lose the lift forward. I truly believe the squat is more of a core movement than a leg movement. Most peopleâs legs are much more strong than they would believe, but their core is what is weak. (This is why people can leg press more than they can squat, because it is taking the core piece [mostly] out of the equation) If done correctly, your erectors should stay in an isometricly flexed position. They are not great at lengthening or shortening, and that is where people usually hurt themselves. They are made to hold your spine in place, not rip through heavy loads. Not that they canât, that is what you see every time someone has a very rounded back during a heavy deadlift. But Ideally, they hold their position and the hip hinges to lift the weight.
I think if you really work on your bracing and staying as upright as possible (this may also require some ankle and hip mobility work) then you would really improve your squat and that problem would go away. Doing good mornings and SSB squats are a good addition to any lifterâs program, but they build the muscles that help you when you get out of position. You are intentionally sticking yourself in bad position and strengthening the muscles used there so that when you are in a less than advantageous position (as you will usually be in a 1RM attempt) then you can finish the lift. But on anything less than a max out set, your position should stay 90-99% perfect. If it is not, then you are just biding your time until something breaks.
Really take the time to learn the breathing and bracing technique, it changed my lifting 100%, no lie. I hope that helps man.
BJack: That is awesome news man, Roran is making the trip as well. I am meeting him at 8AM at the gym to wok some strongman stuff then class will start at 9. I hope you can make it out. You are both great guys with similar personalities, you would get along great!
LondonBoxer: No problem man, that is why I am here. Ok for the DB snatches, go 8 each side and keep the weight very close to what you were doing for 4, you will surprise yourself on that exercise by how much weight you will be able to do.
Second question: Yea I read that happened over in Pwnisherâs logâŠThat is pretty normal on the front squats man. But now that you know the feeling, you will be able to recognize it and bail out before it happens again. Youtube is littered with people passing out on front squats. The problem is that the bar cuts off your carotid artery and some air. It is just something that you need to be careful of. I remedy it by flexing my butt. This fires my posterior chain and seems to help a lot. So at the top of each rep, flex your butt and catch your breath. If you are feeling that âworld is closing inâ Feeling, ditch the bar and let blood get back into your head.
Third question: It definitely wonât hurt your performance during the main workout of the day and long as you keep it reasonable. Punisher added that pull up bar at hit office and hits a few sets throughout the day. I think that is a great idea. There is a lot of evidence in the âgrease the grooveâ department that says this can tae your performance way up. But I think it is important to to keep it kind of mild. So if you did it with pull-Ups, if a max effort set lands you around 20, then i wouldnât do more than sets of 10 each time. How many you perform during the day would be up to you. I would start on the side of caution and add another set each week or every two weeks or something. It is a great way to keep your body moving and Tim Ferriss has done some research showing that things like this will increase your mental capacity and cognitive function. I say give it a shot man! I hope I answered all of our questions, if I missed any aspects, just re-ask and i will try to clarify!
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âAnd here is the prime condition of success, the great secret - concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. Having begun on one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it, adopt every improvement, have the best machinery and know the most about it. The concerns which fail are those which have scattered their capital, which means that they have scattered their brains also. âDonât put all your eggs in one basketâ is all wrong. I tell you âput all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket.â Look around you and take notice; men who do that do not often fail. It is easy to watch and carry the one basket. It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs in this country.â --Andrew Carnegie
TUESDAY, 18AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 4/ Day 2
CONDTIONING - As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 Minutes
20 Pull-Ups
50 Foot Handstand Walk (yes I even included one of these in my video)
5 Box Jumps
STRENGTH GIANT SET
SSB Squats: 160x5, 250x4, 340x3, 430x2, 525x1 (PR-vid), 550x1 (Bigger PR -Vid)
Log Overhead Press: 155x5, 205x4, 225x3, 245x3, 265x3 (vid), 285x2 (vid)
Toes to Bar: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
ACCESSORY GIANT SET
SSB Squats: 365x10, 385x10, 400x10 (Vid)
KB Suspended Strict Log Press: 205x5, 205x5, 205x5 (vid)
Banded Glute Ham Raises: 10, 10, 10
NOTES:
- Good lifting day for me.
- Conditioning was fun and I included a set of handstand walks in the video. I am still pretty clumsy with these, but I am getting better.
- SSB Squats went really well. I NEVER tie a PR, I will always at least throw on 2.5s. So my old R was 520, so the 525 was a PR but it didnât feel bad at all, so I went for 550 and it also wasnât that bad. I had more in me, but decided to save some for the rest of the week. The accessory reps went well also. I was happy to hit 400x10 when my legs and back were so dead.
- Log press was pretty good. I had 285x3 but the log was slipping off my chest on the set up for the third rep. You can see me trying to adjust it, but I couldnât seem to fix the problem so I just went for it. got it above my head but gave up on the rep.
Here is a vid of some of the SSB and log press sets. Then i threw in one of my handstand walks just for the heck of it and then added my last sets of the accessory stuff.
