Giterdone: Thanks for the reassurance! I kept thinking about what you said last night when I was unable to sleep due to deadlifting stress, ha-ha.
frozenkilt: I realized last week that was the one thing I did better. I kept my neck in better non-mirror looking at positioning. I always get the squat rack away from the mirror now. I was worried at first, but I LOVE it now. So much more calmness in the lift I find.
VTBalla: OMG HAHA! No, I ain’t a smelly dude, though my farts are pretty brutal. barf
I THINK i understand the breathing thing now! I am pretty sure all I was doing was hyperventilaiting before. Should I be doing this stomach bracing thing for every one of my lifts??
Lula: YEAH I am excited to get used to the belt again. She is a thing of beauty…
OK ATTENTION MY PEEPS:
Last nights non-sleeping/deadlifting worry extravaganza has left me with some ideas and some questions. Your input (once again) is required.
Firstly, I am taking weight off my next deadlift cycle. This has been decided no matter what. Yes, I can pick it up for well over my perscribed reps, but I am not accepting that until my form is stellar. This will be mentally hard for me for a while though. I love heavy shit… SOB
I wish I had already done that for this cycle, but like I said I am adding a belt for next week, so hopefully my back roundage doesn’t suck too much.
QUESTION: If you wear a belt, does it like, teach your body that this is the position it needs to be in? Does it like train you to stop from rounding? Does it build a strength in that regard? Or is it just more for support???
I also thing sometimes repping out deadlifts seems like not such a good idea. Maybe this is the only flaw I really see in 5/3/1. Maybe deadlifts are better in lower numbers?
Maybe I should just do the perscribed reps for multple sets or something so that my lower back doesn’t get worn out and my legs take over (LIKE ALWAYS). What is everyone’s opinions on this??
Hmm… I swear I had more questions than this, oh well.
I can’t say anything on the belt but I can say something on the DL reps. I stop as soon as I feel my lower back getting tired. As soon as I feel my back round a little, I’m done. My legs might have more in them, but you have to stop when the weakest link goes. I would suggest you set a maximum number of reps that you will perform, no matter how good they feel. 10 reps is the highest I go on the lower body movements.
Doing the prescribed reps for multiple sets is a great way to go about it, too Gives your body time to recover but you’ll still get in the reps.
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
Firstly, I am taking weight off my next deadlift cycle. This has been decided no matter what. Yes, I can pick it up for well over my perscribed reps, but I am not accepting that until my form is stellar. This will be mentally hard for me for a while though. I love heavy shit… SOB
I wish I had already done that for this cycle, but like I said I am adding a belt for next week, so hopefully my back roundage doesn’t suck too much.
QUESTION: If you wear a belt, does it like, teach your body that this is the position it needs to be in? Does it like train you to stop from rounding? Does it build a strength in that regard? Or is it just more for support???
I also thing sometimes repping out deadlifts seems like not such a good idea. Maybe this is the only flaw I really see in 5/3/1. Maybe deadlifts are better in lower numbers?
Maybe I should just do the perscribed reps for multple sets or something so that my lower back doesn’t get worn out and my legs take over (LIKE ALWAYS). What is everyone’s opinions on this??
Hmm… I swear I had more questions than this, oh well.
BYE[/quote]
So, finally found your log after you posted in my last week… First off, damn fine work. Congratz on your amazing transformation, and getting stronger. Two, your rant on the “bodybuilder”; hilarious, as I feel the same way about 3/4 of the people at my gym who 1/4 squat and think they are bad ass.
For the belt question, think of it like an extra core muscle. As VTBalla was saying, you breathe through your belly. With a belt there, it allows you to push against something to make the IAP that much greater. It won’t completely stop the rounding (just something that you need to work on), but will help you keep tighter. High rep deadlifts are a whole new ball game. They will show you how much of a person you are. When things start fatiguing, as you mentioned, other muscles will take over. Simply put, it’s a gut check. Personally, just go for prescribed reps. Then work on that weakness. Things to do are reverse hypers, back raises, and seated good mornings. The seated good mornings helped me alot with my upper and lower back. It takes the hamstrings out of the movement, so forces your back to work more.
Hope that helps, and sorry if I just slammed you with a bunch of info too quick.
Couple of thoughts. I’m not the strongest deadlifter so take these with a grain of salt:
Belt gives your abs something to push against which makes your core “stronger”. It doesn’t teach you to not round your back.
You might not have to lower the weight. You could simply do fewer reps with it and call it good. Too many people (I notice this with women a lot) only accept perfect form and never really get stronger because of that.
+1,000,000 on facing away from the mirror.
I do GMs now but I don’t think that they are necessarily the best way to get your back stronger for deads. I think that the BBB deadlift sets really helped me out with reinforcing technique. I noticed that my GMs didn’t really translate to a higher deadlift but that my higher deadlift has translated into stronger GMs.
I’m not sure that back rounding = lack of low back strength necessarily.
Hi Spock- finally caught up in this log. plenty of awesome advice in here. Your deads are getting better, nice work!
1- belt helps lower back, it reminds me to keep my core tight and to push my belly against the belt. For back rounding you need to focus on overall back strength, this has been mentionned before. I started using my belt when I was deadlifting a little over bodyweight, and only when near maxes. This was after 5yrs of training. I would say try the belt out and take a vid. That might be the easiest way to figure it out. As a pl you’ll probably need one in the future whether you use it now or not.
2- a lot of people including myself prefer to keep deads at a low number 1-5 range. It prevents form breakdown. If I feel like repping it out I make sure the weight is low like 55-60% of my max. On the other hand there are some crazies like Brute and Nadia who are reppers.
Oh my good-NASS! Everyone is so wise. I feel like such a NOOB all the time.
It’s crazy ya know, I have been lifting for so many years, but doing it incorrectly for so long that it kinda makes me sad about how much time I have wasted.
However, I am very grateful I finally have an imformative resource so that I can get on the right track and stop spinnin’ my wheels!
Koubanator: YAY! I am glad you finally found my log. That does help a lot, so thank you! I have been considering seated good mornings for a while now. I need to watch some videos to make sure I am doing them right since I haven’t tried them before.
James: You have given me a lot of food for thought. Maybe my back rounding is more a weak core than anything else?? I guess I just assumed it was a lower back thing. And I guess sometimes imperfect form can also just be a sign of really pushing yourself and that also builds strength. If ever rep of every set was perfect, is 100% effort REALLY there? I dunno. When Andy Bolton pulls over 1000, is his form perfection? Also, how do you feel about rack pulls for deadlift carry over?
nlmain: Yeah, I used to use my belt all the time, but maybe I wasn’t even doing that properly. I kinda just went at this powerlifting thing without any real know how of the specifics of it all. I am excited to see how the belt plays out next week now that I have a better idea how to use it
45 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 11 ← FINALLY happy with this. Took weight off from last cycle and this was smooth and the rep number I wanted.
45 x 17
BBB bench
80 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10
Last rep always paused. I think I pause too much, maybe. I might just start pausing the last rep. I read some guy does that on here and he is strong like bull.
5 sets of 5 pull ups mushed up in these things ^^
Bent over row, some sets of some weight for some reps
one arm NG DB press
30 x 8
30 x 8
30 x 8
30 x 8 YAY finally both my arms were in sync and did the same amount of reps!
uhh weighted decline crunches, some plate raises, some bent over lat raise shit.
Done and pretty happy with that. My bent over row was kinda shitty and I cheated on it a bit, but other than that every thing was perfect.
Life news:
I saw a girl at the gym with the biggest prettiest bum ever and I kinda felt like crying. I used to have such a nice big bum. Why did I let myself get so skinny like this? Why did I think this was nessesary? I didn’t hate my body. I miss curves and how much I used to like masturbating.
I am pretty sure weight loss had something to do with that.
Anyway, yeah, needed to get my thoughts out, ha. THANK YA LOG.
I dont use the full in valsalva (that’s the breathing technique I basically was talking about before except you try to exhale against your closed throat…the article yesterday talks about that coincidentally enough) for every single rep of every single set. I really only do it for my heaviest sets, and then only on the last few reps of that set and 1RM attempts. BUt that said, I have learned to use my diaphgram very well…my shoulders don’t rise when I breathe in and out now even when Im not lifting, so I’ve gotten very good at getting a good belly full of air
getting a belt will help a ton…and will make what I described above a lot easier to implement as it will give you something to push against…make sure the belt is tight as shit…you shouldnt be able to wear it around the gym in your sets like these douchebags you see doing that
dont reset your max…your form is looking pretty good on DL’s IMO…you are getting 10 in your 5’s week, that is good…your back is rounding a bit on the last couple reps but working on your breathing will immediately help that…just nail it during your warmups and you will be ready to rock on your AMRAP set
holy word bomb…thats the most ive typed on this site ever!
agreed with Balla on the tightness of the belt. If getting it off after your set is NOT the first thing on your mind then it isn’t tight enough.
Although for myself (Git also I recall) I wear it tighter on my squats then on my deads. Something to do about levers and getting down low enough so I don’t rdl the load.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that you will need to experiment with the level of tightness for different lifts and weights.
a purring libido is a good sign of mental and physical health.
side note:
The day I decided to stop pursuing skinny as a goal was the day I couldn’t string 2 thoughts together, all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. And I wouldn’t allow myself to eat, so I spent my days closed up sleeping and reading. When I finally realized how weak I was, I was furious at myself. There is no satisfaction in weakness. The weaker you are the more you can be manipulated and controled.
Im actually the opposite…I prefer to have it much tighter on deads than on squats…I have a lever belt so its a pain in the ass to adjust…so when I go to meets I just eat a bunch of oreos and pb&j’s in between squats and deadlifts so it tightens naturally…boom
Regarding the belt, I would suggest you try and see what is most beneficial for you. I prefer a tighter belt on squats and looser on deads; loose enough that I pull it down a bit lower in front. For me, that helps me push against it rather than having it tight as shit. That may not be what works for you but it isn’t a one size fits all type of situation.
It also aids in masturbation appreciation. At least that’s what I’ve heard.
I am in post-workout glory right now so I shall update.
ALSO:
I was thinking with all the vixen stuffs that’s been going on, there might not be too many people around to log with. Therefore, this could wind up being a log of me talking to myself.
Though that doesn’t really bother me since I talk to myself a lot in real life, BUT maybe I’ll make my log more “guy-like” and straight foward. It seems like a lot of the dudes who have logs are just having conversations with themselves, ha-ha.
Uhh so here is my dude-ish entry
Weight this AM (post huge shit) 114.2 lbs
Tryin’ ta gain here brah’s. Not really working…
Cycle uhh 2 week 2
3x3 Squat
120 x 3
125 x 3
135 x 10 <–FUCKING RIGHTs. I got 10 for my 5 week and 10 for my 3 week!
145 x 3 ← Excited to soon break the 150lb barrier, yahh!
BBB Deadlifts
140 x 10
140 x 10
140 x 10
140 x 10
140 x 10
NOW THESE WERE GREAT! I didn’t feel ANY back roundage or even back tiredness. I saw that maundermeat super hero fellow give hearcles_rocks some wonderful form advice and I think I really set myself up damn good today. I also could tell when I was starting to get “lazy” and made my core more braced so not a single rep felt back roundy/strained. HUGE SMILE
Oh wait, that was totally un guy like, hmm…
Back hyper extension thingies
10lb plate behind my head
4 x 8 ← this is the very first time my face didn’t look like it was going to explode doing these. That is a sign of improvement, right there.
Leg extensions
4 x 8
I think I increased my weight for a couple sets so I am happy
Hanging leg raises 2 x 15
Notes: Good session. I never thought I’d be a squat lover. But them squats I do love…
Gives your body time to recover but you’ll still get in the reps.