My guess (but I’m relying on others to correct me here if I’m wrong! Especially since I’m not a powerlifter!):
You want your shoulders (with them pulled back and down for stability) to be vertically above the bar. The front of your shoulder will protrude a little in front of the bar (because of the muscle) but if you can imagine where your bones run along your arm you want the bones to run vertically above the bar (more efficient that way).
The bar will be over your midfoot (against your shins) when it leaves the ground. Ripptoe has a speel about how you can try to set the bar up further forwards over your toes or further back by your heel, but the bar will roll on the ground and not leave the ground until it is over your midfoot (on max attempts anyway). Since this is what will inevitably happen… May as well simply set the bar so it is over the midfoot (the base of your toes) to start with (for efficiency).
How low do you want your hips to be???
Knee extension uses the leg muscles. Hip extension uses the back muscles. Ripptoe has a speel on how you want to use leg extension until the bar is past your knee (holding your back angle constant) then hip extension to finish the movement. This fits with other stuff I’ve read on how the lower back fatigues before most other things because there is relatively less muscle mass around the lower back. It feels a lot harder to use knee extension rather than hip extension for that first part of the movement (deadlifts feel harder than stiff-legged deadlifts where the latter remove the knee extension). But using knee extension for that first part of the movement saves your back for where you need it to finish the pull once the bar is past your knees.
And so… you want your hips as low as you can PROVIDED THAT you meet the above two constraints of shoulder vertically above the bar and bar over midfoot. (That will result in shoulders above hips above knees in a person with ideal levers - but that is a result of ideal levers and may be different for you).
That being said the bar won’t leave the ground with knee extension (it will require hip extension) on max effort pulls. Also the lumbar spine won’t be arched - it will be pulled out flat (at the very least) on max effort pulls. But apparently training yourself to hold your lumbar extension and using knee extension for the first part of the movement are what enables you to live to train another day.
But perhaps I’m totally wrong.
It really does take some crazy flexibility (and good knee extension / using your legs) to pull from a disadvantaged position (ie with smaller than usual plates). You might well be surprised at what you are capable of pulling once you put the big plates on and see what pulls from ‘standard height’ feel like!!!
So do you want to compete in a strongman competition or just watch the beefy eye candy?
I love the fortune telling gym member. That would be a great free service for a gym to offer. People pay good money to find out they will be a good soccer mom.
MIM: I don’t know about the moon–all year I’ve been having odd ball events happening. It must be the alignment of the planets or something.
Alexus: That’s a lot of good stuff to think about. I’m definitely going to do the big plates Friday. I like the bit about the leg extension/hip extension. It helps me to break it down like that, so thanks
Sbmart: I’m just about the beefy eye candy At the comp on Sunday, during the keg toss-one of the kegs came down on the competitor’s head. Any sport where giant objects may be directed at my noggin is not for me. Perhaps you’re onto a great new gym idea! Now I know how to make my fortunes!
Morning run (3ish miles)–my ITB has been acting stabby lately. I’ve neglected running/rehab work for far too long-and I’m afraid that’s got to change soon.
**Didn’t have a camera but my back never got sore, and grip was no problem. Seems all you with the advice are smart. I focused on starting with my knees and finishing with my hips and sitting back into it more, while keeping the bar close—at least one of those things must have worked.
Pull-ups
8, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4
**I think my goal of 10 is probably too low—but it’s the multiple sets that gets me. I think I’ll change my goal to 3 sets of ten by the end of the year, although these felt hard today.
SS
DB Row 35x12x3
SLDL 20x8x3
Rower
1.5 minutes on
1 minute off
x4
tried to get further each 1.5 minute interval
10 minutes incline walking 15% incline 2.5 mph
Heading home for some general 4th of July shenanigans and mom’s cooking/dad’s grilling. Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Kristoph-That is the perfect amount of input! I really do appreciate it—Yes, the shrugs are great! I can totally see a mind bubble above him…“must work traps…girls dig traps…traps sexy…” I work out at the University and there is a lot of that around there. Today the racks were taken by a guy doing heel raises, another guy doing behind the back wrist curls, and another doing good morningy squats with the safety bars about at his ribcage. I permanently bite my tongue when i’m in that gym.[/quote]
Don’t bite your tongue… I see that kind of shit at my gym, and I start yelling at people. I’m trying to do squats, and they are looking pretty for the Gay parade in San Fran. You won’t have many friends, but the ones you get are the ones you want. Surround yourself with like minded people. It will make you better.
I like what you are trying to accomplish. Know exactly the boat you are in, in a sense. I turned into an alcoholic in college, and life got shitty. Lifting iron saved me. Just keep at it. Your mentality will change, and you will feel happier then ever before.
Heh, all my gay friends who lift are hairy men who look like your average strongman or power lifter (albeit not quite so large). Most of the stupid shit I see at my gym is performed by over-scented metrosexual plonkers who prefer leg extensions and lattes to squats and milk.
I love love love this, and the older I get, the more I try to live by it. Thank you for the advice and the motivation, your words really mean a lot. And congratulations on conquering your demons. Its amazing what lifting heavy things and then putting them back down can do for the soul.
Thanks everyone for the 4th of july wishes! I hope youre were all wonderful and filled with too much sun and too much barbecue. I ate my weight in watermelon, it was divine
And Cal-you’re comments never fail to keep me laughing throughout the day. “Overscented metrosexual plonker” goes down in the books. Along with Kristoph, I’m stealing the word plonker!
Finally got back in the gym today. I had a final this morning and was feeling shitty about it so it was good to put my mind elsewhere.
Plate complex
25x6-8x3
Front Squat
Barx10
95x8
115x5x4
130x3x3
Barx15x2 SS with Box jumps
MP
Barx10
65x6x2
85x2x3 (did 3, but the 3rd was push-press-y)
Plate raise
25x10x3 **could probably move to 35 next time
Cable lateral raise 12.5x10x3
Bike tabata-duh
9 minutes incline walking
Final practical exam tomorrow, so it’s off to class and then studying for the night. Seriously, school will never freaking end-it’s dragging on me at the moment, but one foot in front of the other. plod-plod-plod
Cal: Thanks, I’m pretty happy with them too! And I’m in summer school–the program I’m in goes year round for 3 years. The fun never stops!
MIM: I had a short clinical last winter break and I’ll have a 4 week long one in August. Then the last year of the program is entirely clinical.
Nadia: Thanks! I’m a big fan of front squats-I saw yours and they look great! Once you’re feeling confident I am positive you will pile on the weight. And we’re even…I’m quite envious of your DLs.
A couple random things–I’ve been bruising really easily lately and my parents think it’s because I take too much fish oil. I typically take 8-12/day-equaling out to be 800mg-1.2g (i think?)–could that really be enough to have an effect? Maybe I just need to eat more red meat/iron?
–Tomorrow begins operation cut out caffeine. One coffee in the morning and that’s it. I counted today and I had 7 caffeinated drinks before 3:00 today. whoopsy poopsy.
–I’ve spent today gearing up for DLs and pull ups tomorrow morning. ready to hit it, rawr.
–Finally-I’m going to see these guys tonight!! SO excited! A couple different turns in life and I’m pretty sure I’d be growing out my arm-pit hair, living out of a van and spending my life selling hemp bracelets at fairs whilst following phish around the country. peace, love, and sunshine bitches!
As for the fishoil. It is totally possible. I would cut your dose in half for a while and see what happens. More iron isn’t a bad idea, but it’s probably the fish oil. Everyone differs on what they need. This happened to my mom. She looked like she got beat up. After cutting down the fishoil, she ended up just fine!
