The reason I chimed in on the thread in power lifting is that sometimes people will pick apart lifts when it isn’t necessary. I know when I was a novice I would have been all over the place trying to accommodate conflicting advice and it would have been a confidence killer. You kind of have to be wary of the source of advice. I prefer to get it from people I know, people on my team or my husband. I know their back ground and their lifting history and I can trust the source. I’ll give you an example of random advice from a stupid source. Years ago I posted a sumo video on youtube and some ying yang said my stance was too wide for deadlift. My feet should be shoulder width. He hadn’t heard of sumo deadlift and several people mocked him until he took his post down. As fun as it was making fun of him, it’s a lesson in taking everything with a grain of salt. No one has all the answers for you; some people just think they do.
[/quote]
Excellent post, and I’m quoting for emphasis. I try to communicate this to her, but I don’t know if I do it enough or as effectively as you just did.
She is making fantastic progress right now and I’m really glad she decided to join the community here.[/quote]
Yes, excellent post and I will keep heeding the advice of my excellent trainer
Felt pretty okay. Tried utilizing a bigger arch - tricky for me. Had solid leg drive and my left elbow was being a brat (wanted to flare). Other than that, it was a good bench day. AND, got my dissertation out to my committee; two weeks until my defense. AGH!
80 x 5 x 5 Medium grip bench
80 x 6 x 3 Medium grip bench
80 x 7 x 1 Medium grip bench
45 x 10 x 5 (Kbell box squats during rests)
65 x 10 x 4 Triceps rope push-downs supersetted with
5 x 4 Triceps push-ups
26 x 3 x10/leg split squats with a kbell
3 x 10/leg body weight lunges
144 x 3 x 6 Squats
144 x 4 x 2 Squats
380 x 8 x 2 Leg press
380 x 10 x 1 Leg press
172 x 3 x 5 Sumo deadlifts (MUCH better! New shoes, correct belt placement, and good breathing technique. I also think that doing these after leg press was better than right after squats)
45 x 15/arm x 1 Rows with dbells
45 x 10 x 3 Rear delt flyes
5 assisted pull-ups with band (pathetic I know - but going to try to slowly learn how to do these)
Your incredibly strong for someone who has just started out! Did you used to lift before?
Also never apologize over a failed lift. (unless of course you squash someone :D) you were killing it there and kudos for you for trying for that last rep. That there is BALLS
Snap: Yay, a fellow wide squatter and thank you for the praise. Also, where do you normally place the bar? Do you like high, medium, or low placement?
[/quote]
I carry the bar high. But that is only because I had shoulder surgery and don’t have the flexibility to carry it lower.[/quote]
Snap: Do you feel there are advantages to a lower bar placement?
[/quote]
I am not an expert and can only speak from personal experience. The weight is harder for me lift off and walk out with a low bar carry but easier to squat. That being said, muscle recruitment is different with high vs low bar. And I believe low bar is less forgiving in terms of form. Low bar requires a lot of shoulder flexibility and upper back strength in order to keep the bar in place and not GM outta the hole. Bottom line is that I can’t squat low bar but you should give it a try sometime and see how it works for you.
195 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
210 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
221 (90%) x 4 x 1 Sumo deadlifts (rep 3, I swear I heard a crackling sound/felt a crackling sensation - not painful per se…and those water shoes, not so great today)
155 x 3 x 3 w/20 lb chains per side Deadlifts
80 x 10 x 5 Straight arm lat push-downs
65 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
85 x 3 x 3 Hang cleans
Farmers walks with 56 lb kbells 5 x down and back Crossfit room
56 x 10 x 3 Kbell swings
AND, I found some new lifting shoes which are super flat and really snug.
I also discovered an old deadlift video from 9 months ago (HORRIFYING - I was like cringing and laughing at the same time): Rachel 205x3 Sumo DL - YouTube
Today’s PR was a bit better (although still some rounding :-/ ):
[/quote]
I carry the bar high. But that is only because I had shoulder surgery and don’t have the flexibility to carry it lower.[/quote]
Snap: Do you feel there are advantages to a lower bar placement?
[/quote]
I am not an expert and can only speak from personal experience. The weight is harder for me lift off and walk out with a low bar carry but easier to squat. That being said, muscle recruitment is different with high vs low bar. And I believe low bar is less forgiving in terms of form. Low bar requires a lot of shoulder flexibility and upper back strength in order to keep the bar in place and not GM outta the hole. Bottom line is that I can’t squat low bar but you should give it a try sometime and see how it works for you.[/quote]
Since it is a deload week for me, I may play around with bar placement and see how it goes! Hope you are doing well and having a lovely week. – R
[quote]coyotegal wrote:
Your incredibly strong for someone who has just started out! Did you used to lift before?
Also never apologize over a failed lift. (unless of course you squash someone :D) you were killing it there and kudos for you for trying for that last rep. That there is BALLS
~cheers![/quote]
[/quote]
CGal: I really appreciate your support and praise. I look around and think I am such a pathetic wenis sometimes when I see what you all (those in the PW) are doing/can do. Your question is a good one. I wish I had a simple answer. You may want to grab a glass of wine and/or snack…
I might entitle my story, “Is doggy paddling swimming?” I started going to the gym around end of 2009 around the holidays and did a lot of circuit/crossfitish type of stuff. I was super-duper neurotic and needed some behavioral methods of managing my anxiety. Gymming was really reinforcing because my body comp changed a lot – although I hate the words “skinny” and “fat,” I think I was probably very skinny fat and working out really hard changed that pretty quickly. I started having fun doing crazy workouts and challenging myself. During that time, I would try to incorporate dbells at a hefty 5 pounds and kbells quite a bit and eventually tried to squat using the bar. HAH. So, I kept going (month after month with my bar and fivers here and there) and was finally proud of my max of 95 for 1 rep (which likely was not a real squat). Time went on and the strange mix of circuit with weights continued. Then, I started training for real in the spring of 2011. Because I taught myself some really bad habits at the gym (e.g., yanking the bar up on my pulls and calling it a deadlift, etc.), I had to rehab everything. I started off with squats again in the summer (w/Danny helping me relearn better form). He had me do a lot of reps with 65 on the bar because the situation called for it Eventually, I worked myself up to a 160 lb max for 1 rep and then I thought I did something weird to my back, left leg and knee, and went back to not going above 120 for minimal reps for several months. Finally, I realized I had to get my crap together if I really wanted to pursue PL in a legitimate manner. I started training squat, bench, and deadlift consistently (ALL at the same time, during the same week - who would have thought it) this year with Danny with the endpoint being a PL meet in April. The training was really new and different and good. After April 2013, I had a weird psychological thing with squat AGAIN and was freaking out with weight greater than 115 in MAY! So, the really LONG answer is to say, yes, I would say I have lifted in the past; however, the technique was really lacking and I like to self-sabotage…
My hope is that by trying to keep myself accountable and surrounding myself with a supportive, challenging, and competent PL community, I will continue to stay focused and figure out how to work through my MENTAL issues regarding weight training.
25’s x 10 x 3 Dbell incline presses
80 x 2 x 5 Wider grip with FAT bar
65 x 3 x 5 Narrow grip with FAT bar
60 x 10 x 4 Tricep extensions
15’s x 10 x 3 Military dbell press
Deload Day 2: Back
135 x 5 x 5 Sumo deadlifts with 30-45 second rests
155 x 2 x 5 Sumo deadlifts
155 x 3 x 3 Conventional deadlifts
60 x 10 x 3 Lat pull downs
25’s x 10/arm x 3 Dbell rows
10 x 3 Back extensions (holding silly little 5-pound blue, rubber covered dbells; totally looked like something Jane Fonda would use while attired in leg warmers, giant bangs, and a brightly colored sweat band)
Bar x 5 x 5 Hang cleans for fun – and oh how they were!
130 x 3 x 6 Back squats (tried a lower bar placement – WOW, unracking felt very not happy)
25 x 10/leg x 4 Lunges supersetted with
60 x 10 x 4 Leg extensions
65 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
95 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
Added 1 plate to 3 plates each side leg press
85 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
Weekend at lake
Today Chest Day:
65 x 5 x 2 Bench
75 x 3 x 2 Bench
85 x 1 x 1 Bench
95 x 1 x 1 Bench
105 x 1 x 1 Bench
30’s x 10 x 4 Dbell press
35’s x 5 x 1 Floor press
35’s x 6 x 3 Floor press
60 x 10 x 4 Flyes
26 x 12 x 5 Overhead kbell swings
[quote]rfstef2 wrote:
Deload day 3: Legs (last Thursday)
130 x 3 x 6 Back squats (tried a lower bar placement – WOW, unracking felt very not happy)
25 x 10/leg x 4 Lunges supersetted with
60 x 10 x 4 Leg extensions
65 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
95 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
Added 1 plate to 3 plates each side leg press
85 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
[/quote]
I personally go for a higher bar placement, but it took me a while to break the habit of placing the bar lower on my back. I have a bad right knee from track and part of the damage was from squatting with my knee going over my foot; so to help remedy my awful squat form and my knee, I had to start placing it higher up. Another problem I noticed with lower placement was that I felt more like to fail on the squat.
[quote]rfstef2 wrote:
Deload day 3: Legs (last Thursday)
130 x 3 x 6 Back squats (tried a lower bar placement – WOW, unracking felt very not happy)
25 x 10/leg x 4 Lunges supersetted with
60 x 10 x 4 Leg extensions
65 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
95 x 5 x 3 Low box squats with sumo stance
Added 1 plate to 3 plates each side leg press
85 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
[/quote]
I personally go for a higher bar placement, but it took me a while to break the habit of placing the bar lower on my back. I have a bad right knee from track and part of the damage was from squatting with my knee going over my foot; so to help remedy my awful squat form and my knee, I had to start placing it higher up. Another problem I noticed with lower placement was that I felt more like to fail on the squat.
But it’s all a matter of one’s own comfort.[/quote]
Yeah, I tried it and did not prefer it (lower placement). I usually allow the bar to snuggle in right at the base of my upper traps and that is probably where I need to stay. I tried slightly lower today but pretty much a lower high placement.
Leg Day (supposed to do back but got crazy and changed it up).
Squat (trying to see what my max w/no belt was since I forgot my weight belt):
135 x 2 x 1
145 x 1 x 1
160 x 1 x 1
170 x 1 x 1
180 x 1 fail (note: 180 is my belted 1 rep max)
145 x 3 x 3
135 x 3 x 3 experimenting with extra-wide stance (am a little obsessed with Laura Phelps Sweatt)
53 x 10 x 12 Kbell swings (~7 minutes)
25 x 10 x 4 Jump squat supersetted w/
22.5 x 5/leg x 4 lunges (holding dbell up)
22.5 dbells x 10/leg x 2 Step-ups to higher box
Back Day. Well, actually just deadlift day really…
So, wanted to see what I could do because I have not gone beyond 220 since April. Had fun trying to get a PR and did, the second time around. The fail, my first attempt, is really funny (I had to post).
Lots of warm-ups.
164 x 3 x 1
194 x 2 x 1
214 x 1 x 1
234 x 1 x 1
254 X 1 X 1
264 X 1 attempt (FAIL)
264 x 1 x 1 PR!! More than 2x body weight so pretty happy. The form is NOT good but it felt good. Will keep working on keeping back flat. Sigh…
4 x 5 x 8 Assisted band pull-ups supersetted w/
95 x 10 x 5 Romanian deadlifts
Played around with rows from the floor and called it a day.
Thought I needed to lock out with my legs/knees/glutes more but really, I needed to use my weak upper back. Hence, why I tried using my legs (?) and fell down.
195 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
210 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
221 (90%) x 4 x 1 Sumo deadlifts (rep 3, I swear I heard a crackling sound/felt a crackling sensation - not painful per se…and those water shoes, not so great today)
155 x 3 x 3 w/20 lb chains per side Deadlifts
80 x 10 x 5 Straight arm lat push-downs
65 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
85 x 3 x 3 Hang cleans
Farmers walks with 56 lb kbells 5 x down and back Crossfit room
56 x 10 x 3 Kbell swings
AND, I found some new lifting shoes which are super flat and really snug.
I also discovered an old deadlift video from 9 months ago (HORRIFYING - I was like cringing and laughing at the same time): Rachel 205x3 Sumo DL - YouTube
Today’s PR was a bit better (although still some rounding :-/ ):
You are rounding because your hips are rising first. Try to arch really fucking hard, and push out to the sides when trying to break the weight off the floor. Along with the other obvious cues that should be memorized without thinking about it. And of course pulling the chest up, and back.
195 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
210 x 3 x 1 Sumo deadlifts
221 (90%) x 4 x 1 Sumo deadlifts (rep 3, I swear I heard a crackling sound/felt a crackling sensation - not painful per se…and those water shoes, not so great today)
155 x 3 x 3 w/20 lb chains per side Deadlifts
80 x 10 x 5 Straight arm lat push-downs
65 x 5 x 5 Hang cleans
85 x 3 x 3 Hang cleans
Farmers walks with 56 lb kbells 5 x down and back Crossfit room
56 x 10 x 3 Kbell swings
AND, I found some new lifting shoes which are super flat and really snug.
I also discovered an old deadlift video from 9 months ago (HORRIFYING - I was like cringing and laughing at the same time): Rachel 205x3 Sumo DL - YouTube
Today’s PR was a bit better (although still some rounding :-/ ):
You are rounding because your hips are rising first. Try to arch really fucking hard, and push out to the sides when trying to break the weight off the floor. Along with the other obvious cues that should be memorized without thinking about it. And of course pulling the chest up, and back. [/quote]
These are all cues she’s aware of, but at a certain point, you just have to do what allows you to lift the weight. Her upper back rounding isn’t putting her at any appreciable risk, so I’m OK with it.
Friday (extra rest day and finally done with the dissertation). Hooray.
Today was my first attempt at a barbell complex and barbell weight was all I used. NO judgement. I will begin to add weight now that I know what it is like.
65 x 3 x 3 Cleans
75 x 3 x 3 Cleans
90 x 3 x 3 Cleans
95 x 2 x 5 Cleans
Barbell complex routine x 3 (completed in less than 2.5 minutes each with about 2.5 minutes rest)
10 Wide grip high pulls
10 Hang clean and jerks
10 Front squats
10 Stiff-legged deadlift
15’s x 10 x 10 Seated shoulder press
20’s x 10 x 10 Seated shoulder press
25’s x 10 x 10 Seated shoulder press
25’s x 8 x 2 Seated shoulder press
