mmmmm, I want yer sqwats!!
And can I borrow one of your pull ups? just one? 
I know, I know, but i can’t help it. It actually does make me happy, and if that hinders strength gains then so be it. But I won’t lie, the tabata, circuits, plyo stuff is also quite addictive!
Rblue, I covet your squat AND you WG pullup. Great stuff!
Ladies, please don’t covet the squat until you see the vid. Until I can get the depth I want, I just won’t be happy!
But thanks for the kind words! And MiM, considering your progress lately, I’m sure one of those pullups isn’t too far away for you!
3rd try to upload the squat vids.
Success! The above vid is a warm-up set at 95 lbs.
This is my money set, 190 lbs x 5
Awesome WG pullups! I got my first one recently too, so I KNOW how exciting this is. YEAH!
Um, squats. Yeah, that didn’t look like legal depth to me, if that is your goal. Oh, do I understand your pain…video is a cruel SOB. But I liked your form, and wish I had advice about the lost arch but alas not. And you were totally rockin’ that outfit.
Actually the squats looked like okay depth to me… but I could be wrong.
Kimba - Yeah, I definitely want to get at least to legal depth, so that’s something I’m going to have to work hard, hard, hard at! And if any other ladies have any advice, please share!!
Alisa - They felt like great depth… when I saw them, not so much! I want my hip crease to drop below my knees, so I still have a little ways to go.
can you move the bars down some, or are they fixed?
Awesome on the pull ups Blue - feelin for you on the squats. I tried the risers ysterday for depth. Planning on using really low weight and close my eyes “to feel” the depth and film it to see if I can cue it on my own. Alas 'tis a long journey but the celebration wine will taste all the sweeter.
^ just make sure you don’t fall over!
reminds me of some crazy stuff we did for lab class in anatomy…we had to close our eyes and see how long we could stand without moving, then raise one leg and all this crazy stuff…
I could only see depth on the 190-lb. set. And even then, the view isn’t optimal. I think you would have been red-lighted on the platform for those. You’re very, very close. But I don’t think the hip crease is BELOW the knee. Your form is beauteous, though. So it should be an easy fix for you.
MiM - The bars are fully adjustable, so I can definitely move them down.
Nlmain - That’s absolutely right! Once we work through our squat issues we should share a bottle!
Kpsnap - Yeah, I know that wasn’t the best view of the squat, I’ll have to get a better angle next time. I hope it is an easy fix, I find that my form tends to break down if I go much lower than that. I got a suggestion that I should try pushing out my knees more (which I thought I was already doing), so I’ll give that a shot, and see how it goes.
Today’s training:
(1) Bench Press 3x3: 100 lbs x 3/115 lbs x 3/125 lbs x 6 ==> Didn’t I get 130 for 8 a few weeks ago?? Meh.
(2) Kroc Rows 2xAMRAP: 60 lbs x 18/14
- Tried the 60s after getting called out by Bobbi. Used straps. They felt pretty good, but HARD! Thanks Bobbi! 
(3) DB Floor Press 3 sets: 50 lbs x 5/5/3
(4) Wide-grip cable row 3x10: 100
(5) 1-arm DB OHP 3x10: 17.5 lbs.
Had to rush a little today to get to work on time, but overall it was a decent workout.
Kroc rows with a 60 is extremely stout. Nice job!
[quote]Mascherano wrote:
[quote]Big M. wrote:
[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Awesome that you got the MAT assessment. I was thinking the same about it affecting your lifting. At any rate, those numbers are great! Next week will be better I’m sure.[/quote]
Masch,
Are you familiar with MAT? If so what was your experience?
Just curious.
Thanks,
M.[/quote]
Are you THE Big M?!
Actually no, I’ve never had a MAT assessment, but I would really love one. I know I have problems firing the glutes, which is all part of a larger problem with the posterior chain (so says the ART guy). So a MAT assessment would have done me some good, especially now since i pulled the hammie. How are you finding it in terms of diagnosing imbalances?
Hi, my name is a Mascherano and I am a cardio junkie. I’m clearly in the minority, but I love spinning. I’ve stopped going though because apparently its not good for flexors - but really, I find spinning invigorating.
[/quote]
In the interest of not hijacking RBlue’s thread I’m going to steer clear of the cardio junkie admission!
Your ART fella might have nailed it but without a proper neuro-muscular assessment (and no I’m not talking about ‘Break-Testing’) it’s very difficult to pin down. To answer your question I’ve yet to come across a more effective or facile tool for evaluating and ultimately addressing muscular imbalances.
I hesitate to paint spinning with as broad a stroke as you have regarding it’s effect on hip flexors. In fact seeing as how your feet are strapped in to the pedals in most studio cycling classes, I’d suggest your hip flexors are getting quite the workout. That said, without knowing the full extent or nature of your imbalances I can’t say for certain whether this activation is positive or negative.
I highly recommend you look for a MAT practitioner in your area to find out if they can help you.
M.
Squats looked pretty good to me. I think you were just a HAIR above depth… you shouldn’t have much problem getting there. =D
Losing your arch in the bottom can be an issue with tight hip flexors… try stretching them between sets!
The other issue I see is that you are starting the movement slightly leaning forward… I do this sometimes when it gets heavy. Try to keep your chest up and start with your hips directly underneath you
Nice work and keep it up!
M - Don’t worry about hijacking, I don’t mind!
Mmgalb - Thanks for the pointers! I was thinking my hip flexors might be the culprit, so I’m gonna try stretching them like you suggested. I never thought about the forward lean, but I’ll try to avoid that next time and see how it feels.
uhh, Rach, before you stretch ANYTHING come see me first!
Seriously.
M.
LOL I had a feeling you’d be saying that!
Alright, alright. You around later tonight? I might be dropping in around 8 or so.
I’ll be here!
M.
Had another M.A.T. assessment with Big M tonight. It mostly involved passive range of motion tests, and then isometric exercises to address any imbalances he found. Turns out (surprise, surprise!) the injury & surgery to my left knee left me with some issues:
- less than optimal external rotation of my right femur (edit).
- less than optimal internal and external rotation of my left tibia (no surprise there).
- terrible strength in my left hamstring => when he asked me to resist his pull, he straightened my leg so easily he thought I was messing with him.
Like I said, we did some isometrics, and saw some definite improvement those three areas. We decided I should try squatting after that to see if it helped me reach depth at all.
Squats:
Did some bodyweight squats, and they felt grrreeaaaat! I got some great depth, and my hips felt a lot looser & more opened up. Big M said my pelvis was tucking under some in the hole, but that I was still maintaining a good lumbar arch.
Ramped up the weight over a few sets, doing 5, then in later sets 3 reps: bar, 95, 115, 135,
Then did 4 sets of doubles at 155 lbs. My depth still felt great, but damn, these felt REALLY heavy! My speed sucked, and I felt my right glutes & hamstrings doing most of the work. My imbalances are going to take some work! I almost failed on the last set, which was humbling.
Big M & I decided that I’m going to include some unilateral isometric holds for my hams during my warmups to see if that helps things, and I’m going to get another assessment in a week or so.
Also, I’m going to drop my assumed 1RM for 5/3/1 for now. Rather than working with roughly 215 lbs as my max, I’m going to drop it down to 175 lbs, and focus on form & speed. Hopefully I can get my squat numbers back up there soon, but without all these imbalances!
Conditioning:
Followed up the squats with a short circuit:
5 sets of
- 10 box jumps (~24’')
- 10/10/8/10/10 pushups
- 10/8/6/6/7 chinups with green band assistance
rest 60-90s between sets
Done!