[quote]emskee wrote:
THAT’S IT!!!
I need to restart this log as titled “To obesity and beyond!”
Okay, that was a useless post.[/quote]
That would be my favorite titled log, no doubt.
When I hit 600 and if I do not die I think I will.
[quote]emskee wrote:
THAT’S IT!!!
I need to restart this log as titled “To obesity and beyond!”
Okay, that was a useless post.[/quote]
Awesome!
emskee, would you mind if I posted a video of my deadlift session from yesterday? I’ve been silently (secretly?) taking your deadlift advice as you’ve posted it in various threads. As a result, I think my form has actually improved significantly, but I’d really appreciate your input on improving it further.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Carry on Marine.
[/quote]
Oorahh
[quote]baugust wrote:
emskee, would you mind if I posted a video of my deadlift session from yesterday? I’ve been silently (secretly?) taking your deadlift advice as you’ve posted it in various threads. As a result, I think my form has actually improved significantly, but I’d really appreciate your input on improving it further. [/quote]
Please.
[quote]baugust wrote:
emskee, would you mind if I posted a video of my deadlift session from yesterday? I’ve been silently (secretly?) taking your deadlift advice as you’ve posted it in various threads. As a result, I think my form has actually improved significantly, but I’d really appreciate your input on improving it further. [/quote]
Let’s see if I can’t screw you up too.
[quote]emskee wrote:
[quote]baugust wrote:
emskee, would you mind if I posted a video of my deadlift session from yesterday? I’ve been silently (secretly?) taking your deadlift advice as you’ve posted it in various threads. As a result, I think my form has actually improved significantly, but I’d really appreciate your input on improving it further. [/quote]
Let’s see if I can’t screw you up too.[/quote]
HA.
I’ve always deadlifted looking into a mirror, so these attempts shown are probably the first time I’ve tried to keep a neutral head position (not bad, but I can tell I need to look down a bit further). Previous PRs: 355x5, 390x1 (few weeks ago).
Hopefully the video works.
Okey Dokey.
First of all your pull looks like something from a how-to video. I’ve never seen such a flat back on a real pull.
No wait, I jumped the gun, first of all, awesome beard.
Okay, to start again…
First of all your pull looks like something from a how-to video. I’ve never seen such a flat back on a real pull. That is crazy.
Second, your first pull of each set, and sorta the 4th rep of set 4 you have the bar at mid foot (by “mid foot” I mean the middle of the part of the foot in front of your shin to toe, not the middle of your foot from heel to toe). After that, each pull is from the first joint of your great toe on the left side, but closer to mid foot on the right. Not a reference to the great-est toe you own, I mean the Big Toe. But a good 2" (a sleeve diameter) forward. Your knee pass through stays the same, that is, you consciously reference your knee to the same spot in relation to your forearm. Good use of feedback, by the way. Because of the maintained relationship of your forearm to your knees, your hips also come forward by the same 2" or so.
You have a tendency to, when lowering the bar, kick it out as it clears your knees. BUT, it seems to be worse around your left knee, the bar track on your right side is more vertical. And, on all sets you pull back, mostly on your left side with a bit of a twist. As the reps go on, you see more and more of the inside plate on the right side. As a result, front to back movement of the bar end on the left is a good 4-5" from where it is on the floor, to where it ends up at lockout on the left side.
Your last single had the straightest line up (it curved back, but returned to the vertical line upon which the bar started from the floor), but a major kick out to the front on the way down. A “who cares” because you knew you weren’t going for a second rep anyway.
I watched this 1,000,000 times and I cannot figure your grip, is it left over and right under?
Anyway, very nice strong pulls. I don’t want to quibble too much about your back roundness, because it ain’t bad, the weights just got big. The single at the end caused me to microcringe, but I think you were tired.
But It looks TO ME like an uneven pull. Do you use a mixed grip? Did you know that most of us pull not from center hand but actually from a place near the fore finger/middle finger space? Many people put too much hand around the bar. For a left over and right under grip, that causes the bar to shift left as the hand opens up leaving the fingers to grab, sometimes by over an inch, making the bar heavier on that side. You should use as little finger as you can get away with, I hardly use pinky contact at all, my wrist is straight as possible.
Maybe this grip thing is not your issue. But you are definitely helicoptering a bit.
Can you do a video from the front, so that we can all see your “pulling scowl”? And see if it is a twist, or compensation for an unevenly balanced bar in your hands.
All in all though, you have one flat-ass back there.
And an awesome beard.
Did I exceed 2,500 words?
Oh yeah, I forgot, as I have my head positioned, I can actually roll my eyes down and watch the bar 'til it gets past my knees, and if I’m not blinded by bursting blood vessels during the pull, I can watch the bar go past my knees to the floor.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Okey Dokey.
First of all your pull looks like something from a how-to video. I’ve never seen such a flat back on a real pull.
No wait, I jumped the gun, first of all, awesome beard.
Okay, to start again…
First of all your pull looks like something from a how-to video. I’ve never seen such a flat back on a real pull. That is crazy.
[/quote]
I have always (edit) tried to perform exercises in the “safest way” possible (especially because I have a L4-L5-S1 herniation from years ago). I suppose until I get near max weights, I can keep that neutral back for awhile.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Second, your first pull of each set, and sorta the 4th rep of set 4 you have the bar at mid foot (by “mid foot” I mean the middle of the part of the foot in front of your shin to toe, not the middle of your foot from heel to toe). After that, each pull is from the first joint of your great toe on the left side, but closer to mid foot on the right. Not a reference to the great-est toe you own, I mean the Big Toe. But a good 2" (a sleeve diameter) forward. Your knee pass through stays the same, that is, you consciously reference your knee to the same spot in relation to your forearm. Good use of feedback, by the way. Because of the maintained relationship of your forearm to your knees, your hips also come forward by the same 2" or so.
You have a tendency to, when lowering the bar, kick it out as it clears your knees. BUT, it seems to be worse around your left knee, the bar track on your right side is more vertical. And, on all sets you pull back, mostly on your left side with a bit of a twist. As the reps go on, you see more and more of the inside plate on the right side. As a result, front to back movement of the bar end on the left is a good 4-5" from where it is on the floor, to where it ends up at lockout on the left side.
[/quote]
I’ve noticed this too. Sometimes when I fatigue I notice a swaying of the bar on the pull itself.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Your last single had the straightest line up (it curved back, but returned to the vertical line upon which the bar started from the floor), but a major kick out to the front on the way down. A “who cares” because you knew you weren’t going for a second rep anyway.
I watched this 1,000,000 times and I cannot figure your grip, is it left over and right under?
[/quote]
Left over and right under, yup.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Anyway, very nice strong pulls. I don’t want to quibble too much about your back roundness, because it ain’t bad, the weights just got big. The single at the end caused me to microcringe, but I think you were tired.
[/quote]
I certainly was. 4x5 front squats and 7x5 bench prior to the sets you saw. It certainly isn’t smart to deadlift in a fatigued state (and I never used to do so), but if I deadlift first and have to squat/bench after, I find it to be very difficult to do well on those exercises, where in the reverse case, I can usually still have a solid deadlift workout with a noticeable increase in form breakdown. That was also somewhat of a “grip and rip” set. I have wanted to hit four plates for quite some time now, and made it my goal to improve my deadlift from 315 to 405 within 9 months. Yesterday was about 7 months in.
[quote]emskee wrote:
But It looks TO ME like an uneven pull. Do you use a mixed grip? Did you know that most of us pull not from center hand but actually from a place near the fore finger/middle finger space? Many people put too much hand around the bar. For a left over and right under grip, that causes the bar to shift left as the hand opens up leaving the fingers to grab, sometimes by over an inch. You should use as little finger as you can get away with, I hardly use pinky contact at all, my wrist is straight as possible.
Maybe this grip thing is not your issue. But you are definitely helicoptering a bit.
[/quote]
I do, starting at 270 (or 315 maybe, sometimes I stick with double overhand a bit longer, depending on fatigue). I do notice that I have difficulty placing my right hand because it feels unnatural and I am unsure of where to place my hand in relation to the bar markings.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Can you do a video from the front, so that we call all see your “pulling scowl”? And see if it is a twist, or compensation for an unevenly balanced bar in your hands.
[/quote]
Absolutely. Do you mean straight in front or angled? I generally record at an angle of probably 45 degrees with respect to straight in front, but recently I started recording as in the videos I posted here because I can see where my shoulders are with relation to the barbell much better (this is one of the big things I was trying to work on).
[quote]emskee wrote:
All in all though, you have one flat-ass back there.
And an awesome beard.
Did I exceed 2,500 words?
[/quote]
Thank you, my friend. I very much appreciate the thorough response. At this point, do you have any specific recommendations based on what you see? Should I be focusing on keeping the bar closer, especially when performing reps?
Also, I stopped shaving May 12, 2013 (the day I graduated from my undergraduate institution). I told myself I wanted to get through my first year of graduate school without shaving, so I’m about two months out! Wait until you see a video from the front… this beard is just crazy.
Edit: meant to say “always” not “already” in that first response.
Thanks for reading all that.
If you could get a straight on shot that would be great such that we could rule out an offset grip issue.
I have a bit of a twist to my pelvis and a bit of scoliosis, so I had to play a little with my foot placement and all that, twisty is my deadlift too. Some of those here at T-Nation are symmetrical, optimally muscle insertion-ed freaks and think it to be the norm. The rest (read: “bulk”) of us were made by God at the end of the month, last few hours on third shift.
The right hand placement thing, if it feels unnatural, it could well be.
Here’s to epic facial hair. “Never bring a mustache to a beard fight.”
Grad school, it begs, what field? You need not answer, just curious.
[quote]emskee wrote:
Thanks for reading all that.
If you could get a straight on shot that would be great such that we could rule out an offset grip issue.
I have a bit of a twist to my pelvis and a bit of scoliosis, so I had to play a little with my foot placement and all that, twisty is my deadlift too. Some of those here at T-Nation are symmetrical, optimally muscle insertion-ed freaks and think it to be the norm. The rest (read: “bulk”) of us were made by God at the end of the month, last few hours on third shift.
The right hand placement thing, if it feels unnatural, it could well be.
Here’s to epic facial hair. “Never bring a mustache to a beard fight.”
Grad school, it begs, what field? You need not answer, just curious.
[/quote]
I certainly believe I fall into that category. Nearly everyone on my father’s side of my family tree have had back issues such as herniation. I was born with a crack in my vertebrae that put an unequal distribution of pressure on my disks. One day, it just decided to pop out. Of course, I wasn’t aware of such an issue until after the injury. Oh well.
I am glad you like the beard, given your might Zeus beard.
I will get a video of my deadlift straight on next Wednesday when I deadlift heavy again. I usually try to do some speed sets on a separate day during the week, but I’m only using 30% of my max so I doubt any of the aforementioned issues will be seen.
Glad to answer, I love talking about science. My department is Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, but it’s essentially biology. As an undergraduate I studied physics and chemistry, so I’m going for the trifecta.
[quote]baugust wrote:
[quote]emskee wrote:
Thanks for reading all that.
If you could get a straight on shot that would be great such that we could rule out an offset grip issue.
I have a bit of a twist to my pelvis and a bit of scoliosis, so I had to play a little with my foot placement and all that, twisty is my deadlift too. Some of those here at T-Nation are symmetrical, optimally muscle insertion-ed freaks and think it to be the norm. The rest (read: “bulk”) of us were made by God at the end of the month, last few hours on third shift.
The right hand placement thing, if it feels unnatural, it could well be.
Here’s to epic facial hair. “Never bring a mustache to a beard fight.”
Grad school, it begs, what field? You need not answer, just curious.
[/quote]
I certainly believe I fall into that category. Nearly everyone on my father’s side of my family tree have had back issues such as herniation. I was born with a crack in my vertebrae that put an unequal distribution of pressure on my disks. One day, it just decided to pop out. Of course, I wasn’t aware of such an issue until after the injury. Oh well.
I am glad you like the beard, given your might Zeus beard.
I will get a video of my deadlift straight on next Wednesday when I deadlift heavy again. I usually try to do some speed sets on a separate day during the week, but I’m only using 30% of my max so I doubt any of the aforementioned issues will be seen.
Glad to answer, I love talking about science. My department is Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, but it’s essentially biology. As an undergraduate I studied physics and chemistry, so I’m going for the trifecta. [/quote]
Degenerative disc disease in my family also, people ending up in wheel chairs and all that, so I can dig it. Part of why I keep lifting, don’t want to be crumbly. Figure a strong fucked up back beats a weak fucked up back.
When I pull fast, I can hear the wind rustling through my beard.
Look forward to the video.
re your education: Academic Maniac. Well played. I “do” physics by having a physicist in my group.
March 28, 2014
BMI = Obese
My case manager called me today to tell me that my % bodyfat and my cholesterol numbers were reviewed by the Medical Director and I am GOOD TO GO!!!
She tells me that now we must await word from the insurance company and THAT could take 6 weeks.
But I am relieved.
(…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…)
Benching
Warm Ups:
18" grip for all.
45 x 15
95 x 8
135 x 5
185 x 2
215 x 2
Top Sets:
245 x 6 sets x 2 reps 1.5 minutes rest, 2nd rep pause
Speed Sets:
175 x 8 sets x 3 reps 1 set per minute
Bench @ 15" grip:
145 x 3 sets x 10 reps 1.5 minute rest
Tricep Push Down:
75 pounds x 18, x 12, x 8, x 7, x 5 60 seconds rest
18" grip barbell front raise:
65 x 4 sets x 10 reps 60 seconds rest
fini
Nothing funny to say. Nothing interesting to share.
I am going to shower and then I am going to drink adult beverages. And by “adult” I mean aged in oak for at least 18 years.
[quote]emskee wrote:
March 28, 2014
BMI = Obese
My case manager called me today to tell me that my % bodyfat and my cholesterol numbers were reviewed by the Medical Director and I am GOOD TO GO!!!
[/quote]
Woo! This is a win.
Waydda beat the system, man!
Yes I pulled one off for all of those amongst us who share the nomen “muscularly obese.” Or “Meatily Obese.”
Maybe “Obesely Svelte.” “Sveltely Obese.”
“Differently BMI-ed.”
Help me here!
Okay, wait, The NEW BMI - “Big Muscles Inside.”
Okay, I have stuff to do…
April 1, 2013
Squat and Deadlift assistance:
Squats:
Warmups:
45 x 15
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
Work sets:
305 x 2
2 minute rest
325 x 2
2 minute rest
350 x 2
2 minute rest
370 x 2
2 minute rest
390 x 2
2 minute rest
410 x 2
Speed Deadlifts:
390 x 18 singles in 4 minutes 0 seconds (puff…puff…puff…puff… puff.puff…puff…puff…)
boom
Went to my doctor today for my yearly physical.
We’re done and he leans against the wall and proceeds to tell me that now that I am as old as I am, I need to be aware that as we get older things start to go wrong. Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of old folks now, but it may someday soon be out paced by cancer. Told me how life is a circle and how everyone dies. I should be aware of what is going on and be careful of risks and such. But, hey, yeah as you age you get closer to the end. You know, we see family and friends become ill, incapacitated and die. Yep, just want you to be aware.
But yeah, you’re in great shape, good physical today, um, keep up the good work, we’ll see ya in a year.
…sigh…
Awesome work as usual, as I’ve just been trying a new philosophy of training that has to do with cutting rest periods it’s nice to see you can still be strong as an ox and not take 10 minute breaks between sets.