Tight and Immobile!

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hi T Nation,

I am a new lifter and I have been trying unsuccessfully to run a beginners program called starting strength for the past week or so, I have not been very successful in my endeavour.

I have a background in running and being ou ng and stupid I never bothered to do much in the way of prehab or rehab which left me pretty stiff and jacked up. Injuries followed next and then weight gain was added to the equation.

I am just now starting to get back into training and want to find a better balance, I had yoyo’d in the past between being completely hooked on cardio and endurance training and other times doing absoloutley zero cardio and hapharazdly doing some lifting, which was completely ineffective and probably pointless unless your goal was to become a podger.

I decided before I keep trying to squat and power clean and press etc I need to get some basic mobility and so dropping a few pounds and doing lots of strethcing, lacrosse ball and foam rolling will be a good start.

I have started an eating template which is basically eating unlimited fruit, vegetables and meat, poultry, eggs, seafood. I have lost about 12 pounds in 2 weeks just doing this and walking every day.

I am around 215 pounds, 175cm and I would say probably well over 30% bodyfat, most of which seems to be in my belly.

I think I am on the right path but I am just looking for a bit of guidance here from people who have expereince with this kind of thing.

My schedule looks like this:

1.5 mile walk to the gym on an empty stomach

assisted progressive Calisthenics (chinups pressups hanging leg raises hyperextensions) doing exercises like pressups and hanging leg raises and Hyper and doing assisted chinups and fat man pullups until I can do full ones.

Mobility routine
Foam Roll IT Band
Foam Roll Adductors
SMR Glutes (lax ball)
Bent-knee Iron Cross
Rollovers into V-sits
Rocking Frog stretch
Fire Hydrant circles
Mountain Climbers
Cossack Squats
Seated Piriformis stretch
Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor stretch

Full body atatic stretching

Intensive foam rolling

Added heel, hip and shoulder work to target problem areas for the squat

I plan to run this every day for at least three months and get some dedicated mobility work before I start to work out again, at which point I will be getting coaching for the Power clean, bench press, press, deadlift and squat.

Please just let me know if I am on the right track here. I am really eager to start training and I want to just rush into it and I have these shiny new addidas shoes and lifting belt all ready to go per the books advice. But I am a bit older now and am trying to think about my continued progress rather than just jumping in and going round in circles.

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What kind of running did you do? What kind of times/pace?

EDIT: Mostly I’m wondering what kind of base you have. There’s a big difference between someone who used to run 15 minute 5Ks and someone who used to run 30 minute 5Ks. Both were “into running”.

But my honest opinion about what you’re suggesting is twofold: 1, you’re overthinking this; 2, you probably don’t need anywhere near that amount of rehab/prehab.

I also think you may be too focused with the idea of lifting rather than the reality of lifting at this point.

The sooner you can start lifting something, safely, the better. You don’t have to have perfect mobility in every movement to start getting the benefits of it. You don’t have to have perfect form and proper coaching either.

3

Just like I like my women.

4

[quote]LoRez wrote:
What kind of running did you do? What kind of times/pace?

EDIT: Mostly I’m wondering what kind of base you have. There’s a big difference between someone who used to run 15 minute 5Ks and someone who used to run 30 minute 5Ks. Both were “into running”.

But my honest opinion about what you’re suggesting is twofold: 1, you’re overthinking this; 2, you probably don’t need anywhere near that amount of rehab/prehab.

I also think you may be too focused with the idea of lifting rather than the reality of lifting at this point.

The sooner you can start lifting something, safely, the better. You don’t have to have perfect mobility in every movement to start getting the benefits of it. You don’t have to have perfect form and proper coaching either.[/quote]

Hey man.

My best 5km run was just under 20 minutes. I did cross country, then triathlon and then just did lots of long distance running, think 10-20km a day.

I was never that good at it and this was years before i got fat, smoked and drank which I am pretty sure removed any base I had built.

I understand what you are saying about overthinking it but I have a habbit of being one of those dumb all or nothing people and before I just start throwing myself into this I want to have form and mobility down. I can not squat below parallel or with decent form doing a low abr squat. Down to inexperience on the lifts but also down to terrible flexibility.

I am definitely going to get some coaching because to me paying a few hundred bucks for some expert coaching from people who can make sure I am lifting in a way that won’t leave me unable to work because I fucked my body up is damn worth it.

The routine I am doing is called the limber 11, it was posted on the starting strength site by the way.

5

[quote]Reed wrote:
Just like I like women[/quote]

Who doesn’t?

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[quote]Reed wrote:
Just like I like my women.[/quote]

7

[quote]ScholesGoals wrote:

[quote]Reed wrote:
Just like I like my women.[/quote]
[/quote]

mmmmmmm :slight_smile: so hot. What’s the worst part of eating a vegetable??? Putting her back int the wheel chair when your done :D:D:D

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[quote]ScholesGoals wrote:
I have been trying unsuccessfully to run a beginners program called starting strength for the past week or so, I have not been very successful in my endeavour.[/quote]
Quick note right off the bat: “A week or so” is hardly enough time to give any plan a fair shake. Let alone call it an unsuccessful endeavor.

If you were in pain while performing reps of a given exercise, that’s one thing, but simply not hitting depth on a squat doesn’t exactly call for bailing on the routine.

Exactly what injuries? Are they fully healed or still problematic? Are you 100% cleared for unrestricted exercise?

I cringe when I see “unlimited fruit”, but if it’s working for you, stick with it.

How long does this take, 10 minutes, 20 minutes? And I’m figuring it’s another 1.5 mile walk home after each workout?

Like Rez was saying, the sooner you add some more comprehensive resistance training, the better. In particular, I don’t see anything for the lower body at all. That’s not good.

Deadlifts and/or Romanian deads should certainly be doable. 135 might be too much to start with, so just use an appropriate load, set the bar in a rack, and start the movement from the “top” position. Also, goblet squats will be key:

The Limber 11 is legit, so sticking with that everyday is fine. But I wouldn’t do the lifting part everyday. 3-4 days a week will be plenty for that. Also, instead of a general 3 months, consider setting something like a “mobility benchmark goal”, whether it’s a good, deep unweighted squat with arms overhead, or X reps with Y weight on the assisted chins. As soon as you hit it, advance your training to the next level.

Just how old are you? Maybe consider this training template specifically for slightly-older lifters, also from Joe DeFranco (the coach who came up with the Limber 11):