Then don’t wait to the next block. Your head might get bloody
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2020-01-18
Week 1/3 BBS with 5 PROS - Bench
Starting the next cycle now using the Boring But Strong template. Have not figured out the exact assistance pattern on all days yet ( Deads and Bench day still up in the air). So keeping some old stuff that I think will be useful until I figure things out. Pretty sure I will go for pull-ups on squat days and rows on the next. That works and is probably most important to get right anyway. Dips on the other hand…
So. First out is Bench.
| Lift | Sets | Reps | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Bench | warmup | 5 | 40 |
| warmup | 5 | 50 | |
| warmup | 5 | 60 | |
| 1 | 5 | 65 | |
| 1 | 5 | 75 | |
| 1 | 5 | 85 | |
| 10 | 5 | 65 | |
| B. (Tilted Bench) Seal Row | 4 | 10 | 50 |
| C1. Bicep Curls | 3 | 12 | 30 |
| C2. Lateral Raises | 3 | 10 | 9 |
| C3. Hanging Leg Raise | 3 | 12 | 91 |
| D. One Legged RDL | 3 | 10 | 12 |
So I got lucky today. Met one of my gym friends who has a long history of lifting. He gave me a tip for activating the left trapezius just before retracting the scapula. This made them fall into place nicely and it finally feels even in the shoulders now. Turns out that it might have been asleep for quite a while!
It is likely a result of the rotator cuff tear I got around 2 years ago. When activated, I notice that the front shoulder gets more involved in the lifts. It might have been deactivated to move the shoulder into a position where the tear was not agitated. I always felt like my left scapula was out of wack; rotated backwards and down. It is visible if I look at myself during the squat from the front; the left shoulder is lower down than the right.
Suspecting this affect the deadlift and the squat. Will try to use the activation cue during the next sessions and see what happens with the rest of the body. If I am lucky, things might fall into a better form. Now when I rotate it forward, alot of stuff is stiff compared to the other should so I will probably work to stretch it out for a bit.
Other than that I felt pretty burned out in the upper body. 85kg felt heavy even though it is far from my max. Think the dips have adversely affected the bench days so I will switch them out for a lighter exercise, like plate raise or something. However, finally got the hang of the new form during the 10 5 rep set. Those felt really good at the end with some nice explosive reps.
End result after the coaching session was a nice little script that I am fairly confident I can reuse and get pretty much the same setup each time. Very grateful for that!
2020-01-20
No training today. Felt sore in the throat. Gonna take it easy and wait it out for tomorrow and see how that goes.
2020-01-22
Week 1/3 BBS with 5 PROS - Deadlift
So, I don’t know if this is smart or not, but I decided to catch up with the training this week now that I feel better again. So taking it slow with the dips ( only 4 set an RPE 7 -ish ) since I will be doing press tomorrow. Testing the new traps activation thing to see if I get better shoulder form. Think one of my form issues is due to the fact that I pull the scapula back to relieve the rotator cuff. So trying to lock it in place with the trap, lat and serratus(?) muscle.
Unfortunately, I was not able to film this since the gym was too crowded, but will try to do it next time.
| Lift | Sets | Reps | Weight(kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadlifts | warmup | 5 | 70 |
| warmup | 5 | 90 | |
| warmup | 5 | 110 | |
| 1 | 5 | 117.5 | |
| 1 | 5 | 135 | |
| 1 | 5 | 155 | |
| 5 | 5 | 117.5 | |
| Parallel Bar Dips | 12 | 91 | |
| 12 | 91 | ||
| 12 | 91 | ||
| 12 | 91 | ||
| Face Pulls | 4 | 22.5 | 91 |
| Barbell High Bar Squat | 1 | 5 | 100 |
Good session. Focused on bar speed and explosiveness. Feeling like the should adjustment got me in a better position. At least the upper back activation felt more symmetric now.
Tested some squats at the end with the trap activation since I was curios to see how the form would be like. Not so good : ) Don’t think I have recovered since the PR set last week. Or just hammered from the deadlifts. Felt the left quad getting alot more load now. Only had a mirror to look in and it seems kinda ok. Too early to tell, will film on Sunday and evaluate.
Edit: fixed set typo 5x5 → 10x5
2020-01-23
Week 1/3 BBS with 5 PROS - Press
Going on with press today. Trying out the trap activation here as well. Filming this lift had me realize the the shoulder is out of wack, Like my left shoulder is pushing back. Putting tension in the trap might put it in place.
| Lift | Sets | Reps | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press | 1 | 5 | 42.5 |
| 1 | 5 | 50 | |
| 1 | 5 | 55 | |
| 10 | 5 | 42.5 | |
| Assistance | |||
| Rows | 5 | 12 | 70 |
| Bicep Curls | 4 | 12 | 32.5 |
| Lateral Raises | 3 | 8 | 12.5 |
| Various Rotator Cuff exercises |
Lifts went well. Think I managed to get the shoulder in place but there was some muscles there that weren’t as trained as the others, so I would definitely not be able to do 5 reps at max TM. Managed all reps here just fine though. Not perfect, but feeling that the current track is the right!
However, squats tomorrow is were it will be truly interesting!
Your log reads 5 sets of 5 rather than 10 sets of 5. Typo?
I can’t think of a upper body pressing movement where you’d want to lock the scapula in place during the entire movement.
I’m going to guess the ideal thing for it would be to stay depressed at the top. Go through adduction/retraction during the eccentric, into protraction during the concentric and then back to depressed while never elevating upward in relation to its baseline but certainly coming out of depression somewhat at the bottom of the movement.
So, how did you arrive at needing to lock it into place?
Yeah, copy paste typo…
It originates from the fact that my left trapezius was asleep, causing the scapula to fall down and “back” (it is much more mobile backwards than me right scapula. Think it is either something that has always been there or just a compensation thing to off-load the rotator cuff. Properly activating the trapezius did do some pretty good stuff with the bench form earlier this week.
Locking it in place is perhaps not the right word, more like activating the traps so that I stays tight and activated and don’t all over the place.
Kinda hard to explain but the scapula and consequently the shoulder on the left side has a tendency to “fall back” compared to the right one and it becomes awkward to create proper tension in the lat. This can cause the left side to loose tightness which then results in the left arm going all over the place when I squat heavy.
I think properly activating the trap will cause the left side of the back to become tight and thus allow me to properly get done in the squat. I have a hard time creating the same feeling in the left leg during the descent that I have in the right leg; It has always been a bit awkward.
I tried to activate it during this session but it was kinda hard to get it right. My left lat also got tight during the descent because the left shoulder was more forward due to the trap preventing the shoulder to move back. All in all it seems like my left shoulder is more “down” than the right one.
I think I managed to get some set rights. I got nice descent on the left side and a nice activation on the left quad.
I need to check up proper shoulder form for high-bar and some good cues for getting it right.
Going to a physiotherapist about the shoulder is probably also a good idea.
I will post form videos a bit later, it will be easier to see what I am taking about then ( or if I am completely off point… ).
2021-01-24
Week 1/3 BBS with 5 PROS - Squat
Going in for the last session in the first week of BBS. Feeling pretty good so far.
Supersetting suplemental Squats with Chins
Supersetting Plate Raise with Leg Press
Mobility
Limber 11
Jumps
Actually forgot them today…
| Lift | Sets | Reps | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squat | 1 | 5 | 85 |
| 1 | 5 | 97.5 | |
| 1 | 5 | 110 | |
| 10 | 5 | 85 | |
| Chins | 6 | 5 | 91 |
| Plate Raise | 3 | 12 | 12 |
| Horizontal Leg Press | 3 | 12 | 115 |
Squats sets went fine. Tried to make corrections to the shoulder by getting tension in the trapezius to prevent left shoulder/scapula from getting loose. Worked so-so. Got some nice sets in with nice activation on the left side. When the left back got tight, the descent became “even” on both sides, at least I felt both quads load properly. Still, on some videos it appeared that something is wack with the left shoulder…
Squat Form Video
So I decided to post a video of the 6 rep RP set that I did last week that should highlight some of the issue that I am currently dealing with.
- My left shoulder and elbow is drifting a bit. They have always done that. I think I am failing in locking it properly. Might be some shoulder mobility issue. Also, notice that the left shoulder is slightly off position compared to the right when getting in under the bar.
- I offload a bit to the right side of the hip during the concentric(?) phase. I have mainly focused on correcting this part via hip adjustment.
I think one of the issues is that I fail to keep proper tension in the left side which causes it to collapse a bit and drift the weight to the right. I suspect it originates from some shoulder issue as mentioned in the previous post.
I don’t see it. I do see that your ass rises faster than your chest though, and I don’t see a lot of tightness (the good kind) after your unrack. Walkout is good but then you stay with the weight for quite some time before initiating your set but the plates aren’t rattling so there’s no need for it.
You write a lot about unilateral differences, and activation, but it’s a compound lift. Feeling muscles work equally is not something you are likely to achieve. Focus on a few external cues and just dominate the weight. What if you aren’t even, skeletally, to begin with? Then what would it cause when you chase symmetrical sensation?
There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with your form, just get tight and comfortable with being uncomfortable under load. Squeeze the bar so your knuckles turn white. Get tight enough that if you didn’t warm-up your lats would cramp.
I don’t usually think people would benefit from overload walkouts but you actually might benefit from adding 20-30 kilos on the bar and just unrack it.
Leave the muscle sensation stuff for isolation work.
I’m no squat pro though. @guineapig @Koestrizer am I off base here with my advice?
I don’t see much wrong here. Granted, it’s not exactly a good (stand alone) angle to judge form from. I can’t see any elbow or shoulder drifting. When in doubt just grip wider on both sides. If you’re able to create tension in your upper back, the grip width doesn’t matter as much as people make it out to.
Can’t really see any load shifting to the right side either. What do you mean when you say that you’ve corrected something like that with “hip adjustment”?
Even if there’s some shifting, there’s not much reason for concern. Try to screw both your feet in the ground, assume a “tripod” foot position for a stable base and good hip involvement and then throw some single leg stuff into your program and you’ll be fine.
Maybe some more tightness and “big chest/ chest up” on the descent for less folding.
@tobe doesn’t look bad for a higher relative intensity set. Near max and under fatigue little things can show up which aren’t always indicative of an issue worth obsessing over.
That being said from this angle there’s a smidge of weight shift which I don’t think it’s a big issue but you’d test side v side mobility of the ankle and hip, foot stability/ pressure and strength of knee + hip extension and abduction with hips at neutral, 45 and 90 degrees. Most physios can do this for you. If there’s any glaring issues u can address em.
Biggest issue is ur back isn’t tight/stable. That u can wiggle ur grip + elbows, turn ur head and elevate ur shoulders when breathing is suggesting is not nearly tight enough in your back and breathing bracing patterns are potentially sub optimal. Also the tendency to get folded over like a soft biscuit is a big tell.
Kinda a seperate thing from ur shoulders/elbows being in slightly different positions comparing each side. I’d suggest gripping slightly wider because when we get towards the extremes of our mobility/range all kinds of funky things go on. This close grip is for nil benefit because the closer grip may give u the sensation of having a tighter back passively but it doesn’t really help any if there’s not the prerequisite mobility to translate that to increased active back tightness.
There is a nice specific stretch I like to do before squatting for the shoulders so do bit of that and then grip bit wider on the bar anyways. Maybe false grip as well. BUT mostly work on setting your back tighter (for the most part independent of what ur shoulders elbows wrists are doing) and breathing/bracing properly. When u can get ur back tight u may want to incorporate a bit of pressure thru ur hands to increase lay tightness = increase stability overall via cues like (creating pressure like ur bending the bar across ur back)
@Koestrizer @guineapig thanks for chiming in guys. Either one of you see any value in what I was talking about with overload walkouts to force a situation wherein @tobe will have to set up tight?
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Well I do get extremely tight when I do yoke walks, which are usually done with more than 100% of squat 1 RM. But I don’t know if that has any carryover to tightness on squats.
I’d say it won’t hurt but don’t know enough about it to be able to say if it has carryover. From what I have seen, people use overloads mainly to have the working weights feel lighter after handling a supramaximal weight. Powerlifter Jen Thompson does them for bench for example.
I would prefer front squats/ pause squats/ paused front squats for bracing practice tho. Disclaimer: I have no idea how @tobe trains, what he is familiar with, injury and training background etc.
Those are good suggestions. I’ve lifted a little with the lad. I’d suggest Anderson squats (simplify the task to focus on the skill) instead of paused and Frankenstein instead of front.
@Voxel @Koestrizer @guineapig Thanks, really appreciate the feedback! Will respond to the answers.
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During the descent I don’t feel I get right tension on the left side, I have always felt off trying to find the correct activation throughout the body there during the squat. This might very well be a bracing/core issue that I haven’t resolved. It might also be possible that I am skeletally uneven. Regarding that I will go to a physio to sort it out.
I do need to focus on upper body activation especially on the lats. I generally have a hard time getting tight on the left side. During the descent the lat and the underarm muscles get really tight compared to the right side. It is visible in the video that the left elbow is higher up compared to the right.
Yeah, this has been suggested to me by at friend at the gym. I will try it out next time, could work trying to force activation in the core and mental preparation before doing the main sets.
Yeah, the angle is not ideal. Normally I film from the front ( not sure if that is ideal either… ) but there was some people around and I did not want to disturb their workout : )
The load shift is visible from the back (main thing that has been bugging me) so I thought it might be okay anyway. Got any advice for a better position to film? Like a 3/4 from the front?
There is a slight load shift to the right leg during the concentric(?) that becomes more pronounced during the later reps. I has been mentally bogging me from a long time, perhaps too much.
Regarding the hip adjustment, it’s that I am attempting to activate the right glute ( think it was the medial ) on the right side and sink into the right abductor more. Someone looked over my form and gave me that advice. It has helped a bit but I think I have ingrained the old pattern so much that it’s hard to correct. To be honest I don’t really know if I am doing it correctly or not now. I try to sink into the abductor more and I believe it’s helping.
Yeah, I should take @Voxel advice here and just keep going on the main sets until something start to get out of hand. Working on the screwing the feet to get hip activation. Just need more practice. I have a hard time getting it right though, I don’t feel I get proper core and hip activation on both sides.
The upper back tightness is not good. Will try to adjust the future, mainly on lat activation.
Thanks for the advice!