Arkk's Weight Lifting / Fitness Thread

Grand Inquisitor Kegkilla_sl said:

the squat you described isn't a "low squat", its the proper way to do a squat.

Click to expand...

Agreed, although putting the bar on your lats isn't incorrect, you just need to move your hips in a different way. Both are acceptable.

Low bar vrs high bar:

http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/low-b...bar-squatting/

Low bar is more hip drive, more posterior chain. You're also more horizontal and the angles are different. The bar sits right on the meat of the delts. High bar recruits quads more and you're more upright. Both are good to know and perform.

Here is front. high and low bar positioning:

I've been doing what I thought were low bar squats lately, but I'm not sure. After my squats on Saturday, I got a large (probably like bisecting a golf ball) "lump" at the bottom of my neck/top of back. It sounds like it might have been resting on my spine, and I wasn't squeezing my traps together enough (I did pop up really fast on my first set a bunch and the bar bounced a little at the top). I kind of wish I had someone who knew what they were doing to see if I were placing it low enough. It doesn't seem that different from high bar squats as far as positioning.

It was also just the 2nd time I've ever failed a squat, which was pretty disappointing.

That said, my goals for the end of February are looking pretty solid. I will be very close on the bench/squat goal, but deadlift and military press I'm almost there.

Squat: 195x5,4,4
Press: 115x5x3
Bench: 180x5x3
Deadlift: 280x5
Power clean: 155x5x3

Press hit a terrible plateau. More than a month. Everything else has improved. Squats are making a relatively quick jump again lately. The plateau i mentioned a bit ago was from minor overtraining, as i realize now. I didn't even know that existed before I read that rippetoe book. It's what caused a bad deadlift drop too.

I started with stronglifts, but as I look back now, 5x5 became too much to recover from after just two days. And I don't think it's necessary. 3 sets of 5 is enough to increase strength from one session to the other in the novice stage. Obviously everyone is different, but those are my experiences. Rippetoe suggests 5x5 as the heavy stress day for an intermediate program that shoots for weekly (slower) progression, which further suggests it may be too much for the linear progression of the novice stage. I pretty much listen to the guy like Jesus now, except for the whole being real thing.

Elurin_sl said:

I've been doing what I thought were low bar squats lately, but I'm not sure. After my squats on Saturday, I got a large (probably like bisecting a golf ball) "lump" at the bottom of my neck/top of back. It sounds like it might have been resting on my spine, and I wasn't squeezing my traps together enough (I did pop up really fast on my first set a bunch and the bar bounced a little at the top). I kind of wish I had someone who knew what they were doing to see if I were placing it low enough. It doesn't seem that different from high bar squats as far as positioning.

It was also just the 2nd time I've ever failed a squat, which was pretty disappointing.

That said, my goals for the end of February are looking pretty solid. I will be very close on the bench/squat goal, but deadlift and military press I'm almost there.

Click to expand...

There are YouTube videos. Search that. Low bar position has less cushion than high bar. Are you really thin? I imagine it'd be hard to position the bar without some decent rear delts. If you want to check if positioning is right, with your back at about a 45 degree angle and under the bar, you should be able to dig the bar right under the spine of the scapula(shoulder blades). There is a sort of shelf formed between it and the rear delts. I'm pretty thin and have to kind of wedge it in to get an optimal position. Really really weird feeling at first, and painful on the shoulders, but starts feeling natural quickly.

Elurin_sl said:

I've been doing what I thought were low bar squats lately, but I'm not sure. After my squats on Saturday, I got a large (probably like bisecting a golf ball) "lump" at the bottom of my neck/top of back. It sounds like it might have been resting on my spine, and I wasn't squeezing my traps together enough (I did pop up really fast on my first set a bunch and the bar bounced a little at the top). I kind of wish I had someone who knew what they were doing to see if I were placing it low enough. It doesn't seem that different from high bar squats as far as positioning.

Click to expand...

He's a bit long winded but interesting and worth the watchhttp://vimeo.com/30763907

The placement is not similar to the high bar and should not be on your spine at all, squeeze your shoulders together like you're trying to hold a pencil in between your shoulder blades. Look at how the guy has it at about 6 minutes in, it should look like that.

Bubbles_sl said:

Santa has to be a powerlifter these days to deal with all the annoying brats wanting gifts

But seriously that dude is awesome.
It's in finnish but subs are pretty good

Click to expand...

At 2:05, it looks like the guy is holding his breath when doing the deadlifts. Seems like a great way to get orthostatic hypotension.

If you don't pass out after you do one deadlift, you're doing it wrong!

Finnish lifters? finnish lifter.

Anyone have any recommended workout routines other than 5x5? I've been doing that for about 6-9 months and looking to move on to something else to spice up my workouts.

I'm on 3x5 now and will probably move to texas method or something when my gains slow down. 70sbig has an ebook on it but it's described online a few places

If what you're doing is still producing consistent gains, resist the temptation to switch.

If not, maybe 5/3/1?

Switched from iso muscle to a modified 5x5 system. Its pretty much 5x5 with core/conditioning bodyweight training, along with HIIT cardio. Just the second week and I've been taking it slowish since my foundational strength wasn't fantastic.

295-305 bench
315 squat (I can do more, I've just been slowly working my way up since posture was, is my weakness)
350 deadlift
175 seated overhead presses
225 bent over rows

Sitting at 190 right now, was at 202 a couple weeks ago. Haven't nearly been consuming as much water and sometimes I'm a bit dry, probably has a lot to do with it. Or could just be my electronic scale is a pos.

As far as other exercises go, I've been doing frog crunches, stomach vacuuming, weighted dips, hammer pullups, wide grip pullups, assisted angled rows on a pullup bar (not enough core strength to fully extend my legs out. Not yet), wide neckline pushups, and building up to do full planches (handstand pushups against the wall, tuck planche pushups). All of these and then some are spread out and supplemented depending on the type of muscle potentially being worked out that day.


Its really only been a week and some days since I switched over and even less time that I've decided on the routines. Still doing modifications here and there, but I always stick to the basic 5x5 regardless of the type of bodyweight exercises I do.

Pretty solid numbers, especially at your weight. Obviously your squat looks a little weird when it's only 10 pounds heavier than your bench lol, but all great numbers.

Why do you do seated overhead press instead of standing, if you don't mind me asking?

Itlan_sl said:

Pretty solid numbers, especially at your weight. Obviously your squat looks a little weird when it's only 10 pounds heavier than your bench lol, but all great numbers.

Why do you do seated overhead press instead of standing, if you don't mind me asking?

Click to expand...

I actually do both, but standing at the moment isn't primary. I can press more seated, though as a supplement I do, at a lower set and about 40 pounds lighter, standing overhead presses. To be honest, I haven't been doing many barbell exercises for very long so I have kinda shitty posture/stabilizer/form in conjunction with barbell type exercises and often feel a little wobbly which in turn affects my exercise. Before I switched over, I mainly only used isolation, cable, barbell machines with the few odd dumbbell workout. As I continue to go along the path I'm sure I'll transition from one to the other as a primary exercise once I begin to feel more confident in my form.

As far as squats are concerned; Before a couple weeks ago, I can't even remember the last time I did a squat. I'm using a power rack without any sort of mirrors, so I'm constantly adjusting and self correcting form, posture, how far down I go. Before I begin to start really pushing squat weight.

This is probably all trivial to anyone whose been primarily or regularly worked out with barbells for months or years, but it'll probably take me several more weeks before I feel comfortable with it. Even my flat benches feels odd to me, as before hand I never used a barbell for benching.

How the fuck could you have possibly gotten that strong without barbell?

Are you a genetic freak?

Maybe 250+ pounds?

Itlan_sl said:

How the fuck could you have possibly gotten that strong without barbell?

Are you a genetic freak?

Click to expand...

Plate loaded machines do work, at least for me. 4 sets of 6-10 reps (6 is a completed set, you always try for 10), 3-5 exercises per muscle group. The inherent problem is that you only concentrate on the push or pull and rarely rely on core - its isolation at its best and doesn't really work out the neuromuscular system. Its not like I came into this never having lifted weights. I've just switched over to more of a hybrid strength/bodybuilding/conditioning routine instead of more bodybuilding.

Maybe 250+ pounds?

Click to expand...

At my biggest I was 225, possibly 230. Got some crazy wicked stretch marks across my shoulder/bicep when I was lifting at that weight. I weighed myself yesterday and was at 188, but that was before a shower and my system was pretty empty on fluids/food. As a reference, I sit at 5'10. And normally, I'm probably sitting around 200.

I'm not sure what would qualify as a genetic freak.