Heavy ass dumbbell (Kroc) rows

Well today after press, I'll try chin ups again (with some kipping) then Ill do kroc rows if those dont work.

See the thread linked in the FAQ. No kipping.

Finally a really good workout this morning. Sleep is messed up again so I worked out from 6:30 am to around 7:20am. I finally did 3x5 for squats @220. Feels good man. Two videos of the second and third set.

Then to ohp. I did these at 110 because 115 was just too heavy. Feels good man.

Earlier this week I asked about what to do instead of power cleans. Some one suggested chin ups, I said I was too fat. Guess what?! I was right.

Someone else suggested kroc rows with dumbells. I said sure and they actually felt really good. I started with 5x30lbs then 5x45lbs and then did work sets @60lbs. They felt a bit light, but I wanted to make sure I got my form down before trying to lift the world.

squats 3x5x220
ohp 3x5x110
kroc rows 3x5x60

squat - Looks like your knees are going too far forward at the bottom, aka need your hips back more. I try to break at the hips first, going down.

rows - I do them on the same side of the bench that my body is on, with the db in the hand that is away from the bench. Just like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7jAIdoORxI

also, kroc rows should be higher reps, taken from 5/3/1:

you want the same foot and hand on the ground in rows, so it'd be righthand/rightfoot/left knee then lefthand/leftfoot/rightknee

also you only need 1 dumbbell, don't hog that **** son

like JR said, Kroc rows are dumbbell rows done in high reps w/ the maximum possible weight. I'd imagine at first, your grip will fail before your back/arms.

I always strap them

I strap in, but I just do 3x8-12 DB rows. When the weight gets over 90 my hands start slipping and my form sucks. Straps allow me to maintain good form so I just strap in the dumbbell rows and double overhand all my DL warm-ups and do static holds a lot as well.

Still have a ****ty grip, but it's getting better.

Yeah, you don't need to strap krocs at first.

If you don't need to strap them you aren't pulling heavy enough, POW!

I always thought straps were lame? Isn't the point to get your grip stronger?

Well, the grip will start giving out after a while. Def better to strap up then. Get your grip work elsewhere.

I really have to not go to the gym when I'm tired, I just get discouraged. I slept from 6am to 11:25 am and then from 3:45 to 5:45pm. I woke up and decided to go to the gym even though i was dragging ass. I got there and some kid was in the rack doing ohp! I couldn't believe it. I waited for him to be done and set up for squats. Did 225 today and got the first two sets with not much struggle. Then I see him set up for deadlifts. I'm pretty sure he was doing stronglifts so I go over to talk to him. He is doing stronglifts and loves the program but wanted more info on form, so I told him to check out ss. He seemed interested in it which is cool, seeing as though the gym is douche central.

I then proceeded to fail on the first rep of the third set. I don't think I rested enough between sets and also took a bad breath/wasn't tight enough. Ugh.

Then I set up for bench at 150. Failed on the fifth rep of the first set. Went home because my lower back was bothering me (still is) and I wasn't about to try deadlifts today. Back at it wednesday.

squats 225x5x2 *fail*
bench 150x4x1 *fail*
deads dna

Okay guys my back is killing me. I have a foam roller and rolled before work but it didn't really help. Anything I can do when I get home. I won't take any medicine for personal reasons, but this really is painful.

Ask in the beginner thread imo. Specify symptoms as much as possible.

your not supposed to roll your lower back afaik.

Cha59 to the rescue

I'm pretty sure you don't want to roll the lower back.

If upper or mid back, concentrate on the area in between your spine and shoulder blades (and lats). If your lower back, concentrate on your glutes and hamstrings...probably not a great idea to roll your lower back. I'm starting to think it can be done safely but I'm a bit scared/lazy to try yet...

Thoracic (upper back) mobility

Foam roller (not PVC pipe or rumble roller): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elWYs...edded#t=01m18s.

Lie on your back with the roller beneath your upper back. You want to be careful not to move the roller below the bottom of your rib cage as you'll likely end up flexing your lower back (which should be rigid). Next, you'll want to put your hands behind your head to help keep your shoulder blades from hitting the roller before your back muscles. Then stretch your head towards the ground, being careful to let your upper back flex but not your lower back. Hold for 30 seconds. Move the roller up or down your back and continue. Given the diameter of foam rollers, doing this stretch in 2-3 places usually suffices.

Traps/Rhomboids

Roller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU#t=01m54s. This requires the same setup as Thoracic mobility but instead of stretching into the roller, you roll it back and forth against your upper back muscles while relaxing into the roller. Note that while this will be helpful for beginners, once the surface knots in your muscles are broken down, you'll want to use a ball with this technique:

Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzozw2Aso3M#t=00m57s (This is the "Sticky Scap vid" which also shows stretching and mobility after the SMR technique)

Lie down on your back on a relatively hard surface. Put the lacrosse ball in between your shoulder blade and spine. Then relax into the ball and move your arm up and over your head as far as it can go (keeping it close to your ear as it goes by your head). Move your arm back down to your side and then repeat this movement several times, relaxing into the ball. Then move the ball up or down your back, finding new spots that are tight. Be careful not to go below your ribcage as you may start causing your lower back to flex unnecessarily.

More Advanced: To really hit some hard-to-reach rhomboid muscles, cross your arm in front of you and tuck the lacrosse ball against and under your shoulder blade - find a spot that is tight. Relax into the ball and hold. Then reposition the ball up or down the shoulder blade and repeat.

Another pro tip: Use your opposite hand to gently push down on your arm (above the elbow) when your arm is at full extension behind your head. This can help you relax into the ball while still getting optimal extension from your arm which should help clear up knots faster.


Lats

Roller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU#t=01m00s

Lie on your side and place the roller under and below your armpit. Then roll up and down the side of your upper back where you lat muscle is. Rotate your body a bit to hit your lat from different angles and really relax into the roller.

Ball on wall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elWYs...edded#t=03m55s

This can be convenient if you’re rolling your pecs already and want to transition into hitting your lats. Or if you have a particular trouble spot with your lats that you want to isolate and focus on. Stand with your side facing the wall and place the ball in between the wall and your lats. Then lean up against the wall, adjusting the placement of the ball to hit your lat from different angles and find tight painful spots. If you want to apply even more pressure, you can use this technique lying on the ground, just replacing the roller with a ball.



Glutes

Roller:

Ball on floor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU#t=02m45s

This can also be done lying down on your back with your body fully extended and crossing the leg of the glute you are SMRing to your other leg - so basically what this guy is doing but lying down. It will help get to deeper adhesions and also, it's extremely tough to relax into the ball using the technique shown in the video as it may hurt a ton (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dSu...eature=related) in which case, definitely try the lying down on your back method for a few days or weeks until it’s not as painful.

yea I forgot how good rolling out the upper back can feel

i don't feel anything in my upper back :\

Numb from banging your head against the wall during squat prep?

that was before I started doing a lot of shoulder mobility work, haven't rolled it in forever, but I had tons of things pop and feel 50x better.

Yeah, my only issue with using a PVC pipe now is I forget to use the black foam roller for thoracic mobility. But when I do, popping all over imo. I don't ever seem to lose too much mobility there but I think remembering to do it now that I'm benching again is a good idea.

So I foam rolled my lower back. Before I read that you shouldn't. It felt tight but it seemed to help. My pain is almost gone totally but now my back hurts to touch.