same, there's absolutely no way I could do more deadlift reps than one without taking a new breath at the bottom.

bench, sure.
press, sure.
squats, maaaaybe.
DL, no way, unless we include warmup weights, then maybe.

YMMV as usual.

ETA:
Solid progress so far, Nick, both weight- and form-wise.
Keep up the good work.

This is where I'm at too. Definitely possible for BP, I might try a set of 3+2 next time.

Press, when I've improved form I could probably do it. What are you guys opinions on breathing in the top position of the press btw? I think I sort of like it.

Squats, maybe.

No way I could do it fot DL. I'm legit dizzy after a DL set, like I'm walking around the gym on wobbly legs, and during the set I reset by releasing the bar, taking a couple of deep breathes etc.

I'm probably switching to the program in OP by the end of next week btw. You think doing front squats instead of abs on Wednesday would be alright?

Yeah, with bench and press I usually go 3,2,1,1,1...or 2,1,1,1...

I like to breathe at the top with press so I get to utilize the stretch reflex with the next rep.
I know some others prefer to breathe at the bottom.
I'd try both and see which one you like better.

re:FS after deads:
Sure, why not. At least for the time being.
At some point you might get fed up with squatting 3x/week though. I know I would.
At that point BS on Mon, DL on Wed, FS on Fri could be good.

Yeah, starting off I'm doing the FS just to learn proper form while I'm still lifting light weights.

I've always preferred single arm DB rows but might try some BB rows (I've seen Yates rows recommended, though not on H&F). Any reason to go with one over the other?

don't do that...

lol that could've been me

Went for my usual 7.5km run yesterday and for the first time since I started lifting it was really enjoyable and that's despite rain and freezing cold. I have eaten a bit more the last few days and I also ate more pre rather than post run than usual, maybe that has helped, maybe not. If it keeps up I'll probably increase my running.

October 24 - Friday

Got videos of all lifts. Will upload tomorrow when I've got a better connection.

Squats

62.5kg 5+5+6 (+2.5)

OHP

32.5kg 5+5+7 (+2.5)

Doing 3+2 breathing made this a lot easier. Form didn't look like complete crap, I don't think.

DL

90kg 8 reps (+2.5)

Could've kept going, felt easy. I'm glad I didn't though, because form looked like a complete disaster. Just watching the video may cause back injury.

Pullups

10+7+6

Really didn't feel the pullups today.

I think it'd be fine to just do 5's with DL.
Maybe split it into 2x5 if you feel like a mere 1x5 is too little volume.

IMO AMRAP is great for presses and okay for squat but with DLs it's kind of meh tbh.

When the fatigue kicks in and the form inevitably degrades, at least a bit, you do run a risk (albeit very small, at least for now as the weight is still fairly light) of injuring your back.

Safety first, as they say.

To be fair my DL form didn't degrade, it was awful from the first rep

I'm going to try to make some improvements and get a better DL video on Monday. Might upload both this one and the one where improvements were hopefully made.

For now...



Doesn't look too bad?



Am I making progress with the squat here? I don't even know.

Went for an 11km run today, might make the Sunday runs longer. I will still only hit ~20km/week for now though.

Press looks good, although you could stand to have your elbows a wee bit more forward at the bottom.

Squats also look fairly good.
Just a matter of spending more time under the bar and the movement pattern will start to feel more and more natural.

Thanks Pummi. That's how the squat looked to me too. No glaring mistakes, just a matter of keep repeating to improve.

October 27 - Monday

Squats

65kg 5+5+5 reps (+2.5)

Felt pretty heavy tbh. I kind of want to blame the running, but you guys seem to insist it doesn't effect recovery much I might be off and it might be variance.

BP

70kg 5+5+7 reps (+2.5)

DL

92.5kg 5 reps (+2.5)

Ugh, I'm afraid my form has looked like ass since last time I posted a video and now I'm having a hard time correcting it. I've got a bunch of videos and will upload later.

Squats look good, just gotta start attacking it a bit more.

Quit snus tomorrow and have a last longer? (for pride and glory, not money)

Yeah def this too, attacking and using stretch reflex makes it easier. It also makes my form more variable but I think it'll come along.

Haha, ok let's do this!

I just bought a box but I'll throw it away tomorrow morning.

This is going to be miserable

It's like the running age you linked for me - you've reached conscious competence in the squat, now you're got to work to get to unconscious competence so the speed can be increased. You'll get there...

Yeah that's spot on. The "So You Think You Can Bench" mentioned that repetition is key and that seems to make sense, so I'm trying to put an extra effort into working on form through warm-up sets.

Here's the first 3 DL reps from my last two workouts, my form is a bit concerning, though perhaps not a complete disaster.





In the second video I try to correct chest position and straighten my back. Preferably I would do this without neck craning but I didn't think I could. I'm also a bit unsure how far I should sit back as you can see at the start of the video.



I don't really know what I'm doing. I remembered some cues from the video and at least I feel quite an improvement from last video.

Nice I have just 2 more snus left. Gonna put in a double now so I'm all out tomorrow Will post if I fail

Second DL vid is reasonably tidy, good job. A few things to work on:

See how your hips rise just a touch before the bar leaves the floor? That position you are in when the bar leaves the floor is about where you want to be when you're 100% tight and ready to engage the pull, so i think you're dropping your hips a smidge too low. But don't think about your hip position - reach down grab the bar, and then pull your chest UP. You're almost there, you just slightly worry about your hip position but it'll take care of itself if the other land marks are met. The Nuckolls article in the HC Thread might illuminate this better than I can.

Try and keep the bar close to your shins using your lat muscles. That's why you see KC do the zombie arms thing before lifting, he's just cueing himself to activate his lats. They also help set your back position a bit.

Once the bar is at about mid shin, you want to be driving your hips forward, using your glutes. It will feel awkward, but really emphasize a good glute contraction at the top of every rep. "HIPS" is basically the most yelled cue at our place, because getting the glutes driving the hips forward as early as possible helps heaps with the squat and DL. Your lock out is a bit "soft", im not really sure how to explain it... If this is too unclear i'll try again.

Bench press this is a big improvement. Still need to keep working on it, but if you can get your leg drive on the early reps to be like the last grindy one, then you'll be capable of more reps. Maybe spread your feet a little wider and really concentrate on driving your heels down. i think you can get a bit tighter in the setup too, with more weight on your traps, but it'll come with practice. A bit of chalk on your shirt or on the bench makes a big difference in you much traction you can get.

nothing in any of these vids to suggest you shouldnt keep adding weight.

The weights we lift is almost identical. Subbing for joint improvement!

Awesome as always, Aidan. I know I've seen advice about activating your lats but like you pointed out my lats definitely aren't. I'll work on that, as well as the rest of that stuff.

Sounds good! I've been keeping an eye on your log, think your squat is better than mine but at least we're both squatting kilos instead of lolbs

****yea kilos! ...although lbs would make for bigger numbers and might impress more, but yea. KGs FTW!

You might need to build up the lats. I see you are doing pullups. Maybe add some Pendlay Rows in as well.