Looks good. 80 in 7-8 months will prob have you being somewhere in the 17-20% BF range FWIW, although it's fairly useless to speculate right now - your plan is good anyway. I'd get more fish oil though - see http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/qa-2.html. Basically 8-10 caps of standard size every day (you need to check out the EPA/DHA content though).

Apparently the fish oil caps I eat have much more EPA/DHA than 'standard' ones.
The label on my fish-oil bottle says not to exceed 2 capsules per day so that's what I've been taking forever.
However, a few months back I read this http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/fish-oil/
and as a result I started taking 4 caps per day, which equals ~2 grams of EPA/DHA. I also eat salmon at least weekly so I think my diet + 4 caps of fish-oil I take now is good.

Re: BF; Yeah, I reckon there's a lot of variance in how ppl respond to putting on weight.
But whatever my BF-% end up being, I don't care, my plan#1 right now is to look like a man first (instead of my current looks of an underweight teenager).
And then after aqcuiring some muscle mass (and fat), drop the possible excessive fat by just eating less (and continue lifting).

Note to self: recharge the ****ing camera battery every now and then!
So no vids this time.

24.11.2011

SS-workout #5

SQ:

2 x 5 x 20
1 x 5 x 27,5
1 x 3 x 37,5
1 x 2 x 42,5
3 x 5 x 45kg/99lb

BP:

2 x 5 x 20
1 x 5 x 27,5
1 x 3 x 35
1 x 2 x 42,5
3 x 5 x 45kg/99lb

DL:

1 x 5 x 60
1 x 4 x 65
1 x 3 x 70
1 x 2 x 75
1 x 5 x 77,5kg/171lb

For some reason everything felt a bit weird/off/bad and I'm sure at least squat form wasn't any better than last time, actually mighta been worse.
I got everything done, but I dunno. Might simply be lack of sleep, been averaging 7- hours per night lately - time to start going bed early!

Food:

3100 kcals / 220 g of protein

I have no idea how applicable this really is http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLi...hStandards.htm

But, just out of curiosity I checked out the standard 1RM weights for an un-trained 140lb dude.
Below is a comparison of standard 1RM's (left) and my latest worksets (5 RM's) (right):

Squat -> 96lb / 99lb
Press -> 65lb / 66lb
Bench -> 103,5lb / 99lb
Deadlift -> 119,5lb / 171lb
Cleans -> 69lb / N/A

My current 5RM's are pretty much in line with the standard starting 1RM's except for my DL which is way above.
Just makes me wonder if my starting weight for DL was too high??

Anyhoo, yesterday while struggling with my Squat- and DL-form, I got an idea that maybe I should not add weight at all until I really get the form nailed down, to me it seems like getting form 100% down is much more important than adding weight at this point.

Anyone?

No point worrying about standards, but if the DL is already getting heavy then resetting it will probably be a good idea. Same with the squat, but from the last vid it didn't look particularly heavy for you. Part of the learning process is learning to deal with lifting near your max.

I'm not particularly worried per se - my DL just seems to be kind of an anomaly compared to my other lifts. I'm sure they'll continue being doable (at least if adding only 2,5kg between workouts) but they do feel heavier than my other lifts - relatively speaking.
So, not going to reset them - just wondered if it would be wise to do yesterday's weight tomorrow and put 100% focus on correct form.
Just one odd-ball form-focus workout w/o adding weight, that's the idea.
But 2,5kg more or less, doesn't matter much. Meh.

Correct, it wasn't, just for the same reason as for DL I thought to maybe not add weight tomorrow.

Yes, that's exactly what I want to do, just also want really, really badly get that mother****ing form(s) nailed down first.

25.11.2011

Food:

3000 kcals / 210 g of protein

26.11.2011

SS-workout #6

After all, I decided to add weight to all lifts.

SQ:

2 x 5 x 20
1 x 5 x 30
1 x 3 x 40
1 x 2 x 45
3 x 5 x 47,5kg/105lb

Re-watched the Squat-part of the SS-dvd before the workout so I had high hopes prior warm-up.
Haven't watched my vids yet but Im' pretty sure my form still sucked big time

OHP:

2 x 5 x 20
1 x 5 x 22,5
1 x 3 x 27,5
1 x 2 x 30
3 x 5 x 32,5kg/72lb

Pressing felt good.

DL:

1 x 5 x 60
1 x 3 x 67,5
1 x 2 x 75
1 x 1 x 77,5
1 x 5 x 80kg/177lb

DL felt prett-ay heavy, I hope I didn't fail completely form-wise.

Food:

3500 kcals (burp) / 230 g of protein

I'll post vids tomorrow.

Videos from yesterdays SS-workout #6:

Squat (47,5kg/105lb):

workset2 -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT_FR4sxnO0

OHP (32,5kg/72lb):

workset2 -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YEj8hLC1sU

DL (80kg/177lb):

workset1 -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkF7_fWyus8

As usual, any critique/advice truly appreciated!

My own thoughts on the videos:

Squat.

Bar position might still be too high, I tried to place it under the top of the shoulder blades, but I dunno, maybe I should try to take a bit wider grip to really get it there - apparently my shoulders aren't too flexible.
Knees travel forward and heels rise. I tried to sit back instead of down but I guess I failed. I wonder if wearing shoes that have a bit of heel would help with that.

OHP:

Form was Ok-ish I guess, 4th rep was a bit funky.
I have a hard time trying to get the bar to rest on the deltoids. Shoulder inflexibility is to be blamed I guess.

DL:

Horrible, much worse than in my 75kg video. Rounded back and ****.
I tried to follow Rip's advice (1-4 below) but watching the video I notice that if I'm not really lowering my hips it seems like my scapulas end up being way forward to the bar instead of over it.

"1. Take your stance, feet a little closer than you think it needs to be and with your toes out more than you like. Your shins should be about one inch from the bar, no more. This places the bar over the mid-foot (not the mid-instep).

2. Take your grip on the bar, leaving your hips up. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

3. Drop your knees forward and out until your shins touch the bar. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

4. Hard part: squeeze your chest up as hard as you can. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR. This establishes a "wave" of extension that goes all the way down to the lumbar, and sets the back angle from the top down. DO NOT LOWER YOUR HIPS - LIFT THE CHEST TO SET THE BACK ANGLE."

Also, seeing that DL is starting to get heavy for me, should I consider getting a belt for the workset?

- If you haven't seen this vid, it's got lots of good instruction on bar position. http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...t_bar_position

- You're breaking at the knees before your break at the hips. Start the movement by pushing your hips back. Make sense?

- Yes, elevated heals do help, but it's nice to learn without if you can imo (although it prob doesn't matter). Some people put small plates under their heals when squatting, it's not recommend (kinda not safe to be trying to shuffle into position on plates under high load), but you could try it with light weight just to see what it feels like.

- You're losing extension in your lower back, stick your ass out. Watch this. http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...sition_control

dead...

Your comments are correct. Lumbar extension isn't great. Shoulders are too far in front and (I think) as a result of this, the bar moves away from your shins at the start. The bar is kinda making a backwards letter "C" path.

Actually, you are kinda doing this weird thing where you get in an ok position, but immediately before the pull, you lean forward and get your shoulders waaay out in front. That would be making it harder to get good extension too imo.

That back position vid from my last post might help your dead too.

press...

I don't do press advice soz. paging milesdyson imo.

For the record, it doesn't look terrible, although you don't appear to be very tight. Same rules as squat. Big breath and tighten the sh*t out of everything. Feet. Legs. Ass. Back. Abs. Shoulders back. Chest up.

Thx a ton man, useful stuff, I really appreciate it.
Also, gonna check out the linked vids ASAP.

Oh, and one other comment re belt.

Sure, get one... but keep in mind they are most effective when your form is already solid.

Yeah, the idea is to only use one for worksets of DL, just trying to ensure that nothing evil happens to the spine.
My other lifts are somewhat light still so no need for belt in them.

Correct.

Honestly, it may not be (probably not) necessary for you at this point in time... but I'm pretty pro belt tbh. We're not competing in anything, we're just lifting for general health and if a belt will decrease your chance of blowing up your back by even a small amount, I think it's worth it.

The catch is if you start trying to lift more than you can handle because of the confidence a belt gives you, you might risk other areas...

I'm trying to dig up some articles about how they work and why it is important to have solid form... You need to be able to "push" your abs against the belt basically...

For the record, you can save yourself a lot of research and just get an inzer, 10mm, single prong. Measure around your navel for sizing.

This is a popular site for ordering from.

http://www.houseofpain.com/

Also check the inzer site, elitefts... ummm, there are probably others.

All right, thx again, maybe I just get one to try out, they're not that expensive.

Re: Shoes, On other day I stopped by my local sports-store to buy some bike-stuff and just for the heck of it tried on some lifting shoes.
I reckon they were Adidas Power Perfect II's (basically the only lifting shoes they had). They felt really weird to walk on, but I could see why/how the squats could benefit from using them.
The sales person there kept using the term "Squatting shoes" all the time when I discussed about the shoes with him.

Any experience with them?

It's funny how you can say this to every novice, but in my experience it takes a while before they're actually able to do it. No dig at you Pummi, and just an observation. Don't feel down that you're not able to fix the things people point out at once, it's a learning curve thing. In a few months your squats will look sweet, 100% positive.

Your press looks pretty ok like Snitch said. The bar path is pretty straight. Other than being tighter, you can prob use a tiny bit more layback. I'm sure miles will give you some advice in the form check thread.


ETA: I have the previous version of those Adidas shoes, they're pretty sweet. Be aware that the heel is a tad too elevated for low bar squats, but for most guys that won't be a problem. I had my heels lowered by half - my body type can get into a bit more trouble (short legs, long torso). And yes, they're the most useful for squats by far (and oly lifts).

Yeah, this x100. I hope I'm not sounding too negative in my posts.

...and as well as being a learning curve, some days you will 'get' it more than other days (this is true all the way from beginners to professionals). Whether you know it or not, usually the days you 'get' it will be that you nail your form on that day. You need to try and figure out what you did and recreate.

I can think of a few things that when I 'got' them, it made my lift so much better. Getting really tight before unracking a squat. Figuring out how to use my abs with a belt in deads. Shoulders back in bench. Stuff like that. One day you will do it and think 'holy sh*t, that felt easy!' ...then the trick is doing it every time (which I still can't do ).

All right, I guess learning to lift is like learning to play poker. One day you just figure out that limping that sett-looking 65s UTG isn't working out too well, raise it if ur playing it. Baby steps. /possibly lamest poker analogy ever.

00snitch: sound negative? Hell no, I'd say that quite opposite actually.

Anyhoo, Sunday donks were once again very generous towards me so maybe I just go and grab a pair of those Power Perfects tomorrow.
I guess there are a lot of other lifting shoes with a lower heel available too but it's too bad my local shop doesn't offer any others. Ofc I could order something else over interwebs but with shoes that's kinda difficult.

when I wear a belt for dl, I feel like I'm gonna puke (and I think I threw up in my mouth a little the first time). Either elite abz, or most likely doing it wrong.

I have those shoes, they feel ok to me, but I haven't experemented with heel heights to really know the difference.

Now that sounds like fun, can't wait to get me a belt then

All right. Do you use them for all the **** you do in the gym or just for squatting?

27.11.2011

Food:

3000 kcals / 200 g of protein