10/25

back squat

5x95
5x115
5x135
1x155
1x165

10/28

incline bench

8x135
7x155
3x175
2x175
4x165

front squat

8x95
5x115
3x135
155xf

DL

5x135
5x155
5x185
4x205
2x225
1x245
1x255

overhead press
8x95
5x115
1x135
2x125
3x115

back squat
8x95
5x115
5x135
3x155
1x175 (woot! pr)

dumbbell rows
8x75
3x5x80

pr squatz!

Thanks guys.

I was hoping to post another pr in deadlift. 5x225 wasn't too hard and 245 came up pretty easy. Not sure why I can't get 265. Seems I should be able to. Anyways......

dl

5x155
5x175
5x205
5x225
1x245
265xf

op

7x95
5x105
3x115
5x95

coming back from being sick sucks

front squat
8x65
8x85
5x105
3x115
3x05

incline bench
8x135
5x155
2x175
3x175
2x175

11/20
DL
5x135
5x155
5x185
3x205
3x225
1x245

OP
8x65
8x95
5x115
1x135

11/22

Squat
7x95
5x115
5x135
2x155
1x165
3x135

11/25

front squat
8x45
7x65
7x95
5x115
1x135
1x145

incline bench
8x135
7x155
3x175
2x185
1x195

11/27

deadlift

5x135
5x155
5x185
5x185

(back felt wonky - stopped)

Paging cha! I hope you get this.

Do you have any suggestions at all for my DL? I'm just at a loss here. I'm really trying to do what people are saying but it just doesn't seem translate into proper form. Here's the crosspost in the form check thread.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=3888

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=3889

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=3892

also, yeah, my logging sucks. I am keeping it in a notebook, just not posting.

I would definitely try to get ahold of a copy of either or both of McGill's books on the back. I'm just at the point where he is talking about lots of different things you can do to help engage your glutes while lifting (weak glutes are one symptom of "lower cross syndrome"). Earlier he shows some starting position figures for the DL, and the pic that looks like you is the one that is not "qualified to train the DL from that height." Maybe the trap bar (it starts a bit higher) or artificially raising the bar would be better for you while your mobility increases.

I think these sorts of issues are complex enough that intermittent tips will not resolve them. You'll need to learn a lot about them from more robust sources (like McGill's books) or have a good trainer that works with you for a while.

To begin with, your setup has your knees way far over the bar. It seems a lot further than is ideal when you start your pull and your back is close to parallel with the ground. This is something I struggled with for a long time (and still do to a degree b/c of anthropomorphy - I have a long torso and not long arms).

Anyway, I would try to find a way to set up with your butt "further back" and likely it will be down just a bit, with your shins much closer to perpendicular with the ground but the bar below the back of your shoulder blades. For me to accomplish this I have to relax my shoulders themselves and let them "roll forward", otherwise I can't really do it.

You also very clearly need to be finishing better and really squeezing your glutes hard and standing up tall rather than softly leaning back a bit. You really want to go from an uncoiled, ready to pounce setup to standing up tall and solid - the whole time having everything engaged and tight.

There should be very little "softness" viewed on any good lift, but especially the DL imo. Your back looks soft and not fully engaged or straight to start, your glutes/hams seem not engaged much at all, and your finish nothing seems that engaged.

I realize that obviously you are using all of these muscles alot - it's a DL, but you're not trying to get extra out of them which will help you reinforce technique and make gainssss.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

I tried the trap bar today. I can feel my hamstrings much more than usual. I think this might be a good start.

I did a few sets with the trap bar and then a few sets with the regular bar. It feels like with the trap bar that I'm sort of just standing up with the weight. Not sure of a better way to describe it. With the regular bar it feels like I'm pulling the weight up. If that makes sense.

Work in progress. Thanks for the input.

It may also not be an awful idea to primarily do TBDL for a while until you feel like you are pulling them the way you want to pull your regular DLs (in terms of tightness/activation). Then switch to conventional so at least you will then have the feeling of pulling hard with everything tight. Cha has one of the noob guys at his house pulling just TBDLs right now and I assume it's b/c he can't set up right for conventional yet and/or he wants him to build up more strength before learning a more technical version.

There is also a chance that you are built awkwardly for DLing and sumo could work well. I have no idea how long you've struggled with conventional DLs, and it's better to just good at all types (sumo, conventional, trap bar), but setting up optimally is not as easy for some people.

Here are some DL vids of mine to compare between.

First year lifting, this was still months after starting DLs - look at how soft, hesitant and crap everything is (especially my back):



Then, I learned how to keep my back straight but put tons of stress on it (look at how much stress seems to be on it during the last rep):



Then got better at keeping some angle to take some pressure off my back - note my knees are still going in front of the bar quite a bit and my butt rises at the start of each rep as I get my shins straight at the beginning of the pull:



Here is me DLing recently - things actually look fairly activated, firing together, my shins are relatively perpendicular. My back doesn't look like it's about to snap either and when I finish, it looks like a real finish:

Yeah, those first 2 look like what I'm doing now.

Nice progress, Yugo. I bet your consistent SMR work helped a lot in that.

I notice that you finish hard and exactly straight up in the latest video, whereas the finish is much sloppier early on. Do you think this is an inidicator that you are using mostly hips? I feel like vertical is sort of as far as hip drive goes, while if you're using your back extensors instead, you can go too far or not far enough more easily and your finish will be sloppy, slow and varied. I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere, though.

One thing I see in your latest video is it appears that you have managed to decouple your upper back and lower back's extension. I think your butt is at least as high at liftoff in the latest than 2nd to latest, but you have your upper back rounded over so that the angle of your lower back can still be steeper.

Rippetoe himself seems to do this a ton, and I think it's pretty standard for PLers:
http://www.allthingsgym.com/mark-rip...-lbs-deadlift/

But if you're not competing, I would think the same result would be achieved by using a trap bar or raising the standard bar a couple inches off the ground.

My workouts are going better than this log. I'm logging stuff in my book, just been too lazy to post it here.

The trap deadlifts feel really good. No back issues at all. Got 265 last week. More than I've ever been able to lift with regular dl. Probably standard, though. I do think I sort of know why there's so much difference now. I think I'm sort of bending over when I do regular deadlifts but bending down when I do tdl. If that makes sense. I'm sticking with them for a while before I go back to the regular kind.

Squatted 195 today! PB! WOOT!

Holey Moley. Not 1, but 2 pbs!

Trap DL - 285
Overhead press - 145

back squat 205. I'd feel super good if I could do 225. I think it might be doable this year. Also have a shot at TDL 300 maybe.

I'd probably get there faster if I didn't run on off days.

congrats on the PRs! 225 seems like a good goal for the year imo

Trap DL 295. I definitely could have lifted more but I'm happy with a pr.

Great work! Congrats on the prs!

Congratulations on the PRs, bigger!

Thanks guys!