Does it feel balanced on center line?
If bone lengths can't change and joint flexibility is what it is the only way I see the bar moving in a straight line is by adjusting hip and/or toe angles for it to do so. Just impossible for most ppl to ever move a FS/HBBS like Lu Xiaojun even though it looks so clean/aesthetic.

Nice bench!

Actually I was thinking about deadlifting again it has crossed my mind even though myself and my coach agreed to no more deadlifting period. I’m in a space right now that I feel my lower back is getter stronger and getting used to heavy benching again injury free which is motivational. You are absolutely right that this is a wake up call to me with these specific exercises that I have many imbalances and **** I need to work on to remain injury free and is more than the common thought “hey that’s a bad exercise”. Now with the front squat something is going on with my neck from what I’ve gathered because when I descend and I keep the bar up it is causing the barbell to literally choke my neck seems to be a common theme for ppl with weak necks. My coach stated it’s due to weak hamstrings and I need to do more thoracic extension exercises whatever that means. All in all right now I am re examining what to do as I want to do what will get me the biggest gains in the long run injury free.

When I descend I can feel my elbows dropping a bit but there’s literally nothing I can do about it. My coach has said in the past to keep my chest out more but it’s not that easy. It honestly doesn’t feel awful by any means but when I view it on a video I’m always like I really need to fix this **** before I go up in weight and hurt myself.

1/12/21
174.8 lbs- Upper Push Power
Bench 531
205x5 x1
230x3 did 225x3
245x1
260x1 did 255x1
260x1
265x1 did 2 with spot but 1 solid I’ll go up 5 pounds only next cycle

Bench 4x4..85% @230
230x4 x4

DB shoulder press 3x6 (65/70/75)
75x5
80x6 x2

Rope pushdowns 4x10 @50 (10/10/10/9)
50x10 x3

Cable cross overs 3x10 @35 (10/8/8)

Dips 3x15 @45
45x12
70x10 x2

Cardio 1 mile @8:00

Crazy workout I feel super gassed and worked out 2 hours ago. Gonna take an off day tomorrow. Happy to see my form with 260x1 not bad at all. Next stop 275x1 with the same form.

Nice, lets go!

Looks solid, 275 seems close!

What does the bolded mean?

Lfg. Lightttt weight.

Thx. Was feeling confident doing it with no spotter glad it worked out. Another 10 pounds for 275, amped. Maybe this might be the year I go balls to the wall and hit 315, seems overly ambitious though.

It’s the way I take notes, for example;
If I am doing DB Shoulder Press 3x6 @75 with no notation it means last week I completed 75x6 x3 completing the sets n rep scheme set forth.
If I do 3x6 @80 (4/4) it means I did 75x6 then went up to 80x4 for 2 sets. By doing it this way I know exactly how I’m progressing and don’t waste time looking up what I did previously.

And to fully answer your question that notation in that context was a bit weird but the previous week I just did 65x6, 70x6, 75x6 then called it after that. Was exhausted.

I think the concern is more like, dude wtf are you doing with 80lb dumbells? That's what you use to bench, now you saying you strict pressing them? What kind of loltastic EVgonnaEV ROM are you using?

I think that's what arjun meant.

lol I was lifting just to lift now like your great friend always says.. I've found my purpose again is the best way to describe the transition.

Edit: Also 80's arent difficult for me thats why i did it after mad sets of bench, its just difficult for you cause your used to being a cardio bunny, no offense (apparently those as fighting words lol)

It was hard (read: impossible) for me too when I actually lifted, although I assume you're using bodybuilder ROM and certainly have much better levers then I do, so I don't really doubt that it's happening. It's impressive regardless of ROM, although obviously more impressive if I'm wrong and you're bottoming out and touching your delt with the dumbbell at the bottom of every rep.

Well your tall af so im sure squatting and pressing sucks balls for you. I'm actually interested what my ROM looks like when i go heavy i did 85x4 for a few sets last week i believe. This week I'll record myself also since I dont have a spotter I use alot of energy on the initial rep which really sucks.

This guy can't even strict press bodyweight, so that he is using 80lb dumbells for shoulder press reps is 100% a troll. Just like using 35lb dumbells for both side laterals and RDLs.

He is a hidden troll, just like melkerson.

My shoulders are strong keep up with the log kiddo. Dips 70x10, shoulder press 85x4, lat pulldowns 180x8 is a pr not that it has to do with shoulders but u can tell from the exercises everything is going up. Think im gonan start deadlifting and reg back squatting too. The past few yrs i was being a puss afraid of pushing the limit with bench squat DL and blamed my back etc cant be scared cause this is the only way to reach gains. I'm back. My purpoise is here again.

What im gonna do is work on my ankle mobility and try to fix up my front squat and add in some rack pulls as well. I just feel much more comfortable adding in weight front squatting, my back squat is a trainwreck.

Front squats are just super miserable. It's imo weird to be way more comfortable doing FS. Just try backsquat with like 95 and do a 5 second down 5 second pause 5 second up until you work out what's wrong with them. Doesn't your coach know how to squat? Let him form check you.

Butt wink

There's probably a weight light enough for you to go down below parallel and up without rounding your back. Your issues are lower back and posterior chain weakness and bad cuing, not a lack of flexibility.

Just see if you can hold a deep squat without rounding your back. No weight. If you can't then you need to figure out how to hip hinge. Youtube is your friend here. You could also do stiff leg deadlift off of rack pins or high blocks, and lower the height of the pins/blocks over time.

1/14/21
174.4 lbs- attempted leg workout but lower back still is sore from rack pulls

Random arm workout workout anything that gets pump without putting too much pressure on low back.

Db curls 3x10 @35
35x10 x3

Preacher curls
25s x10 x1
35s x10
35s x8 x2

Hammer curls
35x5 too easy
40x8 x3

Stiff leg DB
25x12 x2
30x10

Chest dips superset w/ front raises
x15/ 40x8
x15/ 40x8
x15/ 40x8

Abs

Did it with bar only and still same problem

Can go parallel but once deeper than that it rounds

Didn’t see these logged so I don’t know what weight you used, but this is why I was recommending core/glute exercises before you start pulling again. If you’re eager to get back to pulling, you could do them while also starting rack pulls, but I would video form and really focus on your breathing and bracing. I do think it’s smart to start with rack or block pulls before moving back to the floor.

For core start with these: https://www.google.com/amp/s/squatun...stability/amp/

I would read the whole article but the three core exercises arE described in detail how they should be performed. These can be performed daily

For glutes: https://redefiningstrength.com/20-gl...tivate-glutes/

There’s 20 different ways to perform the bridge. Start with the easier ones and then progress to harder variations and start adding weight.

I would also do some glute activation stuff before pulling and focus on initiating the pull by pushing your feet into the floor. This will hopefully help you not pull with just lower back

He has been told this before, plenty of times. He has the posterior chain of a 12 year old school girl. Combined that with being a push monkey and its countdown to bustoville. And instead of stengthening the whole core area (glutes, erectors, abs) he skips the exercises.

Lol at getting erectors sore from rack pulls. Even RDL, I don't feel anything on my low back (it's all glutes and hams).

I think everyday for Dr Andrew Lock. Who instead of avoiding the problem, he attacks the problem directly by adding slabs of beef all around the core area. Ev does the exact opposite. I hope people realize how donktastic his training is, just an upperbody monkey.

What about with less than the bar? What about with a wooden dowel? Or with just your body and letting your heels lift off the ground?

Can you leg press to below parallel with the empty sled without rounding your back?


I think your issue is probably that you're hyperextending your spine and then you notice it rounds at the bottom of the squat. It rounds from hyper extended to just neutral and then back to hyper extended. Learn how to breath and brace for the squat, and try not to crank your back into a crescent moon shape as hard as you can. Just go for neutral from the start.

Oh it's the "erectors aren't relevant muscles in properly performed PC exercises" meme again.

Sorry man but this is kind of ridiculous. If you pulled a 3x bodyweight deadlift with a perfectly extended back, those muscles are still doing an absurd amount of work. This stuff is really individual. Some people's backs are so strong that they will never ever pull a >90% deadlift without rounding. No matter how much they strengthen their glutes. And I get sore abs from front squats all the time even though I didn't do any loaded back flexion. Just isometric contraction + exercise/loading/rep range that I'm unaccustomed to.