YYYYYEEEEEAAAAHHHHH BBUUUUUUDDAAAYYYY

I was lurking on some forum, and saw some people talking about muscular imbalance causing injuries and bad posture. Examples given were people doing only pushups or bench press. I do a couple of hundred pushups every morning, and that's all I've ever done other than an occasional run. Should I be worried?

Probably not. It's not enough intensity to matter.

Having a desk job would be far far worse for you than only doing pushups.

Foam rolling your ass for 8 hours will do wonders for innervating it.

hey,

could someone look over these form vids? these were taken during the 5th session of SS.

there are vids for me and a friend, the 3 squat worksets and also the deadlift workset, 8 vids total.

i apologise in advance for the camerawork, my camera blows and there's no space to really rest it so it has to be held. though feel free to comment on which angle is best for future vids.

http://rapidshare.com/files/324060995/gym.rar (24mb)

thanks

secondly, a question about bench press technique.

rip seems to advocate a 'straight up and down' approach, with everything kept vertical and very little lateral movement of the bar.

however i just watched dave tate's bench press cure vid. his technique involves an almost 30 degree bar path with flaring of the elbows.

is tate's stuff for more advanced lifters? which should i be trying for?

yeah those are inconsistent statements.The technique by dave tate is always specifically for powerlifting, and more specific: geared lifting. if you read SS rip advises tucking of the elbows some as well (90 degree upper arm to the body is bad for the shoulder) thus the bar path can't be perfectly vertical (you'd touch your collar bone).
the point is that with a shirt you really have to touch low to get the most out of the shirt, and this calls for more extreme tucking, he has said (or jim wendler, idk) that for raw lifting the tuck should not be so exxagerated, because you'd just lose the bar low.

basically tuck your elbows but the extreme level of tuck and arch dave tate advises is probably over done for general strength purposes. If you think it feels better, by all means go ahead though, because both rips and dave's set up are ways to get strong.

yeti,

uploading to youtube means there's a way bigger chance people will bother to comment. Also rapidshare had no slots for free accounts.

haha urgh yeah i was being super lazy and hoping no one would mind. i'll get on it.

I tried twice then gave up, I bet 90% never make it that far

yo soulman,

try the same link again.

http://rapidshare.com/files/324060995/gym.rar

it should just download immediately now.

youtube is just being a joke for me at the moment so hopefully this will suffice.

Yeti,


Person A

Squats:

• Knees travel forward a tad at bottom
• Back extension loosens at bottom
• Don't slow down at the bottom, you lose the "bounce" from the natural stretch reflex

Overall definitely good I think, is this a beginner? If so it's very good. Depth is good, there's hip drive, elbows are fine (although possibly keep them a bit more higher up) etc. Video angle: try filming from a 30 degree angle from behind or so. Another angle to see any knee caving/foot position is good too.

Deadlift:
I really can't find anything bad here, except back position deteriorates somewhat after first rep, but it's not bad. Just focus on resetting each rep.


Person B

Squats:
Is this a person with bad flexibility? Looks like he's in physical pain going down.

• Wobbly knees, depth is too shallow I think but hard to say
• Keep elbows up to keep weight on shoulders
• Looks like he sits a bit back on the way up, causing a slightly irregular bar path

Not as good as person A obviously. I'm not familiar with the box squat though.

Deadlifts:
Very good, only bad thing I could see is eyes straight ahead which might get your neck into trouble.


All in all pretty good lifts I must say.

FWIW I think using tate's cue of shoving legs a bit further back than what rip advocates (but still keeping heels in contact with the floor) helps with keeping a good arch and adding leg drive. My bench sucks assssss though so take that with a grain of salt.

wat, no.

Dave Tate's advice is for all people. The bar path IS vertical when adjusted for the chest angle.

Really? Even here?

And he tucks waaaay more obviously.

Yes, it is meant to be "vertical," which is to say the angle of the bar path forms a 90 degree angle with the chest. Sure, there will be deviations throughout the lift, but this is true in all heavy lifts including the squat and deadlift.

Basically there is no reason someone should think that Tate's video is for "geared lifters." It is not. It is for all lifters. Geared lifters lower the bar slowly to ensure that the groove is kept and the elastic material provides the maximum bounce out of the bottom position. The bar path is no different between elite raw and elite shirted bench pressers.

fail. i'll get the quote by dave himself, the tuck is way more extreme in shirted benching.

Keep your childish insults like "fail" out of this thread. I realize you're 18, but give me a break.

ok, can't find the exact article. what i did find is some circumstancial evidence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOBKGesyFwk

2:20

basically he's saying if you use false grip do it in raw, volume type work, and do not use it on shirted benching because you have to bring the bar too low.

he's implying that you have to bring the bar way lower in todays shirts opposed to raw benching.

so yeah, an extreme tuck as he talks about should be toned down in raw benching.

Bringing the bar down way lower (as forced in many newer shirts) is theoretically a violation of most federations' standards. I realize these "standards" are mostly a joke and don't get adhered to much, but they do exist for a reason.

depends on the federation, but i agree that standards are not adhered to strictly in some.

thanks for the great reply soulman. i have youtubes up now, i'll just make a new thread and address your post in there.

Regardless, Tate's advice about tucking the elbows in all lifters (in his Six-Week Bench Press cure video) makes complete sense for all lifters. Rip has acknowledged this himself and also admits that he is not a bench press aficionado. I would be more inclined to listen to the EliteFTS crew about that.

Additionally, from what I know about the shoulder, the larger angle you make between the elbow and the shoulder, the more stress you will place on the glenoid joint and ultimately your pectoralis minor. This is not necessary nor is it particularly healthy.

Like the hyperextended back in the deadlift, "forcing" people to imagine an impossible cue (tucking the elbows to an extreme) solves a problem nearly everyone has with the bench press - winged elbows.

Lastly, it just makes good common sense. If you have ever played football as a lineman, you will know that all good coaches teach you to drive with the elbows tucked. The same is true when you are pushing a car, or perhaps a boulder. You get the most leverage out of this position, a fact backed up by 9th grade Physics if my high school education hasn't failed me.

all very true, and i completely agree with you that the video is great and will teach good form, but my point with it is that you should always keep the source (dave tate, but this always goes) in mind and do not over do it. that was my point initially.

you should take the major points and use them in your own framework.