Any opinions on how to bolt down my new Rogue R3 rack without bolting directly into the concrete? This guy just used 3 2x4's to increase the footprint and he said it works fine but it's not the most aesthetically pleasing imo. Oh, and what kind of rubber flooring should I be looking for?

Ah that makes so much more sense. I asked a similar question a while back, since proper form is generally toted to be ass up and really engage leg drive, but for a more bodybuilding oriented form, the leg drive is not necessary since you're looking to isolate it as more of an upperbody exercise.

fast agile good acceleration think the SS program helps those tho right?

...hm.

Close Grip Bench press essentially removes the pectoral muscles from any part of the lift because at that point there is no real shoulder adduction occurring. The power lifting style of bench press reduces the pectoral involvement compared to a wider grip that forces a flared elbow approach which in turn results in more shoulder adduction being required.

Wider grip, flared elbow = more pectoral engagement = aesthetics.

So is it true I should be doing wide grip incline bench instead of flat bench if aesthetics are more important to me than strength?

Definitely not a true statement. There are many factors, and they have different uses.

I mostly agree with you, but the bolded is way too extreme of a statement imo. There's definitely going to still be significant pec involvement in a CGBP. Note that the ROM is also increased with a closer grip, which will bring the chest back into it a bit more at the bottom position.

No, definitely not.

This whole conversation is very ****ed up. An awful way to think about programming imo, ESPECIALLY in the beginner thread.

You have bench press in there as your tier 1 primary upper body strength driver. It's a compound lift that hits a ****-ton of muscles. It's not a "chest" exercise; it's not a "shoulders" exercise; it's not a "triceps" exercise. You should do whatever form allows you to progress the fastest in the safest way possible.

If you're regular flat bench is causing a weak point in your chest for whatever reason (genetics, technique), then add in some flies to balance out the program, but don't sacrifice your top end strength exercise.

I defer to saw. Been dropping knowledge in here lately.

I definitely am not an expert, so corrections/adjustments are welcome. I may tend to speak like I'm Right but that's the pain of written communication that often times fails to come across.

I didn't mean to imply there is no pectoral involvement - any shoulder movement is going to have some pec usage, that's unavoidable.

I suppose if I could rewrite what I wrote, I would say "major part". The chest is no longer a primary mover.

Tuco,

Shoulda gone with the rack I suggested. It doesn't need to be bolted down.
Also would have had different (better imo) type of locking-in-place -system for the safeties and the hooks, one that would be quicker to adjust I'd assume. That's a very marginal difference, though.

Shoulda, woulda coulda.

Now that we're here:
What about bolting it down to a big-ass board of 12mm - 21mm plywood?
Even maybe cover the whole floor with pieces of plywood of same thickness to make it even.
And also to save the floor and damp the sounds if you do cleans or drop your deadlifts etc.

Would the added friction of a rubber mat beneath the rack make the bolting down unnecessary?
Doesn't look like it so probably not, but food for thought.

I bought ~10 meters of this mat for my home gym and cut it into 3 pieces to fit the room.



http://quattro.org.uk/gym-and-play-m...l-gym-matting/

It was quite expensive tho. Horse-mat of some sort goes for much cheaper I believe.

What angle should your feet be at roughly when squatting? 60 degrees?

Bodybuilding style bench which focuses on hypertrophy etc is different from a "powerlifting style" bench. Less arch, less leg drive, less everything, generally touch higher on the body as well.

Depends on foot width but 60 degrees seems too much no matter what stance. 30-45 is more normal.

Ok that's what I was thinking a little bit. When PL bench they almost get in a decline bench position so they can push more weight.

Thanks. I did about a 45 degree angle and it took all the pressure off my back and I'm using my hamstrings/hips more now. Hopefully that's good.

As I alluded to before I really don't think "powerlifting style" bench and "bodybuilding style" bench should really be differentiated. Especially for the beginner, the two goals overlap way too much. Find a position + technique that allows you to move a lot of weight and progress fast and safely.

I just bought a couple horse-stall mats from local tractor supply store for $30 a piece. I emailed Rogue and asked how they recommended to bolt it down and they said to get 2 or 3 pieces of plywood and lag them together. I assume they are referring to lag screws?

I'd use bolts, washers and nuts (insert nuts maybe).

I'm not native English speaker (ldo) and I have never before heard the term lag screw but I assume that it might basically be a synonym to bolt.

I don't see why you'd need to use multiple pieces of plywood if the one piece of plywood that is going beneath the rack is thick and large enough.

I'd buy a piece of 15mm or 18mm thick plywood, size of the foodprint of the rack or slightly bigger.
And cover the rest of the floor dedicated to lifting with the same stuff.

Oooooor maybe buy 9mm plywood and make the whole thing 2 layered (interlaced/multiplexed, whatever the correct term is)
Or even 3-layered.

A lag screw is just a big-ass screw with a hex head to be tightened with a wrench.

My running mechanics have gone to **** since my surgery. Anyone with a good resource on how to rebuild them? I'm happy to pay for a book or whatever if necessary.

I've started to get some groin problems while playing football (european). I'm doing SS and progressing in everything without any significant problems and I have been playing football about 2-3x a week alongside and only recently did the groin problems start, it's pretty much just the left groin. Pretty much no pain while squatting or doing anything other than running. The pain is basically non-existent in the beginning of playing and sets on probably 10-15 minutes in and gets progressively worse and lingers afterwards to the point where it's painful to walk. I'm thinking I have to take a bit off of the football and really work on stretching.
Any suggestions/thoughts?

Any tips on getting the glutes firing / activated while simultaneously preventing chest cave during descent into squat?

I plan on box squatting more and building lower back strength.

Widening your stance will increase glute ham activation.

I think that Front Squatting is the best thing you can do to reduce chest cave in back squat.

Chest caving/too much forward lean is can be a result of weak abs (relatively) as backward as that may seem.

Hi I'm a skinny dude that wants to start doing SS, but I find different numbers on the amount of sets everywhere I look.

This video was the main motivation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npsDClNTrKc, it talks about 5x5 on squat/deadlift/bench press.

However, upon reading some topics, I often see people talk about 3x5 and even 1x5 on deadlifts.

I'm 27 y/o, 6'1" and 140 lb. Halp?

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ

I'd recommend buying the book.
It's worth the $$$.