By doing two stretches - one lying one back, leg straight up, move it as far back towards your body as possible while keeping it straight. Other - standing up, one leg on top of rail, moving upper body forward while keeping straight back and leg. In both instances I was decently more flexible.

And no, didn't compare glutes yesterday, but when doing a glute stretch I'm again more flexible than him. FWIW I have close to hypermobile adductors/abductors, I'm able to put my legs behind my head...

I think I'll book an appointment with the manual therapist I've seen before just to get my back checked to rule out any weirdness there.

are your chest muscles tight? one thing that can cause a rounded back is tight pecs. it's really tough to lift your chest up when your pecs are tight as hell. a good masseuse can do wonders on stretching the pecs, though it hurts like hell. you can also do the doorway stretches. linky. do the stretches at different heights: like have your am low (then stretch), move it up middle height (then stretch), and then move up it up high (then stretch). that way you hit more of the pecs.

you don't want to get into assistance exercise overload - there are probably 30 that i am supposed to do every night that i don't get around to because i don't have time, i do like 10 or 15 - but the pecs stretching should probably be up on the priority list because as you increase your bench/press, the pecs start to get a lot tighter (at least for me) and that will just make unrounding the back even tougher.

I foam roll the pecs and do the standard static stretch against a wall after every workout, and no I don't have tight pecs. That would show mostly in thoracic and not lumbar rounding anyway, wouldn't it? My upper back mobility is pretty much fixed now after doing the foam rolls you linked to.

ok good. was just making sure the pecs weren't overlooked.

Appreciate it

Guess I forgot to log Thursday.

2009-11-19


Squat
2x5x70
1x5x75 (165 lbs)
I really cannot emphasize how much work it is to unlearn a movement, at least for me. I think I'm pretty close to getting it now, video coming up.


Bench Press
3x5x65 (143 lbs)

Form pretty good now imo.


Deadlift
1x5x100 (220 lbs)

Well **** it, I'm deadlifting. Managed to do it with double overhand, which was cool. Bumping weights next time (previous high = 110), still considering if I should switch to sumos for the time being cause form was not good.


Assistance: 3x planks for however long that was.

2009-11-21


Squat
3x5x80
1x5x82.5 (181 lbs)

Filmed first set, which was pretty awful. I'm currently working on fixing the knees sliding forward and setting the back properly. Pretty amazing though, had an epiphany between sets 2 and 3: just sit way back on the heels, tighten the back like crazy, push assssss up, go down faster. BOOM, everything clicked at once, set felt amazing and according to my brother looked waaaaay better.

I actually think I'm pretty close to getting it now, feeling stoked. Man this felt GOOD! Will go for 10 lbs increases in the near future, especially since I'm now eating more.


Press
1x4x52.5
1x4x51.5
1x4x50.5 (111 lbs)

Alright, can't have it all. Discovered during set 1 that I've started doing a push press, since the weight now is so damn heavy. After fixing this, it got harder to get it up, big surprise. No prob though, think I'll do 51 or so with strict form next time.


Chin-ups
4, 4, 3

These ain't getting any easier. I seem to remember Rip saying that if you can keep at the same number of reps while gaining body weight, you're doing alright. Which makes sense. I've gained about 10 lbs since I started this log.


Back extensions
1x10x15
1x10x17.5
1x10x20 kg (44 lbs)

Obviously I've been too much of a pussy adding weight here.


Overall very pleased with the day, fixing the squat has been my biggest priority for the last two months or so. Went from the gym with a big grin on my face, so dorky.

Great success with the squats.

i am shocked you're 34. something in the scandinavian water

I've never really looked like a baby face or anything, but I guess I've just stayed more or less the same in the last years. Unlike many of my fellow mid-30s guys I don't have kids, i.e. I sleep well and eat well, which I think helps a lot. And lucky genetics.

And thanks BA, I'm still smiling today cause **** yeah I got the squats

2009-11-24

Squat
3x5x87.5 (193 lbs)

Easy peasy. Form was decent, think I could have done more but let's follow the program and not get too greedy.


Press
1x5x50
1x4x50
1x3x50 (110 lbs)

Urk. Normally, this would have been enough to reset. However, I moved to my old gym due to Tuesdays being so packed in my new place (it's a chain). The bars are different here, so I gripped the bar way too close on first set of squats, leading to pretty yucky pain in triceps/biceps. Could feel the fatigue in the arms on last set from that grip, so will pretty much ignore this and call it a bump in the road.

Rack Pull-ups
2x10xBW
1x8xBW

Arms were killing me on last set.


3xplanks for an eternity


With my new and improved diet (1/2 GOMAD), 10 lbs gains on the squat feel well within reach. I'm pretty sure I'll switch to sumo deadlifting for a while, I doubt stretching will help. Searched on Rip's board and found a bunch more t-rexy guys who are unable to set up properly who switched to sumo.

Looking forward to reading a tr after you do sumo's. I was considering it myself, if just for a change of pace every once in a while.

And I think it was AJ mentioned something about doing the OHP before squats so as not to fatigue your arms and shoulders too much, maybe you should try this, I think I might.

I'll probably do sumos on Saturday (have to skip Thursday due to my job having an obligatory seminar in another nearby town), will report.

Yeah I read that, I think it's pretty sound advice once the weight starts becoming heavier. Obviously it was worse this time due to bad grip on squats, but sounds good in general as well.

2009-11-28

Squat
2x5x90 (198 lbs)
1x3x90

Some pretty hard partying going on at the seminar - went to bed at 05:00 am Friday, up again 08:00 am. It def affected my training yesterday, it was really a test of willpower to finish it. After the third rep of my last set, I felt really light-headed and cut the set off for fear of blacking out. Not gonna bother worrying about it. Squats are getting pretty hard, need more rest now.


Bench press
1x5x67.5 (149 lbs)
1x3x67.5
1x5x65

Exhausted from the squats and ****ty sleep. Will do 67.5 over again next time, then microload.


Sumo deadlifts
1x5x90

AJ advised me to try a bastardized version of a sumo, like Ed Coan does here. Legs are closer than in a traditional sumo deadlift, which changes the muscle recruitment slightly in favor of more back. Which is good for me.

Worked on the technique and didn't want to start too heavy. Will prolly increase by 20 lbs a couple of times. Back was kept in good extension throughout the sets. My back is in about the same horizontal plane as someone with good flexibility doing regular deads. Definitely gonna keep doing these! Will need longer socks so as to not carve my calves into bloody ruins.

3xplanxx


I know I'm not going to be able to keep up a full training load for the next three weeks or so - in addition to a full-time job, I'm taking two exams and moving to a new apartment. Joy. Will do at least two times a week though, no wai I'm willing to tolerate regression.

I've tried super wide sumos and they really hit the hips hard. It feels kind of weird at first. The modified looks like a good option for you.

2009-12-02

Had to skip a day to go furniture shopping, yay.


Press
2x5x50
1x3x52.5

Yep, microload time.


Squat
1x4x95 (210 lbs)
2x4x92.5 (204 lbs)

Apparently exercises get harder when you don't sleep and eat enough, who would have thunk it.


Pull-ups
6, 6, 6 (assisted due to racks being completely full, so couldn't do rack pulls)



Back extensions
2x10x21.25kg (47 lbs)
1x10x22.5kg (50 lbs)

Damn, these are getting heavy.


I hate my gym more and more. Packed, three guys came up and asked how much I had left on the squat rack within 1 minute of starting the first squat set. Can't wait to gtfo in May.

2009-12-06

Squat
2x5x92.5 (204 lbs)
1x5x85

Video of last set

I noticed my hip drive was pretty **** on the first two sets, so moved down a bit to really focus on form. Still think there's a lot to be gained wrt hip drive here. Keep in mind my long torso, i.e. more upright torso position plz. Any cues/tips for adding more hip drive appreciated.


Bench Press
1x3x67.5 (149 lbs)
1x3x65

Ok just completely failed this. It's been a while since I benched though, but still I think might have to reset here. I suck so hard at benching.


Sumo deadlift
1x5x100 (220 lbs)

Not too heavy, but looking at the video I notice the back extension gets kinda lost on the last 3 reps. It's good to be back in the groove with the DLs again though, gonna increase by 20 lbs a couple of times.

Probably won't be able to work out more than once the coming week. Exam tomorrow/Tuesday, then I'm packing down my stuff and moving wed-sat.

your stance looks kind of narrow to me, and what are you doing just before a rep, looks like you throw your hips forward slightly and then squat. weird. pretty good otherwise.

sumo DL.

looks pretty good, just focus on setting up every rep. sumo is way more technical.

focus on chest up, you want to get your hips as close to the bar as possible.
spread the floor to get the hips working as much as possible.
really focus on pushing the hips through when you get to knee level.

Narrow? Hm, maybe..I actually thought specifically about that today on the warm-ups. I'll be sure to focus on that next time, and video from behind.

Hips forward is my way of setting knees correctly, per Rip's suggestion in SS for people who have problems with knees forward at the bottom of the squat. So I throw my knees forward to the proper position and move my butt down/up. It's quite possible I've implemented it incorrectly


Yeah I noticed that as well, re: setting up properly. What do you mean exactly by pushing the hips through?

FWIW the set-up is a bit closer than a traditional sumo, per AJ's tips. This so I can make sure to get a bit more lower back into the exercise, since I'm doing the sumo style because of my inability to do a standard DL.

stop thinking about it? squat looks good except for your way of implementing rip's advice. i don't think he really suggests what you're doing to achieve knees forward early in the descent. just do what you're doing under control. so, break at the knees to get them over your feet, and then lock them and shove the hips down and back. he says to only do that for a few reps before making it into a smooth movement again.

also, i wouldn't try widening your stance any more than an inch or so total, but if it feels good there then keep it there.

yes i know, it's a modified sumo stance. not many pull it off well apparantly but it can work (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dpRChwpmaM)

pushing the hips through just means that you have to fire the glutes and get your hip to the bar as much as possible, starting at the knees.

miles, you're right...a bit OCD. Thanks for confirming the squat looks ok though, I've been trying to fix it for so long now I sort of lost confidence in it.

axel, aha. Thanks for the cue. AJ explained it another way: just focus on dragging the bar BACK and not up - should sort it out as well. That Coan clip is awesome.

Hooray for video! These guys know their stuff, and even when I don't have anything to contribute (though I thought your sumo DL looked good) I am learning lots.


Hooray for video!

Look at the baby faced man.

AJ gave me some additional tips:

• Little more upright torso (to ensure chest up and tight upper back)
• Drag back back back until hammies scream for mercy
• Flat-soled shoes (having the heels drilled down to 1/2" prolly)
• Ensure vertical arms (for maximal force efficiency ldo)
• SS cues for set-up don't really apply as much to sumo DLs

FU lard-ass, I have a 2-day scraggly beard growth and everything