mightysasquatch Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 2 hours ago, YGabbana said: Atm im at 125kg bench 160 squat and 180 dead. I reckon i can push for 130 bench maybe a 170 squat and 190 dead Not saying i will get those though, always good to set the target high Actually you may find setting only slight higher targets better. You want to take your deadlift from 180-190...well first you need to deadlift 182.5 & so on. But having a goal & not just aimlessly going through the motions is good motivation! i remember when I thought 150kg on deadlift was out of reach, 4 years on at my last meet I pulled 255kg, good to have goals set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I have signed up to a gym for the first time ever! It's...harder than I expcted. The price to pay for sitting on my arse for years, I guess. It looks so easy when everyone else does it. I'm going to be stuck at home trying to do bodyweight squats tonight without lifting my bloody feet off the floor or leaning too far forward! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 23, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted March 23, 2016 Everyone starts somewhere. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 23, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2016 Davkaus, please watch youtube for squats in order to get the proper technique starting off. You never lean forward at any time during squats, otherwise the power is coming through your knees on your way back up, and that will end badly. If anything the weight is on your heels so that the power comes from your thighs and glutes in order to straighten back up*. The first sign that your form is going to pot on a squat is when you don't go down far enough (below perpendicular), but the second sign is having a tendency to lean forward. The former will mean you are not getting the full benefit of the squat but the latter will injure you in the mid to long term particularly once the weight starts to go up. Get the form correct now and you'll be good to go. And just to echo Stevo. Everyone starts somewhere. It does get easier and 99% of people in the gym will be willing to help if needed. Just try to ask the ones that know what they're doing (not always the trainer fwiw ) Mark Rippetoe - Intro to the squat * The analogy used by my trainer at the start was it's as if you wanted to sit straight down onto a low bar stool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 On 16 March 2016 at 12:41, JB said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted March 23, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted March 23, 2016 Widening your stance or raising your heels by putting them on a small plate or something similar can help with achieving proper depth and stopping to lean forward. Especially if you have longer femurs than usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 26 minutes ago, BOF said: Davkaus, please watch youtube for squats in order to get the proper technique starting off. You never lean forward at any time during squats, otherwise the power is coming through your knees on your way back up, and that will end badly. If anything the weight is on your heels so that the power comes from your thighs and glutes in order to straighten back up*. The first sign that your form is going to pot on a squat is when you don't go down far enough (below perpendicular), but the second sign is having a tendency to lean forward. The former will mean you are not getting the full benefit of the squat but the latter will injure you in the mid to long term particularly once the weight starts to go up. Get the form correct now and you'll be good to go. And just to echo Stevo. Everyone starts somewhere. It does get easier and 99% of people in the gym will be willing to help if needed. Just try to ask the ones that know what they're doing (not always the trainer fwiw ) Mark Rippetoe - Intro to the squat * The analogy used by my trainer at the start was it's as if you wanted to sit straight down onto a low bar stool. You can't really go wrong with Starting strength when learning how to press/bench/deadlift/squat. I personally find pushing "out" with my feet engages my glutes more than "sitting back" but this has come from lots of trail & error. You'll find a grove of your own on the main lifts but starting strength is the best starting point of learning. Chris Duffin has a great squat video where he talks about screwing the feet into the floor & imaging your feet as "talons", I always found my front half of my foot coming up when I sat back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 23, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2016 The other thing leaning forward does to your overall posture in a squat is that it curves the spine and it also makes the bar roll further forward and up, making it potentially put more pressure on the vertebrae. Just do not lean forward on a squat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) One of this biggest mistakes to is over arching thr back, this is just as bad as rounding the low back...it comes from geared lifting & for some reason has become part of raw lifting. keep your spine neutral. Edited March 23, 2016 by mightysasquatch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 23, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2016 13 minutes ago, mightysasquatch said: One of this biggest mistakes to is over arching thr back, this is just as bad as rounding the low back...it comes from geared lifting & for some reason has become part of raw lifting. keep your spine neutral. Which is my point. By leaning forward in a squat you are automatically curving or arching the spine to some extent. It's unavoidable. As is the movement of the bar upwards and away from the natural muscle 'shelf' that your grip has created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 19 minutes ago, BOF said: Which is my point. By leaning forward in a squat you are automatically curving or arching the spine to some extent. It's unavoidable. As is the movement of the bar upwards and away from the natural muscle 'shelf' that your grip has created. I've known a few guys without that shelf...tones of upper back work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Thanks for the advice! I don't think anyone in my gym knows anything It's full of young housewives doing yoga and shit, and almost nobody who uses the weights. But it's just been built under my office, and it's literally 20 steps from my desk, so I'm going with that rather than going to a gym full of weightlifters. It's not the best, but it means I can go at lunch and work out for an hour instead of dicking about on Facebook. Without that convenience I doubt I'll stick with it. I watched that video this morning and practiced at home. I'm definitely not doing them properly that's for sure, I'm getting better at keeping the weight on my heels and keeping myself, but for the life of me I can't get below parallel, even holding on to something so I don't fall on my arse, I'm thinking I should just keep going as low as I can and it'll get better as I loosen up a bit over time? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted March 24, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted March 24, 2016 27 minutes ago, Davkaus said: I don't think anyone in my gym knows anything It's full of young housewives doing yoga. Sounds good to me ;-) 27 minutes ago, Davkaus said: I watched that video this morning and practiced at home. I'm definitely not doing them properly that's for sure, I'm getting better at keeping the weight on my heels and keeping myself, but for the life of me I can't get below parallel, even holding on to something so I don't fall on my arse, I'm thinking I should just keep going as low as I can and it'll get better as I loosen up a bit over time? Spend some time stretching out and your flexibility will improve. However if you are just starting out it might help to raise your heels by standing on something whilst you are developing strength and flexibility but make sure you are not wearing running shoes. http://www.strengthsensei.com/pros-and-cons-of-heels-elevated-squat/ I used to struggle with achieving the correct depth and needed a wide stance to do so. I looked into this when JB recommended it and have realised that my femurs are long in contrast to my body proportions and that is why I always went to far forward. Even on body weight squats I struggle to sit back properly as my centre of balance is not where it should be. If it sounds like it might be you then there is a bigger discussion about it in the next link. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=160995431 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Could also be a mobility issue, so you may need to work on that. If you're us 46 minutes ago, Davkaus said: Thanks for the advice! I don't think anyone in my gym knows anything It's full of young housewives doing yoga and shit, and almost nobody who uses the weights. But it's just been built under my office, and it's literally 20 steps from my desk, so I'm going with that rather than going to a gym full of weightlifters. It's not the best, but it means I can go at lunch and work out for an hour instead of dicking about on Facebook. Without that convenience I doubt I'll stick with it. I watched that video this morning and practiced at home. I'm definitely not doing them properly that's for sure, I'm getting better at keeping the weight on my heels and keeping myself, but for the life of me I can't get below parallel, even holding on to something so I don't fall on my arse, I'm thinking I should just keep going as low as I can and it'll get better as I loosen up a bit over time? Could be a mobility issue which I'm guessing, if you're sat at a desk for long periods is an issue. It'll cause you to become short/tight in the hip & your glutes are no doubt smashed down for all the sitting. Really suggest looking at Defrancos limber 11.... https://www.defrancostraining.com/joe-ds-qlimber-11q-flexibility-routine/ Just don't let your training sessions turn into "mobility" workouts, there's the older version of limber 11 called the "agile 8" which is quicker than the limber 11 & as you're training on your break it'll be a quicker warm up. You can do the limber 11 at home, days off. Before & after work when it's a rest day. Just as long as you're doing something, but you cant fix everything at once. I swear by the lacrosse ball for the glutes, got rid of a lot of low back tightness for me. Edited March 24, 2016 by mightysasquatch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 24, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 24, 2016 1 hour ago, Davkaus said: Thanks for the advice! I don't think anyone in my gym knows anything It's full of young housewives doing yoga and shit, and almost nobody who uses the weights. But it's just been built under my office, and it's literally 20 steps from my desk, so I'm going with that rather than going to a gym full of weightlifters. It's not the best, but it means I can go at lunch and work out for an hour instead of dicking about on Facebook. Without that convenience I doubt I'll stick with it. I watched that video this morning and practiced at home. I'm definitely not doing them properly that's for sure, I'm getting better at keeping the weight on my heels and keeping myself, but for the life of me I can't get below parallel, even holding on to something so I don't fall on my arse, I'm thinking I should just keep going as low as I can and it'll get better as I loosen up a bit over time? Correct Davkaus. Practice the flexibility/mobility of being able to do a proper bodyweight squat as it's probably not a movement you've ever had to do in your day to day life before, so it's not surprising that it's difficult to do. You'll get below parallel quite quickly. It's akin to people who can't touch their toes. Slowly slowly, and then you can. Simple. I also found that my shoulders didn't have the flexibility to initially hold the barbell properly when I started. My grip could only be too wide, which meant I wasn't flexing the shoulder muscles and creating the shelf along my back for the bar to rest on (you do NOT want it resting on your vertebrae). The flexibility stuff comes fairly quickly and definitely needs stretching. I now find I'm excellent at balancing on my heels, and often find myself rocking back on them subconsciously when idly standing around or chatting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Pangloss Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Literally saw the worst squats ever the other day, the guy was going down about 3-4 inches then back up, basically doing curtsies . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 12 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said: Literally saw the worst squats ever the other day, the guy was going down about 3-4 inches then back up, basically doing curtsies . I've never butted in when someone's training no matter how awful it is. But when they walked out the barbell from the rack forwards I had to say something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 24, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said: Literally saw the worst squats ever the other day, the guy was going down about 3-4 inches then back up, basically doing curtsies . A guy who used to work in my office used to do that. I didn't know him, but he used the gym I was using at the time. Then I overheard him in the office telling people he squatted 140kg. It took all my self control not to walk over and say "there's 140kg on the bar mate, but you ain't squatting it!" Edited March 24, 2016 by Stevo985 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightysasquatch Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Here's a good piece from Wendler on strength/power/Conditioning levels. Really need to work on my jumps...meeep https://www.t-nation.com/training/from-average-to-athlete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Lost 28lbs in 40 days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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