Nick's Ugly Lifts

[reygunz]

Finished my first day of SSLP

Squat: 115x5x3 Squat - 115 x 5 - YouTube

Press: 75x5x3 Press - 75 x 5 - YouTube I may have started too heavy on this one. Asked a random bro to record this set. I don't know why he moved the angle after telling him what angle to record from. Oh well.

Deadlift: 185x5 Deadlift - 185 x 5 - YouTube I realize that these are more like singles, but I was focusing on setting down correctly and I've gotta unlearn some old habits.

I definitely got to work on some things, but I'll let y'all tell me what I need to change. I think I'll postpone the clean another workout instead of doing it Wednesday unless you think otherwise.

[David Geiger]

SQ: Slow your descent just a bit so you can control it better; you are getting loose near the bottom and your back is going into a little bit of flexion. Slow down and focus on staying tight. Also, get your feet in the frame.

Press: At the start position, get your elbows in front of the bar by about an inch (yours are currently directly under the bar). This should move the bar start position up a little, in the direction of your chin. Then squeeze your elbows together/towards each other (this is a cue to help keep your back tight). Straighten your wrists a bit.

DL: Do you have some kyphosis? Even if so, you can do a better job of setting your back by squeezing your chest up (think about rotating your chest up between your shoulders to point your chest at the wall in front of you). When filming these, try to have the camera more to the side (as much to the side as possible while still allowing an unobstructed view of your feet and shins).

Overall, good work on a first day. If it is your first day, power cleans don't enter into the program quite yet.

[reygunz]

I have never been diagnosed with kyphosis. I also noticed this in the video. I assume I just have a lot of flexibility in my thoracic spine. Scott from Reddit said it looked like I was pulling on a few of these rather than pushing through the floor. I'll be working out again this afternoon, keeping in mind what you and Scott have had to offer. I'll post videos of my lifts this evening.
Cheers.

[reygunz]

Second Workout Finished

Squat: 130x5x3 Squat - 130 x 5 - YouTube Slowed my decent which helped me set my knees into place. I think I need to go a bit deeper, however. I feel like I cant keep my back in extension at the bottom. I take a deep breath, but I'm doing something wrong.

Bench: 105x5x3 Bench - 105 x 5 - YouTube

Deadlift: 205x5x3 Deadlift - 205 x 5 - YouTube Brought my heels closer together and rotated my feet out a bit per SSC Scott's instructions. Focused on pressing through the floor. I tried to get my chest up, pointing it to the wall, but I don't think I executed very well.

[Matt Stacks]

Hey Nick,

Squat: looking better to me than the first video you posted. It looks like you're about an inch high on depth for all the squats. It's not only the deep breath, but the pushing out and holding of the deep breath. Bracing hard with your midsection will help keep it rigid, helping you to stay tight through the whole movement.

Bench: looks pretty good. You could stand to put more weight on the bar, me thinks. That bar speed is fast for a top set of 5.

Deadlift: Definite improvement. Think you can still puff the chest out more on the bottom. Think more about a proud chest. Like if you had a superman logo on your chest and you were trying to show it off. THEN, press the floor away.

Improvements are looking good.

[reygunz]

Thanks Matt.

I'll upload more after todays workout. Keep the critiques coming!

[reygunz]

Accidentally did an extra rep on my squats and presses. Oops.

Squat - 140x6 Squat 140x6 - YouTube I think my second and third rep look best. This did not feel heavy. I knew I wasn't getting it right and I was thinking between reps. I was also taking it a lot slower for the same reason. Still got work to do.

Press - 85x6 Press 85x6 - YouTube These felt great!

Deadlift - 220x5 Deadlift 220x5 - YouTube I'm pretty disappointed with these. I was trying to press the floor, but it still looks like I was pulling. I think I should have worn my belt. These did feel heavy.

[David Geiger]

Squat: Do not take so long between reps. It will tire you out standing there with the weight on your back. 2-3 good breaths and go. Also, you are jerking into the descent, especially your knees; break your knees and hips at the same time, and try to slow down teh first few inches of the descent to smooth things out. I think your gaze might be too straight down, but hard to see in the video; are you looking straight down (bad) or at a spot on the floor 3-5 feet in front of you (good)?

DL: You are taking too long to pull. You are taking a breath, setting your back, then fidgeting, taking another breath, resetting your back, fidgeting, then pulling. You are letting your back get loose in this too long setup; and your chest is rotating down instead of up during this process. Instead, take your breath, set your back and pull. It got worse as the set went on, just watch the video and watch your upper back position at the start of each pull; by the 3rd or 4th rep it wasn't even flat to start the rep. For you, since we know you can set your back properly, this is a test of your mental strength; squeeze your chest up, then squeeze it up more, then pull.

Overall, start trying to cut down the time in between reps. Taking so much time just makes things harder, and not in a productive way. As you become more comfortable with the technique, it will be easier to do this.

[reygunz]

Thanks for the reply. I'll give it all a shot on Monday

[reygunz]

Squat - 150x5 Squat 150x5 - YouTube I think these are my best yet. Maybe a little too vertical on some, a little knee slide on some, and a tad above depth. Still feeling good about the improvement!

Bench - 120x5 Bench 120x5 - YouTube Too light for a work set. Trying to get my chest up higher, but it could be fine. Maybe my tiny beer belly is just in the way

Deadlift - Deadlift 230x5 - YouTube I think these were pretty good also. Gripped the bar using unlocked knees instead of locked knees. Let me know if this stets my hips too low. Still need to get tighter in the chest I think. Still better than Friday.

Cheers to all y'all who've been helping me out!