Back Extensions + Leg Curls = GHR?

[heuro]

At first, Mr. Rippetoe: thank you that you have wrote down your knowledge. A friend of mine has recommended your books and i am just ... amazed
(to much strange things are trained in german gyms)

I have used the search function regarding back(hyper) extensions + leg curls but didn't find a answer.

My gym has only a 45° device for back extensions ... with resistance bands or dumbbells it is quiet OK. But if i understood you correctly GHR are better (?). So my question is: is it wise to add machine leg curls to put more stress on the Biceps femoris?

Additional information: I am a beginner with 3 months on Starting Strength, doing Onus Wunsler program right now. A beginner after 3 months because i train with a negative energy balance. I know that this is not very effective but i was very very very... obese but finally getting to a feasible body weight so that i hopefully can increase food intake again, soon.

Sorry for my bad English and best regards from Germany
heuro

[BareSteel]

Hi heuro,

At your training stage there is no need to isolate the biceps femoris. The compound barbell lifts will do plenty to strengthen the hamstrings without adding leg curls. Think about the body as a system rather than a collection of separate components.

Good work on your weight loss - hope that progress continues for you.

[Dastardly]

Yup, dont bother with either of these at all. Just focus on normal deadlifts & squats.

[heuro]

ok, tank you for the advice ..
To put some additional numbers to classify my state of training:
I train since june of last year, but did some stupid things before i started with starting strength. Stupid things like 10-12 exercises each workout with 2-4 sets each 12-20 reps. That was the recommendation by the trainer in my gym.
My body weight dropped from ~385lbs (don't know exactly, maybe more) to 230 lbs within the last year; height: 6'5'', age 30 and i want to loose additional 20-30lbs, before i start "to bulk".

bench 3x5x155lbs (hard plateau for 2 months)
press 3x5x110lbs (plateau)
squat 3x5x210lbs (slow progression)
deadlift 1x5x310lbs (progression)

Bench and press plateau are bothering me, i reset these two times now. I believe that is just because of the limited food intake, or am i wrong?

best regards

[Dastardly]

Upper body lifts benefit greatly from bodyweight gain. But they will always have a tendency to slow down and get stuck faster, you may want to switch upper body lifts to more advanced programming sooner. Basically, only to expect weekly progression on bench, something like Texas method or anything that gives you room to get both a large amount of volume at lower intensity in, and space to recover and push PR's. The 3x5 twice weekly stops working for this.

[heuro]

weekly progression would make me happy....
You mean something like?:

mon:
squat 3x5
bench/press 5x5 (alternating; 90% 5rm)
deadlift 1x5
a bit abs?

wed:
squat 3x5
press/bench 3x5 (alternating; 80% 5rm)
hyper ex
chin ups

fri
squat 3x5
bench/press 1-3rm (alternating;~110% 5rm)
power clean 5x3

regards

[BareSteel]

You've got the idea down on intermediate programming. You're welcome to move on to it if you're really feeling stuck, but to be honest I would be surprised if your linear progression is exhausted on those lifts right now. Have you tried microloading those lifts with smaller plates for less than 5 lb jumps?

[heuro]

It is somehow weird ... several months ago before i started with Starting Strength , 5-6 x 150lbs bench was my pr.
So i did what was recommended. Reduced ~50lbs and increased the weight within 5-6 weeks to 155lbs again. Then i was stuck again at 155lbs. 3 Fails and i did a reset -20lbs. When i approached the 155lbs i did microloading. I failed again, reseted and now hitting 155 again without success. The strange thing is, 150 does not feel very heavy, 155 instead feels incredibly heavy.

If you would tell me its because of my calory deficit (consuming 2700kcal on training days, 1500 on rest days)... everything is fine, and i have to accept it. But if there is a possibility to increase my strength with this limited calory intake... I'm open to your suggestions. (and i know that i am weak )

hope you understood my bad english.... quite late now

[BareSteel]

Hi Heuro,

Your English is fine.

My bottom line suggestion is to start by improving your diet. You don't need a caloric deficit that large. Eat a little more, but keep it clean. Meats, potatoes, fruits vegetables, nuts, etc. No junk. You can maintain a decent body fat while still gaining muscle if you eat cleanly and this way you won't have to cut and then bulk back up - you'll just gradually improve your body composition. 1500 calories is really low - I'm not surprised that your lifts have stalled hard.

Take one more manageable reset in weight since it sounds like your past few workouts have really hit the wall. But this time, make your linear progression work by supporting your recovery.

Feel free to post form checks in the technique forum if you'd like.

[dotyl9h]

hard to believe that no one pointed out that at 6'5 230, the diet is over