Post a video of your squat and your deadlift.
Hey everyone,
Ive been doing the 4 day Texas method as outlined below, and my Tuesday workout is a real b*tch. Yesterday nearly wrecked me, and my lower back was so fatigued last night i had trouble sleeping. Is this something I should power through? Or is there a modification I should consider to ease the burden on my low back?
I will note that this is soreness, not an injury. And I was recovered from last week before yesterdays session.
I’m 42, 6 ft 2 in, 217. Have been lifting about 18 months.
Monday:
Press 1x5 @150
Bench 5x5 @190
Dips
Tues:
Deadlift 1x5 @285
Squats 5x5 @210
Pull ups
Thursday
Bench 1x5 @220
Presses 5x5 @130
Dips
Friday
Squats 1x5 @ 270
RDL
Barbell Bent Row
Post a video of your squat and your deadlift.
I always liked putting the intensity squat and pull on the same day. But I'm sure you have other problems given those squat and deadlift numbers.
Videos below. Word of caution they are not strictly in line with posted policies [Ive been scolded on another sub board for that]. But these are the videos I have until next week.
Deadlift:
YouTube
Squat:
YouTube
On why my squat and deadlift are relatively low - some background. I have lost about 90 pound and am still a little fluffy. When I started lifting I wasn’t really doing any lower body work, so my upper body got advanced well beyond lower body. Then I found starting strength and did lower body work. I ran NLP on a 1000 calorie a day deficit but stalled on all my lifts and shifted to 4 days a week. I’m now increasing calories and making progress again.
I'll defer to Santana, but on your squat you are trying desperately to stay upright, where you need to lean over. The bar is way over your toes for your deadlift, putting your hips too low.
You're setting your hips too low on the deadlift and starting with your weight forward of mid foot (look at how your heels come up at the start of each rep). You also sit the weight down by bending forward at the knees which is going to put the weight forward of midfoot and cause unnecessary stress to your low back.
As for the squats, try without the box and perhaps get your elbows down a bit (hard to tell from the angle but they look slightly elevated from this angle). It also looks like you could brace a bit better. Find a SS coach in your area if you're having trouble cleaning up these form issues on your own, but definitely reread the sections on the 5 step deadlift set up and how to squat in the SS book.
That being said, good job on the weight loss! I honestly would give NLP another shot and not eat in a huge deficit like before. I think you could still make progress following that protocol given you clean up your form and don't undereat so much. You don't need to gorge yourself but you're not doing yourself any favors eating in a huge deficit.
Your low back is probably beat up from the way you are moving.
Squat - too upright, eyes need to be down, and knees need to be out. Also, wear a tee shirt and really push your shoulder blades towards your ass to get your back in extension and keep it there.
Deadlift - Approach this with straighter legs so that your hips aren't so low. Then puff the chest up towards your chin and stick your ass out towards the ceiling. HOLD THIS POSITION FOR 2 FULL SECONDS, then push the floor and drag.
Clean these up and you'll feel much better.
And don’t breath out at the top of the deadlift. Maintain tightness.
Thank you everyone for the excellent feedback. I’m concerned my issues are the result of limited mobility. But regardless, I have an apt with starting strength Houston for Tuesday
Re diet, I’m currently on an LP for calories. I dropped my deficit to 500 a day and made great gains for about a month until I stalled on bench yesterday. I’m going to keep adding calories 250/day at a time and see where I get.
I’d been dieting for over a year and my body is pretty well done with it.