Hard to tell if you are doing something wrong without seeing some videos.
I'm 8 weeks into the NLP
36 years old
5`11``
169lbs -> 188lbs (this morning)
SQ: 140 -> 240
DL: 205 -> 285
BE: 120 -> 141 (note/Q below)
PR: 70 - 116
If context is needed, here's my NLP thread: LP Log, (re)Starting Strength
"First 3 Questions" Answers:
I rest a lot between sets - I wait for heart rate to be ~90BPM which has meant 7-10 minutes between squat sets, 5-6 minutes between bench sets
I do the prescribed jumps between workouts and was even conservative for the first few weeks on SQ/DL
I eat more; I'm up 19 lbs in 8 weeks, but sleep is somewhat out of my hands as I have little kids who still get up in the night and early in the morning
On Monday, I feel like I strained my low back on my 235 squats. By feel like, I mean I had some weird rep failures - abs felt like they could not support my torso enough to stay flat, and was sore as hell this week. I got 16 reps done, but it was ugly - 5, 1 (extra), 4+1, 4+1. The extra 1 was feeling a weird "tweak" as I took the bar out and did one for set 2. Rested 2 minutes and then did 4 + failure, reset bar, do 1. I did a light squat day on Wednesday as my back was still wonky and that went well. Deadlifted 285 just fine. Then yesterday I did my 240 squats as an experiment. Sets 1 & 2 were hard but doable. I had that same weird "tweak" feeling on set 3 so I ended up doing a single (tweak), set it down for 20s, single (tweak) set it down for 20s, then a triple with no tweak feeling.
Q1: Am I just going to have to train through this odd feeling or is this a signal that I'm doing XXX wrong?
Bench Press... this has just been a bizarrely hard lift for me. I went up to 145ish more or less "normally", but I was failing early on that lift and it leaves me *exhausted*. I dropped back to a weight I knew I could do and reduced my jumps to 3lbs, but I've still felt *exhausted* after my bench sets.
Q2: Is this just a lift I suck at or is this normal or gain more weight or...? Power Cleans are missing from the program - I just cannot muster the energy after benching. I just want to die when those sets are over. At first I was making an excuse about equipment but when I really thought about why I wasn't doing them, it was exhaustion.
Hard to tell if you are doing something wrong without seeing some videos.
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Science for Fitness:
Online Strength Coaching, Nutrition Coaching, & In-Person Training
Thank you. Sorry for the delay in response, had family in town.
Honestly I don’t know how to get a video of myself. I work out alone in my garage. I may just have to meet with a SSC in my area.
Do you own a smartphone? They all have built in cameras. Just prop it on the floor and start the video recording feature. But yes if there is a SSC in your area that is highly recommended.
__________________________________________________
Science for Fitness:
Online Strength Coaching, Nutrition Coaching, & In-Person Training
Thanks for following up! I did shift some crap around the garage to record. I'm posting work sets of squats and bench from last night:
Archon3D - YouTube
Things one notices when on camera... I see where it's feeling like my low back can't hold extension and it definitely feels that way. For context, I did 230 on Sunday and it did not feel remotely as hard as 235 last night.
Bench, I dunno... the weight went up. It looks god-awful to me on video.
Barefoot AND above parallel? Delete it, Hayden.
What!? I watched frame by frame on my phone and that was definitely not above parallel... That or apparently I don't understand parallel - I thought it was hip joint below top of the patella?
Being more serious for a moment - the video is really helpful. There are a few squat reps that I'm not happy about in those videos. I'll definitely use it as a tool to correct technique going forward.
I'm not sure that I'll buy shoes just to make Mark happy(ish), but it's on a list of to-dos. The list is long :\
I did a light squat workout (80%) to make sure I had a good cue for depth and used video to make sure.
My main question was more about bench. It always feels like crap and I always feel like crap afterwards. Anything obvious in the videos? I can do a different angle if that would help.