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Thread: Three potentially stupid questions

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    Default Three potentially stupid questions

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    Alright, I have three questions that might be really dumb, but going to ask anyways. They are ranked in descending order with the potentially dumbest at the top.

    1. I have very young children. When we play, I enjoy watching their movements and positions. Because they haven’t been fubar’d by bookbags and office chairs, these kids have awesome posture. When they squat down to pick something up, I swear I could put a barbell on their back, submit a form check, and not even Rip would find a problem.

    Recently, I’ve been paying attention to their jumping while thinking about the way we deadlift, clean, and snatch. Most times, when the kids jump, they begin with their hips really low as opposed to the high hips we use. Now, they have no idea what they’re doing and might just be goofing around, but it’s pretty consistent. I’ve been watching this thinking about the oft repeated SS stance that the program is designed to train natural human movement patterns.

    So my sort-of syllogism goes something like this: If young kids move more naturally than adults, and these young kids I watch usually* begin their jump with low hips, does that mean low hips is a more natural jumping position? If so why do we prefer high hips in this group?

    2. A few times recently, I’ve had a strange thing happen while squatting. Everything will feel fine through the warmups and the first set of five. After the first set, I’ll re-rack the bar, step back, and immediately feel sleepy. I get the normal fatigue, too. But I mean I get hit with a full-on sleepiness. This persists for the remainder of my squat sets and then goes away by whatever lift comes next. Am I dying? I don’t have a particularly stressful job and I get about 8hrs each night. I lift at night, usually get in around 8:30pm.

    3. I missed two training session. Went back in for the third, meaning it had been about 7 days between sessions. I was expecting a little more soreness than usual. My lifts that day were heavy squats and heavy deadlifts. The next two days, I had unmistakably sore triceps, which I have never felt after pulls. Does this mean I’m deadlifting wrong?

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    1) Check out standing vertical jump videos on YouTube. Notice that a jump doesn't require the degree of knee flexion that would be necessary to get the hips "low." Compare the "bottom" of the SVJ (hips and knees in flexion) to the "jumping position" of the power clean. Note the similarities, which includes high hips. Low hips are unnecessary and inefficient.

    Also, consider that kids are not very efficient with their movement and may exaggerate a simple jump into an event that starts with them crouched on the floor in a full squat position.

    2) We see this happen all the time with people on low carb diets, especially extreme ones like keto. Tell us about your diet?

    3) I'm guessing this is a squat grip issue. Post a video?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    1) Check out standing vertical jump videos on YouTube. Notice that a jump doesn't require the degree of knee flexion that would be necessary to get the hips "low." Compare the "bottom" of the SVJ (hips and knees in flexion) to the "jumping position" of the power clean. Note the similarities, which includes high hips. Low hips are unnecessary and inefficient.

    Also, consider that kids are not very efficient with their movement and may exaggerate a simple jump into an event that starts with them crouched on the floor in a full squat position.

    2) We see this happen all the time with people on low carb diets, especially extreme ones like keto. Tell us about your diet?

    3) I'm guessing this is a squat grip issue. Post a video?

    1) Agree kids are definitely not always efficient and the SVJ is an obvious counterpoint I should have considered.

    2) Not low carb, not keto. I track almost daily and get 3500-4000, 220+p, 300+c, 60-80f. My weight is still going up a little, actually—241 this morning at 6’2” after spending all summer at 235. Will say though, on days when I miss, I’m sure the calories I miss are carbs. Maybe I’ll add another piece of fruit or two each day.

    3) Ok I’ll post in the technique channel. I didn’t record my squats that day, but can upload from the week prior.

    Thanks for the feedback.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oface View Post
    2) Not low carb, not keto. I track almost daily and get 3500-4000, 220+p, 300+c, 60-80f. My weight is still going up a little, actually—241 this morning at 6’2” after spending all summer at 235. Will say though, on days when I miss, I’m sure the calories I miss are carbs. Maybe I’ll add another piece of fruit or two each day.
    You may be inadvertently on a low[er] carb/calorie diet than you thought you were on based on a math error:

    Protein - 220g = 880 calories
    Carb - 300g = 1200 calories
    Fat - 70g = 630 calories
    Total: 2710 calories

    Add some rice or bread to your day before your workouts and see if that helps with your energy level during training. If not, get a large Gatorade, start drinking it before the workout, and finish it by the end of the workout.

    Let us know if that does the trick or not?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    You may be inadvertently on a low[er] carb/calorie diet than you thought you were on based on a math error:

    Protein - 220g = 880 calories
    Carb - 300g = 1200 calories
    Fat - 70g = 630 calories
    Total: 2710 calories

    Add some rice or bread to your day before your workouts and see if that helps with your energy level during training. If not, get a large Gatorade, start drinking it before the workout, and finish it by the end of the workout.

    Let us know if that does the trick or not?
    I think it's probably the 790 - 1290kcal of alcohol that you missed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    You may be inadvertently on a low[er] carb/calorie diet than you thought you were on based on a math error:

    Protein - 220g = 880 calories
    Carb - 300g = 1200 calories
    Fat - 70g = 630 calories
    Total: 2710 calories

    Add some rice or bread to your day before your workouts and see if that helps with your energy level during training. If not, get a large Gatorade, start drinking it before the workout, and finish it by the end of the workout.

    Let us know if that does the trick or not?
    Sure thing, will do. Just to clarify, those macros are minimums—I’m usually higher in everything except for fat, which I tend to keep less than 80 most days. Regardless, I’ll do some carbs before the next squat day. I already do a big Gatorade during each session, but I usually don’t start it until after the first work set, so I’ll start it before warmups next time. Will report back.

    Thank you for all of this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    You may be inadvertently on a low[er] carb/calorie diet than you thought you were on based on a math error:
    Apologies for the extra post, but the more I think about it, think you’re dead on. As I said initially, I don’t track every day, and the sleepiness doesn’t happen every single session, either. Just went back into MFP and tried to calculate from memory what I ate last time this happened and I didn’t track and it was ~2700 calories. The kicker was I didn’t get all of my milk in that day (usually drink 32oz one hour after each meal) and didn’t eat enough food to compensate.

    Still, I’ll try the other items you mentioned and report back. Thanks again.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    You may be inadvertently on a low[er] carb/calorie diet than you thought you were on based on a math error:

    Protein - 220g = 880 calories
    Carb - 300g = 1200 calories
    Fat - 70g = 630 calories
    Total: 2710 calories

    Add some rice or bread to your day before your workouts and see if that helps with your energy level during training. If not, get a large Gatorade, start drinking it before the workout, and finish it by the end of the workout.

    Let us know if that does the trick or not?
    Hi Ray, if you're still watching, thought I would close this loop since you asked.

    I've made three changes to my day and haven't experienced the sleepies in the short period since. Perhaps the most significant change was I took my squats from 3x5 to 5x3, which was planned before my initial post. I also started my Gatorade during early warmup reps instead of after the first work set. Lastly, I have incorporated a meal with pasta into my daily routine. This is another significant change, as most of my carbs prior to this shift came from milk, fruit, and vegetables. I had been wanting to incorporate more pasta dishes anyways since they fit my palate and lend themselves to big batches for weekly meal prep.

    So your suggestions paired with the updated set/rep scheme seem to have made a difference.

    Also, not that anyone asked, but I figured out the soreness in my arm. The pain actually got slightly worse for about a week. Throughout the week, I kept wriggling around trying to replicate any movement that could have caused the uncomfortability. Couldn't figure it out. Went in for heavy pulls on Sunday. My gym tucks the round plates behind some other equipment, so I have to sort-of fish them out of a hole and move them to my station. Leaned down to grab the first plate, tossed it over to the bar, and immediately felt sharp pain in the spot and realized that what I was feeling was probably a tweak caused by dicking around with plates. Good cheap reminder not to be lazy.

    Thanks again for your input.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oface View Post
    Hi Ray, if you're still watching, thought I would close this loop since you asked.
    Glad things are working out. I like sets of three for older and/or less athletic men. Otherwise I'd keep fives in the program and change other variables if a plateau is imminent.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oface View Post
    Alright, I have three questions that might be really dumb, but going to ask anyways. They are ranked in descending order with the potentially dumbest at the top.

    1. I have very young children. When we play, I enjoy watching their movements and positions. Because they haven’t been fubar’d by bookbags and office chairs, these kids have awesome posture. When they squat down to pick something up, I swear I could put a barbell on their back, submit a form check, and not even Rip would find a problem.

    Recently, I’ve been paying attention to their jumping while thinking about the way we deadlift, clean, and snatch. Most times, when the kids jump, they begin with their hips really low as opposed to the high hips we use. Now, they have no idea what they’re doing and might just be goofing around, but it’s pretty consistent. I’ve been watching this thinking about the oft repeated SS stance that the program is designed to train natural human movement patterns.

    So my sort-of syllogism goes something like this: If young kids move more naturally than adults, and these young kids I watch usually* begin their jump with low hips, does that mean low hips is a more natural jumping position? If so why do we prefer high hips in this group?
    ALL toddlers have much different body length segments than adults.
    Torso to femur ratio is completely out of whack.
    They will always squat down, and move around in general, very upright.
    This changes drastically as you get older.



    Another fun thing to think about, is the percentage of weight the huge head early on .... you are not going to tip that mass very far beyond your base as a baby.

    Also, the all stuff with strength to body-weight ratios ... Wilks/Sinclair (an elephant vs. a leaf-cutter-ant that can carry 50x its bodyweight thing)

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