Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

[ithryn]

I'm figuring my flight is fairly big. I don't know what the demographic spread is but I'm pretty sure <100 kg or <220 lb is the default dude doing Starting Strength, from the logs I read anyway.

I heard an anecdote that when Ed Coan was following his own attempts, he'd buy more rest time by tossing the bar brush under the stage and then demanding the bar be cleaned. Pro tip.

Squat video of yesterday's 345x5x3. The first set is a little janky, I scoop the bar forward at the bottom which makes it harder to get it up. I think I did better on the second and third set.

Do you guys still think they're too deep? I think maybe some might be but I'm afraid to consciously try to avoid that and end up too high. On the other hand the last set looks borderline high, but I'm blaming it on camera angle.

345x5x3 squat

****

So I'm an idiot. I was rereading the physics section of the squat chapter instead of just skimming it like on prior readings. Then I get to his section on the Master Cue. Which is basically moving the bar in a slot or a groove vertically over the midfoot. Like duh right. I already knew that was the efficient path. I just never thought about using it explicitly as a cue.

There is an important mental trick that you can use to fix most things wrong with the bar path in the squat and all the resultant errors made by the body. The trick is amazingly simple, and it corrects a wide variety of technique problems, from knees to back angle, from air under the heels to a wobbly bar path. This trick is simply keeping the barbell over the mid-foot by thinking about doing so.

...if you keep your spine rigid, and the bar travels up and down in the imaginary slot directly above the mid-foot, then the knees, hips, and ankles will do what they must do to maintain this vertical relationship, and the body will solve all the problems associated with doing so at a level beneath any requirement for micromanagement...

By giving the body a general task instead of a specific one, you move your brain out of the way and allow your accumulated motor skills to solve the problem. If you command the bar to move in a vertical line, it will do so, and you will move your back, thighs, and shins in a way that makes it do so without your having to analyze the exact problem. For the squat, you do this by constructing a mental image of an actual slot in the air for the bar to travel within. Visualize this narrow slot over the mid-foot, extending up into the air above you. Then visualize the bar traveling within this slot. An amazing thing then happens: it does. -Rip, in The Book

I don't know how I missed this. Anyhow, for squats yesterday I only focused on the Master Cue. I mean I had to make a general effort to keep my butt back and not kneeslide but really I just thought about moving the bar up and down the Slot, using my ass to do so.

[Karl Schudt]

THose first two squat reps were horrible. The good news is that they got better. Stay tight, get your knees out, and for God's sake point your beard down. Keep your knees out through the bottom of the squat and the beginning of the ascent.

Third set looks better.

Note: I wrote this quickly on the way to class.

[ithryn]

Tuesday 13 October 2015 6:30-7:30am

Why.

Light squat 265x5x2

Light bench 185x5x3

Deadlift...of course not. Why would it? 135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 315x1, 355x0, 345x0, 335x0, 315x0. I attempted to video this but couldn't even do that right, all I had was a picture of my leg. The bar wasn't rolling except for the couple times I got frustrated and tried to grip it and rip it. My thumbs and lower back are killing me, so all I can think is I'm dropping back behind the bar or not squozing enough. I reread my little checklist and attempted to do that. Maybe I wasn't psyched up enough, which is a stupid reason.

Gonna be a great meet at this rate. Well, now I get to think about travel plans to the wedding, which means dancing, oh look another thing I can't do that everybody else finds easy.

I dunno, this is obviously something stupid and easy to fix, I obviously lost whatever groove I was temporarily in, I just don't know what to do aside from try it in front of people who are yelling at me.

THose first two squat reps were horrible. The good news is that they got better. Stay tight, get your knees out, and for God's sake point your beard down. Keep your knees out through the bottom of the squat and the beginning of the ascent.
Third set looks better.

Oh I totally agree. That's encouraging the third set was better, it felt better.

[Chebass88]

Gonna be a great meet at this rate. Well, now I get to think about travel plans to the wedding, which means dancing, oh look another thing I can't do that everybody else finds easy.
....

Do the same dance moves that your toddlers do - you'll look like a fool, but it will make your little guys laugh, so that's a win. "Dancing" to my little guys means stomping in place followed by jumping. It looks REALLY ridiculous when I do it.

[Sean Herbison]

which means dancing, oh look another thing I can't do that everybody else finds easy.

Pffft, of course dancing is easy. Dancing well, however, is another subject altogether.

[ithryn]

Mock(ery) meet

Woke up and downed a whey buttermilk shake. Then on my way to the gym I chugged apple cider, 10g bcaa's in water, and a caffeine pill.

Squat

350x1
365x1
390x1

Last rep certainly felt like it took several stops along the way, but not sure the video shows that. I'm 50/50 on whether 405 would've gone up. I need to get better at rocketing out of the bottom, because it's about four inches up from the bottom that it wants to stop. (I should probably warn the spotters about that, geez.) Not sure there's really time to train my "rocket my ass out of the hole" reflex before the meet, lol.

Press

150x1
165x1
175x0x2 - an overexuberant hip kick pushed the bar forward, I guess, but it was an overly optimistic weight choice anyway
170x0
165x1 - maybe I'd have a 170 without a failure prior. Or 167.5-168. Not sure what the weight increments for the meet will be.

Starving by this time. Literally ready to pass out. Heavy singles are hard work! I gulped down a pint of milk with another caffeine pill and had a bag of peanuts.

Deadlift

365x1 - I thought this rep was going to fail, but I kept pulling. Once it cleared my shoes, it was smooth and easy. What the heck. On the video, I clearly drop my hips right as I initiate the pull. Who can I hire to flog me with a cane during my attempts? I'm not sure how to avoid doing that. If I can just avoid dropping my hips I could pull heavier.
380x0, hip drop. This started to hurt my back so I called it quits.

Two squat PRs and one deadlift PR.

Videos are uploading.

[Chebass88]

Two squat PRs and one deadlift PR.

Solid work! When a bar feels like it isn't moving - it usually is when you view the playback. Keep pushing (pulling)!

[ithryn]

Thanks!

Let me know what you think, guys:

Squat 365

Mock meet 365 squat - 15 Oct 2015 - YouTube

Squat 390

YouTube

Press 165

Mock meet press 165 - 15 Oct 2015 - YouTube

Press 175x0 gets forward of me, 170x0, 165x1

Mock meet press attempts, 175, 170, 165 - YouTube

Deadlift 365 - not pretty, hips down, probably too far behind the bar

Deadlift 365 - 15 Oct 2015 - YouTube

Critique away.

[ithryn]

Forgot my gym story, which is while I'm in the zone doing my squat singles this really skinny teenage guy I've never seen before is talking at the top of his lungs to anyone who will listen, asking them how to use equipment, what muscle does that work, my buddy does this or that, I can squat 315, not many guys my age can squat 315! - as he's curtsying three plates on the leg press behind me. Then he notices me and asks if squat shoes really help and before I can answer he says that my number (the weight on the squat bar) is impressive although he can't really do bar math because he just calls the 25's halfsies since they're half as big as the 45's. While he's shouting this at me exuberantly a gym worker girl comes by and shushes him. Then he notices me using chalk and loudly asks where I got chalk and do I like chalk and does this gym even allow chalk? I said "I just try to be clean and keep it on the DL" and he's like OOHHHHH SORRY and starts whispering, whispering! about chalk. Then he asks me what I did to be lifting all this weight so I gave him the Starting Strength rundown, 3x5, 5 lbs a week, free weights, etc, and told him to buy the book on Amazon. He's like I know right there's all these arm exercises you can do but there's not much you can do for legs just hack squats leg presses lunges front squats back squats calf raises stuff like that! And when I notice my arms start getting bigger than my calves I stop working out my arms!

I saw him later in the parking lot and told him good luck, and look up the book and he shouts OH I WILL! as he gets in his car with his earphones still on.

Preworkout is a hell of a drug.

[HandPlaneSteve]

I think your squats looked OK. Depth is right there on the edge though... May have been your sweats getting in the way a little. The onsie is a bit thinner which will help. Try doing hard singles with someone giving you the commands - after locking it out your rack looked awful quick. Unless you wait for the command to rack, your 400 ain't going to count.

The deadlift looked heavy! Still got it though! Make 365 your second attempt, then add a few for your 3rd attempt.

I'm not qualified to judge presses.