Strength progress over the years.
Hi all,
I'm just putting this out there, especially for the others who don't have coaches.
I began stringlifts 5x5 2 years ago, being completekt untrained. I made some progress in the 7 weeks or so, but didn't make much progress, since I was still learning to squat etc.
After that, did crossfit, then, before Christmas last year, I took up SS. I re-learnt the squat, but still sucked at it. I pushed my squat from about 85kg to 110kg over a few months. My technique kept holding me back, despite reading the book and watching videos on these forums.
Went back to crossfit, lost most of my strength. Now, I've been back on SS for about 2 months, after doing MEBB and then WFCF for a few weeks or so each. This time, I've pushed my squat up to 135kg (from back down at 90kg or so), and made great gains everywhere else. Though, again, my technique has meant I had to reset a couple of times, due to knee caving that I wasn't aware of and other gear issues.
Now, I'm generally happy with my technique. But I'm frustrated at the lack of progress I've made over all the time I've put into SS. Mainly because I'm so uncoordinated that it took me a long time to learn to squat. Even though my squats look good, and Rip has seen them, my knees still ache.
Anyway, not sure what your 'real life' experiences are without a coach. I'm interested to hear. I'm interested to hear if you're even interested in my experience, or if it has encouraged any of you who are similarly uncoordinated.
(I should add that I've gained 30kg since this time last year - and it seems like mostly muscle. So that's encouraging. And my other lifts have progressed nicely, albeit more slowly than I'd like. I've never done well as sports, so I shouldn't be suprised!)