New squat and press vids - comments plz :D

[confuzzl3don3]

Hey so i tried to take all the advice u guys gave me before and so today hit the weights again but this time started at 85kg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBFF4keoWb0

It was stupid that for the 2nd set i had a little accident (bumped bar into a hook and ended up tipping the weights off both sides, not cool) so i only did 3 reps. Did another 2 reps after i reloaded everything

But yeah this was last set at 85.5kg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o-NCEu1yXU

And then my presses at 38.5kg. I could only do 3 sets of 4. ANd looking at the vids, they're terrible :P I really need to deload by 10% and work up from there again.

1st set - view from behind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXLmK63zvQ0

2nd set - view from side
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzeaykdsGZw

Things i noticed:
- bar moving back i think, not just up.
- weird assymetrical lift (left side higher than right at shoulder level) no idea what's wrong with that
- as the weight gets heavy i go lopsided

Thanks guys

[Gary Gibson]

I like 'em.

And I like the way you hold a good back angle even when the going gets tough.

The second half of your presses, however, will surely cause bad dreams. Thanks.

[Tor]

I agree with Gary on the squats. Now just add 40 lbs. body weight (don't follow Gary's example --- sorry couldn't resist and you should be good to go.

[confuzzl3don3]

Do any of u guys have anything to say about the speed of the reps? some people have commented on how slow i am and how it isn't a fluid movement and saying that i should drop the weight. What should i be doing??

And about the press. THey're terrible and lopsided. I have no idea why. Anyone care to comment/help me out on that?

[tescott]

My advice: in terms of the presses, drop it to 30kg, and start from there. It's okay if it's easier at first - you'll quickly get to a point when it gets much harder. I get lopsided sometimes on my last reps of last sets, but I don't think its anything to worry about. Also, think 'up', and keep your elbows in front of the bar.

And for what its worth, squats look good to me. Tighter than the last ones. Though you could keep your head down a bit more. Don't be too keen to add weight too fast. Judging by the difficulty of the last set, I wouldn't add much. No more than 2.5kg for next time.

Keep eating and lifting hard!

[Gary Gibson]

Do any of u guys have anything to say about the speed of the reps? some people have commented on how slow i am and how it isn't a fluid movement and saying that i should drop the weight. What should i be doing??

Who are these people? Would you like for us to beat them up?

Maybe I should record my first squat of a Smolov session and my last so you can see. The last rep tends to be about a quarter of the speed of the first. Slow is what happens when you are using a weight that's heavy for you and you're getting tired.

The only time I end up moving fast throughout the session is when I'm doing under 70% for speed doubles and triples AFTER high volume (lots of sets), high intensity (lots of weight) cycles.

As for your press: I'm guessing your form is breaking down because you're simply using too much weight. Slowing down because it's heavy and going all cockeyed because it's too heavy are two different things. Your squats are a case of the first; your presses of the second, i.e. you're trying to press your 3RM five times.

[Tenbagger]

Your presses don't look good at all.

I think your problems originate at the bottom; therefore breathing at the top is not helpful at this point - breathe at the bottom.

Your upper body is tilted back during the whole set. You should start from a normal upright position - elbows slightly in front of the bar is enough.

Suck in lots of air before the rep starts; press the chest forward and create a hard valsalva. Before you move the bar, you must make your upper back and shoulders a firm foundation for your arms to move from. Tightening up the chest and squeezing the shoulder blades together at the same time. I'm guessing this will fix the asymmetry problem.

Start the movement by tilting your upper body slightly back around the hips. As soon as the bar has cleared the face, the upper body should again be in a normal upright position.

[misspelledgeoff]

Please listen to Gary. Gary knows how to squat. Your problem is not your form in any of your lifts. Your problem is the weight is too goddam heavy. and the weight is too goddam heavy because you are too goddam skinny.

Have a goal to gain 8 pounds by Monday of next week. Then be amazed at what your squat and press does. Now please leave the computer and go eat.

Who are these people? Would you like for us to beat them up?

Maybe I should record my first squat of a Smolov session and my last so you can see. The last rep tends to be about a quarter of the speed of the first. Slow is what happens when you are using a weight that's heavy for you and you're getting tired.

The only time I end up moving fast throughout the session is when I'm doing under 70% for speed doubles and triples AFTER high volume (lots of sets), high intensity (lots of weight) cycles.

As for your press: I'm guessing your form is breaking down because you're simply using too much weight. Slowing down because it's heavy and going all cockeyed because it's too heavy are two different things. Your squats are a case of the first; your presses of the second, i.e. you're trying to press your 3RM five times.

[brianb]

Anyone other than me thinking his grip on the presses is too wide?

[confuzzl3don3]

My advice: in terms of the presses, drop it to 30kg, and start from there. It's okay if it's easier at first - you'll quickly get to a point when it gets much harder. I get lopsided sometimes on my last reps of last sets, but I don't think its anything to worry about. Also, think 'up', and keep your elbows in front of the bar.

And for what its worth, squats look good to me. Tighter than the last ones. Though you could keep your head down a bit more. Don't be too keen to add weight too fast. Judging by the difficulty of the last set, I wouldn't add much. No more than 2.5kg for next time.

Keep eating and lifting hard!

Ok thanks for the help. I was thinking of deloading the press by 10% so basically 35kg but would that be too little? It's just that i think in PP or was it SS, ripp said to deload by only 10% as to not cause loss of progress. And about the squats - 2.5kg!! i'm alredi down to upping the weight 1kg at a time :P

Who are these people? Would you like for us to beat them up?

Maybe I should record my first squat of a Smolov session and my last so you can see. The last rep tends to be about a quarter of the speed of the first. Slow is what happens when you are using a weight that's heavy for you and you're getting tired.

The only time I end up moving fast throughout the session is when I'm doing under 70% for speed doubles and triples AFTER high volume (lots of sets), high intensity (lots of weight) cycles.

As for your press: I'm guessing your form is breaking down because you're simply using too much weight. Slowing down because it's heavy and going all cockeyed because it's too heavy are two different things. Your squats are a case of the first; your presses of the second, i.e. you're trying to press your 3RM five times.

thanks for the confirmation that my squats are fine being slower, it just means their heavy. Like tescott said i'm probably going to deload on the press down to 35kg to work on getting it down.

Your presses don't look good at all.

I think your problems originate at the bottom; therefore breathing at the top is not helpful at this point - breathe at the bottom.

Your upper body is tilted back during the whole set. You should start from a normal upright position - elbows slightly in front of the bar is enough.

Suck in lots of air before the rep starts; press the chest forward and create a hard valsalva. Before you move the bar, you must make your upper back and shoulders a firm foundation for your arms to move from. Tightening up the chest and squeezing the shoulder blades together at the same time. I'm guessing this will fix the asymmetry problem.

Start the movement by tilting your upper body slightly back around the hips. As soon as the bar has cleared the face, the upper body should again be in a normal upright position.

All great advice. Will try this.

Please listen to Gary. Gary knows how to squat. Your problem is not your form in any of your lifts. Your problem is the weight is too goddam heavy. and the weight is too goddam heavy because you are too goddam skinny.

Have a goal to gain 8 pounds by Monday of next week. Then be amazed at what your squat and press does. Now please leave the computer and go eat.

i guess the thing about eating so much is that ripp said to eat 200-500 cals over your maintenance is all you need to build muscle and the rest will be fat. So if i am shooting to eat lets say at 500 over maintenance/day, then how am i meant to gain 8lbs in a week? you need like 3500 cals excess to build around 1lb of body weight. I know my aim is to get strong, but at the same time i don't want to just pack on excessive fat for no reason.

Anyone other than me thinking his grip on the presses is too wide?

Hmm are they a bit wide? THey look like about 5cm wider than shoulder width. Do i need to narrow them?