Being a pussy

[JayB]

Hello, I've been NDTP for about 13 weeks and starting to get the urge to pussy out on squats.

I know I can probably get most of my questions answered by searching but I feel like venting some of my toughts as discussing this with friends/family is about as giving as talking to a pole.

#1 Squatted for the first time with a belt today, felt great for my lowerback and can probably continue for another 20-25lb depending on if I can psych myself up enough.
Currently I'm getting severly out of breath on the verge of passing out after a workset and I feel like my form is getting worse, lots of bending over going on and I go too deep most of the time. Rep 5 I just say to myself, just fucking do it and somehow the weight comes up, feels almost like a miracle every time.

At 225 I feel my form is decent, because it's easy, should I deload or continue until I stall? I'm thinking it might be a cardio problem as well as bad form, will cardio help? Currently doing none. Or am I simply being a pussy.

#2 Also I'm having trouble with my presses, stalling every other workout, not sure if that's a problem or not. It's the only lift I've stalled on so far. Tried with belt today but still stalled, wasn't able to psych myself up very much either even though I took time to recover from the squats. Getting real mad has helped a ton with these but I've been lacking aggression latly. Maybe I'll ask someone to punch me in the face next time.

#3 Power Cleans, not much to say except I suck at them and end up hurting my elbows cause I'm a slow tall fuck. I've stopped doing them for now. I end up farting around doing rows, curls or whatever excercise I feel like trying that day instead. I feel like doing a few workout sessions with PC only but at the same time I want to progress the other lifts.

#4 What would be good goals for me to aim for during LP? My first goals at 5 reps were DL 275, SQ 225, BP 165, Press 110. I felt they were pretty good goals and it spurred me on.

Stats:
Age - 31 man years
Height - 6'4"
Weight - ~250lb
Diet - ~2500-3000kcal food, + candy and crap every 2-5 days. Lost about 10lb and since stalled on weight.
Deadlift - 5x286lb (fairly easy)
Squat - 5x259lb (hard from rep 2)
Bench - 5x165lb (fairly easy)
Press - 5x137lb (failed on set 2&3)
Power Clean - Failtown, hurting my elbows cause I'm too slow.
General goals - Get stronger and maybe lose some weight wouldn't hurt. I've a physically demanding job so getting stronger makes my life easier.

Thank you for reading, I hope someone will endulge me with some advice.

[Mark Edward]

The iron game is not supposed to be easy. Keep going.

[veryhrm]

Yeah, all that sounds pretty normal. Microload your presses.
W/ the squat... either keep going or reset. Either way don't let up on the form.

Do Mondays (the day after 2 days of rest) feel a lot better than the other days ? If so maybe it's time for "advanced novice" soon ( light squat on wednesdays).

Unrelated to you post but also work on pull-ups somehow (e.g. by doing lat pull downs; or some other method).

Oh and no need to resort to such rough language...

[JayB]

Oh and no need to resort to such rough language...

I guess I got a little frustrated at myself post workout and needed to vent. No offence intended.

"Mondays", havn't really thought about it so I guess not, but I'll keep it in mind, thanks.

Pullups, I'm sorta working on those. I do pull downs if I feel like it, did 80kg last time, it only goes to 100kg but should be enough to get me strong enough for my own bodyweight. I guess it's time to work them in on a regular basis.

[veryhrm]

I guess I got a little frustrated at myself post workout and needed to vent. No offence intended.
...

I don't mind, but there's this "hamburgerfan" guy around here who doesn't like it.




(heh heh heh. inb4)

[91blckgt]

Hello, I've been NDTP for about 13 weeks and starting to get the urge to pussy out on squats.

I know I can probably get most of my questions answered by searching but I feel like venting some of my toughts as discussing this with friends/family is about as giving as talking to a pole.

#1 Squatted for the first time with a belt today, felt great for my lowerback and can probably continue for another 20-25lb depending on if I can psych myself up enough.
Currently I'm getting severly out of breath on the verge of passing out after a workset and I feel like my form is getting worse, lots of bending over going on and I go too deep most of the time. Rep 5 I just say to myself, just fucking do it and somehow the weight comes up, feels almost like a miracle every time.

At 225 I feel my form is decent, because it's easy, should I deload or continue until I stall? I'm thinking it might be a cardio problem as well as bad form, will cardio help? Currently doing none. Or am I simply being a pussy.
.

Personally I've made deload my friend. Since I'm not planning on a meet, I find that after every ~25lb bump in squats, I like to deload a bit, maybe 10%, and then do LP and bust through the old platue. It's sub-maximal, and certainly not optimal if the goal is to maximize strength over time, but I like the series of light sets to help reinforce technique and prevent that "overtraining" feeling.

#2 Also I'm having trouble with my presses, stalling every other workout, not sure if that's a problem or not. It's the only lift I've stalled on so far. Tried with belt today but still stalled, wasn't able to psych myself up very much either even though I took time to recover from the squats. Getting real mad has helped a ton with these but I've been lacking aggression latly. Maybe I'll ask someone to punch me in the face next time.
.

Switching to TM has helped my press and bust through the stall. I've only been on TM about 8 weeks now so it's still a bit premature, but I busted through my bench plateau.

#3 Power Cleans, not much to say except I suck at them and end up hurting my elbows cause I'm a slow tall fuck. I've stopped doing them for now. I end up farting around doing rows, curls or whatever excercise I feel like trying that day instead. I feel like doing a few workout sessions with PC only but at the same time I want to progress the other lifts.
.

I hate power cleans. I've been alternating between Romain Deadlifts and just doing a lighter set of deadlifts in place of the power clean day. But since you said you have a "physically demanding" job, power cleans may actually be a useful application of power. I work at a desk all day, so the most strenuous activity I have outside of lifting is grabbing a beer from the fridge, so I'm content to be strong and slow.

#4 What would be good goals for me to aim for during LP? My first goals at 5 reps were DL 275, SQ 225, BP 165, Press 110. I felt they were pretty good goals and it spurred me on.

Stats:
Age - 31 man years
Height - 6'4"
Weight - ~250lb
Diet - ~2500-3000kcal food, + candy and crap every 2-5 days. Lost about 10lb and since stalled on weight.
Deadlift - 5x286lb (fairly easy)
Squat - 5x259lb (hard from rep 2)
Bench - 5x165lb (fairly easy)
Press - 5x137lb (failed on set 2&3)
Power Clean - Failtown, hurting my elbows cause I'm too slow.
General goals - Get stronger and maybe lose some weight wouldn't hurt. I've a physically demanding job so getting stronger makes my life easier.

Thank you for reading, I hope someone will endulge me with some advice.

Set two goals. I think for a 2013 goal you should plan on being part of the 900lb club. 400lb deadlift, 200lb bench, 300lb squat. At your numbers that should be highly achievable.

A shorter term goal is to get that DL to 315 for reps. There's something magical about passing that triple plate milestone. For squat you're doing pretty good, numbers wise. I can't decide if your DL is weak, or your squat is strong, but shoot for a 275lb squat next. Mini -mile stones make the long term goal satisfying.

I will say that your bench is surprisingly weak compared to your press. Watch these, and then bench again:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._press_seminar
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...nch_press_cure

[JayB]

All good stuff 91blckgt. I'll see how my form is next workout if it's not getting better I'll deload, which is likly.

900 total sounds like a good goal.

Reason my bench is weak is because I started out too low (and presses too high). The first 8 weeks were very easy on bench I should of made bigger jumps but was concerned of stalling too soon. Now I'm shaking even though it's fairly easy still so maybe it's good I'm taking it slow.

[DCM]

Hello, I've been NDTP for about 13 weeks and starting to get the urge to pussy out on squats.

I know I can probably get most of my questions answered by searching but I feel like venting some of my toughts as discussing this with friends/family is about as giving as talking to a pole.

#1 Squatted for the first time with a belt today, felt great for my lowerback and can probably continue for another 20-25lb depending on if I can psych myself up enough.
Currently I'm getting severly out of breath on the verge of passing out after a workset and I feel like my form is getting worse, lots of bending over going on and I go too deep most of the time. Rep 5 I just say to myself, just fucking do it and somehow the weight comes up, feels almost like a miracle every time.

At 225 I feel my form is decent, because it's easy, should I deload or continue until I stall? I'm thinking it might be a cardio problem as well as bad form, will cardio help? Currently doing none. Or am I simply being a pussy.

#2 Also I'm having trouble with my presses, stalling every other workout, not sure if that's a problem or not. It's the only lift I've stalled on so far. Tried with belt today but still stalled, wasn't able to psych myself up very much either even though I took time to recover from the squats. Getting real mad has helped a ton with these but I've been lacking aggression latly. Maybe I'll ask someone to punch me in the face next time.

#3 Power Cleans, not much to say except I suck at them and end up hurting my elbows cause I'm a slow tall fuck. I've stopped doing them for now. I end up farting around doing rows, curls or whatever excercise I feel like trying that day instead. I feel like doing a few workout sessions with PC only but at the same time I want to progress the other lifts.

#4 What would be good goals for me to aim for during LP? My first goals at 5 reps were DL 275, SQ 225, BP 165, Press 110. I felt they were pretty good goals and it spurred me on.

Stats:
Age - 31 man years
Height - 6'4"
Weight - ~250lb
Diet - ~2500-3000kcal food, + candy and crap every 2-5 days. Lost about 10lb and since stalled on weight.
Deadlift - 5x286lb (fairly easy)
Squat - 5x259lb (hard from rep 2)
Bench - 5x165lb (fairly easy)
Press - 5x137lb (failed on set 2&3)
Power Clean - Failtown, hurting my elbows cause I'm too slow.
General goals - Get stronger and maybe lose some weight wouldn't hurt. I've a physically demanding job so getting stronger makes my life easier.

Thank you for reading, I hope someone will endulge me with some advice.

Do you squat heavy three times a week? Once I got my squat up to around 130 kg for my work sets, I began dreading 3-times-a-week squatting, so reduced it to two heavy sessions a week, with light squats on the mid-week session, which really helped.

Some people are just not good pressers. A friend of mine has squatted 200 kilos and deadlifted 240 kilos, yet his best press is around 60 kg. Micro-loading really is your best bet here. Reading and watching this also helped my press: http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/09/3-press-fixes/

[Chebass88]

If you continue doubting yourself, you will not make progress. Think about it positively - "I am going to get 5 reps" instead of "being a pussy".

Aggression during lifting doesn't work for everyone. It worked for Kirk Karwoski, but it might not work for you. For me, a positive attitude combined with focus gets it done, not being pissed off at the world.

One way to progress in the press is to do volume. Drop the weight to 115lb, and aim for 3x10. When you get that, increase the weight to 120 or 125 and repeat. It will make going back to 5 rep programming easier, and you will most likely break through 135. It helped me when I got stuck around the same weight.

[JayB]

Reading and watching this also helped my press: http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/09/3-press-fixes/

Wow, I do flare my elbows. I'm gonna pay more attention to the press next time. I figured it was such as simple movement(strict version) that it was almost impossible todo wrong.

Chebass88, yeah, I think I'm gonna try to focus really hard on tension instead and see if that works better.