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Thanks, Carson! I shall keep this in mind on my next lift. I do feel like because of the heavier load that I tend to loosen up at the bottom of my squat.Originally Posted by carson
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Many, if not most lifters, fall into the habit of thinking that ones hips can be lowered if one lowers ones chest. It doesn't work. It's like a teeter totter. If the top of your torso goes down the bottom goes up. Consequently the bar rolls up your back.
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April 12, 2018 Session 6.
SQ: 190 lbs x 5 x 3
BP: 125 lbs x 5 x 3
DL: 210 lbs x 5 x 1
Thanks for this and the other tips, Carson. I had it in mind while doing my squats this session and made sure to cue chest up and keeping everything tight. I was leaning too forward; now that I was aware of that, plus keeping chest up, the bar did not move much during the lift. Plus, my balance is totally centering on my mid-foot and it felt really solid!
Happy with my bench press too, as my elbows were not flaring out due to cue to engage my lats and imagining "bending" the bar. I am also slightly able to use leg drive by pushing myself horizontally towards the uprights. I also am pushing the bar towards the uprights too, which seems to create that arched bar path going up.
Since this was a reset LP, I switched back the dead lift as I may have switched to the power clean/snatch too early. I will run the dead lift for this two weeks before switching so I can have more time refining it. I also went with 10 pounds increase so that my dead lift will be way ahead in weights to my squats by the time I make the switch to the power clean/snatch.
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April 14, 2018 Session 7.
SQ: 195 lbs x 5 x 3
OP: 90 lbs x 5 x 3
DL: 220 lbs x 5 x 1
Making sure to have chest out and to unlock hips and knees to initiate movement during my squats. Making sure to drive hips up and keeping everything tight. Anytime I feel that I am pressing with my legs, I cue hip drive. So far very happy with my squats as I feel like I was able to solve the issue of the bar rolling up my back and my tendency to tip over.
My overhead press is starting to get heavy as I near the weight that I used to stall a lot during my first LP. I was still able to complete the lifts and look forward to how I will fare next session.
Filmed myself doing dead lifts and was slightly concerned about back rounding out, or maybe it's from the angle of the video. I was making sure to push my chest out and engage my lats. Still, happy to be able to pull the weight.
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April 17, 2018 Session 8.
SQ: 200 lbs x 5 x 3
BP: 130 lbs x 5 x 3
DL: 225 lbs x 5 x 1
I made some fixes based on the comments that I got from the form check video that I posted in the "Technique" forum. I was told that I had the bar placed too high on my back so I made the adjustment of lowering it a bit, though I had to widen my grip slightly so I can do it. It felt even more balanced than before and I don't feel like tipping over and the bar was not moving at all. Had to cue hip drive and getting good depth and keeping everything tight all through out the reps and sets as the movement felt slightly different. I am also not sure if I am sitting back as per the comments in the form check video so I have to film it next session to confirm. Overall, very happy with my squat today.
My dead lift was a different matter. The form check confirmed my suspicion that I am losing lumbar tightness as the set progressed. This sort of messed up with my mind as I seem to pause slightly longer than usual after every rep to reset myself, which ended up messing up the whole lift. Though I was able to perform 5 reps, it didn't felt good; I was winded and close to throwing up. Maybe it was a combination of fatigue, stress from work and missing some meals during the day. I was slightly frustrated with myself as my usual groove and rhythm was not there. I will take some positives out of this session and will dial the weight back a bit next time.
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April 19, 2018 Session 9.
SQ: 205 lbs x 5 x 3
OP: 95 lbs x 5 x 3
DL: 230 lbs x 5 x 1
SQ: Learned how to send the hips back to establish the back angle with knees out and leaning over at the start of the lift. A bit wobbly at first but getting used to the slight change in movement. Still needs to refine it, I suppose.
OP: Started to grind and almost didn't make the last rep of the last set. I feel slightly frustrated because this is the weight that I started to stall during my first LP. Will re-watch videos to see what technique I am missing.
DL: Weights moved better this time as I made sure to keep lumbar extension through out the lift. Chest up and bending the bar towards the shin to engage the lats helped, me thinks. Happy so far considering how sloppy I was the previous session.
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April 21, 2018 Session 10.
SQ: 190 lbs x 5 x 3 (Deload to focus on form correction)
BP: X lbs x X x X
DL: X lbs x X x X
Failed session. Abandoned everything after the squat. I was trying out fixes based on comments I got from that form check video I posted in the technique forum. Set the hips back to establish back angle and adjusting the bar placement lower. Unfortunately these adjustments messed up the whole squat session. The attempt to lower the bar more made my arms, especially the outer part of the bicep just above the elbows, hurt more than usual. Sitting back more made my lower back sore, which never happened before in my squat. The frustration carried over during my bench press warm-up, so I decided not to continue.
Feeling a bit down after that, but luckily I have a two day rest before my next session. Hopefully I can figure things out by then.
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Get online coaching. Have you looked for a coach in Northern US?
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Not sure if I can afford online coaching at the moment, but will definitely aim for it.
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