Reply With QuoteYou made a wise choice in seeing a SSC. I know most of those in Chicago. Which one did you consult? Keep at it.
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Restarting the Novice LP
Hi all,
Some background to start - I'm a 25 year old male, 6'2", 205 lbs, ~18% bodyfat. I had originally started the Novice LP at the beginning of July last year and stalled out at two or so months in at 225 on the squat and 245 on the deadlift. Can't remember exactly how far I got with the press and bench, but I'm pretty sure it was around 90 and 120 respectively. When I ran the Novice LP the first time, I did not do power cleans - I am a professional musician and have had overuse issues in my forearms and wrists, and did not want to risk doing them incorrectly and not being able to play since I had not been taught them by an SSC at that point.. After I stalled out I decided to switch to 5/3/1 at the recommendation of a friend, and I ran the variation called "5/3/1 for Beginners" until early March of this year. At that point, I decided to see a SSC in my area who coached me on the lifts and suggested that I restart the Novice LP. I've been eating 4000-4500 calories a day since then. Here are the workouts I have done since I started over:
3/13/18 - BW 195
Squat: 155x3x5 (3 sets of 5 - that's how I've been notating it)
Press: 85x3x5
Deadlift: 235x4 (Missed rep 5)
3/15/18
Squat: 165x3x5
Bench: 115x3x5
Deadlift: 225x5
3/17/18
Squat: 170x3x5
Press: 90x3x5
Deadlift: 230x5
3/20/18
Squat: 175x3x5
Bench: 120x3x5
Deadlift: 235x5
3/22/18
Squat: 180x3x5
Press: 95x3x5
Deadlift: 240x5
3/24/18
Squat: 185x3x5
Bench: 125x3x5
Deadlift: 245x5
3/27/18
Squat: 190x3x5
Press: 100x3x5
Deadlift: 250x5
3/29/18
Squat: 195x3x5
Bench: 130x3x5
Deadlift: 255x5
3/31/18
Squat: 200x3x5
Press: 105x3x5
Deadlift: 260x5
4/3/18
Squat: 205x3x5
Bench: 135x3x5
Deadlift: 265x5
4/5/18
Squat: 210x3x5
Press: 110x5,4; 107.5x3
Deadlift: 270x5
4/7/18
Squat: 215x3x5
Bench: 140x3x5 (last few of these felt like I might not make them, for what it's worth. Switching to 2.5 lb jumps.)
Deadlift: 275x5
4/10/18 - Today
Squat: 220x3x5
Press: 107.5x3x5
Deadlift: 280x4 (missed the last rep - couldn't get it above the knees and I felt my lower back rounding. I think I was being impatient between the last few reps with regard to setup.)
Introducing the power clean at the next workout.
Member
You made a wise choice in seeing a SSC. I know most of those in Chicago. Which one did you consult? Keep at it.
Member
Bill Coyne at Kratos in Evanston. I should have gone sooner...Originally Posted by carson
Member
That's a very good gym. I've met Bill. The Fall Classic was held there last year and may be there this coming October. If you enjoy lifting you may enjoy the Fall Classic.
✓ Member
Gabe, great start! Carson is right; SSC coaching is invaluable and helps avoid so much unnecessary error. Depending on how often you see Bill, you may also find it useful to post vids here.
Member
4/12/18
Squat: 225x3x5
Bench: 142.5x3x5
Power Clean: 65x5x3
For every set beyond my first work set in the power clean, I got this weird sensation of dizziness and faintness at some point during the set. Went away after probably 5-10 seconds at the longest. The weight didn't seem particularly heavy, so I don't think it was that. I did some searching on here, and it looks like that is caused by mashing the bar into your throat. Though I don't explicitly remember doing that, I'm sure I did and will take care to be more aware of it next time.
✓ Member
That has happened to me on presses and power cleans too. I think it also has something to do with locking the knees out and slamming into the front rack position. While your coach's cues take presedence, I'd recommend making sure that you are catching with soft knees (land quieter) and make sure the rest of your mechanics are good. The problem may get better when the weight is heavier, as you won't be able to float the weight and have it crash into you as hard.
Member
Thanks for the pointers - I'll definitely take them into account. The more I thought about the whether the bar was slamming against my throat, the less likely I think it is that I was doing that. I have the sort of skin that turns and stays red if I even lightly scratch myself, so if I had been jamming the bar into my throat I would have big red marks especially given the center knurling on the bar I'm using (B&R 2.0). There were no marks. I guess I could still have been doing it though. I'll pay closer attention next time.
Member
My thoughts aren’t worth much since I’m very new to ss and lifting in general, but I added power cleans about a month ago, and felt the same dizziness for the first 4-5 workouts, and then it went away and hasn’t returned.
Also fwiw, I’m also a professional musician and had some left hand issues a few years back. Power cleans haven’t given me issues with my hands, since a good rack puts the bar on the shoulders with no weight on the hands. I occasionally feel some pain on bench press or squat, but it immediately goes away with adjusting to the proper grip. On bench I often catch myself with the weight of the bar suspended in the hands, instead of supported over the forearm. Correcting that = pain free, and less hand cramping or pain at work.
Member
I realize that now, I think before I was just being more cautious than I should have been. It doesn't worry me anymore, but what I had been worried about was the stretch on the underside of the forearm from the wrist being in extension in the rack position rather than anything about my hands. I've just been told (by former teachers) that too much stretch there can aggravate things, but in the PC the stretch isn't as intense as I was expecting it to be.
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