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Thread: Better late then never; Training in my 30s, a memoir

  1. #11
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    Nov 2019
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Thank you Mr. Bingley and Bruce! All the support here is very encouraging!

    11/07/19

    Squat 3x5: 135#
    Press 3x5: 75#
    Power clean 3x3: 55#

    Accessory: gave my 55# dog a bath post gym. Which is equivalent to wrestling an alligator.😀

    Overall, today's lifting session could be characterized as hot garbage. Everything felt super heavy and I was not moving well. I know that every day cannot be great and that is fine, I pushed through. But man that was a tough one mentally and physically. I came in with super sore quads and after the squats they were on fire. I was struggling to keep my knees out and they would wobble a bit each rep. I was super excited to start power cleaning today for the first time as part of the program. I have experience with cleans but I had a really hard time bending my legs at this point due to my quads hurting so I stuck with super light and just worked through the movement. 55# felt like air but it was nice to work through the pattern again. I look forward to doing cleans again once it comes back in the rotation 2 sessions from now.

    I have been putting in a lot of extra hours at my job the last 2 weeks and much of it has been sitting on a microscope which I know has definitely contributed to today's movement issues. I will miss my 3rd session this week due to travel so it will be a nice break. I can come back refocused on Tuesday and I look forward to that.

    Cheers!

  2. #12
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    Nov 2019
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    Boston, MA
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    I uploaded videos from my last 2 squat sets from yesterday 11/7/19. In general I was moving pretty poorly yesterday so I do think my form is better usually (my husband even commented I was moving pretty bad). However, I do think routinely I tend to bend my knees first rather than send my hips back, leading to quad dominance. I rarely feel my glutes or hamstrings when squatting, and feel only my quads. I will work on this next session at a lighter weight and see how that feels. I was surprised how heavy this felt, as 130# just two days prior felt really good. But could just be a bad lifting day. Thank you in advance for any form advice.

    Set 2:
    YouTube

    Set 3:
    YouTube

    PS. Sorry for bad camera angles, first time filming myself so I will put the camera in a better spot next time!

    Cheers!

  3. #13
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    Nov 2014
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    good vertical bar path on set 3

  4. #14
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    Jun 2018
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    Heya;

    Bar speed, path, depth, et cetera @135# was all B+ or better. Bar speed indicates another jump up in weight, not down: Your slowest rep in your last set I've got clocked at 2.1 seconds; I don't even move my heavier warmups that fast. Paraphrasing from M. Wolf, I think it's "add weight on a B or better." If this is you on a bad day, you've got a huge tank of progress on LP remaining.

    G

  5. #15
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    Nov 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Bischoff View Post
    Heya;

    Bar speed, path, depth, et cetera @135# was all B+ or better. Bar speed indicates another jump up in weight, not down: Your slowest rep in your last set I've got clocked at 2.1 seconds; I don't even move my heavier warmups that fast. Paraphrasing from M. Wolf, I think it's "add weight on a B or better." If this is you on a bad day, you've got a huge tank of progress on LP remaining.

    G
    Ok awesome! I thought my squat overall was much worse than that so it is great to hear these sets were not complete poo. In that case I will stick with the original plan for 140# for my next session. I was a little fearful for my next session before but after your and @Mr.Bingley comments I am looking forward to it! Thank you

  6. #16
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    May 2019
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    Virginia
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    Concur with @Geoff and @Mr.Bingley - form on squat looks solid and good rhythm/pace. My only recommendation is to check your hand grip on the bar - I saw you had your thumbs wrapped around the bar and a lot of wrist bend. The "book" says keep all the fingers on the same side of the bar (so your hands look more like hooks than a usual grip) and keep the wrists fairly straight; this helps reinforce the idea that you are locking the bar on your scap-ridge with a tight upper torso, rather than using your arms to hold it in position.

    I find that I need to move my arms a bit wider to get my hands and wrists in the suggested positions, and then really pull my elbows back as far as possible to lock in the bar. If I had more shoulder flexibility, I'd probably be able to keep the hands closer in.

  7. #17
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    Mar 2013
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    I just wish I could squat as well.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Ware View Post
    My only recommendation is to check your hand grip on the bar - I saw you had your thumbs wrapped around the bar and a lot of wrist bend. The "book" says keep all the fingers on the same side of the bar (so your hands look more like hooks than a usual grip) and keep the wrists fairly straight; this helps reinforce the idea that you are locking the bar on your scap-ridge with a tight upper torso, rather than using your arms to hold it in position.

    I find that I need to move my arms a bit wider to get my hands and wrists in the suggested positions, and then really pull my elbows back as far as possible to lock in the bar. If I had more shoulder flexibility, I'd probably be able to keep the hands closer in.
    good thoughts here

  9. #19
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    Nov 2019
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    Boston, MA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Ware View Post
    Concur with @Geoff and @Mr.Bingley - form on squat looks solid and good rhythm/pace. My only recommendation is to check your hand grip on the bar - I saw you had your thumbs wrapped around the bar and a lot of wrist bend. The "book" says keep all the fingers on the same side of the bar (so your hands look more like hooks than a usual grip) and keep the wrists fairly straight; this helps reinforce the idea that you are locking the bar on your scap-ridge with a tight upper torso, rather than using your arms to hold it in position.

    I find that I need to move my arms a bit wider to get my hands and wrists in the suggested positions, and then really pull my elbows back as far as possible to lock in the bar. If I had more shoulder flexibility, I'd probably be able to keep the hands closer in.
    Oh, good catch. I was focused so much on my legs I completely forgot the arms/hands. I will fix this this in my next session. I am very flexible in my arms so I am definitely able to get them in the right position. Thank you!

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
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    Boston, MA
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    starting strength coach development program
    11/19/19

    Had a lot of life happen last week so first day lifting since 11/7/19. Diet over the week was extremely poor (very low calories) and little sleep so energy today was low. But I made it in and I am happy about that. Finally things are getting back to normal so back to regularly scheduled programming and regular diet.

    Squat: 5 x 3 135# I struggled every set but with very little food all day and a week off I am not surprised by this
    Press: 3 x 5 75#
    Deadlift: 1x5 165# I was super surprised I was able to stick with my scheduled increase of 10# for todays deadlift. Figured it would be more just do what you can do type of day as with the squat and the press but nope, added 10# from last week and felt solid.

    Accessory:
    3x12/arm curls #15 (whenever I am stressed I do curls, they are my favorite haha)
    3X10/Leg split squats holding 2 15# dumbbells.

    Finally got a good nights sleep last night and good healthy food so I am looking forward to tomorrow (11/21) session.


    Side note: I lift in a barbell club in Cambridge and I got to watch a guy squat 625 for 4 yesterday. WAS INCREDIBLE. He got a nose bleed during which is just the most metal.

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