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Thread: Just came here to brag

  1. #41
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    Nov 2014
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    just looking at your dead video your back looks nice and flat to me, well done. that weight was just flying up, which is very impressive at 1.5 times your body weight

  2. #42
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    Thank you! I have been focusing a lot on the back position lately - those 5 steps have been tremendously helpful, as well as performing that movement outside. My inside gym is quite small and the wall is right in front of me. Eye gaze control is much easier outside.

    Now I just need to focus more on the bar path to keep it straighter. I will confess to being a bit of a p***y when it comes to rubbing the bar against my legs. I have been afraid to scrape by shins.

  3. #43
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    Jan 2021
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    BW 117 lbs.

    Squat: 3 sets X 5 reps at 155 lbs
    Bench: 3 X 5 reps at 100 lbs
    Chins-ups: 6, 5, 5
    Power clean and snatch practice

    My previous workout was Sunday, when I first introduced weighted Olympic lifts with pathetic form. This new experience left me with insane DOMS in the traps, hence the extra day of rest.

    Today, the highlight of my squat was the introduction of my brand new 3" belt from Dominion Strength, which finally got here after being held hostage by customs for over two weeks. This thing is amazing. Adios, el cheapo velcro belt.

    Wrist and elbows were not very cooperative, so I had to stick with high bar squats. I successfully completed my 15 reps in 3 sets of 5; I will there be adding more weight next time.

    For the bench, I tried the HooperTM warm up and this worked out well. I was again able to complete 3 sets of 5, which had not happen since reaching 85 lbs. The smaller increments I am using might have contributed to that as well, but whatever the reason, I cannot believe that I now have a 3-digit bench.

    Did some chin-ups, but only for 3 sets since I hit 5 reps on each of them.

    I then went outside and got some more practice of the power clean and snatch. I would not call that training yet; still painfully trying to figure out the movements. I kept the same weight (45 lbs).

    For the snatch, I believe I improved the arm movement. Last time, I was keeping my arms way too straight, almost to the point of lifting the bar through a front-raise-like movement. Today I think I did much better after some trials and errors. For the clean, I got a bit better at racking the bar where it belongs, but timing is still way off.

    Overall, not too bad for a second session. Let's just say that coordination has never been my thing. Way back in the days, I used to take step classes with my coworkers during lunch hour. I could not do the feet and hand movements at the same time. When I do lane swimming - not so much anymore, I still have to count every stroke in my head - "one, two, three, breathe; one, two, three, breathe". I could not dance even if my life depended on it. And my drill is so bad that infantrymen call it "cute". I admire anyone who can perform the about turn on the march.

    So Olympic movements are going to be a steep learning curve for me. Based on today's modest but palpable improvements, I suppose that frequent practice is the best approach at this point and until I can get a coach.

  4. #44
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    Jan 2021
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    Here are my videos. I figure I might as well keep them here to track how my form progresses. I also like YouTube's slow-mo option.

    Third set of squats, with my new belt, some Ukrainian music, and rep count in French.

    Best power clean set

    Best snatch set

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    Knoxville, TN
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    I knew you'd love that belt! Also glad the shortened warmup helped (though I'd probably lose that trademark claim to whomever I plagiarized it from). That bodyweight bench is so close now!

  6. #46
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    Well, I think today qualifies as a bad day, though I successfully completed the session I had planned.

    BW - 117 lbs
    Squat - 5 sets of 3 at 157.5 lbs (low bar)
    Press - 3 sets of 5 at 70 lbs
    Deadlift - 3 sets of 3 at 182.5 lbs
    Clean and snatch practice

    The good news:
    1) I met the goals set for today's session;
    2) I was able to low-bar squat, though this required a very wide grip with high elbows;
    3) presses were hard but went well (finally reached the 70s!); and
    4) I think I have figured out the racking position on the clean (did not smash my collar bones which are still bruised and tender from my previous session).

    The bad:
    1) squats felt off the whole time; and
    2) I think my back was not quite straight on the DL;
    3) I only got a few good reps on the snatch (had a several instances of press-outs).

  7. #47
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    Jan 2021
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    I trained on Tuesday but I had slept very little the night before (less than 4 hours). Expectations were quite low.

    Squat: 4, 5, 3, and 5 at 157.5 lbs - really struggled with bar placement.
    Bench: 5, 5, 4, 4 at 101 lbs
    Skipped the chin ups.

    Then life got in the way and I didn't get the opportunity to do my next workout until today:

    Squat: I was shooting of 5 sets of 3, but ended up doing 4 sets of 4 at 160 lbs, all low bar. Grip ain't textbook, but that's the best I could do today. First workout all low bar. Video of the fourth set.

    Press: 3 sets of 5 at 71 lbs. Didn't belt up for the first two. Video of first and last set. Still trying to improve my bar path.

    Deadlift: 3 sets of 3 at 185 lbs, Back not quite as straight as it used to be, and more work to do on the bar path - two much forward movement on all reps. Video of last set.

    Snatch (5 sets of 3) and Clean (3 sets of 5). My fourth practice trying to get the technique somewhat right. Now it seems good enough to start adding weight. Do you concur? Snatch; Clean.

  8. #48
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    Jul 2016
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    Stupid life, always getting in the way of lifting fun! :-)

    Since you're asking the peanut gallery for thoughts, there are a couple things I think I see (I am not a coach, or even remotely close to being one).

    Deadlift: One thing that helps me is to breath before setting my back. I.e.: place feet, grip bar, bring shins to bar, <<while back is still relaxed, take a huge breath and Valsalva>>, set back (and I also get tension into the bar at this point too), pull. I get more air and a stronger Valsalva that way; I also feel my back is better set and supported.
    - I might be breathing before bringing shins to bar. I'll have to check now that I'm thinking about it. Either should be fine, though.

    Clean: It looks like you might be catching with upright hips, but it's really hard to tell from the camera angle. If so, it might help to start practicing the catch with more of a quarter-front-squat position as you'll need it when the weight gets heavy anyhow. (That was one of my many problems, and now I'm having to re-train my catch.) Either way it looks like you can add weight. The bar is getting plenty of height.

  9. #49
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    Wow, thanks for the tips! I will definitely try that. The bench press warm-up you recommended has been working very well, by the way. I doubt I will even have a "big bench", but I am hoping to reach 1 X BW before I consider neglecting that movement to focus more on the press.

    I think you're right about the clean. Perhaps adding weight will help with that. I have only practiced with the lady bar and 5 lbs plastic plates. That is not even 45 lbs in total. I will make my next videos from the side to keep that in check.

  10. #50
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    starting strength coach development program
    Sooo... My bad wrist acted out for about a week and temporarily suspended my NLP. I could not do back squats or any movement involving a wrist flexion or a thumb-around grip. I resorted to some light front squats with my arms crossed, and to light deadlifts with the monkey grip. Pressing was completely out of the question.

    I resumed my NLP today. I kept my squat at the same weight than last time; it felt pretty good overall, especially the bar speed. The wrist protested quite a bit, so I stuck with high-bar squats.

    For the press, I added my usual 1 lb; I also added 2.5 lbs to the deadlift.

    Squat - 5 sets of 3 at 162.5 lbs; I expect my progress to stall pretty soon on this one.
    Press - 3 sets of 5 at 72 lbs; very though but I made it. I hope I can make it to 75 lbs before switching to triples.
    Deadlift - 4 sets of 3 at 187.5 lbs; I did an extra set to get a better video of my bar path and back extension (still working on that).

    I then practiced my power clean and my snatch, adding 5 lbs to my previous weight (now at a whopping 50 lbs). Form is improving and adding weight seems to be helping with the timing and the catch.

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