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Thread: First Timer at 46 / Never Been “Strong”

  1. #51
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    Jun 2019
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Sometimes it's like that.

    There's a saying floating around here, a reminder, that "the first set is a lie," meaning that the first set, especially squats, will feel about 50lbs heavier than it really is. But you'll get through it, just as you will the next two sets, which will feel lighter than that first set. Unfortunately, for the deadlift, it's only the first set. Great work, Rich!

    Keep at it!

  2. #52
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    Mar 2023
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    Yes! That’s absolutely true!

  3. #53
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    Mar 2023
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    So 36 hours after that 225 DL that felt 50lbs heavier than usual I got the worst pain in my upper back imaginable. Literally could not take a deep breath in without feeling like I was being stabbed, couldn’t even sneeze, like the urge to sneeze would suddenly stop upon inhaling too far. Crazy.

    Of course I still wanted to lift Thursday night so I did and I tried power cleans for the first time in my life. Those are gonna take practice and a whole other thread to talk about.

    Anyway, it’s Saturday, I’m scheduled to lift. Squats no problem. OHP no problem. But the deads- what to do? The pain is still there although not as bad. Sleeping last night was sorta rough - my back would just begin to cramp up so I’d have to move around a bit. Like I only raised the weight by 10lbs - I had very very little soreness at 215 (zero pain) - was a 10 pound increase just the point of too much too soon?!? Could’ve been my form - looking at the video I can see how the bar isn’t going vertical - I’m essentially pulling it back at the bottom and then moving it forward toward the top of the pull. My back looks straight to me though.

    Such a learning process here. Any suggestions on what to do today? Lighter weight? Skip altogether?

  4. #54
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    Mar 2023
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    Welp I tried dropping DL down by 10% to 205. I got through the warmups no problem basically but then when 205 came I either couldn’t or wouldn’t lift the bar once. Maybe a combination of both. Idk. Happy with my squats at 175 though - felt real good. And OHP also felt good at 117.5. I did do something to my elbow messing around with the rack positioning for cleans however. Just a semi mess over here lol

  5. #55
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    Feb 2021
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    Do you retract your shoulder blades during deadlift? I recall doing something like that in the past and it ended up similarly, that was not the best idea. During deadlift you should depress your shoulder blades but not retract. During setup it is like putting your lats into back pockets. Of course this is only a guess.

  6. #56
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    Mar 2023
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    During setup I think I put my chest out and lats are sorta flared. I’ll take a look tonight. My sense of what my body is doing is very poor

  7. #57
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    Feb 2021
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    Quote Originally Posted by RichK View Post
    During setup I think I put my chest out and lats are sorta flared. I’ll take a look tonight. My sense of what my body is doing is very poor
    I think we generally don't know what our bodies are doing, this is normal. Generally shoulder blades during deadlift should be depressed (pulled down) so that lats are under tension but should not be retracted. Chest up does not mean to retract shoulder blades but to set back in extension. It is worth to check this. In my case when I did this mistake, it was quite painful for a couple of days and feeling of being stubbed sounds familiar. Most likely you have only pulled something, if it was anything more that that you would see some bruises on your back. The pain will go away, no worries.

  8. #58
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    Jun 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by RichK View Post
    My sense of what my body is doing is very poor
    That's true for pretty much all of us, Rich. Video is always helpful, even if it's just you looking at it. But know that you still won't see everything.

  9. #59
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    Jul 2016
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    Knoxville, TN
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    If it helps, I'm 46 and re-starting NLP from two years ago. I can all but guarantee that 225 lb on the deadlift is far, far from your limit on novice progression. I've had tweaks on deadlifts before, and they go away quickly if you keep training. In my case, I kept warming up the deadlifts and seeing where the issues became prohibitive, but it was the power cleans that really did the trick. I had herniated a lower back disc on a final pull and stupidly finished the pull. The cleans had me back to pulling within about 2-3 weeks, and the deadlift resumed almost like nothing happened.

    FWIW, in my deadlift setup, after touching my shins to the bar, I pull my shoulders up just enough to get my arms locked in before taking a huge breath and setting my back. That's all I do, and so far it's kept my upper back in good shape. I have no idea if that's helpful for you, but it's my data point.

    Obviously, I'm not you, I haven't seen you, and I'm not a coach. That's just my experience. The injured area will heal much better if it receives some work.

  10. #60
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    Mar 2023
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    Yes the pain has gone away completely now. I believe what happened with squats has happened with DL’s and where my form may have been ok at lighter weights, there was some form creep and I think the increase in weight was too much too quick. So like the squats, I’m gonna drop it back down some more and focus more on maintaining my form while having slower increments upwards. It worked with squats, no reason it won’t work for deads

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