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Thread: Good Mornings are My Worst Nightmare!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    474

    Default Good Mornings are My Worst Nightmare!

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    Hello Coaches,

    How does the back angle look in these? Please don't tell me I've started good-morning'ing the squats again!

    This is set three from today @ 105kg:
    YouTube

    And here's set two from today, from the right side:
    YouTube

    And for the sake of reference, here's set three at 97.5kg from a few workouts ago:
    YouTube

    After Soule's helpful advice I moved my group out an inch or so, and that's helped a lot with the insecure feeling in my left hand, though you can see it still rises up over the bar.
    I'm also putting the bar further down my back.
    And on the 97.5kg set I could noticably feel that bounce reflex- for the first time ever, actually (and I really liked it!)- but that has disappeared as the weight has gone up again.
    Also on the 97.5kg set I noticed how I could keep (& was keeping) my back more upright, but if you look at today's 105kg sets it looks like the back's gotten more horizontal again.

    In my mind this is all OK, since I can feel myself needing to stay this horizontal to keep the bar over midfoot, but since I've been called out before for turning my squats into sunset salutations....what do y'all think?
    Maybe as I go beyond bodyweight squats the back has to get more horizontal to stay over midfoot?
    And maybe the key is not the AMOUNT of back angle, but HOW WELL you maintain it until you've risen out of the hole enough to start straightening it out? And isn't a little deviation in angle out of the hole OK, as I feel like I've got here?

    What do you say, dear SSC coaches? Is this an OK back angle?? (And any other feedback welcomed).

    Thank you!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    New Jersey
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    2,882

    Default

    Back angle is fine. Try to get a more secure grip on the bar. Its time to invest in weightlifting shoes and a belt

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    474

    Default Latest Set @ PR of 117.5kg - Much Improved?

    Hello Dear Coaches & Members,

    What do you think of this latest set of squats at 117.5 kg; do I have the green light to keep increasing the weight?
    YouTube

    After a bunch of resets and breaks (more than should have happened, and that's all on me!), I'm finally back up to my PR of 117.5kg! What's got me excited is that THIS time around, the weight felt manageable, and not barely possible to lift like the last few times around! I think part of the reason for that is increased protein in my diet (dairy; LOKAD- Liter of Kefir A Day, since I'm in Moscow!), but maybe also better sleep and better form.

    Some stuff I've been working on, in no particular order:
    -reduce (eliminate) elbow pain by not keeping bar too low
    -more secure grip, thanks to a wider grip, the EXCELLENT "keep your palms behind the bar, not on top" advice from (I think) someone on the Facebook group (Cody Anino?), and pulling elbows DOWN instead of up
    --better feel for depth; I used to feel like what is actually good depth was too low
    --more of an effort to brace before descending
    --bracing hard after putting lower back in extension, instead of this twerking hip movement (which I think the Joe with a Polish name guy on Facebook commented about)
    --keeping a proud chest (while looking down) at the start, instead of flexing the thoracic spine while looking down (also thanks to one of your Facebook posts, with a straightforward infographic👍🏻 )
    --keeping feet wide enough, but not too wide

    I also clearly see how my left foot often goes into supination, but this is something that also often happens when simply walking or running, when I'm tired, due to the head injury I different as a kid, so it doesn't work me too much.

    So, where am I failing here, and where am I succeeding? Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    474

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    I went ahead and did the next workout, without y'all's green light : 120kg which is a PR for me!
    YouTube

    Here are my stats since I never shared before:
    36yo
    99.7kg (whatever the hell that is in lbs., I'm just in Moscow for now)
    5'9"

    Dammit, this was tough!!!! Unexpected since 117.5kg had felt quite doable two days ago. I hadn't gotten much sleep the past two nights, and didn't eat enough this morning, and I know all of that is covered in The Three Questions, but it still surprised me that those two factors alone could have made me feel so beat up at the end. The left tennis elbow was KILLING me afterwards, and I just felt so exhausted that I layed in the locker room a minute, stretching out the left arm, then tried my BP but the elbow wasn't having it, so I did DL but could only handle a 13% drop, then I did BP at a slightly reduced weight.
    All I'm saying is those 3 Questions are some Serious sh*t!! 🤣😭
    Wow, today had me wondering whether I should switch over to the Texas Method. But I didn't give up, even with the brain playing tricks on me after sets one and two! 🤗 Or maybe my form is crap??

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    New Jersey
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    Seems like you've been grinding away at LP too long. I would switch to intermediate. And your left foot coming off the ground should tip you off that weightlifting shoes are a wonderful investment. You need to be more explosive out of the hole. Use the tension in your hamstrings to create a bounce to produce more force. A belt will help a lot with this

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    474

    Default

    Thank you for the feedback, Ryan!!

    Yes, shoes are in order, and a belt, too - I haven't bought the former yet just for budget priority reasons (two small kids at home and the wifey is stay-at-home); I put the latter off after trying out the ones lying around the gym, and not liking the feeling at all! But you all at Starting Strength have great resources out there now about how to choose your belt, and more importantly, how an incorrectly-fitting belt is almost more detrimental than helpful.

    Yeah, I've dragged out the NLP so long that I might even be at YNDTP level, but I just had so many breaks in training and form or back tweak resets that I kept thinking I could start up NLP again and make the progess you're "supposed to" make as a novice. So I am really grateful for your feedback about it being time to move on, especially after Sunday's training session as I was wondering how the hell I'd get all three lifts in next time!


    **BTW, I mixed up my weight above, I hate this damn metric system in Russia, but love quite a few other things about it! It's 97.9kg**

    Thanks again, Ryan!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    474

    Default So Thrilled to be Back at the Never-Used (for squats) Squat Rack!

    starting strength coach development program
    Hello Again Friends,

    What can you say about these squats, at 102.5kg on the third set?
    102.5kg 3rd set 2nd go-round 8-31-21 - YouTube

    (Previous form checks are below)

    Seems to me like I need to work on:
    -grip width (pinky end of hands are coming up off the bar again)
    -elbows (not sure what, as I recall being confused that some SS vids use to cue keeping them DOWN when coming up out of the hole, but some mentioned that too far down is also no good?)
    -stance width & resultant knee angle - looks like my knees are tracking INWARD of the toes, but when I did a narrower stance reaching depth delt less possible, and BTW a wider stance felt no good either - this felt like a nice compromise.

    I'm back at NLP again after a 16-month layoff. Back in March 2020, before the Moscow QR Code lockdowns, I was at around 130kg, but only on Texas Method. I have been avoiding gyms to stay away from all that mask & QR Code crap, and honestly I want my own home gym setup, but alas, it's too soon for that. Feel jealous if you want that in the Russian regions they only want you muzzling up at reception and to/from the locker room but even THAT hasn't been enforced so far.

    Mad props to Rip for his podcast about strength being so enduring!! It took me a long time my first go-round to get to 2 plates, but this time, after only about three weeks I was back at 100kg. Feels britty gud. Been doing 2.5kg jumps since 95kg, because 120 will get here soon enough and I'm in no rush. I'm planning to eat & sleep better this time around so that hopefully I can continue the NLP beyond 120kg.

    Thanks for your review and feedback!!

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