March Check-in&Chat - Green beer to fuel your lifts!
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Ah, Tameko, you tempt me with your talk of short workouts.
But I know I have too much to work on, first. >.<
Speaking of, every time I think I have stuff figured out, I feel like NO! There's something else you should be working on! Gah. I know we were talking about this a bit a few days ago, but do you guys think low bar is that different than high bar? Apparently RIPPETOE thinks so. :grumble: And apparently I've been doing high bar-ish. So do I need to re-figure that, now, too?
Edit: Just read another article that said it doesn't f***ing matter. Pros and cons to both, pick one and do it. Sounds like a plan to me.0 -
Ah, Tameko, you tempt me with your talk of short workouts.
But I know I have too much to work on, first. >.<
Speaking of, every time I think I have stuff figured out, I feel like NO! There's something else you should be working on! Gah. I know we were talking about this a bit a few days ago, but do you guys think low bar is that different than high bar? Apparently RIPPETOE thinks so. :grumble: And apparently I've been doing high bar-ish. So do I need to re-figure that, now, too?
yeesss... I think its different buuuuuut .... I also think that in reality, outside of rippetoe training oly lifters specifically (as in he is training in PARTICULAR for competitive olympic lifting, and he's just bled it over into fitness as well), and someone like Glen Pendlay training serious powerlifters, its not VERY important.
Low bar lets you move more weight, whereas higher bar lets you move deeper -- I actually tend to high bar my first two warmups, and go low (for the stretch), and then low bar my heavier weights.
But -- I think in the beginning all that matters is that you're hitting parallel, you're keeping good tension in your core (not falling forward), and you CAN squat. The whole movement is so uncomfortable and different to most people to start with that fussing at them for holding the bar a few inches higher or lower is silly, and I bet that both Rippetoe and Pendlay would agree with me. In the beginning its about learning to engage hip drive, keep your core tight, knees out, etc.
And then after that, it depends on what your goals are, but I think the "ATG OR IT DOESN"T COUNT" crowd is silly, frankly, because -- counts for what? Power lifting competitions require parallel so anything at that or below "counts". But since for an oly lifter the squat is actually an assistance movement (for the 2 core lifts which both require you to put the weight OVER your head, the snatch and the clean and jerk) its more about being able to do it in a way that assists those lifts. And did I mention taht the weight is going OVER YOUR HEAD? So obviously oly lifters also want to get stronger, but it doesn't matter to them if they can (excuse the big manly man numbers here) squat 900lbs to parallel because the world record for the oly lifts is in the 450-550 range.
And since MOST people are just lifting to look good - you should do whatever is comfortable for you. Also a lot of people are somewhere in the middle on where they hold the bar, which is fine.
OH MY GOD I COULD HAVE JUST WRITTEN THAT LAST BIT AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE.
*cough* But um, eventually you may want to go lower with the bar in order to squat more - Nick's been squatting with the bar fairly high due to him being VERY tight in the shoulders when we started this. he couldn't' even hold it low, it wasn't a possibility for him. Now he's got the shoulder flexibility (with absolutely no particular work on stretching or anything, might I add, he just got more mobile with the basic lifts) but the bar hits him right across the top of his shoulder blades and he says its very uncomfortable -- so I think he might not be able to do it until he builds up his back more (although this is all a recent development, maybe he's just makign it harder than it needs to be). I've never had an issue with it personally.0 -
S'okay, I didn't mind the long read. In everything I was reading I was sort of coming to the conclusion that I should just pick one and do it.
I was trying it a bit lower a few times last week and there was a weird spot where it sort of... hurt, I guess, but mainly on my right side. And when I move it up it feels fine. So I don't know if I actually had a bruise there from something (I'm a bit of a klutz plus I bruise easily and can't remember why) or if it was somehow a result of some muscle imbalances between my right and left sides. Anyhoo, it meant I moved the bar back up again, and did that. I may experiment with it a bit again this week, but I really found this week I focused on engaging my lats more and I think it really helped me with my entire core. Things felt better, and more stable. I was just annoyed when I felt like I was figuring things out and then NO! YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING ELSE WRONG, TOO! (That was the internetz yelling at me. STOP YELLING AT ME, INTERNETZ! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!)
Oookay, I think it's past bedtime for me.0 -
Thanks Tameko for the intermediate writeups!!! Not that I need them. I know I suck at lifts, but I don't think I could tell you right now where I need improvement (and what accessory lifts would help with that). So, I guess I'm still sitting pretty at a beginner level, and I'm fine with that. :laugh: Hoping to power through until I go to Scotland, and then that will be my diet and exercise break. Then maybe a lighter deload week back, and then back to the grind. It's the plan, but we'll see how it actually goes...0
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There was a moment where I started to stress about high bar vs low bar squats and then I decided eff it....I'm going to do what feels comfortable for me and what I progress with. There is so much to worry about with squatting to begin with, ugh no thanks stressing if the bar is 1 inch higher on my back than it should be!
Started 3x5 this morning instead of 5x5 and I'm in love. There really are so many directions you can go with 3x5 rather than 5x5 (in my opinion anyway) while still keeping with the big 5 which makes me super happy and kind of sets my mind at ease about the next 3-6 months. Plus it was QUICK! I was able to get some treadmill time in and a couple of stretches and still came in at 60 minute workout! Whoop!0 -
But yeah I haven't been doing SL for ...probably 8 months? I moved to 5/3/1, which is like the exact opposite of what Dani is doing so its a good comparison.
I'm actually looking forward to doing 5x3 again eventually but for now I really have to work on endurance. I would love to try powerlifting some day, so I plan on going back to SS and incorporating power cleans at some point, and snatches and whatnot and focusing on power lifts rather than just "lifts". I think women throwing an olympic bar around like they're twirly bars is just beastmode. So impressive.
But ... first things first for my out-of-shape hiney. I'll get there. It'll give me a long-term goal to work towards though.
That's awesome that you're doing so well on 5/3/1 after only 8 months of lifting. Way to stick with it! :drinker:
Far as squats ... there's a vid someone posted on bodybuilding.com where he's "teabagging" squats. Holy cow, is all I gotta say. :laugh:0 -
Hi everyone! Still breaking rules here, and doing all the lifts in one day. I just feel better about the workout when I get them all in. Is that wrong??
Here's my weights so far as of yesterday:
Squat 115
OHP 45
Bench 65
Rows 95
Stiff-leg dead lifts (I just like them better) 115
Also my weird plie inner thigh squat things LOL at 95
Feeling good!!! I slept funny Friday night and had horrid back pain Saturday, so I didn't work out til Sunday. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill/elliptical, then my lifts, hoping it wouldn't hurt. I didn't feel ANY pain with the lifts, so I feel I can confidently say I didn't hurt myself lifting, which is what some friends were hinting at. Whew!0 -
hofo:
since I am majorly deloaded, I also often break that rules.... somedays I dont have the energy but often I do.... as the weights increase, I think it can cause you to become prone to injury from overuse or otherwise....0 -
Hi everyone! Still breaking rules here, and doing all the lifts in one day. I just feel better about the workout when I get them all in. Is that wrong??
Nope, that's what I'm doing. Starting at 2x8 and working up to 2x12 which is just one short of 5x5.
You're doing SL deadlifts which tax the CNS a lot less than regular DLs so you should be fine. If you were doing regular DLs I'd caution you against (I do regular DLs so I'm scaling them down to every other workout and am dropping the weight by a lot), but I don't see an issue, really.
Watch for signs of overtraining though, and pay attention to your body. But, we should all do that anyway. 0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!
Yeaaaaaah!!! awesome!0 -
Oh yeah fishlover that's just awesome!!!0
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Thanks Tameko for the intermediate writeups!!! Not that I need them. I know I suck at lifts, but I don't think I could tell you right now where I need improvement (and what accessory lifts would help with that). So, I guess I'm still sitting pretty at a beginner level, and I'm fine with that. :laugh: Hoping to power through until I go to Scotland, and then that will be my diet and exercise break. Then maybe a lighter deload week back, and then back to the grind. It's the plan, but we'll see how it actually goes...
When are you going? Where are you going? I have only been once but I love Scotland!! My husband is a piper and back in 95 we were there for a month going around to the folk fests and Scottish small pipe gatherings. It was awesome!0 -
Hi everyone! Still breaking rules here, and doing all the lifts in one day. I just feel better about the workout when I get them all in. Is that wrong??
Nope, that's what I'm doing. Starting at 2x8 and working up to 2x12 which is just one short of 5x5.
You're doing SL deadlifts which tax the CNS a lot less than regular DLs so you should be fine. If you were doing regular DLs I'd caution you against (I do regular DLs so I'm scaling them down to every other workout and am dropping the weight by a lot), but I don't see an issue, really.
Watch for signs of overtraining though, and pay attention to your body. But, we should all do that anyway.
OH gosh, what is a regular dead lift compared to a SL dead lift? I have no idea what I'm doing?0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!
Woohoo! Way to go gal!0 -
Hi everyone! Still breaking rules here, and doing all the lifts in one day. I just feel better about the workout when I get them all in. Is that wrong??
Nope, that's what I'm doing. Starting at 2x8 and working up to 2x12 which is just one short of 5x5.
You're doing SL deadlifts which tax the CNS a lot less than regular DLs so you should be fine. If you were doing regular DLs I'd caution you against (I do regular DLs so I'm scaling them down to every other workout and am dropping the weight by a lot), but I don't see an issue, really.
Watch for signs of overtraining though, and pay attention to your body. But, we should all do that anyway.
OH gosh, what is a regular dead lift compared to a SL dead lift? I have no idea what I'm doing?
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/clean-style-deadlift-technique.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/rdl-vs-sldl.html0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!
Woo-hoo! Congrats!0 -
Thanks Tameko for the intermediate writeups!!! Not that I need them. I know I suck at lifts, but I don't think I could tell you right now where I need improvement (and what accessory lifts would help with that). So, I guess I'm still sitting pretty at a beginner level, and I'm fine with that. :laugh: Hoping to power through until I go to Scotland, and then that will be my diet and exercise break. Then maybe a lighter deload week back, and then back to the grind. It's the plan, but we'll see how it actually goes...
When are you going? Where are you going? I have only been once but I love Scotland!! My husband is a piper and back in 95 we were there for a month going around to the folk fests and Scottish small pipe gatherings. It was awesome!
I'm actually going on a "tour" with two pipe and drum bands, one Scotish, and one from California (together on the same trip). I'm leaving at the end of April, and we're going to the Isle of Mull, Loch Lemond, Oban, Sterling, Rosslyn Chapel, Glenkinchie distillery and Edinburgh. Should be a lot of fun. There will be several private concerts, a ceilidh, and a whole lot of drinking. Even though it's more expensive, I thinking about sticking with whisky for the trip because I drink it so much slower than beer. Beer could lead to problems (like 6 a night problems). Especially since my tummy tends to hate excessive amounts of beer and I'm going to have a random roommate...0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!
Super awesome!! I know I suck at measuring. My thighs have measured the same for the past several months, but I can now curtsy in my pants that used to be tight in the thighs. I think I'm measuring handicapped...0 -
Was gonna wait until after the gym to post this so I could do my weights too but I'm too excited...
I wasn't gonna measure for another week but I just decided to go for it. 1/2 inch off waist, 2 fricken inches off of belly button, and a 1/2 inch off muffin top! Yay! Either I can't measure or I'm doing awesome!
I'm going to go with: you're awesome! That's fantastic!Super awesome!! I know I suck at measuring. My thighs have measured the same for the past several months, but I can now curtsy in my pants that used to be tight in the thighs. I think I'm measuring handicapped...
:laugh:0
