New to lifting, form and foot questions
HappyBouncyJello
Posts: 14 Member
Hiya ladies!
I stumbled across this lovely group right after I started SL5x5 in January. I've been lurking, reading your glorious wisdom like the awesome summary and the stickies.
First off I'm just getting started, right now I'm lifting 30 pounds on all the exercises. I think this is totally sweet progress and can't wait to progress more! I'm currently 5'7" and 271 (from 285 woot!).
I have a few questions I couldn't find answers to...
Such as when I finish a workout the TOP of my right foot hurts. Ice does nothing, heat later does nothing. Any ideas?
Another issue I'm having is my boob-ular region getting in the way. *cough* 38KK(UK)/38P(US) *cough* On bench presses and Pendlay rows specifically.
On bench presses the form suggestion says to hit just below the nipple... but on me that's about 6 inches above my sternum. Should I press to on my band line instead? Or above, like just below my armpits?
On the Pendlay rows I keep smacking myself in the boobs on the way up... any suggestions? I'm not too keen on these awesome bruises. I tried subbing in power cleans like in Starting Strength, but my form isn't good enough yet to really go for more weight... I may have a bruise on my chin from those lol whoops!
Any insights and suggestions would be welcome, thanks!
I stumbled across this lovely group right after I started SL5x5 in January. I've been lurking, reading your glorious wisdom like the awesome summary and the stickies.
First off I'm just getting started, right now I'm lifting 30 pounds on all the exercises. I think this is totally sweet progress and can't wait to progress more! I'm currently 5'7" and 271 (from 285 woot!).
I have a few questions I couldn't find answers to...
Such as when I finish a workout the TOP of my right foot hurts. Ice does nothing, heat later does nothing. Any ideas?
Another issue I'm having is my boob-ular region getting in the way. *cough* 38KK(UK)/38P(US) *cough* On bench presses and Pendlay rows specifically.
On bench presses the form suggestion says to hit just below the nipple... but on me that's about 6 inches above my sternum. Should I press to on my band line instead? Or above, like just below my armpits?
On the Pendlay rows I keep smacking myself in the boobs on the way up... any suggestions? I'm not too keen on these awesome bruises. I tried subbing in power cleans like in Starting Strength, but my form isn't good enough yet to really go for more weight... I may have a bruise on my chin from those lol whoops!
Any insights and suggestions would be welcome, thanks!
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Replies
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What shoes are you wearing? This could be the issue with the sore foot.
As for the boob-ular issue ............. mine getting in the way is not an issue. They were the first to go when I lost weight. I'll let others help with that one.
Congrats on the weight loss.0 -
Yeah, shoes could be the culprit for the sore foot. Try loosening up the laces (or if you can, do a workout barefoot to see how it feels. Deadlifting barefoot is... Ha! So awesome! lol) Otherwise I'd look into ankle mobility drills. If you're really tight there it could be causing you to tense your foot wrong to accommodate the moves and thus cause all kinds of issues.
I have a fairly small chest and it gets in the way sometimes for me too (mostly doing dumbbell rows though). For the bench, you want to be taking the bar down about around a hand's length from your armpit. If there's boobage in the way, congrats, you just earned an excuse to use a shorter range of motion! xD
For rows, you're basically hitting that same line on your chest. As the weight gets heavier, trust me, you won't be bumping them hard anymore. It'll become a challenge to touch them. Plus, if you're smacking on them on the rows, you'll hit them on proper power cleans (you keep the bar as close to your body as possible) too.
This might be a silly question but, are you wearing a sports bra? Have you considered wrapping them? (because I have. And again, they're pretty small) Having the ladies tightly bound might be uncomfortable, but it's just for an hour, and the lack of bruises'll and annoyances would be worth it IMO.0 -
Agree, shoes are most likely the issue with the foot pain. Sometimes I'll have pain where the laces are. Sounds like during the lifts your upper foot is pressing up on the laces too much.
Krok is right with the boob issue as well. You may have a lot of them, but they can be tamed. Find a really solid sports bra, or two. I worked with a girl who had very large (not natural, but large) breasts and she would always wear two sports bras for the support and control. You can try to do dumbbell work as a work around since they will probably start to get smaller as you lose weight.0 -
Thanks for the responses!
I am not wearing shoes, I found a cheap weight set and bench and work out in my living room. Barefoot by preference. Krok, you're totally right about deadlifting barefoot, I started in old chuck taylors and then... chucked them.
I shall start doing more ankle flexibility, I hadn't thought of that, thanks!
I shall try putting the bar closer to my armpits, I didn't want to mess my form up too badly, so it's good to know I can do that.
As for sports bras, well, I have a work around for the moment. I use my best fitting bra and then put a spanx-like compression tank on and fold the tummy up over the boobs for double squishage. I really really REALLY look forward to losing 5 cup sizes so I can get a Shock Absorber, or maybe a Panache Sport, they look so comfy.0 -
my trainer helped with my bench press line. if you hold the empty bar up in your bench press top position, slowly move your arms back until it feels like it will tip back. then slowly move your arms forward until you feel as though the bar will tip forward. Bring it back in between those points and there is a 'sweet spot' where the bar should almost feel weightless. When I do that, it comes down to my band line on my bra (actually my HRM connection point lol). If I were going to be competing I might find out how better to use my boobage to reduce ROM but if you are arching it's not necessarily at the top anyway!
re rows, I don't do them any more but when I did you should be aiming for top of stomach/bottom of ribcage as I recall, so boobage shouldn't be an issue
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