I was watching Mark Ripptoe Starting strength for squat critques: Are you squatting below 90 degrees? Sticking your chest out with with elbows back? He has the lifter hold thier breath pressing up which braces your spine, maybe try that? Try not squatting down too far.

Nope, nope and nope! I don't have a big range of movement with my squats so I am not even able to get parallel. It's not weight related - doesn't matter, as soon as a bar is on my back I can't go low.

Definitely not holding my breath - a big exhale is the only thing that gets me back up, lol. I will check my chest next time but I don't think I do that. I may have to watch that video - is it on youtube?

Jo I don't see the video Clips on Youtube that are on a CD he has out. I checked in out from the library, "Starting Strength" Mark Rippetoe...

Jo I don't see the video Clips on Youtube that are on a CD he has out. I checked in out from the library, "Starting Strength" Mark Rippetoe...

I just checked my library..... only one book (not CD) in the whole of South Australia, hahaha. I have put a hold on it!

Low bar squat sits lower on your back than the traditional back squat. Many people who have problems with flexibility find the low bar squat more effective.

Jo, yesterday I took extra time working on form and flexibility. But who has time like that on a regular basis? Not most of us busy moms.

Runz, you are too cute! My body type is similar to yours. I have more fat on me right now than you do!

Sam, I forgot about using plates under the heels- that always helps!

I should've lowered my goals for this week. My in-laws are here, so food is very iffy. But I think cals will be ok and I can get my workouts in.

Barbell I knew you would come through with the answer on the squats you are awesome like that.

Runz, how you look so good after a workout is beyond me, I'm a red sweaty mess. And you're arms & back look fantastic.

I've had one of those discouraging weeks. I've been working out & dieting since March with no real changes. I've eaten at a deficit, then told that I was eating too little so I upped a little. I was told I should lift so here I am lifting. I do cardio or cardio kickboxing 4-5 days a week. I'm always busy on weekends running around even jumping on the trampoline with & with kids ( that workout can be no joke). I can see a difference in my arms but I want to slim my hips & thighs ( I know some of you can relate). I've cut out fast food, and most junk food ( still a cookie or bit of candy here & there, but not whole servings). My BF says I'm over training, but I don't feel like I am, I'm not overly tired or sore or anything like that. Just frustrated.

I have decided on Stage 2 I'm going to back off the weights a bit to work on form. (I know this sounds logical to you all & I should have been doing it fromthe beginning) I've gotten my DBs up to 30lbs (almost 40) when I do the step ups, but if I get a little unbalanced I feel like I'm going to fall over. I should realize that is 60lbs & its more than half my weight so I need to work on my core. I still find things confusing with TDDEs & eating at a deficit but not if youre lifting. I'm going to work on trying to accept me as me & I'll lose the inches eventually. I tend to focus too much on what the scale says & its hasn't been moving (neither are the inches). I will be paitent but I'm still open to anything you guys can suggest. I know better than to open any of these feeling on a different thread bc some ppl on here are just down right mean for no reason.

Any way thanks for letting me vent I hope everyone has a good weekend, seems like there has been a lot of family birthdays & visits lately :drinker:

I've had one of those discouraging weeks. I've been working out & dieting since March with no real changes. I've eaten at a deficit, then told that I was eating too little so I upped a little. I was told I should lift so here I am lifting. I do cardio or cardio kickboxing 4-5 days a week. I'm always busy on weekends running around even jumping on the trampoline with & with kids ( that workout can be no joke). I can see a difference in my arms but I want to slim my hips & thighs ( I know some of you can relate). I've cut out fast food, and most junk food ( still a cookie or bit of candy here & there, but not whole servings). My BF says I'm over training, but I don't feel like I am, I'm not overly tired or sore or anything like that. Just frustrated.

I have decided on Stage 2 I'm going to back off the weights a bit to work on form. (I know this sounds logical to you all & I should have been doing it fromthe beginning) I've gotten my DBs up to 30lbs (almost 40) when I do the step ups, but if I get a little unbalanced I feel like I'm going to fall over. I should realize that is 60lbs & its more than half my weight so I need to work on my core. I still find things confusing with TDDEs & eating at a deficit but not if youre lifting. I'm going to work on trying to accept me as me & I'll lose the inches eventually. I tend to focus too much on what the scale says & its hasn't been moving (neither are the inches). I will be paitent but I'm still open to anything you guys can suggest. I know better than to open any of these feeling on a different thread bc some ppl on here are just down right mean for no reason.

Ali, I'm sorry you're feeling this way. Many of us have been there ourselves. I know I have. I think you should know:

1. Hips and thighs are one of the hardest places for a woman to get rid of fat. (For men it's the tummy). Especially when you get down to low levels of body fat. I don't know how low your bf is, but you mention 60lbs being more than half your weight so that sounds like you're pretty slim. There is a book called The Stubborn Fat Solution by Lyle McDonald. I bought it but then realized its for persons who are at a pretty low body fat and need to get rid of that last bit from their hips/thighs so I haven't read it fully yet because my body fat is still pretty high. But if yours is low, you should look into getting that book.

2. You do sound like you're overtraining. 4-5 days of cardio/kickboxing PLUS lifting PLUS all the other stuff sounds like a lot.

3. For most people, fat loss IS as simple as maintaining a calorie deficit, lifting to maintain/increase muscle mass, eating enough protein for muscle repair.

4. Sometimes after being in a deficit too long, hormone levels drop and you need to eat at maintenance for about two weeks to start the fat loss going again.

Hope this helps, any questions please feel free to ask.

I've had one of those discouraging weeks. I've been working out & dieting since March with no real changes. I've eaten at a deficit, then told that I was eating too little so I upped a little. I was told I should lift so here I am lifting. I do cardio or cardio kickboxing 4-5 days a week. I'm always busy on weekends running around even jumping on the trampoline with & with kids ( that workout can be no joke). I can see a difference in my arms but I want to slim my hips & thighs ( I know some of you can relate). I've cut out fast food, and most junk food ( still a cookie or bit of candy here & there, but not whole servings). My BF says I'm over training, but I don't feel like I am, I'm not overly tired or sore or anything like that. Just frustrated.

I have decided on Stage 2 I'm going to back off the weights a bit to work on form. (I know this sounds logical to you all & I should have been doing it fromthe beginning) I've gotten my DBs up to 30lbs (almost 40) when I do the step ups, but if I get a little unbalanced I feel like I'm going to fall over. I should realize that is 60lbs & its more than half my weight so I need to work on my core. I still find things confusing with TDDEs & eating at a deficit but not if youre lifting. I'm going to work on trying to accept me as me & I'll lose the inches eventually. I tend to focus too much on what the scale says & its hasn't been moving (neither are the inches). I will be paitent but I'm still open to anything you guys can suggest. I know better than to open any of these feeling on a different thread bc some ppl on here are just down right mean for no reason.

Ali, I'm sorry you're feeling this way. Many of us have been there ourselves. I know I have. I think you should know:

1. Hips and thighs are one of the hardest places for a woman to get rid of fat. (For men it's the tummy). Especially when you get down to low levels of body fat. I don't know how low your bf is, but you mention 60lbs being more than half your weight so that sounds like you're pretty slim. There is a book called The Stubborn Fat Solution by Lyle McDonald. I bought it but then realized its for persons who are at a pretty low body fat and need to get rid of that last bit from their hips/thighs so I haven't read it fully yet because my body fat is still pretty high. But if yours is low, you should look into getting that book.

2. You do sound like you're overtraining. 4-5 days of cardio/kickboxing PLUS lifting PLUS all the other stuff sounds like a lot.

3. For most people, fat loss IS as simple as maintaining a calorie deficit, lifting to maintain/increase muscle mass, eating enough protein for muscle repair.

4. Sometimes after being in a deficit too long, hormone levels drop and you need to eat at maintenance for about two weeks to start the fat loss going again.

Hope this helps, any questions please feel free to ask.

i agree with this. And will also add - don't get discouraged. I have heard lots of people feeling down about not seeing any progress in their body during stage 1 and even later in NROLFW. I know I did. If you are consistent though the weight and inches will eventually come off. Just make sure that you are eating enough to fuel your workouts while still staying in a deficit. (although taking a week or two off as JL suggested is a good idea too)

Sorry jo, I'm the typical type A/detail-oriented/left brained type of person. I analyze EVERYTHING (sometimes too much) before I do anything and sometimes forget that not everyone is like me. Don't overthink your breathing, just do what you've always done, SQUAT. However, it would be remiss of me to not try to convince you again that parallel is the way to go. Your knees may not hurt now, but you're young, you never know what may happen later on. To work on your flexibility, you only need like 5 minutes or so a day. If you youtube "flexibility for squats", you'll find videos that are as short as 2 mins. I've done quite a few of them and I find that they really work.

High bar vs low bar squatting is not something anyone NEEDS to know about to squat (unless your like me), but here is a pic of how the front, high bar and low bar squats look at the bottom position. It's taken from the bible of strength training that was mentioned before: Starting Strength by Mark Ripptoe.

Thanks for this. Now I'm going to sound really stupid, but what part of the leg are we looking at to be parallel? Because I have always looked at the front/ top (i.e. my quads should be parallel) - but they aren't in that picture. I think that pic looks like my upper legs. I guess my problem is that the squat rack at my gym faces the mirror - so I don't get a side on view.

I definitely do the high bar though, my shoulders have worse flexibility than the rest of me and I don't think I could hold the bar well in the low position.

I've had one of those discouraging weeks. I've been working out & dieting since March with no real changes. I've eaten at a deficit, then told that I was eating too little so I upped a little. I was told I should lift so here I am lifting. I do cardio or cardio kickboxing 4-5 days a week. I'm always busy on weekends running around even jumping on the trampoline with & with kids ( that workout can be no joke). I can see a difference in my arms but I want to slim my hips & thighs ( I know some of you can relate). I've cut out fast food, and most junk food ( still a cookie or bit of candy here & there, but not whole servings). My BF says I'm over training, but I don't feel like I am, I'm not overly tired or sore or anything like that. Just frustrated.

I have decided on Stage 2 I'm going to back off the weights a bit to work on form. (I know this sounds logical to you all & I should have been doing it fromthe beginning) I've gotten my DBs up to 30lbs (almost 40) when I do the step ups, but if I get a little unbalanced I feel like I'm going to fall over. I should realize that is 60lbs & its more than half my weight so I need to work on my core. I still find things confusing with TDDEs & eating at a deficit but not if youre lifting. I'm going to work on trying to accept me as me & I'll lose the inches eventually. I tend to focus too much on what the scale says & its hasn't been moving (neither are the inches). I will be paitent but I'm still open to anything you guys can suggest. I know better than to open any of these feeling on a different thread bc some ppl on here are just down right mean for no reason.

Ali, I'm sorry you're feeling this way. Many of us have been there ourselves. I know I have. I think you should know:

1. Hips and thighs are one of the hardest places for a woman to get rid of fat. (For men it's the tummy). Especially when you get down to low levels of body fat. I don't know how low your bf is, but you mention 60lbs being more than half your weight so that sounds like you're pretty slim. There is a book called The Stubborn Fat Solution by Lyle McDonald. I bought it but then realized its for persons who are at a pretty low body fat and need to get rid of that last bit from their hips/thighs so I haven't read it fully yet because my body fat is still pretty high. But if yours is low, you should look into getting that book.

2. You do sound like you're overtraining. 4-5 days of cardio/kickboxing PLUS lifting PLUS all the other stuff sounds like a lot.

3. For most people, fat loss IS as simple as maintaining a calorie deficit, lifting to maintain/increase muscle mass, eating enough protein for muscle repair.

4. Sometimes after being in a deficit too long, hormone levels drop and you need to eat at maintenance for about two weeks to start the fat loss going again.

Hope this helps, any questions please feel free to ask.

What she said^. Jamaica, the student has become the teacher. You go girl. When I first saw 4-5 days f cardio kick, I was Geeze-Louise that's a LOT!!

Still resting and resisting smacking the husband for snide comments. I had a huge lunch though I tried my best to log it all and came out not so bad for the day. I can't seem to stay under on days I don't exercise. So does it count as NSVs to have someone wolf whistle at you and o have creepy old men call you shapely. Nope, didn't think so. Why do men have to be gross?

Four weeks of vacation officially starts now!!! Though I have two more seminars this summer, summer reading projects to prepare for and curriculum updates to do, and three new online systems I have to learn by September because my district is stupid. But hooray SUMMER! (done complaining about my job for four weeks) :bigsmile: