March Q and A thread
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sammyliftsandeats wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »I so badly want to be able to do an unassisted pull-up.
I'm currently working on dead hangs (record: 20 seconds) and I want to do negatives, but I am on the shorter side and even standing on the bench and on a step, I can't get high enough to get into the correct position. I use the top of a cable machine to do this.
Any advice for shorties like me? I'm 5'3" with short limbs.
Would the bar from the smith machine work or is that too low off the ground?
Any pointers towards a good progression program would be helpful as well.
Thanks!
The Smith bar would work fine for negatives. Just set it so your knees don't hit the ground at full extension of the arms.
Yeah I used the smith machine at work for a while, it's really the only good use for a smith machine that I'm aware of in fact.
Having said that, the biggest thing that helped my pull-ups was band-assisted pullups. It's the same exact motion just with a little assistance and will help you work up to unassisted pullups pretty definitively.
What worked for me was bands with a door attachment. My first round of pull ups was 3 sets of 5, after working with bands for awhile.
Is using bands better than using the assisted pull-up/dip machine?
What kind of resistance should I look for?
In my opinion, whatever replicates the actual motion of a pull-up best is going to translate to actual pull-ups. Naturally, of course. That's why I liked the band, it's exactly the same motion just with a bit of help. And you can use smaller and smaller bands over time too.
Resistance is going to depend on how much assistance you need so it's pretty hard to say. You could always get something like this: http://a.co/biZQ2US which has variable assistance.0 -
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sammyliftsandeats wrote: »
One? Don't shortchange yourself. I couldn't do a single full pullup last August. This is my last round of pullups, that were superset with overhead press: 15x1wg/18x1pg/16x1rg/10x1sg/14x1pg
WG=wide grip, pg=parallel, rg=reverse, sg=standard0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »
One? Don't shortchange yourself. I couldn't do a single full pullup last August. This is my last round of pullups, that were superset with overhead press: 15x1wg/18x1pg/16x1rg/10x1sg/14x1pg
WG=wide grip, pg=parallel, rg=reverse, sg=standard
One to begin with. I would love to do more of course. But I want to focus on getting one. Walk before I run kind of thing.
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My understanding is bands are basically giant rubber bands. When limp they provide zero tension; as they are stretched, the return pull increases. Consequently, when your arms are fully extended at your weakest point in the exercise, the bands are providing the maximum pull back up, aka max assistance. As you pull yourself up the bands assist less the closer you get to the top.
Compare this to the assisted machine pullup, which provides constant throughout the entire range of motion.0 -
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StephieWillcox wrote: »
They're also good for learning to reverse grip bench without having to use silly low weights, nor risk getting stapled. Admittedly though, few people bother practicing this anymore, but from what I understand, it's awesome for benching around shoulder injuries.0 -
If deadlifting using hook grip, is it recommended to pull all reps with hook grip or only when weight exceeds double overhand grip strength?0
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_benjammin wrote: »If deadlifting using hook grip, is it recommended to pull all reps with hook grip or only when weight exceeds double overhand grip strength?
What I generally do is start with double overhand grip to work on building more strength and switch once after I can't achieve more reps.1 -
^that's what I had hoped to hear and plan on doing, just switched from all mixed grip.0
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Errrr, follow on question... should I be learning the hook grip?! It's preferable to mixed grip right?0
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StephieWillcox wrote: »Errrr, follow on question... should I be learning the hook grip?! It's preferable to mixed grip right?
It's a preference thing. I can't pull it off, as I have tiny T-rex hands. I just train grip strength, chalk up, mix grip, rip it off the floor, and hope for the best.0 -
StephieWillcox wrote: »Errrr, follow on question... should I be learning the hook grip?! It's preferable to mixed grip right?
It's debatable. I already had surgery on 1 shoulder, am trying to be conservative where I can.0 -
StephieWillcox wrote: »Errrr, follow on question... should I be learning the hook grip?! It's preferable to mixed grip right?
Personal preference. Only real advantage I can think of is less risk of bicep injury on the underhand side. But as a woman I don't think that's much of a concern.
I've tried it a bunch of times, it's way too painful for me. If I had started early when the weights were light it may have been feasible to adapt over time but nope, nope, nope. Over 3 plates and I'm in agony. I've had my thumb go numb for hours before which is unacceptable, my hands are my livelihood.1 -
Another issue with mixed grip is a slight rotation of the bar (supinated hand side tracking further from the body) which I have had the fun of learning about from personal experience. Story below for those interested. I think overall though forcing hook grip despite pain is probably more detrimental long term than any rotation or muscle imbalances caused by mixed grip. Hips are easy to replace, thumbs not so much.
I never had a problem from it (that I know of) until I was doing a 5/3/1 BBB challenge with sets of 10 of an increasing % each week. After completing the week 4 deadlift workout my hip hurt along the inguinal ligament. I rested and it still hurt. I was super scared I had a hernia even though I couldn't palpate one (hypochondriac?) so I went to the doc. No hernia or arthritis. Yay! She recommended 2 weeks rest, NSAIDs, yoga and an MRI if it didn't improve. After two weeks I still had pain even with relatively light weights, but I was between insurances so I figured I'd give it a bit. Suspected it had something to do with fatigue and mixed grip. I had tried hook grip before, but it hurt super badly. I decided I was just being a nutsack and had to get used to it. Tried it for 4 weeks on light weights. 225 got to be semi doable but anything approaching 300 felt like my thumbs were being ripped out of their sockets. Fortunately I found a yoga video called "blissful hips" on prime that helped lessen the pain and another restorative yoga video focusing on the hips. Doing 2-3 weekly practices with these has pretty much eliminated the pain and I'm down to 1/week for maintenance. I did confirm my suspicions when I watched a video of a really heavy double and saw on the second rep quite a bit of rotation, and a smidge of rotation on my last PR.
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Back in November I asked SS about changing my squatting frequency. It's been my most difficult, and often exasperating, lift since I started about 2.5 years ago. At the time I wanted to back squat less often (doing other variations instead) and SS suggested upping frequency.
In the end, I went with one heavier squat day (5/3/1 sets plus FSL) and then a lighter day, when I use back squats to warm up for deadlifting. In addition, I've included landmine split squats on squat day, barbell hack squats on DL day (SST template), and some pretty light landmine reverse lunges in a complex that I do on upper body days. It's a lot of squatty stuff but I really do have to continue to do the movement so that it feels natural.
Anyway, I wanted to report that last night I did one rep at 135, which is a huge deal for me. When I originally posted in November my high was at 110x3. This is my deload week and I decided to do the high intensity deload, which has you work up to one rep at your TM. Before I did that rep, I decided that if it felt easy I would try one at 110% of TM. That would have been 129 but since my big goal has been to get to 135 I decided to go ahead and add the extra few pounds. I'm really glad I did. I know nobody in real life who lifts so I thought I'd post it here because I'm very excited about it.
That 135 puts me at novice level on the strength standard charts. I'm committing myself to eating around maintenance or at least a very minimal deficit (10% max) until I get to intermediate level. I still struggle with the idea of not being lean enough to deserve to eat at maintenance (which looks/sounds horrible when I write it out) but I've realized that I lift so much better when I do and being able to do that makes me really happy.
Thanks again for your input back in November, SS
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Back in November I asked SS about changing my squatting frequency. It's been my most difficult, and often exasperating, lift since I started about 2.5 years ago. At the time I wanted to back squat less often (doing other variations instead) and SS suggested upping frequency.
In the end, I went with one heavier squat day (5/3/1 sets plus FSL) and then a lighter day, when I use back squats to warm up for deadlifting. In addition, I've included landmine split squats on squat day, barbell hack squats on DL day (SST template), and some pretty light landmine reverse lunges in a complex that I do on upper body days. It's a lot of squatty stuff but I really do have to continue to do the movement so that it feels natural.
Anyway, I wanted to report that last night I did one rep at 135, which is a huge deal for me. When I originally posted in November my high was at 110x3. This is my deload week and I decided to do the high intensity deload, which has you work up to one rep at your TM. Before I did that rep, I decided that if it felt easy I would try one at 110% of TM. That would have been 129 but since my big goal has been to get to 135 I decided to go ahead and add the extra few pounds. I'm really glad I did. I know nobody in real life who lifts so I thought I'd post it here because I'm very excited about it.
That 135 puts me at novice level on the strength standard charts. I'm committing myself to eating around maintenance or at least a very minimal deficit (10% max) until I get to intermediate level. I still struggle with the idea of not being lean enough to deserve to eat at maintenance (which looks/sounds horrible when I write it out) but I've realized that I lift so much better when I do and being able to do that makes me really happy.
Thanks again for your input back in November, SS
Congrats!! This is great!2 -
I have a question about transitioning to cutting after a bulk.
After my first bulk I dropped my cals really slowly, and I was told to hang out at maintenance for at least 2 weeks. I don't remember if it was for hunger or if there were any other benefits to doing this.
This time though, can I just go straight to cutting? My deficit won't be too aggressive, probably 0.25-0.5lbs per week or so.
Just wondering if there is any reason to keep that transition phase.
Thanks!0 -
I have a question about transitioning to cutting after a bulk.
After my first bulk I dropped my cals really slowly, and I was told to hang out at maintenance for at least 2 weeks. I don't remember if it was for hunger or if there were any other benefits to doing this.
This time though, can I just go straight to cutting? My deficit won't be too aggressive, probably 0.25-0.5lbs per week or so.
Just wondering if there is any reason to keep that transition phase.
Thanks!
Woah, quote fail.
I prefer to go straight into a cut. I just posted about aggressive dieting and while this doesn't necessarily talk about the concept of going from a bulk to a cut, I think it's still highly relevant:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1757960127817969/permalink/1863826897231291/1 -
I have a question about transitioning to cutting after a bulk.
After my first bulk I dropped my cals really slowly, and I was told to hang out at maintenance for at least 2 weeks. I don't remember if it was for hunger or if there were any other benefits to doing this.
This time though, can I just go straight to cutting? My deficit won't be too aggressive, probably 0.25-0.5lbs per week or so.
Just wondering if there is any reason to keep that transition phase.
Thanks!
I just go straight into cutting.
I've actually found that my body handles the transition into my hellcuts better that way. I would end up more hungry, and faster, if I went to maintenance first. By going straight in, by the time my body starts getting angry about the restriction, it's almost over already. Then a couple of weeks at maintenance-10%, and a very slow climb back into surplus.1
