Erik8484 Member

You look great and also normal!

I know this is a not an overly serious post, but I didn't think texas method was particularly grindy. I mean, it basically only has 2 heavy training days per week, one of which has you doing a single set of squats and a single set of ohp/bench. I might have my rose coloured glasses on, but looking back, those were the easy…

Macadamia nuts!

I agree that the warm ups must largely be about personal preference, given the relative weights. For me, assuming that my working sets are 5 reps at around RPE 8, I like to set my last warmup at around 10% less than that (just like @wiigelec EDIT: & Andy Baker!), but I like to match the reps in my warmups to the reps in my…

I mean, if you want to bench more than 175, one way would be to do fewer than 6 reps, but then you're just trading off more weight for fewer reps, and you're not necessarily getting any stronger. When I was progressing from a novice lifter to a more intermediate lifter, I followed a free program called "the bridge" by…

RPE stands for rated perceived exertion, and is a scale on which you rate each set. An RPE 9 would mean you could have completed 1 more repetition at that weight in that set, 8 that you could have completed 2 more repetitions at that weight in that set, and so on. An increment of 0.5, such as 8.5, would mean that you…

Maybe!

OP said "the most I can pull off on the flat bench is 5-6 reps at 175". If this is interpreted as OP can definitely do 5 reps @ 175, maybe 6 reps @ 175, then in RPE terms 5 reps @ 175 is RPE 9.5 (could maybe do 1 more rep i.e. 6 total).

OP, are you using a barbell or a trap / hex bar? I could see a hex bar deadlift looking more like a front squat.

Ye

Do you share grocery expenses/food with your roommates, or do you guys mostly buy & eat your own food?

Not cool

Everyone's weight changes day to day due to things like water retention, glycogen, and whatever's in your bowels and stomach. Because of this, when attempting to measure weight loss due to a reduction in body fat, it's worthwhile looking at a weekly average weight, as it will reduce the noise (increases and decreases) that…

In my experience, what you call a bar or an olympic bar is commonly referred to, in gyms and in everyday conversation, as a barbell. Also on wikipedia. I definitely agree that they're different from barbells with fixed weights on the ends, and we definitely need to know which one OP is talking about, and it would…

+1 for sabos, I enjoy mine and also low bar squat in them.

Thanks Chief, and I'll look into getting a front view at some point.

In the interests of keeping you busy (and helping my squat), would you mind providing comments on my squat? These clips are of 2 reps @ about 91% of my 1rm, and 5 reps @ about 84% of my 1rm. I don't think it's too bad in these videos, but I feel like you can see the bar glide forward over my toes as I hit depth…

"Sorry John, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises, you're just too darn good at your job".

There was a personal trainer at my gym (I'd never met him, I wasn't paying him) who told me that my body wasn't built to low bar squat, and that I should be front squatting (under his supervision). For the longest time after, whenever I would squat I would think that he was over there, judging me (because I kept low bar…

For me, the easiest way was to upload the video to YouTube and then post the link here.

I also liked starting strength by Mark rippetoe, although I didn't read it as a beginner, but after I had been training for over a year

Are you trying to gain weight or lose weight? Do you add back your exercise calories or are these your daily total consumption?

https://youtu.be/1FWDde2IEPg And to quote selectively, "the main factor contributing to great benching success is the ability to consistently train the bench frequently for a long period of time..." Follow a proven program and bench press more often is, I think, the most important change for you to make.

Thanks Chief, I appreciate the feedback! I'll try out the cue you suggested, see how it pans out.

I've been thinking about posting for a while, but I didn't have a side-on or front-on video. Here's a set of 5 deadlifts at about 84% of my 1rm. I'd call it an 8 or an 8.5. No recent injuries, but I'm 2 weeks back into training after a 3 week holiday. I'd appreciate any comments you might have! https://youtu.be/7oYId2PO9WY

I know a few people who lift who have golfers elbow, it could be that. See a physiotherapist! I had a somewhat similar issue that arose from doing the low bar back squat, and caused by the stress on and around my elbow in that position. I resolved it by loosening up my shoulder and chest.

What study have you seen that says you can't gain strength on a caloric deficit?

I also bench 3 times a week, 3 second pause, 1 second pause and touch & go. My best 1 second paused bench is 105kg for 5 sets of 4. Like @billkansas, if I don't have a spotter I bench in a rack with pins for safety.

Do you eat back your exercise calories? Also, can you clarify, you want advice on how to build muscle while cutting fat slowly, and on how to increase your maintenance calories?

I haven't watched this yet, but is there any evidence that the women are actually on PEDs? Or are we doing the kneejerk "big / strong, therefore PEDs" thing? I'm geniunely curious. I know that with men, people will analyse different weight ratios, size & body fat during the off season, growth, and obviously the athletes'…