bumblebums Member

The gym is nice and empty on a Saturday because people like the OP are making threads like this on MFP instead of sitting on the equipment and texting. How's that?

How tall are you, what is your weight, and how much are you eating--with macro breakdown? How much have your squat and deadlift weights increased in the past month?

Interesting. I've never experienced it.

I have a pair that I keep in my bag for chin-ups, when I do them at the gym and my only choice is the cheese grater bar.

I don't think there is any difference... Soreness, like any other type of inflammation, will usually hit you after some delay. The important thing about soreness is to learn to differentiate between muscle belly pain (middle of the muscle, perfectly normal and nothing to worry about) and pain in your joints (ligaments,…

Chalk. You can make do with regular calcium carbonate chalk (blackboard or sidewalk kind, even). Magnesium carbonate is preferred by many lifters as it has less slip. That's the chalk that rock climbers use, too, and you will find it in stores that cater to climbers. The sidewalk variety is less messy, but mag carbonate…

This varies from person to person, so do not expect to get sore (you might be one of the lucky ones), and do not be alarmed if you get sore. I do not get crippling soreness doing any of these lifts, because there is a relatively small eccentric contraction component to most of them. This can actually be a problem because…

You're doing five sets of 1 with short rest breaks, so it would not be appropriate to assume that this is a 1x5 set for the purposes of estimating a 1RM. If you feel that you are working near the edge of your capacity on this lift, it's probably close to your current 1RM anyway. But about the dizziness. I would still like…

Also, would you mind unlocking your diary? Some more information about how much you are eating and what your macros are would be useful. (You are welcome to have a look at mine--I am 5'9", weigh about 150, and my current work weights for all the lifts are logged in the exercise diary. I am not on a linear program anymore…

Can you describe your current program a bit more? How much are you lifting for the main lifts, how often you are making increases, and so on. Have you had your form checked by a coach or posted videos for form critiques? There are several reasons for getting stuck, and several ways to get unstuck, so we can help out with…

Judging by your ticker, OP, you do not have much weight to lose, and you were not obese to begin with--is that right? If it is, I would eat at what you think is maintenance for you, and see how that goes. While obese and very overweight people can build muscle on a deficit, lean people cannot, and your tolerance for…

Nope, I confess I haven't heard of this. Does anything hurt when you squat, or is anything constantly sore? The lordosis theory was my first guess, actually, even before I saw that Mehdi piece. I don't know if you've ever taken yoga, but the lessons you get from that discipline on posture apply in day to day life. When you…

You're totally right about abs getting a workout during heavy squats and deadlifts, but what you are describing is kind of weird. Abs would not get sore unless you are extending your spine while your abdominal muscles are contracting. Did you have a problem in your early squatting career with overextending your back? The…

Yep, this. Sore calluses are part of the deal and are helped by chalk. I was going to guess that if you have hand pain (actual internal pain), it's got to do with your grip. Please post a video to the form check thread, and also have a close read here: http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/gripping_matters

^^ Definitely chalk if you aren't already using it. I use it even on squats, because it helps form nice smooth calluses (I still shave them periodically because if they are too fat, that can get uncomfortable, too). But are you talking about that kind of pain on the surface of your hand, or joint pain? Can you describe it…

Normally, I would agree with you. Except that when I had my meniscus tear, a doctor (yeah, a real one with a degree and everything) told me that it would "heal on its own". I hobbled about for a few weeks before finally going to another doctor, who laughed and laughed at doctor number one. And then booked me for…

Here you go. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/knee-pain/medial-cartilage-meniscus-injury/rehabilitation-meniscus-injury

I would die if I did those weights at that volume :) I worked with three sets of five for all of my lifts while I was on a linear program. I did five sets of five at the very beginning, but the gains petered out pretty fast and recovery became a major issue. But you're a lot younger than me, so you might be able to take it…

Because that is how novice gains work. A novice is defined by her ability to recover and get stronger in about 24-48 hours. We take advantage of this adaptive ability to get stronger; that's the whole point of progressive strength training. It is discussed in very clear terms in the Practical Programming book. If you never…

I think you might be forgetting that (a) you will be working all sorts of muscles that you haven't worked before, or not at the same time, and (b) you will be increasing the weight on the bar every single time you work out, so the weights will quickly get challenging. But I am not sure we can talk you into anything here.…

Form is very important, but you can only learn it by doing the lifts. If your worry about form prevents you from starting the program, you'll never get anywhere. Keep in mind that if you are actually doing the program, you fairly quickly reach weights that are heavy enough that they cannot be done with perfect form. So you…

Well, information about barbell training is not hard to find these days, so I do not evangelize for it. If someone is conflicted about even trying it, I do not think they are ready. Certainly if a trainer like this is able to talk them out of it or sow doubts in their mind. Let her make up her own mind, and we will still…

OP, you won't have it all figured out until you start doing it for real, and even then it will take some time to really figure out. People get to pretty heavy weights with form that's far from perfect. If you let yourself obsess with perfection instead of doing the program, you will never get anywhere. If you really want a…

This is not a problem in the 3rd edition--each Fig is labeled, and the surrounding text makes it clear which of the two pics shows the right form. They tend to put the "right" form in the second of two pics, though, so if there is a Fig A and Fig B, the latter will be the one to follow. Just make sure the surrounding text…

I would get the most recent edition of Starting Strength. I have the Kindle version, 3rd edition, and I refer to it quite a bit. I have it on my phone, too (Android kindle app syncs automatically and you can download whatever books you purchased onto any of the devices you have). Being able to search it is a big bonus.…

You already know what I think :) But I'll say it again for the benefit of the others: this is a good squat, with just one thing that I would suggest working on (since it relates to your earlier knee slide issue): break at the knees and at the hips simultaneously rather than breaking at the hips first. This will help you…

I cannot imagine that barre classes will interfere in a serious way with barbell training. It's mostly bodyweight and barbell work, and I would treat it as assistance exercises--they might even facilitating recovery by getting the blood to move through your muscles on rest days (from barbell lifting). Since you do not…

The nature of the novice effect is such that pretty much any activity can contribute to increased strength. Rippetoe says that even working on an exercise bike can increase a noob's squat. But the most direct way to train for the squat is to work with the squat. If you want to squat with the bar, starting without the bar…

Foam roll those IT bands, and add some strength training to your regimen if you aren't doing it already.

All of your questions about Abs answered here: http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/abs#.Ukh8zLw1Glk