thread of getting sw0le

lulz

ermagherd overherd press

How do I bicep? I'm like 3 months in and everything else is going great (dips are SO FUN you guyyyyys what did I do before I just did dips all the time) but I've seen barely any improvement at all in what I can curl I don't get it!

I've been seeing a trainer recently, had my first full session this week - it was p gruelling and intense but I enjoyed it. My bones are in bits after it though, I guess it used a lot of muscles I don't normally use. Three days later and my legs and arms are still majorly stiff and sore.

back was hurting after my last couple sessions (after a couple months out after tearing my ACL) and revisited SS to analyze my form --- i was deadlifting alllllll wrong. it's really amazing what even tiny changes can do.

GP: pullups?

yeah i need to be very deliberate with my form when I deadlift, it's too easy for me to get all out of whack.

I find that widening my arms helps with deadlift form -- it keeps the upper back straighter. I also find that I can just kind of *feel* when my hips are rising too early, and sometimes that means I'm using too much weight.

The things i always tell myself: Flat back, chest up, don't sit all the way down, pull straight up your shins

Focusing on the motion of almost snapping my hips forward helps me do it right, like the second half of it almost being a pelvic thrust.

had a string of minor injuries (calf, shoulder, then bicep)--and thus feeling old and useless and ready for the funeral pyre.

is there anything worse than just getting to the gym and right away feeling a twinge in a new place and going through the entire kubler ross cycle before realizing you have to cut off your workout.

yeah a couple weeks ago i went on a deadlift day with a hip that felt unusually stiff and creaky, said fuck it i'll soldier thru and ended up straining an old low back trouble spot. you def have to have some humility.

The things i always tell myself: Flat back, chest up, don't sit all the way down, pull straight up your shins

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, July 29, 2016 9:21 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i found that addressing the bar in the exact order that rip recommends really helped --- get the feet in position, bend over and grab it, bend knees until they touch, lift chest w/o moving hips, pull

Another thing that helped me was to realize that arm length will affect your deadlift posture and not everyone should try to set up exactly the same way. I happen to have long arms so the tilt of my back is a little more upward than some when I set up. I think it was an Alan Thrall video I learned that from.

i have long legs so that i am pretty much parallel to the ground when i dl and it's ok

my deadlift is different than yours, and that's ok.

i really love deadlifting

me too. i've been in the habit of using straps but i forgot them last time, which is a good thing because now my grip is
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/eastenders/images/f/f6/Under-construction.png/revision/latest?cb=20141120185311

i have been doing such a good job this summer. forgoing work to exercise more. which isn't helping my work stress 100% but whatever. lots of dumbbell bench presses. gonna do more butt exercises in the month of august.

i think also do some running because i haven't run much all year and i like fall running in the park near my house w/ lots of steep hills so i gotta get ready. all i care about anymore is exercising.

well, that and eating

Lol yeah I feel like I organize my work days that are gym days around the gym.

My deadlift is down like 40lbs the last two workouts which bums me out a little. Guess I won't win the big weightlifting championship :(

all i care about anymore is exercising.

― assawoman bay (harbl), Saturday, July 30, 2016 11:54 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well, that and eating

― assawoman bay (harbl), Saturday, July 30, 2016 11:54 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post

holy shit me too

+ 3, sleeping

Lol yeah I feel like I organize my work days that are gym days around the gym.

^ this is a good thing

trying to rehab a strain in my low back, doing lighter/higher rep back extensions and RDLs. i probably won't do DLs until it feels totally fine and it's... taking a while!

i did practice setting up the DL and checking form in the mirror, and it was frustrating! when it 'felt' right my low back/hips were still curled under too much.

i tried a different setup method from the rippetoe one, basically descending to the bar with a flat back and pushing the knees in last. surprise surprise it looked good but was pulling like crazy on my hamstrings.

this has been another shitty posterior flexibility diary entry, thakns

surprise surprise it looked good but was pulling like crazy on my hamstrings.
so yeah you we doing it right just have to work on the flexibility . you can try lifting from small blocks or a couple of plates under the weights until your able to get there without so much pull.

Btw hit five pull-ups today. I mean on the parallel bars so not really trad pull ups but still five full range of motion reps. Felt really good, like those "fast twitch muscle receptors" or whatever they're called were suddenly firing a lot more.

if anyone has any good ideas for improving ham flex, i'm all ears.

i've got a good stretch routine i do regularly & after workouts. dunno what to do about hamstrings specifically besides just pulling really hard on them w/ a strap

I'm not declining too badly while cutting, but I've also only lost like three pounds over three weeks. I'm down from a 190 squat to 180; other stuff hasn't declined yet, but I'm stalled at 95 OHP, deadlift has slowed to a +5lb a week crawl (last one at 245) and bench is going up 2.5lb every other session with extreme effort (137.5 now) so I'm sure it's about to stall out soon.

It's nice that it's forcing me to be absolutely ruthless with my food intake, though- I *cannot* waste any calories on, say, Taco Bell or else I have to a) go over in order to get enough quality food in (protein, veggies, non-shirt carbohydrates) or b) stay under and take a huge performance hit in the gym the next day.

if anyone has any good ideas for improving ham flex, i'm all ears.

i have the same problem and while i've not made any great progress on it i will say that one thing i've learned is that it's important to focus on the entire posterior chain (ie, if you are stretching your hams and yet your lower back isn't straight it's not very effective). it's quite difficult for me, for instance, to bend forward without also hunching.

i agree it is best to focus on non-shirt carbohydrates

goole http://dev.moveskill.com/2015/03/what-should-stretching-feel-like/

^that looks good. might be time for me to get a resistance band.

yeah the linked series with a band at http://moveskill.com/movement/band-hamstring-stretch/ is good

my hamstrings are worthless btw

hmm thx, i might work some of those into my stretch routine.

yeah that looks really useful

lol I started doing what seemed like a good hip mobility routine, and now I have mild knee pain

however, my internet self-diagnosis suggests it's just IT Band syndrome, and not a more serious injury.

PRed snatch at #175 really low for someone my size but it's such a difficult movement. considering where i started i do feel good about it though.

Goon jus wanna say thx, your posts about stretching encouraged me to start doing a stretch routine before lifting and some mobility stuff on off days and my squat seems much better, and also I just feel better. Today a trainer saw me at the squat rack and gave me a mod and was like "that's some good depth." Was pretty proud. And managed to get back up to 155 without losing form.

Just started a 5 week program to gain on my squats/bench/deadlifts. Here's a link:

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/3x2-strength-program

I did the squat workout this morning, and while my quads are shot, the rest of me is feeling neglected. Pretty stoked about this; I guess I'm in much better shape than I thought. When I left the gym this morning, I was like "I didn't really get what I needed with that." I guess that's the point of this kind of workout, but it's not something I want to do long term. I greatly prefer highly condensed super-set style workouts.

I fucking love lifting, I feel like it's one of the best things that ever happened to me. I'm stronger, more confident, know my body better, calmer, more focused. I feel like I fixed both mental and physical issues that have plagued me my entire life.

Dude, I hear you. I almost always go first thing in the morning - like 5 a.m. It's the only time I can go regularly, and I've always been a morning guy my whole life.

Giving over to that tendency and taking regular time for myself that is unequivocally, without question beneficial to me has just been amazing.

I will say that some mornings it is next-to-impossible to get out of bed, but I am getting better by the day at saying "Just go. Your day will be better because you go. Just go." And I'm NEVER wrong!

gotta take some time off. persistent hip soreness. appt with an ortho next week :(

happy for u all tho

Has anyone tried double overhand hook grip on deadlifts? I've read some things that suggest mixed grip can increase risk of injury and/or create imbalances, and this intuitively makes sense with how I feel when I do mixed grip (especially since my tight right shoulder can already create unevenness in my form).

Two years hardcore, tremendous gains and no injuries for me, but hey, trainers are for chumps, right?

x-post i'm back to hook grip on deadlifts after years of sidestepping my weak grip via straps or mixed grip and doing much better. i think it just took swallowing some ego (but my back can lift more!) and being persistent.

I've been doing mixed grip for 6+ years now and while it's possible I am imbalanced I haven't had any injuries.