Beginners Gains

Hey Alexus! Looking good! You’re absolutely improving - great work!

You are great at getting in low when you squat. So jealous! Plus you’re incredibly flexible! Damn you woman!

Carl knows much more than I do, so def listen to him.

I can just add one tip which has helped me keep the bar close to my body - when you hold the bar keep arms loose and turn your and wrists elbows out. Essentially that will help you kind of curl the bar towards you. Not sure if that makes sense and you may already be doing this - its hard to tell since the plate is in the way…i don’t know, maybe someone else can better explain, or even debunk this if I’m wrong.

Also did you see the Tommy Kono vids posted in the Oly forum? Some good tips in there too!

[quote]Carl Darby wrote:

Also, try to start with your butt lower and back not so horizontal.[/quote]

My sentiments exactly.

oh my god–is that the blazing inferno gym?? OHHH! it even looks hot! :{

I am shit for telling what’s good or not, but it seemed to me in my eye that you get better and better with each rep :slight_smile: more videos forever!

You have a pretty nice arch (I have zero extension in my thoracic spine!) but I can tell your hip flexors are a little tight from watching that vid - you do have a bit of an anterior pelvic tilt going on there. The mobility stuff will help though.

Also, as an ex-smoker, I’ll say that it does get easier. Keep at it.

Your form looks spectacular to me. It’s very… poised, for lack of a better word.

I was doing hang cleans today and I had a problem with my wrists rolling back as well. For me, who just does it for cardio, not my main lifting style, I kind of had to “snap” my hands back, and catch the bar above the palm area.
That might not be the right thing for you to do though.

… hi :slight_smile:

It’s official: I’ve become a pussy. I got caught between improving my 1RM and attempting to perfect my technique with just the bar. Sometimes (but not always) I think it actually does help to add a little bit of weight (e.g., my air squat got better when I trained more with just the bar). I suspect my bar squat will get better when I train with more than just the bar. My technique doesn’t seem to get worse with adding a little bit of weight and sometimes my motor patterns actually seem to improve a bit as the muscles start to need to work a bit more. I will be careful to keep an eye on whether I do get better muscular recruitment with lighter weights but I need to improve my work capacity and not be a pussy, too, so today:

FRONT SQUAT 6x6:

20kg 1x3, 25kg 1x3 warm up

27.5kg 6x6 allowing myself only one (or two on a couple of the later reps in the later sets) breaths between reps

WAH!!! some of these were a bit shaky… need to work on driving hips up and using glutes to get out of the hole because I’m not doing this very successfully (but less weight doesn’t seem to help me do it either).
next time: glute activation before squatting.

SNATCH PULLS 8x3:

20kg 1x3 warm up.

25kg 8x3 not losing contact with the bar between reps (except to shove the plates back on)

Tried getting my hips a little lower to start to use my legs from the floor. Felt better. Getting a bit tired on the later sets so needing to hip drive properly to get the height on the bar. Remembered that this was more what I was doing before christmas. Simply do get too fatigued to pull the bar high enough eventually and then NEED to get under it in order not to miss. Want to get these work sets to 27.5 or 30 so that this starts happening again (and I find the balls to get under).

CLEAN AND JERK 5x3 (will increase to 8x3 but wasn’t sure how this would go)

30kg powerclean x2, powerclean and jerk x1

2x 30kg powerclean and jerk x2, clean and jerk x1

30kg clean and jerk 5x3

Work. Standing it up felt hard but manageable. Ditto for jerking it. Pulling it… Easy… Not pulling very high actually, just thinking of the pull as positioning it good for me to practice getting under fast and standing it up. Think these were okay - but I’ll video them soon and we will see…

OVERALL: Hips feeling really very good today :slight_smile:

I’ve decided to do the exercises from the 13th post on this thread:

I think that is about the level of rehab that I need. While I can activate my glutes my hip flexors don’t much like my doing it so need to practice glute activation. My old strategy of trying to stretch them really wasn’t working out for me (was making them feel inflamed).

Carl - Thanks. Tried to do what you suggested today. Felt better. Will see what the next lot of vids show.

kpsnap - I do the same things with deadlifts, too - start with my hips too high. Need to work on using my legs more so that I actually am stronger using them rather than my back.

masch - what you said does make sense and it is something that I didn’t know. I will try that, thanks :slight_smile: I love the Kono vids very much but I’m slightly suspicious about the girls lever lengths (her tibia and fibula are roughly the same length). Not sure what difference that makes for pulling… I’d like to encourage you over to the Oly Forum (there was a discussion of the vids over there a while back in the 2nd pull thread). The people over there have been really friendly and helpful to me :slight_smile:

brute - yep that is the hot gym. unless it is cold. still, we don’t get the temperature extremes of most places and since some people do their stuff in a garage or outside I can’t really complain. not that that stops me ha. I’m glad it isn’t too commercial - but very jealous of some of the places people get to train. still, there are bumpers and a platform which should come in handy for me some day lol.

Cal - yes to pelvic tilt. It is worse than usual with my heel raise. I do think I look a bit not optimally balanced or aligned or something with the bar overhead. I will keep tapping away at the smoking… Best strategy seems to be to be to cut back, though. Can’t afford to get seriously sick at the moment.

Nikki - thanks :slight_smile: What you say about holding the bar makes sense. Especially as the weight gets heavier it will have to go in the crook of my thumb, I reckon.

Alexus: thanks for the video. Gosh btw you and Masch and brute–I want to try oly lifts too.

Nice training mama! Your cleans are strong!

I will say this, I think that you’re totally right about putting weight on the bar and working on technique - and for me this goes hand in hand!

First of all, I think putting weight on the bar does help technique since there comes a pt. when you need the weight, otherwise you end up cheating the lift and muscling it up. Plus, as I just found, putting weight on the bar forced me to drop under it! So my snatch improved by sheer mechanics - that is, the bar can only go so high, so i had to go under it. (like on your cleans)

On the other hand, with my clean, putting weight on the bar made me realize that I was catching it wrong, so now I’m back to square one and practicing cleaning with the bar alone. LoL!

So yeah, imo they go hand in hand - you put weight on the bar, get some PRs then you realize something is fucked and go back to technique.

btw, great work on quitting cigs! You’ll get it! And yes to the bumper plates! I think those will be really helpful for you.

Yay I helped you! :slight_smile:

Er, in response to what Nadia said, I’ll just live vicariously through everyone else’s oly lifts. Looks fun as all get-go, but too many things to remember about form lol
I admire you ladies, that’s for sure.

nice vid, snatch looks pretty good. try to keep your bum down when you initiate that first pull.

Nadia - yes, come join us! it really can be fun.

imo they go hand in hand - you put weight on the bar, get some PRs then you realize something is fucked and go back to technique.

I think this is right, Masch. I expect it comes in waves…

Nikki - yup, you did help. I’m getting a better feel for the bar again :slight_smile:

With respect to form… I think it really does depend on your goals. There are a bunch of athletes at my gym who do power cleans and sometimes squat cleans. Their form is safe (they aren’t going to injure themselves) but not optimal from an Olympic Lifting perspective. Given their goals what they are doing is fine, though, and one really doesn’t have to approach Olympic Lifting the way that I choose to. Dan John has a cool ebook on Olympic Lifting that is about how him and a bunch of friends used to just pick the bar up and chuck it overhead. Then when someone figured out a better way of doing it they all adopted that technique. Reinventing the wheel… Perhaps. But fun :slight_smile:

Andy - yep. Setting up with my bum lower, now. At least… I think I am.

TODAY:

BODYBALANCE: Not really into it today. Tolerable, I guess…

OVERHEAD SQUAT: The plan was to warm up with 20kg then do 5x5 with 25kg. Took me 5 sets to feel properly warmed up, though! Am starting to use my glutes and push my hips up / forwards on the ascent YES!!! In the spirit of not being a pussy I then did 5x5 at 25kg. Last few reps were pretty wobbly / hard.

SNATCH PULLS: Not trying to get under just trying to really drive hips to get the bar to fly high. 25kg 8x3. Some fussing over my grip… Starting to get the hang of where the bar is supposed to be and remembering to roll my wrists back, though. Feeling very fatigued after this.

CLEAN AND JERK: 2 doubles with 30kg. Then… Bailed. Was feeling really very tired… Was upset with myself… Realized a bit later that today is supposed to be the start of my scheduled deload, though, so I’m feeling better about todays training now. Cramps. Wah! Should be good to go heavy on Wednesday.

I know nothing about oly lifting, but you sure are a cutie in that video.

Enjoy your deload!

aw, thanks kimba :slight_smile:
i’m trying nadia, but having trouble… still, only deload as needed…

had a bit of a breakthrough with chin-ups. natural inclination when feeling weak is to hunch forward and use my biceps. if i keep my shoulders back and down and think of pulling my elbows back and down and squeeze my glutes really hard then it is so much easier. it is weird how squeezing your glutes (creating more work for yourself, basically) makes the movement easier. guess it is like squeezing the bar…

anyhoo… i firmly believe that a similar breakthrough awaits my squat. hard lumbar arch squeezing the glutes driving the hips forwards and up… not quite getting it yet. when i feel weak i want to hunch forwards…

anyway…

there better be a squat breakthrough waiting for me.

or else.

6x6 27.5kg back squats today. not very good about resting between reps :frowning:
still… i did them, i guess.

6x6 with 30kg next week (front and back) and 5x5 27.5kg overhead if my hips keep up feeling as good as they have been this week.

Do you deload according to your time of the month?

I’m positive that a squat breakthrough is right around the corner.

Keep squatting and you’ll get it! Also, thanks for the welcome and best of luck on quitting smoking. It’s tough, but it is soooooo worth the initial agony. :slight_smile:

Excellent work getting those glutes and hips activated in the squats! Its weird b/c when I used to back squat regular (that is just to parallel) I never felt as much glute and hamstring activation as I do now squatting ATG. I wonder what that’s all about? I always thought a power squat had more posterior chain activation, but what do I know. Anyways, good stuff! I’m just learning this too!

And yeah, don’t worry about the overall fatigue, etc. That’s all “deload” related. You’ll get your strength back once that all subsides. So extra good on you for getting into the gym while you were feeling tired and achey. And just think how much stronger you’ll feel for it!

Oh, and a big F yeah for your chin up/squat breakthrough! Mind/muscle connection is half that battle.

Hi Nikki - Trying to time my deload for then. First time I’ve tracked my cycle so will see how regularly predictable it is. Noticed that I was giving myself a hard time for fatigue / aching thinking that I was being lazy / wasn’t doing my mobility work properly. Now I simply ease up on myself over that time. Some cycles it hits me hard, other cycles there isn’t much of a difference. Have noticed that I like to heavy deadlift (for me) when I’m PMSing, so that could have something to do with the lumbar fatigue…

Thanks veggie. And thanks so much for your words over on the injury board. I know I need to check with a doc to be sure, but what you said about hips is the only thing yet that I’ve found that seems to fit with what I’ve been experiencing. Hip dysplasia, basically. I thought only dogs got that… At least I can look into some appropriate rehab, and yeah, squat breakthrough will come soon! It better!

Hi Masch. I could be wrong, but I think the low bar back squat is meant to get better posterior chain involvement than the high bar (oly style) back squat. By having the bar so low down the back one can sit back into the squat a lot more while keeping the bar over ones centre of gravity by leaning forwards. I started out doing that type of squat sitting back on a box then had to relearn squatting for Oly Lifting. Definately still working on hitting a tight rather than relaxed bottom position. Having some problems with glute / hip drive out of the hole, too.

This is probably a really stupid question (so I’ll hide it in the middle of a bunch of text lol). Um… When you ‘squeeze your glutes’ to get out the hole are you supposed to clench them together or flex them apart? Not going to ask anyone that in person, heh. It is just that I’ve been clenching but was thinking today that flexing would probably help with the knees out push on the way up (and would also help me actually get good glute activation with my dodgey hip, I think).

Have a similar thing in bodybalance. They do weird things (that they call squats) and say ‘tuck your tail under’. Do they mean maintain your lumbar arch (so push your butt back) or tuck your (imaginary) tail between your legs? I thought they were going for the latter, but the former would make more sense. I’m a bit dyslexic about the strangest things…

TODAY:

Overhead Squat: 20kg 5x1 warmup. 25kg 5x5. Wobbly. Balance was a bit forwards. Not driving out the hole properly.

Snatch Pulls / Snatch: Up to 30kg. Actually did a decent triple powersnatch. Chickened out on the pull 3x. Since I failed to try rather than trying and failing I had another go and managed to snatch it for a single. Thanks Masch (my imaginary workout buddy for telling me to stop pissing around and just do it!!!)

Clean Pulls / Squat Clean / Jerk: Some stuffing around. Some front squatting with just the bar trying to get good drive out the hole and a solid bottom position. Feeling weak and allowed to deload so:

STUFFING AROUND:

Dips: 3 of them. First time I’ve tried these properly. Did maybe 9 all up. Are you allowed to lean forwards or is that cheating?

Leg raises: Tried this from the dip bars. I guess the idea is to try and move your legs independently from your lumbar spine. Some trouble with this… My right leg / hip is dodgey, basically. Major cramps in my right quad. Got a little easier with practice. Will keep working these. Need some motivation to do ab work lol.

Pull up: 1 of them. Starting from tippy-toes rather than a dead-hang. OMG I actually got my chin (not very far) over the bar!!! Didn’t feel so different from chin-ups (though definitely weaker). Reassures me that I’m on the right track with my chin-up form.

Some inverted rowing on the smith machine and playing with chin-ups / pull-ups. 3x10 push-ups. I’m cheating a bit on these with not being strict about keeping my elbows in. When I can smoothly do 3x10 with good form my reward is that I’ll get someone to show me how to bench press.

20 minutes AMT.

Gym was a bit crazy… We don’t get new year’s resolutioners but the new semester is about to start so we get new semester’s resolutioners. I think I managed to scare a few of the first year noobs. Oh well, They’ll get used to me.

I don’t grunt exactly… It is more of a gggrrraaaaah. And a ‘yes, I will kill you or at least die trying’ facial expression is compulsory. Or maybe I’ll feel better once my deload is done…

:slight_smile:

GGARR!!! ha ha!!! Word!!

great work! esp the dips!