How big are you trying to get? 275? 308?
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I never went heavy with my SSBar. After years of regular bar training, it def “felt more dangerous” loading the SSBar up at 5RM or higher. The leverages are definitely a bit different in my experience - SSBar taxed my abs hard for example. I loved it for high rep breathing squat sets, especially because it helped with arm numbness - lol.
In running, it very much reminds me of minimalist shoes / racing flats (barbell), versus thick soled shoes (SSBar). Everything feels different. Shoes with less cushion feel like a barbell to me, more control. Shoes with more cushion feel like an SSBar, kinda clunky. Both are great tools tho.
I personally don’t even understand advanced s&c experts. I mean respect to those who get themselves and/or their clients results, but I personally just love the basics. I don’t even want to think about applying the basics “scientifically” either.
As for myself, any time I start noticing myself diving back into the science, or contemplating “form alterations” etc, I become frightened. It’s been a hard battle for me to squeeze the science out of my brain, but i’ve made a ton of progress.
peace!
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Dangerous in what way?
Nuckols said that you can injure your neck from holding the bar on your neck (which is not a bright idea, and you would realize that as soon as you put anything heavy on the bar) and you can’t dump it backwards like a barbell, but if you squat in a power rack with safety pins set appropriately you should be fine and in my case, every time I have failed a squat with a straight bar I have folded over forwards and dropped to the pins. I see no difference in danger between the two unless you fail to take any sort of precautions.
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Woke at 257.7 lbs with a definite salt bloat.
@chris_ottawa let’s say 275. I’m looking to hit 264 first, but the more the I think about the the more it makes sense to get closer to the top of the weight class. At some point in the future I’ll end up leaning out again but by the time that happens it’ll be down to 220 at the absolute most, more like 242 lbs. It also won’t happen until I’ve gotten my 700/400/700.
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I don’t understand them either. Intuition tells me most S&C is bunk and a way to make lifting weights, pushing a proper and running hills complicated. You just tweak how you do those things to suit the sport you’re playing.
I like applying the basics scientifically though. If I think something will solve a problem, I do it. If it doesn’t solve the problem I try something else. Scientific, right? I jest.
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I feel the same way…
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Woke at 258.4 lbs, looking basically the same as yesterday. That’s what a short sleep and early wake gets you, especially when you ate a bunch of cassava fries (yuca if you’re Peruvian) right before bead.
That is pretty much the scientific method in a nutshell though. Far more scientific than some guy in a lab coat.
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Had to start work late so trained early morning.
Todays training
McGill big three, reverse hyper and air squats
Hips and lower back stiff
Squat, walked out
2x5xbar/60 lbs - lower back pump started already. Fucking joy
5xplate/170 lbs
3x2 plates/236 lbs
2x3 plates/324 lbs - belt on
5x1x358 lbs
6x358 lbs
The five singles and six with 10 second rests. Really not any great difficulty at all here.
Box squat to parallel
3x3x358 lbs
Some of the fucking ugliest box squats I have ever perpetrated.
Goblet squats
3x10x53 lbs - not pretty either, lower back pump reaching prohibitive levels.
Inverted rows
3x10 at bodyweight - second set was trash because I rested maybe a minute, if that
Squat hold an inch above parallel
1.5 minutes, bodyweight
All up an hour and 15 minutes
Took another 45 minutes for the nausea to subside. Fuck early morning training
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Early morning is so lovely. 
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It’s fine when I’m used to it. As a once of, fuck me but it’s nasty.
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You plan on gearing up, or planning on hitting a seven hundo raw squat?
Either way, I like the goals, big boy numbers.
Coach who I’m starting to work with wants me to get into some geared lifting, he has just started geared benching and has been encouraging me to also get into it.
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I think the majority of the population will get results with the basics. All of that other stuff is for people who have outgrown “normal” training and I’m guessing that only applies to the elite of the elite.
For the rest of us, it’s just training psychology. We get bored or distracted by the shiny new things but we really don’t need them. Anyone training for general fitness can do fine with the basics, but those same people might have pre-existing issues that make some of the fancier stuff more beneficial.
For example, Average Joe probably doesn’t need to do 21s or drop sets, but doing so might reduce the weight enough to keep his joints healthy.
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Woke at what we’ll call 255.7 lbs. I got a bunch of readings so that’s an average. Definitely less bloated than yesterday.
@littlesleeper that’s raw. Ideally I want it by the time I’m 40. That gives me a shade under six years.
Gear is something I’m interesting in, but it needs multiple people to train so scheduling becomes an issue. If I ever do go equipped it’ll be a shot at 800/500/800.
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Todays training
Chad Aichs lower back stretch, SuperD shoulder stabilisation thing, band work, five wide overhand grip pullups, hand release pushups
Bench press
2x5xbar
5xplate
3x176 lbs
5x3x214 lbs - first set flew. Not that the other four were at all slow, the first set was just really good.
Bench to a two-board
2x5x209 lbs
JM press
3x6x132 lbs
We got the option of these or skull crushers. I prefer these.
Also, my lats were fried by now.
Band facepulls
5x10xlight band
DB rows
4x10x88 lbs
An hour and 10 minutes
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I’m in this camp as well.
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Count me in on the JM also. Skull crushers should be called elbow blower outers.
I did think of you @MarkKO the other day in the gym as I was doing some rolling triceps extensions. You showed me that…
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Woke at 253.5 lbs, looking similar to yesterday. I’m guessing the salt from the weekend finally left my system. It was also a big day, I didn’t stop until about half an hour before bed what with work, then training and then trying to put together a new bed for munchkin that Mrs KO bought on Gumtree.
You bought a kid on Gumtree? That must be in one of those hidden categories.
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