What Should I Really Be Doing?

I feel like i am suffering from “analysis paralysis.”

Im not completely sure what i really want .

I dont know what kind of program or routine i should really be doing. I need some

kind of nudge in the right direction from someone who is more informed, or someone

who has at some point needed a bit of direction as i feel i do right now.

I kind of feel like an athlete that is training for a sport , except…i dont play

sports…More like… training for being superman in the manual labor work force… or

just being a strong, capable person in life…(lol) If you maybe understand where im

coming from.

Some things that are on my mind :

  1. Gaining “Wiry strength” or high “relative strength” is important.

  2. Ideally i would like to have a 400lb squat and 500lb deadlift at a bodyweight

around 180lbs. These are solid, attainable goals for the average person.

  1. I would really like to learn and become proficient in the olympic snatch, if i can

learn to snatch properly.

  1. Right now i am 185lbs at 12-13%bf. I have a 300lb back squat, 420lb deadlift

(mixed grip), 225lb bench and 145lb overhead press.

  1. I know for a fact i do not posess the mentality needed to become a big huge dude.

When i was younger i used to be a fat kid, i absolutely hate abdominal fat , i

disdain the feeling jiggly blubber bouncing around on my midsection when riding in a

car, jumping rope or doing anything that would cause blubber to jiggle around on

someones stomach. Call it a fatal flaw but if something is going to cause me to gain

a considerable amount of fat such as where i cannot see all six of my rectus ab

muscles, i am not going to continue doing it.

  1. I’ve followed something similar to SS , kind of , but more and more i feel like i

should be practicing and getting good at other exercises such as these :

Front squats
Overhead squats
Snatches
Clean grip snatches
Bulgarian split squats

  1. Honestly im not really sure how often i really need\want to be bench pressing. THe

more snatch, overhead press and overhead squatting movements i do, the better my

shoulders feel, the better my posture is, the bigger and thicker my traps, neck and

shoulders get. For upper body pressing strength is the bench press really needed ?

7…Im kind of in this stage where i think i should work to really understand the

type of body i have, what it is really suited for , what are its strengths and

weaknesses, and any skeletal or functional abnormalities if they exist. I know there

is something minor going on with my pelvis, it probably has a slight tilt which

causes one leg to be 1cm or so longer than the other at times. It will manifest as a

tightness in my hip and is probably the underlying culprit of the minor strength

imbalance i have between my right and left leg.

  1. For the past few months i have considered trying out some form of competitive

lifting , but i would want to be strong enough where if i went to some competition i

wouldnt come in dead last and look like a complete deuche.

I know the whole thing is probably as simple as "pick a program and stick with it for

a while" but if i dont know what i should really be doing its kind of hard to stick

with anything very adamantly.

[quote]Field wrote:

I feel like i am suffering from “analysis paralysis.”

Im not completely sure what i really want .

I dont know what kind of program or routine i should really be doing. I need some

kind of nudge in the right direction from someone who is more informed, or someone

who has at some point needed a bit of direction as i feel i do right now.

I kind of feel like an athlete that is training for a sport , except…i dont play

sports…More like… training for being superman in the manual labor work force… or

just being a strong, capable person in life…(lol) If you maybe understand where im

coming from.

Some things that are on my mind :

  1. Gaining “Wiry strength” or high “relative strength” is important.

  2. Ideally i would like to have a 400lb squat and 500lb deadlift at a bodyweight

around 180lbs. These are solid, attainable goals for the average person.

  1. I would really like to learn and become proficient in the olympic snatch, if i can

learn to snatch properly.

  1. Right now i am 185lbs at 12-13%bf. I have a 300lb back squat, 420lb deadlift

(mixed grip), 225lb bench and 145lb overhead press.

  1. I know for a fact i do not posess the mentality needed to become a big huge dude.

When i was younger i used to be a fat kid, i absolutely hate abdominal fat , i

disdain the feeling jiggly blubber bouncing around on my midsection when riding in a

car, jumping rope or doing anything that would cause blubber to jiggle around on

someones stomach. Call it a fatal flaw but if something is going to cause me to gain

a considerable amount of fat such as where i cannot see all six of my rectus ab

muscles, i am not going to continue doing it.

  1. I’ve followed something similar to SS , kind of , but more and more i feel like i

should be practicing and getting good at other exercises such as these :

Front squats
Overhead squats
Snatches
Clean grip snatches
Bulgarian split squats

  1. Honestly im not really sure how often i really need\want to be bench pressing. THe

more snatch, overhead press and overhead squatting movements i do, the better my

shoulders feel, the better my posture is, the bigger and thicker my traps, neck and

shoulders get. For upper body pressing strength is the bench press really needed ?

7…Im kind of in this stage where i think i should work to really understand the

type of body i have, what it is really suited for , what are its strengths and

weaknesses, and any skeletal or functional abnormalities if they exist. I know there

is something minor going on with my pelvis, it probably has a slight tilt which

causes one leg to be 1cm or so longer than the other at times. It will manifest as a

tightness in my hip and is probably the underlying culprit of the minor strength

imbalance i have between my right and left leg.

  1. For the past few months i have considered trying out some form of competitive

lifting , but i would want to be strong enough where if i went to some competition i

wouldnt come in dead last and look like a complete deuche.

I know the whole thing is probably as simple as "pick a program and stick with it for

a while" but if i dont know what i should really be doing its kind of hard to stick

with anything very adamantly.[/quote]

Tell me in ten words or less what your goal is.

Stronger, not bigger.

Olympic lifts.

Bodyweight for best relative strength?

Lift heavier weight, eat the same.

Get coached.

Who cares?

I like strength haikus
I am in love with hallowed
will make jacked babies

THanks for replies

bulgarian wave-loading
read the chaos and pain blog

420lb dead and only 145lb OHP?

[quote]Field wrote:
Stronger, not bigger.

quote]

Stregnth program. There are many to choose from.

The 2nd part is all nutrition.

You’re welcome

[quote]caveman101 wrote:
420lb dead and only 145lb OHP?[/quote]

I have strong hip extensors, and weak upper body…Kind of like a woman.

Hey man, based on what i read, I think you would really benefit from an upper body/lower body split routine

Day 1 Upper Body
Day 2 Lower Body
Day 3 Rest
Day 4 Upper Body
Day 5 Lower Body
Day 6 Rest

I would focus on rep ranges between 3-8

Some ideal set/rep schemes could be

Some examples

4x6
5x5 (one of my personal favorites)
10x3 (one of my personal favories)

I would mess around with all the different squat and deadlift variations
Front Squat
Back Squat
Hack Squat
Split Squat
Regular Dead Lift
Romanian Dead Lift
Snatch Grip Dead Lift
Other exercises you can mix in
Leg Press
Glute Ham Raise <------- really helps with the dead lift numbers in my opinon.

I would also throw in on occassion the I am going to “x” amounts of reps with this weight and the amount of reps per set is irrelevant just get all the reps in.

Dont repeat any exercises you did on Day 1 or Day 2 until Day 1 or Day 2 of the next week, same with the sets, change it up enough to keep the bodying guessing but return to the same workout soon enough so you can track progress.

For bench hit all the angles, I think you need to determine which body part is lagging behind that is preventing you from getting a higher lb press, is the chest, shoulders, triceps, once you figure it out you can place a little more emphasis on that part maybe add an extra isolation exercise for it, if you triceps are lagging do close grip incline bench for example.

Just a few ideas off the top of my head.

Good luck

[quote]Field wrote:

  1. Right now i am 185lbs at 12-13%bf. I have a 300lb back squat, 420lb deadlift

(mixed grip), 225lb bench and 145lb overhead press.

  1. I’ve followed something similar to SS , kind of , but more and more i feel like i

should be practicing and getting good at other exercises such as these :

Front squats
Overhead squats
Snatches
Clean grip snatches
Bulgarian split squats

7…Im kind of in this stage where i think i should work to really understand the

type of body i have, what it is really suited for , what are its strengths and

weaknesses, and any skeletal or functional abnormalities if they exist. I know there

is something minor going on with my pelvis, it probably has a slight tilt which

causes one leg to be 1cm or so longer than the other at times. It will manifest as a

tightness in my hip and is probably the underlying culprit of the minor strength

imbalance i have between my right and left leg.

  1. For the past few months i have considered trying out some form of competitive

lifting , but i would want to be strong enough where if i went to some competition i

wouldnt come in dead last and look like a complete deuche.

I know the whole thing is probably as simple as "pick a program and stick with it for

a while" but if i dont know what i should really be doing its kind of hard to stick

with anything very adamantly.[/quote]

  1. With those numbers, I say just go and compete and see if it’s something you’re going to enjoy. A. No one there really cares what you lift as long as you’re busting your ass to stick your lifts and showing some motivation. Everyone (almost everyone) will cheer if you hit a good lift and look pretty psyched for a PR. A PR is a PR. B. It may spur some fire under your ass to get stronger and add intensity and purpose into your training.

  2. Why do you want to get better at these lifts? What is the purpose you want to do them? Are they beneficial to your goals?

  3. Do DeFranco’s agile 8, some extra foam or PVC rolling and do a little single leg work. FIXED!

  4. The only duche-like thing there is just the fact you care what others think about how much you lift. FUCK THEM! Get your ass up there and compete. You’re stronger than most lifters just for the fact you are willing to compete and be “judged” by your peers.

All these other points could help/guide you into being more focused.

Losing 5 lbs of already lean bw and gaining 100 lbs on squat?

[quote]LIFToholic wrote:
Losing 5 lbs of already lean bw and gaining 100 lbs on squat? [/quote]

Well, yeah i think maybe for my height and bone structure , (71 inches tall with 6.5 inch wrists, 9 inch ankles) its probably more realistic to weigh somewhere closer to 200lbs while at a reasonable bf%

[quote]Field wrote:

[quote]LIFToholic wrote:
Losing 5 lbs of already lean bw and gaining 100 lbs on squat? [/quote]

Well, yeah i think maybe for my height and bone structure , (71 inches tall with 6.5 inch wrists, 9 inch ankles) its probably more realistic to weigh somewhere closer to 200lbs while at a reasonable bf%[/quote]

Yeah sounds good. Wouldn’t worry about losing weight unless you wanted to powerlift in a certain weight class.

Who the fuck bases their weight on their wrist and ankle measurments?

[quote]TheTexican wrote:
Who the fuck bases their weight on their wrist and ankle measurments? [/quote]

Apparently they are an indicator of your overall bone structure. Thicker wrists tends to indicate a heavier skeleton which kind of decides how much lean mass you can naturally carry on yourself.

[quote]Field wrote:

[quote]TheTexican wrote:
Who the fuck bases their weight on their wrist and ankle measurments? [/quote]

Apparently they are an indicator of your overall bone structure. Thicker wrists tends to indicate a heavier skeleton which kind of decides how much lean mass you can naturally carry on yourself.
[/quote]

It’s true that it “tends to” in the normal population, but you’ve got to remember that this normal population is fat and lazy. It’s not as much of a correlation as you think.

You don’t suffer from “analysis paralysis”.

You are defeating yourself before you start, so your brain doesn’t want to do anything.

Stop labeling yourself. Stop finding reasons NOT to be what you want to be. Stop looking for the negative.

Lifting is easy. Pick shit up, put it down, repeat a million times.

Who cares how fat you were when you were young. The past does not equal your future.

This is here and now. Pick up your balls and stop waiting for someone to do it for you.

Pick a program, eat some food and stop stopping.

Or stay in your room and complain that nobody understands you.