workout 2013-11-06

[piranha]

squat
5x5 BW

overhead press
5x5 @ 23.5lb

deadlift
1x5 @ 60lb

10 min mobility warmup. man, my hip flexors are still tight, tight, tight. need to add more specific exercises for it. i think i might add additional mobility work every day, maybe in the mornings.

squat: using a broom stick now for form. oy vey; shoulders need a lot more mobility work; my grip is very wide. form was pretty good though for 4 sets.

OHP: went very well. my biceps and triceps were aching a bit from yesterday's workout, but i don't think i was overdoing it.

deadlift: also went well. i think i want to cut myself standard plates from plywood so i can get the proper distance more easily than my jury-rigged setup.

Comments

[liv]

I definitely found that it took me a while to be able to do squats at all, purely from a flexibility point of view. Now I have the same problem with deadlifts; it's trivially easy for me to lift 20 lb if I'm using my whole back and legs to do it. But it's really hard for me to squat right down to the floor to pick up the bar. I feel like I haven't got much to lose if I keep working on form with light weights, though.

[piranha]

don't squat all the way down to do a deadlift; that's too far -- you don't want to squat the weight up. stay above parallel. how much above depends on your build. centre of the foot under the bar, your shins should touch the bar when you're in the lowest position (not before), shoulders should be a couple of inches in front of the bar, and your back should be flat (keeping your natural lordosis intact), and at an angle to the floor (again, depends on your build how much).

mark rippetoe is a very famous strength coach; his book "starting strength" is a standard, and well worth reading. the setup in this video is great, though he leaves stuff out that comes right before you lift (taking the "slack" out, activating glutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfYez7-h55c

elliot hulse is one of my go-to guys on youtube because he always has good form and understands physiology and psychology. no broscience from this guy. so i ignore the testosterone-oozing death metal. ;). this is a very detailed analysis and correction of a guy deadlifting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5qcN_w_m8c

i like rippetoe because he doesn't behave in sexist ways when training women (he does occasionally make mild anti-gay slurs, but you can't have everything, i guess). he is just very matter of fact and doesn't treat women differently. you can see that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8jgCFXYTU

if you totally want to geek out on deadlifting, elliott has a long 4-pt series where he goes into the science of it; the first video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_299430&feature=iv&src_vid=Il9Nqvj39jg&v=NdjuX-GRby8

but yeah, in general i think working on form with lower weights is a good thing. piling weight on bad form is just an injury waiting to happen.