Wannagrow's training diary

hey people, thanks for the comments. I didn't have a chance to squat today because I still have a strong pain in my left knee when i squat (even bw) so today I decided to just have an upper body workout while my darn knee heals. I think I have identified my mistake on the squat: I don't keep me knee vertically over my toe; I let it drift forward over my toes by abut an inch or so. Question: People say that yor thigh should be in line with your foot, how can you check for this? You can't look down during the squat??

bench press 62.5  5/5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLEuIU8Q6MM
chins 7/5/5  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ql1vwLCFSs

comments: I'm gonna film my lifts from now on. I found it really useful.. This time I found the bench press weight difficult (but I still completed 3x5) and I don't look forward to wednesday when I'll increase it by a further 2.5 kg.
 
wanna, the video of the bench looked like you had no problem at all with that weight. It actually looked light for you, don't know what you are worried about.
 
feeling DOMS today in my chest
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I agree, usually my last 3 reps on my 5's takes everything i got. My arms are shaking, my legs are shaking, my face is a deep purple. If you aren't getting any of this, go up in weight. In fact now that I'm two weeks in to 5's, every exercise is like this. But it sure feels great afterwards!
 
Deadlift 80 5/5/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehW304VbN7o I tried to correct my technique from last time and really lock out at the top as well as keeping the bar closer to my shins. Please could you assist me in refining my technique, I'm worried that my lower back is not in a good position.

Pendlay row 50 5/5/5  I tried looking a few metres ahead of me rather than staring in front and my back started rounding. So I did it my usual way. Btw, does anyone know what the ideal grip width for these are? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C7-cJXI898

Press I read the SS chapter on press again and made sure my elbows were in front of the bar and that when the bar is overhead, that it's directly over my ears. It made it a lot easier!  
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Press video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJ6lhAsYdI
 
I think you've got it all looking good man. Add weight and sweat a bit.
Oh, I believe that the most natural width for you is the best for Pendlay's. You want to work your best groove if you wanna pull 3 plates there. I just fall forward and grab where my hands land, about just outside the shoulder width. And that's the key; we all have different widths. If I think about it, I'd go very slightly wider, not closer.
 
Thanks for the advice & motivation, QD. My grip width on Pendlays is placing my pinky fingers where the smooth rings are on the knurling of the bar- feels comfortable for me. I suppose the greatest issue with any lift is whether or not your back is straight which is why I uploaded videos of my current squatting.
I just started squatting again and my knee pain is not as bad, but still I think I won't be able to squat as often as I want due to residual pain. At least I filmed my squats in order for you guys to see what is wrong with em & hopefully correct them for me.
wow.gif


Squat 5/5/5 @ 60
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGANsTg3J4A (WU set)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynMr3WkvhtE

See comments for squats above.

Bench 5/5/4 @ 65
First time I missed a rep on the last set. I'll keep the weight the same and hopefully get 3x5 next time.

Chins 7/5/4 @ bw
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I'm not really getting any better at these. Any suggestions?
 
Squats: I think you need to address a few things:

1) Try widening your stance a bit. I can't really see properly but it looks like your knees are fairly close together as you descend towards the bottom of the squat.

2) It does look as if you need to drop down into a deeper squat so that you are able to drive with your glutes and hams more than your quads as well as benefit from the stretch reflex. It looks as if you are mainly loading the quads and driving with quad power. That might help explain the knee pain. You will have to practice this and get someone to watch you or take a vid. Check Dan John's seminar here for help in doing a goblet squat without a bar:

Dan John seminar

I may be wrong about this because it isn't particularly easy to see what's going on as the rack is obscuring your knees and your feet aren't in the frame. It would be better if you could take some vids further out of the rack safety bars: one side-on and one from the front.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Squats: I think you need to address a few things:

1) Try widening your stance a bit. I can't really see properly but it looks like your knees are fairly close together as you descend towards the bottom of the squat.

2) It does look as if you need to drop down into a deeper squat so that you are able to drive with your glutes and hams more than your quads as well as benefit from the stretch reflex. It looks as if you are mainly loading the quads and driving with quad power. That might help explain the knee pain. You will have to practice this and get someone to watch you or take a vid. Check Dan John's seminar here for help in doing a goblet squat without a bar: </div>

1) My heels were shoulder width from eachother. Maybe this wasn't clear from the video. Please watch the other one where you can see my feet and everything as I step out of the rack further.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGANsTg3J4A


2) I would descend lower but my back rounds if I descend lower than parallel. I go down 'til my knee joint is below hip joint. I honestly tried to use more hip drive by leaning forward more and stretching the hamstrings and stopping the knees from travelling foward, weight on heels. I actively had this in mind and tried to exagerrate whist maintaining a straight back yet if I exagerrate this even more, as you suggest, I will inevitably lose balance.

I will take more videos and see if there will be an improvement.

This has got to be the most frustrating exercise for me.
 
Actually I take what I said back because I tried squatting just now with a slightly wider stance and as a result, depth was achieved more easily and knees weren't travelling forward as much. I guess it just made my life easier!
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Only thing is that how wide is too wide??
 
if you get too wide, it will be harder to get deeper than parallel. I agree that squatting correctly w/ anything close to rep max is frustrating.
 
As per your PM: I'm not the squat expert around here, as I have flexibility and joint problems myself, and have to compensate a bit as I work into it.
One thing I feel though, and I know what you're doing with the light weights, is that when you add weight the form may degrade in places even though you've hit a perfect rep with that 135lb. test weight on you. Squats are a long battle, are fairly complicated (not really) at least at first, and form checks won't be over until you're around 80-90%rm.
As for the feets, you won't be looking at them unless you're the teenager in the Smith machine...but you can look down as you set up to position yourself before you look up and tighten the torso. Oh, and Tight is Right. NEVER let your guard down or lose focus in the squat.
 
I realised my mistake on the squats and I only now bring my knees forward for the first 1/3 of the movement, the rest of the movement I just lower my hips to just below parallel my bringing my butt back and leaninig forward somewhat. This somehow eased the pressure on my knees and I can now resume squatting 3x weekly unless I start feeling the pain again.

Squat:

20 1x5
35 1x 5
50 1x3
60 2x5

Press


20 1x5
30 1x 3
42.5 3x5 This felt really heavy now and I did some rest-pause on the last set. Should I still increase the weight next workout?

Pendlay row

30 1x5
40 1x5
52.5 3x5
 
Squat

20 1x5
40 1x5
50 1x3
60 3x5

Bench

20 1x5
40 1x5
50 1x3
65 3x5

I got the 3x5, however because some selfish bastards didn't let me use the bench in time (God I hate public gyms) I had to wait 6 mins after the second set. Too much rest? I'll keep the weight the same next workout. Good idea or not?

Chins

2x5

and then I practiced some power cleans with the 20 kg bar. I wish I could film it and put it on youtube but guess what? Another awful thing about public gyms: some scumbag nicked my camera. I hate public gyms, I wish I had a home gym and my own weights so that I don't have to deal with these kind of people/ thieves/ selfish scumbags/ imbeciles anymore.
 
You're doing very well, and I think it's great that you are posting videos for analysis.

Bench looked good...make sure your shoulder blades are back and tight (cannot see that in a video). Also, it looked like you may have been looking toward the side instead of eyes toward the ceiling?

Chins looked good...I liked the roadrunner durind the last rep
smile.gif


Deadlift looked like you may have been locking your knees early, before the bar was at knee level...this would put more stain on your lower back. This would indicate that your hips may be rising too fast.

Pendlay...same as Quad said. The grip looked a bit narrow. Make sure you drive the bar into your upper belly. In the video your weren't making contact with your body.

Press - let the bar fully deload on your front delts. Try to keep your elbows forward of the bar (I can't do it either due to flexibility issues) and drive the bar stright up in a stright line shrugging at lockout.

Squats - not qualified to determine...I suck at squats!


Keep up the good work!!
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Bench looked good...make sure your shoulder blades are back and tight (cannot see that in a video). Also, it looked like you may have been looking toward the side instead of eyes toward the ceiling?
</div>

yes, my shoulders were protracted on the bench, thanks for pointing that out.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> Deadlift looked like you may have been locking your knees early, before the bar was at knee level...this would put more stain on your lower back. This would indicate that your hips may be rising too fast. </div>

I'll do a small deload on the deadlift just to perfect the technique. My lower back did feel pretty strained.
As for the press, indeed, I need to shrug at the top. Its just that it feels unnatural but I'll do it anyway. Thanks for the pointers, solfl.
 
(yesterday's workout)

Squat

20 1x5
30 1x5
40 1x4
50 1x3
62.5 3x5

Press

20 1x5
25 1x5
30 1x3
40 1x2
45 3x5

Pendlay row

40 2x3
55 3x5

I again practiced some hang cleans with just the bar, starting at the jumping position and progressively lowering bar each time down my thighs.

I want to replace pendlays with power cleans simply because I'm not doing the actual SS programme unless I do PCs, just a bastardised version.
 
Squat

20 1x5
30 1x5
40 1x3
50 1x2
65 3x5

Bench press

20 1x5
40 1x5
50 2x2
65 3x5

Deadlift

60 1x5
65 1x3
70 1x2
75 1x1
80 1x5

Comments:

Everyting was dandy I got all the reps for every exercise today. Only problem is my bloody left knee is irritated again! Oh well ,i have no choice but not to squat AGAIN until my knee feels better. God its soo annoying!
 
Squat

20 1x5
40 2x4
50 1x3
67.5 3x5

Press

20 1X5
25 1X4
30 1X3
35 1X2
46 3x5

Power Clean

20 1x5
25 1x5
30 1x5
35 3x5

Comments: On squat: Knee pain virtually gone. Perhaps it was a mild irritation or sometthing but I hardly felt anything wrong in the knee today, just a little pressure. Last time I squatted, my hamstrings were so sore the naext day

Press: Felt very hard and the bar was moving liek a snail on the last rep of the last 2 sets. I think I lost strength due to having to clean the weight off the floor. Btw, on these, I used a thick bar, so I don't know how much these thick bars weigh? 21kg? 22kg? No idea.

Power Clean: Actually these were more like, first rep was a power clean and the last 4 were just hang cleans. Need to work on these more before I progress in weight.
 
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