The Final Push

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
2 x 5 @ 52.5kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
1 x 2 @ 55kg
3 x 5 @ 57.5kg

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 60kg
1 x 3 @ 70kg
1 x 2 @ 80kg
1 x 5 @ 92.5kg

Dips
2 x 9

Hyper Extension
1 x 10, 1 x 12 @ 10kg

Session started off badly, but ended on a good note. Was a tad hung over and really wasn't in the mood for the gym, but forced myself down. My squat form properly wasn't anywhere near its best - i felt a bit stiff and didn't have enough interest today to try and make it perfect. I was almost on the verge of packing it in and going home after first working set. Stuck with it though and finished the 3.

Bench was good. Hit 57.5kg again, as i felt the decline bench was a cheat last week, and didn't feel i was in the right state to try anything overly ambitious anyway. It felt fairly heavy on the first set, didn't think i had the three sets in me. i said **** it though, i wasn't leaving until i got it, and got all three sets ok. verry happy with that.

Deads were good. Felt a bit heavy on the warm up sets but i was determined to get it. the work set felt good though. Form was much better than for my 90kg last week, felt a lot more in control of the bar.

Dips were good, as were hypers.

floggg

Also made my 5 a side comeback on Monday. First time running hard on it apart from a few medium pace jogs and a day of sprint work. felt good during the game, although didn't push it too hard - pulled out of a few tackles etc and didn't try any overly acrobatic turns, but was delighted to just make it through the full game. Felt a bit sore/stiff on tuesday morning, although i think that was more muscualr than any damage done. will do a bit more sprint work on it over the next two week to get it back up to 100%.

Hanley

Transform wrote: »

Few things - your not standing upright at the top so its causing you to drop chest into lap on every rep.

Your focusing on sticking your ass out so much that you have got to keep your chest out of your lap. stay more upright and stretch hip flexors more.

I would recommend going to see a trainer in your area for a session as there is only so much online coaching can help.

+1 to this.

You're breaking at the hips, which is good. But you're taking it to the extreme. You're really bent over before your knees break at all. As the set progresses the problem becomes amplified because you're not resetting your chest at the top of each rep properly. Think of taking a really deep breath and picking your chest up as the position you wanna be in.

Also, this is gonna cause a ruckus... but don't sit back so much. Unless you're lifting in powerlifting equipment you need to sit back AND down to squat. Especially if you have longer legs, which you appear to do. Reason being, the more you sit back, the more you need to bend forward to keep the weight over your feet.

So.... try this;
-break at your hips a split second before your knees
-as you do that think of " chest up, down, weight on heels"
-come back up
-pick your chest up at the top of the rep, make sure your body is in the same position as the first rep
-rinse and repeat

Then stick another vid up and take it from there. Like Transform said, in person this could be done in a short amount of time, but online it's hard!

floggg

Hanley wrote: »

+1 to this.

You're breaking at the hips, which is good. But you're taking it to the extreme. You're really bent over before your knees break at all. As the set progresses the problem becomes amplified because you're not resetting your chest at the top of each rep properly. Think of taking a really deep breath and picking your chest up as the position you wanna be in.

Also, this is gonna cause a ruckus... but don't sit back so much. Unless you're lifting in powerlifting equipment you need to sit back AND down to squat. Especially if you have longer legs, which you appear to do. Reason being, the more you sit back, the more you need to bend forward to keep the weight over your feet.

So.... try this;
-break at your hips a split second before your knees
-as you do that think of " chest up, down, weight on heels"
-come back up
-pick your chest up at the top of the rep, make sure your body is in the same position as the first rep
-rinse and repeat

Then stick another vid up and take it from there. Like Transform said, in person this could be done in a short amount of time, but online it's hard!

Thanks for the advice guys. the annoying thing is that i did get a PT session a few months back specifically to go through form issues. He took a quick look at my squat, albeit at a lowish weight, and told me it was fine! I know the in person advice is best, but can't really afford a PT session at the moment. Its kinda getting disheartening at this stage that i can't get it right - i've spent the last three weeks trying to get it right and still am way off!

will keep trying though. eventually i have to get ir right, right?

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 55kg

Press
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 25kg
1 x 3 @ 30kg
1 x 2 @ 35kg
3 x 5 @ 40kg PB

Power Clean
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 45kg
5 x 3 @ 50kg PB

Chins
1 x 4, 1 x 2

Hypers
1 x 10, 1 x 8 @ 15kg

Decline Sit-ups
2 x 10 @ 10kg

PB in both press and power clean today. Very happy with the press - 40kgs felt very heavy still, but managed to get the full three sets done through sheer force of determination.

Power clean, less so. Form was not great for work sets. i think if and when i get squats in reasonable shape, power clean is the next lift to reconstruct. i'm not keeping contact with the bar and my thighs before the jump, and when i do make contact, it seems to throw me off balance a bit, either foward or backward. it really is quite a complex lift, and the heavier it gets, the harder it is to keep it all together.

cardio,shoot me

Congrats on the press pb. In my opinion press is one of the most horrible feelings to fail a rep on. I feel your pain on Power cleans, so hard to learn :P

floggg

Squat
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 57.5kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 2 @ 50kg
2 x 5, 1 x 2 @ 60kg PB

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 60kg
1 x 3 @ 70kg
1 x 2 @ 85kg
1 x 5 @ 95kg PB

Dips
2 x 10

Hypers
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Decline Sit-ups
1 x 10, 1 x 12 @ 10kg

Today was good. Squats were ok, but still not there. Have to work on dropping down as opposed to back as per Hanley above, and will try lifting toes to keep weight on heels.

Bench was good, in that 60kg was a major milestone for me! Have been stuck in the 50's for so long. Felt so good to get the 20kg plates on there. Missed the last set badly - failed on the third rep and was stuck under the bar, but manged to slide it off and set it down without looking too much like a plonk. It didn't take the shine off the lifting two full sets at 60kg though.

Deadlift was great! work set felt very heavy, and back was rounded ever so slightly at the top, but was happy with it all the same. i'm getting up towards the 100kg mark, which will also be a mjor milestone.

floggg

Ok. Took a little break from the log, and also, a littel break from training last week. Some pretty intensive drinking got in the way of my three day a week training - i only just scrapped in the two!

Anyway, last tuesday's training

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 60kg

Press
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 25kg
1 x 3 @ 30kg
1 x 2 @ 35kg
2 x 5, 1 x 4 @ 41kg

Power Clean
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 3 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
5 x 3 @ 45kg

Chins
1 x 4
1 x 3

Squats - bane of my existence at the mo! Was starting to creep back towards respectability on the weight, but i'm still off. I'm starting to feel a bit special, but not in a good way!

Press was ok. Starting to find it really hard to progress on this with 2.5kg going on each time, so i used to really big washers as clips which i reckon weighed about a kilo, decided to go a bit more incremental. Just missed the last rep, but ohterwsie happy enough.

Power clean - i decided to drop 5kg off the bar and go again as my form was getting messy and wanted to bring it back into line before i startedd adding more. Got through the full 5 sets fairly well - form was generally pretty good and was happy with it, even if i did feel i was going backwards a bit with dropping weight off the bar.

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
4 x 5 @ 40kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 2 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 60kg PB

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 60kg
1 x 3 @ 75kg
1 x 2 @ 87.5kg
1 x 5 @ 97.5kg

Dips
1 x 10
1 x 9

Decline Sit-ups
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Hypers
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Squats - once more i dropped down trying to get it right. I think its better but still far from perfect. Will post another vid soon for your critique. Really getting sick of this though. I want to get it right, but just don't seem to be able to!

Bench - completed the full set, delighted. didn't think starting the third that i would - i couldn't get the bar off the rack at first. then i sat up, took a breath, and went at it again, and got the full set. may not have been contact with my chest for a lot of the reps, but it was a big psychological barrier for me to get past.

Deadlift - happy with this - its the lift i'm making best progress with each week. next go round it'll be 100kg which will be a major milestone in my book.

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 4 @ 40kg

Press
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 35kg
1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 2 @ 42.5kg

Chins
1 x 5
1 x 3

Hypers
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Decline Sit-ups
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Squats - think it was better again, particularly on last set. not going to try and go as deep as before - i don't think i have it in me. willl post a vid up later for approval.

Press - missed badly on the last set! finding this hard - don't know if its psychological or what. will give it one more go next go round, or else its a reset.

Power clean - was good, although not making contact with my tigh before the jump. i can't manage to do so without detouring from the straight line. i think i migt need a slight adjustment of my back position on the way up to make it happen. still, feel comfortable with the weight - i didn't the last go round at 47.5kg.

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
4 x 5 @ 45kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 2 @ 52.5kg
2 x 5 @ 62.5kg*

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 70kg
1 x 3 @ 80kg
1 x 2 @ 90kg
1 x 5 @ 100kg PB

Dips
2 x 10

*last set stolen by spotter trying to do curls with my bar.

Squats
I think my problem is partly concentration. i tend to either not concentrate enough on the move as a whole, or else over focus on one particular aspect to the detriment of the rest, so that the whole movement suffers. i also think there is a definite flexibility problem towards the bottom of the movement.

Anyway, here is a vid of it. Some reps are better than others here, but i would like to think there is some improvement? i know they're not great, but i would like to think i'm going in the right direction.

Bench
was very happy with sets one and two. was heavy, and i really had to dig deep to grind out the fifth rep on second set, but delighted to get the first two sets. i knew i hadn't a full third set in me, but was aiming for three reps. for the first time ever, i asked a guy to spot me, so that i could go balls out to get the three - told him to only grab the far if he saw it going back down in the wrong direction. got the first rep myself, and then next thing his hands were all over the bar on the way down for the second, and stayed there all the way back up! he completely stole my set! i am thus discounting that one for the obvious reasons.

Deadlifts
Got 100kg! ****ing deligted. that was a major milestone for me. was happy with it, although my form wasn't the cleanest - there was a bit of back rounding going on. it felt heavy as hell, and i found it tough. i will monitor frm closely next time - if it is as poor again, i will reset.

Bench

bigstar

form looks way better now so your heading in the right direction. still a bit off but definitely better. what are like just free squatting?

on the press, it just gets hard, really hard.

floggg

bigstar wrote: »

form looks way better now so your heading in the right direction. still a bit off but definitely better. what are like just free squatting?

on the press, it just gets hard, really hard.

Thanks. I needed that. If you had said it was still crap i would have given up and just taken to doing curls in the squat rack. or just given up!

Dunno about free squatting - never recorded it. I am squatting facing a wall as recommended by Hanley, hoping it will help my nail it.

As for press, it sure does! will have to reset very soon and go again, but i have already added about 10kg to it which i am happy with.

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
3 x 5 @ 50kg

Press
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 25kg
1 x 3 @ 32.5kg
1 x 2 @ 37.5kg
2 x 5, 1 x 1 @ 42.5kg

Power Clean
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 3 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 45kg
5 x 3 @ 50kg

Chins
1 x 5
1 x 2

Hypers
2 x 10 @ 15kg

Squats
Pretty much same as last time, although was more consistent across the full three sets this time - normally i get better as i go along as i notice where i go wrong each time. I have worked out a set of ques for myself to keep me in line. Will keep adding weight now and hope the kinks iron themselves out as flexibility improves. I have been going backwards for so long on them, i need to start racking up some weight!

Press
Failed the last set pretty bad. I really pushed myself to get the 5th rep on the 2nd set, probably a little too hard. Anyway, i fought against it for as long as i could, but its reset time. i will drop back down to 35kg next time and build back up 1kg at a time. I'm still up over 10kg from when i started, so i have made good progress. Its just time to make some more!

Power Clean
Found the first working set very hard. i was pretty tired, and i was also fairly pissed at the spectacular fail on the press! Anyway, i decided i needed to get angry with the bar, so i switched my ipod from the inspirational to the confrontational and it did the trick! I powered through the next four sets. I only wish i had done it for the press, it might have helped my knock a few more out. Anyway, i matched my PB on power clean, and next go round will be a new PB!

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 4 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 55kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 2 @ 52.5kg
3 x 5 @ 62.5kg PB

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 70kg
1 x 3 @ 80kg
1 x 2 @ 92.5kg
1 x 5 @ 102.5kg PB

Dips
1 x 10, 1 x 11

Squats
Ok again. Going back up in weight but still plugging away trying to get them better. Noticing small little things each time, so hopefully it all adds up. Tried them looking up as opposed to straight ahead. Made a small bit of difference in terms of chest position at the bottom. Still room to improve!

Bench
PB. Completed the full three sets. Cranked up some angry music, and just focused on the beat - it got my psyched up. Might of look a bit strange rapping DMX to myself in silence, but it did the trick. Got through them ok. Cheated a little bit in that didn't make contact with chest on many of the reps, but just wanted to get through it. Will do so from now on though, even if it mines i stall.

Deadlift
Another PB. Much better form than for the 100kg, although there was some rounding for the work set. Still, happy i have another bit to go on this, evn if it was heavy as hell. Again, got my self psyched up and in the mood for it, and got through it.

Here is a vid of the work set. As i said, surely thats inevitable at heavy weights? Any comments/constructive criticism welcome.

Dips
Will try my hand at some weighted dips next time round. I'm ready to join the big boys on this (or am i!).

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 60kg

Press
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 25kg
1 x 3 @ 32.5kg
1 x 2 @ 37.5kg
2 x 5, 1 x 3 @ 42.5kg PB for reps

Power Clean
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 3 @ 47.5kg
5 x 3 @ 52.5kg

Pull up
1 x 5, 1 x 3

Squats - First set wasn't great, but second and third were better. I can't really go to deep with losing form, so am just about going to parallel at the moment.

Press - **** me, these are hard. i thought i would give it one more go at 42.5kg because i don't want to reset already, but still couldn't get it. Even the reps i did weren't the best - didn't have a full range of motion on them and used my legs for a bit of leverage.

Power Clean - was good for the warm up, until i ****ed up the count with the plates on my final warm-up - threw up 5kg extra, which threw me off. Still, did the full five sets at 52.5kg after, although form wasn't the cleanest. My jumps were a bit tame, I didn't stomp down as i should have, and my catch was bad for the first two sets - was catching "under" the bar, rather than swinging up through with my elbows. Think i might have put about too much pressure on the elbows, my left one feels a bit sore now.

Pull-ups - not making any progress on these at all. Am sticking strictly to full ROM, but not seeming to make any gains.

floggg

Squats
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 5 @ 40kg
1 x 3@ 50kg
1 x 2 @ 60kg
3 x 5 @ 65kg

Bench
1 x 5 @ 20kg
1 x 5 @ 30kg
1 x 3 @ 40kg
1 x 2 @ 50kg
3 x 5 @ 55kg

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 50kg
1 x 5 @ 60kg
1 x 3 @ 70kg
1 x 2 @ 80kg
1 x 5 @ 90kg

Dips
1 x 10
1 x 8

Today was pretty crap. Havn't been training for the last two weeks due to an injury to my elbow and then exams/study etc. What i thought was a twinge following my last post got a lot worse the next go round when i tried benching. Stupidly i still went ahead and did 3 half ass sets at 65kg, but it felt fairly tender afterwards, so i gave it a while off, by which time i was into the swing of exams.

Exams finished on friday, so today was first day training. Was not in the mood for it - still a bit hung over/sleep deprived this morning, and really didnt wanna go. Wasn't expecting much from today but was still underwhelmed. I dropped back the weight a bit on all as i have been out of action for a bit, and will be out of action again after tuesday for a week plus holidays, so i will havev to reset back to those levels when i get back after almost a month off and **** diet in the meantime. I still expected to be able to get through this workout fairly easy, but really struggled with it. i think my heart just wasn't in it.