rev210

ha ha... yes it's relatively heavy. That dude might do less than me but, I'm sure he's in good shape , 260kg dead is pretty good. I am not really commited at the moment , mostly by comparision to how I used to work. I found some other nostalgia shots from the gym from back in the day. I would fall over after doing a few of these. I would also do my calf raises with this machine & weight. I did 440kg on this session about 5 reps Half way through the lift. [/url]

Bad form is likely the issue. It will be position /hip motion.

Pretty sure the hip motion may be you challenge there. Have you done things like wall squats before? How is your hip mobility when you do them?

thanks for the encouagement dan. It wasn't a real session so I can't say the effort was solid, more like slack , I am not even slightly sore today ha ha... Played basket ball with the kids yesterday as well , definately put lots more effort in there. Sore all over from that. Doing the jumps and layups I probably shouldn't cold ha ha... Was fun though.

Bro press test. Tried the pause on the chest. Found it better somehow. 130kg x 2 (warm up) 150kg x1 Dont have any more weights at home so 150kg is it. Probably not going to bench anymore. The home bench has broken during the racking. Besides not liking the movement.

if getting through sticking points was only ' more' then no one would need coaching. That principle is evident in all training methodology worth some salt. You must push your body through that barrier. In order to do that you must undertake learning. There is much on the mental side of training that is taught but, not dicussed. You can be given a program that says do more and fail. Its not the program. Even within a program, there is what you are willing to contribute to it to make it work.Some Althletics programs in use would be un appertising for people because they can be brutal. People like simple . 'do more' is simple. But for every 10 people who hear that and try to adopt it, only 1 will likely get something out of it . I am sure Markos has spread that program around forums to people and the stats are probably worse. Not because of the program but because its not in the program. It's the persons commitment. If you do 5 reps more when you could do 20. You add 2kg more when you could add 20kg. You do 1 set more when you could do 3. That mindset is weak and no program can make up for it. You could argue that you are still progressing.you are happy with that. Reality is that the gap between potential and commitment will likely widen. Once you get stronger the energy cost and forces become greater. They will introduce discomfort,pain and distraction the stronger you get. Someone with the brakes like this will find training losing appeal Once the wall is hit. I can relate to that myself.

I think the key is outside of the volume and 'more' . It's before the numbers. It is your intensity and mind commitment. This is what I think Markos is refering to when he made mention of the 'numbers' being low in significance. Doing 'more' is also in that bag. As is special foods , pre-workouts and any 'program'. These things can become a mental crutch and an excuse. The mental crutch shows up as things like; * 'clinging' (when you think something outside of you is key the reason you progress) Then * 'ever seeking the magic bullet' (when you need something to blame for the lack or progress). It's much harder to get anywhere when you don't understand that when something is being lifted 'YOU' are lifting it. Not the program or the food. Taking the responsibillity of getting to point 'B' by understanding your body is doing the walking. Effort becomes the focus. I would suggest that peoples(including me) present 1RM or personal bench mark is well below thier potential for no other reason than the mind is in the way. If you can't believe in & understand yourself without the crutches. You will not allow yourself to run because you aren't prepared to drop them or realise you don't need a new set (crutches). For thought as an example of a program at the other extreme ; At my strongest I trained under a program that most would percieve as a non-effort (However, it was researched and very effective) It looked like this; Workout frequency = 1 workout day in 7-10 days rest (varied according to peak recovery and zero excersise days in between) Set / reps = 2-4 reps (target 2) 1-2 sets (2 max) . Exception was Squatting 2 set of 5-8 ( As I had no spotters and walked out of a rack) Different Movements on a session (squat etc) = 2- 3 max Rest between sets / movements = resting heart rate and blood pressure. Over the time I did this program , I would have been lifting weights up and down for about 5min a month (not including time spent resting in the gym). It hurt peoples brains when they saw me lifting and asked me what my program was. They thought I was either telling fibs or taking roids. But, they didn't see me at home with ice packs. And didn't notice when I was on the ground un-able to move after a session. You could argue that I added 'more' to the weights each time. But, actually how much I added was less important than the drive I had to lift it. I was forced to push myself outside the comfort zone. That was the lesson I got from that time. I got the excuses beaten out of me. Want to know what WORKS most in the gym ? = YOU Are YOU working?

Nope. The stretching and mobillity is important but, stressing the injured muscles with lifting in the gym will yield more damage. Resistance training is about causing micro tears in muscle, you have more than you need of those. You must wait for them to repair. Injuries like yours (if it's the back one) are often refered pain and can have delays in onset. Some injuries will progressively deteriorate after the harm is done initially for a period and then spasms can onset as other stabilising muscles try to support the injury. This is normal. If there is pain then 'ice' to reduce the inflamation and rest it. Once there is a reduction in swelling you can do the gentle mobility stuff. Your core is likely very strong so do not fear that the strength is going to fade away. Fitness does drop off relatively quickly but, returns just as fast. Strength , provided you eat fades very very slowly.

If you're repeatedly geting stuck at say 6 to 7 reps on your final set of 3x8s, whats the best way to get past it? Brief pause and do the missing reps? Train heavier 3-5 reps. You will eventually be able to do more reps on that 7 rep weight and you get stronger faster. You can rest your ass off between sets. Lifting very heavy i would wait for my heart rate to return to rest sometimes. You dont have to do that though

Rest more. Eat more. Rest periods can be too short, if you want strength gains. If your rest periods are too short (between training days) you can even go backwards. Typically , you aren't in danger of resting too long. (provided you eat). Strength doesn't go away quickly. Destruction of muscle (stimulus) = the gym. The increase of strength and muscle growth = resting.

I probably didn't make the point very well. I will try to explain. The shin scrape is a 'result' not a direction to think about. You aren't saying to yourself ' I must press the bar into my shins...'. Instead your setup and form being right causes it (just happens). I'd say most people biomechanically will touch the shin in the correct position ( I don't, setup is away and mickeys hair on the way up ) . But, whether or not it's just above or scraping along should be the result of the right motion. You mind is on other form elements. If you are aiming to keep contact with the legs , instead of motion / form , then you might think touching the knees is part of the 'contact with the leg' and try to make contact with them. Leading to the motion going wrong at that point.

thats not an instruction. its a result. The definition of close is 'relative'. If it's an inche or so away thats still close. Mid foot is close enough. Vertical lift . Job done. Your present issue is being 'too close'.

Pretty sure ptc guy didnt say that?

And painfull

No. Thats wrong

Bar is over mid foot. Not against shin.

Don't worry, you do it naturally. Stand up out of a chair. Notice how your hips move forward as you staighten up. Now if you try to do this faster , you will notice speed comes from the hip moving quicker. Thats a bit of extra hip drive helping. Thats all it is.

There is alot to think about till it's on auto pilot. The ones you mentioned need a tweak. 'keep bar close to legs' ----- this is to be discarded. It's not a thought process you should be following, it's a result only. Don't concern yourself with it. 'push the bar away from you' ---- also not the best choice of words for thinking. Replace with keep the 'arms straight' or 'keep the tension in them' If you are trying to do that you might be taking the scapular retraction away and this will cause rounding. 'squeeze glutes' ---- You need hip drive. Yes the glutes squeeze but, driving with the hips will take care of that. Just squeezing them isn't going to work by itself. Sort the thoughts out before a lift. Go through it in your mind. Then do it. Pause. Reflect . Repeat. You need to be certain and build confidence. What you have just done to yourself bashing the knees is counter productive. I encourage you never do that again on any kind of lift for the sake of a workout shedule. You can do it (when you were coached you did it perfectly) , just go easy on yourself a step at a time.

Just relax L33SH. It's easy to overthink it. The bar above the center of your feet and your shoulder-blades over the bar, should see you miss the knee easy on the way up. Shoulder blades over the bar is probably where the issue is. To see how this works try getting an empty bar/broom (start at a height that is the same as having plates on off the ground). Try moving the shoulder blade position around you will see what happens to the knee position vs bar on the way up.

Hip position is too low could do it. Squat-lifting as opposed to dead lifting will probably hit the knees more. Raise the hip postiion.

You can overcome the distance factor, should be easy to get to the anyone's here on the forum, have a crack at the previous 'challenges' . Maybe we should do another round of the last few to see where people are at? Deadlift 1.5xBW/ Pullups / Bodyweight Bench. All good fun.

Shouldnt hit the knees. Hips moving t7oo late?

sorry just lazy ha ha.. I just checked you were doing the 1rm in the routine since Feb. when you started at 170kg and then the goal was to deadlift 200kg. So you are pretty close now .

How long has it been since starting the 1rm in volume training birds?

Be a strain around the thorasic spine as physio said given rotation showed up the issue. Tennis ball just to the side of the spine on the wall. See if you can find a tender spot. Push down would cause the twinge due to the stabilisation needed and difference between each arm. One side is usually stronger so more stabilisation is needed to one side to compensate perhaps placing a twisting pressure very slightly. I think you will be fine in no time