rev210

When I was going to the gym a number of times the PT types actually tried to stop me doing squats and various other movements with largish weights. The really big dudes were the best value for a laugh.

Yep. I remember incorporated some heavy work on some machines for assisting development on squats and other movements. Some of the equipment was different to what I have seen in commercial gyms though. Used a hack squat machine (did free weight hack squats as well) , Leg press (machine could take about 1,000kg of plates, I did about 720kg- took forever to load and unload 20kg plates) , a sort of calf raise/ hack squat style sled thing that helped with full calf dorsiflexion strength(you had to squat it upwards before you could do the rest of the movement ). A few of these things people never seemed to use

Take a 6 month break on the bench stuff and get shoulders and back strong. You will destroy that 110kg within a very short space of time when you go back to it. In the mean time get some PB's on the overhead press.

Could be a few things mate. Hip flexibility could be an issue? Long legs aren't your problem (it's not a problem), people over 6ft have no disadvantages there. Plenty of shorter people don't /can't squat for the same reasons.

fixed

Who is setting the next challenge? I am sitting it out if I came out first, whoever was second can do it.

Good if you love doing an excersise. So if I was to ask what bench press is doing for you? Is it your goal to become really strong? (how much do you want to lift) Do you want to develop big chest muscles? (how big do you want your chest) If you just want to maintain the chest muscles you can do other movements (you only need to activate the muscles). An excellent reason for doing them later; you build the strength where you need it first (that will maximise the efforts once you start back at it). You will basically avoid injury and at the same time not wind up hitting a brick wall due to weak supporting strength. At the end of a period of 12 months , 6months of which you focus on building everywhere else, your bench will be stronger (provided you start back on it with a sensible approach). Strict isn't feet together. Thats retarded. Strict is basically not using leg drive (push press).

not well.... I may miss 30 attempt for the challenge but, will have a crack once I am better. Anyone for a last minute attempt?

Keep it up with the shoulder girdle and lumbar strength building. Deads and squats are great, you can leave bro-press alone totally till you are strong. I will even suggest you can leave it for 6-9 months. Do strict press instead when you are ready, there are other chest building movements. Wear gloves if you want, who cares. Even better get some foam bar grips. They increase the diameter of the bar making your grip work harder. Being made of high impact foam they will be better on the caluses to boot.

You need to concentrate on doing it right without a towel. Leave heavy weights till you get it right. Yes she has nill issues with core and back, you do however. At 68kg she is pressing alot more than she weighs and she can also bench 180kg. Based on your form with light weight ,your pressing with 45kg would look very ugly as a guess and it's probably hurting you. Her form is spot on for the lifts. She has stabilisation even with the really big weights. Remember that very slight distortion is more due to the weight being much heavier than she is and balance.

You need to be able to press like a girl at least.

Bench form needs a little work. You need to get the scapular retracted more and the sholders in a better position of rotation. Whats with the towel? Curls , too fast. squeeze as hard as you can at the top of the rep. Lower with a 2-3 count. Keep your body from moving around.

Not great. Had a month of high stress at work, diet and excersise suffered. Lost weight probably as a result but, the wrong kind due to skipping meals at work.

What you are bascially pointing out is correct and works, energy in vs energy used. If you eat less than you use then you lose weight. For the most part it is hard work. How much lean muscle you can have is the trickier bit. That is genetics and diet. Some will need to do alot more work on diet to get as lean as 10% others not so much. But, you certainly aren't in the 'do bugger all ' category to get lean, you are doing the work for sure. The game changes according to what physique you want as well.

also scarecrows for advanced once you have cubans in the zone. start with a stretchy band and then dumbells

Don't worry about huge weight with cubans. You will get stronger over time. The rotator muscles are quite small. Just activating them is good, even with light loads. You can see that with rotator weakness how vulnerable you are in pressing movements. I have done strength cuban press with 25kg dumbells, I used to do more with the barbell back in the day. So you can get strong in the movement. But, even 20kg total is plenty to work for. Being able to do this weight , helped me to bash out the 105kg strict presses with a clean. If I had girly rotators I may not have even cleaned the weight , let alone pressed it. You must not bench or any pressing during any week where you do cubans with a reasonable load (even if that is not much weight wise) You will have smashed the rotators. Do not rep until failure, go 2 short of it in a set. Fatigue and the little rotators can equal tears. this is what I call good cuban form for barbell

If it's sort of both you might find a small amount of bursitis, try pressing around the elbow where you can feel the tendons next to the bone. The golfer elbow is common to find on one arm. Often it will be because of the strength and flexibillity of the forearm muscles, a lagging wrist/arm will then get slight contortion under loads with bar work causing the mechanical issues in the lift that lead to strain. I have had an accident related similar set of issues. I am still looking at months of rehab, I actually have to stop everything completely to complete it. It's probably just posture if you are a desk jockey. Wrapping is supposed to hurt I thought , why bother otherwise? Just wear the knee tubes.

Ah I don't think so. Can you name a single olympic or competition lifter who doesn't have a coach? Are you saying coaching is a waste of time?

You don't need a coach if you would like to be ordinary and are happy with a percentage of what you are really capable of potentially. Patting yourself on the back for working it all out yourself is ok but, getting closer to your limits with encouragement and wisdom from others is also rewarding. A coach is basically someone knowledgable and more importantly 'wise' ,who can spend some time looking at your individual situation to advise you. They help you to become a 'great you'. You can get some coaching electronically now, thanks to video etc.

I think Markos answered that a few posts back?

No I work in an unrelated field, I work for a global technology company. Probably just remember the info from reading. Good at general knowledge and other useless info but, can't remember important things like where I live ha ha..

Wheat contains some Xenoestrogens. Like soy it's a girly hormone/ endocrine disruptor but, not as bad. Not alot of that bad crap in there though, people probably over-react.

deficit for superhumans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA5N4Tx9nB8

Yeah that's all fine but, you need plenty more than that once it gets heavy (and a coach too) There are also some exceptions to bar position and not every one has to scape or rest on shins. Food for thought , Magnussen in this one doesn't start the way everyone will but, his mechanical form for 'his' body is hard to fault given the world record he just broke. Should you lift exactly in the same way and position like Magnussen? Sure if you are built exactly like him...

In my limited experience and understanding the floor part is sometimes mucked up by a combination of things. I am trying to remember it was a long time ago. Most often I reckon getting the bar off the ground issues are 'the setup' and things like the approach based on your flexibillity and body mechanics. When I started doing some deads again for that challenge, I had to start stretching my ankles to ensure I had enough dorsiflexion. I had bugger all straight away,to what is really needed. I still need to work on it if I ever want to play with something heavy. Try these if you haven't already. * Take all slack out of the bar hold before going for it. Stretch into tension by griping the bar and pulling up to point of tension a couple of times before the real lift. Crush the crap out of the bar. If there is any slack at all in the grip, then energy is lost as it's taken up (and the hips are probably going to leave the bar behind) * Hips trying to come up too early as you try to 'heave' the bar off the ground. * You need to 'push' yourself away from the floor and drive through the feet. (This is probably one of the most effective tips for getting the bar off the ground). * Drive hips through the bar. * Keep the tension in the back/lats not just the abbs. I reckon posting a vid and someone like Markos can give you some pointers.