bozodos

that's pretty handy - I found olympic BB easier to get off the floor, but feel it more in my shoulders. I've looked at some external rotation movements to give a go (as much as I hate the thought of using cables lol), and an interesting one using a racked barbell on the trap then raising the arm on MobilityWOD. I've had tight traps lately too, so I'm hoping its just a case of needing more mobility work in that area.

I knew that doing upright past the nipples was bad, but not in general. So just a week of doing these assistance movements in place of bench and OHP then try again Rev? I think that I have fairly good mobility of the thoracic spine - I just did this test and could extend both arms all the way back easily.I did this movement to test shoulder mobility with sliding one hand up from the bottom of the back and the other from the top - my hands were ~7.5cm and 10cm apart which suggest poor mobility in the shoulders.

Well I notice that bench is a struggle as well, I had someone suggest that I use the barbell from a rack rather than cleaning it from the floor for OHP, but I thought that was the 'correct' way to do the movement. I think you may be onto something there Rev - I've noticed it's always my shoulders that feel sorest immediately following training. I do 3x8 bent over rows in my routine already, or are you talking about upright rows? Birds: fixed BB don't allow for the incremental progression that using 1.25 plates on the barbell does. I'll do the external rotation movements for a week like suggested then try the Birds approach and post up how I go.

47.5, was 3x10 now 3x8. Having trouble on the last set getting all of the reps out, but I have also changed from a fixed to an olympic barbell.

specifically that I've plateaued out for a month on my OHP and I'm not sure if I should deload or do it with a dumbbell etc.

opinions on how to improve overhead press and other pushing movements?

http://ausbb.com/power-lifting-strength-training/9460-beginners-program.html

well those are the two that I'm least worried about - I curl more than most people I know already! Would definitely reccommend this program to anyone who's a beginner or intermediate as well.

just as an update to this thread, I started doing the second version of the PTC beginner program (3x10 squat / SLDL, 3x8 everything else) about a week ago, all lifts have been improving steadily (dips and curls the slowest). I possibly jumped up in weight too much too quickly to start with, dunno.

bending in?

well everyone always complains about how sore they feel after 'leg' day, or squats day; I found that squatting 3 times a week means that I never have severe DOMS in the quads, glutes or anywhere else for that matter.

did my 1RMs today with my gym bros - a couple of months since I stopped doing bro splits and did the PTC beginner routine. Squat 200kg, DL 170 (one half assed rep at 180 but IMO it dosen't count), Bench 110kg. Weight loss has slowed down (now at 115kg, about 1kg per month), but very happy with my strength gains. I probably could have pushed the squat a little harder, but was not sure about my knees. No wraps, belts or gloves etc, only chalk. Working on a 120kg bench and 200kg deadlift by the end of the year. Interestingly my bro split mates were benching 150, but couldn't keep up with squats and only just managed to keep up with deadlift. I reminded them (like I do all split devotees), that squatting is so much easier when done 3x a week.

the thing that amazes me is that he doesn't make it look all that hard...

gonna beat Markos to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3aT18aT1B4

I've found my OHP and squat have improved from actually doing them properly lol... Still finding pushing exercises a lot harder than pulling ones though

loving the game, hardcore has ruined normal mode for me though, but the lockups and lag are so damn frustrating. On my other rig, IB i5, GTX 570, I cannot play more than a single map without a lockup, on mine it seems to be mainly 64 player servers that kill it. That's apart from the random disconnects. I've also done all the preventative troubleshooting and this still occurs. Not to mention the bugginess of the maps. Don't even get me started on single player. They really need to fix their shit up, the game feels unfinished.

are you playing BF4 ok with it? haha.

yeah doing the proper version Rev, feet shoulder width apart, clean barbell, then press it, trying to make sure that arms are in and yes in front of the head too. 20 reps is what the program states - I can do more weight, lower reps no problems at all. Like I said, I'm not discounting my form - I have been making sure to keep shoulder blades retracted and the bar nice and low - this has stopped me from wanting to roll forward, and I've been keeping a neutral head position vs looking up or down as it feels more natural.

it's meant to be 2x20, which was fine up until 125kg lol. Trying to progressively do more reps spread over less sets. There is 2 versions of the beginner program, which is why I'm asking for Markos' take on it. Yes the 5x5 deadlift day diverges a bit from the routine - I have 2 non lifting days following it though, and have no issues with deadlift progression. That said, I might be doing too much volume for deadlifts as it is. To be honest the 3x15 straight backed SDL that I do are harder than doing singles, doubles or sets of 5 of regular deadlift. They have helped a lot with it though. Good idea on getting my own 1.25kg plates btw. I know that my squat form is still probably not 100%, I'm in the process of looking into getting some actual coaching, as the gym does not offer any.

your mental health might need checking out if you bought a Microtech... squatting would make it work better though

creatine is however one of the most heavily researched and proven supplements. It dosen't hurt anyone to have 3-5g a day without any loading etc. have a read http://examine.com/supplements/Creatine/ generally it is reccommended for it to be consumed for it to be consumed with a sugary drink to make uptake more efficient, I usually have it in my morning coffee or with a bit of juice. If you want to have it with whey and dextrose, fair enough.

bumpity bump - do you still come on here Markos? I started doing BB tricep extensions this week in addition to everything else, still finding it hard to get the reps out, especially in the squat and overhead press. I think my squat form is still lacking slightly - I'm trying to keep my head down as is shown in Starting Strength, but it really does not feel right? Lower back is the weak point where I can't physically get any more reps out in a set, currently I'm doing 12,12,12,8 @ 125kg. It's possible that I may be trying to jump too much in weight, as the gym only has 1 set of 1.25kg plates, so usually I have to use 5kg increments. I'm gradually grinding out an extra rep or 2 on each set every time, but the progress is slow, is this the right thing to do, or is there something else I should be doing? I went up to 135kg 3x10 for a week, which was fine, but did not seem to make any difference either way? I'm still doing the Tabata cardio on the two non lifting days during the week for 3x4 minute intervals doing thrusters with only 2kg dumbbells.

I do too, but I look at other people squatting (usually in the smith machine), and they don't even hit paralell let alone below!

rippetoe reckons that the problem is when you don't squat deep enough.