Front Squats 20kgs 1x10 25kgs 1x10 30kgs 1x5 35kgs 1x3 40kgs 1x2 50kgs 3x5 40kgs 1x10 I wanted to do 2 more sets, but my right wrist was hurting. I also noticed that my femurs aren't parallel with my feet. I suspect this is because of poor ankle flexibility? Machine assisted dips 60kgs 2x10, 1x7 (3 minutes break) No progression at all since last time. lol Hang Power Clean 20kgs 3x5 25kgs 3x10 That was reaally fun!! I hit my trachea a couple of times during the warmup(lol), but it was the first time it actually felt like I am doing power cleans. I think that RDLs contributed a lot to today's improvement, strangely enough.. Barbell Curls 20kgs 2x10 (1 minute break) 2x10 (2 minutes break) Hammer Curls 10kgs 5x5
Overhead Press 20kgs 1x10 30kgs 1x5 40kgs 1x2 50kgs 3x3, 1x2 (1,5 minute rest) 40kgs 1x7, 1x6 30kgs 1x7 Lack of proper sleep made 50kgs once again heavy for me to lift. I deserve it I suppose.. RDLs 20kgs 2x5 25kgs 1x5 30kgs 1x5 32,5kgs 3x5 Seated Cable Rows 65kgs 1x10 70kgs 1x3 75kgs 1x2 85kgs 5x8 Arnold Press 15 kgs dumbbells 3x7 First time I feel my abdominals so tight.. Even in planks or ab-wheel I mostly feel my lower back doing the job. Rope Triceps Pushdowns 15kgs 10/8/9/9 According to my schedule I should have done back squats, but I was low in energy to begin with..
Overhead Press 20kgs 1x10 30kgs 1x3 40kgs 1x2 50kgs 10x3 (2 minutes break) I realized that I cheat a little with my knees in some reps.. Got to fix that. Back Squat 20kgs 1x10 60kgs 1x5 70kgs 1x3 82,5kgs 1x2 92,5kgs 3x6 I wish there will come a day that I won't poop my pants every time before squatting, from fear! Seated Cable Rows 65kgs 1x10 70kgs 1x3 75kgs 1x2 85kgs 9/9/7/7/5 The plan was to do 5 sets of 9, but squats left me without gas and will. So armwork and RDLs tomorrow when hopefully my lower back would have recovered.
haha Thanks dude! You know some people say that if you are not pooping your pants before or during squatting you aren't lifting enough weight. I should have never listened to them.:bang:..
Pull Ups 12x1 The first 9 with 2 minutes break. I try to pull myself high enough to see my chin, but I lose height progressively. RDLs 20kgs 2x5 25kgs 1x5 35kgs 5x5 Barbell Curls 20kgs 5x10 Behind the neck press 20kgs 3x10 The idea is to work out my shoulders every day, but not pushing it too much. Incline Dumbbell Curls 7kgs 2x10 Hammer Curls 7kgs 12/10/8 It's been a looong time since I worked out on the gym two days on the row. It was fun.
Front Squats 20kgs 2x6 25kgs 1x5 30kgs 1x3 40kgs 1x2 50kgs 3x5 40kgs 2x5 Better than last time. No wrist pain. Machine assisted dips 60kgs 3x10 (3 minutes break) At last! Hang Power Clean 20kgs 2x5 25kgs 1x5 27,5kgs 3x5 Rope Push Down 10kgs 25/25/15/15/10/10 (1 minute break)
Hooray for no wrist pain when front squatting! Did you have a different hand position, or have you been working on wrist/shoulder/upper back mobility?
My hand position is the traditional clean grip. I didn't do any thing like that, although I could use more mobility in my upper back and shoulders. My form just got a little better (more upright) from last time so I didn't have to use my wrists to support part of the weight. Btw, Harry, do you have in mind some good video that shows the proper form of the front squat? I am not very pleased with the videos I have as reference.
Glad your form is improving (always nice when evidenced by reduced pain) I am still a beginner when it comes to weight training (only been doing it for about a year), so take my comments with a pinch of salt; some of my tips come from the owner of the gym I go to (he has a good rack position, but his pelvis is all over the place at the bottom), a physio/osteo mate of mine (who strongly prefers knee break/hips drop straight down, rather than hips back (like low bar), or half and half (like high bar)), Rippeto's Starting Strength book, t-nation and breaking strength, youtube (Ben Bruno/Elliot Hulse, sometimes) and my own messing around/pain rate/self form check videos/foot placement blah blah blah. After having a quick look on youchoobz, it doesn't seem easy to find many good videos... Most of the oly lifters are doing max weights (obviously I have upmost respect, they are lifting waaaaaay more than I can, with, naturally, a bit of form crumble on the way back up :woo: http://youtu.be/4ZiYs8DRnEY?t=1m25s), and others have elbow drop, or aren't using clean grip... Gripping straps is OK I guess, but I like to properly squeeze the bar for extra rage points I did find this one, which seemed OK to me (although I use the full clean grip, rather than the 'two fingers' grip), although he has a tiny bit of butt wink at the bottom... He shows good elbow height and solid waist (some videos include the hips shooting back and tilting forward at the very start of the movement - jeapordising that core tightness you just worked on), butt sits down between the feet, and gets great depth... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyDbagKS7Rg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyDbagKS7Rg[/ame] Hmm, maybe having commented on form it means that I have to video my own front squats and post them here for scrutiny as penance! :cry:
ass between your feet with the front squat - sit down not back usually teach this by getting people to squeeze their butts and bend the knees first and then reminding them not to push the knees out. dont push the knees out - it causes your hips to sit back
Whooooaaaa!!! haha. Nice video. No way Klokov could lift that weight with the 2 fingers grip the guy on the second video advocated. Thanks guys for the tips and the videos!! Harry, I've been training for about a year as well. Strictly talking about form, my knowledge comes mainly from MAP users(of course), from Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey and initially from Rippetoe as well. I also watch Elliot Hulse's videos. Some are good some are bad. If my memory served me right on his front squat he advocated to first bend the hips on the descend which is completely wrong according to general consensus. Zaad, I didn't know that I shouldn't push the knees out. That will be tricky!! I don't think I have the appropriate level of dorsiflexion for that, so pushing them out has helped me with my depth. How about the feet placement? Feet must be a little wider than in the back squat?
My log for today: Overhead Press 20kgs 1x10 30kgs 1x3 40kgs 1x2 52,5kgs 4x2 50kgs 1x3 40kgs 7x3 Well, I hoped that after working with 50kgs for so long and managing 10x3 with 2 minutes rest I was good for 10x2 with 52,5.. I failed miserably. I'll go for 10 singles on Monday with 52,5 kgs. I wasn't expecting such a slow progression.. Back Squats 20kgs 7/10 60kgs 1x5 70kgs 1x3 85kgs 1x2 95kgs 3x5 I was completely discouraged after the presses, but that went well. I have a tendency to squat really slowly a new max. From the beginning of my training I pause squat my work sets in fear of losing my form and bending my lower back if I do it with speed. I just recently noticed it. I don't know if I should change that though.. Seated Cable Row 65kgs 1x10 70kgs 1x3 75kgs 1x2 85kgs 9/9/9/5/5 I should probably go for 5x8 next time in this exercise and focus on speed. I am afraid that I've gotten impatient again and I am essentially working to failure on this exercise. I don't know.. I think that I am progressing too slow for a noob. I want my promised noob gains now!!!!
point your feet out 10 or fifteen degrees and take the same width as a front squat. yeah you'll need to work on sitting in the squat without the knees out for a while.
Overhead Press 20kgs 1x5 30kgs 1x5 40kgs 1x2 52,5kgs 1x1, failed attempt, 1x3, 1x2, failed attempt, 10x2 Well, it speaks for itself. It was a weird workout. I experimented with my form in the first sets and so it took me some time to find my groove. Seated Cable Row 65kgs 1x10 70kgs 1x3 75kgs 1x2 85kgs 5x8 Back squat 20kgs 1x10 60kgs 1x5 70kgs 1x3 85kgs 1x2 95kgs 3x5 Felt heavy and my form wasn't perfect. RDLs 20kgs 2x5 25kgs 1x3 30kgs 1x2 40kgs 5x5 I love that exercise. All in all it was a good workout. My grip and my back strength has significantly improved and I left gym today really happy!
I intended to go to the gym today for some supplementary stuff (biceps, triceps etc), but I couldn't sleep at all last night and that halted my plans. I managed to get 5 hours of sleep at best and that really sucks, because I put a lot of effort yesterday and now I feel like this whole week is gonna end up in the gutter. If I my press and squat feels heavier on Saturday than it did yesterday it would suck big time! So for today I am greasing the groove on the pull ups, meaning I do a pull up any time I go for a leak p) and I am gonna do a couple of sets of planks, which I always neglect doing.
Hi Madao I find it quite common that when you do Squats and Dead together -particularly when you do considerable volume - they tend to send your CNS into 'overdrive'. The sessions I find hardest to sleep after are always the Back Squat/ Deadlift ones. You might want to cut your volume by 20% (usually knock 1 to 2 sets off of each) and that usually 'cures' it. Alternatively just do Back Squats and Deadlifts and then quit. Do the auxilliary Rows and Shoulder Press etc on another day. Good Luck
Thanks for the input Sokklab! I hadn't considered before that my inability to sleep properly might have been caused by overtaxing my CNS. My thought was that it has to do with my anxiety problems and other stuff that stress me out. I'll try one or two of the things you mentioned and see how it goes!
Front Squats 20kgs 2x5 22,5kgs 2x5 32,5kgs 5x3 42,5kgs 4x2 52,5kgs 8x2 I tried to follow the tips Zaad and Harry gave me. It started awfully, but in the end I came somewhat close to the instructions. Machine assisted dips 40kgs 1x10 50kgs 1x5 60kgs 1x4 70kgs 1x3 80kgs 2/1 65kgs 10/9/8 I'll try to get 3x10 with 65kgs next time. Hang Power Clean 20kgs 2x5 25kgs 1x5 30kgs 5x5 BTN Press 20kgs 10/9/8 Barbell Curls 20kgs 10/10/10/8
Overhead Press 20kgs 1x10 32,5kgs 1x3 42,5 kgs 1x2 52,5kgs 5/4/3 I went for the classic 3x5, but still I am pleased. It seemed that I did improved and that I am ready for 55 singles and doubles. Seated Cable Row 65kgs 1x10 70kgs 1x3 75kgs 1x2 85kgs 5x8 Tricep and bicep work and then bailed. I was sick for 3 days and it seems I haven't fully recovered. I might take a break for the rest of the week..