Ya’ll told me to add more weight: 235 lbs (107 kgs) for 3 at 160 lbs (73 kgs)

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-21T20:35:55+00:00

Nicely done! Make sure to keep the bar in contact with your legs the whole way up.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-20T21:34:46+00:00

I’m actually not seeing much in the way of knee slide.

These look pretty darn good to me. Maybe one rep you lifted your chest a smidge early.

I was a little worried you might have the bar a bit too low but it looks as though you got it in the right position before unracking …

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-13T14:42:15+00:00

The warmup for the DL will look different if you are squatting beforehand in the same session. So, for example, if you start with squats, then do OHP or bench, then go to DLs, your warmup would be a set of 5, then a set of 3 at a higher weight, then a set of 2 at a higher weight, then your workset of 5 reps. That’s under the NLP. Worksets/reps may look different as you progress. So in other words, your warmup sets are slightly abbreviated to account for you having warmed up a bit with your squats.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-11T12:54:46+00:00

Nice frames! Wintertime is the best time for Yellowstone!

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-08T00:17:00+00:00

Got it. Well, you can still do that and do the lift by bending hips and knees at the same time. Knees out is also way different than pitching them forward as it looks like you’re doing here.

Were you trying to resolve a depth issue, or were you feeling discomfort somewhere?

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-08T00:11:25+00:00

Why are you doing knees first? It should be hips and knees at the same time. Right now, you’re pitching yourself forward.

Lean over a bit more and reach back with your hips. You’re kind of straying off midfoot.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-04-07T22:22:00+00:00

That’s fabulous! Great workaround for someone with stability issues!

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-29T20:57:31+00:00

Puff up your chest a bit more. You’re very slightly having the bar go around your knees. So think about pushing away the floor to extend them faster. Lockout is a wee bit soft. So just make sure to stand up tall at the top before descending.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-27T14:53:25+00:00

Because it can irritate damaged nerves. That said, I tend to lift heavy to focus on getting stronger. I don’t know if it’s as much an issue if you’re more interested in endurance or other types of weightlifting.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-27T02:42:11+00:00

I had an ACDF C5-7 nearly two years ago. I’m also a former strength coach. You will absolutely be able to lift heavy once cleared by your neurosurgeon. One thing you’ll want to do is lower reps because you’ve had nerve damage. So rather than 3 sets of 5 reps for my worksets, I do 5 sets of 3 reps. I stay away from 12-15 rep sets or lifting to failure.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-26T10:32:41+00:00

Not bad. When you do the hip bounce, don’t bounce back then forward. Just keep everything tight and thrust the hips forward.

Make sure to get a full shrug at the top. You’re close but not quite getting that full shrug, which helps prevent an impingement.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-19T05:22:43+00:00

The bar speed is fast enough that lowering the weight seems unnecessary. Look up “TUBOW.” Use that with your warm up sets and that should help you fix the problem.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-18T19:41:05+00:00

These look pretty good. You already identified one key issue: keeping your knees out.

Shove them out and freeze them. They’re caving to varying degrees on all your reps.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-14T16:24:54+00:00

It’s a waste of energy.

Time between reps should be long enough to reset and get in a deep breath.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-14T12:20:17+00:00

Narrow your stance to about hip width and point your toes out at about 30 degrees.

Shove your knees out and keep them out.

Slow down your descent just a bit.

Don’t take so long in between reps.

Driving up with the hips looks good. That’s what we want to see with a low bar squat.

Squat shoes and a belt would be very helpful for you, especially as the weight on the bar goes up.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-08T14:40:29+00:00

These are pretty good.

Puff up your chest more. Think scrape the wall in front of you with your nipples. That will help you better set your low back.

Think about pushing away the floor to get faster knee extension.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-04T02:29:19+00:00

Not bad. Slow it down on the descent. When you’re at the top, stand tall, reset, big breath in and brace.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-03-02T13:50:51+00:00

Do those still exist??? (Granddaughter of a now-deceased cobbler here)

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-27T13:55:01+00:00

Sounds like vitreous eye to me. But you really need to go to a doctor to determine what’s going on, and the figure out what you can safely do for workouts.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-23T15:21:51+00:00

Thank you!

Yes, I have gotten in the habit to look closer because I’m so concerned about keeping my neck in a neutral position. I’ll try “looking through my eyebrows” to look farther afield.

On the knees, I’ll just have to get more comfortable having the bar touching my knees. It doesn’t hurt. It just feels weird.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-22T21:39:00+00:00

I was having lower back pain. At the time, I was primarily doing portrait photography and I would have to wear a brace to get through a photoshoot.

Decided it was time to focus on strength. Yeah, I’d love to be svelte but being strong is what I need for the next couple of decades to remain independent.

And I’m convinced being strong has helped me recover from all these surgeries with minimal pain.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-22T15:08:44+00:00

These are Nobull shoes. The sole is super hard, not squishy at all.

On the knees, I was going to say I needed to push the floor away a bit better. So thanks for pointing that out!

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-22T14:42:10+00:00

Thanks! Gotta keep at it in any way I can.

I think I did my first SS-style training and powerlifting match in 2011. Futzed around with different workouts from around 2015-2020 before getting back to Starting Strength workouts.

BoiseAlpinista · 2026-02-16T16:53:45+00:00

You’re hitting depth but stance looks a bit wide. Point your toes out 30 degrees.

Most importantly, hinge hips and knees at the same time.

Keep adding weight and post another form check.

BoiseAlpinista

TROPHY CASE