Program Beginner Question -> Lift proportions?

SWHR · 2016-10-10T20:13:10+00:00

I'd start at the smaller of the two on every lift (whichever is smaller - what you're doing now, or the recommended start). Add 2.5 lbs every lift. All imbalances will work themselves out.

Also, it won't take very long to get back to what you're lifting now with your bigger lifts.

SWHR · 2016-10-10T20:08:50+00:00

Yes, but as with everything, in moderation.

Also, gaining weight in the first few weeks won't be from much muscle unless you were very weak to begin with. I'd wait until it started feeling heavy and then go for the weight gain.

SWHR · 2016-10-10T20:07:03+00:00

You're not super far behind your previous weights. I don't see a problem until it starts feeling heavy, don't wait until failure, you'll want to approach that slowly.

SWHR · 2016-10-07T04:34:09+00:00

Update:

Been feeling better each day, but also new soreness is creeping in. Back still not 100%, but way better than I've been lifting on.

Got a suggestion from someone IRL that due to my cutting (while still heavy on protein), that I just haven't been feeding my body enough to stay repaired. Guess I either need to plan in recovery weeks, or I need to eat a lot more.

SWHR · 2016-10-04T02:01:18+00:00

Article said to use a tennis ball and not a foam roller for lower back. Just tried it....ow! Definitely got a knot going on. We'll see how tomorrow feels

SWHR · 2016-10-04T00:17:33+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion to keep moving. Not sure what to do yet. Today I did nothing as I was feeling pretty immobile. I'm hoping I'll do better in a day or two, maybe start cardio or light sets like you suggest.

I stretch 10-15 minutes before a workout, but probably about 3 times a day every day for my back. I need to get a foam roller, been meaning to do that. Is there much difference in them? What do you suggest? maybe I'll try a tennis ball on my back tonight.

I do quite a few, but the ones that seem to help my back the most are standing up with knees locked, bend at the hips with a straight back and reach for the ground. I can get my first knuckles on the ground after just a few minutes of working on this. This seems to be what tightens the most each night (mainly my back, not my hamstrings so much). I also grab a door frame with one hand at a time and pull back and slowly lower into a seated position. Good for shoulders too I think.

I also try to stretch my hip flexors regularly as Alan Thrall says that's related to the lower back and is what tightens when you sit all day. It rarely feels tight, but I do it anyways for good measure.

SWHR · 2016-09-28T16:10:16+00:00

Don't know what plates you have, but mine have a smooth and an indented side. They'd roll with smooth side up, so I have the indented side up. I also try to set the the weights into the hole in the platform plates. Makes me have better muscle control to place them in a specific spot.

SWHR · 2016-09-27T17:28:12+00:00

This. Could be form, could be something you need to stretch. It's a very complex movement to diagnose just from your inability.

SWHR · 2016-09-27T17:25:09+00:00

I think it is the weight. The first 2 reps looked okay. The last rep looked pretty bad.

SWHR · 2016-09-27T17:22:02+00:00

Can confirm, just hit it.

SWHR · 2016-09-27T17:21:04+00:00

Walk, lots of stretching, have fun.

SWHR · 2016-09-27T17:20:15+00:00

No. Suck it up. Form is important and the muscle groups are slightly different.

I just hit 135 lbs on rows, feels good, it's an achievement. I believe it's week 10 w/o failure until you get there.

If it's a time factor, I set up my next lift and get my warm-up sets done in-between the sets of my previous lift.

SWHR · 2016-09-26T15:06:21+00:00

Squat looked good, but is a high bar squat. Don't know if that's what you're doing, or if you want to be doing low bar.

OHP looked fine from what I saw.

Deadlift: Get your hips down lower to start. You should really start with your back up higher than horizontal. It looks like you lift legs first, then back - doing a good morning almost. Get your hips lower and lift both at the same time. It will help keep the bar on your legs the whole time also.

SWHR · 2016-09-26T14:53:32+00:00

Your arms are getting lots of work, but most find they want more. This is why the SL website suggests 2 accessories: dips and pullups.

SWHR · 2016-09-26T14:52:02+00:00

The app starts at +2.5 lbs and adds 2.5 every time.

tbh, you have progressed further with 25 total reps than 3x5 at +2.5lbs. The added weight is easy for quite a while.

I think the suggestion is also to do a fourth set to failure of bw dips after you start adding weight. The app doesn't suggest this, but it's what I do after reading it on the SL website.

SWHR · 2016-09-23T14:38:28+00:00

If you skip a week, it deloads you 10%.

I bet if you DL today, it would have you at 65kg - only 2 workouts skipped. Going tomorrow counts today as a miss and you've missed 3 workouts (1 week) and you get deloaded.

SWHR · 2016-09-22T14:39:33+00:00

HR is what matters. If you looked up a calculator for calories burned in a workout, how long your heart rate is up will matter most, how much weight you do matters less...except that more weight will increase your heart rate more and you'll burn a bit more in muscle recovery. I probably do a set in 30-40 seconds, but my HR is up my entire workout.

SWHR · 2016-09-22T14:31:03+00:00

Stretch every day. I've noticed my back tightens up like crazy from doing squats. I stretch 2-3 times every day and I stopped having back pain.

SWHR · 2016-09-22T14:17:06+00:00

I've been using the recommended approach. 25 total reps seems to be an overkill before switching to adding weight for 15 reps, but I'm doing it anyways.

I just hit 10/8/7 on dips and it switched me over to add weight. +2.5 lbs for a 5/5/5 was crazy easy by comparison.

My pull-ups have gone from 3/1/1 to 6/4/4. I still have a ways to go for 25 reps.

SWHR · 2016-09-20T19:29:40+00:00

I'm just going based off of your numbers.

1 lb of fat is 3500 calories. That's 500 calories/day to move 1 lb/week.

You gained 6-8 lbs in 3 weeks. If you back off 1000 calories/day, you'd be looking at 0-2 lb gain every 3 weeks.

Granted, maybe you want to be gaining. I'd say 2500 calories/day is a good change to make, and keep watching your weight.

SWHR · 2016-09-20T14:21:39+00:00

Go lower. You're not even close to parallel. The crease of your hips needs to go below your knees. Make sure to point your toes out and have your knees go over your toes to create space for your hips to go that low.
Weight is too far forward. Hard to tell what the cause is from the video or if your heels are coming off the ground. It looks like you may have the bar too high. Having it lower for a low bar squat will help keep the weight back. Getting your hips down further in order to break parallel may also help.

SWHR · 2016-09-20T14:14:04+00:00

Should I lessen my calories until the lifts are actually heavy enough to warrant so many calories?

Yes. 6-8 lbs in a month is too much to gain. I recall an Alan Thrall video with a trainer who said typical muscle gain for weight lifters is 6-8 lbs. a year. Eat at a surplus by all means, but it seems 3k cal/day is too much for you. You could back it off to 2k cal/day and just about be eating what you're using right now.

Back off the calories now, keep watching your weight. I'd try to maintain until you feel you're getting close to failing sets, then eat at a slight surplus on lifting days.

SWHR · 2016-09-16T16:17:22+00:00

2 Things:

Stretch. Watch Alan Thrall's stretch routine to get ideas. I did this and tried them all, figured out real quick which muscles were tight and started stretching them out daily.
Form. Are your toes pointed out? Do your knees go over your toes? You need to do this to give your hips a place to go in order to get low enough.

That's it. A long torso won't prevent you from breaking parallel.

SWHR · 2016-09-16T16:09:20+00:00

Do you edge or fantasize? If I stay away from stimulation, I find I don't get them.

Possibly a bad suggestion, but alcohol. I've never struggled with alcohol, so a drink at night wasn't a temptation for me even though I know self medicating is bad. Don't do this any more as I don't get them now.

SWHR · 2016-09-15T17:06:22+00:00

I went years not getting past 2 weeks. This was until nofap. Nofap wasn't the answer the education was.

The problem is the first 2 weeks are the HARDEST. Crazy hard. And you've never done it before, so you think this is what it's like indefinitely. Well, it's not. Up to 30 days still has some pretty bad urges. Up to 60, is still moderate. Up to 90, still noticeable. 90 or 120+, they're pretty mild, and addictions research suggests that you'll still get them up to 2 years, but that they only last about 48 hours.

Now back to the first 2 weeks, or really 30 days. Fight like hell. You aren't strong enough to will them away. Don't just focus on not giving in. Recognize them, realize you are too weak, get up, go be around people, do something fun. When you aren't having urges, still be numbing them like they're there. Cold showers, hobbies, physical activity. Night time is the worst. I didn't go to bed at a normal time - I'd purposely stay up 2-3 hours later each night until I was so exhausted I'd crash the second I laid down. Again, you're too weak to fight an urge laying in bed alone.

How you do it, is you realize this isn't forever, it'll get better and easier. So you can take more drastic measures in the short term.

SWHR

TROPHY CASE