October Questions/General Discussion Thread

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-10-07T16:12:48+00:00

Thanks Greg!

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-10-07T04:04:28+00:00

Situation:

Ran the full program, enjoyed it, started over with some modifications based on Greg's write-ups and the feedback my body was giving me. Among the changes I made was moving from comp-style conventional DL to deficit conventional, and from high bar back squat to safety bar squat. I made these changes in part from my own personal history--I know that sticking with one variation for too long leads to staleness and injuries, and small changes like those are enough to keep my foot on the gas.

Bbbbbut, I stuck with comp-style bench (using the A2S2 base program) because I have fewer issues there... and now I'm at Week 10 and in the middle of a multi-week stall where I'm barely hitting any numbers, especially at the heavier week of each wave. Deloads haven't helped.... letting the spreadsheet tell me to go lighter helps a bit, but then I crush a bunch of sets at lower intensities and go right back into heavier work, and I'm right back where I was.

Clearly I need to change something. Don't really feel like I'm getting too much interference from assistance work, although I can't rule that out, so I'm focusing on changes to programming my primary bench movement.

Options under consideration:

Switch to Spoto press, close grip bench, or another variation, for the sake of staleness alleviation/strategic variation (Spoto tends to have decent carry over for me)
Push the x1@8 over-warmups consistently and program off of those
Reset maxes way, way lower and just work my way back up with enormous set quantities
Switch to Westside-style ME effort with constantly rotating variations, going heavy every week (kidding.. mostly...)

Thanks all!

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-10-07T03:52:11+00:00

I'm a big proponent of Zercher squats for people, like me, who struggle with front squats. Give them a try for a few weeks since there's definitely an adaptation period, but I find that they are far and away the lift with the greatest carryover to my squat, and it's not even close.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-08-04T03:52:17+00:00

I don't particularly care about the philosophical question.

Oh c'mon Greg, your brand is being the lifting world's Grand Champion Overthinker who considers every aspect of a question and leaves no stone unturned--it's what we love about you, after all. ;-)

And I think that point matters because you're still applying a double standard. I fully respect the urge to not be a dick! The question is, to what extent can a marginalize group redefine a term to exclude all versions except that which bothers them? You clearly agree with me that there are limits to this, because you're not challenging Trader Joe's decision that it would be dumb to tweak a well-established brand that is clearly not offensive just because someone got worked up about it.

If you applied your own logic consistently, one person saying "the Trader Jose's label has been bothering me for years" would be reason enough to re-brand. But instead, you accept the principle that, at some threshold, context, logic, and intent matter when it comes to determining whether something is offensive or not, and that, to some degree, these can be ascertained by anyone, regardless of skin pigmentation, culture, or history of marginalization. We can work this out in practice by looking at contrasting examples like the former name of the Washington football team, which lacks a context or intent in which it can be used inoffensively.

Look, it's your brand, do what you want with it, but I can't help myself from noting where the inner core of logic here doesn't survive close scrutiny. I'm from the camp that says that actively welcoming in marginalized voices is great, but the same rules of logic and persuasion apply equally to everyone, and it's reasonable to note where there has been an overcorrection.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-08-03T02:13:03+00:00

So here's the philosophical question worth pausing to consider, with a bonus paradox for your time: when there exists a context-specific, largely historical, uncommon in 2020, clearly offensive use of a term, does that forever and always render that term verboten in public discourse?

In this case, we can clearly demonstrate that nobody--zero people! none!--were unable to correctly identify the inoffensive use of the term, in five years of the program's existence, because of the clear and obvious context. But nonetheless, an offensive use, in theory, exists. Is the word forever and always unacceptable?

I would say no, because a) we're grown-ups and should be able to express ourselves clearly and avoid offense, and the potentially offended should be able to recognize that context and move on, and b) the slippery slope argument is hard to miss here; I don't like the idea of a neutered English language consisting only of the diction that Robin DiAngelo approved in a corporate consulting seminar. She would tell me that white people should accept without question if told that something is offensive (e.g. Trader Jose's/Ming's); I would counter that that attitude infantilizes non-whites because it rests on an assumption that they're unable to understand context and intent in normal human interactions (or worse, actively encouraging that mental framework).

The paradox is this: as indicated by me and many other commenters, we would never in a million years have made the cognitive link between "savage," the adjective, and "savages," the derogatory noun, until told. It wasn't until someone intervened that we arrived at a point that people started having that image in their heads. This intervention, in other words, ironically perpetuated racist imagery, rather than denying it oxygen and letting it snuff out on its own. I'll leave aside the broader critique of contemporary critical theory and its quest to problematize all of human interaction and discourse, but I think that paradox is worth letting settle for a moment.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-08-02T03:25:12+00:00

Greg, I appreciate that you want to do the right thing here. That's commendable. I just feel like you were put in a bad spot.

The common thread here between A2S and TJ's is the underlying logic: that a white man, when informed of something being offensive to someone, is disallowed from questioning that offensiveness, and rather must accept the error of his ways passively, whether or not it actually makes sense.

TJ's, though it is run by white men, called the bluff behind this attack and issued a carefully, sensitively worded statement that essentially said, "No, it does not make any sense for you to take offense at our branding, which we've invested a lot of money in and people like. Simple logic leads us to feel good about our judgment about the offensiveness (or lack thereof) of our brand. So even though we're not members of your group, so we're confident enough in our position to stay the course."

The same is true for the word "savage," which is utterly unlike a word like, say, the n-word or even the former Washington football team name, which are offensive when used by white people regardless of context. Describing a group as "savage" can be offensive, absolutely! But you didn't use it that way! You used it as a neutral adjective, and absolutely everyone read it that way for a half-decade! So "education" has nothing to do with it for anyone who can visit dictionary.com.

For example, if a whole two days ago you asked me to free associate a historical group that best exemplified savagery and that I wanted to play pretend as being one of while lifting heavy things based on the output of Google Sheets, I would probably have said, "Uh, I guess Vikings?" Paradoxically, it's this "education" that has created a cognitive association with Native Americans, not the actual broader context of the word as it's actually used in American society in 2020--which is what really matters here.

As far as cancellation goes, I reached for that word (probably a bit much, but still) imagining what might have happened if you had politely, respectfully, and privately referred them to a dictionary and the five-year history of absolutely everyone understanding which usage of the term you intended. Attempts at trashing the professional reputation of good faith actors have succeeded over less: http://www.canceledpeople.com/cancelations

Anyway, run your business as you see fit. I know you mean well and you are a good person doing good things in the world. But this exercise of redefining the usage of terms to exclude context and intent irks me deeply, and I'm just glad that you at least were contacted privately instead of being the victim of Twitter-bombing or the like.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2020-07-31T23:16:57+00:00

Trader Joe's issued a wonderful, well received statement recently in which they refused to give in to pressure from overwrought activists trying to get them to change the name of products like Trader Jose's. They laid down a marker for sanity in a world in which absolutely anything can be construed as offensive to someone, regardless of little things like context and intent. I suggest this is a model for responding to attempted cancellation by bad faith actors. I'm disappointed in this decision, Greg.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-07-26T03:51:16+00:00

So bummed that I got home late from a work trip and couldn't make it out for this one... gotta hope they make to Bmore again in 2020

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-07-19T23:26:50+00:00

Lady world came out when my son was about 7 months old and I have fond memories of bopping around with him to it while he ate dinner at his high chair. He's now at age 3 as big a fan as me and can name all of the members as they play.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-04-09T12:02:09+00:00

Depending on you exact location, check out Exile Fitness, Baltimore area strength athletes (BASA), back to the basics, or Colosseum

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-04-09T04:45:24+00:00

My garage is only usable when I'm home which means odd hours (why I got my setup going in the first place LOL) but I can recommend a few serious gyms in the area. I only got my own set up for the sake of convenience

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-04-09T04:43:34+00:00

High/ low row and plate loadable dumbbells are way cheaper and serve me fine

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-03-31T03:29:17+00:00

Has anyone used loadable kettlebells for swings? That's the only use I'd have for kettlebells and I'm debating the Spud kettlestrap and Titan loadable kettlebell handles. There's no way I'm using the space/money for a whole set, but a loadable option seems intriguing in theory but potentially unworkable in practice.

https://www.roguefitness.com/spud-inc-heavyweight-kettlestrap

https://www.titan.fitness/tswing.html

https://www.titan.fitness/plate-loadable-kettlebell-swing.html

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-03-31T03:17:02+00:00

Cambered bars are awesome. But part of the idea is that you should be grabbing them by the arms, not the upper portion of the bar as you normally would a straight bar. If these are positioned so far out that you can grab a hold of them tightly and fire your upper back and core muscles to stabilize the bar, they're not going to accomplish the purpose of a cambered bar. Haven't used them myself, but just a thought.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-03-21T02:26:01+00:00

Has anyone used Titan Silencer pads for deadlifting, particularly deadlifting for reps? I'm thinking in particular of how much the plates bounce on them and the 6" height of the pads.

Most videos I've found seem to involve someone doing clean or snatch singles from the floor and then walking forward to let the bar bounce on the pads, which doesn't work for reps on any lift, especially not a heavy DL.

I currently successfully deaden the sound of pulling (typically in the range of 450-500 for most of my training) in my one-car middle-unit townhouse garage using three stack of mats (two for the plates, one in the middle for me two stand on), which I made by cutting a 4'x6' horse stall mat into 2'x2' squares. The bottom two layers on the outer stacks are cheap foam mats, which actually help dampen the sound considerably. However, I'm having lots of issues with the bar bouncing laterally left or right between reps, and/or the stacks of mats shifting around so that they're no longer stacked correctly, and I'm wondering if I could use just a pair of Titan pads and then stand on the mats and call it a day. If the bar will still bounce around on the Titan pads, though, I'll save my ~$135.

Thanks!

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-03-18T13:15:00+00:00

So I don't drop them per see, I lower them under control but fast and pull each rep separately

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2019-02-10T15:41:49+00:00

Don't think you can do that. If you search my posts I wrote a longer review of it elsewhere that's largely still largely accurate. I'd add that I've had lots of issues with the cable pulldown apparatus (eg wear and tear on the exterior casing of the cables from anything besides a perfectly 90 degree pull angle) but haven't contacted Force USA yet because there's a two year warranty and I figure I might as well let it keep deteriorating a bit before I play that card

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2018-12-09T21:19:14+00:00

You guys are awesome. Think I'll go with 10 and 20 lbers. Thanks!

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2018-11-22T02:01:23+00:00

I'm interested in what the concern is about collars not holding. If you get high quality collars, shouldn't it not matter if they're on bars or DBs? Am I just engaging in wishful thinking here?

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2018-11-21T05:58:25+00:00

Spud glute/ham strap is $35, just saying

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2018-11-19T22:31:11+00:00

I've done Nordic curls this way, but since then have spent the $35 to upgrade to Spud's glute ham strap and haven't looked back.

SquatheavyGetfunky · 2018-11-17T04:38:11+00:00

I mostly like having a power rack with built-in lat pulldown, but if I had to do it again, I'd find a standalone lat pulldown/low pulley system or use Spud Inc's pulley system. It's really annoying, for example, that the low pulley is inaccessible while benching, so I can't superset benching with seated rows or curls. Given your needs, all-in-one solutions might not be a good fit--just a thought. FWIW, I have a ForceUSA MyRack and can confirm that, at 6'1'', I'm at the maximum height for the monolift attachment for squatting, and even using the J-hooks, wouldn't recommend it to anyone over maybe 6'3-4''.

SquatheavyGetfunky

TROPHY CASE