supermeatheads

[eversuns]

Ok here are two of my videos from my last two sets of squats 5x5.

xo6zbBoUcYg

KA-Qz7G3JUU

From my initital watch I need to have my head looking towards the ground a bit more (mirror throws of my perspective a lot)

I also am noticing I am sitting down, instead of back, this is probably because of my super tight hammies, but I am working on those with stretching.

Any other suggestions? I am thinking I will buy some weightlifting shoes.

[bchhun]

Depth looks solid. Try a slightly narrower stance and see if that allows you to keep the center of the weight on your heels. Some weightlifting shoes will also help with this, too.

Have you experimented with squatting low bar?

[Tim_Whatley]

I am most definitely a beginner weight lifter. However, I can tell by those videos that your form could use work. you need to concentrate on sending your knees forward along the long axis of your feet. you do not want you knees to cave inwards, I can tell this is happening by the outside back corner of your left heal. Your heels should remain securely planted on the ground.....yours knees are caving in and your heals are rolling inwards.

your back seems nice and straight though....always good to protect your back

Recently, lifting books and publicized routines have made use of the squats because it's a compound movement that involves a lot of different muscles. However, just because something is popular doesn't mean it's easy. You're doing pretty well, keep at it.....My squats also leave much to be desired.

[eversuns]

Thanks for the comments guys.

bchhun, I haven't looked into squatting low bar, I will have a google and next time I am in the gym I will have a play around with it.

Tim, so what you are saying is that I should be pushing my knees outwards when I am coming out of the hole? But yeah in regards to my back, its very important that I don't injure it, it would suck to have a fucked back at my age.

[mrchariybrown]

that's WAY too much focus on the quads.

drop the weight, and focus on sitting back.

also, like bchhun said, you may want to try a low bar squatting. it's particularly helpful to guys with a narrower stance to by allowing them to sit back and transfer more weight to the heels rather than the toes.

just for the record, I have a narrow squat stance with toes pointing pretty much forward and I use a low bar position.

[NatseOklim]

How wide is considered a wide stance? I'd say i've been standing with my feet about a foot apart and when I start getting towards parallel I can really feel it in my ankles. Would I benefit going wider than I currently stand? I've broken both my ankles before so flexibility there is a big issue for me.

[mrchariybrown]

How wide is considered a wide stance? I'd say i've been standing with my feet about a foot apart and when I start getting towards parallel I can really feel it in my ankles. Would I benefit going wider than I currently stand? I've broken both my ankles before so flexibility there is a big issue for me.

A foot apart is a pretty narrow stance. mine is about 14-15" apart and that's narrow.

a moderately wide stance would be about 24" apart.

are you throwing your hips back enough? a lot of people get ankle tension on their squats when their form is off and throws their knees forward too much like the clip posted above.

[eversuns]

Flexibility for me is definitely an issue, I am working on it though. So in terms of flexibility a wider stance is more accommodating?

[NatseOklim]

A foot apart is a pretty narrow stance. mine is about 14-15" apart and that's narrow.

a moderately wide stance would be about 24" apart.

are you throwing your hips back enough? a lot of people get ankle tension on their squats when their form is off and throws their knees forward too much like the clip posted above.

I'll be squatting again on tuesday, i'll try widening my stance to about 24" and let you know how it goes. I THINK I'm throwing my hips back enough...

[daphneYOUfindME]

definitely try for low bar and try keeping your elbows up. your heel appears to be coming off the ground slightly in the first vid as well. drop the weight down so you can work on form. curling your toes up will help you focus on driving your heels into the ground.

[daphneYOUfindME]

Flexibility for me is definitely an issue, I am working on it though. So in terms of flexibility a wider stance is more accommodating?

before squatting and pulling i like to hold a squat stance for a minute. it helps my hip flexibility beforehand.

you can try widening your stance to see if it is more comfortable for you.

[mrchariybrown]

I'll be squatting again on tuesday, i'll try widening my stance to about 24" and let you know how it goes. I THINK I'm throwing my hips back enough...

get a video of it

Flexibility for me is definitely an issue, I am working on it though. So in terms of flexibility a wider stance is more accommodating?

it's not the flexibility of your hams or ankles with you judging from your video. your form is just off and you need to sit back more. lower the weight and do some box squats and video that.

[eversuns]

Okay cheers for the advice guys, I will drop the weight for a few session and focus more on form, I will also do some reading on box squats and low bar squats.

[mrchariybrown]

box squats are going to help you a lot on your form issue

[mrchariybrown]

here ya go:

[FADEtoDARKNESS]

how's your training (frequency, intensity, etc)?

and how's your diet (maintenance or deficit or surplus, and by how much for the latter two)?

Frequency - 4 times a week

Intensity - Always intense >

Volume - A bit high. Less sets per workout, but more exercises/reps.

Working with john too.

Diet is surplus, eating as much as possible to gain weight. (I'll cut laterrrr.)

I think I've been overtraining too much. I've been getting sick every few weeks now. (Sick at the moment.) And it's only been happening recently. I guess I should deload or take time off more often.

[mrchariybrown]

I'd definitely consider taking a deload or time off if you haven't done so recently.

I find it that if I don't take one every 5-8 weeks (depending on intensity and frequency), performance suffers and I get sick and feel like crap.

[knucks]

not posting my fat ass any time soon.

[FADEtoDARKNESS]

I'd definitely consider taking a deload or time off if you haven't done so recently.

I find it that if I don't take one every 5-8 weeks (depending on intensity and frequency), performance suffers and I get sick and feel like crap.

Fuck. That's probably why I'm so sick right now. Thanks man. I'm taking this week off anyway, but I'm thinking I'll take off every 4th or 5th week for now on

[mrchariybrown]

not posting my fat ass any time soon.

strong fat ass is strong.

[bchhun]

has anyone done madcow 5x5 for intermediates? were you able to progress smoothly through the nine weeks or did you end up stalling/having to deload?

[NatseOklim]

Hit 100kg on the squat today, very pleased how it's going. Still not getting ATG but I'm getting lower since I widened my stance. My benchpress is still shit though, 57.5kg...

[Hendodo]

how can I gain more on my bench press? while trying to get a higher max press, should I be doing less reps of higher weights or more reps of lower weights?

5'10, 160lbs , bench = 175 if that matters

[mrchariybrown]

Hit 100kg on the squat today, very pleased how it's going. Still not getting ATG but I'm getting lower since I widened my stance. My benchpress is still shit though, 57.5kg...

congrats man!

how confident are you in your bench form? most guys have terrible form to press for maxes (only because they were never informed). it's not just lay down and press. if you aren't confident of your form, get a video of it and I'll let you know what you need to fix. I've had guys that have instantly put on 30+ pounds to their bench after I showed them what they were doing wrong.

how can I gain more on my bench press? while trying to get a higher max press, should I be doing less reps of higher weights or more reps of lower weights?

5'10, 160lbs , bench = 175 if that matters

there's so many variables, it's impossible to answer your question. what's your diet like? how long have you been training? lay out your routine for us too (probably most important).

[Leeacto]

how can I gain more on my bench press? while trying to get a higher max press, should I be doing less reps of higher weights or more reps of lower weights?

5'10, 160lbs , bench = 175 if that matters

In the meantime for Chariy's response, I think the first thing to you'll want to do is get used to heavy weights. So if you haven't done it already, play around with your sets. Like do an 8-6-4-2 or 8-5-3-1. Then try 5 sets of 3s.

I've never found that benching sets of 10+ really helped 1RM.

for auxiliary lifts, 8s are fine. Try dumbbell flyes and incline bench w/ either the bar or DB

[Hendodo]

there's so many variables, it's impossible to answer your question. what's your diet like? how long have you been training? lay out your routine for us too (probably most important).

umm my diet:

my diet is decent. I dont know how specific i should be, but..usually

breakfast: raisin bran, milk, yogurt, banana, water

snack: yogurt, cheese stick, apple, water

lunch: whole wheat sandwich, meat, cheese, etc., milk, water, 2tbsp peanut butter

workout: 3 sets x 10 close bench (135lbs), 3 x 10 reg. bench (135lbs) amongst preacher curls, ab work, thighs, etc.

after workout: 2 cups milk w/ whey protein: around 70 g protein

dinner: meats, veggies, rice, water

totals for the day: around 60g fat, 120g protein, 250 g carbs, dont really follow to closely on the rest.

been training for a month.

[mrchariybrown]

I skimmed all that and saw the last line..

"been training for a month"

go train for at least 6 months and then ask your question again if your bench numbers haven't moved. at your level, I find it almost impossible that your numbers won't jump in that time frame. novice lifters can do almost any routine and gain.

[mrchariybrown]

also, I hope that's not the only thing to you routine. where are the squats and/or deadlifts? or at least variations of that.

[eversuns]

My weightlifting shoes arrived today, so hopefully will fix the issues with my heel leaving the ground on my squat, I will try get some videos tonight.

For $100 I am pretty pleased, weightlifting shoe prices are criminal over here.

[FADEtoDARKNESS]

I went from 150-165 lbs in a month when I started deadlifting.

I remember when I could only deadlift 165 too