Author Topic: chasing athleticism (Read 939694 times)

Coges · « **Reply #975 on:** July 11, 2013, 12:05:17 am »

Quote from: ChrisM on July 10, 2013, 03:14:30 pm

Quick tip on getting your shot to carry over is to practice your shot at game speed and use 'game moves'. That way its a very natural progression to a game situation and you don't feel hurried.

For example Coges said his go to was a one dribble pull up. If I were him I'd focus on that in practice at full speed. One hard fast dribble and good height on the release. If he practices it slow then gets hurried in a game his form could suffer. Make practice hard and games are easy.

Yep exactly. That's how I've been practicing. Made the mistake of using half speed initially and during a game my form would break down. Have been practicing full speed explosive style and it's made a huge difference. Hit 5 in a row that way a few weeks back. Such an easy shot too. If I can do it I'm sure almost anyone can.

entropy · « **Reply #976 on:** July 12, 2013, 07:23:12 am »

Quote from: ahotzo on July 10, 2013, 03:50:10 pm

Quote from: entropy on July 10, 2013, 06:16:30 am

BS notes:
Lance talks about exploding the bar up even on submax sets. I am working on that, because I think with backsquat I can make my quads stronger by focusing on getting a strong quad driven cocentric, kind of like atzo's squats. It will help my front squat as well as other athletic activities like sprinting and jumping.
Pushing both my squats up aggressively back into PR territory, 3x a week, otherwise weds is usually a light/low vol day, but for the next few weeks it will be a normal progression.

Thanks for the words man. One tip though...and this may be broscience so take it with a grain of salt...With the powerful concentric, watch the lower back in the beginning. I think that is how I got hurt back in April. Your legs are plenty strong, but your back may not be ready to brace an explosive move out of the whole, so maybe ease into the explosive concentric. Either way, good luck man,I'm sure you will get it. And btw, your depth isn't jus good its ATG, which is awesome.

Thanks for the warning, will heed it. Can you tell me what goes thru your head when you're going into the rep? Talk/walk me thru it if possible. My depth for FS is good, my depth for BS is not haha, it's just below parallel, which is actually ok with me, because I do my fs's deep so hopefully i'm not missing out on much there. I actually prefer it this way because it places the brunt of the work onto my quads which is what I need.

Quote from: Coges on July 11, 2013, 12:05:17 am

Quote from: ChrisM on July 10, 2013, 03:14:30 pm
Quick tip on getting your shot to carry over is to practice your shot at game speed and use 'game moves'. That way its a very natural progression to a game situation and you don't feel hurried.

For example Coges said his go to was a one dribble pull up. If I were him I'd focus on that in practice at full speed. One hard fast dribble and good height on the release. If he practices it slow then gets hurried in a game his form could suffer. Make practice hard and games are easy.

Yep exactly. That's how I've been practicing. Made the mistake of using half speed initially and during a game my form would break down. Have been practicing full speed explosive style and it's made a huge difference. Hit 5 in a row that way a few weeks back. Such an easy shot too. If I can do it I'm sure almost anyone can.

chrism, will do, i'll add that to the list of things to work on when I practice. Thanks guys.

entropy · « **Reply #977 on:** July 12, 2013, 07:49:37 am »

Training
FS 3x117.5, 2x120B(PR), 2Fx112B
HBBS 2x6x104, 8x97.5 (PR)
BP 6x85 (PR), 6x80

FS notes:
Depth good, form ok. Thought to try using a belt for the 2nd set, put 120kg on there and did it ok but I had no juice in my legs so I struggled a bit with that set. I think if my quads were fresher, i could have done maybe another rep or 2? Well who knows. I've been beating my legs up a lot this whole week with squat volume so fatigue is a major factor right now. Anyway, I thought to try 112x5 as a PR with but I failed that shit on the 2nd rep.

BS notes:
Wasn't happy with my form. Went back later and figured how to fix it. Happier now.

BP notes:
Finally got the 6x85kg PR!! That puts my 1RM close grip BP at 99kg! I'm thrilled. So close to 2 plates but yet so far, it took everything I had to lock out that 6th rep. My spotter was terrified haha but she's a tiny 5ft girl so it's understandable. How i'm going to add weight from here I DONT KNOW but I want to work my way up to 6x90kg in the next few months.

ahotzo · « **Reply #978 on:** July 12, 2013, 10:15:47 am »

Quote from: entropy on July 12, 2013, 07:23:12 am

Thanks for the warning, will heed it. Can you tell me what goes thru your head when you're going into the rep? Talk/walk me thru it if possible. My depth for FS is good, my depth for BS is not haha, it's just below parallel, which is actually ok with me, because I do my fs's deep so hopefully i'm not missing out on much there. I actually prefer it this way because it places the brunt of the work onto my quads which is what I need.

Honestly, I don't think that my squat form is anything amazing but this is what I do: I don't really think about my depth. I just go as far down as I can while maintaining a neutral spine; being safe is always the most important thing for me. If my flexibility increases over time I can go lower. Anyway, as far as my mental process, I really try to keep it simple. On my first warm-up reps I don't do anything explosively at all. I just use them to try and achieve my desired range of motion, so I go pretty slow. Once, I'm feeling pretty good with really light weight (obviously this depends on the individual), then I start doing the reps a little more explosively. As far as cues....all I'm ever worried about is having my back straight. If my back is straight and I'm as upright as possible I have no fear to explode and really go to work in the squat, so both my cues are centered around that. THe first thing I do is to get my hands as close as possible without discomfort in my elbows...this makes my upperback really tight and that in turn makes my chest pop out. Also, I engage my lats by pulling my elbows down really hard and trying to crush the bar (I think some people like the elbows up and back, but that doesn't work for me). The other cue that helps me is something Lance said in my journal. He said to use the hip flexors to pull yourself into the squat. This second cue helps me with my lumbar spine. When I engage the hip flexors in this way it really helps me keep the back straight. I think that is why you think my squats are so concentric driven, because all I'm really thinking about is my back. So, when I descending I'm just thinking about the 2 things above: (1) Upperback tight, pull down elbows; (2) Pull myself down with hipflexors to keep lower back tight. Once I hit my depth and I have done these things, I feel so tight and wound up like a coil, that I just explode out of the hole. IDK, thats the only way I can describe it. At the bottom of the squat everything is really tightly contracted...my upperback, my lower back, my quads, my glutes....It kind of makes me feel like a spring, and as long as my back is straight I can destroy the weight. Idk, if any of this helps you, but thats usually what I think. Oooo, and obviously the knees need to be pushed out, but I don't really think about this as much because it is usually not a problem (every once in a while it will creep into my form though so I stay conscious of it).

entropy · « **Reply #979 on:** July 13, 2013, 02:57:40 am »

Quote from: ahotzo on July 12, 2013, 10:15:47 am

Quote from: entropy on July 12, 2013, 07:23:12 am

Thanks for the warning, will heed it. Can you tell me what goes thru your head when you're going into the rep? Talk/walk me thru it if possible. My depth for FS is good, my depth for BS is not haha, it's just below parallel, which is actually ok with me, because I do my fs's deep so hopefully i'm not missing out on much there. I actually prefer it this way because it places the brunt of the work onto my quads which is what I need.

Honestly, I don't think that my squat form is anything amazing but this is what I do: I don't really think about my depth. I just go as far down as I can while maintaining a neutral spine; being safe is always the most important thing for me. If my flexibility increases over time I can go lower. Anyway, as far as my mental process, I really try to keep it simple. On my first warm-up reps I don't do anything explosively at all. I just use them to try and achieve my desired range of motion, so I go pretty slow. Once, I'm feeling pretty good with really light weight (obviously this depends on the individual), then I start doing the reps a little more explosively. As far as cues....all I'm ever worried about is having my back straight. If my back is straight and I'm as upright as possible I have no fear to explode and really go to work in the squat, so both my cues are centered around that. THe first thing I do is to get my hands as close as possible without discomfort in my elbows...this makes my upperback really tight and that in turn makes my chest pop out. Also, I engage my lats by pulling my elbows down really hard and trying to crush the bar (I think some people like the elbows up and back, but that doesn't work for me). The other cue that helps me is something Lance said in my journal. He said to use the hip flexors to pull yourself into the squat. This second cue helps me with my lumbar spine. When I engage the hip flexors in this way it really helps me keep the back straight. I think that is why you think my squats are so concentric driven, because all I'm really thinking about is my back. So, when I descending I'm just thinking about the 2 things above: (1) Upperback tight, pull down elbows; (2) Pull myself down with hipflexors to keep lower back tight. Once I hit my depth and I have done these things, I feel so tight and wound up like a coil, that I just explode out of the hole. IDK, thats the only way I can describe it. At the bottom of the squat everything is really tightly contracted...my upperback, my lower back, my quads, my glutes....It kind of makes me feel like a spring, and as long as my back is straight I can destroy the weight. Idk, if any of this helps you, but thats usually what I think. Oooo, and obviously the knees need to be pushed out, but I don't really think about this as much because it is usually not a problem (every once in a while it will creep into my form though so I stay conscious of it).

This is exactly what I was after. You did a great job walking me thru your reps. I have a lot to learn. The stuff in bold is stuff I have to work on. My grip around the bar is very close because i've worked on bringing grip in over time to the point i'm about an inch away from the rings. I find this helps keep tight too, as you stated. What I hadn't considered was pulling the bar down with elbows. I keep my elbows down but I thought by pushing the bar up I was making myself tighter, I didn't think to try pulling down might actually be better. I will try that out next time!

On the way down you say you go slow and work hard to be tight/stay tight - i found in my best/prettiest reps (usually the first reps in a set), i have a very controlled eccentric phase. That's something I have to consciously work on for the entire duration of the set. Like in my last video (front squat but same lesson applies as backsquat), i kind of rush my last rep, this costs me depth, which costs me bounce, and then i get out of position and my elbow drops.

The other thing is you feel like a loaded spring at the bottom. I don't have that, but perhaps it's because some of my muscles are too relaxed, eg quads/calves. I might tighten then up as I go down into the squat? Pull myself into the bottom of the lift (like lance's suggestion). I first heard of that in Pavel's and I use it for bench press but i'll try it for squats too.

Lots of things to try out next time. I can't wait..

entropy · « **Reply #980 on:** July 15, 2013, 06:09:10 am »

Training
FS 2x90, 2x100, 2x110, 1x114.5, 3x119.5 (PR), 5Fx112.5, 5x107.5
HBBS 2x6x106, 9x99 (PR)
BP 6x81, 8x78.5 (PR), 7x75
CU 3,6,3,4,3,2,3 (total 22 reps)

Stimulants: 200mg caffeine, 20mg synephrine (inspired by asafa powell to dust off and bust this out of my cupboard lol)

FS notes:
Finally knocked out a heavy triple PR - it's been a while but i crushed it. IWell not really, form was shi t but i'm just pleased to get the PR. I want to think the set was easy but I can't really remember now. After that set, I got cocky and thought now i'll get a new 5Rm while i'm at it, and went for 112.5kg milestone PR when i shuda gone for 112kg PR (and probably got it). But i regret nothing. I didn't even attempt the last 1/2 of the rep so i dont consider it a failure, more like 4.5 reps

But next time is the big 3x120kg PR - only a half kilo more on paper, just the plates are not accurate so in practice it usually feels a *lot* heavier than it should be. But i'll get it no problem. I've set my eyes on 3x135kg in this cycle so 120kg is nothing but a peanut!

BS notes:
Good news is i've identified a weakess and i've got an exercise which exhibits the failure. Bad news is I have a weakness that needs fixing. But happy to get 9x99kg! While doing the set I thought my form was amazing, that i was going deep and controlling the set. On video it didn't bear out my prejudices lol. It's okay though. Fix my weakness, fix my BS technique. That's the plan.

BP notes:
Still trying to work around not having a spotter. Frustrating, might probably have got 8 on that last set, and maybe 7 on the first set.

Now to eat loads of carbs and meat and make vag happy

ahotzo · « **Reply #981 on:** July 15, 2013, 07:57:38 am »

Nice PR on the FS entropy! Glad you found the response helpful; hopefully you find something in there that helps you.

entropy · « **Reply #982 on:** July 15, 2013, 08:26:49 am »

Quote from: ahotzo on July 15, 2013, 07:57:38 am

Nice PR on the FS entropy! Glad you found the response helpful; hopefully you find something in there that helps you.

Thanks, i used your elbow tips and controlled descent. They're gold and i'll keep them in mind when backsquatting.

So here is the thing, the weakness i mentioned in my last post. I think if it were not for that weakness i would have decent backsquat form right now!!! My form is bad because my knees come in out of the hole. Realisation of the weakness came about when I was doing my warmup mobility work and I tried that stretch thing La nce suggested to you in your log - video below (is it called a banded glute bridge?)

Anyway quickly even within like a rep or two, i've got this sick burn in my right glute (I point to the area during the vid). Left isn't hot either, being all shaky and unstable, but right is especially weak. So i'd say i've pinpointed a reason for my shitty backsquat. Now the plan is to do this same exercise a lot until I get better at it. Hopefully fix that weakness and as a result have better backsquat form.

I welcome theories suggesting what weakness this is and how it affects my backsquat.

Also is my fix just to do the banded glute bridge ok, or are there other things to try too?

LBSS · « **Reply #983 on:** July 15, 2013, 09:40:10 am »

lolololololololol that video is cracking me up. something about the insistence of your pointing. haahhahahahahahahahahaha

in seriousness, probably can't hurt to keep doing glute activation stuff like those banded bridges. also, just a guess, but working on posture throughout the day might help -- the first big takeaway i had from starrett's book is that engaging your glutes is sine qua non for maintaining proper posture. something i've been doing consciously throughout every day and it seems to be helping. i even noticed having an easier time maintaining a good stance while playing tennis yesterday. just a thought.

entropy · « **Reply #984 on:** July 15, 2013, 12:51:34 pm »

Glute activation sounds like some gimmick fitness thing raptor would obsess about but it can't hurt to try. Next thing you know i'll be doing those bar humping exercises he talks about. Cheers man. Lets see what happens. I'm excited by the prospect of fixing my BS. Apparently I should have a 150kg max backsquat for my front squat max, which is around 2bw (ideal bw not current fat ass bw). So i'm def leaving a lot on the table yet, hopefully glute activation will realise the remaining gains.

Btw vag I hate u, lol, eating a lot of meat sucks, it's disgusting. i rarely it usually and im struggling with eating a lot now, taste/texture puts me off. still all worth it for PRs ;P

Can't wait til the next workout - have decided to go for a FS 3x121 PR and finish the week with 3x123. Think I can do it if i keep up the eating and resting like I have been the past 8 days or so.

Also reading this atm.

LBSS · « **Reply #985 on:** July 15, 2013, 01:49:47 pm »

Quote from: entropy on July 15, 2013, 12:51:34 pm

Glute activation sounds like some gimmick fitness thing raptor would obsess about but it can't hurt to try. Next thing you know i'll be doing those bar humping exercises he talks about.

not sure if serious.

Raptor · « **Reply #986 on:** July 15, 2013, 02:12:26 pm »

I was jumping the highest ever after incorporating hip thrusts every day for about 2 weeks (I got sick so couldn't continue). Especially off two feet. Who knows if you have the same glute inhibition off two like I do (it's bad in my case) so...

But the squat overloads the glute in the flexed position while the hip thrust overloads the glute in the extended/hyperextended position so... you get the best of both worlds.

entropy · « **Reply #987 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:33:25 am »

You convinced me. Did you do any tests to diagnose glute inhibition btw? kelly gives some in that article I linked.

entropy · « **Reply #988 on:** July 16, 2013, 05:02:48 am »

Following corrective exercises done yesterday, I've got doms in the right places on weak side of my body in my glute/hamstring. This is promising!

Raptor · « **Reply #989 on:** July 16, 2013, 01:01:55 pm »

Quote from: entropy on July 16, 2013, 04:33:25 am

You convinced me. Did you do any tests to diagnose glute inhibition btw? kelly gives some in that article I linked.

Let's just say I used to feel a ton of pressure in the knees/quad overload whereas after doing them for a bit that regressed and I was jumping about 2 inches higher I think. Even off a SVJ I was getting higher.

But that is MY particular case of sucking in terms of glute recruitment off two feet.

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Author Topic: chasing athleticism (Read 939694 times)

Coges

Re: chasing athleticism

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism -- W2D2

entropy

chasing athleticism -- W2D3

ahotzo

Re: chasing athleticism -- W2D2

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism -- W2D2

entropy

chasing athleticism -- W3D1

ahotzo

Re: chasing athleticism

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism -- help fix my weakness

LBSS

Re: chasing athleticism

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism

LBSS

Re: chasing athleticism

Raptor

Re: chasing athleticism

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism

entropy

Re: chasing athleticism

Raptor

Re: chasing athleticism