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Blog Section => ADARQ & LanceSTS - Q&A => Topic started by: vag on October 09, 2012, 11:53:57 am

Title: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 09, 2012, 11:53:57 am
New thread to stop spamming my pics&vids thread with lifting videos, also to catch the admins attention faster.



Q&A INDEX:

1. Romanian deadlifts form check. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg78008/#msg78008)
2. Thoughts about lean body mass gains during a bulk. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg78349/#msg78349)
3. Romanian deadlifts form check update. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg78849/#msg78849)
4. Thoughts about body recomposition diet plan. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg79557/#msg79557)
5. Calculating Total Daily Energy Expenditure. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg79604/#msg79604)
6. Romanian deadlifts form check update #2. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg79657/#msg79657)
7. Front squats form check. (http://www.adarq.org/sts-qa/age-vs-vertical-various-qa-%28-programming-exercise-form-etc-%29/msg80372/#msg80372)

Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 09, 2012, 11:55:00 am
Crosslinked from the pics&vids thread :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh82VnSzpT0

Critique/corrections please?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on October 09, 2012, 01:59:55 pm

  First off Im sorry for taking so long to respond to your rdl video Vag, Ive been moving into a new house in the same complex with my gym and havent had much time at all. 

 The way we teach the rdl is to start with glutes fired forward, weight on heels, and bar swept into the hip crease using the lats.  You need to actively PULL the weight into you while youre tensing the glutes.  bend ONLY at the knees, 3 inches, while keeping the glutes forward, and the weight on the heels.  If you watch Pendlay clean and snatch progressions, this is position 1 in my blog.  This bend (3 inches) will remain constant throughout the entire exercise.  When you reach full hip extension, this is where you finish.

 To start the movement, sweeping the bar into your thighs with the lats as you push the hips to the rear, you will descend as far back with your hips as your flexibility allows.  DONT think about the barbell going DOWN, simply sweep it in against you, and think of the hips going back.  With the starting position described, you will not bend at the knee any more than is already pre set.  This is one of the most important things and easiest ways of not turning the exercise into something its not supposed to be.

 To finish you simply drive your hips into the bar, while continuing to sweep the weight into you with the lats.  You will finish in the exact position you started, with the knees slightly bent. 

There are other ways to do it, but this method has proven very useful and really allows a glute driven rdl while taking the issues of knee extension out entirely that typically happen when starting to learn the movement.  Remember that the bar is not the focus on the way down, its merely there and "ignore" the depth it reaches.  Focus is entirely on hips moving back, then hips moving forward.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 09, 2012, 02:37:14 pm

  First off Im sorry for taking so long to respond to your rdl video Vag, Ive been moving into a new house in the same complex with my gym and havent had much time at all. 


No prob , i saw you were away from the whole forum, thanks for replying!

So , if i get it right, my main flaws would be that:
-I am not sweeping the bar , it goes a bit away from my body. Pulling with lats and keeping it on heels fixes that.
-I am lowering the bar, not pushing my hips back. I need to push hips as back as i can maintaining neutral spine and steady knees bend.

How is my spine? Is it neutral? If not, am i arching or rounding? My upper back natural posture is kyphotic btw, i am mostly referring to lower back during the lift.
Keep in mind that the video is a maximal lift, most i have ever done is 7x253 and this day i did 3x5@253 , PRish performance.
I will try to apply all cues tomorrow, will go lighter.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on October 09, 2012, 03:55:36 pm

  First off Im sorry for taking so long to respond to your rdl video Vag, Ive been moving into a new house in the same complex with my gym and havent had much time at all. 


No prob , i saw you were away from the whole forum, thanks for replying!

So , if i get it right, my main flaws would be that:
-I am not sweeping the bar , it goes a bit away from my body. Pulling with lats and keeping it on heels fixes that.
-I am lowering the bar, not pushing my hips back. I need to push hips as back as i can maintaining neutral spine and steady knees bend.

How is my spine? Is it neutral? If not, am i arching or rounding? My upper back natural posture is kyphotic btw, i am mostly referring to lower back during the lift.
Keep in mind that the video is a maximal lift, most i have ever done is 7x253 and this day i did 3x5@253 , PRish performance.
I will try to apply all cues tomorrow, will go lighter.

I would suggest re working with the start position I described.  The range of motion is greatly increased this way, which is an issue for you in the video.  Correct with the sweeping the bar and pushing hips to the rear.   It sounds more complicated than it really is, stay on heels, hips extended, then you bend ONLY AT THE KNEE 3 inches. Hips are still extended and bar will be swept in to the hip crease.  This is the START and FINISH position.  Knee bend remains a constant.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: Raptor on October 09, 2012, 04:53:45 pm
What if you have really long arms? Should you aim for the hip crease anyway? That would pretty much give me a snatch grip...
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on October 10, 2012, 04:44:00 am
What if you have really long arms? Should you aim for the hip crease anyway? That would pretty much give me a snatch grip...

pull shoulders back, even bend elbows slightly but keep bend constant.  The dip at the start with the knees helps this a lot as well.  I may try and do a video on it if it seems like Im not clear here, its kind of hard to portray in words, once you get it you have no question youre doing it right though.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 10, 2012, 05:21:56 am
Raptor , great question , i was thinking exactly the same. My arms are too long , i can touch my fucking knee without bending back , just lowering shoulder!

Thanks a lot Lance , very useful and detailed coaching. I will implement all today, hope i can film too.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 13, 2012, 06:29:48 am
So i did a few body measurements today, copying them from my journal:

Weight = 88,1kg / 193.8lbs
Waist = 91,5cm / 36''
Online bodyfat estimation = 18,1%
Scale bodyfat estimation = 17,2%

So i guess i am around 194 / 17,5%
When i started the bulk ( 20 August ) i was 183,5 / 16%

It means that in 9 weeks i added ~10,5lbs : LBM : 154,1 ---> 160 ( +5,9lbs ) , fat 29,4 ---> 34 ( +4,6lbs ).
Bulk lean / fat ratio = 56% / 44%.

My question is about that ratio, is it good or bad?

PS: I did a little research but couldn't find much. Apparently a 'normal ratio' is 1:1 ( 50%-50% ) , a successful one is 3:1 ( 75% muscle - 25% fat ) while i remember kellyb saying that someone not working out at all is at 30% muscle - 70% fat. So i guess my 56/44 is just above average. But as i said i didn't find much information so i need some verified feedback!
Thanks.

Edit : Kept looking in Lyle's articles , found something:
Quote
So, typically, when overfed, thin/lean individual will gain 60-70% lean body mass (LBM) while fat individuals may gain only 30-40% LBM. Note that these percentage gains are without exercise, simply with overfeeding from a starting body fat level. Although research hasn’t examined overfeeding nearly as much as underfeeding, we might expect intensive weight training to skew these numbers to an even better point.

So for someone not working out at all , the bulk LBM ratio is 30-40% for fat ones , 60-70% for lean. That puts my 54% to real shame considering i lift consistently 3*week.
In the same article and many others ( which i have read a few times in the past , duh! ), he insists that males should NOT bulk when over 15%.
I should reconsider my diet plan, i had 210lbs wet weight or 20% bodyfat as my ending goal , whichever came first. But it looks like it's not worth the effort, i will have much better results if i lean down and then bulk...
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LBSS on October 17, 2012, 09:29:37 am
your estimates might be off and the 60-70% thing is just an average range. don't beat yourself up about it. you're probably right about leaning out before you bulk again, though. plus if you do it right you'll maintain most/all strength and probably gain an inch or two on your vert due to decreased bw.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 17, 2012, 10:03:20 am
your estimates might be off and the 60-70% thing is just an average range. don't beat yourself up about it. you're probably right about leaning out before you bulk again, though. plus if you do it right you'll maintain most/all strength and probably gain an inch or two on your vert due to decreased bw.

Thanks for the advice!
Yes, no freaking out. I decided to attempt a smal cut for now though, trying to push over 200 wet weight curently leaves a feeling of over-bloating and i dont like it.
I will do as i said in my journal:
-Changed diet plan too , instead of bulking every day i will be bulking only on lifting days and cutting on all others. Ideally i will stay above 190 but achieve a nice recomposition.

Also for bulk days i will give this carb-back-loading thing a try, no exaggerations and overhyping, but it seems interesting.

Any further key suggestions are very welcomed,  you are by far the forum's Lyle/recomposition guru!
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: MrBig on October 17, 2012, 01:12:56 pm
Quote
I may try and do a video on it
That would be highly appriciated! :) I did not do deads for quite some time now, especially romanian ones ! :)

Quote
What if you have really long arms?

Good one man! I have long arms.... And a very good explanation!
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 20, 2012, 07:17:31 am
20 October 2012

So i did RDLs again , second time using Lance's cues. Felt right this time but watching the video i am confused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aKH9_lYMx0

Is that a correct RDL?
Is it a straight leg DL?
Is it a snatch grip DL?
Is it some kind of wrong mixture of all of the above???
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on October 20, 2012, 08:35:26 pm

 Much better Vag.  Slow down a little on the eccentric and be a little more deliberate with each rep, feel the glutes load up as you drive to the rear.  Good work though, thats a much different exercise than you were doing at first.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 21, 2012, 11:58:31 am
Ah , so it's better than i thought. Thanks for the feedback Lance , will do those things too and refilm when i feel i got it down good.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 22, 2012, 06:29:13 am
Added an index with hyperlinks to each question in the 1st post. This should make the topic more useful for the Q&A section that it belongs to.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: seifullaah73 on October 22, 2012, 07:39:25 am
20 October 2012

So i did RDLs again , second time using Lance's cues. Felt right this time but watching the video i am confused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aKH9_lYMx0

Is that a correct RDL?
Is it a straight leg DL?
Is it a snatch grip DL?
Is it some kind of wrong mixture of all of the above???

nice one, but i'm confused on one, thing, lance said to bend your knees at the start position, but your knees are straight, at the start.

thanks
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on October 23, 2012, 04:30:09 am
^True , knees lock out. That was a consequence of trying to start and finish with the bar in the hip crease. I have too long arms ( 5'11 3/4'' barefoot , 6'5'' wingspan ) so I find it hard to keep knees bent because then the bar starts too low. I tried pulling shoulders back or bending elbows but i can't maintain that through all the set holding 80kg.
I should experiment with HOW i bend, Lance said that it should help keep the bar in the hip crease instead of make it more difficult. I will watch the suggested pendlay's video.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 01, 2012, 09:18:06 am
I would like some feedback/thoughts/objections about my current diet plan:

- I am following a mixed approach, cutting on non-lifting days and bulking on lifting days.
- The ammount of surplus/shortfall for bulk/cut respectively is 500kcals.
- Goal of curent plan is to achieve a recomposition. Starting status was ~194lbs / 17% bodyfat. I want to maintain ( or possibly increase ) my current LBM ( hence the bulk on lifting days ), but also lose some fat ( hence the cut on other days ). I lift 3*week so it's 3 bulking-4 cutting days weekly.

Is my approach valid? Would it be better if i took an approach of first plain cut and then plain bulk, or it wouldn't really make a difference?
Supposing current approach is correct , is the 500kcals a reasonable quantity for bulking surplus/cutting shortfall or should i increase/decrease any of them?

Thanks.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LBSS on November 01, 2012, 09:52:24 am
IMHO you should do a dedicated cut first, a la entropy, and then bulk. less complicated, less constant guessing about whether you're replacing fat with LBM while the scale isn't moving.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 01, 2012, 10:11:25 am
^Thanks , that covers this part of my query:

Is my approach valid? Would it be better if i took an approach of first plain cut and then plain bulk, or it wouldn't really make a difference?

But if i wanted to take the other way and attempt a recomposition staying at the same weight , would the way i set it up be correct?
Or there does not really exist such a thing as a steady-weight recomposition?
I am insisting because I pulled that mixed bulk/cut plan right out of my ass so i need to know if it has any proven/studied base or i should dump it and go typical bulk/cut cycles.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LBSS on November 01, 2012, 10:31:36 am
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

Quote from: lyle
Which is why a lot of the approaches advocated for ‘gaining muscle while losing fat’ aren’t very effective.  In fact, I’d tend to argue that most people’s attempts to achieve the above results in them simply spinning their wheels, making no progress towards either goal.  Because invariably they set up a situation where neither training nor diet is optimized for either fat loss or muscle gain.  Calories are too high for fat loss and too low to support muscle gains and outside of that one overfat beginner situation, the physiology simply isn’t going to readily allow what they want to happen to happen.

...

But none of those approaches generate a muscle gain to equal the fat loss, at best they generate a small muscle gain in the face of a much larger fat loss (e.g. someone might lose a lot of fat while gaining a pound or two of muscle or what have you).  But for the non-beginner/non-returning from a layoff trainee that’s about the best you’re going to get.  Potential rates of muscle gain are never going to approach the potential rate of fat loss once folks are past the beginner stage.  Even in the beginner stage, it’s generally always easier to lose fat much faster than you can gain muscle.

So the idea of replacing every pound of lost fat with exactly one pound of muscle will be essentially impossible for the intermediate/advanced trainee.  There’s simply not enough fat/the fat cells dont want to ‘give up their calories’ and the ability to stimulate rapid muscle gains isn’t there any more.

Alan Aragon in the comments:

Quote from: Alan Aragon
The level of aggressiveness of the method of surplus or deficit depends on the individual’s goals & current status. Some folks don’t necessarily care about not getting significanty fatter while bulking, but a good portion of my clientele wants to (or in some cases, like actors & models) need to look good all year round. Thus the alternation of looking somewhat chubby while bulking before leaning down really isn’t an option. On the other hand, I think that people in general think I’m opposed to putting on any fat at all while bulking, or they think I’m not into the idea of separate cutting or bulking cycles, which isn’t true. With some clients, I choose a very specific & aggressive focus. For example, I’m building a plan for a natural BBing champ that’s specifically geared toward off-season gains. After that phase is done, it’s cutting time. With others, it’s more of the culking/recomp scenario involving less agressive surpluses or deficits. Not everyone gets the same treatment, because everyone is at a different place in their development, and people’s goals/objectives differ. One thing I want to get clear is that I’m not opposed to traditional cutting & bulking alternation, it’s actually best for some, and I do go that route with certain client cases that it’s well suited for. And I don’t disagree that the culking effect happens to a more pronounced degree in beginners with more fat to lose & more muscle to gain.

someone else in the comments apparently did a weekly cycle, with 500kcal surpluses every day for a week, and 500kcal deficits every day for a week. seemed to like it.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: entropy on November 01, 2012, 11:58:30 am
Recomps work better when you're lean. Which is a motherfucker because 95% of the time people who want to try a recomp aren't lean - catch 22. All the recomp diets i've read about, whether UD2, leanga1ns, the original ultimate diet by Dan Duchaine all set out a desirable bodyfat of 10-12%. At that bodyfat you have excellent insulin sensitivity and the best p ratio. Those are the ingredients for a good recomp.

Like Aragon warns above, ppl who recomp at higher bodyfats tend to spin their wheels and achieve nothing with their bodycomp goals. In fact the only time the recomp for a higher bodyfat seems to work is if you're starting off as a complete newbie who hasn't trained before and that's when you see muscle gain with fat loss at the same time. And that doesn't last long. Ppl who have been training a while aren't gonna see the same results.

The other thing is vag even if you go on a cut (say 10-20% deficit), which is what i'd recommend, if you do an exercise which is new to your body, you'll gain some muscle even while cutting. I saw that when i was cutting when I added ab crunches, within 2 weeks i had much bigger abs while in the middle of a long cut. I've read about the same thing for other ppl too when they've done say a new exercise like calve raises while cutting hard - gaining some new mass while on a deficit. That sort of recomp is possible, you just have to try and find exercises which hit your newbie body parts because they'll grow regardless. Now if you're trying to grow your legs after having squatted for a long time, that probably wont happen mid-cut, but if you add a new assistance exercise which targets a part of your legs which you're still a newbie at, maybe it will just give you some modest gains.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 01, 2012, 01:52:15 pm
^ You are both very convincing and i know that you have studied your shit very well about that subject.
I will switch my plan to a plain cut and see what happens, I will use a 20% deficit.
Thanks a lot both!  :highfive:
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 01, 2012, 05:31:58 pm

 Make sure you pick a training plan that is easily progressed, and go into with the attitude that you WILL improve your performance/strength.  If you are squatting 500 and go on a drastic cut, its fairly unrealistic to plan to progress that during the cut.  If you are squatting 300, you can FOR SURE, get stronger, more explosive, etc., as you drop fat.

 I have a post on the 3 set method in my section that works great under these kind of conditions.  Your focus is on improving a 3 set total rather than a single set or poundage.  This is MUCH more doable over the long run than trying to improve a single set goal. For example,

day 1 -  225 x 5, 225 x 4 , 225 x 4 = 13 reps

day 2- 225 x 5, 225 x 5, 225 x 4 = 14 reps, progress.

once you hit 20-30 total in 3 sets, up the poundage and start over.  (20-30 can be whatever you want, maxS focus could easily use 10 total reps, etc.)

 ^ thats only one example of a plan that is easy to progress, a lot of things can work.  MAKE progress happen though, most important factor.  Too many people go into "cuts" already EXPECTING to get weaker.  Thats fail from the get go.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: Raptor on November 01, 2012, 05:51:35 pm
What about volume for his goals? The 20-30 you talked about or were those just "general" guidelines (where "general" is something in the middle, like what 8 rep is (some strength, some hypertrophy)?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 01, 2012, 06:34:42 pm

 Right, that was a random number for the total.  Up or down, depending on what your focus is, however, a nice thing about using that method is you tend to wave rep ranges naturally without much thought.

 When you first start you might hit ~13 total (max S focused rr).  Over the next 3 workouts, now youre up to 26 (more of a hypertrophy focused range).  Then on your 4th session you up the poundage and go back down to 10 or so reps.  You can continue this way for a LONG period of time pushing progress.

 Its nice when you look at your log and see for example, last session you squatted 300 for 25 total reps in 3 sets.  Today you definitely dont feel up to 26 or more reps, so you put on 305, and the numbers start over, while still progressing POUNDAGE on the bar.  Whatever number you hit that day is now your new marker to improve.  Its kind of like a built in deload/ a-reg system.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: Raptor on November 01, 2012, 08:07:32 pm
What if you're stuck?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 01, 2012, 11:03:42 pm
What if you're stuck?

 When youre using a 3 set rep total, with the option to up LOAD, its very hard to get stuck without some type of progression possible.  IF all of the above are exhausted (which will take a LONG time ) then you can change the exercise for a while, or even a day, and come back to what you were doing.  You dont have to beat a single set record, its cumulative of THREE sets, making it very easy to improve.

 What I normally do with guys in a situation like Vag is, have them squat 2-3 x a week.  Once the back squat has reached a high level and is harder to progress, one of those days will become front squat with the same set/rep scheme.  This gives you enough time between sessions to FOR SURE progress both exercises.  At very high strength levels you will use 3 different exercises at most for the same movement pattern (front squat, back squat, pause squat).   
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 02, 2012, 06:09:58 am
:motherofgod:

Awesome stuff Lance!!!!!

:highfive:   +   :lololol:
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 02, 2012, 07:05:43 am
Next question:

I was going through those Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculators and articles and i think i was mistaken , AGAIN!!!  :uhhhfacepalm:  :uhhhfacepalm:  :uhhhfacepalm:
I was using 2000Kcals as my daily expenditure base ( BMR + 100kcals ) but it seems that it is a serious underestimation.
My average day ( which includes 10-12 hrs of light activity , aka computer work, driving, doing housework etc ) TDEE seems to be more realistically at around 2400-2500 kcals.
I will use this as a base from now on , adding the extra activity as i did ( e.g. weights , bball etc ).
The most convenient TDEE calculator i found is on exrx , considers bf% and all activities : http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

Any objections?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LBSS on November 02, 2012, 09:25:22 am
that gives me a baseline of 3721, which seems really high.

new thread.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 02, 2012, 10:27:40 am
that gives me a baseline of 3721, which seems really high.

new thread.

Good idea!  :highfive:

http://www.adarq.org/nutrition-supplementation/exrx-calorie-requirement-calculator/
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 03, 2012, 11:00:15 am
New RDL form check. Still at 80kg, trying to implement all cues ( glutes fired forward at start, feel glutes through all movement, slow down eccentric, knee bend from beginning to end , pull bar to hip crease ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldfE0SGGvxU

Feedback?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: Raptor on November 03, 2012, 06:01:29 pm
To me... it seems like when you hit the bottom of the lift you have a tendency to relax ... "mentally". Like you "give out" for just a split second and then reset your effort and start pulling up, especially the first few reps.

The other thing is your head position... I'd maintain a more "down-oriented" eye and head position instead of what you're doing now (basically trying to keep the spine, all the way up to the head, stationary). This also has the possibility of improving the hip drive.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 03, 2012, 06:35:29 pm
New RDL form check. Still at 80kg, trying to implement all cues ( glutes fired forward at start, feel glutes through all movement, slow down eccentric, knee bend from beginning to end , pull bar to hip crease ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldfE0SGGvxU

Feedback?

Looks good vag, just make sure to stay on the heels the whole time.  You have a little forward rock there in a few reps where you get kicked onto the forefoot a little, causing you to lose a little tightness.  Easy to fix though, and you are driving from the glutes MUCH better there.
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 04, 2012, 12:24:43 pm
Raptor : I don't relax at the bottom, i do reset at each rep but that's on the top. My reps still look a bit 'stiff' or 'mechanical', as i have to think each cue of this new form at each rep, movement looks and feels not natural and smooth at all. That will come over time, for now i am just trying to make sure i got it down right.
Lance : Right, I totally forgot the weight over heels cue.  :uhhhfacepalm:
Thanks!
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 17, 2012, 09:18:56 am
Introducing... FRONT SQUATS!!! ( entropy must be going  :wowthatwasnutswtf: )

I have never front squatted ever so far so i ramped up 3's and filmed all sets to see how load affects form.
I lost depth at 154lbs so only did a single , also threw a backsquat single for comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8I-P3mxFYI

Feedback in all aspects ( depth , form , bar positioning/grip etc ) very welcomed as im a total noob in front squats...
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 17, 2012, 01:02:47 pm

  Looks good vag, very nice!  How did they feel?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 18, 2012, 06:40:50 am

  Looks good vag, very nice!  How did they feel?

Thanks Lance!!!
They felt great: Very natural and smooth, torso staying upright without having to cue it, achieving full depth very easy. Loved them!
On the other hand, at the last 2 sets ( 60 and 70 kg ) bar felt uncomfortable to stabilize on chest/shoulders.

I think i will replace Friday's back squats with front squats and see how it goes. That way i do backsquats monday, RDL wednesday, front squats friday, all with the 3-set-progress scheme.
Are you ok with that change?
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: LanceSTS on November 19, 2012, 05:53:48 am

  Looks good vag, very nice!  How did they feel?

Thanks Lance!!!
They felt great: Very natural and smooth, torso staying upright without having to cue it, achieving full depth very easy. Loved them!
On the other hand, at the last 2 sets ( 60 and 70 kg ) bar felt uncomfortable to stabilize on chest/shoulders.

I think i will replace Friday's back squats with front squats and see how it goes. That way i do backsquats monday, RDL wednesday, front squats friday, all with the 3-set-progress scheme.
Are you ok with that change?

I think its a good idea, that will make progress continue longer and you wouldve eventually had to add another squat variation anyhow.  Front squats are always a great exercise to add for people who can do them pain free, keeps the squat "true".
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: entropy on November 20, 2012, 09:11:34 am

  Looks good vag, very nice!  How did they feel?

Thanks Lance!!!
They felt great: Very natural and smooth, torso staying upright without having to cue it, achieving full depth very easy. Loved them!
On the other hand, at the last 2 sets ( 60 and 70 kg ) bar felt uncomfortable to stabilize on chest/shoulders.

That's how they looked too. Did you feel your legs loaded? That's the holy grail. Am impressed to see you have such good form straight away. FS fits you like a glove. Made my day!
Title: Re: Age vs Vertical :: various Q&A ( programming , exercise form etc )
Post by: vag on November 20, 2012, 11:01:15 am
I think its a good idea, that will make progress continue longer and you wouldve eventually had to add another squat variation anyhow.  Front squats are always a great exercise to add for people who can do them pain free, keeps the squat "true".

Thanks , keeping the change.

Did you feel your legs loaded? That's the holy grail. Am impressed to see you have such good form straight away. FS fits you like a glove.

I felt that legs load perfectly but i didn't do enough volume, this Friday that i am adding them in the 3-sets-progress routine will tell more.
I was impressed too, before getting the lifting shoes i was unable to do a single rep even with empty bar, no exaggeration.

Made my day!

Told you so:
Introducing... FRONT SQUATS!!! ( entropy must be going  :wowthatwasnutswtf: )

:P