Repair and prepare - my journal on the road back to 5x5

[nelmsjer]

But that's what I was doing before, with almost straight legs and a much greater range of motion. Think of bench press - you don't strive for greater range of motion there. You retract your shoulder blades, keep your elbows in and push to your feet, doing everything to put you in the most advantageous position. You don't try to lift the bar as high into the air as possible.

Hmmm.....we have 1) a misunderstanding (I think) and 2) an anatomical difference.

In your bench press example, I see your point and your line of thinking, but I think it's a bad example, only because it seems to show a different concept. First, what you said is the complete truth...you get set up in the bench press to move the most weight, which is what you've described. I agree with that.

However, for the point that I was trying to make...in the bench press, the concept of not lowering the bar enough to touch your chest (creating a shorter ROM) would be the same as not allowing your arms to go straight for the bent row. You are missing out on a portion of the lift. Does that make sense, or is my explanation still jacked up?

And here is why I think we have an anatomical difference that explains everything:

What, can't everyone get down to the bar with straight legs? I do have short legs, but maybe I just have flexible hammies too. I can get my palms flat on the floor when trying to touch my toes, with my knees locked.

That is a combination of short legs (as you mentioned) and great flexibility. Nice work. I think, though, that in order to get into an anatomically advanantageous position to do heavy bent rows, that you are going to have to do them on a platform which allows the weight plates to travel below normal floor level.

End transmission. Confirm understanding.

 

[anotherbutters]

Ok, yeah, I see what you're saying. I don't know which is going to be more beneficial to me, straight or bent legs, given the ROM I can acheive with straight legs. I'm not yet up to the 20kg/45lb plates, so the bar is already lower than it is for most people because of the smaller plates.

What I can say is that I felt in a much better position to give my back a good workout, lift heavier and lift more explosively with bent knees. With straight legs, I always ran out of steam because I was lifting the bar much further, so it ended up being a much slower movement.

It'd be interesting if someone less flexible could try these with the bar raised on some kind of platform and straight legs, to see if they find them a lot harder too.

 

[blut wump]

Well, I'm flexible enough to do SLDL and deload the bar between reps. What I tend to find is that as the bar gets heavier I find myself tending to extend the legs. I'm not sure whether it's a balance issue, though. I have to make a mental effort to keep myself steady and low.

I think that if you keep your knees extended then you're adding to the stress on your lower back. I try to find a position that removes my lower back and erectors from the movement and in which I feel stable.

 

[nelmsjer]

Ideally, your answer is both bent knees and straight arms. If I'm reading you correctly, you feel much more "stable" with bent knees. I feel MUCH more stable with bent knees, so I understand. However, your leg length and ape-like arms (j/k) don't allow for the complete range of motion. Find a platform, brother.

Good idea on your experiment, btw...

 

[anotherbutters]

Yes, I feel a lot more stable with bent knees. I understand what you're saying now, thanks. I might try doing them from a platform on Friday, see what it feels like.

It's a shame I can't work on stretching my legs

 

[nelmsjer]

It's a shame I can't work on stretching my legs

You don't get karma for being able to chew your toenails with straight legs, bud.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 2, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 81kg (178lb)

Front Squats (kg) (1x5)
bar x 2 x 9 ......... warmup
35 x 5 ........... up 5
40 x 5 ........... up 5
45 x 5 ........... up 5
50 x 5 ........... up 5
55 x 5 ........... up 2.5 ............ (121lb)

Deadlift (kg) (1x5)
SLDL 40 x 9 ....... warmup
60 x 5
70 x 5
85 x 5 ............ up 5
95 x 5 ............ up 5
115 x 1 .......... straight grip couldn't hold it, reached for the chalk...
115 x 2 .......... chalk and hook grip, dropped it with a massive bang on 2nd rep, lol
115 x 5 .......... up 5 ....... straps, dammit ....... (253lb)

Military Press (kg) (5x3)
bar x 9 .............. warmup
30 x 5 ............... warmup
35 x 3 ............... warmup
40 x 5 x 3 .......... up 1.5 ......... (88lb)


Comments

I'm enjoying going heavier with front squats. The only trouble is, even when I have the spotter bars at their lowest setting and I'm standing on 3 layers of plywood, the spotter bars are still too high (that's you cue, nelmsjer ). The bars are just about ok for back squats, but not fronts. Maybe I ought to work out in 70's platform shoes.

I hate having to resort to straps, but I ended up doing so on deads today. It sounded like my whole house shook when I dropped one of the top sets at 7:03am, lol.

Military was ok, hard enough but not too hard.

I'll do pullups tomorrow.

 

[carlsuen]

y don't u try mixed grip on your deads? nice w/o btw..

 

[asdfzxcv]

Good workout as always,front squats are tricky at first,but you will get used to racking the bar on your shoulders after a while.After a bit of practise you should be able to do 70-80% of your back squat weight fairly easily.Just remember to keep the elbows up and body fairly straight.

Good luck

 

[nelmsjer]

OK, here we go. I have been summoned. LOL!

Do you have either a picture, a model number, or description of your squat rack? Can you...ummm....just walk out of it and do your front squats outside of it, or is it a cage? Can you take the spotter bars completely out? I ask because both my wife and I ran into the same issue, yesterday. We had not done front squats in months, and it was the first time using the squat rack at the gym. We both dropped into our front squat and basically set the bar on the safety pins. So, we walked out of it completely, did our set, and then walked forward to place the bar back on the supports. Hopefully my description makes sense.

Hmm......see if you can get me a picture or model number, and we'll figure this out.