Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
super_rice
New member
hey guys, i'd like the introduce myself 
i'm pretty new to weight training. i don't really have any experience with the science end of lifting, and all i know is basically from what i've been doing the the past while. i'd really appreciate any help i can get.
first off, i'd imagine you guys would need some background info.
i'm 16, i started lifting in feburary of this year when i was 15 in the makeshift weight room at my school for ten bucks a semester. i trained from feb until june, stopped for two months, and now have been doing it since september.
i started off at:
5'7, 135lbs / 13% bf
30" ish vertical
110lbs benchpress for 10 reps, dumbbell chest press with the 30's
30-40 squats with bodyweight, 5-6 chinups, 45lbs preacher curl for 4-5 reps (very strict, pretty slow movement)
44lbs leg extension (10 reps)
9.71s shuttle run, 30-40 single calf raises with bodyweight, 15lbs standing dumbbell curl, 30lbs tricep extension
3.2km run in 15minutes
260lbs ish inverted leg press
i am now at
5'8, 153lbs / 10%bf
35" ish vertical
165lbs bench for 3 reps, 196lbs 1RM, dumbbell chest press with the 50
30-35 front squats with a 70lbs barbell, 10-13 chinups with 20lbs added on bodyweight,
121lbs leg extension (10 reps)
63lbs preacher curl for 6-8 reps x 3 sets, 70lbs tricep extension for 8-10 reps
60-70 single calf raises with bodyweight for 3 sets
360lbs ish inverted leg press for 5 or 6 reps
there are other exercises but unnecessary information isn't good right?
i have no routine; right now just lifting until failure and then some, going home to stretch, eat, and sleep, and then waiting until that muscle group is not sore anymore to lift again seems to be working fine. i do a set of slow negatives for almost anything that can be "negative'd" - benchpress, all the leg stuff, all the back stuff (db rows, chins, seated row), and the preacher curl.
oh my, do i love those leg extension negatives, BRING THE PAIN!
right now i'm trying to bulk, since i'm tried of being scrawny. i play a lot of sports, most notably volleyball. right now it's the off season so i don't have to worry about overtraining since there aren't any 5 day a week practice sessions.
SO. now that the above is out of the way, i'll let the flood of newbie questions begin.
i don't deadlift, i don't squat, i don't do any olympic lifts (what can i say, they freak me the hell out).
about squatting:
i do not have access to a rack where i can do this, because my school gym sucks ass and goodlife is $89 CDN a month. however, i've got a free membership for awhile, so i want to blast these quads into oblivion.
my goal is to improve my vertical (the volleyball net only gets higher, whereas i have stopped growing), but also to put on some size, as my chest is begining to make my legs look small. also, i wouldn't mind having a j-lo ass from these squats. er, and it would be pretty stupid for me to bench more than i squat haha.
i've tried the assisted squat machine thingy once before, and it did not feel good. i kept banging the bar thing into the safety hooks. was it because my form was all wrong or because the machine is fscked somehow? on the way down i tried to keep my head looking up and my back arched, but the front of the bar i couldn't get to go around the safety hook without curving my back (that made it hurt, i've got a bad lower back). i'm a bit reluctant to hop on the real thing and go squat without anything to save my yellow ass when the shit hits the fan...
how far should i lean forward when squatting (actual squatting, not with the machine)? i find when my upper body is 45 degrees or so to the floor i can keep the best balance (this was the bar and the dinky 25s on the sides when the phys ed teachers weren't lookin haha - they are tight about me wanting to do this for some reason), but the assisted machine and that squat article tells me otherwise? i'm supposed to keep straight. i have trouble staying on my feet when my back is straight up - i fall backwards.
should i do sets with different foot positions? like a set narrow and a set wide?
about deadlifting:
i have a bad lower back. it has since gotten much better (lots of back extensions and such), but it used to be agonizingly painful when i'd bend over, similar to the way you have to bend over when doing a dead lift. is the deadlift actually supposed to work that movement or do i have something wrong? the information at asylum strength is good, but their articles are without pictures, and their descriptions are over my head.
can deadlifting be done with a regular olympic bar and plates? will the bar get all messed? that rubber flooring is in the school weight room, but i dunno if it's safe to be tossing them around.
about benching:
i'm really proud of my 196lbs 1RM, even though it may not be much. 205lbs coming down (or going up for that matter) in the next few days! however, the weight that i am able to do changes depending on my technique, how much i arch my back, etc. my 1rm was done with the small of my back just above touching the bench, and the middle of my back about two fingers width (maybe 2-3cm) off the bench, everything else on top of the bench. so basically it looks like i'm trying to make my chest look huge, as if i was standing up at attention, except i'm lying down. is this right?
i am aware of the too much arch thing, and i do avoid it. however, when not doing 1rm (which i only do for kicks... and er, when the chicks are around - i'm in high school, what can i say), i put my feet up on the bench. i've been told this keeps my everything flat on the bench. this makes the lift much much harder, as i can only 1rm like 180 in this way.
is this a good idea to do the "actual workout" when my back perfectly flat and not arch slightly? or is it ok to arch slightly?
also, i'm told to keep my hips on the bench. how much of hips are supposed to be on the bench? like my entire pelvis? if so, i won't be able to arch in the slightest bit.
regarding my "sticking point". for me, it's the mid point. when i went for 196lbs, the bar when off my chest no problem, then fucking stayed at the midway point for the longest time, i thought i was just holding it or something. then when it finally moved maybe a total of half an inch upwards, the bar almost flew out of my freakin hands.
how can i strengthen the sticking point? some say it's good to work that point only, some say that's dangerous. wtf to do?
locking out. when you lift the bar off the pins/clips/holders whatever they're called, do you lockout before you bring the bar down or just take the bar off the clips and then bring it to your chest right away? i lift the bar off the clips, hold it for a sec to get a feel, then bring it down, but i see many, many guys go right into the reps... does it matter which way you do it?
i've had a rotator cuff injury in the past. i've been told not to bring the bar so far down or else i put my rotator in danger. usually, i bring the bar down to just a bit off my chest (like 1/8 of an inch), and then push back up. the pt, as well as trainers i've met from other schools and gyms say this, but i experience no problem bring it all the way down, and it feels like i get a proper workout bringing the bar down. is what i'm doing safe?
is there a "standard" speed to do a rep? i try to do it in a controlled manner, except with the 1RM, where i just press it up, hold for a sec, rep it, and throw it back onto the clips. like, i retain tension when coming down with the bar. i see a lot of people almost drop the bar down the their chest like i try for a 1rm, and then do the positive movement. does it matter? again, i feel like i get a better workout doing it slowly, but if it doesn't really matter, then i'll scrap it.
so uh, for now, that's it. i'm leaving to go try some more squats, will post more later! ANY help on any of these questions is greatly appreciated. thanks, and happy lifting!
i'm pretty new to weight training. i don't really have any experience with the science end of lifting, and all i know is basically from what i've been doing the the past while. i'd really appreciate any help i can get.
first off, i'd imagine you guys would need some background info.
i'm 16, i started lifting in feburary of this year when i was 15 in the makeshift weight room at my school for ten bucks a semester. i trained from feb until june, stopped for two months, and now have been doing it since september.
i started off at:
5'7, 135lbs / 13% bf
30" ish vertical
110lbs benchpress for 10 reps, dumbbell chest press with the 30's
30-40 squats with bodyweight, 5-6 chinups, 45lbs preacher curl for 4-5 reps (very strict, pretty slow movement)
44lbs leg extension (10 reps)
9.71s shuttle run, 30-40 single calf raises with bodyweight, 15lbs standing dumbbell curl, 30lbs tricep extension
3.2km run in 15minutes
260lbs ish inverted leg press
i am now at
5'8, 153lbs / 10%bf
35" ish vertical
165lbs bench for 3 reps, 196lbs 1RM, dumbbell chest press with the 50
30-35 front squats with a 70lbs barbell, 10-13 chinups with 20lbs added on bodyweight,
121lbs leg extension (10 reps)
63lbs preacher curl for 6-8 reps x 3 sets, 70lbs tricep extension for 8-10 reps
60-70 single calf raises with bodyweight for 3 sets
360lbs ish inverted leg press for 5 or 6 reps
there are other exercises but unnecessary information isn't good right?
i have no routine; right now just lifting until failure and then some, going home to stretch, eat, and sleep, and then waiting until that muscle group is not sore anymore to lift again seems to be working fine. i do a set of slow negatives for almost anything that can be "negative'd" - benchpress, all the leg stuff, all the back stuff (db rows, chins, seated row), and the preacher curl.
oh my, do i love those leg extension negatives, BRING THE PAIN!
right now i'm trying to bulk, since i'm tried of being scrawny. i play a lot of sports, most notably volleyball. right now it's the off season so i don't have to worry about overtraining since there aren't any 5 day a week practice sessions.
SO. now that the above is out of the way, i'll let the flood of newbie questions begin.
i don't deadlift, i don't squat, i don't do any olympic lifts (what can i say, they freak me the hell out).
about squatting:
i do not have access to a rack where i can do this, because my school gym sucks ass and goodlife is $89 CDN a month. however, i've got a free membership for awhile, so i want to blast these quads into oblivion.
my goal is to improve my vertical (the volleyball net only gets higher, whereas i have stopped growing), but also to put on some size, as my chest is begining to make my legs look small. also, i wouldn't mind having a j-lo ass from these squats
. er, and it would be pretty stupid for me to bench more than i squat haha.i've tried the assisted squat machine thingy once before, and it did not feel good. i kept banging the bar thing into the safety hooks. was it because my form was all wrong or because the machine is fscked somehow? on the way down i tried to keep my head looking up and my back arched, but the front of the bar i couldn't get to go around the safety hook without curving my back (that made it hurt, i've got a bad lower back). i'm a bit reluctant to hop on the real thing and go squat without anything to save my yellow ass when the shit hits the fan...
how far should i lean forward when squatting (actual squatting, not with the machine)? i find when my upper body is 45 degrees or so to the floor i can keep the best balance (this was the bar and the dinky 25s on the sides when the phys ed teachers weren't lookin haha - they are tight about me wanting to do this for some reason), but the assisted machine and that squat article tells me otherwise? i'm supposed to keep straight. i have trouble staying on my feet when my back is straight up - i fall backwards.
should i do sets with different foot positions? like a set narrow and a set wide?
about deadlifting:
i have a bad lower back. it has since gotten much better (lots of back extensions and such), but it used to be agonizingly painful when i'd bend over, similar to the way you have to bend over when doing a dead lift. is the deadlift actually supposed to work that movement or do i have something wrong? the information at asylum strength is good, but their articles are without pictures, and their descriptions are over my head.
can deadlifting be done with a regular olympic bar and plates? will the bar get all messed? that rubber flooring is in the school weight room, but i dunno if it's safe to be tossing them around.
about benching:
i'm really proud of my 196lbs 1RM, even though it may not be much. 205lbs coming down (or going up for that matter) in the next few days! however, the weight that i am able to do changes depending on my technique, how much i arch my back, etc. my 1rm was done with the small of my back just above touching the bench, and the middle of my back about two fingers width (maybe 2-3cm) off the bench, everything else on top of the bench. so basically it looks like i'm trying to make my chest look huge, as if i was standing up at attention, except i'm lying down. is this right?
i am aware of the too much arch thing, and i do avoid it. however, when not doing 1rm (which i only do for kicks... and er, when the chicks are around - i'm in high school, what can i say), i put my feet up on the bench. i've been told this keeps my everything flat on the bench. this makes the lift much much harder, as i can only 1rm like 180 in this way.
is this a good idea to do the "actual workout" when my back perfectly flat and not arch slightly? or is it ok to arch slightly?
also, i'm told to keep my hips on the bench. how much of hips are supposed to be on the bench? like my entire pelvis? if so, i won't be able to arch in the slightest bit.
regarding my "sticking point". for me, it's the mid point. when i went for 196lbs, the bar when off my chest no problem, then fucking stayed at the midway point for the longest time, i thought i was just holding it or something. then when it finally moved maybe a total of half an inch upwards, the bar almost flew out of my freakin hands.
how can i strengthen the sticking point? some say it's good to work that point only, some say that's dangerous. wtf to do?
locking out. when you lift the bar off the pins/clips/holders whatever they're called, do you lockout before you bring the bar down or just take the bar off the clips and then bring it to your chest right away? i lift the bar off the clips, hold it for a sec to get a feel, then bring it down, but i see many, many guys go right into the reps... does it matter which way you do it?
i've had a rotator cuff injury in the past. i've been told not to bring the bar so far down or else i put my rotator in danger. usually, i bring the bar down to just a bit off my chest (like 1/8 of an inch), and then push back up. the pt, as well as trainers i've met from other schools and gyms say this, but i experience no problem bring it all the way down, and it feels like i get a proper workout bringing the bar down. is what i'm doing safe?
is there a "standard" speed to do a rep? i try to do it in a controlled manner, except with the 1RM, where i just press it up, hold for a sec, rep it, and throw it back onto the clips. like, i retain tension when coming down with the bar. i see a lot of people almost drop the bar down the their chest like i try for a 1rm, and then do the positive movement. does it matter? again, i feel like i get a better workout doing it slowly, but if it doesn't really matter, then i'll scrap it.
so uh, for now, that's it. i'm leaving to go try some more squats, will post more later! ANY help on any of these questions is greatly appreciated. thanks, and happy lifting!
i don't want to fat to pile on, so... whaddaya mean don't worry about eating clean? and thanks, you live to encourage people, i can see from your other posts haha. thanks 
