Finding your weaknesses in the 3 core lifts

[ZZuluZ]

Hi all,

Could somebody give me a low down on how to identify your weaknesses for the Bench, Squat and Deadlift? For example, if you fail at the begin of your bench then you've got to improve your lats, etc.... Can you also find your weaknesses from other lifts? Lets say I give you my military press, BOBR, can you tell me if my shoulders or lats are the weakest link in my bench?

Thx,

-Zulu

 

[Scotsman]

It would be extremely difficult without seeing you lift to help you identify weakpoints. With your example of chest if you have problems at the bottom it could be lats, or chest. Shoulder don't factor in that much at the bottom. There could be a combination of problems causing a weakpoint. You just have to train really hard in that range of motion in order to strengthen it.

 

[ZZuluZ]

Let's say I said:

I can bench 145.
Military press 95.
Bent Over Barbell row: 130 aprox. (or 50 pound dumbells about 5 times)

Can you tell if either my shoulders or lats are a weakpoint?

BTW, from what I've read, it seems as tho shoulders are very rarely a weak point. It's usually the tris and lats, right?

See the problem I have is that I routinely fail at the same parts in each lift. With my DL it's not the lockout but a few inches before that. It flies of the ground. Sumo style btw.

With my squat it's not right of the box (very low) but about 6-7 inches off the box. Using a wide stance, btw.

I've got no idea what my weakpoints are knowing this.

Thx guys,

-Zulu

 

[1-dawg]

You sound like you are pretty new to this. For right now, don't worry about weak points, just work on getting your lifts up. You will get stronger by accident. It appears you are using westside stuff, just follow the basic temlate and you will be fine. You can isolate weakpoints later. Trust me, you can follow that blindly and make gains. That was told to me by Dave Tate and it has really worked for me. I can tell you this, sicne you are new, you lats and tri's are weak in the bench. For for your sq and dl, your glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors and abs are all weak points. Focus your attention to these areas. For the bench, work on getting yoru board presses and floor press up. For the squat and dl -- good ams are king on max effort days! It is important to really hit the speed hard on your speed days.

 

[BigWh1tey]

improved GPP is probably what you really need check out this article :
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls14.htm

and if you like that try this :


http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/dtate.htm

 

[ZZuluZ]

I've already read all the articles

The reason I ask is because I was using the Westside Barbell Method (for like 2 months) after about 3-4 months of bodybuilding. Problem is.... my gains were LESS when training with max poundages. It just stalled, especially my BP. I think it's because I used 90% of my 1RM too many weeks in a row (and I felt like I was overtraining) , but now I've made my own routine which is a combination of bodybuilding and powerlifting.

In reality I was just curious about the physiology behind it, not because it's overly useful to me now. Maybe when I bench 300 these details may gain more importance, but knowledge is always power, so any additional information is welcome.

Thx a ton guys

-Zulu

 

[BigWh1tey]

Most sticking points are actually range of motion before the bar stops ( the range in where you lose strength/bar speed) so if your stuck at the top pf the DL for instance pin pulls starting just below that range of motion will probably help .

How long have you been weight training ? ( it looks like about 5-6 months ) .

only 10% or so of your reps should be above the 80% range.

 

[ZZuluZ]

Ok, what you're saying makes a lot of sense, I'll try to incorporate that. What about my bench..... which fails near the begin ?


" How long have you been weight training ? ( it looks like about 5-6 months ) . "

Yeah about that, I took a month vacation off in the middle of that, but that seems about right.

" only 10% or so of your reps should be above the 80% range."

Very interesting. Does this mean PL on Max Day only do 3-4 sets? Could you elaborate on this?

Thx a ton man,

-Zulu

 

[BigWh1tey]

"What about my bench..... which fails near the begin ?"

More concentration on speed work (dynamic bench) , triceps and Lats work in the same plane as bench .

you should be doing anything but regular bench for your MEM (eg. close grips, board press , floor press , jm press etc. ).

If you buy the " westside seminar video " the manual includes a 8 week beginner program that will get you into the swing of things .

Ive been doing 7-10 sets for my MEM on max effort day , the number of sets i do depends on if im going for a single record or a rep record , and how i feel . Today i did close grip 2 board presses 1x45#x8, 1x135#x8,1x225#x5,1x275x3,1x315x3,3x365x2,1x405(failed),1x385.
next week i'll try to set a new 1 rep record.