Q&A – 15

Posted on by

I hope everyone had a good week. It’s PR Friday so share your training PR’s or updates. This weekend also includes two of the last three relevant football games of the football year, so feel free to discuss (Justin Smith ftw).

Operation Shankle
Don’t forget that Donny Shankle will be making a real shot at making the Olympic team. My friend Jacob Tsypikup had the following to say about Donny: “I can say that he is a tremendous person to be around: a former Marine and veteran of the Iraq war, a fierce competitor, and inspirational merely through presence.” Donny has made countless sacrifices in order to be a weightlifter in the past ten years, and recently he’s even moved in with his coach Glenn Pendlay to save even more money. If you have a few doll hairs to spare, donate them to Donny; I know he will appreciate the support very much and make us proud.
Donate to Shankle
Shankle’s Website (store with products included)

This picture comes up when you Google image search "Shankle"


The Arnold Sport Festival
I think that ‘the Arnold’ will be a really cool experience since it’s a celebration of competitive events. This will be the first “70’s Big Meet Up” that isn’t a workshop, so I suggest you attend. Mike and Chris will be competing in the raw powerlifting event, I’ll be going, and Brent will be going. It’s also where this year’s senior nationals are for USA Weightlifting, and Donny Shankle will be trying to make the Olympics (which will be very fun to watch). There’s also all kinds of cool shit like strongman events and a pro deadlift challenge (which will also be neat as shit). Plus at least 20 other sporting events and that doesn’t even consider the expo itself (where tons of “fitness” or sport celebrities will be present) and the second biggest bodybuilding show of the year.

If you’re concerned about the cost of travel or hotels, then use the comments to see if anyone else near you is interested in going. We can help each other car pool or share hotel rooms and we can meet at certain events, restaurants, and bars. It will be tons of fun — I guarantee it. Because if it isn’t, I’ll make it fun by asking Derrick Poundstone what color his undies are.

Follow the jump for the Q&A.

The following question concerns borderline pointless banter regarding the SOPA blackout this week. Since I don’t want to spam you down, it’s merely optional reading.

[spoiler show=”I like popcorn.gifs” hide=”That was boring”]

jayroc Says:


I’m just confused as to the distinction you make between protesting about this, and the “Occupy” movement. Protesting is gay until you happen to agree with the cause?

Dear jayroc,

This is a valid question, even if I think it’s easy to see the distinction. First, I want to point out that I never said protesting was stupid, “gay”, or any such thing. When the “Occupy” stuff was dominating the news (and when I mentioned it), protesters were merely staying in spot without a goal. They weren’t doing anything and weren’t waiting for any specific thing to be done. They had a vague thing they wanted to be changed, but went about it like hippies who complain about “the man”. The SOPA protest had a very defined purpose: stop the bill(s) from passing. The end result is quantifiable. However, I considered it more of a way to raise awareness in order to stop the quantifiable result. You could argue the Occupy stuff raises awareness for…whatever you think they are raising awareness for, but when it was popular in the news they didn’t have a specific and quantifiable objective.

Lastly, all of the protesting I saw on January 18th helped people to go DO something in order to stop SOPA. Occupiers are occupying; that’s it. If I kidnap a famous person and am asked what my ransom is, and I say, “Ooga booga,” then how is anyone supposed to know what to do to get the person back? Realistically this is all moot anyway, because stopping SOPA was just a skirmish; the real war continues. [/spoiler]

criedthefox asks:

[spoiler show=”Show Brian having an ephiphany” hide=”Could have been better”]Justin,

lets say the length of my femurs are the same as yours, and the length of my tibia was the same as yours,ie our legs are same proportions. HOWEVER…let’s also say that your torso was about 3 inches longer than mine. You LB squat, I HB squat. Would our back angles be similar? or am i leaving something out? physics is a little foreign to me at the moment (currently taking a physics class in college though). But I get that the difference between HB and LB has a lot to do with the back angle created by the bar placement. But i also get that the difference for most in placement of the bar is roughly 2-3 inches…. with that little of a difference, how is a persons anthropometry not the most important factor in bar placement/type of squat to use.

I say this because I HB squat, yet I feel I still use considerable amounts of hip drive and I don’t feel my body being as “upright” as one might think a HB should. I have a short torso.

all that being said, I do understand that if i were to LB, that would shorten my moment arm even further, creating an even smaller angle at the hips thus amplifying the qualities in a good LB squat. But i guess what I’m asking is, is it possible for a HB squat to resemble a LB squat/involve more posterior chain than it “theoretically” does, due to a persons build?

I know this belongs to the squat discussion from earlier, but I just thought of it now.

also, feel free to kick me in the dick if I ever see you in person if this question is stupid as shit… as I said physics is one area of lifting I have yet to fully comprehend.[/spoiler]

IF, IF, IF, my logic is correct, and someone with a short torso is LB squatting, is it possible for that person to be TOO posteriorly dominant in the squat, therefore requiring assistance exercises for the quads, in the same vein that theoretically a HB squatter requires say an RDL to make up for the anterior dominance of the HB squat.

TL;DR: He’s asking about squatting mechanics with different torso lengths, his feeling of hip drive on HB squat with a short torso, and asking if someone can be posteriorily dominant.

Dear criedthefox,

There are a few reasons why someone should be kicked in the dick, but asking a question about squatting mechanics isn’t one of them. First, if we had the same body dimensions, yet my torso was three inches longer, my squat would be vertical. Theoretically the bar still needs to remain over the middle of the foot, and a shorter torso will require more inclination to put the bar in that position than a longer torso, regardless if they are both considered longer torsos. The change in this hypothetical example may be negligible, but there would be a small degree of difference in angle. You can test this with a ruler. Place two dots on a piece of paper three inches from one another. The longer torso represents the tip of the 12 inch ruler while the shorter torso represents the six inch mark on the ruler. Make the bottom of the ruler sit on one dot, and lean the 12 inch tip so that it is vertical over the second dot; see how vertical it is? Now make the six inch mark learn so that it is vertical over the second dot; see how there is significant inclination. With other body dimensions constant, the longer torso will be more vertical, even if it’s only marginally longer.

Since you say you have a short torso, I can assume you have more forward inclination than someone with short femurs and a long torso. As a result, you will likely have more posterior chain involvement, especially if your mobility limits you from getting vertical. A lack of mobility in the ankles, knees, and hips can reduce how vertical someone is in a high bar, front, or overhead squat. Since you feel more posterior chain involvement, I will go ahead and assume that you don’t have great mobility (stretch your ankles and external hip rotators next squat session and see if it changes anything). To answer one of your questions: yes, the high bar squat can resemble a low bar squat if the person has long femurs and a short torso along with poor mobility. In contrast, a low bar squat can also have high bar mechanics if the person is too vertical.

Lastly, it’s possible that someone can be too dominant in their posterior chain, but highly unlikely. Instead, what we see more is that increasing quad strength can help the low bar a bit, but that doesn’t mean they were necessarily weak in the anterior. Since the posterior chain is much more important in athletics and movement (via hip extension), I’d rather see someone with a bias towards the posterior as it signifies solid hip and lower back structure as well as strength. There are many successful athletes that have gotten by with weak posterior chains; the question is whether or not it promoted specific injuries more than had their posterior chain been stronger. However, if someone was interested in Olympic weightlifting and primarily low bar squatted, then they will need some kind of vertical squatting to develop their “anterior chain” to be successful. When I was transitioning into weightlifting, I squatted around 500 low bar and my first few front squat sessions were around 315 to 335, yet I worked it up to around 400×2 (to give you an example).

Josh asks:

One of my legs seems to be a little bit longer than the other, which apparently isn’t super rare(?). It’s not a big difference, but at times I can feel it enough to be sure.

I’ve just added light RDL’s (135#) to my programming as a assitance lift (I’m doing 5/3/1) and trying to use correct form based on resoures such as 70sBig and Rip’s video on the SS website.

My problem is I feel I am hitting the hamstring on the longer leg a lot more than the shorter leg. I’ve played around with my form and taking a wider stance and/or wider grip on the bar seems to allow me to spread the load more evenly, but I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not wrt getting the most benefit out of the lift. Is this approach OK? Any better ideas?

I’d assume that it’s best to spread the load evenly across both legs/hamstrings as much as possible, but on the other hand, perhaps when I am squatting and deadlifting this same uneven distrubution of load is occuring and therefore the “dominant”(?) hamstring needs to be stronger? Is that crazy talk??

Dear Josh,

Since one of your legs is longer — which isn’t uncommon — you did well to try and distribute the load. However, it probably isn’t evenly distributing that load since you still have a short leg. You’re merely finding a new foot position that makes the structures feel as if they are trained evenly. Instead, find a shim that is as close to the difference in leg length as possible under the shorter leg. That way your shorter leg will be even with the longer leg and you can use a normal stance. At Rip’s gym we used pieces of rubber floor matting (they were probably 18″x18″x3/4″). You typically want the mat to be at least twice the surface area of your foot so it doesn’t slide on the floor as you’re lifting (which will result in either death or a torn scrote). You should probably use it on squat and deadlift too, since those will be even more affected by your leg difference. The worst case scenario is that you load your hips and spine weird over time and develop tightness in one side of your back.

Reader track also pointed out that leg length differences can also represent pelvic weirdness (rotation, tilt, etc.) and he recommended a chiropractor. This is a good idea to confirm if your legs are different sizes or if it’s a pelvic difference.

Maslow asks:

So say you are on a 3- or 4-day per week program. You get extremely sore and are experienced enough to know that you absolutely will not be able to work through it to complete your scheduled training, so you do a quick light day. Do you return to the gym the very next day to attempt your scheduled work from the day before, or take a day off?

Dear Maslow,

I’d probably take a day off and consider making the next training day lighter than it was supposed to be. If you’re just sore, then think about why. Not enough protein and not hydrated well? Not good sleep? Just came back from a layoff (if this is it, then you did too much too soon and need to use the easy progression up)? Diagnose why. If you are just mysteriously sore, then you probably have too much shit in your program. If you’re on a TM, and are mysteriously sore, then look at the volume day(s). Soreness is information that is relevant to track in your log, and if you don’t know why it’s there then you may be doing too much.

Note that the “quick light day” probably should occur on a normal training day as opposed to doing it on your rest day. In other words, I probably wouldn’t have you do this:
Training Day
Normal rest day — fucking sore, go to gym and do light stuff

Instead, it would be this:
Training day
Normal rest day — note overwhelming soreness
Normal training day — adjust session to account for overwhelming soreness. This means if you didn’t plan to squat, and your quads or groin are blown up, then do some light squats. If you were supposed to squat heavy, warm up and if you’re structures are too damaged to lift heavy then hit some light squats and move on.

jarhead316 asks:

I suppose this ties into this topic but, I am going on vacation for about two weeks from late February into March. When I return how should I approach my training?

Should I do a GPP approach w/non eccentric conditioning the first week with moderate volume & low intensity? Definitely need some insight on this as I do not plan on doing any heavy squatting or pressing/pulling.

I will be in Europe so maybe walking and body weight exercises will be utilized to maintain some level of fitness.

Dear jarhead316,

If you’re going to have a high tempo European vacation, then don’t worry about extensive training. Hit some push-ups, pull-ups, or body weight squats when you can, but don’t take significant time from seeing Europe in order to “train”. It’s still just body weight shit and it won’t be accomplishing a whole lot (unless muscular endurance is a goal, but still you shouldn’t sacrifice seeing Europe for that). If you have a lazy type trip (where you aren’t bouncing from city to city) and are intending on training in some cool places outdoors, you could do sprints, plyo jumps, and burpees (note that plyo jumps are NOT conditioning).

But your question was for your return. If you primarily like to lift with some conditioning added in (which is my assumption?), there’s not reason you can’t lift on that first week back. However, as the Repeated Bout Effect post suggested, just do a light day. Two or three sets of five with warm-up weight with squat, press, and maybe deadlift will give you a nice little stress that won’t be damaging. Then if you want you could do some conditioning after that (since a few light sets should only take 15 or 20 minutes). The second session two days later can be similar, but a bit heavier weights, and the third can be similar with medium weights. The following week you should be good to work up to a bit under where you left off, then the second workout of the second week should be where you left off. If you do it that way, you’ll feel revitalized through the progression instead of feeling like ten pounds of pounded asshole.

Also, since you won’t have a systemic lifting stress during your vacation, your metabolism will receive a nice spike after that first lifting session. You’ll feel better if you do it this way. Contrast that with doing too much and you’ll only depress your system, which is an invitation to the gout. Yeah, you’ll contract the gout; it’s weird, I dunno.

Andre C. asks:
It seems to me as sedentary people age they complain more about soreness throughout thier bodies, could the repeated bout effect be working here at their level of deconditioning causing soreness with extremely low work intensity?

This is because sedentary people are adapted to very little. As they age, they further adapt to a lack of stress. Compound that with a shitty diet and the downward health spiral continues. The Repeated Bout Effect just states that doing a bit of work will produce an adaptation so that subsequent work doesn’t induce as much soreness. The aging sedentary person isn’t doing anything whatosever, therefore anything they do will make them sore. I wouldn’t say the Repeated Bout Effect is relevant, since it more so relates to a purposeful act of training, but we could say that something more than what they are adapted to is the first step of the Repeated Bout Effect. In other words, climbing three flights of stairs induces a stress the sedentary/lazy person isn’t adapted to that makes them sore, but technically — as with all stresses — it’s something that the body will try to adapt to so that the next time they do it, it will be easier and cause less damage.

Instead, think in terms of what the person’s current state of adaptation is with respect to the stress they impart on their body. “Stress” can also be “a lack of stress”. This is why a sedentary or older person’s muscles atrophy and bones decrease in density; those structures aren’t experiencing a mechanical stress that would maintain or increase their strength and density, so they weaken because of not receiving stress. That’s why it’s so important for old people to exercise. For my grandma, exercising might be standing up and sitting down ten times in a row. For others, it might be walking for ten minutes. When the application of stress stops, so does any positive adaptation.

50 thoughts on “Q&A – 15”

  2. Justin do you guys have a hotel picked out for the Arnold? I’ll only be coming down the Friday night, hanging out for the day Saturday and then driving back late Saturday night so it would be cool to meet up with some people on Friday night after we roll in and grab some drinks at the hotel or something. E-mail me if you don’t want to announce it in the comments, or just ignore me if I’m too fat to hang out with you or something, I can take it.

    No, dude, we’ll hang out. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours with hotel info. Prob post it on the Fan page so you will definitely see it.

    –Justin

  3. Justin,

    Thank you so much for your insight. I will definitely go with this approach. Its going to be interesting as to what I should do because I am leaving just as I finish Sheiko #37 (Boris Sheiko PL program). I may need to do redo a cycle after I go through the phase that you recommended.

    Again, thank you so much. I definitely do not want to overwork my self after two weeks of heavy drinking in London, brownies in Amsterdam, and being annoyed by weak 90’s skinny Parisians.

  6. I’m driving from Boston if anybody’s interested.

    I gave up caffeine this week in an attempt to save myself 1000/year at Dunkin Donuts. It’s going surprisingly well.

    I’m also down ~7lbs since the beginning of the year. 7lbs away from 75kg at long last.

    No real lifting PRs to report, but my jerks actually look good for a change.

  7. Squatted 500X 3. I had planned on 485, but this chick im seeing that’s really into 70sbig guys sent me some pics and told me what she was gonna do to me if I doubled 500. Amazing what a motivator that was.

  8. Thanks Justin & also track and sdanleyjr for your helpful responses. I’ll organise to see a Chiro to at least get examined. I definitely get a tightness in one side of my lower back after pulls and squats. Static hangs from a chinup bar and rumble rolling the lower back relieves this tightness but seems to just be a temporary fix.

    I’m not scared of dying, but the threat of a torn scrote strikes fear deep in my soul. Thanks for the warning Justin.

    PR’s this week:
    DL 400×10
    Push-press 165×6
    SQ 340×10

    Would really love to attend the Arnold but can’t afford the plane ticket from Australia at the moment. If I was at least on the same continent I’d be there. Damned physical space…

  10. A comment from Pendlay on the 70sbig FB page, should really get some more attention on the main site:

    Glenn Pendlay: He is really training well right now. You might be interested to know that Allison Bishop has promised to supply the 70’s big blog with an exclusive video of her maxing her clean and jerk in what she described as a “rather small bikini” if donations to Donny’s website (donnyshankle.blogspot.com) top $2000. We are currently at $1450. One of the big reasons Donny is coming on so strong right now is that donations and financial support are allowing him to rest and eat like never before, so he is able to train like never before. Any of you who have already donated have definately contributed to the progress he has made recently. I would like to say thanks to each and every one of you who has made what he is doing possible.

    I e-mailed Allison to confirm today, but this applies. Will probably do a special Saturday post, assuming she answers.

    –Justin

  12. Prs- 110 double clean 1 jerk. 85Sn 2rm- bodyweight times two chyeah! Clean, 2Front Squat, 2Jerk complex 105 kg.
    Justin, I am in the dc area and I really want to go to the seminar but I think I gotta wait till next payday, which should be monday, to do this thing. Is it filling up super fast or you think there will be a spot for me? Also, since I am doing primarily and really only olympic lifting, do you think the seminar will offer utility for me? I am assuming it will because I dont know jack about programming and I think that I am routinely smashing my dick into the ground with training (but I keep progressing). Also I think I am crazy quad dominant and I think my squat is a piece of shit as well. (Maxed on 170 BS and 140 FS This week) Yeah it should be helpful I think.
    Also, got a usawl membership and entered into the baltimore open on Feb11 and 12. Anyone else lifting there? This is my first comp and it would be nice to have a handler or least somebody to hang with. I have a pretty good idea of what my openers will be, but I would appreciate some guidance.

    1. I’ll hold a spot for you for the workshop.
    2. I coach the high bar squat and front squat if people want those looked as well, so we can correct that portion. Saturday also includes a lot of mobility stuff. We also clean, so I can take a look at that too. Depending on how things are going, we can look at the jerk and snatch. RDLs are usually covered, which are good for weightlifters.
    3. Let’s get some info to help you out for the meet. What do you routinely snatch and clean and jerk (stuff you can hit with no problems)? Is there a point where when you get heavy that you start missing quite a bit (i.e. if you miss 50% of snatches above 90kg). What is the most that you’ve recently snatched and clean and jerked?
    4. Anyone going to that meet?

    –Justin

  13. Thanks for answering my question.

    PRs:
    I will finish my 12th week of a Hepburn program tomorrow.
    Squat: 375 4×1; 310 3×3
    Bench: 285 5×1; 240 4×3
    Deadlift: 415 8×1; 335 5×3

    I was able to come back from last week when some of the debilitating soreness like that discussed in the last post (caused by working long hours and therefore losing sleep) caused me to miss squat and press reps–and almost shed a tear from trying to lift anyway–to set PRs this week. I took an extra rest day and ate a lot of food over the weekend to fix the issue.

    I wonder if there will be opportunities to lift weights recreationally at the Arnold? At Octoberfest you drink beer, so it seems like at Arnoldfest you could lift weights. It’s 5 weeks before my powerlifting meet so I don’t want to miss any training for any reason even if it’s for the best event ever.

    Mirage PR: I was driving down Route 1 in Alexandria, VA last weekend and saw a sign for a Great American Steak Buffet. I got so excited that I almost drove my car into a tree. I made a U-turn only to realize that the sign says Great American Steak *and* Buffet (these guys http://www.greatamericanbuffet.com/). So near yet so far.

  15. Shitty week recovery wise. Got 2-3 feet of snow out of nowhere this week and I can’t find a ride to the grocery store so I’m living off of rice, bacon and beans right now.

    Did finally suck it up and start trying to learn cleans correctly after watching how Pendlay teaches it.

    Almost back to 315×5 on squats. Hoping to get up to 350-365 before stalling (on a modified SS).

  16. justin,

    thanks for the response, though you slightly lost me at the mobility part. do you have a previous post to point me to or can you maybe just clarify how ankle/knee mobility effects back angle? I thought back angle is determined mostly by the bar needing to be over mid foot. I can no doubt obtain a vertical back with my ass using the floor as toilet paper and my feet flat on the ground with no muscle or joint feeling stress…AS LONG as i am holding on to something to stay balanced because this position does not put my center of mass over the mid foot.

    therefore, i am confused.

    JustiN: If you can’t do this with a bar on your back, then your mobility is limited. Can you stay as vertical as mechanics will allow with a bar on your back, or do you have more inclination due to a lack of mobility? If you have tight ankles, then the tibia can’t move forward (which is dorsiflexion in the ankle) very well. If you have tight hips (which includes the sacral/lumbar area), then it’s hard to have a vertical torso while the knees are out and forward (they will be more forward than the low bar). For example, Mike has a short torso and long femurs, yet he can high bar and front squat because he has the mobility to do so (he doesn’t currently have a video for comparison with low bar, but I asked him to take one).

    Also, I think you may have missed the part where i said that if your torso was longer by about 3 inches and you squatted low bar, and i squatted high bar, the distance from hip to bar would be roughly the same, therefore I would assume our back angles to be roughly the same. Furthermore, AFTER i wrote you this question, i received my new copy of SSBBT3 in the mail and noticed a picture explaining my question by way of a stick figure diagram, in which sir rippetoe of texas has two different low-bar squatters, with two different anthropometries, and two different back angles, which he refers to as “both correct low bar squat positions”. looking at that picture, if you move the dot representing the bar up to high bar position on the fella with the shorter torso, and then draw his back angle changing to bring that bar over his mid foot, it is still hardly vertical, maybe even still the more horizontal of the two back angles.

    Justin: I don’t know what your point is here. You’re referencing the low bar now. Anthropometry will dictate what is “correct” given a mechanically efficient squat or deadlift. This statement is still true: for two lifters using the same squat style with the same exact body dimensions EXCEPT for the torso length, the longer torso’d lifter will have a more vertical back angle assuming no mobility limitations. You apparently compared the images in the book with two different lifters with varying body dimensions. I can’t compare them because I don’t have the image to look at, but you can’t compare their back angles to prove/disprove this point because they could have varying shin, thigh, and torso lengths.

    Also, I’ve already stated that your high bar may emulate another person’s low bar because of your anthropometry and maybe a mobility limitation.

    I guess my point is, if anthropometry, mobility, stance can all vary enough, a 2-3 inch difference in position on the back is not enough to standardize a “type” of squat for all athletes. In saying this, i DO NOT count out the fact that as you say its very hard to be posteriorly dominant, so in any case, LB seems like the “safest” suggestion for a trainee to get the most out of his/her posterior chain.

    now. i must go eat a steak.

    Justin: I’m not following where you’re going with this (I’m slow, we’d probably get this squared away in two seconds in person). Were you originally trying to determine the best type of squat for all athletes? I don’t know what you mean by saying the LB is the “safest”. My assumption is that since being posteriorily dominant isn’t a bad thing, and being weak in the posterior chain is a bad thing, then you’re saying the LB should be the go to squat to prevent posterior weakness? Because I agree with that statement in most cases.

  19. Arnold:
    I’ll be at the University Plaza Hotel, which has a shuttle to the actual venue and is the USAPL hotel of choice. I’ll be arriving Thursday, leaving Sunday. Theres an awesome Mongolian bbq place within walking distance of the convention center, I plan on going there after my lifting is over on Friday.

    PRs:
    Pause Bench – 400 (terribly disappointed in myself for being a pussy), will do 405 tonight

  21. PR – Bench 205lb 3×5

    That’s it for now. My lower back is feeling better. I’m only at 190lb squats for sets right now, working my way back up to where I left off before injury (295lb 3×5).

  22. @Justin- 90 for snatch and 110 for clean and jerk are weights that I can hit all day for no problem. I really feel that I have never actually maxed out witha good bar and my technique right now is the most limiting factor, which I have been dialing in a lot over the last few weeks. Most I have ever hit was 95 and 120. which was in the same training session a couple of weeks ago and then a few weeks before that I hit 118 and 95. I normally train at home with a non-spinning 30 mm york powerbar so when I use a wl bar, I almost always hit a pr. I was thinking of going 90 and 110 for openers, then going up 5 and 7 kilos respectively on my second attempts, then going for 100 on the snatch and over 120 for the last clean and jerk.

    To summarize, your plan is
    Snatch
    1 – 90
    2 – 95
    3 – 100

    CJ
    1 – 110
    2 – 117
    3 – 120

    Your best ever snatch is 95, so based on how the second goes, you can make a decision on the third. 5kg jumps are pretty standard for beginners, but don’t be afraid to make just a 3kg jump to the third attempt (for 98). Let’s say you hit your opening snatch and something is weird, but you get it, then you can go to 93 or 94. Assuming all goes well, you can go 97 or 98 and still come out with a PR and 3/3.

    As for CJ, the 7kg jump is weird, especially if you’re wanting to hit 120 on the third. You’re better off just making 5kg jumps so it’s even. If your second attempt is unnecessarily difficult via a 7kg jump, and you only wanted to make a marginal jump after that, then take a smaller jump, crush the second, and feel good going into the third.

    But your plan is not a bad one.

    –Justin

  23. Justin,

    Ok that cleared things up in terms of mobility and I actually was thinking about it while i ate my steak and understood what you meant. I am not going to try and stretch before squatting to check my mobility only because I am forced to HB right now and definitely am not looking for a vertical back angle.

    My second paragraph is a bunch of irrelevant garbage, because i agree with this quote:

    “I’ve already stated that your high bar may emulate another person’s low bar because of your anthropometry and maybe a mobility limitation.”

    As for my third paragraph, and our apparent matched slowness, I was not trying to determine the “best type of squat for all athletes” …rather trying to fabricate a point that there should be NO standard “type” of squat for all athletes, because differences in anthropometry and mobility sometimes change back angles within the range of the difference between the HB and LB position. Does that make sense, shit, i fucking suck at explaining myself.

    PLUS, my use of the word “safest” was HORRIBLE when speaking of weightlifting. I did not mean safest as in “less dangerous” I meant safest as in “most efficient choice” or as you put it “go to squat” to assure posterior chain development.

    Finally, i confess some of these thoughts I’m having are a piece of me trying to “justify” that I HB squat because I feel like a second class citizen. It’s like we’re living in a Low Bar world and I’m an outkast. I’m like a non smoker in a ’50s high school, a non acid user at woodstock, i’m like a black man in south africa, i’m wearing floaties to a diving contest, i’m the little strip of vanilla pudding in between two thicker layers of chocolate. this is not a good look for me.

    1. I knew you didn’t mean “safe” to mean “less dangerous”, but I still wasn’t totally clear earlier.
    2. There is nothing wrong with high bar squat. I still suggest you mob in general so you don’t end up having a strain/pull as a result of not doing (pretty common).
    3. It’s always funny to talk in a serious manner to the guys who joke around in their posts a lot. That was the case when Brent and I started talking to Stankrom cause his avatar was a big black guy, so we assumed he was a big black guy.

    –Justin

  25. Been reading the site for about 3 months now and going to try to start posting somewhat regularly.

    Two big PRs for me this week:
    185 lb snatch and 235 lb clean & jerk

    Going to go for a 5RM squat PR tonight at 325 lbs.

    Welcome!

    –Justin

  28. Doing Dr. Hartman’s Movember program.

    Squat: 295x3x5

    I feel huge at my gym, but fat and weak on here. Fixing that so I feel huge here too…

    Why do you feel fat and weak?

    –Justin

  30. I’m lifting by candle light, and drinking from a horn. A real horn. Fucking winter storm. At least I have a fireplace to keep warm.
    My illiotibial band is still fucked, so week 3 of no squatting. That’s a PR for blowing major dong.

  31. hey guys! it’s been ages since i posted…

    very excited about my pull up with 25 lbs on the belt.

    competing in the black box gym meet at the end of february. will keep you posted.

    still struggling to consistently have quality training sessions now that i’m back in the classroom-clinic-lab. trying to stay positive. sorry i cried at the gym again yesterday.

  32. Personal PR’s today:
    – DL: 415×6
    – Bench: 275×3

    As for the vacation question, I had a lot of fun squatting while on vacation in St. Thomas this past month with a bikini-clad woman draped over my shoulders. There are many ways to pick up women, but only a few 70’s big ways!

  34. Oh my, the school rec center finally opened! This is big time, people! I squatted yesterday from the rack, with safety bars, on its own dedicated platform! What!
    Now I can finally resume progress on my squat numbers.
    3×5 @165#, then a set of 3 @175#, which is technically a volume PR at that weight.
    Also, witnessed some of the most atrocious form and ROM on squats and deadlifts, IN MY LIFE! It’s hard to watch, so I just have to put the blinders on and do my thing. Maybe I can just lead by example or something. Maybe.

    Also, also, I’m thinking of getting some Nike Romaleos from Rogue, as they are are on sale now, and they are sexy as hell. For those of you that have them, how are they? Thanks.

  36. Echo,
    Before you buy Nike whatthefucks, do you have some Rogue Do-wins? I couldn’t care more about a mesh condom than what you care of being sexy in Nike what-Evers. Get some respectable lifting shoes, and when you reach respectable numbers, you will have insight on these subjects. Is not that big of a fucking deal.

    I have some friends that were unhappy with their Rogue purchases. Nike’s are seemingly overpriced, but people are happy with them. Original question person needs to search as this has been asked countless times before.

    –Justin

  37. @Behemoth: I’m with you. I was supposed to squat 220 lbs x5x3, but it came out as 220 lbs x2,3,3,2,1. I tried to hit all 15 reps, but I just flamed out. I think, when it gets heavy and I do a rep that’s a little ugly, I start looking at my knees to make sure they’re moving out, or something. Need to stop that. I’m going to retry 220 lbs tomorrow, and thanks to Justin try mobing my ankles a bit first, to see if that makes it feel any smoother.

  38. @kittenSmash: No I do not have Rogue Do-wins, nor any other type of respectable lifting shoes, but thank you for reminding me of the them. I feel like I can be sexy in those too.

  42. @justin- just bought my pass to the two day dc seminar and I am looking forward to it. I will come prepared with questions galore, especially about programming. I lift on a wack schedule in a short time frame and I wanna get strong as hell- oh yeah I am jose on the paypall thing

  43. Second on the Romaleos. I’ve talked to people who have used both, and the Romaleos win out over the Rogues. Especially if price isn’t too much of a consideration.

  44. Deadlifts went well for me today.
    Read the chapter in SS:BBT 3rd ed this last week, so I had a lot of knowledge fresh in my head. Kept my mind focused on the initial knee extension and keeping the bar against my shins and the rest pretty much took care of its self. All of my pulls felt ‘shorter’ than last week, even though the weight was (slightly) higher. 5×285#, super cool.
    As for shoes, the Do-wins are $119, and the Romaleos are $149, so not too much more expensive. Thanks all for the advice. I’m sure either way I’ll be digging the new set up.

  45. Late to the game on this one. But I decided to MAKE A BETTER DECISION and delay for a day. This week’s PRs:

    DL: 235×5
    Bench: 125×5
    C+J: 125×1.

    I’ll feel like an adult when I can successfully jerk some 45 lb plates.

  46. No hate towards Shankle, but is there any reason why we aren’t wishing equal love or support to Kendrick ferris? Only have seen a mention here and there.

  47. PR’s:
    315 DL
    6 Dead Hang pullups (Sad, but gotta start somewhere right?)

    In other news, my 70’s BIG shirt came in the mail and I repped it hard at the gym yesterday.

    Booyeah.

  48. patsloan – Glenn has known Justin for years, and contributes to this site, so we have a preference towards supporting his guys. Also, Shankle doesn’t bomb out all the damn time. I think everyone here respects Kendrick, but…it’s Donny Shankle. I mean…c’mon. It’s Donny fucking Shankle.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.