Q&A – 28

PR Friday

As always, post your training PR’s and updates to the comments. Last week I set a goal for everyone: “meet your daily protein intake with primarily meat; only allow 25 to 50g of whey protein for your daily allotment.” Did any of you do it? It requires a bit more planning to eat mostly meat, but it’ll put better quality protein into your body instead of insulin-spiking whey. Something to think about.

Next week’s goal: Aim to do heavy farmer’s walks at the end of at least two of your training sessions next week. Next Friday you’ll post your weight and estimated distance.

Weekly Recap

Monday we celebrated Memorial Day and paid tribute to those that have sacrificed their own freedom or life to preserve American way of life. Tuesday we reviewed why it’s such a good idea to compete and looked at how one of the female 70’s Big readers did so successfully. Wednesday continued a much needed discussion on mobility and put an emphasis on a tool called The Stick. Thursday I traveled and just posted the pictures that veterans sent me on Memorial Day (in case you didn’t see them on Facebook or Twitter).

When I was in Australia I met a guy named Dayne who runs a fitness/bodybuilding YouTube channel. He interviewed me for his site at the Aussie fitness expo in Sydney. I remember not being funny enough.

Q&A

CONTINUE READING

willey asks:

Also, after reading what you said about the low bar grip causing elbow pain. Is that because your shoulders are in a similar position as if you were benching with the bar to your throat, and thus a really shitty position? I realize that it’s necessary to keep the bar tight on your back, but what constitutes a “good” and “bad” low bar grip (besides obviously the one that doesn’t hurt). Thanks.

Dear willey,

The reason why people often can’t get into a good low bar grip position is because it puts them in significant internal rotation. This would require the internal rotators to go through that ROM, but it would also be dependent on the external rotators stretching to that extent as well. It would also depend on other muscle groups like the rhomboids and middle traps, and could even affected by the serratus anterior and lat areas. In any case, shoulder mobility is necessary for a good low bar rack position — so much so that the low bar can often cause more problems than it is worth in some types of trainees.

The reason that the elbow receives stress is because the shoulders aren’t mobile enough to put the hands on top of the bar. Instead, the bar pushes down in the palm (usually with bent wrists), and the downward force pushes the entire arm down. It’s easy to see why the medial elbow would receive the brunt of that force since they are on the bottom of the elbow in that position. The result is pain in the medial elbow that will best be alleviated by stopping the thing that causes the stress; the low bar grip.

Whether or not the low bar is “superior” is dependent on the goals of the trainee. To summarize this article, if you’re powerlifting use the low bar; if you’re weightlifting, use the high bar. Otherwise it doesn’t really matter. If you’re weak in the posterior chain, the low bar will probably help a bit, but so will properly executed RDLs and good mornings. If you have chronic pain in the elbows or shoulders, you aren’t a pussy for changing your squat style in order to work on your mobility. That’d just be a smart decision. Why use a squat grip that is debilitating to other lifts?

ksik10 asks:

Justin, you’ve talked a lot about different kinds of equipment, be it mobility, lift enhancers, or standard gear lifters should have, all of which has been very helpful.

Kind of moving in the opposite direction however,
what would you say would be the least equipment necessary for a novice lifter to run an effective program, and for how long would you expect that novice to be able to progress without additional investment?

Dear ksik19,

I’d say that standard necessary gear are shoes, a good belt, 3 lacrosse balls, a green band, and a PVC pipe. The mobility stuff can be obtained for pretty cheap (aside from the band), and the shoes and belt will last a long time. Even lower quality shoes (like VS Athletics) will still last at LEAST 18 months (I’m on a second pair and they have lasted over 2 years, though I will be getting higher quality shoes soon). The belt will be kind of expensive, but it should last at least 5 years, and more like 10 years (just size it correctly).

You can view equipment HERE (page needs to be updated, but it’s mostly good).

Sam C. asks,

Just a quick question about tapering for competition. Two weeks Last Friday I hit a 162.5 kg squat for three. Due to shitty shift work,lack of sleep food etc I struggled with 160kg for 2 Friday just gone. My competition is one week on Wednesday, 6th June. I feel my confidence has been shattered. My goal was to have a kick ass squat of 400ib. Not sure what to do now as I’m 10 days out. Current body weight is 100kg. My other lifts pulled 210kg for a double. Benched 135 touch n go.

Dear Sam,

Take a deep breath. Relax. You didn’t get weaker in a week’s time, you were merely under-recovered given your work and sleep schedule. You already know this because you already told me that. So settle down.

As for your taper, I would have you do some moderate singles on the squat and bench today (Friday) but not deadlift. Pretend like you’re going up to your openers. On Monday you’ll do a very light workout of some triples or so on squat and bench; no more than 60%. Then compete on Wednesday with conservative openers and don’t make crazy jumps. In the mean time, eat and sleep very well and stay hydrated. Eat more meat than normal.

As for your openers, I’d probably have you open squat at 160 or 162.5. I don’t know your meet history so I’ll say don’t make more than 10k jumps. On bench you’ll probably want to open at 120 and make 5kg jumps to finish at 130 (you could aim to finish at 132.5 if you wanted, but I wouldn’t expect you to hit 135 paused if you only did it touch and go). Actually, if you have no experience pausing, then you probably should open even lower. Plan accordingly. Deadlift could go 180-200-220 if you wanted to take your last warm-up on the platform, an intermediary jump on the second attempt, and then the money shot on the third.

All of this, of course, is based on almost zero information. Factor in what you know, but don’t try and be a baller and make huge jumps. I’d rather you hit a third attempt and feel that you could have done more than miss it and feel like a shit head.

Nick asks,

TL;DR
During the summer I like to run around a lot (his message says he plays random team sports 2-3x/week) and I am struggling to fit weightlifting in. My goal is to the extent possible, not lose muscle mass/swolertrophy. Will complexes twice a week help me accomplish that, and what other options do I have, if any?

Dear Nick,

Yeah, you can really do anything you want. You can still get decent progress lifting twice a week. For example:

Day 1
Squat
Press

Day 2
Bench
Deadlift or RDL

You could tack on pull-ups or a barbell complex on either or both days. You don’t have to lift in a way that is nut-busting. You don’t have to do a maximal 3×5. Most people lift the heaviest weight they can deadlift for 3 or 5 reps. This won’t work in most non-powerlifting programs, and it will just tire you out for your sport fun. There’s no reason these workouts should take more than 30 minutes (45 if you’re doing a complex too). They’ll help with body fat percentage given the hormonal effect from systemic training and it will maintain or improve your lean body mass.

The only thing in your way is your willingness to do it. You have a good set up that many people avoid because they feel it would hurt their lifting. You don’t have to act like them and avoid something; merely adjust your schedule to pull it off.