Q&A – 41

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If only he squatted…

PR Friday

Post your training updates and PR’s to the comments. More importantly, tell us how you are joining the fight for La Revolución de Pantalones Cortos! The fight for the right of manliness! (source)

Weekly Challenge

Last week’s challenge asked you to “Learn about a specific muscle group that gives you problems in training. Learn how it functions as well as what you can do to improve the problem.” Share your findings in the comments.

Next Week’s Challenge: If you do not own a pair of short shorts and you qualify to participate in The Revolution, then buy a pair. Proudly wear them. Report your experience in next week’s Q&A comments.

Week In Review

Monday was a bullshit government holiday called Labor Day, so there wasn’t a female post. Tuesday was a post about Lance Armstrong and PEDs. I started the article by talking about Armstrong because I felt bad, but I think my opinion has changed on him. He’s allegedly a dickhead who still used drugs when he was told not to, and then lied about it. I still think overcoming cancer and fundraising hundreds of million dollars are redeeming qualities, but I guess I’ll file this into the, “He’s a dickhead who does some nice things” category. Wednesday talked about the benefits of foam rolling as part of a warm-up and how using a hard foam is usually better than PVC.

Finally, Thursday, WE STARTED A REVOLUTION. Read about The Short Shorts Revolution

Story Time

Yesterday in honor of The Revolution, I wore my short black shorts and a black tank top with shoes out into public. This is standard ops for short excursions, yet for longer trips I usually wear shorts with pockets and a belt. I think the site of a guy in short shorts with shoes is particularly alarming to the public than a guy in flip-flops. I guess it’s because such a guy made a deliberate decision to go out in that attire instead of just easily throwing on some flip-flops. Make no mistake: you will receive stairs when you do this. Assuming your shorts aren’t dangerously short (to show ass cheek or scrote), ignore these stairs and proudly go about your business. Most of the In-N-Out customers were wearing pants, but their stares didn’t register on my “give a fuck” meter. Because we’ve got a god damn Revolution to run, that’s why.

Q&A 

ashkanjah sent 16 hours ago
Hello, Justin. I’m currently going through the archives of your website, and it is incredibly informative and inspiring. I am in the middle of linear progression after a bout of fuckaround-itis. I weigh 156 pounds. I am 17 years old. I made a bet that I could become 190 pounds by March 4th. I am eating at least 5 or 6 hamburgers, innumerable bananas, a pound and a half of wild salmon, and half of a chicken every day (I take psyllium husk, creatine, and vitamin-d. Fish oil rarely if I run out of money for salmon for a few days). Please tell me this is not only possible, but with a strong devotion to constantly performing compound lifts, it will be mostly muscle. On a side note, you have convinced me that a belt and shoes are practically necessary tools despite how much lifting barefoot feels badass. But how often do you use the belt? Every time you train? Thank you very much, and sorry if I’m bothering you.

 

Dear ashkanjah, 

I’d be pretty impressed if you were eating that much. How much is this bet worth? It’s entirely doable to reach 190 by march; people have gained much more in much less time. I don’t know if you’ve read the recent dietary advice on the site, but it revolves more around a “meat and potatoes” regimen and is modeled after the paleo diet (with the occasional allowed splurge).

That being said, you have two strategies: a) get to 190 ASAP or b) steadily gain quality weight and see where you’re at in the beginning of 2013. In the latter example, if you were, say, 10 or 15 pounds under, you could just do a dirty bulk for a period, hit the 190 weight, collect your winnings, and then clean it up and reduce your body fat.

You have plenty of time before March 4th, so distribute the necessary gain per month and stay consistent with that. Most of all, be sure to train consistently.

As for the belt and shoes question: training efficiently and safely is more important than subjectively feeling like a badass. “Badass” is squatting 500+ pounds weighing 190 pounds, not squatting 250 pounds barefoot at any body weight.

P.S. I, like most people, wear a belt on work sets. I don’t wear one during snatches, but I do when front squatting or clean and jerking. Sometimes I do for rows. Presses, squats, and deadlifts, I’ll wear one.

 

Hey Justin-

I’ve noticed more so lately that I tend to be extremely quad dominant in my squatting (my FSQ #s are basically equal to BS, primarily HB squatting) and feel like I am having trouble activating the hamstrings on those lifts.  I’ve partially attributed it to some ankle mobility and inability to stay in my heels, do you have any tips for making sure I get the full utility out of the hamstrings in those lifts?
Thanks, Roy

Dear Roy, 

First, it sounds like your front squat frequency is pretty high relative to your high bar frequency (or you have some technique limitations). I’d make sure you’re high bar squatting twice as much as you’re front squatting. Second, when people use vertical styles of squatting I like to have them put in a heavier posterior chain exercise, and the best for this purpose is the RDL (Good Mornings can’t be loaded as heavy). While I amusingly get mocked for the high frequency of RDL recommendations, they are extremely beneficial for people that are more in the “beginner” stages, as Roy is (I’ve met him before, he trains at CF East Decatur with my homie Shana). Third, if you’re having trouble staying in your heels, then I want to double check that you’re wearing lifting shoes (I assume so).

Fourth, make sure that you’re working on your ankle and hip mobility. If you don’t have the mobility to hit proper positioning, then you won’t have proper muscle activation. Work on your ankles, anterior hip, and external rotators (ask Shana if you’re at a loss). Lastly, the two most important fundamental cues for vertical squatting (high bar or front) are “knees out” and “heels”. If you are not maintaining either of those, then reduce the weight so that you can do so. If you’re allowing your knees to bow in on the ascent, that’s not training the musculature correctly and, in the long run, will be worthless. You can also think about keeping your weight on the outer third of your foot — this cue can help effectively bring in the external rotators and prevent the knees from coming in.

Hey,
I’m curious what your thoughts might be regarding pre & post op exercises for a herniated disc surgery. I’ve got a herniated L5-S1 disc and a bulging L4-L5 disc. I’ve been working with my chiro for several weeks in the hopes that the herniated disc would start to move back into place, but no such luck. It looks like surgery is unavoidable. It was recommended that I focus on ab and stability work going into the surgery to help lessen the load on my spine coming out of the surgery. Do you have any recommendations for pre and post op ab or stability work that might benefit? This will be my second discectomy, and I don’t want to do this again. I’m looking to get my torso as strong as possible to avoid any future disc problems.
–Jonathan

Dear Jonathan,

This is a fuzzy topic since it’s a bit out of my forte and it seems to be a reoccurring issue. Primarily listen to your doctor, because I don’t have all of your information in front of me.  Right away I have two assumptions: a) your mobility is not good and b) your lifting technique is not good. I would start daily mobility work on your anterior hip, external hip rotators, and rotational based mobility. Also hit up any other areas that you know you are lacking in (potentially thoracic spine and ankles); other areas can cause problems whenever you do start to lift or exercise again. If you think your mobility is bad, then it’s probably very bad, and I would have you work on it twice a day.

As for your lifting technique, you’re gonna need to find a good coach. If you are not currently lifting (due to the injury), then you can still do some basic stuff like planks, side planks, Pallof presses (google it) and possibly some torso rotations. Even if you do not want to or can’t squat or deadlift, I would think you could still do light RDLs.

I’m actually surprised surgery is the only solution. It’s not uncommon to have disc issues (some folks aren’t even aware of it) and I’ve had some people come back from herniated disc, didn’t have surgery, and squat and deadlift easily over 225×5 (this person was a female). However, that is dependent on quality coaching and proper technique.

As for post-op, do the standard approach of taking it through a full ROM when you can, lightly load it (this would be body weight initially), and then when ready, start with light, properly executed lifts. I can’t really be more specific without seeing you in person.

My name is Zach. First off, I’d like to say that i appreciate your posts, they’ve helped me out a lot with my training and have granted me a lot of knowledge. I’m writing to ask for help on a recent issue I’ve been having with the lateral side of my gastrocnemius. My issue is that in the bottom of my full squat, I’m experiencing slight pain and numbness in my left calf as I ascend upward. It spreads from the knee down to above the ankle on the lateral side. I don’t have any pain other than when I’m in that position. I tried to do some research to the best of my abilities and what i found that described the symptoms the best was intermittent claudication, a peripheral artery disease that is common in runners. This however seems a little intense of a diagnosis, I’d like to not jump to an extreme conclusion nor be a hypochondriac. Have you had any experience with this problem, or can you think of a simpler diagnosis?
Thanks for your time,
Zach P

Dear Zach, 

Thanks for the kind words and I’m glad the site has helped you. Point blank: I don’t think you have a peripheral arterial disease. You would probably  have a host of other symptoms other than “I have pain down my leg when I squat”. Instead, this is probably a nerve issue.

The sciatic nerve is the major nerve that travels down the back side of the thigh. It then splits into the tibial and peroneal nerves. The peroneal nerves travels by the lateral head of the gastrocnemius (your indicated area), winds around the head of the fibula (the lateral bone in the shin), and then travels down the leg splitting into superficial and deep nerves on the lateral (outside) part of the shin. It’s actually hard to get a good picture of this, but this pic shows you how the tibial and peroneal nerves split (this is a pic of the left leg, the split on the left is the peroneal nerve). You can kind of see how it travels down the outside of the shin in this pic.

In any case, when you’re going into full knee flexion, you’re probably clamping down on that peroneal nerve and just reverberating pain down your shin. A friend of mine in the Army has a similar thing going on, and he has recently dealt with a lot of sciatica pain (RDLs helped make this go away, by the way). Anyway, my suggestion to both of you is that you should “mob” above and below the knee, especially below it. If you have some tight, inflamed, and swollen tissues, knee flexion would press into the tissues which would press onto the nerve to create your pain. The following video is what I recommended to my friend, and it is a good starting point for you:

108 thoughts on “Q&A – 41”

  1. Squat 370 x 3
    Bench 280 x 3
    DL 410 x 3

    The weather is starting to turn pants-y around these parts, but I should be able to go short shorts a few times next week. I regularly wear above-the-knee length mesh shorts, but I guess its time to give some free anatomy lessons to the public.

  3. No PR’s yet, just transitioned to the texas method from 5-3-1.

    Used Amazon Prime to order a pair of short shorts for $9.99, also got a few tanks (all I own are fitted wife beaters) so we’ll see how this plays out. They should be arriving today.

  4. On the way home yesterday I picked up a pair of USMC PT trunks at the Navy Exchange. They were not as short as I hoped. My legs are too small and I am to fat to pull it off anyway, so they will remain in my drawer for motivation.

    PRs:
    I missed 280lbs for 3×5 on Monday and Wednesday, but I got that shit this morning.

    Pressed 155lbs for 3×5, I used the “elbows in” AC mentioned and my left shoulder is thanking me.

    Deadlifted 295lbs for 1×5, I am starting to get more comfortable with heavier (for me) deadlifts.

    There is a poster on the wall at the gym with muscle groups on it. I learned I have something called an erector spinae. Then I giggled.

  5. Big PR yesterday. Did the Canadian Forces Army Ironman. 50km event broken down into 32km on foot, 4km canoe portage, 8km canoe, and another 6km on foot all with a 40lb rucksack. Finished 10th out of 180 on the completion day with a time of 7hrs 28min 34s

      • haha thats how we do. I did a bunch of stuff to train.
        stayed with the powerlifts using wendlers 5/3/1 with the assistance work. this was usually followed by a short circuit (tire flips, rope pulls etc). when I had opportunity I would go for a canoe up to 1hr following this.
        2x a week I went for ruck marches 20km+ and added in a canoe portage at the end up to 3km pre competition
        This would all vary depending on my work schedule as we were in the field quite frequently.
        The final two weeks prior to the competition I was on vacation and got in quite a bit of training.

  6. Yoked 720 for 25ft – which is mediocre, but a PR – but I can now hit 650 for 80ft any day of the week at a decent clip, so thangs are improving.

    Pulled 495 x 7 and got in battlefield mode where everything went silent despite the surrounding chaos.

    brb wasn’t able to find a cool back-to-school button-down clown & skull shirt at walmart in my size.

  7. Axle deadlift PR – set of 5 @ 197# My grip has been slowly getting stronger, although I’m sure the athletic tap that I wrapped on the bar is doing a good portion of the work for me. Either way, onwards and upwards.
    I’ve lost some respect for Magnum PI though, he seriously needs to investigate a squat rack.

  8. Squatted 355×5 for 3 sets on wednesday (PR is 370)
    Tied my PR press of 165×5
    Deadlifted 295×5 easily (changed up my form so that it isn’t a straight leg style)
    Zercher squatted 305×5 (taking a break though since its bothering my hip)

    I am hosting a short shorts party tonight (funnily, I made the event last weekend on facebook), so I should have some awesome pictures to post up by tomorrow of myself. I will then be going to the first WSU football game in the morning wearing nothing but short shorts and getting drunk at 10am.

    And then, on tuesday, I’m going to San Francisco for a college study tour until the following sunday. I plan on wearing my shorts out in public most days. I feel like the gay men staring will be hilarious.

    Also, this picture of Tom Selleck is better

    http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0432/files/Tom_Selleck_-_short_shorts_grande.jpg?100735

  9. No PRs this week. The knee is feeling better from stupidly hitting it into the coffee table last Thursday. But I do feel good enough to squat tonight.

    My only sort of kinda PR is since my last round of measurements roughly 12-14 weeks ago, I’ve put on 1in in girth in both thighs, hopefully I’ll glisten when my short shorts come in. Can’t wait.

  10. Squat: 415×2
    Bench: 255×1

    Made a few mistakes this week. Did volume squats on Tuesday and then did RDLs on Wednesday. This did not bode well for Intensity squats today. I also let my Bench volume weight get too far away from intensity weight. 205x5x3, 255 (80%).

  11. No PRs this week (steadily moving back to my old numbers), but did some sledgehammer work this week for conditioning. I always forget to remember how much fun sledgehammer work is.

    • I was idiotic enough to spend $50 a piece for 4 pairs of these a few months back. that stupid video of theirs lured me in. if you’ve ever done a squat in your life, chances are they won’t fit you (or they’ll fit and feel like really uncomfortable boxer briefs). I can’t imagine those things lasting for longer than 5 wears, either.

      sold them on eBay recently for like $80 each while they were out of stock on the website. one of the pairs actually sold for nearly $100. fucking score.

      • Mine are basically skintight. I can wear them just fine for anything but squats. Now I’m tempted to buy some and resell them next time they come in stock.

        They’re actually a lot higher quality than any other shorts I’ve owned. The only thing I can see wearing out is the crotch from my thighs rubbing

  17. Hi,
    I’m 8 weeks in to Starting Strength, and haven’t lifted seriously before now since 1997. I’m WAY overweight and lifting to get into shape. So, My PR isn’t what a lot of you are posting, but, considering, I’m pretty stoked.

    This week, amongst the rest of my program, I deadlifted 290 for 5. That’s my bodyweight.

  19. PRd (today)
    Squat 125kg 5x3set
    Power Clean 80kg 3x2set then sprained my f**ing wrist so now im handicapped! S***T! Pissed of right now..

    4 weeks in to starting strength and feels good though I think i’m eating too little..

  21. i was wearing shorts when i hit 190kg x 3 on squat, i learned about my hamstrings, well my inner side of them got pretty tight and painfull – reason was my low bar squats were to wide and i was going to low, these two were killing my rebound and i muscled up everything causin gorin and hamstring problems…

    81,2kg x 1 -PR yet i hoped to hit 3 . had problems with lockout.

  22. No real PRs this week. Well, no real barbell PRs. Only doing lower body lifting on weekends, I basically go moderately heavy on squats and deads and leave it there. This week did 275×8 squat and 365×8 deadlift. Nothing amazing, but it’ll help maintain.

    DB Bench: 75×8,8,10 (PR is 12, but I’ve never done multiple sets before). Going to go light next week. My stabilizer muscles seem to be catching up and aren’t limiting my DB bench like they were three weeks ago.

    Lat Pulldown 200×16- PR was 8 two weeks ago. I’ve noticed pullups are getting easier so something is paying off. Got kinda burned out after that PR 2 days ago though.

    Pushed really hard on upper body for three weeks, so deloading next week. Should hit 75x3x10 next cycle, then I’ll increase weight. Still making progress, albeit not with barbells.

    Also, today 5 guys in my gym were all comparing weight. I weighed within 5 pounds of all of them but had around 4 inches extra in my quads. Revolutionary shorts inbound soo.

  27. I’ve been rocking short-shorts all summer. I call it wearing “Grown-ass man shorts” or getting my “grown-ass man on”.

    I hit a snatch PR: 85kg

    In terms of last week’s challenge:
    I can’t seem to clean and jerk well because of pain and range of motion issues with the rack position. I’ve been seeing a chiro regularly because I have a left-right leg length imbalance (torqued pelvis) which lead to back issues. I’m progressing nicely however the left-right leg length difference has created cascading issues up and down my kinetic chain. One of those problems is that since my left leg is shorter my left scapula is “elevated” because my body has attempted to maintain some balance. My chiro said I need to work on my lower traps and my subscapularis in order to get my scapula to be pulled down. I looked into exercises and face-pulls, band pull-aparts, and DB external rotations seem to be in order.

    My question is how do I know if I’m doing them right? I’ve tried doing Y-T-L-I’s and I just can’t seem to feel them correctly. Do you have ideas for progressions?

  29. PR: 103 kg (226 lb) snatch. Baby, baby. However, I don’t know what the next milestone between 225 lbs and 315 lbs should be… 250? 120 kg? Oh well, just gotta keep at it.

    • Hey, another PR: 115 kg rack jerk from the front, which is the closest I’ve gotten to my C&J PR of 120 kg. My best behind the neck rack jerk is 130 kg. Lol.

  30. All of my 3’s week for my month 1 wave of 5/3/1 were rep PRs!

    Squat- 255×10
    Bench- 185×10 (Also did my week 3 workout on bench last night and got 195×10!)
    Deads- 285×12 (Got mad cause after my 10th rep the plates were sliding off cause the clips suck at my school gym)
    Press- 110×6
    Cleans- 140×10

    Loved the short shorts article. I played soccer growing up with larger than life quads and hammies (compared to those i grew up with), so I am no stranger to showing off the tree trunks. This article has inspired me to invest in even more pairs though. Swag.

  32. OHS = 155 x 3
    Squat Clean = 185 x 3

    I have some USMC PT shorts I may have to wear around, but may come off as a little too motivated. Ill look into getting a new banana hammock to wear around.

  34. I’m a week out from my meet, the Stoneage Invitational in Johnson City, TN. So, this week has been focused on hitting my potential meet attempts. I think it is likely that I will open at 65 on the snatch. I went 60, 62, 64, 66 Wednesday and Thursday and then 60, 63, 65 today. I need a 150 QT for the AO, so my C&J opener is going to depend on what I snatch. God, how I would love a 70 snatch so that I can open on C&J with 80…

  36. More PR’s this week, coming to the end of the cycle…

    Squat: 350×3
    Press: 160×3 and 175×1 (getting close to BW press ~94%)
    DL: 375×3

    I have 3 herniated disks and 4 bulging disks and I would avoid surgery at all costs. I’m 46 and only lifting for 2 years and none of these happened lifting– probably started when skateboarding (and falling)– and I’ve had them for years and years.

    It seems to me that unless completely unavoidable, you don’t let people cut you with a scalpel, especially near your spinal cord. My pain is fairly minor, but even folks that are laid up for weeks avoid surgery.

  37. First time posting a PR. TM for approx 1 month after starting to fail at LP. Easing into it. First attempt at a new weight. Squatted 120kg for 5, right knee a bit wobbly on the last 2, but otherwise good. Previous 1RM was 125kg in my crossfitting days, and that was ugly as fuck. Ill hopefully lift that next friday for 5.

    Also cannot fit into my suit (due to eating + LP + TM) for a wedding I have to attend in 7 days. Can I wear short shorts?

  38. PR’d my Press 135x3x5 today
    Just transitioned my squat over to TM from Starting Strength today. Fridays will be my Volume Day. Thanks for the books, Justin! They’ve been a huge helping in deciding how to proceed as my squat stalled out on the LP. I read Practical Programming, but it did not give enough detail on the TM. Bench and Press are lagging behind due to a shoulder injury early in the LP, but making steady progress now. Sticking with an LP on them until they both stall, as recommended in the book.

  39. SS Progression:

    Bench 130x3x5
    Press 105x3x5
    DL 270x1x5
    PC 135x5x3

    Gained 3 lean pounds as well.

    Finished all of the 70’s Big back log posts going back to September 2009. A lot of great stuff on here!

    As for last weeks challenge, I discovered it is either my extensor carpi ulnaris tendon or my extensor digiti quinti tendon that is aggravated and tight during and following cleans and snatches. Though not a “muscle group” per se, it is what seems to be a problem in my lifts. Wrist stretches and trigger point work seem to help.

    Also one-hung my climbing project twice this week. A few more tries should do the trick!

  40. No PRs, still working back up from the three week layoff I had and my bothersome shoulder, which is almost completely pain free by the way. I benched for the first time in a while yesterday (just 135) and though it felt weak it wasn’t painful and feels fine today.

    Also my The Big Stick arrived this week as well as 5 more lacrosse balls so I can have two taped pairs for mobbing my t-spine (one set at home, one at the gym). Anyone have advice on taping them? I can’t decide if I should use athletic tape or electrical. Also I ordered The Trail Guide to the Body. Looks I’m going to have some new toilet literature.

    So here’s where I’m at with my programming:
    – Monday –
    Squat 3×5
    Bench/Press 3×5
    RDL 3×5
    Pendlay Row 3×5
    Calf Raise 4×15

    – Tuesday –
    Squat 3×5
    Press/Bench 3×5
    P. Row 3×5
    Calf Raise 4×15
    Curls? 3×10. I’m just thinking of throwing these in.

    – Friday –
    Squat 3×5
    Bench/Press 3×5
    Deadlift 1×5
    P. Row 3×5
    Calf Raise 4×15

    I’m LPing everything at 5 lb increments. Goal is to stay consistent and get enough work and time in to advance to Texas Method. My squat, and really everything, hasn’t progressed for about a year due to inconsistency and three regrettable months of 5/3/1. I know if I can just get 6 or 8 weeks in without missing any sessions I will have my squat to a point where I’m comfortable moving it to intermediate programming (even if I leave some on the bar of my LP) and then I’ll finally feel like I’ve gotten somewhere after what feels like a wasted training year.

    • Athletic tape. Layered around the very outside/ & in between.

      Take it slow with those. You may actually vomit. ESP if you add weight like Kstar suggests

      • Could you elaborate on the layering? I have an idea of what you mean but in my heart of hearts I still think like an engineer and thus overthink things.

        • Just lay the two balls side by side. Make 1 pass around the perimeter. I used athletic tape. Then a pass around the center. This will be perpendicular to the first pass. Repeat this back and forth, adding some tension as you go to tighten the peanut up. Then mob the shiz out of your t spine and try not to puke

    • CORRECTION: I meant Monday/Wednesday/Friday, not M/T/F. I actually prefer to lift Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday so I can avoid International Bench Press Day and the usual M/W/F crowd, and my schedule is just more conducive to it. So my brain slipped and wrote Tuesday when I meant Wednesday.

  41. No PRs this week. I did deadlift and bench in short shorts a few days ago. I underestimated how uncomfortable I would feel benching in them, mostly because of the wide-legged set up… not doing that again! Also spent a heap of time trying to work out what my openers could be for my first PL comp in a few weeks. :)

    • My wife wears some shorts from lululemon that are a little longer to keep the lady biz under wraps and she’s fine with those. I think if tou look on their site some styles are different lengths. Btw she’s 5’0 tall benching 135.

    • I feel you. I don’t wear short shorts to the gym for that reason. There are a lot of creepy dudes around. So I just go the spandex pant/capri route, which will still show off your 70s Big quads/hams/glutes, but is a bit more…modest.

      I make up for it by wearing jorts as often as possible.

      • I resorted to the shorts because my glutes have gotten so big that all my spandex type tights go see-through in the arse when I bend over. Not cool. I bought some rower’s tights on the recommendation of a rower/powerlifter so I’m hoping they’ll be better. Don’t get me wrong, I love my quads/glutes/hammies getting big, I just wish it were easier to find clothes to fit them.

        And I do the jorts as well. It’s spring here (Australia) so I can’t wait for warmer weather to crack them out. :)

  42. Squat: 180 kg (~ 397 lbs) x5 (PR)
    Bench: 115 kg (~ 254 lbs) x5x3 (LP)
    Deadlift: 200 kg (~ 441 lbs) x3
    Barbell Row: 100 kg (~ 220 lbs) x5x3

    BW: 92 kg (~ 203 lbs)

  45. Front Squat PR: 300# (Was only able to get 345# with my back squat this week, so that felt pretty good)
    Bench PR: 167.5#x6
    Power Snatch PR: 135#

    Weekly Challenge: Studied the external rotators of the shoulder. I learned that mine are weak as well as evidenced by bench press and snatch. Apparently, the infraspinatus and teres minor work with the posterior schmeltoid to externally rotate the shoulder (what happens to the shoulder during the snatch and keeping the elbows in while benching or something like that).

    BRB doing side-lying dumbbell external/internal rotations ’til I die.

  47. Another good week. I’ve been eating 1g pro/lb bw every day for several weeks now, and it’s making a huge difference. I honestly didn’t think a lady could eat and process this much meat. Also of note: aggressively mobbing shoulder IR has completely changed my bench. Feels good man.

    Bench: 140#x3x2
    Press: 85x5x3
    Squat: 185x3x1
    DL: 250x1x5

    I was going for an uninterrupted set of 5 on the deadlifts, but I dropped the bar because puking was imminent. Opted for 5 singles instead.

  48. Finally listened to Justin’s advice and purchased some weightlifting shoes. I want to kick myself in the ass for not doing so sooner.
    Lifting PR’s:
    HBBS-367.5×5, 385×3.
    DL-425×5
    Food PR:
    18lbs of meat in six days

  49. I Have occasional pain in my lower ribs, I’m wondering if my lifting belt could be causing this during deads or squats. They don’t hurt while doing either exercise… The pain is mostly just a “crap my back feels junky today” rather than sharp, but it is uncomfortable. Should I be looking at my belt or elsewhere to resolve the issue.

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