Rob's Powerlifting Journal
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| rob0210 |  | ... | 07-06-2015 @ 21:33 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | kirkynick said:Rob, what's the best/correct elbow position for low-bar squats to get a solid shelf? Back/up or forwards/down? Any other tips for getting the shelf? Used to do low-bar years ago and found a good position, but after trying them today, it's going to take some practice getting back into them. I'd say forwards/down, anything that keeps them under or close to the bar. For me a big issue is when it gets heavy my elbows kick back on the ascent, which causes my chest to drop. I think improving this was a big part of my squat going up last year. Try to think squeezing the lats instead of the upper back, imagine you're trying to squeeze a tennis ball in your armpits. When I do this my elbow position tends to take care of itself. I'm nowhere near able to do it yet, but Chad Wesley Smith changes his elbow position as he descends to keep them under the bar. Don't think my back is big enough yet though to be able to do that and still support the bar, but it's what I'm trying to build towards. Otherwise I found I was able to get them in a better position with my thumbs round the bar, but it's now starting to beat my elbows up again so I've gone back to thumbless. | ||
| deleted2_20210523 |  | ... | 07-06-2015 @ 21:40 |
Member 2606, 11453 posts SQ 170, BP 117.5, DL 215502.5 kgs @ 91.6kgs UnEq | deleted | ||
| rob0210 | | ... | 07-06-2015 @ 21:50 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | kirkynick said: Oh right, that's what I thought. Just that I watched a Rippetoe vid today (ha ha) and he said back/upwards. Must admit though, I found it hard keeping the bar anything like stable with the elbows down today. I always keep them down on high-bar. I'm not a fan of that, I think it leads to the chest dropping and the bar drifting in front of the toes. I think it's a case of rather than 'keeping them under the bar' it's 'don't let them come up'. I find the intention of keeping them under or as close too as possible is what counts, rather then the position itself. At least with myself anyway. | ||
| deleted2_20210523 | | ... | 07-06-2015 @ 21:53 |
Member 2606, 11453 posts SQ 170, BP 117.5, DL 215502.5 kgs @ 91.6kgs UnEq | deleted | ||
| rob0210 | | 8/6/15 - Bench | 08-06-2015 @ 20:24 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 107.2kg Comp Grip Bench (3ct Pause) Warm Ups 130kg x 3 @ 7 150kg x 3 @ 8.5 157.5kg x 3 @ 10 145kg x 3 @ 8 145kg x 3 @ 8.5 145kg x 3 @ 9 Band Pull Aparts/External Rotations between each set Bench w/ Yellow Slingshot 140kg x 5 @ 7 150kg x 5 @ 8.5 155kg x 4 @ 9.5 145kg x 5 @ 9.5 Voodoo floss for elbows/forearms Still in bits from yesterday. Didn't feel too bad warming up, 150 was ok but had to break technique to get the 3rd rep on 157.5 so called it there. First 2 were fine but was having trouble keeping my shape, started to fatigue pretty quickly after that. Will aim for a bit more volume warming up on Friday to make sure I'm on track for the week. | ||
| rob0210 | | 10/6/15 - Squat/DL | 10-06-2015 @ 16:46 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 107.6kg Squat Warm Ups 185kg x 3 @ 7 185kg x 3 @ 7 185kg x 3 @ 7 185kg x 3 @ 7 185kg x 3 @ 7 210kg x 2 @ 8 230kg x 1 @ 9 DL w/ 1 heavy chain per side Warm Ups 225kg x 4 @ 7 235kg x 4 @ 8 245kg x 4 @ 8 255kg x 4 @ 8.5 235kg x 4 @ 8 235kg x 4 @ 8 235kg x 4 @ 8.5 Was still battered from Sunday so didn't have high hopes for this, took about 30 mins before I felt decent enough to start putting any weight on the bar. First 185 was crap, the rest moved ok. Confident I could have doubled the 230 but would have been too slow for the RPE I wanted. Really surprised with the deadlift and how long it's taking me to hit my fatigue stops considering the bulk of my training has been really low volume for the last few months. Hopefully it'll lead to something big down the line. | ||
| rob0210 | | 12/6/15 - Bench | 12-06-2015 @ 18:22 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 106.9kg Floor Press Warm Ups 130kg x 5 @ 7 140kg x 5 @ 8 150kg x 5 @ 9.5 155kg x 5 @ 10 145kg x 5 @ 8 145kg x 5 @ 8 145kg x 5 @ 8.5 145kg x 5 @ 9 145kg x 5 @ 9 CG Bench Warm Ups 120kg x 4 @ 7 130kg x 4 @ 8.5 135kg x 4 @ 9 140kg x 3f4 @ 10.5 127.5kg x 4 @ 8 127.5kg x 4 @ 10 Got through a decent amount of volume, was resting a bit longer than I should have because of chatting but was a good session. Triceps died a very quick death on CG bench though. | ||
| rob0210 | | 14/6/15 - Squat/DL | 14-06-2015 @ 21:20 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 106.6kg Squat Warm Ups 170kg x 3 @ 7 190kg x 3 @ 7 200kg x 3 @ 8 210kg x 3 @ 8.5 220kg x 3 @ 9 210kg x 3 @ 9 Block Pull (~15") Warm Ups 220kg x 4 @ 7 250kg x 4 @ 8 260kg x 4 @ 9 245kg x 4 @ 8 245kg x 4 @ 8 245kg x 4 @ 8 HB Squat 120kg x 2 Happy with the squat, fatigued pretty quick though. Back/hips were really tight on the HB squats, didn't feel quite right so just stopped short. Still feeling lasts weeks volume a bit I think. Last week of volume this week, put the belt back on next week and start pushing the intensity a bit more. | ||
| rob0210 | | 15/6/15 - Bench | 15-06-2015 @ 17:46 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 106.7kg Comp Grip Bench (3ct Pause) Warm Ups 130kg x 3 @ 7 140kg x 3 @ 8 150kg x 3 @ 9 152.5kg x 3 @ 9 155kg x 3 @ 9.5 147.5kg x 3 @ 8 147.5kg x 3 @ 9.5 External Rotations/Band Pull Aparts in between each set Bench w/ Yellow Slingshot (PoR Grip) 140kg x 4 @ 7 150kg x 4 @ 8 160kg x 4 @ 9 152.5kg x 4 @ 8.5 152.5kg x 4 @ 10 Voodoo floss for elbows Was a bit more conservative working up on the 3ct pause bench after last week, top set felt better though. Elbows are starting to get a bit niggly after last week so trying to do either voodoo floss or some soft tissue work a couple times per week now. | ||
| rob0210 | | 16/6/15 - Squat | 16-06-2015 @ 11:24 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 107.3kg Squat w/ Buffalo Bar 140kg x 8 x 4 sets Foam Rolling on lower back/glutes/lats Making up for Sunday, lower back/hips were really tight when I came to the HB squats so just skipped them. Wanted to do some general back work too but I think I needed the soft tissue work more. | ||
| rob0210 | | 17/6/15 - Squat/DL | 17-06-2015 @ 16:14 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 107.3kg Squat Warm Ups 185kg x 2 @ 7 205kg x 2 @ 7 205kg x 2 @ 8 205kg x 2 @ 7 DL w/ 1 heavy chain per side Warm Ups 225kg x 2 @ 7 235kg x 2 @ 7 245kg x 2 @ 8 255kg x 2 @ 9 Think I've definitely over-reached now. Resting HR is up a bit, sleep is a bit broken and things feel harder along with just generally feel a bit flat. Lower back is pretty battered too, made it hard to keep my shape on squats consistently. Same for deadlift so just stopped after I hit a 9. I can start to back off the volume a bit from next week so things should pick up pretty quick. | ||
| rob0210 | | 19/6/15 - Bench | 20-06-2015 @ 10:18 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 107.9kg Floor Press Warm Ups 145kg x 3 @ 7 155kg x 3 @ 8 162.5kg x 3 @ 9 170kg x 3 @ 10 160kg x 3 @ 8.5 160kg x 3 @ 9 160kg x 3 @ 9.5 Band Pull Aparts between each set CG Bench w/ 1 chain per side Warm Ups 115kg x 4 @ 7 120kg x 4 @ 8.5 122.5kg x 4 @ 9.5 115kg x 4 @ 9.5 Voodoo floss on elbows Pleased with that, elbows felt fine too. Triceps still died a quick death on close grip though! | ||
| rob0210 | | 21/6/15 - Squat/DL | 21-06-2015 @ 21:16 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Gym BW: 106.6kg Squat Warm Ups 200kg x 1 @ 7 220kg x 1 @ 8 235kg x 1 @ 9.5 225kg x 1 @ 9 DOH Axle Rack Pull Warm Ups 100kg x 3 @ 7 120kg x 3 @ 8 130kg x 3 @ 8.5 135kg x 3 @ 9.5 130kg x 3 @ 8.5 130kg x 3 @ 9 SL Leg Press 10 x 4 sets Bleurgh, feeling small and weak! Was up early to coach some lifters at the South East competition at Woking, both doing really well for their first competition. Dropping the volume a bit this week so wasn't too fussed if I went in a bit tired. First session with the belt back on. Sat back too much on the 235 and ended up losing my shape a bit at the bottom, made it a bit harder than I wanted it to be. Dropped block pulls now for DOH Axle, should reduce the fatigue on my lower back a bit as I push things a bit more over the next few weeks. | ||
| rob0210 | | 22/6/15 - Bench | 22-06-2015 @ 21:14 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | BW: 106.3kg Comp Grip Bench (3ct Pause) Warm Ups 130kg x 1 @ 7 140kg x 1 @ 7 150kg x 1 @ 8 160kg x 1 @ 8.5 165kg x 1 @ 9 Bench w/ Yellow Slingshot (PoR Grip) 160kg x 2 @ 7 170kg x 2 @ 8 180kg x 2 @ 9 Last 3 days have been pretty busy for me so eating has been a bit dire, putting the bodyweight drop down to that. Same as squat yesterday, dropping the volume this week but keeping the intensity up. | ||
| rob0210 | | 23/6/15 - Squat | 23-06-2015 @ 11:42 |
Member 1723, 821 posts SQ 280, BP 200, DL 330810.0 kgs @ 110kgs UnEq | Morning BW: 106.8kg Squat w/ Reverse Blue Bands (-0kg at top/ -30kg at bottom) Warm Ups 170kg x 1 @ 6 200kg x 1 @ 7 Added Reverse Bands 220kg x 2 @ 7 240kg x 2 @ 8 Been toying around with some things in my head for the next few weeks, a big thing being I'm not sure how able I'll be to get the volume I want squatting twice per week. Upping it to 3 times should mean I can get the weekly volume without having to spend any particular session driving myself in to the ground. Going to make one a reverse band session as since injuring my hip everything over 200 feels really heavy on my back and it's making me be a massive pussy when it comes to the RPE. I want to force myself to get some heavier weight on my back, plus the supramaximal work ties in quite nicely with the intensity block. Filmed a few sets today and the speed was fine, just need to man up. | ||
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