Starting weights today page 6

[seaweed]

i love cable woodchops and squats as well. i've been doing weights for years but i still get sore every time i go see the personal trainer as he is so hard. 55lbs is about 25kgs? our bars here are usually about 20kg some are a few kgs lighter. the problem i have with squats is once you get about about 50kgs, the bar digs in too much even with a pad on. and it is hard on the lower back or can be. i always concentrate on form with everything now and control and slowing down the negative part of the movement.
when you say the plastic plates for starting deadlifts, how do you mean? you should just be able to dead lift the bar. if you can carry a 25kg backpack, you will be able to lift the bar. or you can put a couple of the smaller say 2.5kg weights on either side of the bar to have it off the ground for picking up. the other thing we do is put the bar on the bottom part pf the squat rack and lift it from there.

[sbhikes]

I think the Starting Strength book mentioned plastic plates and that their purpose was to position the bar off the ground properly so that you can learn the movement with the correct form even before you can lift the heavier weight.

The Starting Strength book also said that if the bar hurts your back on the squats you aren't tightening the back muscles enough before you put the bar on your back.

[teach2183]

I've done deadlift without the fakes 45s. Being short certainly helps this not be a big deal. You also might look around for blocks that you could rest the weights on instead of going all the way to the floor.

[Caveman_Sam]

1. Depends upon how much energy you consume. If you eat more than you burn you'll get bigger. If not, you'll get leaner at the same weight.

2. Ask the trainer this, 'I've heard that the smith machine is really good for doing bench press and squats. Should we do that today?'

If he says 'yes!', fire him. I've seen so many idiot PTs encouraging peoeple to use the Smith machine - only to eventually cause them to get injured because the machine enables you to lift what you can't lift without assistance.

[sbhikes]

1. Depends upon how much energy you consume. If you eat more than you burn you'll get bigger. If not, you'll get leaner at the same weight.

2. Ask the trainer this, 'I've heard that the smith machine is really good for doing bench press and squats. Should we do that today?'

If he says 'yes!', fire him. I've seen so many idiot PTs encouraging peoeple to use the Smith machine - only to eventually cause them to get injured because the machine enables you to lift what you can't lift without assistance.

The first thing she said to me was "Don't use the Smith machine." Yadda yadda. I didn't even have to ask.

[seaweed]

The Starting Strength book also said that if the bar hurts your back on the squats you aren't tightening the back muscles enough before you put the bar on your back.

it hurts across my shoulders where it digs in from the sheer weight. the only time it hurts my lower back is if i have more than my bodyweight on at the bottom of the squat coming out for the first part of the movement. and when i say hurt, it doesnt really hurt as such but i can feel it could hurt which is usually when i stop these days. does it say which back muscles you should tighten?

I think the Starting Strength book mentioned plastic plates and that their purpose was to position the bar off the ground properly so that you can learn the movement with the correct form even before you can lift the heavier weight.

my last gym had plywood plates you could put on the deadlift bar. all you really need to do is keep it off the floor so as you can get your fingers under the bar to grip it.

[Owly]

If your gym has some of those plastic steps you can stack, you could maybe use them to get the bar up to the right height.

[tfarny]

Sounds great, SB, and about the bar height for deadlifting, Owly's idea will work. Although if you can do 95, starting with the 25 lb plates is really just a greater range of motion, nothing wrong with doing that. You'll be at 135 within a month I'm sure.

[sbhikes]

it hurts across my shoulders where it digs in from the sheer weight. the only time it hurts my lower back is if i have more than my bodyweight on at the bottom of the squat coming out for the first part of the movement. and when i say hurt, it doesnt really hurt as such but i can feel it could hurt which is usually when i stop these days. does it say which back muscles you should tighten?

my last gym had plywood plates you could put on the deadlift bar. all you really need to do is keep it off the floor so as you can get your fingers under the bar to grip it.

See this movie. I think I'm going to try to watch more of his movies.
Starting Strength DVD -- Squat - YouTube

As for the power clean, I looked that up. It looks scary. I'm not sure about doing that.

[tfarny]

As for the power clean, I looked that up. It looks scary. I'm not sure about doing that.

Says the woman who hiked from Mexico to Canada, alone.....