Thanks again for the advice. Don't think I'm good morning-ing the weight. I took your advice, and got a video of my low bar squat.
So, please fire away at me Gaf. One issue I think I already notice is my rounded lower back on the bottom. Trying to figure out how to get rid of that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w6Vjn-2YmM&feature=youtu.be
On another note, first day using chalk. I did not think it would help my grip THAT much.
TopDreg, please don't take this the wrong way, but your squat is awful.
You need to deload immedately or you risk injuring yourself. . Basically you need to re-learn how to barbell squat.
First of all, that's not a low-bar squat. It's a sort of high bar squat with the bar 1/10th of an inch lower. And this causes a lot of problems, since you are leaning forward as you would in a low bar squat. I marked the actual position of the bar in a low bar squat. If this were a low bar squat, the bar would immediately roll down your shoulders since your elbows are almost pointing downward.
Your back is completely rounded at the bottom. It's so rounded it's well on its way to becoming a parabola.
The other problem is that the forward lean, compounded with the high bar position, causes the bar to travel much farther than the middle of your foot, which is where the perpendicular path of the bar should be originating. The result of this is a massive increase in the moment arm (torque), which you have to compensate, and it contributes (I suspect) to your rounding of the back, since you are seeking whatever mechanical advantage you can find at the bottom.
You need to start from step one. Read SS, practice with the empty bar so you get the bar position right,
and do not use more than 105lb until you are sure your form is good.
A couple of quick questions (remember, this is for that strong lifts program):
- How long are you supposed to rest in between sets?
- Should I perform some kind of warm up and/or cool down work out?
- What kind of ab work out should I do? The op didn't specify. Sit ups?
- When I'm in between work out days, should I just sit around and not do anything, or should I do....something that's not really strenuous?
If you are doing 3x5 like we discussed yesterday, you are not doing Stronglifts; you are doing Starting Strength. (which you should do as it is the superior program)
You should rest as long as you need in order to complete your reps. At this point of the program 1 or 2 minutes will suffice. As the weights get heavier, longer rest periods will be necessary. I rest up to 8 minutes before a heavy squat or deadlift set.
You need to warm up in this manner. Suppose you are going to squat 100lb.
45lbx5x2 (that is, 2 sets of 5 with just the empty bar)
80lbx3 (1 set of 3)
100lbx5x3 <--- this are your actual work sets
Your warmup sets will get heavier as the weights you use increase. Bascially a warm-up serves the puprose of getting some blood flowing to the joints and muscles, it stretches the bodyparts that will be used in the lift and it also prepares the nervous system for the task of lifting. For example, once you get to a 185lb squat (which should happen in about 4 weeks), your warm-up will look like this:
45lbx5
135lbx3
155lbx2
185lbx5x3
No cool downs.
No ab work needed.
Rest days are called rest days for a reason.
