Kav's Workout Journal

[Quagmire911]

Good workout. How do you find rows in general?

If you are able to get some videos of your main lifts that would be great. The sooner the better really.

Quagmire

 

[kav_3]

Ok wow, it's been awhile since I've posted, just been a little swamped and a littl lazy when it comes to posting my results, i'll try to keep this journal updated more consistantly. Also I'd like to point out where I mesed up this last week, I was not consstant with my cardio this week and did not do too much, Going to try and do 6 days a week again starting this week and I also ended up delaying my day 2 excercises on friday instead of thursday and my day 3 excercises on sundy instead of saturday. Going back to normal schedule for that this week as well.

Good workout. How do you find rows in general?

If you are able to get some videos of your main lifts that would be great. The sooner the better really.

Quagmire

Okay, so it turns out in week 2, I was doing rows completely wrong in that I never let the bar start or end on the floor, I was letting it hand in the air, but I tried to correct that last week an well I'm still not totally sure if I'm doing it right, also found out my deadlift was a little of too in that I didn't wait like 5 or seconds between reps nor did I start on the floor, but I also fixed that last week.

On to the point of the videos, I have videos of my squats, incline bench, deadlift and rows.

Another thing I wanted to get to was my diet, I've decided to follow efforts diet, but basically I substituted pork for beef, but I might give beef a try this week, it depends, so we'll see about that. Also my shakes are now 2 scoops of whey and 4 whole raw eggs with water.

Ok so now that I've finished rambling, I can post my week 3 stats

Week 3 Day 1

Squat 2 x 5 195 lb (not really sure if my squat form is good, especially since I was feeling lower back pain after doing my squats, check out video for form)

Squats 1 x 15 145 lbs (I was exhausted from doing this but not as much as last time)

Good mornings 2 x 10 115 lbs

Pullthroughs 2 x 8 100 lbs

Calf raises 2 x 10 70lbs


Day 2

Incline Bench 2 x 5 115 lbs (I was barely able to due my last rep of my second set because I did not take a long enough brake between set)

Decline Dumbbell press 2 x 8 35 lbs

Shoulder press 1 x 8 30lbs, 1 x 4 30lbs, 1 x 6 20lbs, and 1 x 8 15 lbs (ok so I definelty to lower the weight for my should press, will try 2 x 8 at 25lb next week)

Tricep excercise (Seated Dumbbell Extensions) 2 x 10 30 lbs

Situps 2 x 8 35lbs (didn't realize I did 10 last time, so I will go back to 10 next week)

Day 3

Deadlift 2 x 5 205 (I decided to go with a lower weight this week, to make sure my form was correct, since I was also feeling some lower back aches last week (which I probably should have mentioned last week), I still felt some lower back pain this week again, not sure if this is normal or not.)

Rows 1 x 5 115 lbs (did 5 instead of 8 by accident), 1 x 8 115 lbs (video is of this set) and 1 x 4 (I tried to get another set of 8, but I just couldn't lift anymore at that weight so I just left it since the gym was going to be closing soon)

Bicep curl 2 x 8 20lbs

Forearm curl 2 x 10 40lbs


Ok so here's the rest of the videos

Incline Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FcLFQLVVSk

Squat (I'd like to to point out that I made the video on day 2, so that's what I didn't use a lot of weight) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1Vznzuykk

Row http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToHepapUn-o

Deadlift http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGTfB_DmzKI

I've been trying to upload the video of my lift, but I'm having trouble right now, so I'm just gonna post thi and if it uploads I'll edit it in to the post or I'll try to post them tomorrow.

 

[simon]

You've got a lot to work on form wise. Don't sweat it though; no one starts off with good form. I'll post up more information for you tomorrow unless some of the other guys get in here first.

 

[Quagmire911]

Some general stuff on the incline press:

1.The bar doesn't come up in a straight line, but at an angle. You need to lower the weight a bit and focus on pressing the weight in a parallel line. Make sure your grip is equally placed on either side. Likely though that one side is weaker than the other. If you are your are right handed then right side will probably be stronger and vice versa.

2.Your feet are not placed very well. You should be able to draw a parallel line from the top of one foot to another. Right now you will lose tightness from your current setup, making the lift harder. The feet should be placed slightly behind the knees and out reasonably wide to create a stable base. Feet position will vary from person to person though, it is not set in stone. Those are just some guidelines.

3.The bar doesn't come all the way down to your chest. Again, lowering the weight and making sure the bar touches your chest on every rep would be a good idea.

That is some general stuff on the incline bench video and enough to be getting on with. Make sure to get some chalk/talcum powder for your grip. I'll take a look at the other videos soon and edit this post.

Quagmire

 

[simon]

Incline Press

It doesn't look like you're getting tight on your set up. Lie down on the bench and spread your legs wide, but not so wide that it becomes uncomfortable. Your feet should be behind your knees. Pinch your shoulder blades together as much as possible. Grip the bar hard and try to pull it apart to activate your lats. Take a deep belly breath before unracking the weight and tense your abs.

Keeping everything tight, lower the bar slowly to the bottom of your chest. After a slight pause, push the bar back up as fast as possible, pushing from your legs, still with your shoulder blades pinched together, and breathe out. Repeat.

Practice with an empty bar first.

Read:

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-bench-press-with-proper-technique-avoid-shoulder-injuries/ http://stronglifts.com/how-to-add-10kg-22lbs-to-your-bench-press-in-one-workout/

Squat

You're bending from the knees, your heels are coming off the floor and your back shifts forward towards the bottom of the squat. Also you should be tighter when unracking the bar.

Read:

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/

Proper squat form takes time and patience so don't get discouraged.

Barbell Rows

Your back is rounded and you don't bring the bar up to your chest. You need to get lower and perpendicular to the floor with a straight back. Bend at the hips as far as possible and then bend the knees a little until you can grip the bar. If the bar is too low, prop it up either side with some 5lb plates or whatever.

Read:

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-barbell-row-with-proper-technique/

Deadlift

You're locking your knees out too soon so you're stiff-legging the weight up. Drive up from the floor with the legs and when the bar gets past your knees drive your hips forward.


Read:

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-deadlift-with-proper-technique/
http://stronglifts.com/proper-hip-position-on-the-deadlift-its-not-a-squat/
http://stronglifts.com/5-reasons-your-lower-back-hurts-when-doing-deadlifts/




Get a video of your good mornings up aswell. Keep the weights the same until you have your form fixed. Get some more videos up in a week or two so we can see where you still need to improve.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

something in general i noticed - always look forward, not down.

On the deadlift, you get nothing from going down, so get the weight down fast.

My gym doesn's allow slamming of weight, so if yours does take advantage of it. Everything else simon and Quag said, is spot on. Glad you got videos up, it will surely help you and keep you from injury and allow us to help you