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Alternative title: "Jaymul cleans up at home and jerks it hard in the gym" This challenge is going to be a bit different from my previous ones - lifting goals aren't going to be set target numbers, there'll be more focus on life stuff. For those who don't know me or are new to my challenges - hi! I'm Jaymul, I'm 30 and I live in Scotland. I'm a weightlifter of the Olympic variety. Starting Stats: As of 07 June 2014. Bodyweight: 87.2kg Bodyfat %: ??% Snatch: 87.5kg Clean & Jerk: 100kg Clean: 115kg Back Squat: 182kg Front Squat: 140kg Gains In the Gym Goal #1 - Jerk it Stop giggling in the back. My jerk is my biggest weak point in my lifting and one that my coach and I have been maybe a bit lax in addressing as we've been focusing on the snatch. The snatch has really come on lately so it's time to devote the same attention to the jerk. By the end of the six weeks I want to: Close the gap between my max jerk (100kg) and my max clean (115kg)Increase my max push press (currently 80kg)Goal #2 - Go hard or go home So lately in training I've been responding really, really well to intensity - the more heavy lifts I make, the easier I find it to lift heavy. Who'd have thunk it? This won't last forever and eventually more volume at lower % weights will be needed but for now, it looks like this is the way programming is going to go. During this six weeks I want to: Hit a 90+% lift in the snatch (80kg+) and the jerk (90kg+) at least once every week outside of my scheduled Saturday maxout dayGains In Life Goal #1 - Buy a new home My other half and I are trying to buy a new flat at the moment. Unfortunately we had an offer on a really nice place rejected yesterday. Somebody offered 20% over the value By the end of the six weeks I want to: Have an offer accepted on a property and be preparing to complete the purchase/move in Goal #2 - Go on holiday and relax I'm going on holiday to Greece for a week at the end of the second week of the challenge. Do you guys know how long it's been since I had a proper holiday? No, neither do I - that's why I need one. The plan is to take the week off completely and relax, no attempting to find a gym locally or anything like that. What I'd like from the holiday is: To relax completely and come back re-energised, recharged and ready to kick some serious ass for the next 6 months

This morning I went to the gym and it was dead so I was able to get some videos of my workout. I did bench press, squats, dead lifts, and push presses. I have video of me using just the bar (45lbs), 55lbs, and 65lbs. Which videos should I post? Some of the exercises I do better with just the bar and others I feel are more graceful with some added weight. I guess I will start with videos where I just have the bar.... Would you critique me please? I would really appreciate the feed back. Bench Press: I find with the bench press my arms wobble a lot, not shaky because I can't lift the bar, they just don't stay "quiet" enough to make the whole thing a fluid motion. Does this get better with practise? Should I be doing it slower? I am still wobbly with added weight, my bar just doesn't stay straight. Squat: My squats feels good, I don't have any issues...I don't think. Now I can squat low enough to rest the bar on the bumpers, should I go that low or should I stop just before I put the bar on them? And the front view. Dead lift: Is dead lift one word or two? I never know. My dead lifts feel pretty good. I am not sure if I should have the bar sitting on a higher stand. Is my butt going low enough when I bring the bar back down? I am getting better at "scraping" the bar up my shins and legs, I am going to have to start wearing pants on DL days. Push Press: The push press is the toughest/weirdest exercise for me. I feel like I am curving my back inward (belly out) when I fully extend up. Am I leaning too far forward? Am I doing it right? Should I be using a rack where the bar starts off at shoulder height or is it ok to "flip" it up from my thighs to my shoulders? Thanks for all the constructive criticism, tips, and tricks. I can also put up the videos with extra weight on the bar if that helps.

So I was trolling through a lot of the posts in this section and came across everyone who was pressing, was seeming doing OHP. Now I don't know if push and OHP are the same, I assume OHP to be strict/military presses. Since I've started lifting, I've only been performing push presses. I figure it will allow me to use more weight as well as help create explosiveness. Am I losing anything by only doing push presses? Is one better than the other? And I might as well throw behind the neck presses into the mix as well. Any insights will be appreciated.

I really shouldn't be asking this question without a form check video to accompany it BUT I'm experiencing some low back pain with the increasing weight with push press. I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this and if this is "common", a form issue, or just weak lower back muscles? Hopefully I will be able to get a video up soon to check my form.

Hello everyone, My name is Rowan. My mission is simple, EAT MORE FOOD AND LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS. For this 6 week challenge I will be continuing my Bulking Phase up to around 83-85kg hopefully. Five weeks ago I weighed 77kg and was 17.8% body fat. So at 6'1" you could say I'm "skinny-fat". Last Week I was 79.3kg and 17.5% body fat. (I've gained 2.1kg of muscle so far) I will record all my measurements tomorrow and post them here to get my starting point for the challenge. Main Quest: Build enough muscle mass to fill out my frame to eventually weigh 90kg with 10% body fat. Missions: Put on 3kg of Muscle over the next 6 weeks (A) 3.0kg (B ) 2.5kg © 2.0kg (D) 1.5kg (F) 1.0kg Complete all scheduled workouts. (A) 0 Missed (B ) 1 Missed © 2 Missed (D) 3 Missed (F) 4 Missed Reach my 3200 calories each day with a mix of paleo/healthy bulking diet. (A) 0 Missed (B ) 1 Missed © 2 Missed (D) 3 Missed (F) 4 Missed Weights Lifted by end of challenge (5 reps x 5 sets & 2min rest times) Push Press 47.5kg (currently 37.5kg) Squat 65kg (currently 47.5kg) Deadlift 75kg (currently 57.5kg) Pull Up -10kg (currently -20kg & 3min rest times) (A) 4 targets (B ) 3 targets © 2 targets (D) 1 target (F) No Targets Life Quest: Complete 4 wedding planning jobs by end of challenge. (A) 4 Jobs (B ) 3 Jobs © 2 Jobs (D) 1 Job (F) No Jobs Motivation: I am getting married in November this year and I want to be proud of my appearance. However my main motivation now is my ever increasing weights being lifted and the feeling of accomplishment it gives me.

After 3 adventurous challenges with many valuable discoveries and a small pile of treasure, whispers of war have been overheard. There is unrest in the east, the time has come to defend the lands, put the backpack down and pickup the barbell. If you’ll have me, I will join the warrior clan for this challenge and prepare myself for war! The first challenge was all about finding the reverse gear, putting the brakes on some bad habits and forming some new ones. It was a huge success. The second challenge was all about making weight, I finally broke a 4 year goal to go sub 80kg and get into my 'healthy' BMI range. It made me feel better all round. The third challenge was about consolidation, basic strength and preparation. Challenge 4 is all about education, experimentation and strength. Goals: Goal 1 – Learn tactical manoeuvres. (WIS 5) Read Starting Strength from cover to cover.Read The Primal Blueprint from cover to coverFind my lifting gurus and be brave enough to ask for help when I need itGoal 2 – Complete basic training (STA 1, STR 4) Complete the Rebel Strength Guide Barbell Battalion phase 1 (3 weeks to go).Start the Rebel Strength Guide Barbell Battalion phase 2Try my first PLP, commit to 30 days. This will also be my first PVP...if I can find somebody that wants to do it.Goal 3 – Fuel the tank. (CON 1, WIS 1) 80% Paleo during the challenge. This is 17 full Paleo meals per week.Limit alcohol to 8 occassions during the challenge. This has been a tough nut to crack, I didn’t make my once a week goal during the last challenge so I will have another slightly modified attempt at this. Experiment with Calorie levels. I think I may need to eat more calories now I have started lifting. Goal 4 – Clean out and replenish the armoury (WIS 2, CON 1) Tidy up my tools in the garage.Get either a squat stand or a power rack setup so I can lift safely.Paint or replace the damn wardrobe doors that have needed doing for 10 monthsClean up the kick panels in the kitchen which have not been done since it was finished.Make at least 3 music playlists of 20 songs each . This worked well in my last challenge so I am repeating it here Measurements: I will add measurements before the challenge starts on Monday. Mini goals: I keep these from previous challenges but don't score attribute points against them. These are new habits that have improved my well being and are now integrated. - limit caffeine to 1 cup of tea a day - cut out soda completely Rewards: - Finish everything on Goal 4 means any spare weekend time left during the challenge can be used for surfing, badminton, squash or video games instead of chores. - There will be another reward, not sure what yet…. Excited to be joining the warriors, meeting some new people and getting into strength, let's fire up and get to it

Hi folks (warriors in particular ) I've come out the back of 3 months of the Rebel Fitness Guide a lot stronger than I started, made some good strength progress with bodyweight and dumbell exercises. I'm brand new to barbell lifting and I'd like some advice from experienced rebels please. I have ordered a copy of starting strength, waiting for it to arrive in the mail. In the meantime I have started the Rebel Strength Guide, at present I'm doing alternate days of Squats/Push Press and Deadlift/Pull ups. All my exercise is done at home, as I don't have squat stands or power rack yet (working on getting one or the other) and I recognize I need to work on technique, I have started pretty light. I've completed the first week, am up to 23kg barbell for all exercises. I'm beginning to plan goals for my next 6 week challenge and I'd like to get an idea on what would be realistic for weight progress? I would like to be able to eventually deadlift my body weight, which is 77kg. I don't want to rush things as I am historically a little injury prone, what would be a realistic time frame to go from 23kg to 77kg on deadlifts? I'm a clean slate and need to educate myself so any advice/links will be welcomed. In case it's useful: Age: 38 Height: 178cm Weight: 77kg's (169 pounds) I can do 3 sets of 5 pullups then 2 sets of 5 chin ups. Thanks Dominic