Biggest Frustrations

[Purple_Panda]

My biggest frustrations, with lifting, are fairly minimal, and I really had to think about it.

 

1:  Small Window to lift with.  I use my lunch at work to go lift at the gym next door. I work for a company that has an owner who also sponsors a gym next door, for which employees are able to get reduced rates on. This being said, 5x5 leaves little room to do much else outside of furrow the brow and pound through the sets with the 30~ minutes I have.  While it makes my lifting pretty 'hardcore' I don't have much chance to socialize with other folks in the gym; maybe that is a good thing?  

 

2: As others have pointed out, I wish I had started sooner; this is compounded because I try and get others to lift with me because I hope they'll start lifting!  I'm by no means a small guy, and some of my friends would be considered such, and I'd secretly love it if they came and lifted with me at times.  I've been lifting for about a year now after having gotten this gym membership, and the benefits have been astounding across the board... well, save for a few bad forms that cost me a hurt lower back; that is another story all together.. but if I had started 2 years ago? Where would I be at? 3 years? What sort of man-gorilla might I be?

 

3: Eating. "Wait. That isn't a lifting thing!" For me it is a result of lifting; after I increase my weight a good chunk, and get that light burn again; I swear I go werebear and my appetite is just ridiculous for the next 24hours.  I use another site for logging my calorie intake; but I swear to the all lifting Bro-Dad in the sky, I cannot resist cookies/breads etc. unless I purge them from my home... I have three kids... aaaa~nd that isn't going to happen.

[HedgeMage]

Guilty as charged. Depends on what you count as advice, I'd never purport to instruct someone on how to do a lift.

 

Does it count for anything that I'm a nice person?

 

I'm guilty, too, and proud of it.

 

No, I don't give form advice.  I'm not that experienced a lifter...but being new to NF doesn't mean I'm not experienced with a bunch of things, such as PCOS, backpacking, martial arts, managing many competing priorities, avoiding/minimizing DOMS (I spent like my first year of lifting optimizing for this, because search-and-rescue work meant I couldn't afford to not have full mobility when I got a call), short-term injury management (again, SAR medic)... a whole bunch of us had lives before NF.

[TurtIe]

My coach responded to me mentioning the guy having a go at my knee valgus with this.

Ugh, I was talking with someone about this the other day. If someone has a valgus fault that they can't control (i.e. they can't squat without a valgus collapse) then they have no place using olympic lifters to defend their crap technique. 

There's a big difference between a valgus collapse (indicating glute weakness or bad ankle mobility) and the valgus twitch some lifters (particularly the chinese olympic lifters) use to "springboard" out of the hole. 

[SpecialSundae]

Ugh, I was talking with someone about this the other day. If someone has a valgus fault that they can't control (i.e. they can't squat without a valgus collapse) then they have no place using olympic lifters to defend their crap technique.

There's a big difference between a valgus collapse (indicating glute weakness or bad ankle mobility) and the valgus twitch some lifters (particularly the chinese olympic lifters) use to "springboard" out of the hole.

The problem with this response is that the vast majority of the time that people who come out with the unsolicited advice about squatting don't know the difference between collapse and twitch.

Whilst I don't care whether you think mine is collapse rather than twitch, I respect my coach's call on it far more than the random guy in the gym.

[TurtIe]

Sorry if I implied yours was one or the other. Clearly I'm in no position to make say anything about a lift I've never seen and I'm sure your coach is giving you the right advice. 

All I was saying is that this issue had come up with me recently where a guy I know who has an extremely noticeable valgus collapse was trying to justify it using videos of chinese lifters in the olympics.

I guess what I'm saying is that not all valgus faults are bad, but some definitely are. Doesn't apply to anyone here in particular but it's something to keep in mind for any internet people reading this who had excused their valgus knee because some pros do it :) 

[SpecialSundae]

Some are and I see them all the time, but approaching an experienced lifter (who you know is an experienced lifter with a coach) to warn them about their knee valgus is still a major frustration.

I do take your point though and will edit the post.

[jdanger]

I have two main things I look for in a valgus movement to determine the extent to which it needs to be addressed. 

 

First thing is foot posture. If the valgus is accompanied by excessive pronation (i.e. navicular drop/drift) it's really putting the lifter at increased orthopedic risk. This is the sort of valgus you see in beginners and the one that makes you think "wow that's ugly". As such, it's generally advisable to spend the time to correct it because not only is the athlete at increased risk, they're also simply not moving as efficiently as they could be. I use the cue "push through the outside of the foot" heavily in beginner and intermediate lifters, for obvious reason.

 

The second thing is whether or not the athlete is able to recover semi decent positioning and finish the lift. This is what you see when high level lifters use a little "quad bounce" to help accelerate through the sticking point. Some not so high level (or simply lucky) lifters aren't able to take advantage of this as well and the valgus starts off a chain reaction that sends the hips back too far and angles their torso over which generally means game over at max weight. Folks with long femurs are more susceptible to this than all the natural squatters we see moving insane weight. Though it's probably mostly a function of quad weakness as that's generally the main etiology behind that fault, with or without knee valgus.

 

But yeah, all that said, folks calling out experienced lifters for this is generally pretty hilarious. 

[Polaris]

1. Doing absolutely nothing athletic as a kid and teenager and thus not having the body control/awareness people develop growing up active. No matter how much I tell myself to not lean forward when I squat it just keeps happening, it's like the message doesn't travel from my brain to the rest of my body.

 

2. Having to take breaks due to injuries/surgery/bouts of unusual madness/etc. I feel like all my small, hard-earned gains are going down the drain every time I'm forced to sit on my ass and not lift.

 

3. Lack of strength compared to the time I've been lifting seriously. I've been at it for too long to be as weak as I am. I don't know if it's the level I started off at, or the breaks I've had to take, or the hypermobility that keeps causing issues, or am I just failing as a person. My friends and acquaintances that are generally non-athletic think I'm She-Hulk, but I feel like such a poser, and hope they don't ask how much weight I can actually lift.

[Discon]

1: My presses. They are still below "untrained" level after 1.5 years of training. My dream as a 220 pound. 6-foot-4 male is to bench 1 plate sometime before summer.

2: The christmas and summer breaks breaking my stride. I am taking steps to correct this, and I'll be staying mostly put this summer.

3: Lack of hip mobility.

[miss_marissa]

1. Doing absolutely nothing athletic as a kid and teenager and thus not having the body control/awareness people develop growing up active. No matter how much I tell myself to not lean forward when I squat it just keeps happening, it's like the message doesn't travel from my brain to the rest of my body.

 

2. Having to take breaks due to injuries/surgery/bouts of unusual madness/etc. I feel like all my small, hard-earned gains are going down the drain every time I'm forced to sit on my ass and not lift.

 

3. Lack of strength compared to the time I've been lifting seriously. I've been at it for too long to be as weak as I am. I don't know if it's the level I started off at, or the breaks I've had to take, or the hypermobility that keeps causing issues, or am I just failing as a person. My friends and acquaintances that are generally non-athletic think I'm She-Hulk, but I feel like such a poser, and hope they don't ask how much weight I can actually lift.

 I feel like issue 3 never leaves....

 

Once you start the iron, you're never strong enough.

[SpecialSundae]

I feel like issue 3 never leaves....

 

Once you start the iron, you're never strong enough.

About the only person who I've ever met who thought he was strong enough was Eddie Hall... and he's a dick.

[Brovatar Korra]

1. All the time I spent thinking I wasn't "built" to be athletic because I was terrible at running and all team sports. And the negativity and self-hate that went along with that thinking. I was a weightlifter all along and never knew it! My legs naturally pronate outward and it makes running super awkward. But guess what - those are squatting hips!

 

2. All the time and gainz I wasted eating 1600 calories a day trying to fit into size 8 jeans. I now brag to my husband about days I hit 2700+ calories and he gives me a high-five.

 

3. Car deadlifts. WHY ARE THEY SO HARD?!? I WILL LIFT YOU ONE DAY KIA.

 

P.S. one thing I thought I would hate but now love - the callouses on my hands

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

On 2016-03-06 at 11:19 AM, miss_marissa said:

1. Doing absolutely nothing athletic as a kid and teenager and thus not having the body control/awareness people develop growing up active. No matter how much I tell myself to not lean forward when I squat it just keeps happening, it's like the message doesn't travel from my brain to the rest of my body.

 

Aaarg, same here with the forward lean while doing squats. The head trainer/owner of the gym I go to to suggested that I do front squats with outstretched arms or crossed arms to correct this. I pretty much have to balance the bar on my shoulders and collar bone. It's awkward as all hell (especially at first) but seems to be slowly correcting the forward leaning problem--if I lean forward, there ends up being a loud CLANG ;P

 

Biggest lifting-related frustrations:

 

- My squat numbers going (temporarily) way down due to having to correct the aforementioned forward-leaning problem

- Cracking my shins open with the barbell while doing snatches

- Finally starting to get somewhere with the Olympic weightlifting and then getting an injury of the not-quite-serious-but-really-fucking-annoying variety

- My military press being freaking weeeeeak X(

 

 

EDIT: WTF @ the new quoting system. That was supposed to be a quote from Polaris and it won't let me change it.

[Why not?]

1. Lack of mobility. I know how to fix it, but lack the time/necessary masochistic tendencies.

2. My poor deadlift technique that is the primary culprit in my inability to function the last 3 days.

3. My relatively poor performance on presses and oly lifting compared to my squat and deadlift.

[Rooks]

Not much to be honest.... I mean I know I'm weak as hell as will never amount to anything "globally" but whatever.  I love lifting so I'm doing it for me.  

 

1)  I barely ever get to use my home gym.  Built this killer gym in the basement, but never have time to use it.  Either kiddo is sleeping and my grunting and slamming weights is not a good thing, or it's during the day and using the work gym is easier.  #FirstWorldProblems

2)  Being stupid and not focusing on my mobility work.  Its really what has put me on the shelf the last two times.  

3)  Not starting sooner I guess.  Really started when I was 27.  Just too late...

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 11:55 AM, marvinq42 said:

What are your 3 biggest frustrations when it comes to Power/weight lifting or Strength training?

 

What strategies have you tried in the past that have and have not worked for you?

 

Great topic!

 

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 8:04 AM, NatetheStrong said:

1. Far and away my biggest frustration is a lack of grip strength holding back Deadlift gains. Chalk and straps help (although straps are generally considered cheating.) For actually strengthening grip, pick up the heaviest weight you can hold, and hold it.

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 10:49 AM, SpecialSundae said:

1. That every time it seems to be coming together, something breaks.

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 5:59 PM, TurtIe said:

1. Finding a balance between doing the things I want to do and the things I need to do. I know training economy is the name of the game but there are so many different movements that I would love to be able to include in my lifting that I can't because they're not suited to my goals.

 

These are my 3, and they all play into one another. The grip strength on deadlifts is such a limiter for me. And that leads into #3, trying to balance all the accessory work between the things I NEED to do (grip for deads, work on my ignored downward pulling muscles, overhead pressing) vs the things I WANT to do (all the biceps, all the benching, all the squats). A thing that hasn't worked are ignoring one (need or want) and doing the other. I've done the want and gotten the injuries because of imbalances (shoulders) or overworking muscles (low back) right as those things (bench and deads) are starting to take off because of all the work I'm putting into them.

 

I've finally over the past few months decided to take things really slow as far as progression with weights, and think long term. My 3-4 days a week squatting with just 2 working sets and jumping my heavy set just 10 lbs a month is seeming to be working. Tried it with bench, and realized even that was too ahrd on the shoulders, so I smartly dialed it back. It also leaves time to actually do some of the accessory work I NEED to do to keep imbalances away. Nice thing is that it turns out curls are one of the accessories I NEEDed, and ever since doing them 3-4 times a week, my bicep tendonitis has almost completely gone away. Also, I'm PRing bench doubles and triples. Squats should PR by the end of the year after a 2 year drought in that department from repeatedly injuring my back from too high daily and weekly volumes of squats and deadlifts.

 

I've learned that while I WANT to do all the things (Olympic lifts, running, golfing, hiking), I simply don't have time for all the things if I want to recover and meet my big goals. The solution has been to prioritize the things I want to do in accordance with my goals, and fit the small stuff in where I can. Right now I'm training for a GoRuck, and can do so because I have figured out a way to fit in 1 conditioning class and 1-2 rucks a week without sacrificing the lifting I need to hit my annual goals there, while also making sure I'm recovering and programming properly to avoid injury.

 

The biggest thing is to just learning take it slow. Realize weekly linear gains are done and won't happen again. At this point in my lifting career (and there's a LONG time left in it), gains are slow. The increases in weight on the bar are monthly small increases, and that's on a good month if I do things right. And that's ok. If I take it slow, I can be making gains well into my 40s, which are 10 years away. 20 lb a year on my squat means a 650lb squat by that point. 10lb a year on my bench means a 4 plate bench. I can do that if I train smart and conservatively. It's the long term, and learning to think about those long term goals as 8-10 years out vs 2-3 has been a big thing for me.

 

That's mostly the balancing of the NEED/WANT and the injuries. I'm still working on getting deadlifts back in and figuring out the proper accessory work and where to fit that in. I'm making progress on that.

 

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 0:51 PM, jdanger said:

Here's my totally uncontroversial list.

 

1) CrossFitters who think they know what they're doing

2) Starting Strength acolytes who think they know what they're doing

3) "Coaches" with some weekend certs and six months exercise experience who think they know what they're doing

 

Honestly, to touch the surface I'd probably need three or four hundred more items.

On ‎2‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 5:08 AM, SpecialSundae said:

I love you just a little.

 

We all do.

 

And the quote disappeared, but I love the chart SS posted. Spot on. Luckily I'm now in zone 3 I think, or at least pretty far along on the downslope.

[Why not?]

22 minutes ago, Gainsdalf the Whey said:

I WANT to do all the things (Olympic lifts, running, golfing, hiking)

Sounds like you want to be a Ranger