Tom Kenobi Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Well, I've been doing body weight squats for two months now, got up to doing 5 sets of 14 reps and had been pondering on adding weights. Yeah, I'm sure I could've gone faster in getting to the weights, but who has two thumbs and has never done squats before in his life? This guy! Looking back, I might have been overly OCD about taking it slow, but I wanted to make sure I get the form down right. After re-reading Steve's article on Squats and seeing where he said that if you can do 3X12 full body weight squats, you should be strong enough to start adding weight. Today, I started with 35.5 lbs (curl bar 5.5lbs & 30lbs iron weights)! In my warm up I did a set of Body weight squats, and in my cool down I did a set of BW squats as well. As some of you probably know, Tuesday morning is known to me as 'Circuit 1', so I get up, and do squats, pull ups, dips and planks and then repeat 4 - 5 times. Still working towards full BW reps on the pulls. This morning's routine: Squats: 1X10 reps @ 35.5lbs, 1X9 @ 35.5lbs, 1X8 @ 35.5lbs, 1X10 @ 35.5lbs PullUps: 4x4 (-15lbs taken off BW per resistance bands on my power tower) Dips: 4X6 BW dips (woot!) Planks 3x50 sec planks & 1x1min plank! (woot!) Thursday's routine is Lunges, Chin Ups, Push Ups & Reverse Crunches & I will be using dumbells for the lunges, looking forward to that one! I believe total weight of the dumbells is 22lbs...? Will keep you posted. Don't have alot of iron at home to add on, so I'm going to have to improvise sooner or later to keep increasing weight. Slow and steady will get me there! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
The Purple Diane Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Fantastic! Go go go! Quote Link to comment
bigm141414 Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Great job Tom! Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 @ Diane & BigM - Thanks guys! Its definitely a start! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 interesting....my hamstrings are much more tender than my quads and my left left more so than my right. Not fully sore, but I can definitely feel the difference. Tender is the word. I know I was focusing on form. Interesting feedback from my body. Nothing screaming STOP. Just thought this was interesting. Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
jdanger Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Good work man. The hamstring soreness is normal and means you're doing something right (namely, hitting depth). Add in some hamstring stretching after your squat sessions if you aren't already to help with this and keep things rolling. Keep it up, yay squats! Quote Eat. Sleep. High bar squat. | Strength is a skill, refine it. Follow my Weightlifting team's antics: Instagram | Facebook | Youtube Looking for a strength program? Check out The Danger Method and remember to do your damn abs Link to comment
Jon Umber Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 You did the right thing working on form first. It's imperative that you get squat and deadlift form right before performing those lifts heavy. Your knees and back thank you for it. Too many people just jump straight in. Quote Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Good work man. The hamstring soreness is normal and means you're doing something right (namely, hitting depth). Add in some hamstring stretching after your squat sessions if you aren't already to help with this and keep things rolling. Keep it up, yay squats!Thanks! what would be some good stretches to isolate the hams? also, know of any good back stretches, i've been stretching POST workout and even after warm up and workout, when i sit down, lock my legs out in front of me and bend forward with my chin tucked in, i still feel alot of tension in the back muscles.You did the right thing working on form first. It's imperative that you get squat and deadlift form right before performing those lifts heavy. Your knees and back thank you for it. Too many people just jump straight in.Thanks! As i said, never having done squats before, I didn't want to EFF my back up by being stupid. Stupid = HUGE LOSS in EXP pts!To everyone who has read this thread thus far: Did weighted lunges today! Yay for the iron! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
andygates Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Careful now, or we'll get you doing deadlifts next. Quote Link to comment
Mama T Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 as I sometimes say to my friends, HOLLER!!! Nice work Tom! Adding weight is quite possibly one of the best feelings ever. Keep it up! Quote ...we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and to program for eventual failure every relationship we enter. - Tom Robbins Current Challenge: Life, man. Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Careful now, or we'll get you doing deadlifts next. I'm looking forward to it! Definitely want to add that! I don't think I would be able to excercise proper form with just a crazy looking curl bar....not sure. Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 as I sometimes say to my friends, HOLLER!!! Nice work Tom! Adding weight is quite possibly one of the best feelings ever. Keep it up! Thank you! Definitely a good feeling! Funny thing, about a MONTH before I started up with NF & doing my challenge, I sold the majority of my weights because they were just gathering dust. Kept the curl bar, dumbells and about 60+lbs of weight....sold the big iron, bench bar (which would work SO much better for squats) and the rest of the weights....DOH! No regrets, moving forward! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
jdanger Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks! what would be some good stretches to isolate the hams? also, know of any good back stretches, i've been stretching POST workout and even after warm up and workout, when i sit down, lock my legs out in front of me and bend forward with my chin tucked in, i still feel alot of tension in the back muscles.This is actually a complex problem that doesn't lend itself to internet prescription very easily but I'll try to help as much as possible.There are a lot of ham stretches but no real reason to get super fancy to start. Just make sure to hit them from different angles. Touching your toes for instance will hit the posterior (back) hamstrings but doesn't really do much for your medial (inside/groin/adductor) hams. To hit the latter you just take a wide stance and shift to one side while keeping the other leg straight. A great dynamic stretch for this is the lateral lunge:http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcEL37azYEgThe only thing the guy in the video sort of glosses over is the knee action on the leg you are "lunging" toward. Notice how the knee stays over the foot without getting ahead of it. This is important to protect the knee as well as enable the proper hip position and weight distribution over your heels. This is also a great warmup exercise for a squat session. For the actual "back" hamstrings, I prefer leg raising to the simple toe touch as it protects the back more. See 5:20 in this video:http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JU4LapWMXgAs is always the case from Starrett, the rest of the video is legit too.Moving on to the back question, that isn't a coincidence. The "posterior chain" is a chain after all. That is, it is all connected. If you're tight in one area it can affect tissues up and down stream. Buying some hamstring flexibility can actually alleviate lower back tightness if your tissues aren't too glued down (say at the butt, the thing a lot of us spend too many hours on).And just like the hams (even more-so), there are many different ways to target the back and it's hard to recommend anything over the net. Best thing I can say right now is search though Starrett's site for back mobs (there are tons) and play around. What Starrett would call "informed freestyling". If you find any areas that are particularly problematic that you're unable to address I can maybe offer some more specific advice but until then, explore and keep squatting! Quote Eat. Sleep. High bar squat. | Strength is a skill, refine it. Follow my Weightlifting team's antics: Instagram | Facebook | Youtube Looking for a strength program? Check out The Danger Method and remember to do your damn abs Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Sweet! Thanks! I'll check these out when I get home and keep you updated on progress. Also, my butt was SORE this morning when I woke up. Feeling good though! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Jon Umber Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Deadlifts are by far my favorite lift. Wait til you get into those. Makes you feel like a true manbeast picking that much weight up straight off the ground. Quote Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Deadlifts are by far my favorite lift. Wait til you get into those. Makes you feel like a true manbeast picking that much weight up straight off the ground. I could use some more manbeast EXP in my quest to level up. :-) Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
andygates Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 You already have the beard. Manbeast XP are just waiting for you to collect! Quote Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 sweet! Thanks for the props on my manbeast beard! I kinda have a "Robert the Bruce" (from Braveheart) type goatee/beard hybrid...thing going on, though its in a regrowth phase, was being rushed last Sunday when I was trying to trim a few wild hairs and ended up having to shorten everything due to one false move....oh well, it will look good come OCt 8 when I submit my before/after pics from my personal 101 day challenge. Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Added 10 more pounds to my squats this morning! 3x10 @ 45.5lbs and I accomplished another one of my goals: 3 planks @ 1min/each. WOOT! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
faraxk Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 That is awesome! 1 min each is crazy good. I can't even imagine the burn but am looking forward to it. Congrats! Quote ~Miranda (aka Farax K) Stars hide your fires for these here are my desires And I won't give them up to you this time around And so I'll be found with my stake stuck in the ground Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul ~ Mumford and Sons Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thank you Miranda! you definitely feel your abs contract as you exhale slowly...o - m - g. Definitely shaky. Definitely worth it. You can do it, its all progression. When I started, I started at 30sec planks, then 35, then 40, then 45. Got stuck at 50 for an E T E R N I T Y, then pushed to 55, then 60 secs! Get after it, you'd better let us know when you hit 1 min planks! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted October 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 Added another 10lbs to my squats this week! Currently at 55.5. Yesterday I did 1x12, 1x11, 1x10 in the squats, focusing on depth & proper form, good times...and I AM FEELING IT TODAY! Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
bigm141414 Posted October 5, 2011 Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 Don't you just love the sound of plates slapping on to a bar? My favorite sound lemme tell ya. Squats, by the way, are a great exercise for mountain bike training as well. Happy trails Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to comment
Tom Kenobi Posted October 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 thanks man! I do appreciate the ability to add more weight each time. thats FO SHO Quote "First, decide who you would be and then do what you must do." ~Epictetus Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.