Vanity Log: how much in a year?

Syla5 said:
I was thinking of using them to improve shoulder/upper back stability, while improving my ability to be more upright. I currently cannot squat unloaded and by very upright without holding on to something. Much like using the front squats currently as a range extender/mobility assistance exercise, i was wondering if OH would be good for addressing the points i mention.

The aim is strong legs not big legs, obvisouly they will get bigger and i am fine with that but str > size for me, and for that i have my staple low bar back squats, throw in the split squats and band squats, and i am happy with that work for development.
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Yes to that, then. :)

Be prepared for some fun adductor DOMS as you do this. :D

Get used to big hamstring, rec-fem, groin stretching, and work on some external hip rotation (KStar's hip opener-ish).

I would also start doing shoulder dislocations with a barbell, too, This will open up your chest (pecs) and give you a feel for what the load will be doing.

When you do them, imagine bending the bar down, too, to get your lats involved. Without them, you're on a hiding to nowhere. :)

Also, make sure you get fractional plates under your heels.
 
If your core and shoulders aren't up to scratch, OH squats will not provide as much lower body mobility as front squats.

In fact that holds true for front squats and high bar. If you can't be rock solid stable with your upper body in positions that challenge your lower body, you won't be mobilising your lower body as much.
 
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mrthingyx said:
Yes to that, then. :)

Be prepared for some fun adductor DOMS as you do this. :D

Get used to big hamstring, rec-fem, groin stretching, and work on some external hip rotation (KStar's hip opener-ish).

I would also start doing shoulder dislocations with a barbell, too, This will open up your chest (pecs) and give you a feel for what the load will be doing.

When you do them, imagine bending the bar down, too, to get your lats involved. Without them, you're on a hiding to nowhere. :)

Also, make sure you get fractional plates under your heels.
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Thank you. I already do dislocations with a shortened green band, so hopefully a step to a barbell wont be to painful for to long.

Plates under heels check, all warm ups etc are already done as its squat day so i get all kinds of stretching done :)

icecold said:
If your core and shoulders aren't up to scratch, OH squats will not provide as lower body mobility as front squats.

In face that holds true for front squats and high bar. If you can't be rock solid stable with your upper body in positions that challenge your lower body, you won't be mobilising your lower body as much.
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missing/autocorrected words make it hard to read, i think what your saying is that i shouldnt expect OH squats to improve lower body mobility, and that if i cannot retain stability in my upper body i wont be mobilsing my lower body by doing these.

If i got that pretty much right then my plan is to use OH squats to promote better upper body behaviour and a stronger more stable upright position, would they help me achieve this? I can post a video later of what my back does when i squat unloaded if that helps show what i want to try and fix?
 
Syla5 said:
Thank you. I already do dislocations with a shortened green band, so hopefully a step to a barbell wont be to painful for to long.

Plates under heels check, all warm ups etc are already done as its squat day so i get all kinds of stretching done :)

If i got that pretty much right then my plan is to use OH squats to promote better upper body behaviour and a stronger more stable upright position, would they help me achieve this? I can post a video later of what my back does when i squat unloaded if that helps show what i want to try and fix?
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Yes and no.

The problem with overhead squats and people with strong backs is it's very tempting to lean forward and take what is (for a back squatter like you, Syla5) not a very big weight onto your back. This completely negates the point you are trying to achieve.

Having had this corrected myself, I know what it's like.

This is pretty tough to do with front squats, because if you tilt, that bar is rolling forward off your shoulders. :) But you still get that nice deep squat.

I think this is what icecold is getting at.
 
Sorry that post was a mess! Yeah you managed to decipher it correctly.

OH squats will be training your upper back and shoulder stability, but a stable and upright torso comes principally from the hips and rest of the lower body.
 
icecold said:
Sorry that post was a mess! Yeah you managed to decipher it correctly.

OH squats will be training your upper back and shoulder stability, but a stable and upright torso comes principally from the hips and rest of the lower body.
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cool, seems like they will hit what i want them to hit. Its my upper back that seems to round out when i am unloaded and go down in to the hole. I cant balance when i try to be more then 45 degress upright unless i hold on to somthing, when i do i have perfectly flat back and can be straight upright, so I was also thinking this is maybe a balance issue as well, and that OH squats are quite brutal on balance so they will help there as well.
 
I like oh squats as a warm up. But I used to do a lot more front squats than back squats so find the upright position easier to cope with. I can do 60kg for reps, but I struggle with more than that at just holding the bar overhead when doing 70 your core stability starts to go mad - I think it's a fantastic exercise if you're already in a good position to do them.
 
85% 1RM day...

CARDIO DAY! :eek:

WARMUP Overhead squats * 5 @ 40kg

FRONT SQUATS 5-5-5-5-5 (85% is 94.3kg, based on 105*3 estimate)

70-95-95-95-95

Ooof. 5 reps is pretty hard work after a diet of triples. :D These were absolutely murder on my quads even with maximum hip draaaaaaaaaahve. That fifth rep on pretty much all the sets was truly unpleasant.


LB BACK SQUATS 5-5-5-5 (85% is 108kg, based on 120*3 estimate)

110-110-110-110

Oh, look - hamstrings are now ruined! :D The fun thing about these is that it's much easier to maintain shape, and so I was really able to torque my hamstrings and glutes into action. Why do I do these? Without heavy clean work, I need something that will really work my posterior chain... and they give me a good feel for what my core is doing, too.


DBSS 6-6-6-6 @ 90sec rest

BW-10-14-18 (weights are for dumbell in each hand)

Well that was foolish. Last rep at 18 was very shaky. Legs were totaled.


I felt physically sick after this workout. Firstly, I'm not used to the rep ranges, and secondly, not at these weights.

Also, I was out of time (busy day of meetings) and wanted some ring dipping, but there we go.

I am going to need a VERY early night to sleep this off. That was horrendous. :cool:
 
Solid session!

Technical question: Have you mastered getting sickening amounts of bounce out of high bar and front squatting? If you have, do you use it?
 
Mastered? Sort of.

I say that because It's not something I consciously learned. What I do know is that I need to be very warm, otherwise my adductors, knees and hamstrings just roll over and die.

I will say it is very useful when pushing out of the hole. Because the hole is no longer there. :D

HOWEVER. I'm trying to be more conscious of my technique at the moment, which means my front squats have quite a slow descent as I try and REALLY focus on keeping my core locked down hard. The last two sets today had plenty of bounce. ;)
 
Personally, I think there is a time and a place for a bounce. For certain training purposes I feel that it robs a small amount of stimulus. Like you I'm working on technique with my high bar squats so I don't much rebound, but I also like pausing the occasional rep...

This is all new to me, I've only been able to do this without my ankles exploding for few months :D
 
icecold said:
Personally, I think there is a time and a place for a bounce. For certain training purposes I feel that it robs a small amount of stimulus. Like you I'm working on technique with my high bar squats so I don't much rebound, but I also like pausing the occasional rep...

This is all new to me, I've only been able to do this without my ankles exploding for few months :D
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I have always been blessed with better-than-most joint mobility, so my ankles can flex to a silly degree... S the key think has been stabilising my lumbar and upper back for front squats. But regarding the training stimulus: absolutely.

Power and stability out of the hole are big sticking points for me at the moment, and bouncing kind of negates any benefits in that area.
 
Random 'not leg' day...

snatch grip SLDL 5-5-5-5-5

110-110-110-110-110

Not particularly hard on my legs (even after the violating they complained about from yesterday), but keeping the bar pinned against my quads and shins all the way down was hilarious for my back - the pump was just awesome. :cool:

Why no snatching or high pulling? Noise. People in the office next to the gym are hypersensitive to kiddy weights being dropped on the floor, so I had to behave with my pastel-coloured barbell...


Dumbell bench 8-8-8

35-35-35

Could have gone heavier, but it would have gotten messy. I could barely tighten my back after the SLDLs, too... :eek:


Close grip pull-ups ss/w Dumbell row 5-5-5

CGPU: +14-14-14
DBR: 35-35-35

Upper back was still smoked, so originally went for barbell rowing at 90kg but only managed 1 set of 5 before my lats stopped working and had to switch to Dumbells to keep a half-decent shape.


Well, well, well... Looks like my eventual return to proper lifting is going to be thoroughly unpleasant! :cool: :D

Adductors and hammies were sore this morning, and my quads were still pumped from yesterday. Probably a good thing tomorrow is only squatting at 80%... :o :eek:
 
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