July 30, 2006

4 responses to Week 30: All wrapped up

1. Måns Says:
   July 31st, 2006 at 12:34 pm

   Cool… I can’t wait to get out there and do an outdoors session again…

2. Stinn Says:
   July 31st, 2006 at 2:26 pm

   Congrats on hitting all the lifts this week. The deadlift definately looks like it has more there. Couple tips that might help:
   -On bench try bringing the bar down quicker, I’m not saying bounce it but the less energy you use bringing it down the more you have to push it up. Stay tight but I’d shoot for twice as fast.
   -On squat try not to let your knees buckle in on the ascent.
   Your deadlift form looks smack on.
   As for a routine I’ve really enjoyed the Korte so far, the only thing I don’t like about it is only working out three days a week. I’m pretty much in the gym everyday either lifting or helping and I like to have more days lifting. I think the butter zone is 5 days a week. Some speed work might do you a lot of good too. I’m not saying do westside but incorporating some of the principles might be good.
   Either way best of luck with the secondary goals next week.

3. Kris Says:
   July 31st, 2006 at 11:30 pm

   Stinn, thanks for the pointers! I used to have a decently fast decent, but since I switched benching style I’ve had to slow down considerably to learn the correct bar path and wrist tucking. The last workout this week, I tested the waters with two ordinary sets of speed work but the bar was all over the place. Will definitively try to speed it up a bit for the PR attempt next week, but I still have a long way to go before the angled bar path is so ingrained that I can take it down at any speed I dare to try.

   So far, I have shrugged off the knees buckling in on the squat as a minor problem. The more I think about it, the more it seems indicative of a fairly grave mistake. If the knees can come in like that, it must mean that the weight is towards the insides of the feet which is definitively not where I want it. I do spread the knees decently on the descent, but need to learn to keep pushing out to the sides (the famous Westside reason behind wearing Chucks…) to activate the hips to the max; pretty much the same thing I do with some success on the sumo deadlift. Yet another reason for doing another main lift centered routine next, got to weed this one out asap! I am really beginning to see the light when it comes to the importance of honing the competition lifts through endless amounts of sets. As far as I’m concerned, and this may be putting it a bit harsh, Westside is only for people who have their technique down so well that they can afford putting all their energies into doing most everything besides the ordinary competition lifts. The speed bench may be an ordinary full range competition style bench, but without solid technique it will cause more harm than good to fling the bar all over the place at great speeds. I can see me do short stints of Westside for a change of pace and to break some old PRs, but for the time being, I see this focus on the regular lifts continue well into the next year - when I can consistently pass the chalk test I will probably also follow Stinn’s suggestion and incorporate regular speed work again. Right now it seems to me that if you can’t squat, deadlift and bench with proper technique blindfolded, you should probably be grinding out sets of squats, deadlifts and benches instead of worrying about boards, bands and whatnot. Using all those special exercises to gun for weak points in improper technique is like playing poker for money without bothering about learning the rules first - one needs to master the rules to lay out a sensible strategy. As we speak, there must be loads of people out there working hard to overcome sticking points caused more by trying to move big weight with bad leverage than actual muscular weaknesses… Sticking points may just be as advanced a concept as bands after all - beginners like me better ignore them for now.

4. Scott Says:
   August 3rd, 2006 at 12:27 am

   Kris, plenty of food for thought there. I understand where you’re coming from when it comes to the Westside speed work, and I imagine that you’ll be your own best judge as to when everything (particularly the new benching style) is ready for a bit of pace.
   Nice work on the lifts, btw. That squat looked especially draining

Comments are closed.