5x5

[chris watton]

Looks good to me, nice and deep.

[Tall_Paul]

87.5kg 3x5 squats this morning, I let out a proper ripper of a fart at the bottom on the second rep of the second set At least it got rid of the 2 blokes doing shrugs in the smith machine next to me who were chatting loudly and putting me off

[V8mate]

Is your core locked, Oli? Everything's going in the right directions but you seem to 'wobble from within'.

[reggiedamole]

The whole thing looks a bit feminine.... think its those plates, don't they have any black ones?

[Avalyn]

Looks a bit wobbly I agree, but they looked very easy so maybe more weight will force you to stabilise your core.

I'm not going to go into high bar/low bar stuff, but it does look like the bar is pretty high up, even for high bar squats .. once you get a lot more weight on there I think that's going to start to hurt, try moving it down your traps a bit.

Good marks for depth though, good to see none of this 1/2 rep nonsense

[MYOB]

Should his back be more upright? Seems a bit hunched forward to me.

[shakotan]

olly22n said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELFKgsK3Ao

off you go lads!

It looks like you have the bar too high, to me it appear to be in the crook of your neck, whereas it should be resting across your shoulders.

Because of that you're leaning forwards.

Edited by shakotan on Wednesday 27th July 11:49

[V8mate]

olly22n said:

shakotan said:

It looks like you have the bar too high, to me it appear to be in the crook of your neck, whereas it should be resting across your shoulders.

Because of that you're going a little far forwards as you go down.

Thanks, i'll look to correct that tomorrow

Simultaneously locking your core and presenting your chest skywards should feel a natural combination.

[TROOPER88]

Avalyn said:

Looks a bit wobbly I agree, but they looked very easy so maybe more weight will force you to stabilise your core.

I'm not going to go into high bar/low bar stuff, but it does look like the bar is pretty high up, even for high bar squats .. once you get a lot more weight on there I think that's going to start to hurt, try moving it down your traps a bit.

Good marks for depth though, good to see none of this 1/2 rep nonsense

Hi
I'm a fitness manager and have been for a very long time.

I only had a quick look but what has been said is correct.

Firstly the bar needs to rest more on your traps; tbh I'm
Surprised you haven't already hurt the top vertebrae. With your fingers touch the 2 vertebrae you can feel on the back of your neck, are they sore?

Secondly for 5x5 the weight is too low

Paul

[V8covin]

Wouldn't it be better/safer if he faced the other way,backing into the rack looks a bit dodgy

[V8mate]

olly22n said:

Bang on. My top vertebrae are sore, I just thought that was the 'no pain no gain' part!

I feel as I could lift twice as much but the feeling I have been picking up is to build up slow and concentrate on form!

What would you suggest increasing the weight to?

First, you should find a place where carrying the weight is comfortable. If it's not comfortable now, it's certainly not going to get any better as you life 2x and 3x the weight.

[HD Adam]

olly22n said:

TROOPER88 said:

Hi
I'm a fitness manager and have been for a very long time.

I only had a quick look but what has been said is correct.

Firstly the bar needs to rest more on your traps; tbh I'm
Surprised you haven't already hurt the top vertebrae. With your fingers touch the 2 vertebrae you can feel on the back of your neck, are they sore?

Secondly for 5x5 the weight is too low

Paul

Bang on. My top vertebrae are sore, I just thought that was the 'no pain no gain' part!

I feel as I could lift twice as much but the feeling I have been picking up is to build up slow and concentrate on form!

What would you suggest increasing the weight to?

I would not reinvent the wheel and stick with the incremental weight.

Trust me, you want to keep your form. If you just chuck 100kg on the bar now, your form WILL go to st.

If you train 3 times a week, it will get heavy quickly.

[TROOPER88]

olly22n said:

Bang on. My top vertebrae are sore, I just thought that was the 'no pain no gain' part!

I feel as I could lift twice as much but the feeling I have been picking up is to build up slow and concentrate on form!

What would you suggest increasing the weight to?

Where about's in the country are you?

To be honest it is difficult for me to comment on the weight you are squatting as I do not know you.

At my current Club we only have a smith machine which is how I do my squatting. Some people say it is easier with a smith, some say it is harder.

If you are using a 20kg Olympic bar, I would of thought 20 kg each side (so 60 kg total) would be roughly where you need to be for 5x5.

For everyone doing 5x5, the idea is obviously to complete 5 reps 5 times.

For strength to improve efficiently you need to be working hard. The last couple of sets are meant to be hard.

Let me know if you need any more advice

[V8mate]

TROOPER88 said:

For strength to improve efficiently you need to be working hard. The last couple of sets are meant to be hard.

Let me know if you need any more advice

That is very true. You should come away from a set feeling like you've run 100m.

But, you should still go through the programme to reach that point. Use the early stages to refine your form, and get your body used to lifting in that way. Not just slap a load of weight on and hope for the best.

[V8mate]

One of the most annoying things I see is youngsters loading up barbells and dumbbells, beyond what they can usefully lift, and then training with appalling form, or part mobility, just so they can quote kgs to their bros.

Pointless, in terms of achieving their goals, and potentially injury-causing.

In the past I've found that sometimes the tiniest change - usually on the advice of a PT - to the way I perform a certain lift really delivers. I'll suddenly feel the pertinent muscle really engage or suddenly be able to move off a plateau.

[V8mate]

olly22n said:

I don't mind it where it is, it hurts but it's ok. I have had 140kg on there when doing calf raises and it's ok.

How did you feel after doing calf raises with 140kg on your shoulders?

Do 3 x 50 clean, full stretch, calf raises (just body weight, no bar) on a kerbstone and report back

[V8mate]

olly22n said:

V8mate said:

How did you feel after doing calf raises with 140kg on your shoulders?

Shoulders killed, calves felt fresh.

So you didn't really exercise your calves at all!

[shakotan]

TROOPER88 said:

olly22n said:

Bang on. My top vertebrae are sore, I just thought that was the 'no pain no gain' part!

I feel as I could lift twice as much but the feeling I have been picking up is to build up slow and concentrate on form!

What would you suggest increasing the weight to?

Where about's in the country are you?

To be honest it is difficult for me to comment on the weight you are squatting as I do not know you.

At my current Club we only have a smith machine which is how I do my squatting. Some people say it is easier with a smith, some say it is harder.

If you are using a 20kg Olympic bar, I would of thought 20 kg each side (so 60 kg total) would be roughly where you need to be for 5x5.

For everyone doing 5x5, the idea is obviously to complete 5 reps 5 times.

For strength to improve efficiently you need to be working hard. The last couple of sets are meant to be hard.

Let me know if you need any more advice

I've just done 5x5 Squats at 55Kg and I really struggled with the last two sets. Saying the weight is too light is academic as it's relevant to fitness levels.

[shakotan]

olly22n said:

shakotan said:

I've just done 5x5 Squats at 55Kg and I really struggled with the last two sets. Saying the weight is too light is academic as it's relevant to fitness levels.

he had the benefit of seeing my video

As did I.

[Tall_Paul]

Part of SL 5x5 is starting light to get the correct form in place before the weights get heavy, it'll ramp up soon, don't worry. Don't go adding weight, if you can lift a decent amount you can just start off at higher than the normal starting weight, say 40kg (bar + 2 10kg plates) rather than just the bar.