Ask Powerlifter - Gents and gals of all goals welcome

mh1985

How much of a spotter is acceptable for bench on Starting strength?.

I did 83.5kg for 3x5 but I was using a slight spot on the last 2 reps on each, last session I did 82.5kg just with someone to help rack and unrack. I'm trying to strike the balance between pushing myself and progressing but not lifting so much that I have rely on the spotter.

Another problem is there is not always someone who can spot properly. So I am tempted to lower the weight to something I know I can get without a spotter comfortably but I don't want to regress.

Reply 2181

Michael XYZ

2

Original post by mh1985

How much of a spotter is acceptable for bench on Starting strength?.

I did 83.5kg for 3x5 but I was using a slight spot on the last 2 reps on each, last session I did 82.5kg just with someone to help rack and unrack. I'm trying to strike the balance between pushing myself and progressing but not lifting so much that I have rely on the spotter.

Another problem is there is not always someone who can spot properly. So I am tempted to lower the weight to something I know I can get without a spotter comfortably but I don't want to regress.

No spotting is acceptable.

Just tell them not to touch it - AT ALL!!!!! When you fail then you just shout to him to get it off you.

Reply 2182

Motorbiker

21

Original post by mh1985

How much of a spotter is acceptable for bench on Starting strength?.

I did 83.5kg for 3x5 but I was using a slight spot on the last 2 reps on each, last session I did 82.5kg just with someone to help rack and unrack. I'm trying to strike the balance between pushing myself and progressing but not lifting so much that I have rely on the spotter.

Another problem is there is not always someone who can spot properly. So I am tempted to lower the weight to something I know I can get without a spotter comfortably but I don't want to regress.

Getting someone to unrack/rack the weight is fine. That's how it's done in competition.

If the spotter touches the bar at all other than that then it's a fail and you don't count that rep. It's a simple system but it works... Spotter is there to stop you beheading yourself with the bar not to upright row the bar to make you feel better about benching a higher number...

Reply 2183

mh1985

1

Original post by MHorman

Getting someone to unrack/rack the weight is fine. That's how it's done in competition.

If the spotter touches the bar at all other than that then it's a fail and you don't count that rep. It's a simple system but it works... Spotter is there to stop you beheading yourself with the bar not to upright row the bar to make you feel better about benching a higher number...

yeah thats what i thought. problem is I did 82.5kg fine with just unrack/rack so I added on 1kg, thought I would be alright but had to use the spotter on those last 2. I couldn't really do smaller increments that so not sure what the best plan of action is?

Reply 2184

Arturo Bandini

3

Original post by mh1985

yeah thats what i thought. problem is I did 82.5kg fine with just unrack/rack so I added on 1kg, thought I would be alright but had to use the spotter on those last 2. I couldn't really do smaller increments that so not sure what the best plan of action is?

Try again next week.

Reply 2185

MissLightyear

14

Probably pointless questions but Im sure you wont mind :wink:

Theyre all to do with my annoyingly disproportional legs ...

1) I do loads of cycling, calf raises, running etc but my calve muscles dont seem to be improving. My tibialis anteriors are building though to the point where if I pull my foot towards the shin the muscle sticks out a ridiculous amount, which obviously look even worse with my pathetic calves. Are there any other exercises I could try to build my calves?

2) My right quads are noticeably bigger than my left when I tense! Obviously its fine if i dont tense but as pre season training is approaching i will be focusing on lowering my bf% so it may become more obvius? I have a feeling this is a result of me being on crutches for a few weeks and being unable to put weight on my left leg. Will they balance themselves out through squatting etc or should i focus on building my left one up?

3) and finally, is squatting, deadlifts, straight leg deadlifts, calf raises enough to keep a balance between quads and hamstrings or is there anything else i should be doing?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 2186

Double Agent

18

Probably an obvious one, but I might as well ask, what is the reason SS only has 1x5 on deadlift? Is it detrimental to gains if you exceed this?

Reply 2187

RawJoh1

14

Original post by Double Agent

Probably an obvious one, but I might as well ask, what is the reason SS only has 1x5 on deadlift? Is it detrimental to gains if you exceed this?

Stated reason is that the deadlift is hard to recover from, due to the large weights used. Whether it'd be detrimental to gains depends on lots of things - plenty of novices make great gains doing more than one set of deadlifts. Personally, I'd do the programme as written and only change it if it stops working.

Reply 2188

burningnun

3

That, and the fact that you already worked those muscles when you squatted.

Reply 2189

The Blind Monk

15

Original post by Double Agent

Probably an obvious one, but I might as well ask, what is the reason SS only has 1x5 on deadlift? Is it detrimental to gains if you exceed this?

Probably. That and doing more is unlikely to give you more gains since the frequency of deadlifting is pretty high anyway. That and you're doing the Deadlift after the Squat, which becomes a very tiring excercise once the weight starts climbing up. Just do the program as written for the lower body (but feel free to add chins, dips, curls, rear delt stuff etc quite liberally if your goals are aesthetic.)

Reply 2190

Gallium

10

I've been stuck at the same weight on bench for 3-4 weeks on starting strength, i deloaded or what not and had no luck. Atm i'm stuck on 57.5kg so i'm thinking i it okay to do 5x5 on 55kg then move up?

Reply 2191

Double Agent

18

Original post by RawJoh1

Stated reason is that the deadlift is hard to recover from, due to the large weights used. Whether it'd be detrimental to gains depends on lots of things - plenty of novices make great gains doing more than one set of deadlifts. Personally, I'd do the programme as written and only change it if it stops working.

Original post by burningnun

That, and the fact that you already worked those muscles when you squatted.

Original post by The Blind Monk

Probably. That and doing more is unlikely to give you more gains since the frequency of deadlifting is pretty high anyway. That and you're doing the Deadlift after the Squat, which becomes a very tiring excercise once the weight starts climbing up. Just do the program as written for the lower body (but feel free to add chins, dips, curls, rear delt stuff etc quite liberally if your goals are aesthetic.)

Cheers guys.

Reply 2192

RawJoh1

14

Original post by Gallium

I've been stuck at the same weight on bench for 3-4 weeks on starting strength, i deloaded or what not and had no luck. Atm i'm stuck on 57.5kg so i'm thinking i it okay to do 5x5 on 55kg then move up?

If you can't 3x5 57.5kg then 5x5 55kg will be hard. I'd have deloaded to say, 45kg 3x5 and then work back up.

----

Bear in mind I'm a ****ing useless bench presser, but I thought that SS was useless for my bench (made little progress, probably mostly because I didn't eat enough). I had more success when I benched more often and varied rep ranges and did more assistance. So on a Tuesday I'd do heavy bench 3x3 or 4sets x3, followed by heavyish (5-7 reps) close grips (not what a bodybuilder would call close grip, just 2 inches either side closer than my regular grip). On Friday I'd work in the 6-10 rep range with a lighter weight (regular grip). Plenty of bench and curlers have pretty good benches despite ****ty squats and deadlifts. What do they do? Bench often and do lots of assistance.

EDIT: I'm not recommending you stop doing SS. SS is a brilliant routine, and you should stick to it while squats and deads are still progresing. Just throwing out ideas for what to do after SS.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2193

Gallium

10

Original post by RawJoh1

If you can't 3x5 57.5kg then 5x5 55kg will be hard. I'd have deloaded to say, 45kg 3x5 and then work back up.

----

Bear in mind I'm a ****ing useless bench presser, but I thought that SS was useless for my bench (made little progress, probably mostly because I didn't eat enough). I had more success when I benched more often and varied rep ranges and did more assistance. So on a Tuesday I'd do heavy bench 3x3 or 4sets x3, followed by heavyish (5-7 reps) close grips (not what a bodybuilder would call close grip, just 2 inches either side closer than my regular grip). On Friday I'd work in the 6-10 rep range with a lighter weight (regular grip). Plenty of bench and curlers have pretty good benches despite ****ty squats and deadlifts. What do they do? Bench often and do lots of assistance.

EDIT: I'm not recommending you stop doing SS. SS is a brilliant routine, and you should stick to it while squats and deads are still progresing. Just throwing out ideas for what to do after SS.

I plan to change to a bb type split after my exams have finished :smile:

, i'm finding it hard what to switch too.

Umm if you could help it'd be great i'm 5ft 8 and 65kg , still pretty small ^^

Reply 2194

Bloodbath

(no homo) but have u ever done weighted hip thrusts or other gay looking glute exercises?

Reply 2195

Powerlifter

OP

10

Original post by Bloodbath

(no homo) but have u ever done weighted hip thrusts or other gay looking glute exercises?

Yes, but I call them powercleans.

I do like glute ham raises though.

Reply 2196

Davsters

8

Hey

I've only ever set foot in a gym once - I timed my 1.5mile time which was the main purpose and then went on every single machine just to see what it did and then left. I'm 16 by the way, 9 stone 13 lb and averagely fit - I go to an outdoor fitness 'bootcamp' thing once a week as well as do karate and horse riding. :smile:

I'm also generally quite active. However I'm pretty weak when it comes to strength; I've tried bench pressing and can just about lift 30 kg so I'm looking to start going to the gym.

I've read most of the Stronglifts 5x5 programme and a little bit of the SS programme aswell. The StrongLifts programme looked good so I'll probably do that (I like the idea that you start with just the bar :wink:

). But I have a few questions which neither of them seemed to answer.

1) When it says rest between sets, what does it mean? Do you just stand in the gym, walk around? Probably a stupid question...

2) What do you wear to the gym? Will normal astros be alright to begin with?

3) Do you recommend trying a few different gyms before picking one?, bearing in mind I plan to stick with this.

4) How much does going to the gym cost?

I'll probably think of more questions as I read stuff online. Just want to make sure I go into this well-prepared :smile:

Cheers

Dave

Reply 2197

fattycake

Original post by Powerlifter

PM what your routine is and current diet

How can I pm you for some help? cant seem to get that option.