Squats, deads, bench

[Alone]

I finally manned up and started trying these.

I look like I'm in decent shape, but I'm apparently super weak. I know I shouldn't expect much, but this is awful.

Right now when I squat 180, I seem to strain my lower back a bit. I stretch plenty, and the weight is comfortable enough on my legs. I want more weight but my back doesn't like it. I'm using proper form from what I can gather.

I'm deadlifting 120lbs, and its tough. Should my numbers go up reasonably quick doing 5x5?

Bench...I can't manage it. I don't think I can even do 5x5 with 80lbs (including the bar). Also, it hurts my shoulder, so should I work on shoulder exercises first, to strengthen them?

 

[Alone]

Oh, and I'm 5'10 168lbs.

 

[HomerX]

I don't think I can even do 5x5 with 80lbs (including the bar)

probably i misread that but the bar alone is ~55lbs in my gym so thats only 25lbs additional weight... or is it 80lbs + 55lbs bar?

80lbs total is a little bit low compared to your 180lbs Squats...
The good thing is that in the beginning you can make good progress is no time

personally i prefer slightly inclined dumbbell press instead of a flat barbell bench press. It seems to be better for my shoulder (which i injured with bench pressing a while ago).

 

[Kev]

180lb squat with a barbell? Going below parallel? That is pretty amazing for having just started, but kind of questionable compared to your DL and Bench weights.

 

[Alone]

I based my numbers off a 40lb bar, I assumed that's what it was.

And yeah, my squats are below parallel. I've always had strong legs from carrying rucksacks in the military.

And my bench is what I assume is a 40lb bar + 40lb plates.

Oh, and I'm trying to work on my form with deadlifts, adding more weight makes my back all funky.

 

[jlee]

A standard bar is 45lb. Most 'full size' plates are 45lb - some are 35, but I have yet to see a 40lb. Not saying they don't exist..I just haven't seen one yet. Unless you're referring to 40lb of plates in general..then it makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Alone]

Yeah I put two 10's on each side of what I thought was a 40lb bar.

So:

Bench: 40lbs + bar
Squat: 140lbs + bar
Dead: 120lb barbell

 

[HomerX]

And my bench is what I assume is a 40lb bar + 40lb plates.

How many push-ups can you do?

if i recall correctly a push up is ~60% of your bodyweight which equals ~100lbs in your case.

If you mange to do more than 5 push-ups you probably have problems with your bench technique... if not, you simply have a weak chest

 

[Alone]

I can do about 40 pushups in a set with good form. More if I sacrifice form. That's why bench confuses me.

Must be my technique.

 

[katank]

A standard bar should be either 45 lbs or 20kg which is 44lb.

Don't worry, your numbers will go up very quickly on linear 3x5 or 5x5. You should probably also do some OH pressing and cleans.

 

[HomerX]

I can do about 40 pushups in a set with good form. More if I sacrifice form. That's why bench confuses me.

Must be my technique.

In this case ist must be your technique or a mental thing...

view a few videos of benching technique in youtube...

 

[Alone]

I've watched youtube videos, watched people at the gym, and have had spotters. No one has mentioned a problem and I can't find one. I think you're right about the mental thing. It must have something to do with my mind being focused on my shoulder.

 

[CrossFyer]

Try the Press (also called overhead press)
Alternate doing that with doing Bench Press

This is outlined well in the Starting Strength program

Also something is probably probably wrong with your deadlift. I'm in the same squat range as you, did 180 monday and 185 yesterday. Squatting makes my lower back want to cry a lot. On the other hand, I just deadlifted 205 (x5) and it really didn't hurt my back at all, just took a lot of effort.

Wait...are you deadlifting 5 sets?

 

[Alone]

Yeah 5x5. Is that wrong.

 

[kalrith]

Have you read Starting Strength. I'm almost done reading it, and it's been a great resource. I worked out for years in high school and college and thought I knew what I was doing. I wasn't doing anything terribly wrong, but I certainly didn't have perfect technique either.

I did my first set of bench pressing last night after reading through the book (and only my second set since getting back into lifting last week). Tightening my shoulder blades, keeping my chest up, taking a deep breath and holding it, etc. all helped me to have the best feeling bench press I've ever had.

Just for comparison I'm 6'1" and 180 lbs and benched 3x5 with 35-lb dumbbells, so I agree with others saying there's something off with your form or thinking. Having a tight torso made a huge difference for me from my bench press last week to last night.

 

[kalrith]

According to SS, you want to do 1x5 for the deadlifts. You almost treat each rep like a set. You start with the barbell on the ground, bend down, "set" your back, take a breath and hold it, then lift, pause at the top for a second, and lower to the ground. Then do all that over again (I guess you skip the bending down part but do everything else before each rep and be sure to get a new, full breath between each rep as well).

Of course, you want to do warm up sets as well, so you do a lot more than just 5 deadlifts.

 

[Insomniator]

There is no way you can't bench 80-100 pounds at your height/weight... even if you're really out of shape. Gotta be a form thing.

Fine weights for squats and deadlifts assuming your form is good... might even be a little heavy really.

 

[CrossFyer]

Yeah 5x5. Is that wrong.

Yeah, try deadlifting 1 set of 5 every other workout. Try increasing by 20lb each time until it either gets very difficult or until you get to 170-175lbs. Then go up by 10lb each time.

I guess for starting out that weight is fine, but theoretically you can deadlift a lot more than you can squat, so it seemed odd that your squat was so much higher.

Just get Starting Strength, haha. Tuck your shoulder blades when benching - that's something that spotters wouldn't necessarily notice but it's needed to tighten yourself up properly.

And I seriously think the Press will balance our your "pushing" exercises and prevent shoulder injury from benching.

 

[jaedaliu]

does your spotter have to help you get the last rep on the bench press?

I'd work it to that level of exhaustion. 85 isn't much. I've always been the 2nd skinniest guy around, and I was able to get to 95 for sets of 10 within a week. (not optimal, I know, but I just wanted to be more active)

 

[SociallyChallenged]

does your spotter have to help you get the last rep on the bench press?

I'd work it to that level of exhaustion. 85 isn't much. I've always been the 2nd skinniest guy around, and I was able to get to 95 for sets of 10 within a week. (not optimal, I know, but I just wanted to be more active)

Working anything to fatigue results in a very high level of nervous system stress. It is not advisable to train large compound lifts to failure on purpose. That will lead to CNS fatigue and overtraining very, very quickly. He should approach it just like any other weight. If it's too heavy, he needs to go down. He can up his weight 5-10lbs each workout and he needs to work on his form. OP, you can watch this video for some good cues on how to bench (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0). Dave Tate is a world-renowned PL coach. You don't have to bench like a powerlifter, but you should listen to his advice on how to keep your back tight and bench correctly. You don't need to cock your legs like him, since it's pretty uncomfortable and isn't all that beneficial for non-PLs. Try that out and see if it helps with your bench.

 

[conorvansmack]

Starting Strength is a great resource. Check out http://stronglifts.com/ for some quick and dirty answers and videos of just about everything you'll need.

 

[bommy261]

gotta start somewhere brah. i could barely bench 135 when i first started and that was when i weighed like 200 lbs

 

[polarmystery]

Working anything to fatigue results in a very high level of nervous system stress. It is not advisable to train large compound lifts to failure on purpose. That will lead to CNS fatigue and overtraining very, very quickly. He should approach it just like any other weight. If it's too heavy, he needs to go down. He can up his weight 5-10lbs each workout and he needs to work on his form. OP, you can watch this video for some good cues on how to bench (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0). Dave Tate is a world-renowned PL coach. You don't have to bench like a powerlifter, but you should listen to his advice on how to keep your back tight and bench correctly. You don't need to cock your legs like him, since it's pretty uncomfortable and isn't all that beneficial for non-PLs. Try that out and see if it helps with your bench.

Isn't the purpose of the 5x5 program is for this to happen? Lest I forget, you do 5x5 until you fail those compound lifts, then if and only if after 3 more attempts on the following workout days to lower the weight.

 

[MJinZ]

Isn't the purpose of the 5x5 program is for this to happen? Lest I forget, you do 5x5 until you fail those compound lifts, then if and only if after 3 more attempts on the following workout days to lower the weight.

I don't know about nervous system stress, but 5x5 works better than anything else IMO.

The first three sets are great "warm ups" and the last 2 sets really pushes you hard. Depending on how my last set felt, I normally do one more set #4 to failure.

Rule #1 of lifting: Form over all.

Rule #2 of lifting: RAWRG.

Rule #3 of lifting: Eat

Rule #4 of lifting: Sleep and stay healthy

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Isn't the purpose of the 5x5 program is for this to happen? Lest I forget, you do 5x5 until you fail those compound lifts, then if and only if after 3 more attempts on the following workout days to lower the weight.

No. The purpose of most 5x5 or 3x5 programs is to go to positive failure, which is one rep before failure. It puts a lot less strain on the CNS than true failure. And actually, the only difference between a 5x5 and 3x5 is volume. A 5x5 incorporates much more volume, but many times it comes at the cost of a lower weight.