(05-23-2018 09:06 PM)Mizo1234 Wrote:  Guys,
@ 5'6" height , how much body weight at 10% body fat will give me the underwear model look ? More like Calvin Harris look

Calvin Harris is like 6' 6", so I have no idea how to answer your question.
Just lift weights until you get there dude. Nothing is an exact science with this shit.

(05-23-2018 09:06 PM)Mizo1234 Wrote:  Guys,
@ 5'6" height , how much body weight at 10% body fat will give me the underwear model look ? More like Calvin Harris look

That's what, like... 55-60kg? Maybe that's even too much for 10%bf.

Shredded and lean but NOT huge muscles at 5'6"? Prolly looking at like 140 lbs maybe even less. Will depend a lot on your body composition as well.

(05-23-2018 09:06 PM)Mizo1234 Wrote:  Guys,
@ 5'6" height , how much body weight at 10% body fat will give me the underwear model look ? More like Calvin Harris look

5'4 at 125lbs here, I have a visible but not sculpted 6 packs, a pronounced V-figure. No huge muscles though. So at 5"6 you are looking at 130lbs.

Actually, my roommate is 5"8, about 12% body fat, 136 lbs. He's a combat cardio guy so no muscle but pure lean mass, almost like Bruce Lee. So yeah keep it under 135 lbs.

I am being curious, what are limitations of weightlifting at bodyweight this low? I mean, are you still able to pull and push weights twice over your BW?

(05-24-2018 09:01 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I am being curious, what are limitations of weightlifting at bodyweight this low? I mean, are you still able to pull and push weights twice over your BW?

I bench 150% my BW and squat twice my BM, if we use the 1 rep max standard. More importantly I can swing 4lbs longsword at people

As long as you are still eating enough I don't think there's any problem. I definitely need to eat more if I want more defined muscles and break through my lifting plateau, but I don't force something that should be a pleasure. So that's one con.

A big advantage: is beach season, so 6 pack + shredded > big muscle for me.

The real advantage here is bodyweight exercise. At this low BW all you need to maintain your physique is BW.

(05-24-2018 09:01 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I am being curious, what are limitations of weightlifting at bodyweight this low? I mean, are you still able to pull and push weights twice over your BW?

This is going to 100% depend on the individual. Lifting X*BW is not exactly relevant here as it is generally much easier for someone who weighs less to move a lot of weight compared to their own weight verses someone who weighs more (this is why the Wilks score and similar algorithms were developed).

The strongest men in the world can deadlift 1000 lbs, and they weight 400+. That's a 2.5xBW deadlift. Comparatively, there are literally thousands of dudes in the 200 lbs area that can deadlift 600 lbs; a 3xBW deadlift.

Ok, that makes sense. That being said, how one should know that he entered into intermediate phase and should be changing program accordingly to his goals? Asking for future.

There are a lot of ways to "measure" you experience level in weight training. Some say basic numbers "bench press 5 x 5 x 225, Squat 5 x 5 x 315, Deadlift 5 x 5 x 405" something like that. Others will say based on your Wilks score. Can also simply be your years under the bar and your evolution of training.

(05-24-2018 10:56 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  Ok, that makes sense. That being said, how one should know that he entered into intermediate phase and should be changing program accordingly to his goals? Asking for future.

Sorry but I dont think the previous answer is accurate.

The only metric to tell whether you're novice/intermediate is based on whether you are able to add weight to the bar each session you have at the gym.

>put weight on the bar each session = novice
>put weight on the bar each week/2 week/etc = intermediate

usually advanced is where you need month(s)-long cycles before hitting a new PR.

Source: Starting Strength.

^what if someone peaks on SS's 5x5 linear progression after only 4 months. Would you call them an intermediate lifter because they have plateaued?

Sterling, don't worry about this other stuff until you get there. You'll know when you plateau'd and need to seek help. Don't plan to plateau at a pre-determined weight, that can become a limiting belief.

‘Intermediate’ has two meanings. A pedagogic meaning, which is ‘having reach a plateau on novice linear progression’. And a performance meaning, which is based on how much weight you lift.

For healthy young male lifters, both meanings of ‘intermediate’ may coincide. But if you’re not in that demographics, or if you have some genetic specificity (thin bones...), you might become ‘intermediate’ in the pedagogic sense earlier than in the performance sense.

Conclusion: you should not make decisions on your progression based on how much you lift. You might well have to shift to an intermediate programme at 200 squat if you’re old and weak. Nothing wrong with that.

(05-25-2018 01:41 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  ^what if someone peaks on SS's 5x5 linear progression after only 4 months. Would you call them an intermediate lifter because they have plateaued?

Absolutely.
Being a novice = making a use of noob gainz.
Noob gainz = the fastest period of time where you'll put the most absolute weight on the bar (e.g. 100kg in 3 months). That's why it's such a short period.

SS or SL5x5 or greyskull etc. are not designed , in fact, to last more than 12-16 weeks because thats when the "general population" will stop being a novice and become an intermediate = no more noob gainz.

Intermediate = vast majority of the population who lifts (provided they've gone through a stable novice linear progression: if one has never tried doing that, then they should do that and exhaust their noob gainz first; that might even last less than 12 weeks if they already have somewhat of a lifting/varsity sport background).

My observation of the squat when I applied today what I have learned over these past few days regarding gaze, mirrors and such. I managed to do 3,5,5 reps of 77,5 kg with belt. On Wednesday I managed to do 5,5,5 of 75 kg. So by using belt, looking at the right direction and not worrying about mirror, I managed to increase lift by 2,5 kg and it felt almost easier than on Wednesday. That being said, you can see that I didn't hit the 5 reps on first set so I will be lifting same weight next time.

Now regarding deadlift there is a slight confusion. I attempted to do 115 kg but I couldn't. I guess 5 kg more than Monday is too much. Ok, never mind that but coach criticized my form and said that my hips are too high and my back is rounding at the middle of the pull.
He showed me how is he doing it and his hip position is pretty much same as the position Mehdi does on the far left:



I managed to pull 100 kg this way and it was a chore, but apparently my back didn't round. Not sure what to think of it as both SS book and SL website advocates for higher hip position but also I read that hip position primarily depends on your build and not on a hard written rule.

Banged out 150kg squat at 72-3kg bodyweight even though I haven't really been squatting much over the past 2-3 months. Feels good.

(05-25-2018 05:08 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  My observation of the squat when I applied today what I have learned over these past few days regarding gaze, mirrors and such. I managed to do 3,5,5 reps of 77,5 kg with belt. On Wednesday I managed to do 5,5,5 of 75 kg. So by using belt, looking at the right direction and not worrying about mirror, I managed to increase lift by 2,5 kg and it felt almost easier than on Wednesday. That being said, you can see that I didn't hit the 5 reps on first set so I will be lifting same weight next time.

You really don't need a belt for squats at this point. I'd put money on it that the other form changes you made got you the extra weight, and you can do it without the belt.

Training belts give a slight benefit but a lot of it is only psychological. A serious competition belt will demonstrate your form weaknesses only at heavy weight, because it's so solid that it will 'bite' you when you loosen up mid-lift.

Squatting with a belt is almost a different lift, stick to beltless until you put at least another 50kg on the bar, then you can add the belt and get 10-20kg benefit, not 2.5.

I did the first 3 reps beltless and other 2 x 5 with belt. Actually I didn't feel it helps me in regard lifting the weight easier, it's just that valsalva movement is much more pronounced when using it.

(05-26-2018 02:37 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I did the first 3 reps beltless and other 2 x 5 with belt. Actually I didn't feel it helps me in regard lifting the weight easier, it's just that valsalva movement is much more pronounced when using it.

when you have time, give this guide a read: you might find interesting info in it that can be relevant for your level.

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/quickstart/

I am more interested in answering the question as to why squats can't progress 2,5 kg more each time and other lifts do. I progress in everything except squats who now feel really hard and they even "broke" my form week ago. Still dealing with slight right hip joint pain.

I think the reason is that I am not a newbie and can't reap fully newbie gains. Regarding numbers in kg/lbs, I am definitely a newbie, no question there, but I started working out 6 years ago. Whole this time I have been doing it on/off at home, until recently, when I decided to go to gym.
6 years ago I had barely any muscle on body and I was really skinny guy with belly fat. When I started weightlifting at that time at home, I packed some minor muscle even though I didn't know anything what I am doing. I was really uninformed at the time and relied on a friend, who also didn't know much. Since then, even with eating in surplus and working at home I slowly progressed.

This here in the gym was a really nice refreshment, to see progress each time, but I feel it started to slow down and it won't be like in ideal Rippetoe example.

(05-28-2018 01:12 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I am more interested in answering the question as to why squats can't progress 2,5 kg more each time and other lifts do. I progress in everything except squats who now feel really hard and they even "broke" my form week ago. Still dealing with slight right hip joint pain.

How much do you weigh and how long are you resting between sets?

Also, regarding your DL post, the SS/SL (same thing, really) form is much easier to teach an uncoordinated guy than a low(er) hips, more quad dominant style of pull. Flexibility demands are much lower. My rather sedentary friend, stiff as a board, was able to get into the right positions with the SL/SS DL almost immediately. He's not able to get into a lower hip position.

You need to read up on some basic training cycles, sterling_archer. Starting Strength is a rather silly program that requires you to gain a lot of weight to keep progressing. Works great if you're a skinny guy who's not lactose intolerant, otherwise, running into a wall like your case is a rather common occurance.

If you go by the simplest cycle which is 3 months or 12 weeks, plan your increases from week 1 to week 11, then give yourself a week of play, and start a new cycle with beginning weight a bit more than last time. Every 3 months you should do better than before, giving your body time to rest and recover properly.

Personally I like 5/3/1, it has a few different plans for newbies all the way to elite (not world class elite though) and you get to set PBs quite regularly, which is the most fun thing about lifting!

(05-28-2018 01:12 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  I am more interested in answering the question as to why squats can't progress 2,5 kg more each time and other lifts do. I progress in everything except squats who now feel really hard and they even "broke" my form week ago. Still dealing with slight right hip joint pain.

there's only so much you can milk from spinning wheels over and over again.
if your squat form is perfect and the lift stalls then it just stalls and you need to move on to more complex programming.

for the lifts that are still progressing, keep going until they dont anymore.

(05-28-2018 01:49 AM)Truth Teller Wrote:  How much do you weigh and how long are you resting between sets?

I weigh 70 kg (154 lb) and am resting about up to 2 and a half minutes between work sets.

(05-28-2018 02:47 AM)StrikeBack Wrote:  You need to read up on some basic training cycles, sterling_archer. Starting Strength is a rather silly program that requires you to gain a lot of weight to keep progressing. Works great if you're a skinny guy who's not lactose intolerant, otherwise, running into a wall like your case is a rather common occurance.

If you go by the simplest cycle which is 3 months or 12 weeks, plan your increases from week 1 to week 11, then give yourself a week of play, and start a new cycle with beginning weight a bit more than last time. Every 3 months you should do better than before, giving your body time to rest and recover properly.

Personally I like 5/3/1, it has a few different plans for newbies all the way to elite (not world class elite though) and you get to set PBs quite regularly, which is the most fun thing about lifting!

I don't know about silliness of the program as I am newbie but I can agree that SS is too taxing on me. Even on good nutrition and enough sleep, I am almost constantly sore and tired. Today coach said that 3x per week squat is too much. I said that this is how the program was written, can't change it too much.

I would rather do something like P.H.U.L. which is basically what I want for my goals.
Originally I started SS so I could get foundation in technique, form and weight and progress to some hypertrophy based program, since mass (which I lack) is my primary goal. @RandomA suggested couple of pages ago PHUL/PHAT and while they initially seemed taxing I actually changed opinion when I researched more about them.

For example, on day 2 it says you do squat, deadlift and other leg exercises. But this is only for one day basically and not 3x per week! Much more achievable to increase weight once weekly instead of three times per week.
Also, that day 2 is strength day so you lift some heavy shit, but on day 3 and 4 you change reps and sets to go in hypertrophy range. Basically I like lifting heavy shit but would also like having volume that targets specifically lacking parts. PHUL seems to be like the best of both worlds.

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout