Hajime no Seven - the second blog

[AndrewS]

Seven,

Like GDA said- more overhead squats.

Also- broomstick overheads for form, shoulder dislocates with a band, and more upper back work. There are couple of things that could be going on- if your squatting technique is more PL style with a hip break first, then you're gonna bend forward too much and lose the bar forward. OH squats need the same technique as an oly squat or front squat- simultaneous hip and knee break, and letting the hips open on the bottom. Second, if your upper back is weak, you're gonna have trouble stabilizing the weight with scapular retraction and depression and thoracic extension. Maybe start from the rack for your overhead squats, push-pressing behind the neck, so you can make sure you've got your chest up at the beginning, and try a fat man pullup or two to check if your upper back (lower traps and rhomboids) is up to speed, as that may be a weak link.

Andrew

[Mr Punch]

Nah, that doesn't make me feel b!tchier... I think I have the same issue: I can get it up there, but there's something wrong with my chain flexibility somewhere or just my position when I squat... I'll have a go again when I'm back to squats, and follow Andrew and GDA's advice.

TBH, I chose to start my new programme with shoulder exercises because my shoulder strength and flexibility suck, so I want to work that out before I try the OH squats again.

[SevenStar]

7 / 9

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 7 x 5

squats
225 x 1 x 10
315 x 5 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
315 x 5 x 5

dummy curls
40 x 1 x 8
45 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 5
55 x 1 x 5
60 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 5

[SevenStar]

7 / 11

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 7 x 10

squats
225 x 1 x 10
315 x 5 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
315 x 3 x 5

dummy curls
40 x 1 x 8
45 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 5
55 x 1 x 5
60 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 7

[SevenStar]

7 / 13

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 7 x 10

squats
225 x 1 x 10
315 x 3 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
315 x 5 x 5

bent lateral raises
40 x 5 x 10

shrugs
225 x 1 x 12
275 x 3 x 10

overhead presses
135 x 3 x 5

[SevenStar]

7 / 16

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
250 x 8 x 5

squats
225 x 1 x 10
335 x 5 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
335 x 3 x 5

[SevenStar]

7 / 17

resist a ball class
decent class, lots of aerobic work on the stability ball, ending with ab work and both planks and pushups on the ball.

afterward, I spent 1.5 hours with a coworker who wants to learn muay thai. We are gonna start training on tues and thurs.

[SevenStar]

7 / 18

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
250 x 8 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
335 x 6 x 4

barbell rows
135 x 1 x 10
185 x 1 x 5
205 x 2 x 5

dummy curls
40 x 1 x 8
50 x 2 x 5

I didn't feel like doing squats today, so I left them alone. Besides, overheads are on tomorrow's agenda, so I will make up for it.

[SevenStar]

7 / 19

Well, I needed to get two tires and an aligment and picking the car up cut into my workout time, as I had to teach, but I will do overheads tomorrow instead of regular squats.

today we didn't do anything directly related to MT. We did resistance work, focusing on bodywork and cables, mainly geared toward the upper body. One of her friends will also be joining us now.

[SevenStar]

7 / 20

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
250 x 3 x 5
225 x 5 x 7

squats
225 x 1 x 10
315 x 3 x 5

deads
225 x 1 x 5
315 x 3 x 5

snatches
135 x 2 x 5

overhead press
135 x 3 x 5

overhead squats
yeah... I tried em again. I put 135 over my head and cranked out a set of 4 frat boy squats, but couldn't get low... shoulder flexibility still isn't right. I'm gonna keep working these.

shrugs
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 1 x 10
275 x 2 x 10

One of my new students was there with me. She did the folowing:
deads
squats
bench press
dumbell flyes
seated military press
shrugs
lat pulldown

all were three sets in the 10 - 12 rep range.

[WinterPalm]

One idea is to do the OH squats very often. Every time you are in the gym, do a couple sets with 95 or so, work on depth and getting those shoulders shrugged high. Also try overhead shrugs or face pulls for the upper back. If you check Mr. Punch's blog I left some advice for the flexibility.
Also, I usually did these bare foot but some shoes with heels make a difference to help with the flexibility.

[rubthebuddha]

seven -- forgot to mention this earlier, and i know i'm a few weeks past, but do like andrew said with the shoulder dislocates. if you don't have a band handy, use a broomstick. my shoulders have always been flexible in any direction except rotated out and up, and dislocates have worked wonders. i keep a long piece of doweling in my lifties room and use it whenever as warmup for ohsquats, then more aggressively for stretching after. good stuff.

[SevenStar]

MA training has been great, but my day job has been keeping me busy - I haven't touched a weight in 10 days... I feel small and frail now.

[SevenStar]

8 / 3

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 1 x 5
275 x 5 x 5

curls
40 x 1 x 10
45 x 1 x 8
50 x 1 x 5
55 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 5

shrugs
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 1 x 10
275 x 3 x 10

rows
135 x 1 x 10
185 x 1 x 5

[SevenStar]

8 / 8

bench press
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 1 x 5
275 x 3 x 3
225 x 2 x 7

squats
225 x 1 x 10
315 x 1 x 3
365 x 3 x 3

deads
135 x 1 x 10
225 x 1 x 5
315 x 1 x 3
365 x 2 x 3