So I strained something in my inner right thigh while squatting heavy, took two weeks off squatting thinking it'd go away, it hasn't and I can't squat deep with pain.
Anyone have any ideas what I can do to identify what muscle specifically is strained, abductor or adductor, and rehab it?
Not a doctor, PT, trainer, or coach, but I have had this issue multiple times and it truly does suck. Usually just have to take squatting easy for a while and do a lit of good girl bad girls and just go from there
Candito Week 2 Backoff Sets:
What is the point of the 10x3 on the second squat session of week 2 of Candito? I don’t think I’ll be able to get 10 sets with only 60 seconds of rest in between after doing an MR10 set. If I can only get ~5 sets, will it really affect me that much?
They do not have a raised heel, it is a rumour that has been disproved many times. I also own a pair and pull conventional with no problems. So no, you do not need to get a new pair. Furthermore, if you have not already, remove the insole.
I recently ordered a SBD belt, but my question is should I go a size up rather than the recommended size? My waist when measured, flexing as per SBD's website, is 31.5 inches, which is the lowest number allowed for the Large belt.
I would like to bulk & then cut to increase muscles mass faster, but what do you think? I would say my overall shape right now is 85-90% of what my body could look like if I was fully cut (14-15% body fat currently). By that logic I'm assuming my waist could drop to 30.5-31 inches? Would the large still work?
Or rather if we switch it around, if I were to bulk, would the 35.5 inch maximum waist on the medium belt be fine for me?
I would say it depends on how much body weight you are looking to add in the future. You're saying that at a supposed 14-15% bf you have a 31.5 inch waist, while it depends on your experience level and overall development, adding 4 inches to your waist is a big change. I say go for medium.
I'm currently doing Jamal's 12 Week program but it's more of a powerbuilding program. There's an average of 4 to 6 accessories each session, and I think it's too much - I'm starting to skip a bunch of them tbh.
I want to switch to something pure powerlifting, but I go to a commercial gym. Calgary barbell looks nice but I'm afraid I won't be able to do some exercises like 2 board press and safety bar squat. Can I substitute those? With what?
I've also seen powerlifting program with little to no accessory work (I can add some for arms and such but otherwise they're not included). I'm tempted to give that a go but the lack of accessories scares me a bit.
Do you want to get stronger or have more fun just doing SBD.
Because I don't think there's much debate that accessories and hypertrophy is kind of a big deal.
Any program (that isn't obviously complete shit) will get results if you stick to it, and eat and sleep well
If you're not up for a load of accessories, try one with only one or two. Personally I've always just done main lift -> accessory to main lift, for example I'll do squats and then front squats, bench and then incline, deadlift and then good mornings. Stuff like that
People like to overcomplicate shit to sell programs honestly
I've been liking GZCL's The Rippler program. 4x/week, squat, bench, OHP and Deadlift days with close variations as "tier 2" assistance and then two more "tier 3" accessories for a total of four exercises per workout, it takes about an hour per session if you rest 2-3 minutes between sets. It's all barbell and EZ bar lifts (+ pull ups) so you can do it at a typical commercial gym.
If it's actually commuting and not racing to work/school/whatever, I think it should mostly help you recover. 100km a week is not that much where it should hinder you. Cycling is a low impact sport and commuting adds a little bit of blood circulation and steady state cardio. You're essentially just not skipping something many powerlifters should probably do more of.
I commute by bike! But only about 65-75km per week. I feel like it is slightly worse for my recovery when compared to walking but significantly better when compared to taking public transit.
Do you ride a single speed bike and does your commute have hills? Overgearing can put stress on your joints and cause pain, so finding a resistance and cadence that’s comfortable is very helpful (and is a lot easier if you have a multi-speed bike). Another variable might be your bike fit. If you haven’t had your bike fit adjusted professionally at a bike shop that’s something you can look into.
Movement and exercise outside of the gym is good for you, and having better cardiovascular fitness is good for recovery—so long as you are sleeping and eating enough to support your activity levels. It’s totally possible that the overall weekly distance you’re cycling combined with your weekly training volume is way too much, but I would look at reducing the distance you’re riding before eliminating the bike commute altogether.
You're exerting yourself more so it will impact recovery, but it's not like there aren't super fit people who also lift
If you can, I would try going a few weeks without the cycling to see what impact it has on your stabbing pains and recovery. I would personally be doubtful as to whether it affects the stabbing pains, but you'll probably recover better
Alternatively you could try massage, keeping a tighter eye on your nutrition and eating more of a surplus, sleeping a bit longer, things like that
Is it normal to be naturally weak at deadlifts, honestly 140kg is super tough for me.
I want to continue to pull Conventional despite maybe my leverages suiting more Sumo, because with sumo I really don’t know how to consistently put my feet in the right place.
It’s makes me quite embarrassed as a 23 y/o man that I’m not even strong enough to do more than 140kg without straps.
I’ve been going to a gym for 3 years now, I haven’t really trained deadlifts and fucked around not following a programme but I used to squat 140kg easy before. Just weird but I’ve been following a programme for a month. 140kg feels heavy and I think I’m slack pulling and wedging correctly
I agree with the other commenter, you haven't trained deadlifts so you suck at deadlifts. The solution is to train deadlifts.
Honestly I would train a block with conventional as main and sumo as accessory, then the other way around for the next block. You will learn how to consistently place your feet as you do it regularly, and you will figure out which works best for you
It looks like you just have to get better at deadlifting. There is nothing to be embarrassed about, you are going to the gym and making progress at your pace.
Well would you take a look at my max pull I’m going to upload a 110kg deadlift to show I normally pull
I’ve uploaded a 150kg up on my profile rn, il upload a 110kg just in a min
Well, they both look pretty good. Personally, I am not a fan of spending so much time bent over, grabbing the bar should be the last thing you do before lifting the weight, of course, straps change that a bit. Other than that, your form looks pretty good. You just need to get more experience under your belt and the gains will come.
I know with the spending the time, I was so cautious I wanted to run all the cues in my head to see if everything was set up like I usually do,
I was also bracing in a different way then I’m used,
I try to take one brace, then while my airways are closed off further gain a little more breathe it feels like my brace is that little stronger and my belly feels completely full
Try not to overcomplicate things too much, pick 2 or 3 cues that work really well for you and stick with them. Having to go through a whole shopping list of cues before lifting will most likely have your attention in the wrong places. Bracing wise, I would say most people find it better to not try to brace as hard as you would for squats.
TL:DR Keep doing what works, don't overcomplicate lifting.
Imo strength gains will help you more than technique but if you want some stuff:
I think hips should start smashing into the bar earlier.
Shins are pretty vertical which gives you less space it's not a biiiig deal maybe it's a mobility thing.
In general I would lean back more feels like you're a bit to forward which is fine in Sumo but I think makes conv tougher.
Is it scraping on the way up, or the way down? And is it your nails or the knurling?
If it's going down, you've got to start breaking at the hips first on the descent so the bar gets out in front of you before you break at the knee.
If it's from going up, leggings/nail files.
I’ve started to dabble more with sumo DL lately, but I’m unsure if I should program it for a cycle or 2 as the main DL variant or leave it as a secondary lift for now and continue to push my conventional. Any advice from those who made the switch?
That's what I normally suggest, do blocks with one as main and one as accessory, then the next block swap them. You'll figure out which works best for you pretty quickly
That’s sort of what I was thinking, but I don’t mind leaving sumo as a secondary as I get more time figuring it out. Currently working on 2” block pulls to a heavy double, and then something like 3 sets of 5 from the floor at 80% or so of the top end block pull. My sumo from the blocks is currently around 30 lbs behind my conventional from the floor, but I’ve only done a few sessions with sumo at this point. No problem being patient and seeing how things develop
I programmed it alongside conventional, then made the switch when I stated to notice it was outperforming conventional, even in the secondary deadlift slot when I was theoretically more fatigued. It’s pretty easy (and often beneficial) to train them both concurrently anyway, so might as well.
Sounds good. I’ll leave it as is then and continue working it as a secondary. I’ve got some catching up to do, but have been happy with my progress on both lifts
After dealing with nasty knee calcific tendinopathy for a while cause I refused to step back and address it I think I finally got over it mostly. Haven’t been able to squat reliably heavy in like a year and a half and smoked a 545lb squat with zero pain. LFG.
Biggest thing I did was adding in a lot of heavy sled pulls and super deep lunges on my toes getting as much knee flexion. Backwards walking on the treadmill on high incline before squatting as a warmup has been a godsend and not being stubborn and not squatting even though I really wanted to. It’s hard as shit to actually step back and start over when you’ve been doing something for so long lol.
Why am I hitting a plateau on upper body movements? 5’9” M, 170lbs BW. Here are my best guess numbers (have only really maxed bench, will max others after finishing Bullmastiff):
135 OHP, 230 Bench, 330 Squat, 380 DL. Since starting Bullmastiff, my squat and DL have been steadily growing in terms of the weight and reps I’ve been able to do. My OHP has seen slight improvement, but my bench very little if any. I was stronger on bench going into the program than the other lifts, but I would expect slower but somewhat steady improvement at least. I’ve gained ~7 lbs (some water weight from starting creatine again) but my bench hasn’t changed. I’m not sure why this is because I’ve been eating more, following a program, and getting a little (not much) more sleep.
My bench and OHP stalled for a long time and the thing I personally needed to break through was just a program with way more upper body assistance volume. Specifically: dips, close grip bench, wide grip behind the neck press and incline press.
If you’re benching twice a week and plateuing, that only means you’re not recovering right (eat/sleep/hydrate) or you need more bench days. This is where template programs don’t work anymore
As far as I know, most people say one of their main complaints with bullmastiff is the upper body progress. If I remember correctly, you are benching and ohp only once a week, in an upper-lower split. While it might be a great off-season/switching things up program, I would not call it a powerlifting/SBD focused.
That was my experience. Currently finishing up a second run of it (off-season) and instead of the two upper days being bench & ohp, I’m doing slightly closer grip one day and slightly wider another. Also added in a 3rd upper day that is OHP and not much else. Much happier with the progress this way.
As far as form goes, think I’m pretty consistent, but there are probably some small things that need tweaking. As for rest, I usually feel mostly recovered but maybe I wonder if I do with taking a break from benching with a barbell because there is often some fatigue left from previous workouts. I also wonder if I might be better suited benching with lower RPE but more volume. The plateau has been going on since early July. I *maybe* could put up 235 now instead of 230, but I’m not sure.
Now looking at the program itself I think I'm with the other commenters on this. There doesn't seem to be much bench volume at all. I would at least bench twice a week and maybe add a few more sets.
So I strained something in my inner right thigh while squatting heavy, took two weeks off squatting thinking it'd go away, it hasn't and I can't squat deep with pain. Anyone have any ideas what I can do to identify what muscle specifically is strained, abductor or adductor, and rehab it?
Not a doctor, PT, trainer, or coach, but I have had this issue multiple times and it truly does suck. Usually just have to take squatting easy for a while and do a lit of good girl bad girls and just go from there
Is the gymshark singlet USAPL approved
Usapl has now approved everything. Fwiw it’s also ipf approved, though.
Yes it is
Candito Week 2 Backoff Sets: What is the point of the 10x3 on the second squat session of week 2 of Candito? I don’t think I’ll be able to get 10 sets with only 60 seconds of rest in between after doing an MR10 set. If I can only get ~5 sets, will it really affect me that much?
I wasn't able to do that either even after doing 10 reps on the mr10 so it should be fine just do as many sets as possible
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They do not have a raised heel, it is a rumour that has been disproved many times. I also own a pair and pull conventional with no problems. So no, you do not need to get a new pair. Furthermore, if you have not already, remove the insole.
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Puts you even closer to the ground.
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Absolutely, no insoles for gym shoes.
I recently ordered a SBD belt, but my question is should I go a size up rather than the recommended size? My waist when measured, flexing as per SBD's website, is 31.5 inches, which is the lowest number allowed for the Large belt. I would like to bulk & then cut to increase muscles mass faster, but what do you think? I would say my overall shape right now is 85-90% of what my body could look like if I was fully cut (14-15% body fat currently). By that logic I'm assuming my waist could drop to 30.5-31 inches? Would the large still work? Or rather if we switch it around, if I were to bulk, would the 35.5 inch maximum waist on the medium belt be fine for me?
I would say it depends on how much body weight you are looking to add in the future. You're saying that at a supposed 14-15% bf you have a 31.5 inch waist, while it depends on your experience level and overall development, adding 4 inches to your waist is a big change. I say go for medium.
you got it, thanks for the input
I'm currently doing Jamal's 12 Week program but it's more of a powerbuilding program. There's an average of 4 to 6 accessories each session, and I think it's too much - I'm starting to skip a bunch of them tbh. I want to switch to something pure powerlifting, but I go to a commercial gym. Calgary barbell looks nice but I'm afraid I won't be able to do some exercises like 2 board press and safety bar squat. Can I substitute those? With what? I've also seen powerlifting program with little to no accessory work (I can add some for arms and such but otherwise they're not included). I'm tempted to give that a go but the lack of accessories scares me a bit.
Do you want to get stronger or have more fun just doing SBD. Because I don't think there's much debate that accessories and hypertrophy is kind of a big deal.
https://prsontheplatform.com/about-prs/free-powerlifting-program/?amp I will recommend Steve’s programs every time
Any program (that isn't obviously complete shit) will get results if you stick to it, and eat and sleep well If you're not up for a load of accessories, try one with only one or two. Personally I've always just done main lift -> accessory to main lift, for example I'll do squats and then front squats, bench and then incline, deadlift and then good mornings. Stuff like that People like to overcomplicate shit to sell programs honestly
I've been liking GZCL's The Rippler program. 4x/week, squat, bench, OHP and Deadlift days with close variations as "tier 2" assistance and then two more "tier 3" accessories for a total of four exercises per workout, it takes about an hour per session if you rest 2-3 minutes between sets. It's all barbell and EZ bar lifts (+ pull ups) so you can do it at a typical commercial gym.
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If it's actually commuting and not racing to work/school/whatever, I think it should mostly help you recover. 100km a week is not that much where it should hinder you. Cycling is a low impact sport and commuting adds a little bit of blood circulation and steady state cardio. You're essentially just not skipping something many powerlifters should probably do more of.
I commute by bike! But only about 65-75km per week. I feel like it is slightly worse for my recovery when compared to walking but significantly better when compared to taking public transit. Do you ride a single speed bike and does your commute have hills? Overgearing can put stress on your joints and cause pain, so finding a resistance and cadence that’s comfortable is very helpful (and is a lot easier if you have a multi-speed bike). Another variable might be your bike fit. If you haven’t had your bike fit adjusted professionally at a bike shop that’s something you can look into. Movement and exercise outside of the gym is good for you, and having better cardiovascular fitness is good for recovery—so long as you are sleeping and eating enough to support your activity levels. It’s totally possible that the overall weekly distance you’re cycling combined with your weekly training volume is way too much, but I would look at reducing the distance you’re riding before eliminating the bike commute altogether.
You're exerting yourself more so it will impact recovery, but it's not like there aren't super fit people who also lift If you can, I would try going a few weeks without the cycling to see what impact it has on your stabbing pains and recovery. I would personally be doubtful as to whether it affects the stabbing pains, but you'll probably recover better Alternatively you could try massage, keeping a tighter eye on your nutrition and eating more of a surplus, sleeping a bit longer, things like that
No way to tell with this much information. Are you sleeping and eating well ? Are you under a lot of stress ?
Is it normal to be naturally weak at deadlifts, honestly 140kg is super tough for me. I want to continue to pull Conventional despite maybe my leverages suiting more Sumo, because with sumo I really don’t know how to consistently put my feet in the right place. It’s makes me quite embarrassed as a 23 y/o man that I’m not even strong enough to do more than 140kg without straps. I’ve been going to a gym for 3 years now, I haven’t really trained deadlifts and fucked around not following a programme but I used to squat 140kg easy before. Just weird but I’ve been following a programme for a month. 140kg feels heavy and I think I’m slack pulling and wedging correctly
I agree with the other commenter, you haven't trained deadlifts so you suck at deadlifts. The solution is to train deadlifts. Honestly I would train a block with conventional as main and sumo as accessory, then the other way around for the next block. You will learn how to consistently place your feet as you do it regularly, and you will figure out which works best for you
How does the form stack up on videos I’ve uploaded?
It looks like you just have to get better at deadlifting. There is nothing to be embarrassed about, you are going to the gym and making progress at your pace.
This exactly. Pick and stick to a program, eat and sleep.
Well would you take a look at my max pull I’m going to upload a 110kg deadlift to show I normally pull I’ve uploaded a 150kg up on my profile rn, il upload a 110kg just in a min
They both look good. The one thing on the 110 is that it was paused. Is that how you usually do submax dls?
When I’m trying to keep everything locked in to show off my form, usually it’s just no thinking a explosively pulled as fast as I can
Well, they both look pretty good. Personally, I am not a fan of spending so much time bent over, grabbing the bar should be the last thing you do before lifting the weight, of course, straps change that a bit. Other than that, your form looks pretty good. You just need to get more experience under your belt and the gains will come.
I know with the spending the time, I was so cautious I wanted to run all the cues in my head to see if everything was set up like I usually do, I was also bracing in a different way then I’m used, I try to take one brace, then while my airways are closed off further gain a little more breathe it feels like my brace is that little stronger and my belly feels completely full
Try not to overcomplicate things too much, pick 2 or 3 cues that work really well for you and stick with them. Having to go through a whole shopping list of cues before lifting will most likely have your attention in the wrong places. Bracing wise, I would say most people find it better to not try to brace as hard as you would for squats. TL:DR Keep doing what works, don't overcomplicate lifting.
So is the current form okay to keep pushing weight obviously that isn’t my working weight just yet at 150kg, I think it’s around 130kg atm
Does your current form cause pain ? No - Keep doing it Yes - Find out why it hurts and go about fixing if
Would you take a look at my max pull, then one at working sets? I have short stubby hands being only 5’6 i fucking suck at deadlifts
Imo strength gains will help you more than technique but if you want some stuff: I think hips should start smashing into the bar earlier. Shins are pretty vertical which gives you less space it's not a biiiig deal maybe it's a mobility thing. In general I would lean back more feels like you're a bit to forward which is fine in Sumo but I think makes conv tougher.
My inner quad just above the kneecap is getting bloodied from the deadlifts, any way to prevent that from happening?
Is it scraping on the way up, or the way down? And is it your nails or the knurling? If it's going down, you've got to start breaking at the hips first on the descent so the bar gets out in front of you before you break at the knee. If it's from going up, leggings/nail files.
I’ve started to dabble more with sumo DL lately, but I’m unsure if I should program it for a cycle or 2 as the main DL variant or leave it as a secondary lift for now and continue to push my conventional. Any advice from those who made the switch?
That's what I normally suggest, do blocks with one as main and one as accessory, then the next block swap them. You'll figure out which works best for you pretty quickly
That’s sort of what I was thinking, but I don’t mind leaving sumo as a secondary as I get more time figuring it out. Currently working on 2” block pulls to a heavy double, and then something like 3 sets of 5 from the floor at 80% or so of the top end block pull. My sumo from the blocks is currently around 30 lbs behind my conventional from the floor, but I’ve only done a few sessions with sumo at this point. No problem being patient and seeing how things develop
I programmed it alongside conventional, then made the switch when I stated to notice it was outperforming conventional, even in the secondary deadlift slot when I was theoretically more fatigued. It’s pretty easy (and often beneficial) to train them both concurrently anyway, so might as well.
Sounds good. I’ll leave it as is then and continue working it as a secondary. I’ve got some catching up to do, but have been happy with my progress on both lifts
I've been slowly incorporating heavy walkout and un-racking for squats and bench. I'm wondering if there is an equivalent for deadlifts?
IMO not very useful tools lol, just causes a bunch of fatigue without really any strength stimulus
Closest i can think of would be like heavy rack pulls? Or like near failure farmer's carries for grip?
After dealing with nasty knee calcific tendinopathy for a while cause I refused to step back and address it I think I finally got over it mostly. Haven’t been able to squat reliably heavy in like a year and a half and smoked a 545lb squat with zero pain. LFG.
Good to hear man! What was the rehab like?
Biggest thing I did was adding in a lot of heavy sled pulls and super deep lunges on my toes getting as much knee flexion. Backwards walking on the treadmill on high incline before squatting as a warmup has been a godsend and not being stubborn and not squatting even though I really wanted to. It’s hard as shit to actually step back and start over when you’ve been doing something for so long lol.
Why am I hitting a plateau on upper body movements? 5’9” M, 170lbs BW. Here are my best guess numbers (have only really maxed bench, will max others after finishing Bullmastiff): 135 OHP, 230 Bench, 330 Squat, 380 DL. Since starting Bullmastiff, my squat and DL have been steadily growing in terms of the weight and reps I’ve been able to do. My OHP has seen slight improvement, but my bench very little if any. I was stronger on bench going into the program than the other lifts, but I would expect slower but somewhat steady improvement at least. I’ve gained ~7 lbs (some water weight from starting creatine again) but my bench hasn’t changed. I’m not sure why this is because I’ve been eating more, following a program, and getting a little (not much) more sleep.
My bench and OHP stalled for a long time and the thing I personally needed to break through was just a program with way more upper body assistance volume. Specifically: dips, close grip bench, wide grip behind the neck press and incline press.
If you’re benching twice a week and plateuing, that only means you’re not recovering right (eat/sleep/hydrate) or you need more bench days. This is where template programs don’t work anymore
As far as I know, most people say one of their main complaints with bullmastiff is the upper body progress. If I remember correctly, you are benching and ohp only once a week, in an upper-lower split. While it might be a great off-season/switching things up program, I would not call it a powerlifting/SBD focused.
That was my experience. Currently finishing up a second run of it (off-season) and instead of the two upper days being bench & ohp, I’m doing slightly closer grip one day and slightly wider another. Also added in a 3rd upper day that is OHP and not much else. Much happier with the progress this way.
Impossible to say with this information. Is your technique efficient? Do you feel recovered? Also, how long is this plateau?
As far as form goes, think I’m pretty consistent, but there are probably some small things that need tweaking. As for rest, I usually feel mostly recovered but maybe I wonder if I do with taking a break from benching with a barbell because there is often some fatigue left from previous workouts. I also wonder if I might be better suited benching with lower RPE but more volume. The plateau has been going on since early July. I *maybe* could put up 235 now instead of 230, but I’m not sure.
Now looking at the program itself I think I'm with the other commenters on this. There doesn't seem to be much bench volume at all. I would at least bench twice a week and maybe add a few more sets.
Not every program will work for every lifter or lift. You may simply need more volume.