5'8, 130 lbs, will work for strength.

[Perfect Moo]

85.

Good to see another younger guy here, I'm 16. I owe this forum all the credit in the world. Since first finding this place I've gained around 30 pounds and upped my lifts by literally hundreds of pounds. Stick around and stay consistent. Good luck.

AWESOME! I'm not as weak as I thought. Here are my numbers today:

5x5 Bench, 85 lbs
5x5 Squat, 135 lbs

I started the bench with 95, and did about 3 reps before I started failing. I can now officially squat more than my bodyweight! SUCCESS!

I upped the weight on my squats by another 10 lbs. I felt like they were too easy on Thursday.

 

[Perfect Moo]

Alright, I'm setting the following goals:

Bench: 135

Squat: 175

Deadlift: 195

I want to achieve this by the end of the school year. (June)

I have 14 weeks, and adding 5 pounds a week to all of my lifts should exceed this, but you never know. I'll set new ones once I surpass these.

 

[Perfect Moo]

Here is thursday's workout:

Squat 5x5 (140 lbs)
Bench 5x5 (90 lbs)

I increased both of my lifts, and I did them successfully.

 

[Perfect Moo]

I didn't stop doing my workouts, but I stopped posting them here. My back has been hurting from squats, so I'm going to switch to front squats. Here are my current 1RM.

Bench: 115 :icon_sad:
Squat: 180
DL: 225 :icon_chee

My bench still sucks horribly, but I've made big gains on my DL and squat. Maybe because I have really long arms? Any ideas?

Once I get back from spring break, i'll start posting my workouts again.

EDIT: I'm now 5'9 and 138 lbs.

 

[SunNovaGun]

Long arms can work against you but it's most likely your technique that's holding you back.

 

[scoopj]

Before you know it you'll be 6'1. Just be consistent.

Long arms do help with the deadlift and hurt with the bench press, but don't let that hold you back.

Wish they had the Internets when I was 14. Good luck man!

 

[Perfect Moo]

Long arms can work against you but it's most likely your technique that's holding you back.

I can't upload video, but I'm keeping elbows in, shoulderblades squeezed together, arched back, and legs planted. What else should I be doing?

 

[scoopj]

I can't upload video, but I'm keeping elbows in, shoulderblades squeezed together, arched back, and legs planted. What else should I be doing?

Here's a helpful link on the main page. There's a lot more out there if you look for it. Go to Youtube and search for "bench press technique".

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/bench-sucks-me-1181697/

 

[Gold182]

Wish I had found this place when I was 14. If your back hurts from squats its either DOMS in which case man up or you need to work on your form no GMing the weight up.

Good luck, sound like you need to up your eating more though if you've only put on 8lbs.

 

[Perfect Moo]

It's not sore. As soon as I unrack the bar, I feel a sharp pain in my spine. I don't feel that with front squats. I think it has to do with spinal decompression, but either way, front squats are a lot easier for me to get my form perfect on.

 

[SunNovaGun]

I can't upload video, but I'm keeping elbows in, shoulderblades squeezed together, arched back, and legs planted. What else should I be doing?

Sounds like you've got most of it. Make sure the bar and your wrists and elbows are all aligned when your benching and concentrate on pushing with your chest as opposed to your shoulders and triceps.

Leg drive is important too, not just planting your feet but actually driving with your legs. I thought this concept was ridiculous until I figured out how to do it and it improved my bench dramatically. If you don't feel it in your legs you're probably not getting the leg drive.

One more thing, you're young and quite thin so you're not going to get strong overnight. Make sure you eat a lot, and when you think you've eaten a lot eat some more. The more you weigh the easier it'll be to move heavier weights.

 

[Perfect Moo]

Here's today's workout. I've lowered my weights by 10%, as recommended in a previous thread. I tried to do front squats, but they felt extremely wierd and off balance, and to my surprise, an ex-olympic lifter dropped by the weight room today, and he told be to use a dumbell instead. I told him I'm interested in olympic lifts, and he gave me the name of a coach nearby. I emailed him and am waiting for a response. I need a place to work out during the summer.

5x5 Bench, 90 lbs. No problems, perfect form, steady movement.
5x5 Barbell Row, 95 lbs. I'm going to increase the weight on Friday when I do these again, no problems.
5x5 Dumbell squats, 100 lbs. Found the biggest dumbell there was, Did the squats like the guy told me to, and I actually felt it alot more than I thought I would.

The olympic lifting guy seemed really opposed to the bench, he said it would ruin your shoulders, and really seemed to hate it. I kept my elbows tucked in, so I felt no strain on my shoulders whatsoever.

My weekly plan is now:

Mon: 5x5 Bench, 5x5 Barbell Row, 5x5 Squat.

Wed: 1x5 Deadlift, 5x5 Push Press, 5x5 Squat.

Fri: 5x5 Bench, 5x5 Barbell Row, 5x5 Squat.

So does everything sound good? Everything checks out? I'm open to criticism.

 

[Perfect Moo]

I went to the olympic lifting guy today. I worked on my technique and did the following.

Snatches, 4 reps per set, Set 1: 60lbs, Set 2: 66lbs, Set 3: 75 lbs, Set 4,5,6: 86 lbs.
Clean and Jerk, 6x3 (86 lbs).
Front Squats, 3 reps per set, Set 1: 45 lbs, Set 2: 65 lbs, Set 3,4,5,6: 95 lbs.

This was a shockingly amazing workout, and really fun too. I'm looking forward to Friday.

 

[Perfect Moo]

Before you know it you'll be 6'1. Just be consistent.

Long arms do help with the deadlift and hurt with the bench press, but don't let that hold you back.

Wish they had the Internets when I was 14. Good luck man!

Damn, I just looked at my old log from two years ago, and I was just wondering, are you a psychic?

 

[belph]

Damn, I just looked at my old log from two years ago, and I was just wondering, are you a psychic?

Magician actually.