few questions

[noviceLIfter]

Hey--longtime lurker of the SS forums. Found my way here. I am rerunning my LP and have a few questions. Figured it might not hurt to get some advice.

general stats:

6' 1", 202 lbs. Male.
sq: 240x5
bench: 215x5
OHP: 125x5
Deads: 310x5.

1. I'm 6' 1" but when I deadlift with my 4" belt it feels like I'm going to vomit up my breakfast. I am having problems setting my back. I've tried adjusting the tightness and position of the belt (sliding it up and down my torso), but I've had no luck getting into better position with my deadlifts. Am I candidate for the 3" belt? I saw an SSC in May 2017, and he said my (beltless) deads looked fine so I'm ruling out form issues.

2. I'll be running out my LP in the next 4-6 weeks or so (at least based on my previous numbers). Is there a consensus pick on the next program to use? I tried running TM after my LP, but I aborted that fairly quickly. I was looking into BBM's 'The Bridge' and thought that might be a good program to follow, but I don't know anything about autoregulation/RPE.

3. (Vague question). I'm experiencing pain in my right hip area. In the area where the gluteus maximus meets the fascia (see pic: https://d2m3czf6fvb8bh.cloudfront.net/s ... _thigh.gif). I don't have a good idea of what is going on, just a list of unrelated observations about it:

--wide stance with toes pointed out (30 degrees or more) exacerbates the pain.
--lots of light squatting with a narrower stance and toes pointed slightly inward helps. Almost seems to dissipate whatever is causing the pain.
--any sort of hip mobility exercises/stretches do nothing, or they cause me to wince a bit.
--I made a very deliberate attempt to keep my balance over my midfoot and this made for some pretty smooth squatting. I believe Austin of BBM made some sort of offhanded remark about a trainee's hip issue being caused by driving through the heels on the ascent of the squat.

Should I stop squatting for a week? Or lift at a weight where the pain does not exist? Anyways, any help would be appreciated.

Also, just wanted to say thanks to the folks who set this place up; the SS forums were a weird place this past year.

[Wilhelm]

Welcome to the site, @noviceLIfter
Nice to have you here.

I'll wait and let some of the more experienced members ask and answer questions.
You're definitely in the right place.

[omaniphil]

Welcome @noviceLIfter. I can't say much about question #3, but regarding #1, I only recently started deadlifting with a 4" belt after trying back during my LP, and giving up and switching to a 3" belt. I finally figured out how to wear a 4" belt, but it took a while. Everybody is different, but for me, I realized I didn't need to wear it as tight (typically one belt hole looser) as when I squatted. After a while I got used to wearing it the same tightness as during my squats, but it just took time.

Regarding question #2, the Bridge is a good program. To give you a general guideline of what percentage of your 1RM an RPE for a set should be, check out the RTS RPE chart http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-con ... et-rpe.png It will give you a good starting point and target for what your weights should be. I believe the Bridge ebook has a good breakdown to for how to judge RPE. Judging RPE is a skill that takes time to master. I've been doing it for a few months, and I still don't feel like I have a great handle on it, but its better than it was when I started. Once again, it just takes time.

Hope that helps!

[simonrest]

welcome. I hope you stay long enough to make a mockery of your chosen username.

I've never much liked a 3" belt - I reckon it's too small, but I've never lifted in one, just tried one on. If your belt makes you want to throw up Maybe it is too tight. Maybe put a bigger gap between eating and lifting?

I too like the bridge (or similar programming from BBM - there's a 4 day version).

I hope your hip heals. How bad is the pain, could you squat through it, or is it debilitating?

[perman]

Question 1) I think the high hip SS deadlift is particularly bad when it comes to room for the belt. If you alter step 3 of the SS deadlift from "bring the knees forward until the shin hits the bar" to "lower the butt until the shin hits the bar", your hips will be lower and you will have more room for the belt. I think a slightly lower hip than SS recommends also tends to help the deadlift, several other people here have come to the same conclusion.

Wearing the belt high in the front also helps if you struggle with room.

Both these alterations have allowed me to wear a normal belt in the deadlift, was previously not able to like you.

[chrisd]

Welcome.

1) Do you actually need the belt ?

2) The Bridge is popular, most people don't know RPE when they start (Well, they know RPE 10), it's a learning experience.

3) If it's what I had during the LP, it could be deeply unpleasant. In my case I had moved to a wider then necessary stance, maybe I had knee slide as well, but the stance was definitely wide. Avoid adding to the problem, I had to quit squatting for a month and LP it all over again.

[chrisd]

Also, just wanted to say thanks to the folks who set this place up; the SS forums were a weird place this past year.

The weirdos and troublemakers were removed in September, so it should all be fine now over in the land of the pharaoh.

Isn't it?

[Cody]

Ayyy, welcome to the party @noviceLIfter!

1. What brand, thickness, and buckle are you using? Hope long have you had the belt?

2. I'm A HUGE advocate for HLM for everything intermediate, early to late. It's super easy to transition to from a 3x/ week LP and super easy to modify to titrate stress up or down. Andy Baker has a fantastic series on it and I've got lots I've written about how to tweak it over time.

http://www.bakerstrengthcoaching.com/si ... on-squats/
http://www.bakerstrengthcoaching.com/si ... -pressing/
http://www.bakerstrengthcoaching.com/si ... 3-pulling/

If you have specific questions of how to set it up, just ask.

3. Sounds like an impingement due to hip capsule anatomy. Don't squat so wide if it hurts. Boom.

[Murelli]

Most hip issues are from knee slide in the bottom or from incorrect stance (too wide or too narrow).

Film all your squat sets and watch for knee slide - your comment regarding midfoot balance points toward this issue. Knees out from the beginning of the descent helps to set your hips in the right grove and tighten all hip muscles. If you are squatting with zero knee slide and still have pain, it may be a stance issue.

If that's the case, get to your usual stance (the one that gives you pain) and narrow it down inch by inch until it doesn't hurt (provided you are getting good depth).

Anyway, post a form check on the technique section.

[cwd]

1) I'm like @noviceLifter in that I haven't figured out belted deadlifting. My deadlift keeps going up though. How important is it to learn to use a belt?

2) HLM and 4-day HL splits work for me, now that I understand how to choose the right weights and the right number of sets for volume work.
But with that insight in place, I could probably make TM or 5-3-1 work even though I buried myself with them before.

This is why I'd recommend the Bridge -- it forces you to practice RPE and contains explicit guidance about how hard to push each set.

Most intermediate templates (like TM/HLM/5-3-1/etc) are pretty vague about how hard to push each set. New intermediates tend to guess wrong and burn out or stagnate.

[aurelius]

Welcome to the forum!

1) What LP program are you running? If it is SS LP, ditch the powerclean. Many recommend substituting BB rows. I'd recommend substituting SL deadlift. And add alternating chins/BB rows at the end of the workout.

2) How many days a week can you consistently train? That is important in choosing which program is best for you.

[noviceLIfter]

Hey--thanks for the warm welcome and quick replies.

1. I have a 4" single prong belt from Best belts. Single prong. It's worked well for squats but not so much for deads. I need to drop the weight a bit anyways so I'll use it as an opportunity to experiment a bit with the belt.

2. At least til my hip heals up intermediate programming will have to wait.

3. @Cody and @Murelli thanks for the comments about the squats. I filmed some light squats today and the mechanics were all over the place. When I visited an SSC in May he identified three issues: 1) keep back (especially lower back) rigid 2) break at BOTH hips and knees, was previously breaking exclusively at the hips and 3) balancing on the midfoot. I've tried to address all three issues, but everything seems out of sync now. I'll film a heavy set later this week and post it to get some feedback.

[platypus]

Hey--thanks for the warm welcome and quick replies.

1. I have a 4" single prong belt from Best belts. Single prong. It's worked well for squats but not so much for deads. I need to drop the weight a bit anyways so I'll use it as an opportunity to experiment a bit with the belt.

I have the same belt. I can't break my top warmup set off the ground wearing the belt around my belly, but if I put it way up high Konstantinovs-style I can pull just fine. I tried a 3" pioneer belt and the same thing happened.

Eventually I realized I pull just as much without a belt so I quit bothering with them for deadlifts.

[mgil]

@noviceLIfter, I think the problem is something like @platypus mentions: your belt is too low for deadlifts.

[Nermin]

@noviceLIfter, I think the problem is something like @platypus mentions: your belt is too low for deadlifts.

Yup, experiment putting it just below your titties, covering the ribcage slightly. Looser, of course. Depending on your dimensions, it may be as much as 2 belt holes looser than for your squat.

I also bought a 2.5" deadlifting belt and didn't like it - too thin. I much prefer my 4" seated high. I like a nice, loose-ish safety blanket around my thorax for deads. I find it's just tight enough during the first 1/3 movement where you need it most. Once you're past the knees, the moment arms are shorter, so the support is arguably less necessary.

[Wilhelm]

In my limited experience, i would agree.
I settled on wearing my 4" 10mm belt high "top just under sternum" and slightly lower in back.
Also a hole looser than on my squats. Just because i can't reasonably get it tighter with the ribs involved.
I like how nermin described it as being used mostly in the first part of the lift. Never thought about it that way.
I wear it really low on my squats though. Right down on my hips. I know some people use the same hole for both.
You'll know.

There is a point where i can get a full breath and also where the belt doesn't shift when i get into position.
Too low and i couldn't get breath and the back woud loosen and shift up my back when i got fully in position to pull.
That's probably my thighs pressing against my fatness causing some slack there. ; )

@Nermin's "covering your ribcage slightly" is accurate for me. You'll know if it's too high. Your ribs will tell you.

But people are built differently. I started a thread about where people wear their belts, and there were different answers.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=484

Some people wore it the same for squats and DL. That doesn't work for me. But , as mentioned, i wear it hella low on squats.