ExRx.net

Remember that you grow during the rest times. It's hard to go to that from "work out every day, feel sore and feel the burn" to "work out less frequently and rest." But you should notice the weights on the bar going up. It's the best progress indicator you can get. If you can lift a heavier weight this time, well, the last workout must have been productive.

You can use your rest day for other things. Work on skills, sports, a hike, etc.

How low you go on the RDL depends on your flexibility. Not everyone can go to mid shins. You should keep a slight bend in the knees so the knees are not locked. Keep the arch in your back. If you start to lose it, you're too low. The RDLs will improve. Your flexibility will improve as you do it more and your range of motion will increase. Don't give up on it.

It sounds like you're making some steady progress. Nice. It can be slow...I remember getting trapped under an 80# bench press once and needing to roll the bar off. I fairly recently got under a bar for a squat and it basically rode me down to the safety pins in the rack...yet yesterday I did 3 reps of a higher weight.

It's slow but it's steady, and it seems like you're on the right track.

i don't mind the slow pace. i prefer it actually because of safety reasons. man, i hope i don't get into those situations since most of the time, no one is around to help

Only thing I hate about not having a spot, is that I hold myself back from that last couple reps that I'm not sure of getting. Or I stop before I feel like I should. I always try to have a spot on bench days.

I wouldn't worry about swapping in the exercises. You're worried about the clavicular head of your pecs and you're benching 3 x 5 x 40#. It's putting the cart before the horse. Worry about it much later, you've got a long way to go before you stop gaining on flat bench presses and shoulder presses.

Well I'm just worried since I don't want to end up like this guy on my street where he looks like he has woman breasts because his clavicular head is not developed

I like the idea of swapping the out the overhead press for the incline. You may not be very strong yet, but you might as well start working it now. I wouldn't worry too much about the abs. I'd just throw in a couple weighted decline situp sets if I were you. Other than that the routine looks pretty solid. You might want to do the squat and the deadlift just once a week though. Those are some very draining exercises. You need to allow recovery time. You could always up it to 4 sets if it seems like it isn't quite enough. Pay special attention to how your lower back feels. It gets used a lot in those and it can get injured easily when overworked.

I looked at your videos as you asked. For the most part, they look ok. There are a couple of minor points.

RDL - Slight rounding of lower back. Perform these slower and under control. Only go as low as you can without the lower back rounding. have someone watch you do it. You will be able to tell by how it feels after a couple times.

Deadlift - You're raising your hips to soon and removing your legs from the lift too soon. Once you go heavy, this will put too much strain on your lower back. You should get some heavier weights.

Bent Row - Should deload on the floor between each rep. bend your knees so you can reach the floor. Keep the lower back.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Bac ... erRow.html

Squat - Can you separate the uprights from the bench? You should be able to stand between the supports but the bench is in the way. You have to do a goodmorning to get out of the rack. Form is good otherwise.

General - You need to go heavier on all your lifts. This will mean you will have to buy more weights. Once you start to lift heavy weights, problems in your form will become more apparent.

Stu

thanks for the comments

for the bent over row, with reference to the belly button, how high or low in the waist should the barbell reach? i tried deloading on the floor but when i pull the bar towards somewhere on or lower than the belly button, the bar keeps hitting my knee

i can't separate the stand from the bench for the squats. what you saw in the vid was the best way i can lift and put back the barbell

so should i do 3x7's for all exercises constantly moving up until i reach a desirable weight before doing the 3x5 then 3x6 then 3x7 set-up?

Stu gave you really good advice. Just to add a few comments:

Check out this video on the deadlift:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 2460&hl=en

You need to get that bar over the middle of your foot, and when you go down to the bar and grab it, your shins should be in contact. You should be dragging the bar up your legs. You don't need to now, because the weight is so light, but once you get more plates, you'll find the bar wants to drag up your legs. So train that now.

Bench Press - push the bar straight up. You get a little of a curve. The Mark Rippetoe cue I like is to pick a spot on the ceiling where the bar goes when you push it straight up, and keep your eyes there. Look at it the whole set, and just push the bar up to that spot. It's a good way to ensure you don't push it up-and-back. That doesn't help you any.

Otherwise, what Stu said. Especially the part about getting some more plates. Try Craigslist, I've heard they have "Play It Again Sports" or something like that now, check garage sale listings. Buy cheap, it's just weight. If you have to, make your own. But get the bar heavier. The weight you're doing now is moving pretty fast, that says to me you can move a lot more soon!

Dead--I agree with Stu (I always agree with Stu). I think if you start with your butt lower it will help. Think about pushing down with your legs, not pulling up with your upper body when you start. Shoulders and hips should start rising at the same time. It will be easier to do this if you get the bar back like Peter said.

Bent Row--I think the bar path needs to be more vertical. It can't be perfectly vertical, which would end right at your shoulders, but it looks like you are ending at your lower abdomen. Try for upper abd, or right at the lower edge of your ribs.

Bench--I agree with what Peter said, that the bar should not drift up over your face, but it looks to me (especially on the 1st angle) that the bar is ending straight over your shoulders. Unless you have odd proportions between your upper and lower arms, it can't come straight down from there, so must come down over your lower ribs, maybe just below your pecs. This looks pretty good to me.

Squats--It looks like you're using a high bar position, up on top of the traps, and above the delts. I think you'd be happier in the long run with a low position, between the upper and middle traps, and against the back of the delts. There is a slight "groove" there that is exaggerated by pulling your elbows back under the bar. If you can find it, I think the bar will feel very secure there.

Also, I'd suggest you try backing up to the bar. I don't know if you'd end up having to lean back to unrack it, which would not be good, but see how it works using the empty bar. Do you have a place where you could tie a couple of ropes from the ceiling? You'd have to have some kind of hooks on the ends of the ropes, and then have a helper unhook them before you squated.

I think you are going lower then necessary. Deep squats feel good, but you will ultimately lift heavier weight if you go to just below parallel.

Overall, I think you are doing well. I hadn't picked up until I saw your Youtube channel that you live in the Philippines. I'm not sure that the Craig's list will help you there! Anything that you can find that you can weigh, and hang on the bar will help. How about bags of sand?

So, can I come over for some pansit and lumpia? You can have my share of the balut, thanks anyway.

Craigslist is everywhere:

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/ph

I have to say for some reason I thought you were in Hawaii. Sorry!

thanks for the comments, suggestions and tips guys!

i will work on my form on the bench press. no excuses here

for the bent over row, i thought that the target for the bar was the lower abs so i aim for that spot

for the squats, like i've said before, i've been trying to lower the bar position but i just feel very uncomfortable with that. but i'll keep trying

my mistake for the deadlift. it is an exericise for the lower back but i thought that i should isolate the lower back more when doing it

lol at the pancit, lumpia and balut andy! man, i don't even eat those. i'm weird, a foreigner in his own country. well, i eat lumpia if it has more meat and i only eat the yellow, not the duck or the hard white part, in the balut.