TLDR: I'm starting lifting, and my company will basically buy whatever equipment we ask for. what do i do?

>TLDR: I'm starting lifting, and my company will basically buy whatever equipment we ask for. what do i do?

Global company, top tier of what my industry does. We have 3 very modern looking power racks, but unfortunately each rack only has two of each weight, 5-45lbs - so we have 3 sets of each. They're plastic coated plates. Our oly bars weigh 46.5lbs.

I ordered a shaker cup and 5lbs of Optimum Nutrition Double Chocolate whey protein. I can request more plates later, company will provide. Already requested a chalk stand and some floor protection so we can do deadlifting, it was on order within 2hrs.

I have a digital copy of SS I'm reading. I got through the squats portion so I tried them.

I started with stretches like Rip says, getting familiar with the position. My body likes a wider stance, but my femurs track over feet so I think I'm fine. I then went to the bar. Couldn't keep from falling backwards - I'm trying to visualize bar path over midfoot and make sure I incline my torso, I have a good baseboard behind the rack to focus on. I got about 60-70% of my intended practice reps done with what I would call good form and full musculature involvement.

When I added two 10s, that changed. I am obviously weak but I found myself falling into the safety bars more than half of my attempts.

I also did other stuff.
> BB rows (too heavy to get through a full set w/135lbs) about 10-12 times
> 65lb OHP for 5x3
> tried pullups - got a chair and did negatives instead.
> 30lb DB incline bench 5x5
> lat pulldown machine (to supplement UB strength for pullups)

any advice? what should I change? what can I do differently?

>> BB rows (too heavy to get through a full set w/135lbs) about 10-12 times

Fix your form. No way some DYEL is rowing 135 for 12 reps with proper form.

he probably means the little jerk-variation and not pendlays

baka desu OP

Correct on the bad form - I figure if I didn't at least try to knock out some, I would never have the strength to do any. And I'm not sure how else I could do something that would engage my spinal erectors and core musculature while also training the UB musculature that would eventually get me to the point of clean BB row reps.

I should add, it was more like 4 solid reps, and then slowly I would fail to do 100% ROM more and more until I just gave up. Each time lasted 5-6 attempts, and I did that twice.

It did something, because my traps, delts, and biceps hurt today. And I don't think I did anything else to train them much.

>I'm not sure how else I could do something that would engage my spinal erectors and core musculature

deadlifts, you dip. You can also do plenty of rowing variations with dumbbells, brosef.

btw squats vary incredibly from person to person. Personally I can't do high-bar because I ripped my achilles tendon when I was 14 so my dorsiflexion is god-awful. Have to do lowbar to squat heavy, but I can do front squats when I put 5lb plates under my heels. Anyway you'll figure it out eventually. Post videos of your form at a later time if you want feedback

> deadlifts
I was under the impression that it's best to just drop the bar when learning DL at first - especially on your own. So I've asked our fitness center rep to order some of the mats to protect the floor. Our floor is already the stiff-rubber coated type and we have plastic plates, but I'm still not sure I should be dropping.

If I have to start DL now, I can always try doing negatives. I'll need to finish SS before monday then too.

Also, hang on, is DLing really gonna train the UB to handle BB rows? I'm trying to do them Pendlay style as shown in the video I've found here. It seems like the DL doesn't exactly train UB mass outside of isometrics and minimal pivoting function.

well you're being careful, and that's usually not a bad thing.

Uhm, yeah, it took me like 4 months of practicing deadlifts before I started to get it properly. And then another month or 2 until I "mastered" it. I was scared of doing deads though, lol.

Just do lightweight my dude, and film yourself if you can. And work your way up. When you feel like you "get" the lift you can start doing fewer reps/heavier weight I suppose.

As for the "drop the bar when learning" thing. You mean after you reach the apex of the movement you straight up drop the bar yeah? T b h I still "drop the bar" but I go with it kinda. In my opinion negatives on diddlies don't do much, but for a beginner that's probably a bretty good idea.

Random tip I learned on diddlies. When I was learning it and couldnt even lift

sorry, what do you mean by UB? I ain't merican

I was considering that for both DL and BB row. we have the pictured racks (x3) and I was considering using the safety bars as my elevation platform, but I'm thinking even the lowest notch is still too high for good ROM.

We also have an incline, decline, and flat bench to go with. It's a pretty nice setup, but again, not many plates.

I took a video of my squat form while getting frustrated with tipping backwards (I almost missed the end hooks on the safety bars once) and I noticed I'm extending my wrists a bit. I do low bar as Rip coaches it, but otherwise I didn't see any major posture/bar path problems. I'm prolly just too DYEL.

Upper Body

sounds like a german mechanical engineering that goes on about starting to workout

maybe too inexperienced yet, yeah. But can't tell without a vid. Anyway good luck brah.

remember you won't make it if you quit

> hint: I work for the company that made the old engine in the OP.

but yeah, lots of rattling and rambling. It would be nice to have anyone else at all within the company who lifts, but the only other two guys I'm seeing at the gym are just interested in curling and punching our bag/doing pullups.

They're in great shape but their advice for squats was to look up at the ceiling - and neither of them had much evidence of leg training...

oh alright
Yeah in my experience it does. I have a pretty wide grip when I deadlift, though. And wider grips (snatch grip) on deads help build the upper back. So you can keep that in mind.

btw don't fall for the rippletits memes completely. It's a good program, but you should have some isolation excercises now and then. When and what depending on your program but I haven't read SS in depth at all.

One good thing about having a company-provided gym right there where I work: I have way the fuck less excuses. Before, my only nearby gym was a PF and I didn't know what the fuck to do with a Smith machine. So I got lazy and quit going.

Here, I've already bought into the lifting by ordering supplemental protein and storing my clothes in a locker.

Electrical general, so I suppose not actually in germany?

I am absolutely aware of ripplememe's deficiency - there's no way I need to squat 16x a week or GOMAD. But he does a great job of breaking down anatomical mechanics and giving lots of kinesthetic cues for your workouts. It's a bit of a mental overload when first debriefing your own workout - because to put it simply, we're just moving weight - but it gives you good basis to analyze your own form.

I plan on doing plenty of DB isolations because we all love doing upper body stuff anyway. I anticipate I'll self-develop a 3 day routine that can at least give me a good place to learn and grow (+ lose weight/shape up).

Nope, I'm a hillbilly from woodsy central US. Mostly German ancestry, but I've never left the country (hopefully the company will pay for me to do that.)

PPL is really good
But the program that has given me the best results by far is fullbody 3-4 times a week (workout every other day).

Granted I spend 2-3 hours in the gym every session doe.

Looking up PPL now. I'll be likely doing full body eventually once I figure out my working weights for various movements. I spent 2hrs the other day just trying to learn squatting and the rest, so I don't have any problem with contributing time. It'll feel good to make consistent improvements.

Jump to the equipment section of SS

All you need to make each weight loadable is 2 2.5 lb, 2 5 lb, 4 10 lb, 2 25 lb weight plates and as many 45s as you need for heavy lifts

Do you mean the plates are rubber coated? All they need to do is weigh the correct amount and be able to be placed down heavily when deadlifting, which is accomplished by any metal or rubber olympic plate

I would ask them to invest in a decent bar that weighs 45lb/20kg if you already have everything else covered. A good bar is worth an upgrade.
Chalk and deadlift platform/floor matting are good choices too.

You don't need whey if your diet is in check, read the sticky

What exactly are you having trouble with in your squat? Can you sit in a deep squat position, that is, performing a 'sumo stretch' or a 'third world squat'?
Everybody starts with tight hips, but tight ankles also prohibit people early on.
It's better to worry about this mobility at first instead of exact bar path, as the bar path and torso incline will mostly fall into line if you have eveyrthing else covered. I just highly stress becoming very familiar and even comfortable wit with the bottom position, you should be able to sit down there with heels down and decent posture for extended time.

Don't jump to 135 lb barbell rows, what the fuck are you doing? Rows aren't even in the program either.
If you want to emulate the starting position of a standard height pull from the floor, elevate the bar using the safeties in the squat rack or just do bent over rows until you are strong enough. Rows are the easiest lift to cheat weight on

Keep reading and practicing and watching videos. Form checks are always useful too

Rip adds a whole chapter for accessory exercises and is not against adding them to the program
>I haven't read SS in depth at all
Obviously not, you are shitting on it for what you've heard from memes on Veeky Forums

if you read the book you'll see you're expected to work upper body on off days

Good feedback there, thanks.

They have a very hollow sound, so I would say they are coated thick if it's even a coating. I'm wondering if they're not just strong plastic with lead cores...? They don't have a dull thud like an iron plate coated in protection.

I haven't weighed any plates but the bar is just over 45# so I'm assuming the plates (part of the same Legend equipment) are also close to nominal.

I think ankle mobility might be my trouble in the squat, but I don't have any problem staying in the position for a duration while keeping tense, but when I relax and "sit" in the position I feel impingement of soft tissues in the hip crease.

Also: Money is tight so I can't always afford to have HQ protein sources. I am buying whey not as a daily habit but as a good supplement to my mediocre diet. Rice, beef, chicken, turkey, tomatoes, broccoli, peanut butter, eggs, blackeyed peas, green beans, and occasional fish sums up my most frequent items.

I would wake up at 3:30 so I could have time to cook oats before work but fuck that, I'll stick to a simple 350kcal bowl of Special K for now. I think sleeping is probably a good idea anyway, I've got 90 days to prove I belong at this company and this career change has kinda defined the opportunity to become fit for (almost) free.

Take a picture if you are worried about the plates
They should be OK though if the most impact they take is from simply deadlifting

>bar is just over 45
I don't understand why this would be. As I said, a good bar is a good upgrade to have, but any bar of the correct size and weight that is not bent will do

For general mobility, consult the sticky and also look into DeFranco's Agile 8/Limber 11 for good starting points. I used to use it as a warmup but have developed my own thing from there
For ankles, just google stretches for them and the achilles tendon
And one more time, I highly recommend becoming comfortable with just sitting in the bottom position with pressure on heels and decent posture to help find squat balance