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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Blood Test Discussion
My TRT Odyssey: Lab Results and More
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<blockquote data-quote="Guided_by_Voices" data-source="post: 272561" data-attributes="member: 15235"><p>I wrote the prior post in a hurry, so here is a bit more context. My number one priority, and what I recommend for everyone past college age and not competing, is to protect your joints. By spine-friendly I mean keeping the spine in a fairly neutral position such that the compressive force is roughly equally distributed around the disks rather than on one part of the disks as will likely be the case if the back bends too far forward or back. By putting your hands next to your knees the trap bar tends to keep the spine more neutral, however with your height, you may need to lift from blocks as well as using the high handles. You just have to be very mindful of your back position. This is harder to accomplish with back squats, especially for people with long femurs and hence why if I had it to do over again I would have de-emphasized back squats in favor of front squats or the safety squat bar. If you insist on back squats I would avoid any forms that create significant forward lean (I did that for many years and now have the MRIs of disc compression to prove it, not something you want). Two things to try are 1) set your form based on where you feel comfortable at the rock-bottom of the lift, which will usually mean a narrower stance with more leg flare similar to what an olympic lifer would use and or 2) use a slightly wider stance and only go to parallel but with your descending cue being to force your knees out as wide as you can such that your back stays fairly vertical. You will likely be unable to do this without weight on the bar to force you down into that position. I used approach number one for several years but eventually found that it was also hard on my back, so now when I do back squats I use approach number 2, but mostly do other movements for my hips and legs.</p><p></p><p>As far as patience and progression go, one of the issues I have with the strong-lifts program you described is that once you take reality (travel, injuries, burnout, experimentation, colds, the holidays, etc.) into account, it will take at least a year just to validate your progression approach, so again, steady progression over years without major setbacks is key. Almost all mainstream strength programs imply short bursts of improvement which are clearly unsustainable even if they "work" for a short period. Otherwise there would be 500lb benchers in every gym. Also note that you may need to prioritize a squat movement or a deadlift movement, especially if you are using a 7 day "week" vs a 9 or 10 day week, and once you reach a reasonable goal or genetic maximum (another topic) then maintain one and switch to building the other. Otherwise spine or leg overwork could be a limiting factor. Trying to simultaneously progress on everything can make progress less likely than building a few things and then shifting emphasis to other things. Ok, good luck with it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Guided_by_Voices, post: 272561, member: 15235"] I wrote the prior post in a hurry, so here is a bit more context. My number one priority, and what I recommend for everyone past college age and not competing, is to protect your joints. By spine-friendly I mean keeping the spine in a fairly neutral position such that the compressive force is roughly equally distributed around the disks rather than on one part of the disks as will likely be the case if the back bends too far forward or back. By putting your hands next to your knees the trap bar tends to keep the spine more neutral, however with your height, you may need to lift from blocks as well as using the high handles. You just have to be very mindful of your back position. This is harder to accomplish with back squats, especially for people with long femurs and hence why if I had it to do over again I would have de-emphasized back squats in favor of front squats or the safety squat bar. If you insist on back squats I would avoid any forms that create significant forward lean (I did that for many years and now have the MRIs of disc compression to prove it, not something you want). Two things to try are 1) set your form based on where you feel comfortable at the rock-bottom of the lift, which will usually mean a narrower stance with more leg flare similar to what an olympic lifer would use and or 2) use a slightly wider stance and only go to parallel but with your descending cue being to force your knees out as wide as you can such that your back stays fairly vertical. You will likely be unable to do this without weight on the bar to force you down into that position. I used approach number one for several years but eventually found that it was also hard on my back, so now when I do back squats I use approach number 2, but mostly do other movements for my hips and legs. As far as patience and progression go, one of the issues I have with the strong-lifts program you described is that once you take reality (travel, injuries, burnout, experimentation, colds, the holidays, etc.) into account, it will take at least a year just to validate your progression approach, so again, steady progression over years without major setbacks is key. Almost all mainstream strength programs imply short bursts of improvement which are clearly unsustainable even if they "work" for a short period. Otherwise there would be 500lb benchers in every gym. Also note that you may need to prioritize a squat movement or a deadlift movement, especially if you are using a 7 day "week" vs a 9 or 10 day week, and once you reach a reasonable goal or genetic maximum (another topic) then maintain one and switch to building the other. Otherwise spine or leg overwork could be a limiting factor. Trying to simultaneously progress on everything can make progress less likely than building a few things and then shifting emphasis to other things. Ok, good luck with it. [/QUOTE]
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Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Blood Test Discussion
My TRT Odyssey: Lab Results and More
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