Some people who aren't flexible enough, use the "cross grip".
That's easier but imagine this, you basically have like your 2 hands, covering the top like a pot cover. It's not too stable.

With the clean grip, when your back starts to falter and you fall forward a bit, you can easily grab the bar and squeeze out a few reps more.

It's very normal for it to feel awkward, I personally took about 2 weeks to learn and stretch enough to grip it clean. If you have large biceps also, it causes a lil problems especially if your arms aren't long enough.

MY cousin has large biceps but doesn't have a problem holding it clean, but that's probably because he's about 6'2" and limbs are longer than an octopus.

I strongly suggest learning the clean grip. Besides it looking cooler, it also teaches you to keep your CHEST up to create that pocket to keep the bar on.

Learn me young padawan and U shall receive. (ok, it's obvious I don't watch that show much)

MONDAY

D.E Bench

Bench press: (70x3) x8

dips: BW+25 x 6
BW+30 x 6
BW+30 X 6

Lat pulldown: 65 x 6
65 x 6
65 x 6

D.B press: 50(lbs) x 6
50 x 6
50 x 6

Progressing at an ok rate i guess, dont know about the big 3 yet, found out my shoulder is my current weak point at least now i know what to work on more, Havent been using much of DB for a while, so i guess its time to make progress with those

Following the original template is not as tiring as what i previously did (training on gut feeling and instinct)
but i am making progress, not sure if this is a good thing or if i should throw in some extra exercises?
btw i always conserve a bit of energy after each session because i gotta walk to the damn bus stop.... might not sound like much but its a pain in the ass when you gotta carry a gym bag, and a bag full of books after training....

wow,impressive weight. Are you 19year old ?

Its time i get some advice for diet, so here goes
all here roughlylah... depends on what time i wake up and other stuff

7am: Whey protein + milk

8.30am: 3 slices of bread, 4 boiled eggs

11am: can of tuna + can of soybean milk OR rice with a side dish of vege and chicken/fish and meat OR Grilled Chicken

3pm: (Postworkout) Whey protein shake

6pm: Omelette (4eggs, 2 sausages, thrown in a carrot and some onions)

10pm: Oatmeal with milk

very simple diet... i think need REALISTIC advice on how i can make it better and no McDonalds is not an option for me

---

Added on May 12, 2008, 9:29 pm19 towards end of the year,
One thing i learned is that it doesnt really matter, your age or how long youve been lifting to how much you lift...
what matters is that theres constant progress, so hopefully i wont stagnate again

This post has been edited by JIB-89: May 12 2008, 09:32 PM

Wow , we are 89ians . Hmm cool man , do u hv msn ? Lets be friend haha , man its nice to know tat in ur young age u go for strength , before that I did mark rippetoe and madcow 55 , u can check on my journal . ^^

nice meeting u man .

Will pm you my msn, how long have you been training?

If i remember correctly you said you are aiming to cut. You have too much carbs in the later part of the day which is not advisable. If you want to consume cheat meals, do it preworkout or post post workout but not both. For example, today's back workout, my preworkout meal was 2 plates of white rice, 1 large piece of curry chicken, a large serving of curry beef, lots of chicken curry gravy and nasi lemak sambal. I cheat a lot more than you but my bodyweight is still decreasing on cutting phase because it is the onely cheat meal i permit myself to have on a workout day. On non training days I don't cheat at all, period. I keep it strict. Your breakfast has insufficient calories. Why eat again 1.5 hours later after 7am? Your whey and milk already constitutes almost 40 grams protein so you don't need to eat eggs again so soon after that. Add in oats to your 7am meal.
As for the 10pm (prebedtime meal), scrap the oatmeal, go for milk and whey and peanut butter.

This post has been edited by darklight79: May 13 2008, 09:04 PM

since I started my journal , after our spm lol. How long have u been in training , impressive weight must be done with lots of determination . Salute !!

Thanks for your input. Ok, so i should put most of my carbs on pre/post workout, breakfast is a big problem for me, i gotta get up early and rush so i dont miss my bus to college, gotta find a way somehow, is oats in the morning a good idea? i thought its low G.I and you gotta feed the body as soon as possible, thats why i take whey first thing in the morning, got difference if its taken with oats?

Not too difficult. You get a shaker, put whey, milk, oats and shake. Then drink it down. Bam! Breakfast. There's fast acting protein (whey) to reverse catabolism first thing in the morning, slow acting protein (milk) to last you through class till lunch time and you get slow acting carbs which also last long in your tummy. Good eh? =)

WEDNESDAY

D.E SQUAT

Squat:(80x3)x8

Good mornings: 80 x 6
80 x 6
80 x 6

Side bend: 40(lbs) x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

Glute ham raise: 10, 8, 8

Good mornings getting easier, planning to increase weights in a few weeks time
Tweaked diet, and i felt a whole lot better in the morning, oats in the morning.... who knew

This post has been edited by JIB-89: May 22 2008, 06:38 PM

80kg good morning 8 reps?

6 reps

FRIDAY

M.E Bench

Bench press: 60 x 8
80 x 6
90 x 4
100 x 2
110 x 1
120 x 1
130 (failed at lockout, lift assisted)

Chin ups: BW+20 x 6
BW+20 x 6
BW+20 x 5

Triceps pressdown: 35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

D.B front raise: 25 x 10
25 x 10
25 x 9


Today didnt go as expected, as for the bench press, today i didnt do touch-n-go, rather i slowly lowered the weight to chest then pause, damn got big difference, Gotta work on form and shoulder, i still remember dave tate saying in one of his articles, its easy to have good form on light weight but its a different story when your lifting maximal weights... still not lifting straight, from now on im gonna do pause rather then touch n go for bench

bench wasnt a complete bomb, i wasnt stapled that bad , after i got a little assist to start from lockout, lift felt easy, i think shoulders are my weak point now

SUNDAY

M.E Deadlift

(Sumo) Deadift: 80 x 8
100 x 6
120 x 4
140 x 1
160 x 1
180 x 1
190 x 1
200 (FAIL)
200 (FAIL)

Side bends: 45(lbs) x 10
45 x 10
45 x 10

D.B Shrugs: 100(lbs) x 8
100 x 8
100 x 8

Hyperextensions: BW+10 x 15
BW+10 x 15
BW+10 x 15

No glutehamraises today.... legs were too tired
I normally start off my M.E deadlift with conventional DLs then i switch to sumo for the heavier loads. Today was diff, went sumo all the way... i felt it on my hamstrings first few sets, could've effected the outcome.... i just realised i never really train the sumo DL, my body really feels it with higher reps, at least i know what to improve now, not ready for 200 yet, i could only lift it of the ground, couldnt move it, 190 felt easier to lift this time though so theres a bit of progress kinda rushed it, doesnt look like i increased the weights at a proper increment....
Just to recap
1) start of with conventional style, dont wanna wear out before i reach the heavy weights
2) gotta train the Sumo dl with higher reps to perfect the form
3) increase weights at proper rate

TUESDAY

D.E Bench press

Bench press: (70 x 3) x 8

Dips: BW+30 x 6
BW+30 x 6
BW+40 x 5

Barbell rows: 70 x 6
70 x 6
70 x 6

Military press: 50 x 6
50 x 6
60 x 6

Hammer curls: 40(lbs) x 7
40 x 6
40 x 6

M.B crunches: 15, 15, 11

Tiring day..... Military press feels easier now, other than that nothing special

Thursday

D.E SQUAT

Squat: (80 x 3) x 8

Goodmornings: 80 x 8
80 x 8
80 x 8

Gluteham raises: 10, 8, 8

Medicine ball situps: 15, 15, 15

Had a whole lot of cardio after that.... grocery shopping ..... dragging all that plus my bags sure beats a farmer's walk damn tiring

Just something i wanna share, its nothing new actually, wondering if can get it in malaysia



This post has been edited by JIB-89: May 22 2008, 10:00 PM

SATURDAY

M.E Bench press

Close grip Incline B.P : 60 x 6
70 x 5
80 x 4
90 x 1
90 x 1
90 x 1
100 x 2

Triceps pressdown: 35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

Plate raises: 20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 10

Chin ups: BW+15 X 6
BW+20 X 6
BW+20 X 5

Hammer curls: 40 x 6
40 x 5

Looks like theres a bit of progress, was surprised with last set of the incline b.p, looks like i could have done a triple or more weird... thats it for now, too tired to think of anything

Will be taking a short break, i can feel the fatigue building up despite the progress, Gotta know this though, how does one tell if his CNS is burning out?

I googled for "sarcoplasmic muscular growth" and I found this:

http://forum.getfit.ro/attachment.php?atta...60&d=1059918240

Somewhere in the article, there's very detailed explanation of the CNS failure thing if you actually read everything and try to understand them. (I read most of it, but couldn't be bothered to understand everything. XD ).