Strength / Weight Training

Check out the IG account I said about - they post exercise videos which is helpful because I find I sometimes run out of new ideas. I've lost 9kg this year and a fair chunk of body fat from going to the gym 4 times a week at lunch and dont drinking beer anymore.

Yeah thats true and I was in Vietnam for the past 2 weeks and it's as cheap as water.

I can bench more than I can squat- that's not ideal, I believe.

I can bench more than I can squat

+1

Slim long legs, narrow hips but ultra short big arms, deep chest build?

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I'm relatively tall and thin, yes, but that's as close as I get to your description.

I can probably squat more tbh, but I'm pretty inexperienced at them and am terrified of a) toppling over backwards and/or b) my patellas being fired across the gym as I rise up out of the squat.

Just start slow with the squats - I have started doing them (about 2 months now) and they have been the single biggest improvement - more endurance on the bike, less knee wobbles and pains and definitely better back posture. At first I was getting tired and shaky legs just doing 40kg (bar + 20kg) but I have built up to be able to do controlled squats at 80kg and at 10 reps x 3. Not huge weight, but well controlled. I pretty much do them every time I go to the gym. They also make you feel better than any other exercise.
Now gotta go work arms...

I had 4x10kg on the bar, so 60kg, it just felt too far out of control for me to do more than a couple.

I'd also put a bench behind me/under where my arse ends up in the squat just in case, which wasn't needed but gives you an idea of my confidence level that everything was going to be ok.

(EDITED to add, I can/usually do 1-2 sets of 10 bench at 60kg, which is tough but feels in control).

Thanks everyone - this genuine fits pro stuff - in that it's clear and achieve able. Have really cut down on my big carb and pints habit but have developed a shocking sweet and chocolate habit of late so that's the next to target. Need to be a bit smarter/plan my eating too so going to see if I can get 140gr of protein in my day without resorting to shakes an' that.

The 5x5 strong lifts looks rayt easy to use too - complete with an app. Gonna get started on that this afternoon. I'll be ripped by next weekend, right??

Hmmm chocolate ;)

There's protein cooking recipes online if you are OK with whey protein / dales that involve pure chocolate. That's how I get my "fix".

Chocolate taste whey protein seems to help too.

140 is very doable if you like lean proteins / lentils / face yoghurt.

Face yoghurt sounds all kind of wrong!

Could use a smith machine/assisted rack? It's not as good as free weights but could help with confidence? Do more dead lifts? I think everyone has the same thing when they start.

I don't actually do any deadlifts at the moment- terrified of FUBAR'ing my back doing them.

I was watching back an old deadlift vid and clocked my facial expressions... new avatar time.

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Re squats, just focus on good technique rather than adding weight, get the technique nailed and then it will fall into place. Take a 10 off each side, and focus on getting parallel. When you have that in place, build up from there. The Stronglifts approach of adding weight, and doing 5 x 5 would be worth following.

Also I'd sack off having the bench behind you, just make sure you have the pins at the side of the rack if you are worried. Smith machine might help with confidence but I hate the unnatural movement.

Pins just below the natural range of motion?

Yeah, basically where you would want support if you would fail. So, here is the rack they have at my gym. If I was using the pins I'd put them in the bottom hole.

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Dammit, I share your iffy feeling about deadlifts.
In addition to what the others said, how about some good mornings? I never had any issues with those. They might not be a replacement for deadlifts but at least you're doing something with your back.

Duck autocorrect...

Fage it ought to be.

I mostly concur with french touch there, but even more so. If you are getting scared on squats you are "doing it wrong" there is no need at all to go so heavy that technique breaks down and getting stuck becomes a possibility. Same goes for bench press too actually! Going that heavy achieves little, you want perfect technique and increase volume/frequency for training stimulus. Those ugly maxes just burn you out, stop you getting the volume, risk injury, stop the the effects you are trying to achieve, from being achieved. Really its counter productive anyway.

I only mastered the squat once I trained at a weightlifting club and all they had was wobbly homemade single squat stands that fell over with a slight knock. This is similar to what they have in WL clubs around the world. But that doesn't stop the lifters at these places being the best at squatting.

You want to "know" that you are going to get the weight without any doubt, but the effort will be to get it "perfectly". You will get plenty of training effect without pushing yourself to breaking point.

If I may chip in...I've long legs and a tendency to go forwards.

So:
1-Put the bar lower if you can, this puts balance in a better place (grip has to be wider than shoulder width)
2 - Push through the shoulders
3 - Lots of hamstring work

And

Keep trying, but stay comfortable. Get a spotter, slowly build up weights, don't force yourself. I had it too and now it's gone.

Hmm. So just done day one of Stronglifts...there are only two of those rack things (as seen in French Touch's post above) and only three bars...as far as I could see, so actually being able to get a bar is going to be a challenge.

Do you think it's Stronglifts is do-able with hand weights. For some reason I thought there were way more bars in my gym. Bah! or bar...

You can do squats, rows, chest press & overhead press with dumbbells, though they're a little different technique & you won't be able to go up in weight in such small increments - still not bad though. Dead lift you'll struggle though as you need a proper bar for that.

My gym is the same (rubbish); no power racks, only one squat rack (and that's not a proper one), not many bars etc...