Hi Scott, I've been busy so didn't have a chance to post it yet. Anyway how do you embed a video? I just have it saved on my phone... And thought it would just let me upload the video from my phone?

No worries man! You will need to upload the video to YouTube and then embed it by clicking on the little play button along the top of the box you write your posts in (it's the 4th symbol to the left of the emojis).

If you don't want other people to see your video, just upload it as UNLISTED. Don't upload it as private, because then even we won't be able to see it haha.

Ok thanks. ..one of these days I'll get around to posting it. Btw Should I post one video of my squat before and my squat now? (Since I did a few weeks of box squatting and doing barbell glute Bridges my squat looks better now or at least that's what it looks like to me)

1.

a) If you are doing shoulder presses and benching, do you NEED to do some kind of lateral raise or upright row to get your side delts to grow?

b) same question for rear delts, are rows/weighted pull ups enough to get the rear delts to grow or do you HAVE to do face Pulls/rear delt raises to get them to grow?

c) same question for traps, do you need direct trap work like shrugs to grow or are deadli/rack pulls/rows/farmers walks enough to build the traps?

2.

a) What is your opinion on Pull ups vs Chin Ups vs neutral grip pull ups as to how well they build the biceps/back?

Just a video of how you squat now will be fine.

1a. I think it's a good idea to include a lateral delt isolation exercise. You don't NEED to if you are seeing sufficient growth from your pressing though.

1b. Same answer. I think it's good to isolate them, but you don't NEED to if you are seeing sufficient growth from your rowing movements.

1c. Generally if you're doing rack pulls especially, you will see good trap growth. But if they're lagging, do some extra work. It's all about how your body is responding to training.

2. They're all good. I like to switch between the variations a bit. All of them are good for building your back - chin-ups will place a bit more emphasis on your biceps, and a neutral grip chin-up will probably be the variation where you can overload with the most amount of weight.

1.

a)It's hard to tell if presses and rows are working because you can't measure shoulders?

b) Anyway just in your experience you had to do isolations for side and rear delts to get them to grow?

c) For traps once again never seen anyone measuring that so how would you tell if it's working? Also if I am doing deadlifts currently and NOT rack pulls, would deadlifts/rows alone build the traps or not very much?

2. How good is the neutral grip for biceps? You can feel a really good stretch on the biceps so should they work as well or better than Chin Ups?

1a. Well, you can get a good feel just by looking in the mirror and noticing changes 😊 And technically you can, I'll link a video below for measuring multiple different body parts.

1b. Yeah, when I isolate them that's when I see the best growth. They will grow to a point with shoulder movements and some rows (for rear delts), but to really bring them up more, I like to isolate them. Same with any body part really.

1c. That would definitely be more of a muscle where you tell by visual progress rather than numbers. You'll be able to see changes in their size by your neck, and in the general thickness of your upper back area. Those movements would build them to an extent, but in my experience, to REALLY get them growing, rack pulls are king.

2. They are good for biceps, but you're not in supination. So it won't work as effectively for them as a chin-up would where you're always in supination. Remember that supination is a function of the biceps.

Ok.

A few other things

1.

High bar vs low bar squat:

a) Am I correct that the high bar squat (below parallel/atg) is better for leg development, whereas if you wanted to lift the absolute most amount of weight (like in powerlifting) the low bar allows you to lift around 10% more but it wouldn't be as good for leg development?

b) You know the basic strength standards of 225 bench, 315 squat, and 405 deadlift?, is this realistic if you are doing high bar (below parallel/atg) compared to a low bar squat?

c) I've never seen you do reps with more than 315 as far as I can remember, whereas people say that 315 is needed just to be considered an intermediate lifter? How is this possible since you're advanced?

2.

Program:

a) I am about to have to take a 3 week break from lifting and when I come back I've been thinking to do Stronglifts 5x5 because clearly my main lifts could have better form, and also I haven't hit those basic strength standards. Have you ever run Stronglifts or what is your opionon about it?

b) Since I have been training for close to a year could/should I just start with dips/chinups included (since appearently you won't get very good arm development without including those from what I have heard)?

c) One of the exercises is a barbell row, but I think that's actually a pendlay row because the weight actually does rest on the ground after every rep rather than hanging. What is the difference for both strength and size doing this pendlay row vs the barbell row most people do? The guy Mehdi says to do it that way so that way your lower back won't be a limiting factor...?

d) Finally of course because I was looking at that program I also looked at SS, which is almost the same except it's 3x5 instead of 5x5, and Rippetoe does power cleans rather than pendlay rows, is it correct that power cleans really have more of a purpose if you play a sport like football than having much use for building muscle/strength? Also the power clean like the other olympic lifts is more technical and without having a coach teach you it could be dangerous ?

e) However although for those reasons SL looks like a good option, I saw a video of Rippetoe teaching the OHP, and he suggest to do it differently then as shown in your videos or in Mehdi's guide. It looks like this:

So it starts with the hips going forward rather than the legs just staying in one position and pressing up.

Which way is better for strength/size?

Is it no longer a strict press if you do it that way?

1a. Yeah man that would be accurate! More ROM, typically more muscle breakdown, and more gains. Not to say you can't build big legs with a low bar squat though, lots of people do.

1b. Of course. I high bar squat 315lbs ATG.

1c. That's nonsense whoever is telling you that. The amount of weight you lift doesn't make you intermediate or advanced. It's about what you know. Just because someone can squat 405lbs doesn't necessarilly mean they are more advanced than someone who squats 315lbs.

2a. I have done 5x5 before. Works for some people, not for others. It's good for building strength, but I was never really a fan of it. I'm not a powerlifting, and really doing lots of sets at a low rep range like that doesn't do much for me. If it works for you, by all means go for it. Trial and error to know what works for you.

2b. You can include them, definitely. But you can do more than just those movements for triceps and biceps.

2c. Pendlay rows are more of a power movement because you can reset yourself after each rep - it's kind of like a deadlift in that you mainly focus on the concentric than the eccentric. Either that or the barbell row is great. Maybe vary between the two.

2d. It's definitely technical. It can be useful for building strength as well. And it can build muscle. But it wouldn't be a necessary lift if your goal is pure bodybuilding. I don't do any Olympic lifts because that's not really part of what I am training for. If you don't know proper form, or have someone to guide you, probably best to skip them for now.

2e. Interesting concept. I Mark is a smart guy, you can probably try his method and see how it goes. Personally I have never tried it that way so I can't say which is better. I tend to just flex my glutes and core hard, rather than pushing my hips forward, but it's probably a similar concept in that the hips go forward when you contract your glutes. It would still be a strict press, there's very little momentum from the legs there.

Hi Scott I am back from vacation and other things and tomorrow starting first day of stronglifts. I have a few questions and I fill finally post those form videos here this week.

1)

a) How much do shoes matter on bench press?

b) Any advantage of weightlifting shoes vs just running shoes when benching? Squats come before bench so I'm wondering if I should just leave those shoes on when I am benching?

c) Same question on OHP, how much do shoes matter?

d) If it does matter then same question weighlifting shoes vs running shoes?

e) And of course same exact pair of questions for pendlay rows? Or is it like deadlift where best to go barefoot?

2) Although abs recover fast, if I am training them for size/strength, is Directly training them 2 days in a row counter productive? Since it hasn't been the 48 hours...

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d & 1e. Shoes aren't really important. Won't have much of an impact on any of these movements at all. It will be fine to leave your weight lifting shoes on for all of them, or to just have regular running shoes.

2. You can still train them twice a day. Just switch it up a little bit. For example, I focus on upper and lower abs day 1, then day 2 I will do lower abs and obliques. Then take a rest day after that. That's a good way to split up your ab training.

I visited the doctor that deals with scolosis and after 2 years it hasn't gotten worse if anything slightly better. Also he said that deadlifting, squatting heavy etc isn't a problem at all. So that's good!

1) And is taking off your shoes so just wearing your socks fine like on Pendlay Rows for example?

2) If you do this though would your abs be able to grow since it's only been 24 hours? Like with any other muscle like chest/back/triceps training it 2 days in a row would be counter productive and you wouldn't grow...

@Vect0rs That's great news about the scoliosis!

1) Yeah that's totally fine as long as your gym allows you to train in socks, should be OK! That will get you closer to the floor as well which is good for pendlay rows, so that you don't have to bend as far and risk spinal flexion.

2) Sorry I meant you can train them two days in a row, not twice a day haha. But yes, they will still grow. Your abs recover VERY quickly, and they can take a beating. Think about it, they are usually doing a lot of work in a regular day to keep your torso upright. They're pretty much built for high volume training.