17/03/15 Bench Press (flat no fat gripz) bar x 10 40 x 5 60 x 5 70 x 3 80 x 1 85 x 1 90 x 1 My rack/bench is really badly set up for flat bench pressing. The two bar heights I have to choose from are just poor. The lower height I have to actually press the weight 4-6 inches out of the rack and the higher weight I need to shrug it out, both of which result in a crappy set up. Either way going forward I will stick to incline pressing. Don't really see the need for flat bench at the moment. Would still like to get myself to 100kgs. For no other reason than to get to 100kgs.
18/03/15 Wide Grip RDL- 60 x 5, 5 Panda Pull- 80 x 3 Deadlift- 100 x 3 120 x 1 140 x 1 160 x 1 170 x 1 180 x F, F, F Probably should have tried 175 first but don't know that it would have made much difference. I'm in a similar position to where I was last year when, after a decent 6-8 weeks, I can hit around the 155 x 5 and 170 x 1. If I were to continue doing more solid sets of 5 I have no doubt this would increase pretty consistently. I won't be deadlifting for the next 6 weeks anyway so will see how I go after that. Only pulling for the next 6 weeks will be cleans/hang cleans once a week.
Squatstrong: Week 1-Day 1 BW- 92.9 Injuries- None. Some minor left knee and right hip pain Warm Up- Banded ankle dorsiflexion Banded Hip Flexor stretch Squat- 55 x 8 70 x 6 85 x 4 97.5 x 3 97.5 x 6 125 x 1 102.5 x 6 130 x 1 105 x 6 132.5 x 1 Power Clean- 60 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (hook grip last two sets) OHP- 50 x 5, 5, 5, 5 (PP), 5 (PP) Ring Pull Up- bw x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 Ab Wheel- Knees x 5, 5, 5 All up done in just over an hour. Squats got easier as I went which was actually surprising. The 105 set for 6 went up really well. Toyed around with hook grip on the power cleans and I know it's only 60kg but I didn't even notice it on the thumbs. Banded stretches definitely helped. Especially the hip flexor one. Right hip pain disappeared pretty quickly after that one. Looking forward to some speed partials on Thursday.
24/03/15 Squatstrong: Week 1- Day 2 BW- 92.7 Injuries- None. Minor pain in hips and knees. Repeat sprints day today. 5 min warm up- jog/walk Sprints- 20s sprint, 100s rest x 6 4 min rest 20s sprint, 100s rest x 6 10 min walk cool down All done in 29 mins and covered around 4k. Not that it really matters. Felt pretty good sprinting though. Got to wear my skins for once too Didn't get to do them on an oval or track though as the weather was super wet. Bit disappointing but I'll try to get to a track for Friday's sprints session.
27/03/15 Squatstrong: Week 1- Day 4 Sprint time!!! Ended up doing the running with my wife who is a far better runner than I. I am far quicker over short distances but cannot keep up over the longer distances which is basically anything over 400-600m. 400m warm up 3 x 400m with 200m job between 4 x 50m sprint with 50 walk inbetween Like I said it ended up deviating from the plan but was good to run with the missus. Also would have done more but calves and TFL area were ridiculously tight and felt on the verge of tearing. Figured it'd be better to pull back a bit and rest.
28/03/15 Hapkido!!! Finally got back in for a class after missing two weeks. And what a class it was. Two of our red belts were grading for their provisional black belts. Normally this would mean either sitting on the sidelines or being a crash test dummy for a few sets. Not today though, we now have a new policy in place that at our local gradings we will all participate up to our level. Once you've reached your level you bow out and then sit on the sidelines. Personally think this is a great policy as a lot of the time we're too focused on the next level and for those who are at 1st Dan rank or above the time between gradings can be quite significant. For me, given I've been to a handful of classes in the last 12 months, this was a great test and reminder. I surprised myself by remembering nearly all of the techniques and got through the 90 minutes it took in relatively good shape. It does serve as a timely reminder for me to focus more and more on my conditioning as well as my strength in the gym.
Squatstrong: Week 2- Day 1 BW: 93 Injuries- None. Some minor soreness in right hip, left shoulder and upper back. Squats- 55 x 8 85 x 6 100 x 4 112.5 x 3 120 x 1 Repeat effort on the minute 125 x 9 Hang Power Clean 60 x 5, 5, 3 OHP- 50 x 2 Interesting day of training. Didn't eat a whole lot during the day. Had plenty of protein but no carbs till probably too close to training. Did 1 set too many of the repeat effort squats. Was only meant to do 8. Also forgot to put down my makeshift platform for squatting meaning I was squatting on a rug instead of a solid surface. Probably went too heavy on the power cleans. I was set for 5x5 with 5x5 of presses and chins to follow. I'd completely spent all my tickets. Called it a night and went and demolished as much food as I could
31/03/15 Squatstrong: Week 2- Day 2 BW: 93.7 (waist still around/under 35" so weight gain isn't all fat. I'm up around 3kg in the last 6-8 weeks) Tonight called for either repeat sprints or a metcon <15 mins. I had both the kids with me so the metcon it was. Had no real idea what I was going to do so just put together whatever came to mind. Ended up with 21, 15, 9 of power clean @50kg, KB swing @16kg and burpees for time. Did it in 16.36 which included 2-3 mins of trying to get my 2 year old to stay away from the bar so I wouldn't hit her with the cleans. Also sorted out my form on the last set of 9 to make it much more efficient. Was sweating bullets at the end which I'm taking as a good sign.
02/04/15 Squat Strong: Week 2- Day 3 BW- 94 Injuries- Right hip, left shoulder Squat- Tempo Squats (3 sec descent, 2 sec pause, explode up) bar x 8 42.5 x 6 55 x 3 85 x 3 95 x 3 98 x 3, 3, 3 102 x 3 Incline Bench- bar x 8, 60 x 5 72.5 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 Inverted Row- bw x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 Right hip and knee were bugging me at start of workout. The tempo squats made them feel amazing. Just bizarre. The last few sets were completely pain free and I felt super stable. Something to consider going forward after this program.
06/04/15 Squat Strong: Week 3- Day 1 BW- 95 Injuries- Right hip, left shoulder Squat- Heavy Day- 6/1 Protocol 60 x 8 70 x 6 85 x 4 100 x 3 102.5 x 6 130 x 1 105 x 6 132.5 x 1 110 x 6 137.5 x 1 Power Cleans- Did not do due to hip OHP- 45 x 5 50 x 5 (pp last 3 reps), 5, 5, 5 Ring Chins- bw x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 Ab Wheel (knees)- 3 x 5 Left hip was absolutely killing me after the 3rd or 4th warm up set. Worked through it as it's been building up for a few weeks now. Have booked in an appt with an osteo for tomorrow. I normally have a period of about 6-8 weeks between appts where my body needs some work and it's been around 15 weeks I think so it's no wonder things are starting to fall apart. OHP went well. I feel like I need to almost do these twice a week as it's such a confidence/form lift for me. Some sets I feel like I could do 70kg and some sets I feel like I could only do 40. Weird. Body weight is also a bit higher than I'd like but considering I'm on a 6 week squat program I figure it'd be a silly time to try and cut back on the cals. If I can get the squat up further and then maintain it whilst getting back toward 90-92 I'll be pretty happy.
07/04/15 Saw the osteo. Hips were ridiculously tight all round. 09/04/15 Squatstrong: Week 3- Day 3 (day 2 skipped due to hip) BW- 93 Injuries- still minor pain in hip. Speed partial squats (SP) & Hurdle Hops (HH)- (WU- warm up) WU- Bar x 8 WU- 40 x 6 WU- 55 x 4 SP- 70 x 4 HH x 4 SP- 77.5 x 4, 6, 6 HH x 4, 4, 4 SP- 84 x 4, 4 HH x 4, 4 Incline Bench 40 x 8, 60 x 5 75 x 3, 3, 3 Inverted Row bw x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 Side, front, side, back plank- 30s each position x 2
Have really been enjoying this stretch at the moment. Am trying to narrow down a short-ish mobility circuit I can nail in around 10 mins and this is one of my go to stretches atm. Also tried too. Stayed in the stretch for about 3-4 mins. Got up and my hip felt unbelievable. Seriously unbelievable. That feeling only lasted about 5 minutes however but I think there's still some lasting effect. Will be incorporating this more too. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vA2DWnAMWdo"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vA2DWnAMWdo[/ame]
Cheers. Thanks mate. You may have missed it as I only started posting again after a being MIA for quite sometime.
13/04/15 Squatstrong: Week 3- Day1 Injuries- Right hip = not happy Squat- 60 x 8 90 x 6 105 x 4 115 x 1 - :bang::bang::bang: Right hip flared up on this set. It was feeling a little dodgy but got a whole lot worse and even though I potentially could have kept going I was due to do 10 singles at 130 EMOM style. I figured that I'd end up tearing something or destroying myself. The ego was kept well in check. Moved onto OHP and Chins and got three sets in before my left shoulder started playing up. I basically threw my hands in the air and walked out of the gym. I have another Osteo appointment on Thursday which I'll make good use of and get some more treatment. Will regroup and work out a plan going forward. Pretty ****ed atm with my body right now but what can you do. I will have to put the Squatstrong program on hold for now but will definitely come back to it later in the year. I have some good ideas on how I'd structure the optional non-squat programming so am looking forward to getting at it again. Maybe in 2-3 months time once I've fixed my issues and built another solid base.
Hip injury update- Haven't taken any anti-inflams or anything yet and there's some mild pain around the hip area especially at the front when I lift my leg so I know that's not good. Not really sure on a course of action outside of seeing an osteo on Thursday. I know I need more glute strength/activation and this will be the initial area of focus. There's a distinct weakness in the front/side of the hip too which I'm not too happy about. Will resume squatting in some form over the weekend if I can but it's not really at the top of my priorities at the moment. I'm actually reminded of a comment someone made to me a month ago when I started using my oly lifting shoes about how he didn't give them a break in period and ended up with a hip injury. I know correlation doesn't prove causation but can't help thinking there's something to it.
New Plan!!! The goal = move, run, lift, jump pain free. 21/04/15 Warm up- mobility and stretched out the yin yang (15-20 mins) Squat- bar x 10 60 x 10, 10 wanted to make sure all reps are glute driven and stopped when they ceased to be. Incline Bench- bar x 8 40 x 6 60 x 5, 5, 5 All clean crisp reps. Had to pull the plug there with a crook son. My hip/knee problems seemingly stem from the upper quad/hip area taking over and having weak/inhibited glutes. Sounds pretty much like the fix for most problems these days. So my go to strategy is to stretch/roll/manipulate the absolute hell out of my hips and quads and strengthen/activate the glutes. Will go with RDLs and light squats till I can get things organised. Will hopefully allow me to hit the upper body and bring that up to speed too. Who knows. As hard as it's going to be for me mentally I'm totally not going to care about the weight on the bar the next 12 months or so I'll look at adding more reps before jumping in weight and am quite prepared to take things uber slow.....apparently.
Good goal! How will you be measuring this? I've noticed that you have been recording 'injuries' in your log - perhaps you could use a 1-10 scale of pain for any problem areas? Maybe helpful: https://www.t-nation.com/training/log-your-training-like-a-boss If you're going for stretch/roll/manipulate, then I find this far more effective if I warm up first - makes sinking in to the foam roller a much smoother and less painful experience! The thing that works nicely for my glutes is split squats (regular or rear foot elevated/"Bulgarian"), provided I keep focus on bracing my core for neutral spine, keeping my pelvis pointing forwards, and not letting my knees collapse in at all. I use them as: 1) part of a warm up/light active stretch - body weight, gradually increasing ROM, no pause at the bottom 2) mobility/stability - single hand weight overhead (usually on the same side as my front leg, but can be the other one), slow descent, pause at the bottom (up to 30 seconds with a bit of wiggling around), fast ascent. I also try squeezing glutes extra hard at the bottom to help release my upper quad/hip flexor. 3) strengthen/hypertrophy - load up a bar in the front squat position (keeps you upright), do sets of 8-20 on each side with good pace and stability. This allows me to keep an eye on whole body coordination/integration, but putting a greater focus on glute activity and femur rotation/stability, and getting a good stretch for hip flexors (and a 're-education' for that position)... Of course you may find something else (american deadlifts? Hip thrusts? Glute bridges?) works much better for you! Chris Duffin has some pretty interesting ideas about breathing and queuing for squatting, here's one of his recent videos, his other stuff is worth checking out too if you haven't seen him already. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5zrloYWwxw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5zrloYWwxw[/ame] That does sound tough... You have a home gym right? Hide some of your 20kg plates somewhere else maybe? Have you got some other activity you can do more of as your pain reduces? Can you use that as an indicator of progress rather than weight on the bar? Good luck!
Yes that's a really good question. Assess and reassess I guess. Testing myself out in the gym or dojang doing whatever was causing the pain to see if it’s still happening. I definitely should incorporate the 1-10 pain scale in my log too. That’s a great idea. At the moment I'm doing some glute work followed by the lacrosse ball, foam roller then some stretches. I like the idea of warming up more first but am struggling with the additional time it would add. I find with the BSS that my rear leg takes some strain in the upper quad which is the area that I'm trying to avoid. I believe this is due to bad patterning which is what I’m currently trying to fix. In the book the RDL is the favoured movement to relearn and re-pattern. I bought this book a couple of years back http://anthonymychal.com/kneepain/ and the whole idea behind it is femoral control (as you talk about above) and strengthening/activating the glutes more. The book is all about knee pain but the content relates pretty equally to my hip pain as well. I've been back on the program now for only two days and I can feel things moving in the right direction for me which is great. The process will be re-patterning, adding strength/grinding and then moving into full blown explosive movements again. Thanks for the video link. I haven’t heard of Chris before so I’ll have to check this one out. Haha yeah hiding plates might not be a bad idea. What I will be doing though is not chasing the numbers as I have always tried to do. I’ve always had that supposed magical 2xbw squat and 2.5xbw deadlift number in mind with no real reason other than that’s what people say you should be lifting. No real point being able to lift it if I can’t express it anywhere but the gym. I know that with 8-12 weeks of training I can deadlift 170 and squat 145 at a bodyweight of around 90. These are not groundbreaking numbers but it’s been the same cycle for me 3 times now. What I will be looking to do is focus more on the movement, still train hard and add reps before weight i.e. take my squat from 5x100 to 10x100 before moving up in weight. I know this may not be possible at the higher weights but just the change in mentality I think will provide a better base for me to progress forward. Also, in the grand scheme of things taking an extra 6/12/18 months to hit some lifts is nothing. As far as pain goes it’s not like I can’t walk or do anything. On a scale of 1-10 it was probably a 6-7 at its worst and is a 1-2 on a daily basis. What I’m trying to prevent is that daily 1-2 becoming a daily 7-8 which has happened before. Thanks for the thanks and all your suggestions.
2/5/15 Hapkido class. First time back in a few weeks. Some injury time off, sick kids, work, general laziness, etc. The usual story. Class was pretty good. We focused a lot on kicking as the quality within the organization has been slipping of late. Great for me given my lack of training over the last couple of years. Hip didn’t help but it did give me a chance to work on the technique using more glute driven movements. Finished with some light technique work as my shoulder and hip are still bugging me somewhat. No breakfalls today but sorted out most 1st Dan work and set out my plan for 2nd moving forward from here.
