Just thinking out loud, as usual. See I know when I take one of these hospital jobs, training and rest time will be cut down drastically. �? could be wrong, but it appears obvious to me that not only is OL tougher on my body, it requires MUCH more time-I’ve been having three hour workouts sometimes just because of all the form work, high volume, and endless stretching for positions.
As God is my witness I am not going back to “Mens Health phase”-jog a few miles, go to the gym once in a while and do pretty machines. So, at least for the next year, which I think is the minimum I will need to extricate myself from my black hole, I need to devise a time efficient way to keep strong and lift heavy. Waking up this morning with BOTH knees totally shot from front squatting with only 265 further reinforces these thoughts.
Any ideas you guys have on a push/pull based workout regimen that might involve say three workouts a week? My immediate thoughts are bench twice, DL once a week, plus assistance excercises.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have my dreams. My brain often lives in the clouds, not reality. But I thought a year of PL would do nothing but continue to improve my core strength and if things worked out great I could return to OL later. In all honesty, the single greatest miracle, for me, in this comeback, is just being able to deadlift again. I never, ever thought that was possible with my spnial problems, but it has been a joy to DL every week or two and every time it goes up twenty pounds or so. I was always a great puller, and I always enjoyed it the most, whether in pc’s or DL’s. I only tried DL’s with cross hands and different stances a few times in my prime-I was able to do about 5-10% more than my strict OL DL’s. It would be cool to play around with that, that alone might put me over 500 right now. For some crazy reason, I really believe if I trained for two straight years and stayed healthy, I might actually DL 600 again. I did it easily in college and never really tried to get it much higher-I didnt see the point as I was totally focused on my clean and jerk, inclines and throwing.
Or, back on OL, I could just power snatch and power clean and jerk, and fuck the deep positions. Oh, who knows!!! At least I’m thinking about lifting and not this damned estrogen bullshit.
It ain’t easy being me. Doc
The routine I generally recommend is:
10 minutes warmup (bodyweight circuit)
1 quad-dominant exercise (Squat)
1 hamstring dominant execise (Deadlift)
1 upperbody push (Bench press)
1 upperbody pull (Bent BB Row)
10 minutes accesory work (Abs, arms, calves, etc)
Rotate the squat and deadlift so you hit heavy on each different days, something like:
Monday - backsquat, RDL
Weds - deadlift, overhead squat
Friday - front squat, good morning.
I assume that back squat > front squat > OH Squat. In your case I’m not sure. Likewise I assume that Deadlift > RDL > Good Morning. You could substitute single leg exercises for the light exercises.
Likewise select your push and pull so you do the same:
Monday - heavy push, Medium pull
Weds - light push, heavy pull
Friday - medium push, light pull.
Pick a rep/set scheme to get each exercise done in 15 min.
That should get you out of the gym in reasonable time.
BTW, my two cents on the lifting gear stuff-I have no interest whatsoever in wearing teflons shirts. I need my belt, it protects my back. And I tape my wrists which are still bad from my college days. That’s all I need to do benches and DL’s, and all I want.
Doc
Google Ripptoe’s Strength Training Workout…it’s a basic compound workout that is 3 days a week…although it does utilize squats which you don’t sound happy about. In essence it’s this…
day 1 - 3x5 squat, 3x5 bench, 1x5 deadlift, (optional 3x5 pullup)
day 2 - rest
day 3 - 3x5 squat, 3x5 military press, 3x5 bent over row, (optional 3x5 dip)
day 4 - rest
day 5 - repeat day 1
Average time in gym: about 45 mins - hour
Might be too basic for you, dunno. But it hits the majors. I like it.
Good thread Dr. PC
Thanks guys, good feedback. Got my plane ticket for Monday to go back to the States. Will come back to see my family for Christmas and then start my new job on the 27th. Three month temp contract, then we’ll see.
Don't know if I'll be able to go to a gym, with the long hours. I'll probably just stock a home gym, rack, bench, and weights is all I really need.
I don't hate squats, but they seem to hate me since I started my comeback. I'm pulling muscles every other time I do them and my knees are getting progressively worse.
Maybe, its just the deep OL squats that I’m doing that kills them. But I’m also worried that after my accident and with my atrophic calves and who know what else, I think my legs are sort of a disaster. I’ll need to work them, of course, but I have to really get a better understanding of what’s going on with my lower body as a whole. Need a good PT to look me over, a PT who LIFTS.
I can get that done in the States, just gotta find the right guy. And once I make enough money to pay my bills, I can spend some money on figuring out my body's current status. I'm sure I've got imbalances out the ying yang, but I'm not going back to Swiss balls, rubber bands and pink dumbells. Doc
Doc, guess who? Try some bodyweight box squats. If you do a hundred you will feel it, even 5 sets of 20. They kill me especially with zerchers before or after. The box I use is 11X12X14.
www.bodyweightbasics.com Bodyweight stuff doesn’t make you a wuss. Remember we are not of the short members here. Our joints have put up with a lot of shit. I’m happy you’re back to work. I recommend a gym as apposed to home stuff.
HT, QT are special folks and are committed to the home gym stuff. They still head to the gym on occassion. I have to go somewhere to go crazy or I would short the workout. PM me and I’ll come to fla and ware your ass out.
[quote]barryjenkins00 wrote:
Doc, guess who? Try some bodyweight box squats. If you do a hundred you will feel it, even 5 sets of 20. They kill me especially with zerchers before or after. The box I use is 11X12X14.
www.bodyweightbasics.com Bodyweight stuff doesn’t make you a wuss. Remember we are not of the short members here. Our joints have put up with a lot of shit. I’m happy you’re back to work. I recommend a gym as apposed to home stuff.
HT, QT are special folks and are committed to the home gym stuff. They still head to the gym on occassion. I have to go somewhere to go crazy or I would short the workout. PM me and I’ll come to fla and ware your ass out.[/quote]
You know, I probably needed someone like you to tell me to do bodyweight box squats, cuz otherwise I definitely would have considered them a pussy thing to do. I’ll try them, maybe experiment with different heights to see how they impact my knees. I tore some cartilage in my right knee years many ago, but the docs at the time told me it was “bearable” and not worth cutting me open for (this was before they got so good with arthroscopes.)
I’m actually one of those home gym guys like HT and QT, had one for fifteen years. Of course, I was doing machines and pussy routines, but I can psych myself up for workouts. However, I do think I now like having both.
I mean, showing up the gym weenies is SO fun, and seeing some of these hot fitness gals gets your testosterone flowing (whatever is left of mine!) I ESPECIALLY love showing up a gym weenie in FRONT of a hot gal, it just doesnt get much better than that. lol Doc
“Eh, what’s up, Doc?” You make due/do with what you have…Barry’s suggestion, as well as the other’s give you a basic starting point. By trial & error, you will eventually find what works for you in the time available & whether or not finances allow a gym membership or possibly a couple of daily’s per month.
Like HT says, you’re gonna have your ‘money exercises’ & your favs, & those that help you get closer to your lifting aspirations. The best to you & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Art
Dr Dyer would not approve of what I do to the gym weenies. Gym etiquitte is a big deal for me. If they don’t comply I’ll follow them around the gym like a dog. It’s ugly but very American. If you’re curling 65 in the squat rack and showing your gal, you don’t want the old gray haired guy doing 155 next to you. Machines are what they are and I kind of like many of them. I want one thing from machines, the stack.
No, I can’t stack all of them but that’s what I expect from me. I stay away from the double pulley machines, no matter what they say is on them it’s light. Back to the bodyweight stuff. Bulgarian split squats will also set you free. For the Doc’s ego hold a couple of 30#dbs and do sets of 25. I’d like to be in a recliner while watching these. We’re 6’4" and weigh more than some of our buddies.
Also watch Dan John’s Fitcast regarding your hips when doing your favorite stuff. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6529481301858251744&q=dan+John
See ya my friend.
How could I forget the best part? Yes, Barry, the best thing in a gym is showing up a gym weenie, with a hot girl watching, by STACKING the machine he just did three or four plates with. And of course acting like it was just another set. 
Doc
And no, neither Dyer, Deepak Chopra or Jesus would approve of our behavior.
Today is probably the last time in several months that I can train with my son, or in Costa Rica. I was full of bad emotions, but also partly just emotionally flat-I hope I never have to discuss Estrogen again.
I needed some Deadlift Therapy before I would join my son to do whatever he wanted to do. I worked up, and here were my final sets:
2x405
1x430
1x450
1x470
0x500 Got it one inch off the ground.
Then I did bi’s and tri’s and stuff with my son, the best part of the workout. Really had no business trying 500, my legs, especially hamstrings were cramping up bigtime at 470. I was practically doing stiff legged deads from 430 up. Just wanted 5, but I guess I didn’t want it bad enough.
Anyway, having heart to hearts with the missus and hopefully absense will make the heart grow fonder. I'm still too damn sentimental, man I want my fire and aggression back.
Doc
It just dawned on me to whip out a calculator…and I’m at 70-75% of my lifetime PR lifts in ALL of my lifts, except squats and jerks which are only at about 55-60%. I could see myself maybe getting to 80% in almost all of them, but 85% would be beyond amazing. This is very interesting because of that thread-Age You Reached Your Peak. Some folks claimed to be at their peak in their 50’s, but most guys who were at a high level in their youth said getting 80% in your fifties was pretty damn good. I now believe this is accurate.
This is not a downer thing, to the contrary, I feel proud to be within shouting distance of that 80% number. For a change, I think I'm thinking rationally. It gives me new, tangible goals that have real meaning to me, not anybody else. For some reason, this strikes me as a very profound realization; because I think I waffle between Rodney Dangerfield-like dissing of my achievements and unrealistically dreaming of heroic numbers again.
Lookout, a rare moment of sanity. Doc
Still sound like the wacko I’m fond of to me. I’m happy you got to go with your son even though his desires and yours are a bit different in the gym. Call when you get stateside. Still sore from Thursday. Today was kind of lame. Light bench, curls,pressdowns, bs etc. Helped one of my youngsters.
[quote]barryjenkins00 wrote:
Still sound like the wacko I’m fond of to me. [/quote]
Thanks, Barry, I kind of scared myself with that last post. Sanity is overrated.
Doc,
Just wanted to wish you good luck with the new job and upcoming life changes. Keep lifting, keep making gains, and forget about analyzing it all. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Look forward to seeing your posts once you get settled in.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Doc,
Just wanted to wish you good luck with the new job and upcoming life changes. Keep lifting, keep making gains, and forget about analyzing it all. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Look forward to seeing your posts once you get settled in. [/quote]
Is it that obvious? (lol) Overanalyzing my life is partly an "occupational hazard," but also a function of going into semi-retirement prematurely and having too much time on my hands. That's about to change, and after analyzing 30-40 patients a day I wont have any brain chemicals left for me. A blessing, that will be.
But my thread might not be as entertaining. :) Doc
[quote]barryjenkins00 wrote:
Also watch Dan John’s Fitcast regarding your hips when doing your favorite stuff. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6529481301858251744&q=dan+John
See ya my friend.[/quote]
Barry, that video is awesome isn’t it. I downloaded it quite a while ago and have watched it numerous times.
There’s no doubt that it’s helped my lifts and he has such an easy style of teaching - simply brilliant in my opinion.
Duke, I agree. We need to get the Doc to watch. Our friend as another friend stated needs to get under the bar on his beloved PCs. That video is why I finally reverted to conventional DLs. I’ve emailed Dan John several times and he has responded. He teaches an online class Columbia College in Columia, MO. Seems like a genuine good dude. He’s in the know. He has website www.danjohn.org good shit. Have a great week.
Guys, I watched it. It took me three times to get past the first few minutes. I love Dan John, but this video was extremely depressing for me. It was like a giant needle puncturing my balloon dreams of OL.
I can’t do this stuff. Not even close. My body is so inflexible, I can’t even come close to heels down on overhead squats. Even doing potato sack squats, I’m barely able to get my heels close to down, and I’m about to fall over doing it. I’ve done what I’ve done with high heels on my shoes plus a little orthotic. I think I’ve been fooling myself.
It’s quite an eye opener. I think it explains why I’m hurting myself every time I front squat-that much I’m grateful for. But my WHOLE BODY, not just my calves like I thought, is so inflexible I might as well be trying to be a gymnast with my dreams of truly doing competitive OL again. Squat snatches arent happening, and squat cleans will continue to tear me up.
You know, I sort of knew all this, but I hoped I could fix it. I’ve overcome so much in my comeback from my accident, I guess I started thinking I could overcome damn near anything. Fixing this would take MONUMENTAL changes in my body.
It’s not the end of the world. I wasnt that good at the flexibility part even as a youngster, struggled to snatch, that’s why I only did 300 with a 420 power clean. Couldnt get in position 80% of my attempts.
I think the best thing that can come out of this is that I need to relearn how to do ANY type of squatting movement, even quarter squats, so as to not further hurt myself and improve whatever I can. It certainly reaffirms the recent thoughts I’ve been having about training more for a push/pull comp than OL, if I do finally get back to competing.
Part of me wants to be defiant, to say FUCK IT, I’ll show em all and POWER CLEAN and jerk Master’s world records. Man, what is it with me? I’m just one mixed up neurotic semi-beast. Why do I need to lift anything really heavy again? Maybe I should just be happy to be lifting, and to have a better than average body for my age. Doc