Remember, remember, the 5th of December. Or was it November?
Foam rolling is my knee saver. Not just the IT band, but the quads and especially the adductors (I am literally humping the floor when I’m rolling the adductors). When my knees are really stiff, I also roll the hamstrings just to cover my bases, but I’ve never noticed a difference from rolling the hamstrings (I can touch the floor pretty easily with the palm of my hands though). Then I static stretch afterwards. My guess-timate is that foam rolling easily cuts the recovery time for my knees in half, easily.
1: One rep or so left: I try to get as many as I can without “risking” failure.
2: Wendler says you can make gains 2 days a week, but he does not really suggest its optimal. He has a two-day-a-week template for when you have no other choice. He also suggests things like not getting married to a 7 day week. I try and keep my training to 4 times a week based on an 8 day week–in other words, I try and lift every other day. Sometimes I can’t stick to this plan and more time passes than I want, and I take this into consideration when it comes time to deload by not deloading if I have not kept a tight schedule.
Wendler specifically states that DE days are not part of his program. But I don’t see how they could hurt your progress.
I don’t do much–if any–static stretching. I do like doing some mobility drills and I feel like I need to do this more frequently. I think static stretching is tricky and can be counterproductive because when you stretch a muscle it wants to tighten up and you can really only improve flexibility through stretching when the muscle is relaxed. There are ways to do this by tricking the muscle into relaxing while you stretch it, but it takes some practice and some training to do this correctly.
Stop a few reps short of failure --maybe 85% of the max. lift
I’d say 3 days is the least amount , you would want to do, however, you know yourself better than anyone.
I still incorporate “speed deads/bench/squat” and find it helps. However I do not do a “trad.” powerlifting scheme. I used to do rep days instead of DE.
1 stop when i’m pretty sure I can’t get the next rep
2 wendler is talking about older guys like us, but he is also talking about a pretty heavy conditioning program. I am going to try the twice per week, using the opposite BBB, ie, bench 5/3/1, then 5x10 military/pulldown.
3) I only did de work during my brief flirtation with westide-type stuff. i think it was designed for geared lifters, but not sure. not doing it has not seemed to hurt my progress, but I am not lifting the poundage you are either
4) all the time. stretching is good.
1.on my working sets i stop when i feel like to one more would be a grind or my form may start to go in the crapper. i strive to go to failure on accessory work or anything under 60% of my max.
i don’t follow the typical 7 day week. i’m doing 5/3/1 where i actually lift three days a week but i’m doing all four lifts on separate days. as a result it takes four weeks to complete the three week cycle.
i’ve done specific DE with some good results. now i basically do my best to lift the weight as quickly as possible all the time. i also find it very helpful to lift against minibands. they aren’t super strong but add enough to make you consciously think about lifting the weight fast. with moderate to heavy(er) weight the bands can make the difference between missing or making a lift based on how fast you are.
i stretch by lifting the bar through a full ROM:) that’s it.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
4. i stretch by lifting the bar through a full ROM:) that’s it. [/quote]
Funny you should say that. I have found that I am noticeably weaker in workouts where I thoroughly stretched before starting my lifts. If I do just a light, quick stretch, to break the cobwebs loose from any soreness, I am much stronger and feel like I am in more control of the weight.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
4. i stretch by lifting the bar through a full ROM:) that’s it. [/quote]
Funny you should say that. I have found that I am noticeably weaker in workouts where I thoroughly stretched before starting my lifts. If I do just a light, quick stretch, to break the cobwebs loose from any soreness, I am much stronger and feel like I am in more control of the weight.[/quote]
IMO, you should never stretch a cold muscle. stretching, if done, should happen after the workout.
Thanks all for your advice and useful information. I’m definitely not static stretching before a workout any more.
9/22
1a.MP 155x5,175x5,195x15
1b.chin ups BWx12,6
In-laws,fighting kids and a grumpy wife. Needless to say I was really pissed off when I worked out tonight. I easily pressed 195x15. I could have gotten 20. Wish I could bottle this and use it every workout.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Thanks all for your advice and useful information. I’m definitely not static stretching before a workout any more.
9/22
1a.MP 155x5,175x5,195x15
1b.chin ups BWx12,6
In-laws,fighting kids and a grumpy wife. Needless to say I was really pissed off when I worked out tonight. I easily pressed 195x15. I could have gotten 20. Wish I could bottle this and use it every workout.[/quote]
I can’t fathom 195 x 15. I’ll be thrilled when I hit 195 x 1.
Ah yes, inlaws, the fighting kids and grumpy wife. Been there…done that. Had some bourbon.