Lighting was super cooperative. Look-like Kazuya Mishima goal is coming along, lol.
Another 30+ pounds in this direction and I might be there.
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Couple random questions.
Have you tried knee sleeves? They might change your life. Mine are Rehband.
Have you tried doing full cleans?
Press just sucks, dude, don’t let it bring you down.
I haven’t. I’m not anti-knee sleeve but I am lazy. Seems like an annoying bit of extra work to get on. I mean I’ve only actually worn my lifting shoes once, and they’re in the actual gym…
I’ll consider it. 
I actually worked with a PT on a knee issue earlier this year, and he said my knees don’t really track correctly. He also said that’s something you can’t actually fix. He’s seen people try but it’s never worked in his experience/observation.
I’ll need a second opinion on that, but I haven’t sought one out yet.
In my case though, I think the problem is twofold: I switched from a mix of quad and hamstring exercises to just deadlifting, so there’s some genuine imbalance; and second, I think I just didn’t make sure my right knee pointed the same way as my foot on a set of Jefferson squats, and irritated it.
But that’s a good reminder I need to set something up with the better PT clinic.
And then buy sleeves.
Not yet. I’m still working through learning hang power cleans per CT’s instruction when I asked in his forum.
But it’s on the roadmap. Hang power cleans → full power cleans + heavier front squats → full cleans.
I really don’t have any interest in snatches or jerks yet though.
Also, it’s crazy to me that people are ok with snatching, say, 135 in the first place. Impressive and seems quite scary.
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I am not smart or qualified enough to disagree with CT. But a lot of ppl will tell you that power cleans aren’t necessarily a good prep for full cleans. The technique is different. And may ingrain bad habits.
Conversely though i do think full cleans will make you better at power cleans. And every rep gives you a bonus front squat too.
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That’s good to know.
I started out asking about axle power cleans, and after he commented that “proper” cleans weren’t transferrable at all to continental axle cleans, I rephrased and asked about power cleans specifically.
I showed a video of me attempting really poor axle cleans, and he offered a guide. But he was very clear that his recommendations were for me and not as an olympic lifter. I.e., bad habits if I was actually going to pursue olympic lifting, but fine for learning to power clean for the other benefits in terms of explosiveness, coordination, etc.
I don’t really know what I want, when it comes down to it.
Watching people like Tian Tao and Li Daiyin make me want to actually learn to clean.
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I will say, its very rewarding to truly clean and jerk. I almost had my bodyweight before moving and losing access. I’ll likely get back to it in a few weeks.
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I doubt anyone was following this bit, but I just want to say, I figured it out. My intuition was right, and my calculation process was wrong.
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I was. Good to hear.
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Lower volume strength work.
Bottom Press: 95# x 3 x 3
3 Jumps, 2 Hang Power Cleans: 95# x 3
Front Squats: 125# x 3 x 3
Notes:
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My coins seem biased. Every time presses come up for partials, it’s almost always the bottom range. -
Power cleans are starting to come together. Turns out it just takes time and practice to learn how to apply the right amount of force to move the bar where you want it. I used to be an ok pool player; it’s like the same kind of skill development to learn to leave the cue ball exactly where you want it. It’s probably time to put some weight on the bar now.
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So an interesting Sheiko bit: lighter lifters can handle more volume than heavier lifters. One of those reasons is that higher absolute bar weight requires more recovery. However, there’s another angle, that more volume for lighter lifters can increase muscle growth. I don’t know if that’s actually the intent, but it makes sense. A bit of powerbuilding going on, just using the competition lifts with lower reps. It’s just speculation though.
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Of all the things that were trained yesterday, what’s actually sore is my midback. My thoracic extension continues to get better though, so it’s probably just growing pains as all that stuff gets released.
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I also have the niggling start of something in the inside of my left elbow. And my right wrist isn’t super happy about front rack yet. Not sure what to do about the first, but the second just needs stretching and mobility work.
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Wrapping a knee wrap or some “Voodoo Floss” around the upper leg/hip (higher than in picture) makes my knee move way better.
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That inner elbow niggle can cripple you for years. Be careful. I hate to say it but you may want to reduce volume on power cleans and general pulling work.
I “pushed through” that niggle while seeking a 90lb weighted pullup and was limited for a year as a result. That elbow tendon is slow to heal.
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My energy and mood has been up and down this week still. Today is a down day.
Had to meet with the principal and school counselor to set up a behavioral plan for my daughter this morning, after a rough afternoon yesterday where I had come get her from school. Then had a late night catching up on work I missed yesterday afternoon, and a few long meetings this morning. Now that I think about it, my energy level is exactly where it should be.
Will probably pare some of the workload back today.
Medium volume strength work. Press, Bottom Deadlift.
Press: 95# x 4 x 3 (fastest rep was 1.14 m/s! Almost there, 1.15 is the target)
Front Squats, Jumps, Hang Power Cleans:
Windmills: 55# x 6 – matched previous PR
BB Curls: 80# x 6
Side Press: 40# x 11 (each side)
Bottom Deadlift: 275# x 4 x 3 – experimented with tighter back and straps
Jefferson Squats, 5 mats:
Upper-back Meadows Rows: 40# x 16 (each side)
Cable cross-body uppercuts: 10# x 30 (each side)
Behind-the-Back cable lateral raises: 7.5# x 21 (each side)
Across-the-Front cable lateral raises: 7.5# x 15 (each side)
Straight-leg Situps: 46# x 8
Cable overhead extensions: 7.5# x 22 (each side)
Cable cross-body uppercuts: 10# x 26 (each side)
Chest files on foam roller: 7.5# x 23
H2H Kettlebell Swings: 55# x 15 (each side) — skipped to let hand heal
Notes:
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Finally a sign my press is progressing. After a month of being nowhere close to this, today was finally 1.14 m/s. Another 0.01 m/s and I’ll bump that weight up 5 pounds. This is why I trust velocity more than I trust RPE. The camera doesn’t lie, but my mind does.
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Joints generally feeling a bit beat up, so welcoming the weekend. Mostly gave my knees a break. Front rack is rough on shoulders, right wrist, both elbows… and newly… my right hand, both the thumb and index finger joints near the palm (metacarpophalangeal joint, if I remember my hand anatomy correctly). I’ll get there, but not today.
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I shared my power clean progress with CT, and he wants me to get a lot more forward lean in the catch. My rack position doesn’t really permit that, yet. I tried something resembling a good morning with a front rack, and that was, well, funny. Massive failure. Even moving to a “zombie” position, I couldn’t go far. So… need lots of thoracic extension work, I think, and some external rotation work. At this point, this is starting to look like an even longer term goal. I figured a few weeks to get a decent power clean, but it’s looking like maybe a few months.
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@FlatsFarmer, I dug out my inner tube “voodoo floss” to give that a shot. I’d completely forgotten about that. I didn’t do at all what you said, but just did a wrap with a few above/below the knee. Even with just a couple bodyweight squats, that felt much better.
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Although split up between breaks (i.e., to do my actual job), it was still 18 sets, which takes some time.
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I do kind of enjoy the bodybuilding work, mainly for its contrast with the other stuff. It’s kind of fun playing with the “bodybuilders aren’t strong” idea and actually building muscle with such light weights. Just using silly tricks like CAT + lengthened partials + slower eccentrics + super high reps to near failure.
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In terms of life goals, I restarted my Chinese learning stuff. My daughter is in a Mandarin full immersion school, so I need to at least keep up with her. (My reading skill is around a first grader at the moment, and listening skill far behind that.) My goal is at 3 lessons a day on this one site every day, which takes something like 45 minutes. Feels good to be advancing another goal and being able to track it.
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Your traps look swollen.
That’s some fast pressing.
I’m glad the inner tube helped somehow. Maybe try that on your arm?
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For better or worse, my traps get hit by everything with my narrow shoulders. The whole “power look” “you need big traps” thing always made me laugh, because I’ve had those… and nothing else.
The inner elbow seems to be just like a knot on both sides, in forearm muscles, just before the inner bony bit/medial epicondyle. But it doesn’t seem to actually be anything serious, just a couple knots.
Sidenote, Johns Hopkins says that medal epicondylitis (which I’m 95% confident I don’t have) can be caused by throwing a javelin.
My massage person is super busy these days; she just started school for acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, so I’ll probably just have to sort this one out myself. Massage and stretching is probably the best modality though.
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Random post, since I haven’t done one of these in awhile.
A few weeks ago, I had my first harvest from my three Asian pear trees. I’ve been growing them for 3 years. Korean Giant and 20th Century had fruit, the third did not. Korean Giant fruit is pretty good, but not giant. 20th Century wasn’t quite as crunchy, and was smaller.
I’m not an expert yet.
I have aspirations to use old-school French gardening techniques to grow tons of fruit and veggies in a small space, but reality hasn’t quite matched those aspirations. Espaliered fruit trees, multi-tier trellised grapes, hotbeds, cloches etc. There’s some good books on the topic, from long ago.
- French Market Gardening by John Weathers
- The Parks and Gardens of Paris by William Robinson
(There’s a few more good ones if anyone is interested in links)
This weekend, we took the kids to Dozer Days, where they got to operate and ride in some heavy equipment. Bulldozers and excavators.
And we also had family photos. I did my daughters hair like a princess from one of those pseudo-historical Chinese dramas. Simple stuff, but looks fancy. Everyone thinks my wife did it. Dad skills come in all kinds.
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First PR with windmills in a long time. 60#
Went to the doctor for a physical today. Everything is good. Heart rate is 56 bpm, blood pressure 112/70. Better than last time. Could still be lower.
Got a referral for PT, a more sports-oriented place. I want to get this knee cap tracking thing sorted out so my knees will let me squat.
Going on vacation in a few days to hike in Zion, Bryce, Antelope Canyon. Just hit basics today and a couple extras.
Lower Volume strength work.
Press: 95# x 3 x 3 (fastest rep was not faster than last time; a bit over 1 m/s)
Barbell Curls: 80# x 7
Windmills: 60# x 3 (each side) - a PR! I care about
Paused Deadlift: 275# x 3
Straight-leg Situps: 46# x 9
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(Probably) Last session before vacation. Leaving tomorrow night, but will be spending a lot of time in the plane and car (so don’t want to be too stiff) and plan on doing a decent amount of hiking (so don’t want to risk making my knees worse).
Today is ostensibly the day I’d Clean or Front Squat, but my thumb isn’t handling rack position well, and my right knee is still a bit unhappy. My initial consult with the new PT is tomorrow. That was quick to get in.
Higher Volume strength work. Top Press, Clean, Press with Chains
Top Press, from forehead: 95# x 3 x 3
[break]
Press with Chains: 85# x 3 x 3
Side Press: 40# x 12 (each side)
Notes:
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Tried out a much wider grip on the top press; pinkies just touching the rings. I liked it. Not sure how well it will work through the full range.
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I tried to think of something to do in the middle of this “sandwich” workout, but all the lifts I skipped yesterday also heavily involve the shoulders, so… I just took a break and came back.
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Wider grip definitely did not work well in the full range; brought it back in. Currently about halfway between smooth and rings.
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Ok, actual last session before vacation. Decided I could still do some pressing.
Press: 95# x 4 x 3 (fastest rep was 1.10 m/s)
Notes:
- My only real goal was to try and hit that 1.15 number I tried.
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All right, I’m back. Saw some cool stuff on vacation, hiked a bit, swam a bit, walked a bit, carried my one kid a lot, and both kids some, too. Weather ranged from 90+ degrees in swimsuit, to 26 degrees cold weather star viewing, and some hiking gear too, so that was fun to pack for and carry… since we did it all with carry-on luggage.
We’re not yet at an official Oppositional Defiant Disorder diagnosis with my daughter, but is trending that way. A major problem every other day on vacation, and so far, every day now back at school. It’s been fun 
Multiple professionals are involved at this point; school principal, school counselor, occupational therapist, talk/play therapist, and some other parent-child interaction therapist. Plus our own self-study of books and clinical literature.
So, lifting.
But first, PT.
I’ve seen PT twice. Once before going on vacation, and again after. I didn’t do much for exercises while on vacation, so this second PT visit was essentially pointless.
My goal is: pain-free full-ROM squatting.
In short: she’s a bit stumped. I was hoping for a more sports-oriented PT, but she’s not really that, and PTs focused on lifting is a lot more niche than I would expect (since pretty much all sports use lifting these days…)
All of the usual culprits are not an issue. I have lots of mobility, flexibility, and strength in places most non-lifters don’t. Passed most of the normal tests with flying colors. But a few things did stand out:
- my vastus medialis is “jacked”, and my vastus lateralis in relation to it is “practically atrophied”.
- my hips (read, glutes) are weaker and not taking up enough of the slack relative to hamstrings and low back muscles
- my ankle dorsiflexion could be better and more even side-to-side (30 degrees on the left, 35 on the right, in a deep squat), even though I can do a flat footed deep squat
So there’s the exercises she gave me, and then there’s others that also seem more obvious to me: glute stuff, vastus lateralis stuff, ankle work. Thankfully bodybuilders have figured out a lot of techniques to highlight the fist two, and weightlifters for the last (plus, shoes).
But she also has a recommendation of a further-away harder-to-get-into powerlifting PT who has an almost exclusive powerlifting clientele, so that’s in her pocket if this stuff doesn’t work.
Ok, lifting.
I played with some vastus medialis stuff. Front squats, middle ROM only (a bit below to a bit above parallel), slightly narrow stance, feet pointed straight ahead or even slightly in. Did a few sets with the 95# I had on the bar.
I did a set of triples with 95# overhead press to see speed. Looks like there was no magic supercompensation from my 2 week layoff. Also seems my thoracic mobility is much worse again; compensating at my lumbar spine and bending there.
Then:
Overhead Press: 75# x 5; 65# x 5
I’m going to do Power to the People for a few waves. Well, at least one.
The whole idea:
- 5 days a week (or so)
- Two sets of five, second is 90% of the first (remove a pair of 5s)
- Increase the weight by 5% each session (add a pair of 2.5s)
- When you can’t get 5 reps on the first set, drop to 70% of that next time and start over
I do expect a higher risk of injury with this, due to slightly higher intensities with my current mobility limitations in the thoracic spine and shoulders. It’s certainly easy to implement.
The deadlift stuff I was doing worked, so I’ll keep doing that, with the variation and randomization. Going to see about getting another bar so I don’t have to unload/reload between the two lifts.
I also think I’m going to be a bit lazier about the gym work than I was. I don’t know yet. I still really like the idea of having a couple core exercises and letting the rest fall out as need be.
On the pain/injury front: Calvert stuff alone felt fine. Easy strength/RR stuff alone was fine. The combination of the two seemed to increase the niggling pains.
Currently, elbows are feeling good, shoulders aren’t but they’re not bad, right rhomboid is fine, inside right knee is a little annoyed, squatting can hurt if loaded due to the thing I’m seeing PT about where the tendon snaps around 90 degrees.
The end, I guess?
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