Just trying to get back to not overcomplicating things and go back to the freedom of lifting weights how I want to lift them without all the background rubbish of overcueing and doing this the “best” way. I think that’s part of my problem - there is a time and a place to think about these things but there’s also something to be said about not going into the gym worrying about all this stuff. I would confidently say that most of the strongest people in my gym can barely talk about how or why they do things a certain way - and part of me sees things they do and thinks “they’d get better results if they this, that, and this”, but they are miles ahead of me and already smashing it by just applying themselves. A friend of mine benched 170kg natural the other day, probably weighs about 125kg. Leading up to that he’d already done 140kg x 10 and 150 x 5, reracked the bar, grabbed it and got a 6th rep. None of that session was planned, he just got at it.
Maybe after my time off I was full of hubris and lost my way. I told myself “I know what I’m doing, I need to >insert a million different things< and get back to where I was (which was nothing special in the first place)”.
Recently I’ve been playing with my bench press grip because I’d always kind of wriggled my hand into the bar and then lightly put pressure on the bar to roll it and repeated that a few times before it felt most stable and strong for the unrack. But that’s not “correct”! And you rarely ever see people do it! It’s made me experiment with all kinds of things. I’ve put in a lot of shitty sets that could have been good if I just stuck to the way my body had naturally organized how it stacks itself for years with no problem.
cdep89, just lift the fucking weights.
PS: Romanian Deadlifted 145kg x 8,8,10 last week. Confident of hitting 147.5kg for the same tomorrow because of the momentum I feel I’m carrying in certain exercises.
In a good vibe of progress at the moment. Most of my exercises are raising pretty linearly. Looking forward to my bench on Sunday. RDL’d 150kg x 8,8,10 and actually felt I had a bit more on that last set, so much so I’m wondering if I counted my reps wrong - I’m can’t see how I would have though.
Not the best session today. Since getting rid of conventional deadlifts and squatting twice a week, I wonder if I really need deloads any more. Usually I take a lighter week 4-6weeks in when I hit the kind of session I had today, but I’m going to go ahead with squats tomorrow and see how they feel before I put it down to fatigue. I’m off to watch Spurs vs Forest next Sunday so will be having the full weekend off anyway. With that in mind, going lighter Friday would essentially give me 4 days off - although something I’d rather not do when so many lifts are in such good momentum and I’m not really training with less than 8 reps on anything (except for submax squats).
My main problem today was a failure to connect to scapular depression. Bench was shruggy, not able to do shoulder circles and my usual warm-ups failed me. Even on tricep pushdowns I wasn’t able to depress my shoulders so they just felt awkward. Barbell rows felt awesome though which is strange when they also require depression.
Band or stick shoulder dislocations
Band pullaparts + external rotations
30sec hang off pull-up bar or a psuedo-hang off a lat pulldown
And a prayer stretch to release my thoracic.
All of the above is usually enough for me. Today everything felt off though. I guess I did use the regular bar instead of the v-grip for the hangs but I struggle to see how that could derail a session.
Squatted today, everything felt heavy again so didn’t force anything. I’ve started messing with my stance again. Whenever I get moving in a good direction with squats I then start questioning. Someone took a picture of me not hitting depth with my current stace when it felt like I really was. Before the adductor tear everything was smooth and I never even had to think about this stuff. I think I definitely used to be a little wider and maybe it’s time to go back there to test the scar tissues tolerance. It sucks moving forward to then have to recalibrate things.
I took like 20-30% weight off the rest of the season but still bashed some could hard curls out. Instead of doing 3x5 and 1x5+(AMRAP) on squats. I ended up just doing 2x5 at the same weight as last week, took 20kg and did a set of 12 with wider form, and then added another 10kg back on and did a set of 4. I don’t know if that can count as a deload as such but I just didn’t have it in me today so will not put pressure on my self for the rest of the week.
Quick update. Tiny reaggravation of pec whilst spotting some idiot wanting “assisted reps” on ez-bar curls that were way too heavy for him with dreadful form. Had to basically do reps for him as he kept saying he wants another one. New gym boundary: Say no to helping people who train dumb. BUT I SEEK THE POSITIVES TO COME FROM THAT, AND THERE WERE SOME.
I can’t remember if I mentioned it, but I’ve started doing incline barbell bench work as anything on an incline is something I’ve always avoided because a focus on aesthetics were never really a big goal for me. After a few months of trying to treat it like a bench press in terms of setup irritating my lumbar spine over and over, today was an opportunity to not worry about progress and I think I finally learned how to brace properly on it. Reps felt smoother with no lumbar take over. Close-grip bench afterwards felt awkward and weak today though, I forgot my thoracic stretch at the beginning of the session so hopefully both incline AND close-grip feel great next week.
BIG WIN. I think finally nailed my pulldowns too. Somewhere along the line I started using a thumbless grip BECAUSE MUSCLE CONNECTION BRO - and it appears that’s what’s been hindering me all this time. Went with a full grip and the shrug + armpit irritation disappeared instantly. I was able to add 5kg whilst keeping the same reps and my shoulders started retracting and depressing naturally. I’m optimistic this might be the gap that fixes a lot of my training issues. It’s great when you discover some dumb biomechanic thing with your body that’s been holding you back. I have basically been beating a dead horse with my old form whilst training my body to shrug when lifting my arm. My overhead capability outside the gym feels 80% better even 5 hours after the session.
My lean bulk is going as good as it’s ever gone despite not being as meticulous as I usually am. I do the calorie maths in my head and mostly round numbers to keep it simple. I don’t care for the slight inaccuracy and the laid-back method seems to be doing it for me right now!
Tuesday 17th Feb - 179.6lb - 10:21am
Tuesday 24th Feb - 180.0lb - 10:33am
Tuesday 3rd March - 180.4lb - 10:35am
Tuesday 10th March - 181.6lb - 10:35am
Thursday 12th March - 180.8lb -10:35am
Tuesday 17th March - 180.8lb - 10:40am
Wednesday 25th March - 181.2lb - 10:30am
Wednesday 1st April - 182.2lb - 10:50am
Friday 3rd April - 181.6lb - 10:40am
2lbs in ~6.5weeks (because of the non-mover one week, it averages to 0.3lb a week which is GOLD in my mind). I fast up until ~10:30am on my non-gym days and am lucky enough to have access to a scale at that time. I eat late and it seems to minimize fluctuation noise. Even if I do get a surprising fluctuation, doing the same a couple days later seems to give me the expected/desired weigh-in.
My lifestyle is pretty consistent at the moment and I add 40-50 calories for every extra 1km I walk outside of that in support of the dogs and my partners weight-loss. (our long mountain and woodland exploration walks haven’t hindered me at all).
Back had stiffened up from about 6 hours of scrubbing a patio yesterday.
Wanted to get 3 good sets in of RDLs today, 145kg x 8, 150kg x8, 152.5kg x 8 was the plan (reason for that pyramid up was because I was building back up from a deload 2 weeks ago). Sadly, back felt sketchy at 145kg x 8 due to yesterdays lingering tightness/fatigue so went down to 140kg and added a set instead. 140kg 4x8 might be a volume PR.
I guess this is what smart autoregulation is. Old me would have powered through despite my body telling me not to - but 4x8 with solid form as a possible volume PR, I can still consider it progress. It all carries over, and opens up possible different progression lanes, maybe I’ll hit 152.8kg next week, maybe I’ll work up to 150kg 4x8 over the course of the next month. Things don’t always happen as we expect them to, but I highly value the experience I have now to adjust on a fly and win the session regardless.
Decent session, added weight to barbell rows and seated overhead press and got the same reps.
My bench has been pathetic (compared to my old numbers) for ages. Ever since I came back I just never got a good rhythm going. Embarassing considering how long I’ve been back. My arch keeps collapsing and I end up shrugging the weight at the bottom. I took in too many cues and it’s killed it off. I’mma stop reading shit, and I’mma start doing 4 sets now instead of 3 so I can stop chasing reps and dial my technique in my own way without all the internet noise.
Bench yesterday, squat today. Both piss poor. Thankfully though, reflection has me feeling I’ve solved both issues.
On bench for some reason I started setting my grip with my feet up which I must have seen someone strong doing when I was planning my “comeback”. It does not work for me. I would imagine because I was nursing that pec at the time, it also allowed me to keep adding weight without irritating it because it put more work towards the delts. I realize now it completely cripples my scapular depression and arch ability because of how legs up straightens the back and the wrists already being set stops allowing my shoulders to properly find their place. I used to set everything before grabbing the bar and even just sat at my desk imitating it, it already feels 10x better. Absolute dribble form I got caught up in. Look forward to next bench session WITHOUT any cues and just doing what I used to do.
Squat. Worried about stance, worried about depth, worried about my shoulders being set right. NOTHING BUT NOISE. I can’t go from squatting a 140kg single to 105kg feeling heavy because of loss of strength, I go from it for being an idiot and second guessing everything
Someone decided to say “See you mate, hope you have a good time at the wedding” as I was on rep 6 of 8 of heavy RDLs. I politely passed on a half smile, lost concentration and felt something go in palm/under my thumb. I managed to do another set of 8 after the incident, and then curl 20kgs 3x10 so I hope that’s a good sign it’s nothing to really worry about.
I think I had similar with leg extensions a couple weeks ago and it was fine 24-48 hours later. We still catastrophize though don’t we? It’s just frustrating when something happens because of someone else - I can’t blame though, accountability and all that… next time I will be more ignorant. Heh.
3 days off now for a wedding. Praying this is just a tiny minor soft tissue thing that sorts itself out extremely quickly because my training is flying right now.
Wrist/palm not feeling too bad this morning, just have a slightly warm “awareness” there. Not really any pain as such, just a protective feeling that’s telling me not to grip or lift anything heavy right now. I felt the line/pull tingle and my mind went to “ah fuck” mode. It might be a thing that would never have bothered me years ago, but because of previous experiences I panic. I’m sure being able to do another heavy set straight after is the best “don’t panic bro” signal I could get.
Tendons or nerves just being tendons and nerves. Giving me a warning rather than any real tissue damage. Guess I won’t truly find out until Wednesday, but I’m feeling positive.
Was a good wedding Monday, lots of booze was had. Don’t feel guilty as it’s the first time I’ve properly drank in around 6 months.
My first session back I kept the weight pretty light and went for reps, obviously that zing wasn’t there and I wanted to make sure the wrist was okay. Sets of 15-20 on the bench with 60-65kg. Seated OHP I did sets of 10 instead of my planned 3x5-6.
Today got in a good squat session, and feeling the momentum again already.
Cable rows are exploding right now. I’ve managed to reconnect to scapular depression in ways I haven’t felt for a long time, and having that natural line of pull is leading to good things when it comes to adding weight and reps
Weighed in 1lb heavier than I expected, obiously due to the indulgence at the wedding. I’m hoping it’ll level out a bit over the next few days as a 1lb spike is normal even without a day of booze.
But then, why do I care? It was a great day, it doesn’t happen very often, and what is life if I care more about a predictable bulk over time spent with the people I love?
There have been times I’ve severely restricted calories on drinking days so I “have room” for the beer. I didn’t do that this time, and the reward was not feeling shit for the rest of the week despite a LOT of drinking. A bit of fatigue on the first session back, but that was all.
I guess this is what balance feels like. Maybe I could do this EVERY WEEK.
My RDL plan is/was 150kg 3x8 (which I’ve already done), then “back-off” but with an extra set to 140kg 4x8 and build back up to 150kg with 4x8. Today was 145kg 4x8.
I accidently missed adding a 2.5kg to one side on the first set today (duh) so the first set was a slightly imbalanced 142.5kg x 8, but I’ll still count it and plan for 147.5kg 4x8 next week.
This might be considered a slow way to progress, maybe many would have gone straight to 152.5kg and progressed to 8, 8, 8. I just feel this way I’ve come up with will lead to more predictable (and safer progression). There’s no need me grinding these kinds of weights each week, and I’m hoping once I get to 150kg 4x8, I can either go back to 3 straight sets at 152.kg x 8 (which would feel easier than it would have if I went straight to it), or maybe even go down to 140kg and do 4x10 and build back up to 150kg 4x10.
I guess you’d call this some sort of wave training, or maybe a potential volume and then intensity block. It just feels right and is keeping my form honest.
Well, something just happened that might be the most important thing that’s happened mobility-wise since fully tearing my adductor longus. And it happened whilst taking a dump (I’m sorry).
Since the injury I have struggled to consistantly pick things up off the floor. It usually requires a few “bounces” to get the right position and loosen me up for it to not to be a problem, but then my body pretty soon “forgets”. It’s led to some embarassing moments. Anyway, I low bar squat as I’ve always done because too much knee flexion causes a stretch on the groin area that makes that whole complex with the retracted muscle feel like it’s gonna pop at any moment. Leg presses cause the same, anything heel-elevated, ditto. No worries, I got over the fact I won’t be able to squat like a regular person without extensive rehab and “i’ll maybe, probably not try to tackle it at some point” - train around it. That avoidance has put me in this position though.
I was in a cubicle today that was super-cramped, could barely turn around in it. Being the clumsy fool that I am, I dropped a toilet roll and to my surprise before I could even remember my apparent adductor limitiations or say “FUCK” out loud, did a perfect squat and picked it up without issue. The size of the cubicle must have forced my body to drop the “low-bar forward lean” and broken muscle protectiveness to do something it hasn’t done in years without pain or overcomplication.
So now what do I do? Imma try doing a couple sets of goblet squats with a light weight every other day to try and rebuild the pattern. I should have done this ages ago. I’m not going to go extra deep or plan to load it too fast. I just hope my body will learn to move better because of it.
Me too, my body seemed to just bounce back up strong naturally. Since the injury I had to bring it in a bit, I’ve a read a fair share of stories of powerlifters having to bring their stance in over time due to adductor issues, so I gather if they can’t figure it out what chance do I have? I’m just happy to be able to squat pain-free heavy 5s after my physio told me it’s an unlikely goal, so screw them.
It’s the kind of advice that seems to turn up everywhere but we just let it float away and ignore it. I just do that silly thing of “but it will interfere with my other lifts” as if all my recovery will just collapse if I add an exercise. It’s dumb really, because I used to do so much better when I just DID stuff.
What’s that quote, something about the answer being in the most unlikely of places!? Heh. Thanks for the support everyone!
