[quote]Null wrote:
Strick: I’m in same boat… trying to re-work body comp… So far if I drop calories, I loose more strength and energy, but little weight…
Hope your recomp is more successful then mine. SO far, weight is hovering in the 270 range, but making progress on body comp, just slow…
Do you have any energy systems work? [/quote]
Null, I am bouncing around just above 285. There has been a slight change in body comp. Just not as much as I would like.
“Energy systems work”?
[quote]Null wrote:
Strick: I’m in same boat… trying to re-work body comp… So far if I drop calories, I loose more strength and energy, but little weight…
Hope your recomp is more successful then mine. SO far, weight is hovering in the 270 range, but making progress on body comp, just slow…
Do you have any energy systems work? [/quote]
In the same boat aswell! If I pump the protein amount to the point where it feels stupid, I can just about hang on to my strength… and with a little luck make it go forward.
Squat Day -
Well hell. It seems that my squats are trying to go the way of my deads. Got to 275 and my spondy starts bitchin’ again. Get to 315 and it is time to stop. Right back where I was last week…back, to left glute, to left hip, down left leg. Legs aren’t firing right…and feel lethargic.
For the next 5 - 6 weeks, until I get back from vacation, I am not going above 225# on squats, and avoiding any other lower body weight work…except calf raises. Hopefully things will calm down and I can get back to it.
Static Stretching
Squats
bwx10x2
barx10
135x10
225x5
275x3 - Spondy starts acting up
315x5 - Had to bail
225x10
Calf Raises
225x10x3
Went outside…
Tire Pulls - Sprints
100#x50ydsx5
Tire Pulls - Walk
65#x125ydsx2
Tire pulls almost made me puke. How sad…
hey skip - sorry to read about the back issues. have you checked out how Tony worked through his latest issue? you may get some good ideas for continued training from him.
[quote]soldog wrote:
hey skip - sorry to read about the back issues. have you checked out how Tony worked through his latest issue? you may get some good ideas for continued training from him.[/quote]
I have been keeping up with Tony’s log (don’t ALL the cool kids??). I think there are some things I might be able to do that won’t necessarily make me stronger, but will allow me to keep working the lower body and, hopefully, maintain close to where I am.
Honestly, my big beef with not being able to squat or deadlift is that a) it is nice to have a strong upper body, but it just seems wrong to pair that with a weak lower body, and b) I am convinced that loading up the body with heavy weights, on DLs and squats, carries over to upper body strength. It pisses me off that I might not be able to push my lower body strength, but even more that it might inhibit my upper body progress.
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
[quote]soldog wrote:
hey skip - sorry to read about the back issues. have you checked out how Tony worked through his latest issue? you may get some good ideas for continued training from him.[/quote]
I have been keeping up with Tony’s log (don’t ALL the cool kids??). I think there are some things I might be able to do that won’t necessarily make me stronger, but will allow me to keep working the lower body and, hopefully, maintain close to where I am.
Honestly, my big beef with not being able to squat or deadlift is that a) it is nice to have a strong upper body, but it just seems wrong to pair that with a weak lower body, and b) I am convinced that loading up the body with heavy weights, on DLs and squats, carries over to upper body strength. It pisses me off that I might not be able to push my lower body strength, but even more that it might inhibit my upper body progress.[/quote]
Try the belt squats to keep from loading your spine
Reverse or forward lunges or high step-ups seem to do nice things. I like squatting better, but lunges make me sore in the right places and actually seem to help steady the squats when I go back to them - and they don’t load the back as badly.
You have to do twice as much though since it’s one leg at a time. Not good if you’re time-constrained.
Also - if it’s the angle the back is at when hitting depth that’s the problem, I see nothing wrong with doing heavier partials to a depth above where you would hit the trouble angle. It carries over to full squat pretty well so long as it’s not done for too long. Or stay at the same weight and do more reps just not as low.
And belt squats, which are a bitch to set up.
Pushing your car while making sure you’re taking long steps might have some good effects too. Have your wife ride the brake.
When I’m hurt I just try and see what doesn’t hurt to do. And not worry too much about what my numbers will be when/if it’s all better. Doing something’s better than nothing, maybe. I don’t have spondythelosistimatchiwhatisis, so my advice is worth every penny you pay for it on that issue.
Vinnie Dizenzo (bench specialist) has back problems limiting what he could do for his lower half and a 600+ lb raw bench (800+equipped), so even if lower body becomes limited you can still get the bench you want.
Soldog, that was one of the things on my radar. I bet, like Tony said, it is a bear to set up. But it would be worth it to be able to keep things moving. Damn! I wish I had a leg press!
Tony, I thought you had spondy!?
Thanks for the ideas. Besides your belt squats, lunges were one of the 1st things that came to mind. I am just going to have to try them. I can’t decide if the positioning, and planes of movement, will ease the back stress or if the rotation will aggravate it!? Only one way to find out. Also, the partials are a good one to try. If it is the pelvic rotation, at the bottom of the full squat, that is the offending movement, these should take that out of the equation.
In any case, while not pleased with this development, I am not stressing about it. Life is offering enough stress right now. Just gonna experiment, do what I can and not worry about it. It’s not like I was training for World’s Strongest Man…
Skip,sorry to read the back is hurting. Do front squats or goblet squats make the back ache? I think Tony hit it on the head about figuring out what doesn’t hurt and do it. Maybe you could take this time to get into a conditioning cycle. Here are some exercises that come to mind that may not be painfull to the back:sled drag,step ups,farmer walks,lunges,sprints,rack pulls,split squats,plyometric jumps,any single leg movement.
Thib’s client has/had knee problems so they could only do sled / prowler work for lower body.
Obviously, this was bodybuilding not strength training but with sufficient loading you should be able to build some muscle and take load off your spine for a while. Great conditioning opportunity.
From Thib’s
"I’d like to tell you that we used many fancy exercises, but we didn’t. We stuck with:
Skip, that sucks about the hurting back. GD is right though that sled/prewler work should keep the wheels strong and hell you might get a bit of conditioning in to boot.
Good Luck.
Thanks Steve, giterdone. I will read the article when I get home.
I have started doing the tire pulls…walks, jogs and sprints. The sprints really put a burn in my quads, calves and lungs. I like 'em. I am going to add in some tire pulls, at some point.
I don’t have a sled, but really, really want one. That will likely go on my Christmas list.
Farmer walks are something I have really wanted to try. And I think this will give me the freedom to do them, since the weight work is going to be less demanding/time consuming. Rack pulls might be doable, but they would have to be from an above the knee position. When I have to clear the knee, it becomes an issue. Lunges are going to be tried.
Once this thing calms down a bit, and the weirdest in my legs subside, I am going to try to discern if just loading my spine is causing the issue, or if it is related to the bottom of my squats…as I reach parallel and go lower my pelvis rotates and my lower back follows. I am not losing tightness, but it has to rotate to go down that far. A wider stance might help?? In any case, if it is the bottom of the squat that is the issue, I will just work around it. As long as it is aggravated, though, pushing it is just going to prolong it.
Farmers walks will make a man out of you. Have you tried focusing on front squats? It is a whole different feel and forces you into a position of good posture and it takes less weight to get a good workout. Bad posture=dump. You can get away with a lot of shit on back squats and still make the lift.
Joe, some conditioning work would be nice. I am definitely approaching this as an opportunity, not a setback. Just gives me a reason to try new things.
Jack, I have only tried front squats 1 time. Looks like I need to revisit them. I am going to be trying a lot of stuff.
As one of the other guys suggested, belt squats are pretty decent to try aswell. They may put less pressure on your spine. Good luck.
[quote]scottgomez wrote:
As one of the other guys suggested, belt squats are pretty decent to try aswell. They may put less pressure on your spine. Good luck.[/quote]
Thanks. It’ll get sorted one way or another.
Shoulders -
Didn’t feel real great going into this one. Back is still nagging and that kind of knocked me off kilter. After it was all done, though, I really can’t complain about it. Only real down part was my getting 2 pages during it. I am on call for the next 2 weeks. I would rather them page me at 3 in the morning than during my workout.
Static Stretching
Military Press
barx15
95x10
135x8
175x5
205x3
225x6 - PR +1 Rep
225x3
Shrugs - still not going above 315# to keep the load off
225x20x2
315x15x3
DB Laterals
30sx10
35sx10
40sx10x2
Forward Plate Raises
45x15x2
Reverse Flyes
30sx10
35sx10
40sx10x2
time for a couple of days off…
Hey a PR when your fighting off injuries is nothing to sneeze at and those high rep squats look horrible.
225x6. You’re an animal.
Wow. Great pressing.