high bar deep squat
135,225,315x10, 405x3 (oops), 315x11
stretch
Deads were OK. tried to alter my technique slightly and I had some success. Basically my hips dropped down and came forward a little at the start of the pull as my back went back. It was fairly strong off the floor but I didn’t have pants or baby powder so it got stuck on my thigh and that of course slowed down the lockout quite a bit. Deep free squats two weeks in a row probably wasn’t a good idea. My left knee was complaining and 405 was probably too heavy. Noticed on the video that my right hip wasn’t sinking back enough and so my right knee was further forward than it should have been. Oh well.
Scratch that, I just took a sugar cane knife to the kneecap. Going to avoid deep knee bending until the skin seals up. Might just stay out of the gym this week. And away from sharp objects.
At least it wasn’t an arrow lol. Seriously though how the hell did you manage that? A sugarcane knife is not something I would want to take to the knee. This better not turn into a “I used to be a powerlifter like you til I took a sugarcane knife to the knee” meme lol.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
At least it wasn’t an arrow lol. Seriously though how the hell did you manage that? A sugarcane knife is not something I would want to take to the knee. This better not turn into a “I used to be a powerlifter like you til I took a sugarcane knife to the knee” meme lol.[/quote]
Ahahaha! Yeah I let my mind wander while I was clearing brush in the woods for a 100yd shooting lane. I need to behave around knives… maybe I should just pretend they are guns and never point the edge of the blade at anything I’m not willing to destroy. Put a little notch in my kneecap At least it didn’t hit a tendon or I’d really be fucked.
warm up: lots and lots of rumble roll, band traction, band work
incline - pinky on rings
95,135x10ish, 165x8, 185x6, 205x3x3, (thumb length from smooth) 205x1 zing, (pinky on rings) 135x15
band pull-aparts and other work
seated smith shoulder press
4x10+
more band work
stretch and traction
Knee is healing really fast. It was insanely painful Sunday/Monday and I took some painkillers Monday (which didn’t dull the pain but did make me feel like shit). Tuesday the pain was already beginning to subside and I could almost bend the leg on my own. By the time 5pm rolled around I figured the gym was worth a shot. It went ok aside from my shoulder not cooperating.
Yet again inclines felt fine! Until I tried taking the thumb-length from smooth grip and instantly zinged the shoulder near lockout. For the smith shoulder presses I was stopping short of lockout so those didn’t cause any issues either.
I get a massive stretch on the bad shoulder when I use a 15lb dumbbell in external rotation, whatever that means.
Probably going to try some SSB GMs on Thursday and see how that goes.
warm up: rumble/LAX roll, glute/ham tie in floss, calf floss, DB swing
sumo SSB GM - low pins, had to lose upper back arch
65,155,205x10, (belt) 245,295x5, 335x1, (rev avg) 335x5, 385x2
BB step up - 24" box? pretty short. Reps per leg
45,95,135,135x10 calf machine
superset
stretch, hard
Things went pretty well today! My erectors are cooked; mission accomplished. The 335 single I’m not completely happy with because I dropped it onto the pins but not a huge deal. Reverse band SSB GMs may be the one exercise where reverse band feels harder than straight weight. The reps look fast in the video but they felt a lot harder. Step-ups were ok. Left knee is not 100% yet… maybe 90%. Probably going to be good enough to squat on Monday. BW was 181 after training. Can’t wait to have a job and can afford supplements and more food.
warm up: rumble roll, band work, DB internal/external rotations
rev grip BP
135,155x10ish, 185,205,225x5, 245x4,3, 185x10ish band pull aparts - variety pack
superset
little bit of arm stuff
stretch like whoa
Reverse grip bench was very interesting. It’s going to take some getting used to, but it was pain free. Took a thumb-length-from-rings grip (which is kind of narrow for RG I think). The strength curve is completely different but maybe that’s because I’m new to the exercise. Anyway, I’ll be doing these a lot more.
Discovered how to get at a really really tight spot in my right shoulder… basically it’s an internally rotated shrug against an average band, with some forward torso lean. It hurt really fucking badly the first time I got into that position but it was a “something is too tight and needs a lot of work” kind of pain. So I worked at it a bit and things instantly got better. Did the behind-the-back shoulder stretch before the shrugs and after and it was like night and day. Pain and limited mobility before, no pain and much greater mobility after. I will probably do these on a daily basis to try and keep whatever it is from getting too tight.
Squatting didn’t go well. Started off with a wide stance to a box but my right glute/ham tie in was really irritated. Tried bringing my stance in a bit and it felt like a knife through my left kneecap which caused my right leg to take on the load, which of course put a lot of stress on the glute/ham tie in again. Sigh. My upper back on the right side is still tight as fuck and pulling on my shoulder. Did some soft tissue work on the back and though it was absolutely excruciating I did feel better afterward.
I feel like a train wreck right now. I’m going to go back to a medium squat stance in oly shoes until my glute/ham issue heals up (hopefully my left knee will be good to go in another week). For pressing, gonna stick with reverse grip flat and wide grip inclines (or whatever doesn’t hurt). Even though it’s miserable I’m going to have to keep working the kinks out of my upper back. At least my hip flexors are fine.
warm up: rumble/lax roll (extra upper back attention), band work
wide incline press - pinky on rings
95,135x10+, 165x8, 205x3, 225x2,1, 185x8, (close grip) 135x19 pull aparts
every which way
Tate press
DB curl
lax myofascial release - oh god this was terrible
stretch/traction
Tried a wide grip, reverse grip flat bench but that wasn’t going to happen today. Inclines felt pretty good. That bench still sucks but I think 225x2 is progress. Close grip was index at smooth. My upper back is totally fucked. Using the lax ball hurts so bad but it is a little better that it used to be. Might be able to get my insurance to pay for therapeutic massage seeing as the back and shoulder pain (convinced back is causing shoulder pain) are effecting my everyday life.
warm up: lower usual, plus LAX ball work on the upper back
sumo dl - Texas Power bar. Not so good for deadlifting
225,315x5ish, 405x3, (belt) 495x1, 545x1,2,2
high bar squat - oly shoes, deep
135,225,315x10, 365x11, (pause in hole) 135xLots
Well not such a great day. Deads were lackluster and I lost my nose torque. Squats didn’t hurt my knee too badly but upon further review they looked pretty ugly. I’m getting twisted, basically. Might be time for some rehab and activation exercises? More single-leg work? I need a lot more quad work as well. BW was 181 so at least I’m still (barely) repping 3x. But strength is definitely way down.
Alright I’m back. Took last week almost completely off and re-structured my training so it’s (hopefully) easier to recover from. Only taking fiber and turmeric for supps right now as I’m out of everything else. Creatine and baking soda on lifting days. BW is stable just above 181.
New split: Heavy lower, heavy upper, rep lower, rep upper.
Heavy lower is just squat, dead and abs. Alternate doing squat or dead variation first from week to week.
Heavy upper is incline press and pull aparts seeing as that is the only press variation that doesn’t hurt.
Rep lower is squat and dead variation.
Rep upper is probably CG incline, more band work, and shrugs.
Kino appointment on July 16th to get my shoulder situation evaluated. Hopefully I’ll be able to flat bench again someday but not holding my breath. I blame my back and genetically terrible shoulder structure.
On the plus side, my ham/glute tie-in issue is 99% healed. Lots of flossing with Voodoo bands has helped tremendously along with rest.
front squat
135,185,225x10, 275x8, (rev avg) 315x8
conv dl - dead stop reps
225,315x10, 405x9?
belt squat 3x20
reverse hyper 3x20
stretch
Everything went well. I was hoping reverse band front squats would help get my upper back up to speed. Belt squats were really awesome and I’m glad I could figure out a way to do them.
CG incline BP
95,135x10, 165x8, 185x8, 155x12 pull aparts
superset
DB curl to OHP
40,50,55,65x10+ reverse grip shrug
225,315,405,405x20
arm stuff
stretch and traction
Yay inclines. Still pain free. Reverse grip shrugs seem to help the shoulders. LAX work on the upper and mid back doesn’t hurt quite as bad as it used too. I’ll take that as a sign of improvement.
squat to box - oly shoes
135,225,315x5, (belt) 405x3, (Z-suit) 455x2,1, (raw, rev avg) 495x3
Double at 545 moved really well so I thought 585 might go. Should have just done more sets at 555, 565. Tried squatting with the suit… first set of 455 was straps down, second set was straps up. Wayyyy harder than anticipated. It pitched me forward so both sets were basically goodmornings. I think if I had thrown some wraps I would have had enough feedback to sit back more. Oh well. My squat is pretty terrible at the moment. Really think I need to be doing more reverse band work.
incline bench - medium grip, thumb length from smooth
95x20, 135x10, 165x8, 185x5, 215,225x3, 235x1, (CG) 135x20 pull aparts
superset
cable flye
2x10+ 1 arm landmine row
3x10+
stretch
Pleased with the inclines today. Might have been able to double 235 as the first rep was pretty smooth but didn’t want to risk missing a rep. Landmine rows were pretty awesome. 135x20 is a PR I believe.
At least it didn’t hit a tendon or I’d really be fucked.
