Lo/Rez Training

Training Training Logs
861

[quote]PlainPat wrote:
Just a suggestion, if you find it hard to eat 2600 try some of the fattier cuts of meats. Chicken thighs and flank steak, 85% beef etc… Its not going to kill you, its extra fat cals and not dirty food at all[/quote]

Thanks.

Yeah, most of it’s just a matter of having been in a deficit for awhile. My body actually got pretty used where it had been calorie-wise for the last month.

3000-3200 used to be fairly easy once-upon-a-time. It’s kind of funny how 2600 is currently an issue, but I’ll get back there soonish.

862

After more of those quad sets, step ups, and IT band and hip rolling, I’m not sure whether my knees actually are tracking any better. The left knee is popping in and out of alignment around the 1/4 squat angle. And my right hip is now hurting a bit. I should probably talk to the chiro and rehab people.

I have, however, found an upper back/rear-delt exercise I really like. Basically clip the middle of a chain to the high pulley on a cable stack. Then grab the chain by both ends, back up, keep arms straight and do a pullapart. Basically pull the middle of the chain toward your throat. You can make sure you’re using each side equally since the middle of the chain should stay centered to your body (unlike the reverse pec deck which can let you get away with using one side more than the other). And unlike bands, I can increase the load over time.

Just did near-failure sets of 15-20 yesterday and today with 12.5lbs, mostly just focusing on pumping the rear delts and mid traps.

I’m not sure how next week’s training is going to look, but for sure it will consist of pressing (z press → incline → pushdowns), some form of squats and mat pulls for reps.

863

On Monday

Axle Savickas Press - thumbless
20 x 10
40 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 3 – added wraps
90 x 5
90 x 5
90 x 4 – not a long enough rest, otherwise would have had 5
90 x 5
… and a tearing sound

Stopped this here.

What I thought was my AC joint earlier apparently isn’t my AC joint at all. In fact, I have no idea what it’s called. Basically the bottom part of my scapula was hurting a bit before with my pressing, and I thought that was my AC joint. WAAAY off.

Anyway, on my left side, I felt a noise like tearing saran wrap, or peeling fascia off a piece of meat. I stopped immediately. Left side feels weird and I’m not really sure what I did. It just… feels weird. It doesn’t hurt.

Best I can figure out from what little I know of anatomy and of overhead pressing is this is where the insertion of the serratus anterior is at the scapula. But if I actually tore that, I would know because breathing would be painful. So I might have torn some fascia or something around there. I really have no clue.

It has me worried a lot, because I don’t know what it is, so I’m afraid to do anything to cause any further damage right now. I’ll have the chiro look at it on Thursday when I go in for my re-exam.

Up until that point, this was a pretty good session.

Unfortunately, I don’t know whether pullups or rows or deadlifts or whatever is “safe”, without causing further damage. Pretty frustrating.

864

That sucks brother. You gonna get it checked out?

865

[quote]Alpha wrote:
That sucks brother. You gonna get it checked out?[/quote]

Yeah, I’ll have the chiropractor look at it in a couple days. He and his assistant have been working on some imbalances around the upper back and shoulders anyway. I trust him to send me to sports med / ortho if necessary.

Hopefully it’s nothing that a few days of R&R can’t fix.

866

Just got back from the chiro. Looks like I “just” pulled a couple ribs out of alignment.

So, I was basically right about the area, but wrong about what I did. Instead of tearing something where the serratus anterior attaches to the scapula, the serratus instead seemed to pull the rib out of alignment. Actually it could have been a number of different muscles besides the serratus anterior.

He adjusted ribs in the back on both sides, and so now I’m fairly sore. Probably take a couple days to heal.

As far as the other stuff, shoulder alignment and trap imbalances and stuff, he’s pretty happy with the progress and wants me to just keep on doing what I’ve been doing with respect to retraction work and self myofascial release on my chest and upper biceps tendon with tennis/lacrosse/foam rollers. He doesn’t want to see me for 2 weeks now (versus the 2x a week I’ve been seeing him).

867

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Just got back from the chiro. Looks like I “just” pulled a couple ribs out of alignment.

So, I was basically right about the area, but wrong about what I did. Instead of tearing something where the serratus anterior attaches to the scapula, the serratus instead seemed to pull the rib out of alignment. Actually it could have been a number of different muscles besides the serratus anterior.

He adjusted ribs in the back on both sides, and so now I’m fairly sore. Probably take a couple days to heal.

As far as the other stuff, shoulder alignment and trap imbalances and stuff, he’s pretty happy with the progress and wants me to just keep on doing what I’ve been doing with respect to retraction work and self myofascial release on my chest and upper biceps tendon with tennis/lacrosse/foam rollers. He doesn’t want to see me for 2 weeks now (versus the 2x a week I’ve been seeing him).[/quote]

BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF THE CHIROPRACTOR.

I don’t mean kind of cautious…I mean like majorly weary and cautious.

I have heard some bullshit witchcraft from chiropractors in the past, and I know a few who have quit and gone to med school because they felt dishonest.

You need to see your PCP, or an orthopedic Dr. who specializes in sports medicine.

I don’t care what any chiropractor’s little x-ray machine says, it isn’t an MRI/CT. I HAVE SEEN MAJOR FUCK UP’s THAT HAVE ALMOST KILLED PEOPLE AT THE CHIROPRACTOR’S OFFICE. (I mean cervical fractures with jagged edges pressing on vertebral arteries that were missed.)

Chiropractic has its place, but its place is not in place of sports medicine/ortho.

868

[quote]trivium wrote:
BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF THE CHIROPRACTOR.

I don’t mean kind of cautious…I mean like majorly weary and cautious.

I have heard some bullshit witchcraft from chiropractors in the past, and I know a few who have quit and gone to med school because they felt dishonest.

You need to see your PCP, or an orthopedic Dr. who specializes in sports medicine.

I don’t care what any chiropractor’s little x-ray machine says, it isn’t an MRI/CT. I HAVE SEEN MAJOR FUCK UP’s THAT HAVE ALMOST KILLED PEOPLE AT THE CHIROPRACTOR’S OFFICE. (I mean cervical fractures with jagged edges pressing on vertebral arteries that were missed.)

Chiropractic has its place, but its place is not in place of sports medicine/ortho.[/quote]

I agree with you completely.

It was exactly those concerns I had before even considering this route in the first place.

There are, however, bad MDs too. My perspective on this changed a lot the more time I spent around doctors (not mine). I only say this more to caution about seeing anyone for anything.

With this guy though, the US Olympic Track and Field team trusted him enough to be their chiropractor, as well as the Colts football team and a number of gold medal and world record holding athletes (mostly track and field, some in rowing).

So that pedigree was enough for me to give him a chance.

Plus he’s stuck within a very specific subset that makes a lot of sense to me. Soft tissue work where things are tight (pecs, subscaps, upper biceps tendons), rehab/strengthening work (upper/mid back), and then manually re-aligning the joints.

Sports medicine was heading down the anti-inflammatories → MRI → surgery → rehab route. They weren’t considering trying to fix the imbalances first, whereas that’s what I’m getting from where I am now.

Within these limits, I think chiropractic has its place.

869

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF THE CHIROPRACTOR.

I don’t mean kind of cautious…I mean like majorly weary and cautious.

I have heard some bullshit witchcraft from chiropractors in the past, and I know a few who have quit and gone to med school because they felt dishonest.

You need to see your PCP, or an orthopedic Dr. who specializes in sports medicine.

I don’t care what any chiropractor’s little x-ray machine says, it isn’t an MRI/CT. I HAVE SEEN MAJOR FUCK UP’s THAT HAVE ALMOST KILLED PEOPLE AT THE CHIROPRACTOR’S OFFICE. (I mean cervical fractures with jagged edges pressing on vertebral arteries that were missed.)

Chiropractic has its place, but its place is not in place of sports medicine/ortho.[/quote]

I agree with you completely.

It was exactly those concerns I had before even considering this route in the first place.

There are, however, bad MDs too. My perspective on this changed a lot the more time I spent around doctors (not mine). I only say this more to caution about seeing anyone for anything.

With this guy though, the US Olympic Track and Field team trusted him enough to be their chiropractor, as well as the Colts football team and a number of gold medal and world record holding athletes (mostly track and field, some in rowing).

So that pedigree was enough for me to give him a chance.

Plus he’s stuck within a very specific subset that makes a lot of sense to me. Soft tissue work where things are tight (pecs, subscaps, upper biceps tendons), rehab/strengthening work (upper/mid back), and then manually re-aligning the joints.

Sports medicine was heading down the anti-inflammatories → MRI → surgery → rehab route. They weren’t considering trying to fix the imbalances first, whereas that’s what I’m getting from where I am now.

Within these limits, I think chiropractic has its place.[/quote]

Yes, I am much more comforatble knowing that you have a good grip on that, and that your guy is known to do good work/is reputable.

I see too many people get fucked up by bad judgement/hacks, because they didn’t get a more serious injury ruled out first.

When I get messed up and deem that it isn’t something I can manage on my own, I 1) do my own exam, 2) consult some PT’s I know, 3) go to a regular ortho to see if they agree, 4) second opinion from another ortho who specializes in sports medicine (this part is huge), 5) make a decision to rehab on my own or go with surgery (it has so far been 100% manage on my own to this point).

I have, in the last year dealt with a strained ACL (MRI diagnosed) and a low back injury (self diagnosed as not emergent).

I myself avoid pain meds of all kinds despite the fact that I recommend them for so many people. I just feel like they are for “regular people” and the seriously mangled haha.

Also, I recommend that you NEVER HAVE SURGERY UNLESS THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION AND YOU CANNOT LIVE WITH IT/OR THERE IS A DANGER IN NOT TREATING. I am very cautious of anyone who immediately wants to do surgery at the drop of a hat.

870

Nothing really too interesting to report.

Went on a company canoe trip on Friday and maintained an excellent buzz the entire trip. I’m back to being a bit of a lightweight, but managed to successfully kayak while drinking 9 beers or so. We turned our 2 hour trip into a 5 hour trip. I was hanging out with upper management so I had absolutely zero qualms about anything; they were significantly more drunk than I was.

Some girl in our group spent most of her time chatting with me; apparently my “get lean to impress the wimminz” successfully impressed the wimmenz. Who woulda thunk. There was some fun drama at the strip club the night before, but nothing more than a vice I keep heavily in check. One of the girls has apparently “fallen in love” with me, including the “so, what is this?” conversation, thinking she can somehow parlay this into an actual relationship/affair/whatever. It’s an interesting reversal. I, however, am completely faithful to my girlfriend and vice versa. Not exactly trying to break girls hearts, but I’m getting to the point where it just happens by accident. Very different than 8-10 years ago.

I’m babying things right now since my ribs are still hurting after the readjustment. I’ve been doing a set of those chain pullaparts (with 15 lbs) every few hours or so, but otherwise been taking it easy. I’m a little paranoid about knocking ribs out of alignment again, so I might not do any pressing until Tuesday or Wednesday at this rate.

I’m even afraid to do any heavy pulling or squatting.

I think “being able to sleep without noticing rib pain” will be the trigger for me to start doing more real lifting again.

871

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Nothing really too interesting to report.

Went on a company canoe trip on Friday and maintained an excellent buzz the entire trip. I’m back to being a bit of a lightweight, but managed to successfully kayak while drinking 9 beers or so. We turned our 2 hour trip into a 5 hour trip. I was hanging out with upper management so I had absolutely zero qualms about anything; they were significantly more drunk than I was.

Some girl in our group spent most of her time chatting with me; apparently my “get lean to impress the wimminz” successfully impressed the wimmenz. Who woulda thunk. There was some fun drama at the strip club the night before, but nothing more than a vice I keep heavily in check. One of the girls has apparently “fallen in love” with me, including the “so, what is this?” conversation, thinking she can somehow parlay this into an actual relationship/affair/whatever. It’s an interesting reversal. I, however, am completely faithful to my girlfriend and vice versa. Not exactly trying to break girls hearts, but I’m getting to the point where it just happens by accident. Very different than 8-10 years ago.

I’m babying things right now since my ribs are still hurting after the readjustment. I’ve been doing a set of those chain pullaparts (with 15 lbs) every few hours or so, but otherwise been taking it easy. I’m a little paranoid about knocking ribs out of alignment again, so I might not do any pressing until Tuesday or Wednesday at this rate.

I’m even afraid to do any heavy pulling or squatting.

I think “being able to sleep without noticing rib pain” will be the trigger for me to start doing more real lifting again.
[/quote]

Being able to tolerate the canoe stuff sounds reassuring.

Isn’t it funny how when you have a GF, all the girls come after you? I find that when you’re single, you go through phases where no girls want to talk to you haha.

Interest must be a phase of the moon. They come in waves.

872

After a week of rest, my ribs are feeling about 98% or so.

Time to get back to actually lifting.

873

And nope.

Axle Savickas Presses
20 x 10
40 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
90 x 2 - the strength was there but the control wasn’t, and my whole left shoulder complex felt bad
80 x 5 - the control was fine here

If I was feeling 98% when I started things, I brought myself back down to about 80%.

Dead Hangs and Swings
Just spent some time loosening everything up at a true dead-hang. This could have caused more damage, but I don’t know.

And some pullups. And daily retraction movements. Effectively standing Ys and Ts with the chain and 15lbs weight on the pulley for sets of 15-20.

874

There is literally nothing good that can come after “so what are we?”

875

Haven’t been on the 3rd page for awhile.

Shoulders still hurt where my ribs are (it’s like the 3rd or 4th rib). I’m probably about 90% right now.

The savickas presses are what seem to be exacerbating the problem, but it’s a problem that needs to be resolved, not something that can just be ignored. I’m not sure which direction to take things in, whether to focus on maintaining control in heavier, lower-rep sets, or even lockouts like that. Or whether to just focus on higher rep lighter weight stuff to build up the surrounding structures but possibly train bad movement patterns.

Either way, not ready to do either.

–

Been very very busy. Major work stuff. Probably the most significant changes in my career going on right now, and that includes being unemployed (as in, these are more significant than that).

And then the time I’m not at work has been spent getting my place ready to move. Since my girlfriend and I are moving in together, there’s a lot of stuff that just needs to be gone through. Stuff that I’ve been pretty ok with just storing in a garage and not looking at for several years.

The only thing I’ve been doing regularly is standing Ys and Ts with that chain and the 15lbs on the pulley.

Diet and weight are still going in the wrong direction. I’m just not eating enough with everything else going on.

I think it might be another 4-6 weeks before I can really get my mind back into training seriously.

7 Mat Pulls with Chains (5.5" elevation)
225 x 7
225 x 5

Ts with a Chain hooked to a Pulley
17.5 x 15
17.5 x 15
17.5 x 13

My back is getting stronger. And I’m starting to realize how weak my back was before, even though I felt like it was fairly strong.

The mat pulls were just because it was there and I was cleaning the garage. Not heavy or anything. They felt good.

876

I suppose “upper back work every day” still counts as lifting. I’m up to doing sets of 13 with 17.5 on those high pulley chain pullaparts.

I finally got things in my garage to a point where I’ve got some good room for lifting again. And I’ve made some good progress in general going through and getting rid of things. It’s nice to be regaining control over my environment (especially when it’s my fault it’s like that anyway). Don’t let that happen to you.

Front Squats
Did some front squats for the first time tonight. Hooked up some webbing so I could have handles to hold onto… same idea as the lifting strap setup, just, with webbing.

Bar x 5
95 x 3

Nothing special. Just feeling out the movement.

My kneecap issues could be because of weak quads, if I’m understanding the PT/rehab stuff correctly. Which, to me, means front squats. And guess what? I have Oly shoes to use for these (although, they’re still possibly a half size too big).

So might as well do front squats for awhile. Worst case scenario, I get stronger.

Oh… my rib/shoulder thing is still funky and sporadically hurting. Mat pulls didn’t seem to affect it though.

877

What kind of knee issues are you having?

878

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
What kind of knee issues are you having?[/quote]

When I squat down, my kneecaps slide outwards. I don’t really notice it when this happens.

When I squat back up, they slide inward and pop back into place. Unweighted it just feels uncomfortable but weighted it can be pretty unpleasant.

If I half-squat, it doesn’t do this, but if I hit parallel it does. Stance width and angle don’t seem to make much of a difference at all.

879

Front Squats
95 x 5 – jeans and barefoot
115 x 3
135 x 3 – last rep hurt my left knee; switched to oly shoes and gym shorts
145 x 2
155 x 1
165 x 1
175 x 1
185 x 1
195 x 0 – ow. bar slipped and hit my biceps and my forearms
195 x 0 – just nope

Well, 90lb PR, lol.

Once I get over the part where it feels like the bar is choking me, I think I’ll be good on these. I don’t know whether they’ll help my back squat or not, but these seem to feel pretty good for my knees… at least once I was wearing the Oly shoes.

880

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
What kind of knee issues are you having?[/quote]

When I squat down, my kneecaps slide outwards. I don’t really notice it when this happens.

When I squat back up, they slide inward and pop back into place. Unweighted it just feels uncomfortable but weighted it can be pretty unpleasant.

If I half-squat, it doesn’t do this, but if I hit parallel it does. Stance width and angle don’t seem to make much of a difference at all.[/quote]

Captain obvious reporting for duty. (salutes)

This sounds like something you should exercise extreme caution with.