Lo/Rez Training

Training Training Logs
1061

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
What happened that got you in such a broken state? Car accident?[/quote]
My elbow has had issues since at least 6th grade. At least the first I remember noticing. Most likely related to a surgery on that elbow when I was a child.

The SI joint stuff gradually escalated as I started pulling more, and decreased when I took a break for a couple weeks, traveling. And is starting to escalate once again, now that I’m pulling again. It became a constant pain before the break; painful to sit and sleep.

Given that, it seems to be form related, or more specifically, positioning and loading around the hips when I’m pulling. My thought is that if I can change that positioning, I can lift more weight with less pressure on those areas (SI joints, mainly).

And since I do plan on lifting more weight, it seems to make sense to put the effort in to adjust that positioning.

This is all assuming that that’s actually what the problem is.

Any alternative interpretations or ideas?

1062

Do you do any sort of moving for your training? Sled pulls, slam ball slams, sprints, pretty much anything where you’re forcing yourself to be moving fast/with intensity?

1063

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Do you do any sort of moving for your training? Sled pulls, slam ball slams, sprints, pretty much anything where you’re forcing yourself to be moving fast/with intensity?[/quote]
No, I don’t. But I take it from the question that you think I’d probably benefit from adding one or more of them in.

1064

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Do you do any sort of moving for your training? Sled pulls, slam ball slams, sprints, pretty much anything where you’re forcing yourself to be moving fast/with intensity?[/quote]
No, I don’t. But I take it from the question that you think I’d probably benefit from adding one or more of them in.[/quote]

If not a LOT of them, yeah. I am big on the belief that the solution to mobility issues is NOT mobility exercises, but instead actually being mobile. I feel that this will quickly force your body to overcome whatever issues it is dealing with.

1065

T3hPwnisher I’m really interested in that line of thinking. I feel I’m quite similar to LoRez in many ways and could really benefit from adding in more movement. Could you suggest simple ways to do that, that wouldn’t involve extra equipment (like LoRez I train at home with pretty minimal equipment)? I was thinking along the lines of bear crawls and sprints (with direction changes - maybe around cones). Does that sound reasonable? Thanks man.

1066

[quote]furo wrote:
T3hPwnisher I’m really interested in that line of thinking. I feel I’m quite similar to LoRez in many ways and could really benefit from adding in more movement. Could you suggest simple ways to do that, that wouldn’t involve extra equipment (like LoRez I train at home with pretty minimal equipment)? I was thinking along the lines of bear crawls and sprints (with direction changes - maybe around cones). Does that sound reasonable? Thanks man.[/quote]

My go to whenever I am lacking equipment is tabata burpees. I am big on slam ball slams as well and circuit training (I will do a 15 minute circuit of 10 kb swings/5 dips/5 chins as many rounds as possible). Tabata KB swings goes well too. Really no wrong way to do it. If it sounds like a bad idea and life sucks while you’re doing it, it’s probably right.

1067

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:
T3hPwnisher I’m really interested in that line of thinking. I feel I’m quite similar to LoRez in many ways and could really benefit from adding in more movement. Could you suggest simple ways to do that, that wouldn’t involve extra equipment (like LoRez I train at home with pretty minimal equipment)? I was thinking along the lines of bear crawls and sprints (with direction changes - maybe around cones). Does that sound reasonable? Thanks man.[/quote]

My go to whenever I am lacking equipment is tabata burpees. I am big on slam ball slams as well and circuit training (I will do a 15 minute circuit of 10 kb swings/5 dips/5 chins as many rounds as possible). Tabata KB swings goes well too. Really no wrong way to do it. If it sounds like a bad idea and life sucks while you’re doing it, it’s probably right.[/quote]

Very interesting you should mention that - just did tabata heavy swings about 20min ago lol. Thanks for the suggestions :slight_smile:

1068

No problem. I know a lot of purists say you can’t technically perform the tabata protocol with a KB, but “20 on/10 off” is brutal no matter how you slice it.

1069

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If not a LOT of them, yeah. I am big on the belief that the solution to mobility issues is NOT mobility exercises, but instead actually being mobile. I feel that this will quickly force your body to overcome whatever issues it is dealing with.[/quote]
I will give that a go. Found a hill to do some sprints just around the corner from my place. I’ll have to dig out my running shoes.

I’ve definitely become a lot less mobile over the last few years; thanks for bringing that to my attention.

1070

[quote]PlainPat wrote:
sort of splitting the difference if you get what I’m saying[/quote]
Yeah, I do. Thanks for sharing.

1071

Slept horribly last night. Woke up at 2:30 thinking it was at least 5:30, then couldn’t get back to sleep. Could have been a number of things. Ended up just sleeping in really late today when I finally got back to sleep.

Ring Stuff - Throughout the day.

Finally got 5 consecutive dips. Did a few sets of those off and on. Will do more later too.

This was my goal before I went back to Z Presses. I’ll still do dips though.

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 10
185 x 5 - Fiddled with hip positioning to see what did/didn’t feel good
225 x 5
265 x 5
235 x 5

Doing a pure back extension with the bar (legs straight) feels better, and easier, than doing a stiff leg deadlift.

Looking in the mirror, I think what I feel as “rounding” might not be very rounded. I think what I feel as “neutral”, may be excessively arched. I need to clear some room on my phone so I can get a video and see what’s actually going on.

The more I arch my back, the more it hurts; that’s what I do know. Maybe I should just focus on what feels best and feels strongest.

1072

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 2
275 x 5
245 x 5

Work sets:

These are both pretty light, but it was still enough to feel some pain in my SI joints, mostly after the 2nd work set.

I don’t see anything glaringly obvious.

1073

I found some gymnastics progressions the other day, working toward stuff like front levers, planches and rope climbs. Most of these progressions are toward building strength through a wide range of motion, and build upon one another.

I have no aspirations to be a gymnast, but I do believe these will help shore up some of my current weak points.

4 x (48s bent hollow body holds, 5 cat/cows)
5 x (15 scapula pushups, 5 seated hip rotations [knees to opposite heel])
5 x (15 incline pushups, 10 german arm swings)
5 x (15 hinge rows, 30s lat stretch)

Ab endurance sucks right now.

1074

(Jan 13)

Definitely sore from the gymnastics work stuff yesterday. Mostly lats and abs.

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 8-12 (can’t remember)
185 x 5
225 x 3
285 x 5 – ~6 second negative on last rep
255 x 5 – ~6 second negative on last rep

Did some research on long-leg, log-arm deadlifters, and watched a few of Richard Hawthorne’s videos. Borrowed a few cues and I feel better by doing it.

Namely:

  • hips high (even higher than normal for me), so shins are completely vertical at the beginning of the pull
  • generate maximal tension at the upper hamstrings before moving the bar
  • start the pull with the hamstrings
  • when setting up, ignore the lats and focus on core tension; tension in the lumbar spine and abs
  • take a good breath at the top, before bending over the bar; this physically compresses the core with air already in it
  • use even slower negatives to develop core control under TUT

What works for the Lillebridges may not work for Coan may not work for Hawthorne, etc.

He also has used a lot of 10x10 training to develop the core tension. Deficit pulls here and there. And sessions focused on slow negatives too. Things worth trying in the future.

1075

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
295 x 5
265 x 5 – ~6 second negative on last rep

Things feeling better pain-wise after making those form changes. Mainly the “shins vertical” cue. Will see as the weights go up.

He lifts like a machine.

1076

Later last night:

Gymnastics Progressions
5 x (36s Arch Body Holds/Supermans + 10 Standing Hip Circles each way)
15, 10, 9, 9, 9 x (Tuck Ups + 5 Stiff Leg Windmills each way)

Honestly thought I could hold those holds longer than that – the target is 5 x 60s before moving on – but I’m not there. Improving on those is almost guaranteed to carry over to my deadlift performance.

Also some serious rolling out of knots in both calves with “The Stick”. They’re very sore today, but I made good progress on them. When I was studying the basic anatomy of hip positioning, the calves, hamstrings, and piriformis all have a role in rotating the hip; and “tight hamstrings” could actually mean the hamstrings are fine but problems are in the calves or piriformis.

While I think my form changes probably matter most, working out these knots should be good for me anyway.

Today:

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 5
285 x 5

Same form cues, same lack of pain. I made a 20lb jump from yesterday, since this progression is just a tad too slow for me. 15lbs a day is probably about right, not 10. I just wanted to jump to 315, just because it makes things easier.

10lb a day, from 70%: 255, 265, 275, 285, 295, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355, 365. That’s 12 sessions to get back to where I was.

15lb a day, from 70%: 255, 270, 285, 300, 315, 330, 345, 360, 375. That’s 9 sessions.

8-16 sessions is the goal for a cycle as-is.

Given that I’m not doing any additional volume (even though technique improvement matters), I’m not sold on the idea that dropping down so low and progressing so slowly is worth it. It feels like the StrongLifts/StartingStength infinite loops that people get into.

Depending on what happens once I get back up into the 365/375 range, I’ll decide whether I want to run the next cycle differently. Considering I’m training with daily frequency, I’m not quite sure what that will be. If I were training 2-3x weekly, I’d probably just make the 2nd 90% set an AMRAP set. That may not be the wisest idea here.

Then again, the current strategy may actually produce something a 10lb increase per month, which isn’t exactly horrible.

Clearly I’m undecided. I have a week or so before I need to decide.

Also, found my running shoes. Hill sprints will be going in soonish.

1077


Hooked up my 3’ scrap of 2" bar left over from making my axle to my ring setup.

Did a few fat grip pullups with it.
Did a few fat grip pullups with an additional 20ish pounds.

I’m going to grab some plates from my storage unit tomorrow… between destrength’s 30x6 and csulli’s 75x5, I want to see where I stand.

1078

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1
315 x 1
330 x 5
300 x 5

Modified my warmup by dropping the warmup reps, and using higher percentage singles.

Modified my cues. Decided to focus mostly on maximizing tightness everywhere before moving the bar. Spread the floor, by pushing the legs apart at the hips. Push the hips straight back to get down to the bar, rather than bending down. Push the hips forward to move the bar, focusing purely on wedging them between the my shoulders and feet.

Other cues I tried, but couldn’t manage to do simultaneously: Push the arms downwards toward the bar via an “anti-shrug” movement, then tighten the lats to lock things in place. Just too much to keep in my head at once.

Increasing the tightness everywhere before actually moving the bar made a big difference. I’m still doing too much “arching” rather than just keeping my back straight. It’ll take some time to drive that in.

This is probably the most powerful I’ve felt at 90%. I feel like most of the work was done before the bar even moved; it was all in the setup.

Fat Grip Pullups
A few bodyweight.
A few singles with 25.
A miss with 50.
A single with 30.

The grip isn’t an issue for me. Granted, I also did these immediately after those pulls, so there’s that.

But since the grip isn’t an issue, I think rings will be a better way to train these.

Gymnastics work later today, after I recover a bit from the pulls.

–

Gymnastics Stuff
4 x (48s bent hollow body holds + 5 cat cows)
5 x (60s ppt forearm planks + 10 each side straddle running mans)
5 x (9 pushups + 5 each side forward 5lb arm circles)
5 x (6 incline ring rows + bent lat stretch)

The forearm planks were hell after the bent hollow body holds. These are harder than “normal” forearm planks, because you want your back to be rounded with no arch, so it requires a lot more ab control.

Pushups were hard after those then.

And the ring rows, well, I just suck at. Biceps gave out trying to do more.

1079

Looking really solid brother

1080

Alpha, thanks for stopping in.

Ring Pullups
A few sets of 2 and 3, working on good control through the full range. Goal is improved tendon/ligament strength mostly by doing it this way.

Managed to tweak my right elbow; acute “golfers elbow” I guess. Whatever.

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
135 x 10
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
345 x 5
315 x 5

These were the best pulls I’ve had at 345. A couple days rest + better form makes a difference. Plus maybe there’s something to all this submax work.