[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
My lower back is ffffrriiied too. All the deadlifting and rowing is catching up with me. Gonna have to find a way to make this easier on my low back at least 1 day a week.[/quote]
I could not agree more.
I had a realization a few months ago that:
I am not superman
I am not 20 any more (I’m 35)
All muscle groups need time off and the lower back is definitely NOT an exception to this rule
I was doing tons of squats, deadlifts and bent over rows and I wondered why my lower back was so beat up and why I would occasionally have a bad squat/deadlift day.
I finally accepted that my lower back was getting hit way too often. I wasn’t going to give up squats or deadlifts, so that meant getting rid of the bent rows.
I do all my rowing work with chest support now and I have not regretted it. My back looks as muscular as it ever has (if not more because I can focus more on a good squeeze when I have chest support), my squat and deadlift days consistently go well and my lower back feels good.
Not saying that my particular fix is the solution for you, but definitely suggesting you reevaluate some things. Best of luck.
Yeah, I switched the first day of rowing to either inverted ring rowing or arm supported landmine rows… I might have to do the same thing on the 2nd rowing day.
My low back feels pretty good today (after the full weekend off) but I would rather stay ahead of the recovery curve than continually play catch up after it tips over the edge.
Im also gonna reorganize the training a bit to put the rowing and deadlifting on the same day, so the lowback isnt getting it 4x week, but a double dose 2x a week.
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Yeah, I switched the first day of rowing to either inverted ring rowing or arm supported landmine rows… I might have to do the same thing on the 2nd rowing day.
My low back feels pretty good today (after the full weekend off) but I would rather stay ahead of the recovery curve than continually play catch up after it tips over the edge.
Im also gonna reorganize the training a bit to put the rowing and deadlifting on the same day, so the lowback isnt getting it 4x week, but a double dose 2x a week.[/quote]
Sounds good, I hope your lower back tells you “thank you”
Tim - I actually feel like its already helped even after my first 2 day stretch. I’ll know more come the weekend, but so far so good.
1-13-15
A - Bench 5x5 @ 170. Felt great, really solid
B - Dead 5x3 @ 225. Also felt really great… I’m keeping this number really low for a while because this lift in particular really seems to plateau and drop off if I chase weight
C - Inverted Rows, 4x9 @ bodyweight, 2 second contraction
Another good session in the books.
1-14-15
16 minutes on recumbent bike
Keeping these 16 for now, will likely add 5 minutes on the rower in Feb to increase the cal burn a little bit. Going to try to keep only 4 cardio sessions a week for this particular fat loss experiment. Since I dont have a show I’m not under any dead line to be shredded by, so I can afford to be a bit conservative here.
A1 - Pull ups 10x5, various grips
A2 - Overhead Press 10x3 @ 120lbs Completed all sets in 7:10
B - Squats 10x3 in 6:02
Good session. Squats felt good, but still need to work on my consistency with getting full body tension and keeping it in my legs and lower back throughout the whole rep.
Shaved 7 seconds off the A superset, a long way to go before its at 6:00 or less. I’ll get there though
Shaved like 90 seconds off the squats… Slacked at the end I guess thinking I had all the time in the world and ended up 2 seconds late. Frustrated a bit, but with the HUGE improvement in time I considered it a victory of sorts. Easily will get it next week.
Both sets had me breathing hard, I really liked it. I hadn’t had any work like this in a long while where I was breathing heavy, it feels really good to get that kind of work in.
Pic is of my latest and likely final addition to the gym for a while, nice little weight tree so stuff isnt just leaning everywhere or on the ground, gives it that last little bit of polish
Deads 10x3 @ 215 in 5:55 … Lungs were SCORCHED after this. Great workout here
Pendlay Rows 10x3 @ 170 in 5:45
Really great workout before work, one of the rare ones where I felt great in the morning and everything was banging on all cylinders.
Saturday - extra work
Arms/Abs/Calves x Volume work. Didnt really count sets/reps, just did a shit load
Cardio - 16 minutes on bike.
Forgot to weigh myself this week, but new veins are showing up and everything seems to be moving in the right direction. I had a my big carb heavy cheat meal so my weight wont be “real” again for a few days… I’ll get it next friday along with my waist measurement.
A1- Overhead Press @ 120 x 3
A2 - Pullups x 5, alternating grips
10 rounds in 5:50, massive improvement over 7:10… Although I did change the pullups to “speed pullups” in that I wasn’t really concerned with contracting the muscle up top, and I did more of a “free fall” instead of a controlled eccentric. I think this is probably the only way to really hit this under 6:00 time frame doing 2 exercises instead of 1
B - Squats 10x3 @ 185 in 5:45. Shaved almost 20 seconds off here, felt really solid… but winded as hell after.
Good workout, very out of breath after those 2 last, but that’s part of the goal
16 minutes bike
Fat loss progress: Weight - 179 (down from 181 2 weeks ago), waist still 35… But am definitely leaner in the six pack area and the quad separation is coming in, so its coming off of other places I think. My strength is at least stable, if not improved, so I have no fear of losing muscle at this point. Will not make any changes to diet/cardio this week.
completed in 5:42… Shaved 8 seconds off, felt good. Still got winded, but knew I wasn’t in any danger if not beating the time this week
B - Squats, 10x3 @ 185 in 5:22, shaved almost 20 seconds off here, did it by not racking the bar the first 5 sets, just “rested” in between the triples with the bar on my back.
Squats sucked today. My inner legs/groin were still “sore” from Mondays squat session, to the point where in the hole it feels like my groin muscle is going to snap off the bone. It happens from time to time and I’ve learned how far to take things and when to back off, because I actually have pulled it 2-3 times in the past by pushing the limits, but it was close-but-not-quite today so I went for it. They felt off the entire time though, not anywhere near as solid as monday.
Shit is starting to get heavy now. But most things are good
2-2
Overhead press 5x5@135, 5,5,4,3,3
Pull-ups 5x10, all quality reps
Squat 5x5@205, got em all.
2-3
Bench 5x5@180, 5,5,4,4,3.
Cleans 3x5@95
Dead 5x3@255
Rows 5x12, all good reps.
Diet is going well, but I’m tired more days than not now. Since I don’t have a Target Date like a contest or anything I might take a week and eat up a few hundred Cals/day and "reset. " I’ll post a Midway pic soon
Down to about 180, waist is dropping and weight is surprisingly stable. I’ll take it.
In theory I had 8 weeks left here, I’ll stick it out but I prob won’t get crazy in cardio like I used too, see how far I can take it without going nuts in that regard. In a very good position here I feel like, even another 8-10 pounds would be quite a transformation
