MR's Prime Time Gun Show

Helix · October 11, 2005, 9:15pm

MR, I have a tweaked SI joint that I really havent let heal properly. DL’s and the likes seem to really tweak it so I am going to lay off those for a few weeks while me and my art/chiro guy treat it. DB DL’s are actually the worse if I do them at all I am guarenteed to be in a world of hurt.

I am doing your NTNM series and was wondering if you had any suggestions as to what to substitute for the snatch DL’s. As I have mentioned before I am having some probs w/ glute strength so I was thinking of just replacing it w/ some more glute volume @ the same rep ranges.

Is there any particular exersises you would do to help strengthen the muscles of the hip involved w/ stabalizing the SI joint?

PS: Do you have any plans on writing a book? Your knowledge of strength imbalances/weaknesses and how to treat is damn impressive. I have yet to see a really good book on the subject that doesnt just give you full routines to follow. I always like how you present it in a piece-wise fashion that lets one incorporate it into ones current training protocols.

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:23pm

Helix -

SI joint issues can be a pain in the ass; literally! Do you have any pelvic obliquity or leg length discrepancy issues? When I was having problems I didn’t have my orthotics in (I have a pretty significant leg length discrepancy), so my hips were about as level as the leaning tower of Pisa!

First off, I would remove any irritating movements; anything that EXTENDS the ROM (like DB deadlifts, SG deads, pulls off plates/boards) are definitely out. As well, what’s your flexibility like in your glutes, hams, etc.? Do you go into lumbar flexion at the start of the movement? I would imagine this could be a significant factor, if so.

For stabilizing the SI joint, it’s really about strengthening the gluteals while making sure you have adequate hip mobility. Remember, a lot of people who have low back issues have them b/c they have terrible mobility around the hips; thus why EC and I wrote the Get Your Butt in Gear series.

Now, for the book…yes, I do have plans to do this, but it’s probably 3rd or 4th down on the list at this time. I’m going to try and get a few big “projects” done each year, but right now this one isn’t at the top of my list. I’ll keep ya posted though!

Stay strong
MR

[quote]Helix wrote:
MR, I have a tweaked SI joint that I really havent let heal properly. DL’s and the likes seem to really tweak it so I am going to lay off those for a few weeks while me and my art/chiro guy treat it. DB DL’s are actually the worse if I do them at all I am guarenteed to be in a world of hurt.

I am doing your NTNM series and was wondering if you had any suggestions as to what to substitute for the snatch DL’s. As I have mentioned before I am having some probs w/ glute strength so I was thinking of just replacing it w/ some more glute volume @ the same rep ranges.

Is there any particular exersises you would do to help strengthen the muscles of the hip involved w/ stabalizing the SI joint?

PS: Do you have any plans on writing a book? Your knowledge of strength imbalances/weaknesses and how to treat is damn impressive. I have yet to see a really good book on the subject that doesnt just give you full routines to follow. I always like how you present it in a piece-wise fashion that lets one incorporate it into ones current training protocols.[/quote]

bg100 · October 11, 2005, 9:25pm

G’day Mike,

I’ve got a question about back-off weeks. Work has been extremely busy for me the past month or so and has been causing me to miss many workouts. For example the past week or so has had workouts on the following days:

Friday
Sunday
Thursday
Sunday
Wednesday (tonight)

As you can see they are very spread out. The weeks before this have been somewhat similar.

At the moment I am doing the 3rd week of an “accumulation” phase of 4 weeks. I was then going to do a 3 week “intensification” phase.

With the spread out nature of workout frequency which has allowed for plenty of rest, do you think it would be OK to move straight into the intense phase without completing a back-off week in between?

Are back off weeks only for when “life” doesn’t get in the way and you can maintain a frequent workout schedule?

Cheers,

Ben

boonville410 · October 11, 2005, 9:30pm

[quote]Mike Robertson wrote:
It’s not a great example, but anywhere from 5-15 reps (and no, those 5 rep sets ARE NOT heavy).

Stay strong
MR
[/quote]

Not a great example at all : )
Could you elaborate a bit?

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:31pm

A few other things:

Have you tried foam rolling?

Do you have a massage therapist? If so, have them work on the glutes, and the ilio-lumbar ligament. When my massage therapist worked on these I wanted to cry “mama,” but then again, I didn’t have any issues after that either. Go figure

Stay strong
MR

[quote]Helix wrote:
MR, I have a tweaked SI joint that I really havent let heal properly. DL’s and the likes seem to really tweak it so I am going to lay off those for a few weeks while me and my art/chiro guy treat it. DB DL’s are actually the worse if I do them at all I am guarenteed to be in a world of hurt.

I am doing your NTNM series and was wondering if you had any suggestions as to what to substitute for the snatch DL’s. As I have mentioned before I am having some probs w/ glute strength so I was thinking of just replacing it w/ some more glute volume @ the same rep ranges.

Is there any particular exersises you would do to help strengthen the muscles of the hip involved w/ stabalizing the SI joint?

PS: Do you have any plans on writing a book? Your knowledge of strength imbalances/weaknesses and how to treat is damn impressive. I have yet to see a really good book on the subject that doesnt just give you full routines to follow. I always like how you present it in a piece-wise fashion that lets one incorporate it into ones current training protocols.[/quote]

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:34pm

It depends on your recovery capacity; just keep in mind that recovery isn’t just training related, it’s LIFE RELATED as well. If you’ve been that busy with work, school, whatever, then a down week might not be a bad idea.

However, it really comes down to how YOU are feeling; if you feel good, then go for it. If there’s any doubt whatsoever, though, forget about it and take the down week. Better to be safe than sorry!

Stay strong
MR

[quote]bg100 wrote:
G’day Mike,

I’ve got a question about back-off weeks. Work has been extremely busy for me the past month or so and has been causing me to miss many workouts. For example the past week or so has had workouts on the following days:

Friday
Sunday
Thursday
Sunday
Wednesday (tonight)

As you can see they are very spread out. The weeks before this have been somewhat similar.

At the moment I am doing the 3rd week of an “accumulation” phase of 4 weeks. I was then going to do a 3 week “intensification” phase.

With the spread out nature of workout frequency which has allowed for plenty of rest, do you think it would be OK to move straight into the intense phase without completing a back-off week in between?

Are back off weeks only for when “life” doesn’t get in the way and you can maintain a frequent workout schedule?

Cheers,

Ben[/quote]

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:37pm

Let’s put it this way; depending on the trainee, their sets aren’t necessarily going to be rep-dependent, it’s form-dependent. Once I feel they’ve performed the set well enough, they get to stop (or if they keep getting worse, they stop too). I’m not interested in building strength the first week in the gym, I’m interested in honing technique and making sure they are doing things properly.

Basically, it totally depends on the person and the movement I’m teaching.

Stay strong
MR

[quote]boonville410 wrote:
Mike Robertson wrote:
It’s not a great example, but anywhere from 5-15 reps (and no, those 5 rep sets ARE NOT heavy).

Stay strong
MR

Not a great example at all : )
Could you elaborate a bit?[/quote]

Helix · October 11, 2005, 9:52pm

My flexibility is pretty good, been doing static stretching since last april 2-3x a week.

When it bothers me I have been foam rolling all my hips/glutes but admitedly havent been doing it as religously lately.

I KNOW I have glute activation problems from doing scorpians, reverse lunges and bulgarian squats. I can just tell my left glute isnt firing properly. I also get some knee collapsing when squating and DLing

I am not aware of any leg discrepency problems but I do have very supine & flat feet. My chiro has reccomended that I get foot inserts but just gotta wait till I can afford them.

Basically most DL movements really erk it. It is annoying b/c I sit a shitload in class and that is when the pain comes back the most. Sitting on a ‘saddle’ does seem to help some. My form is pretty good but due to really short ass arms I dont feel comfortable lifting w/ a traditional stance. I find a Ed Cohn(sorta half-ass sumo) style to be the most comfortable.

My Chiro/Art guy was doing some tests on me and found that I have basically no strength when he did one of his tests: It was the one were you lay on your back and raise one leg and externally rotate it. He then trys to push it down while you resist the movement. Needless to say a baby could have pushed down my leg.

I get a ton of DOMS in really weird muscles of my upper leg/hip. I always get DOMS high on my inner legs and on the outside right below the glutes. I figure it is probably because those muscles are weak as heck.

Going to look into the massage therapy later this week, maybe I will get lucky and insurance will cover it.

Thanks a lot.

bg100 · October 11, 2005, 9:53pm

Thanks Mike,

I think I’ll be OK to continue with the next phase. I’ve been itching to get back into the gym on a more regular basis but too many things have been getting in the way at work. When I do get to workout I feel pretty good, I just wish it could be every second day rather than every fourth! There’s nothing worse than turning a 4 week program into 6 weeks.

Cheers,

Ben

[quote]Mike Robertson wrote:
It depends on your recovery capacity; just keep in mind that recovery isn’t just training related, it’s LIFE RELATED as well. If you’ve been that busy with work, school, whatever, then a down week might not be a bad idea.

However, it really comes down to how YOU are feeling; if you feel good, then go for it. If there’s any doubt whatsoever, though, forget about it and take the down week. Better to be safe than sorry!

Stay strong
MR

bg100 wrote:
G’day Mike,

I’ve got a question about back-off weeks. Work has been extremely busy for me the past month or so and has been causing me to miss many workouts. For example the past week or so has had workouts on the following days:

Friday
Sunday
Thursday
Sunday
Wednesday (tonight)

As you can see they are very spread out. The weeks before this have been somewhat similar.

At the moment I am doing the 3rd week of an “accumulation” phase of 4 weeks. I was then going to do a 3 week “intensification” phase.

With the spread out nature of workout frequency which has allowed for plenty of rest, do you think it would be OK to move straight into the intense phase without completing a back-off week in between?

Are back off weeks only for when “life” doesn’t get in the way and you can maintain a frequent workout schedule?

Cheers,

Ben

[/quote]

boonville410 · October 11, 2005, 9:57pm

[quote]Mike Robertson wrote:
Let’s put it this way; depending on the trainee, their sets aren’t necessarily going to be rep-dependent, it’s form-dependent. Once I feel they’ve performed the set well enough, they get to stop (or if they keep getting worse, they stop too). I’m not interested in building strength the first week in the gym, I’m interested in honing technique and making sure they are doing things properly.

Basically, it totally depends on the person and the movement I’m teaching.

Stay strong
MR
[/quote]

True that, I never looked at it that way. Thanks for your help, Mike!

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:58pm

I think you’ll be fine bro; good luck!

Stay strong
MR

[quote]bg100 wrote:
Thanks Mike,

I think I’ll be OK to continue with the next phase. I’ve been itching to get back into the gym on a more regular basis but too many things have been getting in the way at work. When I do get to workout I feel pretty good, I just wish it could be every second day rather than every fourth! There’s nothing worse than turning a 4 week program into 6 weeks.

Cheers,

Ben

[/quote]

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:59pm

Not a problem; good luck!

Stay strong
MR

[quote]boonville410 wrote:
True that, I never looked at it that way. Thanks for your help, Mike![/quote]

Mike_Robertson · October 11, 2005, 9:59pm

Helix -

I’ll give you a thought out response Thursday; gotta get some work done tonight before bed

Stay strong
MR

[quote]Helix wrote:
My flexibility is pretty good, been doing static stretching since last april 2-3x a week.

When it bothers me I have been foam rolling all my hips/glutes but admitedly havent been doing it as religously lately.

I KNOW I have glute activation problems from doing scorpians, reverse lunges and bulgarian squats. I can just tell my left glute isnt firing properly. I also get some knee collapsing when squating and DLing

I am not aware of any leg discrepency problems but I do have very supine & flat feet. My chiro has reccomended that I get foot inserts but just gotta wait till I can afford them.

Basically most DL movements really erk it. It is annoying b/c I sit a shitload in class and that is when the pain comes back the most. Sitting on a ‘saddle’ does seem to help some. My form is pretty good but due to really short ass arms I dont feel comfortable lifting w/ a traditional stance. I find a Ed Cohn(sorta half-ass sumo) style to be the most comfortable.

My Chiro/Art guy was doing some tests on me and found that I have basically no strength when he did one of his tests: It was the one were you lay on your back and raise one leg and externally rotate it. He then trys to push it down while you resist the movement. Needless to say a baby could have pushed down my leg.

I get a ton of DOMS in really weird muscles of my upper leg/hip. I always get DOMS high on my inner legs and on the outside right below the glutes. I figure it is probably because those muscles are weak as heck.

Going to look into the massage therapy later this week, maybe I will get lucky and insurance will cover it.

Thanks a lot. [/quote]

novagreg · October 13, 2005, 6:06pm

Hey Mike,
I asked this same question to EC last night, so I figured I’d get the input of two very knowledgable people. I tore my PCL recently, and I’m rehabbing it for the next 6 weeks. When I’m done with that, what are some do’s and don’ts in terms of lower body training? Thanks for your time and help Mike, I appreciate it.
-Greg

Mike_Robertson · October 13, 2005, 6:54pm

I’m online tonight…make me feel important! Shoot me some questions…

Stay Strong
MR

mattrose · October 13, 2005, 7:20pm

question . Ian King ,Poliquin, Alessi
have said that in order to improve your bench press don?t bench press for three months every year . You obviously have to train with a pressing movement (dips incline etc)( and probably focus on any weak spots) but you are to not flat barbell bench press at all for 3 months. When you return to bench presses you are supposed to be able to reach a new
1 RM max.
How does this work and does it have any merit.

Mike_Robertson · October 13, 2005, 7:23pm

Nova -

EC hit it on the head; make sure to really strengthen your quads. Make sure to really mix up the type of contraction (ecc, conc, isometric), and you can even mix in some pretty slow TUT to make sure you get all the neural effects possible. Remember, you’ll basically re-train your body to do the things it would normally have no issues with.

Once you get back to the gym, progressively ease back into deep knee flexion, especially squatting. I don’t have the study in front of me, but I know deep squats put a lot of stress (or at least increased stress) on the PCL. Good luck!

Stay strong
MR

[quote]novamcglone wrote:
Hey Mike,
I asked this same question to EC last night, so I figured I’d get the input of two very knowledgable people. I tore my PCL recently, and I’m rehabbing it for the next 6 weeks. When I’m done with that, what are some do’s and don’ts in terms of lower body training? Thanks for your time and help Mike, I appreciate it.
-Greg[/quote]

Mike_Robertson · October 13, 2005, 7:27pm

I have never heard this before. Can you show me references?

I know that Westside believes in building the bench w/o true, full ROM benching, but keep in mind they are training for a competition bench, with a bench shirt. There are Russian powerlifters who train the bench up to 10x per week.

What I guess I’m saying here is that unless I see or read something really impressive, I doubt this has a lot of merit to the average trainee.

Stay strong
MR

[quote]mattrose wrote:
question . Ian King ,Poliquin, Alessi
have said that in order to improve your bench press don?t bench press for three months every year . You obviously have to train with a pressing movement (dips incline etc)( and probably focus on any weak spots) but you are to not flat barbell bench press at all for 3 months. When you return to bench presses you are supposed to be able to reach a new
1 RM max.
How does this work and does it have any merit.
[/quote]

Helix · October 13, 2005, 7:41pm

MR, you said that you may have some more info for me tonight. If you dont then that is np I have gotten a few ideas already.

THE NTNM workouts are definitly going to help some, though I left out the snatch DL’s to save my back. It is kinda funny that the glute that isnt firing is on the opposite side as my SI Joint problem.(When I do stuff like step-ups, scorpians, etc I have a ton of trouble feeling it in that glute even though my form is the exact same as my other side. End up feeling the step-ups alot more in my quads for instance).

Any suggestions on what to sub in for the snatch grip DL’s? I just did a few sets of GHR’s to hit my hammies. I imagine I could probably throw in something else to replace the back volume lost but couldnt come up w/ anything on the spot.

Mike_Robertson · October 13, 2005, 7:48pm

Helix -

I hadn’t forgotten about you bro!

Now, it sounds like your issues could either be coming from the glutes, or due to the excessive pronation you have in your feet. Orthotics would definitely help all the way up the kinetic chain.

Like you said with the glutes, the fact that you are feeling things in your quads, TFL/ITB, adductors is all compensatory d/t the lack of gluteal strength/motor control. Keep working on glute max/glute medius, along with stretching/massage/ART for the TFL/ITB, hip flexors and adductors. Do more sets/reps on the left side as well to bring it up to speed.

Hope this helps!