Nordic Blood: Climbing And Lifting / Lifting And Climbing

Training Training Logs
2411

Thursday 2020-10-22

Climbing

Went bouldering indoors, had a good time. Didn’t try anything crazy hard since it had been ages since I last bouldered and since I care more about finger longevity at the moment. My shoes really aren’t a good fit for bouldering. I do have a pair of more aggressive shoes, but they are from my beginner days when I had no idea what size would allow me to climb the best and they are a bit too snug to be powerful in. Will bust them out next session to see if they, nevertheless, give me some extra mileage.

Need to get more bouldering in to maintain that skill (it’s severely atrophied at this point). And to get to spend more time on my weaknesses. Tuesdays and Thursdays will continue to be lead climbing days, as I’m loyal to a fault and my partner is not a fan of bouldering — especially now with corona. The lead walls are comparatively empty but the bouldering section is swamped.

I believe I can maybe start showing up earlier on Tu/Th to boulder some and treat rope climbing as endurance work. I really want to change the focus of my climbing from merely social and attempting hard sends whenever I’m in the mood (always) and have it be more like “training” and less like “working out”. Been in my comfort zone for far too long.

1 Like
2412

Friday 2020-10-23

Exercise Set Reps Weight Rest
A. Bench -2 10 40 short
-1 6 60 short
0 1 70 3
1 2 82 3
2 2 82 3
3 2 82 3
4 2 82 3
5 2 82 5
6 2 82 -
B. High-bar Squat 1 15 65 2m
2 15 65
3 15 65
C. Knob Pull-Ups 1 15 BW 90s
2 15 BW
3 8+7 BW
Exercise Sets & Reps Rest
D1. Ring Dips 3xAMRAP @ bw To failure mostly Some
D2. Push-ups 3xAMRAP All to failure

Came close to failing my work sets, again. I need to get more bench practice in. I can’t get a good set-up with any consistency. I also have to take a while to go through my recent weigh-ins to see that I’m continuing to gain weight. So, adding bench practice at the end of two of the other weekly sessions until I can routinely get my set-up the way it needs to be.

Also add additional prep sets on the bench day.

Happy news is that my shoulder is feeling better, so I’m doing something more correctly than before. Also, I’ll note this for myself: I’ve been resting 4 minutes between sets previous weeks, but decided that I want to have more consistency with workout duration so for all of my work sets except for the final one I’ll rest 3 minutes. And rest 5 minutes before the AMRAP.

3 Likes
2413

Training seems to be going well and numbers are improving. Quality work!

1 Like
2414

I’d be curious to know how weight gain has impacted your climbing. On the one hand, you’re clearly getting stronger, on the other hand, Climbing seems to reward smaller body sized :thinking:

2415

I like how everyone casually ignored this :joy:

I had caribou once- it was delicious. I wonder if moose is similar

1 Like
2416

Too early to tell. My climbing has been more akin to working out than building towards something for a while so there’s no decent point of reference. Maybe climbing steep overhangs is a bit more fatiguing than usual. I don’t exactly feel like a feather anymore. But my joints are less cranky so that’s nice. And I don’t crash if I end up climbing for more than 120 minutes so all things considered this is the preferable option at the present moment.

1 Like
2417

Reindeer and moose here are very similar meats. Ultra-lean and gamey.

1 Like
2418

Sounds up my alley.

2419

I’m so happy it’s hunting season. Time to load up the freezer with deer and moose.

1 Like
2420

Sunday 2020-10-25

AM

Exercise Set Reps Weight Rest Notes
A. Press -3 10 bar short
-2 6 30 short
-1 4 40 moderate
0 1 45 moderate
1 1.5 54 3-5m (work sets) Fail
2 4 50
3 4 50
4 4 50
5 4 50
B. Dips 1 10 bw+15 2-3m
2 10 bw+15
3 10 bw+15
C. Body-English Bent-over BB Rows 1 15 70
2 15 70
3 15+? 70

Went to a party the night before so missing reps does not confuse me at all

PM Climbing

Monday 2020-10-26

Exercise Set Reps Weight Rest Tempo Notes
A. Squat -3 10 60 short Normal
-2 6 80 short
-1 4 100 moderate
0 1 120 moderate
1 3 135 3-5m (work sets)
2 3 135 Form failure galore
3 4 120
4 4 120
5 4 120
B. Toes elevated RDL 1 10 120 2-3m Normal
2 10 120
3 10 120
C. Leg Press 1 100
D. Linear Hack Press 1 12 25/s
2 12 25/s Brutal after leg press
3 12 25/s
E. Bench Press 1 3 70 2m
2 3 70
3 5 70

Lifts be failin’‘’’ Body-weight is trending up though. And progressing on some things that aren’t my main lift which is nice. Some progress is better than no progress. Sleep however hasn’t been great. That might be the culprit.

2 Likes
2421

Anyone catch this article?

Am I the only one thinking the squat performer has a weird issue as he nears a quarter squat? It looks like two movements strung together. Squat and a good morning. Seems like his posterior takes over completely past that point.

1 Like
2422

I’ve seen it before. I personally think “entry tests” like this are so stupid. If someone wants to start learning to squat heavier, just let them. Use something like those goblet squats as supplemental or assistance work.

2423

Honestly, it seems fine to me. Happens with fatigue with this kind of stuff. I do it as well with goblets

2424

Tuesday 2020-10-27

Climbing

Okay session, elbow feeling increasingly worse ever since Sunday. Had a go at a 7a. Will start doing that routinely after my elbow stops giving me as much shit

Wednesday 2020-10-18

Feeling super-worn and not very present during this session

Exercise Set Reps Weight Rest Notes
A. Deadlift (RDL until ~50-60%) -7 10-20 bar RDL
-6 5-10 60 RDL
-5 5-10 90 RDL
-4 5-8 105
-3 4-6 125
-2 3-5 130
-1 3-5 140
0 2-4 150
1 3 160 3-5m (work sets)
2 3 160
3 3 160
4 3 160
5 3 160
B. BTN Press 1 10 35 2-3m
2 10 35
3 10 35
C. T-bar Row 1 15 40 60-90s Mistake
2 15 40
3 20 40
D. GHR 1 15 bw
2 15 bw
3 20 bw

The T-bar row was optimistic. I used straps and thought it wouldn’t influence the elbow too much but it did despite lowering the weight and going for higher reps. The cause is I’ve been doing some 20-30 pull-ups as part of my warmup for the last few weeks. Will have to maybe leave out the back work for two weeks and then reintroduce it but leave the warm-up pull-ups for someone else that doesn’t do a lot of climbing.

Thinking maybe glute, quad and ab work in the interim. Anything where I don’t have to grab a bar is probably a good idea. In particular, crushing my grip and a bent elbow is a recipe for unhappiness (so for instance cable crunches are a no go). Pinching plates also suck at the moment. Haven’t given it too much thought yet. I don’t feel as if there aren’t options. And tire flips are a definite no as the hand cocks back and it’s a minor curling motion. Bumms

Shouldn’t be many weeks until I can resume my back work. I hope.

Ordered some voodoo floss and a theraband flexbar to start working on the upset tendon.

2425

He looks slightly squat morning-ey but nothing terrible. I’m pretty sure my version of that test wouldn’t look so pretty.

2426

This is some really stupid bullshit.

Most of these blank statements or “tests” are.

The other day TN posted on IG “it doesn’t matter how much you can deadlift; if you can’t do a single pull up, you’re not strong. Anyone who considers himself strong should be able to do 10 pull ups”.

That was some grade a nonsense (because strength is always specific). Not surprisingly the quote was from a calisthenics enthusiast with hundreds of shirtless pictures of himself and not a single deadlift video on his IG page.

1 Like
2427

People confuse GPP and strength way too often

1 Like
2428

^ This. So much this. Can we plaster that statement all over the site, please?

1 Like
2429

Heheh, I was about to add a follow-up that even GPP gets muddy. GPP in what context? Survival in a post-civilization world? Or to be able to run a obstacle course?

If we just say “GPP” people might think Ninja Warrior but if I’m unconscious those 160 lbs upperbody beats aren’t going to do much good getting my limp body out of dodge.

1 Like
2430

Thursday 2020-10-29

Rest (unplanned)

Wanted to get some training related thoughts down into words. I’ve been accumulating these since Sunday, so I don’t expect it to be entirely easy to follow my train of thought. I’ll attempt to make it digestible for “not me” (or, make it digestible for “future me”).

First, the background, before I outline what I’ll do different hoping to have a better go at things.

I want to touch on five things.

  1. Elbow (Climber’s Elbow)
  2. Hamstring
  3. Training intensity
  4. Weekly layout
  5. Nutrition

1 Elbow

Sunday I was climbing, and my elbow was telling me that it was somewhat upset. This is not uncommon feedback since… April/May? But, during the session it got progressively worse and before I called it quits my forearm was just numb and tingling. Furthermore, the joint was very sore to the touch. As I tried to mantle a large volume and the bony inside of the elbow came into touch with the volume is when I decided I better just call it quits and go home.

Climbed again Tuesday and it was bothering me a lot but not as much.

Back work on Wednesday I felt like I wasn’t able to do back work as I have been previously.

I’m guessing I ended up in this situation because recently I’ve been starting my workouts with 20-30 pull-ups. And, on several mornings I’ve been doing inverted rows. Frequency :arrow_up: volume :arrow_up: lead to tendonitis/tendonosis. Not exactly a question-mark as to what I did wrong there.

How to address it: rehab. Ordered voodoo floss, massaging it a lot, ordered a Theraband Flexbar to use before climbing sessions. And the rehab is dumbbell oriented eccentric only training that I’m doing morning/evening every other day or as recovery allows. Remove pull-ups from warm-up.

Might lay off back-work some, depending on how it feels tomorrow. If so I’m looking at maybe two weeks before re-evaluating.

Hamstring

Return readers might know I ended up with a muscle tear in my right leg, at the back where the hamstring meets the gluteus as I lost balance during a loaded stretch. I did some rehab then (L-protocol) but as many people are inclined to do, once it feels better they become somewhat lax with their rehab and don’t complete it entirely. With regards to this injury, I too belonged to that population which is presumably why I occasionally feel pain there as deadlifts get heavy or as I end up doing intense heel hooks. I haven’t paid much heed to it because it usually subsides before I need to rely on it again to do things that I want to do. Hell, I’ve even managed to jog and even run a little without any qualms.

But, Monday, I was doing heavy squats (to me), and on Tuesday I was climbing when I had to heel-hook with my right leg. What’s a heel hook? Imagine doing an isometric leg curl. Like your life depended on it. I used a lot of effort to hold that hook. And, well, it hurt. A lot. Come Wednesday it’s time for deadlifts. Still sore from squats, and definitely sore from climbing. This morning (Thursday) I felt my leg go numb as I sat in my couch eating breakfast. Lying on the floor, extending the knee, elicits a distinct pain sensation before full knee-extension. The pain has repeatedly “spread” so that it also expresses itself where the hamstring inserts to the knee if I spend too much time sitting (like when typing this).

Solution: rehab. L-protocol. Again. And, place squats and deadlifts further apart during my weekly planning.

Training intensity

Recently, my training has been inspired by GZCLP. By happenstance, I actually started to read up on it further yesterday. I was operating off of an incomplete model of it. Why? Laziness. Anyway, I’ve been doing (for my main lifts)

Sets x Reps (+ signifies that the final set is an AMRAP)

  • 5x3+
  • 6x2+
  • 10x1+ (not arrived here yet)
  • Retest for 5 RM and start anew

Again, yesterday I was reading about the 5RM test as I’ve now stalled out on all lifts and am doing 6x2+. What I read was that the weight used for the 10x1+ would be a conservative estimate for the 5RM. And that’s when I realised I’ve made a boo-boo. Because, I don’t think I can get 5 reps with my current weights at 6x2+. Maybe I can, it’s hard to really know how much fatigue the four prior work sets would garner. But considering I only feel as if I find my groove at Set 3 or Set 4 I’m guessing I’m training too heavy.

But how did I end up here? Well, AMRAPs you are supposed to leave 1-2 reps in the tank. I’m… bad at discerning how much is left in the tank so my RPE is usually like… 9.5. But I can only really tell when I fail to get a rep. I should be more attentive to bar speed, but once I start an AMRAP I’ve yet to acquire the skill to keep that in mind. To give a call back to this log’s title: I enter Berserker mode.

Solution: Mixed thoughts. Either do the old old 5/3/1 TM management strategy of 5 forward/3 back now but stay with 6x2+. Or, ride this “cycle” out, and see what I can do for my 5RM. If I can use the weight that I’m then at for 10x1+. Curiosity wants me to explore option number two while risk/benefit analysis favours option one.

4 Weekly Layout

Recently, my training has been

  • Sunday: Press + Bench/Press assistance (upper)
  • Monday: Squat + Deadlift assistance (lower)
  • Wednesday: Deadlift + Press assistance (full-body)
  • Friday: Bench + Squat assistance (full-body)

which is completely neat. But I don’t get enough rest between Monday and Wednesday I feel. Also, I’ve opted for back work that’s very intense on the posterior (barbell rows, T-bar rows). And I think that’s what has my hamstring in such a bind.

Solution: Swap Monday and Sunday. For now, swap BB row and T-bar row for something that lets my posterior relax a bit. Just have to find a machine that let’s me pull without messing with my elbow. And then add it back in successively perhaps. I’m fond of both.

5 Nutrition

For a while there I made the BtM food guidelines my staple on which I added more food (~750g minced beef + 12 eggs). But, that’s a lot of protein in relation to my weight so I reduced it to ~400g minced beef + 8 eggs which was kinder on my wallet and also had restroom visits be less horrifying. However, I don’t feel as if I recover equally well despite making up for the lost fat and replacing the protein with carbs and fat. Maybe I failed to make up for the saturated fats (not calorie counting)

Solution I don’t know. I feel as if a happy digestion is a good thing health-wise. But I also like recovery so… :woman_shrugging:

Life stuff. My dad turned 69 (noice) yesterday and I got him some cigars. He expressed a desire to enjoy them with his son and since today was an off-day for me we enjoyed one each out on their porch. Might not help all of my injuries recover as I don’t believe smoking does wonders for hormonal profiles or muscle protein synthesis but honestly fuck that if I can make him happy (also, screw you orthorexia I’m beating your butt).

3 Likes