Deadlift seems to be going well despite the buggy hamstring. Remind me again what your last pb and current goal (if there is a specific one) is?
Maybe, but unless you can commit all your training and recovery resources to one lift, Iām convinced the 2.5kg/cycle increases are just too much for lifters of our strength levels on press. Jim has recommended getting fractional plates and repeating cycles with those to ameliorate this, Iāve had success just using 1kg jumps instead but however you approach it, I think there should be a way to slow down your main lift progression for press to avoid stalling.
Its only 3 sets though, 2 of them pretty easy. So yeah, you get slightly higher volume on those 3 sets, but if you think volume is going to drive your progress (and Iām inclined to agree with you, thereās a reason Jim recommends BBS for press), your supplemental work is where I would look.
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Hahaha, right.
I only had one major lifting injury. It was very early on. I tweaked my back deadlifting via hyperextension. It hurt so badly that I had to lay on the floor for a bit immediately after the pull. Though I was dumb enough that I thought even though I was excruciating pain, I would try doing lat pulldowns and other random stuff afterwards. I should have just gone home.
Anyway, I had gone to see a sports chiro who gave me some corrective exercises that, of course, eventually fixed the issue. It took many months though. The biggest pity was that the injury was a couple days before a spring break trip to Minnesota. I still went and even lifted during that vacation like an idiot. Continuing to do lower body lifts might not have done any favors for healing, or maybe it did. I donāt know.
I knew absolutely that deadlifts from the floor and back squats were off the table. So, I did mostly front squats, RDLs, and sled pushes. I definitely still felt pain in the first two movements, but it was not too much to tolerate. Interestingly, about a year ago (so long after the initial injury) I felt that same pain again for a few days after I did something weird on a reverse hyper. I guess I do weird things on hyperextension movements. Anyway, I ultimately think accepting that there will be pain and discomfort will help one feel more proactive when facing an injury. Maybe you need to find your pain tolerance in a slightly intelligent way and see what happens for a few months. But feel free to disregard this; it is possible you have tried such strategy many times. I think these are not new injuries for you.
Pavel is a big fan of wave progressions, which would be the same as Jimās old ā5 forward, 3 backā principle. I could see advancing your TM forward to the end of a 2 Leader/1 Anchor cycle, then dialling it back to the start of your second Leader being feasible.
Thereās so many ways to āprogress slowlyā, honestly. As long as you do it, I donāt think its too important how.
3 forward/2 back?
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It is going well! I attribute it to only essentially doing three sets of from-the-floor per week to the success!
Hate how beautiful the tables render, except when quoted.
PB would be a three at 160.
Goalsā¦ That is a good question. Iāve been listening to Dan John talking about athletes and measuring up in the weight room but not being the best athlete and he argues they should spend more time doing their sport. I somewhat agree, and have been meaning to increase my climbing frequency and decrease my lifting frequency but that wonāt happen in the current situation.
Seemingly, a 2x bw deadlift is enough for climbing but I refuse to willfully stop developing it just because it is up to par. If I had a trap-bar, Iād swap the barbell deadlift for that.
Secondly, life is long. I might want a stronger deadlift later anyway so might as well continue to invest just three sets per session.
Iām focusing my efforts on farmerās handles as that taxes my body more. But itās so inconvenient to load that āwarming upā with a straight bar makes sense.
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Do you currently have any ambitions in competitive climbing?
Meant to tell you that my therapist is actually an ex athlete in competitive climbing. We were talking about pain and sport (being an athlete is a good common ground), he said something along the lines of āoh yeah, climbing is basically the art of ignoring and pretending you arenāt in painā.
When competitions return Iāll be very keen to compete locally but I have no illusions Iāll reach a grander arena.
Leaving the arrival fallacy aside I donāt feel many grades removed from feeling like the monster I want to be.
Sometimes you make me question my language skills.
Whatās wrong with competing locally? My question wasnāt meant to challenge you, I just wasnāt sure if competition at all is something youāre interested in or working towards.
Now I question my skills!
Thereās nothing wrong with competing locally, I just said that to frame my ambition. I donāt feel challenged by you, Iām sorry I gave that impression.
Pretty sure thatās not the part of the equation we have to worry about. I just donāt understand the sentence in question because I am not familiar with the phrases used (especially in the second half of the sentence).
Gotcha. I personally feel it helps to have realistic ambitions. It divides the delusional from the people who are really passionate about the sport itself. I for example am pretty sure I will never compete at a higher level* than the one I am currently at. I can improve within that level but I will probably not reach a higher one. I still plan on doing it for many years to come and am absolutely fine with the thought of that.
*the league I am lifting in
Iām not sure this goes for the entire sport, if itās a Swedish thing, or a local thing but in my clique everyone would understand being a monster at something to be someone who is notably good.
This is more or less how I view my future competing. Iāve done one very informal bouldering competition thus far
Saturday 2021-02-27
| Modified SVR II - Cycle 3 - Anchor - Week 2 SSL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Work | Target | Reps (& Sets - sxr) | Weight |
| A. Press | 75% | 5 | 40 |
| 85% | 5 | 45 | |
| B1. Log Press | 75% | 5 | 40 |
| 75% | 5 | 40 | |
| 75% | 5 | 40 | |
| 75% | 5 | 40 | |
| 75% | 5 | 40 | |
| B2. Hammer Row | 12,10,8,12+ | 12,10,8,? | 25/s,35/s,45/s,35/s |
| C1. Meadows Row | 20 | bar | |
| 15 | 10 | ||
| 4 | 20 | ||
| 6@30,2x8 | 20 | ||
| C2. Landmine Press | 20 | bar | |
| 11 | 10 | ||
| C2. DB Press Alternating | 3x10 | 10/h | |
| D. Frenchies | 2x? | bw | |
| E. 6 ways | 3x10 | ||
| F. DB Tate Press | 3x8 | 10 |
Good session. Felt worked throughout the muscles I wanted to hit but didnāt feel as if I had been hit by a train at the end either. The log press were smooth and controlled. Really felt as if I ādominatedā the weight and had full control of it.
Admittedly, the session was a bit messy. I misread my own training plan and missed my opening set (as in, didnāt do it) on the press and then I was too optimistic thinking I could load the Meadows Rows and Landmine Press the same which is why I swapped midway for DB Press instead. I should have figured that out beforehand. Also forgot to log reps on 12+ set of rows and donāt remember today what it was.
Feeling very positive about having done frenchies. My elbows felt more or less fine, except on the opening rep. Iām surprised it felt so good considering that Iāve completely failed to do my elbow rehab because of the finger injury. Personally, I prefer to use the Theraband Flexbar but I find it produces too much torque in the hand to be a suitable choice with the finger. The dirtbag alternative of pressing against a fixed surface and moving the wrist through ROM is also out, because I canāt press through the fingers without causing more damage. Thatād leave negative only dumbbell wrist flexions but Iāve routinely failed to etch out enough time to slot in 90-180 reps (as suggest by Make Or Break: Donāt Let Climbing Injuries Dictate Your Success) every day.
What I have succeeded in doing is as Iām out for walks put my wrists into maximal extension and then move my hands from shoulder to hips as if doing a eccentric only bicep curl. To quote an article I read about climberās elbow, the aim of the negative only wrist flexions is to feel as if you are firing uranium bullets at the elbow and I get more of that sensation doing what Iām describing rather than when I use an external load. The first few reps are usually atrocious, and then it gets better to the point of being asymptomatic at the end of a few sets.
The downside is I canāt do them everyday as I flex my extensors so hard I actually get a training effect.
Other notes from the day would be that my finger felt pretty happy during the day but sadly I did something wonky in the kitchen for dinner and now itās baddish again - and continues to today at the time of writing (2021-02-28). Blegh. Le frustrate.
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Agrees with his āwriters write, throwers throw, sprinters sprint, lifters liftā mantra.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the impression you would still lift even if one day you for some reason could no longer climb. I think Dan is more concerned about those who donāt care about lifting in itself yet end up becoming, for example, a lifter who throws rather than a thrower who lifts.
Interestingly, your log titleās syntax seems sorta related to all this.
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Correct!
Definitely. Iām very much in a phase where Iād prefer to climb 4x/wk and lift 2-3 rather than the opposite so the pulley injury just feels cruel.
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Monday 2021-03-01
| Modified SVR II | Cycle 3 | Anchor | Week 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Work | Target | Reps | Weight |
| A. Squat | 65% | 5 | 80 |
| 75% | 5 | 92 | |
| 85% | 5 | 105 | |
| B. Zercher Squat (ss: ab wheel ~50) | 5 | 70 | |
| 5 | 65 | ||
| 5 | 60 | ||
| 5 | 65 | ||
| 5 | 70 |
Leg Press 1, 2, 3, 4 plates (25kg) / side - 15, 12, 8, 8
The wave loading for zerchers were to find the right weight. Iāve been increasing the TM there as my squat but my discussion with @dagill2 and TMs for press made me think maybe the TM increments relate back to something percentually for the lift. I recall CT saying once that if you can improve 10% in 10 weeks that was a good plan. Curiously, Iāve noted that with weight lifted 531 has you do 3% more volume the next time you repeat a week. When I tried inputting 1.03 * cycles * original TM for zerchers 75% ended up being 60 kilos and that was the weight that moved the best.
As I was grabbing a plate for leg press using both my hands something popped in my left (non-injured hand). I hoped it was just a tendon moving against a surface but something didnāt feel right. Managed to get 2 sets of half-hearted leg extensions in before calling it quits and going home.
I can today say that something definitely happened, not sure what. Index and ring finger are affected. Iāve had an injury in my ring finger before, maybe that structure came undone partially.
I guess itās lucky I still have 1-2 weeks left before I can start climbing with my right hand anyway giving this some time to chill.
Itās concerning that my body seems to be disintegrating. My diet is okay, fat intake is certainly adequate, I am gaining bodyweight. Sleep isnāt good, but it hasnāt been in yonks. Activity outside the gym is minimal, barely scratch the 10k steps mark. I donāt have any ādailyā stuff like band-stuff, cali-stuff, or anything like that. Can it all be chalked up to stress and anxiety? Maybe. I hear thatās bad for the human body. Maybe itās the TRT. Maybe I have some rheumatic thing. Maybe Iām just one unlucky dude.
One thing is certain though, Iām a frustrated dude at the moment.
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Yes, most likely. The physical symptoms these things manifest as are often overlooked and go way beyond feeling ātired and nervousā.
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Well, I mean, it wouldnāt surprise me if that was the explanation
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