Off for a Wander

Training Training Logs
41

Tuesday July 29, 2014

Jog and Mobility

Press
45x8
65x8
70x3
80 - 5, 5, 4

Circuit
“Helen”
400 Yard Run
21 Dumbbell Swings 20#
12 Rack Pullups

Notes: Missed my last rep on the press. It’s definitely my left arm that’s the week point. I’m going to re-attempt, then switch to dumbbell presses, or maybe 1 arm presses when I need to reset.

Helen is one of my favorite crossfit wods (what a dumb word!). This was the first time since last summer that I’ve run more than a mile. It felt pretty good, although my legs were dragging on the last round.

42

I’ve changed my meals a bit since switching to morning training. I do not do well with fasted training. I’m a bonker, so I had to experiment with what to eat pre-workout and how to switch up my days. This is what I’ve settled on:

Pre workout (about 8:30) - coffee, greek yogurt (1 6oz flavored yogurt and ~4oz plain), 1tsp chia seeds

Intra (9ish) - gatorade and bcaas

Post (10:30) - coffee with Met Drive and sometimes coconut oil

Lunch (1pm) - 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup lentils, some type of protein (tofu, eggs, tvp), 1 cup green veggies

Dinner (7:30 pm) - lots of variety here, and this is where things often go wrong. My husband is one of those annoying people who can eat anything and stay thin and this is the one meal we eat together. I know my weaknesses are beer, deep fried shrimp and tortilla chips. I’ve cut back on alcohol, but it’s still an issue. I need to do some serious problem solving here.

43

Thursday July 31, 2014

Jog and warmup

Cleans
45x5
65x5
90 - 1,1,1,1,1

Deadlift
110x3
125x3
140x8

Circuit
15, 12, 9
Deadlift 95#
Pike Pushups - knees on bench

Notes: pretty good day all around. I love deadlifting!

44

Why is it that women who love beer and deadlifts only exist on the internet and, if your story is to be believed, Florida?

45

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Why is it that women who love beer and deadlifts only exist on the internet and, if your story is to be believed, Florida?[/quote]

I’m sorry it was not meant to be between us. However, I have no motivation to lie about either living in Florida or deadlifting a mere 140 pounds.

Also, you’re funny as hell.

46

Friday August 1, 2014

Jog and warmup

Bench
45x10
65x10
85x5
95x3
105 - 5, 5, 6

Circuit
15-12-9
Goblet Squats 35#
TRX Dips w/ feet on ground
Situps

47

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Why is it that women who love beer and deadlifts only exist on the internet and, if your story is to be believed, Florida?[/quote]

I’m sorry it was not meant to be between us. However, I have no motivation to lie about either living in Florida or deadlifting a mere 140 pounds.

Also, you’re funny as hell.[/quote]

Having grown up in Indiana, I can assure you that being from Indiana was reason enough for a teenage twojarslave to lie about living in someplace more exciting, like Ohio. I never had the audacity to tell anyone I lived in someplace REALLY exotic, like Florida. I had to keep it plausible.

I guess I have no choice but to buy your story about living in Florida, deadlifting over one plate and enjoying beer if I am to continue following your workout log.

Let’s keep banging on the weights and looking for humor wherever the truth intersects with the stupid.

48

A few thoughts on my week of crossfitting:
I belonged to a crossfit gym for about a year. Although my attendance was erratic, I generally managed between 1-3 workouts a week. I enjoyed the training, but like many people, I got frustrated by my lack of strength progress.

In addition, my gym didn’t publish workouts in advance, so it would have been almost impossible to do a linear progression, plus go to the gym, do the lift and the workout without all kinds of conflicts. For this and a few other reasons, I left the gym and eventually found and began following the Greyskull LP.

The last 8 months have been pretty good for training. For the first time in a few years, my schedule and environment have supported consistent training and at least somewhat good nutrition. I’m stronger on the main lifts than I’ve ever been. I decided to give a few of the traditional “WODS” a try and see how the crossfit methodology meshes with my goals at this time.

I found I either had to lower reps, or lower the working weight to a point where they were not providing any kind of strength stimulus. For example, in Friday’s workout, I was doing goblet squats with 35 pounds in order to keep moving at a good pace. With my back squat working weight of 125 pounds, this really doesn’t do anything except add endurance.

I guess over the week, I found my real motivation, which is to continue to gain strength while improving my body composition. I just wasn’t inspired to become a better crossfitter. Nothing against the method in general, it just isn’t for me now. I’m not strong enough to do the WODs as RXed, even at the women’s weights, so I’d rather progress in other areas for now.

August isn’t going to be a good month for training. I’ll be away from home for about half the month, and honestly don’t expect to get much training in, and certainly nothing with a barbell. I’ll do what I can and use the time as a deload of sorts. When I can, I plan to do the LCI workouts, probably without the “I” because of the intense heat and humidity this time of year.

49

Monday August 4, 2014

Squat
45x5
65x5
85x5
105x3
125 - 3 - And something went wrong in my lower back

Superset
5 cable rows 50#
5 presses 20# dumbbells
5 rounds

Something is definitely wrong on the left side of my lower back. I’ve iced and taken ibuprofen and will continue to do so. I can walk and stand without pain. Twisting doesn’t hurt. Any hinging movement elicits some pain.

I’m pretty sure this is my first lifting related injury. I’ll see how it recovers over the next couple of days and decide if I need to see a doctor.

50

Tuesday August 5, 2014

Since my back is injured, I created an upper body “bro” routine, keeping my back out of movements as much as possible.

Jog - this was pain free, which makes me happy

A1 Cuban Press 3# 3x5
A2 Band Face Pulls 3x8

B1 Seated Dumbbell Press 20# 3x8
B2 Chin Grip Pulldown 75# 3x6

C1 Incline Dumbbell Press 20# 3x8
C2 Chest Supported Row 20# 3x8

D1 Calf Raises on Platform 3x10 L/R
D2 Plank 3x30 seconds

I also did some lunges and unweighted hing movements, both without pain. This gives me some ideas for training while I’m healing.

I’ve been reading some of Eric Cressey’s work here and on his site. Sentences like, “85% of back pain patients never receive a definitive diagnosis” leaves me somewhat pessimistic about seeking medical attention. The pain I have is minor, so I think self rehab is a good option for now.

51

Thursday August 7, 2014

Jog

A1 Stiff Leg Deadlifts 65# 3x10
A2 Split Squats 8# dumbbells 3x10 L/R

B1 Pulldown 75# 3x7
B2 Plate Raise 10# 3x10

C1 Reverse Hyper 3x10
C2 Calf Raises 3x10 L/R

Notes: Back is doing better. I’ve been doing some rehab exercises. I may attempt to post a video of one for anyone interested.

I actually don’t mind this style of training right now. It’s been interesting to think of ways to keep working my muscles while keeping my back out of the equation.

52

Friday August 8, 2014

Jog

A1 Dumbbell Bench (feet on the bench) 20# 3x10
A2 Band Face Pulls 3x10

B1 Pushups 3x10
B2 Rack Pullups 3x8

C1 Band Flyes 3x12
C2 Band Reverse Flyes 3x10

D1 Hamstring Curls 40# 3x8
D2 Plank 3x 40 seconds

Notes: Back was tight this morning from lots of standing yesterday.

I thought 40 pounds on the hamstring curls would be a warm up weight. Wrong! That was pretty tough. I haven’t isolated my hamstrings in forever, so I guess I’m not surprised. Just interesting.

53

Seing a video would be awesome!

54

Hope this works…

55

Well, that was easier than I thought! So, these exercises don’t look that impressive, but I assure you they light up the lower and back and leave me feeling… stable. I guess that’s the point of calling it The Foundation. Haven’t looked into anything else yet and my back is feeling better, so I’ll probably just do this a couple times a week for a while.

56

I’ve been reading your log off and on for a while, and I wanted to say that the limber 11 and machine hack squats/shrugs/hyperextensions allowed me to rehab and train around a back injury I had.

I woke up every day for a month with back pain so bad I had a hard time getting out of bed initially. When it happened, I could feel my low back tighten up immediately on the right side. I couldn’t even do leg press after.

I detailed everything in my log, and pulled a cheap PR about 2 months later. I remember that when it happened, I couldn’t even touch my toes. I would get a little bit forward and then the pain/tightness was terrible.

I learned a lot about my back when that happened. I decided to buy a belt and started to search for ways to improve my form. Never push yourself though an injury. It seems that you are training pretty intelligently though.

57

Thanks for the tips, Trivium. I am definitely thinking about getting a belt. I’d welcome any recommendations since it’s kind of overwhelming with all the styles available.

The Limber 11 is on my list. Right now forward flexion causes a bit of pain, so some of those moves won’t work, but I know I need to be more conscious of my mobility.

I workout in my garage, so I don’t have access to machines. I’m going to try squats to a high box (actually my weight bench) tomorrow, since I can bend to parallel with no problem. I think part of my issue is just from squatting too low. I really got the ass-to-grass mentality at my old gym and it may be counter productive as the weight gets higher.

Please jump in with other suggestions! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my log.

58

I made a thread about belts a while back. I went with Best Belts.

http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_strength/the_beaten_subject_of_belts

With respect to the limber 11, Just do what you can. I couldn’t do some of the moves at first. I was patient, trained around my hurts (which you are doing) and eventually, with continued effort, it got better.

I would also say that you don’t have to stop squatting ATG permanently, you just have to adjust some things about your form to be able to do that with less stress on your back. This means promoting flexibility if you are inflexible AND paying special attention to your anatomy and how it plays out in the form you have chosen.

Interned keyboard warriors are too quick to say “mobility is the problem” when it may just be that you have chosen a form that puts your anatomy (something you cannot change) in awkward positions regardless of your level of flexibility. There is a reason that there are a ton of different inserts to choose from when doing a hip replacement. We aren’t all built the same. The problem may also be that you are not strong enough for the chosen weight, and cannot hold the weight in an optimal position. (I personally do this last one all the time.)

This list goes on forever, and it is going to take time/thought/experimentation to figure out, but I don’t think that you should automatically assume that you should never squat ATG again.

If it isn’t painful to do, and you are cleared by a Dr. or feel that you are well enough to do so, I think that it is very smart of you to limit range of motion and squat to a bench temporarily.

Do you have any videos of your previous squat form?

59

Thanks again for such a complete response. That belt thread is really helpful.

I don’t have any video, but I’ll see what I can do when I get back to squatting again. I think once this tweak goes away, I’ll be able to do squats with my old form with lighter weights. I can already do bodyweight squats 3rd world style without pain. I couldn’t do that 3 or 4 days ago.

60

Nothing wrong with the garage workout!

I have a real basic setup in my shed too. It works a treat.

Recent articles here advocate squats with thighs to parallel. That is what I aim for and no further down.