Ozzy’s Log - Aged Meat

Training Logs
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Hi I’m Ozzy. 43 years old and training has been a mainstay through much of my life.

Played on a volleyball team from 13-18yo and did a lot of medium distance running and mountain biking at the time. During my uni days I mainly did trail running. Tall and skinny (183 cm / 63 kg at the time), I thought it was just not possible for me to put on muscle.

Only got into lifting at 26yo and discovered I just needed to eat until I felt sick (lol). Put on 18 kg, admittedly with a good amount of fat. Did Stronglifts 5x5 and had great progress until a neck injury which put me out of business for a long time. I would start training again, but every time I approached decent numbers, my neck would get hurt and it was back to square one.

High water mark was 135 kg deadlift, 112.5 kg squat, 65 kg bench and 42.5 kg OHP. My goal is to beat these numbers that I had in my 20’s.

Even more important is to get resilient and not so easily injured. Have been doing some hardstyle kettlebell training too, which had been great in this regard. I am not too concerned about numbers (they will never be great!), but love training and the incremental improvements.

I am also a trained muscle therapist, so am a bit of an anatomy nerd.

Currently fighting a wonky left knee and rotator cuff, recent low back herniation and bilateral Achilles tendinosis, but we ain’t giving up!

Some recent numbers:

113.5 kg deadlift
61 kg squat (can’t go heavy due to knee)
61 kg bench
20 kg kettlebell press
28 kg 2-hand kettlebell swing for 10x10 (working my way back up after the hernia, previously could do this with one hand swings)
24 kg Turkish getup for 10x1 (not currently, my rotator cuff is aggravated by overhead stuff)

Thanks for reading and looking forwards to getting to know some fellow trainees on here :slight_smile:

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great goal. best wishes.

welcome to T-Nation

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Welcome.

Those numbers, with your height, will be beaten for sure if you have managed to sort this neck issue out. How were you injuring it might i ask?

Honestly, and without doubt that i say this, you’ll have those numbers This year.

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Cheers for the encouragement. I agree it shouldn’t be too hard to get those numbers if I train consistently. However, I seem to get injured quite frequently, so figuring out how to avoid that (and train around it when it happens) is a continuous challenge. Don’t mind it too much as it’s always a learning opportunity, but would obviously prefer to have better progression.

My neck injury was triggered by doing a 10 RPE set of chinups. I felt something shift in my neck towards the top of the last rep. No doubt my rounded thoracic spine didn’t help.

It would probably have been ok if not for the subsequent events. I helped a friend move a heavy couch the next day (remember thinking «I shouldn’t be doing this»). Afterwards my neck felt worse and it was becoming harder and harder to keep my head up. Fell asleep on my back with two pillows under my head as the flexion gave some relief.

When waking up, it was like my neck had stiffened into the flexed position and I could not raise my head. Wonder if I elongated some ligaments or something, as I have had a lot of neck issues since.

Fortunately, the neck is not that much of a problem these days. (Ironically it’s not great today, but that was after an intense wall scrubbing session in hard to reach corners yesterday.)

The left knee is my main bottleneck these days. Think the meniscus is wonky. Injured it in 2001. Even if strength is decent, it’s like something catches/grinds inside the knee and it feels swollen and sore. It’s not visible though. After much pondering I think the problem is a rotated tibia, as I can feel it doesn’t line up with the knee like it should. So trying to find ways to get my bones to line up better, haha.

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Had a late evening session yesterday. Friday is usually overhead press and pullup focused, but with the cranky rotator cuff I decided to bench instead.

kettlebell clean 12x5 @ 12/12/16/20/24/24 kg
band assisted pull up 10/9/8
leg assisted pull up top hold 1x3
bench press 3x5 @ 48.5 kg + single @ 56
inverted row, wide grip 13/12
assisted ring dip 3x12
barbell curl 7/6/5 @ 26 kg
front rack march 30 steps @ 41/61 kg
kettlebell waiter walk 80 steps per side @ 16 kg

I love kettlebells, but they haven’t seen much love during the winter season. Figured I can add in some kb work here and there when feeling up to it. Think the cleans drained my shoulders a little though, because bench felt unusually heavy. The 56 kg single should have been a triple. Failed the second rep and had to roll the bar off myself, which is always pleasant.

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Sunday is DL day.

It’s definitely my back that’s limiting me at the moment as my hips and legs have much more to give. Didn’t feel quite safe around L5. I think it’s mainly because of lack of mobility, causing me to be compromised in the bottom position. Maybe I ought to do 2 inch block pulls until I’m more flexible? In any case it was nice to lift a somewhat challenging weight without pain. Should be back to pre-hernia levels fairly soon.

Also pleased I can finally add weight to the split squats. A little surprised I got 20 reps on all sets. It was tough though.

DL 1x5 @ 61/81/91 kg
Sumo DL, bottom half only 1x7 @ 61 kg (getting a feel for the low back around the bottom position without pushing too hard)
ATG split squat 3x20 @ 5 kg
Good morning 1x5 @ 53.5 kg
Sandbag torso rotations 2x30 @ 40 kg

Went for a 30 min walk after. Sadly my Achilles were not happy, so didn’t run more than maybe 400m total.

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In for the follow, hope you can work through the body niggles and bump those numbers up!

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Saw a Renaissance Periodization episode yesterday where Mike Israetel recommended sticking to a rep range of 10-20 rather than 5-10 for over 40 lifters.

A bit depressing imo as I enjoy lifting weights heavy enough to just be able to do it a few times (or even once). Also not fully convinced. It’s likely to affect my programming though. Staying injury free is the most important thing after all.

Supposed to do an upper body session today, but just did a mega floor scrubbing and washing job in the basement and it wore me out.

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Have run 531 successfully in my 40’s so I’d take those rep ranges with a grain of salt. Sure as we get a bit older it’s smarter to back off on the 1RM lifts, but 3 and 5rm are all good imo.

Find out what works for you, try them all…!

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Have you been doing 531 for a long time? Maybe I’ll look into it later. Need to stick with my current program for a while to see how it pans out first.

This morning I did a bit of club work with a 6 kg club. Have an 8 kg one on the way. The club is just really nice for warming up the whole body and especially the shoulders. Wasn’t a workout as such, more of a wake me up. Think it was about 100 reps total. Two-hand Inside to outside circles, low swipes, shield casts and isolateral swings (like kettlebell swings but with the club on the outside of the leg).

Also I did some rotator cuff work and had a bit of a breakthrough moment. Previously I have only tried the externally resisted overhead band press (facing a band secured a little under shoulder height, then press up while the band is trying to pull the arm into internal rotation).

Today I tried it the other way round (facing away from the band), resisting external rotation. I could press with my left arm without any crunching or pain in the shoulder! It was beautiful.

So in theory, if I get better control of the muscles resisting external rotation, I should be able to press in a pain free way. Not sure where to go from here, but will definitely be doing this exercise more.

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Wasn’t recommending 531 per se, just an example on differing rep ranges. Defo stick with the current program till the end, review then reassess.

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Late evening sesh. Left knee was a bit tender so I decided to go a little lighter with the split squats than on Sunday (when I had +5 kg). Did not feel too bad, and in a way it was not that much lighter because I wasn’t using my thick SBD weightlifting sleeves today. Wanted to gauge the tolerance of the knee without it getting masked by the sleeve. Guess the question is how the knee will feel in a day or two!

What I call the banded clamshell squat is a bodyweight squat with a heavy band around the knees. Both sets I did 10 squats, staying at the bottom on the last rep and doing 10 «flutters», pushing the knees away from each other. Fairly small ROM but really cooks the glute med.

The heavy farmer’s walk was done with two kettlebells in each hand, which is pretty tough as I can’t grip around the handles fully.

1-hand kettlebell swings 10x10 @ 16/20/24/24/24 kg
atg split squat 3x20, unweighted
banded clamshell squat w/flutter 2x10
kettlebell Romanian deadlift with hold at bottom 2x20 @ 24 kg
farmer’s walk 2x50 steps @ 44 kg / 1x25 steps @ 72 kg / 2x60 steps @ 44 kg
decline straight leg situps 1x10

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Received my 8 kg club yesterday. Feels like a good progression from the 6 kg.

warmup with mixed club stuff (inside to outside circles and shield casts) 30 reps @ 6/8 kg
band assisted pull up 7/10/11/10
leg assisted pull up 2x10 (just the top of the pull)
1-hand kettlebell press w/band distraction 10/11/8 @ 12 kg
45 degree inverted row, wide grip 13/12
front raise to overhead, constant tension, 2x10 @ 6 kg
lateral raise 17/15/15 @ 2.5 kg
leg assisted dip from rings 2x12
club inside to outside circles, mill prep and mill - 60 reps total @ 8 kg

Discovered that my shoulder hurts a lot less when pressing overhead if I use a band to force me to activate the internal rotators more. Was a bit weird to press while the band was pulling my arm from behind, but it worked. Afterwards I tried without the band but being mindful of «arm wrestling» the weight while pressing (which is easy with a kettlebell since it rests behind the hand unlike a bar or dumbbell). It seemed to alleviate the problem quite a lot. Will be interesting to see how this pans out going forwards. Maybe I can learn to cue this stuff so I avoid pain with barbell overhead press too. That would be amazing.

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Been stretching my low back recently by sitting in a deep squat with rounded spine and breathing «into» the back. Was concerned it would result in a twinge but so far it’s been nice. No issues during the deadlifts today.

atg split squat 3x20 @ 7 kg (PR)
sumo deadlift 1x5 @ 81 / 1x9 @ 93.5 / 1x10 @ 83.5 kg
goblet squat 1x20 @ 24 kg
30 min walk with a few 100 m runs
tibialis raise, myorep match sets 20/15+4+1/15+3+2 @ 30 kg (PR)

was using double overhand grip on the deads and it slipped on the 10th rep. Would have gotten it otherwise. Nine reps equates to 1RM of 120 kg apparently, which would be a PR. Guess my back is officially rehabbed :slight_smile: (famous last words)

achilles did not like the split squats today. The knee comes so far forward that the movement becomes a calf stretch of sorts (max ankle dorsiflexion). Still did a (very) little bit of running after and felt ok.

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Disappointing bench today, not sure if I was mentally fatigued from yesterday’s deadlifts or what. Also, I was trying to apply some new cues (pinky/thumb torque + stretch the bar) and this only got in the way. It tucked my elbows more and I lost power. User error I’m sure…

Anyway, the first two reps were awfully heavy and it just felt wrong, so I decided to get volume by taking mini breaks between reps until reaching a total of 20. Got to 25 in the end. Was quite good for finding what form works best for me.

bench supported kettlebell row - 3x12 @ 24 kg

bench press «mega set» with 10-20 second rest between mini-sets consisting of mostly singles and a few doubles - 25 total reps @ 51 kg

wide grip bench 12/10 @ 41 kg

assisted dip from rings 12/10

standing/leaning «skull crusher» from rings 15/12

band distraction OHP (just the band) 2x15. Being able to press overhead without impingement pain is a joy.

heavy club outside circle to inside circle 1x10 per side @ 8 kg

lateral raise 20/12 @ 3.5 kg - no impingement pain but still a bit wary

kettlebell standing side bend 10/15/15 @ 16 kg

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Intense DOMS in the obliques today. I didn’t mention that I did some practicing with the 6 kg club doing the side to side swing behind the back and learning to whip the club from the swing into a pullover. I have already been doing shield casts a (sort of), but realised my form was off so now I’m rebuilding it from regressions.

With a bit of practice I managed to swing the club back and forth without hitting myself in the back. The movement of the hips must be close to that of using a hula hoop, I think.

Best I can describe it is using the core to drive the club in a similar way to how you drive a kettlebell swing with the hips. Even in the pullover the arms are just guiding it over the shoulder and into the catch. Now I understand why Mark Wildman says the pullover is a core exercise and not an arm exercise. Even just 2x5 on each side was hefty core work. Got me hungry for more :grin:

Anyone here using heavy clubs? They are great fun and awesome for core rotation stuff and shoulder mobility. Small investment too - I’ve paid about €120 total for a 6 and an 8 kg including shipping.

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How’s this for a hard to parse sentence: I noticed you noticed my DIY mace post in my log.

I haven’t done anything with heavy clubs. Yet. I’m just slowly moving into this world.

I do have the mace I made, and only tried some basic things. I’m really new to any kind of dynamic work, so I’ll definitely butcher terms. I’m trying to get some better shoulder mobility with it, as well as develop some strength and control at the limits of the ROM. So far what I’ve done is pretty much what you’ve said: working the swings (pendulums) and pullovers.

With the mace, it sounds like the money exercises are 360s and 10-and-2s. Both involve a two handed rotation around the head, down the back, and then back to the front.

I just looked at one of Wildman’s videos. I guess the “two handed shield cast” is the same as a mace 360. 10-and-2s are similar to those, but instead of stopping where it’s vertical/12 o’clock, it alternates side to side ending in 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock.

One of the reasons I designed the mace how I did was so that it could break down into two smaller “clubs”. I tried doing some wrist lever stuff with it as a club, but the weight was too much for me to control well. Unloaded, the mace is roughly 9 lbs/4 kg, and each club half of that. (I haven’t figured out how to make a pommel for them yet; they’re a bit limited as clubs.)

So I then bought some 2 lb polypropylene Indian Clubs / “light clubs”. Bunch of different movements can be done with those, but I’m really just scratching the surface. Not yet sure how to put it together. The manuals and videos are all over the place.

However some super simple things like straight arm circles and bent arm circles have actually already been pretty useful, working the shoulder and elbow mobility. I’m starting to get the hang of doing one-arm mills with my right arm, but still manage to hit myself regularly with the left arm. Kind of tricky stuff.

So maybe I’ll work into up to heavy clubs eventually.

It’s been pretty tricky finding information and people with any experience. I’ve seen @loganator mention Indian Clubs in their log, but I haven’t reached out and asked anything yet.

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Welcome to T-Nation! I’ll be following along. Hopefully you can keep the injuries at bay!

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Nice one! Yes, I searched for club on the site and found your log shortly after making that post. I started out in a similar way to you, except I used a dumbbell handle with a small plate on one side to imitate a club.

Mace would be fun to try too. Knowing myself I’m likely to get one at some point. But for now, learning the club is enough. I’m loving the well-rounded feel of using clubs and kettlebells in addition to barbell and bodyweight exercises. Mills are definitely a goal. Mark Wildman’s channel is the best resource I have found for this stuff. Think he recently started a video series on smaller clubs. Also, he’s done a few videos together with that mace dude from the Netherlands.

Man, that side ab DOMS is still intense today! A clear case of «using muscles you didn’t know you had» :sweat_smile:

Edit: actually it’s not just the obliques, the soreness is like a wide belt around my whole torso between the ribs and pelvis. Have never sensed the core this way before. Awesome

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Leg jellyfication day

unweighted low box squat (carefully building tolerance for max knee bend) - 3x20

atg split squat 2x20 @ 7 kg / 1x20 @ 17 kg (last set was an eye opener. Turns out the limiting factor is more to do with lactate/metabolites than strength? Hoped for 12 reps but got 20!)

Romanian deadlift 1x10 @ 41/51/61/81 kg (surprised myself as was aiming for 5 reps of 81 and even 10 wasn’t that hard. Finally feeling fairly confident with form on these.)

banded clamshell squat deluxe 2x11

standing leg curl 1x15 @ 5kg (plate attached under foot using a band)

standing knee raise 1x20 @ 5 kg

sandbag bear hug carry 160/120 steps @ 40 kg

was going to go for a walk with short interval runs but it started pishing doon so just did 3x20 slomo calf raises in the stairwell instead for teh achilleses

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