Caught covid…fun times
get better soon
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Have had a couple moderately hard workouts since covid started easing its grip on me. Saturday was high rep deadlifts and squats which wasn’t great, I felt quite beat up after having my heart rate jacked up. Today was easier on the heart and lungs and was decent enough. Assisted pull ups, press ups, inverted rows/curls and tricep extensions. Trying to make my press ups a lot more explosive, they are pretty sluggish.
Done a bit of forearm work and other minor stuff here and there in the last week as well. Went ham on calf raises on Thursday and my calves are still so sore I can’t stand without quite significant discomfort. Went a bit over the top there lol
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Ordered a pair of Fat Gripz. Should be fun 
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Went to a commercial gym in the area of my parents’ cottage. More than decent. Sadly I didn’t have time to do everything I wanted. At least I got to challenge myself on the deadlift. Haven’t done conventional since injuring my back. Felt pretty good today. Broke 120 kg off the floor but failed the rep.
ATG split squat
10 reps each at +20/32/36 kg (total dumbbell weight)
Conventional deadlift, double overhand
10 @ 40 kg
5 @ 80
3 @ 100
1 @ 110
fail @ 120
5 @ 100
10 @ 80 (mixed grip on this one)
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Last day away from my beloved home gym. Focus on explosiveness
«Jumping» pushups 4x10
- rinseout set of 8 jumping+6 regular+5 on knees
Assisted pullups (1 black and 2 red bands) 5/5/5/5/12
- 3 reps with one less red band
- 3 reps with only the black band
- 4 unassisted negatives
Overhead triceps extensions with black band 20/15
Inverted rows, ~45 degrees and wide grip 20/15
Standing flys with red bands 15/10
Hanging leg raises 20/16/12
3 sets of curls and lateral raises with unknown weights
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Finally back in the ol’ home gym! Was lucky and found someone selling a 30 kg weight vest for $50. Really enjoyed using it, can see myself getting it out to bolster squats, farmer’s walks etc. Just walking around with it for a while got the traps lit up.
atg split squat
10 @ 14 kg (sum of both dumbbells)
10 @ 30 kg (vest only, fully loaded)
7 @ 44 kg (vest + db’s)
14 @ 30 kg (vest)
20 @ 20 kg (db’s)
deadlift
8 @ 61 kg
5 @ 81
5 @ 101
failed 111 twice, boo
standing leg curl (db under foot)
10 @ 9.5 kg
14 @ 7 kg
single leg leg extension (db under foot)
12 @ 9.5 kg
22 @ 9.5 kg
walked around a bunch with the vest as well
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was feeling fatigued in the shoulders and not too motivated to train today. Fortunately a decent warmup helps a lot, at least with the motivation.
dead stop bench press 3/3/3 @ 51 kg
Pendlay row 5/8/8 @ 51 kg
assisted dip from rings 16/15 (light) + 5/5/6 (less assistance)
band assisted pullup 7/7
inverted row, wide grip 10/8
farmer’s walk with fat grips 115 steps @ 32 kg
barbell curl 4 @ 31 kg / 9 @ 26 kg / 6 @ 26 kg
behind the neck triceps extension 15/15/12 @ 15 kg
club 2-hand shield cast 20 @ 6 kg / 2x20 @ 8 kg
The forearm pump from the fat grip farmer’s walk was crazy. My kettlebells have fairly thick handles already so the fat grips didn’t wrap all the way around. Felt totally different from the regular grip
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Was planning on a heavy deadlift today but my hamstring gave me grief so I did lots of lighter volume instead. Got the blood flowing at least.
atg split squat
20/18/15 @ 22 kg
Jefferson curl
10 @ 25 kg
7 @ 35 kg pre deadlifts
10 @ 35 post deadlifts
sumo deadlift
5 @ 81 kg, hammie didn’t like it so switched to
conventional deadlift
4x5 @ 81 kg
2x5 @ 56 kg using fat grips
standing leg curl
25/20 @ 5.5 kg dumbbell under foot
leg extension, single leg
20 @ 7 kg dumbbell on foot
20 @ 12 kg
16 @ 17 kg
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I feel like I’ve lost a lot of pressing strength, guess my rotator cuff issues have interfered more with my progress than I was expecting. At least my shoulder didn’t hurt today.
bench supported kettlebell row
10 @ 16/20/24/28/32/28 kg
14 @ 28 kg (Kroc rows, i.e. using leg/body drive)
bench press
4/6/5/5 @ 51 kg (first set dead stops on chest, others sets regular)
10 @ 41 kg (dead stops)
skull crusher
11/10/10 @ 20 kg
dumbbell fly
20/12/10 @ 19 kg
barbell curl
10 @ 26 kg
12/10 @ 31 kg (cheat reps with hip drive)
10 @ 21 kg (slow eccentrics)
lateral raise
100 @ 0.5 kg plate in each hand lol. The pump 
2x50 @ 2.5 kg
standing side bend
2x15 @ 20 kg on weak side
15 @ 20 kg on strong side
dead hang from rings
1:00
club outside to inside circles
10 per side @ 8 kg
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Not sure if it makes sense to jot this one down as it’s more of an active recovery thing than a workout, but why not. Wanted to expedite healing of my left hamstring by doing light sumo deadlifts as I have noticed that this position is where I notice the hamstring strain a lot.
Used fat grips to get some grip work in for free. It’s interesting how you can hold them in at least two different ways: One is a cupping kind of hold where you flex the wrist and the other is with less cupping which puts much more tension on the thumb.
For additional volume I mirrored my sumo sets with conventional sets. 15 @ 31 kg, 15 @ 41 kg, 5 @ 61 kg
Did reverse curls holding a 6 kg kettlebell fixed in line with my knuckles (i.e. the bell was only hanging at the bottom of the curl) for some more forearm work.
10 each side
Then finally tried something I haven’t done before, which was a kneeling ab crunch using a makeshift cable setup (using a rope and pulley attached to one of my gymnastic rings).
20 @ 20 kg
15/10 @ 32 kg
I liked this ab exercise a lot as it was pretty challenging with the 32 kg and gave a good stretch in the top position. The setup also worked pretty well for lat pulldown type exercises. Suppose I can thread weight plates on top of the kettlebell if I need more load.
Tomorrow is squats and deadlifts again, looking forwards to it!
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Tried barbell squats for the first time in a while and my left knee still didn’t like it.
atg split squat
10 @ 19 kg
barbell squat
10 @ 41 kg
2x5 @ 60 kg
wanted to try split squats after but the knee said no. Deadlifts were fine, however.
deadlift
2x5 @ 61
3 @ 81
2 @ 101
1 @ 111 - felt solid
failed twice at 121
funny how all of a sudden you hit a wall.
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Re: barbell squats, what’s your mobility/warmup look like re squat prep? Ankle/achilles stretch, band around legs to engage glutes etc?
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@raven78
Previously I typically did a bit of stretching by doing a goblet squat and sitting at the bottom for a good while, stretching the adductors and ankles. Then maybe some hip airplanes and multiple warmup squats. I have toyed a bit with hip external/internal rotator stretches, banded distractions and side walks, as well as mobilisation of tibial internal rotation without noticing much benefit.
Lately I have just been using a floss band that lets me pop my knee the way some people pop their fingers, and then done atg split squats. This has generally been fine for the knee. With a regular squat though, the pressure through the knee is different and it’s like my foot wants to rotate a bit but can’t because it’s planted. So I guess there’s a mobility restriction elsewhere. The pain is somewhat on the inside of the knee. Feels like something is catching/getting squashed inside the knee. I hurt it 20 years ago and have had issues with it since. Deep knee bends can really mess it up (hero’s pose or the classic “heel towards butt” quad stretch for example), even with light loads, but split squats that are just shy of calf touching hamstring have become a lot more tolerable than they used to be.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!
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@FlatsFarmer is a great resource often on such things tagging him here.
As long as you can do some kind of loaded squat (goblet etc) that’s a win in my book!
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My triceps were still absolutely demolished after the skull crushers I did three days ago. Touching them would make me feel almost sick, lol. Shoulders weren’t feeling great either - my right rotator cuff felt slightly tweaked, which hasn’t happened in a long time. So I focussed on doing loads of light volume to lubricate the ol’ tissues. Things started feeling better and better as the workout went on. Almost ditched training altogether but glad I didn’t.
Kettlebell press
3x20 + 2x25 @ 6 kg
1x20 @ 6 kg (upside down press)
1x10 @ 12 kg (to challenge the shoulders a little bit more but not too much - felt pretty good)
Makeshift lat pulldown
2x20 @ 16 kg
1x20 @ 24 kg
2x20 @ 32 kg
2x8 @ 42 kg
Triceps pushdown
3x20 @ 10 kg
EZ bar curl
10 @ 20 kg
10/10/10/8 @ 25 kg
Lateral raise
2x80 @ 1.25 kg plate per hand
1x50 @ 2.5 kg plate per hand
Dumbbell fly
25 @ 7 kg db’s
20 @ 9.5 kg db’s
12/8 @ 12 kg db’s
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Hey man, inside knee pain? That’s no fun.
I see you’re doing the ATG split squats, and they are OK on the knee, but regular squatting is not OK.
So there is less pain with your toe and knee going out to the front, or in a narrow stance? And more pain with your knees moving out and toes more turned out?
It may be that the external rotators, hips and muscles on the “outside” of your thigh and knee are stronger than the muscles on the “inside” of your knee and thigh. So when you squat down your femur is being pulled out and externally rotated more than the internal rotators and inner thigh can handle.
Blah blah blah.
Try the Poliquin Step Up to focus on the muscles around the inside of your knee. Its a short step down move, with the heel of working leg raised up. The short ROM and foot angle puts the work right on the lower thigh/ inside knee area. And if it’s working your should feel your femur going into a little internal rotation as your knee locks out. It should feel " Good."
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Hey, thanks so much for dropping knowledge! I will try the Poliquin step up, although it’s a move I kind of dread. Going to watch these videos, cheers
Please feel free to go ham with the anatomy talk as I am very interested in this stuff 
You may well be right about my external rotators being disproportionately strong to the internal ones. It might be worth mentioning that my feet arches have a tendency to collapse. Used to have flat feet and have worked on strengthening the arches quite a lot (barefoot shoes have been good in this regard) - but I suspect that my arches get squashed in a squat.
Also, I notice that if I kneel on a mattress, my left tibia likes to rotate internally as this gives a little relief to the inside of the knee where my pain is.
Last thing: Went for a walk today interspersed with brief interval runs and started noticing knee pain after a while. I tried to focus on bearing the weight more towards the centre/outside of the knee compared to my usual gait and it felt pretty good. Foot pressure was more towards the outside of the foot and I quickly got fatigued in the abs (felt deep so thought it might be the psoas). Also felt the IT band area a lot more than normal. I am actually quite sore deep in my abdomen a few hours later!
If you’re running with sloppy posture, and your back arches and your hips tilt forward, it will stretch your psoas, basically turning it “off.” Your glutes and hips won’t work so well in this bad position, so your legs will get really straight and your knees get pounded.
When you get strict, and pull your pelvis into a better, more neutral position, stacked under your ribs, your abs and psoas can actually “work” and get tight to brace you. Then you can get proper hip extension, extend your keg way behind you and really get some use out of that quad sweep/IT band area. If your usual posture doesn’t hit these muscles much, it’s “good” that they get tired quick. You’re training them!
Next time you go running, try a real basic external rotator stretch and a few deadbugs before you leave. See if loosening the back of your hip and tightening the front helps get you in a better running form.
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I’m sure my running form could be better, but it’s closer to the right pic than the left. Since using barefoot shoes my cadence had increased and I have more of a forefoot strike whereas I used to be midfoot. Was among the «not fastest but still fairly fast» mid distance (3 km) runners in school and ran recreationally for many years, so it’s not quite as bad as the trainwrecks you see hobbling about. I’m quite light on my feet. My hip flexors are tight, though. Actually my legs in general are very stiff. And my Achilles tendons have been bugging me for a few years. Pretty sure it happened from doing too much too soon (started running daily) and poor rehab management. They have been improving slowly in the last year. Am carefully increasing my running distance and doing calf raises and (careful) plyometrics. But back to the knees:
I injured my knees back in 2001, when I was 20. Played on a volleyball team for six years and my knee would sometimes lock up, requiring me to flex it with some momentum to get a chunky «crack» sound and unlock the joint.
It was not a problem until one day I decided to do 20 max effort ass to grass squat jumps without warming up. My knee locked up afterwards, but wouldn’t release with my usual technique. So I tried it again and again with more force. Then I got a sensation of my knee filling up with fluid or something and it got painful. I aggravated the problem by running etc after a little rest. In the end my knee felt swollen and painful for a couple of years, and my other knee got almost as bad because I was constantly loading most of my weight on it. Got an x-ray taken but apparently there wasn’t much to see. I dunno, but suspect my meniscus may have taken a beating?
Since then I’ve had to use knee compression/warmers a lot, except in summer. My knees really don’t like the cold. Following Ben Patrick’s advice I have strengthened my knees a lot, and my right knee actually feels pretty good now.
Will try the hip stretch and deadbugs. Keen to see how it affects the running