Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

Training Training Logs
182

Thank you so much man, I really appreciate it.

Today the hip spasms have begun to settle down, I reckon the key is to move as much as I can and not sit slouched in a chair for too long.

Yes I need to go ahead and order bands, I haven’t got round to that yet. I have rings back at my flat (I’m staying with my parents just now) so I’ll try to get hold of them. The only issue is my usual places to hang them are quite low and my bandage goes from my toes to above my knee so I don’t have much movement. So I can’t tuck my legs up like I normally would. But I’m getting more ROM every day and hopefully the bandage will be scaled down soon. Dips and pull-ups would be great, and I’m not strong enough to have to worry about manipulating much :P.

I’m just taking paracetamol (tylenol? in the US), as I wasn’t enjoying the side effects of the opiates and I can deal with the pain. One thing that’s been a big relief is that I’m not missing training as much as I thought I would, and that’s because I’m just finding the crutches so exhausting! At this stage just getting about is all the physicality I can handle lol, but I imagine that’ll change soon.

Thanks again for your help. I don’t think I have any more specific questions at this point, but your log is giving me lots of great ideas.

183

I would argue that knowing if you are or are not better than someone else would not change the reality of IF you are better than someone else.

alot of people i have met do not care about "reality’ or under stand it ,they are more concerned with their personal perception
as in usian bolt can run faster than me but my car is faster than his
which gives them the ability to believe they are better than him in some way
so if my body fat levels " by some number " is lower than the jacked guy in the gym i am leaner than him
even if in “reality” he appears leaner
that perception or need to be better “win” is why i believe people stress over “numbers”

Regardless of what these numbers end up being, they have zero impact on how big and strong you are, as THAT information is the same irrespective of being measured.

some of the people i work with think i am big and strong they will ask how much i bench or lift in an attempt to say they are stronger than me i give excuses or bullshit them about numbers
so i may be big but am i strong? no numbers they can not compare

sorry ,not trying to argue just trying to discuss

184

We’re actually saying the same thing here, and you’re identifying the crux of the post that I wrote. As you said, knowing if you are or are not does not change the reality of IF someone is better than you, and as you identified people are just grasping at straws at some sort of way to quantify superiority when the perception does not give them what they want. It’s why I wrote what I wrote: in order to explain how these numbers ultimately won’t change the reality of the situation.

One of the best examples of this is when some trainee gets told that, if they get a 400lb squat, they’ll have big legs. So they study up as much as they can on powerlifting, learn how to minimize the ROM of the squat, utilize their leverages to the best of their ability, specialize in the movement, run a peaking cycle, etc etc and finally hit a 400lb squat, yet still have very little size (and actual strength) to show for their efforts. The number didn’t change the fact that they actually possessed very little strength and muscle, they simply became a great squatter, but in their minds getting that 400lbs was going to have an impact.

And when in doubt, just tell people you lift cars, haha.

Furo: Good that you got off the opiates. I was the same way: I hate taking them. It should help your recovery along the way. Crutches are an AWESOME workout. I was speed crutching wherever I went for a while to really get my heart racing. Kept coming in to my doctor’s appointments with a resting heart rate in the 90s, haha.

Best of luck with recovery, and keep in touch.

185

Hey bro, glad to see your knee’s coming around, I know what a pain in the ass that can be, and I hope you get yours fixed once and for all, with no recurring problems like I seem to be plagued with.

I can’t seem to be able to figure out how to comment on your blog, beyond my comprehension I guess, but I really have enjoyed the ‘’ Being lazy doesn’t make you hard core ‘’ rants lately, and it got me thinking about conditioning ( you knew I was here for advice )
I’m training 6 days a week right now, 4 weight lifting days, 2 heavy, and 2 light / speed / CAT, whatever, and then I have two recovery days, where I do alot of little stuff – abs, arms, grip, shoulder health, and then I end these days with a 3 mile timed run ( treadmill in winter) this is a throw back to my boxing days from teens. I’ve been trying to get my 3 mile time back below 20min, this used to be the standard when I was boxing, but I can’t get near there now at this age, and weight, plus it’s beating the shit out of my bad knee.

So I thought you might have some thoughts for conditioning, the main reason I run / sprint is that my lower back the last couple of years, needs a lot of recovery time. I’ve had to push my squat, and dead to the same day, then spend the rest of the week avoiding exercises that tax my lower back---- cleans, standing presses, rows, even some step-ups, and split squats will tax my back when placed later in the week, even days after my heavy squat / dead day.
So alot of tabata stuff, KB swings, BB complex’s are off the table, stuff I’ve done for conditioning my whole life. This plus the fact that ( as you know ) I’m in a commercial gym, (a good one, but a commercial gym all the same) limits me. I do have farmer walk handles, but not alot of room to walk around, I usually end my ME lower day with heavy farmer handle step-ups, and I may be able to lighten these, lower the step for conditioning later in the week. ( just thought of that )

Bad knee, easily tired back, worn out 43yr weight lifter, in a small well equipped commercial gym, leaves me really limited on my GPP days. I don’t get stumped often when it comes to training, usually people come to me, it’s how I make my living, but when I do get stuck, your my man ; ) and have been for a while now, so I’m hoping when you get a min, maybe give this some thought. There’s probably a simple answer, there’s a meme about a trainer having himself as a client, just can’t remember.

I would have directed this question in your blog, sorry couldn’t figure it out, thanks in advance, and best luck with the knee. Later !

186

Jake: Always good to hear from you man. Don’t sweat the blog, having you as a reader is plenty fine.

Any chance you can get outside for your conditioning? I know you said snow, and I’ve been there (Very Northern North Dakota), but you might find truding through the snow while dragging a sled or pushing/pulling a prowler would really do the trick. You’d be stepping high through the snow with very little eccentric movement on the knee and minimal load on the back. You could even just ghetto rig something up, and pull a laundry basket or a kid’s sled or a wood pallet or something like that.

Also, with this implement, you could get a long rope and pull it arm over arm toward yourself. This will get the upperback and arms while sparing the lower back. Did a lot of that while my knee healed.

Otherwise, a favorite of mine (and one you’ll dig as a dip/chin fan) is a 15 minute circuit of as many rounds as I can of kettlebell swings, dips and chins. I know you said KB swings are out for your back, so you might consider something like bodyweight squats/lunges or just something with a light load that gets your lower body into the game. I’d do 10 reps of the swings, 5 of the dips, 5 of the chins, and employ as little rest as possible before moving on to the next exercise. I use to have it to the point where I could just go from one to the other for the whole workout. Hammers the whole body, gets you sucking wind, and even gets you a little pump going.

Lemme know if any of those grab you, or if there are some more ideas to spitball. Always a pleasure to talk training with you.

187

I forgot about that exercise. I will try to find a way to makeshift it soon, seems interesting, thanks for the advice.

188

Worse comes to worse, just get up on your kitchen table and do some bodyweight ones. I’ve been doing lightweight mega high rep reverse hypers and it’s been pretty awesome. I miss the heavy weight stuff, but it still gets you an awesome pump.

Axle strict press
5x Axle
5x75
9x5x100
1x10x100

Notes: Called for 10x5, but I am terrible and threw in a set of 10 at the end. I did these in a circuit with rows, no rest at all, just because I could and I figured it would make it more effective. Next week will actually be challenging, this was more of a mid-program break.

Low incline DB press 50s
1x40

Notes: Thought I’d try to get in more pressing volume, but my elbows and shoulders were mad about this, so I shut it down pretty early.

Axle curls
1x200

Notes: Mega PR for sure. This went really fast and smooth. Probably due to low fatigue from the rest of the workout.

Band pushdowns
1x100

Band pull aparts
1x100

D-ring cable rows 100
18x12

Notes: These felt unique. More around my rear delts and upperback than low in the lats.

General notes: Woke up at 187.6 this morning. Still got very minor knee pain. PT thinks it’s the hamstring tendon acting up. Might just be a long while before it goes away.

189

Single legged SSB Box Squats DROPSET
15x225+chains
10x205+chains
10x155+chains
10x115+chains
10xbar+chains

Notes: Felt like I had way mroe in me on that first set, but playing smart seemed like a good call. The later sets did a good enough job of killing me.

SSB good mornings 90s
4x12

superset in a circuit w/

Neck harness 50lbs
4x25

Notes: The good mornings are really feeling light. May need to up the reps. Also, 50lbs is the weight on the loading pin, so the neck harness has been more like 55lbs.

Blast strap fallout hold
4:00

Notes: Better than last week. Still a bit too much squirming, but that might just a product of misery.

Reverse hypers (bodyweight)
1x150

General notes: Woke up at 186.4. Think I’ve figured out what’s going on with my knee; I’ve developed some tendinitis from the physical therapy. Specifically, the 4 way leg raises. Been using ankle weights, and I think it’s just been putting too much stress on the tendon. Going to cut these out for a while and let my Physical Therapist know. Was impacting my training today since I couldn’t fully straighten the leg. I’m just happy that I figured this out, as now I at least have a way forward.

190

Grippers

4x#2.5

1x#2.5
10x#2

1x#2.5
26x#1

1x#2.5 (forced rep)
45xTrainer

Notes: Basically start off with a rep on the 2.5 and then drop set to the next gripper for max reps. I really liked this workout. Gave me a chance to focus on the 2.5 while still getting in a ton of volume. At the very end, had to force it closed with the right hand. The left is weaker, but I just make it match the right with forced reps where applicable.

General notes: Woke up at 188.0. Tendinitis has hopefully peaked now that I recognized the problem. PT told me to scale things down and avoid pain, so that’s where I’m at. Thankfully, my ROM is about as good as it’s going to get, and the strengthening exercises aren’t harming it, so I’m not in too bad a place.

191

It’s been a while since I checked in. I hit 4 month post op on my ACL reconstruction last week. I had my last doctors appointment and he was really happy with how the knee felt.

In physical therapy at 3 month they started me doing single leg hops. Forward and backward. Then side to side. These were a little challenging the first couple of times I did them but it didn’t take long to get good at them. Since I am past 4 months we will start cutting and pivoting drills in my next session. I am only going to have 4 more session then I am on my own.

For strength training on my own I have been doing lunges, deadlift, and squat. This morning my last deadlift set was 225x8. I could do more but I am taking it slow. My pre-injury best was a 405 single. For squat the top set was 145x8. Pre-injury best was 375. I have been taking this slower because the knee has been a little sore. The soreness has been getting better the last few workouts though. I think I can get back to pre-injury weights before I hit the one year anniversary. I am finally starting to believe that the knee will someday feel close to what it did before the injury.

192

I’ve not been great about keeping up with other logs of late - I just got a promotion at work (which is good, but has come with some additional administrative responsibilities on top of my real work), just moved apartments so I’m trying to catch up a bit. It is good to see that your recovery continues apace. I will express a profound respect for the views you espouse above re: prioritizing progress vs. injury prevention while admitting that I am relatively content to remain mediocre and injury-free. As a non-competitive lifter who works out for self-satisfaction, vanity, and health…I would rather be deadlifting 405 for the next twenty years without an injury vs. pushing for a 500 pull with a bulging disk. But, as I said…that’s just me, and I do want to reiterate that a) I respect your approach and attitude just as much and b) more importantly, I acknowledge that no one reaches true “greatness” in their field without willingness to push the limits and take some risks.

193

Bpeck: Thanks for posting man. Awesome to hear that you’re back to squatting and deadlifting within 4 months. Hopefully I’ll progress just as well. Sounds like you’ll be back to your old self in no time. Keep me posted.

ActivitiesGuy: Always a pleasure to have you back in the log. Congrats on the promotion. New responsibilities are a mixed blessing that way.

I hear you on the different mentalities. I think the easiest way I’ve boiled it down to is that some folks have a passion for training, whereas my passion is simply in being strong. In truth, if I could do it without training, and just rub a lamp and get a wish, I’d be more than happy, and once I get old and strength is out the window, I’ll most likely just settle down, read some philosophy, and live vicariously through others. But for those that want to keep this game going for the long time, I understand the sacrifices that must be made.

There is no right or wrong with this stuff, just what’s right for the individual. The only sin one can commit is to co-op someone else’s philosophy when it doesn’t fit their goals.

Thanks for the post man. Always good to get some thinking in the log.

Seated axle press
10x Axle
5x75
5x115
5x150
5x170
5x190 (rest pause for rep 5)
16x150 (w/rest pause)

Notes: Kinda figured I’d run into a snag on that 190. It’s a heavy day for sure. One of the negatives of all the grip work is that I’m not able to get my elbow sleeves all the way past my forearms anymore, but I guess that’s kind of cool too. A little too much backward lean on a few reps; I’d probably be on my ass if I tried it standing. Still using a flat bench, but gotta keep it as real as possible.

Dips (forward lean)
70+10+11+9
40+15+10+9+9+9+9

Notes: That set of 70 definitely had some cheater reps in there, but it did the job. This is just awesome assistance work.

Meadows rows 100lbs
2x15
7x10

D-ring lat pulldowns 90
2x20

Notes: Meadows rows between presses, pulldowns after dips.

194

@Furo - how about some ‘flex muscle and hold’ work for the healing leg? work some single leg squats too on the good leg. I dare say things will be limited until the bone has healed. I’d be trying anything reasonable to reduce atrophy in the operated leg - much like Pwnisher and I did post ACL surgery.

No hijack intended!

195

@raven78
Hey man,
Yeah I’ve been doing lots of flexing of my right quad as well as doing straight leg raises to get a good isometric contraction. At the beginning I was doing pistol squats on my left leg but that coincided with my intense right hip pain/spasms so I just cut them out. I’m not sure if they were the cause, but I’ve had issues with them in the past and didn’t want to risk it. In any case my left leg is definitely doing plenty of work every time I stand up.
Thanks for your advice.

196

Raven: Thanks for that, I completely forgot about the flexing! That and visualization I think will go far in maintaining progress, but so far I don’t have a whole lot of proof for that yet.

No training planned for today. Woke up at 190.2, which was cool to see, and my tendinitis pain is pretty much gone. Just going to hold off those straight legged raises for a while.

197

Prowler (high handles)
54x50’

Notes: Total of 2700’, over half a mile. Only pausing long enough to turn the prowler around and push it again. Since I go with mythological themes, I’m dubbing this the “Sisyphus workout”. As I wrote in a previous entry, this definitely gives you some time to reflect as you keep pushing the damn prowler. I wear my knee sleeves on this, and it makes my calves feel like they’re going to explode since the blood can’t get out too quickly. Just a lot of pain tolerance and fortitude training, with some strength thrown in too I’m sure.

198

Seated Chain Suspended Safety Squat Bar Good Mornings
5xBar
5x115
5x155
5x245
3x295
3x335
1x385
1x405
0x425

Notes: Hit my cheat meal before this, and I think it paid off. The 405 moved so quick that I didn’t even know it happened. And then I heard my music start skipping (fun fact: I was listening to an MP3…they don’t skip), and my vision got fuzzy and I almost passed out. And then I tried for 425 afterwards. Actually made it break off the pins too, but didn’t trust my knee enough to keep pushing. It would’ve been mega ugly.

Really pleased to see 405 again. Maybe I’ll get this to match my deadlift PR before I’m done.

Buffalo Bar Good Mornings 70lbs
1x100

Notes: These actually went much better than last time. Maybe I’m adapting.

General notes: Woke up at 189.0 this morning. Knee pain is almost completely done. Cheat meal was a double western bacon cheeseburger, half an order of fries and half a hotdog. Just ate big in general today, curious to see how it turns out.

199

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x75lbs
5x115
5x165
5x225
3x255
8x285
17x225

Notes: Grip was staggered on the set of 285, so happy with that showing. Was honestly just beat to crap this workout; trained like 9-10 hours after that good morning workout. Basically trained, ate, slept, woke up and trained again.

Dips (upright)
2x35
1x30

3 way shoulder raise circuit 15lbs
3x20

Notes: Cut the weight down just because I was fried. Still a good pump.

NG chins (various grip widths)
14x25
3x15

Notes: As always, sets between sets of everything else.

General notes: Woke up at 190.8. Not bad at all considering all the stuff I ate yesterday. Going to try to be good and relax for the rest of the weekend, but that’s not me. Tendinitis pain in the knee is gone, gotta keep it that way now.

200

Just wanted to drop by to say keep up the good work and I really enjoyed your latest article. Real inspiring to see you still kicking ass despite being injured.

201

-You’re getting old and beat down when “safe sex” means sex that runs zero risk of blowing out your back, hamstrings or knee.

wait a few years ,this really does suck

do you try to keep your weight that tight of range or does it just happen and why.
if strong man class is 200 or under

Tendinitis pain in the knee is gone, gotta keep it that way now.
teach you to go to pt