Aha. Makes sense in a surreal fashion. Me thinks you’ve been watching too much anime.
Fortunately I’m not very sore today but tomorrow will be another matter. Got to bed at 9:30 and slept well but I woke up at 5am, dammit. I wanted that little extra, but don’t we all.
Hell yeah!
Spent the last 20 minutes in hell with the rumble roller and a lacrosse ball. Throracic and lumbar stretches with the roller followed by rolling the T-spine, then hamstrings. Switched to the lacrosse ball which is where the pain really started. Went around the scapula - worst was erector spinae.
The ultimate in pain was the lacrosse ball on the calves. I’ve always had big calves that get very little from stretching. Now, all the videos I see has the guy going lengthwise along the calf. Nay, nay. That’s awkward and it only mostly hurts. The trick is to go cross-fiber by rolling the leg sideways over the ball and making sure you cross the tib and fib. Yowser! I’ve never gone that deep or painful on my calves ever! No stretch of any kind has felt like that. The closest is seen above. Then I did the same to the anterior tibialis.
Finished off out of breath with the roller on the quads and IT band… and I’m spent!
20130829 - Week 3 Day 3 - Bench Press
Oh yeah!! Me thinks yesterday’s soft tissue work did something really good. It made me sore, but based on the last workout, not a general soreness across multiple layers of fascia. Anyway, on to the work.
50 band pull-aparts performed about 1h before workout.
Warm up - Mess around with new CoC grippers, 40 band pull aparts
BP
50x5, 65x5, 75x5
95x5, 110x5(supposed to be 3), 120x10
band face pulls x10x5 (between each benching set)
rest < 90s between sets except last which was closer to 180s.
More BP (assistance)
75x10, 85x10, 95x10
DB Rows
40x10, 50x10, 60x10
Pulldown (with my new Rogue Oly loading pin)
25x10, 50x10, 75x10x2
Reverse EZbar curl
barx15, 32.5x15, 42.5x15
That was awesome. Not sure what put a fire under my ass but it was hot. Got my grippers (can close the #1.5 with both hands and almost the #2. Started at the trainer and worked up so I may be able to close #2 if I were fresh).
The left hamstring was messing with tightening up my hips with the bench, but I got through it.
Tomorrow - Squats! Tonight - Pizza!
EDIT: Music selection leaned harder to the jazz side of fusion. The disk “Chronic” by Metalwood, a Canadian all-star jazz group that did 2 or 3 albums and went their separate ways.
Time from warm-up to end: 50 min plus monkeying with the CoCs before and after.
20130830 - Week 3 Day 4 - Squats
Started with a few mobility exercises. BW squats for 20 reps, badly setup situps for 15 reps (think I tweaked my low back a bit)
Squat
80x5, 100x5, 120x5
150x5, 170x3, 190x7
More squats
130x10, 100x10, 50x10
20 legs-on-the-bench crunches.
So yeah, I won’t be trying to be doing any straight leg sit-ups for a long time. Created an insane low back pump that made squatting awkward. Remedy for that was legs up on the bench and back on the cool concrete floor. The crunches helped a bit at the end as well.
Noticed a bit of bum winking going on (then I realized this was because I’m going ATG, not parallel). Things I must do going forward - more ab work. More light weight GTG squats and less ego. At least I dropped the weight on the assistance or I think I would be broken.
Not really lifting music, but went for Ragabop Trio today. East-West fusion of jazz and Indian sounds with some in-the-zone inducing grooves.
Have a good long weekend everybody.
20130901 - Week 4 Day 1 - OHP
Overhead squats
BWx10,10,10
OHP
45x5, 55x5, 70x5
Deload week finally. Good thing, too. I spasmed my lower right back which is always fun. Light stretching and walking helped a bunch but still painful. Deep Cold helps a bit. Overhead squats with a stick helped a lot today to get the spine aligned (crick, crick, crack! Ahhh). Could really feel the abdominals with the OHP working which I think is a good thing.
Part of me was debating starting cycle two of 5/3/1 this week but this minor injury obviously puts things into perspective, so deloading it is.
In the zone inducing grooves sounds great! For your lumbar, there is some talk amongst some that it is best to use small objects like a tennis ball and not a roller. I have no idea myself, but I hope your back feels better.
Min, I just use the roller on the lower lumbar to induce a bit of stretch (and maybe crick a few vertebrae that need it) Last night I did go for the lacrosse ball and I started around T11 for the erectors and it cricked which relieved any of the movement-related pain. There’s now just a really tight spot between the outside edge of the spinal erectors to the pelvis which hurts on very specific movements. Almost impossible to get the lacrosse ball in there to work out because it’s all soft tissue in that area. The ball just sinks and displaces tissue without inducing enough pressure/stretch to work the muscle in question. I’ll try different body positions to work that in deeper.
Wanting to do more band work I was doing some pull aparts yesterday after which my chest and sternum were really sore. I previously thought it was from the lat pull down but obviously mistaken.
On a semantic note with band work, what I thought were face pulls with a band was actually a high pull. I don’t really have something to wrap the band around at face level to do one properly. The only thing that comes to mind is positioning my bench at one of the squat rack posts, sitting on the bench or kneeling on it, and a lot of plates laying on the squat rack legs to keep it from tipping. The problem I see there is not having a solid foundation to pull from. The other alternative is mounting something like a bath tub hand rail on the wall of the garage (or something similar from 2x4s) at the right level to pull from. My only fear is eventually ripping it out of the wall.
Lastly, I need to create a platform in my garage for the upcoming winter to elevate my equipment off the concrete. It’s an interesting challenge because the garage pad has cracked and heaved so a) the floor is not level, and b) I get water on the pad after heavy rain and spring thaw. My thoughts are to lay down vapour barrier on the floor on which I frame a “floor” with pressure treated 2x4s on their faces to minimize how tall the floor will be. Between the 2x4s I’ll lay rigid foam insulation, fold the edges of the vapour barrier around the edges and staple it down, and put 2-3 layers of subfloor plywood much like a deadlift platform. Of course it will be shimmed for levelness.
It will be tricky because the platform will be about 4 inches off the concrete when said and done. With the trusses at approx. 8 feet off the ground I will have to watch where I overhead press once I need to use 45lb plates on the bar. Fortunately I don’t plan to add a ceiling so I can aim between the trusses. And don’t suggest replacing the garage pad since the structure was built in 1974. I’d be replacing the whole thing if it came to that so I can get more electrical power and higher ceilings.
[quote]Crushed_Idiot wrote:
Min, I just use the roller on the lower lumbar to induce a bit of stretch (and maybe crick a few vertebrae that need it) Last night I did go for the lacrosse ball and I started around T11 for the erectors and it cricked which relieved any of the movement-related pain. There’s now just a really tight spot between the outside edge of the spinal erectors to the pelvis which hurts on very specific movements. Almost impossible to get the lacrosse ball in there to work out because it’s all soft tissue in that area. The ball just sinks and displaces tissue without inducing enough pressure/stretch to work the muscle in question. I’ll try different body positions to work that in deeper.
Wanting to do more band work I was doing some pull aparts yesterday after which my chest and sternum were really sore. I previously thought it was from the lat pull down but obviously mistaken.
On a semantic note with band work, what I thought were face pulls with a band was actually a high pull. I don’t really have something to wrap the band around at face level to do one properly. The only thing that comes to mind is positioning my bench at one of the squat rack posts, sitting on the bench or kneeling on it, and a lot of plates laying on the squat rack legs to keep it from tipping. The problem I see there is not having a solid foundation to pull from. The other alternative is mounting something like a bath tub hand rail on the wall of the garage (or something similar from 2x4s) at the right level to pull from. My only fear is eventually ripping it out of the wall.
Lastly, I need to create a platform in my garage for the upcoming winter to elevate my equipment off the concrete. It’s an interesting challenge because the garage pad has cracked and heaved so a) the floor is not level, and b) I get water on the pad after heavy rain and spring thaw. My thoughts are to lay down vapour barrier on the floor on which I frame a “floor” with pressure treated 2x4s on their faces to minimize how tall the floor will be. Between the 2x4s I’ll lay rigid foam insulation, fold the edges of the vapour barrier around the edges and staple it down, and put 2-3 layers of subfloor plywood much like a deadlift platform. Of course it will be shimmed for levelness.
It will be tricky because the platform will be about 4 inches off the concrete when said and done. With the trusses at approx. 8 feet off the ground I will have to watch where I overhead press once I need to use 45lb plates on the bar. Fortunately I don’t plan to add a ceiling so I can aim between the trusses. And don’t suggest replacing the garage pad since the structure was built in 1974. I’d be replacing the whole thing if it came to that so I can get more electrical power and higher ceilings.[/quote]
My dad was an autobody mechanic and when he retired he wanted to do some work at home to make a little extra money. What he did was got all of us with bumper jacks (10 in all if I remember…) and lifted the garage off the foundation and put 2 layers of cinder blocks in around the base, then sat it back down on top. Not recommending this, just a funny story.
Awesome story nonetheless! If you wanted to do the same nowadays you’d probably need a permit, a safety inspector, some million dollar crane… etc… etc…
I think you did then too, he relied heavily on a solid screen of trees between the house and the road for all of his construction projects. 
2013-09-03 Week 4 Day 2 Deadlift deload
Warm up:
T-Handle swings - 10x10. 25x10, 25x10
OHS with stick - 10
Deadlift (3.25" deficit)
100x5, 120x5, 145x5
Made a T-Handle for KB swings. Me likey! I have to cut a block of wood or something with a hole the diameter of the pipe, which I think is 1.25", so I can lock the plate(s) down at the bottom. Of course I wasn’t thinking and I could have just put a clamp on the pipe (duhhhh) and not bother with a wood collar. I also wrapped the handles with athletic tape and it feels good. Swings feel good, too.
My back is still a bit stiff so this deload felt like a heavy workout, especially with the height deficit. At these weights the largest plate is a twenty-five which has a radius 3 1/4 inches less than the forty-five. Can’t help rounding at the bottom but I try to keep it straight. I suppose if I widened the stance a bit there would be less rounding, but it doesn’t feel too heavy.
The overhead bodyweight squats are doing something as today I feel that my hips have done some good work. My gait feels smoother when I walk as well. It could also be due to abdominal and hip muscles taking over for the low back while I try to reprogram my posture. The inversion table helps a lot as well since it adds traction to the spine so I’m neutral when I get off the table. In addition it forces my hips to not turn in or out while upside-down.
Just listened to the radio through the workout. Nothing special.
[quote]Crushed_Idiot wrote:
Awesome story nonetheless! If you wanted to do the same nowadays you’d probably need a permit, a safety inspector, some million dollar crane… etc… etc…
[/quote]
Ah, those were the days when they just stuck buildings on cinder blocks and that was that. I remember when we moved (I was 4 yrs old). The house was resting on cider blocks and about 2 feet off the ground. Dad dug out an entire basement, making sure to leave ground under the blocks. Or so I thought. Last time I visited, I saw a bit too much ground had been dug out near one block and a log supporting it. Eeeek! House is still there, though, so apparently no harm down.
At least you’re creative with the DIY. Would love an inversion table.
Impressive you took to swings so quickly. It took me a while to like them. Good work.
Thanks, Cavalier. I think reading a bunch of Dan John so I’m thinking in terms of movement types. I’ve done swings with my powerblocks in the past but they area bit awkward in terms of gripping as you add weight. I also want to minimize injuries as much as possible so I figure this will help pattern my movements to not overuse the lower back. I also like the stretch in the hammies when hinging.
201340905 - Week 4 Day 3 - Bench Press Deload quickie
55x5
65x5
75x5
Got in and out, no warm up. I probably went too fast and sacrificed proper form for speed. Bad me.
Had to tear down some lumber at the side of the house so I had a little bit of GPP there. Yesterday mowed the lawn. I’m really glad it’s the deload week. It’s got to be the hottest weeks this summer and I just want to get in and out as fast as possible. The garage is super toasty so I’m warm and sweaty in less than two minutes.
On the next 531 cycle I’ll go Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri to see if I like that schedule. On the heavy weeks doing bench and squat on back-to-back days takes a lot and so I slack a bit on one of those days. Checked the book and noticed Wendler leans towards OHP/DL on back-to-back days and keeps the main power moves with a day rest between them.
20130906 - Week 4 Day 4 Squats Deload
Warmed up with
Leg swings and quad stretch, 10 BW squats
Squats
45x5, 65x5
80x5, 100x5, 120x5
GMs
45x10
OHS
45x8
My low back is still a bit tight from last week, but fortunately there’s no pain. Threw in the GM and OHS for the hell of it at the end to get a bit more work in for the lower back. Once you have the bar above your head in an overhead squat it’s a totally different move. Like a lot of people that first rep almost throws the bar at the wall/rack/person in front of you.
My advice to someone who’s never done it is to squat more upright, bright the shoulders back a bit, and let the shoulders sink a little bit so there’s a wider base to support the overhead weight.
Meant to do some foam/lacrosse ball work but I had to do some work this evening so I’ll do it tomorrow. Ooh… One week to Montreal. For some reason I though I’d be done week 2 of the next 531 cycle before I went away. Maybe I’ll ad lib it this next week and do a 5x5 starting strength routine to see how it feels.
Hmm, I might throw in some OH squats, have not done them in awhile.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
I’ve not had my Captains of Crush grippers for a week and I feel like I’m going backwards, getting weaker with the grip. I could close the #1 fairly well with a medium to difficult effort. Now, I was getting stuck at about 1cm from closing it and my ligaments were just aching like hell when I did it. And the squeak! Oh god are they noisy! Then I though I’d give the #1.5 a go and it was only slightly more difficult but no squeak and no joint/tendon/ligament pain.
I thought they might need lubricating, did a bit of searching and found that they will rust and squeak over time (but this soon? Oh well). Spit some WD-40 on it, wipe the excess and let it sit for a minute. Now it only squeaks a bit in the last centimeter of closing, and my joints don’t scream at me.
So remember kids, lube your grippers on a regular basis…
Yeah, that sounds naughty to me, too.
[quote]Crushed_Idiot wrote:
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
I’ve not had my Captains of Crush grippers for a week and I feel like I’m going backwards, getting weaker with the grip. I could close the #1 fairly well with a medium to difficult effort. Now, I was getting stuck at about 1cm from closing it and my ligaments were just aching like hell when I did it. And the squeak! Oh god are they noisy! Then I though I’d give the #1.5 a go and it was only slightly more difficult but no squeak and no joint/tendon/ligament pain.
I thought they might need lubricating, did a bit of searching and found that they will rust and squeak over time (but this soon? Oh well). Spit some WD-40 on it, wipe the excess and let it sit for a minute. Now it only squeaks a bit in the last centimeter of closing, and my joints don’t scream at me.
So remember kids, lube your grippers on a regular basis…
Yeah, that sounds naughty to me, too.[/quote]
lube, grippers, regular basis…
sounds like high school all over again, but I digress!