[quote]lifter85 wrote:
I was wondering, do you have the means to purchases such as a reverse hyper, ghr, hex bar, and front squat harness?
I guess I’m just thinking, with all those injuries, would it not be best to put your training efforts into those tools to better ensure you don’t get injured along the way, and leave the actual barbell training for the last couple weeks peaking up to a meet? Assuming your goal is to stay healthy and hit a heavy PR, I think you could achieve both easier by getting really strong on a ghr, hex bar deadlift, and perhaps a front squat harness if you don’t like the positioning of your wrists with a fs.
I don’t know, I guess to me personally the sound of all those injuries just seem like it’d be time to find alternative ways around to get to my goals. No one can convince me that you couldn’t still hit a 600 deadlift off hex bar deadlifting and hitting ghr’s and reverse hypers like crazy.[/quote]
L85,
Thanks. That was a really thoughtful post and I really appreciate that.
I bought a reverse hyper machine from Rogue. This was during my last big bought of useless, right-leg-hurts-so-much-I-wish-I-could-die back injury. For some reason, the RH was the most painful thing I ever did to my back. BUT, I was in the acute/just getting better stage and maybe it would have helped when I was asymptomatic had I been patient. Instead, I sold it to a Crossfit box nearby. At a loss. But the guy was so happy to get one that it was worth it.
I’ve thought about building a GHR set-up. I have enough steel and welding rods laying around, just haven’t done it. Hmmmmmmm.
I’ve tried various front squat methods and find that the rib and thoacic vert issues aggravate with weight up front and the costochondritis acts up. That is, I’m stuck with a bit of kyphosis if I want to keep my ribs in place. Did you see my Quasimodo deadlift technique?
Hex bar: Tried one for a month or two WAAAAAAAAAAAY back and didn’t like it BECAUSE, though it hits the same groups, the pulling is “cartoon” in nature: the “bar” gets to pass through your shins. Lines all wrong for a bar pull. When I went back to a power bar, I was all dicked up. I somehow remember a trap injury too, but I could be making that up.
Have talked with my pain management doctor (who grins a lot when I talk, like “sure Mike, whatever…”) and “we” have agreed that my body is “grooved” for certain lifts and when I maintain or build strength along those lines my parts stay where they belong. When I try new stuff, it’s like derailing the train; I go off track and all the people die.
The old dog/new trick idiom describes not only a mental state, but also hints to the physical.
BUT, you do raise very valid counterpoints. After all, in contrast to the aforementioned idiom and its application to me, I DID, after all change my bench grip from 27-28" to 18".
You serve a banquet of food for thought.
I will surely start burning neural activity and internet bandwidth on this, so thanks for the kind thoughts and taking the time to offer.
Mike
I hope you stick around, and share some wisdom, and probably some great stories as well.