Oh man I didn’t realize how far behind I was on here. Back injury is totally resolved and has been since about 2 weeks post-injury. In fact, I pulled an all-time PR sumo deadlift with 600x4 literally 18 days after the injury and then another PR conventional with 500x10 just 4 days after that. The latter wasn’t the smartest, but it was a challenge between friends lol. I didn’t die. The power of being a physical therapist that actually lifts and isn’t afraid of it.
I’ve squatted up to 435x3 with a Duffalo bar as well since then. Otherwise I just did a 3x8+ with 125s on feet up DB bench and got 11 on the plus set.
Training hasn’t been super structured into my Conjugate planning. I’m actually going to be getting coaching finally from my head strength coach in my company. I’ve only had a coach for a few months, years ago, and now I think I’m ready to give up the reigns to be able to just listen to someone else and follow some structure. Most people should probably be coached, even if they’re coaches themselves, for the objective eye and for the fact that it’s hard to even worry about yourself. It’s okay to be served too.
This new training will start early June. May even eventually lead to me doing a meet again.
Quick update again: I’ll be starting back on consistently logging starting next week. This past week I didn’t do much of note other than a PR on feet up DB bench during a 3x10+ at 125s. I got 17 on the AMRAP set. I think my closest PR is 15x130s.
I started a podcast called FortitudeRx Radio, if anyone wants some free content regarding training, nutrition, rehab, and mindset. Available everywhere.
I have officially begun my training with my head coach and business partner, Les Keyes. Outside of about one year of coaching 2015-2016, I haven’t entrusted my training to anyone else in my 15-ish years of serious lifting. But there’s a multitude of reasons Les is my business partner and now coach. Let’s go.
FortitudeRx
Week 1 - Day 1
Assault Bike:
10 sec “moderate” sprint / 20 sec slow x 6 rounds - 1.01 miles achieved
Paused Squat w/ Belt:
4x6x325
Squat w/ Belt:
2x8x350 - Exhausting after the paused squats
5 Ct Eccentric Cable Goblet Squat:
4x8x150
Leg Extension:
20 + 8 + 6 x 150 - Myo-rep set with 3 breaths in between
Cable + Band Reaction Rotations:
2x15/15x60 - See video linked below for what this is
Here’s a short IG video for this whole workout. What you’ll likely see change in my training with Les is that he opts for fewer number of exercises than I would usually choose myself. That doesn’t mean there isn’t an equivalent amount of work being done though, because 6 working sets of squats was rough today.
Temperature being in the high 80s and humid today did not help the situation, but I got it done. I was prescribed 8-10s on the 350 sets, but went with the 8s to stay conservative.
Wasn’t expecting this bench performance at all. The 275 sets were very, very fast and then I almost lost my position with 315 on the first rep it was so easy. I didn’t wear wrist wraps for the 275s because my dog got attacked by an bigger, off-leash dog as we were going into the gym and in the process I got a sick friction burn on my wrist from his leash. My dog is fine and the other dog is lucky mine got away after a few seconds, I’ll just leave it at that.
All that to say, I then added some bandaging around the burn and wrist wrapped up for the 315 set. So there may have been some adrenaline helping with the bench performance and I think I’ll be avoiding wrist wraps up til 315 from now on. I usually start with 275, but I want to see if it helped with making 315 feel that much easier to have that sudden extra support. Same idea as altering when a belt goes on for squat or deadlift.
This has to be the most hamstring loading I’ve ever done in a workout lol. I wasn’t expecting to feel good on deficit conventional, since it’s been a long time since I’ve done it, and I was right! I would usually go from one inch, but this was prescribed as 2-3", I used a 2.125" bumper plate.
But I got it done and was able to enjoy the rest of the workout for what it was. We’ll see how I can recover from this sort of volume on a single body part. Next workout is a lighter SBD day.
Beltless High Bar Squat - 5 Ct Eccentric + 2 Ct Pause:
3x5x250
Close Grip Larsen Spoto Press:
21, 12, 6, 6, 5 x 185 - 45 second rests
Boris Sumo Deadlift (1.5 Reps) w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x335
Bird-Dog Rows:
3x10/10x25
A1 | Cable Facepull w/ Bandles:
20, 15 x 65
A2 | Cable Rear Delt Row w/ Bandles:
15, 12 x 85
SBD days are now on my menu apparently! This being 24 hours after all the hamstring and low back loading made it pretty rough to get moving, but that’s why the weights were prescribed so low. This is primarily a practice and control day, it seems.
It ended up fine for both squat and deadlift. Deadlift actually felt specifically good and not just “okay, despite..” so that’s nice. Bench was rough. Prescribed 5 AMRAPs to RPE 8 with 45 second rests. Pecs were taking a lot of it, negatively, so we may adjust that slot a bit.
Week 1 done though! It’s been hard, but good to have some direction and someone to report to.
Assault Bike:
10 sec “moderate” sprint / 20 sec slow x 6 rounds - 1.10 miles achieved (0.09 mi further than last week)
Paused Squat w/ Belt:
4x5x350
Squat w/ Belt:
10x375
5 Ct Eccentric Cable Goblet Squat:
3x10x90 - Done on belt squat this week
Leg Extension - Myo-Rep Clusters:
20+10+8 x 150
16+6+4 x 150
Cable + Band Reaction Rotations:
2x15/15x60
It’s getting hot as hell in the gym now, so I thought this was going to be harder than last week, but I actually felt a lot better despite the heat and the increase in weight. The paused squats all moved really well and the set of 10 wasn’t particularly hard either. Cool.
Paused Bench:
4x5x290
8x335 - PR! Overshot RPE though
Alternating Single Arm DB Bench:
15/15x60
12/12x70
10/10x80
And Cable Pec Press Around, Triceps Pushdown, and Lat Pulldown
Week 2 - Day 3
Moved into a new house and skipped this workout as a result. This was 100% the right choice because I was destroyed after this day and definitely would have hurt myself trying for heavy deadlifts.
Week 2 - Day 4
High Bar Squat - 5 Ct Eccentric + 2 Ct Pause:
3x5x275 - Had to belt up for this today due to low back feels after the move
Incline Close Grip - 5 Ct Eccentric:
10, 8, 8, 8 x 135 - 60 sec rests
Boris Sumo Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x365
Bird-Dog Rows:
3x12/12x25
And Cable Facepulls and Cable Rear Delt Row
This was a good week of lifting and I was expecting to need to miss the primary deadlift day. Took me about 4 days to fully recover from the move and it felt absolutely nuts to be lifting at all the day after the move, but knew it was light enough to get through it.
SSB Squat w/ Belt/Oly Shoes:
5x3x420 @ Very hard, ouch
A1 | Belt Squat - 2 Ct Pause:
3x10x110
A2 | Reverse Nordics (Quad Fallouts):
3x10xBW-Mini Band
Band Side Bends:
3x10/10xDbl Light
It’s interesting getting coached by and coaching Les and finding each other’s limits on some exercises. I gave him 4x5 with the SSB last week that I thought would be relatively easy based on some other SSB sets, but he told me that every set would be a PR lol. Today was similar in that 420 was crushingly heavy and it turns out he wanted more like RPE 7-8. All part of the learning process for each other. I think most people could stand to enter a coaching scenario with the understanding that the first several weeks will be a figuring each other out period.
This is why communication between coach and athlete is so important. Otherwise you’ll just end up not doing the work or doing the work that you dislike and you won’t make progress either way when you eventually call it off.
But, notes on the day: SSB hard. Haven’t used it in a bit and it shows. Lost my upper back and subsequently my lower back basically the whole time. Probably dumb to keep pushing in retrospect, but I had a rough day and needed some adversity to physically push through.
Alternating Single Arm DB Bench:
10/10x85s
8/8x95s
DB Spider Curl:
15/15x20
2x12/12x30
Cable Incline Curl:
2x12/12x30
Cable Incline Fly:
2x15/15x30
Cable Rear Delt Fly:
2x15/15x40
Didn’t feel as great going into bench today as the last couple of weeks. The 4x4 moved decently well, continuing to not use wraps until 315. But the top set at 355 felt less controlled than I would have liked. Not a huge deal, I just need to get back into the groove with heavier weights.
Conventional Deadlift w/ Stiff Bar - Belt/Straps:
1x405 - Up to here with hook grip
1x455
1x495 @ RPE 7
2x5x405
Snatch Grip RDL - Beltless/Straps:
2x12x275
Seated Leg Curl:
10, 12, 15, 12, 10 x 80 - About 60 sec rest
Kneeling Cable Ab Pulldown:
2x15x150
I didn’t feel awesome going into this workout and forgetting to drink my preworkout didn’t help me mentally get into it either. An RPE 7 single was the prescription today and it being 5 lbs under my recent 10RM meant that it was not feeling easy. It moved relatively fine upon review, but still frustrating. Probably had something to do with overshooting the SSB squats the other day though lol
Band Assisted Sissy Squats - Matrix Style (?):
3x10xBW-Light Band - Gonna do these more. Made them up for my extra quads slot and oof. See here
Cable Low Row:
20x100
20x120
20x150
DB Suitcase Hold w/ March:
2x20/20x75
Much happier with my SSB performance here than last week. Got tough to control as I neared the pins, but still did well with it. Obviously a bit of a deload week here, but still good with it.
I want to see what I can control with the Sissy squat variation. Big knee capacity challenger.
Paused Bench - USAPL Head/Heel Positions for the challenge of it:
1x315
1x335 - Very easy and controlled
Close Grip Spoto Press:
3x8x255
DB Incline Bench:
20x80s
15x85s
10x95s
Chest-Supported T-Bar Row - Full Thoracic Flexion/Extension:
4x10x90
Cable Triceps w/ Bandles:
20, 15 x 80 - Overhead extension
10, 10 x 80 - Bilateral kickbacks
KB Curls:
A bunch with 16 lbs in different positions until hard
This was a deload bench day working up to just an easy single with 335. I may try to keep my head down more to keep my shoulders from dumping forward and squishing into my arch. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, if controlled, as it allows me to use leg drive to a greater extent to get the bar off my chest. But I have a feeling if I can get stronger with my head down, it will improve weaknesses that are otherwise hidden by my leg drive abilities.
Sumo Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps:
3x2x565 - Rx was 6 total reps
Sumo Boris Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x405
Sumo Belt Squat - 5 Ct Eccentric:
3x8x90
Hamstring curl, lat pulldown, and core work of some sort
Felt very bad during deadlifts here. Warm-ups were going well and I thought I’d get a set of 6 for my top set, but I had to break it up. All awareness and ability to control my spine was not there today. It was frustrating in the moment, but I just need to get more time with higher intensities in my hands.
Week 4 - Day 4
Paused Squat w/ Belt:
6x2x335 - 45 sec rests
BTN OHP:
15x65
12x85 - Overshoot
15x65
Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps - Stiff Bar:
3x5x405
Bird-Dog Row:
2x15/15x30
Band High Row:
2x15/15xLight Band
SBD day was okay this week. It keeps being surprisingly alright being 24 hours after my deadlift day. We’re not doing a bunch of volume or weight on these days, but I keep expecting it to suck regardless and it hasn’t.
A2 | Leg Curl:
20, 10, 8 x 100 - No rest between sets on this superset, just back and forth, then cramping
Cable Wood Chopper w/ Pole Attachment:
2x15/15x40
Long, long day of clinical work made this difficult to get through, but actual performance was good. Goal was to hit last week’s single @ RPE 7 but for a 2x2 without exceeding RPE 8. I’d say I hit about RPE 8 on both sets. Improving the control to the pins as well.
Slight hint of strain at the distal left quad or quad tendon during the last set of belt squats, so I’ll need to monitor that and make sure it’s fine with some dedicated recovery efforts.
I was thinking of getting an earthquake bar/ tsunami bar and saw that you had used one. What were your experiences using it over the years? I’ve had issues in the past with rotator cuff muscles (generally from computer use rather than lifting) so I’m interested in anything that might help develop strength there.
How did long-term use of the bar affect your training and body?
Sorry for the delay! I’m not sure if I have used it enough over the course of a cycle to give you real input about it based on my own experience. I have used it primarily during periods of needing to unload at an absolute level but continue to make the exercise difficult (e.g. after a pec strain).
In my opinion, the use of normal implements like barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells (not to mention your own bodyweight) are more than enough to improve rotator cuff capacity and function without needing to deal with unnecessarily wobbly load.
Let me know if you need any more information on what can work for shoulder stability and function.
Been busy, but still lifting. Deloaded, traveled, etc. Not going to log specifics other than noting that I benched 3x3x335 and 2x375 one day and also worked up to 3x405 on 5 count eccentric squats during this past week’s deload. Deadlifts have been lackluster, but heavily influenced by life circumstantial stuff. No biggie though. Here’s what I did today:
Cable Backwards “Sled Drags”:
3 Minutes x 60 lbs - Just walking in a sled drag fashion backwards holding a cable implement and then reversing the motion forward ad nauseum
GHR:
2x20xBW
Cable Wood Choppers:
3x12/12x60
I’m not sure if I’ve done anything above like 425 on tempo squats and even that would have only been 3 count or “slow eccentric” with no actual defined time, so this is definitely a control PR with regards to the weight. It felt heavy, but I did well with controlling it to depth and maintaining a standard of technique on the concentric.
Noting here that I have seen pretty great improvements over the past year or so with regards to my ability to hold my thoracic position. Not always perfect, but much better than it used to be.
I’ve decided to hold back for now and just use bands with regular barbells and dumbbells for now. Right now I think my real issue is stress/posture breaking down whilst I’m working long hours at my desk.