The Bird Cage 2. Aviar Dreams

Training Training Logs
321

Saturday, 15th September 2012.

GAMEDAY

We won 7-2.

This morning I called my coach and told him I shouldn’t really be playing due my adductor issue. he then told me that we were short of players and asked me if I could. I said ok, but told him I couldn’t put in 100%.

The game as usual started at a furious pace, but after the first 15 minutes we scored and then from in, everything seemed to go our way. Our passing was crisp and some of the goals were the result of some impressive team play. If we played every game like we played tonight we would easily win the league.

I personally played ok, considering I was holding back. I played at right back, and I made sure I had plenty of room on my opponent as I knew tonight I wouldn’t be able to use my pace to chase people down. Good news is that I don’t think I have made my injury worse. I did feel a very slight twinge in my left adductor, although I think it is nothing too worry about too much. After the match I smashed a pizza and a half, a galric bread and 4 beers! Lightweight!

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322

[quote]theBird wrote:

[quote]strangemeadow wrote:
Question: it doesn’t look like you do a lot of pulling. Is there a reason for this? Just wondering…[/quote]

Pulling as in deadlifts?

Well, about 10 months ago I was dealifting and something gave way in my lower back. I have a history of lower back issues, but at this point I kind of decided deadlifts are not for me.

Do you suggest any other types of pulling movements? Im about to go into the off-season, and will be spending a 3rd day in the gym.

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DSSG has some good suggestions for exercises. In addition to those I would add bent over BB rows or Pendlay rows. I used have a lower back problem, but a slow and steady diet of of Good Mornings and rack pulls fixed it for good. Lower back pain gone, feel great now.

For some reason people thing doing DL for reps is a good idea. It isn’t. That’s how people mess up their lower back. Low reps, like sets of 5 I think are the way to go. Only once or twice a week, and not a zillion sets and not maxing out everytime.

How were you doing yours? Also stance and hand width can make a big difference.
Gongrats on winning your game! And not messing up your adductors worse :wink:

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[quote]strangemeadow wrote:

DSSG has some good suggestions for exercises. In addition to those I would add bent over BB rows or Pendlay rows. I used have a lower back problem, but a slow and steady diet of of Good Mornings and rack pulls fixed it for good. Lower back pain gone, feel great now.

For some reason people thing doing DL for reps is a good idea. It isn’t. That’s how people mess up their lower back. Low reps, like sets of 5 I think are the way to go. Only once or twice a week, and not a zillion sets and not maxing out everytime.

How were you doing yours? Also stance and hand width can make a big difference.
Gongrats on winning your game! And not messing up your adductors worse :wink:
[/quote]

BIRDS LOWER BACK TRILOGY

About 10 months ago I started deadlifting again after a few months off. Ive always had to be cautious with deadlifting due to my lower back issues. In the second week of my cycle I was dealifting about 120kg for about 7 reps. Usually I dont do deadlifts for reps, but at this point I was concentrating more on form and trying to groove the groove, and hence the higher reps. I always deadlift with my knowledgable personal traininer so he can watch my form. I had instructed him to tell to drop the weights if there is any compromise in form. I had watched videos of my deadlift and the form was not perfect, but not terrible either… My hips were raising up too fast.

After that second session I felt good. lower abck did feel fried, but there was no pain/discomfort. Later that day I was sitting on the couch watching TV. When I got up I felt a twinge in my back. Oh no! The twinge then slowly turned into pain, and about an hour later I was flat on my back writhing in pain! For 4 days I could hardly walk. Slowly the pain dissipated, and I was 99% recovered in 3 weeks, but from that day on I had decided deadlifting is not for me.

Talking to physiotherapists, chiropractors and fellow T-men, I could not figure out what exactly is causing this problem. The most likely explanation is some osteoarthritis between facet joints around L!-L2. I should also mention I am 6’2, have long legs, and not the greatest ankle mobility. I have been playing football for aslong as I can remember, and hence my ankle, knee and hip joints have taken some beaten and I suspect there are issues of lack of mobility. Saying that I foam roll and do mobility work for atleast 30 minutes before any work-out.

Will I ever deadlift again? I dont know. I would like to. But the pain and risk of serious injury is what makes me thing twice.

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324

Sunday, 16th September 2012.

RECOVERY

Went for a 22km bike ride. Nice ride, got to watch the sun set.

PHASE ONE OFF-SEASON

Well with 2 games left in the season that will have no consequence on the teams standings, its time to start planning for my off-season.
This is what I am thinking of doing up until Xmas. Out of accessory lifts I will be choosing 2-3 exercises and changing things up every 2-3 weeks. For my “finisher” I am planning to alternate between farmers walk and rope jumping.

Monday:
main lift: military press
accessory lifts; dB press(bilateral and unilateral), lateral raises, BTNP, handstand push-ups
and 2 sets of bicep work, and finisher

Tuesday:
30-40km bike ride

Wednesday:
main lift: squat
accessory lifts; dB lunges, bulgarian squats, RDLs, one legged deadlifts, leg press machine, leg extension machine.
and finisher

Thursday:
30-40km bike ride

Friday:
main lift: incline bench press and pull-ups
accessory lifts; dB rows, barbell rows, seated rows, dB bench press, dB floor press,flyes
and 2 sets of bicep work and finisher

Weekend:
Maybe a casual bike ride or a kick of the ball in the park.

Tell me what you think ducklings.

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325

Don’t be afraid to add more volume during the off season.

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Looks good, and I agree with jtown about adding more volume, but obviously on the things you want to improve.

There’s no point in you really getting bigger for the sake of it if it doesn’t help your game. How big do you think you could get without it comprimising you…and how would it even do that anyway? I’d have thought more mass, up to a point, would make you even faster/stronger and your game even more badass!

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[quote]jtownlax wrote:
Don’t be afraid to add more volume during the off season. [/quote]

For my main lifts I usually do 5 working sets of 3 to 5 reps(alternate every week). For my accessory lifts I do 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Ive trained like this for years.

What do you suggest? Do more working sets on my main lift? Or do more sets on my accessory lifts? How much more volume should I consider?

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328

[quote]Jaice wrote:
Looks good, and I agree with jtown about adding more volume, but obviously on the things you want to improve.

There’s no point in you really getting bigger for the sake of it if it doesn’t help your game. How big do you think you could get without it comprimising you…and how would it even do that anyway? I’d have thought more mass, up to a point, would make you even faster/stronger and your game even more badass![/quote]

Any recommendations on ho and where to increase my volume?

I made the mistake years ago when I bulked in the off-season, and reached 105kg (Im about 92kg at the moment). 105kg is waaay too much to play football at.

i suppose my goals in the offseason is to gain some strength, but I will be riding the bike often enough to prevent me from reaching monster levels like I did 2 years ago. After Xmas I will start doing more explosive work such as box jumping and some skill work. I will probably aim to keep under 96kg during the off-season.

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329

Hey,

Sorry I’ve been out of touch. Thanks for agreeing to do the food thing… At this stage I’ve actually decided that it might be in my best interests to bail on the course, though…

I think I’ll grovel a bit and see if I can begin a log in the over 35 forum…

I’ve missed this place.

I’ve been learning to be lazy, unfortunately. Need to whip myself back into shape!!

330

With respect to your back and deadlifts…

I’ve recently learned that the reason why I keep getting lumbar pain (overuse injury type pain from hard training) is because my lumbar muscles (QL in particular) fire before my glute max.

Apparently… If your hips shoot up first in a deadlift that is your body failing to use the glutes in the initial phases (the hamstrings can’t work with the hips low so if you keep them low then your glutes have to work)

That suggests a fix… Wide snatch grip deadlifts (from a deficit even if you can manage it). The weights will be humbling indeed but that should save your back (and hammies) and teach you to use your butt.

Perhaps…

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Hi Alexus,

Welcome back to T-Nation and the “cage”. I dont think you should bail out of your course. Havent you been doing it for awhile now? I think you should just finish it, even if you think your not going to use the qualification.

Thanks for your advice regarding the deadlifts. i think you hit the nail on the head there. How high of a deficit do you suggest? Im thinking maybe 30-40cm, and over time maybe lowering that… once I learn how to fire my glutes.

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332

Monday, 17th September 2012.

TRAINING

PM

“Shoulder day” at the gym

Agile 8 and rotate cuff mobility/warm-up

Military Press
Ramped up to my working set
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg (felt good, last rep was slow but I got it. I thought I could manage more than 50kg, although I havent overhead pressed for months now)

dB overhead press
3 sets of 12 using 15kg dBs

dB flyes
3 sets of 12 using 7.5kg dBs.

Hammer curls
3 sets of 12 using 12.5kg dBs

ez bar curls
3 sets of 12 using 12.5kg (I felt the pump, but I think I can increase the weight on these next week).

3 rounds of;
1’10 planking, 12 face pulls, 12 dB floor press using 12.5kg dB.

I then finished off with 11 minutes of rope jumping.

Good work-out. Left shoulder felt a bit toasty/crunchy. Will have to keep an eye on that, and make sure I keep up my rotator cuff work. Next week i think Ill keep the same weight(except on the ez bar) and I will eventually add the fat gripz to the accessory lifts.

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333

[quote]theBird wrote:

[quote]strangemeadow wrote:

DSSG has some good suggestions for exercises. In addition to those I would add bent over BB rows or Pendlay rows. I used have a lower back problem, but a slow and steady diet of of Good Mornings and rack pulls fixed it for good. Lower back pain gone, feel great now.

For some reason people thing doing DL for reps is a good idea. It isn’t. That’s how people mess up their lower back. Low reps, like sets of 5 I think are the way to go. Only once or twice a week, and not a zillion sets and not maxing out everytime.

How were you doing yours? Also stance and hand width can make a big difference.
Gongrats on winning your game! And not messing up your adductors worse :wink:
[/quote]

BIRDS LOWER BACK TRILOGY

About 10 months ago I started deadlifting again after a few months off. Ive always had to be cautious with deadlifting due to my lower back issues. In the second week of my cycle I was dealifting about 120kg for about 7 reps. Usually I dont do deadlifts for reps, but at this point I was concentrating more on form and trying to groove the groove, and hence the higher reps. I always deadlift with my knowledgable personal traininer so he can watch my form. I had instructed him to tell to drop the weights if there is any compromise in form. I had watched videos of my deadlift and the form was not perfect, but not terrible either… My hips were raising up too fast.

After that second session I felt good. lower abck did feel fried, but there was no pain/discomfort. Later that day I was sitting on the couch watching TV. When I got up I felt a twinge in my back. Oh no! The twinge then slowly turned into pain, and about an hour later I was flat on my back writhing in pain! For 4 days I could hardly walk. Slowly the pain dissipated, and I was 99% recovered in 3 weeks, but from that day on I had decided deadlifting is not for me.

Talking to physiotherapists, chiropractors and fellow T-men, I could not figure out what exactly is causing this problem. The most likely explanation is some osteoarthritis between facet joints around L!-L2. I should also mention I am 6’2, have long legs, and not the greatest ankle mobility. I have been playing football for aslong as I can remember, and hence my ankle, knee and hip joints have taken some beaten and I suspect there are issues of lack of mobility. Saying that I foam roll and do mobility work for atleast 30 minutes before any work-out.

Will I ever deadlift again? I dont know. I would like to. But the pain and risk of serious injury is what makes me thing twice.

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[/quote]
Well, at 6’2" deadlifting might not be your thing. It is an over rated exercise any way. Boy am I gonna get killed for that comment.
If you have heavy DB’s at your gym you could try it that way. Or if you’re lucky enough to have a hex bar, I bet that would make a big difference.
I agree with the other posters, more volume. It’s only gonna make you bigger if you eat more. If you eat the same and do more reps, you’ll get stronger but not bigger. I see this in myself and a ton of guys. I know some guys that are strong as hell, but not really “big” they don’t eat to support size.
Sad trilogy. Really more of a tragedy, oh eternal Bard…

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[quote]strangemeadow wrote:
Well, at 6’2" deadlifting might not be your thing. It is an over rated exercise any way. Boy am I gonna get killed for that comment.
If you have heavy DB’s at your gym you could try it that way. Or if you’re lucky enough to have a hex bar, I bet that would make a big difference.
I agree with the other posters, more volume. It’s only gonna make you bigger if you eat more. If you eat the same and do more reps, you’ll get stronger but not bigger. I see this in myself and a ton of guys. I know some guys that are strong as hell, but not really “big” they don’t eat to support size.
Sad trilogy. Really more of a tragedy, oh eternal Bird…
[/quote]

I dont think deadlifting is over-rated. Once when I finished a 8 week cycle of deadlifting(one of the few times I finished a cycle without hurting myself), I had unbeleivable gains. People especially complimented my back.

Maybe the new gym Im going to join might have a hex bar.

In terms of getting huuuuge. Well I do accept I am going to put on some weight in the off-season, but like I noted in a previous post Im going to try and keep myself at or under 96kg-ish. At the moment Im about at 92kg.

Thanks for your advice Mr Strange-man.

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335

Good to see some presses, by military presses do you mean feet together standing strict overhead presses, strict standing overhead press or just an overhead press?

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Personally i would add another day of weight training. Obviously, that depends on your schedule.

I agree with you on not trying to gain enormous amounts of weight. For me at a fat 190 pounds i couldn’t play worth shit. I feel/play much better at 170 and i wouldn’t mind being 175-180 at the beginning of the season if thats all or mostly muscle. I truly believe that having a good strength to weight ratio in sports is more important then just being “strong”.

Don’t forget to hit you side/rear delts. Keep those shoulders healthy.

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[quote]DSSG wrote:
Good to see some presses, by military presses do you mean feet together standing strict overhead presses, strict standing overhead press or just an overhead press? [/quote]

Standing and feet about shoulder width apart. i clean the bar up into the position and only go down to about chin level. I think it is strict, I dont use my legs at all.

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338

[quote]jtownlax wrote:
Personally i would add another day of weight training. Obviously, that depends on your schedule.

I agree with you on not trying to gain enormous amounts of weight. For me at a fat 190 pounds i couldn’t play worth shit. I feel/play much better at 170 and i wouldn’t mind being 175-180 at the beginning of the season if thats all or mostly muscle. I truly believe that having a good strength to weight ratio in sports is more important then just being “strong”.

Don’t forget to hit you side/rear delts. Keep those shoulders healthy.[/quote]

At the moment I would find it hard to find an extra day for the gym. Im happy with 3x/week anyway. Remembering I will be spending 2-3 days a week riding my bike or practicing some ball skills. I feel that extra curriculum activity will help me keep my weight at bay.

How do I hit my side/rear delts? Overhead pressing and lateral raises are the only things I know to use on shoulders. And also some simple rotator cuff band warm-ups, face-pulls and band pull-aparts, but those are all just warm-up/end of the session exercises.

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339

Nice, get good at them and you will get good deltoids. However I think if you are flexible enough starting from the racked position is the best for using your shoulders once you get above the chin it is mostly just lockout strength, it also forces you in a position so that you cannot cheat since you must go down to the shelf that your deltoids/clavicle make. Once you clean it I recommend keeping your elbows out in front of the bar slightly and using your lats to help get out of the bottom position, now there is a few different styles you can use once the bar get to the point you have to move your head back you push the bar further back (not too much or you will hurt yourself or lose balance) which is the style I use and puts it in the same end position as a squat jerk, or the type that you press in front of the head instead of behind (this is what military presses actually are), then the olympic press which I don’t recommend and won’t really say how it is done. There are also push presses which you can do with any of the styles I mentioned but it is the norm to press behind the head.

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DSSG: You make overhead pressing sound so complicated. I just pick it up and put it over my head. ROOOOOAAARRRRRRR!

I dont go much below chin level as I have found previously this increases the chances of aggravating my left shoulder. It clicks and crunches a bit, so I have to be careful. Ill see if I can post a video for you next week. Infact Im planning on getting videos for all my lifts so you guys can see theBird in action!

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