The Bird Cage 4. Onslaught

Training Training Logs
681

[quote]theBird wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
cool man, glad it’s worked out alright for you. I’m of the opinion that some of us just have shitter backs than most, and so it’s going to be a lifelong concern that we just have to always be mindful of.

Did you ever get back to deadlifting?[/quote]
I agree with you. My lower back/hip issues will be a lifelong battle.

Its safe to say I will never attempt to deadlift again. Instead I will concentrate on my posterior chain with such moves as the single deadlift, RDLs and GHRs. I will probably get myself doing more of this once the soccer season is over. At the moment I am limited on these movements as I am spending a lot of time recovering from games and making sure Im fresh for the next game.

[/quote]

Bird if I may ask, have you ever done rack pulls, or any other elevated deadlift pattern? Or have you always deadlifted from the floor?

Stay strong

682

[quote]sam_I_am wrote:
Bird if I may ask, have you ever done rack pulls, or any other elevated deadlift pattern? Or have you always deadlifted from the floor?

Stay strong[/quote]

That’s a good point. I’ve seen a couple of different coaches now write about how there’s nothing special about olympic plate height and how most people pull from the floor out of habit, rather than because it suits them. It may be that you’re not built to be able to get that low while keeping your back in a safe position, but you’d be fine with rack pulls of some sort.

To add to your list, are KB swings and/or oly lift variations an option?

683

[quote]sam_I_am wrote:

Bird if I may ask, have you ever done rack pulls, or any other elevated deadlift pattern? Or have you always deadlifted from the floor?

[/quote]

Always off the floor. I suppose rack pulls may be an idea, although I am so mentally scarred from deadlifts that Im not keen to try that anytime soon!

[quote]TheWolfMan wrote:

That’s a good point. I’ve seen a couple of different coaches now write about how there’s nothing special about olympic plate height and how most people pull from the floor out of habit, rather than because it suits them. It may be that you’re not built to be able to get that low while keeping your back in a safe position, but you’d be fine with rack pulls of some sort.

To add to your list, are KB swings and/or oly lift variations an option?[/quote]

Im really keen to try KB swings. From what I understand hip hinging is very important. After the football season I am considering hiring an “RKC” coach to coach me KB swings and a few other KB movements.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. Maybe I should give rack pulls more of an consideration.

tweet

684

[quote]theBird wrote:

[quote]sam_I_am wrote:

Bird if I may ask, have you ever done rack pulls, or any other elevated deadlift pattern? Or have you always deadlifted from the floor?

[/quote]

Always off the floor. I suppose rack pulls may be an idea, although I am so mentally scarred from deadlifts that Im not keen to try that anytime soon!

[quote]TheWolfMan wrote:

That’s a good point. I’ve seen a couple of different coaches now write about how there’s nothing special about olympic plate height and how most people pull from the floor out of habit, rather than because it suits them. It may be that you’re not built to be able to get that low while keeping your back in a safe position, but you’d be fine with rack pulls of some sort.

To add to your list, are KB swings and/or oly lift variations an option?[/quote]

Im really keen to try KB swings. From what I understand hip hinging is very important. After the football season I am considering hiring an “RKC” coach to coach me KB swings and a few other KB movements.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. Maybe I should give rack pulls more of an consideration.

tweet[/quote]

My intention is not to just suggest rack pulls and have you feeling “scarred” that you are hesitant about it but to point out a few things. Since you have a history of a dodgy lower back, and every time you do do deadlifts, its from the floor. Also consider the fact that you are well over 6 feet.

Bird this is the time I would like to point out that you please state what your goal is. (So I try my best to minimize any possible advice that might be a hindrance to your goals.) Injury prevention, increased football performance, increase speed, strength, specific numbers in certain events, bench, squat, 40 yard, 400 meter, physique, etc?

You mentioned the importance of hip hinging, again I would like to ask, how is it important to you? And what is so important about it.

stay strong.

685

[quote]sam_I_am wrote:
My intention is not to just suggest rack pulls and have you feeling “scarred” that you are hesitant about it but to point out a few things. Since you have a history of a dodgy lower back, and every time you do do deadlifts, its from the floor. Also consider the fact that you are well over 6 feet.

Bird this is the time I would like to point out that you please state what your goal is. (So I try my best to minimize any possible advice that might be a hindrance to your goals.) Injury prevention, increased football performance, increase speed, strength, specific numbers in certain events, bench, squat, 40 yard, 400 meter, physique, etc?

You mentioned the importance of hip hinging, again I would like to ask, how is it important to you? And what is so important about it.

stay strong.

[/quote]

Hi Sam!

My goals described in a brief manner would be: “total athleticism, with a slight lean towards football performance”. I like to think that I am the Max Shank of the footballing world.

I know those goals seem to be a bit “vague and lofty”, but pretty much I want to be able to enjoy kicking ass on the football field and also enjoy the benefits of strength training.

Although at the moment I am considering quitting football, and maybe trying a martial art or something different, as I am having no luck with the club I am with at the moment.

I have not documented it, but this weekend we lost 8-1 to weak team. Issues at the club include there are a few players who are not been team players, which effects training, some games and creates a general negative vibe throughout the whole club.

tweet

686

Monday, 6th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Upper Max Effort

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • Floor press: 6 sets of 5 x 80 kg
  • BW dips, 9, 10, 10 and 9.
  • Supersetted 4 sets of: lateral raises (12 x 7.5 kg), incline hammer curls (10 x 15 kg).
  • Practiced handstands, downward dog and crow-stands.

notes: Felt strong surprisingly. Sunday I played in a 8- 1 loss and then had to travel back home. Had a few beers and one too many burgers on the way back on the bus. Need to stay positive and get things back on track.

tweet

687

Tuesday, 7th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Football Training

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • Back bridges, push-ups and downward dogs.
  • The attendance at training as really poor once again. About 5 1st team players, plus about 7 c-grade players attended, with heaps of missing players with varying excuses. We warmed up and played a 6 vs 6 small sided game that was pretty much played at walking pace. I don’t think I even broke sweat.

notes: I realise I must sound like a broken record, but once again Tuesday night training was a total waste of time. With a game on Saturday, I don’t have much time to fit in my training sessions that I would like. I am thinking this week I will skip leg day at the gym to give my knees a rest and to assure that I will be fresh for the game.

tweet

688

Bird, forgive my ignorance…but being a fellow aussie do you mean aussie rules football, rugby, or soccer…seeing that all three get called football. Just to have a better understanding of your goals, given the differences in sports.

689

[quote]kleinhound wrote:
Bird, forgive my ignorance…but being a fellow aussie do you mean aussie rules football, rugby, or soccer…seeing that all three get called football. Just to have a better understanding of your goals, given the differences in sports.
[/quote]

I know I’m not Bird, but to answer your question he plays soccer. I’ve always campaigned for distinct names for the different codes, and this is why.

690

[quote]TheWolfMan wrote:

[quote]kleinhound wrote:
Bird, forgive my ignorance…but being a fellow aussie do you mean aussie rules football, rugby, or soccer…seeing that all three get called football. Just to have a better understanding of your goals, given the differences in sports.
[/quote]

I know I’m not Bird, but to answer your question he plays soccer. I’ve always campaigned for distinct names for the different codes, and this is why. [/quote]
Hey guys!

Soccer it is. I usually use the term “football”, as thats the proper international word, but I know that can be confusing sometimes in Australia and USA.

tweet

691

Wednesday, 8th July 2015.

TRAINING

Solo Conditioning

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • My usual run at a moderate pace. 14’05 to get half way, 15’00 to get back. (massive winds).
  • Warmed down with some push-ups and glute stretches.

notes: Today I had to choose between either going for a run or doing a lower body workout at the gym. I decided to go for a run as I feel my conditioning needs some extra work at the moment and I felt like I needed some fresh air and sunlight. I also felt that it would be good to have a week off from squatting, as last week I felt slight irritation in my knees when squatting, while running does not seem to bother them.

tweet

692

Friday, 9th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Rep Upper

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • Weighted push-up’s: with 20 kg on my back: 10, 10, 10 & 10.
  • Weighted pull-ups’s: 5 sets of 4 x 20 kg. (last rep on each last 2 sets were epic grinding kips lol).
  • Supersetted: 3 sets of BB curls (7 x 40 kg), and dB rows(10 x 25 kg).
  • Practiced some handstands, downward dog and crow-stands.

notes: Nice session. Happy to finally manage 4 sets of 10 wit the weighted push-ups. Found some really good hints on how to to do handstand on max shanks website, but I need to practice more often and spend more time on it.

Football Training

  • Warmed up with some running drills, played defense vs strikers drills, and then finished off with a small died 5 vs 5 game. The session was much better than Tuesdays training, although the intensity was still lacking. With so many absentees from training it will be interesting to se the line-up on Saturday night.

tweet

693

[quote]theBird wrote:
Soccer it is. I usually use the term “football”, as thats the proper international word, but I know that can be confusing sometimes in Australia and USA.

tweet[/quote]

'Tis cricket season almost… And the Ashes are on in the UK!

Keep up the solid work here Sir Birdius.

694

[quote]raven78 wrote:

[quote]theBird wrote:
Soccer it is. I usually use the term “football”, as thats the proper international word, but I know that can be confusing sometimes in Australia and USA.

tweet[/quote]

'Tis cricket season almost… And the Ashes are on in the UK!

Keep up the solid work here Sir Birdius.[/quote]

Thank you Sir Ravenous.

Im not really into cricket, although all of the poms couldn’t shut up about it last night.

tweet

695

Saturday, 11th July 2015.

GAME DAY

We lost 1-2.

We played against a middle of the ladder team and had high hopes of winning. The opposition was just a little more organised, a little more fitter and just a little more hungrier for the win. Once again the team had a different looking line-up. I had thought I might be playing in the midfield again, although I ended up playing at right back. The opposition scored 2 early goals which left us on the back foot chasing the game. I played well in the first half, and mediocre in the second as I started to run out of legs.

Came home at a whole pizza, garlic bread and 2 beers.

tweet

696

Sunday, 12th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Upper Max Effort

  • Agile 8.
  • Barbell floor press: 5 x 5, with 85 kg (5 rep pull-ups b/w sets)
  • BW dips: 4 sets of 10.
  • Supersetted 4 sets: lateral raises (12 x 8 kg), dB incline hammer curls (8 x 17.5 kg) x 3, (6 x 17.5 kg) x 1.
  • Practiced some handstands and downward dogs.

notes: Felt strong. Probably thanks to all that pizza from last night. I really need to dial in my weekend nutrition. I usually allow a little more leeway during the weekends, although it occasionally gets out of hand.

tweet

697

Monday, 13th July 2015.

TRAINING

  • “Recovery” Run *
  • Agile 8 etc, some push-ups and downward dogs.
  • I did my normal run, and it took me 15"00 to get there, and 15"30 to get back. Thats about 1 minute longer each way than normal. I knew I was going a little slower than normal, but not that slow, hence Im calling this a “recovery” run. I think the game on saturday night and the busy weekend in general has taken its toll. Im still happy that I did go for the run as I will sleep a lot better tonight.

tweet

698

Wednesday, 15th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Max Effort Lower

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • Front squats: 5 x 5 with 60 kg.
  • BSS: 3 sets of 12 with 12.5 kg.
  • Ham curls: 3 sets of 11 with 35 kg.
  • Practiced some handstands.

notes: Happy with todays work. Left knee patella held up good. I did feel some slight irritation, but it was only intermittent. Will still need to be cautious over the next few weeks not to irritate it again.

tweet

699

Friday, 17th July 2015.

TRAINING

PM

Repetition Upper

  • Agile 8 etc.
  • dB bench press: (27.5 kg x 10) x 2, (27.5 kg x 8) x 2.
  • BW pull-ups: 6, 6, 6 and 5. ( slightly wider grip than usual)
  • Supersetted 3 sets: standing dB alt. curls (15kg x 10), with seated rows (55 kg x 10).
  • Practiced some handstands and crow-stands.

Football Training

  • We had a quick 1 hour session which involved some ball work and a 9 vs 9 small sided game. A few 1st team players missing again, meaning the quality of training was shit. We then had a crisis meeting after training for 1 hour in our club rooms where we discussed how we can get “back on track”. Unfortunately nothing useful came out of the meeting.

tweet

700

[quote]theBird wrote:
notes: Happy with todays work. Left knee patella held up good. I did feel some slight irritation, but it was only intermittent. Will still need to be cautious over the next few weeks not to irritate it again.

tweet[/quote]

Dude. If you have patella issues, I would seriously consider dropping the long runs.