@Destrength: Hi buddy. Good to hear that you kept your nutrition on track over the festive season.
The week off did wonders for my knees. If your knees are getting cranky, I would recommend a week off if you can. I have been using knee sleeves for about a year now. They are expensive, but worth every singe cent.
I did over indulge for about 5 days. I ate lots of cashews, almonds, croissants and bread, some chocolate and maybe 2-3 beers a day. When I wasn’t busy I sat on the sofa and watched Narcos on Netflix. All of that lounging caused my lower back to seize up a little and its only starting to feel better now.
That food sounds glorious. Have you ever tried chilling your almonds? They are like candy when chilled.
And same, I sat way too much during the holidays. My back would probably be killing me if I wasn’t stretching daily during my break.
Also by cranky, do you mean painful, or just like stiff/tiny bit achy? It’s the winter, and for some odd reason it is raining over here so I probably just feel bad because of that combined with hard training. Some sleep, and food over the weekend will fix most of my issues. lol
Do you take any supplements for general health/joint health? I am considering taking glucosamine. I am already taking vitamin D and fish oil (which I highly recommend). Being able to beat yourself up and actually recover from it/reduce wear and tear is pretty much the most important factor for getting better/staying good after your first few years of training in anything.
@Destrength: Food was glorious, but I did over do it by a bit.
Chilled almonds? Never tried it, but I will. I like my almonds oven roasted.
When I say cranky, I mean stiff and achy. But that is my back in general at the moment. Im working daily on my flexibility (daily Romwod classes) and things are getting better everyday. Sleep helps my back for some reason.
I occasionally take fish oil when I remember. I have some vitamin D, but I try to get some sun for 20 minutes daily instead, which is probably not enough. Makes a huge difference. I have taken curcumin before but did not notice anything, so I have kind of stopped taking it. I don’t take glucosamine, as Im not convinced about the scientific studies behind it.
Treading water in the ocean is great for recovery, although I don’t do that often enough.
It might help the back because your muscles relax when you sleep, and you’re supported by the mattress if you have a good mattress.
Hanging out in water is definitely really nice. If I had access to any indoor pools I’d spend some pool time. I live about 10-15 minutes from the Ocean, but it’s not exactly feasible to swim in the Oceans right now. Do you want to hear something really weird about living in the area? I know about a bunch of out door pools that are literally within a 5 minutes walk from the Ocean in places like Ocean City.
I’ll have to check out some studies about Glucosamine. I know medical professionals seem to like glucosamine.
@Destrength: Went shopping for a new mattress yesterday. Still deciding, but Im thinking of getting a firm one. Do you know much about mattresses?
Saturday, 7th January 2017.
TRAINING
PM
Upper Rep
Warmed up outside with the ball. This was very low-key as I have not done any ball work or running for 2-3 weeks.
In the gym I warmed up with some planking back-bends, bodyweight squats and push-ups, and archer push-ups.
Weighted dips: 5 x 5 with 25 kg.
3 supersets: dB overhead press (10 x 17.5kg), dB rows (10 x 30kg).
3 sets of BB curlz for da girlz: 8 x 35 kg.
notes:
Motivation was low. My back did not feel the best during the warm up so I took it very easy. I had a big week at work and I am probably not eating enough.
I am not sure on the soft vs firm, but in my experience foam>spring literally every single time. Also for me soft seems easier to fall asleep on, I can’t really comment on back health though since my back takes a lot to irritate.
@danteism: Hey buddy. How have you been? How is your training going?
My back is still a little temperamental at the moment. The only movement that I can not do is a single leg deadlift on the left side. Ive had MRI’s done etc, but Im thinking its a trapped nerve. Im quietly confident that I will get on top it though as I have done in the past.
I have missed my last 2 pull-up sessions through Xmas and illness. Keen to get back into the groove and one day hit the magical ‘20 reps in 1 set’ goal.
Monday, 9th January 2017
MAX UPPER
Woke up feeling a little queasy with a funny stomach, so I moved the session into the PM. I did the minimum and drove my car instead of the bike. Still not 100% recovered from what seems to be a very minor stomach bug.
Warm-up including: plank, back-bends, body-weight squats and push-ups.
BB bench press 5 x 5 with 85 kg. (3 reps of pull-ups in between sets)
Superset 3 sets: machine row (10 x 55 kg), incline hammer curls(10 x 15kg)
Finished off with some face-pulls.
notes:
Nice pump. Feeling somewhat tired/lethargic thanks to my stomach virus. Hopefully that sorts itself out in the next few days.
My training is going great, every lift I do is going up quite nicely. I’ve been a bit busy during the last couple of weeks, so I haven’t posted as frequently, but hopefully it will change now.
I’m sure you can do that, positive mindset is the key.
The pull-ups require patience, but hitting that 20-rep set is really satisfying
@furo: Slowly working on it. Now working on lowering myself onto a box and then back up again. One of your more recent videos on your log was helpful in teaching me about the placement and angle of the non-working leg.
Woke up today feeling much better, but still a slight stomach ache. I think I will take today off. Tomorrow I have a day off work so maybe I can do my gym session in the morning and then go to BJJ in the evening.
Oh good I’m glad that was useful. I like trying to externally rotate my non-working leg and I like to think about sitting down between my legs, like a barbell squat, rather than on top of them. Yeah slow and steady man, you’ll get there I have no doubt.
Apologies regarding the lack of updates. All week I had suffered from a stomach bug, sore neck muscles and headache, and my lower back was bugging me as well.
So I have taken the week off training and normal nutrition. I had a deep tissue massage on Saturday morning and that instantly made my neck feel better and got rid of my headache. Nutrition has been poor. When Im feeling like shit, I crave burgers, chips and ice-cream and have no will power to stay away.
Tomorrow I will resume training. In the next few weeks I will be reviewing my program and diet and may be making some changes.
Hey man, hope the illness isn’t keeping you back to much. How are you finding the extra handstand push up and pistol squat work has carried over to the rest of your training?
@Ironwarrior25: Hey mate. Great to see you back in the cage. Hope your doing well and by the looks of your training log, looks like your still kicking ass.
Im back to feeling 99% again. I think I was just over-worked and had a slight stomach virus that knocked me out for the week. To tell you the truth I haven’t noticed much carryover with the pistols and handstands, although lately I have been doing the minimum work for these moves. I think its time I attempt some more difficult handstand progressions. I love the pistols as it keeps my knees healthy.
So due to my persistent lower back issues I have decided to drop my usual “lower day” for a few weeks to see if it helps the situation. I might possibly put some leg work in on my usual 3rd work-out for the week. Instead of the normal “lower” workout, I will spend one session a week on my bike doing hill sprints. Conditioning is something that I have kind of neglected since finishing football. I also need the mental break from the gym and I think spending a session a week out in the sun will be good for my vit D levels.
AM
Bike Hill Sprints
Warmed up with a bit of a foam roll and and some hip flexor stretching.
Rode my bike around the hood for 15 minutes.
Found a hill about 100 meters long. Sprinted up 8 times, and rested by rolling back down to the bottom.
Finished off with some bodyweight push-ups and squats. Aborted my first set of single leg “skater” squats due to back pain.
notes:
Im going to have to find a slightly longer and steeper hill. Todays hill was not challenging enough, but I suppose it was good for my first bike sprint session.
I tried skater single leg squats for the first time and my left side lower back did not like these at all. I suppose the squat is too deep and is irritating whatever is giving me problems. I will abort these for the mean time. There is a park near by with a pull-up and dip bar. Maybe next week I can finish the session with a few rounds of some calisthenics.
Weighted dips: 5 x 5 with 25 kg. (face-pulls in between sets).
Superset 3 sets: dB rows (10 x 30kg), dB overhead press (10 x 17.5kg).
BB curlz for da girlz: 3 sets of 10 x 35 kg.
notes:
Awesome workout, even though initially I did not feel like going to the gym. I left the gym dancing to my iPod tunes Got a pump that was different to any other pump Ive ever had before. I have been experimenting with going low carb (<80 grams) on weekdays and maybe its going to work.
Good to see you back in the gym. Fair enough, I have always wondered how things like pistol squats can help with longevity in the gym. I want to keep pushing myself, but I am always interested to see what I can do to maintain mobility and reduce injury in the long term.
Yeah back on it properly this month. I am feeling refreshed after the Christmas break, so looking forward to the rest of the season.