Hey!
MarcoFactor. I really Rate it. About 86x better than MyFitnessPal.
Food tracking. Weight tracking. Etc. It’s also a nutritional coaching system in your pocket if that’s what one wants. Built by Greg Knuckols and the stronger by science team.
Worth a look.
It also contains now, after a recent update, full Micronutrient tracking also. The food database is extensive now too. Huge infact.
Bout 10 bux a month I think.
Rock n roll.
Good workout today. Working through a lower back issue currently…hence the silence. Been kind of annoying, as there is no back pain. But referred nerve pain…anyway we working on it.
Hatfield Squat:
22.5x6
62.5x2
102.5x1
122.5x1
142.5x1
145x10
Press:
20x8
40x6
60x2
66.5x8
63.5x7
60.5x9
DB Bench:
27.25x10
41x9 PB.
Barbell curl:
20x10
30x5
39x11 PB funnily enough. Though have done a little more on the ezy bar.
36x11
33x12
Some therapy for the old lumbar on Tuesday morning.
Fin.
Online Physio session with a friend of mine In Denmark! Helping me out alot. Back is mostly just tight it seems, and mostly from a combination of sitting too much and stress. Mostly stress from a couple of weeks ago we think.
Either way. We working on it as mentioned and the outlook is totally positive.
Diet remains unstoppable.
It’s just how I roll now.
Today’s lunch protein source. 
What else to eat but one of our nations treasured animals 
. It’s even on our coat of arms.
And it’s bloody delicious.
Had an appointment this morning with a trigger point/dry needling guy.
Say what you will about them, and I’ve heard plenty both for and against, but this guy was quite definitely on the great side. Anatomy was definitely a known topic to him, and how the body functions in terms of movement, and the issues that can and do arise in athletes.
My left adductor issue he suspected, without touching anything at this point, but by only a good discussion with questions, was coming not from my Back specifically at all, but rather the opposite side glute/hip and such.
Some very quick testing of glute control and strength revealed some pretty bloody damning evidence 
.
Lots of painful massage, and some dry needling literally had me standing up and being able to squat straight down and rather symmetrically without any kind of warming up. I can’t do that normally on a good day .
What it looks to be is that my right glute has literally been doing 6 tenths of bugger all when training the squat or deadlift patterns. I’ve seen the imbalance in the deadlift for some time now (what would happen at the bottom of the lift, or rather the initial pull, is that my hip would shift to the right hand side, and my left adductor was taking up the slack - the size difference between both my adductors is actually massive - which I knew).
Even when warming up with bodyweight squats, looking down I could always notice a shift to the right. Oops. Turns out that didn’t need to be happening .
Probably 30 minutes of rather painful work, and it was straightened out. To point out a difference in right to left, the massage literally induced Zero pain of any kind on the left, compared to the right where any pressure at all on any muscle was fucken horrible, proper painful. Post needling, it hurt probably 90% less. Quite a difference. Still hours later, I’ve completed two hockey ball rolling sessions on them, and it’s still feeling quite good and functional, and I’m still squatting “straight”.
Not at all sold on all alternative therapies, but I certainly give this guy the thumbs up. He was a trainer for the local NRL Rugby League team here for 4 years with countless online testimonials at that from of players.
Apparently this issue is quite common…he didn’t really have a name for it, just “man your right glute/hip is fucken shit, how did you squat 140kg for 3 with one glute?”.
I like that. No BS. Just “this is shit, and I think this might help”.
Didn’t want me to come back as a prescription, but has given me a couple of basic things to do for both strengthening/waking it up, and to use as ongoing warmup strategies.
I rebooked another session anyway for two weeks times to re assess and ensure progress.
Man. Bodies are a weird thing. How everything is connected, and what drives what when something isn’t functioning like it should be. That whole side to side communication across the body etc. It’s more complicated that most realise…it’s not until you are able to sort of recognise or diagnose an issue that you realise these connections matter a lot.
Anyway. No heavy squats or deadlifts or really any exercise that requires that particular proper movement/control of the glutes and hips like those movements require. But the goal Is to get back to those weights as soon as I can and as safely.
First exercise to get good at is a simple bloody wall external rotation static exercise…working the stability using that flute, and just re teaching the body to use that pathway for stability and strength, as I seem to have forgotten how to do that over time for whatever reason. He didn’t bullshit with any kind of guesses as to why, discussing lifestyle he said it wasn’t immediately obvious so he’d be pissing into the wind .
After I feel like I’m “good” at doing this silly exercise, which can be done as often as I can handle, I should move onto something more challenging, like KB single leg deadlifts etc. But I need to me mindful of becoming “good” at doing it using the muscles it’s meant to be done with before adding any kind of load to that position. He really wants the patterning in my messed up head/CNS to be much closer to where he was able to get it to, to just happen naturally, like it should for normal less messed up people. .
I do like a therapist that insults me, I thrive on that. 
. Tell me I’m shit and I’ll do something about it. Sugar coat it and cuddle me, and I’ll just stay in my comfort zone. 
Am benching later today, to continue getting hench.
Fin.
Bench:
20x10
60x6
80x4
102.5x10 - 226lbs
95x11
90x12
Chose to keep sets 2 and 3 same weight. Went up 2.5 on set one. I think the 5% drops are too small, so I’ll let it stretch out to 7.5. So next session will be105/97.5/90.
That’s all for today for weights. Rehab stuff. Then done.
Fin.
A little low on the calorie front…didn’t realise haha.
I’ll save em for the weekend.
I was a little short on my veg target today. Ran out of frozen vegetables!
Leading lady will do a grocery shop tomorrow before lunch. 
Actually measured 104.9kg this morning…lowest weight taken so far. Good for the average!
Fin.
Great post and keen to read on the great progress you’ll no doubt make!
Let’s hope it turns out this way!
Rehab stuff mostly today.
Almost 45 minutes of it.
Too many things to list. Pretty sore now to be honest
Also, it’s feeling like great day after great day after great day diet wise.
Lifting for real tomorrow. Took a great deal of restraint to Not jump under the barbell today, especially after having done so many goblet squats and bodyweight hip thrusts lol.
Fin.
Yo!
Press:
20x8
40x6
60x2
68x6
64.5x7
61x7
Then a shit tonne of rehabby crap. Deadset. More painful than normal training.
Felt good though, so did some squats with 60kg.
Just singles mostly. All paused at full depth.
60x1
60x1
60x1
60x1
60x1
60x1
60x1
60x2
By the 5th set and j has managed to stop my hammies leading me up (hips rising), and was able to initiate that ascent with my glutes entirely and stay as upright as my silly proportions allow. Was good.
Sore again.
Who cares. Keep going.
Fin.
Cheat meal for dinner with the family.
Still stayed under cals…without trying. Just logged what I ate and that’s where it landed. Ha.
Yeah…
So…
I got an invite to compete in the competition I had mentally accepted wasnt happening. Nice of the guys to pull out this later.
Of course I accepted it
7 days to prepare, what could possibly go wrong!
Now that is what I call chaos. @TrainForPain would be proud
You likely meant @T3hPwnisher but I’m still proud
Lol bloody predictive AI computer techno stuff.
