ExRx.net

This thread is open for discussion. But really it's here to test a theory of mine.

Forgot to post in my journal, feels weird to go back and change it.

Last week on Friday I bought a pair of New Balance Minimus trainers (the New Balance 20). Used them for two training sessions now (so still a bit early) but I'm loving them. Did deadlift, OH press, and Bulgarian split squats with them on. Previously I would have had to take my shoes off to do those lifts. It may be psychological but I actually feel more stable with these shoes than barefoot (at least for the unilateral movements).

The gym I go to discourages working with no shoes on (I'm a repeat offender). Still not absolutely sure that these are as good (or better) than barefoot, but they are hell of alot better than regular cross trainers.

How expensive are they? How do they feel compared to wearing Chuck Ts?

I'm a "barefoot is best" guy, but I wear my Chuck Ts in commercial gyms when I'm in the US.

_________________
Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

They were about $85. I've never worn Chuck Taylors so I cant really say. But I've done heavy deadlift with them and several unilateral movements that I would normally have to do barefoot, and they felt great!

I usually never comment on my own journal, but wanted this out and seemed like a better place to put it than in the journal itself.

So, I've recently (over the past month or so) included OH squat into my regular rotation of lifts. Since this is pretty close to a completely new lift for me I thought I'd share some of my experiences with it. Contrary to my past experience, this lift has been quite the challenge for me to find the "groove" on. I guess most other stuff I do is more closely related to the big three and the carryover in technique and neuromuscular activation is enough to fall into the correct "groove" for that particular motion.

Despite extensive experience squatting: back squatting, front squatting, romanian split squat, skater squat, box squats, jump squats, younameit squats, I've had a hard time finding the groove for OH squats.

I've been doing four sets of 8 with relatively light weight to try and burn it in, but I never really feel "in the groove" until the last set. And by then I'm getting fatigued to the point that I probably shouldn't do more. The fatigue is always based on keeping the weight steady overhead, never in the legs or lower back.

Hmmm, not sure where I'm going with this. It's just the first time I've had such a challenge to find a good groove for a lift. I'll continue to update progress (or lack thereof).

I also found OH Squats to be a rude awakening. It was funny things happening in the shoulder as I moved downward, though eventually I learned it was good for me.

I do these ATG and today managed 65 pounds for 5, getting even 1 @ 65 pounds has taken me weeks (admittedly I do them on off-days and sometimes miss days).

Also not sure where I'm going with them, they seem to be a mobility drill more than anything. Also just plain fun.

OHS -
I was inspired after watching the London Olympic weightlifting, especially the snatch. After a few very badly failed attempts at squatting with a bar overhead I found myself humbled. For me it was a real achievement to have been able to work up to a weighted set. It took me 5 or 6 sessions with a wooden rod to work in the shoulder flexibility and stability to even attempt a set with an olympic bar. I think of this exercise as an example of something that looks simple, but isn't.

I notice the numbers in your log and that you got to what I think are impressive percentages of bodyweight in not much time. What a great ability to have.

Ken- re: just plain fun. RIGHT! When the weight is rock steady over your head, you go all the way down, don't even feel a wobble, and come back up... great feeling!

Robt- I attribute it to Eric Cressey for putting out all kinds of cool stuff to keep your shoulders healthy. I've never had shoulder problems but I'm paranoid about them (several people in my family have severe shoulder issues) so I've done lots of preventative work. I think it kind of prepped the stage for current efforts.

Prepping for OH squats:

I normally do lots of shoulder mobility drills before I start any training session, whether I'm doing anything that involves shoulders or not.

My "typical" warm up with "shoulder mobility drills" consists of the following:

Side lying windmills - 10 x each arm
thoracic extension and rotation - 10 x each side
Unilateral External Circular Rotations – 10 x each arm
Unilateral Internal Circular Rotations – 10 x each arm
Bilateral External Circular Rotations – 10 x
Bilateral Internal Circular Rotations – 10 x
Corkscrew Shoulder Twists – 20 x

I'll sometimes do wall scap slides if I'm doing something I think will specifically involve shoulders (heavy bench, OH press)

But even after all that, when I start with OH squats I need something more. For some reason nothing really substitutes for shoulder dislocations. If I don't do 10 of those before I start then I just cant find the groove. After the dislocations... almost like magic. Been using a jump rope but my preference is for a foam covered rod with about 10lbs of weight.

Without them, feel tight and experience a bit of pain when going into full retraction at the lower half of the lift. With them, no tightness, no pain, and my shoulders feel great after: a little fatigued, but absolutely zero pain or strained feeling.

Have you tried dislocates with a tension band?

_________________
Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

@jungledoc: nope. I'll have to see if the gym has some. Never really done anything with bands... but I've wanted to.

update on OH squats:

I figure my difficulty in finding a good groove is probably due to lack of shoulder stability with the overhead weight. I can get more overhead than I can keep stable. So I've decided to back off on it for a bit and separate the two: shoulder strength and squatting strength. Going to try a combination of OH press and front squats for a while to replace the OH squats, maybe some turkish getups to work on shoulder stability. Stick with heavy back squats for "legs" and work on the components of OH squat until I can get the movement down better.

Also, the 5x a week workouts are doing kind of amazing things for me right now. Wish I had taken "before" pictures. By switching between KB swings and the Complex I can get lots of GPP work done without getting boring. My recovery seems to be holding up as well... which I'm finding surprising.