ExRx.net

upper body day, back feels good. It doesn't hurt at all during workouts now and very rarely hurts in the evenings (which was the worst time). Been quite a good week of workouts this week.

Spoke to the physio this morning, he was busy and didn't have time to talk but says he'll call back tonight or tomorrow and we'll arrange something for next week. The issues I am hoping to address are:

1. My god damn pain in the arse of a bad back! Obviously. This is the big dog. Anything else is extra.
2. Left elbow, pops and hurts in the bottom position of an overhead press, JM press or tricep extension (oh how i miss the JM press...).
3. Impinged shoulders. Both shoulders, although shoulders feel better than they have in years. Think it's due to a better bench set up, wall slides and soft tissue work done pre workout. Still need to get them looked at though.
4. Knees hurting when squatting. I don't know what the hell is up with that. It's only really my left knee and the pain is on the outside, when I push out of the hole. I hate to think what I'm going to need to do for that (although I'm thinking it may be a lot to do with crap technique. KPj'll hopefully fix that).
5. General quality of movement. I have the flexibility/mobility of an octogenarian. It really worries me how much I suck at just moving around in my day to day life. I'm not looking to become a gymnast or anything but it would be nice to be able to tie my shoelaces in my middle years.

so there we are. Lots to do. You never know though, I might still fix my issues in time for uni starting again, which has been my target since starting this log. It's looking pretty damn unlikely but my back is definitely on the mend...

off day yesterday and today. No exercise whatsoever on account of being brutally hungover. Also, I've knackered my arm arm wrestling with my mate chopper. I don't know why I did it, my shoulder always packs in if I try and arm wrestle but I'm too much of an idiot to say no.

lower body day, an exciting day! Read on

Deadlifts (unless otherwise stated, all deadlifts are sumo)

60k x 3 x a billion

Ok so this was my first foray back into deadlifting. I didn't count the sets, and I only did sets of 3. I was careful to keep my form perfect, and re-set between each rep. I also made sure to tighten my abs up during the lift, which isn't something I've ever done before. Abs were so tensed up I though my eyes were going to pop out! Seemed to work though, back felt fine

Leg Press

100k x 8
110 x 8
120 x 8

this was a mistake, back didn't like it. Won't be doing this again. Should've really stopped after the first set but I didn't. Not sure why I didn't...

GHR/TKE superset

BW x 4/4 x 20
BW x 4/5 x 20
BW x 4/6 x 20

definitely getting better at the GHRs. TKE's are ok, going to try and set a PR on these every week for the next month or so.

Barbell Rollouts/Single Leg Deadlift

3 x 6 of each. (30k single leg deadlifts)

First time doing rollouts in a very long time. Thought I'd do better than I did to be honest. Was also surprised at how hard the single leg deadlifts were! First time I've tried them with anything other than an empty bar. Think it'll just take a few sessions to get the technique right.

And that was that. Think I'll do pretty much the same workout again later in the week, minus the leg press. I'll do DBSS instead. Back felt fine on the way home, and my walk home is usually an indicator of how sore my back'll be later in the day. O'll see how I feel tonight/tomorrow.

Feeling pretty good about the deadlifts though, just going to scrap the leg press for a while. If back gets sore tonight I'll report back but I remain cautiously optimistic.

upper body day, back is a little sore today, although I think it might be because of the leg press. I'm going to train lower body again on friday sans leg press and we'll see how that works out.

Also, my shoulders are hurting from drunken arm wrestling at the weekend, and they were bothering me a bit today so I don't think I'll train upper body again this week. I may do a full body workout on friday depending on how they feel, but I'd rather play it safe.

Have got an appointment with my physio on friday morning, so no doubt that'll be a whole new set of rehab exercises to do. I'm so sick of god damn rehab exercises.

of day, back's pretty sore. Think I probably shouldn't have deadlifted on monday.

that settles it. I'm not going again for another month. This is getting pretty damn frustrating.

update: back hurts like hell. Really damn sore. What's gives? It didn't hurt during the actual deadlifts but there's definitely something wrong. I'd love to think it was the leg press wot dunnit, but I know deep down it was the deadlifting. This physio appointment couldn't come soon enough.

Am I doomed to never deadlift or squat again? Forced to live a life of hip thrusting and single leg work? I have no intention of ever being a powerlifer, so I don't technically need either of them - I can build decent legs with single leg work, GHRs and hip thrusts - but I like to deadlift. It's one of my favourite lifts and one of my main goals in life is to deadlift 180k. I intend on being able to do that by the time I finish uni, but if it's going to cripple me in the process then it's just not worth it.

I mean I've been doing rehab stuff, single leg work, core work, mobility work, soft tissue work and glute/hamstring work multiple times a day, pretty much every day for the last four bastard months! When is it going to end?

It's starting to get to me a little. If the physio tells me that I'll never be able to squat/deadlift ever again then I'll at least have closure on the issue, and I'll stop torturing myself by having 1 session of squats or deads every couple of months which cripples me for 5 days after.

I'm not going to train again this week. Going to rest up good and do some core work (which, by the way, is starting to become a dangerous obsession of mine. All I think about is just core core core).

End rant

off day today, feeling a bit better about the whole situation. Still don't think I'm going to try and squat/deadlift for at least another month. I'll see what the physio says tomorrow.

off day, was supposed to see the physio but he cancelled. Have rescheduled for tuesday.

have been off for like the last 4 days, business as usual again tomorrow.

Back is a little sore but it always is after a weekend of drinking and dancing. No drinking and dancing for me next week. Also should hopefully be seeing the physio which should hopefully fill in a few of the gaps in my rehabbin'

upper body day today, one of those days when you feel like crap but end up hitting PRs. I would've trained lower body but there's a chance I could be seeing the physio tomorrow so I don't want to have DOMS affecting the movement patterns he'll be assessing

lower bowday

DBSS

17.5ks x 8
20 x 8
22.5 x 8
25 x 8

Still progressing well on these. They're starting to get real hard though. I think I'm due a plateau pretty soon. These are officially my most hated weighted movement (I hate planks more) but I think I've made better progress on these than I have on any other exercise. I don't think I'd get the 27.5k dumbells for 8, so I think I'll do this same workout a couple of times more before I try going up.

Hip Thrusts/Leg Lowering

60k x 10/7 reps
70k x 10/8 reps
75k x 10/9 reps
70k x 10/8 reps
60k x 10/7 reps

got all my target reps again so I'll go up to 80k next time. Not much to report re: leg lowering.

GHRs/TKEs

BW x 4/5 x 10
BW x 4/6 x 10
BW x 4/7 x 12

GHRs are feeling good and explosive. The TKEs were surprisingly hard today, think it's because my quads were knackered from the split squats.

Swiss Ball Rollouts

2 x 12

Ab Wheel Rollout

2 x 8

I'm in a bit of a pickle regarding rollouts. The swiss ball ones are too easy, and the ab wheel ones are a bit to hard. The 8 reps were pretty ugly. I think I'll do 2 sets of stir the pot then two sets of ab wheel rollouts. That might make things a bit easier.

Done. Pretty happy that I got the 25k dumbells for 8 on the split squats. Feels pretty badass, not many people I know can do that. I hope to get up the the 30s by the end of this month. That will make me very happy.

Like I mentioned in the journal comments, I've had to postpone the physio appointment because I don't got no money. At the end of this month student loans start up again so I'll be a bit more financially secure. 2 weeks in the grand scheme of things won't make that much difference. In the meantime I'm going to start doing the toe-touch progression from Gray Cook's Athletic Body In Balance. Should have done it months ago but I was worried about all that flexion bothering my back.

Tonight I'll do a few sets of bird dogs and some soft tissue work. And of course my toe touch/thoracic extension superset.

things have changed slightly with my log, although fixing my back is still the main focus, a secondary goal is to now out-bench Phil (he posts under Proper Knob). We are going to compare maxes at the end of the year, and are about the same strength level just now. One of the rules of engagement is I must now post my upper body workouts, so here's my workout from monday (if I can remember)

Bench

65k x 3
75k x 3
82.5k x 8

this is using 5/3/1 percentages. Now I'm competing against Phil I wish I'd started a little less conservatively but slow and steady wins the race as they say

Dumbell Bench/Dumbell Row superset

20k x 10/12
22.5k x 10/12
25k x 10/10
27.5k x 10/10
30k x 10/10

I try and keep the rests pretty short for these. Going to shoot for more reps next time as opposed to more weight.

Lat Blast/Shoulder Triad

6 x 8/5k x 12
7 x 8/5k x 15
6 x 10/5k x 12

The number on the Lat Blast is the position on the stack. Lat blast is a drop set I learned from Thibaudeau. You start off standing and do a straight arm lat pulldown, both arms, with a tricep rope. Then you drop to your knees and leaning back slightly, do the same number of reps again as a pull down, then you lean forward and do the same amount of reps again. Absolutely brutalises your lats. The Delt Triad is a creation of Clay Hyght. It's a set of lateral raises, followed by a set of front raises, then a shoulder press. All done with the same weight and no rest inbetween. MUCH harder than it sounds.

PJR Pullovers/Bob Curls/External Rotation superset

20k x 20/12.5k x 6/5k x 8
22.5k x 15/15k x 6/5k x 8
20k x 20/12.5k x 8/5k x 8

heavier on the pullovers next time, more reps on the curls, and less weight, more reps on the external rotations.

Band Pull Aparts

2 x 40

just something a little extra to keep my shoulders happy.

That's it. I'm surprised I remember it so well. It's an off day for me today, back feels ok. Back in the gym tomorrow for my second upper body day.

Over the course of today I'll do some toe touching, wall sliding, foam rolling and bird dogging.

upper body

Pull Ups (Nuetral Grip)/Push Up superset

6/10
7/10
8/10
7/10
6/10

I know what you're thinking: push ups are easy. Well no, not if you do them properly. I've heard it called a "push up plus" but I think that's just silly. It's just the right way to do push ups. I'm doing these to strengthen my serratus and give my shoulders a bit more stability. While I don't think they'd ever replace the bench, they compliment it nicely. Doing my pull ups with a neutral grip for the time being to build up the guns a bit more.

Inverted Rows/Delt Triad

6/7k x 10
8/7k x 10
7/5k x 12

the first set of rows went a bit Pete Tong because I had the straps set a bit low. My back kept banging against the ground and it messed with my mojo. Delt triad with the 7s was brutally hard. Just didn't have another set in me so I dropped down to the 5s. I'm not going to do the Delt Triad next week. Been doing it twice a week for the last 3 weeks or so and I think my shoulders need a rest from it.

Lat Blast/External Rotations

5 x 12/2.5k x 12
6 x 12/2.5k x 10
7 x 12/2.5k x 8

Charles Poliquin says you should be able to rep 10% of your close grip bench for 10 reps of external rotations. Ha! I'm so far away from that it's unreal. Started too light on the Lat Blast, should've gone 6, 7, 6. I will next time.

PJR Pullover/Reverse Curls

22.5k x 12/20k x 10
22.5k x 12/22.5k x 10
22.5k x 12/20k x 10

I love PJR Pullovers, but they're hard on the elbows. I wear an elbow support on my left elbow, but I think it's a good idea to get one for my right arm too. Reverse curls are a great exercise. Had to do those instead of Bob Curls because someone was using the rack (not for squatting though...).

Band Pull Aparts

2 x 40

I use the heavy band folded in half for extra heaviness but it's still a bit light. Could do with getting my own more hardcore band and taking it with me. The ones at the gym are $h1t.

And that's that. I'm only going to have time for 2 workouts next week so that'll be one upper and one lower. On my upper day I'll do my 5/3/1 heavy session, then just do push ups as my accessory. No tricep stuff and no lateral delt stuff so my shoulders and elbows can recover. Seeing as I'm only having one upper day I think it'll also count as my deload, so the week after I'll jump right back into a new 5/3/1 cycle. I have to capitalise on Phil being away for 3 weeks! I should be able to use that just to sneak into the lead ever so slightly. Bwa ha ha.

Back feels fine. I'll do some bird dogs tonight and some soft tissue work for legs and shoulders.

well I was supposed to go do a sled workout today, but annoyingly there seems to be something up with my throat and chest. Can't really breathe or speak all that well so I think a workout's out. What's that all about? Doesn't having an awesome diet make you immune to these things? Doesn't even seem like that long since I was ill last time. I remember writing about in it this log...

It's a bit of a pain in the arse really. I'll just rest up and eat like 5000 calories a day every day over the weekend and see if that fixes it. Still plan on doing my heavy bench day Monday so getting well for that is number 1 priority.

another off day today, I was SO ILL yesterday. I think it might well have been the worst I've ever felt. Thank god the really rough part only lasted a day. Didn't manage to eat a single bite and must've lost about a stone in sweat. Feel a lot better today, just a cough and a sore head. There are no words to describe how hungry I am so my plan for today is to force feed myself as many calories as possible. I'm going to have a protein shake (with carbs) with every meal, and order a feast from Dominos.

That should do it.

Also, my copy of Athletic Body in Balance arrived. I'll get wired in to that today too.

May do some core stuff but my whole body still kinda aches from coughing so much so I might just rest up.