nisora's injured, not down or out (but gettin' yoked) training log

[nisora33]

Here's the full story here: http://www.startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showpost.php?p=123509&postcount=12

...stress fracture that went south.

So I feel like this is a good excuse to indulge in some "guilty pleasure" exercises in addition to whatever other strength work I can manage. Here's to gettin' fuckin' yoked, bitches!

4/28/10

Seated press - 95 lbs. X 1,2,3 rep ladder X 4 sets, 60 sec.rest between each "rung" (this is a whole different beast from it's standing counterpart, felt unsure of myself)
Hip extension on glute/ham raise - 35 lbs. X 8 reps X 3 sets, 2 min. rest between sets
Chin-up - 6 reps X 4 sets, 3 min. rest between sets
Straight-legged sit-up - 30 lbs. X 8 reps X 3 sets, 2 min. break between sets

My shoulders are sore inside from being on crutches the last few days. My right hip is sore over the trochanter due to having to support myself on one leg; knee is also giving me fits on that side. This sucks worse than I imagined it would.

Friday, I fully plan on adding heavy shrugs and *gasp* bicep curls to the end of my workout, haters be damned.

http://elitefts.com/images/PICTURES/yoke.jpg

-S.

[Paul Sousa]

Also could be a perfect time for some grip work. Get some CoC's and go to town.

[nisora33]

Also could be a perfect time for some grip work. Get some CoC's and go to town.

Yesiree.

[Koalala]

I want to get injured to same way so I can do the same exercises :P

Good luck,

[jameson]

Also could be a perfect time for some grip work. Get some CoC's and go to town.

Stace, remember I've got the CoC No. 1. It's time I bought the No. 2 if you want to borrow mine for a while.

[jameson]

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz140/jamesoncp/gijoeCobra.jpg

[nisora33]

4/30/10

Seated press - 125 lbs. X 1 rep X 3 sets, 4 min. break between sets
(Left rotator cuff felt FUCKED, don't know if that's because I've been on crutches or because I've racked up so much pressing volume this week)
Hip extension on glute/ham raise - 35 lbs. X 8 reps X 2 sets, 10 reps X 2 sets, 2 min. break between sets
Chin-up - 6 reps X 4 sets, 4 min. break between sets
Straight-legged sit-up - 35 lbs. X 10 reps X 3 sets, 1 min. break between sets

*****

[nisora33]

5/03/10

The owner of the gym where I work has closed the gym today due to the massive flooding and piss-poor road conditions coming out of the Armageddon-type storms that blew through Middle Tennessee this weekend. So I’ve got nowhere to train, which means I’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow to get my hands dirty.

And anyway, turns out this log’s gonna be pretty boring because of my condition. So I might as well keep detailed notes on my metatarsal fracture, so that anyone else who finds himself in this situation might get some use out of it.

Jones fractures are rare. It’s like you have to try to get them, to get them. I’m either really unlucky or fucking retarded, don’t know. They’re located at the proximal end of the 5^th metatarsal and they have poor blood supply. Reports from around the internet find people still battling to get them healed even after 8 to 12 weeks. I mean, Holy Fucking Shit. I won the asshole lottery, for sure.

I’m not waiting 12 weeks for this shit to heal. Unh-uh. If it’s not showing signs of healing in another couple of weeks—I mean mutant-healing-factor level recovery—I'm making them put a screw in it...

[nisora33]

Damned strange thing is that it never swelled significantly or turned funny colors after the fact. Probably has to do with the poor blood supply there. I figure that’s not actually a good thing, since you want some swelling, since that’s a sign that your body’s initiating the proper breakdown and rebuilding processes. Well, oops.

Most of the stiffness has disappeared after a little over a week, but the pain of the fracture is alive and well every time I bump my foot on something. I’m actively engaging in plantar-flexion and dorsa-flexion to pump blood into injured area on a regular basis, and I’m able to wiggle my pinkie toe without much discomfort. Weight-bearing is almost certainly out of the question.

And I’m not wearing that poor excuse for proper medical care that is a boot because the way the damned thing straps, it puts awkward lines of pressure against the fracture, hurting it even more. I’m not weight-bearing anyway, so what difference does it make? And when I get back to bearing weight on that side, it’ll be on flat, secure surfaces anyway, with the assistance of crutches.

Christ, doctors are useless, unless they have a medication that you need or you need one of them to cut on you. I stand by that statement.

S.

[nisora33]

5/04/2010

Seated press - 90 lbs. X 1,3,5 rep "ladder" X 4 sets, 60 sec. rest between "rungs"
(shoulder felt lots better, although left side of neck is giving me fits--nothing major, probably just a degenerating cervical disc, right? Fairly swift bar speed today)

Hip extension on glute-ham developer - 40 lbs. X 8 reps X 3 sets, 2 min. rest between sets (fawkin foot hurt doing these, even though I didn't press it against anything)

Chin-up - 6 reps X 4 sets, 4 min. break between sets

Bent-knee sit-up - 35 lbs. X 10 reps X 3 sets, 2 min rest between sets

Okay so the foot, surprisingly enough, actually felt pretty good today. On the injured side, I was able to bear weight partially, so I spent some time--with the assitance of crutches--moving around the gym today after my workout was done. If this keeps up, I should be able to spend more and more time on that foot getting loaded with more and more weight as time goes on. I don't know, we'll see what the x-ray says next Thursday when I show up for my follow-up.

[bowdirk]

They’re located at the proximal end of the 5^th metatarsal...

So basically you stubbed your little toe? yeah, time for curls...

:rolleyes:

bowdirk

[OMG]

I know your are on the computer right now viewing some hot ass cross fit chics with little clothing on doing squats, with a large Buddy's bar-b-q sandwich in your mouth with your foot propped up. I can see it now. I need your address to send your certs bro.

[nisora33]

So basically you stubbed your little toe? yeah, time for curls...

:rolleyes:

bowdirk

I'm gonna kill you 'til you die from it.

[nisora33]

5/6/10
<o></o>
Seated press – 100 lbs. X 1,2,3 rep “ladder” X 5 sets, 60-90 sec. rest between “rungs”
(rear left shoulder is complaining somewhat, the sets still went up nice and easy, for the most part—I’m just playing these ladders by ear, and if I feel like I can get another ladder without the lift getting too “grindy,” I do it; furthermore, I’m treating the overhead press more like a “skill” that needs to be practiced and developed than a strength movement per se, with the hope that all this practice will keep feeding my heavier singles that I have planned for Fridays, to which I should add that it does seem like the press can tolerate more volume than I once thought, at least in the absence of any other pressing type work throughout the week)

Hip extension on the glute-ham developer – 40 lbs. X 8 reps X 1 set, 35 lbs. X 8 reps X 3 sets, various rest periods due to helping coach some of the guys around the gym
(changed the positioning of the pads relative to my hips so that they touched my upper thigh without touching my pelvis; this changed the leverage, making the movement more difficult, so I dropped the weight to 35 lbs.)

Chin-up – 6 reps X 4 sets, 4 min. break between sets

Bent-knee sit-up – 40 lb. dumbbell X 10 reps X 3 sets, 2 min. break between sets

Update on the broken foot: I don't know where I am with this. There's some way that I unconsciously tense my foot up when I do hip extensions that's fucking pissing my foot off. The problem is I don't know whether I'm doing damage or impeding the healing process, or if this is just some minor pain that I'm going to go through for a while regardless, or if it's soft tissue related, or what. I guess I'll see where I am next Wednesday at my follow-up.
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[Briks42]

How does the weight you are using on the seated press compare to what you are able to press standing?

[jameson]

Perhaps you should try handstand pushups since their more befitting to your new environment.

[gzt]

Kipping handstand pushups. and kipping squats. everything kips.

[hatmanii]

Perhaps you should try handstand pushups since their more befitting to your new environment.

This reminds me of the handicapped guy in Shallow Hal, he was like a miniature gorilla walking around on his hands all the time.

Fuck healing, if you were a real man you'd have already cut the damned thing off and fashioned yourself a peg. Ahhh, the good ole days...

[nisora33]

5/08/10

Stress and lack of sleep have taken their toll. No drive to lift, but I lifted anyway--stupid me.

Seated press - 127 lbs. X 1-1 rep
(Couldn't find the right pressing groove today. I was sore as fuck all over too, don't know why--might have been a nutritional problem. Left shoulder felt fucked, and on the whole, I just felt really pissed with these and with my workout in general.)

Hip extension on glute-ham developer - 35 lbs. X 8-8-8 reps, 2 min. rest between sets (I just had no motivation at this point; getting some kind of strange sacro-iliac discomfort doing these, also--don't know what that's all about.)

Chin-up - 6 reps X 3 sets, 4 min. break between sets
(Shoulders were done-in by the time I got to these, and three sets was all I could muster.)

Bent-knee sit-up - 40 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps, 2 min. break between sets

***Foot update***
Did some more weight bearing today. Foot felt surprisingly good. I'm hoping this means good things for the healing process. I'm still not able to toe off on the injured foot, but I am able to put the whole foot down flat and put most of my weight on it. To be continued...

[nisora33]

5/10/10

Seated press - 95 lbs. X 1,3,5 rep "ladder" X 3, 90 sec. rest between "rungs"
(Cut back the volume on these out of respect for my growing shoulder discomfort; shoulders felt okay once warmed, and the bar speed stayed fairly quick throughout all three ladders.)

Hip extension on glute-ham developer - 20 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps, 2 min. break between sets
(Sacro-iliac discomfort was still present, but oddly enough, making sure to breath all the way out on the descent made it almost disappear--makes me think there's a nerve root issue that increased intra-abdominal pressure aggravates, never quite felt anything like this before.)

Chin-up - 6 reps X 5 sets, 4 min. break between sets
(Felt good, mostly.)

Bent-knee sit-up - 40 lbs. X 10-10-12 reps, 2 min. break between sets

***Foot update***
Still able to bear weight on the injured side with minimal adverse effect, besides a bit of swelling of the ankle by the end of the day, but oddly, the swelling keeps popping up on the side opposite of the injury--weird. Getting another x-ray this Wednesday.

EDIT: For the sake of full disclosure, I should add that I went back and did a little experimentation a couple of hours after this workout. And seriously, fuck hip extensions on the glute-ham developer: no matter how I tweak the movement, they give me sacro-iliac pain! Soooooooooooo, I tried something just to see whether I could do it or not, and I found out I can do light, I'm talkin' LIGHT SLDLs (95 lbs. to be exact). I did 4 sets of 10 reps 2 inches down past the knee with only mild, mild discomfort in my foot. And my God, did it feel good. So screw hip extensions from now on.

[nisora33]

Jesus H. Christmas, the monotony of the workouts is killing me, so I'm going to start varying things a bit across the week:

Monday
Seated barbell press - 1,3,5 rep ladder X 3-4 sets
SLDL - (2 inches down past the knee) - 12 reps X 3 sets
Chin-up - 6 reps X 4-5 sets
Bent-knee sit-up - 12 reps X 3 sets

Wednesday
Seated dumbbell press - 5-6 reps X 3 sets
Isometric hip-lumbar extension w/dumbbell row on glute-ham developer - 8 reps X 3 sets
Overhead bent-knee sit-up holding weight plate - 8 -10 reps X 3 sets

Friday
Seated barbell press - 1,2,3 rep ladder X 3 sets
SLDL - 8-10 reps X 3 sets
Weighted chin-up - 5 reps X 3 sets
Bent-knee sit-up - 8 reps X 3 sets

[nisora33]

5/12/10
<o></o>
Seated press – 107 lbs. X 1,2,3 rep “ladder” X 3, 90 sec. rest between “rungs”
(So I went ahead and did ladders again—sue me. Shoulder didn’t feel half bad during warm-ups so I just kept going, and ended up doing three full ladders. I’m getting bored with seated presses, and my motivation to do them is nonexistent, so I probably should have just picked up the dumbbells instead. Not setting any definite pressing plans for Friday—I’ll probably just come in and fuck around and see how I feel.)
<o></o>
SLDL – 100 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps, 2 min. break between sets
(Foot felt just a little aggravated today, so we’ll see how I feel Friday; and if I feel up to it I might do them again, or I might just do some kind of row on the glute-ham developer like I talked about previously.)
<o></o>
Ring pull-up – 5 reps X 4 sets, 4 min. break between sets
(Uh, these are harder than their straight-bar counterpart.)
<o></o>
Weighted bent-knee sit-up – 40 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps, 2 min. break between sets
(Nothing to say here.)
<o></o>
***Foot update***
Got another x-ray this morning. Of course, it’s only been 2 weeks and three days since the fracture, so the fracture’s still there—looked, to my untrained eye, like it might have healed a little. Doctor only said that it was a good sign that I’m able to walk on it now, indicating that it’s beginning to heal. I could tell he didn’t like that I wasn’t wearing the goddamned useless boot he gave me, even though I tried to explain that the fucker actually makes my foot feel worse, that any squishy surface at all makes the thing hurt. I didn’t like his attitude one bit, as he hemmed and hawed about how it needs to be somewhat immobilized, then proceeded to recommend a post-surgical boot, which—holy motherless shit—is just a hard-soled shoe (how in hell is that supposed to immobilize the fracture, seriously you should see this thing?!). So he wants me to walk on it, but he doesn’t want to put a cast on it? WTF, I don’t even.
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[hatmanii]

Glad to hear the foot is healing up nicely, even better so that it's healing in spite of the doctor's unheeded advice :D.

-Hat

[nisora33]

5/14/10
<o></o>
Seated press – 101 lbs. X 1,3,5 reps, 1,3,5 reps, 1,3,4 reps, 90 sec. rest between “rungs” of the “ladder”

SLDL – 100 lbs. X 12-12-12 reps (approx. 2.5-3 inches below kneecap), 2 min. break between sets

Chin-up - 6 reps X 4 sets

Bent-knee sit-up – 40 lbs. X 12-12-10 reps, 2 min. break between sets
<o></o>

5/17/10
<o></o>
Seated press – 115 lbs. X 1 rep X 10 sets, 2 min. rest between sets (picked a weight that was comfortable and just focused on “grooving” the movement)

SLDL – 125 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps (approx. 2.5-3 inches below kneecap), 2 min. rest between sets

Chin-up – 5-5-5-5-4 reps, 4 min. break between sets (grip was fried after SLDLs)

Bent-knee sit-up – 42 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps, 2 min. rest between sets

Not sure what to say about the foot. SLDLs don't really aggravate it, but I can't say that the foot feels much better either:

http://vimeo.com/11817244

-S.

[beast]

If you want to make the sldl harder try them with a maximum snatch like grip or pinching the 25lbs plates on each end like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkw7F6OkVXI. However you're probably need to start the lift off the hooks to avoid the bending over and full range of motion.
You could also do seated good mornings with a barbell or dumbell. Also i don't if you able to, but when I broke my toes I could do leg presses with just my heels on the pad.

Hope i could help. Also remember a couple of months is nothing out of your life. You'll get back quickly after its heeled. Also maybe I'm missing something but why aren't you benching even if you can't put your feet down and get someone to hold your legs down?

[nisora33]

If you want to make the sldl harder try them with a maximum snatch like grip or pinching the 25lbs plates on each end like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkw7F6OkVXI. However you're probably need to start the lift off the hooks to avoid the bending over and full range of motion.
You could also do seated good mornings with a barbell or dumbell. Also i don't if you able to, but when I broke my toes I could do leg presses with just my heels on the pad.

Hope i could help. Also remember a couple of months is nothing out of your life. You'll get back quickly after its heeled. Also maybe I'm missing something but why aren't you benching even if you can't put your feet down and get someone to hold your legs down?

Thanks for the suggestions, beast.

I'm not benching due to ongoing (time-tested) shoulder problems, and besides, I have a fetish for overhead pressing.

-S.

[jameson]

Sooooo....when's the yoke coming?

[MazdaMatt]

maybe i missed it... what does this mean:


107 lbs. X 1,2,3 rep “ladder” X 3, 90 sec. rest between “rungs”

[nisora33]

5/19/10<o>

</o> Seated press – 110 lbs. X 3 reps X 5 sets<o></o>
(Just fuckin’ around, seeing what worked for me today—mind and body felt like they were two different places, at first; little bit of shoulder pain and stiffness, left shoulder)<o></o>
<o></o>
SLDL (to approx. 2.5-3 inches below kneecap) – 135 lbs. X 9-10-9 reps <o></o>
(No foot pain whatsoever, by the way, although I know the fracture is still very much there)<o>

</o> Ring pull-up – 5 reps X 4 sets<o>

</o> Bent-knee sit-up – 42 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps<o>

</o> ***Foot Update***<o></o>
Foot felt pretty amazing when I put it down to walk (limp) this morning. Surely this is a good sign.<o></o>
<!--EndFragment-->

[nisora33]

maybe i missed it... what does this mean:

You do 1 rep, then wait a minute or 90 sec. or whatever, do 2 reps, then wait another minute, and then 3 reps and wait a minute, before starting back over. Each 1,2, and 3 rep cluster is called a "ladder."

[MazdaMatt]

What's the point? Do you hold the bar the whole time up the ladder?

Do you stay at the same weight for 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3?

Edit: or do you just do a single, a double, a tripple and you're done?

[nisora33]

What's the point? Do you hold the bar the whole time up the ladder?

Do you stay at the same weight for 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3?

Edit: or do you just do a single, a double, a tripple and you're done?

The point is to get a bunch of high quality reps without the lift getting too "grindy." Consider it "practice."

[nisora33]

5/21 - 5/22/10

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/4636727134_9474468a18.jpg

-S.

[nisora33]

5/24/10

Seated press - 112 lbs. X 3-3-3-3-3-3 reps
One-arm KB press - 35 lbs. X 8-8-8 reps each side
SLDL - 140 lbs. X 10-10-9 reps
Chin-up - 6-5-6-6 reps
Bent-knee sit-up - 53 lb. KB X 10-10-12 reps

***Foot update***
Foot feels fucking amazing. Obviously, it's still broken, still mending, but I'm able to walk more or less normally now, and I was even able to do several dumbbell muscle cleans on Saturday without any pain or discomfort. I don't expect to be on crutches much longer--I'm not even really on them now unless I have to travel a fair distance, given the time it takes me to walk anywhere. Again, I'll be fuckstunned if I go to the doctor in a couple of weeks and the fracture doesn't appear filled-in on x-ray. It just feels too damned good.

-S.

[nisora33]

5/26/10

Seated press - 120 lbs. X 1-1-1-1-1-1 reps
Alternating KB muscle clean - 53 lbs. X 3 X 2 min. continuous cleaning
Ring pull-up - 5 reps X 4 sets
KB bent-knee sit-up - 53 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps

***A note on recovery and broken/torn body parts***
My recommendation for recovering from fractures like the one I'm dealing with would be 1) eat red meat every day and 2) drink 4-6 ounces of bourbon 3-5 times a week until fully healed. I'm only half joking about this.

-S.

[nisora33]

I postponed this update, hoping that a buddy of mine would post a relevant video, but it appears that he isn't going to, or isn't going to anytime soon. So here it goes, a bit more anticlimactic than it should have been:

Friday 5/28/10

1-arm KB press - 36 lbs. X 8 each arm X 4 sets
(tried warming up to heavy barbell presses, but the oomph wasn't there, so I opted for a light day using kettlebells)

Here's what I was so excited about sharing with you all, the news that I'd decided to try some light conventional deadlifts, just to see how they'd feel. It went like this:

Deadlift - 135 lbs. X 5, 165 X 5, 185 X 5, 205 X 5, 225 X 5, 245 X 1, 265 X 1, 285 X 1, 300 X 1, all with a double overhand grip; 310 X 1 with alternate grip

Absolutely. No. Pain. At all. (Video soon).

It'd been 6 weeks since I'd pulled an honest-to-God deadlift from the floor (and not quite six weeks since I'd broken my foot). Too things I've learned: that depending on the injury, the best course of action is applying as much stress as you can tolerate as soon as you can tolerate it to the injury, even in cases of (certain) fractures; and two, adaptation to the deadlift stress is more persistent than, for instance, the overhead press, and most definitely requires less frequent training (after a certain level of adaptation) than other lifts, probably on the order of once every two weeks (YMMV).

Bent-knee sit-up - 53 lbs. X 10-10-10 reps

-S.

[nisora33]

5/31/10

Standing press - 117 lbs. X 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps
SLDL - 145 lbs. X 8-8-8 reps
Bent-knee sit-up - 54 lbs. X 10-10-8 reps

[nisora33]

Going forward, my workouts will look like this:

Monday
Press - some number of singles performed at 90% of max
SLDL - 6-8 reps X 3 sets
Bent-knee sit-up - 8-10 reps X 3 sets

Wednesday
One-arm kettlebell press - 8 reps each arm X 3 sets
Dynamic effort deadlift - 10-12 singles separated by 60 seconds of rest
Chin-up - 6 reps X 4 sets

Friday
Press - some number of singles performed at 95% of max
Max effort deadlift - working up to a "heavy" single, maybe 95% of max
Ring pull-up - 5 reps X 4 sets
Bent-knee sit-up - 8-10 reps X 3 sets

I'll continue to keep my log here for maybe a couple more weeks, then I'll start a new thread, posting only the occasional update on my foot, should all continue to go well.

-S.

[nisora33]

6/02/10

Standing press - 122 lbs. X 1, 125 lbs. X 1-1-1-1 reps

ME deadlift - 320 X 1-1 rep
(Alright, I got pissed because broski didn't post my video from Friday, so I went ahead and deadlifted from the floor again today: 320 lbs. X 1, which isn't really an impressive number, except when you consider that it's only been a little over 6 weeks since I broke me ole foot--and considering that I wore out my back and glutes and hams Monday with SLDLs. Enjoy, suckas, I'm pretty proud of the healing I was able to do.)

http://vimeo.com/12239198

Chin-up - 7-6-6-6 reps

-S

[nisora33]

6/04/10

Standing press - worked up to 125 X 1
(Stopped because both elbows were killing me, as was my right wrist)

DE deadlift - 205 lbs. X 1 rep X 10 sets, 60 sec. break in-between reps
(Oooooh shit. So deadlifting heavy again on Wednesday so soon after Friday really fucked my midback up. Had a fekkin knot develop right around my lower thoracic/upper lumbar vertebrae by the end. Let's see how I feel after the weekend, then maybe it'll be SLDLs come Monday morning.)

Ring pull-up - 5-5-5-5 reps

Dumbbell bent-knee sit-up - 55 lbs. X 10-8-8 reps

So I suppose this log has just about run its course. I'm starting a new log, boring though it might be.

-S.

[Dastardly]

Well, what was the result? Did you get 'yoked?