Member
I've strained my pec twice close to a meet. I had an acupuncturist go ape on it with heat and cupping and massage and needles.
I just massaged it and benched close grip for all my heavy work and tried not to re injure it and it held up for the meet.
Sorry you got hurt, I hope it heals fast.
Member
Ya man, it sucks. Gotta make the best of whatever is there; the hard part is knowing whether rest and recovery will help enough to make the detraining worthwhile, or if the detraining will be greater than the benefit of rest.Originally Posted by tdood
Member
Took Tuesday as another rest day. Required some reshuffling of my pre-meet plans, but no biggie. I still wasn't quite 100% today with my erectors, but good enough to get some solid work in.
Squat - XXL SBDs + Belt
5x5: 405 @6; 440 @7.5; 440 @7; 425 @7; 405 @6.5
Notes: These all moved pretty well (first one at 440 was harder than second, I think - only have vid of the second), but felt harder. RPEs are modified slightly by feel here. I had a 440x5x5 planned for Monday, but that would've been too much for today, and probably too close to the meet to allow adequate recovery to hit higher intensity work at the right time too. I'll do a bit more volume on Friday, and then hit heavy squat and DLs for the last time Monday, 13 days out.
KB 1-Arm Press (in kgs)
16x10, 20x6, 24x5, 28x5, 32x5, 24x5
Notes: Decided to let my pec thing rest completely, and I could feel it just a tiny bit pressing with the bar on Monday, so just did some KB pressing. Light and easy, worked well to get some space between the Sq and DL too.
Snatch Grip DL
405x3; 435x3; 455x3x2 @6-6.5ish
Notes: Back still felt a bit weak and tight trying to squeeze up but these moved well enough. Did ramping 3s all the way up, as usual. These felt like 7.5-8s but moved like 5.5s.
HSPU
3,3,3
Notes: This is a PR of sorts. I've never done 3x3 before, but they're SOOOO much easier when not already toasted by bench, press, or both beforehand.
C2 Erg - 25/85 x 8
Paces: Didn't record all, most were 1:36, fastest was 1:30. RPE was about 8. Good for today.
Member
You have enough time to rest a little and probably go heavy before the meet. I've found I can push a strained muscle pretty hard, even while it still hurts pretty bad. In MY case I think I usually pop a few fibers and don't really compromise the integrity of the muscle. Good luck !
Member
The good: pec seems to be healing up quicker than expected.
The bad: back fatigue seems to be lingering longer than expected.
Squat - XXL SBDs + Belt
365x4 @6.5 (loose belt); 375x4 @7; 385x4x2 @7,7;
2ct Paused Squat
335x4 (loose belt) @7
Notes: Back still a little tight, it was fighting me leaning over properly. Not hard at these weights, but could definitely still feel back tightness, mostly in the left thoracic erectors. I'm hoping to get in one more heavy Squat and DL workout, but if I'm not ready for that by Tuesday, I'll just have to scrap it and hope my gainz hold out till the meet. Any closer than 12 days out and heavy/near max pulling would be a bad idea. Will work on it a bunch over the weekend.
CGBP
45x10, 95x8, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 245x3, 265x3, 285x3, 255x3, 225x3
Notes: Very pleasantly surprised that pec still felt OK at 285 but played it safe and just ramped back down. This was a nice surprise. While I was excited to possibly PR my paused bench at the meet - a 185kg bench would be a 2lb PR - I'll be happy just to be in the neighborhood of 400 after this happened so close to the meet. Still need to be smart but I don't think I'll max out at 350, as I was worried about.
Power Clean
115x3x2, 135x2, 155x2, 175x2, 195x2, 215x2, 230x2, 240x1+1, 250x1+1, 260x1+1, 270x1+1x2
Notes: These weren't particularly sharp. BUT this is the first time in my life that I can hit 270 power cleans a) after already having squatted work sets earlier in the workout b) while still generally/systemically fatigued from recent squat and DL volume work and c) with an erector that's still jacked up. So this is a definite sign of improvement. But I really need to learn to get my hips through and finish the pull. I could probably power clean 160-ish kg if I could get that straight.
C2 Erg: 20/1:30 x8
Paces: 1:53.6, 1:39.0, 1:30.9, 1:25.4, 1:21.9, 1:24.7, 1:30.0, 1:21.9
Notes: Couldn't quite find that top gear, but got a couple down to 1:21.9, which is alright. I think my erector was holding me back today.
Starting Strength Coach
I am waiting for the post that says the pec feels great and your back has never felt stronger.
Member
Ditto. I wish you good case of Karl's disease.
Member
Heh. You guys.
Pec does feel better though; still being conservative with lighter loads and closer grip but pushed it a little further today than Friday and feels fine. Stay tuned after these messages for more details below.
Member
Was a little apprehensive about today. Back was still somewhat tired, felt much better than last week but still some tweakiness and fatigue. On the other hand, I didn't want to do a max squat and DL workout any later than tomorrow, and I had about an hour more time today than tomorrow so today would be a much better choice logistically.
I stimmed and iced this morning and felt OK, so decided to A) do it today but B) Not push it past what I felt I could do TODAY and not chase pre-set numbers if they weren't there. As it turned out, I was able to hit all my planned numbers minus one rep I didn't go for in the DL. I definitely felt the accumulated fatigue today, was far from having my best stuff, so being able to do all this under these circumstances is very encouraging.
Workout took 3+ hours and I'm tired as hell now but intact. No tweaks of any kind that I can tell occurred in the making of this workout.
Squat - belt + XXL SBD
475x2; 505x2 @ 8.5; 530x2 - PR @9.5; 550x1 - PR @10; 445x3 @8; 405x5 @7 (loose belt)
Notes: Wasn't explosive today and was getting forward on my warmups so had to slow down the heavier sets to avoid this. Result was slow but steady heavier reps. Happy to get 2 squat PRs in a row, a double and a single. I'd like to hit 255 at the meet and have a little gas in the tank there; judging by today, that is a realistic expectation for a normal day.
Bench - closeish grip, beltless
45x8, 135x6, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285x5, 305x5, 315x5 @8
Notes: All ok here. Moved grip out about 1 inch. Still about 3 inches narrower than regular grip.
PC Warm-up
135x2, 165x2, 185x1, 205x1, 225x1
Deadlift - hookgrip + Belt
535x5 @7.5; 575x3 @8.75; 610x2 - PR @9/10; 455x5 @7.5 (straps)
Notes: 535 was slower than usual but solid. Dropped a planned 4th rep at 575 to stay fresh for the final set. Probably had another rep at 610 if I wanted to do a balls to the wall 10, but my back was rounding a bit on the second rep, and considering it's still not recovered from 9 days' ago and is a bit tight and tweaky, decided not to take a 3rd rep (which I really wasn't planning on anyway, but would've taken if it was there).
Tore a callus at the base of my left thumb on the 610 set, but it seems ok.
Overall very happy with today. I had far from my best stuff and still hit two squat PRs and a DL PR, got through a 3.5 hour workout without hurting anything. I'll still have some heavyish Squat and DL work but this is the last max work before the meet.
Videos later.
Starting Strength Coach
Great work. Heavier than I thought you would go this close to meet but sounds like you approached it with good discretion. Just get rested and taper from here on in and you will hit some great numbers at the meet. Please remind us, what is exact date of meet? Is it August 1st?
Sounds to me that you have, at least, 655 on the DL waiting for you and 565 on the SQ. Maybe more on each lift. Your thoughts?
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