Can't say I have. Don't know anyone/where nearby who has one, but google could probably tell me that.
Can't say I have. Don't know anyone/where nearby who has one, but google could probably tell me that.
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Solid-GIB...=gravity+boots
These may be excessive. I used to love doing a little ab work with them after heavy squats/deads. very relaxing. An inversion table lets you ease into the inversion.
I feel beat as old balls, but had a good day in the gym today. Felt good to do well, after yesterday's frustration.
Squat
445x3x2
Notes: Felt snappy. Was better on depth and tightness. I could feel the fatigue accumulation, but I'm quite sure I could have done a set of 445x5 if I wanted to.
Deadlift
505x5
Notes: Hook grip was once again not super strong, but no issue with the pulls. I forgot my 3" pulling belt at home; tried Sarah's belt (she uses a 3"), and I could get it closed on the first (loosest) hole, but was tighter than was comfortable, so just used my 4". Don't love it, and I have trouble getting as SQUOZE with the 4", but I've pulled more using that belt in the past; it's fine.
Deficit DL - 1" mat
405x5x2 - DOH and beltless
Notes: Much better technique than last week. Stayed tighter, kept bar on my legs, and pulled faster.
C2 Erg
20s Row / 1:40 Rest x 6
Paces: 1:54, 1:36, 1:23, 1:20, 1:21, 1:18
Notes: This was the fastest I've ever gone, and though I was winded and beat by the end, I didn't feel like I over-exerted. Happy about these. Sarah helped here with some cueing and yelling.
I’m not excited to go to the gym today. For months, Mondays were Bench Intensity/Press Volume days, plus some assistance work - chins, maybe some rows, curls. If I’d been training to plan, I’d be doing something like a 365x5 bench press today, followed by 205x5x5 presses.
Not world-class, surely, but pretty goddamn solid.
Instead, I'll go in and dick around with some pressing, maybe trying new variations to see what doesn't hurt, since it's deload week anyway, before chinning and curling.
I’m really super tired of this shoulder/trap issue. It’s been nearly two months now with no real, significant sign of healing or correction. I haven’t been able to train any pressing movement hard this entire time. 315x5 in the bench press is hard and causes pain, as does 195x5 in the press. For just one set each. Weights lighter than 5x5 work sets, prior to this happening.
I can’t convey in words how frustrated I am. Since December 1, 2012, I haven’t had a single moment where my entire body was healthy all at once to the point where I could train to my actual level of training advancement in every lift/bodypart at the same time. I’ve made progress on every lift since then, but never all at the same time. One or two lifts move up for several months, while I can’t train others at all due to injury. Then when an injury heals, so I can train the other movements again, a new one pops up that prevents me from training the ones I could previously train. Over and over again.
I’ve done mobility work, I’ve gotten fairly regular massage, I’ve seen a soft tissue specialist, I’ve watched my form over and over again on all the lifts, and had other knowledgable, experienced coaches watch me (in person and video).
Though you can always do more, see one more expert, try one more thing, I feel like I’ve done more than my fair share - more than most people do - of being responsible and trying to cover my bases in terms of recovery and form and things other than just “Lift MOAR Weight!”
Yet here I am, 14+ months in a row without a moment of perfectly harmonious training and body.
I’m really happy to be able to squat and deadlift again after a 10 week hiatus, and that 435x5x3 volume PR last week was a bright spot, to be sure.
But why can’t it all just click at the same time, like it does most of the time for most people I know? Everyone goes through injuries, has set-backs, and frustrations; but not a single person I know who lifts, has had anything like the run I’ve had. (Not a single catastrophic injury/event that knocks you out for a long time or permanently, but just the run of injuries that prevent training certain lifts of full expression of strength for a prolonged period. Over and over and over again.)
What is the key ingredient here, that no one seems to be able to figure out, that’s causing SOMETHING to break down all the time, despite my taking better care of myself than those who have significantly fewer problems and injuries. Or is it really just a rotten string of bad luck?
/rant.
(Edit: Note - I am not looking for unsolicited suggestions on the topic, unless you are a subject matter expert AND know how I lift, my training and injury history in detail. I'm just ranting.)
Last edited by Michael Wolf; 02-10-2014 at 11:32 AM.
/sympathy
/this
Mike, I feel that same way when I get the arm painz but unlike you, mine goes away after a few days.
Every once in a while I'll get the hip or knee painz but they also go away after a few days.
I wonder if you could figure out why the painz linger on for so long and then use that knowledge to make them go away faster.
Lifting is like an addictive drug. When you don't get the hit you need, it can send you in a tizzy.
Only thing you can do is stay positive and hang in. Think about how far you've come and not how far you want to go. Think about all the people you've helped; I wouldn't have deadlifted 600 if I never met you in person at the Carnage in 2012. Don't let the lack of the right hit change your mind. You will get excited again. 1775.
This is what I'm trying to figure out. This has been a series of actual injuries, not just some expected wear and tear on the muskels and joints. Trying to find a common thread or at least a solution and coming up empty.
Exactly. It's like you know my inner feelz. I'm fortunate in that at least my issues have been mostly segmented. There have been a few shorter periods where I couldn't do anything heavy, but most of the time, I could at least do something heavy. It's certainly rough that just when I could squat and pull pain free again, this trap/shoulder thing popped up out of nowhere. But it's better than everything being messed up at the same time.
Thank you my friend. Coming from you, this really means a lot. Trying to stay positive. 1655. Then 1775.
Mostly messed around and handed off/spotted for Sarah today. My own training was weak sauce.
Push Jerk
45x5, 65x4, 85x4, 105x4, 125x3, 145x3, 155x 2-3 reps x a bunch of sets
Notes: Wanted to do overhead work of some kind, and these were only slightly irritating to my shoulder, less than other choices. Haven't done them in forever, so my timing needs a lot of work, as well as remembering that this isn't a heavy press, and I need to shrug faster into the bar and lock out my elbows much faster.
Part of it was guarding against anticipated pain, and part was just being very, very out of practice.
Chins
11,10,10,10
Notes: Sarah tsk-tsked me on the first set to make sure I get my chin definitively above the bar on every rep; I whined, but complied thereafter.
Tried DB Bench (60x10) and it bugged my trap.
TRX Row
12,10,10
Notes: Started pretty low, but was still too easy so lowered the handles for the 2nd and 3rd set. Just chose these to keep my erectors unloaded for de-load week.