Injury rehab & 1st meet preperation, all in one.

[KAG]

5' 10"
225lbs & dropping, down from 235lbs a few weeks ago. My weight goal is to fit easily into the 220 class. I'm hoping to be around 210.

I'm starting this log to give me additional motivation and keep myself honest coming up.

I just started to lift this week after several weeks of being laid up and recuperating from a herniated disc. Since I was going to try my first meet in July, before I got hurt, now that I can lift again, I'm extra motivated.

I've got 6 more weeks to get ready. My lifts are really low due to the time off and the fact that I'm taking it easy on my back.

This week I felt out my back and found out what I can and can't do, and how far behind I've fallen. My plan is to do my usual 5/3/1 workout for the next 3 weeks, take a de-load week, test my maxes the 5th week, then de-load the week of my meet.

I will be lifting Monday-Thursday, 1 main lift per day, and some light accessory work on occasion.

[KAG]

Monday :

Squats
45 -5x3
95 x5
135 x5
185 x3
225 x1
275 x1
315 x1 (I got this up, but I lost my balance slightly and stepped back a couple of inches. It would not have counted in competition, but it went up relatively quickly)

Good Mornings
135 - 5x3

Squats weren't bad on the back, but I decided to stop while I was ahead.



Tuesday:

Bench
45 -20x2
95 x5
135 x5
165 x3
185 x1
205 x1
230 x1(Long hard pause on the chest)
240 x1

Dumbbell Bench
55s -10reps

This was good, but the arch made my back sting a little, so I cut out the volume, and I probably will throughout my preparation.




Wednesday:

Deadlift(sumo)
135 x5
185 x3
225 x1
275 x1
325 x1
355 x1
365 x1
375 - failed 3 times

Deadlift(standard stance)
375 x1
385 x1

I decided to try sumo deads since I had heard they were easier on the lower back and I've been told several times that I'm built a lot more for sumo than standard. I hate sumo deads. I gave it another shot, but I don't think I can really advance using this stance. It wasn't any easier on my back or anything else. I got frustrated and went back to a standard stance. After I got 385, I didn't want to risk doing any more.



Thursday:

Press
45 -10x2
75 x5
93 x3
115 x1
135 x1
155 x1
165 x1
175 x1

Before my back hurt I got 185, today 175 was all I had in me. It took everything out of me and about 10 seconds to get up.

[KAG]

Meet Prep Week 1


Squat-
45 -5x3
95 x5
135 x3
185 x1
212.5 x5
245 x5
277.5 x5
245 x5
212.5 x5

This was incredibly hard. I did not think this through properly. Having taken several weeks off due to injury, I really should've de-loaded a little. Instead I was stubborn and impatient and added 10lbs to my last working max and kept going. I paid for that. Every rep of 277.5 was brutal and a grinder. I decided to do the first 2 sets again for volume and they weren't any easier. My working set wore me out.

But the good news is that my back felt good throughout. So this is a victory.

[KAG]

Bench
45 -20x2
95 x5
135 x3
152.5 x5
175 x5
197.5 x8
175 x5
152.5 x5

Dumbbell Bench
55s -12, 8, 8

These were harder than they've been in a while. I guess it's because I haven't done any reps in quite a while. My legs were sore from yesterday, I had no leg drive, and my midsection where I wore my belt yesterday was sore. I could barely hold 175 still throughout the set. I was able to pull it together for the heavy set and it went alright, but every rep was shaky. The back off sets were shaky too. And the dumbbells were torture.

[KAG]

Deadlift
135 x5
185 x3
225 x2
255 x5
297.5 x5
335 x6
365 x1
365 x1


Good Mornings
135 5x5

This did not go well. My back felt fine as far as it didn't hurt, but I am weak. 335 felt like 535 and each rep was slow moving. I had to reset between each rep and was so tired they were basically 6 singles.

After several minutes rest I decided to try 365 a couple of times to see how my form looked compared to USAPL rules and I saw some issues. I'm waiting to hear back from a USAPL official to see how bad of an issue I have.

[DRice311]

Good luck man! I just finished my first USAPL meet this past weekend, and had a blast. What is your issue on the deadlift? are you resting the weight on your thighs?

[KAG]

Good luck man! I just finished my first USAPL meet this past weekend, and had a blast. What is your issue on the deadlift? are you resting the weight on your thighs?

Yes, to a slight extent. It doesn't actually rest, or even slow down, I just tend to ramp it up just the slightest bit too much. I never knew it was an issue until I saw someone's video in my thread in the Training section. When he got red lights I realized I did the same thing most of the time.

What ends up happening, due to my short T-Rex arms that make me lockout my deadlift up on the pubic bone area, is that my knees haven't extended and locked out fully yet, because the weight is only about 40% of the way up when it passes the knees, so my knees are still slightly bent making me drag the weight up at a slight backward angle up the thighs.

I made a video and sent it to the meet director. He told me flat out, rep by rep, what was good, what was bad, and whether each rep would've counted or not. Oddly enough I tend to ramp worse on lighter reps than heavier ones. Maybe it's a lack of concentration because it's lighter weight, or maybe it's because I get in a hurry when doing rep sets, I don't know, but my 365 singles today looked a lot better than my 335s did. I'm going to work on it. Even if I have to lift a pathetically low number at the meet, I'd rather fail with proper form, than to get red lights on a completed lift.

And he suggested from my video that I ditch my Olympic shoes for flat shoes because it looked like it was affecting my stance and the bar path. So I am going to lift in socks until my deadlift slippers arrive and see what happens.

[KAG]

Press:
45 -10x2
65 x5
85 x3
105 x1
117.5 x5
135 x5
152.5 x3- Failure
152.5 x5
135 x5

My left shoulder was on fire today for the first time in quite a while and it was a real distraction. 135 went up easily, and the first 2 reps of 152.5 were decent, but I started falling apart on rep #3, and couldn't get #4 up after 2 tries. That made me just angry enough to try again a few minutes later and succeed. It was ugly and noisy as I growled and snarled, but I somehow got 5 reps up. 135 went up easily the 2nd time, but I was spent after that and called it a day. I skipped the last back-off set and the dumbbell presses I had planned.

I knew that moving the press from the beginning of the week to the end would have some negative affects, but it's frustrating not to be able to handle a weight that I should've gotten 8-9 reps with.

Now for 3 days of rest which I really need. I feel beat down.

[KAG]

Meet Prep Week 2

Squat
45 -5x3
96 x5
135 x3
185 x2
205 x1
230 x3
262.5 x3
295 x4
320 x1


Good Mornings
135 -5x3

Squatting was not fun. My diet has been interfering with recovery and energy, so I'm ditching it. I'll lift in the 242s if I have to, but I', tired of dieting and feeling terrible when training. 262.5 felt like a max. I managed 3 decent looking reps at 295, but the last rep was hideously ugly. After a few minutes 320 went up with decent speed. It was ugly, but it would count in competition. This was a good feeling.

Good mornings went alright. I'm still not very good at them, but they're giving my hamstrings a good working.

[KAG]

Bench
45 -20x2
95 x5
125 x3
145 x1
162.5 x3
185 x3
210 x3* hit the hook on the way up and lost balance, did 2nd set
210 x5

My left shoulder hurts bad. It feels like my bicep tendon and labrum again. It made me horrible unbalanced and unstable. After hitting the hook on the 1st set, I got my brother-in-law to give me a handoff. He did a good job. Was able to get 5 solid reps, but afterward my left shoulder and arm were on fire. We tried practicing the hand-off with 135lbs, but my arm was so shaky and weak I had to quit. I'm icing it now, not that it really helps much.

I'm going to be made if my shoulder keeps me out of my competition, after coming back from my back problem, just because worker's comp didn't want to spend the money to repair me.