Rob's Brooklyn Block (periodization) Party

[Rob Israel]

Thanks John, your input is always much appreciated!

Yea, Jordan told me to lower my elbows. A much hated cue, but sometimes a necessity I guess. I must have had them cocked extra high on Monday-- I think it was due to rack height actually, that squat rack is either way too low or a little too high.... I'll definitely only use "my" rack moving forward. I hate the other one and now I hate it more. I'm also trying to stand a little "taller" by squeezing my butt at the top, I'm now wondering if all the "up" movement is creating new and different tension and angles in my upper back and elbows....

I'm going to wait until after the meet to play with the thumb wrap unless things are bad tomorrow-- it's a pretty big change and I don't want to mess with my form the week before a meet.

[John Petrizzo]

Thanks John, your input is always much appreciated!

Yea, Jordan told me to lower my elbows. A much hated cue, but sometimes a necessity I guess. I must have had them cocked extra high on Monday-- I think it was due to rack height actually, that squat rack is either way too low or a little too high.... I'll definitely only use "my" rack moving forward. I hate the other one and now I hate it more. I'm also trying to stand a little "taller" by squeezing my butt at the top, I'm now wondering if all the "up" movement is creating new and different tension and angles in my upper back and elbows....

I'm going to wait until after the meet to play with the thumb wrap unless things are bad tomorrow-- it's a pretty big change and I don't want to mess with my form the week before a meet.

I wouldn't change anything the week before a meet either, Rob. Just something to keep in mind going forward. I agree with you that all of your attention to standing up taller probably put you in a little more thoracic extension and lifted your elbows up higher which irritated your shoulders. Anyway, try some of that stuff after the meet if you want, but for now Ibuprofen is your friend. Hope you feel better at your next session.

[Rob Israel]

Thanks again John. Definitely felt better last night and my arms didn't bother me squatting until the very last rep and that wasn't too bad and just the left arm...

Sports Form Day 3

Last heavy day before the meet!

Squat: 385x1, 405x1, 400xF, 400x1, 390x2
That was an adventure. I did the smoothest 405 ever which was really satisfying. Definitely one left in the tank (finally). The I pitched way forward on my 1st attempt at a double at 400 and had the bail the bar. That was little scary because I dumped it off my back and realized I could have crushed my hand if it was over the safety! I cleared it fine. I went right back to attempt it again, but it was a grindy rep and only did one...

Bench: 235x1, 240x1, 235x2, 230x2
Very solid and smooth. I set up the camera and then forgot to record. Everything had 1 left in the tank for sure. I'm going to suggest to Jordan I open at 237 and then go 248 for the PR and 253 for the final. I never seem to make my last attempt with a 10 pound jump so I'd like to be a little more conservative this time.

Here's a video of my pulls and squats this week. I don't know if I mentioned this before but the last 3 videos the music is from my band in the mid-90's. Today's tune was written by the guitar player...

[Dwayne_KONG_Wint]

Its always the left arm Rob...I don't know why but it is.

Nice SQUATZZZZ!

[sking1001]

Yeah it was my left arm too. Had that problem back when I kept my elbows too high. Elbows down immediately cured it. Didn't even go thumbs around until much later. You can easily get your elbows down more with a thumbless grip too.

Can't wait to see the meet results, Rob. Kick some ass!

[Rob Israel]

Yeah it was my left arm too. Had that problem back when I kept my elbows too high. Elbows down immediately cured it. Didn't even go thumbs around until much later. You can easily get your elbows down more with a thumbless grip too.

Can't wait to see the meet results, Rob. Kick some ass!

Thanks Steve! I'm getting pretty excited about the whole thing. Jordan sent me my openers and attempts (after I sent him my choices). They were... different. He's going to be there handling me, so I'm just going to leave it in hands. The goal seems to be to put up the biggest total possible and go 9/9. That's sounds like a no-brainer, but normally my goal is to PR every lift (and my total) not necessarily to get the biggest total possible.

Anyway, today I worked up to openers. I was supposed to then do 2x2 @75% of my openers but completely forgot that. It's not like I haven't looked at my workout for today no less than 10 times since Friday. DOH!

Squat: up to 380
I completely smoked this. Unfortunately my arms bother me again after squatting. Very odd- Friday's workout was so much hard and so many more reps-- no problem. Today I probably did fewer reps in a squat workout ever. Jordan also sent me a warmup protocol for the meet so I decided to try it. Needless to say it's way different than what I'm used to. It seemed to work just fine though and the squat felt good. Too bad about the arms. (Both, not just the left).

Bench: up 227.5 (meet will be 226). This is 10 pounds lighter than I suggested. My left arm is still bothering me from Friday. I strained my left biceps squatting. WTF.

That was the quickest workout I've had in a while. Very happy with how the squat felt, bummer about the arms. I'm wondering if I'm letting the bar rest on my hands too much. I think I actually need to raise my elbows and get my hand up above the bar. Just a theory. No video.

[Dwayne_KONG_Wint]

Arm is what it is. Let the peak.....peak you. You are going to do great!!

[Rob Israel]

Arm is what it is. Let the peak.....peak you. You are going to do great!!

Thanks Dwayne. I'm just going to stuff myself with Advil that morning and forget about it!

Sport Form: Last workout prior...

Squat: Warmed up to 265x2x2
Bench: warmed up to 185x2x2

Arms felt mediocre, but not too bad. Squat felt good and the knee was totally fine. I'm solid. This is going come down to concentration and adrenaline.
I got a shitty, shitty night's sleep last night, so I'm aiming for two good ones in a row! Friday night in the hotel-- who knows?

[Nick Klemetson]

Its always the left arm Rob...I don't know why but it is.

Yea, Jordan told me to lower my elbows.

Yeah it was my left arm too. Had that problem back when I kept my elbows too high. Elbows down immediately cured it.

As I've been coaching more and more, I'm finding the elbow-pain-while-squatting problem one of the most perplexing ones to solve. For me personally, I cured it when I narrowed my grip significantly. Other people benefit elbows down, others benefit elbows up, some people need to widen their grip... it's frustrating, both for yourself and the people you are coaching.

Thankfully, high volume chins, hammer curls, and a lax ball to the distal bicep seem to be universal cures, so there's always somewhere to start.

[Rob Israel]

Quick competition update... It's been a whirlwind of a great weekend, about to do some sightseeing with the wife, so here's the skinny:

Squat: 380, 407, 429 (PR)
Bench: 226, 242, 247(meet PR)
Dead: 429, 451 (PR), 473 (miss)

Missed my last pull again. 451 was so smooth it seemed like a no-brainer. I missed 462 last time, so it's an improvement I guess! ;-)

Total: 1127.5 (up 27.5 from August)