Harder to Kill - 5 Pounds at a Time

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 11/2
Bench.........205x5x5 <--- Feet up.
Curl............65x8x3, 55x12x3
Airdyne Intervals 8 min

Wednesday 11/4
Press..........135x8x3, 85x12x2, 65x12
CG Bench....175x8x5 <--- Feet down! This is progress.
LTE............65x12x3
Band Pressdown 3x15
Airdyne Intervals 5 min

Friday 11/6
Band Assisted Chins..3x10
Band Pulldowns........3x12
Band Face Pulls........5x15
Airdyne - moderate pace 5 min

The sciatic pain has improved. I'm still limping, but it's not agonizing to get out of a chair anymore. Benching with my feet down on Wednesday still hurt, but not much.

I'm taking a layoff to heal; I'm not sure how long. A big lesson from last week was that squatting and pulling make me feel worse. I tried doing intervals on the Airdyne to keep my lower body active, and it actually seems to help with the pain. In the meantime I am going to do upper body training inspired by Andy Baker's articles on his 8-5-2 powerbuilding format. Might as well use the time I'm not squatting to mess around with accessories.

I'm about to leave on a two week business trip - not sure yet if I'll be able to train.

[ajlindahl]

Ready,

Sorry to hear about your Injury... that sucks!!! You for sure need to keep training! You might try a chiropractor for that SI thing. I've had a few nagging back injuries that just didn't heal, until a Chiro shifted things back into place. The muscle injuries healed very quickly after the Chiro visit.

I have not stopped training, but I did stop posting my training log. I just finished my first run through TM, my Squat finished with 330x5x5, and 395x2x1, my last DL I was able to pull 405x2. I didn't think that was too bad for a 37 y.o. Type 1 Diabetic. Just finished looking through my logs and it was about 14 weeks to run through. SxR Went from 1x5 -> 2x3 -> 5x1. I plan to run TM out again starting back with 1x5s.
Maybe if I find a little time I will start posting my training log again.

Get that injury situation fixed and train on Brother!

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Ready,

Sorry to hear about your Injury... that sucks!!! You for sure need to keep training! You might try a chiropractor for that SI thing. I've had a few nagging back injuries that just didn't heal, until a Chiro shifted things back into place. The muscle injuries healed very quickly after the Chiro visit.

I have not stopped training, but I did stop posting my training log. I just finished my first run through TM, my Squat finished with 330x5x5, and 395x2x1, my last DL I was able to pull 405x2. I didn't think that was too bad for a 37 y.o. Type 1 Diabetic. Just finished looking through my logs and it was about 14 weeks to run through. SxR Went from 1x5 -> 2x3 -> 5x1. I plan to run TM out again starting back with 1x5s.
Maybe if I find a little time I will start posting my training log again.

Get that injury situation fixed and train on Brother!

AJ - I've been wondering about you! Glad you're doing well; that's a solid run. Where did your presses end up? Doing any better with your power cleans?

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 11/9
Bench.........275x1, 245x3, 225x8, 185x8x2, 135x12
Curl............70x8x3
DB Curl.......35x12, 25x12, 20x12

Friday 11/13
Press..........165x1, 150x4, 135x6, 95x8x3
LTE.............70x12x3

I managed to find my way to the gym twice this week. I don't have a lot of time (working a weird schedule), so I just did a heavy single with some backoffs and accessories. I've gotten spoiled with my home gym; my equipment is way better than this shit. I've taken this opportunity to mess around with dumbbells. Dumbbell accessories feel weird and alien to me now. I was planning to buy dumbbell handles for my home gym, but now I'm not sure.

The pain is steady. It's not getting worse, but it's certainly not improving. I've tried foam rolling and aggressive massage. Stretches and yoga-type movements piss off my SI joint more. I imagine if I go back to my doctor he will give me a steroid pill or maybe one of those cortisone shots, which I would rather avoid. Ive noticed my left hip is grinding and popping a little, which I assume is a result of the inflammation.

AJ says it helps, so maybe I'll try going to a chiropractor when I get home? It's been a while now, and I'm willing to try just about anything at this point.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Wednesday 11/18
Bench.........285x1, 255x3, 225x8
Curl............70x8x3
TRX Fly.......3x12
TRX Curl.....3x12

Only made it to the gym once this week. Set a new bench PR, did my backoffs, and then messed around with the TRX. Not going to lie; it was kind of fun.

The pain is improving. I had a breakthrough a few days ago when I was shifting around and got a loud crack right in the SI joint. It suddenly felt about 50% better - I think the inflammation has gone down enough that the joint has returned to some kind of normal arrangement. There is still pain, but I'm not limping anymore, and I can get up from a chair without that intense shooting sciatic pain.

Now, my symptoms are:
- Some pain in the SI joint and hip
- Some numbness on the inside of my calf
- Weakness in the quad

Hopefully recovery is in sight. I don't know when I plan to get back to squatting and pulling. Taking a layoff seems to have done some good.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 11/23
Bench.........235x5x5
Curl............75x8x3
TRX Press....3x12

Wednesday 11/25
Press..........146x5x5

Friday 11/27
Bench.........260x5
Press..........162x1x5

It's good to be back in my own gym. The pain has improved a lot. I'm able to use my hips in the press again, and I think I'll be ready to start squatting and pulling light next week.

I'll see how it goes, but a huge lesson is shaping up here: we talk a lot about training through and around pain and injuries, but there are situations where a layoff might be best. It's important to know the difference.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 11/30
Squat.........45x5x3
Bench.........240x5x5
Deadlift.......135x6 <--- lost count

Wednesday 12/2
Squat.........95x5x3
Press..........148x5x5
Deadlift.......185x5

Friday 12/4
Squat.........135x5x3
Bench.........265x5
Press..........164x1x5
Deadlift.......225x5

I am working up on squats and deadlifts, moving with extreme caution and focusing on hard thoracic and lumbar extension. I'll keep up this fast LP next week. I got a 3 inch belt to use for pulling, and I can see on video that it doesn't interfere with my back like the big squat belt does. I wish I got a 3 inch belt from the beginning.

Of note, I picked up the compressed TM for press and bench press where I left off, and the PRs keep coming.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 12/7
Squat.........185x5x3
Bench.........245x5x5
Deadlift.......275x5

Wednesday 12/9
Squat.........225x5x3
Press..........150x5x5
Deadlift.......315x5

Friday 12/11
Squat.........275x5x3
Bench.........270x5
Press..........166x1x5
Deadlift.......335x5

Back feels great. Friday's deadlifts looked slow on video. It's time to throttle back and begin a true LP from here. I have plenty of gas in the tank on squats, but I am going to keep my deadlift way out in front for now to manage the stress on my low back. I think weak and overworked spinal erectors were the main cause of my injuries - I was squatting and deadlifting artificially heavy and outpacing my erectors' ability to maintain extension.

Back Injury Lessons Learned

• Rip says it - everything heals. I was starting to get scared when I felt nerve symptoms - sciatic pain, numbness, weakness in the leg. I suspect an SI joint injury, but it could have been a disc injury or something else. But it doesn't matter - I got better. Don't panic. Go see the doctor if you need to ease your mind.
• Sometimes you need a layoff to let the acute injury heal. We talk a lot about working through minor injuries, but sometimes left unsaid is that if squatting makes you feel worse, don't. I didn't start to heal until I took a break. I probably made it worse by trying to get right back into training heavy.
• Be patient - sometimes time is ALL you need. I tried NSAIDs, prescription NSAIDs, massage, RDLs, top-down deadlifts, stretching, nerve flossing, and some yoga poses. Nothing made any noticeable difference except just resting and waiting.
• Train what you can. I benched with my feet up and pressed when the pain allowed. I took the extra time to do some curls and LTEs and shit, which was actually fun. Doing that and walking kept me active and kept me from going nuts. I even set some upper body PRs.
• You can get away with lumbar flexion for a while, but it will catch up with you. Without a coach, you must record yourself and be honest about what you see.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 12/14
Squat.........280x5x3
Bench.........250x5x5
Deadlift.......345x5

Wednesday 12/16
Squat.........285x5x3
Press..........151x5x5
Chin-Up.......BWx5x3

Friday 12/18
Squat.........290x5x3
Bench.........275x5 <--- reps 4 and 5 were a battle
Press..........168x1x5
Deadlift.......355x5

Good week. I'm really stoked about 275x5 bench - that's been a goal for a while. Next week I will bench 280x3x2 as I continue running it out.

I did chins on Wednesday to give my back a break. Deadlifting 355x5 on Friday was really, really hard. I took about two minutes to do the set because it takes forever to catch my breath between reps. Next week might be time to start deadlifting once a week and working power cleans back in.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 12/21
Squat.........295x5x3
Bench.........240x5x5
Deadlift.......365x5

Wednesday 12/23
Squat.........300x5x3
Press..........153x5x5
Power Clean.175x3x5

Friday 12/25
Squat.........305x5x3
Bench.........280x3x2
Press..........170x1x5
Deadlift.......375x5

I got some feedback on my deadlift in the Technique forum. Rip's advice was (to paraphrase) stop being a pussy, hurry up, and pull the bar. I was taking forever between reps, hanging out at the bottom and getting more and more tired. I think, too, I've been scared to deadlift and I'm letting fear drive me into overthinking the setup.

Friday's 375x5 was the best-feeling set of deadlifts I've ever pulled. I watched a video of Carl Raghavan deadlifting (I'm built kind of like him) and saw how he kind of "snaps in" with chest up and back tight, pauses a beat, and pulls. I kept that rhythm, and 375x5 felt better than 355 last week.

Big breath, shins to the bar, snap in, pull, lock, down. Repeat. I'm going to keep this "snap in" cue in my toolbox; it seems to make sense to my brain.


P.S. I uploaded a video of the 375x5 to Youtube to post and get some feedback and it has ten thousand fucking views and a bunch of comments. How does that happen?