Week 7, day 3
BW a bit up- 77.3kg (170).
Squat: 112,5kg/ 248x5x3
Bench: 82kg/ 180x5x3
Deadlift: Threw in the towel... my hip hurts so badly. Sciatica or "false" sciatica... piriformis syndrome I guess.
The day is good. I ate a lot yesterday. Lots of fish and shrimps- almost 200gr of protein in total.
But the pain in my hip is bad. I googled the problem, and I am pretty sure its the piriformis syndrome. Im tight on the left side, and the left side is the only problem. Dont think there is any issues with herniated discs...
The squat was good! Oh I like the compact heavy feeling. I still have good speed, this is very good on a Friday!
There is no pain during the lifts, but I noticed my breath starting to sound like Clarence Kennedy (maybe because I'm a big fan..!) Almost like my body is powered by hydralics... haha!
I really do hope the LP is going to last some more time, because this is major fun!
The problem with pain is when the bar is racked, and the pressure releases from my body... fuck it hurts!! I almost can not stand up.
The benchpress is also so good. Im tight and have everything under control. Added 2 pounds, but most likely could have added 3!
Deadlift had to pass due to the pain in my hip... relaxing this evening, drinking a couple of beers... solving world problems and just celebrating the strength.
Even though the pain is bad... its a good thing my back is so good now. The sciatica or piriformis syndrome will be gone soon, Im sure!
I am thinking about taking the deadlift tomorrow, if the pain is better.
While the beer is good, the lifting is better.
You might be bumping up against your volume limit (for now) for combination Heavy Squats and Deadlifts. The reason I say "for now" is that if you're following the NLP to the letter and adding 5-10lbs per lift per session, you'll reach a point where your back and glutes can't keep up with the volume, even at 34. That's your first hint that you're getting closer to some Intermediate programming. So you've introduced your Power Cleans, which is a light day (relative to the deadlift), an element of Intermediate programming. You could do similar with the Squat, having a light day mid-week (dropping 8-10% of your Monday weight) and adding weight on Monday & Friday.
The key is to keep lifting, not to take days off. Here are some good reads and watches on the topic:
Back Pain and Back Strength
The Back Pain Episode
Weight Training with Low Back Pain — Will Morris
Aches and Pains — Austin Baraki
Hope that helps.
You are surely into something I have thought about, but this is more like an "injury"/ache/pain thing... in my opinion, but I know I'm an inexperienced lifter, so I will keep an eye on it.
Painkillers take it almost completely away... and it is not painful to lift... just the walk afterwards is killing me.
Im pretty sure now its the piriformis syndrom. Massaging and painkillers helped a lot.
Week 7, day 4 (deadlift only)
BW is the same. About 77,3kg.
Deadlift 270x5x3 (this feels easy!)
So I went back after the deadlift today, on a Saturday. Been working with the piriformis muscle deep inside the glutes on the left side, massaging and
trying to make it relax. The pain is often insane... it attacks... but not while lifting. As long I am under a load, its fine. Its just the everyday situation that bothers it.
I went back today just to try. I had some minor painkillers (Ibuprofen) and the warmup and working set was easy.
My body and mind really feels good, and I think I am able to add 10lbs to the deadlift.... but then again.. I should maybe wait to be so eager until my hip is better.
Next week is just deadlifts on Wednesday, and I'm excited to see how the squat is going. If it feels too heavy, I may be inserting the light Wednesday for the squat. Im actually in week 8 at that time. But we will see, I really start to like the heavy load!
By the way, the squat is called "Knebøy" (Kneebend) in Norwegian. The deadlift is called "Markløft" (Groundlift) haha
I'm definitely not on to something, just riffing off of the experience of the coaches here. I've been in your situation a few times now, situations where the lifting is good, but it takes me 10 minutes to put my shoes on otherwise (which is why I bolded your "everyday situation" sentence. The key is to keep lifting through it.
It's going to feel heavy. That's the point. But, if you have a copy of Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3d ed (if you don't, you should*), you'll note in the example of a "Well Executed Novice Linear Program" that the example does switch to lighter squats on Wednesday (83% of Monday's weight) during Week 8. That example is for a 35M who was a college football (US gridiron) player whose squat is just a little bit ahead of you (270-280lbs) and deadlift is a fair bit ahead of you (330-345lbs). Regardless, the situation would be about the same.
*And you might as well pick up The Barbell Prescription while you're at it, as all three books work very well together to make this and future programming more understandable.
That is one of the things that I love about the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages — they are so descriptive. There is rarely a misunderstanding with a word, unlike English. But for someone who learned English as their first and primary language, the running across something like Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän or Norwegian with subtle differences (to us) between vowel voicings sure makes it a challenge.
Keep at it, Åsali!
Yeah, I bought both the blue and grey book, in Kindle format though, should have bought the paperback version to make good notes in
Ive read the "Well executed Novice Linear Program", but didnt remember that the light Squat day was set in week 8. Very good to have in mind.
Yesterday was a good day, but now I feel my lower back is a bit tired of all the volume. I may decide to take the light wednesday this week, maybe I also feel a little bit lighter in
the everyday situation.
Thanks again Bill, for all the time and effort you put in me learning new stuff! Most appreciated!!
Week 8, day 1
BW around 77kg (169,4lbs)
Squat: 115kg/253lbsx5x3
Press: 45,5kg/100lbsx5x3
PC: 42,5kg/93,5lbsx5x3
This monday, i didnt feel so good. My previous good week, with all the self esteem, had faded a bit. Dont know why... I just felt tired.
The sleep is not all that good, due to the pain in my hip, but its getting better. I was really tired at work, and couldnt wait to get home. Ate e big dinner
and slept on the couch. When I woke up, and realized I needed to get to the gym..... f..ck sake!
But, I had a good warm up. Met some friends, and we had a good laugh. The squat was super easy, warm up was like a breeze. The work sets are heavy, but I really like it.
I feel that I am in control. Still, I am thinking about taking a light wednesday now. Just to have a little brake. I am almost in my third month of LP, and satisfied over the results.
The Press was also so easy. Just added 0,5kg/1,1lbs since last lift, and there was no issues. I also have better technique, wich is good. Powercleans are also starting to work-
still low in weight due to technique.
To sum it up, I feel strong- but Iam a bit tired. Light wednesday should be a good solution, and I will keep pushing LP. My hip (piriformis syndrome) is healing (I guess) after rest, massages
and some Ibuprofen. I believe in just keep lifting through it, although all my friends keep saying "listen to your body!". I actually do not think that listen to my body is the best thing to do.
I would not have started lifting weights in that sense! haha
The best part about this? I learn new stuff as I go along, too. There are so many variables to this simple program that it's easy to get lost in those details. It takes more than one (or two, or three...) reads of the material to catch everything. Even then...
Definitely get the physical copies, if you can. After a few years of having them, I have quite a few notes written in the books and several sticky notes labeling spots for quick reference. For this, those help me much more than the highlights and notes functions on my Kindle.