That was the last squat workout from Strength I and I wanted to get the most out of it. My legs have not been that sore from a squat workout in a while.
This week I will finish up and then move onto Strength II which uses straight sets of 4. Then I will see how I feel about Strength III.
Superset One-Arm Rows
45 x 10
75 x 6
110 x 6
115 x 6
110 x 6 x 2 sets
90 x 12
DB Bench Press
45's x 10
75's x 6
110's x 6 x 4 sets
90's x 10
Superset Neutral-grip Lat Pulldown
100 x 8
190 x 8 (+10 lbs)
200 x 8 (+10 lbs)
140 x 12
DB Shoulder Press
25's x 10
65's x 8
65's x 7
I finished with some ab work.
No big increases on the weight tonight, but did all 4 sets of 6 with the 110's, and managed to use 115 for 1 set of rows. I felt that I was using too much momentum with that weight and dropped it back down.
OH press stayed about the same and I had a small increase on the pulldowns.
The C workout is just not going too great. I felt like I could have gone heavier, but my back just didn't feel 100% again. I only did 1 set of RDL's and skipped the good mornings.
Lunges didn't quite feel right either and I only did 2 sets. I threw in a set of front squats and even those felt heavy.
I decided to start doing more grip work and did some wrist curls, extensions and reverse curls. I also ordered a #2.5 and #3 gripper. I'm really curious to see how hard the #3 is to close.
1 more workout to go and I'm going to back off for a week and move onto strength II.
The grippers are good fun, I have up to the 250lbs heavy grip gripper, I closed it pretty easily first time with both hands, although it is harder on the left. I found they are way easier if your forearms are warmed up. I think I might buy a 300lb, and once i own that maybe a 350lb one hah.
I only used the belt on the singles though. I'm of the opinion that only a powerlifter/strongman really has any need for a belt.
I can't really comment on what effect a lower back injury would have on this decision, as I've never been injured before though.
But maybe with your lower back injuries it could be a good idea. But it seems like your back issues are stopping you from pulling very heavy at all(compared to your squatting anyway), and ofcourse you probably know that using a belt too much is probably a bad idea, best left for heavy sets 90% and above.
I don't know though, wearing a belt may/may not be the answer.
You might want to ask matthew/alco about some softer(nylon i think?) belts they were talking about a little while back, I can't remember exactly what was said about them, but they aren't as stiff and thick as powerlifting belts and might be something to consider.
Thanks Simon. I have been avoiding using a belt in hopes of strengthening my back. But I was wondering if a loose belt would be enough to help keep my back tight. I think I just need to take it really slow and build my deadlift up again, concentrating on perfect form.
Pulling sumo seems to help, and I am still getting used to it. The sets of 275 didn't really feel heavy, I just start to get pain on the left side of my lower back. I have become very aware of this feeling and know when to quit. This strategy seems to be working and I have avoided any serious pain for a while.
I have also been doing more core work and stretching my hip flexors. Hopefully all of these things will add up and eventually I'll get my numbers back up.
Good luck with that, training with an injury looks to be tough, and frustrating is must be to have that limiting certain lifts. I hope I don't get injured! Although I'm only 18, and I'm sure my time will come!
Smart idea calling it when you felt pain though.
Those belts that matthew and alco were talking about might be an option as a "loose belt" kinda similar idea.
It is very frustrating to improve so much on my squat and be stuck on the deadlift. If I'm smart about it, i'll get there eventually.
I had another yoga class last night. This week my legs are just tired, and were burning like crazy. I was struggling to hold some of the poses, but it was a great workout.
Backing off next week should be exactly what my body needs right now.
Deadlifts are my best movement and I still get the type of lower back stuff you describe. I've started using my belt more and them and it does help. Also, I think your yoga will keep helping as well.
__________________
Since most of your life is already complicated, why make your training the same way? Jim Wendler
Barbell Shoulder Press
45 x 10
95 x 8
135 x 6
155 x 6 x 4 sets
115 x 10
Dips
BW x 10
BW x 15
Wide-grip seated cable row
100 x 8
180 x 10
190 x 8
I decided that I had enough pressing and did dips instead of db bench tonight. I added some wrist curls and extensions and hammer curls at the end, then did some ab work.
Deadlifts are my best movement and I still get the type of lower back stuff you describe. I've started using my belt more and them and it does help. Also, I think your yoga will keep helping as well.
I am hoping that the yoga will help open up my hips and allow me to use better technique. I may consider using a belt, but for now I am going to focus on my form and keep the weight low until I feel comfortable enough to increase it again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregl515
Just go easy. Once that back stuff begins, you have to allow for it or it will hurt you.
Thanks Greg. I am being very careful because I already know what it's like to be taken out by a back injury. I would rather keep my weights a little lower now than have to take a month of from training when I hurt myself.
I had a crappy half assed workout tonight. Got very little sleep last night and had no energy. I did some good mornings and pull throughs, then my back started to tighten up. I got on the elliptical for 5 minutes and my back was just not feeling good so I called it a night.
Y'know, every single time I look at your screen name, I see "PB&J". No WONDER I get cravings for grape jelly and Jif at random intervals...
This is my rest week. My plan is to take today off, easy accessory work and cardio tomorrow, Yoga Wednesday, and more cardio thursday and friday. I was planning on moving onto NROL Strength II, but I ordered a few books from amazon.
Starting Strength
Practical Programming for Strength Training
Men's Health Power Training
I'll be doing a lot of reading and may find a new plan before next week.
You are not the first person to mention the PB&J thing. At least now you know the source of your mysterious cravings.
No matter how much I try to convince myself to just do a day of straight cardio, I just can't get myself to do it.
I had a fun random workout last night. Nothing was logged, so here is a quick rundown of what I did as far as I can remember.
Face pulls
Side bends w/ 100lb db x 8 x 2 sets
Wrist curls and extensions
Reverse Curls
Pistol Squats - 10 each leg
OH Squats - 45lbs x 10, 95 x 10
Front Squats - 135 x 15, 135 x 12
Push press - 135 x 8
Upright rows
Reverse flys
Then I finally did some cardio. Started on the bike for 5 minutes, but my quads were burning out so I switched to the elliptical for another 15. I finished with some quad and hip flexor stretching.
I guess I'm not alone in my hatred for long cardio sessions... not that I thought I was.
Yoga class was last night. It was a good class with the exception of the nasty ab cramp I got while trying to do the boat pose. Yoga Journal - Full Boat Pose
Note to self: do not do core work the day before yoga!
I got my new #2.5 and #3 grippers last night. I was able to get the 2.5 to within a few mm of closing and got the 3 to around parallel. I have a lot of work to do before closing the 3.
My new books also came this week and I have been reading Men's Health Power Training. The more I read the more I think my next routine will be from this book. Adding more explosive movements is something that I have wanted to do for a while. I skimmed through Starting Strength and was amazed at how much can be written about proper squat form. This is going to be a great reference book to have around. I still have so much to learn.
Face Pulls - worked up to 120lbs x 8 x 3 sets
RDL's - 185 x 10 x 3 sets
Horizontal Rows on smith machine - 3 sets of 10
I did some random leg work, mixing up front squats, OH squats and lunges.
Then I did some hang cleans. A few sets of 5 with 95lbs. I really need to work on these, but I think I'm getting the form down. Between my gripper work yesterday and the RDL's my grip was really starting to go towards the end. These will definitely become a regular exercise for me.
Thanks for stopping by Greg. Starting strength is proving to be very useful for me. This week I am starting the workouts from Power Training and the descriptions on some of the exercises are not quite as detailed as I would like.
I had a busy weekend and never logged my workout from Friday night. Trying to remember exactly what I did on Friday is not really working right now.
I did back and arm work, shrugs and I worked on my cleans a little more, experimenting with dropping into a full front squat. My catch still needs work, I think at least partially due to a lack of wrist flexibility. Also getting my elbows in the right position as giving me trouble and finding the balance between choking myself with the bar and being too far forward is a challenge. I really need to find a place that has the proper equipment and someone with the knowledge to teach me the basic o-lifts.
What I do remember very clearly from Friday night was my 15 minutes on the stair mill. I was really trying to push myself and covered over 50 flights of stairs in 15 minutes. Compared to the elliptical where you can kind of coast along as you get tired, the stair mill is relentless. Even on the slowest speed you don't get more than about 2 seconds between steps. Next time I'm going for 20 minutes.
Hang Power Clean
45 x 5
65 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5 x 2 sets
Front Squat
95 x 8
135 x 5
185 x 10
205 x 10 x 3 sets
1-Leg DB Romanian Deadlift
25's x 10 each
30's x 10 each x 2 sets
DB Bench Press
40's x 10
85's x 10 x 3 sets
DB 1-Arm Row
40 x 10
85 x 10 x 3 sets
Push Press
95 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 7
95 x 8
1-Arm Lat Pulldown
70 x 10
80 x 10
70 x 10 x 2 sets
This workout kicked my ass. Going from a low volume 4-day strength split to a full body high volume routine was quite a shock to my system. 4 sets of 10 is going to take some getting used to.
The hang cleans were a little tough on my wrists, but I'm sure they will continue to get better with time.
Front squats felt really good today. By the 4th set I was really starting to struggle.
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