Lol's New HST Log

Tue 5/08/14

Stable Session 5

Warmup
Rubber band dislocates
Nekkid bar work

Power Clean & Jerk (kg)
30/3 + 2j
40/3
50/2
60/2
70/2
80/1
85/10 - OTM

Front Squat (kg)
80/15

Notes
Lowered the bar to shoulders under control following jerks; my brother's bar would not enjoy being slammed from overhead.
Front squats to test hip. Intended on a set of 10 but pressed on to 15 for extra fun. Mostly ok but something ain't quite right yet so I'll continue to be careful with the loading. I'll probably do an HST-type of load progression except I'll only increment the load if the previous session felt ok. I'll repeat loads if necessary.
 
Wed 6/08/14

Stable Session 6

Warmup
Lots of rubber-band shoulder rotations, raises, pulls etc. Ran band through ring on wall of stable so I could increase tension by stepping away from wall. Shoulders felt really well warmed up after about 10 mins.

Press (kg)
40/10
50/5

Push Press (kg)
50/5
60/5,5,5
60/10

Front Squat (kg)
40/1
50/1
60/1,1,1,1,1
10 second pause in the hole for each rep.
These were performed solely as a hip-stretching exercise.

Warm down for shoulders.

Notes
The night after this session my shoulders were much better than usual. No nagging pains that often spoil a good night's sleep. Excellent.
 
Wed 13/08/14

Had another week away from lifting any weights to give my right knee and left hip more time to repair. I've tried to stay active and to get a bit more sleep.

Very brief midday session after arriving back home.

Sumo Deadlift (kg)
Warmup: 60/5, 70/5, 80/5
120/5
130/5 - straps
140/5 - straps

Notes
This was my first ever sumo deadlift session
I've been thinking about adding some deads back in to my training to help me regain a bit of strength, but my biggest issue with them is that my lower back always gets beaten up more than I would like. This affects squatting and O-lifting until it's recovered.
With this in mind, I thought I'd try sumo deads. A more upright torso and a reduced moment arm should enable my lower back to recover more quickly. Of course, until I get familiar with sumo, I'm not going to be lifting as much weight as I would with a conventional deadlift. That's going to mean faster recovery in any case.
Another plus with sumo is that the movement pattern is quite different to the first pull in a clean so it won't mess with my clean pull form.
As a first-time attempt at this lift, I wasn't sure what to expect. My stance was fairly wide but not as wide as it could be: feet placed about 5" in from plates.
I found the wide stance a little unnerving as I didn't like the thought of my feet suddenly slipping. I wore some flat-soled pumps which provided decent enough grip but it will make sense to get some Chuck Taylor's if I stick with sumo.
The other issue was that there's no knurling on my bar where my hands need to grip it with a sumo-stance. It's not a deal breaker but I used straps for the last two sets so I didn't need to think about my grip.
Hamstrings and adductors seemed to feel more strain than for conventional and overall it felt quite different to a regular deadlift. I like that the lock out position feels very stable and strong.
Whether or not I end up using this style of deadlifting on a regular basis remains to be seen, but it was definitely good to give it a go.
 
Def. use straps if don't have the knurled bar.

It should be akin to a wide-squat with the top-half of a good morning.

I'm not a fan of sumo for me personally, but it's great for leg-dominant deadlifters.
 
Fri 15/08/14

Late-Night, Short-But-Sweet Session

Thought I'd repeat Wednesday's session for some form practice.

Hammies still sore. Lats surprisingly sore too. Lower-back feeling fine.

Sumo Deadlift (kg)
Warmup: 40/10, 60/5, 70/5, 80/5
120/5
130/5
140/5
150/5
Hook-grip for all sets from 120kg.

Notes
Felt a little more confident this session, so instead of just repeating last session I added the extra set @150kg. Not a problem. I will aim to do the same next session.
@ Jester: I am definitely weaker pulling sumo at the moment, but it will be interesting to see how I get on as my body adapts to the new positions and as the load increases. If I make it to 200 I'll be quite pleased.
I was able to hang on with hook-grip tonight, so I'll go with it until I can't and then switch to straps.
 
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Sat 16/08/14

Another Short Late Night Session

Shoulder warmup with rubber band and wooden pole dislocates.

Parallel-grip Chins
BW/10+3,3,2,2
Myo-rep set.
Dynamic concentric and controlled eccentric for each rep with pause at top and bottom positions.

Dips
BW/20, 20, 10
Same style reps as for chins with dynamic concentrics and controlled eccentrics. Focussing on lockout at top of each rep.

Notes
I've never really bothered about locking out my elbows hard when doing dips before. From now on, I'm going to consciously drive my hands apart and contract tris hard at the top of each rep. I am hoping this will help with my jerk lockout. I will get more accustomed to how my elbows should feel when they are properly locked out. My elbows don't hyperextend at all, so lockout is always an issue for me.
 
Mon 18/08/14

Yet another Late-Night, Short-But-Sweet Session!

Basically, the whole of my upper-body is sore from chins and dips. I had an evening of garden work to do prior to my session and I could tell my lower-back was a little fatigued from the last lot of deads.

Warmup
Gardening!
500m C2 Row: 1:54.1 @ 23 SPM
Rubber band shoulder work

Sumo Deadlift (kg)
Warmup: 60/10, 90/5, 110/5
130/5
150/5
160/5 @ RPE 9 - straps
Hook-grip for all sets aside from 160kg.

Notes
Added the extra 10kg for my top set again. Definitely harder to get the first rep going. Felt a bit light headed after the first rep but managed to get the rest of the reps ok. Left hammy felt more strain than the right so I may have been a bit off-centre.
 
I think I would prefer to see you use mixed grip over hook. Hook grip definitely limits your ability to go heavy based on pain-threshold.

I think 5 rep sets are a bit too much, personally. More sets of triples - less injury risk, less fatigue/recovery hindrance.

/$0.02.
 
I can't see how hook-grip is ever going to be a limiting factor at the tiny weights I'm lifting? Certainly not after only five reps. It feels really strong, even though there's barely any knurling on the bar where my hands are holding it. My thumbs are pretty tough now.
Straps are very useful in taking thoughts about grip right out of the equation. So with 160, which was my heaviest Sumo set to date, I could focus on everything else. Funny thing is, because of the unfamiliar wide stance, it feels as if my hamms alone are breaking the bar off the floor. It almost feels as if my quads aren't involved at all.
What I'm finding with Sumo, compared with conventional deads, is that my spinal erectors are able to keep my back in extension with hardly any difficulty. However, I'm a long way from feeling as strong in this new position.
Reps wise, I didn't want to drop them down too soon having only just started using the movement and I wanted to give myself something to compare with where I am with conventional right now. There's no real point in me doing Sumo if it induces the same amount of fatigue into my lower-back as conventional. I've only been doing a single top set so, until I need to do more volume, I'm not going to know. My hunch is that my low back is less fatigued from Sumo.
I expect that a 165/5 attempt will be tough and then I'll drop the reps down for subsequent sets and sessions.
 
Tough thumbs - naturally, my bad :p

Sumo is massive for hamstrings. Quads involvement will be determined by butt-depth-backwards in my experience.

Obviously spinal erectors get spared w/sumo. Shorter ROM for them.
 
I can imagine that attempting to use a hook-grip with 250kg might be a tad more unpleasant. :)

Re spinal erectors: I think it's more the torso angle at the start of the pull and therefore the moment of force on the spinal erectors as the bar breaks off the floor. Sumo definitely reduces the moment arm.
I always try to maintain full spinal extension whichever way I deadlift. I don't subscribe to thoracic round-backing of any kind. Some people get away with it but the facts are that allowing your back to round beyond any natural curvature while lifting a heavy weight is going to place you at greater risk of damaging a disc than if you didn't.
It's not really possible to maintain full extension with a maximal load but I like to limit any rounding as much as I possibly can. I've popped a disc in the past. I don't want to do it again.
Deadlifting has helped me strengthen my rigging and has kept me free from any further back injuries—aside from the inevitable small tweaks from time-to-time.
 
I'll say this;

- Thoracic rounding merely reflects the natural curvature of the spine. I'm not talking about extremes of course.

- You won't pop a disc with an extended spine in neutral position.
 
No, you wont. But many folks allow their thoracic spine to round beyond the natural curvature. Many folks have bad posture from sitting and slouching. The whole "round-backing is ok" thing is easily misinterpreted by inexperienced lifters.
 
Fri 05/09/14
I've been on a break from training for what seems like an age. My left hip capsule still isn't right. Whatever I strained, it's taking it's time healing up. Right knee is feeling a whole lot better. I'm only aware of a little patella soreness when I fully contract my quads on that side.
I've been doing some regular stretching and mobility work to try to loosen everything up; I find my hip gets stiff while sitting and is sore when walking.
Earlier this week I had a go at some light front squats (back squats are what gave me the hip problem, so I'll stick with front squats for a while).
I worked up to a set of ten with 70kg. Hip didn't feel great but it didn't make anything worse, so I'll take things nice and steadily and try to build up some strength again over the next couple of months. Hopefully, whatever it is that's not right in the old hip will be encouraged to heal/toughen up.
 
Anti-inflammatories will help the hip but take about two weeks to do so. Knees and hips are notorious for the lack of vascularisation.

Leg press?
 
Tues 23/09/14

Still hip-rehabbing! Slowly improving. Sadly, I don't have access to a leg press machine and I don't have the time to go to a gym that has one.

I've started snatching and C&J'ing again. I'm in no rush to build the loads up but I'm adding a few kilos each session. Trying to be kind to my shoulders too by doing plenty of band warmups prior to any lifting.

After almost two months away from any regular training, my cardio fitness is shocking. I hate cardio but I know it's good for me, so I really need to get back on my rower regularly.
 
Hey Tim, thanks for stopping by.
Hip is more a frustration than anything awful but I really do want to avoid re-injuring it. Never had a problem like this with a hip before. I don't know exactly what I did to cause it but it was most likely due to a combination of my recent efforts to stretch my hip joint capsular muscles (the short ones connecting pelvis to femur) and then relaxing the large primary movers a little too much while deep in the hole with 140kg on my back, added to the fact that I hadn't squatted that heavily for a while.
I had been attempting to get to a full split through regular stretching because it was one of those things that I never got around to as a youngster. At 49 I am having to learn that I am no longer as stretchy as I once was! Slow and steady wins the day now. :)
The rower is definitely good for getting the blood flowing in the hip area. In my last few sessions I have been experimenting with flaring my knees and abducting my hips in the catch position to give my hips more of a workout.
Light snatches seem to be helping too, as hips go from pretty much full flexion to full extension and back again for each rep.
Injuries suck and this one was very unexpected and more than a little disconcerting. Maybe it was a bit of a wake up call? I will be paying more attention to O&G's comments in future. :)

C&J's were at 80kg the other night with full deep squats for triples. No bad effects from that so I am making some progress.
 
Four months on from my weird hip injury and with only sporadic workouts between then and now, I am hoping that I can get back to lifting more regularly.

My left hip is still mending. I've seen a physio. He reckons that whatever tissue damage I sustained will gradually heal; it's nothing that can't be addressed by continuing with mobility work. I think my biggest mistake was relaxing during the pause with 140kg on my back which allowed me to sink into a position that I wasn't adapted to; I had a weak link which decided to give. I've ordered some bands to do some of the things the physio suggested, eg. lunges with femur under tension. I have Scottish hips :) so I will always need to work on hip mobility if the bottom position of my squat is to improve. Same is true for my right ankle. Band work required for that too. Band work seems to be the flavour of the day and Kelly Starrett is always suggesting bands for rehab and mobility work, so I'll give it a go.

Sat 8/11/14

Warm-up
500m C2 Row: 1:55.3; 26 SPM.
Shoulder complex with 5kg plates.
Dislocates with rubber band and then wooden rod.
Nekkid bar work to stretch out hips, ankles etc.

C&J (kg)
40/2+2j
50/2+2j
60/2+2j
70/2+2J
80/2+2j
85/1+2j

85/20 - On The Minute reps

90/1
95/1

Clean
100/0,1,1,1,1,0,1
FF on 1st and 6th reps
Belted for 100kg

Warm-down
Stretching

Notes
Shoulders felt pretty good throughout but I skipped jerks with 100kg because I was feeling a bit mashed by then. 20 OTM b/w reps was fine for the first 15 but then the last 5 felt way tougher due to legs being weak. After that I was pleasantly surprised that I still had 100kg cleans in me seeing that my leg strength is down a lot.
 
Sat 15/11/14

Push-press
Worked up to 3 sets of 5 with 65kg (143lb).

Front Squat (kg)
65/5
70/5
80/5
90/5
100/5,3
105/1,2,3
Sleeves; no belt throughout.

Notes
First push presses in over 3 months. Shoulders are weak as anything.
Front squats felt a little stronger this eve so upped the load 5kg. Hoping to get 120 for at least a triple by year's end. Probably a tall order.
 
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