Slapshotz' SST journal

Slapz, those are proper Oly squats right?

Also, I know you haven't squatted in a while but what have you been doing for legs in the meantime? Just deads? And no HST style progression for squats then? I'll be interested to see how you fare.

Well done on the SLDL PB. I'm pretty sure you will be able to do a fair bit more than that soon esp. if your normal deads are around 450 and you can ATG squat 350.
 
Lol wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Well done on the SLDL PB. I'm pretty sure you will be able to do a fair bit more than that soon esp. if your normal deads are around 450 and you can ATG squat 350.</div>

My squats are parellel, but you bring up a good point.  With my bw hovering near 160, it's getting tougher, but I may try some rack deadlifts to get the &quot;feel&quot; for the heavier weight.  Next back workout is pullups, tho, so it will have to wait a week or two.

Lol wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Slapz, those are proper Oly squats right?</div>

Actually, Lol, my squats are parallel.  I always have a spotter for my heavy reps, and have someone shout &quot;clear&quot; when my butt/quads hit the 90 degree mark.  Sometimes I use a wooden plank if no spotter is available.  ATG squats caused a great amount of tension on my knees, unfortunately.

Lol wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Also, I know you haven't squatted in a while but what have you been doing for legs in the meantime? Just deads? And no HST style progression for squats then? I'll be interested to see how you fare.</div>

Not much, I'm sorry to say.  I've done deads, of course, and I've thrown in some stiff-legged deads &amp; leg extensions.  I don't really do any HST-style progression for anything right now.  I've really become an instinctive trainer.  If a body part feels fully recovered, I hit it.  Sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing until I walk into the gym.  

It's probably not the best way to train for hypertrophy, but from a strength viewpoint, this is how I have to progress.  I have found it impossible to set time limits &amp; deadlines on strength gains.  I know when I have &quot;it&quot;, and when I do, I take a shot.  If not, I do slightly more volume to compensate.  But I always walk into the gym with the goal of setting a PB on something.  Doesn't always work out, but that's my mindset.
 
That's interesting to hear you say that ATG puts more stress on the knees. I have read that ATG should put less strain on the knee because the glutes / hams are all involved in stopping the downward motion of the squat compared to parallel where the knee takes more of the braking force. Any thoughts?
 
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(DanOz @ May 28 2007,21:02)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">That's interesting to hear you say that ATG puts more stress on the knees. I have read that ATG should put less strain on the knee because the glutes / hams are all involved in stopping the downward motion of the squat compared to parallel where the knee takes more of the braking force. Any thoughts?</div>
I think it has to do with body type. We're all constructed the same, yet very different. When I'm squatting, I think of my legs as two springs. As I'm going down, I'm coiling the spring up. Once I hit parallel, I release the tension and try to explode up as fast as possible. It's not necessarily the right way to do it, but it works for me.
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BACK DAY

Weighted Chins (Palms in):
BW - 10
BW+45 - 8
BW+70 - 5

Weighted Chins (Hammer):
BW+100 - 1 ***New PB@100
BW+70 - 6
BW+45 - 8

Good Mornings:
135 - 10
185 - 8
225 - 6

E-Z Bar Standing Curls:
110 - 5
110 - 6
110 - 4

NOTES: Overall, good workout. Was very happy with my PB on hammer chins. That nagging pain/cramp/whatchamacallit above my right butt cheek seems to be about 50% better, and I probably could have pushed a bit more with my GMs, but I decided to play it safe. I think I'll wait until the pain is completely gone b/4 next attempting deads again, so that may be a couple weeks. I haven't done the split jerk movement in awhile, so I think that will be my next workout's focus...maybe do some max stim with it!
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...A new direction.

Well, I'm sorry to say, that 'injury' I have above my right butt cheek has become more than a nuisance. There's clearly something wrong, much more serious than of the simple muscle pull variety, I think.

I tried to do some deads for fun in my home gym yesterday, and after a rep or two, the pain was unbearable. It's been &quot;nagging&quot; at me for quite awhile, now, but the pain has never been this acute or this sharp.

So, on my rather lengthy drive to my work assignment today, I racked my brain in trying to come up with an interim w/o plan, one that would allow me to progress on some type of scale, but without taxing my injury. Not an easy thing to do, but I have come up with a plan.

I'm going to spend a month with the focus on the upper body, and do 20 MS-style reps per day, 5 days per week, split over four exercises. I will focus on 5 second concentric/eccentric movements, so the loads will be much lighter. The idea is to work myself up to a slightly overtrained status by the end of 5 days, then rest over the weekend.

I will do some lower body work in the form of squats, but it will be minimal if my injury is really bothering me. I anticipate the first few weeks, there will be very little if any lower body work done. The main thing is to let my injury heal before it gets worse.

I got this idea from a semi-recent T-mag article that I read a month or two ago. I used high frequency training with great success last year prior to going on my cut. I added some size, and did it fairly quickly. Of course, right now it's just a matter of doing something while my injury heals, so we'll see how things work out.

Loads will be much lighter than they've been. A solid year of strength training has left me creaking &amp; squeaking in many places, and it's time to de-load from all the heavy stuff. I'll keep cardio moderate to avoid any fat accumulation, and return to eating at maintenance.

I love strength training, and it will be depressing to say goodbye to it for the next little while, but if I hope to compete in November, I need to get myself injury free sooner rather than later so I can re-vamp it back up when the time comes.
 
I saw your log on MN...bad deal man. You shouldn't even worry about squats for a while until that thing clears a bit, or completely. Were it a joint I'd say that possibly the 15's of HST would help it, but if it's a muscle, rest will suffice; if it's a tendon, you got a problem.
I could see using a treadmill or skimaster to work up lactic acid as a possible assist. That way you would be increasing circulation, producing acid and fatigueing (sp?) rather than loading it. For a while, anyway. You did say you needed a break from strength training.
 
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(quadancer @ Jun. 01 2007,18:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I saw your log on MN...bad deal man. You shouldn't even worry about squats for a while until that thing clears a bit, or completely. Were it a joint I'd say that possibly the 15's of HST would help it, but if it's a muscle, rest will suffice; if it's a tendon, you got a problem.
I could see using a treadmill or skimaster to work up lactic acid as a possible assist. That way you would be increasing circulation, producing acid and fatigueing (sp?) rather than loading it. For a while, anyway. You did say you needed a break from strength training.</div>
Tks for the tips, quad!
 
MS OVERLOAD DAY V

Okay, I made up the name (today was day 5, hence the V).  Basically, what I'm doing is MS, but I'm only doing 20 total reps per day spread over 4 exercises, doing 5 second concentric and 5 second eccentric movements, working out 5 or 6 days per week.  

Truth be told, I have no idea how this will pan out.  I've rigged this up so I can train much more frequently in lieu of my rather infrequent strength training.  If I won't be going super heavy for awhile, the least I can do is go moderately heavy by doing singles, and, almost as important, I can train often and not tax my CNS!  After 5 days and a day off, no burn out.

Bench Press:  205 - 5 (MS)
Rack Deads:(no back pain starting a little higher...will slowly work up):  315 - 5 (MS)
Clean &amp; Press:  135 - 5 (MS)
Wide grip pullups:  BW+45 - 5 (MS)

M time is @30 seconds or so.

NOTES:  Could be just a weird co-eenky-deenk, but I have already noticed that I'm filling in my shirts a bit more than usual, and muscles look fuller.  Could just be the shock response from doing something new.  We'll see where I am after a few more weeks.

Tomorrow starts week two, workout 1.
 
MS Overload Week II, Workout I

Incline Bench:  165 - 5 (MS)
Weighted Chins:  BW+70 - 5 (MS)
Clean &amp; Press:  135 - 5 (MS)

Plus 20 mins cardio

NOTES:  Injuries suck.  But all p-lifters have them at some point, so I'm trying to stay positive.  The thought of not deadlifting/squatting for maxes has me about as bummed as I've been in quite awhile, but I'm trying to turn lemons into lemonade.

A few people have commented their concerns that slow reps are not the ideal choice.  $hit, I know that, but the whole idea is to spend some time going much lighter so I can heal up the aches &amp; pains in various areas (maybe if I had a bigger butt, I wouldn't have injured it!
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)

Making matters worse, I have been having a pool problem, and the dudes at the pool store suggested I change the sand from my sand filter.  Okay, fine.  So, last night after my workout, I spent like 3 hours sucking 300 pounds of sand out of the filter, replacing it with 300 pounds of fresh sand, only to end up snapping the lateral in half as I was pouring the last 50 pound bag in!!  Now, I have to empty all 300 pounds, replace the lateral, and fill it up again.

D'oh!
 
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(Slapshotz @ Jun. 05 2007,11:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Making matters worse, I have been having a pool problem, and the dudes at the pool store suggested I change the sand from my sand filter.  Okay, fine.  So, last night after my workout, I spent like 3 hours sucking 300 pounds of sand out of the filter, replacing it with 300 pounds of fresh sand, only to end up snapping the lateral in half as I was pouring the last 50 pound bag in!!  Now, I have to empty all 300 pounds, replace the lateral, and fill it up again.

D'oh!</div>
It's at times like that that you really need to go deadlift a heavy weight.
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Double d'oh!
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Can you do hyper extensions ?


If I were you I'd focus on getting my bench to 315 while you wait for your ass to heal. Maybe focus on chin ups, great back exercise. Always helps to pick something to try to get stronger at while you wait for other things to fix themselves. I'm so physically screwed up right now I'm actually taking pride in dumbass things like ripping up phone books and squeezing grippers. Can't do much of anything else except count pushups. Powerlifting makes you age too damn quickly.
 
LOL wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">It's at times like that that you really need to go deadlift a heavy weight.    Double d'oh!</div>

I call your double d'oh, and raise you a triple d'oh!  

Steve Jones wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Can you do hyper extensions?</div>

Not from home, though I can do them at the gym, I suppose.  That would seem to be a direct assault on the ailing muscle, though, no?  Maybe I should go light with high reps.  Thoughts?

Steve Jones wrote:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">If I were you I'd focus on getting my bench to 315 while you wait for your ass to heal.  Maybe focus on chin ups, great back exercise.  Always helps to pick something to try to get stronger at while you wait for other things to fix themselves.  I'm so physically screwed up right now I'm actually taking pride in dumbass things like ripping up phone books and squeezing grippers.  Can't do much of anything else except count pushups.   Powerlifting makes you age too damn quickly.</div>

You know, I thought of that, but I'm 7 pounds lighter than when I hit 295.  Bench is one area where I definitely need more beef to hit 315.  Pullups/chins are a go for sure.  Powerlifting certainly creates havoc.  Moving big poundages (relatively speaking) is just so damm FUN, tho.  I want to return to it asap, but I know if I rush things, I'll only compound my problem.

Tearing phone books, eh?  You need to make a vid of it and post it on u-tube...would love to see that!
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<div>
(The Fruitarian One @ Jun. 05 2007,17:48)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hey man, congrats on that PB on the chins....I'm chasing ya though....
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Go for it! The more strength trainers, the better!
 
Bad news about the injury mate - however you decide to train around it, good luck. Great chins by the way.
 
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(Slapshotz @ Jun. 05 2007,06:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"></div>
MS Overload Week II, Workout III

Flat bench: 205 - 5 (MS)
Rack Deads: 315 - 5 (MS)
Power Shrugs: 225 - 30
Preacher EZ bar curls: 85 - 5


NOTES: Didn't post workout II, but I did it, though. Today's was good. Rack deads gave me no pain in the glute area, so that tells me my injury is healing a bit from the rest. Threw some preachers in there for fun...heck, I have the bench at home, might as well use it.
 
Nothing wrong with treating ourselves to some &quot;gun work&quot; every now and then. Hope the injury gets better, they can really be a pain.
 
<div>
(UFGatorDude30 @ Jun. 07 2007,15:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nothing wrong with treating ourselves to some &quot;gun work&quot; every now and then.  Hope the injury gets better, they can really be a pain.</div>
Thanks UFG; me, too. Sux getting older!
 
MS Overload Week II, Workout IV

Flat bench:  215 - 5 (MS)
Wide Grip Pullups:  - BW+50 - 5 (MS)
Squats:  225 - 5
Overhead EZ bar tri extensions: 85 - 5


NOTES:  Good effort.  Slight pain in the squats, so that tells me I have at least one more week of this type of training.  Not doing lower body is really starting to frost my nads, but I have to keep telling myself that I'm looking out for my long-term well being.  I just hope I don't lose too much in the wheels.

Outside of that, I'm digging this setup.  Saves about 30 minutes traveling to and from the gym, too  
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