I got that with my stubbed left big toe. I started getting PF-like symptoms in my arch, presumably from inverting my foot to avoid putting pressure on the met joint of the big toe. A little stretching, massaging, and rolling has taken care of it.I think that my body was compensating for the injury, which caused trigger points in other areas..
So maybe just get a dip belt and kill two birds with one stone?I've tried the over the shoulder sled pull and it felt exteremely akward to run like that, for a slow pull it works fine. I think a belt or harness is the way to go for faster sled pulls.
All ideas/critiques welcomed.Not to be negative about your design or the links, but are you concerned about the width of the uprights? The reviews indicated they might be a little wide. You could have multiple placements on your home built one. or...
Something like this? I guess they may be a little wobbly but you could always build a 45 support to the base on one side to make them studier. They could stack out of the way too?
I think I initially hurt my shoulder doing them because I used one of those seated leg raise machines at the Y and they were naturally a little too wide for me.
"General physical preparedness" = conditioning/stamina?Here is that Louie Simmons article.
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls14.htm
http://www.dieselcrew.com/articles-pdf/sleddraggingI.pdf
Maybe I could work in some rows or presses with the straps too, but gotta fight that tendency towards an ever-expanding fitness routine. Gotta be realistic about time and energy commitments. I'm going to stick to simple running for another week or so as I get back into shape, then start in on some of this stuff. Still seems like just hills might be enough though, and a lot less hassle to set up, as I have a great hill just two blocks away.
Ha, I'm doing assisted pullups still, so weighted pullups are a long ways off, perhaps never. Even with dips, I don't know if I'll ever do weighted. Seems like bodyweight exercises are inherently higher rep/lower weight, and it's maybe not a good idea to mess with them? Probably just my own preconception.Good point I will probably stick with hill sprints for now as well. I already am having trouble finding the time to run anyway.
I might still pick up that belt for doing weighted pullups? $75 is a lot for a belt for only weighted pullups though.
I've been getting email newsletters from Bret Contreras. I watched this video from his latest, over lunch yesterday:
Around minute five Ernie Sr. emphasizes the importance of perfect form on the squat. So yesterday I stayed at 135 and really focused on trying to do each repetition exactly the same. I was able to get my hands in the position of the guy in this video, with the thumb above the bar, which is also the way Rippetoe recommends. Bar position on my back is still a little variable but it's solidifying. Ernie Sr. doesn't believe in a universally correct bar position like Rippetoe so I'm trying to find what works best for me, but elsewhere in the video he does say, along with Rippetoe, that ideally it should be between the shoulders and the traps, not up on the shoulders like a lot of people hold it.
After the squats, and overhead squats, more shoulder-width benching at 185. Today my left shoulder feels pretty good, so perhaps just a narrower grip on the bench press is all I've been needing. Still, I will continue the 2:1 ratio of back work to front work, until my back feels super strong and my deadlift comes up some more. The dips on my dip bar went well but I've lost some strength the last few weeks of not dipping. I think I would like my dip station to be higher and deeper though, so I might have to make one more trip to Menards. I like the smaller size for storage though.
I'm settling back into a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday run schedule, with just one-mile run-commutes on the off-days, so I guess the daily 5k idea is dead for the time-being. I might try to resuscitate it in the winter though, when longer runs become harder.
I haven't stretched or massaged the shoulder that much for the last week or so. Like my legs, I seem to be stretching and massaging it only when I feel it. I really need to integrate a regular stretching/yoga-like routine into my day. I'm doing it a bit more now that I'm running more.I'm sure the shoulder is feeling better from the combination of things, but whatever it is its working so thats great.
I haven't followed up about the Rippetoe deadlift set-up. I tried it a few workouts and I have to say it didn't work well for me, the bar path was way out of position and light weights felt stapled to the floor. So now I am mainly focusing on pulling the slack out at set-up and keeping tight the whole lift. I am also finding taking a breathe at the top is better than between reps.
The whole 1" from the shins put the bar too far back for me. Its the same feeling I get when I try to do a low bar squat the weight just isn't centered right and it feels more like a good morning than a squat.
Honestly I wonder if it has more to do with femur length, I can squat upright and a high bar with more confidence than low bar. And it seems to be the situation for deadlifts where I like more angle on my knees and my torso upright.
Anyways yes everyone should figure out what works best for them and then drill that position.
BC had an interesting article about lifters on supplements, mainly his points about the training capacity of natural and enhanced lifters and how few training gurus are out there that are still natural.
OK, finally got around to trying the high pulls yesterday. First I did deadlifts at higher reps x 225, as part of my tweak to my weekly routine, which is to do deadlifts and squats twice a week, once heavy, on Mon and Wed, respectively, and once light, both on Friday. Then I alternated between Power Cleans and High Pulls, trying to get a feel for which might be more beneficial. In the end, I think it might be best to do both, which, together with the deadlifts, could be arranged in a declining scale of weight, from heavier to lighter pull: Deadlift > High Pull > Power Clean. I think I felt most comfortable taking the high pulls up to chest rather than armpit height. I'll keep experimenting for a while.
Then a couple of sets of squats. Over-the-bar hand position is feeling pretty natural now. The trick is place the hands before getting under the bar it seems. Mid-back bar position is also solidifying I think.
I then took the dumbbell rows from 80 to 100 pounds, as per our earlier conversation. I'm thinking with dumbbell rows I won't worry about form and just go as heavy as possible, since the back is well supported by the opposite knee and hand. I definitely feel sorer today, so this may be the way to go. Problem is there's no more room for tens on my 14" dumbbell bar, so I had to use 20s or 25s, which reduces the ROM a bit.
Did seated rows then more assisted pullups--supine and neutral grip. Man, those really work the back better than pulldowns and also the biceps for some reason. I didn't get around to pulldowns or the bicep curls because my biceps already felt fried from the pullups. I'm supposed to grease the groove with a few assisted pullups today, but I think it's best just to let everything recover. Maybe tomorrow.
Finally, I did some hip thrusts using just my heaviest band. I attached it to two carriage bolts on the sides of my base. I got the idea from a video by Bret Contreras and his hip thruster apparatus. That guy is smart to specialize in training women's asses. Anyway, this set-up is a lot easier than using barbells and a foam pad and the hip thrusts seem like a good high rep finishing exercise after all the pulls and squats.
Abide, what do you think?: Should I keep including these training updates here or should I start my own thread on the training forum?
Cool, I'll keep posting here, since it's not really a training log but just comments on my/our evolving routine and development.I like reading them here, I use the other as a training log but it's up to you if you want to keep your thoughts together somewhere else?
I ran across this article and found it interesting about back work.
http://asp.elitefts.net/qa/default.asp?qid=209434&tid=
Vertical Pulling
Horizontal Pulling
Shrugging/Retraction
Isometric Stabilization
Thoracic Extension
Thought it was interesting to add some complexity to the vert horizontal concept.
For pull-throughs, what's the advantage of doing them over hinge/kettlebell swings?
Had a good run down on the track Saturday. My program of only running between 8-9mm pace seems to be bringing back my running fitness pretty well. I was really sore yesterday. I also did some half-assed sprints. It's a little too early getting back to it for full-out sprints, but maybe in a week or two. I think I'll hold off on the tire pulls for another week or two too, although I ended up getting that harness on Amazon. I just didn't like the idea of a belt interferring with the hip movements. And with a harness I'll work the stabilizers a bit more.
My wife has noticed the weight starting to come off. For me, running is much better for weight loss than st, even though a lot of recent articles say that it should be the other way around, that you should get a greater metabolic boost from st. The problem for me is that st just doesn't burn that many calories, even if it's adding muscle mass and taking up energy in recovery.
I thought the pull-through movement looked a lot like hinge swings, not hip thrusts, but I guess all three are training the same basic hinge movement.Not sure I feel like I get the exact same stimulus as hip thrusts by focusing on extending my hips by contracting my glutes on swings and goblet squats. A lot of these assistance lifts to me just seem gimmicks. Maybe I'll put together a comparison of assistance lifts to see what gets recommended the most.
It's cool we're both reaching similar conclusions about all the interweb info out there. When my running petered out over the winter I put on 20 pounds, even though I was still lifting fairly consistently. I think running is by far the best overall exercise. Really helps my sleep, mood, and concentration much better than st too. And now I'm really enjoying reducing the aerobic running, making my runs more like workouts than leisurely jaunts. Tempo and faster paces at least two runs per week seems like the way to for me. I've known this for a while, having read about it on some of the pro-style running sites, but I have a hard time sticking to it, especially when I run first thing in the morning. So fartleks and allowing myself to take walking breaks is one way to overcome the motivational inertia.Yeah haha that sets off my bullshit sensor when a fitness person says running sucks for weight loss or fat loss. To mean running is far superior to anything for weight loss even other cardio stuff like biking.
Speaking of weight loss since I have started supplementing with protein I have noticed a big diminishment of appetite. I have lost a bit of weight too or maybe juts a change in composition
Speaking of great overall exercises, supposedly swimming tops the list, but I suck at it, and I don't like the rigamarole of indoor pools. It would be nice to live by the ocean . . .Think I am gonna sign up for a triathalon at the end of the month, probably should start swimming again...
Nick got a new job recently, so maybe that's why he's laid off for a while. I've also stopped participating regularly on the Mileage Forum, as part of my re-emphasis on numberless training. Having to report how far I ran had started to feel like an obligation, whereas before it was highly motivating. It was great Saturday down on the track. At first I tried to keep track of how many laps I had done, but then I had to duck under some shelter to wait out a shower, and then I started sprinting and going back to faster laps with walking breaks and completely lost track. Probably between 3 and 4 miles but I really don't care. With weights it's hard to remain ignorant of numbers but I've definitely gone back to not thinking about reps and sets, just going by feel again. I know numbers really keep some people motivated but for me I find them demotivating a lot of the time, making running and lifting more of a chore than recreation. That said, I'm really looking forward to trying a couple doubles at 315 later today on the deadlift . . .BTW what happened to Nick?
I thought the pull-through movement looked a lot like hinge swings, not hip thrusts, but I guess all three are training the same basic hinge movement.
I agree with your assessment of assistance lifts. I tried the thoracic extensions with a band, and it's OK, but doesn't compare with deadlifting heavy, that's for sure. Over the last year or so I've really pared down the assistance stuff, partly because I didn't realize it was assistance stuff until you called it that, and I read up on it more, through your links and my own half-assed Google searches. I really like Monday and Wednesday to just be the basic Pulls and Pushes: Deadlift, Rows, Pullups, then Squats, Bench Press, and Overhead Press. If I have time leftover, I work in some assistance stuff, but now I'm intrigued by the idea of putting all assistance stuff on Friday, along with my light Deadlifts and Squats and the Plyo-pulls--High Pull & Power Clean. It could be more of a circuit training day. I could include seated rows and pulldowns as assistance, and just focus on the bentover rows--barbell and dumbell--and pullups on Monday. I dunno, we'll see.
Here's a list of assistance lifts by some leading meatheads that I ran across a while ago:
http://www.wannabebig.com/training/...cises-for-the-squat-bench-press-and-deadlift/
I think part of the whole assistance lift thing is that these internet guys have to keep up the conversation in order to draw web traffic, so they can't just talk about the big lifts over and over, and picking out different assistance lifts is one way for them to distinguish themselves as a unique brand of fitness expert, along with different rep/set schemes, ordering, or emphasizes. So Bret becomes the "glute guy" and posts endless versions of all the millions of different exercises you can use to train this or that body part. But until your main lifts stall out, really, why bother? It's just time wasted as far as I can tell. I feel like I'm making better progress now that I'm keeping it simple.