Strength Training for Singles 2014: Eight-Week Workout Cycle III

I'll add myself to the injury reserve. Been having some top of hand pain on the right. (TOHP?) Massaged the extensor muscle, and it's on the mend. I might have been holding too much tension in my right hand while swimming, so I'm trying to be more mindful. For good measure, I've also switched the computer trackball to my left hand.

Just as my top of foot pain finally got better, I stepped on the shower drain cover, while doing some shower repairs. The cover has four prongs, and one jabbed between my 4th and 5th mets. I can see a nice sized blood blister/bruise under the skin. My foot feels a lot better when barefoot and the mets are spread out. Apparently, even the Runamocs must be be slightly constricting.
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i keep trying to do a "light" day, but it doesn't work. :) my triceps are still not fully recovered from BodyPumping
I consider myself in decent shape, but it still surprises me sometimes how I might be sore for days doing certain types of home repairs or yardwork that I'm not accustomed to doing. I suppose that there are all types of strength and endurance! :D
 
anything else will have wonderful anti-osteoporosis properties. she's not close at all to the age of worry for that sort of thing
You may be surprised at how early the degenerative processes begin. When I was in my 20's, an old professor tried to impress upon us that even as young adults, we should be concerned about bone health.

http://www.project-aware.org/Health/Osteo/osteo-when.shtml
Normally there is a decrease in bone mass after the age of 35-40. ... Many women mistakenly believe that osteoporosis is something they need be concerned about only after menopause; however, recent evidence indicates that osteoporosis often begins early in life and is not exclusively a postmenopausal problem.

The percentage of women who have osteopenia (a bone density that is somewhat low) depends on age and race and use of hormones. By definition, 16% of white women aged 20-29 have osteopenia, and less than 1% have osteoporosis. ...

The bone mass attained early in life is perhaps the most important determinant of life-long skeletal health. One doctor says "A woman has lost half of all the spongy bone (spine, wrist) she’ll ever lose by the age of 50, but very little of the dense (hip, hand, forearm) bone. Attention to bone formation at every stage of life is vital; there is no time when you are too old to create healthy new bone."
 
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The Texas Method sounds interesting. I'm at a bit of a plateau now. Some of that is due to the fact that I need to get heavier weights. :D

Part of it is that I need to be more mindful of getting in some proper worksets for the press and bench. I came to the realization that I was using too much weight and not getting a good rom. Although, the weight hasn't increased, I'm now getting some proper reps in.
 
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I consider myself in decent shape, but it still surprises me sometimes how I might be sore for days doing certain types of home repairs or yardwork that I'm not accustomed to doing. I suppose that there are all types of strength and endurance! :D
On Monday I really stretched out my groin area as part of my push to do the splits again, but also as rehab for my bum upper hip pull, and the next day if felt like I had run a half-marathon out-of-the-blue.

It's so hard to attain general fitness, isn't it? All exercise is result-specific, and there's only so much time in the day. But ideally, a good weekly routine would include aerobic exercise, strength training, mobility/flexibility, and conditioning. I keep putting off working in the latter, but at least I'm getting a little better about mobility/flexibility.

Use it or lose it. That's a key principle to keep in mind when confronting the merciless mortality monster.

Report from the IR: stretching and massaging are finally starting to help. Walked most of my 3.5 mi bridge circuit yesterday too, that may have helped too. Today more of the same, and then my first real attempt at density day, but still no deadlifts or weighted squats until next week.

Hope you heal up soon Sid. That had to hurt.
The Texas Method sounds interesting. I'm at a bit of a plateau now. Some of that is due to the fact that I need to get heavier weights. :D

Part of it is that I need to be more mindful of getting in some proper worksets for the press and bench. I came to the realization that I was using too much weight and not getting a good rom. Although, the weight hasn't increased, I'm now getting some proper reps in.
Yah, it's a nice blueprint for how one might go about training different parameters on a weekly basis. Still not sure I really need it, but it will be an interesting experiment for this cycle.

I waffle a little bit between strict form and cheating form. I think both have their place, but it depends on the lift. Cheating rows can make it more of a full body exercise, almost like a mini deadlift with a greater emphasis on the lats and traps. Cheating deadlifts, however, would be dangerous, but then power cleans are almost like cheating deadlifts with a fuller ROM. Cheated Presses are worthless though, and cheated squats don't really confer much benefit. So what am I saying? I cheat on my rows and pulldowns sometimes. I guess that's another way that makes them different from the 'performance' lifts.
 
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I've been doing some more stretching, too. I can't really say that I feel an intuitive need to stretch. However, my body seems to be unhappy when I don't do enough, such as TOFP and TOHP.

I have been trying to stretch out the psoas after warming up when running, and the pects and back when swimming. Seems to help my running and swimming.

I went back to the massage therapist, and he found trigger points all over! He also mentioned that people who do yoga, seem to have few problems, as he seldom worked on them.

So, I'm going to try to use that Athlete’s Guide to Yoga dvd more regularly, and do the customized routines on upper and lower body days. It would be nice to no longer need the massage membership.
 
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I can't really say that I feel an intuitive need to stretch.
Yep, that about sums it up for me. I gotta find a way to make it part of the routine, like first thing in the morning, or maybe midmorning break. I think pretty much all my little niggles over the last few years can be attributed to not being limber enough. Stretching is an easy way to give yourself a general massage, and work out all the knots and tightness. A massage is probably better, but harder to execute without assistance. The problem with stretching, like you say, is that it's easy to adopt a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude, but stretching needs to be treated as a preventive measure. That's why I'm establishing the goal of doing the splits again, so that there's a little positive, reward-based motivation involved, and not just the negative of, oh crap, if I don't do this, something's going to go wrong at some point. Just as it's useful to have little goals in ST and running.

Today I'm getting a retractable ratcheting tie-down strap that I'll use with my stretching contraption and furniture glides to gradually increase the tension as my legs spread while I read a book. Kind of a homemade stretching machine: http://smile.amazon.com/Valor-Fitness-CA-27-Stretch-Machine/dp/B006UX6R76/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418829165&sr=8-3&keywords=leg stretcher&pebp=1418829177331. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
 
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I think that this yoga DVD is helping. It seems to be well organized and seems to get most of the areas that I need to work on. There's even a stretch that targets the extensors for TOFP!

I'm going to try to stick with it. Maybe it will help ease the tension that I tend to store in different parts of my body. I'm hoping that it will prevent some of the recurrent trigger points.
 
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i am thinking of trying to do a "light week" this week. as in, drop the weight levels some so i can do the workouts faster, make sure i'm not getting ahead of myself, and get some extra miles in running . we'll see how long that lasts. i just did 6 pull-ups and things felt pretty good, so my motivation for backing off may be completely absent by the end of the day....
 
I'm still on my week off too. One of these days I will get back into the routine hopefully by Friday.

No max pull for me this year... I had a procedure done that is taking longer to recover from than I initially anticipated.

Damn holidays and vacations really mess up the routine.
 
My week off was last week, recovering from a mild flu bug. No fever, but body aches for a few days, then lingering congestion and the occasional green loogie hocked up from the depths of my lung lining. Energy levels close to 90-95% now, but it's frickin' cold out, so maybe I'll start running again tomorrow, on the 1st.

Yesterday I picked up some small rubber grip plates--4 x 10lbs, 4 x 5lbs, 2 x 2.5lbs-- from the same guy who sold me the 45s and 25s last summer, at 85cents a pound. No more clanging.

Happy New Year everyone! Skol! May 2015 see us stronger and injury-free!

Got some Slivovitz and fancy IPAs for this evening . . .

With all of us interrupted for one reason or another, are you guys interested in making this week or next the beginning of a new cycle, to coincide with the new year?
 
I'm game if you wanna pull the plug on this one.
Cold weather is a big demotivator. Forgot how cold Midwest winters are and it was mild when I was there.
I might crack open a westy and some of the houbblon chouffe to celebrate my failure to get 180...
 
I'm game if you wanna pull the plug on this one.
Cold weather is a big demotivator. Forgot how cold Midwest winters are and it was mild when I was there.
I might crack open a westy and some of the houbblon chouffe to celebrate my failure to get 180...
OK let's see if BA is in. We could get 6 cycles in and then finish with three or four weeks of something different at the end of the year. If BA agrees, do you want to start this week or next? I think I would prefer next. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of thinking in yearly progress as well as cyclical progress, so it would be cool to line up everything with the new year and tie it in to the idea of having fitness resolutions.

I'm sure we'll get 180/400 in 2015, I can feel it in my bones. For me, the trick is to avoid these minor strains and pulls. One, I probably need to warm-up better, two, hopefully some version of the Texas Method, or weekly variety in training parameters, will help keep me from overtraining, and three, I expect my renewed focus on stretching & mobility will also help.
 
Lets start Monday. I'm gonna try to get a lifting session in tomorrow and Friday.

Found this on an article for free today. Thinking about trying it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Jefit-Inc-JEF...?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1420030240&sr=1-19
Cool, I'll use this week to get everything primed again, working out today and Friday, and trying to reestablish some kind of running routine starting tomorrow.

I think I'll try to chart very gradual deadlift gains throughout the year then, to arrive at 400 by the end. I really want to avoid another strain or pull. It's very frustrating having to rehab and I don't like working out anymore without including deadlifts and squats. Just doesn't feel right. I'm starting to understand the logic of the wave program you had set up for this cycle. In my heart, I want to push things every week, but maybe that's not possible without risking overtraining?

I'm also thinking about setting a more ambitious squat goal, maybe 350 instead of 320? And I'll continue pushing the OHP too.

That Jefit program looks good. My phone is dying a slow death, so I'll wait for an upgrade before I try anything fancy like that. Right now I'm designing a new Excel doc for 2015, trying to get all the lifting and running parameters organized in a visually accessible manner.
 
i would be fine with making this one into a short rotation and resetting the clock next week. i guess i'm old fashioned, so my preferred definition for "week" would be starting on sunday. as in, cycle 1, week 1, day 1 (AD MMXV) would be January 4, 2015.

in a similar vein, i've found the pencil and paper thing to be a pretty good "workout companion app", then i manually type it in here so you guys can get in at least one good laugh every day or two. :)

i am more and more coming to the conclusion that injury avoidance is the best performance building strategy for those of us who don't quite have olympic caliber genetics (or at least haven't realized it...). it just seems like the time taken away by injury combined with the (by definition) mechanical destruction that must be repaired sets you back farther than a slightly "milder" approach. of course, if you're in contention for that $10M/year contract, yeah, you roll the dice and hope they come up in your favor. of course, i'm trying to tell that to myself, too: i was out running for 8.3 miles today in 17F and some wind. the temperature turned out to not be much of an issue (the foot warmth just grows very slowly so that by the time i got back home, they were basically warm, but i'd already been out there for quite a while and have a few other things to do today....). but, running in the cold like that is hard on the bottom skin which doesn't want to get thicker like it ought to. :)

anyways, so: new calendar and new goals? i'm reading a few things so far in this thread:
* you strong guys are going to diminish some adipose tissue (instant 25lb bonus on the squats and deadlifts, right?)
* i'm going to try to keep eating and see if any bodyweight, muscle volume, or strength gains decide to show up
* we're all going to try to minimize injuries, possibly by maintaining slightly higher volume and slightly lower loads than previously planned trajectories had
* sneak up on new strength levels
* empower lee to release his inner half-marathoner and massive powerlifter
* empower abide to release his inner 100-miler and massive powerlifter
* watch sid swim circles around us in his sleep while holding 30lb dumbells between his feet
 
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i would be fine with making this one into a short rotation and resetting the clock next week. i guess i'm old fashioned, so my preferred definition for "week" would be starting on sunday. as in, cycle 1, week 1, day 1 (AD MMXV) would be January 4, 2015.

in a similar vein, i've found the pencil and paper thing to be a pretty good "workout companion app", then i manually type it in here so you guys can get in at least one good laugh every day or two. :)

i am more and more coming to the conclusion that injury avoidance is the best performance building strategy for those of us who don't quite have olympic caliber genetics (or at least haven't realized it...). it just seems like the time taken away by injury combined with the (by definition) mechanical destruction that must be repaired sets you back farther than a slightly "milder" approach. of course, if you're in contention for that $10M/year contract, yeah, you roll the dice and hope they come up in your favor. of course, i'm trying to tell that to myself, too: i was out running for 8.3 miles today in 17F and some wind. the temperature turned out to not be much of an issue (the foot warmth just grows very slowly so that by the time i got back home, they were basically warm, but i'd already been out there for quite a while and have a few other things to do today....). but, running in the cold like that is hard on the bottom skin which doesn't want to get thicker like it ought to. :)

anyways, so: new calendar and new goals? i'm reading a few things so far in this thread:
* you strong guys are going to diminish some adipose tissue (instant 25lb bonus on the squats and deadlifts, right?)
* i'm going to try to keep eating and see if any bodyweight, muscle volume, or strength gains decide to show up
* we're all going to try to minimize injuries, possibly by maintaining slightly higher volume and slightly lower loads than previously planned trajectories had
* sneak up on new strength levels
* empower lee to release his inner half-marathoner and massive powerlifter
* empower abide to release his inner 100-miler and massive powerlifter
* watch sid swim circles around us in his sleep while holding 30lb dumbells between his feet
Ha, nice summary!

Glad you agreed to the reset, and that you don't feel any need to buck calendric tradition. So Jan 4th it is.

I just got done laying out 6-7 cycles for next year, with 10-pound increases each cycle for the squat and deadlift, and 5-pound increases for everything else, starting a little lighter that I began this aborted cycle. Like you say, going a little too slow is much better than going too fast, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't have any true way of knowing when I'm going too fast until it's too late, although with both my strain and my pull, I think there were mitigating factors unrelated to the actual training. Still, a yearly perspective adds patience, and so I think there's a good chance I'll stick to a more gradual approach. All my goals are now set for the end of 2015, not for the end of a cycle. Each cycle is just a way of getting there, with a nice alternation of volume, density, and intensity (with alternating 5/3/2/1 rep-counts), all under the rubric of a higher frequency approach.

For running too, I think I'm going back to the daily 2-to-3-mile run, but going to allow myself to walk whenever I want, so that the mental barrier of having to go out when I don't really feel like it is broken. The important thing is to get out the door. Whether I run or walk, run fast or slow, will take care of itself once I'm outside.

I like the sound of adipose tissue, so much better than fat.

You forgot to mention my goal of getting stretchier too. I think that's just as important now as the strength, running, and adipose-loss goals. Only by making it a goal do I have any chance of becoming more consistent about it.