Mileage Reporting 33rd week of 2013

Lee do you do the straight leg deadlifts? Or do you do the bent knee deadlifts? I had messed up my hamstring pretty bad probably 6 months ago or so from the straight legged version. Apparently my hamstrings are too tight so I have to do the bent knee variety. I am just now finally getting over that hamstring niggle. Sometimes it comes back just slightly after a run, but it doesn't seem to last as long now.
No, just the normal deadlift. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBDeadlift.html

Lift with your legs, not with your back, isn't that how it's supposed to go?

Even with the good mornings and straight-arm pull-downs, I never lock out the knee or elbow. Seems like a bad idea. It's hard to think of any activity where it's not a good idea to bend the knees at least a little bit.

But now you got me curious. Maybe I'll try the Straight-Leg Deadlift with low weight and slightly bent knees.
 
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Lee, your link shows more what I do now. A straight legged deadlift is more like this link. This is the version that hurt my hamstring. As you can see there is less action in the knee despite it being slightly bent. Your version has a lot more bending in the knees involved.
 
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just over 4 mile somewhat easy run for my last day in Phoenix. crazy leaving half hour later is much hotter. puppy was hot so i stopped at house to get the dogs some water before my cooldown. she just layed down and stayed home. fat boy ran away from me and went and cried to his mom about not wanting to go with me.
 
Lee, your link shows more what I do now. A straight legged deadlift is more like this link. This is the version that hurt my hamstring. As you can see there is less action in the knee despite it being slightly bent. Your version has a lot more bending in the knees involved.
Exactly, the link I gave is to a traditional deadlift, they way my mama taught me, no need to further specify with a modifying element preceding the noun head. The knees bend and the quads do their fair share of the work. This is also the way you're supposed to lift boxes when you're moving ;) .

I'm not a functional fitness guy, but I do think most if not all lifting movements should be 'natural' in the sense of moving in the planes, angles, and arcs for which our joints and muscles were designed (by evolution, god, or aliens). I can't think of anytime I would want to lift something with my knees stiff or locked out, but for bodybuilders interested in hamstring hypertrophy, I can see how the straight- or stiff-leg deadlift may have its place. Seems pretty similar to Good Mornings, but perhaps because you keep the weight closer to your COG with the straight-leg deadlift the latter might entail less stress on the back. I may check it out--I'm always ready to tweak my routines if something better comes along, provided it doesn't tweak my body (I added leg curls back in last year, even though this is a pretty artificial movement for your hamstrings and glutes). According to the Exercise Prescription site (which is my go-to site for this stuff, as it avoids a lot of the gab found in YouTube Videos like the one you posted), the straight-leg deadlift (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBStraightLegDeadlift.html) isn't necessarily bad for your back when done right: http://www.exrx.net/Questions/DangerousExercises.html#anchor416052. I also like to do incline sit-ups--both straight-up and obliquely--which are supposedly bad for your back.

Still, the straight-leg DL seems like an unnatural movement, like the Cuban Press, which Abide suggested some time ago, but which for me felt like too much strain on my rotator cuff. So I'm kind of skeptical.

Edit: Finally, I think you have to consider whether one's hamstring will benefit more doing a straight-leg deadlift at low weight, or a regular deadlift, utilizing the hammies naturally, with 3-4 times the weight, in addition to squats and power cleans. A lot of these rinky dink variations seem like a waste of time to me. Especially for the lower body. I do a fair amount of low weight variations for my shoulders, but that's because I've had some issues with them, and so want to make sure the joint is strong and mobile. Plus, the shoulder has a huge range of motion, so you kinda have to attack it from many different angles.
 
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Lee, my PT had said that straight leg deadlifts are the culprit for the majority of hamstring injuries he saw. He always told people to avoid them and to do the traditional deadlift for this very reason. Back when I was getting back into deadlifts from a very long time off from doing them I got online and typed in dumbbell deadlifts, apparently I got the straight legged variety and so I followed it's lead as my memory was a tad fuzzy and I wanted to make sure I had good form... Doh! Hamstring went haywire and now it is finally starting to get right. I should have looked to see if there were different variations, but I guess at the time I had assumed dumbbell deadlift was pretty clear and didn't realize there was multiple variations of the deadlift.
 
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Lee, my PT had said that straight leg deadlifts are the culprit for the majority of hamstring injuries he saw. He always told people to avoid them and to do the traditional deadlift for this very reason. Back when I was getting back into deadlifts from a very long time off from doing them I got online and typed in dumbbell deadlifts, apparently I got the straight legged variety and so I followed it's lead as my memory was a tad fuzzy and I wanted to make sure I had good form... Doh! Hamstring went haywire and now it is finally starting to get right. I should have looked to see if there were different variations, but I guess at the time I had assumed dumbbell deadlift was pretty clear and didn't realize there was multiple variations of the deadlift.
Glad to hear everything turned out OK.

But that's another reason why I like the ExerciseRx site. The exercises are organized hierarchically, with the basic or default exercise coming first, and then the variations given under that heading.

  • DeadliftsAs I described yesterday on Abide's thread, I'm a big believer in starting each workout with the big, basic, heavy lifts. That's the base. All the other stuff should be in support of that, and added with a specific purpose in mind. I do bench flies, for example, because they stretch the pec more than barbell bench presses do. I don't do incline or decline bench presses however, because I don't think the little extra benefit they give you is really worth the extra time or the hassle of setting up the bench differently.
 
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As I described yesterday on Abide's thread, I'm a big believer in starting each workout with the big, basic, heavy lifts. That's the base. All the other stuff should be in support of that, and added with a specific purpose in mind. I do bench flies, for example, because they stretch the pec more than barbell bench presses do. I don't do incline or decline bench presses however, because I don't think the little extra benefit they give you is really worth the extra time or the hassle of setting up the bench differently.
I also like the bent arm dumbbell pullover. It's another one of those chest stretching exercises like the flies, only from a different angle.
 
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I also like the bent arm dumbbell pullover. It's another one of those chest stretching exercises like the flies, only from a different angle.
I do something like this http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBPullover.html, with a curling bar, only I let the bar extend all the way down close to the floor, with the bench raised, in order to stretch the chest good like you say: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExt.html
So it's a combination of pull-over and then when the forearm is parallel with the floor, and the upper arm is perpendicular, it becomes a lying triceps extension/skull crusher during the second part of the movement. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExtSC.html

I used to do it with a dumbbell, but I like using the curling bar better--with a somewhat wider grip, I can do more weight.

I call them bench pull-overs, or extended skull crushers.

Whew Nick, we're getting as bad as the swimmers at hijacking this forum.
 
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Whew Nick, we're getting as bad as the swimmers at hijacking this forum.
We are the pros at hijacks, they are the novices. ;) As far as doing the pullovers with a curling bar I would much rather do it that way too, I just didn't/won't have that option. Maybe in the near'ish future I will, but my hopes are not high on that after yesterday my wife telling me what she wants to do with the garage at the new place. :( I may not even have my cycle trainer space now... She thinks we will have plenty of room, but she is also the same person who normally admits she can't visualize things and how much space things take up.....
 
have you guys tried pullovers with a very wide grip with a straight bar? they are great for the lats ;)
Like this?: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/wide-grip-decline-barbell-pullover

I don't, but I think I get similar benefit with my straight-arm pull-downs (I do them with a wider grip than in this video): http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/straight-arm-pulldown

I like the pull-overs with somewhat bent elbows and a narrower grip--the curling bar is great for this because the grip angle feels more neutral to the movement than a straight bar, so less stress on the elbows.

We are the pros at hijacks, they are the novices. ;) As far as doing the pullovers with a curling bar I would much rather do it that way too, I just didn't/won't have that option. Maybe in the near'ish future I will, but my hopes are not high on that after yesterday my wife telling me what she wants to do with the garage at the new place. :( I may not even have my cycle trainer space now... She thinks we will have plenty of room, but she is also the same person who normally admits she can't visualize things and how much space things take up.....
Doesn't your wife know that the husband gets either the garage or the basement, the rest is hers?

OK, off to run . . .
 
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Like this?: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/wide-grip-decline-barbell-pullover

I don't, but I think I get similar benefit with my straight-arm pull-downs (I do them with a wider grip than in this video): http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/straight-arm-pulldown

I like the pull-overs with somewhat bent elbows and a narrower grip--the curling bar is great for this because the grip angle feels more neutral to the movement than a straight bar, so less stress on the elbows.

Yes like the first link, only on a flat bench and not decline..
And yes you get the same with straight arm pull downs with a wide grip.
The angle and distance between the hands determines where you hit the muscles (obviously) and the narrower the more it's the chest muscles..
(but I guess you know that) :)
 
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We are the pros at hijacks, they are the novices. ;) As far as doing the pullovers with a curling bar I would much rather do it that way too, I just didn't/won't have that option. Maybe in the near'ish future I will, but my hopes are not high on that after yesterday my wife telling me what she wants to do with the garage at the new place. :( I may not even have my cycle trainer space now... She thinks we will have plenty of room, but she is also the same person who normally admits she can't visualize things and how much space things take up.....

So put a line of duct tape through the center of the garage and write "my side/your side" beside it. ;)
 
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Over one hour at the gym doing upper and lower body. Laid an egg the last four days, then caught a cold, then over-slept in the wrong position, which caused my hip to go out of alignment, which caused three impinged nerves, which caused migraine pain in my head, neck, and back all day yesterday, which ultimately ended in vomiting from all the pain. I spent several hours yesterday using various techniques to put my body back together, and with my hubby.s help, sucessfully relocated my hip and unimpinged all three nerves. Aside from a residual runny nose I feel great today. And I feel extra good right now cuz there is a conglomeration of extra hot cops at Starbucks where I am currently enjoying the coffee, and the scenery! ;)
 
I wonder if they'd be creeped out if I asked if I could take a group photo...LOL!