Yeah the thing about these joints is your muscles develop 3-4 times as fast as your support structure (allegedly) so some pain or irritation is always going to be evident (allegedly again). I wonder if this is why often you plateau in strength training to get these pieces of the puzzle up to par.
Just keep riding it eventually it will slow down and then you can cut back right? And damn those stereotypes of meatheads!
Sorry I've been busy the last few days running errands and doing chores. I just posted the last couple of workouts.
Yah, I dunno. I've been doing heavier deadlifts and squats than I ever have before, and I've had little problem in my knees and hips--just a slightly sore MCL twice, I think, and that's the same MCL that I hurt acutely while getting my running up to speed, so I don't think it's st per se. And anyway, the last time it felt sore I was still deadlifting below 300 I think. It's been fine for quite a while, and I'm putting it under a lot of stress with these attempts at 1RM. My knees also seem to be holding up well with the deep squats.
When I had problems with ITBS, it was kind of the same thing, waiting for the supporting structure to catch up to the muscles, but also learning to stretch more. Hopefully the shoulder is the same thing. I just need to restore full ROM and be more diligent about massaging it. Right now I can actually pinpoint the trigger point, and it's extremely painful. It would be great to hire a masseuse for 10 minutes a day to work just that shoulder.
Yah, I'm going to ride it, or actually push it, until at least 405 DL, 356 Squat, and 275 Bench. Hopefully 185 Press too. I'm pretty sure that would mean about 10-15 pounds of extra mass, even if I manage to lose the 30 extra pounds of fat I'm carrying. But I have a sense that if I go much beyond that, the gains would be mostly in density and neural ability, I dunno. The meathead sites talk about hard-gainers but I think I'm an easy-gainer. In karate there was this one dude half my size who could bench 100 kg just like me.
It's just a little freaky to realize that a 455 DL, 405 Squat, 315 Bench, and 225 Press might all be possible. It could take a few years, but I'm see now that Rippetoe and others who advocate focusing on the big lifts are absolutely right. What they don't mention as much as they might, however, is this amazing synergy that you get when you do all the basic lifts together. It's implied of course. I'm still just amazed that I went from 225 to 240 on the bench yesterday without even trying. I would've thought it would take several months, going up five pounds per month and really working at it, but no, apparently the deadlifts, squats, and rows did the work for me. I guess the meatheads call this "transference." Well, the concept is real!
Here's a recent article from T-Nation on the Bench:
http://www.t-nation.com/training/4-bench-press-lies
Seems spot on to me, although I'm not really sure what my bar path is.
But yeah, I'll just have to get used to the stereotypes I guess. I'm waiting for summer clearance so I can pick up some XXL shirts. I'm outgrowing my XLs, which has been my shirt size forever. I'm also moving into size 38 waist after sitting at 36 for a decade or two.
Anyway, I'll be out of internet contact until Sunday or Monday.
I'm still thinking about your down-pyramding scheme? Is it like herbal life or Amway?
Goofing around aside I wonder why we don't see it more often in programs? Too much CNS impact? It seems like it could be very effective?
Yeah, you know, I was thinking if I follow through on my latest, ultra basic, two-week cycle, mentioned in my Week 3 workout report,
of
Deadlift, Rows, Press
alternating with
Squat, Bench, Pulldown
that's doing each exercise three times over two weeks. Maybe the first and third times I could go with my 1/3/5 rep count for the three big lifts, but then the second time
do more of a 1RM>descending sets scheme, like I did yesterday for the bench. Maybe aim 5-10 pounds heavier for the initial single than I do in the 1/3/5 scheme. Could be a nice variation. And that way, I can keep pushing up close to my true 1RM twice a month, staying just 10-20 pounds under, and also push the triples a bit.
So for the deadlift, for example, instead of
3x1x335/3x3x295/2x5x255
I could do:
1x1x345, 1x1x335, 1x1x325/1x3x305, 1x3x295, 1x3x285/2x5x255
Thoughts?