Squat sesh - 11/05

Short one today, woke up a little late so I only had about 45min after a brief warm up. Still weak as crap compared to even six months ago, but I think it is getting better and I got a little work in.

• Squat to parallel box - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 3x185lbs, 3x225lbs, 3x275lbs, 3x295lbs, 2x315lbs
• Wide stance good mornings - 5x10x135lbs
• Not really of note, but played with a few sets of front squats with just the bar. Technique feels good there. 

So essentially it looks like my max has suffered about 50-75lbs over the last few months of low frequency sessions (best squat before was 410 in wraps in the gym). If you use Wendler's 1RM calculator based on that set at 315, it would make it 335, though I probably could have gotten another rep or two out which would bring my 1RM up to more like 350. Still horse crap, either way. C'est la vie, we keep working and getting better, no?

As you may recall, I also owe you a few grip pictures from last squat sesh. Note that I said "sesh" because I am hip and shit. No time for full words and haters here.

The discussed grip is a false grip on the bar with the pinkies dropped under the bar. Idea behind this grip is that it allows the hands to go far enough out to take a little stress off of the shoulders but still helps you crank your lats in to tighten up the upper back, critical to big squatting. I am, of course, not squatting "big" yet, but I can definitely tell a difference in my upper percentage sets.

Grip the bar as normal, but with the pinky dropped under the bar. Hard to tell from this pic, but my index finger is lined up just about at the first marker line.

Go on and throw that thumb over the top, bruh. 

I have played with the grip both standard and false, ie, thumb wrapped around the bar and thumb over the bar, as in the pic above. False grip feels a little more stable, like I am getting the bar torqued down a bit better. This also takes some stress off the wrist as the extra torque can put the wrist at angles you are not used to. If you remember, I mentioned that last time I tried the grip out that I ended up wrapping both wrists but this time around seemed to be much better. 

Also still working on the wider stance- hip activation is definitely better but my right knee feels like it wants to start caving. More band work, more hip work. 

Would like to have gotten more quad work in, but brudda's gotta work. 

Next time, we front squat a few sets with weight. 

In the meantime, enjoy some Norma Jean...

NBS Fitness Quick Tips: Belts

Quick word on belts from my coach and gym owner- elite level powerlifter, trainer, EliteFTS contributor and sponsored lifter David Allen

Rare Tuesday bench day

Since training days got a bit off last week and ended up lifting on Sunday, I decided to put bench to this morning (Tuesday) versus yesterday morning. Not a huge impact, aside from the fact that I didn't get to hang out with the Monday morning boot campers. Don't cry for me, Argentina.

Pretty typical routine, got in a little late due to waking up late. Daughter decided that 11:00PM was a good time to go to sleep, so I didn't get to sleep until 11:30PM or so. Probably would have slept longer and missed had she not decided that she wanted to be in bed with us at 5:00AM. Thanks, tiny warm alarm clock!

Sometimes short training sessions are worth it.

Here's what was done-

• Bench - 2x10xbar, 2x8x95lbs, 5x115lbs, 3x5x125lbs
• Band hip abductions between some of the above sets- 5x20 w/doubled over pro mini band
• Cable lat pulldown - 5x10x110lbs
• Klokov press - 4x10x65lbs
• External rotations (Ws) - 5x15 w/ pro micro mini band anchored around power rack

This popped up in my Google image search for shoulder external rotation. Awesome Ws, Mr. Knievel.

Spotted one of our geared lifters through some one board pressing in his shirt, took a shower, headed to work. Decent training session but needs more triceps and shoulder work, will get some band and kettlebell action tonight or tomorrow at the hizzie for more rehab. Have an odd mobility/stability issue that I have recently diagnosed (because I am a doctor with extensive experience in kinesiology and rehabilitation) with some kettlebell overhead extensions- was running through some a week or two ago before bed with a 20lb bell, started with my right side ("good" side) for a set of 10 or 15 minimal effort repetitions then moved to do the left side and couldn't stabilize the shoulder to get my elbow in front and up with the bell behind in the "start" position of the extension. Went and picked up a cheap 10lb bell and it seemed to stabilize halfway acceptably, so I know that side still needs a lot of rehab work in addition to the strength work.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd metal.

On the farm, hooking that grip, and a glimpse of the future via cupcakes and ice cream

Ah, Monday. That most glorious of starts to the week. The year is getting older, the air is getting colder. As we start a new week into this our autumn of... content... let us reflect back on what our weekend held. I think it was a good one.  

Saturday we piled in the car, grabbed some Panera for breakfast, and took the little lady down to get her hair cut and headed south to Cedar Hill Farm for some play and pumpkin grabbing. We had gone down last year and Ilse was eager to get back there this year. It's a pretty great place to go hang out for a few hours with the family- petting zoo, play areas, expanses of field for running, pumpkin patches with tractor driven hay rides, etc. Little lady loves the place for the obvious reasons, but she especially likes the big pirate ship play fort. Couldn't talk her into shooting at the paintball "gallery" they have set up and it threatened to rain us out, but a few hours later we had a bag full of miniature and pie pumpkins and a content four year old.

Saturday night brought two observations- 1) it is pretty much a given that you will stuff your piehole at a Mexican restaurant, and 2) Mexican restaurants have the best Dr Pepper. #1 is pretty much a given, chips + salsa and queso + fajitas, rice, and beans = full belly. #2 is only a slight anomaly to me, but it pretty consistently holds true. I am good with it, even if I shouldn't be drinking Dr Pepper. It's anabolic, though, right? What follows is highly scientific, and all proven fact, so bare with me:

 +

=

Seriously. It's science. 

Sunday morning was deadlifting, after all, so it is only appropriate that Saturday night was fajita and Dr Pepper night. As evidenced by the sheer, raw power imbued by the potent cocktail of sauteed meat and veggies and sugary caffeine-laden syrup drink, this is what occurred:

• Deadlift with hook grip - 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 2x315
• Deadlift mixed grip - 3x365
• RDL - 5x10x135
• Meadow's row - 5x10x45lbs
• Reverse hyper - 5x10x90lbs

I know, y'all calm down, your towns and sleepy mountain villages are safe. I promise I won't pillage your cities and destroy mankind with my brutal force. 

Also, I suck. 

Obviously not where I want to be, but I did get the opportunity to play with hook grip. For those not familiar with a hook grip in weightlifting/deadlifting, it is supposedly one of the most solid grips around. To perform the hook grip, one grips the bar as such:

So in practice looks a lot like

Ow.

Versus the "standard" deadlift grips, pretty well illustrated in this pic from justfitness.co.uk:

The hook grip is typically used with an overhand position versus a reverse or mixed grip position. For the uninitiated, the pros/cons of the various grips are, generally speaking: 

• Overhand (pronated) grip: symmetrical hand placement, but typically weaker grip for most people. This is the grip that most people will learn with when starting to deadlift.
• Reverse/mixed grip: typically much stronger grip than overhand, but can pose an increased risk of tearing a bicep (I said "can pose", Captain Internet Debater)
• Hook grip: overhand positioning, so more symmetrical and generally "safer" for the biceps, very popular grip with Olympic style weightlifters. Stable and strong, but it is... uncomfortable... to say the least 

Having gotten in a grand total of about 17 reps with a hook grip, I can now say that I am one of the internet's foremost authorities on the grip, probably of powerlifting itself. That said, it fucking hurts BUT the bar was absolutely locked in. It doesn't quite hurt like getting soap in your naughty bits or what I imagine childbirth to be like (because those are comparable), but crapola. The lighter sets, obviously, are not a big deal, but I decided two reps at 315 was enough for the day and while I didn't tear anything or shred my delicate thumbskins, my left thumb has largely been numb since then (24hrs ago at the time of this writing), though it is getting better. A couple of buddies, one of whom is one of the only people I know that does CrossFit (tee em) that I will give any credence to, recommended taping the thumb, which I intend to do next time. Time to troll Amazon. 

Supposedly the good stuff

Still taking it reasonably light on the reverse hypers, and first time playing with Meadow's rows. Good times. 

After a shower and some more leftover fajitas (no tortillas or Dr Pepper this time around), we got dressed and headed out to Kids Play with a trunk full of cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate the tochter's impending fifth birthday with a bunch of her buddies. Madness ensued (one of her friends hit the ground running with the most convincing war face I have ever seen on a four year old), fun was had, treats were eaten. Having been to several of these types of places, activity centers rented out for birthdays, etc, I have to say this is probably one of the best in the area. It was strangely calm- being well lit and not so jam packed as others, there wasn't the feeling of fairly constant tension, like you had to constantly watch your child to make sure they weren't launching themselves from a 20' high ledge or trying to maim themselves. There was also room to do what kids love to do best - run. Big thank you to all of her buddies and their parents for coming to the party, and to my lovely wife for arranging it. 

Also, this happened

 l'artiste en herbe

And I got to see the future...

Like my wife said, sometimes you can look at her and see what she will become. While it is bittersweet to see her growing up, it is awesome to know that she is doing exactly what she needs to do. 

Growing up is her business, and business is good. 

Today's training session with some metal, too

Today was a decent, albeit short training day. As mentioned previously, it seems I get a lot more work done on bench day than others, but here is what was run:

• Wide stance SSB squat to low box + black pad – 5xbar, 5x132, 5x172, 5x222, 5x262, 3x312
• Leg press – 10x6plates (total, not per side), 10x8plates, 2x10x10plates 
• Reverse hyper – 4x10x90lbs

Brought my Romaleos (thanks, wifey) intending to do some fairly standard medium stance squatting, but the only rack available had the EliteFTS safety squat bar on it and being that I need the back work, I decided to roll with wide stance box squats with the SSB. Didn't bring my Chucks so I just went sock foot for the duration of the session.

Different kind of Chuck.

First time I have ever done that and it wasn't bad at all. Thanks, Hanes!

You just clicked a link to a page for socks.

BOOM! 

The EliteFTS Safety Squat Bar. Kneel before Zod!

I gotta say that I forgot that I kind of like squatting with the SSB. It's a little different movement, for sure- the SSB forces you to keep your back tighter and more vertical, lest ye be tossed forward on your face. The box squatting helped me remember to sit back more, which I think I had begun to forget previously as I have more of a tendency to sit down than back in the Oly shoes.

Also got some tips on bettering my work on the reverse hyper from good ol' David.

Also some random talk on the degree of training and performance of professional athletes that most people will never comprehend, and how Dave ridicules his clients and employees/trainers. To their faces, of course. It would be rude otherwise.

Not any ground breaking work and I am still weak as hell, but a good training session nonetheless.

Good weekend, a sick baby, and deathlifts once more

After a long and kind of mixed week, nothing quite like heading out to a powerlifting meet. Couple of the guys on the lifting team and I headed out at about 6:00AM for coffee and the SPF meet in Blytheville, AR.

Yes, this the meet I was training for when my rib/nerve injury happened.

Yes, it was a pisser not being able to lift at the meet.

The meet ended up being fairly small, about 25 lifters altogether, and the support staff was lacking. Luckily we did come out, as the two guys I traveled with ended up being spotters and I ended up judging for the meet- side judge during squat and bench, head judge for deadlifts.

Red light... or white light?

Pretty cool experience overall, got to catch up with some of the Blytheville lifters from the last meet, witness several state records, and even witness (and judge... gulp!) a bad 67yo man pull a 700+ deadlift.

 Mr. Jim Hodges, ladies and gentlemen. He lifts.

The team fielded three lifters, with several more from the jamesnasium competing. One of our guys bombed out on squat, one PRed several lifts, and David got his Elite class at 242.

Despite my red lighting him for getting his ass off the bench. More than a little bit.

Does not lift.

Meet wrapped up early, we gathered trophies, and headed out. Think we were back at NBS by about 2:30PM or so, home by about 3:00PM.

Good times. Thanks to Jesse Rodgers with the Southern Powerlifting Federation and the crew from Riston Fitness for putting together a fun and well run meet!  

However, I returned to mama hanging out on the couch with a feverish baby. As time went on, she got up to about a 103.6° fever and an occasional deep, wet cough. Her fever responded to ibuprofen and acetaminophen, so it wasn't too awful, but there was concern. Got her into the doc on Monday, blood test revealed a random virus but, thankfully, no strep.

Sick baby typically yields two things - 1) excessive snuggle time, and 2) lots of TV on the couch. Snuggle time is awesome, but...

...this gets old after three days.

Sunday was more sick baby, a slightly frustrating but ultimately excellent Titans win (come on, Kenny Britt... really?), my younger brother's birthday dinner at my folks' house. Steaks, cake, and The Road Warrior. Not a bad evening. 

Missed the jamesnasium Monday but got into it this morning for my reacquaintance with deathlifts. As I mentioned the other day, I realized it had been a good while since I did any serious deadlifting so I dedicated the morning routine to getting some pulling reps in.

So I don't know who convinced me that not pulling for two months was a good idea, but I am going to slap that individual in a tender, genital related area. After a brief warm up and some hip and hamstring stretching, chalked up, and started tugging. Pretty quickly I was reminded of the benefits of deadlifting... strong back and grip... quick, powerful hips... increased work capacity and CNS response...

All things which have apparently been trying to dwindle away in me wee little self.

NBS lifters from our April meet in Blytheville. My 465 pull at about 4:30

I'm not a great deadlifter anyway, but this was just silly. My best meet pull was 465 and felt like I could have gone another 20-30lbs,  Today, following 5/3/1-ish protocols, worked up to a more difficult than it should have been 6x315. Dropped some weight, took off the belt and went for about 4x8x225 and called it a day. Should have gotten some video to game tape, but alas I did not.

Felt good to pull again but I gots some work to get did.

  



Crap squat workout and an interesting take on gun control from a CNN contributor

Had one of those training sessions last night where nothing felt right once I got into working sets. Last night was squats and since I am off of team programming I have started a loose 5/3/1 program. Warm ups were good, depth good, back good, hips warmed up, etc. When I got to working sets, however, everything just felt... off. Couldn't get my knees out like I wanted or get back how I wanted without feeling like I was falling out of groove. Weird. Got my working sets done, couple accessory sets to test weight, knee opening, etc, and called it a night.

Looking back, I think it was a combination of a few things.

Fatigue - Long day at work and with a lack of reps lately, I think my CNS is starting to wussify. Also realized that I haven't really done any deadlifting of note since I first buggered my shoulder up in July. Two months with maybe three not so serious sessions in. Ungood.

Hip weakness - some of this is tightness robbing the hips, some of it is weak abductor muscles. Need more accessory work here. Time to get after some band abductions, side drags, side raises, etc.

Core weakness/miscue - some of the overall "off" feeling I think had to do with breathing and not tightening the abs and low back correctly. Just out of sync. More core work, need more reps, probably should do some overload unracks to build the CNS here.

Boom. 

So I am at work yesterday, doing my thing, and my wife randomly sends me an email with a link to an opinion piece on CNN.com by LZ Granderson. If you have never read any of his pieces, one of the first I read was this piece on dressing our children. While I don't agree with everything the man says by far, I have previously found a lot of his work to be insightful, somewhat even handed, and entertaining if nothing else. Had I known who had written the piece before checking out the link I would not have been so surprised, but I was immediately intrigued by an opinion piece on CNN titled...

Wait for it...

Gun control is not the answer

I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Surprised? I certainly was. Check it out. I found it to be a refreshing take on the matter versus the vigorous hand wringing on either side of the debate- someone actually taking the time to THINK on the matter and coming to something of a logical conclusion versus pushing an agenda and banning this and that. 

And this coming from a gay black man. 

Let that sink in for a second. The type of person your typical conservative is the quickest to disregard or denigrate has one of the most balanced opinions on the other side of the aisle. 

There may be hope for all of us yet. 

Itty bitty progress report and some asshole attacks the defenseless... again...

I had been worried that my last little bout of shoulder pain and tightness, post PT, was going to set my rehab back. After several days of deload with the recurrence of pain last week and continuing home rehab and stretching, I decided to pick up the week in the gym yesterday with bench day, to include a rep test. Glad (even a little proud) to report that I managed a set of five at 135lbs on bench yesterday.

While this is nowhere near 100%, it is progress over the nasty single for 135 I managed about five weeks ago. If you go by Wendler's calculated one rep max formula (weight x reps x 0.0333 + weight = 1RM) that puts me at about 158 for a current 1RM, or a 23lb increase in five weeks. Average that to gain 4.6lbs/week (as realistic or unrealistic as that may be) and I might be able to hit 225 again by early January. Hell, play my cards right and it may be sooner than that.

 ... and there was much rejoicing.

With some work, rest, nutrition and a little power from the mysterious unknown I should be able to hit a meet early next year with at least a token bench. Maybe someone up there can convince a dwarf to pound out a few new sinews on his anvil for me. 

And now it's time for a rant. If you're a fan of the government (regardless of your party affiliation), this is where you will probably want either stop reading or continue with an open mind.

As everyone knows by now, a coward attacked unarmed personnel at the Washington Navy Yard yesterday. I don't have much new to add to this aside from asking what I am sure many others are asking. How long does this go on? How many more mass killings do we have to endure before something is REALLY done about people like this?

There are already politicians lobbying for more gun control.

I am sure there are people crying and wondering what can be done to stop this plague of violence.

The truth is, people are violent creatures. We have laws in place to stop things like this from happening. The coward that perpetrated this crime has a history of violent behavior involving firearms and somehow still had a medium military security clearance AND was still able to pass a FEDERAL background check to legally purchase the weapons used in the attack. I forget at which source I read it now, but there was someone questioned at the Navy asking how this coward could have possibly obtained the security clearance with his known violent past. If I remember correctly, the answer was pretty simply (paraphrased), "The system didn't work with their system so we couldn't see the previous incidents."

Our own VP Biden said, not too long ago, that we just didn't have the resources to follow up on things like this, didn't have the money to spend on staffing and infrastructure to ensure that laws are followed, erroneous background checks are investigated, essentially that we couldn't enforce the laws we had in place due to lack of budget.

The coward used a shotgun as you suggested, dick.

Really?

We want to make more laws governing laws we have already written and put in place to stop incidents like this from happening? From making sure that dubiously named "gun free zones" are in fact safe areas and not places where law abiding citizens, in this case sworn defenders of our Consititution, are allowed to forcefully defend themselves and each other if need be?

Incidentally, if you look at pretty much any active shooter incident in recent memory, each of the crimes committed by these cowards against the defenseless are in so called "gun free zones". Something is foul in the state of America...

If we are going to rely on our government to protect us from ourselves, it is high time we hold them to task. If they are going to make everyone feel better by passing laws to appease the jittery sheep, then let those that are willing to be sheepdogs protect the herd.

Quit criminalizing the law abiding and start hunting down and punishing the criminals.

Start preventing incidents like these by prosecuting criminals early on to the full extent of law instead of letting them go or not starting investigation in the first place because the budget doesn't call for it.

Start enforcing the laws that are already on the books.

Put your fucking money where your mouth is.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGES...

Turn around and face the... strange?

I know, I know... sorry, Mr. Bowie.

We had some talk recently amongst the powerlifting team as to solidifying and tightening the team up, unifying subgroups, etc, and I realized that as much as I love the team, I would soon not be able to dedicate 100% to the team. With the end of year holidays quickly approaching, my work typically gets extremely busy and the schedule is spotty at best, so training times get harder and harder to make, etc.

I could say "fuck it" to work and walk away to something else that paid less that MIGHT have better hours more suited to team training times, but I am not really able to do that and as much as I love my team, I love my family more and ensuring food on the table, bills are paid, etc, is more of a priority to me than training with the team.

Add to that the fact that my rehab is ongoing and while I can train, I cannot compete at this level and will not be able to for the foreseeable future.

That all said, I have let the ladies and germs on the team know that I will more than likely be leaving the team as of the meet in a few weeks. I am not the happiest about it, but I think it is right and fair to the team and myself for now. I intend to continue training and rehabbing, at my gym, on a regular schedule as much as I can and remain dedicated to the pursuit of moar power. I just can't do it at the expense of my training partners. We have had guys that join the team, show up every so often, half ass it, then eventually start showing up whenever they feel like it. I'm not going to be that guy. I have way too much respect for David, the team, and the gym.

So until I get a job that does not entail being out of training for large swaths of time...

The game ain't changed, just how and with whom I play it.

Back home, back at it...

Came back in Friday night, picked up at the airport by my lovely wife and daughter.

Few things about the trip and this Labor Day weekend-

1) Working without training makes one soft. Yeah, it was only most of a week, but that time away made me feel like the ass. Too much time at work without being home and at my home gym equals a lot of sagging, dragging ass. Back in the gym Saturday for a short squat session while some of the team was in Manchester getting the work done made me feel a bit better. Hit it back up yesterday for some bench rehab work made me feel a little better still. Just goes to show you- keep the work up and it will keep you up.

2) Diet has been shit. Yeah, it was kind of like a diet vacation what with being in a new area and all, but no excuse. Shouldn't have eaten as much as I did (and what I did) for the lack of output. Sitting at about 246 this morning after a low of about 229 in the last training cycle. While bodyweight isn't necessarily the biggest worry, body composition is up there. Need to scale it back a bit, smarten the diet up and get back some of this lost progress.

3) Need to increase daily stretching/warm up. Too much desk time here and in Jersey has really gotten my hips stiff and my legs overly tight. We went to the zoo over the weekend for a members night and walked about a billion miles... in my flip flops. Normally this would not be a huge deal but my right knee was stiff and sore for a good day or two afterward. Between getting soft and letting age take advantage of me, this stuff takes its toll. I don't know that I will ever be a yoga devotee but a little stretching every day wouldn't hurt.

On the flip side, the team competed in Manchester, TN this weekend and did rather well. First place team, several elite totals (including homedawg bmac), and a best lifter award. Awesome to see the guys doing well and makes me eager to get my shit healed and get back on the platform.

Hells to the yeah.

A break from the jamesnasium... in... NEW JERSEY

So yeah, little "break" from the normal routine via a little trip to beautiful, historical, crime free Newark, New Jersey. So far so good, I guess. As a guest of US Airways, my travel was decent, flights on time, etc. Can't complain. Even got to experience some of the fine culture of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Yup, when in a new place I like to really breathe in the culture, try new things, drink their coffee.

Yup.

Anyhoo, brought a couple of bands for some movements in the hotel room. Glad I did that because the "fitness room" in the Newark Airport Hilton fucking sucks. Wow.

On the plus side, the hotel restaurant makes a pretty good burger, good asparagus, and a mean White Russian.

Here for about a week, them back to my ladies on Friday. Already miss them, but I'll be home before too long. Little work, little travel, little sleep.

And no fucking squatting. Might have to try to make a mid-week foray into New Jersey to find a squat rack. Gonna have to keep em warm.

For the halibut...

A set from dynamic squats the other day. Think this was set five or six, 210 + EliteFTS light orange band per side. Working on trying to get comfortable in my Romaleos and speed into and out of the hole.