14 May 2013-Put your Back into it...

12 May 2013
0940 hrs

I ran the logical thought train  through my head and decided i would apply last week's squat to Jim Wendler's  5/3/1 Template before the Seminar. Why? It gives me easy, safe numbers to work with before the seminar. I may simply repeat these numbers in two depending on how i feel after the seminar at EFS this coming weekend. I powered through my warm up with purpose, took my time Squatting  and then powered through my assistance work. All in all everything felt solid and good.
Warm Up:
Rollovers, Rainbows, Mtn Climbers,Leg Swings, Monster Walks, Banded Side Step 2 x 10
 (no rest, finished once and started right over again)
Between warm up Squat sets:
Red Band Pull-A-parts 1 x 30
Bench Jumps  3 x 5 reps
Single Leg Jump - Two Leg Landing 2 x 5 reps (each leg)
Red Band Tricep Pull /Push Downs 2 x 100

Squats
1 x 10 x Bar
1 x 5 x 135
1 x 5 x 145
1 x 3 x 185
1 x 5 x 185
1 x 5 x 215
1 x 5 x 245
Head Harness 6 x 15 x 44 lbs
My Squats are still slow as Maple Syrup in a Canadian winter but the strength is there. The idea behind the Jumping in the early stages is to hopefully wake some of my fast twitch fibers up. The strength is there to handle the wait but the Pop to come out of the bottom is not there. I also might be squatting too deep and losing my tightness. I guess i will find out this weekend.

If you are wondering about the 44 lbs on the head harness it is because my gym has non-regulation KB's (real Russian KB's are 35 /53 /70 lbs i think, i am not caring enough to look it up). I usually use the KB's when i am in the field house trg, the hook up nicely.

Good Mornings 
1 x 10 x bar
1 x 10 x 95
1 x 10 x 115
3 x 10 x 135
Super set:
TRX Lunges 2 x 10 (L then R leg)
Step Ups 2 x 5 (L the R leg)
GHR 3 x 10
Bird Dogs 4 x 10
So a little over an hour for all of that. I found out the next day the field house (where they keep the GHR) is closed for the week. If i had of known i would have skipped the Good Mornings and done triple the reps on the GHR. Ah well. Trying to work some single leg stuff and the Bird Dogs in to create balance. The groin is feeling better but i can still tell there is imbalances. I cannot go heavy long term until this gets sorted out.

13 May 2013
0540 hrs
So i have been complaining /talking about my low back for a few weeks now. The day started out well enough but by the end of the day i needed to do some emergency Foam Rolling, Stretching and Lax ball work on my hips, glutes, hamstrings, and low back. Which is exactly what i did not want to be doing 5 days out from a lifting seminar. This is how it goes sometimes and at least i know well enough to recognize the signs and symptoms early to alleviate real damage /debilitation. OK so on with Monday and how things played out.
Warm Up:
Back Ext, Side bends, Rainbows, Rev Hypers, Leg Raises 1 x 15 (no rest)
Black Band Pull-A-parts 3 x 20

Bench
2 x 5 x Bar
1 x 5 x 95
1 x 5 x 115
1 x 3 x 135
1 x 5 x 150
1 x 5 x 175
1 x 9 x 200

Super set
Close Grip Bench
5 x 8 x 150
Machine Row
1 x 10 x 145
1 x 10 x 170
1 x 10 x 120

A weird Super set i know, but i only needed to do 3 sets on the machine row. why the 120 lbs at the end? because i misread my book (i wrote my numbers down in a weird order, i must have been having a stroke or something Sunday night.) so they got completed oddly. felt pretty good to do a really slow set of 10 reps with such a light weight. i will have to remember this. The Bench training felt fairly solid. None of this irritated my back and actually my tight hip was not a real issue like it sometimes can be cause glute cramping while i set up. This keeps me on track for what i want to Bench at the meet 2 June.

Super set: 
Black Band Tricep Push /Pull Downs 6 x 35
Barbell Rows 3 x 15 x 135
Trap Machine Shrugs 
4 x 10 x 125
4 x 20 x 80
Another strange Superset i know. I just work things in a circuit until stuff is completed. I can say today as i type this my Traps are still pumped.
THE LOW BACK STORY:
So at lunch time i went for a Long slow distance swim.
Nothing crazy, just try to relax and swim. I swam for a solid 30 min nice and easy. Felt great. I wasn't energized but I was not tired either.
I get back to the office and bend over to fill my water bottle about an hr later. My low back feels like a guitar string being over tightened. So i slowly straighten up and relax. OK close call #1. I had a few more close calls after i got home, simple bending to get stuff. I could feel my back was not happy. No pain or stiffness but my low back felt like a box of rice krispies ready to be torn open.
 I went for a long walk with the girl and the dog. That loosened my back and then my right glute started acting up. AHAH! now i see the culprit. So i attacked it with the Lax ball, the foam roller, the PVC Pipe and stretched. The Lax Ball seems to be the best weapon. The stiffness seems to be in my Glute /pirformis. I worked it out to the point that when i went to bed i was no longer in fear of impending low back doom as i slept.

14 May 2013
0610 hrs
Tread Mill 30 min /Inclines 5 -Max /Speed 3.5-5.0 (15 min/km to 12 min /km approx)

TRX (Circuit)
Single Leg DL 3 x 10
Lunges 3 x 10
Face Pulls  3 x 10
Rollouts 3 x 10
Head Harness 3 x 30 x 30 lbs
Orange Band Triceps 3 x 30

Back Ext /Rev Hyper (no rest) 2 x 10 /2 x 10

So with my back feeling better but still questionable Wind sprints and Hill Sprints were out of the question.i went with my normal line of questioning that i have used for months now:

"What can i do today?"

 So i went for a Long Slow Distance on the Treadmill. Felt very good actually. Hoodie and track pants and sweating out the demons. The TRX work was just to get some movement and create balance. The Low back work felt great but in a limited capacity. I think this is partially brought on by chronic dehydration so that is getting sorted out. I did go home after this and do another Lax Ball /PVC Pipe Session to further help recovery along. Tomorrow is scheduled to be Deadlifts but i think i will do OH Press instead, i don't have access to the platform. As well the only 2 times i have popped my SI joint have been in the weight room so i will not tempt fate this week. I will have a chance to DL this weekend and otherwise i would be missing out on my OH Press session for the week.

So as i am away until next don't expect anything until next week. But i am sure i will have a crap load to talk about when i get back.

Keep Getting Strong(er), Keep Moving Forward