28 September 2009 - Squats

...more like lack thereof. I'm pretty sure I'm falling apart. My overall flexibility and joint mobility have been down for years now. I guess I've never really taken it as a major concern. Well, that's yet another endeavour for my "Get Healthy(er), Stay Healthy(er)" mentality.

For my second squat workout in the last 3-4 months I warmed up per usual. Everything felt normal, but I had some stiffness in the front of my right hip. I figured a little extra warm-up would do the trick. This was not the case. 135lbs on the bar and I could feel some serious tension in the front of my right hip trying to come out of the hole. No bueno. I did a few sets to see if it would loosen up, but it didn't. Here's how it all went down:

Shoulder Pre-Hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Triceps/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Triceps Extensions - 45lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Neck Stretches
-All Directions

Squat Warm-Up 1
-BW Good-Mornings X 20
-BW Squats X 20
-Bar Good-Mornings X 20
-Bar Squats X 20

Squat Warm-Up 2
-Standing Hip/Groin stretches
-BW Lunges
-Leg Swings (L/R)

Squats
-135 X 10 (ouch)
-135 X 10 (ouch)
-135 X 10 (ouch)

Walking Lunges
-BW X 25
-BW X 25
-BW X 25

Foam Roller
-Hamstrings
-Quads
-Hips

Yoga-like Stretching
-35 minutes (focusing on the hips/groin/low back/hamstrings)

I felt better after the foam roller and stretching, but I can still feel the stiffness in the front of my right hip. I need to improve my joint mobility ASAP. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

BW - 232lbs.

Goody

25 September 2009 - Pulling

Shoulder Pre-Hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Triceps/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Triceps Extensions - 45lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Neck Stretches
-All Directions

Deadlift Warm-Up
-BW Good-Mornings X 20
-BW Squats X 20
-Bar Good-Mornings X 20
-Bar Squats X 20

Deadlifts (conventional stance, mixed-grip, no straps)
-Bar X 15
-135 X 10
-225 X 5
-275 X 5
-315 X 5
-405 X 3
-405 X 3

Rope Low Cable Pull-Throughs
-110 X 12
-110 X 12
-110 X 12

Seated Rolling Thunder 1-Arm Cable Rows (L/R)
-100 X 10
-100 X 10
-100 X 10
-100 X 10

3" Wrist Roller (Up/Down/Both Directions)
-45
-45
-45
-45
-45

My left hand is feeling better every day. I think the cissus is really helping me out. I was sore come Saturday, but it was a good sore. No major pain to speak of so I'm happy. I decided to push off the grippers so not to aggravate my left hand. I'll try to set a gripper this week and report on how it feels. The rest is what it is.

BW - 230lbs.

Goody

23 September 2009 - Upper Body

Shoulder Pre-Hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Triceps/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Triceps Extensions - 45lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Neck Stretches
-All Directions

Flat Bench
-Bar X 15
-135 X 10
-225 X 8
-250 X 5
-275 X 5

Hammer-Grip Pull-Ups
-10
-7
-4

Thick-Bar Full Front Raises
-68 X 8
-68 X 8
-68 X 8

Pec Deck Posterior Flies
-120 X 10
-120 X 10
-120 X 10

3" Wrist Roller (Up/Down/Both Directions)
-45
-45
-45
-45
-45

Rolling Thunder/Blue Band Medial and Lateral Pulls (L/R)
-3 Sets

I felt like I was going to pass out in there! Man, I was gassed! I thought it was a solid workout...again, not pushing myself too much until I get my feet back on the ground. Looking back on it now, I realize I didn't do any direct biceps or triceps work. Bummer.

3" Wrist Roller is MONEY. Total cost is around $4 for this implement. I made it out of some PVC pipe and rope. I used it over a safety pin in the squat rack at shoulder height and just went light. Easy on the recovering left hand; it's a little sore, but no sharp, stabbing pain so I'm happy about that.

I was just messing around with grippers this afternoon. No structured workout, just messing around and I was able to close my choked BBE (around 170) with my right hand. It wasn't easy, but I got it closed. More serious choker work to come while my left hand heals up.

BW - 232lbs.

Goody

Wax and Wane

We've all had our ups and downs. We've all been on top of the world and beneath it. A few months ago I was killing it in the gym and crushing the grippers like it was my job. BANG! Wifey is preg-o, job gets nuts, job stays nuts, and before I realize what's happening, it's been 3 months of no gym. Ehh...I chalked it up to the great "Wax and Wane". I figured, I'd keep on the grippers at work and/or whenever else I could fit them in and the rest I would get back when I got around to getting it back. Bad idea.

I hurt my left hand, 13 September. I was setting a CoC #3.5...WHOA...PAIN! No snap, crackle, or pop...just pain. All the pain was concentrated on the top of my left hand between the index and middle knuckles. Within minutes it was swollen and throbbing. It looked like half an egg under the skin. Not what you want to see...especially when Grip Nationals are six days away. I freaked and started a strict regimen of ice and Ibuprofen. Nothing touched the pain, but the swelling went down in a day or two. I couldn't make a tight fist with my left hand until yesterday. Needless to say, I had to pull out of the comp. I'm frustrated and upset, far beyond what you would imagine. Once I came to grips with the fact I was pulling out of the contest the first thing that popped into my head was, "Oh NO...the MM2 is right around the corner!"

I've been massaging my hand and forearm, hitting the contrast baths, sleeping with ointment and socks on my hands, and trying to stretch it out at least twice a day. No more swelling and the pain has gone down considerably, but I haven't tried to set a gripper yet. I don't intend to try that until the end of the week, maybe later.

Fearful my right hand strength is really going down, I've been doing TNS work like crazy. I can't TNS my CoC #3 yet; so I'm working with my CoC #2.5. #2, and HG300N. I've also been doing TNS penny holds with my CoC #2 and HG 300N. I'm going to hit some choker work this week on my CoC #3, Eaton's 170lb #3.5, and the BBEs (both in the 170's). I'll let you know how it works out.

If anybody has any thoughts/recommendations/advice/anything on the hand issue, please let me know!

Last night's workout was quick and easy. I didn't want to kill myself in there and ruin the rest of my week. A few sets of squats, a few sets of stiff-leg deads (with pulling straps), some core work, and I was out of there. Here's how it went:

Shoulder Pre-Hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Triceps/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Triceps Extensions - 45lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Neck Stretches
-All Directions

Squat Warm-Up
-BW Good-Mornings X 20
-BW Squats X 20
-Bar Good-Mornings X 20
-Bar Squats X 20

Squats
-135 X 10
-225 X 5
-275 X 5
-315 X 5 easy
-315 X 5 easy

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
-135 X 10
-225 X 8
-225 X 8
-225 X 8

Hypers/Lateral Bends/Crunches
-20/20/20
-20/20/20
-20/20/20

I hit the 315 squat sets with my belt - again, these were super easy, but I didn't want to be crazy sore. I used pulling straps for the stiff-leg deads because my hand is still in the crapper. The core work was nice: super sets really got my core burning and my heart rate way up. I did the lateral bends over the hyper bench, they're great - no circus contortionist crap; just smooth, fully range of motion bends. My traps were tight from the squats so I hit about 2 minutes of foam roller to work out the kinks after the core work. Quick and easy. I need to get healthy(er) and stay healthy(er). Day one in the books.

BW - 231lbs.

Goody

Pre-Contest Pic

Here's a pic of the gang just before we started the contest. Chalk everywhere from warm-ups...

John Eaton, Mike Rinderle, Frank Snyder, Jedd Johnson, Brent Barbe, Bobby Goodfellow

As soon as I get my hands on some video footage I'll post it up.

Goody