6/16 log

rolling/mobility/activation

I decided I'd change my format to the forum format so going lbs/sets/reps now:

Squats
45x3x5
65x1x5
100x1x3
135x1x2
170x3x5

Finally decided to move up in Squats. Definitely was able to do it. Maybe some knee cave, I'm not sure. But if so, definitely not nearly as much as was happening previously when I was moving up in weight.

Press
45x3x5
55x1x3
70x1x2
85x5x1
85x3x1
85x4x1

Ugh. I did this a few weeks ago at Cha's place and I'm now weaker somehow. I really think my form is the problem. Now that I'm eating more protein though, I think I'll be able to get it next time.

DL
135x1x5
135x1x4
135x1x3
175x1x2
210x1x5

My g/f said there was a bit of lower back rounding when setting down my 5th rep. So I'm counting this one as good and going to progress 10lbs/lift and see if I can keep form.

6/18 log

rolling/mobility/activation

Squats
45x3x5
70x1x5
105x1x3
140x1x2
175x3x5

Was able to move up again. Definitely not any more knee cave, but when I'm lifting him work weight I really can't tell. I think I've finally figured out sitting back with my butt out and really squeezing my inner thighs out are good cues for me.

Bench
45x3x5
70x1x5
100x1x3
130x1x2
145x1x5
145x1x3
145x1x4

My spotters this session all kept their hands right under the bar while I lifted which threw me off. I think I did 5 on the first set, but maybe I did 4, the guy claimed he didn't touch it. Then a different guy spotted me on the other two sets and assisted me to 5 each time but kept saying "you got it, all you" and claimed on the last one he didn't help on the 4th rep but I'm not sure I believe him. Either way, gotta go for the same weight last time.

Pullthroughs
27.5x1x10
37.5x1x10
47.5x4x10

1x5 Pullups
1x5 Chins
1x6 Neutral
1x5 Neutral

6/19 log

rolling/stretching

Did Mikan drills, shot FTs, worked on my left handed postup move from the right block. It'd be really nice to have someone to help me or go against to see how effective it can be once I'm more comfortable with it and my footwork.

My lower back has been sore/stiff all day and I think I may have pulled back too much when doing pullthroughs yesterday and/or cheated too much after my butt was tired, I dno.

Actually, right before I started SS I tried a "real barbell deadlift" and my lower right back (or upper butt, not sure which) has felt "tweaked" since then. Not really sure how to describe how it feels. There isn't pain. And no pain today. But my back was joint cracking a few times (like cracking knuckles). I've always has joints that crack but am not used to my lower back doing it and Cha has said before it's bad.

Questions:

1) Should I skip DLs tomorrow? It's what I have the hardest time keeping my lower back straight on. I could do an even smaller weight, just do warmup weights or sub something else in?

2) I am going on a cruise later this week. The fitness room allegedly has dumbbells and I have no high their weights go. If I stretch my days off I'd only have 1 lifting day over the cruise: squats/press/DL. What should I do? Just skip it completely, do other stuff?

3) As far as eating/weight. I seem to weigh ~170/171 vs. ~167 from when I started SS. However, my underwear is noticeably tighter (it was already a bit snug before). And as a result I feel fatter. My SS routine and especially recently involves way less cardio and/or cardio like things. Am I likely gaining mainly muscle, mainly fat? Should I try to eat less or eat out less? And obviously I'm going on a cruise when ideally I'd love to just eat whatever, whenever. But I'd prefer not to have to buy all new underwear/pants to get through it, lol.

Btw, I know the answer to #3 is "stop being a girl" but mentally and physically I'd love advice on setting up my expectations. Is it time for me to set weight goals for bball? Like, to be 180 playing weight with the extra weight being lean, as a final goal? Part of me is worried as Cha has noticed that things may just get out of control and then I'll have to do a ton of hard work to get back to where I'd like to be weight-wise.

1) Not really my thing, but caution is probably fine here. You can do some lighter weights and more reps/sets.

2) Skip it, who cares. You can do some DB pressing, goblet squats etc if you feel like it.

3) Eating at a surplus will generally mean you'll gain both muscle and fat. Losing 10 lbs of fat if it came to that is not "a ton of hard work", more like 2-3 months of work. Your ass will always be bigger btw, which is a good thing.

1 & 2 - what SM says

3 - If you're feeling your glutes work & get sore, & your undies are getting tight, the glutes are probably growing a bit, which is good. Dont worry about it at all imo. Get strong first, then if you feel like you're too fat, lose some weight later. I'm not saying to go eat like a pig, but make sure you get enough protein.

fwiw, I lost 10 lbs the first two weeks after injuring my back & I didnt even try to. I have been less hungry and have been eating less, probably because I'm not craving food as much due to not lifting. I think you'll be able to shed any unwanted fat pretty easily.

Thanks, it's good to hear someone else's thoughts as then I feel much more confident in whatever programming I do try out. My lower back feels "fine" today, so perhaps it was just recovering. I'll play it by ear with DLs but may back off and really make sure I can do great form on even lower weight.

I care? Seems bad to miss a lifting day. I only have so many before the basketball season starts again. Although since I'm committed to eating more protein, perhaps even when playing, I can gain strength fine. I only play once "real" game a week. But it's the little injuries that interfere.

Yeah, I didn't even think of it being my ass. I definitely want that to be bigger and stronger. I guess I'll just have to say goodbye to all my "skinny" clothes and get prepared for my "well-built" clothing line.

I'm gonna dominate me some food on that cruise though, I can tell you that. Maybe I can do hard cardio on the ship so I can eat more.

6/16 log

rolling/mobility/activation

Squats
45x3x5
65x1x5
100x1x3
135x1x2
180x3x5

Well, I got all 5 each time but my form got all messed up. I was leaning forward, knee bending, swaying. All sorts of awesome stuff. Maybe I need better mental cues. While 180 is kinda heavy, I really think if my muscles were working in concert, this wouldn't be such a big issues busting through.

Press
45x3x5
55x1x3
70x1x2
85x5x1
85x4x1
85x4x1

So basically I haven't gotten any better @ 85. So next time I'm going to drop down and microload my way back up. So frustrating. Press form feels really weird to me and I'm not that consistent (about as consistent as Ricky Rubio's shot off the dribble (zing!). But hopefully microloading helps me progress.

DL
135x1x5
135x1x4
135x1x3
175x1x2
210x1x5

My lower back felt "ok" so I did the weight I did last time. My g/f said I kept my back straight on all reps of my last set. Wooo! Btw, DLing is *much* harder for me if I have to keep my back straight and am not doing straight legged deadlifts (is that a RDL?). It's hard to tell if my lower back is weak and can't stay solid, or if it's strong and I cheat with it to help bring the bar up. Meh. Either way I feel I can progress.

A trainer finally came up to me today and said I needed to be wearing shoes. So time to get some Chuck's that are too long I guess. I was worried the trainer was going to talk about the chalk I was using. I've found it is helping a *ton* with my left hand that has the still-injured thumb. It's getting better but makes it hard to keep a grip.

Question of the day:
Also, my daily Groupon was $75 for two 60-minute massages from this guy: http://www.per4mancemassage.com/about_html/about.html.

Website is *awful*, yes, I know. But, looks like he does ART and his massages/work may be the type that would help me. Cha gave me his Chiro's card, and I really should get an appointment with him. But I'm such a cheap bastard I guess, that it's hard to stomach shelling out money every week or month for work to be done on me. Perhaps this groupon + a visit to Cha's chiro is a good start? It seems like too good of a deal to pass up! Plus, then I could compare him with Cha's chiro and then could compare/contrast.

Thoughts?

I have found the "slide your nipples down/up a wall" cue from Greyskull useful for improving my squat form. Helps keep good back extension and keep me centered, helping to prevent uneven force coming out of the hole and that swaying that you were talking about.

Aidan - Thanks! I'll try that next time.

Read this:
http://www.wannabebig.com/training/d...ke-a-champion/
Weak glutes, hammies, quads & abs imo.

Keep doing the stuff you're doing and eating lots of protein. It will take a while, but it will come around eventually.

Trainers suck. You should get some Chucks anyways - they're cheap and a great all purpose lifting shoe.

Squat shoes would help your squats a lot, so consider those at some point as well, but keep in mind they aren't as good for DLs as Chucks (because of the heels) and they are expensive.

Try him out imo. The one hour deep tissue including ART seems like an awesome deal. I personally prefer a lady doing deep tissue massages, but getting the combo massage & ART treatment seems pretty good. Make sure to tell him all about your ankle issue & the knee cave during squats that is likely due to the ankle issues.

My guy wouldnt typically spend that much time on you or do deep tissue massage, but he'd do chiropractic adjustments + ART + if Graston is needed he does that and he's likely much better at diagnosing things than this guy.

Yeah I read that already and am already doing pullthroughs and squats (listed on there for glutes/hammies/quads). Perhaps I'll add an ab thing at the end of my routine.

Yeah, I mean, the weight room at my gym isn't that big and there are a bunch of people walking around with weights and stuff. I did expect someone to tell me to put some shoes on at some point. Although, for this trainer specifically, I've had to write a couple of comment cards about how when he works out personally, he leaves his **** around everywhere during his workout and takes up like 2 out of the 3 benches in the weight room. He finally stopped after my 2nd comment card .

Do you think chuck taylors are better than socks for Squats? Anything is better than my cross training shoes. And I think the consensus a while back was that it's okay to wear shoes that are a size too big for lifting since I won't be running in them? I've wanted to avoid this but I really am having bad luck finding shoes that are good for lifting that come in widths.

The Groupon is on, imo. I'm also going to check out your Chiro once I get back from the vacation I'm taking next week. I think going to him 1st for diagnostic purposes will be super smart. The deal I just bought is good for a year anyway so I can use those 2 one-hour sessions whenever I want.

6/21

Played 1on1 with my teammate/coworker outside today. We played 3 games to 11 and he dominated me in all 3. I did score a few baskets in each game though. It's kind of helpful to play against him but he's an absolutely horrible matchup for me as his style of play is so similar, except he's taller, a faster jumper, and better at those things (except passing imo, and maybe rebounding feel).

Anyway, both of my ankles are sore today but I was happy with getting to work on my low posts moves on him. I got blocked a bunch when I went with low post shots I felt comfortable with, and got off ones that were a bit out of my range or not quite in rhythm. Meh, but I guess that's what a good defender does to you. I really should find someone else to get confidence against regarding low post stuff.

The most helpful advice he gave me was to create contact on offense before making my shooting move so that a) I'd know where the opponent was and b) get them a bit off balance so as to create space for my low post shot. He said too frequently he was the one bumping me when I shot and/or he was in position to block and/or I could have gotten even better position b/c he wasn't bodying me that much.

I also convinced him to do a 100 layup Mikan drill with me. Which seemed v hard at 20 layups but was pretty doable.

When I was working on my right block lefty move while he was resting afterwards, he said my move was looking quite good and was surprised I had it. Of course, in the game he was blocking this "good move" or making me shoot it a couple feet further out, lol.

Btw, these look like helpful videos for what I can drill on off-lifting days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqmGo...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioO6O...eature=related

The videos/music are quite silly. But all the moves seem very fundamental and exactly what I should get more comfortable doing so I can just go to them in-game.

Thoughts? Better routines I can start doing on offdays to help with my bball?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFB_vHVFM_8

Lol, I think I've actually seen that before somehow. Looks so much worse than a real salad .

I really like salads though. Parts of the meat salad look good also, ldo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJ9sf7EHkc

shorter version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkNQG...eature=related

it's a coaching clinic on developing post players, not a players one, so there is a fair amount of stuff you can skip past.

he doesn't go over post moves, but basically you just need 3 moves. if you catch the ball at the midpost or higher, turn and face, do any fake (shot fake, jab step, etc) and either shoot or drive in the opposite direction.

if you are in the low post, you really only need a primary move and a counter. so your primary move could be a fake to your right, power dribble and right handed jump hook, which you would use if the defender is directly between you and the basket or leaning towards your right shoulder. you'd use the counter if the defender is on your left side, so it is harder to turn and shoot over that shoulder. you could just drop step with your right foot, seal the defender, power dribble or turn and shoot. you could also fake right, fake left (simulating your jump hook) and drop step.

the most important part is making sure you are reading the defender before you decide what to do, staying low so that you can move explosively, and like your coworker said, seeking contact.

Stewies,

Hmm, yeah I think drilling those moves will really help me actually have time to read the defense as right now I have to do way too much thinking. What I do should be a reaction based on my read, not some carefully planned 3 second thought-process. I watched the shorter version of your link and definitely will watch the longer one later!

6/22 log

Had to do my workout quickly due to a time crunch tonight.

Some mobility & a bit of activation.

Squats
warm up sets
185x2x5
185x1x3

I realized I was having a bunch of knee cave on my right leg on the last set and had these really helpful flashes of my knee being F'd up forever so I bailed. Was frustrated b/c I think I maybe just need to push through and get the weight up if I'm gonna get my stuff stronger.

Bench
warm up sets
145x2x5
145x1x3

Man, that bar just hovered there on the 4th rep for a few seconds. Thankfully my spotter kept his hands away until it started coming down. Maybe if I had asked for a lift off I coulda gotten it. Maybe.

Pullthroughs and pullups/chins - went well, was careful not to use my lower back and just keep it straight the whole time. Don't think my back will be "weird" this time.

Ok, well time for a cruise where I prolly eat the entire ship, and then attempt to put it to good use on vacation in Orange County at some sort of 24hr fitness I assume. Or wherever my buddy works out nowadays.

Thanks for the bball tips guys. It'd be super cool if at some point I can get some video of me doing random drills. But obv I don't do well in the video department as I has no cameramanz, .

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba-wp3850

1. learn crossover
2. break ankles
3. ???
4. profit

Lol. I may be from Oakland, but I'm not sure I'd ever be able to master the crossover. Especially since step #2 would likely involve me breaking *my* ankle, .

You're not wrong though!

6/25 log

Did some lacrosse ball stuff, stretching, and then ran 2 miles on the cruise ship looking out over the ocean. Pretty pleasant.

6/28 log

Got to 24 hour fitness in Lake Forest. They had foam rollers which was nice so I did all of my rolling/mobility. I didn't have programming with me so I just did it from memory:

Squat
45x2x5
65x1x5
1XXx1x3
1XXx1x2
185x1x5
185x1x4
185x1x3

Hmmm, looking back now it seems I did 180 last time but it was a bit tough so I guess not being able to get 185 isn't the worst thing. I was wearing shoes and felt it was hard to stay back on my heels. This was the first time I actually failed any reps and it was super easy to get out from under the bar. So there's that.

Press
45x3x5
55x1x3
65x1x2
80x5x3

Went back down to 80 and while not trivially easy, it felt pretty easy. I'm planning to get some washers or w/e at the hardware store hopefully before the next time I do these to go to 82 rather than 85 lbs. My form still isn't perfect all the time but when I keep things tight, the press becomes *much* easier to complete.

Deadlift
135x1x5
135x1x4
135x1x3
185x1x2
225x1x5

I had my friend watch my last set and he said there was just a bit of lower back rounding at the very end of my last rep when setting the weight down. This was very encouraging and I am going to keep moving up in weight as long as I can keep my back straight or almost straight for all reps like that.

Felt good about the Press and DLs I did. Not so pumped about Squats.

6/29 log

Did cardio at 24 hour fitness within the 24 hour window I purchased. Along with some foam rolling. Pretty boring imo.

Later this day I got sick and haven't felt great since then. But one thing I accomplished which is HUGE imo is purchase these bad boys: http://www.shopnewbalance.com/newbalanceMX20BR.htm.



For anyone following this log, I've put off getting any sort of lifting shoes as I have wide feet and really couldn't find any good looking options online or in stores I could try out. So, instead I've been going barefoot (well, socks on). But last time at my gym a trainer said that wasn't allowed.

This new shoe came out like 2 days ago so the timing couldn't be better.

HUGE props to Cha for giving me the headsup on it. I went in yesterday to try it on and insta-bought it - which *never* happens when I buy shoes (even when they come in widths) - this thing fits me like a glove. Hopefully it is even better than going barefoot when it comes to squats/DLs. I'll see in a bit! Also will see how much I weigh. I ate everything at every meal for over a week. So I have a feeling I've put on some weight. Unfortunately, I'd assume it's mainly fat. Meh.

Where was the cruise?