Legs
Clams and monster walks w/ light resistance band 10x per side
Walking lunges 1x30x6kg
Deadlifts 2x10x25
Squats 2x10x30
Low to high chop 1x10x30 per side

Upper body
Buchberger 12 w/3lb DBS where needed.
Knee push-ups 1x10

B]Core[/B]
Plank 2x35s (really hard today for some reason)
Side planks 1x30s per side

Didn't have any real problems with the Buchberger stuff so will be doing that daily until tendinitis goes away. It has stopped improving so that concerns me a bit, hope this helps. Always seem to have less time than I think I do

planks - dont do more than 10 second reps. Instead of 35s x 2, do 10s x ~5 - 10 and squeeze your abs, glutes and quads as hard as you possibly can for those 10 seconds. Dr McGill says this builds better muscle endurance than longer plank reps because you're able to contract your muscles harder for each rep and you should be using better form too. Here's an article on RKC planks, which are similar to what McGill suggests: http://bretcontreras.com/the-rkc-plank/

Side note: The author of the above article has written some other stuff advocating spinal flexion exercises that I disagree with, so I dont recommend reading all his other work. That article on RKC planks however, is solid.

Talk to your ART provider about your shoulder issues. Also, you'll eventually learn more stuff the more you do SMR on the small muscles of your upper back by experimenting for yourself - that will help your shoulder issues.

I should mention that Mike R will send you a PDF of Assess and Correct if you hire him, so dont buy it if you're going to hire him, or unless you really think you need the DVD.

Hmm, interesting. Will take a look later.

Chiro released me from treatment after the last four sessions or so didn't really seem to have much impact. I did an SMR vid that highland posted earlier, tho, and it hurt like hell. So, I should probably be doing that a lot more

Edit: He would probably work on it more if I asked but I think he stopped b/c it wasn't limiting me in anything I do right now.

Super happy to report that I experienced pretty much no DOMS after Friday's workout. It's possible that one of the other exercises I was doing was contributing to that. I got through a pretty large chunk of SS over the weekend, plus I discovered the beginner thread here, so I'll try to post my questions there from now on (I use an iphone for 90% of my 2p2 viewing and the stickies are kept in a separate section that the other threads, so apologies for not discovering that sooner!)

Saturday
1 hr lesson, 1 hr hitting with rando at the courts afterward

Sunday
2 hr doubles match - lost in three sets. Still struggling a lot with match confidence, I play half as well as I do in practice. I blew some pretty key points that could have led us to a straight set win, instead it went three and didn't go our way. Decided I need a lot more practice playing points to help build up match experience, so I joined a casual intermediate singles league that's run through one of my former employers. Here's the fun part about that - it's technically co-ed but I'm the only woman signed up I played two or three years ago and went .500 or so - some of the guys were really stretching it by calling themselves intermediate but then some were pretty good, so I'm expecting it to be about the same this time. Anyways, the only way to get "match tough" is to play matches, and all the other leagues are already in progress, so there we go. Plus it's casual so I don't have to worry about ratings, and can just focus on playing and working out some of these issues.

Did C25K afterward, 2.5 miles (off treadmill apparently I go a little faster ). Shoulder rehab and SMR to follow later tonight. I have two matches this week for the singles league (I joined a week late so have to catch up) so I probably won't make any big changes to the weights until later in the week.

Edit: when I say no DOMS, don't get me wrong - SMR still hurts insanely bad, esp on the piriformis. Really hope one day I can do that without howling in pain Shoulder is improving, at least.

Skipped the lunch workout today since I figured I would need the energy for tennis tonight, which ended up being a good move. Singles match tonight was rough, and he beat me in straights. Lasted a little over an hour I think. Same thing as my last few singles matches - worked the points pretty well, gave myself the chance to go on the offensive by getting a weak shot back on a good amount of points, and then managed to blow most of the shots to finish the point. Rinse and repeat. I know what to work on for the next lesson at least This is why I wanted to sign up for this league, though - they aren't going to let me off the hook easily so you have to take points. Hope by the end of the season to be a lot better at that aspect.

After I came home decided to do a little bit of leg work, nothing crazy but I wanted to try out the kettlebell swings. Did 100 x 20lbs but had to break it up into 6 sets, could not do more than 20 at a time. I have no idea how anyone is supposed to do 500 of these in one session

Next were deadlifts, I had no intention of doing a full session or anything but my bf has a curl bar and some plates so I decided it would be a good time to try a few heavier ones and see how bad I feel tomorrow A few practice DLs with the bar, then 1x6x60 and 1x4x70 (the bar is 10lbs and he only has 2 5's and 4 25s). Didn't feel like these were terribly strenuous but a little concerned how my hip will react so we'll see tomorrow.

Also realized after looking through SS that my PTs in therapy had been teaching me half squats - big surprise. Practiced form for a bit without any weight and realized how much harder full squats are going to be. I can see why you guys recommend the goblet squats now My legs were getting wobbly and left knee started aching a bit though so I'll try those with weight the next time.

May play tennis tomorrow but only if I feel really good, otherwise it'd be a nice day to take off given I have another match Wednesday.

Make sure you keep our knees in line with your toes. Knees outside of the toes is better than inside. Letting your knees cave inside your toes can lead to major knee damage like torn ligaments or torn cartilage.

Thx Cha. I did notice that was a slight problem with the half squats so I've been focusing on making sure they stay out. I think tonight was just because I've asked a lot of my legs between yesterday and today but I will watch out for that.

Edit: Also, achiness was starting prior to the squat practice so that's why I don't think it was directly related.

Not surprised your PT was having you do bogus squats, but unfortunately it means some of the other stuff could have been bogus too - getting squats correct is such a fundamental thing it's hard to imagine a PT who is good at other things but gets that so wrong.

It is very worth learning to squat properly - then it can be one of the very best things you can do to protect your knees, but if done incorrectly then it's pretty bad.

Well, 90% of the exercises he taught me are out the window now anyways Yeah, I've spent a lot of my reading time brushing up on form/looking at form vids since I don't intend on going much heavier until I'm sure I have that down pat. So far the only soreness I seem to have from last night is in my inner thighs and a tiny bit in the quads, hopefully that's a good sign!

My inner thighs are pretty much always some amount of soreness after squatting. Not crippling unless I haven't squatted in a long time but if I keep my knees out properly my inner thighs always feel it.

I don't play much tennis anymore, but this is my game when I do.

What do you think of Starret's suggested stance for "athletes" from SL? Feet shoulder width, toes only ~15 degrees out, and knees slightly outside the line of the feet. I've been trying to switch to this, and it does feel like it allows me to screw my feet into the ground better and I feel like I have better control and proprioception of my lumbar, though not able to go as deep yet.

That is a good sign. When you start to figure out how to use your hamstrings and glutes when you squat, and feel the good kind of soreness in those muscles too after squatting, that will be another good sign.

yeah, I like it. I use a slightly wider stance, but point my feet almost forward. Limiting your depth is fine if you're getting low enough to involve the glutes & hamstrings as long as you dont move your back imo. That usually happens with knees & hip crease ~ parallel.

Yeah, I think I like it too. Feels safer, but haven't gotten back up to heavy weight yet, so who knows. He says something offhand about wider to push more weight and "drive progression" on occasion, so makes sense that you'd be out there all the time. Maybe he prescribes the narrower stance for most of the time, since it is closer to the stance you'd use for sports (like tennis - see not a total derail).

Derails totally encouraged as long as they're interesting Is this a book you're referencing or something you have a link to?

Supple Leopard - the only thing I've prepurchased on Amazon, ever: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Suppl.../dp/1936608588. It delivered.

I generally agree with what he says on that. It depends what your goals are. If your goals are like mine, trying to get stronger and move as much weight as possible, and you can hit depth doing it wide, wider is almost always better.

Whoops, guess I didn't give it enough time to set in - DOMS got worse throughout Tuesday and was BAD today when I woke up. Was a little worried it would hurt my singles match tonight but I kept trying to move around throughout the day and it was fine by tonight. Won a match I should have, so not much to report really. Nice guy but my money says he won't win a match this season.

Needless to say with my legs so sore today I decided to skip lifting. I didn't run either but in retrospect I wish I had, it probably would have helped and I haven't run yet all week. I suspect it was all the KB swings, so I will probably just stick to the KB swings/DLs/squats until I am happy with form and I can do those without feeling so sore.

Still a little sore today but didn't want to delay again so didn't go crazy:

5 min elliptical
20 clams
20 lunges w/5lb ball
KB swings 4x15x20
DLs 1x10x70
Goblet squats 2x10x15

Taped myself to confirm I am def not getting low enough on the squats, although at least I broke parallel this time. Not sure if it's a flexibility or strength issue but will not go higher on the weights until form is better. These are still super difficult for me, but I made sure knees were out 100% of the time. That might be part of my problem since I have the weak add./abd. issue. Happy to report sciatic has been remarkably pain free this week though - kept up with SMR and as I understand it KB swings help improve hip flexibility so hope that keeps up.

Not doing anything else for upper body yet until I feel ok moving on from the Buchberger exercises, impingement feels almost gone but my shoulder gets super stiff/uncomfortable unless I pop it once a day so I don't think it's quite right yet.

Practice match w/friend tonight (1.5-2 hrs), then C25k and abs tomorrow. Woefully behind my C25K program this wk but oh well

Tennis note: website finally started counting down to the next singles season, I have exactly 99 days until I get to play in the 4.5 league next year! Super excited but still a lot to do before then!

Well, slight derail once again. I haven't posted lately because there hasn't been much to post tbh, but the knee pain I previously mentioned (which at the time was pretty minimal) flared up pretty bad over the weekend. Odd because it wasn't super noticeable until Sunday and the last day I lifted was on Thurs, and I hadn't even run since the previous Sunday. It feels an awful lot like tendonitis but it is much worse than I've ever experienced and in both knees. Also, previously it had only been my quad tendons but now I am getting it on the outside as well (IT band). There was also a twinge this morning in the bottom of one knee that I really hope was a fluke. The sciatica is acting up again too. I have basically been RICEing the last few days except for the two tennis matches I had previously scheduled; the pain does not really inhibit me in any way, fortunately, but clearly something aggravated it. I am only 32 but I swear it is starting to feel like 62, its always one thing or another

Pretty close to just pulling the trigger on the BulletProof Athlete program, since it seems geared toward building a good foundation and helping to prevent injury. Plus, I only have so much time to dedicate to learning and trying to piece something together on my own is probably not going to be terribly effective with my present level of knowledge. The only reason I've hesitated to this point is that I can't seem to find legit reviews of the program, but it looks like it has a pretty good refund policy if it somehow turns out to be really bad.

Also, this will get some hate, but I'm adding back yoga for the time being. The sciatica has never been worse since I skipped it the last couple of weeks, and I feel like I have a good sense of what are safe things to do and what to skip (no headstands, shoulder stands, or weird back bends for me). From my research, it seems most of the injuries come from either doing poses that are a little too extreme or just doing too much yoga in general but I don't see myself doing either of those things, and ofc I'll be hyperaware of stopping anything that doesn't feel right.

So, the plan for now is following the daily MobilityWod Rx + my usual SMR/voodoo band treatments + Buchberger + yoga until the knees and sciatica chill out, then starting up BPA. Will also be playing a little tennis this weekend because I already committed to a charity tournament, but it's only doubles for half a day. One other note, I have been slowly creeping up in weight since my BF measurement (between 119-120 most days now) but I've started working on getting that back down to 117 (at least). My measurements have been pretty constant so its likely water weight, but still, if it helps take pressure off my knees I'll do it. Also, looks like I should have plenty of time to dig into Supple Leopard now

Oh yeah, and I've fallen to 1-3 in both singles and doubles, but I think I have bigger things to worry about atm However, I think I had a bit of a breakthrough this last match where I just decided to say f it and just enjoy the game for a bit (instead of trying to work on x, y or z), and suddenly things went a lot better (even though I still lost)

Gotta just get in a groove re: athletic performance. Can't be sitting there thinking while you're doing the damn thing.

How do I know this? B/c I'm the worst at it of all time. But yeah, especially since you aren't even supposed to be the best yet and have a few months until then just go out and give 'em hell - NBD.

Oops, that's actually supposed to be 1-2 for both singles and dbls, we've only had 3 matches so far per league. Not much better but still

Actually, that's quite a bit better! Congrats on escaping a virtual loss.

FYP

Sorry to hear about your knee pain. Seems like you're thinking about the problem intelligently. Keep at it, and you'll solve it I think.

Thx, although being a couch potato and pigging out on some Halloween candy sounds pretty tempting too right now They're starting to feel better already, I doubt it should set me back more than a wk or so.