Back felt fine going in to my workout. It's a bit wonky now but not horrible. Actually, it's my hips that are bothering me. I didn't really do a difficult workout either. Vids posted below and xposted with form thread. Advice greatly appreciated.

DL
6x95
5x135
5x165
5x185 (vid)
5x205
5x205
1x215 (vid)

op
8c65
8x95
5x115
1x135
3x125
2x125
4x115

The first set is 185, the second is 215.

I commented on your form in the form check thread, but I wanted to comment on your programming here.

I would be cautious of doing too much top end work in the deadlift, especially with back and/or hip issues. One mistake can be costly, and form breakdown is exacerbated with fatigue. If you want to work on form, then triples are sufficient, and I would do them at relatively low intensity (70% maybe?). 5x185 and 2x5x205 and then another single might not be the best of ideas, especially until you dial your form in a bit more.,

LOL, it took a few minutes to figure out what you were saying (girl in pink).

Thanks. Yeah, I can feel what you pointed out. I've tried working on keeping the bar from "floating" out but it looks like I still need to do better.

This back thing is super frustrating because I feel strong enough to do a lot more but something just gives way. But, yeah, that's good advice to back off a little until I get everything working better.

Supposed to be a trolling free zone, but i couldnt help myself

Yeah, I know how that feels. You're only as strong as your weakest link on any given lift, though. You don't have to back off all the way, just not overdo the high intensity stuff. Find a weight that you can keep your back in a good position and work on getting it stronger over time.

If you're finding that you can't set your back at any weight, then obviously the mobility work will help, as well as things like supermans. You can also lift off small blocks to slightly raise the bar while you work on mobility and technique - a strategy that worked well for soulman recently.

Probably about time for another mattress update.

Not sure where we left off, but to recap - we moved the perfectly good kingsize topoftheline stearnsandfoster bed to gf's dad's house (7 hour drive). However, we kept the foam padding top and put it on the perfectly good Hilton bed. For those of you that don't know, the Hilton buys special beds which we checked out by staying there 2 nights for no other reason than to test the bed. After this test run, gf decided it was THE bed. Well, until it got home. We'll be getting rid of it soon. Until then, she bought another perfectly good foam bed from Sams. After deciding that the Hilton bed was no good without a foam pad, or for that matter, no good with the foam pad, gf thought maybe the foam pad was the issue. So, she bought another one and put it on the Sams foam bed. That, of course, was after she decided a foam padless foam bad wasn't really the way to go. Then, she returned the foam pad from the Hilton bed.

I gotta stop here for a second to applaud gfs ability to take back virtually anything. We've had this foam pad for over a year. She has no receipt and no box. I have no idea how she does this.

Anyways, tonight she'll be trying out the foam mattress without a foam pad yet again. However, in the mean time, she's out shopping for another foam bed. And, I hear her car right now.

toodaloo

I'll keep you posted.

I don't even know what to say, bro. That's.....that's just.......*shakes head*

Man, the princess and the pea, irl. I have never heard of anything like this. Myself (maybe this is typical man?), I can sleep on anything. I can put a blanket on the ground, ball up a jacket and go to sleep.

Scratch that marry suggestion. She is pretty hot. But this mattress nightmare might be a sign of other things. Tough call. Good luck.

mattress update

In a less that stunning revelation, gf has proclaimed that the Hilton bed is indeed sufficient and the real problem is her association of the bed (or in this case many beds) with our relationship. Or something like that.

The bad news is, she still wants another bed because, although she was able to sleep on the Hilton bed, it is still not perfect. The good news is, well, there is none.

I'm traveling the next 3 weeks (starting yesterday) so workouts will be spotty.

I'm really trying to get a handle on the deadlift/back/hip issue. I really don't want to give up on deadlifting but dealing with the pain/discomfort is wearing on me. I pretty much get something out of alignment or do something wrong almost every time I do them. Between the chiro and just rest, it gets back working right again but for a few days it is pretty uncomfortable.

Because I won't have access to chiro or a legit gym and I'll be flying and not home, I'm taking a break from deadlifts until I get back.

But, once I get back I need to change something. I'm thinking maybe limit my sets to 3 reps. Not going as heavy. I dunno.

One thing I know I'm going to try is to not do the continuous lift thing. I need to lift. Put the weight down. STOP AND RESET. Then lift again.

I'm really struggling to find a solution here. I really like doing these and don't want to stop. But, something needs to change.

Suggestions?

Maybe try stopping DLing temporarily. Do pull throughs and try to learn to use your glutes so that you feel nothing in your back when you do them.

Overhead press
8x65
8x95
6x115
3x125
5x115
3x115

kb swings
12x45
12x60
3x12x65

pullthrough
11x20
10x35
10x50
8x65
8x75
8x85

First time doing pullthroughs. Not sure I did them exactly right. I'll tinker with form.

mattress update

Apparently when I was on vacation, gf took the opportunity to do some (translation - a lot) mattress shopping. When I got back she showed me all the pictures. She made the people that worked in the mattress stores take pictures of her lying on each mattress so she can compare her posture from one mattress to the next. In between her comments on how big her butt was, she pointed out the posture differences to me, which was a good thing because I didn't see any (posture differences or large butts).

WTF at the mattress situation. What other neuroses does she have?

Jesus christ dude, I just read the mattress posts -- I don't even know what to say . . . At least the mattress stuff sounds relatively benign, I assume she's relatively sane in most other aspects of your relationship?

She has OCPD. This is her to a T http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessi...ality_disorder .

I'm both sympathetic and unsympathetic to this at the same time. My Dad has it as well so I understand it. I'm sympathetic as in I understand it's an illness. I'm unsympathetic in that I don't cater to it (much).

My Dad never attempted to get a handle on it or even acknowledge that there might be a problem. So, it ended up destroying anything resembling a family life. So, when gf starts obsessing over stuff and tries to make it our problem, I make it clear it isn't. GF is at least self-aware (unlike Dad) and attempts to deal with it but it's a very strong force that prevents her from seeing things rationally. She deals with the obsessive stuff as well as she can, but she can't comprehend that the right/wrong behavior is part of this or that it is even not normal.

I'd be happy to go into this in more detail if anyone is interested. She is a textbook case.

Back from a couple of road trips. I was pretty bad this last week. Didn't work out and ate all kinds of bad stuff.

Got back last night and went for a run this morning. I was amazed at how good my body felt. No back issues, no hip issues, nothing.

My thinking is that I'm working out too much. I think my workout plan works fine for someone younger but I think it is just too much for a 55 y.o. body. So, I'm going to tweak it some.

I'm going to stick with the basic routine but do less sets. Not sure why I need to do 5 heavy bench sets after 4 warmup sets. Same with squats. Maybe not as heavy every time either. I still want to deadlift but I'm going to try to be a bit smarter about things.

6/10
Incline bench
8x135
6x155
3x175
4x165
4x165

FS
8x45
8x65
8x95
3x115
4x115
5x105

Deadlifted for the first time in 3 weeks. Felt really good. I felt like I could have gone much heavier but I didn't want to push it. Back is a little tired now, but feels good.

DL
3x95
3x135
3x155
3x175
3x185
3x195

press
8x65
8x95
6x115
1x135
5x115
4x115

Tried back squats for the first time. Felt ok. Went uber light to see how my body reacts.

While doing them I tried to keep upright but I'm finding it almost impossible to do. I just naturally bend over somewhat. But, they feel ok. I'll post vids next time.

Back squat

8x95
8x115
3x135
3x125


dumbell rows

8x75
7x80
6x85
5x85

swings

3x12x65

bending forwards a bit is fine (assuming lbbs)

its more about sitting back and shoving your knees out

looking forward to the vids

may all your squats be below parallel and all your pots be monsters

getting caught up

6/17
Incline bench
8x135
8x155
5x175
4x175
5x165
4x165

FS
8x65
8x95
4x4x115

6/19
DL
3x135
3x155
3x3x175
1x195

no back issues - wee!

Press
8x65
8x95
7x115
3x125
3x125
5x115

6/21
Back squat
8x95
8x115xouchmyback

stopped there

6/24

Incline bench
8x135
7x155
2x3x175
2x4x165

Front squat
8x65
8x95
5x105
6x115
5x125
4x125

6/26

DL
2x3x135
3x155
3x175
2x3x195
1x205

overhead press
8x65
8x95
5x115
2x3x125
4x115

Back squats. Good news - no back problems. bad news - wimpy weight

Trying to build some confidence and concentrate on form. I really slowed down the motion on the way down to try to keep better control of my back/butt.

8x45
8x65
8x85
8x105
4x125
5x115

widegrip pullups

6xbw
2x5xbw
4xbw

made it through and entire week without back issues. woohoo!