In that video the 651 goes up so quick I couldn't believe it was a pr. NICE WORK.

Thanks!

It was harder than it looked.

I should mention this: The popping out feeling I was getting behind my knee was likely a baker's cyst. I stumbled upon a good cure for it (lots of heavy squats wearing tight knee wraps). This seems like a hell of a lot better solution than everything listed online (long periods of rest, steroid injections, other drugs, drainage, PT including "Gentle range-of-motion and strengthening exercises for the muscles around your knee also may help to reduce your symptoms and preserve knee function." etc.). lol gentle. How about deep 460 lb back squats while wearing tight knee wraps?

I think I just figured out what caused it too. It came on a week ago Saturday after I was cutting the rubber mats in half for the new DL platform. I was probably kneeling on the right knee quite a bit while doing that. I have had some kind of cyst on the front of that knee, kind of to the bottom right of the kneecap, for > 15 years. I think the pressure on the kneecap from kneeling forced the fluid into the area back behind my knee.

8/9

ME bench
55x15, 105x10x2, 147x5, 197x3, 239x3, 269x3, 289x1, 304x3x5

hammer curls
30x10x3

floor press
217x6, 6, 10

standing cable rows
200x25x3

face pulls
125x15x2

I did the voodoo floss hip trick that you did the video of and my hip feels so much better. I still do the voodoo stuff for my wrists and now they are at like 100% now. Thanks a lot for your help with all that stuff

Nice - I'm glad to know that!

Pro deadlifting form, but your Metallica listening form needs work.

Master of Puppets is a masterpiece. Like there's nothing wrong with A Hard Day's Night, but let's not speak of it in the same breath as Abbey Road.

Only one song on Master of Puppets is anything short of a classic. I'm looking at you, Leper Messiah.

Master of Puppets was the first Metallica album I bought, and it is a classic. I just dont see it as much better or much worse than any of the other first four, and the first 7 songs on Justice are all great.

Master of Puppets just one of those albums that transcends its genre, imo.

Where Master of Puppets felt like an evolution, Justice felt like an attempt to replicate it. The other thing is that it has amazingly terrible production which ruins it to some extent. But yeah, it's a great album. I feel like the first two are works in progress.

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/11/t...r-smash-drill/

I have to try this. I already have a ball taped to a ****ty barbell.

8/11

safety bar squats
80x5x2
140x5
182x5
232x5
274x5
325x5
349x4
374x3

reverse hypers
140x15x3

ssb box squats vs ~100 lbs of bands at top
187x3x5

cha,

did you end up totally fixing your anterior pelvic tilt? in the op you mentioned fixing it a bit, but is it completely better now?

i have really bad apt and low back pain from sitting way too much, mostly with poor posture. i did 8 sessions of physical therapy (plus stretches at home almost every day) but it hasn't really helped. though, those weren't entirely geared towards apt, because they are not yet sure it is the source of my pain. they were mostly, afaik, the "default" stretches used to help fix lower back pain. my x-ray was fine, but they have yet to do an MRI. at my last appointment with the back specialist, he did a trigger point injection and recommended continuing the stretching and trying massages a few times. if there still wasn't improvement, then we'd go to an MRI and see if it's an underlying disc issue.

in any case, i still have bad apt, whether or not the pain stems from that or some other issue is still up in the air. but what exactly would you recommend for fixing that? just the stuff in the op - foam rolling, list of stretches especially the bolded, etc? or do you have a revised routine that provided more benefit?

i don't care if it's really time consuming, i just want to do whatever necessary to fix the apt (and hopefully the pain with it). thanks!

Well, the APT would rear its ugly head again if I didnt do the right stuff to stay on top of it because I sit a lot, but I have it under control.

What exactly are your symptoms? Do you have pain radiating to the side of your back? Do you have pain down into your legs or hips? Is it better or worse while you're sitting?

In my experience, physical therapy can vary from stuff that really works to stuff that is like trying to kill an elephant with a pea shooter. What exactly did the PT have you do? Did you do any rolling/SMR/manual therapy from them to break up adhesions before stretching? If not, stretching would be largely a waste of time.

The routine in my OP is solid, but the hamstring stretching part was a total waste of time (If you do have adhesions in your hamstrings that need attention, do my self-ART lacrosse ball hamstring trick. Try searching this thread or this forum for info on that - I've posted it a lot of times). Doing all that other rolling & mobility stuff would be very good. Getting your glutes working/active/strong, strengthening the anterior core (you will want to do front and side planks), and loosening the quads/fronts of the hips are the primary things you need to do. Adding in stuff like my voodoo band hip opener trick will turbo charge opening up the hips. Its the greatest thing ever imo. http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=2727

If any of this stuff makes your back hurt or feel tight, stop right away. Keys to doing all of it without hurting your back are to not arch, twist or flex the back/core. The way to do that is to get your core tight and keep it tight. Keep your pelvis locked to your rib cage like your core is a block of cement. You'll want to keep your abs and glutes very tight during all of it.

I'm assuming you've read this?: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._force_couples
Do so if you havent.

Doing all of the above will help get your low back into proper alignment and protect it. I dont see how these "professionals" can neglect the things like I've mentioned above.

I've never had a trigger point injection. I've read that they're less effective and more risky than manual therapy like ART. Did that help you at all?

ART on your hips and quads is something to look into. Look for a provider who's certified at the Biomechanics level. http://www.activerelease.com/providerSearch.asp

The xray will not reveal any disc damage. Only an MRI will show that. Hopefully you dont have disc damage.

My pain is pretty much in the center of the lower back, with slight radiation towards both sides. Never anything down my legs, up to my neck, etc. Prolonged (2-3hrs+) sitting without getting up at all makes it worse, but I know it's bad to sit for that long without breaks anyway.

For 3, maybe 4 of the sessions there was manual therapy prior to the stretching, but never form rolling or anything else. Some of the stretches were Piriformis (Supine), lower truck rotation stretch , hamstring stretch,and pelvic tilt stretch. After a few sessions, they had me doing planks (front & side), bridging, and some modified pelvic tilt stretches (laying down and pressing back towards table, then marching in place or "marching out" towards the bottom of the table).

The trigger point injection didn't help, and I've only been able to have one massage thus far which didn't help either - not that I'd expect one session to really make a difference anyway. It's kind of frustrating because when I went back to the specialist after "failed" physical therapy, I was expecting and hoping he'd order the MRI. At least then he would've been able to say with complete certainty that it was entirely a postural issue and the discs, etc were fine.

I found a few ART providers, so I'm going to give them a call tomorrow.

I guess at this point I'm going to do all the stretching, rolling, and stuff you recommended, explore ART, and also get the ball rolling on another visit to the specialist for an MRI. Hopefully your various recommendations and the ART will be enough, but obviously it takes time to see results there. I just want to get an MRI out of the way so I can hopefully rule out any kind of severe damage. This pain has been preventing me from starting SS because I'm afraid of deadlifting and squatting - if it's a disc issue that'd cause more damage, and if it's just an APT issue then it'd be harder to get proper form with my current messed up posture.

edit: also, how important is the biomechanics certification as opposed to the lower extremity/spine/nerve certs? only 1 (!) provider anywhere near me has that, but there aren't any actual customer reviews of him online or anything.

Those symptoms make me think it could be a facet joint issue. Did the doc mention that as a possibility? You probably dont need an MRI if that's the problem.

You need to get up & let the hips stretch out more often. Once an hour at least, even if only for a minute or two, will help. This is a bigger thing than you might realize.

I'm not a fan of the lumbar stretching. That can adversely affect the discs. That hamstring stretch is a total waste of time. Stretching the piriformis & glutes after rolling them is good. That pelvic tilt thing probably isnt very good if there's much spinal movement. Diaphragmatic breathing with less back motion is better. The front and side planks and the glute bridging are very good.

Dont squat or DL if you're at all concerned about making it worse. When you think you're ready, start by air squatting to a high box, then progress to goblet squatting and front squatting. Those are all easier on the back than back squats.

For DLs, start with light weight off blocks or pins before progressing down to the floor. But again, dont do any of that if it bothers your back.

Go to ~June 1, 2011 & forward of my log & see how I rehabbed my injury.

Biomechanics is the big one. From everything I've read & been told by my provider, that's the hardest one to get and its the most valuable. It takes the most training & experience. I'd go to that provider who has it if I were you.

More KStar discussion on icing: http://www.mobilitywod.com/2013/07/c...-a-year-later/

I'm glad these "doctors" finally caught up to my broscience.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=721

yeah, you had it figured out. Its interesting that the replies to your post were the old "conventional wisdom" that these doctors just basically blew away in that video.

He did not; actually I hadn't even heard of that until you mentioned it haha. I'll definitely mention it to him (though I'm reluctant to put off the MRI again, even if it turns out to be a facet joint problem).

Yeah, the stretches seemed to be hit or miss with regards to the typical recommendations for APT stretching on the internet.

Fortunately I was able to get in with my specialist next Tuesday, and intend to make the appointment with the ART guy (w/ a biomechanics cert! ) tomorrow. Holding off on the lifting for a few more weeks shouldn't be too difficult; it just sucks to be sitting out when I both want and need to start compound lifting.

Thanks for all the help!

For the record, some Ripbro wrote a thing shooting down kstarr and his buddy.

http://startingstrength.com/articles...n_sullivan.pdf

tbh I didn't read it cover to cover, but the cliffs start on page 12(!) and basically amounted to "loldunno"

I'm not going to read that right now, but maybe later. imo, Rip has proven himself to be wrong about several things. I know of nothing that KStar is wrong about. That's not to say the opposite coudnt be true here, but based on my limited knowledge, I trust KStar's opinion on stuff.

8/13 - basically the same workout as 7/31.

DL
239x5x3
330x3
380x2 (because I forgot my 1st work sets were only 5 lbs more)
385x4x4
441x2
491x2
The 491 felt significantly better & easier than 2 weeks ago.

trap bar DL
505x1
547x1
597x1
637x1
667x1 (PR +15)

455x12

I felt strong tonight. The 455 at the end felt very light. I pulled the first 8 reps on a single breath.

491x2:


667x1:


455x12:

Nice lifts!