I dont feel comfortable going much lower, but thats probably something I can try with lighter weights. My hammies were a lot tighter when I started doing these than they are now because of the rolling I've done to them, so I might be able to get lower and keep the back arch.

Mike told me to focus on getting my hips back and that the ROM isnt as important as getting the hips back. For reference, here is how he says to do them: http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/...nian-deadlift/

The thing I'd be concerned about with heavier weights is getting too low and losing the back extension. I'm not sure if going as shallow as I do limits the effectiveness of the exercise much or not.

Right, figured it was something like that.

I would say the spinal erectors get significantly less work with your current ROM. That would go for the hamstrings as well, though to a lesser degree. And obviously stop when your back loses extension - I'm currently paying for not doing that :/

yeah, losing low back extension is a huge no-no.

With my current ROM, I can handle that 325 very easily, and ~375 feels moderately heavy. One time I did ~405 or something close to that and that felt very heavy, like maybe it was too much for that exercise.

I think I could try going lower on warmups and probably do 325 lower without much risk of hurting myself. I just wonder whether 325 with a greater ROM is better than ~375 with my current ROM.

My low back definitely got some work from what I did last night. The hammies did too.

Yeah, going lower on warmups sounds like a good idea. Imo using a bigger ROM is advantageous, and why not try it anyway.

Good article on core training with videos by Mike Robertson: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ore_training_1

nice dl @ 475 and expert music choice. thanks for that article link, looks like good stuff.

ty

2/7

DL
145*10, 235*5*2, 325*3*2, 375*3 <---double overhand grip, straps --->425*3*3

trap bar DL
350*5, 400*1, 440*1, 490*2

chins - neutral grip
5 5

KB swings
62*12, 70*12

DB row
90*8, 95*8

good mornings
235*5*2

flye EQI
10*30

lat EQI
10*60

The flye EQIs bother my left shoulder a bit. Everything else felt good.

2/10

bench press
55*15*2, 145*10, 195*5, 235*3, 255*3, 265*3*2
That felt pretty good. Not quite to failure on the last set, but it was getting hard.

neutral grip chins
6 6 6
ez, felt fine

squat
55*10, 145*8, 195*5, 235*3, 285*3, 325*1/// damn left knee tightened up again I recorded it on video, and can see my left knee caved maybe two inches coming up out of the hole. I'm pretty sure that's what's been happening every time the knee tightens up. I gotta fix it.

RDL
145*10, 235*5, 285*5, 325*5
I planned to do another set, but after that last set, i leaned against the bar, kind of halfway sitting, and the knee tightened up bad and I had a sharp pain again. This is what seems to happen every time. It tightens up from squats, then later when I'm doing something with no load, it gets way tighter and very painful.

fwiw - SM - I did these inside the rack and put the safety bars at the lowest position. I basically lowered the weight slowly to the safety pins, stopped (no bouncing) and came back up. This isnt a true RDL because I didnt bounce at the bottom, but I think its a legitimate exercise and it made me feel more comfortable about going a bit deeper. I feel like my hammies & glutes got a bit of work, so I'll try them again.

flye EQI - 12*30 left shoulder still not 100% on these

lat EQI - 12*45

I have the same tendency on LBBS and found it very, very hard to fix.

My most recent knee tightness and pain (2 days ago during a squat it tightened up a little, then got very painful later) lasted a little longer, even after I did a bunch of quad rolling, massage & self ART work on it. It was bad all day and night yesterday - I was playing pool and couldnt squat low enough to look at the table the way I wanted to. When I had weight on it and bent the left knee more than ~30 degrees, I got sharp pains in the joint.

I really worked the quad over last night before bed. I didnt feel any immediate difference in the knee, but today when I woke up, the knee felt completely fine. I can air squat to a 12.5" box (below parallel) today with no hint of pain or stiffness in the knee. Soft tissue work works!!!

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...pendlay_secret

Interesting stuff in there. It makes me want to be able to do Olympic lifts. You guys who are looking for explosive strength should read that.

Obviously, as someone who regularly does push presses, plyo pushups, and lots of pulls, I agree that stuff should be included in programs.

lol @ the first part of that article though and the claim that all his guys are just putting on lean muscle like it's going out of style. It's pretty easy to look up pics of guys like Donny Shankle, John North, Caleb Ward, etc.... all guys who are proficient at oly lifting, but I seriously doubt anyone is out to copy their physiques.

And as I read that again, he continues to make some pretty bizarre claims like:

I'm pretty surprised at some of that stuff, considering he is a respected oly coach.

Probably the tnation editor. Gotta make sure you add in some ridiculous claims and mention Anaconda 23 times.

yeah, that's probably what happened - Pendlay didnt write it so the writer embellished what Pendlay told him.

Carl - for some reason I was thinking you wanted to see a hammie rolling vid, so I made one of those. Just now I went back and looked at the problems you were having and it was upper back & neck related I think. Oops.

The SF crossfit guy's sticky scap vid is great for the upper back. A link to that is posted somewhere in this thread. That might loosen up your neck a bit.

If it doesnt, you can work over your neck muscles with your hands or with something like a thera-cane (pics of that & a link on where to buy one are also in this thread). Be sure NOT to massage the area near or on your carotid artery - that can break plaque loose and cause a stroke.

2/15

didnt time rolling
mobility warmup 6:49
weights 7:16

DL
145*9, 235*6, 235*5, 325*3*2, 375*2, 415*1 <---double overhand grip, straps ---> 450*2*2

trap bar DL
350*2, 440*1, 490*1, 540*2

shrugs - straight bar
40*10, 130*10, 220*5, 310*5*3

KB swings
70*12, 80*12

DB rows
95*5*2

chins
5 5

good mornings
235*5*2

flye EQI
12*45 left shoulder a bit better than the last few times, but still not 100%

lat EQI
12*60

done 9:20

I laid down some more 1/2" rubber flooring yesterday. The whole large part of the basement floor is now covered.

Solid set up. Spotted some good reading in the 2nd pic.

Did I hear someone say something about a hamstring rolling video?

yeah....just a 20 second clip.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pkrizrgd?feature=mhum

Simple stuff - It works best when your leg hangs off the edge of a table so your foot doesn't touch the ground. I like doing this while wearing jeans best because they dont bunch up like sweats. G4S, you'll probably want to do it in shorts just because you can Look for tightness and sharp pains. Put down as much pressure as you can take. Dont straighten the leg until it starts to loosen up. When it does loosen up, go ahead and straighten the leg to stretch the muscle. This usually will pop it loose.

When your muscles down there are really stuck together bad like mine were, you may need to relax on the ball for several minutes before it starts to loosen.

It hurts like hell while you are doing this, but it feels fantastic and loose as soon as you're finished.

That's a sick home gym setup and you still have plenty of open floor space, too. Definitely one of the first things I'm going to invest in once I live in a place that has room, I'm jealous.

See if you can spot the copy of SS....

.

I tried this a few times when you first mentioned it but I haven't been getting much out of it. I feel like the areas I really want to work on are all up just below the glute sort of in the meeting point between glute and ham, slightly towards the inner side of the thigh, and try as I might I can't get the ball into a spot where I can apply enough pressure to it. Maybe I should try a harder or larger ball.