5/16
smr & mobility

OHP
55x10x2, 105x5, 145x3, 165x1, 175x1, 180x1, 185x1, 195x1 (PR), 200xf, f
I don't know what my previous PR was because I dont ever remember trying for a PR OHP before. Both of the fails on the 200 were over my head. I just couldn't lock it out. The last attempt was really close.

face pulls
125x12x2

blast strap pushups
bw x 10, + 2 chains (~45 lbs) x 8, + 100 lb vest x 3, + 100 lb vest + 1 chain x 3, + 100 lb vest + 2 chains x 3, + 100 lb vest x 10 PR
My forearms were bothering me during the heavier sets of this. I must have done something to them the day before doing pullups. I was not able to pull anything at this point without a lot of pain, so I skipped chins & rows.

DB curls
40x6, 50x5, 60x5x2
These were sort of ok on my forearms because of how much I turned my palms.

offset farmers walks
95x25'x4x2
I used straps to hold the weight and they still were uncomfortable for my forearms.

I iced them a couple times before bed and used the DMS. They're pretty sore right now. Going to do more ice and probably some other stuff to them today.

Update on my back

Was feeling like ~90% this morning, basically had all my ROM back and only just some slight discomfort from sitting for too long in a spot. Go to gym, bench then do Kroc rows, right arm fine then on 5th rep of left arm my entire lower left back cracks (sounded like twisting bubble wrap) and the pain came back. Pain in same spot but different exercise and sound/feel during injury this time.

Side note, bought a LAX ball and my shoulders have never felt better, thanks. Also I have this really bad knot in my left hammy that will never go away, is that something I need to find an ART specialist for?

The cracking might be nothing - it could be similar to what happens when a chiropractor adjusts you, or it could be broken bones.

The pain is a bad thing. I think it would be a good idea for you to see a pro & get that checked out. Maybe look for a Biomechanics certified ART chiropractor & get your hammie worked on too.

The hammie can be dealt with lots of ways - ART, Graston, or SMR. You can sit on a hard surface with your leg hanging off, a table that supports your weight is best, or a hard chair, or even something like a bench at the gym will work, but something where your foot dangles is best.

Put your lacrosse ball under your hammie and look for painful spots. When you find one, let the ball sink into it. When it starts to loosen up, tighten your abs and back to brace yourself, push your leg down into the ball with your hands and straighten your leg to stretch the muscle. Repeat as necessary. Its very painful while you do it, but when you're done you should feel better immediately.

I'm not super happy with the idea of kroc rows with recent lower back pain. Strict rows, but kroc ones it seems to easily involve lower back twisting - especially on fatigued reps.

Doing hammies on a table/chair is really GOAT - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQtwaPoK-UM (to supplement Cha's description)

Somehow I missed the part about Kroc rows - yeah, Yugo is 100% correct. Dont do Kroc rows anymore imo. Strict DB rows are ok once your back is better. For now, I'd do lighter, 1 arm standing cable rows while focusing on keeping your torso stiff throughout. Those will strengthen your core and that will be good for your back.

the twisting is a good point, I know at the bottom of my squat my hips tend to get a bit off and I'd imagine it was putting unecessary strain on my lower back, same with kroc rows. Couple the fact that I was squatting right after Kroc Rows, and doing RPT squats led to higher reps, I was ripe for an injury.

Exercises like bench, press, RDLs, and back extensions haven't hurt one bit even 2 days after I initially injured myself.

So much content in this thread.

found the spot, had trouble getting the sensation he was talking about by leaning back and forth, so I just rolled on that spot for a while. Definitely felt like I was getting in there good, we'll see how things feel tomorrow.

probably the best thread not a lot of people know about in H/F

Here's another way to deal with hammie issues: Graston Torture
By
Mick Manley
Published: May 17, 2012

I've never had Graston done on my hammies or back, but I've had it done on a few other things. It is more painful than ART and does not provide the immediate relief of ART, but it works.

I keep a lacrosse ball on my desk based on cha's recommendation. Every time I read this thread it reminds me to use it. Definitely helps.

+1. Love the links. Did some exercise ball roll outs for my 'ab stuff' after I saw a vid on it here.

Congrats on the OHP PR. That's some fine lifting.

Glad its helpful. I'll keep posting links that I think are interesting.

and thanks - my OHP is now "advanced" level (needed to be 189 for my weight). I dont feel advanced on that exercise though - I'm really not that good at it, but my arms are pretty strong, and my shoulders are no longer keeping me from doing it.

OHP 195 vid

It definitely doesn't seem to be behind your bench at all. Maybe you have missed your true calling and you're best at OHP than everything else!

But I dno, seems reasonable to me that after training it for a bit it'd be around where your bench is comparatively since they are correlated.

If you can bench a lot, chances are you can press a lot

195 looked ezpz, 225 in your (near) future

yeah, 195 seemed ez, then I just added a couple 2.5 lb plates and it wouldnt go up. Weird. I need to figure out what I did right with the 195 and keep doing that.

Not weird, very standard on the press imo.

Interesting.

On the bench when I get near a max effort, there are several little things that I think make a significant difference, and 5 or 10 lbs of weight wouldnt matter at all.

Yeah bench is different. Even pretty small % additions on weight on the press will make it feel like it's waaaay heavier. At least that's my and my buddies' experience.

Grats on the PR! Form looks good, though it's preferable to watch from the side at an angle obv.

yeah, shooting side angle in my basement is more difficult - shooting it from behind is ez. I know some of the presses I did, I wasnt moving the weight straight up & down because I lost my balance a little. You wont really see that from straight behind, but I know it was happening.

5/19

smr & mobility

back squat (deload)
55x10, 105x8, 145x5, 180x5, 215x5

ssb box squat
180x5x3

RDL
145x5, 235x7, 285x5x2

reverse hypers
90x15x2

blast strap fallouts
10x2

My upper back & neck tightened up during the fallouts, and it got worse last night. I'm pretty stiff today. I'm not sure what happened.

cha,

a woman who works out at my gym is a massage therapist and certified in ART. i was thinking of getting some ART done with my next massage. her rates for ART are for either 10 min or 30 min. i've never had it done before but think i want to get some done on my lower back and possibly shoulders. will 30 min be too long for my first time/is 10 min long enough for her to do my lower back and shoulders? i'll probably get a 30 min deep tissue massage afterwards as well. thanks.

Charging in 10/30 min intervals seem really odd for ART. I have had ART sessions that were 5 mins and ones that were 40 mins, just depending on what needed to be done. For me, the protocol was always assess/ART/re-assess. I just don't see how proper assessment and re-assessment is being done in a 10 minute timeframe, so barring further info (and admittedly this is not much info) I'd be wary of that provider. Just my 2c.

It kind of makes sense to me that she'd charge in increments....so if you only need a bit, it's 10 minutes, and if you need more it's 40 minutes. My Chiro I think kind of has a set price but sometimes he does much more and sometimes less, so it seems so inconsistent in terms of what time I'm paying for.

yea, i think the reason she has it set up in increments is because she is not a chiro but has her own massage practice and that's how she's always charged. i'll probably just buy a 30 min block and if it's too much then so be it.

I can see why she would want to charge for her time, but what DT says makes sense. Part of what a good ART provider does is assess what's wrong. How could you possibly know how long it would take her to correct whatever issue you have? I would guess she isnt very experienced at it, but that's just an educated guess.

Call her up and ask about her experience and how many/which certifications she has. Ask her why she has customers making decisions like that. Tell her about the concerns you have and ask what she suggests for you (if you think its worth your time & money to use her).

She's not likely to do any harm to you, and even if she's new at it, she might help you - she might not be the best/most experienced/most qualified person, but could still be useful. If its a choice between her and no ART and you can afford it, go for it. She's not going to hurt anything (it will likely be a little painful, like a deep tissue massage is). If you have other choices who are more qualified and have more certifications, choose the other person.

fwiw - I have no training & I do ART on my daughter & wife sometimes and that helps them. I do ART on myself frequently. Just foam rolling yourself is a crude form of ART. Its all good, just not as good as what my chiropractor does.

edit - I see your last post now - yeah, go for it.