Video you should watch: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qcaGGi6TDLg[/youtube] He's talking about knee stability but by way of foot- start every exercise (hell do it whenever you're standing) by externally rotating, from the hip. The cue trainers typically use is "screwing your feet into the floor." Make sure your feet are straight and then squeeze your ass muscles together, and then use that force to continue to rotate your ankles out (while keeping your feet straight). You'll end up with a stronger arch. Do you normally walk and stand with straight feet? Or do your feet look like this \ / ? Start consciously walking with straight feet until it becomes normal, and whenever you're just standing around keep that external rotation. You don't have to be a crazy person about it, but your mobility and arches aren't going to change with just a few minutes of targeted working out.
Does anyone have a good upper body routine they like? I need to switch it up. I've done MBP a few times, messed around with 5x5, but I'm just not seeing gains recently, either mass or strength. I'm fine with lower body, I have about 3 different rep combinations I work with for squats and throwing in weighted lunges and step ups and have had some success. But I'm traditionally at a disadvantage with my chest and shoulders and feel like I've been hovering around the same weight forever. And I'm not getting the soreness after workouts, leading me to believe my body is getting used to what I've been doing. Has anyone had success with any different high volume rep combinations? I'm thinking instead of my 5x5 or 3x8, I might start with a 3x12 or 4x12 with a lower weight and see if I can shock my muscles into response. I know compound lifting is the way to go, and its still my focus, I just need something to get me back on track.
Well it really depends on your goals. When you say you're traditionally at a disadvantage with your upper body, do you mean that genetically your a smaller guy so you feel it's hard to put on muscle? Or do you have limited mobility or past injuries? If its the former and you want mass it probably is more of a function of your diet than the specific program your on. Mainly you need to eat more. If its the latter, well I really don't have the knowledge to comment on that. If your more about strength rather than just mass, I like Wendler's 5-3-1 even if you just use the scheme for upper body lifts. Its a long term approach but helped me get past some walls I hit with both bench and OHP. Another thing that helped with those lifts specifically was dialing in my form. Little things likes proper leg placement, tight back and core, thinking about driving through with your legs really helped me push up my bench PRs. Sometimes when you've been going for awhile and hit a wall you need to step back and re-evaluate your form and make sure your following on the cues you learned when you were first learning to lift. Over time little bad habits sneak in that can hinder you performance as the weight gets heavier.
Diet is always a valid point. I've increased my intake and hope it will help. But like I alluded to, I'm adding mass in my lower body, always been able to, just not seeing similar gains above. Your point about form is a good one. I'll go back to basics cause I'll admit, lifting on my own as I normally do, has lead to a few bad habits. Lower weight and higher reps will likely aid in that as well. Appreciated.
So the Raw Unity Meet is this weekend, one of the biggest powerlifting meets in the world. Well, Dan Green apparently broke the 220 lb/100 kg raw squat record OVERALL with no wraps, just a belt and knee sleeves. Yeah, he broke a record Belyaev set, except Belyaev used knee wraps. WTF is this I can't even... His 772 squat isn't up yet, but here is his 700 ballpark opener, which he hits the way I hit 405. Good lord I still can't fathom this.
I don't know how to/if you can post FB vids, but elitefts on FB has the bench press vids up. Crazy shit. Matt Wenning did 606 raw and some other guy did 500+.
Here's Malanichev squatting 1014 like he's just doing easy singles at the gym. He pulled 882 to set the all time raw total. 2,468 lbs. Raw.
No crooked feet, just crazy arches. Funny thing... Since I posted this I've bought Scholls and damn it if they don't help. I've also found sleeping ony back helps because keeping my feet straight makes them hurt less. From getting hurt, I walked around on my heels for months, I just couldn't step on the same part of my foot twice, I limped around like an orangutan with osteoporosis. Now the arches bridge up in the centre of my feet so it hurts to put down either my toes first OR my heel. It's very slowly, but surely going away. I also have a decent health-spend account so I can get massage therapy. While on the subject, does anybody know about those athletic sleeves/legging they advertise on TV for injured athletes? Some rodeo champ was promoting them in the commercial, they have arm, wrist and ankle sleeves that help protect and cut down pain. I want to know if they're worth it, because shockingly Scholl's are worth the cash.
Getting ready for my next meet, RAW Unity on June 7th in Melbourne. I was supposed to compete at the USAPL meet mid-March, but that shit got blown out of the water since my office is relocating and all accounting is being moved to CA, meaning a fun transition/training period. My coach is determined to get my speed up on my deadlift by any and all means necessary. That means that even though today was a volume day (275 x 10, 315 x 8, 355 x 6 beltless) I'm going to be working on speed sets at the end. This consists of working on "grip and rip" singles, 3-5, at about 80ish% of 1 RM. I think my coach may indeed be trying to kill me. Set up isn't the best since I'm not really tightening up as much as I'd like into the bar, but the only thing I'm worried about is grabbing it and doing a rep. And yes, I was totally rocking KAWAII DESU on my IPod, because that's how I roll.
Any of you guys know anything about IT Band Syndrome. Whenever I bend my knee too far I get an excruciating sharp pain in my lateral knee. I had one of the doctors I work with look at it and that is what he thought was going on. I have two weeks off from exercise, have been taking Ibuprofen and haven't noticed a significant improvement. Tried to work out today and it didn't go well even though I was modifying. Anything I should be doing? Not be doing?
IT band syndrome often results from weak glut meds. You should do some exercises to work on them for both sides. In the meanwhile, don't do anything that aggravates the pain. Listen to your body and let it recover a bit before starting the exercises. If you got it from running too much, try changing up your running surface and making sure you aren't running on a street that tilts the same way the entire run. Trail running is great for removing IT band pain because you need more lateral motion, which helps develop the musculature needed to avoid IT band pain.
For the first time in ever I'm having custom programming made specifically for me by a coach I trust. I am very excited.
I was working with a trainer, so I think it may have been a too much too soon type of injury coupled with my past of running too much .So I have been taking it easy. I have been giving myself some time off for recovery, but doing quite a bit of walking instead. It doesn't seem to be aggravated by the walking so I'm doing 4-6 miles over the past week. Seems to be working as the pain that resulted from innocent moves last week (sitting cross legged, putting my leg on the bottom rung of a bar stool), I am now able to do. I may try to do a short/slow run this week. And if all goes OK go back to the trainer next week and really push back if asked to do things that I know will bother me. Looks like I need to focus on the glutes. Maybe too soon, but I'll try to ease back in. thanks for the suggestion
I've had the exact same thing, to the point where I could barely walk down stairs. All of the "stretch like this" is bullshit, none of it ever worked for me. "Resting it" didn't fix the root issues. Things that did work: Rolling and smashing the shit out of my quads/ general leg area- use foam rollers and dumbbells and barbells, it's going to hurt like a bitch but there's a good chance your legs are stuck to shit, giving your IT band no room to move. You don't want to actually hit the IT band, though, focus on the muscles around it (vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, all the way up and down). Be sure to hit every part of your leg. It'll probably take you about 15 minutes to do some serious work here. Then do everything in this video: The hardest part to get is the area right around the knee, if you can stomach it try squashing the area between two dumbbells and moving your leg back and forth. All of the ball rolling and smashing will make you unhappy, but it's worth it. Keep in mind that this isn't a one time fix- you'll want to spend at least one day a week giving this area some attention, because this type of thing tends to flare up if you're prone to it.
Solid advice in terms of getting things mobile, as mobility training is pretty much imperative for most people in order to stay healthy. Keep in mind, however, that if something is flaring up and you keep using MFR on it alone, all you are doing is treating the symptoms. In targeting the weak muscles around the area after it is limbered up and recovered you can prevent future problems, unless they are due to something in your anatomy.
Run Forrest Run Does anybody here run? With headphones? I just loaded a really cool app called Runkeeper. I never used to run with my phone or with music much, but this app makes me want to make use of it. The times I did, I'd just use regular ear buds. (When I have to run on the treadmill, I have to listen to music to keep from going insane, but it has speakers built in.) Anyway, Runkeeper has audio cues for splits and distances and stuff, that I'd like to be able hear better. I was going to try bluetooth headphones. Most of the reviews and support forums are all over the place, but none of them seem to last very long - rechargeable batteries dying, sweat damage, etc. So, I figured I'd just try it out with a cheap set. My question is about the style. This kind rests at the base of your neck. I like that style ear bud, but it seems like the controls / battery part would bounce up and down when running. This kind wraps around your head. I like the simpler, basic form, but I'm not sure how well those stay on. Anybody tried either that can comment? At this point, I don't really care about sound quality or getting a name brand or anything. Siide note: if I order from Amazon, my brand choices for the cheap Chinese ones include: Rapicy, Enjoydeal, Globle, GoodBZ, Allnice and Superstar
Re: Run Forrest Run I have a wired pair very similar to the second set (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PMX-680-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B0034L3G8U/ref=sr_1_48?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1398611380&sr=1-48). I like those, because there is a simple volume control you can use while running. I have found that the wraparound style are the only ones that consistently stay in my ears while running. Minor inconvenience is if you run in the cold and wear a head or ear covering then they tend to feel a little "smooshed" against your head, but you quickly get over it.