Phase 1 Day 10

1a. Goblet Squat
53x3; 53x3; 53x3; 53x3; 53x2

1b. Pushup
10; 8; 8; 8; 6

2a. 90/90 Split Squat
53x8/8; 70x5/5; 70x2/2

2b. Facepulls
100x10; 100x12; 100x12

3a.  External Rotation to Row
5x10; 5x10

Notes
Goblet squats sucked the soul out of me.  It is hard to describe how poor my hip stability is.  Those sets were like max effort.  They are getting better, but still a long road ahead before I'm back squatting.

Phase 1 Day 9

1a. KB RDL-Hinge
53x20; 53x20; 53x20

1b.  Half-Kneeling Cable Push
75x8; 75x8; 75x8

2a. 90/90 Split Squat
53x5; 53x5; 53x5

2b. Half-Kneeling Cable Pull
75x8; 75x8; 75x8

3a.  Plank
30 seconds; 20 seconds; 20 seconds

3b. Prone Row to External Rotation
5x8; 5x8; 5x8

3c.  Scap Wall Slides
4; 4; 4

Notes
Excellent session.  I discover subtle little things to improve the movements each session.  This is challenging training, but I'm really enjoying it.

Phase 1 Day 8 and Thanksgiving Break Wrap Up

Kettlebell Core Work/Conditioning

KB Windmill
53x5/5; 53x5/5; 70x5/5

Getup
53x1/1; 53x1/1; 70x1/1

Swings
53x5; 53x5; 53x5... stopped

KB RDL
53x10; 53x10; 53x10; 70x10


Woke up at 5am this morning to get on the road to drive from NH to DC.  Its supposed to be about 8 hours, but ended up taking 9.5 with traffic.  Amanda and I thought we were in store for another lunch of burger and fries on the road, but alas, hidden in between seven other fast food joints at a colossal New Jersey rest stop emerged a Baja Fresh.  Victory! We can officially start the last day of Thanksgiving break with a legit low carb lunch.  It was a long ass day, but we decided to go straight to the grocery when we got back in town.  Loaded up on meat and veges, dropped the food and our bags off at home, then headed over to the gym.

We were both tired but just wanted to do something after sitting in the car all day.  So, we decided to just mess around with the kettlebells, work on form, and get some core stimulation in.  I've heavily readjusted my windmill to not start in a position of anterior pelvic tilt.

The 70lb getup felt much easier than the first time I did it over the summer.  I haven't done  getup for months, but the attention to my core has really paid off.

Swings.... so I can't maintain a solid neutral position on swings yet. My hinge feels great for a about one rep, but it turns to mush as soon as I start really swinging.  So, I decided to just hold the kettlebell and work on the hinge without the explosive/dynamic hip drive.  Essentially it was a kttlebell RDL.  It felt awesome.  This was the first time I found something I could load and really repeat the hinge over and over again.  I experimented with two 70lber's held at my side.  Works great.  Now I know I can work up to a decent load.

I'm making the executive decision to drop pull-throughs and sub the KB RDL.  I can never get a comfortable solid hinge with the pull-throughs.  The cable pulls me back and kind of promotes a bad starting position, the cable is up in my nuts during the entire movement, and I find it exceedingly difficult to find the natural end point of the hinge ROM.  On the other hand, the KB RDL felt rock solid, and I know I was actually hinging.  I can stand up straight, and the ROM end point felt natural.  I plan on doing these ultra high rep.  Learning how to hinge after years and years of a distended spine/quazi squat is exceedingly challenging for me.  Its not a muscular thing, its a coordination thing.  I feel that I need something I can do over and over again with confidence.

--------------------------
All in all this Thanksgiving break was one of the best I can remember.  I was in Keene from Tuesday to Sunday and the entire time was filled with family, friends, food, drink, and tons of physical activity.  I was eating and drinking my ass off, but was also active as hell.  We worked out everyday including Thanksgiving.  (Except Friday - played golf).  Wednesday was a double header:  a.m. workout and p.m. mountain hike.  I feel very lucky to have been around people that were genuinely happy.

I'm in a really good place both mentally and physically right now.  I feel rested and relaxed, and I'm really happy with the progress I'm seeing in Phase 1.

I have 2 weeks left in DC and I plan to make the most of it.  Kill it in the gym, kill it at work, eat like a caveman, and see the sites.  My goal going into 2013 is be respectably lean, respectably conditioned, and at the point in my mobility training where I can actually start a linear loading progression with the front squat.  Tons of things need to happen in 5 weeks to legit barbell front squat, but I'm going full blast.  I'm going to finish 2012 at a high point so I can kick the fucking shit out of 2013.

Phase 1 Day 7

Warmups - 40 minutes

1a. Goblet Squat
45x5; 45x5; 45x5

1b. Pushup
12; 12; 10

2a.  90/90 Split Squat
45x5; 45x5; 45x5

2b. Facepulls
75x12; 75x12; 75x12

3a. Prone Row to External Rotation
10x8; 10x8; 10x8

3b. Plank
35 seconds; 35 seconds; 25 seconds

3c. Scap Wall Slides
3; 3; 3

Notes
I removed the box from the goblet squat after the first set.  Even in a few short sessions, I already became dependent on the box for depth.  I can see why a box for depth might be useful for someone totally new to squatting and in the context of corrective exercises, but I don't see a ton of value for myself.  I know the depth I need to be at. I also know I'm squatting high right now because I don't have the stability to get to depth with neutral spines/hips.  But that what this is all about.  Its getting better.

Thanksgiving Day Pump

Thursday 11/22/12

Incline Press
225x3
250x1
185x10
135x16

Close Grip Pulldowns
160x10
Stack x 8
160x16

Standing DB Press
40x8
45x8
45x6

BB Curls in Squat Rack
95x8
95x8
Bar x 55

Notes
The YMCA was open from 9-12 in the morning on Thanksgiving day if you brought in a canned good.  I got a bunch of family and friends to go in for a pre-thanksgiving workout.  Matt, Chris, Amanda, and I just went around and did fun stuff to blast our upper bodies and get a pump.  This made me feel slightly better about the gluttony later in the day.

I  reinforced the neutral body positions I've been working on, and felt pretty good I popped right into them on incline and standing DB.  I'm definitely not ready to move into these sort of movements yet because I still need to master the basics, but I did get a little taste of whats to come.

This workout was exactly what training is supposed to be about - hard work and fun with friends. It left me sore as hell though haha.

Phase 1 Day 6

Wednesday 11/21/12

A.M.

90/90 Split Squat
30 x 5/5; 30 x 5/5

Half Kneeling Cable Push
3 sets

Half Kneeling Cable Pull
3 sets

Side Plank
35 seconds per side

P.M.
Hiked Gap Mountain - 90 minutes total.


Notes
Had to cut a bunch of stuff out on Wednesday because family was coming over and we were planning on hiking in the afternoon.  Still got a lot of activity in overall for the day though.

Phase 1 Day 5

Monday 11/24/12

1a. Goblet Squat
44 x 5; 44 x 5; 44 x 5

1b. Pushup
12; 12; 12

2a. 90/90 Split Squat
35 x 5/5; 35 x 5/5; 35 x 5/5

2b. Facepulls
100x12; 100x12; 100x12

3a. Plank
35 seconds; 35 seconds; 35 seconds

3b. Row to External Rotation
5 x 8; 5 x 8; 5 x8

3c. Scap Wall Slides
2; 2; 2

Phase 1 Day 4

Strength-Conditioning Day

Low Bar Sled Push (30 yards)
90x1
90x1
135x1
135x1
180x1
180x1
225x1
270x1
315x1
353x1
378x1

5 rounds:
60 yards Farmers walks with 120s DB
and 10/10 sledge hammer to tire.

Notes
So a group of 10-12 guys and gals went to the roof today to do a "strongman" style session.  I threw up after the final sled push.  Not just gagged, actually threw up.  Haven't done that in years. All in all it was a ton of fun.  Going in I was a little wary going about somehow messing up or derailing the work I've been doing.  I think it was fine. I was cognizant of my ribs/abs/neck/shoulder blades on the carries.   Kept my neck packed on the pushes.  Even worked on not letting my spine get disconnected on the sledge hammers.  So long as I'm aware of the main shit, I don't need to act like I'm fragile.

After the session we were all hanging out messing with the slosh pipe.  People falling all over the place with it.  I got up, implemented my new "ab style" and was just zipped along like there was nothing to it.  There was a marked difference between my ability to control the pipe and everyone else.  Core baby, core.

Phase 1 Day 3

1a. Pull Through
75x10; 75x10; 75x10

1b. Cable Push
140x8; 120x8; 100x8

2a. 90/90 Split Squat
12kg x 4/4; 12kg x 4/4; 12kg x 4/4

2b.  Cable Pull
120x8; 120x8; 120x8

3a. Side Plank
25 seconds; 25 seconds

3b. YTI's
5x/6/6/6; 5x6/6/6

3c. Laying External Rotation
5x10; 5x10

Notes
Solid session.  Kept my pull-throughs limited by the ROM of my hinge.  Took a while but by the 3rd set I had a nice little groove going.

I tried to be a little more fluid with the split squats tonight. Went a little past 90, but I noticed by the 2nd set my form was perfect. (for me).  I definitely felt like I work into a better position.  By the third set though I got a little fatigued and it was more difficult to maintain the position.

Phase 1 Day 2

Warm-ups

1a. Goblet Squat to Box

16kg x 2; 16kg x 2

1b. Pushup

BWx10; BWx10; BWx10

2a. 90/90 Split Squat

16kg x 3/3; 16kg x3/3

2b. Facepulls

140x10; 140x10; 140x10

3a. Plank

30 seconds; 30 seconds

3b. Row to External rotation

10x8; 5x8

3c.  Scapular Wall Slides

2; 2

Notes

Hour and 20 minutes to get through the above plus a 35 minute warm-up.  I almost passed out during the goblet squats and split squats.  Very challenging to get my body into the right positions.

Phase 1 Day 1

Warm-up

Lacross Ball: feet, ankles, shoulder girdle, lats, pecs
Foam Roll: glutes, it band, hip flexors, quads, thoracic spine
Mobility: thoracic spine rotation, pushup plus, split squat thoracic rotation, spider wall crawls, wall ankle mobilities, lying leg raises, side leg raises, groiners, wall sprinter stances
Corrective/Activation: quad stretch, cable lateral walks, glute bridges


Training

1a. Pull through: 75x10; 75x10

1b. Split stance cable push:  50x12/12; 50x12/12

2a. split squat (counterweight): 12kg x 4/4; 12 kg x 3/3

2b. split stance cable pull:  80x12/12; 80x12/12

3a. side plank:  25 seconds per side; 25 seconds per side

3b. prone i, t, y's:  BWx8/6/6; BWx6/6/6

Notes
Exhausting as hell but felt great.  Good intensity.  My little "Getting Mobile" phase taught me a lot about body positioning and cues to give myself.  I also gather all of the written descriptions of each exercise written by Mike Robertson and reference it during the training.

Need to work on:
-Pull-throughs - Losing hip position at bottom of movement.  Per Gabe - reduce ROM to maintain hinge.

New Routine

My outlook on training has significantly changed in the past 3-4 weeks.  I was doing shit wrong for many years.  I thought I knew what I was doing, but I didn't. I can blame all of the people that I listened to for the wrong reasons, but at the end of the day it is my responsibility to understand each of my training decisions.  To be clear, all of this was precipitated by my hip, and my complete inability to squat without excruciating pain.  I'm also talking specifically about exercise form and exercise selection.  Poor form, coupled with supremely ignorant decisions on exercise selection left me in pain and a severely fucked posture.

"Just squat, bench,  dead and row your whole life bro, that's all you need."

That's not really too far off from how I thought before, and now I'm paying the price.  I still feel the big exercises are the best bang for you buck and should be the staple of most programs, but not at the expense of being able to move around like a normal person.

For too long I just assumed my form was "good enough" and that I didn't need to sweat the small stuff.  After all, I reached some other decent numbers. Looking back this had little to do with form and mostly to do with broadly understanding the spectrum of programming methodologies. In short, I didn't get stronger because of my form, I got stronger in spite of it.  An anterior pelvic tilt is still a relatively strong position.  You can still progress in that position and plenty of strong people have done it.    Hard work + heavy weight will get you quite a long way.  But ignore the warning signs at your own peril.

One warning sign was that my squat never progressed.  I hit a 500 pound squat multiple times in college, got 3 green lights at 512.5 in competition. . . and then it completely stagnated. I'd change my stance, switch up my hand placement, go low bar, go high bar, sit back, sit down, you name it.  Inevitably I'd decide my squat was sucking because I wasn't programming it right.  So, I learned a shitload about programming.  This is a good thing and will help me once I'm out of this stage.  But all the while my low back arch increased, my anterior pelvic tilt became more pronounced, and my posture became closer to caveman than a human being.

Though I'm disappointed in myself that it took so long to finally address the underlying structural issues, I think this whole process is a blessing in disguise.  I finally know how to get my squat strong again:  fix my posture.  Of course, this is a bit of a simplification of my issues, but that is really what it comes down to.  My posture sucks and it creates huge  mobility issues, movement issues, and muscle balance issues.  Like Dan John always says, its simple not easy.  I need to fix my posture. Simple.

Fixing my posture isn't easy though because it requires that I: rid myself of anterior pelvic tilt; rid myself of lordosis; strengthen the fuck out of my core the right way; relearn how to engage my core; relearn how to use my glutes; re-program the internal cues I have for all exercises; re-program my body position on all exercises; control my hips; control my ribs; improve  external rotation of my hips and shoulders; do a bunch of incredibly simple movements for months on end; accept that I'll be completely uncomfortable during most of these months, and; reinforce all of the work I do in the gym when walking and sitting the other 23 hours a day.  Plus a shitload of other stuff I'm not listing and that I'm not even aware of yet.

I have a new found respect for people that  bust their ass doing this stuff.  Its fucking hard and takes a monumental amount of effort.  There is no coasting.

With all of that said, I'm having a lot of fun!   This is an area of training I know nothing about, so I'm trying to soak in as much as possible.  There is so much to learn.  It really help to have a good friend like Gabe that can give me advice on all of this.   I've pasted in the program I will be doing for the next 3-6 weeks.  I'm not sure how fast/slow I will progress out of these movements but I'll just have to wait and see.  Also, I've decided I don't like the "Getting Mobile" name for this phase.   I'm not doing this to "get mobile" for the sake of getting mobile.  I'm doing this to get stronger.  I'm training.  So this is just going to be called Phase 1.

Without further ado, this is the program Gabe recommended and the same thing he started with:

WARM-UP
Lacross Ball: feet, ankles, shoulder girdle, lats, pecs
Foam Roll: glutes, it band, hip flexors, quads, thoracic spine
Mobility: thoracic spine rotation, pushup plus, split squat thoracic rotation, spider wall crawls, wall ankle mobilities, lying leg raises, side leg raises, groiners, wall sprinter stances
Corrective/Activation: quad stretch, cable lateral walks, glute bridges


ROUTINE 
Day 1
1a. pull through
1b. split stance cable push
2a. split squat (counterweight)
2b. split stance cable pull
3a. side plank
3b. prone i, t, y's
3c. lying external rotation

Day 2
1a. goblet squat to box
1b. pushup
2a. split squat (counterweight)
2b. face pulls
3a. plank
3b. prone external rotation to row
3c. scapular wall slides

Getting Mobile Day 11

Half-Kneeling KB Press:  44x10/10; 44x10/10; 44x10/10; 60x6/6

Cable Row:  140x10; 140x10; 100x10; 100x8

Close Grip Incline 135x10; 135x10; 135x10

Getting Mobile Day 10

Glute Bridge: 25; 25

X-Band Walks

90/90 Split Squats:  3; 3; 3; 3; 3

RDL: 135x5; 135x5; 135x5; 135x5

Notes
Needed a quick session last night.  RDL's were hard as hell to stay aligned.  Have some vids I'll post later.

Getting Mobile Day 9

Kneeling KB Press: 60x5

Bench: 225x1; 225x1; 225x1; 225x1; 275x1; 225x5

TRX Row: 12; 12; 12

supersetted w/

Close Grip Incline: 185x10; 185x10; 185x10

Curls: 95x10; 95x; 95x5

supersetted w/

Facepulls: 3 sets 12 reps

Single leg dead bug: 10/10

Double leg dead bug: 3; 3

Notes
Wanted to get some pump work in.  Per usual, warmups and mobility took 30-35 minutes prior to this workout.

Getting Mobile Day 8

Normal Warm-ups.

Glute Thrusts: 25

X-Bands: Average Band x 8

RDL: Bar x 30; 135x5; 135x5; 135x5

90/90 Split Squat: 2 x 15 second iso hold; 2 x 15 second iso hold

Cable Bird Dog: 100x10; 100x10

Dead Bug:  Single leg x 10/10; Single Leg x 10/10; Double x 3; Double x 3

RKC Side Plank: 25 seconds per side; 25 seconds per side

Goblet Squats:  16kg x 10

Notes
Solid session.  Starting to see some progress.  It was exceedingly difficult to keep my hip position neutral during  RDL's.  Big day for the split squats.  Really enjoying the progress on these.  The first day I did them I was gasping for air they were so painful.  The still hurt, but I'm slowly chipping away. Now I can actually get down in position (slowly), hold it, and then move up and then back down for another rep.  Progress!

Cable bird dog hits my glutes like none other. Love, love.

Goblet squats were meh.  Just testing out my hip more than anything, honestly I still need to improve mobility before I start squatting again.

Getting Mobile Day 7

30 minute warm-up of rolling, stretching, activation, dynamic movement.

Overhead Shrugs: Barx8; Barx6; Barx6

Lat Pull-down Retractions: 200x5; 200x5; 200x3

Overhead Press: Barx8; Barx8; Barx8; 95x5; 95x5; 95x5; 95x5; 95x5

1 Arm DB Press: 45x10; 45x10; 45x10

TRX Rows: BWx10; BWx10; BWx10 (PR's)

Jackknives: BWx14; BWx14; (PR); BWx12

Windmills: 61x3/3; 61x3/3

Side Planks: 25 seconds per side

Curls

65x40 (PR)

Notes

In a text convo with Gabe today he made a great point: "Its never going to be all perfect, but when you are trying to fix things, you might as well do it the right way."  (paraphrased)

I couldn't agree more.  

For example, the overall utility of the one-arm dumbbell press is generally fucking limited.  I have no doubt that I could walk into the gym on any given day and "one-arm dumbbell press" 100-130 pounds  with ease. And by "one-arm dumbbell press" I mean laying on a bench and simply  moving the weight up and down with one arm.  But would I be moving 100-130 pounds while maintaining a neutral spine, squeezing my glutes, keeping my ribs down and bracing my abs?   Nope.

For me, the one-arm dumbbell press is not used to gain massive chest, shoulder, and triceps size/strength.  The point is to legitimately reteach myself how to press while implementing all of the core positions I'm hammering on every exercise.  

There is a stark difference between what a guy like Gabe is saying about core work as compared to what a faggot squatting on a bosu ball is doing.  The point of doing a one arm dumbbell press is not to engage my core just for the sake of engaging my core.  The point is to get stronger. To fucking bench more.  

Getting Mobile Day 6

I'm going to stop listing every stretch and dynamic movement I do.  I'll just highlight the main stuff.

Glute Bridges: 20; 20; 20

X-Bands w/ Minis: 10/10; 10/10

Scap Shrugs:  Barx8; Barx8; Barx8

Cable Hip Extension: 45x12; 45x12; 45x12

Pallof Press w/ 5 Sec Iso Hold: 75x5; 75x5; 75x5

Plank:  25 seconds; 25 seconds

Side Plank: 20 seconds Per Side

90/90 Split Squat: a  couple reps per side

Notes
Core and glutes are blasted.  The cable hip Extension is the best glute movement I've found so far.  I'm still having trouble completely isolating my right glute.  Hamstring keeps wanting to take over.  But its getting a little better each workout.

Per Gabe's recommendation I read Dean Somersett's recent article on planks and hip mobility:  http://deansomerset.com/2012/10/25/planks-are-the-magic-bullet-for-hip-mobility/

This was interesting - especially the side plank stuff.  I tried it at the end of my workout last night and I was doing nice deep bodyweight squats with no pain. I do the side plank just like the regular plank: glutes contracted hard, abs braced.  Much tougher, but I feel stiff as a board.