Update - Physical Therapy and the Coming Weeks

Physical Therapy

I haven't even mentioned this on the blog but I've been going to physical therapy in January for my right knee.  MRI revealed a small tear in the medial meniscus.  It didn't go all the way through.  In any event, I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago.  The first visit I had some manual distraction and shit down.  I have a few little exercises I do as "homework."  Mostly glute stuff with the bands.

The guy said he's seen a lot worse, and I have no doubt he has.  The truth is, I didn't even schedule an appointment for this until damn near 6 months after the initial issue.  Then I had to: go to the doctor, get referred for xray, get xrays back, get an mri, get mri back, get referral to pt, go to pt for screening. That took damn near 8 weeks.  (Not necessarily the doctor's fault, a couple holidays and my work schedule interrupted things).  By the time I started physical therapy, my knee had gotten a lot better on its own.

I also think I was pretty careful working around it.  For 6 months I basically never let my knee go over my toe once.  In the mean time, I figured out how to hammer my glutes and other areas while minimizing pain.  And thats basically what the physical therapy amounts to.  Glute work lol.

When January rolled around, I decided to dive into the swing thing even though I knew I'd be starting PT.  Fuck it lol.  At first the swings bothered my knees, but now they don't.  In hindsight, I think the high rep work has done wonders for my joints.

The Rippetoe hybrid setup has been instrumental getting me back under the bar for squats.  I really have no interest in the internet debates about hip drive, etc.  I just know that I'm tall, I have shit knees, shit knee genetics (my Mom's side of the family literally all had knee surgies after athletic injuries), and I don't want my knees flailing all the fuck around when I squat.  The hip drive feels powerful and safe to me.  So, I'm going with it.

The Coming Weeks

The Balance powerlifting meet got pushed back again.  It was supposed to be April 12, now its going to be "early summer."  To be honest, I'm relieved.  I would have had 9 weeks to prepare, and I kind of had this bad feeling like I would have made poor decisions leading up to it.  This takes a lot of pressure off me and allows me to simply program based on what I think is right for me right now.

I  want to run a classic 3 day a week barbell strength training program.  I'm going to do a little more reflection on whether that is "right" for me.  I think it is, but I just want to be methodical with my approach.  Whatever I choose, I need to do something very, very moderate.  I don't have the base to jump into a huge amount of barbell lifting off the back.  Its not like I'm fragile, but I don't have the resiliency I did a while back when I was doing BB lifts like everyday lol.

Aside from easing back into it, I work long hours.  I need something reasonable that I can stick to.  My basic thought is this:

Tuesday - Lower
Thursday - Upper
Saturday - Combined

Its not completely optimal, but I don't have the time/motivation to get into the gym 3x on the weeknights.  Also, I don't want to have to do full body warm-ups everytime I go to lift after work.

Those are just some preliminary thoughts. I ordered Practical Programming 3rd Edition, so I'm sure I'll have a million more ideas soon.

01/28/14

1. Squat
305x5
305x5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mOG98FH3NE
305x5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_P_47DDOLg

Notes
Didn't get to the gym until 8:45.  Instead of rushing, I did a nice warm-up and took my time getting some quality squat work in.

I thought all three sets were high quality.  I went slightly wider today with a little extra toe flare. I'm talking a few degrees at most but it made a difference.  I had some good drive out of the hole.  On the third set I start to get a little sloppy with the spine and hip break.  A couple of the reps I go into slight extension.  I'm fine with that level, I'd say its in the zone of normal.  I just don't like the sit-back break I started doing.

If I feel good on Saturday, 315x3x5.

1/27/14

1a.  Swings (70/53)
500 reps

1b.  Press (53)
4; 6; 3 . . . 65

1c.  Goblet (53)
5x10

1d.  Row  (53)
5x10

01/25/14

1.  Squat
295x5
295x5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_23vUN9z6P8
295x5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T7qA_-S9lk

2a.  Swings
4 clusters 10, 15, 25, 50 (70 for first 3 sets) (400)

2b.  Pushups
3; 5, 9 x 4 clusters (68)

2c.  Chins
2, 3, 4 (36) (first set w/ 53 lbs weighted)

Notes
Squats felt good. Knees still drifting forward, I really don't know how to stop it.  Its not really bothering me.  Maybe its not possible with this stance.  I felt a solid groove today.
Most of the reps look smooth and relatively "easy" but they don't feel that way.  I guess I kinda forgot that squats are a really hard exercise. I'm getting soft.

Overall,  squats are starting to look a little more efficient. Just a single movement, up and down.

Got burnt out on swings.  Using the 70 for the first 3 sets is not easy.  I did my last 50 rep set with the 70.  My goal is for my final workout to be 500 with the 70.

1/24/14

1a.  Swings (70, 53)
5 clusters  - 10, 15, 25, 50 (500)

1b. KB Press (53)
5 clusters, 4, 4, 4 (60)

1c.  Goblet Squat (70)
1 set of 8 after each cluster (40)

1d. KB Row 53
1 set of 5 after each cluster (25)

01/21/14

1a.  Swings
5 clusters 70x10; 70x15; 53x25; 53x50 (500)

1b. One Arm Press
5 clusters 53x3; 53x3; 53x3 (45)

2.  Goblet Squat
70x5x5

Notes
Bumped up to the 70 pounder for the sets of 10 and 15.  It was much easier than I thought.  In a weird way, I almost liked it better than the 53.  The momentum felt good.  I have a huge imbalance between my left and right side when pressing. Never noticed it until now with some of the higher volume pressing.  My form is really improving with all this stuff.

01/20/14

1.  Squat
285x5  http://youtu.be/rRXK8Wu_2hE
285x5
285x5  http://youtu.be/Oc3y7FULPos

2a.  Swings (53)
10; 15; 25; 50 x 5 clusters (500 total)

2b.  Chins/Pullups
2;3;4 x 5 (45 total)

2c.  Pushups
4; 5; 7 x 5 (80 total)

Notes on Squatz
I can't believe that is me squatting haha.  They aren't perfect, but I'm pretty pleased.

First set.  I've got a super narrow stance there.  As a result, I get deep as fuck. The knees got more forward than I felt comfortable with though

Third set.  Moved the feet out about 1.5 inches and flared the toes a little more.  Less knee travel, although the knees still aren't setting as early as I'd like.  I felt a little more power with this setup, probably due to the fact that its a slightly shorter rom.  In any event, this was probably the best looking set of squats I've ever performed.  I'm going to keep working at it.

Stance. So, I've done a ton of experimenting with stance, and I've basically settled on feet width in the 3rd set.  They are ridiculously narrow as compared to some people, but every half inch wider I go, it puts more stress on my hip joints.  *shrug*  At this point, I really don't think its a mobility or movement thing. Or at least its not something I'm willing to hunker down and address/try to fix.  When I am at my loosest/most warmed up state, this is what feels natural.  I am probably limiting total poundages, but I really don't care about that anymore.  I got immense satisfaction from squatting tonight, so thats good enough for me.