Quik's Workout Log

[Quiksilver]

Rob that'd be fantastic. Been doing some thinking and I'm going to take a new approach to lifting this time... Before I guess I was too eager to get back up to where I was too quickly..

Going to start from the ground up, as if setting foot in the gym for the first time.

In the long run this might have been a 'good' injury as far as getting me on the right track finally to prevent this sort of **** in the future..

Posture is apparently a problem.. I thought I might have fixed this minor lordosis I have by making sure I sleep on my back instead of stomach. looks like a hip flexor stretching regime is in order

This time around I'll give it my best. and ill follow your routine to the finest detail no more extra reps or 'trying to lift heavier'.

I read some articles on Tnation about back injuries, and i dont really feel like being someone with chronic back problems who cant lift again.. no more taking strength for granted.

--

Quag, ill add them in at some point in the next few weeks if its alright with rob.

cheers guys

 

[stronglifts]

I'm really interested in not losing any strength(and potentially gaining some) while getting through this, and want to continue doing movements that wont hinder recovery.

I'm going to start back with light eliptical and bike cardio on tuesday, along with the list of stretches and instructions from the physio girl.

You shouldn't care about losing strength, you should care about getting rid of that back issue. It's easier to rebuild strength than starting from scratch.

Avoid anything that hurts your back, some of those will be: bb rows, cleans/snatch, overhead press, deadlifts, squats, etc.

Try front squats, they're often lower back friendlier (less torque, less spinal compression). Lunges are a good idea too. One legged dumbbell deadlifts if you can. No more maxing, stick to 5x5 or 5RMs.

I know simmons says reverse hypers are good for the back, but I don't agree with it. Reverse hypers are like a stiff legged deadlift with bent lower back. If you don't let your feet go past a certain point, reverse hypers would be ok, but using it for stretching your back is bad. Your back is designed for stability, not mobility. Trying to increase the range of motion of your spine, makes your injured (unstable) back, even more unstable. More people that agree on this issue: mc gill, cressey, egoscue, etc. Check also fat wilhems story on sherdog.

You also don't need to strengthen your glutes, you need to activate them. Different thing. You can do GHR without using your glutes, loading hams/lower back solely. Stick to birddogs, supine bridges, etc. Correct technique is key on these exercise, squeezing glutes on each rep. And stretch your hip flexors.

 

[Quagmire911]

Don't know that we are talking about the same reverse hypers here...lower back is straight throughout the movement.

And why would you do a GHR without using your glutes, that makes no sense. That would be using incorrect technique and thus put yourself at risk of injury. You have to use your glutes during the movement or else you won't stay upright. You seem to have something against these exercises Mehdi, any particular reason?

 

[stronglifts]

Don't know that we are talking about the same reverse hypers here...lower back is straight throughout the movement.

And why would you do a GHR without using your glutes, that makes no sense. That would be using incorrect technique and thus put yourself at risk of injury. You have to use your glutes during the movement or else you won't stay upright. You seem to have something against these exercises Mehdi, any particular reason?

You can do deadlifts/squats without using your glutes properly. Why do you think this would be different on ghr?

This reverse hyper: http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/pend-hyper-300.jpg

If you allow your feet to come forward past perpendicular with the floor, your lower back will round. Try it.

 

[Quagmire911]

You can do deadlifts/squats without using your glutes properly. Why do you think this would be different on ghr?

This reverse hyper: http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/pend-hyper-300.jpg

If you allow your feet to come forward past perpendicular with the floor, your lower back will round. Try it.

I didn't say it would be different on the GHR, infact if you look at what I wrote you'd see that I said you can't actually perform the movement properly without incorporating your glutes. The whole point is it is the GLUTE/ham raise. That still didn't answer my question.

This is taken from Westside Barbell:

"This new reverse hyper works the complete back . use it with table set straight for the same effect you get on all our reverse hypers. allowing for dynamic strength development in the concentric phase, while serving as a rehabilitation mechanism in the eccentric phase by gently stretching and depressurizing the spinal column with spinal fluid and the low back muscles with blood. Use it with table tilt down toward front and feel the stretch and decompression like never before into the complete thoracic area. when you tilt the machine down toward the rear it works like a 45 degree hyper highly stimulating the erectors and the glutes."

 

[stronglifts]

I didn't say it would be different on the GHR, infact if you look at what I wrote you'd see that I said you can't actually perform the movement properly without incorporating your glutes. The whole point is it is the GLUTE/ham raise. That still didn't answer my question.

This is taken from Westside Barbell:

"This new reverse hyper works the complete back . use it with table set straight for the same effect you get on all our reverse hypers. allowing for dynamic strength development in the concentric phase, while serving as a rehabilitation mechanism in the eccentric phase by gently stretching and depressurizing the spinal column with spinal fluid and the low back muscles with blood. Use it with table tilt down toward front and feel the stretch and decompression like never before into the complete thoracic area. when you tilt the machine down toward the rear it works like a 45 degree hyper highly stimulating the erectors and the glutes."

If Quiksilver has dormant glutes (which I think he does), he'll have a hard time using them on ghr. So his hams, but also lower back will end up doing the bulk of the work. I feel his lower back has been overworked enough already during the last months.

Reverse hyper is ok as long as you don't use it to stretch your lower back. Thoracic spine ok, lumber no.

 

[Quagmire911]

If that is the case then he would have to wait a couple of weeks for glute activation to kick in, then he would makesure it didn't upset his lower back. I personally think that injury risk is very low on the GHR, especially when it is being done unweighted/assisted.

As for reverse hypers I haven't tried them myself. However Westside Barbell is one of the best in terms of knowledge and practicality, so I am sure they wouldn't do it or recommend it if it were going to put people at risk.

And again, what works for some...

 

[Quagmire911]

I had another thought Quik...

Have you got a foam roller??? Excellent for recovery/rehabilitation. I made a ghetto one with a sock and three tennis balls tonight and I must say it hurt like hell.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

I'll be getting a proper one as soon as I can. It also helps postural/flexibility issues.

 

[Quiksilver]

Hmm.. i have lots of tennis balls lying around from my days in that sport. And I'm sure i can find a smelly old sock lying around. I'll give it a shot.

--

I'm starting a pretty good flexibility program this week. It's one hour every morning after cardio. It's static and dynamic stretching full body.

Also starting a balance program that'll go hand in hand with that. Going to be getting a wobble board and doing some other balance training and agility techniques...

I figure I shouldn't sit with my thumb up my ass while I'm on the sidelines from heavy lifting, and improving balance and flexibility for a few months will actually leave me better off than before.

There's a lot that we seem to neglect aside from just squats, deadlifts, bench press and cardio.

These programs should fix any posture problems I still have lingering around, prevent any further injuries, speed recovery, and hopefully add strength to the core movements when I get back to heavy lifting.

Anyways, I won't set expectations but I'll post any results that I get from flexibility and balance training.

 

[Damocles]

Hey Quik,
One thing you might want to try, in addition to all the stretching and rehab exercises, is relaxation exercises. I pinched my sciatic nerve deadlifting a couple years back, and since then I've noticed that I carry a lot more tension in my back than I used to.

Try doing some stuff to ease the tension out... when you're stretching, pay close attention to your breathing in addition to the stretch, and take deep breaths. When you're done a full body stretch, lie on your back with your arms on the floor and your legs a comfortable distance apart. When you notice some tension, try to let it go.

If you're carrying tension in your traps and neck, try standing straight with your hands on your head for a few minutes. You'll gradually lose the tension that can result from a muscular injury.

It's called splinting or something... The muscles tighten up to prevent further injury, but they eventually get sore because of the tension. It can take a while to improve.

 

[Quiksilver]

Good news

Went to see a doctor who specializes in sports injuries(she's the doctor for our olympic skating team actually)

its only a back sprain, concerning a ligament. no herniated discs or anything like that. no lifting for two weeks, and no heavy lifting for four weeks.

She did say that I have weak abdominals and and that would cause my back to have to overcompensate for any load.

I'm being put on a prescribed core strength program this monday, so that'll work in nicely with what I'm doing on my own. I've taken this week off, using ice packs a few times a day, and only stretching and light walking.

Starting to do cardio(making it a goal to lose about 5-8lbs of fat by april 1st.), going to continue with stretching and think about taking yoga classes, and ive already started working on balance, lots of room to improve by the looks of it

alright, that's it for now.

 

[Quagmire911]

That's good news, good luck with everything.

 

[Quagmire911]

Weekly update!

 

[Quiksilver]

Alright, I feel healthy enough and my sports therapist says I'm good to go with weight training, as long as I keep the weights reasonably light for a few weeks.

Let's get this truck movin again folks!

I've been doing very light squats on my bowflex :yes: up until this weekend, practicing glute activation... I can say now that it definitely makes a difference as far as posture and depth of the squat.

Anyways, I'll be getting workout logs back in here this week.

laters

 

[Quiksilver]

Monday, February 25, 2008

A. Squats 3x5

5x135
5x135
5x135

B. Deadlifts 3x5

5x135
5x135
5x135

C. Bench Press 3x5

5x135
5x155
5x155

--

Really focused on glute activation on squats and deadlifts, I can feel a difference in my posture coming up off the floor.

First time doing freeweight squats and deadlifts since the injury. Felt good, I'm going to keep the weights light for a few weeks and work back into it slowly. I'm not gonna rush it this time.

So far so good!

 

[Quiksilver]

Just laying the foundation again to start doing some serious strength training, this'll take probably 4 more weeks before I can feel confident that I won't injure myself again. Going to be doing 3x5 squats, 3x5 deadlifts, 3x5 bench, plus a few accessory lifts(situps, tricep work, shoulder work) three times a week to build conditioning and speed recovery time. Won't be going heavy at all for now, will probably stick with the 135s for a couple more weeks. Light cardio is gonna be rolling 5 times a week, I'm going to make an entry here every day though. Diet is pretty standard, I've gone off ground beef for a little while, taking a hiatus i guess, i couldn't get motivated to eat it anymore. Here's what my daily intake looks like:

8-12 large eggs, cooked with butter
4 chicken breast, cooked with ev olive oil
2 whey shakes
tuna/salmon
2-3 cups of oatmeal
veggies, served with the chicken.
4-6L of water
supps(fish oil, multi, etc)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

5 minutes elliptical
5 minutes cycle
5 minutes rowing
5 minutes incline walk

10 minutes full body stretching

2x10 shoulder raises
2x10 bicep curls

did those just for fun

--

Alright, wednesday is 3x5 squat/dead/bench + 2x15 abs

till tomorrow

--

goals for now are to get bodyfat under 12% again, and get back to a level of conditioning that I can be happy with to start strength training again. simple, but its gonna take time.

 

[Quiksilver]

i dunno man... i really don't know what to say.

I've still been taking it easy, only doing light freeweights, decided not to do squats or deadlifts yet either. just some weights to get my blood moving.

Been doing some cardio on the treadmill, bike, and eliptical..

and guess what?

Today I was all psyched to get back into the gym and start putting a little bit of weight on the bar again, and..

Out of the blue, after two weeks without feeling anything in my back at all.. It starts spasming again. It's weird though because this time its more painful than when i originally injured it.

The doc told me a month and a half ago that it was only a back sprain, and to work on core strength. that I could start using weights after 4 weeks. That's what I've been doing.. Stretching, abdominal exercises, etc.

--

So... on tuesday im going into the hospital and try to get an MRI on it, to see what the **** is up.

This isn't fun at all, and im getting a bit depressed. Been lingering around for FOUR fvcking months because of this injury, trying to get back into it properly. And now, four fvcking months later, the pain comes back worse than the first time. I could barely walk home from classes today and had to stop every 50 feet because my back would spasm.

I don't know man... I really don't know.

Whatever, I'll update what the physiotherapist says at the hospital, and what the radiologist says about my back.

peace guys

 

[I-tallionStallion]

AW CRAP...I'm sorry Quik...i can tell how bad you want to get into the flow of things again. I'm sure you will find out what is wrong. I hope for the best.

 

[Quagmire911]

F*** that sucks.

Don't worry about it man, I still haven't caught up with you on bench. Maybe once you are back we will be about even and there can be a proper contest . Maybe Stallion can join us, but I don't like this freak progress he has been seeing recently, I think he is secretly ON

No belt when you get back!

Look into reverse hypers ala Westside, I think I have said this before.

 

[shaunuk]

Yeah, Stallion's on Celltech

Get well soon Quik