To Infinity.... and Beyond!

tonight will be a good test of my squats!
last night my bench seemed way down. I need to to get focused there again.

bench
135 x 10
170 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5

wod
3 x 135 hang power clean
6 x pushups
9 x air squats
12 x 135 deadlifts
15min amrap = 12 rounds

note
pre bench we spent about a half hour doing new warm ups and movements i've not seen before. just new ideas with bands and light weights to open up the chesticles, stretch the biceps, triceps, and shoulders. it was pretty interesting.
 
so no more squatting discomfort?
 
bench
95 x 10
135 x 10
165 x 5
200 x 3s x 5r

dips
4sets of 20 at bodyweight

hammer curls
3 sets

ez bar curls
3 sets

push press
95 x 10
115 x 3s x 10

notes
was rushed and knocked it all out in about 30 minutes. could feel the twinge in my back during the push press, thats why I skipped squats and stayed light. but its a different back soreness than before so i'm not too worried. new location... lol
 
warm up
3 minutes GHD situps
3 minutes static KB holds (2 x 35lbs)
3 minutes rowing (about 1k meters)

squats
95lbs x 10
135lbs x 5
165lbs x 5
185lbs x 5r x 2s
135lbs x 10

lunges
400m walking lunges.
took about 16 minutes.
guessing around 600 or so lunges?

notes
so the workout sucked, nothing interesting about it. the lunges hit my glues and adductors and quads in a really good way and stretched out my back. the squats sucked because my back was tight. but I do think its improving a little.

its just about time to get back on creatine.
 
bench
105 x 10
145 x 10
175 x 5
205 x 3s x 4r

note
trying to get back on creatine, haven't been really at all this year.
weight is at 175 with shoes on last night. crazy. used to be sitting at 180-185 consistently.
 
thanks, I keep trying to tell myself that same thing, lol.

bench
135 x 10
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 4

wod
6 min amrap
10 x 115lb power clean
5 x toes to bar
7 rounds

rest 2 min

6 min amrap
5 x 115lb thruster
10 x 53lb kb swing
5 rounds

felt good to finally get some hard conditioning in.
 
Dustin07 said:
warm up
3 minutes GHD situps
3 minutes static KB holds (2 x 35lbs)
3 minutes rowing (about 1k meters)

squats
95lbs x 10
135lbs x 5
165lbs x 5
185lbs x 5r x 2s
135lbs x 10

lunges
400m walking lunges.
took about 16 minutes.
guessing around 600 or so lunges?

notes
so the workout sucked, nothing interesting about it. the lunges hit my glues and adductors and quads in a really good way and stretched out my back. the squats sucked because my back was tight. but I do think its improving a little.

its just about time to get back on creatine.
Click to expand...

At least walking lunges are more fun that garage lunges. I hate garage lunges! Down, up, look at the wall, down, up, look at the wall, down, tip over, up, look at the wall, down, up, look at the wall, down, tip over, up, look at the wall...God awful boring.
 
ha, the tip over part happened a few times as i'm lunging my ass down the street too. that was miserable.

saturday we did a big team event. it was kind of a competition except not really. teams from 3 different gyms just did a mock comp to test out the regionals wods from portland. we did wods 1, 7, 8, and 9 listed here. (teams tab) Invalid Link Removed

then yesterday:

bench
135 x 15
175 x 10
205 x 5
220 x 4

deadlifts
135 x 2s x 10r

notes
my back was killing me. I think I did some other stuff too, but once I got through those deadlifts the pain was enough to about make me puke. I have new insurance kicking in this week and i'm going to start taking a more medical approach. bench press was decent though.

weight
175
 
back was too tight to do last nights deadlift and cleans wod so i just did an upper body wod.

wod
21 15 9
135lb bench press
pull ups
500m row

took about 12 minutes.

there was 30-45 minutes of warmup and stretching before all that but even doing L hangs on the pull up bar and V-ups on the ground were too painful on the back.
 
bench
95 x 15
145 x 10
185 x 5
210 x 5
225 x 3
220 x 3
210 x 3
205 x 5
185 x 5

notes
kinda fell on my face there. was hoping for 225 x 4 or 5 when I came short, I did drop sets and took longer than I expected to find my 5 rep. oops. I did experiment with a wider grip at 185 and less, but stuck to my normal grip for the working weight. which is closer to what a lot of you guys would use as a closed grip I think. I have a kind of narrow grip considering i have wide shoulders.

cable flies
3 sets

dips
bw x 10
+35lbs x 10r
+45lbs x 3s x 10r

db curls
3 sets

hammer curls
3 sets

hammer strength rows
4 sets

notes
so yeah not much pulling. I meant to do 50/50 pushing/pressing but ran out of time. I'm trying to find more pulling movements right now because my back issues are making it so I cant' squat, deadlift,or do a bent over barbell row with any weight. so I'm trying to utilize machines etc where I can to maintain balance in my upper body. with the push/pull.

note 2
new insurance just started so today i plan to make an appt for either PT or massage therapy. i'm tempted to start with massage then move up to pt.
 
So... I got new health insurance.
I went on their website to grab the closest physical therapist/massage therapist I could find with instant availability yesterday.
I called and made an appointment for 10am that same morning. they had good reviews on the healthcare website.
I show up, and its a chiro.
I've never understood or liked chiro before. I've only been once but I hated it.
this time I was desperate... so I said oh well. as I explained to him my problems he was finishing my sentences. it was clear I was a text book situation to him. I told him I'm only interested in working together if he's going to get me back under the barbell. I don't want to work with someone who's going to tell me about how lifting or crossfit needs to stop. He said number one goal is to get the athlete back in their sport.

we did xrays and a small adjustment. I do feel quite a bit better today. tomorrow I go back to review the xrays and for another adjustment.

He says he wants me to visit 3 x's a week for 20 visits. I know nothing about chiropractors but I know Jeremy likes his. is this normal procedure? I think i'm going to give it a try.
 
bench
95 x 15
135 x 10
185 x 5
215 x 5
225 x 3
250 x 1

wod
12 min amrap
10 pullups
10 kb clean and press (5 per hand)/44lbs
5 burpee box jumps
8 rounds

notes
bench felt good and was a rushed session. I was happy to hit a wod that didn't hurt the back. I could feel it a little in the jumps. I do feel significantly better after yesterdays adjustment, although not yet 100%. still, i'm willing to try about anything right now.
 
bench is looking good my friend, hope the chiropractor works out!
 
I know when I went early on he wanted me in a couple times a week for the first few weeks and as needed afterwards. It definitely help me specially finding out the root of my problem, hips.
 
so he said my root problem was two things:

a. tight SI joint
b. degenerative disease at L5, thinned disk, and slight formation of a bonespur possibly putting pressure on the nerve, triggering the rest of the issues.

he wants me in three days in a row this week, then 3 x's a week for 20-40 visits. This seems kinda extreme though. today when i went back in, there wasn't really any popping when he went through the alignment motions. I can't tell if its worth it. it seems like an inversion table might accomplish the same thing.

he said my spine is otherwise in good shape. strong bone density and good formation/curves.
 
Everything he says sounds legit given your aches and pains these past few years. But 20-40 visits seems really extreme. SI/L5 is the exact same spot I had issues with, BAD, about 2 years ago. It's been touch and go ever since. Basically my SI was tiled in, and my L5 was rotated to the right (or something like that). It took 3 adjustments to get it back in working order. Then I was pretty much good to go. Since then, I have had issues with that area when I run, try to deadlift 500 pounds, or really tax the CNS throughout a laborious weekend (like roofing or stuff like that). No matter how bad of shape I'm in, usually 2-3 visits fixes it up. The real question is how to keep it fixed. It's like once you screw up an area, it's never 100% again.

If your insurance is covering it, then I'd say go along with what he wants for 2 weeks. You'll figure out by that point if what he's doing is helping or if he's just milking the situation. 40 visits is insane.

Keep me updated as to what he does, how you feel, and what he wants to do next. I like chiropractors, but it's easy to overdue it IMO.
 
so my insurance as it turns out doesn't cover any of it until i hit the $3k deductible... so I'm on the fence. thanks for the feedback though I thought it sounded similar.


hammer strength hi row machine
3 sets

t-rows
3 sets

lat pull downs
3 sets

db curls
3 sets

ez bar curls
3 sets

bb curls
3 sets

notes
new tuft and needle mattress arrived, and its awesome. I'd say my $600 T&N after one night seems as good as my $1700 bed in a box. but after one night that's not a fair assessment. soreness in glutes and left hip so we'll see. still working it.
 
I would just go a few times and then as needed if it seems to be helping. That is a lot of visits for something that might not even help all to much.
 
yeah I think next week i'm going to try an actual physical therapist or even start with a doctors visit. My new bed arrived and I slept in it twice now, I think its helping already too. I golfed this morning and had a slight twinge in the back but mostly i'm feeling better.

last night
bench
95 x 15
145 x 10
195 x 5
225 x 3
235 x 3

cable tri push downs
3 sets

dips
bw x 10
+45lbs x 5
+75lbs x 5
+90lbs x 5
+100lbs x 5
bw x 25 (these felt hilariously easy after the 100lbs).

decline cable flies
3 sets
 
My regular doctor can also do chiropractor adjustments. He talked me into it once when he heard I went to a chiropractor. His technique sucked. I will only go to sports chiropractors for chiropractic adjustments.

I've also gone to a masseuse a few times before and she said, "I can relieve some of the strain, but it's just going to keep coming back until you have a chiropractor adjust your lower back."

I say these things because I think it needs to go like this...

Chiropractor X3
Massage X1
PT X whatever is needed

I wouldn't do the second two until the first is done. Let's see...what's a good metaphor...it would be like painting rusty wheel wells on a truck before fixing the rust. Looks better, but will return within months.
 
Good metaphor.
when looking at the xrays he had a lot of really good things to say. he said both my upper and lower spine are in great shape. its just that one compressed disc, which i've had for years, so I'm thinking i need to attack the muscles. He did two adjustments on me and the second one didn't seem to actually need anything.
 
Do you feel any better?

I had a thought...when I started doing crunches and hypers before any workout that really taxed the lumbar (deads, squats, clean presses), I went from visiting the chiro every month to once every 4 months. Mostly I think it's the hypers that help...I just do the crunches to balance it out.
 
I feel a little better but its a pin pointed spot (this picture highlights the hot spot best) and even V sits are still painful. My next step tomorrow is trying massage therapy. my new insurance lets me get an RX via an online or phone conference with a doctor so i'm hoping to pull that off tomorrow:

Invalid Link Removed

now, the website where I got that pic suggested Psoas, and I used to get a killer psoas pain when I was first combining deadlifting with running. so I know its been a problem before.

this is the first time I mention the sore back in my log and I don't see any workouts before that which should have caused it though. no weird running or deadlift wods immediately before. so I dont know.

Invalid Link Removed
 
Dustin07 said:
I feel a little better but its a pin pointed spot (this picture highlights the hot spot best) and even V sits are still painful. My next step tomorrow is trying massage therapy. my new insurance lets me get an RX via an online or phone conference with a doctor so i'm hoping to pull that off tomorrow:

Invalid Link Removed

now, the website where I got that pic suggested Psoas, and I used to get a killer psoas pain when I was first combining deadlifting with running. so I know its been a problem before.

this is the first time I mention the sore back in my log and I don't see any workouts before that which should have caused it though. no weird running or deadlift wods immediately before. so I dont know.

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/work...hen your hips are uneven, not an SI/L1 issue.
Click to expand...
 
correct, its off to the side. and I was told at one point that my left hip (where the pain is) was slipped upwards a bit but that's been adjusted. the L5 shows up as an issue in xrays, but its an 8 year old issue (well, it was first found in an unrelated MRI 8 years ago) so i don't think that this old injury is just suddenly causing issues.
 
update;
called the online doctor service today via my insurance (free doctor visit!)
he said its definitely a soft tissue area and referred me to massage therapy and PT.
I have a tentative medical massage tomorrow at 1:15 but I'm waiting for them to confirm the cost (covered? copay?) and that my referral is good.

I can't believe how complicated this is.
 
Dustin07 said:
update;
called the online doctor service today via my insurance (free doctor visit!)
he said its definitely a soft tissue area and referred me to massage therapy and PT.
I have a tentative medical massage tomorrow at 1:15 but I'm waiting for them to confirm the cost (covered? copay?) and that my referral is good.

I can't believe how complicated this is.
Click to expand...

I remember about 10 years ago where my insurance let me go anywhere I wanted pretty much, and it was always a $5 co-pay. Those were the good 'ol days. Now I have a $1000 deductible, need to be referred for everything, and some things simply aren't covered. And I supposedly have "great" insurance. Grr...
 
same here. except our deductible improved from $5k to a mere $3k this year. the upside is they gave us this ridiculous pedometer that rewards activity. I can literally receive checks for up to $1095 per year in exchange for enough motion on the pedometer. of course it doesn't know what i do at the gym for squats, press, etc but just wearing it around the office so far seems to almost hit the $3/day goal. it will cover these first few trips to the chiro and massage therapist.

with that said.... at least its a step in the right direction. and being able to call a doctor FOR FREE to get RX etc is pretty cool. saves you a few hours of going to an urgent care or something when you're sick.
 
Dustin07 said:
the upside is they gave us this ridiculous pedometer that rewards activity. I can literally receive checks for up to $1095 per year in exchange for enough motion on the pedometer.
Click to expand...

i listened to a radio program the other day talking about this. apparently people hook these things up to power tools or their pets in order to meet the exercise volume prescribed.
 
showed up to the gym tonight and they were doing totals (bench, squat, deadlift, and cleans). so I joined in but went super light on all lower body stuff.

warm up
30 minutes of foam roller and lacrosse ball directly in the buttery
I could feel the knot big time. its bizarre. running the lacrosse ball its like you feel scarred tissue and when I hit it right, I feel it 18" away down my leg.

500m row
500m run

squats
up to 165lbs

deads
up to 225lbs

power cleans
up to 205lbs

bench
135 x 10
185 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
260 x 1 PR TIE

notes
rolled out after and also did some perirformis stretches i found on youtube. i feel good but I feel used. so we'll see how much pain i'm in tomorrow. hopefully my massage appt at 1pm tomorrow works out. I'm cautiously optimistic energy level is high. i'm also really happy to have tied my bench PR.
Balthazar said:
i listened to a radio program the other day talking about this. apparently people hook these things up to power tools or their pets in order to meet the exercise volume prescribed.
Click to expand...

ha, they mentioned that and said don't do it. supposedly the device can tell if your stride changes but I dont believe it.
 
morning notes
back was a little stiff when I first woke up but right now feels 90%. what makes me most happy about how i feel, is that I did do a lot of lifting yesterday (albeit light weight). but I think attacking the piriformis so much, stretching, epsom salt bath, etc has helped.
 
did fight gone bad last night.

wod
3 rounds
1 min max wall balls
1 min max sumo deadlift high pulls 75lbs
1 min max box jumps
1 min max push press 75lbs
1 min max row for calories
total reps 306.

notes
back feels surprising good today. but I spent some time last night after working out to hit the foam roller, do some piriformis stretches, and another epsom salt bath. i don't have any pics of the new tat though cause my phone crashed last night and i've lost EVERYTHING. 2+ years of pictures, apps, passwords. gone. but you know what might be most frustrating? they keyboard settings. I have no idea what keyboard i had before and that's frustrating. well, that and the passwords. I dont have a clue what half my passwords are. everyone requires a different formula these days.
 
so the massage therapy wasn't great. I feel OK today but I could tell she didn't really know what she was doing. I'm going to have to keep working at it.
 
back was pretty sore last night yet feels amazing today. I'm doing a foam roller, piriformis stretches, and lacrosse ball 2-3 times a day.

back squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 2

wod
bike for cals
35 / 18 / 10
Ring Dips
27 / 18 / 9
time; 6:00

that actually got me winded pretty well.

Did a 2 mile jog in the morning before work and that went pretty well too but during the uphills could feel it in the back. rolled out and stretched afterwards.
 
I'm super confused. i wake up and my back feels so good I can easily get into great deadlift position.

yesterday:

bench
95 x 15
135 x 5
185 x 5
215 x 5
225 x 3
230 x 2
235 x 3

db curls
3 sets

bb curls
3 sets.

drive to xfit.

warmup
lacross ball in the glutes
foam roller
lines, cone drills, laterals, etc
kb complex
handstand shoulder touches

bench again
95 x 15
155 x 5
200 x 8

wod
9min amrap
5 burpees
4 power snatch 75lbs
3 ring muscle ups
8 rounds
 
yes! it seems to be sore more at end of day than beginning. kinda weird. usually it seems like muscle stiffness is the other way around for me. I did get a new Tuft & Needle bed I am liking a lot though.
 
warm up
lacross ball in the ass
foam roller down the it band

rowing sprints
back extensions
med ball tosses,
double unders
crunches
burpees

deads
135 x 10
185 x 5
205 x 5

wod
50 back extensions
1 mile run
100 lunges
time; 15min ish

notes
deads were pretty much straight legged because the back issue, but I'm still coming forward and leaning off mytoes to compensate. one of the coaches though it sounds like his torn labrum. I'm not so sure though because his is totally localized and mine is like a tearing sensation from the middle of the glute to the love handle. I'm meeting with a PT after the 5th though. going to try to get into one of those inversion tables between now and then.
 
You need to post about how the table works for you. I have always been curious if it would help me but I am not willing to spend the money for something that might not work. When I get some $ might look on craiglist if it works for you. I think we have the same thing going on as far as where the pain is.
 
I borrowed my brother-in-laws inversion table for the better part of a year. Real nice one. The theory is that it stretches you out and allows air and nutrients to get back in between the disks in your back. I used this thing religiously. Ultimately, I didn't do anything for me because it didn't fix the underlying problem, a weak L1-SI area. That said, I think if a person had good spinal health, it would possibly help keep your spine in good health.

Another FYI, 45 degrees or so is the most you want to hang at, or so I've read. Depending on your body weight, full inversion, in some cases, does more harm than good.
 
my dad has an inversion table and swears by it. thing is he lives 45 minutes away so its not convenient but I will try to hit it maybe this wednesday if not before. My PT that i'm going to be working with says two things. A> soft tissue seems to be the issue and B> she wants to also work on spinal decompression. She's a great athlete who squats almost 2x's bodyweight though and she knows I want to get back to competition level so I'm pretty excited about working with her.

how long did you use the inversion table for at a time? isn't it short stints of like 2-3 minutes or something?
 
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