Pumping Iron with Zemekone and Icehog3

[WildBlueSooner]

Back and Biceps...felt great!

[The Professor]

Hmmm ... a dilemma: hit legs hard and don't fit comfortably into my pants today for the first day of teaching or take it easy and fit in my clothes?

I'll let y'all know in an hour and a half....

[The Professor]

Hit it.

Squats (full depth):
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 6
275 x 5
295 x 3
315 x 2 (PR reps)
335 x 1 (new 1RM!)

Box Squats (73% 1RM, below parallel, with pause @ bottom): 245 x 3, 3, 2, 5

Stiff-legged deads: 225 x 5, 5, 5

I quit after that. I can barely stand ... mainly because my spinal erectors are spasming a little. Standing in front of class is gonna be a biotch today.

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

It gets worse from there.

Yeah. I grabbed my "fat jeans" to wear with a shirt, jacket, and Doc Martens for my professor's uniform yesterday. Jeans were frickin' tight all f'in day. Think I need to go do some shopping today....

[BigFrank]

At some point your wardrobe will consist solely of t shirts,tank tops, sleeve-less shirts, gym shorts, warmup pants, khaki shorts. And your "nice" clothing will be referred to as **** you dont care to wear or is too tight. Also get used to buying jeans with a waist 4-6 sizes to big for yourself and invest in a nice thick belt. Also if you are a short fellow, jeans that are 40-42 waist with a 28 inseam are non existent.
Last week I went to the store to get some swim trucks which a week before vacation I realized I own only 1 pair with a hole in the leg and possibly purchased before I left high school....Oddly they fit. But, I tried on medium, large, and x-large and non would fit over top of my quads. Fit me in the waist yes. Legs no. Major issue. I asked my GF if I was fat, and she said no you have tree trunk legs. I then ate some chinese food because a person said I wasnt fat.


Pulled Tuesday night, Nothing special. Skipped last nights workout and skipping todays. Leaving in about 3 hours for the beach, staying 3 days and took off work monday. Going to try and rest and enjoy myself without worrying about training or work. I think I need a break. When I get back going to follow all that up with a deload week in the gym and take some time to figure out what I want to do with myself. Everytime I walk in the gym lately I feel like I am just going through the motions. Need something to strive for and to drive me.

See ya fellas when I get back, keep up the good work.

[The Professor]

I hear ya on the legs, Frank -- same problem here with the quads, which (aside from a couple weeks ago), I tend not to even work them. Seems like if I look at my quads and calves wrong they get bigger ... and I really don't need or want that. Probably didn't help that I did legs yesterday. Anyway, I'll put ego/vanity aside today and get something with a waist that's too big so the legs can fit. I'll probably get some nicer/dressier shorts for teaching, too ... and some more polos (which seem to fit well right now).

Enjoy your vacation! I think we all hit those lulls and need a few days off. You never know ... maybe you'll come back and immediately find that spark/drive again in the gym.

[Mugen910]

nothing special yesterday at lunch...just back and biceps while throwing some abs in there for good measure.

[The Professor]

Hit shoulders. Should have remembered to warm up my tris more. I won't make that mistake again.

stuck to machines today. why? because I felt like it. LoL!

HS shoulder press (# for each side): 45 x 10, 55 x 8, 70 x 6, 80 x 5, 90 x 4, 90 x 0F

Lateral raises: 130 x 10, 150 x 10, 170 x 8, 180 x 6 (PR), 200 x 0F

Rear delts: 145 x 10, 160 x 8, 175 x 8, 190 x 6 190 x 5 (PR)


That was it. Hit some PRs; but still felt like a mediocre day. Wish my triceps weren't hurting. Feel tired from yesterday and didn't get enough sleep. The weekend off will do me some good. Probably gonna go for a bench or deadlift PR next week....

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

At some point your wardrobe will consist solely of t shirts,tank tops, sleeve-less shirts, gym shorts, warmup pants, khaki shorts.

I *just* made my first sleeveless shirt. FML.


No gym today -- not even for cardio. I need a true day off ... well, except for the mowing and other yard work I'm going to do.

[Mugen910]

Biceps and legs...and threw in some ab work...

[Chris.]

Yesterday consisted of flat bench, DB press, face hammer, seated rows, cable pressdowns, leg curls, leg extensions, and some abs. I was shaky when I left.

[gorob23]

Played 3 games of VB yesterday then sat on the beach until 10pm smoking does that count? ok, ok for a workout I rode my bike all the way home

Rob

[Starchild]

Not a happy camper right now. I went to a physical therapist that my Crossfit coach referred me to yesterday. He took a look a my knee, and even called in a orthopedic surgeon who happened to be there for a second opinion. Based on how I hurt it (full range squat), they are pretty sure it's a torn meniscus. They recommended an MRI which I need to work on with my insurance company next week.

I'm pissed that I'm hurt, and can't do everything I want to, but I'm more pissed that I did it doing things the way I was instructed.

The surgeon said he sees this injury as a result of those type of squats regularly.

[Chris.]

when they fix it, just dont lift as heavy in squats. The key to squats without tearing up knees is to come down slow and controlled.

[Starchild]

Originally Posted by Chris.

when they fix it, just dont lift as heavy in squats. The key to squats without tearing up knees is to come down slow and controlled.

I wasn't going really heavy, and I was very controlled. The problem was my depth, going to my full range of motion, and getting a little bounce at the bottom.

I don't tend to throw around too much weight, and I'm very conscious of form.

That's what makes this so frustrating.

[Chris.]

Could have been the little bounce at the bottom. That extra stretch on your knees isn't a good thing. Kinda like bouncing the bar off your chest on bench...but not quite...

[Starchild]

Originally Posted by Chris.

Could have been the little bounce at the bottom. That extra stretch on your knees isn't a good thing. Kinda like bouncing the bar off your chest on bench...but not quite...

I think that's exactly what did it.

[The Professor]

I'd also suggest that if you go back to doing squats, you think about starting with box squats at or below parallel. This will help you think about form a little differently and put the focus on your hams, taking it off your quads and knees. I don't have the greatest knees in the world; but squatting never hurts them because I'm slow, deliberate, and focusing everything I can on my posterior chain rather than my quads and knees. YMMV, but that's what I would do.

Good luck recovering.

[Chris.]

Agreed. I always go down slowly to parallel and try to explode up(its hard sometimes, lol), but I make a point not to bounce. I've seen too many people F up their knees doing that. After I finish squats, my buns and hams are always sore(the next day).

[BigFrank]

Originally Posted by Starchild

I'm pissed that I'm hurt, and can't do everything I want to, but I'm more pissed that I did it doing things the way I was instructed.

The surgeon said he sees this injury as a result of those type of squats regularly.

It's time to ditch crossfit brother. Performing compound movements for high reps while in a state of high pre-exhaustion is a recipe for disaster. DO some online research about crossfit. It gets a lot of crap reviews. Do some research on it. Call me a flamethrower or what have you but I dont think it is NOT the best workout available out there.
A friend of mine compared this to say doing ab and lower back exercises before squatting. Think about what that would be like getting under a squat bar and performing full range squats, or deadlifts after already burning out the tank. And to boot, your going heavy and pushing the limits. Doesn't make much sense does it?

Originally Posted by Chris.

when they fix it, just dont lift as heavy in squats. The key to squats without tearing up knees is to come down slow and controlled.

I dunno bout this. I always bounce at the bottom on raw squats. Get some knee sleeves or wraps for heavier sets. Going light because you are afraid of getting hurt is ****ing stupid. I know guys who have two rebuilt knees some rebuilt more than once squatting 800+ pounds. Trick is training smart.

Originally Posted by Starchild

I wasn't going really heavy, and I was very controlled. The problem was my depth, going to my full range of motion, and getting a little bounce at the bottom.
I don't tend to throw around too much weight, and I'm very conscious of form.

How full is your range? you bottoming out or hitting parallel?

Originally Posted by The Professor

I'd also suggest that if you go back to doing squats, you think about starting with box squats at or below parallel. This will help you think about form a little differently and put the focus on your hams, taking it off your quads and knees. I don't have the greatest knees in the world; but squatting never hurts them because I'm slow, deliberate, and focusing everything I can on my posterior chain rather than my quads and knees. YMMV, but that's what I would do.

Id go high boxes at first. Go wide really wide if ya wanna toast the hams. The more I think about it I would set the box up different heights and work on form for awhile.

Long story short, I have an issue with squatting where my knee would buckle in on heavy sets. After tweaking my form for awhile I got it to stop happening. Possibly preventing a blown out knee.

Originally Posted by Chris.

Agreed. I always go down slowly to parallel and try to explode up(its hard sometimes, lol), but I make a point not to bounce. I've seen too many people F up their knees doing that. After I finish squats, my buns and hams are always sore(the next day).

Problem here is people confuse slow ( rate of decent ) with control. People think well I will just go to parallel slow. This isnt always the best answer. Controlling the weight down is best. Naturally there will be bounce at the bottom. Only time to go slow hitting parallel would be squatting with briefs and a suit on. Going to slow will more often cause a guy to bomb out at the bottom. I have done this in the past as Im sure most guys have, under heavier weights taking 30 seconds to get to parallel is mind numbing and when you hit the bottom your out of gas. Also, bringing the weight down your going to be using a lot of glute, ham and lower back. Going up is mainly quads. But that distance from say parallel to maybe 1/4 up is a lot of ham, glute and lower back. So, common sense would say you burn your self out going down too slow, you get no pop out of the bottom. Long story short, control. Form is key too.