Building A Bigger Engine For Grip Contests

[Scott Styles]

Chris, thanks for posting the link. It inspired me to practice my squats for about 30 minutes yesterday. I'm still not doing them right, but at least I finally I practiced like I should've in the morning. I did find out that at the very bottom of my body weight squats I'm tucking my hips / relaxing my hamstrings. I also searched the web for decent squats videos. I've come to the conclusion the vast majority of people squatting have no business doing so...

03-17-2006 - Workout 14 of 64 - Upper Body at World Gym

7.5 hours of sleep last night, and I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm. Always a good sign. My hamstrings are very sore from the stiff legged deadlifts yesterday. My middle back is a little sore. I think they just earned a place in my program.

Warm Up: Elliptical Trainer for 8 minutes, getting heart rate up to a steady 130-140bpm

So my heart rate isn't getting up as high any more even though I increased the difficulty settings. Wierd. Wish I was as gifted at strength training as I am at cardio.

Standing Dumbell Press

12x25

12x30

11x30

I felt strong this morning. Reps went up. I hope to get 2x12x30 next time.

Supinated Pulldowns, Shoulder Width Grip

12x8

12x11

12x11

I was tempted to move up to 12 on the 2nd set. Then I reminded myself not to be greedy. I may try for 2x12x12 on Tuesday.

Seated Chest Fly Machine, weight in hands, shoulders neutral

12x5

12x7

12x7

I added weight. I could probably add more weight. I'll stay here for at least the next workout.

Machine Rows, arms parallel to the floor

12x5

12x6

12x6

Went back up to 6. I didn't feel sick at all this morning and had energy left for this one. I'll repeat the weight next time.

Stretches

Lats and Triceps

Upper Back

Side Bend

Lower Back / Chest

Hamstrings

Quads

Calves

I kept my back arched while stretching the hamstrings. I could feel all the tightness from the deadlifts slowly being released. I liked it.

After yesterday's apathetic workout, today's went really well. It really underlines the importance of consistency regardless of how the last workout went. If I'd gotten pissed about yesterday and blown today off, I would have missed out. Now I just have to stop myself from being greedy. I'm looking forward to gripping tomorrow. Maybe I can get squat practice in as well. For now, I'm off to drink the better part of a bottle of port

[chrisof4]

Chris, thanks for posting the link. It inspired me to practice my squats for about 30 minutes yesterday. I'm still not doing them right, but at least I finally I practiced like I should've in the morning. I did find out that at the very bottom of my body weight squats I'm tucking my hips / relaxing my hamstrings. I also searched the web for decent squats videos. I've come to the conclusion the vast majority of people squatting have no business doing so...

You said it! Myself included, I am sure. The difference is we know we are not doing them right yet, and are trying to learn the right way. =)

Your comment makes me really want to video tape myself again, to check my form. Maybe I will do that this weekend. The tape don't lie, and it is a good way to check my form.

Congrats on a great workout! You only have to string a few of these together, and there will be no stopping you.

[Starkmann]

I also searched the web for decent squats videos. I've come to the conclusion the vast majority of people squatting have no business doing so...

I'm curious as to what you found. Mind posting a couple links?

Make sure you are not thinking you should squat like someone wearing a squat suit. There are some things to be taken from that but it's not quite the same.

[Scott Styles]

I primarily searched google video. These are some of the worst:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5...0048603&q=squat

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...1142766&q=squat

Most of it is smaller stuff, like this guy is bending at the back first, then rounding pretty bad at the bottom:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=77...6433004&q=squat

This chick is dive bombing them and then doing some sort of S movement with her hips to get the weight up:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=32...4038061&q=squat

This guy has some of the better videos I could find, but even he leans forward as he begins the hip drive, then makes up for it with back strength:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=22...1382414&q=squat

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=79...8850905&q=squat

The annoying ones are where someone is "teaching" then does something like round at the bottom. These 2 are like that:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5...0768989&q=squat

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...1135262&q=squat

The most impressive I found was a rip of an olympic lifter doing full squats from one of the Ironmind videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=49...9364233&q=squat

I'm not saying I can do them better, because I can't. But, I see people using form that I feel like if I tried with weight near my limit, I'd hurt myself. I don't understand how they don't get injured like that.

[LiftingKid]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=22...1382414&q=squat

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=79...8850905&q=squat

I'm not saying I can do them better, because I can't. But, I see people using form that I feel like if I tried with weight near my limit, I'd hurt myself. I don't understand how they don't get injured like that.

These particular vids were made by a guy who posts on bodybuilding.com . He does have good form and you will find that some natural "rounding" of the back will occur as you squat.

[Scott Styles]

03-18-2006 - Workout 15 of 64 - Grip Work at Home

I had lots of sleep last night. 7 hours plus another 2 after waking up for some breakfast and water. Given that I drank half a bottle of port last night, I'm feeling pretty good overall. My hamstrings are wicked sore from the stiff legged deadlifts on Thursday though. Sorer than they were yesterday. No kettlebell work today as a result. I was hoping to squat practice, but it hurts to even sit down into a chair.

Grippers

RH: 12xT, 12x#BBSA, 12x#1, 12xT No Set, BBSA Hold - 12 seconds

LH: 12xT, 4x#BBSA, 12x#1, 12xT No Set, BBSA Hold - 12 seconds

I got greedy! Enthused by yesterday's great workout and the sleep I got last night, I decided to try for reps with my BBSA instead of the #1. My right hand got them with a struggle. My left hand wasn't having it. This is my last grip workout with 12 rep sets, so I'll use the BBSA next Saturday anyway.

Pony Clamp

12xEasy Clamp

12x1 band

12x1 band

I put the gloves on from the beginning this time. These went well, but I need to stop bringing the mouth of the clamp up to eye level watch it. Stupid. I added a band to the clamp for the next grip workout.

Formulator Extensions

12x5

12x8.5

12x8.5

I added a 0.5lb plate here. It was doable, but not great. My next grip workout will be with 10 reps, so I'll probably stick here or go up 0.5lbs, depending how I feel.

Finger Extensions with IM Rubber Bands

12xGreen

12xYellow

12xYellow

I need to focus on opening the yellow band further. I'll be doing this tension for awhile still.

Wed-Fri of next week is my break before I drop the reps and increase weight. So my next grip workout will be a week from today. I'll be looking forward to it.

[Starkmann]

I took a look at the vids and made some notes, I stuck them below.

It sounds like you know exactly what to do. Keep at the practice. When this cycle is over it's time to get squatting.

I was thinking today of a thread I started on the Goerner Reborn forum. You said then that you said your biggest regret was the time and money you had wasted on videos and books, that you wish you had spent that time in the gym or working with someone who knew what they were doing. I'd say this could easily become one of those.

I look forward to hearing about your squat progress.

===========================================

Those first two, Langley Football, they definitly need to stop maxing out and learn the movement. They also need to lose the belts and wraps too.

Third one isn't so desperatly bad, it's not good either. I just noticed the weight, for 200ish squat it's bad form.

The chick isn't too bad (although the shorts about make it a porn movie). She struggles on the way up but her first rep is good. It's gonna be impossible to not occasionally slip out of the groove. As long as you control your decent more and maybe sit a big higher, you'll be good.

The big guy's 500+ squat is a little rough on the way up but that's what a max squat looks like a lot. The second video opens really well, I didn't watch his las few reps. If you mimic his first couple reps, your technique will be essentially perfect.

The two instructionals aren't as bad as you think. The first guy is just lame, personally I am totally apposed toraising your heel during a squat but a lot of people swear by it. The second guy is a blabber mouth but is teaching a technique I have heard before. I've hear shoulders, knees and ball of your foot in a vertical line. It's supposed tonot stress your knees. Personally I think you are okay to sit back a hair more.

That last video is amazing. That is the perfect squat as far as I an tell.

[AP]

Going deep can cause that "S" type movement at the sticking point, you'll see that even in the O-lifter's movie. The big raw squat looks real good. He's got the bar riding a little high and if your hips come out at all it'll hunch you over a bit, but still his back was prettyy neutral. He's probably good for 10lbs more.

Its ok to tough out a lift now and again but yeah those Langley videos were pretty bad. That's how high school kids squat though, not enough patience.

[Scott Styles]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It looks like Trainer Joe's videos will be a good reference point for me when I have questions.

03-20-2006 - Workout 16 of 64 - Lower Body at World Gym

I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. I was playing Burnout 3 on my PS2 until almost 10. It had me worked up and it took me over an hour to fully relax. But, even with 7 hours of sleep, I felt pretty good today. Go figure.

Squats

12xBody Weight

12x45

12x45 (cambered bar)

I actually stuck with back squats through both sets. The cambered bar is cool, I like it. After watching my form in the mirror relative to the videos online, I started thinking maybe my issue is not having enough weight on the bar. That impacts where my center of gravity will be. So I decided to do partials at the end of this workout.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (Flat back, Lower Bar to Below Knees)

12x45

12x95

12x95

I took these a little easier today. My hamstring are still significantly sore from last Thursday.

Half Squats - Down to supports at the height of the bottom of my chest

5x95

2x135 (low bar position)

2x135 (high bar position)

I decided to do these to see how my form changes with more weight on my back. I squatted down to about the limit of where I feel comfortable with my back squat form. I was thinking I'd be throwing 225 on the bar no problem. Yeah, so, it turns out, I think I'm just weak. My form didn't change, and I probably could have forced out more reps with 135, but it was hard.

This got me thinking. Back when I tried squatting in college, I had to start with 95lbs. I was weighing in at about 150 and struggled with that weight. It took me around 6 months to build up to sets of 8 exruciating reps with 145. At the time, I was extremely active, both lifting and doing cardio.

Now, I'm around 240. That means my bodyweight is 150+90lbs. Or approximately the squatting weight I was starting with as an active college student. Then I'm adding a 45lb bar onto it, which brings me approximately the weight it took me 6 months to work up to in college. On top of that, outside of a little walking, I'm essentially sedentary.

I think a large part of the reason I'm having so much trouble learning to squat is that my body strength just isn't there. A big contributing factor to my form actually improving isn't my flexibility going up, it's my strength improving from the body weight and empty bar "practice". I bet one of the reasons my hamstrings got so sore isn't from the deadlifts, but from all the squat practice later that day. That fits with how much pain I've been in just squatting down to pick something up off the floor.

So, I'm going to continue with my practice until I can do the empty bar back squats with good form, then start adding weight. I'm also going to work with my fiance and taping my empty practice bar to make sure my form is headed in the right direction. I now feel much better about the troubles I've been having learning the movement. It's not that my coordination is completely abysmal, I'm just weak for my size and need to invest time getting stronger to be able to do them right. With an identified problem, finding the solution is just a matter of time.

Stretches

Lower Back

Hamstrings

Quads

Psoas

Calves

The hamstring stretches felt really good today. I could feel my muscles releasing tension. I ended up doing each leg for around 3 minutes.

[Scott Styles]

03-21-2006 - Workout 17 of 64 - Upper Body at World Gym

7 hours of sleep last night, I got worked up playing Burnout again. I just like video games I guess.

Warm Up: Elliptical Trainer for 8 minutes, getting heart rate up to a steady 140-150bpm

I put in a little extra effort to bring up the RPMs and my heart rate.

Standing Dumbell Press

12x25

12x30

11x30

I really wanted the 12th rep, but it wasn't happening. I think the more aggressive warm up took a little out of me. I did do a push press for rep 12, but that doesn't count.

Supinated Pulldowns, Shoulder Width Grip

12x8

12x11

12x12

I wasn't sure I had 12 in me, so I went with 11 on the first set. I had enough left in the tank that 12 seemed doable for set 2. I'll be starting my 10 rep per set microcycle with 12. I expect to increase to 13 by week 2 of the cycle.

Seated Chest Fly Machine, weight in hands, shoulders neutral

12x5

12x8

12x8

Stoked by the fact that I'm not lifting on Thursday or Friday, I decided to add weight here again. I didn't have great control, so I'll start the next microcycle with this weight.

Machine Rows, arms parallel to the floor

12x5

12x6

I got tired of doing this and wandered off in search of a better machine. I found an isolateral nautilus rowing machine I will try next workout.

Stretches

Lats and Triceps

Upper Back

Side Bend

Lower Back / Chest

Hamstrings

Quads

Calves

Hamstrings felt much looser today.

Overall, a decent workout to finish the microcycle with. I'll be resting until Saturday. Then I start my 10 rep per set microcycle with grip work. At this point, progress on the upper body workouts is just a matter of consistency. It's probably why I like them more.

[Scott Styles]

03-25-2006 - Workout 18 of 64 - Grip Work at Home

I got tons of sleep before this workout. 7.5 hours the night before, then another 3.5 hour nap. Unfortunately it's cause I strained my eye and couldn't read or use a computer very well, so shorter write ups for now to rest the eye.

Grippers

RH: 10xT, 10x#BBSA, 6x#BBSA, 6x#1

LH: 10xT, 6x#BBSA, 4x#BBSA, 3x#1

Next workout, I'm going to use the #1 for my work sets, but use the shallow set I use with my trainer.

20k Kettle Bell

Picked it up off the ground a couple times to get the blood flowing

8 2 handed swings

Bottoms up press it with each hand

Bottoms up press it with each hand

Clean and Press it with each hand

Clean and Press it with each hand

Clean and Press it with each hand

Starting to get comfortable with this. My 16k bell hasn't arrived yet, so I'm going to call on Monday and see if I can cancel the order. I should've waited the full month. I finally comitted to doing a full clean with this thing, and it wasn't too bad. Fear for my wrists was all that held me back before.

Pony Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

10x2 band

10x2 band

Stay here next time. I ordered a homemade TTK from Climber511 that I'll be using to replace the pony clamps. The inability to precisely track my progression annoys me.

Formulator Extensions

10x5

10x10

10x10

Jumped to 10lbs. It was ok, but I'll repeat the weight.

Finger Extensions with IM Rubber Bands

Didn't feel like doing these.

Overall I'm happy with the workout. If I successfully cancel the kettlebell order, I may get a grip machine to allow for more consistent crush progress.

[Scott Styles]

Attending to Recovery - Workouts 11-18 (Microcycle 2) Results: 75% compliance

Some video game and cheapness induced non-compliance. Will improve next time.

Environment and Active Recovery - Daily

1. Don't Eat Out - 14/14 - 100%

2. Get 7.5 hours of sleep - 105/105 - 96%

3. Play with dexterity balls - 11/14 - 86%

Video games pushed out dexterity balls on the days I missed. Need to do something about that. Not eating out has been working really well. The clause of "if someone buys it for me, I'll still eat it" helped me to taper into this nicely. Had a lunch meeting at work this week and last week, including leftovers the following day. My fiancee also insisted I go out to dinner with her and one of her girlfriends Friday night. She wanted me to go so bad, she actually paid. My digestion has been much better from this limited eating out. I also have more money for grip toys!

Core Diet - Eaten Daily

1. Baby Carrots - 10/14 - 71%

2. Lettuce - 11/14 - 79%

3. 1 Piece Fruit - 12/14 - 86%

4. 3/4 cup Berries - 12/14 - 86%

5. Seed Mix of Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, and Brazil Nuts - 1/14 - 7%

6. Flax Cereal - 12/14 - 86%

7. Yogurt - 13/14 - 93%

8. Beans - 8/14 - 57%

9. Iced tea in place of soda - 14/14 - 100%

10. 8oz Soy Milk - 12/14 - 86%

11. 1 additional meal including whole grains (brown rice, whole grain wheat, beans, etc.) - 13/14 - 93%

12. 12oz cup of milk - 5/14 - 36%

13. DHA Capsule - 11/14 - 79%

14. 2 servings nuts - 9/14 - 64%

Screwed carrots up by being cheap and buying regular carrots instead of pre-peeled, pre-washed baby carrots. Screwed seeds up by not having brazil nuts. Fixed both of those now. Will be changing the milk to "dairy product" since I'm actually getting plenty of protien from cheese.

Time to get back on the ball for these next 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to the lower reps in the gym and moving some bigger weights. My approach to eating out may become more permanent depending how these last 2 weeks of the planned month off from it go.

[chrisof4]

Nice progress, Scott! Plan the work, and work the plan. You are on the right track. Keep it up!

[Starkmann]

Glad to see you got the kettlebell moving.

Congrats on the bottom up press, I can't do that with my lighter one.

[Scott Styles]

Thanks for the support guys. Starkmann, I bet with a little practice you'd bottoms up press the 16k no problem. For me, it's the pressing strength that's a bigger issue than the hand / wrist strength.

03-27-2006 - Workout 19 of 64 - Lower Body at World Gym

Coming off a lot of sleep this weekend, I still didn't feel like going to the gym. It was time to renew my membership for the next month. I hate that it costs $100. Not any cheaper options to workout downtown in the morning though.

Squats

10xBody Weight

10x45 (5 back / 5 front)

10x55 (all front)

I officially decided screw back squats. With the front squats I feel solid and strong. With the back squats I still feel a mess. I've put a good month into trying to learn them. The whole point is so that I can use more weight. Well, I can use more weight with the front squats. I'm going to work these hard for the next 4 months and then revisit back squats. I'll do my sets with 55 next workout.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (Flat back, Lower Bar to Below Knees)

10x45

10x115

10x115

I decided 115 felt like the weight to try today. It wasn't really a problem. I wanted to go to 135 on the second set. I'll stick with 115 one more workout though. If my issue learning back squats is hamstring strength, these will fix it.

Stretches

Lower Back

Hamstrings

Quads

Psoas

Calves

Plenty of time to stretch out today.

I want to add more exercises. But the reason I want to add more is because I have time, and I feel stupid paying to come into the gym and do things I can do at home. However, this is all I think I need to progress. And this is when my time works out best for lifting. So I'm going to stick with this approach right now. Once my front squats get up to 95lbs, I'll add a warm up set with the bar. Once my stiff legged deads get to 145lbs, I'll add a warm up set with 95lbs.

[Starkmann]

I officially decided screw back squats. With the front squats I feel solid and strong. With the back squats I still feel a mess. I've put a good month into trying to learn them. The whole point is so that I can use more weight. Well, I can use more weight with the front squats. I'm going to work these hard for the next 4 months and then revisit back squats. I'll do my sets with 55 next workout.

seems like a suitable short term solution. Most people suck at front squats. I think you may run into the issue most people do, when you hit about 200lbs you have to change to a clean style grip for these as they are really hard on the forearms to rest on. Even then number of reps has to be controlled. They make a device to help with front squats but I can't recall the name. it's teh front squat version of the manta ray, if youa re familiar with it.

[Scott Styles]

Right now I just balance the bar on my shoulders for the front squts, my hands aren't doing too much. I'd love to hit 200lbs with them and need to deal with learning how to rack the bar properly. Heck, I'd love to hit 135lbs with them. I think that's a highly do-able goal for the next 4 months. I feel enthused for my leg workouts again. Big muscles in my hips are sore today, and I was starving all day yesterday. This is what a good leg workout is supposed to do.

03-28-2006 - Workout 20 of 64 - Upper Body at World Gym

I've been getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night since my eye has been messed up. Funny how once I can't use a computer all night or stay up playing video games, I have plenty of time to sleep. I actually woke up early and felt refreshed.

Warm Up: Elliptical Trainer for 8 minutes, getting heart rate up to a steady 140-150bpm

I felt warmed up at 5 minutes, but did 8 cause that's what I planned for.

Standing Dumbell Press

10x25

10x35

8x35

Pretty good for the first time out with the 35's. I'd like to get those last 2 reps on Friday, so I can dominate the weight for 2 more workouts next week, then move up to the 40s. I'd like to be moving something heavier than the 50's for sets of 5 by the time I go to the grip contest.

Supinated Pulldowns, Shoulder Width Grip

10x9

10x12

10x12

These felt like work, but were highly doable. I'll stay at 12 one more workout to own it, then up to 13 next week.

Seated Chest Fly Machine, weight in hands, shoulders neutral

10x5

10x8

10x8

I had control, but didn't enjoy it. I'll stick with this weight next time. I'm not particularly liking this exercise.

Nautilus Isolateral Machine Rows

10x50

10x100

10x100

Use the new rowing machine today. I like it much better. I'm looking forward to working up the weight on these. I'll stick at 100 for the next workout.

Stretches

Lats and Triceps

Upper Back

Side Bend

Lower Back / Chest

Hamstrings

Quads

Calves

Hips

I spent a lot of time stretching out my core muscles today. There was some severe tightness in my right hip from yesterday's workout. Actually, there was tightness everywhere, it was just worst in my hip. The stretching felt really good.

I'm very happy with today's workout and how my cycle is shaping up. I've got a good plan for the lower days. I like everything on my upper days except the chest work. Sticking to this plan for 4 more months will have me the strongest I've ever been.

[Scott Styles]

03-28-2006 - Workout X of 64 - Grip Work at Home

Pretty tired tonight. The lower rep workouts seem to be taking more out of me. And I had a very mentally intensive day at work. Not sure how long this Tuesday grip workout will last. I'll stick with it at least next week.

Grippers

RH: 10xT, 6x#1, 5x#1, 10s x#1 Overcrush

LH: 10xT, 5x#1, 4x#1, 10s x#1 Overcrush

Used the #1 with a shallow set - it appears to be harder than the BBSA with a deep set. I did manage to cancel the kettlebell order. So the money is there for the grip machine, but I'm torn on getting it. I've heard from a number of guys that the grip machines are not as fun as the grippers and do not transfer well. It's also going to be a little more than the kettlebell was. And for that much I could get a 24k kettlebell. I think the indecision is a sign I should hold on to my money for now.

Pony Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

10x2 band

10x2 band

These were not as deep as Saturday. I was tired.

Formulator Extensions

10x5

10x10

10x10

I sat on a lower chair so my arms were totally parallel with the floor. It made these much harder. I will stay here for a few more workouts.

Finger Extensions with IM Rubber Bands

10xGreen

10xYellow

10xYellow

Stay here next time.

I've worked hard over the last 2 days. Looking forward to tomorrow off. My body is tired.

[bencrush]

Nice solid and steady work Scott. Nice to see the front squats. I am in the same boat with them. They actually feel more comfortable than back squats to me. I've changed to the clean style instead of just resting the bar on the shoulders with the arms crossed.

I saw some pretty big (to me) front squats at the Dino Challenge in January so that kind of piqued my interest also.

[BigT]

03-28-2006 - Workout X of 64 - Grip Work at Home

Pretty tired tonight. The lower rep workouts seem to be taking more out of me. And I had a very mentally intensive day at work. Not sure how long this Tuesday grip workout will last. I'll stick with it at least next week.

Grippers

RH: 10xT, 6x#1, 5x#1, 10s x#1 Overcrush

LH: 10xT, 5x#1, 4x#1, 10s x#1 Overcrush

Used the #1 with a shallow set - it appears to be harder than the BBSA with a deep set. I did manage to cancel the kettlebell order. So the money is there for the grip machine, but I'm torn on getting it. I've heard from a number of guys that the grip machines are not as fun as the grippers and do not transfer well. It's also going to be a little more than the kettlebell was. And for that much I could get a 24k kettlebell. I think the indecision is a sign I should hold on to my money for now.

Pony Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

10x2 band

10x2 band

These were not as deep as Saturday. I was tired.

Formulator Extensions

10x5

10x10

10x10

I sat on a lower chair so my arms were totally parallel with the floor. It made these much harder. I will stay here for a few more workouts.

Finger Extensions with IM Rubber Bands

10xGreen

10xYellow

10xYellow

Stay here next time.

I've worked hard over the last 2 days. Looking forward to tomorrow off. My body is tired.

good overall workout

[Scott Styles]

Thanks for the support guys.

03-30-2006 - Workout 21 of 64 - Lower Body at World Gym

Got plenty of sleep, but my hip has been bothering me since yesterday morning. I think I slept on it funny, since my neck was also hurting. I changed my pillow and my neck feels better, but the hip still hurts. I almost didn't go in today, but since I was already up, I figured I might as well.

Front Squats

10xBody Weight

10xBody Weight

10x55

2x55

I could really feel my hip at the bottom of these. I did 2 sets at bodyweight to loosen things up. It helped, but it still hurt to go real low. As I started the last set, I decided I wasn't doing any good and stopped. Kind of a bummer, hopefully this goes away quickly.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (Flat back, Lower Bar to Below Knees)

10x45

10x115

10x115

I was cautious about adding weight to this due to the hip pain. 115 was easier than last time and didn't seem to aggravate anything. I'll stay here until I have a decent, pain free squat workout.

Seated Leverage Leg Press

10x100

10x200

10x260

I decided to try something different to see if I could get a little more work in without aggravating my hip. These seemed to work well since I could only bend my knees to about 90 degrees on the movement.

Leg extension

10x40

10x40

Just killing a little time before my stretching.

Stretches

Lower Back

Hamstrings

Quads

Psoas

Calves

Plenty of time to stretch out today, didn't allieviate the hip issue.

My first inclincation would be to blame the front squats for my hip pain, but that doesn't explain why my other hip doesn't hurt. I suppose I could have been doing something wierd with my right foot, but I've done these plenty of times before without issue. So far now I'll continue blaming how I slept Tuesday night. Hopefully that's all this is.

[Starkmann]

my first thought is tightness but you seem to be pretty limber. It could be the depth of your squat. Try and do a little stretching and mobiliy stuff on your off days, even balance board stuff. I'll bet it clears up.

[Scott Styles]

03-31-2006 - Workout 22 of 64 - Upper Body at World Gym

7.5 hours of sleep last night, woke up before the alarm again. Here I am well adjusted on this great sleep schedule, and the time change is going to come along this weekend and screw with it. Stupid farmers.

I really did not feel like going in. My hip hurt worse last night. Any sort of bent knee hip flexion is painful. As is internal or external rotation of my thigh. I can do the movements, it just hurts. Kinda sucks for day to day activity where I spend most of my time sitting and shifting around in a chair. On the bright side, the only lifting movement it really effects is squats. With just about everything else I'm standing and not rotating my hips.

And my eye is gradually getting better. That means no figuring out how to use my health insurance and see a doctor. I've been out of school on my own health insurance for 4 years now. I have yet to use it and as a result, I don't have a doctor. It makes me inclined to wait things out.

Warm Up: Elliptical Trainer for 8 minutes, getting heart rate up to a steady 140-150bpm

I was worried this may bother my hip, but no problems here.

Standing Dumbell Press

10x25

10x35

10x35

My heart was not in these, but to my suprise, the weight felt easier today. Go figure. Anyhow, got my reps. I'll do this for at least 2 more workouts.

Supinated Pulldowns, Shoulder Width Grip

10x9

10x12

10x12

Again, heart not in it, but got my reps. And they were relatively easy. I will be moving up to 13 next time.

Barbell Bench Pressl

10x45

10x65

10x85

Very light here, just trying to feel out if this still bothers my shoulder. It seems like it might. Not sure what I'm going to do here as my shoulder has been a little more bothersome the last few days. I probably need to throw in some work for the external rotators, maybe on leg day since I have space.

Barbell Hang Clean and Push Press

1x95

1x95 (no press)

1x95

1x105

1x115

1x125

FAILx135

I did not feel like doing my regularly scheduled lifts today, so I decided to play with these. After all, these work my back kinda like the rowing machine does. I was suprised to be able to get 125. I stopped on 135 before comitting to get under the weight. I decided my lower back did not feel solid enough to catch that much weight. I think as my stiff legged deads go up, I'll be able to do significantly more on this exercise. I'm currently just powering the clean up with my upper back. The catch does bother my right shoulder a bit. The most I ever did on this lift was 135, but that was at a bodyweight of like 150.

Psuedo Kettlebell Cleans and Presses

1x25

1x30

1x35

1x40

1x45

I realized last saturday that when cleaning the kettle bell, I needed to squat down a little bit as it landed on my wrist, to cushion the impact. I decided to try that today with the psuedo kettlebells they have at the gym. It worked well, but the pointy corners of these weights kept digging into my chest. I barely handled the 45lber and decided I should stop instead of trying the 50lber.

Stretches

Lats and Triceps

Upper Back

Side Bend

Lower Back / Chest

Hamstrings

Quads

Calves

Hips

None of these stretches really hit the part of my hip that hurts.

Ironically I was in the gym longer than normal because I didn't feel like doing my lifts. In the end, I'm glad I went and got my reps. I really view the first 2 exercises as my core upper body lifts, so it's good to see those doing well. I'm pleasantly suprised to have done as well as I did on the clean and press. The lifting is paying off. I'm approaching it more like grip work where I just go and do what I can on a schedule, counting on consistency to result in progress. That seems to be working.

[Starkmann]

nice hang cleans, I think you can clean as much or more than me.

Hip thing sounds crappy, take it easy on that. Personally I recommend a little use of ibuprofen or fish oil on the shor term to reduce the inflammation but I'm sure it'll work itself out with or without.

[Scott Styles]

04-01-2006 - Workout 23 of 64 - Grip Work at Home

Decent amount of sleep last night. Hip is starting to feel better, I can put on shoes without any pain today. Back and shoulders are tired from the clean and press yesterday, so no kettlebell work today. I know better than to push too hard.

I was screwing around with my weights a little this morning and found something interesting out. It is much harder for me to do a side lateral raise with my bad right shoulder than my good left shoulder. I think this is a clue into fixing my right shoulder up. I'm going to try to work these in over the course of the week, probably on my gripping days. I'll see what happens.

Grippers

RH: 10xT, 8x#BBSA, 15x#1, FAIL (1/4")xBBM

LH: 10xT, 6x#BBSA, 12x#1, FAIL (1/4")xBBM

Mash Monster set for all gripper work today. It appears as though I need to work up to higher reps with the #1 before I'll be in the realm of 10 reps with the BBSA. Will repeat this resistance approach next time, hopefully with more reps. A little dissapointing to fail on the BBM. I've been able to close that gripper for over a year.

Pony Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

10xMedium Clamp

10xMedium Clamp

10xEasy Clamp

Tired of the 2 handed clamp with rubber bands. Did one handed clamps instead. I can close the easy clamp all the way. I cannot close the medium clamp all the way, yet. I also failed to lift my 35lb blob for several attempts.

Formulator Extensions

10x5

10x10

10x10

Felt good, really struggled on the last rep, stay here next time.

Finger Extensions with IM Rubber Bands

10xGreen

12xYellow

12xYellow

Stay here next time, maybe add a few more reps.

Bending

DU Timber Tie

Fail on Grade 2 bolt

I got a box of grade 2 bolts today at Home Depot. Gold Crown brand with BBB on the head. I think these are what I had before. I failed miserably to bend them any way at all. This includes reverse style and double overhand.

This brings me to a point - I'm getting better on the high rep stuff I am training, but either one of two things is happening:

1. I'm attempting near max stuff after my hands are already tired

2. My peak strength is way down because I'm not training it. Peak hand strength largely comes from mighty tendons, and I am not exposing my tendons to the force needed to be mighty.

I'm inclined to think it's primarly number 2. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I can't go full bore on the grip stuff non stop. My middle knuckles (which were grinding a little after KTA) are almost perfect now. I'm building up the base strength needed to create a taller peak. But, dang, even knowing these things, it's hard to accept not being doing close to my strongest on the grip stuff, even as my overall body strength grows. Good lesson on specificity of training I suppose.

Hopefully I peak well for the Michigan Grip Contest. If not, at least the second Backyard Bastard Bash follows it a few months later, to give me another chance at peaking success.