John Knowlton Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Very well said. Edited April 3, 2023 by John Knowlton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 1 hour ago, C8Myotome said: There's a time and place for PR's, especially squats; having actually worked up to a strength peak & being prepared for it, & knowing what to go for, not just randomly out of nowhere after not having peaked, which the ego can tell you is a good idea. Last time I tried that I projectile sprayed blood out of my face (this was back when my home gym had carpet) and all over the rack. I never cleaned the blood off the rack as a reminder to keep my ego in check, it's been there about 2 years now. On powerlifts I honestly don't care that much about 1RM maxing anymore, I'm not competing, nobody cares about how much I can lift, adding 5 lbs to an old PR isn't going to significantly change my life either, I just like lifting for functional strength. 1RM really tests what your tissues are able to handle with a very small margin for error if overshooting too much. You are absolutely right and it's good to hear that going for max lifts is silly. I care more now about just being able to train so that is my priority and given enough time I will get stronger. Consistency is the key in this game and I have to remind myself that is what matters the most. Crazy story also I have felt close to vomiting/passing out before from a heavy squat but that is next level. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Yes Consistency is the key. at this time in my life getting time to get into the gym is a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 5 hours ago, C8Myotome said: There's a time and place for PR's, especially squats; having actually worked up to a strength peak & being prepared for it, & knowing what to go for, not just randomly out of nowhere after not having peaked, which the ego can tell you is a good idea. Last time I tried that I projectile sprayed blood out of my face (this was back when my home gym had carpet) and all over the rack. I never cleaned the blood off the rack as a reminder to keep my ego in check, it's been there about 2 years now. On powerlifts I honestly don't care that much about 1RM maxing anymore, I'm not competing, nobody cares about how much I can lift, adding 5 lbs to an old PR isn't going to significantly change my life either, I just like lifting for functional strength. 1RM really tests what your tissues are able to handle with a very small margin for error if overshooting too much. That is scary. I'd proceed to sh1t my pants if i puked blood. Did you bite your tongue or something? What caused bleeding? I've never been interested in 1 rep max, even the few times I had I honestly have felt like I had a little more in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 6, 2023 Author Share Posted April 6, 2023 Some more grippers today with my push day Warm up with blue extensor bands x25 plus was mid way through bench press and that lift gets good blood flow to my forearms just stabilizing the bar. Right hand Ghp 7 5x10 Ghp 7 x 1 hold to failure Left hand Coc 2 5x 10 Coc 2 x 1 hold to failure Cool down with extensor bands Sidewinder 3 x failure once I got home These felt pretty easy today. I am basically making it slightly harder by hitting these closer to MMS and doing a slight pause with each close. I am going to keep the volume work until I can hit these reps with a clean block set. I don't feel it's necessary to do lower rep work yet as I am still building my base up and dieting pretty heavily so energy in general is low. I am really liking the higher volume on all the lifts I'm doing. In the past I would always get tendon issues and I have not felt that at all with rep work and my forearms are responding well also. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Last week was a busy one so didn't train as often but did get over 30k steps the last two days finishing my kids spring break walking around the city/parks on a nice sunny weekend(first in awhile). I started my spring break so hoping to get some good eating/sleep in this week along with training everyday. Did some pinch and some thickbar today with my pull day Ironmind block all loaded weight Right hand 45 lbs x 10 Tried 80 felt too heavy so dropped down to 70 70 3x10 Left hand 45 x 10 55 3 x10 (all easy but made sure to do full lockouts and slight pause at the end) Lat puilldowns with manus grips 220 3x 10(nice and slow) Hammer curls with manus grips 30 lbs 3x12(strict and slow) Seated wrist curl over preacher bench 25lb plate 3x 10 each hand (I think I'm ready to try 35lbs next time I do these or some standing ones at least) Forearms were really pumped from this workout. Did some sidewinder 3xfailure(light mostly for blood flow) when I got home. Have not done bending in awhile I just feel zapped after my workout that it's tough to get hyped to bend and bending is really mentally taxing where you have to give it 100% or its easier to hurt yourself in my experience. I need to find a way to do these on the weekend during the day but still working on the iso bar for technique everyday. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 12, 2023 Author Share Posted April 12, 2023 Did some grippers today with my push day Got to the gym pretty late today but tried out some smellings salts I have seen Jaland use in his videos(squeeze bottle by AmmoniaSport) and it gave me the right kick to get a good short session in. I took his advice and squeezed it more and that did the trick. Right hand Coc 2 x 10 RGC 183 deep set (held my wrist with my LH and held it closed for time) felt good to feel this closed. Tried it again but didn't rest long enough so I didn't a good hold just let it go and went to volume work Ghp 7 5x10 (first 3 sets easy near MMS last two just grinded them out with more deep sets) Ghp 7 1x hold Left hand Coc 2 x 5 Ghp 7 deep set (held my wrist with my RH and held it closed for time) Coc 2 5x10 (similar ease first 3 sets last two more deep sets) Coc 2 1 x hold Blue extensor bands 3 x 50ish each hand The negative holds are similar to how I used to do it in the past(video below). I think the negative holds as long as I keep it within a gripper I feel i'm close to a deep set I should be fine. These felt good today though no pain or anything. Felt strong on my bench/strict press also. I'll try some thickbar tomorrow even though I'll likely be sore from today. Want to some rolling thunder in which always seems to fry my grip more than anything. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 Did some thickbar with my leg/back day Was happy I was able to squat after the knee injury. Kept it light for myself(315) for reps of 10 on the back squat. Still not 100% but I will stick to high reps on squats for the foreseeable future.. Rolling thunder all loaded weights Right hand 90 x 20 160 3x 10(first set all good reps last one most just breaking the floor) Left hand 90 x 20 145 3x10(first set all all good reps the last one most just breaking the floor) Even though the weight isn't a lot these really gas me out Deadlifts 275 3x3 with manus grips (my deadlift form isn't great atm but the weight was not a lot so a little stiff leg didn't cause any discomfort) also did x.1 hold for failure. Not too bad on these the manus grips feel way harder then an axle for the bars I have access to at least. I think if I can work up to mid 300 I'll be good for 400+ on axle. lat pulldowns with manus grips 220 3x12 hammer curls with manus grips 30 3x12 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 Great workout, what happened to your knee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 17, 2023 Author Share Posted April 17, 2023 On 4/14/2023 at 6:24 AM, John Knowlton said: Great workout, what happened to your knee? Oh it was just my left knee I tweaked the last squat session I did where I let me ego get in the way. For squats I tend to do max effort lifts with a pause(similar to bench) thinking it will allow me to not push too heavy but in the bottom position I shifted slightly and tweaked it. Its feeling fine now and I did a good leg session with no major issues a few days ago. I'm sticking away from heavy singles on all compound lifts going forward as I have no intention to compete in powerlifting at least. Had some short sessions the last 2 days did some plate pinches yesterday 35 lbs 3x holds to failure both hands Today did some quick gripper work Right hand 183 rgc hold for time(much longer then last time and I really felt it closed this time but it gassed me out big time as I just did some extensor bands and jumped right into it Managed 2 sets of 10 with the ghp 7 but most were deep sets (gassed from the heavy hold) Ghp 7 x 1 hold for time (planning to start ending these with a strap hold to add some weight over time) Left hand Ghp 7 hold for time Managed to do fine though with the coc 2 for 2 sets of 10 Coc 2 x 1 hold for time I have been sleeping weird on my right side the last few nights and my right middle finger knuckle has been bothering me slightly. I'm not sure if its an overuse issue or from a weird sleeping position the other day. I got to be cautious to force myself to sleep more on my back though. My gym workouts have been good though just short (around 40 min which is not long for me) so hoping to get more time in the gym. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 So I have sustained some type of tendonitis injury around my right hand middle finger knuckle. It's been slightly swollen and hurts to touch and make a fist since about Sunday and it hasn't gotten much better My last workout monday was grippers again right hand ghp 7 5x 10 and coc 2 5x 10 left hand. It was probably a bad idea as I mentioned sunday my knuckle was bothering me but I could still train and it felt worse tuesday. I did no grip tuesday/wed/thursday and today it feels slightly better but still hurts to make a fist. It's really only around my knuckle nowhere in my wrist/hand. Not sure if anyone has had any similar type of injury? What's weird is I don't think my workouts caused this but I mentioned I had woken up several times with swollen hand sleeping on my right side. If it doesn't improve by next week doing no grip I'll set up a doctor visit. I just don't want to go right in where I can still train my body and I am seeing some improvement just resting. Either way sucks to get injured. Again the long layoff of years from no hard exercise to jumping back in full go for the last 3 months I'm not surprised I got a minor injury. I'm happy I can still do weight training at least and hopefully back to grip soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Sorry to hear this. Hope it gets better. I've had similar things plenty of times but never swollen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorOfCrush Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 2 hours ago, Stephen Ruby said: So I have sustained some type of tendonitis injury around my right hand middle finger knuckle. It's been slightly swollen and hurts to touch and make a fist since about Sunday and it hasn't gotten much better My last workout monday was grippers again right hand ghp 7 5x 10 and coc 2 5x 10 left hand. It was probably a bad idea as I mentioned sunday my knuckle was bothering me but I could still train and it felt worse tuesday. I did no grip tuesday/wed/thursday and today it feels slightly better but still hurts to make a fist. It's really only around my knuckle nowhere in my wrist/hand. Not sure if anyone has had any similar type of injury? What's weird is I don't think my workouts caused this but I mentioned I had woken up several times with swollen hand sleeping on my right side. If it doesn't improve by next week doing no grip I'll set up a doctor visit. I just don't want to go right in where I can still train my body and I am seeing some improvement just resting. Either way sucks to get injured. Again the long layoff of years from no hard exercise to jumping back in full go for the last 3 months I'm not surprised I got a minor injury. I'm happy I can still do weight training at least and hopefully back to grip soon. Is it the palm side where your finger meets your palm? If so, if could be a pulley injury. I irritated my A2 pulley the first time I tried RRBT way back when. Super common climbing injury. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matek Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 I hope it gets better soon. I never had this, but I remember seeing multiple threads about it. So it's more common than you think. I would try contrast baths; those helped a lot with my mcp joint pain when I had just started grippers. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 Compression gloves at night might help...I had some issues with my hands about 10 years ago and those seemed to help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 6:04 PM, DoctorOfCrush said: Is it the palm side where your finger meets your palm? If so, if could be a pulley injury. I irritated my A2 pulley the first time I tried RRBT way back when. Super common climbing injury. Yes that exactly where it hurts both on my palm side and knuckle side. It has been quite annoying. It's frustrating because i just woke up feeling the pain and didn't feel it during my workout. On 4/21/2023 at 8:02 PM, matek said: I hope it gets better soon. I never had this, but I remember seeing multiple threads about it. So it's more common than you think. I would try contrast baths; those helped a lot with my mcp joint pain when I had just started grippers. I think it happened when I started doing really high volume on grippers. I was progressing nicely but I think I pushed it too hard while trying to do grip everyday. On 4/22/2023 at 2:50 AM, Blacksmith513 said: Compression gloves at night might help...I had some issues with my hands about 10 years ago and those seemed to help. Thank you I will look into this. As this log is mainly for me to be honest with myself and track my progress I can say this last week was a tough one mentally. I took a full week off the gym and grip and I thought it would help but I think it caused more of a depressive spiral. I had to force myself to the gym today but I'm glad I did and just did a nice light back workout with some manus grips. My finger is still not great but I was able to do some pulling with the manus grips without too much discomfort. I think even though I'm injured I'm still going to do something at the gym as I think if anything it helps keep me focused. I think it's also easy to get discouraged with progress especially with injury setbacks and that its normal to feel down at times. I have to continue to remind myself this is a long battle and I don't want to stop fighting like I have in the past. Also logging on reminds me to check the other workout logs which has been motivating. All done with manus grips Barbell rows after my heavy sets 185 3x10 Lat pull downs 225 3x 12 Hammer curls 40 3x10 Did some finger curls seated with a straight bar machine 110 3x15 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 2 hours ago, Stephen Ruby said: Yes that exactly where it hurts both on my palm side and knuckle side. It has been quite annoying. It's frustrating because i just woke up feeling the pain and didn't feel it during my workout. I think it happened when I started doing really high volume on grippers. I was progressing nicely but I think I pushed it too hard while trying to do grip everyday. Thank you I will look into this. As this log is mainly for me to be honest with myself and track my progress I can say this last week was a tough one mentally. I took a full week off the gym and grip and I thought it would help but I think it caused more of a depressive spiral. I had to force myself to the gym today but I'm glad I did and just did a nice light back workout with some manus grips. My finger is still not great but I was able to do some pulling with the manus grips without too much discomfort. I think even though I'm injured I'm still going to do something at the gym as I think if anything it helps keep me focused. I think it's also easy to get discouraged with progress especially with injury setbacks and that its normal to feel down at times. I have to continue to remind myself this is a long battle and I don't want to stop fighting like I have in the past. Also logging on reminds me to check the other workout logs which has been motivating. All done with manus grips Barbell rows after my heavy sets 185 3x10 Lat pull downs 225 3x 12 Hammer curls 40 3x10 Did some finger curls seated with a straight bar machine 110 3x15 Just think about the big picture, not today, this week or this months set back. A week off is beneficial. Find some stuff that doesn't bother the injuries and keep going. You will be glad you did. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matek Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 4 hours ago, Stephen Ruby said: I think it's also easy to get discouraged with progress especially with injury setbacks and that its normal to feel down at times. I have to continue to remind myself this is a long battle and I don't want to stop fighting like I have in the past. It's very easy to get discouraged by injury setbacks. I had it multiple times since I started individual sports ~17 years ago. It's especially bad if things are going well. There are not many things in life we have reasonable control over, but training (usually) is one of those things. In normal circumstances, you put in the work, and there will definitely be an improvement. You can count on it; your work will be 'rewarded'. It's not like a job or human relationships. So it's depressing and very demoralizing when an injury happens (long-term sickness/disorder is even worse). It's even worse if you're talented at something, like you in grip. We all deal with these things differently, but one thing is for sure; it is normal to feel down sometimes. Personally, I think it's easy to fall into the trap of "I can't do what I love, so I won't do anything". This thought is extremely unconstructive. Just my thoughts. Take care! Btw when I had elbow tendonitis in the past, I had to use straps on back days for a while. I realized that lat pulldowns with straps are better than no lat pulldowns. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 3 minutes ago, matek said: It's very easy to get discouraged by injury setbacks. I had it multiple times since I started individual sports ~17 years ago. It's especially bad if things are going well. There are not many things in life we have reasonable control over, but training (usually) is one of those things. In normal circumstances, you put in the work, and there will definitely be an improvement. You can count on it; your work will be 'rewarded'. It's not like a job or human relationships. So it's depressing and very demoralizing when an injury happens (long-term sickness/disorder is even worse). It's even worse if you're talented at something, like you in grip. We all deal with these things differently, but one thing is for sure; it is normal to feel down sometimes. Personally, I think it's easy to fall into the trap of "I can't do what I love, so I won't do anything". This thought is extremely unconstructive. Just my thoughts. Take care! Btw when I had elbow tendonitis in the past, I had to use straps on back days for a while. I realized that lat pulldowns with straps are better than no lat pulldowns. You are so spot on. When I was younger I swear I’ve gotten tendinitis in every tendon, chronic sciatic nerve issues, pulled every muscle twice.. I never gave up or stopped working out. Just worked around my issues. Even just walking is good so you stay in the routine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 27, 2023 Author Share Posted April 27, 2023 21 hours ago, Blacksmith513 said: Just think about the big picture, not today, this week or this months set back. A week off is beneficial. Find some stuff that doesn't bother the injuries and keep going. You will be glad you did. Yeah your right I think the only thing off limits right now will be grippers. I appreciate the support. 19 hours ago, matek said: It's very easy to get discouraged by injury setbacks. I had it multiple times since I started individual sports ~17 years ago. It's especially bad if things are going well. There are not many things in life we have reasonable control over, but training (usually) is one of those things. In normal circumstances, you put in the work, and there will definitely be an improvement. You can count on it; your work will be 'rewarded'. It's not like a job or human relationships. So it's depressing and very demoralizing when an injury happens (long-term sickness/disorder is even worse). It's even worse if you're talented at something, like you in grip. We all deal with these things differently, but one thing is for sure; it is normal to feel down sometimes. Personally, I think it's easy to fall into the trap of "I can't do what I love, so I won't do anything". This thought is extremely unconstructive. Just my thoughts. Take care! Btw when I had elbow tendonitis in the past, I had to use straps on back days for a while. I realized that lat pulldowns with straps are better than no lat pulldowns. I appreciate the support and you're absolutely right. Life is full of difficult moments that are often out of our control and the gym is one area where you can have some form of normalcy where given enough time and effort you will see progress. People often mention how seeing progress in the gym is more mental than physical and I can relate to that. You have to battle yourself mentally at times to stay focused on your goal which can get harder when you begin to hit setbacks. 18 hours ago, Blacksmith513 said: You are so spot on. When I was younger I swear I’ve gotten tendinitis in every tendon, chronic sciatic nerve issues, pulled every muscle twice.. I never gave up or stopped working out. Just worked around my issues. Even just walking is good so you stay in the routine. Yeah I realize I can still train and get a good workout in and given time I will begin to heal and continue to make progress. Did some pinch with my push day. My form on strict press is improving quite a bit and I just want to say this is one of my favorite pressing movements. ironmind pinch block all loaded weight done between strict presses Right hand 35lbs 1x15 70 5x5 Left hand 35lbs 1x15 60 5x5 I definitely didn't feel a 100% on my right hand and some reps were just breaking the ground near the end but got some good reps in. Extensor bands 5x50ish each hand (light for blood flow) Hand feels better once I'm really warmed up but does feel stiff after the gym. I think it bothers me more in a full close so thickbar/pinch should still be fine but I'm going to avoid grippers for a bit. It sucks because I was hoping to go for the mm3 but it will have to wait for now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 28, 2023 Author Share Posted April 28, 2023 (edited) Got to the gym late but did some thickbar again with leg/back workout Rolling thunder all loaded weight Right hand 90 x 15 160 3x10 Left hand 90 x 15 150 3x10 Pulling exercises done with manus grips Barbell rows 225 3x5 Holds to failure 225 3x Lat pull downs 220 3x10 Definitely not getting enough sleep this week just tired but glad I am back in the gym again. Edited April 28, 2023 by Stephen Ruby 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted April 30, 2023 Author Share Posted April 30, 2023 Did some deadlifts and thickbar again today Rolling thunder all loaded weight Right hand 90 x15 160 3x10 Harder then thursday probably wasn't fully recovered first two sets ok last set just got through it as long as I got it off the floor Left hand 90 x15 150 3x10 All done with manus grips Lat pulldowns 220 3x10 Hammer curls 40 lbs 3x10 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted May 4, 2023 Author Share Posted May 4, 2023 Monday did some pinch with my push day Ironmind pinch block all loaded weights Right hand 45 x10 70 3x5 (was feeling slipperty today) Left hand 45 x 10 60 3x5 1 hold each hand to failure Pony pinch at home 3x failure No grip tuesday Today did some thickbar again with my pull day All done with Manus grips Rack pulls below the knee 300 5x3 and 1 x hold to failure. Not bad the bars at my gym are fairly thick so they don't wrap all the way around so feels much harder than an axle. My goal is to eventually pull 405 from the ground with the manus grips. Lat pull downs 250 4x10 Hammer curls 40lbs 3x12 Right hand still not great but I can train thickbar/pinch ok without too much loss of strength. Have not tried any grippers though and won't until I can make a closed fist without feeling pain. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 good one 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Ruby Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Busy time of the year finishing the last few weeks. Did some thickbar today with my pull day Got a bar where my manus grips would fit all the way around so wanted to do some heavier rack pulls All done with manus grips 315 3x5 above the knee rack pulls Lat pulldowns 250 4x10 Seated rows 250 3x10 Hammer curl 40 3x10 Did 3x sidewinder for a minute as fast as I coud. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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