KD13 Not Very Strongman

Normal training week

Monday
Football

Tuesday
Incline db press 5 sets of max reps.
Incline plate press with bands 3x failure
Fly 2x15-20 reps
Tricep pull over 3x10

Wednesday
4x30 seconds leg raises
4x30 seconds crunch
4x30 seconds v sit
4x30 seconds alternating leg raise
4x30 seconds twist things

Thursday
Single arm db row 4 sets of max reps heavy
Db row 2x max reps lighter with perfect form
Banded row to chest with high elbows 3x10-15
Straight arm pull downs 3x15-20
Bent over rear delt 3x20
Band pull apart 1x max reps with good form

Friday
Off

Saturday
Db shoulder press heavy 4x max reps
db shoulder press drop set to failure
Side lateral 4x12
Shoulder shocker 3 runs
Bicep tri set 8 reps each exercise
Spider curl/incline curl/hammer
Tricep tri set 8 reps each exercise
Banded push down/skull crusher/bench dip

Sunday
Prone trap raise 3x10
External rotation 3x10
Rear delt fly 3x10

So this is a normal week. Chasing weight and rep prs on the heavy exercises. Chasing pump, great contractions and failure on the volume work.

This is just a sample, exercises for the volume work can change especially for shoulders, occasionally 100 rep sets are thrown in as a finisher if Iā€™m feeling fresh and have time left.

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Ha ha yes aware of that.

Legs is a bit of an issue for me. Knee and hip replacements run in the family, not sure if this is a genetic thing or just because we are football crazy family but itā€™s in the back of my mind.

Also without sounding full of it, I think the film white men canā€™t jump must have been made before I was born or they would have had to name it something else. Iā€™m very powerful and explosive in the lower body, always have been. Have pulled 4 plates for reps and squatted 3 plates for reps at 65kg without really committing much training towards it. Legs are never a limiting factor in squats and core gives out way before I can feel my legs working.

Not sure if itā€™s because of this, maybe due to high fast twitch or something but my legs respond amazingly well to training and build up pretty quick. Iā€™ve never really trained them but the times Iā€™ve put the work in they have grown significantly in a short space of time, but then I sack them off!

If I was still at the gym instead of at home I would certainly train them more with access to machines rather than just squats at home. Squats suck.

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Talking about legs yesterday made me kinda want to train them today lol

goblet squats
2x20 30kg

db Romanian
3x12 30kg

single leg calf raise
3x15

donkey calf raise
2x20

Was such a quick session using just 1 dumbbell. No real excuse to not do this a couple of times a week so going to make the effort to at least do the goblet squats as a minimum.

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Was scrolling through the 2017 transformation and saw this pic from shortly after, wanted to add it in here!

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Bring on the 2019 transformation!

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@FlatsFarmer hey buddy hope you donā€™t mind the tag.

been working on posture lately, making great progress in the upper body, shoulders look less rounded over and feel better. The other thing on my list to work on is APT. Do you have any recommendations on exercises or articles to read that may help?

Thanks for any insight.

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I donā€™t mind at all. I think getting your shoulders un-slumped was a good start. I think there is a connection between immobile shoulders and ATP, like dudes leaning forward at the waist then excesively arching the mid- back to try to get arms into a position to use them. Using the back to make up for less mobile shoulders.

Anyway, check out this video about hip tilts. Basically it shows you how to get into and move between anterior/neutral/posterior tilt. To actually know what each one feels like.

I need to search around and find some more good info about ATP. In the last year or two some new ideas about whatā€™s happening in tilted hips have been coming out. They sort of contradict what people thought a out APT up until now. Some where, somebody has all the info and the perfect presentation.

This one is OK.

This one talks about the shoulders and back, but the part about hips is ā€œbackwards.ā€ The guy in the video has ATP, but athlean x guy is trying to show how to fix posterior tilt. It can get confusing.

If youā€™re going to keep up the goblet squats, check out this one about bracing in squats.

Also, donā€™t let anybody see you do this, but while you work on your hip tilt you could do this kind of squat to focus on neutral hips and back. Just for awhile.
43_2

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Anyway, if that ladyā€™s presentation on hip tilt makes sense to you, and you play around with your tilt, you should be able to get set up in some kind of ā€œsquatā€ (goblet/front/dumbbell, whatever) with a neutral pelvis and a good brace.

As you squat down, it may become difficult to stay in position. Maybe the front of your hip hurts and you have to stick your butt out the back and arch your back. If that happens weā€™ll figure out how to get your hip joints loose.

Or you knees go way way forward, and you have to lean over or lean forward to hit depth. If that happens weā€™ll work on strengthen your glutes and hip muscles.

Again, if you can figure out neutral hips, here is a video about keeping good hip tilt during hinge patterns.

After that, you can try some RDLs, keeping neutral hips, good tilt and tight lats. As you hinge over, it may be hard to stay in position. You may have to ā€œcheatā€ to get through the ROM. If your back rounds, weā€™ll figure out how to lock down your lats to keep it straight. If your knees push forward, weā€™ll get after your hamstrings. If your toes lift off the ground weā€™ll work on calves/ankles.

So 1st step is to figure out your hips and pelvic tilt. 2nd is to try to move with that alignment. Try to squat down and hinge over properly. If something stops you (cranky hips, bad brace, rounded back) make note of it. Then we can figure out how to fix it.

Nice one, thank you very much.

I will have a watch of the videos and try it out and see what happens. I feel it will make a massive difference to the way my physique looks if I can get this straightened out, I had noticed I tend to fall into the tilted position a long while ago and have never really tried to cure it. I have had trouble involving the hips in deads and rdl, and have had mid back tightness in the past, currently not that bad.

Standing at rest when Iā€™m not consciously thinking about it it appears Iā€™ve got a pregnant belly, when I consciously correct it, squeezing my glutes I look 100% better. I have tiny tiny glutes so most certainly need to strengthen them up and get them fired up.

That 5 minute quad workout looks fucking miserable.

Had a play with squating whilst bracing in the neutral position and found it very hard to get anywhere near depth. The main thing I noticed was feeling like I was falling forward and knees going way out forward. Very tight feeling in hips and quads felt way more strain than if I squat without consciously being neutral. Did not feel natural at all and found it very difficult to even figure out how to lower myself in that position!

I also notice if I squeeze my glutes and pull my pelvis into neutral/posterior I get a very tight pulling feeling in my lower abs, I had hernia surgeries when I was younger and have scars on both sides so possible scar tissue on the insides. Or maybe Iā€™m over thinking that and itā€™s just something thatā€™s tight.

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Excellent!

The lower ab tightness and hernia issues definetly relevant and important. I remember you mentioned the hernias in the past, talking about non-lifting stuff, but I kinda forgot.

When you squatted, did you find yourself in a very close stance, with feet pretty close. And knees close together at the bottom? Would you say you felt mostly the ā€œtopsā€ of your thighs?

Was more upper quads and hip flexers, feet about shoulder width apart but knees wanted to get turn in/ get closer.

One thing I found whilst watching reeds video is that my idea of breaking at the hips is exactly as he described, poking bum out and tilting pelvis. I really struggle with the hip hinge movement.

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19! MOTHER FUCKER. Really thought I had it then.

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Alright, but poking out and tipped pelvis. Letā€™s start with these ā€œDead Bugā€ exercises to get the right tilt and retrain your lowest and and glutes. Yogi loves these, so you know they re cool.

Hopefully after playing around with these for a few minutes, 2-3 times a day you will find yourself getting into proper tilt without thinking about it during your everyday activities.

More advanced exercises like these focus on keeping good tilt in tougher positions. These are like level 2.

From there, you can use the seated Psoas raise, Peterson step up and clam shells to warm up for squat and hinge motions. He sure to focus on proper hip tilt during these moves.

Try out a few of these things, make a note of how they feel.

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Thank you very much, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out with this. Iā€™m going to have a play with these a lot over the coming weeks. Had a go tonight and got some pretty instant feedback that this is certainly stuff I need to be doing.

The first exercise in the first vid (dead bug curl up?) I struggled to even more my pelvis moving and get it break the floor, only way I could get it to move involved pushing with my heels which obviously should not be done.

I could hold the neutral position well in the dead bugs but had to really focus on keeping full contact with the floor. After a couple of sets I was shaking pretty bad and really felt the muscles working.

Was strong on the big 3 without any obvious struggle, glutes felt it in the bird dogs.

Clam shell things are a massive red flag, leg felt like l tonne of bricks. Really felt them after a few reps.

Thanks again, will keep working on them and note how Iā€™m getting on.

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Itā€™s no problem, I really enjoy this stuff. Youā€™ve got a great attitude, and youā€™re making this communication/feedback process super easy.

Nice one, Iā€™m hoping I can make some good improvements on this, I need to just stay switched on, do the exercises as regular as possible and keep reminding myself to stand better, on my feet all day at work too.

I feel I have made great progress with the shoulder situation and my physique looks better for it, so thatā€™s motivated me to fix this issue, itā€™s just finding the right exercises for the problem which is why I roped you into helping me out.

I came across this video and had started doing this, will continue doing them as well as the ones you posted if you think they are any good. I find the first stretch pretty uncomfortable and tight so I think maybe I need to work on that one.

There is a lot of good info and great visuals in dudeā€™s video, but in my opinion, some of those moves might be a little advanced. That guy did a great job of showing good hip position, but in many of the moves he showed stuff to avoid.

Like donā€™t sag your hips and excessively arch your back into APT during the RKC Plank. Planks can be kind of challenging, and if you do go into bad tilt during the plank, you will just be re enforcing the bad technique/position. If we can get good ā€œworkā€ out of an easier move like a bird dog, and avoid problems, lets do that. We can always build up to more challenging moves like planks and 1 legged planks in the future.

I think the Flap-jack move is similar. It may work great, but if you get loose and slip into bad pelvic tilt, or donā€™t hold your lower abs tight, youā€™ll just be practicing bad positions in complex moves. If clam shells work just as well, without the potential pittfalls, lets just do clam shells. When youā€™re strong and stable, they may be more appropriate.

I do really like that Glute thrust, laying on the floor, engauging the glutes and spreading the knees at the top. Thatā€™s a useful one I used a bunch. My girlfriend does it with hands around her knees.

I also really like how he put his hands on his hips to really ā€œfeelā€ good pelvic tilt. Putting your hands on body parts you struggle to connect with is super effective and useful. So I would definetly endorse that Glute thrusty move, and putting your hands on your hips and feeling the go if whenever you can.

If that first hip flexor stretch is a little to much, use a less intense version for awhile.

I donā€™t mean to diss that guys video. He obviously knows what heā€™s talking about, but I think the stuff in this video is a little advanced for right now. Iā€™m sure this guy has longer, more in depth, foundational videos with more regressed moves and details. I think Iā€™m going to watch a few.

That makes a lot of sense. I would apply that same logic to pretty much everything else training related so yeah simpler and easier to get right the better.

Can feel some slight doms deep in my lower abs today so it certainly seems to have hit the spot.

My wife has been finding it very funny with me thrusting my pelvis back and forward all evening.

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Ok, sore abs and pelvis thrusting are good signs.

Right now, we are trying to make those Infamous CNS gains. We want to get better at using the abs and glutes. Better at ā€œsqueezingā€ or ā€œactivatingā€ them independently. And also more coordinated and better at using them in more complex moves. Sore abs show that we are Reaching under-used tissues. Thrusting all over shows your brain is learning to control your hips and Wants to change.

To keep making the CNS gains we need to keep feeding your brain SLIGHTLY more intense/strong signals. With Slightly more intense and difficult moves. We need to stay in the ā€œzoneā€ where you can do the moves correctly, but near the ā€œedgeā€ where your CNS can get new, ā€œexcitingā€ feedback to keep you in this productive range.

Now, I donā€™t believe in ā€œusing upā€ all your easy CNS Gains. But I havenā€™t worked out a flawless progression scheme yet. So we gotta go slow together.