Oh sweeeeeeeet, I’m loving the simplicity of this. Sounds too easy now. Thanks for jumping right on time because I was about start doing 40 mins worth of elliptical work every other day (I’m about to drag my face on the ground for how dumb I’m looking at the moment).
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LOL no need for this. I am glad we saved you a LOT of time 
Yea no worries I was being dramatic again lol.
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LOG # 27
Started off with Agile 8 ( left out the mountain climbers this time around because I just didn’t want to do them), broke a nice sweat.
Transitioned into a light weight training sesh.
Left out deads today, and kept bench and squat @ 135 pounds for AMRAP (squeezed out 25 for squats and 13 for bench).
Did some body weight stuff and a few machine things, and some DB work for my middle and upper back:
Assisted pull-ups: 3x3
DB chest press with 20s rotated with DB bent over rows: 5x5
Push ups, stacked one foot ontop of the other: straight set of 10
Ab work: hanging leg raises, weighted v-ups (used ankle weights but I forget how much resistance I had them at), machine cable crunches: all for 15 reps each.
Rolled my butt, IT band, front of groin area, and back. Used a golf ball, foam roller (found out my gym has stacks of them for free use), and then stretched and did two or three basic yoga poses. And I also used the abductor machine with light resistance to help stretch the hip area really well, and it helped quite a bit. My dad is out of town and I have no idea where my brother went these last two days so I’ll get some PVC pipe later this week from whoever shows up first.
Cardio: 7-10 mins of lap swimming. Went all out for 2 laps as fast as I could, then took a 1-2 min breather and then repeated the process. Tried to aim for 20-25 mins but was too beat after that.
After all that I sat in the hot tub (steaming hot but felt good once I submerged my entire self), for 30 mins. Felt sooooooo good. Not sure why I don’t do that more often.
Beyond sore today. I hardly ever make my body move very fast although I’m proud to say I’m a lot more powerful and explosive than I thought I was, but I still loathe cardio-like training lol. My entire back is sore and tight, along with my shoulders. Hip is doing good, no flare ups.
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LOG # 28
Very heavy training today.
5x5 for the majority of everything.
Only did main 3 lifts today.
Squat: I honestly forgot how many plates I had up there (not sure what I was thinking about to make me forget that quickly). But I’ll just group it between 250-280lbs. Somewhere in there. 5x5. I can plainly see where parallel is now, and now it’s just a matter of strengthening everything that wasn’t being activated when I squatting improperly. But I will say 25 reps of squatting this heavy is something fierce. Every descent I feel everything just working in harmony to perform this lift. And I’m probably going to say the exact same thing a year from now.
Deads: hit 275 for 3 reps just to keep my strength going. (and in the process kind of agitated my lower lumbar because I rounded that area ever so slightly.) Stuck some lidocaine patches all over my butt crack so I’ll be okay. Lightened up the weight to 250lbs for 3x3. Had to stop it right there because I was agitating my lower back even more. I think I might have agitated the sacroiliac joint, because it hurts right above my ass crack, and off to the right a little bit. I’m kind of nervous about this, because I just came from dealing with my hip. And I’m not really familiar with how this joint works. Don’t know if I need to see my doctor again for this. It isn’t excruciating, but it hurts to round my lower back, and it hurts when I stand up and settle into myself, and when put pressure towards the right side of my hip. Probably gonna have to call off tommorow.
Bench: 165lbs for 5x5. Knocked this out like it was literally nothing. But I’m not going to get ahead of myself. I might add 10 pounds next session, and see how I fair. If I’m ready, I’m ready. If I’m not, I’m not.
That’s all I had time for. Was going to squeeze in some ab work but the gym was about to close in the next five mins. Finally got my favorite whey protein shake again. Love the flavor.
Also can someone speculate why you can hit a heavy number one day, (like your 1RM), but can’t hit it again for maybe a week and a half or so other times? I’ve never fully understood the mechanics as to why that happens. Like today I couldn’t hit my deadlift PR worth of shit. Tried like 3 good times.
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Thats the SI all right. Time and try avoid sitting as much as possible. Sitting both screws with my mobility and tweaks my back which causes my sciatica flare ups. If I am sitting too much just walking causes sciatica pain.
Using mixed grip also caused issues so be very careful to use correct hand spacing.
Try deadlifting with straps a couple of sessions and see if your sciatica is better. This will let you know if your grip is a contributing factor.
I have personally never tweaked my sciatica with a rounded back deadlifting with out using mixed grip. It seems the unbalance while rounding causes SI pain.
I have tweaked my back with excessive rounding but it wasn’t my SI.
I have been getting SI flare ups from squatting lately which I attribute to butt wink from poor mobility.
Tons of factors from sleep and diet and also CNS.
CNS is like a battery. When it’s full you can do some cool things. But the more cool things you do the lower the battery gets. As the battery drains you become less strong and cooler things are harder to do.
This is why powerlifters deload before meet day…and regularly through out training cycles.
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That makes sense. I suppose mental things can make or break going up in weight too? I know for me ive psyched myself out of a lift, because I felt like it was too heavy, then the next day I went and dominated the lift like it was nothing. lol
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my mother has been doctoring me all day, shes been giving me muscle relaxers all day. I’ve been asleep since about 8 am. its 5 pm now. The muscle relaxers aren’t doing much because its not a muscle that’s been irritated. So I’m going to have to call an appointment to see a speacialist. I don’t know if I’m going to need a corticosteroid shot (I HATE needles).
My sciatica has been doing fine, I’m not hurting there whatsoever, so I’m glad about that, and I haven’t been sitting at all, I’ve been laying down for the vast majority of the day.
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I do under-over grip. I think what happened was my dominant side (left) did its part on the lift, but my right side wasn’t up to the task, because I immediately felt what I did, and the pain is radiating towards the right of my butt area. I rounded the lower back ever so slightly and when I initially picked the weight off the floor I could see the right side was closer to the ground than the left. Do you think that’s probably the issue? Because I do.
I find it funny how we both have the same pain issues but from opposite lifting. Squats are starting to flare up my sciatica, and deads seem to have brought up SI issues for me lol.
I will try that out. But my sciatica isn’t bothering me whatsoever. It’s literally just my SI joint. However I will still give that a go because I was saying earlier I think my under over grip is what caused this problem I think.
Hi there. I saw your post in Jen’s log and thought I’d head over hear to read yours.
With respect to mixed grip being an issue, have you considered changing to hook grip? Straps help also. I compete with a hook and train all volume with straps to save my hands.
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Hey there 
And I’ve experimented with hook grip, but considering it’s almost the same strength as over-under I kind of dismissed it, just because I thought, “if they both give me ample strength gains and one doesn’t hurt my thumbs I’ll go with the latter”.
However I do have some updates on my problems, and mark and botslayer are probably busy with other things, and I usually keep them updated on stuff, but it turns out i haven’t agitated my SI to the extent I thought I did. I’ve just strained a muscle in my lower back.
What caused the strain was me not warming up. (I literally just jumped into the lift and hoisted away).
Hook grip is pretty cool, but I prefer to keep an over-under grip. I do realize it causes issues, but I just take it upon myself to stay alert and hold up responsibilities on maintaining even strength and balance. And I just don’t want to deal with hurting thumbs ( I’ve already got two hurting areas at the moment) And in my case, actually warming up correctly.
As far as straps go I’m hesitant on using them because I feel like I would be cheating. I know that sounds weird, but for the longest time I thought I was cutting corners by using a belt and had to understand a belt is just there for support. I’m not sure if the same principles apply to straps.
But I will def. look into the straps.
I don’t care about calluses or anything like that. Although I do need to invest in some chalk (I keep forgetting to stop by Gander) is that what you’re referring to when you say straps save your hands?
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I knew something was up the moment I saw all the action your log was getting. Sorry, I was away for a couple of days and wasn’t on here much.
Glad you’re on the mend.
Yes, always, always, ALWAYS warm up in some way.
You squat sounds like its going great guns. What was it, a month or so ago you had to go back to 132 lbs and change a bunch of technique. Now you’re hitting 250+ for five. That’s excellent. Wait until you’re doing sets of 10 to 15 with 315 lbs. Then you’ll have an entirely new definition of fierce.
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Nah, my worry isn’t about callouses it’s about overusing the grip when it’s not necessary. Just about everyone I know who competes with a hook, trains quite a bit with straps once they’ve developed it enough to trust their grip. It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. I changed to address imbalances and it’s worked well for me but isn’t the be all and end all.
Definitely get chalk though. That’s a must.
I was sorry to read your SI was giving you issues. I went for quite a while having problems with mine. Mine lasted about a year at varying intensities. The longest was some degree of pain in my hip reversing at the bottom of the squat. I eventually got over it and no doubt you will too.
I noticed you sometimes do a lot of volume when you squat. Is there a reason or are you ‘greasing the groove’?
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@ouroboro_s
I understand that. I still give mad props to those who train and mastered the hoop grip. I’ll still give the straps a go because ehh why not? And I’m sorry to hear your SI issues bother you that long. Glad to see you still push through it nonetheless
I throw a lot of volume into workouts because I still haven’t completely let go of my tendencies to train BB style. My main two goals are to be very powerful but still have a physique that’s very nice and semi chiseled. I also like to throw a lot of volume into some workouts because it helps future 1RMs not feel so heavy when I actually attempt to do them, and when I couple them with just unracking and then reracking
I AM GLAD IT WAS MUSCULAR!! That is a lot easier solve.
I have had some success with aleve. But if it took more than 2 or 3 pills and 24 hours then Aleve wasn’t going to help.
Exactly this.
I misused the term sciatica (several times…or every time hahaha) I have SI joint issues but it has not evolved to Sciatica, yet.
The pain goes away. Now I don’t even notice it.
As for your BB goals, there is no better way to accomplish them than with powerlifting and then added volume for balance. Stick with it and you are on the right track!
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Yea I’m very proud of myself. And it doesn’t seem that long ago at all but my how time flys! Lol. I’m going to have to back down to 225 for a bit just so I don’t agitate anything.
And thanks for the kind words. As usual 
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@BOTSLAYER
I actually talked to my doctor recently and he said to back off the muscle relaxers and just go with aleve or Tylenol for now. However today I’m doing really well. I do have a few zaps of aches but nothing bad at all. And I’m going to stay on the safe side and say I probably don’t have SI issues, but I’m probable to develop them if I don’t take necessary precautions. As far as sciatica goes, I’ve had this issue since I was a teenager. Not sure where it even came from. Or what I did to cause the acute onset of it.
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