I started my training/coaching path in 2006. I received some training from a biomechanics guru during a personal training internship. I became a form Nazi. It took me awhile to accept body English and cheat reps. It was the same with any movement of my spine.
I’m still mostly a form Nazi but I’ve learned to embrace some minor deviations. It’s hard to let go though.
12 November 2018 - Lower Body D1W4 Bodyweight: 219.2lbs
Warmup
Back Squats 3x8 285lbs (LSRPE 8)
Front Squats 135x8, 195x8, 235x8 (LSRPE 10)
Conventional Deadlifts Form Check 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 355x1, 385x1, 405x0
Side Planks 1x45sec, 1x35sec each side
Hammer Curls 2xAMRAP 45lbs
Notes The focus of today is my deadlifts. Please offer any advice or criticism. I apologize for the dumbasses who walked in front of the camera. I had been walking back and forth setting it up for a solid 20 minutes when those guys started walking in front of it.
I’ll keep it simple. Notice how your hips move up before your start moving the bar? That’s your starting position. You’re starting in your clean position with a more upright torso. I don’t think the hips shooting up is a problem; it’s just your strongest position and your body wants to use it. Don’t fight it.
This is your body position right after you set bar down. I think this is where you should start the pull.
Hey Lava
Nice efforts there.
First of I think you start with your hip way too low.
Look at the last two sets. You almost squat down to the bar, then you initiate the pull, but the only thing moving is your butt.
The bar starts moving at exactly the same spot on every single rep, that is the most advantageous position for your body.
When you set the bar down, the hip/butt is at that exact same spot. That’s where you should start your pull.
At least I think so. But other more competent lifters might say something different.
I’ve seen a ton of videos about DL’ing, and in one of them that was the takeaway for me.
hahah Mr. Maier beat me to it. We were writing the exact same thing at the exact same time.
I’m not good enough to say anything about the rest.
Do you have a video of the failed pull, I think some lifters around here could see why you failed it. Because the last rep looked pretty decent.
@Frank_C @mortdk I think you guys are right. In this video, I raise my hips but the bar doesn’t move until my hips are in the spot that Maier highlighted and you are both referring to.
This is a learning experience. I’ll get back to it on Friday next squat day and start with my hips higher and then we’ll work from there, but that’s a huge takeaway for today. Thank you both for checking it out for me 
In your head, you think you’re pulling but all that’s moving is your hips. By the time you actually start to pull you’re ready to bail because the weight hasn’t moved yet.
It’s technique and mental right now. Once you get comfortable with your ideal technique then you’ll start moving in the right direction again.
I get what you mean now.
Roll the bar to you instead of dropping your hips to meet the bar.
Find T3hPwnisher’s video on deadlifting.
14 November 2018 - Upper Body W4D2 Bodyweight: 219.2lbs
Warmup
Pause Bench 5x5 245lbs (LSRPE 9…zoinks)
Barbell Rows 5x5 225lbs (LSRPE 6)
Chin Ups 5x5 bodyweight
Close Grip Bench 5x5 215lbs (LSRPE 7)
OHP 5x5 135lbs (LSRPE 9)
Hanging Knee Raises 2x10
Face Pulls 3x30
Notes
Pushing exercises today felt fucking HARD. I have no idea why. My 3x5s were the easiest session I’ve had to date, and for some reason, this 5x5 day just got me all messed up. 185 wasn’t moving like it should’ve been during warmups, and 225 felt heavier than 245 did on Saturday. I immediately recalled my food intake today and realized that I hardly ate anything and barely drank any water. Usually, I’m eating a ton of carbs all week, so if I don’t eat much on a training day, I’m fine as long as I’ve had enough water. Today was the perfect storm in that department. No chocolate milk since Saturday (my main carb source), very little food today, and hardly any water. Not to mention I haven’t taken creatine since Sunday… damn. I really messed up. Time to get back on the horse!
The good news is that barbell rows felt as easy as they’ve felt all program long. My first 3 sets of close grip felt hard, and then I realized that they were only hard because I was letting them be hard. So I broke through that mental barrier and crushed my last 2 sets with an RPE 6 on the 4th set and RPE 7 on the last one.
OHP was hard as hell, no surprise there.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Got class all day from 9-4–speaking of, I had two exams again this morning. I would’ve bet actual money that I had failed at least one of them, but I got an average of 81%. I’m keeping my head above water, boys! About 3 weeks left in the semester. I’m turning in one research paper tomorrow and another one the day before Thanksgiving. Then it’s time to buckle down for finals. As soon as finals are over, I’ll have a few weeks (2-3) to just chill and lift weights before our meet. I don’t think my squats will be ready, but maybe my bench will be. It might end up being a bench-only meet for me, unfortunately. I’ll still be testing my squat and deadlift maxes in January, though, although not in the first week.
Rest tomorrow like I said, then I’m lifting with a family friend on Friday. He’s 28, recently married, and strong as hell. He’s on T, and he said his muscles have grown faster than his joints can manage. He said he squats 410 for 3x5 with minimal difficulty, but his joints are killing him. His maxes as of right now are 465/375/585. Mine are 425/315/475. And I don’t think I’m anywhere near being able to do those right now. MAYBE 385/285/435. So it’ll be cool to finally lift with someone stronger than me, something I’ve never really done before in my life.
I’ve just read through a bit your log and watched some videos, and read your training. You seem like an
Very explosive lifter, good at olympic lifts, Thrive in sports and you adapt to doing new training exercises quickly. Also you can handle a high training frequency but you don’t seem to do much pump style work or isolation exercises. I’m presuming a high volume of training and lots of exercises in a session will leave you burnt out but a nice balance of intensity+volume in the compound lifts+ some isolation is what you respond best to. (You can handle more exercises than a type1 a though) do you like to superset movements? You have excellent form on compounds like bench,Squat,deadlift,olympic lifts but you prefer to cheat a little on isolation exercises instead of doing them super strict. This is because You’re neurologically driven and a heavier compound stimulates the nervous system enough already. I think Type 1B. @lava2007 what do you think?
Great workouts you’re putting in Lava, on top of exams, that’s good.
And not failing is a good thing. Meaning that you’ve actually learnt something throughout the year and managed to use it during the test. Well done.
You just don’t fail us for the last three weeks. We’re rooting for you.
Then I read that you haven’t been eating or drinking the right way.
I’ve found that the 5 set day is of course harder, but I’ve done 3 sets the other day and it’s only two more. So I often feel the weight on the 5 set day is kind of lighter.
On another note you’re doing Bench AND CGPB before OHP, leaving your triceps absolutely destroyed, I think that’s one of the reasons OHP is so hard.
Sounds pretty spot-on to me, man. What are the implications of me being a 1B?
Thanks man I’m grinding as hard as I can!!
You’re right about the 5 set day being harder. For the first 1-2 exercises, it doesn’t make much of a difference for me. It’s only when I’m on the last 1-2 exercises that my mental and physical fatigue starts to set in. The 3x days are a TON of fun, though.
16 November 2018 - Squats (and other stuff) W4D2 Bodyweight: 215.8lbs
Warmup
Back Squats 5x8 295lbs (LSRPE 6)
OHP 145x8
Pause Bench 135x8, 185x5, 225x3, 275x1, 295x1, 315x1 (PR), 320x1 (PR)
Deadlift 135x6, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1 (killed me)
Notes
I destroyed my SI joint again deadlifting 365lbs. Coming off the ground was fine, but as soon as I started to hinge, I felt a crunch/slip in my sacral area. Immediate pain and weakness followed. I lowered the weight and dropped it from my knees and quickly went into a side plank, which provided marginal relief. I drove home, got in a hot shower, took some advil, and I’m currently laying in bed with my electric stim machine on my lower back right on top of the epicenter of pain.
So I’m probably never deadlifting again. Not for several months at least. I’m so fucking tired of getting hurt even though I’m being religious with my side planks and band clams. It’s complete bullshit.
The silver lining is that 5x8 295 went down EASY, I could’ve done 12-13 reps on my last set if I needed to. I also went off program because I’m an idiot, but I hit 320 for a pause bench PR 2 days after I struggled to do 245 5x5. Silver lining.
I will not be surprised at all if I wake up with excruciating pain in my lower back tomorrow like I did the last time I hurt myself. This time, it was much more violent and the pain was immediate, which it was not last time. I can bend forward about 45 degrees with a neutral spine before I feel anything bad. I guess it’s time to double the amount of plank and glute work I’m putting in and hope for a speedy recovery. Not so I can get back to deadlifts sooner, because at this point I really don’t give a shit about deads. I just want to squat 425+ in a month or two.
Well, that sucks! Sorry to hear that. My SI joint has been a bit off this week but nothing major - just annoying.
Well, I guess the squat and bench work went well so congrats on that.
I hate to hear that about your lift and the pain. But wow man nice bench work my dude!
You guys are scaring me about the deadlifts and squats now. How did this ever happen to you? When did this all start?
Yeah, it’s stupid. SI joints are just dumb. But thanks, despite reinjuring myself I’m super happy with how the session went.
Thanks chief. I’m not sure how it started. My main problem is a lack of glute strength I believe. I’ve never been good at activating them and I think they’re weak regardless of how many band clams I do to activate and strengthen them. I’m going to start doing barbell glute bridges and hopefully that helps. Gonna take a few days off from putting a barbell on my back, though.
For me it started last April or May when I pulled 455 2x2. Next day I was a little tender, and the day after that I woke up feeling like I had a knife wedged into my lumbar spine. I couldn’t get out of bed for about 10 minutes. The nerve pain began shortly thereafter, and I’ve been dealing with it since. Reaggravated the SI joint front squatting during week 2 of dark horse, whenever that was, then again today. Each time I’ve come back stronger, but I don’t know how many more times my body can handle doing that. That’s why I’m cutting deadlifts out completely
That’s horrible, I’m sorry.
Damn Lava, Sorry to hear about that man.
I have one maybe stupid question, are you absolutely sure it’s the SI joint. Was it confirmed by a PT or a doc, I can’t really remember, I think you talked about seeing one.
Not here to paint anything really bad man.
Hope you recover real quick.
Btw have you been sitting down a lot lately? My SI is also a bit angry with me from time to time, not as much as yours by any means. I’ve found when I’ve had days of sitting a lot mine gets a little immobile or stiff and I have to work on it to loosen up.
Don’t go heavy. Go light and focus on the contraction like you’re doing bodybuilding work. It’s easy to start using more hamstrings and lower back on these.
Mine started in September 2014. I turned 30 that month and wanted to max on everything to set a baseline for the rest of my life. I had just started doing conventional deadlifts. My max was 365 but I wanted to hit 405. I was new to the movement so it was an efficiency thing for me to reach that weight. I rushed my warm up. I always control the eccentric and I injured my back as I lowered the weight. I felt a twinge with 315. I added 50 lbs and pulled again. I felt movement in my pelvis.
I sprained the ligaments of my SI joint. The right side of my pelvis shifted up and forward. I aggravated a bulged disc (or caused it) at L3/L4. I was back to squatting with minor stiffness two weeks later, but the disc continued to swell. Eventually it pinched off a nerve and my right lower leg went numb. My medial quad quit firing. I literally could not flex or contract the muscle. I could barely do the lightest weight on the leg extension machine for 1-3 reps.
I saw nerve specialist and a spinal specialist and everything worked out. I just had to wait for the swelling of the disc to go down. Once that happened everything went back to normal. The long term effect is that my SI joint tends to slip a bit on occasion. It doesn’t take much (this week’s incident was just a gradual shift while I played basketball). Some days I can get it to move back. Other times have required a trip to the chiropractor.
@magick thanks man. It’s not fun.
As confident as I can be with no advanced anatomy degree, I am certain that it’s my SI joint. I was planning on making an appointment with a PT for my pain, but it continued to gradually go away so I decided there was no point. This time around, I plan on making an appointment. Unfortunately it happened on a Friday night, so I can’t make an appointment until Monday morning. On top of that, I need to make an appointment with a Gen Care physician to be referred to a PT because that’s what our health insurance dictates. So it’ll be weeks, possibly months, before I get an appointment with a PT.
When I sit, it’s very hard to stand up. I look like a fish flopping around on a dock when I try to get off the couch and it’s embarrassing.
I looked up a few symptoms of SI joint dislocation, and this is what I found:
I’ve experienced every one of these symptoms, most notably the pain and weakness in my left glute and leg.
My experience has not been this bad. Although I sit on one side, struggle to stand up and sit down, and have constant pain, I haven’t experienced nerve damage to that degree. Ibuprofen doesn’t help that much either lol. All I can do is my best to get healthy asap
All neurotypes have there different perks and quirks,but imo I’d like to be a Type 1b. Larry wheels for example seems like a Type 1b to me (A genetic freak regardless) btw im gonna link some articles ad well as dm’ing you on instagram a link to More neurotyping stuff that’s on thibarmy. (Not allowed to link other sites)
