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10-18-2007, 01:45 PM
| #91 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years  Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,844
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Gender:  |  A lot of people think that there is no substitute for pullups/chins and I agree. But that doesn't mean the same applies to rows and it also doesn't mean there won't be other exercises that will be useful down the road. I do lots of different rows and things like that. Seems to me like everyone is basically being put in a cage by relying on one or two people's opinions about the "one best exercise" they can do in a certain category. When someone tells you that their choice is the only effective choice it's time for  The assisted pullup thing sort of creates a hybrid movement. The best idea I've ever seen for assisted pullups is to use a thera-band or some elastic lifting band along those lines. You put them around the bars and you basically stand in them so that they assist you. Would be tricky to get into.... One thing that is helpful is to have a pullup bar that is not so high that you can't stand and grasp it overhead. That way after your pullup set you can add in some negatives by doing jump pullups. Usually after you fail on the postitive you can still get some negs in and that will help make you stronger. Keep in mind that the risk for injury in negs is high so only do what you can do under strict control and don't push it. But you wouldn't be doing "heavy negatives" so it's not to bad. Another thing is if you wan't to have more success at pulls then drop the curls for now. Here is what I've discovered. Pullups make you better at curling heavy weights but curling interferes with pullups a lot of the time. You need you biceps and if you wan't to prioritize pullups (and rows to some extent) then take out the unnecessary stuff. At the end of a pullup session try switching to chinup grip to get some more in and further strengthen the biceps. And last but not least. Pullups are much harder after overhead press than after bench. Other people have told me this and I, being a pullup junky, have always found this to be the case. Try different ways of dong the pullups. For instance instead of doing 5 in a row only to fail at 3 or 4 after the second set try to get more reps in by doing double or something like that with rest in between. Don't add weight right now although some people might advise that. Given the amount that you can do I would be afraid that added weight might bring on some elbow tendinitus or something. You need to get the joints and tissue ready for more weight so I like more reps first. If barbell rows are giving you fits then pick something else. There are lots of good choices. I do one arm DB rows all the time. I also like to do DB rows on a bench. Cable rows. All sorts of different angles on that (for you just stick to one "neutral" angle right now). Barbell rows have gotten to the point where I simply can't do them without my lower back being irritated and it's not worth worrying about. I do so many deadlfit variations and posterior chain things I don't feel I need to worry over not doing a barbell row. |
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10-19-2007, 12:02 PM
| #92 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 91
| Dammit, had to stop my workout today after my first set of squats. No idea what I injured. I warmed up to 190lbs, got the first 4 reps in fine, they were definitely heavy, but I think I was still in good form, then when I started to push back up on the 5th rep, I felt an odd pop just under my left ribcage about inline with my nipple. I don't know what the hell it could have been or how I did something there, but I did something for sure. It's not an excruciating pain, but when I squat down even without the bar I feel tension there and any stretching of the area feels odd. Thinking I better just let it alone over the weekend and see how it feels Monday. Totally bummed, but just hoping it's nothing major.:( |
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10-22-2007, 03:55 PM
| #93 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 91
| Well today I repeated Friday's workout. I still have some soreness in that spot under my ribcage, but I'm under the impression it's a small muscle tear and that it's going to take a long time to heal. So I'm just going to work through the pain. Speaking of pain, I also have a spot at the top most portion of my right thigh in towards my groin that is constantly sore. I thought at first that I might have pulled something, but even after 3 weeks off it came right back. I feel it about the last foot of the squat before the top. Wonder if there's a band of some sort I can buy that will keep pressure on it. Starting to fall apart over here. lol Anyway, I kept the weight down from Friday's attempt, but still stopped after 2 sets due to not feeling 100% on them. I think I might lower the weight Wednesday so I can get a good stretch in and double check my form which felt off today. Bench was heavy, but good, and added another 10 to the dead. Going up I feel great, but I do wonder if my form is good while lowering the weight. I think I'm going to reread that section in SS to make sure I'm ok. I feel like I'm stuck between 2 mistakes right now, either I swing the weight out a bit trying to clear my knees, or I swing my butt back trying to go straight down. Don't think anything should be swinging. Workout A Squat 2x5 - 185lbs Bench 3x5 - 145lbs Dead 1x5 - 235lbs |
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10-24-2007, 04:40 PM
| #95 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 91
| Still have that pain in the adductor. Not 100% sure how to proceed with this. Completed all 3 sets of the squat today, but I think I'm mentally holding myself back now due to that pain. I also tried something new that helped out tremendously with the pull-ups. I can't imagine it's a bad thing, as I think all it's doing is allowing me to theoretically use a lighter weight right now. I bought a set of those stretchy bands from Target today. It has 3 bands that you can use separately or in combo's. I slid the handles over the bar and slipped one leg into it so that the band was placed around my ankle. Worked out perfectly. Allowed me to get a lot more reps in than ever, so hopefully I can gain strength, then decrease the band tension until I can do them without help.  Workout B Squat 3x5 - 185lbs Overhead Press 3x5 - 90lbs Pull-Ups with Support Bands 8/6/5 Curls - 3x5 - 85lbs |
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10-24-2007, 05:09 PM
| #96 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,844
Country:
Gender: | LOL, I just told someone they could do pullups with bands in another thread. Let us know how that works out. You're going to have to stop for a little while unless you wan't to turn a grade 1 into something worse. Maybe ice the area but probably not so bad you need to worry with it. Don't stretch it while it's fresh. Wait a few days. I'll get back to you with the likely cause (may have questions) and maybe a protocol to follow. I'm pinched for time right now so I mostly wanted to say stay off it for a bit. You will want to back off in weight also but PLEASE don't try to "work through it". |
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10-24-2007, 07:13 PM
| #97 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 91
| Thanks Eric, I figured not squatting until I got this fixed was the best idea, but dam, I was making such good progress. I'm going to continue doing everything else the routine though. Friday is Deads, so I'm going to try those out as well to see if it irritates the injury. Is there anything I can replace the squats with in the time being? And I wonder if I should have the doctor take a look, although I can imagine there's anything he can do about it. Dam injury.  Oh, and so far I'm loving the bands. I've never even come close to those numbers before. I can't see the negatives of them. And thanks for getting the replies going in my other thread. |
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10-24-2007, 07:45 PM
| #98 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,844
Country:
Gender: | Well the only thing I can think of you can do is to take a more narrow stance on squats, meaning you won't be able to go as deep. Single leg options will be worse in terms of adductor activity. A narrower stance will have less adductor in it. But that doesn't mean it will have no adductor so.... Deads could well irritate it too. I see one little injury after another popping up on SS. I'm sure people will say it all stems from bad form but I think it just goes to prove what I've said about the squat (and anything) before. You will walk into a strength program with imbalances and compensations patterns. I don't care if you're only 17 you're going to have SOME little distortion that's been brewing since after puberty.... The body is good at compensating for weaknesses. If a muscle that is needed is weak and you have a heavy weight on your back the body will simply turn to an assistor to get the job done thus causing that muscle to take on more than it's share of the work and overtime you have things like this happening. People that think the squat is a cure all for everything are way off base. And people that think these types of injuries are "inevitable" are way off base too. |
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10-24-2007, 09:08 PM
| #99 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 91
| Interesting Eric. Almost sounds as though you're implying that either I've increased the weight too quickly, or that my form isn't correct. I'm sure at this point you know I'm not taking this personally, but typing out loud.  Thinking about it, I guess both of those options are possible too. I've always been a small guy (dam ectomorph) and adding nearly 35 pounds of body weight and increasing the bar weight as much as possible over 12 weeks might be faster than I'm able to adapt. Or I could have a form problem that caused it. Guess we're never going to know, but I'm thinking going to the doctor for some anti-inflammatory pills and a little rest might be a good idea. Other than the fact that I'm injured, the thing that really pisses me off is I'm 10lbs from my goal weight. Maybe I should take this injury as a time to switch to a cutting phase for a few weeks. I'm guessing the cutting phase might be a little easier on that area, though I don't know really. Or, should I switch off of SS to a different program? I don't like switching because something is the new cool program, but if there's a better program for me, I'm all for it. Dammit!  |
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10-25-2007, 01:57 PM
| #100 (permalink) | |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,844
Country:
Gender: | On the contrary. I say what I mean I don't imply.Quote:
Shifting goals isn't a way to get past barriers. Shifting goals is usually just a response to a snag or not getting the results you wanted. Oh, look I can't lift a car yet I think I'll cut. And the best program is what works for you. If your want me to suggest some random program that is "cool" and will somehow magically solve the problem it just won't happen. When I mentioned protocol I did not mean you had to change to a new program...only make some changes to what you are doing now. Add a few things..whatever. I know people think I make things too complicated and they want a simple little pat answer to problems. But there are not simple answers to complicated things. The fact is most of the time I am keeping it simple. Given that this is something you can take some simple steps to avoid in the future I think. | |
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