DanCR - Can you believe how much I am in heaven?

[Fossil]

After the real work I got to the adductor rehab and started by seeing if the Smith machine might be an option for squatting, annnnnd... absolutely not lol.

Damn. I wonder if it's because bilateral squatting patterns naturally create external rotation at the hip. Makes me think that if so, perhaps unilateral movements, simply because of they're far less eternally rotated, might be viable. Or even something like a starimaster or sled pushing since there's no eccentric. I have always really liked cossack squats as a warm up and bodyweight variation because the utilize the bilateral squat pattern more closely on the loaded limb, but they do ask a lot from the adductors so those might be a bit much at this stage.

[DanCR]

After the real work I got to the adductor rehab and started by seeing if the Smith machine might be an option for squatting, annnnnd... absolutely not lol.

Damn. I wonder if it's because bilateral squatting patterns naturally create external rotation at the hip. Makes me think that if so, perhaps unilateral movements, simply because of they're far less eternally rotated, might be viable. Or even something like a starimaster or sled pushing since there's no eccentric. I have always really liked cossack squats as a warm up and bodyweight variation because the utilize the bilateral squat pattern more closely on the loaded limb, but they do ask a lot from the adductors so those might be a bit much at this stage.

You can’t imagine how much it’s pissing me off that the horizontal leg press on which I was able to do unilateral work still hasn’t been repaired three or so weeks later. Even when I was being a total asshole and squatting heavy on the adductor, that machine didn’t bother it at all.

I read that lunges aren’t a good idea. Doesn’t make sense to me but also I detest them. I should try step ups. Sled a great idea and something (along with carries) that I ought to be doing anyway. That all said, I’m starting this KB challenge tomorrow so I’m gonna have to totally rework my programming.

[TurtleBear]

Congrats on the Press PR dude! 170 is no joke!!

Also it's great to hear the injury is already improving. I know its frustrating, but from the outside looking in it seems like its healing really fast.

[DanCR]

Congrats on the Press PR dude! 170 is no joke!!

Not quite yet - PR from four and a half years ago is 180, so close. I think that I had 175 yesterday but it would have been a bad grind and my lower back doesn’t love grinding presses.

[SeeMac]

Have you tried copenhagen planks? Those work like a charm when I've tweaked my adductor. Start with isometrics with a bent leg (short lever arm), then isos with a straight leg (long lever arm), then ecc/conc with a bent leg, then ecc/conc with a straight leg.

[DanCR]

Have you tried copenhagen planks? Those work like a charm when I've tweaked my adductor. Start with isometrics with a bent leg (short lever arm), then isos with a straight leg (long lever arm), then ecc/conc with a bent leg, then ecc/conc with a straight leg.

Bolder linked a video tutorial on them, that caused me to grow a brain and do eccentric work yesterday. I didn’t try the actual planks because I was nervous about it, but they’re my next step after a session or two of eccentrics on the machine.

Adductor feeling not so bad today. Dunno if it was yesterday’s work or that I finally got the massage gun up and running last night. It was quite pleasurable lol.

[Culican]

.... but I think that I may be stronger with a narrower grip. It feels like there’s more “torque.”

Same here.

Just chiming in to +1

I used to have my pinkies on or even beyond the ring, since my shoulder blew up I moved them in nearly an entire inch in an effort to protect it and my bench has obviously recovered just fine...

I'm a dolt for not doing / realizing this previously... In my NY gym I bench with an Ohio Power Bar, and while they have a few of those here in my LA gym in the squat racks, the benches (located on the far opposite side in a different room) are non-descript barbells. They're good barbells - not Esporta garbage - but no particular brand that I'm aware of. Anyway today I lined one of them up with an OPB and fucking of course, the rings on it are a full finger wider than the rings on the OPB. (More accurately, the first rings, because they have another set even further out that I assume is for snatches or whatnot.) So double whammy - I'd been setting up wide, when it appears that I shouldn't have been, and also "wide" turns out to be wider than I even realized. No wonder my damn wrist was getting aggravated.

Can't wait to bench this week now.

I carry a small tape measure in my gym bag to measure "suspicious" barbells. I had been putting my ring fingers on the rings at what I thought was 81cm (but was actually 71cm) so when I used a bar that was 81cm it was too wide and messed up my shoulder. During covid I purchased a bar that was supposed to have both 81cm and 91cm rings but actually had rings at 79cm and 89.5cm. I am suspicious of any unknown bar now until I have measured it.

[DanCR]

.... but I think that I may be stronger with a narrower grip. It feels like there’s more “torque.”

Same here.

Just chiming in to +1

I used to have my pinkies on or even beyond the ring, since my shoulder blew up I moved them in nearly an entire inch in an effort to protect it and my bench has obviously recovered just fine...

I'm a dolt for not doing / realizing this previously... In my NY gym I bench with an Ohio Power Bar, and while they have a few of those here in my LA gym in the squat racks, the benches (located on the far opposite side in a different room) are non-descript barbells. They're good barbells - not Esporta garbage - but no particular brand that I'm aware of. Anyway today I lined one of them up with an OPB and fucking of course, the rings on it are a full finger wider than the rings on the OPB. (More accurately, the first rings, because they have another set even further out that I assume is for snatches or whatnot.) So double whammy - I'd been setting up wide, when it appears that I shouldn't have been, and also "wide" turns out to be wider than I even realized. No wonder my damn wrist was getting aggravated.

Can't wait to bench this week now.

I carry a small tape measure in my gym bag to measure "suspicious" barbells. I had been putting my ring fingers on the rings at what I thought was 81cm (but was actually 71cm) so when I used a bar that was 81cm it was too wide and messed up my shoulder. During covid I purchased a bar that was supposed to have both 81cm and 91cm rings but actually had rings at 79cm and 89.5cm. I am suspicious of any unknown bar now until I have measured it.

“Suspicious” is a great way to put it. Good idea - I’m gonna run by Home Depot later and get a small tape measure as an addition to the gym bag for travel. From now on here, I think that I’m gonna bench with the OPB in the power rack.

[DanCR]

5/26/24

KB Swings 35 lbs x20,20,20,20,15,15,15,20,20,20,15,15,20,20,20,20,20,20 =335

Form check:



I learned a real lesson today. I had figured that this just would be boring af and a cardio obstacle. No. I’m not strong enough. I had to repeatedly talk myself back into proper form and not using my arms, because my glutes and hams got murdered over and over. I’m not even using the weight that you’re supposed to use! I didn’t time my rests or the full session, just wanted to get through it.

My very modest goal is to work to be able to do it each day in one set of 35 and ten sets of 30, for my sanity and to have time to do anything else.

[SeeMac]

5/26/24

KB Swings 35 lbs x20,20,20,20,15,15,15,20,20,20,15,15,20,20,20,20,20,20 =335

Form check:



I learned a real lesson today. I had figured that this just would be boring af and a cardio obstacle. No. I’m not strong enough. I had to repeatedly talk myself back into proper form and not using my arms, because my glutes and hams got murdered over and over. I’m not even using the weight that you’re supposed to use! I didn’t time my rests or the full session, just wanted to get through it.

My very modest goal is to work to be able to do it each day in one set of 35 and ten sets of 30, for my sanity and to have time to do anything else.

Yeah the glute pump the first few days for me were pretty brutal. But it'll get much easier soon don't worry. Only form tips here would be to shoot your hips back when as you hike the kettlebell for the first swing, and to delay the hinge a bit on the way down. Looks good though! For your second or third time swinging these are probably the best I've seen.

[DanCR]

Yeah the glute pump the first few days for me were pretty brutal. But it'll get much easier soon don't worry. Only form tips here would be to shoot your hips back when as you hike the kettlebell for the first swing, and to delay the hinge a bit on the way down. Looks good though! For your second or third time swinging these are probably the best I've seen.

Greatly appreciate that - let me go in today with some more confidence to go with the dread haha.

[DanCR]

5/27/24

Soundtrack: Vredehammer, again, and I expect that to be the case for awhile.

Timed one minute rests between all sets of each movement, except for swings.

Leg Extensions 20,40x10 60x10,10,10 (set up 7,2, second from top)
Lying Leg Curls 25x10 50x10,10,10
Seated Calf Extension Machine 60,100,140x10 160x15,15
Adductor Machine w/ five-count eccentric 15,20x10 25x15
Squats 75x3,3,3
KB Swings 35 lbs x7s x25r, x8s x20r =335

Notes: Hamstrings on fire from the time that I got up this morning. I took the lower day work relatively easy for that and other obvious reasons. I think RDLs are gonna have to stay on the shelf during this period. Would be absurdly redundant. Adductor work felt great; squats did not. Still, there is improvement.

I learned some lessons today. My lower back wasn’t entirely happy when I walked in the gym, and got a bit worse on the first few sets of swings. I realized that again I was too focused on the height of the KB at the top of the swing and, in addition to using my arms too much, was rocking back on my heels and throwing my hips too far forward into ATP. Once I figured that out, I concentrated on keeping my abs braced the entire time and, after using hams to initiate the swing up, slamming into neutral hips with abs, glutes, and quads at the top. In other words, the same stuff that fell into place with squats awhile back.

[EricK]

Holy crap that's a lot of KB swings!

[DanCR]

Holy crap that's a lot of KB swings!

I’m actually being a bitch by doing 335 each day. The real challenge, which @SeeMac more is adhering to, involves rest days, so you need to do 400 to 500 a day to get the total. The idea of that makes me want to go to sleep.

[SeeMac]

5/27/24

Soundtrack: Vredehammer, again, and I expect that to be the case for awhile.

Timed one minute rests between all sets of each movement, except for swings.

Leg Extensions 20,40x10 60x10,10,10 (set up 7,2, second from top)
Lying Leg Curls 25x10 50x10,10,10
Seated Calf Extension Machine 60,100,140x10 160x15,15
Adductor Machine w/ five-count eccentric 15,20x10 25x15
Squats 75x3,3,3
KB Swings 35 lbs x7s x25r, x8s x20r =335

Notes: Hamstrings on fire from the time that I got up this morning. I took the lower day work relatively easy for that and other obvious reasons. I think RDLs are gonna have to stay on the shelf during this period. Would be absurdly redundant. Adductor work felt great; squats did not. Still, there is improvement.

I learned some lessons today. My lower back wasn’t entirely happy when I walked in the gym, and got a bit worse on the first few sets of swings. I realized that again I was too focused on the height of the KB at the top of the swing and, in addition to using my arms too much, was rocking back on my heels and throwing my hips too far forward into ATP. Once I figured that out, I concentrated on keeping my abs braced the entire time and, after using hams to initiate the swing up, slamming into neutral hips with abs, glutes, and quads at the top. In other words, the same stuff that fell into place with squats awhile back.

My hamstrings were only sore on day 2, but the glute soreness lasted 10 straight days or so.

But yeah the height of the swing is not too important. When i train them more normally (not doing sets of 25+ reps) I get to eye-ish level, but it is all from the hips. Try to have "loose arms". Doing the higher reps sets I am only going to just above belly button level. A good cue for getting hip drive is to more or less fuck the air when it is as far back as it gets behind you. The more violently you do it, the higher the bell will go. It also it easier if you delay the hip hinge, as you hinge faster storing more elastic energy. You shouldn't really start bending over until the bell is about to hit you in the balls. Takes some practice as it is completely opposite of what we're taught for hinge barbell movements.

Also you're a madman for doing hamstring curls the same session lol

[SaviorSelf]

10 straight days of soreness!? OK I gotta try this

Low key wish you did deadlifts, I wonder how these would transfer

[DanCR]

5/28/24

KB Swings 35 lbs x35, x8s x30r, x35,40 =350



Notes: My hams were preposterously sore all day - like dreading the toilet sore - but this was a far easier session than the first two. I think that part of it was getting used to the movement and the work, but also I rewatched the Pavel video in @SeeMac's log and made some tweaks, specifically not hiking back so absurdly far and doing a much better job of fucking the KB up without using my arms. That did lead to a lower peak, just below the nipple line as opposed to face level, but I'm fine with that.

Aside: DB bench, in all its variations, may have replaced squats as the movement that clowns cheat the most. These dudes can't be serious.

[SeeMac]

5/28/24

KB Swings 35 lbs x35, x8s x30r, x35,40 =350



Notes: My hams were preposterously sore all day - like dreading the toilet sore - but this was a far easier session than the first two. I think that part of it was getting used to the movement and the work, but also I rewatched the Pavel video in @SeeMac's log and made some tweaks, specifically not hiking back so absurdly far and doing a much better job of fucking the KB up without using my arms. That did lead to a lower peak, just below the nipple line as opposed to face level, but I'm fine with that.

Aside: DB bench, in all its variations, may have replaced squats as the movement that clowns cheat the most. These dudes can't be serious.

Looking much better! Only critique here is to keep delaying your hinge. You should be more or less 100% upright until the kb is a few inches away from you. This is much easier to do with a heavier bell though as it kind of pulls you down without you having to do much.

[EricK]

Curious about what the bros were doing with DB bench...

[DanCR]

Curious about what the bros were doing with DB bench...

Forget a deep stretch - dudes aren't even going parallel. Six-inch range of motion from the top, at best. To bastardize an old Rippetoe quote, a subtle unbending of the elbows.