5/4:
BW: 185
Handstands: 2,4,4,3,4
Deadlift (with warmups included):
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 2
360 x 2
385 x 1
415 x 1 (4 intended) (back popped)
5/9:
BW: 185 (really 183.5)
Press:
155 x 1
160 x F, F
135 x 4, 4
Chins:
250 (+65) x 5 x 5 @ 9
Split Squat (rear leg elevated, both legs each time)
BW x 5
20 x 3, 5
35 x 4, 5
50 x 6, 6, 9 @ 8
Face Pulls: 55, 7x12
Comments:
Long but I am really writing this down for myself.
Well shit my lower back popped. Surprising to me because it happened on the second rep with a weight far below my 2RM (I wanted to get 5 here). My back felt fairly straight during the rep too which actually worries me for future lifting risk. However, there were minor signs that this would happen; my lighter worksets (360 x 2, 385 x 1) felt harder than they should have, and on the single my lower back felt like I had a very very small pull (it felt kinda tight). However, I hadn't done lower body lifting for a week or so before this so I mistakenly thought that I should be good for the last set.
A similar thing happened last winter and set me back something like four months or so so it's pretty bad news. This time it was pretty painful the subsequent 48 hours or so but the pain has subsided somewhat now. It'll probably be a month or so before I feel okay with doing exercises which are heavy on the lower back, that is, back squats and (conventional) deadlifts. I might, in the future, switch to sumo since it seems like it would be less risky. The conventional setup never quite felt right to me, I believe due to short arms relative to torso length.
Medical told me I had a back strain (not a herniation which relieved me).
That day I decided to take at least 7 days off. In fact, for the next 48 hours post injury I was pretty demotivated (questions like: whats the point of lifting? What does it matter what numbers I have?). But today the itch came back: I will not throw away my progress thus far. I will not let obstacles block my path. I WILL be awesome.
The itch is a double edged sword. Because of it I haven't been able to, despite planning it counteless times, spend more than a week off of strength training since I started. But it gets me hurt if I don't control it.
On a less rambly note:
1RM tested my press for calculating a smolov jr routine. It is a lot less than I expected considering that I hit a 5RM of 150, but the 5RM used a liberal amount of stretch reflex. The press is a bastard of a lift.
Since it would be incredibly shortsighted to attempt squat/deadlifts right now, I am using split squats (rear leg elevated) as a lower body exercise. These were done holding a dumbell goblet style. It took a few sets to get used to the balance but they really let me focus on pushing with my legs, more so than a back squat. This seems to be the advantage with unilateral movements. I found a similar effect while training for the one arm chin.
My other injuries seemed to have subsided. In particular some remnants of the first back pop have disappeared shortly after the new one for some reason. Shoulder feels pretty healthy. Left knee is also a lot better. The few days of no training were good for the nagging stuff.
Damn, that sucks. Make sure you ice it (20 on, 100 off works pretty well). When it's no longer painful, do a lot of high rep work like bar-only deadlifts and band hyperextensions to get the blood flowing. Muscle strains shouldn't set you back 4 months. 2 to 4 weeks is more like it, and usually you won't lose too much strength.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the cause, I've noticed that you've been doing heavy doubles for deadlifts every week (I think) and increasing the weight every time. While some people can handle that kind of intensity, it seems like maybe you can't. When you get back to training, you could try something with a little more tempered, like alternating weeks of heavy doubles with weeks of higher volume but lower weight.
Thanks for tips. On the upside it seems like this time is not nearly as bad as the first time. Every day it's getting better. I was fairly worried at first because the pain was distinctly based in the nerves and not really muscular but apparently that is due to inflammation pressing on the nerves and not so much nerve damage.
DeleteDealing with injuries might be the most important part of lifting weights. Hopefully you will be stronger and smarter 1 year from now and this injury is no big deal.
ReplyDelete