If it's any help, not one of us is perfect. Do you know what happens when you get better at each exercise? You become more acutely aware of everything you're doing wrong. When I do a set of squats, my inner dialogue goes something like this: "too much weight on your right side, put more weight on your left side; you just over-corrected, bring it back to central; yay, this rep's not fugly!; your weight shifted forward, drive through your heels; I said heels, not toes!; knees out, dammit!; chest up, up-up-up-up-UP!; glutes!; knees and knees!; too much weight on your right side again!"
Ruthless Training Journal
- Thread starter Babe Ruthless
- Start date
Well unlike you and Ryan I am obviously totally perfect and never have such internal dialogue.
That comment was so full of bull I could smell it, don't know about you.
We all get stuff wrong, I actively make my routine different in ways that mean I have no way to always be doing it all right, but I am crazy.
I think the slo mo deadlift vid I posted has reasonable form and of course Ryan's stuff is perfect for power work due to the lack of wasted effort trying to underpace a snail. If you are getting stuff wrong and getting pain from doing so video yourself and see what is going wrong.
Based on previous stuff we have seen I would bet it's lifting arms first giving you grief, but I wouldn't bet much as you may have corrected this at the cost of a new error, something we all do.
That comment was so full of bull I could smell it, don't know about you.
We all get stuff wrong, I actively make my routine different in ways that mean I have no way to always be doing it all right, but I am crazy.
I think the slo mo deadlift vid I posted has reasonable form and of course Ryan's stuff is perfect for power work due to the lack of wasted effort trying to underpace a snail. If you are getting stuff wrong and getting pain from doing so video yourself and see what is going wrong.
Based on previous stuff we have seen I would bet it's lifting arms first giving you grief, but I wouldn't bet much as you may have corrected this at the cost of a new error, something we all do.
Hahah, yeah i do internal dialogues, as well. Glad to find that it's a sane thing seeing you do it, too!
13.02.14 | Thursday
Vertical row - 3x10x45kg
Lat pull down - 3x12x30kg
Db bench press - 1x10x5kg
~Felt a shot of pain on my neck so i reduced to 4kg.
Db bench press - 3x10x4kg
~Tried to start squatting, but as soon as i put the bar on, pain shot up to the right side of my neck again.
~Feeling frustrated, i sat for a while massaging the top of my right shoulder up to my nape.
~Attempted to squat again but had a tough time proceeding the first rep.
45 degree back raise - 2x10
~Decided to call it a day seeing that there's no way i can continue with my present condition.
--------------------------
Been feeling the stiffed neck pain since the other day so i booked a 90-minute full body massage earlier in the morning. Went to the massage after gym. The therapist said my muscles are all tensed and there are some blocking of veins located at the portion of my back to my nape and neck and my legs as well, causing discomfort.
Today is Friday and writing this a night after the massage therapy. I still feel the pain on my neck but not so much compared to the day it started. If i turn to my right, i couldn't do it using my head alone so i have to turn my whole upper body. Neck still feels stiff and a lil numb (prolly due to the massage).
I hope it'll be gone the soonest and i'll feel a whole lot better before i go back to the gym next week. Bleh.
Oh, and happy <3s day!
Vertical row - 3x10x45kg
Lat pull down - 3x12x30kg
Db bench press - 1x10x5kg
~Felt a shot of pain on my neck so i reduced to 4kg.
Db bench press - 3x10x4kg
~Tried to start squatting, but as soon as i put the bar on, pain shot up to the right side of my neck again.
~Feeling frustrated, i sat for a while massaging the top of my right shoulder up to my nape.
~Attempted to squat again but had a tough time proceeding the first rep.
45 degree back raise - 2x10
~Decided to call it a day seeing that there's no way i can continue with my present condition.
--------------------------
Been feeling the stiffed neck pain since the other day so i booked a 90-minute full body massage earlier in the morning. Went to the massage after gym. The therapist said my muscles are all tensed and there are some blocking of veins located at the portion of my back to my nape and neck and my legs as well, causing discomfort.
Today is Friday and writing this a night after the massage therapy. I still feel the pain on my neck but not so much compared to the day it started. If i turn to my right, i couldn't do it using my head alone so i have to turn my whole upper body. Neck still feels stiff and a lil numb (prolly due to the massage).
I hope it'll be gone the soonest and i'll feel a whole lot better before i go back to the gym next week. Bleh.
Oh, and happy <3s day!
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First things first struggling to fit Ryan and sane together without serious internal dialog.
I am going to assume that you are not doing many stretches post workout. Usual cause for the issues your massage therapist found. Get used to doing a full static stretching routine minimum of 15 seconds per stretch, this should reduce this, and help avoid injury.
I am going to assume that you are not doing many stretches post workout. Usual cause for the issues your massage therapist found. Get used to doing a full static stretching routine minimum of 15 seconds per stretch, this should reduce this, and help avoid injury.
A long time ago, I was attempting 155lb skull crushers solo and strained something in my neck on the last rep that hurt so bad I instantly thought I was going to vomit, and was miserable for weeks. Having said that, your pain could have nothing to do with straining, but early on, as you are working diligently on, forum is very important. Had I not lifted my head straining for that last rep, I would have been fine.
The fact that I do something should never be used in support of the theory that it's a sane thing to do.
Yeah, my bad. I just did little stretching and sometimes none at all. Yikes! Had a neck injury last week (caused me to skip gym until my neck and shoulder went back to normal). Only back to gym today! I started doing dynamic stretching (imitated some vids on youtube).
If you are using dynamic as the same as ballistic or bounced stretches be very careful. These have to be severe to cause damage but they do seriously inhibit recovery.
Gradual progression or static stretches are best fro injury prevention. I do them after everything to minimise aching, which in turn means I feel the need to train harder so I still ache.
Gradual progression or static stretches are best fro injury prevention. I do them after everything to minimise aching, which in turn means I feel the need to train harder so I still ache.
24.2.14 | Monday
Back from hiatus! Had a shoulder and neck injury so i had to skip gym last week. Tweaked a muscle on my shoulder, affected a vein at a specific spot of my neck close to my right ear. The pain was closely resembling having stiffed neck but worst. I couldn't sleep well as my head couldn't stay in one position and the pain strained up to the back of my neck. It went on for three days until, i guess, it just went back to normal by resting a lot and not doing any strenuous activity. The arcoxia tablets helped in relieving pain, too. I was rummaging around my medicine kit when i found leftovers from a stash i used for my previous arm injury. I remember the Doc said it's good for muscle swelling. The pain magically disappeared on the fourth day!
The rest of last week was spent cycling (stiffly with my robotic neck hahah), walking around nature trails, and cramming stuff for an upcoming exhibition. It feels so good to have my non-robotic neck back, not having to experience pain anymore whenever i subconsciously sway my head.
I did dynamic stretching (lunges, knee to chest, high kicks, little push-ups) before doing anything this evening. After making sure i've totally woken up my body (it's supposed to feel like that right?
), did the following:
Abductor and adductor - 3x10x30kg
DB bench press - 3x12x4kg
One arm db row - 1x30x4kg
Bench press - 3x12x10kg (barbell)
Squat - 3x7x20kg
Deadlift - 3x10x17.5kg
45 degree back raise - 3x30
~ I restarted using lighter weights again. Then plan to build up slowly from here, be wiser, and try to avoid injuries if possible. My fault for not doing any numerous stretching before. So i'm starting a new cycle, learning from my mistakes, correcting stuff and hoping to do better sets.
Back from hiatus! Had a shoulder and neck injury so i had to skip gym last week. Tweaked a muscle on my shoulder, affected a vein at a specific spot of my neck close to my right ear. The pain was closely resembling having stiffed neck but worst. I couldn't sleep well as my head couldn't stay in one position and the pain strained up to the back of my neck. It went on for three days until, i guess, it just went back to normal by resting a lot and not doing any strenuous activity. The arcoxia tablets helped in relieving pain, too. I was rummaging around my medicine kit when i found leftovers from a stash i used for my previous arm injury. I remember the Doc said it's good for muscle swelling. The pain magically disappeared on the fourth day!
The rest of last week was spent cycling (stiffly with my robotic neck hahah), walking around nature trails, and cramming stuff for an upcoming exhibition. It feels so good to have my non-robotic neck back, not having to experience pain anymore whenever i subconsciously sway my head.
I did dynamic stretching (lunges, knee to chest, high kicks, little push-ups) before doing anything this evening. After making sure i've totally woken up my body (it's supposed to feel like that right?
), did the following:Abductor and adductor - 3x10x30kg
DB bench press - 3x12x4kg
One arm db row - 1x30x4kg
Bench press - 3x12x10kg (barbell)
Squat - 3x7x20kg
Deadlift - 3x10x17.5kg
45 degree back raise - 3x30
~ I restarted using lighter weights again. Then plan to build up slowly from here, be wiser, and try to avoid injuries if possible. My fault for not doing any numerous stretching before. So i'm starting a new cycle, learning from my mistakes, correcting stuff and hoping to do better sets.
Glad to see you're back in action, Babe
Since you're resetting your weights, can I make a suggestion? Based on what I've seen of your deadlifts and SLDLs, I think at this point you've got a lot to gain from trading out SLDLs for RDLs. For the RDL, instead of starting from the bottom, you'd start with the bar in the pins of the rack so that you can start from the top. You initiate the movement by setting your chest high and core tight, then (maintaining that), you just push your hips back until your hamstrings stretch, and drive your hips forward to come back up.
It's a great exercise for learning to properly set your back and bend at the hips rather than the waist, which in turn should help prevent re-injury. It's a technique that'll carry over a lot to your back raises, too, if you apply the same cues.
Since you're resetting your weights, can I make a suggestion? Based on what I've seen of your deadlifts and SLDLs, I think at this point you've got a lot to gain from trading out SLDLs for RDLs. For the RDL, instead of starting from the bottom, you'd start with the bar in the pins of the rack so that you can start from the top. You initiate the movement by setting your chest high and core tight, then (maintaining that), you just push your hips back until your hamstrings stretch, and drive your hips forward to come back up.
It's a great exercise for learning to properly set your back and bend at the hips rather than the waist, which in turn should help prevent re-injury. It's a technique that'll carry over a lot to your back raises, too, if you apply the same cues.
Thank you for the suggestion! I have a question though... what is RDL? Googled a bit.. is it Romanian Deadlift?
Glad to see you're back in action, Babe
Since you're resetting your weights, can I make a suggestion? Based on what I've seen of your deadlifts and SLDLs, I think at this point you've got a lot to gain from trading out SLDLs for RDLs. For the RDL, instead of starting from the bottom, you'd start with the bar in the pins of the rack so that you can start from the top. You initiate the movement by setting your chest high and core tight, then (maintaining that), you just push your hips back until your hamstrings stretch, and drive your hips forward to come back up.
It's a great exercise for learning to properly set your back and bend at the hips rather than the waist, which in turn should help prevent re-injury. It's a technique that'll carry over a lot to your back raises, too, if you apply the same cues.
28.2.14 | Thursday
Squat - 3x10x20kg
Deadlift - 3x5x20kg
Stiff deadlift - 3x5x20kg
Bench press - 3x12x12.5kg
Abductor and adductor - 5x10x30kg
Leg press - 3x10x60kg
45 degree back raise - 3x30
Assisted chin up - 3x10x43kg
Bodyweight - 53.7kg
~ So far, so good. No neck pain recurrence. Squat was good! I'm going to keep it at 20kg until i perfect it hahah. Then i'll move on to add weight. It felt kinda weird doing deadlift and sdl though. Like i'm still not doing it right. Ugh :/
Squat - 3x10x20kg
Deadlift - 3x5x20kg
Stiff deadlift - 3x5x20kg
Bench press - 3x12x12.5kg
Abductor and adductor - 5x10x30kg
Leg press - 3x10x60kg
45 degree back raise - 3x30
Assisted chin up - 3x10x43kg
Bodyweight - 53.7kg
~ So far, so good. No neck pain recurrence. Squat was good! I'm going to keep it at 20kg until i perfect it hahah. Then i'll move on to add weight. It felt kinda weird doing deadlift and sdl though. Like i'm still not doing it right. Ugh :/
Stamina getting better (?)
It's been going on since last last week. I felt like i was about to get a flu, sneezing non-stop (for an hour then it'll stop), have headaches, etc. Totally expecting it the next day and whenever i almost decide to call sick at work, i'll get better a couple of hours after. I dunno if my stamina is fighting off the flu or just trolling on me.
It's been going on since last last week. I felt like i was about to get a flu, sneezing non-stop (for an hour then it'll stop), have headaches, etc. Totally expecting it the next day and whenever i almost decide to call sick at work, i'll get better a couple of hours after. I dunno if my stamina is fighting off the flu or just trolling on me.
Thank you for the suggestion! I have a question though... what is RDL? Googled a bit.. is it Romanian Deadlift?
Yep, that's the one. Because you start at the top and move by pushing the hips back rather than consciously bending forwards, it makes it really effective mentally at curing you into maintaining a strong spinal position throughout the movement, which will benefit everything you do, but especially your actual deadlifts. Right now, I think it would be a more useful exercise for you to use than stiff-legged deadlifts, just because the emphasis is on chest up + hips back + hamstring stretch (followed by driving your hips forwards and shoulders back to return to the start), rather than on picking something up. Actually, I'd even go so far as to suggest only doing RDL's, and leaving both conventional deadlifts and SLDL's alone for a few weeks while you ingrain the movement pattern of the RDL.
Very Sound advice. I started out with RDL's when I got into dead lifting.
Hi Ryan! Thank you for this! I'm going to watch RDL vids to see how it is being done. Of course, i should start with the lightest possible in doing RDL right?
~ Skipped gym last week. Handled a big company event which means late evenings at work, lack of sleep, cramming deadlines, and less food. It was a hellish week of starting work at 9am and leaving at 10-11pm. I am so glad it's finally over.
~This week: I usually go to the gym every Monday evening but had to skip Monday to allow my body to recuperate. The company event commenced last Sunday evening so after that, i just slept the whole next day away, only waking up to eat and diving back to bed ala piglet-mode hahah.
~Tuesday evening: Back to gym! :-D
11.3.14 | Tuesday
Assisted chin-up - 4x7x43kg
Lat pull down - 3x10x30kg
Vertical row - 3x10x30kg
Bench press - 3x12x10kg
Abductor and adductor - 3x12x30kg
Leg press - 3x15x40kg
Squat - 3x10x20kg
45 degree back raise - 5x20
~Wednesday: - attended a yoga session.
*Will try to do Romanian deadlift next session. Thanks Ryan for the suggestion!
~This week: I usually go to the gym every Monday evening but had to skip Monday to allow my body to recuperate. The company event commenced last Sunday evening so after that, i just slept the whole next day away, only waking up to eat and diving back to bed ala piglet-mode hahah.
~Tuesday evening: Back to gym! :-D
11.3.14 | Tuesday
Assisted chin-up - 4x7x43kg
Lat pull down - 3x10x30kg
Vertical row - 3x10x30kg
Bench press - 3x12x10kg
Abductor and adductor - 3x12x30kg
Leg press - 3x15x40kg
Squat - 3x10x20kg
45 degree back raise - 5x20
~Wednesday: - attended a yoga session.
*Will try to do Romanian deadlift next session. Thanks Ryan for the suggestion!