The CasinoApe's Rugby Training Journal

[CasinoApe]

Been injured for a while now, string of bad luck, first cracked my eyesocket, then pulled muscle in my leg, and then picked up a knee injury, not bad for a 17 year old lol. All in all haven’t played for 2 years.

At the moment my knee injury is caused by a weak VMO and muscle imbalance pulling my knee cap out of position, been doing physio for 3 weeks now, getting a lot better, managed to do my first good lifting session yesterday but my legs are pretty weak as it’s the first real training I’ve done for a long time.

Would like to take rugby to a high level, was due to do a trail for the London Wasps academy before I was injured a few years ago. Want to play as an openside flanker, though I’ve never played there before, more experience as a wing/centre.

Will be following Rippletoe’s Starting Strength, pretty much a complete noob to lifting, so I will wait a while before I add in any other training, won’t be cleared to run by the physio for a few weeks anyway (Haven't run for over 8 months lol).

On with the show!

[CasinoApe]

Realised I did overhead press instead of bench, apart from that couldn’t have gone a lot better really

Squat – 75kg 3x5
Overhead Press – 50kg 3x5
Deadlift – 125kg 1x5

Deadlift was pretty beasty, but was real weak on the squats, but first time I’ve done them with any substantial weight, and my knee is still a bit ****ed, should make real quick progress on them though. Also noticed huge quad dominance in my squats, my right leg is also a lot more developed then my left which is the worst knee. Glutes are by far the weakest, but squatting ATG should give them a run for their money.

[wickd]

Good luck with your goals, i am doing starting strength and currently play on the wing i really need to build my leg strength up.

[CasinoApe]

Decided i'm going to have to postpone starting strength as i don't have a benchpress and my gym has no squat rack so i;ve gotta find somewhere else. Ontop of that i've been diagnosed with some sort of sleep disorder and will be getting some melatonin in a few days. And my knee is still giving me some trouble

Squat 80kg 3x5 - knee was quite sore, really didn't think i was gonna make this at all, had that instant muscle fatigue from being tired, think my technique went to **** becuase i was sort of focusing on keeping my knee out of a painful position, but was pleased to manage it

Bulgarian squats 40kg 3x12 - did just 2 on my right knee to help with the imbalance, really hit my VMO/Glutes which was exactly what i needed

Left it there, gonna do some more stretching/foam roller physio exercises for my knee in a bit, also seeing the physiotherapist tomorrow hopefully i can restart SS in 2 weeks or so.

[CasinoApe]

Good luck with your goals, i am doing starting strength and currently play on the wing i really need to build my leg strength up.

Cheers mate, best of luck to you to!

Unfortunately gonna have to stop SS for a few weeks becuase of my knee/sleep problems, no way i can do this on 4 hours of sleep a night lol - but i'll be back on it as soon as i can.

England v France should be a good game tomorrow, france are pretty hot/cold at the moment could go either way.

[CasinoApe]

****ING KNEE ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF UUUUUUCK

Squats - 85kg x5 - ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGH knees were ****ing with my mIIIIIIInd
75kg x 9 - MURAGRABLRHURGURGARBLEBARBLEGRAghjftjgw3gregfwerg4 gGGD
60kg x 6 - DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEFUUUUUCKDFGDFHSDUYUDSVAASDFYI G

So i think i'm gonna stop squatting for a while

Meanwhile....

Overhead press - 52.5kg x 5 - Felt like ****, decided to just lower the weight and reps becuase i was just having a bad day and wasn't going to get the next 2 sets
- 45kg x 9 x 2 - have to be careful not to put my back on these!

Barbell curls - 42.5kg x 11
-42.5kg x 6

Blugarian Squats - 40kg x 6 - pffft

So things went pretty badly today, sleep still bad havn't got the melatonin yet, gonna just focus on my knee for now, no ****ing squats unless its blugarian style ofc

Well i've pretty much discovered which exercises i can and can;t do, aswell as picked up on a few muscular imbalances/concerns.

Left leg - VMO (inner knee) signifcantly weaker than outer knee - this is main concern, it is causing the knee problems
- Weak hams/glutes - too much reliance on quad causing strain
- Significantly weaker/smaller than right leg

Right leg - VMO sligtly weaker than outer knee
-Huge Quad dominance here, again causing strain due to weak ham/glutes

Right arm - Some sort of strain on elbow, can't be from lifting (havn't done any)
-Tricep/delts slightly weaker/smaller than left, not huge but should be addressed

Left arm - Same strain at elbow

New program
So my goals have now somewhat changed, i'm no longer going to be able to follow rippletoes, i want to -
-Increase strength of VMO
-Increase Strength of Hamstring
-Increase Strength of Glueteals
-Rebalance Left and right leg
-Rebalance Left and right arm

Exercises -

Gonna do some DB bench and overhead press to check the balance between my right and left arm

NO SQUATS - knee is just ****ing with me

Bulgarian Squats - don't hurt my knee, hit my VMO and glutes in one go, may be the bread and butter of my workout

Deadlifts - Imbalance between my legs will lead to some imbalanced growth, but will really hit my posterior chain and i need atleast one big lift in here

Foam roller / stretching exercises - These bad boys (lol) are from the physio to help stretch the outer knee muscle

Exercise ball curls - Will hit the hamstrings nasty style - 1 leg at a time

And i might just throw some curls in there to help relaod my emaciated guns :/ - curls get the girls ey?

Long post is long, if i think of anything else i'll throw it in

[CasinoApe]

Deadlift 130kg-2 reps, just missed the 3rd
125kg - 4 reps, just missed 5th
110kg - 8 reps - could of done more but thought my technique was going to the ****s.

Bulgarian Squats 40kg-12x3, did 2 sets on my right leg as it is more developed and was definitely doing more work during the deads, did 14 reps on right on the final set

Was pretty shatted after that, gonna do some stretching / foam rolling later

[toad1]

id take it easy with that knee, don't want to blow it out at 17, focus on getting your legs healthy. i've got a mate who did his knee at your age and he's now had to retire at 25 and i don't think he's completed a season once after he was 19. you have plenty time to work on getting your lower body stronger. id focus on getting your leg muslces and your knee healthy and id want to be running before squating and deadlifting. look into to doing some single leg bodywieght stuff.

[CasinoApe]

id take it easy with that knee, don't want to blow it out at 17, focus on getting your legs healthy. i've got a mate who did his knee at your age and he's now had to retire at 25 and i don't think he's completed a season once after he was 19. you have plenty time to work on getting your lower body stronger. id focus on getting your leg muslces and your knee healthy and id want to be running before squating and deadlifting. look into to doing some single leg bodywieght stuff.

Cheers man thanks for the advice.

Yeah the Bulgarian squats are single leg exercises, i can do it with less weight and i'm careful to make sure that there's no pain in my knee when i'm exercising since the last time i did proper squats. There really helping aswell, my knee has already begun improving, at this rate i may be running within a month!

The deads are for my posterior chain, to help reduce my quad dominance too, but your right, probably better to just take things slowly.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 55kg 3x5
Deadlift 130kg 1x5

Knees definately improving, think i'm gonna drop the weight off a bit and just take it slowly, off to do some stretching and some foam roller! wooop

[CasinoApe]

Just got back from a 3 day school trip which basically involded ****loads of walking, didn't realise till like halfway through the second day that my knees weren't hurting, considering i could barely walk up the stairs about 8 months ago, feelsgoodman. feels good.

Anyway

Some more bulgarians and deadlifts, plus the stretching and shizz, did a few more reps of squats than usual, gonna take the DL's easy for a while

Also forgot to say that i got the melatonin a week or so ago, my sleep has improved alot, now sleeping from about 1:00 am onwards rather than 4 or 5, gonna try for 12:30 tonight woooop

[CasinoApe]

kinda how i feel atm ya konw? lol
qICwgHT5rpg

So i just realised that this is now my first month of this journal, i suppose looking back i've not done too badly, my knees improving and so's my sleep, on the downside i got diagnosed with depression (lol) and i'm a moody **** all of the time. anywhooooo.

Yesterday
Bulgarian squats 60kg 3x5
Glute ham bridge 110kg 1x5

Felt pretty tired again when i started, was a bit of a bitch but altogether quite pleased.

In other news i've just been skipping school lately, i just feel like being a complete ****ing knobend to everyone and i don't want to go in and lose all my friends coz i'm a prick atm, plus i'm still having some sleeping problems

[JT4Rugby]

Hey man,
I play in your local area but I play for the Saracens Academy I am 16 as well what team do you play for?

[CasinoApe]

Hey man,
I play in your local area but I play for the Saracens Academy I am 16 as well what team do you play for?

Hi, I'm not playing for anyone atm due to my knee, my last game was probably a few years back now for ealing or richmond, hopefully i'll be back next season.

Havn't decided where i'll go might take a look around a few clubs, know london scottish and welsh quite well.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats -62.5kg 3x5
Glute ham raises - 140kg 14x2

Probs gonna do single glute ham raises next time, still pretty tired on average, knees ok.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat's - 65kg 3x5

Deadlift - 130kg, 1x1, was feeling quite tired, could of got a few more reps but my technique was slipping on the 2nd so i decided to leave it.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat - 67.5 kg 4x5

Got a new bench too, few mates came round decided to see what i could do, got 90kg (200lbs) for 1 rep, and 80kg for 4 which considering it was my first time benching wasn't bad lol.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat - 70kg, 3x5
Bench - 80kg 1x3

Had a few heavy nights drinking on the first few days of easter so i was pretty ****ed even before i started lol, still squat went up, so all's good in the world.

[CasinoApe]

Couldn't remember if i did 70 or 72.5kg last time.. soo....
Bulgarian squat - 72.5kg 1x5
- 75kg 2x5
- 65kg 2x10

Benchpress - 80kg 1x5
Needed to correct my technique so went lower:
- 70kg 3x7

Bicep curls - 45kg 2x8 - dunno why i did these just felt like it lol

Knee pain is now significantly reduced, background pain when resting is minimal, usually unnoticed, still a small amount of pain on using the knee, stretching and using the foam roller really helps reducing pain the next day.

Want to do some sprints maybe next week, don't wanna skip out on the weights though there helping alot.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat - 77.5kg 3x5

Was tuuuuffff today lol, didn't sleep too well, maybe too much volume last week, still got it up

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat - 80kg 3x5
Benchpress - 80kg 3x5

The split squats are getting a bit dangerous with this kind of weight now, had my foot on the side of the chair i was using as i can't see behind me, and it flipped over and i nearly dropped with the weight on me.

Knee pain now almost completely gone, been warming up with regular squats now and they feel comfortable, only thing i need to sort out is the imbalance between my two legs, though my left is nearly the same size now, and the right doesn't feel particularly stronger then the left when i'm doing the squats.

Gonna try to do some short sprints next time, will take a deload week with the weights as i've got to go back to college next week and need to sort my sleep out, been getting up quite late.

[CasinoApe]

First update in a while, computer broke and i needed a new motherboard,anyway..

Havn't done the bulgarians in a while, the weight was getting a bit dangerous, the chair i was using for support flipped and then snapped rofl.

Went for a run, feels alot better actually, only did a few hundred metres, really poor muscular endurance but what can i expect after this long out, cardio was gd though, cycling/HIIT as ofc helped their. Knee pain did occur afterwards though, shows that the VMO still isn't properly balanced, its still too weak.

Did some regular weighted squats, they weren't at all painful, though my right leg is still a bit stronger.

I have my final A2 examinations from June 10-23rd, I've decided to go on a cut in light of this, becuase it requires less time in the gym and more time for me to do my work (every time i lift i have to do a load of physio exercises and stretches for my knee, one session could easily exceed 2hours).

Just gonna try to avoid losing muscle/strength if possible, fat loss has been nice so far, starting to get my first glimpses of my abs lol.

IFERw1NhDDU

[CasinoApe]

1st update for a while, been a while since i've done the weigts, but my leg is alot better now, was even able to run around a bit at school and it didn't cause any pain during or after which is great, theres still some imbalance between my left and right leg but it's not too much.

Gonna try to finally begin SS sometime soon, got my exams starting from june 10 -23, and then i'm away for a week. the only difficulty atm is my sleep, i'm gonna need to get less than 8hrs for a few days while i try to wake up earlier for my tests.

So i'm gonna start today perhaps, with real light weights just to make sure i have technique and stuff down, plus stretch a bit, hopefully this will mean i'm reachin my current 5rm by the time i leave around the 26th.

Will update later if i do.

[CasinoApe]

UPDATE

Well only 1 test left on the 24th otherwise..

Tried my 1rm, got 90kg ATG wide stance too, felt like i could do more but no spotter, so i assume my 1rm is 100kg on a good day or not going ATG
This gives me a pretty good idea of 1RM's, as of 16th June.

Squat-100kg
Deadlift-140kg
Bench-92.5kg
Overhead Press - 67.5kg roughly
Power clean - done 65kg with ease, so i'd guess around 80kg

I think i am pretty much ready for SS, squats no longer hurt which is great, knee is nearly fully healthy, only thing is my sleeping is still a little delayed but shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Today i did:
Squat-65kg 2x5
-70kg 2x5 -- i decided after the 2nd set that the bar wasn't moving quickly enough so dropped back to 65
Bench - 65kg 3x5
Deadlift - 95kg 1x5

All pretty easy, got good depth on the squat, only concerns are:
Right leg may be doing slightly more work as its stronger, it definately felt a bit worse, so i did some bulgarians to speed up balancing:

Bulgarian squat - 65kg - 1 x5 (left) 1x3 (right) - left is the weak one.

Was worried about my flexibility on the deadlift too, felt like my hamstrings were tight and it made my back a little tight too, gonna film my technique next time around, phone died lol

Rode my bike a bit to cool down aswell

Then i did some foam roller + static stretches

Overall nothing too much, just easing back into it, felt pretty good i have to say, i can now run up the stairs almost as quickly as i used to!! Definately getting stronger/quicker again.

Saaaaafe.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 70kg 3x5 - Good bar speed, little slow out of the bottom but think that will get quicker with training

Overhead Press - 45kg 1x5 - Thought this was a bit slow
- 40kg 2x5 - Eaaasy

Power clean - 50kg 3x5 - seemed pretty easy


Was ****ing sore as **** today for some reason?!?! didn't sleep too well, was pretty tired, maybe 6-hours

Did a few bulgarians for the imbalance

Think i need to up my cals a bit, and unflavoured whey tastes like scum rofl.

Going away for 1 week after my exams, will use the time to plan my macros/cals/diet coz there won't be **** all else to do lol

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 75kg 3x5
Bench - 70kg 3x5
Deadlift - 102.5kg 1x5
Bulgarian - 65kg 1x5 left, 1x3 right


Still sleeping like ****, so this felt pretty weak, but this didn't give me too much trouble

[JT4Rugby]

Keep going mate surprised I havent seen you around although you are a year older, you do play in hertfordshire. Good luck with your exam results I have just finished AS myself, what subjects did you do?

[CasinoApe]

Got back a the weekend, friend of mine was round so decided to see what i could squat with a spotter, got 105kg below parallel and 110kg parallel was pretty haps, cleaned 75kg aswell, will resume SS on Wednesday, thinkining of dropping the weight back by one session to make up for the week i was away.

Mates were talking about going away somewhere over the summer, i'm not too keen as i want to train seriously now, but i have got a long time to do it after when summers over, atm i think i'll just stay to train.

Just getting the cals/diet sorted for SS, ordering some 0.5kg plates for microloading and will need another 40kg or so which should last me a good 2months, giving me 180kg at my house, my dad probably won't let me go heavier then that he's worried about the floor rofl, but we'll see how things are in 2 months.

[CasinoApe]

Keep going mate surprised I havent seen you around although you are a year older, you do play in hertfordshire. Good luck with your exam results I have just finished AS myself, what subjects did you do?

I did Chemistry/biology/history and dropped english last year, how bout yourself?

Yeah still not playing unfortunately, i'm gonna add some light running to SS in a few weeks if it doesn't fuk with strength gains, will definitely be good for next season, undecided where i'll play at though.

How your rugby going? you play for sarries academy don't you?

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 80kg 3x5
OP - 45kg 3x5
Power Clean - 55kg 5x3

Slept badly last night and i was very tired today so this didn't feel great, right leg still doing a bit more work on squats, trying to balance more on my left to compensate, hopefully will be better if i'm well rested.

[xjado321]

keep up the good work man!

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 85kg 3x5
Bench - 75kg 3x5
Deadlift - 110kg 1x5

Realised i wasn't eating enough lately, started recording my cals/protein, going for around 3200 cals and 210+ protein, got 3.3k and 213 today

edit- just read some rippetoe stuff, he says 4000 cals is minimum, fml, i'm gonna have to eat a third bowl of cheerios and a pint of milk :/ gonna be one hell of a turd in the morning!

[CasinoApe]

keep up the good work man!

Cheers mate <3 <3 lol

[JT4Rugby]

I did Chemistry/biology/history and dropped english last year, how bout yourself?

Yeah still not playing unfortunately, i'm gonna add some light running to SS in a few weeks if it doesn't fuk with strength gains, will definitely be good for next season, undecided where i'll play at though.

How your rugby going? you play for sarries academy don't you?

Tough subjects there, I took Biology,Chemistry,History and PE

Good luck for next session mate.

Going well my club is really looking towards big things we got promoted every season for 4years now we are in an national league and have an ex international coach with over 60 players for are colts team 28 of them being part of an academy.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 90kg 3x5
OP - 50kg 3x5
Power clean - 60kg 5x3

[CasinoApe]

Some knee pain returning, hard to know why at this point, i'd guess that its becuase my VMO is fatigued from the workouts and so temporarily exacerbating the imbalance, i've also been slacking with the stretches so will do some tonight and a light warm down. i've got tommorow off aswell on SS, so hopefully by then it will be fine.

Going to approach this very tentatively from now on, even more so than before, i really don't want any more injuries particularly from training, reading lots of stuff on form etc and taping most of my lifts so i can watch them back.

Squats are the main concern at this point, 90 x 5 reps was probably my 5rep max when i started out so i'm thinking of lowering the increases to either 2.5/3.5kg down from 5kg. The sets yesterday were very heavy for me, and my flexibility was lacking somewhat so going very deep is still a bit of a problem. I was planning on keeping increases at 5kg for only another week anyway, i'll get a spotter and maybe try for 95/100/105 next week if i feel good. technique wise i feel as if i lean forward too much and even though i take a wide stance it feels like my VMO's aren't really hit.

Thinking of doing some sort of glute activation exercises aswell, i remember a few years ago just doing some 70m sprints worked very very well for me and they are defo something i could use, i think the short distance would make it easier to get back into running again and the speed work is always useful. Otherwise glute bridges should do the trick.

I also feel like my right leg may be doing more work during the squats than my left.

I'll monitor how my knees and legs are doing in a week or two from now before i consider making any serious training adjustments, adding in more bulgarian squats is definately something i'm looking in too, maybe even fully replacing squats in SS with them, i'll ask around to see if its possible.

Gonna go practice my technique and maybe try to fix up my bench, its a little wobbly, gonna stretch and use the foam roller and look into improving my flexibility for the deep squats and other general stuff.

Few of my mates want me to come out tonight but i'm not sure, feeling a little down i suppose and all i want to do is get stuck into training, the waiting and lack of exercise days is almost disconcerting to me at this point, i suppose i've just been taught to picture some rocky style montage as a proper training regime and it always feels like more should be done, like i'm not working hard enough, but from what i've read waiting, resting and going slow is the smart thing to do and will get my results quicker, but waiting patiently is one of the hardest things to do right now after so long out of training.

My goals so far then are to continue improving my knee and begin playing again next season, hopefully i'll be somewhat competitive by mid season, even if my strength improves and my knees good, i'll need a lot of work on my fitness. I just wanna go out and run as far as i can and do some more weights but afaik the best thing for now is to go slow. I'm young and i've got a while to improve yet, i'll take my time, glory will just have to wait a little longer:P

longpostislong

[brizzy24]

Dont get me started on injuries bro they have kept me off they field for 4 seasons!

Make sure your knee is 110% before you get back into squating.

Glute activation and hip flexibility are key in my opinion.


Glute Activation

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/dispelling_the_glute_myth

I found kettle bell swings the easiest to activate the glutes


Hip Flexibility

I have the worst hip flexibilty ever! This program gave me the best results

http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-10-03.html

[CasinoApe]

Dont get me started on injuries bro they have kept me off they field for 4 seasons!

Make sure your knee is 110% before you get back into squating.

Glute activation and hip flexibility are key in my opinion.


Glute Activation

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/dispelling_the_glute_myth

I found kettle bell swings the easiest to activate the glutes


Hip Flexibility

I have the worst hip flexibilty ever! This program gave me the best results

http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-10-03.html

Thanks alot man, wow 4 seasons is along time must've been pretty tough to handle.

I'll definitely use these articles, i spent a good few hours last night just reading articles, there was something about the IT band being strained if the VMO's are too weak to properly mechanise something called a 'home screw' or something, had me a little worried lol. I'll be cautious, i think i'm going to continue SS for a week or two and see how i'm feeling then.

Feeling a little better today, hopefully tommorow will go well. Will do some more stretches and practice with the bar. Thanks for your help.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 95kg 3x5
Bench - 80kg 2x5 1x4 - fail fml lol
Deadlift - 117.5kg 1x5

So i've done the hip flexor stretches on the previous two days, gonna try to do them everyday, they really helped, i did the glute activation before the session too. The squats were really easy, especially compared to last session my mind=blown at that, the bench failed becuase i've changed my technique a bit, trying to stop my elbows flaring out and i think it'll take a bit of time to get used to, i'll use 80kg for next session, and afterwards i'm going to start increasing it at 2kg per session rather than 5kg. Was odd becuase i did 80kg 4x5 a few weeks back, but meh, only just failed it, and was probably just the technique change.

So a good session

[CasinoApe]

So erm yeah i kind off dropped the weight today rofl!!!

I spent a bit long doing the warm up and strecthes and so on, and went for 100kg on the squat, got the first 2 reps nicely, then i was half way up the 3rd, and the bar slipped out of my hand and rolled off my back and made a huge ****ing bang.

That was my first set, i really don't know why it happened, i didn't sleep too well, my sleep is still ****ed up, i got up at like 3pm today and i've been tired all day, i think i just lost concentration due to this and and the length of the session, and my hands were particularly sweaty, i lost grip of the bar trying to do a low bar squat without bending too far forward which puts some pressure on my hands, and it just rolled down my back.

I was actually reacording when this happened, for my technique, but i don't think the vid saved :( it was quite lulzy and i'm fine. I saw a vid where a guy holds on to the bar when it starts to drop and it lands on his wrists and he snaps both of them. So as soon as i realised i was going backwards i just dropped the bar and got my hands and arms infront of my body before the bar hit the floor. It was basically like a controlled drop off the back and in reality i don't think there was alot of risk here.

The good news is that the weight didn't feel too heavy even though i felt quite tired. Bad news is that my dads pissed LOL!! It shook the house and he came downstairs, looks like i'm, gonna need to go to a gym.

I dunno what to do, i think i could do the weight, but i think instead i should try to fix my sleeping patterns, its really pissing me off, i did sleep enough but i was still tired, i've got melatonin to take, i've tried getting up early for 2 weeks in a row, i've tried staying up all night and going to bed early the next day, not exercising late etc etc. bit of a piss take.

I think this next week i'll make a concerted effort to be awake at 8am everday, if that fails i really don't know what to do after lol, i've tried it before but it didn't work too well, maybe now that my knees better it won't keep me awake so much.

So i might have to postpone the lifting for the week, otherwise nothing too bad. will continue stretching/glute activation

[CasinoApe]

failure failure failure..such a bad mood, just have to wait.. i want to record the constant pain atm for the future when i look back over this, although its not as bad, my knee hurts even now just sitting here, just as it has done for the whole of this year. The stress more than anything.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 100kg 3x5
OP - 55kg 3x5
Power clean - 65kg 5x3


Filmed the last set of squats, was satisfied with depth and my lower back didn't seem to be rounding too much, if at all.

[cmaiko]

zomg nice d00d

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 105kg 3x5
Bench press - 80kg 3x5
Deadlift - 125kg 1x5


Had my brother spotting me on the squats which was better then doing it alone like i usually do, felt safer pushing it to the max by going deeper than usual, filmed the deadlifts and my back was rounding a fair amount, so something to work on.

[CasinoApe]

SO now that i've got 105kg on the squat, which frankly i didn't think i would be able to do, i'm going to lower the increments on the lifts too:

Squat - 3.5kg
Deadlift - 4.5kg
Bench/OP/PC/ -2kg

I'm also going away on the 5th of september which gives me just under 6weeks of training, so for everything except the squat thats 9sessions or 18kg for bench/op/pc and 40.5kg for the deadlift, and 18 sessions for the squat, which is 63kg added

This means that when i leave i should be doing around:
Bench - 98kg
Power clean - 83kg
OP - 73kg
Deadlift - 165.5kg
Squat - 168kg

So that would leave me with a bigger squat than deadlift, which is odd.

I could lower the squat to 2.5kg which would be 45, that would give me a 150kg squat.

Alternatively i might try to keep the 5kg increase up on the pc/op for 1 more session which would leave me with a 88/78 lifts respectively.

I think i'm going to add in some wide grip chins after workout B's (power cleans) and i want to start some running in 2weeks from now, perhaps some short sprints after a workout and then a week or so after maybe start doing some longer distance stuff.

Weight - I think i'm gaining around 1.5/2lbs per week, so that should put me around 210lbs when i leave.

So those are the short term goals atm for the lifts, i'll be gone 3 weeks and i don't know what sort of training i will be able to do. When i get back should pretty much be rugby season, and i don't think strength will be a weakness for me if i achieve those lifts. I think then i'll focus on getting my endurance/speed/fitness up for rugby with alot more running and anaerobic circuits, and i will use the time to trim down some fat too.

Hopefully being a noob i will be able to carry on gaining strength after this phase, we'll see how it goes in the next 6 weeks, these are just some predictions.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 108.5kg 3x5
OP - 57.5kg 2x5 1x1
PC - 67.5kg 5x3

Had some trouble sleeping so i struggled with this and felt pretty weak, infact i havn't slept all night so far.

I filmed the last set of squats and wasn't satisfied with the depth, and i think i fuked my bak up a little somewhere tonight. To remedy this i think i may drop the squat weight to 105kg next session and try to go really deep.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 112kg - 3x5
Bench Press - 82kg - 3x5
Deadlift - 132.5kg 1x5 + 1 extra rep to film technique


Filmed the last set of squats, depth was satisfactory, all reps went below parallel, although not by much, however the camera was facing upwards so the angle makes my hips look a bit higher than they actually are. Some rounding on a few reps and leaning a bit too far forward, but nothing major.

Filmed the deads too, unfortunately it cut short so i only got 2 reps in, but those two looked alright. The reps were deteriorating as the set went on and i don't think they were too good. I recorded another rep after too see how it was when i was fatigued, and it seems as if the middle of my back round a little, with the lower back fine. I think perhaps rounding isn't the issue, i might just be initiating the lift at this point, i pretty much failed to imagine pushing instead of pulling the weight too so i think this is part of the problem.

However, i think this is fine so far because:
-The filmed reps weren't terrible
-I have no soreness in my spine, the muscles around feel a little fatigued and tight, but thats not neccessarily a huge concern afaik, and some of this was caused by leaning a little too far forward on the squats
-My technique on all the lifts is improving

So good session, no major worries, think i have to up my eating a little too, sleeping still ok, otherwise its gd gd.

Slacked off a little on the glute activation, will do that tommorow, been doing the hip flexor stretches most days.

[CasinoApe]

Had no spotter for the last 2 days so i havn't been able to do the squats, i havn't been feeling too good anyway due to my sleep so i thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

Instead today i practiced doing some squats with lighter weights, i used a 10 1/2" box to practice going deeper (they weren't box squats as i wasn't stopping on the box, just touching it), and its clear that i havn't been going too that depth in my previous sessions, with many of those squats barely below parallel i think. This is however a pretty deep squat for me, with the top of my knee being nearly 23" high touching the box means i'm going a full foot below parallel.

I did something like this:

45kg x5
55 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 3
100 x 2

I recorded the sets aswell and this seems to be my limit atm for depth without rounding my back, was just starting to get a hint of butt wink, although my back stayed straight throughout these squats.

I didn't want to do too much today to stop myself being tired out as i want to lift tommorow.

I think i'll try to do 115kg with the 10 1/2" box as a marker tommorow, i wouldn't be surprised if i fail it, however, if i have to use a lighter weight to hit the box i think this is preferable, squatting 105kg with a better ROM and more glute/ham use in a lower squat > 115kg barely below parallel.

[CasinoApe]

Well..yeah i failed rofl.

Squat - 115kg 1x4
- 110kg 2x5

OP - 57.5kg 1x5

I decided to call it quits becuase, starting the warm up at 8:30, it was 10:15 after the OP, the set felt like sh!t, squats went bad, and continuing any longer was just gonna become catabolic and not help.

I used the 10 1/2" box, and i even put a few things on top to raise it to 13", surprise surprise, my glutes had fuk all power at this depth, i had to lean forward so much i was basically just doing good mornings. I also cheated on just about every set, with half the reps not quite touching the box.

Another of the perhaps less dangerous aspects of these squats was that my right leg was feeling like it was doing more work than the left, i now have that fuking disconcerting feeling of one leg feeling slightly more tired than the other.

Most worringly of all, on the final set of squats, from about the last 3 reps on, my back started to round more and more to get the weight up.

I'm gonna put safety first for this reason, try to leave my ego behind, and drop the fuking weight to about 100/105kg.

When things don't go quite my way i feel as if its all a bit useless and get angry and a bit upset, and then i stop eating (why can't i be a comfort eater lol?)

I think i'm going to drop to 105kg and progress with 2.5-3kg per session now, and just focus on depth, i suppose this isn't neccesarily a failure or stall, if i squat the same weight with better form and greater depth than i have improved and got stronger.

I'm going to add in the sprints next week, i remember this made my glutes feel so much more powerful, and squatting felt more natural, i think it may not be so much technique that is so badly the problem, rather that i just lack strength in my posterior chain to match my quads.

I also have some rather obvious hyperlordosis, i've found a few articles on treating it, so that'll be a focus (weak posterior chain is a cause, what a coincidence)

I'm going to write up a general diet, not something to strictly follow with meals at specific times, but just a guide to make it easier to know what i should be eating at each time of day, rather than counting cals/macros at the end of the day.

On my off days i'm gonna squat with light weight to practice technique, and help with the whole neuromuscular functioning of the whole exercise.

I'm also thinking of upping glute activation to a few more days of the week, it doesn't seem to stressful, so i doubt i''d suffer any overtraining from it.

I've been an idiot i suppose, need to be more careful.

inafterwalloftext

/rant

[CasinoApe]

Ok my back was a little sore after the previous fuk up so i wanted to wait a few days before i did another workout. I also spent tuesday night gettin yucky with the boys lol, it was my bday, so i'm 18 now, although i've set the wrong date on my account.

Got completely hammered because some guy was buying free shots, i also met up with a pretty hot girl i used to go to school with, she's sexy as fuuuark and she's had a thing for me for a while now, although i never bothered trying to link with her as she used to have a bf, they split up a few weeks ago and i sent her a text and we met up on tuesday. Was going pretty well to start with, but then i got fuked off the free shots, was already pretty drunk going there, and then on the way to the second bar some fuarked up sh!t happened which i can't be bothered to explain, and we had to split up our groups which was the last i saw of her, so i didn't get to close anything lol /sadface.

Infact i was so drunk i apparently rugby tackled her after she wrestled a bunch of straws of me that i'd taken from Mcdonalds, Bish shouldn't steal my straws:P and just becuase i'm drunk, recovering from injury, its the off season and my bday, doesn't mean i can't get some extra practice in rofl.

Bit off topic i suppose lol, but i havn't bothered to text her since, probs gonna see her at a party on saturday though, wish me luck boys! lol

Anyway... i did a quick sesh on the weights today, i'm still recovering from tuesday a little, first time i've slept before 6:30am in quite a while, and last night i slept nearly 12hours straight lol. Built up to 95kg, did a few reps on the 10" box, felt quite tough, but i am a little tired, gonna go for 105kg on the box tommorow. Gonna add in sprints/running after the next two sessions, so this could turn out to be quite a good week :D

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 105kg 3x5
OP - 57.5 kg 2x5 1x4

Power clean - 70kg 5x3

So not sure what happened with the OP, 3rd time i failed it, really is a mindfuk as i've actually done 65kg for a few reps several months ago. I think theres a problem with my sleep, i'll try 57.5kg next time i really should be able to do it.

Squats were done on the box, felt fine.

[CasinoApe]

Squat- 107.5kg 3x5

Bench - 85kg - Did a few reps an failed, lowered to 82 didn't get 5 and i stopped.

I felt like sh!t as soon as the squats were over, i think i havn't been sleeping well enough and maybe not eating enough, either way it just didn't feel right, then i had to stop for a while and i felt even worse after, the dead wasn't gonna happen. Will repeat this next sesh, though with a 110kg squat.

[CasinoApe]

Well i nearly got shanked going to a friends house, had to run from 20-30 guys that just got off a bus and thats not a joke, sort of fuked my knee from doing it, but i got away fine, cba to type up everything but its mad out here, the whole shopping centre is on fire, the green behind is just a wasteland.

[CasinoApe]

Just worked up to 95kg on squats, but running away in my last post has definitely messed my legs up a little. Its frustrating waiting again but i'll have to, gonna write up the diet now, will workout tommorow.

[JT4Rugby]

Well i nearly got shanked going to a friends house, had to run from 20-30 guys that just got off a bus and thats not a joke, sort of fuked my knee from doing it, but i got away fine, cba to type up everything but its mad out here, the whole shopping centre is on fire, the green behind is just a wasteland.
Hope your alright man theres some crazy stuff going on at the moment my uncle is working in london at the moment and his house got attacked with petrol bombs.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 110kg 3x5
Bench press - 85kg x 2 83.5 x 3 80 x 4
Deadlift 137kg 1x4

Well squats went well, failed the bench and deds though. On the bench i think its becuase of a change in technique, my elbows flare alot less then they were before and it obviously stops me lifting as much weight. Other factors i think are not getting enough food in, and maybe taking too long to warm up, i usually get hungry near the end so clearly i'm starting too late after eating. I think if i sort out those basic problems then i should see my weights increase as they should be. I'll keep the bench at 80kg, i'm certain thats stalling due to the aforementioned problems.

[CasinoApe]

Hope your alright man theres some crazy stuff going on at the moment my uncle is working in london at the moment and his house got attacked with petrol bombs.

Wow hope he's alright, a guy round my area nearly got petrol bobmed i think, its calmed down now though, but i messed my leg up a little having to run for my fukking life lol.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 112.5kg 3x5
OP - 55kg 3x5
PC - 72.5kg 5x3

Felt good, could probs have done more on the OP, oh well lol.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 115kg 3x5
Bench Press - 82kg 3x5
Deadlift - 137kg 1x5

Right i'm off to eat some milk and tuna tuna tuna! Also results day on Thursday, will have to prepare my angus becuase i missed alot of school so i don't think i did so well, History was alright, Bio was meeh and chem's gonna be an atrocity lol!

[CasinoApe]

Ok i've been away for the past few days havn't been able to lift, hoping to resume tommorow, one problem however is that i only have 142kg in my house, my dad won't let me buy more, that'd last me 1 more session pretty much for deads. I'm going away for 3 weeks in september so joining a gym now is a waste of money really.

I think i'll continue the program, hopefully i can continue to improve my lifts, and maybe i'll just replace deads with wide grip weighted pull ups for ym back, and some other leg exercise, maybe RDL's? If they other lifts stall i'll stop until i get back at the end of september and get in some more running.

My leg hasn't felt brilliant, when i walk/run i feel the outer muscle still pulling a bit too much, but the Dr. said i should start now and as long as there's no pain its fine to continue, just building it up slowly with short runs.

Pre season has started down at my local club, i was chatting to a few of my old team mates and they said i should come down sometime, i might pop down before i leave, otherwise it will be at the end of september, i might have to take 2 or so weeks break from SS to just build up some base level fitness and get back into running, hopefully its somethying i can do alongside the program though.

[CasinoApe]

Worked up to
Squat - 117.5kg for 3 reps, i was leaning forward a little and had an uncomfortable feeling in my back, so i decided to play it safe and stop, it was also pretty late (11:30pm) as i had to start late due to a few personal things going on, will try again tomorrow

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 117.5kg 3x5
OP - 57.5kg 3x5
PC - 75kg 5x3

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 120kg 3x5
Benchpress - 84.5 x 4 x 3 x 3
Didn't deadlift

My spotter ****ing pissed me off, wasn't even watching, made me wait ages, it was my brother, and it took me about 1 hour to do the squats while he was playing call of ****ing duty, not too mention that when he was spotting me he wasn't even looking which was incredibly off putting. I swear it was like he was deliberately trying to put me off, at one point, during a rep, I heard him open the damn fridge, and i could see in the reflection of clock that he wasn't even watching me do 90% of the ****ing reps, i was in disbelief, and i kept being distracted by him moving behind me, on the last two reps he moved and i just automatically looked behind me, and the bar rolled forward onto my neck and i had to round my back horribly just to get the **** ****ing weight up.

I asked him what my form was like, and he said 'I wasn't watching', then he seemed offended when i had to tell him, TWICE!, during the same set, to stop ****ing moving around.

Seriously i was so close to just going ape**** on him, i can tell the weight loaded on to my spine when it rounded, and i bet its gonna ****ing hurt like **** tommorow, it already feels a little bit sore. ****ING **** ****ER.

I was in a bad mood after, failed the bench, i only got 3 hrs sleep after my last session so no surprises there, i decided the last thing my back needed after some **** squats was a set of deadlifts.

If he does it again i may well beat the **** out of him, i appreciate him helping, but it literally takes 6minutes at most to spot all of the sets, and he makes me ****ing wait around for him, by the time started the bench i was getting hungry and tired. Just ****ing pissed me off so much.

**** **** **** **** **** **** /rant

Will repeat this session next time around

[CasinoApe]

Resting today, think my spine is ok, but i definitely rounded my back last time, i'll try 120 again tommorow, but will try to keep my back as upright as possible.

Just gonna do a few stretches and foam rolling now.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 120kg 3x5
Bench Press - 83.5kg 3x5
Deadlift - 141kg 1x5
Barbell curl - 47kg 3x5

Felt pretty good, decided to use 2/1.5 kg progression on the bench instead of 2/2.5, filmed the last deadlift rep, was alright, back rounding a little at the top, looks like i'm initiating the movement with my lower back almost, i have to remeber to 'push' the weight instead of pulling it, but otherwise it wasn't too bad, also need to keep my back more vertical.

Squat were good too, was leaning forward less, maybe some rounding on the odd rep but it don't think it was too bad, again want to work on keeping my back more vertical.

Threw the curls in becuase i didn't feel too tired, using a barbell gives me a better hit on the wrists i think, I was interested in doing some wrist strengthening as falling on your wrists is a pretty bad problem in rugby lol, the curls also help with holding onto the ball, and its not a very intense exercise so its not exactly going to cause overtraining lol.

[CasinoApe]

No spotter tonight so i can't squat, leaving on the 5th aswell, not sure what to do atm.

I might just go practice my technique tonight?!?! Lol havn't got any running shoes either :/ might do some sort of a workout not really sure, i'll think about it and report back if i do!

Edit: Just practiced squats with 85kg, filmed the sets and there was some butt wink at the bottom, although i was unusually stiff today so maybe thats why.

I think i may just have to stop SS in the few days before i leave, my sleeping pattern has gone to the dogs (its 5am here lol). There's a few other problems that i'm not gonna go into all of them.

My back has been a little sore, i think i lean too far forward still during the squats, and my deadlifts aren't perfect. I think i'll just use the next few days to perferct my technique, might do some heavy sessions tomorrow, will see how i feel.

I'm also pretty sure my left leg is still weaker than my right, the hip flexor ( i think) in my left leg has a sort of pulling sensation when i do a heavy left sometimes, it just feels a bit weird, and its ususally pretty tight too. So i dunno lol, i think i'll just have to do safety first approach again, and find something else to do with my time, but yeah, will see how i feel tomorrow.

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 122.5kg 3x5
Bench Press - 85kg 3x5
Deadlift - 142kg 1x5
Barbell curl - 48.5kg 3x5

Ran out of weight for deadlifts now, my sleep is fuked so i was surprised i got this, i was pretty tired, my technique wasn't brilliant however for both squats and deads, i think this was probably becuase i was very tired though more than anything.

I'm gone for the next 3 weeks so this will be my last update for a while, will try to get some sort of training done while i can.

I've been thinking about what training i'll need to do when i get back, i think its time to start focusing more on my running and endurance now, my strength isn't bad, i imagine that with a 120kg+ squat and rougly 95kg bodyweight i'll be bigger and stronger then most people playing rugby for an under 19's sunday team, and the other areas of my game need more work.

So when i get back i'll probably be doing alot of sprinting, some HIIT circuits, maybe some slightly longer runs going up to about 5 kilometres, and some more weights too.

As for my diet and bodyweight, i think i'll contine eating at a surplus to gain weight for about a month after i return, then i think i'll try to drop some bodyfat and lower my weight for a month or two afterwards.

Anyway cya soon, and good luck with your endeavours! lol

[JT4Rugby]

Squat - 122.5kg 3x5
Bench Press - 85kg 3x5
Deadlift - 142kg 1x5
Barbell curl - 48.5kg 3x5

Ran out of weight for deadlifts now, my sleep is fuked so i was surprised i got this, i was pretty tired, my technique wasn't brilliant however for both squats and deads, i think this was probably becuase i was very tired though more than anything.

I'm gone for the next 3 weeks so this will be my last update for a while, will try to get some sort of training done while i can.

I've been thinking about what training i'll need to do when i get back, i think its time to start focusing more on my running and endurance now, my strength isn't bad, i imagine that with a 120kg+ squat and rougly 95kg bodyweight i'll be bigger and stronger then most people playing rugby for an under 19's sunday team, and the other areas of my game need more work.

So when i get back i'll probably be doing alot of sprinting, some HIIT circuits, maybe some slightly longer runs going up to about 5 kilometres, and some more weights too.

As for my diet and bodyweight, i think i'll contine eating at a surplus to gain weight for about a month after i return, then i think i'll try to drop some bodyfat and lower my weight for a month or two afterwards.

Anyway cya soon, and good luck with your endeavours! lol

Strong as usual. How many times do you do weight training because it doesnt seem like you do it consistantly but you still get big numbers, you must have good genetics, use em!

[CasinoApe]

Baccck mother****ers, and i'm feeling pretty god damn fuking motivated, got a cold so i'll be waiting a few more days before i get back into training, also got some running shoes, been planning some training sh!t and diet now, will get my plans/aims/diet up on here tommorow i hope, or maybe even tonight, who knows...?

[CasinoApe]

I'm going to stop SS again for a little while, though my strength and size has definitely been increasing well, i have a few concerns that are really to do with my own physiology rather than the program, and i don't think it is the best option for me at this moment. Two reasons are that I think bulgarian squats are better for strengthening my VMO, and also doing normal squats hasn't really helped improve the difference i feel between my two legs, and so more single leg work will be required. It feels like the strength of the two legs is now very similar, but there remains a definite difference in size between the two, though not as bad as it used to be and hardly noticeable without close inspections, it nevertheless feels quite uncomfortable, and i'd rather make sure that everything is sorted out. I'd rather be safe and wait a while longer to sort any problems out than resume strength training and risk some more injuries or conitune with those already present.

Just wrote up a quick plan for the short term (next few months):

Aims

-Be able to play rugby within 2 months
-Be able to resume SS at about the same time


Requirements

-Strenghten VMO
-Assess running capabilites, and improve upon them. This also requires VMO strength to increase as the imbalance makes running potentiall harmful
-Activate glutes/hamstrings more (strengthen them)


Achieving Requirements

-Bulgarian squats, helps VMO problems, rebalancing legs, strengthening Glutes/hams, improving running
-Beginning to run, gradually building on very short distances and some light sprinting, sub maximal efforts to begin with
-Glute activation, something i've already been doing, the article that was very kindly linked earlier in this thread.



Workout Plan
(Just a brief writeup, havn't looked over it too thoroughly yet, will change it if I think i have any improvements to make, but just want to get it in and take a look at it myself)
Will follow the principles of SS, with a few changes that i feel better suit me.

Workout A
-Bulgarians Squats 3x5
-Bench Press 3x5
-(Weighted) Wide grip chins 3x5

Workout B
-Bulgarian squats 3x5
-Overhead Press 3x5
-Power cleans 5x3
-Barbell curls 3x5

An average work day is going to look a little something like this:

-Foam roll + stretch quads, then go for a light jog, nothing that will cause much muscle fatigue, just enough to start getting used to running, without tiring me before weights.
-Light sprinting, by this i mean something like only a few reps and sets, with most being at a comfortably sub maximal intensity.
-Defranco's agile 8
-Weights session
-Glute activations
-Post workout stretches

I'll have exact details of the exact stretches and work that i perform tommorow if i can.

I replaced deadlifts with chins becuase i think my back would round a little, perhaps becuase my glutes were to weak to properly 'push' forward at the top of the lift, its really just a precautionary measure that'll allow me to get some decent back work in.

Barbell curls are for holding, gripping and ripping the ball in contact.

I'm unsure as to what weight i'll use when i do the bulgarian squats, will just have to see how it goes.

[CasinoApe]

Alright current workout plan looks like this, may make some more changes but seems pretty good, got the stretches included, will detail what they are underneath.

Weight sessions 3x a week

Work day-

(Morning)
-Foam roll + dynamic stretching
-Light jogging + sprinting
-Hyperlordosis work/lower back stretching

(Afternoon)
-Defranco's agile 8, dynamic stretching (This is the warm up for the weights sessions)
-Weights session
-Yoga stretches

(Break to eat, don't want the above session to last too long)
-Glute activation

(Break, static stretches are most effective performed on cold muscles)
-Static stretches



The morning stretches consist of performing the foam rolling exercisis on the outside of my quad that were a part of my original physio work, this loosens the muscle on my outer thigh, which will make running less dangerous.

The dynamic stretches in the morning consist of:
-3 way lunges
-High knee walk and run
-Heel ups walk and run
-Toy soldier

Hyperlordosis
http://betterme.ca/2011/03/fixing-low-back-pain.php
without the leg raises as i'll be doing the glute activation later anyway, these will be performed at various times during the day, just when i'm doing some other work aswell.

Defranco's agile 8
http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-10-03.html

Dynamic stretching
-Shoulder circles + rear/front/lateral raises
-Bulgarian squat warm up
-3 way lunges
-Cossack squats

Yoga stretches
xBY6XamyJuI

Glute activation
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/dispelling_the_glute_myth

Static stretches
Basically anything from here, focusing on areas i feel need more work, such as my quads.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/stretches.htm

[CasinoApe]

Aiming for 4000 calories witha C/P/F ratio of 50/30/20

This works out to 400/240/160 for 4000 calories.

Atm got 405/240/76.5 planned out in meals, but i think there's not enough vegetables in there, main components are eggs, tuna, milk and baked beans. Gonna make up for the fat with 100ml of olive oil which will give me the extra 90g of fat i need.

[CasinoApe]

Strong as usual. How many times do you do weight training because it doesnt seem like you do it consistantly but you still get big numbers, you must have good genetics, use em!

Thanks, just 3x a week, though i suppose in the last few weeks i wasn't really keeping to that.

And yeah i've been stronger than other people my age for quite a while, i think the main thing for me is to just avoid any more injuries for a while and build up, hopefully when i'm back playing rugby and able to continue SS i'll get some real big numbers next year.

[CasinoApe]

Went for a run and performed stretches.

I still have a pretty bad head cold so i couldn't really do much else today, fatigued quickly.


As for the run itself, well was pretty big for me i guess, first time i've run more than 100 metres for a good 10 months. I did half a lap of the park, which i think is about 800m, was shattered by this, i think its my cold, but man that 800m felt like 8000 rofl. My knees didn't feel too bad, some stiffness, back of the knees felt a bit weird, but otherwise i'd say it went pretty well, didn't feel any pull in my outer thigh, no knee pain.

I used to run 3 laps of the park anywhere from 20-24 mins, thats about 5km overall.

Hopefully i can work up to a full lap next week.

Otherwise, feels pretty good man, being able to run again is a pretty big milestone for me

http://picslap.com/sites/default/files/field/image/feelsgoodman1.jpg

[CasinoApe]

Dynamic stretches
1 Lap (Roughly 1 mile) about 9:30 seconds

Was only gonna do half a lap, but felt soo much better and quite easily did a full lap, could of gone for another half atleast i reckon but i didn't want to push it too much, knees felt fantastic, no pain at all, my vmo's feel like they were finally taking enough of my weight, no pulling feeling or whatever which is great.

Gonna do some static stretching in a little bit, will try to do a full workout tommorow as i don't think i'll be too fatigued.

I think i'm also going to make a slight change to the order of events now that its clear my knee is ready for me to begin some more intensive running, whereas before i thought it would only be capable of light work. This means i'm going change my work days from:

Run/sprint/weights to Sprint/Weights/Run (Note: Glute Activation between weights and running sessions)

[CasinoApe]

Sprints 40m x6

Bulgarian squats 50kg 3x5 (each leg)
Bench Press 75kg 3x5
Wide grip pull ups - 3x5 ( first set had 5kg added on top)

Felt pretty tired today, just some easier stuff to get back into things. Sprinting felt good aswell, gonna start doing more of that i reckon.

[CasinoApe]

Didn't train today becuase i had to get up early for a 2 hour driving lesson and then work, not going to train in the evening because i'm going to attempt to wake up at 5:30am for the Wales v Ireland game, so just doing some stretches instead and will proceed as intended tommorow if i manage to get some sleep.


Some interesting stats I saw for some of the Welsh players earlier aswell, Toby Faletau has made 50 tackes and missed none so far, and George North has made 385 running metres with the ball, the most of any player in the tournament, beeaaasts!!!

[CasinoApe]

I went out to the park to do my sprints earlier, stretched, did some warm up runs and so on, gradually getting faster, worked up to a full speed sprint, and completed it without a hitch, i was surprisingly fast, moving alot quicker then even just a few days ago.

Then i reached my marker, began slowing down, and my right leg went into a small divet. Its hard to explain how it happened, but basically becuase my leg landed a little deeper and further away then i expected, it landed completely straight instead of bent. This meant that my muscles didn't take any of the force of slowing down, with me still at close to full pace. The force went straight up my unbent leg and jolted into my hip.

There was a big cracking/popping sound, it was like having my hip impaled by my own femur, and it fuking hurt too, my whole leg went wobbly and continued to hurt right in the joint.

After that i tried to walk around on it a little, when I put my weight on my right leg it kind of goes inwards a bit and I have to lean over to stop myself falling.

I went back and iced it, the pains not as bad, if i sit still its still hurts alot but not as much as it did, if i move the joint in anyway, put any weight on it, then it hurts and continues to do so for a while. I'm walking with a pretty bad limp.

If i push my hips forward i feel a little moving, maybe even popping sensation and its painful. My immediate reaction when it happened, it felt like a dislocation, but that was only how it felt immediately, i'm not really sure what to to think.

I didn't do any more exercise, went back and iced it immediately and as often as possible since, i'll rest it for a while now, see how it feels tommorow.

I reckon its just some bruising, but i'll just have to wait and see, I'd be pretty distraught if it was anything worse.

[CasinoApe]

Been icing my hip/groin area alot, doesn't feel as stiff, not so sore now.

There is however pain when i move it too much, some clicking, grinding and popping noises when i move it sometimes which is worrying, still got a pretty retarded limp aswell.

Will give it another few days, see how it goes.

[CasinoApe]

Leg is starting to feel better, pretty sure its not anything more serious than some bruising/strain, the popping noises are gone, and the constant pain has almost ceased completely. Its still pretty stiff, but i'm going to start stretching again as I don't feel too much pain moving it around, still hurts to lift it up though.

Going to continue icing, i've also got a bean bag thing which i stick in the microwave for a little bit so i can apply some heat to the area aswell.

Hopefully i can resume full training by the end of the week.

On another note, just got some accurate scales so i can now measure weight gain week to week, i've dropped to 203lbs mid day weight, so i reckon 202-201lbs in morning. Thats quite alot of weight lost which is unfortunate, explains why i've been feeling a bit weaker.

May also do lunges instead of bulgarians, i feel with the weight i now have to use to do bulgarians, the shifting around i do on my knee to get balance is not preferable. I'll probably superset them with lighter weight on the end of lunges instead.

[prodiboy]

what kind of injuy are you recovering from

[CasinoApe]

what kind of injuy are you recovering from

Atm? Seem to have sprained my groin a little bit or got some bruising from a slight trip while sprinting. Should be back to normal in a few days doesn't feel as bad as i first thought.

Otherwise i'd say i was generally doing alright injury wise, my knee caps were out of position and i had quite a few muscle imbalances, but thats not as bad as it was. Basically i'm just doing some physical prep for SS to make sure i can complete all the lifts with proper form.

[prodiboy]

Gotcha sounded like you ad some sot of really bad knee injury. Make sure you have strong hamstrings and quads or you'll end up like me unable to make a cu wihout falling over

[CasinoApe]

Yeah i'm just trying to strengthen my posterior chain as i have trouble 'sitting back' while squatting, causing me to lean forward during the lift, putting more pressure on my knees and back then i would like, just trying to make sure I can avoid any more injuries if possible so not gonna rush into anything.

Sounds like you've had a pretty bad injury yourself then? what happened?

[prodiboy]

i tore my acl so im pretty much out till next season. i tried to make a cut an my back to studs stayed stuck in the ground and my knee twisted around it, and now i can really do much i cant really run without being taped since we can wear knee braces bu i still fall ove its prety much all i can do is run straight ahead ruck, which aint to bad but its unconfortable when your trying to do conditioning and you don have a fully functioning knee.

[CasinoApe]

Damn sounds pretty nasty, hope it gets better for you man.

[CasinoApe]

Bench - 77.5kg 3x5
Wide grip chins - 6,7,6 reps
Glute activation

Leg is nearly better, still not good enough to do leg weights though, so just did some upper body stuff. Will do some static stretches and myofascial

Also my bodyweight dropped to about 200lbs, mainly becuase i wasn't getting nearly enough food for the last month or so.




Edit: Just read an article which mentioned patellar mistracking, had a few bits of information that were of great interest to me:

"Those with knee pain lack hip control, which means that the knee ends up doing many of the things the hip should." Sounds familiar.

"Developing control starts with creating an intense mind-muscle connection with the glutes...So pick a bodyweight exercise that gives you the best glute burn. Glute bridges, hip thrusts, etc."

"Aim for a minimum of 100 repetitions per day, topping out at 300 for those with the dedication."

Challenge accepted!

[toad1]

you don't seem to have to much luck with injuries, hows the hip/groin, popping sounds don't tend to be good things?

i just wana ask why you don't want to squat without a spotter is becasue of your other injuries?

[CasinoApe]

Did this yesterday, got a cold of my brother when he came back from uni for the weekend so unfortunately i couldn't really do alot.

Overhead Press - Worked up to 45kg, did 3 sets of 6-10 reps, didn't really count them. Was weakened by my cold fairly badly, i was cramping just warming up with the bar lol. Decided to do something just to get back into lifting weights again. Had some slight doms today.


Glute activation:

Single leg glute bridges - x 30, 15 on each leg
Lying leg abduction - x 30, 15 on each leg
Hip thrusts - x 40

total reps 100, 70 on each leg.


Gonna aim for more reps on glute activation

[CasinoApe]

you don't seem to have to much luck with injuries, hows the hip/groin, popping sounds don't tend to be good things?

i just wana ask why you don't want to squat without a spotter is becasue of your other injuries?

Rofl yeah i was raging at the thought of having another injury. Its getting better, i don't think it anything to terrible, but its still pretty sore, can't perform a groin stretch, and i was doing some bodyweight lunges and there was still pain, but i was able to perform the exercises, hopefully, next week all will be good.

As for not squatting, yes the reason is because of my other injuries. I don't like squatting without a spotter, but if i absolutely can't get one i'll do them anyway. The reason for this is i work out in my garage atm, and if i drop 120kg+ on the floor its going to cause structural damage to the house (garage is connected to house). Seen as on SS every workout is a squat PR, i can't be 100% sure i'll get the weight, and dropping isn't an option if i get stuck. So doing it alone is a bit of a risk.

As for my other injuries, the article i talked about a few posts above says "Those with knee pain lack hip control, which means that the knee ends up doing many of the things the hip should."

So i'm trying to develop my hip strength before i start doing heavy squats again, I had also noticed that i tended to lean forward to much during squats, unable to properly 'Sit back'. Was planning on doing this with some spriting, bulgarian squats and glute activation, but the recent injury to my hip put a little blip in that plan!

[prodiboy]

i definatly think you might be over thinking your training. you should probably still squat heavy but have alot of accesory work that works with your hips it'll allow you to still make gains while stregthening weak points in your squat

[toad1]

Rofl yeah i was raging at the thought of having another injury. Its getting better, i don't think it anything to terrible, but its still pretty sore, can't perform a groin stretch, and i was doing some bodyweight lunges and there was still pain, but i was able to perform the exercises, hopefully, next week all will be good.

As for not squatting, yes the reason is because of my other injuries. I don't like squatting without a spotter, but if i absolutely can't get one i'll do them anyway. The reason for this is i work out in my garage atm, and if i drop 120kg+ on the floor its going to cause structural damage to the house (garage is connected to house). Seen as on SS every workout is a squat PR, i can't be 100% sure i'll get the weight, and dropping isn't an option if i get stuck. So doing it alone is a bit of a risk.

As for my other injuries, the article i talked about a few posts above says "Those with knee pain lack hip control, which means that the knee ends up doing many of the things the hip should."

So i'm trying to develop my hip strength before i start doing heavy squats again, I had also noticed that i tended to lean forward to much during squats, unable to properly 'Sit back'. Was planning on doing this with some spriting, bulgarian squats and glute activation, but the recent injury to my hip put a little blip in that plan!

fair enough about the garage floor, i droped 60kg off my back yesterday and got funny looks and that was with bumper plates on an olly platform.

leaning forward could be a form thing, work on keeping your head and chest up, stops you leaning forward and if you do fail the bar should roll down your back instead of over your head, good mornings might also help with the leaning forward.

i think i might have read that hip control article, is that the one with all the abductor streches.

[CasinoApe]

i definatly think you might be over thinking your training. you should probably still squat heavy but have alot of accesory work that works with your hips it'll allow you to still make gains while stregthening weak points in your squat

Yeah i am probably am, but i'd rather be safe than sorry, I should be squatting in a month or so i hope. Either way, there no way i can squat now after the injury i picked up sprinting.


fair enough about the garage floor, i droped 60kg off my back yesterday and got funny looks and that was with bumper plates on an olly platform.

leaning forward could be a form thing, work on keeping your head and chest up, stops you leaning forward and if you do fail the bar should roll down your back instead of over your head, good mornings might also help with the leaning forward.

i think i might have read that hip control article, is that the one with all the abductor streches.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/straightforward_knee_rehab

I quoted from the 2nd page.

Yeah of course my form isn't perfect, but i worked alot on trying to sit back during the lift and I'd always be falling back, even when i don't have weights on it still happens.

Thats basically why i'm doing all the glute work, and wanted to do the sprinting, the injury i picked up has put a real blip in those plans for the moment, so i'm just strecthing and doing what i can atm, though tbh i've been slacking last few days.

Thanks for the comments btw guys, really appreciate it.

Gonna do some stuff in about 30mins, will update later.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 80kg 3x5
Wide Grip Pull Ups (+5kg) - 5,5,4

Elbows maybe flaring a little bit on the way up on bench, wasn't anything serious though. Performed some warm up exercises for my shoulder muscles aswell to help prevent any rotator cuff injuries.

Glute activation:
30 x Single leg glute bridges - 15 each leg
20 x Lying leg abduction - 10 each leg
20 x Hip Thrusts

So thats only 70 total, 45 each leg. Gonna do some more later, got work to do, just gonna do a load when i watch TV.

[toad1]

solid pull up work and i like all the glute stuff.

yeh i've read that article, you can pick up some quite good info on those t-nation articles.

with your squats look up goblet squats and sandbag squats?? they might help you with your form, basically one you squat down and put your elbows on the inside of your knee and the other squat down with your palms facing up and get your palms on the ground, i have to do alot of streching to do the sandbag one.(i think thats what is called, kind like pretending your holding a sandbag)

[CasinoApe]

Overhead Press - 55kg 3x5
Wide Grip Pull Ups (+6kg) - 3x5

Want to keep my back straighter on the OP, but otherwise no concerns here, might use a smaller increase for the OP next time around so i can focus on form.

Glute Activation:
30 x Lying leg abduction - 15 each leg
20x Single leg glute bridge - 10 each leg

Will update later when i do more glutes, foam rolling, and some static stretches.

[CasinoApe]

solid pull up work and i like all the glute stuff.

yeh i've read that article, you can pick up some quite good info on those t-nation articles.

with your squats look up goblet squats and sandbag squats?? they might help you with your form, basically one you squat down and put your elbows on the inside of your knee and the other squat down with your palms facing up and get your palms on the ground, i have to do alot of streching to do the sandbag one.(i think thats what is called, kind like pretending your holding a sandbag)

Cheers, I'll look em up, I think for me the most important things are increasing my flexibility and glute strength, but practicing any sort of squatting movement will be beneficial.

My hip/groin is getting better too, can now descend into a full atg squat, although its pretty painful lol! Will probably start sprinting again on Friday.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 82.5kg 3x5
Wide grip pull ups (+7kg) 3x5

Did some glute activation, gonna do more later with stretching.

Sort of cheated on the last rep of the pull ups with some extra leg swing to get my chin over the bar.

Hip is still not quite so good, i was doing some bodyweight lunges and they don't feel to bad, apart from reverse lunges which cause a bit of pain in the injured area. So i'm gonna continue to rest it until there isn't any significant pain during the exercises.

On another note, i now have some impressivly auidible crepitus in my left hip, both knees, both shoulders and right elbow. Of actual concern is my left elbow, it recently locked up on me a few times, and when i make a bicep curling motion, it causes a numb, tingly sensation (a bit like hitting your funny bone), So i've booked an appointment with a GP to see what he thinks of it. Not really too worried about this though, i've had it for a while and never really bothered to mention it becuase it hasn't really caused any problems, but might aswell see a Dr. becuase its free here anyway.

[JT4Rugby]

You alright mate? Hows the rugby going?

[CasinoApe]

Overhead Press - 57.5kg - 55kg -52.5kg 5 reps each, wanted to make sure i had proper form so used lower weight.
Wide grip pull ups (+8kg) 5,5,4

Did some foam rolling afterwards.

[CasinoApe]

You alright mate? Hows the rugby going?

Yeah i'm alright, still no rugby yet lol :/ damaged my hip somehow on my 3rd run so i've had to stop training my legs while that heals up. Seems to be clearing up now though.

How about yourself? had any more trials/developments? You're making some nice progress in your log.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 85kg 3x5
Wide Grip Pull Ups (+9kg) - 3x5

I did some squats with an empty barbell, there wasn't any real pain in my hip, but i was very, very tight pretty much all over. Will start building up the leg weights slowly. Was happy with the bench and pull ups.

And just for reference the pull ups are being performed with over hand grip, i think it might actually be called a chin up in that matter but i've been calling them pull ups so there's no point changing it and getting confused. I'll specify if I vary this.

[CasinoApe]

Havn't done weights for a little while, been doing strecthes and glute activation, hip still feels painful in some positions, still waiting to see a consultant on it. Will probably start doing some more leg work in the next few days.

Weights up to 212lbs now, BF is probably 15-17%

[CasinoApe]

Overhead press - 50kg 2x5 1 x 8
Wide grip chin ups (bodyweight) 9,7
Practiced squats

Nothing too much, been getting up earlier, so i havn't been sleeping as much so didn't do much weight today, just took it easy.

Did some glute activation and foam rolling too, will static stretch before bed. Might try a little sprinting tommorow just to see how my hip feels, but again won't be anything too much.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 40kg 1x5
Bench Press - 87.5kg 3x5
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 3x3

Tried doing some weights on my leg, hip still feels a little painful so i stopped. Bench was a PR. Chins was disappointing but oh well. I hadn't really planned on doing a full workout, as just gonna do my leg, but decided to go for it as i couldn't train my leg. Was feeling tired so i was surprised with the bench.

Knee feels pretty good otherwise, generally feel quite agile.

[CasinoApe]

Overhead Press - 55kg 3x5
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 4,3,4
Bodyweight bulgarian squats - 20 reps each

[CasinoApe]

Having an MRI scan on my hip, been told i prolly won't be able to train my leg for 6weeks-4months.

Elbow is alright, the Dr. i saw about that is from the WHO and he took particular interest in a few reults from my impulse tests, wants me to go back and give a blood sample for some genetic testing, sounds pretty interesting.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 90kg 4,3,4
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 3x4

Just had the MRI, i can't get an appointment till jan 6th, gonna email the consultant with some of the pics, he said he might be able to tell me whats up that way.

Was pretty tired today so wasn't surprised that i didn't get 5 reps on the sets.

Unsure what to do training wise, i can't do anything that might upset my hip, which is quite a lot tbh. No running, squatting, lunging, deadlifting, bulgarian squatting etc. The only exercises i can really think of are isolation movements, glute activation, calf raises etc. I can either continue bulking up, but my legs will be lagging behind by quite a bit, or i could try to cut some of the fat i've gained while retaining/gaining strength at a slower rate.

[CasinoApe]

Overhead Press - 57.5kg 3x5
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 4,3,2

[toad1]

Bench Press - 90kg 4,3,4
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 3x4

Just had the MRI, i can't get an appointment till jan 6th, gonna email the consultant with some of the pics, he said he might be able to tell me whats up that way.

Was pretty tired today so wasn't surprised that i didn't get 5 reps on the sets.

Unsure what to do training wise, i can't do anything that might upset my hip, which is quite a lot tbh. No running, squatting, lunging, deadlifting, bulgarian squatting etc. The only exercises i can really think of are isolation movements, glute activation, calf raises etc. I can either continue bulking up, but my legs will be lagging behind by quite a bit, or i could try to cut some of the fat i've gained while retaining/gaining strength at a slower rate.


i feel your pain with the leg stuff, my knee problem means my leg work is all pretty much isolation work as well, but i'm trying to think of it as an oportunity to strengthen up my hamstrings and glutes as i've allways felt my quads where pretty strong anyway, so when my knee is good again hopefully my lifts will go up due to my stronger glutes and hamms. i've also started doing direct calf work which i've never done.


not long till your benching your BW keep up the good work, with the bench, chins and presses and hopefully the rest of your body gets better in time.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 90kg 3x3
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) - 4,2,4

Didn't sleep well so not a good sesh.

[CasinoApe]

i feel your pain with the leg stuff, my knee problem means my leg work is all pretty much isolation work as well, but i'm trying to think of it as an oportunity to strengthen up my hamstrings and glutes as i've allways felt my quads where pretty strong anyway, so when my knee is good again hopefully my lifts will go up due to my stronger glutes and hamms. i've also started doing direct calf work which i've never done.


not long till your benching your BW keep up the good work, with the bench, chins and presses and hopefully the rest of your body gets better in time.

Thanks man,i'm just gonna wait it out, the dr. told me if i tried exercising it would probably just prolong the injury, he says i have some effusion (swelling) in my hip, but he needs to take a better look at it. Its really annoying because all I wanna do is hit training hard, but i'll just have to patient once again.

I'm just using it as an opportunity to stretch and improve my squat depth, which is actually not doing too bad atm.

Good luck with your knee too, what exactly have you done to it?

[toad1]

Thanks man,i'm just gonna wait it out, the dr. told me if i tried exercising it would probably just prolong the injury, he says i have some effusion (swelling) in my hip, but he needs to take a better look at it. Its really annoying because all I wanna do is hit training hard, but i'll just have to patient once again.

I'm just using it as an opportunity to stretch and improve my squat depth, which is actually not doing too bad atm.

Good luck with your knee too, what exactly have you done to it?

i've torn my miniscus (cartilidge) on my right knee, so i can't really do anything with it, no running or load baring, but my physio has told me that i've not to completely rest it or push it to hard. so i've basically got todo 10mins or so most days on a bike to keep it moving and do really light leg extensions and build up my glutes and hamstrings.

[CasinoApe]

Overhead press - 60kg 3x5
Wide grip chin ups (+10kg) (Total =110kg) - 5,4,3

Was pretty pleased with this, OP felt pretty easy, felt like i had more in me, chins felt good too, missed the 5th and 4th reps on the last two sets by less than an inch. I think the reason i have a bit of trouble getting the chin ups is becuase my bodyweight is also increasing quite abit, roughly 1kg a week. I'm weighing 99kg in the morning atm, although I weigh more than 100kg after i've eaten. I'll start listing the total weight involved from here on, becuase it may actually be increasing without me really noticing.

Otherwise just stretching etc, my flexibility feels alot better, i can sink into a deep ATG squat with a pretty wide stance without much discomfort. Also popping Ibuprofen as much as is safe on recommendation of the Dr. who looked at my hip, I don't have any pain but the ibuprofen are anti-inflammatory, so they should help me recover. The hip does however definitely feel quite awkward, but I won't know the full story until the 6th of Jan.

I'll probably also ask if he can see if my growth plates are still open, I don't really wanna get too much taller, but my shoulders and reach are definitely growing, and would be interesting to know.

[CasinoApe]

i've torn my miniscus (cartilidge) on my right knee, so i can't really do anything with it, no running or load baring, but my physio has told me that i've not to completely rest it or push it to hard. so i've basically got todo 10mins or so most days on a bike to keep it moving and do really light leg extensions and build up my glutes and hamstrings.

Sounds nasty, the Dr. told me that the reason alot of injuries take a long time to heal is that most people will try to exercise as soon as they start feeling good again, instead of giving it proper time to heal, so i'm just avoiding any work with my hip, but you';ve got a different injury to me so i'm sure doing a bit of light exercise will help if thats what your physio recommends.

Pretty frustrating not being able to train properly though lol.

[CasinoApe]

Bench Press - 100kg 1 rep
Wide grip chin ups (+20kg) (120kg total) - 1 rep

Decided to test some 1RM's, was happy with these two, i've never benched 2 plates before, so getting 100kg was a pretty cool milestone.

I'd like to bench 140kg some time next year, doesn't seem to unrealistic to aim for.

[CasinoApe]

Saw the consultant, looks like a tear in the cartilage, he says i'll probs be looking at another 1-2 months out

[CasinoApe]

Not really too much to write about atm, doing lots of exercises given to me by a physio to help with the hip, he's given me some stuff to help stabalise the bone in the joint to help prevent any more swelling etc. Comfortably hit 85kg x5 on the bench, feel like i've lost a bit of strength, but then i havn't done much in the past month so its to be expected.

[toad1]

Sounds nasty, the Dr. told me that the reason alot of injuries take a long time to heal is that most people will try to exercise as soon as they start feeling good again, instead of giving it proper time to heal, so i'm just avoiding any work with my hip, but you';ve got a different injury to me so i'm sure doing a bit of light exercise will help if thats what your physio recommends.

Pretty frustrating not being able to train properly though lol.

i'm kind of starting to realise this myself, total rest is needed sometimes.

well done on the bench PR, also nice wieght for the chins.

sucks bout your injury aswell.

[CasinoApe]

Still here, physio says i might be kl to start running in a few weeks, just doing some random exercises along with the glute stuff.

Overhead Press 65kg 2 reps and 55kg 2x5
7 reps x3 bodyweight pullups (About 101kg)

So yeah not posting as much but still here, probably gonna drop some fat with some HIIT coz i cba with the weights when i can't train my legs.

[CasinoApe]

Seeing the physio later today, he said i might be able to start running this week, we'll see how todays session goes, just doing lots of glute exercises and some rehab stuff for dat dere hip

[CasinoApe]

Went for a small run, felt pretty good actually, the more i did the better it all felt, and i'm in quite a good mood now, I was surprisingly quick and felt quite powerful, i was actually moving very quickly even at about 70% of my max i think, though i didn't try to push it too much. I am definitely very unfit though, was panting for breath after 70 metres or so lol.

I ran for a bit, then walked for a bit as the physio instructed, probably did about 800metres all together, not much, but i just wanted to go easy today.

Gonna do some more glute stuff and stretching, peace.

[CasinoApe]

Another run today, did about 1500m so just under a mile.

Definitely feeling better, but i was shattered after this lol! Muscles are all sore, my hip was feeling a little weird towards the end, but no pain, so alls good, lungs were really burning too and i could barely do anymore, so my fitness is terrible. Probably took my 8-9mins to do so thats pretty slow, but considering i've had so long off, I think its not too bad, and it'll improve quickly.

Gonna take this all slowly, do some running every other day, continuing with the glute/stretching stuff. Physio says i should be more than fine to start sprinting in 3 weeks time.

Things are looking up! Was a pretty nice day aswell, feeling pretty good right now.

X2itjJT4hsE

[CasinoApe]

Ran about 2100m, really had to push for that, tough but pleased i managed to get through and its a steady improvement.

Ankles still feel a little weird running though, but i'll just keep slowly building up, might time myself next time around.

[CasinoApe]

Another run, did just a mile this time, felt better, getting quicker.

[CasinoApe]

Ran a lap and a half plus a little bit more, so thats about 2600m.

Felt pretty good, ofc my fitness still sucks but I am getting quicker and the distance is going up nicely, hit about 60% on the final 150m and that felt pretty good, certainly felt quite powerful running with a good stride. The physio wants me to start running for around 25mins now, however I'm not sure I can run that long at the moment, and in any case I don't think 25minutes of jogging is particularly useful for rugby, but I'll give it a go anyway. I still go at a fairly slow pace for most of the run, but I get some twinges and pains in my ankles and knees, so I'm just keeping to low impact/low intensity running for the moments. Their not particularly worrying pains, just the sort of stiffness you'd expect from running after such a long break, and they're getting better with each run anyway, so not to concerning.

Will do glute strengthening exercises later, off to do some maths/chemistry, fun fun fun.

MBNWnaeY8-I

[CasinoApe]

Ran 2 laps, so thats 2 Miles/3200m, and i'm very very pleased with that!

Didn't feel very good when i started and really had to push through alot of it, but I feel great now that i've managed to do 2laps. I finished with a pretty nice kick over the last 100m or so, and it was better than last time, so alls good. Was still pretty slow though, gonna try to remember to take a watch and time myself when I go again. Hip still feels pretty odd, gonna keep an eye on it to see how it feels tommorow.

[CasinoApe]

Run - 2 Laps/3200m

Feel good, no pain in the Hip, should be able to start sprinting soon, physio said I might be able to even start playing rugby next month, but I think it would be better to wait till next season and spend the time getting fitter/stronger rather than rushing in and being at risk of another injury again.

[toad1]

good to see your back running bro, i can't wait to run again. what are you doing laps off i'm assuming its not a rugby pitch, i think a lap of a pitch is 300m. 3k run is pretty good progess.

[CasinoApe]

Played around in the park yesterday, just kicking a ball around, actually played a little bit of touch rugby, I definitely have a surprising amount of speed all things considered, although in absolute terms its nothing special yet, did my glute exercises too, Major doms today, but it feels good, Hip felt a little odd running still, but I think it improving.

[CasinoApe]

good to see your back running bro, i can't wait to run again. what are you doing laps off i'm assuming its not a rugby pitch, i think a lap of a pitch is 300m. 3k run is pretty good progess.

There's a local park which is 1mile following the perimeter, yeah i've been very happy with 3k, I don't think I really need to go much further than that for rugby too, should be better too just work on recovery and running those laps a bit quicker. Just taking it slowly with the hip, think I'm gonna wait till next season to start playing, hopefully by then I'll be in really good shape.

Any idea how long till you'll be running again? It feels great to be back exercising, though its pretty tough getting back into it as general fitness will be lacking after long breaks lol.

[toad1]

There's a local park which is 1mile following the perimeter, yeah i've been very happy with 3k, I don't think I really need to go much further than that for rugby too, should be better too just work on recovery and running those laps a bit quicker. Just taking it slowly with the hip, think I'm gonna wait till next season to start playing, hopefully by then I'll be in really good shape.

Any idea how long till you'll be running again? It feels great to be back exercising, though its pretty tough getting back into it as general fitness will be lacking after long breaks lol.

i'm hoping to running again late may/june depending on rehab, i'm really hoping my fitness hasn't dropped to much but there is only so much i can do on a bike and rowing machine.

i've got a program somewhere for back row's that said a good 2.4k(about a mile and a half) is 9.30-9mins, duno what your times are like but thats something to aim for.

id be duying to get back playing but id agree with you no point rushing back for the end of season games.

[CasinoApe]

Physio gave me these exercises to do in a circuit:

Burpees (With press up)
Step ups with knee raise
Jump into squat and then jump back

Did 2 sets with 8,20,10 reps respectively with a rest inbetween sets, basically a small HIIT circuit.

[CasinoApe]

Same HIIT circuit as before, did 3 sets this time, took less rest this time, roughly a minute inbetween sets, took about 2 for the last set. Was so tired out by this lol!

[CasinoApe]

Same HIIT circuit, this time completed 4 sets and reduced rest time inbetween circuits.

[CasinoApe]

Saw the physip today, told me I didn't need any more sessions and that I was good to go sprinting now. He performed a few tests and was happy with it all, but just to take the sprinting easy to start off with.

[CasinoApe]

Been on two runs over the past few days.

1st run - 1mile (1 lap) with 3 80% 20second bursts, otherwise just going pretty easy.

2nd run - 800m (1/2 lap) with 3 80-90% bursts, was too busy in the park to run, felt shattered doing it aswell.

So still feel pretty odd running but there has been improvement.

[toad1]

good to hear you've been passed fit again. i can't wait to start running again once my injury has healed. i feel like i'm so close yet so far away.

solid hiit circuirt i love those things. clean pulls s/s burpees s/s long jumps or lunges is my favorite one.

[CasinoApe]

Was warming up with a quick jog round the park for a HIIT circuit yesterday and i got attacked by a rottweiler! I managed to dodge it at the last second and avoid it getting hold of my leg, its tooth scrapped down the back of my leg, no cuts, but it ripped my trousers. Fortunately for me it was wet out and once it missed its initial lunge at my leg it slipped sideways and I manged to give it a fuking strong kick to the abdomen which put it to the floor whimpering and the owner got a hold of it. Big dog too, just attacked me as I was running past, had to file a police report afterwards but nothing much has happened.

Fortunately i'm ok, gonna do the circuit today instead, will update later.

[CasinoApe]

good to hear you've been passed fit again. i can't wait to start running again once my injury has healed. i feel like i'm so close yet so far away.

solid hiit circuirt i love those things. clean pulls s/s burpees s/s long jumps or lunges is my favorite one.

Yeah i know what you mean about running, I can go for a jog now but my knees still feel a little funny and I have a few problems with my hip, I'm just trying to focus on whats right infront of me now and move up little by little rather than expecting alot of myself immediately.

Now that I can start doing the HIIT ciruits its a huge boost to me, I'll be able to train anaearobically and aerobic systems, start getting some good endocrine responses to get the HGH flowing and lose some fat too which i desperately need to do, gonna try to drop from 100kg to 90kg. Then i'll move onto sprinting hopefully, I think i'm gonna wait a while till i get back into the weightlifting, hopefully nearer to the end of the year.

How long you reckon till you're back running?

[CasinoApe]

Ran half a lap of the park (roughly 800m) for a warm up, then did a HIIT circuit:
30seconds of press ups at 100% effort
90seconds of lunges/sit ups at slow pace
30second of burpees at 100% effot
Repeat

Did this so I had completed 4 x 30 second bursts of max effort, was shattered afterwards, whole thing took me about 9mins to complete (Theres some latency with switching between exercises and picking stuff up so it takes a little longer than 8mins to do 4 sets)

Notes:
-Used 20kg plate gripped at chest level for lunges
-Sit ups started using v sit up variation but switched to regular sit ups once I had fatigued to much to maintain proper form.

At this point my waist it 39" girth at belly button when relaxed, hopefully looking to bring that down to low 30's over the next few months.

[CasinoApe]

Walked for 30mins and foam rolled my thighs, they are tight as fuuuk.

Noticing some odd pain in my left hip (not the one I injured) when I put alot of weight on it and move around, feels like a nerve pinching or bone rubbing type pain, goes away quickly however, just making a note of it to keep an eye on it.

Will do some glute exercises in a bit, will update later.

[CasinoApe]

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90seconds

Repeat (4 100% sets completed)

Time - 8:38 seconds

Notes - Faster than last time, will probably try moving up to maybe 5/6 sets next week
- Left hip felt fine, I think the pain I was feeling over the last few days was due to extra muscle tightness in the quads from the circuits. After some foam rolling the pain has gone so no problem.
-Knees feel good after foam rolling, no pain during exercise which is great, very little concern with them now, I feel they are no barrier to me sprinting.
- Right hip still feels a little odd, due to the success I had reducing pain in the left hip I will try more work with it, I need to up the glute work, I havn't done any in a while which is pretty indolent of me.
-Leg imbalances feel better, still feel as if the right leg is dominant and taking more strain, but this has definitely decreased.

Overall a good session.

[CasinoApe]

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90seconds

Repeat (5 100% sets completed)

Time - 9:58

Notes - Knees fine, some discomfort but nothing much, just twinges
- Hips fine, some popping in right but no discomfort
-Imbalance of strength between left and right leg feel decreased.
-20kg plate held when performing lunges (As always for these circuits, just incase I haven't stated that, this will continue unless stated otherwise)

Overall a good session, feeling pretty good.

[CasinoApe]

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps - 90seconds

Repeat (6 100% sets completed)

Time - 15:17

[CasinoApe]

Noticed some popping in my right hip while walking along today, making a note of this to record that there are still problems significant enough to be a cause for concern.

I believe this was becuase my glute are a little fatigued from some hip thrusts I performed over the previous few days, and also my failure to perform significant hip flexor stretches and foam rolling, causing the hip to be pulled out of place. This isn't a hugely pressing concern, just noting it.

I am also going to make some slight adjustments to my recent training:
- To the HIIT circuits I will add pull ups to the 90 sec reduced intensity period
-I will also begin to perform more glute strengthening exercises, mainly weighted lunges and hip thrusts. These will be performed before the HIIT circuit (As the HIIT circuit is maximal exertion and is effort rather than performance based, any fatigue in the muscles when beginning this exercise is of little concern.) They will preferably be seperate and some time before the HIIt circuit.

Overall I'm optimistic, I feel that if I continue at this current rate of progression I will be able to begin sprint training using the 30sec max 90 sec reduced intensity pattern.

[CasinoApe]

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90seconds

Repeat (6 100% sets completed)

Time - 13:37

[CasinoApe]

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90seconds

Repeat (6 100% sets completed)

Time - 15:37

(Performed 2 days ago)

[CasinoApe]

Weighted lunges - +40kg (1 20kg plate held in each hand) - 3x12 reps each leg

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90seconds

Repeat (6 100% sets completed)

Time - 15:47


These were performed several hours apart.
Will perform Hip thrusts later.

[CasinoApe]

Weighted lunges - +40kg (1 20kg plate held in each hand) - 3x12 reps each leg

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90seconds

Repeat (7 100% sets completed)

Time - 17:31

Edit - Weight now up to 224lbs, I have been gaining weight over this phase, not really too much concern, I have been expecting weight gain, there has been about half and inch of my waist too now, so its all good.


These were performed several hours apart.

Bumped it up to 7 sets this time, shattered!

[CasinoApe]

Nothing perticular over the last few days, lots of glute exercises and foam rolling, hip and knees feeling pretty decent, might start running next week, but i'm aprehensive to do any significant running while there are any slight issues specifically with the knee, I'll give it a go sometime next week.

Glute stuff usually just:
Lunges with twist
Exercise ball single leg raises
Hip thrusts

[CasinoApe]

Went sprinting today:

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 3 sets.

Feels good man, no knee or hip problems, was shattered and i'm definitely in a poor state of fitness, but all things considered its good progress and not to bad overall, being able to sprint now is great progress and means my current rate of change will increase exponentially, so feeling pretty good right now.

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 4 sets.


Shattered!!!

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 4 sets.

Did 2 x 100m sprints afterwards.

[CasinoApe]

Didn't run today as I had some pain in my right hip last nigth and decided to rest it. Seems fine now but its too late in the day for the run.

[fashionemma]

hello everyone Everyone up exercise

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 4 sets.

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 4 sets.

[toad1]

Weighted lunges - +40kg (1 20kg plate held in each hand) - 3x12 reps each leg

Hiit circuit:
Press ups - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90 seconds
Burpees - 100% 30 seconds
Lunges/situps/pull ups - 90seconds

Repeat (7 100% sets completed)

Time - 17:31


These were performed several hours apart.

Bumped it up to 7 sets this time, shattered!


Circuits are looking good, hows the body feeling?

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 5 sets.

[CasinoApe]

Circuits are looking good, hows the body feeling?

Pretty good overall, still got problem with the knee and hip but they're getting better so that encouraging. A bit ill over the last few days so i'll have to miss some training.

Hows it going for you?

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 5 sets.

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 4 sets.


Didn't sleep too well so only got the 4.

Weight has now dropped to about 212lbs

[CasinoApe]

Ran about 900m, sprinted the final 47seconds or so.

Decided to not do the full HIIT as my hip was feeling a little odd, no point rushing in, so just dropped the intensity a bit, but this was still a pretty good run.

Edit: Did some pronated wide grip pull ups later in the day

3x5 wide grip pronated grip pull ups



Note: Just wanted to say that on my off days I tend to go for walks as a way of getting in some extra activity in my spare time, usually these last about 40minutes to an hour and involve walking a couple of miles.

While I'm at it, as an overall progress report, I can see visible reductions in bf% already, legs do feel stronger, still some trouble with the hip, the knees too also aren't quite right but don't cause any bother.

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 5 sets.



Slept badly again, this was the worst I felt running in terms of energy, really had to push it to make 5, and I was running very slowly, but its not of too much concern becuase I just slept badly, was nothing else, so all in all I was pleased with getting the 5 as this is the worst session I've had by quite some distance.

Note: Stopped jogging for 15secs after the 4th set. Slow run.

[CasinoApe]

13mile road cycle this morning, took about 50minutes, was just coming back from a mates house. Lots of hills, was pretty tough at points, was pretty enjoyable though, will probably do some more cycling.

[toad1]

Pretty good overall, still got problem with the knee and hip but they're getting better so that encouraging. A bit ill over the last few days so i'll have to miss some training.

Hows it going for you?

Getting better, pretty much at where you used to be, sometimes the only thing that feels good is my knee. I'm having to do alot of work on my VMO and my hips & glutes.

I've just started back running the last few weeks.

Nice cycle, i'm so fed up of bikes.

[CasinoApe]

90 seconds jog at restful pace
30 seconds full sprint

Completed 6 sets.

New PB, and its twice what I did when I started off so good progress!! Very happy with 6.

Didn't run on monday becuase I felt a bit tight in my knees hip and my ankle had been feeling a little odd since last friday's run, so I decided to rest.

Note: My waist is now down to about 36", which is a decrease of about 3-3.5", which again is good progress, fat loss is clearly visible. Legs are also feeling alot stronger and better overall, feeling some nice development in my glute/hams/vmo's.

[CasinoApe]

Getting better, pretty much at where you used to be, sometimes the only thing that feels good is my knee. I'm having to do alot of work on my VMO and my hips & glutes.

I've just started back running the last few weeks.

Nice cycle, i'm so fed up of bikes.

Nice your back running, doing all the glute work was pretty monotonous and didn't really seem like it was going anywhere, I definitely recommend you try to work up to doing some sprints, my legs are already feeling much better than they have done for a long time.

[CasinoApe]

Didn't run today, I think the heavy workload is leading towards shin splints, I first noticed pain in my shins when I ran last week and its been getting slowly stronger during each session. I believe this is caused by the tightening of my gastrocnemius muscles, causing over pronation of the foot when running. In the reading I have done on this, it generally occurs when a heavy amount of work is performed by an individual who has just begun training, so I fit the bill.

Its not a major concern, just something I have noticed, I have learnt now not to train through these sorts of pain signals which go beyond the usualy pain of physical exertion. My progress has been better than expected, with visible levels of fat reduction, increased leg strength and the doubling of sets from 3 to 6, I feel that I am ahead of schedule, and would probably end up with a nasty injury if I were to continue. So for these reasons I'm going to stop the HIIT sessions for as long as there is any pain in the shins. I expect this will take about a week.

In the meantime, I'm going to stretch the calve muscles, perform some glute exercises, and do some upper body work, perhaps some circuits or something. I am continuing the walking I have been performing, although this may stop. On that note I walked for about 1hr 30mins today, covering roughly 5miles or so.

[CasinoApe]

Went for a short 500-600m jog, shins feel better, still gonna take time to rest them though. Also went for a 5 mile walk or so.

[CasinoApe]

Went swimming for about 1hr 30m, pretty tired, did lots lengths and sprints and so on.

Edit: My height is now up t 6' 2.6" which is growth of about 0.5" in the last 4months or so.

[CasinoApe]

Went swimming again for about 1hr 30min, did lots of sprints.

Also been doing lots of glute work.

[CasinoApe]

Went swimming again, varied between steady cardio and sprint bursts with rests.

Weight has now dropped to 15st, which is 95kg or 209lbs.

[CasinoApe]

Swimming session yesterday, did more HIIT style stuff, alot of front crawl sprints etc.

Waist now down to 35", weight is just below 15st.

[JT4Rugby]

Looks like your progressing well mate. What was the problem with your knee or knees?

[CasinoApe]

Swimming yesterday, 1hr 30min session.

Weight down to 94kg.

[CasinoApe]

Looks like your progressing well mate. What was the problem with your knee or knees?

Patella mistracking, its the same thing i've had for a while, along with the hip injury I picked up last year.

Hows the rugby going for you now mate?

[CasinoApe]

Swimming session 1hr 30min.

[JT4Rugby]

Patella mistracking, its the same thing i've had for a while, along with the hip injury I picked up last year.

Hows the rugby going for you now mate?

The rugby isnt going for me sadly. I have the same problem as you, patella mistracking. Is yours due to a weak VMO and glutes like myself? If so maybe we could exchange some ideas because its so fustrating I have a constant pain all the time in my knees

[CasinoApe]

Swimming sessions again, 1 hour 30mins.

Been performing Defranco's agile 8 aswell.

Might try to do a small run tomorrow see how I feel.

[CasinoApe]

The rugby isnt going for me sadly. I have the same problem as you, patella mistracking. Is yours due to a weak VMO and glutes like myself? If so maybe we could exchange some ideas because its so fustrating I have a constant pain all the time in my knees

Yeah thats what I had. Just stretch the quads, use a foam roller aswell on the outer thigh, around the IT band and so on. Perform exercises like lunges to strengthen the VMO, any sort of pushing exercise is good, like leg presses. Avoid movements such as the knee extension like they're the plague.

[JT4Rugby]

Yeah thats what I had. Just stretch the quads, use a foam roller aswell on the outer thigh, around the IT band and so on. Perform exercises like lunges to strengthen the VMO, any sort of pushing exercise is good, like leg presses. Avoid movements such as the knee extension like they're the plague.

Thanks mate. My knees cant quite deal with lunges yet which sucks. I found taping it has helped me very quickly,, youtube patellofemoral McConnell taping

[CasinoApe]

Went for a short jog to test out my legs, probably ran around 1km, shins are still not perfect but running did feel ok.

Gonna try to do some sprints on monday, just something light.


Also I am going to have an injection on my hip on tuesday to help speed up recovery.

[CasinoApe]

Went to the hospital for the surgery, got knocked out by general anaesthetic, bit sore in the leg where they injected, the surgeon said I nearly woke up when he put the needle in me and I needed a double dosage of the anaesthetic which was pretty funny.

Gonna have to rest for atleast a week, then I get into some exercises next week. All in all they expect it will take about 6 weeks to heal fully.

Got a few different physio exercises to help.

[CasinoApe]

Small swimming sesh, been going on walks too, and performing other physio exercises.

Hips feeling much better, hoping to start the sprints around next week, don't wanna stress the hip though!

[CasinoApe]

1mile rune - 8min 30s, did this at a very comfortable pace, could quite easily have done another lap or gone faster.

Picked up a fairly bad cold now though so I've not done anything else, hoping to start doing some sprinting once this illness clears up.

[CasinoApe]

Just to clear a few things up as I'm making a few changes to my training I'm gonna put the general plan in one post.

Mon- Sprint shuttles + Circuit, Hip/Glute (H/G) work + Strecthes/flexibility (S/F)
Tue- H/G +S/F
Wed- Sprint shuttles + Circuit
Thur- H/G +S/F
Fri- Sprint shuttles + Circuit
Sat- H/G +S/F
Sun- H/G +S/F

Details:
Sprint shuttles - Pretty self explanatory title, will run shuttles varying in distance from 20m to 100m. This is to help build up the posterior chain, sprinting is one of the best ways to activate the glutes after all, along with other benefits that I cba to go into now! Will be completed in the morning along with the circuit.

Circuit - Mainly a bodyweight complex, wanted to add this in so I could throw in a few specific exercises for VMO development just to help me finish the patella mistracking problem off once and for all! I was thinking of doing this is in a HIIT style, but i'll have a think about that, Its probably gonna look something like this, though it isn't written in stone and will be subject to some changes:
- Weighted lunges 8-10 reps
- Pull ups 30s
- Sit ups 30s
- Press ups 30s
- Rest 1minute

H/G - Rehab work on the hip, consists of various rehab exercises for the hip and glute strengthening, such as hip thrusts, heel lifts, lateral raises etc.

S/F - This is basically Defranco's agile 8 with a few extra changes to help with my specific problems, particularly including extra work stretching the calves and so on.


Diet - I generally eat the same things each day, and given that I have been losing weight I therefore know that it is currently at the appropriate calorie levels to lose weight. I have been following a pattern of intermittent fasting, the lean gains variation that is quite popular on the misc, this involves eating with an 8 hour window, and then not consuming any calories at all for the next 16 hours of the day. Currently I tend to eat between 2-10pm or 3-11pm, but this will change when I start doing the exercise in the morning, probably from 11am - 7pm.

Progress and goals since july 20th (Around when I started to perform HIIT sprinting):

Weight - 224lbs(16st) now down to 201lbs(14.4st). I don't have a particular goal for my weight, I will continue losing weight at around 2lbs per week from now on until I am able to begin Starting Strength. I probably see myself going down to 180lbs(12st 12lbs) around January 1st.

Waist - 40" down to 35". Good measure of bodyfat, helps make sure I'm losing fat!

1 Mile run - 9:40 odd, down to 8:30 at an easy pace, sub 7min isn't particularly fast but it would be good progress, in all honesty I wouldn't be surprised if this target is beaten easily, going to test this on December 1st.

Begin starting strength - By February 1st, to do this I'm gonna require my hip and knees to be fully recovered, the flexibility to perform all the exercises with good form (ATG squats will be the hardest of the lot I imagine). I will measure my readiness to do this primarily be testing my ability to perform ATG aquats.

Right thats a long post, inb4 TL;DR, really its just a mental note to self, nice to consolidate my mental planning into some written words. Also side note I'm a little ill so might still have to miss monday training.

[CasinoApe]

My computer hasn't been working too well so I haven't been updating and future updates might be a little sporadic.

Mon- 800m run at fair pace + circuit

Wed - Sprint shuttles (2x20, 4x40, 2x60) + Circuit

Fri - Sprint shuttles (2x20, 4x40, 4x60, 2x80)

Edit: Waist down to 33.5"

[CasinoApe]

Mon
- Sprint shuttles 2x20 4x40 2x60
- Pull ups x 2 sets
- Press ups x 1 set

Wed
- Sprint shuttles 2x20 4x40 2x60
- Pull ups x 2 sets
- Press ups x 1 set

Fri
- Sprint shuttles 2x20 2x40 2x50 6x60


This includes all stretches etc. I have also performed two 1hr 20m walks.

Weight down to 195lbs, waist down to 33.5".

Note: I saw the surgeon who performed my hip op for a check up, he recommeded that I avoid doing any long distance running, so I'm gonna scrap the 1mile run on dec 1st.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20m, 4x40m, 8x60m

Rested 4 hours and then completed some bodyweight exercises:

Pull ups 3 sets, to failure
Sit ups, 3mins total
Press ups 2 sets to failure (27, then 15 reps).


Weighed myself this morning, was directly on 90kg. I've been at this weight for a few weeks now, despite reducing my calorie intake. This does seem odd, however my waist measurement has been reducing, now down to 33", this suggests that my bodyfat % has been decreasing. From my physical observations it seems clear that this is the case, so i'm not to concerned with my weight staying the same, as long as the waist keeps coming down.

It seems only reasonable that, as this has coincided with my return to exercise, the loss in fat is being balanced by gain in muscle.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20m 5x40m

Pain in the hip, after the warmup it went away so I did a couple of shuttle and decided to take it easy. Will see how it feels on monday, was already considering resting next week anyway, better slow and steady.

Also i've been regularly taking ibuprofen for the anti-inflammatory benefits to help with the hip.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 4x60

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 4x60
Pullups - 7,6,5

Some pain in hip when first warming up, however it quickly disappears, but i'll be careful.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 4x60
Pullups - 10, 9, 8


Weight now staying firmly at 89kg, however bodyfat continues to reduce, otherwise pleasing.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 4x60

Pull ups x3 sets and push ups 1 set to failure.

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 3x60

[CasinoApe]

Sprint shuttles - 2x20 4x40 8x60

Circuit: 2 Sets
- Pull ups (Failure)
- Sit ups (1minute)
- Lunges (1minute)
- Press ups (Failure)
-1min rest

[CasinoApe]

Just a few notes:

Walking most day at a fast pace for around an hour, also performing a stretching and strengthenin routine on most days as follows:

Foam roll: Outer thigh, inside thighs, calves and glutes

Strecth: Glutes and hip flexors

+ Groiners x 10, fire hydrants x 10, hip thrusts single leg, side squat with band.

[CasinoApe]

Did a recover session today:

2x 20m 2x 40m 1x 100m

Then 26x 5m, this was part of a specific recovery workout, I might post the article in here sonn if I cba to find it.

Circuit : 2 x 5 overhand widegrip pullups with 1x8 underhand pull ups
2x 15 press ups.

This was just an easy session, going at a moderate intensity.

I feel much, much faster, and even in my slow jog warm up I get alot less tired, so my fitness is definitie improving well too.

[CasinoApe]

Circuit : 1 x 5 overhand widegrip pullups with 1x8 underhand pull ups
1min of lunges
2 x 10 press ups.

Easy session again.

Waist now down to just under 33".

[CasinoApe]

Did some squat work earlier with the bar, flexibility and mobilty are decent but needs some work as my back is still rounding a bit deep into the squats (butt wink), no hip pain though which is a good sign.

So lots of reps of high and low bar squats, threw in a few pull ups every now and then but nothing to get tired about. Going to try to do this on all my off days.

[CasinoApe]

Had a cold so couldn't train last week.

Sprints - 2x20m 6x40m
Front squats - 65kg, 5 reps, 4 reps, 4 reps
Wide grip chins - 7, 8
Hip thrusts - 2 x 15

Not going to hard today as the effects of the cold are still wearing off, but pretty good, haps with the front squats, technique could do with some work, but they gave me a great workout for my VMO's which is good news for the whole patellar mistracking, which is lingering a little. Also did a few low bar squats with the same weight and they felt great so haps with this.

[CasinoApe]

Squat work today:

Multiple sets and reps of squats with the bar to practice technique, I was recording the sets and watching them afterwards to pick up on a few things.

Atm I can go to parallel using a low bar position before I start getting a bit of butt wink, I can go then continue below parallel to ATG without too much rounding, but it is there so it needs some work.

A few points to work on:
-Sort out the butt wink, I think this requires more flexibility in the hams and glutes, I was pretty tight from the squats yesterdat so maybe this wouldn't be such a problem anyway
-Drive out of the bottom with the hips first rather than the back, there was a bit more rounding of the back on the way up being caused by me sort of performing a good morning.

[CasinoApe]

Light sprint sesh:

2x20m 4x40m

Performed this a few days ago, waist is now down to 32.25" which is a new low.

[CasinoApe]

More sprints
2x20m 4x40m

[CasinoApe]

Sprints
2x20m 6x40m

[CasinoApe]

Did some squat work, worked up to 60kg, think thats were i'll start on SS from

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 55kg, 3x5 each leg
Weighted pull ups - 15kg 2 reps, 2 sets of 6,5 with 5kg
Hamstring raises - 60kg 10 reps

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 60kg, 3x5 each leg
Weighted pull ups - 6.25kg 3x5

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 65kg, 3x5 each leg
Single leg glute ham raises - 50kg , 8, 6.

Decided to drop pull ups as I felt they were putting strain on my elbows.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 65kg 3x5
Single leg hamstring raises - 40kg 2x8

[CasinoApe]

Did some tests over 2 days, will repeat these at various times over this year to measure progress:

Vertical Jump: 20.5"
Broad Jump: 8'
15m: 2.87s
40m: 6.29s
20ss (5-10-5): 5.25s
3 cone drill: 8.77s
Weight: 86kg
Waist: 32"

Conditions: The running tests were performed in on wet grass/mud with heavy wind resistance, vertical jump performed on a hard floor (wooden floorboards, some give), broad jump performed on wet graas mud with heavy wind resistance. The agility tests were negatively affected by slippery surface of the mud.

I'll repeat these tests when SS comes to an end.

[CasinoApe]

First SS workout:

Squat 3x5 65kg
Benchpress 3x5 55kg
Deadlift 1x5 85kg
Barbell curl 3x6 35kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 70kg
Overhead Press 3x5 35kg
Power clean 3x5 45kg
Barberll curl 3x6 37.5kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 75kg
Benchpress 3x5 60kg
Deadlift 1x5 95kg
Barbell curl 3x6 40kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 80kg
Overhead Press 3x5 40kg
Power clean 3x5 50kg
Barberll curl 3x5 42.5kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 85kg
Benchpress 3x5 65kg
Deadlift 1x5 105kg
Barbell curl 3x5 45kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 90kg
Overhead Press 3x5 45kg
Power clean 3x5 55kg
Barberll curl 1x5 1x4 47.5kg 1x4 46kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 92.5kg
Benchpress 3x5 70kg
Deadlift 1x5 110kg
Barbell curl 1x3 46kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 95kg
Overhead Press 3x5 50kg
Power clean 5x3 60kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 1x6 2x5 97.5kg
Benchpress 3x5 75kg
Deadlift 1x5 115kg

Accidentally did 6 reps on one set of squats! Had this easy, deads felt great too, will defo get 100kg, bench was hardest.

Weigh in tomorrow.

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 100kg
Overhead Press 3x5 52.5kg
Power clean 5x3 65kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 1x6 2x5 102.5kg
Benchpress 3x5 77.5kg
Deadlift 1x5 125kg

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 105kg
Overhead Press 1x5 1x4 1x3 55kg
Power clean 5x3 70kg

Back rounding on squats, lower back on some, mid back others, will stretch and try to improve technique and attempt 107.5kg next sesh, if sitch doesn't improve then I will drop weight.

Will drop incremental increases on OP and cleans by half.

[CasinoApe]

Squat 1x6 2x5 107.5kg
Benchpress 1x5 2x4 2x1 80kg
Deadlift 1x3 130kg

Squat form improved, focused on pushing chest up, pulling down on the bar and keeping my elbows down, helped alot, however still not perfect.

Deadlifts need more work on technique, trying to use more hip drive, will lower weight next time.

[CasinoApe]

Squat 3x5 110kg
Overhead Press 3x55kg
Power clean 3x3 2x2 75kg

Technique needssome work, will probably reduce some of the weights next sesssion

[CasinoApe]

Squat - 85kg x 2 , 95kg 8x2-3 reps
Benchpress - 80kg 3x5
Deadlift - 115kg 1x5

Was practicing technique, went alot lower on the squats and kept my back straight the whole way, which is why I was using less weight.

[CasinoApe]

Squat 95kg 3x5
Overhead press 56kg 3x5
Power clean 70kg 5x3

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats 40kg 3x5

Very tired lately, decided to rest.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 75kg 1x5, 65 1x5 55kg 2x5
Bench press - 81kg 3x5
Deadlift - 110kg 1x5


Switched bilateral squatting to unilateral squats, surprisingly the right leg was weaker, this is due to hip, will continue doing this for a while.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats - 1x5 57.5kg 2x5 60kg 1x4 65kg
Overhead press - 1x5 55kg 2x5 57.5kg
Power cleans - 76kg 5x3

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat 65kg 1x5 70kg 4x5
Benchpress 82.5kg 2x5 1x4
Deadlift 115kg 1x5

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats 75kg 3x5
Overhead press 58.5kg 3x4 1x3
Deadlift 115kg 4x2
Sumo deadlift 115kg 1x2

Practicing technique on deads, will switch to sumos.

[CasinoApe]

Had to get up early so just did some technique practice, squat form is much much better.

[jamalfudge]

Well done. I like the simplicity. Have you ever tried front squatting? Those hit your core in a similar manner that you might experience in tackling, mauling, etc.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats 77.5kg 3x5
Overhead press 58.5kg 3x5
Power cleans 78.5kg 5x3

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat 80kg 3x5
Benchpress 83.5kg 3x5
Deadlift 120kg 1x5 1x2

[CasinoApe]

light recovery jog

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat 85kg 2x5 1x3 (right) 1x3 1x2 (Left)
Overhead press - 60kg 3x4
Deadlift 125kg 1x4

Was pretty late so i felt quite tired, didn't perform to well, did more reps on left leg to help it catch up.

[CasinoApe]

Well done. I like the simplicity. Have you ever tried front squatting? Those hit your core in a similar manner that you might experience in tackling, mauling, etc.

Thanks, yes I've done a bit, its a great exercise and something I'll definitely incorporate later on, however at the moment i'm focusing on redressing the imbalance between my left/right legs.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat 3x5 85kg 1x2 left leg
Benchpress 85kg 2x5 1x3 1x2
Deadlift 125kg 1x6 1x2

[Yotone]

keep it up!

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat 86kg 3x5 1x2 left leg
Overhead press 60kg 2x5 1x3 1x2
Power clean 80kg 2x3 1x3 1x3
Pull ups 1x10

Started failing on power cleans so I stopped, the bulgarian squats put alot of strain on the hammies so I think by the time I get round to deadlift/squat they're already quite fatigued. Might start doing some more power and speed work for a week or two, want to start including some jumping too.

[CasinoApe]

Gonna be busy next two or so months so doing shorter workouts, focusing on the single leg imbalance.

Bulgarian squats 75kg 2x5 left 1x5 right
Single leg good mornings 65kg 2x5 left

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squats 85kg 75kg left leg
Benchpress 85kg 3x5
Pull ups

Focusing more on just the left leg, also tested broad and vert jump

VJ - 19.5"
BJ - 7'11"
Weight - 94kg

So in 3 months, thats a 9.3% increase in bodyweight, and a 3.9% decrease in VJ, overall i'm happy with that, considering I havn't done any speed/power work and I havn't been able to do back squats instead subbing bulgarians.

[CasinoApe]

Bulgarian squat- 85kg more on left, 75kg on left
Overhead press - 60kg 3x5
Pull ups

I've been using my supporting leg less on squats so I'm actually lifting more weight in real terms.

[CasinoApe]

Just did some more bulgarian squats on my left leg, gonna be very busy next month or so, so less and shorter workouts.

Went up to 85kg