Westside and Crossfit: do you really think you can pull that off?!?

[ChocoChick]

Anybody home?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Nope! No one is home.

3/19- Nap!

3/20- Deep Tissue. We finally migrated from the Back to the Legs....what a complete mess I am. We discussed the L Hamm tear in ~ 05, the L Groin in 08, and the R Quad in 10. He checked my hips/pelvic alignment (R forward and L is back) and explained how the body has been compensating for my injuries. He placed my hips where they were supposed to be and within a minute my R quad was tired as I have been standing with the majority of my weight on my L leg for the past 2 years. He then explained the rest of what had been happening with my pelvis tilted...

Learned something new. You don't really massage the Hip Flexors, he simply dug his finger tips in next to the hip and pressed down until I could barely breath! He said my hip flexors are pretty much firing all the time and discussed the hip-centric movements of crossfit and PL causing me much of the issue (never had HF issues till this past year of CFit). So after that gouge session he headed for the calves.

Left calf was a complete wreck from stem to stern as it was the one doing the stabilizing. Left hamm was in the same basic condition. Left me with the deep muscle trauma I get from severe cramping. Right side was much more cooperative for both muscle groups.

He then put my hips in place and we discussed repatterning my squatting to ensure I go back to a balanced and stable platform...so no heavy work for awhile until I get everything firing together rather than the rotational torsion that came from compensating the R quad injury.

[erinlee01]

Definitely make sure you're going down even on squats. I didn't for years and that is what has made my back the train wreck that it is!

My hip flexors are tight. Maybe I need to have someone inflict pain on me to loosen them up.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

There is no doubt about that Erin.

I am certain I tore my quad 2 years ago due to a compensation imbalance from the groin tear 4 years ago. I was squatting weight we used almost weekly. My setup and intial execution out of the hole looked fine. The guy that was spotting me had no idea that something had gone wrong until I was racking it with 1 leg.

So, I get to pocket my pride and make the adjustments so I can be safe.



I have never experienced several minutes of "curl you in the fetal position" pain being inflicted inches from my "special parts." You should try it sometime!

[DocTats]

My massage therapist does the hip thing....hurts like heck, it's like getting a Vulcan neck pinch on your hips. That area and piriformis work is torture.

Westside and Crossfit....interesting combo, I think it can be pulled off. It's sort of what I am trying...gaining/maintaining strength while getting into peak cardio condition. Although my strength training is not as intense as Westside nor my cardio workout as intense as Crossfit.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Doc- you may make better progress over time than I am. I seem to get dinged up fairly regular!

3/21- Gym

Warm- Light Bench, Press Downs and external rotations

BB Bench-
135x10x2
185x5
225x5
255x3
275x3


DB Floor Press-
60x5, 80x5
100x12, 10, 10


Band Pull Aparts-
3 sets of 15


DB OHP-(French Press)
60x5
80x10
100x8

Stretched

Pushups-
30, 20

Quick workout. Was at hospital last night as a cousin is at the end of her fight with cancer. Only got 5.5 hrs of sleep and could really feel it tonight as all the weights felt heavier than they should.

[SasaAndWendy]

Sorry to hear about your cousin.

My calendar reminds me that the show in Vancouver is coming up shortly. Are you guys still planning on going to that one?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

We will not make the Vancouver trip as I am subbing in on a trip in mid-April with the Guard.

Gen will be in Port Townsend next week for the ArtFest. Not exactly close to you!

http://www.teeshamoore.com/artfest/classes.html (work safe)

[ChocoChick]

Nope! No one is home.

3/19- Nap!

3/20- Deep Tissue. We finally migrated from the Back to the Legs....what a complete mess I am. We discussed the L Hamm tear in ~ 05, the L Groin in 08, and the R Quad in 10. He checked my hips/pelvic alignment (R forward and L is back) and explained how the body has been compensating for my injuries. He placed my hips where they were supposed to be and within a minute my R quad was tired as I have been standing with the majority of my weight on my L leg for the past 2 years. He then explained the rest of what had been happening with my pelvis tilted...

Learned something new. You don't really massage the Hip Flexors, he simply dug his finger tips in next to the hip and pressed down until I could barely breath! He said my hip flexors are pretty much firing all the time and discussed the hip-centric movements of crossfit and PL causing me much of the issue (never had HF issues till this past year of CFit). So after that gouge session he headed for the calves.

Left calf was a complete wreck from stem to stern as it was the one doing the stabilizing. Left hamm was in the same basic condition. Left me with the deep muscle trauma I get from severe cramping. Right side was much more cooperative for both muscle groups.

He then put my hips in place and we discussed repatterning my squatting to ensure I go back to a balanced and stable platform...so no heavy work for awhile until I get everything firing together rather than the rotational torsion that came from compensating the R quad injury.

Sounds like progress, albeit painfully...

How did you know that you needed deep tissue massages? And where/how did oyu find someone to fo them right?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

I am extremely tight. Have been for years. I stretch regularly, but that has simply kept me functional. Crossfit and Kelly Starrett's Mobility WOD site have given me good insight into better stretches/stretching, but I am still unable to rack a bar on my clavicles, unable to do an overhead squat with any weight due to tipping forward, etc.

I had attempted massages in the past, even ones called "deep tissue", but they were always a bust in my book.

I had some Rolfing done on my calves and a few other areas about a year and a half ago, but that was insanely expensive and I did not feel like the person truly understood the biomechanical processes and problems that lifters have. We made good progress in getting the muscle fascia of my calves to "unglue" from each other and slide next to each other again, but not $80 worth each session.

I had heard of neuromuscular a few times, but was not sure how that exactly fit into the picture.

The Chiro is the one who sent me as he took one look at my back 2 months ago and broke a sweat giving me some deep tissue work to even get me back into place. He knew that his work would not stay in place unless I went to an aggressive massage therapist. My upper left back was "guarded", meaning semi-flexed all the time...I didn't really know it as I am tight all the time...lol.

Jim, the MT, is an ex-body builder and powerlifter so he completely understands the issues. He also understands that I know my body and will help him help me. I am listening and doing what he tells me. Most of his clients don't know why things are not working (motor-morons in less legant speak)and many do not follow his suggestions and therefore don't make much progress.

We are doing a combo of deep tissue and neuromuscular. He is shooting for a level 7 on the pain scale. That is our guide; just on the edge of my body involuntarily contracting the muscles to protect itself. As stated some areas were guarded all the time. He works along the muscle at a very, very low pace and stops/slows way down in areas that he knows will "release" the muscle. We had a few neuro releases- feels like a starburst from the muscle, radiating out.

I would visit with a couple good chiros and sports med docs to see who has a good background with athletes as we are athletes even if we don't compete.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

3/23/12- CFit

Warm- 400 row, pushups, pass throughs, squats

WOD- 7 minute AMRAP- 95lb
3 thrusters
3 chest to bar
6 thrust
6 ctb
9's
12's
15's

Pretty much a fail today. Only 38 reps. R rotator cuff was having none of it. Tore in in the rear section 6-7 years ago. Snatch work earlier in the week aggravated it (won't ever do snatch without bumpers again) and this killed it.

Skill- Deads 70, 80, 90% of 425 (I did not do the perfect % as there were so many people that weights were scarce)
285 x 5
315 x 3
375 x 1

Talked with the owner about opening the garage for a couple hours once a week for a strength night. Need to present it appropriately as a PL night will not sell. They have done similar nights in the past and had marginal success, so we may end up running it for 4 - 6 weeks in order to encourage attendance.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

3/25/12- Gym

Westside work will be on hold for now. Not that I consistently implemented bands and chains as the gym is simply not set up for it. I need to focus on getting these lower limb motor imbalances straightened out. That will require heavy form work instead of max work.

Warm- leg swings, air squats, hip flexor work

Squat-
135x10x2 sets
185x5
225x5 (started filming- looking for any differentiation in leg use, hip sway, hitching, etc)
275x5x3 (kept filming)

SLDL -
135, 185 x 5
225x10x3

Bad Gurls-
4 sets of 15

Good Girls-
3 sets of 15

Cool- 20 minutes of stretching.

Nothing fancy- not sure how heavy I will need to go to be able to see how and when I compensate. MT or PT may be able to see it with the vids I took today.

[erinlee01]

That's great that your MT and PT are versed enough in technique to check your form. My PT practice was great, but I'm not sure aside from the obvious back rounding, etc. they could have done that!

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Erin- I hope they can see something I can't!

The Massage Therapist, on top of Deep Tissue and Release work, is also a Sports Medicine Tech, with an emphasis in Phys Therapy and Sports Injury Rehab, Diet, Power Lifting and Body Building. He has been a BB and PL and knows what he is looking for.

3/26/12- CFit

Warm- 400 row, pass throughs, jump squats, ring dips, rows and pushups

Skill- Squats of course! Doubling up regularly here! So I just warmed up with them rather than doing the 5 reps at 65, 75, 85%
135, 185, 225 x 10

WOD-
Buy in with a 500 M run
21-15-9
Hands off Pushups
Sumo Dead High Pull @ 95#
Wall Tappers (lay on floor with head against the wall and kick feet up to wall and back down)
Box Jumps (24" box)

Complete failure due to low back going into unrelenting contraction. I just could not get it to relax. The run and round of 21 were OK, but by the time I got to the 2nd round of Sumos I was in trouble. I finished, but there were several 45-60 second breaks to get the back settled down. Done in 22 min.....the average was 12...lol.

I didn't leave a man behind, but I am sure they would have died on the way! The better part of 3 months with very little CFit shown today!!!

[ChocoChick]

Erin- I hope they can see something I can't!

The Massage Therapist, on top of Deep Tissue and Release work, is also a Sports Medicine Tech, with an emphasis in Phys Therapy and Sports Injury Rehab, Diet, Power Lifting and Body Building. He has been a BB and PL and knows what he is looking for.

3/26/12- CFit

Warm- 400 row, pass throughs, jump squats, ring dips, rows and pushups

Skill- Squats of course! Doubling up regularly here! So I just warmed up with them rather than doing the 5 reps at 65, 75, 85%
135, 185, 225 x 10

WOD-
Buy in with a 500 M run
21-15-9
Hands off Pushups
Sumo Dead High Pull @ 95#
Wall Tappers (lay on floor with head against the wall and kick feet up to wall and back down)
Box Jumps (24" box)

Complete failure due to low back going into unrelenting contraction. I just could not get it to relax. The run and round of 21 were OK, but by the time I got to the 2nd round of Sumos I was in trouble. I finished, but there were several 45-60 second breaks to get the back settled down. Done in 22 min.....the average was 12...lol.

I didn't leave a man behind, but I am sure they would have died on the way! The better part of 3 months with very little CFit shown today!!!

That looks like a fun WOD. What is a "hands off pushup"?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

CC- in the down position you take your hands off the ground. I am sure it has an official name, just can't remember it!

[ChocoChick]

CC- in the down position you take your hands off the ground. I am sure it has an official name, just can't remember it!

Oh, I can do that! It's getting back up I am not so sure of!

[Big_Sky_Guy]

3/27/12- Deep Tissue Massage. L calf and leg were still significantly more locked down. Lots of radiating pain. We reached my long term pain threshold for the 1st time. Got to where I was shaking pretty bad for a few minutes. There were a few times where he simply pressed into the attachment from the IT to the hamstring and I about came off the table. We made good progress though. And the hips were still aligned. Having them back in alignment for the first time in who knows how long may be part of why my knee was so hinky on Sunday.

3/28/12- Gym

Warm- arm swings, pull downs


Pendlay Rows-
135x10x2
185, 225x5
275x3x3
185x10x3


Cable Low Row-
140x10
180, 200x5
220x5x3


Pullups-
10, 6, 6


15 minutes of boredom on X-trainer


Cool- 20 minutes of stretching


Amazing how much more I can feel the muscles working properly with getting everything loosened back up via the Deep Tissue work.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Loosening up the calves and hams Tues put a bit of a hitch in my hips (the kind you sometimes get when riding a bike...like a tendon is slightly out of place and needs to slide back in the groove)

3/29 Meeting
3/30 Memorial for cousin
3/31 Riding 4-Wheelers

Rolled the wheeler, thankfully got my legs up on it and leg pressed it away before it landed on me. Functional strength at work! Banged up an elbow, knee and kidney in the affair. We will see what tomorrow brings.

[ChocoChick]

Ouch. How are you feeling today, BSG?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Better than I expected!

Got some good scrapes on my spare tire and my R bi is sore deep in the muscle and at the tendon attachments. R shoulder is hinky....but that's not near as bad as it could have been!

[DocTats]

Damn, from the pic, it looks like you took out a tree. Should tell people that, it'll make you look pretty badass.

Even more badass is that you can get a weight workout in a day after a deep tissue session. Usually takes me a couple of days to recover from those

[Big_Sky_Guy]

No doubt Doc! Could have made quite a story out of it...when in reality I am just a journeyman driver .

I have tried and found out the hard way that I cannot do much useful after he works on my back as I cannot properly stabilize squats, bench or OHP. I can do upper when he works lower though.

That said- I went in to the gym for a few minutes just to see what I am dealing with after the rollover.

4/1/12- Gym

Warm- Internal and External Roatations, Pass Throughs

BB Bench-
95x15
135x10x2
185x5x3

DB OHP-
20x15
40x10
60x10

Felt pretty good! R rear cuff is the only nagging thing, which doesn't suprise me.

Was visiting with a friend recently and the little bumps and bruises of lifting and day-to-day life leave us feeling like anything above 85% well is really like 100% to us!!

[Big_Sky_Guy]

4/2 Nap

4/3 Should have napped, but I am stubborn


Warm- 5 on the X-trainer, kicks, sweeps, shoulder rolls


Deads-
225x5
275x5
315x5
365x5
405x5


Squats- high bar oly
135x10
185x5
225x3x3 (shut it down)

(getting everything in alignment is continuing to cause pain in the outer portion of the L patellar. Hopefully only a couple more weeks to find a groove again)


Plate load single leg Hamm Curl
50 lb x 15, 10, 8


Abs- Hollow Rock
30 reps and 15 reps


Stretched

405 felt good! Squats felt bad.gif

[Big_Sky_Guy]

4/4/12- MT worked on legs again. Much better on the posterior chain and worked our way to the quads and more IT work. Very big difference in the Vastus Lateralis (sp) AKA outer quad sweep between the R and L leg. He could feel the lack of muscle mass on the R side and asked me to activate each leg and it was obvious that I was struggling to activate the VL on the R leg. So we talked through how to get it firing again over the next several squat and dead sessions.

Gym

BB Bench-
135x10x2
185, 225x5
265x3
305x1
325x1 (PR)


DB Bench-
80x15, 13, 10


French Press-
80x10
90x8
100x6


Incline BB Press-
135x10x3


Was a good workout. Very happy with the PR in bench as it has always been a weak lift for me.

[erinlee01]

Nice bench PR! How's the body feeling after the rollover?

[Big_Sky_Guy]

I was stiff and sore on Sun-Mon. The cuff tear in the back of the R shoulder was achy...part of why I worked out a bit on Sunday just to see if it was really injured. Elbows and arms were scraped up as we were riding in T-shirts. It's all good. Going back out this weekend!

Youngest loved her first TKD session. She will have her 2nd tonight.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

4/6/12 Gym

Warm- 5 on X-trainer


Squats- form and rehab work
135x10x10


SLDL-
135x10x5 sets


Stretched


Squats- working on driving knees out with a particular focus on the R side
SLDL- focus on pushing with inner portion of foot, which really just means the entire foot as I trend to the outside


Happy Easter- He is Risen!

[ddog171]

How did the volume on squats feels? Just started adding volume to my program and it is a little bit of a shock.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Not bad at all as I kept it super light. Working the infamous mind-muscle connection! Some sets were legs wide like a PL, some were Oly setup. Just trying to listen to what the body is telling me and getting that R outer quad to fire.

Kinda crazy to be breaking a sweat doing a warmup weight, but by the 6th set I had some heart rate going.