TheMilkMan's Quest for 1750

[leanbody]

Day 50: Deadlifts
345lbs(75%)/5
390lbs(85%)/3
435lbs(95%)/5
*not good, not bad... back felt kinda tight

Assistance Work:
Lying Leg Curls 100/15 x 3
Pinwheel Curls 60's/10 x 3
superset w/
DB Shrugs 100's/12 x 3
superset w/
Decline Crunches bw/20 x 3

*going to bump the training max up 10lbs again: Deadlift: 470 (+10lbs)

Damn Bro; Deads at 435? That's fukkin impressive - u bending the bar on those? Great you're still doing well on your golf game - got to admit mine has improved as my strength has gone up. Accuracy, well there's still room for improvement! hahahaha i like doing broomstick twists with a 30-45lb bar, standing and then with a bend at the waist. Really hits the obliques which I think are key to golfing. Keep it up Milky!

 

[TheMilkMan]

Damn Bro; Deads at 435? That's fukkin impressive - u bending the bar on those? Great you're still doing well on your golf game - got to admit mine has improved as my strength has gone up. Accuracy, well there's still room for improvement! hahahaha i like doing broomstick twists with a 30-45lb bar, standing and then with a bend at the waist. Really hits the obliques which I think are key to golfing. Keep it up Milky!

The deads have been going well, I just wish I was pulling 500+ like I was pre back injury and on cycle lol.

I play golf for fun for the most part and have learning that the less I care, the better I play, so I'm going to keep it as a fun event in the summer for now.

I would do the broomstick twists if my back wasn't killing me all the time. I'll explain that in my next post.

 

[TheMilkMan]

Day 54 and 55: Week 8: No Training

*wanted to take day 54 off

*Was going to train today, day 55, but I woke up with horrible pain in my lower and and groin area. It was bad to the point of having trouble sitting or standing in the same position for a long period of time. I took 7 or so Advil throughout the day and it got better as I walked more and loosened up throughout the day. Really going to have to monitor this because it honestly scared the hell out of me... Enough to start thinking that I shouldn't be PLing, etc... I get kinda worked up when something out of the ordinary happens like this and I always think the worst case.

*I'm going to scratch the heavy Squats this week and start my cruise week a couple days earlier than I had planned. I don't see any point in potentially hurting myself any more. So with that being said, I'm not going to move my Squat training max up any more and I'm just going to try and beat the reps at the same weight as the second wave.

 

[TheMilkMan]

These are going to be my new training maxes for Wave 3. As I previously stated, I'm a pussy and can't bench for shit so that max went no where and I have some concerns with my back health, so I'm not going to move that anywhere either.

Wave Three Training Maxes
Standing Military Press: 195 (+10lbs)
Deadlift: 470 (+10lbs)
Bench Press: 300 (+0lbs)
Squat: 370 (+0lbs)

I'm really looking forward to taking it easy this next week and I hope that my back will feel better.

 

[leanbody]

I get kinda worked up when something out of the ordinary happens like this and I always think the worst case.

LMFAO! - That's what my life is like every day! - hahahaha - but I agree with you at your age it shouldn't be so i think you are doing the wise thing to do a cruise week and hold steady for a while with the pussy weights (Sorry had to throw that in....;-)

i would highly recommend that you get some good massage - go for someone who specializes in sports massage not "feel good, lavender oil with a happy ending..." and do it 2 times within 7-10 days. Also try a hot bath with epsom salts. I think the Advil is good - it should reduce any inflammation.

you're strong as an ox dude, but it's still good to listen to your body. BTW - I find that a nice BJ helps with the sore back too... but sometimes thats hard to find- LOL (esp at my age!

 

[mikea]

Hey Milky, where is your bench stalling, i mean when you hit maxes where does the bar stop?

 

[TheMilkMan]

Hey Milky, where is your bench stalling, i mean when you hit maxes where does the bar stop?

Few inches off the chest. I seems like I just can't power through the press. I'm going to start working with some boards again and hopefully work on some locking out exercises. That's of course if that's the problem... I really doubt that it's my back strength, but I could be wrong.

 

[TheMilkMan]

Day 56: Week 8: Cruise Week

Cruise Week starts today...

Incline Smith Machine 200/10, 245/6, 275/4
Fly Presses 60's/8 flyes, 5 presses x 3
DB Side Raises 40's/10 x 3
One Arm Over Head DB Press 25/10, 30/10, 35/10
Rope Push Downs 50/12, 60/10, 60/10

*The lower rep numbers may be a little deceiving because I really didn't hit it hard at all. I was at my girlfriends gym and just went through the motions for the most part. Got a little pump going and that was about it. Didn't get anywhere near failure on anything.

*Back feels a ton better but still worse than I would like.

 

[mikea]

nah it doesnt sound like board presses will help with that, do you know how to use your lats and back when benching?

Try this without any real weigth, pull the bar down slowly(remember form, shoulder blades etc..) and really tense and feel the pull in your back like its a spring that your pulling together(keep it tigth all times) when the bar touches your chest start flexing your lats like your doing a lat spread, this when done rigth, should move the bar off your chest quite a bit, when you add the pushing muscles to this and you should have a new pr ready, i did when i learned this to a tee.

What i would do now is:

During this cruise take it real easy on the shoulders, tris and chest. Work on speed and form. (bench and pushpress)

Aim for a new pr during your next blast, a small one, even 5lbs improvement will do wonders for your mind and get you out of that plateu.

Use dumbells chest press as assistance. And mix it up, i like to do them with one hand at a time sometimes, as im sure you know the exercises that are the most ackward and hard tend to gives the most.

DO NOT go to failure before you try that new pr. Always 1 good clean rep in the tank. Overtraining is the single biggest reason why lifters dont improve, whether it be training to failure too much(i dont at all!) or too much volume. Im reminded by this constantly by thinking im not doing enough and end up overtraining, when i trust my program i always see improvement.

Good luck bro, dont get frustrated it takes time but it will come when you apply the work

 

[Biggin]

Thats some sound advice.

 

[TheMilkMan]

nah it doesnt sound like board presses will help with that, do you know how to use your lats and back when benching?

Try this without any real weigth, pull the bar down slowly(remember form, shoulder blades etc..) and really tense and feel the pull in your back like its a spring that your pulling together(keep it tigth all times) when the bar touches your chest start flexing your lats like your doing a lat spread, this when done rigth, should move the bar off your chest quite a bit, when you add the pushing muscles to this and you should have a new pr ready, i did when i learned this to a tee.

What i would do now is:

During this cruise take it real easy on the shoulders, tris and chest. Work on speed and form. (bench and pushpress)

Aim for a new pr during your next blast, a small one, even 5lbs improvement will do wonders for your mind and get you out of that plateu.

Use dumbells chest press as assistance. And mix it up, i like to do them with one hand at a time sometimes, as im sure you know the exercises that are the most ackward and hard tend to gives the most.

DO NOT go to failure before you try that new pr. Always 1 good clean rep in the tank. Overtraining is the single biggest reason why lifters dont improve, whether it be training to failure too much(i dont at all!) or too much volume. Im reminded by this constantly by thinking im not doing enough and end up overtraining, when i trust my program i always see improvement.

Good luck bro, dont get frustrated it takes time but it will come when you apply the work

Thanks for the advice, it really really makes a lot of sense. I realize now how power/strength is all about form/technique. I'm going to make sure that I work on staying super tight like you said and really get the lat flex into the mix as well.

I'm kinda worried about this back issue right now. It makes me wonder if I should just scrape the PLing thing right now and get healthy... It could be a temporary thing though which I hope is the case.

 

[Dlove]

Is this the same back problem you were having during your last cycle?

 

[TheMilkMan]

Is this the same back problem you were having during your last cycle?

I'm really not sure. It feels kinda similar but the thing that makes me think it's not the same issue is that it came out of the blue a couple mornings ago.

I do worry though because I do feel some pain and numbness through my right ass cheek and down into my right leg when I sit in one spot for too long. I'll have to monitor everything and be really careful about it.

I really hope it doesn't come to this, but I may have to focus on benching and scrape deadlifts and squats for the time being if this doesn't clear up.

 

[Dlove]

I'm really not sure. It feels kinda similar but the thing that makes me think it's not the same issue is that it came out of the blue a couple mornings ago.

I do worry though because I do feel some pain and numbness through my right ass cheek and down into my right leg when I sit in one spot for too long. I'll have to monitor everything and be really careful about it.

I really hope it doesn't come to this, but I may have to focus on benching and scrape deadlifts and squats for the time being if this doesn't clear up.

This is probably the smartest thing you can do Milk and its aweosme you think this way at a young age. I remeber I would always pound the weights around in my twenties not caring if bodyparts felt tight sore what not and I never got stronger or made much change to my physique. Ive been treating lifting like a life long thing lately. This week is a good example/ I didn't bench this week because I am feeling something weird in the rotator cuff. Im probably a little to paranoid but whenever I feel anything comin on I work around it.

My buddy just recently blew out his psyiatic nerve and he had a pain in the lower back shooting threw his but cheek into the hamstring. However he actually heard it pop in the gym and was takin to the hospital cause he couldnt walk. You were complaining about hamstring tightness and now this so im wondering if the two are tied together?

 

[barnzy7]

Milky it does sound like it could be a sciatic nerve. I know as far as Im concerned when somethings hurt Im paranoid as shit until I get it checked.

 

[TheMilkMan]

This is probably the smartest thing you can do Milk and its aweosme you think this way at a young age. I remeber I would always pound the weights around in my twenties not caring if bodyparts felt tight sore what not and I never got stronger or made much change to my physique. Ive been treating lifting like a life long thing lately. This week is a good example/ I didn't bench this week because I am feeling something weird in the rotator cuff. Im probably a little to paranoid but whenever I feel anything comin on I work around it.

My buddy just recently blew out his psyiatic nerve and he had a pain in the lower back shooting threw his but cheek into the hamstring. However he actually heard it pop in the gym and was takin to the hospital cause he couldnt walk. You were complaining about hamstring tightness and now this so im wondering if the two are tied together?

I'm really hoping that it's not my sciatic nerve because from what I understand that never really goes away, but I'm going to take some time to heal.

I have to think about the long run and not fuck myself up now. I'm young and have a while to get strong, I'd rather be healthy and smart about it.

 

[TheMilkMan]

New Plan

I have decided that I'm going to discontinue Wendler's 5/3/1 Program for now because of this lower back issue. I have been feeling some numbness, pain, tightness in my lower back that I think stems from 3 summers ago when I fractured my facet joint. Unfortunately, this is going to put a huge damper on my powerlifting for the time being, but I'd rather be able to do this for a life time than try and get super super strong now and suffer in the long run. I have also noticed some creakiness in my knees which I can only assume will improve if I Squat really light.

So for now, it looks as if I'm going to be sticking to the Powerlifting ideology with heavy main lifts and some assistance work for my Bench Press and Military Press. I'm not going to stick specifically to Flat Bench and Standing Military Press. I'm going to try and hit a weight or rep max each and every time I train on these 2 days, but I'm not going to be locked into 2 lifts only. As far as deadlifting and squatting is concerned, I'm not going to go any heavier than 225 for the time being. I'm going to just shoot for 3 sets of 10 with 225 for each lift, just to keep some of the muscles strong and really work on form. I'll build my assistance work off of that and hit it a little harder than before. Also, I'm going to focus on working my core a little more because I think that some of my lower back problems could potentially be attributed to a weak core.

My main focuses for this "rehab" period are going to be:
Increasing bench max
Increasing military press max
Increasing grip strength
Increasing cardiovascular endurance
Increasing GPP

For now, the new training split is going to be as followed:
Day 1: Overhead Press, Assistance work, core work, cardio
Day 2: Light Deadlift, Assistance work, core work, GPP
Day 3: Pressing, Assistance work, core work, cardio
Day 4: Light Squat, Assistance work, core work, GPP

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[1badmofo]

I'm in a similar boat with my lower back issue. 225 is the most I'm willing to squat or dead lift until I'm more confident I won't re-injure myself. I'm not sure if I should be using a belt or not. What do you think on that one?

 

[mikea]

I would rather do:

1. pushing max

2. lower

3. pushing max

next week

1.lower

2. pushing

3. lower

or

1.pushing max

2. lower

3. pushing hypetrophy

but thats just me, if your bench has been stalling then hitting it real hard too often wont prob work.

 

[mikea]

I'm in a similar boat with my lower back issue. 225 is the most I'm willing to squat or dead lift until I'm more confident I won't re-injure myself. I'm not sure if I should be using a belt or not. What do you think on that one?

yes use a belt and dont pull your stomach in but learn to push it out against the belt. This way you get support on the spine both sides. And see yourself having that much stronger posterior.