Bad news/Good news

Bad News: Unfortunately, I tweaked my lower back again today & I did it during my first warmup set of deadlifts nonetheless. This is like the 3rd time I’ve done this and it’s f’ing ridiculous. I know better & know it’s my weak link, yet I get overly confident and complacent with getting into optimal form & bracing during the initial warmup set and whoops, low back strain/spasm. Now, fortunately today’s wasn’t that major, so I was able to work through it by focusing on bracing better/harder during following sets. By the end of the workout, though, it was getting progressively tighter and a little sore, so I called it quits after cleans and didn’t/couldn’t do the farmer’s walks or burpees.

I have a week before deadlifting again, so I’m pretty confident I can fully recover by then. Fingers crossed.

Good news: aside from the lower back issue, the rest of me felt pretty strong today. 275x8 from a deficit was the most I’ve done for this many reps, and it felt freakin’ smooth and easy. Once I get the “groove” working, I can rock out reps pretty strong.  I felt like I could’ve popped off another 5, but thought better of it to save my back.  Also, 315x3 from the deficit felt better than last week. Although, my first attempt I just didn’t feel things click together well on the first rep, so I bailed on the set, reset after a couple minutes and went after it again. Second try went up pretty smooth and strong for 3.

On front squats, my legs & hips actually felt really strong today, but my back held me down. I went to just below parallel, but anything lower and I could feel the strain pretty bad. I felt like I could have nailed 200 without much of an issue if my back wasn’t tweaked. That sucked for today, but gives me promise for the next couple of weeks. So, now starts the recovery focus. I should be able to handle the majority of other workouts, even if I have to modify a couple of things (one of my greatest areas of expertise as a trainer lies in working people through/around injuries and modifying/adjusting what I need to accordingly), so it shouldn’t throw me too far off track.

warrior_fit earned 1489 points for:

  • Running (treadmill):
    • 0:03:55 || 0.5 mi (+46 pts)
  • Foam Rolling:
    • 5:00 (+9 pts)
    • + mobility
  • Barbell Deadlift:
    • 135 lb x 9 reps (+67 pts)
    • 185 lb x 3 reps (+65 pts)
    • 225 lb x 2 reps (+71 pts)
    • 275 lb x 3 reps (+119 pts)
    • 295 lb x 3 reps (+136 pts)
    • 315 lb x 1 reps (+106 pts)
    • 315 lb x 3 reps (+156 pts)
    • 275 lb x 8 reps (+168 pts)
    • from 1” deficit - strained my low back a bit warming up, so had to ramp carefully. 1st of 315 went up rough & didn’t feel comfortable repping it out on that set, so I bailed on it, regrouped and hit it for 3 on 2nd try. 275x8 was best 8 rep set I’ve had & it felt the best of all sets, actually.
  • Front Barbell Squat:
    • 135 lb x 2 reps (+44 pts)
    • 155 lb x 3 reps (+60 pts)
    • 175 lb x 3 reps (+69 pts)
    • 180 lb x 3 reps (+71 pts)
    • low back was stiff & had to protect it, so even though legs felt strong, I capped it at 180. Also, could only go slightly below parallel today otherwise I could feel it straining my low back.
  • Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
    • 35 lb x 6 reps (+26 pts)
    • 40 lb x 6 reps (+27 pts)
    • 45 lb x 6 reps (+28 pts)
    • 35 lb x 12 reps (+30 pts)
    • seat on bench w/backrest - supersetted w/front squats
  • Power Clean:
    • 135 lb x 6 reps (+52 pts)
    • 135 lb x 5 reps (+49 pts)
    • 135 lb x 4 reps (+45 pts)
    • 135 lb x 4 reps (+45 pts)
    • had to continue staying lighter & working technique b/c low back was getting stiffer by the end.

12 notes

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  1. jptuna said: rest up dude!
  2. melaniecanrun said: I hope you feel better soon! I’ve tweaked my back deadlifting before. Sympathy. xx
  3. knifehands said: The back, I know this all too well. Stay safe out there, remember your training!
  4. gurusports said: My fix: once per day - alternating kneeling supermans x 8reps x 3 sets, followed by standing knee lifts x 8 reps x 3sets, plus planks. Control at the hips and through the core and try and move through these regions as little as possible.
  5. abower1 said: Take some time to heal! But good job for feeling really good and strong today!
  6. warrior-fitness posted this

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