To start out, yes indeed, I’m still nursing that leg along. There have been a couple of minor setbacks but all in all, it has gotten dramatically better. And, as you can see, it has taken quite a while to get back on that horse; closer to 60 days out than not. So did I learn anything from this little event? Can I file away any tidbit of information for future reference in helping me manage that Last 10 Pounds?
The answer to this question; YES! By recording (writing it down) any progress or relapse during the healing and recovery process, I can look for trends, for indicators that may just point to a more defined cause of the initial event, the cause of any setbacks and what tactics were used or could have been used to improve the recovery.
So let’s look at the rest of the documentation, e.g. the next 30 days after my last posting. All in all, this would be 60 days out from the actual injury; close to 2 months.
Injury Recovery Details
| ||
Days Out
|
Run
|
Weights
|
32
|
Rain
| |
33
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits, No discomfort noted. 2 to 3 hours after the run, just a tad.
| |
34
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits, mild discomfort during run lasting 2 to 3 hours after the run.
|
Friday Leg Day, all was good. Took it a bit easy on leg but still up in weight on dead’s and smith squats. Lighter on Bulgarian splits.
|
35
|
Rest
| |
36
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Attempted a different gate, longer stride, more pronounced flat foot or heal strike. No discomfort during or after.
| |
37
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Maintained different gate, longer stride, more pronounced flat foot or heal strike. No discomfort during or after.
| |
38
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Different gate, no discomfort during or after. (This was a long run, 2.95 miles)
| |
39
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Different gate, no discomfort during or after. (Another longer run, 2.8 miles)
|
Leg day at the Sakai Little Gym. As good as could be expected Bulgarian Splits, etc… Knees tight after workout. And calves tight after workout and into next day.
|
40
|
Rest and Rain
| |
41
|
Jog 3.25 miles, 5 min run X 1.5 min walk splits (5 bouts), no discomfort during or after run.
| |
42
|
Rest
|
Back in Kakegawa leg day. Started out with heavier squats (smith machine) and standing calf raises. Was light on deads and split squats.
|
43
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. No discomfort during or after. (Another longer run, 2.8 miles)
| |
44
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Different gate, no discomfort during or after. (This was a long run, 2.95 miles)
| |
45
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Different gate, no discomfort during or after. (Another longer run, 2.85 miles)
|
Good Leg workout, skipped the Triple Set Initial exercise and just heavier squat and dead’s. Will shoot for seated calf raises next round
|
46
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Very slow jog during walk. No discomfort during or after. (Yahoo, broke the 4 bout 3 mile barrier, 3.07 miles).
| |
47
|
Rain – Planned Rest
| |
48
|
Jog 3.25 miles, 5 min run X 1.5 min slow jog (5 bouts). Included Hills. No discomfort.
| |
49
|
Rest
|
Good leg day, deads at 130 kg X 5 and included heavier calf raises. Will start on seated calf raises when back in Kakegawa.
|
50
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min slow jog splits. Included Hills. Very slow jog during walk. No discomfort during or after.
| |
51
|
Jog 3.25 miles, 5 min run X 1.5 min slow jog (5 bouts), Back in Osaka-canal run. Noted a ‘twinge’ in calf. Nothing to serious.
| |
52
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Very slow jog during walk. No discomfort during or after. (Yahoo, again broke the 4 bout, 3 mile barrier, 3.00 miles).
| |
53
|
Rain and Rest
|
General leg in Sakai, heavier Bulgarian splits plus Iso holds on leg press. On splits minded knee position and on leg press looked at foot position. For both - ensure knee behind the toes.
|
54
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min slow jog splits. Forced shorter run and slower. No discomfort during or after. (2.65 miles)
| |
55
|
Jog 3.25 miles, 5 min run X 1.5 min slow jog (5 bouts), Osaka-canal run.
| |
56
|
Rest
|
In Kakegawa, completed a triple leg, dead’s, hacks and Bulgarian. Also completed holds on leg press and standing calf with heavier load.
|
57
|
Rain and Rest
| |
58
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min walk splits. Very slow jog during walk. No discomfort during or after. (Yahoo, again broke the 4 bout, 3 mile barrier, 3.15 miles).
| |
59
|
Jog 3.25 miles, 5 min run X 1.5 min slow jog (5 bouts), Kakegawa Hill Run
|
Hit the legs pretty hard, started out with heavier squats and finished up with dead’s. And completed iso holds on leg press and standing calf with heavier load.
|
60
|
Jog 2.5 miles, 5 min run X 2 min slow jog splits. Forced shorter run and slower. No discomfort during or after. (2.8 miles)
| |
Again, the actual data plot shows general improvement over time. You can note a couple of setbacks, at +7 and at +26.
And in retrospect, based on what actually went on; about 2 weeks in, the leg felt good enough to push the mileage and then at just about the 3 week point, ‘Baam!’ Re-Injury. All this did was stretch the recovery process. I probably could have saved a week (maybe two) by simply keeping the mileage down for a third week. So the next time, instead of pushing it as I feel better, just remember healing is a logarithmic progression; feel better, add 7 days then push it up.
So this ‘log compression’ data trend associated with recovery got me thinking about physical improvement in all areas, e.g. strength progression, fat loss progression, running progression, etc… We all know that someone out of shape and beginning a strength program initially makes substantial progress. This progress eventually tapers off and plateaus. At this point, it’s a struggle to make even the smallest gains. Is this what I am seeing, a general physiological improvement progression. I need to try this as an experiment. Pick something I am not very good at and see if there is the same general improvement trend. I wonder……………
Without a doubt, the cause of the initial injury was overuse. But from what aspect; too many miles or did I push it to far lifting? There are mixed feelings here; just before the injury I had figured out how to complete fairly heavy seated calf raises on the smith (will get to that in yet another blog) and I also had a change in routine caused by the Osaka road trips. In Osaka, I had completed my first round of Bulgarian Split Squats to keep up with quad and glut work plus using their beater of a leg press machine to finish off the legs. By combining new weight routines with fatigued muscles from a consistent 20 plus miles a week is most likely the root cause of the original injury.
And the re-injury; for sure it was cause by pushing too hard in the weight room. I even commented on it in my recovery log. Just look at the previous blog entry, about day 25 and 26. And if we look at day’s 39 through 60, when I felt discomfort from the lifts, I gave it a break in running. I am quite convinced this saved me from a second setback.
Besides the running, just what are those Leg Workouts…………..
And for those that are curious about what I complete on a Leg training day, I have included two of my favorite routines below. Of course I can’t do these in Osaka (tiny, tiny gym) but for the weeks that I spend in Kakegawa, I generally get in 3 Leg days. And on these days I like the first group of lifts to be heavy and exhausting. Only after I finish these 15 to 20 minute routines do I mix in smaller muscle group exercises (calves, tibia, etc…) and general core work to fill out the hour. However, my experience suggests that anything you fit in after these initial lifts will be more of a recovery move.
Have Fun!!!!
Triple Leg Routine (15 to 20 Minute)
|
Muscle Group;
Quads, Gluts', Lower Back, Forearm (grip)
|
Exercises Included;
- Dead Lift
- Barbell Hack Squat
- Dumbbell Clean and Press
|
Exercise Procedure;
This is a superset routine and is comprised of 4 sets of 8 reps of each, Dead's, Hack Squat and Clean and Press. 1st set is warm up then 3 sets at weight. Heavy sets use a standard 45 lb. bar loaded to 70 to 80% of your calculated 1RM for Dead’s. Complete 8 reps of Dead's. Strip off 50% of the weights and complete 8 Hack Squats. Step back and complete 8 Dumbbell Clean and Press's (16 total, 8 each side).
- Do not use cheater wraps for deadlifts, should be raw lift.
- Between the Dead's and the Hacks, only rest for whatever it takes to strip the weights.
- For the Hack Squats, you will want a couple of 5 lb. weights under you heals. This puts more emphasis on the quads.
- For the Dumbbell set, go as heavy as you can and still be able to finish the set.
The rest period between supersets should be limited to whatever it takes to restore berating and heart rate back to normal.
The first set is of course a warm up. It should consist of the same number of reps as a loaded set but at 50 to 60% of the planed weight. The 3 loaded sets are at full weight. Stripping weight on the 4th set is OK but not desirable. If you are stripping weight on the 4th set, you are too heavy.
|
How You Feel After the Exercise;
When you complete each of the loaded sets, you should feel winded, like running a short sprint. You should be breathing hard with an elevated heart rate. If you are feeling a bit of discomfort in lower back, your deadlifts are incorrectly preformed or too heavy. Deadlifts go to the floor, not the knee and keep back as straight as possible. You should feel the Dead's in your gluts. Also with Dead's and Hack Squat, keep abs engaged. By the end of the 4th set, you should be sweating like a pig. If you aren't sweating, you are too light.
When you are finished with the last set, your legs should feel like they have been worked, pretty limp. If you are feeling DOMS a day or so after, you need to back of a bit on the total weight. As far as progression, every week you should add weight to any of the three exercises or shorten the rest period between supersets. Do not go for more reps.
|
December 2013 - Dead's 100 kg, Hacks 60 kg and Dumbbell Clean and Press, 15kg.
|
Dead Lift Drop Sets (15 to 20 Minutes)
|
Muscle Group;
Quads, Gluts', Lower Back, Forearm (grip)
|
Exercises Included;
- Dead Lift
- Dumbbell Clean and Press -or-
- Smith Squat or Sliding Hack Machine
|
Exercise Procedure;
This is a superset of 3 exercises, two Deadlifts plus an auxiliary lift just to finish off. A basic drop set starts at a higher weight for a goal of 8 reps, then drops the weight 30% and continues the exercise for another 12 Reps. Once the back to back sets are performed the 3rd exercise is performed for 8 reps. You will complete 4 supersets, 1 warm up and 3 loaded.
For this group, we start out with a warm up deadlift set at 50% or less of the target max weight for 20 reps. Then we finish off with 8 reps of Smith Squats; generally these are at 30% to 50% of your calculated 1RM for this exercise. Once past the warm up, you complete your first heavy deadlift set, 80 to 90% calculated 1RM for 8 reps, drop the weight 30% and complete a second set for 12 reps. Once that set is complete, step over to the auxiliary exercise and complete 8 sets at whatever you had stacked for the warm up.
This gives you a total of 20 reps of dead's and 8 reps of the follow-up. For the second heavy sets of dead's, the weight should be set half way between the weights use in the first set and what was stripped for the second round. And for the 3rd set, half way again plus the 30% stripped.
- Do not use cheater wraps for deadlifts, should be raw lift.
- Between the 1st and 2nd set of dead's, only rest for whatever it takes to strip the weights.
- For a challenge, take whatever was stripped and add it to the Smith (auxiliary exercise).
The superset rest period should be limited to whatever it takes for your breathing and heart rate to return to normal.
|
How You Should Feel After the Exercise;
When completing the first heavy set you may find yourself cheating, not lowering the bar all the way below the knees. I think this is OK but just be aware, your lower back may be feeling 'Tight' if you proceed this way. If you don't go to the bottom of the move; you have a tendency to pull the bar with your back, not your gluts. To engage the gluts you need to get the bar and your ass as low as you can, keep the back straight and the abs tight.
When you finish the last set, you will feel quite tired, Physically Drained, to the point of failing if you picked up a feather. Your gluts' and lower back should be talking to you; complaining about the work you made them do. BUT THEY SHOULD NOT HURT. If you are feeling DOMS a day or so after, you need to back of a bit on the total weight. As far as progression. Every week you should add weight to deadlift exercises or shorten the rest period between supersets. Do not go for more reps.
|
December 2013; 125 kg max dead plus 40 kg Smith
|
So when working on that Last 10 Pounds, keeping track of progress is just as important as the progress. Log Compression…………wouldn’t that be a good name for some form of extreme lifting………..don’t you think?
MMJennings
No comments:
Post a Comment