Blut Wumps Another 25

[Jim Ouini]

Yep I know that gassed feeling on Wednesday's Wk 3/4. I can't remember which week it was but after deadlifting I sat in the corner with my hoodie on for like 10 or 15 minutes, just sipping water and getting my head together.

Also, I remember a butt ugly front squat I did where my elbows had to be down by sides, maybe even pointed backwards and I had some kind of reverse grip hold on the bar. By some miracle I was able to come all the way up with it, although my knee got messed up.

 

[blut wump]

Odd that you should mention that since my right knee swelled up a bit last night and I have trouble bending it now. I hope it's better by tomorrow.

I think the thought of your 405x5x5 pull kept me going enough to start the last set but it just wasn't happening.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Hmmm... I also find that any form deviation on fronts causes the knee that I hurt years ago to swell a bit and feel loose.

There doesn't seem to be much margin for error on fronts.

 

[blut wump]

I'm already thinking in terms of subs for squats tomorrow. All I can really think of are SLDL and rack-pulls or power shrugs. My leg is not happy bending today and feels sore just above the knee. There's general swelling around the knee.

I'm blaming a leg injection for the trouble. It was sore yesterday above the knee after deciding to try another quad injection on Monday. No, I didn't inject anywhere near the knee but my last leg inject also gave me an inflamation a few inches below the injection point which lasted four or five days. I've done two glute injections with no discomfort so I'll stick with them from now on.

I reckoned a neoprene knee-tube along with plenty of limbering up would be fine. It looks like I had a slight inflamation which I aggravated with the workout rather than just some 'soreness'.

 

[blut wump]

Week 3 Day 3

After much agonizing on what to sub for squats, I took some ibuprofen and decided to see how my warmups were. After every rep giving a 'pop' in the knee I gave it a good twist to get another, bigger, one and then it stopped. Ever vigilant for pain, I worked up to 135Kg which is a 5-rep PR. I've done 5 sets of 3 at this weight before.

Feeling quite chuffed, I went over to the bench and mulled on whether to go for 115 or 112.5. I chose the former which is another 5x5 PR. I doubt that I could have managed 117.5Kg but that's what I'll have to go for next week. I did two sets of close-grip back-off which went better than Monday's. I might up the weight on these next week.

When I went to rows, I wasn't happy that I'd used up the 100Kg slot last week due to forgetting my log book. Between my knee and my lower back, 102.5 was a struggle. After the fourth set I had to do some DIY chiropractry again which made the last set a shade easier, I think.

I was expecting to need straps on the side bends but held on just fine. The rev hypers were a good thing to stretch out my lower back. My knee has the weekend in which to recover before week 4. I applied a cold pack when I got home.

I overheard a couple of guys standing by the next squat rack discussing whether to do calves first or last. "Fair enough", I thought until I realised that today was their squat day. I think one of them wandered over to the donkey calf machine while the other got the empty bar on his back and proceded to do an odd little dip with his glutes followed by a tilt forward which lifted his heels off the ground. His partner shouted over to ask what he was doing, which reflected my own thoughts, to which he replied, "Some warm-up squats". They continued with their "squats" all the way to 4 plates a side and I was still awaiting the first actual rep. On the final set, the spotter's main function seemed to be to stop his partner falling forwards. My final thought on the matter was that I've become a squat snob.

Total workout time: around 1hr 30m


Weights in Kilos, previous weeks in orange.
ATF Squat
20x10, 30x10, 60x5, 80x5, 90x5, 105x5, 120x5
20x10, 30x10, 60x5, 70x5, 85x5, 100x5, 115x5, 130x5
20x10, 30x10, 60x5, 75x5, 90x5, 105x5, 120x5, 135x5
Bench
20x10N, 40x8S, 60x5W, 80x3N, 105x5x5 WSNSW
20x10N, 40x8S, 60x5W, 80x3W, 100x2W, 110x5x5 W
20x10N, 40x8S, 60x5W, 80x3W, 100x2W, 115x5x5 W, 80x10 for 2 sets NN
BB Row
20x10, 60x5, 80x5, 90x5x5
20x10, 60x5, 80x3, 100x5x5
20x10, 60x5, 80x3, 102.5x5x5
DB Side Bend
45x8, 60x8 for 3 sets
55x8, 65x8 for 3 sets
55x8, 70x8 for 3 sets
Reverse Hypers
15x4
None, I forgot them.
15 x 5 sets

 

[Introspective]

I doubt that I could have managed 117.5Kg but that's what I'll have to go for next week.

http://gymratz.co.uk/weight-training-gym-equipment/cat3_1.htm
Get some microplates from this site and go for 116.5, i baught two 0.25's and two 0.5's ....£40 alltogether

 

[blut wump]

Nice suggestion but I think I can talk myself into getting 117.5. After all, week4 is all about surpassing all previous limits and some failure is acceptable if the straining for it is not unreasonable.

I saw the gymratz plates last year sometime, I used to get a lot of my supps there. £20 a pop is outrageous.

 

[anotherbutters]

i baught two 0.25's and two 0.5's ....£40 alltogether

What are they made out of, solid gold?

Keep up the good work BW. My 140kg squat by Christmas is looking a little tricky right now

 

[Introspective]

£20 a pop is outrageous.

lol i guess they saw me coming, I'm not good with metals, but i think there made out of cast iron. Couldn't find any cheeper 1's.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I'm a proud, card-carrying member of the Squat Snob Society (the SSS for insiders). You can be accepted for membership if you can crack a walmut behind your knees at the bottom of your Oly squat.