Tuesdays Trigger Point Release

I'm back home for Paddys, so trained in the gym here Tuesday. I did a lot of shoulder rehab work, specifically scap work; and followed it up with a little squatting. I only managed to work up to 5*90kg for 3 sets, which I wasn't overly happy with, but you have to put up with the bad days.

I also spent a little time trying to teach my bro how to squat. He's 14, so I figured he would have an good base to start from. I was wrong! He spends quite a lot of time sitting playing xbox, slumped in the chair, and this has badly effected his back and hip mobility. I have him working him on few things though, so hopefully I can get him squatting the bar in a few weeks.

Tuesday evening I had a little trigger point release done on my back and shoulder. My friend's sister, Aoibheann, has just opened her own place in town, and I had got a little work done with her before, so I arranged to call in at 5. Before starting she got me to try the IYWT test against the wall. For I and Y my ribs poke out quite a bit, because my shoulders aren't mobile enough. For W I literally couldn't externally rotate fully to touch the wall, and for T I was fine.

The therapy involved both deep tissue massage and dry needling targeting my traps, lats, and lower back. Aoibheann believes a lot of my trouble is coming from tightness in the lats, again in the levator scap, and from some issues with thoracic spine mobility. Afterwords I tried the IYWT test again, and you could see a marked improvement.

Aoibheann has suggested I call in each Friday I'm home to speed up my progress. I won't be about this week, since there's a squad session Saturday, but I intend on going again Friday week. I'm sure it'll be worth while. Feel free to check out Aoibheann's website.

I'll be training again Thursday with the club.

Weekend Learning

I trained with the club again 3 days this week, it was a pretty busy week overall, so I didn't make it into Hercs. We're still training similarly to the previous weeks, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I think my technique is improving, and I'm sure my flexibility and hip mobility is, thankfully. I started the Level 1 IAWLA Coaching Course this weekend, so I got more work done both today and yesterday, so overall there was a little more practice done this week than previous weeks!

The course was quite interesting. We got to try the different parts of the lifts quite a bit both days, but we were mainly focusing on was pointing out what issues others were having with the lifts. My knowledge has most definitely increased, and a few more problems I'm having are becoming clear. While this is not altogether encouraging, I now know what I need to work on to improve. I hope I see some big improvements soon.

At the end of the course Sunday I joined Alex, who was also doing the course; for some squatting. Harry was in to offer advice, so a few other club members joined us too. Here's what I did-

Back Squat - 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 5*3*100kg

I was pretty happy with these. I was quiet tired from the 2 days, yet they still felt quite comfortable, and I'm sure I had more in the tank.

Alex squatted up to 85kg for 5*3 after being sick for the last 2 weeks or so, which was very impressive. I think this spurred everyone on to train harder. Two lads from the club, Alan and Stephen, worked up to 60kg for a few sets, and it's obvious they've a lot more to come.

The second weekend of the course starts April 17th, so I've a few weeks now to get a few sessions filled in in my logbook. Not completely sure how often I'll get to train this week with Paddy's Day in between, but should get in for at least 3. Thankfully we've only six sessions to fill in before it, so it shouldn't be too much trouble.

Club Training

My only training this week was with the weightlifting club, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I planned on training in Hercs two other days, but I was tired, and suffering from a slight head cold, so it didn't happen. Ah laziness...

We're still working on the basics, which I'm enjoying, but I really need to make sure I get in another two sessions each week to train the full lifts. Practicing the different parts will no doubt be beneficial, but if it's all I do, I'll likely disimprove.

My flexibility and mobility is undoubtedly increasing, which is great. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in hole, and overhead too. Hopefully this will help me start bumping up the lifts.

Check out the clubs facebook page. There's some videos of me doing the parts of the lifts we're working on. Comments would be greatly appreciated.

That's all for now. Hopefully I get a bit more training in next week. Me and two friends also plan on trying yoga out Thursday night. Should be interesting!