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.
Showing posts with label shoulder rehab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shoulder rehab. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
End of Week Round Up
Trained Thursday in Hercs. Was a day of much thought about my lifting. I'm realising the list of obstacles I have to cross is endless, but I'm enjoying it, so I'll keep fighting!
Tommy Hayden was in coaching Cathal Twaddle, and was offering me a little advice. His main point was that I'm always extending through the front of my foot, rather than through the base. This, he says, is the main cause of my under extension, which is forcing me to use my arms. While I may be able to snatch light weights like this, heavier weights definitely won't be happening. He advises going back to snatching from the boards. Bit of a step backwards, but if it helps I'm willing to try it. Will have to get talking to Harry about it.
My lifting wasn't great. I kept it a little lighter than usual to focus on technique, but everything was still feeling out of place. Here's what I did-
Snatch - 2*2*40kg, 3*2*43kg, 4*2*46kg
Clean - 2*50kg, 2*55kg, 2*60kg, 2*65kg, 4*2*70kg
Back Squat - 5*60kg, 5*70kg, 5*80kg, 5*90kg, 3*5*100kg.
Saturday
Trained at home Saturday. Only got in for an hour, so did some thorough shoulder rehabbing, as well as a little military pressing. Still unsure if my lock-out is improving.
Military press - 2*5*bar, 5*30kg, 5*40kg, 3*50kg, 3*55kg
Planning on competing in the masters in dublin this weekend (as an open lifter obviously!). Just started some water loading, which I've never tried before. Testing it out to see if I can make the 62s. I'm weighing about 64kg at the minute, so it should work if I stick at it. Still unsure what way I'm going to train this week. Will have to give Harry a call to see what he thinks. I'll likely take Thursday and Friday off to rest, but we'll see.
Tommy Hayden was in coaching Cathal Twaddle, and was offering me a little advice. His main point was that I'm always extending through the front of my foot, rather than through the base. This, he says, is the main cause of my under extension, which is forcing me to use my arms. While I may be able to snatch light weights like this, heavier weights definitely won't be happening. He advises going back to snatching from the boards. Bit of a step backwards, but if it helps I'm willing to try it. Will have to get talking to Harry about it.
My lifting wasn't great. I kept it a little lighter than usual to focus on technique, but everything was still feeling out of place. Here's what I did-
Snatch - 2*2*40kg, 3*2*43kg, 4*2*46kg
Clean - 2*50kg, 2*55kg, 2*60kg, 2*65kg, 4*2*70kg
Back Squat - 5*60kg, 5*70kg, 5*80kg, 5*90kg, 3*5*100kg.
Saturday
Trained at home Saturday. Only got in for an hour, so did some thorough shoulder rehabbing, as well as a little military pressing. Still unsure if my lock-out is improving.
Military press - 2*5*bar, 5*30kg, 5*40kg, 3*50kg, 3*55kg
Planning on competing in the masters in dublin this weekend (as an open lifter obviously!). Just started some water loading, which I've never tried before. Testing it out to see if I can make the 62s. I'm weighing about 64kg at the minute, so it should work if I stick at it. Still unsure what way I'm going to train this week. Will have to give Harry a call to see what he thinks. I'll likely take Thursday and Friday off to rest, but we'll see.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday's Road to Recovery
I had a pretty bad allergic reaction yesterday, so couldn't train. I got in today, but I'm still recovering, so it wasn't as good as it could have been.
I trained in Hercs again, starting with the basic warm up. This had many indications the lifting wasn't going to be good. I did the usual overhead squat + snatch balance combo, and even missed some of the snatch balances. Surprisingly though, the snatching went well. I managed to equal my comp pb of 49kg for a few top sets, which was great.
Harry arrived in when I moved on to Clean and Jerks. These unfortunately weren't as clean cut as the snatches. I only managed to work up to 60kg for a few top sets, and they were tough. Even the cleans felt ropey, when usually they're fine. Here's what I did-
I finished off with some stretching. It's actually insane how tight my shoulders are. I can barely grasp my hands behind my back. Alex was there to offer some advice again. She assures me it's tightness in most of the muscle groups in the shoulder, rather than being isolated.
She also showed me some more good stretches that felt great. I can really feel the stretch, as well as scaps moving into they're proper position. The more of these I do, the more my shoulders will improve, so I'm going to keep at it.
Harry might be in DCU tomorrow evening. We're hoping to get club training back underway for semester 2. So chances are I'll be training there. Otherwise I'll be in Hercs. Hopefully I'm well recovered from the allergic reaction for it.
I trained in Hercs again, starting with the basic warm up. This had many indications the lifting wasn't going to be good. I did the usual overhead squat + snatch balance combo, and even missed some of the snatch balances. Surprisingly though, the snatching went well. I managed to equal my comp pb of 49kg for a few top sets, which was great.
Harry arrived in when I moved on to Clean and Jerks. These unfortunately weren't as clean cut as the snatches. I only managed to work up to 60kg for a few top sets, and they were tough. Even the cleans felt ropey, when usually they're fine. Here's what I did-
- Snatch - 2*2*40kg, 2*2*44kg, 2*2*47kg, 4*2*49kg
- Clean & Jerk - 2*50kg, 2*55kg, 3*2*60kg
- Back Squat - 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 4*3*100kg
I then did some jerk skill, followed by some clean warm ups. I was quite stiff in the rack position, so Laura did some pnf stretching with me. This helped a lot.
I finished off with some stretching. It's actually insane how tight my shoulders are. I can barely grasp my hands behind my back. Alex was there to offer some advice again. She assures me it's tightness in most of the muscle groups in the shoulder, rather than being isolated.
She also showed me some more good stretches that felt great. I can really feel the stretch, as well as scaps moving into they're proper position. The more of these I do, the more my shoulders will improve, so I'm going to keep at it.
Harry might be in DCU tomorrow evening. We're hoping to get club training back underway for semester 2. So chances are I'll be training there. Otherwise I'll be in Hercs. Hopefully I'm well recovered from the allergic reaction for it.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
3 More Sessions to Finish the Week
Been pretty busy over the last two days, so only getting a chance to post this now.
Tuesday
I trained in Hercs again. I was pretty tired, as I'm still adjusting to the volume, but it was still a good session. I'm beginning to realise I need to start taking a record of my lifts in the gym, because I'm struggling to remember what I did afterwards! So I'll just give a brief summary
Wednesday
Harry advised me to take the day off Wednesday, as I was tired Tuesday. So I did a session in DCU, focusing on my shoulder rehabbing. I tried some of the lat stretches Alex showed me, as well as adjusting some of the older exercises I was doing, on her advice. They're all feeling a lot more effective. She definitely knows her stuff.
I finished off with some squatting, and glute/ham raises.
Trained in Hercs again today. Harry wasn't in, but Laura and Gill were. I was out last night, so I was suffering a little! But I decided to train anyway. I'll undoubtedly have to train hungover every now and again, so I might as well get used to it.
It really wasn't very productive, but I'm glad I went in anyway. Here's what I did-
Tuesday
I trained in Hercs again. I was pretty tired, as I'm still adjusting to the volume, but it was still a good session. I'm beginning to realise I need to start taking a record of my lifts in the gym, because I'm struggling to remember what I did afterwards! So I'll just give a brief summary
- Hang Snatch + Snatch - Worked up to 4*2*48kg
- Clean & Jerk - Worked up to 4*2*65kg
These were pretty rough, and there was definitely a few misses in there. Still not extending fully, and compensating for this by pulling with my arms. Hard habit to kick.
After some jerk skill work-
Wednesday
Harry advised me to take the day off Wednesday, as I was tired Tuesday. So I did a session in DCU, focusing on my shoulder rehabbing. I tried some of the lat stretches Alex showed me, as well as adjusting some of the older exercises I was doing, on her advice. They're all feeling a lot more effective. She definitely knows her stuff.
I finished off with some squatting, and glute/ham raises.
- Back Squat - 3*50kg, 3*60kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 3*3*100kg, 3*3*102.5kg
- Glute/Ham Raise - 3*6reps
Trained in Hercs again today. Harry wasn't in, but Laura and Gill were. I was out last night, so I was suffering a little! But I decided to train anyway. I'll undoubtedly have to train hungover every now and again, so I might as well get used to it.
It really wasn't very productive, but I'm glad I went in anyway. Here's what I did-
- Overhead Squat + Snatch Balance - 2+2*bar, 2+2*30, 2+2*40
- Snatch - 4*2*40kg, 2*2*44kg, 3*2*47kg
- Front Squat + Jerk - 2+1*50kg, 2+1*55kg, 2*2+1*60kg
- Front Squat - 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*3*80kg
As with Tuesday, some of these were misses. I wasn't extending fully as usual, and the arms were doing most of the work. Laura offered me some advice on getting the full extension. Driving hard through the heals, while thinking about driving yourself up onto your toes. I started doing this, and some reps improved slightly. I was definitely getting the bar closer throughout the lift, which is a start.
These didn't feel great at all. I was unbalanced, and couldn't lock them out fully. This is without doubt my main problem in the jerk, and Harry is placing a lot of emphasis on how important it is to get sorted. Hopefully this shoulder rehabbing will pay off in the end. So I "cut my losses short" as Laura put it, and moved on to front squats.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday's Short Session
I was pretty fatigued today. I had another exam this morning, so I only got 3/4hrs sleep. I'm actually going to start logging roughly how much sleep I get the night before training, just to see how much it's affecting me.
As the title says, I kept it short today. I started with my shoulder rehab work as usual. Spent a little longer on it today, as I hadn't done much during the week. The exercise I'm finding most effective so far is the thoraic spine extension (also called the cobra pose in yoga). I can really feel the scaps moving in to place when I do them. The scap push-ups are really improving too. I hope all this indicates I'm improving.
Disclaimer: This is not me.
Here's what I did today after some bar work-
Hang Clean - 2*2*40, 2*45
Clean - 2*50, 2*55, 2*60, 2*65, 3*2*70
Back Squat - 5*60, 5*70, 5*80, 3*5*90
Glute-ham raises - 1 set of 6
Had to leave it at one set as the gym was closing. They weren't feeling the best anyway, so I wasn't too bothered.
So there you go. Quite an easy session.
I'm not sure when I'll be in next. I've exams Monday and Tuesday, and the last on Thursday. Hopefully I'll get in three times. Not too happy with only 3 sessions a week. But I'm too busy at the minute to increase that. Once the exams are finished, I'll up it to 4 proper sessions a week.
Hours of sleep - 3/4hrs
As the title says, I kept it short today. I started with my shoulder rehab work as usual. Spent a little longer on it today, as I hadn't done much during the week. The exercise I'm finding most effective so far is the thoraic spine extension (also called the cobra pose in yoga). I can really feel the scaps moving in to place when I do them. The scap push-ups are really improving too. I hope all this indicates I'm improving.
Disclaimer: This is not me.
Here's what I did today after some bar work-
Hang Clean - 2*2*40, 2*45
Clean - 2*50, 2*55, 2*60, 2*65, 3*2*70
Back Squat - 5*60, 5*70, 5*80, 3*5*90
Glute-ham raises - 1 set of 6
Had to leave it at one set as the gym was closing. They weren't feeling the best anyway, so I wasn't too bothered.
So there you go. Quite an easy session.
I'm not sure when I'll be in next. I've exams Monday and Tuesday, and the last on Thursday. Hopefully I'll get in three times. Not too happy with only 3 sessions a week. But I'm too busy at the minute to increase that. Once the exams are finished, I'll up it to 4 proper sessions a week.
Hours of sleep - 3/4hrs
Friday, January 15, 2010
Friday's sore shoulders
I'm noticing a trend to my posts already. Not a good sign at all. I promise the complaining will stop though, next week hopefully!
Today was a quick session. I trained at home, so I was limited. I started with some shoulder rehab. T-spine extensions, bar hangs, lat stretches, shoulder dislocates, theraband stretching and scap push-ups. These left my shoulders pretty fatigued, but I really think they're starting to make a difference, even if it is small.
I then moved on to overhead squats, and snatch balances. I wanted to push the weight up in these, but it just wasn't happening, so I cut that short. The same happened with the cleans. Here's what I ended up doing-
Overhead Squat + Snatch Balance- 2+2*30kg, 2+2*35kg
Clean- 2*40kg, 2*50kg
My shoulder joints were screaming at me, I had to leave it there.
Military Press- 5*30kg, 5*40kg, 5*42.5kg, 5*45kg
Back Squat- 5*40kg, 5*60kg, 5*70kg, 5*80kg, 5*90kg
There you have it. Twas a fairly embarrassing session to have to log. But I guess it's just one of many steps to greatness!
My exams are starting next week (insert sad face), so I probably won't get in to train until Tuesday. I'm not really sure how much I'll actually get to train at all next week, I've a lot of work to do. Looking forward to next Thursday. I'll have some time off after that to train a good bit.
Today was a quick session. I trained at home, so I was limited. I started with some shoulder rehab. T-spine extensions, bar hangs, lat stretches, shoulder dislocates, theraband stretching and scap push-ups. These left my shoulders pretty fatigued, but I really think they're starting to make a difference, even if it is small.
I then moved on to overhead squats, and snatch balances. I wanted to push the weight up in these, but it just wasn't happening, so I cut that short. The same happened with the cleans. Here's what I ended up doing-
Overhead Squat + Snatch Balance- 2+2*30kg, 2+2*35kg
Clean- 2*40kg, 2*50kg
My shoulder joints were screaming at me, I had to leave it there.
Military Press- 5*30kg, 5*40kg, 5*42.5kg, 5*45kg
Back Squat- 5*40kg, 5*60kg, 5*70kg, 5*80kg, 5*90kg
There you have it. Twas a fairly embarrassing session to have to log. But I guess it's just one of many steps to greatness!
My exams are starting next week (insert sad face), so I probably won't get in to train until Tuesday. I'm not really sure how much I'll actually get to train at all next week, I've a lot of work to do. Looking forward to next Thursday. I'll have some time off after that to train a good bit.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday - More nostalgia!
Today I was training with my first ever training partner, Jason. The two of us started back when we were 15, in another small local gym; learning the ins and outs of bicep curls, tricep extensions and ab exercises. Jason's more into the bodybuilding aspect of training, and I don't think I'll ever convert him to Olympic lifting! He currently weighs around 85kg at 5'8".
I didn't do any lifting today. I focused on my shoulder rehabbing exercises, and did a lot of bar work. I did the usual thoracic spine extensions, my flexibility is improving in these day by day. I also did 3x1 minute bar hangs. Even though it wasn't intended, these are really improving my grip. They also give me a great lat and pec stretch.
I did 5 sets of scap push ups as well. I got Jason to video my first, which made me realise my technique was woeful. So I worked on that, and got him to video me again. Here's a video, feel free to leave any constructive criticism. I know my hips are dropping when they shouldn't, I'm going to work on adjusting that.
That was it for today. I plan on doing some full clean and jerks tomorrow, and plenty of squatting. Should be well recovered for it.
I didn't do any lifting today. I focused on my shoulder rehabbing exercises, and did a lot of bar work. I did the usual thoracic spine extensions, my flexibility is improving in these day by day. I also did 3x1 minute bar hangs. Even though it wasn't intended, these are really improving my grip. They also give me a great lat and pec stretch.
I did 5 sets of scap push ups as well. I got Jason to video my first, which made me realise my technique was woeful. So I worked on that, and got him to video me again. Here's a video, feel free to leave any constructive criticism. I know my hips are dropping when they shouldn't, I'm going to work on adjusting that.
That was it for today. I plan on doing some full clean and jerks tomorrow, and plenty of squatting. Should be well recovered for it.
Wednesday's Reunion
Today I got to train with two mates of mine, Gerard and Tom, who I haven't seen in ages. Gerard was a training partner back when I started going to the gym, so it was great to get training with him again! Of course the craic was good, so the lifting suffered a little.
I started off with the shoulder rehabbing exercises. Thoracic spine extensions, bar hangs, lat stretches, shoulder dislocates, and overhead squats with a progressively narrower grip (These are really improving my flexibility). I'm feeling these in the left shoulder especially, hopefully this indicates they're working.
I was still training at home, so I couldn't snatch fully. Last time I did I almost tore a bicep lowering the weight back to the ground. I chose to do the snatch balance instead. I find these great for getting comfortable with full snatches, they really improve the lock out. I finished with some cleans, squats and power jerks. Everything was feeling a little off, but I'm sure once I get back to DCU, and start training normally, things will fall back into place. Here's what I did-
Snatch balance - 2x35, 2x40, 2x45, 2x50
Clean - 2x40, 2x50, 2x55, 2x60, 2x65, 2x70
Back Squat - 5x60, 5x70, 5x80, 5x90
Power Jerk - 3x40, 3x50, 3x60, 2x65, 2x60
The power jerks weren't feeling very solid at all. In hindsight I probably should have stayed below 50kg, and really focused on the lockout. The rehab exercises are leaving my shoulders pretty fatigued, but I'm sure this will improve with time.
Here's a video of a great exercise I came across for improving shoulder mobility. For anyone with few issues here, it could be used as a warm up.
Gerard and Tom study in UL, and I think I may have talked them into joining the weightlifting club there. So hopefully you'll have two new members down there in semester 2 Cathal!
I started off with the shoulder rehabbing exercises. Thoracic spine extensions, bar hangs, lat stretches, shoulder dislocates, and overhead squats with a progressively narrower grip (These are really improving my flexibility). I'm feeling these in the left shoulder especially, hopefully this indicates they're working.
I was still training at home, so I couldn't snatch fully. Last time I did I almost tore a bicep lowering the weight back to the ground. I chose to do the snatch balance instead. I find these great for getting comfortable with full snatches, they really improve the lock out. I finished with some cleans, squats and power jerks. Everything was feeling a little off, but I'm sure once I get back to DCU, and start training normally, things will fall back into place. Here's what I did-
Snatch balance - 2x35, 2x40, 2x45, 2x50
Clean - 2x40, 2x50, 2x55, 2x60, 2x65, 2x70
Back Squat - 5x60, 5x70, 5x80, 5x90
Power Jerk - 3x40, 3x50, 3x60, 2x65, 2x60
The power jerks weren't feeling very solid at all. In hindsight I probably should have stayed below 50kg, and really focused on the lockout. The rehab exercises are leaving my shoulders pretty fatigued, but I'm sure this will improve with time.
Here's a video of a great exercise I came across for improving shoulder mobility. For anyone with few issues here, it could be used as a warm up.
Gerard and Tom study in UL, and I think I may have talked them into joining the weightlifting club there. So hopefully you'll have two new members down there in semester 2 Cathal!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
One session down
Thankfully it wasn't a drinking session this time! Far too much of that went on over xmas.
I was training at home in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan today. Unfortunately I've limited facilities (powerlifting bars, steel plates), so I had to keep it simple. It suited me though, I really need to be eased back in!
I started with some of my back rehabbing exercises, so I think now is probably a suitable time to explain what issues I'm having exactly.
My left scapula is the culprit, and it's been preventing me from supporting heavier weights overhead for quite a while now. According to my physio there is several things causing this. All contributing to the overall imbalance. I'll list them, with the suggested treatment.
1) Thoracic spine mobility
-extension (avoid excessive Lumbar sp. extension)
2) Lat dorsi flexibility
-foam roller
-bar hang (great for grip work too)
-stretch lat dorsi (physiological stretching = 20-30sec, 2-3/10 stretch sensation, 5reps, 5 daily)
3) Pec/chest tightness
-shoulder dislocate
-door stretch at different angles
-theraband behind back
4) Serratus anterior weakness
-scap pushups
5) Levator scap tightness
-to stretch (physiological stretching) look towards opposite armpit (sit on stretch-side hand)
So as you can see, i've plenty of work to keep me busy! At the minute my scap is slightly winged, and due to the weakness in the lev scap, it's not as tight to the back at the bottom as it should be. That's not completely obvious in the these pictures, but I think it's fairly clear what effects it is having on my back development.
Today I mainly focused on the thoracic spine extension, as well as some scap push ups. I also did 3x1 minute hangs from the gyms pull-up bar. This really lets me get comfortable with the arm positioning for the jerk, it fairly burns the forearms though!
As I was saying I was limited in what I could do today. So after a some leg stretches, and bar work, here's what I did-
Front squat- 3x50, 3x60, 3x70, 3x80, 3x90
Back squat- 3x60, 3x70, 3x80, 3x90, 3x100
Military Press- 5x30, 5x35, 5x40
Push Press- 5x50, 5x55, 5x40
I dropped back to 40 for my last set of push presses, because my lefts arm's lockout was really suffering. I feel the fatigue after some of the earlier work, and the effects of just being back were the main causes.
So today's training was very basic, and not too intense. It was really just what I needed for my first day back. Hopefully I can up it a little more tomorrow.
I was training at home in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan today. Unfortunately I've limited facilities (powerlifting bars, steel plates), so I had to keep it simple. It suited me though, I really need to be eased back in!
I started with some of my back rehabbing exercises, so I think now is probably a suitable time to explain what issues I'm having exactly.
My left scapula is the culprit, and it's been preventing me from supporting heavier weights overhead for quite a while now. According to my physio there is several things causing this. All contributing to the overall imbalance. I'll list them, with the suggested treatment.
1) Thoracic spine mobility
-extension (avoid excessive Lumbar sp. extension)
2) Lat dorsi flexibility
-foam roller
-bar hang (great for grip work too)
-stretch lat dorsi (physiological stretching = 20-30sec, 2-3/10 stretch sensation, 5reps, 5 daily)
3) Pec/chest tightness
-shoulder dislocate
-door stretch at different angles
-theraband behind back
4) Serratus anterior weakness
-scap pushups
5) Levator scap tightness
-to stretch (physiological stretching) look towards opposite armpit (sit on stretch-side hand)
So as you can see, i've plenty of work to keep me busy! At the minute my scap is slightly winged, and due to the weakness in the lev scap, it's not as tight to the back at the bottom as it should be. That's not completely obvious in the these pictures, but I think it's fairly clear what effects it is having on my back development.
Today I mainly focused on the thoracic spine extension, as well as some scap push ups. I also did 3x1 minute hangs from the gyms pull-up bar. This really lets me get comfortable with the arm positioning for the jerk, it fairly burns the forearms though!
As I was saying I was limited in what I could do today. So after a some leg stretches, and bar work, here's what I did-
Front squat- 3x50, 3x60, 3x70, 3x80, 3x90
Back squat- 3x60, 3x70, 3x80, 3x90, 3x100
Military Press- 5x30, 5x35, 5x40
Push Press- 5x50, 5x55, 5x40
I dropped back to 40 for my last set of push presses, because my lefts arm's lockout was really suffering. I feel the fatigue after some of the earlier work, and the effects of just being back were the main causes.
So today's training was very basic, and not too intense. It was really just what I needed for my first day back. Hopefully I can up it a little more tomorrow.
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