Do you remember John Basedow’s “Six Minute Ab”
commercials from the late
Eighties and early Nineties? I do – they ran incessantly during ESPN’s
Sportscenter (FYI - the linked video has 2.7 million views.
What does that say about where we are going
as a country?).
I mention the godfather
of “Fitness Made Simple” only because Basedow himself was filming a series of
commercials at my gym this week.
In the
unedited versions, you might see me squatting rock bottom in the
background.
Here is some unsolicited
advice to all those out there: stop watching exercise videos, ditch the
teal-colored sleeveless tee, and follow the program of an accredited coach.
End of rant.
Now moving on to a slightly more relevant topic, if you
train long enough you will probably suffer your fair share of “injuries,” minor
muscle pulls/strains that nonetheless detract from your usual training program. I, myself, am dealing with just such an
injury right now (my best guess is a pulled external abdominal obligue or an
aggravated spinal erector on my left side).
The injury occurred while back squatting several days ago, and it has
proved stubbornly persistent. Realizing
this injury might be more than just “floating pain,” I decided to modify this
week’s programming, and take a break from the classic lifts and heavy
squatting, defined in this context as 90 percent or more of my best single. In the absence of this work, I have upped the
volume of my assistance lifts to turns some weaknesses into strengths. For those familiar with Louie Simmons' programming, this
week’s workouts are probably more “Westside Barbell-ish.” Below is today’s training log entry showing
how I am working around this injury. I
hope someone finds this example helpful.
01/15/2013
(1) Box Jumps --
Triples and doubles at various heights, final sets at
mid-torso level (38-40”)
(2) Back Squat (stopping short of maximum) --
Work up to a single at 90 percent, then drop down for six more
singles at 80-82 percent
(3) Horizontal Pull – Push Superset --
Pendlay Row + Pushups (this type of pulling doesn’t seem to
bother the injury)
(4) Extras --
3 Rds (roughly 2’ rest between) – 10 GHR + 15 Strict TTB
On Monday, I performed a similar type of workout – box jumps,
squatting, some upper body work – but chose weighted glute-ham raises (in this
case, I held a 20# weight behind my neck) and sled work for my “extras.”
_________________________________
Speaking of extras, I have found certain assistance lifts
very valuable, particularly those that target the posterior chain – hamstrings,
glutes, spinal erectors, etc. This list
is ordered based on perceived transferability: (1) lower back extensions,
performed on either a glute-ham developer or a 45-degree low back extension, (2)
glute-ham raises (3) subordinate pulling exercises, both vertical and
horizontal (pullups, chins, and rows of all kinds), (4) abdominal exercises done
from a pullup bar, i.e. knees-to-elbows
or toes-to-bar (limited kipping or swinging), (5) dumbell or kettlebell
variations of the classic lifts and (6) sled work. I might catch some grief for this next
statement, but bicep curls are another great assistance lift to include at the
end. Don’t laugh, you probably won’t
clean 150 kilos if you suffer from chronic elbow tendonitis. My preference is alternating dumbell curls
with a full wrist turn (wrist facing towards you at the start, wrist turned out
roughly 45 degrees at the top). This
always alleviates my elbow troubles.
