I woke on Monday morning, when I should have been doing my first workout of the week, with terrible backache. I put it down to having taught violin and piano all day on Sunday. When I was first rolling in the morning I thought the problem was in my rhomboids, but I couldn’t find any specific knot. The pain was excruciating though.
As the day progressed and I kept rolling every few hours for 45 minutes at a time (not really recommended – I was bruised to within an inch of my life by the end of the day) I located the problem a little further down my back to my left spinal erector where the bottom of the lat is found which made sense. For much of the previous day I had been sat at the bottom end of a piano keyboard twisting in the lower back in order to play examples to pupils with my upper body looking as theirs should, straight onto the keyboard.
By Tuesday morning there was only the slightest hint of a twinge – mostly bruising rather than actual pain this time – so I went ahead with my workout. I felt amazing in the gym, which was perhaps partly thanks to the extra day off. Noticeably I didn’t feel quite so marvellous for my second squat workout of the week.
Plan and results for last week
Workout 1:
- Back squat: 78kg – 6×2, 2×1 – I didn’t do this. I just did 5×2, 3×1. My decision to not add a rep was because several of my second reps weren’t getting to the box height but also I reduced my rest periods back down to where they were before Christmas (squats on 3 minutes rather than on a combination of 4 and 5 minutes). I also did the doubles consecutively, so really it was an improvement on before.
- Partial barbell overhead press: 28kg – 8×3 – Ha! This was an extremely optimistic aim. I did what should have been the workout for today, following Hepburn, 1×3, 7×2.
- Chin ups: 4×3, 4×2 – I was really pleased that I managed full range of motion on all my reps this week. So full in fact that I accidentally wacked the underside of my chin on the third rep of my fourth set on my way back down. That’s got to be a good sign!
Workout 2:
- RDL: 95kg – 6×2, 2×1 – Completed as planned though my hands haven’t quite got their callouses back yet so it’s quite sore still.
- Hip thrusts: 130kg – 8×3 – Completed as planned and I really am set back on my old timing of 1.5 minutes.
Workout 3:
- Back squat: 78kg – 7×2, 1×1 – still 5×2, 3×1 I’m afraid. I did try to do a second rep on my sixth set but only got a few inches out of the bottom before having to go back down and put the bar on the bottom pins. Hugely tedious having to de-rack the bar and re-rack it at the right height again in the middle of a workout. Several of my reps didn’t get to full depth either. I wish I knew what is wrong with my squat although I am suspicious that it has something to do with poor upper back mobility that I’ve had since getting back from my walking trip over the New Year. I can’t get the bar as low as I could before Christmas.
- Partial barbell overhead press: 30kg – 8×2 – I decided to stay with the Hepburn approach and aimed for 2×3, 6×2. However I managed an extra rep and did 3×3, 5×2. At least some
- Chin ups: 5×3, 3×2 – managed these, though perhaps not as easily as on Tuesday.
Plan for this week
Workout 1:
- Back squat: 78kg – 6×2, 2×1
- Partial barbell overhead press: 28kg – 4×3, 4×2
- Chin ups: 6×3, 2×2
Workout 2:
- RDL: 95kg – 7×2, 1×1
- Hip thrusts: 135kg – 8×3
Workout 3:
- Back squat: 78kg – 7×2, 1×1
- Partial barbell overhead press: 28kg – 5×3, 3×2
- Chin ups: 7×3, 1×2
Related posts:
No Comments so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.