your body your health

[malevich]

strained my back for the second time pulling 140kg the other day.

I'd wanted to get to two sets of 5 deadlifting twice my bodyweight (~150 kg, still utter lightweight). I'm reconsidering that now though. Any kind of serious program isn't compatible with my current lifestyle and i'm bound to just injure myself again. Going to get back in to doing cardio and focus on high quality movements rather than trying to lift something heavy.

New goal is to be able to do muscle ups on the rings and run 10K easily. Many runners on here?

i am a runner and amateur muscle upper also ;))) those are not easy tasks you know! somewhere 3-4 years ago i started jogging seriously every weekend with no excuses and keep this up, every weekend increasing extra lap or kilometre, when the distance was sufficient, started concentrating on the pace. Usually if you consider long runs, i suggest to go for at least between 12-15km. If you are planning on more, then i suggest to practice up until 17-18km, but only the month before the big run, because 15-17 km is a deadlock, if you are able to overcome this barrier, you are golden and prepared for a decent semi-marathon, which is 21 km, as the last 5 km you are running thinking "come on, man, you've made it so far, it is almost a finish line!" And deadlock i mean muscles, if you are able to run more than 10km, your lungs and heart are perfect, all the rest is pure muscles, and usually if you lack water or extra energy, your muscles simply stop after 15th km, it is actually a very weird feeling, i have experienced it couple of times, so you have to be prepared in terms of nutrition and run with a small bottle or something, you might need water for your muscles. Luckily I managed to run one semi-marathon with ease in the beginning of this year after somewhat 3 years of dedicated training, and i plan to run again in the middle of the summer. But for training it is more than enough to focus on 12-15 km with decent pace every weekend.

BUT BUT!!! running is alot of work on your spine as well!! so if you have any spine problems!! you will feel it straight away, and you will know where exactly you spine is not correct!! very important, because my fellow runner friend was restricted by doctors to run!! i feel every bone in my spine starting after 10th km!! so it is very important to exercise you back muscles if you are considering running seriously!!!

[apathy!]

Yeah it will take me a while but i'm fine with that.

I just need some kind of physical betterment to focus on. It's easy to slip into a deeply unhealthy lifestyle in modern cities.

I used to run a lot in high school so I'm hoping it comes back


I think the role of the core muscles is definitely important when running but they are not required to be as strong as when squatting or deadlifting.


How did you learn the muscleup?

[malevich]

How did you learn the muscleup?

a lot of pull ups, a lot of dips, a lot of explosive pull ups.. and then i decided to give it a try, and it happened easily. It is important to understand a technique and a swing. Then i made 1x3 times, then later 3x3, then 5x2, then 10x2, now i am very comfortable with 5x4 times over the work-out, consistency and routine is success..

[Senpai]

Anybody here experiment with the alkaline diet at all? The studies behind it seem really convincing. I was a raw vegan for a little over a year and now am just a refined sugar, gluten free, herbivore (I own too much leather to be vegan). Anyways, was just interested if anyone here has tried it out and wondering if they felt any better on it.

[ahn]

Anybody here experiment with the alkaline diet at all? The studies behind it seem really convincing. I was a raw vegan for a little over a year and now am just a refined sugar, gluten free, herbivore (I own too much leather to be vegan). Anyways, was just interested if anyone here has tried it out and wondering if they felt any better on it.

I am sorry I cannot speak from direct experience, but a friend of mine who had a form of aggressive leukemia went on the alkaline diet as a holistic aid and said it improved her feeling of health and well being whilst on her medical treatment dramatically. I don't want to paraphrase her experiences on this diet, just to comment that she is a big advocate of it. Now that she is in remission she doesn't follow it to the technical level she did during her treatment but still applies many of the principles to her current diet.

[lowrey]

strained my back for the second time pulling 140kg the other day.

Is your form good and do you warm up + stretch properly? Those are the primary contributors to strains imo. This might be stating the obvious, but I'll mention any way; when doing dead lifts I do a back-specific warm up (row machine), lower back stretches and foam rolling all before workout, and strerches also after it.

Before I used to do random cardio before workout without any targeting and at least for me that contributed to strains/injuries

As for form, I imagine you know the proper way but if you haven't done so, have someone look at it to make sure your back stays straight etc

[apathy!]

Is your form good and do you warm up + stretch properly? Those are the primary contributors to strains imo. This might be stating the obvious, but I'll mention any way; when doing dead lifts I do a back-specific warm up (row machine), lower back stretches and foam rolling all before workout, and strerches also after it.

Before I used to do random cardio before workout without any targeting and at least for me that contributed to strains/injuries

As for form, I imagine you know the proper way but if you haven't done so, have someone look at it to make sure your back stays straight etc

I'm well aware of how the body works and proper mechanics etc. I think my current sleep shcedule isnt really compatible with any kind of training. The rowing machine is a good idea though. The strongest powerlifter in my gym does what is essentially weighted crunches with a cable machine as a warmup.

[Senpai]

I am sorry I cannot speak from direct experience, but a friend of mine who had a form of aggressive leukemia went on the alkaline diet as a holistic aid and said it improved her feeling of health

Thanks regardless! Even just a friend's avocation is better than nothing. You see all the claims on the internet and can never really tell if the stories are true. I think I may give it a shot for a while, not in a militant sense but just "guide" of sorts. Will report back here after a while to share my experience with it.

On separate note, do we have any rowers on SZ?

[endersgame]

like crew or on a machine? i do neither.

i'm slowly working indoor rock climbing in my regimen and it's the most humbling experience when 60-year-old woman can run past me on ascents harder than i'm currently able to climb. at this point, my arm and hand strength needs to be 3x stronger to do this well.

another fitness note, i tried barry's bootcamp for the first time. yeah, it's kardashian endorsed, but it was pretty intense. the guy was yelling out 10+mph on 15% incline. can't do that..

[Senpai]

like crew or on a machine? i do neither.

i'm slowly working indoor rock climbing in my regimen and it's the most humbling experience when 60-year-old woman can run past me on ascents harder than i'm currently able to climb. at this point, my arm and hand strength needs to be 3x stronger to do this well.

another fitness note, i tried barry's bootcamp for the first time. yeah, it's kardashian endorsed, but it was pretty intense. the guy was yelling out 10+mph on 15% incline. can't do that..

Climbing is honestly way more technique than anything. The reason women are often so good in spite of being smaller than the men in the gym is they primarily focus on their technical abilities instead. Being a really small male myself, I found that I progressed the most when I made female climbing partners and took notes on their technique. That, in addition to watching Dave Graham's approach to bouldering and attempting to implement style similar to his. Finger strength is must though. Luckily, it's probably the easiest thing to strengthen you'll ever encounter. I recommend purchasing a hangboard and putting it somewhere in your house you'll be motivated to bust out a quick workout daily.

[chandler]

strained my back for the second time pulling 140kg the other day.

I'd wanted to get to two sets of 5 deadlifting twice my bodyweight (~150 kg, still utter lightweight). I'm reconsidering that now though. Any kind of serious program isn't compatible with my current lifestyle and i'm bound to just injure myself again. Going to get back in to doing cardio and focus on high quality movements rather than trying to lift something heavy.

New goal is to be able to do muscle ups on the rings and run 10K easily. Many runners on here?

I might be able to help you if you tell me in what part of the movement the strain seemed to occur

Some comments hoping they're helpful: the initial part of dl is a lot of legs.

If the strain happened there you may have been over the bar too much, rounding your back too much

More common is the upper part of the movement. People will pull the bar above the knee and then try and complete the movement pulling thbar the rest of the way up w their lower back. This is a big mistake. You risk injury and limit your performance to boot. Once the bar is above your knee you should do what is sometimes referred to as wedging yourself under the bar. This means simultaneously pulling your knees back and thrusting your hips forward (by squeezing your glutes)

Anyway feel free to pm if you have questions or would like to discuss. I'd be happy to help. I'm a big believer in all the compound movements for general health and strength.

[apathy!]

was in the first few inches above the ground that my back got fucked.

I think you're overcomplicating things though. I'd been getting terrible sleeps and eating at a caloric deficit. Combine that with a rushed warm up and a weight that is heavy for me and you're asking for trouble.

I'm honestly pretty familiar with basic lifting technique (I've read Kelly Starret's book and most of Rippetoe's).


Back's still not compeltely better and I won't be going near a squat rack until it is.

[chandler]

was in the first few inches above the ground that my back got fucked.

I think you're overcomplicating things though. I'd been getting terrible sleeps and eating at a caloric deficit. Combine that with a rushed warm up and a weight that is heavy for me and you're asking for trouble.

I'm honestly pretty familiar with basic lifting technique (I've read Kelly Starret's book and most of Rippetoe's).


Back's still not compeltely better and I won't be going near a squat rack until it is.

Honestly not enough sleep or food will make you weaker and fail a lift but they don't make you pull a muscle. Bad form does. Sounds like you got over the bar and rounded your back too much

You should get a buddy to video your lift to see if you're doing what you think/hope your doing or better yet get a coach involved. There are good ones out there on the internet.

Best of luck regardless and hope you heal quickly!

[apathy!]

Honestly not enough sleep or food will make you weaker and fail a lift but they don't make you pull a muscle. Bad form does. Sounds like you got over the bar and rounded your back too much

You should get a buddy to video your lift to see if you're doing what you think/hope your doing or better yet get a coach involved. There are good ones out there on the internet.

Best of luck regardless and hope you heal quickly!

You're probably i lot stronger than me so it's not really my place. Still, I don't really agree. You're never going to pull with absolutely perfect form. Especially with weight/rep ranges that are very challenging for you. Having an unprepared body makes these un-optimal dynamics dangerous.


thanks. I will put more emphasis on quality of movement in the future i think.

[lowrey]

You're never going to pull with absolutely perfect form. Especially with weight/rep ranges that are very challenging for you. Having an unprepared body makes these un-optimal dynamics dangerous.

This makes sense, but I think chandler is right. The lack of energy might cause you to jerk the weight a bit more to compensate for the "weakness", but still, I think if you are warmed up well and have decent form, it shouldn't cause a sprain.

You of course know your body better and I'm just speaking from my own experience, but the times I've sprained anything (including lower back and levator in deadlifting), it has been due to not being warm enough or lack of stretching which I realized only afterwards.

good luck though. I'm in the same boat actually, I'm at 150kg and hoping to do 170 (2x body weight), but had to take a long break due to shoulder problems..