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Always Be Smashing

10/14 18:15

Mobility warmup
SQT 3x5 205#
OP 95# 3x5
Pull-ups 6,6,5,4,3
Grip work
Jump rope (x50) + push-up (x10) circuit x4

Being slightly hurt is really doing bad things to my motivation. There's no reason I didn't go get in a short run this morning, aside from a general feeling of being "lost" because I wasn't on my planned program (i.e. being able to do what I really wanted to do).

I've been mulling over what I want to do when I'm able get back on the horse. This article on T-nation caught my attention this week:


The bottom line: if you're "old" (40+), don't bother chasing max strength, work your strength/power endurance. Which is the conclusion that many of the experienced folks around the forum (@Bret S. and @Alan Mackey come to mind, guys I've got a lot of respect for) seem to have come to as well. Even Jim Wendler, the 5/3/1 guy, seems to have come to that conclusion. It's funny... I did exactly that in my 30s - I gave up on trying to being the strongest guy in the room. Where I'm at now, I wouldn't recommend that... at least not in your 30s. I think chasing max strength while you have the capacity to do so is the right thing to do (as I recommended to young Mr. @Pave recently). Maybe I just gave it up too early. Right now, if I'm honest... I want to keep chasing max strength, despite recognizing that my recovery rate is well below what is needed for the typical programs out there. I want to learn how to do it as a 40+ lifter. If I figure out how to do so, I guess I should write a book.

I'm hopeful to next week be feeling good enough to start a new plan - a mix of Tactical Barbell and some A+A work.

On top of all that... at this point, we're about 2 weeks out from a TSC. And I am nowhere near in shape for a TSC. Is what it is, I guess. I do believe there's value in putting yourself to the hazard even when you aren't quite ready for it - in my mind, that's kind of the key to having a warrior spirit; you don't always have the luxury of feelling prepared for battle. Hopefully @LoriLifts will cut me some slack when I don't blow the roof off at the TSC at the end of the month.

PS. as long as I'm tagging people... @offwidth , I've got a lot of respect for you too... but I suspect that at no point in your life were you a max-strength junky.
 
Thanks for the kind words.

Thibaudeau’s article (which admittedly I just skimmed) looks pretty solid, and seems to ring true in many aspects.

And you are correct that I was never a max-strength junky… but I was maybe trying at times to be a ‘max-endurance’ junky (if that’s even a thing)
Regardless… the results are often the same… injuries, and the injury cycle. Get hurt, recover (partially), get hurt again; rinse and repeat.
 
Being slightly hurt is really doing bad things to my motivation. There's no reason I didn't go get in a short run this morning, aside from a general feeling of being "lost" because I wasn't on my planned program (i.e. being able to do what I really wanted to do)....
For me following an injury there is a multi step process of depression, assessment and acceptance of the conditions, mental recovery, planning for the next thing. As I've gotten older I'm becoming more and more like a construct of some sort than a person, that entire process might only take 20-30 minutes where it might have taken a week when I was younger.

Small injuries don't elicit any emotional response, and even bigger ones only trigger a spike in concern that fades far more quickly than the recovery begins. An exaggeration, but I swear if my arm fell off I'd be more thinking "looks like I'm doing all unilateral arm work from now on..." rather than freak out about how I cannot possibly carry on.

The bottom line: if you're "old" (40+), don't bother chasing max strength, work your strength/power endurance.
MY POV is that working max strength (outside of competitive lifting) either fits within a plan or it doesn't. At some point a lot of your training will be to:
- preserve and modify what you've built
- learn more about the science and art of "fitness" on an experiential level

Toward that end one might chase "max strength" at a given new or unfamiliar modality, but doggedly pushing at the same lifts on the same modes year after year using wavy loading etc will ultimately leave you either mentally defeated or physically injured. I will not ever wrap my head around the concept of only using a very small handful of tools when the end goal is to improve performance in a highly variable and unpredictable world.


Best of luck on the back twinge and good idea to show restraint while it heals, even if it does leave you adrift. Is like losing the wind in a sailboat - Hmmm...
 
Being slightly hurt is really doing bad things to my motivation. There's no reason I didn't go get in a short run this morning, aside from a general feeling of being "lost" because I wasn't on my planned program (i.e. being able to do what I really wanted to do).
Thank you @WhatWouldHulkDo for your kind words, really appreciate it.

I will say training with Al Ciampa has taught me some very valuable training lessons. One of the gems I got from him is placing value on aerobic work at or above strength work regarding training priorities. Making locomotion non-negotiable has gotten me out and into the area I live in a big way. The pup and I are walking and running over 150 miles every month, and we're discovering trails and sights I never knew were there. This has brightened my outlook beyond words and added to overall strength in ways that are hard to quantify. Running is hands down one of the best strength and endurance builders there is IMHO. Every leap in a run = about 3x body weight on one leg, I never gave that a thought until Al showed me the light. Please don't overlook this valuable training leg, aerobic work along with strength and breath work are synergistic, the sum of the parts far exceeds expectations.. especially when done over many months and years.

Chasing max strength at near 63 would be unwise for me, I strive for aerobic endurance and strength endurance at moderate weight. It pays off, I'm doing concrete demolition the past two days and it's not killing me.

Other than that it's ups and downs, we roll with what comes our way. Dealing with the shoulder injury has stopped me from practicing karate using upper body, this injury will be dealt with like all the others.. hang in man, the cycle is unbreakable by us mortals..
 
Hopefully @LoriLifts will cut me some slack when I don't blow the roof off at the TSC at the end of the month.
Blowing the roof off is overrated.
I’m not doing it either.

I don’t know what my max DL is anymore.
My goal is to not get hurt.

Pull-ups?
Snatches?
No idea.

I’m looking forward to October 30.
To drink some good local coffee.
And meet my buddy!
 
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Small injuries don't elicit any emotional response, and even bigger ones only trigger a spike in concern that fades far more quickly than the recovery begins. An exaggeration, but I swear if my arm fell off I'd be more thinking "looks like I'm doing all unilateral arm work from now on..." rather than freak out about how I cannot possibly carry on.
Martin, this really cracked me up! It's funny to me because I'm exactly the same way.

Kinda like this guy ..
 
Friday I did nothing, due to motivation hole.

10/16 11:00

Daily mobility
Trifecta

10/18 7:30

Daily mobility
32min treadmill run/walk 2.3m

10/18 18:45

WGS sequence
SQT 4x5 205#
Push-ups 4x10
OP 4x5 95#
Ab wheel 4x5
Pull-ups 7,6,5,4,3
Grip work

Since I can't push intensity at the moment, trying to work volume instead. All supersets today, minimal rest. Back is still warning me off going any heavier, but it was a good day for pull-ups.
 
Can you tell me what “trifecta” is please?
Trifecta comes from the second Convict Conditioning book - it's the author's recommendation for a daily "recharge" sequence. By the book, it's back bridges, L-sits, and seated twists. I like it for core bulletproofing. I have a few modifications/additions I do based on trying to address some of my own weak points in general in-between strength, particularly hamstring flexibility.
  • Back bridges
  • Hanging leg raise (I can't quite pull off an L-sit), straight and at angles
  • V-sit rollovers
  • Seated twists
  • Forward fold stretch
  • Side plank leg raises
  • Butterfly stretch
As I've said elsewhere... I'm obviously no minimalist.

I hope your back heals , my foot is broken right now and I’m resorting to kneeling suitcase snatches….sucks.

I'm definitely getting better. It's not bothering me at all in daily life at the moment - it just doesn't want me to lift heavy. So I can't complain too much... just gotta listen to the body.

Good luck with the foot. Reminds me of a buddy in high school who tore up his knee early one football season, and spent the next 6 month just bench pressing while he was rehabbing. Kinda ended up looking like this: Chris Hemsworth trolled by brother Luke for ‘skipping leg day’

Skipped too many leg days.
 
Lol, I am going to recalibrate and start a double kb pressing routine of sorts. I think it would be impossible for my legs to get that small at this point. I wear holes in the crotches of all my pants with these tree trunks.
 
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