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So its time for my annual get ready for the season thread


Bobby Buggs

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I started on Leg Blasters today, in a word ouch!

 

http://www.backcountry.com/explore/train-eccentric-leg-strength-for-alpine-skiing?branch_used=true

 

I got through 2 and a half of the mini blasters after my run on the elliptical and it was going well until I got to the jump lunges. My knees didn't like them at all. I'll keep progressing these as best I can.

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  • 1 month later...

Squat and deadlift workouts have kept my legs feeling great for the first 3 days of the season. Now I'm finding that the sides of my back tire first. It's the muscles that pull the ribs towards the hips, on the back of my abdomen. 

How/why am I'm using those so hard? I don't know, but I need to find something to build strength there next. Maybe P06781's video above?

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2 hours ago, corey_dyck said:

Squat and deadlift workouts have kept my legs feeling great for the first 3 days of the season. Now I'm finding that the sides of my back tire first. It's the muscles that pull the ribs towards the hips, on the back of my abdomen. 

How/why am I'm using those so hard? I don't know, but I need to find something to build strength there next. Maybe P06781's video above?

I'm not formally trained in exercise science and I'm making some assumptions on your program.  Please take the following with a tablespoon of salt.

 

It sounds like you were focusing on just those two lifts and now you can start incorporation more dynamic movements into your program. Squats and deadlifts are GREAT weightlifting exercises, however they are generally slow and a mono-plane movement. Incorporating a sprint workout once a week along with some plyometrics may develop those other muscles. They may be sore, but don't need to be over trained because they are support muscles, and are now the weakest link, and to some degree they should be.

 

Stability/balance work could net some gains, rotational exercises would be good too since you have a solid foundation to build upon.

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Corey,

Look up oblique exercises, find one or two to your liking, and substitute those into your accessory work on your squat and dead lift days. No need to add any additional ab work, you are already hitting them pretty hard with the squats and deads. 

Mario

 

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Joe, there are more movements in the 531 program, but squats and deadlifts have prepped my legs better than ever before. I do HIIT sprints once a week, but they don't really strain my core notably. A little searching has taught me that plyometrics is a big field - have anything particular in mind?

Mario, it looks like I can easily add the "full contact twist" to my accessories without buying any more stuff. Will do! Thanks for the tip. 

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Sounds like you need more overhead stuff. You're working your core entirely from the bottom down, and need some opposing movements to work it from the middle up and fire the obliques and spinal support.

Try turning some of those squats into thrusters, and adding in some strict military presses, American (overhead) kettlebell swings, and wallballs. Those are all exercises that use those back muscles to move your hips forward and up, rather than back.

Shame I won't be seeing you this winter - I'd totally help you set up a workout.

 

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One problem: my basement workout room has a 6'-something ceiling, so no standing overhead work.  :mad:  I do seated military barbell and dumbell presses.  I'll find out tomorrow morning if I have room for the Full Contact Twist (aka Barbell Bus Driver) without smashing my knuckles or the ceiling.  :eek:  Suitcase deadlift also came up as a good oblique workout.  

Cool stuff, thanks for the input.  I'll try a few different things.  

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I have the same issue w low ceilings. Do you have a doorway that you can put a pull up bar in? Pull your knees up into a canon ball position?

I would think your deadlifts would cover most everything up to your neck. Are you pulling your shoulders back at the top of the pull? That should engage back, lats. 

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Yeah, have a pull-up bar at about eye level. Awkward but gets the job done.  

In one week, I spread these across 4 days: military press, deadlift, bench press, squats as the main lifts. Then rows, dips, pull-ups, HIIT running, and dumbell variations of the press and bench; all using the Wendler 531 routine with the 'boring but big' accessory plan. 

Maybe I do something funny with my back when riding. :shrug: I frequently do a firm down-weighting at the start of the turn by dropping my upper body towards the nose. That clearly loads the back, but hoped that I was ready. 

I'm definitely riding with a lot more energy than ever before - maybe my back is just running out of steam before my legs now? 

Alternate cure: ride more. :)

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9 hours ago, corey_dyck said:

 

Alternate cure: ride more. :)

I was going to suggest that, but sometimes that can come across as simplistic and snarky.  We can train like crazy to simulate and prep for the movements, but nothing beats prepping for the movements than the actual movements themselves, so there always is some aspect of early season "riding into shape"  Just consider the days on the hill bonus gym days...

Or you could visit a second, unacceptable option, which is to not ride so hard

Edited by big mario
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56 minutes ago, big mario said:

Or you could visit a second, unacceptable option, which is to not ride so hard

Or you could go for the third, definitely unacceptable option, which is to ride differently.

10 hours ago, corey_dyck said:

I frequently do a firm down-weighting at the start of the turn by dropping my upper body towards the nose. That clearly loads the back, but hoped that I was ready. 

Loading your back in the manner described is a precursor to injury. Up/downweighting should be done by way of leg flexion/extension, rather than cantilevering the torso.

You can strengthen your upper body, but then you're adding mass to the hammer.

Think of it like reading the load chart on a heavy lift crane. As the boom departs from the vertical, the lift spec drops sharply for a given extension. And no respectable operator is going to bounce the load.

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Post-workout update: the Full Contact Twist (aka Barbell Bus Driver) loads a lot of similar muscles, and some others that are under-utilized.  This will be a welcome addition to my routine.  Apparently, it's a big MMA training move for stronger punches and hip-thrusts to get out of a grapple.  That'll make me feel better next time I'm watching an MMA fight!  ;) 

Good points Beckmann.  I'm not exactly bending forward at the waist and slamming my shoulders towards the nose, but my shoulders definitely are over the front foot or forward of that on hard 'snow', mixed with leg flexion/extension.  I'll self-monitor this weekend.  

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On 1/2/2017 at 8:29 PM, corey_dyck said:

Joe, there are more movements in the 531 program, but squats and deadlifts have prepped my legs better than ever before. I do HIIT sprints once a week, but they don't really strain my core notably. A little searching has taught me that plyometrics is a big field - have anything particular in mind?

Mario, it looks like I can easily add the "full contact twist" to my accessories without buying any more stuff. Will do! Thanks for the tip. 

Box jumps are a staple plyometric exercise, broad jumps, tuck jumps, squat jumps are all very good plyometric movements also, but those are still mono-plane exercises.  Basically any jumping or explosive exercise is a great way to train plyometrics.  You get some core stability but not a lot out of it.

If you have access to a medicine ball, doing med-ball tosses is a great way to train the core.

I don't know what they are called, but going from the top of the push-up to the bottom of the squat (the middle part of the burpee) rapidly is pretty darn exhausting and amazingly a core exercise, similar to a knees to elbows movement hanging from a pull-up bar.

What is your interval workout?  I have one program that I used that is very intense and it would work my ribs and hamstrings/glutes to the point of being pretty sore the day after.

 

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27 minutes ago, breeseomatic said:

What is your interval workout?  I have one program that I used that is very intense and it would work my ribs and hamstrings/glutes to the point of being pretty sore the day after.

Just running.  Warm up, then run as fast as I can sustain for 20 seconds, then a normal run for 40 seconds.  Repeat until I'm ready to throw up, then go a couple more times.  Then drop to a jog and taper down my heart rate.  Total is about 15-20 minutes.  

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