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Left the lair behind and survived a day at work. Apparently all the theracaning and light stretching is bearing fruit. Yesterday Sanna gave me a thorough calf massage; turned out the whole calf is more or less a single pain zone. That seems to be the last hurdle before I can walk without a limp again… Think I will hit the gym on Wednesday. Stupendous.

A number of new articles have again been posted at EliteFTS.com. I found Jim Wendler’s Teaching the Squat to be an especially valuable article, squat challenged as I am. He breaks the squat down step-by-step in a clear and unambiguous way; a must read. I’ve talked about learning how to correctly spread the legs before and this quest is much aided by this article.

When you are about half way down, begin pushing your knees out and opening up your groin. [..] Now the weight will be shifted to your heels and the sides of your feet. [..] For many people, once they sit back into the squat and open the hips, at this point they can simply squat down. Once your body is in perfect position, opening the hips will allow them to hit parallel without pushing back.

A couple of weeks ago Dave Tate published an article named Under the Bar that talked about how some of the values learned in the gym, such as integrity and a willingness to help others, can carry through to everyday life. This month it is about attitude. It is going to be interesting to see whether these articles will overtake the number one slot in Google from this humble blog. Here’s some google juice to get them started.

Started poking around in the adductor area with Sanna’s Thera cane on Friday as the inner thigh pain did not diminish at all, even with copious amounts of muscle relaxants and pain killers. Found two v-e-r-y tender spots close to the groin in what must be the adductor longus and adductor brevis. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook confirms that adductor longus trigger points tend to make the inner thigh feel drawn up causing restricted movement in all directions. The book also warns that local trigger points form easily when these muscles are overstretched, such as when taking inordinately long steps.

My amateur conjecture is that my tender spots developed on Monday as a result of walking around for most of the day in an unnatural walking style caused by the cramp in my lower back. This seems consistent with the fact that the pain developed gradually towards the end of the day. Aggressive trigger point massage of these areas do seem to help and standing now causes much less agony.

There is also a spot about two-thirds up on the lower leg (outer side of gastrocnemius) that is nagging me. Cane cane cane, cane away the pain… hope it works. I have no idea what will happen, but my mantra remains “Mobile by Monday”. To that end, I’ve also begun doing light static stretching.

I’m both flattered and happy to see Marie’s decision to create a new blog especially dedicated to her powerlifting adventures. Barz-a-Bending is sure to become part of my daily reading fodder. Exciting it is!

Just found Marie Rochat’s blog Forever chasing. This one reads like good fiction, only it isn’t. On May 11, while going through a heavy bodybuilding workout, she is converted to powerlifting by a couple who notices her good build for deadlifts. She learns the intricacies of the lift and begins to train for the WABDL Bench Press and Dead Lift Championships on August 11-12. Incredibly enough, Marie ends up breaking the Oregon state record in the Teen women 16-19 148 lbs/67 kg class with a hefty 319.5 lbs/145 kg deadlift thus qualifying for the WABDL World Championships in November. Forever chasing is not just about training, but I consider that a bonus. A refreshing read indeed and apparently there is more to come.

The accumulated stress of first reintroducing box squats and deadlifts and then proceeding with the normal program, including weighted hypers and Bradford presses, ended up being too much after all. I’m now twisted again as in drooping right shoulder as in lumbago.

The Reaper came on Saturday. I had just had a refreshing swim in the dark n’ chilly August water and was standing outside watching the fireworks that, paradoxically enough, celebrated the end of the Finnish summer cottage season. Stiffness gradually turned into pain and I had to make a limping retreat inside to lay down. Next morning, the cramp was still with me. A liberal amount of pain killers made the six hour car ride back to Helsinki quite tolerable sorry mood notwithstanding.

Monday morning was much the same, but felt obliged to go to work to wrap some things up including returning the big pile of math books that I had corrected over the weekend (23 books + 1 crooked back = a lot of trouble). I ended up teaching all classes and planned the rest of the week for a possible stand-in before finally heading for the doctor. By this time, the adductors on the inside of my left thigh had also started to tighten up, possibly from all the running around.

At the doctor’s I knew the drill. Tell story, have knees and ankles hammered, bend over and confirm that you can feel your feet. On the bending over part I surprised both myself and the doctor with almost being able to touch the floor despite the cramp. I also knew what I would get, i.e. a prescription for tizanidine and diclofenac to deal with the cramp and some sick leave (rest of the week) to prevent me from doing any more potentially hazardous math equations. I asked the doctor’s opinion on taking a MRI scan of my back. She said that since everything, luckily, points to a muscle condition and not a disc condition this would amount to a waste of my money. She also expressed high regard for the expertise at the back clinic and continued that relapses are quite common when dealing with something as complex as a back injury. After the appointment I went to the bookstore to pick up another Vonnegut, this time Palm Sunday, and then headed for the pharmacy. The adductors were starting to make life difficult for me and I was thankful the bus had been invented. Home.

This morning I was straight again, but as I prepared my breakfast the back cramp kicked back in. The adductors also keep defying the muscle relaxants by going into a painful cramp whenever I stand or walk for more than a minute. Can’t even do the banana, but interestingly enough I don’t really feel that I need it. The back is no longer painful, but the adductors are.

Adductors, adductors. Why would they cramp? Somewhat grudgingly I have to admit that for some time I haven’t been able to sit down on the floor and open my legs more than 90 degrees. I remember the days when I could spread them out a full 180 and then put my chest on the floor. Tightness is definitively a prime suspect. And what am I going to do about that? Stretch, stretch.

I found an interesting article by Chris Mallac that discusses how overuse of the adductor magnus may lead to trigger point development within the muscle. His first case study deals with a powerlifter with a six-month history of left-sided lower back pain. The patient had, like me, also done exercises for the core stabilizers and had also had cortisone injections to no avail. A month after trigger point massage of the adductors began this lifter was back on track on both the deadlift and the squat. It is interesting to read that the author has found the large majority of adductor magnus problems to be left-sided, which would also be true in my case if it turns out I have trigger points there.

All in all, I don’t think this relapse really necessitates a fundamental rethinking of my rehab approach. The increased mobility and lower amount of stiffness is a sign that progress has taken place, but I definitively need to reconsider my squat and deadlift schedule. I also need to take stretching more seriously and liberate my legs. Two steps forward, one step back, I suppose. Good thing I can bench.

The last weekend of August is the traditional end of the summer cottage season here in Finland. Celebrated especially in Swedish speaking Ostrobothnia with bonfires, torches, fireworks and good food (often crabs), this is one festivity I rarely miss. The hour I had to spare before jumping on the northbound train with Sanna was spent in the school weight room.

Made the weight increase on the Bradford press despite not being quite convinced that I indeed got 4x6 last week. I barely got six reps on the first set with 55 kg/122 lbs (VIDEO 1.8MB) before the rest of the sets came sliding down one steep hill. In contrast, it was my third week with 50 kg/111 lbs on the JM press and 4x6 came easily. I cannot be anything but satisfied considering that even a single rep at this weight was hard two months ago. Didn’t have time for more than a few quick sets of pulldowns and curls before hitting the shower.

As announced on the their home page, Westside Barbell Club has started its own blog, Westside Barbell Journal, with the Blogger service. The blog’s first entry, posted today, sounds promising:

Coming soon, Westside Barbell, individual club members will be sharing their training journals.

We await the new dawn… hopefully it comes with a feed.

Despite my good intentions, my lower back turned tender on me after the light box squat/deadlift workout. Just wanted some blood in there so concentrated on hyperextensions with a pinch of ab work, rehab exercises and calf cranking. I felt like a new man when I left the gym. Hope it lasts.

An empty slot between teaching and a meeting proved a great opportunity for a first workout at the school’s gym. Located in the basement underneath the gymnasium, it is a basic gym equipped with a half rack, two adjustable benches, a pulldown station with a 100 kg/221 lbs stack, a cable crossover station with 70 kg/155 lbs stacks, dumbells up to 21 kg/46 lbs (I think), a small leg press, a 45 degree back raise, an ab board, a rowing machine and a barbell with plates. It has a decisive dungeon feeling to it owing to the narrowness of the room, the dim lights and the somewhat stuffy air.

Found a cd labeled ‘Iron Maiden and Metallica’ among all the light listening and pop records. The sound system proved excellent and I made the most of it as I was the only lifter present. With Bruce Dickinson aggressively bouncing between the walls, I embarked on the standard Blakley bench day routine while trying to pretend I wasn’t hungry. Did the usual singles with 90 kg/199 lbs and then continued with the rep work. The singles went well, but ended up losing a rep over the four work sets instead of making the usual gain. Heads must roll, but not mine. This time the scapegoats are… ehem… three hours of sleep and …badly calibrated weight plates that actually weigh way more than they should… and… and… lingering soreness from the accessory day combined with my sore back. Did some one-handed rowing and then took full advantage of the iron plates to do some pinch gripping. To my surprise pinch gripping two 10 kg/22 lbs plates smooth side out was fairly easy. Progress.

Despite the initial setback, I think I might just come here from time to time to enjoy the solitude.