I competed in NPC Junior Nationals on June 12-13. I came in with a much bigger and leaner package than years past. Moving into the off season I will be working on my raw strength and putting on size in my upper body. Competition plans are still to be determined with the possibility of some powerlifting in the late fall. I will continue to work with Amit Sapir on my off-season dieting, gradually increasing food and working to put on some good muscle. Scott Paltos will be doing my training. We've added quite a bit of muscle and are continuing to work some technical things with my raw lifts.
I've mentioned before some things about my hip. It's been feeling "sticky" when I get to the bottom of the squat and of course I don't have a lot of push out of the hole either. So I went to a guy I saw a couple years ago when I was having a similar issue. He's thinking there's a little bit of nerve entrapment. As he poked around, all the places that seemed to have issues are right where the sciatic nerve runs from my hip, glute, into where the hamstring and adductors come together.
We're going to start with some gliding stretches to see if I can get that nerve to slide like it should. My plan is to be diligent with those for 2 weeks, plus some lacrosse balling, and then if I need more direct ART work, we will go that route.
It got pretty achy after this squat workout, but has actually felt decent the day after. These are the things that we know we should be doing regularly, but often get too lazy to do.
Gotta stay on it. Mini diet will start after Thanksgiving. Gonna play around with a short diet phase, then rebound a little to enjoy the holidays.
Tuesday - Squats and legs
A. Squat comp stance 6x6-6-6-4-4-4
(185x6, 205x6, 225x6, 235x4, 245x4, 255x4)
B. Squat varied close/narrow/comp/wide 2x20
(Sets @ 145... that was awful)
C. Front squat w ssb narrow stance 3x6
(Loved these, little work to be done, but sets @ 145 were pretty easy)
D. Pulsed lunges light load 4x15ea
E. Single leg leg press 3x12ea
F1. Single leg standing hamstring curl 4x8
F2. Single leg extensions 4x12ea hard top contractions
G. Abs 5mins (Side bends and wtd situps)
My freaking quads and glutes are soooooorrreee. Didn't think they would be, but hot damn. Hit my nerve gliding stretches tonight after a hot shower.