Week 3 of 4-Week Block of Training with no Heavy Barbell Post-Meet
Last week was week 3 of my 3-days-on, 1-day-off split where I've been focusing on machine and dumbbell body-building style exercises, single-leg work, and building up some conditioning to prepare for barbell training again. I've been doing some form of conditioning 2-3x a week, and have found that I really like the Rower for that purpose (I've usually been alternating between that and the exercise bike).
In terms of squat, the past year and a half I've been squatting pretty wide (to try and accommodate my style to get the most out of my multi-ply gear). and have struggled to make progress on my squat, and have had some pretty bad hip and adductor issues as well (I'm getting an MRI done on my hip here soon. I've always been a quad-dominant squatter, and my conventional deadlift and good mornings have gotten a lot stronger in the past year.
EliteFTS team member Dani Overcash gave me suggestions to work on my pelvic position and keeping a neutral spine when squatting, and already that has begun to make a difference with the adductor pain. I also meet with Dr. Ryan Smith whenever I can to get some ART and chiropractic work done, and everyone's thought has been that along with working on pelvic position (so I'm not in over-extension), I may need to bring my stance in a little bit. The combination of being over-arched in my lower back and trying to squat wide has been putting me in a bad position for my hips (and a position that makes it really hard for me to stay upright).
So the Gameplan:
I've been using this 4 weeks post-meet to work on cue-ing my abs correctly, keeping my pelvis and spin neutral, and strengthening the supportive muscles that tended to get neglected during meet training. I'm doing things like kettlebell swings before squats to work on using my glutes better, and single-leg movements to prepare my hamstrings and adductors for the change in stance.
For squatting, I'm using a more moderate/narrow stance in my weightlifting shoes and am going to work on building some strength in that style with little supportive gear for the next couple blocks (do a mesocycle beltless, then add in belt, mesocycle of that, then eventually start rotating in briefs again, etc). I'm going to focus on building up my raw strength while addressing my hip concerns, and then see what technique adjustments I will need to make when I transition back into my gear. My plan is to compete later in the Fall, so I'm giving myself plenty of time to build the areas of weakness I've found. I've also made some strides with my sleep and other issues, which I'll go into more in another log, but that should make a big difference too..
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