Adarq.org

Tuesday 18th May 2021

Usual achey feelings

All tendons feeling better.
Achilles insertions feels incrementally better than before, with the bump to 100kg on calf raise ISO

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morning mobility work
upper body stretches
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Tendon health - rehab

split squat ISO, rear leg straight at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Spanish squat ISO - nylon strap vertical shins,  vertical torso, pushing knees out against the strap, 90 degree leg angle - BW 2x45 secs

rotating sets - 1 min rest inbetween

Glute Medius tendon - 
A1) Side plank with leg abduction -   arm on 20 inch bench  x 45 secs
A2)  Lying lateral leg abduction ISO - strap around knees - pushing at 70+% effort - right side only 3x45secs

Patella/Quad tendon -
B1) Single leg Extension ISO -  both sides back to back - push against strap, lying back, 90 degree leg angle at 70+% effort - 3x45secs

Achilles insertion -
C) SSB single leg calf raise -  ISO above neutral -  15 secs x 30kg, 50kg, 70kg
45 secs x 90kg, 95kg, 100kg, 100kg

100kg feeling hard'ish, but not limit. Will likely go up to 105kg sooner or later

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68 min walk/hike
middle of the walk - backward walking up a 30 degree sloped path x 3 mins
towards end of walk - Straight leg, max ROM walk up 30-35 degree sloped path x 2 mins

released quads with olympic barbell, and calves with kettle bell handle
lower body stretches, except for left quad

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18  hour fast
2900+ calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2000+

Sunday 16th May 2021

Still achey, calves especially
Achilles not worse from the 95kg ISO holds, so 100kg next time should be OK

Have not done any upper body work this week... not sure when I will slot them in yet...
Have to change things and compress down to 2 main sessions.

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morning mobility work
upper body stretches

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bodyweight at home without shoes = 84+ kg

Soft tissue work at home - just feet

BBall practice session at WLC outdoor courts - fasted - 68 mins

1) 15 mins dribble and ball control drills
2) medium to high intensity moves, shots, layups, threes, drills vs cones
3) jumps at the 45 min mark, and dunks on 8 feet netball rim
4) A few sets of easy pogo jumps, and speed hops inbetween jumps at the end

I pushed my jumps fairly hard today and it was pain free all round, even though I'm not healthy yet, tendon wise.
Did all types of jumps, single and 2 legged, standing, 1 step, L-R, and R-L plants

stretched upper body

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14 hour fast -
2900+ calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2200+

Lost week in terms of fat loss, just ate too much.....

Whats your take on all the tendon work? Ive never done iso's in that style. I watched a vid that i think you linked to regarding plyos vs isos and how isos build up tendon strength/mass and are good for rehab and plyos are more for dynamic functionality but also build up tendons. Are you recovering from some serious stuff (i remember you mentioned an achilles thing and i think a quad tweak) or is your tendon work kind of like a preparatory block for transferring all the mass you built in the tendons into power with a plyo block? Also i suppose a difficulty of the iso style of training is progressive overload. For rehab purposes similar intensities are probably ok but do you overload your iso's? And have you noticed a carryover into other things from the tendon work?

Also your clean/squat numbers look pretty good considering the pretty low frequency you train those lifts. Do you think the tendon work contributed significantly to them?

I'm rehabbing tendinopathy damage - ie the same type of thing in jumper's knee when the tendon itself has micro damage and gets inflamed where it joins muscle or or bone.
 - both my lower achilles insertion, left side not too bad now, but right side still still aches.
 - Left quad tendon a fair bit, and lower patella tendon less so now
- right glute medius tendon

I'm past the worst of it,  so well on the way towards recovery.
All of it caused by just too much jump volume and intensity before my body can handle it.
Right glute medius tendon inury from over aggressive penultimate push.... then tendon there gets inflamed and swells up, so gets compressed in the small space in that area, not unlike shoulder impingement. I ignored it, but wasn't really educated on how to rehab it, and then one squat session with the SSB with 100kg, on the way up, it got overly compressed and hurt like crazy, and I could barely walk or sit without pain for a while.
I also have squat hip shift issues which may have contributed to the issue.

ISO are good for softening the tendon, from tissue creep, where it attaches to muscle, so it's more compliant - so good for health but worse for performance.
Plyos stiffen the tendons there but so there is less give, better for performance, but the tendon also gets forced to take more load and stretch, so it better be strong enough to handle the fast loading  or you get tendinopathy.
Older people like me, I'm 50, have stiffer tendons from age. That explains why I could handle the insane jump volume and intensity back in my 20s-40s back then, but not now!

Jake Tuura's channel has some good info on it
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGi0IxcAiCyOGmvTjVqAHiw/videos

You need to load the ISOs quite heavy/hard , >70% intensity for it to have an effect on the tendons.
Yielding ISO where you hold a load is is easy enough, load on the bar, but overcoming ISO, where you push against a strap/object is harder to gauge, but I find the correct intensity results in crazy burn after 40 secs.
You can also put a spring scale under the foot to get some feedback or a strain gauge on the strap.
And yes any time it starts to completely feel pain free and easier, I increase the load/tension so it's hard again - tendons need it

Holding for at least 30 secs, causes the stress shielding of the damaged areas to relax, and allow them to get stressed so they can repair.
Then there is tissue creep where the tendon stretches over time under the tension, forcing the muscle to contract more to make up the length change.

I have noticed hypertrophy - well considering the volume and doing them every day just about, you sort of expect that, even though there isn't much muscle damage, but I sure get achey/sore from it in a different way. I suppose a yeilding ISO where you hold a load is similar to a very slow eccentric, especially with heavy weights.
But I have noticed the muscles are rapidly twitching on and off while doing them. The shake is usually a sign that high threshold motor units have been recruited as they have poor fine motor control.
Not sure about strength gains at the joint angle used, hut I suppose hypertrophy indirectly will improve strength eventually.
There should be some neural gains, if I did shorter more intense holds.

I find I do better with lower frequency on heavier compounds. But my squats are partials, to avoid compressing my injured tendons, so I'm not as strong right now as you think
But I have noticed the squat has gotten significantly easier/lighter feeling >120kg loads.
Not sure if the ISOs have helped here, or just supporting the SSB on my back for the ISO for long durations are more the reason

Thursday 14th May 2021

Took yesterday off. Just felt tired and sore.
Feeling better today.

Left quad tendon more inflamed, so not ready for the loaded split squat holds, back to leg extension ISOs

bodyweight without shoes = 84+ kg in winter clothing

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morning mobility work
upper body stretches


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Afternoon - home

Soft tissue work - lower body

Tendon health and rehab - Heavier session - fasted

split squat ISO, rear leg straight at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Spanish squat x 45 secs
Side plank with abduction on bench x 45 secs
Glute bridge x 45 secs
Plank - x 45 secs

Powersnatch and power clean complex  x 20kg bar
1/2 Overhead squat 10kg bar x 10

Partial Squats

All reps 4 sec eccentric, paused and unloaded, to 21 inch bench

Did these before the back squat of the same load
Front Squat - Iron edge XXheavy band around lower quads - 20kg x5, 40kg x3, 60kg x3, 80kg, 90kg
Belt/oly shoes - 100kg x3, 110kg x3

110kg, felt good, but left collar bone is getting pressured by the bar :/

Low bar squat
Did these after high bar of the same load - Iron edge XXheavy band around lower quads - 20kg x5, 40kg x5, 60kg x5
oly shoes/belt - 80kg x5, 100kg x5, 110kg x5

High bar squat
minimal shoe/bare feet - Iron edge XXheavy band around the knee - 20kg x10, 40kg x5 , 60kg x5, 80kg
belt/oly shoes/XXheavy band around lower quads -  100kg x5, 110kg x5, 120kg x 6 

belt/oly shoes/XXheavy band around lower quads
130kg x6
135kg x6
140kg x6 @ RPE 7
142.5kg x 3

Up 2.5kg on all worksets from last week.
Felt good and no twinges from left glute medius tendon. Quad tendons felt fine at this depth.
Only 142.4kg felt heavy on the shoulders.

Pulls/Deadlifts - oly shoes and facing down slope of garage

Clean pull hook grip, lowered under control - 60kg x3
Clean high pull hook grip, lowered under control - 60kg x3, 70kg x3, 80kg x3, 100kg x3

Clean deadlift
3 sec eccentric, belt + straps - 120kg x5, 130kg x5, 132.5kg x3 @ RPE 7

Up 2.5kg on top set, -2 reps. Keeping reps in the tank.


This group in Oly shoes - alternating sets 2 mins rest

A1) SSB single leg calf raise - arm supported - Olys shoes, 0.5 inch elevated 3 sec eccentric, top half of ROM only  - 30kg x8, 50kg x8, 60kg x8
both sides back to back - 70kg x10, 80kg x8 @ RPE 8

A2)SSB Tib raise - in oly shoes - SSB 30kg x 10, 50kg x8, 60kg x8
70kg x8, 80kg x6 @ RPE 7

A3) SSB single leg bent knee calf raise - arm supported -  Olys shoes, no elevation 3 sec eccentric, top half of ROM only  - 30kg x8, 50kg x8, 60kg x8
both sides back to back - 70kg x10, 80kg x8 @ RPE 8
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B1) SSB side bends controlled, alternating sides - 50kg x12, 60kg x12, 70kg x 12 @ RPE 7 (+2.5kg, - 4 reps)

B2) Lying side leg raise  - leg angled in front of body - Powerblock dumbbell on foot - 3 sec eccentric and concentric - BW x8, 10lbs 2x8  @ RPE 8 (+1 rep)

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stretch except left quad

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14 hour fast
2700+ calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3, not including weights
ate 3000

Monday 10th May 2021

Achey and tired feeling from yesterday
But once the session was under way, I felt great during and after - so nice bit of active recovery

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches
---

Tendon health - rehab

split squat ISO, rear leg straight at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Side plank with leg abduction -   arm on 20 inch bench x 45 secs
Spanish squat ISO - nylon strap vertical shins,  vertical torso, pushing knees out against the strap, 90 degree leg angle - BW x45 secs

rotating sets - 1 min rest inbetween

Glute Medius tendon - 
A)  Lying lateral leg abduction ISO - strap around knees - pushing at 70+% effort - right side only 4x45secs

Patella/Quad tendon -
B1) Single leg Extension ISO -  both sides back to back - push against strap, lying back, 90 degree leg angle at 70+% effort - 2x45secs

B2) SSB Split Squat ISO - narrow stance, heel off the ground - 2 hands supported - at 90 degree leg angle, rear leg straight - 1 min rest between sides-
45 secs x 60kg, 65kg x 2 sets

This stresses my left quad tendon more than the leg extension ISO for some reason... you would think isolation exercise would be more targeted.....
Not much weight on the rear leg due to the narrow stance and forward knee shift. The leg position is not unlike taking a step down stairs.
This will also replace my bent knee SSB calf raise holds - my soleus was feeling it much more.
I figure it will "kill many birds with one stone" - it stresses my feet, soleus, achilles, and patella/quad tendons. Massive pump in my quads and glutes as well.

Plan is to do this in the afternoon and then 6 hours later, leg extension ISO. We'll see how my body responds

Achilles insertion -
C) SSB single leg calf raise -  ISO above neutral -  45 secs x 50kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg, 65kg

Without having to do the bent knee version, I will be able to use more weight, as 70kg felt good today without any leg shake the bent knee version seems to be prone to

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stretch, except for left quad

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55 min walk/hike
middle of the walk - backward walking up a 35 degree sloped path x 3 mins
towards end of walk - Straight leg, max ROM walk up 30-35 degree sloped path x 2 mins

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6 hours later

rotating sets
A) Lying lateral leg abduction ISO - strap around knees - pushing at 70+% effort - right side only - 4 x 45secs

B) Single leg Extension ISO -  both sides back to back - push against tie down strap, 90 degree leg angle at 70+% effort - 4 x 45secs

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14  hour fast
2800 calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2000+

Sunday 9th May 2021

Fatloss cycle 2 - Week 11

Height - 5'8.5"
weighed - 83kg (-0.3kg), 183lbs

waist - 34 3/8 inches (-1/8)
hip =  39.75
upper thigh = 25 (-1/8)
Right calf = 15 3/8   (-1/8)
Neck = 15 3/8 
Wrist = 6.5

Tanita scale bodyfat% = 21.5% (+0.2)

Total loss so far - weight -4.5kg Waist  2.75 inches Tanita BF% -0.7%

Last week of diet break, back into it this week

Friday 7th May 2021

Another combo day - shuffling things around
Not set in stone, just trying to figure things out
went for a walk, then came back and did the rest

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morning mobility work
upper body stretches

---

Tendon health - rehab

BBall control drills and dribbling - about 7 mins worth

Split squat ISO, rear leg straight, at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Spanish squat ISO - nylon strap vertical shins, vertical torso, 90 degree leg angle - BW x45 secs

rotating sets - 1 lower and then 1 upper

Tendon health Light session - at home

BBall control drills and dribbling - about 7 mins worth

Split squat ISO, rear leg straight, at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Spanish squat ISO - nylon strap vertical shins, vertical torso, 90 degree leg angle - BW x45 secs
Lateral plank with leg abduction - arm on 20 inch bench - BW x45 secs

Rotating sets - 1 min between
A1) Sled drag - tyre+30kg on grass - reverse drag x 40 secs + forward x 25 secs  - 3 sets
+5kg, felt much harder. Forward drag stressed my achilles, had to lock the ankles

A2) band pull apart complex - 20 secs rest between- high to low, palms up + diagonal left+ diagonal right - Jumpstretch light band 3x12
A3) Band dislocates light jumpstetch band 2x15
A4) Monster band lateral lunge Alternating sides, 4 steps each way -  XXHeavy + Xheavy band 3x16 @ RPE 8

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Rotating sets between each - 1 mins rest

B1) SSB single leg calf raise - ISO at neutral - 45 secs x 60kg, 65kg, 65kg

B2) SSB Split Squat ISO - 2 hands supported - at 90 degree leg angle, rear leg straight - 1 min rest between sides-
50kg x 45 secs, 60kg x45secs, 65kg 2x45 secs

B3) SSB single leg bent knee calf raise - ISO at neutral - 45 secs x 60kg, 65kg, 65kg

B4) Jefferson curl - 20kg x10, 32.5kg 2x10 @ RPE 6

B5) Ivanko super gripper 77lbs x 5
Left arm - 86lbs x15 @ RPE 7, 92lbs 2x11 @ RPE 9
Right arm  -  86lbs x15 @ RPE 7, 92lbs 2x11 @ RPE 8

upped the resistance one notch from 77lbs, still too easy, then went up to 92lbs


stretch, except for left quad

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41 min walk/hike
middle of the walk - backward walking up a 30 degree sloped path x 2+ mins

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rotating sets

wrist curl - hold at top - 20kg x8, 27.5kg 2x15 @ RPE 9 (+2.5kg, +1 rep)
Reverse wrist curl- hold at top - 10kg x8, 15kg 2x11 @ RPE 9

Plate pinch grip holds 2 hands 10kg bumper - x30secs
single hand 10kg bumper plate -
left hand x21secs , x? secs,
right hand x35 secs , x? secs

2x5kg plate x 45secs - not hard for both hands....

bumper plate is too slippery so switched to 2x5kg plates

Shoulder/cuff health routine
Loaded torso drop - using wall - 3x15
Cross to Overhead - Rogue light band - 2x12
loaded cross sweep -  Rogue light band - 2x15
Wall Vee - slow-  2x6
High speed band pull apart  - Rogue light band - 3x6

stretch

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16 hour fast
3000+ calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3, not including weights
ate 1800+