Adarq.org

Thursday 12th January 2023

Overall mild aches from the ISOs.
Not the best of sleep lately, waking up after 5-6 hours, the diet is getting to me.

Had brain fog today, from low of carbs. Jumps and plyos were ok, but any BBall move was a chore.
Just have to ride it out till my body gets fat adapted

Got my Barbell Mate velocity tracker today.
Had a quick try of it by hooking it to my waist and doing a few pogos. Worked well.
It actually can measure your jump height, but it probably measures from the bottom of the dip phase to top.
I wanted to try it today at the court to measure a standing jump, but I forgot to bring a small weight plate to magnet attach it to so it doesn't fly off the ground....

You can use peak velocity to get jump height - https://strongbyscience.net/2017/09/20/using-tendo-units-measure-jump-height-physics-cheat-sheet/



The app has much more metrics than the other more expensive units - ROM, mean/peak velocity, acceleration, Force, and power
One thing I want to try is see how much peak force I exert on my 70% of 1RM squats vs heavier loads.
They say if you can exert 85% of your 1RM peak force at these lower %, you can train there and get stronger, without having to use heavier loads.
Low fatigue, while gaining strength, power and hypertrophy from sub-maximal sets of 65-75%, that is the dream

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - brief
Soft tissue work on lower body.

Plyos, Jumps, and BBall practise, at WLC outdoor courts -  Cycle 1, Week 6, day 3
Bodyweight with shoes -  88.3kg

general dynamic warmup

Split squat ISO on balls of foot, rear leg straight: - Actively pushing front leg into floor - 30 secs
Single leg stand x 30 secs

Calf raise bounces : heels off the floor - 2x15
1/4 squat bounces on balls of feet : - 2x15

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Dribbling and ball control drills - 15 mins
Shoot around and practice moves - 10 mins

Plyos

Skips/hops - rotating sets for 3 rounds, 30 secs rest between each set

A) Low stiff pogos x 20
B) scissor skip/hop in a star pattern x 2
C) 10 speed hops, on/off a 6 inch step

Moved to a 6 inch step for the speed hops, up from 3 inches last week.
No achilles pain today on any move, just mild discomfort on the speed hops

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Jumps - about 30 or so jumps of all types. single leg jump, Vertical, 1 step, 3 step and running jumps, in that order

Jumps up 2 inches from last few sessions, and back to my current best of an inch under the rim on the running jumps.
Especially my single leg jump, much better.
Lighter bodyweight, and less fatigue.
Might jump higher on Sunday with another 3 more days rest

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Plyos

Bounding - 4x short distance

Depth Jumps - 10 secs rest between each rep, 2 mins rest - 20 inch x5, 18 inch 2x5

Quite shallow landings and able to match my standing vertical.
Last 2 sets against a backboard for a touch target

Rhythmic jumps: - As fast and high as possible with minimal knee bend -  2x10
Getting better

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Jogging : - 1 min slow jog + Walk 1 min + 20sec Prime times, medium effort  + 1.5 min walk - repeat for 18 mins

1/10 to  2/10 achilles tendon pain on jogs, but feet /ankles felt sore and tired from the plyos

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stretch

Saturday 14th January 2023

Not feeling too bad. Achey mid erectors and QL from the band rotations from yesterday

Achilles feeling better again

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Tendon Rehab - Recovery

Early Morning

Sitting on floor, back on wall, single leg press ISO push through ball of foot against wall, to edge of pain -
90 degree knee angle - 5x30secs

Some left patella and right quad tendon ache on first set, greatly diminished by 5th set

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - lat, thoracic and pec stretches,
snatch grip behind the neck press + dislocates

Toe towel curls - x30

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Afternoon

rotating sets
Sartorius 1/4 split squat lunge ISO : - Actively pushing front leg into floor. Heel off the floor - 4x 30 secs
Seated calf Raise ISO push, single leg - strap/towel around leg and under wood plank - 80% effort - 2x30 secs

Sartorius seated slight bent leg push against opposite leg: 4 x 30secs
Calf raise ISO push against wall corner. Single leg - shoulder into half foam roller - 80% effort - 2 x 30 secs

Sitting on floor, back on wall, single leg press ISO push through ball of foot against wall, to edge of pain -
90 degree knee angle - 4x30secs

3/10 right quad tendon pain, first 2 sets, 2/10 right quad tendon pain the rest

Walk - 22 mins

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Late Evening

Sitting on floor, back on wall, single leg press ISO push through ball of foot against wall, to edge of pain -
90 degree knee angle - 5x30secs

first set -  1/10 left patella tendon pain, 3/10 right quad tendon pain.
second set - 2/10 quad tendon pain
third set - 1/10 quad tendon pain

Sunday 15th January 2023

Not the best of sleep.
A little achey all over.
Still foggy brained, but less so

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - brief

BBall, Jumps, Plyos session at WLC outdoor courts - Cycle 1, Week 7, day 1
Bodyweight with shoes -  87.7kg

general dynamic warmup

Split squat ISO on balls of foot, rear leg straight: -  30Seconds
Single leg stand x 30 secs
Calf raise bounces : heels off the floor - 2x15
1/4 squat bounces on balls of feet : - 2x15

Dribbling and ball control drills - 10 mins

Plyos - rotating sets

Low stiff pogos 3x10
scissor skip/hop in a star pattern 3x10
Single leg sideways line hops - 3x20 each leg

A little better on line hops, lighter weight helps, but right leg still not quite there.
Heavy loading on the glute medius

Shoot around and practice moves - 10 mins

Achilles fine now for general BBall moves, but on a sudden drive my right quad tendon ached...

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Jumps - about 15 or so jumps of all types. Vertical, 1 step, 3 step and running jumps, single leg jump

Did more single leg jumps than usual, they felt good, decent height for me.
I think due to them relying more on elasicity and lighter bodyweight

2 legs jumps were garbage, no power, lower energy from being foggy brained.
More muscle power dominant.
Cut it short. Plus my lower sartorius were aching once again :/

I tested my standing vertical jump on my Barbell mate velocity tracking device by hooking it to my short waist band, and jumping in free space.
With semi arm swing.
Did 4 jumps with a 10 sec rest between each.
3rd jump was the best with these stats

Weight with shoes 87.7kg
ROM (cm)   82.2
Mean Velocity (m/s) 1.771   
Peak Velocity (m/s) 3.147   
Mean Acceleration (m/s2)   3.816   
Peak Acceleration (m/s2)   41.193   
Mean Force (N)   1194.704
Peak Force (N)   4472.66 
Mean Power (W) 2115.94
Peak Power (W) 14077.071

Will be interesting to see how my high bar squat peak force compares to this.

The ROM includes the dip phase I think.
Entering the peak velocity and my weight into the calculator at the bottom of this page gets me a 24.5inch vertical jump
https://www.thehoopsgeek.com/the-physics-of-the-vertical-jump/

here is the RFD graph for that jump, the downward slope is when I'm in the air I think
Hitting peak velocity in 0.15 sec, 150Ms, like in the other exercises I posted above.
The unit also registered the landing as another rep, the graph had an instant slope



Plyos

Easy hops complex - 30 secs rest beteeen legs and series, 2 mins rest - 10 forwards/backwards, 10 left/right, 10 zig zag forward/backward each leg x 2 sets
Medium single leg hops - 1x10 each leg
Single leg hops, tucking jump leg each jump - 2x5   - Hard, tendons ached

Single leg hops, for distance: - 90% effort - 3x5
Right leg worst by 1 feet, ankle ached

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Plyo - Jogging - walk combo - grass baseball field - 16 mins

1 min slow jog + Walk 1 min + 20sec Prime times, medium effort  + 1.5 min walk - repeat for 16 mins

Jogging pretty normally now
1/10 left, 2/10 right achilles tendon pain on jogs, less than last week.

Cool to see you doing keto, it does really help keep the weight off. Not sure if you're aware of the ketogains reddit forum, which outlines some strategies for training while in keto, cause (I think) if you just stay in without cycling carb episodes your insulin stays low and blunts the hypertrophy effect (gotta double check on that).
Our endurance running homie Lyle McDonald has an ebook that I got about keto, which outlines some some of the science about it and how it relates to lifting. I did get some new stuff out of it, but not a whole lot more than the reddit forum.

quote from book:

High GH levels along with high insulin levels (as would be seen with a protein and
carbohydrate containing meal) will raise IGF-1 levels as well as increasing anabolic reactions in
the body. To the contrary, high GH levels with low levels of insulin, as seen in fasting or
carbohydrate restriction, will not cause an increase in IGF-1 levels. This is one of the reasons
that ketogenic diets are not ideal for situations requiring tissue synthesis, such as muscle growth
or recovery from certain injuries: the lack of insulin may compromise IGF-1 levels as well as
affecting protein synthesis

Also, your post says brain fog from getting started on keto. That does happen at the start but also something I learned is to make sure I have enough electrolytes - specifically sodium and potassium - I add a supplement to water. But if youre supplementing to be careful not to overdose as well

Tuesday 17th January 2023

Posterior chain and lower body still low down achey. Even my upper back and shoulders a bit from all the arm swings from the jumps and hops.

Added a day of rest between my last BBall/Jumps session, and it helped, but I feel like I need another day of rest.
So will add more rest days next week, and stretch out the training week into 8, maybe 9 days
And it looks like my tendons just need more rest in general at my age

Was planning to train whole body today, but the session went for so long, I canned all my upper body pull and core movements
RDLs still hit my upper back a bit though

First time using my new Barbell Mate velocity tracker extensively today.
It made me realize that even when I thought I was moving a load fast, I could go even faster with actual numbers and realtime feedback
Just changes your whole training mind set
Also good for counting reps

But man it sure drains the batteries on my phone. Might need to invest in a Chromebook tablet that can run android apps

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - lat, thoracic and pec stretches


Tendon Rehab - Lower + Upper push. Cycle 1, Week 7, Day 2

Body Weight: 88.9kg with shoes

snatch grip behind the neck press + dislocates with broom

Split squat ISO on balls of foot, rear leg straight: x30secs
Glute bridge hold: x30 Secs
Side plank, legs bent, with abduction, opposite leg and hand in the air x30 secs
Bird Dogs - hold at top - x10 each side

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rotating sets

Cossack squat ISO 3x 30 secs each side - 3/10 right quad tendon pain on first set down to 1/10 on last

Dumbbell press, rotating grip: - inline with ears - 5lbs x 10, 15lbs x10, 25lbs x12, 35lbs x7,
45lbs x5
47.5lbs x12, x10, x5 @ RPE 9.5/8/6.5 (PR!! +1 rep)  0.74 m/s velocity

Tried the Barbell Mate by strapping it to my wrist - accidently deleted the first two 47.5lb sets trying to remove the clean to get the dumbbells into position...
So did a third set to get some data
Spreadsheet suggest 75lb dumbbells will be my e1RM

SSB single leg Calf raise ISO: - 2 hands supported, held at slightly above neutral -  30 secs x BW, 30kg, 50kg, 70kg, 90kg
100kg - hard - 2/10 left, 1/10 right achilles tendon pain,
100kg - hard - 1/10 Achilles tendon pain, both sides

90kg was painless so bumped it up to 100kg and this is probably my limit right now, right leg was starting to shake a bit
Heaviest weight used so far, and like using at least 220kg with 2 legs

Heel touch downs, single leg, off 6 inch step: slow tempo -  BW x10

Leg extension ISO, single leg - end of unit elevated 5 inches -
- 5 sec concentric, 10 sec hold at top, 15 sec hold at 60 degrees, slow eccentric -  x 20kg, 25kg, 25kg, 30kg

2/10 right quad tendon pain, to 3/10 on 30kg set

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High bar squat: - Slow Controlled eccentric, explode up - 20kg x7, 40kg x7, 60kg x6,

highest mean velocity, peak force
75kg x5  -  0.96 m/s
90kg x4  -   0.9 m/s 1756N
105kg x3  - 0.79 m/s 1866N
120kg x2  - 0.67 m/s 2022N
130kg x2  - 0.58 m/s 1966N

75% of e1RM - rep to 10% velocity drop off
120kg x4  - 0.67m/s to 0.55 m/s 2003N

69% of e1Rm - rep to 10% velocity drop off
110kg x7 - 0.75 to 0.6  m/s  1963N
110kg x6 - 0.78 to 0.67 m/s 1904N

160kg e1RM calculated for the day, peak power at 97.5kg , 2196W

My tendons were achey, and my adductors and posterior chain were not feeling good, but I got useful data today from the Barbell mate.
I'm surprised how I could maintain my velocity for higher rep counts with weights that felt subjectively heavy and grindy for me
I was expecting 4-5 reps at 70%, but more like 6-7
4 for 75%, and more like 2 for 80%

One spreadsheet had me at 160kg e1RM, and another at 167-168kg e1Rm from the load and velocity curves.
Much higher than I was expecting, and I'm not sure I could do it based on how 130kg felt today.
Between 80% to 70%, 130kg-110kg it looks like my peak force is fairly similar, and about 50% of what I get in my vertical jump.
So it looks like I can use the lower range to get stronger, meaning I can activate my motor units just as well in the 70% range, as I can at 80% and over.

Peak power curve showed around 100kg, 2196W, which where I would expect my high catch power clean would be, and that is at 63%, which sounds about right.

0.75 m/s seems to be the sweet spot for around 70% loads
So next time I'll just ramp up until I hit that and then bang out sets with 10% velocity drop to auto regulate reps per set
If that number keeps going up over time then it's working

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Rotating sets

SSB single leg bent knee Calf raise: - 2 hands supported, 3 secs down, 1 sec up -  BW x8
flat on floor
30kg x8 - 2/10 Achilles insertion pain at the bottom on both sides
40kg x8 - 2/10 Achilles insertion pain at the bottom on both sides
50kg x8 - 2/10 Achilles insertion pain at the bottom on both sides

The actual calf raise itself doesn't hurt, just at the bottom when the stretch hits.
So I could use more weight, except for the ache

Romanian deadlift: - fast down, explode up - 20kg x10, 40kg x10
60kg x10  - fastest rep - 0.94 m/s

45% of High bar squat
75kg x10 - 0.87 m/s 1736n
75kg x13 - 0.94 m/s 1787n

So here is where the fastest rep was at the end of the last set... I can go much faster than I have been with velocity feedback!

Deficit Push up - hands on PowerBlock dumbbells (Warm up) On floor x10,
Feet on 20 inch bench x 18 @ RPE 7   (+1 rep)

Dips: - dip shrugs BW  2x20
BW x6
slow tempo - dip belt + 5kg x 11 @ RPE 8 (+3 reps)

Damn, felt so much easier, big increase in reps.
Must be from the fat loss.
Will go up to 10kg next week.

Tibilias Wall raise - against side of car, in oly shoes - BW x 8
+5kg x12, x12 @ RPE 7/8

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Leg Curl - single leg - end of unit elevated 5 inches - toes pointed, explosive - 15kg x8, 17.5kg x6, x8 @RPE 7/8

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stretch

Thursday 19th January 2023

Seems to have a delayed soreness effect kicking from last session, 2 days ago....
Moderately Sore glutes, adductors, hamstrings, calves, entire back and obliques, abs

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - lat and pec stretches

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Tendon Rehab/Recovery - Lower + Upper Pull. Week 7 Day 3

Bodyweight with shoes - 88.4kg

general mobility drills
snatch grip behind the neck press + dislocates

BBall dribbling + control drills 6 mins

rottaing sets

Toe curl ISO : 2x 30secs
Peroneal external foot rotation ISO against floor: 2x 30secs
External rotation ISO - nylon strap between forearms, moving from waist, bent arm, to overhead straight armed, and back down:
palms facing x45 secs
palms up 2x45 secs
Calf raise bounces : 2x15

Cossack squat ISO : each side
30 Seconds 3/10 quad tendon pain
30 Seconds 3/10 quad tendon pain
35 Seconds 2/10 quad tendon pain
35 Seconds 1/10 quad tendon pain
35 Seconds 1/10 quad tendon pain

Dancing - 5 mins

Sartorius bent leg ISO pull against opposite leg : x30 secs, 2x45secs

Plyos - 30 secs rest between each
Low stiff pogos 3x20, 1x10 - Spin on the spot, alternating directions each full circle
Scissor skip/hop in a star pattern rotations x2, x3, x3, x3
Speed hops - on/off step as fast and relaxed as possible - 2 inch step 2x10, 4 inch step 2x10

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rotating sets

Chins/Pullups - hang and 20 pullup scap shrugs, 20 chin scap shrugs, chin 5 sec hold at middle
L Sit Chin Up - bent knee x1, straight leg x1, regular x1, BW x11 @ RPE 9.5 (PR!! +1 rep)
Pull up - BW x7 @ RPE 8
Chin - BW x7 @ RPE 8.5

Time to add weight to the L Sit chins

Leg extension ISO, single leg - end of unit elevated 5 inches -
- lifted up with help of arm, 20 sec hold at top, 25 sec hold at 60 degrees, no eccentric
x20kg  1/10 right VMO area pain
x25kg  3/10 right VMO area pain
x25kg  2/10 right VMO area pain

- lifted up with help of arm, 30 Seconds hold at 60 degrees, no eccentric
x30kg
x35kg  - 1/10 right quad tendon pain

High angle barbell row: elbows out to upper abs - 20kg x10, 40kg x10, 60kg x5,
65kg 2x11 @ RPE 8/9 (+1 rep each set)

SSB single leg Calf raise ISO: - 2 hands supported, held at slightly above neutral -  30secs x 30kg, 50kg, 70kg, 90kg
100kg x 30secs - 2/10 Achilles pain

100kg leg shake is less now

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Rotating sets

AB wheel: On knees x6,
straight leg progressively lower each rep to 80% ROM x6
Straight leg to 80% ROM x7, x7 @ RPE 8/8.5  (+1 rep each set)

SSB single leg Calf raise - 4.5 inch elevated - 3 secs down, fast up - full range stretched - BW x8
30kg x8 - 1/10 Achilles tendon pain both sides
40kg x8 - 3/10 Achilles tendon pain both sides

Cable/band rotations, high to low: - straight armed -
Single orange + green band 27kg 2x12  @ RPE 6  (+2 reps each set)

Cable/band knee drives : stepping through like a single leg jump
Single black band 15kg 2x12 @ RPE 6  (+2 reps each set)

Single arm suitcase carry: kettlebell - trip around front yard - 40secs x 18kg, 18kg, 18kg - moderately hard

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stretch

Saturday 21st January 2023

Still achey all over

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - lat, thoracic and pec stretches,
snatch grip behind the neck press + dislocates

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Tendon Rehab - Recovery

rotating sets

Seated leg push into floor. Single leg: - 90 degrees , through ball of foot - 2x 30secs, 2x35 secs

Seated calf raise ISO - single leg: - Leaning over leg 2x30secs, +10kg x 35secs
Calf raise ISO, single leg :Slight bent knee - 4 x35 secs

Single leg, bent knee quad push into floor pad ISO: - 3x 35secs

Sartorius seated bent leg pull against opposite leg or stairs 4 x 40secs

Hammer curl overcoming ISO: Near closed position  4x45secs

Sunday 22nd January 2023

Achey glutes from the ISOs yesterday, but all muscles have low down aches when I was releasing them today.

Raining, and not feeling up to it, so another rest day.
Then BBall/jumps tomorrow for an uneven 8 day cycle

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Waking mobility work and upper body stretches - lat, thoracic and pec stretches,
snatch grip behind the neck press + dislocates

Soft tissue work for whole body

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Tendon Rehab - Recovery

rotating sets
Hammer curl overcoming ISO: Near closed position  3x45secs
Sartorius seated bent leg pull against opposite leg or stairs 3 x 45secs

Calf raise ISO, single leg : Slight bent knee - 1 x35 secs, 2 x 35 secs + 10 reps

Lying on back, single leg press ISO push against wall : - head against foam pad/wall, 90 degree knee angle -
45 Seconds 2/10 right VMO insertion and quad tendon pain
45 Seconds 1/10 right VMO insertion and quad tendon pain
45 Seconds 1/10 right VMO insertion and quad tendon pain

pain has come down a lot

Single leg, bent knee quad push into floor pad ISO: - 2x 35secs

Wall sit, heels off the floor: - at 90 degrees - 2x 45secs, pushing into floor x 45secs
both patella tendons felt achey