Adarq.org

Monday 17th May 2021

Not feeling too bad today, legs losing the stiff feeling. No drained feeling even with the jumping.
Cutting back on stuff I would normally do yesterday helped.

Left quad tendon slightly more achey this morning, and my right glute medius tendon as well.
Both Achilles feel Ok, no worse than before.

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches
---

Tendon health - rehab

dropped a set off from the main exercises, I feel 3 sets is enough at this level of effort and daily dosing

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 x45 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 -  30kg x15 secs, 50kg x 15 secs,
45 secs x 70kg, 90kg, 95kg, 100kg

last set with 100kg felt hard but not max for this time and no leg shakes, so can probably do 105kg, but will stay at 100kg for a bit.

---

45 min walk/hike
middle of the walk - backward walking up a 20-30 degree sloped path x 3.5 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

----
16  hour fast
2700+ calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2000+

Wednesday 19th May 2021

Calves feeling pretty sore from the kettle bell handle soft tissue work from yesterday, but also a nice feeling of looseness in them.
Funny how I didn't get that feeling from rolling my calves with a massage ball or hard roller....

Felt decent, so decided to train today instead of waiting till tommorrow.

bodyweight = 86+ kg in winter clothing + shoes

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches

---
Afternoon - home

Soft tissue work - just feet, TFL, erectors and outer quads. pec minor

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

Power clean and power snatch complex  x 20kg bar
1/4 Overhead squat 10kg bar x 10, 20kg bar x 12

Partial Squats

All reps 3-4 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 x3
Belt/oly shoes - 100kg x3, 110kg x3, 112.5kg x3

112.5kg, felt solid, but left  collar bone was once again beat up!
I messed around with my grip and it still hurt. The only solution which didn't hurt was using a zombie, arms forward bar rack, but that is not ideal...
Looking in the mirror I can see my left collar bone sticks up more than my right side for some reason.

Low bar squat
Did these after high bar of the same load - Iron edge XXheavy band around lower quads - 20kg x5, 40kg x5, 60kg x3, 80kg x3
oly shoes/belt - 100kg x3, 110kg x3

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
132.5kg x5
137.5kg x6
142.5kg x6 @ RPE 7
145kg x 3

Pin squats - 2 inch lower depth 120kg x3

Up 2.5kg on all work sets from last week.
Felt good and solid. 145kg felt heavy on my shoulders
Then tried a few reps onto the safeties 2 inches lower, without the bands around the lower quads, and it felt OK. No pain but felt quite a bit harder

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, 90kg x3, 100kg x3

Clean deadlift
3 sec eccentric, belt + straps - 120kg x5, 130kg x5, 135kg x3 @ RPE 7

Up 2.5kg on top set. Deadlifts feeling easier


This group in Oly shoes - alternating sets 1 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 x6, 50kg x6, 70kg x6
both sides back to back - 80kg x7, 85kg 2x7 @ RPE 7

A2)SSB Tib raise - in oly shoes - 30kg x8, 50kg x8, 70kg x8
80kg x7, 85kg 2x6 @ RPE 8

A3) SSB single leg bent knee calf raise - arm supported -  Olys shoes, no elevation 3 sec eccentric, top half of ROM only  -30kg x6, 50kg x6, 70kg x6
both sides back to back - 80kg x6, 85kg 2x6 @ RPE 7
----
B1) SSB side bends controlled, alternating sides - 50kg x12, 70kg x 12, x 14 @ RPE 8

B2) Lying side leg raise  - leg angled in front of body - Powerblock dumbbell on foot - 3 sec eccentric and concentric - BW x8, 10lbs 2x9  @ RPE 8 (+1 rep)

B3) Glute bridge, slider leg curl - BW x6 eccentrics + 2 reps
BW 3x6 @ RPE 8

Jefferson curl - 20kg x10, x12

----
16 hour fast
2800+ calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3, not including weights
Plan to eat 2000+

Friday 21st May 2021

Legs are starting to feel good already.
Calves are pretty sore, these heavy ISO are starting to act like slow eccentrics...

Noticing the Achilles responding positively to the 100kg ISO calf raise holds.
best it's felt upon waking and walking cold.

Combo session today - squeezed in my upper body stuff.
Had planned to do more, but the targeted muscles are already plenty tired by then, will find another day to slot them in

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches
---

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
Lying lateral leg abduction ISO - Iron Edge XXheavy + heavy band around lower quads - right side only 2x45secs

rotating sets - 1 min rest in between

A) Monster band lateral lunge -  Alternating sides, 2 steps each way - XXHeavy + Xheavy band 2x16
3 steps each way x 18

B) Band pull apart complex - 20 secs rest between- high to low, palms up + diagonals alternating sides - JumpStretch light band 2x10

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

----

A) SSB single leg calf raise -  30kg x 5 paused reps + 8 x heel off the ground 1/4 squats, 60kg x 15sec ISO +  + 8 x heel off the ground 1/4 squats
ISO above neutral - 45 secs x 80kg, 90kg, 100kg, 105kg

Wow the warmup sets feel ridiculously easy compared to before! Guess the body has gotten used to 100kg already
Bumped top set to 105kg and it felt OK, hard but not limit.

B) Pullups, shoulder touching bar handles - Hang and 20 scap shrugs to warmup
Dead hang/paused - BW x 2, x1, x6, x5, with controlled eccentric x4 @ RPE 9

C) 20 inch feet elevated deficit pushup, with handles - 45 degree angle grip -  BW 3x12 explosive @ RPE 8

used my Powerblock dumbbells as pushup handles to increase ROM

----

A) High angle rows - 20kg x12, 40kg x8, 60kg x1
62.5kg 3x10 @ RPE 8

Holding the position feels way easier since I started deadlifting and clean pulls with a slow eccentric

B) Hanging leg raise, feet to hands BW x7, x6, x4 @ RPE 9

A bit awkward to do with my home setup, so I'll move it to post BBall day at the park

----

W Scarecrow external rotations - 5lbs x15, 7.5lbs x15, 10lbs x 15 @ RPE 6

A few reps of - bent knee and straight legged Ab wheels
Loaded torso drops 2x15


---
32 min walk
middle of the walk - backward walking up a 20-30 degree sloped path x 3.5 mins

----
14  hour fast
2900 calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2200

Sunday 23rd May 2021

Pecs still very sore, and upper back/neck less so.
Calves also still fairly sore as well.
Definitely not fresh, but I need to move

----
bodyweight at home without shoes = 84+ kg

Soft tissue work at home - just feet

BBall practice session at WLC outdoor courts - 60 mins

1) 15 mins dribble and ball control drills
2) medium intensity moves, shots, layups
3) jumps at the 45 min mark, and dunks on 8 feet netball rim
 
4) A few sets of easy pogo jumps, 2legegd hops, star drill jumps, and lateral skips with arm swing
And some jogging on balls of my feet, length of court.

No pain on jumps, but only medium effort jumps of all types, mostly single leg and standing/1 step
Then did some lower intensity reactive work to start conditioning my achilles tendons. Right achilles some dull ache, but not too bad now.

---

30 min walk -
backwards walking 20-25 degree sloped path - 2+ mins
=----
14 hour fast -
2800+ calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3
ate 3800+

Tuesday 25th May 2021

A bit tired feeling from the stuff I did yesterday... yeah barbell curls are more tiring than you expect when taken near failure.
My whole back has work to stablize the load etc

Biceps not sore at all, but upper back/cuffs are

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches

---

Tendon health - rehab

Broom behind the neck press and dislocate stretch

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 x45 secs
Side plank with leg abduction -   arm on 20 inch bench  x 45 secs
on floor x 45 secs

on the floor is damn hard!

rotating sets - 1 min rest inbetween

A1)  Lying lateral leg abduction ISO - pushing at 70+% effort - strap around lower quads - right side only -  2x 45secs
A2) 1/4 squat position, push against belt around lower quads - 70+% effort - 2x 45 secs

B1) Single leg Extension ISO -  both sides back to back - push against strap, lying back, 90 degree leg angle at 70+% effort - 2x45secs
B2) Peterson step up/sissy squat hybrid ISO - 8 inch step - support leg on floor - pushing into floor > 70% effort - 2 x 45secs

-----

A) SSB single leg calf raise - 30kg x 5 paused reps + 5 x heel off the ground 1/4 squats, 70kg x 15sec ISO + bent knee 15secs
ISO above neutral - 45 secs x 90kg, 105kg, 105kg

B) Manual resistance single leg calf raise ISO - loose Nylon belt, with strap to wood plank, push > 70% effort
45 secs x 2

Last time I tried these I put the strap over my back, with towel padding, and then under the wood plank, which stressed my back quite a bit...
Today I got smart and used a belt, rigging it up like a belt squat/dip belt, low on the hip.
It allows you to push as hard as you can without any discomfort

Much higher effort and load on the achilles than letting gravity do the work with weights, and safer, but no easier.
Will eventually replace my SSB calf raise holds with this, gives my back a rest

--------------

30 min walk

----
16  hour fast
2700 calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 1800+

Thursday 27th May 2021

Feeling better today, but still fairly sore and achey all over.

The best my achilles insertions have felt this morning, straight out bed walking pain is down to a 1/10 for left side, and 2/10 for right.
It looks like the manual resistance calf raise ISO aginst a belt/strap and wood plank is superior to holding a heavy load for loading the achilles.

Left quad tendon also feels way better. 1/4 squatting/deadlifting down to pick up the bathroom scale, my usual pain test was actually pain free. Start of the week, the pain was about 3/10
So the lack of pain last night on the ISO work was a good sign after all.

So it seems leg extension ISO at 90 degrees does not load my left quad tendon as well as as the Peterson step up/Sissy squat hybrid I have been doing.
The amount of pain you get in each says as much.
Plus one is closer to how I would use my legs.
For that reason I might start doing lateral lunge push into wall ISO, in place of the lying leg raise against strap.

At this rate of progress I could be fully healthy within a few weeks!

bodyweight = 83+ kg without shows
--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches

---
Afternoon - home

soft tissue work - all lower body and pec/lats

Tendon health and rehab - Heavier session - fasted

split squat ISO, rear leg straight at 90 degrees - x 1 min
Spanish squat  2x45 secs
Side plank with abduction on bench x 45 secs
Glute bridge x 45 secs
Plank - x 45 secs

lateral lunge push into wall 2x 45 secs

Power clean and power snatch complex  x 20kg bar
1/4 Overhead squat 10kg bar x 10, 20kg bar x 12

Partial Squats

All reps 3 sec eccentric, paused, to 20 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 x3
Belt/oly shoes - 100kg x3, 110kg x3, 115kg x3

115kg didn't feel too bad.
Used a closer grip today, which puts my front delts higher, so left collar bone wasn't as smashed up.

Low bar squat
Did these after high bar of the same load - Iron edge XXheavy band around lower quads - 20kg x5, 40kg x5, 60kg x3, 80kg x3
oly shoes/belt - 100kg x3, 115kg x3

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, 115kg x5

belt/oly shoes - no bands
125kg x5
135kg x6
140kg x6
145kg x6 @ RPE 7
147.5kg x 3

Felt solid. Up 2.5kg on all work sets from last week.
147.5kg felt heavy and a little wobbly, but not that hard for my legs.

Went lower today, dropped the bench down to 20 inches, didn't feel too much harder
No quad tendon or glute medius tendon pain, but both sides of glute medius felt pretty achey... the ISOs causing more fatigue than you would think.
Especially when I went slightly wider stance.

Was able to use an inch closer grip on each side. Looks like all the pec minor stretching has had an effect.



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

20kg Clean high pull x 5 + clean grip power snatch x 5

Clean high pull hook grip, lowered under control - 60kg x3, 70kg x3, 80kg x3, 90kg x3, 100kg x3, 110kg x3

110kg felt hard but was able to still pop it up over my belly button.

Clean deadlift
3 sec eccentric, belt + straps - 120kg x5, 130kg x5, 135kg x3 @ RPE 7

Whoops forgot to up the weight 2.5kg on top set, oh well, next week I do 140kg
Eccentric is looking more like an RDL

This group in Oly shoes - alternating sets 1 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 x5, 50kg x5, 70kg x5
both sides back to back - 90kg x8, 100kg 2x8 @ RPE 8

calves have gotten a lot stronger, 100kg doesn't feel as hard as 90kg used to feel

A2)SSB Tib raise - in oly shoes - 30kg x8, 50kg x8, 70kg x8
90kg x6, 100kg x5, 90kg x 6 @ RPE 8

Tibs are not quite as strong as my calves.

A3) SSB single leg bent knee calf raise - arm supported -  Olys shoes, no elevation 3 sec eccentric, top half of ROM only  - 30kg x5, 50kg x5, 70kg x5
both sides back to back - 90kg x8, 100kg 2x8 @ RPE 8

---

Skipped SSB side bends, lying lateral leg raises, glute bride slider leg curls and jefferson curls - ran out of time, session too long....
Might do them tomorrow, we shall see

----
16 hour fast
2900 calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3, not including weights
Plan to eat 2000+

Saturday 29th May 2021

Damn calves feel so sore from those manual resistance calf raise ISO I did yesterday!
Hips/glutes also pretty sore from the lateral wall pushes...

On the other hand, wow, my achilles insertions feel so much better. The pain straight out of bed, and then walking, is almost totally gone!

This week has seen a dramatic improvement there - probably between the increase to near limit SSB calf raise ISO and the manual resistance one.
I think the game changer is pushing as hard as you can against a hip belt/strap and wood plank, as your upper body is no longer the limiting factor, and you can apply way more force than relying on gravity and a heavy load, which has a lot more weak links and can divert the stress to other areas.
The searing burn I get on these vs the SSB holds tells me it's way more intense.

Due to the soreness, and improved achilles health, I didn't do any calf ISO today. Let them recover a bit for BBall tomorrow.
Was going to totally rest up, but decided to do my quad and glute medius tendon ISOs

--
morning mobility work
upper body stretches

---

Tendon health - rehab

split squat ISO, rear leg straight at 90 degrees - x 1.5 mins
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

A) 1/8 squat position, push against belt around lower quads - 70+% effort - 4x 45 secs

B) Peterson step up/sissy squat hybrid ISO - 8 inch step - support leg on floor - pushing into floor > 70% effort - 4 x 45secs

--------

30 min walk -
backwards walking 20-25 degree sloped path - 3 mins

----
2500 calories burned according to Fitbit Charge 3
ate 2200

Sunday 30th May 2021

Still pretty sore all over.
Achilles feels good, almost back to 100%, left side especially, Right side about 90%

----
bodyweight at home without shoes = 83+ kg

Soft tissue work at home - feet, outer quads/TFL, and upper back/lats

BBall practice session at WLC outdoor courts - 65 mins

1) 15 mins dribble and ball control drills
2) medium/high intensity moves, shots, layups
3) jumps at the 35 min mark, and dunks on 8 feet netball rim - a few high effort  jumps - mostly single legged , with three 2 legged ones.

4) A few sets of easy pogo jumps, 2legged hops between jumps
 
5) 3 sets x  all back to back
Jogging semi prime times on balls of my feet to half court and back
lateral skips with arm swing from one side to other and back
pogo jumps x 10 at 50% effort
2 legged hops in star pattern - 3 each axis
star pattern skips - 2 each exis

Now that my achilles felt great today, I increased the volume a bit more and upped the intensity a tiny bit more on the running and hops.
The power skip type jogging feels amazing, no hint of any discomfort. Bouncing along on my feet and posterior chain.

Jumps felt good today, only minor discomfort in the warm ups in my left quad tendon and right glute medius.
I did 3 hard effort 2 legged approach jumps today.

I touched around 9'6", so yeah well down from a few weeks back, where I touched the 9'10" rim at a heavier 3kg bodyweight of 86kg.
Legs are so fatigued right now.
Once I'm healthy I'm going to do a 3 month deload and peak my jump.... hoping to get back those 4 inches and 6+ more inches on top.
I should be much leaner and lighter by then as well.

---
33 min walk -
backwards walking 20-25 degree sloped path - 3 mins
=----

16 hour fast -
3000 calorie burn according Fitbit Charge 3
plan to eat 2200+