300 – a very painful 300!

Today was cool, but hurt a lot.

Squatting 300 itself wasn’t painful; in fact, I’m really stoked about it. Again, I lost a lot of strength during my massive weight loss, especially in my squat. So to finally get back to 300 means a lot to me. No it’s not a lot of weight in the grand scheme (I don’t think I’ll really be happy until I’m squatting at least 2x bodyweight, so I have to get into the 400’s…), but it’s a good milestone towards regaining what I had lost. Plus, with my lifetime PR at 325, I’m only 25# away.

What was also nice was hitting it for 4 reps. I knew last week that I’d have no problem hitting 300, and I wanted at least 2 hopefully 3. When I came up after 3 I knew there wasn’t a lot left but I felt good about hitting a 4th and went for it. I could have gotten a 5th if not for the massive pain… so I did good enough and opted to rack it. I’m still very happy with 4 reps at 300. Things are well on track, and I’m happy.

What was painful?

My elbows.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. It’s pretty simple. I crush-grip the bar because that does help me with tightness throughout my body. But when I do that, it starts to put my arms and elbows in particular positions. One thing is that my hands are perpendicular to the bar, but then my wrists have to cant in an odd way because my forearms are not perpendicular to the bar, nor can they be. I’d love my hands to be way out touching the collars, but the way the rack at the gym is, I just can’t so I am forced into a somewhat narrower grip (but as wide as I can make it). And so eventually all this stress goes onto my arms.

It’s precisely what Paul Carter talks about in this video:

I referenced the video after the 235 set to refresh my memory (again, this isn’t new to me). On the 270 set I did an “eagle claw” grip (pinky under the bar). That helped because it puts my hands/wrists/arms at a more natural angle, plus I can’t crush-grip the bar – so it helps with everything Paul discusses. But I just could not do it for the 300 set because you don’t go making big changes like that when you’re about to do something big. I knew the pain in my arms would be horrible, and it was. I mean, I could not “curl” my arms (well, I could, but the pain was intense). Even sitting there afterwards, doing nothing in particular, the pain was excruciating. There was no way I could deadlift – couldn’t grab the bar. Yes, that bad. I did my other assistance work and called it.

Why is this happening again? Not 100% sure, but bottom line is I suspect I will have to exclusively go with eagle-claw type grips from now on. I really don’t like it, which is why I haven’t stuck with it in the past, but I don’t think I have a choice now. This level of pressure, inflammation, etc. I just don’t need.

I’m glad next week is a deload – I’ll have some time to work on it.

And don’t worry. This isn’t horrible – yet. 🙂 I know some friends will read this and express concern, and I do appreciate it. But know that I’ll manage it just fine. Nothing to see a doctor about yet. I’ll rest, change technique, and go from there.

Anyways, so despite the pain, it was a good day. I’m very happy about hitting 300. I am confident of my ability to set a new all-time PR by the end of the year.

My own massing template, based upon 5/3/1 SST and some Paul Carter principles

• Squats
  • bar x whatever
  • 125 x 5
  • 160 x 5
  • 190 x 3
  • 235 x 5
  • 270 x 3
  • 300 x 4 (4RM PR)
• Leg Curls
  • 40 x 12
  • 40 x 12
  • 40 x 12
  • 40 x 12
• Hyperextensions
  • BW x 15
  • BW x 15
  • BW x 13
  • BW x 12
• Crunches
  • BW x 15
  • BW x 15
  • BW x 14
  • BW x 10
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12