NaterMania

Razz said:

Gregor said:

Wich exercises are you doing for lower traps? I to have very small and week compared to rest...

You can do with pulley standing, kneeling, facing to and away from the pulley varying grips etc. Then you can do with weights bend over also varying grips.

AWESOME! That's what I've been doing, except I haven't tried facing away from the cable machine... that's a good idea. Thanks!

Maybe it's the recent work I've done in this area, but I notice now that when I do a rings support with a good forward lean my lower traps fire pretty hard. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing, right?

slizzardman said:

Razz said:

Gregor said:

Wich exercises are you doing for lower traps? I to have very small and week compared to rest...

You can do with pulley standing, kneeling, facing to and away from the pulley varying grips etc. Then you can do with weights bend over also varying grips.

AWESOME! That's what I've been doing, except I haven't tried facing away from the cable machine... that's a good idea. Thanks!

Maybe it's the recent work I've done in this area, but I notice now that when I do a rings support with a good forward lean my lower traps fire pretty hard. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing, right?

I'd agree with you there. They should be firing in stuff with a forward lean.

slizzardman said:

LOL! No car wrecks, but I am getting stronger all the time. Much faster than I ever have before, even though I'm injured. I believe I have unlocked the secret to extreme relative strength.

I haven't been doing the WODs, I have been exploring some protocols I am developing. Outstanding results.

I DO keep up with front lever prerequisite work, which is why my front lever is getting better all the time, but I still have issues with my right shoulder. They are much, much better, I can do PPP without problems, but I will still wait another month or two.

I have also been doing steady muscle up work, which has been going quite well. At this point they are a joke and I am working on getting a perfectly straight body, but that requires extreme scapular retraction and repression strength. I don't have that yet lol! My lower traps are still very small and weak for my body size, so I'm working on correcting that. It's a work in progress. I also need to go in and get a series of ART treatments, fortunately there is a master practitioner nearby with all their qualifications. He's also an instructor, so I admit I have high expectations.

Do you mind giving me a link or name of that place for ART. I found a few around here but want to check out the guy you are talking about it. Congrats on the lower trap work, I've trying on working that area myself lately.

www.softtissuechiropracticcenter.com and go to David Radaszewski, DC

or

http://www.1stchoiceonline.com and go to Dr. Hamid Sadri, DC, CCSP, ICSSD, CSCS, CKTP, CES, PES

THey are both listed as instructors. Sadri is the more accomplished of the two, I think, but I don't know for sure.

I got my first one arm chins with both arms today. They weren't perfect, I needed a very small amount of assistance in the last few inches (partial pinkie) but from the bottom to about 80% of the way up there was zero assistance. Pretty sweet! No pain either.

Dude that's sick! Looking forward to the videos!

Congrats Slizz! Looking forward to see them at the seminar

Congratulations. Especially impressive at your weight. Have you noticed a carry-over to any other pulling movements?

I know! Way ahead of schedule. I will put one up in a few weeks when it should be really solid.

Alex: Actually I have noticed an improvement in straight arm strength. Pulling some, but not as much. The extra brachialis strength helps with the inner elbow.

Interesting, similar to what steven low has talked about with his OAC experiences.

Hm I see, I think I might not have gotten the straight arm strength improvement because of the hyper-extension in my elbows. Noticed no major difference in my other pulling work either.

Will you be making a video anytime soon? I'd love to see you do the skill.

I tried to make one late last night and I was unable to complete the rep, I had to use a finger spot at the halfway point and it was hilariously ugly! Each time I try I will video it and when I have a good one I will show it here. No sense in putting something THAT ugly up. I'm not surprised I missed the attempts, I did 4 singles in each arm yesterday and then 4 sets of 2 reps with +135 on weighted chins.

Edit: by yesterday I mean the evening prior to the video attempts.

How is your training going? Haven't had an update on your progress for a while.

Doing great! I'm getting strong enough to where I can easily hurt myself by over-reaching, much like when I first began.

I'm holding steady at 205-207 lbs and getting leaner still! I didn't realize it but I've lost almost 4 inches off my waist... I'm somewhere between a 32 and 33" waist now, maybe closer to 32. I haven't been this lean in years, and I am not doing any cardio! Quite nice for a change. The last time I was 7% bodyfat I had to work my BUTT OFF to get there! I'm talking about 5-6 cardio sessions per week, restrictive diet, strength training daily to try and preserve muscle mass (which works, by the way), and all kinds of supplements.

Now I'm doing feast-famine on an intermittent fasting schedule, with a perfectly clean diet. I use protein powder, and today I started using a fiber supplement as per Bio-sig recommendations for my particular issues, which are excess environmental estrogens that need to be detoxed and a specific calcium supplement that supports estrogen detox (a problem that pretty much anyone who lives in a big city is going to have) and general detoxification..

As far as my current diet goes it is the easiest way to eat and the healthiest way to eat that I have ever encountered. On my low calorie days I just eat vegetables. This tends to be a lot of lightly steamed greens (like 2-4 lbs or more) together with small servings of salad dressing for flavor if I want it. I also have a few scoops of protein spread throughout the day, just to keep calories low. I have found that maximal strength training works very well on these days since true maximal strength has nothing to do with stored glucose.

On regular days I have natural cheeses, rice, meats, more vegetables, homemade kefir and fruit. There are some other grain products but not on a regular basis. I can not remember ever having felt better than I do right now. I can do a full workout after a 24h fast and perform well, and not feel like crap. I am moving more than I have moved since I was a kid, and the more I move the more I WANT to move. I feel like time is going backwards as far as the aging of my body is concerned.

I am developing a series of trapezius exercise matrices that are allowing me to rapidly regain proper muscle function and build the size and strength that I need in the lower, mid and upper traps to really progress forward again with my upper body strength. I am also working on some serratus anterior stuff and more general shoulder development, as these were all my weak points (well, not serratus or upper traps but all the others). It is pretty neat to see everything working.

Part of that is something that Dillon shared with us at the seminar and the rest are some neat series that I have come up with. I will not be sharing those for a while, but rest assured that when everything is finalized you will all be the first to hear about it.

On my best days I do have a proper one arm chin, starting from a dead hang with a straight arm. By the end of the year I should be doing a few reps with each arm. I like to set long term goals, because while that seems to be pretty crazy I am fairly confident this will happen by the end of the summer. I am hoping to have a reverse muscle up to show off in September. I am fairly close to an XR HSPU full ROM with feet inside the straps. That should be fairly easy by September as well.

I am starting to integrate everything I know so far into one seamless system for what Dillon and I are working on.

Important highlights for me are the ability to do a slow, controlled front pull from a dead hang pulling into proper scapular retraction from a protracted dead hang and the ability to properly retract and depress my shoulder blades during weighted chins AND pulls with 60 extra lbs. I haven't been able to do that since 2005. That tells me that I am now able to put together a proper core of structural strength, and THAT means that I am going to become a Super Saiyan!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

KA-KA-LLOTTO!!!!!! (for the fans of japanese DBZ out there!)

Awesome stuff Slizz. Will be following your progress and work.

Yeah! Damn inspirational.

I can definitely sympathize with pushing too hard and getting injured. That's been a weakness of mine for a long time, although I think I'm starting to get out of it now (at least I know I need to work on it, right? ).

Do you make water kefir or milk kefir?

-Updated

Sliz, the more I hear about BioSig, the more I'd like to get mine done. I googled "BioSig for athletes," but I got so many varied results that I don't know where to start! I thought BioSig was a fairly small operation, but it seems that it's, well, fairly huge lol! How did you get yours done? Did you go to a local place or have a test mailed to you which you mailed back and got the results?

And around a 32 inch waist would be incredible to see on a guy as tall as you. Gee shmee!

Jeff did biosig measurements for everyone at the May seminar! It was pretty fast. He emailed us our results individually along with recommendations based on the results.

I make milk kefir! Yum I don't really worry about what % milk to use, I just use the good stuff. This current batch is 2% but I am usually making it with whole milk. If I were making it for more general consumption along with regular post workout use I would make it with 1% to avoid digestive slowdowns. I take a magic bullet cup and fill it half full with various berries, either frozen or thawed depending on what I have available, and then fill it nearly to the top with kefir. Even the super strong home variety of kefir tastes like delicious fruity goodness this way, and it's good for you!

Sounds very exciting slizz. Looking forward to seeing what it is that you and Dillon are putting together. Was your bf 7%? That's pretty fucking good!

Oh and it's not a calcium supplement but a glucaric acid supplement

Good luck on the training! Can't wait to see your inverted muscle up and OAC videos!

I have no idea, I forgot to ask Jeff what it was. I'm guessing 9-10%, no lower than that. I'm definitely 9% now, I'm noticeably leaner than I was. At this rate I'll be below 7% by September with no effort.

Razz said:

Sounds very exciting slizz. Looking forward to seeing what it is that you and Dillon are putting together. Was your bf 7%? That's pretty fucking good!

Oh and it's not a calcium supplement but a glucaric acid supplement

That's true, but I figured I'd be vague about the supplement lol!

Yes, you will benefit A LOT from what Dillon and I are doing. How is your training going?

slizzardman said:

I have no idea, I forgot to ask Jeff what it was. I'm guessing 9-10%, no lower than that. I'm definitely 9% now, I'm noticeably leaner than I was. At this rate I'll be below 7% by September with no effort.

Nice! That's awesome man.

slizzardman said:

That's true, but I figured I'd be vague about the supplement lol!

Ah okay, I see. Sorry for ruining that

slizzardman said:

Yes, you will benefit A LOT from what Dillon and I are doing. How is your training going?

Can't wait to hear about it. My training is good, trying to fix structural balance and body comp mostly at the moment, but getting stronger slow and steady too. Also getting much better at the technical aspect of gymnastics. Air sense and body awareness is really improving a lot

slizzardman said:

Jeff did biosig measurements for everyone at the May seminar! It was pretty fast. He emailed us our results individually along with recommendations based on the results.

I make milk kefir! Yum I don't really worry about what % milk to use, I just use the good stuff. This current batch is 2% but I am usually making it with whole milk. If I were making it for more general consumption along with regular post workout use I would make it with 1% to avoid digestive slowdowns. I take a magic bullet cup and fill it half full with various berries, either frozen or thawed depending on what I have available, and then fill it nearly to the top with kefir. Even the super strong home variety of kefir tastes like delicious fruity goodness this way, and it's good for you!

Man! My mouth was watering while reading that!

Updates: I feel like the Biosig recommendations are working.

Starting this week I will be doing 4-5 cardio sessions per week, focusing on moderate and higher intensity intervals just to see what the effect is. I like the time efficiency of 5 to 20 minute sessions. I am down around 10% flat from 10.9 as measured in May, with no real changes except supplementation recommended by Jeff. I am now riding around in the 203-205 range, having measured as low as 199.8 last week.

My training, as I have mentioned elsewhere, has been centered mainly around external rotators and scapular function. My external rotators are starting to bulge, it's frikin awesome to look at! More importantly, there is a lot of strength building up despite not really doing much of any heavy work since about 2 weeks before the seminar.

I am fairly close to an XR HSPU with feet inside the straps, which is a huge achievement for me. I am taking it easy with any anterior shoulder stuff, making sure to focus on rehab and stabilizers with very little prime mover work. This approach is making my right shoulder start to function correctly for the first time in years.

I have been doing Dillon's shoulder blade movement routine along with my infinite variations of freemotion cable crossover work and the results are awesome. I am very happy. I am actually using the freemotion for Dillon's routine as well, so I can highly recommend this kind of work to anyone who has access to such a machine. For rehab and prehab they are just awesome.

Some days I am seriously spending like 30-40 minutes straight on it. Others just 5.

I have nearly completed my basement muscle lab, with excellent results. I have eyebolts and bands that comprise a functional homemade cable machine which ROCKS!!! I will be mounting a second set of rings soon, and possibly a third. You can't have too many rings. I will have hooks on the far wall to rack the rings on so that when it's time for Olympic lifts I can get crunk without them in the way!!!

That's right! I just purchased a 182Kg pendlay elite set with a nice bar! I'm very excited. It was an investment that soaked up about a third of my school refund, but I can't think of a better way to spend 1300 bucks. These are competition plates and a comparable bar, and the plates are dead blow. They basically stick to the ground with virtually no bounce when you drop them! I am feeling good enough to start working on power cleans and I am already starting with form work using my empty bar. It feels really good. REALLY good.

I am regaining a bounciness that I thought I had lost. For those interested, the basic formula is this: Start with very light straight leg bouncing for 20-30 reps, 3-4 days a week for 1 month. Believe it or not, just that will make you feel much much better. You have to take this kind of thing slowly because your connective tissue will be the limiting factor and it takes 12 weeks to adapt to a specific load. After this first 4 weeks I started adding in a little 1 leg bouncing, which now feels very good. I will not be adding any more intensity or much volume until mid August at the earliest, but I am jumping higher and able to run faster with less perceived effort.

In addition to that, I have purchased a wobble board, two dyna disks, one dyna disk plus (huge), and a nice Indo board with rubberized bottom and wheel. Between all this and my slackline I have everything a crazy workout lover could ask for in terms of lower body stabilization work. I just randomly bust this out, I stand on the dyna discs when playing games or watching TV and alternate with the wobble board (watching only, this is harder for me). My indo board is not here yet but it will get plenty of play time too. SO far over the past week, which is how long I've had this stuff, I have noticed that a lot of the lower leg muscles around my ankle are feeling worked in a way they never have before. Same goes for my feet, since I do everything barefoot. I believe there is a distinct advantage to this, based on what I am feeling.

Starting when I wake up I'll also be doing the whey sipping through the end of the month, to the possible chagrin of my nearby classmates. That's a fart reference for those who missed it, though it honestly isn't anything that really happens to me anymore. My digestive system is so different from a few months ago...

My goal is to roll into September Seminar weighing around 210 at 8% or so. A reasonable goal. I want the majority of the muscle gain to be in my upper body.

As a side note, I have also purchased a complete kit of Gua Sha tools to compliment my functional and cool-looking yet limited homemade tool, as well as two books on theory and clinical application and contra-indications. I suppose this is my toes dipping into the swirling waters of the Eastern side of manual therapy. I am very, very happy about this. I have a folding table on the way that is suitable for Osteopathic treatments (and so chiropractic as well) in addition to massage, so as I pick up certifications I will be able to start scraping together an income from all these skills. In 5-10 years I should be a pretty skilled hands-on healer and in 20 I should know enough to really write some excellent material for the average consumer as well as the professional industry.

That's a nice shopping spree. And three pairs of rings… hahahahahaha With five pairs you could do your weekly workouts using different ring sets every single day from Monday to Friday. But you're right, they cannot be too many, I don't see why having hundreds of dressing articles in the wardrobe is fine, but three pairs of rings in the basement isn't.

Yeah!

Your work with straight leg bouncing sounds intriguing, as do the ankle improvements by working on those unstable surfaces. I'll try to add a considerable amount of this in the next 10+ months to help me get ready for college tennis. Seems like that would be a great benefit. I'll make a note of all this in my "to do once you are very strong in the basics and following a very consistent schedule" list.