Seizing Up

COZ there needs to be one: a record of the good and bad and in- between. If for no other reason than there's a tonne of really important lifting going on literally as I write this, so I need to get my log up to date and out of the way.

Events last weekend went alright, but my training over the week that followed has been a series of failures. My body is slowly rebelling on me. The first things to seize up were my forearms, Monday night; the left one more so than the right, but both made it pretty much impossible to keep pressing after the two slow, agonising strict reps of 120 I managed with the axle. After that my grip strength was shot and just bending my wrists was painful.

Granted, I have been doing well in the press lately and so I was a little eager to press again just two days after working it pretty hard during events training, but the sudden and temporarily debilitating nature of this issue was totally unexpected and not something I've dealt with before. My shoulders and elbows have their occasional complaints, but not my forearms. Not until now at least.

Regardless, repping 120 kilos, strict, overhead is still a legit, all-time new personal record for me, meager though it is for a heavyweight veteran of going on seven years. On a better day I am very confident of a triple and, next press cycle, a single of 125.

Then, on Wednesday, I decided I would squat. Inspired by a training video of Kong's I'd been watching the day before and with my previously compromised right hip feeling 100% again, I thought it a good day for a test drive. Plus I hadn't squatted in a long while... too long.

Starting out, everything felt strong. Everything continued to feel strong right up until the third rep of 210, when something went twang in (what Kieran later reminded me is called) my left VMO. If it weren't for this, I had been feeling like I should try for another personal record for repetitions at that weight.

The reason for the VMO strain became apparent to me during my discussions with the crew at clinic today. It has been a long time since I have had my vastus lateralis dry-needled. Now they are tight and not working the way they should, which is placing additional stress on the other muscles in my legs. As if to drive the lesson home - a lesson I continue to not learn - later that session my adductors both seized up after a couple of reasonably heavy farmers walks. That was literally all it took to incapacitate me once more.

Since I was no longer flying over to compete in Pro Raw, I cancelled my physio appointment scheduled for the beginning of this week. I figured I'd get away with it for another week or two. I am dearly regretting this decision now. This impediment to my comp prep has been mostly of my own making.

EVENTS Saturday March 10th
Yoke walk:
130 kg x 2 x 20 m
210 kg x 2 x 20 m
290 kg x 20 m
330 kg x 20 m - no belt
330 kg x 20 m - with belt
Monster DB clean-press (strict):
30 kg x 5
40 kg x 5
50 kg x 1
60 kg x 0
Farmers walk (p/h):
70 kg x 2 x 20 m
100 kg x 2 x 20 m
125 kg x 20 m

PRESS Monday March 12th
Axle OHP (strict):
40 kg x 10
75 kg x 5
105 kg x 3
120 kg x 2 PR

SQUAT Wednesday March 14th
w/Cambered bar:
50 kg x 10
90 kg x 5
130 kg x 5
170 kg x 3
210 kg x 3

EVENTS Saturday March 17th
Farmers walk (p/h):
50 kg x 2 x 20 m
70 kg x 2 x 20 m
90 kg x 2 x 20 m
120 kg x 2 x 20 m