You Better, You Better, You Bet.

[DanCR]

Black Husky Brewing.

My kind of place. Glad you had a fun time!

[lehman906]

Black Husky Brewing.

My kind of place. Glad you had a fun time!

It’s pretty great, and a great group of people. They put on a fun contest in August. Hopefully we get walk up music again-I would have to decide between the Avengers theme and Cody Rhodes’ entrance music because I’m a huge dork.

[lehman906]

5/9

Monsters in Monona is cancelled for this year. That sucks. I was pretty bummed when I read that email last night, but I'm trying to look at the positives.

Mostly it's fuck the duck walk. Just fuck that stupid event forever.

Next is that it gives me another two month "off season" to continue building a foundation to peak for the Battle at the Brewery in August. Whatever those events end up being. I am going to continue to focus on my deadlift. I would bet my mortgage that Tim will have at least one deadlift event at the Battle, and I've heard rumor of a Ukrainian Deadlift, which will be cool but weird. Either way, there's no downside to a strong deadlift.

You may notice some pretty additions to my muscle shop (muscles are on back order, but should arrive ANY DAY NOW). I got a dip station and a barbell stand in an online auction. I entered the auction (virgin territory for me) and THEN noticed that the pick up window was from 10-12 on Saturday morning, two hours SW in Illinois. Which is the exact same time as my kids' swim meet 30 min north of me. While I'm single-parenting for the weekend. So that was some interesting logistics to overcome, but it all ended up working out, and now my home gym is even prettier. Except when the cat barfs on my mats. Horrible little gremlin.

I've been working my way up the low incline bench press using Greg Nuckols super simple linear progression: start at a weight you can get for 15 reps, then add a set amount of weight each session until you get down to 6 reps or so, then repeat with a higher weight. Try to make it take as long as possible. I'm actually following that up with direct arm work, which I never stick to for more than 2-3 weeks. And abs! I'm doing ab work and bicep curls....who even am I?

Mr "I'm never squatting again" is, of course, squatting again. Thanks, ADD! I'm doing Zercher squats because they tick so many boxes. Carrying the load in the elbows works the upper back, and forces me to stay vertical, which is easier on my back. Keeping my feet wider will help with stone picks (and duck walk, althoughhhhh), and it also makes me stay very conservative with my numbers. Might even help build some more booty, which is never a disadvantage.

[media] [/media]

[DanCR]

Mr "I'm never squatting again" is, of course, squatting again. Thanks, ADD! I'm doing Zercher squats because they tick so many boxes. Carrying the load in the elbows works the upper back, and forces me to stay vertical, which is easier on my back. Keeping my feet wider will help with stone picks (and duck walk, althoughhhhh), and it also makes me stay very conservative with my numbers. Might even help build some more booty, which is never a disadvantage.

I've started in on Zerchers so many times and never last more than like two weeks, largely because "normal" squats are a very good movement for me personally and it's just too easy to go back to them. I love so much about Zerchers. Rooting for you to stick with them and see what gainzzz you reap.

[lehman906]

Every single time I've tried to squat consistently, back, front, or SSB, I have eventually tweaked my back. Squats and barbell rows have led to the vast majority of back tweaks I've had. Not deadlifts, not stones, not running with 240 lbs in each hand, not overhead pressing on uneven ground. Squats. So I'm hoping that this might be the one way I can use a barbell and I won't be limited to only belt squats. If I can be as patient as Mike Tuscherer was during his rehab, I should be okay, but I'm not great with being patient.

[DanCR]

Every single time I've tried to squat consistently, back, front, or SSB, I have eventually tweaked my back. Squats and barbell rows have led to the vast majority of back tweaks I've had. Not deadlifts, not stones, not running with 240 lbs in each hand, not overhead pressing on uneven ground. Squats. So I'm hoping that this might be the one way I can use a barbell and I won't be limited to only belt squats. If I can be as patient as Mike Tuscherer was during his rehab, I should be okay, but I'm not great with being patient.

Same. Did it squatting multiple times, never deadlifting. As a result and in an effort to ensure that it never happens again, I rebuilt my squat into a quad dominant movement in which, although of course there is hip hinge, it’s entirely incidental. I break to descend by pulling up the floor (a cue that initially was to pull the thighs up, h/t @SeanHerbison), keeping midfoot pressure, and my hips just go where they need to go. There is zero pushing back into my lower back descending, or pushing up with it ascending. All of that may work well for Zerchers too since you have the more particular incentive to stay upright.