MarkKO's training log

[MarkKO]

How do you condition your hands to hook? I find the pain is a distraction which is the main problem.

I cant help with the sumo issues, but I pull hook grip with conventional. I think the best thing to do is make tiny adjustments in how you are setting up your grip. If you are gripping in a way that all the pressure is going into the pad of your thumb, then that will hurt like hell. I put all the pressure from my fingers along the edge of my thumb, from the corner of the knuckle to the edge of my thumbnail.

Thanks. Good to know. That's pretty much how I set up now.

[MarkKO]

Only time it really bothers me now is when I trim/bite my nails too short. Then I get bloody thumbs during the next pull session.

I make sure to only grip my thumb with the index and middle fingers. The ring fingers doesn't engage in the gripping of the thumb, otherwise you can get a bloody nail bed.

Ok, got you. Thanks. I hook grip as you advise by default.

As long as I have hope that it becomes *less* painful, I'm happy. Right now the main problem I have is that I have to concentrate quite a lot on ignoring the frantic signals my brain is trying to send me.

It may sound very odd, but I have found that aspect of hook grip easier to manage since I put my finger in the saw. My very simplistic explanation of this is that the smarter part of my brain is well aware of what it feels like to smash a finger open so while my thumb might be panicking and screaming that it is going to explode, most of my brain knows this is a lie.

[MarkKO]

How do you condition your hands to hook? I find the pain is a distraction which is the main problem.

It becomes less painful with time, but it is never comfortable.

This was my experience as well. Hurt like hell the first few times, but I gradually became accustomed.

Only time it really bothers me now is when I trim/bite my nails too short. Then I get bloody thumbs during the next pull session.

Good to know I'm not alone. Thanks.

[houzi]

Only time it really bothers me now is when I trim/bite my nails too short. Then I get bloody thumbs during the next pull session.

I make sure to only grip my thumb with the index and middle fingers. The ring fingers doesn't engage in the gripping of the thumb, otherwise you can get a bloody nail bed.

Huh. I never thought to try that.

When I was learning hook grip, I made a huge effort of trying to cover the thumb with as many fingers as possible, and never gave the habit much thought thereafter.

I may need to try your method next week.

Im the same as John, I only use my index and middle finger. Ring finger and little finger are just along for the ride, theyre probably not doing much though they are actively gripping the bar. I remember trying to use all my fingers on my thumbs when i first started, it felt like my thumbs were going to pop off haha.

[MarkKO]

Spent the day delivering joinery. Specifically, three bedrooms worth of wardrobes to the upper floor in a house that is already painted so marking the walls would have been a significant problem. So between loading the trucks, unloading the trucks and actually carting the robes around my grip and abs got their work today.

Friday floor press with football bar
5x209 lbs
4x10x165 lbs which I realised was a misload because it should have been 154 lbs. Except I got 4x10 compared to last week's 2x10, 8, 9. So obviously this higher load is an appropriate one and next week all sets go up by five pounds.
10, 5 pullups



That's all because I got a call from my wife relaying a rather concerned call from my stepson's teacher relating to an incredibly ill-advised joke he made to her at the end of a bad day he was having. So I headed off to pick him up and find out if he is OK, which he is; and now also looking at some school counsellor/therapist time because joking avoid looking up how to commit suicide causes all sort of panic. He seems to be absolutely fine, assures me he is and says he did not realise the trouble that joke could cause. He's a highly intelligent boy but entering into his teenage years with the accompanying streak of rebellion.

[MarkKO]

Went for the usual weighted vest walk. Expected a slower time and higher heart rate and while it wasn't fast it wasn't particularly slow with my heart rate quite low, especially the max. So I was wrong

I've had a mild cold since Thursday which is why I expected the slower time and higher heart rate.

I'm still getting a feel for this, and still have no idea what the actual impact of the walks are.

[MarkKO]

Another weighted vest walk. Faster today, although not because I deliberately went faster. That was just the pace that felt natural. Higher average and max HR, which you would expect.

This is the start of week seven of the diet, with another eight to go. Not quite the same drop between week five and six average weights, but I'm putting that down to the mild cold I got mid week six. Carbon hasn't made any changes yet so I'll just keep plugging away. I'm not suffering at all, but I'll be glad when the eight weeks are up.

[MarkKO]

It's week two of block two. Left trap is almost back to normal; left quad still has a degree of tendinitis but it continues to improve.

Monday bow bar squat
4x2x385 lbs
12x385 lbs, and on watching the video calling it at 12 was the right decision. Not the prettiest set I've done but it isn't terrible.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
20, 15, 10 GHR
3x25x220 lbs reverse hyper

Started late and ran out of time so called it there.

[Hardartery]

It's week two of block two. Left trap is almost back to normal; left quad still has a degree of tendinitis but it continues to improve.

Monday bow bar squat
4x2x385 lbs
12x385 lbs, and on watching the video calling it at 12 was the right decision. Not the prettiest set I've done but it isn't terrible.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
20, 15, 10 GHR
3x25x220 lbs reverse hyper

Started late and ran out of time so called it there.

You had a lot of forward and back hip oscillation on that last set, especially the first reps. Is the bar swinging or are you offloading weight to the quads to get through the sticking point just above parallel?

[MarkKO]

It's week two of block two. Left trap is almost back to normal; left quad still has a degree of tendinitis but it continues to improve.

Monday bow bar squat
4x2x385 lbs
12x385 lbs, and on watching the video calling it at 12 was the right decision. Not the prettiest set I've done but it isn't terrible.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
20, 15, 10 GHR
3x25x220 lbs reverse hyper

Started late and ran out of time so called it there.

You had a lot of forward and back hip oscillation on that last set, especially the first reps. Is the bar swinging or are you offloading weight to the quads to get through the sticking point just above parallel?

Ok, so I missed that. Thanks for picking up on it.

It could be the bar swinging but I think mostly it's that the quad tendinitis has been messing with my groove. I've been deliberately sitting back more because it hurts less, but the pain is only really in the hole and just at parallel. Normally my knees track forward a bit more at the bottom and I just sit down, so it could be that as well I think. I definitely forget the pain or it goes away after the first rep or two, so that could be why it was more pronounced in the first few reps.

So in answer to your question, probably yes I'm shifting the load to my quads to get through the sticking point because that's what gets me through it except I've never thought about it. If anything I just focus on not pitching forward.

Hopefully the quad clears up within the next few weeks I can get back to just squatting again without having to make slight changes to make it not hurt.

I went and had a look at my squats from just before the quad issue flared up. Definitely no noticeable front to back in the hips and my knees at the bottom were way more forward than yesterday.

Thanks again for picking that up, goodness knows how long it would have taken me to notice if ever I did. I'll fix it from next week.

[Hardartery]

It's week two of block two. Left trap is almost back to normal; left quad still has a degree of tendinitis but it continues to improve.

Monday bow bar squat
4x2x385 lbs
12x385 lbs, and on watching the video calling it at 12 was the right decision. Not the prettiest set I've done but it isn't terrible.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
20, 15, 10 GHR
3x25x220 lbs reverse hyper

Started late and ran out of time so called it there.

You had a lot of forward and back hip oscillation on that last set, especially the first reps. Is the bar swinging or are you offloading weight to the quads to get through the sticking point just above parallel?

Ok, so I missed that. Thanks for picking up on it.

It could be the bar swinging but I think mostly it's that the quad tendinitis has been messing with my groove. I've been deliberately sitting back more because it hurts less, but the pain is only really in the hole and just at parallel. Normally my knees track forward a bit more at the bottom and I just sit down, so it could be that as well I think. I definitely forget the pain or it goes away after the first rep or two, so that could be why it was more pronounced in the first few reps.

So in answer to your question, probably yes I'm shifting the load to my quads to get through the sticking point because that's what gets me through it except I've never thought about it. If anything I just focus on not pitching forward.

Hopefully the quad clears up within the next few weeks I can get back to just squatting again without having to make slight changes to make it not hurt.

I went and had a look at my squats from just before the quad issue flared up. Definitely no noticeable front to back in the hips and my knees at the bottom were way more forward than yesterday.

Thanks again for picking that up, goodness knows how long it would have taken me to notice if ever I did. I'll fix it from next week.

I have noticed I get what I describe as quad tendonitis off and on, and it seems on my case to be adductor driven. They get really tight for some reason. I stretch them and the tendonitis disappears like magic - and I mean instantly.

[MarkKO]

It's week two of block two. Left trap is almost back to normal; left quad still has a degree of tendinitis but it continues to improve.

Monday bow bar squat
4x2x385 lbs
12x385 lbs, and on watching the video calling it at 12 was the right decision. Not the prettiest set I've done but it isn't terrible.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
20, 15, 10 GHR
3x25x220 lbs reverse hyper

Started late and ran out of time so called it there.

You had a lot of forward and back hip oscillation on that last set, especially the first reps. Is the bar swinging or are you offloading weight to the quads to get through the sticking point just above parallel?

Ok, so I missed that. Thanks for picking up on it.

It could be the bar swinging but I think mostly it's that the quad tendinitis has been messing with my groove. I've been deliberately sitting back more because it hurts less, but the pain is only really in the hole and just at parallel. Normally my knees track forward a bit more at the bottom and I just sit down, so it could be that as well I think. I definitely forget the pain or it goes away after the first rep or two, so that could be why it was more pronounced in the first few reps.

So in answer to your question, probably yes I'm shifting the load to my quads to get through the sticking point because that's what gets me through it except I've never thought about it. If anything I just focus on not pitching forward.

Hopefully the quad clears up within the next few weeks I can get back to just squatting again without having to make slight changes to make it not hurt.

I went and had a look at my squats from just before the quad issue flared up. Definitely no noticeable front to back in the hips and my knees at the bottom were way more forward than yesterday.

Thanks again for picking that up, goodness knows how long it would have taken me to notice if ever I did. I'll fix it from next week.

I have noticed I get what I describe as quad tendonitis off and on, and it seems on my case to be adductor driven. They get really tight for some reason. I stretch them and the tendonitis disappears like magic - and I mean instantly.

I wish I could stretch this crap away.

This seems to be pretty textbook quad tendinitis, pain right around the inner teardrop that is worst when knee flexion increases. It's at the point now where it pretty much doesn't hurt unless I flex my knee, and even then it's tolerable. It never felt tight at any point though.

[MarkKO]

Tuesday bench
4x2x231 lbs
11x231 lbs, so no increase but by my standards that's still a reasonably solid effort. I REALLY need to raise my standards. My best 11 is 236 lbs, for the record. I won't get to find out how close to that, or how far beyond it for that matter, I can go until I hit 231 lbs for 15.
11, 2x7 pullups
2x15x66 lbs decline DB bench because caution prevailed and I decided to ditch the pushups on the cambered multigrip bar for a little. My shoulder is almost fine, but today was noticeably less almost fine than before squatting yesterday. I figured minimising how much it gets stretched under load is probably wise.
2x15/side x 132 lbs DB rows, second set with straps.
20x120 lbs, 20x110 lbs, 20x100 lbs, 30x88 lbs tricep pushdowns using the assisted dip machine
2x60 facepulls

[MarkKO]

Thursday sumo DL on stiff bar
5x452 lbs, so I get to add 2.5 per cent next time. For some weird reason hook seemed to get less painful as the set progressed. Still taking me a way longer time to reset between reps. It's almost at the point that I'm doing cluster singles FFS. I guess maybe that's just sumo, especially when you're learning it.
5x5x330 lbs in eight minutes and 58 seconds which honestly is a reflection of that whole reset between reps BS, and also having to get straps on after set three when my left thumb decided to part ways with its callous. I'm going to need to push the pace between sets to counteract this until my setup is less prolonged.
40 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres.
2x25 back raises
4x8x198 lbs close grip lat pulldown
2x25, 40 facepulls



For all my whining about how long it takes me to set up for each rep I'm far from upset with how sumo is going so far. I had probably another three or so reps in that top five, if not maybe even four. It feels pretty good throughout the lift in that I don't feel like I'm getting pulled out of position at any point, although that is probably just a function of the lower weights I'm using right now.

[MarkKO]

Friday floor press with football bar
5x215 lbs
3x10, 9x171 lbs and on the last set it turns out nine was zero RIR because I failed right at the bottom when I went for 10. Luckily someone was there or I would have had some difficulty getting out.
8, 10, 6 pullups
2x15x66 lbs decline DB bench
3x10/side x 132 lbs DB rows, used straps for all sets because of the torn callous and also my grip is just shot right now
3x40 facepulls

So I absolutely felt the difference of training on one instead of three meals and with six hours less time between sessions. Good session though.

[MarkKO]

Went for the usual weighted vest walk. Pace ended up faster than last week for some reason.

[MarkKO]

It's Sunday, so went for the usual second weighted vest walk of the weekend. Also as usual, went at what whatever pace felt natural in the moment. I realised that's what I've been doing this whole time and really whatever pace feels natural is the fastest I can go without feeling like I'm having to make undue effort to maintain that pace ie at no point am I out of breath.

Turns out that meant I booked it today and came in at 36 seconds faster than my previous best time, with an average heart rate 21 beats per minute lower. For all that I have no idea what the walks are doing for my overall performance and condition, my cardiovascular capacity is a bunch better.

The walk itself was 3.11 kilometres in 27 minutes and 35 seconds.

I also had somewhat of an epiphany relating to the diet. I'll call it done when this block ends in three weeks. The why is because if I keep pushing the diet beyond that point it'll be more about appearance and performance will absolutely suffer. I can already see that I'm not carrying enough muscle to warrant dropping all the way to 198 lbs. My waistline has tightened up significantly already and three more weeks will further increase that. Any more and I'll probably start feeling my squatting become impacted, which I don't want.

That also will give me a full 15 weeks of training before peak starts for the meet in September which I very, very much want to do. Every time I look at the record board at Ultra I see my name and the total and honestly, it bothers me because I know I'm capable of more. In 15 weeks, I'll have enough time to stop losing weight and settle into comfortable maintenance while building some good momentum in training.

I'm well aware there's no guarantee that I'll be able to put together a perfect meet but I'm absolutely able to give myself the best possible shot at doing so in this scenario. Training is already feeling pretty good, so taking calories to maintenance will only bolster that.

[MarkKO]

Week three of block two starts today, and it's a public holiday so I ended up squatting not long after breakfast. Not something I'm a huge fan of, but no great problem.

Monday bow bar squat
5x435 lbs which moved better than it felt. I get to add another 2.5 per cent and I would say I had two to three reps in the tank.
5x5x319 lbs in eight minutes and 30 seconds which was slower than I expected but bar speed was acceptable. Another 2.5 per cent here as well.
60 m x 308 lbs backwards sled drags with the usual only rest being turning the sled around every 10 metres. I'll increase the weight by 44 lbs from here because while I'm still not really feeling it much in my quads it's too easy.
2x15, 10 GHR and I found that if I fully extend myself at the bottom they are harder which is awesome. That was thanks to a Dave Tate video that came across my IG recently.
4x20x220 lbs reverse hyper
3x10x198 lbs close grip lat pulldown
3x25 facepulls



Left knee felt the best it has squatting in a long time, which is a massive win. I think the squats looked better too.

[MarkKO]

I'm very confused because it's Tuesday. Long weekends always have this effect on me. I also felt pretty cooked after yesterday's squats. My lats especially, I'm guessing it has to have been the pulldowns. They felt way more controlled than previously which is obviously a good thing.

Tuesday bench
5x259 lbs with another two or three in the tank. Very pleasant surprise there, I wasn't expecting this to feel easier than the set of five with 253 lbs a fortnight ago.
5x5x193 lbs in four minutes and 48 seconds.
10, 8, 7 pullups
2x15x66 lbs decline DB bench
25/side x 132 lbs DB row, no straps and I have zero idea how I got that because my grip was fried earlier at work. Not complaining in the slightest, just confused.
3x15x120 lbs, 25x100 lbs tricep pushdowns using the assisted dip machine, stack weights and not actual shown as usual
3x40 facepulls



I really, really didn't expect it to go like this today. I expected a fight for every rep on everything. Go figure.

[MarkKO]

Today was a good day. Saw my GP yesterday, had to wait around a month to get a time but worthwhile. I wanted to see if he agreed that I need to go back on antidepressants and he did. Might be a placebo effect but today was day one and it's the first day in months I haven't had to relive traumatic moments in my past whenever I stop concentrating on something in between panicking about anything that doesn't go exactly according to plan. Plus having to constantly control my anger, which was exhausting. Holy fuck but it's a relief.

Thursday sumo DL on stiff bar
4x2, 1x5x413 lbs hook first set only because my left thumb hasn't quite healed up yet. Straps went on for the remainder but even then I was only good for five. I spent a couple of hours half stooped/half hinged at work planing infills today so I wasn't exactly laying the groundwork for a good deadlift session to start with.
40 m x 352 lbs backwards sled drags with the usual only rest being turning the sled around every 10 metres. The added weight did get my quads going some.
2x25 back raises
3x10x198 lbs close grip lat pulldown
3x25 facepulls