Hi Bob I find for zerchers, the closer I can keep my forearms together before I unrack them, the less it hurts and the more easier it is to keep upright. Also I find that if I really try to stick my gut under the bar and lean back a bit before I unrack really helps start me off in a good spot.
TRON is right on the Zerchers. Also, get a nice, wide stance -- it will help you stay more upright.
TRON wrote:
Hi Bob I find for zerchers, the closer I can keep my forearms together before I unrack them, the less it hurts and the more easier it is to keep upright. Also I find that if I really try to stick my gut under the bar and lean back a bit before I unrack really helps start me off in a good spot.
Thanks.
Yeah, I'm beginning to figure some of that out - but this will definitely give me a jump-start on the process.
The video I shot isn't that great, it's from the side, and doesn't show much in terms of stance / setup. But it does show a great failure!
Started off with the sled @180lbs; made some trips up & down, HR up to ~150. Added 45lb, got HR up to ~158. Everything felt pretty loose at this point.
Cardio: 149-166, 5% inc in recovery time
Hill Sprint 1: 50sec
Hill Sprint 2: 50sec
Hill Sprint 3: 50sec
Hill Sprint 4: 53sec, done thankfully
Neglected Muscles
DB Rows, 2x10x100lb
PreHab
Landmines, 2x10
Ab wheel, 2x10
Side Lying External Rotation, 3x10
Total Training Time: 37min AveHR138, MaxHR167
Stretching
Hammies
Adductors
Quads
Hip Flexors
Hip Rotators
Calves - big stretches here
Spinal Traction
Slow paced, 35min walk with the puppies.
Pretty damn hot and humid; 85-90 degrees, 80%RH, and I was dying after cardio and db rows. Slow walk with the dogs helped, still need to hit the thumper.
This went well, all things considered; every rep was solid, to depth, and no hip shooting. Second working set, rep 6, I felt something not quite right in my right groin; felt that same something not quite right even more on rep 7, so I cut the set short.
Side Laterals: 1x12x25,40,45/9
Stone Walk, 32': 1x190,220,250/done
Another good experience. Still getting the hang of these, didn't know if I could make the 250' today, but I did with little problem. I was completely out of gas at that point, the 220 was wet from a drop in teh driveway, so I didn't do a drop set.
Total Training Time: 150 min, approx.
Trained with Don today; had a good session. Axle pressing - like all pressing - continues to be a struggle.
I was happy with SSB squatting. That's the best I've done, I just went through logs to confirm that's a huge PR. My back felt more solid than it's ever been; it actually held up fine and allowed me to stress my legs.
I'm doing 28" Zercher rack lifts in prep for a competition. The first set I fail at rep 3; while you can't see it on the video, I slightly adjust my stance, getting a little narrower, and that keeps me a bit more upright, and on the second attempt, I complete all 3 reps.
Tired. Hip flexors, adductors, and groin tight and sore, especially noticeable during dynamic stretching warmups. Hip rotators a bit so; hammies ok. FInished warmup with bar complex work; power cleans felt pretty good today, bar path still feels new on OHP, no major aches or pains so tried to get down to business.
2" DB Clean & Press: 1x3x50,70,90/fail,85/fail,82/9.5,77/9
A little disappointed that I couldn't hit even 85, but I wasn't about to give up and not add some weight to the bar, so I put on an extra pair of collars, 1lb each - so I did more weight than last week, even if only a couple lbs. As always, not counting the weight of the first set of collars + bar, 3lb.
Again, I think a lot comes down to technique.
Farmers Step-ups: 1x15/legx95/hand
These were humbling, and brought out everything sore in the hip flexors and adductors. Increased the height of the step by a couple inches.
Trap Bar Shrugs: 1x15x135,225,315/8
Stones to 50": 1xnx190;1x5x250/9;1x5x220/8
Moved very quickly on these tonight. My "catching" setup is better: two tires, with a layer of 1/2" mat between them. No stone chasing tonight, able to keep moving.
Total Training Time: 140min
Not a terrible session; not a particularly inspired session. Quite a bit of stress & negativity in my psyche, not sure why - well, about the negativity. The stress is all from that hell I call work. I was hoping to get in more volume on the DB C&P, but it was not meant to be tonight. I'm happy that I at least got more weight up this week; I'm not happy that it was so little, and am concerned that comp weight - 105lb - will be unreachable in time.
I'm also happy with the stone work, it's starting to feel more solid, and I feel like I'm getting better thoracic extension.
One thing that I find helps as well to not hurt my forearms in Zerchers is if I get the bar as much in the elbow crease as possible.
In the video the weight does not look hard at all for you
Yeah, makes sense - and you're right, I'm not struggling with the weight, except for my forearms. I just need to find the right setup, I think. See what happens Thursday.
Warmed up with cutting the grass, then hopped into training:
Neglected Muscles
db rows, 3x10x125lb
standing abs, 2x10x1-/2p
Prehab
External rotation stretching
Side Lying External Rotation, 3x10
Scap Pushups, 3x20
Stretching
Calves, hammies, adductors, subscap, pecs, lats, hip flexors, quads.
GPP: Steady State, 121-153HR
Did double-tasking: the walk with the puppies was GPP; fast-paced around our river loop, about 23 minutes to completion. Wife jogged to keep up with my fast walk. HR estimated around 135-145 ave.
Followed this up with more stretching.
Recovery work
Deep tissue massage w/ Thumper, ~25 minutes (1-2 min/muscle group)
Visualization
Working on technique for Zerchers and 1 arm db pressing.
Warmed up with dynamic stretching (felt a little tight) and bar complex stuff.
Zerchers: 1x5x135,185,225,315;1x405xgroin pull
Finally figured out setup issues, which means another roadblock pops up - that groin that didn't feel "right" during SSB work on Saturday really felt wrong today. As I sit here an hour post-training, icing it down, it definitely hurts.
Crucifix Hold: 1x25secx15,25,30lbs/9,27.5lbs/9
At least my groin didn't get in the way here. I tried going up in weight to 32.5lbs, and just couldn't.
Log Rows: 1x15x120,170
Groin got in the way here; picking /setting down the log was not something I needed to do with more weight.
Laying down on the bench, and putting my feet up, the groin was fine. Any other position, not so much. Which made getting up...interesting.
Total Training Time: don't really know or care
Well.
I'm really hoping this groin thing isn't too serious. I'm also hoping that Doc Zak can work his primeval magic voodoo and fix me right up.
But...it's not feeling good. I think hiking tonight with my puppies is not happening. That's pretty serious; if you know me, you know that I'm committed to getting out with those girls no matter what.
On the plus side: I figured out some setup issues on Zerchers. 405 was light. The rest of the session: crucifix holds just hurt.