Good workout today.
Warmup then 4KG medball throws, matched record on the HJ mat dive.
On to contrast sled sprints, this time 40kg weight. 5X(1XWT+1XFREE)
countermovement Boxjumps, 45" 3x5 with 1 leg landing. These were too easy.
SLJ 3x3
Did the leg weights yesterday, front full squats with 100kg, 5x3. Nice and light. Feels good.
For the last sled set I used a random girl as weight… I could go faster but I was scared she would fall off and sue… LOL
Here’s some color =)
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https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/385360_208188285923736_219176503_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/923259_461271583948737_434320050_n.jpg
Had almost no time to update recently ! Been busy with the national team. Somehow I found myself playing american football all day. Damn, that was unexpected.
It’s stable now 
I won’t be going to the nearest tournament in Germany because I just walked on there and he said I might not play. Need to prove myself… hehe.
Stefanie on a dirt bike…
Nice images Steph, yopu have too much spare time 
love that last one, steph…
Thank you !
Silencer? Where you have been??
My training life has been quite an adventure lately, training with one of the national coaches in sprints and hurdles, and just recovered my second hammie pull (these problems are obviously coming from my back).
Since running is a mess (as always, and staying true to its analogical status to life), I thought I’d put some emotional order with this piece, which I finished today (it’s partly copied from a picture I’ve seen somewhere, sometime… )
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/970160_469053703170525_802815601_n.jpg
Right here Past week was a mess… 4 massage sessions to fix facet joint syndrome… It happens every year and when it strikes I can barely get out of bed.
Came back to training yesterday with some frontsquats, light (80kg) GM’s and Hipthrusts.
Today was quite a nice return track workout.
4X30M, on spikes, 3 pt start. Best of 3.69 HT, first reaction. These felt very, very fast and the angles I was able to feel were new to me. Low all the way !
Then ran a couple of 40 yarders, 2x 4.40 - these didn’t feel as good at all 
I haven’t run upright in like 3 years hehe
Then onto a 40" paused box jump (from a box squat, pause 3 sec, to box jump) 5x3. Had too much to spare on these but couldn’t find another platform. 50" Next week… I’ll make one from wood and track surface that I have.
The 30’s were blazing for me and I didn’t want to overdo anything on my first track work after the unloading. So I left.
Some joint mobilizations as well as the massage should help with any future facet joint issues. Ask your therapist for some exercises designed to keep the joints moving. That may help prevent the issue from recurring. Or they may be able to teach someone how to do the joint mobs.
Hmmm mine doesn’t do the mobs, perhaps I should see a Chiro after every 3 week block ? Thanks Climbon ! I like the idea of this not happening again…
Crap, 2 sessions and the lumbar facet lock is back… I can’t move again and getting my back into flexion while sitting down is the only thing that feels good.
Master Climbon, any tips that I can do myself to try and open it up ? It’s right at the top of the pelvis, on the right.
I can’t rest more than the 2 weeks I took off already. 2 dunk contests and europeans coming up !
This is very difficult since I cannot see you and see/feel exactly what is going on. I will suggest 2 gentle exercises that should get the joints in your lower back moving some. The caveat is that if any thing hurts stop immediately.
The exercises are lower trunk rotation and lion exercise. You can find videos of both on youtube (I just searched). I would start with a very short ROM for the lower trunk rotation and gradually increase it as tolerated. Search for mulligan lion exercise on youtube and the first clip should explain it pretty well. There is also a video of self SNAGs a little lower on that same search page. You can watch it and see if you feel comfortable doing it yourself. The trick with SNAGs is that if you are doing it right, it won’t hurt. If it hurts, stop because you are doing it incorrectly or you are on the wrong vertebra.
Those exercises will help get the joints to move some and they should not create a big problem if there is disc involvement or any other disorder. I don’t want to assume it is facet joint and create an even bigger problem if that diagnosis is incorrect.
Can you get a picture of where it is hurting? I would recommend doing that and answering the next few questions before doing the above. That way, I have a little more information and can be more assured that the exercises will help or at least not harm you. What type of pain do you have? What are aggravating factors? Any other alleviating factors (meds, ice, etc.)? What is a typical 24 hour pain pattern? How did it start this most recent time and the first injury? If you choose to do the exercises any way, hopefully they will work.
Thanks for your quick reply !
Well lets see. Take the lowest point of the spine, 1cm to the right of the disc.
It’s right on the underwear line to the right.
The type of pain is a restrictive type. Not neural or electrical, but a mechanical restriction. I can “take it” and continue to pull it, as there is no protective spasm. But def feels like a locked joint of some sort.
This feeling makes me want to instinctively want to crack my back using a rapid twist motion coupled with hip swing to the opposite way… It’s what I do when it upsets me before training
What makes it worse… standing up, and hyper extending back and to the right or left. Also loaded hip flexion as in sprint starts, but only the next day and any forward back position (deadlift or GM).
Frontsquats, even maximal ones, are clean of pain.
Unloaded GM is also Ok most of the time afyer warmup.
What makes it better - DEEP active massage to glue/hip/back. NSAIDs.
It is worse in the morning, after 5-6 hours it will give a couple more mm’ allowing me to lift and sprint some.
the first injury to the area was in 2010. Same time of year, eventually cured.
how this one started … Increasingly tighter and tighter back in the mornings when cold… Did not unload training volume for over 10 weeks… (Too any new people and coaches who wanted to see performance on every single session.
Thats also why last friday after I finally rested some, I hit a PB on my 30.
Also we used to deadlift outdoors in 10 degrees C a lot… Not all sessions were easy on the cold back so it would often lock up for a couple days.
Let me search these movements, let me know what you think !
You did a good job with the descriptions. Based on what you said I would perform a full screen of your spine (at least lumbar and thoracic) as well as a full lower quarter screen. This would look at movement quality and quantity as well as a general measure of strength. I would also perform joint assessments of your spine and any other areas that seem to warrant it during the evaluation. Your painful movements do suggest some involvement of a facet joint and/or SI joint due to the location. The movements should help some, but most likely you will need more specific work. I do think joint mobilizations would be good for you. However, you need to have someone who has been trained in manual therapy to perform them.
When you are walking do you feel like you are stepping in a hole sometimes? If so, with which leg? Does it hurt when you go from sitting to standing up?
Hmmm I can’t think of any good therapists where I live, they are all " stretch and use the bosu" ball for everything type people. I’ll have to look for a professional who can properly do troubleshooting.
Specific work as in fix what made the facets/SI lock and work on that ?
What are some common causes with lifters and sprinters for that fault ? Perhaps I can identify and approve some.
DOING the movements right after I hit Post Will see how they go !
Oh and when walking in the morning i can feel the tightness but doesn’t really affect my function as long as im upright and neutral.
Getting up with squat form is fine, but i cant be sloppy and pain free anymore. I pick up stuff from the floor like I’m about to deadlift a ton other wise Ouch.
Update:
Man ! Been doing the Lions and those chest raises using arms for 15 minutes… About half the pain eliminated instantly !!! These were spot on… Thanks !
I actually feel comfortable now, perhaps a few more times doing it it will open it up completely… Need to find that cause though
I am glad the exercises and I am assuming SNAGs have helped. By specific work, I was referring to joint mobs of the affected area. These could be central or unilateral depending on how you present. This along with the rest of the evaluation should shed some light on what is causing the problem. Your description of increased pain with extension and sidebending suggests involvement of the facets because of the movement that is occurring. The joints are being “closed” so to speak.
The problem is you are not moving the way your body was meant to. The hard part is figuring out what the problem is. Is it joint? Muscle? Both? Which one came first? etc. That is impossible to do over the internet. Here is one thing about joints. There is physiological movement and accessory movement. Physiological movement is bending, twisting, etc. Accessory movement is the small motion that is occurring at the joint like sliding, rolling, etc. Active and passive movement can help restore physiological movement. Joint mobs can help restore accessory movement.
Have you tried the lower trunk rotations yet?
Aha, I see…
Yes, I have done the rotations with the rest of the stuff again as warmup before tempo and it went smooth… Right now I hardly feel any restriction, I must say… And yesterday morning I was about to shoot my spine with a shotgun and end it. Pretty cool movements.
Well for starters I can go back to the 3:1 cycles, allowing proper recovery between blocks.
I can NOT deadlift in the cold … Or stop deadlifting maximally at all for that matter… 6 REPS MIN in RDL form. I’ll keep the cleans heavy.
I can add your recommended movements to warmups.
I guess these will hold me for now until I find some local professional help and get everything in tune no ?
Question for you about dunking: my current touch height is about 10’9 from a 1-foot takeoff. Yesterday I had about 15 missed dunks (off the back of the rim or backboard) and 1 semi-dunk (not very powerful by any means). I can barely palm a ball when I’m not running, so when I go up to dunk, I tend to lose control of the ball and can’t dunk it. Any tips? Does the direction I approach matter? Does distance from the rim matter? I was running across the course (parallel to the baseline) and trying to jam it down as I floated past.
that’s a nice reach ! do you have any videos ? how do you jump, off 1 or 2 legs ?
More vert is the easy solution… But I think if you’re going off 1 leg and your dunk hand is under the ball it will always slip away.
Try to go up forcefully with the palm on the side/top of the ball like Lebron James. That way all you need to do is thrust it down. That’s what I do… And you don’t have to palm it to do that.
No videos of the dunk attempts. When trying to dunk I jump off my left and drive the ball up from underneath, and it almost always slips away as you say.
When you say go up forcefully, is the ball still just being held by the dunking hand?
I’m pretty close to the same vert off 2 feet but I use my arms so much to swing through on a 2 foot attempt I think I’d lose a couple inches if I was holding onto the ball while jumping off 2.
I’m leaving tomorrow to a highschool meet. If my legs are feeling good I’ll try again next week with video.
