I've started working out for the first time in a long time.

I have a question.


When I'm lifting weight and exerting a lot of energy, after I'm done working out, I have a lot of pressure that builds up in my inner ear.

Is this normal?
Will it go away over time?

[Edited on August 8, 2012 at 12:38 AM. Reason : /]

8/8/2012 12:38:09 AM

I had the same thing happen to me when I started working out after a long break. It eventually went away.

8/8/2012 8:09:36 AM

I've experienced something similar, but its temporary (within the work out), when I do heavy squats.

Your body will adapt to the spike in blood/fluid pressure from heavy exertion.

Although, you maybe trying to enhance stability by pressurizing your sinuses, rather than your intrabdominal cavity. I.E. you are bracing with your face/sinuses, not with your abs. Do some research on diaphragmatic breathing and bracing strategies.

###

In other news, I had surgery last Thursday to reconnect my achilles tendon. I've been hobbling around on a single leg since then, moving to a walking boot on Monday. This has been a really big challenge for me and my business. Luckily, I have several employees who were able to pick up my slack.

Can't wait to be bipedal again!

8/8/2012 9:08:35 AM

why do I nearly always get nauseous and a splitting headache when I do heavy cardio or HIIT, regardless of how much I've been working out lately, if I've eaten, and as much as I am hydrated (I always am)? This has been a frustration and worry for years and honestly demotivates me to want to get my heart rate up too much.

8/9/2012 2:36:04 AM

I want to start incorporating more squatting into my leg workouts but I can't figure out the best method. I work out by myself 90% of the time so I am nervous to use the barbell, but I feel like I can't get a good workout on the smith machine. I feel like I lean back on it too much or just can't get the form right to where I feel like I am really getting a good leg workout from it.

The only thing I like so far is doing goblet squats with a kettlebell or a dumbbell, but I am wondering if that is a good alternative to doing barbell squats? My legs always feel smoked after the goblet squats but after using the smith machine it seems like the only thing that is sore are my shoulders.

8/9/2012 3:04:10 AM

I'd recommend a session with a trainer to learn properly and get comfortable. The squat is a great exercise, but def. one you need to use proper form on.

8/9/2012 5:38:05 AM

^^^^Glad to hear you are recovering and things are well. Sounds like a painful injury!

^^^I have this happen to me a lot as well. Not so much the nausea but more often than not after a lot of high intensity exercise I get a very strong headache. I've found no solutions to this and it has discouraged me from doing a lot of physical stuff.

Quote :

"Anybody ever had an issue with shoulder impingement? I haven't been able to bench in almost 2 months. "

Have you considered going to see a physical therapist or chiropractor? I don't know if you already have (or what your insurance is like) but they have helped me a lot in the past.

[Edited on August 9, 2012 at 9:08 AM. Reason : g]

8/9/2012 9:07:09 AM

I finally broke down and got an elliptical for the apartment; it should be delivered tomorrow. I'm looking forward to burning through some cardio while watching football this fall.

8/13/2012 9:24:53 PM

Even though my leg is gimpy (I'm on crutches to til the 31st )... my coaching skills seem to be still intact. We had a big time at my gym last night... Almost everyone hit at least 1 new personal record.

Here's some highlights:

Here is a 14 year old I've been working with for 3 months... He just made 225x1 look like cake weight. I am very excited about this kid... he may be my first pro athlete I've developed.



Here's a 16 year old athlete hitting 190lbs x 1 on the back squat. This was a PR for her. She went on to hit 195lbs on the next set. She will be well above 200 before the end of next month.



[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 9:09 AM. Reason : :]

8/22/2012 9:08:43 AM

What's wrong with this? One of the comments says learn to use your hips. Is this weight too light, is that why she is so explosive on her catch? I'm envisioning this, if the weight was heavier she would activate her hips more rather than coming up almost completely from her feet and catching that bar so explosively.

I thought both forms on these movements were fine. But how can she improve them?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ppcCYK0M4&feature=fvwrel

Again, with her snatch. Same criticism regarding use of hip extension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_cdOa75w_M

[Edited on August 24, 2012 at 5:23 PM. Reason : edit]

[Edited on August 24, 2012 at 5:24 PM. Reason : editX2]

[Edited on August 24, 2012 at 5:30 PM. Reason : editX3]

8/24/2012 5:21:52 PM

The hip comments are right. She isn't utilizing hip extension power to lift that weight. More of a quad dominant jump.

She needs to keep going heavier until her hip power is required to get the bar up for the weak link to become exposed.

8/24/2012 8:39:56 PM

1) def pulling early/not hitting full hip extension
2) she's not getting back on her heels which is why it looks like she is pulled a tad forward (could be the running shoes)
3) it looks like she's donkey kicking, instead of dropping under the bar

I think going heavier would only make the issues more apparent. She should work on the lifts from the hip and eventually work back to pulling from the floor.

8/25/2012 6:55:01 AM

You're right, I was taught to catch it under, that way you make use of your posterior chain when you land on your heel, and to drive the bar up again. I think that's why she appears to be quad dominant, she is not activating much from behin

8/25/2012 2:10:20 PM

Just watch her hip joint... how much horizontal displacement and power can you see? It's not much.

Her hips don't push in to full extension during the 2nd pull.

8/25/2012 2:16:57 PM

Also, landing that hard isn't great on her spine either.

8/27/2012 12:24:49 AM

Some action shots of training this past weekend!

8/27/2012 9:40:37 AM

curious, are wrist straps necessary for heavy benching? I have some but never use them, although my dad always used his when lifting regularly...I don't have any wrist issues now.

8/27/2012 5:40:46 PM

I would like to know more about the kettlebell pushup. Is it exactly what it looks like or is there something more to it?

8/27/2012 6:05:17 PM

Quote :

"curious, are wrist straps necessary for heavy benching? I have some but never use them, although my dad always used his when lifting regularly...I don't have any wrist issues now."

I like them when I go circa-maximal. It makes a big difference in bar stability for me. I've got pretty small hands/wrists.

Quote :

"I would like to know more about the kettlebell pushup. Is it exactly what it looks like or is there something more to it?"

It is what it looks like, except it's pretty damn hard. It's not for the unstable and weak. Start on your knees and set the KB bottoms up, and then set your feet one at a time and then go to work.

8/27/2012 9:09:39 PM

So you tore your achilles? How'd you do that? It wasn't from box jumps was it (muahahaha)

My appointment with the physiatrist is this Thurs, I am considering cancelling that appointment. The idea was to get him to get me in the right direction. Whether to write up a new script for PT for new goals based on his observations or point me to a good PT or lifting coach as you suggested. I just dont want to waste my time and copay, I have a feeling he won't be helpful.

Problem is, not really sure what my problem is. Base on what I see, it's a pelvic tilt along with slight lumbar lordosis. My guess anyway...

Maybe I'll just run with that...and see what he says.

8/28/2012 1:04:27 AM

^

No, it was not from box jumps. I never program high volume box jumping. But, what I did do was about equally stupid...

I set up an overloaded sprint training mechanism involving very heavy bands and my squat racking system. I choked a 1 heavy band around 2 uprights each. Then attached the bands to a chest harness...

The idea was to allow the sprinter to get a very big lean in to the sprint (drive phase) and allow you to go at max effort speed, but the bands + uprights resisted you and kept you in place.

My sprint athlete, she's in one of the photos, did it and it worked perfectly. I decided to try and one up her, and tried it out. I was cold, and stiff from a heavy squat day. I started getting on it, sprinting over-speed due to the over-lean. And after about 7 second POP goes my achilles. I get my cast of Thursday!!!!!!!!!!! I can't fucking wait to be able to walk again. Rehab is going to be long and arduous though, but I should have a full recovery.

Anterior pevlic tilt is basically synonymous with hyper-lordosis. You probably also have some rotational stability issues too. What you need to do is strengthen and learn to stabilize with external obliques, glute max, and glute med. And loosen up your hip flexors, back extensors. That is a shot in the dark though, because I can't see you move.

If you want to shoot me some pictures of your neutral posture and then some shots of you in a deep squat and deep hip hinge, I may be able to have a better analysis. With that said, if you are still in pain, you need to find a good orthopedist, phys therapist, or sports based chiropractor.

8/28/2012 8:09:12 AM

Quote :

"If you want to shoot me some pictures of your neutral posture and then some shots of you in a deep squat and deep hip hinge, I may be able to have a better analysis. "

Its a trap!



I haven't noticed any stability issues when I go near-max, but I might try some straps and see how it goes. The Wendler program I'm on regularly cycles from 85-90 (95?)% of max. Which reminds me that I need to get a mobile bench to use in my power rack so I can lift alone safely...

8/28/2012 9:27:39 AM

^ lol!

Matt everything you've said I've heard before. When I first herniated it back in '09 I saw a physical therapist who happened to be a competitive weight lifter. During one of the sessions he made me perform my lifts and noticed that at the bottom position I was overcompensating on my right hip; I wasn't dropping at the bottom evenly, so it's the instability on my left side. At my deadlift position, when I start pulling that bar, he also noticed that before the bar even went off the ground, my left hip was rotating anterior. This probably has to do with the pelvic tilt.

It's my fault that I never went through the drills he told me. And overtime, I forgot that I had an injury. And so what happens, you get careless again and I had a bigger and more serious problem that needed to be taken care of surgically. And now I won't lift until my nerve signs are completely gone.

I guess the question is, is the time and money vested in all this, worth it. Like I've said before, I'm not training for anything, and it's not my career.

8/28/2012 11:22:40 AM

that dude has the Triforce on his shirt

that is all

8/28/2012 12:14:36 PM

i'm glad you like my logo

8/28/2012 1:21:58 PM

Link will not be pleased

8/28/2012 1:28:02 PM

The amount of atrophy after one month in a cast and on crutches is amazing!

Time to rehab and regenerate that muscle!

8/30/2012 1:06:10 PM

Anyone care to give me some criticism for my squats?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYCRHEGgFms&feature=plcp

thanks

9/6/2012 4:57:23 AM

I have slacked from exercise for the past couple of months for various reasons...


well this morning i got up and did some pushups, situps, and dumbell rows and felt super nauseous... i even threw up. I have been taking pain medicine for back pain and took some last night. could it be the exercise released some toxins associated with the meds into my system and made me throw up?

it wasn't fatigue... i only did 2 sets each.

9/7/2012 6:19:21 AM

^^

Your knees are sliding forward at the bottom of the squat as a compensation to achieve a depth. This can cause some hip flexor impingement and pain. Work on squeezing your knees out while sitting your hips back. IMO, the knees should set their position over the toes during the first half of the descent.

^
Are the pain meds opiates? They will fuck with your digestion/stomach.

Could be a lot of different things. Try again with a little less intensity, modify based on how you feel.

9/7/2012 11:05:56 AM

Don't take pain meds on an empty stomach. That might resolve the nausea and stomach upset.

9/7/2012 11:48:40 AM

I'm assuming it's not good that I have to ice down my puny shoulders every time I do any sort of upper body workout


^^^ eww, I was on opiate based painkillers for some random reason or another and any sort of physical exertion made my sick as hell until I quit taking them.

Also, I have the body of an 8 year old girl that's been in a coma for 8 years.

[Edited on September 15, 2012 at 8:03 PM. Reason : ]

9/15/2012 7:54:07 PM

Any advice for a 3x a week routine with the following equipment:

Dumbbells up to 50 lbs, an adjustable bench, leg curl and extension machine, and a cable machine where you can do tricep press downs and the like (no lat pull downs however).

I am traveling for work and this is the only gym I have access to. I have no delusions of gaining a lot of strength or anything like that, just want to get back in shape and drop a few lbs. They have cardio equipment too so I will probably mix that in as well. I am not real sure the best type of routine to put together with this limited equipment or the rep range/number of sets I should be doing.

9/16/2012 5:45:09 PM

^^Lifting should not be painful.

Metabolic fatigue can be painful, but there is a difference between fatigue pain (muscles burning), and pain from structural damage and inflammation.

^ I'd just use the dumbbells to do high rep work... sets of 8-12. Keep the rest breaks low. It will be more of a bodybuilding style training, but it's still damn effective for muscle growth, local muscular endurance, and maintain strength.

Think presses, goblet squats, clean & presses, rolling tricep extensions, hip thrusts. There are a lot of options!

9/16/2012 6:01:03 PM

Here is what I have worked up so far. I have found I really need to have a routine written down or else I don't stick to a routine as well.

Day 1
DB Incline Bench - 3x12
DB Fly - 3x12
Tricep Pressdowns - 3x8
DB Kickback - 3x8
Ab work
Cardio

Day 2
Goblet Squats - 3x12
Leg Raises - 3x8
Leg Curls - 3x8
Hammer Curls - 3x10
Light Cardio

Day 3
DB Shoulder Press - 3x8
DB Lateral Fly - 3x10
DB Front Raise - 3x10
DB Row - 3x8
Ab work
Cardio

Thoughts? I feel like it is really lacking some back work but I don't know what all I could do. DB deadlift with 50 lb dumbbells seems insanely easy but I have been surprised by DB work before, maybe it would be worth doing.

9/16/2012 7:48:16 PM

ran 1.1 miles tonight with my 5-year old. she made it the whole way.

9/16/2012 8:15:47 PM

That looks pretty a good, but I agree with you on the lack of pulling movements. Do something akin to a bent-over/chest supported DB reverse flys, Batwing ISO holds, Incline Chest Supported DB Rows. Keep it lighter, with high volume and strict.

Those really hit the upper-mid back well. If you do them right, it really reinforces a strong back position; which will help you get stronger.

9/16/2012 8:21:56 PM

Good call, forgot about those. Thanks!

9/16/2012 8:29:26 PM

Face pulls on that cable machine are great too. You need a rope though. sets of 12-20

9/16/2012 8:38:30 PM

Quote :

" ^^Lifting should not be painful."

I know. I think I'm just trying to do way too much too soon.

9/16/2012 9:19:35 PM

I don't know about the not painful part...

Sometimes it's part of the game. Like tonight my workout partner and I did 20 rep squats.

There are different types of pain. Half of the lifting game is learning to effectively read your body.

[Edited on September 17, 2012 at 4:09 AM. Reason : ]

9/17/2012 4:05:52 AM

^ I agree, that was my explanation of metabolic fatigue pain.

Yes, you can flirt with joint and tissue pain if you know whrn to call it quits, but that is a road to injury.

Now, when you are a competitive athlete, sacrificing long term health for short term performance is what separates good from great. This is what bugs me about crossfit, some of their mantra is that it's a competitive sport... not realizing the injurious effects training competitively has.

[Edited on September 17, 2012 at 6:56 AM. Reason : ;]

9/17/2012 6:56:22 AM

Some pics of the new gear we got in yesterday

9/18/2012 3:43:54 PM

Any experience or tips with costochondritis? I've self-diagnosed due to problems stemming from over use of dips and the fact I used to crack my chest, and then getting first problems from dips. Recently it only came back after doing dips, but last night after a session of over head press (during which I had zero discomfort) it flared up pretty bad when I was washing my hair in the shower.

Obviously the rest and ibuprofen is the cure for now, but what about exercises for PT style rehab once it calms down?

9/21/2012 9:12:22 AM

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with it. From some quick research I learned it's basically inflammation of the chest/sternum cartilage.

My guess would be you have too much tightness in your pecs, other medial, and lateral shoulder rotators. And, probably a lack of scapular-humeral rythm. I.E. your shoulder blades and upper arms don't operate in sync to keep forces balanced around the joint.

Get on some mobility protocols to free up movement options around your shoulder joint. Stretch your pecs, lats, rotator cuffs, and triceps. Strengthen your rotator cuffs and serratus anterior.

Hitting up a good sports based physical therapist would be a good idea, since this seems to be a pretty rare thing.

9/21/2012 11:33:25 AM

I see that this issue was touched on earlier on this page, but if you have some more in depth insight on hyper-lordosis that would be awesome.

I'm not sure how long I've been dealing with it because it never bothered me, but about a year ago I was starting to get some discomfort in my lower back and it was fairly clear this was the issue. I went to a chiro (let's not jump all over this, there is a thread for that argument and I was a non-believer before this) and we worked really hard at stretching and loosening up my psoas. The pain went away after about 2 or 3 weeks of work. Since then I've done a pretty good job of stretching it and my hips out (30 seconds per leg once or twice a day, generally 4 days a week or so) but the bad posture never really improved at all. Within the last week I started to get some more lower back discomfort, mostly when sitting. My questions are:

1) What are 1 or 2 other stretches I should be doing, since clearly the 2 I'm doing aren't enough
2) My job requires that I sit all day. Is there anything I can do during the day while I'm sitting? (I'm in an office with 3 other people surrounded by many more, so anything major and/or lying down on the floor is not an option)
3) Today I've started to try and even out my pelvic tilt while walking around, but is there more I can while walking?
4) Anything else?

9/21/2012 2:06:00 PM

My Educated Guess: Chronic sitting is what is shortening your hip flexors (ilipsoas and rectus femoris). And/Or lengthening & weakening your hip extensors (glutes, possible hamstrings).

Stretch: your hipflexors. Google psoas and rectus femoris stretches.

Strengthen your posterior pelvic tilt: Glutes, obliques, and abs. Think hip extension and "zipping-up" your pelvis with your abs.

Going to a chiro for adjustments and doing constant stretches is a temporary fix, not a long term solution. You need a strength training program to counter balance your chronic sitting.

Obligatory ad: If you are in Raleigh, check out my site: http://www.capitalstrength.com and sign up for a trial. I'll take you through a movement analysis, determine where you are weak and tight and help you come up with a strategy to fix it.

9/21/2012 2:51:29 PM

I'm in NY...thank you for the offer though

Do you have an suggestions for specific exercises that would probably cover me, assuming I have a regular, text book case of hyper-lordosis?

I go to Crossfit 2-3 times a week...I can tell you that my biggest weakness is situps, and I've been avoiding the GHD machine for about a year or more because every time I get on it I get a sharp pain in my lower back during the movement...and I can assure you this is not due to my form, I've had at least 6 different coaches watch me and tell me what to do correctly

9/21/2012 3:03:06 PM

Crossfit Rant: It is your form, because crossfit doesn't do sit ups right. And crossfit coach is almost an oxymoron. Going to a weekend seminar and paying 1,000$ doesn't qualify you for anything but injuring someone amrap.

When you do a sit up, especially on a GHD, it its hip-flexor exercise. Your rectus femoris and iliopsoas are cranking on your spine to pull you in to hip flexion (sitting up).

To isolate your rectus abdominus and obliques you need to flex the spine and posterioly tilt the pelvis. The movement occurs as spinal flexion, with slight hip flexion. Rather than an arched back and pure hip flexion.

I'd be almost willing to wager that the form taught at your "box" maybe contributing to your hyperlordosis.

Going forward, finish your lifts with your hip bones (ASIS) push forward, not your belly button. Do not go in to a hard arch before you lift, but rather a flat back (neutral spine) with your abs braced as hard as you can.

Stay away from toe's to bars, unless you know how to isolate posterior tilt, and any other lift that promotes hip flexio + spinal extension.

Google: RKC planks (bret contreras has a great video), reverse crunches

9/21/2012 3:44:17 PM

I agree with your rant, but I've had people at 4 different gyms watch me, I especially think the Charlotte guys (Andy Hendel) knows his shit in general (in and outside of crossfit)...not saying they all can't be wrong, but I'd think someone would break, but you're probably right

Either way, I haven't actually done a GHD situp in over a year, so my bad form on it isn't the issue...the lack of me doing them certainly could be though

Thanks for everything though...will look all this stuff up

9/21/2012 3:49:53 PM