Can't squat. What now?

Okay first up.  I think my knee tweak is due to some imbalances of my lower body.  I'm gonna get it checked out at Fitology on Monday and see what they think about it and what their recommendations are.  In the meantime, to play it safe I have laid off squatting.  But laying off squatting doesn't mean I laid off lower body work.  I shall sub it with my favourite lift:  the deadlift!

Okay, so many people say that the deadlift is more of a low back and traps exercise rather than a bona fide leg exercise.  That's actually not accurate.  The deadlift is a very versatile exercise and has many variations.  These variations serve to focus more on well... stuff you want to focus on while also still hitting the traps and low back.

Still not clear?  Look at the pics below:

Snatch grip deadlift gives more emphasis on upper lats and upper back

For more glutes emphasis, use the sumo stance.

Wanna target you hamstrings and calves?  Hit the romanian deadlift

Duck deadlift for more quad development.  Turn your feet and knees out approximately 45 degrees.

The beauty of rotating various types of deadlifts in your training routine is you still get to work your legs but avoid burning out and frying your CNS which is common when you train using one type of deadlift on a regular basis.

Best way is to change to a different type of deadlift every 4 weeks.  

I'm starting a new programme by Jason Ferruggia this Monday and I will be subbing the squat for sumo deads for the first 4 weeks.  Let's see how it goes.

Dealing with Distractions

I needed a change.  Badly.

Work's been shitty.  But I can't change things up at work.  So I changed how my living room looked like.  I was also starting to have some trouble moving around and exercising in the apartment.  But it was mostly because of my inefficiency in arranging my furniture.

But now I have allocated a dedicated area to do my training.  As you can see in the pics below:

The dining table was initially at the place where the squat rack is.  The rug is anti-slip and is sufficient to absorb the impact of deadlifts.

Previously the dining table created a barricade effect to the doorway.  Now everything is clear and neat.

Me and my friend looking oh so proud after a whole day of supervising the paint job and moving around furniture.

Breaking the silence

Yeah I've been busy.  Plus life's been kind of sh*tty lately.

I took a week off training and lost weight.

I started training again on Monday.  Felt pretty okay.

Interesting thing was I'm so much stronger on my deadlift.  Weights I previously struggled with felt easy.  I knew I could lift more but constrained myself.

I am laying off squats.  My right knee is tweaked.  So looking for some alternative stuff to compensate for squats.  I did 'sled drags"... 30kg.  Felt nice.  Could've been better.