Wednesday 2 November 2016

On the Mat Day 766: Stonglifts 5x5 Effect

So as you know, I've had a bad time with a meniscus tear which meant my knee was quite unstable in the coronal plane. To fix this, I started doing squats based on the stronglifts 5x5 platform. Well what would you know, it went and helped big time! I can now fully squat deep down so my hamstrings touch the back of my knees and calves (the Asian squat as typical performed by women when waiting for trains in Japan). Prior to squatting my knee would pop out of alignment and move into the tear which felt like a dislocation. However, the squats seem to have strengthen my leg muscles in only 3 weeks of training enough to hold the knee firmly in place. I still have a weird feeling when I sit in Seiza though. Another result of squatting has been that I just speed up hills on my bicycle, my legs moving like little pistons. I've come to realize that weight training is something that any grappler should be doing to build armour and prevent injury.

Today at class we had a new guy come in who is a blue belt from a different club but has moved to ours. Quite a strong 25 year old with experience in Shooto and MMA. Good balance, strong physique, nice control with no quick crazy movements. We had a good little spar but I think he was holding back on me since it was the 1st time at our club plus he knew I was recovering from injury. A nice addition to our training during the morning sessions.

I forwent Stronglifts today. My back muscle was tight as hell today when I woke up. I think the tightness of my hamstring is causing me to fold forward too much when squatting and I'm using my back muscles to stabilize, resulting in this pain. I need to stretch and foam roll over it tonight then get back on Stronglifts come Friday.

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