Ned's log

[Ned]

Yesterday was an odd day, everything felt heavy for most of it--not a sensation I'm unfamiliar with, but one that generally hasn't been present in the last bunch of months--and my attempt to start a strength training session in the morning was one pullup and the realization that I wouldn't be able to finish off the planned volume so I just stopped and figured I'd try it today.  I ended up going for a walk that evening (1.7km) just to do something, and that turned into an relaxed pace run (+1.7km). I got home, felt good, and ended with a strength and stretch session.  At least some of that sensation of heaviness was tension and it just melted away when I started walking and realized I was holding it, it's a good lesson for me to learn that tension doesn't always feel like tightness.

Strength portion:

3x3 pullups + 10% of body weight, (2s up, 3s pause at the top, slow negative to dead hang each time to lose all momentum).  I did the scapula pulls on Thursday to give them a try and + 1/5th of body weight for 20 reps was pretty easy (no soreness).  With today's session, the bottom portion when the elbow joint is open on the way up was where I struggled.  The last set I paused for 5s isometrics in a 3 different positions (~110 degrees, ~135 degrees, and ~160 degrees) on the way down in that range during each rep to try to remedy that.  

1x12s/side non-rotating single arm hang

L-sit 1x8s full, hands flat on the floor, then 3x20s alternating one leg up at a time in 10s increments hands on floor.  

1x10 alternating single leg squat negatives, with a 5s isometric when my thigh was parallel to the ground, regular two leg squat to come back up.  I went right into 1x20 alternating assisted single leg squats after those.

1x16/side (same width as last week) offset pushups.  Quite a jump in reps this week compared to last week.  I did another 1x12/side with my assisting hand moved over about the length of my hand and those were still quite a bit easier than expected.

2x8/side single leg Romanian deadlift w/ 24kg kettlebell

2x10s/side wall handstand progressions (one leg support)

3x25s reverse planks

It's early days, but the increase in what I can do from last week compared to this week with some of them was unexpected given how long some of those movements have been plateaued for.  

Stretch portion:
Wall calf - preparation for elephant walks

Elephant walks - legs straightening by the end, small gap between thighs and torso at the end

Wide elephant walk - just a nice easing into the movement

QL straddle - still very much needed, not sure what's adding the tightness here, but I'll probably work on it more.  I'm also more aware of the differences in muscle control in the straddled leg between sides today.  My right (weaker leg) has markedly less than the left.  

Cossack squats + transitions - the other hand on the stretched leg's foot is still not easy, but it's what my body wants to do along with some lean forward to add more hamstring involvement.

Wall quad hip flexor - I haven't tried this one in a very long time.  I'm not surprised that I'm more flexible than the last time I did it, but it's still not comfortable yet so I spent some time just breathing and relaxing.

Hip flexor + quad lunge - strong contractions with this one today.  I stayed in the end position for a few minutes.

LRP.  

[Ned]

I can't argue with the results I'm having from what I'm doing in terms of getting stronger.  My weight hasn't changed in the last two weeks.  I'm still getting leaner (gaining muscle, losing fat) and I still feel tired, so I'll increase my calories by another 250kcal/day and re-evaluate in another week or two.  

Strength portion:

L-sit 1x10s full floor L-sit + 3x20s one leg up at a time - It feels like I'm more limited by quads, shoulders, and lower traps than my core at this point.  These also have a definite impact on what comes after too because everything involved in it ends up fatigued.  

Hollow body holds (full) 3x20s - (10s full, 10s arms over thighs or knees slightly bent to regress them).  I still need to get into them in stages (lower back down with the hollow, then my legs lifted, then arms overhead) to keep good form.  

1x20s/side single arm hang no rotation.  I'm trying to be more active with these as well, but that's still quite difficult.  I was curious what doing these before the pullups was like, and I was pleasantly surprised, but it has a detrimental effect on how many pull-ups and what weight I want to use.  

3x1 slow pull-ups.  With these I went from a dead hang, and just did them as slowly as I could.  5s pull as hard as I can at the top, slow negatives with isometrics when my elbow joint were at various open angles into an active -> passive hang between reps.  My aim was to feel each portion of it as fully as possible.  Even having done weighted ones the last few sessions, I don't feel strong enough to do these quickly.  I'm contemplating regressing them with a pulley and some weight to build volume and see if that will help.  I've hit the same kind of wall in the past with Single leg squats and overhead kettlebell presses where I can 1-3 and then just stall there since I can't do enough volume to do more.  

1x5/side archer pushups - I wasn't expecting to do these when I started this session, but when I checked my arm position at the bottom of the first wider offset rep, I was pretty much certain I'd be able to do these so I gave it a try.  It's awkward on the way up, so I may revert to the wider offset ones to get some more volume with those.  

1x8/side single leg Romanian dead lifts with 24kg kettlebell.  I was still feeling these a bit from last session, so I did less today.  

3x4 alternating weight (+10lb) assisted single leg squats.  

I'm planning to stretch in a few days.  

LRP.  

 

[Gareth O Connor]

You said you still feel tired,are you sleeping well?

[Ned]

2 hours ago, Gareth O Connor said:

You said you still feel tired,are you sleeping well?

As well as ever, better than at many other points in my life.  I generally get somewhere between 7-8 hours and wake up far enough ahead of my alarms feeling reasonably refreshed that I don't think it's sleep.  My days are more full than often though which may well be part of it.  

[Ned]

I did a stretch session on Tuesday after a (longer than usual for me) easy jog ~2.5km.  The pace and distance on that was quite easy, but my running is irregular that I'm paranoid about getting shin splints if I increase the distance too much so I'll probably oscillate between this and what I've been doing for a while until it's my new normal. 

As far as stretching goes, not a whole was remarkable about it from a physical standpoint beyond the hamstring situation below.  Quad + hip flexor, elephant walks, QL straddle, Cossack squat + variations, and the daily 5.  One of those sessions where the consistency will pay off in the long term without worrying about getting somewhere today.  I followed Kit's advice from some of the LRP recordings of don't try too hard, this is just an experience and let myself relax into what I was doing, without needing to think about what I was doing.  I don't want to imply that it was mindless because I was very aware and engaged with it--just present with the sensations rather than caught up in thoughts.

---

My left hamstring (I think biceps femoris) is still a little prone towards cramping when my bed is bent under stretch.  Completely fine to do straight leg stretching, even the exercises I did to induce hamstring cramp exercises don't really give me cramps anymore, but elephant walks will wake it up even at very low perceived intensity.  I haven't ever encountered that reaction with a muscle that large before over as long a time, so I'm just letting it do what it does when I go into that position and try to spend some time in it through the day, and I figure it'll stop doing it eventually.  It doesn't feel at all like an injury (either at the time or now).  

3x3 +1x2 pullups.  The usual pausing on the way down for isometrics in my weaker range.   

[edit: I forgot the 1x30s/side one arm hangs.  These are getting easier, I'm also able to pack my shoulder more actively in the bottom position now than previously.  I have no chance of being able to start bending the hanging arm though, someday.]

2x10 alternating archer pushups.  These were easier than the ones last week.  The alternating is probably part of that, but I'm also a little more used to the movement which helps.  

I did 1 sit on the floor to standing up (no hands) single leg squat on the left side today.  Then 1 full single leg squat on the right side (not off the floor, though I can do that aspect of the movement on that side as well).  Followed by 1x10 alternating single leg not quite to full depth, but as deep as I could go and still get back up (thigh below parallel for all of them, but my hamstring and calf still separate for those).  

1x5 kneeling ab-wheel roll outs.  They don't feel terrible, but I can tell that I haven't done enough of them yet.  I'm able to maintain the hollow with them though, so I think my form was good throughout.  It's just going to be a process of doing enough to acclimate to them.  I built mine ~12 years ago and have only tried it a handful of times since.  But this one feels like I'm strong enough to do them well, so I'll aim to keep them in the rotation and build up to standing ones eventually.  

1x8/side single leg Romanian deadlift with 24kg.  I took it easy because of the hamstring situation, but they feel markedly easier this week than last week.  

1x5s palms on floor full L-sit.  Between the pushups and the ab-wheel I could tell I wasn't getting the right muscle activation to do these so I left it there.  

LRP.

Edited October 25, 2025 by Ned
Forgot the one arm hangs

[Gareth O Connor]

How often do you run?

[Ned]

3 hours ago, Gareth O Connor said:

How often do you run?

Somewhere between once a month and twice a week probably, much less in the winter.  So simultaneously not enough and probably too much because I should build up more slowly and consistently than I am.  I was doing 5km three days a week at 5min/km a few summers ago but ended up with shin splints (hence my current paranoia).  When I was younger I did quite a bit more quite a bit faster, but I was in much better shape then.  I don't know much about training it though, when I did lots it was a side effect of other things I did (swimming and cycling) so I thought of it more as a way to relax than something I needed to train.  

[Gareth O Connor]

Try running easily,the talk test is a good tool for this

[Gareth O Connor]

Be conservative when adding mileage...increase by 10%

[Ned]

Elephant walks - Same cramping feeling, but I noticed my calves were quite tight so I stretched those and came back to this one.  It was much more comfortable afterwards--feels like stretching rather than cramping.  I worked into another standing forward fold at the end today.  Those are getting easier too.  Right now there's a little more stiffness in my lower back than often.  

Calf stretches (C&R) - These were much needed.  

I did 3x8s full hands on the floor L-sits after these two.  Not easy, not horrible either.  The weakest part today is the lower traps and shoulder press.  I'm going to try wearing a weighted backpack when I do some of the regressions to try to bridge the effort gap with that, because one leg down is a whole lot easier than no legs down.  

Hamstring lunge + hip flexor/quad lunge - I'm not sure doing these back to back was wise, but I just worked on where I could feel the tension and did some contractions and relaxations.  The hamstring stretch on the part of my hamstring that's been cramping 

Cossack squats - Not my best sessions with these today, but patience and consistency and working with where I am rather than where I want to be is a strategy that always seems to work in the longer term.  

QL straddle - increased flexibility here, but I'm still consistently tight in those muscles.  I just stayed here for a good length of time, sinking in deeper on the out breath, and re-aligning on the in breaths. I felt gracilis a bit with the straddles as well so at some point, I'm going to have to try releasing that one, but when I start feeling along it, the sensation is not appealing.  

Back bends - nice stretch through the abdomen today with this one.  C-shape spine to finish.  

LRP.

[Gareth O Connor]

The elephant walks are sore alright

[Ned]

I had more time than often today, so I did a longer session today.  My weight is holding pretty much steady and I'm continuing to get leaner so I'm going to stick with my current eating habits for a while.  

 The once a week strength training continues to be quite effective for me.  I do miss more frequent sessions through the week, but I walk and do a couple easy runs (generally 2/week) to get some movement in along with my usual limbering.  

Strength portion:

1x12(alternating after 2 reps/side) full depth single leg squats + 1x8 alternating thigh to parallel (or a bit below) single leg squats as a finish.  I should have mentioned this last week, but I always forget just how far forward my knee ends up going with these when I haven't done these in a while.  The upside of forgetting that is that I've evidently spent enough time on preparatory exercises to break through the 1-3 rep max per day plateau that I've gotten stuck on in the past.  

1x5/side + 1x10 alternating archer pushups - slight reduction in rest compared to last week.  I'm still getting used to finding the right position for my hands in this movement and then where my body should be in relation to my working arm to get the most out of it.  

2x5 kneeling ab-wheel roll outs.  I feel these in the lower part of my core at the beginning and in my whole core (and upper back/shoulders) by the end.  

1x15s/side one arm body weight at 110% bodyweight.  My shoulder activation when I do these holds is increasing as well which is good.  Though I miss the stretch down the side when I do them relaxed.  

2x8/side single leg Romanian deadlifts with 24kg.  My hamstrings have been feeling pretty much normal since my last stretch session so I'm hoping that continues.  These were not enjoyable after the 

Floor L-sits 2s full, 10s tucked.  It isn't much, but the after effects of the ab-wheel and everything else are making themselves known.  With the tucked ones, I worked on bringing my hips up and forward to increase the intensity somewhat.  Some remarkable triceps engagement with that moving/pressing the hips forward.  

4,3,3,2 pullups - The usual isometrics on the way down and at the top.  

Stretching portion:

Wide leg elephant walks - Pleasant tonight.  Just gentle explorations of movement and sensations.  They morphed into Cossack squat transitions at the end when I wanted to shift the emphasis a bit.  

Tailor's pose - still very challenging for me.  I did it today free sitting (away from the wall) and grabbed hold of my feet to keep my back vertical.  I had more stretch sensation with the contraction to open my legs.  I think this might be a better technique for me at this point than against the wall just based on the sensations and where the stretch was and the movement I saw when contracting.  

Quad + hip flexor lunge - I'm starting to really appreciate the intensity of this one.  I'm also slowly untangling the sensations in that intensity into smaller pieces.  

Floor shoulder stretches (palm up and palm down) C&R - I haven't done these in a while and I can feel the difference.  A good reminder that even if the range of motion is still there, regular practice increases the ease of getting there.  

Hamstring Lunge - Not real pleasant at the beginning this evening, but I stayed with it until I felt myself relax after going deeper with the contractions.

Exercise 13 from S&F.  Part of my usual limbering sequence works exercise 12 so it's less of a priority.  Exercise 13 (arm over the top of the shoulder) feels stiffer than it did, and I had quite an increase in depth with the C&R on both sides.

Seated rotations - blissful today.  These worked just the right spot in my mid-back just beside the spine.  

Floor seated piriformis - tight to start, C&R and much more comfortable at the end.  

"Baby flops" - Less asymmetry between the sides now than there used to be and my preference for which leg is forward is diminishing as well.  I found a truly delightful stretch on the tighter side of the stretch with both sides, on the right it was towards the side of my lower back and on the left it was a spot near the top of the hip.  

Seiza <-> leaning back quad stretch.  The fronts of my ankles are tighter than they were the last time I did this, but it's still a fairly comfortable position.  My quads are quite resistant to stretching though.

Back bends - nice stretch through the front with these, especially the lower area I felt at the beginning of the ab-wheel roll outs.  Child's pose at the end to finish things off.

LRP. I started working through the SBS recordings from 2014.  

[Kit_L]

16 hours ago, Ned said:

My quads are quite resistant to stretching though.

The wall quad–hip flexor may help to unlock that: https://stretchtherapy.net/wall-quad-hip-flexor-if-you-do-only-one-stretch-today-this-is-the-one/ Do this first, then re-try the seiza leaning back quad one.

And do let me know how you go with the SBS recordings; they progress from the first to the last.

[Ned]

When I've recovered from yesterday, I'll give that one a try.  I mix it in occasionally and always find it has good results, but nearer the beginning of my stretching journey it had more intensity than I wanted.  I still associate it with that, but it's probably just the thing now.  

I will keep you updated on the SBS recordings.  

[Ned]

A quick update on the state of LRP this week.  I ended up catching a cold (started about 6 hours after my last post) not a terrible one, but enough that LRP attempts just became naps for the first couple days--something that's very unusual for me.  I'm now coughing enough that relaxation is not happening when lying on my back, so my sessions are likely to be walking with an emphasis on being present for the next little while.  My current plan is to restart the SBS recordings when I can reliably avoid needing/feeling like I need to cough for the length of a session.  

[Matt Chung]

> ended up catching a cold (started about 6 hours after my last post) not a terrible one

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Ned]

The cold is still kicking around enough that I don't think a heavy session would be wise.  I did do a few sets of 1 of most of what I've been doing lately (archer pushups, single leg squats, pullups, L-sit (3s), single arm hangs (~5s/side), single leg Romanian deadlift w/24kg) just to do something.  

Just a gentle stretch session today

All planes of neck movements - no pushing, just relaxing and seeing how it all feels today.  

Elbow back bend + c-shape - both pleasant.  I liked the looking back toward my heels with the back bend today.  The c-shape especially was a nice stretch for my middle/upper back particularly some of the one leg further forward than the other variations.  

Lying rotations - no pushing here either, just being present with the sensations and relaxing on the out breath.

Foot sequence - I can tell that I haven't done this one in a while.  That said, I have quite a bit of controlled movement in my toes now (at least compared to when I started) and I can feel the difference that makes to the suppleness of the foot generally.  

SBS session 2 - the labelling of sensations in this one is a nice addition.  My mind still wants to wander more than usual (which might be that it's had more time away from practice than usual).  

[Ned]

Pullups 4,3,2,1,1 -  I've been training these close to daily in the last week (building back up from 3,2,1,1).  My impression from the once a week training is that I didn't have enough higher volume-moderate intensity base to really benefit a lot from that with these (that bothers me less with archer pushups and single leg squats and I think it's because there I have a higher volume in easier progressions already).  With pullups I have a reasonable volume in inverted rows, but I didn't see a lot of carryover to pullups from them (which is to say that I started out being able to do basically the same number of pullups as I could after I'd worked up to higher volume inverted rows).  I will say that my form in the movement is a whole lot better than it was and starting from the dead hang every rep no longer feels difficult so the training (generally, not just this higher volume) is definitely paying off and I suspect now that my form starts and stops in a passive dead hang I'll make better progress with them.  

Single arm holds 10s/side - my pullup bar is both slippery and thin and the combination makes these much harder.  I was considering some handlebar tape (or chalk) or something to make it easier, but it's probably better grip training if I leave it as is.  

Full depth single leg squats 3,2+1,2,1/side - I'm happy to be doing them, and even though the number I can do is fairly low, my form is improving--although I also keep noticing more things to improve and I periodically improve it in some way that involves very intense core activation.  My strength between sides is also equalizing a little more--though my left leg is still stronger than my right.  

Archer pushups 2x6/side - Slow steady progress with these.  They feel sub-maximal muscularly, but seem like the kind of movement that requires tendon and ligament adaptation time so I'm going with slow increases in volume to prevent problems (I hope).  I suspect my right wrist will also need sufficient time to acclimate to the increased loads without losing what stability I've managed to get with it.  

Single leg Romanian deadlifts 2x8 - 25lb (plates), much deeper range of motion than with the kettlebell and it feels good.  

Wall supported handstands 2x20s - the main focus is just pressing the floor away from me and keeping myself slightly hollowed.  

I'm a little stiffer than I'd like lately (less limbering, less movement, less quality LRP, more stress (amazing how much of an impact that has on everything)) and for me that means a return to the starter course.  Programs 1 and 2 today.  I am amazed (but not surprised) at how much easier it is to relax when I'm not trying to get anywhere.  That's a lesson that I seem to continually learn and forget.  I find myself less averse to the use of the chair than the first time through and was a little surprised by how much I can notice the stretching sensations in these variations.  The rotations were quite nice, the side bend was much needed, and the hip stretch at the end of program 1 took some time to work into my usual range of motion with the chest and thigh together.  The chair slump isn't much of a stretch for me, but I found quite a nice one in the middle back with the small back bend there by lifting my chest up as much as I could.  

Program 2.

The hips circles were nice.  I'm very aware that my right side/back near the side is quite tight when doing them though.  

The quad stretches are also necessary.  I'm amazed at how much of a difference there is between sides though and I suspect that's probably partly why my right side is so tight.  I suspect that it relates to the combination of my running form and the single leg squats.  I sprained the ankle on that side quite badly ~15 or 16 years ago and while the range of motion is normal I think when running I'm probably compensating somehow or have compensations that are slowly being strengthened with the single leg squats.  

Not much new with the back bend today, it was relaxing and very gentle for me.  I did some looks back at my heels.  

The lunge was an interesting experience today.  When I was supposed to be stretching the left quad/hip flexor it was limited entirely by tension in my right hamstring.  The right side was pure right hip flexor when I did it.  I decided to try the quad stretch again on the right side after that one and it ended in nearly the same position as where the left side did so clearly my right hip flexor was a problem.  Markedly less tension in the side and back after that too with another round of the hip circles.  I re-did the lunge on the left side afterwards and it felt more usual (in that there was a stretch in the hip flexor and not just pure hamstring sensations on the other side) as well.  But I'm going to have to stay quite mindful about the right quad/hip flexor.  

C-shape - more sensation behind the shoulders (probably related to the pullups) than the middle back, but not a strong movement today even with leg movements.  

LRP has not been going as I generally prefer it to lately.  I'm much more prone to drifting off, so I'm moving it earlier in the day in an effort to be more aware through it.  My dissatisfaction and acceptance of the current state of affairs did offer a spontaneous deepening of my understanding of the not-self characteristic though.

[Gareth O Connor]

Going slowly so the tendons and ligaments adapts is a very sensible approach 

[Ned]

The reminders that stretching is about relaxing are working their usual miracle for me.  I need to internalize those cues in the same way I have with Kit's "Breathe and relax" from LRP.  

Program 3

Calf stretch - pleasant stretch today.  I did the one legged wrapped behind the other variation to increase the sensation a little bit and worked at exploring how weight distribution in my foot changed the sensations until I found the spot that seemed to be the tightest.

Piriformis - Much less tension and limitation on this one today than I had starting on the chair version a couple days ago.  

Elephant walk - it takes me time to warm into it, but I ended today with my legs straight (individually) and belly still on the other thigh.  

Standing forward fold - fairly limited to start with (relatively speaking), at the end I wrapped my arms behind my calves and just rested for a while in a standing forward fold, I'm getting closer to being able to do that with my torso completely on the thighs.  There's a little bit of hamstring tension and a little bit of lower back stiffness that resist it.  

Flexion - I did the floor version (C-shape) rather than the chair.  Less shoulder tension here today and more in the mid-back where I wanted it.  

Program 4

I like the shoulder mobility drills.  I often do pieces of them but rarely do them as a sequence but I'll probably incorporate them as a warmup (something I'm still bad at doing even though it makes quite a difference).  

The shoulder stretches (hand behind back and hand over the shoulder) have changed in sensation since I last did them.  The wall cue is quite helpful for bringing them back in the hand over the shoulder version, and I was able to feel (and activate) the muscle I needed to use to reach that position without the wall.  In the hand behind the back, I'm still work on bringing my hand up towards the middle of the back rather than just across.  I have a little more feeling of what's going on and more familiarity with the sensations (I do that one as part of limbering often, but rarely while holding on to something at this point, so bringing it up is easier but still a work in progress to figure out how everything needs to feel to make it work).  

The neck sequence was pleasant, but not a major tension area or one that has a limited range of motion for me at this point so it's mostly maintenance and just mindfully enjoying the sensations and relaxing when I notice tension.  

---

On 11/2/2025 at 2:14 PM, Kit_L said:

The wall quad–hip flexor may help to unlock that: https://stretchtherapy.net/wall-quad-hip-flexor-if-you-do-only-one-stretch-today-this-is-the-one/ Do this first, then re-try the seiza leaning back quad one.

The wall quad-hip flexor is getting a lot more comfortable than it used to be.  It's still very intense, but in a way that feels manageable and where the contractions and relaxation afterwards are very distinct sensations instead of just the overall sensation of tightness.  I get a lot more nuance in the sensations from the variations as well, it's no longer just one tight line but distinct pieces.

The after effect of it on the seiza leaning back quad stretch is remarkable.  I was resting on my elbows (with tail tucked) before I started noticing any stretch sensation in my quads, and if I had a way to do it (maybe rig a rope or something to lower myself and get back up), I'm fairly sure I could probably end up just resting comfortably with my shoulders and upper back on the floor for a while rather than awkwardly doing it like I did today (half wondering how I would get out of it while getting into it).

Cossack squat - I tried to be deliberate about relaxing in these today.  I was able to fold quite far forward (relatively speaking, my torso is still quite far above the leg itself) with the opposite hand grabbing the foot of the straight leg, but found on both sides that when I bent the knee there was quite an intense stretch in the outside top of the calf when I tried to re-straighten the leg that I'll need to explore some more.  

Moving the LRP to the morning seems to be working well so I've resumed the SBS sessions.  SBS session 3.  I like the mindfulness of breathing with this one.  The horizontal vs vertical movement sensations involved a little bit of thinking initially since I tend mostly to have thought about that while sitting or standing rather than lying and horizontal and vertical are new enough labels that I had to think (briefly) about them rather than just resting awareness of the sensations or being aware of lengths of in or out breaths.  I did find the what parts are you missing question deeply amusing since I have attempted this session more than once recently and not been aware for that question.

 

[Kit_L]

10 hours ago, Ned said:

half wondering how I would get out of it while getting into it

Rolling to the side is always a good method, using an elbow out to the side. Alternate sides. Great work.

[Ned]

Pullups 5,4,3,2,1 - I've dropped the isometrics from with these, but every rep starts and ends in a dead hang.

Program 5 & 6

Elephant walks - gentle on these today.  My right leg is tighter than the left.  I slipped on some ice the other day (didn't fall, but feel the sensation in the right hamstring a bit).

Tailor pose - quite intense today.  I continuously say that I'm going to do this one more often and then don't do it as often as I should.  I've lost any illusions I once had about increasing the range of motion here quickly, but it'll come with practice and I know it's a major sticking point so I'll add it in at least once a week.

Wide leg elephant walk - I started experimenting with how my legs are rotated in this one today and working back and forth between it and a strangely folded over sumo squat.  One of those spontaneous things that my body decided was the right thing to try today.  

The lunge was pleasant today.  I explored the tightest line and just spent time there relaxing.  

Passive back bend - not a lot of stretch here today, just a gentle one.  

Side bend were pleasant today especially with the arm stretched out, lots of intensity up the sides at the end.

The rotations felt largely unremarkable today.  A little bit of compression on the one side that soon disappeared.  

Hamstring + quad - I can't help but notice the similarities between this one and the wall quad-hip flexor stretch.  This one is a little easier to moderate the intensity with and a little harder to use some of the contractions on.  

I enjoyed the round out at the end today's session.  I was able to get a nice even stretch through quite a bit more of my back than sometimes.

Yesterday's LRP was SBS session 4, today was SBS session 5.  I'm enjoying this series a lot.  It's providing a very nice introduction to meditation that would have saved me a lot of time and misunderstanding when I was first learning how to do it (many years ago).  At present, it's a very nice reminder of some of the nuances of practice during practice without the need to remember to incorporate them myself during practice.  

[Ned]

Short post, because it's been a week and I've been doing things in that time.  I'm just busy enough that the write ups aren't happening.  My usual longer blocks of exercise have turned into shorter ones of a couple exercises spread over several days to keep time for LRP (and mostly shorter sessions there, SBS ones will resume Friday or Saturday).  Things should settle down a bit after this week.  

Pullups 5,4,4,4,4 - A fair bit of DOMS in my lats from my last session (4x4 on Saturday).  It finally feels like I'm starting to build volume with these even though the reps are relatively low at the moment.  

Single leg squats.  I'm not sure on the best approach to take with these.  The answer is probably regressions until I can do them with more volume consistently (still very much subject to daily fluctuations in how I'm feeling).  I decided to do these over the course of the day and ended up not having time to do them, so I did about the same number as I usually would but in more sets.  Each rep felt stronger though so I don't think it's a bad way to go.  

Some short limbering session this morning with the daily 5.  

LRP.  

[Kit_L]

16 hours ago, Ned said:

I'm not sure on the best approach to take with these.

Try this version, loaded. I did 30 of these the other day, alternating legs, and holding a full fuel container (10 litres of petrol, so ~9Kg). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knqCZRIVGp8

Do as slowly as you can while still moving smoothly. The most weight I have done with these is 16Kg. Your glutes will let you know you've done something the next day.

Weighted Cossacks is another excellent alternative.

[Ned]

I've been busy last few weeks.  I've continued limbering, calisthenics (at least one session of each exercise in a week, but not necessarily on the same day), and needed to acclimate to shoveling snow again.  I missed a few days of LRP, but generally was able to get at least a short session in.  I peaked on pullup volume with 5x5 one session a couple weeks ago, but I haven't replicated it.  So it's usually 2-3 sets of 5 and then another few sets of 4.  

I've mainly been doing weighted Cossack squats (12kg) alternating sides instead of the single leg squats.  I've also done a few sessions with the weighted (10lb) single leg squat variation Kit suggested above, minimizing the assistance from the other leg (just a bit at the bottom on the way back up). 

I started with weighted Cossack squats 1x30 alternating.

I've decided that it's time to work deliberately on bridges (today I just explored those a little bit to see how they feel) and the pancake/Tailor pose (higher priority than the bridges).  My hamstrings consistently warm into a pretty reasonable standing forward fold, but straddles, pancakes, and the Tailor pose are sticking points that I've been putting off dealing with and it's time to get them sorted out.  

I started with calf stretches and an elephant walk to warm up my hamstrings.  I went into a wide leg elephant walk after that.

Lying leg circles - a humbling experience.  My hamstrings aren't nearly flexible enough in this position to bring my leg past 90 degrees and getting and holding it there requires quite a bit of quad engagement to keep my working leg straight.  I'll keep these in the rotation because they need work for sure.  

Tailor pose - I changed my approach with these a bit this time.  The standard wall and feet in close becomes intense very quickly, so I think I miss details of what's happening.  I kept my feet farther away from my body this time.  I spent a bunch of time poking and prodding at muscles around the hip as I worked into an out of the position and whether I was actively pulling my knees down or not to see what was activated.  I'm tensing one of the hip flexors (I think my psoas, but I'm not certain, it's quite a prominent ridge when lifting the leg up) that doesn't need to be tight in that position and I'm pretty sure that's why I haven't seen much progress.  I found that I can relax whatever that is (with some concentration involved to relax it on both sides at once, while still pulling the knees down).  I did contractions in that position and saw more progress with it than I've seen in any previous session.  My feet are still quite far forward though, but my thought is that if I can figure out how to get my knees down to the floor there, I can then gradually bring my feet closer in to the body.  I spent quite a long time here today and did a few sets of contractions, about 15 minutes in total between the exploration of muscle activations and the stretching itself.  

Squashed frog - not my favourite one but I spent a fair chunk of time exploring this one and deepening it with contractions.  

I ended the session off with the standing hip-flexor/quad stretch and some contractions with the leg straightening action.  

LRP.