Squat: Elbow, Wrist and Forearm Pain

Elbow, wrist and forearm pain are pretty common for guys that squat heavy and often. When the weight started getting heavy, I was dealing with chronic pain on a regular basis. Everything I tried failed: grip variations, bar placement variations, hand spacing variations, etc. In the end, it was a major injury that ended up fixing it for good.

I tore my rotator cuff and bicep a while back and when I reentered the gym I spent 6 months doing nothing but squats an rehab work. For about the first month I was so fucked up that I literally had to use my right hand to place my left hand on the bar. What I discovered is that squatting with the injury totally fixed my elbow pain issue. Why? Because I couldn't squeeze and push on the bar. Hell, I couldn't even move my arm.

I ended up with a wider grip, but the real fix was my arm's relationship with the bar. I wasn't squeezing the bar, I wasn't pushing the bar, I was just holding the bar and letting it ride on my back. This is so simple and looking back, I feel kind of silly not figuring it out sooner. The reason I had pain (for years) was because I was squeezing the bar and inadvertently pushing up on it. So a heavy squat was not just a heavy squat...it was a heavy squat with a heavy static press (and) a lot of that weight was getting transferred down through my arms instead of my back where it belongs.

I'm sitting around 15 months post injury and my squat has improved about 50 pounds (pain free) in that time. I know that may sound like shit for some of you guys, but gains come slower and slower as your strength increases. You stronger guys will know what I mean.

Here's my advice. First, lower your training max a little and build back up. I think this is important when you are trying to make form changes because if you are operating too heavy, you're just going to end up doing whatever it takes to get shit done. What you are trying to do, is make a specific habit change and you're going to screw it up if you're in the gym bursting blood vessels in your eyes. Don't be a knucklehead, just drop the weight a little and work on developing the habit.

Shit happens when you lift heavy...but don't be in this mode when you're trying to sort things out.

Second, quit squeezing the shit out of the bar. I'm not saying that you need to limp wrist it or anything, but quit squeezing it like you're trying to open a jar of mayonnaise. Take a firm and manly grip, but stop there and quit trying to choke the life out of the bar. The harder you squeeze, the more you will end up pushing up on the bar without even realizing it.

Last, just let the bar ride on your back. You already have control and pushing up on it isn't doing jack shit to help you move that weight. Keep everything tight and let your legs and hips move the weight.

Here's the deal. If you're squatting heavy, it will hurt and it should hurt...that's just the game. It's okay for shit to get sore and “hurt”, but if you are feeling PAIN, something is wrong and you need to fix it. And I know from experience that this shit works.

"Give it a shot...what do you have to lose but some aggravating pain?"

Philippines: Welcome to Bizaaro World!

Here's the thing...if you decide to move to the Philippines, prepare to spend a lot of time scratching your head and wondering if the whole world just lost it's damn mind. Now I'm not saying everyone does abnormal shit here, but there sure is a lot of weirdness going down. The problem is that you'll likely be in the minority when something does seem off, because it will seem perfectly normal to almost everyone else. That disconnect will wear on you after a while and you'll start to question your own perception of the world. What's normal and what's not...at this point man, I barely know.

"Really man, please get off of the car, you're gonna scratch it"

There are too many examples to mention, but here's the one I'm thinking about today. Our town had a parade a few months ago and I had our car parked in front of the office. We are on Rizal Street, so the parade is definitely rolling up our block. I hit the gym and then I took my son to McDonalds for the post training feast. Yeah, my diet is 50% crap, but in my defense, I'm really more about getting strong than anything else at this point and the more calories the better in my opinion.

Anyway, when we returned from said fine dining establishment, we found our car covered with children; standing/sitting/walking on the hood, the roof and the trunk. The parents had placed their children there to get a good view of the parade. “Really, have you lost your fucking mind?” In what bizaaro world is this acceptable behavior?

Remember when Burt said something like "right or wrong depends on where you are standing on the planet at the time"? That's one smart mofo!

In defense of my poor car, I proceeded to tell folks to get their kids off of the car and they looked at me like I just lost my damn mind...crazy. Now here's the good part. After that, we went back to the office and I told the story to our employees. One of them responded and said something like, “oh yeah I saw that...but they were only children”. There you have it...that's the point...folks just don't know any better...it really is bizaaro world, man. It's all good, it's normal. A lot of shit that is totally dysfunctional will fall into this category here. And that's just how it is...you need to learn to work with it and work around it. Because no fucks will be given here...not due to a lack of caring, but due to a completely different outlook on life.

 "Really, I don't know what to say"

Wanna Lift Big Weight? Then Fill Your Heart With Hate!

It seems like I have been telling my kid this so much lately. That's right, I'm going for the father of the year award. I know, that sounds like a seriously negative attitude, but this mantra has served me well for years. When I was a kid I remember playing a game with a guy that I absolutely detested and I smoked him; up and down and sideways. I probably shouldn't have won, but the hate that I had made me focus and really knuckle down because, “I would not let this guy beat me, no matter what”. It really works...that kind of focus can make you almost unstoppable.

This mindset is similar to what you've probably read in books about successful people. They take criticism and negativity and use it it fuel their success. So my advice to my son is, not to get upset and retaliate when people screw with you. Just use that negativity to fuel your accomplishments, because your success is the best retaliation.

Pricks at school? Screw them! Knuckle down and ace every test (feel free to rub it in).
Jerks at work? Screw them! Knuckle down and be the top salesman (or whatever you do).
Ass holes at the gym? Screw them! Knuckle down and put up a stupid big squat.

 "Because sometimes a big lift really means FU"

Going to Jail

I was thinking about a close friend today. Sorry to write about you man, but at least I was thinking about you…hope all is well with the family. Anyway, he spent some time in jail and I was thinking about it and how I’d prepare for such a situation. Especially here in the Philippines where they just toss you in and sort it out later…perhaps years later.

I’ve had other friends that ended up in jail over the years but for them it was different because they were not able to make bail and went in from day one. This friend was a little different because he made bail and ended up with about 3 months to prepare. Before you get on your high horse and start saying it’ll never happen to you, just think about that for a second. We’ve all made mistakes over the years, but really, for the most part we just got lucky. Remember Tequila Sunrise? “we were both sharing a joint on the beach that day…Carlos went to jail and I went home”. Or something like that. The point is, we’ve all done dumb shit in our lives, and just got away with it.

Anyway, back to my friend. I think he was smart in the way he went about it. He was a state wrestling champ and he was already used to scrapping on the street/bars…whatever…check. He just ran some heavy steroid cycles, double downed on his training and walked through the gate sweating testosterone and strength. FYI: I've never done streoids and I'm not say'n it's a good idea, but I probably would in this situation, that's all.

Any rational person would do the same thing in my opinion; you’d program your shit to maximize your time and peak right before you go in. That’s a given…but what would you train? I think it’s easier to say what you wouldn’t do. You would not waste energy on anything that did not make you crazy strong and you sure as hell wouldn’t worry about your abs.

Yeah you can use the can, but you have to pee sitting down...abs boy.

If it were me, all of my training would be barbell and bodyweight based. Fuck training for appearance, fuck high endurance…I want to be all go, now! Really…have you ever been in a street fight that lasted more than a minute or two in your life? Heavy squats, heavy pushing and heavy pulling; supplemented with high rep chins, pushups, handstand presses, jumps and burpees. I’d eat like a horse to fuel my training and let the chips fall wherever. Fuck long runs in the park, fuck leg extensions, cable cross overs, preacher curls and fad diets…just give me a barbell, a steak and a huge plate of rice. The end result might not look “pretty”, but you’d be functional as hell (and) you’d be in better shape than 99.9% of the people walking the planet.

So why am I writing this? I’m really just trying to make a point, but if you are reading this because you are actually facing a prison term, just e-mail me and we can go over some programming.

Back to my point…My aforementioned friend told me once that he felt sorry for a coworker, because he was small and weak. Now this guy was a top producer in our industry and making money hand over fist, but my friend made a good point; that’s great, but how can this guy protect his family? Really, that’s our main function as men…yeah we earn money to put food on the table and so on, but it really boils down to protecting our loved ones. You can buy a gun for protection I guess, but what are you going to do when you don’t have it with you? You should be prepared for the worst case scenario in my opinion.

So when you think about your training, ask yourself this question. What if I was going to jail in 3 months, 6 months, whatever? You’ll be in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth…how would you train to survive…to dominate? That’s how you should be training most of the time in my opinion. Training to be a fucking tank!

 "Be a man...guns are for pussies"