It should be a 1-3' long, 6" diameter, hard foam (like compressed styrofoam) cylinder.

Hmmm...maybe we don't have one. I guess I will check when I get there. Thanks again Brother. :-)

When in doubt, roll it out. Get a foam roller Tom. They are cheap. EFS is having a 30$ free shipping deal. Get a roller and some wrist straps. You also get a FREE T-Shirt.

On another note, I am sore as ****. But I really want to be in the Gym right now...

What's EFS, Frank, I am not familiar with them.

Went in and did sets of body weight pullups, varying widths and grips, to get a decent back workout without bending over. Got sets of 22, 20, 18, 16, 15 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10....some upright cable work and was able to get out without doing any further damage...Back is about 50% better tonight, hopefully some more anti-inflammatories and a good nights sleep with put me back to normal.

No foam roller nor small medicine ball at my gym, so I didn't get to try that today.

Hey what do you guys use for protein powder? I got some GNC Amplified Wheybolic on the recommendation of the guy in the store, but its expensive and I am not sure if he just wanted to sell the house brand. Any recommendations? I have read a lot of literature on bodybuilding.com, but nothing is quite as conclusive as a recommendation from someone you trust :-)

http://www.elitefts.com/ I believe Dave Tate is the CEO or owner something along those lines.

Metabolic Drive Low-Carb Check that out. For me one of the best and it tastes good too.

I use the Body Fortress super advanced whey from Walmart. It seems to do pretty well, and it also seems to be pretty comparable to the more expensive stuff at GNC.

On a lighter note, I'm going to be out of town this weekend, and I've asked a friend if he can get me into his gym. He said, yeah. So, I told him that I'm doing my back and routine and asked if he's ever done deadlifts. He said it's been a couple years and that he was looking forward to the workout... I didn't have the heart to tell him that he probably won't be able to move on Sunday.... :-)

Tom and I are both diehard Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey fans. In fact, he turned me on to their rocky road flavor, which is the shiznit. It's affordable, award winning, and consistently rated the best out of all of the brands. I really like their Pro Complex; but it's more expensive and I just add most of the other nutrients to my diet through pills and powders.

I buy mine online at bodybuilding.com which has good prices, cheap and fast shipping, and amazing customer service.

Just about all of the Optimum Nutrition products are top notch (I use them for my maize, BCAA, creatine, multi-vitamins, ZMA, and fish oil; I use other brands for my glutamine, pre-train drink, misc. pills, and CLA).

Same stuff I use. It's like $13 for a 2 lb jug. Don't get the cookies and cream flavor.:-) I stick to chocolate. I haven't tried the strawberry yet though.

My partner flaked on me; so I call a mulligan on our time together, today. He was 25 minutes late and left early -- only giving us 25 or so minutes together. :-) Whatev. Here's what *I* did on a dynamic leg day.

warmup with cardio, static & dynamic stretching, and roller

parallel box squats: on the clock; 8 sets of 2 @ 225 (all about the speed).

banded sumo deads ("light" band ... only bar weight given; band adds 135?): 275 x 4, 225 x 5, 225 x 5, 225 x 5, 225 x 11 (grip failed) -- again, all about the speed.

good mornings: 135 x 8 (ab interlude with a medicine ball and my partner); 135 x 6 (my abs were too pumped for my belt to fit :-)) -- slow and steady wins the race, here.

landmines: 1/2p x 10, 1p x 10, 10, 10 -- FAST

pull-down abs: 3 sets of 10 @ 180 -- average rate ... need to really feel it in the abs and not the back.

pullthroughs: 3 sets of 10 @ 150 -- like a jackrabbit :-)

assisted pullups (natural grip): 10 @ 60 assist, 10 @ 50 assist, 10 @ 40 assist -- fast, but smooth (no jerking)

pullups (natty): 4 ... all on my own. :-)

not a bad day: almost passed out twice (actually had to catch myself); almost puked once; had people gawking at my freakishness. :-)

:-) It IS the shiznit! :-)

Glad you got in a good workout despite the mulligan, Dokk.

Back is still slightly tweaked but much improved over yesterday. I am going to stick to delts in my shoulder workout today and put off traps until tomorrow, so there is little chance of aggravating the back before my playoff game tonight.

sounds like a good plan, Admiral. :-)

It may not be a "good" plan, but it's my plan, Dokk. I will let you know how the back feels later. :-)

Had another good day at the gym... tried rows @ 60#x30... don't like the way it feels on my chest though (the machine is odd, but it's also possible I'm not using it right... seemed pretty self explanatory, though).

Tried more tricep stuff but at very low weight to work on that elbow of mine. Setting up a consult with the PT for next week, I hope.

May buy some of that powder, so Mark's timing on asking about it was great!

:-)

Happy to have caught this thread.

Any suggestions on a basic routine to give my legs a thorough tearing apart? Just trying to find something to do 1-2x/wk that'll keep them from getting too out of shape!

Play soccer on the regular, but I'm getting to the point that a little weight training could benefit.

Lunges, squats, box jumps, leg press, abs(works hip flexors), leg curls, leg extensions, calf raises... All very good excercises.

Good suggestions...I would keep the weights moderate and the reps fairly high, being that you are attempting a more "sports-specific" type of training.

Hit shoulders light today to keep my lower back from tightening up prior to my game tonight.

Seated Military Press - 6 sets of 20 at 135 lbs.

Smith machine Press - 4 sets of 10 at 225

That's it....got the blood flowing, back feels better, so I am happy. I will throw trap work in with my workout tomorrow.

Much appreciated. I'll throw these together for the next few weeks. It'll just be a test to see if my soccer game can stand up to the sore legs!

Welcome aboard.
For a beginner stick to the basic for lower body development. Squat, Front Squat, Deadlift, Romanian Deadlifts or Stiff Leg Deadlifts.

If your still in season or still playing I would let training take a backseat. Lighter weight focusing more on form and proper stretching. Making gains or trying to gain strength and/or size in season is going to be EXTREMELY difficult and dangerous even with drugs.

Tonight was assistance night
Rows
Mil Presses Standing
machine row
pull ups
pull downs
rear delts
side laterals
shrugs
biceps
abs