09 Oct Paul Oneid – Recovery/ Lifting/ Life

Posted at 09:08h in Raw Powerlifting, Team Training Logs by
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I recently withdrew from a meet in November due to a facet sprain in my L3-L4, which caused a whole host of hip issues and IT band syndrome. I am currently deloading and correcting some imbalances in my hips as I prepare for a short off-season cycle followed by a meet prep leading into the XPC Finals at the Arnold Classic. I will be competing at 220lbs with wraps and I will be chasing a 2050 total. Brian is helping me with my programming throughout the rehab and leading into the meet. I am excited to see what my body can do when it is moving properly and pain free!

So, a couple quick hit updates

  1. I am pain free and this is HUGE!
  2. I am still experiencing a little bit of a hip imbalance.  I am finding that when I flex my glutes and quads at the top while I brace I can effectively center myself and the shift is eliminated.  This is going to take some getting used to and some patience on my part.
  3. I have lost a significant amount of weight unintentionally (from 235 to 223).  Likely, it is mostly water and a bit of glycogen, but it’s weight, and I notice it big time.  Hopefully with the weights lighter and increasing the volume over the next few weeks I will fill out back above to just above 230 where I feel most comfortable.
  4. I am not out of the woods yet and this issue is something I never want to experience again.  I am continuing with my hip rehab protocol, which I keep forgetting to video, and doing the Mcgill Big-3 multiple times a day.  This is something I will do for life.

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Training for this week was very simple.  I followed the same rehab schedule as before but I lifted 3 times.

Day 1

  1. Front squats – 5×5 up to 315×5 @RPE 5… I was conservative on the RPE because I didn’t figure out how to center myself until the last set.  This will be built upon quickly.
  2. Single leg RDL – 50lbs x15x3sets
  3. Bulgarian Split Squat – 30lbs x15x3sets each side (it was too cold to do sled drags)

Day 2.

  1. Floor press – 5×5 up to 315×5 @5 RPE… again conservative as I have not floor pressed in years
  2. Incline DB Press – 90x20x3sets
  3. Circuit of Lateral raise, facepulls, pressdowns, band dislocations 3×20 each
  4. Stir the pot – 100 reps

Day 3

  1. Deadlift – 5 singles up to 545×1@5RPE… Probably conservative but I am focusing so hard on positioning that I can’t be as explosive off the floor as I want to be.  This will improve as I am not pain free and can start to push things a bit.  No shift on these!
  2. DB Chest supported row – 90x15x3sets
  3. DB Shrugs – 90x20x3sets
  4. Pallof Press – 15x3sets each side

I added in a day 4 movement day.  For 5 sets in a circuit at a casual pace I did:

  1. Sled drag 100m
  2. Bird Dogs – 2x10s hold each
  3. Rolling plank x20
  4. Mcgill situps – 2x10s hold each
  5. Mace Swings – 10 each side

Followed this up with some soft tissue and specific mobility work.

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As I stated in my previous log post, Brian is programming for me.  I have had to adjust a few things as needed, such as bulgarians instead of sled because it was cold as balls, or rows instead of mcgill chins, because my shoulder is a bit wonky overhead for the time being.  I am loving the gradual approach, but it will be an adjustment for me.  I am used to training often, but I know my body needs time to recover and I need time to do the things I need to do health wise.  I will write more on this later.

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This past weekend I drove down to Kingston, ON to help out at the RPS Canadian Conflict meet.  First off, the RPS is an amazing fed.  Gene and Ame do an incredible job and truly cater to the lifters.  They have the utmost integrity and are doing a great service to the PL community.  I think this was the best time I have ever had at a meet that I wasn’t competing in.  So many friends, new and old were there for only one reason – to better themselves.  I want to thank everyone who approached me and introduced themselves.  It was pretty humbling to for me to have people come up to me and tell me that they respect me and love watching me lift.  I hope I was able to help them in whatever way I could that weekend and at any point moving forward.  I wrapped knees, spotted, helped chose attempts, helped in the warm up area and did whatever I could to lend a hand, just as people have done for me in the past.

On that note I have a few tips for lifters at meets.  Some may be common sense, but for some reason they are missed or ignored.

  1. Bring all the food and water you need with you in the morning and CONSUME it throughout the meet.  I heard “I have only eaten ‘X’ all day,” and they wonder why they were exhausted by deadlift time
  2. Know the rules and standards of the federation.  This needs no explanation.
  3. If the warm up room does not have enough competition equipment to warm up on and you are a “stronger” lifter, make sure you use the competition equipment to warm up.  If you’re a less experienced lifter, be cognoscente of this and do your best to accommodate.  For example, if you walk out your squats and there is only one mono in the warm up room, perhaps use the power rack in warm ups.
  4. Know your attempts and have a plan.  Openers should be gimmes and seconds and thirds should have options based on the desired total or PR attempts.  Always have a plan A and a plan B
  5. Do not be afraid to ask for help!  I had many lifters ask me and I obliged with pleasure.  I know that 90% of lifters who attend meets to watch would do the same.
  6. Have fun and take what is there.  Some days don’t go as planned, but if you walk away without being injured, you can lift another day.  Powerlifting is a marathon, not a sprint. There will always be other meets and other opportunities to improve on your performances.
  7. BONUS – Deload after the meet!  They are incredibly stressful on the system and require recovery time.  Use this time to relax and be healthier and more fired up when you get back to training!
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Paul Oneid

Paul is an elite level raw Powerlifter with personal bests of an 805lbs squat, 440lbs bench, 725lbs deadlift and a 1960lbs total in the 242lbs class, as well as an 800lbs squat, 430lbs bench, 700lbs deadlift and 1930lbs total in the 220lbs class. Paul brings a deep educational background to the team as he has earned Master’s degrees in both Sports Management and Exercise Science. He is a former D1 Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach, who now works as a Functional Rehabilitation Specialist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Paul provides coaching services in the areas of training and nutrition through his company Master Athletic Performance and is also the co-founder of a technology company, 1-Life Inc. Stay tuned for more information on that in the future!
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