[Steve]

With the glp 1 drugs , something doesn’t sit right with me personally yet on them . This for me falls into the same area as a covid jab which I didn’t get . I don’t trust big pharma at all when they so aggressively roll something out , as it shows just how much they are keen for profits . In the past , we have seen with pain meds , when they rolled a drug out this fast , it caused a lot of problems .

So I will sit and watch for a couple more years on these personally .

I also have zero issue with discipline and being hungry, It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I just have more veggies and Greek yog . So it’s not really a drug I need.

If you are super struggling in that area then it can obv help a lot , but I’m just concerned about it

This is a great stance. My main issue with the GLP-1 drugs is while they may effectively suppress appetite, the jury is still out on whether they also make it more likely someone will lose more lean tissue which is antithetical to our goals

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Hey Michaela,

I’m a physician and I’m wondering if the massage/body work may have irritated or torn your meniscus. The body generally does a pretty good job healing these over time but if there’s catching and locking of the knee, that would warrant surgery. Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this. Your form when training is very controlled and impeccable. I don’t think it was your training that caused this

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Florian I train between 90-120’minutes

Rest day today, food is going in nicely so 0’issues there. Usual rest plenty of work boxed off, sauna & ice bath. Fucking hate the ice bath but that’s exactly why I do it 🤣

Very much looking forward to push tomorrow, my knees weren’t happy last night so leg day wasn’t fantastic. Few things I need to look at and address. Key is making sure I don’t get injured and keep nailing progress. As much as cybex hack is just nostalgic I hate to say it gym lecco just feels better.

We’ll see how it works out.

Why do you think the gym leco hack feels better for your knees? Was watching your videos with the cybex and lecco hack, seems like you can get even better knee flexion with the gym lecco hack squat.

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Hey Marc. Sorry to hear about your knee issues. I’m a physician from the US and sports medicine falls under the umbrella of my specialty. Thought I’d chime in here. From what you’ve described, it does sound like meniscus tear or irritation (since the imaging hasn’t shown gross abnormalities). In the absence of hemarthrosis and gross instability, the initial management of a meniscal tear is usually conservative with gradual progression back into activities. So what you’re doing is spot on. Conservative management tends to be successful in someone your age and the history you describe (no trauma like severe twisting injury) as long as the knee isn’t locked or severely restricted (your locking seemed more intermittent). Hope this gives you some reassurance.

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

You likely have a wide maintenance range and need to get down to 2000-2400 kcals to start seeing consistent fat loss

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Back looks so impressive!!!!!

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Not a good day for me today. To be honest I like to stay really positive about things but today has been the first time I’ve thought ‘fuck, is this going to affect my comp’.

I’ve woken up with really swollen hands the last 2 days and I have been suffering with trigger finger for some weeks. However today they were so bad we made a trip to a&e.

We waited for 5 hours for them to confirm that it was trigger finger (which we already knew). They offered a steroid injection in 3 of them but I’ve already had that done 4 years ago before getting surgery because it didn’t work.

I am seeing a hand specialist on Thursday which is the earliest appointment, I’m really hoping it improves because right now I can’t wrap my hands around the bar to bench press let alone deadlift.

I really hate to be negative but it’s just really quite shit. Last year I tore my erector 13 days before my comp and now this.

Im going to try and stay positive and going to squat tomorrow.

Hey Kiera, sorry to hear about the trigger finger. I’m a US physician and we tend to see that persistent relief beyond 12 months from glucocorticoid injection is expected in only ~50 percent of patients.

Surgery is suggested when pain and locking persist despite conservative therapy and one or two local glucocorticoid injections. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous and open surgical release of the first annular (A1) pulley ligament are both effective, with a recurrence rate of only about 3 percent.

Hope you can get the surgery soon!

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

I’m a US physician. I’m assuming it affects the pinky and ring finger? Sounds like ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow. The shoulder pain is a bit odd but a pinched nerve C8 in the neck between C7-C8 could cause the same issue down the arm. You should get a cervical/neck MRI and EMG/NCS test which can more definitively determine if there is compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

You look awesome! Delts are very well developed. Went to your instagram page and it’s clear you put in work in the offseason

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

3 low days and you should be back to or near baseline

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Generally, the more knee flexion you can achieve (knees over toes), the better the quad stimulation/connection. If the smith and v-squat allow you to achieve that, why not just stick with those exercises? The hack squat isn’t suitable for everyone.

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Sorry to hear about the tear Jordan. May I ask what exercise and where in the ROM you felt the tear?

IG: @sloh722

[Steve]

Hey Meg, great log and awesome YouTube video content. It seems like hack squats tend to give you knee issues.

Have you ever tried a narrow stance smith squat with feet right under shoulders (not in front)?

The smith machine really takes a lot of low back out of the movement compared to free weight barbell back squats. And bc you can kick the hips back a little as you squat down, it tends to be more knee friendly compared to hack squat. You can also get plenty deep with good knee flexion compared to leg presses.

IG: @sloh722