Veni, vidi, levavi, BenM Blathers

[MarkKO]

It's basically the same thing, in the sense that recovery is both local and systemic. Perhaps I was systemically recovered but just some particular tendons and joints were over stressed / under recovered. Maybe it's the way I perform the lifts, maybe it's just how the programs I've run over the years, I sorta think a combination of the two.

I would agree with that.

[BenM]

Wed 05/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W7 D3

AM BW: 90.9kg

Background Noise: Stronger By Science podcast

Pause Belt Squat:
10x0kg
12x50kg
12x50kg
12x50kg
12x50kg
1 minute rests

Single Leg Kettlebell RDL
12x70lb
12x70lb
12x70lb
1 minute rests

Paused Single Leg Leg Extension:
12x30kg
12x30kg
12x30kg
Close to 90 second rests

Low Incline Paused Dumbbell Bench:
15x40lb / hand
15x40lb / hand
15x40lb / hand
1 minute rests

Dumbbell LTE:
12x30lb / hand
12x30lb / hand
12x30lb / hand
1 minute rests

Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Took an extra rest day yesterday because I still felt tired from the F1 race on Sunday plus I'm still coughing up gunk and generally feeling crook. Actually went to the doc on Monday, PCR was negative for COVID (as expected) so not much else I can do but try and take it easy and ride it out.
• So, I slept like crap again last night but after working from home yesterday and barely moving, I didn't want to do nothing at all, so decided just to go out and do something in the gym without taking video or pushing very hard.

Training Notes:

• My hip was feeling irritated, so I just did some light pause belt squats and skipped the staggered stance work. Then did some easy kettlebell RDLs and decided mid-set that I could do some more quad work afterwards so did some light pause leg extensions too.
• Bumped up the weight a little bit for some dumbbell bench, my shoulder was a little tight and clicking/popping at the bottom of every rep but I pushed through anyway because I am stubborn. Don't think I hurt it, it felt alright afterwards anyway. Dropped a little weight off the dumbbells and did three pretty easy sets of LTEs to finish, the last set might've been RPE 5-6 or something.
• All done in 42 minutes. That'll do for now.

[BenM]

Thu 06/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W7 D4

AM BW: 89.9kg

Background Noise: The Race podcast

Swiss Bar Bench Press:
10x25kg
10x25kg
5x65kg
5x65kg
5x65kg
5x65kg
5x65kg
1 minute rests

Dumbbell Fly:
12x30lb / hand
12x30lb / hand
1 minute rest

Swiss Bar Row:
5x85kg
5x85kg
5x85kg
12x65kg
12x65kg
15-20 seconds rest between the fives
1 minute rest between the twelves

Front Foot Elevated Split Squat:
10x30lb
10x30lb
10x30lb
1 minute rests

Side Step Up:
15x30lb / hand
14x30lb / hand
1 minute rest

Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Slept decently last night, but had a really busy day organising stuff for a day trip down south tomorrow to pick up a car. Didn't think I'd get to train at all, but squeezed in session at 5pm. The aim was just to bang out something pretty quick and easy in half an hour or less.

Training Notes:

• I added some load to the swiss bar bench, and after starting the first set decided to just do some easy fives a long way from failure, since these still seem dicey for the shoulder.
• Added weight to the flys, and dropped back to twelves. They mustn't have felt too bad because I didn't make any notes about them.
• Did rows with the same bar to save time, last time I did this weight I did tens but it felt so darn heavy, strength is clearly way down. So I just did some quick sets of five on short rests, then some lighter sets of twelve to finish.
• Some light quad work without pushing too hard, and then some side step ups with the same the weight to save time reloading and yibbida yibbida, that's all folks.
• Mission accomplished, I got this done in 31 minutes. Didn't take any footage to save time and then got busy and didn't get round to logging it until 3 days later.

[BenM]

Sun 09/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W8 D1

AM BW: 89.0kg

Background Noise: Bathurst

Heel Elevated SSB Squat:
5x17kg
5x17kg
5x67kg
6x92kg
6x92kg
6x92kg
6x92kg
2 minute rests

Lying Leg Extension:
12x65kg
12x65kg
12x65kg @ 7.5
90 second rests

RDL to Floor:
10x110kg
10x110kg
10x110kg
90 second rests

Dumbbell Squeeze Press:
12x47.5lb / hand
12x47.5lb / hand
12x47.5lb / hand
90 second rests

Triceps Pushdown w/Rope:
8x22.5kg
8x22.5kg @ 8.5
12x15kg
10x15kg @ 7
1 minute rest, then about 3 because the race started, then 1 minute again

Lateral Raise:
10x10lb / hand
10x10lb / hand
1 minute rest

Footage:


Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• I've had two days out of the gym, but they weren't rest days at all - I've been super busy and quite physically active detailing cars and mowing lawns and stuff, my body is feeling pretty sore from that. But although my hips were keeping me awake overnight they don't feel too bad walking around generally so I don't know what's going on. Plus I've still got this chest cold, must be 5 weeks and counting. Didn't really have any expectations for today honestly, and I wouldn't have been too upset if I'd needed to take another day off, had so much stuff to do already. But I fitted it in.

Training Notes:

• When I was in Hobart on Friday there was a guy selling some cheap Amazon squat wedges on Gumtree so I picked them up since I was nearby. I wanted to try 'em out so slotted these in today and I was pretty happy with how they went - much more comfortable than standing with my heels on a plate like I've done in the past. They felt very heavy to start with, but then this is the most weight I've had on my back for a couple of months. They were also relatively painless until I started to get some twinges in the fourth set so that's positive, and I got more of a quad pump than usual.
• Lying leg extensions with a little more weight than last week, and my quads were definitely burning at the end of that last set.
• RDLs, 10kg more, trying to keep them from getting stupidly hard so dropped back to tens today, felt alright.
• Squeeze presses felt a bit weird because the dumbbells are unbalanced at this weight, I tried with the heavier end in both directions but it was just as awkward either way. No big deal though, and in even better news the front delt was virtually painless the whole way through.
• Went a little heavier with the triceps pushdowns, and again started to get the shoulder involved in that second set so dropped load for some lighter sets after that.
• The first couple of lateral raise reps didn't feel good at all but once I got going they were absolutely fine. Still didn't push them though.
• This ended up being a pretty good effort in 55 minutes, no complaints. Except the fact that I'm back to work after 4 days off tomorrow. Blah.

[BenM]

Mon 10/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W8 D2

AM BW: 89.2kg

Background Noise: The Race podcast

Medium Grip 3:1:0 Tempo Bench Press:
10x20kg
10x20kg
8x55kg
8x55kg
8x55kg
1 minute rests

Dumbbell Fly:
12x32.5lb / hand
12x32.5lb / hand
--- Supersetted with ---
Goblet Squat:
12x32.5lb
12x32.5lb
12x32.5lb
90 second rests between supersets

Seated Cable Row:
12x67.5kg
12x67.5kg
12x67.5kg
90 second rests

Side Lunge:
10x32.5lb / hand
10x32.5lb / hand
90 seconds rest

Kettlebell Swing:
15x50lb
15x50lb
--- Supersetted with ---
Seated Dumbbell Press:
15x15lb / hand
15x15lb / hand
90 seconds rest between supersets

Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Pretty decent sleep last night after another busy day, and I even managed to get up a few minutes before the alarm buzzed. Work today has almost been like a rest, physically at least. I wasn't unmotivated to train this morning but my legs and back were kinda sore, and I needed to get in and out pretty quickly so made a few adjustments. Also didn't bother filming.

Training Notes:

• Bench went fine with a little more weight than last week. Again my shoulder was feeling pretty uncomfortable/unstable in the bottom position but wasn't too bad as long as I stayed tight.
• Added a little weight to the flys as well, did them with a tempo and pause again. Because I think my sore legs need a bit more time to recover than what they've been getting, I decided to superset goblet squats with the same (light) weight which also saved some time.
• Added a couple of kilos to the cable rows too, I think these were easier than last week.
• I had side step ups programmed today but in the interests of time I did some side lunges instead with the weight that was loaded - which was a lot heavier than last time out and the last set was pretty hard.
• Kettlebell swings subbed in for hamstring curls, because it was faster to setup and my conditioning needs work, they did get me blowing a bit. Luckily the presses I supersetted with them were stupidly light, just trying to get some blood flowing into the shoulder and not inflame it too much.
• Mission accomplished again, just 45 minutes of work which was hard enough to feel like I achieved something, but walk away feeling energised and not crushed. See you next time!

[MarkKO]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

[BenM]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

[BenM]

Wed 12/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W8 D3

AM BW: 89.5kg

Background Noise: Bring Back V10s podcast

Pause Belt Squat:
10x0kg
10x50kg
10x85kg
10x85kg
10x85kg
1 minute rests

Staggered Stance Belt Squat:
12x45kg
12x45kg
1 minute rest

Single Leg Kettlebell RDL:
12x75lb
12x75lb
12x75lb
1 minute rests

Low Incline Pause Dumbbell Bench:
15x42.5lb / hand
15x42.5lb / hand
15x42.5lb / hand
1 minute rests

Dumbbell LTE:
12x32.5lb / hand
12x32.5lb / hand
12x32.5lb / hand
1 minute rests

Footage:


Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• I woke up really tired yesterday, was hungry all day, even needed a nap after lunch. Slept well last night but same deal. Expected I'd be taking it easy today but it really wasn't necessary to change too much.

Training Notes:

• Went back to slightly heavier loads with the belt squats, these didn't feel too bad, although I did drop to tens just to avoid pushing too hard. Didn't skip the staggered stance work this week either, and they were also pretty easy and not uncomfortable at all really. Good signs.
• Loaded up the kettlebell a bit heavier for some RDLs, these are still really easy but I did start getting a bit of a lower back burn in the third set.
• Benching was OK. Shoulder was still popping and a bit uncomfortable, but not as bad as last week I don't think, even though the last set did start to feel kinda challenging towards the end.
• Some nice light LTEs to finish, I think the third set was like RPE 5-6 or something. Good enough.
• Not a bad morning's work. Just 50 minutes. Sayonara.

[MarkKO]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

Easier? Maybe, maybe not. But exercise selection is probably pretty key.

When I was fixing my shoulder my rule on bench was as soon as I felt discomfort, I stopped benching for the day. That's not always the way to do it, but when you're working with something that's been around for a while it can be a good idea. Mine had been buggered for three or so months.

I think it's especially relevant when it isn't a muscle injury, which seem to do better with use. Connective tissue stuff heals so much slower that I think they need more caution.

Like with the whatever it was in my right outside quad, it pretty much disappeared after a peak when I did no squats outside air squats and sissy squats for around six weeks.

It's not so much a matter of taking it easy but not doing any exercises that hurt it. There are so many exercises around It's pretty easy to find stuff that'll work what needs working without irritating what's hurt. Six to 12 weeks of no benching or squatting won't hurt progress at all provided you do pick exercises to do that work the muscles involved.

[BenM]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

Easier? Maybe, maybe not. But exercise selection is probably pretty key.

When I was fixing my shoulder my rule on bench was as soon as I felt discomfort, I stopped benching for the day. That's not always the way to do it, but when you're working with something that's been around for a while it can be a good idea. Mine had been buggered for three or so months.

I think it's especially relevant when it isn't a muscle injury, which seem to do better with use. Connective tissue stuff heals so much slower that I think they need more caution.

Like with the whatever it was in my right outside quad, it pretty much disappeared after a peak when I did no squats outside air squats and sissy squats for around six weeks.

It's not so much a matter of taking it easy but not doing any exercises that hurt it. There are so many exercises around It's pretty easy to find stuff that'll work what needs working without irritating what's hurt. Six to 12 weeks of no benching or squatting won't hurt progress at all provided you do pick exercises to do that work the muscles involved.

Yeah I just have trouble thinking of stuff that gets work into the right muscle groups without benching and squatting. Most of the bench variations (and push ups) are all triceps, and quads aren't that easy either.

It's all good though, I feel like I'm in decent shape. Need a lighter week this week for various reasons and I'll reassess, but feel like 'normal' benching isn't too far off, maybe a few more weeks.

[BenM]

Fri 14/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W8 D4

AM BW: 89.8kg

Background Noise: Stronger By Science podcast

Swiss Bar Bench Press:
10x25kg
10x25kg
5x70kg
5x70kg
12x55kg
12x55kg
12x55kg
1 minute rests

Dumbbell Fly:
15x25lb / hand
15x25lb / hand
1 minute rest

Lat Pulldown:
12x60kg
12x60kg
12x60kg @ 7
90 second rests

Incline Curl:
10x25lb / hand
10x25lb / hand
10x25lb / hand @ 6
1 minute rests

Single Leg Front Foot Elevated Split Squat:
10x32.5lb
10x32.5lb
12x32.5lb
90 second rests

SSB Side Step Up:
12x57kg
12x57kg
12x57kg
90 second rests

Footage:


Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Had really crappy sleep last night - there's a bit of concern around the weather and I had bad dreams about our house flooding. Woke up before the alarm though and waded out through the swamp to the gym. At least it had stopped raining.

Training Notes:

• Bench went ok today, I moved my hands out to the widest grip. It was only on the last rep of the heavy sets that the shoulder started to get uncomfortable so I called it at two and went back to lighter high rep work. Also dropped load on the flys and took those fairly easy.
• Was feeling too lazy to do the dumbbell rows that I had programmed so tried some lat pulldowns. These probably would've hurt six weeks ago but there was just the faintest stretch at the top and no real issue. Last set started to get a little difficult on these short rests.
• Just taking the curls easy today too. Light weight, a fair way from failure.
• Added 2.5lb to the single leg squats, and really weren't too difficult, although I did push the last set a little bit harder.
• Back to the old banded side step ups, they're boring AF but actually felt pretty good today apart from the fact that I was getting kinda tired by the end.
• All finished in 57 minutes.

[slowmotion]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

Easier? Maybe, maybe not. But exercise selection is probably pretty key.

When I was fixing my shoulder my rule on bench was as soon as I felt discomfort, I stopped benching for the day. That's not always the way to do it, but when you're working with something that's been around for a while it can be a good idea. Mine had been buggered for three or so months.

I think it's especially relevant when it isn't a muscle injury, which seem to do better with use. Connective tissue stuff heals so much slower that I think they need more caution.

Like with the whatever it was in my right outside quad, it pretty much disappeared after a peak when I did no squats outside air squats and sissy squats for around six weeks.

It's not so much a matter of taking it easy but not doing any exercises that hurt it. There are so many exercises around It's pretty easy to find stuff that'll work what needs working without irritating what's hurt. Six to 12 weeks of no benching or squatting won't hurt progress at all provided you do pick exercises to do that work the muscles involved.

Yeah I just have trouble thinking of stuff that gets work into the right muscle groups without benching and squatting. Most of the bench variations (and push ups) are all triceps, and quads aren't that easy either.

It's all good though, I feel like I'm in decent shape. Need a lighter week this week for various reasons and I'll reassess, but feel like 'normal' benching isn't too far off, maybe a few more weeks.

It seems you are slowly feeling better again, that's good to hear!

I've got "bad" shoulders and knees ( bad is the wrong word, both shoulders and knees work fine, they just yell at me a little from time to time ), which isn't unusual at my age. But I've found a couple of things that works for me.

One is that on both squats and bench how I move is very important. There seems to be rather narrow pathways where everything is fine and my shoulders and knees are all right, but if I stray from those or if my technique gets sloppy I feel it right away.

Another thing is that I prefer to do low reps and many sets. 7 sets of 3 reps is fine, for instance, but 3 sets of 7 isn't because then my technique often gets sloppy on the last few reps on each set. So I never do amraps, it's just not worth it for me.

And I like to lift often, but do less each time. So for me to squat five times a week works fine since
I can keep each session shorter and still get the same amount of reps in during a week that I would if I did two monster sessions in a week.

Well, that's just some thoughts, I don't know if any of it is helpful at all.

[MarkKO]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

Easier? Maybe, maybe not. But exercise selection is probably pretty key.

When I was fixing my shoulder my rule on bench was as soon as I felt discomfort, I stopped benching for the day. That's not always the way to do it, but when you're working with something that's been around for a while it can be a good idea. Mine had been buggered for three or so months.

I think it's especially relevant when it isn't a muscle injury, which seem to do better with use. Connective tissue stuff heals so much slower that I think they need more caution.

Like with the whatever it was in my right outside quad, it pretty much disappeared after a peak when I did no squats outside air squats and sissy squats for around six weeks.

It's not so much a matter of taking it easy but not doing any exercises that hurt it. There are so many exercises around It's pretty easy to find stuff that'll work what needs working without irritating what's hurt. Six to 12 weeks of no benching or squatting won't hurt progress at all provided you do pick exercises to do that work the muscles involved.

Yeah I just have trouble thinking of stuff that gets work into the right muscle groups without benching and squatting. Most of the bench variations (and push ups) are all triceps, and quads aren't that easy either.

It's all good though, I feel like I'm in decent shape. Need a lighter week this week for various reasons and I'll reassess, but feel like 'normal' benching isn't too far off, maybe a few more weeks.

It seems you are slowly feeling better again, that's good to hear!

I've got "bad" shoulders and knees ( bad is the wrong word, both shoulders and knees work fine, they just yell at me a little from time to time ), which isn't unusual at my age. But I've found a couple of things that works for me.

One is that on both squats and bench how I move is very important. There seems to be rather narrow pathways where everything is fine and my shoulders and knees are all right, but if I stray from those or if my technique gets sloppy I feel it right away.

Another thing is that I prefer to do low reps and many sets. 7 sets of 3 reps is fine, for instance, but 3 sets of 7 isn't because then my technique often gets sloppy on the last few reps on each set. So I never do amraps, it's just not worth it for me.

And I like to lift often, but do less each time. So for me to squat five times a week works fine since
I can keep each session shorter and still get the same amount of reps in during a week that I would if I did two monster sessions in a week.

Well, that's just some thoughts, I don't know if any of it is helpful at all.

This is seriously good advice.

Josh Bryant is a proponent of more reps and less sets for lifters with more mileage.

I also like the idea of a narrow pathway of technique. I had never thought of it that way, but it's a very good way to look at it.

[MarkKO]

Be careful with that razor's edge you're walking brother.

Yeah. I know.

I think the shoulder is showing some very slow signs of improvement. The leg tendon thing well, who the hell knows, it comes and goes. It's better than it used to be for sure. Would they improve faster if I took it easier? No way to know really. I'm generally not feeling more pain in the 24 hours after lifting, which is the guide that I use. Monday was a bit of an aberration, but it could also be because I used those squat blocks which is a new thing.

Easier? Maybe, maybe not. But exercise selection is probably pretty key.

When I was fixing my shoulder my rule on bench was as soon as I felt discomfort, I stopped benching for the day. That's not always the way to do it, but when you're working with something that's been around for a while it can be a good idea. Mine had been buggered for three or so months.

I think it's especially relevant when it isn't a muscle injury, which seem to do better with use. Connective tissue stuff heals so much slower that I think they need more caution.

Like with the whatever it was in my right outside quad, it pretty much disappeared after a peak when I did no squats outside air squats and sissy squats for around six weeks.

It's not so much a matter of taking it easy but not doing any exercises that hurt it. There are so many exercises around It's pretty easy to find stuff that'll work what needs working without irritating what's hurt. Six to 12 weeks of no benching or squatting won't hurt progress at all provided you do pick exercises to do that work the muscles involved.

Yeah I just have trouble thinking of stuff that gets work into the right muscle groups without benching and squatting. Most of the bench variations (and push ups) are all triceps, and quads aren't that easy either.

It's all good though, I feel like I'm in decent shape. Need a lighter week this week for various reasons and I'll reassess, but feel like 'normal' benching isn't too far off, maybe a few more weeks.

Pushups can be pretty pec-heavy depending how you do them. Slow eccentric, for example. Flys if your shoulder tolerates them will hit your pecs hard, and I've found using bands to set up an ersatz cable fly setup is pretty shoulder friendly. You can also try squeeze presses if you've got DBs, which definitely are shoulder friendly.

For quads, sissy squats or lunges are my personal go-to. I have zero idea if they would work with your quad issue though, especially the sissy squats. That said, when I had my IT band or whatever thing going on sissy squats were fine so they might work for you.

[BenM]

It seems you are slowly feeling better again, that's good to hear!

I've got "bad" shoulders and knees ( bad is the wrong word, both shoulders and knees work fine, they just yell at me a little from time to time ), which isn't unusual at my age. But I've found a couple of things that works for me.

One is that on both squats and bench how I move is very important. There seems to be rather narrow pathways where everything is fine and my shoulders and knees are all right, but if I stray from those or if my technique gets sloppy I feel it right away.

Another thing is that I prefer to do low reps and many sets. 7 sets of 3 reps is fine, for instance, but 3 sets of 7 isn't because then my technique often gets sloppy on the last few reps on each set. So I never do amraps, it's just not worth it for me.

And I like to lift often, but do less each time. So for me to squat five times a week works fine since
I can keep each session shorter and still get the same amount of reps in during a week that I would if I did two monster sessions in a week.

Well, that's just some thoughts, I don't know if any of it is helpful at all.

Thanks Jan. It IS most definitely helpful.

I had already had some similar thoughts, that once I transition back to 'normal' training I'll most likely play around with conjugate again, with one heavier day and one lighter dynamic effort day, using lots of submaximal doubles and triples rather than heavier fives to eights. It's just so easy for me to slip out of the groove and tweak something, mostly from just losing focus when tired I think, especially for squats. I don't have a history of issues like this with benching (just minor niggles) but I have most definitely noticed that with pretty much any lift I do start shifting the load onto the wrong muscle groups when getting close to failure. Even doing these easier sessions over the last couple of months it's been really noticeable how much of a burn/pump I've been able to get with lighter weights purely because I've been using slower tempos and paying more attention to execution.

I know that 'proper form' is variable for everyone and that there's a school of thought out there that it doesn't really have any bearing on injury risk if you are adapted to whatever form you use, but I don't know.... maybe being middle aged and having stiffer tendons and more wear on joints also increases risk.

Squatting five times a week is impressive for anyone but especially at your age. I think that would be too much for me unless it was mostly really light, but it's something I'd like to experiment with one day!

Pushups can be pretty pec-heavy depending how you do them. Slow eccentric, for example. Flys if your shoulder tolerates them will hit your pecs hard, and I've found using bands to set up an ersatz cable fly setup is pretty shoulder friendly. You can also try squeeze presses if you've got DBs, which definitely are shoulder friendly.

For quads, sissy squats or lunges are my personal go-to. I have zero idea if they would work with your quad issue though, especially the sissy squats. That said, when I had my IT band or whatever thing going on sissy squats were fine so they might work for you.

Thanks, yeah - I mostly feel pushups in my triceps but I haven't experimented much with grip width and stuff, I should try a few things. Flys are fine and so are squeeze presses and I've been doing them both - although I get a decent triceps burn from squeeze presses too. This sorta makes sense to me, my bench has always been pretty triceps dominant I think - I really never got much chest growth from benching until I started repping out 100+ kilos (which took a few years) so it makes sense that while I'm not moving those weights I'm struggling a bit to feel it there.

Quads are a bit harder, because basically everything I do except leg extensions seems to stretch out the bad side. I can perform most movements with some kind of weight, but especially unilateral work like lunges and those front foot elevated squats I just need to be careful because my left leg from the hip to the knee feels really unstable under load and shifting the load laterally causes aggravation, the heavier the load the worse it is. That's why I've been doing those banded side step ups, as they put a tolerable amount of lateral load through it and seem to be encouraging the healing process. The staggered stance squats seem to do a similar thing to a lesser extent.

Eh it's all a challenge. It's been humbling but it's been good for me in a way because I've had to reassess my goals and what I really care about. Sure I'd still like to squat 200+ kilos one day but I kinda don't care that much if I don't, I'll just be happy if I can keep on training consistently, get my body feeling good, and hopefully get a little more jacked each year. Still got a long way to go.

[BenM]

Sun 16/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W9 (Deload) D1

AM BW: 89.4kg

Background Noise: Random music

Heel Elevated SSB Squat:
5x17kg
5x17kg
8x67kg
8x67kg
8x67kg
8x67kg
1 minute rests

Lying Leg Extension:
12x45kg
12x45kg
1 minute rest

SSB Good Morning:
12x67kg
12x67kg
12x67kg @ 7
90 second rests

Dumbbell Squeeze Press:
15x37.5lb / hand
15x37.5lb / hand
15x37.5lb / hand
1 minute rests

Triceps Pushdown w/Rope:
12x15kg
12x15kg @ 6
10x15kg @ 7
90 second rests

Paused Lateral Raise:
15x5lb / hand
15x5lb / hand
1 minute rest

Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Pretty solid sleep, but that cough was back with a vengeance this morning. Leg is feeling reasonably good, mostly noticeable when walking up stairs and standing up from chairs/squats. Shoulder is still hindering me in normal life but is definitely less sore than a few weeks ago so just gotta keep being patient with it. I'd planned a deload week this week anyway, so I'll do 3 or 4 pretty flexible sessions and then reassess based on how things feel.

Training Notes:

• I kinda like these Platz squats now I've got the wedges. I'd planned on doing some really, really easy fives at this weight but it felt stupidly heavy when I first got under it and I even had to rerack, but it be like that sometimes. Ended up doing eights and by the third set they felt like the warmups they were. Pretty much painless too which was good.
• Very light, very easy leg extensions, and I decided just to do two sets since I'd done four sets of squats.
• Really wasn't feeling like RDLs so I used the SSB for some good mornings since it was all setup to go. These were quite difficult and definitely didn't feel much like a deload by the end.
• Dropped a chunk of weight off the squeeze presses and even the third set was fairly easy, maybe RPE 4-5 or something.
• Light triceps pushdowns, not very exciting, I've certainly lost some strength here but the shoulder plays into that too. Then some very easy lateral raises with a pause at the top just to get some movement into the shoulder.
• All done in 43 minutes, then went out and looked at the Gorge in flood. I've had worse days.

[BenM]

Mon 17/10/22: The Rehab Sessions - W9 (Deload) D2

AM BW: 98.4kg

Background Noise: Bring Back V10s podcast

3:1:0 Tempo Medium Grip Bench:
10x20kg
10x20kg
6x55kg
6x55kg
6x55kg
1 minute rests

Dumbbell Fly:
12x27.5lb / hand
12x27.5lb / hand
12x27.5lb / hand
--- Supersetted with ---
Seated Cable Row:
12x60kg
12x60kg
12x60kg
1 minute rests between supersets

Seated Dumbbell Press:
15x20lb / hand
15x20lb / hand
1 minute rest

Walking Lunge:
20x20lb / hand
20x20lb / hand
1 minute rest

Side Step Up w/Band:
12x40lb / hand
12x40lb / hand
1 minute rest

Hamstring Curl:
12x35kg
12x35kg
1 minute rest

Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:

• Had pretty good sleep, but could've used a bit more. The transition from weekends to weekdays, blah.

Training Notes:

• Same weight for bench as last time out but back to sixes instead of eights, just going nice and easy not to overwork it. I did add 2.5lb to the flys but dropped back to twelves and did some nice easy cable rows at the same time.
• I'd planned sets of 8-12 for the presses but whatever, 15 was still stupid easy. Shoulder was making some strange popping noises but not really painful.
• Light lunges for some easy quad work, although I was still a little puffed from them, then side step ups with dumbbells because I couldn't be stuffed getting the SSB out of the rack and loading it, then hamstring curls that were also very light, although I did have a bit of a sweat going by then.
• Knocked this over in 47 minutes then walked the dog as usual. Kinda going through the motions but that's just fine this week.

[slowmotion]

The Platz squats looks interesting, I might try them, with really light weight.

I've been thinking, if you are looking for programming inspiration maybe look at some of the Sheiko templates? Just a thought.

[MarkKO]

The Platz squats looks interesting, I might try them, with really light weight.

I've been thinking, if you are looking for programming inspiration maybe look at some of the Sheiko templates? Just a thought.

I've never done them, so watching someone else do them would be interesting. Are they actually endorsed by Sheiko himself?

[slowmotion]

The Platz squats looks interesting, I might try them, with really light weight.

I've been thinking, if you are looking for programming inspiration maybe look at some of the Sheiko templates? Just a thought.

I've never done them, so watching someone else do them would be interesting. Are they actually endorsed by Sheiko himself?

The templates, you mean? I've no idea, to be honest. Though there was a Sheiko web site where they were discussed. Seems to be gone now.