Paused Single Leg Leg Extension:
12x35kg
12x35kg
1 minute rest
RDL to Floor:
15x60kg
15x60kg
1 minute rest
Dumbbell Squeeze Press:
15x40lb / hand
15x40lb / hand
15x40lb / hand
30 second rests
Triceps Pushdown w/Rope:
12x17.5kg
12x17.5kg @ 6.5
12x17.5kg @ 9.5 and probably not full ROM
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Woke up after pretty decent sleep with no headache for a change, had a reasonably cruisy morning, and got out to lift in the late morning feeling kinda lazy and unmotivated. Leg was feeling a little tight today, and I'm still crook, so there's that too.
Training Notes:
Goblet squats were good. Probably could've gone heavier in hindsight, although sets of twelve on short rests did have me breathing a little heavy, but they weren't hard at all.
Dropped the front foot elevated squats back to two sets today after the goblet squats, and got a fairly decent burn out of them. Heaviest sets of twelve I've done yet.
Threw in some side lunges really to just get some blood flowing before the leg extensions, they felt ok, nothing exciting.
The leg extensions were a bit challenging but not as hard as I expected after all the other quad work.
The RDLs were crazy light still but I did get a little burn. Will bump the weight up again next time.
Squeeze presses were good, the first set felt really light and easy, but the last one got to RPE 5+, and I didn't really notice the shoulder hurting at all. These are mostly triceps though - I did notice those.
Got some good triceps work in to finish, with a weight that should've been pretty light for me, quite close to failure at the end.
That was a solid hit out, some of it actually felt like training and not mucking around. Still only took 47 minutes. Thanks for reading!
Tempo Lateral Raise:
12x12.5lb / hand
12x12.5lb / hand
12x12.5lb / hand
1 minute rests
Walking Lunge:
20x25lb / hand
20x25lb /hand
1 minute rest
Side Step Up:
15x37.5lb / hand
15x37.5lb / hand
15x37.5lb / hand
1 minute rests
Banded Reverse Hyper:
20 reps w/Purple Band
20 reps w/Purple Band
1 minute rest
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Didn't feel terribly tired yesterday after F1 Sunday night but boy did I sleep like a log. Needed the alarm to get me up, I was out of it. Still have a chesty cough.
Training Notes:
Did this benching with a fairly controlled tempo, the last set still wasn't terribly hard, but my elbows were getting sore, as in a weird crampy kinda sore, not the normal too much benching pain.
The third set of seated rows might've hit @ 5 or so, so these were all quite easy too.
Decided to try these lateral raises again, reasonably slow with a pause at the top. Still a little uncomfortable at the top, but they felt better than last time, that's a good sign.
Got a little puffed doing the walking lunges and the second set was a bit hard but not wild. This is supposed to be an easier leg session since I'll hit them harder tomorrow.
Side step ups were nice and easy roo, but the forearm and wrist cramps will be the limiting factor soon. I might try these with the SSB next week.
Then it was some reverse hypers to finish, pushed these out to twenty, and got a bit puffed.
All done in 49 minutes, a pretty solid little session.
Slept pretty well again, and actually got up a bit before the alarm buzzed. Still crook though. Resorted to energy drink during the session to keep me going.
Training Notes:
Decided on actual belt squats today to see how they feel. These felt heavy to start with but weren't that difficult in hindsight. They did cause some minor pain/tightness but it was low enough on the scale that I kept going. Dropped the staggered stance squats back to two sets after that and they were quite difficult by the end - the last set was maybe @ 6.5, I had a fairly decent quad burn.
Did some slightly heavier kettlebell RDLs after that, got a little bit of a back pump but not crazy bad - glutes and hamstrings were fairly well toasty after these too so my legs were about done.
Kept the incline bench weight the same as last week based on my notes. These felt ok, although looking back at the video it looks as if I might've been taking the weight lower with the sore right shoulder than with the left. Could be an illusion too, I don't know.
When I was thinking about this session this morning it was dips I was dreading the most, and I contemplated skipping them. They weren't too bad though - I managed to get a couple of sets of twelve which was a bit better than last week, and then bailed at ten reps for the third.
Another pretty solid 42 minutes in the gym. Planning a rest day tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Had a slightly late night last night and then interrupted sleep so I woke up feeling pretty ehhhhhh about lifting. Still dragged myself out and got some stuff done. Did eat plenty of food yesterday so I wasn't surprised to wake up a little heavier but I also had plenty of energy. A year or two back I might've freaked about this and tried to eat less today but right now I don't care so much.
Training Notes:
Benching was ok but feels like this is about my limit in terms of shoulder pain so guess I hang here for a bit.
Added a bit more weight to the rows, these were still pretty easy, but I did get a bit of a burn in my lats from them.
Decided last night I should try some really light flys, and considering that banded flys was how I hurt myself I was pleasantly surprised how these went. Did them with a slow tempo and a pause at the bottom, started too light, and felt good enough to do twenty reps without too much difficulty. Better add a little weight next week.
Didn't enjoy the curls much, and the last set was pretty hard.
The front foot squats were also pretty freaking painful by the end (in a 'my quads are on fire' way) and I probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate it much longer.
Then I decided to do the side step ups with the SSB and it went really well, even though I misremembered the weight I needed for the first set. Felt pretty good and solves the grip problem grip so I can load these up some more.
A solid way to round out the fourth week, in 57 minutes. Still feel like I'm a long way off benching any proper weight but light squats aren't far off at least. Thanks for reading!
Had a slightly late night last night watching Thor, so tried to stay in bed as late as possible this morning, managed until 7:10am. Still feeling fairly chesty, cough seems to have gotten a little worse, but I eventually dragged myself out to the gym in the late morning with some reluctance.
Despite a pretty lazy day yesterday and solid amounts of food, I woke up dehydrated, headachy and over a kilo lighter than yesterday. I thought I'd gained a little weight this week but I'm wondering now if I'm just a little inflamed from being sick.
Training Notes:
Decided it was time to get a bar on my back and attempt some pause squats. These were very, very slightly uncomfortable but certainly not what I'd call painful. My lungs and heart were probably worked harder than my quads. Too many reps, did not enjoy.
Added a couple more pounds to the unilateral work. Second set was kinda challenging. Quad burn intensifies.
Used dumbbells for the side lunges today. These weren't super difficult but again showed up my conditioning.
I'd programmed 80kg for the RDLs but went with 70kg since my quads were already pretty tired, and it was still a 10kg jump from last week. But once again they were an absolute joke so I should've stuck with the plan.
Then I did some leg extensions, same weight as last week, intending to just add a rep or two but in the heat of the moment, did two more mini sets without rest.
I hadn't intended to increase the load with these squeeze presses but decided to just add a little and feel them out, they were fine on my shoulder so I stuck with it for fifteens, some good signs here.
That said, my triceps were absolutely smoked from the squeeze presses and I didn't perform as well as I'd hoped for the triceps pushdowns, and went out to four sets with those to get some volume in. Did have a burn.
This took 56 minutes, and none of it was very heavy, but afterwards I was absolutely smashed and I had to go and lie down for an hour afterwards. My quads were a little sore (not hurt, just pumped) but I felt rotten - maybe this chest bug is contributing too, but I made some adjustments to this session for next week anyway. Thanks for reading!
Was in bed fairly early and slept quite well but at some point Miss Seven jumped in with us and from about 3am onwards I had her elbowing me and snoring in my ear so that was fun. Somehow still didn't feel awfully tired (I had LOTS of couch time yesterday after training, it just smashed me) and even refrained from raiding the energy drinks fridge.
Training Notes:
Benching was a little sore warming up, the work sets weren't TOO bad but I think maybe I'm pushing my limits here. The flys were still nice and easy though so that's something.
These rows still should be quite light but by the third set I was struggling a bit for full ROM so I'm finding my limits with these too, especially on the short rests.
I'd programmed in these split squats before I hit my quads hard yesterday; they were still a bit tight this morning so I took these reasonably easy.
Added 10kg to the step ups. Easy enough but my chest started to burn, this cough is still hanging round.
Forgot to check my log properly before doing the hamstring curls, they should've been two sets of fifteen but I quit after twelve first time out - so I just did two more sets of twelve instead.
All up a pretty solid effort really, in 52 minutes. Thanks muchly!
Staggered Stance Belt Squat:
12x35kg
12x35kg
1 minute rest
Single Leg Kettlebell RDL:
15x60lb
15x60lb
15x60lb
1 minute rests
Low Incline Paused Dumbbell Bench:
15x35lb / hand
15x35lb / hand
15x35lb / hand
1 minute rests
Dumbbell LTE:
10x35lb / hand
10x35lb / hand
10x35lb / hand @ 6.5
1 minute rests
Footage:
Nope
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Forgot to set an alarm last night, so I was lying in bed dozing from 4am waiting for it to go off and ended up sleeping in a bit. Suppose I needed the sleep. Anyway I had to scull some water and preworkout and get straight out there without food or coffee, and needed to push the pace a little bit, so didn't bother filming.
Training Notes:
Added 5kg to the squats, still some minor soreness but not too bad. Last set was maybe @ 4-5, so I was getting a little tired. Did the same load jump with the staggered stance stuff, but dropped back to twelves from fifteens, these do hit the sore spot a bit and I want to remain cautious.
Added 5lb to the RDLs too, I only programmed twelves but these are still super easy. My hamstrings were quite toasty by the end though, and I did get a bit of a lower back pump which would've been the limiter if I kept going.
Dropped the weight on the benching because although there are some signs of shoulder improvement I feel like I may've been pushing it a little too hard. Even this weight felt a little uncomfortable to start with til it warmed up a bit.
Decided to pike out of dips today - for one thing I find them really fatiguing and then there's the shoulder, plus time constraints - so I just did some LTEs with the weight that was loaded. Well below my best but whatever - I got a fair triceps pump from 'em anyway.
Knocked this over in just 38 minutes, so that was OK in the end.
SSB Side Step Up:
15x47kg
15x47kg
15x47kg
1 minute rests
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Public holiday today, so had a pretty good quality and long sleep. Left leg felt reasonably good when I got up and walked the dog. But then I spent a few hours this morning mowing lawns and stuff, and managed to tweak my back somehow, as well as completely tucker myself out - all I wanted to do was recline on the couch after lunch. Which to be fair, is what I did for an hour or so, til I willed myself to get up, drink some more coffee and go move around a bit.
Training Notes:
Benching was ok, I suppose. Same weight as last week, possibly a little less soreness, and I added a set. Then did some flys with a little more weight than last week, got a bit of a chest burn, but I did start feeling some minor discomfort so need to be careful adding weight to these.
Added 5lb to the rows, and by the last set I needed a little touch of body english with the left side, I think. Probably going to struggle to get 3x15 with more weight than this, but we'll see what happens next week. They seem like a reasonably safe movement at least.
Curls after that, I might've had the bench one notch too upright but whatever the reason I ran out of steam very quickly, and ended up doing an unplanned fourth set with a load drop just to get a little extra work in.
Took the front foot elevated squats nice and easy today, although I did also do one more set than planned, I was spent from earlier in the day. And it was reasonably warm in the gym - starting to get some proper spring weather.
Finished off with these side step ups again and the sore leg felt pretty good - a non-painful stretch which hopefully helps keep encouraging it to heal.
This was a pretty good day considering how I felt beforehand, took 54 minutes. Good times!
Lateral Raise:
15x5lb / hand
15x5lb / hand
15x5lb / hand
1 minute rests
Blah at this light exercise:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Slept well, and long again - woke up dehydrated and very light. Also, feeling sore - the shoulder especially has been disrupting my sleep, and my leg was tight just walking around, so that's making me feel generally crappy about life. Almost didn't bother training at all today, but after chores in the morning I started watching the footy after lunch and got sick of sitting on the couch doing nothing, so I went out to the gym with the intention of moving around a bit and not caring about the weight on the bar.
Training Notes:
Added 5kg to last week's weight for these ridiculously light pause squats, but my leg felt tight even with the empty bar. Ultimately I just couldn't be bothered doing sets of twelve today and getting all out of breath so I just did some sets of eight, and did one more than programmed. I could've easily done these on shorter rests in the end, but whatever.
Three quick sets of leg extensions which were also nice and easy. Nothing very exciting.
With the RDLs I did actually try to do them with a band round the barbell but couldn't get the setup right. Also didn't try very hard. Couple of very easy sets of twelve and then I decided to just do a few more with the last. No big deal.
Kept the same weight as last week for the squeeze presses, expecting to maybe just do twelves, but the first set was almost painless which was a pleasant surprise, the second and third weren't much worse either. Maybe that's a good sign of progress but it is so freaking slow as to be almost imperceptible.
Threw in some lateral raises with almost no weight to finish, with a tempo and a little pause at the top. Got a delt and trap burn without much pain which was good.
Finished in 62 minutes. Better than doing nothing, but that's really about all I can say about it.
Woke up feeling a bit less sore and a bit happier than yesterday so that's something. Had a very lazy morning and eventually wandered out for some light lifting just before lunch.
Training Notes:
I'd planned on trying to bench heavier than this but there's no way my shoulder would have tolerated it. This was enough to cause some minor discomfort and I wasn't going to push it any harder.
Did some dumbbell flys and really tried to maintain a slow tempo in both directions.
A bit more weight with the rows, dropped back to twelves, with a pretty good hold at the end of the last set.
Wanted to do some lateral raises again. Didn't feel as good as yesterday to start with, but weren't so bad in the end.
Light and pumpy goblet squats, some tightness in that quad tendon but not actually painful.
Decided to try the side step ups with a band around my thighs. Was supposed to be 52kg but I wasn't paying attention and misloaded the bar, oops. The band made them harder anyway, I got a bit of a glute burn, and fixed it as soon as I realised - that last set was actually not a complete walkover.
Finished with some hamstring curls - did the two sets of fifteen I should've done last week and then banged out a third quite difficult set for good measure.
Not bad going, finished in 58 minutes. Whatever. It was a better effort than yesterday I suppose.
Staggered Stance Belt Squat:
12x40kg
12x40kg
1 minute rest
Single Leg Kettlebell RDL:
15x65lb
15x65lb
15x65lb
90 second rests
Low Incline Pause Dumbbell Bench:
12x37.5lb / hand
12x37.5lb / hand
12x37.5lb / hand
1 minute rests
Dumbbell LTE:
10x37.5lb / hand
10x37.5lb / hand @ 7.5
12x32.5lb / hand @ 6
1 minute rests
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Had pretty decent sleep, would've liked to stay in bed a bit longer but I've had worse starts to the day. And honestly, the last day or so have felt a little better injury wise, maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Training Notes:
Added more weight to the belt squats, sort of expecting to drop reps but didn't end up needing to. Some tightness in the leg but not really uncomfortable. I had actually intended to stay at 35kg for the staggered stance work but threw the blue plates on and got through them just fine in the end.
Added 5lb to the RDLs as well, took slightly longer rests just to give my back a little more rest but these were fine as well.
Added a little weight to the bench, and dropped reps back to twelves as I really need to be super, super careful with the shoulder. I think part of the reason it's been feeling better is even out of the gym, just trying to be more methodical with my movements and not moving in ways that make it hurt (like laterally). Seems like it's paying dividends, I can pour from a full kettle of water with almost no pain now. It's only been seven weeks.
Did some skullcrushers with the same load - second set started to get difficult, and I'm trying to keep these safe, so dropped a plate off for the last. Not too bad.
All done in 45 minutes - this was about where I need to be. Taking it easy.
Staggered Stance Belt Squat:
12x40kg
12x40kg
1 minute rest
Single Leg Kettlebell RDL:
15x65lb
15x65lb
15x65lb
90 second rests
Low Incline Pause Dumbbell Bench:
12x37.5lb / hand
12x37.5lb / hand
12x37.5lb / hand
1 minute rests
Dumbbell LTE:
10x37.5lb / hand
10x37.5lb / hand @ 7.5
12x32.5lb / hand @ 6
1 minute rests
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Had pretty decent sleep, would've liked to stay in bed a bit longer but I've had worse starts to the day. And honestly, the last day or so have felt a little better injury wise, maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Training Notes:
Added more weight to the belt squats, sort of expecting to drop reps but didn't end up needing to. Some tightness in the leg but not really uncomfortable. I had actually intended to stay at 35kg for the staggered stance work but threw the blue plates on and got through them just fine in the end.
Added 5lb to the RDLs as well, took slightly longer rests just to give my back a little more rest but these were fine as well.
Added a little weight to the bench, and dropped reps back to twelves as I really need to be super, super careful with the shoulder. I think part of the reason it's been feeling better is even out of the gym, just trying to be more methodical with my movements and not moving in ways that make it hurt (like laterally). Seems like it's paying dividends, I can pour from a full kettle of water with almost no pain now. It's only been seven weeks.
Did some skullcrushers with the same load - second set started to get difficult, and I'm trying to keep these safe, so dropped a plate off for the last. Not too bad.
All done in 45 minutes - this was about where I need to be. Taking it easy.
I'm very glad to hear you're feeling like some progress is happening in recovery.
Be really fucking careful, THIS is when it's easiest to make things a lot worse very quickly. I'm sure you're aware of it, and will be sensible, but just a reminder...
MarkKO wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:00 pm
I'm very glad to hear you're feeling like some progress is happening in recovery.
Be really fucking careful, THIS is when it's easiest to make things a lot worse very quickly. I'm sure you're aware of it, and will be sensible, but just a reminder...
Yeah, I think so. I mean it's super subtle - with the shoulder especially some days I feel like it's just the same as it ever was. The leg, I feel like I could be squatting normally again in a few weeks but I'll be making changes to how often and how heavy I squat in future whenever it happens.
But yeah, I said at the start that it takes as long as it takes and I'm trying my best to stick by that. Seems like I was a lot more beat up than I really thought I was.
Dumbbell Fly:
15x25lb / hand
15x25lb / hand
1 minute rest
Dumbbell Row:
12x60lb / hand
12x60lb / hand
12x60lb / hand
--- Supersetted with --- Front Foot Elevated Split Squat:
10x32.5lb
10x32.5lb
10x32.5lb
1 minute rests between supersets
SSB Side Step Up w/Band:
12x52kg
12x52kg
15x52kg
--- Supersetted with --- Incline Curl:
12x27.5lb / hand
12x27.5lb / hand
16x27.5lb / hand @ 8.5
1 minute rests between supersets
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Didn't sleep very well last night. I'm travelling interstate for a conference today and was a bit anxious about that and also thinking about changing cars. Again. My mind was racing a bit.
Training Notes:
I went a little heavier with bench today but was clearly favouring my left side with that first set and decided to drop the load a bit for the rest. A little bit lighter than last week, but whatevs.
Did the flys with a slow tempo again, got a little chest pump, but started to struggle a bit with wrist cramps by the end.
Had stuff to do this morning and wanted to speed things up so supersetted rows and squats, stayed well within myself in terms of weight but they still had me panting. Neither were terribly difficult though.
Did the same with the step ups and curls. Put a band round my legs again. Pushed the last set of both, the step ups weren't that hard still but the curls were getting close to failure.
MarkKO wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:00 pm
I'm very glad to hear you're feeling like some progress is happening in recovery.
Be really fucking careful, THIS is when it's easiest to make things a lot worse very quickly. I'm sure you're aware of it, and will be sensible, but just a reminder...
Yeah, I think so. I mean it's super subtle - with the shoulder especially some days I feel like it's just the same as it ever was. The leg, I feel like I could be squatting normally again in a few weeks but I'll be making changes to how often and how heavy I squat in future whenever it happens.
But yeah, I said at the start that it takes as long as it takes and I'm trying my best to stick by that. Seems like I was a lot more beat up than I really thought I was.
It's good you've had this realisation now, rather than later. Now it's just a pain in the backside to have to work through all the rehab and endure the boredom. Later it could very well have been too late.
Often we don't realise how fucked up something was until we get out of whatever situation it was and start fixing it. I think partly it's a self defence mechanism, but it can also backfire.
MarkKO wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:51 am
It's good you've had this realisation now, rather than later. Now it's just a pain in the backside to have to work through all the rehab and endure the boredom. Later it could very well have been too late.
Often we don't realise how fucked up something was until we get out of whatever situation it was and start fixing it. I think partly it's a self defence mechanism, but it can also backfire.
Yeah apparently I have been pushing my body past it's limits of recovery for a bit too long. Like this has been a ticking time bomb for years apparently. Huh. Who'd a thunk it.
Tempo Lateral Raise:
12x7.5lb / hand
12x7.5lb / hand
1 minute rest
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Slept pretty long and hard last night, like 9 hours or so. But still can't shake this chesty cough, and my shoulder and hip and my knee (which is a new niggle, yay) all felt tweaky today. Really felt like shit in general but the wife's away for the weekend so had to put my big boy pants on and just get things done anyway - those things being chores, parenting, and life stuff. Had some slightly concerning shoulder pain playing backyard cricket with the kiddo and felt pretty bummed about that but now it's been a few hours, I don't really think I made it worse. At the time I was fairly tempted to take a third day off but reluctantly dragged myself out for some lifting at 4:15pm.
Training Notes:
Did some squats. I'd had aspirations I could maybe do one slightly heavier set without the pause, but I put the kibosh on that idea. Added 5kg to what I did last week, didn't feel totally awful, but not great either. Held a decently long pause on the very last rep.
Lying leg extensions with 2.5kg more than last week, last rep was a little difficult but overall still not crazy hard.
Side lunges with a like 5lb more than last week, I was a bit puffed by the end but these were definitely a bit easier than last week.
Big load jump with the RDLs, although in paper these are still well below what I've done for twelves before, the last set really had me blowing.
Slightly heavier squeeze presses too, but only twelves this week, in an effort to stay really safe, I didn't feel much front delt grief at all today which was nice.
Did the usual triceps and shoulders, no load drop on the triceps this week and the lateral raises felt much less painful at the start than last week so that's a good sign too. Again, got a nice hold at the very end.
All done in 58 minutes. Got some work in, and that's all I need to keep doing right now.
MarkKO wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:51 am
It's good you've had this realisation now, rather than later. Now it's just a pain in the backside to have to work through all the rehab and endure the boredom. Later it could very well have been too late.
Often we don't realise how fucked up something was until we get out of whatever situation it was and start fixing it. I think partly it's a self defence mechanism, but it can also backfire.
Yeah apparently I have been pushing my body past it's limits of recovery for a bit too long. Like this has been a ticking time bomb for years apparently. Huh. Who'd a thunk it.
It isn't necessarily that you've pushed beyond recovery limits. You can get hurt while your recovery is absolutely fine, which is what has happened to me when I did get hurt, and I think what happened to you.
Squat, bench and deadlift aren't necessarily good for you unless you figure out within a gnat's whisker how you need to do them. That's one reason you see such a plethora of ways they are performed.
Until you do that, you can be recovered as you like and doing those lifts over and over will do significant damage over time.
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.
Seated Dumbbell Press:
20x10lb / hand
20x10lb / hand
1 minute rest
Footage:
Nutrition/Health/Life Stuff:
Didn't sleep quite so well last night. Had a decent, stress free morning though. Still coughing up gunk and I'm totally over it. Trained just after 12pm with no time pressure so didn't rush today.
Training Notes:
Bench went ok. Controlled the concentric as well although it wasn't as slow as the descent. Not heavy of course.
Did some flys and risked adding 2.5lb. Shoulder didn't explode. Forearms were crampy though.
Same weight as last week for the rows, and the last set was definitely a little easier. That extra 30 seconds rest makes a difference.
Goblet squats were fine, leg didn't feel awful sore, but lungs were starting to burn a bit. Stupid chest.
Added some weight to the side step ups but really didn't push them very hard.
Did push the hamstring curls kinda hard though, last set was not easy.
Had programmed lateral raises (again) but decided to try some really light, careful pressing. It felt ok for the most part.
All done in 61 minutes. Was very tired afterwards and had lots of couch time this afternoon, my shoulder was also kinda sore so I guess we see how it pulls up tomorrow.
