9/22/2023 Friday
5/3/1 Beach W1D3
Hang Cleans: Slowly work up to a PR set at TM:
My TM was set way too low at 135, so called an audible here and did 155, got 11 reps. (PR benchmark) Video to follow. I don’t know how heavy I can go on these but I’ve gotten used to full cleans this year so power cleans feel like some kind of halfass cheat movement.
Then 3x5x135lbs.
Squat: Rx is 15+ reps at 70% which is 155. I got 21 reps. Video to follow.
Press 5s pro. 5x 85, 95, 105. Right shoulder still naggy but this wasn’t so bad.
Rope Chins: Rx is 50 reps and I didn’t know what to expect.
The gym has a battle rope located adjacent to a high bar so I slung it over and got all 50 reps:
7 sets of 4, 3x6, 1x4 to finish it off. Limiting factor on reps is grip, which I think is the point.
Neck Extensions 100 reps. Used 10 or 20 pounds each set, 5x20. Superset the rope chins in with this and the pressing.
Overall great session. Proud of myself for the rope chins especially.
Did you actually take these to failure? It’s a selfish question, since I’m trying to figure things out for myself. I noticed the other day that there’s a noticeable dropoff of explosiveness, for me, going from rep 3 to rep 5.
It is very early. I woke up at 4, and do so nearly every day. I don’t intend to keep this up indefinitely but there are a lot of reasons why it’s necessary at the moment, miserable though it may be.
No. Not at all.
I’ll put the video up in a minute and we’ll see. I know the explosiveness was low toward the end. But with a gun to my head or even a milder incentive I could have done many more reps.
You certainly pushed those pretty hard. It looked like things started slowing down a bit around rep 7. 155 is pretty strong (imho). I can do 135 from the floor, but don’t feel like I can even get enough power into it from the hang, yet.
EDIT:
hadn’t seen the squat video yet; nicely done
@FlatsFarmer thanks! @LoRez much appreciated, to be fair I don’t feel very strong - my best deadlift ever was 405 and I couldn’t do that today. But power cleans have never been a struggle for me relative to other lifts.
I have no glutes so maybe my body figured out a way to use lower back and hamstrings and somehow outperform the typical glute-focused power. LOL.
9/22 afternoon- beach “conditioning”
Took the family to the beach and played hard. Paddleboard against the wind, swam really hard, did lots of sled pulls.
Was fun.
This 5/3/1 variant follows the 3/5/1 percentage undulation scheme, so this is a lighter week than last week. Glad for it because it was the perfect low-dose today.
Squat 5s pro 145, 165, 195
Hang Clean: 2 sets of “max reps” at whatever percentage that is: 105lbs, 2x20. LOL maybe I’m not doing it right but for me, hang cleans don’t make a lot of sense this light or this many reps.
Press: Max reps at TM (115lbs) I got 5, from sheer will, but the last rep was just sitting at the top of my head for a while, my right shoulder doesn’t want to move.
Need to figure this out. But to be fair last week I only got 3 at this weight…
Towel curl: 65 lbs 5x12 for 60 total reps. Rx is 50-100 and I was pressed for time.
Neck Extensions: 5x20. Experimented with heavier load this time, up to 35lb which was too much and 25lb was just right.
Was out of time, so no bonus conditioning. I feel like I owe some.
9/26 a couple updates worth logging.
Soreness - My neck is SO SORE. That was the 4th workout of the program, and the 3rd with 100 neck extensions specifically, so you’d think I’d have been sore from the first one and less so now. WRONG. Yesterday I experimented with more load and it MADE A DIFFERENCE. Kinda obvious now, but if I started with a 10lb plate and then one of yesterday’s sets used a 38lb KB, that’s nearly a 4x increase in load - whereas describing it as a 28lb increase in load isn’t as significant!
Anyway, while I overdid it yesterday, this is obviously the path forward for “neck gains”.
Press - Tomorrow’s RX is 50 total reps at a light weight. After tomorrow, I’m probably going to modify the program to make that the RX press for EVERY DAY of the program, because 5 reps at a “heavy” weight with my right shoulder in crippling pain isn’t going to do much for me. I’d rather spend some time pumping it up with light weights and hopefully after a couple more weeks, it’s feeling better.
I can only share my experience, but a few things did help my shoulder pain (they hurt, actually, they were very painful, until they weren’t). Relaxed hanging from a pullup bar, palms away. Do this for a few long sets, as long as you can handle. Then do a set each of high rep front, lateral, rear raises, full ROM. Very very light weight. You want to be hitting 20+ reps minimum. Do this every day until the pain goes away.
I lived with daily shoulder pain for years. Like I injured myself something like 2011 August 2012 and it didn’t go away for 12 years. But it went away just recently, by doing a mix of that + submaximal overhead pressing almost every day. There might have been some other bits that helped, but I’m pretty sure it was that.
I had some relief with PT, but it was always still there. Now, it’s gone.
Some orthopedic shoulder specialist doc, Kirsch, developed the protocol. You can read it in his book, available via Kindle, but that’s all it really is. 10 minutes a day of sets of as-long-as-you-can-tolerate hangs, alternated with those raises.
Sweet. Thanks. I kinda knew that but couldn’t overcome the inertia to try it. I will.
Dan John recommends hanging from a bar for shoulder pain and other issues. And i know light or unloaded raises will help.
Theres only so much time in the day, and its funny what we prioritize. Im going to prioritize this.
9/27/2023 Wednesday
5/3/1 Beach W2D2
Begin with the priority: shoulder rehab. Two rounds of a long bar hang (not as long as I’d want), then holding 5lb dbs 20 each of front raises, side raises, rear raises. A third bar hang at the end.
Squat: Work up to a PR set at 225lb. Got 9 reps. By rep six I was feeling like a panic attack, but I had 8 last time so this is a win. Still no belt, which would have made a difference.
Deadlift: 5s pro, easy reps, 5x 185 205 235.
Press: 5x10x75lb and that was the correct RX, not just for today but likely several sessions.
DB Row: 10x10x65lb. Superset these with the presses and neck curls.
Neck curls: 5x20x10lbs. This is done laying on a bench with my head off the end, and a plate wrapped in a towel on my forehead.
Not my log, but I’m totally stealing this. Tried it out tonight, and my shoulder already feels better. Not “good,” it still hurts, but It’s notably yelling at me quieter than it was prior to doing it. Thanks for the share!!
