Upper-ish
Banded shoulder warm-up:
- No-money drill
- Overhead raise
Sure, these are just drills but they pump blood into the shoulders really nicely. A warm-up that makes you look more jacked? I’m in.
Superset:
- Push-up
- Alternating curl
Then a nice pump for biceps and chest.
- Bradford Press
Going behind the neck has been too risky for the shoulder, but today, these felt really good. They’ll burn even if you go light. You never bring the bar low enough to remove tension from the shoulders. So it’s a set of continuous tension. Move slowly and pause at the end ranges if you like torture.
- Arnold press, incline bench
If you have tricky shoulders, overhead pressing with your bench at a 75-80 degree angle (instead of a right angle) is a game changer. Andrew Coates wrote about this and I’ve been using it ever since.
- Dumbbell bench
I used a lot less than what I could a couple weeks ago. My body doesn’t give a shit about progressive overload. The heaviest I could go today is about 10 pounds lower (per side) than what I could safely use during ovulatory phase. Hormones matter.
Superset
- Cable straight-arm pulldown
- Tricep pressdown
I’m being conservative with any back work, but the pulldown hit the lats nicely. Triceps got murdered.
Other Stuff
Vibration plates are a thing again. It sounds wacky, but there’s some evidence that it does stuff, and I’m always up for experimenting.
So I purchased one for circulation and recovery. Here’s what ChatGPT says about that:
Supportive for muscle recovery, circulation, possibly flexibility
- Vibration may help improve circulation (blood flow) and enhance oxygen/nutrient delivery to muscles, which could support recovery and reduce muscle soreness.
- WBV (whole body vibration) offers a lower-impact alternative to help maintain some muscle activity and joint mobility.
Chris and I both got on it yesterday and noticed that our joints felt amazing afterward. Different areas of musculature do seem to light up based on how you’re positioned on it. We tried out some planks with our hands on it too.
So anyway, just like any gadget, it’s handy for certain things but not necessary.
It’s blooming again!
I thought it wasn’t a Christmas cactus because it bloomed during mother’s day. But these flowers started showing up during thanksgiving and they’re still going.
So, I want to call it a holiday cactus, but then that sounds like a woke person trying to avoid the word, Christmas. But maybe I just lean into that and call it my woke holiday cactus. Or go the Seinfeld route, and make it a Festivus Cactus.
Fun facts: this is a jungle cactus originating in Brazil, not a desert cactus. They live so long that you can pass them down from generation to generation (though mine came from a friend), and you can propagate them pretty easily and make more.