Skinny Bastard No More

Training Over 35 Lifter
241

Monday morning…

A good weekend. Worked out Saturday and this morning and got some work done around the house. The weather here has been great, sunny with highs in the low 70s (don’t mean to rub it in to all of those struggling with the hurricanes/tropical storms).

Saturday was a recovery day.
A. Prowler
B. GHR
C. Hip Work
D. Face Pulls
E. Pulldowns
F. Tricep Pushdowns
G. Machine Chest Press

Monday morning was another Sheiko session. I again dropped the weight to get the reps in. I will do this for one more session (Wed.) and then hit it hard on Friday.
A. Squats
worked up to 250/3 for five sets
B. Bench Press
worked up to 225/2 for six sets
C. DB Flies
5 sets of 10 at 50lb
D. Scap Pushups
5 sets of 10 bodyweight only
E. Squats
worked up to 190/3 for five sets
F. Good Mornings
185/5 for five sets

My strength is slowly returning but I still have some work to do. I didn’t realize how much the last couple weeks has taken out of me.

My shoulder is really bothering me so I am going to make an appointment with the PT just to have it checked. I want to make sure that I am not doing any further damage. I am going to try and make it until November and then try and switch up my routine a little to give it more time to heal.

I am finally back on track with my eating. The calories are up and I am feeling better. I will have to step on the scale at the end of the week.

Thank you for all the supportive notes. I hope everyone is safe.
B.

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[quote]mday wrote:

A. Squats
worked up to 250/3 for five sets
…
E. Squats
worked up to 190/3 for five sets
…
My shoulder is really bothering me so I am going to make an appointment with the PT just to have it checked. I want to make sure that I am not doing any further damage. I am going to try and make it until November and then try and switch up my routine a little to give it more time to heal.
[/quote]

E. Front squats ??

Hope the shoulder is nothing serious. It seemed fine for a while there.

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I took this morning off to give my shoulder another day of rest. I will get in Thursday (DL), Friday(recovery), and Saturday or Sunday (squats/bench).

The shoulder pain seems to get better when I give myself some time off and do my active recovery work (massage, foam roller, mobility work). The problem seems to be in the rotator tendon and is most likely a mild form of tendinitis. I am going to go back to the SSB and do decline bench press to take the stress off the shoulders for two weeks. I may even switch to front squats for a session as per Geech’s comment. I am also going to concentrate on a lot of shoulder balance work in my recovery work to try and strengthen the external rotators. I am also doubling up on the fish oil for a while.

We will see what happens.

Deadlift work tomorrow morning…

244

If it wasn’t for these damn joints life would be so much easier. Hope you can work around the pain.

245

Here is what I did for my shoulders.

All I can say is that it has really helped:

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[quote]mday wrote:
I took this morning off to give my shoulder another day of rest. I will get in Thursday (DL), Friday(recovery), and Saturday or Sunday (squats/bench).

The shoulder pain seems to get better when I give myself some time off and do my active recovery work (massage, foam roller, mobility work). The problem seems to be in the rotator tendon and is most likely a mild form of tendinitis. I am going to go back to the SSB and do decline bench press to take the stress off the shoulders for two weeks. I may even switch to front squats for a session as per Geech’s comment. I am also going to concentrate on a lot of shoulder balance work in my recovery work to try and strengthen the external rotators. I am also doubling up on the fish oil for a while.

We will see what happens.

Deadlift work tomorrow morning…[/quote]

Mday just a thought. I’ve had shoulders issues in the past through rugby (multiple dislocations) what I found helps the most for both recovery and building support around the joint is swimming, can also double as a bit of cardio, and is real easy to make each session a little different by changing strokes, rest periods, intensity etc. Anyway just an idea.

247

Since I’ve been doing high rep upper body work (30-50% intensity), most of my shoulder issues have diminished considerably.

I’m seeing a pattern here.

248

Thanks for the input on the shoulder. I’ve been doing a lot of the things suggested above (stretching, a little swimming with the kids, high rep accessory stuff, and modifying my max. effort work to take the stress off the shoulder). Today’s session was probably my best session in a month. I had very little pain in the shoulder and I finally got back to the percentages/reps I need. Here is what I did…

A. Deadlift from Box (3-4 inch box)
185/3, 185/3, 225/3, 225/3, 255/3, 265/3, 265/3, 265/3
B. Decline Bench
145/5, 175/4, 200/3, 200/3, 230/2, 230/2, 245/2, 245/2, 230/3, 230/3
C. DB Flies
50/10 for 5 sets
D. Rack Pulls (just below knees)
275/4, 320/4, 320/4, 365/3, 365/3, 365/3, 385/2(belt), 405/2(belt), 410/2(belt)

I felt really strong today. The shoulder bothered me a little but by switching the press to a decline and by getting a lift-off, I was able to get my bench numbers with minimal pain. My pressing also seemed much faster off my chest. I know part of it was due to the decline being easier, but it felt good to bench with little pain.

I waited until the last few sets to put on the belt for rack pulls. I was amazed at how easily the 410 went up. I might have been able to break my 455 PR but I didn’t want to push it. My back is definitely stronger. All of the good morning work is paying off!!

Tomorrow is a recovery day. I will be doing a lot of low weight/high rep work and energy work to try and balance things out. I am going to focus on the shoulders/hips/posterior chain to prevent those nagging injuries. So much of this game is really about avoiding the setbacks or learning to work around them so that you can continue to progress.

I will be doing the stretching E suggested above, getting more fish oil, and eating!!!

I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. I know we have some members who are going through some rough times due to family health issues, work changes, or weather problems. We are thinking and praying for you. I also want to give a shout out to those of you getting ready to compete in the coming week. Give us detailed updates of how things go. This really helps those of us who are new to the PL world.

mday

249

[quote]mday wrote:
…
D. Rack Pulls (just below knees)
275/4, 320/4, 320/4, 365/3, 365/3, 365/3, 385/2(belt), 405/2(belt), 410/2(belt)
…
I waited until the last few sets to put on the belt for rack pulls. I was amazed at how easily the 410 went up. I might have been able to break my 455 PR but I didn’t want to push it. My back is definitely stronger. All of the good morning work is paying off!!
…[/quote]

It feels great to find out a lay-off has not taken out so much after all. You and DZ are showing me I need to get some of that GM action.

250

That’s a nice damn rack pull M. You are back in the saddle hard!

251

Good liftin. Agree with Geech, may have to start some kind of GM stuff myself.

252

09/15/08

It has been great to read about the success of others recently competing (DZ, Skidmark). Great job guys!!

I took the weekend off and did some recovery stuff, especially on the shoulder. A lot of stretching and a little bit of swimming to try and help the shoulder especially.

Workout this morning…
A. SSB Squat
175/5, 205/4, 220/3, 220/3, 245/2, 245/2, 245/2
B. Decline Bench
145/5, 175/4, 200/3, 200/3, 230/3, 230/3, 230/3, 245/3, 245/3, 245/3
C. DB Flies
50/10, 50/10, 50/10, 55/10, 55/10
D. DB Press
85/8, 100/4, 100/4, 100/2, 55/23
E. Good Mornings
150/5, 170/5, 200/5, 220/5

I always forget how tough the safety squat bar is. I also forget that the bar weighs 60lb and not 45lb. It made for some tough reps on the last couple sets. I am working with the SSB to give my shoulders a little bit of a break and to also help me get stronger at the bottom of the lift.

The decline bench really felt good today. It feels like I am making some progress on the bench and the DL. I continue to struggle with the squat…

I backed off during the later sets on some of my accessory work because I think I am just too high on the weight for these lifts. I haven’t totally figured out the weight I should be using on these secondary lifts.

My weight seems to be slowly going up. I should be right on track to hit 242 by the beginning of November. If needed, I can always drop a little weight the last week.

253

Steady progress and hard training brings big results.Your on your way bro!!!

254

Some light accessory stuff at the gym tonight. Just enough to get the blood flowing and aid recovery.

I spent an hour last night on the foam roller. Most of the time was spent on my shoulders. A lot of pain but things are feeling a little better today.

Tomorrow morning is a DL/bench day.

Sent in my entry form for the meet on November 8th. No turning back at this point.

255

Alright mday!

256

Time to focus, now, Mday. We’re with you!

257

[quote]mday wrote:
Some light accessory stuff at the gym tonight. Just enough to get the blood flowing and aid recovery.

I spent an hour last night on the foam roller. Most of the time was spent on my shoulders. A lot of pain but things are feeling a little better today.

Tomorrow morning is a DL/bench day.

Sent in my entry form for the meet on November 8th. No turning back at this point.[/quote]

BooYaw! This is gonna be good.

258

Wednesday, 09/17/08

One of those days you live for in the gym. Everything went up fast and easy. I think a lot of it had to do with my shoulder feeling better. I spent another hour on it last night with the foam roller. The soft tissue work and mobility work seem to be helping. I just need to stick with it.

A. Flat Bench
145/5, 175/4, 200/3, 200/3, 230/3, 230/3, 245/2, 245/2
B. Deadlift
205/3, 245/3, 285/3, 285/3, 325/3, 325/3, 345/2, 345/2, 345/2, 325/2, 325/2
C. Flat Bench
145/5, 175/4, 200/5, 200/5, 200/5, 200/5
D. DB Flies
40/10, 40/10, 40/10, 40/10

I finally dialed the traps in on the bench and hit the groove on my lower chest. This took a lot of the strain off the shoulder and allowed me to explode the weight back up. My final set at 245 for 2 was the best reps I have had so far.

The DL felt good. I waited until the last sets to put the belt on. I am really working on getting the hips through fast and pushing out through my heels. The weight felt light. I actually got a little fast with one rep and almost fell backwards. I had to drop the bar in front of me in order to not fall over. At least I know I am pulling the bar into me and getting my hips through as fast as possible.

I tweaked my upper back a little but with some stretching and more foam roller work it will be fine.

Just a good day!!

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Lookin’ and soundin’ good mday!

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[quote]mday wrote:

I finally dialed the traps in on the bench and hit the groove on my lower chest. [/quote]

I meant lats not traps…