Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis

Training Training Logs
901

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
There has to be a better way than piecing together a bunch of stuff and then shotgunning it at a problem and hoping it works.[/quote]
Actually IMO you’re closer than you think with that. I described it as throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. I went through many, many mobility drills before I was able to narrow it down to a couple ones that were key to fixing my imbalances.[/quote]

Have a post going in the injuries section, but I am getting very few responses. What did your shoulder feel like, and what did you do to fix it?

902

8/16/14

Full Upper Body Mobility

Bench Press
5x45 (No pain.)
5x135 (Not sure, but I may have felt popping in my sternum during this set.)
5x135 (Felt popping in my sternum when I initiated the press on my chest.)
3x185 (Felt ok. Maybe my chest popped on my last rep.)
5x215 (Paused. Mostly felt ok.)
3x245 (Paused. Close grip. Started to feel nervous, but this set was ok.)
3x275 (Got a handoff. Paused. Close grip. I failed my 4th rep. No pain though.)
3x245 (Got a handoff. Paused. Felt pretty quick.)

Normally I would do two more sets of 3 at 245, but I had some lingering odd feelings in my shoulder after the last set, so I called it a day. I am really unhappy that I only got 3 at 275. I really wanted to at least tie my PR of 5x275. I did quite a bit of warming up, so that may have contributed to not hitting a PR, and I was a bit nervous given that my left shoulder isn’t feeling 100%. I still gave my best effort though.

903

The popping in my chest was painless. I am not sure where that was coming from. It was happening approximately 1 mm off of my chest when I initiated the press.

I noticed that when I unrack the bar, my shoulders shrug. When I press with shrugged shoulders, this kind of replicates my discomfort.

It should also be noted that I noticed my head leaving the bench. That never happens. Usually I am better than that.

I really hope that I am not dealing with cervical radiculopathy of some type. I know that typically that resolves over time, but still…

Due to the fact that I am not really in pain, it is difficult for me to describe and replicate the pain. I have tried everything to figure out what it is, with no success. Since it is not severe, I can’t really take a guess as to what it is. I am not sure if that is good or bad.

I am going to take a 1 week break from all pressing movements. After 1 week, I will see how my shoulder feels, and then I will start my new plan. This means no dips, benching, or overhead pressing. I am going to also consider lowering my starting point on bench for my new goals.

I will do my mobility and rowing tomorrow with some triceps.

I really just want my joints to be ok.

904

I really do love this sport, and I don’t want to have to take major time off, or at worst not be able to be a part of it some day. So much of my life revolves around the gym at the moment.

905

I am skipping the gym tonight.

I am majorly upset and desperately trying to come up with any explanation for my shoulder discomfort that doesn’t involve cervical radiculopathy being the answer.

I am the only person I can blame for having this, and I don’t know what to do.

What can I do if the answer is that it won’t get better without taking time off?

I am physically in the best shape of my life, and I am happy with my lifts.

I keep thinking about guys like Brandon Lilly, Ed Coan, Bill Kazmaier, and Greg Panora.

All of those guys were way more fucked up than I currently am, but I let something like this scare me away.

This is going to be a mental game that I am not prepared for.

906

Well. Not sure if it applies. …but I had an impingement in my right shoulder a couple years ago. Never had it looked at…but much like you 20 mins a reading a night narrowed it down to what I assume …was a suprasnitas .

I didnt do this weight lifting. It was done on a day where I helped my dad move his boat lift and involved me ramming a steel bar under it/squatting it up and over head pressing the bar as high as I could- hence lifting the boat lift and shifting it forward a foot or so. I did this at least 30 times .each was much like a max effort squat and press. All from the bar resting on my right shoulder to begin with. Not thinking anything of it. Till the next day I awoke to the severe pain that didnt go away for about 5 months.

Which leads to this part- it wouldnt go away. I took NSAIDS every night to hide the pain but…no cure.

Not untill I started doing the arm stretches recommend for suprasanitas. Which is some odd up against a wall, elbow at 90 degrees only rotae the elbow type of stuff. Which when I did them- directly hurt like hell.which sucked but was also desd on stretching exactly what was hurting. I did these stretches twice a day.

Also did some very light rotations, raises and flies as recommended for it as well. This was very similiar to rotator cuff rehab. And I mean light- one 5 pound plate in each hand. Eventually working up to about 15 pounds for flies and 45 pound bar for some raises…after several weeks. I pretty much did something everyday. High reps 12-15 each.

Eventually the stretches combined w. The rehab worked.

I started lifting again. Flatbench was decent… but after each session itd be tender again…this went away after 4 weeks or so…

felt real tender on incline bench- no weight here… did sets of 10 w. 135. Thats it. Pauses felt better. .so I stuck w. It each week feelin better n better. Pry 6 weeks here.

No overhead pressing at all. That was a direct stinger if I even tried. Took several months off…at least 3. Started doing sets w.just the bar.Pain free. 4 weeks of 10-20 reps. felt good. Ran a cycle on it gettin lots of volume and worked up to sets of 3 @170. Pain free.

That was over 2 years ago .not a problem since. And ive never done those stretches nor rehab ever again either.

Id look em up and give it a try now. I thought id tough it out… 4 months later I was still reeling. It wont just go away. Gotta get right before you can resume training. Im glad I did. Better than ever now.

907

[quote]barbedwired wrote:
Well. Not sure if it applies. …but I had an impingement in my right shoulder a couple years ago. Never had it looked at…but much like you 20 mins a reading a night narrowed it down to what I assume …was a suprasnitas .

I didnt do this weight lifting. It was done on a day where I helped my dad move his boat lift and involved me ramming a steel bar under it/squatting it up and over head pressing the bar as high as I could- hence lifting the boat lift and shifting it forward a foot or so. I did this at least 30 times .each was much like a max effort squat and press. All from the bar resting on my right shoulder to begin with. Not thinking anything of it. Till the next day I awoke to the severe pain that didnt go away for about 5 months.

Which leads to this part- it wouldnt go away. I took NSAIDS every night to hide the pain but…no cure.

Not untill I started doing the arm stretches recommend for suprasanitas. Which is some odd up against a wall, elbow at 90 degrees only rotae the elbow type of stuff. Which when I did them- directly hurt like hell.which sucked but was also desd on stretching exactly what was hurting. I did these stretches twice a day.

Also did some very light rotations, raises and flies as recommended for it as well. This was very similiar to rotator cuff rehab. And I mean light- one 5 pound plate in each hand. Eventually working up to about 15 pounds for flies and 45 pound bar for some raises…after several weeks. I pretty much did something everyday. High reps 12-15 each.

Eventually the stretches combined w. The rehab worked.

I started lifting again. Flatbench was decent… but after each session itd be tender again…this went away after 4 weeks or so…

felt real tender on incline bench- no weight here… did sets of 10 w. 135. Thats it. Pauses felt better. .so I stuck w. It each week feelin better n better. Pry 6 weeks here.

No overhead pressing at all. That was a direct stinger if I even tried. Took several months off…at least 3. Started doing sets w.just the bar.Pain free. 4 weeks of 10-20 reps. felt good. Ran a cycle on it gettin lots of volume and worked up to sets of 3 @170. Pain free.

That was over 2 years ago .not a problem since. And ive never done those stretches nor rehab ever again either.

Id look em up and give it a try now. I thought id tough it out… 4 months later I was still reeling. It wont just go away. Gotta get right before you can resume training. Im glad I did. Better than ever now.[/quote]

Thanks for the advice, and for what I am going to consider an encouraging story.

I have been doing mostly neck work, as I think that I might be having radiated pain.

School is getting out of control, so not lifting is giving me a break to get it all under control.

Taking time off from lifting is mentally exhausting for me. I feel like I have the urge to quit most days, but that makes me very unhappy to think about. Who knows. Every time I think “yeah, maybe I’ll go to the gym today” I just make a bunch of excuses and bitch out.

I am going to try to make it to the gym tomorrow to see what’s up. I am not sure what I am going to do for programming at the moment though. Maybe I will start my new plan.

Thanks for posting man. I appreciate it.

908

No prob.

Supraspinitas*

909

This was an interesting article.

910

I also wanted to throw this up, because I really like reading Lift-Run-Bang.

911

Still working on programming and making my shoulder feel better. Will post when it is ready.

912

I forgot to log a lift. Here it is…

8/17/14

Upper Body Mobility

Kroc Row
5x100
10x120 (Felt ok.)
10x120 (Still ok.)
10x120 (Fatigued reps toward end, but ok. Knee on bench for this set.)
10x120 (Ok. Back to regular form here.)
(Felt a bit of a shoulder “twinge,” so I called it there.)

Tricep Rope Pushdown
10x40
10x60
10x90
10x110
10x110
10x100
10x90

One arm Tricep Rope Pushdown
10x40
5x40
10x50

913

8/24/14

I weighed in at 213.8 lbs on my home scale today.

I am going to do some shoulder work and light pressing later. I won’t go over 100 lbs, but I want to see how it feels.

914

Here it is…
New Template

~A1~
Deadlift 5/3/1 possibly with 3 back off sets of my 2nd work set for form and volume, or Prilepin’s chart.
Stiff Leg Deadlift or Deficit Deadlift or Goodmorning 5x5
Face Pull 4x10
Shrug 4x10 superset with Rear Lateral Raise 5x10

~B1~
Press 5/3/1 possibly with 3 back off sets of my 2nd work set for form and volume, or Prilepin’s chart.
Narrow Neutral Grip Chin Up 3x10 then 1x10-15
Chest Supported Row 4x10
Biceps 3x10

~A2~
Squat 5/3/1 possibly with 3 back off sets of my 2nd work set for form and volume, or Prilepin’s chart.
Safety Squat or Front Squat 5x5
Arched Back Hyperextensions or Glute Ham Raise 4x10
Calves 3x20 Superset with Abdominals

~B2~
Bench 5/3/1 possibly with 3 back off sets of my 2nd work set for form and volume, or Prilepin’s chart.
Kroc Row 3x10 then 1x10-15
Triceps 4x10 then 1x10-15

~Every Day Before I lift~
Limber 11.

  1. Foam Roll IT Band: 10-15 passes
  2. Foam Roll Adductors: 10-15 passes
  3. SMR Glutes (lax ball): 30sec. - 2min.
  4. Bent-knee Iron Cross x 5-10 each side
  5. Roll-overs into V-sits x 10
  6. Rocking Frog Stretch x 10
  7. Fire Hydrant Circles x 10 fwd/10 bwd
  8. Mountain Climbers x 10 each leg
  9. Cossack Squats x 5-10 each side
  10. Seated Piriformis Stretch x 20-30sec. each side
  11. Rear-foot-elevated Hip Flexor Stretch x 5-10 reps (3sec. hold) each side
    T spine PVC rolling.
    T spine rotational stretching. (All fours, then one hand, or elbow if doing ?chicken wings,? to ceiling.)
    T spine stretch on bench. (Elbows on bench, arch and push torso to floor.)
    Wall sit for a 20 second hold.
    Pendlay weighted dorsiflexion.
    Standing toe touch.
    Cobra stretch. (Lay prone, arch back and push down on floor with hands.)
    Apley stretch for 10 seconds in each position.
    Handcuff stretch.
    Sleeper stretch.
    Mini band dislocations.
    Broom handle dislocations.
    Band pull apart.
    Banded no money stretch. (Back to wall, grab band with underhand grip, externally rotate.)
    YTWL with scarecrows, skiers, and rear lateral raise.
    Subscapularis strengthening.
    Lateral raise.
    Forward raise to t-arm.
    Overhead shrug.
    Scapular depressions from pull up bar.
    Doorway pectoralis stretch.
    Neck Stretching

Off days will include 30 minutes of conditioning.

I will try to correct my sleeping and eating habits.

I will not deviate from my plan. I will avoid missing any reps at all costs. If I change anything, it will be the addition of sets of 5 neutral grip chins in between my upper body 5/3/1 work.

May use extra sets, or Prilepin?s chart for rep ranges and sets on some days if I feel like I am stalling and need more volume.

I will have mandatory deloads at each 6 week interval.

915

Had a rough day today.

Saw the doc. Got an injection in my left shoulder. In 2 weeks, if my shoulder is still giving me issues, we will discuss an MRI.

I am going to eliminate overhead pressing type work for now.

916

8/25/14

Total body stretching.

Deadlift
5x135
5x185
5x215
5x255
3x300
3x340 (Right hand up.)
5x385 (Belted. Right hand up. Got half way up 6 and had what I will term “technique failure.”)
2x385 (Belted. Right hand up. Got half way up 3 and felt my back round, so I just called it a day.)
(I am not happy about this. There was no psyching up, no music, just went to it, but I still wanted to do better.)

Stiff Leg Deadlift
5x260
5x260
5x260
5x260
5x260
(Not sure of form here. We will see how I feel tomorrow. I gotta get better.)

Face Pull
10x87
10x87
10x87
10x87
10x87
(Felt ok. Minimal shoulder odd feelings.)

Shrug Superset with Dumbell Rear Lateral Raise
10 DBRL @ 20 lbs, then 10 Smith Machine Shrugs with 2.5 plates per side.
10 DBRL @ 20 lbs, then 10 Smith Machine Shrugs with 2.5 plates per side.
10 DBRL @ 20 lbs, then 10 Smith Machine Shrugs with 2.5 plates per side.
10 DBRL @ 20 lbs, then 10 Smith Machine Shrugs with 2.5 plates per side.
10 DBRL @ 20 lbs

YTWL/SKIERS/REARLATERALRAISE/OVERHEADSHRUG/FRONTRAISETOTARM/LATERALRAISE/LAYINGSUBSCAPULARIS
(This was difficult for some reason. I only was able to use 5 lbs.)

As a whole, I had a bad day today. I am not happy with my lifting. Mentally I am just out of it today.

917

I hope that I can get stronger.

Thank you for reading.

Have a good night.

918

Guys, I need a break.

I am not mentally able to tackle all of my responsibilites with school and life, and keep lifting a priority with all kinds of injuries.

It’s not fun any more, and I am not making progress.

I weighed in at 209 today.

School is such a heavy burden that my blood pressure is out of control, I have a hernia, and my shoulder is slowly getting back to normal.

In short, I quit. I am weak of mind and body. I make excuses, and I don’t deserve to be in the game at this point in time.

My favorite lifts to date have been
Press 185x2
Deadlift 365x10, 430x3, 455x1
Squat 315x10, 370x5
Bench Press 275x5, 225x10, 245x8? (Cant really remember this last one.)

It’s been fun, and I hope that you’re all here when I get back in a few weeks/month with a big reset.

Thank you for reading, and for all of your advice and support. This website has been a second home to me. Maybe some day I will write up why and how it has impacted me.

919

Trivium, it sounds like you definitely do need a break! Maybe a couple months of focusing on school and your career and fitting in some bodyweight or light lifting is just the thing for your body and mind.

Be well.

920

Get your life in order. Get your grades up and yourself on a good schedule. Get healed-get right. Id still recommend doing the stretching and mobility work to keep limber. Good luck. I know well see you back here.