Part of the continuing saga is getting cleared at work for normal business. Today was Part 1 -hearing, bodyweight, eyes, and BMI. The first 3 were good. I missed out on the 12 hr fasting so i am fasting tonight. Tomorrow morning will be blood work. I started my fast with a giant piece of Lasagna (courtesy of my Moms) and a Pint of H-TWO-OH. As well as a does of ZMA.
I will stretch and foam roll tonight before bed. My body needs it. I am not as sore as expected but I do feel like i gave it hell last night. My whole left shoulder actually feels better today. Visit with my Physio later in the morning as well. First time i have seen her since we figured it out the dislocated rib heads. Should be interesting.
When this came on during my Prowler Sprints it had a weird zoning effect for the last few sprints.
So with my shoulder and upper back still being out of commission i had to come up with a work around for Bench day. So i decided to go all out with Barbell Rows and then finish up with some other assistance and neck work. i was in after work today and i quickly remembered why i prefer early mornings or later in the evening. The population and demographic make up of the gym is less than inspiring at that time of day.
1650 hrs Warm Up: Skipping 2 min Ab Wheel 3 x 10 Glute Scissors 2 x 20 Superman's 2 x 10
Glute scissors -Something different to do tonight
(note: this is not me demonstrating the exercise)
Barbell Rows
1 x 12 x 115
1 x 12 x 125
1 x 12 x 135
1 x 12 x 145
1 x 12 x 155
1 x 12 x 165
1 x 12 x 175
3 x 12 x 145 Head Harness (done through out the Barbell Rows)
6 x 25 x 20 lbs
The plan i had i threw out the window after the first set. i am sure i will be sore as Frack tomorrow. Oh well. This just felt right.As long as all 12 reps were fast and explosive i kept adding 10 lbs. I will also say this, i need to do alot more heavy barbell rows. My body needs them to simply get strong(er) all over. Oh and when i say heavy i don't mean sloppy either. Head harness was tossed in like salt on my morning eggs, as required.
Kirkawoski Shrugs
1 x 30 x bar
1 x 15 x 115
1 x 15 x 135
1 x 15 x 155
1 x 15 x 165
1 x 15 x 135
1 x 15 x 115 Mtn Dog Rows (done through out the Shrugs)
3 x 15 x 50
The traps are feeling better and they seem to be responding to being made to work. Although there is still trap tension from the rib heads being out the blood flow seems to be helping. The mountain dog rows i did for grip and a little extra one on one lat /rear delt work.
Single Arm Tricep Pull down (assisted left arm due to weakness /misfiring)
1 x 10 x 50 Single arm Tricep Push Downs (assisted left arm due to weakness /misfiring)
3 x 10 x 50 Rear Delt Laterals on Incline Bench
2 x 15 x 15lbs Mtn Dog Rear Delt Destroyer
1 x 45 x 45 lbs - 1 x 45 x 25 lbs - 1 x 15 x 10 lbs
I opted for single arm tricep stuff to so that the strong(er) arm would not simply do more work. I did one arm at a time and assisted my left only enough to keep things moving. The right arm contracted hard and for very solid reps. The left arm is definitely weaker but not through the whole range of movement and not by much, but still i cannot get the the left tricep to fire hard enough to burn it out. I will discuss with My Physio later this week. I was initially leaning away from doing the RDD but decided i needed to man up and get them done tonight. glad i did things have felt better in my upper back every time i have finished doing them. Even my Physio liked the idea of them when i described them.
Prowler Sprints
6 x 20 m x 50 lbs
2 x 20 m x empty
Children running and frolicking all over the gym tonight. Really surprised i did not hit one with the Prowler. I am all for kids learning to be active. But the parents all came in a group to do "extreme circuit trg" aka excelling at being even less awesome. They ignored their kids.
There was also a personal trg in coaching clients tonight. which i am not sure is totally legit in my facility but whatever not my business. But from what i saw she had her client do, i will not be hiring her. Nothing atrocious (nothing funny like bosu hand stands or shit like that) but nothing that inspired me to ask for her card.
1720 hrs
First day ion the new template. First day with the realistic Training maxes. First day of a new week, month, and cycle. So no pressure. Just pure intensity.
JORDAN! ALL - DAMN - DAY!
Warm Ups: Skipping - 2 min Single leg Hops (line crossovers) 2 x 8 Box Jumps 3 x 5 GHR 3 x 6-8 TKE's 2 x 20 Hip Mobility X 15 reps all movements
Box Jumps are feeling better. I tried the Line hopping today to see where my leg is at. I am not going to win hop scotch anytime soon but single concentrated hops are solid enough. One day at a time. Head harness (through out)
1 x 30 x 20 lbs
5 x 20 x 35 lbs Squats
2 x 10 x Bar
1 x 5 x 115
1 x 5 x 140
1 x 3 x 170
1 x 5 x 185
1 x 5 x 210
1 x 8 x 240
1 x 3 x 255
1 x 2 x 270 First /Last 3 x 6 x 185 SDL (snatch grip)
1 x 10 x 95
1 x 10 x 115
1 x 10 x 135
I pushed things hard today but kept in the back of my head it is only day 1 and to hold back a little so i would not be painfully sore the rest of the week. The Straight legged Deadlifts i plan on using a linear style progression with while dropping the reps from week to week. I will give them a 6 week run to see how it goes. I want to push my Assistance lift while still keeping some volume to it.
I drove home and conducted the first of many (this summer) Chain Lunges Session
2 x Length of Drive way x 1 Industrial Chain (approx 25 lbs)
Again i don't want to be crippled so i went down and back. But on another note these are huge. Only 3 months ago i could not even Lunges in a power rack because my knee was too messed up. Today I lunge down and back outside with no support with additional weight. Super pumped for these.
The Moustache is not gone yet.and as for this pic, i am not a personal trainer so it is OK that i pose like this. Lol
I am nearly finished reading and hoisting it a board into my thick skull. As always Jim Wendler provides outstanding material. I first bought 5/3/1 in 2009 pretty much the first week it came out if i recall. It took me about 6 months of messing around before i got the program down solidly. I have lifted weights in some form or fashion since i was 13 which is going on 24 being in various weight rooms. But i would say my education since 2009 has been exponential. Partially because the internet has made mass amounts of real training info available. But Also because with one book purchase Jim Wendler turned what i thought was 2 decades of lifting knowledge on it's head. 5/3/1 was one of those turning points.
When he released 5/3/1 for Powerlifting i picked it up as well as 5/3/1 2nd edition. Both were very solid stand alone books. expanding on the original material while staying true to the core program. I still reference them. I think one of Wendler's biggest strengths is being able to break stuff down to the level of a 10 yr old. It also can be a curse for the first time reader. At least for me it was. I could not believe lifting and getting Strong(er) was so straight forward. My yrs spent doing multiple magazine programs, lifting with Kettle bells, and some other stuff too was all too often misguided in the grand scheme of things. I was always trying to serve too many masters.
When i tore my ACL last year i did a few things. I consulted with Friend, Coach and Guru Harry Selkow. I emailed Elite Powerlifter Jeremy Frey on the Elitefts Q&A. I also picked up my copy of 5/3/1. I read through it in it's entirety, I read and re-read Jim's T-nation post on how he came back from his shoulder surgery. I attempted to put together a plan for myself to charge into surgery. To go in as strong as I could be. I guess in a way i asked myself "What would Jim Wendler do?" and how would he keep this N.O.V.? Realize at the time of the ACL Tear i finally had a cylinders running on full. My Trg weights for Squat and Deadlift were around 400 lbs, My Trg weights for Press was closing in on 200 lbs, and my Bench around 250 lbs. I had all the pieces together.
So yeah the day of the Tear i was pissed. I had every emotion go through me that is humanly possible. But after about 2 hrs or so of having a pity party i got down to business. By the time surgery rolled around my leg was bullet proof and most people did not believe i was severely injured. Mostily because i had altered my training to accommodate my injury and to keep moving forward.Coming out of surgery and the subsequent months up until May were fairly smooth sailing. It has only been the last month where my body rebelled slightly but i have that under control. (damn dislocated rib heads)
But i applied the same conscientious approach coming out of surgery of being careful but still pushing my body to get strong(er) every day. But the last month i have felt a little lost. I was looking back to get onto 5/3/1 but was not sure how i would do it. First i had to be honest with myself. As far as i have come, i still have have further to go, until i am back to where i was this time last year. So be it.
But now i have a whole new re-vamped program to use. Tonight i applied it for the first time. It was a perfect fit. The Joker sets, the last set first. It is just what i need at this point and time in my recovery. My Training maxes have dropped. So be it. They will go up, every 3 weeks because I am willing to put the blood, toil and sacrifice to push those numbers up.
This is not simply 5/3/1 with some varied assistance work. Jim has taken the time to write functional templates with the core 5/3/1 philosophy involved. He has taken those philosophies and adapted them to multiple scenarios. This book is full of ideas and ways to apply them intelligently. He even has a whole new program that i still have to go through a little more till i understand it fully. Once again he has set the bar for simple straight forward strength training
I just want to say Thank you to Jim Wendler for taking the time to write another spectacular program(s). From the first time i read 5/3/1 he has re-educated me and challenged me to keep learning in and out of the gym. Thanks for that as well.
Don't think less of yourself, he says that constantly. So don't. This week my surgeon cleared me to return to normal activities. He could not tell the difference between my two knees. Credit that to my mindset. Credit that to my training. Credit that to the help i have received from friends, family and coaches. Thank you to them too.
1425 hrs
Great time to be in the gym. Terrible time to GO to the gym. It took me 15 min longer than normal which ate into the window i had to train today. I missed out on some recovery conditioning. But i did run my bad shoulder area through some work and after being in the sun reading my book for two hrs it was definitely time for some gun show work. I will not get into detail how i got all of this done but rest was minimal.
45 Deg back Ext /Side bends /Rev Hyper 2 x 15
Upper Pec Cable Fly's
1 x 15 x 20lbs, 30lbs, 40lbs, 35lbs, 20lbs Barbell Curl
1 x 20 x 45lbs, 55lbs, 60lbs, 40lbs, 40lbs Trap machine Shrug
1 x 30 x 45lbs
1 x 30 x 70lbs Side laterals
3 x 15 x 15lbs
2 x 15 x 20 lbs Hammer Curls
1 x 20 x 20lbs
1 x 20 x 30lbs Tricep Pulldowns
1 x 30 x 40lbs
1 x 30 x 50lbs Tricep Pushdowns
3 x 30 x 60lbs Head Harness
4 x 20-30 x 25lbs
I can definitely feel that tricep is not firing at 100% for all sets my right tricep was just starting to burn and my left one was pumped but not sore. Doing the shrugs is bit of a gamble but they felt good today so i thought i would put some blood in them. The Flys allow me to keep the pecs working and i find stretching them out a little makes things feel better. I did not attempt regular or downward flys today, figured i would go with what has been safe.
The plane will be to work they affected area doing exercises or movements that keep things as stable as possible with as much weight as it can handle for 15-30 reps. Things are feeling better daily no reason to mess up a good thing.
I would like to call this a rest day but really the whole day was sort of wasted. Other than my Neural reactivation first thing in the AM not much else was accomplished. Did my body need rest? Yes. But not a total day off. The day sort of just got away on me. Days like this eat at me. Time is not finite. Wasting a day bothers me. But i did watch this:
If this does nothing else it should at least make you think for 5 minutes about what you put in your gob. I am not a healthy nut, i like drinking alcohol. I eat cake and chips and pop. But my parents always taught me moderation. Pop for me as a kid was a special treat on Fridays, not the daily drink with supper.
Understand i will be the last person to agree that Obesity is a disease. But it is good to see that the medical community is at least thinking about changing their approach and may come to the conclusion that Sugar consumption and massive intake of Carbohydrates is a big part of the Obesity problem. But i have no schooling, i just read a lot of books and experiment on myself with various nutrition protocols.
29 June 2013 1810hrs
Ok so i had to make up for yesterday's lost day a little. I did so in spades. I got all the groceries and even went and got ammo for the pistol. I hit the gym tonight with the Girl. She had to make up for yesterday also. She had an extremely long week and yesterday was the longest day of the week so i did not harp on her when she wanted out last night. Anyhow what was i to do? A proper Silver Back Saturday was out of the question with my should /Upper back still in recovery mode. So i came up with some work arounds. Which as i sit here now i can say worked out ok. i am a little sore and fatigued on my left side but i don't think i caused any undue stress /damage.
and because it is hot, throw a few grains of salt in there too.
Close Grip (Black)Banded Incline Push Up
5 x 20
1 x 15 Bosu Sit Up 6 x 20 Blast Strap Rows (Pronated to neutral Grip) 10 x 15 reps
We both did these in a circuit pattern. not rushing from exercise but simply getting the work completed in a timely fashion. The banded push ups did not stress my shoulder blade or rotator but gave my triceps a decent amount of work. The blast strap rows allowed me to train my back and work through the weakened range of motion but using the reverse motion.
Head Harness (Done through out)
10 x 30 x 20 lbs
Prowler (All weights pushed for 20 m)
1 x 25 lbs
1 x 25 lbs + 20 kgs
1 x 50lbs + 20 kgs
1 x 25 lbs + 20 kgs
1 x 75 lbs + 20 kgs
2 x 50 lbs + 20 kgs
2 x 75 lbs + 20 kgs
2 x 50 lbs + 20 kgs
That was 220 m of Prowler work so that you don't have to do math. Why Kgs and Lbs? I used metric and Imperial bumper plates. Initially for the singles i was finishing up the neck work. The girl was pushing in between.Timing rest was not the worry again it was about just doing the work in a timely fashion. But if you are really interested this whole session was just under an hr and a half. Sweating, breathing hard and trying to keep most of my body primed for when I get back to doing pull ups.
In the mean time i will enjoy some mashed sweet potatoes and stuffed chicken breast.
Oldie but a goodie from 2 now aging giants of Metal. 26 June 2013 0530 hrs Basic Yoga DVD -working on Hip Flexibility and allows me stretch out the still semi parts of my shoulder /upper back.
Also did the Neural reactivation stuff.
So first things first, the change in momentum continued today. I saw the surgeon, really nice guy, FOR THE LAST TIME. He was very happy with my 6 month post op abilities and strength. The Single leg Jump to leg landing.
Right Leg - 101 cm
Left Leg -98 cm
Those were my two best jumps of the three i performed. He said feeling my knee and working it through the ROM it feels "normal". Which he said is rare. He doesn't get many "normal" feeling knees at this stage post surgery. He said if i had pants on he would not know which one he worked on. He gave me direct credit for how hard i have worked (he said this without actually knowing any of my trg)
So the day has come I am cleared to resume normal activities fully. With one small caveat. It will still be a few more months to continue building the strength, endurance and co-ordination in my leg. For me to do full contact sports it will take a little more time. So i will have to get out and do some cone drills and some other basic agility, jumping, and explosive work to ensure my leg is as injury proof as i can make it. But for now I crossed a big milestone.
So how did i celebrate?
1800 hrs Hip mobility series X 1 x 10 (ea movement) GHR 2 x 10 Rear Rotator Activation 1 x 10 400 m Repeats
Lap 1 (0 - 400 m) -1 min 51 sec /Rest 3 min 30 sec
Lap 2 (400 - 800 m) - 1 min 43 sec /Rest 4 min
Lap 3 (800 - 1200 m) - 1 min 44 sec /Rest 4 min
Lap 4 (1200 - 1600 m) - 1 min 50 sec /2 min then i went on to other stuff.
I went in with no intention on pushing the pace really hard but enough to feel like I was at least running. Both my knees were a little sore, so the distance was perfect. I was sucking wind at the end of every 400 m series but not the point where after a minute or so i was not breathing normal. I focused on trying to remain long and upright while cycling my legs smoothly with my hands /arms. Overall i was happy with the 400 m lap times they are still improving without me having to kill myself to do it. Also of note no irritation in my low back during this, which was a concern having only had it reset 2 days before. This spine adjustment thing is new to me so the effects for a few days i am always curious as to how my body will respond.
Sled Drags (45 lbs) Super set (down and back) Chest Flies 15m* /20m /20m High Pull (I/Y Laterals) 20m /20m /20m
*this first set i tried pulling downwards, which caused immediate weakness in my shoulder. I switched the next two series to an upward fly motion with no issues. I /Y pulls gave me a great delt /trap pump with out irritating anything Super Set Ab Wheel 3 x 10 Head Harness 3 x 30
Harry, i know you will like this one!
27 June 2013 1755 hrs Hip Mobility Series X Skipping Banded Side Step Shoulder dislocates (w/ Orange Band) Squat (Bench Jumps 3 reps after the first 3 sets)
2 x 10 x Bar
1 x 12 x 135
3 x 10 x 185
1 x 10 x 135 Front Squat (Narrow Stance)
2 x 10 x 65 lbs
1 x 10 x 95
1 x 10 x 135
Vincent Knows how to SFW
I had to let something sink in today. It sort of came out of talking to the surgeon in a way. My squat is slow because my Quads are still weak. Yes i squatted 315 the beginning of May but it was slow as Frack. Why? Because my legs are weak and my Squat Sucks. It will take time but now that i am allowing myself to accept this i can move on, write my template out with my crappy numbers and earn my Squat back. It is not frustrating or depressing, it just is the reality. I had my knee altered 7 months ago. I knew going in asking for a Patellar graft that my Quads instead of my hamstrings, would take the hit in strength.
I just don't know why it took me so long to realize this. Tonight was purely about building Volume and living within my current reality. Next week 5/3/1 starts. In August when i know what my work scenario is going to me I will go on a Squat heavy template to re-build /reconstruct but until then i will do the regular program and smash it hard. To quote Vincent Dizenzo "SFW"
For the unitiated -SMASH FUCKING WEIGHTS
Head Harness 4 x 30 x 20 lbs Farmer's Walk 2 x 40 m x 70 lbs (KB's) Prowler 4 x 20 m x 180 lbs GHR 3 x 10-12 reps Barbell Curl 2 x 20 x bar
Long session but that is what volume is about and the humidity in the gym is not really forgiving right now to fast sessions. A few more days and i will be in full sweats and pushing the pace. Thankfully the rubber track flooring was dry so pushing the Prowler was not a task for the insane. The other night with the floor being wet still an empty prowler felt like it was bolted to the floor.
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