Mike's Log - The Road to Recovery

_tim said:
Here here. Folks in my gym like to do deadlifts in the rack. They don't use a single aspect of the rack itself other than feeling like they're in a cage. I truly don't understand.

How do you like the rapers in a press, Mike?
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I'm a big fan of doing them in the leg press. The only downside to doing these with squats is that you can wind up worrying more about back position later in a set since you never really get to relax. With the leg press, it's pretty much all legs the whole set, so easier to focus on the working muscles like a bodybro.
 
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Upper Body - Day 2, Week 8

DB Pause Bench
Warmup
90s (180) x 5,5,5

Chins
Warmup
Me + 90 x 5,5,5

DB Pause High Incline Bench
75s (150) x 5,5

Machine + Cable Rows
157.5 x 5 (machine rows)
167.5 x 5,5 (cable rows)

DB External Rotations
10s x 5/side
20 x 12/side (eccentric only)

Notes:

Sigh, no more dips. On the plus side, I forgot I even had sternum pain or discomfort, nothing even began to irritate that area.

I must confess, paused dumbbell benching is pretty awesome. While it's certainly a bit harder, the sense of control/comfort/etc is improved. I.e. if anything I notice it even less on my shoulder. The only downside here was pretty much guessing the appropriate starting weights. 90s for flat were tough but pretty manageable (I probably could have done sets of 6). 75s for incline were probably a little too tough, the second set was pretty much a limit effort. My HST cycle is running down anyways, so I'll probably just sit at this weight until the end and/or I see a strength bump. At this point I'm just figuring out weights for my next lifting cycle, in a sense.
 
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90s is really impressive for flat bench paused. The only problem I have with dumbbell benching is control. I am afraid to go heavy without a spotter and tear a shoulder out, I think that us how Joemuscle hurt his shoulder years ago.
 
Lower Body - Day 2, Week 8

High Bar Squat (Vibrams)
Warmup
235 x 5,5,5 (belt)

Hook Grip Deadlifts
Warmup
320 x 5 (belt)
Bar x 20 (RDL cooldown)

1-Leg Calf
Me + 50 x 8,8 per side

Notes:

An Easter workout at home, given that the gym is (I'm assuming) closed. Okay session, energy wasn't fantastic going in as my stomach was feeling uncooperative. I had a pre-workout boost of a Cadbury Caramel egg, however, and that seemed to be enough. Squats are getting pretty heavy, 3 sets of 5 across beyond this point is going to be pretty grindy. Deadlifts are still rather manageable, probably lots of room to breathe/grow there.

Happy Easter, guys :)
 
Upper Body - Day 1, Week 9

DB Pause Bench
Warmup
92.5s (185) x 5,5,5

Chins
Warmup
Me + 95 x 5,5,5

DB Pause High Incline Bench
65s (130) x 8

Cable Rows
180 x 5,5

DB External Rotations
10 x 5/side
15 x 5/side
20 x 12/side (eccentric-only)

Notes:

Strength continues to improve pretty much across the board, though this is my final week of HST/5's. I will almost definitely be transitioning to something else starting next week, probably after a mini-deload.

It's also worth noting that I did a couple sets of facepulls prior to the db external rotations. These felt...okay, but possibly a little something on the left shoulder, so I won't pursue them at this time.
 
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AlexAustralia said:
'sif stop when you're still gaining ;)
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I will probably just transition to a slightly slower climb, as it were, e.g. pushing the 5's maybe once a week, after a mini-deload. I've been going non-stop for 9 weeks so I think the mini-deload is warranted.
 
Lower Body - Day 1, Week 9

High Bar Squats (Vibrams)
Warmup
237.5 x 5,5,5 (belt)

45 Degree Back Extensions
Warmup
Me + 75 x 8

Seated Calf Raise
80 x 8,8

Notes:

The squats are definitely getting pretty challenging. It's worth noting that I haven't been this heavy for sets across in high bars since 2010, so that's a thing. I would normally do the leg press rapers, but a dude was sitting in the leg press machine for quite a while, and I decided to take this as a sign from above to reserve my energy for my final day of 5's across on Sunday.
 
Upper Body - Day 2, Week 9 (ferreal final session)

Dumbbell Pause Bench
Warmup
~95s (190) x 6 (PR)

Chins
Warmup
Me + 100 x 6

Barbell Pause Bench
Warmup
205 x 5

Cable Rows
Warmup
170 x 8 (PR)

Dumbbell External Rotations
Warmup
15 x 10/side

Notes:

Pretty reasonable session. Insofar as I haven't really done paused dumbbell benching in the past, I think I'll definitely consider 95's for 6 a PR. I want to say my PR in touch and go style are 100's for 5, so this is pretty good, considering the shoulder situation.

Chins were also good, but I play these more cautiously than I used to. I.e. I didn't go for another rep, which would have tied an all-time PR at this bodyweight. This still means my strength in chins is about as strong as they've ever been within some small margin. Also solid.

I decided to (very cautiously) experiment with paused barbell bench. I was curious if this felt questionable or not, but honestly, I don't think it feels any more questionable than dumbbell work. The form which seems to feel the best, non-shockingly, is powerlifting style, a focus on more elbow tuck and touching slightly lower on the chest, maintaining a good thoracic arch. I'm not sure I'll be pursuing this lift any time soon, but I was curious where my strength was. I'm slightly weaker here than when I left off (I think I hit 205 x 7 in the fall), but considering I literally haven't done this lift since...November? I think it's safe to say that if/when I want to return to benching that my strength should be just fine, and clearly the other stuff is keeping that top end strength healthy enough.

Squats and deadlifts tomorrow. Wish me luck...
 
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Impressive strength. Glad to see you overcome the shoulder injury, and still make upper body PRs.
Have you made any size gains lately?
 
Lower Body - Day 2, Week 9

High Bar Squats (Vibrams)
Warmup
240 x 7 (all-time PR, I think)

Hook Grip Deadlifts
325 x 7

1-Leg Calf Raise
Me + 60 x 10/side (PR?)

Notes:

Today went rather well. I managed 7 reps with 240 in high bar, and with a gun to my head, probably could have cranked out another rep. This is all-time PR level strength for me in high bar squats, so that's cool.

Deadlifts might have been even easier, the only reason I stopped at 7 was that my grip was feeling strained, and I didn't want to risk any lower back rounding. Better, I felt zero sciatic weirdness. I think I have a set of cues that works for me in deadlifts, which is to squeeze the chest up before the lift (obviously), concentrate on holding a lower back arch, and initiate the reps by "squeezing the outside of my feet" into the ground. For some reason concentrating on keeping pressure on the outsides of my feet seems to make most of the sciatic whatever go away, and I had noticed this previously. Either way, cool beans, as it not only feels very strong like this, but comfortable.

So I suppose the question is where to go from here. I may take a mini-deload, given that I've gone 9 weeks straight. Mini would mean starting again this Saturday, so not even a week off, just long enough to blow off some fatigue. On the other hand, I am tempted to just keep going, building up to actual 5 RM's in the main lifts. I'll give it some thought.
 
Sci said:
Impressive strength. Glad to see you overcome the shoulder injury, and still make upper body PRs.
Have you made any size gains lately?
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And to answer this is "probably," my weight is back up to ~162 I think, which is actually more or less where it used to hang around in years past. Close enough, anyways. That would be a gain of 8 lbs over the 9 week cycle.
 
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mikeynov said:
And to answer this is "probably," my weight is back up to ~162 I think, which is actually more or less where it used to hang around in years past. Close enough, anyways. That would be a gain of 8 lbs over the 9 week cycle.
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Awesome. The last video you had doing dips, the guns were looking pretty big.
 
Outstanding stuff, Mike! Your form throughout was great - hope given the fact that you did an HST cycle that you are enjoying a well deserved SD.
 
I am cautiously proceeding into working up to 5 RM's in everything. Why?

1) I don't actually feel very run down, and the shoulder has held up well.

2) I am going to get a chance to get PRP injections in my shoulder, but it's probably going to be at least a couple of weeks. I figure a little deload around that time probably makes more sense.

Upper Body - Day 1, Week 9

Dumbbell Pause Bench
Warmup
95s (190) x 5

Chins
Warmup
Me + 100 x 5

DB Incline Bench
55s (110) x 10,8

Cable Row
140 x 10,8

DB External Rotations
10 x 5/side
15 x 12/side (PR)

Notes:

As above, I decided to keep this cycle going. I tried warming up again in the barbell bench, but noticed something a little odd. I get a sensation of slight catching/something in my left shoulder. It wasn't overtly painful, but this struck me as maybe not the best sign in the world. I guess I just miss barbell benching, but what the hell, dumbbell benching has been treating me well, so I'll continue to dance with the girl that brought me, so to speak.

This was a pretty easy session, dropping to a single set of 5 makes the workout fly by, and I don't feel particularly tired afterwards. We'll see how squats go tomorrow, but I should be good for at least a few more weeks, I think.
 
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Lower Body - Day 1, Week 9

High Bar Squats (Vibrams)
Warmup
240 x 5

45 Degree Back Extensions (3rd notch)
Me + 45 x 12,8

Leg Press Rapers
3 plates per side x 12

Seated Calf Raises
60 x 12

Notes:

Okay, so the fatigue of this cycle caught up to me. I felt exhausted during today's workout, and things were slow, particularly squats. As such, I am abandoning ship. The iceberg of accumulated fatigue has struck, and I'm headed for the lifeboats of an SD. I suppose this works out well enough, I'll just start up a new lifting cycle next Wednesday (versus starting a new cycle on the back half of a week). See you guys in a week :)
 
Day 1 of a new, Texas Method inspired cycle.

Upper Body - Volume Day

DB Pause Bench
Warmup
75's (150) x 5,5,5 (an extra 2 sets, changed my mind after this)

Chins
Warmup
Me + 55 x 5,5,5

DB Incline Bench
50's (100) x 10,13 (traded some volume from the db pause bench)

Inverted Rows
Me x 10,10,10

Notes:

I decided to use intermediate type programming. In the Lascek/Pendlay style of programming, the "volume" day is not used with limit weights, and there is space kept between the loads on this day and intensity day. Justin recommends volume days be at ~85%, and probably not higher than 90% of the weight you use on intensity day. I'm using just under 90% to start with. This is nice in that, even at the tail end of a cycle, 90% of ~85% of 1 RM (i.e. a true 5 RM) is still only ~76.5% of 1 RM. I.e. not super easy, but certainly manageable even on a bad day. Volume days, then, are a way to accumulate volume, NOT a test of your limit strength. That is what the intensity day is there for.

The way I have it set up I won't be approaching limit weights on intensity day until the 4th week, so I am giving myself a good amount of time to ramp up.
 
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