Mike's Log - The Road to Recovery

Hey Mike - I'm curious about the hip abduction work; are you finding that you need extra support work for lower body compounds? In regard to the shoulder - I am so sorry that this continues to be a problem for you. No matter what, if surgery is necessary, so be it; I have absolutely no doubt that you will recover and excel in true mikeynov fashion.
 
_tim said:
Hey Mike - I'm curious about the hip abduction work; are you finding that you need extra support work for lower body compounds? In regard to the shoulder - I am so sorry that this continues to be a problem for you. No matter what, if surgery is necessary, so be it; I have absolutely no doubt that you will recover and excel in true mikeynov fashion.
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I think hip abduction is just good prehab work for the lower body, basically, it's common for people to have weak abduction. I've had intermittent sciatic problems, and I noticed at one point that I had some abduction weakness on that side, so I figure there could be some relationship.

But either way, it feels productive and glute-y, so I like them.

In regards to the shoulder, it's honestly pretty functional. It's possible that I'm just going to have to live with some amount of pain/discomfort from time to time, maybe this will even go away. I will still avoid things which outright irritate it (e.g. overhead pressing), but I may use reverse psychology on my shoulder and actually program a little more ambitiously after vacation in July.
 
Upper Body - Day 1, Week 8

Pause Bench
Warmup
155 x 5
165 x 5
155 x 10

Chins
Warmup
Me + 75 x 8,5

Landmine Press
Warmup
Bar + 50 x 10/side

Cable Rows
160 x 8,5

Side-lying Lateral Raise
5 x 20/side

Side-lying External Rotations
5 x 12/side

Notes:

I decided to just give the barbell bench press an honest try. I've farted around with this since last year once every blue moon, noting that it felt a little odd/tight/something, but I haven't really done a work set of it. So I warmed up a lot, found a working weight, and gave it an honest try. The verdict? Probably fine, honestly. We'll see if it holds up over the next two weeks as I dick around before vacation, but if it does, I may switch back to barbells. One thing I noticed is that barbell strength transfers to dumbbell strength WAY better than vice versa, as I was wildly detrained in the barbell bench. I.e. I've done up to 195 x 10 in pause benches before at my peak (though I suppose 185 x 10 would be more realistic while dieting). Still, this is the lowest my bench has been in many years, so yah.

Everything else felt pretty good. Landmine presses are a very neat exercise that may allow me to do a quasi-press pain-free:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clVS_j5EO-A
 
Hey Mike - mind popping a vid of a bench set or two?

Your chins are still off the charts - and the landmine press was intriguing to say the least. Thanks for another idea!
 
_tim said:
Hey Mike - mind popping a vid of a bench set or two?

Your chins are still off the charts - and the landmine press was intriguing to say the least. Thanks for another idea!
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I can do that at some point, though I'm lifting at the gym at the moment, so it might be a little awkward to snag video for the time being.

For the landmine press, check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTbi_qXrHcM

I'd recommend a staggered stance and more of an emphasis on a tight gut/neutral spine (i.e. not hyperextending in the lower back, which this dude is a bit), but this setup in a rack is super convenient, and basically what I did. The bar gets propped up by the safety catches such that you can dip down a little and start the exercise without having to awkwardly clean the weight up. Just put the bar in the corner of the rack so it doesn't appreciably slip, and you're good to go.
 
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Side-lying laterals are the bomb. That's pretty much all I do for shoulder prehab work now is side-lying laterals. They work all the important shoulder stabilizers, as well as adding mass to the deltoids. 20 reps is a bit extreme, but I understand your caution, considering the supraspinitus tear and all.
 
AlexAustralia said:
Landmine press looks frikkin' awesome
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They are a pretty neat exercise. Adding weight isn't much of an issue, and the amount of work your abs do is impressive. While the abs are obviously involved in an overhead press, I've never had my abs on fire by the end of a set like I did with this exercise.
 
Great link, I've been looking for an alternative shoulder exercise for my 'B' days and this looks fun and quick to set up.

One question on the side laterals: for deltoid stimulation, do you guys lift the weight from your legs up (arm straight down your body) or is the eight in front of you and lifted upwards? Each YouTube video seems to show a different method?
 
I like the idea of using some variation of that landmine press for assisted negatives. I might try them kneeling or with the far end (distal end!) of the bar resting on a box so that the bar is more horizontal in the top position.
 
AderynGlas said:
Great link, I've been looking for an alternative shoulder exercise for my 'B' days and this looks fun and quick to set up.

One question on the side laterals: for deltoid stimulation, do you guys lift the weight from your legs up (arm straight down your body) or is the eight in front of you and lifted upwards? Each YouTube video seems to show a different method?
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I noticed that as well. I do them sort of like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW2z_I2r2DE

Except instead of starting directly at my side, I start slightly in front of my legs. As such, there's both a side lateral/rear lateral combined motion, which feels nice. Like him, I stop by the time my arm is straight-ish out from my torso, or even slightly before, as I'm trying to avoid an impinging position at the top.
 
I missed another log entry for lower body, since it's so bootleg.

Lower Body - Day 1, Week 8

45 Degree Back Extensions
Warmup
Me + 70 x 10,7

Hip Abduction
115 x 10,7

Leg Curls
85 x 10,7

Calf Raise Stack
175 x 12,8
 
Upper Body - Day 2, Week 8

Pause Bench
Warmup (including rotator cuff stuff) to 205 x 2,2 (probably a ~3 RM at the moment)
165 x 9

Chins
Warmup
Me + 80 x 8

Landmine Press
Warmup
Bar + 40 x 12 per side

1-Arm Cable Row
62.5 x 5,8 per side

45 Degree Lateral Raise
8 x 14,12 per side

Side-Lying External Rotations
8 x 14,7 per side (limited rest)

Notes:

Well, Tim requested video, so I did this workout at home. My bench strength wasn't QUITE as bad as I thought it was, as I seemed to get my groove back a bit, but definitely down a lot. Also featured in said video are chins and the landmine press, in case you're curious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjbvCsoG1M0&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

edit: bonus shot of my current level of bodyfat/leanness:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1013002_214852855330126_1242673507_n.jpg
 
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Very lean man. Looks awesome. Can't help but wonder if a bulk would help your strength and even possibly help nourish your bum shoulder... But yeah, it's summer, time to look ripped. Meanwhile I'm over here looking like a fatass, but with record strength, it's a worthy trade.
 
Sci said:
Very lean man. Looks awesome. Can't help but wonder if a bulk would help your strength and even possibly help nourish your bum shoulder... But yeah, it's summer, time to look ripped. Meanwhile I'm over here looking like a fatass, but with record strength, it's a worthy trade.
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I'm going on vacation in ~1.5 weeks for a week, and when I get back, I am likely cranking the calories way up. At that time, I will be re-incorporating barbell benching, squats, and deadlifts into the routine, and would like to pursue higher levels of strength and mass for sure.
 
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I am playing with the idea of going back to benching again also. Restricting range of motion to keeping my humerus parallel with the floor worked so well for the incline bench, I can't help but wonder if doing the same thing with flat bench would work as well. The main part of flat bench that hurts my shoulder is when I go all the way down. So I would basically be doing "floor presses" as far as ROM.
Obviously I would have to start light and practice form, but I think it's definitely doable. What do you think?
 
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Sci said:
I am playing with the idea of going back to benching again also. Restricting range of motion to keeping my humerus parallel with the floor worked so well for the incline bench, I can't help but wonder if doing the same thing with flat bench would work as well. The main part of flat bench that hurts my shoulder is when I go all the way down. So I would basically be doing "floor presses" as far as ROM.
Obviously I would have to start light and practice form, but I think it's definitely doable. What do you think?
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Definitely doable. As a thought, why not just rig a board press setup? You could nail a couple/few 2 x 4's together (fairly short-ish in length, obviously) and use a band to strap it to your chest. That way, depth will be consistent every time, and you can even experiment with reducing the number of boards over time as pain/tolerance permits.

edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXE0tit9jrk

Basically make a homemade one of these, and just use a common exercise band to strap it to yourself.
 
Good idea,, I thought about it as well, might look a little stupid, but who cares?
 
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