Mike's Log - The Road to Recovery

Joe.Muscle said:
Mikey,

Are you doing a back specialization?

Just curious by glancing at your routine?

That some great gains in lean body mass over the years!
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In a way, sort of. I found out in November that I have a pretty screwed up left shoulder, full thickness tears in two of my rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus and infraspinatus). As such, I've been doing lots of rehab/prehab type work, including a ****load of rows, specific exercises for the rotator cuff muscles etc. The idea is not only to rehab the rotator cuff muscles with direct work, but prevent this from ever happening again by making the muscles which control the shoulder blades stupid strong. Basically.

And thank you, sir!
 
Lower Body Day 1

High Bar Squat (Vibrams, straps)
135 x 10
175 x 10 (belt)
215 x 10 (belt)

1-Leg Press
1 plate per side x 10/leg
1 plate per side + 25 x 6/leg (awkward, terminated set)
1 plate per side + 10 x 10/leg

45 Degree Back Extensions
Me x 10
Me + 45 x 13

Seated Calf Raise
50 x 10
60 x 10
70 x 10

Leg Extensions
75 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 8

Notes:

Tiring, but got the job done. Squats are definitely turning into death march sets of long breaks between reps after ~5.
 
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nativetroutbum said:
Mike,

How is the re-hab coming?

When you do back squats, does arm/hand position in the bar cause shoulder discomfort?
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Howdy sir,

It's going alright. Sometimes I feel very encouraged, e.g. when I tried some light shoulder pressing and chins, and appeared to do these basically pain-free. Other times I'll "feel" it in my left shoulder, even doing simple stuff unconsciously, that lets me know things definitely still aren't quite right. I've tried to prepare my mind for the possibility that, if this ultimately heals on its own, it might take a long, long time. E.g. I've read stories of people who tore their pecs and couldn't really bench for a YEAR, but years later, were up to their old strength, having never gotten surgery. Given that what I have are bad tears, I do believe the body could ultimately compensate, but I have to be realistic that this may take a whole lot of time. Patience is a virtue and such.
 
Upper Body Day 2

T-Bar Rows (underhand grip, bar weight excluded)
70 x 10
90 x 10
100 x 10

Dumbbell Bench (flat)
110 (55s) x 10
140 (70s) x 10
170 (85s) x 8

Pulldowns (underhand grip)
100 x 10
140 x 10
170 x 10

Machine Lateral Raise (rehab - 20s instead of 10s)
20 x 20
30 x 20
30 x 15

Seated DB Curls
50 (25s) x 10
80 (40s) x 11

Triceps Pushdowns
50 x 10
70 x 12

DB External Rotation (arm in abducted position - weakest/most painful)
3 x 20/side
5 x 20/side
8 x 15/side

Notes:

I was originally going to do the abduction machine for 10's, but felt some discomfort pretty quickly at heavier weights, and even though I could PROBABLY do it without an issue, I'm sticking to the rule of tolerating basically zero weirdness. As such, I'll just stick to 20's for these, which just burns the ever living **** out of the muscles. Same deal for external rotations - I had only been doing a single set of these twice a week, and it occurs to me that, since I'm trying to induce structural change in the muscle, the logic should really mirror what I'm doing for everything else. In this case, multiple sets, just of higher reps.
 
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mikeynov said:
Howdy sir,

It's going alright. Sometimes I feel very encouraged, e.g. when I tried some light shoulder pressing and chins, and appeared to do these basically pain-free. Other times I'll "feel" it in my left shoulder, even doing simple stuff unconsciously, that lets me know things definitely still aren't quite right. I've tried to prepare my mind for the possibility that, if this ultimately heals on its own, it might take a long, long time. E.g. I've read stories of people who tore their pecs and couldn't really bench for a YEAR, but years later, were up to their old strength, having never gotten surgery. Given that what I have are bad tears, I do believe the body could ultimately compensate, but I have to be realistic that this may take a whole lot of time. Patience is a virtue and such.
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Very good sign that your pain is not consistent, may not be as bad as originally diagnosed and/or is healing faster than you originally thought!!
 
Lower Body Day 2

Deadlifts
135 x 10
210 x 10 (straps)
290 x 10 (straps, belt)

Leg Rapers
95 x 10
125 x 10
155 x 10

Hip Abduction Machine
60 x 10
70 x 10
80 x 10

Hip Adduction Machine
80 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 10

Calf Raise Machine
155 x 10
175 x 10
195 x 10

Notes:

I performed this workout on some caffeine and a banana (yay IF), so I got pretty light-headed after the pulls. On the plus side, there was very little discomfort here. Hip magic strikes again.

The leg rapers were just brutal on the last set, I am definitely nearing my 10 RM on this exercise.

I decided that both abduction and adduction are movements I probably don't get to train directly in any context besides the machine, so am using these as "hip p/rehab" of sorts. I have probably failed to mention this, but I am pretty lean at the moment, maybe ~155 lbs (~5 lbs away from being stupid lean at a bit over 5'9"). It occurs to me that I could probably start going bananas strength-wise if I were to crank up the calories, but I admit my vanity likes the combination of lean + reasonably strong. I'll think about it.
 
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mikeynov said:
It occurs to me that I could probably start going bananas strength-wise if I were to crank up the calories, but I admit my vanity likes the combination of lean + reasonably strong. I'll think about it.
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Hey Mike - doesn't it make a bit more sense to gradually increase your caloric intake and as such gradually grow? Coming off what looks to have been a fairly sizable injury makes me err on the side of your vanity for a bit and then slowly become "leanish" + reasonably stronger.
 
_tim said:
Hey Mike - doesn't it make a bit more sense to gradually increase your caloric intake and as such gradually grow? Coming off what looks to have been a fairly sizable injury makes me err on the side of your vanity for a bit and then slowly become "leanish" + reasonably stronger.
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Bear in mind when I say "crank up calories" I just mean give them a bump towards the hypercaloric.

To put this in perspective, if I swung from ~500 kcals deficit to ~500 kcals surplus, that actually is a 1000 kcal jump. Realistically I might bump it something like 800 kcals at the most, to start. Which sounds like a lot, but doesn't seem too outrageous.
 
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Sci said:
I say EAT! it will help you heal and hypertrophy the weak muscles!
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I did have the thought that at least a mild hypercaloric situation might be a better environment to induce structural change, which is really what the rehab is fundamentally addressing.
 
Mikey dont know if this helps any but I will share it with you?

I tore my bicep tendon at the pec shoulder tie in about 12 years ago. My arm was black and blue and I was in a sling for about 6 to 8 weeks and no lifting at all.

I tore the muscle being stupid and bench pressing over 300 pounds without properly warming up.

For rehab I didn't know any better at the time but I did the one bodypart a week routine and although that type of routine helped me put on about 30 pounds in about 2 years it was terrible for rehab. Fast forward a couple of years and I found HST.

Now HST hasn't really helped me put on that much more size...to be honest I am much smaller now than I use to be but that probabley due more to I am not young anymore and I don't OCD bodybuild anymore but my point was HST frequency of 3 times a week routine helped my strenght and rehab skyrocket.

So long story short IME working a bodypart 3 times a week was great for rehab and really great for increasing my strength.

To give you some numbers to go by...before my bicep tendon / pec tear...I could bench press the 120 pound dumbells for reps.

After the tear I had to start with 20 pound dumbells and it hurt like hell and the stabilizing muscle all around the pec and shoulder were shacking and very weak. After about a year or two on the 1 bodypart a week routine I had only worked myself up on dumbells to 45 dumbells. So obvioulsy (didn't realize it at the time I just thought it was a slow process due to injury) my frequency was terrible for rehab.

When I switched to 3 times a week routine full body within about 2 months I was back pressing 70 pound dumbells.

Now to this day I try my best not to lift more than a 6 rep max...to "try" to help with not reinjuring myself.

Long story short...for rehab increased frequency and staying away from failure worked for me!
 
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I appreciate the story, sir. A couple of quick questions:

1) Did you never have this surgically repaired?

2) When you say that the increased frequency helped, do you mean from a strength/functionality perspective or pain/limitation?

I'm doing 2x per week frequency at the moment, as research seems to indicate that you get most of the bang for your buck at that point.
 
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I would say the same about the rehabbing muscles anyway, to up the frequency for the rehab stuff. Stay light, stay moderate on volume and kick up the frequency to three times/week or even more for the rehab stuff.

Other than that, I think the program you are doing is optimal for the goals you are trying to accomplish, at the Upper/Lower twice/week program you got going. Seems really solid.
 
Upper Body Day 1

Seated Cable Rows
120 x 10
140 x 10
160 x 9

Dumbbell Incline Bench
110 (55s) x 10
130 (65s) x 10
150 (75s) x 9

Machine Rows
105 x 10
120 x 10
127.5 x 10

Reverse Flyes Machine
30 x 20,20
45 x 20

Seated Dip Machine
172.5 x 10
180 x 10
202.5 x 10

EZ Bar Curls
90 x 9

Dumbbell External Rotations
5s x 20/side
8s x 12/side
10s x 7/side

Notes:

Strength appears to be going up in the main lifts, which is neat. I also bumped calories a bit, daily average now is probably something between 2500-2600 (high protein and reasonably high carb).

I may stick with the Poliquin style for external rotations, and may start with the heavier weight first. Pyramiding up kind of kills my top end external rotation strength, so I'm not sure whether it's a good idea or not. Still, I'd like to see strength improvement over time in this, and at the moment it's kind of hard to tell.
 
mikeynov said:
Upper Body Day 1

Pyramiding up kind of kills my top end external rotation strength, so I'm not sure whether it's a good idea or not. Still, I'd like to see strength improvement over time in this, and at the moment it's kind of hard to tell.
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Good question...I wonder the same. Everything I read now days says do reverse pyramid sets...and I think that is good advice "if" you are not injured.

But I think if you have an injury or previous injury...are we better off to "ease" into the heavy weights pyramid style instead of just jumping to the heaviest weight.

Again I am only looking at this from an injury and injury prevention to previous injured bodyparts.

Maybe others will give there opinion.
 
Lower Body Day 1

High Bar Squat (Vibrams, straps)
135 x 10 (no belt)
175 x 10 (no belt)
220 x 10 (belt)

Leg Press
3 plates per side x 10
4 plates per side x 10
4 plates + 10 per side x 10

45 Degree Back Extensions (hole #3)
Me x 10
Me + 25 x 10
Me + 45 x 15

Seated Calf Raises
55 x 10
65 x 10
75 x 10

Leg Extensions
90 x 10
105 x 10
120 x 10

Notes:

220 for a set of 10 in high bar is the best I've performed since ~2011, I think, so this is certainly a promising sign. As per usual, however, it's pretty much a death march past rep 5.

Leg press actually felt okay on my hip but overall awkward. I just remembered today that most 45 degree leg presses have seat adjustments, and for reasons unknown, people usually leave the seat quite low, which makes the angle of push with the legs kind of weirdly quad-y. I'll try adjusting this to how I used to use it (seat inclined so the line of push feels better) and see how it affects things next week. Despite the low weight, this certainly raped my legs in conjunction with the squats (and leg extensions that followed).

My actual bodyweight is apparently only ~155 lbs, which I think I had guessed previously. I am definitely weirdly light at the moment. When I competed in powerlifting, I was 20-25 lbs heavier than this, and it would have been hard to construe me as anything resembling "fat," though I certainly had a bit of a gut. As such, I am reasonably confident I can hold a lot more muscle than where I'm at. I'll have to see how I respond to the increased calories, but part of me is tempted to put things back in the 3000+ daily territory. Even at ~3500-4000 daily, my bodyweight is usually only 10-15 lbs heavier. It's hard for me to fathom how much I'd have to eat to get to like 180+ lbs.
 
Joe.Muscle said:
Good question...I wonder the same. Everything I read now days says do reverse pyramid sets...and I think that is good advice "if" you are not injured.

But I think if you have an injury or previous injury...are we better off to "ease" into the heavy weights pyramid style instead of just jumping to the heaviest weight.

Again I am only looking at this from an injury and injury prevention to previous injured bodyparts.

Maybe others will give there opinion.
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Pyramiding down or something like warming up and then jumping straight to work sets is certainly what is in vogue at the moment, but from a hypertrophy perspective, it's a pretty hard sell that this approach is somehow better. And I think you could construct a very easy argument that pyramiding up (technically a ramp, since you don't also do sets with lower weight after the top set) is probably a safer form of autoregulation. I.e. it will both warm up your muscles a **** ton and give you very strong insight into how strong you are before you actually reach your top set. Pyramiding down seems like performance training to me, so this might be advantageous if you are competing. However, from a muscle stimulus perspective? I don't buy it.

I think the reason most people prefer pyramiding down is due to ego lifting, i.e. it allows you to lift somewhat heavier weights, and deep down inside, there is something rewarding about "showing" how strong we really are. This, however, may not be the path of wisdom when over-used.
 
It would be cool to see how you respond to good old HST bulk cycle. I'd bet you'd gain a ridiculous amount of muscle, especially in your shoulder balance, you'd bulk up the shoulder cuff too. I say go for it. It sounds like you are already razor lean, so put some muscle on!
 
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