Tuesday - Cup

 It's been nearly a year since I've posted. In that time I've developed an interest in competitive armwrestling and have competed in two tournaments. I will likely compete again late this year or early next. I injured my left elbow in the first tournament and am still a few weeks out from being able to train it seriously. This will be reflected in my daily exercise regimen for the foreseeable future.

I also discovered I have some symptoms of frozen shoulder on the left side. This explains a lot of the trouble I had during my short-lived bodybuilding arc. Part of my work is rehab for this condition, but I won't record that.

Cup Training - June 17th

Wrist Wrench
Right: 4 sets of 15, 2 sets of 10
Left: 4 sets of 15

Cable Wrist Curl
Right: 6 sets of 15
Left: 4 sets of 15

Next time I will swap these around since my wrist gets beat up by the wrist wrench too much before the wrist curls. I need to do the finger strength work when my wrist is already compromised.

Tuesday Push

Did some decent work today but I'm very distracted by other issues.

DB OHP
2 sets @ 40 lbs - 16, 15

Wrist Curl
2 sets @ 30 lbs - 15, 8 (need to rest more)

Reverse Grip Bench
Worked up to 135 x 11 and 185 x 3

Flypress
15 @25 lbs, 15 @30 lbs (some pain on the second one. sticking with Bench for awhile)

Reverse JM Press
3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12 (add a rep next time?)

Laterals
3 sets @ 7.5 lbs - 12, 12, 12

Monday Pull

Session went well today overall. No real discomfort in my shoulder to speak of. I decided to change the order of the exercises to pre-fatigue for the Meadows Rows since they were hurting my shoulders when I was horsing the weight around to compensate for the strength curve. The green band is much better for facepulls than the red, I was actually challenged on the concentric the last few reps there. Since it's an isolation, I don't mind doing high reps. Meadows Rows went well. I was very very happy with the pullovers because 2 months ago those would have destroyed my left shoulder. Glad I can work up in weight on those. 45 lbs is my new weight for those.

Curls
5 sets @ 20 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 10, 9

Facepull
3 sets @ green band - 20, 20, 20

Meadows Row
3 sets @ 50 lbs. - 12, 12, 12

Pullover
4 sets - 15 @ 35 lbs, 15 @ 40 lbs, 15, 15 @45 lbs

Sunday Legs

Not a bad session. Still figuring things out, obviously. Finding situations in which my cardio is limiting me and dropping reps while upping weight. At the same time, I think, my lower bodyweight is helping my cardio capacity, but not much. The only real frustrating point here is the quad training. Regular squats, even with a high bar, is too much for my shoulders to handle. I saw a video on setting up a sissy squat with a tie down strap on the squat stand so I may try that soon if I'm not happy with my depth with the chain tighter on belt squats next time. Reminding myself it's all a process.

Calf Raise
2 sets @ BW - 30, 30

Wrist Curl
3 sets - 21 @ 17.5 lbs, 20 @ 22.5 lbs, 16 @ 30 lbs (new training weight = 30, new rep range = 16-18)

Belt Squat
3 sets @ 3p+25 - 15, 15, 15 (shortened chain for next legs session)

RDL
3 sets - 15 @ 135 lbs, 15 @ 135 lbs, 10 @ 185 lbs (new weight = 185, new rep range = 10-12)

Saturday Push

Still feeling out my chest work here. I'm just not sure what to do. It's clear from my massage and stretching that my left pec major is the root cause of the issues I'm having, so I guess it would make sense to really pay attention to pain in my shoulder when I'm doing pec stuff. I really like doing the flyes and flypresses but they do seem to put more pressure on my shoulder. I think what I'll do for my next push workout is use the grips I normally use for pull movements and do an actual reverse grip (rather than the talon grip which is uncomfortable) on the bench and see how high I can work up in weight doing maybe sets of 10 or 12. I think this will be easier on my shoulders than the flypresses and will still get me some decent chest stimulus. As for laterals, I stood up against the wall this time and it seemed to help me with my technique.

DB OHP

2 sets @40 lbs - 16, 16

Wrist curl

25x 17.5 lbs, 16x 22.5 lbs, 15x 22.5 lbs 

Fly press

2 sets @ 25 lbs - 15, 15

Band fly

2 sets@ red - 15, 15

Reverse JM Press

3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12

Laterals

3 sets @ 10 - 12, 10, 10

Friday Pull

Right upper back has been feeling really sore when I've been sitting. I'm realizing the pain in my left triceps at the elbow is also posture-related so I really just need to work on it and stand up or walk as much as is practical. Lateral raises felt good and I really focused on technique breakdown with those and the meadows rows. I was definitely putting a bunch of body english in with the rows last time, so cleaning that up is going to prevent me from putting too much stress on my upper back/shoulder while it's still recovering. My right hip is sore as I write this, so apparently I'm using some low back on the laterals. Maybe I'll try standing against the wall next time to prevent hitching.

Curls
5 sets @ 20 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Meadows Rows
3 sets @ 50 lbs - 15, 12, 10

Pullovers
4 sets @ 40 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15

Laterals
3 sets @ 10 lbs - 12, 10, 10

Thursday Legs

 Session time: 1:24
Took a long time to figure out the best belt squat setup. I think I'm going to stick with 3 sets on belt squats at least for now. I'm happy with my leg size for now, at least until I get some substantial amount of fat off so I can see them better and get a more "accurate" measurement. Plus, it just takes so long to do. Shoulder felt fine today, so that's good.

SUPER SET
-Calf Raise
--3 sets @ BW - 30, 28, 28
-Wrist Curl
--2 sets @ 17.5 lbs - 20, 20

Belt Squat
3 sets @ 3 plates - 15, 15, 15 (probably move up in weight next week, won't be as tired next time)

RDL
3 sets @ 135 lbs - 15, 15, 15 (no pauses this time, calf raises and squats are fatiguing me ahead of these)

Wednesday Push

Session time: 48 minutes

Threw laterals in with the push day since my last pull day took a lot more time. I'm also only doing one lift for the chest now. Still trying to find what works. I'm going to work up heavier on rev. grip bench next time to see if that is viable. The flypress really packed some soreness into my chest but it was pretty hard on my shoulders at least during the day yesterday. I do feel better today, but I want to also play around with bent arms on the band flyes with the low setup to see if that is better on my shoulders while still working my chest effectively. This whole feeling-things-out phase is a mental challenge but I'm trying to enjoy it. The punished bodybuilder arc!

DB OHP
2 sets @ 40 lbs - 16, 12 

Flypress
4 sets @ 35 lbs - 15, 12, 12, 12

Rev. JM Press
3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12

Wrist Curl
2 sets @ 15 lbs - 20, 18 (incr. weight to 17.5)

Laterals
4 sets @ 10 lbs - 12, 12, 10, 8 (dropping to 3 sets next time, too hard on shoulder)