Friday - 18 weeks post-op

AM

20:00 AirDyne

+
ROM/mobility

PM

A) Safety squat alternating reverse lunges

3 x 10-14 total; 2:00 rest

B1) Terminal knee extensions

3 x 30/side w/pause @ back; :30 between sides

B2) Australian pull-ups

3 x 12-15 in easy set-up; :60 rest

C) 6 sets

10 glute-ham sit-ups
15m plate pinch carry, 35/hand
40 single-unders w/blue rope
:60 rest

A. 163, 173(10), 173(10)
B1. complete with green band
B2. complete with bar on 5th hole
C. complete, unable to go 15m unbroken

Thursday

@ MobilityFit 

ROM / warm up with the same stuff as usual 

+ 

tested out: 

planks (good to go) 

turkish get-up (ok unweighted, impossible with even a 1lb weight) 

+ 

3 sets: 

assisted dip progressions 

eccentric of pull-up, as slow as possible 

+ 

jerk recoveries, up to 10 @ 93lbs 

+ 

3 sets: 

overhead earthquake bar walking, oranges and 20s 

modified Bradford press, PVC 

+ 

3 sets: 

hammer curl, 15/hand 

bicep curl, 10/hand 

tricep pull-down 

+ 

3 sets: 

banded pull-ups, perfect and slow

Wednesday

A) Single-leg unweighted hip hinge

3 x 8/side slow & controlled; :60 between sides

B) Barbell single-leg Romanian deadlift

3 x 5-6/side; :90 between sides

C) Goblet squat

3 x 15 @ 70; 2:00 rest

D) 1-arm Farmer's walk

3 x 45m/side; :60 between sides

E) 5 sets

:20 Assault Bike @ 97%
3:40 walk rest

A. complete

B. 103, 113, 123(5)

C. complete

D. 53 across

E. complete, 86-90 RPMs

Tuesday

AM
A) Not for time
1500m row @ Z1
2 mile Assault Bike
800m moderate sled drag - 80

AM2 @ MobilityFit
As a warm up:

Crossover Symmetry 

Z press, PVC 

Assisted pull-ups 

+ 

3 sets: 

TRX lat pull-downs 

overhead walking with earthquake bar, oranges and 15s

+ 

split jerk tech work with BK 

+ 

3 sets: 

assisted dip progressions 

banded strict pull-ups 

+ 

3 sets: 

hammer curl, 15/hand 

bicep curl, 10/hand 

tricep pull down, red band 

eccentric of pull-up, as slow as possible

PM
off

My shoulder is doing something hella weird, and I don't like it. The tendons in the front, just medial to the scar (bicep tendon? coracobrachialis? anterior delt? pec?) are snapping/clicking with any sort of internal or external rotation. It's been happening for a few weeks, and I mentioned it to Tim, who said that with the amount of surgery I'd had, he wasn't worried about a little clicking, but it's getting steadily more prevalent. You can feel it through the skin, it's very strange and a bit unsettling. My shoulder has also been much more achy in the last couple of days than it has in a long time, which may be completely unrelated and due to the change in weather, or the increase in movements over the past week. Drew said he isn't concerned, but it's hard for me to just let it go, considering the history.

Drew attacked the soft tissue to try to get it to calm down - cupping, graston and dry needling with stim - none of which helped with the clicking, and made it rather pissed off in general.

FML. This just keeps dragging on and on and on and on, doesn't it?

PS - split jerks felt totally fine (training bar only), but I tried one push jerk and it was AWFUL, definitely not ready for that yet. It's weird that you need more ROM for a push jerk than a split jerk, but apparently, you do. Or, at least, I do. 

Monday

AM
20:00 AirDyne
+
ROM/mobility

PM
A)
Safety bar squat
3-3-3-3-3, 41X1; 3:00 rest
 173, 183, 193, 203, 213

B)
Every :60 for 20:00 (5 sets of each
1st: 6-8 L shrimp squats
2nd: 6-8 R shrimp squats
3rd: 4-6 L unsupported bent-over DB rows, 21X1
4th: 4-6 R unsupported bent-over DB rows, 21X1

 8 across
30, 35, 40(6)x3

C)
3 sets not for time
25 band good mornings
15 glute-ham sit-ups

Complete with green band

Sunday

AM

20:00 Airdyne @ Z1

+

ROM/mobility

PM

52:00 hike @ Cincinnati Nature Center 

Saturday

A) Snatch-grip deadlift
5 x 4-6, 31X1; 2:30 rest
B) Seated 1-arm DB shoulder press
3 x 5-6/arm starting w/R and matching w/L, 21X1; :60 between arms
C) 30:00 Assault Bike @ Z2
off every 5:00 for 5 glute-ham raises

A. 83, 93, 103, 113(4), 113(4) - can't hang on to a hok grip at 113
B. 15, 20(6), 20(6)
C. complete, 53-55 RPMs / 240 calories

As a warm-up: 

3 sets: 

Crossover symmetry 

Z-press, PVC 

0:30 active hang from bar 

In between B&C: 

3 sets, 10 each: 

hammer curl, 12, 15, 15 

bicep curl, 12 

floor press, 30/hand 

tricep pull-down, red band 

+

 3 sets: 

4 perfect and very slow pull-ups, with purple band 

10 dip progressions

Friday - 17 weeks post-op

AM

20:00 AirDyne @ Z1

+

ROM/mobility

PM

A) Safety squat alternating reverse lunges

3 x 14-16 total; 2:00 rest
B1) Terminal knee extensions
3 x 25/side w/pause @ back; :30 between sides
B2) Australian pull-ups
3 x 10-12 in easy set-up; :60 rest
C) 4 sets
15 glute-ham sit-ups
45 single-unders w/blue rope
:60 rest
D) Not for time
120m plate pinch carry, break and rest as needed

A. 133, 143, 153(16)

B1. Complete with green band 

B2. Complete, bar on highest of the bottom holes, 12 across 

C. Complete 

D. Complete with 25/hand 

Holy shit. I am very sore. I love it!!!!

Thursday

AM
20:00 AirDyne @ Z1
+
ROM/mobility

AM2 @ MobilityFit
3 sets:
Crossover Symmetry
Assisted pull-ups with active hang
TRX lat pull-down
+
3 sets, 10 each:
hammer curl, 10/hand
bicep curl, 10/hand
floor press, 30/hand
tricep pull down, red band
+
tested out:
Russian kettlebell swings, up to 53
ring rows
+
3 sets:
overhead scap activation against wall
walking overhead hold with earthquake bar, double oranges and 12s
+
snatch position work with BK
+
tested out:
strict pull-ups, unassisted
back squat
+
3 sets:
perfect banded strict pull-ups, blue band
dip progressions on bars

PM
off

Great day at PT! Shoulder feels excellent and so much progress!

Drew thought I'd be ready for some Oly work, and asked Brandon to take me one-on-one for a while. This was awesome! Brandon is a great coach and had some good cues that I hadn't heard before. I'm not quite ready to receive a bar overhead, but position work and pulls all felt really good. I'm looking forward to working with BK moving forward.

When I was hanging from the bar, I felt strangely confident that I could do a pull-up. And I could! I did two strict pull-ups, but Drew wasn't happy with how I was initiating the pull, so he has me limited to banded pull-ups until I'm stronger. But still! Just 8 days ago I could barely hang from a bar for 3-4 seconds. Awesome.

When I was working with BK, he wanted me to do some BTN strict presses, and I immediately said that I hadn't held a bar behind my neck yet but it was totally fine! I then felt encouraged to try a back squat, and it was also totally fine! Drew said I could start to transition off the safety bar over the next few weeks, which is very exciting.

Dips are going to be the last thing to come back. Can't support myself at the top of a dip, and pretty uncomfortable past parallel, but I'm working on progressions and these too will come.

What a day!

Wednesday

AM
20:00 AirDyne @ Z1
+
ROM/mobility

PM
A) Single-leg unweighted hip hinge - treat this as a warm-up
3 x 6/side slow & controlled; :60 between sides
B) Barbell single-leg Romanian deadlift
3 x 6-8/side; 2:00 rest
C) Goblet squat
build to a moderate set of 20 - just want to get an idea of what's reasonable for big set, what the limiter is, etc.
D) 1-arm Farmer's walk
3 x 30m/side; :30 between sides
E) 5 sets
:30 Assault Bike, increase effort so :00-:05 is easy, :05-:15 is high aerobic effort, :15-:30 is a sprint
3:00 walk rest

A. complete
B. 63, 83, 93(8)
C. 70 - no real limiter other than hesitation cleaning it
D. 35, 53, 53
E. complete, 88-90 RPMs on the first 4, 86 RPMs on the 5th


Today I finally felt like we were getting back into the swing of regular training. Everything felt great!

Tuesday

AM

off

PM

3 sets:

ROM exercises

0:30 active hang from bar (!)

+

3 sets:

Crossover symmetry, 10 each

Tricep pull-down, 20 with red band

Hammer curl, 10 with 12/hand

Bicep curl, 10 with 12/hand

+

A) Not for time

1200m row @ Z1
400m light sandbag carry
1200m row @ Z1
400m light sandbag carry
1200m row @ Z1

Complete, row ~2:20/500m, 20s/m

Had to cancel my appointment with Drew this morning for a very important experiment (I'm now a mouse surgeon, nbd), so I added in some of the stuff I would have done at MobilityFit. That active hang though - super happy with progress.

First time playing with a sandbag - I see why Stephen's been on a sandbag kick this summer; I really liked it. Split the first carry 200m/200m on each shoulder, then did the second carry unbroken across the back of my neck. I think I prefer the one-arm carry, it feels like more core activation.

And when did my Z1 row get so fast? It's possible that it's closer to Z2 than Z1, but I'm trying to get rid of that pause at the back of my stroke and pull with good form every time, and right now 2:20ish just a more natural pace than my previous 2:27-2:30 Z1. I'll take it. 

Monday

AM

20 mile bike ride with Kellie, from Milford to Loveland and back (~2 hours)

PM
A) Safety bar squat

5-5-5-5, 41X1; 3:00 rest
B) For 10:00
Evens: 10 alternating shrimp squats
Odds: 5 light unsupported bent-over DB rows, 21X1
C) 3 sets not for time
20 band good mornings
15 glute-ham sit-ups

A. 133, 153, 173, 183

B. Complete with 20/hand

C. Complete with green band 

Started out way light on the squats, but the last two sets were very tough. 

Shrimp squats got better and better as I went. Zero issues on the dumbbell rows, these felt great! 

Sunday

45:00 hike with Kellie at the Cincinnati Nature Center

Saturday

AM
20:00 AirDyne @ Z1
+
ROM/mobility

PM
A) Snatch-grip deadlift
3 x 6-8, 31X1; 3:00 rest
B) Seated 1-arm DB shoulder press
3 x 6-8/arm starting w/R and matching w/L, 21X1; :60 between arms
C) 30:00 Assault Bike @ Z2
off every 5:00 for 15 unweighted hip extensions

A. 83(6), 83(8), 83(8)

B. 10(8), 15(8), 15(8)

C. Complete, 54-55 RPMs


Thumbs/grip totally the limiting factor on the SGDL - could have added a little on the 3rd set, but didn't see the point in pushing it on day 1.

DB shoulder press felt great. Excited to build this back up.

Friday - 4 months post-op

AM @ MobilityFit
5:00 Assault bike
+
3 sets:
ROM/Mobility
+
3 sets:
Crossover Symmetry
Z-press, PVC
Pull-ups, assisted by legs, with active hang on the last rep
+
tested out:
strict press, 33
push press, 33
push jerk, 33 (no)
hang power clean, up to 83
power clean, up to 83
snatch-grip deadlift, 83
clean-grip deadlift, up to 163
+
3 sets:
3-way bicep curls, 10/hand
floor press, 25/hand
1-arm dumbbell row, 30/hand

PM
A) Pistols
5 x 4-5/side, 21X1; :45 between sides
B) Terminal knee extensions
3 x 20/side w/pause @ back; :30 between sides
C) 5 sets
10 glute-ham sit-ups
30 single-unders
:60 rest
D) Not for time
90m plate pinch carry, break and rest as needed

A. complete-ish unweighted, a few wobbly reps but mostly good
B. complete with green band
C. complete, super easy
D. complete with 25/hand, 6 x 15m
+
double-under practice, including a set of 40 unbroken and a couple sets of 20+


TODAY WAS FANTASTIC.

Kellie is in town, I'm taking a MUCH needed break from work, and I'm cleared to do so many new exercises!

Drew said we'd take today to see what kinds of things I could start to build into Stephen's programming. He got a text from Tim yesterday in all caps saying that I was doing AWESOME, so that's encouraging. Strict press and push press were surprisingly fine, with good scapular mechanics throughout and no pain. Not ready to catch the bar in a jerk position, tried twice and it didn't feel right at all. Hang power cleans felt better than cleans from the floor for some reason, but all fine. No issues at all with the deadlifts. Some residual tightness on my upper arm on external rotation, but that will continue to improve. No pain and definitely no instability, but I can already tell my shoulder is gonna be sore just from all the added new stuff.

PM stuff was super chill. Totally surprised I can still do double-unders... this is encouraging that muscle memory may be there for a number of movements, and I'm not necessarily starting back from zero.

Thursday

Off 

Saw Tim today for the 4 month follow-up. He was really, really happy with the progress in ROM, and said this is where he expected me to be at the 6 month mark. He was as aggressive as usual in moving it around, but there was no sign of instability and he isn't concerned by the pain at end-range, the on and off aching or the residual clicking considering the extent of surgery done. He wrote me a prescription for another 8 weeks of PT but said he doesn't expect I'll need it all, and Drew and I can decide when I'm done. I have zero restrictions in terms of damaging the repair; everything moving forward is dependent on regaining strength, comfort and continued improvements in range of motion. That doesn't mean stuff will come back any faster, and he still expects it to be s-l-o-w, but I guess it's comforting to know I'm FINALLY on the backside of this. 

Tim said I can throw weight around starting tomorrow, and I said I didn't believe him. I'll still defer to Drew, but by God, I'm dying for a power clean... 

Wednesday

AM

5:00 Airdyne

+

mobility/ROM

PM
A) Single-leg unweighted hip hinge (I'll show you these, not a great demo vid out there)
5 x 5/side slow & controlled; :45 between sides
B) Safety bar alternating reverse lunges
3 x 12-14; 2:00 rest
C) 5 sets
:30 Assault Bike, increase effort so :00-:10 is easy, :10-:20 is high aerobic effort, :20-:30 is a sprint
2:30 walk rest

A) complete

B) 133, 143, 153(12)

C) complete, hit 90-91 RPMs across

Lunges felt better than I thought they would. 

Enjoyed the sprint piece - it was much easier to get up to a sprint with a running start. First time sprinting with two arms, and it was fine. 

Talked to Mike this afternoon. No changes, going to see how the current macros treat me once I get a few weeks of training under my belt. 

Tuesday

AM @ MobilityFit
5:00 Assault bike
+
3 sets:
ROM exercises
+
3 sets:
Pull-ups, assisted by legs
Z-press, PVC
Plank progressions
+
Tested out:
single-unders
double-unders
active dead hang from the bar
+
3 sets:
overhead earthquake bar hold, oranges and 15s
+
3 sets:
strict press, earthquake bar, oranges and 10s - limited to 3-5 reps per set
Crossover symmetry
TRX lat pull-downs
+
3 sets, 10 each:
3-way bicep curl, 10/hand
floor press, 25/hand
1-arm dumbbell row, 30/hand
Tricep pull-down, cut red band

PM
Not for time:
1000m row @ Z1
400m light sled drag
1000m row @ Z1
400m light sled drag
1000m row @ Z1

complete with 45 on the sled

row ~2:20/500m

just under 30:00

Good day at PT. Things are progressing, even if it is at a glacial pace. It's something.

Monday

AM

5:00 AirDyne 

+

Mobility/ROM

PM

A) Safety bar squat

take your time & build to a very heavy single - get a spot, let's see what's there today

B) For 10:00

Evens: 5 L shrimp squats (demo in comments)
Odds: 5 R shrimp squats

C) For 10:00

Evens: 15 band good mornings
Odds: 10 glute-ham sit-ups

A. 263

+

Complete

+

Complete with green band

Day 1 of the new program, and I couldn't be more ready. Still don't know what kind of goals I might have long term, but I'm happy to trust Stephen and just go along for the ride for now. Worrying about what I may or may not be able to do a year from now doesn't do anyone any good, and doesn't change what I can do right now. 

I was hesitant to test a heavy squat, since I knew it would be far off from what I used to be able to do. Didn't count while I was building, but made 20lb jumps until the last rep (10lb jump once it slowed down a bit). Surprised with what I hit... I've never tested a heavy single safety bar squat, I haven't done a heavy single of any kind of squat in probably close to a year (or longer?), I haven't done anything heavy in 4 months, and 3 of those months were completely unweighted. I guess this is as good of a jumping off point as I could ask for. 

Shrimp squats started off hella awkward, but were pretty easy once I got the hang of them. 

Hooray for programming! Onward! 

Sunday

25:00 hike @ Ault Park

Another 10 hour work day, but happy to get outside and clear my head, if only for a few minutes. 

Saturday

AM

10:00 Airdybe 

+

Mobility/ROM

PM

Trigger point work

+

40:00 Assault bike @50 RPMs, off every 10 for 20 Russian twists (only 3 sets)

Woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. This week was one of the roughest work weeks I've ever had, and I had no energy or interest in doing anything in the gym. 

Friday - 15 weeks post-op

Off - worked more than 50 hours in 4 days and I want to die. 

Lats are pretty sore from the TRX stuff yesterday, which is a nice surprise. Bicep is still fucked up, which is aggravating. Shoulder feels worse than it has in a while, which I'm chalking up to lab work... not concerned, just fucking over this. 

Thursday

AM @ MobilityFit

5:00 Assault bike 

+

Mobility/ROM

+

3 sets:

Assisted pull-ups

Z-press, PVC

+

5 sets:

0:30 Jerk-grip overhead static hold, earthquake bar, double reds and 10s

+

3 sets:

Lat pull-backs on TRX

+

2 sets:

3-way bicep curl, 10/hand

Floor press, 25/hand

1-arm dumbbell row, 30/hand

Tricep pull downs, red band

+

Trigger point work

PM

Off, totally zonked from this insane week

Felt pretty good this morning, so we added a few things, including attempting pull-up negatives (not yet). Overhead holds felt much better than I expected - very tight, but not painful. Bicep got super pissed off at some point and called it early. Meh. 

Wednesday

AM 

5:00 AirDyne

+

mobility 

PM

Crossover Symmetry 

mobility 

+

A. Front squat, 3 x 5

(53, 73, 93)

B. Safety bar alternating reverse lunges, 3 x 10

(130, 140, 150)

+

3RFT:

20 Assault bike cals

20 hip extensions

(8:30)

+

4 sets:

500m row, high effort but sustainable 

2:00 rest

2:05.7

2:05.8

DNF, not sustainable today

+

10:00 Assault bike @ 50 RPMs

Not in the mood today. Work is kicking my ass. 

Intended to just work on front rack positioning, but had zero discomfort unracking the bar, so decided to throw a little weight on there and see what happened. Shoulder was pretty achy on the last set; not sure if I'm quite ready to throw these in the mix just yet, but that's good progress, and elbows look pretty even on video. 

Tuesday

AM @ MobilityFit

5:00 Assault bike 

+

3 x 10 each:

ROM stretches 

Alternating quadruped weight bearing 

Z-press 

Assisted pull-ups 

+

60:00 dry needling 

+

30:00 rolling out 

+

3 sets: earthquake bar, 20s and long reds, 15s and long oranges 

PM

off, worked late 

Epic dry needling sesh... pretty much useless after we were done. 

Monday

AM
10:00 AirDyne
+
mobility

PM
Crossover Symmetry

Front rack position work

+

A. Safety bar squat, 170(5), 190(5), 210(3)

B. Safety bar RFESS, 3 x 10/leg, empty bar

+

5 sets:

200m run

10 pistols

(10:33)

+

5 sets:

10 glute-ham sit-ups

15 goblet squats, 35

(7:17)

+

10;00 Assault bike @ Z1

I hate how heavy the bar feels. It's so depressing. 

Sunday

AM
5:00 AirDyne
+
mobility

PM
1:40:00 hike with Chels at the Cincinnati Nature Center

Saturday

5:00 Assault bike
+
mobility
+
3 sets, 10 each:
Crossover Symmetry
Z-press, PVC
3-way delt raise, unweighted
Pull-ups, assisted by legs
+
3 sets, 10 each:
3-way bicep curl, 10/hand
Tricep pull-down, black band
Floor press, 25/hand
1-arm dumbbell row, 30/hand
+
sled drag to ShantyTown, 45 from waist

Friday - 14 weeks post-op

AM

5:00 AirDyne

+

mobility

PM

Crossover Symmetry

mobility + front rack position work 

+

A. Safety bar squats, 3 @ 170, 3 @ 190, 3 @ 210, shoes and sleeves but no belt

B. Single leg RDL, 3 x 10/leg @ 25lb

+

For time:

45 glute-ham sit-ups (1:48)

400m run (4:11)

35 goblet squats, 35 (5:24)

+

2000m row @ 80%

(2:27.6/500m avg)

+

more mobility

Annoyed at how heavy squats feel. I was hoping that they would feel better as I got used to them again, but they're legitimately heavy. This makes me sad. 

On the bright side, I have gotten significantly better at glute-ham sit-ups. 

Thursday

AM @MobilityFit

500m row, 2:20

+

mobility

+

joint mobs (Matt)

+

3 sets:

flexion active stretch

external rotation active stretch 

internal rotation active stretch 

internal rotation with pulley 

+

3 sets:

Crossover Symmetry 

Pull-ups, assisted by legs 

Z-press, PVC

3-way delt raise, unweighted 

3-way bicep curl, 10/hand 

Floor press, 25/hand 

1-arm dumbbell row, 30/hand

Tricep pull down, red band 

Earthquake bar, long reds and 20s, long oranges and 12s

PM

off

The consensus seems to be that it's time to actively start stretching out the capsule. It's so freaking tight, over-tightened on purpose. I have mixed feelings about stretching it. I want to regain full ROM, but I'm terrified of fucking it up.