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

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!!!!

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.

Wednesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 4 x 2-3, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. Weighted ring dip, 3 x 2-3, 20X1; :60 rest
B2. Unweighted strict rope pull-ups (top hand 4-6" above bottom hand), 3 x 2-4/top hand; :60 between hands, :60 rest
C1. Reverse hypers, 3 x 5-8 tough; :30 rest
C2. Banded terminal knee extension, 3 x 25/side w/same band as last week; :30 between sides, :30 rest
+
3 rounds:
25m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
200m jog

AM

complete

PM

A. 163, 173, 183, 193(2) last two sets

B1. 20, 25, 30(2) @165, including belt 

B2. 4 across 

C1. 320(8) across 

C2. complete 

+

complete 

Solid day!

Barefoot front squats are going MUCH better than the barefoot back squats.  The last rep at 193 was ugly, but didn't have the near-blackout experience that I did last week.  No issues going well below parallel, even at very heavy weights, compared to just riding the line on back squats.  Chelsea said she also feels able to get into a deeper front squat than back, based on where the weight is distributed.  What can I do to improve my back squat depth?  Do I need to?  I don't want someone saying that my 300lb back squat doesn't count because it's not ATG (if I'm ever strong enough to do that again, which, at the moment, seems unlikely).

Ring dips felt good.  My previous best 2RM was 194lbs (20lbs @ 174lbs), so it's pretty cool to basically match the total, but with 10 less pounds of body weight and 10 more pounds on the belt.  I guess this stuff is actually working, and while I'm getting impatient at slow progress on the scale, I can't forget that the trend over time is decent. (160.4 at home today... 159 is taunting me so much).  

Strict rope pull-ups were kind of fun!  No issues getting all 4 reps on both hands, but I did rotate/twist quite a bit through each set...

Okay, reverse hypers are getting tough.  Didn't go up in weight because 320 seems ridiculous.

Knee was completely, 100% fine on the jogs! I'm guessing that we were just a little ambitious in adding this back in before, while there was still some residual fluid in there.  Totally fine now, which is a relief.

Wednesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 3-4, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. Weighted ring dip, 3 x 3-5, 20X1; :90 rest
B2. Reverse hypers, 3 x 6-9 tough; :90 rest
C. DB walking lunges, 3 x 20m moderate; 2:00 rest
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 2 x 30/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
15m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
15 unweighted hip extensions
15 weighted Russian twists, hold a 6 lb med ball @ chest (L + R = 1)

AM

complete

PM

A. 163, 173, 183(2)

B1. +10, +20(4), +20(3) @166.5 (including belt)

B2. 230, 280, 300(9)

C. complete with 35/hand
+
complete


Today was not the best.  I had a relatively stressful morning at work, and came into the gym just not excited about training and in an annoyed mood altogether. Merrr.

Front squats were tough.  That 0:02 in the bottom is really terrible.  Saw stars on the last rep on all the sets, and the second rep at 183 was so slow on the way up that I didn't even try for a 3rd rep.  I'm starting to feel like squats are no longer my thing, and I don't like it.  Stupid knee, ruining everything.  Well, not ruining handstand push-ups.  Maybe that can be my new thing.

Ring dips felt okay.

Reverse hypers weren't really all that tough, but I ran out of room to add more weight, and I also felt like 300 was a lot of weight, so... I don't know if I'm doing the reverse hypers wrong, or I'm really just that strong? Ha.  I definitely feel everything in my posterior chain working (not just using momentum), but I could have probably done 15-20 reps at 300lbs before these felt tough.

Chose a much more appropriate weight for the walking lunges today.  

Last part was fine.  

Skyped with Mike; we're both happy with how the last few weeks have gone, so we're not changing anything for the time being.  Happy to keep my refeed Fridays, and looking forward to seeing 159 hopefully within the next week.  Eeeeeeek! 

Wednesday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
10:00-15:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 4-6, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. DB bench press, 3 x 3-5, 20X1; :90 rest
B2. Reverse hypers, 3 x 8-12 moderate; :90 rest
C. DB walking lunges, 2 x 25m moderate; 2:00 rest
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 2 x 30/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
15m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
15 unweighted hip extensions
15 weighted Russian twists, hold a 6 lb med ball @ chest (L + R = 1)

AM

complete

PM

A. 123, 143, 163(4)

B1. 65, 70, 75(2)

B2. 180, 210(12), 210(12)

C. 25m, 20m with 50/hand - this was not moderate 

D. complete with black band 

+

complete 


Today started out pretty good, but lost a bit of steam towards the end.  

Front squats felt okay - knee is doing something weird, and I don't know if it's something to worry about or not.  It doesn't hurt.  

Surprised to get all 5 reps at 70/hand on the DB bench.  75 was a big jump, and it was very challenging to even get the dumbbells into position.  Almost had the 3rd rep at 75, could probably get it if I tried again, and if I was able to get the dumbbells into position with slightly less effort.

Reverse hypers were fine.  

Completely overestimated the dumbbell walking lunge steps - I did not check my notebook before beginning, and thought I had done 50/hand before so I just figured I'd do that.  I made it about 10 steps on the first set before I realized that this was way too heavy, but then decided to just roll with it and finished the 25m unbroken (barely).  Couldn't make it all the way back (grip, mostly), and when I dropped the dumbbells at 20m I considered picking them back up and lunging the remaining 5m then decided that because I went heavier than intended, I was okay to shave off 5m.  Sorry, Stephen.  Now that I'm writing this, I sound like a little bitch.

That was the turning point of the day.

Banded knee extensions got tough in the last 5-8 reps of each set, on both legs.

Took probably 15:00 to complete the final 3 rounds.  Nothing was difficult in particular, I just didn't feel like playing anymore.  Meh.

Wednesday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
10:00-15:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 4 x 2-3, 42X1; 2:00 rest
B1. DB bench press, 3 x 4-7, 20X1; :90 rest
B2. Reverse hypers, 3 x 10-15 moderate; :90 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 4 x 8/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 3 x 20/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
15m/side Farmer's walk, 100/hand
10 unweighted hip extensions
15 weighted Russian twists, hold a 6 lb med ball @ chest (L + R = 1)

AM

complete

PM
A. 165, 175(2), 175(2), 175(2)
B1. 60, 65(5), 65(5)
B2. 160, 180(15), 180(15)
C. complete with 35/hand
D. complete with black band
+
complete

Decent training day! (Kind of shocking considering last night's 9pm softball game and subsequent 6 hours of sleep). 

Front squats felt tough with the tempo today. The first rep was always solid but I felt my back starting to round on the second. Almost blacked out on the last set, got super lightheaded on the way up. 

Bench pressing continues to feel strong, regardless of barbell or dumbbell. Reverse hypers felt good. 

First set of the Peterson step-ups was rough, but got better as they went on. Failed a couple of reps on both legs but was able to regroup and repeat all missed reps. These are so tough. 

Everything else was fine. Back to work. 

Wednesday

AM
3000m row @ Z1
+
20:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work - work on knee flexion ROM

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 3-4, 42X1; 2:00 rest
B1. Good morning, 2-2-2, 22X1; :60 rest
B2. DB bench press, 3 x 6-8, 20X1; :60 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 4 x 10/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 2 x 25/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
25m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
12 weighted Russian twists, hold a 6 lb med ball @ chest
15 light reverse hypers

AM

complete

PM

A. 123, 143, 163(3)

B1. 143, 153, 158

B2. 45, 55, 60(6)

C. complete with 30/hand

D. complete with black band 
+
complete
120 on the RH


Knee felt tighter than it has in a while this morning, which carried over through the PM.  No issues with depth, it just felt like I had to force it a little... 

So happy to be squatting again.  3-4 reps is much more manageable at that tempo, but I'm pretty sure my face was all shades of red on the last set.

That might be close to a limit on good mornings... I don't know if I could even do one with decent depth at much more weight than that.

DB bench felt great!

Peterson step-ups went better than last week, but I don't know if I can go up in weight... 30/hand is quite challenging (on both sides).

Everything else was good.  That was the lightest that a 100/hand Farmer's walk has ever felt.

Wednesday

AM
3000m row @ Z1
+
20:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work - work on knee flexion ROM

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 4-6, 42X1; 2:00 rest
B1. Good morning, 3-3-3-3, 22X1; :60 rest
B2. Close-grip bench press, 2-2-1-1, 21X1; :60 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 3 x 12/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 3 x 20/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
20 unweighted Russian twists
12 moderate reverse hypers

AM

complete

PM

A. 83, 103, 123(4)

B1. 123, 133, 143, 148

B2. 154(2), 159(2), 164, 169, 174 (PR +4)

C. complete with 30/hand

D. complete with black band 

+

complete
160 on the RH

Able to get full knee ROM within the allotted 20:00 mobility today!  That's a relief, ain't nobody got time for 45:00+ each time you want to do an air squat.

SO HAPPY to squat with a barbell again!  Knee felt absolutely perfect on these, but that tempo is a bitch.  Got super lightheaded on the set at 123, just a long time to be crushing your trachea.  Decided to trust that the mobility this morning was enough to prep the ROM for the PM session, and it was!  Just did a quick hip/ankle stretch and I was good to go.  Great success!

It's been a looooong time since I've done barbell good mornings; I think I was doing these correctly (basically lowering until I felt a nice stretch and holding it there for the 2 seconds).  

Bench press felt excellent.  Went for a bonus rep because I knew I'd get it, wasn't even a question.  And with the same tempo!  Cool.

Peterson step-ups were very challenging with that weight.  I will not be sad if these go away soon.

Still like the banded terminal extensions.  This one's a keeper.

Farmer's walk was super easy (unbroken); first time with a Russian twist, that was neat.

Had a mandatory health screening at work today - we can repeat this every couple of months, so this might be cool to come back to later.

5'3" 165 (in jeans, 162.7 @ home)

BP: 120/82 (a little higher than normal for me)

pulse: 54

total cholesterol: 243 (errrrrrr)

HDL: 66

LDL: 166

TG: 55

glucose: 83

waist: 31" (this was 35.4" the day I joined CSC)

Skyped with Mike last night - scale has been completely stuck at 163 for the past 2 weeks (which is most likely stress-related, working blows), so we're making some changes.  150g protein, 80g fat, 190g carb, unless performance starts to tank.  He said "I'd like to see you under 160," and I'm like "ME TOO" with the unimpressed emoji face.  Trying not to get frustrated.

This may be the deepest squat I've ever done.

Wednesday

AM
3500m row @ Z1
+
20:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work - work on knee flexion ROM

PM
A. Barefoot KB goblet squats, no sleeves, 3 x 4-6, 4211; :60-2:00 rest
B1. Romanian deadlift w/straps, 2-2-1-1, 41X1; :60 rest
B2. Close-grip bench press, 2-2-2-2, 21X1; :60 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 3 x 15/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 2 x 20/side w/thicker band than last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
2:00 AirDyne
15 glute-ham sit-ups
12 moderate reverse hypers

AM

complete

PM (immediately after AM)

A. 53, 70, 88(4)

B1. 183, 188, 193, 198

B2. 149, 154, 154, 154

C. complete with 25/hand

D. complete with black band

+

complete

160 on the RH

Totally weird work schedule today - didn't have to be at work until 11, but have to stay until after 8, so figured I'd combine the sessions.  Wasn't sure what to do food-wise - I didn't want to do all that work fasted, so I made a double PWO shake and had half while I was doing the mobility.  Not sure if that was optimal, but I don't plan on doing this again anytime soon.

Goblet squats felt great - was more limited by ability to hold the larger kettlebells than anything else.  The actual squatting felt good! Can I pleeeeeeeease try squatting with a barbell soon?

Romanian deadlifts were difficult - still can't hold on to a heavy bar, even with straps, and I'm definitely still driving through my right leg more than my left...

Bench felt great! 

Today was the best that the Peterson step-ups have gone - still a few wobbly reps (on both sides), but feeling more and more comfortable with the exercise.

Banded terminal knee extensions were good.  I think I might add these in more often, I like them.

Wednesday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
20:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work - work on knee flexion ROM

PM
A. Barefoot KB goblet squats, no sleeves, 3 x 6-8, 4211; :60-2:00 rest
B1. Romanian deadlift w/straps, 4 x 2-3, 41X1; :60 rest
B2. Close-grip bench press, 3-3-3-3, 21X1; :60 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 3 x 20/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 1 x 30/side; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
2:00 AirDyne
12 glute-ham sit-ups
15 light reverse hypers

AM

complete

PM

A. 35, 45, 53

B1. 183(2) across 

B2. 144, 149, 149, 149(2)

C. 20/hand across 

D. complete with green band 

+

complete 

90 on the RH

Austin showed up for his Z1 at the same time I did, which was a real treat.  Made that 4000m fly by!

Barefoot goblet squats felt really, really good.  No issues with the knee.  Interesting to note that depth is not a problem AT ALL on goblet squats.  I don't get it. 

When I was putting the kettlebell away, I picked it up weird and banged my broken thumb into the side of my leg, and heard and felt a large crack, which was very painful.  It kind of calmed down though, and I'm not sure if I did any additional damage or not.  It's not blown up like it was when I initially broke it, so I don't really think it's broken worse, but I don't know what else other than bone would have made a sound like that.  This is stupid.

Couldn't hold on to the heavier bar for the RDLs, even with straps.  Tried really hard to drive through both legs equally, but not sure how successful I was.

Bench press felt heavy; no spotter and chickened out on the last set.  The second rep was a struggle, so just racked it.

Petersen step-ups continue to be the hardest part of my week.  I think the box was just a little higher today than the box I was using at Active (middle block + rubber top), and had to take at least one small break in all sets of 20, on both legs.

Terminal knee extensions were interesting, I did my good knee first and thought I must have been doing them wrong because they were pretty easy, but then on my left knee I could definitely tell a difference.

Sigh.  One day, I'll be healthy.  Or dead.