February 20, 2018 – Week 2, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

16” Box Squats
BWx15

Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx10

Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx5/5

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Push Presses
90x1
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
290x1

Pulldowns
60x15
100x10
120x10
140x10
160x10
180x10

Close Grip Dead Floor Presses
85x5
135x5
185x5
235x5
285x5

Stretching

Comments: It was good that it was a three day weekend for me. Cold made it miserable but at least I got to sleep a lot to fight it off. Biceps is not healing fast enough so USS Nats isn’t happening for me this year. Too biceps intensive so training won’t allow any rest and feeling it on light arm-over-arm and attempting to pick up a 100lbs sandbag like I would a stone kind of solidified that for me. So just Beast of the Bluegrass for now. Working on recover as best I can with daily massaging, stretching and wrapping with ACE bandage. Hopefully it gets to the point where I can train stones this cycle. Other stressors being medical expenses from the MRI. It was covered but I had to pay a significant amount toward it due to changes in how the insurance for my employer works now. Not fun. Lower back was sore, mostly o n the right side. Not sure if I sleep funny or if it’s just from doing arm-over-arm with my non-dominant side and I just haven’t done the movement in like four years. Enough griping. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 154bpm. Right knee felt like dog crap at the start but it got better. Calf raise work after that. Easy. Box touches with a wide stance after that. No aches in the right knee or issues with the lower back. Box squats felt ok but knees were achy. Then regular stance box touches. Not as good as the wide stance but good. Band rows after that. No issues, easy. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Hopefully that trend continues. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Probably helped the lower back issue. Added back in the biceps stretch to the warm-ups. I had done several sets Sunday and Monday throughout the day. Need to test these a bit at the gym as I can’t duplicate the setup in the garage with my yoke at the gym that gets it just right. Then lifting things up and down. First up log push press out of the rack. First time doing these since my injury so it was going to be a little interesting as I worked up. Plan was a single up to 90% of what I felt I could do for the day, taking 20lbs jumps with no grinding reps. I decided to start with the empty log so that I could get in a lot of sets and get my form down over the sets to really get the technique down. Didn’t want to overstress the biceps getting the log on to my shoulders from the rack. Knee felt like crap at the start but got better. I was expecting 270lbs for the single for today. But depended on how I felt as 250lbs could be it if I felt like crap. I watched the video on every single to see how my form changed with the increasing weight and adding on stuff like rehband belt, hard belt and wrist wraps. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy 270lbs went up to lockout that I went for 290lbs. That also went up smooth. So finally some good news this week haha. On to pulldowns after that. Warm-up and five sets of ten reps working up each set. Not maximum effort as to keep my back ready for heavy deadlifts and rack pulls later this week. I tried my best to mimic the reverse of my overhead press with the motion. Last time, I had just sat back and pulled. I think I was trying to protect my biceps more and keep my upper back tight. I kept the weight relatively light and controlled it. No pain in the biceps but I felt it. Like I was teasing a spider by tapping on its web. Felt tight. I will have to stay light on these I think but they feel great on my upper back. Last thing for the day being dead floor presses with a close grip. Been a bit since I did these. Working up in sets of five to a decent set of five reps. Goal being 90%-95% of what I felt I could do. I figured that 10lbs over my best with a close grip and pauses on this style would do so I took 50lbs jumps. First two sets felt light and easy but got tougher, especially with the close grip. I didn’t take as long of rest as normal since this wasn’t going to be a maximal effort. Just more pressing to keep the press frequency up. Moved a bit slower than I would’ve liked but I also was trying to make sure that it rested on the pins every rep. Finished earlier than expected and home to stretch and eat. Also put Icy Hot on my back to hopefully calm it down a little. Will continue to monitor the biceps daily.