May 11, 2023 – Week 9, Day 3

T-Spine Reaches
bwx10/10

Andrew Lock Shoulder Big 3’s (3 second holds)
10’sx10-10-10

Close Grip Axle Floor Presses w/ Chains (+44lbs)
36x3
66x3
96x3
126x3
156x3
186x3
216x3
216x3
216x3
216x3
216x3

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses
40’sx3
70’sx3
92’sx10
78’sx10

Banded Shoulder Extensions (3 second holds)
mb’sx15
mb’sx15

Incline Bench Dumbbell Cuban Rotations (2 second holds)
10’sx12
10’sx12

Stretching
 
Comments: A good night’s sleep (with some Dayquil) had me feeling a ton better when I woke up. I wasn’t in a rush with this workout. Trying to get work stuff sorted. This one didn’t require anywhere near as much setup as the day before. Plan was to kind of get everything done pretty quick and then stretch out before eating dinner since I was doing a pot roast and I got that started a little later in the morning than I had planned (had a meeting as soon as I got to work). This workout is the easiest workout of the week and only things that were really changed up here were the recovery/rehab stuff at the end. T-spine rotation to start things off. Just one set again. I started with the left side. Took off my glasses and do-rag as they were just going to come off over the course of the exercise any ways. Left side of my neck was tight and stiff but not related to this. If anything, these seemed to be less stressful as far as irritation compared to last week. But not on the same magnitude of improvement compared from first time to second time with now the third time. No snap and crackles this time either. From there it was the second upper body mobility and correctives with the Lock Big 3. I had been pleasantly surprised with how good these had felt last time while also being well aware of how tough they were. So those lessons were in mind. I guess knowing how it is going to be helps. I think also as I mentioned last time that watching the video from the person recommending it and understanding the progression from one exercise to the next was very helpful in how I was framing it in my head. Enough stuff on the soft carpet and into the garage. It was warm but I wasn’t feeling super warm. Which was good compared to yesterday. From there it was time for axle floor pressing. As it has been with 5x3 with the same chain setup and option to add 5lbs to last time if I wanted to.  Actually had option to add 10lbs but I figured I wouldn’t get greedy here as 5lbs jumps have been fine and this has been good enough to keep progressing on this stuff and recovering enough for some startling improvements on viking press days. No real aches in the elbow or wrists this time around. Left shoulder slightly achy but that has kind of been the case since the last show and not really anything to write home about. More the neck tightness. Balance was feeling a little off on these (like felt like more weight on the left side at times). It could be just spacing of plates was slightly off. My understanding is that next time the accommodating resistance will increase and the bar weight load will decrease and it will be doubles. But I guess have to see if I fit the plan with how things look and how things are going. From there it was seated presses. Same as last week with work up in triples to a top set of 10 reps but just slightly less left in the tank (2RIR). Then drop down 15% for another set of 10 reps. I did spend a little bit of time on my lunch to figure out plate combinations needed with what I had. I hadn’t intended to go with more than 90lbs but here we are. And while technically last week was a PR on these for this rep range, it wasn’t feeling like a max. So 5lbs more shouldn’t break the bank. I took bigger jumps working up. These were still to be controlled and not using my long arms to “rebound” these reps. This didn’t end up feeling as comfortable as last week. Reasons for that could be that I pushed stuff more on Monday this week vs Monday last week as far as the pressing (260 vs 315) and accessories (10’s vs 20’s and shorter rests for triceps). So perhaps that could’ve contributed to the fatigue here. Maybe not an absolute max at the end but damn close to getting stuck in the sticking point. So like 0-1RIR here. But at least no misses. Drop set was not super easy but was comfortable. It would appear plan is just one top set next week. Maybe that gets adjusted since I went a little too close to the sun this week. But the rebound will supposedly be allowed so who knows. Rest of the workout was changed. Still lighter things for upper body health. A little switch-a-roo here as usually it is free weights and then bands but it is bands and then free weights. First up was band shoulder extensions. I’ve done these once before really light I believe either at the very end of a training prep or the very beginning of one after a competition. I’ve sometimes done these to “pop” my shoulders if really tight. Been doing this movement a bit more with the Lock Big 3 lately. It also seems like a solid go to for warming up shoulders. Plan was RPE 6 for 2x10-15 with 2-3ct holds. So of course I went the higher reps and the longer holds. Mini bands seemed to work out nicely here. A little more challenging than I was expecting but I’ve only done these with micro bands before. Then some good ole dumbbell rotations. Incline bench with holds and control. Same RPE but 2x10-12 with 1-2ct holds. Also aim was more reps if needed as these can get quite exhausting quick. I wasn’t expecting needing more than the 10lbs dumbbells here. Finished out here and put stuff away before stretching. Ate pot roast after that and got ready for bed. Got one more day of work this week and plan is to sleep in Saturday since gym is closed until 2:30PM (I guess I could go and try to get the workout done before 11:30AM but likely not happening).