June 1, 2023 – Week 12, 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 (+66lbs)
36x2
66x2
96x2
126x2
156x2
186x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2

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

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

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (followed by 30 seconds stretch)
mmbx15/15
mmbx15/15

Stretching
 
Comments: The doctor stuff continued into this day as well. I was advised that findings weren’t concerning but wants to refer me to gastro. Only addressing the last question of my request for clarification. So I rephrased it again. I point blank asked for what purpose. If purely for curiosity’s sake I’m not interested in subjecting myself to further test/procedures. Let me live my life. Thankfully they’ve stuck to messaging as opposed to the phone calls. But I guess no response is better than having them push scheduling. Never had this issue with my previous doctor before moved to a different practice late last year. I really hope I don’t have to find someplace else if this nonsense keeps up. Not doing something because you tell me to, I need to know the how and why. This stuff stresses me out. So not ideal conditions but thankfully this is the easy workout. I decided I kind of wanted to just go from one thing to the next here so got stuff setup for everything. It got up to 90 degrees (surprising) and while warm, it wasn’t an oppressive heat. It actually felt nice. I guess a “dry heat”. I was feeling fairly sore in from the training session the day before. Band pulls for sure in the upper back. I put my hair in a ponytail for this session to see how this affected things. T-spine rotation to start things off. I did take off my glasses but I was able to not have my hair and the rotation make my doo rag come off. Midsection was a bit stiff but understandable considering the day before session. But the positive would be no shoulder discomfort of any kind. Just tightness. So off to a good start. Lock Big 3 up next. I guess there are going to be weeks where these feel ok and others where these feel really tough. At least that seems to be the case for the second and third style of these. Generally got no issues with the first style but I can tell if that one I’m feeling a little shaky near the end that I may not be in for a good time for the other two as those feel like a lot harder for me. But I think shoulders have been responding well to these. Not having to be so cautious with which side I fall asleep on with my neck is something I’ve noticed. And not having as much sensation of an impingement on the left shoulder. But this is the reason for this day really. Not to obliterate the upper body, more to just get some stuff primed and get the supporting structures beefed up enough to let me keep pushing heavy weights. From there it was time for axle floor pressing with the chains. Still 7x2 with the same rest and the same chains. Just adding 5-10lbs to it. I’m kind of surprised as usually there is some kind of decrease in the reps as weight gets added with these “speed” cycles. But I’m fine with it. With how these have been feeling, I could probably do 20 sets and still be ok. Still breaking up the set with a slight pause at lockout. That does seem to have made a big difference in the rep quality for me. Not thinking of speeding through the set but more just being fast on each individual rep. Sometimes we put speed where it doesn’t need to be to work what we want to work. Speed we think fast. So yet another 10lbs added with the same volume for another week of this and feeling much the same. I think I actually did closer to EMOM rest on these. Not sure if this wave is stopping or going again. Some exercises seem to be open ended like that depending on how things are. In fact, this workout might be dropped before the contest week to promote better recovery. Back to the lighter stuff. Well not necessarily light when it comes to bands. Shoulder extensions for 2x12-15 with 2-3ct. Still doing the mini bands but cinched this time again. Really, I don’t think I can make this movement easy unless I did micro bands and didn’t do any kind of holds. These get not just my shoulders but my triceps too. But I moved right along. I think I took shorter rest between sets compared to two weeks ago (I may have done same rest last week). Cuban rotations up next. Stuck with 12’s again for the 2x10-12 with 1-2ct holds. Of course anything less than 2x12 at 2 seconds wasn’t going to cut it. I will say this was feeling better than last week. Might be tempted to add a 1lbs to this or something haha. Last thing was some triceps focus with stretch. Just did what I did last time. Just trying to have more intent about it (Drew says that stuff sometimes when sticking with a certain weight/rep scheme). So intent was to get the stretch and angle right. Not just move but feel what I’m doing. So that was easy enough. Put stuff away and stretched before eating pot roast.