56 days completed. 8,1 off, 11, 1 off, 13, 1, 11,1, 10 By the end I would joke it was like being locked in a Siberian prision and beaten with a rubber hose
19 June 2018
First Wave/Week 3/Day 3
Front Squat
MetCon -
- deadlift BW (225) x 20
- 1:00 skip rope
- high bar squat BW (225) x 15
- 1:00 skip rope
- Hang SGHP .75BW (160) x 10
- 1:00 skip rope
Total - 8:00
30:00 ME - 5RM (135 x 5 before clock)
- front squat x 5 185/225/275/295/315
- 38" box jump x 3
- decline sit up x 10 (20# MB)
Volume - 3 x 10 @ 80% 5RM
- 250 x 10, 10, 10
10:00 DE - Rack SGHP
- 205 x 3 EMOM (straps)
Today went pretty good, considering I just didn’t feel like I could get moving at first. MetCon went smoothly, only wasted time was putting my squat shoes on after finishing the set of deadlifts barefoot.
Front squats went good. Couldn’t remember what my 3RM was last week while I was lifting, looked at it right before typing this and saw that my %rm came in 20 pounds under it. Plugged those numbers into a 1RM calculator (just curious - probably a good estimate more than anything) and my 1RM off those two sessions (335 x 3RM, 315 x 5RM) is 360 - and my 1RM a couple weeks ago was 365. So, doesn’t appear I’m moving up in weight yet, but we’ll see what happens next week when I start wave 2.
Volume - 250 for sets of ten sucks. I’ve come to realize why dead and front squat days suck so bad - I’m not used to pushing the 3RM and 5RM weights. Juggernaut used rep maxes rather than RM testing to progress each cycle, meaning AMRAP at a designated percentage of your training max. Pushing for more reps on these days - and the accompanying volume sets - really take it out of me. Not sure why upper body doesn’t smoke me as bad - smaller muscle groups would be my guess.
Cranked through SGHP for DE work at 205 and I was done. Used the versa grips at that weight - between snatch grip and dynamic movement, my grip becomes suspect at that weight and I find myself not getting the snap I want. With the versa’s, grip is secured so it’s all about the movement, no thinking about the grip.
Like I said earlier, felt smoked after this and skipped assistance for the day. 3 x 10 @ 250 is a good amount of volume for the quads, anyways.
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20 June 2018
Cardio
40:00 incline treadmill walk
Nothing special here.
21 June 2018
First Wave/Week 3/Day 4
Bench
MetCon - 53#KB
- 100 rep KB Complex (10/side - swing, snatch, clean, press, squat)
Total - under 6:00 (missed actual time)
30:00 ME - 3RM (135 x 10 before clock)
- cable row x 8 120/120/125/130/130
- bench 5 x 185/3 x 225/245/265/285
-dragon flag x 8
Volume - 3 x 8 @ 80% 3RM
- 225 x 8, 8, 8
10:00 DE - kneeling scrape the rack press
- 85 x 3 EMOM
Assistance - 3 rounds
Meadows Row - 50 x 8
Low Incline DB Press - 45 x 10
Prone Rear Delt - 15 x 15
Infinity Single Pressdown - 40 x 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Another slow starter. I was gonna break up the MetCon complex with rows in between each movement, but after doing 250m between swings and snatches I nixed that idea. Would have pushed me over ten without even trying. Haven’t done this one in a while, forgot how good of a metcon it is.
ME went alright. I was fairly happy with 285 x 3, but then I crunched it through a 1RM calculator and it actually puts me behind where my last 1RM bench was (about 10 pounds below).
Volume was good, the three sets of 8 were just challenging enough that I couldn’t have done more without screwing up the next set. DE was smooth as well, really not a lot to add here. Did assistance, but I think I have on every bench day so far.
Slowly losing weight on this routine. I was fighting to put weight on leading into this (and the first week or two), then over the last week or so I’ve gone down a couple pounds. Goal was to get back up in the 220s - I had just started to break into that realm and then I’ve lost a few pounds over the last week or so. I’ve also seen an improvement in body comp as those couple pounds dropped off, so it’s not all bad. I was eating to get the weight up, and that was smoothing over the midsection a bit more than I care to - I’m not ripped (nor have I been in quite some time) but I maintain visible ab definition pretty much year round (guessing around 15% bf). Partially through vanity, partially cause the smaller the waist line the better my pants and IWB holster fit.
But anyway, just bitching. I liked how big I looked when I was 225ish a while back and trying to get back to that. This EQ cycle didn’t do what I had hoped - thinking now it was severely underdosed (supplier/manufacturer claimed it was 500mg/ml, I’m thinking it was less). Moving on.
Can’t decide if I like this program or not. It wears me the fuck out, and that feeling sticks with me for a while after I leave the gym. I would get fatigued on Juggernaut, but by the time I got home I usually had my energy back. At the least, I’m gonna continue this until I head home in a few weeks and figure it out after that. Not to sound like a pussy, but doing it in an indoor gym with AC might mitigate some of the fatigue compared to outside in the heat and humidity. Thinking I might just go back to Juggernaut with some more mods from this - integrating some form of metcon before or after the workout, that kind of thing. The demands of this program are such that I think I’ll have trouble maintaining weight where I want it, whereas that was never an issue with Juggernaut. Then again, maybe it will just strip off some fat I don’t need anyway 
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I’m not very familiar with this routine been doing it for about 3 weeks. One trial, one half Deloadish and now I’m on the second full week.
I can see you do the comp lifts as your ME work. That might drain your CNS a bit more than doing a variation because you’re very efficient on the comp lift, whereas on the variation it’s not as draining.
BUT as said I haven’t done it for very long nor am I that experienced on what drains and what doesn’t.
Your on the homestretch so keep grinding brother.
22 June 2018
This was supposed to be a cardio day, but I was feeling lazy. So, back to bed until it was time to get ready for work.
Nothing to see here, keep movin
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23 June 2018
Second Wave/Week 1/Day 1
Deadlift
MetCon - 100 KB Swings, 3 x burpees at top of each minute until 100 reps is reached
Total - 3:30
30:00 ME - 5RM (275 x 5 before clock)
- deadlift 5 x 315/365/405/435/465
- 70# KB Swing x 5
- hanging leg raise x 10
- SGHP from hang 195 x 3
This was as far as I got. I had decided going in that I was going to get 465 x 5, and I did. Last couple reps sucked, but I got them. No issues during the set, but shortly after dropping the bar I felt a muscle spasm on my right lower back - outside the lumbars, right along the belt line. I ended the workout there - I definitely wasn’t going to do 3 x 10 with 370 when I was already feeling something. Gave it a few minutes, then put a cold water wrap on it. Wasn’t as cold as I’d liked (this one is old school gravity fed, not like the new Game Ready design where it circulates cold water). Went back to my room, popped a celebrex and a flexeril and we’ll see how we do. I can feel it now, sitting here - a little discomfort, not what I would call pain. I’d had a very minor nagging ‘thing’ in that spot, hadn’t even realized it had gone away until this flared up.
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24 June 2018
Cardio
Tempo Interval - 12kph/8 inc - 15 sec//5kph flat walk - 35 sec - (Total - 15:00)
Incline Walk - 4 inc/5kph - 20:00
25 June 2018
Second Wave/Week 1/Day 2
OHP
MetCon - 10:00 EMOM
- 2 burpees, 3 pullups, 5 push ups, 10 BW squats
30:00 ME - 3RM (OHP 65 x 10 before clock)
- weighted pullup 5 x 40/3 x 50/60/70/70
- OHP 5 x 95/3 x 115/130/140/150
- leg raise to pike x 10
- KB bottoms up press 22 x 3/side
Volume - 3 x 80% 3RM weight OHP
- 120 x 8, 8, 8
10:00 DE - explosive push up to plates x 3 EMOM
Assistance 4 rounds
- BW pull up to chest x 3
- BTN Press 75 x 10
- lateral raise 25 x 10
Back was feeling better, so I got back in there. Repeated a metcon I’ve done before on OHP day, seems to help (or at least not hinder) my performance in ME.
Went in with the goal of increasing my previous 3RM, and got 5 lbs more - slow progress is still progress. Changed up some of the giant set moves, tried adding the bottom up press in that portion as a feeder to the next set of OHP - really wish we had a heavier KB between 22 lbs and 35. Not sure if it helped, but didn’t seem to hurt.
Volume went fine, and fairly quick as well. I’d already done 30 pullups in the metcon, so I didn’t do anymore during volume (suppose it wouldn’t have hurt but whatevs).
DE - did the explosive pushup thing again. Feels about the same as dynamic bench - neither feels real ‘explosive’, but I’m popping off the floor on these so it can’t be too slow. Waiting to get home so I can do the bench toss on the Smith machine - always liked that one, as far as dynamic pressing goes.
Assistance, cranked through this pretty quickly too. Not much to say here, was definitely feeling that last set or two of lateral raises.
2 Likes
Solid work man…
EDIT to add 26 June
26 June 2018
30:00 inc treadmill walk
A. Screw Curl - (30 x 10 w/u) 45 x 8, 8, 8, 8
B. Decline Skull Crusher - (30 x 10 w/u) 40 x 8, 8, 8, 8
Infinity Singles PD - 55 x 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
27 June 2018
Second Wave/Week 1/Day 3
Front Squat your face off
MetCon - Total - 8:00
- 225(BW) x 20 deadlift
- 1:00 skip rope
- 225 x 15 high bar squat
- 1:00 skip rope
- 165(.75BW) x 10 SGHP from Rack
- 1:00 skip rope
30:00 ME - 1RM (185 x 5 warm up set)
- front squat 3 x 225/275/1 x 315/365/386/405(miss)
-box jump x 3 (36" for two sets, 38" for rest)
-decline sit up x 10 (20# med ball)
Volume - 80% 1RM
- 315 x 5, 5, 5
DE - SGHP from rack
- 175 x 3 EMOM 10:00
Assistance
- Cable Goblet Squat 155 x 20, 20
Felt good going into this training session, might be because I’ve actually been able to sleep the last couple days. MetCon really got me huffing though, pretty sure I wasn’t going any faster than I have in the past. Skipping rope in hard soled squat shoes was killing my calves this time - hasn’t bothered me the last few times I’ve done it cause I could never get more than 25-30 seconds before hitting the rope and having to reset. This time went almost the full minute (getting used to skipping rope again, I guess?).
Front squats started off good, I did my warm up at 185 instead of 135 like normal because I wanted to go higher than I did last 1RM day. Still felt fine, weight was moving nice and smooth till I unracked 365. The big jumps from 225 to 275 to 315 were no issue, but I think I should have made smaller jumps after 315. I really wanted 405 today, but after seeing how the bar slowed down at 365, I pulled a pair of benches over to use as safety catches - we have a Rogue cage without the safety bars, I keep meaning to ask our logs guy to order a set but keep forgetting when I see him. I squat using bumper plates, but I am fairly close to the rack because the concrete floor starts to slope slightly downhill about three feet from the rack. If I got stuck I could always just dump (one thing I’ve always liked about the front squat compared to the back - easier to dump if you get in trouble, since I rarely have a lifting partner), but being that close to the rack I keep picturing the bar bouncing into the rack and then back into my shins before I can move. (I know, paranoid…)
Anyway, got my single at 385. Wish I had done video so I could look at my form - I was so focused on going down and getting back up I honestly don’t know what my body did in the interim. Can’t have been too bad, since the bar only started to move forward right as I got past the midpoint. After that one, I said fuck it and loaded up 405. Took some time, went over my mental cues and then got set, unracked, went down…and had to dump. I got to the bottom and the bar started rolling forward off my shoulders. It’s been doing that for the last year or so whenever I get close to 405 and I can’t figure it out - the two times prior that I got four plates, both were nice solid reps with no bar movement. Something is off in my form - I guess now would be a great time to have a good training partner, huh?
The attempt at 405 was actually right at the 30 mark, so I took a few minutes, stripped the bar and reset it, then reloaded 315 for the volume sets. Those sets of 5 sucked ass, no joke. Reracked the bar midway through the second set, was getting an odd pain in my right knee. Stood there and worked my knee around a bit, going through full ROM flexion and extension a few times, then unracked and finished the set. Considered stopping there (in fact, crossed out the last set on my paper and wrote R KNEE), then said fuck that and finished out the last set. Not sure why, but the last set my knee wasn’t really bothering me. Guessing my foot position and knee tracking was off for the second set.
Cranked through the SGHP dynamic work, no issues. I have to say, this is the only DE move I do that actually feels dynamic. Scrape the rack press is second, but after that nothing else feels real ‘dynamic’.
For assistance, I did two sets of cable goblet squats with 155. These are a variation off a move I saw in an article on here a few months back. That one was a deep squat with a heavy DB, standing on platforms. At my gym back home we have a pair of 120s and a couple sets of aerobic steps so I use those. Here, we just got a pair of 100s - before that it was only 70s - and no steps. I looked at it, and realized the set up and move itself is the same as a goblet squat, except I wear the squat shoes (elevated heels) since I already had them on for front squats, and I maintain more of an upright torso. I have to hold the cable handle in a goblet position, because otherwise the cable would be slack before I got anywhere near the bottom of the squat.These give a nice finishing burn to the quads.
And that was my lifting day. All in all, decent sesh. Still having trouble keeping weight on - and tonight’s menu didn’t help - beef with cabbage (mostly cabbage with flecks of beef here and there) and soggy fried lobster. So it’s another all-protein shake night. Can’t wait to get home.
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****** NOTE: I AM NO LONGER RUNNING DARK HORSE ******
If that is all you wanted to see, the show ends here. If not, feel free to continue.
29 Friday 2018
Built For Bad/Built For Battle Hybrid Mod
So, I have been complaining (whining?) about Dark Horse for the better part of a week. It is a very intense program (yes, I did hear Brian say that in the video), and it was kicking my ass a little more than I care to have it kicked. I did hit some good numbers while I was doing it (500 x 1 best ever deadlift), but overall I felt beat down and fatigued from it. I had planned on continuing until I left for home, but I finally came to the realization - I know getting kicked in the nuts sucks, so why do I continue to kick myself in the nuts? Did some brief scribbling and was going to go back to Built For Bad for the remainder of my trip, with the intention of continuing that up until I start school at the end of August. Why change then? I’m glad you asked…
I have done BFB in the past, and while I like it, a decent amount of time is added to your gym schedule in set up and tear down (unless you’re one of the assholes of the gym world, and like to leave plates and bars wherever they happen to land when you are done with them…shame shame). This also ties up a decent amount of gym equipment, so if you are going to do it in a commercial gym (this is the main reason I wish I had a garage gym) you need to be able to adjust your schedule so you are not trying to do it during peak hours (again, unless you are one of the assholes of the gym community…see the plethora of complaints of crossfitters taking up all the bars and gym space to run a WOD at a normal gym during peak hours…shame shame). After all, when I was running the standard BFB template, I was using 4 bars and 2-3 racks.
Where I am now, I have the gym to myself when I lift, so no issues. When I get home, I will be able to hit the gym pretty much whenever I want, so I can figure out the deadest point in the day and do it then (to avoid being one of the assholes…you get the point). Once I start school, my schedule will obviously be somewhat out of my control, so I will probably go back to Juggernaut at that point. Inshallah.
So anyways, I went back and read through Built For Battle to see the full extent of what changes Thibs made, and after some more scribbling on top of my previous scribbling, I came up with my current plan. Instead of 1RM like BFB used, BFBattle uses 3RM to figure the percentages, making the loading more friendly for more people. Using 1RM for BFB, I typically had to adjust my weights down in order to be able to hit all the reps. BFBattle uses day 1 each week to find your 3RMs for all the movements, then you base your percentages for the other four days off of that, finding new 3RMs every week. Since I am coming off of DH, I have a good idea what my 3RMs are so I skipped that day and went straight to day 2 (and I will do this next ‘week’ as well, this will allow me to get two ‘training weeks’ before I travel). For more info on what I am doing, look at the original BFB article from '13 (I am using those exercises instead of the ones from BFBattle, with some changes), and then read Built For Battle.
So, without further ado (yeah, after you wrote a damn novel, asshole):
(3RM numbers are in parentheses where I know them)
Front Squat(345) - 3 x 135/3 x 185/3 x 225/ /5 x 275/4 x 295/3 x 310/2 x 325/1 x 345
Bench (285) - 3 x 135/3 x 185/3 x 205/ /5 x 225/4 x 240/3 x 255/2 x 270/1 x 285
Rack SGHP - 3 x 135/3 x 135/3 x 155/ /5 x 175/4 x 185/3 x 195/2 x 205/1 x 215
Wtd Pullup - 3 x BW*/3 x BW*/3 x 40/ /5 x 50/4 x 60/3 x 70/2 x 82.5/1 x 88
OHP (150) - 5 x 65/3 x 85/3 x 105/ /5 x 120/4 x 125/3 x 135/2 x 145/1 x 150
Total - 59:12
-
- bodyweight pullups for warm up were done dynamically, pulling till the bar hit at the nipple line (or lower), no kipping/kicking
EDIT: Kept my rest periods (between exercises) to right at :30 - shorter between bench and SGHP - but adding weight usually took a little more than the BFB allotted 2:00.
So that was today’s workout. It’s some work, but (for whatever reason) something I like better. Like Thibs says in the BFBattle article, the weights get heavier as you go, but the reps drop so it seems to make it easier. The total time included warm-up and work circuits, so the actual lifting was a bit shorter than DH. On BFB (and this, apparently), even though I was lifting fairly heavy, I feel pretty good at the end.
And if anyone cares, dinner choices sucked tonight, so it’s protein shakes all night again. Forgot to weight myself before lifting, so I’m not sure where I stand.
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No worries about dumping the darkhorse. I’m still in for the log. I thin what you picked to follow looks worse than what you were doing. 
Go get em killa
Enjoyed the post asshole.
2 Likes
For whatever reason, I like it better. Maybe I’m done quicker so it doesn’t hurt as bad? HA!
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Hey Dinghy
I understand you completely.
I hope I can keep up with the darkhorse.
When finished I am looking at the BFBattle too. Did old BFB and liked it. But in the end it kicked ass, this work from a 3RM weight looks very good.
I’ll keep checking in to see how this goes at least for the next couple of weeks.
30 June 2018
Built For Battle Mod
Deadlift(500*) - 3 x 275/3 x 275/3 x 315/ /5 x 365/4 x 385/3 x 415/2 x 435/1 x 455
Bench (285) - 3 x 135/3 x 155/3 x 185/ /5 x 205/4 x 220/3 x 235/2 x 245/1 x 265
Rack SGHP - 3 x 135/3 x 135/3 x 135/ /5 x 155/4 x 165/3 x 175/2 x 185/1 x 195
Wtd Pullup - 3 x BW*/3 x BW/3 x BW/ /5 x 40/4 x 50/3 x 60/2 x 70/1 x 82.5
OHP (150) - 5 x 65/3 x 85/3 x 105/ /5 x 110/4 x 115/3 x 125/2 x 130/1 x 140
Total - 53:38
Warm Up - 13:00
DL* - Since the percentages for this lifting day are lower, I used my 1RM weight to calculate loads for deadlift
Pullup* - All bodyweight pullup warm up sets are done dynamically to about the nipple line, got one or two reps that hit the xyphoid process. (no kipping kicking or swinging)
Assistance Circuit 1-
Cable Row (both sides) - 10 x 125/8 x 140/6 x 150
Incline DB Press - 10 x 45/8 x 55/6 x 65
BSS (left leg) - 10 x 50/8 x 60/6 x 70
BSS (right leg) - 10 x 50/8 x 60/6 x 70
SGRDL - 10 x 275/8 x 295/6 x 315
(approx. :45 rest between each move, 2-3:00 rest between rounds)
Total - 25:25
Felt good today, moved through the circuits pretty quick. Caught myself not taking much of a rest between exercises in the first two rounds, had to make myself do it. Weights are lower, but not THAT much. Couldn’t seem to get the weights changed in the 2:00 allotted time from BFB (which I am still trying to use as a guideline) - seemed to take closer to 4-5. As quickly as I felt I was moving from station to station, it still seemed to take longer than I would have expected. Cut my total from yesterday, which is still progress.
Built For Battle uses different weight percentages each day of the week, as a way of varying the intensity and make it a little more ‘doable’ while still reaping the benefit of higher frequency heavy lifting (BFB did as well, to a lesser extent). Since today’s weights were about 7.5 % lower than yesterday’s, I swapped front squat for deadlift. I will continue to do this throughout, with front squat being on the heavier percentage days and deads on the ‘lighter’ - one of my minor mods to this program; allows me to hit front and back of the legs. I did the same thing when I did BFB in the past, except I used the trap bar for deads. We don’t have a trap bar here, so I figured the straight bar wouldn’t hurt me for a few sessions. Gym at home has a trap bar, so I’ll probably switch back to that for the rest of my time doing BFBattle.
Did the first assistance circuit today as well, it was a little more challenging than I expected on paper. I was a little conservative on the incline weights, I will definitely bump those up next time. Can’t wait to get back to my home gym - more equipment means more options for those assistance circuits.
SGRDL - Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlift. The program calls for RDLs, I figured I’d do snatch grip. I was doing these a while back, they helped put a little thickness on my upper back. I use straps on these so I can concentrate on the movement and not worry about grip. Before lowering into the first rep, pull the shoulder blades down and back, pinch, then actively hold that position as you move through the rep. Gives a nice cramping-type feeling across the upper back - after I’d been doing these (and another move or two to focus on that area) for a while, my wife said she could see a difference.
No issues during the main circuits or assistance circuits but literally right after finishing the assistance work, when I started pulling plates, I felt a mild pain up my right hamstring wrapping almost into my lower groin (the infamous taint region). Thought it was a mild cramp at first, but it’s still there a few hours later, so I’m guessing I gave myself a mild strain (done it before). Thankfully tomorrow is an ‘off’ day for this program, and the day after that is front squats again - so hopefully by the time I get back to deadlifting, it will have worked itself out.
2 Likes
Thx for sharing the “feel” of the rdls. That helps a rookie like me
That’s more specific to the snatch grip variant, which I prefer for the above stated reasons.
But you’re welcome.
01 July 2018
Neural Charge Session
38" box jump x 3
Pullup to chest x 3
Lateral jump (over bench) x 4
Dynamic pushup to plate stack x 3
20# med ball slam x 5
5 rounds, Total was either 15:00 or 20:00, I forget
Since today is an off day in the BFBattle schedule, I had intended to do an easy cardio session - the structure and pace of BFBattle induces a conditioning element to it (as opposed to cardio - same as DH), so on the off days I figured I would continue doing easier, steady state stuff. However, I also wanted to do something that would feed into the next day’s training and came across neural charge.
I had seen the article but never really paid much attention to it (no offense, CT). I was perusing Thibs’ forum on here and people were asking about it, so I went back and actually read the article. Sounded intriguing (also found that I appear to be mostly type 1, while having some qualities from the other types as well), so I figured I’d give it a try. So when I got up, I set up and did this instead of the other. Actually planned to get on the treadmill after the NCT session, but when I finished I said fuck that.
NC training sessions are meant to recharge the CNS between heavier lifting sessions, not be used as traditional cardio or conditioning. The pace of the workout is kept fairly slow to avoid huffing and puffing and turning it into something else, so while it is called a ‘circuit’, you take a full rest between exercises to get the full benefit (while I know my breathing stepped up a little, I checked my HR a couple times manually and it was still just below 100). You are also supposed to start dropping exercises from the circuit when your performance of them begins to decline, ending the whole session in the same fashion. Basically, train till you feel better than when you came into the gym and leave on that high note.
I did five rounds, and easily could have done more. I took a flexeril before bed, and still felt groggy when I got up - getting out of bed was a bit of a chore. If I didn’t have to go box up food for my meals on shift, I probably wouldn’t have gotten up at all. At the end of five rounds my performance didn’t feel appreciably better or worse from when I started, which I chalk up to the flexeril. Went ahead and called it a day, drank my protein shake and went back to bed for a nap before shift. Woke up from that feeling much better, like I had finally metabolized the rest of what was left in my system.
1 Like
02 July 2018
Built For Battle
Day 3
Front Squat - 3 x 185/225/275/ /5 x 315/4 x 325/3 x 345/
Bench - 3 x 135/185/225/ /5 x 255/3 x 270/XXX
Rack SGHP - 3 x 165/175/185/ /5 x 195/4 x 205/XXX
Wtd Pullup - 3 x BW/40/50/ /5 x 60/4 x 70/XXX
OHP - 5 x 75/3 x 95/115/ /5 x 135/4 x 140/XXX
As you can probably see, the percentages today are a bit higher than earlier in the week. If you look at the BFBattle schedule, this is where using your 3RM weights plays out - on round 3 of the circuits, you will be using 100% of your 3RM. Each of the next rounds go up another 5%, pushing your weights closer to 1RM territory.
I definitely felt the difference in weight, but was still getting my reps. Then I did something to my right shoulder. But here’s the really stupid part - it didn’t happen during the circuit. Between the 5-rep and 4-rep rounds, while I was moving plates, adding weight for the next round, I felt a stabbing pain in the front of my right shoulder. Took a few seconds to try and work it out, seemed to go away for the most part. I’ve gotten those odd pains in the past where I just ‘moved wrong’ I guess, because I’d get the pain then it would go away and I’d be able to keep working. Not tonight. Did my front squats, took my rest, started bench and the first two reps were fine. Third rep the pain came back full force, and I no shit did a paused-on-the-chest rep with 270. Got it back to lockout and ended the set, racking the weight. Got up, moved the arm around, pain subsided somewhat so I tentatively moved forward (finishing that circuit). High pulls were no issue, and neither were pullups or OHP. Pain seemed to go away again, so I added weight again with the intention of dropping bench for the remainder while moving on.
Started the circuit, got my front squats done (3 x 345) and moved to SGHP. Very first rep, stabbing pain in the shoulder again and this time it didn’t go away. Stopped there and took a minute or two to catch my breath. Pain seemed to subside again, then came back as soon as I started unloading bars. And let me tell you, that was fun - trying to put away over 1000 lbs of weights while favoring your dominant arm.
Got it all done though, feeling pretty pissed that this happened and especially how it happened. Went and saw our doc, at this point he had to ice it for a while before I could move it comfortably enough for him to check it. No imagery obviously, but the fact that I can go overhead pain free tends to point away from a torn labrum. He suspects it is a sprained rotator, and I am hoping that is all it is. Went and took my nap before shift, and when I got in the shower had even more fun finding angles at which I could move my arm without it hurting too much. Took a celebrex, a 500mg naproxen, and about a gram of turmeric with bioperine when I ate and holy shit that stuff works. I have been virtually pain free for the better part of two hours, and only felt it (a little) when I was changing my laundry around. I have never had NSAIDs work this well in my entire life. (waited so long to take it because doc told me to take the naproxen with food)
So, looks like I’ll have to take a few days off from the gym - as much as I hate doing that. But anything I would do will require the shoulder (at least to some extent), so it looks like nothing aside from some movement to maintain ROM.
This sucks.
1 Like