Friday 2020-11-20
A1. Bench 10xbar, 8x45, 6x60, 6x65, 4x70, 4x75, 1x80, 6x72, 5x72, 6x72
A2. Pull-ups/Chin-ups 50 total
B1. Log Press 4x8x log + 10
B2. BB Row 4x12x60
4 circuits of
C1. Push-ups AMRAP (two mechanical dropsets)
C2. Reverse EZ-bar curl bar + 5kg, ~12-15 reps
C3. Face-pulls tons
Today was an odd day. And highlights the downsides to having training be at around dinner time. It gives one, me, a lot of time to think before the workout and sometimes this is not a good thing.
Yesterday was a rest day, today I woke up with a familiar pain in my shoulder. Odd, as I did nothing yesterday that ought to have aggravated it. Usually, my shoulder has resigned to not troubling me in my day to day (it used to) and only really hates on me during flat benching and dips.
This had me thinking that I’m somewhat done with carrying around low levels of pain here and there. Obviously, it won’t go away instantaneously but I had thought, before my session, that I was going to swap flat benching for incline for a while. Maybe permanently. With the goal of finding a set of exercises for my entire body that makes it feel as if I’m building my body and feeling better.
I’ve been referring people to my PT and I know he doesn’t have any available slots right now. I’ll revisit my old rehab for the shoulder, as much of it as I can remember, and have at that for until after the new year. If it gets better then I won’t have to schedule an appointment with him. I know my shoulder problem is related a bit to inward rotation of the shoulder and not having the strongest rear delts and a trapezius that’s a bit lazy.
This “resignation” had me feel somewhat unmotivated with training at the moment so my plan was to just keep showing up and putting in the work but I acknowledge that having some long-term consistency would be smart but at least I’m showing up and plugging away on something which would be better than nothing. To be fair, I was already somewhat unmotivated. Far more motivated with climbing right now. A few months prior it was the opposite (pulley strain).
So my “plan” going in was inspired by a sentiment I read long ago, and had saved, which was this:
And I had picked out a routine to follow that would have me doing just that
I’ve had previous experiments with similar training (Meadows inspired) and didn’t fare super-well on it. I know that I like the ramping that I’ve been doing. I like what double progression brings out of me. When I was doing FT, I loved the muscle rounds, when I did today’s session I can’t even bring myself to do 4 sets of plain push-ups, after 2 I was starting to do mechanical drop-sets. That’s just how I’m wired, I do the same climbing. Not going into full-throttle is just… it’s not how I like to train >_< And training that way, as per the above, just… doesn’t allow that to come to light. Maybe that’s a good thing but…
Anyway, walking into the gym I was going to do something chesty and something shoulder-y (above). And start that program on Monday. And, for some reason, when Marilyn Manson came on in my headphones I thought “I can do some flat benching today, just to figure out more about what is the rub with my shoulder if that’s all I pay attention to”. And benching was pain-free (dips were not). Will not decide on any path until I get some bio-feedback tomorrow.
Rationally, cost-benefit/risk-analysis wise that PPL-split is probably money. However, lifting is my hobby and I’d much rather do it in a way that eggs me on if I can.