Soldog's Training

For me, supinated pull ups (palms facing each other) are easier on my shoulder. The problem is finding a place to do pullups where the bars are right for that.

When my shoulder was at its worst, weird things would make it start hurting. A big part of the problem was sleeping with my arm above my head. For a long time, I had to make an effort to sleep with my arms down by my side. Like you, I’d sometimes have real bad pain while driving and it was hard to find a comfortable position.

I found that it was less painful for me to do a supinated DB bench where I benched with dumbells with my palms facing each other. For a long time, I couldn’t bench at all. It took an even longer time before I could do overhead lifts and I found that Arnold Presses were the easist to start with.

Personally, I stayed away from dips for years because they hurt too much. I still don’t do them very often.

The things that helped me most were ART and deep tissue massage. I declined to have surgery but I did get a cortizone injection into one shoulder. It didn’t really help. It stopped one part of my shoulder from hurting but there were other parts hurting and suddenly they were the new focus. So the pain just shifted around a little bit.

Keep up the good work and be sure to listen to what your body is telling you.

Hope you had a good time on the slopes.

I was thinking along the same lines as skidmark on the squats. I have to have enough weight to get me into the right position. With me it may be a flexibiity issue.

As for the shoulder I went through the coritzone injects back in the military. For me, it masked the pain and I ended up doing more overall damage than good. The injects were after they’d sewed up a lot of my left shoulder/delt and I’d formed a lot of internal scar tissue.

Thanks for the comments guys. I’ll take your suggestions to keep my squat weight where it is until my form/balance stabilizes. Hel,On the flexibility question, I don’t believe that is an issue for me. I can do a full ATG body weight squat and comfortably sit there in the squat.

Pencil Neck - funny you should mention sleeping position affecting your shoulder. For years, I’ve had pain from sleeping on my right side with weight on that shoulder. This seems to be getting better these days with the weight training increasing my strength and probably joint stability. I starting to believe that my problems arise from being “The Computer Guy” and getting little if no exercise for years.

I’ll try the dips again this afternoon to see if that nerve sensation happens again and maybe shift to bench or chair dips to reduce the weight.

Karate night last night. Started with half an hour of stretching & Kata for warm up and then went straight to an hour of continuous sparring, round-robin style. Lots-o-fun, esp. when sparring with Sensei. That’s when the reactions really get tested. It’s also good to see the teenagers starting to get a clue about taking a hit without acting like you killed them.

My heavy weight Gi was soaked by the end of the session.

Nice work Soldog. That shoulder pain is very persistant, the only thing I find that gives me relief is a heating pad at night when I’m relaxing in front of the tube, oh, and plenty of ibuprofen. Doc told me to stop doing those things that are causing the pain, but that’s not going to happen.

[quote]daddyzombie wrote:
Nice work Soldog. That shoulder pain is very persistant, the only thing I find that gives me relief is a heating pad at night when I’m relaxing in front of the tube, oh, and plenty of ibuprofen. Doc told me to stop doing those things that are causing the pain, but that’s not going to happen.[/quote]

Thanks DZ

Yeah - “Hey Doc - It hurts when I do this… Well don’t do that!” Real helpful. But yeah we can be sensible. Unfortunately one of the things that causes problems is sleeping on the shoulder the wrong way. How the hell do you change that?

Sparring nights at Karate are always fun - especially since much of the skill from 20 years ago is returning…

I sleep on my back alot with a pillow on each side.I find that helps with the shoulder problems.I also use the heating pad and lots of ibuprofen.

[quote]Jimmy T wrote:
I sleep on my back alot with a pillow on each side.I find that helps with the shoulder problems.I also use the heating pad and lots of ibuprofen.[/quote]

Thanks Jimmy - only problem is that when I sleep on my back I snore and when I snore I get kicked or I wake my self up. So, I don’t sleep on my back. Heating pads help as well as long hot showers. I gotta watch the ibuprofen so I save that for when I really need it.

Still feeling the effects of Sunday’s training. And I bet I’ll feel it even more tomorrow…

Pre-WO 191.5

Warm up: Mobility Complex - DOMS seemed to go away once I warmed up.

Full Back squats: 155lbs 3X10
Kept it at 155, widened the stance a bit, now I need to work on my confidence.

DB Straight leg/back dead lift: 175lbs 10/10/8
went up 20 lbs, grip strength limited this one and I did something to my right wrist on that last set.

Single leg calf raise (Smith machine): 100lbs 3x10
Kept the weight, worked on ROM.

Pull ups (wide grip): 5/3/2 assisted
Really feeling these down my back. Much moreso than the bent over rows.

DB upright row: 25lbs 3x10
Working that shoulder some.

DB bench press; 45lbs 3x10
Struggled on the last set. actually starting to feel it in the chest instead of only the arms.

DB shoulder press: 22.5lbs 10/10/9
getting there on the last set

DB Hammer curl: 22.5lbs 10/10/9
went to a hammer to help keep the elbows in, and it made that last set harder. left arm gave out early, barely got 9 with rest pauses.

Assisted Dips: 6/5/3
no electric nerve tingle today, just a very slight twinge at the end, could feel it in the shoulder some.

Leg/hip raise: 20lbs 10/10/7

55 minutes and 565 cals

35 minutes on the bike doing cardio heart rate @ 139
total of 1028 cals burned

.9 liters of H2O consumed during workout

Post WO weight 189.5lbs

[quote]soldog wrote:
Still feeling the effects of Sunday’s training. And I bet I’ll feel it even more tomorrow…

Pre-WO 191.5

Warm up: Mobility Complex - DOMS seemed to go away once I warmed up.
[/quote]

yup - the warm up always seems to ease the DOMS

Passion may win the battle, but patience wins the war. Keep it up!

With any deadlift, I heard it recommended that one set the weight down and then reset for the next pull. Bouncing the weight off the floor only leads to tears (teers, not tares). Can always use mixed grip, too when it gets heavy. If you’re not bouncing, then I’ll beg your pardon.

wish I could do that much…

It’s a better stretch in pullups and the shoulder blades get pinched back to stabilize, whereas they can rotate out/forward in the bent row.

yeah, they just poop out at the end of the set.

good news, that!

Nice session Soldog!

Thanks Skidmark

About your comment on the deadlifts - these are straight leg & straight back lifts. start upright and lower the bar until you get a stretch in you hamstrings & glutes then raise back to standing. So it is a continuous hold, which is why my grip gave out. Turns out I also messed up my right wrist - strained a ligament or something.

Good workouts, Soldog!
On the squats, without seeing a video of you doing a squat set, it is more difficult to diagnose where a problem could lie. Here is a demonstration of a ‘correct’ squat Barbell Back Squat - YouTube
Also, it sounds like you’re doing a Romainian Dead Lift (RDL), here’s a video of a RDL http://media.staleytraining.com/rdl.MPG
You haven’t mentioned whether you supplement much, but if I might suggest for a least post-workout, to take some amino acids(these will REALLY help with muscle recovery and soreness), and a dose of protein with some carbs and fats to help build the muscles(I generally just have a protein shake since it’s quick and easy).

As a side note, do you have a digital camera with a movie mode built in to it? (If you’re not sure, ask a kid. LOL!)
If you do, have someone video your squat, or just set it on a bench and video it, and then set up a youtube account (it’s free) or a similar image hosting site of your preference (I use both youtube and photobucket) and post your squats, or DL’s (or whatever crazy antics you want) here so your form/technique can be assessed. That’s also a good way to record a PR, since it’s been said “If it ain’t on video, it didn’t happen!” LOL! (Nope, no PR’s for me…)
All in all, w/o’s are looking great!
:cheers:

[quote]Mr. X wrote:
Good workouts, Soldog!
[/quote]
Thanks!

Yep - that’s what I have in mind when I’m doing squats. I suspect that since I’m such a beginner, I just need time to work out my balance and confidence.

And again: Yep - that’s what I’m doing. My grip needs to improve to really do 3x10 and go up in weight.

I don’t supplement right now. But since I work out after work, I do eat a high protein meal within an hour after finishing. For example: last night I had around 6 oz of beef roast when I got home.

[quote]

As a side note, do you have a digital camera with a movie mode built in to it? (If you’re not sure, ask a kid. LOL!)
If you do, have someone video your squat, or just set it on a bench and video it, and then set up a youtube account (it’s free) or a similar image hosting site of your preference (I use both youtube and photobucket) and post your squats, or DL’s (or whatever crazy antics you want) here so your form/technique can be assessed. That’s also a good way to record a PR, since it’s been said “If it ain’t on video, it didn’t happen!” LOL! (Nope, no PR’s for me…)
All in all, w/o’s are looking great!
:cheers:[/quote]

My digital camera is around 7 years old and no it doesn’t have video capability. A new camera is on the horizon I just need to get one of those “round tuits”.

As far as PR’s go, once again I’m so new to lifting that any time I go up in weight it is a new PR for any number of reps you choose. My joints and tendons aren’t up to attempting 1 rm’s just yet.

Thanks for the comments!

Karate last night: only 4 of us in class, worked on advanced moving punch techniques. Just a light workout which was good for me because I was beat all day yesterday. Still not feeling up to snuff and the kids were feeling the same this morning. Maybe we are all working on something.

Actually ended up feeling pretty good today - maybe because I ate more during the day before the session.

Pre-WO 192

Warm up: Mobility Complex

Full Back squats: 135lbs 3X10
Decided to drop the weight to be sure I’m getting full ROM and work the form. Sure enough I need to work this weight for a few sessions.

DB Straight leg/back dead lift: 175lbs 10/10/10
No probs with the wrist or holding on to the bar this time. 3x10 actually went by too easily. Add some weight next time.

Single leg calf raise (Smith machine): 100lbs 3x10
Still kept the weight because I noticed my upward extension suffers towards the end.

Pull ups (wide grip): 6/4/3 assisted
It will be a while before these go by unassisted.

DB upright row: 27.5lbs 3x10
Felt good at the higher weight. Will keep this weight for my next session then go up.

DB bench press; 45lbs 10/10/10
Need go up again.

DB shoulder press: 22.5lbs 10/10/10
One more session here and then go to 25’s

DB Hammer curl: 22.5lbs 10/10/10
Barely got that last one with the left arm.

Assisted Dips: 7/5/4
Minimal assit on the first set.

Leg/hip raise: 20lbs 10/10/10

Added some addition core work

65 minutes and 641cals

30 minutes on the bike doing cardio heart rate @ 139
total of 1037 cals burned

1 liter of H2O consumed during workout

Post WO weight 190.25lbs

[quote]soldog wrote:
Actually ended up feeling pretty good today - maybe because I ate more during the day before the session.

[/quote]

How long before your workout did you eat? It’s probably against most of the common wisdom but I can’t stand to lift if I’ve eaten recently. Don’t feel weaker from it but maybe I just don’t realize I am. Generally been 6-7 hours since my last meal when I lift.

I think you’re getting to that point where your body is getting use to the movements and your weights will start to move up.

[quote]hel320 wrote:

How long before your workout did you eat? It’s probably against most of the common wisdom but I can’t stand to lift if I’ve eaten recently. Don’t feel weaker from it but maybe I just don’t realize I am. Generally been 6-7 hours since my last meal when I lift.

I think you’re getting to that point where your body is getting use to the movements and your weights will start to move up. [/quote]

It was about 2 hours prior to working out when I had a last little snack.

I can feel the movements settling in with the exception of the squats - which is why I dropped back a bit in weight.

So I went on little ride around the neighborhood today and this is what the elevation plot looked like. The GPS hadn’t converged when I started which is why the start and end altitudes are no the same. Total distance 10.8 miles and about 75 minutes.

I’d be seeing spots on the ambulance ceiling if I tried that at that altitude. I’m a sea-level guy with no wind.

Nice ride, that. Mashing the pedals at times? surmounting a 600 foot change in 1 mile - twice - is no mean feat in my book.

I used to live in Co when i was a kid. I love the state. You are a lucky man bro!

Oh and nice pics, you can seriously build on that frame!