All Eyez On Me 2.0

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK2D3 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W1D2

Bench Press PFOR, all reps paused
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3

Deadlifts knee sleeves
135 x 5
225 x 4
315 x 3
380 x 4
Put on belt
440 x 3
470 x 2
470 x 2 @ 7
410 x 4

Beltless Deficit Deadlift knee sleeves
380 x 4
380 x 4 @ 7

Leg Press
200 x 10
380 x 10
380 x 10

Hammer Strength Low Rows super strict, pause at contraction
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10

Rear Delt Cable Crossovers super strict, pause at contraction
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

YWTLs no weight
4 sets of 20

Notes

Well the strain in my teres minor area has substantially subsided, but is still apparent. Probably at about 75% right now, but got through all the deadlift work without much issue.

Still keeping the upper back assistance work super light because of the strain, and treating it more like rehab work than hypertrophy work just to get blood flowing in the area to aid in recovery. I think doing all the YWTLs has definitely helped.

First time trying out the leg press since straining my lateral hamstring tendons and taking time off deadlifting. I initially was scared that the movement might cause the strain to resurface and was hesitant to do it - but after having no problems on the deadlifts I decided to give it a go and it seemed fine. I've realized that my posterior leg development has definitely overtaken my anterior leg development due to specializing in the deadlift and neglecting squats, and unfortunately leg extensions alone aren't going to be enough to bring up my quads... So adding in the leg press and upping the poundages should hopefully help in restoring some overall muscular balance to my legs.

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK3D1 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W2D1

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
135 x 10
205 x 5
245 x 4
295 x 3
335 x 2
335 x 2
335 x 2
335 x 2

Deadlift knee sleeves
135 x 5
225 x 4
315 x 3
365 x 4 straps
425 x 3
455 x 3
Add belt
455 x 3
455 x 3
395 x 4 straps
395 x 4 straps
395 x 4 straps

Deadlift W/ 100lbs Chains
425 x 1 (vid)
425 x 1
425 x 1
425 x 1 (vid)





Hamstring Curls
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10

Hammer Strength Low Rows super strict, pause at contraction
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10

Rear Delt Cable Crossovers super strict, pause at contraction
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

Notes

Teres Minor Strain

Tonight the previously strained area was back to about 90%. I barely felt it on my bench and DL work, so that is good news and it seems like doing the rehab work like YTWLs has helped. Still, I kept the upper back accessory work light tonight as a precautionary measure, and probably will for my 2nd DL session this week, but will start adding more weight again next week once I feel like the teres minor area is back to 100%. Was planning on doing the YWTLs this session again but forgot

Using Straps on DLs

I've kinda decided that when I'm DLing I'll pull anything that is 4+ reps with straps, and anything under 4 without. The reasoning being:

1) that there is definitely documented evidence out there that pulling with a mixed grip long term does cause some muscular asymmetry and imbalance

2) the fact that I've never had grip issues when I deadlift so I don't see grip as being an issue

3) saving my hands from getting too beat up from the 2x/week frequency. In the past I've tried exclusively doing no straps but my callouses always rip open within a couple weeks, then I have to tape them up and use straps just to be able to pull at all, and it takes them forever to heal. Doing 3 reps or less without the straps seems like a good compromise so when I am hitting the heavier weights I'm doing them without straps so my grip does get some practice, without having to worry about fuking my hands up too much.

Beltless Deadlifts

In the past I used to always put my belt on once I hit four plates or more. Since hearing my dad talk with the doc about acid reflux and eso****eal cancer, and the fact that when I do belted deadlifts I often get acid reflux, that's kinda scared me...

Because of this I've been trying to do more and more pulls without the belt (as well as employing other strategies to combat the acid reflux).

I think every week I'll try and add in an extra set or so without the belt to slowly build up my tolerance to hitting heavier weights without the belt - but the key will be to walk the fence of not getting my lower back too fatigued that then my "main" work sets with the belt suffer.

Like last week I did my back off sets of 385 without the belt - but I also skipped doing the deadlift with chains that day so I didn't need to "save" my lower back for the heavier sets. Tonight I had the 4 sets of deadlifts with chains after the regular pulls, so because I hit the 425 and first 455 set beltless and my lower back was pretty taxed after, I decided to use a belt on my backoff sets knowing that I still had the deadlift with chains work to do.

Deadlift Feet Positioning

Awhile back a buddy of mine at the gym noted that when he watched me pull, that my feet were "rolling out." He prescribed that I turn my feet out a bit more, which I tried, and he observed that my feet didn't roll out nearly as much.

Well, deadlifting with my feet pointed slightly pointed out is also when I ended up with the lateral hamstring injury, so since returning to deadlifting I've reverted back to my "feet forward" stance due to superstition (not sure if there's any science of why toes pointed outwards might have contributed to the lateral hamstring injury).

Tonight I took my first video of my pulling since coming back to DLs, and watching the clips I can see my left foot (right on the screen) rolling out a bit mainly during the 2nd half of the lift. Not sure if this is something I need to take note of or if it is detrimental to my DL in anyway, but I thought it was worth pointing out. I do have pretty flat, wide feet so I wonder if it's just a function of the shape of my foot or what...

Bench Press Frequency

So I started the Sheiko app's "advanced" programs for benching 2 months ago. These programs all have you benching four days a week, which I did in the first prep cycle.

On the 2nd prep cycle which I'm currently on almost all of the fourth day's benching is incline bench with no prescribed weight, just prescribed rep schemes. Since injuring my teres minor area I've just skipped this fourth day so far since I think doing the press at an incline would potentially further strain the injured area. This 3rd week also has incline bench for the 4th day, and I plan on skipping that as well - but for the 4th week the 4th day of pressing goes back to flat bench so I'll likely resume the 4x/week frequency again starting then.

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK3D2

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 2
315 x 2
315 x 2
315 x 2

Seated Cable Flyes 1 minute rest time
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 10

Front DB Raises 1 minute rest time
25's x 12
25's x 12
25's x 12
25's x 12
25's x 12

DB Lateral Raises 1 minute rest time
20's x 10
20's x 10
20's x 10
20's x 10
20's x 10

Band Face Pulls EFS medium orange band. 1 minute rest time.
15
15
15
15
15

Seated Preacher Curl Machine 30 sec rest times
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

Band Pressdowns EFS medium orange band. 1 minute rest time
20
20
20
20
20

Incline Bench Prone YWTLs 1 minute rest time
20 x 4 sets

Notes

Very efficient session time-wise.

I normally split my upper body accessory work up into two different days (chest/arms and shoulders), but since I've only been benching 3x/week for the last couple weeks and I'm also DLing and doing lower body accessory two of those days, I've just been doing it all in one session.

Once the bench frequency returns to 4x/week I'll split it up into two days again.

[fittofattofit]

First time trying out the leg press since straining my lateral hamstring tendons and taking time off deadlifting. I initially was scared that the movement might cause the strain to resurface and was hesitant to do it - but after having no problems on the deadlifts I decided to give it a go and it seemed fine. I've realized that my posterior leg development has definitely overtaken my anterior leg development due to specializing in the deadlift and neglecting squats, and unfortunately leg extensions alone aren't going to be enough to bring up my quads... So adding in the leg press and upping the poundages should hopefully help in restoring some overall muscular balance to my legs.

Most bodybuilders have very weak posterior leg development and favour their quads, so having big hams and glutes is good. You certainly don't look as though your quads are lacking, although I know that you want balanced strength to enable your lifts to progress. It's good that the knee pain is settling and that the Teres is almost cured
Benching is going great and those deadlifts with chains were super speedy
Straps on and belt off for as long as possible sounds good ... I understand your reasoning
I had to look hard but I noticed you rolling out your left foot during the deads. It's very slight and I don't know that it makes any difference

[adamsz]

Most bodybuilders have very weak posterior leg development and favour their quads, so having big hams and glutes is good. You certainly don't look as though your quads are lacking, although I know that you want balanced strength to enable your lifts to progress. It's good that the knee pain is settling and that the Teres is almost cured
Benching is going great and those deadlifts with chains were super speedy
Straps on and belt off for as long as possible sounds good ... I understand your reasoning
I had to look hard but I noticed you rolling out your left foot during the deads. It's very slight and I don't know that it makes any difference

I think after my next meet I'm going to throw front squats back in the rotation to help with the quad development. Plus, last time I did them consistently they didn't seem to put nearly as much strain on my hips as back squatting did, so it could be a good primer for transitioning back to back squats as well since the movement is very similar.

Last time I was doing front squats consistently I was in the 210-230 range though, so I wonder if I can even get into a front rack position anymore lol...

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK3D3 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W2D2

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
300 x 3
300 x 3
300 x 3
300 x 3
300 x 3

Deadlifts knee sleeves
135 x 5
225 x 4
315 x 3
395 x 4
Add belt
455 x 3
Add straps because callous was tearing
485 x 2
485 x 2
425 x 4
425 x 4

1.75" Deficit Deadlifts beltless, took off the straps as well
395 x 3
395 x 3

Leg Press
400 x 10
400 x 10
400 x 10

Hammer Strength Low Row
180 x 10
180 x 10
180 x 10
180 x 10

Cybex Row pronated Grip
100 x 10
100 x 10
100 x 10
100 x 10
100 x 10

YWTLs no weight
3 x 20

Notes

Doing this workout 2 days late... One of my best friends birthdays was on Friday, and I haven't been sleeping well at all the last 2 days so the workout got pushed back unfortunately. Planning on resuming the normal benching schedule tomorrow (Monday), and will do deads on Wednesday and Saturday this week, then Tuesday/Friday the following week, and then back to Monday/Friday the third week hopefully. Damn you insomnia!!!

Could still feel some strain in the left teres minor area this session, so that's annoying... Not enough to hold me back, but I thought it should be gone by now... if it doesn't resolve itself in the next few weeks I might have to schedule some deep tissue work to see if that helps.

First time adding some weight back on the rowing exercises since straining the teres minor. Felt fine. Only really felt the strain when I was deadlifting for the most part.

[fittofattofit]

I think after my next meet I'm going to throw front squats back in the rotation to help with the quad development. Plus, last time I did them consistently they didn't seem to put nearly as much strain on my hips as back squatting did, so it could be a good primer for transitioning back to back squats as well since the movement is very similar.

Front squats tend to mimic a high bar squat position so maybe that's where you should focus on any move back to squatting. Your back squats are normally very much low bar PL style and that is going to throw more strain onto the hip, so working on a high bar squat may not feel s strong as going low bar but it may keep your hip feeling sweet

Last time I was doing front squats consistently I was in the 210-230 range though, so I wonder if I can even get into a front rack position anymore lol...

Bigger titties to rest the bar on

Deadlift numbers are looking good Zack and nice that you were able to row without aggravating the teres even if the heavy deads did tweak a bit

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK4D1

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
295 x 2
295 x 2
295 x 2

Band Face Pulls EFS Orange medium band
15
15
15
15
15

Alt DB Hammer Curls
35's x 10/10
35's x 10/10
35's x 10/10
35's x 10/10
35's x 10/10

Hyperextensions
15
15
15
15

Notes

The Sheiko app has me working up to 365 - 380 - 405 on bench press next session, so this was a very light and quick session.

The next session is about exactly half way through the 4-month advanced small load training cycle. I imagine they have you working up to 105% so you can enter a new max into the app, which will raise the numbers for the remaining two months of the training cycle before competition.

However, I'm skipping the last 1-month competition block and having my coach write the peaking block since he did so well doing the same thing running into my last competition - so I'd guess working up to 105% isn't really necessary considering that. We'll see what I end up doing though.

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK4D2 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W3D1

Bench Press PFOR, all reps paused
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
315 x 1
345 x 1
365 x 1 - slight misgroove, made the rep harder than it should have been (vid)
390 x 1 (5lb PR)(vid)
400 x 1 (15lb PR)(vid)







Belt Squat Machine
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10

Leg Press
340 x 10
340 x 10
340 x 10

Hamstring Curls
180 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10

Hammer Strength Low Row super strict form, pause at contraction
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10

Rear Delt Cable Crossovers super strict form, pause at contraction
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

YWTLs no weight
3 x 20

Notes

Man, what a strange session.

Bench Press

I didn't think anyone was gonna be in the gym tonight, so I wasn't planning on going past 365 because of having no spotter. The programming called for 365 - 380 - 405. Since my buddy was there I was like alright I'll try 390 for a modest 5lb PR and see what happens. After that set he was like dude you have to do 405, with the speed on that 390 there's no doubt. I decided to compromise with 400 because I didn't wanna take the chance of failing a rep, especially considering normal bench programming resumes on Friday... I think I could done 405 had I gone 365 - 380 - 405 as called for.

Definitely was very surprised to get 400, considering I hit 385 with my close grip two months ago at the conclusion of that three-month training cycle (where I used close grip exclusively because of a pec strain). I guess the discrepancy must be explained by having moved my grip out a bit which gives me more power.

Also after considerable trial and error, it seems as though pinky fingers on the rings is as far out as I can go without pissing off my pec. Sucks because I definitely felt the most powerful with max legal grip, but I can't consistently train with that without getting a severe pec strain, especially while running Sheiko (Which I like because it has always given me small, consistent gains). Oh well, PFOR it is I guess.

Hitting the 400 definitely built some confidence for how I'll perform in the next meet. My goal for the meet was to go over 400lbs, which would 402 in the kilo equivalent. I was starting to have some doubt about that because I don't feel any "stronger" right now compared to how I felt running into my last meet where I benched 380. I guess your body deceives you though, because that clearly isn't the case as illustrated tonight. I think 402 is DEFINITELY manageable, and given a proper peak I think 407 at a minimum will happen.

Deadlifts

Last DL session my teres minor - or whatever rotator cuff muscle it is - was the most pissed off it's been in awhile. I really want this issue to get resolved so I subbed out the actual deadlifts tonight for the belt squats and leg presses, as well as going super light again on the rows and rear delt cable crossovers. Surprisingly I didn't feel anything really off while benching, but I can tell that it would have definitely felt pissed off had I done deadlifts. Think I'll skip the pulls and substitute something else in for another week or so and see if that resolves it.

[fittofattofit]

Awesome benching for 2 PRs tonight Zack! The 365 just flew up ... and the 400 looked very easy. Amazing to think you can press that so easily and I can't even pull it
I'm sure you had the 405 and probably 410

[adamsz]

Awesome benching for 2 PRs tonight Zack! The 365 just flew up ... and the 400 looked very easy. Amazing to think you can press that so easily and I can't even pull it
I'm sure you had the 405 and probably 410

Thanks Andrew! Definitely surprised myself there, and feels good knowing more I have some in the tank to spare as well. Hopefully will get around 407 at the meet.

You say I can press it so easily yet you can't even pull it... the flip side is I can barely squat it! lmao!

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle III Wk1D1 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W3D1 (redo)

Bench Press PFOR, all reps paused
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
320 x 2
320 x 2
320 x 2
320 x 2

Deadlifts no straps
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
380 x 4
440 x 3
add belt
470 x 3
470 x 3
470 x 3
470 x 3
440 x 4
440 + 100lbs chains x 1 (vid)
440 + 100lbs chains x 1
440 + 100lbs chains x 1
440 + 100lbs chains x 1





Hamstring Curls
195 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10
195 x 10

Band Face Pulls EFS red light band
20
20
20
20
20

YWTLs
20
20
20

Notes

Ended up skipping my Friday session last week since I did work up to a new 1RM on bench on Wednesday, so thought it would be wise to let my body rest given my strained rotator cuff.

My coach pointed out on the 440 with chains video that I was starting with a high hip position. I'm not sure if this how high I normally start and am just not aware of it because I usually take video head on, or if it was from taking a week off DLing, or what. I'll have to keep on eye on my starting hip position.

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle III Wk1D2

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 4
295 x 3
315 x 2
315 x 2
350 x 1
350 x 1
300 x 3
260 x 5
225 x 7

Seated Cable Flyes
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 12
70 x 12
70 x 10

Front DB Raises
25's x 12
20's x 15
20's x 12
20's x 10

DB Lateral Raises
12's x 15
12's x 15
12's x 15
12's x 15

Rear Delt Cable Crossovers
40 x 14
40 x 12
40 x 12
40 x 12

Preacher Curl Machine 30 sec rest times
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 10

Band Pressdowns EFS medium orange band
20
20
20
20
20

Notes

Pretty crappy workout overall, just didn't have much energy for whatever reason. Was also pretty chatty with friends so it ended up taking a lot longer than normal.

Been a few weeks since I've done my full upper body accessory day because I worked up to a 1RM last week and thus skipped my normal upper body accessory work that day.

Went pretty light on the shoulder movements since I'm still kinda playing it safe regarding my strained rotator cuff muscle on my left side. Strangely doing the DB lateral raises this session started making something in my RIGHT shoulder girdle feeling kinda strained... fuuuuu. Hopefully it's nothing, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.

[adamsz]

Sheiko Advanced Small Load Prep Cycle II WK1D3 + Senn Deadlift Program Macro Cycle III W3D2 (RE-DO)

Bench Press PFOR. All reps paused.
185 x 5
225 x 4
275 x 3
300 x 2
300 x 2
300 x 2
300 x 2
300 x 2

Deadlifts no straps
135 x 5
225 x 4
315 x 3
410 x 4
add belt
470 x 3
495 x 2 (vid)
495 x 2
495 x 2 (vid)
440 x 4
440 x 4





Beltless 1.75" Deficit Deadlifts no straps
410 x 3
410 x 3

Leg Press
380 x 10
380 x 10
380 x 10
380 x 10

Hammer Strength Low Row
180 x 10
180 x 10
180 x 10
180 x 10
180 x 10

Band Face Pulls EFS Orange Medium Band
10
10
10
10
10

Notes

The strain in one of my left rotator cuff muscles is still noticable, but not getting worse thankfully as of right now. It seems like as long as I do ALL my deadlift sets with a mixed grip (underhand on the bad side) it keeps it in check. I also added a bit more weight to my rows this week for the first time in weeks and it didn't seem to make it worse, so that's good news. Hopefully I'm able to just keep it at bay throughout the remainder of this comp prep.

I was pretty surprised at how challenging 4 sets of just a mere 380 on leg press was. Definitely shows my quads are lacking and need to be worked out more - and leg extensions alone just aren't gonna cut it.

[fittofattofit]

Thanks Andrew! Definitely surprised myself there, and feels good knowing more I have some in the tank to spare as well. Hopefully will get around 407 at the meet.

You say I can press it so easily yet you can't even pull it... the flip side is I can barely squat it! lmao!

Benching 4pps is �ber-cool though
I'd be happy with 2pps now although I'm not getting any traction. I still harbour 4pps ambitions for misquotes though

Ended up skipping my Friday session last week since I did work up to a new 1RM on bench on Wednesday, so thought it would be wise to let my body rest given my strained rotator cuff.

My coach pointed out on the 440 with chains video that I was starting with a high hip position. I'm not sure if this how high I normally start and am just not aware of it because I usually take video head on, or if it was from taking a week off DLing, or what. I'll have to keep on eye on my starting hip position.

I saw your deads come up in my youtube feed earlier and I was thinking how easy and effortless they looked. Reading your coach's comment I can see that you start reasonably high but there's no wasted energy or jerking and the pulls are all very smooth .... I think it's more that you are glute rather than quad dominant and don't use much leg drive in your deadlift. I suspect that's just a function of the fact that you've had to back off on the squats and you're making use of strong glutes and hams

[phal]

Grats on the bench pr man, 405 is there for the taking. 495 singles looked fast as well. Glad to see you're still going at it. I lurk pretty much just the pl section and your log other than my own haha I figured I'd respond.

[fittofattofit]

Time to update now Zack
I've seen your double and triple deads on you tube and they're all looking easy!

[fittofattofit]

Still looking for an update Zack! I know you're still around

[adamsz]

Well I'm still lifting...

Took Basically all of 2016 off from the gym and came back to training 2017.

Just finished my 2nd real training block this year and ended with a 650 deadlift and 380 bench. Still not doing any barbell squatting unfortunately.

Lifts from the deadlift party today at my gym:

615 DL



650 DL



This is the first time I've ever had my grip fail me on a deadlift. Pretty happy I managed to grind it out and lock it out before it came to that point though:



Definitely the hardest grinder I've ever done. Started blacking out halfway up and through sheer willpower stuck with it. Damn near passed out in the process.


380 bench to conclude the day:



Didn't stay tight enough on 390 and failed halfway up. Unfortunately I had to bench after deadlifting since the gym was packed full of people for the deadlift event, which was definitely less than ideal. Back was pretty shot by that point and pec was mildly strained from the pulling.

Happy with where my deadlifts gotten to, but still chasing that 4 plate bench.

[fittofattofit]

Damn ... I missed this post Zack! And I get notifications from this thread
Beautiful dead at 615. I could see you waver a little half way up on the 650 but that was a killer pull. Great bench as well .... nice when you get a 1030 total off just two lifts
So still no squatting? Have you tried or just not game to risk re-injury?

[adamsz]

Damn ... I missed this post Zack! And I get notifications from this thread
Beautiful dead at 615. I could see you waver a little half way up on the 650 but that was a killer pull. Great bench as well .... nice when you get a 1030 total off just two lifts
So still no squatting? Have you tried or just not game to risk re-injury?

Thanks for the continued support on my journey Andrew! I know I never post in here anymore but I always secretly wish you'll chime in when I do lol.

So pretty bad news since the last post and those deadlift PRs. The following week after that I just did 2 light bodybuilding pump workouts before choosing my next sheiko block to do. The lifts in the last post were the culmination of the Intermediate Medium Load cycle, so I decided to move onto the Intermediate Large Load cycle after that (in 2015 I ran all 3 of the intermediate cycles and the advanced small load cycle for my benching which resulted in the 400lb bench). I upped the deadlift max just 20lbs and my bench max just 15lbs in the app, to 565 and 360 respectively, as Sheiko advices not upping your maxes too fast.

Within a few weeks I started feeling a nagging pain in left shoulder kind of in the rear area, on both bench and deadlifts. Usually it would be worse the next day. As the program progressed it got worse and worse, so I took 2 weeks off, which did nothing. Then I lowered it to just 1 bench day and 1 DL day a week, which didn't make it worse but it also didn't go away. This is over the course of about 3 months.

It's weird because the pain can migrate. Like sometimes it's in the back, sometimes in the front, and sometimes "internal" feeling. Sometimes it's like a dull ache, occasionally it'll be a searing pain, but often the day after I'm lifting. When I'm actually lifting something feels "off," and agitated, but it doesn't hurt too bad. My intuition says it's one of the smaller muscles like a rotater cuff or supraspinatus since it feels more "internal" overall.

I've been incorporating stuff from the Diesel Crew shoulder rehab protocol which has seemed to help get through the sessions, but not fix the underlying problem



Given the duration of time it's persisted coupled with me taking time off, reducing volume, frequency, etc to no avail, I think I need to maybe lay off the deadlifts and bench in the meantime while fully going through the shoulder rehab protocol.

I also just got on a new insurance plan, so I really ought to look into how much it would cost me out of pocket to get an x-ray. Health care is just so damn expensive in the U.S....

Either way it's been a hell of a frustrating three months. Looking back it seems like historically I can really only get away with about 6-9 months of straight PLing training before I get some kind of bad injury. Some food for thought moving forward...

Better news in the next post though!

[adamsz]

Got 445 for a 30lb lifetime PR during my annual squat session. Done with a 55lb buffalo bar.



Apparently only really doing deadlifts for years can drive your squat numbers up, so that's pretty awesome.

Felt I had another 15+lbs in the tank but it felt really awkward to use this bar in the cage because my hands would normally go exactly where the posts are. I warmed up to 375 on the mono which feels much better but had no one to spot and didn't feel safe potentially dumping that much weight on it.

I was the only person in the gym and since I had to use my phone to record, there was no music playing. I'm usually a very zen lifter and try to not psychologically amp myself up at all to hit lifts since I generally lift in the very moderate intensity range, but it's damn hard for me to lift without any music playing lol. Good to know that I don't have to rely on external factors like that though to hit a big lift when it comes down to it.

I'm very curious to see how my body feels tomorrow and the next day. Biggest concern is if this aggravated my already fuked up left shoulder. Next in line would be my left knee, which has mild chronic pain. Not sure what that's from, but my knee clicks and I feel it when I do deadlifts (bearable then) and a lot when I do leg press or belt squat depending on how much I'm pushing it. Seems like the left half of my body is just fuked up in general considering I also have lateral epicondylitis on my left elbow lmao. Not sure wtf that is about, I wonder if I have different limb lengths or some chit. After that is my right groin/adductor which I minorly tore back during my smolov fiasco in 2013, and seems to reemerge whenever I get back to barbell squatting with any kind of regularity. Last is my right hip flexor, which has always been tight since my smolov episode. So if I could somehow manage to not majorly piss off those 4 things I'd love to focus on my squat while rehabbing my shoulder for bench and deadlifts (pipe dream, right?)

[fittofattofit]

Thanks for the continued support on my journey Andrew! I know I never post in here anymore but I always secretly wish you'll chime in when I do lol.

Ha ... well I'm always keen to know how all the old guys are going! I suspect injury is an unavoidable part of heavy training and for me it's just as informative and interesting seeing how people respond to injury, how they rehab and bounce back as it is to see people busting through PRs

So pretty bad news since the last post and those deadlift PRs. The following week after that I just did 2 light bodybuilding pump workouts before choosing my next sheiko block to do. The lifts in the last post were the culmination of the Intermediate Medium Load cycle, so I decided to move onto the Intermediate Large Load cycle after that (in 2015 I ran all 3 of the intermediate cycles and the advanced small load cycle for my benching which resulted in the 400lb bench). I upped the deadlift max just 20lbs and my bench max just 15lbs in the app, to 565 and 360 respectively, as Sheiko advices not upping your maxes too fast.

Within a few weeks I started feeling a nagging pain in left shoulder kind of in the rear area, on both bench and deadlifts. Usually it would be worse the next day. As the program progressed it got worse and worse, so I took 2 weeks off, which did nothing. Then I lowered it to just 1 bench day and 1 DL day a week, which didn't make it worse but it also didn't go away. This is over the course of about 3 months.

It's weird because the pain can migrate. Like sometimes it's in the back, sometimes in the front, and sometimes "internal" feeling. Sometimes it's like a dull ache, occasionally it'll be a searing pain, but often the day after I'm lifting. When I'm actually lifting something feels "off," and agitated, but it doesn't hurt too bad. My intuition says it's one of the smaller muscles like a rotater cuff or supraspinatus since it feels more "internal" overall.

I've been incorporating stuff from the Diesel Crew shoulder rehab protocol which has seemed to help get through the sessions, but not fix the underlying problem

Given the duration of time it's persisted coupled with me taking time off, reducing volume, frequency, etc to no avail, I think I need to maybe lay off the deadlifts and bench in the meantime while fully going through the shoulder rehab protocol.

I also just got on a new insurance plan, so I really ought to look into how much it would cost me out of pocket to get an x-ray. Health care is just so damn expensive in the U.S....

Either way it's been a hell of a frustrating three months. Looking back it seems like historically I can really only get away with about 6-9 months of straight PLing training before I get some kind of bad injury. Some food for thought moving forward...

Better news in the next post though!

I'm sorry to hear about that Zack .. it definitely sounds like a RC problem. Usually an ultrasound will give you the best idea of the nature of any tear or impingement. MRIs are very useful but very expensive. It's worth getting the Ultrasound though as an impingement will mean a different approach to managing a tear. Very cool vid with the rehab protocols btw and backing off from the moves that hurt to focus on the rehab sounds like the way to go ... even though rehab stuff is boring as batsh!t

Got 445 for a 30lb lifetime PR during my annual squat session. Done with a 55lb buffalo bar.



Apparently only really doing deadlifts for years can drive your squat numbers up, so that's pretty awesome.

Felt I had another 15+lbs in the tank but it felt really awkward to use this bar in the cage because my hands would normally go exactly where the posts are. I warmed up to 375 on the mono which feels much better but had no one to spot and didn't feel safe potentially dumping that much weight on it.

That's awesome Zack, and very easy looking squat .... such great mobility and you barely slowed on the drive up! I thought you had way more than 15lbs there and looked like you could have repped that for 3!
Interestingly, I've always had trouble with the deads (and of course my lifts are baby lifts) but my best deads have come after a long break from deads where I've been doing a load of squatting

I was the only person in the gym and since I had to use my phone to record, there was no music playing. I'm usually a very zen lifter and try to not psychologically amp myself up at all to hit lifts since I generally lift in the very moderate intensity range, but it's damn hard for me to lift without any music playing lol. Good to know that I don't have to rely on external factors like that though to hit a big lift when it comes down to it.

I'm very curious to see how my body feels tomorrow and the next day. Biggest concern is if this aggravated my already fuked up left shoulder. Next in line would be my left knee, which has mild chronic pain. Not sure what that's from, but my knee clicks and I feel it when I do deadlifts (bearable then) and a lot when I do leg press or belt squat depending on how much I'm pushing it. Seems like the left half of my body is just fuked up in general considering I also have lateral epicondylitis on my left elbow lmao. Not sure wtf that is about, I wonder if I have different limb lengths or some chit. After that is my right groin/adductor which I minorly tore back during my smolov fiasco in 2013, and seems to reemerge whenever I get back to barbell squatting with any kind of regularity. Last is my right hip flexor, which has always been tight since my smolov episode. So if I could somehow manage to not majorly piss off those 4 things I'd love to focus on my squat while rehabbing my shoulder for bench and deadlifts (pipe dream, right?)

So how did you pull up? Hopefully shoulder and groin/adductor didn't get aggravated by the PR effort.
I suppose the key with the squats will be not to overdo the volume ... doesn't stop you from doing some heavy cable work which will help stabilise the shoulders and keep the back strong while you rehab

[adamsz]

Labrum Tear?

After doing some research, I feel like I might have a SLAP tear or some other kind of tear on my labrum in my left shoulder. I read through some swimming forums of swimmers describing their injury and a lot of what I've experienced has matched up. Particularly often finding that I'm pain free during a workout but then the day after or 2 days later my shoulder feels completely screwed up.

Various websites list these as symptoms:

Pain when moving or keeping the shoulder in specific positions. - definitely in certain movements like lateral or front raises.

Decline in sports performance. - check

Reduced range of motion. - I need to film myself doing some YWTL's or other things that demonstrate ROM. When I do YWTL's I definitely feel like my left shoulder isn't going "as far" as my right on portions of it.

Difficult to identify shoulder pain. Deep, aching shoulder pain is a widely cited SLAP tear symptom, yet it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact location. Pain is commonly felt at the back of the shoulder; if the SLAP tear includes the biceps tendon, pain may be felt at the front of the shoulder. - This is the main reason why I think it might be a SLAP tear, although I'm not sure if this criteria is also found in other forms of shoulder injuries. I remember telling my massage therapist about the injury and them asking me to describe where the pain was. I said well a lot of time it feels like it's in the rear, but then other times it feels like it's migrated across to the front. Sometimes it's just a dull ache throughout most of my shoulder. Very hard to "pin-point."

Locking, popping, clicking or grinding in the shoulder. While these are general complaints that may apply to a variety of shoulder injuries, SLAP tear patients may also cite popping, clicking, grinding or locking sensations in the shoulder. - I've had this for years in both shoulders, but it's substantially worse in my left shoulder. I wonder if I've just slowly frayed the labrum or something related over time.

Shoulder weakness. SLAP tear injuries can cause feelings of unsteadiness, as though the shoulder will “pop out” of its socket. - Never experienced the "pop out" sensation.

Of course this is just self-diagnosis that can't be confirmed without some kind of imaging done. On the swimmers forums they said that it was actually really hard to see SLAP tears when doing most of the common types of imaging though, and that the best way was to inject dye into the shoulder joint and then get an MRI. Either way, the deductible on my health insurance is $7300ish dollars and doesn't cover any of this type of stuff, so I know getting an MRI is definitely out of the picture since I don't have that kind of money laying around. I wonder what something like an ultra sound would cost, and if it would be effective for detecting what might potentially be going on with my left shoulder. Man I hate the American health care system

Squats

So the barbell squats are a no-go as well. I tried two more sessions spaced out over two weeks, and in both I 1) experienced hip flexor area pain just like back in the day, even when doing glute brides in my warmups, and more importantly 2) shoulder pain the following days. So barbell squats are out.

Redefining My Goals for Now

Considering I can't do any of the three powerlifts, I'm simply going to have accept reality and put powerlifting on hold for now. Who knows how long that may last, but as of now it's just not in the cards.

In the past I may have just gotten extremely frustrated (which I am now too, no doubt) and stopped lifting altogether if I wasn't able to pursue powerlifting in some form (being able to do at least 1 of the 3 lifts). Every time thats happened though I've put on significant bodyweight and I really don't want to go down that road again.

I'm determined to stay in the gym and figure out SOMETHING that I can do. Definitely going to be more bodybuilder-ish weights/sets/rep ranges. I've just got to figure out what movements I can do that are pain-free and don't make my situation worse, which means mainly isolation movements unfortunately. In the last 3 weeks I've been able to do a few chest workouts, quads/calves and hamstrings/glutes workouts. Mainly just machines though. Need to test out more back/pulling movements because when I was doing my usual weekly back/biceps workout as this shoulder situation developed, it seemed to piss the shoulder off a bit. That might have just been in conjunction with the bench/deadlift training compounding it, I'm not sure and need to experiment more. If I figure out a routine that seems sustainable for now I'll post it as it develops.

/dear diary

[adamsz]

Measurements on the left, June 2015 @ 255lbs (last time I took measurements) --> measurements on the right today, cold, no pump, October 2018 @ 265lbs, 10lbs heavier

Chest 45.0" --> ??? current tape measure only goes to 40", so it is to small for my chest. Will have to update another time

Biceps 18.0" --> 17.0" lost an inch here fml

Forearms 14.3" --> 14" lost a tiny bit here. Honestly suprised it's not more since I'm not deadlifting anymore, but I did do a tiny bit of direct forearm work this last year

Thighs 29" --> 28.0" Found a pic from October '15 where my legs were 31" so I've actually lost 3" since stopping powerlifting

Calves 18" --> 17.8"I do direct calve work now (5-6 sets on leg day) so I'm a bit disappointed they're not bigger now


Being honest probably the biggest disappointment is that I lost a whole inch on my arms... On the one hand I used to bench 3x/week so I'm sure that built up some good tricep size, but on the otherhand I actually have been having a dedicated arm day for the better part of the year so it's a bit surprising I've lost so much.

Losing 3" on my legs is obviously a bummer but to be expected considering I've only deadlifted 3 times in the last year, and only quad compound movement has been higher rep leg press for the most part. I suspended my powerlifting gym memberships after fukign up my labrum at end of 2017 so no more access to a belt squat machine. Also my left knee is chronically fuked up so I don't even know how much I would have used one had I had access to one.

[adamsz]

This is what my diet looked like for most this year:









Macros: 189P / 283C / 92F Cals: 2716

Looking at the micros I would really like to try and get my potassium intake up. I've heard that when your potassium intake is adequate sodium really isn't a big deal like many health professionals will try to make it out to be (mainly in relation to heart problems). I'm eating a banana every day and some spinach, but I think adding more potatoes in my diet should help. I really need to stop eating ramen every fuking night lol.

About twice a week I would get a quesadilla and 2 tacos from a local taco truck in place of my 4th meal, which is probably like an extra 500-1000 calories.

Probably eat fast food about 4x/month which also boosts up the calories a lot.

[adamsz]

At the end of last year when I pulled that 650 deadlift and I was weighing in the mid 270s. After making a very conscious effort to meal prep and stick to a meal plan of sorts I lost 10lbs very slowly :

Oct 22nd 2017: 274lbs
Dec 25th 2017: 269.6lbs
Jan 16th 2018: 274.4lbs
March 10th 2018: 271.6lbs
April 14th, 2018: 270.6lbs
May 3rd 2018: 269.6lbs
June 3rd 2018: 271.8lbs
July 17th 2018: 267lbs
Aug 7th 2018: 268.2lbs
Sept 6th: 265.2
Sept 24th: 263.8

[adamsz]

Putting these down here for my records since bodyspace doesn't let you look back at old data anymore smh

October 2018 -----> August 2019

Morning Body Weight: 265lbs ---> 254lbs

Thighs (measured near top of adductor) 28" ---> 29.5"

Chet (measured just above nipple at largest section of chest/upper back) ???? ---> 51"

Calves 17.75" ---> 18.25"

Arms (measured at peak of bicep) 17" ---> 17.5"

Forearms 14" ---> 14.25"

Shoulders (measured arms down around middle of delt/ at upper chest) ??? ---> 52.5"



been straight bodybuilding the last couple years straight now so nice to see body measurements going up while body weight is going down, lets me know I'm going in the right direction. Left shoulder is still pretty fuked but I've more or less gotten it down to where I know what it can and can't tolerate for the most part.

[Gibb1991]

Putting these down here for my records since bodyspace doesn't let you look back at old data anymore smh

October 2018 -----> August 2019

Morning Body Weight: 265lbs ---> 254lbs

Thighs (measured near top of adductor) 28" ---> 29.5"

Chet (measured just above nipple at largest section of chest/upper back) ???? ---> 51"

Calves 17.75" ---> 18.25"

Arms (measured at peak of bicep) 17" ---> 17.5"

Forearms 14" ---> 14.25"

Shoulders (measured arms down around middle of delt/ at upper chest) ??? ---> 52.5"



been straight bodybuilding the last couple years straight now so nice to see body measurements going up while body weight is going down, lets me know I'm going in the right direction. Left shoulder is still pretty fuked but I've more or less gotten it down to where I know what it can and can't tolerate for the most part.

Body space doesn't support measurements now? What a chit tear site

[Anthony21]

Nice to see you still around Adam and glad to hear you're still in the gym training.