Road to recovery

[SA249]

What is Going On
So... the last training cycle is what I would like to consider rock bottom. The positive take away is that it has become very apparent to me that I need to take a few steps back in order to continue moving forward. My biggest issue is my right patellar tendon; when it flares up my right leg essentially shuts off. Furthermore, it causes me to shift my squats to the left which beats up my left hip/si joint. Other than that, I have some nagging pec/bicep/shoulder issues that need to be taken care of as well.

The Plan
Right now, the goal is to let everything to heal up. How I am going to accomplish this is committing at least 8 weeks to staying away from the main lifts. During this time I will focus on performing pain free movements with a very high volume in order to stimulate healing. I will also be focusing on improving my movement quality, especially my ability to hip hinge and retract my scapula.

Day 1

Backwards sled drags (light)
5x100 feet

FFE Split Squats
35x5x10

Cossack Squats
25x5x10

Banded TKE
Light Bandx5x10

Single Leg Stiff Leg Dead (BW to focus on hip hinge)
5x10

Cambered Bar GM
135x3x50

GHR
5x10

GHR Sit Ups
5x10

[SA249]

Monday

Push pull pump superset stuff
Incline dumbell/Lat Pull Down
50,40,20,30,10 reps

Flat dumbell/seated row
10,20,30,40,50 reps

Tuesday

Morning
10x25 banded leg press
5x25 lying leg curl
10 min stair mill

Afternoon
3x30 Reverse Hyper
5 trips backwards sled drag
3 rounds of occluded walking lunges

[308smk]

Have you had the tendon checked for a tear? Or is it just inflammation?

[SA249]

Have you had the tendon checked for a tear? Or is it just inflammation?

No, haven't checked for a tear. I'd be surprised if there was one. Nasty tendonitis, bad patellar tracking, and when it gets inflamed the tracking gets so bad that the knee gets stuck.

I'm honestly planning a full 6 months before training returns to "normal". Another 10 weeks before I start squatting of any sort, and when I do, it'll be nothing more than a few 20s with 135.

[SA249]

Shoulders and Arms Day

Had a pretty fluffy day. It was fun, and much needed.

Am workout
Shoulders

Standing DB OHP Supersetted with Face Pulls
Max reps with 40s, 50s, 55s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 75s. Hit 12 with the 75s. Many reps on the way up.
Face Pulls just got a sweet pump

Standing Arnold Press Supersetted with rear delt flys
5x20 @ 45s
Rear Delt Flys got a sweet pump

Machine Overhead press
5x20

Side Raises
5x20

PM Workout
Arms

Hammer Curl Supersetted with Pushdowns

Seated Incline Curl Supersetted with Overhead Extension

Tempo Barbell Curl Supersetted with Rope Pushdown

Occluded DB Curl Supersetted with Occluded Band Pushdown

[SA249]

Legs

AM

FFE Split Squats 5x10
Cossack Squats 5x10
Banded TKE 5x10
Single Leg Stiff Leg 5x10
Cambered GM 185x3x50
Roller Reverse Hyper 3x20

PM

Leg Press 5x20
Occluded Leg Press 3x20
Occluded Lunges 5 trips
Leg Curls 5x20
Stair Mill 10 min

[SA249]

Monday

Chest Shoulders Triceps

Am
DB Bench 10x10
DB Incline 5x20
Standing DB OHP 5x10-12
Standing DB Arnold 5x20
Machine Press 3x50

PM
Machine Press/Fly SuperSet 4x20 each
Face Pull/Overhead Extension 4x15 each
Rope Push Down 4x12
Bar Push Down 4x12
3 way shoulders 3 sets
Rear Delt Fly 3 triple drop sets
Seated Dumbell Clean 4x15

[SA249]

Tuesday

Legs

AM
Leg Press Vs Ave Bands 10x25
Bulgarian Split Squats 4x15
Leg Extension 4x30
Leg Curl 4x30

PM
Backwards Sled Drags 6 trips
Lunge Sled Drags 6 trips
Paused GHR 5x10
Roller Reverse Hyper 3x30
Occluded Lunges to failure
Spread Eagle Situps 4x12

[SA249]

Wednesday

Back/Biceps

Am
Face Pull 4x15
Pull down 8x12
DB Row max reps at 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 125
Meadows Row 5x12
Machine Row 5x20

Pm
Face Pull 4x15
Dual Cable Pull Down 10x10
Chest Supported Row 5x12
Machine row 4x15
Barbell Curl 5x12
Hammer Curl 5x15
Dumbell Curl 5x20
Supinated Pull Down 4x20

[SA249]

Thursday

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Am
Face pull 4x25 As a Warm Up
Dumbell Press 10x10 @ 90s
Incline Dumbell Press 5x20@70
Standing DB Overhead Max reps at 40, 50, 60, 65, 70 (12 on 70)
Standing Arnold Press 5x15 @ 50s
Machine Overhead Press 3x50

Pm
Face Pull 4x25 As a Warm Up
Cambered Bar JM Press 5x12 @ 225
Machine Press/Machine Fly Superset 4x burn out on each
Face Pull/Overhead Rope Extension Superset 4x12-15 each
Pushdown/Upright Row Superset 4x12-15 each
3 way shoulders 4x burnout each direction
Rear Delt Machine 3x triple drop set

[SA249]

Friday

Back/Biceps

AM
Dual Cable Pull Down 10x10
Krock Row 100x5x25
Dual Cable Seated Row 5x20
Meadows Row 5x20

PM
Mag Grip Pull Down 10x10
Hammer Strength Low Row 5x20
Vogelpohl Row 5x20
Axle Bar Curl 4 sets
Hammer Curl 4 sets
Incline Dumbell Curl 4 sets

[SA249]

Saturday

Legs

AM
FFE Split Squat 5x10
Cossack Squat 5x10
SSB GM +2 5/8 Chain 175x3x50
SSB Reverse Lunge 75x5x20
Pause GHR 5x12
Roller Hyper 4x20

PM
Leg Press Vs Strong Band 10x25
Calf Raise Vs Strong Band 5xLots
Lying Leg Curl 5xLots
Occluded Lunges x Lots
Leg Extension 200 total reps

Also had a few people ask me about my experience with keto, so I tossed this up:

[SA249]

Chest/Shoulders/Tris

Am
DB Press 10x10 @ 95
Incline DB Press 5x25 @ 65
Standing DB OHP 5x20 @55
Arnold Press 5x15 @ 45
Side Raise 5xmassive pump @20

PM
Incline DB Press 10x10 @ 80
Machine Press vs Mini Band Supersetted With Machine Fly 5x Burnout
Side Raise Ran the rack from 20s to 45s getting max reps with each
Rear Raise 5x many @ 20
Face Pull 4x20
Straight Bar Push Down 5x15
Straight Bar Push Down vs Mini Band 5x20
Overhead Rope Extension 4x20
Machine Rear Delt Fly 3x burnout

Notes:
Upped my carbs 20g per meal today, as well as added 25g of carbs to each of my post workout shakes. The second session I was much fresher and felt much more productive. I was dropping faster than I was liking, so hopefully this slows that down a bit and allows me to keep training harder.

[SA249]

Legs

Am
Leg Press Vs Strong Band 10x25
Calf Raise Vs Strong Band 5x25
Lying Leg Curl 5xBurn Out
Seated Leg Curl 4xBurn Out
Leg Extension 5x25

Pm
Leg Press Vs Ave Band 5x50
Dumbell RDL 5x20
Lying Leg Curl 5x25
Occluded Walking Lunge Until Failure

[SA249]

Back/Biceps

AM
Pull Down 10x10
Kroc Row 115x5x20
Chest Supported Row 5x15
Meadows Row 5x20
Hammer Curl 5x15


PM
Dual Pulley Pull Down 10x10
T Bar Row worked up to a top set of 12
Single Arm Cable Row 5x20
Hammer Curl 5x12
Dumbell Curl 5x15
Reverse Grip Pull Down 5x20


Notes: Every day I do a bit of a warm up that includes some things that challenge my movement. Single Leg Stiff Legs working on range of motion and controlling my hip hinge, step ups, shoulder camshafts, sacp-ups etc.... anyways, today I tried a pistol squat to a high box, and was kind of almost successful on the bad knee. Flopped onto the box because I lack the glute/vmo balance and control to get there. Going to hold onto something and slowly try to progress my way to being able to do them.

[SA249]

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Am
Floor Press 10x10 @ 225
Incline DB Press 5x20 @80s
Standing DB OHP 5x20 @50s
DB Side Raise ran the rack down from 45s-15s
Rear Raise/Pushdown Superset max reps each

PM
Arnold Press 5x20 @50s
JM Press 5x20 @ 135+2 chain
KB Side Raise Supersetted With Band Pushdowns 5 rounds
KB Rear Raise Supersetted with Band Pushdowns
Machine Press Supersetted With Machine Flys 5 Rounds


So, with my smash as much volume twice a day experiment, I have gotten to the point where fatigue is really setting in. I am going to lower the volume a bit per session, and split things up a bit smarter. The new split will look something like this:

Mon AM: Chest
Mon PM: Shoulders/tris
Tues AM: Leg Press/Leg Curls
Tues PM: Unilateral/Movement based leg training
Wed AM: Back
Wed PM: Light Back/Biceps
Thurs AM: Shoulders
Thurs PM: Chest/Tris
Fri AM: Back
Fri PM: Light Back/Biceps
Sat AM: Hips/Hams
Sat PM: Leg Press/Lunges

I am also going to start limiting my number of work sets per session. I'll admit that I got a little too excited with this new style of training and went overboard.

[SA249]

Back and Biceps

First day of running a more responsible split on my two a day with a bit less overall volume for the day. I am experimenting with running the AM workout a bit more Mountain Dog style as opposed to just throwing sets and reps at the wall and hoping some of it would stick.

AM

Seated Cable Row: 4x12
Strict Dumbell Row: 100x20, 105x15, 115x3x12, 125x8
Meadows Row: 4x15-20
Pull Down With: Stretch at The Top 4x15-20
Straight Arm Pull Down: 5x20


PM

Dual Cable Pull Down: 4 working sets- 15,12,10,8 reps
Biceps Tri Set: Spider Curl, Hammer Curl, Preacher Curl- 5 rounds
Dumbell Curl: 5 sets of lots of pump

Dietary Notes: So these last two weeks I have been slowly trying to ramp up carbs inorder to get an idea of how much I handle on a given training day at this work load. 610g/day is where I started gaining weight. From here on out I will be basing my diet off of two high days at 570g, four moderate days at 430g, and a low day at 280g. Will adjust this in the future based the on rate of weight loss.

[SA249]

Lower

Am
Camered Bar Goodmorning: bar x10, 135x10, 185x10, 225x50
SSB Reverse Lunge: bar x20, 105x15, 135x12, 175x3x8
GHR: 5xamrap
Reverse Hyper: 5x30

PM:
Seated Leg Curl: 4x20, 15, 12, 8
3ct Eccentric Leg Press Vs Strong Band: 5x15
Lying Leg Curl: 4x20, 15, 12, 8 with triple drop
Occluded Lunges: Lots of steps

Commentary: I hit my goal of 225x50 on the GMs, which means I'm moving on to 30s. I'm enjoying the insanely high rep stuff; it gets me in a fun headspace. I am also stoked on how much better I was able to do on the reverse lunges. I am going to focus on improving movement quality on these from here, and keep the weight the same for the next few weeks.

[SA249]

[308smk]

Completely agree with your stance on abs/beltless training.

Once I saw malanichev put on his belt to squat one red i threw away the idea of beltless.

[SA249]

Completely agree with your stance on abs/beltless training.

Once I saw malanichev put on his belt to squat one red i threw away the idea of beltless.

Glad I'm not the only one on here with that opinion haha

[SA249]

Chest/Shoulders/Tris

AM
DB Press: 20@80, 15@90, 12@100, 4x12@110
CG Low Incline Press: 12@185, 12@205, 10@ 225, 2x8@245 - yes I am weak right now. Hoping this changes soon haha.
Incline DB Press: 4x20 @80
Pronated Incline Fly: 4x15 @ 35 - held stretch at bottom
Machine Press: 3x Burn out

PM
Face Pull: 4x20
Rear Delt Fly Machine: 4x20 1xburnout
Side Lateral: 4x20 1xburnout
Standing DB OHP: 20x50, 15x60, 12x70, 8x80
Rope Pushdown/Overhead Ext: 4x15 pushdown, burnout overhead
Tate Press: 4x15
Bar Pushdown: 4x20

Commentary: On my main chest workout I am going to be rotating CG Low Inclines and Floor presses as my "heavy" work. Two things I suck at, that will hopefully have carryover for when I get back to training powerlifting style.

[SA249]

Back/Bi

AM
Seated Cable Row 4x15
Strict DB Row 100x20, 105x20, 115x12, 125x3x8
Chest Supported Row 4x15, 1x8
Dual Cable Pull Down 4x15 stretch at top
Straight Arm Pull Down 4x20

PM
Hammer Low Row 4x12
Hammer Iso Pull Down 4x15
Barbell Curl/Hammer Curl/Incline Curl Triset: 5 rounds of lots of reps
DB Shrugs 100x4x lots of reps

Notes: I wrote a final exam that I had deferred in order to bomb out of a meet. I have now done everything I need to do to get a B.Sc in Kinesiology with a Exercise Physiology Major. Now to continue trying to put that to use.

[SA249]

Legs

AM
Lying Leg Curl 4x15
Leg Press W/Ave Band: 10 min of 1 min on, 1 min rest
Calf Raise: 5xfailure
Seated Leg Curl: 1x20, 1x15, 1x12, 1x8
Leg Extension: 4x50

PM
Lying Leg Curl: 4x15
SSB Reverse Lunge: 4x20 @ 115
DB RDL: 100x4x20, 140x15
Occluded Walking Lunges: Many

Notes: I am going to back off of the ssb reverse lunges. Lacking too much stability at the moment. Going to continue pushing that aspect, and eventually ease them back in.

[SA249]

[SA249]

[SA249]

Chest/Shoulders/Tricesp

AM- Primary Shoulders
Face Pull: 1x40, 1x30, 1x20, 1x15
Reverse Peck Deck: 4x30 + partials to failure on last set
Seated DB OHP: 45x20 55x20 65x15 75x12 85x10
Standing Arnold Press: 50x4x20
Side Raise: Max reps at 25, 35, 45, 55, 45, 35, 25, 20
H rolls: 4x burnout @ 25

PM- Chest/Tris
Band Pull Apparts: 4x25
High Incline DB Press: 3x20 @ 80
Low Incline DB Press: 3x20 @ 80
Flat DB Press: 3x20 @ 80
Pushdown/Overhead Extension Superset: 4xburnout
Tate Press: 4x burnout
Rope Pushdown: 4x burnout

Commentary: shoulders might quickly be becoming my favorite bodypart to train. Probably a good thing because they spent a long time not getting enough attention.

Diet wise I am dropping carbs slightly again, as my weight is creeping up. I am internally torn between sticking to the original plan and getting lighter, and slowly adding size. I still think I need to be leaner before I get bigger, so that's going to still be the plan for now.

[308smk]

Sooooo what you're really saying is....pentosan worked amazing.


Also wear wraps because that **** saves your knees boyo.

[SA249]

Sooooo what you're really saying is....pentosan worked amazing.


Also wear wraps because that **** saves your knees boyo.

Yes, yes it worked very well, although partially in due to my own stupidity, it worked almost too well.

[SA249]

Legs

AM:

Backwards Sled Drag: 5 min (light)
Seated Leg Curl: 4x20
Cambered GM: 3x30 @ 275
GHR: 5xfailure
Roller Hyper: 4x30
Backwards Sled Drag: 4 trips (heavy)

PM:
Lying Leg Curl: 4x20
Banded Leg Press: 10x25
Calf Raises: 5x25
Occluded Lunges: Many
Seated Leg Curls: 1x20, 1x15, 1x12, 1x10, 1x8+ triple drop
Leg Extension: 4x50

Commentary: I took out the reverse lunges because my knee was getting achey with them. Good call, because my knee felt amazing through yesterdays session, and feels the best it has in a while today. Stoked.

Also, this morning I tried some light farmers for cardio. Felt awesome, and got a great pump in my vmo on the bad side. I am double stoked that these worked as planned.