beancounter's log

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beancounter
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beancounter's log

#1

Post by beancounter » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:03 am

33, male, 6'0" ~ 90 kg

Current Situation

I've been struggling with a bad shoulder for over a year and don't currently bench or back squat. Also, I strained my groin a few weeks ago so can't do any big lifts right now.

Nevertheless I thought I'd start logging what I'm doing again to help with accountability.

Abbreviated Training History

2014
January: Started lifting in a terrible chain gym. BW 67 kg
Summer: Stalled initial progress at 100 kg X 5 squat.

2015
February: Moved to a marginally better gym
March: Finally squatted 3pl8 X 5. BW 80-something kg

2016
February: First PL competition. 7/9 170/120/195 = 495 @ 98 kg; 317 Wilks
May: Bench-only competition 2/3 122.5
July: Equipped bench 142.5 kg (gym lift)
August: BW topped out at 102 kg
November: 2nd full PL competition 9/9 187.5/130/212.5 = 530 kg; 323 Wilks

2017
January: Equipped squat 230 kg (gym lift) @ 98 kg
February: Squat 195 kg, conventional deadlift 215 kg (gym lifts)
May: 3rd full PL competition 9/9 190/110/210 kg = 510 kg; 323 Wilks
December: Front squat 145 kg (gym lift)

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Manveer
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Re: beancounter's log

#2

Post by Manveer » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:11 am

Oh hai

Mahendra
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Re: beancounter's log

#3

Post by Mahendra » Fri Feb 23, 2018 7:05 am

Excellent.

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chromoly
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Re: beancounter's log

#4

Post by chromoly » Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:49 pm

O hai their

I'm sorry to hear that you are still struggling with the shoulder problems. How's the rehab going? Are you still with Dr. John Petrizzo?

beancounter
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Re: beancounter's log

#5

Post by beancounter » Sat Feb 24, 2018 9:26 am

Manveer wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:11 amOh hai
Mahendra wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2018 7:05 amExcellent.
chromoly wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:49 pm O hai their

I'm sorry to hear that you are still struggling with the shoulder problems. How's the rehab going? Are you still with Dr. John Petrizzo?
Hai! I'm not directly working with Dr P at the moment but I can go back to him if need be. We gave it a solid 3 months or so where I saw some initial improvement after my cortisone shot, but then the discomfort crept back in.

I had a further scan on my shoulder which confirmed the general rotator cuff / bursa inflammation issues. There was also a very small defect on the labrum but the surgeon I consulted with wasn't even sure it was injury related and doesn't think it's the cause of my pain, so I'm going with regular physiotherapy for now. I'm four weeks into the new physio now. It's going OK I guess, but progress is super slow.

Saturday 24 February

BW: ~90 kg

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

Band external rotation
3 X 12

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
10 kg X 8
12 kg X 8 X 3

Good. I started this with 8 kg initially. I've been on 10 kg for a couple of weeks and Thursday was the first time I tried pushing up to 12 kg. It felt much better today.

Squat
0 kg X 5
10 kg X 5
20 kg X 5
30 kg X 5 X 3

Mixture of kettlebell and hands-free front squat. No pain, but groin slightly achy during and after these.

Hoping to push this by 10 kg / session for a while.

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
4 X 8

DB seal row
20 kg X 10 X 3

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

1/2 kneeling overhead press with band resisted external rotation
3 X 12

This is probably the most awkward feeling of my rehab exercises at the moment.

Bird Dog
10s X 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Rack Pull
60 kg X 5 X 3

I pulled 45 kg X 5 X 3 last session. There was a barbell in the rack already so these were quick to load and bang out. No pain. I did the second set with a narrow sumo stance, the other two conventional.

Thoracic foam roll / extension
2 minutes X 3

beancounter
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Re: beancounter's log

#6

Post by beancounter » Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:14 am

Monday 26 February

BW: ~90 kg

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

Band external rotation
3 X 12

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Squat
40 kg X 5 X 3

Front squat getting awkard in flats. Might have to start bringing my lifting shoes to the gym again. Probably OK without knee sleeves for another couple of sessions. Could feel the groin at the bottom, but not in a painful way.

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
9, 9, 8, 8

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

1/2 kneeling overhead press with band resisted external rotation
3 X 12

Thoracic foam roll / extension
5 minutes

I have another physiotherapy session on today (Tuesday) to assess progress and maybe change exercises.

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Re: beancounter's log

#7

Post by beancounter » Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:18 am

Thursday 1 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

Band external rotation
3 X 12

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
9, 9, 9, 9

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Harder than the last couple of times I've done this. Maybe due to a change in exercise order.

3-0-3 External rotation with DB
3 kg X 12 X 3

Had some issues with the bench end I was resting my elbow on digging into my ulnar nerve.

Fly chest stretch on foam roller
0 kg, 1 kg, 3 kg

HBBS
40 kg X 8 X 4

Didn't feel any groin discomfort until the final set. I did these with a slow (virtually tempo) eccentric component. Didn't feel great getting my hands into position.

Curl Up & Bird Dog
Both - 10s : 5, 4, 3, 4, 1

Thoracic foam roll / extension
5 minutes

Shoulder actually feels a bit worse the next day. This happened both other times my routine changed, so I'll try another session and not worry until then.

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Re: beancounter's log

#8

Post by beancounter » Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:03 am

Saturday 3 March

Shoulder has been irritated since Thursday session.

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

Pain on one rep.

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
9, 9, 9, 9

3-0-3 External rotation with DB
3 kg X 12 X 3

External rotation lunge with cable
3 kg X 12 X 3

Pain on one rep.

beancounter
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Re: beancounter's log

#9

Post by beancounter » Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:43 pm

Monday 5 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
10, 10, 10, 10

External band rotation
3 X 10

Front Squat
50 kg X 5 X 3

Felt a bit of groin irritation - 10 kg jump may have been too much.

Thoracic stretch

Curl Up & Bird Dog
10s X 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 each

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simonrest
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Re: beancounter's log

#10

Post by simonrest » Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:35 am

I was wondering where you had gone, good to see you logging

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Re: beancounter's log

#11

Post by indigo » Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:54 am

simonrest wrote: Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:35 am I was wondering where you had gone, good to see you logging
Yeh I wondered if you'd thrown in the towel what with the injuries. Good to see you still at it.

I've had what I think is "rotator cuff syndrome" and I stopped squatting and limited my benching as a result. I'd also wondered about contacting John Petrizzo, guess the truth is that I'm just not too optimistic about ever being able to overcome this. Just seems as though some of us are prone to it. So frustrating as it really curtails progress.

I hope that your PT proves successful.

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Re: beancounter's log

#12

Post by beancounter » Fri Mar 09, 2018 2:33 am

indigo wrote: Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:54 am
simonrest wrote: Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:35 am I was wondering where you had gone, good to see you logging
Yeh I wondered if you'd thrown in the towel what with the injuries. Good to see you still at it.

I've had what I think is "rotator cuff syndrome" and I stopped squatting and limited my benching as a result. I'd also wondered about contacting John Petrizzo, guess the truth is that I'm just not too optimistic about ever being able to overcome this. Just seems as though some of us are prone to it. So frustrating as it really curtails progress.

I hope that your PT proves successful.
If you look at the end of my Egypt log that gives a sense of what I was trying with John P.

I've been "training", which is to say, I haven't taken any weeks off of going to the gym. Sadly I'm reduced to what you can see here. While I'd love to be lifting heavy my furstration has actually decreased recently and I've come to terms with trying to patiently rehab.



Thursday 8 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

HBBS
45 kg X 8 X 4

Decreased weight from Monday's 50 kg front squats since those produced a bit more aggravation than I'd like, so this was just a 5 kg jump on last week. OK. Not wearing knee sleeves is forcing me to concentrate more on staying tight & not going too deep at the bottom, which is a good thing.

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
4 X 10

DB Row
20 kg X 10 X 4

DB Hammer Curl
10 kg X 10 X 3

beancounter
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Re: beancounter's log

#13

Post by beancounter » Sun Mar 11, 2018 10:47 am

Sunday 11 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

Cable lunge with external rotation and tempo eccentric
3 kg X 12 X 4

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
4 X 10

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Re: beancounter's log

#14

Post by indigo » Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:27 am

If you look at the end of my Egypt log that gives a sense of what I was trying with John P.

I've been "training", which is to say, I haven't taken any weeks off of going to the gym. Sadly I'm reduced to what you can see here. While I'd love to be lifting heavy my furstration has actually decreased recently and I've come to terms with trying to patiently rehab.
Well what I saw there was for example some slow eccentric OHPs. So these seemed to bring some short-term relief, but then the shoulder soreness returned later, and the cortisone shot didn't really help.

Do you think this was all caused by benching ? Do you think you had any form issues ? Whenever I've seen videos you looked to be technically good to my eyes.

Are you optimistic that you will be able to return to benching heavy one day ?

I hope you don't mind all the questions. I guess I'm where you were, but unsure of the next steps to take. Right now I've stopped squatting and reduced benching to just one "heavy" flat bench per week.

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Re: beancounter's log

#15

Post by beancounter » Fri Mar 16, 2018 3:49 am

indigo wrote: Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:27 am
If you look at the end of my Egypt log that gives a sense of what I was trying with John P.

I've been "training", which is to say, I haven't taken any weeks off of going to the gym. Sadly I'm reduced to what you can see here. While I'd love to be lifting heavy my furstration has actually decreased recently and I've come to terms with trying to patiently rehab.
Well what I saw there was for example some slow eccentric OHPs. So these seemed to bring some short-term relief, but then the shoulder soreness returned later, and the cortisone shot didn't really help.
I'm not necessarily sure the presses themself gave relief. I think they were well tolerated for a certain time and load (aided by the cortisone shot), but in the longer term that approach wasn't actually fixing my shoulder.
Do you think this was all caused by benching ? Do you think you had any form issues ? Whenever I've seen videos you looked to be technically good to my eyes.
Bench seems like the main culprit, but back squatting also stresses my shoulder and press isn't entirely blameless. I think my form was reasonably good overall - there are certainly plenty of people benching more weight over a longer period of time with worse form and no injury - but certainly not perfect and evidently not great for me.
Are you optimistic that you will be able to return to benching heavy one day ?
I really don't know. If not then I probably won't lose too much sleep over it.
I hope you don't mind all the questions. I guess I'm where you were, but unsure of the next steps to take. Right now I've stopped squatting and reduced benching to just one "heavy" flat bench per week.
I saw you posting about safety-bar in another thread, so that might be a good squat option. The other possibility, which I was doing sucesfully until I got an unrelated injury, is lots of front squat. You can use straps if you don't have the mobility for a normal grip. If I knew the answer for bench I'd be doing it now!


Wednesday 14 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

Feet-Up 4-0-2 1/2 bench
30 kg X 10 X 3

HBBS
50 kg X 8 X 4

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
3 X 10

Band "sword draw" external rotation
3 X 12

Thoracic roll
2 minutes X 3


Friday 16 March

Arm raise with isometric external rotation band resistance
2 X 10

1/2 Kneeling bottoms-up tempo kettlebell press
12 kg X 8 X 4

Y / T
2 kg X 10 X 3

Feet-Up 4-0-2 1/2 bench
35 kg X 10 X 3

Cable rotation ex rot lunge with slow eccentric
3 kg X 12 X 3

Front Squat
50 kg X 5 X 4

4-0-2 Tempo pushup
3 X 10

Band "sword draw" external rotation
3 X 12

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Re: beancounter's log

#16

Post by beancounter » Thu May 17, 2018 1:28 am

Update:

I haven't really been motivated to log because it's been a lot more of the above. I have been getting to the gym 3X weekly.

I've managed to take a full bench press up to 55 kg X 5 X 5, but that irritates my shoulder, so I'm not really sure on the path forward. My health insurance is refusing to cover any further treatment beyond the start of August, so I'll be on my own soon.

For squats I've done HBBS with a slow eccentric and gone as high as 100 kg X 8 X 4. Sadly, even though that is manageable, my groin pain hasn't cleared up. Given it's been well over three months at this point I saw my doctor and have been referred for an ultrasound scan in a couple of weeks. Until I figure out what's going on there I'll be conservative.
Last edited by beancounter on Thu May 17, 2018 9:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

ChrisMcCarthy1979
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Re: beancounter's log

#17

Post by ChrisMcCarthy1979 » Thu May 17, 2018 2:08 am

Sorry to hear things are still being problematic - probably the most difficult phase of training you'll ever have to go through - but hopefully you'll have something to pursue after the MRI.

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Re: beancounter's log

#18

Post by Mahendra » Thu May 17, 2018 8:07 am

^ +1.

Hopefully things will work out soon for you.

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chromoly
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Re: beancounter's log

#19

Post by chromoly » Thu May 17, 2018 8:22 am

Sorry to hear about your continued troubles, pal! I hope that you're able to figure out what's wrong and move forwards from there

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