Hardartery - Recreational Outrage

[Hardartery]

Friday 1/6/23
Incline Bench
bar x 10
135 x 10
185 x 7
225 x 7 x 2 sets
This was probably a vulgar display of inner meat-head, but I was theoretically testing things out for crunchiness etc...

JM Press - "Power" bar on a bench. The first time for that.
135 x 10
185 x 4 x 2 sets
135 x 10

Rear Pull Backs - patent pending - one arm at a time on the Vison Fitness ST700 Functional Trainer. Google it. Fancy title for adjustable cable stack.
27/60 x 10
??/70 (Next plate down) x 10 x 2 sets

Iso Lat Pulldown machine - likely VisionFitness but maybe Cybex - ID free machine
1 plate/side x 10 - overhand grip
2 plates/side x 10 x 3 sets - Underhand grip
The underhand felt harder when playing around with one plate so that's what I went with. It was next to the curl machine I was playing with last time and I like to play with new toys. Plus they are actually supposed to be good for building upper back.

Overall okay. Being thick skulled and stubborn I went straight for a press variation once the shoulder pain was down to a level that doesn't prohibit movement. That is my disclaimer, I am and idiot and should not be copied unless desperate or interested in guided self-harm. That being said, no issues at the moment. I cannot pinpoint the pain exactly, it seems to be somewhere between the anterior delt and the medial delt, and I don't give a damn if anyone else believes in a medial delt or not that's what I'm calling it so as to be more descriptive. Anyway, it's right there on the line which means it could be anything but it's subsiding so I am going to continue to poke at it.

[Renascent]

I cannot pinpoint the pain exactly, it seems to be somewhere between the anterior delt and the medial delt, and I don't give a damn if anyone else believes in a medial delt or not that's what I'm calling it so as to be more descriptive.

I've seen and heard arguments about how to properly refer to the middle delt, but I didn't know there was anyone out there arguing that there's fewer than three distinct heads.

News to me.

[MarkKO]

If it's subsiding as you go is it possible there was some scar tissue that you're only just now starting to loosen up?

[Hardartery]

If it's subsiding as you go is it possible there was some scar tissue that you're only just now starting to loosen up?

I have been wondering exactly that, actually. When I say crunchy, it really felt the way it feels when you chew Rice Crispies, but in my shoulders and not my mouth. It unnerved me, so I racked after one rep, but I thought maybe I had just badly misgrooved or something so I went for a third set. It was exactly the same as the second, so using basic meathead logic the only thing left to do was strip some weight and see what happens. Any reasonable person looking in from the outside might have concluded that ending it for the day would have been the wise course, but I don't really operate that way apparently. It has moved a little and seems to have localized right where that little groove forms between the anterioir head and the medial head, at least earlier today. Flexing things around right now it has become not anywhere that distinct again but basically there and in the tricep around the back of the arm. Both sides are now similar and nothing I would worry about generally, more along the lines of light DOMS level now. Which means the social experiment that is me going to the gym will very likely include benching again this coming week.

I know that there has to be some scar tissue and at least minor calcifications in both shoulders, it's would be unrealistic to spend years at various levels of hypercalcemia and not have that as a thing. Inner meathead is kicking in and ready to direct a possibly ill-advised experiment this week. Honestly, it didn't feel heavy and I certainly didn't feel like I was hitting any kind of 10 RPE or anything at any point, but chewing Rice Crispies with my shoulder meet was a new and disconcerting sensation. Next bench session will be an adventure or a tragedy I guess.

[MarkKO]

If it's subsiding as you go is it possible there was some scar tissue that you're only just now starting to loosen up?

I have been wondering exactly that, actually. When I say crunchy, it really felt the way it feels when you chew Rice Crispies, but in my shoulders and not my mouth. It unnerved me, so I racked after one rep, but I thought maybe I had just badly misgrooved or something so I went for a third set. It was exactly the same as the second, so using basic meathead logic the only thing left to do was strip some weight and see what happens. Any reasonable person looking in from the outside might have concluded that ending it for the day would have been the wise course, but I don't really operate that way apparently. It has moved a little and seems to have localized right where that little groove forms between the anterioir head and the medial head, at least earlier today. Flexing things around right now it has become not anywhere that distinct again but basically there and in the tricep around the back of the arm. Both sides are now similar and nothing I would worry about generally, more along the lines of light DOMS level now. Which means the social experiment that is me going to the gym will very likely include benching again this coming week.

I know that there has to be some scar tissue and at least minor calcifications in both shoulders, it's would be unrealistic to spend years at various levels of hypercalcemia and not have that as a thing. Inner meathead is kicking in and ready to direct a possibly ill-advised experiment this week. Honestly, it didn't feel heavy and I certainly didn't feel like I was hitting any kind of 10 RPE or anything at any point, but chewing Rice Crispies with my shoulder meet was a new and disconcerting sensation. Next bench session will be an adventure or a tragedy I guess.

That sounds a hell of a lot like a more intense version of what I got in my rotator cuff when I started benching again. I put it down to scar tissue loosening up and absolutely nothing bad came of it.

[Hardartery]

Tuesday 1/10/23
Muscle Snatch
135 x 3 x 3 sets

Muscle Snatch to Strict Press Away
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 3
Muscle Clean - because I just didn't get the snap on it so these are all failed Muscle Snatches in reality
205 x 2 x 2 sets
205 x 2 - push press

Muscle Clean, single front press, BTN Press Away
155 x 5 x 2 sets

Both shoulders have been sore, the left one the worse of the two as of today. So, really sore in general but the flexibility was actually better today. It was way easier and less painful to hit the BTN presses and they felt easier to do. I'm still not getting my head forward really due to lack of shoulder rotation, but I am cautiously going into this week feeling that I have actually improved something. I may actually have broken up scar tissue after all and ended up the better for it. Those could be famous last words, but I'm gonna roll with it for now.

[Hardartery]

Wednesday 1/11/23
Front Squat - clean grip - just screwing around for warmup
135 x 5

Real squats
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 5 x 2 sets
315 x 5

Leg Curl - machine with weigth stack
100 x 10 x 3 sets

Straight Arm Push Down - straight bar attachment - plate loaded cable
100 x 5
180 x 10, 9, 7
100 x 8

I think I need the lat work from the straight arm pushdown, and it works out well to put it at the end. I need the break from leg work to be able to walk home. I don't know if I'm supposed to feel my calves after leg curls, but they were making noise - albeit less noise than the hamstrings but still.... And my glutes were pretty far from autopilot in the squats, clearly the holdup on hitting any real numbers right now but getting better each session. I may go to some pause squats after a bit just to hammer them.

[Hardartery]

Friday 1/13/23
Bench 135 x 8?
225 x 5
275 x 5
295 x 3 x 3 sets
225 x 8
Left shoulder is still fussing at me, but no Rice Crispies. I was being cautious so I stayed under 315 today, it's still a little twingie and I don't want anything to pop.

Side Raises
65 x 7 x 3 sets

Front Raises - neutral grip
65 x 7 x 3 sets

Rear Flyes
65 x 7 x 3 sets

DB Flyes - on the bench
65 x 3 x 3 sets

I did not get the ROM I really wanted on anything, but the Flyes got better as I went and I think the extra weight could help me get to full stretch over time as I build them up. I tried to get video of the Side Raises, but I couldn't pull off a good angle in the space with the equipment I carried. I have a Joby magnetic tripod thingie that would work perfect, but it's in the US right now because I forgot to pack it.

[hector]

Do you think there is carryover from dumbbell flys to bench press?

[Hardartery]

Do you think there is carryover from dumbbell flys to bench press?

I am 100% certain there is a carryover to all pressing except shirted Bench. It really builds my pec strength, especially when I use a bench and stretch out with the ROM. It also has large hypertrophy benefits for me, beach muscles are nice sometimes. When I have these going on fairly heavy (For more reps than this though) my issue becomes triceps. I very quickly hit a point where anything I do to my tris is an instant bump in press ability because the bottom of the press is way ahead of my ability to finish the lift.

[Renascent]

Do you think there is carryover from dumbbell flys to bench press?

I am 100% certain there is a carryover to all pressing except shirted Bench. It really builds my pec strength, especially when I use a bench and stretch out with the ROM. It also has large hypertrophy benefits for me, beach muscles are nice sometimes.

Do you think flyes cover some aspect(s) of pec/shoulder health that the bench press might not?

I started doing flyes again, albeit sporadically, based on something you said awhile back. I do them in a different manner though (upright, with cables, from a cross-body position)...

[Hardartery]

Do you think there is carryover from dumbbell flys to bench press?

I am 100% certain there is a carryover to all pressing except shirted Bench. It really builds my pec strength, especially when I use a bench and stretch out with the ROM. It also has large hypertrophy benefits for me, beach muscles are nice sometimes.

Do you think flyes cover some aspect(s) of pec/shoulder health that the bench press might not?

I started doing flyes again, albeit sporadically, based on something you said awhile back. I do them in a different manner though (upright, with cables, from a cross-body position)...

For me, they hit the pecs directly and better than anything else. I think part of it is being against the bench is a benefit, I can brace and really pull with the pecs and I can really feel what's going on. It's very much a BB isolation thing, I can have my arms at different angles relative to the torso depending on how it feels and what I want to work and it helps a lot with my shoulder flexibility by using a slow controlled eccentric as a weighted stretch. I am very much not going for max weight, and could have hit more reps than I did but I want to feel the movement and the stretch rather than just push max. The pec deck is disappointingly easy, and I don't feel it nearly as well during the movement.
For me, the carryover to pressing is particularly useful in Strongman stuff. The log is very much leaning back and using the pecs off the bottom like a standing Bench Press and Viking Press can be too. I also tend to Axle Press that way, heavy chest involvement. It takes more trunk strength but it's overall easier for me and means that I am really only working one technique for all of the OH lifts. I struggle with normal barbell OH and with Oly lifts on general so I work them, but they really don't have the carryover technique wise if I were to compete again.

[Hardartery]

Tuesday 1/17/23
Squats
Some hilarious front squats with 135 and a narrow clean grip. The very image of a floating rack, cause there was no way that bar was getting all the way down to my deltoids.
Back Squats
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 5
415 x 4, 3

Had at least one RIR on everything, did not push that hard, the hip shift was greatly diminished on the sets with 415 but obvious on 405.

Leg Curl
110 x 10 x 3 sets

The last 2 reps were slightly iffy on whether or not that was really full contraction at the top, but I was definitely pushing slose to failure if not at positive failure.

Straight Arm Pushdown - straight handle
190 x 8, 6, 3

Tricep Cable Pushdown - V-handle
190 x 6 x 2 sets

Straight Arm Pushdown - V-Handle
100 x 10

[Hardartery]

Thursday 1/19/23
Incline Bench
135 x 5 - index on ring
135 x 5 - ring on ring
185 x 5 - ring on ring
225 x 5 - ring on ring
275 x 3 - ring on ring
275 x 3 - index on ring
225 x 7

Side Raises - DB
65 x 8 x 3 sets

Flyes - DB on bench
65 x 4 x 2
65 x 2

Straight Arm Pull Back
32/70 x 10 x 3 sets

So, the idea was to not piss off whatever the thing is in my right shoulder by doing incline instead of flat bench. LOL. Incline hit the thing that hurts like a guided missile. I went full meathead and went to a slightly wider grip and gave it a a second go. A little less direct pain hit but, yeah. So the only logical thing was to strip a little weight and knock out a back off set. I'm calling it active recovery and pretending that it was a good idea. Just to clarify what the heck a straight arm pull back is I shot a video of it today.

[Hardartery]

Saturday 1/21/23
Deadlifts - conventional from the floor
225 x 5 - DOH
315 x 5
405 x 3
495 x 3 - straps
585 x 1
615 x 2, 1
585 x 2 - descent pause below the knees

Note to self, my head did not actually explode on the pause DL's, it just felt like it. That is a PR for 2 reps or close to it, I don't remember ever pulling that for a double before. Everything was heavy until 495, like that makes any sense. 615 felt a lot easier and faster than it looks in the video and I absolutely had at least 1 maybe 2 more reps on each of those sets. Remarkable for a day when I just wasn't feeling it and worried that I had gone too long between DL sessions. The squatting is really helping the glutes to fire better and I can feel it in the DL's.

[Hardartery]

Tuesday 1/24/23
Squats
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 4 - shifted my hands inside of the uprights, first time I've been able to do that in a long while
415 x 4, 3
I pitched forward coming out of the hole on the last rep and I had to muscle it back so I stopped there. I don't just want the reps I want the specific form. Otherwise all of these felt like a couple of RIR and it was pleasing to be able to get my hands that narrow on the bar. The subacromial stretch has made a world of difference in less than a week, a lot more flexibility and almost no pain now.

Shrugs
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 10
495 x 5

Hamstring Curl machine
130 x 8 x 3 sets
120 x 4 - straight up failure here on the attempt for a 5th rep

Seated Back Row machine
2 plates x 10
4 plates x 10 x 3 sets
I don't know what the apparatus weighs empty, so I'm just gonna count wheels

[Hardartery]

Wednesday 1/25/23
Bench
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 2 x 3 sets
225 x 1
Absolutely none if these felt right. Not even a little. Both shoulder were complaining quite a bit and it felt really heavy. Disappointing. The downset was terminated becaue the the left pec told me to get bent and filed a protest. I'm going to say it was cramping, quite hard, but I'm not sure if that is what it was doing.

Flyes - DB
50 x nada
Lowered the weight and was informed by my rleft pec that it was checking out. It "Cramped" like a bastard and refused to play ball. I set the DB's down and massaged it it bit, did a little stretching, and exactly the same thing happened again. I tried layng down and doing the Flyes with no weight, nope. Not today chief. Sigh.

Side Raises - DB
65 x 8 x 4 sets

JM Press - straight bar on banech
135 x 8 x 2 sets
135 x 6

The pec didn't like the JM Press either, but was only vocal on the rack and unrack. I did not go heavier because it just wasn't there today on these, at least no like I wanted.

I was getting the hard stare from some gym girl during bench. I guess she thought I wouldn't notice because she had the Smith Machine between us, but you can feel eyes somehow. She just kept on looking even though I noticed. Weird. I'm used to guys watching my lifts, but they are at least surreptitious about it and don't stare between lifts.

[MarkKO]

Wednesday 1/25/23
Bench
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 2 x 3 sets
225 x 1
Absolutely none if these felt right. Not even a little. Both shoulder were complaining quite a bit and it felt really heavy. Disappointing. The downset was terminated becaue the the left pec told me to get bent and filed a protest. I'm going to say it was cramping, quite hard, but I'm not sure if that is what it was doing.

Flyes - DB
50 x nada
Lowered the weight and was informed by my rleft pec that it was checking out. It "Cramped" like a bastard and refused to play ball. I set the DB's down and massaged it it bit, did a little stretching, and exactly the same thing happened again. I tried layng down and doing the Flyes with no weight, nope. Not today chief. Sigh.

Side Raises - DB
65 x 8 x 4 sets

JM Press - straight bar on banech
135 x 8 x 2 sets
135 x 6

The pec didn't like the JM Press either, but was only vocal on the rack and unrack. I did not go heavier because it just wasn't there today on these, at least no like I wanted.

I was getting the hard stare from some gym girl during bench. I guess she thought I wouldn't notice because she had the Smith Machine between us, but you can feel eyes somehow. She just kept on looking even though I noticed. Weird. I'm used to guys watching my lifts, but they are at least surreptitious about it and don't stare between lifts.

Is it possible the pec and bench issue is related to bringing your squat grip in? Just throwing that out there, it just seems odd that you manage to do something you haven't in a long time and very shortly after something that wasn't a problem suddenly becomes one.

That's a hard stare if it goes through a smith machine. I'll openly watch people lift but it's always one of two scenarios: I'm impressed; or I'm watching because I suspect I might need to intervene to prevent a disaster.

[Hardartery]

Wednesday 1/25/23
Bench
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 2 x 3 sets
225 x 1
Absolutely none if these felt right. Not even a little. Both shoulder were complaining quite a bit and it felt really heavy. Disappointing. The downset was terminated becaue the the left pec told me to get bent and filed a protest. I'm going to say it was cramping, quite hard, but I'm not sure if that is what it was doing.

Flyes - DB
50 x nada
Lowered the weight and was informed by my rleft pec that it was checking out. It "Cramped" like a bastard and refused to play ball. I set the DB's down and massaged it it bit, did a little stretching, and exactly the same thing happened again. I tried layng down and doing the Flyes with no weight, nope. Not today chief. Sigh.

Side Raises - DB
65 x 8 x 4 sets

JM Press - straight bar on banech
135 x 8 x 2 sets
135 x 6

The pec didn't like the JM Press either, but was only vocal on the rack and unrack. I did not go heavier because it just wasn't there today on these, at least no like I wanted.

I was getting the hard stare from some gym girl during bench. I guess she thought I wouldn't notice because she had the Smith Machine between us, but you can feel eyes somehow. She just kept on looking even though I noticed. Weird. I'm used to guys watching my lifts, but they are at least surreptitious about it and don't stare between lifts.

Is it possible the pec and bench issue is related to bringing your squat grip in? Just throwing that out there, it just seems odd that you manage to do something you haven't in a long time and very shortly after something that wasn't a problem suddenly becomes one.

That's a hard stare if it goes through a smith machine. I'll openly watch people lift but it's always one of two scenarios: I'm impressed; or I'm watching because I suspect I might need to intervene to prevent a disaster.

It is related to the ongoing shoulder issues I think, the stretching with the band is helping the flexibility tremendously, but that probably caused the cramping/spasming. I'm pretty sure of that. I was concerned about tearing something, it was that kind of weird feeling going on. My feeling was "Just send it!", but then somewhere an adult voice woke up and reminded me of where I am and how a re-attachment surgery is likely to go....I am hoping it's a short term thing and won't really hold me back because it would be cool to bench some real weight again. I am thinking that hitting 4 plates at 50+ years of age would be nice.
She was staring right through the center of the thing, and there was a girl squatting in there periodically which seemed to have no impact at all on the stare. It was weird. I keep one eye on most stuff going on around me most of the time, you never know when someone is going to make an unwise decision on rep count. Especially in a gym where I see guys frequently benching with roughly what I'm using for delt raises. I'm not criticizing, just saying that that level of lifting lends itself to misjudging.

[MarkKO]

Wednesday 1/25/23
Bench
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 2 x 3 sets
225 x 1
Absolutely none if these felt right. Not even a little. Both shoulder were complaining quite a bit and it felt really heavy. Disappointing. The downset was terminated becaue the the left pec told me to get bent and filed a protest. I'm going to say it was cramping, quite hard, but I'm not sure if that is what it was doing.

Flyes - DB
50 x nada
Lowered the weight and was informed by my rleft pec that it was checking out. It "Cramped" like a bastard and refused to play ball. I set the DB's down and massaged it it bit, did a little stretching, and exactly the same thing happened again. I tried layng down and doing the Flyes with no weight, nope. Not today chief. Sigh.

Side Raises - DB
65 x 8 x 4 sets

JM Press - straight bar on banech
135 x 8 x 2 sets
135 x 6

The pec didn't like the JM Press either, but was only vocal on the rack and unrack. I did not go heavier because it just wasn't there today on these, at least no like I wanted.

I was getting the hard stare from some gym girl during bench. I guess she thought I wouldn't notice because she had the Smith Machine between us, but you can feel eyes somehow. She just kept on looking even though I noticed. Weird. I'm used to guys watching my lifts, but they are at least surreptitious about it and don't stare between lifts.

Is it possible the pec and bench issue is related to bringing your squat grip in? Just throwing that out there, it just seems odd that you manage to do something you haven't in a long time and very shortly after something that wasn't a problem suddenly becomes one.

That's a hard stare if it goes through a smith machine. I'll openly watch people lift but it's always one of two scenarios: I'm impressed; or I'm watching because I suspect I might need to intervene to prevent a disaster.

It is related to the ongoing shoulder issues I think, the stretching with the band is helping the flexibility tremendously, but that probably caused the cramping/spasming. I'm pretty sure of that. I was concerned about tearing something, it was that kind of weird feeling going on. My feeling was "Just send it!", but then somewhere an adult voice woke up and reminded me of where I am and how a re-attachment surgery is likely to go....I am hoping it's a short term thing and won't really hold me back because it would be cool to bench some real weight again. I am thinking that hitting 4 plates at 50+ years of age would be nice.
She was staring right through the center of the thing, and there was a girl squatting in there periodically which seemed to have no impact at all on the stare. It was weird. I keep one eye on most stuff going on around me most of the time, you never know when someone is going to make an unwise decision on rep count. Especially in a gym where I see guys frequently benching with roughly what I'm using for delt raises. I'm not criticizing, just saying that that level of lifting lends itself to misjudging.

You're one of the bigger and stronger guys there AFAIK, you'll attract an audience almost by default.

Yeah, you can usually kind of tell who will and who won't get themselves into trouble.