PTAaron's DC Training Journal

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You're doing great Aaron!! Awesome.

My shoulder is starting to bother me a bit again. Some good news would be nice :(


But I am really happy for you! Soon you'll be back to normal and back at it full force. You are a dedicated dude :)
 
Thanks a lot IG :) I'm 1 month post-op as of yesterday. Technically now is when I am supposed to be starting to do some of the things I've been doing for 2 weeks... oopsie!
I'm just concerned about the endrange pain that is still there, but like I said it is 1 month post-op with a decompression and a labrum repair - so there isn't much I should be complaining about.
Sorry to hear about your shoulder! Hopefully that calms back down soon.
 
Damn, I am so tired right now!!! I am sick and tired of my asshole neighbor and his damn stereo. Last night we were in bed trying to go to sleep (so we could get up at 5:30am) and all of a sudden the walls to my bedroom just start shaking from his stereo! This shit has been happening pretty much since I moved in, but it has been a lot worse in the last 2 months - and it has been going on a lot longer into the night (2-3am on weeknights!)... I ended up grabbing my unabridged dictionary and slamming it into the wall about 5 times, they pounded back on the wall, so I did it again and yelled "Shut the fuck up asshole!" which seemed to work, because the music got turned down to a level that I could still barely hear, but at least I could sleep through. Of course now my wall has dents in it from me banging on it, and a couple imprints of a large book!!! Oops!
It is really too bad that this isn't an apartment, because 1) I could get his ass thrown out or 2) I could move without having to worry about selling a house!

Anyway... a quick update on my last workout in therapy:
here is what I am doing:
arm bike x 8 minutes
pulleys (flexion and abduction aarom) x 3 min each
wall slides (flexion and abduction) 3 x 10 each
stretching by therapist x 20-30 minutes
cable external rotation 2 plates 3x15
prone flexion and horizontal abduction 5lbs 3x15 each
standing flexion/scaption/abduction superset 5lbs 3x15 each
cable tricep extension 4 plates 2 x 20 (these hurt becuase of the tricep attachment)
Front Pulldown Machine 110lbs 3x15
Cybex Machine Row (one arm) 60lbs 3 x 15
PNF diagonals (flexion D1 and D2) 1.5plates 2x15 -these are HARD
PNF diagonals (extension D1 and D2) 2.5 plates 2 x 15
Dumbell Shoulder Press 9lbs, 12lbs, 15lbs x 15 each
 
Hit the gym today for a "real workout"...

Bicep Cable Preacher Curls:
60lbs x 17RP
*limited by right shoulder pain/arm fatigue
30 second negative (static)

One Arm Reverse Cable Curls (5 second negative each rep):
30lbs x 12 straight set
*brachioradialis was really sore at first, but I massaged it a bit after the warmup and it was fine during the set

Biceps extreme stretch - didn't hurt :)

Paramount Calf Raises (5 second negative, 15 second hold each rep):
110 x 12
*Lost count on these because my mp3 player was acting up and I was trying to fix it while doing my set... the distraction helped!

Leg Press (Cybex Squat Press):
720 x 12; 540 x 20
*still afraid to go too heavy on these because I can't self-spot using my right arm yet

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (no rest between weights, just long enough to change it):
95x6, 115x6, 135x6, 155x6, 175x6, 195x6
*soreness in the right AC joint at the bottom of the movement - but not bad if I kept my traps contracted and my shoulders pulled back.

NOTES:
Workout felt great! I love working out at this gym - because if I go in feeling a little unmotivated I see the guys there who are working their asses off in their wheelchairs and I know I have no reason to slack!
 
LOL! Actually I had taken it off the night before - figured I had made enough people say "What the hell??" It is fun getting reactions from people... thats why I like the 1/4" holes I have in my ears... once people realize they could stick a pencil through my earlobe they usually have some entertaining reactions.
 
Slacked off today... Tracy made lasagna for dinner - I ate almost half of it myself! Going to hit the cardio hard tomorrow.
Shoulder is kind of sore today because I was drilling some holes with a 4" hole saw and the drill snagged and ripped out of my hands! That didn't feel so hot. Building myself a wine rack - hope it turns out OK, I made the design up myself. We're going to start making wine in my basement this summer - so we need someplace to keep it :D
 
Shoulder was really sore last night and today from the drill incident... but I went ahead and did a bicep/forearm/calf/ham/quad workout because my former training partner was over and we hadn't worked out together in a while. Turned out to be a pretty heavy duty workout!

Standing Dumbell Curl:
40s x 17 RP
*The highest I had gone on these prior to today was 30lbs since surgery

Dumbell Hammer Curls (4-6 second negative each rep):
35s x 11 straight
*Could have kept going on the left, right arm failed at 11

Paramount Calf Machine (5 second negative, 15 second stretch each rep):
120 x 9

Seated Hamstring Curl:
145 x 24 RP

Paramount Leg Press:
630+sled x 25 straight
*Funny story on these... never used this machine before, and it felt REALLY awkward during the warmup. I figured that 7 plates per side would be "good enough" for 10-12 reps because of how awkward it felt. At rep 15, I realized I was really wrong - but I was getting really worn out. At 20 I could barely breathe, so I stopped. Jason (former training partner) yelled at me that I was a pussy for stopping before he had to spot me, and demanded that I do 5 more reps. So I did... and failed about 1/2 way up on the last rep - so he got to spot me and was happy!
 
Thanks Matt!

I forgot how much I liked working out with Jason - he always kicked my ass and kept me motivated. It is really too bad that I moved and we can't work out together regularly anymore. Of course the crazy bastard is doing German Volume Training right now along with a "DC style" diet and is gaining like crazy.
 
Forgot to mention I did 45 minutes of treadmill walking yesterday after my PT appointment...

Today in PT I got to add wall push-ups and cable pec flyes to my program... I never thought I would find wall push-ups to be a challange, but go figure! Anyway, glad to be able to progress things a little more.
 
Thanks IG. I'm feeling good for the most part :) I just have to keep reminding myself that it has only been 6 weeks!!
 
Really frustrated today.... yesterday and today I have had a lot more shoulder pain... mostly in the front of the shoulder - and it runs down into my bicep when I do some things. Today at PT my regular therapist was off, so someone else worked with me - and I had her do some poking around and my bicep tendon right at the attachment in the shoulder is MAJORLY irritated - like make you want to throw up when you put pressure on it kind of irritated. I had to cut out a ton of exercises in therapy - basically anything that involved too much bicep activity... and we added in some ice massage to the tendon, which sucked!!! Damn, I forgot how bad ice massage feels on a shoulder!!
Anyway... I'm pretty upset at the moment...
On the plus side - I managed to trade my old wedding ring in for a $400 watch! The guy offered me $100 cash (scrap value of the ring) or $400 in store credit... so obviously I took the store credit :) Ended up with a nice Belair watch to add to my watch collection :)
 
Aaron that sucks about your shoulder. Good luck with it.

Good deal on the ring though!!
 
Thanks IG :D

I guess I was getting a little over confident with things... I'm pretty sure it got injured when I had the "drill incident" last weekend :(
 
Feeling slightly better after a weekend of mostly resting the shoulder. I did a 6 mile bike ride on Saturday, which wasn't bad as long as I was careful about leaning on my arms. Felt good to get outside and do something!
Today in PT I "jumped" up to 7lb weights for my shoulder flexion/scaption/abduction supersets - that was a challange! Also increased my dumbell presses to 15lbs/18lbs/20lbs all for 20 reps, and bumped up both my rows and pulldowns to 140 and 150 for 15 reps. Bicep tendon is still extremely tender, still get pain shooting down my arm when I reach across my body (compresses the tendon at the shoulder) so I know it is still really irritated. I will be holding off on my leg training (loading the plates and holding the handles will hurt) and my bicep/forearm training (for obvious reasons) for at least the next week.

On another note, my co-worker and training partner Eric let me know that he had received a job offer from a place he was working on the side... an offer that has almost identical benefits, PLUS continuing ed classes are paid for (including airfare and hotel for out of state), No more weekends/holidays... AND $20,000 more per year!!!! So it looks like pretty soon he won't be working with me anymore... which also means he won't be training with me anymore (our hours won't match anymore). It works out OK I guess, because my membership at "our gym" just expired, and I didn't like it there anyway... and Tracy just signed up at the Lifetime Fitness that is 2 miles from my place with an amazingly cheap deal. Soooo... guess that means I will very soon be a member of Lifetime Fitness! Sucks that I won't have a spotter though, that will make things like Decline Bench Press a problem, unless they have decent power racks - then it won't be a big deal to end on a negative at failure then just life the weight back up to the pins for the rest of the set. I'm kind of excited actually, because Lifetime Fitness kicks ass - and the membership is good all over the country. I just have to check if I can get any cash back by cancelling my other gym membership (I had 2 for a while)... lets hope.
 
Okay, so I signed up at Lifetime Fitness this afternoon... I was very impressed with the gym - we were there at the busiest time of the day and there was still plenty of everything open to be used.
I kind of laughed when the person doing the tour was telling me about how I could get a training and diet consultation for free... but then I found out that if I go through 5 different consultation sessions (all free) on different topics including bodyfat testing and diet stuff - they will give me a $45 gift card to their spa! So I guess I'll go pretend to care about their advice if it will get me a free massage in the spa!!
 
First workout at the new gym...
Did 45 minutes of treadmill walking. Whee!
 
Wednesday (yesterday) I did a 6 mile bike ride on a nice hilly bike path.

Today was 45 minutes walking on a treadmill, wishing I was out riding my bike on a nice hilly bike path!
 
I've been looking around the new gym and trying to come up with the plan for my "big comeback" from my surgery.
So far my plan is going to go something like this:
Slowly bump my diet back up to where it needs to be with proper protein consumption and carb cutoff back in place - already working on this part of it.
Start out the workouts following a DC 2 way split, but doing everything straight setted for 15 reps not going to failure for the first 2 week rotation, next 2 week rotation will be 15 reps again but going to failure where appropriate. This will put me at one month of actual training - at that point I will assess how my shoulder is holding up and decide between staying with straight sets for another rotation, or bump it up to a 2 part rest pause. By the end of 2 months I plan to be back to hitting it with normal 3 part rest pauses where appropriate.
Cardio will stay at 4 days per week since I didn't stick with my plan of daily cardio while I have been off recovering, and my diet hasn't been the best... so much for my plan of coming back at 10% bf!

When I get back into it this will be my routine, following the MWF 2 way split plan:

Workout 1:
Incline Smith Bench Press
EZ Curl Triceps on Floor
Smith Front Press
Rack Chins to front
T-Bar Rows (I love these even though this is how I tore my shoulder apart)

Workout 2:
Preacher EZ Bar Curl
Dumbell Hammer Curl
45 degree calf raise machine
Prone Cybex Hamstring Curl
Barbell Squat

Workout 3:
Decline BP (in power rack, no spotter anymore)
CGBP on Smith
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press (I hate these, but we'll see how they go!)
Rack Chin to back
Deadlifts from floor

Workout 4:
Seated Alternating Curls (supinated grip)
Pinwheel Curls
Hack Calf Raise or Cybex Rotary Calf Raise (didn't get a good look at the hack choices)
Hack Squat
SLDL

Workout 5:
Hammer Strength Incline BP
Smith Behind Head Press
Reverse Grip Smith BP
Hammer Strength Pulldowns or Cable Pulldowns (couldn't do hammer anymore after injury, should be able to now that it is fixed)
Smith Bent Rows

Workout 6:
Barbell Curl
Reverse Grip 1 Arm Cable Curl
Leg Press Calf Raise
Sumo Leg Press
Leg Press

Abs with cardio - single set 20-30 reps rest paused. Since there is no such thing as lower abs, I will do one exercise each time they come up and alternate exercises.
 
Just had my "fitness assessment" done at Lifetime... I just have to laugh at the results...
Okay first my VO2 max sucks - no big shock there...
They measured my bodyweight - 248lbs ?? strange, not sure how I gained 5lbs since yesterday, but whatever.
Lean body mass 175lbs??? Okay, now I know something was wrong... last june my lean body mass was 191lbs - and since then I have lost from the waistband and increased body mass. So that says I have like 29% bodyfat??? Umm... I don't think so.
Anyway... according to the assessment my body age is 37! Mostly that is because of the inaccurate body composition measurements.
Oh yeah - also tested biceps strength... which was fun since I was mostly using my left arm to do it... that will probably be the most dramatic improvement next time I do it ;)
 
haha damn sounds like one accurate test pffff :)

How come me and you are the only ones who keep are journals updated??
 
Great question... I was actually wondering that myself! Hell I'm not even working out and I still update things.
Maybe no one else on the board works out anymore? :D
 
Big day for me today at the gym... prepare to be shocked and amazed by my awesome workout! LOL! Umm... whatever.
Went up to the gym today to train legs, and get another look at the weight equipment to make sure my "comeback plan" will work (as far as exercise choices). I guess everyone that read it on here thought it was so amazingly awesome that they didn't have any comments to add about it - so thats cool. It turns out I should be able to pull off all of the exercises on the list. Only one that is questionable is the decline bench press because the decline bench that they have is pretty shaky looking. Not sure I want to be pressing 700lbs on the decline on a shaky bench. okay... maybe not 700... I'll be lucky to get 135 the first time I try it! Anyway - enough smart ass comments... on to the workout.
Before I went to the gym I watched the clip of ronnie deadlifting 800lbs where he was yelling "YEAH BUDDY" and "LIGHT WEIGHT" so I made sure to do that while I was working out. People seemed confused. Okay, that didnt happen either... damn I just can't keep my story straight today.

Workout

45 degree calf raises (5 second negative, 15 second stretch each rep):
90lbs+sled x 7 reps
*Sad. This was a strange machine though, it was a 45 degree leg press - but it looked just like a 45 degree calf machine (if you know what I am talking about). The sled was heavier than I expected, but thats no excuse for being a pussy.

Cybex Prone Hamstring Curl:
130lbs x 19 RP

Smith Machine Squats (ass to the floor):
195 x 2 sets of 8
145 x 16
*Yeah, I sucked at these. Low back just felt unstable about midway up on every rep. I wanted to do freebar because they feel better, but I didn't think I could use my right arm to hold the bar real well. I think maybe I was twisting a little because I wasn't putting force on the bar with my right hand, maybe thats why the back felt funny.

Smith Incline Bench Press:
bar x 25 reps

Hammer Strength Decline Press (right only):
10lbs x 3 sets of 10

Hammer Strength Incline Press:
right - 5 lbs 3 sets of 10
left - 90lbs x 19 RP

Hammer Strength Flat Bench:
right - 5lbs x 3 sets of 10
left - 90lbs x 18 RP

NOTES:
Right arm was shaking like a leaf with 5lbs... it was so entertaining. No pain though. That is good because it was KILLING ME after therapy yesterday... I mean I couldnt even do a front raise with a 4lb dumbell in therapy yesterday - and I was using 7lb dumbells the last week or so.

Okay, thats all...
 
haha damn sounds like one accurate test pffff

How come me and you are the only ones who keep are journals updated??
Click to expand...

I'll start another one when I get back to normal training. Whenever the hell that will be.

Keep at it Aaron. You sound frustrated. I know how you feel. Wanna have a pity party?? LMAO Bad day for me today. Oh well. We'll both come back better than before eh? :D
 
I was pretty frustrated Monday when things were so flared up... today I'm actually pretty happy - the 5 and 10lb bench presses were actually pretty exciting :)
 
Just started taking Zyflamend - it is a natural anti-inflammatory and cox2 inhibitor... Not sure if that is making the difference already or not, but I feel better than Monday.
 
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