SociallyChallenged Workout Journal

[SociallyChallenged]

Tues 1/11/11 Workout

Strength

5 Hang Power Clean with 12 Front Squat (no racking)
2x95lbs (running late)

WOD
"Rankel"
Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
225 pound Deadlift, 6 reps
7 Burpee pull-ups
10 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
Run 200 meters

Result: 5 rounds + 6 deadlifts + 7 burpee pull-ups + 10 KBS (Scaled as follows: deadlift - Rx'ed, burpee pull-ups - no push-up component, KBS - 1.5pood, Run - Row)

Tabata Double-unders (Subbed Single-unders)

Result: 394

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thurs 1/13/11

Strength

Box Squat (18in box)
2x5x135, 5x185, 5x225 (all with good form)

WOD
Weighted Pull-Ups
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Result: 70, 88, 98, 117, 127, 132, 134.5 (PR) (This is just weight added, done at 155lbs body weight)

Cool-Down (untimed)
3 rounds of:
10 Wall-balls, 20lb
15 Sledgehammer Strikes, 20lb
Row 500m

Very surprised about the PR. It seems chins are the only thing I'm consistently good at. It was really a confidence booster though. I'm happy to be back, but smart enough not to always borderline overtrain now.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I've been experiencing some pretty bad low back pain in the sacral region, likely due to the amount of time I spend sitting in class. The pain got pretty severe so I stopped doing much. I've been biking since it's comfortable and really all I can do atm. I biked for 30min last Thurs. Today I biked 11.2mi.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Update: Low back pain was so severe I had to make an urgent appointment with an orthopedist. He prescribed me some anti-inflammatories and referred me to PT. At PT, I was diagnosed with severe lordosis in my lumbar spine, specifically due to tight hip flexors. I'm now working on both my proprioception (so as to not allow myself to work at my end-range of lumbar extension) and my flexibility. On top of that, I've been re-training myself to sit with a more neutral spine. I've probably had this since I ran track in high school and the newfound sitting in school for 6+ hours per day aggravated it. Hopefully it gives me some time to heal up and find some new activities to participate in. I've canceled my CF membership until further notice.

 

[brikis98]

Sorry to hear about the back. Good luck with PT and getting yourself healthy again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Did a re-test of certain measures on Wednesday and my hip flexibility is improving. Back pain only comes when I hit end ROM lumbar extension. I have a few more weeks of PT, especially if I can get some work done on my elbow, then I'll return to some lifting hopefully.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Alright, so an update to what's going on.

Back pain is alleviated at rest - still get symptoms when I hit end ROM lumbar extension. The PT said I could actually stand to have a slight butt-wink at the bottom of my squat to avoid compression of my facets (she's a CFer so that helps). My hip extension ROM has improved greatly from a 40 degree hip flexion contracture to 5-10 degrees of hip extension. I've also improved flexibility in my hamstrings and glutes and have continued mobility work. I started leg pressing last week in sets of 10 and am working my way up. I also front squatted last session - low back got a bit aggravated, but alleviated quickly. Will have to avoid too much lordosis.

I'm also seeing the PT right now for my elbow. I've got some nerve pain, likely related to the overall excessive muscle tone throughout my body. I don't use "tone" as in "Get toned for summer!" I mean that by default, my muscles are massively tight and immovable. I've been getting some soft tissue work and nerve glides to work on that.

After this is all said and done, I would really like to go once and for all for my shoulder. I'm starting to not only get symptoms at my glenohumeral joint, but also at my sternoclavicular joint. I'd like to be fixed and not ruin anything in the near future so I figure it's best to get it all done while I'm being patient. Either way, back to front squats so it's a small victory in itself. Will update again when results are significant.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I can't believe it's been a month since I last replied. This week was a big milestone in the back pain department. We discovered that my neutral spine is different than true neutral. I need to maintain a slight increased lordosis in my lumbar spine to be comfortable and avoid symptoms during exercise. Well, we fixed that on Wednesday and on Friday I had few symptoms during exercise. What little pain I had subsided through the rest of Friday even with forward and back-bending. I went and shot my basketball around a bit and my symptoms only got up to like 1.5/10 on a pain scale, which is wonderful. The sad thing though - I was just shooting and jogging around chasing my missed shots and my heart rate was already at 150-160bpm. Oh well, I'm honestly just happy to be moving again.

With that, I'm going to be making some changes to my exercise mentality and behavior. My new goal is wellness, rather than competition. If competition comes about as a result, then so be it. If not, then at least I'm not in severe pain. I will start back with weightlifting when I feel comfortable. I'll begin with general calisthenics, shadow boxing (if the rotation is ok for my back), circuit stretches, dynamic warmups, and mobility work. My hips and low back may be doing better, but my calves, triceps, biceps, shoulders, rotator cuff, quads, and adductors are still knotted up. I'll be doing a lot of foam rolling and tack/stretch work, as well as some mobility WODs to work on anterior hip and posterior shoulder capsule tightness. These will be done at a minimal to moderate intensity where pain will not come about 4/10 so as to avoid inflammation. I may also take some days just to do full-blown physical therapy to maintain my core strength. Once you get low back pain, it will likely come back at some point if you don't address the issues. I know this and want to avoid it as best I can.

I will likely continue playing basketball 2-3x per week as comfortable and give my back some time to heal without significant inflammation. Thank God for coming back.

 

[SKC]

congrats on coming back SC. Resuming workouts after my injury was one of the most difficult things for me. Glad you're getting better.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

congrats on coming back SC. Resuming workouts after my injury was one of the most difficult things for me. Glad you're getting better.

I'm sure it will be difficult for me too, but honestly it's amazing just to move around fluidly right now. Thanks for the support. I appreciate it.

 

[brikis98]

Welcome back and good luck

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Welcome back and good luck

Thanks, man.

Went ahead and played a bit more basketball with the girlfriend and it turned out alright. I haven't felt any back pain all day today, which is awesome, but I haven't really been doing much forward bending. Either way, still progressing - hoping to be in PT for my shoulder soon enough. I figure I may as well fix everything up while I'm in this transition phase.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Been keeping up with PT, stretching, and foam rolling my legs. I'm feeling pretty good changes occurring - decreased basal muscle tone, better accessory movement of the musculature, more flexibility, etc. I've finally been able to get back to something so I'll be posting here, whatever it is.

Fri 4/15/11 Workout
Bike 40min - 11mi completed.

Minimal back pain with standing to power up hills, which is a major improvement from the past. Almost unnoticeable. Wind-resisted going out, wind-aided coming in. I was flying coming back - clocked a mile at 2min 45s. Felt awesome, even if it was just the wind.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I'm baaaaack. I've been exercising the past 3 weeks now and it's been great. I've focused on mobility, rehabbing my injuries, and slowly getting back into things. Right now, my program is mainly focused on rehab so it's a bit more isolation work than I'm used to, but it seems to be working. I'll come back on here and post the past few weeks of workouts tomorrow. Just glad to be back in the gym again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Started my handwritten journal a bit late into the process, but here it is. Keep in mind that this is a custom program that I've built specifically for me. I'm doing more accessory lifts to promote tensile strength and rehabilitation of the muscular injuries that I've had for a while. These include hip flexor strain, soleus strain, tricep strain on both arms, nerve impingement, etc. Initially I used a lot of machines to isolate the affected tissues, improve blood flow for recovery, and minimize complications from compound movements (where I may not be able to identify the problem).

Friday 1/13/12 Lower Body

Warmup: 10min elliptical. Level 4 resistance, ~65rpm.

Strength Training:

Bilateral knee extensions:
10x50
10x90
3x6x120

Bilateral hamstring curls:
10x30
10x50
3x6x70

Seated hip abduction:
20x30
3x10x65

Leg press:
10x180
3x8x230

Assisted single leg calf raises:
2x10 bilaterally

Cooldown: 2min hip flexor stretch bilaterally (lunge position with front leg on stair)

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Sat 1/14/12 Upper Body

Warmup: 1000m row, damper = 5, pace = ~2:30/500m

Cable Pec Fly:
10x15
10x20
8x25
2x6x30

Incline bench press (reduced ROM):
10x45
8x65
3x6x85 (bothered sternoclavicular joint - I don't have enough pec major or minor length for this lift yet)

Tricep cable pushdown:
10x30
10x50
10x60
2x10x70

Bicep cable curls (with rope):
10x30
10x50
10x60
10x70

One-arm cable rows:
4x10x30
10x40

Lat pulldowns:
Unknown

Cooldown: 2min hip flexor stretch bilaterally, 2x30 sleeper stretch (for shoulder internal rotation and horizontal abduction) bilaterally

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Mon 1/16/12

Warmup: 12min elliptical, level 4-5 resistance, ~70rpm

Bilateral knee extensions:
10x60
8x90
6x120
6x125
6x130

Bilateral hamstring curls:
10x35
8x55
6x75
6x80
6x85 (quality decreased, too much co-contraction of other musculature)

Seated hip abduction:
20x35
10x55
2x10x60 (improved activation by hooking heel, generating ER torque)

Seated hip adduction:
20x35
3x10x60

Leg press:
10x180
10x230
2x8x250

Deadlift:
3x6x135 (No pain at left SI/left piriformis insertion. First set was shaky and really heavy. Last set felt easy as can be. I love reviving old motor programs)

Cooldown: 2x30s hip flexor stretch bilaterally, piriformis stretch, foamroll piriformis and soleus

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Tues 1/17/12 Upper Body

Warmup: 1000m row, damper 5, pace = 2:15/500m

DB overhead press:
Alternating hands
10x15
10x20
Symmetrically
8x25

DB cross-body raises:
3x10x5 (for pec, anterior delt activation and tensioning)

DB lateral raises:
10x10

DB sagittal raises:
5x10

EZ bar curls:
10x40
2x10x50

Bilateral cable rows:
15x40
3x10x60

Cable tricep pushdowns (with rope)
10x50
8x70
8x80
8x90

Normal grip pullup:
1x6

Narrow(er) grip pullup:
1x6

Cooldown: 5min of teres major, pec maj/min stretching using smith machine bar

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thurs 1/19/12 Lower Body

Warmup: 2min walk at 3.2mph, 5min jog at 6.0mph (without SI/piriformis sx)

B leg extensions:
10x65
8x90
6x110
6x125
2x6x135

B hamstring curls:
10x30
10x55
6x80
2x6x85 (Better quality, less co-contraction, more glute activation for stabilization)

Hip adduction:
20x35
10x60
10x65 (was a little bit stiff, may have overdone it with stretching last time)

Hip abduction:
20x35
10x55
10x65

Leg Press:
10x180
8x230
2x8x260 (Good, felt slight shift to R LE, may be due to weak R hip abductors)

Deadlift:
10x45
6x135
2x6x145 (Felt good)

Assisted single-leg calf raises:
10 reps bilaterally

Cooldown: 2x30s hip flexor stretch bilaterally, 2x30s gastroc/soleus stretch bilaterally

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Sat 1/21/12 Upper Body

Seated DB overhead press:
10x15
10x20
8x25
2x8x30 (Pretty easy, need to work middle and posterior deltoid more - anterior delts dominant on all shoulder flexion, abduction exercises)

Unilateral DB rows:
10x20
10x25
2x8x30

DB bicep curls:
2x6x25 (got shooting nerve pain on the eccentric down. Need to do more soft tissue on brachialis and brachioradialis to free up radial nerve).

Lat pulldowns:
10x80
7x100
6x100 (felt like I had poor lat activation. May just move to band-assisted pullups)

Cable tricep pushdowns (with rope):
10x70
8x90
8x100 (Quality? Last two reps reduced ROM - Wish they had a 5lb plate adjustment)

Cable pec fly:
12x20
10x30
2x8x35

Cooldown: Cable shoulder external rotation - 3x10x5; started teres major stretch, but actually got pain. I need to foam roll it tonight.

I forgot to do the cross-body shoulder raises, which I need to do to improve the tensile strength of my anterior delt and proximal bicep tendon. May add some lateral raises regularly to improve use of middle/posterior delt).

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Tues 1/24/12 Supposed to be lower body

Warmup: 2min walk at 3.2mph, 8min jog at 6.0mph

Front Squats:
10x45
10x65
8x85
6x105
6x125 (less glute activation)

Felt good just to get under the bar again. It's surprising how different coming back to weightlifting is from just getting into it. I was comfortable under the bar, knew when to breathe. Everything felt good, just need to get those glutes good and active in the bottom of the squat.

Weighted Lunge
5x20 bilaterally

Stopped, felt too much tension on my quad tendons - was uncomfortable. Will have to do some patellar, quad, and patellar tendon mobility exercises in the future.

Military Press (because I felt like it)
10x45
8x65
6x75
6x85
6x75

Backed off from 85 because right bicep tendon gave a very small twinge. Backed off, it felt fine. Will start at 75 next sesh.

Seated calf raise (machine similar to leg press)
3x15x180
10x180

Did 2x30s soleus stretch on both sides during this.

Supine leg raises (superset with rotational sit-ups)
2x10 (focus on the eccentric control, maintaining spine neutral)

Roation sit-ups
2x5 bilaterally (focused on very slow eccentric control)

Cooldown: 30s hip flexor stretch bilaterally, some heavy bag work - trying to improve my round kick, saw some improvement on the left leg for sure.

Total stretching and mobility work: dynamic hamstring, abductor warmup; ballistic hamstring stretch 2x10 bilaterally, ballistic hip flexor stretch 2x10 bilaterally, 2x30s soleus stretch, 30s hip flexor stretch.

Will do some piriformis stretches and hamstring foam rolling tonight. Overall, today was a pretty big success. Very little SI pain, although I was aware of the area. Just need to keep up the mobility work and I feel it may disappear soon enough.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I've been working out pretty regularly, but haven't posted anything here. Back squatted today without any semblance of pain or irritation. Felt weak, but hey, I haven't back squatted in over a year. Will probably start posting back in here again with updates, thoughts, etc.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Tues 2/28/12

Warmup - 8min cycling

Dynamic warmup

Back squat
10x45
10x95
2x10x135 (some excess right adductor tension, need to foam roll, but no pain!)

Single leg squat, leg in back
10 each leg

Plate deadlift
10x45
Single-hand
5x45 each hand
10x140

Standing overhead press
10x45
8x65
6x85
2x6x90
12x65

Dumbbell Row
10x20
10x30
8x40
15x20

Ab work
Leg raises (emphasis on eccentric)
Dying bug (straight leg - like scissor exercises)

Back extensor work
Single hand trunk rotation work 2x15x20

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thurs 3/1/12

Warmup - 10min cycling (HR 162bpm at end)

Dynamic warmup

Back squat
10x45
10x95
10x135
2x10x145

Single leg squats (leg going behind)
5 each side

Eccentric ex for shoulder ERs

Bent over row (machine)
10x45
8x95
6x95
8x45

DB bench press
10x20
8x30
6x40
6x50 (shoulder discomfort due to poor scapular control)

T's
15x5

ER
20x5

Full can
20x5

Did some dynamic hip flexor lengthening, left clavicular head of pec major soft tissue, piriformis stretching.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Sat 3/3/12

Warmup - 10min cycling

Squat on Bosu ball
10

Hip abductor walks (crab walks)
3x20 both ways with orange band

Single limb balance on Bosu ball
4x30s each side

Single leg squat on bosu ball
5 each side

Deadlift
10x45
10x95
6x135
5x165
5x185
5x205
5x225

Hip traction
~3min each side

Barbell glute bridges
15x45
3x15x95

Tricep soft tissue mobilization (STM) with barbell
~5min each side

Piriformis stretch
2x30s each side

Later in the day:
Hip flexor foam roll 5min on right
Piriformis foam roll 5min each side
Hamstring foam roll 3min each side