Wolf's Log: From Cub to Direwolf

[Michael Wolf]

I've got a good feeling about some big numbers on that day, I'll see you guys there.

Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered!! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!!!

[Michael Wolf]

Mixed it up a little for today's recovery TM day. Didn't squat, and did lots and lots of 1-Arm presses for the shoulder. A little conditioning too.

Short foam roll of back and left hip.

KB Swings
24kg x15x4

1-Arm DB Presses
15x10, 20x10, 25x10, 30x10, 35x10, 40x10, 30x10
Left shoulder felt disappointingly weak and uncomfortable here.

Cable Rows
120x10x3

C2 Erg: 30s on/60s off x 5 @ (pace):
1:49.4, 1:47.1, 1:44.9, 1:44.1, 1:43.5
Not going all out, but not just gliding either.

Then went to the bar just to see where my shoulders would allow my low bar grip to get to. Didn't have high expectations after the presses. I don't know if it was because I was so well warmed up or what, but after several sets of taking the bar and just holding it in low bar position, I was able to get almost as narrow as my normal, healthy grip. Maybe 1 finger wider, and it was totally comfortable.

So there's clearly progress happening (could barely get into a wide grip high bar position 2 weeks ago), but it's still frustrating.

[Mac Ward]

I hate that crap.

Nice job, no way would I "voluntarily" do ONE SET of anything that you did.

[sking1001]

Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered!! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!!!

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you..."

[Michael Wolf]

Shoulder was noticeably better today, but still lagging far behind the recovery I thought it would be at 3 weeks post injury. Frustrating.

Squat - TM Intensity Day
Press 45x5x2 to warm up shoulder.
Then: 45x5x2, 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 385x1, 440x5
Still a bit of a de-load here while reacclimating to the TM, so 440 wasn't too hard. I got a bit forward out of the hole on 2 or 3 reps, so it was harder than it should have been, but not a problem.
Grip had to start wide, but as shoulder warmed up over the sets, was able to replicate Wednesday's position of only 1-2 finger widths wider than my normal grip by the last set.

Press
45x5, 75x5, 105x5, 135x5, 165x5, 175x5x2, 135x6, 95x10
Felt slightly better/stronger than Monday, but still weak as hell. 175 was hard. Dammit.

Power Cleans
bar x3, 135x3, 165x3, 195x3, 225x3, 235x3
Didn't move back up to 240 because I'm still sucking at these. I'm jumping back on each rep. Perhaps I'm waiting a bit too long to jump, causing the backwards trajectory of the bar. Whatever the cause, these are not smooth and good like they were before, and I need to get that back to start PC-ing real weights relative to my deadlift.

[Nick D'Agostino]

Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered!! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!!!

Lol

[Michael Wolf]

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you..."

This is a classic clip. But I'm of course partial to anything LoTR.

[Michael Wolf]

Good lift today till I tweaked my back when I got greedy on rack pulls.

Squat
Press 45x5x2 first to warm up shoulder. Then:
45x5x2, 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 375x5x5
Piece of cake. Rested moderately, 4-5 minutes. Still had to start with a wide grip, but as sets went on and warmed up, I got to only about a finger width wider than normal grip by the last 2 or 3 sets.

Press
45x5, 75x5, 105x5, 135x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5 - hard, 135x8
185 was hard, which is both disappointing (205x5 should be hard, not 185), and encouraging (175 was hard on Friday, so it's progress).

Rack Pulls
275x4, 365x2, 455x1, 545x5
Got greedy here. First time doing them since before the meet. 545x5 was the last work-set I did last time I did them, and it was pretty easy. I should have deloaded, but the squats felt so easy today, my back didn't feel fatigued at all so I slapped on 545. Dumb. I got all the reps, but I could feel myself unable to hold good back position, and sure enough, after the set, I felt a tweak in my lower right back.

It seems minor, and only bothers me during open chain hip flexion (not a big fan of the open/closed chain distinctions, but it's the easiest way to describe what hurts it, so ok). I think it'll be fine by Friday for Intensity Day squats and power cleans. I hope so, because with the injured shoulder preventing me from pushing my upper body lifts rights now, squats and pulls are all I have to work hard.

Bench Press
45x25, 45x20, 45x15 - Close Grip.
Hadn't done these since the injury at the meet, felt like I was OK enough to do a few empty bar sets to evaluate. The very bottom position is still a bit tender, equally so on close grip. Felt good to do them though, I think it helped. May do them at the end of every workout.

C2 Erg
200m row/1:30 rest x 3 @ ~1:40 pace

[Michael Wolf]

Back better today, but still hurts when I flex my hip in open chain movements (putting on pants, walking up stairs). I'd guess 50-50 if I'll be able to do a normal intensity day on Friday or not.

Just light work today, no squats at all. Not ready for recovery work yet there.

Lat Pulldowns
85x10, 120x5, 160x10, 200x6. All felt good so moved to...
...Chins
4 sets of 3 reps.
Easy, but didn't push it since it's been so long since I did chins.

1-Arm Dumbbell Press
20x10, 30x10, 35x10, 40x10, 45x10, 50x10
All pretty easy, MUCH better than last week. If there's a bright side to this week and my stupidity with my back, it's that my shoulder feels a lot better than last week. Recovery finally feels like it's going somewhere. Still some ways to go, but I can feel the progress now.

Seated Cable Row
120x10x2
Easy, wanted to go higher but my back wasn't loving it.

Then saw Les Mis with the GF. I hope the elevated estrogen levels don't dampen recovery.

[John Petrizzo]

All pretty easy, MUCH better than last week. If there's a bright side to this week and my stupidity with my back, it's that my shoulder feels a lot better than last week. Recovery finally feels like it's going somewhere. Still some ways to go, but I can feel the progress now.

Happy about this.

Then saw Les Mis with the GF. I hope the elevated estrogen levels don't dampen recovery.

So, so sad about this. I have been fortunate enough to dodge this bullet thus far. I will not compromise my training with elevated estrogen levels.