Quest For Strength

[Ken_L]

9/13/2018 Thursday@Work Left Shoulder Rehab Week 5

One more week to go before I add the bench press back in For now Thursdays are going to be "One And Done". One AMRAP set once a week. Mondays session will still be done using bands. The idea is to get in volume work with bands and one high intensity set with iron per week. This will hopefully be sufficient to continue to drive progress without overtaxing what my shoulder can tolerate.

Shoulder Stretches Keeping my shoulder stretched out has been the most important exercise that I have been doing. Without it range of motion starts to decrease which makes squatting extremely difficult. Right now I am squatting high bar with no pain at all for the first time. Low bar? Not a chance! I can get the bar into position but it is quite painful and is past my range of motion. I can't do any more then just the bar because I do not feel like I can control it safely in the over extended position that I am in.

Squat 250X9 Increased by 1 rep this week which was surprising considering my workload and lack of sleep. Just a couple more days of craziness to go and my house will be rented out which will greatly lower my stress level!

Kettlebell Press 20# X 10 L&R, 35# X 12 L&R Improved 2 reps over last week. I press first with my left shoulder for however many reps feel safe for it, then match it with the right. Form is critical for the kettlebell press as the weight has to be controlled. This is what makes them good for my shoulder.

Superset Fly/Tri (Band)
Modified Fly 26# X 20, 33# X 10, 33# X 10, 26# X 16
Triceps 23# X 20, 30# X 10, 30# X 10, 23# X 15

Deadlift 135X5, 225X5, 265X12 After rep 9 I was huffing and puffing, sucking some serious wind! Another 20# jump will be made next week. The number of reps will start to decrease as the weight increases.

Chins 16 Next week weight will be added to chins.

One Arm Chest Press (Band) 23# x 20, 30# x 10, 30# x 10, 23# x 20 Resistance needs to be increased as to many reps were able to be done on the last set.

DB Row 70X15 L&R Reintroduced rows this week. Just like with the other exercises I started light and will LP it back up.


I have not been able to run on Tuesday or do a HIIT session on Friday (tomorrow) this week due to all of my time being used to get the house ready for rent. The tenants were supposed to move in November 1st but that changed to this Saturday. Crunch time!

[Ken_L]

9/17/2018 Monday@Work Left Shoulder Rehab Week 6


I am going to try and get my two cardio days back in the workout this week. I missed them last week, especially the sled/kettlebell work.

Shoulder Stretches


Squat 3RG25 250#(7,7,7-21) Even though I did not do well on the first set the total is up from 19 reps last Monday to 21 today. I am surprised that I did this well with my crazy schedule / lack of sleep / inconsistent meals that continued up through yesterday. Hopefully I can recover and get back on track now with some good sleep and proper nutrition.

Superset Fly/Row (Band)
Modified Fly 26# X 20, 33# X 10, 33# X 10, 26# X 15 After increasing resistance by stretching out the bands a little more each session I have now started to stack bands to increase the resistance. Progressive overload works well with bands once you get your mind wrapped around them.
Row 30# X 20, 38# X 10, 38# X 10, 30# X 15 Resistance was increased on rows and will be increased again next week.

Superset Lateral Raise/Front Raise These continue to humble but they do work out some kinks in the shoulder.
Lateral Raise 8# X 20, 13# X 10, 13# X 10, 8# X 15
Front Raise 5# X 20, 11# X 10, 11# X 10, 5# X 15

Superset One Arm Chest Press/Face Pulls
One Arm Chest Press 23# X 20, 30# X 10, 30# X 10, 23# X 15
Face Pulls 13# X 20, 19# X 10, 19# X 10, 13# X 15

Superset Bi/Tri First/Last set 23# Band. Middle sets 30# Band. Moved this superset to the end of the workout. I didn't want to exhaust tri's before the One Arm Chest Press
Biceps 20,10,10,15 The last 2 reps of the third set were half reps.
Triceps 20,10,10,15

[Ken_L]

9/18/2018 MISS Tuesday


Cardio - Treadmill 2 miles @ 6.3mph Time 18:51 Breath changes were at 1.0 and 1.8 miles. The goals for breath changes are 1.25 and 1.8. I expected to do much worse since I missed a week of cardio (running) and 2 prowler/kettlebell sessions due to getting my old house ready for renters. Much to my surprise I actually made progress! The last time I ran the second breath change was at 1.7 miles. I felt stronger running today then last time! I wonder how much squats and deadlifts contribute maintaining cardio. Also the workouts that I have been doing for the past 6 weeks have HIIT built in with supersets. This further cements in my mind that even a minimal amount of cardio will result in gains. There is no reason to beat up your body with countless hours of running to maintain a decent level of fitness. It also shows that there is a synergistic relationship between lifting and cardio if the dosage of each is correct.

[Ken_L]

9/20/2018 Thursday@Work Left Shoulder Rehab Week 6

Shoulder Stretches

Squat 250X10 Finaly hit 10 reps! Hopefully I will also hit the rep goal of 25 on Monday for 3 sets. It usually ends up 10, 8, 7.

Kettlebell Press 20# X 10 L&R, 35# X 13 L&R Added 1 rep over last week. But more importantly my left shoulder felt more stable and was able to control the weight better then last week. It was a very noticeable difference.

Superset Fly/Tri (Band)
Modified Fly 26# X 20, 33# X 10, 33# X 10, 26# X 15 This is an awesome exercise! Very difficult and causes a stronger contraction in the chest then anything that I have ever done.
Triceps 23# X 20, 30# X 10, 30# X 10, 23# X 15

Deadlift 135X5, 225X5, 285X10 Adding 20# caused a 2 rep drop. Although I didn't feel nearly as winded as last week. Next week will be a 10# increase.

Chins +25# X 6, +20# X 7

One Arm Chest Press (Band) 23# x 20, 30# x 10, 30# x 10, 23# x 20 Resistance needs to be increased as to many reps were able to be done on the last set. I said that last week but forgot to increase the resistance today.

One Arm DB Row 75X15 L&R

Next week the bench press will be added back in It will start light and LP back up. At that time Thursday's workout will be back to all iron. It will consist of one AMRAP set per exercise. Bands will still be used for upper body work on Monday's allowing volume to be done without stressing the shoulder.

My program looks like this

Monday: Full body workout with bands for upper body, iron for lower.
Tuesday: Treadmill for 2 miles.
Thursday: Full body with iron "One and Done".
Friday: HIIT prowler/kettlebell swings.

[Ken_L]

9/21/2018 HIIT Friday

Sled Push / Kettlebell Swing 4 rounds, each consisting of pushing the sled and 15 kettlebell swings. The sled was loaded with a 45# plate and my 80# daughter. After this my son wanted a turn so I pushed the sled with him 3 more times although without the kettlebell swings.

This was a fun workout and the kids liked it to. It is a great way to get them involved with exercise in a fun way. I will continue with this on Fridays until the weather makes it impossible. When that happens I'll try sprints on the stationary bike and kettlebell swings. As long as there is no snow and ice I would much rather stay outside.

[Ken_L]

9/24/2018 Monday@Work Left Shoulder Rehab Week 7


Squat 3RG25 250#(7,6,5-19) I haven't been progressing on squats. My thoughts were that it was due to my hectic schedule for the last three or so weeks but I don't think that is the case anymore. It seems like Monday's squats drive progress and Thursday goes well but between Thursday and Monday there is some regression. I think that the cause is insufficient volume on Thursday, 1 set is not enough and progress is lost by Monday. The last time I was progressing on squats, about 1 month ago both workouts were 3RG25 (3 sets that must total 25 reps before adding weight). For me squats need a higher volume/reps scheme then other exercises so I am going back to 3 sets for each workout. 2 sets might be enough but I know 3 is. I wanted to drop the sets lower on Thursdays so that I would't be fried for deadlifting. If I don't have the energy to DL in the morning I'll hit them at lunch.

Superset Fly/Row (Band)
Modified Fly 31# X 20, 38# X 10, 38# X 10, 31# X 15 Increased the resistance.
Row 35# X 20, 43# X 10, 43# X 10, 35# X 15 Increased the resistance but I will need to go to 1 arm rows soon. With the current amount of resistance it is all I can do to maintain my seated position on the floor. I keep pulling myself forward.

Superset Lateral Raise/Front Raise Felt good today, next week the resistance will be increased by 3lbs.
Lateral Raise 8# X 20, 13# X 10, 13# X 10, 8# X 15
Front Raise 5# X 20, 11# X 10, 11# X 10, 5# X 15

Superset One Arm Chest Press/Face Pulls
One Arm Chest Press 28# X 20, 35# X 10, 35# X 10, 28# X 15 Increased the resistance.
Face Pulls 13# X 20, 19# X 10, 19# X 10, 13# X 15

Superset Bi/Tri First/Last set 23# Band. Middle sets 30# Band.
Biceps 20,10,10,15 Next time add 3lbs. to each set.
Triceps 20,10,10,15

[Ken_L]

9/25/2018 MISS Tuesday


Cardio - Treadmill 2 miles @ 6.3mph Time 18:50 Met the goal to advance 0.1mph with breath changes at 1.25 and 1.8 miles. The goals were easily met and I could have run for longer before needing more air to continue. This is substantial progress over last week which most likely was helped by resuming HIIT on Fridays. Next weeks run will be at 6.4mph.

My goals for running are to start out with breath changes every 4 steps. After 1.25 miles breath direction is changed to every 3 steps. At 1.8 miles every 2 steps. This last change is made to increase oxygen for a .1 mile sprint from 1.9 to 2.0 miles. Once these goals have been met conditioning has improved enough to advance 0.1mph. It is a non-linear progression but still a progression. Either add distance between breath changes or add speed. Another variable that I have not played with yet is incline. Incline will added into the mix when progress with the current system stalls, it eventually has to just like the Novice LP.

The treadmill is used because it absorbs a lot of the impact making running much easier on the body. The second reason is because incremental increases can be applied to drive progress. Third it's indoors in a controlled environment. No excuses such as rain, snow, heat, or cold get in the way. Lets be honest these things are a justification for being LAZY. On second thought maybe I do need to run outdoors

[Ken_L]

9/27/2018 Thursday@Work Finding The Least Effective Dose

I changed the title from "One And Done" to "Finding The Least Effective Dose" as it fits what I am trying to accomplish better. If progress stalls on any of the lifts an extra set will be added, just like what I had to do with squats. The goal is to do as little as possible to progress so that a minimum amount of stress is put on my shoulder resulting in slow sustainable gains.

Shoulder Stretches

Squat 3RG25 250(8,7,7-22) Switched back to 3 sets on Thursdays. Progress was made since last Monday when I did 19 reps. Next Monday will tell the story. I really don't think the 1 set that I was doing on Thursdays was enough stress to prevent detraining.

Bench Press 45X5, 45X10, 95X5, 135X20 Added bench presses back in today! A low weight was used to start. I will run an LP adding 5 pounds each week. Benching felt great, there was no pain or discomfort at all.

One Arm DB Row 80X15 L&R

Kettlebell Press 20X10 L&R, 35X14 L&R Added 1 rep over last week.

Deadlift 135X5, 225X5, 295X8 Adding 10# caused a 2 rep reduction. It may have been the extra weight but I bet is was because of the 2 extra sets of squats. I am going to switch to 5# increments. The exercise order was arranged to put as much time as possible between squats and deadlifts.

Chins +15# X 8

Overall a good workout. It is nice to be back to all iron for 1 day a week. Bands will still be used on Mondays, Iron on Thursdays.

[Ken_L]

9/28/2018 Friday@Home HIIT

4 Rounds of prowler/15 kettlebell swings.

The sled was loaded to 170 pounds and the kettlebell was a 50 pounder. Sled work is done sprinting in an upright position up and back 2 times. It was very hard to push today. This past week we had a lot of rain and I think it cleaned off my driveway. The driveway is on a slight hill. Normally it is hard to push the sled uphill and easy downhill. Today even the downhill part was difficult. The sled just seemed like it had glue on it. All I can say is ohhhh them glutes, feel the burn!

[Ken_L]

10/1/2018 Monday@Work Left Shoulder Rehab Week 8

The left shoulder is feeling really good, but not perfect. It will probably never be 100% but at least I am able to train without any pain or wonkiness. It continues to improve a little every week.

Shoulder Stretches

Squat 3RG25 250#(9,8,6-23) For the first time in almost a month there was an improvement on Monday instead of regression. This confirms that extra volume on Thursday is needed in order to drive progress. I'll stick with 3RG25 on both days for as long as it works.

Superset Fly/Row (Band)
Modified Fly 31# X 20, 38# X 10, 38# X 10, 31# X 15
Row 35# X 20, 43# X 10, 43# X 10, 35# X 15

Superset Lateral Raise/Front Raise (Band) Increased the resistance on both exercises and failed to make the required reps. I will try to add reps each session until the correct number of reps are done, then increase the resistance again.
Lateral Raise 11# X 20, 16# X 8, 16# X 7, 11# X 11
Front Raise 8# X 15, 13# X 9.5, 13# X 9, 8# X 15

Superset One Arm Chest Press/Face Pulls (Band) Stretched the bands out a little further for more resistance.
One Arm Chest Press 28# X 20, 35# X 10, 35# X 10, 28# X 15
Face Pulls 13# X 20, 19# X 10, 19# X 10, 13# X 15 Add resistance next time.

Superset Bi/Tri First/Last set 23# Band. Middle sets 30# Band.
Biceps 20,10,10,15
Triceps 20,10,10,15