Cut Day 34 – double workout day

I missed the Thursday workout and needed to catch up, so I did my compound work at Noon, and then some shoulder health work at 4:30 PM.

To accommodate the fact I was working out twice, I dropped the volume to a minimum on the Noon workout, just one top set and one backoff set.

Noon Powerlifting

warm-up: nada

High Bar Squats (Romaleos, SBDs)

80 x 5 (narrow stance, ATG, 3 minimal rest)
130 x 5
180 x 3
205 x 2 (switch to medium stance and parallel)
235 x 1 (belt on, increase rest to 3 min)

259 x 6 @RPE9

245 x 6 @RPE8

Bench Press

bar x 5 (minimal rest, change weight and go again, Spoto)
55 x 5
90 x 5
125 x 3
145 x 2
160 x 1

180 x 6 @RPE<8 (sleeves on, change to paused reps, increased rest to 3 min)

165 x 6 @RPE<8

Deadlift (barefoot)

100 x 5 (minimal rest, conventional grip)
165 x 5
225 x 3
260 x 2 (change to crossgrip)
295 x 1 (belt on, rest went up to 3 min)

325 x 6 @RPE8

315 x 6 @RPE8

It was a good thing I minimized the volume – I was pretty short on time and had to take off. There was no work today but I had to run errands before the late afternoon workout.

As well, one side effect of having such irregular sleep over the holidays meant that my low back had not fully recharged – it got pretty sore during the workout. What I really need are really long marathon sleeps in my bed, not catnaps throughout the day.

Also, squats kinda hurt because I had cut up my heel a bit – I build up excess dead skin and scrub it off and went too deep so my heel was bleeding. Putting pressure on it while I walked was no fun, and it was also distracting during the squats.

PM Shoulder Health Workout

Same workout as last week, just a little more compressed for time.

Superset Scapula Stretch Pulldowns and Rotator Cuff Warmup (no real rest b/w sets, back and forth)

12 plates x 8 / 15 lb DB taken through ROM 15 times per arm
13 plates x 8 / ROTO
14 plates x 8 / ROTO

Stretched Rows (30 sec rest)

12 plates x 8
14 plates x 8
16 plates x 8

Superset Minor Chest Dips and DB Rear Delt Flyes (60s rest)

10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20

Superset DB Hex Press and Band Pullaparts (60s rest; flex each pullapart at peak contraction for 1 second)

45s x 10 / 15 pullaparts
45s x 10 / 15 pullaparts
45s x 10 / 15 pullaparts

notes: Used a heavier resistance band than last time.

Superset DB 6-Way and Band Over&Backs (60 s rest)

10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs
10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs
10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs

Prone Leg Raises (straight legs, 30s rest)

25, 25, 25, 25

Planks (30s rest)

30 sec
30 sec
30 sec
30 sec

Ugh, my throat is sore and I feel shaky. Hope I am not fighting off a bug. 2 workouts in one day might have been ill-advised.

Cut Day 27

My trainer prescribed a good shoulder health day for myself – exercises that I have done before that feel good on my shoulder girdle, and gave me a pump while I was at it. I took some John Meadows routines and mashed them together. He might not approve, but hey, it is my mix

warmup

take a DB through ROM for my rotator cuff, 30 seconds rest b/w sets

15 lb DB done 15 times per side; 3 sets

Scapula Stretch Pulldowns (90 sec rest b/w sets)

120 x 8
130 x 8
140 x 8
150 x 8
160 x 8
170 x 8

notes: These are simple enough, widegrip pulldowns, but you let your arms extend at the top all the way, until you feel a stretch in your scapulae, pulling your arms out of the sockets a bit and starting to pull you off of the seat pad. Not knowing what this cable machine was like, I started low and worked my way up.

Stretched Rows (90 sec rest)

150 x 8
150 x 8
150 x 8

notes: Continuing in the same thought process of stretching my shoulders out first, these are a bit more complicated. You put a narrowgrip attachment on the lat pulldown machine, stand up and back from it, brace one foot on the seat pad, and row the attachment into your chest. But on the negative you let your arms extend all the way, until you can drop your head down between your arms. You look like an idiot, but it works. After these first two movements plus the warmup, my shoulders felt loose, AND I had a really good pump going on in my back from such a wide-extending ROM. Bonus!

Superset Minor Chest Dips and DB Rear Delt Flyes (90s rest)

10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20
10 dips / 10s x 20

notes: Minor chest dips are when you keep your arms straight and SINK down into your shoulder girdle, pressing yourself up with only your chest. Doing the RD flyes, I could tell right away my right shoulder was sore, but I also felt like this movement was not making it worse, merely exposing where the stiffness is. Don’t need to go heavy, just need to work the cobwebs out of it.

Superset DB Hex Press and Band Pullaparts (90s rest; flex each pullapart at peak contraction for 1 second)

50s x 10 / 20 pullaparts
50s x 10 / 20 pullaparts
50s x 10 / 20 pullaparts

notes: Hex Press means you mash the DBs together as you press. Right away, my shoulder groaned from this. I didn’t want to risk this pressing movement aggravating it, so I cut one set out and raised the reps on the pullaparts up from 10 to 20. This transferred more work to my rear delts, but I think they haven’t been getting enough to do lately and its been unbalancing.

Superset DB 6-Way and Band Over&Backs (90 s rest)

10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs
10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs
10s x 10 / 20 O&Bs

notes: I SAY I am doing 20 over and backs, but by this point in the workout, my shoulders are so pumped, I need a few breaks during the second and third set! This is why I love this particular Meadows workout, it pumps the hell out of my shoulders with no weight! I have done it maybe 6 times, and each time I do it, I can NEVER make it through those over and backs at the end. The sequencing of the movements is just genius, it works quite well on me, the whole thing as a package.

Prone Leg Raises (straight legs, 30s rest)

25, 25, 25, 25

notes: Again, I had to take a few breaks, but did not end the set until I hit 25.

Creampuff Ab Machine (30s rest)

160 x 25
160 x 25
160 x 25
160 x 25

post-workout: 15 min LISS on the elliptical, staying in the “endurance” zone