Are Weak Men Allowed To Post Routines!?

[lifesnotfair]

Great job with the workouts!!! I would suggest you do Doc's suggested rep scheme/workout for blobs. He told me to do 5 reps on a near limit blob, 5 Negs with a blob you can't lift and 5 blob tosses with a lighter blob with each hand 2-3 times a week (he said he did it everyday which I suppose is also an option). This has worked well for me so far and if Doc says it works, it must as far as I'm concerned.

If by "tossing" you mean letting go of it in midair and grabbing it with the other hand, then I would need a 25lb blob or something to do that

Beacuse the 30 I can lift, I assume it's near max (I don't know if I could lift the 32.5, I'm gonna get cocky and say I think I could, based on the effort needed for the 30). and the 35 would be good for negs then.

But these things are just plain COOL. I wanna get some more. One session and I already feel stronger.

[Autolupus]

Nice windmills man!

They sould have some crossover to the TGUs!

How are they helping your shoulder?

Should be feeling a whole lot stronger now!

[Scott Styles]

Congratulations on the PR!

It sound like the blobs were an excellent choice for you. I predict within 4 weeks you will learn the wider pinch width and deadlift the 35lber. I've hovered mine, but I cannot pinch the 2 25lb sports authority plates with one hand.

[lifesnotfair]

Autolupus: I have no endurance, the TGU's take more time to do than the Windmills, so even with a much lighter dumbell (half the weight!), I struggle to finish 6 reps of TGU's because the shoulder starts feeling very very burnt.. (lactic acid?). I don't do the windmills fast, I do them slow, but even a slow windmill takes way less time than a TGU, and 5-6 consecutive... you get the idea! But we'll see!! I knew my shoulders were unstable, always felt it when pressing overhead. I actually hope I feel better when pressing, if I progress a bit on this two exercises.

Scott: It was not long ago that I bought those two plates... heck, I just went a few pages back and checked, I got them on June 9th !!! That's not even two months ago. I could NOT deadlift them back then, and I have not trained on them a lot (around 1x a week, due to skin on the thumb tearing a bit in every session).. I'm sure you can get them if you worked hard enough. Even I, who doesn't see progress come quickly, got them... so it must be doable. You said you got your blob 32.5 ... have you ever tried deadlifting that, resting 2 mins, chalking up and going for the sport authority plates?? Try it. The plates, that used to feel (until today) very wide to me, felt super thin when going from blobs to them.

[Autolupus]

Have you tried walking with dumbbells/kettlebells held overhead, sorta reverse farmers walk , zig zags and figure eights are good. Also overhead squat with dumbbells/kettlebells will make the shoulders work hard!

Edited August 5, 2007 by Autolupus

[Scott Styles]

I may have to give that a try soon. I was pinching my easy 25lb plates today.

[vikingsrule92]

Hey lifesnotfair, if you need a 25 lb. blob, I'll sell you mine. I'm now doing tosses with a 30 and on a good day a 35 so my 25 is pretty much useless except warming up. If you really want a lighter one I'd be happy to give it to you at a reasonable price. just pm me and we can discuss it.

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks vikings, but I think that'd be a step backwards, in a way. I mean, less than two months ago my 2-25's felt unliftable. I did 4 singles with it yesterday... So, the 30lb blob saw MANY lifts yesterday, I mean MANY... I can't "toy" with it yet, so I know I can't toss it, but if I keep playing with it, I reckon in two months time I should be able to toss this one. If I get more blobs, they'd have to be bigger. I'm thinking of the 32.5 and the 37.5 ... or maybe just the latter, who knows.

[lifesnotfair]

Forgot to add today's workout!

05.08.2007

I did 3 sets of pushups in the morning, don't know why... 30, 28, 24 .. low on these, the last two sets were max efforts, could've done a couple more on the first.

Many hours later:

Renegade rows: 20x5, 30x5, 40x5 x3 sets - tough.

DB Hammer Concentration Curl: 20x5, 30x5, 40x3, 36x5 x2 sets, 42x1 ...

Wow, concentration style really forces one to be super strict.

I was hitting grippers with my right hand in between sets.. just a few closes, maybe 4-5 closes of the filed #1.5 right handed, wide set, no chalk. Then an attempt at a #1 2 finger MMS close... missed by 5/16-3/8" .. then gave it all I had to the BBSM and #2.5, one try each, from a wide set, and I sucked on BOTH. I think it's too early to try those with wide sets, since I can't close the #2 from a wide set yet, heh, so maybe it was dumb to even attempt that.

Oh, and I did some shrugs with my EZ bar... 90x10, 130x10, 170x10.

[CoC#3]

Man i know exactly how it is with the blobs. Really hard to stop yourself. Mobster has a 20kg blob at his place, one time i went up there and had a play with it - and did around 100 lifts/cleans of it, lol. My hands were in pain for a week.

Welldone on pinching the 2 25s aswell.

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Sam. 20kg blob huh? That'd be a looong term goal for me.

I am pissed off and depressed. My shoulder hurts, it has hurt for 4-5 months now, I hate it.

I went to a third doctor, he had me do a sonography (?) in my shoulder, everything was all right. The sonography guy suggested an MRI, but the doc told me to try his solution first: rest! Argh, I HATE rest. I know the first doctor told me to rest, but my idea of rest still included doing stuff like grippers, and realistically speaking, not really resting much. I'm gonna try some REAL rest and see what happens. He told me to rest 3 weeks (what!?!?) and go back then. I will go back, and if it still hurts we'll do the MRI and see what happens.

It's not a very bad timing though, because I placed an order for an oly bar, 400lbs in plates (including small 1.25lb plates), 2 oly dumbells, and a power rack, which should arrive sometime soon. I already got the super bench (adjustable) with dip and pullup accesory. I also ordered some mats. I'm putting this all together in the appartment I'm moving to, by the end of the month. So I better rest now, so maybe when I move I'll be able to use my upcoming equipment.

This truly stinks.

[lifesnotfair]

I've been "resting" ...

Yesterday, I did tabata jumping squats.. heh, but did only 10 per set, that was so tiring.

Then I did tabata squats, did 18, 18, and all 16 after that. Thigs were dead.

I also lifted the 30lb blob MANY times, left handed only.

Today, I decided to try one hand deadlifts, again left arm only.

I did 80x10 x10 sets, with less than 30 secs rest between sets. I know, crazy, dunno why, felt like fun. I used my EZbar though.

Then I did 100x5 or 10... 110x5, 120x5, 130x5, 140x5, and I failed at 150, getting like 3. It was in front of me, the EZ-bar. I don't think training left side only for a week or two is gonna cause imbalances, as a matter of fact, the left side could catch up a bit, as it's weaker in most aspects. I just hate to let days go by and not break a sweat... I feel like I've got to do at least something.

I also did some DB tricep extensions behind head, left only... 20x10, 26x9, 30x5.

[lifesnotfair]

09.08.2007

Tabata jumping squats - 10 in all sets. For warmup. It's funny how in the last sets one makes a huge effort to jump, and barely clears the floor like 1mm, heh.

DB concentration hammer curls, left hand only: 20x5, 30x5, 36x5 x3 sets. Very tough for some reason. I hate the strictness of the concentration style, heh. I straighten my arm completely at the bottom and don't use momentum to bring it up.

30lb blob lifting - left hand only. Did about 10 lifts with very little rests.. first few sets with 20-30 secs, then close to 45 secs rest... then rested a couple of mins, went for a set, got 4 lifts, repositioning my hand every time. Rested another couple of mins, went for a hold, did a strong 10 seconds hold and lowered it in control, although I felt my pinky finger starting to slip. This was tough and took a lot of energy. I rested and tried another set, but ended up with just a single. Rested and tried the 35lb blob - did not move at all. Rested and tried my 2-25's, moved some inches.. tried 2 more times, nothing. Then I picked the 30 blob and put it back in the box with the 35, where I keep it.

Tabata squats: 18 the first four, 16 the last four.

Planning to do extensors here @ work in a while, left hand only.

[lifesnotfair]

11.08.2007

30lb blob... a few lifts.. then 2 sets of 5 reps each hand, very hard, but got them. Consecutive reps, grabbing it in the same place.. (sometimes I roll it a bit and grab it by the side or by the bottom).

Then I added some weight with a strap.. first some collars on each side of the strap.. maybe I was adding 2 pounds? I could lift it like this, but just for a single. I tried the 35lb blob - can't move it yet. Then finished with another 30lb lift but by now I could barely do a single.

Tabata squats, 18x4 and 16x4.

I ordered blobs 32.5 and 37.5 from Sean Dockery, who sold me the 30 and 35 ones. I was thinking the other day, that the 35lb blob is 16.67% heavier than the 30lb blob, but it's not 16.67% harder to lift... it must be like 25% harder or maybe a tad more, I guess (GUESS is key word here)... because it feels so much wider than the 30lb... it's not that much wider, but I'm just not used to wide pinching anything, and to my small hands anything is wide. I'm hoping I can do the 32.5lb at least for a single by the time it arrives, and it should help in my quest for the 35, which will in turn help in the quest for the 37.5, heh.. these 4 blobs will be my main training for the hands for a while, I know it, I love 'em !!

[lifesnotfair]

12.08.2007

One hand deadlift on an EZ-bar: (I know, I know, it would be much less on an olympic barbell... I ordered a set already, and I'll use it when I get it, but for the moment, gotta use what I have):

80x10, 110x6, 140x6, 150x6 x2 sets. This was pretty tiring. Bar in front of my like a regular deadlift.

Last night I had some friends come over... my strong-handshake friend with 8" hands (or so) lifted my 35lb blob and my 2-25's without chalk. This makes me wanna quit. Or makes me wanna get stronger.... but darn, why couldn't I have naturally bigger and stronger hands? Most of my friends have bigger hands than me, but this one has strong hands as well.. now I'm curious as to what the others would do in the pinch department.

[superfeemiman]

12.08.2007

One hand deadlift on an EZ-bar: (I know, I know, it would be much less on an olympic barbell... I ordered a set already, and I'll use it when I get it, but for the moment, gotta use what I have):

80x10, 110x6, 140x6, 150x6 x2 sets. This was pretty tiring. Bar in front of my like a regular deadlift.

Last night I had some friends come over... my strong-handshake friend with 8" hands (or so) lifted my 35lb blob and my 2-25's without chalk. This makes me wanna quit. Or makes me wanna get stronger.... but darn, why couldn't I have naturally bigger and stronger hands? Most of my friends have bigger hands than me, but this one has strong hands as well.. now I'm curious as to what the others would do in the pinch department.

Remember that there's always some guy who starts out stronger than you. I still train grippers even though Dave Morton closed a #3 the week he got it, though I know it's not the same when the person is someone you know.

But yeah, I'm always curious about what people can lift. Seeing people demolish lifts that took you months or even years to get to can be a great motivation.

[lifesnotfair]

13.08.2007

One set of light DB wrist curls, light pegasus extension, light hammer curls, light DB tricep extension behind head.. 1 set of each I think, just to see how it felt right now.

14.08.2007

DB lunges, one side at a time, feet fixed in the same possition (not steping back and forth):

26x10, 40x10, 60x10, 70x10 - all good except last set with right leg in front, form was a bit sloppy I'd say. I think the single-leg stuff I was doing recently has helped with lunges.

Wife-squats (my wife, who is 105lbs give or take a couple, sitting on my shoulders):

5x20 - wow, this sure was tiring. I needed a few breaks in some sets, just around 3 second breaks to breathe once or twice before the next rep.

My rubber mats arrived.. also part of the preparation for my upcoming home gym, I ordered 24" x 24" x 1/2" from Amazon, it had good reviews.

[Martin_Arildsson]

What did your wife think about that?

Good luck with your new gym!

[lifesnotfair]

What did your wife think about that?

Good luck with your new gym!

She was doing exercises as well, so she didn't mind sitting over my sweaty self in her rest periods, heh. She says she's terrified of falling, but I feel a lot of control, I grab her legs and never even felt the slightest chance of letting her fall.

15.08.2007

Since I'm not doing any upper body heavy training or anything, or playing any tennis either for the past couple of months, I figured I should at least do some cardio...

Rope jump: 20 sets of 1.5mins jump / 30 secs rest... so, in total 30 mins of jumping in 40 minutes. This was very, very tiring for me.

[lifesnotfair]

16.07.2007

I warmed up with just a high rep set of a few things, like front levers, rear levers, rotations, pegasus, DB wrist curls... ok, now time to try the 30 lb blob.. but it felt awfuly hard today. Seriously hard. I mean, I picked the 35lb blob with BOTH hands to warm up, and I tried rowing it a little bit, and it fell on the second rep, lol... so it all just sucked today.

My power rack arrived from New York Barbells, I'll try to put it together on saturday or something, it's in the apparement I'm moving to, but I wont move for another 2 weeks maybe.

My shoulder pain is frustrating.. not because it's getting worse, but it's just not going away and I can't train right. .. I'll try to get an MRI done tomorrow, maybe.

[lifesnotfair]

I went to the doctor again. He insists in doing no MRI's, why on earth???

He took an x-ray from 30 degrees up... he says my acromium is too big. He once again told me to rest 3 months and just do the Rockwood exercises. ARGH!@*&*^%*&^ WTF???

I contacted once again one of Dr. Rockwood's associates in Texas. I am going to the USA for about 5 days in less than a month, I think I will take that opportunity to actually go and visit this Dr., and see what he tells me. I just don't feel the Doc's in here truly know a lot about this type of things. This sucks beyond belief. I mean, it sucks, BIG TIME... 3 months of rest and again some CRAPPY exercises with a broomstick? Come the F--- on..... I'm so frustrated, you guys have no idea. And with my rack/bench already here, and my weightset almost arriving... wtf am I gonna do with it now? Stare at it? :-(

I'll get weaker, I'll get fatter, and I'll get anxious to lift again... I might be weak, but I sure as sh*t enjoy lifting and trying to get stronger so oneday I will no longer be weak. I'll try to eat correctly so I don't gain weight, and maybe lose a bit of fat, but losing some muscle mass might be inevitable if I really need to rest so long. My current plan MIGHT be resting for the next 3 weeks till I see that doctor in Texas... and see what he says... but total rest stinks. I imagine I could still include some rope-jumping and bodyweight squats (like tabata squats) to at least sweat some, burn some calories and not be inactive all the time. But it's hard not to touch anything else, seriously.... Maybe I could think of a way to attach weight to my waist or something to do some sort of weird squats without having to use my arms to hold onto the bar :P .... sometimes life's not fair. =)

[lifesnotfair]

I did the therapy Rockwood exercises with the red therabands. I have the yellow (easier) but I figure 75 year old people start with that. It says to do each exercise for 5 reps, holding them for 5 secs. at the contracted possition... I'm doing around 8 exercises. It does say to do them 2-3 times a day.. but since today I started so late (after work), I will just do it once. I'll do them in the morning (takes little time, 15 mins maybe), at noon and after work.. lets see if this makes anything after a few weeks.

I am gonna do these:

1. External rotation, 2. Side raise with elbow at 90 degrees, 3. Internal rotation, 4. Press (like a bench press machine movement, but with these pansy bands), 5. Rowing, 6. knee-pushups with extra push at the top (like trying to push the floor even more away, not just locking elbows), 7. Shrugs with a barbell, and 8. "Kelso" shrugs? Dunno, but since I don't have a bench yet, I set myself in pendlay-row possition and did them like this. I used 40lbs for both shrugging exercises. Remember I held everything for 5 secs at the top possition, the hardest was the knee pushups, as I was really pushing more at the top.

I then did grippers, and found myself to be strong on them tonight:

LH saw around 6-7 reps on the #1, good reps, opening to at least 3/4". I then closed the filed #1.5 which is great for this hand. Then tried the filed #1 but that one is too filed, it's so hard on that last bit... then I did some reps on the BBSA, don't remember how many.

RH saw 5 good reps on the filed #1.5, 3/4" between each at least.. then a single from a wide set. Then the #2 was closed from a MMS (at least now I don't use my leg to help the set, I used to do that with this gripper).. I then tried the #2 from a wide set and got it to 1/4" and held it there for a few secs. Then, I got 20 reps on the BBSA (19 actually).. that must be a PR. I then got 12 (or 11?) reps on the filed #1, which must also be a PR. I think here is where I tried that wide #2 now that I think of it, it tired me (turned into a neg for only a couple of secs), and then tried the filed #1 again and got less reps, but got to 10 with help from the other hand (which was helping on the last 1/8" maybe.

Extensors now. I'm avoiding carrying or lifting heavy weights, but I hope the grippers don't bother me. I do them every so often anyways, I don't think they will interfere with a shoulder strenthening program... maybe the blob, being 30lbs, should be avoided, argh.

[superfeemiman]

I hope that doctor you're going to see will help you get into your training faster! That really does suck man, I'm sorry for you. I think you should definitely take this time to do a lot of research on training, it might be better because at least you are getting some form of training done, even if it's just reading articles.

And here is a shoulder flexibility exercise which might help you: http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=309409

[Scott Styles]

That is rough, good luck with the doctors.

This might sound crazy, but something I have found is when my hips are loose, my shoulders feel their best. You might use this down time as an opportunity to learn about creating mobility and stability through the whole body. This book helped me finish my shoulder rehab, and I think it is a big part of the reason I am able to lift 4-5x a week without injury:

http://www.amazon.com/Stretch-Win-Ann-Fred...6056&sr=8-1

[lifesnotfair]

I hope that doctor you're going to see will help you get into your training faster! That really does suck man, I'm sorry for you. I think you should definitely take this time to do a lot of research on training, it might be better because at least you are getting some form of training done, even if it's just reading articles.

And here is a shoulder flexibility exercise which might help you: http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=309409

I did this yesterday and today, this is the stretching I do before those exercises I listed. I use the EZ bar, grabbing it wide... but I wanna get a rope, because my hands aren't comfortable grabbing a straight bar/stick, and I use only index finger and thumb, heh, with a rope this shouldn't be an issue. I had read about that stretching exercise many times, we'll see what it does for me. I will do this 3 times a day, already set my alarm earlier so I do it every day when I wake up, at noon and after work.

Scott: you have the first review for that book in Amazon!! Cool.