Kettlebells, Kettlebells, Kettlebells, Kettlebells

[Scott Styles]

09-24-2006 - Workout 27 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Actually did this one yesterday, but was too busy cramming for my PMP to write it up. Attempted to do it Saturday, but was too low energy from cramming for the PMP to do well. I'm living the PMBOK for one and a half more days. I cannot wait to be done.

Grippers

Closed easy #2 righty, missed by 1/16th lefty. Did around 5 choked BBSM attempts righty. 5 choked hard #2 attempts lefty. Got all the hard #2 attempts, so I opened the choker a half turn of the screw. This just might be working.

PDA Zeus

1x25lbs

1x45lbs

1x45lbs

1x45lbs

No skin tears this time. I left the skin that didn't quite tear last time alone for a few hours, then opened a slight hole in it after my shower that night. The next day it was dried out and I trimmed it off. That promoted the healing process pretty well and it was ready to go. I also focused on gripping the roller hard. That helped.

Climber511 TTK - Two Handed

Did some heavy, sloppy reps up to 27.5lbs, then 22.5 lbs with no pointer finger on each hand. Also did some one handed reps at 10lbs. Definitely getting stronger here. Attempted some levering after this, but thumbs were shot.

Finger Extensions

White through blue, reps are weak on blue.

Overall a decent grip workout. My daily activity is up. I walked around 3 miles on Sunday as well. It is definitely now visible I have not used any weights in a month. Starting back up is going to be rough. I'm hoping to get cleared for the 12k kettlebell during my PT session on Thursday. Tuesday the guy is going to have to take it easy on me so I don't blow my exam the follow morning.

I've studied the best I can for the PMP exam in the time I allotted. Tomorrow I will review, eat well, and be sure to get to bed early. I can do nothing to be better prepared with the time I have available, only make mistakes to reduce my chances of passing. I'm consistently scoring 78% on the practice exams, I need a 61% to pass. so hopefully that 17% buffer is enough to counter any unforseen complications.

Funny, a few years ago I would've been certain I'd pass, blown off studying, and likely failed or passed by the skin of my teeth. Now, I've studied as much as I could with the time alloted, the numbers indicate I should pass, and I'm still focused on doing everything I can to ensure I pass. I guess that's maturity. Let's hope it is enough. I do have a study plan in mind for a re-test if I fail.

[maidenfan]

You'll pass it - no worries.

[honk]

Have you tried different ways of gipping the vbar?

Cause your vbarstrength seems weak compared to grippers or 2hand pinch. Tom Becker got an 15% increase in his vbar just by changing his technique.

Hope your shoulder gets well in the long term.

[Scott Styles]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I did pass the exam. I'm now a PMP! No more studying

Honk - I'm sucky at v-bar. I think it is because even though my grip lifts are ok, it's all through grip specialization. I am not strong all over, so I'm only going to be strong at the grip stuff I've specialized on. I've played with v-bar a bit and had no luck on improving things via hand position. The lifts hurts a lot, so I don't see myself specializing on it any time soon.

09-21-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 8 at ARC

Had the therapist take it a little easier on me since my exam was the next day. We did some soft tissue work, followed by mobility stuff, followed by biofeedback exercises. Seems to be the pattern he likes. Biofeedback went well but is hard work. We will review my home program Thursday. He says he plans to get me using the 12k kettlebell then. I am definitely improving.

[Scott Styles]

09-28-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 9 at ARC

I was looking forward to this one, and with good reason. He did a lot of soft tissue work, then we got down to exercises for my home program. At one point, I was actually using the pink dumbells. Yep, those are the 1lbers. I've now got 3 exercises to do at home and 2 stretches. I was tired of my old exercises, so this is good.

Even better, I got cleared for a kettlebell workout. I cannot do one arm swings or bottoms up presses, but everything else is cool. Will use the 12k on Saturday for everything but the TGU's, the 15lb dumbell for those. I was getting winded showing the PT the moves with a 15lb dumbell, so there's definitely going to be some time getting back to where I was. I've been sedentary due to the foot problem for about 7 weeks now.

My foot is doing better every day. I had to really rush on the way home because the session ran long. My foot held up. Interestingly, we started at 6:20 and finished at 7:30. I asked the PT about himself, instead of telling him about me. Seems the session goes longer that way. Will keep it in mind.

09-28-2006 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Short and sweet tonight, didn't get home from PT until about 8:30.

Grippers

1xT

2x1x#1

LH: 5x1xChoked #2 Attempts

RH: 5x1xChoked BBSM Attempts

Did better lefty than righty. The #2 is easier for my left hand than the BBSM is for my right hand. Will be interesting to see which hand progresses better.

Blobs

30lber - Lifts, Lifts and Holds, Passing hand to hand

35lber - Did a couple finger press lifts, hands were already fried

Finger Extensions

White, Green, Yellow, Blue bands. Blue is still baby reps.

That's it on the gripping. No direct wrist work tonight. I wasn't in the mood and decided the most likely thing to happen was for me to injur myself. My shoulders were also tired from the PT.

Overall activity is going well and a returned focus on health is in order. This has aligned quite nicely with completion of the PMP. It's good I picked something to distract myself for the initial duration of the rehab process. I'd probably have ignored the PT's advice otherwise. He says I should still see my shoulder doctor at the end of next month. It's important for closure, and I'm sure it's also probably important for the PT's clinic's reputation with the doctor. I'm happy with their work and will let the doctor know as much.

I'm going to seriously scale back the eating out now as well. I'm tired of watching so much money get burned on something that ultimately just goes down the toilet. I've had enough $20 meals to last me for quite awhile. Might even run a caloric deficit for a few weeks. PT said it shouldn't hurt my rehab.

[Scott Styles]

09-30-2006 - Workout 29 - Kettlebells Outside the Apartment

Looked forward to this all day Friday. I had to start out light and my mid-back is still totally sore from PT on Thursday, but I'm starting the road back.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x12k

Two Arm Swings: 2x20x12k

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx12k

Turkish Get Up: 1x3 per armx15lbs

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 12k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x12k to head of 15lb dumbell on end

First half was easier than expected, second half harder. Definitely have quite a bit of rebuilding to do. Glad to be playing with the kettlebells again. Looking forward to getting cleared for one arm swings and presses.

With my PMP done, I've been thinking about my goals for the next 2 months. I'm going to be in the process of building up to where I was on the kettlebells. This will require improvement in both strength and conditioning. I also need to finish out my PT, which I expect to take 1-2 more months.

My orginal plan called for dropping some weight while doing all this, but I'm not so sure that's the appropriate approach right now. I need to be focused on rebuilding first. With 3 trips coming up in the next 2 months and the weather change from fall to winter, I also think running a caloric deficit is going to put me at a high risk for getting sick. Nor is there any chance of me maintaining that deficit while on vacation.

However, I do need to do something about how much I've been eating out. I think between going out on my own and taking my fiancee out, I've probably burned through 300-400 dollars in the last 2 weeks. My overtime accounted for the expense, but still, that's obscene. It's not very good for me either. So, I'm going to make a point to only eat out when it is to share a meal with someone else. If the fiancee wants to go out, she's going to need to find someone to come with us. Otherwise we can stay in and cook. Also, once I am prepared to reduce my calories, weaning down home food vs. out food will be much, much easier.

[Scott Styles]

10-02-2006 - Workout 30 - Grip Work in the Apartment

After a full day of eating real healthy food instead of going out, I was looking forward to this workout. I've also been resting more. I like not doing overtime.

Grippers

RH: 1x#T, 1x#1, 1xEasy #2 + 6 second hold, 1xEasy #2 + grind, 4 Attempts x Choked BBSM

RH: 1x#T, 1x#1, AttemptxEasy #2, AttemptxEasy #2, 4 Attempts x Choked Hard #2

My closes on the easy #2 righty were pretty dominant. My fiancee's been doing this thing ever since I closed it last year where she pretends not to see it shut even when it is obvious. On the second attempt when I ground it a little, she couldn't keep a straight face anymore. Finally! Got down to about 1/8" lefty.

Working with the choked grippers is definitely peaking my max close. Much easier on my middle finger knuckles than the severe negatives or repeated max attempts as well. I think it is releasing a heavy gripper that is hard on the knuckles.

PDA Zeus

1x45lbs

1x45lbs

1x45lbs

Skin was beat up, but no tears. Stay here next time.

Climber511 TTK - Two Handed

Sloppy two handed reps. Form isn't consistent enough to bother tracking reps / weights. Just putting some volume on my thumbs.

Finger Extensions

White through blue, reps are weak on blue.

Overall a good grip workout. Happy with grippers for sure. Got physical therapy tomorrow, been doing a fair bit of walking most days. I am up to 1 full day without eating out. By the end of this month, my workouts and nutrition look to be getting back on track.

[Scott Styles]

10-03-2006 - Workout 31 - Kettlebells Outside the Apartment

Power outage at the PT clinic caused my session to be cancelled. Instead, I did some kettlebells and walked to the grocery store. Will do my rehab exercises later tonight.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x12k

Two Arm Swings: 2x20x12k

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx12k - did these in a superset

Turkish Get Up: 1x3 per armx12k

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 12k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x12k

Nothing too notable. Cleans were a little tiring, but not too bad. It isn't clear to my why I am allowed to do them but no one arm swings. TGUs went heavier this time cause I didn't feel like carrying two weights outside. It was good, I had a problem doing them gracefully lefty when it came time to swing my leg under. Looking back, it's cause I wasn't using my lower trap properly on my right arm for support. This caused my shoulder to raise up, leaving less room to manuever the leg under. I'll have to see next workout if I am capable of doing that. If not, I may have to drop the weight back.

Up to 2 days without eating out. I'm bringing chocolate and chips to augment my lunch at work, but this is the first step to breaking the bad pattern I'd settled into. After another week or two, I'll start move the fruit and nuts in to push out some of the chocolate and chips. The reason I went to the store tonight was actually to get more junk food. I'm not good at eliminating behaviors, I have to replace them.

[Scott Styles]

10-05-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 10 at ARC

After the missed session on Tuesday, I wasn't sure how this one would go. The PT took time to work with me and answered all my questions. It turns out I was doing one of the exercises wrong at home, which is why I could move more weight then I expected. We did soft tissue work, stretching, then exercises. Usual pattern. I'm definitely getting stronger and was able to briefly do a movement today I couldn't last Thursday.

The current plan is for me to do 2 more weeks of sessions, then I'm on vacation for a week, then I see the doctor. He will tell me if I'm cleared or not. I'll need to ask the PT about bending and bench pressing over the next two weeks. The ultimate goal here is to be able to bench press with a barbell pain free. I got cleared to do one armed swings and bottoms up presses with the 12k kettlebell today, so it's time to start thinking about the horizontal pressing. I'll ask on Tuesday.

Did have to pay another $400 to the clinic. Turns out my insurance does have a $1000 deductible that has to be paid before they cover the PT. Just, the way it works, the insurance company has to tell the clinic I have to pay before the clinic bills me. Wonder when I'll get that bill from Athletico then. Hope they don't do something stupid like send me to a collection agency instead of sending me the bill. I should probably call them.

[Scott Styles]

10-06-2006 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Got a haircut and had my eybrows waxed before this. Didn't leave me feeling too strong or motivated after. Waxing fricking hurts, but makes the fiancee happy.

Grippers

1xT

1x1x#1

LH: 5x1xChoked #2 Attempts

RH: 5x1xChoked BBSM Attempts

Lefty got all my attempts, so I opened the clamp a half turn for next time. Righty I'm still missing the Super Master attempts, but destroyed the clamped #2. I like the choked grippers.

Blobs

30lber - Lifts, Lifts and Holds

35lber - Did a couple finger press lifts

Hands were tired on these, just didn't feel strong. Not sure why.

That's it, didn't feel like doing anything else. Looking forward to kettlebells tomorrow morning.

[Scott Styles]

10-07-2006 - Workout 33 - Kettlebells Outside the Apartment

Got up to do this bright and early. Had a big glass of water, played on the internet for awhile, then went to it. It was cold outside, and the grass was all wet, with a little frost.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x12k

One Arm Swings: 2x10 per armx12k - Alternate hands between reps

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx12k - did these in a superset

Bottoms Up Overhead Press: 2x5 per armx12k

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 12k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x12k

One arm swings finally got me to a point where the kettlebell stressed my conditioning some. Glad to be getting back to that.

Grass was too wet to do the turkish get ups. Decided to try them on the sidewalk and came to the conclusion that the risk to reward is too great right now. It's not the arm that's overhead I'm worried about, it's the arm that is supporting. I'm concerned the movement is too dynamic to be safely done lefty (right arm supporting). My lower trap isn't strong enough to keep the shoulder properly depressed and retracted.

On the bright side, during the overhead presses, I could feel my lower trap firing the whole set. I was definitely using it to help move the weight. I felt it tire, and that has me very encouraged.

Without the Turkish Get Ups, this routine lacks sufficient ab work. Luckily, the PT has me doing regular and side planks. So I've got those 3x a week to make sure I'm getting in the ab work. I think once I get up to doing stable side planks for 20 solid seconds, I'll be in a position to do the Turkish Get Ups. Currently, I struggle to do a wobbly one for a few seconds righty.

I also need to start thinking about introducing some foot and ankle work to finish rehabbing the foot I injured when I fell on the stairs. It's been 8 weeks since the injury, I can walk on it fine, but the tissue feels knotted. I think it just needs some strengthening and stretching.

Not sure what my criteria will be for deciding it's time to move back to the 16k kettlebell. Definitely will stick with the 12k one for Wednesday's workout. Not sure about next Saturday.

[Scott Styles]

10-09-2006 - Workout 34 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Grippers

1xT

1x1x#1

LH: MissxEasy #2 (1/4"), 3x1xChoked #2 Attempts

RH: 1xEasy #2, 3x1xChoked BBSM Attempts

These were weak today. Saw a doctor in the morning to get a wart froze on the knuckle closest to the finger tip on my middle finger righty, ring finger lefty. It impacted my grippers.

Blobs

30lber - Lifts, Lifts and Holds, Load on and off bench

35lber - Did a couple finger press lifts

These were pretty good. I am very close to breaking the 35lber off the bench now. Makes me want to specialize on them.

Stopped there. Finger extensions with the bands aren't a very pleasant option today. With the kettlebells back in the mix, I'm not as inclined to do the wrist work. The wrist roller is not setup right now anyway, because of how I need the safety bars in my rack to do my physical therapy on the incline bench.

Wednesday I have to choose between going to a Chicago chapter meeting of the PMI for dinner, or doing kettlebells. The meeting is good for my career long term, the kettlebells for my immediate term physical and mental health. I already paid $30 for the dinner, but will have to drop another $50 on cabs. The dinners are only once a month, I can do kettlebells all the time. Decisions, decisions.

[Scott Styles]

10-10-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 11 at ARC

The back of both my shoulders were burning a little the last few days, so I was interested to talk to the therapist. I think it was a result of sloppy form on an exercise we did that has me doing front lateral raises until my arms are next to my ears. He didn't commit to an answer on it either way, just noted it and where the pain was. The soft tissue work we did was a little different though.

I asked about horizontal pressing, and then we did some. First with 12lb dumbells, but it felt like I was irritating the shoulder. Then we did pushups, same deal. Then we did pushups on the knees with the biofeedback device. That identified the problem. I don't know how to use my lower trap when pressing like that. I finally have the strength to do the pushups on the knees properly, but not on the regular pushups. So, pushups on my knees got added to the mix. As did L-flyes. Thinking now, the L-flyes may be in response to the rear shoulder pain.

Overall a decent session. Thinking now about the transition away from the physical therapy. When it happens, what I need to do to finish the process, and how I know when rehab is done. I also need to know what to do to maintain. Currently, we are considering ending therapy at the end of next week. I'd like to go longer, but am not sure if it would just be hand holding or not. Will have to feel it out over the next few weeks. I like working with the guy and my insurance deductible will already be covered by then, so at the very least I'll ask him about evaluating other common problems.

[Scott Styles]

10-11-2006 - Workout 35 - Kettlebells in the Apartment - OH MY

Well, I don't like to give up the things I like. So, I decided today I will do both my PMI dinner and my kettlebells. That meant getting up at 5:30am to kettlebell. I won't be home until 10:30pm tonight. It's going to be a long day.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x12k

One Arm Swings: 2x10 per armx12k - Alternate hands between reps

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx12k - did these in a superset

Bottoms Up Overhead Press: 2x5 per armx12k

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 12k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x12k

I got to do this in the apartment on my new stall mat. Glad I bought that thing, cause it was raining this morning. I wouldn't have wanted to go kettlebell outside on the cold, wet, dark lawn.

Overall the workout was a good one. I think I started to feel how I have to use my lower trap during the one arm swings. I've got the left arm as a control and am trying to compare how it does things relative to my right arm. I am considering trying the 16k kettlebell on Saturday. I think it may help me to feel that. I may also need to consider not alternating hands between reps, so I can really focus on how I move.

I actually stretched after this workout since I was inside and had a few mintutes. It felt really, really good. I've not stretched my lower body in awhile and there was a lot of tension that got released. I'll need to remember to work in the shoulder stretches next time. Actually, I really haven't been doing those enough. I need to work something out to improve that. Do them after all workouts or something.

[Scott Styles]

10-12-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 12 at ARC

Little late writing this one up. We did stretching and soft tissue work, followed by strength training. First we did some ab work. Then, the therapist focused on an exercise that is basically a rear delt fly lying on a bench, using a cable crossover. I worked about as hard as I could on it. Then we did standing external rotations with the cable machine. Same deal, high effort. That was it.

The next day, my upper traps were quite sore. @#$%. I'm pretty sure when the going got hard on the rear delt fly, I compensated with the upper traps. We've done that exercise the last two sessions, and now that I worked hard on it, I'm not convinced it is appropriate. Of course if I go to my limit I'm going to bring in upper trap when the lower traps tire. I don't have the control to do otherwise.

Last two sessions are next week. I'm going to have him focus on working with me on the exercises that are to comprise my home program, since that is what will ultimately dictate the success or failure of my rehab. I'm also going to have him look at the prospect of me bending again. There are already 10 timber ties in my book bag for Tuesday. One of my grip goals has been to bend a 60 penny nail. I'm going to have quite a few months with no contests coming up, so I'd like to focus on that and my 35lb blob lift pretty intensively. First, I need to be cleared to bend.

[Scott Styles]

Tried to grip yesterday. Warmed up through my BBM, then did an attempt on each of the choked grippers for my respective hands. No strength. My head hurt and I was coughing, so I went bed at 8pm instead. 25 years old and going to bed at 8pm on a Friday night. Damn.

10-14-2006 - Workout 36 - Kettlebells Outside the Apartment

Today has just been an awesome day. Nothing to do and the weather is beautiful. I made the smart choice to delay my workout until the afternoon when the grass is dry and things warm up a bit. In the meantime, I read, played some video games, and went to lunch with my parents. Gonna relax later tonight with some pizza and a little wine. I'm very happy.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x16k, 2x20x16k

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx16k

Bottoms Up Overhead Press: 2x3 per armx16k, 1x2 per armx16k

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 16k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x16k

Walk around 40 feet with the 16k kettlebell overhead, once per arm

That's right, finally back up to the 16k kettlebell. This is more like it. After the long layoff, my legs and conditioning were getting tapped by this. I opted to replace the one armed swings with two arms swings because of my shoulder. I don't want to stress it too quickly, and this is a 35% increase in weight. Once I'm getting my 2x5 with the overhead press, I'll consider the one armed swings with the 16k bell.

The overhead presses felt really good. I opted not to put in maximal effort in order to ensure my form stayed reliant upon the lower trap. The walk with the kettlebell overhead is being done because my lower trap fires quite heavily in that position, and I like doing it. I followed the kettlebells with some stretching for my lower back, hamstrings, quads, calves, posterior shoulder capsule, and first rib. I'm sure I should be doing this and it feels really good.

Overall I'd say things are coming together. I'm finally approaching where I thought I was at the start of this cycle. Given that the grip contest ship has sailed, I'm going to switch up my grip goals to neglect grippers. The focus will be on block weights and bending double underhand (I hope!). Weighed myself this morning, came in at 237, about 7lbs lighter than when the cycle started approximately 70 days ago. Guess that's a lb every 10 days. Given the inactivity and amount of eating out recently, it's a little suprising. I've managed to substantially reduce my eating out now though, down to 2x a week. Just need to stay the course for the next few months while I finish the shoulder rehab.

[Scott Styles]

10-15-2006 - Shoulder Rehab Workout 1 at Home

Decided since I'm going to be on my own in a week, it's time to start tracking the shoulder rehab workouts. This is the first one that matches my long term program, so I guess I'll call it number 1. Also started DDR at home again.

Warm Up: 10 Minutes of DDR. All my foot could take, averaged 4 foot songs. Stall matt is nice to do this on.

Pushups on Knees: 3x6

I have to do these using my lower trap to pull the right shoulder down and back. It's hard for me to coordinate, will build up slowly. Eventually I hope to be able to build up normal pushups pain free.

Planks: 3x20s

PT said I need some ab work. Also supposed to focus on keeping the shoulder down and back here.

Side Planks: 2x15s

Harder then the planks. When I do it right, nails the lower trap. Key to getting back into the turkish getups.

Rear Delt Flys: 2x8x3lbs, 1x6x3lbs

Have to focus on doing these with just the lower trap, and not the upper trap. It drops the weight and takes a lot of concentration. I am looking forward to doing these under the PT's guidance on Tuesday.

Prone Straight Arm Y's on 30 Degree Incline: 2x6xBW

I tried these with 2lbs, 1.5lbs, and 1lb. Then I settled for just BW. Then I settled for one arm at a time. I don't think I'm doing this right. It irritates my shoulders. Going out to the side a bit opposed to directly straight ahead helps, but I'm going to need to work with the PT on it.

External Shoulder Rotation: 1x10x8lbs;2x10xBlack Tubing

Started doing these lying, my shoulder and elbows were clicking. I don't know why, but it didn't feel good. So then I switched to standing using my exercise tubing attached to the power rack. That felt very good. I normally don't like tubing, but it's really much better for this exercise. Plenty of room for improvement.

Stretches: 3x30sxPosterior Shoulder Capsule; 1x90sxFirst Rib

Overall, this was really fricking long. I must of been doing rehab for an hour. I'm confident I need to go through the program with the PT. I think we've gotten greedy and rushed me beyond these exercises during the sessions even though I'm not ready to move beyond them.

It feels good to finally be building the DDR back up.

[Scott Styles]

10-16-2006 - Workout 37 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Was feeling a bit tired tonight thanks to the stupid cat being loud at 3am, 4am, and 5am last night. Decided to move forward with the new plan of bending and block weights. Since the bending isn't cleared yet, just went with block weights.

Block Weights

25lb Hex: Lifts, Holds, Passes Hand to Hand, Tosses Hand to Hand

30lb Blob: Lefts, Holds Passes Hand to Hand

35lb Blob: Hovered it, finger press lifts

Interesting workout. When I started, I struggled to lift the 25lb block. Even with chalk, my fingers were slick. As the workout went on, my thumbs roughed up and the grip got better. After the 30lb blob, I went and washed my hands with soap. My fingers felt like they had the spidey grip, so I went back and tried the 35lb blob. It came up about 3 inches righty, which is close to matching my PR on it. I have high hopes for my goal to lift this thing with some specialization.

Finger Extensions with IM Bands

20xWhite, Green, Yellow

This hurt on the finger that got the wart froze off. Gotta do them though.

Overall, not bad. My forearms were feeling pretty beat up from the kettlebells on Saturday. I'm sure it was the bottoms up cleans coupled with the bottoms up presses. I have high hopes for this focus on block weights and DU bending. Let's hope I get cleared to bend at the PT tomorrow. Wanted to warm up with a little DDR tonight, but I could feel my foot wasn't ready for it.

[Wes]

You have some nice consistent workouts, Scott. Hope you'll get fully 'habbed soon And I know what you mean about the cat

[Justin Reagan]

KB's are great, aren't they?

Strength, Conditioning, Rehab, World Peace

Well...3 out of 4 ain't bad

I just got my 32kg KB in the other day, and I'm having way more fun than I ever had with the 24kg...

Justin

[Scott Styles]

The KB's are some of the most fun I've had lifting weights. They rate right up there with bending and grippers. I'm very excited at the prospect of working my way through the levels up to the 32kg. I'd like to be able to bottoms up press the 32kg one day.

[Scott Styles]

10-17-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 13 at ARC

Did some soft tissue work. Talked to him about the grip stuff. The double underhand bending is ok. The DO would only be ok if I could do it with using my lower trap properly. I'm not there yet. Everything else got cleared as long as I can keep proper form, except v-bar. I can't use max effort on most things, as I will lose my form, but I'm on the way to training back up. He says wait at least a month to start v-bar. I'm in no hurry.

The PT looked mildly interested in the grip stuff. I gave him my gripfaq.com url to go check out, told him links to everything are on there. I forgot to bring in grippers today, but will try to remember on my last session Monday.

He said the Y's exercise I am having trouble with is most likely causing problems because I'm doing them at the end and they directly target the lower trap. He wants me to do the at home workout in the exact opposite workout order on Thursday. We dropped the weight a bit on the cable crossover exercise that I thought gave me problems last time. He thinks the form is ok on it.

Other interesting thing is my internal rotation behind the back. When I started, my left shoulder let me go about an inch higher than my right. That's still the case. However, I'm reaching 4 vertebrae (sp?) higher with both arms. I like tangible progress.

[Scott Styles]

10-18-2006 - Workout 38 - Kettlebells In the Apartment

Another rainy day in Chicago. Luckily I now have the stall matt. Didn't eat enough today and it lead to me feeling sluggish, but I did the workout anyway.

Kettlebell Work

Two Arm Swings: 1x10x16k, 2x20x16k

Bottoms Up One Arm Cleans: 2x5 per armx16k

Bottoms Up Overhead Press: 1x4 per armx16k, 1x3 per armx16k, , 1x2 per armx16k

Box Squat: 10xBW to handle of 16k kettlebell

Squat: 2x5x16k

Calf Raises: 3x10xBW, 1x10xBW+1 cat

20 rep two arm swing sets are a little long and I lose focus. Will start up with the one arm swings next workout, doing 5 reps per side. Going for a 3x3 on the overhead press next time, shouldn't have gone for 4 reps on the first set. Went a little wider in the squats and not quite as deep. My knees were bothering me after the last kettlebell workout, I think it was from the squats being too narrow. Finally started doing some calf work to help rehab my foot. The cat weighs about 12lbs.

Stretching

Calves

Roll Metal Ball Under Foot x 60 seconds

Hamstrings

Low Back

Quads

Posterior Shoulder Capsule

First Rib

Only thing notable was the metal ball on the bottom of my foot. When I walk around in shoes, it feels like there is a little lump under the arch of the foot I injured. I assume this is scar tissue and am trying to break it up by rolling a dexterity ball around underneath it with some weight on the foot. It hurts. We'll see if it helps. First Rib stretch felt very good today.

Overall a decent workout, followed by a hearty dinner. I need to be patient, the road forward will be slow to travel.

[Scott Styles]

10-20-2006 - Shoulder Rehab Workout 2 at Home

Shoulder rehab workout number 2. This got pushed out from yesterday because I was tired when I got home. Had to combine it with some grip work.

Warm Up: 20 Minutes of DDR. All my foot could take, averaged 4 foot songs. Stall matt is nice to do this on. Good to see the time increasing. My foot was tired, but not in serious pain.

Block Weights

25lb Hex Block: Lifts, Lifts and Holds

30lb Blob: Lifts, Lifts and Holds, Pass Hand to Hand

35lb Blob: Lift Attempts, Finger Press Lifts and Negatives

Hands were slick after the DDR. Washed my hands before the 35lb blob work and broke it from the bench a couple times righty. Locking it out from the bench will be a PR. I think I'm matching my old PR right now.

External Shoulder Rotation: 1x12xBlack Tubing;2x10xBlack Tubing

Easier when done first.

Prone Straight Arm Y's on 30 Degree Incline: 3x8x1lb

Much easier now. PT told me these work the lower trap directly, more so than all my other exercises.

Rear Delt Flys: 3x8x3lbs

Not too bad.

Overall, a good workout. The PT asked me to do the shoulder rehab exercises in the opposite order as the last workout. I tried that and was too burnt out to do the compound exercises. I'm going to need to create a plan for my rehab and other activity moving forward. Realistically, I'm not going to workout 7x per week, so I need to consolidate. I'm currently thinking the solution is to split up my rehab. I can do my compound exercises on the kettlebell days, the isolation exercises on the grip days. I'll run it by the PT on Monday. That's the model I'll follow this weekend though. I'm totally burnt out on exercising 7 days a week. It's not sustainable.

Pardon my grammar and spelling, I'm drunk. Reheated Cheese Pizza and Pinot Gris, the dinner of CHAMPIONS!

[Starkmann]

ROTFLMAO, nice. I'm a fan of port myself but wine's ok.

Glad to see rehab is coming along even if a bit tough.

Your bodyweight exercises look a lot like the yoga routine I do, it's good for the whole body. I'm hoping that after seeing you do them for the shoulder they may open my shoulders a bit too.