The Giant X1: Week 1

Day 1 was fine. For my cooldown I did modified pigeon stretch to address the outside hips and half pancake stretch to address the side muscles,lats, and hamstrings. I forgot to do a backbend stretch such as the sphinx. I felt DOMS in the lower back and shoulders the following day.

Day 2 was more of a challenge because of one of the sets (ladder rungs) was very close to my C+P rep max. The first time I did that rung, my form degraded after the 5th rep but I managed to complete it without incident. I was only able to do the ladder for that day twice. The 2nd time I did the hardest rung, I felt more in control and did not notice as much form degradation. For cooldown I did a P3 session. I felt lower back DOMS the following day. Thus, it doesn't seem to matter whether stretching or a P3 session is better for cooldown from a Giant X1 session.

For Day 3 I managed to do 50 total reps

New Training Block: The Giant X1

This past Saturday, I decided on a whim to test my double 16kg kettlebell Clean + Press repetition max. The result was just like before: I was able to do 7 reps safely, but because of accumulated fatigue I did not feel an 8th full rep would be safe to attempt. This was really 2 tests in one - the other thing I was testing was whether my left shoulder would hold or if it would start feeling like it's slipping out of the socket again.

The shoulder passed the test, at least for that day. So I decided to start The Giant X1. It is an 8 week hypertrophy program, and thus barring any accident or other unexpected event, I should be able to complete it before the end-of-year holidays. Tape measurement confirmed what I suspected - that coming down with COVID-19 towards the end of this past summer, and the inactivity that followed, resulted in loss of muscle mass and strength. So hopefully I can do a complete block of Giant X1 and regain some muscle mass, then leverage the new muscle mass into new strength gains by doing 6x6 on the IsoMax again. This latest block of 6x6 resulted in improved stability of the left shoulder, reduction in elbow pain, but only a modest gain in terms of strength. In the case of my overhead press, I tested in around 111 lbs, hit a PR of 119 lbs., but generally continued to perform in the 110-115 lb. range. I should note this 6x6 block was only 4 weeks long. If I did 6 weeks it's possible my overhead press may have improved to the 115-120 lb. range.

There are some similarities in programming between The Giant X1 and Easy Muscle Schedule A. Both are based on the C+P, whose are summarized here by Geoff Neupert and Mike Mahler here. Without giving too much away, the main difference appears to be ladder repetitions. You would be doing a higher rep set earlier in Giant X1 compared to Easy Muscle Schedule A, but because of the ladder concept, you would not be doing the same number of reps on every set. Giant X2 looked like an interesting alternative to X1 but it seems like double clean volume would be sacrificed for more upper body exercise variety. I haven't done enough double clean work this year, hence the choice of X1

Today's inaugural session went fine. I managed to do 3 full ladders plus one set of the lowest rep rung of the ladder within the session time. More importantly I didn't feel my shoulder slip out of the socket.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 4 complete

I continued gradually working up the target load for Zercher Lunge and Drag Curl, staring at 34 lbs. and ending at 38 lbs. My Zercher Lunge numbers were consistenly around 80 lbs for both legs. My Drag Curl numbers were inconsistent like last week, but I hit a new high of 99.8 lbs on Friday without irritating my elbows.

Overhead Press performance was worse compared to last week. I'm not sure if it's because of the usual nonlinear nature of progression through overcoming isometrics, or because I was changing the target load too much. For next week I'll stick to 78 lbs. as the target load until I hit more than 115 lbs. 3 sessions a row.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 3 complete

I continued training Zercher Lunge and Drag Curl at low target load, except at 32 lbs for this week. Performance in Zercher Lunge peaked Wednesday with a max of 81.6 lbs on the left leg and 77.8 on the right leg. When training Drag Curl, I was in elbow rehab mode so I was more interested in applying as much force as possible short of pain, as opposed to pushing the limits of my pulling strength.

Progress in the Overhead Press was fine. I thought I'd try a bit of load waving by lowering the load to 76 lbs. on Friday, and gradually working back to to 79 lbs the following week. Anyway I got my best result yet on Friday with a max of 119.8 lbs.

On my in-between training days I practiced Geoff Neupert's P3 method, within his Sore Joint Solution program. It's primarily a motor control program, which promises gains in mobility among other things.

I found this Using Turkish Get Up for mobility training video, which includes a drill for improving mobility for holding a kettlebell overhead

Video examples of Spread Triads for technical studies/soloing

Rodrigo Gouveia spread triad exercise

Eric Johnson incorporating spread triads whenever and wherever he feels like it

IsoMax 6x6: Week 2 complete

I'm enjoying Zercher Lunge training at the low load of 30 lbs. No danger of cramp/strain of the quads. The bar is getting a little too easy to trigger though. The last rep force numbers are roughly the same as last week's despite the drop in load.

I was able to ramp up pulling force in the Drag Curl without irritating the elbows. The bar is also getting a little too easy to trigger here. I'll try bumping up the load to 32 lbs. for both Drag Curl and Zercher Lung

Overhead Press performance was roughly the same as last week, albeit with the increase in load from 76 lbs. to 79 lbs.

IsoMax 6x6: First session with new tweaks

Zercher Lunge with the target load dropped down to 30 lbs. was more enjoyable. With such a low setting for triggering the IsoMax beeper, I didn't feel like I had to apply so much force with my leg and thus I didn't feel any danger of inducing a cramp in my quad. I saved max effort for the last rep and got almost 78 lbs on my left leg and 81 lbs on the right leg.

I'll continue training the Zercher Lunge at 30 lbs. until holding the position feels less tiring. When that finally happens, I'll start increasing the target load.

I just got a ProBand BandIT which is a brace that you wear on your forearm in hopes of relieving pain from elbow tendonitis, carpal tunnel, etc. Before the Drag Curl, I put the BandIT on my left forearm since my elbow tendonitis flares up more in this forearm than in the right forearm. The IsoMax was already set to a 30lb. target load from the Zercher Lunge training, so I went ahead and did my Drag Curl set at 30lbs. With the BandIT on my left forearm, I had to pay more attention to my right elbow when I started ramping up the force. I managed to avoid irritating it with the exception of my 3nd or 3rd rep. My last rep max was just under 50 lbs.

I'll probably keep training Drag Curl at 30 lbs. for at least a week. I'll continue paying close attention to how hard I can pull before either elbow starts feeling irritated, and quickly back down if that happens.

I increased the target load for Overhead Press to 79 lbs. because my last rep max was 112.6 or higher for 3 consecutive sessions. This isn't a rule I saw in the Ultimate Isometrics Manual or other writing on isometric training - just somethign I made up which seems to work for me. I got almost 116 lbs. on my last rep.

For the rest of the day I did this hammer exercise. This one is taught differently compared to other videos teaching a rehab exercise with a hammer, in that there are 5-second holds and a gradual increase in lever length.

IsoMax 6x6: Program Tweaks starting Week 2

One issue I have with Zercher Lunge is my quads start feeling sore by the 3rd or even just 2nd rep, then I feel like I'm about to get a cramp for the rest of the set. Zercher Lunge with the bar set to slot 7 is just such a demanding position to be in. Just holding the position with only bodyweight can be a challenge. So what I'm going to try is dropping the target load to a value so light that the barest amount of force will set off the beeper in the bar. I think 30 lbs. is a light enough load. Chances are just getting into position and holding it for 6 seconds will still be a challenge so I might be working at 30 lbs for a while. If it turns out to be easier than expected, I'll raise the load by 2 lbs for the following session.

The other program tweak is switching from Reverse Curl to Drag Curl with a light load. The reason is I get a tingling sensation in my left hand between the thumb and the index finger when I attempt the Reverse Curl. I had a similar problem when I did Seated Row with an overhand/pronated grip. I don't want to risk a pinched nerve. I don't want to risk aggravating my elbow tendonitis either, which can happen when I do curls with supinated grip, but I can manage the risk more easily by simply training with a light load. I could not figure out a technique to prevent the tingling sensation when I do reverse curls, despite trying thumb over bar, thumb under bar and over fingers, and thumb under bar and under fingers. Either way, I won't be able to work on my max pulling strength. However, working on Drag Curl with as much force as I can pull with, up to the limit allowed by my elbows, at least has a chance of a rehab effect.

I'll use Red Delta Project's spiraling technique which removes much of the load from the elbows, although it's still possible to aggravate the elbows if too much force is used. I should be able to feel when I'm reaching the threshold of too much force. I'll drop the working load from 99 lbs to 30 lbs and train at 30lbs for a while, and maybe increase the load in 2lb increments as strength and confidence increase.