HSPU Program Sessions 60 and 61

 My day job is keeping me busy so I've had less time to maintain my training journal.   What I can report is the upper and lower body sessions for the first half of the week went fine.  Performance levels are about the same as last week, except this week I was able to do 10 sets of 1-arm 24kg kettlebell swings.  I'll do another session of 10 1-arm swings, then resume working on 2-arm swings with the 32kg kettlebell.

HSPU Program Session 59

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ feet 2 steps up  and 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 3-4 reps. - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Challenging
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-66 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Lounge Chair Stretch
L-Arm Stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon.  Medium band, then light band.

Ponder
Getting better about elevating the scapula at the top of the Inverted Press.  

This time I was able to take the time to do the Lounge Chari and L-Arm.  Skipping them Monday seems to have led to extra tightness in my upper back.

HSPU Program Session 58

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ feet 2 steps up  and 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of -34 reps. - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Challenging
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 5 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon

Ponder
Getting strong enough to do Inverted Press with greater range of motion in the bottom of the movement with my feet elevated 2 steps. I'm still forgetting to elevate the scapula at the top of the movement though.

Pullups with hands slightly wider than shoulder width, per GMB's new pullup and chinup article,  are much more comfortable on rings than on the bar.  

Thought about doing 5 rounds of the 2nd antagonist pair to get more volume on the Tuck Lever Rows, but I achieved 6 reps/set so left the volume as normal.

HSPU Program Session 57

Prepare
Mulligan shoulder rehab exercise
Back Scale to Single Leg Deadlift and Hop from the Butterfly Kick progression posted by GMB

Practice
Antagonist Pair
Shrimp Squat (both arms in front) - 4 sets 3-4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Single Leg Deadlift w/ 24kg KB -  4 sets 7 reps/leg - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between sets

4 min rest after last antagonist pair set.

Push
24kg KB 1-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 3 sets per side
32kg KB 2-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 4 sets

Standing Straddle Good Morning - 10 reps with 10 sec. stretch at bottom of last rep
Jefferson Curl with 5 lb. rice bag - 10 reps with 20 sec. stretch at bottom of last rep
Modified Pigeon Stretch - about 1 min.
Half Pancake Stretch - about 1 min/side
Brachial Hang - 2 sets of 30-60 sec.

Ponder
Shoulder felt good during the 1-arm KB swings.  

HSPU Program Session 56

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ feet 2 steps up  and 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 3-4 reps. - Quality: Rough, Ease: Challenging
Pullup on Door Pullup Bar w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 4-5 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Arc Rows w/ Accommodating Resistance on Rings, drop set after the Tuck Front Lever Rows -  3 sets of 3 reps - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Arm Lounge stretch
L-Arm stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon - first on medium band, then on light band.

Another Brachial Hang for about 1 min. before dinner

Ponder
I decided to try pullups with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip after seeing this:

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Chin Ups and Pull Ups - Do you ever feel like your pull ups and/or chin ups never get any easier no matter how much you work on them? - If you are using compensation strategies to do them, this might be why you are not seeing much progress. - Try these tips demonstrated by #gmbtrainer JJ @primalphysicaltherapy to help you get the most out of your chins and pulls, and help you train the kind of strength that fosters comfort and ease with pulling strategies: - Chins vs Pulls: The Chin Up position starts with hands shoulder width apart, palms facing toward you. Pull with the shoulder blades first, trying not to arch your back. Instead, try to hold a “hollow body” position. Next, pull with the arms, focusing on pinching your elbows together towards midline all the way until they graze your rib cage. This encourages scapular activation throughout the range and ties everything into your spine and core. - The Pull Up position starts with hands wider than shoulder width, palms facing away from you. Again, pull with shoulder blades first, being conscious of your spinal position (aiming for hollow body). This time, keep elbows flared outward (rather than squeezing to midline), and pull elbows to your sides until they touch the outside of your lower ribs. - If these moves are just not happening for you, try regressing them: Start with holding hollow body in a hang, and just training the shoulder blades to pull your body up keeping straight arms. The next progression would be do jump to the top position, hold it while keeping the position cues, then slowly lower down with proper muscular engagement. - . . . . . #physicalautonomy #pullups #chinups #regresstoprogress #scapularstrength #scapularstability #shoulder #back #core #hollowbody #gmbfitness #fitness #bodyweightexercise #abs #fitnesstips

A post shared by GMB Fitness (@gmbfitness) on Sep 16, 2020 at 7:58am PDT

Pullups on a bar still feel uncomfortable for my shoulder, despite the improvement in how my shoulder feels.  Next time, I'll try them with rings set to a similar distance.  In theory, this movement should be working my shoulder external rotators more than when I was practicing the pullups with hands at shoulder width or narrower.

For next upper body session, I'll do at least one more antagonist pair set of ring pushups and tuck front lever rows instead of doing the drop set with Arc Rows, if time allows

Kalinga Music

 Years ago, I played guitar and percussion with a dance troupe showcasing dance and music from the Philippines, organized into four cultural categories.  The dances of the Kalinga people were part of the "Mountain Tribe" category.

It's interesting to see real and hear Kalinga music and dance performed by actual Kalinga.

HSPU Program Session 55

Prepare
Mulligan shoulder rehab exercise
Standing Knee to Chest
Front Scale w/ Hip Thrust

Practice
Antagonist Pair
Shrimp Squat (both arms in front) - 4 sets 4-5 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Single Leg Deadlift w/ 24kg KB -  4 sets 6 reps/leg - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between sets

4 min rest after last antagonist pair set.

Push
24kg KB 1-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 1 set per side
32kg KB 2-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 4 sets
24kg KB 1-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 1 set per side
24kg KB 2-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 2 sets

Standing Straddle Good Morning - 10 reps with 20 sec. stretch at bottom of last rep
Jefferson Curl - 10 reps with 20 sec. stretch at bottom of last rep
Modified Pigeon Stretch - about 1 min.
Half Pancake Stretch - about 1 min/side
Brachial Hang - 2 sets of 30-60 sec.

Ponder
I was thinking of going for 5 sets for each exercise in the antagonist pair but my legs were starting to feel done after the 4th set. I started the swing portion of the workout with 1 set of 1-arm swings for each arm, since it's been months since I've practiced this movement, before working through the 2-arm swings with the 32kg KB.  

I still have a ways to go before I take on the straddle variation of either the Bent-Arm Stand - as part of the GMB HSPU program - or the Front Lever.  However, I realized I should work some more on improving my hamstring flexibility for the straddle, and not just rely on the Single Leg Deadlift and KB Swing to improve hamstring mobility.  Thus, I added the Standing Straddle Good Morning from the video below and may also add band-assisted stretching, which is also shown in the video:

HSPU Program Session 54

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ feet 2 steps up  and 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 4 reps. - Quality: Rough, Ease: Challenging
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 4-5 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Arc Rows w/ Accommodating Resistance on Rings, drop set after the Tuck Front Lever Rows -  3 sets of 3 reps - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Arm Lounge stretch
L-Arm stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon

Another Brachial Hang for about 1 min. before dinner

Ponder
It may be a while before I will be able to perform the Inverted Press with a full range of motion, with my feet elevated 2 steps.  I'm not strong enough yet to lower the top of my head to greater depth than my hands.  I'm also forgetting to elevate the scapula at the top of the movement.  I'll work on increasing the depth of my head on the bottom and elevating the scapula at the top.  Later, I'll work on getting my hips closer to "stacking" over my shoulders, as much as my flexibility will allow.

I'm still working on finding the groove for the Arc Rows.

HSPU Program Session 53

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ feet 2 steps up  and 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 3-4 reps. - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Arc Rows w/ Accommodating Resistance on Rings, drop set after the Tuck Front Lever Rows -  Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Arm Lounge stretch
L-Arm stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation and No Money exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon

Another Brachial Hang for about 1 min. before dinner

Ponder
Tried Inverted Press with feet one step up, then practiced it with feet 2 steps up.  Parallettes of course were on the stair landing.  I haven't been able to practice pushing the scapula towards the floor at the top of the movement until now, because when my feet were on the floor, that range of motion was not available to me, due to the P-Barz elevating my hands.  So that's one thing to work on as I adjust to the elevated feet position.

For the Arc Rows, I need to work on keeping the shoulders down  at the top of the movement, and not allowing the scapula to rise when I push down on the rings to begin the eccentric movement.

HSPU Program Session 52

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 8 reps. - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Relaxed
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 5-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative - 3 sets of 4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Arc Rows w/ Accommodating Resistance on Rings, superset with the Tuck Front Lever Rows

2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Arm Lounge stretch
L-Arm stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation and No Money exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon

Another Brachial Hang for about 1 min. before dinner

Ponder
Inverted Press feeling pretty easy now, even with allowing the feet float off the ground at the bottom of the rep.  Will try progressing to feet up one step on the stair landing, next session.

I didn't record Quality or Ease scores for the Arc Rows because this was only my second try at this exercise and I didn't start finding the groove for this movement until the last set.  I've been working at the 4-rep range for Tuck Front Lever Rows for several weeks now, so I think super-setting the Arc Rows will help me progress in Front Lever Rows and increase my gains in upper back strength for better shoulder stability.

I wasn't able to do as many reps of external shoulder rotation on the light mini-band as usual.  I think it's because of the work that the rotator cuff got during the Arc Row practice.

Solderless Patch Cable Kits

I have been using Planet Waves solderless cable kits to make patch cables for connecting effects pedals.  I like the idea of solderless cable kits because it's easy to make cables without soldering - I'm awful at soldering - and the cables can be made to just the length that is needed - not too short or too long - which is ideal for pedalboards.  

However I'm running out of plugs.  I have a pair remaining but I can't make a working patch cable with this pair.  I tried at least three times and ended up wasting time and cable.

I might look into a kit from this store

Ghost Fire

HSPU Program Session 51

Prepare
Mulligan shoulder rehab exercise
Standing Knee to Chest

Practice
Antagonist Pair
Single Leg Deadlift w/ 24kg KB -  5 sets 6 reps/leg - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
Shrimp Squat (both arms in front) - 5 sets 3 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between sets

4 min rest after last antagonist pair set.

Push
32kg KB 2-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 2 sets
32kg KB 2-arm swing - 8 reps for 1 set
24kg KB 2-arm swing - 10 reps/set for 4 sets

Modified Pigeon Stretch - about 1 min.
Half Pancake Stretch - about 1 min/side
Brachial Hang - 2 sets of 30-60 sec.

Ponder
I bumped up the volume on my kettlebell swings.  Body seems to respond fine but I decided to not push it when my grip started to fail on the 8th rep while swinging the 32kg.

One of the moves in GMB Vitamin that I struggled with was the Butterfly Kick.  It turns out that what Ryan of GMB calls the "Push And Lift" is a key component skill for the Butterfly Kick.  While I'm not in a hurry to master the Butterfly Kick, I can see the advantages of working through the progression of developing and improving the Push And Lift skill.

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PUSH AND LIFT FOR ACROBATICS - Ryan talks about the "push and lift" for doing some acrobatic moves like the Butterfly Kick. This means where your front leg bends and back leg whips up in these skills to provide power. This makes the move much prettier, easier, and safer to land. - GMB Trainer Eduardo @eorihuela does a breakdown of this demonstrating how you can start safely to learn to push and lift: 1. Back Scale 2. Single Leg Deadlift 3. Back Scale to Single Leg Deadlift 4. Push and Lift 5. Switch Legs (land other leg in SLDL) 6. Slow Butterfly Kick 7. Butterfly Kick - Strength, flexibility, and balance are the primary qualities that determine your athletic ability, but skipping ahead to things you’re not quite ready for won’t do you any good. Starting with Back Scales is so...scalable so you can work at a level you’re comfortable with. You can apply this same strategy to other acrobatic moves like the Aerial that requires the push and lift. - . . . . . #gmbfitness #gmbtrainer #goldmedalbodies #movement #movementismedicine #movementmatters #movedaily #bkick #butterflykick #pusnandlift #acrobatics #tumbling #bodyweightworkout #bodyweightexercises #power #bodycontrol #motorcontrol #physicalautonomy #physicalfreedom #fitness

A post shared by GMB Fitness (@gmbfitness) on Sep 3, 2020 at 1:44pm PDT

 

Another idea I found was to superset my Tuck Front Lever rows with Accommodating Resistance Arc Rows.  I'm sure my shoulders could use the extra rowing work.  The muscles in the mid-back that are worked by rowing exercises are supposedly critical to shoulder health.

View this post on Instagram

#StrengthSundayMM: Accommodating Resistance Arc Rows . One of the coolest parts about Accommodating Resistance (AR) is that the more you use it, the better you can become at using it! And that means you can squeeze more intensity out your reps! . This goes for myself as well! Even nearly 2 years after incorporating AR, I STILL find ways to squeeze extra intensity out my reps during my workouts! And whenever we find a way to do this, we want YOU to be able to add it too! So let’s look at an example using the AR Arc Row! . Step One. Grab the rings and set your feet into position. The more parallel you get to the ground, the harder this movement becomes! . Step Two. Squeeze the shoulders BACK and push the rings DOWN with straight arms. Then, drive your elbows BACK to go up! . Step Three. This is the part I learned recently: Do NOT voluntarily lower down. Instead, PUSH the rings DOWN further towards your feet and as you do, the leverage will get worse and eventually, you will start to fall. When that happens, resist as MUCH as you can and that will let you get a maximal eccentric! . As you get stronger, get more parallel to the ground and touch the ring lower and lower on your torso! . Give that a try and see how AR reps “count” for WAY more than a “normal rep”. And check the IG stories for more about AR and Arc Rows!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Sep 6, 2020 at 6:07am PDT

HSPU Program Session 50

Prepare
Set up rings
Mulligan exercise for shoulder rehab
GMB Handstand Wrist prep routine

Practice
Pair 1
Inverted Press on Parallettes w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 7 reps. - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Smooth
Pullup on Rings w/ 4-6 sec. negative - 3 sets of 4-5 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

4 min. rest before Pair 2

Pair 2
Incline Pushup on Rings w/ 4-sec. negative - 3 sets of 4-6 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Tuck Front Lever Rows Rings w/ 4 sec. negative -  3 sets of 4 reps - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
2 min. rest between all sets

Push
Arm Lounge stretch
L-Arm stretch
Brachial Hang for about 1 min.

Play
External shoulder rotation and No Money exercises on mini-bands spread through the afternoon

Another Brachial Hang for about 1 min. before dinner

Ponder
Minor shoulder irritation while practicing Inverted Press, although scapular protraction seems to help.

Started working with the Medium strength mini-band for external shoulder rotation exercise, occasionally dropping back to the Light band