Isochain Promethean Week 3

 I've done 3 sessions in a row with Deadlift target load set to 160 lbs.  I can complete 6 reps of 6 second holds, but my GMB Ease score is still Challenging.  Even though GMB has nothing to do with the Isochain manual, and the Quality score doesn't seem to matter because there's no movement, I still find it useful to assess Ease to determine whether or not to advance in load. 

With the Bicep Curl, I've done 2 sessions in a row at a 50 lb. target load with a Challenging score, so I dropped the load for this movement as well.

For the Shoulder Press, I tried lowering the bar to chin level height, so that it's closer to the bottom position of the movement, though not all the way.  I've been struggling to generate consistent force for this drill with the bar at a greater height, and the shoulder pain while raising the bar to that height to start has also been a concern.  At the chin level height, there's no pain to raise the bar, and I'm able to generate more force with less effort.

I continue to re-read and review The Ultimate Isometrics Manual. I noticed yet another error in how I'm practicing the Promethean program.  I didn't fully understand that it is a "double progression" program.  You're supposed to progress in reps up to 6, and then progress in load.  That is what "double progression" means in the book.

I began the week with a Deadlift load of 160 lbs and ended with a load of 145 lbs.  I can train with a higher load than 145 lbs but at the point, I need to work on proper usage of full-body tension.  The manual warns against ramping up too fast ("yanking") but ramping up too slow can also be an issue.  I will begin training next week at an even lower load of 140 lbs.  I want to improve on how I generate tension and sustain it for 6 seconds for the deadlift.  I am willing to continue dropping the target load until I am able to train without causing the Isochain timer - in Timer Mode - to reset itself.

I finished the week practicing Bicep Curl with a target load of 45 lb, after dropping the load from 50 to 40 for Wednesday training, then moving up to 45 for Friday.  The book Power To The People mentions wave cycling, which is the concept of dropping the target load every now and then, instead of training at the same load for several consecutive sessions, in hopes of eventually becoming strong enough to increase the target load.  As with the Deadlift, I still have room for improvement in how I sustain fully body tension for the Bicep Curl.

I finished the week with a target load of 40 lb for the Shoulder Press, which is the heaviest load that I've used yet for this drill.  For next week, I will try to progress in reps from 4 to 6, then evaluate whether to apply wave cycling and thus drop the load for the following week.  The shoulder feels better than it did at the start of the week.

So for the Wednesday session, I dropped the load to 155 lbs.