Shoulder Press - Finished at working load of 65 lbs. My max reading for the last session was only 69 lbs. I managed to complete only one rep out of 4 with the timer counting all the way through. I am not going to gain much more strength here without back-cycling or changing angle, which will also probably necessitate back cycling.
Reverse Curl - Finished at a working load of 30 lbs, with a max reading around the 40 lb. range.
Hack Lift - Finished at a working load of 190lbs, with a max reading around 215 lbs.
While Week 3 ended kind of weak, which I blame on improper warmup, Week 4 was off to a good start with a strong performance. I breezed through 6 reps each of Hack Lift at 170 lbs. and Reverse Curl at 20 lbs. My gains in the Shoulder Press is slowing down as indicated above. Since I only have two more weeks to go, I will start Week 5 at 65 lbs. and just keep pushing through as best as I can, first just working on completing 4 reps with the timer counting all the way through to 6 seconds, then work towards 6 reps.
I continue to find details in Ultimate Isometrics Manual that I'd missed before. This time, it was the guidance to apply as much force as possible on every rep. Of course there should be a ramp-up period, but by the time the Timer beeps the end of the 6-second hold period, I should be applying as much force as I can, in order to maximize my strength gains.
I've been using a spreadsheet to log my Isochain force readings, track target loads, etc. I added new columns to track the max force as recorded by Isochain after my last rep of a given drill. I think it will be useful to help determine when strength gains are starting to slow down for a given drill. For example, in the Shoulder Press, when I was working with a Target Load around the 40-50 lb range, Isochain was measuring a max of 84 lbs. As my Target Load has increased, my max force has dropped. I'm sure part of it is the energy expended to achieve a higher Target Load leaves less in the tank to produce a high max force. As another example, I am unlikely to slow down in my Hack Lift gains, because while my Target Load has gone up, so has my max force readings. About a couple of weeks ago when my Target Load was 160lbs, I hit a max of around 230 lbs. At the end of a set at a target of 180 lbs, I hit a max of around 250 lbs which is even higher. So, if I track my max readings every session, it will be easier to see if I'm still trending towards gains or if I'm trending towards a slowdown of gains, which would me it's time to plan for an adjustment such as a change of training angle or even changing the training program.
I've been trying to find a way to support the Isochain bar for the Front Squat, using the clean grip. I just can't do it without irritating my still-recovering shoulder. I also could not solve the problem of the bar putting pressure on my fingers or palms/wrists. Cross-grip seems to work fine. However, I then remembered trying the Zercher Squat when I had a barbell. I had enough flexibility to drop into a deep squat, put my arms under the barbell on the floor, then deadlift the barbell into position for the Zercher Squat.
Thus, for Modified Promethean Mk. II planning, I decided to swap out Front Squat for Zercher Squat. Supporting the Isochain bar in the crooks of my elbows for the Zercher Squat feels comfortable because the bar is thicker than my old barbell bar and coated with rubber. Christian Thibaudeau covers the benefits and instructions for the Zercher Squat and Deadlift in this article. He has another article in which he addresses common complaints about the Zercher Squat. One big selling point of the Zercher Squat for me is the core works harder compared to the Front Squat. Another selling point is that when you are carrying something heavy in front of you and squat - either to lift the heavy object, or set it down - it's pretty much the same movement as a Zercher Squat, which is why I've seen this exercise recommended by various coaches as a functional strength exercise for combat sports and strongman competition. From what I'm reading, Zercher Squat training should lead to gains in core, upper back, and quad strength, which happen to be areas of strength required for the L-Sit, so I might get a "free" L-Sit out of this deal.
For my Modified Promethean Mk. II routine, I will likely continue on the same training path for Reverse Curl and Hack Lift after I finish the current Modified Promethean routine. If my shoulder progresses to where I can raise the Isochain bar to the Middle angle of the Shoulder Press - where my upper arm is parallel to the floor - without any pain at all, then I may end Modified Promethean early and change to Modified Promethean Mk. II. It's so tempting to change early because I feel like I'll be plateauing for a while on the Reverse Curl because I'm so weak at it, and I have the opposite situation with the Hack Lift where I might still have a lot of room left for gains.
Since I stopped attending classes at the dojo I haven't been working on my falling techniques. I'll see about finding time to resume the practice. GMB recently put up an article on how to fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment