IsoMax 6x6: Week 1

The Strength Side Youtube channel was mentioned a few times on the Strongfirst forum, so I started watching some videos on it. This led to buying their Master Mobility program. This program has exercise routines designed to be practiced 2-3 times a week. It also has exercises that should be practiced daily. Thus, I adjusted my warmup routine for 6x6 as follows:

1. GMB wrist routine (quick version) - Overhead Press and Drag Curl on the IsoMax bar both work the wrists. I feel the thumb side of the forearms working hard on the overhead press. I feel the wrist flexors working on the drag curl.
2. Diaphragmatic breathing in Child's Pose 1 min. - Breathing practice to wake up the core. Helps loosen the lower back
3. Dead Bug 1 min. - Activates reactive core stabilitye
4. Crab Walk 1 min. - Warm up the posterior chain and stretch the anterior chain including the pecs
5. Bear Walk 1 min. - Stretch the posterior chain, warm up the shoulders, etc.
6. Tabletop Hold (also called Crab) 30 sec. - One of the dailies from Master Mobility. Warm up the glues. More intense stretch of the anterior chain (hip flexors, pecs, etc.)

As usual, I recorded the max force on the last rep for each exercise. My Zercher Squat max jumped from 84 lbs. on Wednesday to 137.6 lbs on Friday. I think most of the gain is from looking for body positioning that makes me feel confident I can exert as much force as possible without pain in the lower back. I was tentative in my Zercher Squat execution on the testing day, and on the first day of 6x6 training. On Friday I felt like I found a good body positioning and thus more confidence, which was reflected in the force increase.

My Overhead Press performance was more modest. I'm more familiar with this drill, so a dramatic jump from first to second session was not to be expected. Lingering sensitivity in my right wrist, on the thumb side, had some impact on how much force I could put out. For the Friday session, I tried different grip widths. I could feel that sensitive thumb side of the wrist get irritated when the grip was too narrow, as well as too wide. On the final rep I settled on a grip that was slightly wider than the grip I used on Wednesday, resulting in about a 10 lb. force gain.

I did the initial assessments for Master Mobility. Pike assessment was not good. Hamstring flexibility was the limiting factor as always. Couch stretch assessment looked great but maybe my knee was too elevated. I had not trouble sinking low enough into Horse Stance that my thighs were parallel to the floor while still maintaining an upright torso.