The Giant 1.2: Week 3

8/31
The Giant 16kg - 49 total reps - left shoulder still destabilized by the 3rd or 4th rep of the 3rd set, so that I had to do shorter sets than prescribed to finish the session.

9/1
Sore Joint Solution practice:

Supine Level 3 - 10 breaths - diaphragmatic breathing warmup
Side Lying Level 3 - 7 breaths per side, rest as needed, then 20 neck rotations per side, then and 20 nods per side
Phase 2 practice - Hit all the milestones to advance from Level 1 to Level 2 in both Positions 5 and 6.

9/2
The Giant 16kg - 45 total reps - once again the left shoulder destabilized by the 3rd or 4th rep of the 3rd set, thus once again I had to break up the prescribed sets into sets of 2-3 reps. The shoulder was fine with the shorter sets, even for a rep total higher than 40.

Since I am unable to maintain left shoulder stability in the clean+press once I start doing the 3rd set in The Giant 1.2, I don't think there's any point in continuning. I suspect the shoulder will do better with lower rep sets with the heavier 20kg weight. So Friday I'm going to retest my 20kg clean+press rep max, then decide where to take my training, based on the result.

9/5
Sore Joint Solution practice:

Supine Level 2 - 10 breaths - diaphragmatic breathing warmup
Side Lying Level 3 - 20 breaths per side, rest as needed, then 20 neck rotations per side, then and 20 nods per side
Phase 2 practice - Tried Position 4 sitting on 6 stacked puzzle mats instead of on the floor. Hit all the milestones to move up to Position 4, Level 4. Instructions say I can practice Level 4 with elevated sit bones so I'll go ahead do that. Position 5 Level 2 was fine. Limiting factor seems to be endurance in holding the position.

9/6
Clean+Press Rep Max test warmup - 16kg clean+press 5 reps, rest, then 6 reps - was going to do 7 but the shoulder destabilized after the 6th rep.
20kg Clean+Press Rep Max - 2
Iron Cardio Classic - 10 min. - 8 sets

I was disappointed about my 20kg clean+press rep max not having improved from 2, after 3 weeks of The Giant. That 2nd rep required so much effort that I knew I wouldn't be able to do a 3rd rep. It can't be helped. I wasn't able to perform The Giant 1.2 as specified, due to the left shoulder instability, and therefore I wasn't able to realize the gains I could have had from The Giant.

On the bright side, I was able to do Iron Cardio classic for 10 minutes without any hip soreness. The Sore Joint Solution sessions must have helped.

Thus, a possible path forward, from here, is to do Iron Cardio Classic for the next couple of weeks. To minimize risk of left shoulder instability disrupting training, I think I should start with 15 min. sessions, and gradually increase volume over time. Pushing the volume too soon seems to destabilize the shoulder.

To start The Giant 1.0 with the 20kg, I need to improve my c+p rep max from 2 to 10. Ideally I should train with the press focus example from the Iron Cardio manual. However, I need to be able to do at least 3 reps of KB press in one set to use the press focus example. I think once I average 1 set per minute, I'll be ready to switch to the press focus example as described in the manual. The key is to be patient and don't force my body to do more volume than what the shoulder is ready for.