GMB and Mindful Mover on Alternatives to Deadlift

Once upon a time, I had a barbell set and practiced the deadlift using the basic program prescribed in the book Power To The People by Pavel Tsatsouline.  This training program had only two exercises - the side press and the deadlift.  Pavel has always been a strong advocate of the deadlift.  Aside from training the lower back, this quote from the book describes the other muscles trained.:

You work your shoulder girdle, your traps, your biceps, your forearms and your grip. Also, for athletes from sports where hypertrophy in the legs is not recommended, the deadlift is a great exercise.

I eventually achieved a double-bodyweight deadlift.  My deadlifting days came to an end when I loaded up the bar a little heavier than I should have and forgot to press hard on the heels of my feet to stand up.  The pain in my back was immediate and intense enough to let me know that I did something wrong.  I consulted with the sports doctor who treated me for my shoulder injury and he recommended a spine specialist.  I went to the spine specialist and he recommended rest and light exercise.  While he did not give me a precise diagnosis, he did say I might have a disc issue at worst, but otherwise did not need surgery, which I took as good news.   Shortly after, I got rid of my barbell set when it was time to move out of my apartment.

During all this time between getting rid of the barbell set and getting the Isochain.  I had pondered what bodyweight exercises I could do as alternatives to the deadlift.  Al Kavadlo recommended four bodyweight exercises as alternatives: Bridge, Single Leg Deadlift, Pistol Squat, and Lever Holds .  I eventually learned and practiced all four exercises.  Without a barbell or an Isochain, I could not really test the effects of these four exercises on my deadlift strength. 

GMB has an article in which they state that there are no bodyweight exercises that can truly substitute for the deadlift or other barbell exercises, and then go on to elaborate this statement.  One key passage of the article is the description of the benefits of practicing the deadlift, listing the requirements for a strong deadlift, then listing bodyweight movements that would help you meet those requirements.  Perhaps another way of describing GMB's recommendations, in response to the question of what bodyweight exercises can serve as deadlift alternatives, is to practice bodyweight exercises that will deliver the same benefits as a deadlifts - those benefits being a strong grip, a strong back, etc. GMB acknowledges in this article that you won't gain the same strength in those areas as somebody who has worked up to a triple bodyweight deadlift, but you'll be stronger in those areas than someone who just sits around all day and doesn't do any exercise.

Around the same time that I saw the GMB article, I saw Mindful Mover's opinion of the Deadlift expressed in this Instagram post.   Their message seems to be different than GMB's.  It seems to be intended for people who have already achieved a double-bodyweight deadlift.  The message is that once this level of strength is achieved, it is no longer necessary to practice the deadlift, but instead practice Single Leg Squats, Nordic Leg Curls, and One Leg Back Extensions.  In response to a question about whether Single Leg Squats and Nordic Leg Curls can deliver the same benefits for lower back strength that the Deadlift does, their answer is yes, with Accommodating Resistance.  I saw in one the post replies that Phil of Mindful Mover practices the Single Leg Squat (that is, Pistol Squat) with a weighted vest, loaded with over 100 lbs of weight - maybe 120lbs?  I forgot.  Occasionally, he has a partner add her own bodyweight for extra load.  Anyway, they train the eccentric motion with the full load , then use hands (Accommodating Resistance) to assist in the concentric portion of the movement.  

Mindful Mover has a video on how to train the Nordic Leg Curl with Accommodating Resistance.  E3 Rehab has an informative article that does not mention Accommodating Resistance but does describe in detail how to set up for it.  Their view seems more balanced, in that they mention the barbell deadlift as an effective exercise for the hamstrings, yet cast the Nordic Leg Curl as the best exercise for preventing hamstring injury, rather than as an exercise that is superior to the deadlift in multiple aspects.

One other thing I learned from reading through that Instagram post and all the replies is that Mindful Mover no longer considers the Single Leg Deadlift to be essential for improving hamstring flexibility.  They now think that the Weighted Pike Stretch is all you need.   Hamstring flexibility is not a super high priority for me right now, but I'll keep this in mind for future reference.  I'm practicing the L-Hold progression as part of my Trifecta mobility sessions.  When I reach the full L-Hold/L-Sit then that exercise will become more of a hamstring stretch.  I also plan to try the Single Leg Romanian Deadlift on the Isochain at some point, even if Mindful Mover no longer favors the dynamic version of this exercise for hamstring mobility.

It was  interesting to see what GMB and Mindful Mover think about how people who desire the benefits of deadlifting but are unable to deadlift for whatever reason, be it lack of access to a barbell or something else.  I don't plan to drop the Deadlift from my exercise menu anytime soon.  It's just too quick and convenient to practice with the Isochain.  My Deadlift training on the Isochain takes 6 seconds per rep = up to 36 sec. total, plus 100 seconds total rest time between reps, plus 30 sec. rest between Deadlift warmup sets and the start of work sets, plus about 60 sec. total for the warmup sets = 266 seconds or 4 minutes and 26 seconds.  This is so little training time that it makes no sense to me to drop this exercise to save time.

One possible next routine after the 6-8 weeks with Promethean Mk II are up, is the combined Isochain-bodyweight routine that appears in the manual as "Option C".  One of those dynamic exercises is... single-leg squats!   The routine will let me continue building absolute strength with the Isochain.  As GMB states, while pure bodyweight exercises can make a person very strong, these exercises cannot compete with weight training at loads of double-bodyweight or higher, for developing the greatest humanly possible strength.  This routine would let me improve my mobility, motor control, and balance by including single-leg squat, while also letting me continue building my overall strength by including the Deadlift, Zercher Squat, etc. as Isochain drills.

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II - Week 3

For the first session, I really focused on performing the Reverse Curl and Deadlift with a strong grip.  The golfer's elbow is unforgiving when I let my grip slip in the Deadlift.  I've no doubt this affects my Deadlift performance but I'd rather get by with less than maximal effort in that drill if I can avoid aggravating the golfer's elbow.  My Reverse Curl .

I wanted to see if my elbow could handle Front Lever and pullup training, so I set up my nice wooden rings.  Front Lever is doable with strict attention to keeping the grip pronated. I cannot allow my palms to face each other. Pullups at full bodyweight load is problematic, even with pronated grip. Pullups with feet on the floor to reduce the load is doable. While I want to try one of the mixed Isochain and bodyweight training programs from the manual, I haven't decided yet on whether to go with Option A which is all-isometric, or Option C which is mostly isometric but also incorporates one dynamic exercise each training day.

The results for this week:

Shoulder Press (high angle) - Finished with target load of 30 lbs, with max reading of 38.8.  I'll do one more session at this target load because I felt the effort going by GMB's Ease Scale, was still challenging.

Reverse Curl (medium angle) - Finished with target load of 25 lbs. Progress appears to be stalled from a numbers perspective with the max was still in the low 30.  On the other hand, my grip feels stronger.   What frustrates me about the Reverse Curl is the force readings are dependent on the angle of the bar with respect to the chain, because the force sensors are inside the bar.  The force readings for all the Isochain exercises depend on the bar to chain angle, but the Reverse Curl is particularly unforgiving.  I'll try dropping the target load to 20 lbs next week.

Deadift (high angle) - Finished with target load of 150 lbs, with max reading of 199.2.  The max reading is down quite a bit due to only applying as much force as my grip can handle.  If my hand starts to open up, my elbow will hurt, so I'm only applying as much pressure as I can while still maintaining a tight squeeze on the bar.

Chest Press - Finished with target load of 25 lbs, with max reading of 39.2.  This is an improvement over last week, but my technique is not consistent so I will do one more session with the 25lb. target load.

Bent Row (medium angle) - Finished with target load of 92 lbs, with max reading of 92.4. As with the deadlift, I only apply as much pressure as I can while still maintaining a tight squeeze on the bar..

Zercher Squat (high angle) - Finished with target load of 130 lbs, with max reading of 183.4.   I need to work on performing this drill with the arms a little wider apart so that the shoulders are less likely to be pulled forward.  Otherwise, progress remains steady.

I have some other thoughts on Golfer's Elbow and alternatives to Deadlift, which will be addressed in separate posts.

Today's Music Discoveries

 

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II - Week 2

Starting this week, I worked on sustaining my force all the way to the end of the timer, when I use the Isochain in Timer mode.  When my force reaches the target load in Timer mode, the Isochain bar beeps with a certain tone, then beeps once for each second that I sustain the force.  When I reach the end of the timed interval, which by default is six seconds, the bar emits a longer tone to signal the end.   I have had a tendency to relax my body as soon as I hear that tone.  Instead, I should continue applying force until the end of the long tone, to ensure that I have applied effort for the full six seconds.

Shoulder Press (high angle) - Finished with target load of 25 lbs, with max reading of 40. I seem to be able to generate more force at the high angle with a narrower grip - about the same as what I used for the low angle. I've been trying a wider grip but have not been able to exert as much force with the wider grip.

Reverse Curl (medium angle) - Finished with target load of 25 lbs, with max reading of 31. Not much change from last week. Just have to keep working at it, particularly squeezing the bar with a tight grip.

Deadift (high angle) - Finished with target load of 145 lbs, with max reading of 247.2. When I practiced brachial hanging, I developed the habit of gripping the bar loosely, so that the middle and proximal phalanges of my hands would be resting on top of the bar and my thumbs would not wrap around the bar. This habit carried over to how I grip the Isochain bar for deadlifts. My golfer's elbow - if this is indeed what I am suffering - is aggravated when I attempt a deadlift with this loose grip. It seems that the fix is to wrap the thumb around the bar and squeeze the bar hard. Thus I have slowed down my progress on this drill by incrementing the load 5lbs instead of 10 lbs, because at this time it's more important to work on that strong grip than it is to work on setting a new PR.

Chest Press - Finished with target load of 20 lbs, with max reading of 28.2. I was puzzled as to why hit a max of 47.6 last week, yet have been unable to push anywhere close to that this week. I realized it was because I was forgetting to protract the scapula. The serratus anterior is the muscle group that protracts the scapula, and amplfies pressing strength when activated. So later in the day, I attempted another chest press on the Isochain, this time with protracted scapula, and got a max reading of 41 lbs.  I hope I can remember to protract the scapula on my next full training session with this drill.

Bent Row (medium angle) - Finished with target load of 75 lbs, with max reading of 135. As with the deadlift, while the numbers are better than last week, grip is a concern because aggravating the golfer's elbow ia s risk here too. Also, I felt a bit of irritation in the shoulder. I realized I was pulling the bar towards my stomach, which was a habit I got from practicing tuck front lever rows. The shoulders and scapula feel more stable when I pull towards my sternum instead.

Zercher Squat (high angle) - Finished with target load of 110 lbs, with max reading of 180.5.   Progress seems to be going smoothly with this drill.

My body seems to love doing Bridges, so I started incorporating the Bridge hold into my warmup routine.  I do one hold for as long as I'm comfortable - so no tests of endurance - for 18-20 seconds - before proceeding to Crab Walk and Bear Walk to finish the general warmup.  

For the Friday session, I tried Twist Hold from the Trifecta after Isochain training, before beginning the cooldown routine.  This felt mostly good, except I need to make sure I don't let the shoulder travel out of its socket.  I've progressed enough to start working with a towel or cloth for assistance.  I first tried using a towel a couple of months ago, but I felt I was straining too hard and was concerned about triggering a back spasm or a hernia.  I've been working on practicing the Twist Hold with smooth breathing and gently increasing the stretch without straining.  The Convict Conditioning 2 book suggests practicing until the back of the hand, on the arm pulling against the vertical leg, can touch the instep, before moving on to using the towel to help pull the hands together.  I'll probably go back and forth between working on twisting the arm to get the back of the palm closer to the instep, and working with towel assistance.

Shoveling snow aggravated my golfer's elbow.  I understand this could have been avoided if I knew how to shovel with 6H techniques, but unfortunately I'm not advanced enough.  From what I understand, the technique involves loading the front foot, using reverse breath to "inflate the suit" and thus stretch the side of the body that needs to be pre-stretched, then release with weight transfer to the back foot.  From what I recall, there are two basic motions for "pole-shaking" training with a waxwood spear or a long nylon rod.  The forward motion is loading the rear foot then releasing to the front foot so that the pole is driving downwards.  The backward motion is probably the one for shoveling, because the pole would be driving upwards.    I haven't done much pole-shaking.  I don't want to order a nylon pole until my golfer's elbow condition has improved, because I don't know what working with the pole is going to do to my elbow.

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II: Week 1

I don't know for sure if I have golfer's elbow in my left arm, but the Mayo Clinic's description seems to match.  It's not a constant pain.  I feel it when my left palm is facing the right as I apply pressure, like when I wash my hands.  Fortunately, I don't feel it when I play my guitars with the lowest action, like the Breedlove Discovery Concert nylon-string or my Fender electrics.  

I found that the way to eliminate risk of aggravating the golfer's elbow during the Deadlift on Isochain is to squeeze harder with my thumb.  I don't know exactly how this works, but the action of squeezing harder with the thumb seems to prevent the golfer's elbow pain as I exert maximal effort on the Deadlift.

For first half of Week 1, I ran the 1-Rep Max protocol to set the 1-Rep Max values for the Day 1 and Day 2 drills. For the second half, I practiced my first regular training sessions for these drills, with target loads set to about 50% of the recorded 1-Rep Max loads. Not really much data to see for just one session for each set of drills, but for what it's worth, here are the results:

Shoulder Press (high angle) - Trained with target load of 25 lbs, with max reading of 38.6.

Reverse Curl (medium angle) - Trained with target load of 20 lbs, with max reading of 30.4

Deadift (high angle) - Trained with target load of 130 lbs, with max reading of 239.2

Chest Press - Trained with target load of 20 lbs, with max reading of 47.6.

Bent Row (medium angle) - Trained with target load of 65 lbs, with max reading of 103.

Zercher Squat (high angle) - Trained with target load of 90 lbs, with max reading of 150.

I think it's a solid start for the new routine.  The Chest Press is the Isochain drill that is the most dependent on technique to properly execute.   The first trick is to find a good height for the bar, which should be around sternum height.  If it is too high, it will feel too much like the Shoulder Press.  If it is too low, it's more difficult to get the proper feeling.  The Ultimate Isometrics Manual says it should feel like being iat the bottom position of a bench press.  The funny thing is, I've never done a real barbell bench press, because it typically requires a spotter.  I've only used the plate-loading machines that were supposed to simulate a bench press.  Anyway, the next trick after that is to hold the bar as close as possible to the sternum.  Next after that is to grip the bar with a wide enough grip, then flex the pectoral muscles before ramping up the pressure on the bar, which cues you to use your chest to power the press - hence the name of the drill.  A final trick is to pull the scapula down, then protract them (spread them apart).  This scapula action further reduces the involvement of the shoulders and fires up the chest even more, as it is the serratus anterior muscle in the chest that protracts the scapula.

I'm starting to observe results from practicing the technique for the Chest Press instead of just blindly straining at the bar.  The max force reading of 47.6 lbs is quite a bit higher than my 1-Rep Max score for this drill, which was 36.1 lbs.

Today's Music Discoveries

 

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II - Day 2

As planned, I ran the 1-Rep Max Protocol for the Day 2 drills for my Modified Promethean Mark II program. These are the results in pounds:

High-angle Zercher Squat: 184.5, Single-attempt max: 194.2
Medium-Angle Bent Row: 127.3, Single-attempt max: 131.6
Chest Press: 36.1, Single-attempt max: 37.4

Unlike the Day 1 drills, I have not practiced these drills before so I had no expectations for the numbers.   My first max attempt on the Zercher Squat was a bit tentative because I wasn't fully confident that my back would hold up, despite stacking the odds in my favor by going for the high angle, ensuring that my torso was upright, and tucking my butt to the rear.  I applied a bit more force with each successive attempt. Perhaps I could have cracked 200 lbs. if I applied as much force as I did on my last Deadlift attempt yesterday but I didn't want to take the chance.  My back felt fine during all three Zercher Squat attempts but it was the lack of familiarity that made me cautious.  I viewed today's test more as a means of setting my starting target load values for this program, than a test of my true strength.

It will take a while to develop good technique for Chest Press.  The manual says the first trick is to set the bar at a good height, about the level of the sternum, so that the pectorals can be engaged more than the shoulders.  Next is to get the bar as close as possible to the chest.  Then, tense the pecs to ensure they're activated and use them to push the bar both up and outward, so that it feels like the bottom of a bench press.  I found a wide grip helps activate the pecs.  I've accepted that my performance in this drill will be weak until I get the technique down.

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II - Day 1

As planned, I ran the 1-Rep Max Protocol for the Day 1 drills for my Modified Promethean Mark II program. These are the results in pounds:

High-angle Deadlift: 265, Single-attempt max: 287.2
Medium-Angle Reverse Curl: 38, Single-attempt max: 39
High-angle Shoulder Press: 49, Single-attempt max: 50.2

The numbers for Reverse Curl was what I expected.  My Shoulder Press tested about 10 lbs. higher than I anticipated, based on my performance at the low angle in the previous program, and what I recall of struggling at the high angle position.  

I'm finding that the Shoulder Press at the higher angle is more optimal with my hands a little further apart than they were for the low angle.  There's a sweet spot where I can generate the most force, when I protract the scapula.  If the hands are closer together than that sweet spot, the elbows start to want to flare out and the wrists start feeling awkward.  If the hands are further apart, there is a dropoff in force production and scapula protraction gets less effective for preventing shoulder discomfort.

The biggest surprise was the Deadlift.  Before I switched from Deadlift to Hack Lift, the highest reading I recall seeing was around 180 lbs.  I thought that Hack Lift would hit enough of the same areas in my posterior chain enough to see improvement in the Deadift, but I didn't anticipate this kind of jump.

An article that hinted at carryover from Hack Lift to Deadlift:

Hack Lift Pros and Cons

Isochain Modified Promethean Mark II Planning

This is my modified version of the Promethean Mark II program from the Ultimate Isometrics Manual, which I am planning to follow for 8 weeks.

Modified Promethean Mark II
Day 1 - High-angle Deadlift, Medium-Angle Reverse Curl, High-angle Shoulder Press
Day 2 - High-Angle Zercher Squat, Medium-Angle Bent Row, Chest Press
Day 3 - Off

Today I tried out Isochain positions for the selected drills at the desired angles, and added color-coded tags to the chain to mark the positions. if the tags were not already there.  I also tested the Max readings in Feedback Mode because I had overlooked that the Max button works in Feedback mode so I wanted to make sure that it works for the 1-Rep Max testing sessions that I will be using to set the official 1-rep Max values for each of the 6 drills for Promethean Mark II.

The Day 1 exercises are mostly the same as in the manual, except for Reverse Curl, which I have substituted for Curl because of soreness in my inner elbow that is aggravated by Curl.  I'd been working at the high angle for Reverse Curl so it made sense to switch back to a medium angle.  I experimented with positioning the bar so that it is vertically above the base plate, versus positioning the bar a little further in front of me so that the elbows are in line with my torso, resulting in the chain being at an angle to the base plate instead of vertical.  I found that the Isochain measured a greater Reverse Curl force with the elbows in line with the torso, instead of the elbows behind for a vertical chain.  I went with high-angle Deadlift because it's the least stress to the lower back, and it engages the abs the most.  I chose high-angle Shoulder Press because it's more comfortable than medium-angle, and I'd been working so much with low-angle already.  

The Day 2 drill selection is also mostly the same as in the manual, with Zercher Squat substituted for Front Squat, based on the benefits described by Christian Thibideau.  The high angle seems to engage the abs the most. 

Maybe it wasn't smart to go for some max force readings on the very next day after a serious Isochain session.  But it was fun.

Isochain Modified Promethean Week 5

Shoulder Press - Started Week 5 completing 4 reps of 6-sec. holds at a target of 65lbs, which is an improvement over the end of Week 4 when I managed only one full 6-sec. hold out of 4 reps.  Finished the week with 5 reps at a target of 65 lbs with a max reading of just over 70lbs.

Reverse Curl - Finished at a working load of 30 lbs, with a max reading around the 40 lb. range.  The week began with a max reading of 44.4 lbs, which is a new unofficial PR for me.

Hack Lift - Finished at a working load of 190lbs, with a max reading around 215 lbs.  Week 4 ended with the 190lb session feeling hard and barely achievable.  Week 5 started with 190lbs still requiring effort, but feeling easier to achieve, with a max reading back in the low 240 lb. range.  Finished the week with 6 reps at 190lbs with a max reading of 266lbs.

I'm pretty decent now at breathing steadily while practicing Hack Lift.   Not holding my breath while practicing Reverse Curl or Shoulder Press has been a challenge but I'm getting better.  Whole-body isometric contraction raises blood pressure quite a bit, so the Ultimate Isometrics Manual advises not using the Valsalva Maneuver - which is basically exhaling while holding the breath to maintain internal pressure - on top of that.  Valsalva Maneuver is ok for moving exercise because the extra tension it generates is only needed for a second or two.  On the other hand, the Promethean program has you holding muscular contraction for as much as 6 seconds.

Reviewing my training logs, I realized I've been training under the Promethean program for 2 months, when I combine my time under the book version of Promethean with time under my modified version of Promethean.  Earlier in the week, I thought of going for a 6th week under modified Promethean.  After today's session, I decided to go ahead and switch to my modified Promethean Mark II program next week.   I'll post more about my planned modified Promethean Mark II program.

The Hack Lift is very friendly to my back.  With yet another unofficial PR achieved today with a max reading of 266 lbs. I could probably still make gains on this drill at the same angle.  However, I'm curious about possible carryover from Deadlift to Front Lever, so I'm switching to Deadlift, at a high angle for least risk to the low back.  I switched from about medium angle to high angle on Reverse Curl in the middle of modified Promethean so I'll try a full 8-week cycle with high-angle Reverse Curl.  My shoulder health has improved enough that I can position my arms at medium angle for Shoulder Press - empty-handed anyway.  There's still some irritation with the weight of the Isochain bar in my hands at the medium angle, so I'll go with high-angle Shoulder Press. 

The soreness in the pinky side of my elbow has subsided a bit.  From GMB's elbow pain article, I tried the grip hold on a towel, but quickly decided it wasn't for me, because it's the same side as my still-recovering shoulder.  I bailed on the exercise as soon as I started to feel irritation in the shoulder.  I then tried Band Elbow Flexion, which is basically a negative hammer curl.  I did a couple of sets and that felt fine.  I didn't try the exercise anymore after that day because I wasn't sure how it would impact Reverse Curl performance, and the elbow has continued to improve without further practice of the Band Elbow Flexion.  I found another article that proposes a Blitzkrieg program for elbow pain.  I haven't tried this yet but I'm logging it here just in case.  The author mentions training grip extensors but the article doesn't mention any specific exercises.  I have a set of Expand Your Hand bands from Ironmind and have been using those for occasional extensor training.

 

Isochain Modified Promethean Week 4

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.

Today's Music Discoveries

 

Today's Music Discoveries

 TH1RT3EN: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

 

Isochain Modified Promethean Week 3

Shoulder Press - Shoulder continues to feel better.  I progressed to a target load of 60lbs.  The largest max reading has been dropping for two consecutive sessions.   For the final session of the week, I was only able to get the timer on the Isochain to count off the full 6 seconds twice.  For my other reps, I was simply unable to hit the target load, or sustain the target load for the full 6 seconds.  This may be a sign that I should consider changing the Shoulder Press angle for the next program.  However, the current low angle is the only one in which I feel absolutely no shoulder pain.  When I position my arms at the middle angle the shoulder does not hurt as much as it did at the start of Isochain training.  However, it's not entirely pain free yet.  Since switching angles is not possible yet, I will keep training at the 60lb. target load until I can do 6 reps of the full 6 seconds, then cycle down 15 lbs.  I'm only in Week 3 of a 6-week overall cycle

Reverse Curl -  I was able to work up to 6 reps of 6-sec. holds at a target load 30 lbs.  However I was unable to hit a target load of 35lbs consistently.  I switched to the high angle and dropped the target load to 20 lbs.  I think I need to work on gripping the bar with more authority as I practice this drill.  It simply won't be possible to generate more force without a stronger grip.  Even though I seem to be weaker at the higher angle, there seems to be less stress on the inner elbow than at the middle angle.

Hack Lift - I progressed to a target load of 170 lbs. The largest max reading was over 250 lbs.  I think it will be a while before the gains at the high Hack Lift position stop.

One possible reason for my disappointing performance in the Shoulder Press and Reverse Curl is that my warmup was just carrying laundry to the basement, and moving a few things around the living room.  No wall pushups, Amosov style squats or anything.  So it could be that my warmup was not adequate, even though I did practice the drill-specific warmups as instructed in the manual.

I started following up my Isochain practice with holding the top position of a pushup, working on protracting the scapula and keeping the core tight.  It's just some light isometric work so I can have a little bit of a head start on the elbow lever progression described in Coach Wade's Ultimate Isometrics Manual.

I continued practicing silk-reeling coiling/uncoiling to simultaneously improve my suit usage and to improve tendon circulation, especially for the elbows and shoulders.  

I introduced yet another practice I'd neglected - shoulder dislocate with an elastic band.  I'm not comfortable rotating my arms all the way back and down, so I just worked within the range that my shoulders would allow me, just up and down for about 30 reps per set.  This is giving my shoulder some much-needed traction.

I intend to continue through the current Modified Promethean cycle until the completion of Week 6.  That said, it's fun to think about what direction to take my training after that.  What I have tentatively planned is:

Modified Promethean Mark II - 8 weeks

Day 1 - Hack Lift, Reverse Curl or Curl, Shoulder Press
Day 2 - Front Squat, Bent Row, Chest Press
Day 3 - Off

Combined Isochain and Bodyweight - 8 weeks

Day 1 - Front Lever, Elbow Lever
Day 2 - Straddle Lift, Front Squat,  Sissy Squat,  Curl/Reverse Curl, Shoulder Press
Day 3 - Pull Up, Pike Pushup
Day 4 - Straddle Lift, Front Squat,  Sissy Squat,  Curl/Reverse Curl, Shoulder Press

The hope is that training under Modified Promethean Mark II will continue the rehab and prehab of the shoulder and lower back, as well as continued building of all-round, whole-body strength - particularly the back and lower body - in a way that hadn't been accessible to me for a long time, until I got the Isochain.  

The program in the 8 weeks that follow is for revisiting the bodyweight skills that I still want to explore, while also assessing the impact of Isochain training on my progress towards those bodyweight skills.  I am guessing that my progress towards Front Lever and Handstand/Handstand Pushup will be accelerated quite a bit.  The impact on Pull Ups is unknown because none of the Isochain drills mimic the pull up that closely.

Steven Low's article on programming for advanced isometric movements after a plateau

Mindful Mover's Instagram post about their mobility drills

I found a Youtube channel that shows most of the dynamic drills from Convict Conditioning, featuring the same guy used to model them in the book, who I think is Max Shank

OP-1 Tips

How to loop instruments and other gear with OP-1

Drum loop transitions using Finger sequencer and accelerometer to add glitch

Set up  the OP-1 with some keys for chords and other keys for drums - the OP-1 keys are not velocity-sensitive so there are some limitations but this idea might be useful for some scenarios:

Composing with a minimal setup, by Hainbach:

Old thread on LFO Tips:
https://op-forums.com/t/lfo-tips-and-questions/2431/23

Isochain Modified Promethean Week 2

Shoulder Press - Shoulder continues to feel better. Technique continues to improve. I did 5 reps of 6 seconds at a target load of 55 lbs.  The largest max reading was 82 lbs.

Reverse Curl - Working load is at 30 lbs.  The largest max reading is 34 lbs.

Hack Lift - I did 5 reps of 6 seconds at a target load of 160 lbs.  The largest max reading was 237 lbs.

Based on my understanding of Thomas Kurz' statements regarding high-rep, low-resistance movements for tendon health, I changed my "shell warmup" routine to start with a high-rep set of bodyweight squats, followed by a high-rep set of wall pushups.  According to Kurz, the idea is to strengthen slow-twitch muscle fibers that stabilize joints and to improve blood supply of the muscles and their fibrous connective tissue, which speeds up muscles’ recovery and is needed for increasing structural strength of their fasciae and tendons. So the number of reps needs to be enough to help achieve "shell warmth" as described in Coach Wade's isometrics manual, and also improve vascularization of the tendons, yet not be so high that the body is too fatigued for Isochain training. 

I also resumed a 6H practice that I'd been neglecting - using suit coiling/uncoiling to turn a hammer held in my hand.  This practice was originally introduced as an alternative to Cando Bar silk reeling, for those unable to obtain a Cando Bar.  I still have my own tan Cando Bar but it's pretty demanding on the grip, and with my current golfer's elbow, training with Cando Bar is impractical.  Anyway, there are two positions in the basic "forward arm wave" silk reeling cycle that training with the hammer is useful:

1. At the end range of opening with the arm, with the back of the suit stretched open so that it is no longer possible to continue pulling the pinky of the palm with the suit without turning the palm.  Here the hammer is held horizontally with the head facing inwards.  The front of the suit, especially on the side of the working hand, pulls on the thumb with a coiling action, causing the hammer to rotate to vertical.

2. At end range of closing with the arm, with the front of the suit contracted, the palm up, and the hammer held horizontally facing away from the head.  Here the uncoiling action of the suit pulls on the pinky side of the hand and the little toe side of the far foot, causing the hammer to rotate to vertical.

I have worked up to 25-30 reps per side, per position of these hammer coiling/uncoiling exercises, to improve vascularization of the wrist/elbow connective tissues, and probably other connective tissues, probably involving the back, hips, shoulders, etc.   I try to do more than one set per position, per side every day.

Today's Music Discoveries

 

Chord files for Octatrack

Voltek Labs generously distributed a collection of samples of synth chords, as well as chord MIDI files for use with Octatrack:

Voltek Labs Chord Files for Octatrack

THE ESSENTIAL TENOR GUITAR CHORDS GUIDE

 I recently purchased two instruments from Eastwood - an MRG electric mandolin, and a Warren Ellis 5 5-string tenor guitar.  As an Eastwood customer I recently received an email pointing me to this guide to tenor guitar chords in a variety of tunings, including the 5ths tunings similar to cello or viola.

THE ESSENTIAL TENOR GUITAR CHORDS GUIDE

Building AUM Acid Groove with Ruismaker Multi-out, Agonizer and Model 15

Logan Smith posted a nice walkthrough on putting a grooving track together in AUM. From the Youtube description: 

Today's track is an upbeat, acid-like groove. I wanted to use Fugue Machine to sequence a 7/4 drum beat at 132bpm, but it took a bit to find the right drum sounds and channeling options. What I ended up with was using Ruismaker in multi-out mode, with only the Kick, Snare, Closed HH, and Open HH channels open. After a bit of tweaking in Fugue Machine, this gave me the kind of groove I was going for. I think used Agonizer and built a bass line in Rozeta Bassline that I was really happy with. After that, I used the Moog Model 15 to create an overdriven lead line, built in Collider. For the actual performance, I started the Collider sequence with just a few Hadrons on a small Grid and slowly increased both parameters to build into a more complex melodic pattern. I think broke it apart in GlitchCore on the fly for a bit of character. Everything is mixed down to a channel that's processed by IK Mixbox. Enjoy! 

Complete Track Starts at 12:31 

Channels 1-4 are Ruismaker split into multiple outputs, all sequenced by Fugue Machine. 

Ch. 1: Kick processed by IK MixBox
Ch. 2: Snare, processed by IK MixBox and BLEASS Reverb
Ch. 3 and 4: Different Hi-Hat sounds, panned Left and Right, and both processed by Kosmonaut and Blamsoft Zero Reverb
Ch. 5: Drum bus, processed by IK Mixbox
Ch. 7: Agonizer, processed by IK Mixbox, sequenced by Rozeta Bassline
Ch. 9: Moog Model 15, processed by IK Mixbox and Glitchcore, processed by Rozeta Collider, and modulated by Rozeta LFO
Ch. 11: Main Mix Bus, processed by IK Mixbox
--- 

logan.jacob is a Reverberated Records Artist: https://linktr.ee/reverberatedrecords

Isochain Modified Promethean Week 1

Week 1 under the modified Promethean program is complete.  Ok, it's only 2 sessions since I rebooted Promethean under the modified exercise selection on Wednesday, but who's counting?

Shoulder Press - Shoulder continues to feel better.  Technique continues to improve.  I did 6 reps of 6 seconds at target load of 45 lbs.  I did cause the timer to reset on my first rep, but was able to hold until the timer completed a 6-second count after resetting. 

Reverse Curl - Starting to get the hang of this unfamiliar curl variation a little more.  With straight wrists instead of extended wrists, it is easier to wrap the fingers around the bar for a more secure grip.  Because the bar is not resting on the palms, there are sweet spots on the bar that must be found, for the hands to grip the bar so that the wrists do not feel bent sideways in an uncomfortable way.  Not feeling any of the golfer's elbow muscles firing, so I must be doing something right.

Hack Lift - 150lbs was no problem, but because of the low back scare last Monday, I'm not going to rush advancing in load.  Per the manual's double progression guidelines, I'll do another session at 150lbs but with 5 reps.  Today I did 4 reps.

Because of the low back scare, I took extra time to warm up and ensure the low back is warmed up and not too tight for the start of Isochain training.  Taking into account what I learned about Thomas Kurz's thoughts on high-rep, low resistance movements, I did more reps than usual.  

My warmup included:

• Amosov-style squats - go up to balls of feet at the bottom of the squat.  About 20 reps.  It was almost 1 min. of work so for next session I'll just set a timer to 1 min. 
• RMT Club Shoulder to Shoulder Swings - 30s each side grip
• Front Kick, alternating legs - 30s

The cooldown included:

• GMB Quadraped Scapula circles - 30 reps each direction
• Wall Dog - 30 sec.
  
• GMB Spine Circles - 30 reps each direction 
• Hang Pose about 45 sec.
  
• GMB Child Pose-Cobra movement - about 20 reps
  
• Cobra Pose - about 40 sec.
• GMB Supine Hip Circles - 30 reps per leg, per side
• Frogger stretch, but light - not too intense

I omitted the brachial hang to allow those golfers elbow muscles to rest.  I'm also taking a break from playing guitar because of golfer's elbow and working more on keyboard/synth stuff.

Isochain Promethean Reboot: Session 1

 As mentioned previously, Promethean is the training program recommended for people who are new to using the Isochain and isometric training in general.  The three core exercises are the Deadlift, Curl and Shoulder Press, which are all functional exercises, as stated and explained in The Ultimate Isometrics Manual.

Because of my current issues with the low back and the inner elbow, which seems to match the description of "golfer's elbow", I replaced Deadlift with Hack Lift and Curl with Reverse Curl.   Thus I replaced 2 of the 3 exercises in Promethean in Week 5 out of this 6-8 week program.  In effect I have ended my first cycle of Promethean, however early.

I would say only 4.5 weeks of Promethean training is not enough to evaluate training results in a meaningful way.  I was progressing fine in the Deadlift until I decided to try a low position, which aggravated my lower back.  I was progressing fine in the Curl, until I realized I might be developing golfer's elbow.  The golfer's elbow symptoms were already there before I got the Isochain, but every time I practiced the Curl, it would flare up a little.  It made sense to just stop practicing exercises that make any pain feel worse.

Thus, today was the first session of the modified Promethean program.  I felt the lower back working a bit during the Hack Lift, even with the bar set to a relatively high position, but not as much as when I did the Deadlift with the bar in that same higher position.  What was really different was the level of effort.  With the bar behind the legs instead of in front, it took less effort to achieve the target load, which today was 140lbs, As for the Reverse Curl, the grip felt a little awkward.  I felt like the thumbs were taking more of the bar weight than they should.  So I don't think it's worth extending the wrists for this exercise just to try to activate the targeted forearm muscles more and thus discourage the golfer's elbow muscles from activating - better to keep them straight for a more secure grip on the bar.  Narrower grip still works best for comfort in the Shoulder Press - I just have to keep practicing inhaling to pull the elbows down, then protracting the scapula to activate the lats for shoulder support/protection.

One thing I have to watch out for is when I squat down to adjust the Isochain.  I felt a little pop again in my low back when I was in a deep squat, adjusting the load value in the bar.  I will try to prevent the low back from getting too tight in the deep squat by getting on the balls of my feet.  Hopefully the low back will feel less and less like it's made of glass as I progress with my Isochain training.

For the rest of the day,  I used the Ironmind Expand Your Hand bands to continue strengthening the wrist extensors in hope of helping relieve the golfer's elbow, and lots of joint mobility work - preferably higher-rep sets -  especially for the lower body and hips, for the tendon/ligament vascularization mentioned by Thomas Kurz.

Isochain Prometheus Week 5: Back feeling much better

 I didn't get much sleep last night because of the lingering soreness from yesterday's Deadlift practice with the Isochain.  I spent some of the time in bed rereading my copy of Beyond Bodybuilding by Pavel Tsatsoline.  I came across a passage in the book, entitled "Jurassic Training Revisited: Building Tendon and Ligament Strength".  Here, Pavel mentions George Jowett teaching John Grimek that "support holds" (isometrics) will strengthen ligaments and tendons.  Then, Pavel says that  "high-rep work" is the other half of the connective tissue training equation. and refers to his other book Super Joints for details on the high-rep movements.  Super Joints mentions Amosov's joint health routine that included a lot of squats and pushups, then presents Pavel's alternative to the Amosov routine, which are joint mobility exercises.    

The information on Amosov's routine came from the writings of Thomas Kurz.  I searched a bit and found clarification from Kurz himself which states that the purpose of high-rep work, with low resistance, is vascularization of the tendons, so that they are less prone to inflammation and rupture.

So in my case, doing a 100 pushups a day on the floor is not going to strengthen my tendons/ligaments, because for me that is not "low resistance".   That many pushups a day would probably have the opposite effect - damage to those connective tissues via overuse injury.

Anyway, when I got out of bed in the morning, the back was sore and stiff as expected but still not as terrible as when I had my back spasm a few years ago.  I began the day practicing I could remember of the updated GMB Elements warmup routine - a couple of quadraped drills - one for shoulders/scapula, the other for spine, as well as hip mobility with gentle low back stretching.  Then I did the Convict Conditioning Trifecta, with a lot of short sets of N-Holds interspersed with sets of Bridge, Twist, and one "bonus" drill - middle split stretch.  After this morning routine, the back was still a little sore, but not as stiff and sore as when I got out of bed.

For the rest of the day, I occasionally got up, and did the following randomly chosen drills:

2 sets of 15 bodyweight squats

10 minutes of zhan zhuang (standing pole jin practice)

Silk-reeling derived hand-turning drills with a hammer, practicing using the 6H suit to rotate the hammer from horizontal to vertical instead of just turning the forearm with localized muscle.  I tried to do at least 10 reps per hand, per set, per position (closed to open, and open to close).

Silk reeling exercises empty hand

Hip rotation varations

 Later in the evening the back felt much, much better.  That gave me the confidence to reorganize my Promethean spreadsheet to plan out the warmup loads for my modified Promethean program which will focus on Hack Lift instead of Deadlift, Reverse Curl instead of Curl, and Shoulder Press.

Isochain Promethean Week 5: Rough start with Deadlift

I tried the Reverse Curl as a possible replacement for the regular Curl in Promethean.  I have a soreness in the muscles of my inner forearm, including the inner elbow, that acts up when I do the Curl, and occasionally when I play guitar, especially when I apply pressure with the pinky or ring finger to barre across two or more strings.  Last week, I tried the Chest Press as a replacement.  While the Chest Press remains an option, I thought that strengthening the muscles on the other side of the forearm, by training the Reverse Curl, might be a more effective way to address the problem.  This assumes that part of the problem is that there is an imbalance in the forearm musculature.   

I was unable to achieve the same kind of whole-body tension in the Reverse Curl that I've been able to achieve in a good rep of the Shoulder Press or Bicep Curl, because the wrists were not feeling comfortable with the chain set to the same height I've been using for Bicep Curl.  I tried widening and narrowing my grip but to no avail.  Also, I felt the inner forearm muscle(s) - the ones I've been trying to rest and allow to recover from the lingering soreness - get sore.  I then watched this video:

My takeaway from the video is that the wrist should be in slight extension, which activates the Brachioradialis muscle, before applying force.  I then tried Reverse Curl with slightly extended wrists on the Isochain.  This time, I did not feel unwanted soreness from the problem forearm muscle(s).  I'm guessing increased activation of the Brachiradialis deactivates the sore muscle(s) that I want to stay deactivated.  I felt the whole-body tension that I failed to find this morning.

The rougher part of today's session was the Deadlift portion.  I set the Isochain at the lowest possible height for the Deadlift, at least without removing the screw-lock carabiner-revolving pin assembly.  Despite attention to looking up, pressing through the heels, hip hinge, and not allowing the low back to round, I still felt a bit of a pop and some pain.  I then squatted down, lengthened the chain to set the bar several inches above the knee, and finished the Deadlift set with the bar at that position.  Perhaps it was ill-advised to do this, but at that moment I thought, if chain-and-bar isometrics is so great at healing joint pain, why not test it right now?

 I may well have a nasty low back soreness tomorrow morning when I wake up, but I've done what I could for the rest of the day to stand up more often and do a lot of hip rotations.  At least the pain isn't as bad as when I had back spasms while I was in the deep squat - that pain was so bad I was stuck lying on the floor for several minutes before I could finally get up and off the floor.

What I will do for Wednesday exercise will have to be a game-day decision.  If I'm up for Isochain training, I'll try substituting the Hack Lift for the Deadlift.  Compared to the Deadlift, the Hack Lift is supposed to place more load on the quads than on the back, although the back will still get some work, according to the book Ultimate Isometrics Manual.

Isochain Promethean Week 4

 My performance of the Bridge seems to be improving.  Last week, I would occasionally feel a sharp pain my shoulder because I got a little careless with how I was moving my hands back, to position them for the start of the movement.  Now however, there is no more sharp pain.  I used to struggle to hold the Bridge for more than 15 seconds.  Now I can hold it for 20 seconds without too much effort.

I still have a lingering soreness in the inside of my left forearm.  My guess is it was from the time I spent practicing the parts to the duet version "The Place Where I Found Love" on the Geoshred Pro app.  The Geoshred practice itself was not the issue - rather, the issue was that I was holding the iPad with my left arm.  I now practice that song with the iPad sitting on the desk, rather than being supported on my left forearm, but I still feel the soreness when I practice the Bicep Curl on the Isochain, hang from the pullup bar, and play my new electric mandolin or certain guitar.  This soreness was a factor in my decision to abandon ring training - for now - in favor of Isochain training.   So this week I decided to eliminate another possible factor in this persistent soreness, by replacing the Bicep Curl with Chest Press.  I also started training my forearm extensors with the Ironmind Expand Your Hands bands that I bought years ago but have neglected.

It took more time than I would have liked to figure out a good bar height and hand positioning for the Chest Press.  An overhand grip with a straight wrist gets more uncomfortable below a certain height.  I eventually settled on a bar height that seemed to work with an underhand grip, with the hands nearly at the ends of the bar.  It's a good height for me to feel like I can use chest muscles as the dominant movers for the Chest Press, rather than the shoulder muscles.  I used the One Rep Max Protocol from the Ultimate Isometrics Manual to establish my 1-rep max value for the Chest Press.  I did the 3 reps as specified by the protocol.  It was interesting to see that the max value reported by the Isochain go up with each rep.  However, I followed the protocol and took an average of my 3 scores to set my official 1-rep max to 56.4 lbs instead of 60 lbs which was my score on the 3rd rep.  I seem to recall from Power To The People that a suggested starting load for a load cycle is 70% of 1-rep max so for the next session I'll train the Chest Press at a load of 40lbs (rounded up from 39.48).

Because of my frustration at the amount of time and effort it took to establish the bar height and hand positioning for the first session practicing Chest Press, I did an all-out max effort on my last rep of my Shoulder Press working set.  It was around the low 70s.  

I finished the week feeling stronger in the Deadlift and Shoulder Press.  I can still improve my skill in sustaining the target load for 6 seconds.  I still heard the timer reset whenever my force against the chain dropped below the target.  I also still haven't found the best possible groove, set up by hand placement, arm positioning, etc. for either movement.   But I think I'm closer to finding that groove than I was at the start of the week.  

For the Chest Press, I still have to figure out if underhand or overhand grip is better.  For the Wednesday session, I went with underhand, which felt more comfortable at the bar height that I tagged, using a ziptie tag on the chain link, for this drill.  But during the Friday session, I found that I could get a more comfortable overhand grip by allowing the elbows to rest further away from the armpits and pulling the elbows behind the torso.  The manual says to train with the bar up against the sternum, but I don't think this is literally possible.  I think however the manual is correct about direct force to the bar upwards and away, so that the chain would be on a diagonal, instead of perfectly vertical.

Also I misread the instructions for the Drill-Specific Warmup.  It's only one rep per intensity level, not 2.  The manual says the total reps for the warmup should be 2-4.  Only 2 reps if you opt to skip the easiest and hardest intensity reps.  4 if you do all 4 levels.

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.

Advice for practicing music and miscallany

 

ElectronicBeats Top 20 Records of 2020

5 Tips & Tricks for the Teenage Engineering OP-1 

Twist Hold Observations and other thoughts

The Twist Hold is the third hold of the Trifecta, which is a joint health training program described in detail in the book Convict Conditioning 2.  Some critics of the Trifecta state that better exercises are available for flexibility, but the purpose of Trifecta is joint health and "bulletproofing" the joints, not achieving the best possible flexibility at the risk of joint health.

Here is Aleks Salkin describing and demonstrating the Trifecta exercises:

I've struggled to progress past the 3/4 Twist variation of the Twist Hold progression.  I tried practicing the assistance stretches suggested by Al Kavadlo, who modeled the Trifecta exercises in the book, but remained stuck.

Today I realized that what has been holding me back is a very simple detail that I'd overlooked.  I had the palm of my arm - the one leveraging against the leg - facing away from the leg, with the elbow locked out.  Why was this a problem?  Well, this prevents the arm from being able to snake under the knee and reach back to either grab the other hand, or grab a cloth/towel being held at the other end by the other hand.

I've also been using the Trifecta wrong.  It's not really supposed to be a cooldown routine after a session of serious strength training.  It's supposed to be done on non-strength training days, or as a warmup.

As an aside, I did an L-Sit variation with palms on the floor instead of parallettes for the first time today.  The easiest variation to do on the floor is the N-Hold variation, which I hadn't been able to do because I lacked the core strength to pull the knees high enough to get the feet off the ground.  For my next Trifecta session, however, I'll switch back to the P-Barz because in the Trifecta, the L-Hold (L-Sit) practice is supposed to be an active stretch of the lower back, not a strength workout per se.  I did have to expend a lot of effort to do the N Hold from the floor.  Aleks Salkin also wrote an L-Hold Tutorial.  I tried this approach a while back but did not get past the "straight leg to N hold" step.  It could have been any number of reasons from not practicing at the correct frequency per week, or not allowing enough rest time, targeting the wrong hold time, etc.  In any case, now that I have the Isochain, I don't really have to work on the L-Hold as a strength exercise.  I wouldn't be surprised if I made "free gains", as Mindful Mover likes to day, on the L-Hold from Isochain Promethean training, because all 3 exercises work the core with increasing intensity as the target load goes up.  I can just practice easier variations of the L-Hold as part of Trifecta.

Speaking of Mindful Mover, I saw their recent post about how practicing their "Big 5" (Handstand Pushup, One-Arm Chinup, Planche Pushup, Front Lever Row, Squat) with give you free gains on the Deadlift.  While that might be true, I suspect you have to work up to high levels of skill in their Big 5, and to get those high levels of skill you have to be strong anyway.  The problem for me is my shoulder won't let me work on the Planche Pushup or HSPU branches of the Big 5.  The Shoulder Press from Isochain Promethean should, in theory, deliver gains in the HSPU.  The Bicep Curl might have some carryover to One-Arm Chinup, as it is essentially a bodyweight bicep curl.  I suppose I'd have to work up to a double-bodyweight Bicep Curl to see that - or not.  The carryover potential from Deadlift to any of the Big 5 isn't so clear - Front Lever maybe?  Bent Row from Promethean Mark II looks like it has more obvious carryover to the Front Lever Row progression.

Isochain Promethean Week 2

 Progress in the Promethean, as measured by Target Load in each of the 3 drills, continued a little, then settled into what I think are supposed to be my working loads.  My progress in the first week was artificial in that I picked arbitrarily low target load values for my very first session, and worked up from there.  According to the Promethean guidelines, I could technically still increase my load values for the Deadlift and Bicep Curl, for the next session, as I did complete all 6 sets of 6-second holds.  However, the Isochain timer was reset a couple of times because I failed to sustain the force consistently.  So I will train at the same loads again, until there are no more timer resets.  The loads are heavy enough that I can finally feel my biceps working in the Bicep Curl, and my lower back getting a little sore from Deadlift.   I hope this doesn't mean there is a deficiency in my Deadlift technique.  I've been paying attention to applying pressure through the heels of my feet.

I briefly experimented with training the Shoulder Press with the bar set to the same height as the top of my head, because I thought I might be able to apply more force to the bar at that position.  However, the shoulder was easier to irritate so for the rest of the week, I set the bar back to several inches above top of head height.  The load for this drill is only 30lbs.  I did complete all 6 reps of 6-sec. holds today, but I'm not satisfied with my quality of performance.  There is a groove for the Shoulder Press that I find once in a while.  Otherwise, the chain is shaking as I struggle to find the groove and thus apply the full-body force to the chain, unlike the Bicep Curl where I have no problem building up the full-body force.  I started practicing by putting my hands up on the basement ceiling while standing on the stairs to the basement, and applying pressure from my feet to my hand.  I keep the pressure light because this is just practice, not a full isometric strength training session.The pressure that I can apply to the bar just does not feel consistent.  It could be that I am forgetting to squeeze the butt and tighten the abs.

This week I went with the "binary warmup" scheme described in the manual.  I think I'm overdoing it a little because the manual says I shouldn't be huffing and puffing at the end of the general warmup.

The Specific Drill Warmup Sets are actually 2-4 reps per set, not one rep per set.  Rest between reps should be 10-15 seconds, not 1 second.  Load Mode is useful for this warmup because you just set the target load and count the seconds that the Isochain bar beeps off when you hit the target, instead of guessing if you really hit 20% of your max load, then 35%, and so on.  I have a tendency to apply too much effort in this warmup.

The purpose of the cooldown is to relax the body after all the full-body effort being applied to the Isochain.  That is why the isometrics manual does not mention the Trifecta stretches which are covered in detail in the main author's other book, Convict Conditioning 2.  His reasoning is that stretching that is too intense can add tension to the body, rather than reduce it.

I haven't practiced the Trifecta exercises - Bridge, L-Hold, and Twist - for quite a while.  The book recommends practicing Trifecta 3-4 times a week, preferably on non-strength training days.  Thus, I'm thinking of practicing Trifecta before a GMB Elements session, which is usually on days between Isochain training days, and on weekends.  I just have to remember to not overdo the effort, especially on weekends when I should be recovering from a week of Isochain training.

REVERSE BREATHING AND THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT

The following was copied from a post by Mike Sigman:

REVERSE BREATHING AND THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT 

I've mentioned some of this before, but I think it's a good topic for the putative "algorithm" series, so I'll take a swipe at it. When you do a reverse-breath, you inhale while slightly pulling in the abdomen and simultaneously pulling up the perineum/anus area. If you do these things correctly, you'll feel a sort of pressure area at the anus/perineum (AP) area that you can sort of pull up the spine to the lower back (Mingmen) area. Upon exhale, you let the pressure area drop forward and downward. This cycle of movement is the basic power-storage movement that is common throughout the Chinese martial-arts. I'm also pretty sure that the mechanism was well-known in the Japanese martial-arts, based on a comment I read in an old novel about ki and power development. Try the above inhale pulling in and upward, then the drop-release exhale a few times. You should be able to feel the general mechanism pretty easily. What makes this mechanism difficult for westerners to grasp has usually been the vague and obscure directions in so many of the old texts and directions. For instance, some directions talk about breathing the qi in through the Huiyin, into the coccyx, up the sacrum, and to the Mingmen. "Breathing the qi" in doesn't so much refer to breathing an exotic energy inward as it refers to pulling the elastic tissues of that area inward. Next, as you do the inhale part of the cycle, pay attention to the superficial area of the back and your spine ... try to push the slight tension in the lower back up the outside of the spine to the top of the head, on the inhale. Just get it generally correct, without worrying too much about perfection. On the exhale, as the dantian drops forward and downward, imagine that drop as pulling tension area from the top of the head down to the lower abdomen. Mentally follow that more superficial/outside-ish circuit that works in synchronicity with the cycle of the reverse-breath inhale and exhale. Now, let's return to previous discussions about a reverse breath and how, when you have your arms and fingers slightly extended, you can feel the pull-inward at the fingertips (maybe other places, too, depending upon your development) with the inhaled reverse-breath. Imagine the tissues you feel at your fingertips and part of an elastic, sheet-like connection over your body and that you feel the pull at the fingertips because your elastic "suit" is being pulled upward at the perineum/anus area. Do a few inhales and feel for that connection between the fingertips and the perineum/anus/huiyin. As your body's elastic connection continues to develop, you'll begin to feel the connection grow and spread to all over the body. It's this connection that the dantian uses to control the body.

 

CAST IN RESIN, MOVING AGAINST WATER, AND SO ON 

The idea of "cast in resin" is the same basic idea that has been discussed a number of times in this forum: if you arrange your mind and body, without moving, to get ready to move into any given direction and, the imagination (if it is realistic enough and has real intent in it) is enough for the subconscious mind to trigger the involuntary muscle systems that we use in so much of our movement. 

The general procedure for "cast in resin" is to stand in a balanced position, one foot forward, and without moving the voluntary muscles, feel yourself getting ready to move forward even though your body is imaginarily only held in place because you are inside of one of those clear, plastic resin cubes. Don't make any physical movement, but just get your body ready to move as a whole unit (just like you are pushing your body through water). Don't actually move, but try to realistically feel that you are ready to move forward even though you haven't tensed any muscles. 

Then, without moving again, trying to arrange yourself inside so that you are now ready to move your body and legs, etc., backward. You will know and feel when your body is all aimed and ready to go backward. You can use the same procedure "move your qi" in various other directions. 

The point to think about is that not only does your body use muscle, bones, tendons, and connective tissue for movement… It also uses various stressors caused by involuntary-muscle systems under the command of the subconscious mind. You can't control the subconscious mind directly, but you can ask it to do things by imagining realistically and thus forming a rapport with the subconscious mind where it tries to do as you imagine. 

Perhaps I shouldn't have said "imagining realistically"… You can get the subconscious mind to control the involuntary-muscle systems by imagining some fairly unrealistic things. For instance, I can imagine breathing in through the top of my head and down to my stomach while I inhale through my nose, and imagining that I am pulling an intangible energy through the top of my head: that will trigger parts of my involuntary-muscle systems to react as if I were physically drawing something in through the top of my head, even though of course there is no intangible energy that I am actually pulling in through the top of my head. 

In a number of medical qigong's they will say things like "breathe qi in through the kidney", or something like that, and what they want you to do is imagine you are pulling something in through the kidney area when you inhale: that will help strengthen the involuntary-muscle systems in that area. 

Anyway, the cast in resin model is another simple way to begin learning to control your qi with your mind. Give it a try. Don't forget that reverse breathing is the optimal way to help pull in the qi tissues of the body.

Chen Ziqiang on Chen Village training 

Isochain Promethean Week 1 completed

 I completed Week 1 (3 sessions) of the Isochain Promethean program as described in the book The Ultimate Isometrics Manual by Paul Wade.  The Promethean focuses on what the book states are the three key positions of functional strength - pulling something off the ground (deadlift), holding something (biceps curl), and pushing something (shoulder press).

One area of improvement is the drill-specific warmup.  I have a tendency to apply too much force too soon.  At least for the first warmup set, I'm now comfortable with exerting just enough force to take all the slack out of the chain.   I feel like I'm going harder than necessary sometimes for the 2nd warmup set, and that I'm always going too hard for the last two.  Also, I missed the bit about resting 10-15 seconds between warmup sets.  I was only resting 1-5 seconds.

I entered modest load values for the drills because I haven't practiced the deadlift since my back injury from a deadlifting accident years ago.  I also haven't practiced bicep curls very much.  I'd thought of curls as an isolation exercise.  This isn't the case with the Isochain.  The body has to tighten up to provide a solid platform for the curl to happen.   Another reason to start with a modest load value was my suspect shoulder.  It was responding fine to ring incline pushups and variations of pike pushups, but in the last month, the shoulder developed a soreness that would be aggravated whenever I raised my left hand to tune my guitar.

I still have to consciously engage my external rotators and scapular muscles to stabilize the shoulder, and thus manage or eliminate pain, when I tune my guitar.  But after these 3 sessions, there is a noticeable improvement in how my shoulder feels.  The book mentions research indicating that isometrics has been found to reduce or eliminate joint pain.  The improvement of how my shoulder feels seems to bear this out.I did have to pay extra attention to keeping my scapulae protracted, to protect the shoulder, engage the lats and enhance performance in the shoulder press. The next test will come when I progress closer to my bodyweight load in the Shoulder Press. The book says that because there is no movement in isometrics, the shoulder will be fine. I'll find out!

One early struggle was figuring out the appropriate chain lengths for each exercise. What took a particularly long amount of time was finding a pain-free position for the shoulder press. I ended up ordering a bag of nylon cable tags, found by searching "cable label". They're basically plastic tags with zip ties. Anyway, I'm using those to speed up the process of adjusting the chain for various drills.

I generally aimed for the middle position in all 3 drills.  Initially the recommended middle position for the shoulder press, which has the handle at the top of the head, was uncomfortable for the shoulder, so for the first 2 sessions I had the handle set about 6 inches higher than the head.

I really like the Isochain's electronics which signal to me when my force production has reached the target load, and then counts off to me the seconds that I sustain the force.   I even like being informed that my force production has slipped below the target load.

I also like being able to practice the deadlift again.   I missed that whole-body tension that I got only from standing up with a heavily loaded barbell.  I don't however miss the risk of injury that comes with working with a heavy barbell.  I also look forward to trying the front squat, Zercher lift, and other barbell-inspired drills.  

My tentative plan is to do the Promethean for the prescribed 6-8 weeks, then switch to Promethean Mark II for the following 6-8 weeks.  Then after that I will do an assessment of where I'm at in the handstand pushup progression.  I practice GMB Elements on the days I have off from Isochain training, so I get a little bit of preparatory work for hand balancing from that.  I'm also practicing easier variations of the shrimp squat to maintain the balance and coordination for that movement.

Guitar Lesson videos

 Some videos I'm saving for future study:

 Post about using the Donna Lee head for soloing

 Around the World in Seven Scales

Random Pedal maker find: https://www.copilotfx.com/main.html

Isochain Promethean Session 1

 I continue to have a lingering soreness in my left shoulder whenever I raise my left hand to about shoulder height, left of the shoulder.  The soreness is alleviated by conscious contraction of the left external rotator cuff/shoulder blade muscles.  

On top of that, I have soreness in my forearms, especially the left.  This is probably from holding the iPad with my left hand.  while I practice on the GeoShred Pro app with my right hand.  The soreness would intensify when practicing pullups and rowing movements on the rings.

Then Dragondoor announced a discount on their new Isochain, a high-tech device for isometric exercise, a well as a discount on their new isometric training manual.  This looked like an intriguing way to continue strength training with less risk of aggravation or injury to the shoulder or forearms/elbows.  The pursuit of the Handstand Pushup will have to wait for another day.

The manual presents tons of training ideas and programs.  I selected the Prometheus program, since it was recommended for people new to isometrics such as music.  Actually, it turns out the manual describes practicing front-lever holds and other gymnastic/calisthenic holds as isometric training, so I guess I'm not totally new to it, but I'm definitely new to bar-and-chain isometrics.  

The first session took a bit long because of the time spent figuring out appropriate chain lengths of each of the 3 drills in Prometheus.  Here are the results, with load as entered into the Isochain:

Deadlift - 120lbs - 4 reps of 6 seconds easily achieved, so increase to 125 next time

Curl - 30lbs - Started at 35 lbs but could not hold for full 6 seconds, so dropped to 30lbs.

Shoulder Press - 20lbs - 4 rep of 6 seconds easily achieved, so increase to 25lbs next time.

The setup for Shoulder Press took the longest time, because it took a while to find a chain length and hand positioning that eliminated any shoulder pain.  This turned out to be hands close to shoulder width, bar about a couple of inches above the head.  The manual recommends middle position rather than top or bottom position, for all exercises, but also says exact position does not matter.

So far the shoulder feels a little better and less temperamental to movements like silk-reeling, whereas up to last week, the slightest error in usage of the suit during silk reeling would result in sharp shoulder pain.

Tried a 15-minute session of GMB Elements as warmup but it really extended the length of today's workout, even with the cutting of the Elements cooldown.  Might do the GMB Elements warmup followed by 5 minutes of freeform Elements movement practice instead.