Tag: shoulder pain

Vaccine Envy: back of the line blues

Vaccine envy I am seeing more and more people get it. I remain ineligible.

Ok, live in Illinois. I am 4 years too young to be eligible by age (I am 61)

People whose jobs are unable to be done remotely are ahead of me. Ok, they SHOULD be. Totally agree.

Some…like prisoners…well, I might not like them but they cannot isolate and they can infect workers, guards, nurses, etc. So, I agree.

Some have comorbidities…a few which are self inflicted (obesity, smoking…yes, being a smoker is classified as having a qualified comorbidity. I note with irony that if I had not maintained my 120 lb weight loss I’d be eligible )

I don’t like all of it..though I sympathize with the “by no fault of theirs comorbidity”….but I agree, on public health grounds.

So my vaccine envy is really….cursing the fact that I am almost dead last in line because I have a safe job and I have good health. Those are usually considered blessings..at least by rational people.

Oh, I have type O blood..so in terms of the body I was blessed with, I am about as safe as a non-hermit can be.

So, I’ll leave it at that; bitterness helps no one.

Workout

Ok, the piriformis felt better than the shoulder but the shoulder…didn’t feel that bad. Maybe things are looking…better?

First: 5K walk.

I did the Williams set and the McKenzie set first.

Then came the weights; pull ups (sets of 6-10 singles, 5-6 reps..50 reps total) with rotator cuff/hip hikes

shoulder presses: 10 x 94, 10 x 105, 9 x 110, 10 x 94, and a failed attempt at 115..felt pain so I stopped immediately and retreated to 94 lb.

curls: 3 sets of 10 x ?? 50 lb? (10 kg plates, 1 kg collars, bar weighs very little)

rows: 3 sets of 10 x 134 (better position)

bench press: full reps: 10 x 44, 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 10 x 94 I decided to use a weight that made full reps painless and just work back, taking as long as it takes.

Pull ups: very cautious

9 x 110 supported shoulder press

115 felt awful from the start (felt “bad pain”) , so I bailed..retreated to 10 x 94 instead.

Babying it

Sore shoulder but I made some changes:

rotator cuff, hip hikes, glute felt a bit wonky …

pull ups: sets of singles and 5: very careful (50 reps)

bench: 10 x 44, 10 x 94, then 7 x 134 pin press, 2 x 154 (didn’t feel good)

deadlfit: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 224 (the latter: not challenging but there was some effort)

rows: 3 x 10 x 134

curls: 3 sets of 10 with 10 kg plates

shoulder: 10 x 105, 10 x 105, 10 x 110.

Adjusted the j-cups down to make it easier to rack.

No “show off” videos here; mostly “sore shoulder” stuff.

9 March: recovering a bit

I almost forgot my evening Naproxen dose; that is good. Mild tingles in the butt; that, I think, is due to sitting too much.

Weights; respecting the shoulder.

pull ups: 2 sets of 10 singles, 2 sets of 5, 10 singles, 2 sets of 5

usual rotator cuff plus hip hikes..also using the band downstairs.

bench: 10 x 45, 10 x 90, 10 x 135, 7 x 135, 7 x 135 (not quite hitting the chest on a few reps, plus some play with pins)

rows: 3 sets of 10 x 134

shoulder presses: 10 x 94, 10 x 105, 10 x 110

curls: 3 sets of 10 with ..not sure..bar is super light and I used 1 10K plate plus 1 kg collar on each side, so 22 kg of plats and collar.

Yes, this was a conservative work out. Vide0: 94 and 110 is shown.

And I remain a head cases

No, my shoulder is NOT well and my piriformis still is troublesome, though it is honestly better than last week…these 5K walks appear to hit the sweet spot…25 km per week.

And today’s walk, while at a decent pace (not fast) had a pleasant surprise:

Cassie is on the comeback tail and took a detour from her run to say “hi” as she passed me; I was about mile 1 into my walk.

The walk…perfect conditions, was not that bad.

This came after deadlifting:

Warm up: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 3 x 224 (low)

Working sets: 3 x 260, 3 x 260, 3 x 260, 3 x 260, 3 x 265 (low handle): about 3-5 minutes of rest between each, and they weren’t that hard.

High handle: 3 x 285, 3 x 301 (best)

That is pretty good for me; but I am such a head case I wonder if the Naproxen is helping me out.

Some shoulder pain upon waking up; did some band work downstairs (can tie it to the squat racks); deadlifting did not bother it.

The 285 “felt” easy so I decided to try 301 for multiple reps. It wasn’t that hard. Ok, it WAS work.

Deadlift progression:

ugust 5, 2019: managed a High Handle hex dead 225 (1 rep)
August: typical sets were 4 x 175, 4 x 195 (handles up)
September: 4 x 205 head dead (handles up)
November: got 4 x 225 hex dead, handles DOWN
December: got 1 x 225 bar dead, then 4 x 225
December 20, 2019: got 1 x 230 bar deadlift
DEcember 25: got 1 x 233 bar deadlift (home)
Dec 27: got 1 x 235 dead
Dec 29: got 1 x 240 dead (bar)

2020
Jan 11: got 245 hex dead (handles down)
Jan 25: got 255, then 260 conventional dead
Feb 1: got 255, 260 Sumo, 6 x 233 conventional
Feb 8: got 266 conventional, 5 x 238 Sumo.
April 5, 5 x 244
April 18: 5 x 244

Gap for sore back: switched to low handle trap deads

May 23: 10 x 206
June 7: 10 x 217
June 20 1 x 250 trap
July 4: 10 x 222
August 1: 4 x 250 (trap, low handle)

Gap for Virtual ultra (24 hour)

August 22: 4 x 254 (trap..low handle)
August 29 1 x 274 (trap, low handle)

September 5: switched to full stop deadlifts: sets with 244
September 12: 10 x 222 (full stop)
September 27 4 x 254 5 x 244 (full stop)
October 4deficit: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 5 x 224
regular: 2 x 259; didn’t try a 3’rd rep as I felt a tug in my right hamstring (high)high handles: 10 x 224:
October 17: High handle: 5 x 254, 5 x 264 (fairly easy)Low handle, neutral: 5 x 244
October 24: High handle: 5 x 264, 5 x 274, low handle: 10 x 224

October 31: 1 x 254, High Handle 1 x 284, 1 x 274

November 7: High Handle: 5 x 274, Low Handle: 5 x 249

November 14: Low Handle: 1 x 254, High Handle: 1 x 289, 1 x 294, Low Handle: 10 x 224

November 18; High handle 10 x 234 (by accident; added an extra 5 to each side)

November 21: Low Handle deficit: 1 x 254. High handle 1 x 301, 10 x 244. Low Handle: 10 x 224.

November 28 Low handle 5 x 254 (no bounce)

December 5 Low Handle 1 x 284, 10 x 229. (no bounce)

December 12 High handle: 1 x 274, 1 x 304 (easier than the 301 2 weeks ago), 1 x 274, 10 x 244
Low handle: 10 x 224 

December 19: 5 x 274 high handle, 5 x 254 low handle. (missed 301 low handle 4 times)

December 26: High handle: 1 x 314, 5 x 279, low handle: 5 x 254

2021

Jan 2: 5 x 279 high, 4 x 259 low, 5 x 234 deficit (lots of misses with 319 high)

Jan. 9: High handle: 5 x 279, 5 x 279 (effort) Low handle 5 x 255

Jan. 16: High handle: 5 x 285, 1 x 285, 5 x 274, Low handle: 10 x 224.

Jan 23: High handle: 5 sets of 3 x 274, 1 x 301, Low handle: 10 x 224.

Jan 31: high handle: 5 sets of 3 x 279, 1 set of 1 x 301 low handle 10 x 224

Feb 7: missed 319 badly (high handle); too beat up to do much but 5 sets of 3 x 274 high handle , 10 x 224 low.

Feb 14 regression; found that 260 low was difficult; retreated to 3 sets of 5 x 244 low, 1 set of 5 x 274 high.

Feb 21: 5 sets of 3 with 255 (low), 3 x 279 high, 301 high.

Feb 28: 4 sets of 3 x 255, 1 set of 3 x 260 (low), 3 x 279, 3 x 279 high.

7 March: 4 sets of 3 x 260 low, 1 set of 3 x 265 low, 3 x 285 high, 3 x 301 high.

Dealing with it

Shoulder remains sore…though I think, improved a bit?

Emotionally: it was a good day, though I think the pandemic is finally getting to me a bit; I see so many getting vaccinated and I am champing at the bit for mine..knowing all the while that, in the name of fairness AND public health, others should come first.

And yes, others…people I used to like, are starting to grate on me. I suspect my friend’s list will be culled quite a bit afterward, and I know that my days of seeking out crowded events won’t return anytime soon.

Weird times.

And no, I am NOT looking forward to other things.

I know; this is a bit cryptic.

Workout:

rotator cuff and hip hikes.

pull ups; sets of 10 singles (4 sets) then 2 sets of 5, very controlled, and above average quality.

Bench: 10 x 134 half-assed, 10 x 134 decent, 2 x 170; decided to stop there, then 10x 134. Not ready for full benches; maybe try some light pin presses on Tuesday.

rows: 3 sets of 10 x 134 (0k)

shoulder press: 3 sets of 10 x 105 (pretty solid; ok)

curls: used 10 kg plates (perhaps 23 kg total?) 3 sets of 10.

Then: a reasonable walk; 5K at 14:48 mpm. The walk was almost totally pain free.

Note: my pull ups. Given I can do 10 pull ups (not done today, but I can do 10 respectable pull ups), you’d think I’d look better or look more muscular than I do. But I don’t. Sigh…

Videos:

2’nd set of 10 singles

3’rd set of 10 singles

2 x 170 sore shoulder

10 x 134

10 x 105

Light curls

Sore shoulder day 1

On Saturday I heard that “snap, crackle, pop” in the right shoulder that means…it is going to be sore for a while. So I am doing the two Naproxen thing for a week or two and being very careful with weights: do nothing that causes pain.

Yes, I had the “night pain” last night…that usually (doesn’t always) means the shoulder is on the way to healing.

rotator cuff/hip hikes: slowly.

Pull ups: sets of 10 singles and 5 singles, coming to a complete stop and limiting swing. Reps were good and worked the muscles appropriately.

shoulder press: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 10 x 105 all decent form; slight twinge on reracking the first set.

rows: 3 sets of 10 x 134

curls: 3 sets …very light curl bar and 1 kg collars: 10 with 6 kg plates, then 10 with 8 kg, then 10 with 12 kg. Very strict form.

deadlifts (all low handle); 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 224, pretty easy (Naproxen helped?)

Sore shoulders but progress

I still felt the shoulders from pushing myself on Friday on the hex bar deadlifts.

Still: pull ups (5 sets of 10, good), rotator cuff, bench: 10 x 135, 2 x 185 (easy, sort of), 5 x 155 (pause), goblet squats: 6 x 25, 45, 60, 70 ..70 might have been not quite all the say down
decline: 8 x 170, military: 10 x 45, 10 x 45 standing dumbbell, 10 x 180, rows, 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine, plank, headstand..and yes, one set of 6 x 45 barbell squats. My upper body position is terrible on these.

Toward the end of August

Workout notes: sore left shoulder; starting to ache at night. I think it was due to the struggle with the barbell military on Monday.
Yesterday: yoga then a 6.1 mile walk in 1:31 (14:48); this included Prospect Hill and upper Glenn Oak Park.
Today: weights; 2 mile run (10:46/10:03) kept the effort moderate. Weights: rotator cuff, pull ups (painless; 5 sets of 10), incline press: 10 x 135, 3 x 155, decline: 10 x 165, hex dead: 5 x 175, 1 x 225, 1 x 240 (difficult), 4 x 215. military (3 sets of 10 x 45 dumbbell standing) rows 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine. Plank, headstand, the run, the goblet squats (to the “sill”) 6 x 50, 6 x 62.

Games: I did see the Chiefs win 9-5 on Wednesday

The scoreboard tells the story: the Chiefs raced out to a 4-0 and 5-1 lead…it got tied in the 7’th and then the Chiefs got 5 in the bottom of the 7’th and held on. They are playing better right now. Looking forward to tonight’s game.

Sadly..not much of a crowd to see a long (3.5 hour) but exciting game.

Almost that time of year…

Last 3 home games for the Chiefs this Wednesday through Friday. I hope to make two of them (tomorrow, Friday).

But for now: classes start tomorrow. I often decorate my wall with fake photos:

Workout: yoga, then an 8.7 mile walk.

I was a bit disappointed: 2:04 out and 2:05 back as the weather was cool; it was just a head thing. 14:51 mpm, which was, well, faster than 2 weeks ago. So I shouldn’t complain. Weight: 189. Still, I think that I lost concentration on the way back; my mind wandered all over the place.

Update: I had a bit of shoulder pain last night; mostly the left arm. I had this the last time I needed PT for the rotator cuff. My guess: stressing it with a maximum effort military (barbell) and hex dead lifts might not have been a good idea.