I posted a long story a while back. Basically, I'm 45, used to be pretty strong, had shoulder surgery, got fat and really out of shape which led to more injuries and all kinds of bad stuff.

Last July I was ~255 lbs and really out of shape & fragile. I hired a trainer & started working out. At first, cardio was all I could physically do. After a while I was able to do leg presses and a few other resistance things, but I wasnt able to squat, bench, press, deadlift, etc.

I gradually got in good enough shape to do all that stuff. Some of the credit goes to my trainer, some to a massage therapist, some to myself for working hard & eating a lot better than before, some to this forum, some to reading SS, and a lot of credit goes to my new chiropractor who does ART therapy on me. That has gotten rid of most of the muscles adhesions I had all over the place.

In October 2009, I could not hold a barbell on my back due to shoulder/pec inflexibility. Also, my kneecap would rub on my leg bone when it was bent at ~45 degrees. ART fixed all that and a lot more.

I was bench pressing for a couple months late last year and early this year, but decided to lay off for a while and get my shoulder more healthy.

I've been deadlifting since ~October last year I think, and started squatting shortly after that.

My sessions with my original trainer ran out a couple months ago & I have a new guy writing me some great programs. I've been working with this guy for a few months and am making good progress in the deadlift and squat, as well as strengthened some weak areas, fixed some anterior pelvic tilt, and made my shoulders feel better & stronger. I've kept my weight pretty close to 220 for a few months, but I'm definitely getting stronger & not as apt to get injured again.

Here's what I've been doing before every workout:

Foam roll:
- thoracic spine
- TFL (with lacrosse ball)
- Hips
- Quads (I take ~15 minutes to do the quads alone usually)
- Feet & calves (lacrosse ball)
- Pecs (medicine ball)
- Lats
- Posterior shoulders (lacrosse ball)

This video is similar to what I do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU

In addition, I figured out how to do some self-ART on my traps with a lacrosse ball. This is a very useful thing for me.

After that, I do the following warm up exercises (most of these can be found in Asses & Correct or on Mike Robertson's YouTube site):
- quadrupled rotation
- pushups plus
- dynamic blackburns
- split stance rotation
- scapular wall slides
- supine straight leg raises
- side lying hip abduction
- walking spidermans
- ankle mobs
- goblet squats

Then I do 3 sets of each of these before starting lifting:
- quad stretch 30 seconds each leg
- supine bridge
- clam shells

The past few weeks I've done one set of the quad stretch before lifting and two after. I think this makes my legs feel slightly stronger during lifting.

I think the bolded ones above have done wonders to correct my anterior pelvic tilt.

The lifting is split up into two separate worouts that I've been doing once every two to three days (usually one workout then two days off - this works well at my age). This is the program I'm finishing up right now:

Lifting day 1

I do 3 supersets:
1A deadlifts
1B DB rows

2A barbell step ups with front squat grip
2B single arm DB flat bench

3A shoulder I T & Y
3B Ab wheel rollouts (these are a very hard & under-rated exercise imo)
3C side lying external rotation

After lifting, I do some HIIT:
kettlebell swings - ~10 seconds of swinging, then rest 50 seconds * 10 to 15 sets


Lifting day 2:

1A back squats
1B weighted or banded pushups (my wrist has been bothering me the past couple weeks, so I have been doing dumbell presses the past couple workouts instead of these)

2A RDLs (I love these)
2B lat pulldowns (no jokes please)

3A tall kneeling PNF D2 flexion
3B tall kneeling cable chop

HIIT:
medicine ball slams ~10 seconds with 50 seconds rest, 10 - 15 sets

Then I stretch like this after both day 1 & day 2:

DB lat EQI
DB pec EQI

2*30 sec. quad stretch
3*30 hamstring stretch


I'll post my two most recent workout numbers in the next post. Hopefully I'll have enough/make enough time to keep this log going.

5/3/2010

I'm just going to post the lifting & HIIT parts. The foam rolling, warmups & stretching are the same every time I work out.

deadlifts 345*4, 365*4, 380*4 - I started using a mixed grip after having used a double overhand grip up to this point. It feels like the bar is glued in my hands now. The damn camera didnt record my heaviest set, so here's one from a couple weeks ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru4gABVuIAU

DB rows - 90*6*3



barbell step ups with front squat grip - 115*6*3
single arm DB press - 70*8, 80*8, 85*6

shoulder I T & Y - 12*2
ab wheel rollouts - 10*3 (I have a slightly strained ab, so for now, I've been doing the sets of 10 split into smaller sets with ~30 seconds rest in between)
side lying external rotation - 5 lbs *12*2

HIIT
KB swings (7 swings, then rest ~45-50 seconds) - 44*2 sets, 62*6, 70*6, 62*1

5/6/2010

squats - 255*6, 270*6, 280*6 (personal record for 6 rep set)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fZDOSnWnvk

flat bench DB presses - 70*6, 80*6, 90*11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9mCk6DRzqE



RDLs - 295*6, 305*6, 310*6 (personal record)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6f0Ge1P_H0

lat pulldowns - 120*6, 130*6, 135*6



tall kneeling PNF D2 flexion (bands) - 2*10
tall kneeling cable chop - 20 lbs * 3*10

HIIT
MB slams - 15 slams followed by ~45-50 second rest * 15 sets

comments welcome - especially if you know anything about RDL form

i could be wrong but it looks like your rounding your back a lot at the bottom and your back looks too vertical to me.

edit: in squats

high bar squats. if anything, his back could be more vertical. but that may be enough butt wink to try to address it.

no expert on RDLs, but i think you're bending your knees too early.

The bar is high on the squats because I cant physically get it any lower - my lack of flexibility limits where I can put the bar.

This workout - I just started trying to move my hands closer together - they were ~2" wider on each side before this workout, and a few people in this forum + my trainer suggested I try moving them in. This did make my upper back feel more stable during the workout, but it seemed like it made my hands push the bar a little higher. I'm assuming this is ok.

Miles - do you have any suggestions for cues on how to address the back rounding issue? Should I be more conscious of trying to keep the back angle more upright?

i wasn't saying you weren't meaning to do high bar squats, but pointing it out for siq. but now it sounds like you don't really want to do high bar squats. if you can't get the bar in the low bar position, you can't do low bar squats and using low bar cues will only make it worse.

New set of workouts today. Same mobilization, warmups & stretches. I didnt get quite enough sleep last night so I felt a bit tired.

deadlift
135*10, 225*5, 275*5, 325*3, 375*5*2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VCwCIJ9loo

seated low cable row
90*10, 160*6, 210*6

DB step ups
50*6, 60*6

DB low incline bench - getting DB's into position sucks for this
50*10, 60*6, 65*6

face pulls
10*10, 20*8, 30*8

ab wheel rollout ISO
20 sec, 15 sec-fail, wanted 20*2

KB swings
44*2 sets, 62*4, 70*4

lat eqi - 30 sec*10
pec eqi - 30 sec*10

just stop bending your knees before the bar passes them.

Old habits are hard to break. My trainer suggested I should lead with my chest. He must have been talking about the same thing.

Thanks for the comment, I'll try to work on it.

5/12 (work sets bolded)

squat
45*10, 135*8, 185*5, 235*5, 265*6, 280*6
280*6 vid link

barbell bench press
45*10, 135*8, 185*6, 205*5, 225*6, 230*6
230*6 bench press vid link
This is the first time I have benched with a barbell since January. My most recent sets back then were something like 245*3 & 265*1. The predicting one rep max site says 230*6~267 for 1RM. Looks like I lost nothing while not benching for several months.

Back then, I had a feeling in the front of my right shoulder like it never quite got all the way warmed up. Tonight I didnt have that feeling. In addition, I had a feeling of strength in the bottom muscles that hold my shoulderblades down and in. These shoulder exercises I've been doing have been working

I'll see how the shoulders feel the next couple days, but right now I'm optimistic. The benching I did tonight didnt seem super hard.


RDLs
45*10, 135*8, 225*5, 275*3, 295*6, 315*6

chin up ISOs
1st time I've tried these. What they are is - chip ups with close grip, palms facing each other, one rep per set, holding the contraction at the top as long as possible.
20 seconds * 2 sets

tall kneeling PNF D2 flexion with bands - 2*8

tall kneeling cable lift
0*8, 10*8*2

med ball slams
10 sets

lat EQI - 70 sec * 10
pec EQI - 50 sec * 10

bench grip is wide by quite a bit imo. look at your forearms at the bottom of the lift.

Yeah, thats a good catch miles. Of all the stuff I've read about bench pressing & protecting the shoulders recently, thats one I forgot about. I have varied my grip based on what was comfortable before, and the middle fingers on the rings seemed pretty good, but looking at that vid, I see the hands are too wide.

5/16
I had some family commitments come up yesterday, so I didnt work out then as I had planned. Today went well though.

deadlift
135*10, 225*5, 275*5, 315*5, 355*3, 385*5(+10), 390*5(+15)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5RyKPqjqc

low cable rows
120*10, 180*6, 210*6

DB step ups
50*6, 60*6 (thats a 50 in each hand and a 60 in each hand)

DB low incline press
50*10, 60*6, 70*6 (+5)

face pulls
20*10, 30*8, 40*8

ab wheel rollout ISO
20 sec * 2 sets

KB swings
44*2 sets, 62*2, 70*4, 80*2

pec EQI 70 sec*10 lbs per hand
lat EQI 75 sec*10

good, hard workout imo

Just dropping by to say thanks for the t-nation article about injury prevention for the shoulders with all the press ups, overhead shrugs and facepulls. Very useful for borderline cripples like myself.

You're welcome. As a former borderline cripple, I also highly suggest looking into ART therapy and definitely do lots of foam rolling.

5/19

squats
45*10, 135*8, 185*5, 235*5, 255*4, 275*6, 285*6 (+5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvdCsFVZAOs

bench
45*20, 135*8, 185*6, 205*3, 225*6, 235*6 (+5)
I used a narrower grip this time. How's it look? The triceps felt it more than the last time I benched with a wider grip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Sx5H4VQ60

RDLs
45*10, 135*8, 225*5, 275*6, 295*6, 315*6
Was considering calling the 275s a work set because I have a slight strain in my low back on the left side (tweaked it kicking the step on step ups last workout), but it felt good so I went with what I did last time.


chin up iso
25 seconds (+5) , 20 seconds (my forearms are the weak link for these imo)


tall kneeling PNF D2 flexion with bands - 2*10

tall kneeling cable lift
10*8*3


med ball slams
10 sets

pec EQI - 50 sec * 10
lat EQI - 50 sec * 10

yeah that grip looks much better

Getting old sucks. The low back thing, although seemingly not serious, is not going away. My chiro said I could keep doing what I'm doing, but I didnt tell him I was DL'ing 390*5, so his answer might have been different if I had mentioned that.

I skipped a regular deadlift workout yesterday because of the back thing. I did some pull throughs and enough other random, light, cable things to break a sweat.

today I decided **** it, I'm going to deadlift & see what happens.

5/23

DL
135*10, 225*5, 275*5, 315*5*3 (-75)
315 didnt feel super heavy or anything, but it was as far as I felt comfortable pushing it with my back issue.

cable rows
120*10, 160*8, 180*6*2 I used a bit less weight than the last time, but better form. I had been leaning back a bit too far before I think.

DB step ups
50*6, 60*6, 65*6

low incline DB press
50*10, 60*6, 65*6, 70*6

face pulls
45*8, 55*8 I got a new cable machine, which is very nice. The weights move a lot easier on this than with the hookup on my rack, so these weights are a lot heavier than what I did last time. I did the cable rows on the old rack.

ab wheel rollout ISO
26s, 23s, 20s (wanted 25s * 3, oh well, these things are ****ing hard)

KB swings
44*4 sets (8 swings per set), 62*5, 70*3
I did these different this time. I started walking on the treadmill in between sets @ 2.5 - 3.0 mph. This kept the blood pumping better and I felt ready to go when it was time for the next set of swings. I was expecting to feel more tired, but I didnt. Maybe this is what I should have been doing all along. I like doing the intervals this way.

pec EQI 10lb * 65s
lat EQI 10lb * 75s

I felt pretty good after the workout, but sitting here, the left side of my low back feels uncomfortable. Guess I need to keep stretching it and avoid heavy DLs for a while, sigh.

5/26

squat
45*10, 135*8, 185*6, 235*5, 265*6, 275*6, 285*6
ugh. The last set, I wasnt focused on the very first rep and almost had to dump it. I managed to hang on and finish the whole set somehow.

bench
45*20, 135*8, 215*5, 225*6, 235*5
wanted 6 reps on the last set, but didnt try. I would have tried if I had a spotter.

RDLs
45*10, 135*8, 225*5, 275*5, 305*6*2
out of gas. It was during these that I realized I forgot to take NO Xplode before working out. I'm now pretty sure that stuff has a positive affect on me when I lift. I felt weaker squatting, benching and RDL'ing tonight than the previous workout doing these exercises. NO-X is good imo.

Chin up ISOs
20seconds, 21.5 s, 20s
these things are hard.

tall kneeling PNF flexion
10lb*8, 20lb*8

tall kneeling cable lift
10lb *8, 20*8*2

MB slams
12 sets, walking on treadmill between sets

DB pec EQI - 70sec *10lb
DB lat EQI - 55 sec *10lb

Spent the better part of the past two days putting a 1/2" thick rubber floor in my basement. I feel like I played tackle football yesterday - bruised & sore as hell. That stuff is heavy, hard to move and harder to cut.





Glad its done now. Looking forward to working out soon.

Looks good! Definitely jealous.

Nice!

thanks for the comments! I'm loving this setup

5/30

DL
135*10, 225*5, 275*5, 315*5, 365*5*3
The low back felt good before, during & after the DLs. Putting the ****ing weights on the tree after doing the DLs, I twisted it and its back again. Hope this **** goes away by the next time I DL. I want to bust 400 for some reps soon, but I dont want to risk it if my back isnt 100%. We'll see what happens the next few days. This is more of an annoyance than something I'm concerned about.

low cable row
120*12, 160*8, 180*6*3

DB step ups
50*10, 60*6, 70*6 (+5)

DB low incline bench
50*10, 60*6, 70*6, 75*6 (+5)

face pulls
55*10, 65*10 (+10)

front planks
60seconds * 3
I bruised a spot in the palm of my left hand doing the ab wheel ISOs last time and I cant do those at all right now, so I substituted the planks for them. The 3rd set was hard.

KB swing intervals
44*4, 62*4, 70*3 same as last time

pec EQI 10lb * 87s
lat EQI 10lb * 70s

6/1

squats
45*10, 135*8, 185*6, 225*5, 265*6, 275*6, 285*6
These felt a lot better than last time. I'll be doing 5 rep work sets next time so I'll add weight then.

bench press
45*20, 135*8, 185*5, 215*3, 225*6, 235*6
I was supposed to do 3 work sets but my left shoulder didnt feel right - better safe than sorry. I'm assuming this is because my chiro worked it over really hard earlier in the day doing ART on it. I guess I should have waited a day before trying to bench.

RDLs
45*10, 135*8, 225*5, 275*5, 315*6, 6, 6
these felt good

chin up ISOs
21 sec., 21 s, 23s = 65 total(+3.5)
my back barely feels this. my forearms are screaming the whole time.

pnfd2
tall kneeling cable lift

MB slams
15*12

flye EQI 65s
lat EQI 85s