Sounds good although I don't know what "sticky scap" is. I wish there was some sort of standard naming system for SMR stuff rather than trying to describe it from scratch each time. This forum should really figure out how to sticky it all and then we could just say "do shoulder -> rotator cuff -> routine #3". And it'd even help experienced guys who tweak an area run down a checklist of all the related areas they should investigate and try out when rehabbing.

And yeah, your bench is ridic as usual.

Neglecting leg day when I started working out 10 years ago will do that to you. I'm trying to correct it now, obviously, and at long last I think my form is decent. Hopefully my squat will pass my bench in 6 months or so.

I'm doing the lacrosse ball part of that crossfit sticky scap video cha posts 3x/wk.

Your idea sounds good but I am much too lazy to do it.

Also Jeff you have to keep in mind I'm 6'4" 230 (my increase in weight from 220->230 has corresponded pretty much exactly to squatting more than 2x/wk, btw). Doing just over bodyweight for my bench workset isn't something that I consider super impressive, even though I have long arms that make benching somewhat less advantageous for me than for someone half a foot or more shorter than me that weighs what I do.

I feel like I could probably do worksets at 250 right now (but I'm trying to go slow and microload so I don't do any more damage to my shoulder), and getting up to 265 or so seems within the realm of possibility for me in the near future before I have to reset. My all time 1RM is 330 so I'd like to surpass that at some point; my workout buddy and I do 1RM stuff once a month on bench so that's coming up in a week or so. I hit 295 at the end of January so we'll see.

Montecore - ahh, yeah, that is a good start. For shoulder rotator cuff type stuff and surrounding muscles that affect it I'd add:

Pecs - for sure roll those really well, especially since you obv have a lot of muscle there, maybe sure they're nice and loose if possible

Outside of your shoulder - to do this I lie down on my side and stick a lacrosse ball underneath my shoulder with my arm at a 90 degree angle to my body. I then bend my arm at the elbow and point my thumb out like I'm hitch hiking. Then I rotate my arm and back so my thumb goes towards the ground and then rotate it the other way down. If it is an area that hurts I do that 5-10 times. I keep moving the ball around to find other places that hurt. You can also go up against a wall and press against the ball to get spots on your shoulder that are a bit more towards the front which you can't hit lying down.

Infraspinatus - this is on the other side of your shoulder blade vs. the sticky scap thing you already do. So it actually involves rolling *on* the shoulder blade. The way I do it is by lifting my back up and then placing it down in very slightly different places on the lacrosse ball until I find something that hurts and then relaxing into it and applying more pressure

Teres minor/tricep - my guess is the best way to describe this area is as above the lats or the very far side of the infraspinatus where it goes up and under the armpit. This area is where my issue is mainly. However, I noticed on my good shoulder, it for sure was super tight too (but not as bad).

Yugo --

Thanks for the tips, I'll give them all a try and report back. My next PT appointment is tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

Monte, in all honesty I was jealous. My bench is laughable. I failed 150 two days ago.

I started working out 10 years ago and focused pretty much exclusively on bro exercises for the next 2 or so years, and then off and on for the next 4 or so years after that. At least I'm good at something, but I would recommend doing it the way you're doing, honestly. My lower body lifts are embarrassing.

Bench is tough, yo, . When I started SS I could bench more with DBs than with the damn bar. And in 9 months or w/e I only increased my bench like 35lbs or something. But, whatever, it'll come if I keep grinding imo. One day I'll Montecore it up.

2/22

Squat
wu+ 5x5x155

Pretty smooth, but getting slightly harder. I don't think my definition of what is "harder" is calibrated correctly wrt squatting, though, because I don't think my barspeed really ever slowed.

DL
wu+1x5x165

Pretty smooth too, stayed back on my heels and kept all the right parts tight. Onward and upward I think.

2/27

Bench
wu + 3x5x245

This was harder, but I still got all 3 sets relatively comfortably. Hopefully I can get to 255 or 260 worksets before I have to reset.

Pendlays
3x5x145

Squats
3x5x160

Both easy, I only did 3 sets of each due to time constraints.

I skipped Friday's workout because I was moving all of the crap out of my apartment into my new house (finally). My whole body was destroyed after moving every waking hour I wasn't working from Thursday-Saturday so I think I got enough activity.

Btw, the PT I'm doing seems to be working; I've got a fair bit more mobility in my shoulder and less pain.

Overall it looks like what happened is my tightness/mobility/weakness issues on my left side all fed on each other; my left rotator cuff is noticeably weaker and my left scap isn't moving as well as the right one is. I'm just getting SMR a few times a week, plus doing some band strengthening exercises and foam rolling (I just ordered a black rumble roller). Trying to nip this thing in the bud . . .

2/29

Squat
wu + 5x5x165

Dips
3x10xbw

DL
wu + 1x5x175

Squats and DLs feel a lot better formwise; I'm excited to hopefully keep increasing the weight (finally). Dips were fine, I'll probably do these in lieu of OHP until I get the OK from the PT.

As an aside, had the big ultrasound yesterday and the twins (both boys) look great. Halfway home . . .

There are your future squatters for 1rm squats imo.

Congrats!

nothing more relieving than good ultrasounds.

Thanks guys. I wasn't as nervous this time as I was 6 weeks ago (read too much about vanishing twin lol) but it was still nice to get the all clear signal. Once they get bigger I'll start an in utero SMR protocol to make sure they're able to start squatting around 8 months. Of course they'll be doing full BrOMAD immediately

dude, just stop reading the internet while you're wife is pregnant. You'll drive yourself crazy.

Done and done. I'm sticking to H&F, deadspin, and porn from now on.

hahaha awesome

Missed Friday due to travel, and my workout partner worked out so I'm just skipping bench/row/squat day and will get back to it on Wednesday.

3/5

Squat
wu + 3x5x170

I tried to get a little more of a bounce in the hole and it felt good. Onward and upward.

Dips
10/10/4xbw+10

Not sure what happened on the last set other than pussying out, although I didn't wait as long as I did between sets one and two. Maybe I'll move down to sets of 6 or 8 as the weight goes up.

DL
wu + 1x5x185

Felt pretty good, 195 on Friday. I've been lifting in socks the last few times and it's felt pretty good, I'm going to keep that up.

3/7

Bench
wu + 3x5x247.5

This was pretty challenging; I hadn't benched (or done any upper body workout) for about a week and a half so maybe there were some issues with the layoff.

Pendlays
5x5x150

Easy.

Squats
wu + 5x5x175

These are starting to get difficult; I was having trouble with my weight shifting foward to my toes in the first few sets, but I tightened up my core and concentrated on staying back and it seemed to help. Not sure how much longer I can keep up with 5 sets of squatting but we'll see.

The outside of my left lower leg (below the knee, like the shin and side of my calf) is very tight and needs to be rolled out; I've been noticing my stance seems a little wide so I might try to narrow it a little and see if that helps.

Have you posted a squat video recently? I feel I've followed your log for a little while and can't remember at all what your form actually looks like. Sounds like you're paying attention to the right sorts of things for your squat, but it doesn't hurt to watch yourself on video to really see what's happening or get more opinions.

I don't think I've ever posted a squat video actually; I'll try to remember to get one up in the next few days. If I remember to do it Friday I can get squat and DL so maybe that'll be the way to go.

Decided to take a hiatus from this logging thing until my lifts were slightly less pathetic; I've been tweaking my DL form a lot and have dropped down a fair bit to try and make sure I can keep my lower back tight.

Squat
wu + 3x5x225 (finally, work sets are at bw)

Press
wu + 3x5x135 (another milestone, felt pretty good)

DL
wu+ 1x5x225

I've been tweaking my form on DL a lot; I widened my grip a bit today and it felt a little better so we'll see how that goes.

Glad to hear you haven't quit!

How about some videos?