Below is the last two week’s worth of workouts since I started training again after being out for nearly 2 months following surgery for a ruptured biceps tendon. Spent 6-weeks immobilized in a sling with significant atrophy of the right arm, shoulder, lat, and pec. Still have another 6 weeks before I can do anything “heavy” on upper body. Until then, just trying to regain range of motion in the elbow and rebuild a bit of muscle where possible.
Lower Body Session #1 (Quads, Calves, Abs) – First session in nearly 2 months!!
- High Bar Squat 315 x 8
- Leg Press 3 x 20
- Leg Ext 3 x 15
- Standing Calf 3 x 20 / Abs 3 x 15
Upper Body Session #1 (Total Upper)
- Bench Press 3 x 5 x 135
- Incline 3 x 8 x 115
- Lat Pulls 3 x 20
- Seated Cable Row 3 x 20
- Tricep Pressdown 3 x 20
Lower Session #2 (Hams focus)
- High Bar Squat 325 x 8
- Low Bar Paused Box Squat 3 x 8 x 225 (low-bar still very painful and stiff due to shoulder stiffness)
- Lying Leg Curls 3 x 15
- 45 Degree Back Ext 3 x 15
- Seated Calf / Lying Leg Raise 3 x 20
Upper Body Session #2 (Shoulder, Triceps)
- Press 3 x 5 x 85. Pretty painful and stiff. Hard to stabilize right arm
- Press 3 x 10 x 65
- Behind Neck Press 3 x 10 x 55. Actually felt good as a stretch on the shoulders
- Side Delt Raises 3 x 20
- Lying Tricep Ext 3 x 15
- Tricep Pressdown 3 x 20
Upper Body Session #3 (Back, Rear Delts)
- Wide Grip Lat Pulls 3 x 20
- BB Rows 3 x 20 x 45
- Seated Cable Row 3 x 20
- V-Grip Pulldowns 3 x 15
- Rear Delt Raises 3 x 20 / Blast Strap Rear Delt Row 3 x 10 (superset)
*all work very light, but bicep was feeling great. Good to get a light stretch and some blood to the area.
Lower Body Session #3 (total lower)
- High Bar Squat 335 x 8, 235 x 15
- Leg Press 2 x 15-20
- Leg Ext 2 x 15-20
- Lying Leg Curl 2 x 15
- 45 Degree Back Ext 2 x 15
- Standing Calf 2 x 25
Upper Body Session #4 (chest, delt, triceps)
- Bench Press 3 x 5 x 155. Felt better than 135 did last week. Still pitiful but at least a step in right direction
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10 x 115
- Standing Dumbbell Press 3 x 10 x 30. Have to be careful getting weight into position (can’t curl it) but these felt better than barbell presses.
- Side Delt Raise 3 x 20
- Lying Tricep Ext 3 x 15
- Tricep Pressdown 3 x 15
Upper Body Session #5 (Back, Traps, Rear Delts)
- Wide Lat Pulls 3 x 20
- BB Rows 3 x 20 x 55
- Seated Cable Rows 3 x 20
- Machine Shrugs 3 x 20 (very light)
- Rear Delt Raises 3 x 20
- Hammer Curls 3 x 10 x 5 lbs. Ha.Ha.
Lower Body Session #4 (quad focus)
- High Bar Squat 345 x 8, 240 x 15
- Leg Press 1 x 10, 1 x 20
- Leg Ext 2 x 15-20
- Seated Calf 1 x 50 / Standing Calf 1 x 25
- Sit Ups 2 x 15
Kinda loosely following a Legs-Push-Pull type of split at the moment because it allows me to be in the gym more often. Trying to do a little bit 5-6 days per week. The only real lift I train at the moment is High Bar Squats which I’m not used to. Just trying to build back my endurance and work capacity and work my way back into some respectable numbers with that exercise and just doing what I can with upper body to get blood into the muscles, and go as heavy as I can on things without re-injuring myself for the next few weeks. Progress is happening daily but I’m not rushing with the weight just yet.
Sat 7/7/18 – Chest, Delt, Tri
- Incline 3 x 8-10 x 135
- Bench 3 x 10 x 135
- Band Assisted Dips 3 x 10 (monster mini) – big progress. last week I couldn’t do any dips even with band assistance. Never been great at Dips, but prior to injury I was up to 3 x 10 with a 50 lb kettlebell hanging from the belt
- Side Delt Raises 3 x 20
- Standing DB Press 3 x 8
- Lying Tricep Extension (w/ DBs on incline bench) 3 x 15
- Good session. No pain in bicep and elbow ROM was better. Less pain in shoulder on pressing exercises. Still weak as a kitten.
Sunday 7/8/18 – Back, Bicep
- Wide Pulldowns 3 x 20
- Barbell Rows 3 x 15 x 65
- Machine Rows (rear delt grip) 3 x 15
- Rack Pull 3 x 10 x 95. First deadlift of any kind since the surgery, just testing things out. Bicep felt fine, but grip is struggling. Still got some nerve issues in the right hand and forearm. Grip strength is slow to catch back up.
- V-Grip Pulldown 3 x 10
- BB Curl 3 x 8 x 15 lb. Kept these very light. Felt ok.
Tuesday 7/10/18 – Legs (8 Weeks Post-Op as of yesterday)
- Front Squats 6 x 275, 12 x 225
- Leg Press 1 x 10, 1 x 25
- Leg Ext 1 x 10, 1 x 22 (rest-pause sets)
- Lying Leg Curl 1 x 12, 1 x 18 (rest-pause sets)
- Stiff Leg Deads (2″ deficit) 5 x 135, 15 x 95. Bicep felt ok, grip strength better today. Still not gonna push weight on these for a while
- Seated Calf 2 x 30
Wednesday 7/11/18 – Chest, Delt, Tri
- Bench Press 185 x 8, 165 x 12. This weight felt better than 155 and 135 did in the past few workouts
- Incline Bench Press 2 x 8-12 x 145
- Flat DB Fly 2 x 8-12 (stretch feels good on my pec that is still very tight and stiff from being in the sling for 7 weeks)
- Press 12 x 95. First time I did these a couple of weeks ago I could barely rack the bar and barely eeked out 85×5
- Behind Neck Press 12 x 75. Feels good to stretch shoulder this way.
- Side Delt Raise 2 x 30 (rest-pause sets)
- Tricep Pressdowns 2 x 20 (rest-pause sets)
