8 Weeks post TKR

For some reason I've been thinking it's nine weeks when we leave for Croatia but today is my 8 week anniversary of the replacement: Aug 21 to Oct 21. Very cool. Had a solid day today despite waking up late and not turning the coffee of! Ouch. I love my coffee and you would too if you got up at 4 am to get ready.

Started poorly and ended well. Since I broke my exercise bike at home I was really motivated to get to be able to turn the pedals on the recumbent at work, which, for some reason, I have not been able to do.

Until today :) Get the seat the right height with some cushions and NO problem! Actually got some resistance on it too ( level 3) which has not been possible with the home bike. This will work.

After the  bike did my 100 ups, then high stepping( onto toes) then 5 flights of stairs which worked better than ever and played on the concept 2 rower as well, which will help with knee flexion too.
. On the stairs had to lean into it a bit to get the pattern down. I have completely forgotten how to go down stairs after so many years of not doing it. Creepy, actually. Such a basic function, totally ( until recently) lost.

LOTS of stretching in the squat pattern, the lunge ( half kneel) pattern and isolated quad stretching with the leg  on a bench behind me. Tons of work.

Then, this afternoon


Clean and press
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 3/3 x 8 sets

 this went well and the new( old ) groove seemed better than last week although done heavier. Just like it should.

Snatch Holds
18 kg x 30 sec
20 kg x 30 sec x 2 sets

these were much better and starting with the 18 was easier as the extra weight pulls my shoulder back more into the right position. This exercise sucks but it's one of those necessary evils.

Belt squats


put on the oly shoes and put a stick on the back to simulate a real back squat. Wow, this was tough! and the quads felt it. really tried to let the quads and hips open up in the bottom and I could really feel them stretch well. Just the beginning too. Love the shoes and I realized I was trying to get too much knee flexion instead of just getting it started with flexion and then sitting back against it  get more.

Again, never really had a normal squat pattern so this is all very new to me. My power squat pattern was more of a sumo deadlift with the bar on my back than a true squat and I don't want to go back to that again.

Crawls
 2 sets of 50 feet 
1 set of 100 feet (almost continuous)

!!! this was great and felt very smooth and strong. Love to crawl. didn't lift my head so much and hopefully my neck won't be so sore tomorrow.

well that's it for awhile. I'm off to Croatia and Italy for two weeks and pretty sure I won't blog at all while I'm there.Updates on Facebook though.

datsit
Sisu/

24 kg swings, some volume

It's been a pretty light week in some ways, heavy in others. I did a lot of demonstrating on Thursday and yesterday taught 24 PE teachers how to swing for an hour and half. So today was some higher rep/set one arm swings after last weeks  weight peak.

This was kind of a mini run through for next weeks cert weekend with three days of more than normal work loads and kb work and the knee and body held well. in fact, my energy feels the best it's had post surgery by far and my work capacity and endurance are peaking nicely.

Exactly what I hoped for prior to this trip. I will have some very long days in addition to the travel and I need to be ready for it.

am: HOT bath pre warmup and stretchout: this worked great. time to re institute it on sat am's

One arm swing
16 kg x 5/5 x 3
20 kg x 5/5/
24 kg x 10/10 x 10 sets
200 reps
10,600 ;) lbs

this felt perfect. light and easy and I wasn't breathing hard on any set at all. bell speed was excellent, bell height as well and all the parts held square very nicely.

Bench squats
6 sets of 10 with bodyweight

Close stance, Adidas Oly shoes and a oak staff for a bar. squat to 15 "  bench plus folded horse blanket. probably 16"  this was tough and the knee was working. warmed up well though after a few sets. Need the quad work and the squat pattern.

Bike
12 minutes then broke it! damn it! it's only a month old and something snapped. you get what you paid for but now I need a new bike. it didnt have enough resistance anyway for the long haul

barbell curls
45 x 5
55 x 5
65 x 5 x 3

this wasn't easy.

datsit
sisu/

long walk tomorrow then one more workout on Monday and its wheels up!

Kastav, Croatia

24 kg snatch

Good energy day today.Shoulders miraculously stopped aching the other day, must be all that overhead stick stretching I decided to revisit  :).Overall energy is definitely up.Back to pre surgery levels.

Snatch
16 kg x 5/5/ x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5 x 8 
80 reps

these felt great. overhead position the best it's been in awhile. the most reps I've done with this in forever. Had more in me but it's a back off week.

Sled drag
230 feet x 4 laps 
these were easy

barbell curl
45 x 10
55 x 10
45 x 10 x 2

triceps extension, black band
4 x 12

mo betta'
bodyweight 152

datsit
sisu/

Press practice

Spent a decent amount of time stretching out the upper body yesterday and today and wanted to re groove my kb press. Since this is a de loading week and Glenn is as well, 20 kg seemed a good place to land.

I've decided to do more "touch and go" type clean and press, realizing that it is not "standard" to pass a SFG test but for my training it is much easier on my shoulders.Flexing the lat and launching it off that muscle 'misses' the delicate first part of the lift when my shoulders just don't like it anymore.
If I have to test it strict pause I can but just like paused benches they take their toll after awhile.

I want to get back to this form:

it definitely has a "give" to it at the bottom but that's ok,especially since I still can't do push presses.I am coming to the belief that super strict ANYTHING is just too hard on the joints over time. The more dynamic the lifts are the more load is spread and they just don't seem to hurt as much. But I'm old now :)I don't have much joints to grind anymore .

Clean and press

16 kg x 5/5 x 2

20 kg x 4/4 x 7 sets

The right arm ( this week) looks solid overhead but the left is wider than it felt when I was doing it. I decided to look down and forward again and it seems to give me more overhead ROM.The whole thing is more of  a 'tempo' press and perhaps that's a good thing, Either way it felt way better than it has in months.

Snatch holds

16 kg ( comp bell) x 30 sec

                           x 35 sec

                           x 40 sec

man these were tough . no wonder I stopped doing them ,lol. Seriously they have to be in the mix.

Step ups

11" box x 10, 12,  on both legs

12 " x 8 !

these are tougher than lunges and the 12" attempt was TOUGH. really worked the eccentric part too. Used the power rack to hold onto. on the right side I was basically doing a pistol! and it was strong, too.

Bench squats

15 " bench + horse pad x 10/10/ bodyweight

close stance, heels on 10 lb plates pause on bench. these were great . I will add them in on Saturdays from now on and work them hard

Crawling

4 laps of 40 feet. 

these felt great. smooth and strong.

datsit.

sisu/

Auto pilot

That's how the legs felt today and I have to say I haven't had this experience in 20 + years. After yesterdays pretty tough workout, and the fatigue from this last week it was the last thing I expected but as soon as I got the walk underway I knew I was in for a good one. Legs felt light and loose. The knee was locking out well and then re bending just as easily.

Great timing. All the phases of the gait were the best they've been since the surgery for sure, but as good as they've ever been, really. How cool.Ankle held up great too and that was a cause for concern the last two weeks but it seems to have adapted. All systems go for this two week adventure coming up fast.

Walked for 60 minutes and covered 2.7 miles. No stopping to stretch or do squats or anything else; just steady state walking. I had a great rhythm and wanted to keep it going.I remember when I was training for endurance running I would have the experience of being " out of body" looking down at myself as I ran. SO COOL. My legs just seemed on auto pilot and keeping them moving was literally effortless.

That's the feeling I'm going after  and this is a good sign. I just need a lot more miles in my legs.

Now icing and onto some serious stretching and foam roll work

EDIT:
15 min continuous cycling on stationary bike. Need to do this more, lol,

The Beast is back

I had hoped I would be able to work back up the 48 kg bell in my swings before I left on my trip to Croatia and I hit the goal today! One week early. I wanted to go for it today in case anything tweaked; I wanted to have more time to heal before the trip :)

But everything went well even though it was cold as get out and it took quite awhile to really warmup. Slept well though and woke up feeling pretty damn good after a long work and training week.

I felt like both Glenn and I over reached a bit at the end of this cycle but to my surprise I bounced back pretty well. Thursday was rough- very stiff tight and sore but Friday I felt great, especially my overall energy. Low energy was  almost the worst part of these last 8 weeks. I was tired all the time and the least effort required a lot of rest.

But this week started well and by the end I was feeling almost normal, energy wise. Just in time too.

It's so cool to be able to work the legs/knee hard one day and still being able to walk and train the next without spending hours on the roller, thumper or stretching. these things still need to be done but now everything is on a different level. An almost normal person level.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5/ x3
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 3/3
40 kg x 3/3
48 kg x 5/5 x 5 sets
50 reps
5300 lbs

Did NOT use the H2H transfer after the 32kg as I was not that confident and wanted to make sure, again, that I didn't tweak anything. My left to right transfer is solid; right to left not so much as my left shoulder tends to get weird mid air (!) and that makes the grab a bit precarious. Very happy with this effort but it was TOUGH and I was tired at the end.
Definitely didn't want a 6th set!

Two hand swings
40 kg x 8
48 kg x 8
56 kg x 8
         x 10

pooped! this was enough


Clubell shield cast
20 x 10/10
25 x 8/8 x 2
( superset with bike reps)

Barbell curls
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
55 x 10

solid! and a 5 rep PR with the 85 lbs. Superset with bike.

 datsit
Sisu/

Rebuilding my overhead position

With all my focus on my knee the last few months my overhead position has taken a beating.I stopped doing snatch holds and my press groove ended up being more in front than ever and that has tightened my up even more. This has to change! I've upped the overhead stretching as of today and did this snatch hold practice to get things going in the right direction.

Man! was this tough. It took almost five sets to let the bell settled behind me and get the upper back and scap to work holding the weight up instead of my front delts but by the end of the 10 sets it was much better overhead with less strain.

SO snatch practice will be these types of holds PLUS I have to add in a few sets of overhead holds as well for time, My shoulders feel better already.

snatch
16 kg x 5/5/ x 2
20 kg x 5/5  x 10 sets
100 reps
4400 lbs

Sled pull
60 lbs x 4 laps of 260 feet.

Bar Curl
45 x 8
55 x8 x 3

Leaning Triceps band ext
3 x 15, 10,10



SLed pulls :these were easy and strong but both Glenn and I are teetering on the edges of overtraining and need to do less, not more this week. Feels so great to walk without pain I can't even express it..

Knee is doing very well and ROM is increased a bit although I don't have a goniometer, to probably 115 at least when it's warm and perhaps a few degrees more. I am working it all day long with stretches and mobility work and a lot of squatting.

Very different technique now, toes OUT 15 degrees and leading with the knees trying to get as much knee flexion as possible

The bathtub is still the best place to work flexion as well as the car on the way to and from work where I pull the heel back as far as I can and hold it as long as I can before repeating . There is something about the Mustang's seat with the hip lower a bit than the knee that makes it easy to work the ROM without pain. :)

Body weight is up in the AM closer to 154 than 153 and I feel bigger and more solid again, not skinny. I could stay here for awhile and feel fine.

2 weeks to Croatia and Italy!

datsit.
Sisu.

32kg Press redux

After reading a comment on James Thomas SFG 2's Beast press on my FB time line I had a pressing epiphany.Takei Masushita made note that it was nice to see that James had his elbow facing forward as he pressed and a light bulb went off off for me regarding my left arm press, of late.
I was keeping my upper arm too angled across my body and  my arm was spinning out way to fat to get the all important vertical forearm necessary for a strong press. So now, as I cleaned the weight I made sure to keep the vertical forearm and the elbow facing forward before I pressed.

It worked like a charm! Last week I missed the 32 kg press 5 times in a row on my left side and today made it three times in a row despite being wicked tired!

The lockout was weak but the press was solid and it's a great beginning for my left arm. After all, the 32 kg is just 3 or so pounds light of a half bodyweight press for me right now. I'll take it.

Clean and press
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 2/2
28 kg x 1/1
32 kg x 1/1 x 3 sets!
24 kg x 3/3 
20 kg x 3/3
         x 4/4
         x 5/5
lol, after crawling yesterday, and then crawling again this morning AND all the heavy swings this Saturday I was one tired puppy .Shoulders were just achy

Lunges Superset with Bike
sets of 10-12 each leg and 1-2 min on bike

knee was tired. did 100 ups, then rocking then crawling this AM. Also mini band leg curls for sets of  20 and lots of seiza and half kneel stretching

Back press
 two strands x 3 x 10

just tired :)

datsit
Sisu/

Sunday walk and stuff

 Did it right today and stayed in my neighborhood park instead of driving to the parcourse. Love walking on dirt much more than asphalt
Hot bath to warmup the knees then 15 minutes of stretching calves and hams' learned from last weeks mistake and it was a good idea. Much easier stride

Walk
5674 steps
58 minutes
2 miles
2.5 mph ave

then 3 blocks backward walking. also stopped each lap and did squats on toes for 8-10 stretch/reps. Finally got these in and they were very helpful.

200 feet of crawling! in sets of 100 ft.

this was very tough, I crawled the first set about 6o feet  then dropped into a squat stretch then finished. same with second set. yeow !

7 or 8 min on exercise bike. circles were good but legs were tired.

now foam roll and more stretching

bodyweight: 152.4

40 kg One arm swings.

This was a tough one. I've been fighting off a mild cold and then some heavy allergy stuff all week and even today I'm still at the tail end so this didn't feel "light". But each set got stronger and stronger so it all ended well. Plus overall energy stamina and endurance are all up.

Slept well and got my pre workout stretches and mobs in. it was a cold morning so I should have taken my passive warmup bath but was lazy. Not next time, it makes a difference.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 3
20 kg x 5/5+ 5 transfers
24 kg x 5/5 + 5 transfers ( more warmup)
28 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5
40 kg x 5/5 x 10 sets
100 reps
8800 lbs

First set worst set is the new motto,lol. But it ended with last set best set so it was good

Two Hand swings
48 kg x 10 x 4 sets

ran out of gas for the 5th one but the other sets were solid. strong and fast.

Alternated reps on bike and Arm Casts
20 x 10/10
25 x 8/8
35 x 5/5

bike work is really coming along.still requires more warmup than I would like but I got down to the normal seat height and ankling at the end.This bike is flimsy so I have to make sure I don't break it :)

Barbell curls
45 x 5
55 x 5
65 x 5
55 x 12

these felt great. Overall things are coming together very well. Knee is feeling as close to a normal knee as I have felt in forever. Bodyweight is up to 152 in the AM which is up 2 pounds and I have three more weeks to get ready for Croatia and Italy! Want to be as strong and fit as possible for this trip and then the cert in Israel 4 weeks later.

datsit.
Sisu.

120 coming soon to a knee near me :)

20 kg snatch, sled press practice

Great day yesterday at my 6 week checkup. Made 110 degree flexion right on time. A 25 deg increase in three weeks, not bad if I say so myself. Now to make it 130 :)

Not great sleep last night from the DOMS from Mondays lunges, etc. But I felt ok, Just would like to get un interrupted sleep one night.

Snatch

16 kg x 5/5 x 2

20 kg x 5/5

         x 6/6

         x 7/7

         x 8/8

         x 9/9

         x 10/10

22 kg x 5/5 x 3

120 total reps.

left shoulder is still not as good overhead as I want it although right side is better. go figure

Left arm press practice
20 kg x 3
24 kg x 2
28 kg x 1

played with this a bit . felt solid. really dropped the rack position much closer to a GS one and it went well. thought I could get the 32 no problem.elbow stayed under the wrist on the 28 easily.

Sled pull

60 lbs x 200 ft x 1

          x 260 ft x 3 laps

up the ante a bit distance wise and it definitely made it tougher! good stuff though

black band triceps ext

1 x 20, 12, 11, 10

need the tri work again. this was solid gonna be sore tomorrow I bet.

endurance and work capacity slowly but surely coming back thank god/