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4estGimp
10-16-15, 2:38 am
No - Not Zed and Maynard's Gimp, a paraplegic gimp. I've been mostly out of the gym (my garage) for about 6 years. It's my own fault for not doing at least some training when the work schedule was nuts. Then later I was just plain lazy and did not re-establish the lifting habit. Now I'm trying to not drift through middle age. I don't expect to ever be one of the elite guys but need to explore my potential while I still can. Also, maybe some of my training... adaptations will be of interest to some.

Anyway, July 28th I started back. This was a VERY slow starting back as I can't get too sore. High DOMS makes daily life (getting out of car, in/out of bed, in the shower... etc) almost impossible. July was spent just doing minor work and injuring my shoulder while working on a shed :/. August was used to establish the habit and create a bit of a training template. During September, the template was refined into an upper body only, Westside style Conjugate template. I have no business playing with a Conjugate system, bands or chains at my level, but I do anyway. It adds variety and fun to the training. My exercise variety can be hampered by being a para. Adaptation and creativity has been useful in finding alternate ways to accomplish most lifts though. Try doing DB pullovers when the 80lb dumbbell is on a rack at shoulder height, a foot away, and you have to grab it with one hand while balancing with the other.

I train mostly at home and have collected equipment and methods which suite my training well. Occasionally I'll post info and photos into how I accomplish a lift. For those who are curious as to the training details, here is my version of a Conjugate Template (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HZrkdmZsjHhAYBTtnjSB47pvw3_UHkPgpkLu72VQV8s/edit#gid=1736580739). The main tables and sums of volume work well for me to analyze and compare changes. There is other info below the tables which I've not really used in a couple months. It was info used to help analyze various aspects of the training and trying make sure all the pieces fit. The "Notes" tab is supposed to be a reference of Main, Supplementary, Accessory, Rehap/Prehab, and Warm-up exercises. It's only about 20% complete though. The "Summary" tab took a lot of experimentation but turned out great. It shows sums of the volume for all lifts, pressing vs. rowing, and total volume per week. This really helps me compare changes. The left side of the Summary tab is not currently up to date but is a way for me to visualize Primary vs Secondary training for various body parts or lifts.

Anyway, my training is pieced together from EFS Conjugate manuals, Adrian Larsen's vids and posts, Mike Womack info, and my buddy Terry. I owe these guys thanks.

This week's training (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r8jPo0utS_3_4O5YBUaYhOJ7TGCnhTZGfrbuZi84ZFw/edit#gid=1672497415) is still in progress. It has changed to more Repetition work than previous weeks. Prehab/Rehab is really helping to bring the shoulders back. Overall, the size and strength is coming back nicely. I see more muscle in the mirror every day (or so I imagine).

Let's see where this goes.

4estGimp
10-16-15, 7:29 am
DE Bench - 8 sets of 135 x 3. Weight of 95lbs plus monster mini bands. Oddly, speed felt a little slower than last week.

Reverse Grip Bench - This is coming back fast. Last week worked up to 185 x 3. This week did two sets of 185 x 5.
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 5

Lying DB extensions - Skull crushers were out due to some wrist pain. Lying DB extensions didn't quite feel strenuous enough on the tris.
30 x 12
30 x 8
30 x 6
30 x 8

DB Laterals - face into bench with slight incline
20 x 12
20 x 12
15 x 12
15 x 12

Prone Rear laterals - I have to prop up the foot of the bench and then angle so it's flat. That gets me high enough off the floor.
4 sets of 15 x 12

Face Pulls - Neutral Grip - weight is almost high enough to just pull me over :/ I have almost no balance.
4 sets of 45 x 12