week 10

I'm in the final week of the initial 10-week exercise plan I'd made for myself. It's a plan that takes my frozen shoulder into consideration (it may be improving, but it's still with me; last night was, in fact, a painful night). Here's where I am now:

MON [ ] DB Lateral Raise (5 kg): 3 x 15; 10 kg, 1 x 7 [ ] DB Overhead Press (5 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Hammer Curls (10 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Bent-over Rows (10 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Chest Press, 10 kg, 3 x 10 [ ] DB Farmer's Carry (10 kg): March for 60 sc [ ] BW Dead bug, 2 x 20 [ ] Stair Work (indoor stepper): 290 steps	TUE [ ] RB Antirotational Press (2 x 15) [ ] RB Lat Pulldown (2 x 15) [ ] RB Standing Chest Press (2 x 15) [ ] RB Lateral Raise (3 x 15) [ ] DB Suitcase Carry, 20 kg (30 sec/side) [ ] BW Standing Glute Kickbacks (2 x 10) [ ] RB Forward Tricep Extension (30-sec hold) [ ] KB Around the World (30 sec) [ ] KB 2-arm Swing (10 kg, 2 x 12)	WED [ ] DB Suitcase Carry, 20 kg (40s/side) [ ] DB Chest Press, 10 kg (2 x 10) [ ] BW Squat (2 x 20) [ ] Wall-sit (49s) [ ] DB Lateral raise, 5 kg, 3 x 15; 10 kg, 1 x 7 [ ] DB Overhead press, 5 kg, 3 x 15 [ ] DB Hammer curls, 10 kg, 3 x 15 [ ] DB Bent-over rows, 10 kg, 3 x 15 [ ] DB Chest Press, 10 kg, 3 x 10 [ ] DB Farmer's Carry, 10 kg march, 60s
THU [ ] HC 6 kg, 2-hand swing (alt. arms): 2 x 15 [ ] HC  6 kg, 2-arm pullover (alt. arms): 2 x 15 [ ] HC 6 kg, front press (alt. arms): 1 x 25 [ ] HC 6 kg, outside circle (alt. arms): 1 x 25 [ ] HC 6 kg, inside circle (alt. arms): 1 x 25 [ ] KB 6/10 kg, gorilla rows, alternating, 2 x 15 [ ] Stair Work: 317 steps [ ] BW Squats (2 x 20)	FRI [ ] DB Lateral Raise (5 kg): 3 x 15; 10 kg, 1 x 7 [ ] DB Overhead Press (5 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Hammer Curls (10 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Bent-over Rows (10 kg): 3 x 15 [ ] DB Chest Press, 10 kg, 3 x 10 [ ] DB Farmer's Carry (10 kg): March for 60 sec [ ] BW Dead bug, 2 x 20 [ ] Stair Work (indoor stepper): 290 steps	SAT Long Walk DB = dumbbell RB = resistance band KB = kettlebell HC = heavy club BW = bodyweight

Wow—I just copy-pasted the above chart from my Google Docs file. It's messy, and the notation I used above needs to be standardized (it was partially designed with help from ChatGPT), but it's been my exercise bible for ten weeks.

I'm actually a bit behind with exercise this week, so I'm going to speed-run my way through a mess of exercises today. That's not a very auspicious way to end the 10-week program (which actually ends this Saturday), but I'm going to move right into another 10-week program that takes up where this one leaves off. I'm kind of proud of how far I've come for a fat, old guy with heart failure; they say maintaining strength is important as you get older so you can avoid falls and other injuries that set you back. Once my frozen shoulder finally thaws, I really want to get into animal/primal/rope flow so I can work more closely on my balance, which has been shot since the 2021 stroke.

One of the problems I've had is in figuring out alternative ways of doing the McGill Big 3—a set of exercises meant to strengthen your core, which is an important group of muscles for balance and general strength (e.g., so you don't throw your back out when you're lifting something heavy). Because of shoulder pain during side planks and bird dogs, I've had to figure out alternative core exercises. Luckily, there are dead bugs, various resistance-band exercises, kick-backs, and uneven suitcase carries (20 kg/10 kg, then switch). Figuring all of this out has been an interesting intellectual exercise and has kept life from being boring.

Probably my proudest achievement has been the strengthening of my shoulders. Remember this video satirizing my original weakness? Over ten weeks ago, I wasn't able to laterally raise a 10-kilo dumbbell even once. When I made the video, I'd been doing 5-kilo lateral raises for a while, and I suddenly found myself able to do two 10-kilo raises per shoulder. That was weeks ago. I'm currently up to seven lateral raises. This has done nothing to change my looks, but it's changed my outlook. I feel stronger, a bit more capable, a bit less helpless. The advantage of gaining muscle is that the extra muscle needs extra energy, so your body's basal metabolism ramps up. I think my late friend Kent Davy may have been on to something (although in his case, he got into bodybuilding, not weightlifting). Of course, the disadvantage of adding too much muscle is the strain it potentially puts on the heart, but a lot of recent studies show that resistance training actually has benefits comparable to cardio, which is better for someone like me: slow walking and minimal stair work are about the only forms of cardio I can do, so I need the weight training to keep training my heart. I've read different things about whether one can reverse heart failure; some experts think it's possible—at least depending on certain circumstances—while others see it as a progressive condition that can only be managed. I'll do what I can by continuing to exercise in various ways, by fasting, and by avoiding carbs as much as possible without making my life miserable.

Here's to another ten weeks as we move into cooler weather. Which reminds me: I'll be taking along some resistance bands when I'm on my cross-country walk.