Get better, Dave ... and listen to your docs and the Admiral. :-)

Hit back for an hour this morning. It was about the same as last week ... nothing to write home about.

Hit chest today...I think my strength is in a low part of the cyclical nature of lifting, but I hit it hard from several different angles and still got a very good workout even though my strength wasn't optimal.

Your hormonal cycles could be off:-)
I know that sounds funny, but usually every 3-4 weeks you hit a testosterone high, and the following week is a low.. Also, sometimes serious workouts can take up to a week for a full recovery. Sometimes on max effort days it can take 7-10 to feel back to "normal"

Fighting through it, and getting a good workout in will benefit you greatly

I agree Dave...Strength is defintiely cyclical and no one is at their optimal strength day in and day out. I also adjust to the periods where my strength is a bit lower, and get in the best possible workout I can for conditions at that time.

good chest workout today.

It was OK, thanks. :-)

Bench: 2 sets of 5 @ 315 then 3 sets of 8 @ 245
Power DB Chest Press 3 sets of 9 w/ 100 lb DB
DB Decline Bench 3 sets of 9 w/ 100 lb DB
Flys 3 sets of 8 w/ 70 lb DB

cardio and upper body for me again today

Got in 15x50 curls twice before I had to drop the wieght due to my damn elbow, went down to a pair of 20x35 to finish my reps out. Any ideas about a good brace? Brands etc? Im nervous about them becasue I was told they tend to force you to favor your strong arm and it weakens the joint further while reducing pain...

Beside that did some tri's and bi's on machines

Sancho what happend to your elbow? That might enable someone to recommend a brace/specific exercise that could help strengthen it

about 12 weeks or so ago I had a full dislocation of my left elbow. I'm out of the sling now but I still havent regained full range of motion, I used to be able to go 15* past full extension (i.e. double jointed) but i doubt i'll ever get that back again. Basically when lifting it tends to feel like a hard pressure on the joint especially doing curls. anytime I can use both hands I can compensate with my right arm and I wont stress it. Any ideas for excercises? The biggest thiny is the feeling makes me nervous Im going to dislocate again and it didnt feel so great the first time :-)

hmm...Thats a tough one, the only thing I could think of would be like reverse curls, with your palms down, hammer curls with your palms facing each other, and maybe some tricep work, like tri pulldowns. We have 1 guy on our team who torn his UCL last spring and had tommy john, he has a brace that he lifts in that allows only a certain range of motion, im not sure if its adjustable, but that might help protect it. I believe it is a don joy

Hey folks. Hit the gym early this morning, as usual. No gains over last week ... same weight for everything except shrugs, which were a tad lower. That's fine given deads day on Sunday.

Tore it up on back today....loaded 6 plates on the T-bar and hit 10 sets, starting with 16 reps, down to 6 reps by the 10th, with minimal rest. Then I hit a few sets of barbell rows, and some pulls ups....my back was so spent I could only get 9 pull-ups even on the first set. Still feel pumped, best back workout in a month. :-)

6 plates! Awesome Job bro!

I use a somwehat condensed range of motion Dave, to keep constant tension on the lats, and avoid the possibility of hyperextending my lower back at the bottom....tore me up! :-)

Impressed as ever big guy!

Wow. Just wow. :-)

squated again this week...last week was my first time in over 4 months probably. Worked up to 405 today. Did 2 sets of 5. Last week I just did sets of 8 up to 315. Getting back into it slowly to see how my back takes it.

always knew you were a squatter. :-)

scheduling my MRI tomorrow, hope Saturday morning is available.

Reverse curls are great. As a pitcher, we had to do those 3x a week, they really help with problems in your arm and elbow. You dont need to go high on the weight, keep it low.