4 day mod to 3 day

Onto the last phase of the knee rehab template and for simplicity’s sake/time constraints I’d like to run 3x a week. Still dealing with some nagging shoulder aches and am trying to get better at understanding programming.

Would this generally be appropriate for the phase?

Week1
D1: LBBS, OHP (lower intensity, 6 @ 5/6/7/6), RDL RPE 6/7/8 x10 reps, Reverse Nordics
(Push sub’d for RDL)

D2: DL, Close bench (lower intensity, probably 8 @ 5/6/7 ), Split Squat, Pull (probably row)

D3: 2 sec paused squat, OHP or incline bench (10 @ 5/6/7 or 6/7/8 depending on tolerance), SL RDL, Cannonball squats.

Trying to ensure I keep some of the leg work volume in there for accessories (especially for below-parallel knee work), but unsure if this would overdo it day to day. Would you think this would be more or less fatiguing than 4 days a week in the context of knee rehab?

Thanks,

Rohann

The lower body stuff looks fine, assuming it’s pulled directly from the template.

The upper body stuff looks inappropriate if you have shoulder pain requiring specialized management, which I question due to you being able to apparently press and bench with full ROM. If you’re dealing with sensitivity, increasing rep range, lowering RPE, and adding a tempo component may be a good entry point.

I think this is likely to be less fatiguing than 4 days per week due to the reduced volume, but not by a whole lot.

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Thanks Jordan. I ran day 1 yesterday and I think I’ve reconsidered; I think doing 4 days in a 3 day cycle is likely to be simpler. The vast majority of it is indeed from the template, but I looked at the prescribed RDL work (6 @8, 4 reps following) and I think it may be fatiguing with deadlifts the following workout. Probably not a bad idea to get variety before jumping on the Beginner Template after this anyhow.

Re: shoulders. Started with some shoulder pain in my right shoulder that I was managing (benchpress has always been iffy, but have figured it out somewhat so it doesn’t cause pain automatically). Started a new contracted job that involves more hours and overhead/shoulder work than I’m used to, not at high intensity but most of the workday. Also had some life stress and a lot of sleep disruption for a few weeks prior (kind of common with this stage of life). Found the press volume/intensity to be too much for the time. Austin recommended cutting down RPE and raising rep range as a start. It’s mostly pain that’s scaled with use (in both shoulders now but less in the left), usually onsetting during the workday and not during or immediately after a workout. Last week I was mostly pain free but I have quite a bit more today.

The last week of Phase 2 was okay when I dropped high incline bench and just did SA overhead press + bench + ohp (all template options) for lower intensity and higher rep range, but unsure what to do with this portion of the template; perhaps horizontal work is more appropriate. I somehow missed your advice of doing the upper body work from the Beginner Template for the duration of knee rehab and that was a mistake on my part. I could stick with what’s been working, or could approach more conservatively; unsure if going on the full rehab template would be necessary. Unfortunately only have access to a barbell and a few kettlebells for the time being.

Edit: Reconsidering, more conservative might be preferable. I’d rather retain the ability to deadlift/squat and do some back, arms and ab work than push OHP or shoulder work for the time being.

So increasing rep range to 10ish would be better I assume, and with tempo for the time being. What I’m not sure about is volume. The template occasionally has 2 push exercises per workout, so not sure if I should stick with that and go for i.e. rpe 4/5/6 or drop one to include a pull on some days.