Bench, 5/3/1 rep

Gorgeous day. Got the day off, lots of time to train, and maybe even gets some things done if I feel like it. Might just take a nap.

Started with the Shelby mix, Results, and MGs Powdered Muscle. I'm starting to like the stuff, though, like most supps, I can't tell if it's doing anything useful. Most supplements I take I can't tell they're doing anything at all until I run out. AtLarge ETS is like that -- can't tell it's helping until I'm out, and then I'm bumming. The stuff clearly rocks. Wish it weren't so expensive. I suppose it's time I loaded up on it since my shoulder's been unhappy lately.

Wore neoprene wrist support and no other support.

Anyway, did a little dynamic warmup including hand switches using a medicine ball (pretty tough, actually) and a lot of bar work. Lots. Seriously paranoid about the shoulder, if you haven't picked that up lately.

Got to it:

Bench:

185kg x 5 easy
210kg x 3 still easy
235kg x 1 got 5 reps, probably had another, but not likely more than that

I felt the shoulder, but it didn't feel like anything bad happened. Moving on...

DB snatch
lots with the 60# skinny handle DBs

supersetted with

Band presses
lots, trying to be nice to the shoulder

Frankly, these hurt my shoulder more than the bench. Made a few adjustments to try to at least get some accessory something in, but not sure how successful I was. I feel them in my chest an hour later, so maybe I got something done.

Could have pushed harder today, but didn't for obvious reasons. I'm still happy with the bench progress. Thinking about getting a loose Titan F6 (or something) shirt for shoulder support, but it'd have to be something I can get on and off relatively easily since I'm usually alone. Honestly, I just want something to hold my shoulders together like briefs hold my hips together. Getting too old to take a lot of chances, and I have no desire to be doing a jillion reps. Any advice is welcome.

Have a great day. Take care of yourself.

Deadlift day, 5/3/1 rep

Gorgeous day here finally. Lots and lots of rain this week, which for some bizarre reason totally stupefies San Diegans. They totally forget whatever little bit they knew about driving. I mean, seriously, on the first 12 hours of rain there were 260 accidents in the county. Terrific.

Started with Results and MG's Powdered Muscle, which tastes like expensive protein with powdered oats in it. Tastes a lot like my old blender shakes when I'd put a couple of cups of whirred oats in them -- drinkable oatmeal.

Wore loose briefs, Spud DL belt, neoprene wraps for the chins.

Anyway, did a bit of foam rolling with the knobby roller, dynamic work, and some bar work.

Deadlift
240kg x 5 not bad
275kg x 3 easier
310kg x 1 got two reps, but it sucked

The last two came off the floor pretty easily to about two inches -- you know, just after the bar relief ends, all the bend you're gonna get is bent, and the floor friction is gone. The next ten inches were tough but steady. Still no bad sticking points. Just hard.

Kroc rows, 10 reps each, skinny dumbbells, alternating hands, 50 kilos (I think), 3 sets

supersetted with

Chains/chins, every chain I have (200-something pounds), supine grip, sets of 5 reps, as many as I could get

Good day. I'm pretty blasted and have company coming tonight, but I'm just gonna feed them leftovers -- I've been cooking for the last three days solid. Enough is enough. Love me or go to Wendy's.

Hard work today. Hope yours is great.

Military press, 5/3/1 day

Raining here and has been for a couple of days. Very soporific, but can't take a nap -- gotta play nice all afternoon. Wife's company Christmas party is tonight, too. I'm looking forward to a few days off next weekend.

Downed Results and BCAA+. Warmed up with some dynamic work and a little bar work. Wore elbow sleeves and neoprene wrist wraps.

Military press, fat bar, seated at 85 degrees:

115kg x 5 reps easy
130kg x 3 reps still easy
145kg x 1 rep got 13 reps, pretty good

100kg x 5 x 10 reps supersetted with

Posterior Deltoid fly with 25kg, all done one-armed to full vertical.

My right shoulder has been hurting a lot lately. It feels as though I've torn something or have something floating around in the joint -- the same movements only make it hurt occasionally. It passes the rotator cuff click test in that I can lift my arm medially all the way to overhead without pain, clicking, or adjustment. Something else is wrong.

But today didn't hurt a bit. Can't tell you how happy I am about that. Went back to seated to take some of the pressure off the shoulder. Guess it helped.

Have a great day.

Squat day, 3 rep

Yeah, I waited a week. I tweaked something in my right shoulder benching last session -- feel like I may have torn something, though I pass the rotator cuff tear test. No click just past parallel. Something's not right, though.

So I carried my paranoia with me all week. My left quad hurt like a bastard all the time, despite frequent massage on the scar. No position could be held for long before spasm would start.

After today's training, a couple of things come to mind:

1. I probably need to use it more, because I feel better after training it
2. I still love squat day

Enough of the self-indulgent drivel.

Beautiful day today. Bluebird skies, very warm. Ran the heater in the rumpus room to make sure I sweat like a pig. Mission accomplished. Felt like high school wrestling practice.

I used At Large Results and the Shelby protocol, and I added AtLarge BCAA+. Honestly, the BCAA+ tastes fantastic. Go figure. Wore loose briefs, a belt for the heavier sets, and knee sleeves.

I did a lot of dynamic work and some bar work to warm up, but I got into the weight pretty quickly.

Squat, 3 reps
265kg x 3 not bad
285kg x 3 not bad
305kg x 3 still not bad. Didn't do extras because I was thinking too much about my quad and forgot.

I didn't do Big but Boring because of wanting to mix up quad-specific exercises. I think ballistic lifting is what hurt me last time, frankly. So I moved to:

Step-ups to a 24" platform
Held 40kg DBs in each hand and did three sets of 10 reps (each leg) until I thought I'd suck all the flies in the room into my lungs.

Supersetted the step-ups with:

Low fly using super-duper bands 3x10 and
Hammer curls with big, big, skinny DBs

I'm flippin' huge. Never been this big, though I have weighed more. Body fat is still below 10%, looking rather vascular, and looking big. Works for me.

It was a big week at the office this week -- toughest I've had in a while, though everything went quite well. Big week. So a day like today on the weight feels really, really good. I needed this, particularly after my last squat day.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Bench, 3 rep

Gorgeous day today. Good day to get into the rumpus room

Started with Results and Shelby mix. I'm about out of Results, though I have a shipment on the way. My only complaint about AtLarge is their lack of shipping options, because I'd pay more to get mine sooner. Just takes longer than I'd like. As I think I've mentioned before, I love TrueProtein because they're literally 10 miles from my house and I get my orders the next day -- easy to get spoiled that way. AtLarge products work very well and their proteins are the best tasting high-quality proteins I've ever had. And I've tried a lot. TP protein is extraordinary quality, but typically raw with flavors added. The flavors are never as good as the crap proteins out there, so there's give/take. But for blender shakes, they are the only thing that makes sense.

Anyway,...

Warmed up with very little dynamic work and a lot of bar work. Used elbow sleeves and my APT neoprene/velcro wrist wraps. My right headphone earbud decided not to work, so I had half my tunes. Not good.

Bench
185kg x 3 ez beezy
210kg x 3 still easy
220kg x 3 got 7 reps -- I'll have to check my all-time PRs to see how close I am
130kg x 5 x 10

DB Snatch with skinny DBs and a lot of weight. Love these for some reason. 5 x 8 reps.

My right shoulder started barking in the last heavy set and I had to hold it tight to get the rest. Not happy. Oh well.

Tomorrow I squat, and hopefully not just to poop. High hopes. We'll see.

Have a safe weekend. Keep fighting, Bob.

Deadlift day, 3 rep

I actually trained two days ago, but my internet access at home has been down for two days. For the record, I hate Time/Warner with a passion, but have no choice (except AT&T, which might be the lesser of two evils at this point.) Just getting around to posting.

Body fat has been dropping pretty seriously. Between work stress, training, eating less (I know, I know, but time at the office has made it tough to stick with the eating program), and other stuff, I've lost a fair amount of fat. Body weight has stayed pretty much the same, but BF has dropped like a rock. I'm ok with that, though I might need to eat more ice cream and cheesecake. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Started with the usual Results and Shelby mix. Did a lot of dynamic work, some bar work, wore loose (really loose at this point) briefs for hips, and a Spud DL belt for the hardest sets to keep my briefs from falling down. Nothing else but chalk.

Lots of warmup sets.

Deadlift
240kg x 3 went up easily
265kg x 3 not bad
285kg x 3 ok
175kg x 5 x 8 Easy enough, but boring

I did Kroc rows with 40-something kilos on the skinny handles and didn't bother to count. I did three sets until I had almost nothing in the tank each set, so obviously each set had fewer than the set before. Maybe I should count, but I got lost in my tunes and tried not to think.

Decent day -- moved weight and reminded myself that DL is pretty hard. My 5/3/1 day next time is gonna hurt. I will say, though, that the weight came off the floor quickly, which is historically my sticking point. I felt good about that.

Bench day today and squat tomorrow. Oorah. Someday I'll post vids and tell you about it.

Military press, 3 rep

Gorgeous day today. Crisp and cool, right around 60.

My left quad aches all the time around the scar. I'm going to take up the practice of cross-fiber massage every night, so I guess I better get a good cream or gel today. I need confidence in that muscle, that it won't fold like a pup tent next time I have a big load on me. Bob suggested it was adhesions coming loose, and I suspect he's right; but it still hurts, no matter what the situation.

Enough whining.

Started with Results and the Shelby mix. Did dynamic work only for my quad, and a bunch of bar work for my shoulders. Wore wrist wraps and elbow sleeves and got to it.

Military, fat bar, standing
110kg x 3 easy
130kg x 3 still pretty easy, though some barking
140kg x 3 fairly tough, did no extra because I kept thinking about my left knee and not about what I was doing. Great.

100kg x 5 x 10 very easy

Chins, fat grip
Alternated with the 100 kilo military sets. Alternated grips and added two full sets of 5/8" chains, which ought to be just short of 100 pounds. These were pretty smooth -- felt good about them.

All in all a good day, though still dominated by mental games surrounding my left quad. I suspect the massage will help a lot, though it'll likely take some time. Fine.

Great day, all.

Squat day, 5 rep

Late in the day, the sun is almost entirely gone. Dusk. I love this time of day, though I wish it didn't come at 4:52.

Beautiful day today. Bluebird skies, warm but still Fall-like. Great.

I love squat days, historically. Lately, I fear them, as my quad tear scar still hurts pretty much all the time. Makes me paranoid.

I used At Large Results and the Shelby protocol. Wore loose briefs, a belt for the heavier sets, and knee sleeves.

I did a lot of dynamic work and some bar work to warm up, but I got into the weight pretty quickly -- my lubbage jumps were large.

Squat, 5 reps
225kg x 5 no sweat
265kg x 5 not bad
265kg x 5 wussed and left the weight alone
155kg x 5 x 10

Here's where it gets ugly. First and second sets were smooth and easy. Even fast, maybe.

But in the middle of the third set, I felt like someone drove a screwdriver into my left quad right around the scar. Not sure if this was knee pain from doing something odd (like 600 pound walkouts), or more quad damage. But I wasn't taking any chances, so I called the whole thing and walked out. I have had a couple of pretty strong twinges since, so it's not just in my head.

I'm gonna ice it a little, shower, and ice it some more. And eat leftovers and drink bourbon all night. Sounds like a plan.

Nuts.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Bench day, 5 rep

Getting after it early today. Work is just too busy to assume I'll have any time at the end of the day, any day.

Started with the Shelby mix and Results. Wore elbow sleeves and neoprene wrist wraps. Did some dynamic work for my back and a lot of bar work to warm up.

To it:

Bench, fat bar:
185kg x 5 easy
195kg x 5 still easy
210kg x 5 got 9 reps, which I think might be a rep PR

125kg x 5 x 10 these were pretty easy too, though the last set took some grit

DB snatch 30kg, skinny handles, 3 x 10 reps

These were tough, but I like them. Feel them everywhere.

Got to keep it short today -- got to get into the office and get busy acting like I know what I'm doing. Very happy with the performance today. Weight moved easily -- more easily than expected -- and I feel good afterward. No pain anywhere.

My vastus scar is still in spasm most of the day. Not sure what to do. One doc thinks it's not yet healed, which I find hard to believe. We'll see.

Have a great day, everyone. It's beautiful and cool here -- hope likewise for you. Hang tough, Bobby, and get better soon.

Deadlift day, 5 rep

Raining here, which I like. Nothing I have to do outside today anyway, and the rain is a nice change. Feels more like Fall.

I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, particularly since it's been about six months since the last time I deadlifted.

Start with Results, Surge Workout Fuel, and the Shelby mix. Used loose briefs for hip support and a Spud DL belt for later sets. Used lots of chalk, lots of dynamic warm up, and some stretching afterward. Did some bar work to warm up, but not a lot.

Deadlift
200kg x 5
200kg x 5
200kg x 5

Kept it simple and light since it's been so long. Felt pretty good, actually, and the weight came up easily. Very happy.

160kg x 5 x 8

Five sets of 8 reps with less weight. All came up quickly, kept form good, no pain anywhere. Very nice.

Glute bridge
160kg x 3 x 8

Three sets of 8 reps with the bar I'd just used. These were downright brutal, I have to admit. Very tough.

Ab twists with the 50# stone, several sets. Went fine.

I rolled the 50# stone around as slowly and carefully as possible on my vastus scar. The thing still shows up with a lot of spasm at times -- sits up high and barks like a dog. It's weird. I wish I knew what to do, so I keep massaging it. Finally got fed up and rolled it with the stone. Talk about brutal, but it feels better after having done it. I may bring the stone inside (if the wife doesn't scream too loud) and do the same in the evenings when I'm being useless in front of the idiot box. We'll see how it feels in a few hours. Got to do something.

Great day, guys. Everybody hold up brother Bob in your thoughts.

A new beginning: the return to 5/3/1, MP 5 day

It's been a couple of weeks and I feel weak. Came down with a vicious cold likely born out of job stress, so I took the chance to deload in a serious way.

During the two weeks, I contemplated where I'm going. I'm still tender on my vastus scar and still worried about how that's progressing. Going to start fairly serious soft tissue work to break it up. In the meantime, I've been itching to change things up, so I did. I decided to go back to 5/3/1, where I was making continuous progress prior to launching with Shelby. I made even more progress with Shelby and have nothing but positives to say about that, but just want to make changes.

So today is day one of a week spent exploring where I am. I started with Results and the Shelby mix, used elbow sleeves and wrist wraps, and did a fair amount of bar work. I'm lifting in the morning, which I hate, the day after having eaten way too little. I was hungry all day, hearing Shelby and John Berardi fussing at me in my ear all day long. So it was not likely to be a day of PRs.

Starting with Boring but Big

Military 5, 180s rest

Did my three 5 rep sets with 100 kilos, standing, reps to collar bone for full ROM. Kept it under control. Started first rep at shoulders, no knee bounce. All three sets went up pretty easily.

Military 5x10, 180s rest

Same protocol, same weight, 10 reps per set. The first three were easy, the fourth set tough, the fifth brutal. Feel it mostly in my posterior/medial deltoids. Posterior was crying.

Supersetted my 10 rep MP with Krocs with my 80kg fat DB. Pulled only ten reps per, but did five sets.

Threw some chins in without much fervor. I think I'll use them on bench days.

Feels good to train again. Looking forward to renewed purpose. Hope everyone has a great day. Hang tough, Bob -- we're pulling for you.

Day 4 week 22

I actually lifted a couple of days ago, but I'm just now getting to posting it. I've been down with a bad cold, so I guess now all I have is time and not much punch to train. Love the crud.

It started as a cool day, so I actually ran the heater in the rumpus room until I got a good sweat on. Didn't take too long.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. No Spike or Surge Workout Fuel today. Loose briefs for the last three sets of squats.

I did some dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. Everything felt ok going in.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, regular bar, wide: 3 x 7 reps with 5 more kilos than last time. For some reason I thought constantly about dumping, which isn't good. I had no safety net this time, lifting outside the pins and seated at 80 degrees. Didn't dump and pressed all 7 reps for all three sets, but it was a tough session and I was feeling it when done. Good stuff

Elbows-out triceps extensions: 3x7 reps Used the 40 kilo skinnies doggcrapp style, up five kilos per hand. Flat bench and repped out. Got 20/27(huh?)/17 reps, ten deep breaths between sets. More reps for the last two sets than last time with more weight on the dumbs. Go figure. Burly day or something. Usually I'm flagging a little from the shoulder work, but today it worked. It'll be a tough mark to beat next time.

Squat: 3 x 7 reps 180 kg on the SSB. Weight up ten kilos. My scar tissue in my left quad is still tender to touch and I get twinges in it at weird times, so I was a little more paranoid than usual this time. Nonetheless, even though I was thinking about bailing early, I got all 7 reps for each set. Rising with the weight was easy, actually, but I still don't want to do any more damage to my left vastus. Descending was slow and careful, and frankly pretty tough, but coming back up was easy. Probably should have used the knee sleeves and thought less about that leg.

I feel the need to work back up to some big squat weights. I need to come to some peace about the quad and start testing it -- maybe I should talk to people who've rehabbed this kind of thing before and see how they approached it. I need to move past this.

A great day, really. I felt like I'd been run over after it was done, but it was a very productive day. Now to get over this cold and back at it.

Day 3 week 22

Gorgeous morning, starting off a little chilly for SD. Worked until 10:00 last night teaching a Masters class and just had to get in some training this morning. Felt fantastic.

Started with Results and the Shelby mix. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps. Started before the hour I'm s'posed to let the Results sit -- oh well.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Kroc rows: 3 sets x 8 reps with the fat DBs loaded with 85 kilos. Grip suffered a little, as the fats don't have knurling. Chalk doesn't help much with these, but it's an obsession -- can't lift without it.

Posterior fly: 3 x 10 reps with 25 pound plates freehanded. Just did these to polish off my upper back and posterior deltoids. Felt easy, frankly. Will go up next time.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 85 kg this time and ran them doggcrapp style again. Got 21 (+1), 15(+2), and 10(+1) -- more than last time on all sets with more weight. Feel good about that. I still need to weld up some hooks for the fat DBs, as kicking these up is a bastard. Once up to my chest, the first heft is dead-bottom full ROM, which I don't like for these old shoulders. I need to start high. Maybe the boy and I can do some welding damage this weekend.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 8 with 85 kilos on the DB. Still loving these and still making progress, though they felt tough today.

Calf: Threw a bunch of weight on the SSB and did Doggcrapp style 12-reps sets to failure three times, just like last time.

Still making baby-step progress, so I'm happy. Too much layoff between training days, so these morning sessions will have to become the norm. Just need to block out my calendar until 9 or 9:30 every day. Yeah, sure. Then again, there's got to be some perk to being the boss (I'm #2, but my CEO is usually in at 9 herself).

Anyway, gorgeous day to ride the motorcycle in way too fast. Hope everyone has a liberating day -- be your best today regardless of what's holding you back. Don't accept your limitations for once, particularly outside the weight room.

Day 2 week 22

A little tired today. Thursday was the anniversary of my wedding and I've been drinking too much since, so dragging a little. Beautiful day, though, after a week of rain. A few clouds breaking up the monotony of perfection.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual. I added half a Spike to my peri-workout drink to stim up a little.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work, went raw for lower. Warmed up with a lot of dynamic work and bar weight before each.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35# again. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Right shoulder barked at the top of my superior acromioclavicular joint. Just a little twinge like tendinitis, though I think I just didn't warm it up well enough. Nothing now after lifting, so no biggie. I'll go back and get Magmo and Assess&Correct and figure out what I need to do better.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the regular bar: 160 kilos x 3 x 10. Weight up ten kilos again. No shoulder trouble, though they were a little crunchy during warm-up. Fine under real tension. Last set was a bitch, so I'm happy.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up the box just below parallel and backed the weight off about 20 kilos. Just wasn't excited about squatting today, which is very, very unusual for me. So I went down to 220 kilos and did sets of 20. Didn't use my briefs or knee sleeves, and my quads were burning badly on the last reps. Very happy about this and was pumped up huge. I'll go back to the norm next time -- just didn't want to push when paranoid. My left quad vastus still aches at times, so I'm constantly massaging it during the day and worrying about squat days. I need to get past this. Might be time to go back to ATG or something, because the box is starting to feel like a security blanket. We'll see. I worry when I start to depend on something.

I still feel good about today even though I didn't get everything I wanted. Progress sometimes slows.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Day 1 week 22

Contemplating a return to 5/3/1, though it's been so long since I deadlifted, I'm not sure what would happen. Still, I feel the tug of occasional maxes. Been a long time.

Worked early this morning. The office can wait. Been too long anyway.

Started with Results and the Shelby protocol. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps -- no other support.

Started with very little dynamic and band work, did a bunch of bar work to warm up, and got to it.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x10 reps +85#
Used a narrow supinated grip today just to mix it up, and did them doggcrapp style. Got 20 reps in the first set, 15 second, 10 third. Interesting. I'll probably not continue DC style for pullups, but I will continue to mix up grips.

Hammer Curl: 3x10 reps 65#
Too easy today. Thought I'd hurt here after the supinated pullups, but it wasn't so. Time to move up the weight. Skinny grip DBs, btw.

Bench: 3x10 reps 240kg
Same weight as last time, banged out 8 reps per set. These felt good, though not easy. I might stay at this weight for a while until I get 10 for all three sets.

Calves: 3x50 lots of chains
Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Again threw four of the big chains over my shoulders and pushed them out.

Rainy day here at the start of what's forecast to be a rainy week. I kind of like it, actually. It'll make the interstate ugly going in, but that's the price.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Day 4 week 21

Gorgeous day here; warm but not hot, bluebird skies. Great day to sweat.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. No Spike or Surge Workout Fuel today. Loose briefs and knee sleeves for the squats.

I did some dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. Everything felt ok going in.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, regular bar, wide: 3 x 7 reps with the same weight as last week. Felt pretty good though a little tougher than I anticipated. No telling why. Gutted all three full sets out, felt them in my shoulders, moved on.

Elbows-out triceps extensions: 3x7 reps Used the 35 kilo skinnies doggcrapp style. Bridged on a decline bench so that I'd be pushing down, but kept the DBs in contact with each other constantly. Really felt these. Got 21/18/13 reps, ten deep breaths between sets.

Squat: 3 x 7 reps 170 kg on the SSB. Same weight as last time. My right hip is a little sore and I wanted to see if squats would loosen it up a little; as a result, I didn't push the weight up. These were fairly easy on the quads, so I'll take the weight up next time.

A good day, if a little cautious. Coaching baseball this afternoon, so I'll be in the sun for a few hours. Works for me.

Now to go eat as much as I can cram in. Btw, Snickers dipped in natty PB is freakin' awesome.

Have a great day.

Day 3 week 21

Beautiful, warm day here. Gonna be a great weekend.

Tunes were dominated by Chevelle, Nickelback, Godsmack, and House of Broken Promises.

Started with Results and the Shelby mix. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Kroc rows: 3 sets x 8 reps with the fat DBs loaded with 80 kilos, same as last time. Didn't notice my note to go up -- I will next time.

Snatch: 3 x 8 reps with 30 kilo DBs, skinny handles. Decided to use these rather than the chains for control reasons. These were tough, frankly.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 80 kg this time and ran them doggcrapp style again. Kept the weight the same just because I forgot to go up. Got 20 (+2), 13 (+0), 9 (-2). These were tough today, but I'll still go up.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 8 with 80 kilos on the DB. Still loving these and still making progress.

Calf: Threw a bunch of weight on the SSB and did Doggcrapp style 12-reps sets to failure three times, just like last time. And they were still tough.

Got a lot I want to do this weekend, though don't know how much I'll get to. Hope you all have a great, productive weekend. I'll squat tomorrow, so until then...

Day 2 week 21

Posting late because I had to go coach a baseball game.

I used Results, Surge WF, and the Shelby mix per usual.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work, loose briefs and knee sleeves for lower. Warmed up with a lot of dynamic work and bar weight before each.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35# again. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt fine. Fairly tough today, which is interesting since last time they were easy. I'm a little surprised the weight isn't going up here, but I'm too careful of my shoulders to push it. Once again I followed them up with...

Posterior fly: 3 sets of 10 reps with 30# each hand, seat at about 30 degrees from flat. These just clobber whatever is left in my shoulders, which makes the NGB interesting.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the fat bar: 150 kilos x 3 x 10. Weight up ten kilos -- these felt good today, with the exception of my shoulders wanting to cramp. Kept lats tight, worked on grooving them square over my chest, and felt good about it.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up the box just below parallel and added another 10 kilos per side. The first set was easy enough that I wondered if I'd made a mistake. I shouldn't have wondered. The third was hard and I'm still wobbly eight hours later.

Great day, good progress in a couple of areas, and still developing confidence in the left quad.

Keep at it, everyone.

Day 1 week 21

A Santa Ana has blown through Sandy Eggo and the temps are rather high for us weather wimps. It made the rumpus room stinkin' hot, so the fan was blasting. Yeah, it's nothing like you guys in the Midwest in summer, but hot for around here. Got up to 112 in Rancho Bernardo two days ago and into the 90s here at Casa Mojo. Good day to sweat.

Started with Results, the Shelby protocol, and Biotest Surge Workout Fuel. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps -- no other support. The tunes were heavy with Godsmack and Sasquatch today, which was fine with me.

Started with some dynamic and band work, did a bunch of bar work to warm up, and got to it.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x10 reps +75# with the 2-inch rope
Just to make it a special bastard, I snaked the 2-inch rope around the pullup bar and did my reps hangin', super-wide grip. Got 15 all three sets. The bastard bit worked, as my forearms were pumped uncomfortably. Gonna have to do this again.

Incline Curl: 3x10 reps 65#
Same as always -- didn't feel like pushing it after the pullups. Yeah, call me a wuss if you must.

Bench: 3x10 reps 240kg
Raised the weight back up ten kilos. The first two sets were tough, but the third easier -- had a better groove and was just more comfortable. Worked on tight lats for all and pulled the bar hard, which always helps. Got two extra reps on the last set.

Calves: 3x50 lots of chains
Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Again threw four of the big chains over my shoulders and pushed them out.

My right shoulder wasn't happy with the benching, but did fine. No pain. Everything worked, the weight went up easily. I'm pretty worn, which is nice. Days 1 are usually pretty benign, and this one was no exception. Still, I'm pretty tired, just like I like it. Think I'll take the Blazer out for ice cream tonight just because I can.

Great day, all.

Day 4 week 20

Got started a little late today, and it was a hot one. A Santa Ana is blowing in and the temp as raced up quickly, though it's still nowhere near what the rest of you deal with. Just hot for around here.

Had a headache to start and felt like my head would explode by the end. Time to sack up.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. No Spiking today. Loose briefs and knee sleeves for the squats.

I did a fair amount of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. Everything felt ok going in.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, regular bar, wide: 3 x 7 reps with the same weight as last week. Felt a little barking in the right shoulder posterior process, but it only served to keep me from feeling the weight as it descended -- no pain. It's just a weird feeling, like the arm isn't there. The arm tends to lag a little on the press itself. Really concentrated hard on pulling the bar apart, which helps the shoulder weakness immensely. Also makes the weight go up easier.

Elbows-out triceps extensions: 3x7 reps I used my 80kg fat DBs for the first set and dropped to the 35kilo skinny set for the last two. Did the last two sets doggcrapp style after the first set was 7 reps. Felt really good. I'll try to build up to using the fats for the whole exercise -- just didn't have the pop in them after military to do even two sets with the fats.

Squat: 3 x 7 reps 170 kg on the SSB. Did 8 reps first set -- was too busy listening to my body and did an extra rep. The next two were clean and deep. These felt really good, though with my head hurting, I thought I might fall over the last set. Really thought I'd puke, but somehow didn't. The thought of having to redo all the carbs I have in my gut made me hold it all the harder.

Great day, though painful. Keeping it short because my head hurts. The work was good, the weight came up, and I'm back to making progress with the legs.

Have a great day and roll Tide.

Day 3 week 20

Got started a little late -- work's been work. Still a lot of drama going on, and weird environmental stuff there; the office has started giving me headaches. Seriously, there seems to be some off-gassing from the a/c or something and my office smells like natural gas. Been giving me terrible headaches and yet I don't smell it. Maybe it's me.

Anyway,...

Started with Results and the Shelby mix. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Kroc rows: 3 sets x 8 reps with the fat DBs loaded with 80 kilos. Concentrated on dragging the elbow back and getting scap retraction. Frankly, they were a little easy. Next time I'll go up another 5kg.

Chain snatch: 3 x 8 reps with about 60# chain in each hand with the handles. These were easier this time too. Maybe my upper back and shoulder work is finally paying dividends.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 80 kg this time and ran them doggcrapp style again. Got 18 reps first set, 13 second, 11 third with a ten (deep) breath rest between sets. Everything went pretty well, frankly, so I'm very happy. Shoulders and elbows were fine. I'll go up here too when I raise the fats for the Krocs. We'll see.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 8 with 80 kilos on the DB. Still loving these and still making progress.

Calf: Threw a bunch of weight on the SSB and did Doggcrapp style 12-reps sets to failure three times. These were tough.

It seems to have gotten dark early today. I dunno. I'm also kind of angry, and it was a good time to head into the rumpus room. Life would seem a lot tougher if I couldn't do this.

Changed the steering wheel on the Blazer to a full wood wheel -- absolutely gorgeous. The old stock plastic thing was getting sticky and leaving black marks on the hands, it had degraded so much. The new one is awesome and the boy is beside himself. He helped me pull the old one and put on the new one, and of course had a great time testing the horn. Next is an appointment to take it to see a hot rodder down in old Solana Beach to see whether to calibrate the Quadrajet on the 383 stroker or throw a Holley on the thing. Or maybe just start saving to throw an LS2 monster with a new electronic overdrive tranny in there. Just dreamin'. I'm hoping he can make the Q'jet purr, because that'll be a lot (lot, lot, lot) cheaper. We'll see. The need for horsepower is a disease, plain and simple -- like some other things, there's never enough.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Day 2 week 20

Beautiful, hazy day here. Warm outside and got a good sweat on early. Went for breakfast with the family and one of the boy's pals this morning at an awesome little cafe near here and took the Blazer, which was fantastic and a great way to start the day. Training was the natural way to follow up.

I used Results, Surge WF, and the Shelby mix per usual with half a Spike.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work, loose briefs and knee sleeves for lower. Warmed up with a lot of dynamic work and bar weight before each. Today was the first time I didn't really worry too much about my quad, though after lifting I find myself listening to it constantly for any symptom of complaining. It'll be a while before I don't, particularly since there's still a big scar under the skin and the scar still hurts to palpate. It'll be a while.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt fine. Fairly tough today, which is interesting since last time they were easy. I followed them up with...

Posterior fly: 3 sets of 10 reps with 22# each hand, seat at about 30 degrees from flat. The first set was tough, the second two less so. I'll go up next time. They felt fantastic, all told, and with the NGB totally wrecked my shoulders.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the fat bar: 140 kilos x 3 x 10 Same weight as last time and felt good today. Kept elbows tucked and pushed up from about 1-board height -- just short of touching to take it easy on shoulders. Weight went up easily, so I'll go up next time. Right shoulder gave me the usual, but no pain.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up the box just below parallel and added 20 kilos per side. I used sleeves and a belt rather than suck my thumb, because the only reason to was mental. This was 240 kilos on the SSB and it went up smoothly and easily, though I sucked heavy wind after each set. All reps felt solid and perceived effort was about 50%. Interestingly, I felt them more in my torso rigidity than legs.

All in all a solid day. We'll see how the quad responds to the first day with any real weight on it. It's been two months since the pain abated, so I'm 9 weeks from injury -- should be enough, I'd think. I need to talk with someone about whether to do soft tissue work on the scar yet.

Got a baseball game for the boy at 5:30 today that I have to help coach. Should be fun. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday.

Day 1 week 20

This work was actually performed Thursday the 16th. Just got caught up in stuff and didn't post.

I've been considering going back to 5/3/1 or a simple Westside protocol to shake things up. Not sure. This routine of Shelby's has worked and I've made progress, so I shouldn't complain.

Started with Results and the Shelby protocol and added Biotest Surge Workout Fuel. They've changed it up a bit, so I'll have to see if I still like it as much as the old stuff. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps -- no other support.

Started with a bunch of dynamic and band work, did a bunch of bar work to warm up, and got to it.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x10 reps +75#
Like last time, I warmed up with unweighted pullups in small sets until I was confident and then went straight to it. Got 15 all three sets. First and third sets were significantly tougher than the second.

Incline Curl: 3x10 reps 65#
Added a little weight to each hand. These were tough, but I got ten reps each set. Forearms were feeling it too.

Bench: 3x10 reps 230kg
Dropped ten kilos from last time, kept grip wide, stuck with solid form and tight upper back. They were pretty easy, actually. Need to go back up with the weight next time. Good range of motion, really, though my right shoulder still feels weaker.

Calves: 3x50 lots of chains
Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Threw four strands of chains over my shoulders and pushed them out.

It was a good day and hard work. I needed it. Hope everyone has a good day today too.

Day 4 week 19

Cloudy morning this morning. Lately the ocean is cold, a lot colder than the warm, late-summer air. So we get clouds until midday, which just kills the natives. Poor babies, to have to suffer a few clouds until noon in the midst of warm 70s. Heh.

Started my morning training today. Honestly, it's hard for me -- once I'm up, I want to go into the office and get to work. Once up, work. Which I did, but it's hard not to leave the house. Drink coffee, check email, see what's up in the world, shower, move...except insert hard work with weight before the shower part. Just seems odd.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. I Spiked my peri-workout Shelby mix, added extra carbs (malto today at 150% of norm), and got to it.

I did a fair amount of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. Shoulders were fine today, though my right shoulder has been fussing lately now that I'm back to throwing with the boys. Honestly, throwing with the 13 year olds has forced me to step up my game a little, as some of them have cannons. Can't be the slacker I was last year, so I can't muscle it with a strong arm and shoulder -- have to use good form and upper body torsion. Kind of nice, actually.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with 5 kilos more than last week. Every set was easy today, actually, though I wasn't comfortable enough to go up even more. I warmed up on these slowly, afraid of my recent right shoulder weakness. Worked pretty well, and the weight went up.

Elbows-out triceps extensions: 3x7 reps I used my 30kg DBs with skinny handles and did simple presses, holding the weights together from mid-point to chest. I did these doggcrapp style, getting 18 reps for first, 14 second, 12 third. Really felt them, so I'm happy. I need a second fat DB bar set so I can do these too, as I hate constantly changing the weight on the fats. So, another set of bars and collars are in order. Fats would rock for this, or I'll have no sternum left after I drop them on my chest.

Squat: 3 x 7 reps 150 kg on the 1500lb Texas bar. Backed off the weight after a couple of orthos checked in after last time to tell me that post-op scars take 6 weeks to reach full strength and I was probably prolonging my tear healing completion. As paranoid as I am, that was enough to make me back off another week. I'm gonna be so weak when I go back to it it's scary, but discretion is the better part of valor. Better safe than sorry. Bird in the hand...whatever. Insert your own platitude/cliche. I did sets of 20 today with roughly 300#. My left hip wasn't happy, though I know why -- nothing bad. My left hand barked where the blood vessel ruptured last week -- kinda surprised it's still painful, frankly. Most of the hematoma has dissipated, so I'm a little confused. Oh well.

All in all a great way to start the day. Hope everyone has a productive day. Extra props to Tim Hull for a great effort in his first true strongman comp -- lots of good things to take from what happened, even though it didn't all go the way he wanted. Additional kudos to Bob for being a faithful friend and trucking over there to help him out, much less feed him and his brood after. Everyone should be so lucky as to have friends like these two.

Great day, guys. Make it one.

Day 3 week 19

I'm gonna have to start lifting in the morning, I'm afraid. Afternoon/evening is too inconsistent.

Started withe Results and the Shelby mix. Warmed up a little but was too impatient to get into it.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was 50 degrees. Raised the weight 10 kilos again. Pulled as smoothly as possible to a pinch and got three sets of 6 reps. I feel good about this. Not sure why it seemed harder today, but I got 'em and closed with failure. So I'm happy.

Kroc rows: 3 sets x 10 reps with the fat DBs loaded with 75 kilos. Concentrated on dragging the elbow back and getting scap retraction. Felt good.

Chain snatch: 3 x 10 reps with about 60# chain in each hand with the handles. With the Krocs, the last set of these killed.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 75 kg this time and ran them doggcrapp style again. Got 17 (+2) reps first set, 14 (+2) second, 10 (+2) third with a ten (deep) breath rest between sets. Right shoulder didn't like the kick-ups, but was fine during reps. Think that's more about ROM than anything else. Got good sets and am making progress, so nothing to change yet.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 8 with 75 kilos on the DB. These are still tough and I'm still making progress, so I'll keep them in rotation for now.

Calf: Threw the two chain sets I'd used for snatch over my shoulders and did 3 sets of 50 rep sets off the platform.

Got several errands to run tonight, so I might take the Blazer out for them. The thing is a kick. The workout was good. Just need to eat more.

Great day, all.

day 2 week 19

Beautiful holiday day here. I really needed a day off, and a chance to train at my leisure is more than welcome. As a result, I've been super-relaxed today and even dragging a little.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual, no Spike.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work, loose briefs for lower. Warmed up with a lot of dynamic work and bar weight before each. Still a little paranoid about my left quad since the tear, and a little more so due to pain from the muscle scar. Been doing a little soft tissue work to massage the adhesions, but a little wary of digging in too much. Just not sure how soon to start working on it, either manually via soft tissue breakup or under the weight.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt fine. These weren't too tough today, though I don't know if I'll go up on the weight next time or not.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the regular bar: 140 kilos x 3 x 10 Same weight as last time and felt good today. Kept elbows tucked and pushed up from about 1-board height -- just short of touching to take it easy on shoulders. Weight went up easily and tris barked, so happy with it.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up the box just below parallel and used the same weight setup as last time. For whatever reason, these felt heavy today and I sucked serious wind. Not sure why, but these were a lot tougher than this weight should have been. So be it. I kept strict form and pushed everything up, constantly taking stock of the left quad. I wonder when I'll start to trust it?

All in all, a good day. I felt like I was whistling in the graveyard all day, but I got the work in and feel good about it. I look fuller in the mirror now that I'm back at it and bar weights are still going up, so I have nothing to complain about. We'll see how things progress.

Hope all have a great day off. Stay safe.

Day 1 week 19

Tough work week ended nicely, just in time for a three-day weekend. Awesome.

Warm day, beautiful here, not too humid. Nothing hurting going in, though sleep has been suffering. Suspect that's just work weaseling its way in.

Started with the usual Results and Shelby protocol. Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps -- no other support.

Started with a bunch of dynamic and band work, did a bunch of bar work to warm up, and got to it.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x10 reps +75#
Like last time, I warmed up with unweighted pullups in small sets until I was confident and then went straight to it. Got 15 the first set, 12 the second, 9 the third. These were tougher than anticipated for some reason. No idea why.

Incline Curl: 3x10 reps 60#
These were easier this week, though no idea why they would be. No swinging, pinch and hold at the top. No pain, no cramps, just work. Nice.

Bench: 3x10 reps 240kg
Added ten kilos to each side and psyched up. Got 8 reps the first and second, but 10 the last. Not sure why, but the last seemed much easier. Go figure. Maybe I didn't warm up enough, though it seemed like I was warming up too much. Whatever, I'll take it. This is a lot of weight. The first set was quite tough, and the second I narrowed the grip a little and couldn't compare it. Whatever.

Calves: 3x50 lots of chains
Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Threw four strands of chains over my shoulders and pushed them out. Felt ok, though I've never enjoyed calves. Might explain why I don't have any.

Good day today, guys. Good sweat, good lifts, good weight. Progress.

Have a great long weekend.

Day 4 week 18

Had to pick up the boy from the first day of school, so I snuck training in late. Needed it.

Hot day today -- no breeze, fairly humid. Good stuff in the rumpus room.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. No Spike, no Tork, no knee sleeves, no briefs.

I did some dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. Shoulders were fine today.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with last week's weight. Everything worked well today, though each set was tough. One of those days that I felt like I had to gut them all up but got them all too. So be it.

DB tricep press: 3x7 reps I used my 30kg DBs with skinny handles and did simple presses with no swing and no roll, just like last time. Left elbow barked during the first set but was fine after that. I should have pushed the weight up to 35 kilos, but I was too uninspired to make the change. It's ok, as it was still good work. Next time.

Squat: 3 x 7 reps 220 kg on the 1500lb Texas bar. Strict form, no briefs, wraps, or sleeves. I expect my hips/glutes to be sore, which was the idea. I used my Spud DL belt for torso support, closed loosely. Just wanted something to push my gut against.

It was good to get back to squatting. I need something else for quad work that won't leave me gasping too badly but will require some quad work. Heavy step-ups work great, but amount to a serious cardio session. Might have to suck that up and just do it, though, as I'm feeling like I'm returning to sticks for legs. Not the way I want to be.

A good, tough day. Work is going to kick my butt this week, so I need all the emotional and mental health work I can get. This was a good start.

Later.

Day 3 week 18

Week 18 is turning into month 18. Work is crazy busy and I can't dodge it, so I'm likely going to have to go back to morning workouts. I quit morning before because I can lift more in the middle of the day or afternoon, mostly because of back loosening. So be it. I can't be doing this twice a week workout bit, so here come mornings.

Warm morning this morning - a bit muggy for SD. Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. No Spike, no Tork today. For whatever reason, intensity was super-high going in.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was 50 degrees. Raised the weight 10 kilos again. Pulled as smoothly as possible to a pinch and got three sets of 6 reps. I feel good about this. Not sure why it seemed harder today, but I got 'em and closed with failure. So I'm happy.

Chain snatch: 3 x 8 reps with about 60# chain in each hand with the handles. I did these in superset with the rows, flowing from low to overhead smoothly without yanking or any leg or back help. Held each rep at the top for a beat. Just felt great in the upper back.

Fat rope reverse rows: Used the 2" rope over the monkey bar, laid back until almost on the floor, and did rows. Couldn't do Ts, so just rows. Upper back was screaming after the snatches. Did three sets of 10 in quick succession -- maybe 60s rest between if not a little less. Just polish.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 75 kg this time and ran them doggcrapp style again. Got 15 reps first set, 12 second, 8 third with a ten (deep) breath rest between sets. Felt good about this. No real pain in the right shoulder and neither elbow barked. Good stuff.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 8. Again I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 75 kilos loaded and did drag curls. Not sure why I did 8 reps this time, but I did. These were tough today, and the last set was painful.

Calf: Threw the two chain sets I'd used for snatch over my shoulders and did 3 sets of 50 rep sets off the platform. Did all three sets with weight and calves were screaming, so I guess 120-ish pounds was ok.

Travel baseball starts tomorrow and I'm helping, so I'll be back to throwing tomorrow. Gonna have to take extra time this year warming up, as I don't want the biceps tendinitis again.

Bought an early Blazer to work on with the kid. Seriously stoked. The guy put all the money into the engine and it's a Cali Blazer (read: no rust), so we've got a great platform to work from. We'll def redo the interior and put in a banging stereo, and the thing may never see its top -- this is California, after all. Nothing like a beach-mobile with a thumper and big horses. In four years, after he puts some serious sweat equity into the thing and likely some money of his own, it'll be the kid's. Shoulda seen his face when I told him -- dinner plates for eyes. He's chuffed in a huge way. I may have to detune it before I give it to him though, as it has a 385 stroker with gear drive built by the guy who builds engines for Ivan Stewart. Yeah, that Ivan "Ironman" Stewart. The engine alone is worth more than I paid for the thing. It'll literally smoke the 35" Cepeks it has on it with ease. Should be a lot of fun.

Have a great day, guys. I'll be in the garage if you need me.

Day 2 week 18

Warm morning in Sandy Eggo. Bluebird skies -- awesome day, if a little humid for around here. Nothing like Houston/Orlando/Atlanta/Nashville/Baltimore kind of humid, though. If I ever move back, I'm sure it'll be a harsh reminder.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual, no Spike.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work. Warmed up with dynamic work and bar weight before each. No shoulder trouble this morning, so I stuck to the normal routine for warm-up, getting on a good sweat and some heavy sucking wind.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt fine and reps were tough after so much time away. I polished with...

Snatch: 3x8 w/ about 50# chain with the handles on. No pause to press -- straight over without using legs.

Kroc rows: 3x8 with 70kg fat DB. These were not at all easy this week with 10 more kilos. These even made my grip sing, for some reason. No straps, though, ever with fat DBs.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the regular bar: 140 kilos x 3 x 10 Added 10kg per side, kept elbows tucked, and gutted them out. No shoulder pain to speak of and no weakness. The first two sets were smooth, the last a bit rougher. The last rep was a gut check. Really cooked my triceps today, though. Funny how some days they seem to work better than others -- surely form vagaries.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up a squat box at parallel and did these with the Mastadon rather than the SSB. Put 220 on the mast and watched form carefully. Humbling to have less than I'd just used with NGBP, but I stuck to the program. Perceived effort was about 30% -- still very easy -- but I wanted to get some weight on. Plus my scale has been dipping south and I can see an honest 6-pack -- that stuff's gotta stop. Don't squat, lose weight in all kinds of places. Not good.

Anyway, kept my knees wide, watched form, felt awesome. Sucked wind badly, but so what? Had a hard time not dropping my head to watch my left knee, but found a way. Banged out three sets easily and ended happy.

Great day back under the weight. Very happy, mostly because I went up on almost everything, got a lot of work in, sweat a lot, and got weight back on my shoulders. Very happy.

Have a great day.

Day 1 week 18

Cloudy morning this morning. Ferruggia is tweeting about the same situation in Santa Monica, which is about 100 miles north of here. Guess it's just an odd summertime in SoCal.

Ok, so I'm starting to chafe under the edict that I take it easy on the quad. The chafing came about a week earlier than I thought it would. I'll make it, but it's not easy. No pain, slight twinges on beginning dynamic work on the legs, but I can still feel the lesion. Big reminder. I'll be good for a while longer.

Warm morning, not much breeze, so the fan was on lightly in the rumpus room.

Started with Shelby mix and Results. I might have to go back to Results and Surge Workout Fuel, as expensive as that stuff is. I just love the way it fuels my intensity, no puns intended.

Wore sleeves for the pullups and wrist wraps for bench. Went back to the classic order today and used the poor man's loose bench shirt, aka Smelly's Slingshot, for the bench. Have to lose the elbow sleeves to get it over my biceps, but it's fine.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x10 reps +75#
Warmed up with unweighted pullups in small sets until I was confident and then went straight to it. I added 30 pounds to the weight today just to kick my ass. I only got eight reps on the last set, but I felt good about everything. I need a plate-loaded row/lat pulldown to polish a day like this off, frankly, but am too cheap to shell out $800 for it. If I could find the stainless poles and slides, I'd weld one up myself.

Incline Curl: 3x10 reps 60#
These were pretty hard but I was pretty determined. Kept the weight under control and squeezed each rep off. No swinging, though the last set was really tough. Felt great and no tendon or elbow issues at all.

Bench: 3x10 reps 220kg
I dropped the weight ten kilos total and put on the Slingshot to get a feel for it. It really is the loose shirt for the poor boy and makes ballistic lifting a little too easy, but works great if you're judicious about it. I have to say I like it, though it's a bitch to get over my arms. Did three sets of 10 reps pretty easily and will add more weight next time. No grooving with this thing, really, so it works pretty easily and kept my shoulders nicely in line. No shoulder or elbow pain at all today and no right side weakness. I have to say, I like it.

Calves: 3x50 SSB with some weight
Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Added weight over last time and draped a bunch of chains around my shoulders. They hurt this time. Hoping I feel it tomorrow.

Another great day. Keep up the good work, boys, and let me know how you're doing.

Day 4 week 17

Warm day, though nothing like the rest of you. Mostly sunny today -- gorgeous. Had the fan going pretty hard in the rumpus room.

Today would normally be a squat day, and I've approached it with a little sadness knowing I can't squat. Two weeks ago this day robbed me of a month of squatting.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps. No Spike, no Tork, no knee sleeves, no briefs.

I did a lot of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. My right shoulder was once again unhappy with the military work. I suspect I have something floating around in it.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with last week's weight. I felt really strong today, as though I should have pushed up. Unracking the bar is tough without a spotter to help, so I'm always a little afraid of it. I set the pins to avoid killing myself, but I could still drop it on my face and effectively rake my face off. This is around 400#, so every movement is slow and deliberate out of respect. It sure would be nice to have a monolift so that I could drop the weight straight out.

DB tricep press: 3x7 reps I used my 30kg DBs with skinny handles and did simple presses with no swing and no roll. Elbows stayed tight and straight and everything worked well. In fact, it was too easy, so I'll start pushing the weight higher next time.

Squat: 3 x 10 reps goblet squats with the 50# stone. I need a 100# stone, I think. These were smooth and easy -- I just wanted to practice form and balance without a lot of weight. Still struggling mentally with doing essentially nothing, but it felt good just to move the right way again. Maybe I'll move to overhead squats for torso work.

Thanks for all your well-wishes with the injury. I'm finally pain-free and sleeping again, not taking anything at all. I'm two weeks post-tear, so maybe three weeks and I'll start slowly adding weight back in off the back.

Hope you all have a productive weekend. Work hard and do something you can be proud of.

Day 3 week 17

At it hard this afternoon. Very warm day, lots of stressful stuff going on at work, put it all behind me and worked in the rumpus room. Great for working out the cobwebs.

Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. No Spike, no Tork today. Just sweat.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was 50 degrees. Raised the weight 5 kilos just to feel like I was getting something done. Ran off three legit sets of 7 with good form, dying on the last. Pretty solid, but still feel like I need more, so I added...

Clean: 3 x 7 reps with a little bit of weight. Just wanted the feel and to polish off my upper back. It worked.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 70 kg and ran them doggcrapp style again. Same weight as last time. Got 25 reps first set(+3), 14 second (+2), 6 third (+0). Felt great and made progress. Still a little chicken to raise the weight again, particularly since I lift the weight up off of my quads right over the tear. Didn't hurt today, so maybe nothing to worry about. We'll see.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 7. Again I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 70 kilos loaded and did drag curls. Honestly, these are still fantastic. Today I just a whole bunch of sets of 7.

Calf: Loaded up the SSB and did 50 rep sets off the platform. Did three sets and calves were screaming, so I guess I'm getting better.

I'm still progressing even with the leg. We'll see what happens next time when I'm supposed to squat (but won't with any weight.) Still, feeling pretty good about things.

Gotta go look at a classic Blazer I'm thinking about buying as a restoration project with the boy. Got to show him how to fix things, own something, make an engine run, how to tune it, how to care for stuff. Looking forward to it.

Later.

Day 2 week 17

Cloudy morning this morning, which has become the norm in SD. It'll burn by noon, but it makes for a gray start. No biggie -- makes for a cooler rumpus room. Fairly humid for this area, though.

Stressful week. Seriously anticipating getting under the weight, even though no heavy squats for a long while.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual, Spiked.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work. Warmed up with dynamic work and bar weight before each. Lots of dynamic work with my shoulders in particular because my right shoulder is still a little balky. Add to that general paranoia after my injury two weeks ago and I'm being very cautious these days. The quad tear was my first real breakdown after 30 and it sapped a little confidence in everything else. No big deal and probably a good thing.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt fine and reps were tough after so much time away. I polished with...

Snatch: 3x8 w/ about 50# chain with the handles on. No pause to press -- straight over without using legs. These felt fantastic, so I added...

Kroc rows: 3x8 with 60kg fat DB. These were a bit easy, actually, so I'll go up next time. I just wanted a posterior delt workout after so much medial and anterior work.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the fat bar: 130 kilos x 3 x 10 Added 5kg per side, kept elbows tucked, and gutted them out. Right shoulder still hurts, but not in a way that I thought it prudent to stop. So I worked through it and was glad of it. Felt good. Kept upper back and arch very tight -- uncomfortably tight. I find this helps every time, so I seem to be getting better at it. So much seems subtlety, as far as technique is concerned, in that little changes can mean a lot of improvement. I find that fascinating, because it seems like pushing something off of you should be pretty straightforward. Even after all these years, it's not.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up a squat box at parallel and did bodyweight squats to the box. My dynamic work caused me a few twinges in the quad, but I didn't let it bother me -- no pain, just brief stabs. Probably adhesions/scarring, so I went on. I did sets until I thought I might fall asleep -- didn't count reps. These were deadly boring. Didn't even feel them, but concentrated on form, knee position, lifting with hips, etc. Didn't feel like I was getting anything from them so I added...

SLDL: 3x8 reps with 60kg I counted one rep as bending over, picking the weight, lifting, and returning. I would let go and come up empty to start the next rep. I did sets of 8 or 10 just to feel it in my glutes and hams. Felt the hips a little, but it might have been wishful thinking. I'll increase the weight here as I can; I just didn't want to be tempted to involve the quads at all.

I'm wondering if I can do step-ups with the SSB and just my right leg. If my left trails, how much work will it end up doing, really? I can't tell you how many docs have warned me about doing too much too soon with this injury, so I'm duly respectful of it. But I need work. We'll see.

The quad is much better, though still a huge hematoma/knot and still tender to palpate. Still, I can climb stairs now and sleep without drugs, so I'm not complaining. Just glad it wasn't a complete tear. It looks like I won't have a divot in my leg, so nothing to whine about there. Besides, I'm increasing the volume on everything upper body and adding the missing intensity elsewhere. I'll also work hams and hips harder, so this might work well for me in the long run.

Better to be lucky than good. Later.

Day 1 week 17

Ok, so week 17 was two weeks coming. Turns out my squat PR two Sundays ago earned me a partially torn vastus lateralus and extraordinary pain. Two nights after the session I awoke with spectacular pain and spent four days on narcotics just trying to sleep. A price we pay, I guess, particularly when you get to be my age. First real breakdown, too. So it begins.

Started with Shelby mix and Results. Man, I love that stuff.

Wore sleeves for the pullups, wrist wraps for pullups and bench, and changed the order so bench would come before curls.

All sets were 8-10 reps under control to positive failure.

Pullups: 3x15 reps +45#
These weren't too bad. I warmed up with a monster green band tied to the top of the rack, just to get blood flowing before lifting myself. I found I was a little skittish about everything, maybe scared of doing more damage. Shouldn't have been, but a lot of what we do is between the ears. The reps were smooth and the last few of the last set were brutal.

Bench: 3x10 reps 230kg
The first set was smooth and strong and I thought I might get off easy. I put a monster mini between my wrists for feel and kept my elbows tucked for all reps. The third set I only got 8 reps, which was fine. My shoulder was a little achy, but no real pain or weakness. Fine.

Incline Curl: 3x10 reps 60#
These were pretty hard. The first set was relatively easy -- should've started higher and dropped each set, but didn't. Still paranoid of my biceps, though no pain or tightness at all. The last set I only moved 6 reps cleanly. No swinging, slow reps -- felt good about the whole thing.

Calves: 3x50 SSB with some weight
Tried to keep these smooth. Did them all off a 6" platform and worked on full ROM. Light weight -- wasn't sure if my quad would yip. It didn't.

All in all, a great return to sanity. I'll try to keep it under control, as I'm not supposed to strain my quad for a month. We'll see how that goes.

Hope all are having a great week.

Day 4 week 16

Back in the rumpus room today. Gorgeous day, though partly cloudy. San Diegans are such weather wimps.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, eventually knee sleeves. I wore Ace briefs again for the squatting. Spiked and Torked a lot.

I did a lot of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. My right shoulder was again unhappy with the military work.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with ten kilos more than last week. The last set was downright brutal, but I got 7 reps on all three sets. This was a weight PR for me.

Seated french press: Elbows were not happy and the weight is getting up there, so I bagged these and did DB presses from the shoulders on a flat bench. I used my 30kg DBs with skinny handles and did simple presses with no swing and no roll. Elbows stayed tight and straight and everything worked well.

Squat: 3 x 7 x even more kg. Took the weight up another ten kilos with a reverse green band on the bar. All three sets were smooth, though the walkouts were a bastard. My right hip was a little balky on the walkout, but no troubles during the squats. I did three sets of 5 reps, and this weight is a PR. This is a scary amount of weight -- every 50kg and 25kg plate I have was on the bar. Walkouts were six inches max, and I was scared still. One misplaced foot and I'm done for a long time. I need a monolift. Still, a PR. I saw stars, but the reps were smooth. I'd set the pins below parallel and dropped until I touched the pins. The weight came up well. Maybe next time I'll back in down a little and lose the band -- it would be interesting to see what my current max is.

So, a great day. Just fantastic. I'm hoarse from all the grunting, but I'm good with that. Back to work tomorrow, though I'll likely try to train tomorrow too. I hope everyone's weekend ends up as successful as I've felt mine has been.

Great day.

Day 3 week 16

Humid day by SD standards, so the rumpus room was a sweatatorium. Can't tell you how good it feels to get back in the room, though. Work has seriously stepped up from a time commitment standpoint, so it's been a while. Granted, it gave my left elbow a chance to heal up, so it wasn't all bad.

Dragging a bit today. No idea why, though it's likely emotional. Such is life.

Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. Spiked for good measure and Torked during. Seared my sinuses, I did.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps today. Did some dynamic work to warm up, but did a lot of bar work. Did suck a lot of wind, too.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was 50 degrees. Bar had 140 kg and I concentrated on a good scapular squeeze at each finish. Super-wide grip with lots (I mean a whole lot) of bar warm-up in rapid succession to work up a good sweat. These were pretty good, so I'll see how I feel tomorrow and decide whether to move to another exercise next time.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 70 kg and ran them doggcrapp style again. Same weight as last time. Got 22 reps first set(-1), 12 second (+3), 6 third (+2). Felt quite good and went up on two of the sets. Still have a funny twinge in my right shoulder when down at full ROM.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 7. Again I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 70 kilos loaded and did drag curls. Honestly, these are still fantastic. I did all sets DC style, like the fly. Got 15 first set, 12 second, 7 third. We'll see how it goes.

Calf: Loaded up the SSB with 200kg and did sets of 15 from a 4" platform. Felt good. We'll see -- might inch up a little on this and push to 6" platform.

All in all, a great return. Time off seems to be doing me ok these days, though I hate it. I'll train again tomorrow, I'm sure, just because I can't stand not to. My mental health requires it.

Hope all have a great day. Hang tough, Bob.

Out.

Day 2 week 16

Theory of a Deadman, Chevelle, Godsmack, Drowning Pool, and a few others.

Personal drama hasn't abated -- deepening, actually. I feel guilty for mentioning it with what Bob's going through, though. Time to sack up.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual, Spiked, a little Tork with the squats.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work and loose briefs for the lower. Warmed up with dynamic work and bar weight before each. Lots of dynamic work with my shoulders in particular because my right shoulder was a little balky. I suspect I've got something floating around in it because it doesn't always hurt. Erred on the side of caution today there, but did less for hips and knees than usual. Oh well.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Kept it simple today because of my complaining shoulder and left elbow problems from last time.

Narrow Grip Bench Press with the fat bar: 120 kilos x 3 x 10 to be safe. Went up reasonably easily. Still felt it in the triceps, but could have done more. I'll go up next time.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up a squat box at parallel, put 250 kilos on the SSB and pounded. Still great quad work -- very happy with the way this is going and suspect a weight PR is in the near future. Hips felt it, and for some reason I had to concentrate a little extra of tightening my torso today. My back felt a little loose for some reason. Maybe the recent weight loss is affecting the tightness of the belt. Pushed out hard and went fine.

My left elbow was ok today. Didn't feel it while lifting, but a little afterward when pulling plates from bars. It's improving, so I won't complain.

All in all, a great day. A Santa Ana is blowing through, so it's 100 on the beach this morning. The rumpus room was stinkin' hot, so the fan was blasting. Still sweating like a pig, so time for a contrast shower.

Great day, all.

Day 1 week 16

Ok, so today sucked. Lots of promise and ready to rock, but I created a problem. Yesterday I was working on my motorcycle and tweaked my left elbow replacing the fuel pump. Thought it was just a getting-old tweak, took advil, and forgot about it. Nope.

After the pullups today, my elbow was on fire. Feels like onset of tendinitis -- that kind of ache. Nuts.

I got all my sets if pullups and tried to warm up the incline curls. Even the warm-up made my arm want to fall off, so I decided stupidly to try the bench. Didn't want to have to write a bunch of nothing in the log, so I set to the warm-up. A great big cupful of nope. Got to work weight and called the day. Got the arm on ice at the moment, trying to type one-handed. So today will have to be a mulligan.

Drank the Results and Shelby mix with half a Spike in it as usual, wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps, and warmed up with the bar.

Pull-ups, fat grip, wide: 3 x 15 smooth. All sets were +45kg. Started with a set of 10 and then the three of 15. Felt pretty good, but elbow barked between.

Incline bicep curl: miss.

Bench press, regular bar: Warmed up, miss.

Standing calf: Straight sets of 50 reps.

I did the calves in between sets of wimpiness.

Ice and try again another day. Better luck to all of you.

Day 4 week 15

Been a cloudy day with sporadic sunshine. I get my sunshine from other sources these days.

I love the fourth day. Just love it. Squats are my thing, I've decided.

All my peeps are back in the country and back in the office, so things were still nutty but so much better. More natural. Maybe back to something like normal.

Still had a lot of anger going into the rumpus room, though easily directed at the weight. The rush consumes me and I can rip into my work in a way that guarantees a sort of satisfaction.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, eventually knee sleeves. I wore Ace briefs again for the squatting.

I Spiked again and opened a new bottle of Tork. Holy cow, does it become obvious how worn down the old is when you open new. Singed all the hairs in my nose during squats today. Love it.

I did a lot of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. My right shoulder was still unhappy with the military work, but I worked on elbow angles that relieved it and did ok.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with ten kilos more than last week. This is a lot of weight, frankly, and my last reps of my last set were grunted up, no doubt. These were hard.

Seated french press: 3x7. I added five kilos this week and really grunted these up too. I had to struggle to keep my elbows up, as the temptation to drop them into a jerk is pretty great. But I managed, and I hit the triceps the way I wanted to.

Squat: 3 x 7 x even more kg. Took the weight up another ten kilos and put a reverse green band on the bar. No Andersons this week -- straight squats with the band. These too were bitch-tough, but felt fantastic. Without the band, this would be a rep PR, so I have something to aim for next week. As good as these felt, I think that PR is going down.

Just a terrific session this week. Worked out some things, still working on gaining weight, and powered up some really satisfying bar weight. I can hardly wait to get after it again, which feels good.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. More tomorrow.

Day 3 week 15

Hazy day today, but really quite nice. A little warm by SD standards and a little humid by same, but nothing like what most of you experience. Turned on the fan in the rumpus room.

Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. Spiked for good measure.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps today. Did almost no dynamic work to warm up, but did a lot of bar work. Did suck a lot of wind, though.

All sets 5-7 reps, 180s between, all to positive failure (or worse).

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was 50 degrees. Bar had 140 kg and I concentrated on a good scapular squeeze at each finish. Super-wide grip. After the three sets (got all 7 each), I dropped half the weight and did sets of 10 to polish off anything left. Having a hard time feeling my upper back, so I might have to take Bob's advice and switch to heavy cleans. Maybe fat db clean and jerk, since I feel I can never give my shoulders too much work.

Fly fat DB: 3 sets with 70 kg and ran them doggcrapp style. This was up five kilos each hand, mostly because I was too chicken to go up ten. Got 23 reps first set, 9 second, 4 third. Felt pretty good. Still have a funny twinge in my right shoulder when down at full ROM. Wouldn't surprise me if I've torn something, but I'm not of a mind to get it checked until it starts limiting me.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 7. Again I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 70 kilos loaded and did drag curls. Honestly, these are fantastic. I did 7 first set, 10 second, 13 third. I'll go up again next time. Loving these.

Calf: Did sets of 50 reps between each set today, alternating between toes-out and toes-in. I think that was nine or ten sets of 50. We'll see if I can walk tomorrow.

Great day. Body weight is climbing slowly again, progress is being made under tension, and work is, well, work.

Have a great week, guys.

Day 2 week 15

Great day today. Started cloudy and a little cool, though humid. Finished warm and sunny. Didn't use the fan in the rumpus room and sweat like a pig.

I used Results and the Shelby mix per usual. Lots of Red Fang today, which helped in the squats. No Spike because I'm gonna need it later. I tried a little Tork, but it's getting weak and needs to be replaced.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work and loose briefs for the lower. Warmed up with dynamic work and bar weight before each.

All exercises were 3 sets of 8-10 with 180s rest between, all to positive failure.

Shoulder work: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Held each rep at the top and worked to avoid swinging at the bottom. Shoulders felt pretty darn good. Pleased yet again. I polished afterward between JM sets with the chains with handles, concentrating on posterior delts. Really hit them hard this way, which makes me feel really good. I think I might have had 30 pounds of chain in each hand, so it was pretty light at the bottom. Maybe half touched floor.

JM Press with the fat bar: 120 kilos x 3 x 10, raised the weight 5 kilos per side again and did all sets with it. My elbows screamed a little and some of the last set looked more like narrow grip bench. I might just have to move to N-G bench if my elbows are gonna bark.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up a squat box at parallel, put 250 kilos on the SSB and pounded. Up 15 kg per side today. Again, felt fantastic and sucked serious wind, really pounded my quads, which I needed, and by the time I was done, my loose briefs were pretty tight. Fantastic. My form seems to be coming along, which makes me happy. I can feel when my head starts to sag or my back isn't tight top to bottom. I pause on the box and am careful not to rock. Things are starting to work. Great stuff.

I'm heading to hang with some wild friends out in East County today. I have to say, I'm really excited about it. I have lost a lot of weight in the last two weeks over stress, not lifting, eating poorly, etc. Had to eat serious crow with Shelby and get back on the horse. Things are coming along, though we're having to work extra hard to stop the weight decline. It's a bit of a bitch, actually, so we've increased pretty much everything. I'll be guzzling olive oil with my beer before this is over.

Anyway, thanks for checking in. Have a great holiday and weekend.

Day 1 week 15

Man, am I energized. I mean, I'm tired all the freakin' time, but I'm so ready to work. I love that. Spike will wake me up.

Didn't do much for dynamic work today. Did a little dynamic and a little band work to loosen the lats before pull-ups, but it's usually my biceps that feel it anyway.

Ordered a grunt-load of Nitrean from AtLarge today, which will make everyone here happy when it gets here. Only complaint about Chris and the boys is how long it takes to get product. True Protein is literally 15 miles from my house, so orders from them appear the next day. But the Nitrean tastes so very much better than anything out there of that quality.

Drank the Results and Shelby mix with half a Spike in it as usual and got to it. Need to order more Spike.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps and warmed up with the bar and got on with it.

More Chevelle today, plus some Shinedown, Ten Years, and some classic Killing Joke. Everything kicked off with some vicious Deftones.

Pull-ups, fat grip, wide: 3 x 15 smooth. All sets were +45kg. Just three sets today but upped the reps to 15. Felt fantastic. Biceps barked by the end, but I don't care. Last set was pretty tough.

Incline bicep curl: 3 x 10 with 35 kilos on the skinny DBs. Everything felt great, but very hard. Last set I only got five reps with ten legit in the other two sets. Excellent. Decided not to drop or cheat and called it there.

Bench press, regular bar: 3 x 10. Kept the same weight as last time but got ten clean reps on all three sets. This was really tough, but I nutted out the last rep. Feel really good about all of this.

Standing calf: Straight sets of 50 reps.

8IUs insulin after and now need to get to eating.

Still struggling a little with some emotional junk -- that's the way life is. I've got it rather easy compared to most, so nothing I should complain about. I'll be glad when I start sleeping better, though. I'm pretty sure I know why I'm not, which gives me hope.

Long weekend ahead. Got an invitation from some crazy friends to go drinking, which at my age is a dangerous proposition -- sounds like fun. I'm sure someone will be dancing on a table before it ends...just hope it's not me or no one has a camera. Everyone stay safe.

Later.

Day 4 week 14

Humid, warm, cloudy day in Sandy Eggo. Good day to hit the rumpus room. For that matter, when's a bad day? Day 4, too -- squat day.

I was in a piss-poor mood all day, ready to hurt someone. Not sure why those things happen, but my inspiration is elsewhere this week. A long way away. So it's time to knuckle down and channel my energies into something that does me some good. My pain of choice is time under tension, from which I will either break or build. Thankfully, everyone in the office understood the choice I had to make and got out of the way as I left a little early. Love those guys.

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, eventually knee sleeves. I wore Ace briefs for the squatting. The last couple of weeks have been so slack, the Aces are a little easier to get into today. So be it. They would be tough to get out of at the end of the session.

I Spiked again. I love the rush, particularly coupled with a good snort of Tork. Makes me want to break something. Yeah, I said that last time and it's still applicable today. Kaboom. I torked a lot today, too.

I did a lot of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to it. My right shoulder was a little unhappy with the angles at first and I knew the squats were gonna kill, so I did my dynamic time like a good boy. For once.

All exercises were 3 sets of 5-7 with about 180s between.

Military press, seated, fat bar: 3 x 7 reps with last week's weight. I raised the seat to 90 degrees, maybe ten degrees more upright than usual. My right shoulder bitched for the warm-up and first set, so I backed the seat off about 5 degrees. This made all the difference. I cranked two sets of 7 with 75 kilos on the bar for about 210 pounds. Felt fantastic, if a little heavy at first. Warmed up to it. Snorted Tork and got five on the last set. Honestly, I feel good about this after the big layoff. I did three sets of polish work by doing standing flys with some chains on handles between sets of the next lift.

Seated french press: 3x7. Remembered to actually do frenchies today, thank goodness. Put 100-something pounds on the bar and cranked with a shoulder-width grip. These were great. My right elbow had to warm up to the idea, but there was no pain after all was said and done. Each set was tough, sevens for all three, and the last rep in each was a life-sucking bitch. Fantastic. So far so good.

Squat: 3 x 7 x 350 kg. Took the weight up and put a reverse green band on the bar. I did Anderson squats, starting the lift off the pins and dropping to touch each time to verify depth. I set the pins just below parallel to be sure and had at it. By this point the Spike was kicking big and I was hard on the Tork. Getting the weight off the pins was bitch tough, but this was awesome. By the end of the third set my quads were screaming, which was the desired effect. I managed not to destroy my back, not to do any sustained good mornings, to keep my ass back, and to get the weight moving. Great stuff.

Big congrats to Strongman Bob for doing so well in his comps over the last couple of weeks, particularly with so much life going on -- that life crap gets in the way of things that need to get done.

Feel great about this one, guys. I needed that, having gotten in something like three training days on the last two weeks. If I can sort this, the rest of life may not be such a big deal.

Have a great day.