Wednesday, June 30, 2010

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.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 3 week 14

Cloudy and a little rainy today -- same as last Day 3. Just cloudy, really, since no one else in America would call this rain. While my Mom and Dad are living in 90 degrees and thunderstorms, I'm here in 65 and cloudy. Whining like a pussboy.

Been a long time, guys. Work and life got in the way, or rather I let them get in the way. I hate that, as this is my mental adjustment time. Sorry, folks; I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again anytime soon. In the meantime, I had to admit to Shelby I've lost two hard-earned pounds. That just sucks. Idiot. Shelby being Shelby told me to get over it and back to work, so that's what I'm doing. I will do better.

Drama in my world rules, and yet none of it is horrible yet. Not sure why I let it own me except that my heart is involved. Gets tough to sack-up sometimes when the problems get too close. Speaking of which, everybody keep Strongman Bob in your thoughts and prayers. Man needs our good vibes sent his way.

Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. Gonna down ice cream and bananas the rest of the evening, damn it.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps today. Did almost no dynamic work to warm up, but did a lot of bar work. Just too pissed off to wait.

For that matter, really angry in the gym. Wanted to break something. The Chevelle, Deftones, and Drowning Pool probably didn't help anything but moving the weight. Yup.

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

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was back up to 45 degrees. Bar had 140 kg and I concentrated on a good scapular squeeze at each finish. Super-wide grip. Same as last time, felt great but a little heavy after a long lay-off. Squeezed hard and felt good about it.

Fly fat DB: 3 x 7 with 65 kg and ran them to positive failure. I did sets until I failed again, essentially rest-pause stylee, just like last time. Rep range was 18/14/10 for the three sets, which is a lot better than last time. I'm going to move it up next time and see what happens, same style. Liking this.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 7. I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 65 kilos loaded and did drag curls. These were fantastic actually, again. Need to go up on this one too, as I did 12 reps on the last set. Felt really good. Now that I'm not throwing a baseball 85 mph all the time, my elbows and biceps are feeling much better. Taking note, though I will go back to throwing. Just have to figure out how to without busting myself up.

Calf: 400# (180kg) on the SSB and doing standing sets of 12 on 2X4s, just like last time. Felt ok. Just wanted to get the reps and stretch in.

Scrapped abs today.

Waiting for the big revelation -- know it's coming, which is a bit like walking train tracks waiting for the train to show up. So long as it doesn't come up behind me.

Love you guys. Finish strong.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Day 2 week 14

Hot as stink today, though the day is lovely. I'm the space heater. Sweating like a pig even though the fan was on and I trained without shirt. Still hot.

Body weight stayed put this week because of crap going on. I just didn't eat like I was supposed to. Shelby's off at Juniors, so I've got a few days to gorge and put on one or two. I hope.

Spiked and ready, baby. Did the usual Results and Shelby mix.

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 by this.

JM Press with the fat bar: 110 kilos x 2 x 10, raised the weight 5 kilos per side and did one more set of 10. Felt solid, hit the triceps hard. Elbows were great, no stress elsewhere. Pleased by this too.

SSB box squat to parallel: 3 x 10. Set up a squat box at parallel, put 220 kilos on the SSB and pounded. Felt fantastic and sucked serious wind. Worked out some anger today too. Really pounded my quads, which I needed. By the time I was done, my loose briefs were pretty tight. Love that.

Been a tough week by any assessment. I'd say I'm getting too old for this, but honestly I'm only now getting to the point that I can handle it. Though bittersweet, I have no regrets -- can't say that about too much of my life, really. This next week is going to be absolutely brutal, so my training will be equally so. At this point, it's my primary ticket to mental health.

Hope Bob does great at his SM comp and everyone has a great weekend.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Day 1 week 14

Paid Shelby, so I'm still in the mix there.

I lost something today I didn't know I had. Feels weird to feel loss for something like that. Time under weight gives me the chance to set aside drama, however odd, and do some useful damage.

Drank the Results and Shelby mix as usual and got to it.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps and did a fair amount of dynamic work. Then warmed up with the bar and got on with it.

Pull-ups, fat grip, wide: 3 x 10 smooth. All sets were +45kg. Everything felt good, quick. I dragged the negatives to add difficulty. Working off some piss and vinegar today. Did four sets rather than three today.

Incline bicep curl: 3 x 10 with 30 kilos on the skinny DBs. Everything felt good, solid. Need to go up next time.

Bench press, regular bar: 3 x 10. Started with last week's high weight and kept it there. Pushed off two fulls sets of ten, got six clean on the last. Felt them all. This was good stuff today for whatever reason. Counting in my head, I think that was 150 kilos on the bar for the work sets. Good stuff.

Standing calf: Straight sets of 50 reps. Getting stronger here but still sporting toothpicks down low.

Sorry the chat has been so self-indulgent lately. Actually, the anger does great things under the bar. Afterward I just really want to sit down and be quiet, which I have to admit is a nice place to be. May have to hit some George Stagg 70 proof tonight to celebrate.

Have a nice evening.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 4 week 13

I owe Shelby money. Better pay up. Funny what you think of and when.

Shelby and I have gone back to tinkering. I've joined the ranks of genetic/metabolic freaks in his customer list. We're raising the calories yet again, adding more fats now. I'm getting less and less clean in my carb sources, rapidly moving toward eating whatever I feel like (within some sort of perverse reason) from which I can still derive the appropriate totals. And yet I never gain more than a pound a week. It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating. A bowl of cut up bananas with ice cream and chocolate sauce has become an evening friend. Maybe I should pour some stout over it...

Started with AtLarge Results and the Shelby mix, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, eventually knee sleeves. I wore Ace briefs for the squatting. These are starting to get tight in the thighs, adding credibility to my claim of recomposition rather than lard. Still lots of room in the belly, and I can see abs still.

I Spiked again. I love the rush, particularly coupled with a good snort of Tork. Makes me want to break something.

A fair amount of dynamic work and a lot of bar work to warm up before getting to 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 raised the seat to 90 degrees, maybe ten degrees more upright than usual. My right shoulder bitched for the warm-up and first set, but the rest went fine. Quite fine, really. I added weight after what I intended to be my first set and did an extra set, so four at comp weight. The last set was five reps and a soul-sucking bitch, which is what I'd asked for.

Seated french press: 3x7. I lost my mind and did bicep work instead. Just occurred to me that I spaced on doing what I intended to do. Oh well. Great biceps workout and pump, and did my extreme stretches afterward. Great work, felt great about it, now feel like an idiot. I need a training partner.

Squat
: 3 x 7 x 340 kg. Weight was up. I videotaped my warm-ups and they were butt ugly. I mean ugly. I could tell my groove was off but couldn't feel what the deal was, so I taped. Ugh. Depth sucked horribly, though knees were good. The whole warm-up set looked like some sort of perverse 700# good mornings, stopping at three-quarter depth and bending over. This yielded a couple of things:

- no one will ever see those warm-up vids
- my workout sets were much, much better
- I need to return to box squats for a little while, apparently

I added weight and put on a reverse old-style green strong band and concentrated on sitting back and down. I felt really good about them after all was said and done. Between being pissed at my crap form and the underlying message that my squats have been less productive than possible for who knows how long, I pounded out some great reps by the end. I'll see if I can't get the vids of the good ones up today.

Wife is a little under the weather today and the boy has a full day of stuff, so we'll see when I get everything done. In the meantime, had an awesome training session with my hot wife sunning mostly nekkid right outside the rumpus room. Lucky I didn't hurt myself.

Everyone have a great day.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 3 week 13

Started late today due to work and other motivational issues. It's been a tough week, I guess.

A little rainy today, actually. At least rainy by SD standards, which means spitting on occasion.

Started with AtLarge Results and the usual Shelby mix. Shelby wants to tinker more because I have the world's most bizarre metabolism. Nothing seems to make a difference...In&Out double-doubles, here I come... (or not)

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps today.

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

Rows: 3 sets x 7 reps. Bench incline was back up to 45 degrees. Bar had 140 kg and I concentrated on a good scapular squeeze at each finish. Super-wide grip. Pretty much the same as last time I did this, which was forever and a day ago. I need a cable row or Swiss bar. One of those is a lot more likely than the other.

Fly fat DB: 3 x 7 with 65 kg and ran them to positive failure. I did sets until I failed again, essentially rest-pause stylee. Rep range was 14/12/10 for the three sets. More mass on the fat dumbbells is tough to manage without db clips, so I keep going this route. I feel pretty blasted when done, but I want more. It's just a lot of weight on the dumbbell handles when I get over about 80 kilos. Color me chicken. So I keep doing this.

Fat rope drag curl: 3 x 7. I used the two-inch rope looped around the handle of one of my fat DBs with 65 kilos loaded and did drag curls. These were fantastic actually. I felt a lot better about the hit than the Scott curls, which worry me about ligaments, tendons, and elbows. I'll keep working these for a while and see what happens.

Calf: 400# (180kg) on the SSB and doing standing sets of 12 on 2X4s.

Not much chat today -- in a bit of a hurry because I started so late. I Spiked to stay awake, essentially, and am still cranked. I love Spike, particularly the orange flavor. Anyway, trying to get blogged before the wife gets home.

Have a great evening.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Day 2 week 13

Corrosion of Conformity still works. Aenema too -- the only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Every time I hear "Spit it out" from Slipknot and can't help but laugh. I'm sure my neighbors wonder what I'm up to when I start warbling along with the grind in my Shuffle. I can't find a way to care what they think -- they're all afraid of me anyway.

Spiked and ready, baby. Any more intense and I'll rupture something.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps for the upper work. 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.

Gironda swings: 3 sets of 10 reps with 35#. Raised the weight a little and held everything at the top. Felt great. Shoulders were solid.

Fat rope overhead triceps press: 3 sets of 10 reps with the pin loaded with a few 45s. I ran the 2-inch rope over my straight bar in the rack down to the pin. I set up the incline bench at about 60 degrees and pulled the rope overhead to press. Worked reasonably well, though the rope doesn't flow over the bar very smoothly. Did fine and pounded my triceps. Elbows were fine.

SSB hanging squat: 3 x 10. Did my funky SSB squat again leaning back, hanging from the rack. I used a Spud DL belt for stability and loose briefs. Feet were regular way-wide width and depth was close to my heels. I worked the SSB up to 200kg and banged out three sets of ten. Felt fantastic and sucked serious wind. Worked out some anger.

I did a few other things that were mostly icing on the cake -- just polish work. Didn't do any of my extreme stretches just because I didn't think of it. Big day, though, and feel really good about how it went. I needed this one too.

Great day, all. Stay safe and think before you open your pie-hole.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Day 1 week 13

Cranking the Deftones today, among others. I am barely contained violence today. Somehow I figured by the time I was pushing 50 I would no longer be living in a soap opera, but it turns out it isn't so. I'm just better prepared to deal with the bubbles, I guess. But when my play closes, will I hear, "Well done" or "What the hell was that?" My aggression is barely bottled, and the rumpus room is my welcoming outlet.

Spiked and Torked today, not that I needed it with all this self-indulgent crap.

Drank the Results and Shelby mix as usual and got to it.

Wore elbow sleeves and wrist wraps and did a fair amount of dynamic work. Then warmed up with the bar and got on with growling.

Pull-ups, fat grip, wide: 3 x 8 smooth. All sets were +45kg. Biceps and elbows were good -- no pain, no problem. The first set was quick and mean, the other two fairly deliberate.

Incline bicep curl: 3 x 10 with 30 kilos on the skinny DBs. Biceps felt fantastic. Maybe there's something to this deload and heal business.

Bench press, regular bar: 3 x 10. Took the weight up a few kilos on the first set (210kg) and dropped down to the same weight as last time for the last two sets. Gripped extra wide and took it slow, concentrating on depth and chest. Hard arching kicked off a back pump/spasm that just about made me scream, about halfway up my back in mid-arch. Wow. Had to foam-roll between sets to make it back to the bench.

Standing calf: SSB doggcrapp stylee with a bunch of weight, followed by three sets of 30 deep. Maybe someday I'll see my cutters again.

Worked hard and feel better. No huge gains, but I'm back in the room and will feel it. And everything worked without pain, which rocks.

Can't wait for next.