Tuesday, December 31, 2013

training 12.31.2013

Did work, though mostly vanity upper body stuff.  Still sore from the 28th.  I'm pretty fried from today, too, and expect to be very sore by Friday.

Hope everyone has a safe NYEve/Day.  Take care of yourselves.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

training 12.28.2013

Gorgeous day.

Had to give up the boy until the 2nd and my wife left town with pals until the 1st, so I'm on my own.  Not very happy about that, to be honest.

Moved equipment into the back yard and worked there.  Didn't feel like going to the Cavalcade of Stupid (not to be confused with the Cavalcade of Tacky, aka Ikea).  The dogs were amused watching me schlep stuff back and forth, particularly the weight one plate at a time.

1-arm barbell row: 3 warm-up sets, 4x10
Meadows rows, 3x15 heavy heavy -- was gasping
Chest-supported row, 3x10 with a big stretch at the bottom
DB pullover, 3x10
DB shrug, 3x10 with 3s flex
Hypers with bands, 3xfailure

Hammer curls, 4x10
EZ curls, 4x6 with 3s negative
Reverse EZ curl, 3x8, 1s flex
Standing DB curl with supinated grip, 3x8

Guess I should shave.  The last week has been an absolute carb-fest, so I will cold turkey in the next few days and go back to meat and veggies strictly.  Kinda looking forward to it, though cinnamon rolls and gingerbread cake has gone down mighty easily.

Bob, glad you're back.  Milda, glad you haven't lost your mind yet.  Or have you?

Thanks for checking in.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

training 12.18.2013

Low on motivation, but needed it between the ears.  Assault + Athletic Greens and got to it.

Dynamic shoulder work, elbow sleeves, neoprene wrist support.

DB press, flat, 2 warm-up sets, worked up to an 8RM.  Ran the rack.

Incline barbell press, work up to a 6rm -- feeling really strong right now for some reason.

Banded bench, 4x5 with a 1s rest/pause on the chest.

Machine fly, 2xfailure -- sets of 17 and 10 (aimed for 20 each, same weight for both)

Ultra-wide overhead press, 4x10: almost nothing on the bar, hands out at the collars, touch sternum.  These are really tough.

Machine rear delt, 15/12/10/8 with the same weight each.  Maybe a little too easy this time.

Destroyer set, rear delts with DBs: 60/30/10; no matter what the weight, that set of 60 reps is just brutal.  Shoulders are jelly by the end of these, and the last ten could be soup cans for all the weight I use.

Abs, x50 on the cable; too easy this time, but I was done

Time to plan the Christmas menu, though my lovely wife hasn't told me how many I'm cooking for yet.  I can only fit about 6 or 8 in this house, so I guess it's self-limiting.  Sweet.

Baked a bunch of malted chocolate chip cookies yesterday, which could have entirely ruined my diet for the next day or so.  Wife gave them all away in a cookie exchange today, so I was spared.  Funny, I don't feel spared; I feel a little cheated.  They were awesome.

Later.

Monday, December 16, 2013

training 12.16.2013

Christmas is in a week and two days.  If you're not winding down, you're about to spend a lot on shipping.

Lots of dynamic work, Assault + AG, and a resort of exercise order due to campers and wannabes.

Hammie curls, 5x10 -- grind them out

Squats, 6rm, Bulgarian split squats x5 between each set.  Sucked wind like a fat boy.  Lucky I didn't faint, actually.

Hack squat -- no way to do these today, so subbed quad curls heavy 3x8 at the end.

Heavy DB lunges, 3x10 with straps and really heavy DBs.  Got lots of looks with these for some reason, mostly by jealous old men.  Well, the old men part is true; the jealousy is the only reason I can imagine old men looking at me, since they usually spend every available minute they aren't doing micro-partials hitting on the attending college girls.  For the record, I'm old enough to be the cuties' dad, so these hacks are old enough to be their grandfathers.  That's plain wrong.

And I do mean micro-partials, frequently using machines in ways they were never designed to be used with a total ROM of about two degrees.  I am not kidding.  Maybe an inch of total movement, often in ways that guarantee injury at some point.  I'm sure they'll be shocked and earnestly tell their orthopod that they 'work out' all the time.

SLDL, 4x8 heavy

DB snatch, 3x10 just because. 

Going to double up each week on legs (read: quads), shoulders, and maybe some back.  Just a few extra sets here and there.

Have a nice Christmas, and everyone think nice thoughts for Milda, who just moved into an even smaller house.  One sympathizes, having done same recently.  Love you, hon.


Thursday, December 12, 2013

training 12.12.2013

12 shopping days until Christmas.  Wow.

Gorgeous, crisp day today.  Going to be near 80 on Sunday and Monday.

Assault + Athletic Greens to start.  No albuterol, nothing else.  Lots of warm-up work.

Machine press, pyramid up and 4x8 hard with hard flex at the top.  Couple of plates shy of the full deck now, and 8 was RPE=9 at least.

Incline barbell bench, work up to a 6rm, continuous tension -- much stronger on this today

Banded bench, 5x6 with 1s rest/pause at the bottom; constant tension, explosive press, flex at the top; used onyx pro monsters doubled, maybe 125# added at the top, maybe more

Dips, 2xfailure, deep, not quite locked out

Rear delt machine, 35/30/25/20; these are just brutal, 60s rest between

DB rear laterals, 3x20, heavy with some swing

Rainbow press, 3x10, fairly light -- getting pretty fried by now

DB side laterals, 3x10: only used 25s, I was so cooked.  Felt great, though.

Getting there.  Good to be back after being down for a few days.  Think I needed the break.

Nothing substantive on the job front.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

update

I'm under the weather, not dead, and will return soon.  Hope you are well.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

training 12.4.2013

Gorgeous, cool day.  A little windy, and a few clouds rolling by.  Despite a temp near 70, this is the kind of day that San Diegans walk around in shorts, flip-flops, and sweaters.  Drives me nuts.

Assault + Athletic Greens, dynamic shoulder work, and a little Albuterol.

Warm up sets are not reflected, as is usual.  Don't think anyone cares about that stuff.

DB press with slight elevation (plates under bench feet at the foot of the bench, so decline orientation), 4x8, working up to failing to get on the last set; almost ran the rack, which makes me happy; kept the negatives slow and always kept lats activated to protect my right shoulder.

Superset:
 - stretch pushups, 4xfailure
 - DB rear delt, 4x20

These were really tough.  I used the rear delt DBs for the extra ROM on the stretch pushups and elevated feet on the bench.  Really felt them in the chest this time.

Bench + bands, 5x5 with 1s rest/pause and squeeze at the top: pro 13/16 elitefts onyx monsters plus a lot of weight.  Felt great, though my chest was getting fried by now.

DB swing laterals, 3x25 with pathetic weights; getting tired, shoulders super-pumped, just cooked.

Dips, weighted, 2xfailure + band over/backs between sets: got 12 and 9 reps and was seriously done.

Machine rear delts, 25/20/15/10, 60s between + band over/backs; wow.

Abs x 50 with cable overhead

Called it.

Monday, December 2, 2013

training 12.2.2013

Assault + Athletic Greens, a little dynamic warm-up, a little Albuterol

SLDL, 4x10 + weight each set; went until I couldn't get 10, which was very heavy (4 wheels) and my hamstrings were screaming

Ham curls, 3x15 straight

Leg press, sets of 10 until I fail to get 10, narrow stance: put a crap-ton of weight on these.  Felt good, though it was a good thing I was sitting down

Squats, 3x6 with 3s negative, narrow stance, added weight every set: sucked wind hard on these, but got super-deep.  Felt good.  Almost passed out on the last set.  3 work sets, but lots of sets here.

Hack squats, narrow stance, 4x10, rest-pause first two sets and add weight every set: I was surprised I had anything left for these, but did okay.

Stumbled out of the gym.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

training 11.30.2013

Trained 3 days ago, so this will be abbreviated.

Gym was full of campers.  Did the best I could to be nice.

Flat DB press, 12/10/8/6 reps, adding weight each set, to 3/4 lock; right shoulder a little fussy, mostly from kick-ups

Incline barbell press, 5x5, 3/4 lock; got pretty heavy on this one; out of order due to a camper -- think I did it third, though protocol called for second

Bench, 3x15, no lock; out of order due to camper, but got heavy here too -- coming along

Pec minor dips, 2x failure with added weight -- harder than I thought, easy on my shoulder and AC joint, so I like them

Machine rear delt, 4x15; weight is coming up

45-degree side laterals, 4x15; light weight
Rainbow press, 3x10
Meadows Destroyer set: 60/30/10 reps with 50% drops each -- absolutely brutal

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

training 11.25.2013

Not much time this week, so no variability in the schedule.

Assault and Athletic Greens, dynamic warm up, and some weight work to get ready.

Hamstring curls: 14/12/10/8 reps; after the final 8, did 25 partial reps -- 4 work sets, one with 33 reps

Leg press with bands, close stance: worked up to 8 with doubled pro monster minis (13/16")

Leg extensions, 3x8 with 2s flex at the top: Sit toward the end of the seat, back off the pad, and maintain constant tension

Smith machine lunges, one leg at a time, 3x10, 60s rest: to say I was sucking wind after each set is an understatement

DB SLDL, 3x8 heavy

V-bar pushdowns, 15/12/9/6, 30s between

Dip machine, 3s negative, 5x8, 30s

Narrow pushups -- index finger tips touching, 3 x failure; got a lot more than I thought I would

Called it.

Friday, November 22, 2013

training 11.22.2013

Rainy day, with thunder even.  That's rare around here, and I miss it.

Tried MusclePharm Assault today instead of Ndure, added Athletic Greens, and went.

Meadows rows, worked up to a good weight for 10 and did 12/10/8/6 with it, concentrated on engaging the whole lat.

Partial pulldown, to top of the forehead, very wide grip, 4x8.  Well, as documented last time, there isn't enough weight in this gym to do these right, so I did them with a full stack and a 3s pause at the bottom, which was more like my nose.  I did 4 sets of 30 like that and thought I might not be able to get up.

Deadlift, conventional stance, work up to a triple.  Did really well with these for some reason.  Had no support on except a Spud DL belt.  Felt really good about it and pulled about 500#.  Garnered a few looks from the old farts and wannabes.

Deficit DL, 3x3, 2" deficit.  Just got them done.  Much less spectacular.

DB pullovers, 3x12 lying on a bench, lifted only so that the bottom of the DB was about forehead height.  Took the weight up again this week, which is good -- getting stronger.

Hypers with a band, 45 degree, 1xfailure with an elitefts Average band: got 21 and sucked wind.

Did some low cable rows, wide to narrow, in high rep sets until I couldn't do any more.

Did some Gironda swings with low weight until my delts were screaming, just because.

Left.

Very hungry in the gym today, and the place was packed with old farts and younger old farts.  Lots of camping today -- there were at least three farts taking up 3 machines to do circuits of ugliness.  Thankfully, they didn't want anything I needed, which was no surprise.

Bodyweight is still creeping up and body fat is slowly creeping downward.

Have a safe Friday.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

training 11.20.2013

Ndure, Athletic Greens, a little weight work to warm up.

Incline press on a machine: 15/12/10/8 rep sets with the same weight, pausing at the bottom for 1s and pressing up hard.  No full lockout.

Incline barbell press, rest paused, 4x6; also no full lockout -- maintain constant tension

Decline DB press, 3x10 with hard flex at the top -- right shoulder was a little unhappy, mostly from the kick-ups to get the weight up

Dips, 3xfailure, deep stretch and stop short of locking elbows; added 10 band over/backs between each set of dips

Machine rear delt: 30/25/20/15, 60s between sets + band over/backs; these are killer

DB side laterals, 4x20 -- miserably small weights by now, I did most of these with 25s

Ultra-wide grip military press, 4x10 with 60s between sets; last set was the bare bar, I was so blasted.

I also did a bunch of biceps work -- supine cross-body curls (4x10), EZ bar preachers (4x8, 3x neg), EZ bar curl (4x6, 3s neg), and reverse EZ bar curls (3x20, 1s hold at the top).  By the last set of reverse curls, I had nothing but the bar.  My arms were fried.

Raining today, a week from Thanksgiving.  Got to go shopping for groceries.

Thanks for checking in.

Monday, November 18, 2013

training 11.18.2013

Gorgeous day.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, a little dynamic work.

Hamstring curls, 4x10 + rep drop + drop set: okay, so I did 4 sets at a hard weight for 10 reps; after the 4th set, I did another set of 10 with the same weight + a set of 8 with the same weight + set of 8 with dropped weight + set of 8 with another weight drop.  So the 5th set was 34 reps and two weight drops.  And painful.

Leg press with bands, 3xAMRAP: with the same setup as last time, I added 90 pounds to the weight I did last time and did AMRAP.  This too was very tough.

Squats: worked up to a hard 10; increased weight and did 8; kept weight and did 6.  Thought I might pass out, but didn't.  All were with a 3s negative.

Hack: work up to a hard 10, did 2 sets; for the 3rd set, I did 10 reps + drop weight and 10 more + drop weight, move feet to bottom of the platform (narrow, frog-like) and 10 more.

SLDL, 3x12: nothing special or impressive -- legs were noodles by now.

Did 15 sets of triceps work and called it a day.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

training 11.16.2013

Forgot the usual elixirs ahead of time and went natural, so to speak.

1-arm barbell rows, 3x8 very heavy: kept the weight close to the ground using small plates, stood beside the bar like a suitcase carry, lifted one end to chest.  Concentrated on pulling with elbows and squeezing lats.  Worked up to RPE=10 and counted the previous 3 sets as my work sets.

Partial pulldown, 4x8, pull to nose height, very wide grip: unfortunately, I went to the little gym and they don't have a plate-loaded pulldown.  There was not enough weight on the stack, so I pulled the whole stack and added a 3s pause at the bottom, squeezing hard.  Still did sets of 8, and it was tough enough.  Repped out the final set.

Cable low-row w/ very wide grip, 4x10: squeezed the lats hard, pulled to bottom of sternum.

DB pullovers, 3x12: keep arms straight, pull only to top of forehead, work very slowly.  These are tough.  Beat my weight from last time.

Hypers with band, 3x failure: used a simple 45 degree and repped each set out.  These were very tough.

As usual, I was the youngest in the gym by about 20 years.  I was working hard, sweating hard in front of a fan; weak, pasty old fart walked in, unplugged my fan, and left.  Literally left the club.  What?  I was incredulous.  Never once looked at me.  I'm pretty hard to miss.

Politeness is dead in California, I'm convinced.  We're one minor disaster away from a complete failure of civility.

I'll be over here.  Thanks for checking in.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

training 11.14.2013

Gorgeous day, as usual.  Bluebird skies, mid 70s, very light breeze.  Sun feels particularly warm.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, band shoulder dynamic warm up.

Machine fly: 3x10 w-u sets to find work weight, 3x8 work sets right at the limit, squeezing hard for a 1s pause at full contraction on every rep.

Incline press, 5x8; just short of chest and no full lockout, maintained constant tension

DB bench: neutral grip, full depth, pause at the bottom to stretch, 3/4 lockout.  4x8  These were really tough, and my right shoulder wasn't happy, but I worked through them with a really tough weight.

Dips, 3xfailure with 3/4 reps (no lockout) + 10 over/backs each set with the pro monster mini

DB rear delt raises, 3x35.  These were brutal, horrible, very unkind.  I dropped weight each set because I had to.  Got all reps, but it was very ugly.  + 10 o/b bands each set

DB side laterals, 4x15 + 10 o/b bands each set.  Struggled with the bands by this point.

Cage presses, 9 reps/7/5/3 adding weight each set.  I was so gassed, these were pathetic.  Did them just for polish, because I had nothing left.

Off to eat.  Hope you're well.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

training 11.12.2013

Overcast, but warm.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, MGPM during.  No support during.  No real dynamic work to warm-up -- used warm up sets.

Seated hamstring curls: 2 warm-up sets.  15/12/9/6 reps, taking the weight up each set.  Each set was close to failure -- RPE of at least 9.

Leg press with bands: used black EFTS Pro monster minis, which are 13/16 of an inch.  Doubled them and threw on a lot of weight.  2 warm-up sets + 3x10.  Very hard.

Squats: 2 warm-up sets + 3x15 well below parallel.  Brutally hard, even with a little Albuterol, I was sucking wind very badly.  Feet just outside of shoulders with toes slightly out.

Leg extensions: 3x8 with all I could do.  Kick hard, squeeze for a second at the top.  Very tough.

SLDL: these were polish at this point.  3x10 working the stretch.  I was supposed to use a bar, but I used heavy DBs instead.

Crawled out.

I have to say, I smelled awful today.  I felt bad for all around me, am washing every stitch as I type, and scrubbed a bit harder than usual in the shower.  If you can smell yourself, act.

This session was due yesterday, but I had a house full of 14 year old boys who had Vets Day off.  Not about to leave the house to them.  I'm not stupid.

Off to eat a horse.  Love you guys.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

training 11.8.2013

Forgot to log this yesterday.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, creatine, a little warm up with the weight.

Meadows rows, heavy, 3x10 hard ones

Smith machine barbell row, rest/paused, 3x8 to upper abs

Narrow grip chins, 3xfailure.  Pathetic gym doesn't have a neutral grip chin station, so I made do

DB Pullovers, 3x12 hard ones

DB shrugs, 3x15

Did a polisher set of upper trap rows.

Feeling run down, almost flu-like.  May have to take a day or two off.  May not.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

training 11.6.2013

Gorgeous day.

Ndure, extra creatine, Athletic Greens, elbow wraps, wrist wraps, liquid grip, dynamic shoulder work.

The volume is still described as moderate and is starting to get a little intimidating for someone who has followed powerlifting protocols for years.  This is borderline Sheiko-esque.  I like it, but I worry that I'll be beaten to crap in a few weeks.  Might have to throw a deload in there somewhere.

Incline press: 3 warm-up sets to work sets of 10, 8, 6, and 6+drop weight for 6+drop for 6; 4 work sets, but the last set had 18 reps.  This was pretty tough for a starter even though I used my work weight for 12 reps from last week to start.

Incline barbell press, 4x6, no lockout: had to use the Smith Machine, as there is no rack in the smallest gym in the West.

Flat bench, wide grip (past the knurling), 3/4 rep off the chest, 3x15.  Wow, things were starting to get tough.

Stretch pushups off of DBs on end, full ROM deep, 3xfailure; first set had them too narrow and triceps died first; following sets I set up wider and hit the chest, got a few more reps.  Still only about 10 reps each -- getting gassed.  Did band over-and-backs x10 between each set, so 3 work sets plus 3 band sets.

Dumbbell read delt raises, 3x10 plus band O/Bs between.  Was using 45s and needed more weight.  Next time.  The O/Bs were starting to get tough by this point.

Machine overhead press, neutral grip, 4x12 plus O/Bs x10 between; flex hard at the top.  Dying about now.

Ultra-wide military barbell, 3x12, hands as far out as possible, lower as close to the chest as possible.  This ROM hurt my right shoulder just a little bit, though I think I let it glide forward a bit, which is a no-no.  If I limit ROM to just below the chin, no such trouble, but suddenly the reps are easy.  Barely used any weight at all -- these are just brutally hard.  I get the funniest look, big as I am and pumped up by this point, unable to do much of anything with these.

DB rear delt destroyers: these are a Meadows thing, and the name is apt.  Lie on an angled seat, face to the pad and do rear delt swings, 60 reps/drop 50% + 30 reps/drop 50% more and 10 reps.  So 100 reps with two drops by half.  Honestly, the last set was pink weight.

Did a pec cable-cross finisher and left.

Some guy flipped me off on the way home after he badly, blatantly cut me off.  If someone does something stupid and apologizes, I drop it immediately; if they flip me off (or act like it was my fault), I basically digest myself thinking of ways to make their lives miserable.  I need to lose that.  What worries me is that we have lost a sense of politeness as a society -- we seldom own our own faults and errors, even though these people have to know.  Or do they really feel so entitled that endangering other people is just part of being who they are?  I worry, particularly for guys like that when they run into someone who isn't as bound by a moral code or upbringing as I am.  Thanks Mom & Dad.

Thanks for taking the time.

Monday, November 4, 2013

training 11.4.2013

Cloudy day -- looks like rain.  Wish it would just open up and rain.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, not much else.  Knee sleeves and a Spud DL belt through most.

Leg curls on a hammie machine, 2 sets to warm up.

Leg curls, 3x15, single leg at a time.  These were harder than expected, for some reason.

Squats: 3 warm-ups sets pyramid up to a weight that would be hard for 8 reps, do 3x6 and add weight each set.  These were tough.  Got a lot of weight, but they were really hard.

Leg Press +bands (EliteFTS pro monster mini Onyx bands, 3x8 while beating last time's weight.  These were done out of sequence because there was a camper who sat on the LP for over an hour (!), reminding me once again why I hate commercial gyms.  And I went to the smaller gym at a non-peak hour to avoid that kind of crap.  Worse, he wasn't even using the machine the whole time, and there is no proper hack squat I could have used instead.  So I waited.  "Just two more sets (that'll take 35 minutes)"

Lunges on the Smith Machine, 2x10, all ten on each leg at a time.  There really isn't much the SM is good for, aside from hanging bands and towels.  This might be one of them, but I doubt it.  I did them all the way to the ground, knee touching, and it was easier on my trailing knee than usual, so I'll quit whining about the SM for now.

SLDL, full stretch, 2x15 with a ton of weight.  This was a finisher, so...

Since machine weight are pretty much meaningless, I don't post them.  If anyone cares (or even reads this besides Milda and Bob) I will record them for posterity.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

training 11.2.2013

End of week 2, arms and abs

Ndure, Athletic Greens, some dynamic work.

Warm-up with rope pushdowns 3x12 with about 80% of work weight

Superset:
 - rope pushdown, 4x12, hard squeeze at the bottom
 - dip machine, 15/12/9/6 increasing the weight -- this was really tough

Superset:
 - DB triceps extensions, 4x12 with fairly light DBs (45s, I think)  need to go up a little next time
 - over-head rope extensions, slightly bent over, big squeeze at full extension, 4x12

Some DB curls to warm up (2x10)

Superset:
 - Seated DB curls, 4x8, supine grip with wrist/hand back with 3s negatives
 - Machine preacher curls, hard flex at the top, 4x10  (really hard)

Superset:
 - reverse EZ bar curls, 4x15, practically nothing on the bar by this point
 - Hammer curls with 25s, 4x10, both hands at once -- brutally tough

Any old grandma could have taken me by the end.  Yeah, thrown in some gratuitous ab work.  And then vomit. 

Everything is tired and sore.  Taking my wife out for a date and will likely eat too much, which should be just enough.

Friday, November 1, 2013

training 11.1.2013

Back day

Gorgeous day.  Accidentally left my notebook at home, so I had to do the session by memory.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, creatine, dynamic work, occasional straps.

Meadows rows, 4x10 hard and heavy

Lat pulldown, regular front LPD/High-row, squeeze at the bottom, add weight each set and move from wide grip to narrow through the sets.  3x10

Cable low-row with single handles, squeezing hard at the bottom, 3x10

One-arm lat pull-down, supine grip using the cable stack, 3x8.  Did these seated, focused on the squeeze at the bottom.

Did a polisher set on one of the rowing machines.

Pretty toasty at this point.  In fact, everything is either sore or tired right now, and this is a low volume week.  I'm gonna die in a couple of weeks.

I'm due for arms and abs tomorrow.  Can't blow it off until Sunday, because Monday is leg day.  I need a day off before leg day, I think.  We'll see.

Have a nice Friday.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

training 10.30.2013

week 2, day 2 -- chest and shoulders

Elbow sleeves, Ndure + Athletic Greens and some extra creatine before.  Dynamic warm-up.

Incline press: 3 warm-up sets to pyramid up to a heavy weight, and then 4 sets of 12/10/8/6 reps, increasing the weight each set.  I like these.  Shoulders felt fine.

Decline DB press: 2x6 to pyramid up to work weight, 3x8 with deep stretch at the bottom and squeeze for a second at the top

Incline BB bench: 4x8, no pause and no lock; these were really hard and with a seriously small amount of weight.  Just gassed. 

In between each of the incline sets, I did 10 reps of over-and-back sets with a monster-mini, keeping the arms straight at all times.  So 4x10 at this point.

Machine side laterals: I was supposed to have assisted eccentric load on the first 8 reps of each set, but I work alone.  So I did 8 reps + another 8 reps with dropped weight + 10 over/backs with the band x4 work sets.  Brutal.

Machine rear delt work: 4x20, 90s between, + 10 reps of over/back band work between sets.  So 4 work sets and 4 band sets.

Rainbow presses, 2x12: I was so gassed at this point, all I could do was the bar.

Weight is up another pound.

Be safe tomorrow.


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

training 10.28.2013

Rainy, cool day.  Rather liked it.

NDure, Athletic Greens, a little dynamic work, etc.  Nothing but knee sleeves.

Hamstring curls on a machine: 3 warm-up sets of about 10 reps.  Each sets was 10 full reps + 10 partials out of the stretch, and 3 sets of that.

Squats: some dweeb was camping in the only squat rack the gym has doing something inane on a swiss ball, so I did leg press first.  Yes, I'm serious -- no gym is exempt from stupid.  He did occasionally squat, though he had the pussy pad on the bar and a 25 on each end.  Yes, he needed the manpon for 90-something pounds.  And he was there for a good 20 minutes doing whatever it was he thought he was doing, occasionally wiping with his pink towel.  I kid you not.  I'm sure he was supporting breast cancer something or other.

And before anyone lectures me about BRCA, I've lost family members to the cancer and assisted the scientist who first discovered the BRCA1 gene while she was doing the research.  This gym display had nothing to do with science.

Leg press with bands: 2 sets with low weight + bands and low reps to warm up.  3x8 with six wheels each side and the same doubled average bands from last time.  Kaboom.  Thought I'd vomit about now.

Curls: filling time while, well, you know.  Lots of sets of straight curls to hammer curls with 25# DBs at very high reps, staring at the floor the whole time to avoid being infected.

Squats: neo-super-maxi-zoondweebie (name the movie) had left the rack by now, so to the rack I went.  Worked up to a very tough 10, which was not as high as it should have been after the leg press.  Squatted wide and maintained form.  Weight was around 405, and no manpon was used -- I threw it across the room so that everyone could see how manly I am.  Okay, not really, but I did set it aside, even if I couldn't set aside my other issues.  Worked up to that 10, added weight and did 8, added weight and did 6.  3 work sets.  Dying about now.

Heavy DB lunge: used straps and 65s, did 2x10 one leg at a time.  Thought I might cry.  Seriously wondering if I was going to vomit.  Eyeballed the trashcan, which kept me from looking at my ugly mug in the mirror.  Didn't yack just yet.

DB SLDL with the same DBs, 2x20.  Might have wept.  Low back wasn't happy, and I kept an eye on depth in the mirror to stop once my hips stopped on the descent and low back started compensating.

Everything is sore, I'm seriously tired, and I like it.  Body weight is up about 4 pounds over the last two weeks and I am eating like a nutter.  Don't think I'm getting any fatter, so legs are the next most likely option.  I've ditched pretty much any diet plan outside of high protein and semi-paleo.  I'm just eating.  Still skipping breakfast, eating first meal around 10, sticking with about 3/4 pound of meat (or eggs) each meal, and only rice for carbs.  I have been known to hit the Halloween candy for a mini-bar from time to time, but haven't started crushing it yet.

Downed some Somatomax for sleep last night before bed.  Worked like it always does.  Slept super-hard.  When I take that stuff, I wonder if I'd wake for a fire.

Anyway, love you guys.  Really, I do, until you camp in my rack with pink towels and swiss balls and manpons...

Monday, October 28, 2013

training 10.26.2013

Back day

Started with Ndure and Athletic Greens and a bunch of Advil.  Warmed up with weight and some dynamic work.

DB Rows, worked up to heavy and then 3x8 with big stretch at the bottom
Meadows rows, 3x10 with a hard weight
DL off the floor, worked up with triples, did 10x1 with 10s rest between reps -- this was tough
Stretchers, 3x10 with a lot on the stack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hWBCW8V_U0&feature=share&list=PLA808445EA052D63A

Good day.  That gym is really hot, which is fine.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

training 10.24.2013

Gorgeous day today.  I would normally bask in it, but it's a leg day.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, some dynamic work, and a fair amount of bar work to warm up.  Knee sleeves for most.

Went to a different gym today, but went at noon and it's right across the street from a hospital.  Nevertheless, it wasn't bad and it has things the tiny place I went two days ago doesn't.  Nice to have options.  Plus it is no farther than the cavalcade of stupid I went to the past two weeks.  Good.

To it:

Barbell SLDL: 3 warm-up sets, continuous tension, work up to a good weight for 6 reps and do 3x6 with that weight.  Liked this, though felt odd doing them first.  Guess it's not that different than doing the GHR first before squatting.  Worked up to three wheels plus a little.

Leg press with bands:  I really don't like leg press machines just because they are hard on the lower back.  I will have to find either a different apparatus or tinker with the back angle until it is okay.  Each rep today, particularly if high-force, made my lower back tingle, which I assume to be a bad sign.  No lingering pain, but not the kind of thing I really like.  I used doubled average bands and a few wheels, concentrated on getting as deep as I could without lifting my back off the pad, and gutted them out.  I could hardly walk afterward, which is unusual for me on the LP.  The bands make life tough.

Hack squat: Couple of sets to warm up the knees, put the feet where I like them, and did a set with a good work weight that was rock bottom deep with a pause at the bottom of each rep.  Then did another set, followed immediately by two drop sets, both 8 reps.  Wow.  I didn't drop much weight -- maybe 5% -- and these clobbered me.  24 reps total, two work sets.

Step-ups, used a barbell over the shoulders, and made sure each rep got a good glute stretch.  Came down under control -- no ballistic steps, no ruptured Achilles tendons.  Did one leg at a time, 2x10.

Hamstring curls: used a machine (not sure which vendor), 2x25 with moderate weight, and stumbled out of the gym.

Great session, totally fried, expect soreness.  Wow, this was pretty tough and it is a low volume week.  Yikes.

Have a good week, all.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

training 10.22.2013

Partly cloudy, blustery, and a little cooler today.  Love this kind of weather.

I went by the gym on the 19th and 21st and couldn't even get close to it -- overflowing with stupid, so much so that the parking lot was beyond full.  People were parked in illegal spots, just to share in the stupid.  I guess I'm not that, well, stupid.

Went north back to the old hood to see if the microscopic 24hr Fatness there was a) any less full of stupid, and b) capable of sustaining one of my sessions.  I seemed to remember that they had a rack (they don't anymore), lots of dumbbells that are ALWAYS in the storage racks (bet it's the only commie gym in America that can make that boast), and a smattering of ways to inflict pain.  It'll do, at least for the most part.

I had downed Ndure and did a bunch of dynamic work for shoulders.  I had decided to mix it up a bit, particularly since I was venturing into this largely unknown space.  So today was a chest and shoulders day.

Incline Press: I did 3 warm-up sets of 10 to get up to a work weight and did 4 work sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps.  I wanted each to be close to failure, so heavy, and with a good stretch at the bottom.  Had to use a machine for this in this gym, which was fine.  I had a few reps left in the tank, but it was still pretty tough.

Incline DB press, very low angle: 2 sets of 6 to pyramid up to a heavy weight; then 2x8 at work weight, deep stretch at the bottom.  I was getting a little toasty at this point.

Bench press, 2x15 with relatively light weight, no pause and no lock -- touch chest, partial, 15 reps.  Ouch.

Meadows stretch pushups, 2 x failure: used DBs on end to stretch way deep, hardly got any reps at all on these, did ten banded over-and-backs after each set.  Wow.

Heavy side laterals, 4x8: used a weight that was right at my limit, requiring a little swing to get the weight going

Machine rear delts, 4 work sets: 30 reps on the first set, 120s rest, 25 reps, 120s, 20 reps, 120s, 15 reps; weight was fairly mild, and this was absolutely brutal

Wide grip barbell presses: technically this is military press, but the hands are way out at the bar ends, so it ends up being from just below the chin to the top of the head with light weight.  3 sets of 12 reps, right to failure.

My shoulders felt okay when I left, but now I'm having trouble doing simple things.  Just turning the steering wheel to drive out of the parking lot was difficult, and now I'm cooked.  I'm gonna be sore.  Can't wait for legs.

I think tomorrow is back.  I'll eat a ton tonight.  Yesterday was our anniversary, and I couldn't be any happier with that part of life.  Nothing new on the job front.

Thanks for checking in.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

training 10.17.2013

It's late and I'm tired, so this will be short.

Started with Ndure, a Monster, and dynamic work.  Wore loose briefs today for chuckles and old times' sake.

Hamstring curls on a machine, 3x a lot

DL, straight bar, sumo, 8RM: worked up to quite a bit, actually; I'll go back and figure out how much and report at some point

Superset:
 - lunges with DBs, 3x12, rather tough
 - modified dragon flags, 3x8, very tough

Rows of various types, still not to exhaustion.  The rowing machine choices suck, and the bars were taken for Pendlays.  Plus, my lower back was tired by this point, so a machine was okay with me.  No low-to-high to be found, so I spent most of my time on some Hoist mid machine.  Rather expensive machines to be so hokey, but it worked well enough.

Hope all are well.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

training 10.15.2013

Gorgeous, warm day.  The mornings are getting cooler, too, which is nice.

Started with Ndure and a Monster Ultra 0.  Wore elbow sleeves and did a fair amount of dynamic shoulder work.

I went mid-afternoon, too, in hopes of missing out on some of the crowd/stupid.  There was considerably less crowd and considerably less stupid -- the guys in there were serious types, with several legitimate gronks.  Felt a little better.

Trouble was, a walking stick was using the military press and all the racks were taken.  So I had to use machines today.  Oh, the horror.  Also, because of the crowds, supersets are nearly impossible anymore.  I do what I can, but adjustments are inevitable.

Military, 8RM + back off set, used a Hammer machine with a ton of weight, went until I failed at 4 reps and backed down to 8.  So I hit my 8RM twice.

Chins, neutral grip, no added weight

Hammer Iso-bench, rather little weight, 3x10 -- shoulders were starting to wear out

Cable face-pulls, 70-something off a stack, 3x12 with very strict form

Cross-body hammer curls, 3x10

Gironda swings with pink weight, 3x10   just wanted to hit the shoulders again, though they were toast by this point

Getting there.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

training 10.13.2013

Gorgeous, breezy, warm Fall day.

Week one, day three: upper reps

Started with Ndure and a Monster.  Dynamic shoulder work and some bar work, and wore sleeves for heat.

Military press, 2x8, 60s between.  Worked up and back down.

Superset, 60s:
 - Dips, no extra weight
 - Neutral chins

Dips usually aggravate my AC joint, but didn't today.  At least not yet noticeably.  Chins were neutral and narrow -- not a lot of options for neutral and wide.  None, in fact.

Gironda swings, very strict, with 25# DBs, 2 work sets with about 60s between

60-degree DB curl, 2x12 after working up to about 45#

Triceps pushdown, 2x15 with a little weight on a crappy cable stack

Did some extra sets of low fly chest work just for good measure.

The idiots were stinky today -- doesn't anyone wash their kit?  Gee whiz.  Soap and deo, boys.  And there were still a lot of them in there at 2:00 on a Sunday.  Thought maybe they would all be watching football or something equivalent.  As bad as several of them reeked, I'm shocked they don't have various rashes from unwashed clothing.  Maybe they do, and now they are sharing.  Didn't learn much from that raging case of jock itch you had in high school wrestling, huh?

Shoulders are pretty toasty.  Lower half is still pretty sore, too, so tomorrow's max upper day should be rather interesting.  Not sure what time I will try -- maybe 2:00 on a weekday won't be so bad.  We'll see.

In the meantime, I've had a headache for five days now, on and off.  Interestingly, it seems to go away when I'm straining in the weight room.  Maybe I'll just move there.  It has succeeded in making me about as unpleasant as I can be and not be disowned by all who know me (or at least have to live with me).

Hope all are having a good weekend.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

training 10.10.2013

Cloudy, blustery.  Actually rained most of yesterday -- wet for more than ten minutes is rather unlike SD.

Day two of week 1 -- back to the beginning.

Dynamic work, forgot my Ndure/B-Ala/creatine stuff, did some bar work, got to it.

Hamstring work, 2x a bunch on a machine, rest-paused, 60s between sets and several warm-up sets

Squat, 8RM + back off set, knee sleeves only.  Had a couple of college kid curlers pressing up on my rack.  They'd loaded up the bar with way, way too much weight, were using straps (for supine grip curls?), and helping each other rep out.  Only way they could get that much stupid through any range of motion.

Oh, yeah, and I lifted some weight too.  I did a couple of extra sets of lighter weight and worked on depth, because my 8RM set depth sucked badly.  Hams too tight, even after direct ham work.  And my weight was pathetic -- 400-something -- but I got it done and had a hard time walking afterward.

Superset, 60s:
 - DB lunges, 3x12 with a bunch of weight
 - Modified dragon flags, 2x8

I was sucking wind pretty badly throughout that superset.

Superset, 60s:
 - Kroc rows with a crap-ton of weight, focus on pulling from the elbow up, no jerking, squeeze at the top, 2x a lot
 - DB clean hi-pulls, same DBs, about ripped one nipple off, 2x10

Felt good, wore my sorry butt out, gonna be as sore in the lower half as I am in the upper.  If I can tolerate all the stupid floating around the gym, I should be okay.  Now to find a time of day that isn't packed with that same stupid...

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

training 10.8.2013

Warm, partly cloudy day.  Looked like rain this morning (as much as it ever does), but didn't come through.

I am moved, mostly out of boxes, and still can't get into the garage.  I re-upped with 24HR Fatness, despite all my better sense, just so I could return.  That and to remind myself why I hate commercial gyms.

Max upper day

Bench, comp grip, 8RM + back off set, 90s between sets: worked up to 185kg for 8 reps and did another set at that weight with a Slingshot for my back off set

Superset, 60s between:
 - neutral chins, 3xAMRAP, no added weight
 - DB press, 40kg DBs using 1.5 reps (half up, down, full up = 1 rep), 2x8

Superset, 60s:
 - Cable face pull, a bunch, 2x10
 - Cross-body hammer curl, very strict, 45# DB, 2x10

Added 3 sets of rows on a low-row machine just to hit my upper back some more.

Got lots of looks, feel very weak.  The place was full of wanna-bes, but I'm so weak I have nothing to say.

I'm going to start another blog full of worthless opinion.  I'll link to it here.  I'm sure you can't wait.  I'm also sure commercial gym stories will figure in.  I can't believe how busy the place was at 10-something -- doesn't anyone work?

Later.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

training 9.25.2013

Another gorgeous day here.

Ndure, Athletic Greens, fish oil, a little stretching, bar work to warm up.

GHR, 2x10 with weight
Split squats, 3x10 with heavy DBs
Superset:
 - reverse lunge with heavy DBs, 2x12
 - modified dragon flag, 2x8

Kroc rows with 60kg DBs, 2x10

All in all, fairly tough for a reps session.

No word on any perm jobs, and ACA is seriously and predictably reducing the likelihood for a lot of folks.  Thinking of moving back to the Southeast -- depends on who offers me a perm job first.  Contract work is ongoing.

I've spent $1k on my dogs this month for various things.  Aural hematoma, shots, etc.  Mostly preventative stuff, outside of the cannula in the ear.  Enough to make me think about insurance for them too, though it definitely isn't cheap.  I can't take hits like this, though, and two of them are over 11 now and the other is a bull in a china shop.  Just gonna get worse.

Hope you are all well.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

9.22.2013

Gorgeous day today.

I hesitate to call this training, because it was really just an effort to move.  Nothing is really set up, I'll probably have to return to commercial gyms, and I don't know where any of my straps or support are.

Started with Ndure, Athletic Greens, and some fish oil.

Bulgarian split squats, heavy DBs, 3x12

Flat DB fly/press, heavy fat DBs, 3x30

Superset:
 - clean high-pull, 3x8, moderate weight on a barbell
 - Pendlay rows, 3x8, same bar

Superset:
 - cross-body hammer curl, 3x10, fat DBs from earleir
 - fat DB curl, 3x10, no pause between hammers and these

I've lost 20 pounds in the last six weeks, likely about equal parts muscle and lard.  I had already started dropping carbs to drop lard, so maybe 60/40 lard/lean.  Whatever.  Going to fix the composition as soon as I'm back in earnest, which needs to be this week.  I hate commercial gyms, so my motivation is purely coming from feeling like shite and a desperate need for mental adjustment.  I just need to work to feel good about something, because the rest of my life is made up of dust and boxes.  No, the move isn't complete for me yet.

Hope you are doing well, both of you who read semi-regularly.  Glad to get a sweat on today.  Off to the farmer's market to buy some grass-fed meats.

Thanks, guys.

Friday, September 13, 2013

update

Okay, so I'm losing my mind from lack of training.  Still, an update:

The garage has one spot that is big enough to accommodate a full size rack, but it is at the transition point most garages have where the slope of the floor begins.  So I will have to find a temporary but stable way to level the floor if I am to use the rack.

I'm still in a sea of boxes, and the garage is always a natural dumping ground for boxes in search of a home.  I have sold or given away over 30% of all we have, and it is not enough.  This place has more square footage than the old place, but less of the footage is devoted to storage space.  Much less.

I'm not at all sure the garage is big enough, no matter whether I come up with a clever leveling method or not.  In the meantime, I am going to get serious about dumbbell and bodyweight work to try to retain whatever shreds of sanity I might have left.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

training 8.27.2013

Week 7, day 1 -- max upper

Hot, humid.  One day off -- this was yesterday's work, but I was interviewing all day.

Ndure, wrist support, MGPM during.  Dynamic shoulder work and bar work to get a sweat on.

Low incline press, 8RM + back-off set: worked up to 150kg on the bar and backed down 10kg.  Felt good, strong, and tight.

1-arm DB clean&press, 3x10: used a 50kg fat DB and my right shoulder did not like it.  Pushed through.

Superset, 60s between:
 - neutral grip ring pull-ups, 3x10
 - flat DB press, 3x10 with fat DBs and 50kg each, right shoulder barking deep in the joint capsule

Superset, 60s:
 - EZ curl, 3x10: added some db hammer curls as finishers with each set until exhausted
 - DB shrug, 2x12: did these, but I'm still sore from the high-pulls the other day

Right shoulder limited this session, unfortunately.  Not entirely sure why or what I did to aggravate it.

I think the interview went reasonably well, though my would-be boss was enigmatic.  The first several I talked with, I think I convinced them handily.  Sounds like a great opportunity, and I would be quite happy to get an offer.  Thinking about working up a 30/60/90 day plan to submit; figure it can't hurt.

Diet suffered yesterday.  Interviewing is exhausting, and there is no opportunity to stay hydrated.  Woke up this morning nominally dehydrated and feeling my right kidney.  Packing for the move has also suffered, so the next two days are going to be hectic.

Anyway, got to clean up, eat, and get to a meeting with my contract job at 1:30.  Later.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

training 8.25.2013

Week 6, day 4 -- lower reps

Gorgeous, humid day.  Lots to do today, so got to it.

Dynamic work to warm up.  Used straps on high-pulls; otherwise, no support.

Hurdle jumps, 5x3, 90s between; 24" hurdles, didn't always wait the 90s

Snatch-grip high-pulls, 4x8, 90s between: 70kg on the bar, waited all 90 each time.  These were tough today.

Superset, 60s:
 - L-sits, 4x15s
 - 1-leg DB RDL, 3x8, used 20 pound DBs

The L-sits are still tough.

Bulgarian split squats, 1x12 with a bunch of DB weight.  Could have done more sets, but welcome the respite.  Maybe next time.

Tomorrow is the big interview, so today is a mix of packing and studying/reviewing.

Diet is going well, though last night I went to a birthday party with authentic Mexican (I am 45 minutes from the border, after all) made by a bunch of delightful latinas.  And yeah, I slammed enchiladas and tacos and had a beer.  Felt great.

Keep soldiering on.  Thanks for checking in.

Friday, August 23, 2013

training 8.23.2013

week 6, day 3 -- upper reps

Warm morning.  Super busy, don't feel like I have enough time to do justice to anything, feel guilty anytime I take some time to goof off -- sound neurotic, don't I?  That's a laugh.

Lots of dynamic shoulder work and a fair amount of bar work to warm up.  Wrist support and elbow sleeves.  Ndure prior to.

1-arm 45-degree DB press, 3x10, 60s between: 50kg fat DBs, felt pretty good

Superset, 60s:
 - wide neutral grip chins, 3xAMRAP
 - DB military, 3x10: used 50kg fat DBs here too

Superset, 45s:
 - Hammer curls, strict form and slow, 3x12: 20kg skinny DBs
 - Pullover DB triceps extensions, 2x15, same DBs

Good day.

Wife and I started Athletic Greens a few days ago.  I'll let you know what I think.


Interview all day Monday up in OC, and I need to study up pretty badly.  I've got to get some time this weekend to myself to study.

Packing for the move has slowed to a crawl after a torrid start.  I will have to get a lot done today to feel good about it.  Got a Padres game tonight (Cubs) and a birthday party tomorrow night, so I've got to keep moving.

Hope you are all well.  Bob, thinking about you, brother.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

training 8.21.2013

week 6, day 2 -- max lower

Hot day.  Gorgeous, light breeze, lots to do.

Lots of dynamic work, Spud DL belt, elbow sleeves for Zerchers.

GHR, 2x10, 90s

Trap bar DL, 8RM, Back off set, 120s: beat last time, but not feeling studly
Zercher squats, 2x20, 180s: had a couple hundred pounds on the bar and used elbow sleeves to avoid sand in my shorts over the crook of my elbows screaming.  So call me a wuss.

Superset, 60s:
- t-bar rows, 3x10
- modified dragon flag, 2x8

No time to editorialize.  Move in 9 days, huge interview in 5.  I will likely lift most days between now and Monday to alleviate stress, though I really felt no pop today.  Just powered through.

Off to sweat over lunch.

Monday, August 19, 2013

training 8.19.2013

Week 6, day 1 -- max upper

Ndure, lots of dynamic work, some bar work, wrist support.  Monster Ultra in there somewhere.

Hot, humid for around here.

Military press, 2x8RM + back off set, 90s between: got 110kg, tried 120kg and only got 3 reps, backed down to 100kg for the BO set; no shoulder pain, and felt good about 200+ pounds in general; kept it slow and steady on descent

1-arm DB clean & Press, 2x8, 120s: 40kg fat DB, did much better this time

Superset, 60s between sets:
 - weighted neutral grip pull-ups, 3xAMRAP, got about 15 per set
 - Flat DB Press, 3x10, 60s: used auto-spot fat DBs with 50kg on them -- first was easy, last was very tough

EZ-Curl, 3x10, 90s: probably should do more direct biceps work, but laid off this time because of the pull-ups and because my arms were feeling it.  Reps days or off days, I'll start with shoulder and biceps work, I think.

Big interview is on the 26th, all day, up in Cerritos.  Should be interesting.

We move a couple of miles closer to the boy's school on the 31st, and I'm already living in a sea of boxes.  Piles up fast.

Take care, guys.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

training 8.17.2013

Week 5, day 3 -- upper reps

Got my weeks wrong last time.  Week out was deload week 4.

Sore as stink right now, so getting back in was going to feel good.  Hot day here today, at least for here.

Ndure, dynamic work (a lot of shoulder work), and some bar work to warm up.  Wrist support only.

1-arm 45-degree DB press, 3x10: 40kg DB, these were tough.  60 seconds between sets

Superset:
 - wide neutral grip weighted chins, 2xAMRAP, 60s: got 15 and 12
 - DB Military press, 2x8, 60s: did these 1-arm with the 80kg fat DB I used above

Superset:
 - Hammer curl, 2x10, 45s
 - pullover DB tri extension, 2x15, 45s

Used 20kg fat DBs for the last superset, and that was plenty.

Packing for the move week after next, trying to get work done and hold the family together.  Got a dog with skin trouble (keeps rubbing his face on the rug until it bleeds; gave him prednisone, which helped a lot but is hard on his stomach, etc.), working on getting a job while giving my contract value, and trying to find a big perm job.  Made a huge fubar this week when I accidentally copied my would-be boss on a forwarded political piece; thankfully I didn't comment, so my intent remained unclear, but it was just plain stupid.  We'll see what she thinks on the 26th when I wander up to Cerritos for a full-day grilling.

Hang tough, all.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

training 8.15.2013

week 3, day 2 -- max lower

Gorgeous day.

Ndure, knee sleeves, Spud DL belt, dynamic work and bar work.

GHR, 2x10, 90s, a bunch of added weight at the chest
Squat, 8RM + back-off set, 120s between; weight was up significantly from last time
Front squat, 1x20, 120s after; used the SSB reversed so the pad was on my shoulders and clavicles, which I really like; lots of weight, but it was my wind that suffered.

While on the subject of sucking wind, it surprised me to be so badly out of wind.  I can't tell you how many dozens of miles I hiked last week at 12000 feet -- you'd think I would have an easier time for a few days.  Wasn't to be, as I saw stars and worried about what I'd hit on the way down.  Oh well.

Superset:
 - meadows t-bar row, 2x10 with lots of weight
 - dragon flags, 2x8 -- gotta admit, I like these a lot

Moving in two weeks, packing madly until then.  Contract job is suffering while I pack, etc.  Interview with the big corpo concern is likely to be the week of the 2nd.  A lot has to happen between now and then, and it's a mad rush.  Last thing I'll dismantle and pack is the iron, though.

I bought Athletic Greens and will report once they arrive and I start to use.  All reviews and personal anecdotes suggest it will be worth it.  Going to make some significant dietary adjustments, too, which I will report on in some detail; I've decided to lean out to single digits, so we'll see what happens.  I suspect it'll be relatively easy, actually.  We will find out.

Hold fast, guys.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

training 8.13.2013

week 3, day 1 -- max upper

I'm back.  Wyoming was terrific.

Ndure, elbow sleeves, wrist support, lots of dynamic shoulder work, plenty of bar work.

2-board, work up to 8RM, did the weight twice with about 2 minutes between

1-arm DB clean and press, 1x8 with a really heavy fat DB

Superset, 60s between:
 - pull-ups, neutral grip, 3xAMRAP
 - DB press, did these 1-arm with the heavy DB used earlier, 2x8 each arm

EZ curl bar biceps curls, 2x10 with enough weight I thought my arms might fall off

Moving in three weeks, so the unbundling has begun; Amvets comes for the first load tomorrow.  Packing has begun.

Working the contract job and no word from the big corpo job interview yet, which is both surprising and unsettling.

Later.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

training 7.30.2013

Week 3, day 1 -- max upper

Gorgeous day today.  Breezy and very warm.

Ndure, lots of dynamic work, a fair amount of bar work, and wrist support.  MGPM during.

Low incline press, 2x8RM + back-off set: got better as it got heavier; very happy with outcome

Superset:
 - neutral chins, 4xAMRAP
 - JM Press, 3x8 (supposed to be floor press, but elbows and shoulders suggested a substitute)

Superset:
 - Face pulls, 3x10
 - Cross-body hammer curl, 3x10 (left hand was really tough for some reason)

DB shrugs, 2x12

Signed a contract for a house last night and all went smoothly.  Contract work (the try/buy thing) is continuing apace and going well, I think. 

Had a second phone screen with the really big healthcare company today -- this time with the hiring manager (Sr. VP of the division).  She only had 15 minutes, so it could have gone poorly, but instead it was outstanding.  Nailed it, and she told me on the spot to expect to come in for the full wringer when I get back from Wyoming.

So, off to my first vacation in probably 7 years, and maybe the first ever alone with my wife for more than a weekend.  Amazing.  Can't wait to show her this place.  Off with a contract job, a potentially complicating interview, and a place to live.  Whew.  Now to pay down some recent debt and get things done.

Oh, and my accountant tells me I'm actually getting a big refund from our 2012 taxes.  Unbelievable.  Something bad about to happen?

Saturday, July 27, 2013

training 7.27.2013

Week 2, day 4 -- lower reps

Ndure, dynamic work, no support aside from chalk.

Not feeling terribly inspired today.  Still humid, overcast.  Got a good sweat on quickly.

Box jump, 4x3: still using a 24" box to land on, starting sitting on a 5 gallon bucket turned upside-down; time to start jacking up the landing box

Superset, 60s between:
 - Barbell hip thrust, 3x12 with a lot of weight   been taking one of my squat suits and doubling it over in my lap to lessen bar cut on my hips; works pretty well, actually
 - L-sits, 3x20s

Superset, 60s:
 - clean grip high-pull, 3x8, hands out at the collars    need more weight on these
 - 1-leg box squat, 2x10

My arms are short, I've decided.  Watching folks about my size set up a clean grip, it's apparent that my arms are short.  That and the fact that my tailor didn't believe me when I told him I had a neck as big as mine but needed arms as short as I do.  Nothing I can do about that.

Farmers walk, 2x20s, 90s between, lots and lots of weight.  Thinking about doing these with stones, though I understand wanted bilateral work.  We'll see.

Got some back spasm just inside my right scap from yesterday, but it didn't bother me in the weight room.  Didn't help my sleep last night, but should be okay after some more work with a lacrosse ball.

This time next week I will be at 13000 feet in Wyoming.  Can't wait.

Friday, July 26, 2013

training 7.26.2013

Week 2, day 3 -- upper reps

Cool, overcast day.  Humid and a little rainy, but cool.

Ndure, MGPM during, lots of dynamic shoulder and elbow work, elbow sleeves and Spud velcro wrist support.

Superset, 60s between:
 - DB military, 3x10 very heavy with fat DBs
 - Neutral grip chins, 3xAMRAP, weighted (15/15/8)

Superset, 60s:
 - Dips, 3x10
 - 45 degree lateral raises, 3x12

Dips usually cause me AC joint trouble, but not today.  No telling why.  Right elbow crunched a lot, but they went okay.  I have always liked dips and can do them with a lot of weight around neck and waist, but the AC trouble has generally kept me away from them.

Superset, 45s:
 - 60 degree DB curl, heavy fat DBs, 3x12
 - Band triceps pushdown, 3x15, average band with 2s pause-hold at full extension

Felt good, though I'm dragging a bit.  Need to eat -- didn't eat much yesterday, which is costing me today, I think.

Got the house, as I mentioned yesterday, so I have a little less than a month to get my act together, get us moved, and get this old place cleaned up and put together.  What fun.

Have a nice weekend.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

training 7.25.2013

Week 2, day 2 -- max lower

Hot, humid for around here.  I like it.

Ndure, Monster green tea rehab (not bad), dynamic and bar work until sweating hard.  Fan on.

GHR, 2x10 +weight, 60s between

Trap bar DL, 8RM and a back-off set: not unhappy with it, though an 8RM leaves a lot of weight on the tree; so be it

Superset:
 - Lunge with the loaded SSB in Zercher hold, 3x12
 - Dragon flags, 3x8  -- these are really tough for me, I have to admit

Meadows rows with barbell loaded, 3x10 each arm

Was s'posed to do this session yesterday, but didn't have it in me.  Hung out with the boy and one of his buddies instead.  Will get back on schedule tomorrow, sore or not.

We got a house.  What a relief.  Now for the job...

Thanks for checking in, guys.

Monday, July 22, 2013

training 7.22.2013

Week 2, day 1 -- max upper

Hot, humid.  Ndure, lots of dynamic work, lots of bar work to warm up.  Elbow sleeves and Spud velcro wrist support.

Military press, 2x8RM, back off the 2nd set: didn't set the world on fire, but felt good and no shoulder trouble.

Superset, 60s rest between each:
 - Chins, wide grip, weighted, 3xAMRAP: 18, 16, 6 reps
 - DB floor press, 3x10: went too light, but felt fine too

Superset, 60s:
 - Face pulls, 3x12: felt great, big scap hold at finish
 - Cross-body hammer curl, 2x10

Sweating like a pig and quite stressed out.  So be it.  Got a lot to do and little time to do it, which means I'm pretty much like everyone else.

Preso tomorrow, working on closing the housing question, follow-up call with the hiring manager for the big corpo job.  We'll see.

Hang tough, all.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

training 7.21.2013

Week 1, day 4 -- lower repetition

Hot, humid for around here.  Sweating hard.

Ndure, dynamic work, no support gear.

Box jump, 3x5 from sit, 60s between

Superset:
 - Hip thrust, barbell with a lot of weight, 2x12
 - L-sits, 2x20s

Superset:
 - Clean grip high-pull, grips out at the collar, no straps, lots of weight, to just under the clavicles
 - Single-leg box squat, 2x10

Farmer's walks, 2x20

With only 60s between sets, this one burns through fast.  Took under an hour even with warm-up sets.

Off to look at a house at 4:00 -- I'm hopeful.

The try/buy contract job has begun, at least into the testing stage.  I have to make a preso on Tuesday morning that will likely determine if I make it to the next test.  In the meantime, the phone screen I had a couple of Fridays ago went well enough that I've gotten a call-back for a phone screen with the hiring manager, scheduled for the 29th.  So things are progressing on a couple of fronts.  Not fast enough for comfort, but progressing.

Hang tough.  Thanks.

Friday, July 19, 2013

training 7.19.2013

Week 1, day 3 -- upper rep work

TN Ndure + a little Craze, a whole lot of dynamic work, and a little bar work.  Wrist compression was my only support.

Superset:
 - DB military, 2x a bunch, 60s
 - Chins, wide grip, 2xAMRAP, 60s

Superset:
 - JM Press, 2x a lot, 60s: about 100# or so; supposed to be dips, but they kill my AC joint, so no
 - 45-degree lateral raises, 2x12 each hand: these still hurt, so I kept the weight low and did extra reps

Superset:
 - 60-degree seated DB curls, 2x12, 45s
 - Band pushdown, 2x15, 45s: did a lot more than 15 each set with Average bands until my triceps were done

Got a serious pump today -- look halfway studly for a few minutes.

No real traction on a new place to live yet.  I have a 4-hour meeting this afternoon to start a try-before-you-buy contract with a small local company, all of which is billable.  So at least the job has a little light at the end of the tunnel, if only a little.

Hang tough, people.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

training 7.17.2013

Week 1, day 2 -- max lower

Warm, humid day today.  Dynamic work, bar work, B-Ala/creatine, MGPM during.  No support gear.

GHR, 2x10, 90s between
Squat, Olympic/narrow, work up to 8RM and do another back-off set: hit 110kg on the bar and dropped 10kg for the last set.

DB Lunge walking, 2x12, 60s between superset with
Dragon flags, 2x8, 60s between

1-arm DB row with very heavy fat DBs

Sweating like a pig. 

Still hunting a job, though some things are developing that may be promising.  In other news, our landlord (yes, we rent -- long story) needs her house back for her ill father, so we're moving.  Wish we were moving to the other side of the country, but it isn't to be.  Now to find a place that will accept dogs.  I have 60 days.

My middle name is now Stress.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

training 7.16.2013

week 1, day 1 -- max effort upper

Hot day and lots going on.

B-Ala/creatine, Monster, water during.  A little dynamic work and a fair amount of bar work.

2-board press, 8RM + back-off set, 90s between: worked up to my most recent 2-board 85% effort and gutted out 8 reps

Superset:
 - chins, wide, 3xAMRAP
 - DB floor press, 2x8    these hurt my right shoulder

Superset:
 - Face pulls
 - Cross-body hammer curl

Love the face pulls. I need to find something to replace the DB floor press, because nothing I do seems to ameliorate the trouble with my shoulders.

Got a call this afternoon that might produce work, which I seriously need to happen.  No word from last week's phone screen, but I don't expect to hear anything for a while.  Big companies take forever.

Got a vacation in Wyoming that I can't afford but badly need in two weeks. 

Hang tough, all.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

training 7.13.2013

Warm, humid, overcast day.

B-ala/creatine mix before, MG's Powdered Muscle during.  Love that stuff.

Dynamic work to warm up.  Dripping almost immediately.

Box jumps to 24" box from seated, 3x3, 60s between each set

Barbell hip thrusts with 110kg on the bar, 2x12, superset with
Abs 2x20 on GHR; these were supposed to be L-sits for 20 seconds, but I couldn't do even one

Clean-grip high pull, 3x8, about 50kg on the bar, 60s, superset with
Single-leg box squats, 2x10, 60s between

Sucking wind badly by this point.

Farmers carry, 2" fat handles with  150# or so on each hand, 90s between, 2x30s

Thought I might vomit after the first farmers, even as brief as they were.  This whole session was humbling and eye opening.  But, all this and the hill sprints I'm doing are because I'm tired of the extra lubs of jiggle I'm carrying around my middle.  We'll see what happens.

Now to get to work on being able to l-sit.  Nuts.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, July 12, 2013

training 7.12.2013

Warm day today. 

B-Ala/creatine mix, no support gear at all, dynamic work and bar work to warm up.

Did an old DC-style, rest-paused workout to fill in.  I put in 25 weeks of Cube and made solid gains all around despite getting sick and passing another (several) kidney stones.  I feel like mixing it up, and I have a new 90-day program set out to start Monday.  So I did something different for today and will continue it until Monday.

Ten-count breathing between sets, three sets, numbers/numbers/numbers are reps completed of the prescribed movement.

Biceps curls, 20 reps with moderate weight (15kg) on regular DBs: 20/20/20
Hammer curls for forearms, 15 reps with same weight: 15/7/7
Extreme stretches for 45s hold

Calves, 2x12, full stretch at the bottom held for 20s each rep -- these are brutal
Hams, 15 reps on the GHR with weight: 15/15/12 -- had a hard time getting off the machine
Squat, 20 reps Olympic, 110kg on the bar: 20/20/18

Extreme stretches for 45s on the hams and quads

I sold my motorcycle.  That's the end of an era.  Makes me a little sad.  I still have all my racing kit, several helmets I can't sell, several sets of leathers, pictures, trophies, etc.  And yet, I won't be doing anything more along those lines, at least not until I buy another one, which is likely to be a long time.  Won't be a cruiser, no matter what (famous last words).

My telephone screen this morning went very well, I think.  I felt great about it, though it's the first of many long steps.  We'll see.  Still no word from the other two I thought would produce contract gigs.

Got a letter from the EDD; my former employer told them I quit because I was unhappy with my wages, which is patently untrue.  As a result, they disqualified me and want me to return the $450 they paid me already, plus penalties.  Where I was incredibly pissed last time, now I'm just saddened by it.  At this point, I really just want that chapter to end.  An appeal is possible, and I will have to consider the consequences of the appeal and it's possible failure.  We'll see.  Here's hoping I land a job soon and don't have to worry about it.

Life goes on.  Thanks for checking in.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

training 7.10.2013

Cube, week 8, day 2 -- bench for reps

Overcast and humid today.

B-Ala/creatine, dynamic work, a little bar work.  Was sweating pretty hard pretty quickly.

Competition bench, 5x1 @90%: this was really, really hard.  I used 90% of my 1-board from the other day and it simply kicked my butt.  Not sure why, but it wasn't flowing today.

1-arm landmine shoulder press, 4x15: in lieu of military press, mostly because I was a little concerned about my shoulders after the comp bench.  They aren't happy.

Chins, wide, 4x20: some with added weight, some not

JM press x100

I'm quitting carbs that aren't within 3 hours of training.  It's meant that the last couple of days have been underfeeds with virtually no carbs that weren't peri- or immediately post-workout.  I suspect that might have something to do with why my comp bench was so difficult.  I'm a little afraid muscling it up did ugly things to my shoulders, because neither one is very happy with me right now.

Got a phone screen Friday with a major company for a high-end exec job.  I'm hopeful.  I will spend tomorrow working on answers and reviewing experience.

Also, despite overwhelming evidence that Zimmerman should never have been brought to trial, plenty of idiots nationwide are calling for rioting over the impending, obvious verdict.  Overwhelming evidence.  If you don't see it that way, feel free to contact me for a chat to review the facts -- not supposition about motives, but facts.  Several people should go to jail over this misuse of the criminal justice system, but none of them are named Zimmerman.  Point being, watch yourself, because unpleasantness is certain to ensue.

Thanks for checking.  Hold fast, all.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

training 7.9.2913

Cube, week 8, day 1 -- deads for speed

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic work, loose briefs, shin sleeves, Spud DL belt

Hot day today, so lots of sweating early.  I missed yesterday dealing with things, so today was makeup.

DL, 8x1 @65%: this was too easy
DL from 4" block, 2x8 @75%: this was decidedly not easy
Paused DL, 3x6 @40%, 3-count: this also was too easy, even after the 4"
Shrugs, 2x20, used the same bar as my paused DL -- very, very tough; probably should have dropped weight a little
Lat pulldown, 4x15: just got them done.

Not even listing weights today because I'm lazy.  Talk with the EDD yesterday was like being deposed -- very sterile, just the facts.  With any luck, it won't matter by the time they make a judgment -- maybe I'll just have a job.  I hope.

Got a callback from a very large company about a big-time position, but it's in Cerritos.  That's okay, I will gladly commute for the right position.  It's just a train ride to Anaheim.  Just a screen interview for now, but it's nice to hear from someone.

No word yet from my two local leads.  I have hope for them too.  In the meantime, I sold the motorcycle and have listed the Blazer.  Anyone wants a 1975 Blazer K5, I'll send you the listing to take a look at.  The thing is awesome, and I hate to sell it, but I'd feel better if I did.

Enough chat.  Have a great day, guys.

Friday, July 5, 2013

training 7.5.2013

Cube, week 7, day 3 -- squat for speed

Hot day here today, made hotter by my attitude.

B-Ala/creatine, dynamic work, foam rolling, bar work to get sweating.  Turned on the fan after I was dripping.  Loose briefs for squats and reverse band, raw for the rest.

Squat, 6x3 @80%: these were pretty easy, at 80% of 6/21 max

Reverse band squat, 1x2 @95% of same max: again, pretty easy

Olympic squats, paused, low as possible, 5x5

Zercher squats, 3x20 with as much as I could load and still get 20 (will update with weight used)

Light GMs, 3x12

Stiff-leg DB DL, 3x15

Got a letter from the EDD asking me why I quit my job, which tells me my former boss lied to them.  I can't tell you how much this pisses me off, for several reasons.  Made it hard to train, I am so angry (and therefore distracted), which is also why this post is lacking some essentials.  I'll come back to them.

Have a nice weekend.  I'll be sifting through old emails if you need me.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

training 7.3.2013

Cube, week 7, day 2 -- bench max

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic band work, weight work until a good sweat was on.  Then turned on the fan.  Hot day (for here), though gorgeous.

1-board, work up: crested 250kg, think it might have been a 1-bd PR -- I will check later.  Felt great, and quickly worked up past my recent 1-rep maxes.  No shoulder pain.

Close-grip, 3x3 @80%: this really hurt my right shoulder.  Something about narrow grip just kills.  I got three sets by really working to keep my elbow in close.  Not happy about it after the 1-bd.

Chins + weight, 3x15: added several big wheels -- wide grip chin strength is as good as ever

JM Press, 4x15, 50kg on a curl bar: went fine, though was paranoid about my shoulder -- grip is narrow here, but not as pronated due to the curling bar.

DB Military: skipped them due to the shoulder

Shrugs, 4x15, used the curling bar and supersetted these with the JM presses.  Paused at the top.

Abs.

I'll go back in tomorrow and do some shoulder and ab work.

Off to eat.  Later.


Monday, July 1, 2013

training 7.1.2013

Cube, week 7, day 1 -- DL for reps

B-Ala/creatine mix and a Monster Ultra 0, briefs, Spud DL belt.

DL, 5x3 @80%: did 80% of my 2" block max from a week or so ago, and it was actually pretty easy.  Pulled sumo.  Feel really, really good about this.

4" block pull, snatch grip with straps, 2x15 @65%: tried 65% of the 2" max and knew I'd fail if going for 15; I got maybe 8 out and decided to back it down a little.  Dropped to 65% of my floor max and felt great, actually -- I wonder if I hadn't blown my setup earlier, actually.  It was still tough, though.

Olympic squats, 3x12 with a lot of weight on the bar.  Left knee barked a lot, likely from an early alignment problem; I may have fixed the alignment, but the knee was already unhappy.  Soldiered through.

GHR, 4x10, no added weight.  Love these.  Hips and glutes have always been strong, and it's feeling good to bring up my hammies.

Back raises, 30 degrees, x30, no added weight.  Getting tired by now, so just used them as a polisher.

Feel really good about today in general.  My loose briefs are not so loose anymore, so I'm going to have to dig out a bigger pair.  I have one pair that is even larger, though I think they are single-ply, which is fine.  I like the support -- more a security blanket than anything else.

Took the boys out for pizza and ate too much, which makes me happy.  Now I need a nap.

Later.  Thanks for checking in.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

training 6.30.2013

Bodybuilding day

B-Ala/creatine, dynamic work, a little bar work to warm up.  Elbow sleeves (loose), Spud wrist.

Warm day again today.  Had a plan to do shoulders and curls, but only hit the shoulders.

Incline, 5x20 reps, heavy, seat at about 50 degrees

Rear delt fly, 5x60 reps (yes, 60) with 20# DBs, thought I might vomit

Meadows shoulder swings, 35# DBs x 3x35 reps -- was pretty sure of it by this point

6-ways for shoulders with 10# plates.  Brutal.

Was quite totally fried, so I called it.  I'll do some extra tomorrow, maybe.

Thanks.

Friday, June 28, 2013

training 6.28.2013

Cube, week 6, day 3 -- squat for reps

Hot day today -- been warm lately.  Humid for around here, too.

B-Ala/creatine, Monster Abs0, some dynamic work, a little bar work.  Loose briefs, knee sleeves, belt.

Squat, 6x2 @85% of max: not bad, easy out of the hole, a little soft at the top

Pause squats, 3 count, 3x10 @65: these were very tough; at this point 3x10 would be bad enough @65%, but a 3-count pause about killed me

Lunges, 3x15 + weight: used chains, left knee sharply hurt occasionally when it was the hind foot, which is odd.  Must have put it in an odd angle, because I lunge super-deep and put all the weight on the front leg.  Whatever.

Olympic squats, 1x50 with 155#, no stops and no pauses, no gear, ATAnkles

Abs, 3x25

Body weight is up nicely, though I jiggle a little more than I want to.  Easily fixed.  Pretty pleased with how things are developing.

I stink.  Off to clean up and eat.  Have a safe weekend, all.

Btw, no job yet and the boys lost Wednesday, so my baseball coaching career is likely over for good now.  I think I'm okay with the latter, at least for now.  The former is definitely not okay.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

training 6.26.2013

Cube, week 6, day 2 -- bench for speed

Warm day today -- quite humid.  B-Ala/creatine mix to start, along with dynamic work and a slow progression with the bar.

Loose elbow sleeves, Spud velcro wrist.

Floor press, 8x3 @80%: don't know about 80%, but did heft 22% more than the 5x5 off the floor I managed a few weeks ago.  So, progress.  Felt good, no shoulder pain.

60/50/40 incline DB x20 reps this time with 40kg fat DBs.  These are brutal.  30s rest between each set, quick transition between each bench degree.  Got three sets at 40 degrees x20, 9 sets total, therefore about 180 reps.  Kaboom.

JM Press, x100 reps in as many sets as it takes, light weight on a curl bar: Brutal, awful, horrible, but effective.  Triceps are total fried at this point.

Band fly, 3x15 with double monster minis: this was kinda unnecessary at this point and put stress on my right shoulder.  I need something simpler to set up.  Wish I had a cable tower.

Abs, lots x lots: need to do more abs, frankly.

Need to eat.  Have a great day.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

training 6.25.2013

Cube, week 6, day 1 -- DL max

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic work, Monster Absolute Zero, bar work.  Warm, so got a good sweat on before it counted.

DL, 2" block, work up to a single: hit 616 and was done.  Lots of sparkles.  Still, an improvement over last time.  At the previous jump (275), I felt some oddness in my right elbow, but no issues at 280.

Sumo DL, 8x2 @75%: low back started barking, but nothing bad.  Probably a setup problem.

DB Rows, 2x20: used 30kg on the fat DBs, superset with

DB Shrugs, 3x20, used the same DBs.

GHR, 3x12

Felt good, particularly given how little I wanted to deadlift today.  Just not up for it, but it went well.

Right elbow and shoulder aren't happy from so much throwing and hitting fungo for the boys.  If they lose tomorrow, All Stars is over and I can recover.  Just slight tendonitis, so not too concerned.

No job, no bright prospects.  Two weeks from selling big things.

Thanks.

Monday, June 24, 2013

training 6.23.2013

Assistance day

Warm day today and kinda tired from training and the weekend and everything else.

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic shoulder work, some light bar work to warm up.  Elbow sleeves and Spud velcro wrist wraps.

Incline, x20, barbell with 200#, lots of sets supersetted with
Rear delt work, x60, 65# fat DBs, lots of sets

Meadows swings, drop sets of 35 reps, started with the 65s and dropped to 30s before I was gassed

6-ways with 10# DBs, 4x10: absolutely brutal by this point

1-arm biceps curl, AMRAP, 3 sets with fat DBs;
Hammer curls, AMRAP with same DBs

Straight to preacher concentration curls until fried.

Pretty well pumped by this point.

Thanks.

Friday, June 21, 2013

training 6.21.2013

Cube, week 5, day 3 -- max squat

Hot day today for around here, which means considerably less than most of you are dealing with.  Had the fan on hard.

B-Ala/creatine mix + Monster Absolute.  Some dynamic work and a fair amount of bar work to warm up.  Loose briefs, knee sleeves, belt for heavies.

Squat, work up to a single: worked up to the high 6s and feel very good about it.  Think I had another 5 or 10kg jump in me, but didn't want to miss.  Much tougher on the descent than coming up, interestingly enough.

Squat, reverse band, x1, 102.5% of max: just added 10kg with average bands, but it was too easy.  Either need to use the light bands or add another 5 or 10.

Olympic squat, raw, 3x12 with 50%: these weren't nearly as bad as I expected

Lunges with weight, 3x20

Reverse hyper, light weight, 3x12

Back raises, 1x60:  seemed a little superfluous after the reverse hypers, but got them done.

Very hungry, heading to eat. 

First All Stars game for the boys is tomorrow.

By the way, I would be very interested in hearing from any of you what you find interesting in a blog -- what makes a blog worth reading to you.  This one, I pretty much am just reporting what I've done and don't expect it to be very exciting.  But in general, I'd like to hear your opinion, whether to effect this blog or others I contribute to.

Still no job.  Great talk yesterday, but not sure if it will become anything.

Thanks.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

training 6.19.2013

Cube, week 5, day 2 -- bench for reps

Run down today for some reason.  Slept an extra hour this morning, which is unheard of for me.  Not feeling my usual intensity in the room, which is why I cut it off at about 45 minutes after warm-ups.  I will pick up the rest tomorrow -- it was a natural stopping point anyway.

B-Ala/creatine mix + Monster Absolute, lots of band work, lots of bar work.  Hot day today for SD, too, so fan was running hard.

Competition bench, 1x3 each at 87.5%, 90%, and 92.5% of max: worked up to an RPE of 9, right around 175kg, or 385#.  All I had, pretty sure another jump would have failed.  Threw on the Slingshot and did another two sets with an additional 10kg.

Military press, 3x10: just got them done

Chins, wide, full down, no added weight, 4x12, superset with

JM Press, 4x15, 30kg on a curling bar: should have had 35 or 40kg, but not going to sweat it.  Got a great pump.

Called it.  Will do shoulders tomorrow.  I feel like I've dropped carbs, which I definitely haven't; hope I'm not coming down with something.

Got an interview tomorrow, though not sure for what.  Guy I worked with a long time ago is a CEO of a couple of companies and wants to talk, which usually means interview.  We'll see.

Have a great day.

Monday, June 17, 2013

training 6.16.2013

Cube, week 4, day 3 -- squats for speed

Failed to enter this one, so unless I figure out how to move the entry, it will be out of sequence.

B-Ala/creatine mix, Monster of some sort.  Dynamic and bar work, loose briefs, knee sleeves.

Squat, 5x2 @80%: went up pretty well

Squat reverse band, 1x2 @90%: 90% was too easy, so I added a bunch of weight and did another set of 2; used average band, I think, which meant it was light at the bottom and gave me a twinge in the back at the top -- it was a lot of weight by this point.  I need to work on thoracic stability, apparently -- more ab work and some oblique work is called for, I guess.

Olympic squats, 5x5, not a whole lot of weight.

Lunges to a 4" platform, 4x12 with a bunch of weight
GHR, 3x12, bodyweight

Had to go to practice.

training 6.17.2013

Cube, week 5, day 1: DL for speed

B-Ala/creatine and a Spike.  Lots of dynamic work, some bar work, good sweat going.  Loose briefs.

DL, 55% with chains, 8x1: comp stance, all the chains I have (about 200#, I think), 110kg on the bar; easy

2" block pull, snatch grip, straight weight, 50%, 1x20: I added another 50kg to the bar and they were pretty easy -- feeling good so far

Olympic squat, 5x6, narrow stance: 175kg, which was not enough, but wanted to take it easy after yesterday (plus baseball practice later today)

Shrugs, 3x15, fat DBs, lots of weight

Back raises x60 on the GHR, so about 170 degrees to 80 or so

Pull-ups, wide, 4x15, no added weight.

Gonna do shoulders and more pull-ups tomorrow, plus abs.  After yesterday, I called it here.  Feel pretty good, though hungry.

Getting there.

No job yet.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

training 6.13.2013

No particular point -- just wanted to work

Admittedly, part of my interest comes from a desire to eat whatever I want.  Given what I have in the house, that can't get me into too much trouble, but it is an incentive to work hard.

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic shoulder work, a little weight work to warm up, got to it.

60/50/40 degree fat DB incline:  As I've written about before, I set the seat at 60 degrees and set up with DBs that consider heavy and do sets of 8 reps until I can't get 8, then move to 50 degrees and repeat, and so forth through 40 degrees.  If I can do more than 8 sets through all three seat settings, I move the weight up.  30 seconds rest between each set, strictly observed.

I used 50 kilos on my Freespotter fat DBs.  Got 4 sets at 60, 2 at 50, 2 at 40 and was totally done.

1-arm Meadows row, 3x20 heavy: focus on full lat activation.  Love these.

2-arm row with the loaded barbell, 3x12: upper- and mid-back was pretty fried by the end

Shrugs, just because

1-arm bicep curls with 30kg on my fat DB handles, 3xAMRAP
Hammer curls, 3xAMRAP


Check this out: http://youtu.be/625Noh8sN6g    extraordinary speed, that.  Impressive.

Stick a fork in me.  I'm hungry.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

training 6.12.2013

Cube week 4, day 2 -- max bench

B-Ala/creatine, dynamic work, a lot of bar work, a scoop of Craze, elbow sleeves (loose) and Spud velcro wrist wraps.

2-board bench, 1x2 or 3 reps, 103% of full comp max: these were tough, but I got three reps of about 400 off a 2-bd stuffed under my shirt

3-board, 3x15, 75%, narrow and slow: these were very hard

Pull-ups, weighted, 3x15, super-set with

JM Press, 4x15, not much weight (200#): really tough -- triceps pretty cooked by now

DB Military, 3x10 with heavy fat DBs, super-set with

DB Shrugs, 4x15

All in all, tough.  Making progress, feel pretty good.

No job yet, but a couple of things percolating that have promise.  Keeping my fingers crossed and prayer bones working.

Hang tough, all.

Monday, June 10, 2013

training two days, 6.10.2013

Cube week 3, day 3 -- squats for reps
Cube week 4, day 1 -- DL for reps

Did both at the same time. The weekend was too busy with my wife's figure comp, so I had to cram it into one day.  Time to suck it up.

Lots of dynamic work and bar work.  B-Ala/creatine mix to start and a Monster Absolute Zero during.

Used loose briefs, knee sleeves, and a Spud DL when it got heavy.

Squat, 5x3 wide, 75%: right about 500#, felt good
GM, wide stance, 3x8 with a straight bar: 100kg on the bar, too easy
Olympic squats, same weight, 50 reps without putting the bar down -- brutal
Abs
DL, 3x2 @85%, based on last week's effort: not bad, but started feeling my hams
2" block pull, snatch grip, no straps (protocol called for them), 60% of max, 3x12: started getting seriously tough by the end
GHR, 4x10, no weight and no bands -- hammies and low-back were pretty fried by now, so straight up work was tough enough
Back raises: this was gilding the lily

I'm worn out, but I feel good.  No pain today, no knee trouble, moved some significant weight.  I'm happy, even if not entirely back in business yet.  I'll get there.

For the bodybuilders who check in from time to time, you have my utmost respect.  Every time I go to my wife's figure comps and watch the BB, I'm struck by how hard you've worked and how idiotic the judges are.  I swear, the judging pisses me off so badly, I don't know how you do it.  I'll stick with most points/heaviest lift/fastest/first across the line comps; this subjective crap wears me out.  And the organizers are even bigger idiots -- from first judging to finals was 12 hours for the BBers.  Poor guys were totally exhausted by the final pose-offs after 10:00 at night.  Ridiculous.

Wife took a 2nd and 3rd and was totally robbed.  The winner of both categories is a training partner of one of the judges, and everyone knows it.  She looked awful, but she won.  Great.

Sorry to rant.  Have a great day.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

training 6.6.2013

Cube week 3, day 2 -- speed bench

Started with the usual beta alanine/creatine mix, a bunch of dynamic work, and some bar work to get a good sweat going.  Also threw down a Monster Ultra for a good butt-kicking.  The Ultra doesn't give me the rush that Spike does, but its effect lasts longer.  At least for me.

Used loose elbow sleeves and Spud wrist wraps.

Floor press, 5x5, 70% of max: had 110kg on the bar and it wasn't enough, but my shoulders didn't hurt at all

Incline DB, 3x15, fat DBs loaded with a ton of weight (50-something kg): intent was for 15 reps to be close to max, and it was; lit my chest up at 45 degrees on the bench, interestingly enough

JM Press, 3x20, not much weight at all: triceps were starting to get cooked, so this was good; supersetted these with DB military

DB Military, fat DBs with 20kg, which wasn't enough, 3x15: not much on the traps or shoulders, but triceps were lit up in a big way by now

Fly, fat DBs, 3x15: used the 20 kilo DBs and just got these done

Abs on the GHR x50

Very hungry, so I'm off to eat and then clean up.  Wife has a figure comp this weekend, so we're down to the part where I need to be helpful -- she's pretty exhausted all the time.  Stuff to get done before she gets home.  Call that what you want; I call it smart.

Boys lost their game in extra innings last night, so the playoffs are over.  It's a mix of frustration and relief for me.

No job yet.  Trying to stay sublime about it and treat the search as a job.  I got a call that I might start contract work tomorrow, which would be good.

All of which is to say, strength is coming along, feeling good about it, trying not to let other things get in the way.  Thanks for checking in.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

training 6.4.2013

Cube week 3 day 1, DL max

Warm day.  Had lunch with a good friend and ate a bunch, so I downed half a Monster with the usual mix to start and hoped for the best.

Dynamic work and bar work to warm up.  Spud DL belt for support, but that's all.

Conventional stance DL max from 4" blocks:  worked up to 600-something, which makes me quite happy; low 6s, but 6s nonetheless; worked up in 10% jumps

Sumo stiff-leg DL, 2x6 with 65% of previous amount -- too easy, need to go up

DB Rows, 3x10 heavy, dead-stopped at the bottom without bouncing, fat DB (2")

DB shrugs, 3x20, 45# I think

Abs x50 using the GHR

Felt good today.  Been sleeping horribly since the job loss, and last night was particularly bad, so I'm pretty pleased with this result.  Didn't help that the boys had a late baseball playoff game last night, so I didn't even eat until well past my usual bedtime.  Was pretty massively keyed up, mainly because I quite badly wanted to beat this particular opponent and we crushed them.  Brilliant effort.

Anyway, off to eat again.  Hope you guys are doing well.

Friday, May 31, 2013

training 5.31.2013

Cube week 2, day 3 -- max squat

Wore loose briefs and knee sleeves.  B-Ala/creatine mix to start, lots of dynamic and bar work to warm up.

Squat:
 1x2 @80%
 1x2 @85%
 1x1 @90%
 1x1 @92.5%
 1x4@80%

These were tough, but too easy to call 92.5% of max.  I'm glad, because I take from it that I'm making progress back to where I was a few months ago.  I'll get there.  In the meantime, this was a humbling little bit of weight compared to my last 1RM of 700-something.

GM, 3x8, heavy
Step-ups with weight, 3x20
Lunges, 3x12/leg
Back raises

My knees weren't happy with the step-ups and lunges.  Also, I was very hungry during the whole thing, so I went in for a couple of Snickers bars with PB on them.  Between the two bars and about 8T of PB, that might have been 800 calories.  I did feel better afterward.

Still hungry, so I'm off to get clean and eat (in that order).  I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

training 5.29.2013

Cube day 2, week 2 -- bench for reps

Beautiful day again today.  Tomorrow is my wife's birthday, too.

B-Ala/creatine and a Monster.  The Ultra really is tasty.  Lots of dynamic and bar work to warm up.

Incline bench, 5x3, heavy: no problems
Incline DB, 3x30 with fat DBs
JM Presses, barbell+, 3x12 -- felt good, though triceps are starting to hurt by this point
Triceps press with chains, 3x20, wow
Posterior shoulder work with DBs

Tough day today, but I'm glad I worked it in.  Final regular season baseball game tonight at 7:00; I have to admit, I'm ready for this to be done.  Still have playoffs and all stars, though.

Still jobless, though things are perking along.

Hope you are all well.  Thanks for checking in.