Wednesday, January 30, 2013

training 1.30.2013

week 2, day 2, bench for reps

B-Ala/creatine mix, lots of water, lots of dynamic shoulder work, very little bar work to warm up.

Same work as 1.24.2013 -- incline for 8s with 30sec between, got more reps and used same weight as before

Lat pulldown and triceps pushdown
Shrugs
Scott presses -- these are a bit hard on my shoulders, so I will likely find something else

Right shoulder barked a bit deep inside the joint capsule.

Trying to have our first baseball practice on Saturday, but having a hard time getting a field.  This is nuts.

Hope everyone has a great night.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

training 1.29.2013

Week 2, day 1, raw DL for speed

Lots of dynamic work to warm up, plus B-Ala/creatine mix.  Had a good tingle on going in.

DL, 65% straight weight, conventional stance, 10x1: these were pretty easy, actually - for once they were fast

DL off 4" block, snatch grip, conventional stance, 50%, 1x20: Grip was hurting for the last two, but otherwise pretty good

Squat oly, narrow stance, about 50%, 3x8: starting to get a little tired, quads felt these

Shrugs, 3x12 with a lot
Back raise x50
Lat pulldown, 4x15 with pause at the bottom

A day late because I took the boy to get a new phone yesterday.  He'd earned the dosh to pay for it himself, and he could hardly contain his excitement.  Fun for a pseudo-dad.

Don't think I'll be sore from this one.  We'll see.

For those keeping track of the deal I'm trying to close, we're closer.  Hoping to get it inked by the end of the week.

Thanks.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

training 1.26.2013

Posting a day late.  This was week 1, raw, squat day for speed

Been raining here for days, which I kind of like.  Nothing wrong with it, and it breaks up the monotony of perfect weather.  Plus it's warmer, and it hasn't translated to dripping metal in the rumpus room.

Start with the usual B-Ala/creatine mix and a lot of dynamic work.  My left knee was barking a bit, so I slathered blue heat on it and put a loose knee sleeve over it.  No other support.

I did a lot of warm-up sets to try to get that knee to settle down, and I found that taking them slowly and with extra emphasis on control (versus rebound) made the difference.

Squat, 70%, 3x3 wide stance: 240kg, felt easy though I really feel the stretch in my adductors (and probably hams)

Squat, 80%, reverse band, 1x2, wide stance: used an average band because that was on the rack

Olympic squat, 5x5, 100kg: took them slow to get depth.  I was a little wobbly by this point, but nothing like last week.

GHR: lots of sets of 8.  I'm getting stronger, and I've noticed that my glutes and hips are a lot stronger than my hamstrings.  I didn't expect that.  Hams are clearly the limiting factor on these at this point.

Abs: a bunch in sets by reversing position on the GHR

Rainy day today, too.  Have a great day, all.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

training 1.24.2013

Back to cube week 1, raw deal, bench max

B-Ala/creatine mix and a lot of dynamic work to warm up the shoulders.  Hungry at the start, but nothing for it yet.

No support outside of elastic wrist sleeves.  Single ply, no support really.

Floor press, work up: didn't push this hard, so no PR

Incline bench 8x8 set @70%:

I set the bench at 65 degrees and did 8 reps, rested 30s, 8 more, etc. until I could not get 8 reps -- 4 sets
I reduced the incline to 50 degrees and repeated, 2 sets until I couldn't get all 8 reps, still 30s between sets
I dropped the incline to 40 degrees and repeated, 2 sets, 30s between

This pretty much destroyed my chest, anterior deltoids, and triceps.  I like this.

Lat pulldown, 3x50 reps
Triceps pushdown, 3x25 reps
Shrugs, 3x20 until fried
Scott presses with little 10# skinny DBs -- never done these and already had some mileage on the shoulders, so I took it easy.  I like them and look forward to establishing good work weights.

Should have trained last night, but took the family out to a spectacularly good Japanese restaurant (here in case you ever come to Sandy Eggo).  The place is all about traditional Japanese food and very high-end sake.  Their sukiyaki is phenomenal, but pretty much everything is.  If you're out for sushi, this is not your place (though they have some, it's not what they're about).  If you've never had super-premium sake, you're missing out.  Come see me and I'll set you up.

Baseball should start next week.  Safety meeting for all coaches is this weekend, got commitments from all my boys, and will start the torture next week.  First practice will be remedial, so I'll have to find ways to make it fun.  I can handle that.

Take care, guys.

Monday, January 21, 2013

training 1.21.2013

Raw phase, Cube, week 1 -- DL for reps

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix and a lot of dynamic work to warm up.  No support gear.

Switching to raw makes me a bit nervous, honestly, and I may finally go back to faithfully performing soft-tissue work.  Nothing like rolling on a lacrosse ball to invite screaming, particularly given how my glutes feel as I type.

DL, 70% of max, 3x3: around 240kg, felt good, but I felt it in my glutes.

DL off 4" block, 2x3 @75%:  250kg, these felt really heavy for some reason; setup was lacking, I suppose

SSB Olympic squats, 3x8 @50%: I only did about 180kg and really concentrated on not tucking my hips at the bottom

GHR, 4x10: Wow.  My hamstrings are so ragged right now, I'm not sure if I'll be able to stand up.  Clobbered by these.

Back raises x50: just stayed on the GHR, slid forward, and did them from the bottom, no added weight.

Still a little sore from the 18th, and I felt my glutes in a big way, particularly up near the origin, probably more the medius than maximus.

I'm cooked.  Everything lower body is going to be sore, I think.

Have a great week, folks.  Still working on the monster proposal, will report.

Thanks.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

training 1.20.2013

Gorgeous, warm day here today.  Beautiful.  I had carbs with lunch and really want a nap.

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix and a scoop and a half of Craze.  Typing now a couple of hours later, I'm not sure I can feel anything at all.

Started with a bunch of shoulder band work and dynamic warm-up.  Wore Spud velcro wrist wraps.

Did a bunch of different rowing motions, other back work, and curls for vanity.

40-degree rows, snatch grip, x20 with a lot of weight, 6 sets
60-degree rows, pinky on the ring, x20 with a lot of weight, 3 sets
Dan John rhomboid rows, never putting the weight down, x10 with heavy, fat DBs, 4 sets
Narrow supine grip chins, bodyweight, x12, 5 sets
Seated concentration curls, no elbow support, big fat DB x10, 3 sets

My back is massively pumped, which I like.  It would be interesting to do this kind of bodybuilding work for a while and see what happened, but I'd feel weak.  I might modify the Cube work this time around to include more of it.  I have to say, I really enjoyed the protocol and look forward to the next test.

The boy has tomorrow off -- I swear, San Diego schools are never in session.  They find the flimsiest excuses to take half days and days off, it astounds me that they learn anything at all (except that it pays to be union).  All I can tell they learn is how to take the standardized tests.  Wish I could homeschool the kid. 

Anyway, the point is that he has buddies coming over to watch the Ravens game and hang out tonight, so it'll be anything but quiet around here.  I've got $100 that says they're playing the PS3 by halftime.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why they'd rather play a fantasy game than watch (or even play) the real thing.

Anyway, I'm gonna eat a lot.  In two weeks, I'll switch to strict CBL or Carb Nite and lose some of the extra lubs I have picked up over the past few weeks.  Should be interesting to see what's underneath.

Big stuff at work this week.  This is make or break -- either I close a huge deal or start looking for a new job.  Seems like it's always that way.

Thanks for checking in.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

update and thoughts

I have been thinking (always dangerous, with apologies/thanks to Hannah Arendt) that I should do the 10 week Cube routine end to end entirely raw.  I've mentioned this before, mostly in the context of explaining why I so frequently use loose briefs, but I've been thinking it would be a good idea.

Yesterday's entirely raw squatting has left me rather sore today, mostly in the hips, adductors, and glutes.  The glutes might have something to do with the GHR, which I am going to use much, much more often.  To me, the fact that I can squat 748 in briefs and yet be so sore after a 75% squat session for reps suggests that working raw for a while might be a reasonable plan.

So, starting this next week, that's what I am going to do.  Assuming my hips aren't terribly beaten up -- I do squat wide, after all, and that's not likely to change just from a mental comfort standpoint -- it should be an interesting endeavor.  I suppose I could work on squatting shoulder width while raw.  We'll see.

So stay tuned, and as always, thanks for checking in.  Feel free to weigh in with opinion.

Friday, January 18, 2013

training 1.18.2013

Warmed up with a lot of dynamic work, used my B-Ala/creatine mix, wore no briefs or gear at all.

Squats, 3x3 at about 75%, wide stance, very deep.  Every time I do this entirely raw, my adductors end up seriously sore.  I'm pretty wobbly as I write, so I suspect this time will be no different.

Squat, reverse band, about 85% with a light band, still wide stance 1x2.  Pretty easy, really.

Olympic squats, 5x5 with an RPE of about 8.  Tough at this point.  Narrow stance, stood heels on a 25# plate.

GHR, 3x12: again, tough by this point.

I will feel this one, which is the whole point.

Think I'm about to close a huge deal for work, which will be an enormous financial relief for me.  Also struggling to find practice field time for my ball team -- why I need to hunt time down is a story for another time.

Thanks for checking.  Hope you are all well.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

training 1.16.2013

Today is a bench day, so I benched.  Mostly.

Still chilly around here, but supposed to warm up tomorrow.  It's still gorgeous, as always.  Perfect weather gets monotonous.

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix and a fair amount of band shoulder work to warm up.

Comp bench, a lot of reps for a lot of sets
Incline bench, a lot more reps for a lot of sets
Narrow grip bench, a lot of reps for several sets
Heavy pullovers, 3xlots

I kept the weight low and reps high today, both because I'm supposed to be deloading and because my right shoulder hates me.  It worked fine -- the shoulder bitched a little, but nothing awful.  And I got a lot of work in and am all swole up, as it were.  My triceps will likely be a little sore tomorrow.

Honestly, I may have to switch to floor press to take it easy on my shoulder.  Either that or buy a Swiss bar for the neutral grip, which is probably a better idea.

Given my shoulder, I may not test this week.  We'll see.

Still working on selling something to buy a video camera.  Will report.

I'm pleased with today, no matter how odd it was not to go heavy.

Thanks.

Monday, January 14, 2013

training 1.14.2013

I shouldn't have called this training, at least not yet.

This is week 10 of my Cube experiment, and it is supposed to be a comp week.  I am due a DL day today, but my back is still in spasm when I twist (yeah, yeah, don't do that) and I could use a deload week.

So I'm considering just doing light days all week, undergoing a full test this Saturday as if it were a comp, and starting a new cycle next week.  I hate deload weeks, but I think I could use one.

We'll see how guilty I feel in an hour.


Friday, January 11, 2013

training 1.11.2013

Cube week 9, day 3 -- squat for reps

Usual mix, dynamic work, and bar work to warm up. 

Loose briefs, knee sleeves, belt for the heavy stuff.

Squat, 6x3@85%: I stopped at 485#, so significantly less than 85%.  In warmup, I pitched forward and essentially did an unplanned 485 pound good morning, which started a spasm mid-back.  I thought about scrapping and starting over tomorrow, but just didn't want to.  So I went on 6x3 at 485.  My back is still in spasm as I type, particularly on the left side, but I got the rest of the training session done.

Wide squat, 3-second pause in the hole, 3x10 @50%: these actually felt good after the other sets.

Lunges with heavy DBs, 3x15

Olympic squats, narrow stance, x40 single set with 165# -- one set, no stopping until done.  Everything was wrapped in barbed wire and I was sucking wind hard.  I like that.

Abs.

It's been a tough week, which is just life.  Mine is still easier than most, I suspect.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Baseball tryouts for the kids tomorrow, and then a draft.  We'll see what I have to work with tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to it, particularly making plans for practices.

Anyway, thanks for checking in.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

training 1.9.2012

Cube week 9, day 2 -- bench for speed

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix, wore wrist and elbow support, and warmed up slowly.

Floor press 5x5 @82.5%: used 200kg, which is closer to 80%, and still my right shoulder barked.  When I really worked to pull the bar apart and kept my grip wide, it would not hurt, but that seldom lasted more than a rep or two.  So I backed the weight down a little and did higher reps and higher speed.

Incline DB, 3x15 heavy: backed the weight off and did a couple extra sets -- RPE was maybe 7

Band pulldown, 100

DB military, 4x10: Did Klokov presses with the bar and some weight, and did sets of 20.  Like these.

Band fly, 3x15: light band

Abs x50

Kinda limped through this one, even though I was looking for more intensity.  A little down that my shoulder was still unhappy, particularly since I made it through last week fine.

Got baseball tryouts for my new team and player draft afterward, so the throwing is about to begin.

Thanks for checking in.

Monday, January 7, 2013

training 1.7.2012

Cube week 9, day 1 -- DL max

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix and hungry.  Used loose briefs and a Spud DL belt for the heavier reps.

DL off 1" blocks: 290kg, but I pulled conventional, which I never do.  Felt good about this -- came up pretty well, no sticking points, didn't hurt anything.  I don't think I've ever pulled this much conventional.

Sumo DL, 8x1 @80%: 275kg -- got them done

BB shrug, 3x15 w/ bodyweight on the bar
Lunges, 3x10
Up/down planks x50

Good day.  Took yesterday off due to the cold I'm fighting, but will make it up later.

Thanks.

Friday, January 4, 2013

training 1.4.2013

Cube week 8, day 3 -- squat single

Gorgeous, crisp day here today.  For the second week straight, there is a huge southeast swell on, so the beach roads have been packed with hodads and their cars.  Been nuts.  Glad I don't surf anymore.

Started with B-Ala/creatine mix, lots of dynamic work (still should have done more) and a slow progression with the bar and weight.  Wore my strongest Jack briefs, EliteFTS super-duper knee sleeves, and eventually a Metal Ace suit that now fits pretty well.  A little tighter and it will be perfect. 

Ran the heater hard.  Fighting a cold, too; in my second day, so still have a sore throat and the whole mess.  Fairly clear-headed, though, so I figured today might be okay.

Worked up gradually and put on the suit at about 280kilos, straps down.  I'm still not comfortable with the straps up -- I think they're a little too tight, because they pitch my off balance in the hole.

Hit 340 kilos, straps down.  Same weight I got for a single back in August, last time I tested.  But back then I noted that depth sucked, whereas today depth was solid.  It was not easy, but I figure I might have had another ten pounds in me.  Brandon allows no failure, so I stopped at 748. 

I think that without a cold, another five kilos is possible.  If I can figure out my suit, with straps up, I suspect something pretty serious is likely.  Suit work is exhausting, so I need to take Big B's advice and work in it more often to get a feel for it, get comfortable, and get some confidence.

Either way around it, today was easy.  I mean it -- easy.  Loving this protocol.  The work is *not* easy by any means, but I feel really good about the progress I've seen.  As I've said before, my body responds well to volume, even at my ripe old age.  And even with a cold, I love the feeling that my head is about to pop while that weight comes up.

It is sad to think that I may not have a whole lot more time to be flirting with these numbers.  I mean, how long can I expect to squat in the 700s and bench in the 5s before I start to break down?  Not long unless I seek chemical assistance.  But in the meantime, I'm getting stronger all the time, and I'm good with that while it lasts.

Thanks for checking in.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

training 1.2.2013

Cube week 8, day 2 -- bench for reps

B-Ala/creatine mix, dynamic shoulder work, elbow sleeves and Spud velcro wrist support.

Bench, 5x1 @90%: 210kg, felt heavy for a couple of them, which I think had more to do with setup

Military press, 4x12 with a lot of weight
Band lat pulldown, 4x20 with average bands
Band triceps pushdown, 100 reps with an average band

I am somewhat ashamed to say that I've got a serious pump on.

Hope everyone had a safe NYE, and I hope your 2013 is productive.

Thanks for checking in.