Light Upper Work

Today was DE Upper day. Considering the fact that my shoulders, upper back and left pec haven't been right for almost 3 weeks, I took it VERY light tonight. Turns out it was the right decision, as it was the first pain-free upper session I've had in weeks.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Speed Bench

8 x 95#
5 x 135#
3 x 185#
1 x 225#
4 x 3 x 205#

A little creaky during warmup but the light weight for the speed bench felt hard, but not to the point where I felt I was going to strain anything again.

C1. Strict OH Press

8 x 45#
5 x 95#
4 x 6 x 135#

These took my shoulders to the edge of comfort, but no pain. I got through all the sets with maybe one push press rep.


D1. 2" Grip BB Row

5 x 5 x 135#

D2. 1-Armed Tricep Extensions

4 x 6 x 30#

E1. Plate Holds

3 x 20s x 45#

Overall, the session felt great. My elbow tendons are a bit tweaked right now, but heat and ice are helping. It felt good to finally have a full Upper training session with relatively little/no pain, low weights be damned.

Pinch Me Pull Me

Training this week took a detour with my shoulders and pinched nerve acting up, but all that REALLY meant was that I was well-rested for ME deadlift day.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Deadlift

8 x 135#
5 x 225#
3 x 275#
1 x 315#
1 x 375#
1 x 425# (Gym PR)

I felt pretty miserable with the 315#, but 375# felt good so I went for the 425# and got it. Watching the video it went up way faster than it felt like it did (And I think I could have gotten 435#), and I needed to hold it at the top for a split second longer for it to not be a questionable lift, but it's on the board as a PR!

C1. SSB 12" Box Squats

4 x 3 x 285#

These felt good after the deadlift, and not much lower back pump after them either. While I was grinding these out Jessica PR'd her deadlift at 360#, because she has to keep pace with mine :)

D1. 1-Armed Rows

5 x 5 x 110#

These were way harder than I expected, but I got them all with minimal cheating towards the end...

E1. BB Ab Twist... Landmine... AbTrunkCore Twist... things

3 x 8 x 70#

I was using the BB in the Econo Core Blaster dealie. Let's officially call these AbTrunkCore Twists.

E2. 2.75" Pinch Grip Holds

3 x 30# per hand (15s,25s,25s)

For such a posterior-heavy day, I felt surprisingly good at the end of this session... We took the dog for a walk and then BBQ'd some sliders, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. In. My. Belly.


The PR got me to 1050 total raw. my goal for August is 1100 and my end of year goal is 1200. Barring any setbacks I am confident I can get there.

Two Almost-Me-Sized Farmers

Man, I had no idea what I was gonna do in the gym tonight. It's Monday, so work was a lot of email and meetings, so lots of sitting. I got home, Vino the dog was high as a kite (he had his teeth cleaned and a microchip implanted today- he's a bionic dog!), there was delicious chicken roasting in the oven while Jess was training in the garage. It was the perfect storm of huh whaaaaa? So I did what any sane person would do- I squatted.

DE Lower

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Squat w/ 20# Chains

8 x 45#
8 x 135#
5 x 185#
3 x 225#
2 x 275#
4 x 3 x 255# + 2 chains

This got real heavy, real fast. I rested more than I normally do to compensate. At one point I caught Vino's head tracking the chains swinging around in a very Dazed and Confused moment.

C1. Pullups (unassisted, yeeeah boyyyeeee)

4 x 4 x bw

Some of these were questionable but I'm counting them, dammit. It's been that kinda day.

D1. OH Squats

4 x 6 x 95#

Heh, forgot to add these in. These were painful after the pullups.

E1. Farmer Holds

11s x 200# per hand
16s x 200# per hand
20s x 200# per hand

SO close to my bodyweight per hand (I'm currently tracking at 205#). My goal is to hold my bodyweight per hand for 3 sets of 30 seconds. It'll help my deadlift, and if I can hold it, I can walk with it for 80 feet.


I had no faith in this training session going well, but it turned out great. I had an insane idea that I'd do Tire Flip finishers but by the time I unloaded the farmer handles, my lower back was toast and I called it a night.

future fail

Hmm...i know there are studies out there on training to failure for fat loss, i should probably read a few of those. I mean, at a SUPER high level i could see an argument for it like, you're using weight that's probably less than your normal working weights because your calories are lower, so you might as well go all out, especially on dumbbell or cable stuff maybe but...i dunno, pubmed, here i come. Yeah today's workout was a tiny bit random:

• Overhead: 5x5 95
• A1. Neutral Grip Pulldown: 4x8 130
• A2. Kneeling Neutral Grip w/Hold: 4x8 150
• Incline Bench: 4x8 115
• DB Clean and Press: 4x8 35
• Hang Snatch: 5x5 65
• DB Bench: 2x8 50/2x5 55/1x10 30/1x15 30

I was sorta bouncing around the gym, Sunday lunch is a popular workout slot...which is good, because there were women there...which was actually awesome. And:

• Hate Me - Suicide Commando
• Autonomy of the Will - Dym
• I'm Perilous - Audioplug
• Testamony - NVMPH
• One Good Reason - Vigilante
• The Judged Ones - Grendel
• Portrait of a Serial Killer - Dawn Of Ashes
• Future Fail - Frontline Assembly
• Angelfire (Negative Format Mix) - Level 2.0
• Sent To Destroy - Combichrist
• Break You - Uberbyte

Another first thing i'm doing as soon as i move: MOAR GYM TUNES! There are tons of metal songs I want to toss onto the playlist, we'll get that setup.

the sun beckons me

Down to socal, because man, it aint out in Seattle for sure! It's funny tho, as i really have to start counting the days since very soon the number will be less than 10, i realize how much i'm going to miss these gray days, altho, Santa Monica DID have them last time i was down there for damn sure. I think it was just the whole trying to drive around and learn the area that made it annoying. Once i got past that it was all great, altho admittedly, I was only just starting to learn my way around. Thankfully there are people down there that know the area and hopefully don't mind me asking n00bish questions about where what is. Already found a good beer bar, so that's a start. Yeah, still not a big fan of ye olde bench press, actually i felt like i pressed too much today, not weightwise but..well, you'll get the idea:

• Bench: 5x5 135
• Seated Row: 4x8 130
• Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench: 4x8 55
• Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 4x8 120
• Decline Dumbbell Bench: 4x8 45
• Hang Clean: 5x5 105

Declines were brutal, i can't remember the last time i did them, although i get the impression that they probably sucked then too. Their the kind of thing you want to get good at because they suck so bad. Anyway, Playlist:

• Echo Chamber - Negative Format
• Black Horizon - Xentrifuge
• Flinch - Burning Retna
• Death Control - Decoded Feedback
• Skullf*ck - Modulate (Combichrist mix)
• Wreckage - Noise Process
• Lifelight (Redestructed) - Rotersand
• Conspiracy With The Devil (DoA Mix) - Suicide Commando
• Little Stranger - Access Zer0
• Bring Me Violence - Tactical Sekt
• Killed In Space - Violence

So...yeah.

One more before the world ends?

I never lift on Fridays, ever, but I figure if the rapture is coming I may as well get one more workout in.

ME Upper

A1. Mobility

Leg Swings
Squat Pulls
X-Band Walks
Int/Ext Rotations
Band Scapular Pulldowns

B1. 10 minute Bench w/ 20# Chains (timed)

8 x 45#
8 x 95#
5 x 135#
3 x 185#
8 x 205# + 2 chains (3,3,1,1)

My pec strain flared up a bit on the last 2 sets, which is why they were singles. I iced it down after the session and now it's just sore. I can still fight the demons tomorrow.

C1. 2" Grip BB Rows

16 x 155# (4,3,2,3,2,2)

D1. OH Push Press

6 x 1 x 195#

These were hard, but it was a PR for volume on push press.

E1. Plate Holds

3 x 20s x 45# plate

Overall it felt good to get this session in after a long week. My pec strain is still a little bothersome, but I got through the pain- nothing a little ice, heat and a stiff drink won't cure.

living by the baseline

Tho, 205 wasn't the baseline i was looking for, i was hoping to hit 225 today, but 205 felt good. I think i could have if i'd been under a little control, admittedly I was taking the squats down a bit faster than i should have. Came up on the toes at least once. Bad. I'll blame it on adrenaline, yeah that's it. That hotel bed sucked, i didn't sleep well at all. One night back home and i'm recovered-ish. Enough to train well enough. This time, with numbers:

• Squat: 5x5 205
• Bent Lateral: 4x8 40
• Uni DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 30 -> 35
• Front Raise: 4x8 25 -> 30
• DB Floor Press: 4x8 50 -> 60
• DB Snatch: 5x5 60

Playlist:

• Death Comes - Memmaker
• Here and Now (Bangin mix by Xp8) - Obscenity Trial
• Parental Content - Combichrist
• One Good Reason - Vigilante
• Human Catastrophy - Tactical Sekt
• Lifelight (Redestructed) - Rotersand
• Down Here - Mindless Faith
• Havestar (Combichrist Mix) - i:Scintilla
• Proyecto Crisis - Proyecto Crisis
• Harsh Generation - Grendel
• Break You - Uberbyte

Good and harsh, i like it.

dumbbell madness

Internet at the hotel the last few days was crap, so posting up monday's split a little late from the airport. Apparently there's only one open 24 Hour Fitness in Santa Monica right now, and sadly it's an Express...yeah, no power rack. Plenty of dumbbells though, but not enough space to do much. Even sadder, of COURSE there was a bench press station, and somehow there was room for a smith machine. This is a grave injustice, thankfully the office gym has one squat rack, which i will be annexing. I sorta winged the workout, so here's what i remember:

• Dumbbell Snatch: 5x8 50
• Lateral Raise: 5x8 27.5
• Front Raise: 5x8 25
• 2-pt Dumbbell Row: 5x5 70
• Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench: 5x5 65

Pecs, shoulders, arms totally blitzed, it's wednesday and they STILL hurt. Going to spend some quality time with a lacrosse ball tonight when i get home and probably soak a bit. It burns, it BURNS!!

Speedy Squats!

If ever I need a reminder of why I should make sure I eat all my food for the day, I should look back to tonight's training session.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

Squat Pulls (executed while playing fetch outside with Vino- he demanded as much as soon as I walked through the door)
Leg Swings
Int/Ext Rotations
Scapular Band Pulldowns

B1. SSB Speedy Squats

8 x 85#
5 x 175#
2 x 265#
4 x 3 x 285#

B2. 3" Pinch Grip

4 x 20# (2 5# plates, 1 10# plate) - 12s, 20s, 20s, 15s

I felt the lack of calories all throughout this part of the session. I had the food with me at work, but was in meetings from 4-6:30, and I usually eat again at 4:15 or so. I had a protein shake before I left the office but it wasn't enough- protein shake != steak and potatoes...

C1. Pullups

4 x 4 x bw only

It felt like I gained 100# since the last time I did these. Around here I was dreaming of food.

C2. OH Squat

4 x 6 x 95#

C3. Blast Strap Ab Fallouts

4 x 6 x bw

Bottom line- I can't expect to train well if I don't eat enough. I puttered (not powered) through the session but tomorrow's needs to be better.

I miss mah callouses!

Seriously, my hands are almost smooth again! What The Hell, Man?? Didn't really feel like i could do too much lower body today, so i did a modified Get Wide split today. Not sure if i'll get in a lift tomorrow since i'll be travelling, going to try and get some good sleep tonight, thankfully it's not a 5 hour flight like the last few have been. I do appreciate LAX only being a 2 hour flight from Seattle. So anyway, it went a little something like this:

• Snatch Pull: 115 5x3
• Barbell Row: 115 5x6
• A1. Close Grip Pulldown: 105 5x8
• A2. Neutral Grip Pulldown: 90 5x8
• A3. Kneeling " " " w/hold: 140 5x8
• B1. Lateral Raise: 15 5x8
• B2. Front Raise: 15 5x8
• Hang Snatch: 1x10 (for technique practice)

Playlist (let's see how long i can do this for):

• The Sea and The Silence, Part 1 - ESA
• The Gift - Uberbyte
• A Taste Of Things To Come - iVardensphere
• Don't Waste Your Time - Desillusion
• Hate Me - Suicide Commando
• Stigmata - C-Lekktor
• The Judged Ones - Grendel
• Wreckage - N01se Process

Cool, now onto setting up my new printer. I feel a little dirty having just spent 50 on a printer when i could've bought a cheap all-in-one for 90. Ah well...I like simple.

It's a Two-Fer!

I didn't bother posting a training log for Thursday because it was a short session, so I'll lump it in with today's.

Thursday- ME Lower

I got back from work late so I had to modify this session again. The new Texas Power Bar came in that day, so i decided to break it in...

A1. Hip/Shoulder Mobility/Prehab

B1. Timed 10 Minute Deadlifts

13 x 335# (3,2,2,2,2,2)

This was all about how many reps I could get done in 10 minutes, at 80% of my 1RM. My posterior chain was fried after this, but it was pretty fun.


Today- ME Bench


This week was pretty rough overall- stressors all around fried my CNS and I woke up today feeling less than stellar. I still pushed to get this session in.


A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. ME Bench Press

8 x 95#
2 x 5 x 135#
3 x 185#
1 x 225#
1 x 250#
1 x 275# (Seattle PR!)

We added another 3/4" to the boards we use on the floor (we are little people with short legs) to get better leg drive through the bench and it helped a LOT. Unfortunately, I strained my left pectoral during the last single and had to scrap the rest of the pressing movements for this session (board presses, push presses), so I modified the workout on the fly.

C1. BB Rows

12 x 205# (4,4,4,4)

This was a bit too easy, methinks... It's going up for next time.


D1. 3" Pinch Grips

20# (4 5# plates) x 30s
2 x 25# (5 5# plates) x 15s


Before this, I tried a few things but my pec wouldn't cooperate, so I threw in some grip work.


Overall. the session wasn't what I wanted, but the 275# bench was a Seattle PR, so I can't complain TOO much. I really need to write that "adaptation" blog post for strongmAnimator...

two steps forward

And for a time I had forgotten how good cleans feel. I'm thinking by the end of next week I'll be tired enough of "rehab" that I'll be ready to toss real weight back on the bar. It's funny how quickly the initial shock of "OMG I'm training again!" goes away, altho i guess you have to add the ever-popular qualifier of "in the trained population" or whatever it is. Ah well, whatever the case, good to be back. Realizing how nice it was to live in a place where I could walk to my gym, must make sure that's the case at the new place. Blah, saying that sorta thing really crystallizes everything, kinda sucks a tiny bit. But i'll be back...I'll be back. Anyway:

• Squat: 5x5
• Overhead: 5x5
• Deadlift: 5x5
• Barbell Row: 5x5
• Good Morning: 5x5
• Hang Clean: 5x5

I'll start posting numbers after next week. It's kinda the test you know, back in the gym and I'm on the road right at the start. Found a place to get in some lifts next week while I'm in SoCal, so let's see how serious I am. I imagine there'll be some inspiration down there...

it's true what they say about sleep

Blah, this happens everytime i get a significant chunk of time off (usually between jobs, yes, I'm changing jobs again). I say to myself, wow, i'm going to have all this time to train and i'm gonna get back in shape and hit new PRs and...then i do nothing because all i do is go to bed way too late because I'm up working on all my personal projects that have been gathering dust (catching up on my games backlog is what that really means). Anyway, back to real training after...well let's just say way too long. Venice Beach, here i come...

• Squat: 5x5
• Overhead Press: 5x5
• Deadlift: 5x5
• Barbell Row: 5x5

Yep, that's it. No numbers cuz frankly...they just suck for now. Strength loss is expected, is what it is. But they'll be back. We don't say "I used to be...", we say "I will be again...". Going to stick on this workout for the rest of the month probably, then start up a new program. Bench Press? No, Bench Less...hehe.

I Did a Big Boy Pullup!

Earlier this week, I started my DE Upper workout and felt that all-too-familiar twinge in my left scapula- a pinched nerve storm was a-brewin'. After a good pin press (6 x 2 x 275#), I was warming up snatch-grip high pulls and had to stop to avoid a possible setback. Today I modified my DE Lower to fit in some DE Upper stuff. Adaptation is a good thing. Perhaps a blog post on the animation side of that coming up.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Mobility/Prehab

Squat Pulls
Leg Swings
Shoulder In/Ext Rotations
Glute-Ham Bridges
Scapular Band Pulldowns
X-Band Walks
Foam Rolling

B1.Clean and Press

8 x 45#
5 x 85#
3 x 135#
6 x 2 x 155#

C1. Squat w/ 20# Chains

4 x 6 x 185# + 2 chains

D1. UNASSISTED PULLUPS YEAH

4 x 3 x bw

That's right, bodyweight only. Yeah, I'm only 205#. But 12 body weight pullups has been a bizarre hurdle for me, and I finally got them. Fuckin' A.


D2. Blast Strap Ab Fallouts

4 x 6 x bw

It felt good to get in the gym and get the work in today. It was topped off by some awesome Enchiladas prepared by Jess. And then some leftover pizza later. And some more food after that. Food.

Squats, Grips and Sleds

Today was ME Squat day capped off with some sled dragging after having watched a WSM marathon on ESPN2.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

Leg Swings
Squat Pulls
Ankle Mobility
Int/Ext Rotations
Scapular Band Pulldown

B1. Squat

8 x 45#
8 x 135#
5 x 225#
1 x 275#
1 x 315#
1 x 350#

the 350# is a Seattle PR and the most I've squatted in a year. It felt really good- I flew out of the bottom and got stuck at my normal 3/4 squat sticking point, so it's time to work the 3/4 or 2/3 squats back in, I think. Want to get 400# by year's end.

As you can tell by the video, I didn't believe my wife when she told me it was deep enough, but the video shows that it was! I'm putting just the PR up in full for comedic effect (including my high pitched disbelief of everything my wife says in it.). :)


C1. 1-Armed Rows

6 x 4 x 110#

D1. Strict OH Press

3 x 8 x 135#

E1. Farmer Holds

3 x 190#/hand (15s, 11s, 10s)

With my grip failing recently I thought it was time to add these back in. Harder than I remember...

F1. Forward Sled (Prowler) Drag & Push

3 x 20 yards forward drag uphill, 20 yards push downhill x 140# + Prowler



A great session about to be topped off with some NY Strip Steaks that I'm gonna grill. Mmmmm steak.

PR Machine

Deadlift day. The way this day typically goes is that if one of us (my wife or I) PRs, the other one has to PR to keep pace. This day was no different.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

Leg Swings
Squat Pulls
Foam Roller
Int/Ext Rotations
Band Scapular Pulldowns

B1. Deadlift

I'm starting to warmup wider, progressively bringing my feet closer to my conventional stance. I've PR'd twice in 2 sessions with this method so far.

8 x 135# sumo stance
5 x 185# narrower then sumo stance
3 x 225# closer to conventional stance
1 x 275# conventional from here on out
1 x 315#
1 x 365#
1 x 415#

The 415# was a gym PR and felt great aside from my right grip failing just after lockout (which is odd as my right hand is dominant, and I train grip regularly- not regularly enough, it seems). With his PR I am 75# away from my current goal of an 1100# raw total, which I hope to take to USAPL Raw Nationals in August.


Right before my PR, Jess had just barely failed her deadlift PR of 350# due to a failed grip. Naturally, after I hit my PR, she couldn't allow me to pull away from her in the deadlift so she rested up and attempted it again, and got it. Figures :)

C1. SSB 12" Box Squat

2 x 3 x 285# This was a bit too taxing after the deadlifts, so I dropped the weight after the second set
2 x 3 x 265#

We were a bit fried after this, and honestly wanted to enjoy the nice weather, so we called it a day and took the dog on a walk to cool down.