down here it makes the difference

Oof...Didn't really sleep a ton last night so I'm going to be short on the words. That's probably the one encouraging sign, it's actually pretty hard to stay on these "higher" calories. The fact that i'm not sleeping tells me i'm still in a pretty serious deficit, so...ok. But i'll be honest, i'm even more nervous about next month, i mean, yeah i'll be able to work much harder but...i don't want to lose time figuring out how much. Ah well, i'll have my ankle weights saturday so at least the steady state'll be harder..:

• A1. EZ Curl: 5x8 75
• A2. EZ French: 5x8 65
• B1. TRX Curl: 4x12
• B2. TRX Overhead: 4x12
• C1. Cable Curl: 4x12 100
• C2. Stiff Pressdown: 4x12 110 -> 120
• D1. Bent DB Curl: 4x12 30 -> 25
• D2. Pushdown: 4x12 130
• E1. Bent EZ Curl: 4x12 -> 30
• E2. Overhead Extension: 4x12 100

Man, my guesses were WAY off. Of course today was an anomaly, i was pretty much falling asleep standing up in the gym today. Going to try either this again sunday or my other upper body split i'll be doing alongside 5/3/1. Hopefully i'll have slept saturday. I can't believe Void Malign's not on my Zune, The Fuck?!?

Another Day Another Training Cycle

(From yesterday)


Today's the first day of the training cycle for the USAPL Raw Nationals in August. I went through the last 6 months of training, found some pretty glaring omissions and stupid things, and am hoping to fix them starting now. For example, I barely did any DE Lower work until the last 6 weeks or so, and as soon as I started, my Squat and Deadlift both went up. So yeah...

A1. Prehab/Mobility

B1. Speed Bench

8 x 45#
8 x 95#
5 x 135#
3 x 175#
6 x 2 x 195#

C1. BB Pendlay Row

8 x 45#
5 x 135#
3 x 185#
4 x 6 x 215#

D1. 1-arm OH Press

3 x 8 x 60#

D2. Pullups

4 x 6 x bw

E1. Farmer Holds

3 x 20s x 205# per hand

Overall not a bad way to start getting ready for Scranton. I need to figure out if I can handle a 4-day-a-week training regimen with work and what not, otherwise it'll be 3... 

plug into my energy

So recently i read an article that stated something to the effect of number of cals doesn't necessarily directly relate to energy levels, which makes sense, but i gotta say i'm definitely seeing that at work now. Relative levels and all that, going from 200g of protein 800 cals to 300g and 1200 cals is making a world of difference, and yeah i know bro-science blah blah you can only use so much etc etc whatever shove it i don't care if you think otherwise don't do it. Anyway, methinks this will be a good transitional week and i'll be well primed to start loading a bit next week and doing some weighted steady state. July is all going to be 1600 calories and since I'll be in my apartment which is about a 25 minute walk from the office, i'll be getting plenty of steady state. Score:

• Overhead Press: 5x8 95/95/95/95
• High Pull: 5x5 115
• Bent Over Row: 4x12 135
• A1. Lat Pull: 4x12 90
• A2. Neutral Grip Lat Pull: 4x12 70
• A3. Kneeling Neutral Grip: 4x12 160
• Front Raise: 4x12 20
• Trapbar Static: 4x30s 135

Yeah so overall, as much as I think I wanted (and still sorta want) to, I'm going to go ahead and raise the cals up to 1600 next month, for a grand total of 300g protein and 100g carbs. I'm thinking that many carbs should give me enough energy to maybe put on a tiny bit of strength, or at the very least adjust to the more "strength endurance" focus presented by this rep scheme. Really need to make sure i stay with the cardio and ramp into next month well, I definitely don't want the increased cals to catch up on me. The educated person would say 1600 cals isn't anything to worry about about, but if i know anything about myself, it's that i can get fat on air. Let's not do that...Supercompensation is coming.

matter of time

Last week of the first of three sprints. Going to bump my calories up to 1200 for this week and try to get my fasted cardio in before work, which is def feelin good. Upping the reps by 50 percent as well, I've definitely had really good success in the past on fat loss hitting 8 rep sets on the big lifts. Am definitely going to have to drop my numbers, as you can see here, but i think the overall effect is definitely worth it. Trying to ramp the overall effort level too as i'm going to be upping my calories to 1600 for july and adding some post-workout carbs in. Hopefully time to start recovering a little strength and still lose some fat:

• Squat: 5x8 205
• Uni KB Overhead: 4x12 16kg
• Bent Lateral: 5x8 40
• DB Floor Press: 4x12 50
• Lat Raise: 4x12 20

Yeah, still getting visibly smaller, but man, it's always that tire that's the last to go. Gotta stay on it this time, must get lean...must get lean. I think i'm easily bordering on eating disorder now, as i'm chewing food and spitting it out...that's just weird, maybe it's something in the SoCal air, i'm acting like an LA chick trying to get a Hollywood gig...

First Post for Me

So this is my first post on here, so I thought I'd give a brief introduction before spilling my training guts.

They call me Robert Cooksey and I am on faculty at Ringling College of Art and Design. I'm on the design side of the Game Art and Design program and I sometimes teach concept development for the animated film side of the house. I also teach as many scripting classes as they let me. I am on the seemingly infinite pursuit of my PhD in Philosophy (only dissertation to go...for a while now). My training is less power-lifting and more functional strength focused. I train with both an MMA fight team out of Gracie Tampa South, and I am currently training for the Ringside World Championships as a Masters boxer (meaning USA Boxing attempts to prevent us from hurting one another...we'll see about that). I do parkour when I can spare the time. Basically, my training is aimed at optimizing diverse energy systems, flexibility, explosive power, sustained control (for climbing and such), and dexterity in as many possible ways of moving as I can imagine. That should give you an idea of the range of training stuff that I might post.

Ringside is at the end of August. I'm looking to fight at 178. I'm on weight now, but could possibly drop to 165 (though not much left to lose). My goal for summer was to drop fat weight first, then start to build up lean muscle slowly. I'm doing two-a-days 4 days a week, I roll on Saturdays with the BJJ crew and then Sundays is the monster hour-long conditioning torture. It's all fairly intense, but the conditioning is a beast involving a lot of vomit, screaming, grunting, and in general, folks trying to mentally not collapse into a bawling mass of aching flesh. There is no stopping. A regular warm-up involves about 20 minutes of jump rope without breaks. Then we start to train.

So today was my private with my boxing coach. We spent an hour with him scrutinizing my feet, hands, chin, footwork, etc. After several rounds of him tweaking my movement while I continuously attacked the bag at varying ranges and working in different directions, we moved to mitts. My feet have gotten a lot better, but what that means is that I'm painfully aware of how good they're not. My left shoulder was on fire after about 45 minutes of jabs and hooks, and I glued my right to my face and my elbow to my side to try to automate as much of the structural management as possible. Right goes out, straight or hooking, it springs back into position.

Our boxing gym is not air conditioned, and I train in Tampa, so it's regularly above 90 degrees before the bodies cram in and start sweating. Today was that kind of day. In that last 15 minutes, coach had me working rounds faster and more continuously, intuitively snapping to the mitts and managing range as he moved about, tried to close, then moved back, countering, slipping. Every few rounds, I was allowed a drink of water. [Quick side note: Only allowed a drink when coach designates time for that. Otherwise, hands-up, on toes, and in fighting mind]. When we finished that last round, my lungs, calves, shoulders, and even forearms felt like they had blowtorches held to them. I had probably sweated a half gallon easily from the weight of my shirt and shorts.

I ate 3 eggs and sausage with my coach. Went home. Ate pot roast with my wife. And passed the #$%$ out. By the way, those who know of Erica and her powerlifting or boxing through Facebook should really check out her food blog, Stuff I Make my Husband. She's a software engineer who is boxing in the Women's National Golden Gloves next week, holds 3 state raw powerlifting records, and went to culinary school. Her blog basically pulls all that together. Sometimes that needs to be explained. I think that this audience understands EXACTLY how those sorts of activities fit together. Her 1 carb brownies are the $%!#. She uses PubMed performance studies as inspiration for recipe ideas. You can get lean, get strong, and eat great food. I won't talk about diet much here, because basically what you see on that blog is what I eat after training.

I woke up after what was supposed to be a short nap (but ended up being 4 hours), grabbed a G2 and went back to the gym to train with the boxing team. More drills, more ring work, then 15 minutes of burn-out sprints on the bags. I am done. Ready to eat and sleep. And do it again tomorrow.

This is what summers are for a professor. I train, write, research, eat and sleep. Not a bad life. Going to be hard to go back to school in August.

Seattle Summer Classic Recap

Today Jessica and I competed in the USAPL Seattle Summer Classic. It was our first meet in WA after being here for a year (finally!). We meant for it to be a tune-up for Raw Nationals, as well as to meet other lifters from around here and get back into the competitive mindset.

First the numbers:

Squat:

1 x 315#
1 x 352#
0 x 385#

The 385# would have been a PR. The squat felt great so I decided to go for it. I'll get it at nationals.

Bench:

1 x 209#
1 x 237#
1 x 265#

I went very conservative on the bench due to my pec/shoulder injury. I won't complain about these numbers at all, especially since I lifted with no pain, and this was the first heavy benching I've done in 2 months.

Deadlift:

1 x 396#
1 x 440# All time PR!
0 x 460#

On the 460#, I asked Jess to just pick a number and hand it in. I didn't know what the weight was until after I missed the lift.

My class/division was a bit weird. The guy who won is currently dieting for a body building competition and blew the rest of us out of the water (setting records along the way- more if he had remembered to tell them they were American Records). It was also his first meet.

I came in third- the guy who finished second and I had a back and forth battle. Had I gone 9-for-9, I may have beaten him, but I am happy with what I got today.

Here are a few more highlights:

• Jessica won Best Female Lifter in the Open Class
• We both PR'd our deadlifts, but I gained ground on the great deadlift race by 15lb. YEAH
• We saw a girl do a one-legged deadlift. Because she only had one leg. It was pretty damn awesome. She also competed in the bench press.
• The guy who won my weight class/division benched my deadlift PR.

Overall the meet was great. it felt good to get back into a competition and I am looking forward to Raw Nationals!

child of water

Alright so tonight i played it a little too safe. Or at least i think i did, but at the same time, i was pretty gassed after alot of my sets and honestly i really couldn't have lifted more afterwards. You know, i think i'm just going to call it a deload, and say that it worked out for that. I definitely feel a bit more energized going into my rest weekend. I think I'll be able really jam out next week and even be able to add in some steady state cardio. I'd like to get a head start on that stuff just knowing the effect it has. I know i'm underestimating it, so might be good to just ease in. I like that plan. Gotta figure out eating, i think i may be able to get away with only refeeding every four weeks. Yeah eating sucks:

• Deadlift: 5x5 225
• DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 40
• Seated Row: 4x8 120
• DB Neutral Bench: 4x8 50
• Face Pull: 4x8 120
• DB Floor: 4x8 55
• Lat Raise: 4x8 20

Scorpio Rises Above The Remains.

stroboscopic

Yeah ok soooo...maybe going for a 2 a day was a bit much. I should have probably scaled back just a little bit and gone through all the sets and reps, but sadly i wasn't really thinking about that at the time. Honestly though, it felt like a full workout, so it's not too bad. I'll toss the last two sets onto the back of tomorrow's workout, it's gotta be a good one. Starting a cleanse saturday, mmm lemon juice and cayenne:

• Squat: 5x5 235/235/225/225/225
• Uni DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 45
• Bent Lateral: 4x8 55

And yep, that was it. Get me some good sleep tonight and crank tomorrow. Man, time is passing so fast right now. Lovin life.

Hot outside...

It has been a long time since I have posted an update. I had been training for a 3:00 x3 round boxing match I originally thought would happen in March 2011. It kept getting pushed back and I ended up getting hurt in training. When I was finally healthy my opponent hurt himself. I slacked off for a bit on diet after that and have recently been getting back into it.

My schedule these days looks like:

Monday
3x3:00 jump rope
1h boxing skills with Bruno

Tues
0:35 boxing skills and/or a Bruno jog with 2x hill repeats
1h conditioning training w/Charles

Wed
1h30 pro-training class (0:30 cardio, 1h kickboxing)

Thurs
0:35 boxing skills and/or a Bruno jog with 2x hill repeats
1h conditioning training w/Charles

Friday
0:30 focus mitts with Hank
3mi jog or boot camp class w/Charles

Saturday
3x3:00 rounds jump rope
1h boxing skills w/Bruno

Sunday
open day, varies between weights (dead, squat, bench), 10mi jog, rest, etc...

Conditioning w/Charles consists of movements to simulate fighting stress. When we do weights everything is to failure (with spotting). Body weight exercises are either w/weighted vest or whatever it takes to get to failure quicker. Normally these run in a circuit, from last Tuesday (6/21/2011):

6:00 round (repeat for 3 rounds)

4 left leg round kicks to focus mitt
4 right leg round kicks to focus mitt
8 burpees
repeat for 2:00 without stopping

8 chest stomps (like a front kick but hitting with whole foot) to chest pad
8 squat jumps
repeat for 2:00 without stopping

8 alternating leg round kicks to focus mitt
8 jumping lunges
repeat for 2:00 without stopping

additional conditioning

squat press with 2x35 dumbbells 2:00

place 1x35 dumbbell at each end of a city block, squat press with right hand on one end, left hand on the other 12 reps, sprint to other weight, 2:00 round x3

waking to fists and guns

Aww yeah all me bro. Thursday morning swole. I'm not sure what it is, but man I wake up early now. Actually i know exactly what it is. I used to think when i was younger that negativity and negative energy just rolled off of me, but given the way i feel just after the last 2 weeks or so, i don't think that's the case anymore. But then it could just be that i'm working out and not eating shit anymore. I'm going to chalk it up to everything. Little bit of elbow grind this morning, but i'm going to say that's just due to lack of recovery due to low cals and macros:

• TRX Curl: 4x12
• TRX Overhead: 4x12
• EZ Curl: 5x5 85
• EZ French: 5x5 75
• Bent DB Curl: 4x8 35
• Pushdown: 4x8 150 -> 160
• Bent Hammer: 4x8 40
• OHX: 4x8 120
• Cable Curl: 4x8 110
• Stiff Pushdown: 4x8 130

Man, i love my heating pad so much. I'm thinking about two and wiring them together to create one big ass heating mega pad. Or something.

Some Light Benching

Only a few days till the meet. Today I warmed up my bench, mostly to test the muscle strain or whatever it is in my left pec/armpit. This is the last session before Saturday.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Bench

8 x 45#
8 x 95#
5 x 135#
3 x 185#
1 x 205#
1 x 225#

That's the highest single I've done with no pain in about 6 weeks, so I am happy. I'm going to be careful at the meet and not likely go much higher than the 225# unless I feel OK. I don't want to risk any injury 8 weeks out from nationals.

into precision

I'm really starting to slow down, not like, i'm lifting less weights or less reps or anything, just more that i think my metabolism is just through the floor. Today's session was hard, but i'm not like...panting and dying like i usually am. That and i was cold all day, i mean like i had to put on a hat and hoodie cold. Mayhap i need to eat some real food for a bit? Eh nah, i'm alright. Really it's only like a week and a half till i'd schedule a refeed anyway, so why rush? I'm good.

• Overhead Press: 5x5 115/115/95/95/95
• High Pull: 5x3 135
• A1. Lat Pull: 4x8 130
• A2. Neutral Pull: 4x8 110
• Kneeling Neutral w/Hold: 4x8 200
• Lat Raise: 4x8 30
• Clean: 5x5 125

Lots of dudes in the gym and people who don't realize that you should STRIP THE DAMN BAR WHEN YOU'RE DONE YOU LAZY FUCK. Next time I'm just taking the cage whether you like it or not, sheesh.

safe from isolation

Hmm not bad off the bench but not going to be impressing ANYONE with those static hold numbers, hehe. Ah well, it's a good exercise and I'm glad for the suggestion. I can definitely see how it's going to good things for my grip. Working out without the hoodie is definitely not recommended, i like the heat and sweat and panting. 4 more days and a cleanse. And i'm unloading a moving container saturday, so i'll get some exercise whether i like it or not...

• Bench Press: 5x5 185
• TRX Chest Press: 4x15
• TRX High Row: 4x15
• DB Incline: 4x8 55
• 2Pt DB Row: 4x5 80 -> 85
• Decline DB Press: 4x8 45 -> 50
• TBar Row: 4x8 115 -> 120
• Trap Bar Hold: 4x25s 135

Found the upper bound on the bench for now. Man I'm looking forward to being in my actual apartment. 1.5 mile walk to work, 3 mile round trip? Nice. Strap on the weights and walk it. Life is good. Good.

preemptive munition

Short workout today, my grip strength constantly confuses me. Some days i think it's totally broken but even within a single station it can vary so much. Ah well, plate pinches uberalles i guess. We'll get into some of that soon. I feel like i can keep going on my deadlift, but i'll admit my lockout on some of todays reps were...emmm...not that good. The speed was good tho and i did get it all the way up, just didnt lock it in. Not sure if touch and go counts.

• Deadlift: 5x5 245
• Standing DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 45
• Seated Row: 4x8 130
• DB Neutral Grip Bench: 4x8 60
• Face Pull: 4x8 130

I kinda feel like if i don't figure out some sort of recovery i'm going to end up re-cooking my left shoulder, which at this point in my life i could really do without. Ah well...we see what happens.

redestructed

Feeling strangely fine today. I'm not sure i slept better last night, but then i must have. Or maybe i just don't respond to weekdays well? That's also possible. Whatever. still slight residual anger, but at this pace i'm going to be scrubbed clean by my next rest day, which the way i'm feeling now probably won't be till...next Saturday. No, it's not hardcore, i'm just annoyed and I need to stack cumulatives (isn't that redundantly redundant)?:

• A1. EZ Curl: 5x5 85 -> 95
• A2. Push Down: 180 -> 190
• B1. TRX Curl: 4x8 -> 4x12
• B2. TRX Overhead: 4x8 -> 4x12
• C1. Bent DB Curl: 4x8 35
• C2. OHX: 4x8 120
• D1. Bent Hammer Curl: 4x8 35 -> 40
• D2. EZ French: 4x8 55 -> 65
• E1.Cable Curl: 4x8 110 -> 120
• E2. Stiff Arm Pushdown: 4x8 130

Sweet jeebus, i wish my squats and deads were going up and feeling as good as my upper body shit is. I'm still worked from yesterdays squats and that was nowhere near heavy. Gah. Cutting sucks, but if it means i can start doing martial arts again, worth it. Worth it for sure.

One Week Out...

One week out from the Seattle Summer Classic. Not caring about weight class at this point- 3 days ago I was 209, today I woke up at 202, tomorrow I'll probably be 213. It makes no sense.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Squat

8 x 45#
8 x 135#
4 x 225#
2 x 275#
1 x 315# I'll probably open with this. Like I said, light meet. :)

Everything felt fine. Only worry right now is bench- I'll probably just go very light next weekend, considering the pec/shoulder muscle pain. Go Meet.

we're running out of time

Numbers. If you missed it you missed it.

• Squats: 5x5 245
• Uni DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 40 -> 45
• Bent Lateral: 4x8 50 -> 55
• DB Floor Press: 4x8 65
• Lat Raise: 4x8 25 -> 30
• 2 Pt DB Row: 2x8 80

Well, at least on the week i guess i can say i did a full set of dumbbell rows. Yeah that's still fuckin pathetic. Alright, i'm done whining.

I Like Meet

Day one of prepping the meat. I mean, prepping for the meet in 10 days. I took the last 4 days off to recover- did foam rolling and some other mobility, but other than that, nothing. This meet is meant to be a tune up type deal for Raw nationals, and I am trying a different 2 week approach to see how I feel. We'll see how this goes.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Deadlift

8 x 135#
5 x 225#
3 x 275#
1 x 315#
1 x 365#

And that was it- just warmed up my deadlift, foam rolled a bit and that was it. Saturday is another warm up day, Monday as well. Nothing too taxing, lots of ice and heating pad action. 

your fragile heart feeds my contempt

3 more days till a rest day and i'm feeling strangely fine. I think now my lack of energy comes less from lack of food and more from lack of sleep. I've reached the point where thinking about food makes me sick, not because I miss it, but because it makes me think about chewing, which by now just seems like so much effort to put forth for sustenance. I was going to refeed in two weeks, but i think instead i'll do a cleanse for three days and push the refeed out 6 weeks instead of 4. I think i can do it, it's funny, it's not really even about discipline anymore, it's just...the way things are. Well, not really the way things are, just more that i realize i get more out of...other things vs eating. And eating too much ensures i can't do those other things soooooo:

• Overhead Press: 4x5/1x8 115/115/115/115/95
• High Pull: 5x3 105
• Bent Over Row: 4x8 155
• A1. Lat Pulldown: 4x8 120
• A2. Neutral Grip Pulldown: 4x8 90
• A3. Kneeling Neutral Pulldown w/Hold: 4x8 190
• Front Raise: 4x8 25
• 2 Pt Dumbbell Row: 80 2x8

By the time i got past the second set of DB Rows, it was a no question i was done sorta thing. I couldn't even grip the dumbbell for a 3rd set and almost passed out on my way out of the gym. Again, i think it's just the not having slept, if I had slept last night i could have made it. I'm tempted to toss in some more DB Rows and maybe some kettlebells if they have them at MF.

I need to add WAY MORE Kamelot and Blind Guardian to my playlists. Such amazing gym music...so amazing.

suspension

Man, i gotta wonder if a TRX would make a good sex swing. Wait, no i don't that's just weird, altho mixing sex and training can be fun...Ohhhkay i digress. I'm surprised i hit the numbers i hit today on 4 hours of sleep, but i did miss my 2pt dumbbell rows and kettlebell swings. Oh well, guess i'll stay fat for another day. I'll toss in some extra sets this week, altho as I'm on the road at the end of the week that may be tricky. Fuck. No one else get married this year or otherwise require me to travel please. I need to do what I'm doing. Looks like i'll be hitting that 185 bench next week tho, that's rad. Would be cool to hit 135 on the T-Bar by the end of the month. Doable.

• Bench Press: 5x5 175 -> 185
• T-Bar Row: 4x8 115 -> 125
• TRX Chest Press: 4x15
• TRX Back Row: 4x15
• DB Decline: 4x8 45 -> 50
• DB Incline: 4x8 55

God help me I'm dehydrated. I'm also hungry. That means I'm doing it right. I hope my fam doesn't weird out when I don't eat food this weekend.

These Boots Were Made For... Squattin'?

ME LOWER DAY EXPLOSIONS! 3 hours, PRs, dogs escaping, romance. We had it all today!

A1. Hip/Shoulder Mobility/Prehab

B1. Squats

8 x 45#
8 x 135#
5 x 185#
3 x 225#
1 x 275#
1 x 315# This wasn't quite low enough. Which is odd, because I usually put ass to grass on this rep...
1 x 355# This felt too easy. Jessica swears it was low enough but the video doesn't convince me. If it was, Seattle PR!


Overall I was not happy with my squat session. I don't think I hit proper depth and it was discouraging to have that happen 2 weeks from a meet, especially since this was the last heavy day till then...


C1. 1-Armed Rows

6 x 4 x 115#

These were very challenging, but I done did 'em.


D1. 1-Legged Deadlifts

3 x 8 x 100#

D2. Blast Strap Ab Fallouts

3 x 8 x bw

After these, I was absolutely gassed. Even still, I wanted to get some farmer walks in, so I rested for 10 minutes, loaded up the handles and scared some neighbors!

E1. Farmer Walks

3 x 90ft x 160# per hand

The first 2 sets of these were a speed improvement over last week (As well as 10# per hand heavier). The third set killed me at the turn (I had to drop them and re-grip), but overall i am happy with how they felt.

Great workout, lots of ice on the back and knees now, and soon there will be BBQ chicken and some liquid anti-inflammatory in the form of wine with Jessica.  A good day indeed.

15th of 26

Ok so I'll admit it, i do try very hard to distance myself from the notion of being a "geek" in the now traditional sense of the word. Being that I work in video games, i must be a "geek" right? I'd be lying if i said that part of the reason i train so much, be it weights, martial arts, whatever is to try and get away from that stereotype. I'm not sure why the hate, maybe because that kind don't get laid much? Which is weird, cuz i don't get laid much anyway. The funniest part is that most of my inspirations for lifting come from video games...weird eh? Asura, Dante, Kratos, Gouken, Seth...gah.

• EZ Curl: 5x5 85 -> 95
• Push Down: 5x5 180 -> 200
• A1. TRX Curl: 4x8
• A2. TRX Tricep Press: 4x8
• B1. Bent DB Curl: 4x8 30 -> 35
• B2. Overhead Extension: 4x8 120
• C1. Bent Hammer Curl: 4x8 35 -> 40
• C2. EZ French: 4x8 65 -> 75
• D1. Cable Curl: 4x8 90 -> 100
• D2. Stiff Pressdown: 4x8 110 -> 120

Arm day shouldn't be this hard, but i'm glad it is, so...yeah. And now a weekend of kettlebell swings, then we start all over again. Made it through the first week with just two food slips, and they weren't major. The next 3 weeks should be cake...mmm. Cake.

cold angel (bench) press

Didn't get the full bench workout in last time i tried the round so I decided to hook it back up and get some more numbers. Benching numbers are going up one more time for the cycle, tho i may try to get up 10 more pounds. 185 isn't a bad baseline for the here and now. My limited contact with E3 this year was odd. It felt strangely flat, and E3 parties pretty much suck. At least at some of the GDC parties i went to they were playing games...

• Bench Press: 5x5 165 -> 175
• Incline DB Press: 4x8 50 -> 55
• Neutral Grip T-Bar: 4x8 105 -> 110
• Decline DB Press: 4x8 45
• 2 Pt DB Row: 4x8 75 -> 80
• TRX Chest Press: 4x15
• TRX Back Row: 4x15

Neutral Grip T-Bar row...that's a funny term. One of these days I'm probably going to castrate myself on that...

My hands, they are on fire

Today was DE Upper day.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Speed Bench

8 x 45#
8 x 95#
5 x 135#
3 x 185#
3 x 2 x 205#

This was supposed to be 6 sets of the 205#, but on the third set my pec/shoulder thing flared up. I NEED to remember to call a doc tomorrow- the problem with this injury is it only flares up when I bench so I always forget to call a doctor the next day. Gotta get this fixed before the meet in 2 weeks...

C1. Pullups

4 x 4 x bw

C2. 2" Grip 1-Armed OH Press

3 x 8 x 60#

This felt fine, even with the shoulder/pec flare up. So odd.


D1. AbTrunCore Twists

4 x 6 x 80#

E1. Farmer Holds

3 x 20s x 205# per hand

Those holds were a PR for me- for both weight and time. A great way to end the session, and now my hands burn. Woot.

i am space monkey

It's weird how the first week or so of a super low-calorie diet your body does ok, but then the second you're out it's just DEATH. I'm not lookin forward to sunday night, I can tell you that much. But i will say this Mango Peach Isopure is ridiculously good. I think some of it can be attributed to the fact that my life is much less stressful and quickly getting back to being my normal fun chill lovin-life level of good. It's like a big reset. I'm ok with this.

• Deadlift: 5x5 225 -> 245
• DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 45
• Seated Row: 4x8 130
• Neutral Grip DB Bench: 4x8 55 -> 60
• Face Pull w/Hold: 4x8 130
• KB Swing: 2x50 16kg

Man it'll be nice to be lean again...this studio has a bit of a training/gym culture. Me likes.

Good Mornings Good Night

It's 2.5 weeks away from the Seattle Summer Classic USAPL meet, that we'll be lifting in to tune up and get back into competition before Raw Nationals in August, so this is the last week of heavy training before that. Tonight was DE Lower.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. Speedy Squats

8 x 135#
5 x 185#
2 x 225#
4 x 3 x 250#

These felt pretty good. I made sure to bury every single rep of these and explode out of the bottom to the point of tearing yet another pair of underpants! Yeah boyeeee.


C1. Good Mornings

4 x 6 x 225#

First time I've done these with a straight bar in a looooong time. This was just about the right amount of weight... except for the fact that I did BB Rows after instead of before...

D1. BB Rows

3 x 8 x 185#

Oh man, AFTER the GMs these were brutal just from a stability standpoint. This was just a mental mistake on my part to do these out of order.


I actually had to cut the rest of the session short due to lower back fatigue from my mistake. Fortunately, all that was left was abtruncore work and grip work- I'll work that in this week.

also sprach rammus

X-Men: First Class was amazing. I'll see it again for sure, and probably feel sorry for Green Lantern. I really wish there were some standard for cable machines, ie number of fly-wheels, arrangement, etc, having to cart around different sets of numbers is really annoying. Ah well, adapt evolve adjust, whatever. The pulldown tri-set is still one of the most horribly brutal things i think i've ever come up with. But it's so much fun!

• Overhead Press: 5x5 105 -> 115
• High Pull: 5x3 115 -> 95
• Bent Over Row: 4x8 135
• A1. Lat Pull: 4x8 120
• A2. Neutral Grip Lat Pull: 4x8 90
• A3. Kneeling Neutral Grip w/Hold: 4x8 190
• B1. Lat Raise: 4x8 20
• B2. Front Raise: 4x8 25
• KB Swing: 16kg 40/30/30

Yeah 250 swings is definitely something to work up to for sure. Beefy but fun...yeah, squat rack curls are my new reality, two days in, two dudes curling. Whatever works.

Tri(Fit)-Repitae

Tryin out the corporate gym today, it works. Any gym that has at least one squat rack is good enough. The thing i've learned about corporate gyms with squat racks is that most people only use the squat rack for...Yep, curls, and of course, i saw a dude doing said curls in said squat rack today. Gold. Eh, what're you gonna do, the (incredibly cute) attendant let me work out free, so wasn't gonna start any noise.

• Squats: 5x5 225
• Uni KB Shoulder Press: 4x8 16kg
• Bent Lateral: 4x8 40 -> 45
• DB Floor Press: 4x8 60
• Front Raise: 4x8 25 -> 30
• KB Swing: 2h/1h/2h/h2h x10 16kg

May need to park my heavy kettlebells at the gym, not sure how much I'm going to get out of the 16kg for how long, but it's definitely a start. Of course, i'm talking a little bit of shit, 250 swings a day is alot. In fact, i think i'm going to replace my power closers with 250 swings. Solid.

Strongman... Saturday?

Today was supposed to ME Upper day (ie, bench day), but man I was just not feeling like benching. So Jess suggested I push press for ME instead... add that to the farmer walks later, and ME Upper day became Strongman training day.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility

B1. OH Push Press

8 x 45#
2 x 5 x 95#
3 x 135#
2 x 155#
1 x 185#
1 x 225# didn't quite hold it long enough so I did it again...
0 x 225# got about 3/4 up and couldnt lock out- video shows not enough leg drive
1 x 225# finally got it

On the last rep, I tweaked my pec/shoulder right before racking it so had to ditch the bar. I need to figure out what that tweak is...

C1. 1-Armed Rows

4 x 6 x 110#

D1. AbTrunkCore Twists

3 x 8 x 70#

Yes, I am sticking with that name for them.


E1. Farmer Walks

140 feet x 150# per hand
2 x 80 feet x 150# per hand

The first 140 feet was brutal- I almost stopped after that one, but decided to just cut the distance to do a couple more. These felt pretty good, though I need to work on my turns- 1/3 of my time was spent with that. I'm sure being on a hill didn't help, but still...


Overall a fun session. It was entertaining as always to watch the people walking or driving by staring at me with their mouths agape. I often wonder what they are thinking...

A Quickie

Got home tonight and realized my schedule for the rest of the week was going to make training difficult, so I decided to split tonight into 2 sessions- 1 tonight and possibly 1 Friday.


A1. Hip/Shoulder Prehab/Mobility


Same as usual, but I added in band tricep extensions as well to combat some tweaky-ness in my elbows.


B1. Timed 10-min Squat

8 x 135#
5 x 225#
2 x 275#
12 x 315# (3,2,2,2,1,1,1)

This was great volume for me- 12 reps in 10 minutes at 90% of my 1RM. If I had to look back, I'd say this is a PR for volume.


That was all I did. Seriously, after unloading the bar my lower back pump was intense and my glutes were fried. Thankfully  all I have to do tonight is write this blog and sit on this couch!