Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Had a bit of a lousy squat day yesterday. The good news is I did my goal of a 325x5 lowbar squat. However, my upper spine was in more pain than usual and getting under the bar at 225+ required several attempts and psych-ups, which resulted in me being idle too long between sets. At one point doing assistance work with 275 I thought I heard a cracking sound but I was in no additional pain so I don't know if that was my imagination or just something totally benign akin to when people crack their knuckles or back.

I also came the closest to a catastrophe on the squat I've ever encountered. With the 325 on my back one of the patio pavers under my feet slid and my legs widened. Somehow I stopped it and was able to prevent myself from doing the splits, but barely. Kind of impressive I was able to stay balanced but if I had been squatting in the 400s or especially 500s this could have been bad. Will make sure to secure them from now on.

Enough mopiness. I slogged through and will attack again.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Strict press
170 x 5
190 x 3
215 x 1
-
Super-set with chin-ups x 10

Dumbbell press
50s x 12
115s x 8, 8
125s x 5 drop-down to 50s with Fat Gripz x 12
-
Super-set with chin-ups
10
Pull-ups of 50 x 8, 8, 8

Went to work after this. Will do some isolation exercises in the evening.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Deadlifts
Up to 500 x 1
* Very easy. I don't think I've lost any strength on this to be honest. Upper spine still hurts like usual but deadlifting doesn't aggravate it so whatever.

Walking dumbbell lunges
50s with Fat Gripz x 10
100s x 4, 8
50s with Fat Gripz x 20

Dumbbell split-squats
50s with Fat Gripz x 10

Trained in 102 degree weather today. It doesn't really make a difference to me. I'm always hot when I train in California outside. The heat is really only annoying at times of relaxation.
Benched 315x3 on Monday. Happy to be back at that level.

On Tuesday, did 3 hill sprints and an aerobic workout in my room afterwards.

Went to Muay Thai yesterday. 4 other people, 3 of them inexperienced girls and the other a very young boy. Good on them but not having comparable training partners sucks. Hate to say it but I may switch gyms due to price and class size. First half of the class was just conditioning which I usually don't like to do it since I do it at home. The rest of it was partnering up and throwing a mid left kick followed by any two punches. My first partner was the coach, thankfully it. I need to practice my body kicks more so this was a welcome drill. Ended with everyone getting in a rope and playing tag where we had to leave as soon as we got kicked without checking. Pretty fun and helped me focus on maintaining balance while multitasking. I landed plenty of kicks and people did not acknowledge them by leaving, however. The little boy in particular would come up with a reason why the kick I landed didn't count.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Squats (low bar)
Up to 315 x 5

Front squats
225 x 8, 8
275 x 7 super-set with dumbbell split squats of 50s x 8

Slow good mornings
135 x 10, 10

Friday, August 9, 2019

Axle strict press
165 x 3
180 x 3
200 x 3
-
Super-set with chin-ups x 10

Dumbbell press
50s with Fat Gripz x 15
115s x 8, 8, 8
-
Super-set with chin-ups x 12
50 x 8
Pull-ups 50 x 8
Chin-ups 50 x 10

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Went on a 40-minute run last night. Pretty fast pace, definitely more than what I would call a jog with short bursts of sprint attempts (I say that because my hips were sore and I didn't go full blast).

Low-bar squats
135, 185, 185, 225, 275, 285, 295 x 5

Touch-and-go deadlifts
315 x 5 (overhand)
405 x 5 (mixed grip)

Getting back in the powerlifting game. Low-bar squats (which I've never done before) don't seem to hurt my I injury area.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Did 39 push-ups in Muay Thai yesterday (was going until the timer ran out although I was getting pretty tired; never been good at push-ups).

Bench press
235 x 3
265 x 3
300 x 4
235 x 12
-
Super-set with barbell rows
3 plates x 12
4 plates x 10

Iron Woody band press
10, 10, 12, 15
-
Super-set with barbell rows
4 plates x 10, 10, 10

Slow pull-ups x 8

Band pull-aparts x 10

Keg curls
160 x 8, 9

Band curls
10
A previous version of my blogger app has been continuously erasing posts I type into it, hence the week-long hiatus. Installed a different version that I hope doesn't have the same issue.

I did my front squat workout yesterday and then went to Muay Thai. Too much to report that's not fresh my head anymore.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Bench press
215, 250, 285 x 6
215 x 15
-
Last 2 super-set with T-bar rows
3 plates x 12
4.plates x 10

Iron Woody band chest press
10, 10, 10, 12
-
Super-set with T-bar rows
4 plates x 10, 10, 10, 12

Keg curls
160 x 8, 8

Band pull-aparts
10

20-second chin-up

Monday, July 29, 2019

Front squats
245 x 5
285 x 3
315 x 5
275 x 1, 7
225 x 10
*Set up issue on that first set of 275. Using a narrower stance. Just feels better with the front squat.

One-legged RDLs
3 plates x 8, 8
was planning on going to Muay Thai tonight but they're doing fence work in the backyard and I don't have a chance to lift in the early afternoon. Have to lift in the evening when the workers are done for the day.

Just did 15 minutes of skipping rope alternated with shadow boxing rounds. One minute each round with no rests.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Got home from work early today and am waiting for George so we can hangout and thought I'd squeeze quick update. After work yesterday evening I did HIIT for 15 minutes.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Strict press
165 x 5
190 x 3
210 x 1
-
Super-set with chin-ups
10

Incline bench press
205 x 7, 8, 7
160 x 10
-
Super-set with chin-ups
11
50 x 9, 10
30-second Chin-up

Slow wide-grip pull-ups
8

Iron Woody chest-flyes x 12

Curls

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Blogger app ate up a long and detailed entry for my bench press workout. Quick rundown is I front-squatted 300x6 on Monday and benched 310x3 on Tuesday.

Went to Muay Thai yesterday. Class size was bigger than normal. Partnered up with someone who smelled really bad with Thai pads. Did a really simple combo of 1, right kick, 1-2, left switch kick. When I was holding, this guy would suddenly stop after awhile and look down. Confused, I asked, "Need a break?" No answer, just looking down. I thought he didn't hear me so I asked louder, "Taking a break?" Still no answer. I actually find it annoying if my training partner is too quiet during training and doesn't provide me feedback or doesn't acknowledge feedback I give them, but this was another level. Weird. Happened 4 or 5 times, too.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Axle strict press
155 x 3
175 x 3
200 x 3
* Not being a barbell it's always a guessing game where hand placement needs to be in order to have even weight distribution. On the final set it was definitely lopsided in my grip and I tried to adjust on the fly. That's why I was so suspicious of my math in adding the weight up; this felt like air. Did have to rest-pause for a second on the third rep but that usually kills my strict press momentum and is grounds for failure.
-
Super-set with chin-ups x 10

Incline bench press
200 x 8, 8, 8, 8
-
Super-set with chin-ups x 10
50 x 8, 9
Pull-ups x 50 x 8 drop-down to bodyweight x 3

Iron Woody tricep pressdowns, curls, band pull-aparts

Friday, July 12, 2019

Working early this Friday, so training will be in the afternoon. Cool shot of me at Muay Thai on Wednesday. Gonna try and make it to sparring this evening.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Strict press
145 x 5
165 x 5
187 x 3, 3
Super-set with chins x 10

Incline Bench press
110 x 8 followed immediately by 160 x 8
200 x 5 drop-down to 180 x 3
200 x 7, 7 drop-down to 160 x 3 and 110 x 3
Super-set with chins x 10
50 x 8, 8, 10

External rotations with a band

Preacher curls
35 with Fat Gripz x 8

Concentrations curls
35 with Fat Gripz  x 9

Pretty weak day. Remembered how tired my shoulders got at Muay Thai yesterday. Incline bench started out poorly but got better. Crazy pump at the end though.

I've noticed that when I'm feeling weak I rest longer to try and make my sets stronger. It rarely works out that way and I end up taking way too long for a non-impressive amount of weight lifted. So this ended up being a 2-hour session even though these poundages were not worth that. Been doing a good job of pushing the pace until now, gotta keep that up.
Made it to Muay Thai last night. I'm at the point where I'm good enough at skipping rope that I never trip up and my shoulders start to get tired. Good problem to have, just have to keep building stamina. Paired up with a partner and worked on 1, 2 to the body, 3, right leg kick, dodge the right hand, then angle back and throw a 1-2. Happy to work on angles and footwork. We did variations of this throughout the session and switched up partners.

Coach announced that one of the most prominent female Peruvian Muay Thai fighters was seated and watching and to go say hi. By the time I was ready to leave though she was gone. Damn, really wanted to meet her. Don't remember her name.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Bench press
215, 245 x 5
280 x 6
Super-set with T-bar rows
3 plates x 10, 10

Dips
50 x 10, 10, 10
Super-set with T-bar rows
4 plates x 10, 12
5 plates x 10, 10

Wide-grip Bench press
135 x 12
Super-set with wide-grip pull-ups x 10

Curls, band pull-aparts

Mediocre bench, but got a good pump. Running on 5 hours of sleep.
Front squats
300 x 3 x 5
* Now that I have some OK weight I'm going to settle in to a front squat routine of 3x5 twice a week.

One-legged RDLs
165 x 8, 8
190 x 8
* This is definitely a hamstring exercise I'm going to keep once I'm healed.

Leg raises

Did 3 hill sprints and a 10 minute jog later in the evening.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Deload

Bench press
135, 165, 200 x 5

T-bar rows
3 plates x 10
4 plates x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Dips
15
50 x 10, 10, 11, 11

Facepulls

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Been getting much better at front squats. Currently doing 275x5 and 295x3. Have noticed wrist pain when I bench press now as a result, though wrapping them fixes the issue for that given session.
My bench and strict press seem to have switched statuses. The latter is on the way up while my bench sessions have been mediocre. The last two times I did 300x3. My front delts and pec tie-ins felt sore which I believe is from doing heavy flat benching on bench day and incline benching on press day, so I'm going to back off and replace one of those with dips to see if that improves things.

Have also gained quite a bit of weight since my break from Muay Thai. Currently at 198; last time I weighed myself in May I was 189. Ain't a bad thing, my undersized arm could always use the energy surplus.
Been training consistently, just not updating. Unjustifiably feel less inclined to now that I'm not squatting or deadlifting.

Went to Muay Thai for the first time in over a month. Am able to punch now without extra pain. Coach said it was good to have me back and he notices when I'm gone. He said he won't have me doing any hard impact striking as I heal. I have to note that after all the slightly awkward living room jump-roping I've been doing and dealing with carpet, I was able to have the best rope session ever on the mats. Skipped for around 5 minutes without missing a beat. Since I've never skipped rope straight for that long my shoulders got pretty tired.

After that we shadowboxed and then did ab exercises before moving on to the heavy bag. Combo was jab, right leg kick, left hook to the body, right leg kick again.  Transferred this to a partner with each person taking turns, and then adding a 1-2 at the end. Finally, we ended with heavy bag rounds using any combo of 3 punches and 2 kicks.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Pretty weak bench day yesterday. Hit 300x3. Was feeling hungry and I was also 2 days late with this session. Was also supposed to deload but I didn't BECAUSE of that and I reasoned I needed to move some heavy weight to make up for that. Did BBB sets after, 245x3x8 and 225x10 and x8, so those were some pretty heavy sets at least. Also increased T-bar rows to 5 plates (have nixed dumbbell rowing until my back is better because bilateral pulling just feels better and offers more stability).

Friday, June 14, 2019

3 rounds of hill sprints followed by a 20-minute jog yesterday evening. Second time this week doing that.

Worked on front squats today. Set-up is challenging for me since it's been years. Have been trying the clean set-up but my wrists can only handle a couple of reps. Today I used straps, which were comfortable but the bar kept falling forward. Still, it was the most solid out of everything I've tried, though I still sucked. Managed 1 rep of 275 for 2 sets; couldn't get more than that without the bar rolling forward into my arms. Also did 8 with 225 and 10 with 135.

Since the weight there was so light I did belt squats for a PR of 7 full plates and a 25. 8 reps.
Have also been doing one-legged RDLs this week with a Meadows row barbell set-up. Did that with two 45s and a 25. Very effective, legs are burning after 8-10 reps. Glad I found a viable hamstring exercise. It's good enough to keep after I'm healthy again.

Speaking of which, I'm continuing to feel a little better. Hope I can squat and deadlift again soon. I want to make it to an August powerlifting meet, but if things are just healing too slowly my back-up plan is a November one.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Back injury is slowly getting better. Emphasis on "slowly" though. Am able to run and throw punches with less pain than before. Really miss Muay Thai so I'm happy I can start going back soon. Will have to take it easy during sparring though.

Axel strict pressed 180x5 yesterday, an improvement from 3 the week before.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Dealing with a long term injury on my vertebrae here so my training has adapted as a result. Good news is it seems to be slooowly recovering. Doing those heavy squats a week and a half ago was a dumb idea.

Have been doing belt squats instead, combining them with lunges and front squats.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Been dealing with a strange vertebrae injury between my shoulder blades. Has persisted for about 2 weeks now. Originally thought it was very sore traps from doing Hise shrugs. The pain originated after I did deadlifts and box squats but I have no idea what actually caused it. It was managable until Friday when I did squats like a dummy. Completed the whole workout but it was slow going because of discomfort. Squatted 445x3. Shouldn't have done that, but goddamn did I feel strong. Had a weak bench day only managing 295x4, failing a 5th. Got trapped under the bar and everything, but that's not a big deal.

Felt some nerve damage happening by rep 6 on my assistance squats with the SSB (straight bar and SSB both hurt even with cushioning). Big toes have some slight numbness after that.

Gonna have to settle in for a longer-term healing process and not anticipate this going away soon. I can't squat and probably can't deadlift, but I have some ideas for legs this afternoon.

Never updated how Fanime went, but it was an awesome 3 days. I brought a shaker bottle to sip on protein throughout the day. It was pretty funny bringing it to a hotel bar. Could have actually eaten more carbs, though, with the amount of walking I was doing. I'd had an intense few days of lifting before that.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Bench press
215 x 5
245 x 5
280 x 7
215 x 15
* Was hoping for 8 but still good. As I lose weight I've noticed while my 1RMs continue to climb my strength-endurance feels challenged. By about rep 7 or 8 my muscles really feel it. Not declining, though.

Dips
50 x 10, 10
35 x 10
Bodyweight x 11
Super-set with wide-grip pull-ups and chin-ups x 10-11
* Back-work was all over the place - did weighted reps with 50 and dropped off to bodyweight when fatigued. Kept rest times pretty short for me, 2-3 minutes. 

Curls and rear-delt work
Last workout before Fanime weekend. Will update with pictures.
Went to Muay Thai on Wednesday. Worked pads with a timid new guy. Did a long string of combos and finished off with bagwork.

Thursday:

Squats
320 x 5
370 x 5
420 x 5
340 x 8
315 x 10, 10
* Core started to give on the last rep but I made it. Legs were strong. An expected result of getting so light (I weighed 189.6 today, haven't been close to that since I was 18) but still, more ab work!

Deadlifts
405 x 9

RDLs
315 x 9
* Pronated grip.

Abs

Aerobic workout in the evening.

Monday, May 20, 2019

Went to Muay Thai in the evening and met with George there. Mostly pad work. Didn't pace myself well and was throwing bombs early on, then got tired after awhile. Note that me getting tired just means I'm uncomfortable and I slow down a tiny bit to ration myself, not that I'm huffing and heaving or that I have to stop.
Deload

Axle Strict press
85, 110, 130 x 5

Dumbbell press
50s with Fat Gripz x 15
115s x 8, 8
50s with Fat Gripz x 14

T-bar rows
4 plates x 5 x 10

Curls

Three rounds of shadowkickboxing in the evening followed by an aerobic workout in my room.
Good sparring session on Friday. Opted for the open face head gear over the caged one which makes me overheat like crazy. I'm going to pick and choose depending on the physical state of my nose. Stung with my jab all night and by the end of it he commented that he was eating it non-stop. to his great credit he caught me twice with big swinging hooks. He confessed to me that he closed his eyes for one of them. Also told me that he had trouble reading my movements. That's good to hear but I dodge almost 100% and Don't really make use of a tight guard. I practice it on my own but in the heat of battle I op to move out of the way or parry. He also jacked my leg up from kicking it and though I hid it well I was limping about 30 minutes after class. I did check very vigilantly so it would have been worse had I not.

Didn't go out on the weekend. Took advantage of this by waking up and going on fasted runs both Saturday and Sunday with only a little bit of a protein shake from the night before as sustenance. And then on Sunday I did an aerobic workout in my room in the evening. Very relaxing yet productive two days. It was good to take a break from alcohol and not drive anywhere.

Deload

Mat pulls (8)
135, 315, 405 x 5
500 x 3
* All double-overhand except for 500, which was a mixed grip.

SSB box squats
300 x 5, 5, 5

Walking dumbbell lunges with fat gripz
50s x 20

SSB good mornings
150 x 10

Friday, May 17, 2019

Two deload days to record. Squatted 295x5 yesterday and benched 195x5 this morning. Yesterday evening did 3 hill sprints and a 20 minute jog afterwards.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Strict press
160 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1 + 4 reps of push-press

Dumbbell press
115(L)/100(R) x 9, 9
125(L)/115(R) x 8

T-bar rows
4 plates x 10, 11, 12
4 plates + 25 x 12, 12

Curls

3 rounds of shadowkickboxing in the evening and an industrial dance aerobic workout with the breath-restriction mask.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

So Friday sparring was a bust. While going at it with Aaron he kicked me between the legs harder than has ever happened to me and I had to bow out for the rest of the session. Really sucked. Usually I just hide it but this was brutal, haha. Not going back without a cup.

Went on a hike Saturday but it was so easy it didn't constitute any manner of training. More like a woodland stroll than anything.

Yesterday I had a headache from being hungover (only happens if I get less than 7 or 8 hours of sleep) but after a quick nap I willed myself to do mat pulls. Managed 550x6 on a second attempt after initially only getting a slow single. All in the mind. Box squats and lunges after.

Friday, May 10, 2019

Bench press
245 x 5
275 x 3
305 x 3
Last set super-set with pull-ups x 10
* Once again, felt the soreness from Muay Thai (Payam loves push-ups). Next cycle, don't be shy to rest; 72 hours between working the same body-parts is fine. 275 FELT like I was at max weight so Ihought I might only get 2 on the final set.

Weighted dips
50 x 9, 10, 10
Super-set with pull-ups x 11, 11, and weighted chins of 50 x 9

Iron Woody band pressdowns (various tensions depending on grip position) x 12

Planning on doing chest isolation and biceps tomorrow morning with some strongman training. No farmers' walks but will do keg carries. Don't want to do heavy farmers' every week so close to heavy pulling.
Yesterday:

Squats
365 x 5
415 x 3
465 x 1
335 x 2 x 8
Last set was a drop-set down to 225x10, 135x12, and front squats with just the barx12
* Depth felt shallow. Will count it but I should have taken an extra day of rest after Muay Thai the day before. Legs felt heavy (more than usual when under over 400 lbs of load, I mean...) and I was shaking under the bar.

Deadlifts
405 x 8

Unilateral Swiss ball leg curls until I got tired on each leg

Later at night I did a light aerobic dance workout with the breath mask.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Took a quick nap after work yesterday and then went to Muay Thai. Class consisted of me and a young girl, coached by Payam. Very technical class with a relatively low intensity for me. I welcome slowing things down and working on technique. I started off holding the mitts for my partner and after that mostly worked 1-on-1 with Payam with him holding the mitts for me. Did basic variations of 1-2-3 while adding in slips. I kept slipping the wrong way, it's just something I don't practice much with pads. I fumble when I have to remember a pattern instead of just free-form striking or sparring, but that's a huge part of training and I need to get better at it.

My kicks felt nasty on the heavy bag. My switch kick is a completely different weapon than what it used to be. I remember when I could not kick with my left leg in any meaningful manner but now it feels almost identical to my right.

Did a bunch of calisthenics in class, including squats. Since I was due to squat the next day I was ready to post-pone that by a day but I have no soreness and I think I'm fine. We'll see if that changes when under the bar.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Yesterday evening I skipped rope for 4 minutes, did 2 3-minute shadow kickboxing rounds, ran up the hill 3 times, and went on a 10-minute jog. Used the mask for everything but the hill sprints.
Strict press
150 x 3
170 x 3
195 x 2
* 1 rep better than last cycle but still not the 3 I'm aiming for. Good to know that cutting down on strict pressing as accessory work isn't actually making me worse, though.

Push press
195 x 4
* Going to keep this up. Max set for reps.

Bench press
185 x 10
240 x 3 x 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows of 125(L)/115(R) x 8

Fat Gripz curls

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Went to the beach on the weekend and ate a lot of seafood. Before that though I did another strongman event day. Some rounds of farmers' walk with 190 in each hand, keg carries with a 160 pounder, cleans with a 110 axle, neck crunches, band pull-aparts and Swiss ball planks. Nothing was very difficult; this is a 5th day of lifting and I have no strongman competition anytime so it was mostly for fun and to hit some stuff that could use more targeting like rear-delts and abs.

Monday:

Mat pulls (9)
550x8

SSB box squats
340x3x5

Small in variety, big on weight.
Had an excellent sparring session on Friday. I feel confident in saying that my cardio gave me a competitive advantage, although in one opponent's defense he just got done training BJJ. Bottom line is training with my mask is helping, although I only expected it to psychologically. I've also been redefining what it means to spar and to NOT let my opponent catch a break. That means following up with combinations after kicks, in particular, not stepping back to indicate that I'm done. I was pretty relentless. There were several times where I would double or triple jab and the other guy seemed to relax, figuring I was done, and then I'd throw more jabs from my extended arm, almost like a 1-inch punch. I love jabbing. Also got in some good body and leg kicks, and even planted my foot squarely into a torso for the cleanest front kick I've ever landed.

Got warned not to oblique kick because it could hurt someone. Fair enough. Yes, I was copying Jon Jones.

Forgot my headgear for this session but didn't get hit hard enough to have problems. Nose was just slightly sore.

Things to work on: I think I could slam my kicks a little more. Previously I've been more focused on just getting them to land in the right spots. Now that they are I need to actually make them as much a weapon in sparring as my hands are.

Friday, May 3, 2019

Recently weighed in at 192 in the morning before breakfast with shorts on. Lightest I've been since I was a teenager. It'd be crazy if I could make the next weight-class down for August's powerlifting meet but I'm not going to push that. At my height it might just be too lean. 180 would probably be my competitive bodybuilding weight (that sucks to admit, haha).

Bench press
225,  260 x 3
290 x 5
225 x 14
* Good showing despite shoulders being sore from incline benching.

Weighted dips
50 x 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups and chin-ups
10, 12
50 x 8, 8, 8

Iron Woody band pressdowns super-set with concentration curls

Bringing my bag to work to make it to sparring this evening. It's been awhile since I've been to Muay Thai but I have NOT been resting on my laurels at home so I'm looking forward to showing everyone what I've got.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Donned my mask and sprinted up Heart Attack Hill before having to rip it off. Crazy hard. Did two more sprints and then went on a 15-20 minute jog, using the mask about half of that. It must look pretty silly to have Bane running down the street at night.
Squats
340, 390, 442 x 3

335 x 2 x 8

Barbell alternating lunges
155 x 16, 14

Good mornings
155 x 8, 10

Ab wheel
8

I'm not going to lie, this was a downright lazy session. Legs felt like lead under the bar and energy was low. Started warm-ups around 2:30 and finished my last set of good mornings by 5:00...and still had abs to do inside the house. Just took some long ass rest times between my squat sets. Going to hold my feet to the fire and record my start time in this log before beginning my session so it's staring me in the face as I record.
Overhead pressed 185x4 on Tuesday. Really thought I had 5 in me. First 3 shot up like a rocket and then my shoulders felt tired after that. Damn.

Practiced Muay Thai by myself afterwards, and also yesterday. Intended to go to class yesterday but I took a nap and slept through the afternoon.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Wasn't due to lift on Saturday but I had the day off and a morning with nothing to do, so I did some farmers' walks with 190 in each hand, neck crunches, and rear-delt work. Took maybe 20 minutes.

Went on a 7-mile hike on Sunday with friends. Was a total walk in the park for me despite plenty of uphill terrain. Only difficulty was having to go to the bathroom by the end of it. Crazy to think how badly my legs used to cramp 12 years ago.

Yesterday I failed at deadlifting 535 once on a first attempt, then on a second try I easily hit 3 reps. Thinking about pushing the Earth instead of pulling the weight did it. Really got my legs engaged that way. Nice to have a strong showing the day after hiking 7 miles.

Few hiking pictures:







Friday, April 26, 2019

I haven't made it to Muay Thai this week due to car problems. It broke down on me twice driving on the freeway Tuesday. Ended up being stranded in Redwood City but made the most of it with my friend meeting up and hanging out. Ate a lot of food between two trips to a local diner, first a burger on my own and then later a barbecue dinner for the two of us. Earlier that day I hit a deload press workout, but still went pretty heavy on dumbbell pressing (115 in left, 100 in right, but only for 2 sets before doing some tricep pressdowns).

Because I was up late dealing with that mess Tuesday night (AAA didn't show up after waiting for an hour so I drove home myself down residential roads at midnight going slow), I was tired the next day, but still managed to do some home Muay Thai rounds of shadowboxing.

Yesterday and today I got some good sessions in. 415x5 squat and 275x7 bench press. I actually lifted twice yesterday, first the squat sets along with the SSB bar for 335 before work and then deadlifts and lunges at night. Between overhand gripping the bar, Fat Gripz on lunges, and Fat Gripz for skullcrushers and curls today, my forearms are fried.