Thanksgiving training:

Axle press
160x5
190x3
220x0, 1

Axle incline bench
200 x 8, 8

Axle bench
220 x 10, 12

All pressing super-set with a mix of 115 dumbbell rows and chin-ups (bodyweight and weighted with 45 lbs)

Curls

Had a small friendsgiving at George's again. I made homemade stuffing and George had a smorgasbord of charcuterie meats, olives, bread, and spread along with tofu turkey (I didn't eat too much of it but it was actually really good) and mashed potatoes. Stuffed my face and watched the new Nic Cage movie Jiu Jitsu. I just tried to type out the premise and I'm having trouble finding the right combination of words. The best I can do is it involves an ancient kung-fu alien that demands humans engage in honorable combat with it. Some how Tony Jaa from Ong Bak is involved too. I don't know.

Work schedule is changing to late afternoon and evenings except Mondays. This means I'll have the mornings to myself, which bodes well for fasted cardio when I want to do it. I'm also off Friday now so I'll be avoiding the one day out of the week that there's a bizarre surge of traffic coming home. 

 Did a push-up and chin-up non-stop blitz workout the other night after a late work. Just went non-stop with the aim of 100 reps total across 10 sets of 10. I underestimated my push-up ability which has always sucked and went up to 12 sets when I realized how easy this was for the push-ups. Had to switch to doing lat pull-downs at some point instead of chins (I had already done weighted chins earlier in the day). Was able to achieve failure at the end of the 12th set. Lats and chest were sore the following days.

Last night:

Squats
385 x 5
425 x 5
475 x 5

Strip-sets
405 x 5
315 x 10
225 x 10
135 x 10
45 x 10 (front squats)

Walking back the 475 was brutal for some reason. My quads were just worn out and I had to take tiny baby steps to make it back to my stands. Very happy though. I'm liking the variety between SSB and barbell squat days in a short period.

That was a cheat day, I basically kept eating the entire day including at the office. Literally brought a quart of milk with me and was chugging out of it while eating cinnamon rolls, it was a gross sight to behold. Dinner was ramen, veggies, a burrito, milk, and more cinnamon rolls. Woke up with my stomach pissed at me, which means it should be a good bench press day. My chest is still sore from the push-ups so I'll keep my expectations in check.

Axle press
160 x 3
190 x 3
210 x 3
Figuring out where my strength is at on this. It's definitely trending up again. Smooth reps. Thought I might have a 4th in me but then realized I probably didn't.

Incline axle bench
210 x 8, 8, 9
Super-set with pull-ups and chin-ups
10-12 for 2 sets
45 lbs x 10 reps

Called it here to make it to work. Going to do some more at night.

Weight seems stagnant. Weighing 206. Going to reduce the dextrose in my workout shake and carbs pre-training. I lift best when feeling full but I bet if I let myself adapt it'll be fine, and it's not going to be a drastic cut anyway. There's no pressure now to make a deadline but I'd like to gain weight up into a class when I have a meet date so plan is to continue dropping into the 190s. Speaking of which, I don't have the money right now to sign up for a different one (the eternally delayed one was paid for almost a year ago now) but when I do I'm going to shop around. 

Mat pulls (9)
Work-up to 625x1

Deadlifts
500 x 5

Belt squats
5 plates x 10
8 plates x 12
9 plates x 15

Done in the rain. Really liking this combination of high mat pulls and pulling from the floor.

With my competition delayed again I feel liberated to experiment more and not be so constrained to barbell lifting as much. Did a full-body session on Saturday.

SSB squats
380 x 8, 8, 9

Dumbbell press
115s x 8, 9, 10
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows of same weight and reps

Axle clean and push press
135 x 15

Axle clean once and strict press
135 x 10

This was so much fun. Just the thought of doing my usual squat workout and blowing my eyeballs out with over 500 lbs filled me with dread. Of course that's not a reason in itself to not do something (if anything it's a case for the opposite), but I really needed this change. I'm still going to barbell squat heavy to maintain and grow that lift, just not as frequently. 

Mat pulled 585x4 earlier in the week. 1-rep over the previous week. This was a shockingly low-energy day. I felt tired just walking and subsequent attempts to hit a higher-rep top-set resulted in not even being able to move the bar.

Had a big cheat day Tuesday. Ice cream, pizza, wine, the works. Woke up with a pissed-off stomach and stronger shoulders than last week. Pressed 195x5 smoothly, couldn't get a 6th as a bonus. Last week I eked out 4 reps. Even though this is very low to me it's good to feel such an improvement within a week just from food. 

Been jogging almost every night and mixing bag-work and shadowboxing in.

 Failed a 385 lb bench press the other night, really annoyed at that. Now I look like a jackass being overconfident about having 405 in me, haha. 

I was randomly inspired to put Moonlight Sonata over it and it's my new favorite fail music.

Oh well, I came back the next day to get some working volume in. Because I clipped a chunk of my thumb out somehow during this I used the axle so I could more easily grip with my palms instead of my digits. Benched 250x10, 230x10, and 230x12 super-set with T-bar rows, ending with tricep extensions, band presses, and curls.

Went on a 30 minute jog in the evening.

Did bag-work Wednesday and Thursday. Focused on in-fighting and getting into the pocket, but being mobile and not sticking around after attacking. Gleamed a YouTube drill once to try getting in, attacking, defending, attacking, then backing off as necessary. Finding a lot of growth from slowing things down and then accelerating after starting that way.

Also went on a 30 minute jog after bag-work on Wednesday. Enjoying it getting dark earlier for my runs.

Last night:

Squats
415 x 5
470 x 3
530 x 1

Drop-down to 405x5, 315x10, 225x10, 135x10, 45x10

SSB good mornings

60 x 15
150 x 14, 12

So my powerlifting meet next week has been delayed for the third time due to COVID and restrictions on mass gatherings indoors. Move it outside, guys!!! The small relief I have from my weight doing weird things (it's either crazy glycogen bloat or my scale is shifty because my weight jumped from 203 to 207 in a few days) is miniscule compared to my hunger for competition, so this feels really disappointing.

Went to a second-part job interview today at a sports medicine office. Excited for this and to leave my current position.

Yesterday I did a strict press workout but took a break from the 5/3/1 protocol since that lift has been sliding so badly. Worked up to working sets of 195x4, couldn't even get 5. Wearing elbow sleeves because my left elbow has been pissy lately. Didn't really seem to help my performance, though I suppose they must have; on the other hand, getting a pump so easily felt like it was harder to lift. I also switched to the barbell from the axle just because I need to retape the latter. So lots of changes that night. Will switch back to the axle next time.

The good thing is my squat continues to improve and my bench press has been holding. I'm also down in bodyweight more than I expected, 203.8. This is a relatively "normal" rate of weightloss from my observations but it's much faster than I personally like for myself. Without a competition looming, half a pound to 1 pound a week is what I usually get. This has been closer to 2 and a little above.

Worked up to a 605 deadlift on Monday. Had someone express amazement that I'd uploaded this on the basis that I partied pretty hard on Halloween. That doesn't make any difference for me. 

It took repping 500 for a couple of weeks to realize how little I'd been using leg drive before when I kept failing those mat pulls. I've been through a similar pattern of this years before, too, having to relearn the deadlift.

Tweaked my hip for the first time since I can remember. I didn't feel it on the pull, but afterwards when I was setting up to do SSB lunges it hit me. Getting up from sitting down would make it tender too. Two days later and it seems back to normal. No stretching my hips for a bit just to be safe.

Squatted 500x3 and bench pressed 345x2 the other day. Not bad. Lifts seem to be in a holding pattern as I drop weight except for strict press.

Splurged a little on groceries yesterday to prepare for a cheat day sometime early next week. Let's give a boost to these numbers.

 Took yesterday off to have a friend day but had a big cheat meal at an Italian restaurant. Huge appetizer of melted brie and bread, two pasta dishes that we split, and tiramisu for dessert. Was riding on an edible so appetite was voracious and this food was amazing. I'm planning on bringing full cheat days back, always had great success in maintaining my strength with them while still losing fat.

Squatted 500x3 today before work. Planning on squatting with the SSB when I get back soon.

 Couple of lifting sessions to report. Mat pulled 585x3 off of 9 mats followed by deadlifting 500x5 with a controlled eccentric. At first I couldn't budge the 585 but I tried again.

Strict pressed 210x3 and got a great pump doing banded strict presses giant-set with band chest presses and chin-ups. My press number has diminished by a factor of about 15 lbs from the weight loss, but my bench press is mostly holding and that's the important lift right now. Still going to fight the good fight and get this back up though.

Been doing more bag-work. Yesterday I went on a fasted 30-min run after waking up, had a modest-carb breakfast with green tea, then did 5 rounds lasting 2:17 each on the heavy bag. 

Weighing in at 207 mid-day with a meal in me and clothes on. Still on creatine.

Bench press
250x5
285x5
325x4
Right shoulder has been hurting for a week-and-a-half now when doing any benching. Wonder if farmers' walks caused it but it seemed to happen after my last heavy strict press workout. 1-rep short but I can't be too unhappy about 325x4.

Dumbbell press
125s x 5, 4
Giant-set with dips x 15, 10 and dumbbell rows of 125 x 10 (last set only, forgot to do the rows after the first)

Called it here to make it to work on-time. Will do more in the evening.

Running on 5 hours of sleep. I did take a 2.5 hour nap yesterday until 7pm because I was exhausted from the weekend but I woke up today and just couldn't go back to sleep.

Squats
365x5
415x5
470x5
Holy shit, on the last rep of 415 my head twitched in a weird way and pain radiated through my lower skull down my neck. Reracked in a daze (glad I hit all 5 first) and staggered over to a tree to regain composure. Thought I'd have to shut the entire session down but slowly the pain melted completely away. Anyway, glad I felt strong at my new and lower bodyweight but I'm definitely feeling less stable with a trimmer midsection. Going to hit abs hard tomorrow after strict pressing. SSB walkouts would also be cool to bring back, I can do Hise shrugs too.

Strip-sets:
405x3
315x8
225x10
135x10
45x10

I'm covering for a co-worker's shift at 7am and I forgot how much I love mornings. With my hours cut I've been waking up at 10:30 to go to work, which used to be extremely late for me. Thing is I also like nights.

Did a deload deadlift workout Friday, up to 500x3. Very nice how 500 from the floor feels like an appropriate deload weight for me now. Felt good actually hitting the goal on this day for once, even if it was an easy one. Finished off the deload cycle with a strict press session Saturday.

Finally replaced my scale batteries, I weigh on the low side of 208. Also found out that I lose 3 lbs just from taking a hot bath. I'm also still on creatine so deloading will drop me another few.

Weekend was very fun. Lots of carbs, including a 1am trip to Denny's Saturday night where I inhaled my staple Sriracha burger, but also lots of walking and very consistent protein intake throughout. Friend commented that they noticed I'm eating way less than before and my waist looks smaller.

Got to visit a farm on Sunday and pet a lone sheep who walked over and hungout until well after sunset.

 Went on a fasted run for 30 minutes after waking up yesterday, then did about an 8-minute heavy bag round followed by some shadowkickboxing in the evening. Today I woke up early 1.5 hours before my alarm and did 20 minutes of shadowkickboxing circuited with the exercise bike before breakfast.

Tried to weigh myself in the morning but my scale is wack. On a given day it'll alternate between showing me around 208 or 215. Today it was the latter before it died and refused to turn back on. Definitely needs new batteries.

Actually had a dream that my meet was today and I had no idea how I was going to lose so much weight within a day. I should be able to make it with exactly one month to go but this is definitely the most pressured I've ever felt to make weight for something. I'm thinking now a better tactic is to start undersized and gain weight into a meet. 

Unracked 530 to squat last night and knew I didn't have it in me so I set it back. I need to deload, feeling rundown. Immediately went to 405x8 (before 530 I'd hit 465x3 at least).

Did a deload bench workout today up to 275x5, then decline pressed 205 for 4 sets of 10-12 super-set with T-bar rows. Finished off with 150 lb farmers' walks followed immediately by 160 lb keg carries. Going to do that combo a lot more, I loved it. I've also noticed that shrugging back on farmers' is a great way to make the rear-delts sore.

Failed to mat pull 570 a buncha times off 3 mats, then did 495x8. Time for a long overdue change for this day. I think this is one case where the Golgi tendon organ is relevant and I'm training my body to fail week after week. I remember this being an issue way back in Portland years ago even. At least 500 is the new 405, which I remarked on back then as being the new 315.

Normally I'd be excited to try new things out but nearly a month away from competition this really sucks. Still, I know the strength is there so I just need to rack up some wins before gameday.

Plan right now is to reset the mats up to 7-9 and rep 600. After that, roll the bar to the floor and pull 500 for reps. Every 3 weeks will be a heavy single day from the floor. No failing a single rep.

Anyway, glad to have gotten the 500x8 at least. Will return to do belt squats and lunges tomorrow.

Bench pressed 375 yesterday. After searching through my log it seems that's a lifetime PR (I know I've done 370 once before). Was conserving time to meet a friend by early afternoon so I ate less carbs than usual, just a modest bowl of oatmeal and a handful of frozen berries on top. Definitely felt hungry during training. 375 was a little harder than I expected but it wasn't a grind. On a full stomach I'm very confident I have 405 in me, these recent singles are NOT feeling very heavy even when I don't feel 100%.

Sacrilege incoming but been really enjoying decline benching lately. Just an easy way to bench decent weight while giving my shoulders a little bit of a break compared to dips or flat benching, or at least that's the way it feels.

Went to the beach the rest of the day with a friend. Slept for 12 hours at night. That is absolutely ridiculous for me but I feel really good after it. Entire lower-body and abs have been very sore the past few days. 

Squatted 500x3 on Saturday night, felt a lot easier than I was expecting but my foot slipped at the end of the second rep and it threw me off for the 3rd. Did drop-down sets of 405x5, 315x10, 225x10, 135x10, 45x10. 

Did some farmers' walks yesterday with 240 in each hand, then keg carries. Felt my left bicep start to twitch so I called it out of safety. 

50 minute jog later at night.

Lifted in my respirator in 95 degrees after roasting in my car driving home. I count that as training.

Strict press
170 x 3
200 x 3
227.5 x 1, 1
245 x 0, 0.5
Really wanted a win but just didn't have it again. Might be time for a deload. Felt drained. Lifted in a respirator.

Did some incline pressing and a lot of chin-ups. No isolation work today.

Canceled some hang-out plans to rest and go to bed earlyish tonight.

Did some shadowkickboxing last night and went on a 40 minute run. Really wanted to pig-out afterwards but forced myself to be reasonable while also not skimping on calories TOO much. Made a bomb recipe of cilantro lime chicken with quinoa. Between the quinoa and black beans (I used half of what the recipe called for) this was carbier than I would have liked for nighttime. Next time I go grocery shopping I'll buy ingredients with that goal in mind. Recipes will be low-carb, pre-made food like pizzas and packaged pasta dinners will be for peri-workout.

 Had a pretty enlightening day yesterday. Did my mat pull work-up sets and everything felt light until I jumped from 500 to 575 (off 2 mats) and just had nothing in me to move it. Tried twice to no avail, then moved back down to 500 and repped an easy 6 with a controlled eccentric (not intentional, I don't know why but my hamstrings are sore from it so cool). Moved back up to 575 and did a single rep without much issue. On those last two successful sets I felt like I had little pop and just had to human crane the weight up. I'm wondering if eating closer to a deadlift workout will make a big difference in my performance consistency. 

Did belt squats after and then headed to work. 

20 minute jog in the evening. Also been using my new Thai bag on my elevated punching bag stand. This bag is huge, I love it. So novel to be able to low kick like this at home.

Easily benched 345x3, which is a lifetime PR. Glad to get that after a poor training week. Afterwards did some banded decline pressing super-set with T-bar rows up to 6 plates and a whole cornocupia of impulsive isolation exercises.

Been exploring some Middle-Eastern black metal and ended up listening to this same album on repeat over 2 hours of lifting. So kickass and heavy.

Barely strict presses 227.5. Tried 4 times, completely failed two of those. Then it dawned on me that my triceps are still hurting from those skullcrushers. Makes sense, this somehow felt different from when I usually fall short of my press. Sticking point was at a weird spot and the decline is way too drastic to be anything else.

 Well shit, I'm experiencing my first bad sessions in months now that I'm further into my diet. To be expected I guess. Felt extremely bad on squats last night, just felt like my form was not clicking and I was coming into each set half-asleep and getting awoken by the weight. Got up to 440 and my left knee hurt coming up from the first rep. Thought it over a second and then called it a night there. Live to fight another day.

Gonna make an admission and note that I was extremely distracted perusing job opportunities and personal training outreach to make some side income the whole time. Just been on a really productive tear the last few weeks but I need to focus.

Another thing, I weighed 216 this morning, which would be crazy because it's the heaviest I've been this year despite reducing my calories. However, my scale needs new batteries and it's giving me an error message after stepping on it, so I'll take care of that and reevaluate.

Crazy fun weekend in the East Bay, got to go to another beach yesterday with calm shallow water so we could wade really far out with drinks in hand and only be stomach-deep. Also saw two fish jump next to us. Thought I slept alright but when I came home I was exhausted and slept for 9.5 hours before work today.

Money situation is very bad right now, can't wait to leave this job after they slashed my hours when I've been here so long. I'm budgeting well when it comes to food and not spending any leisure money outside when with friends.

 Went on a 45 minute jog last night. Started feeling my blood sugar levels crash mid-run (feeling shaky and sweating profusely). This will happen if I drink a sugary PWO shake and then don't eat anything shortly thereafter, but this was after I'd had oatmeal and berries. Guess it wasn't enough. Came back and pigged out on ramen, salami, a salad, and a protein shake. Not proud of eating the ramen so late at night but oh well.

Weighing 212 in the morning now, so I've lost 3 lbs in a month. The first month is the slowest, too, as I ease into things. Cutting it a little close but I should be good by meet time. 

Back randomly started hurting for some reason on pull day. Might have been from bench pressing. Got up to mat pulling 500 but couldn't budge 575 once. Going to table it until next week and come back today after work to do belt squats, good mornings, and abs. 

After not getting anything from that session I went on a 30 minute jog last night. Am now at the point where I have cut out carbs at night besides minimal ones in vegetables.

Bench press
265 x 5
302.5 x 5
322.5 x 5
-
Last set super-set with dumbbell rows
100s x 8

Dips
Bw x 30
45 x 12
90 x 10, 10
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows
115s x 4 x 10

Skullcrushers, chest-flyes, curls, Band pull-aparts

 Squatted an easy 465x5 on Saturday. Not feeling any diminishment in performance from the reduced calories yet. I'm basically leaving peri-workout nutrition exactly the same as before and I intend to keep it that way as long as I lose weight. I pig-out before and after lifting.

Quads have a familiar knife-stab sensation when I squat ATG even without weight. It goes away when I give them a break for awhile. Left hamstring also has been feeling tender when I deadlift or squat. For these reasons I opted not to do my drop-down sets and instead did SSB box squats up to 330x8, followed by good mornings.

Did 15 minutes of a fasted cardio circuit Sunday morning before meeting up with George to go to the shooting range. Diet was fast food and ramen all day. As long as I get protein and don't lose strength that's fine. 

Axle strict press
160 x 5
190 x 5
215 x 4
So damn close! Couldn't break past the middle. First time falling short on strict press in a long time. This was a 5 lb jump from last month and I don't consider it a bad performance at all.
-
Sw with band lat pulldowns and last set super-set with pull-ups x 9

EDIT
Well that was wrong! Rested a long time after writing that and then CRUSHED 215x5.
-
super-set with pull-ups x 10

Axle strict press against bands
145 x 10 + 3 overhead shrugs at top of final rep
Super-set with pull-ups x 10

Incline bench press
220 x 2 x 8
x 7
- super-set with pull-ups x 10

Curls, band press downs, chest flyes

Well, I take that back. Came back yesterday evening and hit the mat pulls. Didn't quite get what I wanted but it was better than 0. Pulled 570x2 fairly easily, then just didn't have a third. Finished with belt squats and lunges with 115 dumbbells.

 Bailed out of a 570 mat pull off 2 mats. Just lost tightness and felt my form breakdown. Going to strip back down to 500 and then go for 570 again after work but that rarely pans out, my brain has failure too fresh in its mind typically. Golgi tendon organ might have some relevance there. In any case, I'll see what happens with that and whatever the case go to belt squats, good mornings, and ab work.

Went on a short 10 min jog last night.

I'm back at work right now after 4 days off. Can't wait to find a new gig.

Back from a crazy fun birthday weekend extending into Monday. Time to get down to business again.

Bench press
285 x 5
320 x 3
370 x 1
* Smooth. Have been feeling depleted after the weekend but I think I did a pretty good job eating. Didn't have any protein late at night Sunday because we were staying a day later than I expected but my inconsistencies for outweighed by the rest of my efforts.

Dips
18
45 x 10
90 x 10, 10

All presses super-set with T-bar rows

 Squatted 520 yesterday. Felt nauseous all day and came into training a little hungry but it was stupidly easy. I'm finding the walkout at this weight harder than the squat.

Going to be gone this weekend for Azzy's birthday in Santa Cruz. Just me, him, and George. Meal-prepping after work to take good food to the hotel along with whatever I eat outside.

Haven't mentioned this yet but an anonymous reader of my blog, one of many thousands, gifted me a 90 lb Thai bag, which is amazing. Problem (and I consider it a good problem) is it's too tall for my punching bag stand. Tried hanging it from a tree and it broke the branch. I have a solution though, going to hang it from the balcony next week.

Yikes, that last entry was near incomprehensible. Did the entire thing with text-to-speech.

Been feeling really nauseous the past few months but it's been worse lately. Just been ignoring it and powering through since my strength kept going up, but I'm hoping now that I'm cutting weight the elimination diet will fix it. Really hard to eat today and I slept like crap last night. 

Strict pressed 240 yesterday and going to force myself to squat today.

Startee the day by making half of my weightgainer, as an example of gradually ramping the calories down. Only other difference right now is not being as junk food like ice cream, especially late at night. Did eat a free Whopper offered to me by one of the plumbers at work though.

Did three hills sprints on Heart Attack Hill and then went on a jog. Haven't done that in a while, mostly been going on jogs. Definitely felt the increased difficulty at this weight.

One thing I should note is that my weight standards are different from before. I'm weighing myself first thing in the morning without clothes currently whereas before in this log it'd be midday at the gym. If I was doing that I'd be around 220 now, so I'm not as light compared to the past as it may seem. (Usually ended bulks at 230)

Ending weight gain phase. Wasn't too epic at just under 4 months of it but I've gotta get going with making weight for November if I don't want to feel rushed.

Start weight: 192
Press: 220x2
Bench press: 350
Squat: 500
Deadlift: ?

End weight: 215
Press: 225x3
Bench press: 370
Squat: 520
Deadlift: ?

These are just confirmed lifts but I can definitely do more than that on bench and squat. Deadlift is too much of an unknown for me to accurately quantify it, since I've been mat pulling and the performance for that has been allll over the place. As of late it's improved a ton, that I know.

Man, despite the extra chest work I think my chest still doesn't look great.

Bench pressed 340x3, which is a lifetime PR. 

Haven't been writing logs during workouts lately so I've only been recapping the powerlifts and strict pressing. Gonna change that. Honestly didn't even realize I'd stopped until I thought about it just now.

Squats
375x3
435x3
485x3

Drop-down to 405x5
315x10
225x10
135x10
45x10

Good mornings
150x13, 13

As of today I am ramping down my caloric intake slowly. Weighed in at 215. To be honest, this is more than I should be for my November 15th meet (198 class). I got addicted to the gains as douchey as that sounds and held off until now. 

Had a long friend weekend extending into the beginning of the week. Had a really good week though. Mat pulled 470x4 off 3 mats, bench pressed 320x5, and strict pressed 225x3. The press was when I hosted my friend and I had to force myself to pull away and go do my thing. Was feeling tired and didn't want to, which was all the more reason to do it. Also drank both coffee and a Red Bull, plus was munching non-stop while we hung-out so that was a lot of good fuel to let go to waste. Didn't have the usual pep that makes for a strong press attempt; usually if the bar rests on my chest for longer than a second I'm going to fail the next rep but this time I was able to keep it going. Ended up being a good session when everything felt heavy.

 Came home last night and just did a bunch of good mornings, starting from 150 and going up to 200x10 before dropping back down to 150. Did 5 or 6 sets overall.

I've developed a minor dry cough and scratchy throat. 90% sure it's from inhaling dry air through my respirator. Feel nothing in my chest, which would point more toward COVID signs. I'll keep monitoring and see when it goes away now that air quality is a little better.

Did some Muay Thai practice yesterday afternoon and went on a jog at night. Haven't been logging this but I've been jogging almost every night with my respirator mask. Also did some stretching. It felt like a lazy day because I was mostly taking advantage of my day off building my PC but I actually got some good training done.

Squats
350x5
405x5
460x5

Drop-down to 405x3, 315x8, 225x10, 135x10

Took my mask off at 460. Air quality isn't good but it's gotten better, no longer "hazardous" and I can see the mountains again.

 Axle strict pressed 210x5 while wearing a respirator mask. Next day (yesterday) did some farmers' walks with 200s in my yard, then followed-up with triceps and biceps, plus a set of exercise ball planks. Pretty used to the mask now. Actually it's just the tightness on my nose bridge and slippage from sweat that's annoying, the actual breathing is a piece of cake even under heavy exercise. I'm not in great cardiovascular shape right now, either, at least not compared to when I was going to Muay Thai (sorta by design, I'm gaining weight), but I still remember the misery of training with a breath restriction mask last year. A lot of people shit on those and they don't do any voodoo with blood cell count but the point for me is they train you to suffer.

We were due for another lightning dry crazy storm last night and early this morning but it didn't really materialize. Still standing ready in case we have to evacuate. Air is peat soup, can't see the mountains past my house.

 Had a good pull day. Hit 570x5 with no grind off of 4 mats. Next time I'll do a rest-pause but I was very pleased with this. Woke up with a painful back but did some stretching out throughout work. Lifted with a mask on, we're surrounded by wildfires and one of the big ones is about 30 minutes away near Santa Cruz.

 Forgot to log something really important for yesterday but I went out and picked up a large pizza from Mountain Mike's for $17. Tuesday special.

Got to go shooting at a range on Sunday, was a lot of fun. Thanks to George for showing me the ropes.

Squatted an easy 515 on Monday night. We're talking around 10:30pm here, felt pretty tired and also nauseous (probably from my diet) but despite feeling like shit consistently I also feel strong and that's more important for right now. If I still feel terrible after I start losing weight then I'll have to get my stomach issues checked out.

Bench pressed 365 pretty easily yesterday. Wouldn't say the weight rocketed up or anything but there was no grind, it locked out smoothly. Did Kroc rows again but only for 1 set each arm, then moved on to T-bar rows with 5 plates. Really focusing on retracting the scapulae when I train lats lately.

A few hours later before bedtime I noticed a smoke smell in my house. Checked the kitchen to see if anything was left on, then realized it's from the wildfires. Air quality had changed that fast. Closed all the windows, ran my air purifier on high, moved all my plants to my bedroom, and ran the AC as I slept. Throat still feels a little scratchy. Then again, I constantly have bizarre ailments from living a hyper and gravitationally-challenged life so I can never be sure what is causing what. Could have strained my throat from growling during Kroc rows.

Have a good mask that filters out particulates so I'll be using that anytime I train for now. Running, lifting, bag-work, etc. 

Strict pressed 240x1 last Thursday on a day where everything felt heavy. Even feeling weak I'm always good for a 1-rep max, it's the ensuing reps that I feel crapped out on.

Friday was 108 degrees. Really wanted to train at the hottest part of the day but by the time I was ready it was evening. Still hovering around 105 at 7pm though. Took my farmer handles and did carries with 200 lbs in each hand in front of the house. Much better than the limited space in my backyard.

Saturday I just did triceps and biceps for 25 minutes and got a good pump.