Overhead press 

145 x 5

165 x 5

185 x 5

Close-grip incline bench press 

185 x 10, 9, 9, 9, 10

Super-set with chin-ups: 12, 12, 12, 12, 20

Dumbbell skullcrushers

35s x 10, 10

50s x 9

Super-set with hammer curls

50s x 3 x 10

Another solid session. Got a big pump from the assistance work by focusing on muscle contractions. I historically tend to get stuck at 185x5 on the press so I'm looking forward to going past that next cycle.

Whatever I pulled in my upper thigh seems mostly healed. Just some fading pain if I flex that area. Squats today will be the real test.

Squats

350 x 5

400 x 5

450 x 5

405 x 3

315 x 1

Felt strong, but when I reracked I noticed that I had pulled something in my left inner thigh. I was started my strip-sets but stopped after the first rep of 315; it wasn't feeling like something I should ignore. It hurts a little but I can still move fine. 

Boxing last night was more bagwork, focusing this time just on the overhand right. Awesome, I've been wanting to train that more. After several rounds of incorporating that into different combos like double jab, overhand right, low left hook, high left hook, straight right, and double jab out, we did a quick ending workout: line-up and do 2 rounds of dragon crawls to a set point followed by crab crawls on the way back, doing jumping-jacks whenever it's not your turn. Afterwards, a 3 minute plank to end class with.

Friday boxing was a good session. Primarily did rounds on the heavy bag mixed with various calisthenics based on the coach's callouts. 

One drill he sometimes has us do is reacting as quickly as possible to dropping down on our stomachs or backs and standing up. This was a lot harder at this weight than before and actually made for a decent conditioning workout. Ending with a long plank after this was killer.

The next day, we went out for drinks and breakfast at Mix Huevos and then saw Street Fighter, which started off awesome but declined in quality a bit as the movie wore-on. M. Bison's depiction was just inexcusably bad. It was a fun watch overall, though, and it felt surreal to be watching Ryu vs Akuma on the big screen.

We meant to go out to the pumpkin patch later but ended up taking naps in the afternoon and staying in. I put on Conan for a little while to get some Halloween costume ideas. 

 Bench press

225 x 5

260 x 5

295 x 5

Seated overhead dumbbell press

80s x 4 x 8

Lying dumbbell rows

80s x 25, 15

Solid bench press effort. For the assistance work, I knew I needed to bring the intensity down as I was feeling beat-up. The dumbbell pressing and high-rep rows ended up making my shoulders and upper-back sore, but I felt peppy walking away from this workout.

Boxing the next day was a bit of a slog: my calves were sore from hill sprints and skipping rope had my legs feeling like lead. We focused mostly on bagwork at first before transitioning to partner combos, ending with ab work.

I'm allotting a full rest period when I get home from work today. No training. Tomorrow is a conditioning-intense boxing session followed by a heavy squat weekend and I also want to get in a run on Saturday or Sunday.

Mat pulls (9)

545 x 5

Romanian deadlifts

315 x 15

Sandbag squats

200 x 20

Heavy pulling in the past tended to make for really long sessions. Besides all the plate loading, there was the hype-up period to overcome injury insecurity for my back. No more of that: I blazed through this. Had plenty of more reps in me but I capped it at 5 to see how much better I recover because mat pulls days used to run me into the ground and I have the added variability of boxing now. I'll keep it at 5 reps all the way until I reach the floor.

The right side of my back started to hurt after RDLs, though. It's not bad and I can still move fine, but it has annoyingly broken my streak of a pain-free back. Next time, back off a bit after the heavy pulling; I should have done RDL sets of 8-10 instead. Luckily, I was still able to hold up the sandbag and squat with it just fine.

This morning before work I managed to squeeze in a couple of sprints up Heart Attack Hill before going back inside for breakfast.

Also, had a really good weekend. Played a bunch of Ninja Gaiden Black and PSO on the gaming front (finally beat the bone dragon boss and it was incredibly easy this session). Sunday, went up to SF for a lowkey birthday. Went to a Simpsons-themed bar and then Stooky's, which had some amazing beef broth cocktails.

 Bench press 

245 x 5

275 x 3

310 x 4

245 x 10ish (lost count)

Axle clean once and press

150 x 9, 8, 8

A few more things I didn't record.

Also squatted 480x3 in the session after this, followed by strip-sets. 

 Two deloads to record on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Friday:

Log clean and press

97.5 x 5

117.5 x 5

142.5 x 5

Weighted push-ups: 80 x 3 x 10

Super-set with chin-ups: 3 x 15

Axle curls

40 x 36

Sunday:

Deadlifts

315 x 5

365 x 5

405 x 5

Sandbag squats

200 x 20

On Saturday I went on a 3 hour hike with coworkers. Much of it was uphill but I found it pretty easy. However, the next day deadlifting seemed to awake deep muscle soreness in my right thigh and the first rep of squatting with the sandbag was such agony that I set the bag down, assessed whether it was pain I could ignore or not, decided it was, and knocked out 20 reps without issue.

 Deload

Squats

225 x 5

275 x 5

315 x 5

Front squats

225 x 8

Sandbag squats

200 x 20

Good mornings

155 x 10

185 x 15

Been a while since I've done barbell front squats and I stopped at 8 due to wrist discomfort in the clean position. The grip shirt kept the bar solidly in position at least, so it was the starting position that started to hurt and not from the bar gradually sliding down like before. Arms crossed would work well paired with the grip shirt, but I suddenly remembered I really like sandbag squats and they work my upper-back and biceps as a bonus.

I have boxing class this evening. The heat wave we're experiencing doesn't make a huge difference to me; I'm always hot as hell in there.

 Deload

Bench press

135 x 5

185 x 5

225 x 5

Axle clean once and press

117.5 x 3 x 10

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows

80s x 3 x 15

Banded tricep pressdowns: 3 x 15

Super-set with dumbbell preacher curls: 35 x 3 x 10

Went to a pool party over the weekend and my friend brought Impossible burger patties while I supplied the bison. I assured him his good intentions weren't in vain with me and I'd have one of this burgers, but oops, I ended up only eating my own bison burgers. Since the Impossible patties were pre-grilled they took no time getting ready so everyone else was already full by the time mine were done.

I did a 20 rep squat set with 315 on Saturday to make-up for running out of time after the 500 squat single. Followed that up with 2 sets of 315 RDLs. 

Went out and saw Coyote vs Acme after lunch and coffee. Eli and I thought it was mid. Some good jokes, though.

Later that evening, I went on an untimed 2 mile run.

The next day, I hit 20 ABCs in 5:30, followed immediately by a 5 minute round on the heavy bag. It was the perfect short but intense workout to do before going to a pool party later. George grilled Impossible patties while I supplied the bison burgers. Spoiler alert: I ended up only eating bison.

Also did some solid advancing in Champions of Norrath and Tales of the Abyss and even got in a PSO session on Saturday. 

Block press

315 x 3

335 x 1

355 x 1

375 x 1

Bench press 

275 x 8

High incline dumbbell press

80s x 10, 9, 7, 8

 

Kroc rows
125 x 32

 

Single arm preacher curls
15 x 10
35 x 10
15 x 10 

 

This workout wasn't in the program. It's just what I wanted to do after getting home from work; I was looking forward to it all day. I've been wanting to block press heavy for awhile now. Immensely pleased at how light this felt in my hands. 

 

This is the height of the block I'm benching with. 

 

 Did some grappling training in my sleep the night before last. I dreamt that someone was trying to rob my garage so I grabbed him in a rear-naked choke. We fell to the ground with me choking him for a long time until I felt pressure on my back. In the dream I thought he was using some move to break my spine so I squeezed harder until I woke-up on my stomach squeezing my pillow with my cat sitting on my back.

Considering I only took 2 weeks of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it's pretty clutch that I can pull off a submission literally in my sleep, even if it's the easiest one to learn.

Boxing yesterday started with shadowboxing and then light sparring. Both of my partners were teens who seemed like beginners so I took it very easy to give them a chance to throw. The second kid pointed to my arms and said "Don't hurt me" with a big grin. We did rounds on the heavy bag afterwards, and then to my initial dismay, stepped outside, which usually means sprinting. I was not looking forward to that with my left knee hurting lately, but at least I was wearing my SBD sleeve.

Sprinting was fine, although whether from being out of practice or from subconsciously not firing as hard as I could, for once I wasn't at the front of the pack. Next we had to do walking lunges all the way cross the large parking lot. Not only was my knee fine but it actually felt therapeutic, and had it not been for boxing I never would have thought to do lunges with a problem knee.

Squatted 500 lbs for a single tonight and then walked away, which is the first time I've hit that in quite awhile. My left knee has been feeling iffy when I go upstairs lately. If I shift weight on it wrong it'll hurt a little and buckle. Wasn't sure if I could squat heavy, but cautiously working-up took me all the way to the goal. Didn't bother with assistance work as it was way late and I've been sleeping poorly this week already. I also felt better not pushing the knee too hard after that.

500 felt pretty light despite the fact that I felt like crap waking up today. If I wasn't gunshy about the knee I would have gone for a second rep. 

Memory is weird. I did a long (for me) run last year and I could have sworn it was 8 miles, but I recently reviewed that log entry and found out it was 6 miles. It was one of the farthest runs I've ever done and the record-keeping gamer inside me is rankled by the high score demotion, so I now have a personal goal of running 10 miles just for the claim of having done so. It's been awhile since I've gone running so I'll start with my usual 2-3 miles and work-up from there. Since I'm currently 210 and expecting to get heavier, knee sleeves for joint health will be used.

I've got some catching up to do. Across my last two lifting sessions, I bench pressed 320x2 and deadlifted a single rep of 545 (went for 585 after and couldn't break the weight off the floor). I also did two boxing sessions last week that were very standard partner combo drills and heavy bag work.

Yesterday:

Log clean and press

177.5 x 5

202.5 x 3

227.5 x 1 (PR)

Close-grip bench press

240 x 10, 10, 9

Super-set with wide-grip chin-ups

3 x 15

The 445 deadlift was more of a grind yesterday than I expected and my back was feeling it today (standard muscle soreness and not anything injurious). As a result, my log clean was poor and my biceps did a lot more of the work than usual getting the log to my chest (on the positive side, I got to skip curls because the log already took care of them). 

227.5 went up halfway from leg drive and I strict pressed to get the lockout. On a second rep attempt, which was actually a pretty strong and snappy clean, I got the weight over my head but lost balance and literally threw the log forward onto the crash pads, which was a fun fail. Went for a third just for the hell of it and this time it was one of those reps where you barely get the log to your chest and have nothing left to press with.

Not being able to deadlift 585 was disappointing, but I have so many ways forward that the biggest challenge will be settling on one.

 Yesterday evening:

Log clean and press

142.5 x 5

175 x 5

202.5 x 8 (PR)

Close-grip bench press

240 x 3 x 10

205 x 7

Chin-ups

4 x 15, 1 x 12

In uncharted territory here and making log PRs every session. To be clear, these weren't all rapid fire reps and I rest-paused a little, but still reasonable enough to be a set. It'd be interesting to start going for time.

I would have liked to do curls but it was getting late so this morning before breakfast and work I hit a 15 rep set of kettlebell double cleans and presses (basically, ABCs without the squat portion) to get some bicep work in.

Currently listening Teddy Atlas' memoir as an audiobook and it's one of the most engrossing audiobooks I've ever "read". Just got to the part where he met Mike Tyson.

Squats
340 x 5
395 x 5
445 x 5
315 x 20

Reverse-hyper single leg curls
270 x 30

First weak-feeling day in awhile. I had actually set-up the evening before but saved this for the next day since my left knee was bugging me from standing still at work for a period of time in the morning while engrossed with something at my standing desk. Knee felt better after a night's rest, but only slept for 5 hours before I couldn't go back to sleep. Come gym time, I was tired and let out a big yawn just before the top-set while I was trying to excite myself. 445 felt incredibly heavy and I did the minimum 5. A good showing of "bad day strength".

I started to feel a little bit better later in the day. I planned to do some home boxing but ended up having to deal with a plumbing situation with our dishwasher leaking. Turned out to be the best-case scenario and it was just the P-trap coming loose so it cost $3 to get a replacement washer and tighten the pipes. But diagnosing it and researching dishwasher leaks ate into my evening time. I managed to get in a 5 minute round on the bag, which still felt awesome.

The leak turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When I went to Home Depot I randomly stumbled across some gym flooring and decided to ritz up my patio gym with them. Definitely going back for more. I still have plans to extend that indoors, but for now the free space is remaining as a memorial to my dad with his old desk still around so my siblings can visit and sit there.

 Bench press

225 x 5

255 x 5

290 x 6

Axle clean once and strict press

142.5 x 4 x 10

Super-set with  lying dumbbell rows

115s x 4 x 10

Dumbbell curls

50s x 10, 10

Super-set with lateral raises

15s x 10, 10 

Steady 5 lb gain on bench press every month, but notably, these 6 reps felt much stronger than 285 x 6 last go around. Last rep wasn't a total grind this time. My shoulders and connective tissue have just been feeling much better under the bar lately, too.

I really like the strategy of pairing different assistance work from the main lift. It has me benching and pressing overhead twice a week but with more variety per session and my joints feel better that way.

 Deadlifts

Work-up to 550 x 1

Sandbag squats

200 x 20

I missed the first few attempts at 550 but after tightening my belt, which was feeling loose, I had the mental confidence to fully commit and pull a strong rep. I thought about putting 575 on the bar but since it's been several months since I've pulled over 500 and I forgot that bumper plates quickly take up all the barbell space, I didn't feel like unloading and reloading that many plates after I'd already hit my goal.

Later in the evening I went on a 2-mile run.

 Log clean and press
167.5 x 3
187.5 x 3
212.5 x 5 (PR)
Last set super-set with 15 chin-ups 

Close-grip bench press
235 x 4 x 10
Super-set with chin-ups: 4 x 15

Band pressdowns: 20

Axle curls: 40 x 50

Pretty significant PR. The 5 reps went up far stronger than last month's PR of 207.5 x 4 and none of them were a grind; the weight just kept shooting up overhead.

Boxing was another good class on Wednesday. Didn't do sparring but did the shoulder touching drill, which I always find fun. Did partner combos the rest of the class based on what the coach calls out. Afterwards the coach gave me a fist bump and said it was good to see me, as it's been awhile since I've been here on Wednesday.

It's been a wild time since Thursday morning. At about 5:30 AM I woke to my cat messing around by my head and trying to get at the window. This was unusual because he’s on my sleep schedule and usually sleeps through the night until my alarm goes off. When I picked him up to to take him outside of the room, he immediately started writhing around in my hands, which is even more unusual because he always goes limp when I pick him up before settling in my arms as a perch. As soon as I set him down outside the room, he sprinted back in before I could close the door. Finally, when I closed the door fast enough to keep him out, he started yowling loudly from behind the door, which is completely unprecedented, and that’s when I realized something is in the room he’s fixated on.

That something turned out to be a bat that slipped in through a gap in the window screen. The cat ended up chasing the bat out of the room and I found it flying in circles in the kitchen. I quickly emptied the last remnants of a protein tub and managed to catch it after it stopped to rest.

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Animal control picked up when I rang them and said an officer would be out later to pick it up if I leave it outside, which led to this funny scene of a live bat trapped in a jar of protein left out on my porch.

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In my haste to get through all of this and make it to work, I realized I hadn’t even marked that there was a live bat inside. I joked that any porch pirates were going to get a nasty surprise… And then realized shit, that WOULD be really effing bad if the bat has rabies and we couldn’t test for it, which is the whole point of trapping it and not just releasing it outside. Luckily at around 3 PM an officer left a message on my phone that he was at my property and he wasn’t sure if the bat was in the protein case because dispatch hadn’t left detailed instructions: “I see a creatine or protein container and don’t want to steal your delivery by accident.” We got it cleared up and he ended up taking it for testing.

The next day we got the very good news that it was negative for rabies. The officer still wanted to meet with me on Saturday to fill out paperwork. Meeting him in person, I found him to be a very nice guy but holy shit, the process is wack! I ended up having to pay $130 for the county’s services, which one would assume is what tax dollars are for and and is a great way to encourage people NOT to undergo the proper process and report rabies exposure incidents. Throughout this whole conversation, the cat in question came next to me and the officer and sat down as if he was part of the meeting and he totally charmed the guy.

At least I got an interesting story out of it. The officer also mentioned that the bat was completely covered in protein dust when they took it out.

Also, kudos to my cat, who would not give up. If he hadn’t woken me up, I’d have been sound asleep with a possibly-rabid bat messing around in my bedroom. But what’s shitty is I found out they were on the verge of taking my cat away to quarantine him and “decided” not to, which is infuriating. How is that a decision after the test came back negative? The officer was real nice personally, but the process left a very bad taste in my mouth

 Squats

365 x 3

420 x 3

470 x 4

Strip-sets of 405x5, 315x8, 225x8

Reverse-hyper leg curls

270 x 30

Came into the gym feeling like crap (tired with a headache) and told myself I'd set-up, warm-up, and if I bailed after that then I really needed it. I was dragging during warm-ups and working-up to the 300s, but by 365 I got a burst of energy and sailed through the actual workout.

 Boxing was a big class yesterday. I notice that class size swells when the weather gets a little cooler. 

Although I don't log the 3 rounds of jumping rope every single class, I have to mention something really interesting. My back has grown from doing more strongman training this year while I've gained weight, and as a result my arms are further out from my sides. This is making me miss more from the rope not clearing my feet. I can easily adjust the handles to give me more rope to skip with, but it's an awesome problem to encounter.

We dove right into light sparring next. I had just watched a video of Dmitry Bivol so I practiced circling constantly while keeping distance control via a constant jab and an outstretched arm. This seemed to flummox people and they'd block the first jab or two only to get caught when another one landed. I'm also getting proficient at tracking people side-stepping or pivoting to my left and having them run into my left hook. And I threw more bodyshots this time because I noticed that I was headhunting last week. 

Rest of the class were partner combos. I partnered with a friend who's on the master's boxing team and he likes to drill hard and fast, which is great. My conditioning was getting tested during these drills, although I didn't gas out.

In work news, we hired a new driver so I will not be running deliveries except on Fridays. I'm back to being a desk jockey.

Bench press

240 x 3

275 x 3

305 x 4

240 x 13

Axle press (clean once to get in position)

140 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Kroc rows

125 x 30

Axle curls

40 x 30

I would have been fine with 3 reps of 305 given that I did an upper-body workout the day before yesterday and have been doing a lot of lifting at work, but 4 reps came strong.

I've been continuing to run the delivery routes at work in lieu of our normal driver, who's on medical leave, and it's eaten into my normal downtime at the office to write log updates. I see this as a positive: it spurs me to write during and after the workouts, which I'd fallen off from doing. We are interviewing for new drivers this week so this is a temporary gig, but I've been enjoying the screen break. 

On Friday I delivered protein shakes to an old-school bodybuilding gym about 2 hours away in Santa Rosa complete with framed pictures of Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Arnold, Mike Mentzer, and others on the wall. I offered a compliment about the gym to the lady at the front desk and she told me a bunch of their lifters just did a local bodybuilding show. I told her I'll come take advantage of their day pass next time I'm in the area.

I've been delivering to Gold's Gyms and they have pictures of Arnold and Franco on a mosaic of the front wall of every gym, which has been cool to encounter while working, but it's not quite the same: it looks corporate and samey. Still dope, but something about seeing framed pictures someone actually took the time to hang on a gym wall really appeals to me.

I've got boxing later in the evening today. Looking forward to the light Monday sparring.

Found my last log workout from Thursday in the Drafts section of my writing app without it being uploaded. It was a good workout, so here it is.

Log clean and press
177.5 x 5
197.5 x 3
217.5 x 3 (PR)

Weighted dips
80 x 3 x 10

Weighted decline push-ups
80 x 8, 7, 6

Kroc rows
125 x 30

Got to shadowbox spar or make spar with light contact in boxing on Monday across 3 rounds with 3 different people, the second partner being a complete beginner whom my gloves barely touched while the first and third were skilled and we let ourselves make contact. Blocked a few bodyshots with my lead elbow, which is always satisfying. My defense and in-fighting feels worlds better than last year, but it will take hard sparring to really test that. Rest of the class was standard partner combo drills, with footwork drills on the floor ladders and then some medicine ball work at the end.

Tuesday deload workout:

Bench press

135 x 5

185 x 5

225 x 5

Close-grip bench press

205 x 3x 8

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows

80s x 3 x 15

Reverse hyper

270 x 2 x 15

Carter curls

35s x 3 x 10 

Deadlifts

475 x 8

ABCs: 50s x 16 in 5:05

Bar hit the gnarled tree root twice again despite moving the set-up forward to avoid that. Ended up pulling from a deadstop for the last 2 reps. Interesting that this was never a problem when deadlifting regularly in this spot but when pulling touch-and-go the bar moves in a path that hits it. Happy with this all things considered: I didn't lose any reps between pulling from 7 mats and the floor.

ABCs after deadlifts were a special kind of hell. I let myself off at 16. I'm looking at another week of lifting drink boxes (Gatorade, energy drinks) at work since our delivery driver is out for the week again and I'll be doing his deliveries to help out, so my back will be getting lots of work. I also have boxing later today. I haven't gone running in a long time, which is by design to let my foot heal, but the conditioning I've gotten from skipping rope and ABCs has helped ensure I don't get gassed at the gym. 

Work has been hectic. Our delivery driver unexpectedly called out due to a medical issue that he may not recover soon from, so I've been running his routes. Monday in particular had me driving the big truck, but I killed it for the most part. Lots of light but repetitive back lifting throughout the week but my body has held up well.

Yesterday we went to Chinatown for a meet-and-greet + viewing of Big Trouble In Little China with James Pax, who played Lightning - the inspiration for Raiden in Mortal Kombat. He couldn't have been nicer or cooler.

I also did not know that Bruce Lee had his first acting role here as an infant in 1941.

Did a lot of walking around Chinatown and little Italy afterwards and decided to get Italian for dinner.

Friday ended up being quite manageable. Boxing was surprisingly chill - mostly bagwork with some calisthenics mixed in. The Blade Rave went awesome, and I invited the crew to my favorite breakfast the next day where I had a Bloody Mary and some divine fish tacos.

On Sunday, I was feeling a bit rundown so rather than my log workout I did:

20 ABCs in 6:07

50 push-ups and 50 chin-ups total (broken-up in sets of 10)

I've been feeling sick this week, and our delivery driver at work suddenly called out for the week at the last minute so I've been temporarily running his routes. It's been a fun change of pace being away from a computer, but lifting and carrying boxes in the heat while feeling under the weather has driven me to allow myself 2 days of rest at home. 

Squats

385 x 5

435 x 3

485 x 2

Strip-sets of 405x5, 315x8, 225x5

Reverse hyper single leg curls

270 x 30

I had more squat reps in me, but I've been feeling redlined the past few days and this is a singles week so I'm still exceeding the minimum work. 

My set-up was feeling a little wonky. I had my squat stands a little closer together than normal so my hands were brought in more, which put more stress on my elbow. Somehow this subconsciously translated to standing slightly narrower, too. Minor differences and it's great that I was still game, but something to remedy next time.

Today is going to be a helluva long one. After work, I've got boxing, and then the Blade Rave at The Ritz going on. Fuck it, we ball. I'll have coffee and Red Bull after destroying myself in boxing if necessary. 

 Bench press

250 x 5

280 x 3

320 x 2

250 x 10

Axle strict press (clean first rep)

135 x 4 x 10

Kroc rows

125 x 30

I actually set-up my bench area yesterday but withdrew when my left shoulder felt pain while warming up with the bar. I'd also been very tired all day despite getting good sleep.

I still felt like I was sleepwalking when walking into the gym today but my shoulder was better, so it was on. Still, I couldn't believe how heavy the bar was feeling, especially 280. I reckoned with myself to just hit a nice, strong single of 320, but that ended up feeling good enough to bench an easy double. 250x10 was also a strong set.

 Started off boxing yesterday with shadowbox sparring, which many of us interpret as light contact sparring. First partner was a big guy who was out of shape and new to boxing, so we went no contact. Second partner was an older dude who immediately starts hitting hard enough to piss me off before I realized this level is what I actually want. It's also not bad for me to get a little pissed off as I need to practice aggression. He's slow but has a habit of hitting and then continuing to walk forward and push the punch in for a long time rather than retract so it's easy to uppercut him under his extended arm. Third partner is always a fun dude to dance with because he's skilled and quick so we both move around a lot.

When we partnered up for drills with the shield, I asked the big guy if he wants go because he was closest to my size. I actually found out he was 18, which kind of blew me away for no logical reason. I gave him some pointers on holding the shield, but when we were throwing hooks there was still no firmness to it and it was like punching hard at a piece of paper, which is far more tiring but also something I take as an endurance exercise when paired with beginners. Ended with heavy bag rounds and then some quick partner exercises of throwing a medicine ball at each other and then getting push-up position and rolling the ball toward one another.

 Mat pulls (2)

475 x 8

Sandbag front squats

200 x 15

Bar kept hitting a gnarled tree branch that extended from my patio frame down to my feet. Had to pull dead-stop a couple of reps as the bar got bumped out in front of me. Great showing of brute strength and IDGAF spirit. Earlier in this cycle, when I was still very tentative about pulling touch-and-go, it would have killed the set for me by losing momentum. For my next week when deadlifting from the floor, I may do it inside on flat ground to eliminate mishaps.

I was content with just one set of sandbag squats (chosen due to their lack of set-up requirement). Pulling touch-and-go with a narrow stance works the legs more than traditional deadlifting and I'm a 210 lb guy doing hill sprints and bodyweight squats in boxing, plus I want to fit in ABCs somewhere this week, so my legs are getting worked plenty outside of my dedicated squat day.

Also wanted to mention that I was in San Francisco on Saturday for a birthday and we went a vintage game and arcade center by the water that had a collection of games from the 1920s and '30s, including this grip test machine. There was also Pong and some 90s arcade cabinets, so I got to end the night with X-Men vs Street Fighter

 Walked into a packed boxing gym on Thursday, which I later found out was due to another gym coming over for sparring. Got to glance at some good matches in my peripheral vision during training. This session was mostly striking the shield that our partner held up, starting with a jab, then a 1-2, and then a jab-uppercut and a straight right-uppercut. I complimented my partner for his power and when it was my turn he said that my right hand hit hard as hell. Ended with 2 rounds of bag work and then a drill doing side-to-side shuffles in and out of a ring, squats/lunges depending on the round, and a 30 second plank, going 3 rounds of that little circuit.

Friday evening:

Log clean and press
147.5 x 5
172.5 x 5
197.5 x 5

Weighted push-ups: 80 x 10, 10, 10, 6
Weighted chin-ups: 80 x 7, 7, 7, 7

Hammer curls: 35s x 10, 10

Made use of my 80 lb weighted vest and it was a fun change to assistance work. Chest got really blasted.

This morning, I strapped on the vest again and went for a 19 minute walk. My traps are killing me after all this, which is awesome.

 Bench press

217.5 x 5

250 x 5

285 x 6

Axle clean once and strict press

132.5 x 4 x 10

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows

115s x 4 x 10

Dumbbell curls

50s x 3 x 10

Super-set with lateral raises

15s x 3 x 10

6th rep of 285 was a grind. Thought for a second that failing the rep might happen which gave me a surge of energy.

Went out to a barbecue dinner after work and had a feast on tri-tip, hot links, ribs, and various sides. The carby sides went fast while people left plenty of meat, which was just fine with me. I still got some potato salad, but the majority of my dining was protein.

Squats

365 x 3

405 x 3

460 x 4

Drop-down sets of 405x5, 315x8, 225x8, 135x8

Reverse-hyper single leg curls

270 x30

Kettlebell swings

50 x 50

I actually attempted this yesterday but stopped at quarter-squatting 315 because I felt so beat. Had stayed up late the night before, which was worth it for the social time, but my sleep schedule is so locked-in during the week from consistent sleep and rise times that I ended up getting a very poor 5 hours with constant wake-ups. 

Warm-ups this time still felt heavy, but better than the day before. 460 caught me off-guard by feeling light and I had to make a split-second decision whether to squat a 5th rep or not, but the nagging voice of moderation in my head had me call it at my original goal of 4.

Log clean and press
160 x 3
182.5 x 3
207.5 x 4 (PR)

Swiss bar bench press
235 x 9, 8, 8

Chin-ups: 3 x 12

Super-sets:
Incline chest flyes: 35s x 12, 12
50s x 12 (10 second squeeze at the end of last 2 sets
Alternating across-the-chest curls
50s x 20, 20, 18

Sandbag carry: 200 lbs x 1 minute

Failed the 4th rep at first (clean was very weak and set the log low on my chest), but a redo with extra intensity got it up.

Went to boxing Friday night. After skipping rope and 3 rounds of dumbbell shadowboxing, there was the very familiar Friday circuit of medicine ball burpees, plyo pushups, and lateral dumbbell holds, 1 minute each. Repeat for 3 rounds. That nuked my inner chest, and I want to get a medicine ball to do medicine ball push-ups and burpees at home. Finished with bagwork and then an ab circuit: crunches, Russian twists, leg raises, and a minute plank.

My 80 lb weight vest arrived today. Props to the delivery guy who walked up the stairs with it instead of just leaving it at the bottom like so many packages end up.

 Monday boxing again started with light sparring. 1st partner was the older dude who is game but doesn't have great technique or speed, 2nd guy was a rail-thin guy who barely makes contact, but third was an interesting match with a skilled partner who wasn't afraid of in-fighting. Volume output from both of us was almost non-stop for the 3 minute round. Those always make my day. Next were partner combos, which I know are necessary but are my least favorite part of training because of their repetitiveness, followed by bagwork and a minute plank. 

Foot is feeling better. Still at its base level of pain where I can feel discomfort if I stretch it a certain way, but better than after that run. 

Yesterday:

Mat pulls (3)

475 x 3, 9

Experienced a very unexpected blood sugar crash just from loading plates and warming-up. I'd eaten oatmeal and tuna pre-workout, but waited longer than normal due to this particular lift causing acid reflux. I ignored it and drank water, but it caused me to experience a blackout sensation on the first set and I lost balance. A few minutes later I was feeling more stable, as this effect tends to go away on its own even without refeeding. The redo was a completely different experience and my breath pattern was also more locked-in.  Adding a rep while going closer to the ground was sweet. Was out of time so called it a night here.

I mentioned previously that I opted to change plans for fireworks viewing from the Golden Gate Bridge to instead having a wonderfully serene time barbecuing at the local park. Turns out that Independence Day in San Francisco was such a disaster it's been making the news rounds here. Extremely heavy fog totally obstructed the entire show and there were apocalyptic traffic and public transit conditions. My coworker who was there said that people were leaving their vehicles in the street because traffic wasn't moving for hours. I'm experiencing a strange form of regret where I wisely made the right decision in the end but am kicking myself for even entertaining the thought in the first place, haha.

Bench press 

235 x 3

270 x 3

300 x 4

235 x 13

Last set super-set with dumbbell rows: 115s x 10

Axle clean once and press

130 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Super-set with dumbbell rows 

115 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Sandbag carries: 200 x 30 seconds, 1 minute

Bench press is progressing slow and steady, going up 5 lbs a month. Biffed the first round of sandbag walks because I forgot to remove my lever belt and the bag was causing it to dig into my lower abdomen.

Had a great 4th of July. Cancelled our tentative plans to drive into San Francisco to see fireworks from the Golden Gate Bridge because of fog forecasts and remembering what traffic is going to be like so we went to the local park instead and had a barbecue, which was actually my first time working a charcoal grill myself. I've only grilled with propane (and electric, but we don't count that). It's a huge park with a lake and it was almost completely empty. It was definitely the right call. Most of my feasting ended up being an unopened pack of grass-fed hot dogs from the camping trip that I wanted to finish before they expired, but I managed to finish with an amazing-tasting bison burger.

Went on a 2 mile jog on Sunday and my left foot is feeling a little pain for it. That barefoot run at the beach really did it in. I'll take running on flat ground off the menu for awhile, which sucks because I love zoning out to music on a long run. I'll resume short hill running rounds once the pain is gone and go from there. Skipping rope at the boxing gym is going to suck a little today, but it's not too bad. 

Didn't play any games on the 4th, as I was still digesting the Xenoblade 2 ending, but on Sunday I resumed Tales of the Abyss and immediately got into it and started progressing the story.

Bench press 

235 x 3

270 x 3

300 x 4

235 x 13

Last set super-set with dumbbell rows: 115s x 10

Axle clean once and press

130 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Super-set with dumbbell rows 

115 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Sandbag carries: 200 x 30 seconds, 1 minute

Bench press is progressing slow and steady, going up 5 lbs a month. Biffed the first round of sandbag walks because I forgot to remove my lever belt and the bag was causing it to dig into my lower abdomen.

Had a great 4th of July. Cancelled our tentative plans to drive into San Francisco to see fireworks from the Golden Gate Bridge because of fog forecasts and remembering what traffic is going to be like so we went to the local park instead and had a barbecue, which was actually my first time working a charcoal grill myself. I've only grilled with propane (and electric, but we don't count that). It's a huge park with a lake and it was almost completely empty. It was definitely the right call. Most of my feasting ended up being an unopened pack of grass-fed hot dogs from the camping trip that I wanted to finish before they expired, but I managed to finish with an amazing-tasting bison burger.

Went on a 2 mile jog on Sunday and my left foot is feeling a little pain for it. That barefoot run at the beach really did it in. I'll take running on flat ground off the menu for awhile, which sucks because I love zoning out to music on a long run. I'll resume short hill running rounds once the pain is gone and go from there. Skipping rope at the boxing gym is going to suck a little today, but it's not too bad. 

Didn't play any games on the 4th, as I was still digesting the Xenoblade 2 ending, but on Sunday I resumed Tales of the Abyss and immediately got into it and started progressing the story.

Did a later boxing class on Thursday evening because I have Friday off and don't have to pay heed to preparing for work and getting to bed early. Right away we start with light sparring, so this class is a win already. Only one partner instead of rotating every round. I did a lot of infighting with my partner where we crouched down and touched shoulders while throwing tight combos. Blocked a lot of body shots with my elbows. 

Moved on to partner combos using mitts and the shield. The shield round in particular had us punching as hard as possible. As soon as the round ended we dropped into a minute-long plank and I felt awful, not because the plank was hard on my abs but because I was catching my breath while remaining still and tense. Recovered before the plank was over, though. When class was over, I stayed after to work the bag. It’s the last class before the 3 day weekend and I wanted to put in the extra work.

I also picked up paperwork to have my doctor sign-off on so I can do hard sparring, which is required for those sessions.

As for today:

Deload

Squats

205 x 5

255 x 5

305 x 5

255 x 3 x 8

Reverse hyper single leg curls

270 x 30

Kettlebell swings 

50 x 50

Swam some leisurely laps in the pool afterwards. Great start to the weekend.

I ALSO finally beat Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tonight. Only took 7 years. What a journey. The ending was alright. Good, really. I just found myself getting taken out of how cringe I found elements of it. The voice acting, the outfits, Rex's age. But it was touching at the same time. I am pretty glad Pyra survived. I just wasn't exactly brought to tears like some online were and I WISH I felt that strongly while watching the end. I'm actually bummed that the game is over though, which tells me it was a great game in the end despite its many warts.

What's next in RPG land? I have Takes of the Abyss awaiting my return, and I'll get around to starting Torna soon. Already I want to dive into Xenoblade 1 and see how Klaus fits in there.

The calm before the storm:

Rex looked stoned as hell here:

 

Hokey.

I'll admit the title screen after the ending is nice.

Deload

Bench press

135 x 5

165 x 5

205 x 5

Axle clean once and press

120 x 3 x 10

Super-set with chin-ups:  3 x 12

Done on Tuesday. Yesterday I just did Fist of the North Star boxing.

No sparring in yesterday's boxing class, but still got some good work in by taking 30 seconds turns with a partner defending jabs, 1-2s, and hooks (separate rounds for each). I dig any kind of dynamic work with a partner like that. Mondays are a boon for it.

I am really feeling my weight gain while skipping rope. On the plus side, my first partner made mention of my size by requesting that I not knock him out. My girlfriend also commented later that night that my back "looks huge now, like a tiger", which was fucking rad.

 Deload

Mat pulls (4)

475 x 8

SSB box squats

290 x 3 x 5

Sandbag carry: 200 lbs x 40 seconds

Strongest-feeling touch-n-go mat pulls yet. Pushed up with my quads, then hinged as the bar rose. No blackout sensation, either. I was set to do more than 8, but the bar bumped my leg on the 8th rep in a way that it misgrooved and I lost balance. Instead of getting braced again, I remembered that this is supposed to be a deload week so I left it at that.

Ordered an 80 lb weight vest. First had my eye on a very swank Rogue Echo vest, but right as I was about to hit buy I noticed that its max capacity is 40 lbs. That should be fine for a walk, but I also want a vest for doing weighted push-ups and wish to go heavier than 40. Went with the cheaper CAP Barbell vest instead.

Played much Xenoblade 2. So much Tiger Tiger, but it's fun. Used the NES controller with it for authenticity and the d-pad is ace. I have screens now.

Got in more shadowbox sparring on Thursday, followed by some simple combo practice rounds with a partner and ending with medicine ball work and intense abs. I had taken a complete rest day the day before and the difference it made while skipping rope was huge - few misses and much more bouncy on my feet. Despite that, I just about keeled over when we did medicine ball squats - my previously fine legs suddenly revealed horrendous soreness from barbell squats 2 days prior.

I recently weighed 208 in the morning before breakfast, in all making it a solid 9 lb gain since April. Still looking pretty lean.

Friday evening:

Deload

Log clean and press

85 x 5

115 x 5

135 x 5

Incline dumbbell press

80s x 4 x 10

Super-set with chin-ups

4 x 12

Dumbbell curls

50s x 10, 10, 8

We went on a fantastic 3-hour hike through the woods at Sanborn (Walden West) the next day. Brought along Vietnamese sandwiches. Much uphill terrain. Only stopped because I was feeling nauseous from something and it was getting a bit late.

Played PSO before bed, enjoyed playing through Temple since we so rarely select it.

Squats

370 x 5

425 x 3

475 x 2

Strip-sets of 405 x 4, 315 x 8, 225 x 8, 135 x 8

Reverse hyper single leg curls

270 x 30

Yesterday I took a total break. Played a little Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and after training my party up a bit I tried to beat Malos the final boss again...but died. I'm having fun with the game at this late stage many years after purchase, though. Even just exploring the world doing nothing is a lot more fun now that my party is actually strong and I don't feel like I'm constantly failing at the game's mechanics. Eli was interested for a little bit watching me explore first-person around Gormott and Morytha.

Just found out: adding a dark orb to the boss will seal his reinforcement summons, hell yeah.

 Got in more light sparring on Monday. First partner was an older guy who tends to get tired and third partner was a short girl, but second partner I went up against was fairly skilled and a volume puncher who threw almost nonstop. He seemed skilled but tended to leave his body open so I took the opportunity to throw a lot of jabs and straights to his midsection, which interrupted his rhythm. Body hooks missed at first but once I found my range and committed to infighting, I was landing them (albeit lightly).

Ended doing some medicine ball slams. People were dying from this despite my medicine ball being 14 lbs vs everyone else's 8. I did downgrade to the 8 when we had to move around in a circle with directional changes called out and exercises like holding a squat stance for 30 seconds. 

 Bench press

250 x 5

280 x 3

315 x 3

Dumbbell press

115s x 8, 7, 7

Super-set with bent-over dumbbell rows

115 x 8, 8, 10

Incline dumbbell press

80s x 10, 7

Super-set with shrugs

80s x 12, 15

Alternating across-the-chest curls

50s x 20, 20

35s x 20

Very good session. It's been awhile since I've benched 315 and doing it for a triple is a longstanding personal standard I've always liked to have for myself. It's a "comfort number", if such a thing can even exist when you're fighting not to get crushed by several hundred pounds.

I'm willingly sacrificing a little bit of reps on paper by focusing on the dumbbell press chest contraction and not letting the bells go down too fast. 

I took the rest of the day pretty easy after this and went on a walk with Elizabeth to our favorite ice cream spot and back. It was early enough in the day where we had plenty of sunlight. 

Was originally going to do this on Saturday but I was recovering from a lack of sleep due to going out with George to The Ritz for Satori on Friday night. That was an alright time and George seemed to (mostly) enjoy it, but I worry about him. I think it would be beneficial to invite him out for non-drinking excursions: hikes and the like. 

Got to play Xenoblade 2 Saturday while I was resting, but died at the final boss despite doing well. Taking some time to travel around the world, train, and even just casually explore. After so many hours and years, knowing just WHERE the exact end goal is has me feeling more enthusiastic about wasting time, oddly enough.

Tragically lost a long write-up I had completed, but the top set of the workout was hitting 210x3 on log clean and press, which is a PR. I actually went for a 4th but I didn’t like the way my back felt on that 4th clean and the log ended up sitting low on my chest, so I let it drop. Wore my Cerberus grip shirt for the first time training the log and I couldn’t turn my belt around with it on, so I opted to leave it facing forward and it definitely contributed to the weak 4th clean rep - the log was further out on my legs than normal before rolling it up. In the future, I’d rather stick with the backwards lever belt and no grip shirt. I can always bust out the shirt in competition and have someone from my entourage clasp the belt from behind. I prefer not to wear it backwards under the shirt as the lever digs into my back.

Boxing yesterday started with partner shadowboxing, but this time it was without gloves so it truly was contactless and not light sparring like Monday. Traded some basic combos, did 2 rounds on the bag, footwork drills, and ended with ab work. Quite a lot of varied things in 1 hour.

Knees seem to be complete pain-free now, although the real test will be squat day. Have been doing backwards treadmill walks on a broken treadmill at work during my lunch break for knee rehab.

 Mat pulls (5)

475 x 8

Just hit this and called it a night, as I ended up training late and decided I could skip the squat assistance work to give my achy knees a break and since log cleans the next day will provide some squat movement. 

Started seeing stars and feeling light-headed around rep 4 but I held on. No acid reflux this time, thankfully.

Realized afterwards that I had been holding the bar a little further out than I should have; I should wear pants next time so I'm not subconsciously attuned against scraping up my legs.

This weight is light enough that I can move it while not paying attention, but I need to remember to start the pull with my quads and then hinge once the bar is high enough. Didn't really feel my quads working on this set the way I have in recent sessions.