Pushed the Prowler last night and then went on a 10-minute jog. This morning I hit 50 burpees and 50 jumping-jacks before downing a weightgainer and heading to work. 

Last day at this job and starting the new one tomorrow. Already received a new order of Animal Meal to drink my breakfast while I get settled in. I deemed it the best weightgainer on Amazon. Its biggest downside is pea protein being part of the blend, but there's beef protein in there too which is cool and uncommon. Other supposedly "clean" gainers STILL have maltodextrin as the first ingredient after all these years and advancements in nutrition.

Bench press

275 x 1

315 x 1

340 x 1

Kroc rows

150 x 20

Bench press

230 x 10, 10, 9, 10, 6+3(rest pause)

-

Super-set with wide pull-ups

12, 12

35 x 10, 10, 12

Push-ups x 15

Pull-ups x 15

340 bench was alllll over the place which made it all the radder that the weight still shot up. Possible I got overhyped from timing a part of a song to the lift, which I don't typically do anymore, and as a result the bar trajectory was anything but straight. Or it could just be that I'm getting used to singles again and haven't benched this amount in a long time. Whatever the case, the raw strength is definitely there and it's a good place to be.

 

Came extremely close to failing the very last rep of benching 230. Wouldn't be as big a pain in the ass failing 385 like I did a few years ago but adrenaline still kicked in and everything. My cat was sitting on my chair a few feet away watching me and I knew I had to set a good example for him so I mustered everything I had to get it up. Don't want him thinking that missing reps like that is OK.

Just a bone-crusher of a session with Kroc rows AND Boring But Big.

Giant sets

SSB front squats: 240 x 10, 10

SSB narrow-stancr back squats: 240 x 10, 10

Kettlebell swings: 50 x 30, 30

SSB good mornings

150 x 10, 10

Leg extensions and leg curls

295 x 30 each

50 ab swivels

10 reverse crunches

Opted to give my back a break from heavy loading and assassinate quads and hamstrings more directly. Glad to be back at this weight for those squat super-sets. 

Went on a 10-min jog and then pushed the Prowler last night after work, lighter than usual since recovery was the main focus of the day. The thing is dead silent if I use my bumper plates, which is awesome. I've also been carrying out my kettlebells to stack on it instead of metal plate so the whole setup has been a lot easier than when I first got it.

Cooled off after with a night swim. 

 There have been several night jogs I haven't been logging. Also did 30 burpees before work this morning. If I had more time I would have done more. In addition to making me hungrier for breakfast it also just plain wakes me up better than coffee ever can (although I'm thoroughly enjoying my homebrewed coffee at the office too right now).

After 4 straight days of training I took Sunday completely off for a fantastic beach day. Was carrying the cooler over to the sand when a guy remarked "Someone's been eating his Wheaties!" Swam in the ocean and ate a ton of picnic food.

Weighed 215.6 in the morning before breakfast. 6 pound gain since last month. I'm putting away food like it's my job but still lean for this bodyweight with visible abs. My meals are big so if I want to keep ascending past the 220s increased meal frequency will be key. The weightgainer has been such a big help for saving time and filling in caloric gaps.

Giant set

Axle clean once and press away: 130 x 4 x 10

Neutral grip chin-ups: 3 x 10, 12

Leg extensions: 295 x 3 x 20, 30

Last set of extensions super-set with leg curls: 295 x 20

Giant set

Behind the neck press: 100 x 3 x 7

Wide chin-ups x 10, 10, 12

Leg curls: 295 x 3 x 20

Dips x 12

Tricep pressdowns x 15

Yukon squats

410 x 10

320 x 18, 4

I was dragging, so this was an excellent performance for my first squats over 400 since a couple of months ago and post-illness. Made an executive decision to shut down the last set because I felt my body relaxing against my will from fatigue (been 3 days of intense training paired with early work days/less sleep) and the beginnings of right knee pain to set in. No injury. 

Great to see me inch closer to a set of 20 again. And AFTER introducing a set of 400? Just a fantastic rebound from last month. 

Carter curls

35s x 5 x 10

* For lack of a proper name, I'm naming these after Paul Carter, who advised adding an additional ROM to the top of a curl that involves shoulder flexion. More here: https://youtu.be/T_1eOJr04FE

Actually joined Arnold's new newsletter, Arnold's Pump Club, and their email actually linked to that video. Quality stuff. 

Concentration curls, preacher curls, and several torturous sets of wrist-rollers 

Woke-up at 6:45 and hit 40 burpees and 40 push-ups. Downed some leftover weightgainer and a small remaining portion of a fruit smoothie and multivitamin right after before heading to work.

Bench press
Worked-up to 330 x 1

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

Easy. Had strength for more; time before work didn't permit. But this was great. Haven't full ROM benched this heavy all year. Thank you COVID for really improving the state of my golfer's elbow. Felt a little irritation that I still feel in the office now but it's a big improvement. I aim to hit 340 next week and 350 the week after unless my elbow regresses, in which case I'll go back to board pressing.

Immensely enjoying this power day.

EDIT: came back after work at 8pm to get some more work in.

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

35 push-ups

The original plan was BBB. Since that got interrupted and the workout was split in two I added a 6th 225 bench set, which probably wasn't necessary since 5 sets broken up would still be more volume than I'm used to right now.

Mirza alerted me to a possum while I was training. He was dragging a 1.25 lb weight plate tied to his leash for his training (the cat, not the possum) so he couldn't attack it even though he clearly wanted to.

 Went on a 30-min jog yesterday and did lots of stretching throughout the day. Also used my massage gun because I'm sore all over, especially my traps. It's not just my upper traps that are sore but the lower ones extending down the length of my back, too. Never had that happen with shrugs before.

Today has been great so far. Got good sleep and was preparing my bench set-up before the lack of time before work and level of soreness I was still feeling made me table it for tomorrow. My bench day is the closest thing to a max effort workout of the week at the moment (my deadlifts are heavy for low reps too but well below a max). Decided this last month that I really want to chase that mythical 405lb bench press while I'm gaining weight, and my squat and deadlift have been historically easy to raise so I'm not concerned about their numbers for a meet so this is the one day where I want to be as fresh as possible and not be hindered by recovery needs. 

Ended up taking the Prowler out stacked with 5 plates and then did drop-down laps where I removed a plate for each run. When I got to 2 plates, I pulled it. Also got in two laps of suitcase carries with a 50 lb kettlebell. Went in after that and did 30 burpees and a tough 1-minute plank where my sore arms and legs were the weak link and barely able to hold me up. Now currently eating a bison-quinoa-veggie bowl and weightgainer at the office.

Yesterday:

Deadlifts
Up to 525x3 +10 shrugs
405x12 +10 shrugs

Romanian dumbbell deadlifts
125s x 10

Goblet squats
50 x 30, 20, 20

Intended to do abs but back was feeling pissy so did the McGill Big 3 rehab protocol and side planks were a part of that. 

Gonna lay off the weights today except for the reverse hyper. Also aim to take the Prowler out for a ride.

Took the time to make homemade coffee the night before and it's treating me nice this morning. Had set my alarm 20 minutes earlier but I woke up on my own earlier than that, at 6am sharp, to drop my visiting brother off at the airport before work.

Experiencing a VERY rare instance of genuinely not being able to tell if my back is minorly injured or incredibly sore now. Felt it come on gradually throughout the evening and it was uncomfortable to sleep on.

Axle clean once and press: 110 x 5

Close-grip neutral grip chin-ups: 5

10 rounds in 11:04

Giant sets 

Axle behind-the-neck press

90 x 3 x 10

-

Lateral raises: 10s x 3 x 10

-

Wide-grip neutral grip chin-ups

3 x 10

Did a gnarly curl workout yesterday. Recently listened to a podcast with Paul Carter where he was laughing at people who just write an entire muscle group when logging a workout, like "did shoulders", but dammit, when it comes to curls:

1. They're curls, I go crazy and do a ton of rapid, spontaneously-conjured and unplanned sets.

2. They're curls. Whatever. Lol.

I will log that after the curlpocalypse I used my homemade wrist roller and absolutely wrecked my forearms along with my biceps.

I love direct arm work and it's such a fun, feel-good juxtaposition to the powerlifting bench workout I did earlier. 

Spent this afternoon handling a medical situation again. This time Dad's health got worse and he agreed to go to the hospital. There was some friction between me and my aunt as she insisted on calling 911 while I wanted to drive him. She was under the impression he couldn't walk so she went ahead and called the EMTs while I was talking with him and he walked down to the ambulance by himself so...yes, I could have and should have driven him. Gonna move on from that for now because he's being seen and that's more important.

The hospital was a total clusterfuck: they gave me a wrong room number at first, then I figured out from my aunt's call that she's in an exam room in the ER with him but the ER rep I talked to couldn't find him, and finally we agreed over the phone that I'll go to work and come back in the evening when he has a room number. 

Had 30 minutes before leaving for work, so came home and worked up to 320x15 Yukon bar squats. I was aiming for more but that was pretty close to a max effort today. Didn't bother to change out of my cushioned skate shoes and was dealing with a big adrenaline dump that had me feeling sluggish. I'll seize more pockets of time and fit in more soon.

PM update: came home and did another set of 320x15 squats, then 3 super-sets of leg extensions and leg curls on the reverse hyper using 320 lbs (3 45s and a 25 on each side). Then in the living room did an ab wheel rollout set of 8.

1-board press

275 x 3

295 x 3

315 x 2

325 x 1

335 x 1

Bench press

245 x 8, 8, 5 -> drop-down to 185x7

-

First set super-set with Kroc rows: 125 x 20

Then regular dumbbell rows:

125 x 10, 10, 10

I wanted a heavy power workout and got exactly that. No pump here, just joint-crushing sets. Got to build strength again.

Amazingly, the scale read 209 today which would mean I lost about 15 lb in 2 weeks from COVID. It was definitely unexpected because I've been LOOKING a lot bigger since I was ill. 

Also need to log that I did 50 push-ups yesterday morning and went on a 25 minute jog at night, the first since being sick. Lungs felt fine and cough is a lot better. Had a major health scare with my dad that caused me to leave work and go check on him. He's not in good shape but doesn't want to go to the hospital.

 Since I stuffed in 3 hard days of training before the weekend I took 2 days of rest and living life. Body was sore all over. Went to the beach on Canada Day for July 1st and feasted on homemade grass-fed steak sandwiches and a weightgainer. I was so full from this that I drank a little bit of vodka and then just quit. Totally futile. I had so much food in me it'd be too much work and take too many hours of waiting to digest to even feel buzzed. 

Woke-up today and hit 50 push-ups before a work meeting. Once again, I downed my leftover weightgainer shake in the morning and then was too full to bother with the donuts at the meeting. Just have zero desire for sweets when I'm constantly full, the opposite of when I cut weight and sweet cravings hit me hard.

Looking a lot bigger and fuller than when I was sick. Just like I lost weight quickly during those 2 weeks, I rebounded FAST.

Deadlifts

Up to 500 x 3, 10 shrugs on last rep

405 x 10 (half touch-n-go), 10 shrugs on last set

* After not pulling heavy for several weeks and losing weight from COVID AND feeling rundown just yesterday when all upper-body work felt like a million pounds this was shockingly light. Those reverse hyper leg curls did a great job keeping my hamstrings strong while sub-100%.

SSB front squats super-set with SSB back squats

150 x 10

150 x 10

* I'm squatting frequently during my first real week back and this was enough. Looking forward to going back up in the 200s again soon.

Reverse hyper leg extensions

6 plates x 30

35 lb dumbbell curls superset with band lateral curls for 5 sets

Finances are dead tight as I look for another job and got no sick pay while I was out for 2 weeks but might do something for Canada Day tomorrow by packing food I have at home and going to the beach. There are still ways to live.

Axle clean once and press

130 x 10, 10, 7

-

Super-set with neutral grip chin-ups

10, 10, 10

* Had to push-press the final rep to get 7. 3 minutes rest between each set. 

Dips

10, 10

50 x 10, 11, 10

-

Weighted dips were super-set with wide-grip chin-ups

10, 12, 12

Another early night but I got this knocked earlier than yesterday and in an hour. Looking to bring that time down for this amount of volume, but knowing me I'll keep the time the same and just do more.

 Woke-up for my first early shift in several weeks and had time to hit 50 push-ups and 40 squats before heading to work. Downed a leftover weightgainer shake from last night with some coffee and a multivitamin right after for an instant breakfast.

Hectic and busy day yesterday. Had the plan to train after a job interview and before going to work, but the interview (which went very well) lasted 2 hours. No matter, I made time to lift in the evening after work and before bed.

Yukon squats
320 x 16

Reverse hyper leg curls
6 plates x 30

Ab wheel slow rollouts
5

Reverse crunches, ab swivels

It's humbling to not be able to rep out 20+ anymore on those squats, but I'm crawling back up. 2 better than last week.

Since this was just an hour and a half before bedtime and my sleeping schedule has been 2 or 3 hours later than the work-week during my sick time, I popped an edible right after to ensure falling asleep early. Ended up getting a good night of rest. I crushed this day.

Swiss bar bench press

260 x 5

225 x 8, 6 -> drop-down to 205x4

205 x 7, 11

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115 x 8, 10, 10, 10, 10

Skullcrushers

45 x 20, 20

-

Super-set with various curls

The top set, while 5 lbs better than last time, was harder than I figured it'd be. Definitely have strength to reclaim but I must also note my cough is preventing me from breathing deep on my sets. When I consciously made an effort to breathe on the 225, I got 8 easier than I expected while last week I grinded out 6. 

Dips 

10, 10

50 x 10

75 x 10

90 x 10, 9

-

Super-set with chin-ups

10, 10, 10, 10, 12, 12

Bradford press

65 x 8, 8

-

Super-set with kb lateral raises

15s x 10, 10

Axle curls

40 lbs x 50

Dips x 20

Major coughing attack near the end of this, almost had to shut it down to go rest. Always bring cough drops out to the gym.

Afterwards a cough drop, hot water, hot bone broth, and sitting in the bathroom with a hot bath steaming everything brought it down while I sipped my protein shake.

Yukon squats
320 x 14

First squat session with COVID. Happy with this considering I'm ill. Like usual, my hacking cough is suppressed during the actual exercise, which is just fucking cool, but after this set it really attacked me for a good 10 minutes. Had to sit down and nurse some hot water and a cough drop before I could continue with hamstrings.

Chose the Terminator theme because I can only be slowed, but not stopped.

Good mornings
140 x 15

Reverse hyper leg curls
6 plates x 20

Cough has really sucked today. Lame that it was appearing to get better.

 Swiss bar bench
Up to 255 x 5
225 x 6
205 x 8, 8, 10
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows
115 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 10

Lateral raises
15s x 12

Dumbbell curls
35s x 15
50s x 8

Band pressdowns
30

Most substantive workout with COVID yet. Looking lots smaller now. It's a challenge to eat with this cough but weightgainer is a massive help. Definitely made the right call ordering it.

Strength is still there. It was quite an experience to be hacking my lungs out under the bench, taking a moment, and then powering through some heavy bench sets. Felt very invigorating. The plague cannot snuff out this power.

Was coughing a ton during this session and afterwards. It was fairly exhausting. At one point my ab muscle actually cramped up and I had to stand and hold it firm. A steamy shower helped bring it down. I'm running my little humidifier in my room tonight. As of 11:17pm right now, it's an annoying cough but not what I would call a coughing attack.

Funny observation: whenever I would bench press heavy, any sensation to cough went away. Maybe something about the weight constricting my diaphram. The iron cures all.

 Did some barbell training the last 2 days. On Sunday, did 50 total reps with 135 on the Swiss bar bench and 15 chin-ups. Yesterday, went up to 225x5 on the Swiss bar and did 20 chin-ups.

Cough is relentless. Last night was the worst it's been.

 Did another workout of 60 band pressdowns, 40 curls. Tomorrow I'll expand on this quite a bit. I'd like to try push-ups again, and definitely need to hit legs more.

The pinkeye is annoying but not a big deal, but this cough is crazy. Worse than yesterday even, somehow. We're talking violent full-body convulsions. Both my stomach and head ache from the pressure of hacking up hundreds of lungs all day, and it makes it hard to eat solid food and especially sleep.

There is a fable in old mythology that covers a battle strikingly of man vs the other force, similar to mine. Titled "Predator", it details a classic hero figure, in this story named Arnold "Dutch" Schwarzenegger, as he struggles to subdue a formidable unknown assailant. The imposing monster seemingly has the upper-hand in all ways over what is a mere man, but the age-old lesson is ultimately learned: this human has huge fucking pumped biceps, also he wrecks the shit out of the fiend by dumping a giant log on its stupid head as a trap.

Just a powerful message to take away.

Did another COVID workout this evening:

50 Iron Woody heavy band pressdowns

30 axle curls

20 Hindu squats

Got a nice pump in the arms, missed that feeling. Especially from having to go so much slower on the curls than norm.

Cough is at its worst today. Very violent and body-convulsing. I will take that over the previous phase's swinging fevers, delirium that made it hard to think, and crushing malaise, though.

Stomach has been gurgling and upset again. Previously it could have been from anything, maybe from more medicine and less food, but today it's from a far better source:

So much easier to drink food than eat. Unfortunately, while it has great carbohydrate sources and beef protein is one part of the protein blend, in my feverish haze when ordering I totally didn't see that the first protein ingredient is pea protein, which I've heard people say makes them gassy. It's also an inferior protein, but I spiked it with my Ascent whey from Costco.

Also got a new stock of beef bone broth and chicken noodle soup, which have been wins in terms of digestion so far, especially with lemon.

Trying to amp up my aggression. I'm enjoying metal music again when previously I didn't want to listen to anything but quiet travel shows. Also must mention that this was the first morning I woke-up without feeling like death.

Typing this while the sun sets in the balcony and it's a nice mood.

Woke up miserable again today but some symptoms started to alleviate while others got worse. My appetite is a little better and after a bone broth and hummus breakfast I was able to slowly eat some of my bison-quinoa bowl for lunch. Throat still hurts but doesn't feel like medieval torture to swallow things now. Cough is much worse. Fatigue was there in the morning but got much better later in the day. Then I developed pink eye and completely lost my sense of smell in the same evening. It's a full-on war and I'm just tanking everything that's thrown at me. I cannot be stopped.

Managed to get a light log workout in.

 Currently on day 3 with a gnarly case of COVID. It was definitely from that metal show. Easily the sickest I've ever been in my life. Most of this period I've been in a daze without energy or the ability to concentrate. My throat also feels like I'm swallowing glass and has made sleeping so far extremely miserable. As of today, though, DayQuil has done wonders to bring me down from Walking Dead zombie to "just really sick" levels, and I can actually focus on things again. I also promised myself that no matter what, I'm going to do some kind of training tomorrow.

I've started to get a rhythm down on how to eat, too, since nausea has been incredibly high and the metal spikes stabbing my throat made it extremely difficult (again, DayQuil has helped with that at least). Yesterday I was basically eating almond butter like pudding and washing it down with milk, since it hurt so much to swallow anything. Actually a pretty great idea, but the taste was just inducing more nausea when typically I love that stuff. Today I got some organic chicken noodle soup with lemon and it hit the spot. Also got a bottle of organic beef bone broth and this stuff is a hack (the good kind). It's basically protein tea! I'm going to be buying this all the time from now on. Previously I'd only used it in soups but it absolutely needs to be a staple in my mug.

And finally...I ordered a high-quality weightgainer powder from Universal Nutrition/Animal. I'm so nostalgic for that stuff. Used to be miserable force-feeding myself it every morning as a teenager. Instead of being filled with maltodextrin, this blend is made with sweet potatoes, oats, and even powdered olive oil. Animal is also a brand I have nostalgia for. Used to love their melodramatic, emo bodybuilding zine ads.

I will definitely lose some strength and mass from this period, and that's fine. My enthusiasm to get back under the bar and build again will make up for it.

Block press

285 x 8, 8, 8, 7 -> drop-down to 225 x 8

-

Super-set with unilateral dumbbell rows 

115 x 10
125 x 3 x 10

First time in 4 months I was able to complete an upper-body workout with no elbow sleeves. Elbow has become a lot better.

Giant set:
Swiss bar skullcrushers: 45 x 20
Iron Woody band pressdowns: 20
Poundstone curls x 120 (PR)

Yes, I'm recording a PR for curls. I'd do it again, too.

Later, went on a short but fairly intense uphill hike on a mountain dotted with cows, and then used the ab wheel at night for 5 slow reps for 3 sets, followed by a 1:35 plank.

Did a bench press workout yesterday, hit good numbers but felt like the weight seemed heavier than normal, chalked it up to my body recovering from an insanely physical moshpit on Friday...and then suddenly remembered oh yeah, I did a quick press workout on Saturday I completely forgot about! So to progress on my bench numbers after having trained the same muscle groups the day before is rad.

So yeah, went to a metal show Friday and spent most of my time in the pit. Actually got fairly sore from tanking blows to my body, which felt no worse than minor muscle soreness from a workout, but fell on my knees at one point before springing right back up and those hurt the worst the next day, though again nothing serious. Feasted on buffalo wings afterwards before driving back home.

Saturday's workout:

5 axle thrusters with 110 lbs
5 pull-ups
5 rounds in 3 minutes

50 push-ups

 On Wednesday night I did a bicep workout. So far, this is the year of high reps, and Poundstone curls have upped my standards. Normally I curl the 50 lb dumbbells for somewhere around 10-12, depending on how strict I go. Now I'm doing them for 20-25 with a squeeze at the top. Did about 3 sets of this. Next day, I did 50 barbell curls with 60 lbs at work, alongside those push-ups I mentioned before.

Yesterday I shadowboxed and did rounds on the heavy bag before going for a jog and then an evening swim after.

Yukon squats
Up to 505 x 3
320 x 23

Pullovers
25 lb kettlebell x 20

Reverse-hyper leg curls
295 x 35
-
Super-set with
Reverse hyper leg extensions
295 x 20

Wow, 505 felt like just another day in the office. Goal was just a strong single to get my body used to heavy weight again after vacation (the opposite approach many take by easing back into things). Absolutely could have done more. Actual load felt light but stability was a little shaky from being hungry, which always happens. And doing only a triple felt like cheating after pushing rep PRs with heavy weight for much of this year. Awesome stuff.

Woke-up and did 80 total push-ups. About 20 of them were with the handles but was able to do the rest without aid. Elbow has been feeling good. Left shoulder is angry with me - it's been buggy the last few weeks but seemed especially pissed after yesterday's dips. After a deep sleep last night it feels a lot better, though. Bringing in Turkish get-ups would be a good idea.

Dips
50 x 10
100 x 10, 12, 10
Bodyweight x 18
-
Super-set with NG chin-ups
10, 15, 15, 15

Incline dumbbell press
Against bands: 50s x 10, 5 -> drop-down to no bands x 10
-
Super-set with NG chin-ups x 15, 15

Behind-the-neck press
45 x 12
65 x 10

* Felt like avoiding the barbell and hitting dips hard. I'm recovering from being minorly sick the last two days and the dips just about drained everything I had from the head and stomach pressure of straining. Feels good to be back moving weight, though.

Back from a Portland vacation. Did some band pull-aparts in the hotel and started two mornings with 50 push-ups. I normally avoid doing them raw with no push-up handles, but it dawned on me that I should push the progress of my elbow as well as my right wrist (which has been hurting when I do burpees and push-ups with my palms) a little. I managed!

Did a lot of walking and I'm on the ball with eating on vacations now. Ate a lot of outside food but they were quality choices, like chicken wings and multiple orders of deviled eggs at various places. I figured get as much protein as possible because carbs are so easy to come by when travelling. The worst meal was a diner with food that was the absolute pits. My open-faced roast beef sandwich was basically dry meat covered in canned gravy dumped over some white Wonderbread. I almost always eat all my food or take it to go, but for once I opted to only eat the meat and let them throw the bread away.

A cool highlight was coming back from a nightclub after searching in vain for anywhere open with food and whipping out my George Foreman grill at the hotel to make eggs with hummus for everyone. Because of course I left my friends to walk to the grocery store earlier that day to ensure I had food. Someone quipped "Good thing we travel with a buff person."

The next day, we all scored various game meats from a stall at the Saturday downtown market. I picked up alligator tail jerky and elk sticks. George doesn't eat much in general and gave me his wild boar later, which helped at the airport. Also had cans of salmon from the store.

And just to add to the testosterone side of things, the military surplus store we visited on the final day had an old chopper in their yard. We drove there on the advice of a local saying they have tanks, but alas, it wasn't to be.

Also, these were the best wings I've ever had. Half were berry flavored and the other were...I forget, something garlicky. I'm craving them bad as I eat my bison at work typing this.

'

 

Seriously, I ordered deviled eggs at restaurants so many times George started commenting on it. 

 

 

A final shot of saving the world, Rambo style.

 

 

Last night I came home from work and did 30 reverse hyper leg curls, which made my hamstrings cramp badly and I had to sit for 5 minutes. Staggered up and then uses the Prowler with about 200lbs loaded on it.

Woke-up today and did a test-run of ABCs, warming up with 15 lb kbs x 10. Elbow did not like the 50s being swung up to press, though, so I shut it down. Still, it's improved enough that I can do push-ups so I busted out 50 reps and then 100 Poundstone curls. Then breakfast and getting ready to travel. A lot of great training crammed into the last few days, gotta eat big while away. 

Yukon squats

460 x 7+3 (PR)

320 x 21

 

25 lb kb pull-overs x 20

* Racked it, felt I had more, then hit 3. Can't say I regret doing a pit-stop at 7 because I've been benefiting greatly by being cautious with my back, so rest-pausing was the perfect answer. Give the back a chance to deload but still take the legs to their limit. I will do this more.

* Was roughly aiming for 320x25 but the 21st rep was a real fight not to fold in half. Happy with the effort. Have to keep in mind I just did deadlifts and squats the day before yesterday, and it's just awesome I can rep what I did today so soon after that. I have not been slacking on ab work but I would love to try hitting abs more intensely and see how much that increases my ability to stay standing. Bar walkouts too - I'm thinking with 600.

I don't have a whole lot of time before I end my gaining phase. I absolutely need a diet break soon.

 

EDIT: Came inside, made a protein shake, dropped off the cat who was in the gym with me (see fig. 1), and then went back to do something about my unacceptably comfortable hamstrings

 

Fig. 1

Reverse hyper leg curls:
295 x 30
-
Super-set with reverse hyper leg extensions
295 x 30

First time I felt like these movements REALLY hit the target muscle. Key is to go heavy enough and resist the eccentric as soon as the peak is reached since the apparatus wants to swing back and forth to your gravitational advantage. Hammies were blown up and I had to pause before getting off because I was unsure my legs would even support me. I can hit another round of this after work along with abs.

Leaving for a trip to Portland tomorrow with George to see a grade-school friend who lives there. Haven't been back in 8 years. Kind of emotionally rocky but I'm set on not letting that ruin travel, as a principle. 

Block press (equal to 1-board press)

285 x 8, 8, 7 - drop-down to 225x4 bench press

-

Super-set with T-bar rows

5 plates x 10

5 plates + 25 plate x 12, 15

Giant sets

Incline dumbbell press: 50s x 17, 12

Band pull-aparts x 20, 20

Decline dumbbell press: 50s x 12, 12

Triceps weren't recovered from pushing 100 lb dips so close to failure on Saturday so this was just a massive effort of suffering by keeping rest times shorter than usual and increasing the block press weight. Got done in roughly 45 minutes.

Forgot to put my elbow sleeves on while working up to 285 and accidentally found out I don't have elbow pain benching 225 without them. Very cool.

Post-workout with a pump, contemplating this cursed anabolic existence. 

Sumo deadlifts

Work-up to 505 x 1, 2

2 sets of 10 and then 12 shrugs at the top

Dumbbell RDLs

125s x 15 with shrug at top of each rep

SSB front squats

240 x 12

-

Super-set with SSB squats

240 x 10

* Absolutely awful. Lied to myself and said let's just get 5 of the back squats because my legs felt dead, and then gutted out 5 more. 

My back was in a little pain today from the office chair at work. After moving around and doing some kettlebell swings and light reverse hypers it felt great and ready for deadlifts. Very curious how it's going to feel waking up tomorrow. Muscle soreness or the bad kind of pain?

Log clean once and strict press away: 125 x 5

Kettlebell high pulls: 50s x 5

4 rounds untimed, then 10 rounds in 6:19

Attempted this without elbow sleeves, decided it'd be better for my healing process to don them, and then ran through 10 rounds.

Dips

100 lbs x 10, 9, 8

-

Super-set with neutral grip chin-ups 

20, 18, 15

Dips x 20

Yukon squats
340 x 21
-
Super-set with 20 pullovers

Keg curls
35, 35

Dumbbell curl drop-set with 50s x 20, 35s x 10

Just tying up some odds and ends I didn't get done on deadlift and bench day. Wanted to hit quads and biceps.

And how rad is it that I'm at the point where 340x21 is a back-off performance from my main squat day?! Don't get me wrong, I struggled to get that 21st rep but I'm not running the Super Squats program. I simply noticed one day that 20-rep squats were making my top set numbers rise so I've been sticking to what's been working and treating this as assistance work.

My back is pretty sore from T-bar rows, which hasn't happened on that exercise before. I've been really going intense with rows and chins so snapped a couple pictures from behind.

Block press (equal to 1-board press)

280 x 9, 8, 8, 8

-

Super-set with T-bar rows

5 plates x 10, 10, 12

5 plates + 25 x 12

Giant set of incline dumbbell press, Band pull-aparts, decline dumbbell press x 15-20

Swiss bar incline skullcrushers

45 x 28

20 push-ups

Triceps were blown the hell up after this. Very pleased with how the pressing is progressing.

Deadlifts

Up to 540 x 2

And...that's it! Definitely had the strength for 1 or 2 more but I hit my goal and walked away feeling healthy. Will wait before applying more back-loading exercises tomorrow. 

One thing I should do is keep my head down, although the meathead in me also appreciates the neck workout this felt like. Also forgot to do my usual shrugs while holding this.

Yesterday I went for the first swim of the year. Nothing intensive, just a few laps.

Got to the office early today and knocked out 30 burpees. During lunch break, did several sets of wrist curls and reverse wrist curls with 65 lbs.

Log clean once and strict press away: 125 x 5

Kettlebell high pulls: 50s x 5

2 rounds

* 1 round was interrupted by reminding myself I better put on my elbow sleeves for my right elbow. Round 2 was interrupted by my boss calling me about something inconsequential. After turning on Do Not Disturb:

11 rounds in 6:31

* There we go, 20-second time improvement!

Weighted dips

100 x 9, 10, 9

-

Super-set with chin-ups

17, 15, 15

Bodyweight dips x 22

Training partner gave me a nod of approval about this session.

Yukon squats

430 x 12 (PR)

335 x 20

20 pullovers

Felt like I was sleepwalking and then my energy levels suddenly exploded on the top set once I got my belt on and turned up the music. As much as I don't like getting caught up in using rituals in order to move weight, when they work they're just magical.

Work week has been hectic, in some ways just from the schedule and in other ways from my boss. But I'm doing really well for myself. I've been striking a seriously warrior-like balance with how I've been standing firm for myself (for example, saying no over the phone today to working on the weekend which means no day off) but not escalating anything. Feeling wise and confident despite the challenges.

Did 40 burpees before work, with full ROM push-ups and squats. Training schedule is impacted by extensive construction going on around our condo, including in the yard. No way to be down there until the evening. So I'm letting my joints be happy with the extra rest while I do calisthenics and Muay Thai practice indoors, as well as running in the evening. Tomorrow I'll be able to squat in the evening after work. 

Speaking of joints, my elbow continues to feel better. Was able to do push-ups today for the first time without having to be uber careful. Before I was starting with a partial ROM and gingerly going deeper into the set, but I didn't feel the elbow at all today. 

Decline block press (equal to 1-board press)

280 x 8, 7, 8

Flat: 280 x 6 -> drop-down to 220x6, 220 x 9

-

Super-set with T-bar rows

5 plates x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

* Feeling the effects of those weighted dips. Honestly, good. It's awesome that I can still train heavy while healing my elbow.

Giant set:

Decline dumbbell press: 50s x 12

Incline: 50s x 8

Band pull-aparts x 20

Swiss bar skullcrushers

45 x 253