Block press

315 x 1

365 x 1

375 x 1

390 x 1 (PR)

Bench press

280 x 8

Incline bench press

200x 9, 8, 8 - drop-down to 185x4, 135x5

135 x 10 - immediately switch to decline dumbbell press with the 50s x 12

365 felt like an absolute TON and I wasn’t sure if I’d have to change course today so I did an unplanned set of 375 as a test increase, but I felt woken up by then and was on a different level. While there’s been a definite difference in how stable I feel while squatting, weight loss hasn’t slowed down my upper body progress yet.

Bodyweight squats

200 In 14:03 minutes

Leg extensions

5 plates x 30, 30

Leg curls

5 plates x 3 x 30

20 hanging leg raises

Tweaked my back while sitting down today which necessitated this. Have never done this many bodyweight squats in my life before so improving on this will be good for me. 

Axle strict press

200 x 4

160 x 8

150 x 7

130 x 9

Super-set with chin-ups

4 x 15

Shoulder medley 

Behind-the-neck press: 45

Lateral raises: 15s x 12

Band pull-aparts x 20

Triceps medley

Dips x 10

Swiss bar skullcrushers x 20

Band pressdowns x 12

100 poundstone curls

Any kind of cleaning from the floor would be a bad move with how my back is feeling. Pressed fairly gingerly as a result.

Found 2 praying mantises yesterday while lifting, each getting attacked by my cat. One of them came back today.

Deadlifts

Up to 515 x 1

405x12 + 10 shrugs

Barbell shrugs

405 x 15

Leg curls super-set with leg extensions 

8 plates x 25

* These were getting kinda stupid with 10 plates for 50 reps so I made a point to resist the eccentric instead of getting helped by the momentum of the machine. Less impressive numbers on paper, better training stimulus.

Yesterday did some back rehab and then two 3-minute rounds on the heavy bag, followed by a 10 minute run and some shadowboxing.

Back pain has been a struggle lately, but still have lots of rehab ideas to try and getting a laptop to stand and do work at the office is paying off. Been getting into the habit of having a “pre-deadlift day” wherein I’ll do the reverse-hyper, some light speed deads with 200, kettlebell swings, the sled and hanging leg raises. Should add the McGill 3 to that list. Will see how deads today go, most likely sumo.

I’m getting the idea to expand that back rehab workout to at least three days a week, irrespective of my training program. I need a pain-free back for more than just deadlifting. Writing it out and setting the days is the move to make.

Squat

510 x 2, 2

350 x 18

Almost lost control squatting 510x2. I had just squatted 510x2 before this, but felt unusually wobbly which prevented me from going down as far as I wanted so I tried another set. That comes from losing weight and having less belly fat to center me, throwing me off balance. This was hairy but I was ready to drop the bar behind me and bail out if I absolutely needed to.

 Was extremely strapped for time yesterday evening, which is anticipated during the week and all part of the plan. Forced me to do another no-rest session which is good for me.

Axle clean once and strict press: 120 x 5
Chin-ups: 5
10 rounds in 9:04 

20 kettlebell strict presses with 50 lb bells, dropping and cleaning every 5 reps
-
Super-set with 10 chin-ups

Lateral raises: 15 lb kettlebells x 20

Had some visitors when the after-work gym crowd arrived.

Because I was feeling nauseous from that effort combined with eating a big pre-workout meal, I had a liquid dinner of a protein shake with a whole egg and egg whites added and a homemade smoothie (no orange juice as a solvent anymore, only whole fruits that were slightly thawed or microwaved with a little hot water added so they blend; the process looks nutty but it turns out an instant smoothie with no added sugar or juice).

Squats

450 x 8
350 x 20 + 20 kettlebell pullovers
250 x 25

Feel delirious after this and am actually not entirely sure if I did 450 for 10 or 8. I’ll go with the lower number.

Turned down offers at the office on Friday to indulge in drinks because I knew I’d want to drink at the beach the next day, which was a blast. The tide receded at sunset and I got to walk out in ankle deep water as San Francisco lit up in the background.

Block press

315 x 1

375 x 1

380 x 1

Bench press

275 x 8

Kroc rows

150 lb dumbbell x 21

Incline Close-grip bench

200 x 9, 9, 9 + drop-down to 135 x 7 + 12 pushups

-

Super-set with chin-ups

15, 15, 15, 20

380 is the heaviest weight I've ever successfully moved with my arms. The barbell feels lighter and lighter every session.

Pushed and pulled the sled last night with two 45 plates and two 50 lb kettlebells stacked on. About 5 minutes of total work. Then went on a 10 minute jog and practiced a shadowboxing footwork drill (lateral step jab + right cross as the back foot follows suit and lands, step opposite direction and repeat the strikes in reverse order, then transition into pivot hooks for all 4 angles).

This morning was awesome. Woke up 15 minutes before my alarm so after downing a protein shake I played a round of Street Fighter Alpha 3 as Akuma, then did 8 of Dan John’s ABCs with 50 lb kettlebells, and then had time to make 3 eggs with my usual morning weightgainer before heading to work.

Easing into ABCs very gradually due to my pissy elbow, but just being able to do a single rep is a huge improvement from earlier this year. There was a little pain today but as long as I didn’t rotate my wrists and kept the press portion with my palms facing each other, I could do them.

Block press (equivalent to 2-board press)

375 x 1

Bench press

275 x 8

Kroc rows

150 dumbbell x 20

Incline close-grip bench press

195 x 9, 8, 6 + drop-down to 135x8

Super-set with bilateral dumbbell rows

115s x 10, 10, 10

Chest flyes

35s x 3 x 10

Rear delt flyes 

15s x 30 for different angles every 10 reps (tip from Jon Andersen)

I'll try not to get ahead of myself, but if I can work up to a 390 block press soon that would be SO dandy. I've been building a base of patient 8+ reps for awhile so now it's time to push the engine a little and go for singles PRs.

Squats

420 x 10

350 x 17, 18

Leg extensions

10 plates x 25

- 

Super-set with leg curls

10 plates x 50

Backwards run up Heart Attack Hill:

Hanging leg raises x 20

Felt awful and nauseous from random anxiety and too much coffee in an effort to counter said anxiety and get me ready to train, which made me feel even worse. I took that personally and made it a competition to see which could inflict more misery on myself: life or me. I won. Now I feel even worse, which feels fantastic.

Axle clean once and press: 110 lbs x 5

5 pull-ups

11 rounds in 8:30

20 total kettlebell strict presses

Dips

Bw x 10

50 x 10, 10

Biceps:

10 Carter curls 

52-second chin-up

30 bar curls

Felt that familiar sternum strain from going so deep on the dips, but I'm towing the line just right by not hammering them session after session and letting my chest recover. Never forgot that one time circa 2007 that excess dips made me unable to sneeze for a week (it kept catching in my chest so I'd gasp and then nothing would come out).

Squats

500 x 3

340 x 21

250 x 30

2-board press

315 x 2

335 x 1

355 x 1

370 x 1

Dumbbell rows

115s x 8

Bench press

275 x 7

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115s x 12

Incline bench press

185 x 10, 10, 9 + immediately finish with 10 reps of incline dumbbell press with the 50s

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115s x 12

125s x 10, 10

A medley of light skullcrushers, decline chest flyes, and curls

370 press was a grind, glad I got the lockout. Eyeing a powerlifting meet in November so getting my body used to heavy singles.

5ish sets of high pulls with 215 axle

Clean once and strict press

215 x 1

180 x 7, 5+1 push-press

160 x 8 + 10 overhead shrugs

Kroc rows

125 dumbbell x 25

Kettlebell high pulls

50s x 20

Many failed attempts at getting 215 secure on my chest. Kept getting it pulled high but couldn't quite shelf it until one successful set, and by that time my pressing power was impacted. All good though, got a lot of high pulls done in that case! There may come a point eventually when I want to separate racked strict pressing and sets of cleans to maximize my 1rm press but just wrangling the weight around is going to build brute strength and right now I just like the idea of starting everything from the floor.

Made up for the lack of pressing by going heavy in my assistant work.

Ending with Kroc rows after all that would been nasty enough but the kettlebell set was just plain rude.

Squats

450 x 8

330 x 21

250 x 30

Leg extensions

10 plates x 30

Leg curls

10 plates x 30, 30

Kettlebell swings

50 lbs x 100

Almost back to my pre-COVID number of 450x10. I'm very chill about comparing past accomplishments. If I'm on the cusp of surpassing a PR, I'll take note of it but otherwise I have no anxiety about not being near historical peaks (for example, my strict press is far from my old max of 250). It's a necessary attitude for longevity and I thank my injuries and illnesses for coming to that mindset. There's literally no choice in present form to chase old numbers when you just got out of surgery so you have to channel strength into other avenues: bodyweight exercises, reading, etc. Hell, go set PRs in wrist curls, as long you're excelling in SOMETHING.

Staggered around for a few seconds after the 250 struggling to keep lucid. Felt like I needed to lie down and die for awhile so I immediately went to the Thai bag and did a round of punches and kicks. Have to seize on the opportunity and take advantage of this level of fatigue when possible because I remember the feeling of sweltering suffocation in the middle of hard sparring rounds. I wasn't alone there like I am here to have the luxury of catching my breath; it was either ignore the panic and fight or succumb to the quit and drown in the Deep Water.

Swiss bar bench press

225 x 3 x 10

205 x 2 x 10

-

Super-set with pull-ups

4 x 10

1 x 15

Poundstone curls x 100

Back from a hectic travel period that saw me in Denver for work. Nothing of note report there, was working indoors mostly. Essentially two days of rest from training. One funny highlight was TSA taking my burrito out from my bag and holding it up to the light like it was a counterfeit bill for careful inspection. 

Shoulder medley

Arnold press: 50s x 12, 12

Behind-the-neck press: 80 x 8, 6+3 after rest-pausing

Lateral raises: 15s x 10, 10

Band pull-aparts x 12, 20

48-second chin-up

Carter curls

35s x 9, 8, 8

That chin-up always wrecks my biceps; the 35 dumbbells were the right call instead of the 50s. I always keep my SBD elbow sleeves on to make curls a little harder.

I learned about both the 1-minute chin-up and those curls on T-Nation. I'm naming them after Paul Carter, whose the first known inspiration for them as far as I can tell. The difference comes from retracting back the scapulae, like a powerlifting bench press, and continuing to curl up into the shoulders, an often-neglected function of the biceps. Doing these against bands would be brutal.

https://youtu.be/T_1eOJr04FE

Clean once and strict press

110 x 5

160 x 3

200 x 5

150 x 10, 10, 11

Neutral-grip chin-ups

12

100 lbs x 8 + drop-down to bodyweight x 8

Bodyweight again x 15, 20

Gonna do a second light workout later involving a shoulder medley, curls, and the ab wheel. Just all the odds and ends I didnt manage to fit during the heavy sessions.

 

 

Squats

430 x 8

325 x 20 + 20 pullovers with 25lbs

250 x 26

Leg extensions

10 plates x 8 until the end plates fell off due to no space for clips, continued on with 8 plates x 20

Leg curls

8 plates x 30, 20

Felt like I was going to die. Just barely resisted the urge to collapse and lie down after the set of 250. 

Bench press

225 x 3

275 x 2

315 x 1

335 x 1

350 x 1

245 x 10, 10, 8

Wide pull-ups

20, 20

Haven't benched 350 in a looong time. Had a crazy busy day and ended the session at just before 9pm, so I called it here to get ready for work tomorrow.

Power cleans

135, 185, 205 x 3

Sumo deadlifts

295 x 3

385 x 3

475 x 2 + 10 shrugs

525 x 1 + 10 shrugs

525 x 3

Immediately after deadlifts:

50 goblet squats with 50 lb kettlebell

30 stiff-legged deadlifts with two 50 lb kettlebells, shrugging with each rep

Farmer's walk with said kettlebells around the yard

That's plenty for this evening. Of any day, this is the most I back-off and leave extra fuel in the tank for the sake of my back. As I mentioned in my last entry, it felt horrible for most of this week, showed signs of improving yesterday, and was a little better yet today. It's possible I'll wake up with pain from the session tomorrow so I'll have to see if this was a handable amount of work for me or not, but as of right now I'm very pleased.

Sumo deadlifts are such a hack for pulling heavy with a pissy back. I only started doing them a few months ago. I'm not saying bye to conventional pulling but I'm over forcing them when my body just won't have it.

Smashed the Thai bag yesterday evening. 3 3-minute rounds.. Only reason I called it there was because I got hungry and I'm trying to gain weight.

Really making an effort to polish up my hooks lately and to keep my elbow more level. Everything was beginning to turn into a shovel hook before this correction.

This morning before work I hit 40 burpees.

My back has been KILLING me this week. Yesterday, however, was a good day for reversing some of the damage. Ample hip stretches, a set on the reverse-hyper, and did the McGill 3 before bed. Gotta do the McGill 3 every evening, it helps quite a bit. Going to replace my mattress soon, too. Memory foam just isn't for my body.

 Last night I filmed some shadowboxing to polish up my form, then went on a 30-minute jog. This morning before work was more shadowboxing.

Legs and thighs are still wrecked.

 Did yoga last night and also did 2 laps with the sled. Then I got ready to go for a nighttime swim but on my way I stopped by my reverse hyper and did 2x10 with 225. Ended up not swimming due to how late it was and just relaxed on the seat drinking a sparkling water while I enjoyed the atmosphere before going back in.

Woke-up this morning and did 50 push-ups before work. My legs are just devastated and I'm walking like a mummy, which was a predictable outcome, but my rear delts and traps are very sore today too. I have a back massager at my office that I can use on my upper-back area if I slump.

New job is going well. Health insurance starts in October. I told myself I wouldn't compete in strongman until I get healthcare, soooo now I'm on the lookout for comps, although I'm open to more powerlifting too.

Clean once and strict press

180 x 6

150 x 10, 9, 9

Shoulder medley

Arnold press: 50s x 10, 12

Behind-the-neck press: 70 x 10, 10

Lateral raises: 10s x 15, 15

Band pull-aparts x 20, 15

45-second chin-up

Trying to get up to 1 minute. I currently weigh around 220 so this is a great way to make the biceps do a lot of work in a short span of time.

Had to take a few shots while my shoulders had a pump. 

410 lbs x 10

320 lbs x 20

240 lbs x 25

Leg extensions

8 plates x 30

Leg curls

8 plates x 30, 30, 30

Hit 320x20 again, which was a cool milestone from earlier this year that slipped away after I lost progress from contracting COVID last month and lost a bunch of weight. But more importantly, my back held up and felt great today when I had to terminate my barbell squat session last Wednesday because of pain and do goblet squats and leg extensions instead (no shame in that though, goblet squats rule).

 Woke-up and did 70 total push-ups before work, along with some basic hip and leg stretches. Got better rest last night than the night before.

Did this after a long work day on not enough sleep yesterday evening. Didn't feel I had heavy singles in me so I didn't bother. I'll assassinate a 350 bench soon enough.

1-board press
280 x 6, 7, 7
-
Super-set with T-bar rows
5 plates + 10 lbs x 10, 12, 12

Swiss bar bench
205 x 10, 12, 10
-
Super-set with T-bar rows
5 plates + 10 lbs x 12, 15, 15

The set of 6 was a tough, sleepy grind, while the sets of 7 after I felt awakened were powerful and explosive.

Very last Swiss bar rep was a real fight, which I love ending on.

Despite being dead tired yesterday evening and running on little sleep I felt supercharged after taking an edible by the evening and went on a 10-minute jog, then 2 minutes of shadow kickboxing, and then ended by swimming laps. Also made time to do some yoga before bed.

This morning I woke-up and hit 50 burpees before work. Ran out of milk for the weightgainer but it's just as well. I've been bloated and gassy from it. It absolutely works for its intended purpose but a break is welcome. I packed two mega sandwiches I made with grass-fed steak and avocado, a tupperware packed with rotisserie chicken from Costco seasoned with a sweet heat spice rub, and 2 protein bars. Feeling full at work right now but with less GI issues.

Power bench day tomorrow. Deep Water...soon.

Now that my elbow is recovered enough to do a wider variety of pressing exercises, I'm rereading Deep Water with plans to run it soon. I just want to make sure my back is in a good place now.

The diet was always a question to me. I seem to process carbs quite well - they don't make me sleepy and I can stay lean consuming them. If we go by metabolic typing, my ancestors ate a rice-heavy diet, so that makes sense. But in the spirit of going all-in, I would embrace John's dietary regimen for the program. What's the worst that can happen? Just try it!

Side-note: this free soy-free jerky at the office is hitting the spot. Just wish it was totally sugar-free, but with the amount of carbs I'm already ingesting from my weightgainer in the same sitting it'd be a silly thing to avoid right now. Had a wave of heavy fatigue for a good 30 minutes from waking up at 4 but it passed and I'm full of life again. It was so great to have an early morning to myself before work.

 Woke-up at 4am, lay in bed with my eyes closed until 5, decided I wasn't going back to sleep, and went on a sunrise jog. Came back and saw my Yukon bar loaded and did 13 behind-the-neck presses with 100 lbs, then did 10 burpees with the full push-up and squat. Came in and stretched my hips and legs, then took a shower and made breakfast with coffee.

Well, gave a noble effort but the car lift was a bust. The other guy didn't even hang around to try and lift it; he just came and talked about trying to tow it or something and then bounced. I tried to get a grip on it but the broken the bumper and trunk stuck out and forced me to reach with my arms to grab the solid bottom, almost in a preacher curls position. I got it bouncing on the suspension but there was no way I could deadlift it. It was looking like bicep tear city with that angle. I actually strained my left bicep but it's nothing serious. 

Unrelated, but I woke up with heavy nausea and the weight gainer really helped a lot. I only ate one solid meal the whole day.

Got this sleep drink from my work and going to give it a try tonight.

Axle clean once and press: 110 x 5

Close-grip neutral grip chin-ups: 5

10 rounds in 8:15

More than 3-min improvement since last attempt.

Dips

50 x 12, 12

75 x 10

-

Super-set with Close-grip pull-ups

3 x 12

Behind the neck press

100 x 10

15 tricep pressdowns

Slept very poorly and felt awful today. Nausea and fogginess. This was particularly miserable as a result.

I have more updates to put up including my first day at the new job on Friday and yesterday's leg workout. Currently sipping my protein shake before I go help a friend lift up a car that's totaled in her parking spot and move it a few inches away from her neighbor's spot. 

I'll just briefly go over that. Friday was awesome. Weight gainer really helped me to keep full the whole day and the break room has loads of high quality beef jerky and protein shakes. We also indulged in happy hour at the office where I got treated to sushi.

 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.