How sytennison un-plateaued himself [Archive] - Page 9

EMISGOD

04-23-2009, 09:36 PM

Yeah, if it ain't one thing it's another. This evening, we were informed that seven partners in the deal and their spouses need to sign and notarize paperwork IMMEDIATELY or the deal won't close. Never mind the fact that this paperwork could have been signed months ago. :rolleyes: Now, where am I going to find a notary public at this time of night? :)

By the way, today's eating consisted of:
1 cup of oatmeal
Ginger Chicken w/ Vermicelli
20 oz High Protein Smoothie
Turkey Ruben w/ side of fruit and chips
And lots and lots of coffee... :D

If I'm not careful, I'm going to turn back into a skinny computer nerd. :eek:

Egads! :eek: You like to eat. So eat. LOL

I know where a notary public is right this second, but it is of scant use to you, given certain proximity issues...

I'm working on a smashing deal myself, though I'm not a partner in it, but advisor (and a few other roles). It is one of the reasons for my current weariness, so I feel your pain, my friend...nothing for it but to keep on keeping on and try as one might to cover all the bases and various contingencies, there is all this crap that seems to keep popping up...:mad:

Stenn

04-23-2009, 09:42 PM

Egads! :eek: You like to eat. So eat. LOL

I know where a notary public is right this second, but it is of scant use to you, given certain proximity issues...
Can you email a notary? :D

I'm working on a smashing deal myself, though I'm not a partner in it, but advisor (and a few other roles). It is one of the reasons for my current weariness, so I feel your pain, my friend...nothing for it but to keep on keeping on and try as one might to cover all the bases and various contingencies, there is all this crap that seems to keep popping up...:mad:

Yup. I've heard it said that "Winners" are simply people who are willing to do those things that losers wont do. That seem apropos at the moment as we overcome one ridiculous situation after another, even when quitting seems like the most attractive option.

-*Yawn!*- It's way past my nap time. G'night!

EMISGOD

04-23-2009, 09:45 PM

Can you email a notary? :D

LOL I'll try, but I doubt he'll like it and he will be much like an unhappy genie if he does make it through on that end... :D

Stenn

04-24-2009, 09:07 PM

LOL I'll try, but I doubt he'll like it and he will be much like an unhappy genie if he does make it through on that end... :D

No sweat, we got it figured out. However, in spite of a heroic effort (and some whining) on the part of our partners, our closing has been pushed back to Monday. :( I am sooooo ready for this to be over so that I can get back onto a regular workout schedule...

BuckSpin

04-25-2009, 04:57 AM

You should make this a challenge - move 1lb of weight for every $1.....

dartol

04-25-2009, 10:21 AM

Jerilyn went into the side room where all the boxing stuff is while I waded into the wights area to do my own workout. I kept things brisk and checked back frequently to make sure my kid was doing OK and not getting in anyone's way. She was awesome! She did jump rope, situps, pushups, heavy bag work, cart wheels, etc. with no rest between sets for about an hour. Every now and then, she'd run out and tell the young lady behind the front desk, "Look how sweaty I am!"

This is awesome! I can't wait until Cassie gets old enough to start doing some workout stuff with me. She did say she wants to ride bikes to the park to fly kites later. She rode a mile to a playground last weekend while walked and jogged along, then played and rode back. :)

I hope your deal worked out ok! I haven't read back far enough to get to the details.

Humm... Steve slacking off on squats while I am ramping up... better not slack off to much or I might catch ya! LOL (yeah right...)

Darren

Stenn

04-25-2009, 08:27 PM

You should make this a challenge - move 1lb of weight for every $1.....
Well, by the time we close, about $11,000,000 will have changed hands (alas, only a small fraction of it mine). That would come to about 35,000 reps at 315 lb. :D

This is awesome! I can't wait until Cassie gets old enough to start doing some workout stuff with me. She did say she wants to ride bikes to the park to fly kites later. She rode a mile to a playground last weekend while walked and jogged along, then played and rode back. :)
That sounds like fun! I need to get Jerilyn a new bike. She out-grew her old one before losing the training wheels. I think she'll finally get the hang of riding without them pretty quickly now.

I hope your deal worked out ok! I haven't read back far enough to get to the details.
Thanks! You haven't missed much. I've only been talking about the deal mostly in the context of whining about why I'm not working out these days. :( For those keeping track, we didn't close today in spite of our best efforts. The lender found one more piece of paperwork for us to sign which we could have signed months ago. :rolleyes: We'll close on Monday for sure (or so they say) and then I can get back to a semi-normal schedule. At least, that's the plan...

Humm... Steve slacking off on squats while I am ramping up... better not slack off to much or I might catch ya! LOL (yeah right...)
Uh-oh! :eek: :D

BuckSpin

04-26-2009, 05:07 AM

Well, by the time we close, about $11,000,000 will have changed hands (alas, only a small fraction of it mine). That would come to about 35,000 reps at 315 lb. :D

...and your point is? LOL

storm1507

04-30-2009, 01:03 PM

Well, are you busy living the good life and counting your money or are you drowning your sorrows away?

Hope everything is working out. And speaking of working out......? :)

SR800

05-02-2009, 07:02 AM

I hate banks and bankers for the most part, they are always moving closing dates, forgetting forms etc. But you can't shoot them and you have to have them:(

dartol

05-02-2009, 11:20 AM

Yo Steve, hope you are getting your deal worked out and you have a great weekend!

Darren

Stenn

05-04-2009, 06:31 PM

...and your point is? LOL
:D

Well, are you busy living the good life and counting your money or are you drowning your sorrows away?

Hope everything is working out. And speaking of working out......? :)
Working out? Hah! I've barely had time to eat and sleep lately with all the 16-hour days I've been working. So far, the deal is generating no income and probably won't for at least the next three months. Till then, I gotta keep a close eye on my personal finances.

I hate banks and bankers for the most part, they are always moving closing dates, forgetting forms etc. But you can't shoot them and you have to have them:(
LOL! Sounds like you've had a run-in with the bankers too. It seems as if they take all of your carefully prepared loan paperwork and use it to prop up the short leg of their desk until about two days before closing. Then they pull it all out, tell you that it's all wrong, and make you do twice the work in .01% of the time resulting in a loan that in no way resembles what they told you that you'd get when you first shook hands. Grrrrr...... :mad:

Yo Steve, hope you are getting your deal worked out and you have a great weekend!

Darren
I spent most of Sunday installing a new network at the property. I forget what I did on Saturday, but it was something along the same lines as Sunday. :)

Stenn

05-04-2009, 06:56 PM

Wow, I've been away so long that the GUI for bb.com changed! Also, the vacant lot next to Hank's gym seems to have sprouted a new building. In spite of my prolonged absence, Dion still recognized me and gave me a big wave from clear across the gym. I get the impression that Dion would be fun to train with...

I'm not exactly sure, but I think it has been about two weeks since my last workout. I had expected my aches and pains to dissipate and even vanish during my break, but they didn't entirely. Sure, some things got better, but some of the little pains that I had attributed to working out stayed put. I guess part of my aches were simply due to being old and had nothing to do with my exercising. Go figure. So let that be a lesson to y'all. There's no escaping pain, so just suck it up and get 'er done.

About today's workout, I kept it light since I was coming back from a break. (I'm learning! :D ) I took short rests and just tried to work up a good sweat. By the end, I was dripping wet so I guess I can chalk this one up as a success. I didn't log anything, so here's what I can remember:

Dreadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x10,10 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5,5
BB Press: 88x5,5
Power Clean: 132x5,5
Deadlift: 198x5,5
BB Bench Press: 45x10 95x5 135x5,5
EZ-Curl: 50x12,10

The squats felt good after the break and my knees were 100% comfortable. Up through 135, I was like a kid bouncing on a trampoline. After that, I slowed down a little, but still kept up a good pace with my reps.

the presses, cleans, and deads were all done on the platform with the bumpers. I cleaned the bar for my presses, which was cool. The power cleans were all perfect. The deadlifts were way too light, but I refrained from going heavier to keep from disabling myself with DOMS for the rest of the week.

Bench press felt good. Again, I probably could have gone way heavier, but I held back for sanity's sake.

The curls aggrivated my fecking right elbow. Wadda ya gonna do? :rolleyes:

EMISGOD

05-04-2009, 07:22 PM

Working out? Hah! I've barely had time to eat and sleep lately with all the 16-hour days I've been working. So far, the deal is generating no income and probably won't for at least the next three months. Till then, I gotta keep a close eye on my personal finances.

Oh man, do I know this story...I hope yours works out better than the half-dozen or so I have floating that are doing exactly the same thing...

Stenn

05-04-2009, 09:00 PM

Oh man, do I know this story...I hope yours works out better than the half-dozen or so I have floating that are doing exactly the same thing...

LOL! :D Fortunately, I'm working from a tried-and-true business model so I have high hopes.

EMISGOD

05-04-2009, 09:12 PM

LOL! :D Fortunately, I'm working from a tried-and-true business model so I have high hopes.

Well, there's one obvious advantage over mine...lol...I'm more trying to create not only one but several... :o

MtnBikeMike

05-05-2009, 05:37 AM

Welcome back........And smart move on not frying yourself on the first workout.

Stenn

05-05-2009, 06:37 AM

Well, there's one obvious advantage over mine...lol...I'm more trying to create not only one but several... :o
Yup, there are two fundamental approaches to business: 1. Putting all of your eggs in on e basket. 2. Throwing sh!t at the wall to see what sticks. I'm doing #1 while you're doing #2. Folks have become wildly successful by following each approach, but I like #1 better.

Welcome back........And smart move on not frying yourself on the first workout.
Thanks Mike. My show of restraint in the gym seems to have paid off as I'm not too sore this morning and already looking forward to my next workout.

Stenn

05-09-2009, 03:42 PM

I took my daughter to the U of H gym this morning for her swim lesson. We arrived a little late for a 45 minute lesson which left me about 30 minutes to do something spectacular in the gym. No time for logging, but here's what I can remember:

BB Back Squat: 45x10,10
Power Clean: 95x5 115x5 135x5 185x0
Deadlift: 185x5 255x5 345x3
EZ-Curl: 60x10, 5, 5

The squats were just for warm-up, of course. The real fun started with the power cleans. They all went up in style as I started with the 25 lb bumpers and worked my way up to the 45's. I then put the 25's on with the 45's for my 1st deadlift and thought to myself, "I wonder if I can clean that?" And I could, if you consider a clean to the navel as legit. :rolleyes:

If my deadlift progression seems kinda goofy, you're right. I had the 45's and 25's on the bar and then added the 35's. That's all the bumpers that the gym had so I slapped on a couple of 45's for my next pull. I had no idea how much weight I had on the bar, but I did discover that the bumper plates are about an inch shorter than the regular plates. That means that all of my pulls with the bumpers over these many years have been from a disadvantageous position. Interesting.... Anyway, I know now that the bar had 345 on it and it came up without too much trouble but with a lot of yelling, which is fine.

I hit some curls for teh gunz and then trotted my sweaty ass outta there to go get my girl.

storm1507

05-10-2009, 06:28 AM

Nice comeback Steve.

I now know why I leave the real estate stuff to Dad and I keep my $$$ safely tucked away in the stock market...wait...wut??? LOL

Stenn

05-10-2009, 08:04 AM

Nice comeback Steve.

I now know why I leave the real estate stuff to Dad and I keep my $$$ safely tucked away in the stock market...wait...wut??? LOL
LOL Yeah, I started out with about 30% of my total investments in the stock market. It's now down to about 14%. :rolleyes: You would think I would have learned my lesson. Just before the high-tech crash a few years ago, I sold everything I had to put a down payment on a personal residence. I got lucky. But, for some reason, I put more of my money back into the stock market and now I'm wondering how much fun I could have had either investing or squandering that money myself instead of letting a professional money manager lose it for me by investing in companies I know almost nothing about.

Jeepers, I need to log some more workouts soon or else this is going to end up being "Steve's Personal Finance Journal." :D

GetStronger09

05-22-2009, 01:08 PM

storm1507

05-24-2009, 12:30 PM

Yo, Steve...where you at? Dang, I bet you are quietly DL'ing 425# now. :D

Stenn

05-28-2009, 09:46 PM

I was too lazy to read your whole journal ;) , so I'll just ask you now - what routine are you currently following - the Texas method (Volume on Monday 3x5, lighter by 80% on Wednesday, and PR's on Friday?)

My current routine is: working 12-16 hour days, spending absolutely no time in the gym, and skipping meals left and right because I've got no time to eat. My weight has plummeted from 200 to 182.

But seriously, I haven't done the Texas Method in a while. Most recently, I was doing a Bill Star 5x5 program. I was having a hard time keeping up with all the squatting in the Texas method and I was also having a hard time following heavy squats with heavy deadlifts on PR day. That's why I switched to the 5x5 program which better suited my current developmental level and ability to recover. The 5x5 worked well. I got up to 360 on squats and 400 on deadlifts. I'll be lucky to lift half that weight once I finally get back into the gym. :(

Stenn

05-28-2009, 09:55 PM

Yo, Steve...where you at? Dang, I bet you are quietly DL'ing 425# now. :D

LOL I wish...

I've been working my ass off with my business partner trying to get our latest apartment complex under control. As I mentioned above, I haven't been in the gym at all. Today's food: 2 breakfast tacos, 1 sandwich, 2 cookies, and a beer. That's the way it goes when your entire business looses internet access and it takes 12 hours to fix it.

I had hoped to start back at the gym this week, but things have been just too frigg'n busy. I'm taking a week off to go camping, though, so I'll be getting some fresh air and exercise for a change. I hope to get back to the gym when I get back, but it'll depend on the level of chaos at the property at that time.

My business partner expressed an interest in strength training recently. He said that he'd be willing to hire a trainer to develop more strength. I told him, "I'll work your ass off for free. Strength training is all I've been doing for the past couple of years." We'll see if he goes for it or not. He's the kind of guy that says he wants to start jogging but can't start until he buys new shoes... :rolleyes: :D

MtnBikeMike

05-29-2009, 06:27 AM

Well well.........Looky what the cat drug in? :D :D

Have fun on vacation

GetStronger09

05-29-2009, 11:53 AM

My current routine is: working 12-16 hour days, spending absolutely no time in the gym, and skipping meals left and right because I've got no time to eat. My weight has plummeted from 200 to 182.

But seriously, I haven't done the Texas Method in a while. Most recently, I was doing a Bill Star 5x5 program. I was having a hard time keeping up with all the squatting in the Texas method and I was also having a hard time following heavy squats with heavy deadlifts on PR day. That's why I switched to the 5x5 program which better suited my current developmental level and ability to recover. The 5x5 worked well. I got up to 360 on squats and 400 on deadlifts. I'll be lucky to lift half that weight once I finally get back into the gym. :(360 on squats and 400 on deads! Holy cow, you are one strong mutha!!!!

How many years were you training (efficiently) prior to those PR's and how old were you at the time?

storm1507

05-30-2009, 07:25 AM

My current routine is: working 12-16 hour days, spending absolutely no time in the gym, and skipping meals left and right because I've got no time to eat. My weight has plummeted from 200 to 182.

But seriously, I haven't done the Texas Method in a while. Most recently, I was doing a Bill Star 5x5 program. I was having a hard time keeping up with all the squatting in the Texas method and I was also having a hard time following heavy squats with heavy deadlifts on PR day. That's why I switched to the 5x5 program which better suited my current developmental level and ability to recover. The 5x5 worked well. I got up to 360 on squats and 400 on deadlifts. I'll be lucky to lift half that weight once I finally get back into the gym. :(

Wow, nice cut. You will be the envy of the wt. loss threads. :D

Nice to see you back.

dartol

05-30-2009, 11:43 AM

Hey Steve, I was wondering where you have been. Have fun camping and get back at it when you return! :)

I picked up a book you should check out... Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey. It is geared toward increasing strength without injury.

Darren

Stenn

06-01-2009, 07:18 PM

Well well.........Looky what the cat drug in? :D :D

Have fun on vacation

:D So far, so good! We just got back from camping and are now staying at a hotel in Fredericksberg that has wi-fi. I got in a lot of hiking and a little bit of rock climbing. I'm tellin' ya, if you want a good cardio workout, try following your 7 year-old over miles of rocky mountain trails while packing all the water. Whew! My girl was non-stop in her pink crocs.

While scrambling over some boulders, my daughter was scared to jump from one to the next so I put one foot on each boulder, picked her up from one side and placed her down on the other side. My wife was next and she was also a little concerned. No problem! I picked her up too and set her down on the other side. My wife said, "Wow, that was pretty cool!" It's fun to be strong. :)

Stenn

06-01-2009, 07:33 PM

360 on squats and 400 on deads! Holy cow, you are one strong mutha!!!!
Well, I'm trying... :)

How many years were you training (efficiently) prior to those PR's and how old were you at the time?

Hmmm, let's see... I started working out when I was 40 and kinda farted around for a year until I finally figured out how to do things right (ie squats, deads, and other barbell fun) I'm now 43 so I guess I've been at it for about 3.5 years or so.

I hit 360 and 400 after my last 5x5 program about a month ago. Since then, I've been out of the gym and eating like crap (which for me means not enough) so I'd be lucky to hit 325 and 360.

EMISGOD

06-01-2009, 07:45 PM

:D So far, so good! We just got back from camping and are now staying at a hotel in Fredericksberg that has wi-fi. I got in a lot of hiking and a little bit of rock climbing. I'm tellin' ya, if you want a good cardio workout, try following your 7 year-old over miles of rocky mountain trails while packing all the water. Whew! My girl was non-stop in her pink crocs.

While scrambling over some boulders, my daughter was scared to jump from one to the next so I put one foot on each boulder, picked her up from one side and placed her down on the other side. My wife was next and she was also a little concerned. No problem! I picked her up too and set her down on the other side. My wife said, "Wow, that was pretty cool!" It's fun to be strong. :)

Ah yes, that olde timeless lift, the wife and daughter heave...lol

Sounds like a good time.

Stenn

06-01-2009, 07:58 PM

Wow, nice cut. You will be the envy of the wt. loss threads. :D

Nice to see you back.
Thanks, it's good to be back. I just wish I had something better to write about than how much weight I've lost and how much I've been not working out. :( :rolleyes:

Hey Steve, I was wondering where you have been. Have fun camping and get back at it when you return! :)
Thanks Darren. I think about resuming my workouts all the time. It'll happen when it happens.

I picked up a book you should check out... Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey. It is geared toward increasing strength without injury.
Increasing strength without injury? I gotta try that some time! :D But seriously, I took a look at the book on Amazon. It looks pretty good! Any book that has both squats and deadlifts in the index can't be all bad, eh? I've added it to my Shopping Cart.

Stenn

06-01-2009, 08:05 PM

Ah yes, that olde timeless lift, the wife and daughter heave...lol

Sounds like a good time.

LOL After doing the Wife and Daughter Heave, I got to do that other classic: piggy-back ride for the kid who's too tired to make it back to the camp site. It's made all the more fun when you're still toting half a gallon of water, binoculars, food, and other crap in a backpack. Fun stuff! :D

storm1507

06-02-2009, 06:51 AM

Sounds like you are having fun. Hope to see your workouts again when you get back.

GetStronger09

06-02-2009, 06:55 AM

Hmmm, let's see... I started working out when I was 40 and kinda farted around for a year until I finally figured out how to do things right (ie squats, deads, and other barbell fun) I'm now 43 so I guess I've been at it for about 3.5 years or so.

I hit 360 and 400 after my last 5x5 program about a month ago. Since then, I've been out of the gym and eating like crap (which for me means not enough) so I'd be lucky to hit 325 and 360.Thanks for the feedback! It's very encouraging to say the least!

I started working out a year ago and ended up with a common uneducated newbie issue - overtraining X overtraining = mediocre results, stalling etc.

I am now focussing only on the compound exercises and have reduced the volume (compared to what I used to do) and not training to failure on every single set (like I used to), so hopefully my journey will be more fruitfull from here on out! I read Mark Rippetoes book and it has been a life-changing event for me! I wish I had found his book a year ago. I would be so much further ahead today. Oh well, lesson learned.

If I can reach those numbers of yours by the time I hit 50 (47 now), I will consider my progress to be nothing short of miraculous! Heck, I'd be happy with 155 on the press, 225 on the Bench, 315 on squats and 405 on deads.

Stenn

06-02-2009, 06:36 PM

Sounds like you are having fun. Hope to see your workouts again when you get back.

Thanks for the encouragement Will. We're having fun all right. We spent much of today at Enchanted Rock, a park near Fredericksburg, Texas which has some of the largest granite outcroppings in America. We got off the beaten path to do some rock climbing and ended up scrambling through a series of caves made up from fallen boulders. We concluded our hike with a dip in a cool stream before heading off to the local brew pub for pizza, excellent beer (for me, not Jerilyn) and bread pudding. Back at the hotel we had some good, rowdy fun in the pool.

My mom will show up tomorrow to meet up with us so that we can explore the adventures of window shopping in beautiful downtown Fredericksburg. :rolleyes: :D

Stenn

06-02-2009, 06:48 PM

I read Mark Rippetoes book and it has been a life-changing event for me! I wish I had found his book a year ago. I would be so much further ahead today. Oh well, lesson learned.
I also learned that lesson the hard way. For gaining strength, you can't go wrong with Rippetoe. Had I followed his Starting Strength program more closely and consistently, I would be well ahead of where I am today. If all you've got is Starting Strength, I strongly recommend that you get Practical Programming too. I explains what to do once you get bogged down in the Starting Strength program.

Another lesson I learned the hard way is how to eat in order to sustain a strength-gaining program. I'm not a big eater, but I had to learn to become one in order to continue making progress in my 5x5 program. Failing to eat right will quickly kill any strength program. If you find yourself stalling inexplicably in your program, try adding 500 calories to your diet and see if you don't start making progress again within a week.

If I can reach those numbers of yours by the time I hit 50 (47 now), I will consider my progress to be nothing short of miraculous! Heck, I'd be happy with 155 on the press, 225 on the Bench, 315 on squats and 405 on deads.
I'd also be happy to hit 155 on press and 225 on bench. My shoulders and elbows have held back my upper body development. If you lack my particular ailments, you should have no trouble reaching your goals although I'm guessing that by the time you're deadlifting 405 you'll be squatting more than 315.

storm1507

06-03-2009, 07:05 AM

I'm thinking about Texas as a vacation possibility next year. Never been to Texas. Most likely will hit the northern gulf coast if it is recovered from the hurricane by then.

Stenn

06-03-2009, 08:17 PM

I'm thinking about Texas as a vacation possibility next year. Never been to Texas. Most likely will hit the northern gulf coast if it is recovered from the hurricane by then.

Cool! I have no idea if the northern Gulf Cost has recovered from Rita yet. They got stomped pretty hard. If you make it as far down the coast as Houston, we could meet for a workout at Hank's Gym.

Stenn

06-04-2009, 08:31 PM

My mom and her friend have come and gone from Fredericksburg. I thought it would be an all-shopping experience since the friend is in her 70's and Mom isn't far behind. Instead, they both wanted to see Enchanted Rock so I got to go back there for yet another hike. We followed the creek, crossed at the pavilion, went round Frog Pond, and then went about half way up Turkey Pass before turning around and coming back. It wasn't a long hike, but I volunteered to wear the pack and loaded it up with water and other crap to make sure I got some good exercise. By the time we got back to the car, I my shirt was soaked with sweat and covered with salt stains. Good enough!

Today, Jerilyn and I had a good session at the hotel pool. You wouldn't think that playing in a pool with a 7 year old girl would be all that strenuous, but we give it our best shot. I'd press Jerilyn over my head, squat down, and then explode out of the water throwing her as high as I could. We did that a lot. On the way out of the pool, I gave Jerilyn a "Froggy Ride". That's where I squat down ATG, Jerilyn sits on my shoulders, and I hop like a frog. It's brutal work, but gets high approval from the rider.

We're heading home tomorrow, but plan to stop by Natural Bridge Caverns on the way. They've got lots of caves to hike through plus a rock climbing wall with a zip line. It should be fun and I'll be very impressed if Jerilyn takes the zip line.

Edit: Oh, and I almost forgot, we went horseback riding. I hadn't ridden a horse since I was a teenager and thought it would be more work but it was really no big deal. I guess having good lower body strength takes a lot of the challenge out of horseback riding.

EMISGOD

06-04-2009, 08:53 PM

Sounds like a lot of fun...hopefully you're getting enough to eat with all that cardio... :D

Stenn

06-05-2009, 10:09 PM

Sounds like a lot of fun...hopefully you're getting enough to eat with all that cardio... :D

LOL I wish... While camping, I ate too little. While on the road, I ate like crap. The net result is that I'm within a pound or two of the weight I started at.

Bronzebird

06-18-2009, 03:13 PM

howdy steve, glad all is going well for you and the family. Keep up the healthy lifestyle and fun!

Stenn

06-21-2009, 08:54 PM

howdy steve, glad all is going well for you and the family. Keep up the healthy lifestyle and fun!

Howdy BB! Things are going well even though I'm going on my 2nd month of not working out. It sucks! I've been super busy working at the new apartment complex and to do otherwise would have been irresponsible, so I'm OK with it. The funny thing is, I'm now part-owner of an apartment complex that has a gym, but I'm not getting in any workouts. How's that for irony?

On the bright side, my business partner just mentioned that he intends to start lifting weights in our apartment complex gym. He wants me to check out all the equipment and make sure everything works. I already know that the treadmill incline motor is shot and the belt needs to be adjusted. Also, the dumbells are pretty screwed up. Most of them are... (get this) too damn heavy! I guess the lighter ones have already been stolen. :rolleyes:

Here's an odd story... Jerilyn and I were eating at a local British-style pub and they had a strong-man contest on one of the TV sets. Jerilyn and I took an interest in the show and I mentioned that they sell moulds on the internet to make Atlas stones. This got a lot of interest from Jerilyn. I poked around and found that there's a cheaper way to make Atlas stones by making a one-use mold out of a rubber ball and plaster of Paris. We now have two plaster molds sitting in our kitchen ready for concrete, a big one and a little one.

I have only the vaguest idea how much the stones will weigh. We just went to Toys R Us and purchased "large" and "small" kid's play balls. Mine will probably be between 100 and 200 lb. Hers will probably be around 50. Once we fill the moulds, we should be ready for some lifting in 2-3 days. I can't wait! :D

storm1507

06-22-2009, 07:38 AM

Stenn

06-22-2009, 02:34 PM

Welcome back Steve. Atlas stones...LOL. I have been lifting alot of concrete this summer the old fashioned way. When do you think you will be able to get back to lifting? You still losing wt or gaining?

Ya know, as I was lifting the 80 lb bags of QuickCrete out of the trunk of my car, I wondered why I was bothering with the molds. :rolleyes: The weight was already there. All it lacked was a fancy spherical shape. But we were already into the project so I went ahead and mixed the cement acording to the directions and ended up with a mixture that looked like damp, dirty gravel. I thought, "That don't look right..." but shoveled the stuff into the molds anyway.

Once the job was done, I started cleaning up and needed to move my full mould (the big one) to a different spot on the back porch. The damn thing weighed a ton! I decided to tip it onto its side and roll it. BAD IDEA! :( The mould cracked and fell off the hard-packed concrete which mostly held its shape. Jerilyn and I learned three things from this disaster:

1. The basic instructions for QuickCrete 5000 are not appropriate for mould pouring. The concrete inside the mould had huge voids inside.
2. Parts of my plaster of Paris mould were only 1/4" thick, which ain't enough.
3. Rolling a thin, plaster mould with 200 lb of wet cement in it over a concrete porch is a BAD IDEA.

Jerilyn's mould is fine. (I was able to move it aside without rolling.) There's enough plaster and QuickCrete for another large ball, but I'll have to purchase another kid's bouncy ball. Although we're bummed about the set-back, we're still having fun and we're learning a lot, and that's the main thing.

Anyway, I expect I'll be able to get back to lifting fairly soon. I just need to decide when I want to start and then issue an ultimatum to my business partner.

As far as weight goes, I seem to be maintaining at slightly north of 180. My last measurement from a couple of days ago had me at 182.

BrotherWolf

06-22-2009, 08:43 PM

Ya know, as I was lifting the 80 lb bags of QuickCrete out of the trunk of my car, I wondered why I was bothering with the molds. :rolleyes: The weight was already there. All it lacked was a fancy spherical shape. But we were already into the project so I went ahead and mixed the cement acording to the directions and ended up with a mixture that looked like damp, dirty gravel. I thought, "That don't look right..." but shoveled the stuff into the molds anyway.

Once the job was done, I started cleaning up and needed to move my full mould (the big one) to a different spot on the back porch. The damn thing weighed a ton! I decided to tip it onto its side and roll it. BAD IDEA! :( The mould cracked and fell off the hard-packed concrete which mostly held its shape. Jerilyn and I learned three things from this disaster:

1. The basic instructions for QuickCrete 5000 are not appropriate for mould pouring. The concrete inside the mould had huge voids inside.
2. Parts of my plaster of Paris mould were only 1/4" thick, which ain't enough.
3. Rolling a thin, plaster mould with 200 lb of wet cement in it over a concrete porch is a BAD IDEA.

Jerilyn's mould is fine. (I was able to move it aside without rolling.) There's enough plaster and QuickCrete for another large ball, but I'll have to purchase another kid's bouncy ball. Although we're bummed about the set-back, we're still having fun and we're learning a lot, and that's the main thing.

Anyway, I expect I'll be able to get back to lifting fairly soon. I just need to decide when I want to start and then issue an ultimatum to my business partner.

As far as weight goes, I seem to be maintaining at slightly north of 180. My last measurement from a couple of days ago had me at 182.

Pictures and details please... Quickcrete is pretty strong but you can get better results and heavier stones by mixing it yourself, you still need to vibrate the mold somehow if you want to avoid the air pockets, you can rent a concrete vibrator like this one ..
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41053

of course if you plan on doing other concrete jobs you might want to buy one

do not fall into temptation of mixing the concrete too wet, a dry concrete will cure stronger and with less chances of cracking

Stenn

06-22-2009, 09:35 PM

Pictures and details please... Quickcrete is pretty strong but you can get better results and heavier stones by mixing it yourself, you still need to vibrate the mold somehow if you want to avoid the air pockets, you can rent a concrete vibrator like this one ..
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41053

of course if you plan on doing other concrete jobs you might want to buy one

do not fall into temptation of mixing the concrete too wet, a dry concrete will cure stronger and with less chances of cracking

Ok, I've now viewed the YouTube videos of concrete vibrators and I must say, as a man who appreciates good tools, that I'm in love. :) A concrete vibrator is EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks for the tip! I'll bet that Home Depot has them for rent and I'll have one at my next pour for sure. Either that, or I'll borrow a reasonable facsimile from the wife. (Ooohhhh, did I just say that? :eek: :D )

Oddly enough, many of the concrete vibrator videos I saw featured guys of less than average intelligence trying to hold onto the business end of a concrete vibrator. It looked to me like a good way to wear out the cartilage in all joints from the hands to the elbows years ahead of time.

As far as pictures and details, there's not much to show or tell about since my 1st attempt ended in disaster. I'll try to take a picture or two of my 2nd attempt. Till then, follow this link to a guy who has bigger and better balls than I have.

http://www133.pair.com/iain/vault/house/stones/stonemaking.html

I still think I should have added more water to the mix. The 1st batch of concrete we mixed for Jerilyn's smaller ball looked OK. My batch looked too dry. The instructions on the bag said to mix in about 3/4 gallon of water per 80 lb bag of QuickCrete. However, it also said not to mix in more than bla-bla amount of water. I'm thinking about shooting for somewhere in between. Part of my reasoning is to make mixing and pouring easier, of course, but I also think that a lot of moisture is getting wicked away from the concrete mix by the porous, plaster mould.

Anyway, I probably won't be able to make my 2nd attempt till this weekend. That'll give me a chance to do a little more research and hunt down an appropriate vibrator. I think I'm gonna stick with QuickCrete, though. I'm mixing everything by hand with a gardening trowel. :rolleyes: It's hard enough getting the water into the mix evenly. I'd hate to have to worry about the other ingredients.

BrotherWolf

06-23-2009, 05:24 AM

Ok, I've now viewed the YouTube videos of concrete vibrators and I must say, as a man who appreciates good tools, that I'm in love. :) A concrete vibrator is EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks for the tip! I'll bet that Home Depot has them for rent and I'll have one at my next pour for sure. Either that, or I'll borrow a reasonable facsimile from the wife. (Ooohhhh, did I just say that? :eek: :D )

LOL..
quickcrete 5k is quite strong , I believe it's got gravel in the mix , if you want a smoother easy to pour mix you better use a sand mix .
I was thinking of making my own and this method sounds simple enough but I would probably make a reusable concrete mold.
I have made half round pots before out of concrete and wire , just need to make 2 and join them together :) Another fun thing to lift is a full beer keg it's only 160lbs more or less
but if you drink the beer and fill it with sand it's probably double that

Stenn

06-23-2009, 08:00 PM

LOL..
quickcrete 5k is quite strong , I believe it's got gravel in the mix , if you want a smoother easy to pour mix you better use a sand mix .
Quite strong, indeed... Jerilyn and I freed her stone and my spheroid pile from their plaster molds this evening. The surfaces were rough and full of voids, but they held together just fine. I told Jerilyn, "Ok girl, pick it up!" It took her a couple of tries to get the right grip and then up it went. Then, down it went onto my concrete porch with a THUD that had me checking the porch for cracks. The porch was unharmed and the stone was completely unblemished.

Later, I got out my trusty bathroom scale and found that Jerilyn's stone, which is about the size of a bowling ball, weighs 32 lbs. My stone, which is quite a bit larger, weighs 102 lb. Her stone is rough, but mine is down-right crumbly. Still, when I threw my ball down from the porch onto some brick paving that I'm not fond of, it devastated the bricks without losing any pieces larger than a peanut.

I think I'll stick with the Q5000 because I still have 2 bags of the stuff and, thanks to your guidance, I have a concrete vibrator on order. They rent for about $50/day but Amazon.com had a used one for $55 so I went ahead and bought the bugger. I think Q5000 will be no trouble with the vibrator and I'll end up with the strongest balls in central Houston.

I was thinking of making my own and this method sounds simple enough but I would probably make a reusable concrete mold.
I have made half round pots before out of concrete and wire , just need to make 2 and join them together :)
A concrete mold sounds like a pretty neat idea. I guess anything will do as long as it holds its shape and concrete will be a lot stronger than plaster so you'll avoid the kind of trouble that I ran into.

Another fun thing to lift is a full beer keg it's only 160lbs more or less
but if you drink the beer and fill it with sand it's probably double that
Nah, it's not the same. Jerilyn and I are drawn to the whole arts-and-crafts aspect of building Atlas stones and emptying a beer keg isn't really the kind of activity you can share with a 7 year old. :D

BrotherWolf

06-23-2009, 08:18 PM

I think I'll stick with the Q5000 because I still have 2 bags of the stuff and, thanks to your guidance, I have a concrete vibrator on order. They rent for about $50/day but Amazon.com had a used one for $55 so I went ahead and bought the bugger. I think Q5000 will be no trouble with the vibrator and I'll end up with the strongest balls in central Houston.
LOL .. no doubt about that

A concrete mold sounds like a pretty neat idea. I guess anything will do as long as it holds its shape and concrete will be a lot stronger than plaster so you'll avoid the kind of trouble that I ran into.

Plaster is fine but I used to play with concrete I like it a lot
it's very versatile you can even sculpt it like clay and with some wire you can come up with some crazy stuff.. and it's cheap

Nah, it's not the same. Jerilyn and I are drawn to the whole arts-and-crafts aspect of building Atlas stones and emptying a beer keg isn't really the kind of activity you can share with a 7 year old. :D

Root beer?

BrotherWolf

06-23-2009, 08:33 PM

One more tip .. if your ball has holes and gaps you can easily fill the gaps with straight cement.. just wet the ball with a spray bottle and rub the cement powder with a rag or sponge , it will fill the various holes and still be strong..

Stenn

06-23-2009, 09:03 PM

Plaster is fine but I used to play with concrete I like it a lot
it's very versatile you can even sculpt it like clay and with some wire you can come up with some crazy stuff.. and it's cheap
Yeah, I'm reminded of all the concrete interstate road-side attractions I admired in my youth during long family road trips: dinosaurs, farm animals, tee-pee's, etc. There's a used car dealer in Houston that has a couple of statues of the owners done up larger than life. They're hideous, but they turn heads, that's for sure. Hey, now that I think about it, the local rock climbing gyms are just one big concrete sculpture with plastic handholds bolted on. Concrete is truly versatile stuff.

Root beer?
Now you're talking! :D

One more tip .. if your ball has holes and gaps you can easily fill the gaps with straight cement.. just wet the ball with a spray bottle and rub the cement powder with a rag or sponge , it will fill the various holes and still be strong..
Cool, thanks for the tip! I've also heard that you can use crack sealer, but plain old cement has gotta be cheaper and will leave me with one less half-empty container of stuff left over once the project is through.

BrotherWolf

06-23-2009, 09:25 PM

Yeah, I'm reminded of all the concrete interstate road-side attractions I admired in my youth during long family road trips: dinosaurs, farm animals, tee-pee's, etc. There's a used car dealer in Houston that has a couple of statues of the owners done up larger than life. They're hideous, but they turn heads, that's for sure. Hey, now that I think about it, the local rock climbing gyms are just one big concrete sculpture with plastic handholds bolted on. Concrete is truly versatile stuff.

Now you're talking! :D

Cool, thanks for the tip! I've also heard that you can use crack sealer, but plain old cement has gotta be cheaper and will leave me with one less half-empty container of stuff left over once the project is through.

Yeah definitely cheaper , you can finish it with a latex sealer it will make it less prone to crumbling, also there is a special type of fiber you can mix in the concrete to make more flexible and stronger, looks ike shredded fiberglass it helps reduce cracks and binds it all together.. might be overkill though

this is the stuff
http://www.mdmfiber.com/

Stenn

06-23-2009, 10:08 PM

Yeah definitely cheaper , you can finish it with a latex sealer it will make it less prone to crumbling, also there is a special type of fiber you can mix in the concrete to make more flexible and stronger, looks ike shredded fiberglass it helps reduce cracks and binds it all together.. might be overkill though

this is the stuff
http://www.mdmfiber.com/

Jeepers! I'll consider that if I ever need to fire one of my Atlas stones out of a cannon. :D From what I've read, plain old QuickCrete makes stones that can be dropped onto concrete floors without any trouble. I'm only going to be throwing mine around in the back yard.

BrotherWolf

06-24-2009, 03:34 PM

Jeepers! I'll consider that if I ever need to fire one of my Atlas stones out of a cannon. :D From what I've read, plain old QuickCrete makes stones that can be dropped onto concrete floors without any trouble. I'm only going to be throwing mine around in the back yard.

Yeah a bit too much for the stone project :-)
anyway how is the training ? I have been taking 10+ days breaks in between workouts
unfortunately work is keeping me from doing it consistently

Stenn

06-24-2009, 08:38 PM

Yeah a bit too much for the stone project :-)
anyway how is the training ? I have been taking 10+ days breaks in between workouts
unfortunately work is keeping me from doing it consistently

Training has been non-existent lately. I've been so busy with work that I haven't been into the gym in a couple of months. I plan to change that soon, I just haven't committed to it yet. Also, I'm scratching my head about what program to start on. I should probably do something light and fun for the first week or two, but then I want to start back on a regular strength program of some sort.

Got any suggestions? What have you been doing lately (when you're not taking a break)?

BrotherWolf

06-24-2009, 09:22 PM

Training has been non-existent lately. I've been so busy with work that I haven't been into the gym in a couple of months. I plan to change that soon, I just haven't committed to it yet. Also, I'm scratching my head about what program to start on. I should probably do something light and fun for the first week or two, but then I want to start back on a regular strength program of some sort.

Got any suggestions? What have you been doing lately (when you're not taking a break)?

Well I tried to continue with the 5x5 Texas method, 1 heavy day 1 volume and one recovery day unfortunately I am lucky if I can manage to squreeze in 3 days a month LOL
In September is going to slow down, I am going to go back to Starting strength then I am going to cocentrate on the 3 PL lifts in the 1-3RM range until I reach my goals and enter my first PL meet (180lb-ish category) in the winter :)

Stenn

06-24-2009, 09:55 PM

Well I tried to continue with the 5x5 Texas method, 1 heavy day 1 volume and one recovery day unfortunately I am lucky if I can manage to squreeze in 3 days a month LOL
In September is going to slow down, I am going to go back to Starting strength then I am going to cocentrate on the 3 PL lifts in the 1-3RM range until I reach my goals and enter my first PL meet (180lb-ish category) in the winter :)

I really liked the Texas Method, except for volume day. But then, that's probably just because I was trying to do 5x12 squats. :rolleyes: If I were to tone things down a bit, the Texas Method might be a good place for me to get back into the swing of things.

So, you're gonna do a PL meet? That's cool! I need to ask around at Hank's when I'm back there to see if they ever have meets. It seems like it would be a fun thing to do (in a terrifying sort of way.)

BrotherWolf

06-24-2009, 10:18 PM

I really liked the Texas Method, except for volume day. But then, that's probably just because I was trying to do 5x12 squats. :rolleyes: If I were to tone things down a bit, the Texas Method might be a good place for me to get back into the swing of things.

On my volume day I do 3-4 sets of front squats and 5x10 back squats but even at 80% my 3RM it's still though..

So, you're gonna do a PL meet? That's cool! I need to ask around at Hank's when I'm back there to see if they ever have meets. It seems like it would be a fun thing to do (in a terrifying sort of way.)

Only if I can reach my goals 350+ squat 250 press and 400+ DL

I was very close then the new job came along, it's only for fun anyway

Stenn

06-27-2009, 07:48 PM

Only if I can reach my goals 350+ squat 250 press and 400+ DL

I was very close then the new job came along, it's only for fun anyway
Yeah, jobs suck that way... I need to find a way to scale back my work time and get back to the gym. Soon...

Until then, I'm working on my next Atlas stone. :) I inflated my new Spiderman rubber bouncy ball to a circumference that should yield a 115 lb concrete monster when I'm done. I took it out to my back patio and then slathered it with 1.5 bags of plaster. I'll probably pour the cement tomorrow.

I got my used cement vibrator in the mail and the damn thing didn't work. I started to write a cranky letter to the seller when it occurred to me to check the internet for directions. Sure enough, there was a trick to using the thing. You have to whack it against something hard to start it vibrating. Go figure... I gave it a whack and the thing came to life. Woo-hoo!

I took pictures this time, so when I get off my lazy ass and figure out how to post them, I will.

BrotherWolf

06-27-2009, 11:27 PM

Yeah, jobs suck that way... I need to find a way to scale back my work time and get back to the gym. Soon...

Until then, I'm working on my next Atlas stone. :) I inflated my new Spiderman rubber bouncy ball to a circumference that should yield a 115 lb concrete monster when I'm done. I took it out to my back patio and then slathered it with 1.5 bags of plaster. I'll probably pour the cement tomorrow.

I got my used cement vibrator in the mail and the damn thing didn't work. I started to write a cranky letter to the seller when it occurred to me to check the internet for directions. Sure enough, there was a trick to using the thing. You have to whack it against something hard to start it vibrating. Go figure... I gave it a whack and the thing came to life. Woo-hoo!

I took pictures this time, so when I get off my lazy ass and figure out how to post them, I will.

Spiderman bouncy ball? that's very macho :-)
That's funny about the vibrator I didn't know , I use one of those small hand held sanders to vibrate molds etc.. but I never used one of the immersion vibrators.. good to know

storm1507

06-28-2009, 06:24 AM

You are having too much fun w/ the concrete stuff. Come to my house this week for some real action...I hope to get close to finished w/ my house length this week. :)

How about first of July to get started back w/ the workouts?

Stenn

06-28-2009, 08:06 AM

Spiderman bouncy ball? that's very macho :-)
I had a choice of Dora the Explorer, Disney Princesses, or Spiderman. I asked my daughter which one I should get and she said, "Get the Spiderman one so you won't be ashamed to play with it later."

That's funny about the vibrator I didn't know , I use one of those small hand held sanders to vibrate molds etc.. but I never used one of the immersion vibrators.. good to know
I'm guessing that the necessity to whack the thing is a "feature" of the cheaper vibrators. I thought about using a vibrating sander, but I was worried that it might not work so well on the side of a plaster mold. (Little did I know that I was going to end up breaking the mold anyway...)

Stenn

06-28-2009, 08:23 AM

You are having too much fun w/ the concrete stuff. Come to my house this week for some real action...
I'd love to, but I think I hear my Mommy calling... :rolleyes:

How about first of July to get started back w/ the workouts?That sounds like a pretty good idea. I thought about starting this Monday, but I'm supposed to meet a foundation specialist out at the property that morning to get a bid for some badly-needed repairs.

I just received a book that Dartol recommended. It's called Maximum Strength - Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program by Eric Cressey. I was skeptical at first, but the author is well-credentialed and so far I like what he has to say. The forward to the book is written by John Berardi, the author of Scrawny to Brawny. Eric sounds like a young Rippetoe, only less cynical, which ain't a bad thing. If I'm still convinced by the time I hit the programming info, I may go ahead and jump aboard his program.

BrotherWolf

06-28-2009, 08:36 AM

I had a choice of Dora the Explorer, Disney Princesses, or Spiderman. I asked my daughter which one I should get and she said, "Get the Spiderman one so you won't be ashamed to play with it later."

Surely it would be fun to fill a Disney princess ball with concrete to use as a stone :)

I'm guessing that the necessity to whack the thing is a "feature" of the cheaper vibrators. I thought about using a vibrating sander, but I was worried that it might not work so well on the side of a plaster mold. (Little did I know that I was going to end up breaking the mold anyway...)

the sander works well for smaller projects , I think the atlas stone being larger needs something that can be immersed ... you will find other projects for that, concrete could be fun..

EMISGOD

06-28-2009, 12:17 PM

This has taken a rather interesting turn...that's always an interesting sign when you start creating your own equipment. :D

Stenn

06-28-2009, 05:18 PM

Surely it would be fun to fill a Disney princess ball with concrete to use as a stone :)
I'm thinking of painting my stone yellow and then putting a big happy face on it.
http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1491/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1491R-1038660.jpg

the sander works well for smaller projects , I think the atlas stone being larger needs something that can be immersed ... you will find other projects for that, concrete could be fun..
Yeah, re-doing the sidewalk out in front of my house is starting to seem less intimidating.

This has taken a rather interesting turn...that's always an interesting sign when you start creating your own equipment. :D
The nice thing about building your own exercise equipment out of concrete is that you get a good workout during the project.

Stenn

06-30-2009, 05:09 AM

I got up this morning at 6:30 to take my kid to gymnastics camp at 8:00. I need to drop by Microcenter to pick up a new printer and a couple of cameras for the business but they don't open until 10:00. Hmmmm... What am I gonna for two hours? Hmmm.....

Stenn

06-30-2009, 10:03 PM

I had a gap in my usual morning schedule and managed to squeeze in a workout. Damn, it's about time! I checked in my log book and saw that it has been a full 2.5 months since my last workout. That just ain't right.

I had every intention of taking things easy and managed to behave myself for the most part. I found that I'm still quite strong in spite of dropping 20 lb over the past couple of months. This discovery was a HUGE relief.

I saw a few regulars at Hank's Gym. Ken, the owner, was there of course. I also ran into Ralph so we exchanged greetings. I caught the eye of Carl over by the dumbell rack. We were both sweaty, tired, and happy. He glanced up at me, smiled, and said, "Here we go again!" :)

And here we go...

I didn't log anything, so here's the best that I can remember:

BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5
BB Front Squat: 95x5
Clean & Press: 88x5
Power Clean: 88x5 110x5 132x5 154x3,3
Deadlift: 154x5 up to 308x3
Shoulder Dislocations: 12
BB Bench Press: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5,5
DB Row: 60x5 70x5 80x5 90x5

I really only did the back and front squats just to warm up since I didn't bother to do anything else. I stayed in the hole a few seconds each rep to get a good stretch.

Over on the Oly platform, I started out with clean & presses followed by power cleans. My form on the power cleans was perfect, if I do say so myself. Hitting 154 was quite a thrill considering my max is 165.

I started at my last power clean weight and deadlifted my way up to 308. Only the 308 sets felt like hard work. Again, my form was perfect. I could have lifted more, but my right hamstring felt a little out-of-sorts so I put all my stuff away and headed over to the bench.

Bench press sucked, as usual. :( My left shoulder has been sore for a couple of days and benching didn't help it so I called it quits at 135.

The DB rows were just plain fun. I ran the rack from 60 to 90 with straps and worked up a good sweat. Fun stuff! :D

storm1507

07-01-2009, 06:21 AM

Stenn

07-01-2009, 07:50 PM

Nice work Steve. How are the DOMS treating you today?

Thanks!

My traps feel like I've been marched over by a circus parade, but other than that I feel fine. I had expected to feel it bad in my hammies, but they're good.

I'm gonna try another workout tomorrow and if my legs still feel as fresh as they do today I may make it a legs day. That should win me some DOMS where it belongs. :D

storm1507

07-02-2009, 08:15 AM

Glad to see you back at it again.

Cooled down in Texas yet?

Stenn

07-02-2009, 07:12 PM

Glad to see you back at it again.
Thanks, it feels good to be back at it.

Cooled down in Texas yet?
Hah! Today was over a hundred. It's supposed to cool down a little over the next few days and they're forecasting a chilly 94 on Monday. That'll be fine by me. I don't mind the heat so much as long as it's below body heat.

Stenn

07-02-2009, 07:40 PM

My legs still felt good and fresh after my 1st workout in 2.5 months so I decided to beat 'em up good and proper. My workout was in the morning and I was already starting to feel that bad old feeling by lunch time. Mission accomplished!

Dreadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x5,5 95x5 135x5 175x5 225x5 275x2
SLDL: 88x5 110x5 132x5 154x5 198x5
Leg Press #2: Sledx10 90x10 180x10 270x10 360x10
Leg Ext: 100x10,10
Sissy Squat: BWx?,?
GHR: BWx5,5

I decided to see where I was at on squats and got an unpleasant surprise. My form seemed OK, but I had no tiger in my tank. I got up to 275, squeezed out 2 reps, and failed on the 3rd. Yikes! That's about 75% of my hard-won 3RM of 2.5 months ago. Whaaaaaaa! :(

The SLDL's went well although I started out kinda tight. Once I got into 'em (and the bar got heavier) I started to hit my old depths (i.e. the floor.)

The leg press was a little more forgiving and I managed to get up to 8 plates for 10 reps with only minimal yelling. Sweet!

I never do leg extensions, but I did them anyway just for kicks. My heart wasn't in it, though. I also kinda frittered around on the sissy squat do-dad as I chatted with the woman doing lunges in the squat rack next-door.

The GHR's were different. Those two sets of 5 were a good, honest effort. What a nice way to end a workout. :)

EMISGOD

07-02-2009, 07:49 PM

I'm probably going to do Legs tomorrow and I'm also terrified...last time I did them, everything, including warm-ups, seemed heavy...last time I took the bike out, it was like I was not only pedaling uphill the entire time, but uphill like up the side of a building uphill... :(

I see you're still digging those GHRs...I did try those, incidentally, last time (maybe last 2 times -- I should check) as a 1-Legged device and as expected, balance was a very real challenge...

Stenn

07-02-2009, 08:20 PM

I'm probably going to do Legs tomorrow and I'm also terrified...last time I did them, everything, including warm-ups, seemed heavy...
Just get in there and do it, man! Don't worry about the weights. Just shoot for that good old gut-wrenching, head-spinning feeling that we've all come to know and love on legs day.

last time I took the bike out, it was like I was not only pedaling uphill the entire time, but uphill like up the side of a building uphill... :(
LOL :D

I see you're still digging those GHRs...I did try those, incidentally, last time (maybe last 2 times -- I should check) as a 1-Legged device and as expected, balance was a very real challenge...
Man, it still just boggles my mind to hear you say that you're even trying 1-legged GHR's. :eek: When I did my 2-legged reps, I could almost hear my hammies creak and pop.

Edit: I can't believe it! I've been MIA for months, but bb.com still won't let me rep you for the 1-leg GHR's because I have to "spread it around". LOL!

EMISGOD

07-02-2009, 08:30 PM

Just get in there and do it, man! Don't worry about the weights. Just shoot for that good old gut-wrenching, head-spinning feeling that we've all come to know and love on legs day.

I'm just hoping I don't wind up with a headache, since that will rather quickly end any thought of that...I'm not sure if it is the head-spinning or the limping to the car that I like best on those days... :D

Man, it still just boggles my mind to hear you say that you're even trying 1-legged GHR's. :eek: When I did my 2-legged reps, I could almost hear my hammies creak and pop.

Eh? I thought me trying them was your idea? :confused: :D

I think the first time I tried them, I could only get 2 or 3 reps per Leg before I had to quit because balance was presenting such an issue and I was not taking them very seriously and was probably well on my way to an injury...I thought I tried them again later when I could concentrate better and got a few more reps, but I'd have to go back and look...I don't remember clearly now...I'm happier sticking with the weighted version for now, though, since the Lat Tower pad is not lending itself well to the one-legged thing...Legs are probably going to be the only thing I'm not doing high reps on, come to think of it...

Stenn

07-02-2009, 08:41 PM

I'm just hoping I don't wind up with a headache, since that will rather quickly end any thought of that...I'm not sure if it is the head-spinning or the limping to the car that I like best on those days... :D
Or sitting in the car seat but not being able to get your feet high enough off the ground to get them into the car. :D

Eh? I thought me trying them was your idea? :confused: :D
I forget if I tempted/goaded you into the 1-leg GHR's, but I do recall discussing the balance issue. I still can't think of a way around that except maybe to do them inside a power rack so you can guide yourself up and down with your hands on the rack. The thing is, your gym owner would probably frown on you pulling either the rack or LPD toward the other. :rolleyes: It would probably be easier to just hold hands with a workout buddy.

Stenn

07-02-2009, 08:48 PM

Oh, and for those of you who are curious, my Atlas stone is still in the plaster mold. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to bust it out. I'm dying to know what I've got in there!

EMISGOD

07-02-2009, 08:53 PM

Or sitting in the car seat but not being able to get your feet high enough off the ground to get them into the car. :D

Ah yes, how could I forget that joy...lol

I forget if I tempted/goaded you into the 1-leg GHR's, but I do recall discussing the balance issue. I still can't think of a way around that except maybe to do them inside a power rack so you can guide yourself up and down with your hands on the rack. The thing is, your gym owner would probably frown on you pulling either the rack or LPD toward the other. :rolleyes: It would probably be easier to just hold hands with a workout buddy.

Well, usually my hands stay either on my shoulders or hold the weights to my chest. When I was doing the 1-Legged things, I had them straight out to my side to try to balance better...I must have looked very strange, holding all these limbs akimbo as I was doing those...lol Not quite sure how I could accomplish them on a power cage as the safety racks don't go down far enough to hold my heel(s) and I'm not sure I could fit them under the barbell very well, either, if I put it on the ground with a couple wheels to aside...I almost think I would need fairly special equipment in order to be able to utilize them...lol

EMISGOD

07-02-2009, 08:54 PM

Stenn

07-02-2009, 09:26 PM

Dora! Dora! Dora! :D
And with that, I bid you all a good night. Good luck to you on surviving tomorrow's legs day, and good luck to me on surviving tomorrow's DOMS.

JOHN GARGANI

07-03-2009, 05:00 AM

SY: until we learn to walk on our hands, leg DOMS will continue to be the nightmare that it is, for sure! LOL......

Stenn

07-03-2009, 06:39 AM

SY: until we learn to walk on our hands, leg DOMS will continue to be the nightmare that it is, for sure! LOL......

Yeah, it's just one of those things we learn to accept.

It's morning now and I don't feel too bad, but the day is young. I at least managed not to yell when I got out of bed. That's only because I decided NOT to work calves yesterday...

BrotherWolf

07-03-2009, 07:10 AM

I'm thinking of painting my stone yellow and then putting a big happy face on it.
http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1491/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1491R-1038660.jpg

that would be very funny .. something I would do
if you do latex paint is the best
you can even mix the paint in the concrete for a special effect but it won't be as yellow

BrotherWolf

07-03-2009, 07:11 AM

Oh, and for those of you who are curious, my Atlas stone is still in the plaster mold. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to bust it out. I'm dying to know what I've got in there!

A slow cure is best , I would let it cure 3-4 days covered if not more, given the size and shape a week probably is the right amount of time

Stenn

07-03-2009, 07:55 PM

that would be very funny .. something I would do
if you do latex paint is the best
you can even mix the paint in the concrete for a special effect but it won't be as yellow
Well, its too late to mix the paint into the concrete, but the latex tip is a good one. Hmmm... This project may not be over as soon as I suspected.

A slow cure is best , I would let it cure 3-4 days covered if not more, given the size and shape a week probably is the right amount of time
Jerilyn just asked me, "When are we gonna break this thing open?" I've had no time to mess with the mold lately so the cement has been curing for almost a week, but I've promised Jerilyn that we'll bust the sucker out tomorrow morning while it's still (relatively) cool. I think it's going to turn out great.

EMISGOD

07-03-2009, 08:33 PM

Jerilyn just asked me, "When are we gonna break this thing open?" I've had no time to mess with the mold lately so the cement has been curing for almost a week, but I've promised Jerilyn that we'll bust the sucker out tomorrow morning while it's still (relatively) cool. I think it's going to turn out great.

I'm excited about it, too...I've taken to calling it "The Emergence Of Dora" in my head now... :o

Stenn

07-03-2009, 09:14 PM

I'm excited about it, too...I've taken to calling it "The Emergence Of Dora" in my head now... :o
Ok, I thought I could iet the Dora reference slip by without asking for an explanation, but now I gotta ask... Dora?

All I can think of is Dora the Explorer and Google is giving me the same. It makes no sense. Give me a clue, man! WTF? :)

EMISGOD

07-03-2009, 09:33 PM

Ok, I thought I could iet the Dora reference slip by without asking for an explanation, but now I gotta ask... Dora?

All I can think of is Dora the Explorer and Google is giving me the same. It makes no sense. Give me a clue, man! WTF? :)

I know you got Spiderman, but somehow I extrapolated my choice, which would have been Dora, into this whole thing...the Dora name is also kind of phonetically amusing to me...nothing too major...just nonsensical most probably... :D

Stenn

07-03-2009, 10:12 PM

I know you got Spiderman, but somehow I extrapolated my choice, which would have been Dora, into this whole thing...the Dora name is also kind of phonetically amusing to me...nothing too major...just nonsensical most probably... :D

Ah, cool. I'm with you now. :) I actually wanted to get the Dora the Explorer ball, but Jerilyn said, "I hate Dora the Explorer!" and that was that. :rolleyes:

Stenn

07-04-2009, 08:56 AM

Dora has emerged! Jerilyn and I chipped away at the plaster mold of my newest Atlas stone and eventually freed the monster. She's a beauty! There are a few pits, but the stone is smooth for the most part. We finished the job with a pair of wire brushes and a garden hose leaving the stone squeaky clean and plaster-free. There's a nub on the top where I poured the concrete which I'll have to smooth down with hammer and chisel or some kind of abrasive.

Even with leg DOMS, I couldn't help but give the stone a heft. It went up well enough, but I was then holding a large concrete ball over my back porch and if I dropped the thing it most likely wouldn't stop descending until it reached the planet Earth. Gritting my teeth and holding my breath, I gently lowered the stone back onto the porch.

I ran inside and got the bathroom scale and a wash cloth. I protected the scale with the cloth and then scooted the ball onto the scale. It weighed in at 123.5 pounds. That's quite a bit heavier than the 115 I had predicted. I need to re-check my diameter and then adjust my formulas.

Lessons Learned:
1. No matter how long you've been vibrating your concrete, you're never quite done. Had I spent more time vibrating, I might have had fewer voids. Most of the ones in the latest stone are near the top and within an inch or two of surfacing. Doh!

2. There are some odd deformations in the bottom of the stone which I attribute to the ball deforming as the plaster was applied. I either need a stiffer ball, or I need to buy one of those fancy store-bought molds.

Jerilyn is excited by the vastly improved quality of this stone and now wants to re-do her smaller stone. Looks like we'll be making another trip to Toys R Us and Home Depot soon. :)

EMISGOD

07-04-2009, 10:45 AM

Disney Princess time! :D

This sounds like an interesting project and I think you're not too far from getting it nailed...do you suppose wire mesh would help at some point in there?

Stenn

07-04-2009, 04:34 PM

Disney Princess time! :D
If I go with Beauty and the Beast, I can call the resulting stone my Ball Belle.

This sounds like an interesting project and I think you're not too far from getting it nailed...do you suppose wire mesh would help at some point in there?
You'd add wire mesh to make the concrete stronger but that's not a problem here. Actually, I think this latest stone is about as good as they come without using different mold technology. I can chisel off the excess cement and then fill in the voids with crack sealer. If I then go over it with a concrete sealer (or a coat or two of yellow latex paint) it'll be as smooth as a melon.

EMISGOD

07-04-2009, 05:41 PM

If I go with Beauty and the Beast, I can call the resulting stone my Ball Belle.

Nice! lol

You'd add wire mesh to make the concrete stronger but that's not a problem here. Actually, I think this latest stone is about as good as they come without using different mold technology. I can chisel off the excess cement and then fill in the voids with crack sealer. If I then go over it with a concrete sealer (or a coat or two of yellow latex paint) it'll be as smooth as a melon.

I meant in the actual mold itself...I honestly don't know anything about this, just kind of wondering out loud...

Stenn

07-04-2009, 06:07 PM

I meant in the actual mold itself...I honestly don't know anything about this, just kind of wondering out loud...
Ah, I see. Yeah, that might help. I think the fundamental problem is trying to make a rigid mold out of something as flimsy as a kid's bouncy ball. No matter what I try to form around the ball, it will always cause deformation. I need stiffer balls! :D

BuckSpin

07-04-2009, 06:23 PM

I need stiffer balls! :D

Geeze! Last time I checked in here you & the missus were doing everything but squats in the power cage & now this!!

Stenn

07-04-2009, 08:50 PM

Geeze! Last time I checked in here you & the missus were doing everything but squats in the power cage & now this!!

LOL :D Nice of you to drop by. Have any idea where a fella can get himself some stiffer balls? I'm thinking an exercise ball would do the trick, but those things tend to be on the large side. I'm not quite ready for a 700 lb Atlas stone.

EMISGOD

07-04-2009, 09:17 PM

LOL :D Nice of you to drop by. Have any idea where a fella can get himself some stiffer balls? I'm thinking an exercise ball would do the trick, but those things tend to be on the large side. I'm not quite ready for a 700 lb Atlas stone.

You know...I thought I saw some that were made of hard plastic and intended to be used as planters...I don't remember where I saw them...Lowe's maybe...

storm1507

07-05-2009, 06:10 AM

Sounds like you are ready to open a new money making adventure. I wonder if the website "Steve's Balls" is taken yet. But, enough about your balls. How's the body holding up after the long layoff?

Stenn

07-05-2009, 06:53 AM

Sounds like you are ready to open a new money making adventure. I wonder if the website "Steve's Balls" is taken yet. But, enough about your balls. How's the body holding up after the long layoff?

www.stevesballs.com is available for the taking. :D

I seem to be holding up well. My legs are still sore from Thursday's leg workout, but that's no surprise. My strength is way down, but that's also no surprise considering the 2.5 months of loafing and losing 20 lb of body weight.

BuckSpin

07-05-2009, 08:12 AM

Have any idea where a fella can get himself some stiffer balls?

In some places this would be reason enough to throw down....LOL

Talk to Gnomus or HikeMike. They might know...

Stenn

07-05-2009, 09:36 PM

In some places this would be reason enough to throw down....LOL

Talk to Gnomus or HikeMike. They might know...

I've seen the stones that Gnomus totes and they ain't round. :D

I'm actually unlikely to do much more on the Atlas stone front. The whole thing is messy as hell and my back yard and porch are starting to look like a concrete and plaster quarry. If I do pour another stone, I'll probably shell out the big bucks and buy a mold from these guys: http://www.slatershardware.com/stonemolds.html

My reasoning is: not getting it right the first time sucks way more than paying for a mold.

BuckSpin

07-06-2009, 09:28 AM

Thought: do you live near any water (lake, river) where you could "acquire" large rocks that have been worn smooth?

Stenn

07-06-2009, 02:10 PM

Thought: do you live near any water (lake, river) where you could "acquire" large rocks that have been worn smooth?
I live in Houston. All of the rocks here are imported. The one time I got to lift real, live rocks was in a creek bed in Austin.

Stenn

07-06-2009, 02:13 PM

My quads and hams still felt a bit tight this morning so I decided to do some sort of upper body workout. I started out with some stretching on the mat in an attempt to get rid of the last of my leg DOMS. When I wandered over to the squat rack and lifting platform area, there was a trainer and her client using both of them simultaneously for..... (wait for it).... pushups. Now, there have to be a hundred different places in the gym to do pushups. Why did this trainer have to tie up not one, but two irreplaceable pieces of equipment? Anyway, acting stupid (I'm good at that) I asked, "Are you guys using the squat rack or the lifting platform?" I didn't get an answer to that question, but was told that they only had one more set to go. Good enough for me! I found the bar jack and started setting up for my 1st warmup set while the trainer and client wrapped up their last set and moved on.

My left shoulder is giving me some trouble still. It's too bad that I couldn't get over all these little aches and pains during my break and come back to the gym fresh as a daisy. Oh well. I didn't let the shoulder hold me back too much, but I also didn't go all-out. Life is a compromise.

As usual when I'm just farting around, I didn't log as I worked out. Here's what I can remember:

Stretching
BB Front Squat: 88x8,8
Power Clean: 88x5 132x5
BB Bench Press: 45x8 95x5 115x5 135x5 145x3 155x3
Press: 45x8 65x5 85x5 95x3 105x2
Plate Raise: 10x8 25x5 35x5 45x3
Decl. Situp: BWx25,10,10

The front squats and power cleans were just for stretching and warming up. I did everything on the platform so I had to clean the bar for my front squats. Fun stuff! I kept things lite except for the last set of power clean which was kinda, sorta heavy.

My shoulder felt a bit crappy during bench. I went for broke anyway and got as far as 155 before calling it quits. That's about 75% of my previous 3RM. I guess that's good enough for now.

The barbell presses felt awful. I only got as far as 105 before failing. I don't know if it was the pain or fatigue. On the other hand, the plate raises felt great. Go figure... I guess they hit the joint at a more acceptable angle. I wasn't expecting the 45 to go up, but it did anyway.

I forced myself to do some sit-ups before departing. I did them on the decline bench, but I didn't do them weighted because I didn't want to kill my abs for the rest of the week. I'm not sure if that makes me wise or just a weenie.

Stenn

07-06-2009, 02:17 PM

I thought I was going to do the workout in the book that Dartol recommended, The Ultimate Strength Whatever in 16 Weeks. I'm half way though the book having slugged my way through endless descriptions of stretching and foam rolling exercises followed by short, lame descriptions of the various and sundry exercises to be used in the 1st phase of the program. It's probably a fine book and a great workout, but I just lost my patience with it. I found the Elite Madcow description of the Advanced 5x5 program on Geocities and thought to myself, "Now we're talking!" I downloaded the spreadsheet, swapped the rows and incline bench for power cleans and presses, and I'm now about 99.99% sure that this program is what I'll be doing for the next nine weeks. If I get the time to read the program description, I may get started as soon as next Monday.

Stenn

07-08-2009, 08:01 PM

Ever since I hit 308 the last time I deadlifted, I've been itching to get back into the gym to give it another go because I just KNEW that I could do better than that. The same goes for my last squat session where I failed at 275. :rolleyes: So, I decided that max effort squats and deads would make a pretty good workout and you know what? I was right! :D

On the way back to the platform, I met Dion and he asked me, "So, are you going to deadlift today?" I said, "Yeah, I'm doing squats and deads. It's going to be a GREAT day!" Dion said, "I want to hear some noise from back there!"

Have I mentioned lately that I love my gym? :)

Once I was done with the deads, I hung around the gym and fiddled around a bit because it seemed like i hadn't been there long enough to call it a workout yet.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5 275x5 315x1
Deadlift: 154x5 242x5 286x3 308x3 330x1
Wtd. Hyper: 45x8 90x8,8
Stretching
Shoulder Dislocates
Grip Work: Worked up to 135x6,6,5

The last time I squatted, I failed at 275. This time, I got all my reps at 275 and failed at 315 after one good rep. Good deal! I belted up at 275 and was pleased to find that my belt still fit well enough after having lost 20 lb of body weight. I must have had that sucker on TIGHT before.

My form on deadlifts wasn't as good as last time, but it was good enough. 308 went up without much trouble. 330 was a good, honest struggle. I failed on the 2nd rep with the bar at mid-shin. I probably could have toughed it out and finished the rep, but I guess I just wasn't into that sort of torture today so I dropped the bar instead.

I kicked butt on the hyperextensions. I started out with one plate, but that was way too light. Two plates worked better and my 8-rep sets left me a little shaky and light-headed.

I did some stretches and shoulder dislocates to warm down before I hit the showers before remembering that deadlift day is a great day to get on the grip machine. This is the one that's plate-loaded and you squeeze the two levers together with both hands. I started out light and quickly ramped up to three plates for some gruesome low-rep sets.

BergMuscle

07-09-2009, 05:56 AM

Great job on both the squats and the dead lifts.

Stenn

07-09-2009, 06:24 PM

Great job on both the squats and the dead lifts.

Thanks! I may be nowhere near my old numbers, that that don't mean I'm not trying. :D

Stenn

07-10-2009, 07:02 PM

There's really no rhyme ro reason to my workouts right now except that I work whatever feels fresh. Today, my upper body felt fresh and I had a hankering for some power cleans even though I did max effort squats and deads last time.

I went to work after my workout and when I got home I hefted my trusty new Atlas stone a few times. I tried to get it up onto my shoulder, but it would cooperate. I was able to lay back and roll the thing onto my chest, but that was it. Not bad for a 1st attempt. BTW, the thing weighs 123.5 lb. Knowing that my max press is 145 should give a clue as to why getting the stone onto my shoulder turned out to be no picnic.

Stepmill: 5 mintues
Power Clean: 88x5 132x5 154x3 165x3
Shoulder Dislocates
BB Bench Press: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 155x3 165x3
Hulk: 15x8 20x8 225x5 25x5
Front Plate Raise: 35x5 45x5,5
DB Pullover: 40x8 50x8 60x8

I felt pretty good on power cleans today. In fact, I felt so good that i matched my previous 3RM by hitting 165x3. Had I known it at the time, I might have thrown a couple of 2.5 lb plates on the bar and gone for a new PR.

I did a little better at bench press than last time and my shoulders and elbows gave me no grief. 165 is 80% of my old max. I'm starting to get back to where I can make some new progress here.

I hadn't done hulks in ages. Damn they're hard! When I got bumped aside by someone who needed my space, I went and did front plate raises. They felt great! My shoulder is feeling much better than it did last week when I 1st got back into the swing of things.

The pullovers were pretty average. I started to feel a bit of stress on my shoulder so I decided not to push my luck.

storm1507

07-11-2009, 06:23 AM

Nice to see consistant workouts in here again. It looks like you are getting some nice "noob" gains there. :)

Stenn

07-11-2009, 07:16 AM

Nice to see consistant workouts in here again. It looks like you are getting some nice "noob" gains there. :)

Yeah, if only I can continue at my current rate of increase for a few more weeks. I could blow away all my old PRs.

Bronzebird

07-11-2009, 01:12 PM

Stenn

07-11-2009, 04:31 PM

Hey Steve, I have been out of touch in the workout scene. My routines were barley called maintenance because I lost alot of strength and fat. So now I hope to stay in the swing of things and see ya on the rebound?
Definitely! It's good to see you again, BB.

Be safe with the stone lifts....
Ever since I picked up the Atlas stone and threw (dropped, actually) it off my back porch, it has been laying in the blazing Texas sun. The biggest danger I face from lifting it now is burning myself.

Stenn

07-11-2009, 09:39 PM

Margot and I checked the kid into the Parent's Night Out program at the Gymnastics place. We loitered around our local British-style pub chatting and drinking till it was time to go home. Walking up to the back door, I spyed the Atlas stone resting serenely in the dirt. I asked Margot, "You haven't seen me lift that thing yet, have you?" "No, I haven't" said Margot. Being the big show-off that I am, I hopped down off the porch, sidled up to the ball, got myself a good grip, took a few quick breaths and hoisted the thing up, up, and up onto my shoulder for the first time ever. The stone weighs 123.5 lb and was resting comfortably on my right shoulder. Not bad for a half-pissed, 43-year old man in the dark, eh? :D The wife was suitably impressed. I look foward to seeing if I can do the same thing sober.

EMISGOD

07-11-2009, 11:27 PM

Ah, half-schnockered workouts...classic. :D

Stenn

07-13-2009, 05:44 PM

I finalized the numbers on my Bill Starr 5x5 spreadsheet. I plugged in my latest numbers as my maxes, not the numbers I hit a few months ago. As a result, the program will start out fairly light for me. I'm supposed to do a 4-week loading phase, but I may stretch it into 5 or 6 weeks if I find myself getting back into my prior numbers. Then, the program switches to 3-rep sets for a few weeks. So basically, I'll switch when I feel ready. I just hope that I peak on all my lifts at the same time. If not, I may have to stall on some while I continue on others.

Anyway... My 1st workout in this program went well. The exercises were all as comfortable as old friends should be. I could tell right away that I'm not used to straight sets of 5 reps. Even though the squats just barely broke 200, getting all 25 reps was a core.

Before I got to the gym, I had to drop my daughter off at gymnastics camp. We got there a bit early and the kid supervisor wasn't there yet so I had to hang around for a while. Jerilyn started into her stretches and I couldn't watch for more than a minute without joining her on the mat. I found that, although I'm not as flexible as a 7 year old girl, I'm still pretty damn flexible. I may try showing up early to gymnastics camp more often. :)

Note: Since my power cleans and deads will be done with metric bumper plates, I'll need to fudge the weight on the bar a bit to get as close as possible to the numbers on my spreadsheet. Rather than recording every lift as it happened, I'm just gonna claim that I lifted whatever was on the spreadsheet, even if the actual lift was off by a pound or three.

Stretching
Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x8,5 95x5 135x5 185x5 210x5,5,5,5,5
BB Bench Press: 45x8 95x5 105x5 110x5 120x5 125x5
Power Clean: 94x5 102x5 108x5 117x5 124x5
Wtd. Hyper: BW+45x12 BW+90x8
Wtd. Decl. Situp: BW+10x10,10,10,10

As I mentioned before, I wasn't really used to 5 straight sets on squats. I'll get there. I worked up a good sweat.

Bench press was too light. Things probably won't be all that interesting here till week 3 or 4. My left shoulder was sore, but it didn't hold me back any.

The power cleans were light too. I chatted with a fellow former computer programmer between sets.

I decided to go a little nuts on hypers. 1st set was with 1 plate but that was way too easy. I quit after 12 reps. Two plates was more my speed. I got in 8 good reps and had to sit down for a while after the set to let the stars and birdies dissipate. I got a great lower back workout!

I can't believe my abs were still sore after my last situps! Because of the lingering pain, I only hefted a 10 lb plate for my sets and hated every rep.

Stenn

07-15-2009, 06:19 PM

This morning, my legs were tight and my lower back was sore. So, what does today's workout call for? Deadlifts! Hooray!

Oh, and I hefted my Atlas stone up onto my shoulder again last night. This time, I was half schnockered and showing off for Jerilyn. I missed my 1st attempt but nailed it on the 2nd. I'm finding that Atlas stones are the ultimate show-off exercise. :D

Stretching
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 190x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 154x5 217x5,5,5,5,5
BB Press: 45x5 70x5,5,5,5,5
Pullup: BWx5,4,3
Situp: BWx10,10,10

The squats were no big deal. I just jumped in and got 'em done.

The deadlifts, on the other hand, were a chore. My lower back was still tender from the BW+90 hypers that I did on Monday. That and being unaccustomed to straight sets on deads left my lower back completely fried.

The presses were a breeze and I had no trouble at all with my elbows and shoulders. But then, what do you expect at 50% of one's max?

I hate pullups. 'Nuff said!

I'm still looking forward to the day when my abs don't hurt anymore. Once again, I took it relatively easy on situps.

Stenn

07-17-2009, 04:08 PM

Remember that sore back I mentioned? Well, it seemed like it was going away just fine this morning. Then, I did straight sets of power cleans. :rolleyes: Damn! I sure am glad it's the weekend. :)

In the grand scheme of things, Friday is supposed to be heavy squat day. But, since I'm just starting this program and I'm coming off a substantial time of not working out, it was a fairly light workout. I worked up a good sweat and the only trouble I ran into was with my lower back.

According to the spreadsheet, I moved 33,382 lb this week. Not a bad start, eh? Next week, I'll move 37,361. I can't wait! :D

BB Back Squat: 45x12,12 95x5 135x5 170x5 185x5 200x5 210x5 225x5
Shoulder Dislocates
BB Bench Press: 45x8,8 95x5 115x5,5,5,5,5
Power Clean: 115x5,5,5,5,5
EZ-Curl: 45x8 50x8,8
Tricep Push-Down: 100x8 120x8,8,8

I blasted through my squats and didn't take much rest except toward the end. Everything felt light except for 225.

Me left shoulder was acting up again during bench press. It seems to give me grief every other bench workout. WTF? I gritted my teeth and zipped through my straight sets. It's evening now and the shoulder feels fine.

The power cleans was one of those, "Kill me now!" experiences. My lower back felt like crap and it caused my initial pull to be slow. I made up for it in the 2nd half of the lift by putting more jump and shrug into it. Actually, it was good training. I'm usually strong at the 1st and weak later. This allowed me to work on a more balanced pull. It still sucked though. :(

Yippie, curls! I wasn't sure where to start with the weight. 50 or 55 should work fine next time depending on how frisky I feel.

I also had to fish around for the right weight on the push-downs. I started at 60 and did singles up to 100 before doing a set. I finally settled on 120, which is just about the whole stack. 120 should work fine for next time.

Stenn

07-20-2009, 07:34 PM

Today was supposed to be the 1st day of week two of my new 5x5 program. It didn't happen for several reasons. First of all, i was out of town visiting my parents and celebrating my 44th birthday. For some reason, we never got around to hitting the gym. :rolleyes: Also, my back is still pretty tender. I'm not exactly sure what did it in, but I have a couple of theories. The weighted hypers with two plates are my 1st candidate. I wasn't really ready for that and I was trying to do fast concentrics to boot. The other likely candidate was the night I came home half-blitzed and hefted my Atlas stone up onto my shoulder. (At least I didn't' come home with any tattoos (that I know of...)) Given all that, I still could have gotten half a workout when I got home to Houston today except that Margot and I needed to pick up your new puppy. We're now the proud owners of Gracie, an 8-week old Boston terrier. We've started our initial potty and crate training but it's now 9pm and a workout just ain't gonna happen.

Oh well... It's probably for the best. My back could use the extra recovery. I thought the four-hour drive to and from Corpus Christi would destroy my back, but it made it better instead. What destroyed my back was sleeping on my parent's couch. That sucked. :( Anyway, I'm back home now and in my own bed and should be ready for my next workout by Wednesday. See you then! :)

EMISGOD

07-20-2009, 08:10 PM

1. Happy Birthday!
2. Should have got a cat. :D

Drunken lifting...gotta watch that, man...lol

Stenn

07-20-2009, 09:21 PM

1. Happy Birthday!
2. Should have got a cat. :D

Drunken lifting...gotta watch that, man...lol

Thanks! :)

Actually, we already have a cat or two. We've had 'em for years. Since we got the kid, we've also acquired two parakeets, a lizard, a fish, and now a dog. It's a regular zoo over here. I keep hoping that the birds will eat the fish and lizard and then the cats will eat the birds and finally the dog will eat the cats. Then, once the circle of life stops turning, we'll be back to a more manageable pet level. It'll never happen, though. All of our critters seem to get along just fine. What's a poor man to do...

As far as drunken lifting, you're right. I gotta watch that. Lifting the Atlas stone takes a fairly bizarre form. The hands don't really grip anything and the back needs to be rounded. I thought I did a good job of holding everything together during my lifts, but you never know when under the influence.

EMISGOD

07-20-2009, 09:37 PM

Thanks! :)

Actually, we already have a cat or two. We've had 'em for years. Since we got the kid, we've also acquired two parakeets, a lizard, a fish, and now a dog. It's a regular zoo over here. I keep hoping that the birds will eat the fish and lizard and then the cats will eat the birds and finally the dog will eat the cats. Then, once the circle of life stops turning, we'll be back to a more manageable pet level. It'll never happen, though. All of our critters seem to get along just fine. What's a poor man to do...

That sounds like it would be a lot of fun to see...not sure I'd want to actually LIVE at a pet store and all, but it would be a sight... ;)

As far as drunken lifting, you're right. I gotta watch that. Lifting the Atlas stone takes a fairly bizarre form. The hands don't really grip anything and the back needs to be rounded. I thought I did a good job of holding everything together during my lifts, but you never know when under the influence.

I would probably be tempted to do it myself, since lifting those looks like a lot of fun...

Stenn

07-22-2009, 08:55 PM

Remember that sore back? Well, it's back. I actually felt pretty good this morning having had the weekend to rest and skipping Monday's workout. I decided to go in and resume my program on Wednesday as if nothing had happened. I was super careful on my squats and they didn't bother my back at all. Deadlifts, on the other hand, put me back to square zero. As I warmed up for the deads I thought I might be able to pull it off. My 1st working set told me otherwise. I finished the set, but it left me in so much pain that it was a hassle just stripping the bar.

Back in the men's room, the pain was bad enough that tying my own shoes was a breath-taking experience. I went home and found the good pain meds I brought back from Ireland. You can get the equivalent of Tylenol with codeine over the counter in Ireland, which is cool. It's evening now and I feel much better, but I know now, for certain, that the following exercises will be off the menu for the next couple of weeks: deadlifts, power cleans, hypers, situps, and probably also GHR. That pretty much shoots the hell out of the 5x5 program that I had hoped to work through. I'm not happy about that, but I'll deal with it. It looks like I get to spend some quality time squatting and working on my upper body. That's not too bad, eh?

The one thing that gives me hope is that I know I've screwed my back up like this in the past on numerous occasions and I've always recovered from it. I just to take it easy for a while and give it a chance to recover.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x12,12 95x5 135x5 185x3 205x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 88x5 154x5 244x5
BB Press: 80x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8,4,3
Situps: Skipped!

As I mentioned, I kept the squats super safe. I was very slow going down and watched my form like a hawk on the way up. My back only felt a little out of sorts in the hole, but it was no big deal.

Sometimes a little pain during deadlift warmups doesn't get any worse as the weight increases. Not so today. 88 felt irritating. 154 felt bad. 244 felt terrible. In hind-sight, I should have called it quits at 154. My form was good, but my back was bad.

The presses were no big deal except that my back felt like crap. My left shoulder only complained a little.

The chinups went OK, but I was distracted by the back pain. I skipped the situps because I was pretty sure they'd put me in my grave.

EMISGOD

07-22-2009, 09:19 PM

Do you do the GHRs on the Lat Tower pad or on a different machine? When I do them, I almost never feel them in my back, unless I add in additional weight...

Stenn

07-22-2009, 09:30 PM

Do you do the GHRs on the Lat Tower pad or on a different machine? When I do them, I almost never feel them in my back, unless I add in additional weight...

I do my GHR's on an actual GHR machine like this one:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/delux-GHR-400.jpg

I'm not sure if my back can take the GHRs or not. Like deadlifts, the lower back is held in static contraction and that's why I'm worried about them. The only difference is in the amount of weight supported. I plan to gingerly give them a try since I'd love to work something out where I follow one of my squat sessions (maybe even front squats?) with GHR's.

EMISGOD

07-22-2009, 09:48 PM

I do my GHR's on an actual GHR machine like this one:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/delux-GHR-400.jpg

I'm not sure if my back can take the GHRs or not. Like deadlifts, the lower back is held in static contraction and that's why I'm worried about them. The only difference is in the amount of weight supported. I plan to gingerly give them a try since I'd love to work something out where I follow one of my squat sessions (maybe even front squats?) with GHR's.

This looks like a Back Hyperextension rack...lol I looked at the video and you're right that the Lower Back comes into play a lot in here...almost as much as on a Hyper, actually...

You might try them on the Lat Tower pad...just make sure you have a movable bench in front if you so you can catch yourself if need be...I find this method easier than trying to wedge my heels underneath a bar or something and I think the Lower Back is far less involved...

SrInwuOETrc

Basically this video without the sissy band...when I do them, I put my hand on the opposite shoulder and don't have a bench to catch me, but you can get the idea and maybe experiment, if you're so inclined...

Stenn

07-22-2009, 10:06 PM

This looks like a Back Hyperextension rack...lol I looked at the video and you're right that the Lower Back comes into play a lot in here...almost as much as on a Hyper, actually...
I think you can use it for both. The nice thing about this machine is that you can adjust where the pad hits. If you put the pad under your knees, you're doing hard-core GHR's. If you scoot it out a bit and put it under your quads, you're doing soft-core GHR's (for want of a better term). If you put the pad under the hips, you're doing hypers.

In your video, it looks like the guy is using two benches, a Smith machine, and a pussy pad. It looks effective, but I think I'll stick with the GHR machine.

The difference between GHRs and hypers is the hip action. Hypers bend at the hips and GHRs don't (or shouldn't). Not bending at the hips might make GHR's more back-friendly for me. We'll see...

EMISGOD

07-23-2009, 04:35 PM

Stenn

07-23-2009, 06:50 PM

He is using a Smith machine, but the idea of the padding not going any further than the knees is what I wanted to get across...that and the actual motion I use...it is not precise but about the closest I've seen to what I do, except I usually go below parallel a bit...
Yeah, I know what you're getting at. It's kinda like the time I tried to do GHR's on the floor by putting my feet under a machine and some padding under my knees.

The way I saw them doing GHRs in the video on the site that had that equipment you posted had the guy involving his Lower Back to what seemed an unacceptable degree...
Yeah, the GHR thingy is a good machine, but it can be abused like any other machine. In my opinion, GHR's should be done with the hips fully extended and locked out. The only things that should bend are the knees. This is also the hardest way to do them, but the GHR machine lets you cheat a little by allowing you to position the padding somewhat across the quads rather than just on the knees. I have to admit to taking this option. If I didn't, I'd be doing sets of 0 reps or I'd end up like the rubber band-powered guy in the video.

I have found them to be an invaluable exercise and involving the Lower Back far less than say Good Mornings...
I think all exercises involve the lower back less than GM's. :D

BTW, I'm happy to report that my lower back is feeling much better today. It's sore, but I didn't have to take any meds to get through the day. I'm planning to get in a workout tomorrow. I have no idea what I'll do except that I'll avoid the exercises I mentioned before. I may try GHR's depending on how brave I feel...

storm1507

07-24-2009, 06:27 AM

Dang, I missed your B-day. I see you finally caught up with me...I predict I will leave you behind again in about 2 months. :)

Sore back? I've been having that issue as well when driving. Hmmm....I wonder what we have in common that would cause such things?

Good luck w/ the back and keep up those workouts.

Stenn

07-24-2009, 08:32 PM

Dang, I missed your B-day. I see you finally caught up with me...I predict I will leave you behind again in about 2 months. :)
You're just too fast for me. :)

Sore back? I've been having that issue as well when driving. Hmmm....I wonder what we have in common that would cause such things?

Good luck w/ the back and keep up those workouts.
I don't know exactly what's wrong with my back, but driving seems to make it feel better, not worse. Go figure... My back is actually feeling much better today. Not great, but better. I just read the injury chapter in Bill Starr's Defying Gravity. He recommends ice, not heat, for back injuries so I'm currently on NSAID's and laying on an ice pack as I type this. I hope it works. I'm also considering going to a chiro that Dartol recommended to me. Apparently, she's a deciple of Rippetoe and is also an olympic lifter. The only drawback is that she's in League City which is way the feck out in the sticks. Still, if she can straighten out my back, it'll be worth the drive. I may also have her check out my form on the Big 3 lifts. I hear she has a small gym behind the offices where she runs her practice.

Anyway, that's my strategy. I hope that wahtever your'e doing for your back fixes you up. For driving, I recommend a rolled up towel behind the back for better lumbar support along with frequent stops and stretching.

Stenn

07-24-2009, 10:08 PM

I officially went off my 5x5 program today in the interest of letting my lower back heal. It was a sad thing to do, but I believe it was the right thing for my long-term goal of squatting Sasquatch and deadlifting dinosaurs. Today's workout was mostly upper body and some experimenting with what I could safely get away with. The results were good. I worked up a good sweat and left the gym feeling no worse for the wear.

I met Dion in the men's room after my workout. He asked me, "How was the workout?" I replied, "Not bad for an old man with a bad back." That got his attention. We chatted for a bit about lower back pain and he recommended NSAIDs and heat pads. Later, i read Bill Starr's recommendation of cold over heat so I'm now drugged to the gills on NSAIDs and laying on a cold pack trying to reduce any inflammation that may be aggravating things back there.

Anyway, here's this morning's workout as best as i can remember it:

Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Front Squat: 45x10 95x5 135x5 185x5
GHR: BWx3,3,3
BB Bench Press: 45x10 95x5 135x5 155x5,5,5
Front Plate Raise: 45x5,5,3
Tricep Push-Down: 120x10,6,6

Damn, I forgot how hard front squats are! 135 was hard and 185 is where my upper back started to droop. However, my lower back took it all in stride. Good deal!

I was worried about the GHR's since they require the lower back to support the trunk. My worries were for naught. Except for some twinges while getting on and off the machine, GHR's didn't affect my lower back at all. Woo-hoo! I felt a little weak on these and kept things down to 3-rep sets. At one point, I reached back and felt my hamstring in mid-rep. It was sticking WAY out. Cool... :cool:

Bench press was accompanied by my usual aches and pains. This time, they were in my left shoulder (nothing new) and right elbow (new). In spite of the discomfort, I put in some good sets.

The front plate raises and push-downs didn't bother me either. I guess my lower back works well enough at providing run-of-the-mill core support. And that's a good thing. :)

EMISGOD

07-24-2009, 10:47 PM

Glad you got those GHRs in and they worked ok for you... :D

All this talk of them has made me decide to a Leg day tomorrow rather than screwing with the bike...lol

Stenn

07-24-2009, 11:02 PM

Glad you got those GHRs in and they worked ok for you... :D

All this talk of them has made me decide to a Leg day tomorrow rather than screwing with the bike...lol

Hooray! I look forward to your report.

EMISGOD

07-24-2009, 11:05 PM

Hooray! I look forward to your report.

They will definitely not be 1-Legged... lol

Stenn

07-27-2009, 05:22 PM

My back felt terrible this morning in spite of spending much of the weekend laying around resting and icing it on a regular basis. I hadn't a clue what I was going to do in the gym, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't involve anything below the belt. I ended up putting together a pretty good program that included more chins and pullups than I've done in ages. All in all, the workout was pretty tame., but it at least got me out of the house.

After the workout, my back felt much better. Surprise! I had no use for meds during the rest of the day. However, I still felt crappy enough to give Dr. Thea Taylor a call. She's a chiropractor who also happens to be a competitive weightlifter. I'm told that she has a gym behind her chiropractic office where she coaches folks on proper form and recovery exercises. I told her about my back, and also about my elbows and shoulders as well. You'd think that if anyone would know how to deal with my various aches and pains, it would be a weightlifting chiro, eh? Here's her website:
http://www.taylormadehealthcare.com/index.html
She has a picture of herself with Ronnie Coleman at the 2009 Arnold Classic on her website so she must be cool. :D My appointment is Wednesday morning.

Treadmill: 10 minutes
Pullup: BWx6
BB Press: 45x10 65x5 85x5 95x5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8
BB Bench Press: 45x12,12 95x12,12
Chinup: BWx4+hold
Face Pull: 12,15,12
Chinup: BWx3+hold

The time on the treadmill did a lot to help me loosen up. I might have stayed on longer, but the TV was tuned to Regis & Kelly, an inane show even with the sound turned off.

I decided to make today's theme pullups and chins so I did 'em between each exercise. On the last couple of sets, I did static holds with my elbows at 90 degrees for as long as I could stand it.

As usual, the barbell presses messed with my elbows and shoulders. I just worked through the pain and got 'er done. I don't think I did any harm.

Since I pushed myself a little on bench press last time, I kept it light this time and went for volume. I forget if I did 2x12 or 3x12. The log book says 2x12 so that's what I'll record here. (But really, I think I did 3x12.)

I got a nice burn in my upper back from the face pulls. I don't usually like this exercise, but I did today. Probably because I didn't completely toast my self on the preceding exercises.

EMISGOD

07-27-2009, 07:33 PM

Well, the visit on Wednesday at least sounds promising...I'm kind of excited to hear what tips she gives you about form and so on...

I liked this workout, despite it involving an exercise I hate...lol Nice job making lemonade out of lemons on this one.

Stenn

07-27-2009, 08:03 PM

I liked this workout, despite it involving an exercise I hate...lol Nice job making lemonade out of lemons on this one.

Let me guess.... chin/pullups? I hate 'em too.

EMISGOD

07-27-2009, 08:05 PM

Let me guess.... chin/pullups? I hate 'em too.

lol...it could have been either Bench Press or Chin/Pull-Ups, actually, but yes, I'd give the nod to the one I dislike most to the Chin/Pull-Ups...

Stenn

07-27-2009, 08:28 PM

lol...it could have been either Bench Press or Chin/Pull-Ups, actually, but yes, I'd give the nod to the one I dislike most to the Chin/Pull-Ups...

That's only because I didn't do dips. :D

Stenn

07-29-2009, 03:00 PM

I drove way the heck down I-45 for my visit with Dr. Thea Taylor today. She's a chiropractor, competitive weight lifter, and has a CrossFit facility behind her chiro office. Is that cool, or what? After filling out the usual paperwork, Thea quizzed me on my back problem and then got down to business with various tests and some painful poking and prodding which lead her to deduce that I had aggravated my SI joint. Personally, I think the problem is one joint up, but I'm just a knuckle-dragging ape when it comes to the medical field so I'm taking Thea's word for it.

Thea did some terrible things to my body to loosen up the joint and improve mobility. It was like getting a deep tissue massage with any pleasant sensations removed. At one point she commented, "Your toes sure are twitching a lot down there..." to which I replied, "You should see my eyes." I was in no less pain by the end of this treatment, but my mobility was greatly increased which was measured by my ability to touch my toes. Initially, I was falling far short of the mark. After treatment, I was happily reacquainted with my toes.

I got plenty of good recommendations to aid my recovery including:
1. Make sure I'm getting at least 5mg of fish oil a day.
2. Use ice to reduce inflammation (and for other reasons which I've forgotten already.)
3. Various foam rolling and stretching exercises before and after workouts to loosen up the glutes, hams, and lower back muscles.
4. Keep working out! Inactivity only leads to stiffness which inhibits recovery.
5. Keep deadlifting, but with super-light weights (40kg).

That all sounded like excellent advice to me, so that's what I'm going to do. I'll have a follow-up appointment with Thea late next week to make sure the treatment program is effective.

EMISGOD

07-29-2009, 04:30 PM

Time to get that bike up and going. :)

Stenn

07-29-2009, 05:14 PM

Time to get that bike up and going. :)
:rolleyes:

Stenn

07-29-2009, 05:38 PM

Although Thea gave me the OK to get in a workout at her gym, it was busy at the time so I headed over to Hank's. As recommended, I kept things light and got in plenty of stretching.

Here's my boring, yet highly worth-while workout:

Back Rolling
Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat:45x12,12 95x5 135x5 185x5,5,5
Wide Pull Up: BWx6
Deadlift: 88x5,5,5
Chinup: BWx7
GHR: BWx4,2
Chinup: BWx5
Back Rolling
Ice

Once again, I did either chins or pullups between exercises. I think I'm gonna keep this up until my back rehab is over. Who knows, maybe I'll learn to love 'em? (As if!)

I kept my squat reps slow and controlled. The only time I felt uncomfortable was when I un-racked the bar and when I was in the hole, more so when unracking.

Even at 88 lb, the deadlifts felt nasty. I kept fishing around for a good starting posture and lower back arch that wouldn't hurt, but I never found it. Good thing I stayed light, eh?

My hams didn't feel 100%, but I did GHR's anyway because I wanted to. My left ham felt fine, but I felt some strain in the right one so I called it quits after the 2nd set.

Stenn

07-30-2009, 09:47 PM

Yesterday, I had my appointment with Dr. Thea Taylor so that she could work on my lousy lower back. She poked, prodded, tied me up and ripped me in half. Heck, she even shot me with a laser. At the end of it all, I had more mobility but I was still in a lot of pain. On her recommendation, I got myself into Hank's and had a light workout including, of all things, deadlifts. I left the gym in a lot of pain. I was a crabby son of a bitch in the office because all I wanted to do was go home and lay down. I went to sleep in pain. I awoke in pain.

I started thinking, "Damn, did Thea feck me up or what?"

Then, at no particular time during the day, I noticed that my lower back didn't hurt anymore. I thought to myself, "Hey, who took my pain? It was sitting right there and someone came along and swiped it!" In other words, the pain left so completely and yet without notice that I felt like I had been tricked. It's late at night and my back still feels pretty good. I've got it on ice, not to resolve any discomfort, but because I figure I should.

Day-um!

I've never been a big believer in chiropractors, especially after observing as a 3rd party while my wife visited a few. Generally, they seemed like a bunch of quacks and snake oil salesmen. I visited this particular chiro because Dartol gave her the thumbs-up and I gotta admit, Dr. Thea Taylor is the real deal.

Stenn

07-31-2009, 09:20 AM

It was an interesting day in the gym today. My lower back is feeling much better, but I still needed to keep things tame to avoid re-injury. As I stepped onto the treadmill I thought that front squats would be a great way to start my workout. Lo and behold, there's a couple of people in the rack doing front squats and one of them was Christa, the woman who works the front desk. I commented, "Wow, I thought I was the only one who did front squats in this gym." She explained, "Well, now there are two, wait, three." Sure enough, her workout partner jumped in and did a set himself. Cool! Later, I saw another couple of guys doing front squats. Even cooler! I guess Friday is front squat day at Hank's Gym.

Later, I saw some guys doing power cleans and hang cleans. Have I mentioned yet that I love my gym? :D

Although my lower back feels MUCH better, it's still a bit stiff and tender. I rolled out my hams, glutes, and lower back on a foam roller before and after my workout. I also applied an ice pack at the end. Oh, did I mention that Hank's has a deep freeze in the back with an ice pack or two in it? Have I mentioned yet that I love my gym? :D

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Roller
Front Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5,5
Wide Pullup: BWx7
Deadlift: 88x5,5,5
Hyper: BWx12,12,12
Wide Pullup: BWx7
Sissy Squat: BWx12,12,12
Chinup: BWx7
Foam Roller
Ice

Damn, front squats are hard! Fortunately, they don't bother my back at all except when I unrack the bar. Once I got busy, everything felt great. Oh, and for the record, I out-front squatted everyone else in the gym in spite of being the old guy with the bad back. :D

I did my trick again of doing either pullups or chinups between exercises. I'll get good at these some day...

Once again, I kept the deads light, light, light. I felt much better this time than last time.

I went for a little of the hair of the dog that bit me and popped off a few slow, cautious sets of hyperextensions. All went well, but I could tell that my lower back has a tendency to round at the bottom. This probably wouldn't have been a problem for me when I injured myself except that I was holding two plates at the time and trying to "explode" out of the hole. I think I'll stick oozing out of the hole for now on.

I got a nice burn on the sissy squats.

Stenn

08-03-2009, 09:35 AM

My back is feeling much better these days. It doesn't hurt very much and is, instead, just feeling a bit stiff. I guess all the stuff that I'm doing is working.

Speaking of stuff for bad backs, it seems that everyone has an opinion about what to do about a bad back. Most of it is pretty bad advice. After my workout, one of the trainers at Hank's commented that he saw me using an ice pack for my back and offered his own version of back therapy. He thought I should be doing more exercises to target my lower back. "Like squats, deadlifts, SLDLs and hyperextensions?" I asked. No, he had some other exercises in mind that involved giant rubber balls and mentioned that I should be feeling fine in about 6 months. :eek: I think I'll stick to what I'm doing and feel better every day, thank you very much.

WTF is the deal when three guys walk into the gym, one gets on the step mill, and the other two stand around watching him with their cell phones and water bottles in their hands chatting about nothing in particular while other folks are trying to lift heavy weights? :mad:

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Back Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5,5,5
BB Bench Press: 45x12,12 95x5 135x5 155x5,5,5
WG Pullup: BWx6
Deadlift: 88x5 110x5,5
Chinup: BWx8
Back Rolling
Ice

The dudes chatting away in my corner of the gym pissed me off enough that I decided to put a little more energy into my squats and slapped two plates on the bar. I popped off my three sets like they were no big deal and my back felt fine except for a little discomfort when unracking the bar.

I did better than expected on bench press today in spite of the usual trouble in my left shoulder. I guess I was still mad. :D

Oops! I forgot to do my pull/chin ups between all my exercises. Once I realized this, I got with the program.

I decided to bump my rehab weight up on deads just a little. Happily, 110 felt just as comfortable as 88

storm1507

08-03-2009, 10:49 AM

Stenn

08-03-2009, 11:56 AM

Glad to hear your back is doing a little better. Mine was OK during my trip. I did use a cushion behind my lower back most of the trip. It helped, along with the fact I was driving my car instead of the trucks.

Keep up the nice work...front squats, yuck. Time for me to start a clean bulk. :)

I'm glad to hear that your back survived the trip. Good luck with the clean bulk. I'll warn the chickens. :D

Yeah, front squats. They're like eating your veggies: not much fun, but very good for you. In my case, they're one way that I can put in some serious effort at the gym without bothering my back. They're also good for those days when you want to squat but your hams are fried. That's been happening to me more often these days since becoming interested in glute-ham raises.

Stenn

08-05-2009, 09:00 AM

My back keeps feeling better every day. Now, it only feels stiff and rarely feels painful. I decided to push myself a little harder in the gym today, but not too hard.

At this point, my shoulders and elbows are getting back to the forefront of problems in my body. I have a follow up appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that we can wrap up treatment on my back and get to work on the upper body stuff.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x12,12 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x10,10
WG Pullup: BWx5
BB Press: 45x8,8 65x5 85x5 105x5
Chinup: BWx8
Plate Raise: 45x8,6
Chinup: BWx6
Ball Rolling
Ice

I forgot to do my pre-workout ball rolling. Oops! It's because my mind wasn't focused on my ailing back when I 1st walked into the gym. That's a good thing. :)

I hit 225 on squats last workout for the first time in a while. I decided to keep it at 225 for this workout but with fewer sets. Last time was 3x5. This time was 2x10. Good enough! I felt no pain in my lower back, not even when unracking the bar like last time. I even popped the bar up to adjust how it sat on my back between reps. Boing, boing, boing. :D It felt good being able to treat 225 like a light weight again.

I did my pullups and chinups between exercises, but my heart wasn't into it today.

As has become the norm, my left shoulder felt like crap during presses. I just gritted my teeth and worked through it, but could only tolerate one heavy-ish set. This problem doesn't seem to be getting any better or worse.

Front plate raises went great! I'm not sure if I've ever gotten 8 reps at 45 lb. When I get to 10 reps, I'll have to start doing these with a 25kg bumper plate.

I finished up with my post-workout rehab routine of rolling out my back, glutes, and hams on a medicine ball and then sitting on an ice pack while drinking my PWO shake.

Stenn

08-06-2009, 03:22 PM

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Thea Taylor, my new chiropractor. I was feeling pretty good going in, just a little stiff. By the time I left, I felt down-right normal. She had me touch my toes before leaving and, lo and behold, there was no pain whatsoever. Awsome!

Before the long drive back home, I tried out the gym she has behind her office. It's fully decked-out with Olympic bars, bumper plates, and lifting platforms plus the usual CrossFit toys. I got in a few light sets of deads, power cleans, and front squats. They all felt great!

I've got another appointment next week where she'll take one last look at the back and then start in on my elbows and shoulders. I can't wait.

EMISGOD

08-06-2009, 09:50 PM

Good to see things taking an upturn here.

Stenn

08-07-2009, 05:39 AM

Good to see things taking an upturn here.

You bechya!

Stenn

08-07-2009, 08:43 AM

Part of my back rehab has been to reduce my caffeine intake. Without the coffee and pre-workout drinks, I've been dragging my ass big-time. I attended a presentation last night between 6 and 9 and only just barely got through it with my eyes open. This morning was no different. I drug my ass out of bed and shuffled around getting breakfast and got the kid to gymnastics camp and then made my weary way to the gym for a good, yet low-key, workout.

I need coffee!

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Rolling
Power Clean: 88x?,3,3 110x3 132x3,3
Deadlift: 154x5,5
SLDL: 88x12,12,12
Ball Rolling
Ice

This is my 1st attempt at a real power clean session since my initial back injury. Everything held together well. I fiddled around on my 1st set and worked in some front squats. The heavier sets were all business.

I bumped up the weight on my deads from the last couple of times I tried them. Again, all went well. I'd love to go heavier here, but I need to be patient. Grrr..... :(

SLDL's at 88 lb are more like cardio than weight training. I bumped the plates on the floor each rep, worked up a good sweat, and then called it a day.

EMISGOD

08-08-2009, 07:27 PM

What's up with the no caffeine thing?

Stenn

08-08-2009, 09:39 PM

I have a love/hate relationship with caffeine. I like the stim effect, but if I use it too long it leads to muscle spasms that can make life pretty miserable. I usually experience these effects in my neck and upper back. However, when I injured my lower back I realized that I needed to give the muscles in the area every advantage to relax. Thus, no caffeine. I know, it was a harsh measure, but I was desperate. I hope to resume taking coffee before workouts within a week or so.

EMISGOD

08-08-2009, 09:46 PM

Gotcha...you could also try 10g - 12g of Glycine in water maybe an hour or so before bed...

Stenn

08-08-2009, 10:05 PM

Gotcha...you could also try 10g - 12g of Glycine in water maybe an hour or so before bed...

What does it do?

EMISGOD

08-09-2009, 07:52 AM

What does it do?

De-loads/relaxes your CNS to allow recovery to start sooner...this is Patrick Arnold's (if you're familiar with him) idea that he uses. I used to also do this, but the Glycine seems to not react well with one or two of the things I take regularly, so I've had to drop it...it's probably worth checking out, though...

Stenn

08-09-2009, 08:09 AM

De-loads/relaxes your CNS to allow recovery to start sooner...this is Patrick Arnold's (if you're familiar with him) idea that he uses. I used to also do this, but the Glycine seems to not react well with one or two of the things I take regularly, so I've had to drop it...it's probably worth checking out, though...

Thanks for the info. I need to make a trip to my local supplement store soon. I'll see if they've got this stuff.

EMISGOD

08-10-2009, 03:02 PM

Thanks for the info. I need to make a trip to my local supplement store soon. I'll see if they've got this stuff.

Check PM.

Stenn

08-10-2009, 07:06 PM

Check PM.
Gracias! :)

I needed to get to work muy pronto this morning so I settled for a quickie at the gym. I got in my usual squats and then followed them up with good mornings. Everything felt fine and I didn't even feel any pain as I unracked the bar. Cool! I was a little worried because Friday's power cleans and deads seemed to do more harm than good and I spent the weekend with a slightly cranky back. This morning's workout seems to have straightened things out, though, because I've felt fine ever since. Yippie!

Since I was in a hurry, I did this whole workout with minimal rest. For the most part, I loaded the bar and hit it, loaded, hit it, loaded, hit it. This is not my usual mode, but it seemed to work well enough. I think the whole workout only took a half hour, but it was a very good half hour. :D

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5 275x5
Goodmorning: 45x8,8 65x8 85x8 105x8
Pull/Chinup: BWx5/3, 3/2
Ball Rolling
Ice

As I mentioned, my squats were completely pain-free. Also, everything felt super-light. My reps at 225 popped up like gophers in the spring so I just had to try 275. 275 was a bit of a strain, but in a good way. Erring on the side of caution, I stripped the bar after one heavy-ish set and moved on.

I had no problems with my back during the goodmornings. I could have gone much heavier, but I didn't want to push my luck.

Oops! I almost forgot my pullups and chinups! I supersetted wide pullups and narrow chins. I used chalk since I'm starting to get some callous buildup from all the pullups and chins I've been doing lately.

EMISGOD

08-10-2009, 08:17 PM

Looks like going to see that doctor was an excellent move!

Stenn

08-10-2009, 09:17 PM

Looks like going to see that doctor was an excellent move!

Without a doubt! This has been so unlike my past doctor experiences that I'm a bit disoriented by the whole thing. I had gotten used to making appointments weeks in advance, waiting for an hour or more in a waiting room, and then having the doctors treat me like a moron after I told them about my aches and pains while exercising. Their response was always some version of, "Don't do that." Then, they'd prescribe some useless treatment and rush me out the door to the billing department as quickly as possible.

With Dr. Taylor, I was able to make an appointment fairly quickly and when I showed up I was in treatment within minutes. She spent most of an hour with me and the stuff she did to me actually worked. Instead of leaving the doctor's office feeling humiliated and pissed off, I felt absolutely giddy with gratitude that a health care provider actually understood my problem, could do something about it, and did NOT want me to stop doing what I was doing. Wow...

Stenn

08-12-2009, 09:53 AM

I'm still playing nice with the back since it's still not 100%. It's getting there, but the last bit of healing is taking longer than I had expected. I have an appointment with the chiro tomorrow.

I had to get in another short workout today so I went straight for the jugular vein. I skipped the treadmill, did my foam rolling and then waltzed right into the squat rack and got busy. Woo-hoo, fun stuff! :D

Foam Roller
BB Back Squat: 45x12,12, 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x10,10,10
SLDL: 88x8,8,8
Foam Roller
Stretching

Since I went heavy on squats last time, I decided to make this a volume workout. I didn't have a plan except to put two plates on the bar. I blitzed through my warm-up sets and only rested long enough between sets to change the plates. The 1st work set went up easy for 10 reps so that became my benchmark. The other two sets went up just fine, but the last few reps of the last set required a bit of yelling. When I racked the bar, Dion mentioned to his buddies "Now that's some serious squatting right there." I replied, "THAT'S the GOOD stuff!" and then buried my head in my towel. :D

I did the SLDL's to target my sore spot. I kept things light and was very cautious about my form. I did all my reps on a small platform to increase the stretch and managed to bump the plates on the floor on most reps. Good enough!

Stenn

08-12-2009, 01:27 PM

I've been seeing these little 2 oz bottles of pick-me-up juice in every gas station and convenience store in south and central Texas for years now and I've never given them a glance. Then, bb.com went and gave me a couple as freebies with my last order. So, here I am in the office and it's hot because our AC sucks. I've got nothing to do until my partner across the desk finishes a few hours of accounting. I did high-rep squats this morning and now all I want is a nap because I can barely keep my eyes open. The floor is starting to look good. Then, I remembered the bottles in my gym bag...

I swigged a whole bottle of Extreme Energy, 6-Hour Shot (World's Most Extreme Energy Shot) at around 2:45 pm. It's about 3:15 pm now and I'm feeling the effects. I'm a little buzzed and tingly as if I had a couple of cups of coffee. Not bad. The real test will be when I try to go to sleep tonight. If I had drunk a couple of cups of coffee at this hour, I probably wouldn't get to sleep until 2:00 am. This stuff is supposed to wear out in 6 hours with "no crashing". We'll see...

EMISGOD

08-12-2009, 05:07 PM

Stenn

08-12-2009, 07:27 PM

It wore off for me in about 20 minutes the one time it worked at all... lol

I borrowed my business partner's reading glasses so that I could read the fine print on the bottle. In addition to a butt-load of vitamin B, there's also over 200mg of caffeine which equates to about 2 cups of coffee. So, I gotta ask, if this stuff doesn't phase you, what does? :rolleyes:

I actually had a pretty good experience with the stuff. However, I may be in trouble because of the caffeine. I tend to sleep badly, if at all, when I have caffeine after lunch. We'll see...

EMISGOD

08-12-2009, 09:00 PM

I borrowed my business partner's reading glasses so that I could read the fine print on the bottle. In addition to a butt-load of vitamin B, there's also over 200mg of caffeine which equates to about 2 cups of coffee. So, I gotta ask, if this stuff doesn't phase you, what does? :rolleyes:

I actually had a pretty good experience with the stuff. However, I may be in trouble because of the caffeine. I tend to sleep badly, if at all, when I have caffeine after lunch. We'll see...

lol rolling eyes at me, eh? ;)

ClearShot seems to work pretty well...but is sadly going away...the old Redline in the metal cans worked wonderfully...certain amounts of AMP2 do nicely...Rev XP also works, though my tolerance to that is too quick for it to be much use...I like Steel Edge, but it doesn't pack too much of a punch...then again, it is not supposed to, either, I guess...that's about all I can think of at the moment, actually...some of them, like Stizm and FUBAR didn't do anything at all, even at double or sometimes triple the dosage...triple is a bad idea, by the way, as that much at once is a very nasty stomach irritant...of the energy drinks out there, I think Wired 3000 was the only one that was much of any use, but it's been so long since I've had any of those with sugar in them that I don't really remember for sure...maybe the No Fear Double Down one also, but I think that was it...probably more info than you were looking for here, sorry... :o

Stenn

08-12-2009, 09:43 PM

lol rolling eyes at me, eh? ;)
Just a little... :)

...probably more info than you were looking for here, sorry... :o

Not a problem. I was just curious about what might get your motor running when Extreme Energy barely made a spark. I may try one of the products you mention on some day when I don't need to sit still or shut up for a while. :D

EMISGOD

08-12-2009, 09:55 PM

Just a little... :)

Not a problem. I was just curious about what might get your motor running when Extreme Energy barely made a spark. I may try one of the products you mention on some day when I don't need to sit still or shut up for a while. :D

Well, the old Redline is gone and has been replaced with a castrated version that is sheer junk. ClearShot is also discontinued and I don't think available anywhere as of yet, though I hear it will be coming back. AMP2 might be in the same shape soon. Rev XP got reformulated, hopefully they improved it. Steel Edge I hear is going to be gone... :(

I do enjoy stimulants, though, so I will keep my eyes open for other goodies...most of the "shot" type products don't work on me, though...Spike drinks (can get at 7-11) will send your heart rate rocketing, so use those with care. If I take them on an empty stomach, they generally do ok...

It's kind of interesting, us being at opposite ends of the spectrum here...

Stenn

08-13-2009, 08:26 PM

Well, the old Redline is gone and has been replaced with a castrated version that is sheer junk.

...most of the "shot" type products don't work on me, though...

It's kind of interesting, us being at opposite ends of the spectrum here...

Yeah, it is. I saw a bottle of Redline at SmoothieKing this morning and almost bought it because I was so friggin' tired.

Speaking of tired, I got to sleep about an hour later than usual last night and as soon as my head hit the pillow I got that monkey-mind feeling that usually keeps me up for hours but didn't this time because I was exhausted. I blame it all on the "shot" thingy. If I'm going to take these in the future, I need to use the same rule with them as I use with coffee: None after lunch.

BrotherWolf

08-13-2009, 08:35 PM

Yeah, it is. I saw a bottle of Redline at SmoothieKing this morning and almost bought it because I was so friggin' tired.

Speaking of tired, I got to sleep about an hour later than usual last night and as soon as my head hit the pillow I got that monkey-mind feeling that usually keeps me up for hours but didn't this time because I was exhausted. I blame it all on the "shot" thingy. If I'm going to take these in the future, I need to use the same rule with them as I use with coffee: None after lunch.

I guess I can consider myself a lucky one , I can drink coffee right before going to bed (which I often do) and no trouble sleeping, none of the caffeinated drinks do a thing for me.

At one point years ago I was taking ephedra and that worked great to keep me going at work all night or for long drives .. now that will keep me up especially if taken with coffee :)

Stenn

08-13-2009, 08:38 PM

I had my appointment with Dr. Thea Taylor, my chiropractor, this morning. She spent about half of our time doing some touch-up work on my lower back. I complained about it being stiff and she said, "Good!" She then explained that the natural evolution of an injury is: Sharp Pain, Dull Pain, Stiffness. The fact that I'm merely stiff means that I'm just about done healing. All she prescribed for my back was to keep doing what I'm doing. Will do!

She started working on my left shoulder which has been giving me trouble since I came back from my break. She grabbed a small tub of cocoa butter and a shiny metal object that looked like a small, chrome-plated tire iron and used it to such good effect that it literaly brought tears to my eyes before informing me, "There may be some bruising and soreness over the next couple of days." :eek:

For the shoulder, she recommended shoulder dislocates, which I already do, and foam rolling. It looks like I'm going to be spending considerable time at the gym rolling around on the floor. :( The other day, Dion spied me rolling out my back on a medicine ball and asked, "How's it going?" I grunted back and said, "I'm on the ball!" At this point, I'd roll around on a sack of house cats if I thought it would fix the problems in my shoulders. Whatever works.

Stenn

08-13-2009, 08:55 PM

I guess I can consider myself a lucky one , I can drink coffee right before going to bed (which I often do) and no trouble sleeping...

My father is like that. I don't know how he does it. I guess I missed that part of his genetics. Perhaps I'm the lucky one. For me, coffee works so well that I need to be careful when I consume it, like a controlled substance. I don't need anything stronger to get a buz and it doesn't take very much of it.

EMISGOD

08-13-2009, 09:40 PM

At this point, I'd roll around on a sack of house cats if I thought it would fix the problems in my shoulders. Whatever works.

In for vids of your rolling around on a sack of cats! :D

Stenn

08-13-2009, 09:50 PM

In for vids of your rolling around on a sack of cats! :D

I can see that my habit of hyperbole isn't doing me any favors here. :D

6XoGt14klxQ
If I could just zip that sucker shut, I'd be all set...

EMISGOD

08-13-2009, 09:53 PM

I can see that my habit of hyperbole isn't doing me any favors here. :D

If I could just zip that sucker shut, I'd be all set...

Well, that is more bag of cat...not cats...;)

I'm not sure how helpful that would be to your back/shoulder, but hey, who am I to judge...? :D

Stenn

08-13-2009, 10:01 PM

Well, that is more bag of cat...not cats...;)
Yeah, I couldn't find a video that showed more than one cat in a bag. Damned censors... :(

I'm not sure how helpful that would be to your back/shoulder, but hey, who am I to judge...? :D
I think it's supposed to have some sort of cat-ibolic effect...

Stenn

08-14-2009, 06:09 PM

I wanted to do deadlifts today and I also wanted to test the shoulder that Dr. Taylor worked on yesterday. So, I planned to do press, DL, and bench press. Unfortunately, I had more pain in my left shoulder than I've had in a while so I had to improvise.

I had to improvise on sleep too. That "Shot" drink I had the day before yesterday screwed up that night's sleep so that yesterday I was a zombie. I came home and passed out between 6pm and 10pm, got up for a while, and then crashed again between 2am and 7am. The advertising on the bottle promises no crashes. I think they're full of crap.

Back to the workout... I've been doing power cleans with my deads but that didn't always leave my back feeling OK post-workout. I decided to stick with deads only this time and everything went great. I had no pain during the workout and I have no pain now that it's in the evening. I think I'll lay off the power cleans for a couple of weeks.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Ball Rolling
Shoulder Dislocates
BB Press: 45x8,8 65x5 85x2 65x5,5
WG Pullup: BWx6
DL: 88x5 110x5 132x5 154x5 198x5 220x5 242x5 286x5
Chinup: BWx6
Ball Rolling

My shoulder felt like terrible during the presses. I couldn't bare to do more than two reps at a measly weight of 85 lb. What a drag! I backed off the weight and did a couple more reps just to use the joint. I hope things get better soon!

I did my usual pull/chinups between exercises.

I started as light as I could on deads and worked my way up in the smallest possible increments using only the bumper plates. Everything felt easy till I hit 286 which was a bit of a challenge. I called it quits after that and considered myself lucky. If my back still feels OK tomorrow, I'll shoot for a little higher next time.

I had planned to do bench press next, but I didn't want that damn barbell anywhere near my shoulder. :(

Stenn

08-16-2009, 08:47 PM

I've been thinking about how I should be lifting now that my back is feeling much better. I want to get back into some heavy lifting, but I also don't want to jump the gun and end up back at the chiro with a new complaint. I'm sick of posting rehab workouts!

So, here's the plan...

I've re-tooled my Bill Star Advanced 5x5 with new numbers that don't necessarily have me hitting new PRs, but that make sense considering my current physical shape. The idea is that a regimented program will keep me from advancing faster than I should while making sure that I do a decent amount of work when I'm in the gym. I plugged in more aggressive numbers for squat and deadlift since I feel fine on those lifts. I've plugged in wimpy numbers for bench press, barbell press, and power clean since those lifts are still trouble for me. In the mean-time, I'll continue to work with Dr. Taylor to see if there's anything that can be done about my shoulders and elbows.

So that's it! Starting on Monday, I'll be back on the big 5-by-5. I'm looking forward to it. :D

EMISGOD

08-16-2009, 08:55 PM

While you're there, what do you think about running your proposed workout plan by the doc?

Stenn

08-16-2009, 10:33 PM

While you're there, what do you think about running your proposed workout plan by the doc?

I emailed a link to this journal to my doc, but I don't think she's reading it. That's unfortunate. However, I tell her what I've been lifting when I'm in her office. She seemed surprised and pleased by my 275x5 and 225x10,10,10 on squats last week. I also mentioned to her about how power cleans seemed to affect me whereas deads don't. She guessed, as I did, that it was the sudden compression/jarring of the lower back that was the culprit.

Her basic advice is to keep working as hard as I can without aggravating anything. This is in line with the teachings of Bill Starr and Mark Rippetoe so I'm happy to do it and, so far, I've only run into trouble with the power cleans. For that reason, I toned down the power cleans in my 5x5 programming. During my 1st week, I'll be doing 5 sets from 88 to 115 on Monday and then 5 sets at 107 on Friday. I can probably do all that without the usual front squat that one has to perform with heavier weights. They'll be more like deadlifts to the shoulders. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I'll bring my plan along with me to my next visit this Thursday. She may want me to do something differently with my bench press and barbell press since she'll be working on my shoulders and elbows. I doubt that she'll want to change the squats or deads.

Oh, I forgot to mention something. When I first met Dr Taylor, she asked me to squat down to test my flexibility. I dropped down into my usual ATG posture to which she remarked, "Wow, that's perfect! You just made my whole day!" That meant a lot to me coming from a competitive weight lifter, coach, and chiropractor. :)

Stenn

08-17-2009, 04:57 PM

As promised, I started anew on my 5x5 program with initial weights that accommodated my compromised physical condition. All went reasonably well except that some fecker made off with the ice pack that I was using after my workouts. I had the foresight to show up with my own, but not enough to think to put the thing into the freezer BEFORE my workout. :rolleyes: Oh well, I get an "E" for effort anyway. I left my ice pack in the freezer for next time.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Roller
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5,5,5,5,5
Shoulder Dislocate
BB Bench Press: 45x8,8 95x5 105x5 110x5 120x5 125x5
Power Clean: 88x5 94x5 101x5 108x5 115x5
Weighted Hyper: BW+22x8,8
Weighted Situp: BW+10x12,12,12,12
Foam Roller

I ripped through the squats in record time only taking enough time between warmup sets to change the plates. The working sets went quickly too. All the reps popped nice and neat.

Bench press felt terrible because of my left shoulder. I was glad to quit at 125. :(

The power cleans felt great. I realized that my lower back probably didn't like power cleans because I was starting with too horizontal of a back. I kept my back more vertical during the initial pull and everything felt groovy. I even did deep front squats on my last two sets. Yum! :)

I kept things light and easy on the hypers and ran into no trouble.

During my situps, I realized that they might have contributed to my initial lower back injury. I have a tendency to arch my lower back on the raising part of my situps. Oddly enough, I may have hyper extended my lower back doing them. This time, I kept my lower back good and tight so that all went well.

EMISGOD

08-17-2009, 05:45 PM

Oh, I forgot to mention something. When I first met Dr Taylor, she asked me to squat down to test my flexibility. I dropped down into my usual ATG posture to which she remarked, "Wow, that's perfect! You just made my whole day!" That meant a lot to me coming from a competitive weight lifter, coach, and chiropractor. :)

That is definitely some pretty cool validation...nice going!

Stenn

08-17-2009, 06:02 PM

That is definitely some pretty cool validation...nice going!

Thanks! It was nice getting feedback on my form from someone who knows what she's looking at. I've had an experienced lifter or two tell me that my form looked, "Fine" along with a mob of ignorant yahoos who told me that I was going to ruin my back and knees if I kept doing them evil full-squats and heavy deads. One can only take so much input from the peanut gallery before one begins to question reality.

Stenn

08-19-2009, 05:43 PM

I can't tell you how happy I am to finally be working a pre-fab lifting plan again. I guess I'm naturally lazy at heart and when I go into the gym without a plan, I perform way under my potential. Now that I've got a plan, I'm back to getting some serious work done, even if it's a bit on the light side.

My back took the workout OK, mostly. I'm a little tender from the straight sets of deads. I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'll ice it tonight and will probably feel fine tomorrow. My left elbow still felt like crap, but I was lifting light so not much pain there.

It suddenly occurred to me last night that I used to take glucosamine, chondroiton (sp?), and MSM. After that ran out, I took Animal Flex. Then I had my 2.5 month lay-off. No sense in taking all those supplements during a lay-off, right? Wrong! I resumed taking my Animal Flex this morning and I've got some glucosamine on order from bb.com. Hopefully, my shoulder will feel better with the right drugs in me.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x3 205x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 154x5 220x5 257x5,5,5,5,5
BB Press: 45x5 65x5 75x5,5,5,5,5
Pull/Chinup BWx5,5,5,4/1,3/2
Situp: BWx20,20,20
Ice

Woo-hoo, squats! I did all my warm-up sets quickly and tried to make the plates jump at the tops of my reps. (I'm such a hot dog...) I was fairly quick on the working sets too, but a bit more cautious.

I'm very unaccustomed to doing straight-sets of deads. I left a lot of sweat on the platform and banged up my knees and thighs quite a bit, but not my shins so much. I think I need to bend more at the hips early in my decent to keep from whacking myself with the bar so much.

75 lb barbell presses... Yawn!

I strapped in for my pullups and chinups and got in some good sets. I was supposed to do 5x5, but had to settle for some weenie reps in the last couple of sets.

I actually had an interesting last set of situps. I was bored and decided to get the set over with as quickly as possible so I did the reps real fast. I forced myself down faster than the pull of gravity by contracting my hams and glutes. The result: fastest situps ever. :D

EMISGOD

08-19-2009, 05:48 PM

If those joint supps don't wind up working, I'd definitely give Elasti-Joint a try...

Stenn

08-19-2009, 05:52 PM

If those joint supps don't wind up working, I'd definitely give Elasti-Joint a try...

Doggone it! I knew I was forgetting something while I was making my order. I forgot to ask you what I should have been ordering! :D

My local supplement store has as pretty good selection of joint remedies. I'll drop by tomorrow and see if they have Elasti-Joint.

EMISGOD

08-19-2009, 05:53 PM

Doggone it! I knew I was forgetting something while I was making my order. I forgot to ask you what I should have been ordering! :D

My local supplement store has as pretty good selection of joint remedies. I'll drop by tomorrow and see if they have Elasti-Joint.

lulz...always here if you need me. :)

Labrada makes Elasti-Joint and I will warn you now that the taste is disgusting but nothing else works as well...

Stenn

08-19-2009, 06:10 PM

lulz...always here if you need me. :)

Labrada makes Elasti-Joint and I will warn you now that the taste is disgusting but nothing else works as well...

Ah, that's good news (about Labrada, not the taste). I know my local sup. store sells Labrada products.

Stenn

08-20-2009, 09:14 PM

I had my weekly chiro appointment today. She spent about 90% of the hour working on my left shoulder. She didn't make me cry this time, but she did make me swear out loud a few times.

What I thought were two separate problems, one in my tricep and one in my shoulder joint, may actually be related. Dr. Taylor explained to me how there are about 15 muscles that hold the shoulder in place and an imbalance of tension can pull the joint out of kilter. Could it be that my tricep is acting up and pulling on my shoulder joint? Maybe... She worked on the tricep and all the muscles of the shoulder and around the scapula. (The work she did around the scapula was the most painful because of the straight sets of deads I did yesterday.) It was difficult to tell if she was making any immediate progress. She asked me to monitor the joint closely over the coming week so that I can give her some better clues next Thursday. In particular, she wanted to know if the onset of pain was immediate or gradual throughout the set. Oh boy, homework!

EMISGOD

08-20-2009, 09:17 PM

Well, hopefully this will get it straightened out so you can wreck it doing drunken Atlas ball hoists with impunity once again... :D

Stenn

08-21-2009, 05:57 AM

Well, hopefully this will get it straightened out so you can wreck it doing drunken Atlas ball hoists with impunity once again... :D

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. :D

I did a little work on the Atlas stone the other day. I whipped out my trusty hammer and chisel and started chipping away at the sprue. The ball is much more uniform now. Once I'm done with the spruectomy, I'll look into the various ways to fill cracks in concrete so that I can chose the best way to fill the few voids I've got around the top of the stone.

Stenn

08-21-2009, 09:36 AM

Hooray, I survived my 1st week of 5x5! That's more than I can say for the last time I started this program... :rolleyes:

After my workout, I was in the shower and felt something sore in my arm pit. When I got to a mirror, I raised my hand up high, took a look, and exclaimed, "Holy Friggin Cow!" (Or words to that effect.) There were two three-color bruises in there the size of quarters! :eek: Carl had just finished his shower and was dressing. I ran over and showed him my arm pit.
"How did I do this to myself?" I asked.
Fortunately, Carl's a good sport. :) He took a quick glance my way and asked, "What did you work on this morning?"
Then he looked again, "Wait a minute... That looks like it happened yesterday."
I recalled what Dr. Taylor told me after one of my sessions with her: "Don't be surprised if you experience a little bruising or swelling."

Yikes!

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 180x5 195x5 210x5 225x5 240x5
Shoulder Dislocates
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 115x5,5,5,5,5
Power Clean: 107x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8,6/1,3/1
Tricep Push-Down: 120x8 130x8,8
Ball Rolling
Ice

I did all but my last two sets of squats FAST with almost no rest between sets. I felt a little unstable this morning with the ends of the bar coming up at different rates. I'll need to slow back down once I get above 250... or else...

My shoulder didn't feel great during bench press at 115, but it didn't suck as bad as Monday's sets when I worked up to 125. I'm not sure if this is a sign of progress or not.

The power cleans were no big deal. I kept my butt down on the initial pulls and experienced no unusual strain on my lower back. I worked up a good sweat.

I was supposed to do barbell curls, but opted for chinups with straps instead. Good enough! (Besides, I hate barbell curls.)

The tricep extensions were fun. I started at 120, but that was too light. 130 was a good challenge so I'll start there next time. I got a nice pump and headed for the showers.

Stenn

08-22-2009, 07:37 PM

The family is in Austin this weekend and part of our adventures was to hit Barton Creek, rent a canoe, and paddle down the creek and into Town Lake (aka The Colorado River). We were with freinds of ours, another family with two young boys. Jerilyn wanted to go fast, of course, and I was inclined to oblige her.

I'm no stranger to rowing in the gym and managed to adapt that skill to some pretty effective rowing on the low seas. In no time at all, our friends in the other canoe were out of sight behind us and I was drenched in sweat. We got as far as the MoPac bridge where we waited for our friends to catch up. From there, we turned around and paddled back.

Jerilyn wanted to race the other canoe on the way back, but I wasn't into it so I let her do all the paddling while I steered. Again, we got well ahead of the other canoe and won the race handily even with me steering the canoe into overhanging trees on occasion just to create a little drama. I don't know how far we went, but we were out for a good hour and were all soaked with sweat by the end of it.

From Barton Creek, we imposed our stinky, sticky bodies on a local grab-and-go sushi joint before heading back to the motel for some world-class napping. What a great day!

Stenn

08-24-2009, 06:31 PM

I wasn't sore at all from the canoe rowing yesterday, but being a little sunburned made me sweat like a pig. Actually, I usually sweat a lot in the gymanyway, but today was just ridiculous. In spite of that, I got in a pretty good workout. The left shoulder felt like crap, but slightly less crappy than usual. Clearly, this isn't a problem that's going to fix itself overnight.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Ball Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x3 255x5,5,5,5,5
Shoulder Dislocate
BB Bench Press: 45x8,8 105x5 115x5 125x5 130x5 140x5
Power Clean: 98x5 106x6 114x5 122x5 130x5
Wtd. Hyper: 33x8,8
Wtd. Decl. Situp: 10x12,12,12,12
Ball Rolling
Ice

Once again, I blazed through all of my squat warmups. The straight sets of 255 were a good challenge, but still quite a bit under my abilities. I finished strong, sweaty, and happy.

Bench press sucked. Things improved a little when I decided to lower the bar to a place lower down on my chest. It felt a little awkward, but slightly easier on my left shoulder.

I kept catching the bar too far back on power cleans which left me leaning back at the ends of my reps. I never quite figured this one out...

I didn't put too much effort into the hypers and situps. They are just assistance exercises after all...

Stenn

08-26-2009, 07:15 PM

I was brain-dead this morning. I don't know what the deal was, but I kept forgetting things. I forgot to do my ball/foam rolling before my workout and ended up grabbing my favorite medicine ball and rolling out my back on the lifting platform between sets of squats. At the end of my workout, I almost forgot to do my ball rolling again and also realized that I forgot my protein shake. Sheesh! :rolleyes: I feel lucky that I managed to show up with my shorts on. :D

Stepmill: 5 minutes
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 289x5,5,5,5,5
BB Press: 45x5 65x5 85x5,5,5,5,5
Pull/Chin Up: BWx5,5,3/2,3/2,2/3
Decl Situp: BWx30,20,20
Ball Rolling

225 on squats is too friggin' light, even for "light" day! On my last set, I paused at the bottom of my reps for 2-3 seconds before driving back up. I had to do SOMETHING to keep things interesting.

Frustrated with my squats, I went straight to 289 on deads without any warmup sets. I just decided that my squats were my warm up. 289 got me good and sweaty, but didn't really challenge me all that much. I finished my last set about as strong as my 1st.

The presses were my down-fall. Even at 85 lb, they were a major pain in my left shoulder until I finally told myself, "Your shoulder feels fine! Just get in there and have a good set!" You know what? It made a difference! My last two sets were much more comfortable than my first three. Go figure...

I strapped in for all of my pull/chin up sets. I started out with wide grip pullups and ended with chins. I put some good effort in here even when I had to finish with 2 or three weenie reps (the ones after the slashes).

Situps... Yawn! While I was doing them, a male trainer and his female client were doing bent over barbell rows right in front of me. I had to admit that they both had nice asses. :eek: Jeepers, was I bored or what? :D

EMISGOD

08-26-2009, 08:35 PM

LOL

You had an interesting few days...I hate days like that when you seemingly forget everything...

Stenn

08-26-2009, 08:53 PM

LOL

You had an interesting few days...I hate days like that when you seemingly forget everything...

Yeah, it sucks. I think the problem was that my sleep got interrupted a lot last night. I bought my daughter a cheap-ass Chinese alarm clock that ended up going off a couple of hours before it was supposed to. Her being up caused a cascade effect throughout the house of waking the dog, the birds, my wife, and eventually me. The clock is now in the trash and I'm hoping that today's deads and some ZMA will get me through the night no matter what.

Stenn

08-27-2009, 06:48 PM

I had yet another visit with Dr. Thea Taylor, my chiropractor, about my shoulder. It was sad having to tell her that I'd made almost no progress over the week since my last visit. She worked on me some more but when the dumbells came out to test for improvement, I still had plenty of pain. After a bit of fruitless head-scratching, Thea decided to send me for an MRI to get a better look iat what's going on in there.

Thea told me that insurance companies usually require doctors to x-ray their patience before resorting to an MRI, but that the x-ray pictures almost never show anything worth-while. She's going to try to sweet-talk my insurance company into letting me go straight to the MRI to avoid the complete waste of time and money and the radiation exposure of an x-ray. It pisses me off how my health care providers always have to dance around or succumb to the silly requirements of my insurance company in order to provide effective care. Apparently, it's going to take an act of congress to fix this situation...

EMISGOD

08-27-2009, 07:49 PM

Stenn

08-27-2009, 08:19 PM

I think most of our current health care woes can be traced to when insurance companies began to get involved as I think they generally screw everything (and everybody) up entirely...along the way, someone forgot that medical care is supposed to be about HELPING people first...

Absolutely. The one time I went to the doctor in Ireland, I was amazed at how straight-forward their government-run system was. You made your appointment, saw the doctor, and paid a small fee on the way out. The doctor spent plenty of time with us (I was actually there for my daughter), there were no insurance hassles and no paperwork. We only got a receipt for payment because we asked for one. The fee was, if I recall, 40 Euro ($60). (As a point of reference, that's about the price of diner at a restaurant or for a train ticket to Dublin from Galway.) That's more than your typical office visit co-pay in the U.S. but I paid it gladly to be part of a process that centered about me rather than some third-party, dirt-bag insurance company whose only goal is to take my premium payments, feck with my treatment, and/or deny coverage. Oh, and if we had been citizens instead of resident aliens, there might have been no fee at all.

Stenn

08-28-2009, 09:49 AM

Today's workout concludes week two of my latest stab at a 5x5 program. Since I scaled back the upper body stuff due to my left shoulder, I'm only feeling the goodness in my legs and back. I found myself laying in bed last night thinking, "Are my legs getting bigger already? Naw...." But still, something is going on there and I'm happy for it. I'm probably just adapting to the new volume.

Treadmill: 5 minutes
Ball Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 185x5 205x5 220x5 240x5 255x5 270x5
Shoulder Dislocate
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 130x5,5,5,5,5
Power Clean: 120x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8,8,3/1
Tri Push-Down: 130x8,8,8
Ice

Note: I'll be skipping the 95 lb warm up set on squats from now on.

I'm starting to get into some fun weight on squats. I started out fast on my sets and reps popping them up into the air like they were nuthin'. I slowed down and took my time on the last couple of sets and stuck to textbook form. All reps were perfect, if I do say so myself. :rolleyes: I thought about getting my belt for the last set, but didn't bother. Maybe next time.

Bench sucked as usual because of my left shoulder. On the last two sets, I tried the trick of mentally convincing myself that everything was "OK" and, once again, it made a difference. I guess I need to start all of my sets with this little trick.

Today's power cleans were better than Monday's. My form got progressively better as I resolved little problems along the way. Between sets, I could have swore that I heard one of the trainers explain to a client, "Hank's is one of the few gyms where that's allowed..." I can only imagine this was the answer to the nervous question, "Is it OK that that guy is doing what he's doing over there?" :D

Hey, I'm starting to kick ass on chins. Woo-hoo! The last set was a blow-out, though. Next time I'll do better. BTW, I was supposed to do curls, but I hate curls. So there. :p

Last time I did push-downs, I thought that 130 would be a good working weight. I was wrong. I should have done 140. :D

Stenn

08-30-2009, 09:28 AM

My wife took horse riding lessons when she was a little girl so, of course, my daughter is now taking riding lessons herself. She has attended various camps and classes throughout the summer. Now that summer is over, she's just taking lessons once a week on Saturdays. My wife thought it would be fun for us all to take lessons on Saturday. I figured, why not? Yesterday was our 1st day together out at the arena.

I did pretty good for my 1st official lesson. I've ridden before, but not much and not recently. However, my natural talent, strength, and status as a native Texan gives me an edge. (I can also shoot a gun and chew tobacco. Just don't ask me to rope anything.)

My instructor, Alyson, just told me, "Do this." and "Do that." without giving much instruction because I was pretty much spot-on for Western style riding until it came time to trot. I can make a horse do pretty much anything as long as it does it slowly. Trotting and galloping require the rider to get up out of the saddle and put his weight on the stirrups. It's like trying to squat while standing on a bossu ball during an earthquake. "Whoa, Nellie!" Clearly this will be an interesting challenge in balance and coordination for me.

...

Last night, my wife was awakened by the sound of me making rhythmic grunting noises in my sleep. She listened for a while before realizing that it sounded like I was lifting weights in the gym. "Hey, hold it down over there, will ya?" she asked to no effect. "Will you knock it off already?!" she hollered. Problem solved! This morning, my back and calves are sore and I'm thinking, "If I'm lifting in my sleep, when do I get to rest?"

Stenn

08-31-2009, 08:13 PM

Note: For those of you who haven't noticed, I started a product log here:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=118761511
Iv'e been chosen to test the product Activate Xtreme, a testosterone booster. As a result, I'll be cross posting between here and my log. I'll also be adding some new sections to my log to document the effects of the product.

Note: I've yet to receive my product from the rep. I'm making this post anyway to establish a baseline and to get into the swing of things.

Intro:
This is the 1st workout of week three and it went magnificently. I had plenty of energy, killed the iron, and took no prisoners. Woo-hoo! I love workouts like this! I wish they went like this every time.

Performance:
I had all the energy I needed plus some. My coordination was spot-on keeping my form perfect for all sets and reps. I recovered quickly between my sets.

Body:
I had some minor muscle spasms in my mid back during today's workout, but nothing that slowed me down. It's probably from the caffeine in the SuperPump250. My left knee popped during squats as usual, but felt fine. My left shoulder felt like crap, but I just ignored it and got through my bench presses without much trouble. My MRI for the shoulder is scheduled for tomorrow. My lower back, which I injured a month ago, is now officially at 100%. I'm on the tail-end of a cold which I managed to largely avert by spending almost the entire weekend either sleeping or eating.

Food:
My appetite was strong and consistent throughout the day. Breakfast was oatmeal w/ molasses and carrot juice. I had Muscle Milk post-workout followed later by a Gladiator smoothie from Smoothie King. Lunch was ginger salmon with green beans and almonds. I had Muscle Milk as a snack. Diner was Raman and tuna. I'll have Muscle Milk before I hit the hay. Mmm, mmm good!

Mood:
I was a bit spacey today. During my cardio, I had to force myself to stay grounded and made goofy mistakes like trying to put a 45 lb plate on the bar before removing the 25 lb plate I still had on there from the last set. I also spaced out after my 4th set of power cleans and thought I was done already. I almost forgot to do my foam rolling at the end of my workout and forgot to apply ice to my shoulder. Once I got to work, however, I was upbeat and sharp as a tack with no residual fatigue. In spite of the spaciness, I was absolutely gung-ho on all of my lifts. You couldn't have chased me out of the squat rack with a cattle prod.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunging
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 185x3 225x3 280x5,5,5,5,5
Shoulder Dislocate
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 120x5 125x5 135x5 145x5 155x5
Power Clean: 109x5 118x5 127x5 135x5 144x5
Wtd. Hyper: 33x12,12
Wtd. Situp: 20x12,12,10,7
Foam Rolling

I skipped my usual 95 lb squat warmup set and went straight for 135. Five warmup sets is enough, even for an old guy like myself. I belted up for the work sets and absolutely rocked on them. I finished as strong as I started and even did my last set quickly with some bounce on the way up to make the plates rattle. I'm such a hot dog! :D 280 lb is 78% of my max.

I do shoulder dislocates with a towel or broomstick before my bench presses as a shoulder warm-up. Fat lot of good it does for me... :( I mentally tuned out the pain in my left shoulder and told myself that everything was fine and to have a good set. It worked, mostly. 155 lb is 76% of my max.

My power cleans went well except that my form started to suffer slightly on the last set causing me to try to assist with my arms. Not good! I know from experience that's a great way to blow out elbows. 144 lb is 88% of my max.

Knowing that weighted hypers killed my back (or was it hefting Atlas stones while drunk?), I took it easy on the hypers. I've been known to do these with 3 plates, like an idiot.

The situp benches were all taken by little old ladies and pregnant women (seriously!) so I settled for shoving my feet under a 25k plate on the lifting platform. Good enough! I started with two 20 lb plates and shed them as I fatigued.

EMISGOD

08-31-2009, 08:29 PM

Last night, my wife was awakened by the sound of me making rhythmic grunting noises in my sleep. She listened for a while before realizing that it sounded like I was lifting weights in the gym. "Hey, hold it down over there, will ya?" she asked to no effect. "Will you knock it off already?!" she hollered. Problem solved! This morning, my back and calves are sore and I'm thinking, "If I'm lifting in my sleep, when do I get to rest?"

LOL Seriously. HARDCORE! :D

Knowing that weighted hypers killed my back (or was it hefting Atlas stones while drunk?), I took it easy on the hypers. I've been known to do these with 3 plates, like an idiot.

The situp benches were all taken by little old ladies and pregnant women (seriously!) so I settled for shoving my feet under a 25k plate on the lifting platform. Good enough! I started with two 20 lb plates and shed them as I fatigued.

Those Atlas stones are going to follow you around for life now... :D Looks like a pretty good workout...there are a couple of Shoulder stretches you can try (have I given you those before?) prior to your Chest workout that really seem to do a nice job of getting things in order. They came from a sports physician in order to alleviate or stop impingement of the rotator cuff during Bench Press...

Stenn

08-31-2009, 08:41 PM

LOL Seriously. HARDCORE! :D
Yeah, hardcore, but it would make a lousy workout video. :D

Those Atlas stones are going to follow you around for life now... :D
The thing is sitting on m back porch right now... calling to me... BTW, I've chiseled off most of the sprue and I'm starting to think about crack sealer to fill the holes.

Looks like a pretty good workout...there are a couple of Shoulder stretches you can try (have I given you those before?) prior to your Chest workout that really seem to do a nice job of getting things in order. They came from a sports physician in order to alleviate or stop impingement of the rotator cuff during Bench Press...
Thanks, but I think I'm gonna wait for the results of tomorrow's MRI and then do whatever my chiro says to do. I'm tired of playing hit-or-miss with this problem.

EMISGOD

08-31-2009, 08:58 PM

Thanks, but I think I'm gonna wait for the results of tomorrow's MRI and then do whatever my chiro says to do. I'm tired of playing hit-or-miss with this problem.

Sure. I will see if I can find the link/website where I read it again and maybe you can email her with those and see what she thinks as well...the MRI should be interesting...too bad the psychology tricks stopped working, but I didn't think it was psychosomatic to begin with...

Stenn

08-31-2009, 09:14 PM

Sure. I will see if I can find the link/website where I read it again and maybe you can email her with those and see what she thinks as well...the MRI should be interesting...too bad the psychology tricks stopped working, but I didn't think it was psychosomatic to begin with...

Thanks. I'll forward your info to Thea and see what she says.

The psychology tricks work, just not completely. Basically, the pain is less when I'm not obsessing on it. However, the fact that the pain is still there even when I'm not worried about it means that something is wrong and I want it fixed now, now, now, NOW!

EMISGOD

08-31-2009, 09:49 PM

Thanks. I'll forward your info to Thea and see what she says.

The psychology tricks work, just not completely. Basically, the pain is less when I'm not obsessing on it. However, the fact that the pain is still there even when I'm not worried about it means that something is wrong and I want it fixed now, now, now, NOW!

I can't find the page, since the asses at GNC took it down. It was a great article and helped me immensely. In fact, I still go back to the stretches from time to time. I would be very interested in her professional opinion on these...

I will, however, have to recreate them from memory for you...

#1 Rotator:

Lie on your side, on the floor. Stretch the arm that is out on the floor directly out from you, so that it is perpendicular to your body (think of a T-square). Bend that arm up so that your forearm is vertical and your hand is pointing towards the ceiling. With your other hand, the one not closest to the floor, push down on the palm of the upright hand, as in pushing it back to the original perpendicular position. With the upraised hand, resist this. You should feel pressure in the shoulder socket on the shoulder touching the floor. Hold in this position for 30 seconds and repeat 3X per side. You obviously don't want to apply massive pressure or resistance with either hand, just enough to stretch the socket.

#2 Rear Socket:

Get down in position for a push-up. Lay both forearms on the ground (you can skip the forearms part, if you really want -- I find it more productive to lay them down, though). Do not move your feet or your forearms, which are now your anchors, but push your body forward so that your stomach to pelvic region is either directly above or very lightly touching the floor. Hold that position for 30 seconds (or as long as you are able). Repeat 3X.

Stenn

09-01-2009, 07:14 PM

My MRI appointment was today. I've heard lots of horror stories about people getting claustrophobic and freaked out in MRIs so I was a little nervous going in. It was for naught, though. The technician gave me ear plugs, had me lay down just so, and then scooted my little trolley head-first into the wee little tunnel with my nose mere inches from the ceiling. The noises started and... it was kinda cool... like being in the sound studio for a science fiction movie. I started into a zen meditation session and by the time the technician wheeled me back out, I was about to drift off to sleep. "How did I do? Did you get good pictures?" I asked the tech. "Yes, you did very well!", she replied.

Somehow, the results will be sent to Thea so that she can make some kind of informed guess about what's going on in my shoulder. She's supposed to be going on vacation soon, so I hope she hurries.

EMISGOD

09-01-2009, 07:53 PM

Stenn

09-01-2009, 08:11 PM

I hope she does as well. I'm not prone to very many phobias in general, so I guess I'm ok in that respect, but the process does not strike me as enjoyable, though what you described does not sound bad at all.
The last MRI horror story I heard was told to me just a couple of days ago by a former holder of the Texas state bench press record. (He still holds the Texas state record for law enforcement personnel.) He's so big that he got stuck in the MRI tube. When the technician asked him on the intercom if he was OK, he replied "Hell no!" but the tech didn't hear him and proceeded with the 15-20 minute scan. By the time he got out of the MRI, he was about ready to kill the tech. The big guy now does open MRIs or nothing. :D

I'm really more curious to see her impression of those stretches, since I'm curious now...lol
Yeah I know, but I'd rather not bug her about the stretches until I've heard back from her about the MRI results.

FWIW, she's not a big fan of the typical pink dumbell rotator cuff exercises. Instead, she recommended that I do shoulder dislocates. Sadly, I was already doing them and they haven't done me any good for this latest problem. :(

EMISGOD

09-01-2009, 08:31 PM

The last MRI horror story I heard was told to me just a couple of days ago by a former holder of the Texas state bench press record. (He still holds the Texas state record for law enforcement personnel.) He's so big that he got stuck in the MRI tube. When the technician asked him on the intercom if he was OK, he replied "Hell no!" but the tech didn't hear him and proceeded with the 15-20 minute scan. By the time he got out of the MRI, he was about ready to kill the tech. The big guy now does open MRIs or nothing. :D

LOL Tech is probably pretty lucky... :)

Yeah I know, but I'd rather not bug her about the stretches until I've heard back from her about the MRI results.

FWIW, she's not a big fan of the typical pink dumbell rotator cuff exercises. Instead, she recommended that I do shoulder dislocates. Sadly, I was already doing them and they haven't done me any good for this latest problem. :(

Oh, no worries...lol I thought you had just emailed her a link or whatever already.

I should really look up what the shoulder dislocates are...I keep meaning to do that and keep forgetting...in fact, I should probably do it now while it's fresh...

Stenn

09-02-2009, 05:08 AM

I should really look up what the shoulder dislocates are...I keep meaning to do that and keep forgetting...in fact, I should probably do it now while it's fresh...

Not much to 'em.
33P5AI27eiU

You start wide and slowly narrow the grip till you can't get any narrower.

Stenn

09-02-2009, 01:18 PM

Note: This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=118761511

Intro: Today's workout was good, but a major struggle due to some lost sleep and a minor cold. After my workout, I went back to the freezer that they keep in the never-open pro shop in the back to get my ice pack. When I went to put the pack back, I found the door locked. I asked Carl, "WTF?" He said that "they" didn't want gym members (i.e. Your's Truly) going back there. The only reason why I was going back there was because one of the staff offered me the use of an ice pack that they kept back there so this sudden and unannounced change has me feeling a bit put off. I hope that I'm able to work something out because having an ice pack at the gym is VERY helpful for me.

Performance: My performance was quite good. I took short rests between squat sets, long rests between deads, and then back to short for everything else. I felt absolutely devastated by the end of my workout with my shirt soaked with sweat down to the hem. I felt great an hour or so later once I got some calories (esp. carbs) in me.

Body: Everything felt great except for my left shoulder, as usual, and my right hamstring. I don't know why, but my right hamstring always seems to take a harder beating than my left. Oh, and I beat the crap out of my knees, shins, and thighs on deadlifts. I didn't bleed any, but got an impressive case of bar rash in the middle of a bald spot on my left thigh. Of course, I didn't notice any of this until after my sets.

Food: Breakfast was oats w/ molasses and carrot juice along with my usual pills. Post workout was Muscle Milk followed by a medium Gladiator smoothie from Smoothie King. Lunch was chicken vermicelli. 2nd lunch was a tuna sub w/ extra tuna. I'm not sure what's on the menu for the rest of the day, but I'm sure it'll be good.

Mood: My attitude was good enough to get me into the gym this morning, but not good enough for me to be excited about it. It took a lot of mental trickery to get myself through the last two sets of deads. Post workout, I'm feeling a little foggy headed and low on energy which I attribute mostly to missing sleep and partially to coming off of Novadex XT.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x5,5 135x5 185x3 225x1 240x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 154x3 242x3 322x5,5,5,5,5
BB Press: 45x5 65x3 85x3 95x5,5,5,5,5
Pull/Chin Up: BWx5,5,5,5,3/2
Situp: BWx50,30,20
Foam Rolling
Ice

Every friggin' thing felt heavy during squats, even the bar. But, like a good boy, I kept all my reps nice deep going hams-to-calves. I popped the bar up on a few reps just to hear the plates rattle, but my heart wasn't into it.

Every friggin' thing felt hard during deadlifts too. I thought about doing another warmup set between 242 and 322, but I didn't think it would help my morale. Instead, I slapped 322 on the bar and got busy. I started to feel nauseous after the 1st or 2nd set, but it passed.

I mentally told myself that my left shoulder was strong and healthy instead of the dog's breakfast that it truly is and managed to get through all of my sets and reps without making any whiney noises or desperate faces.

I started to perk up a little for the pull/chin ups. I started out with wide pullups and worked my way to narrow before switching to chinups. My last set of chins was 3 honest reps and two weenie reps. Oh, and I did 'em all with straps. (Are you listening, Emisgod?)

I just wanted to go home at this point. Instead, I did sit-ups at a slight decline.

Stenn

09-04-2009, 08:19 PM

Note: This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log.

Intro: I was still bugged by the fact that they locked me out of the room at Hank's Gym where I kept my ice pack. It seemed pretty obvious to me that they were responding to me being back there and it bugged me that they just locked me out without talking to me first. I planned to talk the owner, Ken, about it, but didn't want to do that till after my workout when I was resting. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the issue out of my head and when you're in the squat rack with a heavy bar, you don't want a bunch of crap rattling around in your head. I survived the squats and couldn't take it any more. I found Ken and had our little chat. He reassured me that I was not the only guy getting into the back room and that other guys were storing their food back there and even sleeping on the floor. They just decided it was best to keep the room locked until they figured out what they were going to do with it: pilates, spinning, or whatever. I still stressed to Ken that if he ever saw me doing anything that didn't seem right for him to come and discuss it with me personally. We parted on good terms and with my mind emptied of all troubling thoughts I fell into my usual, comfortable mental zone and got back to work.

Performance: My energy was good during this workout. Nothing felt too heavy. My last two sets of squats were challenging, but not ball-breakers. I recovered quickly and left the gym with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

Body: I had almost no lingering DOMS from Wednesday's workout except for a little tenderness in my upper back and right at the top of my hamstrings. My left shoulder felt like garbage during bench press and has bugged me a little on and off throughout the day.

Food: I've been hungry all friggin' day! That's what squatting 3x a week will do to a man. I know from experience that if I don't eat plenty on this program that I'll quickly become tired and worn-out and all progress in the gym will come to a grinding halt. Ya gotta feed the beast!

Breakfast - oatmeal w/ molasses & carrot juice
Post WO - Muscle Milk
Snack - Gladiator Smoothie
Lunch - Steak & taters (only ate a few bites of the taters), tea
Snack - Muscle Milk
Diner - Beef Clay Pot (Thai)
Snack - Muscle Milk w/ Milk

Mood: My mood has been good all day. Rather than my usual gung-ho self in the gym, I was more serious and level-headed. I'm usually very nervous and hesitant about dealing with vendors at work, but I had no trouble with that today and even managed to scrounge together a couple of super-duper deals for my business.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunging
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 230x5 245x5 265x5 280x5 300x5
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 95x5 145x5,5,5,5,5
Power Clean: 110x3 132x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx10,6,4
Tri Pushdown: 140x8,8,8
Ice

With all the mental chatter I was dealing with in the squat rack, it took me longer than usual to get through my sets. The mantra of the day (as it often is) was "Pay attention to your form and let the weight take care of itself." By the time I walked the bar off the rack, I was ready for action. Oh, and I belted in for my last two sets. 300 lb is 83% of my max.

My favorite bench press bench was occupied. Another was broken and the last had a bar w/ 2 wheels on it but no lifter to be found. Rather than pout or play 20 questions trying to find Mr. or Mrs. 225, I made my own pressing bench in the power rack using a spare flat bench. It worked great! I adjusted the safety pins so that if I failed I'd be pinned, but not killed. Good enough! I tried all my nifty mental tricks to cope with the pain in my left elbow but had only limited success. My strength easily handled the weight, but the pain made me want to quit after every damn rep. :( 145 lb is 71% of my max and I don't see myself hitting 100% again any time soon unless someone trades shoulders with me. Any takers?

The power cleans went well. I focused on keeping the bar close to my body and that solved a lot of the minor form issues I was having. 132 lb is 80% of my max.

I strapped in and started out strong on my chinups and then faded to a whimper by the 3rd set. Tricep pushdowns went better as I managed to squeak out all my sets and reps at 140 lb. Next time, I'll do the whole 150 lb stack.

Stenn

09-07-2009, 10:13 AM

Note: This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log.

Intro: I woke up this morning to the sound of my daughter screaming and running through the house. If she were on fire, this would have been acceptable, but she was not. It was just a rowdy 7 year old girl with more energy than sense waking her old man up before he had completed his beauty sleep. At the gym, I notice that someone had cleaned out the chalk tray. I didn't need chalk today, but it irked me to see an empty tray one week after I had put a fresh block of chalk in there. I mentioned it to Carl, "Hey man, it looks like someone swiped the block of chalk and then licked the tray clean!" Carl laughed and promised to look into it. I'm heading to Academy today to buy some backup chalk. I brought my ice pack wrapped in my gym towel but it was nearly room temperature by the time I needed it. I need to buy some kind of insulated thingamajig to put it into so that it stays frosty for me when I need it.

Performance: Awesome! I can't believe how easy my 5x5x295 squats were! I felt strong as a bull during my sets, recovered quickly between sets, and left the gym happy as a lark on a spring day. I'm still 65 lb from my old squat max, but I can smell a grand PR coming along already. My 5x5 program has me transitioning to 3x3 next week, but I think I'm going to go for at least one more week of 5x5 on squats. It will be very gratifying to know that I struggled with 315x3 a month or two ago only to get 5x5 at 300+.

Body: The old body felt great this morning after a whole weekend of rest. My left shoulder felt crappy as usual, but knowing what the actual problem is allowed me to worry less about it. The lack of worry helped a lot.

Food:
Oats & molasses w/ carrot juice for breakfast.
Muscle Milk post-workout.
Gladiator smoothie for the drive home.
I'll be having lunch out with the noisy kid but I'm not sure where.

Mood: I was full of fear, uncertainty, and doubt this morning while thinking to myself, "I'm an old guy. I should be sitting on a pier somewhere with a bait bucket and fishing pole. What in the feck am I doing trying to lift all this weight? Aren't I strong enough already?" By the time I got into the squat rack, I had everything turned around. The rack became my play pen and the bar was my favorite toy. I left the gym happy and wondering what the big deal was all about.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 225x3 275x1 295x5,5,5,5,5
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 95x5 125x5 135x5 145x5 155x5 165x5
Power Clean: 115x5 124x5 133x5 142x5 151x5
Wtd. Hyper: 45x12,12
Wtd. Decl. Situp: 20x12,8,6,6
Ice

I completely spaced out and forgot to do my foam rolling before and after my workout. Sue me.

I kept my reps fast and perky on squats except for the last set where I paused and took a good, deep breath or two between reps. I got in a victory yell on my last rep and that was that. Nothing to it! :D 295 is 82% of my max.

Bench press was more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge and the mental challenge was easier now that I know what's wrong with my left shoulder. I was able to do more focused visualizations to work through the pain. Also, I'm sure the Aleve helped as well. Like squats, I should probably also stick with 5x5 on bench press as long as my shoulder doesn't get any worse. 165 is 80% of my max.

My power cleans are where the real challenge was today. Following squats with power cleans is quite an endurance test and I left plenty of sweat on the platform to prove it. My form stayed pretty good, even on my last set, so I'm licking my chops in anticipation of an upcoming PR here too. 151 is 92% of my max. Yeah, baby! :D

Weighted hypers? Yawn! Situps? Double Yawn! On the situps, I used two 10 lb plates and dropped one before doing my last two reps. A couple of my sets went to failure.

EMISGOD

09-07-2009, 10:22 AM

Not much to 'em.
33P5AI27eiU

You start wide and slowly narrow the grip till you can't get any narrower.

I was going to mention I played around with these the other day with a broomstick and debated trying them with maybe one of the lighter EZ-bars, unloaded, but I'm not sure how useful or necessary these are, so this will be one of the things I will investigate going forward...the narrowest you get is like shoulder width or around there, I'm guessing?

Stenn

09-09-2009, 10:17 PM

Cross-posted in Active Xtreme log, yadda, yadda, etc...

Intro: I win this week's most dedicated logger award. Today started early with a flight from Houston to Buffalo with a connection in Detroit and then a drive to Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada. Me and my family are here for about a week to attend my father-in-law's wedding. I didn't want to miss a workout and screw up both my 5x5 program and my log, so I made finding a gym my top priority as soon as we checked into our room. Google Maps claimed there was a place called Fulton's Gym and all I could find out about it was that it was large and open 24 hours. Good enough! Following my gut instinct, I hopped in my rental car and headed out to St. Catherines, a 30 minute drive from the hotel.

I arrived in a not-so-nice part of town at around 10pm only to find a locked door with no one around except for a bum. I gave him my spare change. There was a door buzzer that brought no joy. There was a phone number. I called it and a guy said, "Come back during the day and we'll set you up with a membership." I plead my case, told him I flew in all the way from Houston just to work out at his gym. He was mildly impressed and told me to drive around to the other entrance to the gym (the place is huge) where he buzzed me through the door and into the gym. I was still talking to the guy on my cellphone, but he wasn't there. He was at home. He said he could see me on their internet surveillance system. Cool. I waved. He guided me to the office and told me to shove $10 under the door and then let me know that he'd rather I didn't do power cleans since they're really not set up for that. I can live with that.

The gym was almost deserted except for a few die-hards. One guy was doing a giant set that included 350+ deadlifts. Another guy was decline benching 315+. There were a couple of loafers not breaking a sweat, and then there was me...

Performance: I don't deny it, this workout out friggn' hard. I ripped through my squats nicely enough, but the deads where just plain brutal. After my 2nd set of deads, I was trembling, my heart was racing, and I was sweating my ass off. I can, with a clear conscience, say that I left everything I had in the gym this evening.

Body: My body performed like a champ except for the usual left shoulder. My back was begging for mercy during the deads, but it held together enough to maintain good form so I forged ahead.

Food: Don't even ask. Let it suffice to say that I ate crappy airline food. The only good meal of the day was a diner of grilled chicken breast, carrots, and roasted zucchini. Everything else was garbage.

Mood: I really, really, really didn't want to workout this evening and I wouldn't have except that I didn't want to let down the Active Xtreme folks and my adoring readers. Damn you all! However, I felt great by the time I left the gym (at around midnight), let out a victory whoop in the car, and drove back to the hotel feeling like I was King of the World.

Treadmill: Skipped!
Foam Rolling: Skipped!
BB Back Squat: 45x10,8 135x5 185x5 225x5 250x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 135x5 225x5 275x2 315x1 340x5,5,5,5,5
BB Press: 45x5 65x5 85x5 100x5,5,5,5,5
Pull/Chin Up: BWx5,5,5,3/2,3/2
Decl. Situp: BWx30,15,15
Foam Rolling: Skipped!
Ice: Skipped!

I skipped a lot of stuff because I was tired and just didn't want to fart around with it. I headed straight for the iron and got busy and when I was done I got the hell outta there.

250x5x5 on squats was a good workout. I did my sets quickly with just short sips of air between reps.

The deadlifts, on the other hand, just about put me into my grave. By my 3rd set I was thinking, "Great Mother of Melvin, take me now!" I tried to rest between sets, but it didn't work. The bar I was using was ancient with the knurling almost worn off causing me to worry a little about my grip. I had serious doubts that I was going to get all my reps, but I got 'em anyway. 340 lb is 85% of my max.

I tried to get through my presses as fast as I could to give my shoulder less time to act up during my sets. This strategy didn't work well, but it worked well enough.

I was unusually strong on pullups and actually got my chest up to the bar on my 1st couple of reps. That simply doesn't happen for me very often, especially after heavy deads. I didn't have anything left for the situps. I did what I could and then slunked on outta there.

Stenn

09-09-2009, 10:20 PM

I was going to mention I played around with these the other day with a broomstick and debated trying them with maybe one of the lighter EZ-bars, unloaded, but I'm not sure how useful or necessary these are, so this will be one of the things I will investigate going forward...the narrowest you get is like shoulder width or around there, I'm guessing?

Don't bother doing these with weight. You're not after resistance, you're after a stretch. If it feels like they're not doing anything for you, try moving your hands closer together. These stretches get hard quickly as the hands move closer. Just keep moving 'em a little-bit closer each rep till you can't do the movement anymore and then back off a little.

Stenn

09-11-2009, 02:36 PM

This post is cross-posted in my Active Xtreme log.

Intro: It was a lot easier finding Fulton's Gym the second time around. One of the regulars saw me pacing around outside the locked door trying to call the office which wasn't responding. (I was pacing because I was in a serious need to pee.) He had pity on me and let me in. I thanked him and then moseyed back to the office to buy my way into another Canadian workout. A nice young lady was in the office. I say "nice" because she let me workout for free. Oh, and she was good looking too.

Once again, I skipped all the foam rolling stuff because I was supposed to be back at the Hotel by noon to meet my wife for lunch and then a massage at 1:00pm. Toward the end of my workout, I got a call from the wife, "I'm going to go ahead and get lunch."
"Really? What time is it?"
"It's a little after 12:00."
"Sh!t! I'll be there soon! Order me something I can cram down my neck in a hurry before our massage."
"What do you want?"
"Protein!"
"OK, dear."

Performance: My performance was good except that I wound down quickly toward the end of my workout. I blame it on not enough food and no SuperPump.

Body: I recovered nicely from Wednesday's deads. The only trouble I had was with my left shoulder and elbow.

Food:
Oatmeal w/ Blueberries, Fruit, OJ, Coffee
Turkey Jerky in the car and then 1/2 a Cold Hamburger eaten in a BIG hurry
Salmon w/ Greens & Taters
Whatever they're serving at the "Cook-Out" tonight

Mood: My mood has been good today in spite of having to deal with some rushing around and some screw-ups by the hotel. I even had some business calls and handled them without getting flustered or whining, "But, I'm supposed to be on vacation!"

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunges
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 225x4 240x5 260x5 275x5 295x5 315x5
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 95x5 135x3 150x5,5,5,5,5
DB Row: 70x5 80x5 100x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8,5,3
Tri Pushdown: Fishing then 170x8,8,6

I belted up for my heavy squats. Oddly enough, 295 felt heavier than 315. 315 was a good challenge and I really had to push myself to get my last two reps. To make things interesting, the left side of the bar felt WAY heavier than the right causing me to come up lop-sided. I checked all the plates after my set to make sure I wasn't mixing pounds and kilos, but I didn't find anything wrong. I guess I just need to be more careful about mixing plates from different manufacturers. 315 is 88% of my max.

Bench press was no big deal except for the pain in my left shoulder and elbow. That's right, my left elbow has decided to join the chorus of pain in my left arm. What's an old man to do? 150 lb is a miserable 73% of my max.

They don't want me doing power cleans at Fulton's and I know from experience that barbell rows would be like me throwing my elbow down on the ground and jumping up and down on it. I decided to opt for dumbell rows instead. I realize that dumbell rows are not a good substitute for power cleans, but what the heck. They felt great and I worked up a good sweat.

It wasn't so easy following dumbell rows with chins but I did 'em anyway. I got the call from the wife and then hurried through my pushdowns. I fished around for a good working weight, settled on 170 for three quickies, got a nice tricep pump, and then rushed out the door. So long, Fulton's! :)

Stenn

09-14-2009, 09:01 PM

This post is cross-posted in my Active Xtreme log.

Intro: This morning's workout got delayed by having to travel all the way back from Ontario, Canada to Houston, Texas. I spent all day either driving or flying and eating extra crappy food. I began the day with a case of the runs which, thank God, ended before I had to board the plane. We got home just in time for me to squeeze a workout into the last hour and a half before Hank's Gym closed. There were some very strong guys working out in my usual corner. We chatted between brutally heavy sets and I got some more praise for my squat form from a guy who seemed to know a thing or two about Olympic lifting.

Week 5 was supposed to be the week in my 5x5 program where I deloaded and dropped down to 3 sets of 3 reps while increasing the weights into PR territory. However, since I've yet to miss a single rep of the 5x5 part of the program, I decided to forge ahead with another week of 5x5. I didn't have my computer handy to re-work the spreadsheet, so I just added 10 lb to my squats and 5 lbs to everything else. I plan to play it by ear in a similar fashion on Wednesday and Friday.

Performance: I felt GREAT for this workout even though I had no right to. I was tired from all the travel and was running on a tank full of garbage. I guess I was just so sick of sitting still on a plane that lifting the big iron made me feel alive again. My energy was good all the way through the workout.

Body: No complaints except for my elbows which are back to their old tricks. They both felt like they were on fire after the workout and I'm icing them down now.

Food:
Ham & Cheese Omlet, Fruit w/ Yogurt, Coffee
Loads of Crappy Travel Food
Apple & Muscle Milk pre-workout
Muscle Milk post-workout

Mood: In spite of the travel my mood has been pretty good. While filling up the rental car before returning it, the pump didn't shut off causing me to drench my left shoe and pants with gasoline. I marched right into the joint and, rather than bitching at the attendant, simply asked for a couple of plastic bags. I bagged my socks shoes and put on my sandals. At the airport, I changed into a new pair of jeans and I was gasoline-free. This whole incident simply failed to faze me or drag me down in the slightest. I could have put off my workout till tomorrow, but I had just enough energy and can-do attitude to go ahead and squeeze in my workout into the sliver of opportunity that I had. At the gym, I was irritated by all the mindless chatter from the social lifters, but not enough to let it interfere with my workout. In short, my mood was good if not bullet-proof.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunges
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 225x5 275x3 305x5,5,5,5,5
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 95x5 130x5 140x5 150x5 160x5 170x5
Power Clean: 120x5 129x5 138x5 147x5 156x5
Wtd. Hyper: 45x12,12
Wtd. Decl. Situp: 25x12,12,12,12

I was never in doubt of getting all my squat reps except maybe for the last rep of the last set which got a little holler out of me. I was working with a slightly bent bar which caused me trouble when unracking and racking the bar. 305 lb is 85% of my max.

Again, the only trouble I had on bench press (other than my elbows exploding) was the last rep of the last set. 170 lb is 83% of my max.

I was friggin' awesome on power cleans tonight. My form was great. I blitzed through my 1st three reps and then bulldozed through the last two. Out of 25 reps total, I only flubbed one of them, and only a little. This is spectacular news considering that 156 lb is 95% of my max. I'm so close to a PR here, I can taste it. When I drop back to three-rep sets, I'm going to sail past my old max with ease.

Not much to say about the hypers and situps except that I did more weight at a greater decline than usual on the situps. Yeah, I know. Who cares? :rolleyes:

storm1507

09-15-2009, 06:18 AM

Hey buddy,

Everything is looking good in here. Looks like some challenging full body stuff. I'll read more details later.

Those broomstick stretches have worked wonders for me and I don't worry about narrowing my grip. I just do 50 of them a day.

Stenn

09-15-2009, 07:40 AM

Hey buddy,

Everything is looking good in here. Looks like some challenging full body stuff. I'll read more details later.
Yeah, I like the full-body routines and this latest one is quickly getting me back to my previous numbers. At the same time, I'm doing a log for Activate Xtreme, a testosterone booster. I'm cross-posting here just to keep this journal complete.

Those broomstick stretches have worked wonders for me and I don't worry about narrowing my grip. I just do 50 of them a day.
50 a day! :eek: I was doing just a dozen before upper body work. Actually, I haven't been doing them at all since I learned that my shoulder problem was bursitis as I doubt they'll do anything to reduce inflammation.

Stenn

09-16-2009, 10:21 PM

Cross-posted from my Active Xtreme Log

Intro: Today's workout was just plain hard. For starters, I didn't want to go into the gym but drug my sorry ass in anyway. Even getting back on SuperPump250 didn't help enough. In spite of it all, the workout was good. I missed some reps for the first time on this program so it's probably time to switch to the de-load part of the program next week.

Performance: In spite of how crummy and worn-out I felt, I still put in a good performance. It took a lot of will-power to get through 5 sets of deads and then finish the rest of my workout. Toward the end, my ass was dragging, big-time.

Body: My legs did not feel completely recovered going into today's workout. Not fun! Also, my elbows were a bit tender. However, my left shoulder seems fine these days. Go figure...

Food:
Oats & Molasses w/ Carrot Juice
Muscle Milk Post-Workout
Gladiator Smoothie
Brisket BBQ w/ Green Beans
Muscle Milk
Pasta w/ Meat Sauce, Salad, Red Wine
Muscle Milk & Milk

Mood: My mood was extra crummy going into the gym but improved greatly after my workout was done. Nothing bugged me at work and I even accepted a request from my business partner to set up a new network over at his house which kept me busy till about 11pm. No problem!

Foam Rolling
Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunges
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 225x3 260x5,5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 154x3 242x3 308x1 350x5,5,5,5,3
BB Press: 45x5,5 65x5 85x3 105x5,5,5,5,4
Pull/Chinup: BWx5,5,5,3,4
Decl. Situp: BWx50,30,20

What was supposed to be light recovery squats felt like a ton. I was never in any danger of missing a rep, but many of my reps were way too slow. Wednesday's squats should never be a struggle, but they were today. I consider this another sign that it's time for a de-load. 260 lb is 72% of my max.

Every set of deads was a huge struggle. I had to scream a little to get the last rep of my 4th set up. The 5th set was just wacky. My brain was in la-la land by the 3rd rep and although my lower back was locked, my upper and mid back were bent like a willow in a strong breeze. I dropped the bar, staggered backward onto the bench, and buried my face in my towel to help keep my breakfast down. 350 lb is 88% of my 2RM. In hind-sight, it's pretty damn cool that I lifted 88% of my 2RM 23 times.

I probably could have gotten all of my presses if I had taken more time to rest between sets. Also, I had a hard time caring much about my presses after the deads. 105 lb is 72% of my max.

I was actually stronger on my pullups than I expected. When I got down to 3 reps, I switch to chins and got 4. Situps were no big deal, as usual. I got 'em done and got the heck outta there.

BrotherWolf

09-17-2009, 05:36 AM

Deadlift: 154x3 242x3 308x1 350x5,5,5,5,3

After this you have nothing to bitch about it :) that's some serious volume on deadlifts
especially right after squatting

storm1507

09-17-2009, 06:16 AM

Wow, that is one massive workout.

You have really increased the deads while I was away. I'm guessing you have increased the rest too, but I can remember the DL's.

Stenn

09-17-2009, 06:45 PM

After this you have nothing to bitch about it :) that's some serious volume on deadlifts
especially right after squatting
I can always find something to bitch about. :D

I think if my "light" squats weren't so dang heavy I might have gotten through my deads with less drama and wailing.

Wow, that is one massive workout.

You have really increased the deads while I was away. I'm guessing you have increased the rest too, but I can remember the DL's.
Thanks! :) I haven't surpassed any of the PRs I set on my last 5x5 program, but I'm pretty sure I'm setting some new volume records. I look forward to next week when I drop back to 3x3. I should hit some new PRs then, for sure.

BrotherWolf

09-17-2009, 06:56 PM

I can always find something to bitch about. :D

I think if my "light" squats weren't so dang heavy I might have gotten through my deads with less drama and wailing.
.

you could always break them up with something else in between so you don't have to squat and deadlift back to back.. "a heavy squat today will be a light squat tomorrow" :)

Stenn

09-17-2009, 07:31 PM

you could always break them up with something else in between so you don't have to squat and deadlift back to back.. "a heavy squat today will be a light squat tomorrow" :)

Yeah, that would make a lot of sense. I've often looked at Wednesday's programming and wondered why barbell press is AFTER squats and deads rather than in between them. But, that's the way the program is written and I don't plan to change it while I'm still doing my Activate Xtreme log.

Back when I was doing the Texas Method, I used to squat, bench, and then deadlift. It felt sooo gooood to lay down on a bench after heavy squats, even though I had to mess with a bar at the same time.

BrotherWolf

09-17-2009, 08:35 PM

Yeah, that would make a lot of sense. I've often looked at Wednesday's programming and wondered why barbell press is AFTER squats and deads rather than in between them. But, that's the way the program is written and I don't plan to change it while I'm still doing my Activate Xtreme log.

Back when I was doing the Texas Method, I used to squat, bench, and then deadlift. It felt sooo gooood to lay down on a bench after heavy squats, even though I had to mess with a bar at the same time.

Yes a press is strategically placed in between
perhaps there is a logic behind your "light" wednesday

Stenn

09-17-2009, 08:54 PM

Yes a press is strategically placed in between
perhaps there is a logic behind your "light" wednesday

My Wednesday workout is supposed to be recovery squats, heavy deads, heavy presses. This is OK as long as the recovery squats are light enough. However, late in the 5x5 portion of the program, the "light" squats start to get kinda heavy which interferes with the deads and leaves you exhausted by the time you get around to the presses. This is not a problem as long as you quickly switch to the 3x3 part of the program where the weight and volume are reduced for a ramp back up into bigger and better numbers.

So, I don't feel too badly about missing reps on my deads and flailing around on the presses. I just take it as a sign that it's time to switch to part 2 of the program.

BrotherWolf

09-17-2009, 09:02 PM

My Wednesday workout is supposed to be recovery squats, heavy deads, heavy presses. This is OK as long as the recovery squats are light enough.

Toward the end of SS I was training like that where I had a day for light squat and heavy deads,,, and viceversa the following week , it worked well.

I a going to start updating my journal again .. I am finding more consistency in my lifting
I am far from my best days but not too far :)

Stenn

09-17-2009, 09:09 PM

I a going to start updating my journal again .. I am finding more consistency in my lifting
I am far from my best days but not too far :)

I'm glad to hear it! I'm fairly certain that I'm still subscribed to your journal so if you start posting, I'll start reading.

You'll get back to your old numbers soon enough. I took 2.5 months off, got injured, and now I'm just about back to where I was when I 1st left off. Just pick a program and get to work.

BrotherWolf

09-18-2009, 05:27 AM

I'm glad to hear it! I'm fairly certain that I'm still subscribed to your journal so if you start posting, I'll start reading.

You'll get back to your old numbers soon enough. I took 2.5 months off, got injured, and now I'm just about back to where I was when I 1st left off. Just pick a program and get to work.

Yes... I just need a little consistency

Stenn

09-18-2009, 08:05 PM

This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log.

Intro: This workout concludes week 5 of my 5x5 program. The program has two phases. The 1st is a loading/volume phase where all exercises are done, at progressively greater weights, in 5 sets of 5 reps and squats are done 3x a week. I kept this going until I started to miss reps. The 2nd phase is a deloading/intensification phase where the sets and reps drop to 3x3 and squats are done 2x a week.

I am soooo ready for the 2nd phase. Not only did I miss some reps this week, but I feel like I've hit the wall in my ability to recover from the volume of phase 1. I'm starting to carry little aches and pains from one workout to the next. Next week, I'll start phase 2. Stay tuned!

Performance: I had a very hard time summoning the necessary energy to get through today's workout. Everything I did felt harder than it should have. Also, my form was less than ideal as you'll read below.

Body: Boy, where to start... My legs didn't feel recovered. My elbows were sore. My lower back was even a bit cranky. My left shoulder feels OK for some reason. In spite of the volume I'm lifting these days, I still am not experiencing any substantial DOMS.

Food:
Oatmeal & Molasses, Carrot Juice
Muscle Milk
Almond Mocha High-Protein Smoothie
6? Tuna Sub w/ Extra Tuna
Cake*
Muscle Milk
Beef Udon w/ extra beef, seaweed salad, beer
Muscle Milk w/ Milk

* When your new manager bakes a cake for the office and offers you a slice, how can you refuse? :rolleyes:

Mood: I awoke this morning with no interest in going to the gym. I kicked my own ass and got to the gym anyway, but I wasn't happy about it. I think I may not be getting enough sleep. As I struggled through my power cleans, I remembered that old quote, "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat." Today's workout was more like, The Agony of Victory. :)

Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x5,5 135x5 225x3 250x5 270x5 285x5 305x5 325x5
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 135x5 150x5 155x5,5,5,5
Power Clean: 143x5,5,5,5,5
Chinup: BWx8,8,6
Tri Pushdown: 150x5,5,5
Foam Rolling
Grip Work

Squats were a bit of a struggle. Early on, I could have sworn that the left side of the bar was heavier than the right. I went through all the plates to make sure they were the same manufacturer and not kilos. Everything was kosher. WTF? I guess I was just holding the bar wrong. My last two reps were sweaty purple screamers with the last one taking what seemed like 30 seconds to lock out. I just kept pushing and the bar kept going up so I saw no reason to quit. As I racked the bar, the trainer behind me said, "That was some of the best back squatting I've seen in a long time. Good depth!" I tried to reply, but it probably came out like, "Pant, wheeze, thanks..., gasp, ATG..., cough-cough, rutabaga!" 325 is 90% of my max. Woo hoo! :D

Nobody congratulated me on my bench press. I was supposed to do 155 but mis-loaded the bar on the 1st set. Oops! I slapped on the extra 5 lb and struggled through 4 more sets with elbows ablaze. I'm ready for a deload on bench only because I need to give my elbows a break. 155 is 73% of my max.

I was like an octopus under the bar for power cleans with arms and legs flailing around everywhere. The problem turned out to be mental. Once I got my brain on track, my form improved a lot and my last set was near perfect. 140 is 85% of my max.

Chinups were no big deal till I ran out of gas on the last set. I hoisted the whole stack for my pushdowns. I love doing that. I finished off with some grip work just for fun. I slapped three plates on the machine and got busy with a few sets. Before, I could only do sets of 6 at 135 lb. Today, I did sets of 12. I can live with that.

And now, a trip down memory lane:
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Stenn

09-21-2009, 08:49 PM

This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log.

Intro: This was my 1st workout in the deload phase of my 5x5 program. I did so few sets and reps that it felt like cheating. I'm sure that feeling will go away once the weights start to increase.

Performance: I had a hard time pushing myself today. It was like I had just enough energy to complete the workout, and nothing more. This just didn't feel right because I went from 25 reps per exercise to 9. This workout should have been a walk in the park, but it wasn't.

Body: I had the usual crap going on with my elbows. My triceps are tight and sore all the time these days, which is odd. My legs simply feel unrecovered. Not sore. Just tired.

I awoke this morning hungry, but also nauseous. WTF? I continued to be a little nauseous throughout the day and didn't have much of an appetite, not even for my usual pechugas de pollo (chicken breasts) at one of my favorite local Mexican joints.

Food:
Oatmeal & Molasses
Muscle Milk
Almond Mocha High-Protein Smoothie
Two Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Dry
Muscle Milk
Pechugas de Pollo w/ Charro Beans, Margarita
Muscle Milk w/ Milk

Mood: My mood was very neutral today. I was willing to get in my workout, but I wasn't excited about it. My business partner was a bit of a dick today, but it didn't bother me too much.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, fast walk & lunging
Foam Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 135x5 225x3 275x1 305x3,3,3
BB Bench Press: 45x5,5 95x5 135x3 155x3 170x3
Power Clean: 121x3 136x3 151x3
Wtd. Hyper: 55x12,12
Wtd. Decl. Situp: 10x?,?,?,?

You know it's a bad sign when the bar feels heavy during squats. In fact, everything felt heavy. I didn't have much trouble getting all my reps, but they all felt, you know, heavy.

I had a hard time with my bench pressing because of the pain in my elbows. I probably could have overcome it if I had been running a better mental game.

Like the squats, the power cleans felt damned hard. At this point, I was getting sick of everything feeling so hard for no reason so I decided to do deep front squats with each rep of my 136 lb set. It was like when your mom tells you, "If you don't stop crying, I'll give you something to cry about!" That set of power cleans was hard, but at least there was a reason for it.

My hypers left me feeling a little dizzy which leads me to believe that my performance problems were not entirely in my head. Something is missing... I backed off on my situps to give myself a break. I did four easy sets with only 10 lb and got the heck outta Dodge City.

Stenn

09-23-2009, 04:00 PM

This workout is cross-posted from my Activate Xtreme log.

Intro: Today was my 1st deadlifting day on phase 2 of my 5x5 program. It was a rare treat to do deadlifts without first having done squats. That and the fact that I went from 5x5 to 3x3 made it feel like I was cheating. I guess that's the whole point of a deload, eh?

Performance: My performance was good today. I did some mental focus exercises on the way to the gym and on the treadmill that helped me to keep my head in the game and I think that helped a lot. I had plenty of energy throughout the workout.

Body: My legs still felt a little worn-out this morning, but I don't think that affected my workout any. My elbows and shoulders left me alone for the most part.

Food:
Oatmeal & Honey, Apple
Muscle Milk
Almond Mocha High Protein Smoothie
2 Grilled Chicken Sandwiches w/ Tomato & Lettuce (dry)
Fadi's Grilled Chicken Breast

I haven't had diner yet, but I'll think of something good and then finish off with a late-night shake. Hmmm... I ate the chicken breast an hour ago and I'm hungry already. This is a good sign. :D

Mood: My mood was good today. I didn't have the killer instinct, but I was feeling good enough to put in an honest day's performance.

Treadmill: 8 minutes, fast walk & lunging
Ball Rolling
BB Back Squat: 45x8,8 (just for warmup)
Deadlift: 154x5 242x3 308x3 330x1 350x3,3,3
BB Press: 45x5,5 65x3 85x3 100x3,3,3
Pullup: BWx8,7,4
Decl. Situp: BWx60,30,20

350 is the same weight I deadlifted last week although I did 3,3,3 this time instead of 5,5,5,5,3. By comparison, this week was a walk in the park without the usual drama and yelling. All reps went up just fine, although a little slower than I liked. 350 is 87% of my max.

100 lb killed my elbows last week. This time, all went well with only minor pain. I'll take it!

I felt stronger on my pullups than usual, but I have the extreme drop in preceeding volume to thank for that. The situps went well too.

What? I'm done already? That was easy! :D