Swann's Dry Bones Journal

[Swann74]

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ... And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ... So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ... So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:1-10 ESV)

I was trying to think of what to call this journal, and this passage came to mind. The dead, dry bones returning to life. I'm starting out the dry bone; the goal is to become an exceedingly great army!

In putting together my workout plan, I re-evaluated my goals. I knew that I wanted to return to - and even exceed - the strength I had in the 'halcyon days of youth' ten years ago. So maximal strength was on the docket. I also want to redevelop some speed and explosive power, which I really haven't worked on since I was practicing combat arts, also about ten years ago. Finally, I didn't want to completely ignore cardio - especially with my family history of heart disease - so I needed to include some cardio without detracting from my other goals.

These came together in my workout plan. I'm using Wendler 531 as a base. First, it's a proven solid strength training program. That addresses my maximal strength concerns. Second, it is very adaptable regarding secondary lifts. This allowed me to add power cleans for my explosive training without too much difficulty at all. For cardio, I'm using the HIIT program from here (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ulti...g-program.html). It came together fairly well this morning, IMHO.

Day 1, 6/20/2011

Warm-up (Recumbent Bike, 10-Count Burpees)

531 Squats
45x10 (Stretching set to loosen up the knees and lower back)
135x3 (Warm-up set)
170x5
195x5
220x12

I only did the stretching set and the warm-up set since the first working set is so light. I figured my squat max at about 287, which is about twenty pounds less than my max, but until I can finish my power rack I didn't want to push my luck with my improvised squat rack. Safety first and all!

Power Clean and Press, supersets with Front Squats (Clean Grip)
95x4 / 4
115x4 / 4
135x3 / 3
155x2 / 2
165x1 / 1

The numbers before/after the slash are the reps for the cleans/squats. I haven't really done Front Squats prior to the last week and a half or so, so they are still somewhat new for me. So even though I could have done significantly more squats, I decided to keep them at the same number as the cleans until I feel more comfortable with my form and whatnot. Next week if I don't increase my FS reps, then I'll do some individual sets of FS apart from the PCs. I unashamedly do a push-press for the press part of the Power Clean and Press.

One-Armed T-Bar Row, supersets with Bench Dips
3x70x7 (Each Arm)/ 3x10 Dips

My T-Bar is a home improvisation. I put the olympic bar into the wedge of one of the studs in the garage to hold the end, weight the other end, and have at it. So technically there is some weight from the bar, but I'm not concerned enough to figure the coefficients and whatnot, so just the added weight is good enough for me. My last set had five good reps, but the sixth and seventh were pretty ugly. Bench Dips felt good; I may need to weight these next time.

Pull-Up Complex
3 Assisted, 4 Assisted, 3 Assisted, 1 Negative, 1 Maximum Hang

My back is lagging from too much time focusing on my front side (bench; I admit it, I made the same dumb mistakes a lot of kids do). I'd like to regain the pull-up ability that I had in the Marines, so I added these as well. I'm basically using the program from this site (http://www.fiftypullups.com). Even though I can do some pull-ups, I'm starting at the lowest rung of the training program since I'm doing this at the end of my workout. I figure when I can get to 5x7 or so at the end of the workout, then I should be able to do around 20 or so fresh. If it works, then I'll add weight and go back to the beginning. I don't need to do 50, but 20 would be nice.

Wrap-up
(Turkish Get-Ups 1x25x3 (Each Arm) [These were mostly done as a cool-down, hence the low weight and reps]; HIIT Training Phase 1 [I only did 6 of the 10 cycles, since a thunderstorm decided to show up and relieve me from my sprints])

Overall I feel really positive about today. My major two concerns are the sloppy form on the third set of the T-Bar Rows, which is easy to correct; and the limited number of Front Squats that I did. I really need to do more than this as accessory lifts on Squat day. I'll have figured out how I want to approach this come next week.

And to anyone following this journal, thanks and welcome aboard!

[Bo_Flecks]

I like the title, John (I wonder how many will get the reference). By the way, this is one of my ultra rare phone posts . Looking forward to following along!

[Swann74]

I like the title, John (I wonder how many will get the reference). By the way, this is one of my ultra rare phone posts . Looking forward to following along!

Thanks! I also rather wondered how many would get the title, which is one of the two reasons why I figured I'd lead off with the passage from Ezekiel. The other being the need to keep things in proper priority: spiritual health first!

I am blessed and doubly blessed to have you along for the ride, and to even rate the rare phone post!

[paolo59]

Ha ha, "Can these dry bones live?" There is nothing more powerful or moving than the books of the prophets as written in the King James. Glorious to be sure!

Success and progress in your lifting endeavors brother!

[Swann74]

Ha ha, "Can these dry bones live?" There is nothing more powerful or moving than the books of the prophets as written in the King James. Glorious to be sure!

Success and progress in your lifting endeavors brother!

The prophets are awesome. They call you out when you are wrong, and encourage when you are seeking to do right! Important for lifting as well!

Thanks for the words!

[bamazav]

Great Title and great job. I am in. Keep up the great work!

[Swann74]

Great Title and great job. I am in. Keep up the great work!

Much appreciated! With you having a cool creation inspired title, I figured I needed something catchy. :-)

[Getsum]

I'm in as well man, great title and great start! Welcome to the journals!

[Swann74]

I'm in as well man, great title and great start! Welcome to the journals!

Great to have you aboard! Appreciate the motivation and I'll try not to disappoint!

[whatevergirl]

Thank you for telling me about this, swann. I will be following.

I love how you started out, with that passage. Very insightful, how you're tieing that in.

Second, your workouts seem very well planned out. I started all over the place, and I have a better grip now, but am thinking of turning to a program once I'm through with what I've been following. (a 6 day split)

Good job with supersetting. I still haven't done front squats, maybe I'll learn something from you here!

Stay strong.

[Swann74]

Thank you for telling me about this, swann. I will be following.

I love how you started out, with that passage. Very insightful, how you're tieing that in.

Second, your workouts seem very well planned out. I started all over the place, and I have a better grip now, but am thinking of turning to a program once I'm through with what I've been following. (a 6 day split)

Good job with supersetting. I still haven't done front squats, maybe I'll learn something from you here!

Stay strong.

Thanks WEG, great to have you on board and thanks for the compliments!

[Swann74]

You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
You found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint!
(Isaiah 57:10 ESV)

Figured I'd better start with a motivational verse, because I sure needed it today! I woke up tired today. I just haven't been sleeping well, which isn't good. And I think we need a new mattress since I keep waking up awfully stiff. But, it's way too early in the game to let little things like fatigue and stiffness derail me too much, right? :-)

I only lift three days a week right now, and there are four lifts in Wendler 531. My solution is to do Deadlifts and Military Press on the same day - the two of them together making a full body workout. To help balance the energy output, I'm not doing the Olympic variants on Wednesday.

Day 2, 6/22/2011

Warm-up (Recumbent Bike, 10-Count Burpees)

531 Deadlifts
2x135x3 (Warm-up sets)
170x5
195x5
225x9

No stretching set for Deadlifts, so I did two warm-up sets. I would have liked to do at least 10-12 of these in the final set, but my grip was loosening. I've noticed that; I'm almost positive my Deadlift max is higher than I'm testing. The problem is that my grip is the first thing to give out. I really need to work on developing grip strength.

531 Military Press
45x10 (Stretching/Warm-up set)
65x3 (Warm-up sets)
85x5
100x5
110x9

I felt ok about these. Not great, but ok. I would have liked to make that tenth rep on the last set, but my form was getting shaky and I'd rather do nine solid than ten ugly.

Good Mornings
45x10
60x10
95x10

It has been a LONG time since I've done these, and today is probably the first time that I have really done them with great attention to form. That said, I had no idea whatsoever on what weight to use. I'll have to up the weight next week and see what happens.

One-Arm Overhead Press, supersets with Barbell Curls
45x12 /12
55x7 /12
45x10 / 65x12

I did these with a 7' Olympic bar; the hope is that the unwieldy length with both help develop the stabilizer muscles and improve my grip strength. I was surprised that my second set, only ten pounds heavier, went down so much. Fatigue perhaps?
I really hadn't planned on doing the barbell curls, but just felt bad not doing any supersets so I added them last minute. Call it a lark, call it a vanity project. It was fun, though. :-)

Pull-Up Complex
3 Assisted, 5 Assisted, 4 Assisted, 1 Negative, 1 Maximum Hang

Nothing to report here; move along.

Wrap-up
(Turkish Get-Ups 2x25x3 (Each Arm) [Still doing these done as a cool-down, but added a set. Will probably do 3x3 on Friday, then up the weight for next week even though its a wrap-up exercise]; HIIT Training Phase 1 [The weather was still not cooperating for sprints, so I did vertical jumping drills for this. All the way down to touch the floor, then up over my garage door. Exhausting and a good workout for a non-jumping type like myself])

Overall I feel ok about today. Had some personal goals for the day that I didn't quite make, but I made all of my "official" goals so I'm trying to keep my head up on that. Progress is progress, even if not as much progress as I'd like. Or so I keep having to tell myself!

[bamazav]

Looks like a great day, keep the head up. Seems as though you tried a bunch of new stuff, so no PR's and heavy goals are to be expected. As a Good Morning freak, I love them, I would recommend that you take the weight up slowly. IMHO form on these is far more important than weight. You put your back in a vary vulnerable position so form is of the utmost importance.

Keep up the great work!

[Swann74]

Looks like a great day, keep the head up. Seems as though you tried a bunch of new stuff, so no PR's and heavy goals are to be expected. As a Good Morning freak, I love them, I would recommend that you take the weight up slowly. IMHO form on these is far more important than weight. You put your back in a vary vulnerable position so form is of the utmost importance.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the encouragement. I definitely feel that next Wednesday will be smoother, since I have some idea of the flow of the workout and some better baselines for the weights to use. In order to make sure that I don't overwork my shoulders, the one-armed presses will probably be maintained at 3x45x10 next week, then slowly increased in weight.

I do want to be careful with Good Mornings, but focusing on shifting my hips rather than bending over definitely was an important first step for me. Next week I'll probably do 3x95x10, then go up from there in following weeks.

[paolo59]

Ha ha, not weight lifting related brother, but you got me thinking of books of the prophets and the KJV! LOL Isaiah 6:1 and following: In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. I'm hard pressed to imagine something more majestic or powerful. LOL Bet you never thought this journal of yours might move one to dust off an old bible and thumb through some pages! Blessings!

[hochspeyer]

In on pg 1- looking forward to an amazing journey! Keep the verses coming- the KJV is not my favorite, but the language is incomparably rich in many places!

[Swann74]

Ha ha, not weight lifting related brother, but you got me thinking of books of the prophets and the KJV! LOL Isaiah 6:1 and following: In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. I'm hard pressed to imagine something more majestic or powerful. LOL Bet you never thought this journal of yours might move one to dust off an old bible and thumb through some pages! Blessings!

I agree that is one of those passages that literally sends chills through your spine. And while you are right - I never did think that my journal would lead to impromptu Bible study - I personally consider that to be the best result of starting it! If I can get stronger, grow smarter in my lifting, and still reach out with the Word; that's a triple win!

In on pg 1- looking forward to an amazing journey! Keep the verses coming- the KJV is not my favorite, but the language is incomparably rich in many places!

I preach from the ESV and study from NAS, ESV, and the original languages; however, I enjoy the artistry of KJV. It is evocative in a grand way. Great to have you on board, Hoch!

[Getsum]

You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
You found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint!
(Isaiah 57:10 ESV)

Figured I'd better start with a motivational verse, because I sure needed it today! I woke up tired today. I just haven't been sleeping well, which isn't good. And I think we need a new mattress since I keep waking up awfully stiff. But, it's way too early in the game to let little things like fatigue and stiffness derail me too much, right? :-)

I only lift three days a week right now, and there are four lifts in Wendler 531. My solution is to do Deadlifts and Military Press on the same day - the two of them together making a full body workout. To help balance the energy output, I'm not doing the Olympic variants on Wednesday.

Day 2, 6/22/2011

Warm-up (Recumbent Bike, 10-Count Burpees)

531 Deadlifts
2x135x3 (Warm-up sets)
170x5
195x5
225x9

No stretching set for Deadlifts, so I did two warm-up sets. I would have liked to do at least 10-12 of these in the final set, but my grip was loosening. I've noticed that; I'm almost positive my Deadlift max is higher than I'm testing. The problem is that my grip is the first thing to give out. I really need to work on developing grip strength.

531 Military Press
45x10 (Stretching/Warm-up set)
65x3 (Warm-up sets)
85x5
100x5
110x9

I felt ok about these. Not great, but ok. I would have liked to make that tenth rep on the last set, but my form was getting shaky and I'd rather do nine solid than ten ugly.

Good Mornings
45x10
60x10
95x10

It has been a LONG time since I've done these, and today is probably the first time that I have really done them with great attention to form. That said, I had no idea whatsoever on what weight to use. I'll have to up the weight next week and see what happens.

One-Arm Overhead Press, supersets with Barbell Curls
45x12 /12
55x7 /12
45x10 / 65x12

I did these with a 7' Olympic bar; the hope is that the unwieldy length with both help develop the stabilizer muscles and improve my grip strength. I was surprised that my second set, only ten pounds heavier, went down so much. Fatigue perhaps?
I really hadn't planned on doing the barbell curls, but just felt bad not doing any supersets so I added them last minute. Call it a lark, call it a vanity project. It was fun, though. :-)

Pull-Up Complex
3 Assisted, 5 Assisted, 4 Assisted, 1 Negative, 1 Maximum Hang

Nothing to report here; move along.

Wrap-up
(Turkish Get-Ups 2x25x3 (Each Arm) [Still doing these done as a cool-down, but added a set. Will probably do 3x3 on Friday, then up the weight for next week even though its a wrap-up exercise]; HIIT Training Phase 1 [The weather was still not cooperating for sprints, so I did vertical jumping drills for this. All the way down to touch the floor, then up over my garage door. Exhausting and a good workout for a non-jumping type like myself])

Overall I feel ok about today. Had some personal goals for the day that I didn't quite make, but I made all of my "official" goals so I'm trying to keep my head up on that. Progress is progress, even if not as much progress as I'd like. Or so I keep having to tell myself!

Excellent workout man! Solid all around on the Deadz, MP, GM and Pull Ups...even have the negatives in there. Everything looks great!

I appreciate the Scripture as well; I haven't read the Old Testament in a few years. I used to read and/or listen to KJV each year and I probably need to start doing that again.

[Swann74]

Excellent workout man! Solid all around on the Deadz, MP, GM and Pull Ups...even have the negatives in there. Everything looks great!

Thanks for that. My Wednesday routine was the one that I was least sure about (between M, W, and F), so I'm glad that others think it looks ok. It's a bit of a feeling of vindication!

I appreciate the Scripture as well; I haven't read the Old Testament in a few years. I used to read and/or listen to KJV each year and I probably need to start doing that again.

I have always loved the OT, but notice that a lot of people tend to ignore it. So in my church I tend to alternate between OT and NT books to build up peoples' knowledge of it. I'm glad I can inspire here as well!

[bamazav]

I have always loved the OT, but notice that a lot of people tend to ignore it. So in my church I tend to alternate between OT and NT books to build up peoples' knowledge of it. I'm glad I can inspire here as well!

Teach and Preach the WHOLE counsel of God! Too many are focused on pet verses, chapters or books. God gave us the whole Bible, not just the parts we like.

Sorry, don't get me started on that subject.

[Swann74]

Teach and Preach the WHOLE counsel of God! Too many are focused on pet verses, chapters or books. God gave us the whole Bible, not just the parts we like.

Sorry, don't get me started on that subject.

LOL Exactly! I did a sermon series on Ezra once and had one of the older ladies in the church tell me she's been coming to church for 70 years and couldn't remember ever hearing a sermon from that book. That's just sad.

We are of the same mind on this one, my brother!

[bamazav]

I am currently preaching through Mark. Starting Chapter 12 Sunday. I usually teach OT on Wed. when I am preaching NT. We are finishing up a series on The Attributes of God on Wednesdays, using Pink's book as a starting point.

Training Day tomorrow. Ready? I teach my fitness class tonight. Had about 16 people there the other night. Now if I can get them all to come to church.

[Swann74]

Training Day tomorrow. Ready? I teach my fitness class tonight. Had about 16 people there the other night. Now if I can get them all to come to church.

I am ready indeed; at least ready for the lifting part. The HIIT part is the part that worries me the most. I am trying to get into the right frame of mind for cardio, but I've always hated that part. Still, it has to be done.

I feel your pain regarding the difficulty of getting people from the activities to the church services. I'll be praying for you!

[bamazav]

I feel your pain regarding the difficulty of getting people from the activities to the church services. I'll be praying for you!

Surprisingly, Fit For the King is not an area of complaint but praise. I have had 5 regulars for a year now. I have seen them make some amazing progress. I have just picked up a big group, at least for the summer. During the summer, the teachers usually join us and this year I picked up about 10 from a Shacklee weight loss contest. In an otherwise struggling church community, this has been a bright spot.

Hitting the gym in 15 minutes.

[Swann74]

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them! (Joshua 1:5-6 ESV)

I woke up this morning exhausted. That's probably because I went to bed at midnight, saw 2:00, 3:30, 4:00, 5:00, and then my 6:00 alarm. For whatever reason I was very anxious last night. Anxiety is just a nice way of saying fear, and fear is the faith-killer. It was good to once again hear the command: Be strong and courageous! Good words for the workout and for life.

Despite my fatigue and distractedness, I think I did well overall today. Some weak points, but I can work on improving those.

Day 3, 6/24/2011

Warm-up (Recumbent Bike, 10-Count Burpees)

531 Bench Press
115x3 (Warm-up set)
135x3 (Warm-up set)
145x5
165x5
185x11

These felt good. Real good. I think I could have put up twelve on the test set, but that would have been with ugly form. I'm satisfied with eleven... for now!

Power Snatch, supersets with Overhead Squats
95x3 / 4
95x3 / 3
95x3 / 7
Hang Snatch: 45x10 / 10

The weak points I mentioned? Here they are! Two lifts that I'm not all that proficient with in the first place, supersetted. Perhaps not my smartest move, but they work well as a superset and since I'm new to both of them the weights are low for both. The first set was atrocious; I was so focused on form and "doing it right" that I completely failed to be explosive. I lost my balance on the Overhead Squats too, to even things out. Ugh! After three sets I decided to just do some Hang Snatches to really focus on form. I'm debating about whether to junk these and do Power Cleans/Front Squats like on Monday, light Power Cleans/Overhead Squats, or just something else altogether. I'm open to suggestions (hint-hint).

One-Armed T-Bar Row, supersets with Bench Dips
3x70x7 (Each Arm)/ 3x(BW+10)x10 Dips

These were nice. I maintained good form on all of the rows, and added weight to the Bench Dips.

Pull-Up Complex
4 Assisted, 2x5 Assisted, 1 Negative, 1 Maximum Hang

Staying with the program so far on these. My fifth pull in the second set of five was shaky, but considering I had already done the T-Bar Rows, I think it was just fatigue from running low on energy.

Wrap-up
(Turkish Get-Ups 3x25x3 (Each Arm) [I enjoy doing these as a cool down. I'll do 1x30x3 on Monday. Today I did these back-to-back: right side, immediately to left side, immediately to right side, etc.]; HIIT Training Phase 1 [It was raining AGAIN, but I really felt I needed to do some sprints. I probably should have done the jumping exercises again since the wet track prevented me from really going all out on the sprints. Still, I did complete the full cycle, so I suppose that's worth something.])

Overall I feel the day went remarkably well considering my mental/emotional and physical fatigue. My major concern is evaluating what to do with the Snatches and Overhead Squats. Well, that and trying to get some sufficient rest!

[Bo_Flecks]

I woke up this morning exhausted. That's probably because I went to bed at midnight, saw 2:00, 3:30, 4:00, 5:00, and then my 6:00 alarm. For whatever reason I was very anxious last night. Anxiety is just a nice way of saying fear, and fear is the faith-killer. It was good to once again hear the command: Be strong and courageous! Good words for the workout and for life.

Sorry to hear you've got this going on, John. I've been playing Mr. Mom for the past couple of days and haven't done much journaling. My wife has been at conference on autism and I will be glad to get her back today.

531 Bench Press
115x3 (Warm-up set)
135x3 (Warm-up set)
145x5
165x5
185x11

These felt good. Real good. I think I could have put up twelve on the test set, but that would have been with ugly form. I'm satisfied with eleven... for now!

Really solid work here, my friend!

Overall I feel the day went remarkably well considering my mental/emotional and physical fatigue. My major concern is evaluating what to do with the Snatches and Overhead Squats. Well, that and trying to get some sufficient rest!

Despite it all, looks like you put in a good one. Fighting through days like those is a huge win with the iron.

[Swann74]

Sorry to hear you've got this going on, John. I've been playing Mr. Mom for the past couple of days and haven't done much journaling. My wife has been at conference on autism and I will be glad to get her back today.

Really solid work here, my friend!

Despite it all, looks like you put in a good one. Fighting through days like those is a huge win with the iron.

Thanks Steve. Your encouragement and inspiration mean a lot to me. I truly appreciate it!

Btw, which autism conference? My son is a high-functioning autistic, so we tend to keep track of the major conferences but have been remiss this month. Busy month for us.

[Bo_Flecks]

Thanks Steve. Your encouragement and inspiration mean a lot to me. I truly appreciate it!

Btw, which autism conference? My son is a high-functioning autistic, so we tend to keep track of the major conferences but have been remiss this month. Busy month for us.

The one my wife went to was in Cape Girardeau, MO.

You might have noticed in a couple of the pictures that my daughter is Hispanic. We adopted her and her twin brother (who is mildly autistic) from Guatemala. He has been doing very well with all of the early childhood education interventions he has had, but we are always looking for ways for the two of us to educate ourselves as well.

[Swann74]

I did notice, but didn't know whether or not your wife was Hispanic. That's awesome about the adoption. I know what you mean about educating yourselves. My wife noticed our son's mannerisms first, so she is well ahead of me in understanding. But since we got his official diagnosis a year and a half ago, I've been catching up!

[Bo_Flecks]

Yep. At one time, our church had 11 kids that had been adopted from Guatemala. Because of different circumstances, Abby and Aaron are the only ones left.

You also might have noticed that my youngest son has blond hair. He gets that from me. According to the doctors, he was an impossibility for my wife and I. Funny how the good Lord loves to make doctors and science look foolish sometimes.