Swann's Dry Bones Journal

[Bo_Flecks]

The weather must be cooperating with you since you are training with your garage door open.

Since Gabe is being stubborn and showing up late, we have an OB appointment this afternoon.

Speaking of cooperation... hopefully not a sign of his future personality. I have a stubborn on in my fold. Makes life interesting.

Continued prayers, John.

[rpaul11]

My daughter was way late. Everything turned out just fine. Don't sweat what you can't control bud. He will come when he's ready, and if not the doctor will get him outta there

[FlaIronMind]

Noteable silence.

Has the boy arrived?

Hope so brother. Keeping you guys in my prayers.

[mharrislove]

Noteable silence.

Has the boy arrived?

Hope so brother. Keeping you guys in my prayers.

^^^This. Looking forward to hearing good news.

[Swann74]

The weather must be cooperating with you since you are training with your garage door open.

Beautiful weather up here! Today was 37 degrees during training; high should be in the 60's. That's practically swimming pool weather!

Speaking of cooperation... hopefully not a sign of his future personality. I have a stubborn on in my fold. Makes life interesting.
Continued prayers, John.

My daughter was way late. Everything turned out just fine. Don't sweat what you can't control bud. He will come when he's ready, and if not the doctor will get him outta there

Noteable silence.
Has the boy arrived?
Hope so brother. Keeping you guys in my prayers.

^^^This. Looking forward to hearing good news.

Thanks guys. No news yet, but I am thinking we have VERY good odds for this afternoon/tonight. We shall see, but there have been some positive signs!

[Swann74]

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:13-14 ESV)

I could relate this passage to lifting. The need for patience, and that if we are patient and focused we will find success. But I’m not going to. My journal; my prerogative. Nope… today I have to hold on to these verses as a reminder of something greater: waiting for my stubborn son. Last night we had some very favorable signs that have me thinking that perhaps by this afternoon we’ll be in labor. We shall see. Nonetheless, I can’t really do anything about it. All I can do is wait. But I can choose how to wait. I can wait in frustration that Gabe hasn’t arrived yet, or I can wait with the knowledge that he will be here, and I will have the joy of holding him. Whether that is today or tomorrow or even next week, the joy will be greater than the wait.

The Psalmist recognized the value of determining how we wait. He knew that the LORD would come, so he could wait with strength and courage. He knew that he would be blessed with a vision of God in the Land of the Living, so he could endure the wait with faith.

Since I am not at the hospital in Labor & Delivery (unfortunately), I figured I should get some good work in today. And I’d like to think that I did just that! I cut back my Olympic Lifts from seven to five reps at the working weight just to ensure that my back wasn’t too pre-fatigued since it was Deadlift day. I still feel like I got some solid training in today – not to mention that my Deadlifts made my day!

March 15, 2012

Warm-up

Snatch
Bar x5x2
95x1x2
105x1
115x1
125x1x5 – Vids
As usual, I still need to work on my pull-under. It seemed like I either hit the pull-under quite well, or not well at all. Didn’t feel like a lot of middle ground today.

Cleans
Bar Sweeps x10x2
Bar Turnovers x5
125x1x2
135x1
145x1
155x1x5 – Vids
Enjoyed these today. The Cleans are starting to feel… well, cleaner. I used a little arm pull on the fourth rep, which was a rookie mistake, but the rest seemed ok. I only Jerked once, on the final rep. It felt smooth going up, but I lost balance a bit on the lockout.

Today’s lifts:

I think that my best Snatch was five; best Clean was four.

Deadlift (3x3+)
185x3 (Warm-up)
210x3
240x3
270x10*
I know it’s an unusual thing to say about Deadlifts, but these felt wonderful! I felt strong and solid throughout all of these. I stopped at ten reps, but had enough energy in the bank that I feel I definitely could have knocked out more.
Regarding these AMRAP sets, I have been stopping at ten reps even when I feel I could make more because for my goals – strength training – reps over ten aren’t really necessary. Even if I can knock out more, I figure the ten reps establish some good work and if I have energy left, then it will just go in my favor for the other work I need to accomplish. I just figured I should give some reasoning for my decisions on the AMRAP sets.

Front Squats
215x3x5
These felt surprisingly good. My first two sets were actually harder than the last three, so I guess I had to get into the swing of things. I think my form is finally respectable on these; they felt much more natural than any other time I’ve done them.

That is today. As much as I want and need to hit my training tomorrow, I’m really hoping I won’t be in Ye Olde Garage. Here’s praying that L&D is on the docket today!

[smharris1971]

Great word, and work, John! Hoping Gabe is ready soon! I know you both must be so ready for him!

[bamazav]

Praying you are not reading this because you are in L&D.

Great job in the GoP. Olympic lifts are looking good. Great job on the deads. 10 x is tough with any deadlift.

[punkybj]

Thanks guys. No news yet, but I am thinking we have VERY good odds for this afternoon/tonight. We shall see, but there have been some positive signs!

Nice! Hopefully everything is a-ok. I wish you the best!!

[Swann74]

WE INTERRUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED JOURNAL FOR THIS SPECIAL REPORT:

Gabriel Fidel Swann was born 16 March 2012 at 0509. He weighs 7 lbs. 15 oz. Both mother and child are doing fine!

Pictures to follow at a later time!

And I'll have to catch up on everyone's journals later!

[ChocoChick]

Congratulations!!!

Can't wait to see the pics.

[rpaul11]

[bamazav]

WE INTERRUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED JOURNAL FOR THIS SPECIAL REPORT:

Gabriel Fidel Swann was born 16 March 2012 at 0509. He weighs 7 lbs. 15 oz. Both mother and child are doing fine!

Pictures to follow at a later time!

And I'll have to catch up on everyone's journals later!

[baker]

Congrats!!

Oly lifts looks good too!

[Swann74]

Congratulations!!!

Can't wait to see the pics.

Congrats!!

Oly lifts looks good too!

Thanks all! Exciting morning for us! But I think I'm going to be missing today's training...

Well, we don't want a valueless thread, so...




With big sister...


With big brother...


Pics with mommy and daddy will come after we've pulled ourselves together more!

[rpaul11]

he looks like he's pullin a clean there



You have a great looing family man!

[Bo_Flecks]

Thanks all! Exciting morning for us! But I think I'm going to be missing today's training...

The news of your little one made me smile. This ^^^^made me made me laugh!

Congrats, John! The family looks wonderful!

[Swann74]

he looks like he's pullin a clean there

Well you know, you gotta start 'em off right while they are young....

You have a great looing family man!

Thanks Rich. They end up looking pretty darn good for having an ugly mug like me as a Patriarch!

[Swann74]

The news of your little one made me smile. This ^^^^made me made me laugh!

Congrats, John! The family looks wonderful!

Thanks Steve! I made that same joke to my wife... for some reason she didn't laugh.

[bamazav]

Great family pics John. I know you are excited, and probably pretty tired. The weights will be there once you get the family settled. Just enjoy them for now.

[gbg]

Congratulations buddy!!!

[TheEnglishGent]

They say a lot can happen in 24 hours BUT it's amazing what happens when you take a week off....

Congrats on the new edition to the family! Oh; and great workouts BTW.

[ChocoChick]

Aw... he's gorgeous. And so are your other kids. Your daughter looks so proud!

Congratulations again to all of you.

[mharrislove]

Hey! I just heard the news!

Congrats!!!!

[Swann74]

Great family pics John. I know you are excited, and probably pretty tired. The weights will be there once you get the family settled. Just enjoy them for now.

It has definitely been nice to have a few days of no concern other than family. Spent most of this morning holding Gabe, and then most of the afternoon making up for lost time with Abby and Elijah. The blessings of arrows in the quiver.

Congratulations buddy!!!

I LOVE that pic G! Thanks so much!

They say a lot can happen in 24 hours BUT it's amazing what happens when you take a week off....
Congrats on the new edition to the family! Oh; and great workouts BTW.

Thanks! To be fair, the most exciting part did indeed take less than 24 hours.

Aw... he's gorgeous. And so are your other kids. Your daughter looks so proud!

Congratulations again to all of you.

Thanks CC. Abby has been waiting to "mother-hen" the baby for a while now.

Hey! I just heard the news!

Congrats!!!!

Thanks MHL! Appreciate it!

[Swann74]

Just a quick update today...

The hospital went ahead and let us go home last night. They like to keep people for two days, especially where a circ is involved, but since Gabe was doing well and mommy was fine they went ahead and honored our request for an early discharge.

Back home and everyone is making their initial adjustments. But more to the point for this journal, while the Mrs and Gabe were taking a nap and the kids were watching Fantastic Four I took a quick trip out to Ye Olde Garage to do a one-lift session.

I just did my Military Press to get myself back on track for this week's 531. Besides, after the last few days I needed to do something to keep the blood flowing!

March 18, 2012

Military Press (3x3+)
45x5 (Warm-up Set)
70x5 (Warm-up Set)
100x3
110x3
125x8*
125x3 (Chaser Set)
These went fairly well considering I'm off both my sleep and my training routines. I wanted nine on the AMRAP set, but if I had put up another after the eight it would have been pretty ugly. Stuck with the eight and slipped in a chaser set of the mandatory minimum sets for the program.

Side Press
45x5 per Arm
Mostly did these to get the feel for the Side Press again. Surprisingly, they felt more natural to my left arm than my right. Just one set, nothing spectacular.

The plan is to get back to my routine tomorrow. Obviously the baby is going to change some things around here, but I figure the quicker we find our "new normal" the easier it will be for all of us.

[rpaul11]

glad you could get a quick session in.

You'd think after 2 kids you'd realize that with a newborn there is no sembence of normal

[Swann74]

glad you could get a quick session in.

You'd think after 2 kids you'd realize that with a newborn there is no sembence of normal

Oh trust me, I realize it! But that's why I figure any time I use the word "normal" we are speaking in relative terms.

[Swann74]

[smharris1971]

WE INTERRUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED JOURNAL FOR THIS SPECIAL REPORT:

Gabriel Fidel Swann was born 16 March 2012 at 0509. He weighs 7 lbs. 15 oz. Both mother and child are doing fine!

Pictures to follow at a later time!

And I'll have to catch up on everyone's journals later!

Congrats, my friend!!! So glad to hear everyone is doing well! How is Daddy holdin up?