Ironwill2008 V3.0

[ironwill2008]

i had a farmer at the local market tell me when growing tomatoes the trick is to not water them with a hose. fill a plastic gallon milk jug (think you have one or two around the house? ) with water, poke some holes in the bottom and set it next to the base of each plant. the water will seep down deep into the soil and the roots of the tomato plant will follow them down. then you'll have heartier tomato plants that survive better. at least that's the idea.

That's the idea behind the 'drip irrigator' automatic watering systems that home gardeners use; slow, steady, moderate amount of water delivered consistently rather than trying to soak the plants all at once with a hose or a bucket or whatever. Good common sense.

yeah i always think i should do more, play tennis maybe, but i keep fairly busy on my feet all day, and it's all i can do to lift the occasional weight here or there. if only i could hire enough people and end up with some free time...

I'm not a doctor, but generally, if you're on the move all day long, as opposed to sitting on your butt behind a desk, you're getting at least marginally enough activity. Add in 3 weight training sessions a week, and you should be good to go. There's only so many hours in a day.

[ironwill2008]

I was well-rested and ready to do work today, and the results mirrored that. Today's training was:

Front Squat
bar x10 W/U
95x8 W/U
135x8
165x8
185x8
225x6

Leg Press PWO
580x12 W/U
670x12
760x12
850x9

Chinup
bw +55x6
bw +55x6
bw +55x5

Smith Machine Seated Press
95x10 W/U
165x6
165x5
165x4

Burned off an hour and a quarter while completing this workload. I picked up a tough additional rep on Fronts, bringing me a bit closer to reps-across. These are tough going, but put just about all the work on my quads, which is the primary target.

Leg Press didn't advance, but I was pleased just to be able to hang onto what I got the last time around. Getting that top set to 12 reps is going to be a grinder.

I somehow managed to retain that extra Chinup rep I fought so hard to obtain on the last go-around. If I can manage to keep it and maybe even add to it, I'll be elated.

Seated Press didn't advance, but again, just meeting previous numbers is a victory for me.

Glad this 'un is in the books. After what I expect will be a much-needed rest day tomorrow, I'll hit it on Wednesday with Lunges, Barbell Rows, and Inclines.

Post-WorkOut feast was a plate of bowtie pasta with homemade marinara, three of the best meatballs I've ever made, a tasty salad, some Italian bread, and a glass of milk. Fresh herbs, right out of the garden and into the recipe FTW.

[ironwill2008]

Although I didn't quite meet all the day's training goals, I nonetheless had a good session; iron wasd moved, the process was enjoyed. Today's training was:

Barbell Lunge
bar x10 W/U
95x5 W/U
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x2

Barbell Row
135x10 W/U
165x8
185x8
205x6

Smith Machine Incline Press
95x10 W/U
135x10
165x10
210x8

Worked my way through here in an hour on the nose. I'm still @ 2 reps on the top set of Lunges despite the 2-plate set feeling like nearly nothing. I'm certain there's a 3rd rep still in me; I just need to work a bit harder.

Brought Barbell Rows back into rotation. I haven't done these since almost a year ago, when I pulled my hamstring in an out-of-the gym incident and was just unable to continue with them. They felt oddly awkward today, probably due to the long lag time since performing them before. This was probably the toughest exercise for me to get correct back whan I was a noob, so I'll just take the progression a bit slow and concentrate on my form. I'll add a 2nd lighter warmup set next time to help me find the groove.

I managed to meet my previous numbers on Inclines, and since that 8th rep on the top set took me so long to accomplish, I'm pleased to have been able to keep it today.

Done. After a rest day tomorrow (probably yard work and/or doing the annual maintenance on our Generac standby generator), I'll close out the week's training on Friday with a shot at RDLs, Curls, and Dips.

Post-WorkOut meal was my wife's handiwork; a 6-egg, 3-cheese omelette, bacon, toast, and a glass of milk.

[mirroroferised]

three of the best meatballs I've ever made,
[/center]

Well you can't drop that bombshell but not share the recipe

[ironwill2008]

Well you can't drop that bombshell but not share the recipe

NP, Dave; here it is:




Meat Balls

1 pound ground round
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (use real parm, not that stuff in the green can, and grate it yourself)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 small onion, grated (1/2 a large onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped


Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with your hands.
Form into golf-ball-size meatballs.
Bake in an uncovered baking dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Try to save a couple for another meal.

[Plateauplower]

Nice work in here.

The fresh herbs I am sure is what made those the best meatballs ever, they just cannot be matched even with high quality dried or even fresh herbs from the store. When you clip them rinse them, chop them and use them they are amazing. The best thing for growing tomatoes I have found (and cruciferious veggies) is using about a 1/4 cup of Epsom salts in the water 2.5 gal watering can (1 tablespoon per gallon +or-) works as well as miracle grow if not better. Just don't use real salt or nothing will grow for years in that spot unless your going to make an asparagus patch...then you can salt the land and nothing but asparagus will grow without a weed in it.

[mirroroferised]

Agree with the fresh herbs and I'm with you Bill on the parm too. Friend of ours went to Italy recently and brought back a big block. Just too good. The kids will cut chunks of it off even.

[ironwill2008]

Nice work in here.

Thanks, Tim. It's tough just to add one rep these days, but it's a challenge that keeps me in the game.

The fresh herbs I am sure is what made those the best meatballs ever, they just cannot be matched even with high quality dried or even fresh herbs from the store. When you clip them rinse them, chop them and use them they are amazing. The best thing for growing tomatoes I have found (and cruciferious veggies) is using about a 1/4 cup of Epsom salts in the water 2.5 gal watering can (1 tablespoon per gallon +or-) works as well as miracle grow if not better. Just don't use real salt or nothing will grow for years in that spot unless your going to make an asparagus patch...then you can salt the land and nothing but asparagus will grow without a weed in it.

Yep; the fresh herbs rather than dried definitely made the difference. The quantities have to be increased; generally, I'll use triple the amount of fresh as opposed to dried. But that's no problem; those pots are overloaded with growth.

Agree with the fresh herbs and I'm with you Bill on the parm too. Friend of ours went to Italy recently and brought back a big block. Just too good. The kids will cut chunks of it off even.

I confess I used to (several years ago) buy the stuff in the green can---until I read the ingredients.

[tnthudson]

Hey Bill, just popping in to ask- Do you have a hex (trap) bar with all that equipment?
The reason I'm asking is, I got one maybe a year ago and I'm LOVING it for bent over rows. I read an article on T-Nation that said it was a perfect tool for bent over rows, since your gut doesn't get in the way and it's almost foolproof since if you hit your butt, you need to adjust to the proper stance. I can do them with my back nearly parallel to the floor.
Anyway, just a thought. Looking good as always!

[ironwill2008]

Hey Bill, just popping in to ask- Do you have a hex (trap) bar with all that equipment?
The reason I'm asking is, I got one maybe a year ago and I'm LOVING it for bent over rows. I read an article on T-Nation that said it was a perfect tool for bent over rows, since your gut doesn't get in the way and it's almost foolproof since if you hit your butt, you need to adjust to the proper stance. I can do them with my back nearly parallel to the floor.
Anyway, just a thought. Looking good as always!

No, I don't, Todd. I've used one in the past (at a commercial gym), but never got around to getting one of my own.

I've also read a few posts about guys using them for Overhead Press (actually then called a "Halo" Press), the advantage being that, like using dumbbells, there's no bar bridging the hands to interfere with your head, so the load can reamin at your center of gravity during the full ROM.

[Payton1221]

[/center]

Bill, I can't recall if you ever eat peas or not, but I usually count macros and I noticed that the can of peas (I normally eat the whole can with it's 3.5 "servings" LOL) has a total of 14g of protein. That and the 5 oz burger put me over the 40+g target I was shooting for.

Apparently no one told your elbows about MAPS (middle age pull-up syndrome) as you seem to have no probs

[Plateauplower]

No, I don't, Todd. I've used one in the past (at a commercial gym), but never got around to getting one of my own.

I've also read a few posts about guys using them for Overhead Press (actually then called a "Halo" Press), the advantage being that, like using dumbbells, there's no bar bridging the hands to interfere with your head, so the load can reamin at your center of gravity during the full ROM.

It would be hard to have more "fun" for $120

https://smile.amazon.com/Barbell-Wei...words=trap+bar

Bought this last year, yea its a cheap china made bar, but no sleeves, bearings or anything that could "break". A little prone to rust, but I'll probably rattle can mine black this summer if the humidity ever drops below 99% again here

[ironwill2008]

Bill, I can't recall if you ever eat peas or not, but I usually count macros and I noticed that the can of peas (I normally eat the whole can with it's 3.5 "servings" LOL) has a total of 14g of protein. That and the 5 oz burger put me over the 40+g target I was shooting for.

We really like peas; just last week, I cooked up a pot of split pea soup. And indeed, they're loaded with protein along with a bunch of good micros. Beans and lentils sometimes get overlooked in favor of animal sources of protein, but they're all a valuable addition to one's nutrition, both for growth as well as overall health.

Apparently no one told your elbows about MAPS (middle age pull-up syndrome) as you seem to have no probs

I'm fortunate; I've never had a problem with elbows. Certain exercises (such as Skull Crushers) can be problematic in that respect for some people (based on posts I read in the 'exercises' forum), but so far, not for me.

It would be hard to have more "fun" for $120

https://smile.amazon.com/Barbell-Wei...words=trap+bar

Bought this last year, yea its a cheap china made bar, but no sleeves, bearings or anything that could "break". A little prone to rust, but I'll probably rattle can mine black this summer if the humidity ever drops below 99% again here

That's a good addition to a home gym, adding more options for not a big $$$ outlay.

[Plateauplower]

Split pea soup sounds great actually I might make some this weekend, I have a nice lean uncured ham in the freezer. Although split peas are not a complete protein I think they are really high in Leucine and Lyine as well as fiber and from what I have read Leucine is pretty much GOAT amino for dieting.

I remember reading in here that you had a lot of shoulder problems from BB bench. What did you do as a work around? I seem to have some type of shoulder issue right now,so just wondering as I try to work around it. I'm trying to let it heal, but patience is not one of my "virtues" although it looks like I'm going to have just suck it up and not bench for a while. Did push-ups Wed, and those were okay on it and the volume that I'm not used to made me sore as I can remember being in a looong time.


You should order one of those bars while on sale they really are a lot of fun for a change up. I need to make a platform so i can get just a little bit lower with the low handles but they sure take a LOT of stress off the lower back for a DL alternate, almost a DL squat hybrid. I think i need to do a home gym session just to use mine again.

[ironwill2008]

Split pea soup sounds great actually I might make some this weekend, I have a nice lean uncured ham in the freezer. Although split peas are not a complete protein I think they are really high in Leucine and Lyine as well as fiber and from what I have read Leucine is pretty much GOAT amino for dieting.

Indeed, Tim, a good source of leucine, which is the linchpin for muscle protein synthesis. And like all other beans/lentils, they can be made "complete" with the inclusion of any grain (such as bread) with the meal.

And with the inclusion of some type of pork in there, it's a really tasty dish.

I remember reading in here that you had a lot of shoulder problems from BB bench. What did you do as a work around? I seem to have some type of shoulder issue right now,so just wondering as I try to work around it. I'm trying to let it heal, but patience is not one of my "virtues" although it looks like I'm going to have just suck it up and not bench for a while. Did push-ups Wed, and those were okay on it and the volume that I'm not used to made me sore as I can remember being in a looong time.

Barbell Bench was my nemesis for years. I got around it by using dumbbells almost exclusively, and HammerStrength Iso-Lateral Presses when they were available to me. Occasionally over those years though, I'd think, "My shoulders feel good; maybe I can go back to Barbell and they'll be okay. " So I'd try BB Bench again, and pretty much as soon as I got just a pound over 2 plates, my shoulders would let me know, once again, that I was mistaken.

A couple more rounds of this nonsense, and I finally wised-up, and dropped Barbell Bench Presses permanently. That was about 9 years ago, and all things considered, my shoulders are doing better than I have a right to expect them to.



These days, with the advancing problems with my wrists and hands limiting how much I can safely lift over my head/face, even dumbbells over about 70 pounds are just not a good idea for me, so I stick to the Smith, which doesn't cause problems as long as I keep the weight moderate.

You should order one of those bars while on sale they really are a lot of fun for a change up. I need to make a platform so i can get just a little bit lower with the low handles but they sure take a LOT of stress off the lower back for a DL alternate, almost a DL squat hybrid. I think i need to do a home gym session just to use mine again.

You're right, I really should look at that bar. It's a good variant to have available.

[ironwill2008]

Good session today. Progress was made, and I lived to tell about it. Today's training was:

Romanian Deadlift
bar x10 W/U
95x5 W/U
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
350x3 heh-vee

EZ Bar Curl
45x10 W/U
90x10
90x10
90x9

Dip
bw +50x5
bw +50x5
bw +50x5

Finished this one up in an hour on the nose. With every fiber of my being, I managed to add a rep to the top set of RDLs, bringing me to reps-across. I'm not going to immediately increase the weight though; I need to be able to duplicate the effort at least once more before adding iron to the bar. I'm still 15 pounds off of my goal on this lift, and that's 15 on the top end.

Curls remained the same today, but considering how loudly my left wrist was squawking (even with an EZ bar), I was lucky to get that many.

The aforementioned janky wrists made me keep my Dip reps to 5 a set, and I'm OK with that for today. Not sure why my wrists are acting up; no unusual work yesterday, and they've been okay all week til today. That's arthritis for you though; it'll step back a little bit, and then all of a sudden, jump up and bite you on the butt (or wrists).

That's all for the week. I'll rest over the weekend, then hit it on Monday with Front Squats, Leg Presses, Chins. and Seated Presses.

Post-WorkOut meal was a broiled chicken breast, fresh green beans, some excellent corn on the cob, and a glass of milk. Farmers' Market FTW.

[skodins2231]

Meal looks excellent! Congrats on the xtra RDL rep. Enjoy your weekend Bill.

[ironwill2008]

Meal looks excellent! Congrats on the xtra RDL rep. Enjoy your weekend Bill.

Thanks; that bar felt like a '56 Buick (the 'Roadmaster' model, the one with all the chrome) was attached to it.


This is a good time of year for fresh produce, and we try to take as much advantage of it as possible. That was the first local corn we've bought this season, and it was the sweetest we've had since last Summer.

Have a great weekend yourself.

[Payton1221]

Bill,

As someone who knows macros, I thought you might find this "interesting." My son and I stopped in the Huddle House for breakfast while returning from a weekend away. He only wanted a waffle, so we split the "MVP Breakfast" that also includes two eggs, two strips of bacon, hashbrowns, and a biscuit with gravy. They didn't give the macros (of course), but they did give the total calories: 1,500!!!

[ironwill2008]

Bill,

As someone who knows macros, I thought you might find this "interesting." My son and I stopped in the Huddle House for breakfast while returning from a weekend away. He only wanted a waffle, so we split the "MVP Breakfast" that also includes two eggs, two strips of bacon, hashbrowns, and a biscuit with gravy. They didn't give the macros (of course), but they did give the total calories: 1,500!!!

I believe it, Mark. The plain waffle alone has about 250 calories, and all the other items have a good bit of fat in them, especially the biscuit (usually made with lard), and the gravy (sausage, I assume).

That would be a little more half my daily calorie allotment; I'd have to eat pretty light the rest of the day, but it would be worth it.

[tnthudson]

Awesome idea on the overhead 'halo' presses with the trap bar, thanks for the tip! (BTW, we don't have a Huddle House around here but Waffle House can hold its own pretty well, haha!)

[ironwill2008]

Good session today; was able to hold my ground and retain a couple of previoiusly hard-won reps. Today's training was:

Front Squat
bar x10 W/U
95x8 W/U
135x8
165x8
185x8
225x6

Leg Press PWO
580x12 W/U
670x12
760x12
850x9 huff & Puff

Chinup
bw +55x6
bw +55x6
bw +55x5

Smith Machine Seated Press
95x10
165x6
165x5
165x4

Worked through in an hour and twenty minutes. I was pleased to be able to retain my 6-rep top set on Fronts today. It's going to take some work to advance this set to 8 reps.

Leg Press remained @ 9 reps, which is okay with me for now. Was wheezin' at the end of that last set.

I was very pleased to keep that additional Chinup rep for two weeks in a row after having been stuck for a month. I'm just trying to do the best I can with these regardless of the reps I'm able to manage.

Seated Press duplicated last week's work, which is good for today.

That's all. After a rest day tomorrow that very likely won't offer a lot of actual rest, I'll return to the gym on Wednesday to have a go at moving Lunges, Rows, and Inclines forward.

Post-WorkOut meal was a marinated and broiled chicken breast, a sweet potato with butter, a tasty salad, and a glass of milk.

[ironwill2008]

Had a good session today despite not quite meeting all of the day's goals. Today's training was:

Barbell Lunge
bar x10 W/U
95x5 W/U
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x2

Barbell Row
95x10 W/U
135x10 W/U
165x8
185x8
205x7

Smith Machine Incline Press
95x10 W/U
135x10
165x10
210x8

Racked up an hour to complete this work. Primary goal today was to reach reps-across on Lunges, but once again, I was stymied at 2 reps on the top set. I guess I'll have to have all the planets and stars aligned before I'll get that 3rd rep, but I'll keep at it until I do.

Picked up a rep on Rows, but I'm not satisfied with my form; my biceps are getting more work than my back. If things don't improve next week, I'll drop the weight a bit and work back up.

Incline Presses remained @ 2 reps, which is OK for now. It took me a good while just to get to 8, and managing to hang onto it is a victory.

A rest day tomorrow will be followed by the closeout of the week's training on Friday with RDLs, Curls, and Dips.

Pretty basic Post-WorkOut meal was a half-pound of grilled ground sirloin, mashed potatoes with butter, fresh green beans, and a plate of caprese salad along with a glass of cold milk.

[mejulian]

Hi Will. I see that you have deloads here and there. Would you mind talking a bit about how often you schedule them and what type of exercises you do?

[ironwill2008]

Hi Will. I see that you have deloads here and there. Would you mind talking a bit about how often you schedule them and what type of exercises you do?

Hey, what's up.

Back when I was first advised by my mentor at the time to incorporate a week of light training on a regular basis, I did so every 8th week. That was about 23 years ago, during my 2nd year of training. Since then, I've gradually increased the frequency of those deloads over the years, due to my decreasing recovery ability, to every 4th week. The idea is to figure out how many weeks one can train all-out in a row until he begins to feel a bit run down, and then deload a week before this amount of time, thus keeping the trainee always a step ahead of fatigue.

For many years, I'd stick to my regular exercise list but cut all the loads by about half of what I'd lift during the other weeks of regular training, while keeping the rep counts the same. That got to the point where it made for a really boring week of gym work, so about 5-6 years ago, on the advice of another bodybuilder, I began to choose random exercises on each day, and use light weight on all of them. I still stick to my regular split (for example, on deload Monday, I'll choose an exercise for legs, one for upper back, and one for shoulders, and do the same for the other two training days. I try to really mix things up, often doing exercises that I rarely ever have in my regular routine. The whole point is to get some additional recovery from my previous three weeks of heavy (for me) training, while still keeping up a level of activity in the gym.


I've had people ask why I just don't take a week completely off, and there's nothing really wrong with doing that, but I've always preferred to do at least something in the gym three times a week, every week. There's nothing engraved in stone, or any specific rules for deloads other than to stay away from heavy weight, and stay far away from sets taken to failure; it's all about getting some "active rest." It sure has worked well for me; along with a few other tenets of training, deloads have kept me in the gym, injury-free, for a little over 24 years now.

[Plateauplower]

Was the wonky wrist just from the curls or are you still dealing with it on other things? I had an irritated wrist that was just screaming from doing really close grip bench in an effort to work around a shoulder issue . Anyway wrist wraps might help, I just bought some cheap ones on Amazon but they really do add a good bit of stability and the compression probably helps as well in my case. I was using them until the pain subsided and they worked well. I would think they would help at least during the set with your RA.

Great looking work in here. I took a deload over vacation at the beginning of the month. I think I ended up with more aches from not going to the gym (I stayed out of the gym completely for about a week). Next one I'll probably just train lighter.

[BergMuscle]

Solid work, Bill. Those added reps will probably show up when you're least expecting them to.
Way to keep killin' it.

[ironwill2008]

Was the wonky wrist just from the curls or are you still dealing with it on other things? I had an irritated wrist that was just screaming from doing really close grip bench in an effort to work around a shoulder issue . Anyway wrist wraps might help, I just bought some cheap ones on Amazon but they really do add a good bit of stability and the compression probably helps as well in my case. I was using them until the pain subsided and they worked well. I would think they would help at least during the set with your RA.

It's advancing arthritis, Tim, and nothing is going to help it. I've been dealing with it for almost 30 years now, and I'll just keep doing as much as I can to fight it. My grip is becoming more and more affected.

Not gonna ask the doc for any ANSAIDs though; been there/done that, and they nearly screwed up my stomach. Past practice has shown me that my best course of action to fight RA is weight training on a consistent, scheduled basis. I can't even imagine (nor do I want to) what shape I'd be in now if I hadn't started lifting weights 24 years ago. And if I hadn't also quit smoking and drinking at the same time, arthritis would have been the least of my problems.

Great looking work in here. I took a deload over vacation at the beginning of the month. I think I ended up with more aches from not going to the gym (I stayed out of the gym completely for about a week). Next one I'll probably just train lighter.

Thanks.

IMO, doing something in the gym is the better path. At the very least, it can provide some time to work on form issues for any certain lifts whose form might be problematic. And recovery can't be overemphasized, especially for any of us whose odometer is way into 6 digits.

Solid work, Bill. Those added reps will probably show up when you're least expecting them to.
Way to keep killin' it.

Thanks, Dan. At this stage of the game, we're always happy to get just one more rep, even if it seemingly shows up out of nowhere!

[mejulian]

Hey, what's up.

Back when I was first advised by my mentor at the time to incorporate a week of light training on a regular basis, I did so every 8th week. That was about 23 years ago, during my 2nd year of training. Since then, I've gradually increased the frequency of those deloads over the years, due to my decreasing recovery ability, to every 4th week. The idea is to figure out how many weeks one can train all-out in a row until he begins to feel a bit run down, and then deload a week before this amount of time, thus keeping the trainee always a step ahead of fatigue.

For many years, I'd stick to my regular exercise list but cut all the loads by about half of what I'd lift during the other weeks of regular training, while keeping the rep counts the same. That got to the point where it made for a really boring week of gym work, so about 5-6 years ago, on the advice of another bodybuilder, I began to choose random exercises on each day, and use light weight on all of them. I still stick to my regular split (for example, on deload Monday, I'll choose an exercise for legs, one for upper back, and one for shoulders, and do the same for the other two training days. I try to really mix things up, often doing exercises that I rarely ever have in my regular routine. The whole point is to get some additional recovery from my previous three weeks of heavy (for me) training, while still keeping up a level of activity in the gym.


I've had people ask why I just don't take a week completely off, and there's nothing really wrong with doing that, but I've always preferred to do at least something in the gym three times a week, every week. There's nothing engraved in stone, or any specific rules for deloads other than to stay away from heavy weight, and stay far away from sets taken to failure; it's all about getting some "active rest." It sure has worked well for me; along with a few other tenets of training, deloads have kept me in the gym, injury-free, for a little over 24 years now.

Thank you for you comments. I've been doing StrongLifts and after a few weeks I couldn't fully recover and felt my knees tired. I took a week off but I think it was a bit too late. As you said, I need to figure out the right timing for me.

I like your approach of doing different exercises. That would be good for me to try some that intimidate me (front squat) or that I enjoy but haven't done in a while (leg curl).

Thanks again.

[HoosierHardGain]

Hey Bill, re: adding a rep on lunges. I got to thinking this morning, maybe you should try adding an extra set at the end. Lower the weight and pump out 6-8 reps. Maybe that might stimulate some of the support muscles and eventually let you knock out that extra rep.