Heisman's log

[Heisman2]

I was a bit sore going into this and likely would have benefited from a day off but I'm working next Wed/Thu/Fri night so I want to cram in the workouts now.

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80x7
80x5
75x5
70x6
70x5

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
140x3
130x3
120x4
120x3
110x5

Weighted dips with a pause:
warmup
BW+90x2
BW+70x4
BW+45x6
BW+45x5
BW+45x5

Then I did some face pulls/reverse cable flies/tricep work.

[Heisman2]

One-armed pulldowns:
warmup
130x9
130x6
130x4
120x5
120x4

Seated pulley rows:
warmup
200x8
190x8
180x10
180x9
180x8

Weighted pullups:
warmup
BW+90x2

Low pulley single-armed curls:
warmup
80x1
70x4
70x4
70x4
70x3

Pulldowns felt heavy warming up but still matched what I did last time so happy with that. Rows were fine. Pullups felt ok; some elbow pain after the first set so I stopped there. Curls were good. I have no idea how much weight I'm actually curling as I can only curl 60 pound dumbbells as a max but the 80x1 was certainly heavier than just 40 pounds.

[Heisman2]

Paused front squats:
warmup
205x5x5

That's it. Felt great. I was gonna do 185 for sets of 10 but felt I'll make more progress with paused reps at a heavier weight and fewer reps. 215 next time. I may get to the gym tomorrow morning but I may take the next few days off as I'm working nights starting tomorrow.

[Heisman2]

Very nice workout today prior to my 3 day break as I'm working nights:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
85x7 (PR)
85x4
75x5
70x6
70x4.5

Wasn't even expecting to get a PR but I'll certainly take it.

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
150x1.5
130x3
110x5
90x8
70x11

Weighted dips (paused):
warmup
BW+90x3
BW+70x5
BW+45x6
BW+45x5
BW+25x6

Then one set of face pulls and tricep pushdowns as I was short on time. Really happy with this overall.


As an aside, I really do wonder how far ahead of where I currently am I would be if I had chose a different career path. No regrets at all but the last 6 years I've had a very hectic schedule that has really hampered my training. Again, no regrets but I am jealous of people who can focus on this full time.

[Payton1221]

Incline dumbbell bench press:
85x7 (PR)

As an aside, I really do wonder how far ahead of where I currently am I would be if I had chose a different career path. No regrets at all but the last 6 years I've had a very hectic schedule that has really hampered my training. Again, no regrets but I am jealous of people who can focus on this full time.

Good job on the PR!

Regarding how much further you'd be . . . maybe not as far as you think. Unlike some of the posters on bb.com that seem to think that there's no limitation to what they can do and for those who make unsatisfactory progress they must be doing something wrong, I think that a semi-intelligent use of nutrition, weights, and recovery over 4-5 years and you're probably 90-95% of the way there from a mass standpoint. And if I'm right, would the extra 5-10% really be noticeable (rhetorical)? While my intensity and attention to detail has fluctuated, I've essentially lifted my whole adult life. When I got more serious again several years ago when I joined bb.com, I did several bulk and cut cycles following the advice of many on here only to find out that I had gained very little (IF ANY) muscle.

But you'll eventually get the chance to find out when "life" settles down

[Heisman2]

Yeah, for sure, it's hard to say. When I had a few good months of training in 2016 I got up to deadlifting 550 raw/beltless. Only a handful of people my size have deadlifted high 600s or 700s raw (in a tested fed); would I really be capable of adding another 100 pounds and being top 10 in the world? Almost certainly not. I've done a weighted pullup with 155 attached to me. To my knowledge there are only a handful of people who have done a weighted pullup with 200+ pounds attached to them. Could I get up to BW+200 under the best circumstances? Again, probably not as I certainly don't have worldly genetics.

On the other hand when I do have these stretches where I can train/sleep/eat consistently I get back to my old strength levels pretty quickly and am making small gains. It would just be cool to see what I could do.

However, you are right. Better times are coming.

[Heisman2]

Was gonna take the day off because I typically don't lift well post-call but I was motivated so I went and I actually had a really good session.

One-armed lat pulldowns:
warmup
130x10
130x4
130x3
130x3
130x3

That's a PR for me with the first set.

Seated pulley rows:
warmup
220x5
220x4.5
200x5
200x5
200x5

Weighted pullups:
warmup
BW+90x3
BW+90x3
BW+70x4
BW+70x3
BW+45x5
BW+45x5
BW+45x4
BW+25x6

Single-armed low pulley curls:
warmup
80x2
70x4
60x4
50x6
40x9

Hammer curls:
30x6

That's it. Very tiring. I slept from 9:00am-2:00pm today and will hopefully sleep well tonight.

[Heisman2]

Nice workout today:

Paused front squats:
warmup
215x5x5

These all felt good

Step ups:
warmup
40x30

This burned a lot.

Assisted glute ham raises:
3x15

This gave me a huge pump in my hamstrings.

Happy with this. Quite sore from yesterday not just in my lats/biceps but I have some chest tightness too; we'll see if this effects my workout tomorrow.

[Payton1221]

Have you heard of the association between an earlobe crease and heart disease (100% serious)? What do you think of this?

[Heisman2]

Have you heard of the association between an earlobe crease and heart disease (100% serious)? What do you think of this?

This has got to be the most random question I have ever received.

Here are many genetic/congenital anomalies that can affect the ears and other organs. However, I have never hear of anyone developing an ear crease later in life as an association with heart disease. Are you asking about a newborn baby? If so, depending on the shape of the ear and if the baby passes the hearing screen they may get a rental ultrasound and if they are worried about heart issues (may depend on if they hear a murmur and if the critical congenital heart disease screen is passed) they may get an EKG and/or echocardiogram. If there are other issues noted on exam the baby may get a full genetics evaluation.

[Payton1221]

This has got to be the most random question I have ever received.

https://myheart.net/articles/earlobe...-fact-or-myth/

Level with me doc, am I dying

JK (sort of), but look at the link and let me know what you think. It does conclude with the following:

Although the earlobe crease may be associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), its sensitivity for detecting this is nowhere near that of stress tests, CT scores, or angiograms. The presence of the earlobe crease may be used to identify those who are at higher risk and should therefore have close attention paid to the presence of risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol.

[Heisman2]

Welp, learned something new. My conclusion is you will die someday. A different link I looked at suggested a stronger link of the creases are bilateral than unilateral. Nonetheless, I agree with the part you copy and pasted.

[Payton1221]

you will die someday.

I knew it. Goodbye cruel world

Thanks for looking at that for me, but my BP is good and my lipids are very good. I did replace the many 90/10 hamburgers that I had been eating with salmon patties, but I haven't had my lipids tested since doing so to see if it had a positive affect on my LDL.

Speaking of salmon (I don't know if you consume it or not) but my wife had been buying the 14.5 oz size can (IIRC) and complained about having to remove the bones/skin, so she's been buying the tuna size/shaped cans (maybe 6 oz?) that have the bones and skin already removed. The larger cans have more of the dark--almost liver colored--flesh that I understand is where the preponderance of the omega-3's are found, but the tuna-type cans don't have any dark flesh NOR do they quantify the amount of omega 3's. Any idea if the deboned/deskinned salmon has less omega 3's?

[Heisman2]

I do consume salmon. I buy canned salmon that is 14.5 oz and have never removed bone or skin. What brand did she get? I get Starkist Alaskan pink salmon. I imagine the type she is buying now has much less omega 3s.

Anyways, I worked out twice today:

Morning:

Weighted cable crunches x 3 sets
Oblique twists x 3 sets
Dragon flags x 3 sets of 2 negatives and 1 positive (so hard, lol)
Face pulls x 3 sets
Internal and external rotations x 3 sets
Then I did elliptical x 30 minutes.

I plan on doing the above ideally every other day. I feel I am probably holding myself back not doing direct ab work. Time to commit.

Evening:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
90x5 (1 rep PR, very hard set)
85x4
80x4
75x4
70x5
65x5
60x7
60x6
60x5

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
120x3
100x4
80x6
60x9

Tricep overhead extensions/pushdowns:
did two drop sets

That's it. Can't complain at all about 90x5.

[Payton1221]

I do consume salmon. I buy canned salmon that is 14.5 oz and have never removed bone or skin. What brand did she get? I get Starkist Alaskan pink salmon. I imagine the type she is buying now has much less omega 3s.

No kidding? I know that the "bone" is quite soft, but are you making patties, and if so, you just mix it with the onion, breadcrumbs, egg, etc? BTW she's purchased several different brands including the Starkist and even the Great Value (Walmart) brand.

I'm still impressed by your ability to power up those 90# bells (congrats on the PR!). Since I've been working out some with my wife at PF, I've been throwing their 75's up without too much difficulty, but I think the 90's would be more than I'd want to wrestle with

[Heisman2]

I have only ever once encountered a bone that I noticed with this: https://jet.com/product/StarKist-Ala...SABEgLQVPD_BwE

I typically take two cans, put them in a strainer, mash them up, drain water over them, divide them in portions, and freeze them.

When I eventually get to the 100s for the first time it's going to be pretty epic.

[Payton1221]

I have only ever once encountered a bone that I noticed with this: https://jet.com/product/StarKist-Ala...SABEgLQVPD_BwE

I typically take two cans, put them in a strainer, mash them up, drain water over them, divide them in portions, and freeze them.

When I eventually get to the 100s for the first time it's going to be pretty epic.

I'll definitely give that brand a try. I don't know if you like sauce/gravy with your salmon, but we'll drain the oil into a small sauce pan, add a little water, two tbs of Kentucky Colonel seasoned flour, and oregano (I think that's the spice that we add) and bring to a boil then immediately take off the heat. It's delicious and we pour this over the patties.

I bought my 90's off eBay (and was thrilled when I weighed them and they both weigh the same--91# actually), but they're the rubber coated kind and they look kinda surreal due to the extra volume/added-dimension of the rubber . . . it's like I've got 150's or something

[Heisman2]

I mix in salmon with baked potato/broc****/spinach/scrambled eggs and add on some olive oil and a couple of spices.

Does the size of them prevent you from using a good range of motion? I can struggle with that with larger dumbbells.

Decent session today:

One armed pulldowns:
warmup
180x0 - not even close... it was a struggle to get this in position and then I realized I can hook my feet under a foot holder in front of me to pull myself down easily but I still was not close to strong enough to get this
140x4
140x4
140x4
140x1
100x9
100x7
70x12

Seated low pulley rows:
warmup
230x2
220x2
210x3
200x3
190x4
180x5
170x6

Weighted pullups:
warmup
BW+115x1
BW+90x1
BW+70x2
BW+45x5
BW+25x6

One-armed low pulley curls:
60x7
60x6

That's it. Elbows are feeling it a bit which is fine. I really felt the higher rep sets of the pulldowns in the right areas.

[Payton1221]

I mix in salmon with baked potato/broc****/spinach/scrambled eggs and add on some olive oil and a couple of spices.

Does the size of them prevent you from using a good range of motion? I can struggle with that with larger dumbbells.

The broc-****/spinach idea sounds interesting. I've played around with some tomato-basil wraps which aren't bad either, but the patties are awesome. You have to be careful when flipping but its just egg, onions, breadcrumbs, creole seasoning and salmon pattied together.

As I lift the 90's, I have to be careful not to "bump" them at the top because the rubber causes them to bounce out rather quickly, but I have no problems getting sufficient range at the bottom of the movement.

I've added hex db press as an accessory lift lately. I don't know if you've ever tried that but (and I'm doing it on an incline bench but that's not important) you take two DB's and press them together AS you press them up. It keeps your pecs under tension 100% of the time.

For a pull-up guy, you'll empathize with this: PF has literally 50+ cardio machines (treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, and a couple of stair steppers) and they have ONE PULL-UP STATION!!! The have this "cage" thing that I think you're supposed to do stretching in that can serve as a 2nd station, but I had to wait for a 100# woman to finish her "assisted" pull-ups (using 80# of "assist" IIRC ) last night. SMH

[Heisman2]

Never tried a hex db press myself. Do you feel it is significantly different from a close grip bench? The act of pressing the dumbbells together probably does activate the chest a lot more.

Keep having fun at PF!

So I got up very early today (02:30) and couldn't fall back to sleep so I went to my gym at 05:00 only to have the person who is supposed to open it not be there. So I left at 05:15 and went home and did this:

3 cycles of:

standing cable crunches: 8 x 5/5/5
standing cable twists: 6 x 5/5/5
face pulls: 3 x 15/15/15
dragon flags: 3 x 2 negative and 1 positive
external rotations 1 x 8/8/8
internal rotations: 2 x 8/8/8

where the first number is the number of plates on the machine. Then I did 30 minutes elliptical.

Then I did some pediatric lobbying (this bores the hell out of me and I find it frustrating generally but I enjoy the experience every once in awhile) on a couple of hot issues with representatives.

Then I was going to go back to the gym in the evening to squat but they were short people for the emergency department and basically begging for someone to come in so I went in and worked 18:00-24:00.

Now at 01:10 I'm about to go to sleep. I have an important meeting at 11:00, I'll provide any relevant details (and a squat workout) after.

[Payton1221]

Never tried a hex db press myself. Do you feel it is significantly different from a close grip bench? The act of pressing the dumbbells together probably does activate the chest a lot more.

So I got up very early today (02:30) and couldn't fall back to sleep so I went to my gym at 05:00 only to have the person who is supposed to open it not be there.

It does feel different than a close grip bench press: more chest, less tricep IMO.

That sucks when the gym doesn't open on time. I remember waiting many a morning in the early 90's when my brother-in-law lifted together at a public gym.

If you don't have a home gym now, I suggest you consider it at some point (perhaps in your next--first?--house). I have enjoyed the return to a public gym with my wife somewhat, but I wouldn't go if I wasn't trying to encourage her. With a rack (and heavy dumbbells too if you want), you can go heavy and safely too.

[Heisman2]

Yeah, a home gym is going to happen at some point in my future for sure.

The meeting I had was good today, still a few more to do before deciding the next step in my career.

Did legs today:

Paused front squats (deep and 1-2 second pauses):
warmup
225x4x5

This was hard, which is why I stopped at 4 sets. No pain at all and my form felt good throughout.

Step ups:
warmup
60x30 (left leg)
60x20+10 (right leg)

Got the 30 on my left but I got fatigued a lot more quickly on the right. I think my form is different between them. I think doing left first and then only resting a minute also played a role because my HR was >16 after the first 20 reps on the right.

Assisted glute ham raises:
2x15

I was done after the second rep. Hamstrings felt great.

Overall happy with this, pressing tomorrow.

[Payton1221]

The meeting I had was good today, still a few more to do before deciding the next step in my career.

Can't recall if we've discussed finances, but my unsolicited advice is to aggressively pay off whatever loans you have asap. My wife and I paid our house off in September, and the feeling is unreal. Gee, what are we going to do with the $1500 we're not spending on a mortgage THIS MONTH.

[Heisman2]

Yeah, financially I should be ok. Pediatricians don't make a ton of money but I live a rather frugal lifestyle so it won't be a huge deal. I completely concur regarding paying off expenses as quickly as possible.

Nice workout today:

Incline dumbbell bench press with 3 second pauses:
warmup
80x3
80x3
80x2
75x2
70x3

Weighted dips with 3 second pauses:
warmup
BW+115x1
BW+90x2
BW+70x4
BW+70x3
BW+70x3
BW+45x3
BW+45x4 (no pause)
BW+25x8 (no pause)

Dumbbell shoulder presses:
warmup
60s x 3
50s x 5
45s x 5
40s x 7
40s x 7

Then I did some leaning lateral raises and some overhead tricep extensions with pushdowns as well. Also a few machine flies for the first time ever.

Then I went to my apartment complex and did a couple circuits of ab work/face pulls/rear shoulder work and finished with 30 minutes on the elliptical.

[Heisman2]

Deadlifts:
warmup
455x1

This felt heavy and I was spent afterwards. I don't know why other than I've been pretty stressed recently and didn't sleep well last night but this still should not have felt as heavy as it did. Going to start doing deadlifts weekly starting with light weights and ramping up over time. Also probably going to start doing a 4x/week upper/lower split while doing cardio/abs 3x/week to give myself more time for other things.

[Payton1221]

Yeah, financially I should be ok. Pediatricians don't make a ton of money but I live a rather frugal lifestyle so it won't be a huge deal.

Frugal (which can be relative) certainly helps: Live on less than you make and invest the rest in decent stocks (and statistically, you could do A LOT worse than just pooling all of your money in an S&P Index fund!). My wife's grandpa worked as a maintenance man at GE in the 70's and 80's, and even though his wife never worked to supplement his income, his frugal lifestyle resulted in a net worth of $4MM in 2000 before the correction and his four kids still split $2MM when he died a few years later. I've tried to encourage people to get as excited about their assets as others get excited about their new car or overseas vacation.

And a pediatrician should have a schedule that's predictable enough to really prioritize your lifting if you wanted to!

[Heisman2]

Frugal (which can be relative) certainly helps: Live on less than you make and invest the rest in decent stocks (and statistically, you could do A LOT worse than just pooling all of your money in an S&P Index fund!). My wife's grandpa worked as a maintenance man at GE in the 70's and 80's, and even though his wife never worked to supplement his income, his frugal lifestyle resulted in a net worth of $4MM in 2000 before the correction and his four kids still split $2MM when he died a few years later. I've tried to encourage people to get as excited about their assets as others get excited about their new car or overseas vacation.

And a pediatrician should have a schedule that's predictable enough to really prioritize your lifting if you wanted to!

Yeah; I've yet to look into investing at all but I will look into that more when I get to a time that is better for me to do so.

I have a few big meetings today to help determine my next step after residency. I might stick around for a couple more years in a fellowship but I'll post more about that with the next update to the log.

However, I have decided to go to a full body routine 3 days weekly, as I want more time out of the gym for a social life and work projects (somewhat pending on my meetings today... this has all come together in the last couple of weeks). I have never done this. Still playing around with how I want to structure things but here is what I did today:

Deadlifts:
warmup
315x5x5

These all felt good, easy, and my form was on point.

Weighted dips with 3 second pauses:
warmup
BW+115x2
BW+90x4
BW+70x5
BW+70x4
BW+45x5

Weighted pullups:
warmup
BW+115x 2.875 (so close on the last one)
BW+90x4
BW+70x6
BW+70x4
BW+45x6

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
60x10
60x9

Seated rows:
warmup
200x7
180x7
160x11
160x8

Step ups:
warmup
60sx5

Standing dumbbell press:
45x8

One superset of overhead tricep extensions with pushdowns
One superset of incline dumbbell curls and spider curls

Done. Great workout.

[Payton1221]

Yeah; I've yet to look into investing at all but I will look into that more when I get to a time that is better for me to do so.

There's investing and there's speculating (arguably: gambling!). Statistically speaking, automatically investing 10% of your yearly income into an S&P 500 index fund with a low fee is all that you need to do until you're within 5-10 years of retirement and only then need to start thinking of reducing your exposure to equities and distributing more of your money into either bonds or cash investments.

I might stick around for a couple more years in a fellowship but I'll post more about that with the next update to the log.

I just recently asked my wife to explain to me the educational/vocational progression of a doctor. She mentioned that some elect to do a fellowship after their residency. What are the pros/cons? I'm guessing more prestigious resume (pro) versus another 1-2 years of making less money than you could if you immediately began your practice (con).

LOL at missing the final 1/8 of the pull-up. Did you ever work as a draftsman? Not too many people use .875 as number.

[Heisman2]

There's investing and there's speculating (arguably: gambling!). Statistically speaking, automatically investing 10% of your yearly income into an S&P 500 index fund with a low fee is all that you need to do until you're within 5-10 years of retirement and only then need to start thinking of reducing your exposure to equities and distributing more of your money into either bonds or cash investments.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into this more in a year for sure.

I just recently asked my wife to explain to me the educational/vocational progression of a doctor. She mentioned that some elect to do a fellowship after their residency. What are the pros/cons? I'm guessing more prestigious resume (pro) versus another 1-2 years of making less money than you could if you immediately began your practice (con).

For me it's not the prestige, rather it's trying to make sure I end up doing what I want to do. I'm leaning more against fellowship now; I have another meeting on Tuesday that should help. Also, in pediatrics many people make less money if they do a fellowship (sounds dumb, but it's true).

LOL at missing the final 1/8 of the pull-up. Did you ever work as a draftsman? Not too many people use .875 as number.

No, but I'm a math guy. I was 7/8 of the way there!

Had a nice workout yesterday:

Squats:
warmup
185x10/10/6/6/6 (all paused)

Incline dumbbell bench press with 3 second pauses:
warmup
80x3
70x4
60x5
60x4
50x6

One armed pulldowns (all paused):
warmup
150x3
130x4
110x5
90x6
70x8

Hammer grip machine shoulder press dropset:
warmup
150x2
140x2
130x2
120x3
110x3
100x4

Seated row dropset:
warmup
200x7
180x6
160x6
140x8

Low pulley curl dropset
Tricep overhead extensions/pushdowns dropset

Some of the above numbers are likely a bit off as I don't remember exactly what I did but that's the basic idea. If I don't get called in tomorrow I'll lift in the morning.

[Heisman2]

Good workout today:

Deadlifts:
warmup
335x5x5 - all felt good and with good form

Front squats with 3 second pauses:
warmup
225x1
245x1
265x1
275x1
285x1
295x1

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80x8/5/4/4/3
70x6/6/5

Seated rows:
warmup
250x1.5
230x4.5
210x6
190x10

One armed pulldowns:
warmup
140x2
120x5/5

Leaning low pulley laterals:
20x7

Overhead tricep extensions/pushdowns:
100x4/70x6

Low pulley single armed curls:
70x3/50x3

Next workout I'll focus more on shoulders/arms.