There's a Ham in the Power Rack! Part II

[shesprints]

Congrats on your rep PR! AH! Congrats on your easy 8-miler in beastly heat! AH!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR RACE!

AH X 1000!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Good luck and have fun at the race tomorrow. Am a fan of AWOL Nation too. Need to get more of their music some day.

[Partyrocking]

Nice benching. You're going to crush the race!

[astronut96]

Oh yes that is very important. I try my best to do everything I can fit in to avoid injuries. I even have special stretches I do right when I wake up and before bed, got an alarm on my phone that reminds me. AND I do a dynamic warmup before running and 15min of stretching after (I'm honestly too lazy to write it out on here every time lol.)

I don’t think anyone here would believe that you are lazy in any way!

Can’t wait to read the full report about the race!

[anandagirl]

Rock that race woman!!! I need pics of this tits shirt

[thehobbes]

Congrats on your rep PR! AH! Congrats on your easy 8-miler in beastly heat! AH!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR RACE!

AH X 1000!

Thanks dudette, and AH!

Good luck and have fun at the race tomorrow. Am a fan of AWOL Nation too. Need to get more of their music some day.

Epic band, thanks!!

Nice benching. You're going to crush the race!

Race = CRUSHED!

I don’t think anyone here would believe that you are lazy in any way!

Can’t wait to read the full report about the race!

Haha true, but I'm gonna start adding those stretching notes in there to maybe inspire someone.

Rock that race woman!!! I need pics of this tits shirt

Pic incoming!


Race report coming up!

[thehobbes]

BLOSSOM TIME 5.25 MILE RACE

Location: Chagrin Falls, OH
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 53:59
Weather: 70 and cloudy

*Pre-race did Dynamic Warm Up Routine
*Post-race stretched for 15min


AWESOME RACE - I definitely want to do this one again next year! My goal time was to get under 55 minutes - nailed it! There ended up being 1200 runners which you would think would be crowded, but they closed down all the roads so there was more than enough space. This course went through a residential city, somewhat country, and had nothing but HILLS! The first two miles was mostly uphill lol, I was wondering why it felt like I was putting out such a great effort on the first half and why I was doing 11 min miles. By the third mile it was not *completely* uphill (but there were surprise hills throughout), splits were:

Mile 1: 11:02
Mile 2: 11:00
Mile 3: 9:44
Mile 4: 9:38
Mile 5: 9:49

Seems like I paced it out pretty well, and I managed to pass a ton of people on each hill who would give up and walk. I placed 785 out of around 1200 so not bad at all. It felt hot AF and that had to be the sweatiest I've ever been running, it was awesome. Felt strong through the whole race. I got there nice and early this morning, this festival had a porta-john utopia lol - there was literally no waiting to get one pre-race.

Got a sweet tech shirt, and this race did finisher medals which I don't think a lot of shorter races do. (I know they have finisher medals for the 10 mile and half marathon. Now if I can get one of THOSE I'll wear it to work, to the grocery store, and in the shower, because that is a long fukking race holy ham man! ) This one is going up with my collection of race numbers in my home gym.




Oh and I'm apparently a good stretching role model srs. I was waiting to watch the post-race awards so I sat in the grass and got into my stretching routine. A few people who were also waiting around gave me this look like I had just created fire and they started busting out some stretches too, heehee.

Very successful race - prepared well, actual race went great, and I beat my goal time. I'm sure on a flat course I could knock a couple minutes off. I actually want to do another 10k soon and knock a few minutes off of my last time too. There's a race in 3 weeks which you can pick between 10 miles and 10k, I want to do one of those for sure. My 8 mile run went well a few days ago, thinking this week either do 8 again or 8.5. I'd say if I can get up to 9 miles in training and see that I'm not gonna die I'd be comfortable signing up for the 10 mile race.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Awesome job! And on hills too. Way to go Ham! I really need to get back into running.

[astronut96]

Nice! Way to ham it out and shatter those goals! And that is an awesome shirt.

[anandagirl]

Seems like I paced it out pretty well, and I managed to pass a ton of people on each hill who would give up and walk. I placed 785 out of around 1200 so not bad at all. It felt hot AF and that had to be the sweatiest I've ever been running, it was awesome. Felt strong through the whole race. I got there nice and early this morning, this festival had a porta-john utopia lol - there was literally no waiting to get one pre-race.

Running those stairs helped!!!!

Got a sweet tech shirt, and this race did finisher medals which I don't think a lot of shorter races do. (I know they have finisher medals for the 10 mile and half marathon. Now if I can get one of THOSE I'll wear it to work, to the grocery store, and in the shower, because that is a long fukking race holy ham man! ) This one is going up with my collection of race numbers in my home gym.

Nice shirt! LOL I've never worn my marathon medals anywhere.... LOL

Nice work on all counts!!!

[shesprints]

Hooooray! Congratulations on an excellently run race, not even surprised. Yeah, your pace will drop like a stone on hills, it's not even comparable. But being strong really helps with the uphills, and you definitely have leg strength. It's always strategy, too, and you seem to have conserved your strength well for the end of the race, which is what you want to do. Did you sprint through the finish? :P

[thehobbes]

Awesome job! And on hills too. Way to go Ham! I really need to get back into running.

Thanks! I hope you do. It's kind of addicting how difficult running is srs, feels very accomplishing to me.

Nice! Way to ham it out and shatter those goals! And that is an awesome shirt.

Wahoo! Such a comfy shirt too, wore it all day yesterday and took a nap in it.

Running those stairs helped!!!!

Nice shirt! LOL I've never worn my marathon medals anywhere.... LOL

Nice work on all counts!!!

Thanks! Oh man I have no shame so I'll totally parade one of those around with me. I'm glad I have the stairs to work on, I'll keep hitting those hard and improving.

Hooooray! Congratulations on an excellently run race, not even surprised. Yeah, your pace will drop like a stone on hills, it's not even comparable. But being strong really helps with the uphills, and you definitely have leg strength. It's always strategy, too, and you seem to have conserved your strength well for the end of the race, which is what you want to do. Did you sprint through the finish? :P

Thank you! That makes sense, I'm not fast but I am tank-like lol, I can keep moving forward through some chit. Honestly no, did not sprint at the end. Saw the finish banner like a quarter mile away and thought "oh yeah, now is your time to pass people and pick up a couple spots!" Legs were like nooooo, I figured I was just gassed. Strava shows the last 1/3rd mile being on an incline again so that didn't help. Didn't get passed up by anyone at the end though!


Workout coming up...

[thehobbes]

DL/SQUATS/LUNGES

SUPPS:
PRE: ANIMAL Fury 1 scoop
INTRA: none
POST: ON Protein 2 scoops

LOCATION: Home gym
BW: 150

WARMUP:
-Foam Rolling with Spike 10min
-Arm circles of peace
-BW squats

BACK:
DL:
135x10
185x5
*Versa Grips
225x3
*belt
250x3
270x1
280x1

LEGS:
Squats:
45x10
95x8
135x6
165x4
*belt
195x3
210x3
225x3
235x1
185x10 YEAHHHH!!!

DB Lunges:
25s x 15
25s x 15
25s x 15

OTHER PREHAB:
-Stretching 30min
-LAX/Spike rolling 10min
-Foam Rolling with Spike on wall 5min


Solid workout, did well on the back off squats again, and went fairly heavy on DL. DB lunges are getting much easier, may give 30s a shot next time.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Nicely done. All of those squats even after having a run recently. Them legs get no rest.

[thehobbes]

Nicely done. All of those squats even after having a run recently. Them legs get no rest.

Thanks! Yeah, it's hard to fit everything in every week. :/ Technically I don't do any leg stuff Thurs and Sat so that's something. I'd like to add another running day to get me to 5x a week but it seems like a bad idea at this point.

[thehobbes]

AMRAP BP/SHOULDERS/TRI/RUN

SUPPS:
PRE: ANIMAL Fury 1 scoop
INTRA: none
POST: ON Protein 2 scoops

LOCATION: 150
BW: Home gym

WARMUP:
-Foam Rolling with Spike 10min
-Arm circles of peace
-Cuban Press
-BW squats

AMRAP BP:
45x15
75x10
105x31 vid, HELL YEAH, TIED REP PR!!!
105x25
85x34

Two weeks in a row hitting 105x31, progress is being made!



SHOULDERS:
DB Shoulder Press:
35s x 12
40s x 8
40s x 6
35s x 11

Incline BB Bench Press:
45x10
95x10
115x10
135x4
135x4

TRI:
Tricep Rope Pushdowns:
30x12
30x10
25x13

CARDIO:
Running
Warmup: Dynamic routine

Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 44:59
Avg HR: 141
Peak HR: 155
Post: Stretching 15min
*89 degrees and sunny

OTHER PREHAB:
-Stretching 15min


AMRAP bench press is getting easier! I think it was more of a mental hurdle with the number 30, srs. I started throwing in lower amount sets like 85lb to get used to going beyond 30 reps, and now 105 is following getting beyond 30. It's like my brain said ok, you hit 30, no need to do more, just stop here. But the point is AMRAP so 30 becomes very attainable on any day. It's a mental game, and I've been using the strategy of doing as many as possible without pausing at the lockout, usually I can get 25-27 that way, then squeak out two at a time, then one at a time, pretty easy when you break it down that way.

Run was pretty brutal today because it was so hot. I engaged turtle mode due to the heat and took water/gatorade in my belt. That was one damn sweaty run! I'm glad I bring dry clothes with me to change into so I can drive home and not mess up my car. Tomorrow will be hot again but it's supposed to rain so that should help. Due to work I always end up running in the middle of the day when it's the hottest out, but it's either that or start waking up at 3am to do it. :/ I shall persevere, and perspire... profusely!

[shesprints]

Yup, you cannot expect to run as fast or far in the heat, for sure. It can actually be very dangerous. Re: doing the 30 reps with a lower weight, that mind trick actually reminds me a lot of something I do with running. I run my tempo runs at a pace that's somewhat slower than, say, my 5k pace, so that then I get used to making a sustained effort for that amount of time and can crank it higher on race day. Or even just running shorter distances at a really fast pace that I wouldn't assume I could hold gets me used to that pace, and all of a sudden I find I can run a whole mile that fast!

So yeah, good job and I like how you consider the psychological.

[thehobbes]

Yup, you cannot expect to run as fast or far in the heat, for sure. It can actually be very dangerous. Re: doing the 30 reps with a lower weight, that mind trick actually reminds me a lot of something I do with running. I run my tempo runs at a pace that's somewhat slower than, say, my 5k pace, so that then I get used to making a sustained effort for that amount of time and can crank it higher on race day. Or even just running shorter distances at a really fast pace that I wouldn't assume I could hold gets me used to that pace, and all of a sudden I find I can run a whole mile that fast!

I seriously have to work on this with my running. I know I can be faster in races but I really don't practice a faster pace.

So yeah, good job and I like how you consider the psychological.

Thanks! It's such a light wt I have to rep I figured there had to be a logical method to doing it semi-easily.


Run coming up...

[thehobbes]

RUN - FORT HILL

CARDIO:
Running
Warmup: Dynamic routine

Distance: 3.6 miles
Time: 43:17
Avg HR: 136
Peak HR: 159
Post: Stretching 15min
*85 and light rain, trail run + stairs


Conquered the huge ass mo-fo stairs TWICE, RARRWWW!! Hard run, hot weather is hot.

My penguin has been poked! HVAC guys were supposed to come over today, I scheduled this a week ago, but they never showed up. :/ I hate that, I go home and wait around for a block of hours all for nothing. I called and they claimed they were just too busy, which is fine, BUT let me know so I'm not waiting around for hours! I truly think they failed to write down my appointment when I made it. So, we're trying this again later in the week, will have to coral the pets again into another room which is a joy in itself ugh, and wait around for hours hoping someone will show up. So yeah, penguin = poked.

[thehobbes]

BACK/BICEPS

SUPPS:
PRE: ANIMAL Fury 1 scoop
INTRA: none
POST: ON Protein 2 scoops

LOCATION: LTF
BW: 150

WARMUP:
-Foam Rolling with Spike 10min
-Arm circles of peace
-BW squats

BACK:
Pull Ups:
bw x 12
bw x 10
bw x 8
bw x 6
bw x 5
*total of 41

DB Rows:
65s x 10
75s x 7
75s x 6
70s x 8
70s x 7
55s x 13

HS Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 10
2.5pps x 7
2.5pps x 6
100lb ps x 9
2pps x 9

Lat Pulldown:
100x10
115x9
130x8
145x5
115x10

Face Pulls:
42.5 x 20
50 x 15
57.5 x 11
50 x 13

Cybex Low Cable Row:
block 8 x 7
block 7 x 8
block 5 x 15

BICEPS:
DB Curls:
35s x 11
30s x 16
30s x 14
25s x 20

OTHER PREHAB:
-Stretching 30min
-LAX/Spike rolling 10min
-Foam Rolling with Spike on wall 5min
-Hot tub 10min
-Pool time
-Sauna with rolling 15min


BOOM - sweaty workout of rage! It's becoming a regular thing for me to hit 12 straight pull ups on my first set - SPIRAL SLICED BABY!!! DB rows were good, had to do different wts at that just depending what was available. And I can apparently do 25s db curls all day long.

Tomorrow is long run day, hopefully I can get out there when it's still raining. Got my gatorade g2 ready to go. Great suggestion, soooo much less sugar.

[shesprints]

Pullups are so beastly. How did you get your first one? Or could you just always do them?

[Fiction2Fitness]

Nicely done. I haven't had gatorade in quite a long time cause even the g2 has calories. I'll drink a powerade zero on occasion but not often. Though my cardio is less strenuous too so less hydration drainage going on thus far. Still waiting for that pesky summer heat to bear down. It's going to happen, I know it.

[thehobbes]

Pullups are so beastly. How did you get your first one? Or could you just always do them?

I could always do them, srs. I climbed a ton of trees and swingsets as a kid, and played tons of sports. I remember in school gym class you had to try to do chin ups and the bent arm hang. I always blasted that chit! I remember a lot of people not being able to do that stuff at all, which is kind of weird because you probably have the best body weight to strength ratio as a little kid.

Nicely done. I haven't had gatorade in quite a long time cause even the g2 has calories. I'll drink a powerade zero on occasion but not often. Though my cardio is less strenuous too so less hydration drainage going on thus far. Still waiting for that pesky summer heat to bear down. It's going to happen, I know it.

Thanks! Tried my G2 post run today, it tastes so much better than normal Gatorade! Tastes weird to have anything with high amounts of sugar in it anymore. 95% of what I drink is plain water (other is PWO and protein shake and sometimes Gatorade.) Hell yeah, it took like 6 months but I've finally managed to get on the water train.


Run coming up...

[thehobbes]

LONG RUN

CARDIO:
Running
Warmup: Dynamic routine

Distance: 9.00 miles (actually may have been 9.6)
Time: 1:41:55
Avg HR: 138
Peak HR: 144

*78 degrees and sunny, paved path, water belt
Post: Stretching 15min


I intended to run 8 miles again today, but things were feeling so easy I thought let's try for 8.5 and if everything is still good hit a solid 9. It's weird to see I ran for an hour and 40 minutes straight, didn't seem to take that long at all and felt great. I've noticed some distance discrepancy between my Garmin watch (very OLD Forerunner 405 that came out like 10 years ago) and my Strava app. Garmin has it's own GPS built into the watch and I'm not sure how accurate that thing is. Strava runs off of my phone's GPS so I assume that's very accurate considering Google Maps is dead on when I'm driving around. So Strava gave me 9.6 miles. I have noticed on my Garmin as I'm running and it shows the current pace it seems a bit slow. It'll say I'm doing around a 11+ min mile pace a lot of times but when I look at Strava after my run I was in the 9s and 10s for my splits.

Oh chit, I think my Garmin is off! I checked the distance from the 10k race and Garmin is showing a shorter distance by over two tenths of a mile. I have been running further than I thought, mind = destroyed! Huh, I guess I hadn't really noticed on the shorter runs and in races I never double check my Garmin's distance against the course since I know how far it is.

[thehobbes]

CHEST/TRI

SUPPS:
PRE: ANIMAL Fury 1 scoop
INTRA: none
POST: ON Protein 2 scoops

LOCATION: Home gym
BW: 150

WARMUP:
-Foam Rolling with Spike 10min
-Arm circles of peace
-Cuban Press
-BW squats

CHEST:
Bench Press:
45x15
95x12
136x6
155x4
170x3
*wrist wraps
175x1
180x1
175x1
160x6
160x4

Bench Press with BLUE SLINGSHOT:
*wrist wraps
160x9
170x6
170x6

AMRAP Bench Press:
135x15
135x12
105x21

TRI:
Tricep Rope Pushdowns:
30x11
30x11
20x19

RC WORK:
Standing Y/T/Ls:
5s for 17, 17, 17
5s for 17, 17, 17

External Band Rotations:
RED x 17
RED x 17

OTHER PREHAB:
-Stretching 30min
-LAX/Spike rolling 10min
-Foam Rolling with Spike on wall 5min


Chest crushed and triceps toasted! AMRAP is brutal after all the heavy sets + slingshot work. At least the legs got some rest today.

[shesprints]

Yeah, Garmins are definitely not 100% accurate. I know because I can take mine on the track and um, the track is definite distance but the Garmin can be off by +/-.5 miles depending on the overall distance.

What kind of wrist wraps do you use?

[Fiction2Fitness]

Brutal indeed. I envy the sling shot. Some day, I'll have one. Maybe next year. Though I've never seen anyone use on in the gym where I lift. Can't imagine crushing it the way you do. I was shaky just from db fly today.

[thehobbes]

Yeah, Garmins are definitely not 100% accurate. I know because I can take mine on the track and um, the track is definite distance but the Garmin can be off by +/-.5 miles depending on the overall distance.

I'm still in shock finding this out. :'( At least I wasn't running LESS than I thought.

What kind of wrist wraps do you use?

I use the really long Rogue wraps.

Brutal indeed. I envy the sling shot. Some day, I'll have one. Maybe next year. Though I've never seen anyone use on in the gym where I lift. Can't imagine crushing it the way you do. I was shaky just from db fly today.

It's a nice tool to have around. I've seen a lot of people at my current gym with those, but that place is HUGE and there are a lot of people there training for very specific things. Never saw one at any previous gyms. Thanks brahette, just gotta get in there and rampage it!


Workout coming up...

[thehobbes]

DL/SQUATS/LUNGES/RUN

SUPPS:
PRE: ANIMAL Fury 1 scoop
INTRA: none
POST: ON Protein 2 scoops

LOCATION: Home gym
BW:150

WARMUP:
-Foam Rolling with Spike 10min
-Arm circles of peace
-BW squats

BACK:
DL:
135x8
185x5
*Versa Grips
225x4
*belt
250x3
270x1
280x1

LEGS:
Squats:
45x10
95x8
135x6
165x4
*belt
195x3
210x3
225x3
235x1

DB Lunges:
25s x 15
25s x 15
25s x 15

CARDIO:
Running
Warmup: Dynamic routine

Distance: 3.5 miles
Time: 37:47
Avg HR: 138
Peak HR: 148
Post: Stretching 15min
*74 and sunny, paved path

OTHER PREHAB:
-Stretching 15min


Killer leg day fitting all that stuff in on one day. I weighed in this morning after not really checking for about a month. Last Spiral Sliced Weigh In I wrote down was 150.2. Oddly was exactly 150.2 this morning pre-breakfast, post-dump. I guess I'm right where I need to be with my calories.

There are these creepy old people at the park now sitting there all dressed up with signs and pamphlets about some religious thing. I remember seeing that last year too. So weird, people go to the park to do a 20 mile bike ride, why the hell would they want to sign up for a cult right after that? All I want is a Gatorade and to change my shirt. And they're set up too close to the bathrooms, srs. I don't even want to deal with it so now I walk alllll the way around through the grass for my pre run pee and hope it's not too muddy. WTF people? I'm going to set up my own station at the park and give out pamphlets about dinosaurs, because dinosaurs are AWESOME! Suck it!!

[astronut96]

You’re nicer than me Ham - I think I’d be finding myself a new AC company. You’re probably right though because I would hope that if they had your appointment on the books they would have called.

That’s weird about the Garmin being so far off, but like you said, at least it’s wrong in the right direction! Now you KNOW you’ve got the 10 miles in the bag!